What are you reading?

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Snowlilly, Aug 21, 2012.

  1. Snowlilly

    Snowlilly Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Hmmm haven't seen any similar threads.

    So, I am always looking to find a new author/book to read. Some of my favorite authors are Douglas Preston, James Rollins, John Connolly, F. Paul Wilson, Dan Simmons, John Lutz to name a few.

    I used to really like fantasy novels but have really not read any in a long time.

    So, what are you reading? And any fantasy/sci fi author recommendations?

    *forgot to add game of thrones...of course.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2012
  2. Roshi

    Roshi Admiral Admiral

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    The TrekBBS...
     
  3. trekkiebaggio

    trekkiebaggio Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Just finished a collection of Franz Kafka's stories, before that it was Hemingway.

    At the moment I'm about a third of the way through Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. The first book - The Last Train to Memphis was incredible and this one has followed suit. It's really in depth and really strips away all the myth and legend surround Elvis to get to the core. It's fascinating to read.
     
  4. Lonemagpie

    Lonemagpie Writer Admiral

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    The main "what are you reading now" thread is in the Treklit section, but everybody pretty much posts anything they're reading , not just Trek...
     
  5. Snowlilly

    Snowlilly Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    oh ok, I will go look for it, thanks :)
     
  6. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    Could we not have a book discussion here as well, for those misc posters who don't venture out often?
     
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  7. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg.

    A favorite of mine.
     
  8. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    ^I haven't read that since I was a teen, but it was definitely a favorite back then!
     
  9. lurok

    lurok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    H.P. Lovecraft (a new discovery...just At The Mountains of Madness to go...)

    Plan For Chaos by John Wyndham. Weird. Gumshoe noir-meets-Boys From Brazil-meets-Nazi UFOs.
     
  10. RandyS

    RandyS Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Hey, thanks for the thought.

    And I'm currently reading The Dark Knight Rises novelization, and Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins.
     
  11. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    ^I honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.
     
  12. Tora Ziyal

    Tora Ziyal Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halstead, by Gerald Imber, M.D. Fascinating bio of the father of modern surgery.

    (Too bad the author wastes his own surgical training and expertise on cosmetic surgery. Oops, better get off my soapbox...)
     
  13. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Well, I saw the movie first, and then read the book, and as much as I love the movie (and I do), the book is just wonderful, and so very worth reading. I have now read it a dozen times or so, and it gets to me every time. :D
     
  14. Skellington

    Skellington Part-time poltergeist Rear Admiral

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    Just finished the first volume of A Storm Of Swords by George RR Martin (which I'd been reading pretty much all month) and plan to start the second in early September or so. Interim reading will involve continuing with Christopher Hitchens' essay collection Arguably and reading a chapter of Stephen Pinker's new book The Better Angels Of Our Nature, which is about the decline of violence in society. This pattern will probably continue for a while, as Arguably has a total of over 140 essays (each showcasing Hitchens' compendious vocabulary) and The Better Angels... is an impressively long book. Thank goodness for e-readers!
     
  15. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    It is a great one, and you're right, the movie is wonderful too, even though they did a very poor job of revealing the lesbian undertones of the book!

    As for me, the majority of my reading lately has been science blogs and neuroscience and psychology journals and magazines (because I intend to go to grad school within the next 3 years and have to stay up to date), and tons of really, embarrassingly bad slash fanfiction. The last actual book I read was The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and that was months ago. I'm aching for a good meaty novel though, preferably escapist and fantastical, with a sexy leading man.
     
  16. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    You could still feel it in the movie, though. Most people who notice tend to cite the food fight scene, but I prefer the "bee charmer" scene, which conveys much more subtext between Idgy and Ruth, IMO.

    The God Delusion's a great book. I can give some credit to Dawkins for helping me along in understanding my newfound rationality. I mean, I was aware of it, it's just his method was instrumental in helping me fully utilize it.

    Also, don't feel bad about slash fanfic, I've wrote a number of them myself. I, uh, write a lot of erotica, from both male and female points-of-view. *ahem* :D

    If you're looking for a good meaty novel, though (he says, realizing he wrote "meaty" very shortly after "erotica") that is escapist and fantastical, I would recommend The Lions of al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's not a new novel, it's about 15 years old, but it's a good fantasy novel with solid male leads. You can probably find it at your library.
     
  17. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'm on the last book of the Game of Thrones series. I flew through the first four but I keep forgetting I'm reading this one, despite it's focus on some of my favorite characters. Must continue.. the slog..

    Part of it is is so darn heavy to carry around (have the hardcover). Makes me fantasize about kindles.
     
  18. Lonemagpie

    Lonemagpie Writer Admiral

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    No reason why not.

    Right now I'm dipping into Lost Voices Of The Royal Air Force (edited) by Max Arthur, but I wouldn't call it my main read ATM, cos usually my main read is a paperback that will fit in my pocket for when I'm waiting around in shops etc, and that book's too big.
     
  19. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    This is why I'm giving the kindle some serious consideration. Was a but put off that my current reading was about the same price in e-book as what I paid for the hardcover though.. but I also want to read some fanfic and I'd rather not do it on the computer.
     
  20. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    ^I LOVE my Kindle. The best part is that my mother, sister, and I all put our Kindles on the same account, which means we can share whatever books we each get. It's really fun, as long as you don't mind the other people on your account knowing what you're reading!
    Well, I haven't seen the movie since I was a teen either, maybe I would be more attuned to the subtlety these days.
    I thought it was a great book too, even if Dawkins ultimately failed to convince me of his argument. I went into the book already a strong atheist, so there was no need to convince me there was no god (to use Dawkins' own terminology, I would have ranked myself a 6 a priori atheist -- I don't think one can rank oneself a 7 while maintaining intellectual honesty), I don't agree with his ultimate assertion that god necessarily lies in the realm of TAP agnosticism. Some types of gods and aspects of gods certainly do (like intercessory prayer, which can be scientifically tested and has proved to be useless), but I think that a god by the definition of many believers lies in the realm of PAP agnosticism.
    Me? Feel bad? Never. Years ago, when I first was introduced to the realm of slash fiction by a dear friend, who would animatedly talk about her love of doujinshi anywhere, I asked her (in the middle of a conversation about gay erotica in the middle of a crowded cafe) if she was never embarrassed about it. She said, "The way I see it, you can either be ashamed or unabashed, and I will never be ashamed!" Wise words!

    I'm not embarrassed about liking erotica, I'm embarrassed by reading erotica with such terrible writing! Nothing pulls you out of the moment like a misused homophone.
    I'll look into it, thanks!