What have you been reading lately?
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Infiltrator
Member # 148
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written Sunday, April 22 2007 14:44
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Ditto. I stopped about halfway through and the other books didn't pick me up. -------------------- My ego is bigger than yours. Posts: 480 | Registered: Thursday, October 11 2001 07:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 5545
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written Sunday, April 22 2007 15:58
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I've been reading Vonnegut. Had "God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian" checked out when he died. Don't know what I'll do once I run out of Vonnegut and Bradbury. Any suggestions in that vein? -------------------- Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est. Posts: 344 | Registered: Friday, February 25 2005 08:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Sunday, April 22 2007 16:13
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If you want interesting literary science fiction with a radical touch, try Cory Doctorow, Down and Out In The Magic Kingdom, and Eastern Standard Tribe are both good books. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Add your one star vote to my tally. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 3428
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written Tuesday, April 24 2007 19:01
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I've recently read... "Not Even Wrong" [String theory], "Noise", and a few other pop-science books. -------------------- HIHI!!!! *hugs indescriminantly* take that, FEEL THE LOVE!!!! Posts: 47 | Registered: Wednesday, September 3 2003 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Friday, April 27 2007 14:24
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Just finished reading an anthology of short stories called Overclocked by Cory Doctorow. I espcially liked the story I Row-Boat. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Add your one star vote to my tally. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, April 27 2007 21:12
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I'm now reading If on a winter's night a traveler. It's fantastic, but only if you think that reading is great. —Alorael, who thinks he'd better look into some more Italo Calvino. Anyone who can pull off a convincing second person story can work literary wonders. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, April 27 2007 23:58
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Yeah, Calvino is great. Invisible Cities is also memorable. I bought If on a Winter's Night a Traveller years ago just for the title, and was very surprised. -------------------- Listen carefully because some of your options may have changed. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, May 5 2007 18:11
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I just finished reading an older nonfiction title on military strategy called, The Strategy of Technology, one of the authors is Jerry Pournelle, who is famed for creating the Codominium science fiction setting. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Add your one star vote to my tally. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 5360
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written Saturday, May 5 2007 18:27
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Well, Nalyd has been reading nothing but Asimov lately. Lately being the past seven months. :rolleyes: -------------------- Fear us, mortals, but never envy, for though we burn with power, our fuel is our sorrows. Posts: 1636 | Registered: Wednesday, January 5 2005 08:00 |
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Agent
Member # 4574
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written Saturday, May 5 2007 18:49
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I'm currently on my second re-reading of The Codebook by Simon Singh. When I first read it, about two years past, it totally revolutionized my view on ciphers. Now, it is merely reminding me of a few of the finer point of cryptograhy. -------------------- "I'm happy I'm the mentally disturbed person I am." -Nioca "Yes, Iffy is a demon." -Iffy Posts: 1186 | Registered: Friday, June 18 2004 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 6401
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written Wednesday, May 9 2007 07:42
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Can anyone help me to identify a particular book? I'm asking here because there seem to be a lot of sci-fi/fantasy readers posting in this thread. I picked up a book that a friend was reading a few weeks ago, and read the first couple of pages. I'd like to read the whole thing, but I can't remember the title or author. All I can remember is that it's sci-fi in genre, with a male main character who I think is a doctor or a scientist or something, and he's travelling to a new planet/moon/colony. The book begins quite memorably, with a description of a huge wall or fence on a planet, in a circular or square shape. Inside this boundary is a launch station for rockets and ships, but the description emphasises the fact that while the rest of the planet ("outside" the boundary) is cut off from the launch station, the launch station is also cut off from the rest of the planet. (So "inside" or "outside" the boundary is merely a matter of perspective.) I think it's quite a well known and respected book in its genre, so maybe some of you have read it. I have the impression that it was written in the 80s, or possibly late 70s but I'm not sure. -------------------- I think this is really wonderful. Posts: 147 | Registered: Tuesday, October 18 2005 07:00 |
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La Canaliste
Member # 5563
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written Wednesday, May 9 2007 08:02
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That rings a bell, and I have an odd feeling that it is an Asimov book, but no guarantees. I have just read "the Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, which is a beautifully written story about a girl living near Munich in the 1930s/40s. It is narrated by Death, and I could not put it down. Also just read "Two Caravans" by Marina Lewycka who wrote "A History of Tractors in Ukrainian". The first one was good, the second magnificent, and also consciousness raising about the lives of immigrant workers in the UK. -------------------- But it's the unsquandered youth that is truly wasted. Deep down, you know you should have voted for Alcritas! Posts: 387 | Registered: Tuesday, March 1 2005 08:00 |
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Cartographer
Member # 1851
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written Wednesday, May 9 2007 09:05
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Own: I'm reading some Finnish books, while waiting for a chance and time to got o the library to get more parts for this one (trilogy, I guess) story which I've started reading again after some years. By Tad Williams, it's.. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. Hm. In Finnish it's been translated as The Tale of (the) Three Swords. Also, it's been split into 12 books. :\ I just finished book 5 yesterday. Other than that, loads of books and books upon books I haven't felt and don't feel like mentioning. They were good, and that's it. -------------------- Pannaan kaikki hippulat vinkumaan! ^_^ Ooh! Riibu's Kolo - January Blues - Geneforge, +2, +3 - My Elfwood Gallery and DevArt page So many strange ones around. Don't you think? Posts: 1308 | Registered: Sunday, September 8 2002 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 6401
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written Thursday, May 10 2007 00:15
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Gottit: it's The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin. And no, my local library doesn't have it. Just finished Xinran's The Good Women of China, which is nicely written and some of the content just bowled me over. -------------------- I think this is really wonderful. Posts: 147 | Registered: Tuesday, October 18 2005 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 6096
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written Thursday, May 10 2007 03:32
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Darn, I would have recognized that. I begun to read Dispossessed a couple of years ago but haven't finished it for some reason. I've heard a lot about it, though, and it seemed interesting when I begun to read. Based on the cover, I would guess that it was written in the 70's. Although it may have been just a worse than usual cover. What I've read lately: Tears of Artamon (?) by Sarah Ash. Not bad. I'm trying to find the second part of the trilogy. I've seen one fantasy short story in the second person, written by Jyrki Vainonen. It was quite good. It's probably available only in Finnish. Posts: 77 | Registered: Sunday, July 10 2005 07:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 4682
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written Thursday, May 10 2007 10:55
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I am reading The Umbrella Man, by Roald Dahl, Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, Maddigan's Fantasia, by I-don't-remember-who(it's very bad, but I have to write a review on it), and The Last Three Minutes, by I-don't-remember-who. -------------------- Do not underestimate the power of the mechanical pencil. Join the Dark side. We have cookies. "Hey, Patrick, feel this random pipe. It's squishy"-Nils Posts: 834 | Registered: Thursday, July 8 2004 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 3442
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written Friday, May 11 2007 06:22
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As well as the various poems I read pretty much everyday, I also just re-read "Firestarter" by Steven King. I read it a while ago, but I'd forgotten how good it was. Definitely one of King's most underappreciated works. Also, I've fallen in love with Edward Monkton and "The Penguin of Death", which you should all read. -------------------- Nikki's Nook - La maison de mon rêve? Posts: 2864 | Registered: Monday, September 8 2003 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 8030
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written Friday, May 11 2007 14:07
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I'm reading the book of Romans. Why does this topic constantly reincarnate itself? -------------------- Decca Records - "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out." Posts: 1384 | Registered: Tuesday, February 6 2007 08:00 |
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Councilor
Member # 6600
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written Friday, May 11 2007 14:53
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Probably because people keep reading books. :P That said, I haven't read anything for fun for a long time, with finals and packing and whatnot. The last thing I read was The Humanure Handbook for an ecodesign class. Sawdust toilets, anyone? Dikiyoba. -------------------- Episode 4: Spiderweb Reloaded Posts: 4346 | Registered: Friday, December 23 2005 08:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 4537
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written Friday, May 11 2007 20:56
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I've been reading Thuryl's Let's Play Phantasy Star! semi-novelization thread. I actually really enjoy it and the format is conducive to good storytelling: there's a screenshot or three and then Thuryl expands on the situation, often making it up from scratch because the game has an absolute bare-bones plot or in the case of certain memorable fights. I'll link to it if I get his permission. Yep, got it. Thanks! =^.^= quote:Meteors did it! That'll be $20. -------------------- http://whyte-shadow-neko.deviantart.com - My drawings! Waka Laka love and fantasy~ Posts: 147 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 2124
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written Wednesday, May 16 2007 20:26
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After reading the third book in the "Magic Kingdom for Sale" series, I picked up an old classic: "Treasure Island". I am reading that at the same time I am reading some short stories and poetry from a college literature book someone ditched. There's some awesome stuff in there, I have no clue why they ditched it... BUT IT'S MINE NOW!!! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Posts: 17 | Registered: Monday, October 21 2002 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, May 16 2007 20:59
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More Than Human by Ramez Naam. He's an incorrigble optimist of transhumanism, but it's fun. And he's less of a crackpot than Leon Kass, at least. —Alorael, who wants his internet telepathy and robot arms now. Immortality would be nice too. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, May 19 2007 14:01
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More Than Human is also a book by Theodore Sturgeon which is kind of interesting. I just finished the final volume in a series, The Last Colony by John Scalzi-- in it there are hundreds of different species trying to colonize space, it is hard to find good real estate, you have to fight for it most of the time. The first two books were Old Man's War and the Ghost Brigades. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Add your one star vote to my tally. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Saturday, May 19 2007 14:37
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One of the oddest bits of characterization I know is in Treasure Island, in which it is revealed, among other things, that Long John Silver likes puns. The odd thing about it is that the reader is in no position to get the joke until so much later in the story that it is likely to have been forgotten, but the author never reminds the reader. I suspect that the author planned something clever about this and forgot to finish it off, but maybe it was deliberately left as it is. -------------------- Listen carefully because some of your options may have changed. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Sunday, May 20 2007 22:53
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quote:Having read Treasure Island a few times but never noticed this, I'm hungry for more detail. You seem to know what this pun is. Please elaborate. -------------------- The Noble and Ancient Order of Polaris - We're Not Yet Dead. Encyclopedia • Blades Forge • Archives • Stats • RSS (This Topic / Forum) • Blog • NaNoWriMo Did-chat thentagoespyet jumund fori is jus, hat onlime gly nertan ne gethen Firyoubbit 'obio.' Decorum deserves a whole line of my signature, and an entry in your bookmarks. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |