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Post by Spiderdancer on Mar 1, 2007 12:27:55 GMT -5
"Inigo! You are not going ANYWHERE until I HEAR THOSE RHYMES!!"
I was a little surprised by the book's ending, personally.
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Post by BlackCatWhiteCat on Mar 26, 2007 23:24:19 GMT -5
And the categories are... Bedtime books/books I read with my hubby: These are generally The Bible and other Christian self-help and devotional type books. I'm reading: Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas: I can't say enough about this book. It has so many wonderful ideas on God's purpose for marriage. It is a wonderful argument against the attitude of society today to just give up on marriage when they aren't satisfied. Instead it pushes us to look at exactly why we aren't satisfied. Usually it's not for the reasons we think we are. Devotions for a Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas: A year of weekly devotions that accompany Sacred Marriage. Sacred Sex by Tim Alan Gardner: I'm sure that sounds as weird to everyone else as it did to me at first. What it is is a book about seeing sex as what it was intended to be: God's gift to married couples. Not something dirty or nasty or profane like we've made it. Its purpose is to help couples to acheive "true oneness" as it says. Yeah....so....moving on from the awkward topic.... Books I read at work I'm a sub. And let me tell you, subbing for high school can be one of the most boring experiences ever. These kids are too good, I say! Well anyway I pack these in my purse because they are small: The Works of Edgar Allan Poe vol 8 Tales of Humor. Yes, yes he wrote humorous tales. They're pretty good, too. Of course I've always loved Poe so maybe I'm biased. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-The last twelve stories written about Sherlock Holmes. They are said to be the most unusual and darkest that he penned. Mike Nelson's Death Rat: The only fiction book he's written so far. I love everything this man writes. I'm a massive fan of MST3K so again, maybe I'm biased.  Lastly we have the books that I pick up when I'm at home during the day and have some free time: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: I've read Pride and Predjudice, which is now one of my favorite books of all time. This one hasn't enthralled me like the former, but so far it's a good read. Franz Kafka: The Metamorphosis and Other Stories- I had a hard time getting through the metamorphosis. I suppose I'm not a huge fan of his style, but he interests me. If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell- I haven't gotten farther than a few pages into this book but I really love this man's wit. I can't wait to have the time to read this VERY large book. Heck, even the back cover of the book is funny. |
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Post by deathproof on Apr 4, 2007 14:14:44 GMT -5
As of late...
Wild at Heart- John Eldredge (book about being the man God made you to be)
The Crooked Timber of Humanity - Isaiah Berlin (man cannot keep a perfect world)
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby (wonderful book the movie is based on)
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Post by PoolMan on Apr 11, 2007 18:22:38 GMT -5
Just an update for Justin, because I know he worries about me.
I finished Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell yesterday. Similar to Lord of the Rings, it's overly long, is an imaginative world unto itself, and the final movements of the book are actually extremely exciting... I probably read 200 pages in one go yesterday after stalling it off.
But the book IS about twice as long as it needs to be. I'm not sorry I read it, but it was a chore to get through, that's for sure (again, something I always say about LotR). I had an eyeball at Susanna Clarke's followup, and I believe it's short stories set in the same universe, so I might give those a peek, too.
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sirgallahad2
Boomstick Coordinator
RUN!! Get to de CHOPPA!!!!!
Posts: 280
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Post by sirgallahad2 on Apr 14, 2007 12:35:23 GMT -5
I'm currently making my way through "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Good lord, I'm about 100 pages into it and it's depressing the living daylights out of me. Incredibly well written mind you, just a true, emotional, end-of-the-world novel.
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Post by StarOpal on Apr 14, 2007 12:54:53 GMT -5
Just finished the Essential Shakespeare Handbook by Leslie Dunton-Downer and Alan Riding. I've been reading it on and off since... the Christmas before last. Good book, just a lot of information to process.
Now reading Captain Blood by Raphael Sabatini. Yarrrr!
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Post by Head Mutant on Apr 16, 2007 7:10:15 GMT -5
Just an update for Justin, because I know he worries about me. I finished Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell yesterday. Similar to Lord of the Rings, it's overly long, is an imaginative world unto itself, and the final movements of the book are actually extremely exciting... I probably read 200 pages in one go yesterday after stalling it off. But the book IS about twice as long as it needs to be. I'm not sorry I read it, but it was a chore to get through, that's for sure (again, something I always say about LotR). I had an eyeball at Susanna Clarke's followup, and I believe it's short stories set in the same universe, so I might give those a peek, too. Thanks for the update! I actually checked this out of the library on audio CDs (26 of them, to be precise), so I'm giving it another chance that way. |
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Post by Head Mutant on Apr 17, 2007 9:10:31 GMT -5
I... think I have a problem. I just can't stop buying books. I need to stop. I have so many books that I've yet to read, that there's no sane reason why I should be buying more. Oh well.
Currently reading through the Stardoc series, a blend of medical scifi, adventure and *shudder* romance. Decent, interesting twists and characters, but I think I'm going to stop after book four.
I found a cheap paperback of the third Magic Time book, but I still lack the second after having read the first. Very cool series about a post-apocalyptic Earth where all electricity abruptly shuts off and magic starts to take over the world.
Since The Road won the pulitzer and that also looks like a cool post-apocalyptic book, I'll have to give that a go.
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Post by Spiderdancer on Apr 17, 2007 9:55:03 GMT -5
Heh. Funny you should mention Stardoc, the source of my profound loathing for author S.L. Viehl. It's got a seemingly tough female character who breaks down far too easily! A doomed ubersexy alien boyfriend! An involuntary psychic bond! A rape that's actually okay because the victim had an orgasm! A character who is known to be evil because his race is ugly and smelly! And the first villain is just misunderstood. And so on. I think I read up to partway through book two. It really irritates me when female authors write things that are more misogynistic than male authors do.
I recommend James White's Sector General novels for interesting alien medicine stories. They're not nearly as emotional, for better or for worse, and none of the aliens are sexy (ditto). Sadly Mr. White always had a pretty stiff writing style, though that gets better up through his later books. The Genocidal Healer and Mind Changer are among my favorite sci fi books ever.
Right now I'm reading The Weaker Sex by Antonina Frasier. It's about the lives of women in the seventeenth century, and it's a really fascinating book. It's also very reasonable and scholarly, not a rabidly mouth-foaming feminist soapbox type of text. It's sort of long, but it's very interesting reading, and length is no obstacle since I own the book (bought it at a library book sale). Also makes me profoundly grateful I live in the 21st century, where I have dentistry and plumbing and, you know, actual rights rather than being legal property of my father/husband (not much of an exaggeration at all).
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Post by StarOpal on Apr 17, 2007 13:40:15 GMT -5
I... think I have a problem. I just can't stop buying books. I need to stop. I have so many books that I've yet to read, that there's no sane reason why I should be buying more. Oh well. I have the same problem. In fact, if I have too few books (twenty or less=too few) waiting to be read I go into a small panic. What if I don't have just the right book for my mood in that pile? What if I wait to buy a book later and I can't find it anymore? Oh the horror! Whether these are "sane" reasons is another story... |
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Post by sarahbot on Apr 17, 2007 23:00:14 GMT -5
I'm in the "rifle through very expensive textbooks I haven't touched for the last 8 months" phase of studying right now. I'm not in a happy place.
Plus, I finally got Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things from the library. I can feel it sitting on my bed, mocking me because I can't read it right now.
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Post by PoolMan on Apr 18, 2007 12:29:10 GMT -5
I need to re-buy my copy of Good Omens. I can't find it, and that angers me, because I love it so, and would like to read it again. Consarnit!
However, I also find myself at the same realization that a couple of others have voiced. I've read almost all of Neil Gaiman's work, and would REALLY like a recommendation on similar authors.
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Post by TheLuckyOne on Apr 30, 2007 22:02:21 GMT -5
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-The last twelve stories written about Sherlock Holmes. They are said to be the most unusual and darkest that he penned. Just reread a few of those stories myself on the plane ride home. I'd forgotten how much Doyle experimented in those last few tales, from having Holmes take over as narrator for two of them (and another written with an omniscient narrator, not Watson) to the only time we ever saw Holmes truly emotional and worried for his friend. Some still hold up well, but you can definitely tell Doyle was getting tired of his creation and his heart wasn't quite in it anymore. I also read The Turn of the Screw this past week. It's a fascinating tale, a ghost story written by Henry James and set in Victorian England. What interests me is that it can be read on multiple levels. On the surface, it works perfectly well as what it professes to be- a relatively straightforward but engaging tale of a governess trying to protect the two children she watches from two vengeful ghosts, the former governess and her illicit lover. However, what makes it truly fascinating is how much the story changes if you read it from an alternate perspective- that the unnamed governess is slowly going mad and projecting her own repressed sexual urges into the form of ghosts... which, as literary scholars frequently point out, only she ever sees. I think the ending was too abrupt for my taste, and it suffers from that damned Victorian trait of never being clear about anything; the governess always talks about the ghosts "corrupting" the children but never elaborates, though I suppose it's a case of what we can imagine being far worse than whatever James could have written. Still, a very intriguing read. Has anyone else read this short story? I've heard it was made into a really good movie called The Innocents... have to see if I can track that down, maybe review it if it's any good. -D |
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Post by Al on May 1, 2007 0:35:24 GMT -5
I've read/seen both in a class I took in school on novels made into films.
I wasn't a big fan of the book (James is a little dense for my tastes), but The Innocents was decent. The sexual undertones from the little boy that can more or less be glossed over in Turn of the Screw are way more noticeable and about ten times as creepy on film. So, y'know, it has that going for it. I guess.
I also think I remember them messing with the ending, but, then, it's been a few years, so don't hold me to it...
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Post by Head Mutant on May 2, 2007 10:08:48 GMT -5
Heh. Funny you should mention Stardoc, the source of my profound loathing for author S.L. Viehl. It's got a seemingly tough female character who breaks down far too easily! A doomed ubersexy alien boyfriend! An involuntary psychic bond! A rape that's actually okay because the victim had an orgasm! A character who is known to be evil because his race is ugly and smelly! And the first villain is just misunderstood. And so on. I think I read up to partway through book two. It really irritates me when female authors write things that are more misogynistic than male authors do. I think any claims of misogyny are debatable, although I certainly can see your perspective. However, the rape was never "okay" in the context of the book or the subsequent ones, and the main character survives crap that would see most of the male characters quivering piles of jelly. There's some great humor, mystery and moments in the few books I've read, and I appreciate that it all isn't simplistic sci-fi. It is a little to "romance-centric" for my taste. What I do like about the series is that it forces you not to take plot conventions for granted, because there are a lot of long-term storylines in place, and people can't always be judged on first impressions. Still, you hate her, you hate her. No biggie. I've moved on to reading the excellent follow-up to Dusk, Dawn. After that, I've got The Road to look forward to. |
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"If I'm going to be desensitized into a mindless stock animal, I may as well do it with a cushy ergonomic seat and magnificent THX-certified sound. -Kevin Murphy
