Let's Talk Books.

[Gizmo1990]

Hmm, see i'm of the generation that really doesn't like reading unless it's a comic book/graphic novel. I mainly think that's because of some of the boring crap schools force young kids to read but that's for another day. It takes something special for me to read a book, let alone a series but i'm loving the Dresden Files right now. Thanks to a friend who suggested the first book to me. The most recent book I've read is Grave Peril Book 3 of the before-mentioned series.

Edit: forgot about the top 3

1) Dresden Files
2) Harry Potter
3) I'll say LoTR but i really only read The Hobbit, and Fellowship and some of the Two Towers.

Finaly someone else who put Dresden in their top 3. If you think that they are good now just wait until number 7, Dead Beat. From their the series just explodes but make sure you have Ghost story (13) because when you finish Changes (12) you will want to begin strait away.

Also when you have finished dresden try Jim Butcher's other series Codex Alera. It will easly blow Harry Potter of your list.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

1)Burning Chrome by William Gibson
2)the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
3)The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

 

[Kahunaburger]

Top 3 books is hard, man. Probably:

1. The Odyssey
2. The Epic of Gilgamesh
3. No I give up this is too hard.

Haha can't do it, man. Author-wise I really like China Mieville and Gene Wolfe ATM. David Foster Wallace is also a favorite.

 

[Kiba The Wolf]

At the moment, I am currently reading, "World War Z", which is pretty interesting so far and I am about to start reading, "The Hunger Games" thanks to a strong recommendation from my boyfriend who really likes the series.

Th last two books I read were:

Mogworld by: Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw

Ready Player One by: Ernest Cline

Both were great, brilliant, funny books, and I highly recommend reading them. They were fantastic adventures and I have added both to my favorite books list.

Other books on that list are:

Animal Farm by: George Orwell

The Hobbit by: J.R.R Tolkien

Slaughter House- Five by: Kurt Vonnegut

In the case of Graphic novels, I am loving "The Walking Dead" series.

 

[Axolotl]

Respect on having The Trial in your top 3. I personally never got much further than half that book. While I respect Kafka his style is not for me. Having one paragraph over four pages was too much for me.

Yeah, Kafka's not the hardest to read author that I like (that's be William Burroughs)but he's certainly not the easiest. I do remember his hge paragraphs though, the first book I read after finishing the Trial was Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut who has chapters that are often shorter than Kafka's paragraphs.

Anyway my all times favorite is without contest The Dune by Frank Herbert. Sequels are also brilliant, even those by his son, there is however noticeable difference. Prequels not so much, but still good.

Dune's great, one of the all-time best Sci-Fi books. I'm not sure I agree with you about the prequels but the first book is a masterpiece.

Hell no Satanic Verses doesn't go downhill! I mean, it's utterly crazy but entirely in a good way and I'd say it even gets better.

Good to know, I really like is so far and if it gets better then I'm in for a real treat.

And movie adaptations are 90% awful, The Road, Lord of the Rings and High Fidelity being a few exceptions but I've never seen a book bettered by its film. And the film adaptations that piss me off most in the entire world are I am Legend and American Psycho, one because it completely lost the point of the book which makes the title mean nothing and the other because trying to make it into a film is like trying to capture the smell and taste of something on an MP3, the medium makes it impossible.

I think alot of adaptation forget to be films and just try to copy what happens in the book, which doesn't work because they don't have what a book has to set a tone. I agree with the Road and LotR being good, and they used what would work for a film and came up with different ways of conveying that. Also a book can easily be much more violent and edgy than a film can simply because they don't have to graphically potray what happens. I've not seen American Psycho but iI'll agree with you on I Am Legend, I remember reading it and thinking "This would make an awesome movie." and then remembering the film and just being dissapointed.

 

[Hollock]

Now Escapist, What's your fave book?
Probably Zombie spaceship wasteland by Patton Oswalt.
What do you think about Book to movies adaptions?
They can be good or bad, doesn't matter. Bad books have made good movies and good books have made bad movies. w/e
What are your top. 3 books?
Zombie spaceship wasteland
hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy
1984
Most Recent book you read?
I'm reading Born Standing up which is Steve Martin's books.

 

[dangoball]

Respect on having The Trial in your top 3. I personally never got much further than half that book. While I respect Kafka his style is not for me. Having one paragraph over four pages was too much for me.

Yeah, Kafka's not the hardest to read author that I like (that's be William Burroughs)but he's certainly not the easiest. I do remember his hge paragraphs though, the first book I read after finishing the Trial was Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut who has chapters that are often shorter than Kafka's paragraphs.

Anyway my all times favorite is without contest The Dune by Frank Herbert. Sequels are also brilliant, even those by his son, there is however noticeable difference. Prequels not so much, but still good.

Dune's great, one of the all-time best Sci-Fi books. I'm not sure I agree with you about the prequels but the first book is a masterpiece.

Finding books with chapters shorter than Kafka's paragraphs ain't all that hard.
But anyway about those Dune prequels. Why I don't find them on par with the rest of the series is because Legends of Dune seems more preoccupied with war than behind-the-scene politics which seems to be the other way around then the rest of the series and Prelude to Dune spoils one of the biggest surprises in the original work (Jessica's origin), at least I felt that way and I'm glad I read Dune first.
Side note: While checking English names (I've read it in a different language) I found out about Heroes of Dune. And here I though I've read all there is from the Dune universe.

 

[Scarecrow1001]

I read a lot of Action Thriller books, mainly Matthew Reilly

 

[Mr_RogersCU13]

Reading a lot of these replies I feel like such an old man...

1. Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
2. Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Luo Guanzhong
3. Critique of Judgment (Kritik der Urteilskraft) - Immanuel Kant

I pretty much read nothing but classic literature, classic poetry, and classic philosophy.

I hold that Walt Whitman is the greatest American poet with no exceptions, he was the first widely read and successful (if not respected) American poet to really capture the unique spirit of his time.

Believe it or not, it was Dynasty Warriors 2 and Dynasty Tactics way back in the day in the early days of the PS2 that got me into studying the fall of the Han Empire and the rise of the three kingdoms in quite some depth. I read the english translation a few years ago, but a lot of the poetry and idioms were lost in translation. I have since learned simplified standard Mandarin and picked up a copy in that, and it is amazing. If you like epic stories, characters, and situations, then definitely pick up a translation at least.

Kant is definitely not light reading by any stretch of the means. I would argue that Kant's Critique of Judgement is the single greatest foundation for "Western" thought. Kant believes argues that mankind has four judgement by which basically all things are decided upon and their purpose derived and explored: agreeable, beautiful, sublime, and the good. I particularly enjoy the second part where Kant wrestles with teleological thought (the ends of action or object decide if it is good/bad, right/wrong, moral/immoral). I agree with Kant's eventually conclusion that the world is not teleological but deontological in nature, ie that good exists outside of an individual's perspective, that there is good and an evil in the universe.

 

[Malty Milk Whistle]

Top 3 would have to be 1) A wise mans fear. Simply one of the greatest books ever.
2)THUD!
3)Yes man

 

[Blackmagic1515]

1) The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. All of them, I love this series and end up rereading it every 6 months or so.
2) The Belgariad/The Mallorean by David Eddings. This series is what got me into fantasy books and it will forever be one of my favourites.
3) Anything and everything by Branden Sanderson. I've just finally caught up with all this guy's books and I love them. How he can come with so many amazing and interesting styles of magic and in such short periods of time astounds me.

There are lots more out there but I could never pick just 3 as my favourites. Also, I'm loving the Dresden love on this thread. Nice to see others know about his awesomeness.

 

[Guffe]

Top of my head:
The Count of Monte Christo
Hitch hikers guide to the Galaxy
Lord of the Rings
Books by Ilkka Remes (Finnish author)
Two first of Harry Potter
Warhammer 40k novels
and there are more...

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

James Clavell's Shogun is my all time favorite book.

Hell it got an extremely accurate Tv series that did almost everything page by page, as well as a mature book could back in those days.

 

[LittleJoeRambler]

1). Wheel of Time series. Can't pick a favorite from that list, and eagerly awaiting the final installment. Sanderson's style is noticeably different from Jordan's but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

2). I always liked Heart of Darkness for some reason.

3). Speaking of books dealing with the Congo, I recommend King Leopold's Ghost to anyone who can stomach it. It's a historical work, but some of the stuff in there... Holy shit. Leopold is like a smaller-scale Hitler.

 

[Gatx]

Personally:

1. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Absolutely great book, beautiful prose (translated from Spanish, but the translation is also nicely done). A great blend of noir and magical realism with a little bit of horror. There's a second book, a prequel, called The Angel's Game, which starts out really nicely but the ending feels really rushed and could've been better.

2. House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski. This book is just... indescribable. It'll scare the shit out of you but there's so much more to it to that when you really dig into it, and it MAKES you dig into it, which is great. One of the best, and most literal examples of the relationship between form and meaning in a book you will ever see.

3. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens. A real slog if you're not used to older literature, but I personally love Victorian prose. Took me about two or three weeks to finish it, could not help but fall asleep at least once per reading session, but man is it a good book.

1. Was Death Note made into a written novel? Got to read it!
...
3. You convinced me to read them. Seems pretty awesome. Should I watch the movie first though? Would hate to ruin one or the other.

1. There were light novels made but they were more like side stories that fleshed out L and company so that might not be it, since he sounds like he's referring to the actual manga. And manga, as a comic BOOK is technically a BOOK despite what many literary snobs would have you believe.
3. Popular consensus is that you should ALWAYS read the book first. Who cares if the book ruins the movie for you, the book was better in the first place. I say it's up to you though really, either way the ending of one or the other is going to be spoiled so don't worry too much about that. Plus if you read the book first you get the extra enjoyment of seeing how the original was interpreted and maybe understand some of possible extras or references in the films.

 

[Nupu]

Well I don't actually read alot of books, but there are few I have read. And to put the few I have read in a top three or five.

1) Metro 2033 - Dmitry Glukhovshky
2) Mogworld - Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
3) Books from Mauri Kunnas (Finnish author)
4) The Pirates of Caribean books(I know that the books are based on the movies,but I liked them)
5) The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis

 

[Talshere]

See I recently read hunger game because of the film ads. Awesome books and ones that Ive got my sister and my friend to read. We are all worried that a 12a just wont be violent enough to really apply the gravity needed for the games. If they dont make the games sufficiently horrific then books 2 and 3 will be pointless because they largly play on the mental trauma from being in the games. My friend has gone so far as to say she refuses to watch any further trailers or the film until I've seen it because she is convinced they are going to ruin it.

My Fave books atm. Hard choice:

Wheel Of Time. Im a fan boy, what can I say.

The Kingkiller Chronicles. They are just so well written and realised. Also, Patrick Rothfuss is a complete baller. Go check out his Golden Ticket thing if you dont believe me. Pure win.

The Magicians Guild. Again the characters are just so well realise.



Ive got these are my top 3 atm but to be fair they should joint places with many other books.

The Way Of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is only 1 book in and its already got me dying to know more.

Feist's books just in general but his first trilogy basically defined modern fantasy.

Jim Butcher with Codex Alera has done the only Romanic based fantasy I know of and the magic system is brilliant.

The Painted Man takes a different view of magic and demons to any series Ive read and I think the inspiration for the second book is just amazing, seeing the first book again but from a completely different perspective. Genius.

World War Z was so real while I was reading it I finished in in 1 sitting and had to look out my window when I finished to make sure it hadnt happened.

Ive read a lot meh books, but my list of books that I read again and again and again is impressively long. Imo, all of those books deserve to be in the top 3 and the ones I ACTUALLY picked at top 3 were largely due to primacy. Ive read them again recently. With the exception of WoT, because Im a fan boy.

 

[Acier]

Watch Battle Royale if you want to watch a violent version of the story that isn't made in a Twilight-like fashion.

It seems to be the exact same story but Battle Royale was written in 1999 and has two films already.

EDIT: OP: I just finished House of Leaves and it is amazing. Definitely worth a read.

I second that, and there appears to be a manga as well, but there's a weird trend where everyone likes the books, and then likes the movies OR the manga. But not both.

I should really read that again...


Bad Monekys, Shades of Grey, Chuck Klosterman essay collections I tend to adore. And I'm now starting to get into Faulkner and a Series called Wool. The first part was awesome, and the second was eh but it developed the world a lot more. So hopefully the 3-5 parts will return to the style of one but with the expository backing of 2

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

You didn't think The Road was good? Not even from a "not my thing but technically very clever" standpoint? The sparseness of the prose, the stripped down dialogue, patterned language dealing in disease and decay and sterility all creating a terrifyingly emotive post-appocalyptic wasteland? I mean hey, not enjoying it I can understand. I thought it certainly deserves a healthy amount of respect though. What put you off if you don't mind me asking?

The prose is simplistic to the point of being blatant, there's no mystery or poignancy to anything that is said. It can't be technically clever because there is no real "technique", not in the way that one could call, for instance, Woolf's "The Waves" interesting from a technical standpoint (being stream of consciousness). It wasn't bad, but it certainly didn't come across as a modern masterpiece or one of the most important novels of the last decade, or any of the other hyperbolic titles people were throwing at it.

And I love to debate books with people, so ask away!

@ All those who's read Nineteen Eighty-four - how many of you have read Zamyatin's "We", upon which Orwell based a lot of his material. It's an underrated classic.

 

[Vault101]

snip

after seeing trailers and stuff Im actuall pretty interested in the "hunger games" movie

the fact that I think it might come under "teen" is alittle off putting, but yeah hope its good, I may read the books

my favorite book EVER is Misery, by stephen king...at the time I didnt realise people can cut of other peoples feet in books

do comic books count? right now Im reading "Preacher" which is really cool, though the artist seems to have a thing with people getting their faces shot off