WinterSachi Posted July 24, 2014 Posted July 24, 2014 Read one or two novels every month (too slow to read more than two books). Finished Silmarillion few weeks ago and... It's was fantastic! Now reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. My favourite books are Paprika by Yasutaka Tsutsui and The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon. Quote
Mephisto Posted July 24, 2014 Posted July 24, 2014 Wow you actually read the entire silmarillion? I remember trying to read that a couple years back, but returned the book to whoever I was borrowing it from since school was ending. Would be pretty interesting to look at again after having more perspective of creation stories through reading the Theogony as well as portions of the bible. Quote
WinterSachi Posted July 25, 2014 Posted July 25, 2014 Wow you actually read the entire silmarillion? I remember trying to read that a couple years back, but returned the book to whoever I was borrowing it from since school was ending. Would be pretty interesting to look at again after having more perspective of creation stories through reading the Theogony as well as portions of the bible. I've heard so many people said that reading Silmarillion is such a pain but for me it was easy and entertaining (even without reading The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings). I think everything went smoothly because I like this difficult type of stories - epic poetry. I dunno why... Maybe because I like epicness in literature (with gods, angels (valars), world creation, big wars etc.). Quote
Down Posted July 25, 2014 Posted July 25, 2014 The Silmarillion is a nice read, but you definitely can't go into it expecting a fantasy novel. And it's probably better if you already read and appreciated other creation myths and stuff of that kind before. I was into that stuff a while ago, read quite a few of them, so it went nice. But yeah Tolkien is definitely not a novel writer. I'd like to read it again once I'll finally get off my butt and finish reading Campbell's myth theories. Could be interesting to see if some of his schematics and analysis can be sticked onto the Silmarillion. Quote
SilverLi Posted July 25, 2014 Posted July 25, 2014 Oh thanks for bringing this post back alive. I somehow missed it my past 2 months. I like to read. It is relaxing and always something to do when traveling or doing something else far away from your computer (I actually read at home too). But I am reading a lot of history related stuff. Some of my favourites are Conn Iggulden with his series about the Roman Empire and Genghis Khan. Simon Scarrow with his The Eagle series (about the Roman Empire). I also like the LOTR trilogy and The Hobbit. The books are superior but the movies are damn good. I plan to read Gearge R.R Martins Game of Thrones. I also like a lot of books from Robyn Young about the Templars and the Scottish rebellion in the 13th century. Some of the books and authors I like. I got way more if I can dig it up in my memory. Quote
WinterSachi Posted July 25, 2014 Posted July 25, 2014 But I am reading a lot of history related stuff. Some of my favourites are Conn Iggulden with his series about the Roman Empire and Genghis Khan. Simon Scarrow with his The Eagle series (about the Roman Empire). Have you tried Valentin Pikul's works? He wrote many good historical novels such as By plume and sword, The Battle of Iron Chancellors and The Three Ages of Okini-San. They don't connect with the Roman Empire but If you like history related literature then you should definitely try one of this. Quote
SilverLi Posted July 25, 2014 Posted July 25, 2014 Have you tried Valentin Pikul's works? He wrote many good historical novels such as By plume and sword, The Battle of Iron Chancellors and The Three Ages of Okini-San. They don't connect with the Roman Empire but If you like history related literature then you should definitely try one of this. I haven't read that. But I can look into it. I can read anything about history except the ancient Greece. That is in my opinion a load of made up crap. Quote
Guest sakanaとkoeda Posted August 2, 2014 Posted August 2, 2014 Books/series that got me into reading: Redwall, Bunnicula, Harry Potter, Where the Red Fern Grows Books I had to read and liked: The Things They Carried, The Great Gatsby, A World Lit Only By Fire Books I had to read and disliked: Contempt, Waiting For Godot, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Books I never finished: War and Peace, Anna Karenina, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Books that I wanted to defenestrate should have killed me: The Experience of Philosophy (6th), Data Abstraction and Problem Solving with C++ (5th) Quote
Clephas Posted August 2, 2014 Posted August 2, 2014 I recently marathon-read the Honor Harrington novels by Weber... and as usual, I was impressed with the quality of that author's work. I've yet to read anything by him that I didn't enjoy. Quote
Vemocleus Posted August 2, 2014 Posted August 2, 2014 I'm in the middle of two books right now. One is the tremendously large and imposing Chinese epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and currently to take a bit of a break from that I'm continuing with Agatha Christie detective novels which I love with all my being. Currently: A Murder is Announced. Quote
Blizzard884 Posted August 3, 2014 Posted August 3, 2014 I like many light novels from baka-tsuki. If I will name them we will have to spend here all day. Also my really favourite book is Metro 2033 and Metro 2034 by Dmitry Glukhovsky Quote
Blizzard884 Posted August 3, 2014 Posted August 3, 2014 Are those any good? I knew that the Metro games were based off of novels written by a Russian guy, but they didn't have 'em at my local library, so I lost interest. As I said is my favourite books, so yeah it is good. If you didn't play game is a bit hard to imagine how that world really look like but story and style of writing is amazing. Games are great because will show you visual side of the world. Go for it!!! Quote
Blizzard884 Posted August 3, 2014 Posted August 3, 2014 Okay, I'll see if there's somewhere I can get them after I finish Leibowitz. Thanks for the recommendation You're welcome.... Quote
Funyarinpa Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 I wonder what Fuwa is reading nowadays. What are you reading right now? What's your favorite genre? Favorite book? The next book you plan on getting? Personally, I've started reading sci-fi, and I'm beginning with the classics. (I've posted a list of the books I have right now to read below.) I just recently (as in a few hours ago) finished Isaac Asimov's Foundation. It felt more like politics than sci-fi, but I found myself liking it nonetheless. Overall, I'd give it an 8/10 and the next book looks far more promising, it's called Foundation And Empire. My favorite sci-fi book so far is Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, it probably has the funniest writing of all the books I've ever read. My favorite book overall is The Hunger Games, I read it when I was in 6th grade and it blew my mind. Looking back on it though, it isn't as great to a high schooler me than it was to the sixth grader me. I've been on a book-buying spree for the last few weeks, and I've bought a book pretty much whenever I could. The ones I have to read and are in my possession: Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) Tau Zero (Poul Anderson) Ringworld (Larry Niven) Timescape (Gregory Benford) Hyperion (Dan Simmons) The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien) The Silmarillion (J.R.R. Tolkien) (also a few young adult fiction novels) The ones I play on buying as soon as I can: Dune (Frank Herbert) Childhood's End (Arthur C. Clarke) Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) 2001: A Space Odyssey (Arthut C. Clarke) Foundation And Empire (Isaac Asimov) The ones I plan to buy later on: Second Foundation (Isaac Asimov) Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck) The Caves Of Steel (Isaac Asimov) The End Of Eternity (Isaac Asimov) The City And The Stars (Arthur C. Clarke) The First Men In The Moon (H. G. Wells) Some books I'm not sure I can find in Turkey: Mostly Harmless (Douglas Adams) The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (Robert A. Heinlein) 2001: A Space Odyssey (mentioned above) Flowers To Algernon (Daniel Keyes) Quote
Down Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 Can't find the time to read right now, too busy with my porn games and chinese cartoons =( All my reading time gets sinked into reading stuff in japanese to improve my reading skills. I read recently the first volumes of Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita, the Chihayafuru novel and Kino no Tabi. It took a horrendously long time. I still found a bit of time to pick up recently another Murakami novel, South of the Border, West of the Sun. I'm about halfway through it and I still have no idea where it's going, as expected of Murakami :3 It just seems to be the life of some random typical Murakami protag, I just don't know what to expect, but somehow it reads well... Quote
Funyarinpa Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 Old thread here for reference. Can't find the time to read right now, too busy with my porn games and chinese cartoons =( All my reading time gets sinked into reading stuff in japanese to improve my reading skills. I read recently the first volumes of Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita, the Chihayafuru novel and Kino no Tabi. It took a horrendously long time. I still found a bit of time to pick up recently another Murakami novel, South of the Border, West of the Sun. I'm about halfway through it and I still have no idea where it's going, as expected of Murakami :3 It just seems to be the life of some random typical Murakami protag, I just don't know what to expect, but somehow it reads well... Quote
Down Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 I've been hearing about this "Murakami" and I have seen some of his books but have practically no idea what they're about, nor what sort of writer he is. Why is he so famous? From the old thread: I've read some books by Haruki Murakami (namely Kafka on the Shore, Spoutnik Lovers and Norwegian Wood). His writing is very digest, which makes those books easy to read. However, the construction of the story can be a bit anarchic at times, which I found damageable for the immersion and the comprehension. The main thing is, I find it hard to figure out his books. When I finish one, I'm like, "what was the point". It's a good ride, there's always those clues that there's a message going on here, but in the end I just don't know what to think and it's frustrating. But there's definitely something that clicks me in his stories. I think he captures very well the era and the kind of people he's trying to portray - and since we're talking about a modern (or rather postmodern?) author it's easy to relate to it. So, yeah, good experiences, all of them. Do not read Norwegian Wood if you're going through a depressive period though. His stories range from really weird stuff (Kafka on the Shore) to more plain dramatic/life stories. He also dived into SF with IQ84 but I haven't read that yet and the reviews are mixed. So far the best I've read from him is still Norwegian Wood. I think the reason why he's so popular is because he writes somewhat relatable characters and depicts a number of their struggle with universal themes such as love, sex or finding a meaning to one's life. But also because he writes in a very light yet compelling style that makes him very easy to read (at least that's how the french translation comes across). There's probably a lot to criticize about his works but there are definitely elements that can make a book popular. Quote
Clephas Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 Currently rereading the Safehold series by David Weber... hoping the next one comes out on time, so I can continue the awesomeness. Quote
Funyarinpa Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 Started Fahrenheit 451. Even though it felt abstract and had a tough language, I found myself easily toppling the first third of the novel. So far, it appears to be much deeper than Orwell's works (1984 and Animal Farm) in that rather than the focus being the dystopia and how it works, it feels more like it is about the protagonist's inner fighting with his self, as a person who was shaped by the said dystopia. The novel doesn't make dystopia the focus, but rather, even more so than the setting, it is the prime element that has shaped the protagonist, and the book is a study on how that affects the protagonist's mind. Quote
Tawm Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 I'm currently re-reading American Psycho. One of my all time favorites, and by far Ellis' most memorable work to date. I did buy Dune some time ago, but haven't gotten to it yet. Quote
phersu Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 Haruki Murakami's books are really good. Quote
rapid motion Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 The books I prominently remember (beside stuff like harry potter or LotR etc.) were fantasy series: - The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan (Some (japanese) animation studio even wanted to make this into an anime, but Jordan refused) - Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness - Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett - The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind Other than that I guess I read LNs too (SAO, Mahouka, a lot more to-read) Quote
Funyarinpa Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 I cannot decide to pick whether Foundation & Empire or Brave New World when I go to the bookstore the next time. I guess I'll go with F&E. The books I prominently remember (beside stuff like harry potter or LotR etc.) were fantasy series: - The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan (Some (japanese) animation studio even wanted to make this into an anime, but Jordan refused) - Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness - Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett - The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind Other than that I guess I read LNs too (SAO, Mahouka, a lot more to-read) Chaos Walking was incredible. I read the first book (The Knife Of Never Letting Go) in a single night where I could not sleep and the experience had shaken me in a way that I never thought it, or any book for that matter, would. From the beginning I expected it to be lame but that novel was one bizarre roller coaster ride of feels. Quote
joehawks12 Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 i've been reading the disaster artist. I fucking love this book, and i cannot WAIT for the movie to come out. Quote
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