What are you nerds reading? :D

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

I have a habit of keeping more than one book on the go at once, so the titles I'm currently reading are Breaking The Spell by Daniel Dennett and From Dust To Life by John Chambers and Jacqueline Mitton, although my copy of the Firefly pen-and-paper RPG was delivered today so I'll have to begin making time for that in my schedule as well.

The last book series I read was the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. The ending made me want to face desk after all of those books.

Really? I don't want to get into it since another member in this very thread is about to finish it but I thought the ending was excellent.

It wasn't really an ending. Hell, even Stephen King writes a warning before the actual ending to stop reading. Kind of bad when the author tells you to stop reading.

To be fair

Spoiler: Dark Tower discussion bit

The ending(s) are split into the 'happy' ending for Roland's companions and then followed by Roland's tragic epilogue. The warning by King is there to reinforce the idea that King is not making up Roland's story but merely reporting it, hence the 'don't read any further, you won't like what I've had to write' disclaimer. If you remember, when Roland is asking King why he stopped telling Roland's story, King replies " I got scared. I didn't like what you'd become". By seeming reluctant to finish his own book, it adds credence to the concept of Roland having his own life outside of King's control. I agree with Tippy, the ending was excellent.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Color of Magic was alright
Light Fantastic (is that the one with the sentient piece of luggage? Cause if so, I kind of liked it)
Equal Rights was good
Mort was AWESOME!
Wyrd Sisters I did not like

Basically the series was really hit and miss for me and when I ran out of books to read from that series, I just sort of...stopped trying to get them again.

Those are all stuff from way back in the 80s. Mort is awesome, but I don't think Pratchett really hit his stride until much later. I'd recommend giving him another shot and reading Night Watch. Really. It's the book that turned Pratchett into one of my favourite authors, rather than just one I kinda pass the time with.

Anyway, I came to this thread because I haven't read a good book in ages and I want to trawl it for ideas ^^ I need to get my friend to lend me Mogworld...

The last good books I read were The Song of Ice and Fire series, Fahrenheit 451 by err... it wasn't Huxley... Bradbury? Which I'd definitely recommend in any case, especially if you liked 1984 or generally Orwellian fiction. I also tried reading Riddley Walker, but I think I've since lost it due to my many house moves.

snip

There's a Going Postal movie?? Why did nobody tell me this? Who the hell did they get to play Moist?

 

[Piorn]

Just finished Hyperion.
It had pretty cool ideas, and I liked most of it. It felt a little disjointed, and some parts, like the bard's tale were just meh, others like the priest's or scholar's story were great.
Generally a good book, left me wanting more of the series.

 

[Twinrehz]

I read A Storm of Swords during easter. Aside from that, I started on Animal Farm a good while back, but never got around to finish it. Suspect I might have to start over again. The same goes for The God Delusion, though that's going to be a pain to start over, I think I was about halfway through that.

I could go on with the stuff I have lying around that I intend to read some day, but I won't bore you with that. Just gonna say that the 4th book of dune has been in my library for a few years now...

 

[Godhead]

I'm reading the Silmarillion.

I'll probably read Grendel afterwards.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies. It's like that overly sentimental masterpiece that formed the foundation for hundreds of chickflicks to come, but with zombies.

Also re-reading Battle Royale. Honestly, if you listened to the censors, you'd expect huge massacres. Nope, just a few suicides, slashed throats, and rapes-turned-kill the tyrants. Nothing too special. I'd re reading because I'd forgotten about it, but then I watched the movie, and I was all like, "This has to be watered down, right? I mean, Japanese censors blew their fucking chunks over this, and they let a lot of iffy things pass."

It's still an exceptional book, though.

 

[Twintix]

There's a Going Postal movie?? Why did nobody tell me this? Who the hell did they get to play Moist?

Moist is played by Richard Coyle, whoever that is. I'm not too good with actors. I hope that it's good...

The golem on the cover, though, looks...weird. It doesn't look like the golems as I imagined them, it kinda creeps me out.

 

[bojackx]

For the last few months I've been slowly reading through the Spice and Wolf light novels that are currently being translated (volume 12 was just released and I'm starting it tonight).

To be perfectly honest they're not great reads, but I can't really think of what kind of books I like and they are engaging enough to have me keep coming back. I tried reading Dune a while back and just found it to be a chore, whilst I've loved both of Yahtzee's books. I also have the first Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sat on my shelf but I've never gotten around to reading it.

Not much of a bookworm really.

 

[SirDeadly]

I just finished A Dance With Dragons and now I'm reading the fourth book in the Brotherband series.

 

[Lord Garnaat]

Aside from the obvious schoolbooks, I've been making my way through a neat theology book by G.K. Chesterton called The Everlasting Man. I tried reading it once before, but got blindsided by work and couldn't finish - and as a very active reader, I take that as a personal mark of dishonor and shame on my family. So this time, I'm doing it for real.

The most recent one's that I've finished, however, were several short stories by H.P. Lovecraft (who I'm sure requires no introduction to the well-read people here, but I still feel the need to say are great anyways) and a sci-fi book from the 1950's called A Canticle For Leibowitz, which I read no less than three times and have been recommending to every living organism I come across.

I'm serious, it's incredible. Go read it right now.

 

[Kosturi]

Just getting started on Wheel of Time

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

Going through a stack of historical non-fiction. Currently, I'm tackling U.S. Diplomacy Since 1900 by Robert D. Schulzinger. For historical research, it's fairly a fairly light read.

Recently finished a lengthy set consisting of The Causes of the War of 1812 by Reginald Horsman, The Cultural Cold War by Frances Stonor Saunders, Marrow of Tragedy: The Health Crisis of the American Civil War by Margaret Humphreys, and Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War by Max Hastings. All were excellent reads.

I am currently reading War Plan Orange: The US Strategy to Defeat Japan, 1897-1945 by Edward S. Miller. It is pretty good so far.

May I suggest Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy by Eri Hotta as a follow-up? She gives an excellent description of how the war came about from the Japanese perspective. While she is sympathetic to the various people in the Japanese government (and does point out some gaffes on the American side of the diplomatic coin), she outright states that Japan's leadership fell victim to shortsightedness and stubbornness which really what made the war inevitable.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

There's a Going Postal movie?? Why did nobody tell me this? Who the hell did they get to play Moist?

Moist is played by Richard Coyle, whoever that is. I'm not too good with actors. I hope that it's good...

The golem on the cover, though, looks...weird. It doesn't look like the golems as I imagined them, it kinda creeps me out.

Oh man. I just googled it, the golem looks awful. It doesn't look like a man made from baked clay. It looks like a fat man that rolled in around in mud. With a fucked up face.

They got vetinari about right though. He looks like the bloke who plays Tywin Lannister, who would also probably make a good Vetinari.

 

[tippy2k2]

Just getting started on Wheel of Time

Are you in for a treat!

I loved Wheel of Time!

It got kind of...boring isn't really the right word but there's a lot of walking from A to B in the middle of the series. Overall though, I thought WoT was an absolutely excellent series.

 

[imperialwar]

Miyomoto Mushashi's Five Rings and Irritable man syndrome and How to succeed in 12 months
Arnold Schwatzeneger's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, and a manual from the shoalin kung fu temple

 

[Little Woodsman]

Currently on the third book of the Ancient Enemy series.. it's honestly not very good. I like the basic concept and ideas, but it's not very well executed. At the end of the second book in the series I wasn't going to read any more, but then the third was available for 99 cents, so I'm giving it a shot.

Been picking up and reading some of Charles De Lint's short stories individually (mostly gotten them in anthologies up til now). Of these I've recently read The Butter Spirit's Tithe, Crow Roads, Dog Boys, Companions to the Moon and Dharma.

 

[Vault101]

I've gotten into Sara waters latley...read two of her books, her thing seems to be Historical fiction often with a lesbian romance (and a twist) in there

her better known one Fingersmith I absolutly loved, set in victorian era a girl from the seedy parts of london agrees to help an aquaintence (a con man) marry a a woman from a country house, put her in an asylum and steal her fortune...you can probably guess what happens next. A little victorian at first but once it gets going it REALLY gets going

second one was Affinity, a "lady" spinster recovering from some drama in her life (an attempted suicide and an overbearing mother) she goes to make visits to a jail and is drawn to a woman who claims to be a spirit medium...she falls in love...but the ending absolutly broke my heart

Spoiler: major spoilers

Turns out the spirit medium is a fraud who preys on valunerable rich woman, her lover is the main charachters Maid who facilitates her escapse...aslo with the help of a kind gaurd whom she claimed to be able to see her dead son...she runs off with some of the main charachters money....fucking devastating

I want to read Night watch but I'm trying to take a break from the author....can't deicde what I want to read next, mbaye I'll continue with the Honor Harrington novels...as rediculous as they are

I'm starting to not read things that don't....cater to my tastes, books being so numerous I can be spoilt by but I don't want to be put off just because the protagonist is male or is has a hetero romance

I've been meaning to read Acilliary justice....it does a very interesting thing with gender and pronouns, the main charachter is a ship AI ina human body who refers to everyone as "she" and [/i]I can't gender! I'm a ship...gendering is haaaarrrrd![/i]

also John Scalizi's lock in comes out in a bit....aparently its really good

There's a Going Postal movie?? Why did nobody tell me this? Who the hell did they get to play Moist?

I saw it TV ageis ago...i think its a TV movie/mini series (which as far as the BBC goes isn't a bad thing for quality) I remember it being fairly spot on

actually speaking of which there was a mini series of Fingersmith...which was I think pretty good although I wondered if it simplified the two main charachters a bit..to make them more sympathetic

 

[dragonswarrior]

I love reading threads!!!

Right now I'm rereading the Harry Potter series for the umpteenth time. Won't take long.

Before that I was reading a really mixed bag called Red Moon. A werewolf book that was really well written in some ways, but was unintentionally racist and kinda overtly sexist, so I put it down. Also the author had a really annoying habit of trying to clobber you over the head with metaphor. It was really annoying. I might finish it when I'm done with HP.

Mostly though, after HP I'm looking forward to finishing Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet. I read the first book several weeks ago and it was really good.

 

[dragonswarrior]

Just getting started on Wheel of Time

Are you in for a treat!

I loved Wheel of Time!

It got kind of...boring isn't really the right word but there's a lot of walking from A to B in the middle of the series. Overall though, I thought WoT was an absolutely excellent series.

*laughing* Kind of boring? You don't think that's a bit of an understatement? I couldn't even finish book 10 it was so shit.

1 through 6 were amazing though, and 7 was pretty good. 9 was also shit, but still not as bad as 10.

I really wan't to reread the series though and see if I can make it through those last couple of RJ books. I love Sanderson to pieces, and really want to read the end of the series.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

I'm still on Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. I was rocketing through it for a while, but I've slowed down a lot the past few days, because nothing has bloody happened in about 150 pages. Still enjoying it, just hit a slow patch. Definitely recommended for anyone who wants an epic standalone fantasy novel.

I've also tried getting back to basics with my music production and started reading Sound Synthesis and Sampling by Martin Russ.