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Post by Head Mutant on Jan 29, 2006 12:32:11 GMT -5
Just because I've been dying to talk about some books, and I don't want to have to dig through old threads to find something to tack it on to.
Lately, I've had less time for reading than usual, which is slightly depressing. Typically, I have about four or five books that I read at a time, one situated in each of my "reading locales". My current reads are:
* Bathroom Book, "Abarat" by Clive Barker. Bathroom books need to be able to be read in short (5 min at a time) chunks or so, and this weighty children's tome is perfect for that sort of thing. It's a great, interesting romp into a bizarre fantasy world, but I absolutely love how Barker also provides page after page of lush, colorful pictures that he himself painted. I don't know what age authors assumed was okay to stop putting pictures in books, but I'm of a firm belief that even adults need them. Yes, the words form pictures in our mind, and all that... but pictures are cool. They connect the story in with us in such memorable ways, and many of my childhood classics are beloved simply for this fact. I appreciate how Stephen King included artwork in with his Dark Tower books (the bigger versions, not the little paperbacks... although those sometimes had B&W drawings).
* Work Book, "Dangerous Wonder" and "A Walk With Jesus". I have a ton of books at work that I need to read through, and these two are absolute joys to explore. "Dangerous Wonder" is by the author of my all-time favorite Christian book, "Messy Spirituality", and in this book he explores the wild and wooly side of faith, harkening us back to our childhood days when life used to be about adventure, fun, endless possibilities and excitement -- elements that we should still have in our faith. "A Walk With Jesus" is the author's section-by-section commentary through the book of Luke, which is more interesting than most because he goes out of his way to paint a full and vivid portrait of the times and context that Luke was written in. There were so many things that the author took for granted that readers would understand when that gospel was written, that over time has been lost or misunderstood, and it's great to discover them.
Car Book (if I duck into a restaurant or something), "A Feast For Crows". George R.R. Martin's fourth Song of Ice and Fire novel, one which I've been anticipating for so long, and now that I have it, I'm very very slowly digesting it. I think I partially don't want it to end before the next book comes out, but I'm also very wary against who he's going to kill off and what's going to happen to some of my favorite characters.
Bedside Book, "Lord Valentine's Castle". My wife found this with an enormous book lot that she bought for our eBay business, and it looked interesting enough to read. So far, it's an interesting adventure through a fantasy world with some unexplained scifi elements. I know it's a series, so we'll see if it's worth reading past book one.
Upcoming Books:
* Stephen King's "The Cell"
* The third book in Lois McMaster Bujold's fantasy series, "The Hallowed Hunt" or something like that
* A couple series by David Eddings
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Post by Spiderdancer on Jan 29, 2006 20:40:16 GMT -5
Yay! Another forum topic about books!
Now:
Fiction: "The Truth" by Terry Pratchett, for about the fourth time. Seriously, if you haven't read him, do. Heck, what am I saying? I hate people who say things like that. Especially because they're usually talking about someone like Danielle Steele or some book like "The Da Vinci Code."
Nonfiction: "The Mismeasure of Man" by Stephen Jay Gould. An excellent argument against biological determinism from one of our foremost evolutionary biologists and philosophers. A little heavy reading, but still very interesting. (And this is coming from someone whose belief system is consistently ridiculed by Mr. Gould.)
Bathroom/bedtime: "Dave Barry's Guide to Life." Humor of a type that has heavily influenced my writing style, I'm afraid. Bought it yesterday at a used bookstore with cats in it.
Studying: "How to Prepare for the MCAT" from the Barron's review series. An excellent resource and it helped me get my 32O score last time. Hoping to improve this time now that my score has expired. Also, it strikes me that "glycocalix" is a wonderful word. Also "subclavian."
Soon: "The Worm Ouroboros," by E.E. Eddison? Eddington? I'd never heard of him before, but I'd heard of this title and I was curious when it found it in that same book store.
"Going Postal," as soon as I finish "The Truth." Pratchett's latest. This will be my third time reading it.
In ten years: "A Ten Year Retrospective on Super Bown XL: It Didn't Matter Then, Either".
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Doctor Teeth
Boomstick Coordinator
The Doctor will see you now.
Posts: 67
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Post by Doctor Teeth on Jan 31, 2006 15:08:52 GMT -5
What I'm reading right now: Fiction: The Alienist - Caleb Carr. A suspense story about a serial killer in 1890s New York City. Features Theodore Roosevelt as a main character. I'm only about 50 pages into the book, but it's really good. Non-Fiction: Monster of God - David Quammen. A book about "alpha predators": lions, tigers, bears (polar and brown), crocodiles, and more. A story about the animals' history and biology as well as how they have affected the cultures of the humans who had to co-exist with them. Fantastic so far. Comics: Hellblazer. Mystery writer Denise Mina has just become the first female writer on the title, and I decided to re-visit my tradess and back issues to re-evaluate what other writers had tone to / with the character so far. Coming Soon: - Very Good, Jeeves - P.D. Wodehouse. Marrying into a Anglophile family has its advantages, and getting my hands on the Wodehouse novels is a big one.
- Exiles. My upstairs roommate is getting caught up on his trade paperback collections, and I get second dibs! Woot!
- The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho. I really disliked this book the first time I read it, but book club's reading it on Sunday, so I guess I'll give it another shot...
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Doctor Teeth
Boomstick Coordinator
The Doctor will see you now.
Posts: 67
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Post by Doctor Teeth on Jan 31, 2006 15:14:41 GMT -5
One more thing. Shalen, I've never read the "Guide to Life", but I own the "Guide to Guys", and I tell you truly: that book holds a very special place in my collection. It's not a classic or anything, but it's a great book to give to a girl who's complaining about her boyfriend - I've had to re-buy it twice. How's the "Guide to Life"?
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Jan 31, 2006 18:19:01 GMT -5
Car Book (if I duck into a restaurant or something), "A Feast For Crows". George R.R. Martin's fourth Song of Ice and Fire novel, one which I've been anticipating for so long, and now that I have it, I'm very very slowly digesting it. I think I partially don't want it to end before the next book comes out, but I'm also very wary against who he's going to kill off and what's going to happen to some of my favorite characters. I'm currently halfway through the first book of the series, Game of Thrones. I haven;t had as many chances to read it as I'd like, but its loads of fun. I'd be reading it more often, but I've been busy with school, and I'm also reading When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops by George Carlin. I don't like reading more than one book at a time, so I've decided to finish the George Carlin book (I'm almost done, and it's a faster read) before I keep reading Game of Thrones. I've also put several books on hold at the library, which is probably unwise since I still have to finish two books, but guess if I care. The books I put on hold are: - The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller - KISS: Behind the Mask by David Leaf - The league of extraordinary gentlemen by Alan Moore - Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison - Black Hole by Charles Burns - Dirty Jokes and Beer by Drew Carey - A Dame to Kill For by Frank Miller - Animal Farm by George Orwell - Good Omens by Neil Gainman and Terry Pratchett - Killing Joke by Alan Moore - The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa - The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis - The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch by Neil Gaiman - Why Are You Doing This by Jason |
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Post by Spiderdancer on Jan 31, 2006 18:19:25 GMT -5
Doctor Teeth -
It's a hardback volume which contains "Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex," "Babies and other Hazards of Sex," "Stay Fit and Healthy Until You're Dead," and "Claw Your Way to the Top."
It was written mostly in the 80s, but much of it is still both apt and hilarious. "Claw...top" is particularly hilarious despite being thematically similar to Scott Adams' work. It's less bitter, at least. You CAN be bitter and be funny (at least I hope so, see my next feature when it comes up), but Dave has this "Ha ha! Wheeee!" feel to his writing that's hard to beat when you just want something to laugh at.
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Post by Ms. Jellybean on Feb 3, 2006 19:25:20 GMT -5
What ticks me off is that my current reading list is completely dictated by my AP Literature & Composition class. Let's just say I have a huge research paper... "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin (current in-class book) "Le Morte D'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory "The Once and Future King" by T.H. White "The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley (re-reading) "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" J.R.R. Tolkien translation All of the Arthurian stuff is for my research paper. How does this topic sound: Examine the role of women in the King Arthur legend from both the traditional (White, Malory, Tolkien) viewpoints and feminist (Bradley) viewpoints. I came up with that myself. Sorry to deviate there...  |
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Post by ravenlynne1 on Feb 27, 2006 10:54:54 GMT -5
Excellent read.
My currents are :
A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin (2nd in A Song of Fire and Ice)
Mary Called Magdalene by Margaret George (Just because it looked interesting...it's not.)
Coming up
Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan (although I might skip it...I'm fraking sick of Jordan)
The rest of the Martin stuff
Whatever looks good at the bookstore...
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Post by Magill on Mar 7, 2006 18:05:42 GMT -5
Ms. Jellybean, I also read The Awakening for my Lit and Comp class. I enjoyed it and referenced it on the AP exam, but that may have been because we read it near the end of the year and it was fresh on my mind. I'd also be interested in your paper--I ranted about reading The Once and Future King here. My reading has been on hold because I'm supposed to be making a baby blanket for a friend. I had a couple books checked out that I had to return. One was one of Colleen McCullough's Rome books (I enjoyed HBO's Rome series and had already read I, Claudius. Others on my must-read list include: - Plains Woman: The Diary of Martha Farnsworth 1882-1922- The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli - Friday Night Lights- The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins - The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan I want to read several biographies that have come out recently--Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Lincoln. I also want to read Ulysses Grant's memoirs.
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Post by Ms. Jellybean on Mar 7, 2006 19:28:53 GMT -5
I read your ranting, Magill, and I must say... OAFK hasn't done much for me, either. The Awakening was similar, sadly.
So, new addition to reading list: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. If you haven't read it, you should. And I'll say this - read it carefully. You'll pick up on constant themes and symbols that aren't obvious, and it's really cool to make those connections. The novel is basically about self-journey and the continuing relations between black and white. A good way to think when you start the book is the way my oft-crazy but perpetually right English teacher put it: "If you told Ralph Ellison that he was a good black author, he'd be offended. He would rather you call him a good author who happened to be black."
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Post by Al on Mar 7, 2006 20:53:53 GMT -5
Invisible Man is excellent, horrifying stuff. I believe it's the only novel Ellison ever wrote, too. Not that I blame him; I mean, there's really nowhere to go from there but down.
Right now, I'm reading The Colorado Kid, Stephen King's recent foray into Hammett-style noir mystery. It's interesting and fun, if not terribly gripping (it's not often I'll find a King story under 200 pages that I don't peel off in a day).
I just finished Saturday Morning Fever, by Timothy & Kevin Burke, which is a funny and informative, and thankfully not too deep or pretentious, retrospective on saturday morning cartoons for those of us born in the seventies and early eighties. But rather than focusing solely on the 'toons themselves, they go into the struggles that emerged between animators, tv companies, and interest groups and how it evolved the medium between the sixties, seventies, and eighties. It was written around 1996, so it's a bit out of date, but good fun for anyone who remembers Goober and the Ghost Chasers or The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan.
Next up, I think:
Jarhead - Anthony Swofford
The Princess Bride - William Goldman
Kiss and Make Up - Gene Simmons
Plus one I just bought and knew I couldn't pass up:
Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren't as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures From the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and One Other Story We Couldn't Quite Finish, So Maybe You Could Help Us Out. - stories by Nick Horby, Neil Gaiman, Jon Scieszka, Jonathan Safran Foer, and more (with an introduction & almost half a story by Lemony Snickett)
Al
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Post by blinkfan on Apr 12, 2006 21:52:13 GMT -5
I have been going through a all Stephen King phase. My Ultimate Goal is to read all of them and see the movies. I already conquered Carrie and Christine and right now I'm tackling PET SEMATARY
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Post by sarahbot on Apr 14, 2006 13:54:32 GMT -5
I've read couple of Stephen Kings and I'm sad to say nothing matches The Stand. I think it's the ideal vacation book - engrossing and thick as a brick.
Al, Princess Bride is fantastic. I think the book and movie act perfectly as companions - since Goldman wrote the movie too, you get all the long backstory and expensive stuff they couldn't film, but the movie still has the marvelous wit. (Although I do rather wish Buttercup's lack of intelligence had been clearer in the movie, since I think it's one of the funniest things in the book.)
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Post by Al on Apr 14, 2006 20:40:53 GMT -5
I finished it not so long ago and I agree it was quite excellent. I also enjoyed Buttercup's simplicity - the fact that she named her horse 'Horse' is, to me (for some reason), one of the funniest things in the book. However, I admit to being a little disappointed at just how similar the novel and movie were. A lot of stuff I gave credit to Rob Reiner or the actors for, like Peter Cook's Impressive Clergyman (Mahwidge!), I was surprised to find in the novel exactly as they protrayed it onscreen. Still, good stuff.
Al
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Post by Head Mutant on Apr 19, 2006 8:00:16 GMT -5
I need to re-read The Princess Bride soon... great stuff.
I splurged on a few books last weekend, and I'm pleased with my purchases:
GILEAD - My brother, a pastor and now-avid reader (although he really didn't read ANYTHING as a teen), gave this one of his "best books I've ever read, period" recommendations, and I'd have to agree. It's a Pulitzer-prize winning novel that's a true joy and delight to read. Gilead is basically a long letter written by an old pastor who has remarried within the past ten years and has a young son. Since the man is dying, he knows his son will never really know him (or just remember him as this old guy), so he decides to write this letter showing his son about his entire life. It's sort of a biography (fictional, although it seems real) and sort of a series of observations on life, on faith and on relationships. Really good, insightful stuff.
MAGIC TIME - This is the first book of a series (3 books so far I think) that is a bit like The Stand in a way. The premise is that one day, government scientists accidentally unleash a wave of magic on the world that shuts down our modern technology and throws us into a new and weird dark age, where magic and fantastic creatures suddenly exist along side of the rest of us. So far, it's a good read.
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