What book are you reading right now?

genrex · Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:02 pm Post subject:

saehn wrote:

genrex wrote:

Lord of the flies

Have read and will read again many, many times.

Its a great book. So candid and blunt about human nature. Truly depicts the condition of my home country Crying or Very sad

_________________

dynamite · Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:39 pm Post subject:

English Invader wrote:

DanSolo wrote:

dynamite wrote:

I am wondering if the reason for the animosity is due to aggressive way the publisher has protected it's copyright or the actual content of the books?

A lot of "the animosity" is from those who think there's so much SF/F out that that deserves to be on the big stage, and then badly written derivative storyline children's books ending making billions instead.
Oops, there I go with the ol' animosity. Laughing

You know why JK Rowling writes as JK Rowling instead of using her first name? The publisher thought ten year old boys wouldn't want to read her books if they knew the stories were written by a girl.

Yeah I'm aware of that naming decision.

What Dan is getting at sounds like a bit of sour grapes to me. I used to read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi and I thought pretty much all of it was derivative to be honest. Even some of my favourites like the Thomas Covenant series, Dune and stuff by Iain Banks are in ways derivative. I was a big fan of Tolkien (still am in fact), and I find a lot of epic fantasy a derivative of his.

But then you look at Terry Pratchett's writing which is as derivative as it gets, yet no one seems to mind that his books have been made into successful computer games and TV series and what have you, and he's a very wealthy man. As it happens, I quite like Terry Pratchetts writings, so more power to him.

So anyway, what was the point of my ramble? Er, yeah I am kinda thinking that maybe because it's fantasy for children that has become successful, as opposed to fantasy for adults, that there's a bit of sour grapes among adults who are fans of the genre. I don't really think that is fair to the books though, as I think as a work of childrens mystery fantasy I think they're pretty good. And just like certain animated cartoons can be enjoyed by children and adults (Shrek and Kung-fu panda come to mind), I think the Harry Potter series can be too.
_________________

My games collection
Lemon 64 competitions scores

dmackey828 · Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:26 am Post subject:

I am currently reading "The Unincorporated Man" Picked up a Library Hardcover edition from eBay, Has the nice Plastic Cover to protect the outer paper cover. Got it for $5 shipped, Great condition.

No bad so far..

shteev · Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:46 am Post subject:

Mr Do wrote:

catcher in the rye

What a boring book....I feel like killing someone Twisted Evil

Heresy! I love this book!!
_________________

Hey, you. Dumbass. Yeah, you in the tank. Cosy in there?

Miidolf · Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:34 pm Post subject:

Iam currently reading:
Ian Kershaw: Hitler

that book sure is heavy bedtime reading Wink

_________________

all da way !!!

Jolly_Roger · Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:49 pm Post subject:

Michael Crichton's Prey: it's just like almost any of Crichton's efforts,only with nanomachines instead of dinosaurs/viruses/environmentalists etc.

So far the only Crichton book that really caught me was Sphere.

shteev wrote:

Sure does! Do you read a lot? I'm looking for something to read now I've finished Deathnote...

If you are into thrillers be sure to check out Monster as is incredibly well written and has an unusual setting for a japanese comic book ( I mean,how many mangas are set in Germany in mid 90s? )as well as some memorable characters.

Another title I strongly recommend is Planetes,perhaps one of the best sci-fi works of the past decade.It's very short ( only 4 volumes ) but the writing and the art are amazing.

Mr Do · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 7:29 am Post subject:

Asterix and Obelix Cool

_________________

I can wake up in the middle of the night and start searching for a three-headed monkey. (Sir Kidd)

merman · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:09 am Post subject:

Sting - Broken Music

A fascinating look at his childhood and early musical career, up to the time The Police became successful.
_________________

The Commodore 64 Book - out now!

Kusarigama · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:35 am Post subject:

Mr Do wrote:

Asterix and Obelix Cool

Great choice, man. Cool

Lately, I'm on the classic side. I'm reading some Agatha Christie's novels.
_________________

Mr Do · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:06 am Post subject:

Kusarigama wrote:

Mr Do wrote:

Asterix and Obelix Cool

Great choice, man. Cool

Are you sure? People from Rome get there ass kicked in this comic Wink

Nah....joke.

I love those comics. I love that the Bard gets beaten up everytime.
I wonder if there is something on internet where you can view the last picture of the comic (the one where they all eat and sit on a table).
I know a fan who can guess the album, just by looking at that last picture. Pretty cool Very Happy

_________________

I can wake up in the middle of the night and start searching for a three-headed monkey. (Sir Kidd)

airship · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 6:39 pm Post subject:

Just finished Cameron Browne's Connection Games, and am now working my way through his Hex Strategy book.
I love, love, love abstract strategy games! Smile

_________________

airship
(Former Managing Editor, INFO Magazine)

genrex · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 7:02 pm Post subject:

Mr Do wrote:

Kusarigama wrote:

Mr Do wrote:

Asterix and Obelix Cool

Great choice, man. Cool

Are you sure? People from Rome get there ass kicked in this comic Wink

Nah....joke.

I love those comics. I love that the Bard gets beaten up everytime.
I wonder if there is something on internet where you can view the last picture of the comic (the one where they all eat and sit on a table).
I know a fan who can guess the album, just by looking at that last picture. Pretty cool Very Happy

Ironically, that was the first Asterix comic I read .... it was hard to find them in Pakistan so you had to buy whichever you were getting and connect dots later!
_________________

shteev · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 7:06 pm Post subject:

Jolly_Roger wrote:

shteev wrote:

Sure does! Do you read a lot? I'm looking for something to read now I've finished Deathnote...

If you are into thrillers be sure to check out Monster as is incredibly well written and has an unusual setting for a japanese comic book ( I mean,how many mangas are set in Germany in mid 90s? )as well as some memorable characters.

Another title I strongly recommend is Planetes,perhaps one of the best sci-fi works of the past decade.It's very short ( only 4 volumes ) but the writing and the art are amazing.

Ooh, recommendations, awesome! How long ago did I post that? Smile

You're a star, I'm off to amazon right now to grab some comics....
_________________

Hey, you. Dumbass. Yeah, you in the tank. Cosy in there?

dynamite · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 10:31 am Post subject:

merman wrote:

Sting - Broken Music

A fascinating look at his childhood and early musical career, up to the time The Police became successful.

oh, that sounds really interesting. I've been reading a lot about the early days of quite a few noted music artists recently. This would fit in nicely with that thread.

On a different note, finally onto the last Harry Potter novel, Harry and the Deathly Hallows. The last book ended very darkly, and this is continuing on in the same vein. Might actually get around to watching the films then Smile

_________________

My games collection
Lemon 64 competitions scores

Kusarigama · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:23 am Post subject:

Mr Do wrote:

Kusarigama wrote:

Mr Do wrote:

Asterix and Obelix Cool

Great choice, man. Cool

Are you sure? People from Rome get there ass kicked in this comic Wink

I know it's silly but I used to love it a lot, as a kid. I didn't feel very roman-ish, did I? Laughing

BTW, I there was a story (can't remember the title) where Asterix & co ended up eating with Ceasar himself, because they did him a great favour, and IIRC he rebuilt their village because it got destroyed for some reason I don't remember.
_________________

cf_kane · Groupie in Training Joined: 04 Jan 2009 Posts: 103

Arthur Conan Doyle: The Sign of Four

genrex · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 9:59 pm Post subject:

cf_kane wrote:

Arthur Conan Doyle: The Sign of Four

Great book. Anything from Sir Doyle is guaranteed class!
_________________

cf_kane · Groupie in Training Joined: 04 Jan 2009 Posts: 103

genrex wrote:

cf_kane wrote:

Arthur Conan Doyle: The Sign of Four

Great book. Anything from Sir Doyle is guaranteed class!

Yeah. I've only just started this one. I must have read 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' about 3 or 4 times when I was a kid; I love that book.

Jerry · Newbie Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 0

http://www.amazon.com/LowLife-...amp;sr=8-1 This was the last good book that I read. It's the life stories of twenty three different inmates in a British prison, collected by a university student who did a minor crime and got sent down. Some of it is fascinating- he traces the roots of their crimes right back to when they were kids and most are in and out of care homes and young offenders institutions from their early teens. Some of them carry on doing petty crime but some end up selling guns and hand granades!

DanSolo · Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:30 pm Post subject:

Reading Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery. A brilliant collection of new material.

Chuckles · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 1:05 am Post subject: capri corn

tropic of capricorn
_________________

It is a far, far better thing that I do.

dynamite · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 5:39 am Post subject:

Coo - thanks guys for digging up this thread again!

I finished the Harry Potter series in the end. This could be a bit of a spoiler alert, but gawd a lot of people die in that last book! And this is supposed to be aimed at a younger audience??

Anyway, since then I've read (in half an hour) the Twits by Roald Dahl (funny as hell), The Grifters by Jim Thompson (there was a 1990 film of the same name starring John Cusack), The Lord of the Flies, and I'm now on the first of the Millenium trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. It's early doors yet with this one, but it's a good way to spend a night shift Surprised

)
_________________

My games collection
Lemon 64 competitions scores

Mr Do · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 1:45 pm Post subject:

Again......my fav. book called: The Dutch Windmill.

It's about a Dutch boxer called Bep van Klaveren.
He was born in my hometown Rotterdam in 1907.
After he beat the shit out of every european boxer, he went to the USA.
There he fought and won every match but never got a titleshot.

One time Al Capone went in his dressingroom, just before a fight.
He told Bep that he had to go down in round 4. Bep told Al Capone to piss off. Than Al Capone said: Don't you know who I am....I am Al Capone. So Bep told Al Capone (in lousy English and with a Rotterdam accent): I am Bep, just bet on me, I will KO the guy in one round.

And Bep did knock this guy out after 30 seconds.

After the fight Al Capone returned to the dressingroom and gave his respect to Bep van Klaveren. He was amazed by his boxing skills and about the fact that he said no to Al Capone.
_________________

I can wake up in the middle of the night and start searching for a three-headed monkey. (Sir Kidd)

dynamite · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 5:06 pm Post subject:

Mr Do wrote:

Again......my fav. book called: The Dutch Windmill.

It's about a Dutch boxer called Bep van Klaveren.
He was born in my hometown Rotterdam in 1907.
After he beat the shit out of every european boxer, he went to the USA.
There he fought and won every match but never got a titleshot.

One time Al Capone went in his dressingroom, just before a fight.
He told Bep that he had to go down in round 4. Bep told Al Capone to piss off. Than Al Capone said: Don't you know who I am....I am Al Capone. So Bep told Al Capone (in lousy English and with a Rotterdam accent): I am Bep, just bet on me, I will KO the guy in one round.

And Bep did knock this guy out after 30 seconds.

After the fight Al Capone returned to the dressingroom and gave his respect to Bep van Klaveren. He was amazed by his boxing skills and about the fact that he said no to Al Capone.

Dude, do us a favour and rewrite his blooming Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bep_van_Klaveren

Awesome story. And I bet that's only a tip of the iceberg. Seems the guy lived a ripe old age, and didn't finish boxing till his late 40's.
_________________

My games collection
Lemon 64 competitions scores

Omicron5 · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 3:40 am Post subject:

Reading through Tolkien's LOTR for the ninth time beginning with "The Hobbit". It all started with that book and I wish they would make a film from that book.

Currently reading "The Two Towers". Watching the movies is nice but they had to cut too much out and took liberties that makes me cringe because I know the whole story so well. It is IMHO the greatest series ever written by a man who witnessed first hand the horrors of war.

These books almost make me cry they are so good.
_________________

My path to being took a wrong turn and I ended up here.