I just started reading Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon. It is about a writer stuck in a rut with a severe case of Writer's Block and how it consumes him.
So, what are you reading right now?
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Right now I've just about finished "Rubicon - The Triumphy and Tradgedy of the Roman Republic."
After watching the HBO/BBC miniseries "Rome" and playing a couple of Roman themed city builders, I decided it might be worth learning some actuall Roman history.
For anyone wanting to learn a bit about Rome, particularly about Roman culture and the rise (and fall) of Caeser, this is a really good book. It's very easy to pick up and read and little to no prior knowledge is required. The author (Tom Holland) constructs an easy to follow narrative that touches on history, culture and the personalities and excentrisities of some of the major figures like Caeser, Pompey and Sulla. It's a book I'd recomend to anyone with even the slightest interest in history.
After watching the HBO/BBC miniseries "Rome" and playing a couple of Roman themed city builders, I decided it might be worth learning some actuall Roman history.
For anyone wanting to learn a bit about Rome, particularly about Roman culture and the rise (and fall) of Caeser, this is a really good book. It's very easy to pick up and read and little to no prior knowledge is required. The author (Tom Holland) constructs an easy to follow narrative that touches on history, culture and the personalities and excentrisities of some of the major figures like Caeser, Pompey and Sulla. It's a book I'd recomend to anyone with even the slightest interest in history.
I'm re-reading the mortal engines quartet & Fever Crumb as they are together excellent novels. The quick background is after a nuclear war changes the landscape for good(the US is a giant crater), a couple thousand year's pass when the city of london decide's to get some tracks and eat other cities leading to every city doing the same, now add some fanatical hippies who don't like traction cities as they have turned most of europe, northern africa & south america into the somme, that's the first three books, the forth complicates it.Without going into spoiler's if steampunk & action is your thing order these books.
Currently working my way through Pillars of the Earth [http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliography/the_pillars_of_the_earth.html] by Ken Follett. It's set in the 12th century, it's kinda cool.
I read his newest book Fall of Giants without realizing it's the first of three books, so I have to wait for the next one to come out. D:
I read his newest book Fall of Giants without realizing it's the first of three books, so I have to wait for the next one to come out. D:
Currently reading
Clash of Kings - after watching game of thrones i went out and bought the entire series
and
Do Androids Dream of electric Sheep - its been on my to read list for some time.
Both of these books are excellent, would definitely recommend to any sci-fi or fantasy fan.
Clash of Kings - after watching game of thrones i went out and bought the entire series
and
Do Androids Dream of electric Sheep - its been on my to read list for some time.
Both of these books are excellent, would definitely recommend to any sci-fi or fantasy fan.
I'm reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I'm about 45% of the way through reading it... and considering that it's 35,000+ pages on my Kindle, that's saying something.
just finished the last Vladimir Tod book, I know its kind of childish but its nice to read a teenage coming of age story that's able to take itself not totally serious all the time. (also it was pretty adept at poking fun at Twilight). Also finished Romeo and Juliet for school, enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I ever thought I would as a kid. Now I just found that my Library has the entire first run of Ultimate Spider-man, about on book 14maninahat said:
I am reading three books right now, "The Wise Man's Fear" by Patrick Rothfuss which is the followup to "The Name of the Wind". George RR Martin recommended this author when years ago fans were hounding him about A Dance of Dragons. The books follow the exploits of a magic user/fighter who is now retired and works in an Inn. The best thing about the books is character development.
I am also reading Colin Wilson's "The Space Vampires" a pretty bad film adaption of this was made in the early 80s, a movie called Lifeforce. Mr Wilson cannot help heavy handing his immense crime/serial killer/speculative history knowledge into the fiction he writes but his ideas can be pretty darn cool and his prediction of future tech can be innovative.
Third is Cliver Barker's Galilee. Clive Barker is an amazing author sort of in the Hiyo Miyazaki way IE amazing feats of imagination. I recommend any and everything he has written. too bad his video game ideas are not nearly as good as his books.
I am also reading Colin Wilson's "The Space Vampires" a pretty bad film adaption of this was made in the early 80s, a movie called Lifeforce. Mr Wilson cannot help heavy handing his immense crime/serial killer/speculative history knowledge into the fiction he writes but his ideas can be pretty darn cool and his prediction of future tech can be innovative.
Third is Cliver Barker's Galilee. Clive Barker is an amazing author sort of in the Hiyo Miyazaki way IE amazing feats of imagination. I recommend any and everything he has written. too bad his video game ideas are not nearly as good as his books.
The first book is a little hard to get into because the show mirrors it, and adds characters and depth. However, I wanted to point out that after the first book, the show and the books diverge, and the books become better than the show. Just an FYI.MeatsOfEvil said:
To the OP: I am not actually reading anything at the moment. I am waiting for the newest Dexter book to come out in paperback. According to my information, both the newest book (in paperback) , and the season 5 dvd set come out in August. Can't wait!
Reading game of thrones too. You saved me the need of having to scroll to the bottom to write my comment.TheIronRuler said:
"Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation" by Joshua E London
And I am simply amazed how little has changed in the world in the last 220 years.
A while back I started reading non-fiction or historical fiction (I count Romance of Three Kingdoms in this category- a stylized viewpoint based portrayal of actual historical events) and ever since whenever I try to read fiction it always comes across as false and contrived... which is fair because it is. But there is a shallowness in most fiction that I find hard to accept. It's like the description Morpheus gives Neo of the matrix, "You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind". Honestly, Tolkien is the last fiction writer I read that felt had real lifelike depth- but that could be because I read them when I was 14 and I had a different view of what the real world was. The only other fiction I can handle is self-referential fiction like T.H. White's "Once and Future King", because it doesn't try to convince you that it's real.
And I am simply amazed how little has changed in the world in the last 220 years.
A while back I started reading non-fiction or historical fiction (I count Romance of Three Kingdoms in this category- a stylized viewpoint based portrayal of actual historical events) and ever since whenever I try to read fiction it always comes across as false and contrived... which is fair because it is. But there is a shallowness in most fiction that I find hard to accept. It's like the description Morpheus gives Neo of the matrix, "You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind". Honestly, Tolkien is the last fiction writer I read that felt had real lifelike depth- but that could be because I read them when I was 14 and I had a different view of what the real world was. The only other fiction I can handle is self-referential fiction like T.H. White's "Once and Future King", because it doesn't try to convince you that it's real.