Books! Books! Books!
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| Submitted by Sharkull on Mon, 2007-04-23 23:05 | ||
A new theme thread for discussing everything about... you guessed it: Books! What are you reading right now? What are your favorite books? Who are your favorite authors? What kind of books do you like? Non-fiction? Fiction? Adventure? Suspense? Poetry? Mystery? Textbooks on computer game modification...? - To start things off, I'm almost finished reading Frank Herbert's "Dune" series (started the sixth and final book, Chapterhouse Dune, a couple days ago). If you're not familiar with the series, apparently it's the "Bestselling Science Fiction Adventure of All Time" (according to the self-promotion inside the front cover). I find the books to be quite entertaining, as well as deep enough to be thought-provoking at times. I'm really enjoying the series and wish I read this stuff years ago (the last book was published in 1985). I don't think they're better than my all-time favorites, but are certainly worth a re-read at some time in the future (if I have the time). I'll post details of my favorites if this thread draws any interest. forums: |
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I have been reading in some libraries lately about beans but nothing interesting enough to share here..
That brings to mind that I'm also almost half way through Bruce Eckel's "Thinking In Java". The 3rd edition is free for download, but I bought the updated 4th edition (includes topics relating to the changes in the Java language) after sampling the free version. This is my first attempt at learning an OOP language, and I find the way the book is presented is excellent for the way that I like to learn (with explanations instead of just code samples to mimic). I still can't look at a problem and see a solution in OO terms, but I don't have enough experience with the language to have a grasp on the big picture yet. Hopefully this skill will develop as I continue to make (slow) progress through the remainder of the book.
Oooh, ooh! *waves arms around*
I like all kinds of books, but mysteries, horror, fantasy and suspense are my picks. I also like a lot of the classics, too.
I really like Arthur Conan Doyle, Patricia Cornwell, Agatha Christie, Alice Hoffman, Tami Hoag, Rex Stout, Dorothy Sayers, Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton. I have enjoyed Jane Austen and the Brontes and I still have some favorites from childhood such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Carolyn Keene and Janet Lambert.
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Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette
Wow, that's quite some list there Kathy. :woot:
My first favorite books were of the spy novel genre... Ian Flemming (
), Robert Ludlum and Alistair Maclean were the first authors to catch my attention when I began looking for books to read for fun. From there, my reading choices were varied with no standout authors until I started reading Tom Clancy's work... he is certainly the master of his genre.
Less then five years ago I ran into Terry Goodkind's heavily themed fantasy fiction series and quicky devoured it all. Simply said, I cannot heap enough praise in his direction. I've read every book a few times because I enjoy them so much, and even see some deeper themes with every go through. I wanted more and was reading about his themes on a TG fan site when Ayn Rand's name was brought up a few times so I decided to check out what she had to offer. The word was that she had two novels of stature (The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged), so I read them both, enjoying them very much. From there I started reading a bit more about her philosophy "Objectivism" (which her fiction work is mainly a vehicle for communicating). I find some of what she says a bit dated (understandably so considering the timing and background of the writings), but on a whole she has some excellent ideas that are still relevant. I'd really like to read her non-fiction book "Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology" (which might respond to some of the problems I have with her philosophy), but I haven't gotten my hands on a copy of it yet.
Most recently, I've been reading through Frank Herbert's Dune series. It was recommended by a friend a long time ago, and I thought I'd give it a read. The first book was good enough (entertaining story, with quite a few thought provoking quotes) that I just continued on with the next one... and now I'm into the sixth and final book.
Next?
You thought that the sixth was the last? Just because Frank Herbert is dead, that doesn't mean it's over!
Brian Herbert (his son) and Kevin Anderson have written at least 6 more Dune books, and they're just as good. In a sense the sixth is still the last because these are prequels and/or parallel to the original story.
Abstraction site
Dungeon Raider
Yes, I know there are more books set within the Dune universe... but I don't know if I'll be reading any of them. I've always been disappointed by efforts of other authors trying to continue someone else's work... something of the original is usually missing.
Are you saying that FH's themes (philosophy of religion, the dynamics of economic and religious power...) are carried through into the other books? If so, I might check them out.
...and I forgot about mentioning Tolkien's work! I started with the Hobbit and then read the LotR series (went through both a couple times), which I found quite good (the movies don't come even close to doing the books justice, as is usually the case). I doubt that I'll be reading any more of his stuff though... there's just so much I wouldn't know where to start and I've kind of lost interest in his type of novels anyways.
And then there's Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" ongoing series. Mildly entertaining but without any discernable themes and no conclusions to any of his plot lines. It's like he decides to just stop writing arbitrarily and says "OK, that's the end of this book...". I just don't see the point and I won't be reading any more of his work (an exercise in frustration, IMO).
I like Tolkien too, but I was never able to get into reading any of the Dune books. My sister loves them. I really like Wodehouse and some of the short stories by Ambrose Bierce. He is so acidic, it's great.
I downloaded some books from project gutenberg, so I should have some reading over the weekend...plus I am proofreading a short story for a friend. (who may read this post as a guest....*waves to friend* This should keep me busy.
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Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette
I have only ever read the first three Dune novels, but immensely enjoyed them. A lot of my reading comes from Science Fiction/Fantasy. My favorite all-time author has got to be Piers Anthony (Best known for his Magic of Xanth series).
- books?
- reading Terry Pratchett's "Wintersmith" at the moment..
- those Wee Free Men really are quite mad, you know..!! :woot:
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..never mind the weather, just as long as we're together!
I only read non-fiction, though I have a storyline with dialogue one friend of mine gave me for a NWN module we will be working on. I'm reading(excluding school books) The God Delusion, Voyage of the Beagle, and Level Design for Games: Creating Compelling Game Experiences.
Site Owner of Siegecore a new Dungeon Siege 1 & 2 fansite.
I've heard a lot of good things about Pratchett...he is on my "to do" list. Oh, erm, that looks vaguely naughty...he is on my "to read" list.
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Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette
..this is a good place to start!
http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/
- I really like the Tiffany Aching character in the Wee Free Men series..
- she's got style.. :woot:
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..never mind the weather, just as long as we're together!
Nice, thank you Blondin.
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Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette
Edward Gorey wrote a number of weird, ghoulishly funny books, complete with his own illustrations. Very funny stuff. I think my favorite is The Gashlycrumb Tinies, in which 26 children all come to a very bad end...
B is for Basil assaulted by bears.
G is for George smothered under a rug
Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin.
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Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette
Even though this video clip is almost a year old now, I just spotted it over on a Terry Goodkind fansite:
http://www.prophets-inc.com/news/phantom.wmv
It's about his latest (which hit #1 on the NYT best sellers list last July, in it's first week of release), but also gives some commentary on his approach to writing and philosophy...