My current reading list

[ronzo]

Currently I'm reading Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. It's quite well written and very sarcastic. I love it.

I have every one of the Y: The Last Man series, and I love every last page. It's wonderful. It has a premise similar to The Stand but with a gendercide twist. The writing is fantastic; the book does a wonderful job of keeping a post-apocalyptic world entertaining and funny while being (seemingly) realistic.

Be warned, though, that the series does not shy away from profanity and adult themes (including occasional nudity), so if that sort of thing bothers you, don't read it.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the artwork (usually secondary to my enjoyment of a comic unless it's atrocious). The art is great. The people all look believable, and everything really just looks beautiful.

Final thoughts: Yay for Ampersand the monkey!

[DTH]

ronzo said:

Currently I'm reading Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. It's quite well written and very sarcastic. I love it.

I tried to read that. My real name is Dorian (Dorian Thomas Hawkins = DTH) and found it hard because the lead character is actually a jerk

It weirded me out, so I stopped reading it.

[Head Mutant]

dth said:

I've heard awesomely good things about Y: the Last Man.

No doubt Kyle or Drew will have something to say on that too?

The reason I read it is because Drew mentioned it in one of his articles about comics he wished were made into movies.

[Spiderdancer]

dth said:

ronzo said:

Currently I'm reading Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. It's quite well written and very sarcastic. I love it.

I tried to read that. My real name is Dorian (Dorian Thomas Hawkins = DTH) and found it hard because the lead character is actually a jerk

It weirded me out, so I stopped reading it.

It's pretty weird, all right. I personally liked it a lot, possibly because of Wilde's meditation on the topic of personal corruption. "Dorian, on the other hand, was poisoned by a book."

[Ms. Jellybean]

I just thought I'd add my reading list. Because it's yet another rite of passage type thing.

I'm reading my college textbooks. Ha.

[Spiderdancer]

I'm halfway through Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone, and I am now resolved to own the entire series. I first heard of Elric on the site that hosts my Oblivion mod (Elric of Melnibone in Morrowind, natch) and bought this book on half.com. Now I want them all.

I love fantasy/sci fi with nontraditional protagonists who are neither mighty ripped swordsmen nor deadly assassins nor young women with special powers and animal friends - who are not, in fact, the Chosen One around whom the world revolves. The Elric saga is a classic example. Another on the sf end is Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan novels.

I can't believe I'd never heard of these books before.

[starwenn]

I'm currently reading a book on a kind of history many of you will appreciate - the history of comic books, specifically superheroes, where they came from, and how the geeks and wanna-be playboys who created them and the hustlers and con-men who marketed them helped shape American pop culture as we know it. "Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book" trace the origins of the men who created what we know as comic book culture from the Lower East Side of the early 20th Century to the recent superhero revival. It's truly evocative and facinating. I just got past World War II and am getting into the trouble the comics had in the 50s, even as George Reeves was having his own "Hollywoodland" troubles with portraying Superman, and I'm totally hooked. I'm not even that much of a comic book fan, but the rise and fall of the original creators of the comics is a comic book story in itself.

Just as facinating is finding out the real origins of everyone's favorite superheroes. Superman was created by two geeks determined to draw their fantasies in Depression-era America. Wonder Woman was created by a psychologist who encouraged alternate lifestyles long before the rest of America even considered it. Daredevil came out of a weekend when a bunch of guys from what we now know as Marvel Comics got together to create a superhero and got snowed in while doing so. Batman was created by a Bruce Wayne wanna-be and his writer buddy.

I actually read "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Kay" a few years ago during a particuarlly boring winter in South Jersey and absolutely loved it. It's recommended too as an enjoyable, haunting fictional version of what's discussed here. Michael Chabon was even interviewed for the last few chapters of this book. (I heard there's a "Kavalier and Kay" movie being planned - I'm dying to see that.)

[eatmyshorts]

I just started mystic river. It is really engrossing already, and I'm only in the first 50 pages. excellent. It's kind of a stand by me (the body)-esque novel. I love it.

[Al]

I'm currently reading Star Wars: Republic Commando - Hard Contact by Karen Traviss. I picked it up for one cent on Amazon.com after reading a great essay of hers about the experience she had writing it. Considering it's a a video-game tie from a, to be polite, hit and miss trilogy, I'm darn impressed. It's a well written and engaging story that bring an interesting humanity to the clones. Rather than simply 'wet droids', they are presenting as real men with their own individual thouhts and feelings; ten year olds in grown ups bodies who've hardened into warriors without ever setting foot in a battle. Considering all the hacks out there shilling tie ins and adaptations (see: Revenge of the Novelizations), it's a superior effort.

Also: I've recently discovered Christopher Moore, who has become probably my favorite new discovery of an author since Stephen King many many moons ago. I picked up Fluke on a whim, and immediately bought every other novel he's written when I finished (except the new one, that's still in hardcover). He's intelligent, complex, hysterically funny, and delightfully weird. Highly, highly recommended.

[sarahbot]

gunslingeral said:

Also: I've recently discovered Christopher Moore, who has become probably my favorite new discovery of an author since Stephen King many many moons ago. I picked up Fluke on a whim, and immediately bought every other novel he's written when I finished (except the new one, that's still in hardcover). He's intelligent, complex, hysterically funny, and delightfully weird. Highly, highly recommended.

Lamb is one of my favourite books ever. I'm not going to get into the religious aspects (especially as an agnostic with VERY little knowledge of the topic), but I found it pretty amazing.

[DTH]

spiderdancer said:

I'm halfway through Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone, and I am now resolved to own the entire series. I first heard of Elric on the site that hosts my Oblivion mod (Elric of Melnibone in Morrowind, natch) and bought this book on half.com. Now I want them all.

I love fantasy/sci fi with nontraditional protagonists who are neither mighty ripped swordsmen nor deadly assassins nor young women with special powers and animal friends - who are not, in fact, the Chosen One around whom the world revolves. The Elric saga is a classic example. Another on the sf end is Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan novels.

I can't believe I'd never heard of these books before.

Hi Shalen

I've read a number of Michael Moorcock's writing and I do like his gothic fantasy characters. He's very prolific and not all of his stuff is good.

I would recommend Elric as one of his better characters and some of his better stuff.

My favourite are the Dancers At The End of Time books and the Corum books. The former are just good romps and the latter are very cool, in a celtic-inspired way.

Unfortunately, Michael Moorcock himself has proved to be a bit of an arrogant b**t**d. A friend went to a convention back in the 70s where Moorcock appeared along side Harlan "I'm an insane old man" Ellison and Roger Zelazny (sp?). Moorcock insulted his audience by answering the question "Which of your novels is your favourite?" with "My favourite? Why would any of them be my favourite? They are all rubbish and only an idiot would read them. I can write one in a weekend if I put my mind to it and then you all rush out and buy them".

The friend in question had enough money to buy either the latest Elric hardback or the latest Zelazny (whom he later met in a bar and proceeded to buy him drinks all night just for the pleasure of his company).

Guess which book he bought?

Little known fact: Roger Zelazny (The Amber books), George R R Martin (the Song of Ice & Fire books) and Melinda M Snodgrass (script editor for Star Trek: The Next Generation from Series 4 onwards) all played in the same RPG (Superworld by Chaosium) that eventually provided the basis for the series "The Wildcards", written by all those authors.

Also: check out the Dorian Hawkmoon novels. He's a much better namesake than Dorian Grey

[Spiderdancer]

dth said:

Unfortunately, Michael Moorcock himself has proved to be a bit of an arrogant b**t**d. ...

Wow. That's amazing, considering the man apparently had no idea how to properly use commas.

[/quote]Also: check out the Dorian Hawkmoon novels. He's a much better namesake than Dorian Grey [/quote]

New books and authors noted and logged, except for George R.R. Martin, whom I won't read. It's just one of those irrational things wherein he annoys me. If a character is doomed, I prefer to be given hints early on so I won't get overly attached to them.
Not to mention that I hate those ice/fire, light/dark dualities, because they remind me of Robert Jordan.

[DTH]

spiderdancer said:

New books and authors noted and logged, except for George R.R. Martin, whom I won't read. It's just one of those irrational things wherein he annoys me. If a character is doomed, I prefer to be given hints early on so I won't get overly attached to them.
Not to mention that I hate those ice/fire, light/dark dualities, because they remind me of Robert Jordan.

'Tis a shame, there ma lil' lady, don't y' know. Mr Martin be writin' som' on that dere great fantasy, ev'n if t' be a wee bit on t' dark side. Methinks t' characters die fo' good an' valid reasons, ev'n if t' be a wee bit unexpect'd, like.

[Spiderdancer]

dth said:

'Tis a shame, there ma lil' lady, don't y' know. Mr Martin be writin' som' on that dere great fantasy, ev'n if t' be a wee bit on t' dark side. Methinks t' characters die fo' good an' valid reasons, ev'n if t' be a wee bit unexpect'd, like.

Buh? Irish? Southern? I'm trying to reconcile the deep south "that dere" with "'tis a shame'" and "wee bit." Pre-statehood territorial Louisiana Creole? A strange Warcraft Troll/Dwarf hybrid, offspring of a Forbidden Love?

[DTH]

None of the above I just finished reading the Mallorean by David Eddings (for I think the third time ever? I really don't know).

There's a character in there that decides to dredge up a long dead brogue, just to annoy another character

Basically: the light and dark duality is rife among fantasy, as I am sure you are no doubt aware. Its a common staple of the genre and I truly believe that you should give George R R Martin's stuff a go. Really, it is some of the best written fantasy I have ever read and since most of it is pretty schlocky, that's a high recommendation. There are a lot of bad things that occur to people (even to a point where I was thinking "Is anything good ever going to happen?"). However, like in the Gap series by Stephen Donaldson, you'll be guessing just whom the bad guys and the good guys actually are ;D