Currently Reading

[Arai]

Seeing as this is a writing forum, I'm assuming most if not everyone here is engaged in some sort of reading. So what are you reading?

I'm taking a break from my usual author (Stephen King) and am reading this series by Brent Weeks called the Night Angel Trilogy. It's pretty interesting. I'm almost done the first book (Way of The Shadows), and should be moving on to the second later this week.

[Saxon]

Read a vietnam memoir called A Rumor of War by Phillip Caputo. Its about an LT in the Marines during his time in the United State's first entry into Vietnam as a PL and a staff officer. It was pretty interesting and cathartic given the circumstances.

Other then that, I've been reading issues of B.P.R.D. when I can get them ordered, and I started another Deathlands book called Genesis Echo. I usually get into some pretty heavy stuff, but I haven't really had time to dig into anything really complex, however I think over break I'm going to get Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and try to get into it. I still have Solomon Kane stuff, a couple history books and some other things on the stacks and stacks of books that I have at home.

[SirArtemis]

The World According To Garp, by John Irving.

EDIT: Before that I just finished rereading George Orwell's "1984" and after I finish Garp, I'm reading The Cider House Rules, also by John Irving.

[Lord Anglekos]

I just read Of Wizard And Glass by Stephen King; the only book I've read of his Dark Tower series. It was pretty good. I find that he has the ability to turn the utterly normal into something relatively frightening, something out of the ordinary. And that's exactly what he did with this book.

Right now, I'm re-reading Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. It was the first book that really got me into his works, and one of his best.

[Wynken]

If there's one thing I'm horrible at (and trust me, it's hard to pick just one) it's finishing a book. At any given moment I'm typically in the middle of at least half a dozen of them. Here's my current list:

The Count of Monte Cristo

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski

The Dragon King Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead. Just finished the first book.

John Locke's Two Treatises of Government

Plato's Republic

The Limitations of Scientific Truth by Nigel Brush

The Science of God by Gerald Schroeder

[Duffy]

Debating The Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment?

I know, academic reading sucks...

But before bed I'm currently dipping into Cecelia Ahern's 'Where Rainbows End.' She's one of my favourite (if pulpy) authors :).

[Silence Sei]

I'm currently into X-Factor, Thunderbolts, New Avengers, Secret Warriors, Avengers Academy, Deapools main comic, and the Deadpool Corps.


Oh, you meant books without pictures. The last I finihed was Lian Hearn's 'Heaven's Net is Wide'. Made me wanna pick up his other 4 books involving the Otori.

[Rayse Valentino]

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's like Dune but in an ice age.

What strikes me about it is not the names, descriptions, and so on- of the regions, but the people. The customs. The language. Shifgrethor, nusuth, hieb. A simple foodstuff such as breadapple and other made-up foods adds so much personality to a world. Customs, habits, politics, and religion are a big part of this world as well. The way people interact with each other is so unique, where there are societal standards at play in every dialogue. It's not a complete world like Lord of the Rings, but it is greatly developed and the story really shines.

It makes me a bit sad when I compare it to Althanas. Customs, language, habits, politics, people... we really have none of these in any meaningful way. The places can be fancy and uniquely named, but ultimately the people all act the same way. No unique foodstuffs, habits, you can't delve into an NPC's way of thinking. It's generic high fantasy with really no imagination. We do not have conventions to adhere to, you cannot tell the difference (not physically, but culturally and socially) between a Salvaran, Coronian, Fallien-person, etc. Some people say that conventions stifle creative processes, but I think that's bullshit. Having some sort of standard for a people and having people weave a story that involves such conventions enriches everything and everyone.

[Saxon]

Debating The Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment?

The answer's yes. =P

[Arai]

Now moving on to the second book of the Night Angel Trilogy, "Shadow's Edge".

[Caden Law]

Now moving on to the second book of the Night Angel Trilogy, "Shadow's Edge".Excellent trilogy. The Nocta Hemata in the second book remains my favorite scene from any fantasy book I've read since Dead Beat's Zombie T-Rex :D

[Lord Anglekos]

Excellent trilogy. The Nocta Hemata in the second book remains my favorite scene from any fantasy book I've read since Dead Beat's Zombie T-Rex :D
Props, Caden. I have most of the series. What's your favorite book?

[Vigil]

Began reading a lot of 60s science fiction by Phillip K. Dick after I found out about some of his crazy ideas. I'm almost done with The Man In The High Castle, which is a post-WWII what-if story about the fall of the United States after the Allies lost and how the two remaining superpowers, the Empire of Japan and the Nazi's Reichstate divide up the world amongst them. It is a pretty interesting book with how involved it is. Americans are no longer americans and they can either exist in the industrialized east under the facist state of totalitarian Nazis, or further out west in the Rocky Mountain States (modeled after Nazi France), or on the western coast in the Pacific States of America which are ruled by a coalition of trade missions that colonized the territory under imperial Japan rule.

The book has a series of different characters here and there, but it is really interesting in the fact that there is a sort of cold war occurring between the Japanese and Germans, and how they interact with each other in something as simple as international trade to the extradition of Jews. I'd recommend giving it a try.

Can't decide if I should read The World Jones Made or Ubik next. Hmm.

[Duffy]

I just started re-reading Narnia, after finally watching Prince Caspian.

There goes a month or so of my spare time.

[Jasmine]

a month? really? to read a Narnia book? are that you that busy.. or just that slow of a reader? ;) (kidding)

at the moment, i'm reading "Biology: Concepts & Connections" (6th edition). Yeah.. finals week... not sure what my textbooks for next semester are yet, but one will be a history book and one will be another science book.. joy.

For my reading pleasure though, I've been thinking about re-reading some of my David Eddings collections (Belgariad, Mallorean, Elenium, Tamuli, Dreamers).

[Duffy]

There are seven Narnia books dear.

[Jack Frost]

I'm reading good omens. Excellent book.

[Jasmine]

I'm aware of that Duffy. I've read and re-read them so many times I've lost count. Still shouldn't take a month :P

[Rahegalhoff]

I'm aware of that Duffy. I've read and re-read them so many times I've lost count. Still shouldn't take a month :P

True, takes me 2-3 days, tops.

[Silence Sei]

Anybody who has seen Duffy's facebook knows that he has a very hectic and busy life. I can see Narinia taking him a month.

[Rahegalhoff]

I have seen his facebook, and I wouldn't be in the slightest bit surprised, if one month turned out to be a conservative estimate.

[Hysteria]

30 days is pretty good for seven books IMO. Thats one book every four days, if you have work, education, etc you don't normally get that much free time in a given four days.

[Vigil]

30 days is pretty good for seven books IMO. Thats one book every four days, if you have work, education, etc you don't normally get that much free time in a given four days.

I'm going to attempt to read 3-7 books in the month I have off before next semester. Chances are it'll happen.

[Jasmine]

are you aware of how short the Narnia books are? Even with school, I could prolly read the whole series in 2 weeks or less. but then i also really, really LOVE reading and can easily sit down to read a book and spend several hours reading it.

[Duffy]

University, Society events, socialising, assignments in the evening, dissertation research, wargaming twice weekly, a month is a rich estimate :p.

[Letho]

Shit, I wish I could read seven books in a month. It usually takes me that much for one, but that's mostly due to my lousy reading habits. Which are usually a chapter while sitting at a toilet and a chapter before bed. May vary depending on the length of the chapters. :P

Just finished Frank Herbert's Dune, and it got me hooked, so I plan to buy the rest of the books soonish. With any luck, I'll finish them by Christmas. 2020.

[Jack Frost]

Please, I could read about two Narnia books a day depending on how bored I was. Except the magicians nephew, I never liked that one, and never bothered to finish it.

[Troubled-Crow]

I never read the Narnia books. I read the first, and the rather well known Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe, and I gave up. They were so boring.