[Huntn]

Someone (no names) mentioned classic books in another thread so...

What are you reading now?

My reading has been at a low point lately, but on a recommendation I just picked up Amazonia by James Rollins, a guy who writes thrillers along the lines of Michael Crichton. Not far enough into it to give a recommendation and I'll be starting Harry Potter #7 this week. Usually I'm into SciFi, Fantasy (if it's my kinda fantasy), historical, adventure, and thrillers.

If it is possible to identify, what is the best book you've ever read? I can't say right now without some thinking on it but if I base it on a series that I've read the most, it would be The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (3 times).

Other memorable books I've read in no particular order and can remember off the top of my head are:
* Shibumi and The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian
* Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451 and other stories by Ray Bradbury (one of the best Sci Fi writers)
* Three Musketeers, Count of Monte Cristo and other titles by Dumas
* Most Michael Crichton books
* Many Steven King books but not all, best- Salem's Lot, The Stand, Skelaton Crew, The Shining.
* Many Tom Clancy books but not all, best- Red Storm Rising, Hunt for Red October
* Tess of the Durbervilles by Hardy (if you like sad and ironic stories)
* Bourne Identity and other in the Bourne series by Ludlam (much better than the movies)
* Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins
* Harry Potter Series
* For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway
* Dracula by Stoker
* East of Eden by Steinbeck
* Catch 22 by Heller
* Lucifer's Hammer by Niven (comet hits the earth and the bad times after)
* Catcher in the Rye by Salinger
* Interview with a Vampire by Rice
* To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
* The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
* Cat's Cradle and Slaugher House 5 by Vonnegut

Added:
* Centennial and Chesapeake by Michner
* Gone with the Wind by Mitchell

I'll add more as I think of them.

This post has been edited by Huntn: 22 July 2007 - 12:34 PM

[teflon]

Harry Potter of course!
but im taking my time a bit, so wont finish that any time soon.

aside from that im going to reread the Bourne trilogy once i finish the black Company series by Glen Cook again.

[Huntn]

teflon, on July 22nd 2007, 01:20 PM, said:

Harry Potter of course!
but im taking my time a bit, so wont finish that any time soon.

aside from that im going to reread the Bourne trilogy once i finish the black Company series by Glen Cook again.

When I've got hold of a good book, I too slow down, not speed read. I've not heard of the Black Company until now. How would you describe it?

[MILBOP DIPPLEBERRY]

Haven't had a chance to read anything of my own choice lately because of school. Just been reading long, extremely convoluted philosophy papers.

[alldaveallen]

Huntn, on July 22nd 2007, 10:35 AM, said:

Someone (no names) mentioned classic books in another thread so...

What are you reading now?
...

If it is possible to identify, what is the best book you've ever read? I can't say right now without some thinking on it but if I base it on a series that I've read the most, it would be The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (3 times).

...
I'll add more as I think of them.

LOTR is right up there at the top with me as well, but Gene Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun" (a series, 5 books total) is probably my favorite. It's so dense with allusions to other books and the Classics that every time I reread it I've learned more about the references in the meantime, and the books give up more secrets and meanings every time.

Moby-Dick and Huckleberry Finn fight it out for the title of Great American Novel. Moby-Dick probably wins because it really captures the essence of the American mind.

White Noise and Libra by Don deLillo for best modern fiction;
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon for best non-SciFi-but-super-geeky novel of all time.
The Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers for best scientifically dense novel.

Oh, man, don't get me started.

[charmin]

What are books? Some kind of new Internets website?

Currently I'm reading a thread on a forum where people are talking about some kind of new Internets.

[Smoke_Tetsu]

I have a few books on my shelf that I haven't gotten around to read yet but right now I'm reading Dream Catcher by Stephen King. But that's not to say that's my favorite book nor am I about to list a top 20 of my favorite books that's just what I'm reading right now.

[Kanamit]

Europe: A History by Norman Davies. I'm not reading a novel since I don't like the tone or style of most of them. One of the exceptions is The Great Gatsby, which is my favorite novel.

[alldaveallen]

charmin, on July 22nd 2007, 12:46 PM, said:

What are books? Some kind of new Internets website?

It's basically where they take, like, a blog, and they take all the pages and print 'em out, and they take all the "pages" (which is TOTALLY stolen from the Webkernet) and smush 'em together. It's like having a laptop that only has a web browser that only goes to one site. I doubt they'll catch on.

[Bernie]

I'm in the middle of the Ender/Shadow saga by Orson Scott Card right now. I recently ordered the 4 Shadow books and decided to reread all 4 of the Ender books while I'm at it. I finished Shadow of the Hegemon yesterday and will start Shadow Puppets next.

[Frost]

I'm reading this topic.

[teflon]

Huntn, on July 22nd 2007, 07:24 PM, said:

When I've got hold of a good book, I too slow down, not speed read. I've not heard of the Black Company until now. How would you describe it?

its pretty much the journal from Myth but as a book. Cos its also where Myth's story sprang from largely... and i mean a lot.

You follow this guy Croaker (you never hear anyones real name except for under special circumstances) and the mercenary outfit through their contract to the bad guys. Its quite clever that its all about shades of badness really. It keeps a lot of things hidden, so, for example, it rarely goes into minute detail about battles, and at some points, Croaker is nowhere near the battle, so you simply hear the final result. Its the type of story telling that leaves you with lots of questions about that particular universe. you want an official map to i really.

but anyway, start at the beginning, and youll see exactly where the Myth story line started from. A small band constantly on the run from a much larger army. the big wizard's infighting and grudges, their names, and their powers are similar too. And eventually you spot where Soulblighter's being able to turn into crows came from..

if you liked the Myth story, then id recommend it to you. Its how i got into after all.

[dojoboy]

I'm reading the following:

Under the Persimmon Tree - using it this fall semester w/ 6th grade boys, of which 50% have read HP book #7 by now.

Collapse

Guderian Panzer General

History of Warfare

[alldaveallen]

dojoboy, on July 22nd 2007, 04:15 PM, said:

I'm reading the following:

Under the Persimmon Tree - using it this fall semester w/ 6th grade boys, of which 50% have read HP book #7 by now.

History of Warfare[/u]

Is that the Keegan "History of Warfare?" Great, great book.

Have your students read the Phillip Pullman "His Dark Materials" series? IMHO they are infinitely superior to the HP series.

I'm currently reading "The Emperor of Scent" about this maverick scientist who's come up with an entirely novel theory of how people actually smell things.

[Dark_Archon]

One of my favorite all time books would have to be Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I'm currently reading Quicksilver(Stephenson), and just started reading Prelude to Foundation by Asimov.

Accelerando By Charles Stross, one of the most recent books I've read, was an interesting read based around Ray Kurzweil's (best described as a philosopher) concept of "the singularity". Before that, I read Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, which can kind of be described as the cyberpunk literature version of the "action movie."

I second what alldaveallen said, I read His Dark Materials years ago. The writing is much better than in Harry Potter, and I felt the story was quite a bit more creative.

[alldaveallen]

Quote

Accelerando By Charles Stross, one of the most recent books I've read, was an interesting read based around Ray Kurzweil's (best described as a philosopher) concept of "the singularity". Before that, I read Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, which can kind of be described as the cyberpunk literature version of the "action movie."

I second what alldaveallen said, I read His Dark Materials years ago. The writing is much better than in Harry Potter, and I felt the story was quite a bit more creative.

Have you read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy? In the 3rd book, the term Accelerando is used to describe the period of history in which the story takes place... space colonization and massive human expansion... Same source, I wonder?

Also, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the HP series, I just think ol' JKR could have used an editor to get her to trim a LOT of fat from those books. It's not like people WANT to buy 'em by the pound.

LOVED Snow Crash. In a semi-related note: Nerd scuttlebutt informs me that George Clooney will be exec producing a SCI-FI Channel adaptation of "The Diamond Age," my second-fav. Neal Stephenson book.

I'm digging the book talk. I was just thinking I need to join a book club or something, but now I don't need to get away from my computer.

[Dark_Archon]

alldaveallen, on July 23rd 2007, 02:22 AM, said:

In a semi-related note: Nerd scuttlebutt informs me that George Clooney will be exec producing a SCI-FI Channel adaptation of "The Diamond Age," my second-fav. Neal Stephenson book.

I had indeed heard that, but I've decided to adopt a stance of "cautious optimism." I was more or less pleased with how the Dune miniseries came out(nothing can compare to the books), and Battlestar Galactica has been quite good so far, but there is so much "made for the Sci-Fi channel" content that has been complete crap, I don't really know what to expect. Diamond Age seems too massive, too complex for film, but I don't think it is impossible to at least partially do it justice.

[The Liberator]

teflon, on July 23rd 2007, 04:20 AM, said:

aside from that im going to reread the Bourne trilogy once i finish the black Company series by Glen Cook again.

Well, if you liked the movies, you will really like the books. To be frank, I would have to say The Bourne Ultimatum might be my favourite book ever. It has more than a dozen twists, I would also have to say, the twists are so good, that I didn't know what was going to happen next.

Apart from the Bourne series, I have read
LotR
The Hobbit, Harry Potter series, the Otori trilogy, the Sherlock Holmes series, Casino Royale and others...
I have also read a few war history books...
D-Day, Pegasus Bridge, Band of Brothers. They are by Stephen E. Ambrose. I have also read the Amazing S.A.S.

I am now re-reading The Amazing S.A.S.

By the way, Teflon and others, the S.A.S I am refering to are the Aussie S.A.S.

Liberator.

[AussieMacGamer]

Easy Riders Raging Bulls

By Peter Biskind.
its pretty cool, his writing can become a little blocky to read.
he sometimes fergets that outsiders are reading the book too.

[dojoboy]

I've got a book I want to read, recommended by a friend who isn't a big reader, that is about early hackers when the internet was a youngling.

The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by Cliff Stoll

He said it was very, very good. Of course, he's an IT manager for a large insurance company.

alldaveallen, on July 22nd 2007, 11:37 PM, said:

Is that the Keegan "History of Warfare?" Great, great book.

Yes. I've read his books on WWI & WWII - absolutely awesome.

alldaveallen, on July 22nd 2007, 11:37 PM, said:

Have your students read the Phillip Pullman "His Dark Materials" series? IMHO they are infinitely superior to the HP series.

I'll recommend it to them, but I teach history so they don't fit my course.