What Book Are You Reading?

[clientsiman]

Originally Posted by skunk

Mycenaeans and Minoans - Leonard R Palmer. A rollicking action adventure epic. Not.

Is this book worth reading? I am living in Chania,Crete a city that was built by the Minoans (Kydonia as it was known back then) so if you think this book is good I would try to find it.


Currently reading: Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson (Mars Trilogy)
And God Delusion - Richard Dawkins

Originally Posted by Huntn

I'm always looking for outstanding thrillers, adventures, fantasy, science fiction, and mysteries/court room dramas. Suggestions appreciated!
Still working on Eragon.

For science fiction I would suggest you to read some classic stuff:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and as many as you want from Dune by Frank Herbert and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card ( The first 3 of the Ender Series are simply brilliant)

[skunk]

Originally Posted by clientsiman

Is this book worth reading? I am living in Chania, Crete a city that was built by the Minoans (Kydonia as it was known back then) so if you think this book is good I would try to find it.

It is not very up-to-date, but it is certainly a comprehensive view of a very fascinating period.

As for SF, anyone who has not read Tiger Tiger and The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester is missing out.

[rdowns]

Currently reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly.

[bartelby]

Originally Posted by rdowns

Currently reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

I love that book!

I'm about to start my annual reading of the Hitchhikers Guide "Trilogy"...

[KeriJane]

Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx.
The first book of a collection available on iBooks.

It's..... Interesting. I like how Marx just dives right into a subject.
It explains a lot, I think.

Have Fun,
Keri

[arkitect]

I know far too little about the Thirty Years War — but I must admit to sometimes getting a bit confused with all the Rudolfs and Maximillians…

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by clientsiman

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and as many as you want from Dune by Frank Herbert and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card ( The first 3 of the Ender Series are simply brilliant)

I have read the first two. I'll look at Ender's Game, and I did locate new copies of My Stars, My Destination on ebay coming from the U.K for about $10 including shipping.

Anyone read The Book of the Dead by Preston/Child? I heard it and The Relic were both outstanding? I assume this "The Relic" is not the same story as the movie "The Relic"?

Thanks!

[skunk]

Originally Posted by Huntn

I have read the first two. I'll look at Ender's Game, and I did locate new copies of My Stars, My Destination on ebay coming from the U.K for about $10 including shipping.

That's peculiar, because in the UK it was published as Tiger, Tiger

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by skunk

That's peculiar, because in the UK it was published as Tiger, Tiger

I guess they got some U.S. copies. These were listed as new. I double checked: The Stars My Destination (S.F. Masterworks) I paid 4.5 GBP plus .9 GBP for shipping.

[TT4T]

I've been working on "Cracking the AP European History Exam 2011"


You have no idea how thrilling it is ...

[Scepticalscribe]

Originally Posted by Bonsai1214

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay.

Absolutely stellar book. It's absolutely no surprise that it's been named by at least 5 publications as "best fiction of 2010." It's about an alternate 8th century China, where a young man can suddenly influence the future of an empire. The story is riveting and doesn't let you go. The characters are ALL developed incredibly well. Main characters and minor characters all are fleshed out. An amazing book, I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction..


as an aside, I didn't know until I looked him up that Guy Gavriel Kay was the guy who edited Tolkien's stuff after he died. no wonder he's so amazing. I'm definitely going to pick up some of his other books now, when I get the time.

Great choice. All of Guy Gavriel Kay's stuff is excellent; I cannot recommend them highly enough, as they are exquisitely written, beautifully realised, extensively researched, have strong characterisation and are very well told tales. However, a number of them are out of print and they may be a bit difficult to obtain.

Originally Posted by DewGuy1999

Currently reading "Inkdeath", prior to that "Inkspell" and "Inkheart", all by Cornelia Funke.

Original and excellent.

Originally Posted by timerollson

2nd book of the Stieg Larsson trilogy:

The Girl Who Played with Fire.... [Was it the writer's intention to make Lisbeth Salander so ****ing annoying? She's quite possibly one of the most unlikeable protagonists I've ever read.]

Damn this trilogy is boring. I want to read them all before the US remakes hit the theaters.

I loved this trilogy and found them absolutely addictive when I read them over a year ago.

Originally Posted by skunk

I have just re-read Tiger Tiger/The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester, written in 1956, for the first time in thirty years. What an incredible piece of work! I can't imagine why nobody has made a film of it: it would be absolutely stunning.

If you have not read it, do so. Probably the best science fiction book ever written.

I look forward to taking your advice as I haven't actually read this. Worse, I had not even heard of it until I read your recommendation.

Originally Posted by bartelby

I love that book!

I'm about to start my annual reading of the Hitchhikers Guide "Trilogy"...

The Hitchhikers Guide is an absolute classic, loved it when it came out and still do.

Re my own current reading, I'm re-reading "America, Empire of Liberty" by David Reynolds and Niall Ferguson's Civilisation - "The West and the Rest", both of which are texts intended to accompany a TV series.

I liked Tom Holland's "Rubicon" and recently read the final (apparently) volume of Jean M Auel's series, The Land of the Painted Caves.

Cheers

[Eldiablojoe]

Murder in West Covina. It's about the 1959 murder of the beautiful Barbara Jean Finch by he husband, Dr. Bernard Finch. Very Interesting !

[hssky97]

In Search of The Miraculous by P.D Ouspensky

[steadysignal]

The Liberty Incident: The 1967 Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship by A. Jay Cristol

[AppleScruff1]

Life by Keith Richards.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by Huntn

I'm a slow reader. Any Honor Harrington fans here? I'm all most done with Basilisk Station. I plan on continuing the series. Thumbs up.

Barnes and Noble has it for $8. This might make a good movie. CAUTION: "This" is one big spoiler if you have not read it.

Image

Just finished On Basilisk Station and the ending was amazing, spoiler>a space duel between star ships<end-spoiler. On to the next edition of Honor Harrington- The Honor of the Queen!

[Plutonius]

Originally Posted by Huntn

I just started Eragon- a boy and his dragon. I am surprised how young the author is/was when he wrote it. Am liking it so much I just ordered two more from Amazon.

I got the Eragon series last year on audiobook and it was pretty good.

[Plutonius]

Originally Posted by Huntn

Any Honor Harrington fans here? I'm all most done with Basilisk Station. I plan on continuing the series. Thumbs up.

I enjoyed the earlier books in the series but found it to bog down somewhat towards the end of the series. Still worth reading though.

[Plutonius]

Originally Posted by sauced

Re-reading the Harry Potter series. I'm currently on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

I'm currently re-listening to the entire Harry Potter series (audiobooks) in preparation for the final movie this summer . I highly recommend the Harry Potter audiobooks (Jim Dale does an amazing job with his narration and the character's voices). If you ever wanted to try out an audiobook, the Harry Potter series is the one to get.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by Plutonius

I enjoyed the earlier books in the series but found it to bog down somewhat towards the end of the series. Still worth reading though.

If it becomes to formulaic as in been-there-done-that... I'll be bracing for that. The first book was very entertaining. Thanks for the heads up.

[Plutonius]

Originally Posted by Huntn

If you are "susceptible" to fantasy you can't go wrong with HP and you won't be disappointed. If you like the first book, they get better all the way to the end.

Unfortunately, many people end up dropping the series before they get half way through the first book (it doesn't start getting real interesting until half way through the book when Harry goes to wizardry school). If you are going to read the series, please read the entire first book (the first one isn't that long) before deciding if you are going to continue reading the series.

[Plutonius]

Originally Posted by Huntn

If it becomes to formulaic as in been-there-done-that... I'll be bracing for that. The first book was very entertaining. Thanks for the heads up.

It's not a problem with it being formulaic. The problem is that it becomes more strategic and less tactical as she goes up in rank (i.e. less fighting and more of what a high ranking officer does). The books are still pretty good but they aren't as exciting as the first books.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by Plutonius

It's not a problem with it being formulaic. The problem is that it becomes more strategic and less tactical as she goes up in rank (i.e. less fighting and more of what a high ranking officer does). The books are still pretty good but they aren't as exciting as the first books.

Hmm. Well... I guess I'll find out, but the tactical fight seems much more exciting than the strategic planning.

[DewGuy1999]

Just started reading "206 Bones" by Kathy Reichs.

[eMac4ever]

I just finished Roseannearchy by Roseanne Barr. Excellent read, hilarious, but also enlightening, as usual.

I've just begun When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973 by Leslie J. Reagan. Very informative and analytical. Amazing abstract sociological analysis that you might surprise you from the title; intriguing.

I've also nearly finished The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. I love the deranged nature of the novella, as well as the writing. I LOVE THIS MAN'S WRITING.