OOC
Hey Servitors, What're ya readin'?
So way back on another forum I frequented, we had a thread for book discussion and recommendation, and obviously, whatever it was we happened to be reading when we posted to it.
Let's see, um.
I just finished (again) Chasing Down the Dawn by Jewel, a collection of journals and a couple essays. Good and insightful, but if you don't like flowery prose, or well, her music, stay away.
I'm working on reading through Brian Daley's Han Solo Adventures (not to be confused with the later Han Solo Trilogy) yet again. Classic Star Wars, they're some of the first books out. Well before Shadows of the Empire. If I had to pick, this trilogy would be my favorite book, ever.
Just started on Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose and 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann. Both are extremely dry and almost boring, but I just started. I hope they get better.
Best thing I've read this year would definitely be Worldmakers, a collection of sci-fi short fiction about terraforming, edited by Gardner Dozois. Some really great writing in the collection, and it kept me up for hours reading. You know, when I wasn't on Warcraft.
I know George R. R. Martin has been suggested to me, but I can't remember: where should I start with him?
Let's see, um.
I just finished (again) Chasing Down the Dawn by Jewel, a collection of journals and a couple essays. Good and insightful, but if you don't like flowery prose, or well, her music, stay away.
I'm working on reading through Brian Daley's Han Solo Adventures (not to be confused with the later Han Solo Trilogy) yet again. Classic Star Wars, they're some of the first books out. Well before Shadows of the Empire. If I had to pick, this trilogy would be my favorite book, ever.
Just started on Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose and 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann. Both are extremely dry and almost boring, but I just started. I hope they get better.
Best thing I've read this year would definitely be Worldmakers, a collection of sci-fi short fiction about terraforming, edited by Gardner Dozois. Some really great writing in the collection, and it kept me up for hours reading. You know, when I wasn't on Warcraft.
I know George R. R. Martin has been suggested to me, but I can't remember: where should I start with him?
Last edited by Jo Silverwright on Mar. 30th, 2011 8:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
I love this series of books myself.
Mercy Thompson Series
http://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/index.shtml#RiverMarked
Urban Fantasy. I really enjoy them.
Mercy Thompson Series
http://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/index.shtml#RiverMarked
Urban Fantasy. I really enjoy them.
"Duty is everything: the greatest of joys and the deepest of sorrows."
Right now, I've got the following books on my kindle:
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
I'm a few chapters into this book, and I have been really enjoying it. The author is basically recording a history of all the sorts of things we take for granted in our own homes: lighting, plumbing, room divisions and even the very concepts of relaxation and comfort. His writing style is pretty funny, but very in-depth and full of detail.
Shinto Norito: a Book of Prayers translated by Ann Llewwllyn
This is a book of prayers from Japan's native Shinto religion. The prayers are recorded in the original Japanese, transliterated into the Roman Alphabet and then translated into English. There are segments on the theology behind the prayers as well.
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
Written by one of my favorite authors, Thud is primarily a story about the ongoing racial tensions between Dwarves and Trolls in Pratchett's Discworld setting. When a group of ultra-traditional and conservative Dwarves move into the city of Ankh-Morpork, the city guard must deal with a rise in violence between the Dwarves and Trolls, with something more sinister gnawing at the situation's roots.
Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier
I'd heard about this book through an interview with the author on National Public Radio. It's about his travels through the frozen, swampy north of Russia, the people he meets and the humor, horror, and wonder he finds. I've yet to start reading this one yet.
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
I'm a few chapters into this book, and I have been really enjoying it. The author is basically recording a history of all the sorts of things we take for granted in our own homes: lighting, plumbing, room divisions and even the very concepts of relaxation and comfort. His writing style is pretty funny, but very in-depth and full of detail.
Shinto Norito: a Book of Prayers translated by Ann Llewwllyn
This is a book of prayers from Japan's native Shinto religion. The prayers are recorded in the original Japanese, transliterated into the Roman Alphabet and then translated into English. There are segments on the theology behind the prayers as well.
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
Written by one of my favorite authors, Thud is primarily a story about the ongoing racial tensions between Dwarves and Trolls in Pratchett's Discworld setting. When a group of ultra-traditional and conservative Dwarves move into the city of Ankh-Morpork, the city guard must deal with a rise in violence between the Dwarves and Trolls, with something more sinister gnawing at the situation's roots.
Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier
I'd heard about this book through an interview with the author on National Public Radio. It's about his travels through the frozen, swampy north of Russia, the people he meets and the humor, horror, and wonder he finds. I've yet to start reading this one yet.
Last edited by Davvi on Mar. 30th, 2011 9:10 pm; edited 2 times in total
Hooboy IDK why we didn't already have this thread because you guys know how I am about muh readinz.
Anyway, this week I read:
-Tales of Ordinary Madness (Charles Bukowski)
-The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)
-Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith)
-The Glass Bead Game (Herman Hesse)
I'm not finished with the Hesse book yet. It's a long-ass read.
Last week I read:
-Wolves of the Calla
-Song of Susannah
-The Dark Tower (all by Stephen King)
-American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century (Kevin Phillips)
Anyway, this week I read:
-Tales of Ordinary Madness (Charles Bukowski)
-The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)
-Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith)
-The Glass Bead Game (Herman Hesse)
I'm not finished with the Hesse book yet. It's a long-ass read.
Last week I read:
-Wolves of the Calla
-Song of Susannah
-The Dark Tower (all by Stephen King)
-American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century (Kevin Phillips)
Quote:
It is strange you have just finished rereading this as I just reread A Night Without Armor this week.
I just finished (again) Chasing Down the Dawn by Jewel, a collection of journals and a couple essays. Good and insightful, but if you don't like flowery prose, or well, her music, stay away.
It is strange you have just finished rereading this as I just reread A Night Without Armor this week.
Quote:
A Game of Thrones is the first book in A Song of Ice and Fire. Start there!
I know George R. R. Martin has been suggested to me, but I can't remember: where should I start with him?
A Game of Thrones is the first book in A Song of Ice and Fire. Start there!
I just re-read Helsreach by Aaaron Dembski-Bowden, a novel following Reclusiarch Grimaldus of the Black Templars in the Third War for Armageddon and Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium, a collections of novels and short stories about a commissar that cares only about saving his own skin (but ends up hero of the day anyway).
I want to get my hands on the books detailing the Tannith First-and-Only, led by Colonel Commissar Ibram Gaunt, because they are all grade A badasses.[/i]
I want to get my hands on the books detailing the Tannith First-and-Only, led by Colonel Commissar Ibram Gaunt, because they are all grade A badasses.[/i]
My reading is pretty light right now; had a two-day/three thousand-page binge a month ago, then re-subscribed to WoW to fill the resulting void. I guess research for Dresden RPG counts: the player book; articles on Oklahoma/OKC locations and history; and now local indigenous religious beliefs (ended up making a reluctant emissary of Coyote). I will probably read the whole series again in a week or two.
Currently re-reading the Toby Daye series (More urban fantasy, Tarnne, you should try 'em) By Seanan Maguire; I just finished Late Eclipses, which is the new one. I also have the new Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man's Fear, but I'm only about thirty pages in; I got it in hardback and it's a big book, which makes it hard to read while walking to work.
I've also picked up China Mieville's The City & The City, but not cracked it yet; that's next after The Wise Man's Fear.
A warning about the Song of Ice and Fire books: They ARE good, but by the third one you will want to take George R. R. Martin out in a dark alley and beat him senseless, because of the horrible, horrible things he does to his characters. Seriously. Also, last I checked he STILL hadn't finished Dance of Dragons, so the whole thing is left hanging. As the joke goes, "Every time someone asks when the next book is coming out, George R. R. Martin kills another Stark."
I've also picked up China Mieville's The City & The City, but not cracked it yet; that's next after The Wise Man's Fear.
A warning about the Song of Ice and Fire books: They ARE good, but by the third one you will want to take George R. R. Martin out in a dark alley and beat him senseless, because of the horrible, horrible things he does to his characters. Seriously. Also, last I checked he STILL hadn't finished Dance of Dragons, so the whole thing is left hanging. As the joke goes, "Every time someone asks when the next book is coming out, George R. R. Martin kills another Stark."
"...Elune preserve me, he is a sword brother. I cannot keep hating him. I cannot do anything else."
Edgthorn wrote:
As good as the Toby Daye books are, Feed (Grant, not Anderson) blows them out of the water. I usually dislike zombie stories, but Maguire pretty much solves my problems with the genre. At one point--if you've read it, you know when--I actually set the book down and cried. And then I kept reading until morning. So good.
Ooh, the sequel comes out on May 31st. I'll be back June 1st.
Currently re-reading the Toby Daye series (More urban fantasy, Tarnne, you should try 'em) By Seanan Maguire;
As good as the Toby Daye books are, Feed (Grant, not Anderson) blows them out of the water. I usually dislike zombie stories, but Maguire pretty much solves my problems with the genre. At one point--if you've read it, you know when--I actually set the book down and cried. And then I kept reading until morning. So good.
Ooh, the sequel comes out on May 31st. I'll be back June 1st.
Wow, this is a fun thread idea! 
Let's see, this semester I've been swamped with books I've been reading for classes so I'll have to list a few of those as well as my "fun reads".
One class I'm taking is called "Great Books" (Amazing class title, haha) and the particular class I'm in is focused on Arthurian Romances. So far we've read a few stories from The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes, and The Lais of Marie de France. We also read Chronicles, a historical-story-type work about the 100 years war written by Froissart. And at the moment we are in the classic British Lit Canterbury Tales by Chaucer.
The Chrétien stories are a series of stories written about King Arthur and his knights, I enjoyed them pretty well. The Lais were really short poems written in middle French and translated to English. Froissart was a bit dry but pretty informative. And Chaucer is just a hoot to read (especially since we're reading the middle English text which is waaaaay fun to read and speak). I enjoy this genre of books because it focuses on knightly honor and courtly love and its kind of neat to see aspects of that literature in today's society in new films, books, and even fantasy games like WoW.
For my fun reading I haven't had much time to pursue lately but I am in the middle of reading the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. I got a gift card to Barnes and Noble for Christmas and got a few more good reads for this summer which include:
-The complete Sherlock Holmes Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
-Seeing by José Saramago (A sequel to his other novel Blindness which I read a few years ago and loved)
-Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Let's see, this semester I've been swamped with books I've been reading for classes so I'll have to list a few of those as well as my "fun reads".
One class I'm taking is called "Great Books" (Amazing class title, haha) and the particular class I'm in is focused on Arthurian Romances. So far we've read a few stories from The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes, and The Lais of Marie de France. We also read Chronicles, a historical-story-type work about the 100 years war written by Froissart. And at the moment we are in the classic British Lit Canterbury Tales by Chaucer.
The Chrétien stories are a series of stories written about King Arthur and his knights, I enjoyed them pretty well. The Lais were really short poems written in middle French and translated to English. Froissart was a bit dry but pretty informative. And Chaucer is just a hoot to read (especially since we're reading the middle English text which is waaaaay fun to read and speak). I enjoy this genre of books because it focuses on knightly honor and courtly love and its kind of neat to see aspects of that literature in today's society in new films, books, and even fantasy games like WoW.
For my fun reading I haven't had much time to pursue lately but I am in the middle of reading the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. I got a gift card to Barnes and Noble for Christmas and got a few more good reads for this summer which include:
-The complete Sherlock Holmes Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
-Seeing by José Saramago (A sequel to his other novel Blindness which I read a few years ago and loved)
-Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Who else has read Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company?
Insofar as urban fantasy goes, where do I start? I usually lean toward the sword-and-board epics when it comes to fantasy. I'd like to get into some new stuff, so can you urban fantasy readers give me some specific starting points?
Insofar as urban fantasy goes, where do I start? I usually lean toward the sword-and-board epics when it comes to fantasy. I'd like to get into some new stuff, so can you urban fantasy readers give me some specific starting points?
Quote:
I have heard good things about this book and will also admit that frequently I delay buying a book or buy it in e-format because I don't want to deal with walking and reading a big tome.
I also have the new Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man's Fear, but I'm only about thirty pages in; I got it in hardback and it's a big book, which makes it hard to read while walking to work.
I have heard good things about this book and will also admit that frequently I delay buying a book or buy it in e-format because I don't want to deal with walking and reading a big tome.
Me me me me me me!
Glen Cook's Chronicles were a major inspiration to me when I was writing In the Hand of the Scourge. Him and Gene Wolfe, man, I honestly think they can do no wrong.
Glen Cook's Chronicles were a major inspiration to me when I was writing In the Hand of the Scourge. Him and Gene Wolfe, man, I honestly think they can do no wrong.
"...Elune preserve me, he is a sword brother. I cannot keep hating him. I cannot do anything else."
This week's picks:
- Dreadfully Ever After, which is the sequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
- Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë
- The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, by Max Brooks (I'm on a zombie kick I guess after playing RDR's Undead Nightmare DLC and getting my unicorn mount
Also:
- Dreadfully Ever After, which is the sequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
- Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë
- The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, by Max Brooks (I'm on a zombie kick I guess after playing RDR's Undead Nightmare DLC and getting my unicorn mount
Also:
Quote:
GIEF. NAO. I go to buy books this weekend and wants halp.
Insofar as urban fantasy goes, where do I start?
GIEF. NAO. I go to buy books this weekend and wants halp.
Audio books count, yes? >.>
I told Mena I'd point her in the direction of a nerdy little lecture series, and here it is: The Modern Scholar: A History of the English Language. Audible carries Modern Scholar lectures on a variety of topics, and out of all the lecturers I've heard I like this guy the best. Feel free to check out his other stuff if you like his style.
(On a tangent, while I have all four parts of his Way with Words series, I think it's worth pointing out that Part II (Approaches to Literature) focuses on literary criticism. I still enjoyed it a lot, but if anyone is looking at these lectures from a writer's perspective this section is the least useful.)
I told Mena I'd point her in the direction of a nerdy little lecture series, and here it is: The Modern Scholar: A History of the English Language. Audible carries Modern Scholar lectures on a variety of topics, and out of all the lecturers I've heard I like this guy the best. Feel free to check out his other stuff if you like his style.
(On a tangent, while I have all four parts of his Way with Words series, I think it's worth pointing out that Part II (Approaches to Literature) focuses on literary criticism. I still enjoyed it a lot, but if anyone is looking at these lectures from a writer's perspective this section is the least useful.)
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