What are you reading?

[Togs]

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (one hard slog of a read)
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (Fun popcorn stuff)

And Ive just order Vol 1 of Hell Boy off Amazon, really really excited.

 

[Violator[xL]]

Antony Beevor's Stalingrad
I forgot the title, but a book based on a diary from a French soldier in WW1
Discworld - Wyrd Sisters

 

[MrTwo]

Well right now I'm reading 'The Fort' by Bernard Cornwell. Its a historical fiction novel set in the late 1700s. I read all of his Sharpe series (again, historical fiction) and loved them so I've tried some of his other books. So far, so good.

Skulduggery Pleasant; Playing With Fire.
Second book in the series, I'm rereading them because the new one came out not too long ago but I forgot what happened.

Apart from the occasional delve into the Artemis Fowl books, they're pretty much all I read.

Ah, good old Artemis Fowl. I've read every book in that series (except for the latest ones) around four times.

At the moment, nothing. I just finished book four of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' and waiting for book five to be released on paperback. Also waiting for the paperback version of the latest(s) 'Wheel of Time' books.

I'm gonna start A Game of Thrones soon, what did you think of them?

 

[Ambassador Kosh]

Frank Herbet's Dune, being the Sci-Fi nut that I am. I'm also keeping an eye out for the Worldwar series by Harry Turtledove, after having read a summary of them.

 

[Artina89]

The most recent books I have read have been:

Cujo- Stephen King
Misery- Stephen King
The Dilbert principle- Scott Adams
Full dark, no stars - Stephen King
5 very good reasons to punch a Dolphin in the mouth (and other useful guides)- The Oatmeal
Molecular symmetry and group theory 2nd edition- Alan Vincent

I do like my Stephen King, but when I read 5 very good reasons to punch a dolphin in the mouth I hadn't laughed so hard in years.

 

[BringBackBuck]

Now personally I don't think Stephen King is really good at creating characters

Get into The Dark Tower series.

OT: Just finished Peter f. Hamilton's void trilogy last night. Good original nerdy sci-fi stuff.

 

[Phisi]

some Clive Cusslers, the fiction ones... involving boats.

 

[Ultress]

Just some manga series:

Bunny Drop: Slice of life story about a guy adjusting to living for more than just himself and raising his grandpa's illegitimate love child.Unfortunately the only volumes out so far have been covered by the (excellent) anime. So I wait till March for the time skip material

Sayonara Zetsubuo Sensei: Been reading this passively when ever I find a volume.While Shaft usually adds quite a bit to the chapters they animate,the ones they don't are equally hilarious.Plus they have an awesome translation team,which is really needed in the pun heavy dialog.

Girlfriends: An okay Yuri manga about a two girls and their blossoming relationship.Focuses more on the shy Mari as she struggles with her feelings for her new best friend. A very sweet series that is more than lesbian are hot.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

Frank Herbet's Dune, being the Sci-Fi nut that I am. I'm also keeping an eye out for the Worldwar series by Harry Turtledove, after having read a summary of them.

I bought Dune brand new for £3 the other day. Success! I likely won't get a chance to read it for a while though. Also, Any guy with the surname Turtledove must write good books!

 

[thylasos]

At the moment it's a mixture of-

The Russian Experiment in Art 1863-1922 - Camilla Gray

Daily Life in Russia Under the Last Tasr -Henri Troyat

Petersburg - Andrei Bely

Soul Music - Terry Pratchett

and I'm trying to finish

Antony & Cleopatra - William Shakespeare

 

[rohansoldier]

I am currently reading Sons of Thunder by Giles Kristian. It is a semi-historical tale of a band of Norse warriors in Christian England and Europe. It is an interesting and amusing read thus far but if you plan to read it, get the Raven book first by the same author as Sons of Thunder is the second novel in a trilogy.

 

[Koroviev]

Presently, Woman in the Dunes, a Kafkaesque tale courtesy of Kobo Abe. Was also reading Good Omens, but my interest has tapered off somewhat. Would like to start Richard III in the near future. Also, very much looking forward to Haruki Murakami's latest novel, 1Q84, slated for release at the end of this month.

Good Omens is a good read although I think the hype surrounding it by the time I got my hands on it's pages somewhat ruined the effect. What is Murakami like? I hear many people praise the name but am still unsure about picking up a title.

Good Omens is not a bad light read, so I'll probably get around to finishing it when I am contending with a more difficult book.

Haruki Murakami is probably my favorite living author. His stories are generally surrealist, although the novel that made him famous, Norwegian Wood, is not. With respect to recommended titles, it really depends on the person. One friend of mine really prefers Norwegian Wood, an elegiac coming-of-age story set in the 1960s, whereas another friend of mine really enjoyed Kafka on the Shore. Another excellent one is The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, although it is rather long (628 pages in the Vintage edition).

I would have a pretty difficult time deciding between the three of them, so I'll just take a moment to highlight some key differences. Norwegian Wood is one of his earlier novels, but other than the lack of a surrealist element, one would probably be hard-pressed to tell. The story has interesting, albeit realistic, characters. It is only about 300 pages and it is a very good book. Kafka on the Shore is very surrealist and features a remarkable cast of characters, among them an elderly man who can talk to cats, a boy haunted with an Oedipus complex, and Colonel Sanders (I'm serious). The chapters frequently alternate on the basis of perspective, a feature that one of my friends found a bit frustrating. Wind-up Bird Chronicle was written in the years between the other novels. Its pacing is a bit odd, but it serves a purpose. Namely, to send you reeling as you approach the end of a (purposefully) mundane section that is sent off with some form of bold, often violent, event. The story really focuses on one man, although, make no mistake, there is no shortage of bizarre characters in this one either.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

Murakami Recommendation Snip

Long novels don't faze me; I'm an exceptionally fast ready anyway so it's not a problem.

Kafka on the Shore sounds right up my street with regards to the characters you outlined. Postmodern/surrealist/absurdist fiction is something I have grown to love, even more so after having specialised in it at uni. Does it have much - if anything - to do with Franz Kafka? I only ask because I've been on a Kafka binge recently.

Wind-up Bird Chronicle sounds interesting, and not unlike Paul Auster's (a favourite author of mine) work with regards to mundanity being blasted with short moments of violence. If anything, it also sounds a little like American Psycho, although I doubt Murakami's violence is quite to the same extremes as Ellis's.

Thank you for your opinions on the three novels. I'm going to go out and buy Kafka on the Shore once I've got through all the other books I have to read.

Also, Good Omens may be a "light read" but it's religious satire and themes are exceptional throughout. Just thought I'd throw that out there = P

 

[Koroviev]

Murakami Recommendation Snip

Long novels don't faze me; I'm an exceptionally fast ready anyway so it's not a problem.

Kafka on the Shore sounds right up my street with regards to the characters you outlined. Postmodern/surrealist/absurdist fiction is something I have grown to love, even more so after having specialised in it at uni. Does it have much - if anything - to do with Franz Kafka? I only ask because I've been on a Kafka binge recently.

Wind-up Bird Chronicle sounds interesting, and not unlike Paul Auster's (a favourite author of mine) work with regards to mundanity being blasted with short moments of violence. If anything, it also sounds a little like American Psycho, although I doubt Murakami's violence is quite to the same extremes as Ellis's.

Thank you for your opinions on the three novels. I'm going to go out and buy Kafka on the Shore once I've got through all the other books I have to read.

Also, Good Omens may be a "light read" but it's religious satire and themes are exceptional throughout. Just thought I'd throw that out there = P

Based on what I recall, I'd say no. If you're looking for a Japanese author channeling Kafka, then I would read Woman in the Dunes.

And I agree that Good Omens is a pretty humorous satire. However, reading it makes me want to read The Master and Margarita again.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

I WAS reading Treasure Island but I barely have time for it with all the work I have. Just finished Mrs. Dalloway by Woolf a few weeks ago for a class.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

I WAS reading Treasure Island but I barely have time for it with all the work I have. Just finished Mrs. Dalloway by Woolf a few weeks ago for a class.

What did you think of Mrs. Dalloway? I, personally, fucking hated it. It's only redeeming feature was Septimus.

If you're looking for a Japanese author channeling Kafka, then I would read Woman in the Dunes

Oh no, I'm not looking for anything Kafka-esque...I was just wondering as his name is in the title lol. I just looked up The Master and Margarita and that sounds amazing.

Being highly interested in Russian Literature, I'm going to assume you've read War and Peace and Crime and Punishment? I bought both for about £3 from a used book shop but haven't had the time to read them yet. Crime and Punishment sounds pretty amazing but I'm skeptical of War and Peace because of how extraordinarily difficult people say it is.

I'm currently browsing Amazon, looking at Murakami books. He has so many! I wish I'd heard more about him 5 years ago. = [

 

[mental_looney]

Currently reading the devil in amber by mark gatiss, just finished the vesuvius club and then got black butterfly to read, funny light reading, waiting on the new haruki murakami book as well