What are you reading?

[FllMtl Novelist]

I just finished The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, and I can't wait to get the next book. I like how even though it's intended for kids much younger than me, I was still able to enjoy it. Apparently my school has the other books in the series, just not the second, which I'll need to get at the public library this weekend.

That is an excellent series that just gets better.

[GeneD]

I recently finished Terry Pratchett's Snuff and Witches Abroad. I have one Discworld book left, Lords and Ladies, and then I have read them all. I am sort of putting off starting with it because I don't want to be finished with them.

[Mei-Mei]

I'm supposed to be reading 'Born Again' for school... however for my fun time I'm also reading some type of star wars book... I can't remember the name right now. XD Its in the 'Legacy of the Force' series.

[MomentOfInertia]

Just finished Son of Neptune, Fu's post pretty much covered my feelings on it.

Before that I read the first trilogy of Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon.
Good books, an interesting premise.

[FllMtl Novelist]

On a quest to get a better idea of YA fiction in general (rather than just what other YA fantasy writers are doing--broaden my horizons!) I picked up Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries and read it in less than a day.

Cabot is a very skilled writer. Her characters are well-written and sufficiently complex, the plot doesn't slow down, and I thought the whole suddenly-she-is-princess thing was dealt with fairly realistically.

But I really, really couldn't stand the main character's personality. She's my polar opposite in pretty much every way. She's obsessed with boys and how her peers view her and she hates algebra. She's obnoxious, completely unappreciative of what her parents do for her, and whenever an allegedly "hot" guy says anything to her she becomes a blatant ditz. I could count on one hand the things she said or did that I really liked. (#1: She declines an invitation to a party that would have had underage drinking, and states good and honest reasons why; #2: she comments on guys having a secret code or something; #3... uhhh...)

Because the book is written in (surprise) diary form, you're in the main character's head the whole time. If I'd liked the main character or been able to relate to her at all, I probably would have loved it. But I didn't, so I was really reading it out of mild curiosity to see how events played out, and for the other characters. Like the psyhoanalyzing friend Lilly.

I might look into Meg Cabot's other work sometime, though.

[A_Yellow_Dress]

Reading The Maze Runner.

(I really like the Glader speak.)

[uc pseudonym]

The Language Police by Diane Ravitch
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz
The Green Rider by Kristen Britain
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

Since I'm running out of time, the only thing I'll say about those is that the first book was recommended to me near the very beginning of this thread.

I recently finished Terry Pratchett's Snuff and Witches Abroad. I have one Discworld book left, Lords and Ladies, and then I have read them all.

That's impressive. I think I've read roughly half.

[Yuki-Anne]

Just read The Hunger Games. Easy read, very engaging. Not without its flaws, but I can see why it's so popular, and I feel the popularity is better deserved than with Twilight, since Katniss is a believable protagonist with a personality of her own. Some parts were kind of anticlimactic; I feel if it were twice the length and involved more wit-matching and mind games during the Hunger Games, it could be far more enthralling and well put-together.

[Edward]

I finished The Sea of Monters by Rick Riordan earlier this week, and while waiting for the next book in the series, The Titan's Curse, I read The Voice of the Night, my first Dean Koontz book, which I hope to read more of. I finished that today, so now I'll be reading Neuromancer by William Gibson, and then The Black Company by Glen Cook if I don't get the next Rick Riordan book when I'm done with Neuromancer.

[Neane]

Just Finished Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth.

It is a graphic novel that offers entertainment through one of the most boring sciences ever. Math! . This book focuses on the life of a mathematician and shows why these people love math so much, it shows a person as he tries to find a solution to everything via numbers and hard facts. We see in this book the daily lives of mathematicians, their mistakes, their passion and disappointment, as they try to write down a mathematical formula that proves right or wrong every question possible. The author is a mathematician himself and yet he does not try to deify math at any pooint in this book and it is not a piece of propaganda made so that people will pick up his favorite subject, the author simply describes the beauty of math and he also at the same time never forgets to tell how devastating it is when you devote your entire life to math. This book never takes any sides, it just simply tells you the facts. In all, it is a very good work overall.

[Atria35]

Bone 1-3- My university library had this in the juvenile section, so I grabbed them. They're really good, too! Since they actually have the entire series, I'm going to go ahead and get the rest the next time I'm at school.

[FllMtl Novelist]

So since the series finale is being released this year, and because despite owning all the books I haven't actually read them all twice yet, I started to re-read The Sisters Grimm series.

I don't know if I've grown out of them, or if it's because it's a mystery (and I'm sitting here thinking "You girls are making a horrible mistake you don't even know"), or if, like I'm starting to suspect, it's just plain mediocre. I got pretty bored halfway through book 1. Because these were My Favorite Books Ever for years I do intend to finish it and the others, but it's on hold for now.

I'm reading Lights on the Nile by Donna Jo Napoli instead.

...one of the most boring sciences ever. Math!

...But math is nice! :<

[ich1990]

“Dune Messiah” by Frank Herbert

The original book, “Dune”, ranks easily among the best science fiction of all time. The sequel does not. I pity the author who gets his work perfect the first time, as he must always live in his own shadow. Such is the case here.

I appreciate Herbert’s attempt, I truly do. He takes a completely different approach, choosing to focus in on two or three characters and describe the thought process that flows through each, their struggle with being able to see the future, and the way that ultimate power twists their relationships with others. It is a hearty attempt, but it is also confusing.

The dialog is not cogent like in “Dune”. It feels stilted and odd, even taking into account the fact that most people involved can see the future. This talk even manages to feel idle and petty, because by focusing on the character’s internal battles almost nothing is accomplished in the “outside world”. In “Dune”, empires were shattered and the galaxy was remade. In “Dune Messiah” nothing of that scale occurs. I know Herbert wants to focus on relationship building, but it is hard not to hold it against him.

Further, the characterizations get…. weird. An awkward romance develops, people say strange things, and people do strange things. Paul was never a normal character, but in this case he is even more detached from reality than in “Dune”. Since we are now treated to his very thoughts, he comes across less as a noble seer trying to rid the galaxy of as much suffering as possible and more a lunatic. Understandable, but not entirely pleasant.

“Dune Messiah” would be the perfect companion book to “Dune” (a sort of statistical mechanics to “Dune” thermodynamics) if all of these weird kinks had been worked out. As it stands, however, the book only decreases my interest in the series. I do not recommend it. 6/10

It is a graphic novel that offers entertainment through one of the most boring sciences ever. Math!

"There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject. The only thing that can exist is an uninterested person."

[Neane]

[B]“] by Frank Herbert

The original book, “Dune”, ranks easily among the best science fiction of all time. The sequel does not. I pity the author who gets his work perfect the first time, as he must always live in his own shadow. Such is the case here.

I appreciate Herbert’s attempt, I truly do. He takes a completely different approach, choosing to focus in on two or three characters and describe the thought process that flows through each, their struggle with being able to see the future, and the way that ultimate power twists their relationships with others. It is a hearty attempt, but it is also confusing.

The dialog is not cogent like in “Dune”. It feels stilted and odd, even taking into account the fact that most people involved can see the future. This talk even manages to feel idle and petty, because by focusing on the character’s internal battles almost nothing is accomplished in the “outside world”. In “Dune”, empires were shattered and the galaxy was remade. In “Dune Messiah” nothing of that scale occurs. I know Herbert wants to focus on relationship building, but it is hard not to hold it against him.

Further, the characterizations get…. weird. An awkward romance develops, people say strange things, and people do strange things. Paul was never a normal character, but in this case he is even more detached from reality than in “Dune”. Since we are now treated to his very thoughts, he comes across less as a noble seer trying to rid the galaxy of as much suffering as possible and more a lunatic. Understandable, but not entirely pleasant.

“Dune Messiah” would be the perfect companion book to “Dune” (a sort of statistical mechanics to “Dune” thermodynamics) if all of these weird kinks had been worked out. As it stands, however, the book only decreases my interest in the series. I do not recommend it. 6/10

Don't read Brian Herbert's Dune sequels. Some of the most contrived and uninteresting books I have ever read.

[ich1990]

Don't read Brian Herbert's Dune sequels. Some of the most contrived and uninteresting books I have ever read.

Noted. Thanks for sparing me.

[Yuki-Anne]

Just finished Catching Fire, #2 of the Hunger Games trilogy. I know, so mainstream.

[the_wolfs_howl]

FMA: The Land of Sand by Makoto Inoue

So I finally decided to actually read the FMA novels once I discovered a friend at my college has them all. This one was just okay - it was what they based the Xenotime episodes on in the first series, so I already knew basically how it would turn out. There was also a side story that inspired episode 37 of the first series - the Phantom Warehouse 13. It was almost funnier than the episode, and that's saying a lot!

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Arakawa-san did some illustrations, and after this I don't think there are any other direct overlaps with the anime, so I think I'll enjoy the rest more.

[rocklobster]

started Mockingjay today.

[Neane]

I read through The Salmon of Doubt in about a day. For those who do not know this work, it is a collection of Douglas Adams' essays and story fragments. It's a very enlightening read.

[the_wolfs_howl]

FMA: The Abducted Alchemist by Makoto Inoue - Even better than the first novel, this one is all about exciting terrorist maneuvers and has just enough Parental!RoyEd to make me grin. A very good read.

[Atria35]

Finished Bone. It was good- not great, but enjoyable.

[rocklobster]

Finished Bone. It was good- not great, but enjoyable.

Check out Quest for The Spark. It's the first book in the prose novel series that serves as a sequel.
I will start Dragonquest by Donita K. Paul very soon. Probably tomorrow.

[nuni7270]

I'm currently reading, "The Encyclopedia of Survival Techniques."

[Atria35]

Well, for my classes, I've been reading (and in some cases, re-reading since I've read them before)
Jane Eyre (1st read, liking it tons better than Wuthering Heights)
Great Expectations (re-read, still loathe)
The Conditions of the Working Class in England (1st time, bored)
Le Morte d'Artur (first read, decently entertaining)
The History of the Kings of Britain (1st read, somewhat entertaining)
Various British poems from Victorian England into the early 20th Century

[the_wolfs_howl]

Read The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited by Scot McKnight for my New Testament class. Supremely boring He took up twice as much space as he needed, just beating his thesis to death. And I've also been taught almost everything he's promoting as far back as I can remember (that the gospel is how Jesus' life, death, and resurrection fits into the history of Israel), so it all felt pointless. But oh well, at least it's done now and I don't have to read it ever again -_-

[MomentOfInertia]

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson.
Quick, well written, and with a fair amount of humor in it. I highly recommend it.
While set in the Mistborn world it is a standalone.

[AdriTan]

I'm about to start some good old fashioned Agatha Christie, Poirot. It's three books in one from my library Thirteen at Dinner, The A.B.C. Murders, and Funerals are Fatal. I love a good mystery!

[rocklobster]

Agatha Christie is awesome. If you like those, I recommend And Then There Were None

[Maokun]

Finally another A. Christie fan! Funerals are Fatal (or After the Funeral as I know it) it's by far the best of those three. The twist that serves as the key to decipher the mystery is one of the greatest Do'h! moments in literature.

I'm catching up in my mainstream reads before going back to more obscure stuff. Book 2 of Ice & Fire Song and book 3 of the Hunger Games. Also, that new book of short stories of Neil Gaiman.

[the_wolfs_howl]

FMA: The Valley of White Petals by Makoto Inoue - Felt like a mixture of Cornello and Magwar, to be honest, but it still had its own spin on things.