Books: a literary discussion

[taumel]

I didn't like the discworld, not the prosa, not the humour, not the world.

But i can laugh about Thomas Bernhard. :O)

[Rather Dashing]

Originally Posted by Will

Also, I suppose it's worth noting that I recently got a Kindle. I freakin' love it. Now if it's something by an author I really care about, I'll go and buy the physical copy. Terry Pratchett is an instabuy in the physical book category. But the kindle is amazing for everything else. I've probably read 10 new books since Christmas on it. Normally I will only read one or two new ones in this time period and the rest will just be re-reads. It is just so much easier to finish a book and then immediately buy the next one from bed.

When it comes to e-readers, I'm 50/50 between the Kindle 2 and the Barnes and Noble nook for awhile now, though recently I've been leaning toward the nook. My main issue with the Amazon reader is formatting. I know I can take any non-DRM'd eBook and convert it for use on Kindle using Calibre, but I would prefer native support for ePub and PDF, and I'd like my in-device store to sell books in an open, widely supported format. I don't like feeling like my books are "chained" to a device.

The Kindle definitely has its pluses, though, enough to give me pause when thinking about grabbing an e-reader.

[Astro Gnocci]

Currently rereading some bukowski's poems. I just love that guy.

Another big favourite of mine is John Fante.
Only recently read the grapes of wrath and decided Steinbeck ruled too.

And there's a lot of other guys too that i'm too lazy to think of right now.

I also have Star Wars books as somewhat of a guilty pleasure.

Hehe, i used to love the x-wing series. Reread those a year ago during a bored period, they're actually not THAT bad compared to some others

[Little Writer]

A book thread?! Now you've done it ...

Where to start ...

This is what my collection looked like two years ago:



It has grown since.

Books I've read this year are:
"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand
"Under the Dome" by Stephen King
"Dark Rivers of the Heart" and "Intensity" by Dean Koontz
"Pirate Latitudes" by Michael Crichton
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card

Currently I'm reading "Strange Highways" by Dean Koontz.

[Kroms]

Originally Posted by taumel

Wasn't there a book thread already?

Yeah. Mine. Rather Dashing is a baby stealer.

Now i have to name at least one good book as well. I would recommend reading Patrick Süskind's The Perfume. Different kind of story, at least for the time it was beeing released, and a wonderful well written prosa, dunno how good the translations are. Moreover i read it when i was in Saint-Germain in Paris which made it a very special experience.

Perfume is excellent.

The English prose is very good, though I have no idea how it compares to the original German.

It was one of those books I bought on a whim and ended-up loving completely. For the angry, isolated teen in you, this is a breath of nihilistic, pessimistic fresh air. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

Originally Posted by Will

I'd give Wild Sheep's Chase a try then. That and it's sequel Dance, Dance, Dance are a really good place to start for getting into Murakami. They should give you a pretty good idea of his style.

I should add that A Wild Sheep Chase is crazy, in both good and bad ways. I don't know if it's for everyone; probably not. It's weird and crazy and random; there's a character called The Rat, a girl with "erotic ears" (??) and an obsession with time that all relates to a sheep with a red star on it.

Needless to say I found it memorable, but I don't know if it's pleasant.

Edit: Heh, found a post of mine discussing A Wild Sheep Chase on the other thread.

[S@bre]

I'm currently reading The Guns of Navarone, having sort of finished reading For Your Eyes Only. I just can't seem to get into the later Fleming books anymore, they just don't grab me in the same way the absolutely awesome classic that is From Russia With Love does. I've got Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King, Iain Gale's Four Days in June, Jack Whyte's Knights of the Black & White and Len Deighton's The IPCRESS File ready for when I'm done with that.

Well, that's what I would like to be reading at the moment. Its got a bookmark in it for about chapter 2. I'm kind of limited to reading textbooks at the moment, due to exams next week. Generally the works of Geoffrey Parker, Jeremy Black, Frank Stenton, Christopher Hibbert and David Carpenter.

Originally Posted by Astro Gnocci

Hehe, i used to love the x-wing series. Reread those a year ago during a bored period, they're actually not THAT bad compared to some others

I quite like the Republic Commando series actually, mainly because its not a very Star Wars-ish approach (I don't read Star Wars books usually), given its focus on the gritty warfare of a single squad. Alas Karen Traviss won't be writing any more in that series due to complications with Lucasfilm, so any further books are likely to just butcher the great approach she had to it.

[GuybrushWilco]

Im reading NEXT by Michael Crichton. It is his last published book before he died, although two more are being published posthumously. It is basically about genetic alterations and greedy villains. I read constantly, mostly scifi, thrillers and the occasional autobiography. You should read Ulysses S. Grants autobiography. It was published in two volumes and co-written by mark twain. I'm pretty sure it is public domain now and can be found on the net.

[corruptbiggins]

Choosing my favourite books is quite hard. At the moment, I'd have to say these are up there but this is by no means a definitive list (and I know some are series of books but I can't separate them all):

Red Storm Rising - Tom Clancy
Jack Ryan series - Tom Clancy
Odd Thomas series - Dean Koontz
From The Corner Of His Eye - Dean Koontz
The Stand - Stephen King
Dark Tower series - Stephen King
Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis (Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my favourite of the series)
Lord of the Rings series - J.R.R. Tolkien
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Millennium trilogy - Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Star Trek "Shatnerverse" series - William Shatner with Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens
K-Pax - Gene Brewer
Neither Here Nor There - Bill Bryson
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series - Douglas Adams
Discworld series - Terry Pratchett (though I've only just started the 15th book in the series)
Ubik - Philip K. Dick
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton
Lost World - Michael Crichton


That'll do I think. There's probably a load more, in fact probably most of the books I own could have been included because I don't own books I don't like. I'll do my top 3 authors as well:

1) Dean Koontz
2) Terry Pratchett
3) Nick Hornby or Bill Bryson (can't choose between them)

[ShaggE]

Originally Posted by GuybrushWilco

Im reading NEXT by Michael Crichton. It is his last published book before he died, although two more are being published posthumously. It is basically about genetic alterations and greedy villains.

NEXT is a great one.

I won't do a list of my favorite books, as I'd be making alterations to it constantly as I remember more and more, so I'll just leave it at my favorite book at the moment: John Dies At The End, by David Wong.

It's almost everything I could want in a novel: Horror, humor, surrealism, you name it. It can be a bit immature and simply written at times, but it's like Stephen King met HP Lovecraft and Dave Barry at a party (yes, I know King and Barry are friends in real life), and they sired an unholy offspring and named him David Wong.

[wefeelgroove]

Originally Posted by Will

I'm totally just cut and pasting this from my guild forum, but it's still applicable:
Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Surrealism without being overly pretentious or obtuse. The reality in Murakami's worlds all seem paper-thin: you can see shadows of things moving around on the other side, but you only ever get glimpses. I really cannot recommend his writing enough, though this is my favorite of his. I also heartily suggest A Wild Sheep Chase if you like the surreal, or Norwegian Wood if you want something a little more human.

On the completely other end of the spectrum:
Yotsuba& by Azuma Kiyohiko
This is like the comic version of a pile of puppies. No matter how many times I read it, it always always makes my day better. By the same guy who did Azumanga Daioh, but it's actually better. I've gotten a couple of people in the office totally hooked on this.

Fables written by Bill Willingham
Epic graphic novel series about various fables living in the modern day world in secret. I can't think of a way to describe this series that actually does it justice, but trust me it is worth the read. The first book is mostly just a neat story, but they get increasingly better from there.

Oh, and Discworld. Discworld, Discworld, Discworld. Have you read any Discworld yet? Because seriously, go read Discworld.

Oh man, I love Yotsuba&! And Fables! AND Discworld! I've never heard of Hardboiled Wonderland but I might have to check that one out.

I just finished reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I admit I'm a terrible person and laughed when she decided to quit school after trying to read Finnegans Wake, because really, what college student hasn't felt that way after reading that book?

[JedExodus]

I just realised that i've had the Unseen Academicals in my backpack for months and i'd forgotten all about it. That'll be me sorted for this evening

[Secret Fawful]

I want to add that the Yotsuba&! suggestion by Will is a great one. I also recommend it. I keep meaning to start a Murakami book but keep not wanting to put the money out to buy one. Because I spend too much money on manga and classical books.

Speaking of manga.


Pluto

and...


20th Century Boys

...by Naoki Urasawa are must reads. Great characters, great plots that keep you guessing, great development, and great emotional impact are key in his stories.

[Avistew]

Oh, Urasawa has a new series? I liked Monster and I loved 20th/21st Century Boys (prefer the French covers though).
I'll take a look at that... Astro Boy spinoff/cover/thingie.

[Secret Fawful]

It's not a spinoff, but more of a mature retelling. Astro Boy/Atom isn't the main character, he's part of the supporting cast in this story. The main character is a European android detective named Gesicht.

[coolsome]

my fav mangas are Sailor Moon Ghost in the shell Death Note and verious Yaoi XD

[Leak]

Well, my mainstay of books are probably my 108 volumes of Perry Rhodan silver-cover issues, which are collections of the weekly novels - which are currently at issue #2541; yes, it's probably the world's most successful science fiction book series ever...

Then there's a lot (but not all) of Terry Pratchett's books, some novels by Greg Bear, William Gibson and Neal Stephenson (still haven't started reading Cryptonomicon - do I have to hand in my geek card now?). I've also read (and enjoyed) the first nine "Southern Vampire Mysteries" (aka "True Blood") books by Charlaine Harris and am waiting for the tenth to be released...

There's print versions of a few webcomics: Wapsi Square, Girls With Slingshots, Beaver & Steve, The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats and Simon's Cat (okay, not a webcomic...).

And to top it all off, there's oodles of manga: all 40 volumes of 3x3 Eyes, Fullmetal Alchemist, Tenjo Tenge, Battle Angel Alita/BAA Last Order, most of Masamune Shirow's works, Gunsmith Cats, Hyper Police (highly recommended), Hellsing, Gunslinger Girl, Mahoromatic, Read Or Die, Chobits, ...

That's where the DVDs start coming in and making the space on my shelves less and less by the week...

np: Murs & 9th Wonder - The Lick (ft. Verbs) (Fornever)

[jeeno0142]

Some great books that I've recently read are the Oracle Triology by Catherine Fisher, and the biggest book I've ever read in my life Pillars of the Earth by Ken Fowlett. That's a good book. A BIG good book! I also have the entire of the Jeeves and Wooster collection by Wodehouse. He's good.

I have wanted an E-book reader for ages now, and have been holding a secret hope that they'll release E-book reader software for the DS. All the E-readers I've ever looked at are just too big. I want it to be pocket size. Perhaps a bit bigger than an I-phone and for E-books only. I think I'm being to choosy.

[Avistew]

Originally Posted by jeeno0142

I have wanted an E-book reader for ages now, and have been holding a secret hope that they'll release E-book reader software for the DS. All the E-readers I've ever looked at are just too big. I want it to be pocket size. Perhaps a bit bigger than an I-phone and for E-books only. I think I'm being to choosy.

There are Palms and stuff with e-book readability. My mp3 player can read e-books too.
Of course they're not e-books only, but neither would be the DS.
There is a DS game that has classics on it, by the way. Of course you can't choose your own books and add them.

I've personally been hoping they're release a double-page ebook reader for a while. It would be much better for reading sequential art, and even some novels, and much easier to hold, I feel. Plus this way you can close it and protect the screens even if you don't have a "cover" for it.

[Alcoremortis]

I like E-books for the convenience of not having to go to the library or the bookstore, but I prefer to also own a hard copy of books that I enjoy, simply because I like turning actual pages. Kindle seems a bit impersonal that way. Also, your favorite author can't sign an E-book. They could sign whatever you read it on, but it just wouldn't be the same.

[Rather Dashing]

Oh, are we talking about Japanese comics, now? Because if we're going that route, Parasyte is my current love. It was published in the first half of the 90s, but until recently it hasn't had a decent English release in the US. Del-Rey's manga division, which otherwise is a HORRIBLE selection of series, has done an amazing job with Parasyte. The release is based off the excellent Kanzenban books, nice binding and paper all around, and they're larger volumes than Viz's usual tankobon-based releases. The translation notes in the back, talking about all "iffy" areas or just interesting aspects of the translation are an extremely nice touch, and I still like having my Japanese comics contain the original sound effects(especially since they're often a part of the art of the page itself).

Anyway, it's a really good sci-fi story. It was published in Afternoon, so none of the usual Shonen/Shojo nonsense. The series revolves around parasites that jump into people's bodies and can change the shape of the body part they take over. Generally they go for the head, to take control of the brain. The alien parasites then walk around like normal people, except, you know...they eat people. The art gets really creative, especially for fights and such. It touches on some great and deep issues, and overall it's just a really good and well-realized story.