what are you reading?

Laudo · Post by **Laudo** » 14 Nov 2009, 23:43

So a while ago I was in Barnes and Noble and saw a graphic novel called The Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M, so I picked it up, and read it. It was the personification of perfection. Turns out (as I'm sure most of you know), the graphic novels are spin-offs of a trilogy of novels called The Looking Glass Wars. Very good books. Very quick reads, as they're meant to be child-accessible, but good nonetheless. I strongly recommend them.

JanO · Post by **JanO** » 16 Nov 2009, 03:39

I absolutely LOVED American Gods.... The only drawback was that the suposed "lead" wasn't very intersting, but the rest of the cast was f**king amazing. The thing with chernobog and his hammer, the two-man con, the messed-up ogre and the car on the ice, the morticians.... Just perfect!
Now reading "The Qumran Mystery". It's originally French, and I'm reading it in Dutch because I was warned away from the horrible English Translation. Liking it so far, the opening chapter is one that I will remember for years to come!!

Ruth · Post by **Ruth** » 16 Nov 2009, 10:06

Currently reading "under the dome" - the new Stephen King.

sixhoursoflucy · Post by **sixhoursoflucy** » 16 Nov 2009, 13:39

Hey Ruth, what is that book about? I saw it in the bookstore the other day but couldn't find any info inside the jacket. The cover seemed reminiscent of that comic book Girls from a few years ago.

Laudo · Post by **Laudo** » 16 Nov 2009, 14:04

It's about a town that gets trapped under an invisible dome. No one can get in out out. It's also a political commentary in relation to the power structure during the Bush administration.

Ruth · Post by **Ruth** » 16 Nov 2009, 14:15

What he said. Think: Simpsons: the movie, but Horror instead of comedy.
The first hundred pages introducing everyone are pretty slow, afterwards it gets rolling and the situation gets scary as hell - not necessarily because of the dome, but because people suck. especially if they are in a Stephen king novel.

absolutely · Post by **absolutely** » 17 Nov 2009, 19:46

I'm being forced to read Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway for my lit. class right now. Maybe it's just because I'm reading it for school, but for some reason I'm finding this novel both interminably long and mind-numbingly dull.

I look forward to reading for pleasure again.

Crawler · Post by **Crawler** » 17 Nov 2009, 19:55

Instead of dropping twenty bucks on Under the Dome, I took advantage of the special King book prints that came out to complement that book's release, by picking up a $4.99 copy of The Running Man, which, unlike most King books (probably because it's a Bachman book), seems to get started rather quickly.

sixhoursoflucy · Post by **sixhoursoflucy** » 17 Nov 2009, 21:10

It's funny you say that, Crawler, because The Running Man is one of the only King books I've started but never finished. I keep meaning to pick it back up again, but it's just so boring! Meanwhile, I had no trouble plowing through It or the Dark Tower series. Hey, if you can, you should check out some of the other Bachman books if you haven't read them already. Rage and The Long Walk are both great stories. @ absolutely -- I felt very much the same way about that book. It just didn't mesh with my reading style. I like to make sure I'm understanding each sentence in a book as I read, but Woolf's stream-of-consciousness writing style in that book made it just about impossible. She has these long, run-on sentences that move all over the place, and I found I couldn't really break any of them down for comprehension. So, no, I didn't like that book either.

Crawler · Post by **Crawler** » 17 Nov 2009, 22:53

I loved The Long Walk, man. And believe me, if I could find a copy of Rage, I would've jumped on that by now.

antonia31h · Post by **antonia31h** » 18 Nov 2009, 02:49

[QUOTE=absolutely]I'm being forced to read Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway for my lit. class right now. Maybe it's just because I'm reading it for school, but for some reason I'm finding this novel both interminably long and mind-numbingly dull.

I look forward to reading for pleasure again.[/QUOTE]

Yes, Mrs.Dalloway can be extremely long and boring! It is one of my least favourite books! I don't even think I managed to finish it!

A Former UXN Forumite · Post by **A Former UXN Forumite** » 18 Nov 2009, 17:23

Just read Ironside- the next book by Holly Black. Liking this series bigtime. Valient is the next book- gonna pick it up soon. The reviews for Under the Dome look interesting- I may pick that up as well- at least when it's out in paperback

Douglas Mangum · Post by **Douglas Mangum** » 18 Nov 2009, 23:02

I recently started a small tear of reading, after almost a year of not picking up anything. What started it was, on a whim, I finally got around the reading Larry Niven's "classic" Ringworld, the first of its series. I put quotes on classic, as the story itself left me a little uninterested. Though the concept of the Ringworld is great, the story used to explore it left me a little confused about why Niven chose this plot as its vehicle. I've bought the second, but might not read it right away.I next finished the 2nd book in Peter David's Sir Apropos of Nothing series, the Woad to Wuin. I started it last year and just set it down for no particular reason. Happily, I was able to pick up right where I left off. Sad that there's only one more novel left (due to an odd printing rights issue), though I know there is a short-story and a comic mini-series to enjoy as well.Still having megastructures (a la Ringworld) on my mind, I re-read the 5th book of the Riverworld series, the Gods of Riverworld again, mainly to relive some really cool scenes. This was the 3rd time I had read this book in 15 years and I think I took more this time from it than the times before. I might start the series over again in a year or so.Right now, I am reading something I've had in the back of my mind for awhile. I've always wanted to read Atlas Shrugged and in recent months I've been hearing more and more about it and the author, Ayn Rand. However, I decided to read her first book, the Fountainhead. Since it was written first, I basically wanted to follow the path the author took, rather than backwards. I'll probably read Atlas Shurgged sometime next.Douglas Mangum2009-11-18 23:02:26

Chazwinski · Post by **Chazwinski** » 19 Nov 2009, 21:17

I'm in the middle of "Rock Bottom" by Michael Shilling. It's pretty funny so far. I wanted a novel that takes place in the present after reading "Anna Karenina". It's about an L.A. based band about to perform for the last time in Amsterdam. They almost made the big time but fizzled out and the four band members and their manager are all neurotic and self-centered. It's hard to like any of them, but I'm still entertained by them (kinda like Seinfeld).

Laudo · Post by **Laudo** » 19 Nov 2009, 22:39

I'm reading "X-Men: The End" again, and I'm yet again trying to rap me brain around how 'Men and X-Men' was so awful when both 'Dreamers and Demons' and 'Heroes and Martyrs' were fan-freakin'-tastic...

Ruth · Post by **Ruth** » 21 Nov 2009, 05:44

Couldn't finish "The Fountainhead", thoug I've managed to read all other of Rand's novels.
I liked the semi-autobiographical one "We the Living" best.
Her stuff is entertaining if you take it with a grain of salt, but don't take her too serious. That way, madness lies.

Crawler · Post by **Crawler** » 21 Nov 2009, 16:42

I finished The Running Man today, and I'm thinking about getting back into Needful Things. Is it odd that I prefer Bachman to King, even though they're the same person?

Michiru · Post by **Michiru** » 21 Nov 2009, 17:39

[QUOTE=Magpie]Just read Ironside- the next book by Holly Black. Liking this series bigtime. Valient is the next book- gonna pick it up soon. [/QUOTE]Holly Black is the best thing that could ever have happened to YA popular fiction. She has all the elements that are popular in YA--fairies, romance, teenagers realizing they're more special than they thought--and yet her plot never drags, never gets bogged down in any of the elements most YA drags itself into (pages and pages of sap, for example). Her plots move like wildfire consumes a forest, and yet the characters are still interesting and cool.I like her, if you didn't guess. :)I'm reading another YA book called "Uninvited", which is "Twlight" on drugs with good writing. It's a druggie girl whose popular boyfriend dies, comes back as a vampire, and starts stalking her, so they have this weird power play going on where he's trying to get into her room and starts messing with her head to do it. Great dialogue in particular.

grief · Post by **grief** » 22 Nov 2009, 18:00

I feel decided like I'm in the wrong class, but I've been reading the manga Excel Saga lately. I've really fallen out of buying manga over the past few months thanks to a shrink in income and mostly enjoying Marvel's output, but I FINALLY got volumes 16 and 17 and I think I'm back up to date. As such, I decided to re-read ALL of the previous volumes as to refresh my memory.For those not in the know, Excel Saga was created by Rikdo Koshi and revolves around two girls - Excel and Hyatt (both code names) who work for a man named Ill Pallazzo, who is the leader of a group called ACROSS. ACROSS' goal is the "Idealization of the Supreme Idealogical Ideal On Earth" aka world domination. Excel is basically a super-woman - near limitless energy, pretty stupid, but her devotion to ACROSS is to great that she'll stop at nothing (destruction, petty theft, that kinda stuff) to accomplish their goal. Hyatt, on the other hand, is quiet, calm, detached, and some kinda sick. She randomly coughs up PINTS of blood and dies, only to return moments later (much to Excel's horror). At the beginning the series is just really random - Excel and Hyatt trying to complete various tasks and generally failing. It's a comedy series, filled with references to other manga, anime, movies, video games, or society in general. As the series progresses on though, you start to get the hidden back story, especially when Dr. Kapabu and his team get dragged into the series. From then on out, the story plays like a more realistic Power Rangers type show - sentai, I do believe, is the Japanese name - in which costumed defenders must save the world from those who would conquer it. Thankfully for the members of ACROSS, Dr. Kapabu's team not only doesn't like their job, they're pretty bad at it too. At least as bad as Excel and Hyatt. I really enjoy it. After vol. 14/15 the fanservice jumps up notches which, I have to say, is kinda annoying considering the series didn't really have ANY up until that point. If I wanted fanservice, I'd re-read Love Hina or No Need for Tenchi! or any other harem manga. But it's still funny, over the top, and uttery ridiculous.Once I finish Excel Saga I intend to re-read and then finish MAR by Noboyuki Anzai - I've never finished the last four volumes.

Mackers · Post by **Mackers** » 22 Nov 2009, 18:05

Anybody picked up the new wheel of Time book The Gathering storm. Just finished it and was so excited it moved at a much quicker pace, things are starting to get resolved and there were some awesome moments in it!

Chazwinski · Post by **Chazwinski** » 22 Nov 2009, 19:12

I only ever read The Eye of the World. heh.
However, I have seen people reading the new book on the plane, & asked them about it. They've all seemed pretty excited about this book. The bookstore in the airport has a whole wall display where you can get the entire series. That's pretty unusual for the fantasy genre in this particular shop.Chazwinski2009-11-22 19:14:22

Arachne · Post by **Arachne** » 22 Nov 2009, 22:36

[QUOTE=Mackers]Anybody picked up the new wheel of Time book The Gathering storm. Just finished it and was so excited it moved at a much quicker pace, things are starting to get resolved and there were some awesome moments in it!
[/QUOTE]I'm not surprised. Brandon Sanderson can pack a lot of stuff into a book. I'm reading his book Warbreaker right now and I'm really enjoying it. If you like his work, check out Mistborn. It's the first of a trilogy, but it has a very satisfying ending. One of the best epic fantasies I've read.

Mackers · Post by **Mackers** » 23 Nov 2009, 04:18

Cheers Arachne, I'm looking for some new stuff to read! All my fav authors keep dying on me! Ill check Mistborn out! Also read 'The Painted Man' by Peter Brett (Called 'The Warded Man' in the US) a while ago which was really good! Nice concept and centred on the theme of fear! I really liked it!

Magnetolives2 · Post by **Magnetolives2** » 24 Nov 2009, 16:32

I am thinking about starting 1984 very soon. Would anyone suggest otherwise?

absolutely · Post by **absolutely** » 24 Nov 2009, 17:58

[QUOTE=Magnetolives2]I am thinking about starting 1984 very soon. Would anyone suggest otherwise? [/QUOTE]

I'd definitely suggest that you try it. It's not really a fun read, but it is thought-provoking.