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On March 12 2013 02:08 zedi wrote: Reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. The propaganda is almost getting to me, although it's a good book.
read this in 8th grade and was a little objectivist for 2 weeks until I realized that was no way for a civilized person to behave.
it's not a good book, though, I'm afraid.
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I have my doubts about can something everybody agrees is propaganda can be a good novel. "A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left" once said a wise man (who didn't listen too much to his own advice :p )
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Hmm, I would add in a bit of my own derision, but I think the proper bases have been covered. The Cult of the Individual is no place for us humans.
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United States15275 Posts
The Overflowing Brain by Torkel Klingberg is pretty good, I'm only up to Chapter 3 though.
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@CCa1ss1e i remember i thought the start was dry, but it was one of my favorite books for a long time. i don't remember it well enough, but i was a huge fingolfin fanboy back in the day.
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+ Show Spoiler +On March 10 2013 19:19 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On March 07 2013 18:43 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On March 03 2013 03:46 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On February 28 2013 15:44 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On February 28 2013 04:35 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On February 22 2013 02:30 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On February 08 2013 15:04 packrat386 wrote:Just Finished: ![[image loading]](http://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/data/media/55/HME-3-LAYS-BELERIAND-port.jpg) I thought the poetry was really beautiful. Apparently tolkein discarded the works to write LotR (since the general public wanted more action) and I find that really tragic. I'm in the middle of: which is a really amazing book. As the author walks you through, you essentially start from batteries, wires, and electromagnets, and you end up building an entire computer. Its really crazy and I can't wait to finish it. Just finished And I must say its one of the best books I've ever read. I'm now going to go back to reading ![[image loading]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mgJAVETTL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) which I was about halfway through when I inexplicably stopped it. Its a very interesting book about how the practice of wargaming has developed from its inception in the 1950s to the time the book was written (I believe '85). Its a bit dated, but still a pretty insightful look at how predictions and foreign policy go hand in hand. After finishing War Games I decided to pick up a flashy spy novel ![[image loading]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Ie3QzcHlL.jpg) I really like Dan Silva books, and I actually finished this one in a single day (oops). If anyone is looking for a quick read and is into the suspense/spy novel type of books I can recommend this quite highly. After that I picked up ![[image loading]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TBuaw679Q0I/ThzCA9_rtSI/AAAAAAAAARQ/xaJzy0Dw1yw/s1600/when-you-are-engulfed-in-flame.jpg) Which I've heard is quite a good book. I would have gotten another spy novel but I need to wait until just before my flight on friday so I'll have something to read on the plane. EDIT: I've realized that the picture I chose was actually for the CD version, but it was the nicest picture I could find :/ It feels weird to post again so soon, but I've actually just finished When You Are Engulfed In Flames. I hope to be able to read some more stuff by Sedaris soon, as these short pieces were particularly good. I really enjoyed the descriptions he gave of everyday experiences and feelings and the way that he jumped from topic. I've decided to go from there and revisit an author that I liked a lot in high school, and thus I'm reading ![[image loading]](http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5319/13438447.jpg) which I think I should like quite a bit. Finished Hemingway on the plane. I find that his style of writing for the short stories is really excellent. He doesn't have to write a lot but he can pack a lot of meaning into a 4 page story. I picked this up in case I needed something else to read on the plane I really like these kind of cheap thrills paperback novels so I'll be glad to have another one to read. I finished prince of fire relatively quickly. I thought the overall plot for the series took an interesting turn with this book, but we'll see how it goes. Once again I highly recommend silva. For a nice read on vacation I decided to pick up ![[image loading]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/ac/d8/fff353a09da06bb0bae94110.L.jpg) because I've always liked the idea of the hardboiled detective genre and I figured I should start from the beginning. I also just feel like mentioning, I really love this thread. So many people sharing good books. Posting with an anddroid is hard so i'll keep it short. Finished the maltese falcon and it was great, I'm looking forward to exploring the genre. Travelling again so I picked up the next silva book on my list ![[image loading]](http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9780141026718/the-messenger.jpg) Should be good!
Dan Silva as usual did not disappoint, although it seems like hes kind of running himself into a corner with the series. It will be interesting for me at least to see how he resolves some of the tensions he's built up in the storyline.
Since I liked the first freakonomics I decided to pick up the second book
![[image loading]](http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780060889586_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG)
which seems like it should be good.
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On March 12 2013 02:07 E.L.V.I.S wrote:![[image loading]](http://www.sfreviews.net/large_covers/name_of_the_wind.jpg) Very very good !
Such a great book. If book 3 doesn't come out soon I'm gonna become unbearable to those around me.
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Currently reading killer elite (formerly know as The Feathermen) by Ranulph Fiennes. They made a movie of it but as usual not sure the movie does justice.
Finished in recent times'ish: No easy day- mark owen American sniper ( I think thts the name) - chris kyle.
Busy with: The maltese code - robert ludlum.
Love my spy fi stuff which roberts works usually do well to cover, also those 2 biographies were interesting.
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+ Show Spoiler +On March 12 2013 23:34 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On March 10 2013 19:19 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On March 07 2013 18:43 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On March 03 2013 03:46 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On February 28 2013 15:44 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On February 28 2013 04:35 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On February 22 2013 02:30 packrat386 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On February 08 2013 15:04 packrat386 wrote:Just Finished: ![[image loading]](http://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/data/media/55/HME-3-LAYS-BELERIAND-port.jpg) I thought the poetry was really beautiful. Apparently tolkein discarded the works to write LotR (since the general public wanted more action) and I find that really tragic. I'm in the middle of: which is a really amazing book. As the author walks you through, you essentially start from batteries, wires, and electromagnets, and you end up building an entire computer. Its really crazy and I can't wait to finish it. Just finished And I must say its one of the best books I've ever read. I'm now going to go back to reading ![[image loading]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mgJAVETTL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) which I was about halfway through when I inexplicably stopped it. Its a very interesting book about how the practice of wargaming has developed from its inception in the 1950s to the time the book was written (I believe '85). Its a bit dated, but still a pretty insightful look at how predictions and foreign policy go hand in hand. After finishing War Games I decided to pick up a flashy spy novel ![[image loading]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Ie3QzcHlL.jpg) I really like Dan Silva books, and I actually finished this one in a single day (oops). If anyone is looking for a quick read and is into the suspense/spy novel type of books I can recommend this quite highly. After that I picked up ![[image loading]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TBuaw679Q0I/ThzCA9_rtSI/AAAAAAAAARQ/xaJzy0Dw1yw/s1600/when-you-are-engulfed-in-flame.jpg) Which I've heard is quite a good book. I would have gotten another spy novel but I need to wait until just before my flight on friday so I'll have something to read on the plane. EDIT: I've realized that the picture I chose was actually for the CD version, but it was the nicest picture I could find :/ It feels weird to post again so soon, but I've actually just finished When You Are Engulfed In Flames. I hope to be able to read some more stuff by Sedaris soon, as these short pieces were particularly good. I really enjoyed the descriptions he gave of everyday experiences and feelings and the way that he jumped from topic. I've decided to go from there and revisit an author that I liked a lot in high school, and thus I'm reading ![[image loading]](http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5319/13438447.jpg) which I think I should like quite a bit. Finished Hemingway on the plane. I find that his style of writing for the short stories is really excellent. He doesn't have to write a lot but he can pack a lot of meaning into a 4 page story. I picked this up in case I needed something else to read on the plane I really like these kind of cheap thrills paperback novels so I'll be glad to have another one to read. I finished prince of fire relatively quickly. I thought the overall plot for the series took an interesting turn with this book, but we'll see how it goes. Once again I highly recommend silva. For a nice read on vacation I decided to pick up ![[image loading]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/ac/d8/fff353a09da06bb0bae94110.L.jpg) because I've always liked the idea of the hardboiled detective genre and I figured I should start from the beginning. I also just feel like mentioning, I really love this thread. So many people sharing good books. Posting with an anddroid is hard so i'll keep it short. Finished the maltese falcon and it was great, I'm looking forward to exploring the genre. Travelling again so I picked up the next silva book on my list ![[image loading]](http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9780141026718/the-messenger.jpg) Should be good! Dan Silva as usual did not disappoint, although it seems like hes kind of running himself into a corner with the series. It will be interesting for me at least to see how he resolves some of the tensions he's built up in the storyline. Since I liked the first freakonomics I decided to pick up the second book ![[image loading]](http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780060889586_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG) which seems like it should be good.
Welp, I finished up Superfreakonomics. Excellent book, but it really wasn't terribly long. I found the discussion on the cheap and easy methods of preventing the adverse effects of global warming extremely interesting.
Given that I liked the Hemingway short stories I read before I decided to check this out of our uni library
![[image loading]](http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347965589l/46170.jpg)
I found it kind of funny that for some reason there are about 7 missing copies of this in the library records. Hopefully it will be good.
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I finally started reading Crime and Punishment. I'm not sure why I never had to read it in high school but I'm hoping that it lives up to it's reputation.
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I've just finished reading Worm by Wildbow. Its a web fiction series that updates twice a week with ~8-10k chapters. Currently at 1 million plus words, its about a teenage girl who manifests a superpower. Don't let the premise put you off.
This is a really really good story, it has amazing characterisation, and phenomenal world building, And best of all, its free. I wasn't originally a fan as I read the first few chapters, but by 4-5~ I was hooked and marathoned all 1M words in a couple days. It has its faults, but I would still give it a 5/5 stars, 10 out of 10 rating and 100% without having to think about it.
Give it a chance and you wont be dissapointed.
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On March 05 2013 05:02 Syn Harvest wrote:Just finished The First Law trilogy and it was fantastic. Glokta is one of my favorite characters in the fantasy genre. Such a great series. The ending was a bit of a let down in my opinion. I know he has three more books based in the same world so I must ask. + Show Spoiler +Do you find out what happens to Logen? In any of the stand alone books or are they simpply different stories set in the same world? So now to figure out what to read next. Im thinking about The Way of Kings by Sanderson. Has anyone read it? And if so was it good?
He is not in "The Heroes" nor in "Best served Cold", but if you read Red Country you will eventually find out what has happened to him.
And yes Glokta is badass but i still favor Logan since he is + Show Spoiler +
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I'm reading several books right now, all of which are to help me become a better writer hahahahaah... yeah I'm really fun right . Anyways
![[image loading]](http://i43.tower.com/images/mm100296481/poetic-meter-form-paul-fussell-paperback-cover-art.jpg) Poetic Meter & Poetic Form by Paul Fussell is absolutely amazing the book is absurdly deep for only being 180 pages, though I probably need to read it again since its above my level.
![[image loading]](http://michellerafter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/On-Writing-Well.jpg) On Writing Well is a popular book on how to write more effectively. It teaches the reader fairly well, and it definitely helps writers avoid pitfalls so that their writing evolves faster, though it won't make you god at writing just like that.
![[image loading]](http://i43.tower.com/images/mm101107025/all-funs-in-how-you-say-thing-explanation-timothy-steele-hardcover-cover-art.jpg) Another poetic criticism book . To be honest, I've heard great things about the two I'm reading now, their main purpose to me is to show me clear, precise, and effective non-fiction writing since the two authors are noted writing authorities (on poetry at least).
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i'm trying to learn how to write good dialogue. anyone got a suggestion? i'm looking at books i like and seeing how those authors create conversation (like the balance they strike between actual talking and description and their use of said/uttered/shouted/etc.). writing manuals or guides would be nice too.
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Just finished Silver Lining Playbook. Tugging at some heart strings.
Began reading Ender's Game.
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