Re: What Are You Reading?

by xraineyesx Tue Jan 25, 2011 12:28 am

I wish I had the money right now to go on a book spending spree! Sigh... I'm always in heaven in book stores. (Particularly ones with coffeeeee)

Anyway, I'm reading This Side of Paradise by F. Scot Fitzgerald.

I also have another one of his books lined up that I can NOT remember the name of right this second as well as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to read after I finish that one.

by **Shadow Moonseye** Sat Jan 29, 2011 10:59 am

So...

I finished Eon last night. My mind is blown. It was a tough read but soooo worth it in the end. Definitely an interesting concept.

I think I'm gonna read Frank Herbert's White Plague next. That or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

by Guest Wed Feb 02, 2011 4:56 pm

I am re-reading the Wheel of Time series (I only got to book 5 last time) and I just finished the second book. It is definitely better, and easier to understand, the second time through. Hopefully I can stick with it all the way through this time.

by The Melancholy Spirit Wed Feb 02, 2011 5:05 pm

Messiah, book three of Apotheosis by Andrew S. Swann.

by **Kalon Ordona II** Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:21 am

I read books 1 and 2 of The Dopple Ganger Chronicles this past month. (They're not long, so it's kind-of pitiful that I only read those two.) The books are great, though! Very Happy

Half book, half graphic novel. Recommended!

I'm currently (and have been, sloooowly...) reading Spirit Gate, by Kate Elliott.
I may also start the last book in the Tale of Krispos--Krispos of Videssos--by Harry Turtledove.

by Guest Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:59 am

Spirit Gate was very entertaining. I am currently reading A Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie.

by Guest Sun Feb 13, 2011 1:41 pm

I am still trudging through The Wheel of Time (on book 3/12!), but I just got two book that I really want to read. One is A Short History of The World, and the other is What If?. So I will read about the history of the world as it is, and then read about the history of what the world might have been like had things gone differently! But I can't start it until I finish The Wheel of Time Sad

That is forever away...

by Heyseuss Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:57 pm

"The Anatomy of Fascism," by Robert Paxton. I'm halfway through.

I ordered the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy, "The Gift" by James Patterson (though I need to do "Witch and Wizard" as well) and "The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet." I also have Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations," Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" and Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch" (more than half finished) standing by.

I also have "Eichmann in Jerusalem and the Banality of Evil" by Hannah Arendt standing by, but I read it before.

And I still have money left over on a gift card for more nook buys. I try to be careful about spending it wisely and getting the most bang for buck.

by Guest Wed Feb 23, 2011 10:33 pm

The Pillars of the Earth is a great book, Heyseuss. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get myself to read the two that follow it.

by **Fate Flyer** Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:09 am

I am currently reading the entire Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights 14-book series while at work. It helps pass the time where I'd otherwise be doing nothing but sitting at my desk and staring until I can ring up a customer. I would like to read Star Wars: The New Jedi Order 19-part series, which takes place after the ones I'm reading now, but I can't afford to pay for all the books.

by **Gadreille** Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:17 am

Aw, I wish you lived closer for book sharing. I know I can't get Silvone to part with his New Jedi Order series, but it would be nice of him! (Wifey glare in his general direction)

by **Fate Flyer** Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:54 am

Aww, he has those?? Very Happy

That's awesome. Lucky him! Hehe no worries. I probably wouldn't part with them either if I owned them.

I was interested in learning the post-movie story of Star Wars, and those books seemed like the perfect place to go next, but I had no idea they were so hard to find (at least all together). I bought my 14-book Young Jedi Knights series off eBay for really cheap, but that was a good few years ago now.

by IWroteASongForYou Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:46 am

A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

by Skitzo-phrenick Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:26 am

The Empty Chair by Diane Duane

by Guest Sat Apr 02, 2011 2:35 pm

Fate Foretold wrote:I am currently reading the entire Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights 14-book series while at work. It helps pass the time where I'd otherwise be doing nothing but sitting at my desk and staring until I can ring up a customer. I would like to read Star Wars: The New Jedi Order 19-part series, which takes place after the ones I'm reading now, but I can't afford to pay for all the books.

If you want to read NJO, I encourage you to do so. It is actually where I started in the Star Wars universe, and the first book even turns the whole thing upside down. Not sure if you know already, but I won't spoil anything. But, no, I could never make myself part with them...

I am still trying to trudge through The Wheel of Time. I just started the fifth book, and bought a few more (up to book 9, I think). I really just want to hurry up and finish it, but I don't get much time for reading.

by **Gadreille** Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:06 pm

On the second book of the Wheel of Time. I don't really like it, like, at all...but the books are there and I need something to read, and I keep being told it gets better.

by Heyseuss Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:38 pm

"Eichmann in Jerusalem and the Banality of Evil" by Hannah Arendt.

History/philosophy.

Every high school kid in the US ought to read this, but the synopsis is that Adolf Eichmann, the man who decided when and how to transport people to the Death Camps, was captured (abducted) in Argentina by Mossad and was put on trial in Jerusalem, the only major Nazi figure to be tried for crimes there. The book threw up the concept that Eichmann wasn't insane or malevolent by himself, or particularly anti-semitic, but that he did what he did for advancement -- the "Banality of Evil." There's also the point that Eichmann was something of a joiner, a person with no particular moral depth, much less much in the way of malevolence. He was a bureaucrat, a paper pusher.

The book was controversial in its time, and still creates debates in academia; I saw a near fistfight once in a graduate-level political science course over the Banality of Evil and Stanley Milgram's "Obedience to Authority" (which was derived from Hannah Arendt's work) -- some people went into denial that they had the capability to do what Eichmann did, and didn't like seeing proof that most people didn't just have the capability to sign off on it, they were able to push the button.

It's not that long of a book, but the good ones rarely are more than a few hundred pages.

by Guest Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:10 pm

Heyseuss wrote:"Eichmann in Jerusalem and the Banality of Evil" by Hannah Arendt.

It's not that long of a book, but the good ones rarely are more than a few hundred pages.

This book sounds incredibly interesting. I am going to have to look it up when I have some money to spare again...as well as time to spare for reading.

by Heyseuss Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:14 pm

Silvone Elestahr wrote:This book sounds incredibly interesting. I am going to have to look it up when I have some money to spare again...as well as time to spare for reading.

It's in any bookstore, basically. Or it should be. It's pretty widely published. A Barnes and Noble will definitely have a copy.

by Guest Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:35 pm

Heyseuss wrote:A Barnes and Noble will definitely have a copy.

That's good, because that is all we have left in my city. I am going there today with my son, so I will see if I can find it.

by Skitzo-phrenick Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:01 pm

Amnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem

Like all his books it's a mindfuck of sci-fi. Already a fourth of the way in and since the beginning have had one giant question mark of awe and 'wtf' over my head. XD Love this man... seriously always walking the line of genius and insanity.

by Lara Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:20 pm

As I don't own book 5 in Jane Lindskold's "Wolf" series, I've started reading Mindy L. Klasky's "Glasswright" series.

by **Gadreille** Sun Apr 10, 2011 10:24 pm

Finished the second Wheel of Time book, and seriously contemplating whether to pick up the third. I don't really like it, but I feel bad for not liking it because several people I know do like it, and yea. I feel like a let down if I don't finish it. But I've got twelve books left to read if I am going to stick to it...that's a lot...

by **Blackrock** Mon Apr 11, 2011 2:54 am

Haven't read the Wheel of Time myself, but a friend of mine was in a similar situation - he told me that he didn't really like the first few books, but after that it really became interesting for him. Now he's re-reading them all over again. Make of it what you wish. Razz

by Guest Mon Apr 11, 2011 2:58 am

It was the same way with me. The first book was alright. The second book kind of... sucked. The third was great, and so was the fourth and fifth. I stopped halfway through the fifth, though, for reasons entirely unknown to me. I reread them all and am now almost to the point I stopped at before. From the first book on, they have all been great this time around.

by The Melancholy Spirit Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:23 am

I did my usual read three-five pages of a book to get a feel for the writing with the first Wheel of Time book and found the writing to be bland, boring, and without... flavor? So, never even gotten past that point.

Anyway, currently reading The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds. Sci-fi written by a guy with a PhD in astronomy and worked as an astrophysicist from 1991 to 2007? Love it.

by **Blackrock** Thu Apr 21, 2011 2:45 am

Reynolds, huh? I tried to read another book by him Revelation Space (I think both that and The Perfect are set in the same universe) when I was younger, but I must admit that my fledgling mind wasn't up to the task yet. I read the first 30 or so pages and couldn't for the life of me gather what was going on (both plot and idea wise). I should probably give it another go now,from what I remember it was a pretty solid read. Smile

As for me, I'm currently reading Changeling by Roger Zelazny. It's an interesting blend of sci-fi and fantasy, pairing up technology and magic (at first I was like, ooooh this remind me of Arcanum; for you old RPG fans) as well as Zelazny's original, slightly wacky as usual, ideas. Basically, the story starts off with two kids - one from the world of magic and one from the world of technology being exchanged to preserve the Balance. As they grow older though, their natural abilities come to the surface and they both realise that they aren't meant to be part of their respective world. Fun stuff.

by The Melancholy Spirit Thu Apr 21, 2011 3:12 am

Heh. I can understand that happening when reading Reynolds. This is actually the first book I've picked up by him, and yes The Prefect is in the Revelation Space universe, but it takes place something like two hundred years earlier. So far I'm loving it.

And, nice. Arcanum. I haven't heard that game mentioned in ages.

by **Kathryn Lacey** Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:35 pm

Blackrock, the only books by Zelazny that I've read are those in the Chronicles of Amber, and I really liked them. I may have to grab Changling and give it a go!

by **Blackrock** Fri Apr 22, 2011 4:26 pm

You might do that, Kathryn. I was recently pretty much in the same situation as you, I had read the Amber series and a couple of short stories from Zelazny, but never anything else from his works. I then started with Creatures of Light and Darkness: a weird mix of mythology, religion, science, fantasy and dark humour, all told in the present tense (a harder read than you might expect) and then moved on to Changeling. It's nothing new by far, but it's true to Zelazny's style and shares similarities with his ideas on magic in Amber - namely, the lines of power from which magic is weaved.

I still consider Zelazny's magnus opus to be the Chronicles of Amber, but these other works are all pretty solid.

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