Does anybody read books?

[kevin]

I just finished The Descent (http://www.randomhouse.com/features/thedescent/home.html) by Jeff Long. Its the first book by him I have read. It starts out great and drags a bit in the middle, and the ending was a bit too hollywood for my taste but overall the book was good, some parts were actually a bit scary (the first chapter especially which can be read online at the above link.) The book is based on a good premise and fleshes it out well. I recommend it for an entertaining few days of reading. A good one to read in bed late at night :eek:

[ronq]

I'm in the middle of "Catch 22", myself. Probably the best book I've read since "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". I like to think of it as M*A*S*H in handy book form.

[torrent]

I'm just reading "Red Book 1 - Jack and Jill go up the hill". Anyone tell me if Jack's head gets better at the end?

[Dave Swift]

Originally posted by torrent
I'm just reading "Red Book 1 - Jack and Jill go up the hill". Anyone tell me if Jack's head gets better at the end?

lol

The outlook is bleak...:(


Anyway, last three books I have read: (in order)

Wilbur Smith's Warlock
Tom Clancy's The Bear and the Dragon (he seems to get more 'preachy' every book...)
Wilbur Smith's Warlock

I'm currently re-reading Leon Uris' Trinity (a book I would recomend to anyone who hates the British :)) it's a HUGE book and so will take me some time..

[Android]

Originally posted by ronq
I'm in the middle of "Catch 22", myself. Probably the best book I've read since "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". I like to think of it as M*A*S*H in handy book form.
That's a great book and a pretty good movie. Try Robert Anton Wilson's 'Illuminatus' trilogy for a good fun read!
I've just finished a couple of Tom Holt's books (Valhalla, Only Human, Snow White and the Seven Samarai) which are cute in a Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy sort of way. At work I seem to spend alot of time in airports, airplanes, and hotel rooms, so that's when I get most of my reading done. I'm off to Vancouver, BC next week so I'm thinking of picking up The Decent and another Tom Holt book for the trip. Anybody know which Holt book I haven't read would be the best of his line-up?

[kevin]

Originally posted by Dave Swift


lol

The outlook is bleak...:(


Anyway, last three books I have read: (in order)

Wilbur Smith's Warlock
Tom Clancy's The Bear and the Dragon (he seems to get more 'preachy' every book...)
Wilbur Smith's Warlock

I'm currently re-reading Leon Uris' Trinity (a book I would recomend to anyone who hates the British :)) it's a HUGE book and so will take me some time..

Clancey get preachy??? Say it ain't so..... :rolleyes:
He does know his stuff though.

[kevin]

Originally posted by ronq
I'm in the middle of "Catch 22", myself. Probably the best book I've read since "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". I like to think of it as M*A*S*H in handy book form.

Hey....you can never go wrong with Vonegut but I guess you must not read more than one book every 20 years or so juding by the Dr. Suess reference (all his stories are great BTW) ;)

[Android]

Originally posted by kevin


Hey....you can never go wrong with Vonegut but I guess you must not read more than one book every 20 years or so juding by the Dr. Suess reference (all his stories are great BTW) ;)

Um, Catch 22 was by Joseph Heller.
Vonnegut wrote 'Slaughterhouse Five', 'Breakfast of Champions', 'Cat's Cradle', 'Welcome to the Monkey House', among other great books.
If you like that genre, have you tried Tom Robbins? 'Still Life with Woodpecker' was a favourite of mine for a while, and he has some great stuff in 'Another Roadside attraction', and 'Even Cowgirls get the Blues'.
Another couple of great titles are 'Montana Gothic' by Dirck Van Sickle and 'A Confederacy of Dunces' by John Kennedy Toole.

[Pegasus]

Read books? Umm... not exactly. I'm one of these silly people who read like others watch movies. I don't see the words, just the pictures they show me. *g*

Having said that, my mother tells me I haven't *read* a book since... well, in a long time, anyway. *wg* I devour them. Let's see, this week alone, I've read "Support Your Local Wizard" (Diane Duane trilogy), Celtic History - Legends & Mythology, several historical novels, mostly Regency England era, "Dolphin Island" (Arthur C. Clarke), "The Tempest" (Shakespeare), "Daughter of Witches" (Patricia C. Wrede), and I'm not sure what else. Those are just the ones closest to the bed.

There are half a dozen puzzle magazines piled up on top of the books, but I don't know as you'd call that *reading*, as well as going through a couple of dictionaries - Fables & Phrases, The History of the World Timeline... Stuff like that.

*lol* And if you think *I'm* bad for picking up a book, my brother is even worse. He reads faster than I do.

Peg

[kevin]

Originally posted by Android


Um, Catch 22 was by Joseph Heller.
Vonnegut wrote 'Slaughterhouse Five', 'Breakfast of Champions', 'Cat's Cradle', 'Welcome to the Monkey House', among other great books.
If you like that genre, have you tried Tom Robbins? 'Still Life with Woodpecker' was a favourite of mine for a while, and he has some great stuff in 'Another Roadside attraction', and 'Even Cowgirls get the Blues'.
Another couple of great titles are 'Montana Gothic' by Dirck Van Sickle and 'A Confederacy of Dunces' by John Kennedy Toole.

oops...my bad, thanks for the correction. I'll check out some of those authors and titles you posted, thanks :)

[kevin]

Originally posted by Pegasus
Read books? Umm... not exactly. I'm one of these silly people who read like others watch movies. I don't see the words, just the pictures they show me. *g*

Having said that, my mother tells me I haven't *read* a book since... well, in a long time, anyway. *wg* I devour them. Let's see, this week alone, I've read "Support Your Local Wizard" (Diane Duane trilogy), Celtic History - Legends & Mythology, several historical novels, mostly Regency England era, "Dolphin Island" (Arthur C. Clarke), "The Tempest" (Shakespeare), "Daughter of Witches" (Patricia C. Wrede), and I'm not sure what else. Those are just the ones closest to the bed.

There are half a dozen puzzle magazines piled up on top of the books, but I don't know as you'd call that *reading*, as well as going through a couple of dictionaries - Fables & Phrases, The History of the World Timeline... Stuff like that.

*lol* And if you think *I'm* bad for picking up a book, my brother is even worse. He reads faster than I do.

Peg

hehehe....you sound like me. I'm generally reading three or four books at the same time. It helps that I sleep very little.....

I'm pretty much into reading biographies about American historical figures at this time (The Descent was a break).
Reading the Frederick Douglass biography and just finished the Truman (Harry Truman) biography by David McCullough.

Its great to see so many folks still love reading. I can't wait to retire so I can read even more! :)

[SteveS235]

Well, big Stephen King fan here.

I was quite disappointed to here that there are only 5 more books before he retires from writing.

People may frown upon him because he does tend to write some wierd and creepy stuff, but for pure imagination's sake, I would recommend his "Dark Tower" series.

[justjeni]

Just finished Barbara Olsen's book - very good if you are into politics at all.

Now I'm going back to my historical novels! :)

[Android]

Originally posted by kevin


I'm generally reading three or four books at the same time. It helps that I sleep very little.....

:)
According to Douglas Adams' Meaning of Liff, half read books lying around the house are known as banffs. We have lotsa banffs around here as well.

[Dr. Web]

I read the whole dark tower series, and I was pretty bored through it. I like older dean koontz, and some clive barker better than Kings writing.

I need to find a new author. But before everyone comes suggesting thier favs... you know how it is. My sister just loves Jon Saul. Has every bok hes ever written. Me? I tried to read one, and put it down after 75 pages or so.

I'm a voracious reader... but I have to find an author I connect with. Back when I was a teenager, I read a lot of piers anthony. He does have one horror book called firefly.
Worth a read if your stuck in-between.

Read a few Clive Clussell. Some are ok.



My Favorite Book Of all (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0208023895/atriumA/104-1457968-0311942) is a japanese book about a judge who does incredilous things! Its really a childrens/ morals book, though I have re-read it countless times as an adult. You wont find this one in a normal bookstore. Your best bet is to go to the local library and check it out. More than likely it has a copy or two.

My History with this book:
The copy I had as a kid is long gone... being lost as I grew up, however I paid a 'bookfinder' to locate a copy for me. The copy I have is titled "Solomen in Kimono" and was printed in 1956. It was located in 1998, and had been in a military storeage warehouse since 1958.... with the original check in receipt sent to me with the book. The cover is pressed wood (Yes wood!). Its definately a collectors book, with most of the stories that are in any "OOKA" book, and a few ones that arent.

***I checked on Kevin's suggestion... this seems to be interesting. I think I'll read the 1st chapter tonight.. and see how it goes. Good call there Kevin.***

[kevin]

That reminds me, I read Ray Bradburry's "The Illustrated Man" when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old, and that was the book that hooked me on reading. Its pretty much sci-fi but in typical Bradburry style the stories transcend the genre.
The stories are dated as I think the book was written in the early 1950's, but I have fond memories associated with reading the book.

Another book was a sort of biography of a man that survived the Holocaust, he came to America and put on puppet shows after the war. It was a book written for children, but as any book about first hand accounts of surviving Nazi Germany and the concentration camps, it was spellbinding and disturbing yet very uplifting as this man overcame so much horrible tradgedy in his life. I think I read it a dozen times in rapid succesion as a 9 or 10 year old, but now the title of the book escapes me...... it got me started reading biographies which I have never stopped doing since.

For a quick and powerful read, get "Maus" and "Maus II", by Art Spiegelman. I believe the only comic book ever to win the Pulitzer Prize. If it does not affect you after reading it you might not be human.

[quietstorm]

Curretnly reading The Return of the King. You all know who wrote it:D:D. I just finished The Two Toweres. Guess what I read before it:D. I tend to read more science books than anything else; I probably read magazines most of all, though. Before the Lord of the Rings "trilogy" (technically, it's six books; seven if you count The Hobbit), I read a Golf Digest:D. Ummmmm....the book I read before that was The History of the United States of America During the Administration of Thomas Jefferson, a huge 1200 page book, by Henry Adams. Previous to that was Climbing Mount Improbable, by Richard Dawkins (see, I do look into the evolutionists' writings), Refuting Evolution. by Dr. Jonathan Sarfati.

I'd have to say, though, that my favorite author is Clive Cussler. Anybody else read his books. Even if you don't read his books, you should know who he is. He discovered the Hunley, the first submarine ever to have a succesful mission, sinking a Union ship in the blockade in the US Civil War. He raised it about a year ago. His books include many bestsellers. Here is a complete list of his books: Pacific Vortex, Mediteranian Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe!, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Flood Tide, The Sea Hunters, Dirk Pitt™ Revealed, Serpent, Atlantis Found, Blue Gold, Valhalla Rising. Sea Hunter is about the various ships he's discovered (about 70). Dirk Pitt Revealed is about the story behind his main character in all his books except for Serpent and Blue Gold. Those two are Kurt Austin™ books. My favorite book is probably Sahara.

[quietstorm]

A site about Clive Cussler: http://bradland.com/cussler/

I forgot to say that he si an avid collector of classic automobiles, as is Dirk Pitt. Both Cussler and Pitt have over 65 classic cars, although Pitt has an old Ford Tri-motor (a plane:D), and a totem pole:D.

[Pegasus]

Originally posted by kevin


hehehe....you sound like me. I'm generally reading three or four books at the same time. It helps that I sleep very little.....

I'm pretty much into reading biographies about American historical figures at this time (The Descent was a break).
Reading the Frederick Douglass biography and just finished the Truman (Harry Truman) biography by David McCullough.

Its great to see so many folks still love reading. I can't wait to retire so I can read even more! :)

Both my kids are readers, Kevin, either French or English. The oldest is starting in on my SF collection and the youngest is just discovering Andre Norton's juvenile books. Among others. *g*

We've got something like 1500 titles (between paperbacks, hardcovers and reference books) in the home library now, with plans for more to be added. *g*

Most of my reading is actually research or study, but I find it fascinating anyway. It's a relatively inexpensive way to keep us out of too much trouble.

Peg

[kevin]

Originally posted by Pegasus


Both my kids are readers, Kevin, either French or English. The oldest is starting in on my SF collection and the youngest is just discovering Andre Norton's juvenile books. Among others. *g*

We've got something like 1500 titles (between paperbacks, hardcovers and reference books) in the home library now, with plans for more to be added. *g*

Most of my reading is actually research or study, but I find it fascinating anyway. It's a relatively inexpensive way to keep us out of too much trouble.

Peg

Cool... my 13 year old daughter loves to read poetry (a taste I never really aquired). My boys are into activities now instead of reading. I read to all my kids when they were little and still do on occasion or I have them read to me.

French huh? Is there a French person in the household or was French an aquired language? My household is naturally bi-lingual, English and Spanish. My wife who is Mexican prefers to speak Spanish at home which makes for fun conversations, half Spanish half English. I learned Spanish in my twenties and can read, write and speak it fluently now, all-be-it with a heavy "Gringo" accent. But I can roll my r's :)

[Pegasus]

My father's family was from Quebec, so I grew up with a variation of French *g* in the house, as well as German, but I've lost most of the latter over the years.

My kids go to a French Immersion school, meaning that all subjects but "English" are taught in French. *lol* And like you, after a while, I've learned to roll my r's, but I still have an English accent and limited vocabulary.

Poetry, huh? I'm impressed. *g* Not many people like it. My favourite poets are Robert Service and Robert Frost. And Shakespeare, but I don't consider him a *true* poet. He has his moments where I can recognize the poetry part. *lol*

For a while there, both my kids were quite interested in writing their own stories. And they're two of my best critics. The oldest demands to see the latest piece I've written and the youngest tries to draw pictures for some of the shorter stories.

And now they're getting into web design so they can post their stories and pictures. *g*

It's amazing what one book can do, isn't it? It's like a potato chip. You can't have *just one*. One book leads to another, leads to writing stories, drawing pictures of stories...

I kinda like that idea.

Peg

[transmothra]

reading:

The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. also Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, The Portable Thoreau, and some Beat lit (go figure).

[madness]

A good seris of books would be terry Goodkind Sword of Truth seris theya re real good

[Gregory]

i juat read 2001: A space odyssey and the sequel 2010: Oyssey Two... pretty good books!

[Jokerman]

I love poetry. ;-) Great way to let out emotions...
I'm not very good at it but if you goto my site and click the poetry link there is my collection. Though some of my friends and my, as of today kind of just asked her out, girlfriend goto my page so I have some really strong emotioned ones down for now. I may eventually put them up but not as of yet. Note most of my poetry is... for a cause. Like my feelings towards animal testing and such. So if you are pro any of that stuff sorry.
-Tim-

[okeeffemarc]

Originally posted by madness
A good seris of books would be terry Goodkind Sword of Truth seris theya re real good

Deffinatly, have you read them all? The latest one in Britain is Pillars of Creation, Don't be put off by Richard and Kahlan not being too involved, it all works out in the end.

Anyway the very, very best series of books iv ever read, is the Chronicles of Thomas Covenent, the Unbeliever, and the second series of three books, by Stephen Donaldson

The book im reading at the moment is one door away from heaven, by Dean Koontz

[madness]

Originally posted by okeeffemarc
Deffinatly, have you read them all? The latest one in Britain is Pillars of Creation, Don't be put off by Richard and Kahlan not being too involved, it all works out in the end.


yeah Pillars of Creation is good but i can't what til the next one comes out i forget the release date though check
www.terrygoodkind.com
for info on it adn yeah i own them all

[Blueangel]

The only book I'm reading at the moment is the Employment Act 2002. Wish I had the time to read something that's not work-related.
The last book I read in one sitting, was The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. I bought it on the day of release, started it at 1pm and finished it at 4am. Scared myself silly reading it too. Must say though, I found the prequel, Red Dragon, a far better read.
Must get my hands on Steve Tyler's autobiography! I've heard it's brilliant. And I'd love to read more work by Maya Angelou.

[Horus_Kol]

Originally Posted by Transmothra
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene.

hey, I'm in the middle of that too.

I quite like the book, because it manages to make string and m-theory accessible without being too condescending. He uses pretty vivid illustrations of the effects of relativity and that thanks to George and Gracie too.


I have just got through the Harry Potter books - I thought they were very good, and I can't wait until the next one comes out.

Since I have just had a holiday, I have been able to get through quite a few books:

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. I actually read this in one night - I mean I did not go to sleep until about 5 in the morning because of it. I haven't done that for a while.

The Bear and the Dragon, by Tom Clancy. He is very good at what he does. Even if the seed of the story is a little far-fetched (Red Storm Rising for example), the progression of events in the books are very realistic.

The Dune Prequel Trilogy - very good, and mostly in style of the original books. KJA proves yet again that he is best at using the universe that someone else created.


As for best book ever - has to be Frank Herbert's Dune. Excellent discourse in how future society may be, and how it will effect individuals in that society.

[kevin]

If you liked Dune, try and read "The Dispossessed" by Ursala K LeGuinn (hugo and Nebula award winner) the author of "The Lathe of Heaven". Good book, short and easy to read.

I like to recommened "Dahlgren" by Samuel Delany for any fan of science fiction, its just a great read. Not your average sci-fi novel, even if 25+ years old. Some will be turned off by its style and subject matter. Its a great book to read when you have nothing to do, which is sort of what the story is about, people with nothing better to do. Its rather enigmatic and you may wonder what the point was after reading it, which is part of the delight of reading the long book, 800 or 900 pages.

For totally classic sci-fi I also recommend "Earth Abides", the authors name escapes me. Short but epic novel with great characters and a great story.

If you like science packed science fiction, "The Giants" trilogy by Hogan is fun to read. "Inherit the Stars" by the same author is also a great book that combines the best of science fiction and story telling, ala Clarke.

[Joe2]

Kevin,
"Earth Abides" was written by George Stewart. And I agree. Great book.

Joe

[kevin]

Originally posted by Joe2
Kevin,
"Earth Abides" was written by George Stewart. And I agree. Great book.

Joe

Yea...George Stewart! Gracias!:D

I have probably read it ten times over the years.

I'm going to read it again as soon as I finish my current book. It has personal memories for me too. I received the book (paperback) as a Christmas present from a cousin in 1975 and I still have it tucked away in my now small sci-fi collection. I remember turning the visions that the story conjured over in my head, wondering what it would be like to be Ish and find yourself suddenly alone. His struggle to hold onto the past versus the children born after the mass extinction with no ties to the past reverting to a more primitive existence against the backdrop of an indifferent world (and an indifferent God?) that could care less what man does or tries to do.

"Men come and go, but earth abides."