What Do you Read

Baxter said:
It's all about Idaho man.....
Click to expand...
Damn right it is. But don't read them in chronoligical order the first time Irish. Read them in publishing order. I haven't slogged through the Legends of Dune Trilogy, or the prequel, but I did make it through the others. I'd definitely recommend doing it in the order of publication rather than chronology, because otherwise the significance of some things is likely to be lost on you. Its that kind of complicated and interesting story.
 
Caduceus said:
Damn right it is. But don't read them in chronoligical order the first time Irish. Read them in publishing order. I haven't slogged through the Legends of Dune Trilogy, or the prequel, but I did make it through the others. I'd definitely recommend doing it in the order of publication rather than chronology, because otherwise the significance of some things is likely to be lost on you. Its that kind of complicated and interesting story.
Click to expand...

Thats what others have told me, but I'd rather read it in chronological order, like I said I'm a linear freak. And while I might miss out on some of the surprises, the overall scope and story won't be lost on me.

Baxter said:
It's all about Idaho man.....
Click to expand...

Duncan Idaho, that is. ;)
 
DIrishB said:
Thats what others have told me, but I'd rather read it in chronological order, like I said I'm a linear freak. And while I might miss out on some of the surprises, the overall scope and story won't be lost on me.
Click to expand...
I'm going to have to disagree. Couldn't you look at it as reading things in the order they were intended, rather than the order they actually came? The story is just too insanely large in the last books, while the first book is relatively contained.
 
Im into Stephen King mostly, throw in a Michael Crichton book every so often. Yeah i just got done finishing off King's Dark Tower series recntly which had me almost in tears by the end (manly tears of course cause ya know). Im also trying to get ahold of the original OZ books to read, maybe even the Wonderland books to see how they change from book to movie. And ive read the fisrt couple of Dune books when i was a kid book really couldnt get into them might try to read those over again.
 
Caduceus said:
I'm going to have to disagree. Couldn't you look at it as reading things in the order they were intended, rather than the order they actually came? The story is just too insanely large in the last books, while the first book is relatively contained.
Click to expand...


Ummm, isn't the chronological order the order they were intended? As opposed to just the order they were published? Let me ask you this, when you sit down and watch all the Star Wars movies, do you watch the Classic trilogy first, or the Prequel trilogy? And another thing, if you haven't read any of the Dune prequel novels yet, how do you know it ruins surprises later on? Even if it does, aren't I just discovering the surprises in a different order or book than I would otherwise? I don't know, I'm only on the second book (The Machine Crusade), but I'm liking it so far. On a related note, my ex-girlfriend is reading the original series (Frank Herbert's novels) and we discuss the events of the books, so far I'm not ruining anything big. After all, the first trilogy takes place 10,000 years before Herbert's Dune, so the only thing I'm doing is expanding my knowledge of the Butlerian Jihad and war with the thinking machines, something which in itself is barely touched upon in the original books. I wouldn't call that ruining surprises.

I'm really looking forward to Road to Dune, coming out this month, mostly because it collects the short stories Anderson and Herbert wrote which take place between the Legends of Dune novels I'm currently reading, as well as "Whisper of Caladan Seas" which takes place during the first Dune novel. I'm also excited to see Anderson and Herbert working on the conclusion to Frank's original series with Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune, the final two novels in the series and based off Frank's notes. Sure it won't be the same as him writing it, but thats a good thing in my opinion, much in the same way as a new creative team taking over Ultimates 3 trying to copy Millar/Hitch's work wouldn't be a good thing.
 
If you have even a passing interest in economics or social theory (and ESPECIALLY if you like both), I strongly urge you to pick up a copy of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner.

It's basically adapted from a number of articles by Levitt, using accessible, everyday prose to apply economic principles to a diverse number of topics that most "old-school" economists avoid, like:
  • Roe v. Wade as a cause for the drop in crime during the 1980's and 1990's (from the article The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime).
  • The surprisingly low wages of crack cocaine dealers.
  • The surprisingly low wages of crack cocaine dealers.
I don't agree with huge chunks of it, but the ideas explored are totally fascinating, and have a surprising number of real-life applications.

Plus, the tone of the writing is casual and easy to follow, without questioning the reader's intelligence, or over-simplifying things in a patronizing "For Dummies" kind of way.
 
Some of my favourite books:

Jumper - Stephen Gould
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton
Harry Potter(all 6 are fantastic) - J.K. Rowling
Kingdom Come - Elliot S. Maggin
Napalm and Silly Putty - George Carlin

Right now I'm reading The Catcher in the Rye for school, and it's pretty good. The only magazine I really read is MAD, and I buy it every single month.
 
Planet-man said:
Right now I'm reading The Catcher in the Rye for school, and it's pretty good. The only magazine I really read is MAD, and I buy it every single month.
Click to expand...
I could not stand that book. A few english professors I work with have told me that I just need to re-read it, but I'm not sure.
 
compound said:
If you have even a passing interest in economics or social theory (and ESPECIALLY if you like both), I strongly urge you to pick up a copy of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner.

It's basically adapted from a number of articles by Levitt, using accessible, everyday prose to apply economic principles to a diverse number of topics that most "old-school" economists avoid, like:
  • Roe v. Wade as a cause for the drop in crime during the 1980's and 1990's (from the article The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime).
  • The surprisingly low wages of crack cocaine dealers.
  • The surprisingly low wages of crack cocaine dealers.
I don't agree with huge chunks of it, but the ideas explored are totally fascinating, and have a surprising number of real-life applications.

Plus, the tone of the writing is casual and easy to follow, without questioning the reader's intelligence, or over-simplifying things in a patronizing "For Dummies" kind of way.
Click to expand...
My money's on you using some of the theories in an Ultimate treatment of the Fireheart Corporation. ;)
 
I just finished Battle Royale a few days ago and am waiting for the library to get their copy of The Backman Books in.
 
I once read this book, can't remember what the devil its called, but it was about where these known writers were invited to a ceremony somewhere in...Africa, maybe? Anyways, before the ceremony, the writers got to go around the city, touring around and stuff. And there was this really weird guy who was always with them. So bad things ended ip happening and they got stuck in some cave, and eventually, that weird guy was killed. Turned out that the guy was the one who called them for the ceremony, but the thing was, there was never an actual ceremony. I can't remember why he had invited them. Maybe it was for a new story to write...I dont know.

I swear it was more interesting than this. If my library was still open (they've been closed for "renovations") I could check. I know the cover had a snake in front of a desert.
 
I've read Rage and The Long Walk from The Bachman Books.

Everyone should read The Long Walk. Goes on my Favourite Story list.
 
Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit / The Silmarilion

The Harry Potter Series

The Chronicles of Narnia

Angels and Demons / The DaVinci Code

Ian Flemming's Bond Novels

Hitchicker's Guide to the Galaxy Series

Mark Twain Novels (Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn)

Franchise Novels (Star Wars, Warcraft, Myst)

That's pretty much my book collection. I've read quite a few others, but those are the books that I own and re-read.
 
Last edited:
Dr.Strangefate said:
Read Anansi Boys.
Click to expand...

After American Gods, I'm not so sure. Gaiman has excellent ideas, but I found is style to be too basic.

At the moment, I'm still chewing my way through the fiercely interesting A Short History Of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I can't count the amount of times I've had to put the book down and have a little ponder about what I'd just read. Seriously eye opening, thought provoking, witty and generally stunning stuff.

My favourite author is still Haruki Murakami. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle is the single greatest book I've had the pleasure of reading, and his others aren't half bad either.
 
Fuzzy Birds said:
At the moment, I'm still chewing my way through the fiercely interesting A Short History Of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I can't count the amount of times I've had to put the book down and have a little ponder about what I'd just read. Seriously eye opening, thought provoking, witty and generally stunning stuff.
Click to expand...
I really enjoyed that book. It was awesome.
 
Caduceus said:
I really enjoyed that book. It was awesome.
Click to expand...

Yup. Just finished it. The last few chapters, in particular the one about ice ages and the one about extinction were really quite interesting stuff. The critics were right, this book really changes the way you look at things.
 
i read about a book a week, more if i have time off...i just started war & peace :shock: BIIIIG book. anyone ever read it? most people know it but i don't know anyone who's actually finished it
 
Last edited:
I read about 2 or 3 "books" at a time. I just finished Things Fall Apart (by Chinua Achebe) and now I'm reading the first LOST novel, a book by my uncle (he writes sports novels aimed at teens and kids), King Kong: The Island of the Skull, and Star Wars Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (it takes place during and after Revenge of the Sith, I highly reccomend it to Star Wars geeks). Now you see why I said "books". :wink:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top