Great Books- what are you reading now?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Melf, Jul 7, 2009.

  1. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in grade school and I loved them. Dad on the other hand found the Lord of the Rings way too long and drawn out. The Hobbit though was a favorite of his. he read it to me and my sisters at bedtime when I was about 7. I in turn read it to my daughter when she was about that age and I will read it for my younger daughter in a few years. The Hobbit is a great read.
     
  2. Emperor Xan

    Emperor Xan Troubadour

    Having finished "Virtual Light", I've started on "Idoru". Gibson's writing is as edgy as his predictions are eerie.
     
  3. dndgeek

    dndgeek Troubadour

    I agree that LotR was definitely a tad exhausting, but I wonder if it wasn't written that way; to make you feel like you took every step of the journey, up every hill and down every valley, with Frodo and Sam. The Hobbit was perfectly paced and a more enjoyable read IMHO. Game of Thrones has a better pace, too, but from what I hear, I need to read the rest of the series to appreciate everything going on, so I'll reserve any comparisons. I'm looking forward to it. If I only had more time to read!
     
  4. JasonZavoda

    JasonZavoda Level 0 Character

    The Hobbit is definitely meant to be read aloud. I've seen new editions of The Lord of the Rings broken up into five or six volumes (and about a third of Return of the King is the appendix, which contains not only general information but some touching vignette's such as the Death of Aragorn).
     
  5. JasonZavoda

    JasonZavoda Level 0 Character

    Just picked up "In Stahlgewittern" (Storm of Steel) By Ernst Junger, trasnlated by Michael Hoffman - An account of his experiences on the Western front during World War One. The introduction is great but I haven't started on the book itself yet.
     
  6. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    I have enjoyed reading some WWI memoirs. One recent such book is Suddenly We Didn't Want to Die by Elton Mackin. It is an excellent book for reading on the commode as it is wriiten in very short vignettes. I am not much for poetry, but I did enjoy some of the WWI stuff- like Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est.
     
  7. sir jon

    sir jon Spellbinder

    I just finished "1000 Comics You Must Read" by Tony Isabella. If you have any interest in the form, pick this book up. His short reviews on these thousand has you wanting to read many, if not all, of them.
     
  8. Emperor Xan

    Emperor Xan Troubadour

    I finished William Gibson's "Idoru" a couple of days ago. While it's now anachronistic as we've passed 2005 and the Big One didn't shake apart the West Coast and Japan, not to mention nanotech is still a ways off, the book really hits home with the scarily accurate look at the growing disease of celebrity television. Now to finish the third book in that trilogy: "All Tomorrow's Parties."
     
  9. kveldulf

    kveldulf Chevalier

    Funny you mention it being out of date.. As the years have past and we start hitting the "near future" cyberpunk era, its amusing to compare some of the extrapolation from classic cyberpunk to the reality..

    I'm not sure whether to be sad or happy that by 2013 we won't be living Bladerunner.. the urban decay, ubiquitous pollution and corporate neofeudalism would also suck, but replicants, interstellar travel and massive arcology-like buildings would all be pretty cool. Tyrell Corporation, where are you?! ; )

    Andy
     
  10. Emperor Xan

    Emperor Xan Troubadour

    The point isn't so much the technology, but the way in which it is used in promotion of celebrity and the drive to become one, a la YouTube.
     
  11. Druvas

    Druvas Spellbinder

    I have a really good book about the Eastern Front of WW2 called "The Forgotton Soldier" by Guy Sager. He was a corporal (methinks) in the Wermacht and chronicles his flight from Russia all the way back to Germany. I highly recommend this book. I've read it twice over the years and planning to delve back in for a third read in the coming month or so.

    I have not read much about WW1 beyond general history stuff, but plan to rectify that soon! Do you have any suggestions?
     
  12. geekpreacher

    geekpreacher Spellbinder

    I just finished reading a great book about the life of Arthur Guinness and his descendants. Yes, it's about THAT Arthur Guinness....the one who started that wonderful brewery that still produces great beer. The book is called "The Search for God and Guinness" and is quite an amazing read for anyone who is interested in the way people in the past took care of business compared to people of today. It also is interesting in how Guinnness' faith shaped his work, family and social concerns.

    FWIW,

    GP
     
  13. ghul

    ghul Chevalier

    Presently reading:

    The Best of Jack Vance -- all short stories of Jack's that were in the various sci-fi mags in the 50's and after. The Last Castle is a very good one, an interesting speculation on the future. What I like about this paperback is that before each story there is a paragraph by Jack in which he reflects on the story. Some great insights from the genius, Mr. Vance.

    All reading the Complete Fiction of HP Lovecraft. Of course, I've read almost every HPL story already, and some I've read 3 or 4 times since I started reading him in junior high. Presently reading story Shadow Out of Time, which is a personal favorite.

    I was reading the Planet of Adventure series by Jack Vance, but I need book 3! I'll find it at a local used book shop soon, I'm sure.

    Also recently read The Hyborian Age by Robert E. Howard, in which he constructs a complete history of Hyboria, creating an historical backdrop that the author abides by in all the tales related to Hyboria, Atlantis, et al.
     
  14. dndgeek

    dndgeek Troubadour

    Hey Ghul,

    Got an ISBN # for The Hyborian Age? I just picked up The Complete Chronicles of Conan and HA sounds like great prep material, but I don't see it on Amazon or eBay. The closest I can find anywhere is Conan: The Hyborian Age Part 1, but that is just a collection of a few short stories.
     
  15. geekpreacher

    geekpreacher Spellbinder

    I never read any Vance until I got older and I finished the book you're reading last year. It was a great read and I enjoyed it a lot.

    Recently, I read Flora Fydraaca which was quite an interesting fantasy read. It has a female main character and really has a lot of fantasy elements that work well with the growth of this character. While I first thought it was purely juvenile fiction, I was very pleased with the growth of the character over the course of the book. (It was actually a collection of three books.)
     
  16. ghul

    ghul Chevalier

    DnDgeek -- I have it in the book "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" but the whole thing can be found here: http://hyboria.xoth.net/history/hyborian_age.htm

    geekpreacher -- Yes, I've read many of the paperback series by Vance, but not the short stories in collected in this book. Great stuff, indeed!

    Cheers,
    Jeff T.

    PS: I love me some Guinness. :)
     
  17. sir jon

    sir jon Spellbinder

    I am currently reading a book called "A Desert Called Peace" by Tom Kratman. It's a science fiction analogy of the current Middle Eastern/world situation and I'm getting a good vibe off it. It's partially horrifying, partially amusing, partially a blatant assault of the writer's sensibilities and opinions, but it's pretty damned good... so far. Some of you military folks may enjoy the portions that go into detail of organizing a private army based off of the Roman Legionary.
     
  18. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    I just finished book 3 of the George RR Martin Game of Thrones series. I am glad that I picked up this series after reading the discussion on this forum. I will pick up book 4 this week and continue reading eagerly.
     
  19. kveldulf

    kveldulf Chevalier

    On the fiction side, I would recommend the classic "All Quiet On The Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque. The film adaptations are worth watching (both the original black and white version and the 1980's version with Eric Borgnine), but definitely read the book first.

    On the non-fiction side, "The Guns Of August" by Barbara Tuchman is a great look at the beginning of the war and a solid introduction to it. For some takes on the other, little-discussed theaters of the war it's worth checking out "Last Cruise of the Emden" (exploits of a German cruiser operating more or less on its own) and "The Great War In Africa". For an overall view, check out "A World Undone: The Story Of The Great War 1914-1918".

    On the military side, Erwin Rommel's "Attacks" is an interesting piece of military history as well as a classic work on small unit tactics. On the fantasy gaming side, while his book records his experiences as a small unit leader on the Western Front and in Central Europe, reading it (especially if you have never been in the military) gives you a good feel for terrain and the ebb and flow of combat, which you may find worthwhile when running fantasy battles.

    Andy
     
  20. Druvas

    Druvas Spellbinder

    Thanks for the tips! I read All Quiet on the Western Front in high school, but don't really remember it. I'll pick a copy of that. Rommel's Attacks sounds like a great book as well. The Great War in Africa sounds right up my alley as well.

    I was in the Infantry for 6 years in the Virginia and Maryland Army National Guard. While never deployed, I certainly got a fine appreciation for small unit tactics. Nothing like humping 81mm mortars. I was happy once I got to a HQ company; I got a HMMWV. Made moving that sucker around much easier!
     

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