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Post by Shadaras on Jan 19, 2010 17:05:12 GMT -5
Oh, and for those who enjoy lurking this thread for book recommendations -- I'm unlikely to post anything specifically for that, but any book I read will have comments by it in my list. <3 ..comments are likely to be strange and I like weird books, though it is possible for me to read normalish ones. Also, my comments are more about what I liked/didn't like than anything else, in general. Soyeah. Just letting you guys know.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2010 5:25:46 GMT -5
I must say, Dan Brown has a nack for suspense. At some point I could almost feel the pain of this poor guy getting eaten by sharks *shudders* You mean one of the bad guys while Corky survives thanks to pee? I loved Deception Point, though Digital Fortress surprised me even more. I think that's why I was a tad disappointed by The Lost Symbol. The suspense was not that great... some of the puzzles were too obvious. Yes, Deception Point was awesome! Corky was so... quirky ![](http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m44/LeonessDK/emotes/snerk.gif) xD And agreeing on Digital Fortress also. I loved Angels And Demons as well. The Lost Symbol... I dunnow. I liked it because it had twists. But the antagonist reminded me too much of the one in Angels And Demons. So far Philip Pullman is alright. His writing style isn't as intense as I thought it'd be. But we'll see once I'm more into the book. And thanks for the recommendations, Wolf. I've read one of Koontz's books once... when I was like... 17 or something. Can't remember which one ^^;
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Post by Chao on Jan 20, 2010 13:17:52 GMT -5
You mean one of the bad guys while Corky survives thanks to pee? I loved Deception Point, though Digital Fortress surprised me even more. I think that's why I was a tad disappointed by The Lost Symbol. The suspense was not that great... some of the puzzles were too obvious. Yes, Deception Point was awesome! Corky was so... quirky ![](http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m44/LeonessDK/emotes/snerk.gif) xD And agreeing on Digital Fortress also. I loved Angels And Demons as well. The Lost Symbol... I dunnow. I liked it because it had twists. But the antagonist reminded me too much of the one in Angels And Demons. I loved Angels and Demons. I was surprised how much I even liked the movie, though they mixed up the order regarding Da Vinci Code. And you are right, Moloch reminds one of the Assassin. I hope the next Dan Brown will be a truly new one and not another Langdon-story. *heads to page one to update the pending book list*
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Post by Kathleen on Jan 23, 2010 0:56:13 GMT -5
Oh, and I know that most of you guys loathed Eragon, but have any of you read the second book in the series? I saw the book at the library and it had some pretty high-end comments on the back, praising it. And it was a big sucker! =O *raises hand* I've read it, and in my opinion it was worse than Eragon, although Paolini did finally seem to have found his style, so I guess that was good. ^^ If you like high fantasy, with plenty of 'ayes' instead of 'yes' and a lot of wordy prose, holier-than-thou elves, epic history, and arrogant heroes being reprimanded constantly, you might like it. xD I found it disappointing, mainly because it was so long and nothing much happened. Also, it's written with chapters in alternating viewpoints (between three characters, I think?), which I normally hate - though it can be done well - because there's always viewpoint that is just so boring. xD So yeah. ^_^ My take on it. I realise I sound rather biased, and I am, sorry. xD Oh, and His Dark Materials trilogy! Awesome books. ^-^ Pullman's writing style is not as intense as some, but it has a subtle force and his description/characters are wonderful.
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Post by ♥ Lulu on Jan 24, 2010 10:10:50 GMT -5
This year, I'm determined to read as much as I used to read, instead of the five books that I read last year. Shaming, really! I've just bought a pile of new books ( more, yes. My mum is horrified. This brings my to-read list - including only books I have on my bookshelf - to something like fifty), so I want to get through them in good time! Bold - Read Italics - Currently Reading
1. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (For school. I started this last year, and it almost killed me to finish it, but I fell in love with this book. I loved the characters, the incredible plot, the way Dickens writes...even if it's really dense and hard to read, it's totally worth it.) 2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (A re-read for school. Easy to read, easy to get in to, and absolutely fantastic.) 3. Fuan no Tane by Nakayama Masaaki (Manga. Collection of strange mini horror stories, usually one or two pages. Some were really creepy, some others...not so much. Hit and miss.) 4. Black Hole by Charles Burns (Graphic novel. Fantastically dark. There is mystery, there is death, there is sex, there are drugs, there is teenage angst and love. I really loved this. Highly, highly recommended.) 5. A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter (A script. Love Harold Pinter. This is very short, and makes me want to read Awakenings by Oliver Sacks, which inspired it.) 6. Small Change by Peter Gill (A script. I saw this on stage in 2008. My favourite written thing ever. Truly tragic, but the story is much better on stage; a lot of the dialogue doesn't make sense without the staging.) 7. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (Read at the insistence of Teddy (Kit). I wasn't disappointed; a great look at religion, the struggle against it, about sexuality within religion etc. I may be atheist, but I find religious matters very interesting. Great writing too, very absorbing.) 8. The Enigma of Amigara Fault by Ito Junji (Manga. Incredibly creepy. Very Lovecraftian. You can find it online, and I recommend it! It's only short.) 9. Uzumaki by Ito Junji (Manga. One of the creepiest things. By the guy who wrote the Enigma of the Amigara Fault, which is even creepier. Made me very paranoid of spirals; highly recommended!) 10. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz (Has been recommended to me many a time. I found Odd to be a bit of a Mary Sue, with his flaws making him more perfect. Easy read, but wholly disappointing. Will not be reading anymore of the Odd series.) 11. The End of Alice by A.M. Holmes (One of the most disturbing things I've ever read, and bloody fantastic for it! Incredibly high volume of graphic sex. It's follows two paedophiles - one, forty-odd, in prison, the other a nineteen year old girl who writes to him - and is pretty sick. Weirdly, and worryingly, I found myself sympathising with the main character. The power of words, I guess. But incredibly well-written. Definitely 18+) 12. Runaway by Alice Munro (Short stories. Alice Munro has been recommended to me, but it was wholly disappointing.) 13. The World House by Guy Adams (The first fantasy I've read in a while. A quick, enjoyable read - even if two characters I really liked died very quickly and suddenly. Not the best writing, nor the best characters, but enjoyable, so I will read the sequel, whenever it comes out.) 14. Rupture by Simon Lelic (Very different from anything else I've read. Not quite crime, not quite drama, not quite general. Genre-crossing, broad, and very well written. Recommended!) 15. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (Really messes with your head, even if you have seen the movie. Very good, love Chuck <3) 16. Pandora by Anne Rice (Spin-off of the Vampire Chronicles. Spoiled the first seven books for me, since I'm only on the third, but whatever. Drenched in history. Loved it. Makes Pandora's character as featured in the actually series much more interesting.) 17. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep? by Philip K Dick (For book club. Good, fast-paced read. Lacks depth, although it does make you boggle over the plot at some bits. Really liked JR Isidore. Not so keen on Deckard's wife.) 18. Queen of the D*mned by Anne Rice (Finally! After reading The Vampire Lestat some two years ago, I really should have got around to this sooner. However, it is a wonderful sequel, one that I enjoyed endlessly. Strangely, I much preferred the parts that didn't include Lestat to the chapters that do; I found them somewhat repetitive and his attitude rather...almost unbelievable. Strange, because before this, I was in love with Lestat! Hopefully that'll be reignited in the Tale of the Body Thief, next on my list!) 19. Dramacon by Svetlana Chmakova (EOL Manga. Completely forgot I read this over summer. Three volumes of very light, fluffy romance at a con. A fun, quick read.) 20. The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice (So much to say of this book. Lestat was brattier than ever, and whinging more than he claims Louis does. Louis was wonderful, but didn't appear much. The final chapter was...well, as Lestat said I might, I wished it had never happened. Did I like it? ...I don't actually know XD) 21. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Uhmm. Yeah. It was okay.) 22. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis (Very, very good book. Didn't expect to like it, but I did. Lots of adult themes, as a warning.) 23. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (Really satisfying read. I haven't read any fantasy in AGES, and I really liked this. I know now when I want a quiet, peaceful read, I'mma turn to Hobb.) 24. The City & The City by China Miéville (Awesome concept. Took me 250 pages odd to get into it, and then the end was disappointing. A shame, but I'll try more China Miéville before I give up on him.) 25. Machine of Death by various authors (Hit and miss, but really enjoyable!) 26. Something by Something (Still deciding.) 27. Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter (For school. The writing is terrible, truly. How are these people getting published? --EDIT: Okay. I admit it. She's growing on me. --EDIT AGAIN: I freakin' love this stuff.) 28. The White Devil by John Webster (For school. Script.) 29. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (For school. The only book I am enjoying, really, for school right now.) 30. Dracula by Bram Stoker (For school. Make it stop. So much hate I have for this book.) Gonna steal some recommendations from this thread too ^^
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2010 1:36:36 GMT -5
So how are y'all doing? =)
I'm onto my fourth book, the third book in the Golden Compass series. Pullman is ok, but not my favorite writer so far. But maybe it's because I'm reading the translated version... I think from now on, I'll stick to reading the books in English, because I have a theory that some of the 'magic' might disappear when you translate it. The only character I feel connected to is Will.
I'm already into the third one, and so far it seems pretty good. *nods* After that one, I'll look up some Pratchett and Koonz. Oh, and probably some King as well.
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Post by Rikku on Jan 27, 2010 2:07:36 GMT -5
Zylaa - Oddly flattered, actually. xD
Re: Leoness's question, I'm doing pretty good! =D I mean, granted it's the holidays and I won't have as much time to read once school starts, but I think it's a good start. Finally gotten around to reading some of the books I've been meaning to for a while, and while I still have some Agatha Christie books and White Fang on my bookshelf to read, undeadunread books aren't queuing too bad, so that's good. And I've enjoyed nearly everything I've read so far! However! I'm still not reading outside of my comfort zone. Anyone got any recommendations for books for me to read outside of my usual scifi/fantasy sphere? xD I'll check out Dickens and such, and maybe read some more Austen, since I liked Pride and Prejudice, but other than that? =3 *wheedling smile*
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2010 3:09:56 GMT -5
I would definitely recommend Stieg Larsson's books (he's Swedish, but I'm pretty sure his books are out in English worldwide). I read all three of them, and they are awesome! Very intense. A little slow to start up, but then you find yourself entangled in his web of crime, speculations and how unfair the system can be sometimes. I'm not usually into that kinda stuff, but this story about Lisbeth Salander is just... so in-depth and awesome... and sad. Stirred all kind of emotions in me.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2010 16:23:35 GMT -5
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Post by Grey on Jan 28, 2010 1:34:20 GMT -5
I'm in. 1: Welcome to the Ark 2: Pawn of Prophecy 3: Queen of Sorcery 4: Magician's Gambit 5: Castle of Wizardry 6: Enchanter's End Game 7: The Naming 8: The Montessori Method 9: Guide to the Montessori Method 10: Jhereg 11: Yendi 12: Teckla 13: Methods and Techniques of Holistic Education 14: Assortment of Myths and Fairytales 15: V for Vendetta 16: The Developing Person 17: 18: 19: 20: 21: 22: 23: 24: 25: 26: 27: 28: 29: 30:
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Post by Chao on Jan 29, 2010 16:44:44 GMT -5
Finished "Pacific Vortex" yesterday. A really good book if you like a mix between MacGyver, Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. You get a hero, who will survive, though is realistic enough to get some serious wounds when doing something stupid. You get a guy who will obviously get the girl, though it does not mean it'll be a happy end for them. You get a protagonist who'll reveal everything and you'll wonder how he suddenly knows all this, but then you remember that there had been scenes when he got the scraps of information he is now presenting as a big picture. You get nice action and a mostly logical plot. Definitely fun to read.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2010 15:24:31 GMT -5
Done with my fourth book. Since I was stuck at the airport yesterday for five hours, I decided to buy a random book that looked interesting. So I got me Assassin's Creed, by Oliver Bowden (based off of the game). It's only 500 pages, so here's to hoping it's good reading =)
After that, I'll dip into some of the suggestions posted here ^_^
How's everyone else doing? =)
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Post by Rachel on Feb 6, 2010 0:25:28 GMT -5
I may try it this year. ^^; I don't read much, but this may push myself to get more interested in it. ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) 1: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Did not like at all ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/sad.png) ) 2: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Decent book. Not my favorite writing style, however, there were some good plot twists IMO.) 3: Belonging by Virgina Scott (good book, horrible writing - for ASL) 4: Uglies (An incredible book. Loved it, absolutely loved it. Recommend it and can't wait to start the sequel, Pretties.) 5: A Seprate Peace (Did not like. At all. The book felt a bit too unrealistic for me. :S) 6: Deaf Like Me (Fantastic book, very eye-opening and thought-provoking. Definitely recommend it. For my ASL class.) 7: Pretties (Once again, loved it and can't read the sequel, Specials) ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) 8: 9: 10: 11: 12: 13: 14: 15: 16: 17: 18: 19: 20: 21: 22: 23: 24: 25: 26: 27: 28: 29: 30:
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Post by Rikku on Feb 13, 2010 3:07:26 GMT -5
Just finished rereading Catch-22. ^__^ It starts off darkly funny, and by the end of it the things that seemed darkly funny at the beginning are still darkly funny, but somehow they make you want to cry instead of laugh. It has a lot of interesting things to say about war and people. The timeline is a little hard to get straight, but I recommend it, if there's anyone here who hasn't read it yet.
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Post by M is for Morphine on Feb 14, 2010 23:42:38 GMT -5
I did it! I finished Gravity's Rainbow! I like to think I have a pretty high reading level, but that book nearly beat me. Ok, picture you're reading Naked Lunch, but it's 750+ pages long, and you have dozens of characters to keep straight. (It even shares the themes of opiates, homosexuality, and erotic hangings!) Or maybe picture you're reading Valis but It's 3 times as long and has no real central character to tie the narative together (It even shares the themes of paranoia and Kabbalism!).
The amount of characters and sub plots is truly obscene. I had to keep a cheat sheet of characters and their relations to look back on. It certainly didn't help that they had the strangest names ever. One dude had the last name Cherrycoke, I kid you not.
In the end, I'm not even sure I can recommend it. There were some very, very funny parts. There were a number of passages so powerful and lovely you would almost cry. On the other hand, there were coked out scenes so off-the-wall you could barely follow them, technical passages about math and rocket science I couldn't even understand, and no satisfactory resolution for any of the characters.
I love how the book is almost a musical, though. The author puts little snippets of song, poetry, and dirty limericks everywhere.
Part of me thinks that it is, in a way, a meta text. It is about paranoia, but it is also a working demonstration. It describes paranoia as a sense of feeling the connections between everything, and then the book itself is a web of connections. I mean everything is connected. I guarantee there are things I missed on the first read through.
Sorry I have so much to say about this book, but I spent nearly a month with it. Even when I wasn't reading it, I was puzzling things out. I don't think I've ever had to commit so much time and thought to a novel before, and I don't think I will again unless I try to read Finnegan's Wake (lol, I doubt that one).
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