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Post by Rikku on Jan 6, 2010 15:35:30 GMT -5
I'm in! =D Though if many more people say that this thread'll start sounding like a heist novel. I don't read enough variety, so I think I'll do both the title alphabet and the author one. Otherwise I'd probably just end up rereading my small Pratchett collection. xD A: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain B: Beautiful Creatures - those folk I can't remember currently C: Catch-22 - Joseph Heller D: Dogsbody - Diana Wynne Jones E: Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card F: The Final Empire (Book 1, Mistborn trilogy) - Brandon Sanderson G: The Game - Diana Wynne Jones H: The Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson I: The Immortals (Edge Chronicles) - Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell J: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke K: The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini L: Life of Pi - Yann Martel M: Mothstorm - Philip Reeve (and David Wyatt) N: O: Odd and the Frost Giants - Neil Gaiman P: Proven Guilty - Jim Butcher Q: R: Retromancer - Robert Rankin S: Storybook Love - Bill Willingham (graphic novel, part of the Fables series) T: Throne of Jade - Naomi Novik U: V: Verdigris Deep - Frances Hardinge W: The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson (X): Y: Z: Double-ups: 1: The Secret Ministry of Frost - Nick Lake (not recommended) 2: Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett 3: The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 4: Little Women - Louisa May Alcott 5: Eight Days of Luke - Diana Wynne Jones Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie Enchanted Glass - Diana Wynne Jones Barnaby Grimes and the Curse of the Night Wolf (yes, I know) - Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce Ironside - Holly Black The Book Thief - Markus Zusak Black Powder War - Naomi Novik A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin Othello - William Shakespeare The Poison Throne - Celine Kiernan The Crowded Shadows - likewise Celine Kiernan Melting Stones - Tamora Pierce The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett Changes - Jim Butcher The White Cat - Holly Black The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffeneger Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin The Song of the Lioness quartet - Tamora Pierce The Vintner's Luck - Elizabeth Knox The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas The Ring of Solomon - Jonathan Stroud Um, a bunch of others I can't remember. xD Oops. And at least fifteen from when I wasn't really bothering. And that's my thirty. ^_^ Unless I can find a book starting with X, in which case it's my thirty-one.
A: Alcott, Louisa May B: Butcher, Jim C: Clarke, Susanna D: Dumas, Alexandre E: F: G: H: Hardinge, Frances I: J: Jones, Diana Wynne K: Kiernan, Celine L: Lake, Nick M: Martel, Yann N: Novik, Naomi O: P: Pratchett, Terry Q: R: Reeve, Philip S: Sanderson, Brandon T: Twain, Mark U: V: W: Willingham, Bill (... what're the rules regarding graphic novels? Do I count the writer as the author for the purposes of this list, or the drawer, or the inker, or the colourer, or what?) (X): Y: Z: Zusak, Markus
... Those last three, I might have trouble with. xD But it's worth a shot. ... Reviews! =D The Final Empire (unless it's actual title is just Mistborn; I can never quite tell) I enjoyed. Greatly. The characters were solid and excellent - while it would've been easy to resort to stereotypes, Sanderson didn't. And he really made me love a few of the characters, despite the fact that pretty much all the protagonists are thieves. xD The worldbuilding was great, and I loved the magic system to pieces - it's very innovative, and well worked-out, and it makes for some interesting combat scenes. A good, clever fantasy. And it was pretty darn epic. ^__^ Can't wait till I get my hands on the next one. Verdigris Deep, I also liked. =3 It's about some kids who steal some coins for a well and then have to fulfill the wishes of the people who tossed the coins in there for this well spirit, and things get rapidly worse and worse. It's a decent story, decent characters, but the thing I always like best about Frances Hardinge's books is her description. <3 Often utterly gorgeous, and quite unique. If you wanted to read something by her, I'd recommend Fly By Night, which is my favourite book of her's. But read this one if you're trying to do the alphabet challenge and are stuck for a V. xD
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Post by Chao on Jan 6, 2010 15:41:49 GMT -5
(and, y'know, not book-hopping and never finishing things) is more of a challenge than getting the thirty books. Especially the book-hopping sounds oh so familiar. Reminds me I still have two parts of the lost buildings book to read, half or Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey I might have to start again, having forgotten too many details. And those are only those I currently recall, besides reading single chapters here and then with half the books piled around my two beds.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2010 1:22:21 GMT -5
Another good option for V is "The Voice of the Night" by Dean Koontz. It's about a shy kid who's befriended by the popular kid at school, who has almost too much interest in killing things.... It's an absolutely chilling book, with great suspense, lovely description, and characters of a whole lot more depth than I think I would have been alright with. It still makes me shudder to think about it all. It was, surprisingly enough, actually that great.
I used to read half a dozen books at once, then I got busier and couldn't keep up with one. Now with school, I'm lucky to read anything at all, I've got so much reading to do. But I enjoy learning, almost as much I enjoy random fiction, so it's alright.
My problem is having more I want to read than having time to read it all. I just did a rough count, and I've got sixty books in my room that I've got to finish reading or read altogether--and that's not even including all the ones I want to read that I don't own! It's dreadfully horrible. *le sigh*
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Post by Shadaras on Jan 7, 2010 1:56:16 GMT -5
... Reviews! =D The Final Empire (unless it's actual title is just Mistborn; I can never quite tell) I enjoyed. Greatly. The characters were solid and excellent - while it would've been easy to resort to stereotypes, Sanderson didn't. And he really made me love a few of the characters, despite the fact that pretty much all the protagonists are thieves. xD The worldbuilding was great, and I loved the magic system to pieces - it's very innovative, and well worked-out, and it makes for some interesting combat scenes. A good, clever fantasy. And it was pretty darn epic. ^__^ Can't wait till I get my hands on the next one. <3 ..Brandon Sanderson is such a winful author. I've read all his books, I think, and the all make me glee. Mistborn is the name of said trilogy, and The Final Empire is the name of the first book. But yeah. I adore the way he does magic just in general, and it just keeps getting better and more awesome and and =D ..can't actually say that much because you've only read the first book and the best stuff is yet to come. ^_^
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2010 1:46:04 GMT -5
The Reader's Challenge badges are now available at the profile request thread. Perhaps my best design work yet! ^__^
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Post by Dice on Jan 9, 2010 9:17:32 GMT -5
Ooh, I'm definitely in! This fits in nicely with my personal goal of reading a hundred books a year xD (I hit about 72 in 2009. I'm not sure whether that's a win or a fail.) This is more a testament to the amount of time I don't spend doing homework than anything else, lol. So for this challenge I'm making it clear that I'll be reading thirty NEW books, because a lot of the books on my personal 2009 list were ones I reread cover to cover.
[spoilers]BOOKS 2010
The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway)
[/spoilers]
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Post by insanepurpleone on Jan 9, 2010 15:39:08 GMT -5
... Reviews! =D The Final Empire (unless it's actual title is just Mistborn; I can never quite tell) I enjoyed. Greatly. The characters were solid and excellent - while it would've been easy to resort to stereotypes, Sanderson didn't. And he really made me love a few of the characters, despite the fact that pretty much all the protagonists are thieves. xD The worldbuilding was great, and I loved the magic system to pieces - it's very innovative, and well worked-out, and it makes for some interesting combat scenes. A good, clever fantasy. And it was pretty darn epic. ^__^ Can't wait till I get my hands on the next one. <3 ..Brandon Sanderson is such a winful author. I've read all his books, I think, and the all make me glee. Mistborn is the name of said trilogy, and The Final Empire is the name of the first book. But yeah. I adore the way he does magic just in general, and it just keeps getting better and more awesome and and =D ..can't actually say that much because you've only read the first book and the best stuff is yet to come. ^_^ I've been interested in reading the Mistborn books for a while, and you two have just made me want to read them more. The only book of Sanderson's I've read so far is Elantris, but I did really like that one. Plus I listen to the writing podcast he does with Howard Tayler and Dan Wells and I love the podcast, but I feel like I should read more stuff by the people who do it! (For anyone who doesn't know, the podcast is called Writing Excuses, and it's awesome and funny and I think useful to anyone interested in becoming a writer - advice from three professional writers, plus their occasional guests. You can listen to it on the Writing Excuses site or on iTunes.) I feel like I have sooo much reading to do for school now, but I'm hoping we will read enough of at least one of the books for me to count it for this. I also got two books from the library last week, and must be insane to think I'll have the time to read them. One is Zoe's Tale, by John Scalzi, which I've been meaning to read for a while. It's the fourth and last book in his Old Man's War series, all the rest of which I own and love. The other is Everyday Psychokillers: A History for Girls, by Lucy Corin, which I'm not really sure exactly what it's about. I kind of picked it up on a whim, and it's written in an unusual style, but I don't think it'll be a bad book.
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Post by Celestial on Jan 10, 2010 7:58:23 GMT -5
It's likely I won't win this due to a very busy schedule in life but I might as well try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. xD However it'll just have to be the basic challenge. ;_; 1: Hogfather by Terry Pratchett 2: Sociology by (Author Forgotten because Celest is an idiot) 3: Guards!Guards! by Terry Pratchett 4: Jing: King of Bandits Vol.2 by Yuichi Kumakura 5: Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert 6: [ibQueste [/b] by Angie Sage 7: The Cone Gatherers by Robin Jenkins 8: Regeneration by Pat Barker 9: Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks 10: Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett 11: American Gods by Neil Gaiman 12: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman 13: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque 14: Hamlet by William Shakespeare 15: Findings by Kathleen Jamie 16: Screen Burn by Charlie Brooker 17: Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakaqa 18: Spiral by Junji Ito 19: Inferno by Dante Alleghiri 20: 21: 22: 23: 24: 25: 26: 27: 28: 29: 30:[/spoiler]
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2010 14:40:43 GMT -5
Ooooo! I believe I shall join this =D I've been quite taken by reading lately. I guess that comes from starving my brain for the past.... uh... 10-12 years xD For now, I'll just list my books. Then I'll sort them later, because the alphabetical list sounds intriguing =D - Amber Spyglass, The - by Philip Pullman (Done) - Assassin's Creed - Renaissance - by Oliver Bowden (Reading) - Boneshaker - by Cherie Priest (ordered) - Digital Fortress - by Dan Brown (done) - Deception Point - by Dan Brown (done) - Eat Yourself Pregnant - by Bjarne Stigsby & Charlotte Hartvig (done) - Magician' Daughter, The - by S.C. Butler (pending) - Night Watch, The - by Sergi Lukyanenko (pending) - Queen Ferris - by S.C. Butler (ordered) - Reiffen's Choice - by S.C. Butler (ordered) - Subtle Knife, The - by Philip Pullman (Done)
If anyone has suggestions for books in the sci-fi, adventure, horror, suspense, fantasy genre... I'd be happy to get some titles =D
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Post by Rikku on Jan 10, 2010 15:30:39 GMT -5
Ooooo! I believe I shall join this =D I've been quite taken by reading lately. I guess that comes from starving my brain for the past.... uh... 10-12 years xD For now, I'll just list my books. Then I'll sort them later, because the alphabetical list sounds intriguing =D
- Digital Fortress - by Dan Brown (in progress) - Deception Point - by Dan Brown (pending) - Reiffen's Choice - by S.C. Butler (ordered) - Queen Ferris - by S.C. Butler (ordered) - Magician' Daughter, The - by S.C. Butler(pending) - Boneshaker - by Cherie Priest (ordered)
If anyone has suggestions for books in the sci-fi, adventure, horror, suspense, fantasy genre... I'd be happy to get some titles =D Sci-fi, adventure, horror and suspense I know little of. But fantasy ... =D *cracks knuckles* Firstly, The Final Empire. =D It's quite, quite brilliant. Brandon Sanderson's other writing (by which I mean Elantris [AND WARBREAKER OF WHICH I HADN'T HEARD! =D Three cheers for lack of research!], unless you want to get trapped in reading the Wheel of Time xD) is also brilliant, presumably. My personal favourite book is The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. ^__^ The world is complex and believable, there're two systems of magic (both of them awesome), and the protagonist is clever and bold and also believable, with a strong, unique voice, important for a first-person book. Seriously. It's good. I fail at describing books, but there's probably someone here who can recommend it in more glowing terms. Next ... hrm. *scurries to bookshelf* Anything by Neil Gaiman, of course. Particularly The Graveyard Book, Coraline, Stardust, and American Gods, though of course that's purely a matter of opinion. Gaiman knows how stories work, and most of the time when I read his writing I can imagine it being read aloud around some crackling fire late at night. While we're at it, I suppose I'll have to recommend Terry Pratchett as well, seeing the two are often mentioned in the same sentence. Which is odd, because their writing is more or less completely different. Pratchett has keen observational skills, varied characters, and, of course, is very very funny. Diana Wynne Jones's writing is good, particularly Howl's Moving Castle. If you might like urban fantasy, the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (... not a pseudonym, I think. I hope) are excellent paranormal detective fiction, with tight plots, a rather vast cast who Butcher keeps track of admirably well, and a protagonist who can face down vampires, demons and faeries and still always find something funny to say. Just the right mix of everything. On other urban fantasy, there's Holly Black's books (Tithe, Valiant and Ironside, though her children's books ain't bad), which are dark and edgy and pretty cool. Otherwise ... hmm. The usual, of course - the Lord of the Rings, Dune, all that jazz. There is one horror book I've read and liked. The Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill. Creepy little ghost story. You could try that. Oh, and now I'm reminded of Tamora Pierce, my favourite books of hers are the Beka Cooper ones, which I'd certainly recommend. ^_^ I can't seem to get into her third-person books, personally - something about her style - but that's just a matter of differing tastes. ... And that'll do me, yeah. xD Waaay too many recommendations.
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Post by Shadaras on Jan 10, 2010 15:43:25 GMT -5
Ooooo! I believe I shall join this =D I've been quite taken by reading lately. I guess that comes from starving my brain for the past.... uh... 10-12 years xD For now, I'll just list my books. Then I'll sort them later, because the alphabetical list sounds intriguing =D
- Digital Fortress - by Dan Brown (in progress) - Deception Point - by Dan Brown (pending) - Reiffen's Choice - by S.C. Butler (ordered) - Queen Ferris - by S.C. Butler (ordered) - Magician' Daughter, The - by S.C. Butler(pending) - Boneshaker - by Cherie Priest (ordered)
If anyone has suggestions for books in the sci-fi, adventure, horror, suspense, fantasy genre... I'd be happy to get some titles =D Sci-fi, adventure, horror and suspense I know little of. But fantasy ... =D *cracks knuckles* Firstly, The Final Empire. =D It's quite, quite brilliant. Brandon Sanderson's other writing (by which I mean Elantris, unless you want to get trapped in reading the Wheel of Time xD) is also brilliant, presumably. And Warbreaker; I adore that book as much as, if not more than, the Mistborn trilogy. But yes, Brandon Sanderson is a brilliant writer in all his books. ((WoT doesn't count. It's also not a series I consider worth the sheer amount of time it'd take to read.)) To add some more books to Rikku's list... anything by Jacqueline Carey, if you don't mind more adult stuff (for the Kushiel's Legacy books, at least; her other stories don't go into that as much). But she's an amazing writer with beautifully developed characters and setting. Writes fantasy of varying sorts. Anne McCaffrey isn't the best of writers, but I still have a fondness for her Pern books. And her Talent books, which begin with the Pegasus trilogy (To Ride Pegasus is the first), though you could also start with The Rowan and enter into that world easily. Tamora Pierce is also good. I like her Tortall books best, I think, though the Circle of Magic ones are also good. Again, these are fantasy books. I should know more sci-fi authors. Really, I should. Oh! Orson Scott Card. Even if I've only managed to read his Enderverse books (which I adore), he's a good writer, and he does sci-fi. I'll end up thinking of more later, and might even edit this post to include them. xD
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Post by insanepurpleone on Jan 10, 2010 17:08:32 GMT -5
Ooooo! I believe I shall join this =D I've been quite taken by reading lately. I guess that comes from starving my brain for the past.... uh... 10-12 years xD For now, I'll just list my books. Then I'll sort them later, because the alphabetical list sounds intriguing =D
- Digital Fortress - by Dan Brown (in progress) - Deception Point - by Dan Brown (pending) - Reiffen's Choice - by S.C. Butler (ordered) - Queen Ferris - by S.C. Butler (ordered) - Magician' Daughter, The - by S.C. Butler(pending) - Boneshaker - by Cherie Priest (ordered)
If anyone has suggestions for books in the sci-fi, adventure, horror, suspense, fantasy genre... I'd be happy to get some titles =D Sci-fi, adventure, horror and suspense I know little of. But fantasy ... =D *cracks knuckles* Firstly, The Final Empire. =D It's quite, quite brilliant. Brandon Sanderson's other writing (by which I mean Elantris [AND WARBREAKER OF WHICH I HADN'T HEARD! =D Three cheers for lack of research!], unless you want to get trapped in reading the Wheel of Time xD) is also brilliant, presumably. My personal favourite book is The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. ^__^ The world is complex and believable, there're two systems of magic (both of them awesome), and the protagonist is clever and bold and also believable, with a strong, unique voice, important for a first-person book. Seriously. It's good. I fail at describing books, but there's probably someone here who can recommend it in more glowing terms. Yes! The Name of the Wind is an amazing book. I'm not sure what to say about it that Rikku didn't already, except that I could hardly put it down when I read it. It's also the first in a to-be trilogy, though the next book isn't out yet. As for sci-fi.. I'm a fan of John Scalzi's stuff. The Old Man's War series, which I'm currently re-reading, and The Android's Dream, which is my personal favorite book of his that I've read. He's been compared to Heinlein, particularly in regards to the Old Man's War series. I haven't read much Heinlein, but of what I've read I really like the both of them, and I can definitely see the comparison there. Old Man's War is more military-sf-space-opera sort of thing, I guess. (Um, yes, I am terrible at describing books, why do you ask?) The Android's Dream is similar in some respects (interplanetary political intrigue, oh my!), but it's also more of a humorous book. I tend to expose myself to sci-fi by picking up random books at the used book store, which means some of it is less well-known, but I seem to have some luck at picking out books that end up being very good, once I get around to reading them. (I own far too many books that I mean to read but just don't have the time to - maybe I should work on this for the challenge.. ) The Celestial Steam Locomotive by Michael Coney and The Planet Masters by Allen Wold are two I would recommend.
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Post by sassygirlygirl3792 on Jan 10, 2010 19:52:03 GMT -5
ooo, sounds fun! (I will probably regret saying that before this is over......
If someone could message me and explain how to do a spoiler-until then, my books are
1. The Report Card-Andrew Clements-finished 2. Extra Credit-Andrew Clements-finished 3. The School Story-Andrew Clements-finished 4. Acorna-Anne McCaffrey-not started 5. Acorna's Quest-Anne McCaffrey-not started 6. Acorna's World-Anne McCaffrey-not started 7. Triss-Brian Jacques-not started 8. Goblin Hero-____-not started 9. Goblin ___-______-not started
Any advice on further reading? I enjoy fantasy (Anne McCaffrey, Tamora Pierce...etcetera)
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Post by Chao on Jan 11, 2010 13:10:42 GMT -5
If anyone has suggestions for books in the sci-fi, adventure, horror, suspense, fantasy genre... I'd be happy to get some titles =D Yay, another Dan Brown reader ;D. As for books to recommend, after all the fantasy I'll throw in my favourite Sci-Fi book: Endless Universe by Marion Zimmer BradleyIt's an old book so you might have to look for it at second hand bookshops, but it's one of the books I usually end up reading once per year. It's likely I won't win this due to a very busy schedule in life but I might as well try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. xD However it'll just have to be the basic challenge. ;_; 1: War and PeaceAnd then you start with such a long novel as well . I never managed to read the whole of War and Peace, though as long as my interest lasted I enjoyed the mere language and style of the work.
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Post by M is for Morphine on Jan 11, 2010 13:28:40 GMT -5
Ok, I'm entering the new challenge! After my spectacular fail on the old one! 1. Lost Girls - Alan Moore 2. Baudolino - Umberto Eco 3. Black Hole - Charles Burns 4. Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon 5. The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon 6. Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami 7. The Man in the High Castle - Phillip K Dick 8. Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut 9. Labyrinths - Jorge Luis Borges 10. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 11. Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut 12. Parasite Eve - Hideaki Sena 13. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut 14. Priceless - Robert Wittman 15. A Dead Man's Memoir - Mikhail Bulgakov 16. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood 17. Player Piano - Kurt Vonnegut 18. Mumbo Jumbo - Ishmael Reed 19. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - Phillip K Dick 20. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell- Susanna Clarke 21. The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino 22. Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative by Will Eisner 23. Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud 24. At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien 25. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 26. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 27. The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs 28. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon 29. I Pass Like Night by Jonathan Ames
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