What are you reading? - Page 15

itsallgoodbabyGb · 04-04-2007, 07:04 PM

american gods, neil gaiman

Hannibalien · 04-17-2007, 08:03 PM

Has anyone here read The Idiot by Dostoyevsky? My teacher has given us two weeks to read it, and with all the other shit I have to do there are simply not enough hours in the day.

Chameleon Kitty · 04-19-2007, 03:15 AM

I just finished the 9 book series by Robin Hobb - AMAZING books and I reccommend them to anyone and everyone.

I'm gonna get stuck back into some Terry Pratchit again, I think.

Bicest-80 · 04-19-2007, 05:34 AM

A few pages ago we endorsed Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I stand by that endorsment. Go out and find it now!

nemarsde · 04-19-2007, 06:08 AM

Shantaram, by George David Roberts, semi-autobiographical. Well-written with some insightful commentary on society and the human condition. Very philosophical though, with most of the anecdotes leading to a thought-provoking epiphany rather than being engaging in and of themselves. Sometimes it feels like you read each chapter for the punchline, so to speak.

What I need's a good story. Haven't read one in ages.

Conner Macleod · 04-19-2007, 06:18 AM

Nemarsde, check out 'When the Wind Blows' by James Patterson.

Bitch_Bang · 04-24-2007, 01:37 PM

a couple of books on sufi actually. just to see their perspective on things.

Renegade 2501 · 04-24-2007, 02:23 PM

I'm finishing The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Excellent post-apocalyptic tale about a father and son trying to reach the coast in the ashen wasteland of America while at the same time avoiding cannibalistic marauders. It won the Pulitzer the other week, and apparently it's on Oprah's book club or whatever. I-ron-yyyyy.

nemarsde · 04-24-2007, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conner Macleod

Nemarsde, check out 'When the Wind Blows' by James Patterson.

Holy mackerel, Conner. If you'd seen the TV ad I saw for the latest Patterson novel, you wouldn't touch a Patterson novel with a 10 ft barge-pole. So I was really surprised when you recommended him. Seriously, I think it's the single worst TV ad I've ever seen.

(Any other Brits seen it? It's an ad for James Patterson's The 6th Target. I saw it during an ad break in this week's Numb3rs on ITV3.)

Anyway, I trust your opinion over an advert any day, Conner, but it never occurred to me that Patterson could be a decent author after seeing that ad. The power of advertising!

Injektilo · 04-24-2007, 03:12 PM

Massive pile of MAD magazines, mostly from the 80s.

Bitch_Bang · 04-24-2007, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Injektilo

Massive pile of MAD magazines, mostly from the 80s.

winner

Herne the hunter · 04-24-2007, 05:21 PM

Currently reading Necronomicon by Donald Tyson (not to be confused with "Simon"'s Necronomicon which by all accounts is a cheap cash-in).

It actually reveals quite a lot about the various races from the mythos, touching upon subjects that aren't mentioned in any other source I've read and answering questions that I've pondered over since I first became a fan (in answer to a recent thread that I myself posted; the Elder Things are evil; very much so).

It also puts forth some very interesting theories about the slumber of the Old Ones. In this version, Alhazred stipulates that the stars of our system alligned in such a way that their rays became poisonous to the Old Ones so Cthulhu imposed on himself a sort of semi-death in which his mind remained active so that he could control his followers from within R'lyeh until the stars became harmless and he could emerge again. However; after predicting the sinking of R'lyeh with their astronomy, the Elder Things (having not long made an uneasy truce with the starspawn) sent three of their number to etch the Elder Sign onto the door of Cthulhu's tomb on the eve of the cataclysm so that when he woke up he would be unable to leave it's confines.

It really is an interesting read and I'd recommend it to any mythos scholar.

Cutter Zane · 04-24-2007, 05:33 PM

Yeah, I've actually been (re-)reading that at the moment too. Definitely one of the better books around bearing the title "Necronomicon".

Conner Macleod · 04-27-2007, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemarsde

Holy mackerel, Conner. If you'd seen the TV ad I saw for the latest Patterson novel, you wouldn't touch a Patterson novel with a 10 ft barge-pole. So I was really surprised when you recommended him. Seriously, I think it's the single worst TV ad I've ever seen.

(Any other Brits seen it? It's an ad for James Patterson's The 6th Target. I saw it during an ad break in this week's Numb3rs on ITV3.)

Anyway, I trust your opinion over an advert any day, Conner, but it never occurred to me that Patterson could be a decent author after seeing that ad. The power of advertising!

Lol, well I'm glad you don't buy into ads

The film's actually being turned into a movie now, which I'm highly skeptical about because I fear they'd screw it up really bad and ruin one of my favorite books. It could be absolutely brilliant as a film if done right in terms of casting, director and screen writer, but it's so easy to screwup as well, especially with Hollywood's track record. However, on the bright side they did adapt 'Kiss the Girls' and 'Along Came A Spider' quite well, based on Patterson's Alex Cross series, so who knows, this could be excellent.

It's one of those books that I don't think much should be known about before reading because it's best to discover the story on one's own, to become a part of that world as it unfolds. There's a sequel to it called 'The Lake House', which was a big disappointment and might be better left unread, but for anyone who loves fantasy and a good mystery, this book's a sure bet. Patterson's even spun off a teenage series based on it (which are also becoming films), but I can't be bothered to read those since they're essentially dumbed down versions of an otherwise brilliant story and characters.

P. S. The ad that you're referring to, I'm guessing it's one of his books that he's co-authored, and they're typically disposable beach reading material. In fact I'd be surprised if he even writes them at all, most likely he just adds his name to those books so they'll sell, because he's a far more talented author than many of these co-authored publications he comes out with. I think the problem is, much like it became for Stephen King, is that his talent is being diluted by success, in other words his publisher and agent are pushing him to release more and more books since they know people will buy them simply based on his name, but obviously he's not putting his best foot forward with those, it's all about how many books he can churn out these days and not the skill involved. I think this is why 'The Lake House' was such a dissappointment since it felt rushed based on the tremendous popularity of 'When the Wind Blows', which is his most cherished work by his fans.

MacCabbe · 04-28-2007, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemarsde

What I need's a good story. Haven't read one in ages.

Try Carrion Comfort, by Dan Simmons.

nemarsde · 05-13-2007, 09:06 AM

Dan Simmons? Don't think I've read of his work. Well, that gives me something to go on, thanks you pair.

As for Patterson's The 6th Target, I was hoping someone would upload the ad to YouTube, but so far nothing. It truly is a miracle of advertising. Easily the worst ad I've ever seen.

QuEL^ · 05-15-2007, 02:36 AM

Generation Kill-Evan Wright. Basically its him writing about his time with USMC 1st Recon in the opening stages of the war in Iraq. he rode along with them in the invasion. Quite an intresting read whilst staying neutral to both parties.

Herne the hunter · 05-19-2007, 01:48 PM

The Cthulhu Cycle - various authors. I'm currently halfway through Recrudescence which was actually very good except that I've just got up to a point where it turns out the ancient alien race responsible for the artficats in this story aren't Elders, Yith, Spawn or Deep Ones. I hate it when mythos authors add corny new races without good reason.

itsallgoodbabyGb · 05-19-2007, 08:22 PM

american gods, neverwhere, stardust, books of magic, sandman, death, fragile things, smoke and mirrors, all neil gaiman. stunning

noodle boy · 05-19-2007, 09:02 PM

Neil Gaiman is indeed the shit. He's apparently doing a sequel to American Gods at the moment. Which reminds me, I should start re-reading that soon. Good book.

Reading through Halo: Ghosts Of Onyx again at the moment, in anticipation of Halo 3.

itsallgoodbabyGb · 05-19-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noodle boy

Neil Gaiman is indeed the shit. He's apparently doing a sequel to American Gods at the moment. Which reminds me, I should start re-reading that soon. Good book.

Reading through Halo: Ghosts Of Onyx again at the moment, in anticipation of Halo 3.

the sequel is called anansi boys and i dont know whether its out yet. he is my favourite writer at the moment; there are so many levels to his work it's insane! i am also quite confident that the sandman is a great literary work

ghosts of onyx is the one set between 2 and 3 right? i have the first 3 books and would be fascinated to read aforementioned, what an interesting story. the books arent particularly deep (i've also noticed spelling mistakes, grammatical failure etc.) but engaging and interesting they are

noodle boy · 05-19-2007, 09:46 PM

Yeah, Ghosts of Onyx is indeed between Halo 2 and 3. Good books, even if there are a lot of errors. I blame the editors.

I heard a while back that he was doing another novel in addition to Anansi boys. I dunno. Anansi boys is out, though.

itsallgoodbabyGb · 05-20-2007, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noodle boy

Yeah, Ghosts of Onyx is indeed between Halo 2 and 3. Good books, even if there are a lot of errors. I blame the editors.

I heard a while back that he was doing another novel in addition to Anansi boys. I dunno. Anansi boys is out, though.

he's doing loads at the moment, the script to beowulf, stardust the movie, more novels, some comic series etc. its good to see him transcending and embracing other mediums too, although in many cases he is just reproducing old material to give a fresh perspective or a new perception of the story

Kimarhi Ronso · 06-04-2007, 01:19 AM

Life of Pi.

About a boy stranded in a lifeboat with a tiger, hyena, orangatuan, and a zebra after his ship crashes.

Of course thats not what the book is REALLY about. Pretty interesting, though somewhat disjointed. I liked it. The end made me saddish and happy.

itsallgoodbabyGb · 06-05-2007, 09:09 AM

i am reading nothing having finished my english degree

J A Eyers · 06-05-2007, 02:02 PM

I have just finished the novel of Jurassic Park...

An interesting diversion from the film, given that the lawyer Gennaro turns out to be one of the heroes, and Malcolm and Hammond die (whilst Muldoon and Genaro live).

What was happening at the very end though? Are Grant and Sattler about to be assassinated? What's up with the guy telling them they can never leave the compound?

Desdinova · 06-05-2007, 07:38 PM

You mean Muldoon? I'm pretty sure Gennaro gets killed.

Malcolm's death is retconned in the sequel he wrote (which I think was actually just a novelization of the second movie), so I guess they were let out eventually.

BullpupDFWM · 06-05-2007, 07:43 PM

I just finished reading Awake, which is a 'journal'/periodical that a Jehovah's Witness gave me a few months back.

It scared the shit out of me.

Red Sentinel · 06-06-2007, 01:10 PM

Books of Blood volume I-II-III.

Sicamon · 06-06-2007, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conner Macleod

Yikes! I thought it was just a handful....Well, I've got my reading cut out for me. So many books, so little time.

Pyramids is pretty mighty.

04-17-2007, 08:03 PM	#422 (permalink)
Hannibalien Everything happens for a reason Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: New Berlin, WI, USA Posts: 1,896	Has anyone here read The Idiot by Dostoyevsky? My teacher has given us two weeks to read it, and with all the other shit I have to do there are simply not enough hours in the day.
	I can see for miles and miles...

04-19-2007, 06:18 AM	#426 (permalink)
Conner Macleod Highlander Hardcore Veteran Join Date: May 1999 Location: USA Posts: 8,205	Nemarsde, check out 'When the Wind Blows' by James Patterson.
	"There can be only one"

04-24-2007, 01:37 PM	#427 (permalink)
Bitch_Bang Registered User Forum Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Over the rainbow, way up high. Posts: 430	a couple of books on sufi actually. just to see their perspective on things.
	•Child of Dunwich rise. End The World That You Despise.☼

05-19-2007, 09:02 PM	#440 (permalink)
noodle boy Ennui-licious. Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,847	Neil Gaiman is indeed the shit. He's apparently doing a sequel to American Gods at the moment. Which reminds me, I should start re-reading that soon. Good book. Reading through Halo: Ghosts Of Onyx again at the moment, in anticipation of Halo 3.
	I'll leave it to you to figure out how much of that was sarcasm.

06-04-2007, 01:19 AM	#444 (permalink)
Kimarhi Ronso I thought what I'd do was.... Epic Poster Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hooterville, KY, USA Posts: 16,269	Life of Pi. About a boy stranded in a lifeboat with a tiger, hyena, orangatuan, and a zebra after his ship crashes. Of course thats not what the book is REALLY about. Pretty interesting, though somewhat disjointed. I liked it. The end made me saddish and happy.
	Textually transmitted.

04-04-2007, 07:04 PM	#421 (permalink)
itsallgoodbabyGb beep street Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: london Posts: 4,325	american gods, neil gaiman

04-19-2007, 03:15 AM	#423 (permalink)
Chameleon Kitty Metal head... bitch. Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Gold Coast, Australia Posts: 2,245	I just finished the 9 book series by Robin Hobb - AMAZING books and I reccommend them to anyone and everyone. I'm gonna get stuck back into some Terry Pratchit again, I think.

04-19-2007, 05:34 AM	#424 (permalink)
Bicest-80 Registered User Forum Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Victoria, Australia Posts: 321	A few pages ago we endorsed Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I stand by that endorsment. Go out and find it now!

04-19-2007, 06:08 AM	#425 (permalink)
nemarsde Large and Moving Torb Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: UK Posts: 8,778	Shantaram, by George David Roberts, semi-autobiographical. Well-written with some insightful commentary on society and the human condition. Very philosophical though, with most of the anecdotes leading to a thought-provoking epiphany rather than being engaging in and of themselves. Sometimes it feels like you read each chapter for the punchline, so to speak. What I need's a good story. Haven't read one in ages.

04-24-2007, 02:23 PM	#428 (permalink)
Renegade 2501 Caveat Emptor Hardcore Veteran Join Date: May 2001 Location: "Kahlifoania" Posts: 9,333	I'm finishing The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Excellent post-apocalyptic tale about a father and son trying to reach the coast in the ashen wasteland of America while at the same time avoiding cannibalistic marauders. It won the Pulitzer the other week, and apparently it's on Oprah's book club or whatever. I-ron-yyyyy.

04-24-2007, 03:12 PM	#430 (permalink)
Injektilo bleep freak Godlike Poster Tournaments Won: 1 Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: northampton, UK Posts: 22,159	Massive pile of MAD magazines, mostly from the 80s.

04-24-2007, 05:21 PM	#432 (permalink)
Herne the hunter Yes, I AM on f*cking facebook :( Epic Poster Join Date: May 2001 Location: Mercia Posts: 15,313	Currently reading Necronomicon by Donald Tyson (not to be confused with "Simon"'s Necronomicon which by all accounts is a cheap cash-in). It actually reveals quite a lot about the various races from the mythos, touching upon subjects that aren't mentioned in any other source I've read and answering questions that I've pondered over since I first became a fan (in answer to a recent thread that I myself posted; the Elder Things are evil; very much so). It also puts forth some very interesting theories about the slumber of the Old Ones. In this version, Alhazred stipulates that the stars of our system alligned in such a way that their rays became poisonous to the Old Ones so Cthulhu imposed on himself a sort of semi-death in which his mind remained active so that he could control his followers from within R'lyeh until the stars became harmless and he could emerge again. However; after predicting the sinking of R'lyeh with their astronomy, the Elder Things (having not long made an uneasy truce with the starspawn) sent three of their number to etch the Elder Sign onto the door of Cthulhu's tomb on the eve of the cataclysm so that when he woke up he would be unable to leave it's confines. It really is an interesting read and I'd recommend it to any mythos scholar.

04-24-2007, 05:33 PM	#433 (permalink)
Cutter Zane Execute Order 666 Administrator Godlike Poster Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Mont Clare, PA Posts: 20,775	Yeah, I've actually been (re-)reading that at the moment too. Definitely one of the better books around bearing the title "Necronomicon".

05-13-2007, 09:06 AM	#436 (permalink)
nemarsde Large and Moving Torb Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: UK Posts: 8,778	Dan Simmons? Don't think I've read of his work. Well, that gives me something to go on, thanks you pair. As for Patterson's The 6th Target, I was hoping someone would upload the ad to YouTube, but so far nothing. It truly is a miracle of advertising. Easily the worst ad I've ever seen.

05-15-2007, 02:36 AM	#437 (permalink)
QuEL^ Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 4	Generation Kill-Evan Wright. Basically its him writing about his time with USMC 1st Recon in the opening stages of the war in Iraq. he rode along with them in the invasion. Quite an intresting read whilst staying neutral to both parties.

05-19-2007, 01:48 PM	#438 (permalink)
Herne the hunter Yes, I AM on f*cking facebook :( Epic Poster Join Date: May 2001 Location: Mercia Posts: 15,313	The Cthulhu Cycle - various authors. I'm currently halfway through Recrudescence which was actually very good except that I've just got up to a point where it turns out the ancient alien race responsible for the artficats in this story aren't Elders, Yith, Spawn or Deep Ones. I hate it when mythos authors add corny new races without good reason.

05-19-2007, 08:22 PM	#439 (permalink)
itsallgoodbabyGb beep street Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: london Posts: 4,325	american gods, neverwhere, stardust, books of magic, sandman, death, fragile things, smoke and mirrors, all neil gaiman. stunning

05-19-2007, 09:46 PM	#442 (permalink)
noodle boy Ennui-licious. Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,847	Yeah, Ghosts of Onyx is indeed between Halo 2 and 3. Good books, even if there are a lot of errors. I blame the editors. I heard a while back that he was doing another novel in addition to Anansi boys. I dunno. Anansi boys is out, though.

06-05-2007, 09:09 AM	#445 (permalink)
itsallgoodbabyGb beep street Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: london Posts: 4,325	i am reading nothing having finished my english degree

06-05-2007, 02:02 PM	#446 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	I have just finished the novel of Jurassic Park... An interesting diversion from the film, given that the lawyer Gennaro turns out to be one of the heroes, and Malcolm and Hammond die (whilst Muldoon and Genaro live). What was happening at the very end though? Are Grant and Sattler about to be assassinated? What's up with the guy telling them they can never leave the compound?

06-05-2007, 07:38 PM	#447 (permalink)
Desdinova Wait for the cream Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2002 Location: Monterey, CA Posts: 4,919	You mean Muldoon? I'm pretty sure Gennaro gets killed. Malcolm's death is retconned in the sequel he wrote (which I think was actually just a novelization of the second movie), so I guess they were let out eventually.

06-05-2007, 07:43 PM	#448 (permalink)
BullpupDFWM I've had my shit PUSHED IN Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 9,794	I just finished reading Awake, which is a 'journal'/periodical that a Jehovah's Witness gave me a few months back. It scared the shit out of me.

06-06-2007, 01:10 PM	#449 (permalink)
Red Sentinel Registered User l33t Inductee Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Norway Posts: 687	Books of Blood volume I-II-III.
	Yellow Sentinel's comical sidekick.