"What are you reading?" thread.
- Thread starter HoboNinja
- Start date
Order of the Phoenix is my favourite book in the series in no small part because Sirius Black dies and fucking hated Sirius. Also I had a weird thing for Luna.
fade
Staff member
Dracula
I've never read the book before. It's actually surprisingly creepy. I'm about halfway through now. The format is interesting, too. It's almost styled the same as Blair Witch or Paranormal Activity, being a set of "found" notes from various personal accounts. That certainly adds to the creepy factor.
It is interesting to note some discrepancies with modern vampire mythology. For instance, Dracula is active at night, but he also does not seem to be affected by daylight. One scene describes the setting sun hitting his face, for instance. He visits the wolf pens at the zoo in the daytime with no ill effect. Also, it wasn't garlic bulbs that warded off Dracula, but garlic flowers.
I've never read the book before. It's actually surprisingly creepy. I'm about halfway through now. The format is interesting, too. It's almost styled the same as Blair Witch or Paranormal Activity, being a set of "found" notes from various personal accounts. That certainly adds to the creepy factor.
It is interesting to note some discrepancies with modern vampire mythology. For instance, Dracula is active at night, but he also does not seem to be affected by daylight. One scene describes the setting sun hitting his face, for instance. He visits the wolf pens at the zoo in the daytime with no ill effect. Also, it wasn't garlic bulbs that warded off Dracula, but garlic flowers.
I bring up the daylight and various other discrepancies with people who often respond with "That's not true, I'll have to see proof of that." And I'm just like... read. the. book. Like, you love vampires so much you'll get angry if someone says that the defining book in vampire tradition has different rules, but you won't actually read that book? What. Why. Who are you and why do you suck so bad? This became a bit of a rant.
I'm reading:
The End of Science
Summa Contra Gentiles: Book I
Carry On, Jeeves
Random bits of Gray's Anatomy. The anatomy book. Not... some kind of novelisation of the show. Whereof I sadly do not doubt the existence.
As someone who's read Dracula multiple times over the years, I HATED the 92 Dracula. I particularly hated that they called it such a faithful adaptation.
THERE IS NO LOVE STORY IN DRACULA!!!! Unless you're counting Mina and Jonathan. I'm sick of every adaptation reading in some sort of eternal love story between Dracula and Mina. There's LUST, but that is part of the point of the story, what with Dracula being somewhat of a satan allegory.
The Greater Good
Ah, the wonders of the internet and, subsequently, the Apple store. Finally I can get books that would otherwise be unavailable to me--or at least, difficult to procure. Once again we find Ciaphas Cain (HERO OF THE IMPERIUM) at battle with the Tyranids. Again. I could have sworn I just read something similar to this, but then again, it's Ciaphas Cain, so I won't complain. I enjoyed the Tau addition to the story, although I personally would have wished for more of them in it. One of the things I like about the Cain series is despite the fact it's a "comedy" (as much as you can be in the grimdark future) series, it's so full of fluff and lore, thanks to the brilliant use of 'footnotes' by Amberly. I think I enjoy reading the footnotes almost as much as the story itself. Like most Cain books, I read it from end to end with barely a pause, and after reading through a bunch of Horus Heresy novels, it's a welcome respite.
Ah, the wonders of the internet and, subsequently, the Apple store. Finally I can get books that would otherwise be unavailable to me--or at least, difficult to procure. Once again we find Ciaphas Cain (HERO OF THE IMPERIUM) at battle with the Tyranids. Again. I could have sworn I just read something similar to this, but then again, it's Ciaphas Cain, so I won't complain. I enjoyed the Tau addition to the story, although I personally would have wished for more of them in it. One of the things I like about the Cain series is despite the fact it's a "comedy" (as much as you can be in the grimdark future) series, it's so full of fluff and lore, thanks to the brilliant use of 'footnotes' by Amberly. I think I enjoy reading the footnotes almost as much as the story itself. Like most Cain books, I read it from end to end with barely a pause, and after reading through a bunch of Horus Heresy novels, it's a welcome respite.
fade
Staff member
Robin: Year One
I'm torn about this one. It's interesting to see a little of old school Batman and art that reminds me of being a kid again, but it also feels a bit goofy in comparison to the current DC mythos. It makes Bats feel like a joke character. The story's a little slow on top of that.
I'm torn about this one. It's interesting to see a little of old school Batman and art that reminds me of being a kid again, but it also feels a bit goofy in comparison to the current DC mythos. It makes Bats feel like a joke character. The story's a little slow on top of that.
GasBandit
Staff member
Yeah, I've ranted at length about how much a chore books 7-10 were. The good news is you're almost out of the woods. The next book (11), Knife of Dreams, picks up the pace noticeably. And then it switched authors from book 12 on.[DOUBLEPOST=1372693167][/DOUBLEPOST]
I love me some Ciaphas Cain: HERO OF THE IMPERIUM. And I've named some of my game characters after characters in them (One of my recurring alts in Warhammer Online was Dagblat Tincrowser, cause that name is hilarious)
Discworld book 2: The light fantastic. Rincewind is a GREAT protagonist, you just can't help but feel sorry for the guy.
Fahrenheit 451
Just finished it yesterday after starting it earlier this week. I couldn't put it down! Bradbury basically says everything of how I feel about literature and the importance of books.
And now?
The Big Bang, by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
This was one of Spillane's unfinished Mike Hammer mysteries, completed by Collins after Spillane's passing. This is also my first foray into both Spillane's writing and Mike Hammer's writing. The result?
OH MY GOD YOU GUYS, I AM LOVING IT. I swear I unknowingly wrote Dill in the style of Mike Hammer without ever reading any of his adventures. An example:
The DA: "You HAPPEN to be there, and two guys get pulverized, and another is so badly beaten, he's in critical condition at Bellvue. At least you didn't SHOOT anybody."
Hammer: "It's early yet."
Just finished it yesterday after starting it earlier this week. I couldn't put it down! Bradbury basically says everything of how I feel about literature and the importance of books.
And now?
The Big Bang, by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
This was one of Spillane's unfinished Mike Hammer mysteries, completed by Collins after Spillane's passing. This is also my first foray into both Spillane's writing and Mike Hammer's writing. The result?
OH MY GOD YOU GUYS, I AM LOVING IT. I swear I unknowingly wrote Dill in the style of Mike Hammer without ever reading any of his adventures. An example:
The DA: "You HAPPEN to be there, and two guys get pulverized, and another is so badly beaten, he's in critical condition at Bellvue. At least you didn't SHOOT anybody."
Hammer: "It's early yet."
Finished God Bless You Mr. Rosewater. It was good, but chock full of Vonnegut cynicism, which can get a little wearying. The interesting (and sad) thing is that all the things he's cynical about are just the same fifty years later.
Started Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. I'm glad to find a ghost story that hooked me right away. Hopefully, it can keep this up.
Started Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. I'm glad to find a ghost story that hooked me right away. Hopefully, it can keep this up.
Finished The Big Bang and loved every minute of it. I was a little bit ahead of the mystery by about a chapter or two, but still enjoyed it. I gotta read me more of Mickey Spillane's work.
Next on the list for me is Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane. Haven't started it yet, but can't wait.
Next on the list for me is Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane. Haven't started it yet, but can't wait.
Just comics lately... finally got caught up on Chew (THE FEELS! AGHHH T^T) and just started Saga! I didn't realize until after I'd finished Volume 1 that it's written by the same guy who write Y: The Last Man. <3 It's pretty fantastic!
Working on a gigantic stacks of books (flitting between fiction and non-fiction).
After I finish Cascadia's Fault: The Earthquake and Tsunami That Could Devastate North America (just a bit of light, fluffy and UTTERLY FUCKING TERRIFYING reading) it's on to ThatNickGuy 's book.
After I finish Cascadia's Fault: The Earthquake and Tsunami That Could Devastate North America (just a bit of light, fluffy and UTTERLY FUCKING TERRIFYING reading) it's on to ThatNickGuy 's book.
Since this is a reading thread I focus I'll post this here. My wifes site is doing a give away for a free signed book some ebooks and a 25 dollar gift card to amazon. Check it out
www.justonemorechapter.net/?p=1495
www.justonemorechapter.net/?p=1495
I'll say this: If the way Stephen King generally ends his books bothers you, stop after The Waste Lands, or maybe Wizards and Glass. If you generally like Stephen King books, see it through. I typically enjoy the way his books start, get frustrated half way, and then am completely put off at the ending (this is for anything written in the last 20 years or so). The Dark Tower series worked exactly the same way on a much grander scale. If that's not the case for you, you'll probably enjoy them.
I will say that the actual ending did not bother me, so much as I just didn't appreciate the last few books the same way as the first.
Well, finally finished the Invisibles and it was a great read and a wonderful story of counter-culture ,existentialism, and morality. However I do have some criticisms. On problem with the series I got (and I'm not putting spoiler tags in because it doesn't reveal much) is that I felt the Marquis Desade character didn't really need to be there. They say he is there for a major purpose but I feel unlike every other character in the series the plot could've advanced without him. I feel Morrison kind of shoe-horned him in to help boost the whole counter-culture theme for the series. Also while the series IS laden to numerous references to conspiracies and the apocalypse I feel there could have been more. No reference to Angolmois, no reference to the reptiloid conspiracy, it felt a little lacking and the conspiracies they mention were more current. This is of course an EXTREMELY minor criticism, it doesn't really ruin the story at all. One last thing, why Jack Frost? What the fuck did that have to do with the character? IN all seriousness if you like a story about people fighting a dark conspiracy sprinkled with a few mind-fucks along the way I really recomend it.
I've only read as far as Wizards and Glass. I absolutely loved the Gunslinger and the Drawing of the Three. I'm also kind of hesitent about getting back into reading the series. Mostly because I'd have to go back and re-read the entire series because it took 6-7 years between goddamn books.
I feel the same way. I will accidentally re-read The Gunslinger just because I can't resist the beginning. "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
Just read Neonomicon. It wasn't awful, but I'm really starting to feel like Alan Moore sits down with a good idea and then says to himself, "Well, this is great and all, but what I really need to do is work is some rape". It's just so preposterously consistant.
Just read Neonomicon. It wasn't awful, but I'm really starting to feel like Alan Moore sits down with a good idea and then says to himself, "Well, this is great and all, but what I really need to do is work is some rape". It's just so preposterously consistant.
Necronic
Staff member
I finally picked up Kingdom Come, since I've heard so many good things about it. Color me surprised to find out its awful. As messy as the Marvel/Universe X series is, it blows Kingsom Come out of the water.
It's such a simple/boring story. And the few times they start potentially interesting side stories that go nowhere. What exactly was Batmans alternate plan? That one more than the others pissed me off.
It's such a simple/boring story. And the few times they start potentially interesting side stories that go nowhere. What exactly was Batmans alternate plan? That one more than the others pissed me off.
Okay, so, I'm in the market to buy myself something not-too-big because I want to spoil myself. I was considering adding to my collection of SF books/series everyone needs to have read at some point in time. Y'know, the big ones.
Now, the two biggest series I can think of off the top of my head, that i've read and consider major works, but don't already own, are the Dune series by Herbert, and the Foundation series by Asimov.
Which one of those two would you suggest I buy to wander around in a while longer? In both cases, I've read all the "true" works and some of the hanger-ons, but not all of those (Never got around to reading Foundation and Earth and some of the other non-Asimov Foundation works, neevr got around to reading the last of the two sequels by Herbert Jr. because the first one of those was awful)
I'm open to suggestions of awesome other series I may be missing, but bear in mind I may just already own them
Now, the two biggest series I can think of off the top of my head, that i've read and consider major works, but don't already own, are the Dune series by Herbert, and the Foundation series by Asimov.
Which one of those two would you suggest I buy to wander around in a while longer? In both cases, I've read all the "true" works and some of the hanger-ons, but not all of those (Never got around to reading Foundation and Earth and some of the other non-Asimov Foundation works, neevr got around to reading the last of the two sequels by Herbert Jr. because the first one of those was awful)
I'm open to suggestions of awesome other series I may be missing, but bear in mind I may just already own them