What do YOU read

[capin Rob]

Just wondering, I see threads were people ask for book recomendations, But this is not one of those threads. Just post what books you are reading and why you like/dislike it.

In the fiction market I'm reading through the Splinter Cell novels, I like them fairly well.


As for the Non-Fiction, A few months ago I read Jarhead, By Anthony Swofford. It was a great read about the Persian gulf war. I just recently picked up a copy of Generation Kill, It's about US Marines in Iraq. (If you can't tell, I'm into books on war.)

But one Piece of Writing I REALLY loved was Solider X, By Don Wulffson. He talks about his time in WW2, He was a Nazi, but through a series of attacks and firefights, he manages to disguise him self as a russian solider using his fluncey in Russian, it was a very compelling piece, I loved all of these books.

So... What do YOU read?

 

[delet]

I'm currently half way through the Necronomicon, which holds most of H.P. Lovecraft's major works. Wonderful writer, he is. It seems the stories are in chronological order from when he wrote 'em too so I get to see how he developed and progressed as a writer. Lovely...

 

[Glamorgan]

Well, Twilight is great!
Bahahaha. I'm kidding. I wouldn't touch that thing with a ten foot pole.
Harry Potter is just plain awesome. I just finished reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and a few others I can't really remember. To be honest, I don't read all that much anymore.

 

[Omikron009]

I'm not currently reading anything, having finished pretty much all of the books that I own, but the last thing I read was the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I had read them before, but it was over a very long period of time and the long breaks I took made it hard to follow the plot, especially when it came to the last two books. I understood it fully this time, and it made for a very enjoyable reading experience.

 

[blankedboy]

Well, amazingly enough, I'm reading Wild Swans, a Chinese biography/biography/autobiography. It follows three generations of a family, absolutely increedible book.

 

[Jezzascmezza]

There's no time to read when there's gaming to be done!!

 

[arsenicCatnip]

Currently, I'm re-reading the Hollows novels by Kim Harrison. I have the series up to book 7 (book 8 was released in hardback in February, so I'm waiting for it to come out in paperback).

I really love this series because it's a very different (and modern) take on witches, vampires, werewolves, and other creatures of the supernatural... and I like the idea that they could be living in our midst, waiting for some major event to bring them out.

Spoiler: For those who want to know more...

The novels are set in Cincinnati, 40 years after a catastrophe called The Turn. A genetically engineered virus escaped lab containment and attached itself to a genetically engineered tomato, spreading all over the world within days. It killed off half the world's human population, but barely touched those known as 'Inderlanders' (witches, vampires, Weres, pixies, and fairies). The Inderlanders kept the world together, and now they live freely with humans. (And tease them by eating tomatoes, which the humans won't touch.)

The main character of the stories is a witch named Rachel Morgan. She's an adrenaline junkie, and gets herself mixed up with demons, living vampires (long story) and Weres to fill that need... and it's always a wild ride.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I'm currently reading The Last Command, part 3 of the Thrawn Trilogy. For the ones who don't know, it's a Star Wars novel. I'm enjoying it very much and by the gods Thrawn is AWESOME!

 

[LongAndShort]

Just finished 'The Secret Pilgrim' by Le Carre. I like the spy mystery thriller genres. Now I'm reading 'The girl with the Dragon Tattoo.'

 

[Keava]

Currently its Neil Gaimans "Anansi Boys" which is tied to his "American Gods" somewhat.

As far as my general literature likes go, its pretty much anything that might catch my interest, be it fantasy, sci-fi, horror, criminal, or anything else on that matter.

 

[The Tommunist]

the judging eye by R scott Bakker.

and i'm lovin it.

 

[Plurralbles]

Sherlock Holmes
Relentless
I am Legend
pandemic
Velocity


My absolute favorite works of the last 6 months.

I like them because they're freakin' awesome!

Though, I disiliked that Relentless, for the longest time had the antagonist simply there to be a dick and then the ending was just fucking magic. I hate when something so breaking as what happened happens because then I realized that nothing mattered after they got those things in their pockets. Absolute destruction of suspense and drama knowing the characters now have a reset button.

 

[Dxz5roxg]

I've been meaning to get around to reading some books since I do like reading but with it being summer break I've been pretty lazy about reading.

However I am reading a lot of stuff about driving in an online Driver's Ed class. I'm not liking it all that much but in the end it'll be worth it.

 

[Lawnmooer]

Darren Shan's Demonata series. They are great, my imagination (Alot of violent images) and stories about demons ripping people apart means I get alot of enjoyment out of them

 

[Betancore]

I'm currently alternating between several books:

A New Republic book called 'Destiny's Way' by Walter Williams - I found the plot of this book really easy to follow despite not having read any other Star Wars EU books. I know most of the characters from the films anyway, although it's pretty depressing how some things have turned out following ROTJ. It's pretty good so far.

I've started a few 40k books as well. Two Dan Abnett books, 'Ravenor' and 'Titanicus' as well as 'Faith & Fire' by James Swallow. No complaints except that I really can't be bothered reading them anymore.

And finally, my current bedside table book, 'When You Are Engulfed In Flames' by David Sedaris. It's a collection of essays and it's easy to just read one each night before sleeping. They're pretty funny and very observant; makes me laugh and think in equal proportions.

 

[ScatterBen]

As for the Non-Fiction, A few months ago I read Jarhead, By Anthony Swofford. It was a great read about the Persian gulf war. I just recently picked up a copy of Generation Kill, It's about US Marines in Iraq. (If you can't tell, I'm into books on war.)

Have you seen the HBO mini-series of Generation Kill? I really enjoyed that but I haven't read the book. It's a very different kind of war story more akin to Jarhead (according to my friends, at least, I haven't seen that) so you might enjoy it. There is rarely any combat and pretty much no big set pieces like in most war dramas, such as Band of Brothers. I don't mean to ruin it for you, but I just think you should go in expecting as much so you can appreciate what's there - a fantastic story and criticism of the invasion of Iraq.

Obviously, I can't comment on how true to the book the show was, but it's made by David Simon, a reporter himself, who also created The Wire, which is another brilliant show, so I trust that he would stay as close to the book as he'd be allowed.

I, myself, don't read too much but I will occasionally pick up a book. A few months back I read Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy, three fantastic books. It's just such a shame that he died before finishing off more, since he'd planned on writing up to ten in the series! They are all very good thrillers, and the films are out soon too (in fact, most of Europe has the DVD of the second now, whereas in the UK we're still waiting on the first ... ridiculous). Definitely page turners and worth a look if that's anyone's kind of thing.

At the moment I'm reading a book called Homicide: Life On the Killing Streets. It's, again, David Simon. He chronicles a year he took out of reporting in the Baltimore Sun to sit with the homicide unit. That said - he wrights as though it's fiction and gives great insight into the mind of a "murder police", even momentarily criticizing typical crime writers like Agatha Christie for their skewed portrayal of how homicide detectives work - there is no passion to avenge a victim, only to gain a stat.

It's so brilliant because it's so brutally honest. You'll be laughing at the banter between police, and then suddenly feel disgust at the surrounding city and the standards people allow themselves to live in. Then, just when you think these people deserve no pity, he pulls it from under you and shows you innocence in it's most honest form (for example, the main murder he follows - an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped, stabbed several times, and possibly raped, before being left in an ally ... just because she chose to go the library on her own after school). Simon knows that you're not police and uses it to his advantage, for, while they will be desensitized to it all, you aren't, and you really get pulled into the struggle.

 

[Sebenko]

Metro 2033
Roadside Picnic
And Leviathan. Yeah, I think it might be a kids book, but it has nice pictures.

 

[kimba_lion]

i am currently reading book 8 of Robert Jordans the whell of time. the books are amazing if you like indepth and well written fantasy.

i have read too many books to count and yes i have read the twilight books and harry potters and all garth nix books.

and David eddings, raymond e fiest,... alot of fantasy..

 

[Cogwheel]

Hyperion, roughly 100 pages in. Horrifying story is horrifying.

 

[Queen Michael]

Usually I read classics, but now I'm taking a short break from In Search of Lost Time to read The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.