Re: What Are You Reading?

[Guest]

I just have to say that The Stormlight Archive: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. I'm only a quarter of the way through, and I am already pissed that the next book won't be out until sometime in 2013. I mean, this book came out in 2010!

You fail to mention how damn BIG that book is.

BIG? It is not BiG enough! Do you realize how long I have to wait for the next one to come out?

[Kalon Ordona II]

I'm almost done with a massive tome entitled The Seven Basic Plots, by Christopher Booker.
The guy has Done His Research.

[Guest]

I finally finished The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson. Absolutely amazing, and it got even better in the very last page...

The biggest problem is that the author has too much going on. It will probably be late next year before the next book actually comes out. I can't wait!

[CaitlynnTrevor]

I am re-reading “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman. It is a worth read for personal development. I highly recommend reading it!

[Icipher]

Currently finishing reading through Shadow over Innsmouth by Lovecraft at the moment, as I wait until a time I can get the hardcover version of Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds.

[Guest]

I just started reading What If?, a book of counterfactuals by several different historians. Basically, they are imagining how things would be different if small, seemingly insignificant moments in time had happened differently.

For example, if Alexander the Great had died in the first major encounter of his campaign against the Persians (which he very nearly did), the world would be far different from the way we know it today.

In fact, of the three essays I have read so far, it is by sheer chance alone (as well as the audacity and natural luck of man) that the three major religions, as well as western ideals incubated in Greece, survived to this day. There are so many times in history where things could have changed, eliminated every familiar aspect of todays world. Kind of scary when you think of it that way. Makes our world seem far more dynamic in a way.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Oh wow, I love stuff like that! I should look up that book. ^^

Finished The Seven Basic Plots the other day. Finally. All 700-some pages of it.
Every writer needs to read it, as far as I'm concerned. It's that awesome. It can get a little repetitive sometimes later on in the book, but that's probably because it took him about 30 years to write. Which itself just makes it that much more epic.


Anyway, moving on, now I'm into another L.E. Modesitt, Jr. novel, entitled Imager. Looks pretty cool so far. He's definitely got me hooked into the story.

[cheeseface]

Currently I’m reading ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John green. The story is based on a teenage girl with terminal cancer whose expectations for her life and death, so far it seems really interesting to read.

[Kathryn Lacey]

I added both What If? and The Seven Basic Plots to my to-reads list on GoodReads. They seem fascinating!

cheese, that book would probably make me cry. I may or may not avoid it at all costs... >.>;;


A couple of days ago, I finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy. It wasn't omg-super-spectactular-awesome, but it was a fun read, and they were pretty okay books.

Now, I'm reading The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. It follows the lives of five different people as they experience the war in Bosnia that happened in the 90's.

The reason this appeals to me is this: when I was a senior in high school, I used to be involved in the large group Iowa High School Speech Association. Basically, it's a competition, divided into several different groups of acting classes ((like musical theatre, improvisation, one-act play, group mime, etc. etc.)). My favorite was always Choral Reading, and that year, my favorite teacher/the director of Choral Reading adapted a half hour skit from Savatage's Dead Winter Dead album. It's about a man who played a cello during the Bosnian war despite the dangers to himself, and he managed to bring two young people from opposing sides together through his playing upon his death.

Anyway, upon further investigation - because my grandma told me that sounded extremely familiar - my mother found that the cellist was a real man, but he didn't die. His name is Vedran Smailović, and he played his cello in real life in the ruined buildings in order to lift his people's spirits during the war.

Anyway, my friend gave me this book for Christmas. I don't know that the Cellist in the book is supposed to exactly be Vedran Smailović, but it's definitely based on him.

[Kalon Ordona II]

I recently finished Imager and just finished Imager's Challenge, and now I'm a ways into the third book, Imager's Intrigue.

Good series! The Imager Portfolio, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.!

[Kathryn Lacey]

Kalon, about what is it?


I just finished reading The Scarlet Pimpernel. Most sexist book against women I've ever read. What's worse I'd that it was written by a woman...

[Kalon Ordona II]

Never read the book, but the movie is one of my favorites. Jane Seymour, Anthony Andrews... IAN MCKELLEN... yup. ^^

Imager is set in a world much like ours, but it has two moons, and it's in its renaissance era. There are steam engines and pistols, but that's about it as far as modern technology. Or there is more--guns and explosives and things--but you don't really see it much. The story takes place in the largest and most favorable nation, Solidar, particularly its capital city, L'Excelsis, where the country is run by the Council. Much of the country is supervised by High Holders--hereditary landowners who have the right to carry out low justice on their lands. They tend to behave as autonomously as possible and make for very bad enemies. Solidar isn't perfect. Surrounding nations have much more tension, however, for differing reasons.

All this sets the stage and drives the plot. Our hero, Rhennthyl, is the eldest son of a moderately wealthy wool factor. In the early parts of the book we follow him through his early life, how he becomes an apprentice portraiturist--the wool business isn't for him.

Later, things get interesting. Sometimes, when he paints, he can make minor corrections to his work as he's painting, if he thinks about it hard enough and knows exactly how it should be. He vaguely recognizes this as a form of imaging--a mysterious talent few know much about and try not to ponder too closely. Essentially visualizing things into being.

Eventually Rhenn's talents grow in him without his realizing it. He images a lantern to light in his sleep, not realizing how. Eventually, disaster strikes, and his prospects for the future are dashed. Circumstances leave him little choice. He no longer has any doubt that he has some imaging ability. Perhaps the mysterious and feared river-island in the city, or more precisely the imagers living on it, among the granite buildings of the Colleguim Imago, will take him in.

dun dun DUNNN.... ^^

It's a good hero. Let's just say he has more talent than he realizes. Of course. ^^ It's not like, "you can do THAT? nobody has been able to do that since So-and-so-epic-dude, centuries ago," but it does have elements of that whilst keeping it believable, natural, and intelligent. Sort of a Trust The Hero, He's Awesomer Than You Think, kind of deal. ^_^ Awesome without being over the top.

[Kathryn Lacey]

I want to see that movie. I heard they were a but looser with the plot than the book laid out, so I have faith that I can enjoy it.

Is that steam punk? I've never read anything in that genre, but the book sounds interesting!

[Kalon Ordona II]

I dunno. I guess you'd have to call it that, but it's not really "steampunk" steampunk. That is, it's not trying to be steampunk, it just happens to have steam, off in the background. And punks.

---

Yeah it's a very, very good movie.

[Guest]

I just finished reading the final book in the Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi series. Apocalypse was amazing, and I think it raised the bar for the Star Wars EU (compared to pretty much everything since The New Jedi Order). The series as a whole was a bit shaky, and I felt like they didn't really know where they were going. Despite its shortcomings, the last book really succeeded. There were problems, of course, but they were minor compared to the rest of its successes. The ending was astoundingly great, and the Star Wars universe as a whole feels a whole lot different to me now.

Now I'm reading Halo: Primordium in The Forerunner Saga. I've been wanting this book for so long now...

[Guest]

I forgot to mention that I did finish Halo: Primordium. It was not nearly as great of a book as I was hoping for, though there were certainly some interesting revelations. Overall, it was a bit of a disappointment.

The book I am currently reading, Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds, is actually very good. It is the most entertaining science fiction novel I have read since Ring and Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter. It is a bit of a darker scenario than most sci-fi I've read, but it is most definitely interesting. Unfortunately, Alistair Reynolds is not really a very good writer in terms of character dialogue, but he was able to create some very unique characters that I do like. I just wish he could make them more... real.
The concepts and technology he has introduced in this novel are very interesting as well. Chasm City, Yellowstone, the Melding Plague, the Amarantin, the Dawn War... there are so many beautifully made places and ideas in this book. Fortunately it is a slow read, because I really don't want it to be over.

I am also reading the John Carter of Mars series for the FOG book club, but I won't get into that here. My thoughts are all related in that thread.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Besides the Warlord of Mars series, I've been reading Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher.

Incarceron.
Awesome title. I support awesome titles, so I had to check it out. ^_^
It just sounds cool, doesn't it? xD
Incarceron.

It's a pretty good read. I'm about two-thirds through it.

I also started reading the Death Note manga off and on, recently.
I didn't think it'd be that good, but my curiosity was too much, and it hooked me. xD
I like the premise. It's like "Here's a godmod. What do you do?"

[Moon Ray]

I am currently reading Princino de Marso. Which is Princess Of Mars in Esperanto.

There is something totally wicked about reading adventure science fiction in a language you barely know. It's like translating ancient hieroglyphics on the moon. ...or Mars. Every time I decipher another chapter I feel like I'm the first person who's ever seen it and known what it means.

...the fact that E.R.Burroughs framed it in the concept of his uncle's journal just feeds into my fantasy.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Esperanto! Sweet!
That is awesome! xDD

I'm more the person who would translate a book into a language like that. Sindarin, maybe, if there were more words in it.

[Moon Ray]

I'm sad to say I never learned Sindarin. Partly because when I read Tolkien's books, the internet was barely invented and there was nobody to teach me. These days I just think that there would be nobody to share it with. And without a dictionary, it's hardly a proper language anyway.

Although, if you could write a story with it. I would totally change my mind. Even a kids story -you know, on big cardboard pages. I would start learning today, and have the pages illustrated tomorrow. ^__^ (Creating kids books is a hobby of mine.) ...I wonder who I could give it to?

Esperanto might be my favorite language ever. At first I thought that the simplicity would limit people to simple expressions, but the more I read the more I see how poetic it can be. Plus, it's easy. Project Gutenbreg has a fairly good selection of translated books to choose from. I was thinking of doing Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde next. I've never read that one either.

[Icipher]

It'd be easier to learn Sindarin if Tolkien had actually completed it. As is... the real language isn't built enough to be used in conversation.

Anyway, currently reading a few books actually. The main one at the moment though is The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. Rather wish I could read it in the original Polish, but, I don't know the language so the English version has to suffice. For those who don't know, its the first book featuring Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher (where the games of said title featuring said character cam from).

[Moon Ray]

I finally started reading a fanfic on my bucket list:


Harry Potter and the Methods Of Rationality

I don't usually go for fanfic unless the writer brings something significant to the table. THIS fic, I'm pleased to say, goes above and beyond all expectations.

The premise, if you don't know, is that 10 yr old Harry Potter is raised by his loving aunt and uncle, who taught him to value science. So when he goes to the wizarding world, he approaches everything rationally. He conducts experiments that apparently nobody in the magical world has thought to try (and you know it occurred to you too). He concludes that it would only take him a couple months to rule the whole world. =]

The science is real and interesting. And the scenes are just HILARIOUS. Chapter 5 is my favorite so far -when Harry and Draco meet while getting their robes fitted. But the sorting hat was good too. And I've only just started!

[AlyssAsylum]

A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin

[Guest]

I finally started reading a fanfic on my bucket list:


Harry Potter and the Methods Of Rationality

I don't usually go for fanfic unless the writer brings something significant to the table. THIS fic, I'm pleased to say, goes above and beyond all expectations.

The premise, if you don't know, is that 10 yr old Harry Potter is raised by his loving aunt and uncle, who taught him to value science. So when he goes to the wizarding world, he approaches everything rationally. He conducts experiments that apparently nobody in the magical world has thought to try (and you know it occurred to you too). He concludes that it would only take him a couple months to rule the whole world. =]

The science is real and interesting. And the scenes are just HILARIOUS. Chapter 5 is my favorite so far -when Harry and Draco meet while getting their robes fitted. But the sorting hat was good too. And I've only just started!

I don't know why, but that actually sounds interesting...

I'm currently reading Stephen Baxter's Titan. Not sure about it yet. I'm actually thinking about reading it backward.

[Moon Ray]

Mark Twain's Library of Humor, Edited by Steve Martin

An excerpt for the redheads:

Spoiler:

[Gadreille]

Ahh Moonpie, how I miss thee.

I just finished A Feast for Crows (book 4 of A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin).

I began this series because my brother was reading them, and all of my family quite enjoyed the television adaption. But I refused to watch it without first reading the book.

All in all I don't love the series, but I am determined to finish it. I have to find a way to pry A Dance With Dragons out of my brother's fingers. However, I'm somewhat dreading it. I had falsely assumed that this series was completed. Come to find out that he wants to write at least two more. Lovely. Another series I may never finish!

[Guest]

I just got the last book of the Wheel of Time series. I started over about two months back, and I am now on Book 3. Someday, I will actually be done. But I can't pick up anything else until I finish it, or I will get derailed.

[Lara]

I really want to read A Dance With Dragons. Only two more months (give or take) till it finally comes out in paperback!!

I've decided that I haven't read enough of my Iris Johansen books, so I'm pulling them from my bookshelf and not putting them back in until I've read them. (My goal is to read all of the Eve Duncan books I have, and then progress to her other stories.) I'm currently on my third one, Quicksand. (I'm not reading them in order.)

[Syrena]

When George R. R. Martin comes up in casual conversation among my family, someone always asks whether or not I've read Game of Thrones. Now, I do pretty much have a flashing neon aura that suggests I'll devour a fantasy book, if such a book were to get to close, of course. Ironically, though, I've never touched any of his books.

I think I'm afraid that I won't like his writing; especially since so many of my family members assume that I'll love Martin like I love Robin Hobb or Kelly Meding. But I'm not so sure. My grandmother spent years trying to force To Kill a Mockingbird down my throat. She was determined that I would absolutely adore the book. Naturally, I hate the book and can't seem to get past the first chapter…

One of these days, though, I am going to read To Kill a Mockingbird. Hopefully. I'm pretty sure I hate the book because I'm told I'll love it and think it's the best book ever. And I'm also going to get around to reading Martin's stuff. I want to watch the television show, but I have to read the books first!

Ysopet, how is the Wheel of Time series? Books from that series keep finding their way into my recommendation list from Barnes and Noble. Until now, though, I haven't known anyone who has read any of the books.

Anyway, right now I'm reading—trying to read—The Art Forger by Barbara Shapiro. I was very intrigued with the book in the beginning. What's not to like about references to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist? Art theft fascinates me to no end!

All of a sudden, though, I'm just not interested in the book. I don't think my lack of interest is due to the writing either. Perhaps I am just horribly moody this week; I have been bristling at the oddest things. I do plan to finish the book, however. I hate starting a book and quitting halfway through.

[Kathryn Lacey]

I really love To Kill a Mockingbird. I thought it was really well written, and it was clever to write such an important issue from the point of view of a child so there isn't quite as much bias that becomes ingrained in us over time.

I haven't read George R. R. Martin's books yet. It's an incomplete series, and he takes like... a million years between books to publish the next one. It's not necessarily a bad thing because it means he'll have plenty of time to go over and over it to make sure it's perfect, but as a reader, I hate waiting between books.

I've been told that the television series pretty much follows the books almost to a T which is why my boyfriend stopped reading it. He wants to watch the show spoiler-free.

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