For the Love of Books!: Looking for a good read?

[Lythium]

Since you have two Neil Gaiman books on that list, I'd say one of those. American Gods, imo.

Breakfast of Champions is really good though, let me know what you think of it.

 

[Xyzz]

OK I finished Storm of Swords. That makes 13 books I've finished in 2011 so far.

As always, I'm unsure what to pick up next. Here are my candidates:

American Gods
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
or something else

I suggest you begin reading "A feast for crows" then :trollface: :D

 

[Angbad]

If you haven't read everything Gaiman has out, especially Sandman. I suggest you get on that. You won't regret it. His ideas are amazing.

I actually just finished American Gods yesterday.

Stardust is amazing though.

If you read American Gods, try to read Anansi Boys right after. They're sorta related. xD have fun.

 

[Lurker guy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inheritance_(book)
WOO

 

[Lythium]

I never got around to reading any of those. Maybe someday.

Got to pick up some graphic novels today. :3c

 

[Lurker guy]

If I'm not too late, and you don't mind said graphic novel being short:
http://draculavskingarthur.com/
was a pretty good read.

 

[Lore]

Oh, the last inheritance book is coming out. I haven't thought about those in a while.

I'm having to read a Confederacy of Dunces now for both a summer project and a tribute to a great friend who died one year ago. It was one of his favorite books, and I always told him I would read it, so I'd hate myself if I didn't do it.

I actually haven't gotten very far yet, so I dunno what to think.

 

[Lurker guy]

It's one of the most hilarious books i've ever read. Another hilarious book I read was a parody of children's books called "Go the **** to sleep", it has a free audiobook version by Samuel L. Jackson and is worth the four minutes it takes to read.

 

[Lythium]

We got that book in at work yesterday or the day before, and it completely sold out.

@Lurker: I didn't see that graphic novel you mentioned, so I bought Batwoman Elegy (just came out in paperback!) and Anya's Ghost.

 

[Wiscus]

I'm having to read a Confederacy of Dunces now for both a summer project and a tribute to a great friend who died one year ago. It was one of his favorite books, and I always told him I would read it, so I'd hate myself if I didn't do it.

I actually haven't gotten very far yet, so I dunno what to think.

Confederacy of Dunces is so good Lythy, I really hope that you enjoy reading it, its pretty hilarious. My copy is pretty worn

 

[Lore]

Hey Wisbiscuit, I'm not Lythy. <3

 

[Lurker guy]

@Lurker: I didn't see that graphic novel you mentioned

Did the link not work?

 

[Lythium]

Weird, it's working now.

Probably because I tried to view it at work.

 

[Wiscus]

Dangit, I meant to type Were.....
man hahaha

 

[Lythium]

Well, I'll have to check out that book anyway, since everyone says that it's so good. :3c

 

[Dastrn]

I just finished American Gods. I honestly didn't enjoy it much. It took me 3 weeks to finish because I'd pick it up, read a chapter or two, and get bored. I hated that I had to wonder for 400 pages what was happening. There was too much ambiguity, and too much bouncing around. I never connected with ANY of the characters except Shadow, and even he was hard to connect with because he just kinda shrugs his way through all this ridiculous stuff happening.

3.5 / 5 from me. I can tell I'd probably nudge that score up to a 3.8/5 or something if I read it again, since I know what happens now, and I'd pick up on some more subtlety.

 

[Lore]

Really, Dastrn? That's actually what I loved about it.

And I forgot to bring Confederacy of Dunces on my trip!

A friend of mine keeps bothering me about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, so should I check it out? It seems to have a more positive reception than other mainstreamy books.

 

[Lythium]

I had the same sort of problem the first time I read American Gods, but when I went through it the second time, it went pretty fast.

I tried to read A Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Apparently, you have to get about 100 pages in before it's interesting. I got to about page 28 iirc.

 

[Dastrn]

I'm reading Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez. It's pulp comic fantasy. I'm a fan of Martinez' works in general. They are fast and shallow, and rather clever. I try to fit books like that in between monsters like George Martin's stuff.

I think when I'm done with this, I'll read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and then I'm thinking maybe Philip Pullman's stuff?

 

[Lythium]

Philip Pullman is great! His Dark Materials was one of my favourite series growing up, but The Golden Compass is definitely the best of the three.

I'm reading The Passage by Justin Cronin at the moment. Not at all what I expected, but I'm liking it so far.

It's really hard to type with a popsicle in your mouth.

 

[Lore]

Haha, Lythy, I type a lot of times with a tootsie roll pop in my mouth. No johns.

And I finished Girl with the Dragon Tattoo! The first quarter of it was mostly drivel, but after that, I was surprised to find that I actually liked it. It'll definitely make a better movie than book; the narrative was bogged down by a lot of useless junk.

Edit: I never was allowed to read Golden Compass as a kid since the author is an atheist and they kill God in the third book.

My parents are a lot less strict about that stuff now, but for some reason, His Dark Materials and Harry Potter are still on my "can't read" list.

 

[Dastrn]

Finished Gil's All Fright Diner. Forgettable. Fun. Fast. 3/5 at best.

 

[Lythium]

I think I read that ages ago. Weird.

But from what I remember, that pretty much sums it up.

 

[Dastrn]

I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz this weekend. It made me want to watch the movie again after all these years. It was a cute book, but I'm kinda surprised that it got so popular. I guess I'm comparing it to modern literature and it's over 100 years old. In a way, it's timeless.

It will only take you maybe 2 hours to read the whole thing. It's worth picking up.

 

[Lythium]

Finished The Passage by Justin Cronin. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I had no expectations whatsoever going into it, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It's definitely got a little something for everyone too.

Just started Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. :3c

 

[Dastrn]

I just started Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Anyone else read it?

 

[Lythium]

Ages ago. I remember enjoying it, however, if I remember correctly, it has a buttload of footnotes and stuff. I found it added lots of cool tidbits, but detracted from the book overall.

 

[Wiscus]

Oh wow I just got that book myself, haha
I plan on starting after I finish 5000 other things

 

[Requiem]

Reading is for nerdz!!































I just finished the Silver Spike by Glen Cook, and the third Black Company omnibus is on it's way. Not sure what I'm gonna read now.

 

[Lythium]

I finally managed to find a copy of Blacksad. Hardcover, all colour, it's so pretty. :3c

I'm going to read it right now!

 

[Wiscus]

Yes, I am so jealous Lythy. I want to own that lovely omnibus that was put out a while ago.
I hope you like it, Blacksad is so gorgeous

 

[Lythium]

I read the whole thing yesterday. I tried to go slowly because it was so pretty and savour it. But I couldn't put it down. Such a beautiful book.

If you're going to splurge on a graphic novel, splurge on this one. It's totally worth it.

 

[Strife]

I hope someone can help me.

I've recently become very fond of reading books. The books I really enjoy are novels which are comprised of several short stories. Basically an anthology series with a single author. Two books which I found really great are 'The Illustrated Man' and 'The Things They Carried'.

With this in mind does anyone have any suggestions for me? It's important to me that the book consists of several stories(it could be a few long stories instead of a lot of short ones) that are all written by the same author/s. Other than this I am not picky, I'll read any genre. If anyone has anything that meets my criteria then please let me know. I am really looking for something new to read.

Thank you.

 

[Lythium]

Hmm, I guess I would recommend:
- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami
- Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka (if you can find the Penguin version, it's the best one I've seen)
- Ghostwritten by David Mitchell (this one is a bit of a special case, in the sense that it is presented as short stories, but they are all connected in some way)
- The Stories of Ibis by Hiroshi Yamamoto

 

[Requiem]

The Necronomicon?!

 

[Lythium]

Reqqy, you sillyface, the Necronomicon isn't real.

 

[Xyzz]

Reading stuff of (or is it from?) the author often included referrences to it in his works - H.P. Lovecraft - is highly recommended though!

Not right now, of course; because look at the date, it's July the 12th. Which means, it's time for A Dance with dragons by GRRM!

 

[Wiscus]

I'm so looking forward to adwd, dont bring up the date!
You may jinx us to some sort of freak accident or time oddness where it never got written!

Tyrion I must know what youre doing!

 

[Lythium]

When I went to work today, it was out. Though I could've told you it was coming out anyway, I was there when we received the boxes about a week ago.

Hells yeah, strict on-sales. :3c

 

[Wiscus]

Lythy confirmed for my favorite.