Tomes and Illusions · Legacy archive
What books do you read?
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Re: What books do you read?
#241You have my agreement about verbosity. I had major issues with some of the books at times. It feels like reading Tolkien's long descriptions of landscapes. I never got the impression of the characters acting below-capacity, though.
If you have to avoid certain books, though, avoid Winter's Heart, and The Crossroads of Twilight. Both of those are so boring your hair will fall out. Particularly the latter, which made a huge uproar in the fandom because nothing happened. At all. It was entirely setup and tying up loose ends. The books since, especially the new one from Anderson, have some good action and are almost worth dealing with the monstrosity known as CoT. -
Re: What books do you read?
#242What befell the Wheel Of Time was a major tragedy. It had the potential to be a fantasy classic that was in the same league as the Lord Of The Rings, but Jordan got greedy guess. -
Re: What books do you read?
#243I think I am on book 10, I loose track as I am rolling through them in me ebook form so not really paying much attention to titles. I find myself racing through A LOT just to get to the point, any point. His rambling over detailed style gets so old when all we want to know is what happens next. Maybe I am in a more severe state as I have read these 10 over the past month and a half so just want them over at this point. I also get extremely annoyed when these stoic Aes Sedai keep getting described when somebody mentions the dark one or whatever and they almost fall from their saddle, or puke or blanche and almost pass out. Really? These stoic powerful people get in cat fights and complain like 10 year olds, puke at the mention of a name and then they are supposed to be held in this extreme respect? Their stupid, petty arguing and tantrums annoy the HELL out of me! Especially our female stars of the book. Gets so old that they still act like little kids with all that happened to them. Figure in 10 books they would have some growth through their character arc. I am totally scanning the rest of the books in my limited time. I really could care less about the details and what food they are eating, I just want to know what they do and what happens, speed racer style. -
Re: What books do you read?
#244
I think I am on book 10, I loose track as I am rolling through them in me ebook form so not really paying much attention to titles. I find myself racing through A LOT just to get to the point, any point. His rambling over detailed style gets so old when all we want to know is what happens next. Maybe I am in a more severe state as I have read these 10 over the past month and a half so just want them over at this point. I also get extremely annoyed when these stoic Aes Sedai keep getting described when somebody mentions the dark one or whatever and they almost fall from their saddle, or puke or blanche and almost pass out. Really? These stoic powerful people get in cat fights and complain like 10 year olds, puke at the mention of a name and then they are supposed to be held in this extreme respect? Their stupid, petty arguing and tantrums annoy the HELL out of me! Especially our female stars of the book. Gets so old that they still act like little kids with all that happened to them. Figure in 10 books they would have some growth through their character arc. I am totally scanning the rest of the books in my limited time. I really could care less about the details and what food they are eating, I just want to know what they do and what happens, speed racer style.
Excellent observations. It's very interesting that many of the purpotedly strong female characters in the WOT saga are often reduced to being cowardly or immature cliches. Nyanaeve for example is often given the attributes of a spoilt child so it's nost just the Aes Sedai who are made to look like complete jokes. Even some of the female Forsaken have their competence as villains seriously questioned. How did Jordan expect his readers to take such caricatures seriously? -
Re: What books do you read?
#245WoT Book 12 was actually really good. Tied up at least 3 major plot threads, more than the last 5 books managed to do. Now I am ready for the last 2.
Tried to start Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy. Couldn't get past the 5th chapter or so. Must not be my style of writing, I found it....well, not good at all. -
Re: What books do you read?
#246Currently reading ''The Name of the Wind'' by Patrick Rothfuss. Only of the few fantasy novels on the market that can still appeal to my jaded palate.
By the way Strolen, how did you access the online WOT e-books? Despite the fact that some of the novels in the series have dissapointed me, I still intend to complete the whole series but at the same time, don't want to find myself saddled with a mammoth collection of all 12 books. Thanks. -
Re: What books do you read?
#247Have you checked that anachronism, the Library? :)
I'm trying to get over my own-lots-of-books addition and get books from the library instead. -
Re: What books do you read?
#248The Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Main character is a coyote shapeshifter in a world with werewolves, vampires, fae, and they hint that there are worse things out there. I rather like them. They're fast paced, have solid character development, and have one of the more interesting main characters I've seen before.
Honor Harrington by David Weber. Wonderful, glorious Science Fiction. The numbers he gives are apparently not quite right at times, but on the whole, he does a pretty darn good job of things. There's nothing so glaringly wrong that I can't overlook it, and to be honest, the only people that really care are the fan-nazis who demand perfection. The books themselves have good plots and pacing, though in a few places the story slows a bit as he gets a bit more into the details needed to explain certain points. Sometimes that's okay, and sometimes it's not. Overall, highly recommended.
And of course, The Dresden Files are always on my reading list, though the next one is a little ways out still...
Edit: Algorithms in a Nutshell. I absolutely can't forget the wonderful little book I'm using right now. It isn't one you just read through (though I probably will one of these days), because it's a reference book. But what a reference book it is! It gives detailed implementations and descriptions of a number of different algorithms, as well as optimizations and performance evaluations.
It starts with classic sorting and searching, but quickly moves to other topics, such as graphs, computational geometry, and pathfinding. Their coverage of Best/Average/Worst case theory is a bit thin, but they even say on the back cover that it's just enough to allow you to understand and compare performance, which is fine with me. I honestly don't need yet another course in performance analysis, tyvm!
Overall, this book is an excellent reference, and even without having used it much, I already have gotten my money's worth. Any suggestions for other books like this? -
Re: What books do you read?
#249Well, in my bookshelf I have Standish "Data Structures, Algorithms & Software Principles in C". I also have some of the "Game Programming Gems" books, and a couple of books about 3D game graphics and real time terrain engines with DirectX and OpenGL.
The Thomas Standish book is great for the basics, but by the sound of it your "Algorithms in a Nutshell" book already covered those.
The Game Programming Gems books cover various problems, like the stacked canyon problem, shaders and so on.
Depends on where you wanna go, really. Do you want to became a game programming ace, or do you want to become a scientific persona attempting to solve unsolved problems in computer science. http://garden.irmacs.sfu.ca/?q=category/theoretical_computer_science
Me, I moved on to rootkits and injection techniques. Read about ARP cache poisoning the other day, and, years after leaving school, I signed on a college class about network security. The class is mostly about defensive techniques and firewalls, but I take what I can get.
Well, hacking is not really related to algorithms, but it is sooo fuuun.
Just don't hack Strolens. Use the public "test your skills" servers found on the net. They are legal to hack, which is neat. That way you don't end up in jail and stuff. ;) -
Re: What books do you read?
#250I might need professional help.
Read A Game of Thrones by Martin and couldn't get into it. It actually kind of annoyed me. So much going on without a lot really happening. I guess it is pretty clear that it sets up the rest of the books but I am not used to reading a 700 page introduction. Tell me that it gets waaaay better and I might continue. Right now I am not interested enough in the story to care.
Perhaps I am just getting more picky. Can't wait for the final WoT book to come out. The last one was actually really good. A lot of movement and things happening. Not used to that in the series. This final book should prove to be a great finish....I hope. -
Re: What books do you read?
#251The first one is in some ways the best one and the least compelling. Discussed below-
The second and third books read more like serials, with each chapter being a cliffhanger and the resolution to that cliffhanger not being resolved for several chapters. They are easy reads, and for the most part page turners, though not all the story lines or characters are as interesting as others. So you may enjoy them more.
The fourth book we can all agree is crap, the author has just started adding details and characters for the sake of details and characters (while the details add a sense of emersion in the other three books, they are pointless here). In the fourth book there are a lot of unconnected chapters and the story goes no where as it just expands on what were minor characters. The books have a huge backstory already, the war rebellions the rise and falls of religon, and we learn about at through character conversations which reference those events. We don't need play by play accounting of all the details.
*Spoilers*
The first books however is the only one that truly follows an arc. It is the fall of Eddard Stark, we get the fore shadowing of things to come when we find the Dire Wolf that has choked to death on a stag. Stark then goes to serve the King (whose livery is the Stag). So we know what is going to happen, and this adds to the anticipation and tragedy of it. The first book also has the most conservative story telling-if you can believe it. The use of different character perspective allows the reader to get both a side long view and a first hand view of the action. For example we see Eddard's death via Sansa's perspective, but we see Eddard's defeat-when he finally breaks in prison-through his own perspective. But in the first book most of the action/story (except for that ex-pat princess) takes place in one area with the same characters. MY WAGER: You may enjoy the second and third books more, because they are more first person action and there is more action and less intrigue. A lot happens in the second and third books, so if you disliked the slow pacing of the first you may enjoy the second and third. But if you thought the first work was too large and too varied and the writing style to monotone (Ironic for all the ground he covers he never really shifts the tone or style of his prose) then you won't like the second and third because for all the increase in pace it only get broader in terms of characters examined and event covered. -
Re: What books do you read?
#252That was a great reply, thanks. I may give it a try later. I am definitely a mood reader and I go through phases that last months. I might just be exceptionally finicky at the moment and need to take a break from fantasy for a bit. Tried Abercrombie, The Blade Itself but couldn't stand the style, gnawed on The Painted Man by Brett and was only satisfied as I think much was rushed in it...not horrible though. I think it is time to change genres, might be getting burned out. Probably doesn't help that I have been reading a bunch of Jack London. Probably comparing apples and oranges and need to reevaluate my expectations. Am I becoming a snobby reader? eeek -
Re: What books do you read?
#253Currently about to finish up The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond. About halfway through I realized that this book was written well before his other two books I have found so fascinating, Guns Germs and Steel, and Collapse. After he finishes up with the section about human sexual behavior (Human females have no outward indication that they are in estrus and ready to breed, to the extent that they themselves seldom know, unlike certain monkeys who get giant red butts and so on) and how our society can function because of this, he goes off into material better covered in Guns Germs and Steel, and touches on palneology (sp?) the study of pollen. -
Re: What books do you read?
#254I am currently reading the first three in the Culture Novels by Banks
Consider Phlebas (1987)
The first Culture novel. Its protagonist is working for the religious Idiran Empire against the Culture. A rich, although basically linear story about rescuing one of the artificial sentiences of the Culture, it takes place against the backdrop of the galaxy-spanning Idiran War.
(Personally, I did not like this one at all).
The Player of Games (1988)
A brilliant though bored games player from the Culture is entrapped and blackmailed to work as a Special Circumstances agent in the brutal interstellar Empire of Azad. Their system of society and government is entirely based on an elaborate strategy game.
Use of Weapons (1990)
A non-linear story about a Culture mercenary called Zakalwe. Chapters describing his adventures for Special Circumstances are intercut with stories from his past, where the reader slowly discovers why this man is so troubled.
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Re: What books do you read?
#255Amazon "Suggested" this title to me. It knows me so well already and I thought the title was hilarious!!
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
http://www.amazon.com/Abraham-Lincoln-Vampire-Seth-Grahame-Smith/dp/0446563080/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top -
Re: What books do you read?
#256Ice Station by Matt Reilly, one of the most fast paced thriller novels I've ever read.
Well worth a read if you like fast paced action and good high tech/modern day adventure. -
Re: What books do you read?
#257Border's is closing a number of their stores. This new saddens me, but I figured I should take advantage of the deals while they're still open.
Finally bought Dragons of the Hourglass Mage by Weis and Hickman. This should be my last Dragonlance book for quite some time, as I am not interested in material by the other authors.
Decided to educate myself a bit, as well. Picked up Non-Euclidean Geometry by Stefan Kulczycki. So far, it hasn't been too heavy for me to digest, mostly explaining the history, and evolution, of geometry. I think I'm about to take a step off the cliff into a totally mind-blowing experience soon, I can feel the information getting thicker, but my brain just keeps eating it up.
And I found the Gamma World boxed set based on the D&D 4e rules. I was lucky enough to score a few sessions of Gamma World 1e, playing through the original Famine in Far Go; and found that I really enjoyed the setting and simple rules. This new GW is very shiny, with lots of bright green, purple and blue oozes and auras of various sort, but the whole Trading Card Game rules they threw into it annoy me.
Enjoy your books, everyone!
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Re: What books do you read?
#258Having trouble getting published?
Get creative!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20110303/us_yblog_upshot/mystery-novel-intrigues-manhattan -
Re: What books do you read?
#259Currently reading On Combat by Dr. Grossman, for whatever that's worth.
Anxiously waiting to order Mockingbird, the latest book by Suzanne Collins that started with The Hunger Games. Wow, very impressed. Very interesting and incredibly creative background and story line that had me hanging on every word. Had no idea which way the book was going to turn until the last page. -
Re: What books do you read?
#260Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison. Book eight in The Hollows series. Mostly standard urban fantasy fare but it doesn't have that Laurell K Hamilton knock-off feel so many of them seem to end up with.
I really enjoy this series. I love the characters, the setting, and the evolving plot. Good, believable, consistent characters are essential for me when it comes to enjoying fiction. I put this on par with Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. -
Re: What books do you read?
#261Just finished a story called Legacy of Blood set in Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo universe, written by Richard A. Knaak, found in the Diablo Archive book. This story was just what I needed to keep me pumped up while waiting for Diablo 3 to be released. The tale is about the discovery of the tomb of Bartuc the Bloody and what happens to the poor fools who found the place. Lots of familiar aspects from the computer games show up, such a a Necromancer casting Teeth and a visit to Lut Gholein, including Drognan. Meshif, and Atma's Tavern, each briefly. A very fun read. If you're a fan of the series, like me, I would suggest picking up the Diablo Archive for $17.99 US. I still haven't read the other three stories in it, but totally worth it so far.
I'm also reading Tyme and Yon Serpent by M.J. Holmes.. I'm not really sure how to explain what this book is about. At the beginning, it was a story of a group of people going to do a role-playing game. Then there are a few seemingly side-tales, a necromancer's journey up a hill and some meeting of Godly sorts, and for the largest part of the book (it seems) I find myself following people chosen from their worlds to champion some unknown cause. It's a bit of a wild ride. I won this book in a Facebook contest after meeting the author in a chat room and am enjoying it.
You can find T.A.Y.S. on lulu: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/tyme-and-yon-serpent-serpents-tail-(act-1-book-1)/14917463?productTrackingContext=product_view/more_by_author/right/2
2.99 for a digital copy, I would suggest picking it up to help out a new author with a unique book. -
Re: What books do you read?
#262The Vlad Taltos books by Steven Brust. So far, I've read up through Dzur (going by pub rather than chronological order) and I can't wait to get my hands on the rest.
I don't know how I missed reading this series for all these years. Brust is an excellent writer. His style is very engaging, the characters easy to identify with. His world is finely detailed and consistent to its own rules. There are no "formula" stories; each book is built around a fresh, new idea that fits in perfectly with the overall life of Vlad. -
Re: What books do you read?
#263On the Decay of the Art of Lying by Mark Twain -
Re: What books do you read?
#264I am on Book 13 of the Patrick O'Brian Master and Commander series.
Loving it. Makes we want to read the Horatio Hornblower series again too. Love those British Navy books for some reason. Trying to emulate some of their mannerisms in my daily job. They look at me weird...they will get used to it. -
Re: What books do you read?
#265I finished reading both Fahrenheit 451 and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? about a month back. Both are classics so anyone can appreciate them. Although Ray Bradbury writes so poetically and with such beautiful metaphors that I recommend everyone read Fahrenheit 451 if at all possible. -
Re: What books do you read?
#266Funny timing as I just started reading Androids. I do like 451 as well and have churned through it a couple times already and probably will a few times. Almost finished The Master and Commander series. Got through #20 a couple weeks ago and took a short break before the last one which is actually unfinished. Yet another series ended with the death of the author.
Hope Martin survives long enough to finish the damn Game of Thrones that seems like it could go on forever. -
Re: What books do you read?
#267I have just started reading the "Game of Thrones" books.
I think it was Silveressa that asked me if I was following the series, to which I replied with no.
I then asked her if there were books, because I prefer to read the books of any given series or film(s) before watching them as it leaves me able to imagine things myself. -
Re: What books do you read?
#268
Hope Martin survives long enough to finish the d**n Game of Thrones that seems like it could go on forever.
Do those books keep your interest? I've had friends tell me that it really drags later in the books and becomes almost nonsensical. I do want to start reading them though. -
Re: What books do you read?
#269Took me two tries to get into it. Read the first one awhile ago and stopped. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have read them if it weren't for the series. But, there is a lot going on and it might be worth reading for the surprises. If I had my way I would cut a few of the viewpoints and concentrate on others. There are some that are really awesome and you can't wait till you see how they progress and others you can't wait till the chapter is over to move on to others.
Probably a low 4 on a 5 scale...maybe a high 3. For me anyway. -
Re: What books do you read?
#270Future War: Kosovo and Beyond
Call of Cthulhu D20 RPG -
Re: What books do you read?
#271The Deverry series by Katherine Kerr. I had read the first half dozen or so books in the early 90's but never kept up with it after that. After finding Days of Blood and Fire in a used bookstore, I decided to go back to the beginning and read them all. I'm more than halfway through and seeing patterns I hadn't seen before.
The books skip back and forth across more than 500 years in a world that was settled by Celts fleeing the Roman conquest of Gaul. Reincarnation is key to the story, so many of the characters pop up again and again. I find myself referencing the table of incarnations on a regular basis. -
Re: What books do you read?
#272Just picked up The Hunger Games again (part one, also found out that there are three).
Can't for the life of me think why I ever put it down! I'm loving it so far!
*goes back to reading* -
Re: What books do you read?
#273The Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau. -
Re: What books do you read?
#274A Game of Thrones by George. R.R. Martin. -
Re: What books do you read?
#275My new favorite fantasy series of all time (yes, they're that good). Drumroll please . . .
The Mistborn Trilogy, by Brandon Sanderson.
Mistborn: The Final Empire: A band of thieves combine their unique powers to overthrow an empire that has stood for over 1000 years.
Mistborn: The Well of Ascension: The remnants of the thieving crew must keep the kingdom they have forged from falling apart, while their capital city is besieged by three separate armies.
Mistborn: The Hero of Ages: The world is ending in fire and ash, and it is up to our heroes to decipher the clues of a millenia-old puzzle, while helping the remnants of humanity survive.
The ending of the trilogy actually managed to surprise me as well. This is a really clever series, with tons of hidden clues -- stuff from the first and second books comes together and really delivers a punch in the third. I would definitely call this a character-driven trilogy. Additionally, the ending of the first book is extremely satisfying; enough so that it could have been a stand-alone book. And lastly, I'll say that the third book has some of the most beautiful character deaths I have ever read.
If you're looking for a believable and interesting cast of characters, a unique and versatile magic system, and a lot of subtle mysteries to solve, definitely give this trilogy a try. :) -
Re: What books do you read?
#276(Intertwines fingers in a pattern)
Was looking for a new series. Tried to read Sasha (A Trial of Blood and Steel, Book I) and got through the first book just fine, kind of. It was described as similar to the Arya Story in GoT so I was sold at that. Kinda, but not really. Awesome chick swordswoman but without showing the growing up, which I like. She is already a master when we meet her. Story seemed to try and be complex and add all this political and racial complication that just annoys me. Probably why I wasn't a great fan of GoT either but that had some kickers to keep you going. I started on the second of the series and just couldn't get interested. I didn't care....and I generally don't quick books I start.
So reading the House on Haunted Hill because I didn't have anything else handy. Will finish that tonight and hopefully start on this series. Already loaded on the ebook!!
Thanks for posting about it!! -
Re: What books do you read?
#277Still persuing A Game of Thrones, I can only read so much before I need to put the book down.
There are parts where I feel the author is trying to drag it out a bit, which I find to be off putting.
I will finish it, one day, soon.. -
Re: What books do you read?
#278
Still persuing A Game of Thrones, I can only read so much before I need to put the book down.
There are parts where I feel the author is trying to drag it out a bit, which I find to be off putting.
I will finish it, one day, soon..
I have read a lot of fantasy in my life -- lots of epic series as well. A Game of Thrones is the first that I can remember feeling completely lukewarm towards. I like the world. I like some of the characters. I even like the plot, though it gets really bogged down (so much that it feels like nothing much happens in the first book). Yet all of this is derailed by a lot of pointless smut. The book reads like some sort of dirty old man's fantasy. It's so prevalent that it actually detracts from the good parts of the book, leaving me wondering what the point was at the end.
So, while I somewhat enjoyed the setting and characters, I don't think I'll be continuing with the series. -
Re: What books do you read?
#279
Yet all of this is derailed by a lot of pointless smut. The book reads like some sort of dirty old man's fantasy. It's so prevalent that it actually detracts from the good parts of the book, leaving me wondering what the point was at the end.
So, while I somewhat enjoyed the setting and characters, I don't think I'll be continuing with the series.
That is one of the main upsides to the tv series, the smut content is toned way down, and what there is is actually brief enough to be enjoyable without overriding plot development. (Although there is one scene with a brothel owner instructing two of his girls how to... please one another/receive pleasure that come pretty close to "fluff" but the scene itself is presented in such a fashion few watchers will mind the brief stray from more vital plot developments. ;) ) -
Re: What books do you read?
#28050 Shades of Gray is the worst thing ever written. Take heart! We can ALL be published authors!