Books and Novels

[river_chaos]

I think everyone that watched it at the theaters said that it was a watse of money.

Why do you not like the series after watching that POS movie? Christopher Paolini didn't have any influence in its making as far as I know. The books are still good, the movie just sucked.

[*Jess♥]

you know when you eat crappy food. let's say you eat a chicken chow mein and it makes you throw up.

if you go to a top class restaurant, you probably don't want the chicken chow mein.

[ErutanXiku]

Funnily, my brother was put off Sushi because - against my advice - he'd buy the ready-made stuff from Tesco, until he got food poisoning and vowed never to eat the stuff again. When I took him to a Japanese Restaurant on my birthday last year, he gave the Sushi a go because I wanted some (so if he didn't like it, at least I was there to eat it) and he's been hooked since...now I have to be prepared to shell out for main dishes and Sushi Selections

So, I don't think you should completely rule out Eragon, Ryuki...perhaps you should go back to it at some point? I could easily be put off by the Sword of Truth books because of Legend of the Seeker, but rather I'm glad the TV Series was axed. It ruined so much of the story and made up its own shoddy rules - now all I'm mad at is how the author ruined his characters completely.

I wasn't really interested in Eragon so never picked it up...as far as 'Dragon Stories' go, I'm reading Temeraire right now since a colleague gave it to me. It wasn't her cup of tea, but I'm trying to broaden my reading horizons...and so far, I've discovered a favourite: Busy Woman Seeks Wife - predictable, but not what you'd think it's about.

It's about a workaholic woman who has no time to take care of her house when her housewife-friend suggests that she "hires a wife" to take care of the place while she's not in town. A woman with no domestic sense takes the job because it pays well, but pursues her own career and gets her more domesticated brother to fill in.

I like mostly fantasy stories like Eragon and Harry Potter (I know: I'm kinda old for it). I've been trying to get the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series from the school library and there's a long waiting list for every single book. I've read all of the Ranger's Apprentice books so far, and I recomend it for those who love stories.

I wouldn't worry about being too old to read Harry Potter - that's why they have "Adult Cover" Versions Though, I own them all with the Children's Covers. I was about 14 when the first book came out, which put me in my late teens/early 20's when the last one was released I liked it in the beginning, but it just started to disappoint me after the fourth book and I really disliked the ending.

For a moment, I thought the Ranger's Apprentice was an alternate title for the Assassin's Apprentice - a series that I quite liked, but never got around to finishing...(puts on "To Read" list). But after researching, my assumption was wrong...what is the Ranger's Apprentice about?

Another book series I'm quite fond of is the Redwall Series by Brian Jacques. It's aimed at young readers and the cast is all anthro-animals, but the writing's really good.

Edited April 7, 2011 by ErutanXiku

[*Jess♥]

there are other reasons too. such as, I started to analyse it and see all the pop culture references and realised it wasn't as original as i had thought. also, dyslexia makes reading undesirable anyway.

I am reading a book at the moment anyway. it's called sword of shannara, I'm not sure when i started reading it, maybe a year ago or more. I'm at page 20.

hmm, maybe i'd get through it better if i had a commute or something.

[durendal]

Movies based on books usually end up being a disaster, especially books that are not widely known. There are a few exceptions of course. But most of those movies are not up to par with their book counterpart.

Perhaps I should try Ivanhoe or Oliver Twist. I have always been intrigued by classical novels.

Funny story. We never had much book reading during elementary and high school. I started reading books by sheer accident. When I borrowed a book for a friend for their book report, my friend already had one. And since I didn't want to waste the book that I borrowed, I decided to read it instead. This book was Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I wasn't aware then that it has such a good story. And since then, I started reading more and more.

Also, some of you may not be aware of this, but the Three Musketeers and Man in the Iron Mask is part of a bigger story. It spans 3 volumes by Alexander Dumas, with Three Musketeers being the first volume, Twenty years after as the second volume, and Vicomte de Bragelone: Ten years later as the third and final volume, in which Man in the Iron Mask was the last part of the third volume.

[river_chaos]

I like mostly fantasy stories like Eragon and Harry Potter (I know: I'm kinda old for it). I've been trying to get the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series from the school library and there's a long waiting list for every single book. I've read all of the Ranger's Apprentice books so far, and I recomend it for those who love stories.

I wouldn't worry about being too old to read Harry Potter - that's why they have "Adult Cover" Versions Though, I own them all with the Children's Covers. I was about 14 when the first book came out, which put me in my late teens/early 20's when the last one was released I liked it in the beginning, but it just started to disappoint me after the fourth book and I really disliked the ending.

For a moment, I thought the Ranger's Apprentice was an alternate title for the Assassin's Apprentice - a series that I quite liked, but never got around to finishing...(puts on "To Read" list). But after researching, my assumption was wrong...what is the Ranger's Apprentice about?

Another book series I'm quite fond of is the Redwall Series by Brian Jacques. It's aimed at young readers and the cast is all anthro-animals, but the writing's really good.

Harry Potter came out when I was still in Elementry school and my mom forced me and my brother to read it since the school we went to years ago had a poor library. The last book came out a month before I started my freshman year here in America. The fourth book really catch my attention much, but the rest is good up until well known characters start dying.

Ranger's Apprentice is about an orphane whom is taken into an apprenticeship by a King's Ranger. It's set in the Medivel era when feudalism flourished.

Edited April 7, 2011 by river_chaos

[durendal]

I'm currently reading Girl who kicked the hornets nest, the third book in Stieg Larssens' Millenium Trilogy. Although I have to admit I'm stuck in a single chapter for lack of time reading. But the book is very good, with a lot of violence that is very close to real world. The first book, "Girl with a dragon tatoo" will be in theaters this December, where Danial Craig will play the lead role of Mikael Blomkvist. I've already seen the swedish movie of the first two books and it's quite good. Though not as detailed as the book, they're still good in their own right.

[LordSpleach]

I still gotta read Hornet's Nest, but right now I'm on a Vampire Hunter D binge.

[durendal]

Finally managed to get my hands on the books of Isaac Asimov. Currently reading Caves of Steel, which is supposed to be the second part of his robot series.

Some quick info that I didn't know before: Bicentenial Man (the one which Robin Williams starred in) was also written by Isaac Asimov. I was really impressed with the movie and was touched at how things came to be. When I learned that this was based on the novel of Isaac Asimov's "The Positronic Man", I was immediately moved to find the rest of his writings. Finally, another author who will captivate my interest.

[ErutanXiku]

Oh my! I meant to reply ages ago! I am so very sorry...!

there are other reasons too. such as, I started to analyse it and see all the pop culture references and realised it wasn't as original as i had thought. also, dyslexia makes reading undesirable anyway.

I am reading a book at the moment anyway. it's called sword of shannara, I'm not sure when i started reading it, maybe a year ago or more. I'm at page 20.

hmm, maybe i'd get through it better if i had a commute or something.

How is reading Shannara going? I've only read the first three books (Sword; Elfstones and Wishsong) and I really enjoyed them. I've been meaning to pick up the rest, but haven't yet.

Ranger's Apprentice is about an orphane whom is taken into an apprenticeship by a King's Ranger. It's set in the Medivel era when feudalism flourished.

The sounds interesting and perhaps a little similar in setting to the Assassin's Apprentice, only that one's about the illegitimate son of the King.

Finally managed to get my hands on the books of Isaac Asimov. Currently reading Caves of Steel, which is supposed to be the second part of his robot series.

Some quick info that I didn't know before: Bicentenial Man (the one which Robin Williams starred in) was also written by Isaac Asimov. I was really impressed with the movie and was touched at how things came to be. When I learned that this was based on the novel of Isaac Asimov's "The Positronic Man", I was immediately moved to find the rest of his writings. Finally, another author who will captivate my interest.

I've been meaning to look into Asimov - had no idea Bicentennial Man was based on one of his books. When I found that a few movies I liked were based on books by Philip K Dick, they were immediately put on my reading list...but unfortunately, I haven't got around to them yet. My list just keeps growing, but I barely make it through my books...

I've only just made it halfway through Temeraire and I'm not sure about whether I'd pick up the rest. It's not that I don't enjoy it - there are some golden moments between the characters...but it's just the way it's written. I have no issue with it being set during the Napoleonic Wars, but hmm...something about it reminds me of how let's say...Twilight's written and I didn't like how that was written. The way the words flow, just doesn't sit with me...I am interested in knowing what happens next, but I'm not willing to put myself through reading the way this woman writes...so I am in a dilemma - suffer through the writing for the sake of the story, or forget about it completely? Perhaps I'll know when I get to the end...

[*Jess♥]

hmm, it';s funny i looked in this thread. i would normally ignore it since i don't read much of anything at all. ;

i have started the sword of shannara and i'm pretty much at the same place as I was when i posted my last comment.

[durendal]

Reading is good. It gives you a broader understanding of a lot of things. It's up to you to make the time to read. I'm quite busy myself, but I still managed to sneak in a few things under. Like say, when your taking a dump, you don't usually do anything there except exercise your intestinal muscles, so why not use that time to read instead?

[*Jess♥]

i usually use that time for deep contemplation.

[durendal]

I'm done reading Isaac Asimov's robot series which include "Bicentenial Man", "Caves of Steel", "Naked Sun", "Robots of Dawn" and "Robots and Empire". I enjoyed reading them and I'm looking forward to reading more literary classics.

[*YoungGuyver]

Reading the last in the Eragon books.

What can I say, I LOVE the army of werecats concept. And to finally meet the REAL Galbatorix, whoms cape is cut from the wings of the wild dragon Bilgabad. The book was a nice Christmas present. Another few hundred pages to go

[durendal]

Considering reading the Hunger Games trilogy. Since there's a movie coming out about it, it got me more curious. I was actually wanting to read this series for the longest time, but couldn't find any reason to, or any motivation to push me into reading it. But I guess before the movie comes out, I better get the books lest they be sold out, like how Twilight was,

[durendal]

I can't decide on what to read next. As I have mentioned previously, I am considering reading the hunger games trilogy. But I chanced upon the Song of Fire and Ice series by George Martin, which also seems to be a good book. This was the source of the HBO special a game of thrones. George Martin also happens to be the writer of one of my favorite stories, the Sandkings. What do you guys think?

[*Kenji Murakami]

I just finished Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade; it's a good book, and I really like how it goes deeper into Altair's hystory than what we saw in the games.

[durendal]

Ugh... believe it or not, I'm actually reading Fifty Shades of Gray. Yes, the book that is considered as mommy porn. Hey, I was bored and had a new tablet devoid of any ebooks, and fifty shades happen to be coveniently nearby.

[*Kenji Murakami]

That stuff'll rot your brains, you know. Try reading 1632; I can't say much for the rest of the series, not having read it and all, but that first book is incredible. It becomes alternate history pretty quickly, but since it involves time-travel that's pretty much a given.

[*YoungGuyver]

Currently reading 'Unconditional Parenting' by Alfie Kohn. It's interesting, as it describes physical punishment and time outs and such to be almost equally the same in that they are a form of torture, and positive reinforcements such as praise and rewards a cheap bribe. He describes this as teaching children they are only loved under certain conditions, and not only causes psychological problems in later years, but are ineffective as we must continually reteach our children the same lessons over and over again. He cites decades of experiments and research, and gripes how so many parenting books are all variations on the same 'conditional' theme.

I'm only half way through, he's just now describing a new method for teaching children. He's got my interest

[*Kenji Murakami]

Sounds like a guy who's either an ineffective parent, or someone who's never been around kids in their life, to me.

[*Jess♥]

youngguyver, I love the sound of that book.

I'm not parent so I don't need to think about it at length yet.

I do find it very interesting though, the description of rewards as bribery and time-out as torture.

no actually I can relate to that. I don't respond well to authority due to inconsistent parenting when i was younger.

I saw that book, fifty shades darker, in asda. seems pretty popular.

[*YoungGuyver]

Sounds like a guy who's either an ineffective parent, or someone who's never been around kids in their life, to me.

He has a daughter, and has been counseling for years. He's quoting decades of other people's research, and explaining where some of out modern techniques come from. 'Time out' is from the 50's, and is short for Time out of positive reinforcement, and was discovered to achieve short term obedience with lab rats... but we could not see the resentment of the relationship that develops in later years when applied to children. Letter and number grades don't really make better students, they get A students to start asking 'will it be on the test', as opposed to taking chances, making risks, and getting messy and interested in what they're learning.

A lot of what he's describing sounds like he's developing social techniques for the Venus project, like what was mentioned in Zeitgeist.

[Cannibal]

I'm reading Don Quixote now.

 

It is 6th book in my life. I picked it up randomly from one of my bookshelves when was totally bored because we have no electricity for several hours.

 

This is my first experience with written comedy/farce and I really enjoyed it. I laughed IRL 5 or 6 times already