TR Book Group - Or what are you reading now?

Skillgannon · Post by **Skillgannon** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:41 pm

So I thought I would start a literary alternative to aro101's Last.fm thread.
What book are you reading at the moment?
And whats your favorite book?

I am reading 'The swords of night and day' by David Gemmel and reckon either I Am Legend by Richard Matheson or one of Stephen King's have got to be my ultimate favorites. Its hard to choose though. I could read Cell a million times and not get bored but Duma Key and The Stand took a part of me with them when I finished reading.
Skillgannon.

theviking · Post by **theviking** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 6:20 pm

I'm currently reading: Lord of lies by David Zindell. You should read the fantasy books of David Zindell, the're of outstanding quality.

Harke the Apostle · Post by **Harke the Apostle** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:21 pm

Galilee - Clive Barker

Lady Nerevar · Post by **Lady Nerevar** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:27 pm

Cry, Beloved Country by Alan Paton for summer reading. the writing style is kind of weird and choppy at first, but you definitely get used to it. about halfway through and i like it, though its not my favorite school related book.

Skillgannon · Post by **Skillgannon** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:59 pm

Lord of the flies, one on my LOST list

I've got it but i haven't read it yet.

Hemitheon · Post by **Hemitheon** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:24 pm

Sex and the City by Candice Bushnell. THinking of writing my thesis about the transformation of Femality from Margaret Fuller to Candace Bushnell.

fstony · Post by **fstony** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:54 pm

The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence
It is very good so far. Not very Spencey, though.

I have recently joined GoodReads and found it fun.

El Scumbago · Post by **El Scumbago** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:57 pm

Paolo Coehlo's 11 Minutes. His elloquence can only be compared to the depth of his work.

Xui'al · Post by **Xui'al** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:24 pm

"Interpreting China's Grand Strategy" by Swaine and Tellis and "Six Days of War" by Oren.

Skillgannon · Post by **Skillgannon** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:04 pm

Whats everybody's favorite genre?

Hemitheon · Post by **Hemitheon** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:59 pm

horror and fantasy and books about high society

Lady Nerevar · Post by **Lady Nerevar** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:08 pm

fantasy, the more involved the better

Skillgannon · Post by **Skillgannon** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:32 pm

So is it just me or do you guys have a fantasy author who really reminds you of The elder scrolls games?

Post by **Haplo** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:55 am

I have an elder scrolls game that reminds me of a lot of fantasy writers.

Skillgannon · Post by **Skillgannon** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:57 am

haha

theviking · Post by **theviking** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:45 am

I can certainly recommend the sovereign stone series to you by Weis&Hickman. The world from that series and the world from the elder scrolls has a lot of similarities. Besides, the story is really good.

Tyrion · Post by **Tyrion** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:55 pm

Currently rereading Henry IV so I can randomly bring up quotes in conversation.

Also, Swann's Way by Marcel Proust.

Skillgannon · Post by **Skillgannon** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:19 pm

Somehow i feel more primitive. Whilst i did recently read Pride and Prejudice, i am now reading a collection of crime noir stories.

Andres Indoril · Post by **Andres Indoril** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:49 pm

I am currently reading "The Day Of The Jackal" by Frederick Forsyth. Don't know why...

Harke the Apostle · Post by **Harke the Apostle** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:56 pm

Haplo wrote:I have an elder scrolls game that reminds me of a lot of fantasy writers.

I've just reread a story that has a river called Vos and giant goblins in the desert, and an ancient monastery with black monks to top it all off.
Two of the other stories from the same bundle have snake beings that look suspiciously like one description of the Tsaeci.
Then of course there are the necromancers.

Xui'al · Post by **Xui'al** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:03 pm

Skillgannon wrote:Whats everybody's favorite genre?

Non-fiction military books, ranging from Peloponnesian War-era Greek tactics to modern grand strategy. Medieval primary source material is also of great interest, especially in the fields of the crusades and Byzantium.

Theo · Post by **Theo** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:20 pm

I have just finished Anna Karenina. I have read really old version, previously owned by my grandfather and written in 19th century Czech. It was a little bit masochistic and little bit funny, but somehow this picturesque language suited more to what the book was about and I cannot imagine reading its modern version now.

Harke the Apostle · Post by **Harke the Apostle** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:23 pm

Skillgannon wrote:Whats everybody's favorite genre?

It used to be scifi...but new Hard Scifi is such a letdown (one can only read that many Stephen Baxter novels), and I don't think there are any good new soft scifi novels written these days.

I've read fantasy too, of course, but there's even more unoriginal crap there. I do like some of the Clive Barker books, but Abarat died on me a bit.

Nanu · Post by **Nanu** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:37 pm

I'm reading through A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and Icebound by Dean Koontz. I enjoy suspense and/or deep fantasy a la SoIaF.

Lady Nerevar · Post by **Lady Nerevar** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 4:16 pm

i swear, we need to start an SoIaF club on TR.

Sniper4 · Post by **Sniper4** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:27 pm

I don't read many books for pleasure, anymore. I enjoyed it as a kid, but thanks to Accelerated Reader (AR), and AP English in high school, I got somewhat burnt out

. My last year of high school, I knew a freshman who took the chance to skip 8th grade just so he could get away from AR. That year, however, the high school adopted the AR system as well

.

I do read the articles in Playboy, if that counts

. Most men go straight for the naked pictures, but the articles are actually quite good.

edit: And of course I read ES lore. I need to re-read the Pocket Guide, in fact. I also want to read the SI books as well.

Nemon · Post by **Nemon** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:06 pm

I read The Lord of teh Ringz mid air between Bergen and Gran Canaria and vice versa. It was the second time though.

Oh, and I just sped through the four seasons of The Office (NBC). If that counts.

Harke the Apostle · Post by **Harke the Apostle** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:35 pm

Sniper4 wrote:
I do read the articles in Playboy, if that counts . Most men go straight for the naked pictures, but the articles are actually quite good.

I thought people read those for the interviews...

gro-Dhal · Post by **gro-Dhal** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 9:45 am

Lady Nerevar wrote:i swear, we need to start an SoIaF club on TR.

What's the point? TR will be finished by the time A Dance With Dragons is releaased!

Lady Nerevar · Post by **Lady Nerevar** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 3:00 pm

gro-Dhal wrote:
Lady Nerevar wrote:i swear, we need to start an SoIaF club on TR.
What's the point? TR will be finished by the time A Dance With Dragons is releaased!

oh snap! not sure who you is dissin' but its bad either way

Tyrion · Post by **Tyrion** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 3:45 pm

Well maybe before the whole series is finished...

I just look at it this way; the longer he takes to get it right, the better it's going to be when I read it. Try The Swan's War trilogy. Good but its no SoIaF though.

I also enjoy ancient history things. Greece, Rome, Egypt, Assyria, India, China, its all good.

fstony · Post by **fstony** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:44 am

Regarding SoIaF, my GoodReads group just did a discussion of the first book. People had a lot to say, but the discussion was dominated by those who didn't appreciate it. Perhaps some of you fans should set the record straight.

I'm a fan of books on historical economics.

Sniper4, what is AR all about and how could it possibly cripple your desire to read?

For those who like fantasy, note that Tor is giving away ebooks right now.

Skillgannon · Post by **Skillgannon** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:11 pm

Hey can someone enlighten me on the subject of SoIaF? What is it?

Andres Indoril · Post by **Andres Indoril** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:36 pm

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_ice_and_fire]Song of Ice and Fire.[/url]

gro-Dhal · Post by **gro-Dhal** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:38 pm

Song of Ice and Fire is the name of a fantasy series by George RR Martin, beginning with A Game of Thrones. It's characterised by a well-researched believable medieval setting, a Byzantine plot full of twists and political manipulations, and a healthy dollop of moral ambiguity. It also doesn't rely overmuch on magic or monsters to drive the plot. It's the only series of it's type I actually read to be honest.

Tyrion · Post by **Tyrion** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:06 pm

I can't find the correct words to describe it. When I die I hope I end up in the SoIaF universe... omg that'd be sweet!

*fanboy*

gro-Dhal · Post by **gro-Dhal** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:19 pm

Chances are you'd be a peasant and end up being chopped to bits by the Cleganes or the Karstarks.

ON TOPIC: I'm reading House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds, who is a very good British SF author.

Jale · Post by **Jale** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:22 pm

Biochemistry - Berg, Tymcsko and Stryer

Wooo university preparation.

Post by **Haplo** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:48 pm

A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Sniper4 · Post by **Sniper4** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:45 am

fstony wrote: Sniper4, what is AR all about and how could it possibly cripple your desire to read?

It stands for Accelerated Reader. Basically, you read a book, take a 10-20 question test over it and if you get most of the questions right, you get points for it. If you miss a certain amount (I think it was about 30%-40% of the questions missed) you get no points for it.

In grade school, we were required to get a certain amount of AR points every quarter of the school year (I think it was about 30 points every quarter). An average- sized novel was worth about 15 points, so that meant you had to read 4 novels per semester (If you get all your points, that is.) I usually had to read an extra one, since the questions were sometimes stupid ones like "What did (character) eat for breakfast before he went on the hunt?" You also couldn't use your book to help you during the test. To make matters worse, there weren't enough computers for everyone to use, so you often had to sign up a week in advance to take an AR test.

I'll admit some of the books I read for the program were quite good, but it didn't help that my parents were forcing me to studying constantly at the time, since they were determined that I would be valedictorian of my Junior high (I succeeded... along with six other students...). As you can well imagine, tying myself to a chair for hours on end was not what I wanted to do during what little time I got "free" during the weekend. AP English in high school also helped to burn me out, but that's a different story altogether.

I hope that once I get out of college, my desire to read for pleasure will return, especially if whatever career I follow gives me some freetime. As I mentioned, I love reading ES lore and various articles, but tackling a full novel just isn't in me these days...