Author Topic: So...what's everyone reading?  (Read 38042 times)

Mr_Pleasington

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So...what's everyone reading?
« on: October 28, 2002, 12:16:53 AM »
Pretty quiet in here of late.  Thought I'd spark some interest to see what you all have been reading of late.

Here's my list:

1) If Chins Could Talk: Bruce Campbell.   My personal hero writes one of the most entertaining books I've read in years.  Not thought provoking, but certainly a lot of fun and a great look at low-budget movie production.  I churned through this baby in one sitting.

2)Lovecraft.  Autumn just feels like the right time to read from his classics, especially with Halloween right around the corner.

3)I Am Legend: Richard Matheson.  I finally got to cross this off of me "To be read" list.  A great story that provokes a good amount of thought.

That's about it right now.  I'm thinking of picking up Ender's Game sometime soon as it's another one on my "To be read" list.

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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2002, 12:20:23 PM »
I just picked up "Zen and the Art of Motercycle Maintenence" a couple weeks ago. It had been on my to-read list for a long time, since I'd had SO many people recommend it to me. Now I see why. The book is truly amazing. Personally, I think it should be required reading for the entire human race.
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Lord_of_Me

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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #2 on: October 28, 2002, 01:44:06 PM »
I'm reading the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Mission Gamma books. I wonder if they'll make a new series?

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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #3 on: October 28, 2002, 02:43:04 PM »
I've just started Tom Clancy's latest "Red Rabbit."  Too soon to tell how good it will be, but I think it's funny that Clancy has had to go back in time to write more Jack Ryan books - none of his others sold nearly as well.

And, similar to Tage's, I just read The Magic of Conflict by Thomas Crum.  It's practical philosophy extracted from Aikido.  Very interesting stuff.
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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #4 on: October 28, 2002, 04:52:53 PM »
well, i just finished reading the latest robin hobb book. and sometime im gonna start Albert Speer's biography. he was the guy in charge of the nazi armaments. fascinating book, from what ive heard - the guy wrote it while doing 20 years (21 precisely) in spandu.
oh and i keep on reading lovecrafts work every so often. it needs a certain mood. i use the website below : has all of his work absolutely free. there is no copyright on it BTW.
The H.P. Lovecraft online library
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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #5 on: October 28, 2002, 10:00:14 PM »
I'm reading The Little Friend by Donna Trott.  It's about a 12-year-old girl in 1970's Mississippi who wants to take revenge on the guy she thinks killed her brother when she was only a baby.  The writing is good, and each character has his or her own voice, but the plot seems to be meandering.  I actually find myself having more sympathy for the evil redneck criminal family than for the spoiled, abrasive little girl trying to gain her revenge on them.
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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #6 on: November 04, 2002, 01:45:18 AM »
I've got about four books going at once right now. I'm trying to plan my trip to Scotland, so I've got guidebooks, which I wouldn't put in as recommended reading unless you are going to Scotland, but the rest are interesting to a more general audience.  ;D Just finished Sorceress, which is the sequel to Witch Child by Celia Rees, an interesting book about an English girl who flees the English civil war witch burnings only to land in among Puritans. The first book was great, the second book got tedious. And then the author broke faith with her readers--this good, faithful character throughout the whole book suddenly does something completely out of character. I was disgusted and disappointed. Yeah, it might happen in real life, but come on.

I'm also reading Sabriel by Garth Nix--again. I read them last year when we got a review copy at TLE of Lirael, which is the second book in the series--can't review the 2nd if I haven't read the first, I figured. Never did finish writing the review--but it was a pretty interesting book. Not the best, but good. I just found it in paperback, so I'm reading it again because I can't remember quite what happened.

And I have a couple on the shelf that I'll get to when I'm done with these. And I'm waiting for a few books to come in the mail on Scottish culture throughout history--I'm trying to retell a Scottish folktale, so maybe I should understand more about where the tale comes from. Hence the trip to Scotland. At least, that's my excuse.  ;)

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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2002, 11:38:11 AM »
I agree with you on Witch Child, but I still liked the book a lot.  I haven't even seen Sorceress yet, but if it is out I will pick it up.  I understand it doesn't follow the same character as Witch Child, but is still supposed to be a sequel.  Would you rate it as better or worse that the first book?
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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #8 on: November 13, 2002, 12:28:04 AM »
I'm reading 100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and I just finished Game of Thrones and intend to read Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb, next.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2002, 12:28:20 AM by EUOL »
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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2002, 01:17:59 AM »
umm I'm reading Suikoden 3 and just finished Kingdom hearts. ;D
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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #10 on: November 13, 2002, 03:18:59 AM »
I have just started the Two Towers, just in time to have it down pat before the movie.  Hoody-hoo!!
"If you're going to shoot, then shoot; don't talk!"  -Tuco: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #11 on: November 13, 2002, 12:14:44 PM »
I reread the entire LOTR trilogy (for about the 10th time) the summer before Fellowship came out.  I don't want to read any of them too close to a movie release date because then I'll pick up on all the subtle (and blatant) changes, and that would bug me.

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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #12 on: November 13, 2002, 01:12:25 PM »
That's what happened to my wife--she finished Fellowship about an half an hour before we went to the theater, and spent the whole movie pointing out all the inconsistencies. She's very excited for the special addition and the extra footage (especially the Lorien stuff).
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Slant

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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #13 on: November 13, 2002, 04:37:22 PM »
I actually went into the first movie not expecting it to be close to the books at all, and so I was very happily surprised by how consistent it actually WAS.  Peter Jackson did make changes, but the changes helped with the flow of the film.

Oh, and if you really want to see the extended version dvd, by all means go and buy it.  It is worth the price.
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Re: So...what's everyone reading?
« Reply #14 on: December 04, 2002, 12:38:14 AM »
I hadn't been reading much until Thanksgiving break, but my brother and I frequently use books to help us travel more easily on the roads and we did a lot of traveling on our way to Canada and back.

We started our selection this time with Starship Troopers. I'm not sure if I'd ever read Heinlein before or not, but his work was surprisingly good. Contrary to the nature of the cartoon show or (so says my brother) the recent movie, the book had almost nothing to do with the war against the Bugs. Any conflict in the story was really just a sideboard to bounce Heinlein's philosophy off, and I found it a very enjoyable read due to that. The only real bone I have to pick with his ideas was his assertion that everything worthy that humans do is based off their primitive survival instinct, an argument very similar to the one more common today that everything people do is selfish. While those ideas are hard to argue against and I'm not well-equipped enough to do so (we aren't taught much about that sort of thing in the CS department) I reject both concepts. Everything else, however, was insightful if not completely accurate. Anyway, we finished that one off. If anyone wants to borrow it, I'll try to get it back from my brother. It's probably still in his girlfriend's car.

After that we started reading Endgame, a new Battletech novel, but I haven't found anyone on the forum who has any experience with those, so there's not much to comment on. I'm curious to see how much they try to wrap up the entire storyline, however, in response to the totally revised Heroclix universe. It's difficult to see how they could just up and stop all the story threads they've built up to this point, but if they don't, the Battletech universe is going to have serious consistency issues soon.
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