What books do you read?

1. What books do you read?

   #1

   Just curios what kind of reading you do. I have changing shifts so it takes me longer to fall asleep so I have been devouring books lately. Here is a recent list.
   
   (seeing the Bourne Identity has gotten me into the spy thing. Don't have the books at my library though...bastards)
   
   Day of the Jackal - Fredric Forsyth (awesome)
   
   The Odessa Files - Forsyth
   
   Eagle Has Landed - Jack Higgins (gotta find the movie now)
   
   The Man in the Iron Mask - Alexandre Dumas (liked the movie better...can I say that?)
   
   Tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser I, II- Leiber (great fun)
   
   The Black Arrow - Robert Louis Stevenson (written in an old english type dialect sort of. Lots of Y' and ye and odd sentence structure. Get used to it though and makes it fun to read.)
   
   Clockwork Orange - (talk about written in an odd dialect. written in bastardized russion for a lot of the common words. Real hard to get used to. Lucky it is a short book. Wierd!! "O' my brother," "horrorshow," "Yarbles! Great bolshy yarblockos to you. I'll meet you with chain or nozh or britva anytime. I'm not having you aiming tolchocks at me reasonless")
   
   Treasure Island - Stevenson (want to see the movie now)
   
   The Code Book - Simon Singh (pretty cool history of cryptography)
   
   Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson (One of my favorites. Lots of technical details about cryptography and the technology. The Tom Clancy of detail in cryptography, makes the book I think)
   
   In Process
   Solo - Jack Higgins (poor refried beans)
   Eye of the Storm - Higgins (ok)
   Day of Reckoning - Higgins (poor compared to the rest)
   Fourth Protocol - Forsyth (Pretty good)
   
   Probably forgetting a couple. I lose track when I get them from the library. Got burned out on fantasy after my vacation over the summer when I read the Assassin Series by Hobb. Excellent series, just had enough. Was time for my reading mood swing so I started on some classics I have never read and let my appetite at the moment guide me for the rest.
   
   Looks like a lot but they are fairly easy reading, and I read fairly quickly. Takes me maybe a total of 4-6 accumulated hours to read a book, and when you can't sleep that accumulates fairly quickly. I have better things to do then read, but I need to try and sleep as well. Wish you could just know when you are going to fall asleep so you can get something accomplished instead of reading for 2 or 3 hours waiting. Not that I mind horribly, but I have homework and webpage coding that I could be doing!!!
   
   What are you up to? Do you have time?

2. What books do you read?

   #2

   Apart from maths/physics books (yes I'm afraid I read them: algebraic topology, gauge theory, etc.) I am reading Asimov's Foundation and about to start Peake's Gormenghast. I've just finished reading every book ever written by Iain Banks and his sci-fi pseudonym Iain M. Banks. I also recently read Robert Tressell's The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists which is really good especially if you're a socialist. I was also thinking of reading Goethe's Faust but the only copy I have is in German and in that horrendously illegible gothic script.
   
   ephemeralstability!

3. What books do you read?

   #3

   Lessee, what do I like? This is just my favorites, not necessarily the ones I've read lately. Although I've read most recently.
   The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I will own the fifth book whenever they decide to release it.
   The Lord of the Rings trilogy, by Tolkein. And The Hobbit.
   The Callahan Cronicles and the Lady Sally and Mary's Place series by Spider Robinson. Actually, anything by Spider Robinson. He's my favorite author.
   The Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones. Neat alternate dimenson/magical world setting.
   A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engall. It's kind of strange, but I don't much care for the other books in the Wrinkle series.
   The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
   The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. Yay!
   The Genesis Code by John Case. A very disturbing science fiction/conspiracy theory mix.
   Assorted ancient history and mythology books.
   Books of "Wierd but True Facts"
   Books about hauntings, ghosts, and other unexplainable phenomena.
   And, of course, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. Except for the last one. I didn't like it much.
   
   I suppose it looks like a lot, but I love to read. I read more than I watch tv.

4. What books do you read?

   #4

   I know what you mean about Mostly Harmless, it's a bit weird. I've not read most of the books you mentioned (except the Tolkien obviously), I'll have to look them up sometime. I have to say I'm finding the Histories of Middle Earth quite hard to get into too: too fragmented and bitty. And I keep meaning to read Thief of Time (Terry Pratchett: it's the only Discworld one I've not read yet).
   
   ephemeralstability!

5. What books do you read?

   #5

   Slept 9 hours in the past two days and have read three books. I am hurting and want to sleep. Insomnia? Whatever it is it sucks. Looking for new books and I will definately check out some of the ones mentioned.
   
   Love Moorcock and the Elric series. Fiest is among my great reads. I have read most of the Wheel of Time by Jordon. Loved them so far but stopped at, I think num 5, will wait till he is done and read the entire series again. For some reason I keep going back to Finn MacCool by Morgan Llywelyn as well. I often like the unpolished darker writing that stories like MacCool and Elric are told in. Unpolished is probably the wrong word, but they stand out from other books in a certain way. Jhereg by Steven Brust is sort of that way. (good book too)
   
   Ordered The Genesis Code and The Thief. Looks promising. Eph, I have no idea what to do with your suggestions. I think you are way out of my league. You read anything normal? Like 3-little pigs or something? Socialist philosophy and gothic German books are sort of beyond me :P

6. What books do you read?

   #6

   There's always H.P. Lovecraft: I did like "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (especially the bit where the man gets lost in the crypts in the dark and ends up nearly falling into a pit full of "things"...it's really creepy, not really 3-little pigs). And Poe too: weird but nice. Always good for inspiration.
   
   Anything by Thomas Harris is usually gripping: it's quite hard to tell you're still reading a book and not actually in a cell with Hannibal Lecter. He's a very good writer.
   
   These are all (I have noticed) in the horror genre, but then it is coming up to Hallowe'en, so that's allowed (and Red Dragon's just come out at the cinemas! (In the UK anyway, it was probably out everywhere else ages ago)).
   
   Oh, and "Papillon" is a good read too, by Henri Charriere.
   
   ephemeralstability!

7. What books do you read?

   #7

   Now those are some that I can appreciate and give a try. Harris is pretty darn cool. Red Dragon was my favorite of the three 'Hannibal's' but I could never get my wife to read it. She doesn't like that sort of thing. He is way cool, although my most memorable part of those books was the well described eating of that dudes brain. Gotta read the book to really appreciate that scene!!
   
   Lovecraft I have never tried. Probably some sort of blasphemy for an avid reader to admit I think. Always mean to try some of Dante's stuff (Divine Comedy specifically Inferno). It is always quoted in many horror books. I been stuck on King, Koontz, and Saul for my horror needs. Mainstream and not horribly horror. Never got into Anne Rice or any of the vampire stuff. Horror is just not my genre, so with lack of knowledge of what to pick, I don't pick anything.

8. What books do you read?

   #8

   Stephen King and John Saul good... As is Poe.
   
   Did you read "Sleepwalker" by Saul? Very creepy.

9. What books do you read?

   #9

   Keep meaning to hunt my bookshelf for that one (sleepwalker). I know it sounds darn familiar.
   
   Got burned out on Higgins. The last two books about assassins were pretty crappy. My unfortune to read them one after another, but it seems like he tried again to write the same type story and used a lot of the same phrases. The latest was really obnoxious. I uncatchable assassin that tells ALL his contacts exactly where he is, what time he will get back, and where he can be contacted at all times. What kind of crap is that?
   
   Turned to Eph's type of books. Reading a biography of sorts of Feyman, got the Tao of Physics (looked interting anyway) and a few books on mysteries of the worlds. Loch Ness, Pyramids, Stonehedge, that type of thing. See if factual type books can help me get some sleep. Hopefully they will be entertaining anyway.

10. What books do you read?

    #10

    Mysteries of the world are darn cool too.

11. What books do you read?

    #11

    Quite a few books I read too...
    
    Tolkien obviously.
    Poe.
    
    To add some:
    H.G.Wells The War of the Worlds - a classic one.
    Bram Stoker Dracula - classic again.
    Philip K. Dick A scanner darkly (?) - good one of the darker kind of SF.
    Homer The Illiad - well, you can't get more classical book. Full epic here.
    Ursula le Guin the Left Hand of Darkness - nice 'alien' culture, but still human.
    
    recent read:
    B.H.Lopez Of Wolves and Man - good source on wolvenkind. Recommended if using them in RPGs.

12. What books do you read?

    #12

    Look at those classics. I have the War of the Worlds original radio broadcast. Can't say that I knew that there was a book on it though. May have to check that one out.
    
    I never read much SF. A Mote in God's Eye being a rare exception from long ago. Bought the sequel but haven't touched it. I like SF but need to be in the mood for it. Rarely am in the mood though.
    
    Have to change my reading regime now. Have to CLEP a few classes so will be reading great books on Anthropology, Statistics, and some Information System Management crap. I have no urge to take those classes so will try and test out of them. Worth a few days of reading to skip 8-16 weeks of class!!!

13. What books do you read?

    #13

    Dracula's good.

14. What books do you read?

    #14

    I agree about Homer, although not the Iliad: I found it was really slow, especially where he was describing all the troops. There's a whole chapter dedicated to that. But the Odyssey on the other hand is a really good read. Much more exciting and interesting.
    
    eph!

15. What books do you read?

    #15

    Read The Thief yesterday and loved it. Great little book!! Very happy to see that there is at least one sequel to it. Put it on my 'wish' list so hopefully will get it over Christmas. Wish it was longer though!!!

16. What books do you read?

    #16

    Sequel? What sequel? I didn't know there was one. Now I have to go get it...

17. What books do you read?

    #17

    The Queen of Attolia
    by Megan Whalen Turner
    
    In the firelit torture chamber the executioner's sword descends--and the Eugenides--the Thief of Eddis--no longer has his clever right hand. The Queen of Attolia sits calmly and watches the dreadful amputation behind her carefully cultivated mask of coldness, but later agonizes over what she has done to him. At the same time, she rages at herself for not hanging her captured prisoner outright.
    
    Readers who first met Eugenides as the rascally teenager Gen in the Newbery Honor-winning The Thief will find that in this sequel he deepens through suffering and loss, but keeps the same witty talent for elaborate, crafty schemes of espionage and theft. Caught between two rival queens in a landscape based on that which surrounds the Mediterranean Sea, Eugenides is loyal to Eddis as her Queen's Thief, but in love (despite himself) with the beautiful and seemingly ruthless Attolia. In her small mountain country, Eddis controls the only bridge between the valley nation of Sounis and the coastal kingdom of Attolia, while all three are threatened by the ships of the powerful Medes. As the web of intrigue and shifting allegiances expands, and war is imminent, the Queen's Thief risks everything on an audacious and cunning military strategy to bring the two queens together--and to steal Attolia for himself. This remarkable fantasy, with its appealing characters, emotional intensity, witty dialogue, and inventive plot, will have teen fans panting for more.

18. What books do you read?

    #18

    Ooooo...

19. What books do you read?

    #19

    Ok, I'm going to be the total odd-ball here and say I love chick books :shock:. My favorite author is Richard Paul Evans and I'm quickly becoming fond of Luanne Rice. Nicholas Sparks is pretty good too, but he's quickly becoming a sell-out. Twenty-five dollars for a book that took me an afternoon to read and the story was the same as all his others with different character names. His first book though, The Notebook, is still one of my all time favorites.
    
    I do enjoy a good mystery or thriller as well. I have read a few John Saul, Dean Koontz, and Steven King books, but they aren't my favorites. I mix them in when I need a change. Oh yea, James Patterson and John Grisham are pretty good as well. Patterson has his ups and downs, but overall he's worth reading.
    
    P.S. I've never read Lord of the Rings :twisted:

20. What books do you read?

    #20

    NEVER READ LORD OF THE RINGS....BLASPHEMUS.
    
    The hobbit at least? I thought so.
    
    Two books almost every house should have: The Bible and The Hobbit.

21. What books do you read?

    #21

    I think the Hobbit might be that book that is holding my dresser level. It's pretty thin right? :twisted:

22. What books do you read?

    #22

    Wow, what an increadible void of sci-fi. Ok, here's my list.
    
    Pern - Anne McAffrey
    
    Grendel and Legacy of Herot
    
    Ring world series and the spinoff Man-Kzin Wars
    
    Snow Crash
    
    Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy
    
    Death gate Cycle
    
    Stephen King's Dark Tower series - Yes a western, sorta
    
    Xanth series by Peirs Anthony
    
    I never could get into the Hitchhikers books, probally because I have too much irrational thought in my head already.

23. What books do you read?

    #23

    Yay, Xanth! It's actually pretty hard to find others who have even heard of that series, much less like it. It's unbelievable.

24. What books do you read?

    #24

    I have just finished Brian Lumley's Necroscope series. Definitely well worth reading..

25. What books do you read?

    #25

    Having more time on my hands then necessary, I've rediscoverd my love for reading, and this is what i've managed to read in the last two months
    
    On a Pale Horse.....looking for the rest of that series
    
    The entire Death Gate Cycle.....(glad that's over)
    
    The Thomas Convent Series....(whew! excellent series but DAMN!) :shock:
    
    Orge Orge (by far the best Xanath novel next to the first one)
    
    Neverworld and American Gods both by Neil Gaimen (Sandman rules!!)
    
    whew....
    
    gotta finish reading Hannibal when I have some more time

26. What books do you read?

    #26

    Forget Hannibal, Red Dragon is the BEST book in that set!!!
    
    Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy

27. What books do you read?

    #27

    Recent reads.
    
    Life in a Medieval City
    Life in a Medieval Village
    
    City one was pretty cool. Will put up some of the neater things I read about later.
    
    Medieval Village is a history of farming for the most part and how much each villager plowed, what they owed their lord, how much the paid for certain fines. It is the economical side of it and I want to know about the people, not that "Tom Freeman paid six shillings for uneven plowing of his furlong." There are some interesting bits and pieces, but for the most part a economic history and not really what I care about.

28. What books do you read?

    #28

    Mentioned elsewhere...
    George Orwell's 1984 :!:
    A fine book about Evil my own evil side can only dream of. :twisted:
    Not really fantasy, closer to sci-fi, but really an educational reading.

29. What books do you read?

    #29

    YES! I AGREE! :D
    1984 ROCKS!
    It's about evil and after reading that I never looked at power or society in the same light. Ever. :twisted: ... :twisted: .... :twisted:

30. What books do you read?

    #30

    More books.......(i gotta get out more)
    
    Brave New World
    
    The Way of the Samurai
    
    Animal Farm
    
    Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
    
    The Damnation Game
    
    The Drawing of the Three
    
    no wonder I can't sleep anymore...... :roll:

31. What books do you read?

    #31

    Brave new world, another good one. Brave new world, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 are all books about either utopian society, or an immortal society. Naturally, both really suck as a place to live in.
    
    Animal Farm... Another good one.

32. What books do you read?

    #32

    I seem to be on a mystery kick right now.
    
    The Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout (and later Robert Goldsborough)
    
    Sherlock Holmes, especially Hound of the Baskervilles
    
    The Luis Mendoza books by Dell Shannon. Actually, these are more "police dramas" or something, I guess.
    
    Almost anything by Agatha Christie.
    
    The Nick Velvet stories by Edward D. Hoch
    
    And, just to be odd, since it doesn't fit in with my run of mysteries, The Count of Monte Cristo.

33. What books do you read?

    #33

    Just finishing up the Bourne Identity trilogy. I actually really enjoyed them. Still a hundred pages or so left of the last one, but I really like them. Hmmm, wonder where Talon came from. hehehehe. A poor attempt at a fantasy Bourne-type character. We will see if he fleshes himself out. Will have to read Day of the Jackal again too.
    
    Can't wait to get my eyes around the Count of Monte Cristo. I REALLY liked that movie and my library doesn't have the book.

34. What books do you read?

    #34

    Yay, Xanth! It's actually pretty hard to find others who have even heard of that series, much less like it. It's unbelievable.

    
    
    I have to admit I really enjoy the first eight in the Xanth series, but it seemed to get too corny and repetitious. Almost like he ran out of material.
    
    Peirs Anthony’s other series are like that too, I think the Blue Adept series has at least nine books and is worth reading but you can see that the story is getting a little stretched at the end of the series.
    
    All in all I thin he is a good author, but that he beats a dead horse a little longer than he should.
    :roll:

35. What books do you read?

    #35

    I think the Hobbit might be that book that is holding my dresser level. It's pretty thin right? :twisted:

    
    
    Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
    
    :o :arrow: :x

36. What books do you read?

    #36

    In honor of our orcs thread, I am rereading LOTR with the thought in my head to look for the *evil* orc characterizations...if there are. There are probably other resources, Tolkien books, that may even go into greater detail...although I could never get into the Silmarrillion (sp?) and such so I may have missed out on some things.
    
    Either way, a reread is definately not a waste.
    
    (PS. I got the Fellowship exta 4-disc extended blah blah box set. There are some cool additions to it and I think worth getting.)

37. What books do you read?

    #37

    LOTR and the Hobbit are some of the best books ever! EVER! EVER!!
    I am a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft, also.
    Try the View from the Mirror series, and the Wheel of Time series.

38. What books do you read?

    #38

    I think the Hobbit might be that book that is holding my dresser level. It's pretty thin right? :twisted:

    
    
    Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
    
    :o :arrow: :x
    Mwahahahahahahah :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

39. What books do you read?

    #39

    Strolen Wrote:

    There are probably other resources, Tolkien books, that may even go into greater detail...although I could never get into the Silmarrillion (sp?) and such so I may have missed out on some things.

    
    I tried to read the silmarrillion once. I only got half wasy through, but I can tell you the gist of it. It is a history of middle earth. It goes on about EVERYTHING that happened before the hobbit. It is extermely confusing.
    
    PS. sorry about the quote thing

40. What books do you read?

    #40

    Yep the Silmarllion is a though one. I am in the process of getting through it again. Very informative!

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