What book are you currently reading?

Kyriakos · Oct 25, 2010, 10:11 AM

Also you can say a few things about it, if you like it, why you chose it etc.

These days i am re-reading Arthur Machen's "The novel of the black seal". I remember that its ending was quite surprising. Also it is worth noting that Machen created few disciples in the literary scene, but a lot of people who copy him in the conspiracy theory world, since many of his stories are about conspiracies. However he himself is quoted to ahve said that he did not believe any of them as true.

I am also reading a collections of shorter stories by Marcel Proust.

_random_ · Oct 25, 2010, 01:40 PM

Don't we have this exact thread in OT?

Kyriakos · Oct 25, 2010, 01:44 PM

There it is simply so as to state the book. Likewise there is a "what are you listening to" thread in OT, doesnt stop threads like that being here.

_random_ · Oct 25, 2010, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyriakos

There it is simply so as to state the book. Likewise there is a "what are you listening to" thread in OT, doesnt stop threads like that being here.

Threads here are focused on the discussion of specific types of music though.

Ajidica · Oct 25, 2010, 02:54 PM

James Blish, Cities in Flight. The Omnibus collection, so to be technical I am reading Triumph of Time.
It is a slog. Book two and three are the best. One and four take forever and are dull.

scherbchen · Oct 25, 2010, 06:31 PM

have recently begun to re-read the Perry Rhodan series due to getting an iPad. started reading it when I was about 12ish and they were reissuing the first novelettes in book form, stopped when I turned 14 and started to care about other things.

it is everything you think a camp old German sci-fi saga ought to be that started 50 years ago. bad. clicheed. horribly overstereotyped characters. it is not very good by today's standards. it is pulp. except for the very few bits inbetween which are original and the few moments of awesome.

holy king · Oct 26, 2010, 05:34 AM

siddharta by hesse.

beautifully written, though i couldnt care less for the enlightenment crap.

Love · Oct 26, 2010, 02:16 PM

I'm re-reading the hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy. Rave!

SuperJay · Nov 05, 2010, 01:48 PM

I just finished Steig Larsson's "The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo" trilogy. I kept hearing about that book over and over and over, and finally it was recommended to me by a friend and I picked up the first one, got hooked, and finished it in two days. The second and third books I burned through by the end of that week. Larsson may not write the most expressive prose, but my god can he hook you in and keep you reading. If you like (somewhat) complex tales of intrigue and mystery, I recommend them. These are dangerous books to read before bed, though - you're likely to find yourself awake at 3:00am, unable to put them down.

Currently reading "The Ghost Wars" by Hampton Sides - a history book about the U.S. Army Rangers mission to liberate POWs from a Japanese prison camp in the Phillipines in WWII.

StittsvilleJame · Nov 05, 2010, 07:17 PM

I picked up "Towers of Midnight' the other day, by Robert Jordan / Brandon Sanderson.
It's book 13 in the Wheel of Time series, and they're, for the most part, fantastic.

They're very tolkien-esque, but with a way larger cast.

It's the second last book, and the second to be written by Brandon Sanderson. The original author passed away after writing the first 11 books, but left enough notes to finish up the story.

It was only supposed to be 1 book originally, but 3 is much better.

I highly recommend the series for fantasy fans (who probably already know about it) and for people mildly interested in the genre, just be prepared for a lot of characters, doing a lot of things.

Plotinus · Nov 07, 2010, 03:11 AM

I read the first Wheel of time book a while ago, and while it was competent, I found it too derivative to enjoy. ~~Hobbits~~ Farm boys running from ~~orcs~~ trollocs and ~~Nazgul~~ Myrddraal. They even met up with other characters in an inn. There just didn't seem to be much there to hold the interest.

I have been reading Terry Goodkind's Sword of truth series which I'm finding extremely good - I think the best "high fantasy" series I've read (with the possible exception of Weiss and Hickman's Deathgate cycle). It's very well written and also strikingly original - containing many common fantasy tropes but somehow handled in a fresh and interesting way.

I was reading one of Michael Dibdin's Inspector Zen books but I seem to have given up halfway through as it feels too much like hard work. (I have to say I find it difficult remembering all these Italian names and who's who.) Now I'm rereading Robert Harris' Imperium, a novelisation of the life of Cicero, which like all his books is tremendous fun. I just acquired the sequel so I'm reading this one again before starting on that.

Kyriakos · Nov 07, 2010, 04:26 AM

I am now re-reading The Kreutzer Sonata, by Tolstoy.
Originally i had read it when i was 17, but by now i almost forgot all about it. Seems to be a very passionate piece of work.

Till · Nov 07, 2010, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plotinus

I have been reading Terry Goodkind's Sword of truth series which I'm finding extremely good - I think the best "high fantasy" series I've read (with the possible exception of Weiss and Hickman's Deathgate cycle). It's very well written and also strikingly original - containing many common fantasy tropes but somehow handled in a fresh and interesting way.

I read that the series eventually becomes dominated by objectivistic thought and heavily rips off Ayn Rand. Have you noticed any of that? It's the main thing that kept me from picking it up in the past.

SuperJay · Nov 07, 2010, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StittsvilleJame

[Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books are] very tolkien-esque, but with a way larger cast.

*head explodes*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plotinus

I read the first Wheel of time book a while ago, and while it was competent, I found it too derivative to enjoy. ~~Hobbits~~ Farm boys running from ~~orcs~~ trollocs and ~~Nazgul~~ Myrddraal. They even met up with other characters in an inn. There just didn't seem to be much there to hold the interest.

Agreed. Take the base tale from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, stir in a liberal amount of Frank Herbert's Dune novels, add a dash of Star Wars and then append a few thousand pages of unnecessary detail about how the women in the city of Tear lace their boots during the gibbous phase of the moon in wintertime, and you've got the Wheel of Time saga.

I'm half-kidding. I read the first 8 books, and found them decently enjoyable but not at all original. The characters are generally devoid of nuance and are fairly cardboard, too. And my god did Jordan need a better editor.

For some decent 'high fantasy,' I recommend George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series.

Aysee · Nov 08, 2010, 10:06 PM

Complete agreement with the above poster. Been reading that series for the past two weeks; they're engrossing, captivating, a stunning deconstruction of the entire heroic fantasy genre. I'm halfway through A Feast For Crows, and while I find it somewhat lacking compared to the first three, it's still an immensely enjoyable read.

Plotinus · Nov 09, 2010, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Till

I read that the series eventually becomes dominated by objectivistic thought and heavily rips off Ayn Rand. Have you noticed any of that? It's the main thing that kept me from picking it up in the past.

I know nothing about Ayn Rand so I can't say, but having got through the first three books, I haven't noticed any weird "isms" creeping in.

downtown · Nov 09, 2010, 08:49 AM

David McCullough's John Adams biography

Darkness · Nov 09, 2010, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperJay

For some decent 'high fantasy,' I recommend George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series.

I would too, if Martin would ever get around to finishing it...

Book 1 - 1996
Book 2 - 1998
Book 3 - 2000
Book 4 - 2005
Book 5 - 20??

And the series is planned to be 7 books, so who knows in which decade we can expect the end of the series...

SuperJay · Nov 09, 2010, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkness

I would too, if Martin would ever get around to finishing it...

Book 1 - 1996
Book 2 - 1998
Book 3 - 2000
Book 4 - 2005
Book 5 - 20??

And the series is planned to be 7 books, so who knows in which decade we can expect the end of the series...

I know, it's agonizing. I haven't been following his website to see if there are any ETAs for Book 5 (because if I did it would drive me mad, MAD I say!) but it'd be just dandy if we saw it sometime soon. Cuz yeah, 2 more to go... which is 10+ years at this rate, and George ain't exactly a spring chicken.

And now there's that whole HBO series in development that's based on the books, but hey, how is that show gonna end eh? Eh??

Aysee · Nov 09, 2010, 07:57 PM

Yup, especially how for a while the release date kept on being announced...And then pushed back.

Very ironic when you realize that at the end of Book 4, he mentions planning on finishing 5 in a year...

Now it has been 5 years... and counting. But the HBO series looks interesting.

Oct 25, 2010, 10:11 AM	#1
Kyriakos Writer Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Thessalonike, Greece Posts: 20,500	What book are you currently reading? Also you can say a few things about it, if you like it, why you chose it etc. These days i am re-reading Arthur Machen's "The novel of the black seal". I remember that its ending was quite surprising. Also it is worth noting that Machen created few disciples in the literary scene, but a lot of people who copy him in the conspiracy theory world, since many of his stories are about conspiracies. However he himself is quoted to ahve said that he did not believe any of them as true. I am also reading a collections of shorter stories by Marcel Proust. __________________ βῆ δ᾿ ἀκέων παρὰ θῖνα πολυφλοίσϐοιο θαλάσσης· (he walked silently on the edge of the loudly heard wave-breaking sea) Iliad A:34 CivIII my graphics library 28x 1x Decade Award

Oct 25, 2010, 01:40 PM	#2
_random_ The Original Party Worm Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wormulon Posts: 5,741 Images: 1	Don't we have this exact thread in OT? __________________ Come party in #fiftychat! [185311] <@Mars> I have never fondled a moose. [185314] <@Mars> I did not plan this well.

Oct 25, 2010, 01:44 PM	#3
Kyriakos Writer Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Thessalonike, Greece Posts: 20,500	There it is simply so as to state the book. Likewise there is a "what are you listening to" thread in OT, doesnt stop threads like that being here. __________________ βῆ δ᾿ ἀκέων παρὰ θῖνα πολυφλοίσϐοιο θαλάσσης· (he walked silently on the edge of the loudly heard wave-breaking sea) Iliad A:34 CivIII my graphics library 28x 1x Decade Award

Oct 25, 2010, 02:54 PM	#5
Ajidica Mephistophel Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bellinzona Posts: 14,444	James Blish, Cities in Flight. The Omnibus collection, so to be technical I am reading Triumph of Time. It is a slog. Book two and three are the best. One and four take forever and are dull. __________________ One thing we are good at in English is having words for ways to die.-Neil deGrasse Tyson, on 'spaghettification' Looking at the poster again, I also like the way that the baby is cocking its head and looking away from the doctor, as if to show that this not merely a skeletal Moai-baby, it's a particularly aloof and disinterested skeletal Moai-baby.-Traitorfish

Oct 25, 2010, 06:31 PM	#6
scherbchen well that can´t be good Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 3,420	have recently begun to re-read the Perry Rhodan series due to getting an iPad. started reading it when I was about 12ish and they were reissuing the first novelettes in book form, stopped when I turned 14 and started to care about other things. it is everything you think a camp old German sci-fi saga ought to be that started 50 years ago. bad. clicheed. horribly overstereotyped characters. it is not very good by today's standards. it is pulp. except for the very few bits inbetween which are original and the few moments of awesome. __________________ "I am the thing monsters have nightmares about..." - Buffy Summers

Oct 26, 2010, 05:34 AM	#7
holy king Pervert bunker inhabitant Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 16,369	siddharta by hesse. beautifully written, though i couldnt care less for the enlightenment crap.

Oct 26, 2010, 02:16 PM	#8
Love <3 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: On the island of fun! Posts: 4,552	I'm re-reading the hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy. Rave! __________________ HEJ!

Nov 05, 2010, 01:48 PM	#9
SuperJay Bending Space and Time Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Shacklyn Posts: 3,269	I just finished Steig Larsson's "The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo" trilogy. I kept hearing about that book over and over and over, and finally it was recommended to me by a friend and I picked up the first one, got hooked, and finished it in two days. The second and third books I burned through by the end of that week. Larsson may not write the most expressive prose, but my god can he hook you in and keep you reading. If you like (somewhat) complex tales of intrigue and mystery, I recommend them. These are dangerous books to read before bed, though - you're likely to find yourself awake at 3:00am, unable to put them down. Currently reading "The Ghost Wars" by Hampton Sides - a history book about the U.S. Army Rangers mission to liberate POWs from a Japanese prison camp in the Phillipines in WWII. __________________ The sullen wings of fortune beat like rain You're back in Terrapin for good or ill again For good or ill again... -- "At a Siding," from Terrapin Station, Part 1 by Robert Hunter

Nov 05, 2010, 07:17 PM	#10
StittsvilleJame Warlord Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ottawa Posts: 252	I picked up "Towers of Midnight' the other day, by Robert Jordan / Brandon Sanderson. It's book 13 in the Wheel of Time series, and they're, for the most part, fantastic. They're very tolkien-esque, but with a way larger cast. It's the second last book, and the second to be written by Brandon Sanderson. The original author passed away after writing the first 11 books, but left enough notes to finish up the story. It was only supposed to be 1 book originally, but 3 is much better. I highly recommend the series for fantasy fans (who probably already know about it) and for people mildly interested in the genre, just be prepared for a lot of characters, doing a lot of things. __________________ "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. " ~ Sir Winston Churchill

Nov 07, 2010, 03:11 AM	#11
Plotinus Philosopher Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: London Posts: 14,883	I read the first Wheel of time book a while ago, and while it was competent, I found it too derivative to enjoy. ~~Hobbits~~ Farm boys running from ~~orcs~~ trollocs and ~~Nazgul~~ Myrddraal. They even met up with other characters in an inn. There just didn't seem to be much there to hold the interest. I have been reading Terry Goodkind's Sword of truth series which I'm finding extremely good - I think the best "high fantasy" series I've read (with the possible exception of Weiss and Hickman's Deathgate cycle). It's very well written and also strikingly original - containing many common fantasy tropes but somehow handled in a fresh and interesting way. I was reading one of Michael Dibdin's Inspector Zen books but I seem to have given up halfway through as it feels too much like hard work. (I have to say I find it difficult remembering all these Italian names and who's who.) Now I'm rereading Robert Harris' Imperium, a novelisation of the life of Cicero, which like all his books is tremendous fun. I just acquired the sequel so I'm reading this one again before starting on that. __________________ Try the Anglo-Saxon scenario... Or can you build an empire of Africa? A list of units. Sensible religion discussion. Please read: the truth about children brought up by gay couples.

Nov 07, 2010, 04:26 AM	#12
Kyriakos Writer Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Thessalonike, Greece Posts: 20,500	I am now re-reading The Kreutzer Sonata, by Tolstoy. Originally i had read it when i was 17, but by now i almost forgot all about it. Seems to be a very passionate piece of work. __________________ βῆ δ᾿ ἀκέων παρὰ θῖνα πολυφλοίσϐοιο θαλάσσης· (he walked silently on the edge of the loudly heard wave-breaking sea) Iliad A:34 CivIII my graphics library 28x 1x Decade Award

Nov 08, 2010, 10:06 PM	#15
Aysee Winter is Coming Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 996	Complete agreement with the above poster. Been reading that series for the past two weeks; they're engrossing, captivating, a stunning deconstruction of the entire heroic fantasy genre. I'm halfway through A Feast For Crows, and while I find it somewhat lacking compared to the first three, it's still an immensely enjoyable read. __________________ "Regimes rise and fall. I do not" —Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

Nov 09, 2010, 08:49 AM	#17
downtown Rosy-Cheeked Assassin Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sweet Home Chicago Posts: 17,798	David McCullough's John Adams biography

Nov 09, 2010, 07:57 PM	#20
Aysee Winter is Coming Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 996	Yup, especially how for a while the release date kept on being announced...And then pushed back. Very ironic when you realize that at the end of Book 4, he mentions planning on finishing 5 in a year... Now it has been 5 years... and counting. But the HBO series looks interesting. __________________ "Regimes rise and fall. I do not" —Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

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