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Post by Shevy on Feb 28, 2004 8:58:21 GMT -5
Not too long ago I finally got around to reading Stephen King's It. Definitely not a bad book, but hardly one of his best like everybody was proclaiming when I confessed I had never read it. At roughly 1,100 pages long, you would think King could spread out the character development a bit more.
Currently reading this book called "Chosen Prey" by John Sanford. Never heard of the guy, but a friend of mine let me borrow it. Not my style, really, being a police/detective drama and all, but at least it's short and the story moves right along even though the characters are incredibly underdeveloped. Then again, I should have read all the prequels before reading this one if I wanted to get a better vision of all the characters.
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Post by OneEye on Feb 28, 2004 13:31:23 GMT -5
Right now, I'm reading King's Insomnia. Just because I had finished my other book and this was sitting on my wife's nightstand. I'm not a big King fan, but have maybe read a half dozen of his titles. I enjoy the level of detail that he goes into, sometimes taking what seems like forever to describe only a little bit of what's going on.
This book doesn't seem to be one of the creepier ones. I'ts basically about a guy that loses sleep and what starts happening to him. I'm enjoying it anyway. Maybe the really weird stuff will happen towards the end.
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Post by Shevy on Feb 28, 2004 13:46:42 GMT -5
An old roommate of mine used to be a huge King fan, but he only loved the classics. Hated the new stuff. Anyway, he ended up reading thruogh Insomnia for the hell of it and he loved it.
I haven't read it personally, although I do love King. I've read around 25 - 30 of his books, I think.
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Post by sc00ts on Mar 1, 2004 8:33:14 GMT -5
I can't stand Stephen King.... ugh.
I'm about 500 pages into Micheal Moorcock's Von Bek right now. I don't really consider myself a big fan of fantasy stuff, but Moorcock hits me just right (and he played with Hawkwind!). He's one of the few fantasy writers I've read who doesn't just ape Tolkien or sound like he rolled up his novel using an old D&D manual and a 20 sided die. Anyway, good stuff as always.
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Post by Shevy on Mar 1, 2004 11:43:09 GMT -5
That's cool. Actually, I have a hard time reading fantasy stuff, as well. The only fantasy stuff I've read all the way through was the original Dragonlance Chronicles (I actually really enjoyed that), and some Dungeons & Dragons book (finished it because by the time I got some new reading material I only had about 50 pages left to go). Can't even remember the name of that one, but it was fucking horrid.
Old people are to romance novels as teenagers are to fantasy novels.
None the less, when my stash of reading material simmers down a little I'll have to look into that one.
Also, out of curiosity, what do you not like about King?
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Post by sc00ts on Mar 1, 2004 15:44:53 GMT -5
I've always just felt King was a hack. His stuff doesn't interest me at all. I got into HP Lovecraft as a kid and frankly no 'horror' writer is ever going to match up to him in my eyes. HPL never had to resort to the cheap gore/sex like King or Barker, but he still manages to pen a tale ten thousand times more terrifying than some bullshit about a killer car or an incestuous werecat family. Bleh.
Shev, I read that same Dragonlance trilogy as a kid and I totally loved it. I just reread it a year or two ago and couldn't believed I had ever enjoyed it, haha. That really is the epitome of the LOTR-swiping/d20 school of fantasy writing. That series was actually written to provide background for (and get readers psyched for) the new series of AD&D expansion modules TSR introduced in the early 80s.
I'm really into Moorcock's Eternal Champion cycle. It's like a series of 15 or so separate trilogies all set in different times/places, but are all interconnecting in a larger mythology. Everything I've read so far has been really good stuff (the Elric, Corum, Hawkmoon, Von Bek series). Obviously this guy was influential, Deep Purple's "Stormbringer" is a reference to Elric as is the band Tygers of Pan Tang. His work with Hawkwind has already been noted.
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Post by unclemeat on Mar 2, 2004 8:55:54 GMT -5
Harry Potter and the Prisoner...
The art of war
The dragonlance series rocks. Recently a friend of mine lent me the annonted chronicles. It was all three books in one, hardcover, with notes from the authors. Pretty cool
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Post by Shevy on Mar 2, 2004 14:18:35 GMT -5
If you like The Art Of War let me know. I have a great book for you to read.
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Post by unclemeat on Mar 2, 2004 14:48:51 GMT -5
I have a great book for you to read. Swank |
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Post by Shevy on Mar 11, 2004 13:29:24 GMT -5
Just finished Current Prey last night. Not bad, although you really need to start at the beginning of the series. Plus, the climax was way too quick, but it did catch me off guard a little.
The financial geek in me started reading The Beardstown Ladies' Stitch-In-Time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg: Step-By-Step Planning for a Comfortable Financial Future. It's hokey, but the English is smooth for anybody interested in finance.
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Post by unclemeat on Mar 15, 2004 9:50:07 GMT -5
Finished w/ Potter
Just started w/ Angles and Deamons. By the author of Da Vinci Code
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Post by Shevy on Mar 15, 2004 9:58:39 GMT -5
No shit. A buddy of mine at work just let me borrow the DaVinci Code last Friday. As soon as I finish up with what I'm reading right now I'm going to check it out.
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Post by Shevy on Mar 16, 2004 5:13:50 GMT -5
Just finished The Beardstown Ladies' Stitch-In-Time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg: Step-By-Step Planning for a Comfortable Financial Future. There was roughly 100 pages of good, basic information in there, but the rest was either written for people over the age of 70 or to talk about how much they kick financial ass. It gets a big old "eh..." from me.
Started The Da Vinci Code last night. Not too far into it, but so far it rocks.
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Post by unclemeat on Mar 30, 2004 10:38:07 GMT -5
Finished w/ Angle and Deamons. Really well done with lots of information and some nice twists. THe last 30 or so pages felt forced.
Im wating for Jenn to finish Da Vinci code so we can switch.
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Post by Shevy on Apr 7, 2004 7:58:23 GMT -5
Just finished The Da Vinci Code last night. Easily one of the best books I have ever read. Now I must hunt down everything else Dan Brown has written.
If you at all have any interest in secret societies, symbolism, crytology, conspiracy theories, and religeon, this book should be right up your alley. The only downfall is the fact that the murder mystery aspect of the book is shaky at best.
Now reading Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.
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Post by unclemeat on Apr 7, 2004 14:48:20 GMT -5
I'm about 150 pages into the Da Vinci Code.
I remeber Jenn reading it and throwing the book when she came to parts that made her mad.
Make sure you read angles and deamons. I'll lend it to you when Jenn is finished
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Post by Shevy on Apr 8, 2004 4:47:42 GMT -5
Swank.
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Post by Shevy on Apr 8, 2004 8:19:18 GMT -5
Just finished Tao Te Ching. Great read if you are interested in Taoism, but definitely one of those books that need to be read a few times through.
A buddy of mine let me borrow a different Beardstown Ladies book, so I'll burn through that. I don't have the slightest idea what else they could write about unless they released a weekly newsletter updating their financial decisions. We'll see if it's better than the other one I read.
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Post by Shevy on Apr 14, 2004 4:20:33 GMT -5
Just finished reading "The Beardstown Ladies' Guide to Smart Spending for Big Savings: How to Save for a Rainy Day Without Sacrificing Your Lifestyle". It was fucking horrible. You have to be an utter moron to get absolutely anything out of this book. Basically just a bunch of uninformed old ladies pinching pennies. Absolute garbage. Stick to stocks and bonds you dried up old prunes.
Now reading "White Line Fever: Lemmy - The Biography". One of the poorest written books I've picked up since "It's True! It's True!", but just as entertaining as "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions Of A B Movie Actor".
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Post by Shevy on May 18, 2004 7:22:44 GMT -5
Just finished with Lemmy's autobiography. Don't read it for anything except the humor.
Now working on Clive Barker's "Authorized Biography" called The Dark Fantastic. Don't have the author's name in front of me, but I want to say it's by Douglass E. Winter.
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