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Burzarukaenthusiast
233 posts

Posted:
Well when I was in L.A. I did an abundance of reading. Honestly when you are at the beach and really just wanting to relax what better way to spend your, too hot to be outside, day than curling up with a good book infront of the AC?

The point of this little topic is to exchange good book titles. Anything that you have read and enjoy, perhaps a little review and what not.

Mainly I am just looking for something to pick up that I might not normally think to pick up and maybe we can do the same for eachother.

So, I'll start off by recommending the fantasy book series called "The Sword of Truth" series.

The first book is called, "The Wizards First Rule". An awesome story line by Terry Goodkind. I highly reccomend it for anyone who is interested in fantasy or just looking for a new series to keep them company for a long time. With 8 books in total in the series thus far you have a lot of black and white ahead of you.

Next for the Sci-fi fan in us all I submit the Halo book series. You've played the game, and if you havn't you should, now read all about Spartan 117, his origins and about the Human Covanent War. Masterfully written by William C. Dietz and Eric Nylund. You start with "The Fall of Reach" where you learn of the creation of the Spartans and all the events leading up to "The Flood" (Halo the game) where you read about more than just Spartan 117's fight for servival. After the battle for Halo and before the second game (due out later this year) comes "First Strike" and the battle to slow the Covanent's advance towards Earth.


Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers... in all honesty if you have seen the movie... hold on to your butts because the movie was a waste of time. Ignore everything you learned in the movie about the battles against the arachnids and be prepared to find a deep look at society and how we may be viewd from a future perspective. It is far more than just a bug squishing good time.



For those that are searching for something, "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" a book by Dan Millman. This book is a sotry about a persons outlook not only at the world around them but the world within them. Dont let the title fool you the battle the warriors go on is not a physical one, but one of the mind. One word describes this book, Powerful.


"Whatever You Say I Am" a biography of a man a lot of people hate peak on, but love to talk about. It is a book about none other than The Life and Times of Eminem. Don't judge this book by its cover. Anthony Bozza (author of the book and comumnist for Rolling Stone Mag.) dives deep not only into Marshal Mathers life, but into the past present and future of America as seen through the eyes of R&B/Hip Hop and the rest of the music industry. This book puts things that I never thought of before into a very interesting and humorus point of view.

Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Neverwhere, both books of a sort of modern fantasy. Just two overwhelming novels by one of the most interesting authors of our time. All sorts of loud colors and pretty sounds take your imagination to the fullest in these two books. I highly reccomend them no matter what type of book you like to read, even if you don't like to read I still suggest you pick these books up.


I hope this isnt too much to juggle and I cant wait to hear what others think of these books and others suggestions of good books to read.

colemanSILVER Member
big and good and broken
7,330 posts
Location: lunn dunn, yoo kay, United Kingdom


Posted:
nice one richee biggrin

right now (as well as a bunch of graphic design books and periodicals) i'm reading "hiding the elephant" - a history of the golden age of magic.

tis a great read and in the form of a novel that focuses on the characters of the magicians involved rather than just the tricks and the theatres smile

next on the shelf is a recently reprinted robert anton wilson classic, the earth will shake - best of all, its part of another trilogy!

i can't wait ubblove


cole. x

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood


faith enfireBRONZE Member
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA


Posted:
oooo
the remains of the day
all i ever needed to know i learned in kindergarten
the grasshopper trap- patrick f mcmanus
anything by Bruce Coville or John Bellairs

Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed


TabtI Doubt, Therefore I Might Be
1,007 posts
Location: Horsham


Posted:
i love books!

ok, if u like sci-fi try an ANNE McCAFFREY. either the 'pern' series which is all about people who ride dragons, to save Pern from thread.
or the 'Freedom' series where earth is overtaken by Cattenni and humans are sold as slaves.

i also love Pterry (who dosent?), if u do, then try a Robert Rankin. slightly different but enjoyable all the same.

currently though im reading Labyrinth, by kate moss. and dont worry it is not the novel of the famous bowie film. anyhow how could you translate all those crotch shots of bowie into script?

ooh, i just bought the new jilly cooper 'wicked'. and don't you just know its gonna be raunchy!

Owner of Dragosani's right side.


RayinRedSILVER Member
member
39 posts
Location: Huntington, New York, USA


Posted:
I read Barbara Kingsolvers "The Poisonwood Bible" years ago and it always stuck out in my head as a wonderful.

Also Ayn Rand "The Fountain Head" and "Anthem". I never really got into Atlas Shrugged.

Right now I'm reading "The Da Vinci Code", it has really pulled me and and I would recomend it to anyone.


note: if you are a fan of Jonathan Stinbeck (Grapes of Wrath, ect), disregard everything I just wrote. I suffered greatly through high school english having to read his story about the retarded guy and the bunny.

Gnarly CraniumSILVER Member
member
186 posts
Location: San Francisco, USA


Posted:
 Written by: Pretz


ok, if u like sci-fi try an ANNE McCAFFREY. either the 'pern' series which is all about people who ride dragons, to save Pern from thread.
or the 'Freedom' series where earth is overtaken by Cattenni and humans are sold as slaves.


Was not impressed by the Freedom series. Just what we need-- more books full of smut with friendly slave-driving aliens with big schlongs, written by someone's gramma. Don't get me wrong, I love Anne McCaffrey-- the Pern books were great, or started off that way. She's just gotten a bit... odd as time goes on, and in fact most of her later books are downright boring. The smut is a little peculiar, considering how rabid she's gotten with that sort of thing in Pern fanfiction (no, no, the green dragonriders are straight I tell you-- straight!! nevermind what she wrote twenty years ago, it was a typo or something!).

 Written by:

currently though im reading Labyrinth, by kate moss. and dont worry it is not the novel of the famous bowie film. anyhow how could you translate all those crotch shots of bowie into script?


Aww...



Books that come to mind just now--

Tea With the Black Dragon by RA MacAvoy -- thoughtful, amusing, poignant little book, nice mix of philosophy and action.

The Green Mile by Stephen King is what I'm reading right now, I'm a King fan and this is one of his best I think. Although, what is it with him and problems with toilet habits?

Emails From Over The Edge -- Nick Woolsey's book is just plain nifty. Maybe I shall get another copy and set it free? I wonder if books raised in captivity can adapt to life in the wild?

"Ours is not to question The Head; it is enough to revel in the ubiquitous inanity of The Head, the unwanted proximity of The Head, the unrelenting HellPresence of The Head, indeed the very UNYIELDING IRRELEVANCE of The Head!" --Revelation X


DrBooBRONZE Member
I invented the decaffinated coffee table.
453 posts
Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom


Posted:
I am currently reading the K-Pax: the trilogy by Gene Brewer. It's actualy pretty good. I would recommend it. Yes, the film was based on it.



One of the best books I've read is Stiff by Mary Roach Sounds morbid, but it's about the "secret life of the human cadaever". It's absolutly fascinating, honestly.



A good author for some alternative "chick reading"/detective type thing is Lauren Henderson . The protagonist is very different to your usual in these genres. Hard to describe, but give them a go if you are interested in that sort of thing.



Other books I think are fab:

Wrong about Japan by Peter Carey Does what it say on the tin, so to speak. Guy and his son go to Japan and discover all their theories and ideas about Japanese cultire, manga and anime were not entirely true.



Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Phillip K Dick The only one of his I've read so far, the book Bladerunner was based on. In some ways, I feel, better than the film.



The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks. Brilliant neuroscientist challenges our perception of the world around us, the way our minds work - how we deal with such complicated information being thrown at us all the time and how fragile our minds actually are - and how easily they go wrong. Chapters on different neurological conditions that the writer has come across in his practice. Sometimes he has an irreverance of his clients, and may be considered to jump to some conclusions that may put you on edge, but generally this is a honest and informative read.



Anything by Stephen Fry, but especially his autobiography, Moab is my Washpot. But then I think he is fantastic, so I may be biased.



btw. love this thread! biggrin

Boo x

I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

If it costs "a penny for your thoughts", but people give you their "two-pence worth", who is getting the extra penny?


faith enfireBRONZE Member
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA


Posted:
piers anthony, but only xanth

Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed


RicheeIImember
37 posts

Posted:
Looking for new book to read. Except those in electronic

form, too big for printing, I've found:



Emails from Over the edge (teaser)



by Nick Woolsey



emails_teaser.pdf (27 pages)



Meenik,



:R

BINARY DIVISION


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
 Written by: Burzaruka


Well when I was in L.A. I did an abundance of reading. Honestly when you are at the beach and really just wanting to relax what better way to spend your, too hot to be outside, day than curling up with a good book infront of the AC?

So, I'll start off by recommending the fantasy book series called "The Sword of Truth" series.

The first book is called, "The Wizards First Rule". An awesome story line by Terry Goodkind. I highly reccomend it for anyone who is interested in fantasy or just looking for a new series to keep them company for a long time. With 8 books in total in the series thus far you have a lot of black and white ahead of you.




great series wink and if anyone is interested the final book "Confessor" is out in the UK on Monday (19th Nov)

For Lovers of Fantasy I also recommend:
Raymond E. Feist - Creates fantastic characters you really get to know with a good mix of drama and comic timing. riftwar series onwards.

Steven Eriksson - A great vaiation often showing both sides of a struggle so you don't know who to cheer on and the creating of whole new species of beings straight out of left field a good deviation from the common elves and Orcs etc.

Robert Jordan. - Wheel of time series. A massively long read. good drama, some slow bits I'll admit but the let down is it's 12 books (including prequal) but the Author Died in September before he finished the concluding episode. he spent his last months dictating and creating notes so the series could be completed by a ghost writer. frown

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


squidBRONZE Member
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA


Posted:
These are some really interesting titles Im seeing. I am going to have to check some of them out.

I'll second the recommendation for a Boy called It. Turns your stomach at times, but it is compelling.

For the travelers out there, I loved The Lion in the Moon: Two against the Sahara. Its the true life story about 2 strangers that come together to chronicle their journey from Tunisia down through the Sahara. Excellent read.

Fantasy for me begins and ends with my all time favorite book: The Phantom Tollbooth. Not too thick, as it is a children's story, but the word play in it still tickles me to death.

Siddartha- the story of the young man who spends his life living and discovering enlightenment.

And right now Im still reading Three Cups of Tea. Its pretty amazing stuff. This one man is on a mission to help build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, even now throughout all the current issues that those countries are involved in.

"to a man whose only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail." Abraham Maslow


squidBRONZE Member
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA


Posted:
Oh! I forgot to mention my current read; one that I have only read in pieces but am dying for an opportunity to sit down and really dig into:
smile

[Old link]

"to a man whose only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail." Abraham Maslow


GlåssDIAMOND Member
The Ministry of Manipulation
2,523 posts
Location: Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
I absolutely recommend
"Confessions of a Yakuza"
Junichi Saga, Kodansha [ISBN 4-7700-1948-3]
Memoirs of a yakuza man, collected by his doctor, from his early apprenticeship to his rise in the structure. Lots of details about the inner workings of "classical" (i.e. pre-war) Yakuza.

True story told by an 80 year old man to his doctor.
In his life he went to prison several times, once for killing another gangster.
It's an incredible book about an incredible life, honour, not at all about glorification of violence.
You can read the start of it here
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KI3rZ...umbnail#PPA6,M1
I read it in 24 hours on a Thai beach in January.

It makes me a little sad to remember because I borrowed Maiuki's copy - she was reading it at the time.... frown

RicheeBRONZE Member
HOP librarian
1,841 posts
Location: Prague, Czech. Republic


Posted:
William Gibson - Neuromancer

genre (cyberpunk)

sci-fi,

:R

POI THEO(R)IST


natasqiaddict
489 posts
Location: Perth


Posted:
Well, hello to Pele and Sporky, I'm currently going through the Anita Blake series, made easy by the fact i have the first twelve as e-books on my computer. No annoying page turning or getting up to get the next book smile

And in winter, my massive laptop warms my bed for me! smile

Iused to read all the time but I've become disillusioned because I have large periods when I don't have time and then forget what I was reading and what is was about.

Obernewtyn Chronicles are a must though!
Isobelle Carmody

Most other books I read are about doctors and UN volunteers...

newgabeSILVER Member
what goes around comes around. unless you're into stalls.
4,030 posts
Location: Bali, Australia


Posted:
I do miss reading for fun. Doing a uni degree so only have time to read assignment stuff now.

Last books I read that I loved; Carpet Wars by Christopher Kremmer. Journalist/carpet collectors journeys through the increasingly devastated Middle East. Reread God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.
Liked Shantaram too apart from the unrealistic gratuitous soppy love story bits. (g.s. Love stories, SF and fantasy are about equal on the bottom of my taste.)

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....


duvanancient oachkatzlschwoaf
248 posts
Location: germany


Posted:
I just read

Derren Brown: Tricks of the Mind
and what can I say.. simply loved it

Despite being a huge fan of the telly series I really liked the book for it reveals a lot about mentalism, believes and memory techniques (after having read Derren's book I could not resist to order

"Maximize your Memory"
by Jonathan Hancock

yet another awesome and incredible useful book!

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