Alright, so what are you reading? What did you think of it? Would you recommend it to the rest of us?
Alright, so what are you reading? What did you think of it? Would you recommend it to the rest of us?
At the moment I'm working my way through the Stark Trilogy: Stark's War, Stark's Command and Stark's Campaign. I'm currently on the second book and I'm really enjoying it. Basically they're military/sci-fi novels set in the not-too-distant-future.
What I like about them is that the author Jack Campbell does a good job of balancing combat with the personal side of the story and with plenty of funky tech thrown in for good measure. Although depressing at times, there is plenty of humor too (particularly of the gallows kind) which does a good job of breaking up the tension.
All in all I'd definitely recommend this trilogy for fans of mil/sci-fi stories.
*sees Booty instead of Booky and wanders in*
*notices mistake*
*wanders out*
In all seriousness though, I just finished The Final Reckoning which was pretty good. If you ever saw the movie Munich, it's very similar except the Jews are avenging the Holocaust rather than the events of the 1972 Olympics. All of the hits are "performed" by reading an old man's account of them in his journal so it combines all the incognito assassin stuff with eye-witness accounts of the atrocities committed at the time. It was a pretty decent read.
Having finished my book on a layover, I decided to get another in the airport and picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Heard good things.
I'm reading World War Z, The Devil in the White City, and I just finished Bioshock: Rapture for the second time. They are all awesome, and I am assuming you know what they are about as they came out a while ago and they are pretty well known. I'm thinking about starting Dead Space Martyr. Has anyone read it and if so did you like it?
Reading The Divine Comedy. I will save up my comments until I finish it. But so far, so good!
My BioShock: Rapture just got delivered the other day - Glad I've heard some pretty good things about it. Haven't gotten into it just yet, too busy this time of year. Really just waiting for the new Vince Flynn novel in February, and I'm sure most of you saw my long-winded post so I won't bother repeating it all lol but he writes some amazing stuff
spata said:My BioShock: Rapture just got delivered the other day - Glad I've heard some pretty good things about it. Haven't gotten into it just yet, too busy this time of year. Really just waiting for the new Vince Flynn novel in February, and I'm sure most of you saw my long-winded post so I won't bother repeating it all lol but he writes some amazing stuff
Yeah Mitch Rapp is a bad ass.
@ Laforza- 'Booty' lol. False Advertising on my part.
@ tuccake - Devil in the White City is on my 'to buy' list but I need to clear the twenty books I've bought but haven't had a chance to read yet (Amazon is a very evil website)
@ juan - that sounds like some heavy reading.
Oh and as an Edit to my comment: the last book is called Stark's Crusade not Campaign (oops)
Reading 'Ready Player One'. Chock Full of nerdy/80's references - so a total nostalgia trip. The story at the center of the book is a classic adventure with a style that reminds me a lot of Philip K. Dick.
I'm on a Dostoevsky kick, which is the first time I've had one since being 16. It's hard to top The Brothers Karamozov.
@ undeniably - To my shame I had to Google Dostoevsky. Unless it's classic sci-fi/fantasy I'm pretty much lost with the greats. Recommended?
Finished up the BioShock novel - It was about what I expected, nothing too great but a good read nonetheless. Definitely made me wanna take another stroll thru Rapture. Now I'm waiting for Kill Shot to be delivered... Should be awesome
@spata - I wasn't blown away by the Rapture novel either. To me it just seemed to be a collection of audio diaries with a smattering of first person POV thrown in. Still, it was a fun read.
On a side note: I have just ordered Neuromancer, something I have heard a lot about, but have never read.
Just picked up The Last Wish, and Blood of Elves. The Witcher was based off these novels, written by Andrezej Sapowski. Too early to say how good they are.
Also ripped through The Hobbitt once more, and have the Bioshock novel on deck.
Started in on The Man in the High Castle. Struggling a bit with it to be honest.
I just bought a collection of 7 Jules Verne novels from Barnes and Nobles. I am starting with Around the World in 80 Days. I really like it, I haven't read it it in years.
A friend of mine has been trying to get me into Verne and equally I've been trying to get him into Wells. I really will have to give it a go.
Well, exactly now I am trying to find a book of interest to get into, Assimov's "Fundation" is a good candidate. But last year was very productive, having read both "Atlas Shrugged", and "The Fountainhead", after finally being able to place my hands on these. Read some books of Arthur C. Clarcke; " The City and the Stars" ," Rendezvous with Rama", Assimov's classic "I,robot". Also introduced myself to Lovecraft's works, starting with "At the Mountains of Madness", and the minor stories. "Prometheus Bound", " Thus Spoke Zaratustra" and for the unniversity course, I also read " The Eneida" and Plato's "The Republic".
Strongly reccomend these books, some of them are worth further readings and even necessitate it, for they have much to be adquired on the first reading.
juan29zapata said:Reading The Divine Comedy. I will save up my comments until I finish it. But so far, so good!
Trying to get courage to delve on this one
precipice66 said:A friend of mine has been trying to get me into Verne and equally I've been trying to get him into Wells. I really will have to give it a go.
The same here ! Both are classic authors, but I've never read them. I have right here " The Sleeper Awakes" but never finished it.
@antonio - 'The Sleeper Awakes' is another on my 'to-read' list. The best of his works that I have read so far is War of the Worlds (the chapter involving the Thunderchild is so vivid I actually felt as if I was there). I'm also fairly obsessed by a short story by Wells called 'A Dream of Armageddon' - absolutely fantastic.
precipice66 said:@antonio - 'The Sleeper Awakes' is another on my 'to-read' list. The best of his works that I have read so far is War of the Worlds (the chapter involving the Thunderchild is so vivid I actually felt as if I was there). I'm also fairly obsessed by a short story by Wells called 'A Dream of Armageddon' - absolutely fantastic.
Thank you for the references ! It is great to see your opinion about the works. Didn't know this short story and I will make sure to read it ! Generally author's short stories are those small treasures which could be passed unseen under the shadows of his greater productions. The " War of the Worlds" is a classic, there is one of those ilustrated editions that I simply became facinated since the first time I saw such visual presentation. Every time I hear about the book, instantly think of it:
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/c...lds-tripod.jpg
I just started the Hunger Games as it seems to be an interesting movie. I couldnt put it down, finished it in a day and a half and am already half way through the 2nd book, Catching Fire. Quick read. Also imersed in the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. One of my favorites.
tracepaper said:I just started the Hunger Games as it seems to be an interesting movie. I couldnt put it down, finished it in a day and a half and am already half way through the 2nd book, Catching Fire. Quick read. Also imersed in the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. One of my favorites.
I read the first two books of the Hunger Games series, haven't gotten around to the third yet. I liked the first book better than the second.
I'm working my way through Black Lizard's Big Book of Pulps, and a non-fiction book called Havana Nocturne, which is about Cuba leading up to the Cuban Revolution. I seem to have noir on the brain lately.
@antonio - you're welcome. Always nice to pass on the love of Wells. Loved the picture (is that the Thunderchild?!) Wells was so ahead of his time it's scary. My edition of WotW's is a reprint from the sixties. It's not an original or even worth a lot (except to me) though it has a lovely embossed leather cover and original artwork by a guy called Graham Byfield plus a couple of short stories at the end including 'Armageddon.
I just finished John Green's The Fault in Our Stars.
now reading I am Legend. It is interesting the differences between the book and the movie. I do like Will Smith, though.
I also saw Hunger Games last week. What a DUD. Book was much better.
I've just finished a book called "Hunting Rommel" is a WW 2 book.Is the story of a group of English soldiers deep in the German lines with mission to kill the infamous "Desert Fox" during the North African campaign.
What is more impressive is that this book is base in real events...is freaking awesome for any WW2 enthusiast
@tracepaper - I was thinking of buying the books because of all the hoopla around the movie. Worth it?
@vsharres - sounds interesting.
I'm reading a couple of popular science sort of books (the type that makes real scientists wince at the oversimplifications) but I'm enjoying them. Something to stop my mind rotting away from all the mindless drivel in the media.
@precipice66, depends on your standards for literature.I thought the Hunger Games books were fun, fast paced with an exciting story. They ARE geared toward teenagers, with an emphasis on the girls, as it is written from the heroines (a 16 year old girl) point of view. Its a fast read, and each book (it is a trilogy) leaves you on a cliff hanger. I would recomend picking up from a library or friend first, to see if it catches your interest before dropping the cash. Overall, I WOULD recommend the book, but not the movie.
@tracepaper - thanks. I'd heard the movie was quite brutal and thought I'd give the books a go. But if they're aimed at the teenage audience I'll just go to the library as per your suggestion.
@precipice66 - ah, no, the movies were actually very PG13, so they could keep the target audience. While there is a LOT of violence and death, the camera has high speed/jerky footage so you dont actually really see anything.
Hope you enjoy the books, though
I'm currently re-reading the LotR trilogy, and The Stand by Stephen King. I would greatly recommend Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (I read Atlas Shrugged after BioShock; Andrew Ryan's philosophy was based off it), and 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell.
I'm currently re-reading the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and reading Stephen King's "The Stand." I would definitely recommend the Stand, it's pretty good so far. Not my favorite of his, that's still 'Salem's Lot.
I would also recommend the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. Really good fantasy reads.
@vito - I never had the patience to get through LoTR. Then again, I was quite young when I tried so I might give it another go sometime - I'm more patient with my reading material if nothing else.
I felt that JRR tolkien was a bit poetic and long winded. Sometimes so much so, that it was difficult to concentrate on the plot at hand in the Lord of the Rings, and so I had read more than halfway through the war before I even realized there was a battle happening. When I saw the movies, I was thinking..."Ooooooooooooh!", so THATS what was going on.
I have read the Hobbit many times, though, and was able to follow THAT plot line. I always felt a stronger connection with Bilbo than I ever did with Frodo. Cant wait for the movie!
The Hobbit does indeed look epic
The Hobbit is great. I want the movie to come out faster!
precipice66 said:@vito - I never had the patience to get through LoTR. Then again, I was quite young when I tried so I might give it another go sometime - I'm more patient with my reading material if nothing else.
I really wouldn't bother. This is the only case I know where the movie is better than the book. Like tracepaper said, too long winded. There is too much detail , leaving nothing for the imagination.
I need to get me some R.A. Salvatore, never read anything. Can anyone recommend a certain series? There is so much to choose, don't know where to start.
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