Books!

[Angrist]

So I read some good books recently and I have a question about another book.

I read Michael Crichton's State of Fear. Really good book, and it even had me doubting global warming for a while.

Did any of you read The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster? I just read the first 3 pages and I love the writing style. But because the second book is called Ghosts, I'm trying to find out if it has any supernatural stuff in it. If it hasn't, I'll buy it. Does anyone know?

What are the latest books you've read?

[Seth]

I bought State of Fear randommly and rather liked it. A bit over the top kinda but Crichton did a good job of bringing it all together. Do you think he genuinely disbelieves in global warming or was it merely a put on?
The latest books I've read are Angela's Ashes, The Mastery of Love, and Anna Karenin. oh, and the Bible but that's never a past tense read.
I'm currently diving into The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. I watched the rather old hitchcock film based on the novel so I thought why not. Also, Desire of Ages by Ellen G White. I'm thinking about reading The Fifth Business because it was an assigned reading for my class which I never got to, anybody know if it's good?
I believe Ghosts by Paul Auster doesn't contain supernatural elements. It's about a private detective.

[Fox 6]

I am re-reading 1984, its always a classic.

[Swan]

I am in the process of reading American Psycho right now. Quite a fun read though it can be pretty intense

[Dyne]

Hey wow Angrist, I did read the New York Trilogy. Well, the first one, City of Glass. It opened up a whole relationship with my World Lit teacher and I talked about MGS2 and the references in it. :D

I'm currently reading The Prestige by Christopher Priest, and The Pleasure of my Company by Steve Martin.

You say you like Crichton, Angrist - Are Jurassic Park and The Lost World good? I really, really loved Timeline and I'm looking into more Crichton.

[Fox 6]

Jurassic park was a very well written book. Better than the movie. Cant vouch for the Lost World though.

[Bube]

Hmm.. never read the ones you mentioned Angrist..

I read The Island of Dr.Moreau and Brave New World recently. Currently reading Catch-22, and after that, Atlas Shrugged. I've got my hands full :)

[Angrist]

Thanks guys, I will put The New York Trilogy on my list.

Do you know Robin Cook? He's the writer of the famous Coma, but he's written a huge load of other medical thrillers. I read 2 of them: I really liked Terminal, but was unimpressed by Mindbend.
You say you like Crichton, Angrist - Are Jurassic Park and The Lost World good? I really, really loved Timeline and I'm looking into more Crichton.Yeah, Jurassic Park is amazing. Like Fox 6 says, it's better than the movie. Longer and a better atmosphere.
The Lost World is a decent sequel. The book is a lot better than the movie, although that isn't too hard. ;) I enjoyed TLW a lot more than most of Crichton's other books. Dinosaurs just own jungly gorillas and almost-out-of-space bacteria.

Bube, I don't know any of those you mentioned. :(
This (http://canyarion.spaces.live.com/lists/cns!CFB5C9AABAE03C6B!104/) is the booklist on my MSN space.

[Fox 6]

Its so refreshing to see that people still read :P. When I was in scholl noone read for leisure at all. ONe time when my school basketball team went on a road trip I pulled out a book and started to read, everyone else literally asked why I was reading and gawked at me like I had leperacy. wtf?

[Yoda9864]

Jurrasic Park and The Lost World are two of my favorite books of all time. I've read JP at least 5 times. I even had to re-buy it because it was getting so torn up. In general, I'm a big Crichton fan: Congo, Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Rising Sun. But I haven't read State of Fear yet.

I'm currently reading Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind. It's the 6th book in the 11 book Sword of Truth series. Widely thought of to be one of the best sci-fi/fantasy series. Heavy reading though, each book is 400-600 pages.

But I might take a break from that series after I'm done with Faith of the Fallen to catch up on the latest Star Wars offerings (mainly the Legacy of the Force line of books, and Outbound Flight).

[Dyne]

Ok, definitely picking up Jurassic Park at the very least.

[The Germanator]

I read a collection of short non-fiction stories compiled by Ira Glass of NPR's This American Life, and that was a tremendous read...Lots of variety throughout the stories.

I also read the novelization of Gremlins 2: The New Batch for fun. Some pretty heinous and ridiculous writing, but fun nonetheless.

Also read a book called The Tourists which was written my a high school friend's brother which was published recently. I enjoyed it enough to get through it, and it had some good twists and turns, but it wasn't my favorite...

[Typhoid]

The only books I've read under my own free will, as I always state, are the three George Carlin books; Brain Droppings, Napalm and Silly Putty, and When will Jesus bring the porkchops?

I'm currently reading the entire 5-part series of The Hitchhiker's Guide, though.

[Seth]

Hitchhiker's Guide series is one of my favourites. I'm wanting to read the Chronicles of Narnia books again, haven't since age 12ish.
Has anyone read Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa? It's one of my favourite books.
Yukio Mishima's The Sea of Fertility tetralogy is amazing. He committed ritual suicide cuz I guess he despised growing old or something but he had just finished the last book in the tetralogy prior to seppuka.

[Swan]

For some strange reason I want to read the novelization of Snakes on a Plane. I would love some snakes in words form

[BlueFire]

I haven't been reading fiction at all because of school.. mostly philosophy books, etc.

I did read Brave New World for the first time two months ago. Great book.

I also purchased Fight Club... now to see what the big deal with Chuck Palahniuk is.

I also want to read the Count of Monte Cristo again... Possibly my favorite novel. :)

[thatmariolover]

'Mistborn' and 'Well of Ascension' are my two most recent books. And yes, I confess, I only started reading them because Brandon Sanderson is taking over for Robert Jordan to write the 12'th and final book in the Wheel of Time series. But they really are great fiction.

I'm always listening to the Wheel of Time audiobooks. That's hundreds of hours of audio, and it is the #1 way to do the series in my opinion. Read the books first, listen to the audiobooks later if you can find them in your local library. I've found nothing fiction or otherwise that has the level of depth if you follow all of the story lines (including those not having to do with the main characters).

[Angrist]

I also have some books waiting for me. Some that are worth mentioning:

Die Unendliche Geschichte (The Neverending Story) (yes, in German)
Yvain, le Chevalier Lion (French kids book)
The Quincunx (I started it and liked it, but couldn't finish it because the owner broke up with me)
The War of the Worlds (gaaah so boring... halfway through)
Bury My Hatchet At Wounded Knee (I hope the book is better than the series)

[Fox 6]

I just got a new novel.

The Gun Seller by Hugh Lauire.....
http://www.christianmusictimes.com/Portals/0/Hugh%20Laurie.jpg


thats right.

[Combine 017]

The only book I ever want is HL2: Raising The Bar. (http://store.valvesoftware.com/productshowcase/productshowcase_HL2Guide.html) To bad its been sold out for like, 8 months!

[Teuthida]

Reading H.P. Lovecraft's At The Mountains of Madness since Guillermo del Toro is directing a film adaptation. Always like to read the books first for movies I want to see. Have to get my hands on a copy of Choke now.

[Professor S]

Reading H.P. Lovecraft's At The Mountains of Madness since Guillermo del Toro is directing a film adaptation. Always like to read the books first for movies I want to see. Have to get my hands on a copy of Choke now.

I'm the exact opposite. I find that reading the book first leads to disappointment in the movie, because of the disparate mediums; you just can't be as detailed in a movie.

When I watch the movie first, I enjoy it for its own merits, and then I read the book and I enjoy it more because I learn more about these characters and the plot.

[Teuthida]

I like to see how close the movie is to what I imagined it to be while reading the book. The only time I can recall when I saw the movie first was I, Robot. I then read the book. Sooooo much better. Usually the movie is enough for me and never feel the need to then read the book unless I hear it's much much better or completely different as was the case of I, Robot.

[BlueFire]

I'm going to start reading American Psycho tomorrow. :)

[Swan]

I'm going to start reading American Psycho tomorrow. :)

Just finished reading that about a month ago. I quite enjoyed it though some parts can seem a bit...tedious, but they are who the character is. You will see when you start.



I recently finished After River, a book my aunt wrote. Not the kind of book I usually read but it wasn't bad.


Any suggestions of books for me to look into?

[Angrist]

The only time I can recall when I saw the movie first was I, Robot. I then read the book. Sooooo much better. There's a book of I, Robot? It's better than the movie? Nice.

I have a pile of books waiting for me. I don't really have time for them now... When I read a book, I want to be able to read it very fast. Not 5 pages a day.

Swan, maybe the list (http://canyarion.spaces.live.com/lists/cns!CFB5C9AABAE03C6B!104/) on my MSN space can give you some ideas.

[flunkie44]

I read Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six last summer, and I just bought Patriot Games and The Bear and the Dragon to read over the summer. I really like Tom Clancy.

Any authors similar to Clancy that share the same genre of writing? Also, are Robert Lundlum's books any good? I mean, I know they are, but has anyone here read them?

[Aladuf]

I'm trying to start reading a book about the life of Chris Farley, it's written by his brother and some others, so hopefully I can get into it and read it before my brother needs to get it back.

[Bube]

I read Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six last summer, and I just bought Patriot Games and The Bear and the Dragon to read over the summer. I really like Tom Clancy.

Any authors similar to Clancy that share the same genre of writing? Also, are Robert Lundlum's books any good? I mean, I know they are, but has anyone here read them?
I read The Janson Directive by Ludlum and thought it was ok. But if you're asking for Ludlum, you should probably read the Bourne series.

[birdman]

I've still got Brave New World and Hitchhiker's Guide to finish reading. I've been a reading slacker recently. I blame the video games.

[Pylon_Trooper]

I read Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six last summer, and I just bought Patriot Games and The Bear and the Dragon to read over the summer. I really like Tom Clancy.

Any authors similar to Clancy that share the same genre of writing? Also, are Robert Lundlum's books any good? I mean, I know they are, but has anyone here read them?

Ah, Rainbow Six, that's my favourite Clancy novel. As far as other books, Ludlum is not too bad. If you want some adventure mixed in with Clancy, I'd say a good number of Wilbur Smith novels would do the trick. Wild Justice was fairly enjoyable, from what I recall. He also writes a few books set in Ancient times, such as River God (Egypt). All fairly entertaining reads, in my opinion.

My reading list at the moment:

William Gibson - Spook Country
Deborah Cadbury - Space Race

And someone mentioned Musashi? Classic novel, that one. Like a whimsical War and Peace. Flunk, I'd recommend Spook Country if you want something like Clancy, but a bit more pop-cultural and media-savvy. It's not too bad.

Anyone else here into cyberpunk? It's almost cliche to mention Gibson, so I'll mention Richard Calder. His Dead Boys/Girls/Things trilogy was evocative and surreal. Amazing read.

[Fox 6]

So Ive only read the first chapter of The Gun Seller and my oh my is it ever good. Its so witty and violent. Well played Mr.Laurie, well played.

[BreakABone]

I've read the 4th bourne book since knew.. or assumed they would never make a movie out of it.

But pretty much the entire book series and movies are nothing in common. Past some elements in the first movie. So will pick up the original 3.

Also looking into reading the James Bond novels as once again, it is a case of the movies and books taking off in completely different directions.

I've been trying to read Catch-22 for the longest, but it just hurts at times.

Also some books on the Psychology of Superheroes. You could take your pick on which side made me read it.

[flunkie44]

So Ive only read the first chapter of The Gun Seller and my oh my is it ever good. Its so witty and violent. Well played Mr.Laurie, well played.

I saw that when it first came out, and I immediately wanted it. It's on the top of my to-buy list.

[Fox 6]

I saw that when it first came out, and I immediately wanted it. It's on the top of my to-buy list.

It is very entertaining. One of my favourite novels. Cant put it down now!

[Bube]

I've been trying to read Catch-22 for the longest, but it just hurts at times.

Yeah, that's a weird book. Sometimes it's so boring, and sometimes it's so great, it's like reading two different books. But when I think about the great parts, I see that I loved it. Some of the conversations are really impressive.

I'm going to start reading Atlas Shrugged, but I don't know when. I have to finish 2 medical textbooks before next school season.

[flunkie44]

Just finished Patriot Games. Good book. :)

I'm going to look for The Gun Seller tomorrow.

[Fox 6]

I'm going to look for The Gun Seller tomorrow.

You wont regret it.

[BreakABone]

Since Fox is selling it like he wrote it, I will be buying Gun Seller (again) soon. I bought from an online store on Friday they sent me an e-mail saying the book was sold out and they forgot to update the website (that's why the again)

I also decided to pick up the 3 original Bourne books as I said I would. And attempting to read Catch 22 while at work. Just so many friggin characters.

[BreakABone]

I skipped Catch 22 for now.

I got the Bourne series. Read the first book the Bourne Identity.

Where a lot of movies to books change a lot of elements. The book and movie of the Bourne Identity both feature a character named Jason Bourne, Alex Conklin and MArie (last name changed) Pretty much everything else was drasticalaly changed in one form or another.

And I know just from where the movies went that the next two books will be vastly different as well.

As a whole, I enjoyed the books but sadly could not stop picturing Matt Damon in my head (take that as you will) so it was hard to seperate the movie Bourne and the book Bourne. I watched the movie after finishing the book, but yeah movie Bourne> book Bourne.

[flunkie44]

I got this two weeks ago, and I'm only two chapters in so far:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a345/flunkie44/DSC01658.jpg

I'm going to start over when I start reading it again, because I don't really remember much specifics, and want it fresh in my mind.

[Vampyr]

Reading H.P. Lovecraft's At The Mountains of Madness since Guillermo del Toro is directing a film adaptation. Always like to read the books first for movies I want to see. Have to get my hands on a copy of Choke now.

Lovecraft is one of my all time favorite authors. I'm currently reading one collection of his short stories, and I have another one lined up, which includes At the Mountains of Madness.

Another series I've been reading for a while is A Song of Ice and Fire. If anyone likes high fantasy, you should give this series a try. It goes against a lot of the cliches, and is very fast paced, unlike most fantasy.

[Fox 6]

I got this two weeks ago, and I'm only two chapters in so far:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a345/flunkie44/DSC01658.jpg

I'm going to start over when I start reading it again, because I don't really remember much specifics, and want it fresh in my mind.

So beautiful :P

Im almost done!

[BreakABone]

Reading the Bourne Supremacy and right now I know won't like as much as the original.

My major beef with the book

Be warned ruins the first book a bit.
Is that Jason Bourne is found out to be a man created by the gov't to create a jackal. The man who is the physical Jason Bourne is actualyl named David Webb. At the end of the book, David settles down and his "Bourne" persona retired.

Now he is bought back alive in this book, which is cool. The problem is the fact the narrative takes it upon itself to note every few pages that Webb/Bourne are two diff ppl. And they have diff thought patterns and feelings. its driving me bonkers.

I get it already!

[flunkie44]

I just finished The Gun Seller.

I love the book, personally. Excellently executed, and the themes at play fit perfectly for what Laurie was trying to accomplish.

[uber_paddler]

Yeah, it really was a superb book.

[Fox 6]

I just finished The Gun Seller.

I love the book, personally. Excellently executed, and the themes at play fit perfectly for what Laurie was trying to accomplish.

Totally. I love the way he writes.

[Vampyr]

My girlfriend bought Twilight for me a couple of days ago, and I'm nearly finished with it.

I'm really enjoying it, too. It isn't Harry Potter by any means, nor is it going to be a classic, but it is a page turner, and very fun to read.

And it has vampires, so instant win.

[BreakABone]

My girlfriend bought Twilight for me a couple of days ago, and I'm nearly finished with it.

I'm really enjoying it, too. It isn't Harry Potter by any means, nor is it going to be a classic, but it is a page turner, and very fun to read.

And it has vampires, so instant win.

All you needed.
:lol: I read you were reading Twilight and just knew vampires had to make the thread.

Anyhow to er help with my comic, I am going to start reading The Science of Supervillains. :lol:

It is a list of books bought last year for the Psychology of Superheroes course that was offered AFTER I graduated. That was just cruel and evil.

[Swan]

Reading through Slaughterhouse-5 at the moment.

I remember Imade fun of a few people on the weekend when they were reading Twilight.


Not sure on what basis this was but it was fun