What are you readioactive now(and other book related stuff)?

[thefiddler]

*digs this thread out because she has a new book that she is reading*

Well, actually, several.

Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston
About a Boy Nick Hornby
Miss Lonelyhearts & The Day of the Locust Nathanael West
Reefer Madness Eric Schlosser
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs Chuck Klosterman
Invisible Monsters Chuck Palahniuk
Catch-22 Joseph Heller
House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski

OK, so I like to read.

EDIT: I forgot that I'm also reading Twelfth Night by Shakespeare for English. Oops.

[Alisto]

I fully support Catch-22 and House of Leaves.

I am currently working in Black Powder War (third in the Temeraire series) and just finished reading Slaughterhouse-Five again.

[bronzeevil]

Reading now:
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
A Phule and His Money by Robert Asprin

Recommended:
Anything by Robert Asprin or Orson Scott Card. I've not read enough of Pratchett's works to recommend him, though.

[aldimond]

OK, so I like to read.

OK, so you like to read

[Babbler]

I finished Who Controls the Internet?, an interesting book on the power of national governments (e.g. US, EU, PRC) over the Internet.

Question: What kind of books do you like to read: fiction or nonfiction? I enjoy nonfiction mostly, will a quick look at the thread shows a predominance in science fiction books.

[Narsil]

Reading now:
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
A Phule and His Money by Robert Asprin

Recommended:
Anything by Robert Asprin or Orson Scott Card. I've not read enough of Pratchett's works to recommend him, though.

Orson Scott Card ftw.
Easily one of the best writers in science fiction, today or at all. I would argue that he's second only to Frank Herbert. Though Asimov may be just a hair better.
Right now I'm 2/3rds through Hegemon, and I like it a lot. While not as good as Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow, it's very enjoyable.

Also, I want to read House of Leaves. Can I get some opinions on it? Scary? Good? Scary Good? I was at 1/2 Price Books the other day looking for it, but I forgot the author. Gah.

Hey, can a mod alter the title on this thread? It's bugging the crap out of me.

[bronzeevil]

Reading now:
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
A Phule and His Money by Robert Asprin

Recommended:
Anything by Robert Asprin or Orson Scott Card. I've not read enough of Pratchett's works to recommend him, though.

Orson Scott Card ftw.
Easily one of the best writers in science fiction, today or at all. I would argue that he's second only to Frank Herbert. Though Asimov may be just a hair better.
Right now I'm 2/3rds through Hegemon, and I like it a lot. While not as good as Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow, it's very enjoyable.

Also, I want to read House of Leaves. Can I get some opinions on it? Scary? Good? Scary Good? I was at 1/2 Price Books the other day looking for it, but I forgot the author. Gah.

Hey, can a mod alter the title on this thread? It's bugging the crap out of me.

Shadow of the Hegemon was a bit confusing for me, but the next two books are great. Buy them as soon as you can.

Apparently, House of Leaves was written by Mark Z. Danielewski. Can't tell you anything else about it, though.

[Narsil]

Oh, I've already got them on my shelf waiting to be read.
Is it Shadow Puppets and then Shadow of the Giant or is it the other way around?

Also, OSC needs to crank out an Ender's Game script, Ender in Exile, and Shadows in Flight.
That is all.
kthx.

[bronzeevil]

Shadow Puppets, then Giant.
Also, there needs to be a 6-hour movie for each book based on the world of Ender's Game.

[Regulus]

I just finished The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker today. It's about the thoughts of a guy on his way up the escalator to his job on the mezzanine. He thinks deeply about the repercussions of society's switch to plastic drinking straws from paper ones and what really has the most significant influence on the snapping of shoelaces: lace flexion from walking or the friction from tying the knot. It was awesome... The novel makes you realize some of the strange thoughts you think day-to-day are more or less universal, but completely un-talked about.

[Alisto]

Reading now:
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
A Phule and His Money by Robert Asprin

Recommended:
Anything by Robert Asprin or Orson Scott Card. I've not read enough of Pratchett's works to recommend him, though.

Orson Scott Card ftw.
Easily one of the best writers in science fiction, today or at all. I would argue that he's second only to Frank Herbert. Though Asimov may be just a hair better.
Right now I'm 2/3rds through Hegemon, and I like it a lot. While not as good as Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow, it's very enjoyable.

Also, I want to read House of Leaves. Can I get some opinions on it? Scary? Good? Scary Good? I was at 1/2 Price Books the other day looking for it, but I forgot the author. Gah.

Hey, can a mod alter the title on this thread? It's bugging the crap out of me.

Orson Scott Card is, in my opinion, overrated. His Enderverse stuff is great, but little else he's done has impressed me much. And the fact that he hasn't even started on the last book in the Alvin Maker series makes me bitter.

House of Leaves is... weird. I wouldn't call it scary, but then I've never been scared by a book that wasn't about "true" stories of alien abduction. With photos. It's definitely worth picking up. I loved it. Mark Z. Danielewski. If you get the book, pick up his sister Poe's album Haunted. The book and the CD have a lot of tie-ins, and it's just damned good music.

I once again recommend Octavia Butler's Parable books. Amazing. Simply amazing.

[The Sleeping Tyrant]

I'm starting in on Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre. I've been a quarter of the way through R. Scott Bakker's The warrior - Prophet for over a month now. I'm sporadically reading through Poe's tales and poems.

I've started reading The Great Gatsby for my English class. Hope it's better than the crap I had to read last year.

[thomasjmaccoll]

I just finished "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer (I can't remember if it's already been mentioned in this thread...). It was really excellent, best book I think I've read in a while. I just started this french detective novel I got at christmas, I need to practice my french...

That "House of Leaves" book looks pretty excellent, I'll need to look for it, "Extremely Loud..." had a lot of that unconventional typesetting and stuff in it too.

[Sufimoru]

A bookstore near me recently closed so I bought far too many clearance books and have quite a bit ahead of me.

Currently reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss.

On the List to Read

What's the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank
Going Postal, The Last Continent, Equal Rites, Jingo, and Eric all by Terry Pratchett (I'd recommend him, by the way)
1000 Best New Teacher Survival Secrets by Kandace Martin and Kathleen Brenny (While this is what college is allegedly for, I figure it couldn't hurt)

[bronzeevil]

Orson Scott Card is, in my opinion, overrated. His Enderverse stuff is great, but little else he's done has impressed me much. And the fact that he hasn't even started on the last book in the Alvin Maker series makes me bitter.

House of Leaves is... weird. I wouldn't call it scary, but then I've never been scared by a book that wasn't about "true" stories of alien abduction. With photos. It's definitely worth picking up. I loved it. Mark Z. Danielewski. If you get the book, pick up his sister Poe's album Haunted. The book and the CD have a lot of tie-ins, and it's just damned good music.

I once again recommend Octavia Butler's Parable books. Amazing. Simply amazing.

There's another book after Crystal City? Cool. I leave you to your opinion, though I think it's blasphemous

[lanicita]

I just finished The Contortionist's Handbook by Craig Clevenger, which, contrary to popular belief, is NOT a handbook to teach people to be contortionists. It's similar to Chuck Palahniuk but much more realistic, which I like.

Right now I'm reading Sula by Toni Morrison, and The Audacity of Hope by the one and only Barack Obama. Next on the list is Deadeye Dick by Kurt Vonnegut, as well as rereading The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri for a reading club.

About a Boy Nick Hornby

...

OK, so I like to read.

I loved that book! High Fidelity is better though. And yeah, clearly I love to read too. Unless it's my Cognition textbook.

[thefiddler]

Currently reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss.

Lynne Truss is my hero! She's hilarious.

It's similar to Chuck Palahniuk but much more realistic, which I like.

Well, yeah. Chuck Palahniuk isn't exactly a realistic writer, in the sense that what he's writing about could happen, but not in the way he describes. Hrm. I don't know how to say what I mean. He's a bit more about shock value, as seen by several of his novels and short stories, especially "Guts," which made everybody ill.

High Fidelity is better though.

I both agree and disagree. I like them equally for different reasons. I'd have to say, though, my favourite is A Long Way Down. That was just amazing.

Has anybody read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky? It's one of my favourites.

As for House of Leaves, it is weird, so far. I really like it, but it's hard to follow. I have the feeling it will take multiple readings to fully grasp it. Also, it's a pretty slow read (for me, anyway) because you're flipping back and forth. The footnotes are just as interesting and important as the story, but you're trying to read both at the same time and then you're just confused.

As for The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, which was discussed a while ago, I've been meaning to read it. It looks really good, and I almost picked it for my English project, but picked Miss Lonelyhearts instead. And I'm rambling, so I'm going to stop, now...

[Shizo]

Dune by Frank Herbert

[lanicita]

It's similar to Chuck Palahniuk but much more realistic, which I like.

Well, yeah. Chuck Palahniuk isn't exactly a realistic writer, in the sense that what he's writing about could happen, but not in the way he describes. Hrm. I don't know how to say what I mean. He's a bit more about shock value, as seen by several of his novels and short stories, especially "Guts," which made everybody ill.

Yeah, I got that from reading Diary. I like him, but his style can get kind of overwhelming after a while. The Contortionist's Handbook stayed good and readable throughout.

Has anybody read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky? It's one of my favourites.

Sadly enough, I wasn't a huge fan of Perks. But I only read it once, and it was a few years ago, so I've been meaning to go back and try it again. I think it just shocked me a lot... little 15-year-old me was very innocent, it was a lot for me to take

[Alisto]

There's another book after Crystal City? Cool. I leave you to your opinion, though I think it's blasphemous

There's supposed to be. Though who knows when he'll even start it.

The only other OSC book I've read, outside of Enderverse and Alvin Maker, is Magic Street, which left me completely underwhelmed.

*EDIT*

On the topic of Palahniuk, I've read Fight Club, Choke, and... one other one. Whatever the third one was didn't impress me. Choke is my favorite so far.

Another recommendation: Battle Royale. The movie takes the plot of the book and keeps some of the violence, but leaves out the incredible character development that the book offers. Just know that it is incredibly violent. There were at least two or three moments where I had to put the book down because of the violence that was going on.

[Sufimoru]

Lynne Truss is my hero! She's hilarious.

By the time she was thinking "Surely there should be an apostrophe on that bus?" I fell in love.

I'd be buying more of her work if it weren't for the fact that I have too many books to read right now.

[Narsil]

Dune by Frank Herbert

Oh holy crap, that is the greatest book ever. It can drag in parts, but the story is phenomenal. Te sequels are quite solid as well. Dune Messiah is a little weak, but short and important story-wise, Children is very enjoyable, God Emperor is almost better than the original, and Heretics is a lot of fun. I haven't gotten around to Chapterhouse, however.

oh, and don't see the movie. Just don't. No matter what you imagine in your head, if you added Jar-Jar Binks to the story you would still get something more enjoyable than the movie. (Actually, you would just have Star Wars. Ba-Dum Pish!) It's just incredibly boring and Paul looks incredibly gay.

[thefiddler]

Yeah, Chuck Palahniuk is kind of a hit-or-miss author. Either you love his stuff or you hate it. There really isn't a middle road, as far as he is concerned.

My favourite of his is Invisible Monsters which is about a model who gets her jaw shot off; she's trying to rebuild her life, but there are some complications... I don't know. It's better than it sounds. I also enjoyed Choke and Fight Club. Diary was mildly entertaining, just for the strangeness of the plot but Lullaby was horrible. I've been meaning to pick up Haunted and Survivor, but haven't had time.

Oh, and I just finished Invisible Monsters for the sixth time.

Lynne Truss is pretty funny. I've only read Talk to the Hand: the Utter Bloody Rudeness of Society Today or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door, but it brings up several good points in a humourous fashion. Very entertaining and I agree with her reasoning entirely.

Just so people don't think I'm crazy or anything, I'm going to quick inform you of what Reefer Madness and Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs are about. Reefer Madness is about sex, drugs, and cheap labour; it talks about America's black market economy and how it is thriving off of sex, drugs, and cheap labour. It's quite interesting. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is a bit of a pop-culture analysis by a guy who was probably high when he wrote it. He makes some interesting points and blames his lack of a love life on John Cusack. He mostly talks about movies, music, television, and the Sims. It's quite fun to read.

OK, sorry. I'm rambling again.

[Maltheos]

Chuck Palahniuk is kind of a hit-or-miss author. Either you love his stuff or you hate it. There really isn't a middle road, as far as he is concerned.

I have the weird experience of having picked up the same book(Fight Club) and just not being fully able to hack my way into it.( I kept putting it down and coming back to it, and eventually gave up) I then read it a few years later and I loved it. So I have been on both sides of that equation.

[aisling]

EDIT: I forgot that I'm also reading Twelfth Night by Shakespeare for English. Oops.

I saw that performed Bollywood style in Stratford, Ontario back in October. It was pretty good.

[Grincement]

EDIT: I forgot that I'm also reading Twelfth Night by Shakespeare for English. Oops.

I saw that performed Bollywood style in Stratford, Ontario back in October. It was pretty good.

Aww Twelth Night or Midsummer's night dream...can't decide which is my favoured Shakespearian play...

[Alisto]

...Lullaby was horrible.

That's the other one I read. It had a few good parts, but I was greatly disappointed after having read Choke right before.

[Peshmerga]

The Kite Runner
Confederacy of Dunces
Waiting for Geddoe

[miles01110]

Nadeau and Barlow's Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong and The Story of French are both fascinating insights to French culture. I learned a lot.

[lanicita]

blames his lack of a love life on John Cusack.

A LOT of guys could do that. Basically, any guy who is not John Cusack and has no love life.

I love John Cusack.

[fjafjan]

I am currently reading Automotive mechanics volume 10

Let's just say it's not light reading

To be fair i've only read about suspension and a few other bits.

[thefiddler]

blames his lack of a love life on John Cusack.

A LOT of guys could do that. Basically, any guy who is not John Cusack and has no love life.

I love John Cusack.

Yeah. He went out with some girl and the relationship didn't work because she liked John Cusack in (insert movie here) more than she liked him. Hehe.

I adore John Cusack.

He also blames Coldplay for his lack of a love life. It's pretty funny.

[Gordon]

Only hard copy thing I read on any sort of regular basis are some newspapers / magazines / journals, in particular I like SciAM

Side note: Steve Mirsky makes me wet.

[aldimond]

He also blames Coldplay for his lack of a love life. It's pretty funny.

Someone once illegally sent me a scan of that part of that book.

I don't remember whether I found his reasoning sound or specious, but in general I support blaming Coldplay for anything possible.

[thefiddler]

He also blames Coldplay for his lack of a love life. It's pretty funny.

Someone once illegally sent me a scan of that part of that book.

I don't remember whether I found his reasoning sound or specious, but in general I support blaming Coldplay for anything possible.

He said that he wanted to take this girl to a very nice hotel, blah blah blah, she turned him down to go to Coldplay's first concert in the U.S.

He then talked about how shitty Coldplay's music was, fabricated love, etc. It was quite entertaining.

Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky

[aldimond]

Oh, right. Well, he shouldn't have cared, because this chick obviously had shit for taste in music.

Hm. Perhaps that's harsh. Back when they would have been doing their first show in the US they probably had potential. And they always might go find a lyricist (it worked for Elton John, at least in the version of the story told by South Park) and a producer whose answer to everything isn't "more reverb", because they actually have talent at playing their instruments.

To stay sort-of on topic, I started reading a book called Revolution in Science, which happened because on the day I went to the library their computers were down and they don't have a regular card catalog (stupid Silicon Valley... ooh, we can do everything on computers... oh fuck, no backup plan, we're fucked!) so I couldn't find anything but really wanted to read a book so I picked something random after failing to find any of the stuff I wanted to find, but after reading the introduction I realized that I didn't care about the topic beyond the depth covered in the intro, which was actually neat, and that I'd rather blow my time starting flamewars on Teh Fora and depressingly looking for jobs in Chicago. And I want to read more Neal Stephenson because Snow Crash was pretty damn great, but I feel like after reading that and In the Beginning There Was the Command Line I don't need to read anything more by him. AAAAARGH I'm getting intellectual ADD.

[thefiddler]

AAAAARGH I'm getting intellectual ADD.

If you drop the "intellectual" bit, I can definitely agree. That's why I read several books at the same time; makes me less likely to quit reading one altogether.

Oh, so this is exciting: I don't have school today! I don't have to get up in a few hours and drive to school and be there 'til 3:15. They canceled it because the wind chill is just far too cold for the little kiddies waiting for the bus.

Finished:
Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston
About a Boy Nick Hornby

[German Sausage]

currently reading
guns germs and steel by jared diamond
seeing by jose sarmago

seeing is a bit patchy, but when its good its FANTASTIC, and jared diamond makes the same point again and again and again.

[thefiddler]

guns germs and steel by jared diamond

... jared diamond makes the same point again and again and again.

Oh, you don't like it? Or do you? I've been meaning to pick it up for ages, but I haven't gotten around to it. It'll probably have to wait until summer, when I'm not swamped with homework and then the AP tests and graduation... (Can't wait to get out of HS.)

[Jesse]

"Marvels" by Alex Ross and Kurt Busiek.

Okay, it's not a book. It's a graphic novel, but it's the best one I've read since Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. It's essentially about the Marvel Universe (Me being a DC boy I'm at times clueless in this regard) and it's a very realistic and humanistic approach to the idea of superheroes. Not to mention that Alex Ross' artwork puts others to shame.

As well as that I just went back and re-read Atonement by Ian McEwan which is his best book by far. Although his short stories were quite gruesomely amusing.

I also second whomever said Battle Royale.