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I read the first book in the discworld series.... just 34 more to go!
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Recently read: The colour of magic (didn't really finish it because I didn't like it enough)
Now reading: The Gardens of the Moon, first book of the The Malazan series (enoying it for now).
Soon enough: A Dance with Dragons. Unless it's really painful to read it in english, since it's not even my second language. If so, I will read something else (The daughter of Apocalypse for example) until the new books by Rothfuss and Martin are translated to spanish >< Which takes an awful long time.
I really like fantasy, and some of these books I bought because of this thread :D
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Just read:
Reading now:
I'm having trouble getting in to Foundation. Kinda thinking I might drop it and find something else that's more enjoyable.
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I have my readlist spread out between work, home and girlfriend's house. I'm currently reading all of the books below.
plus Tchaikovsky's biography by Anthony Holden, of which I can't find a good picture.
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Just read:
I have tried to read this book three times and have never been able to finish it. I didn't finish it this time either but got to a new record with 200 pages. I honestly don't get this book or the genre over all. So far Frodo and his mates have visited 3 homes where they ate, drank and slept alot. In between the house visits they sing and get in trouble. I hate to stop reading a book without finishing, but this is honestly torture for me. I just don't get the hype. To be fair, the swedish translated version I read is supposed to be horrible and translated by a man who later developed a deep seeded hatred for Tolkien fans and even wrote a book about it, claiming Tolkien fans did drugs and had sex orgies among other things at their meetings. Crazy stuff.
Reading now:
William Godwin was a priest, turning into an atheist and also considered to be one of the first anarchists. He was the husband of early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and father of Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein). Mary Shelley was in turn married to Percy Shelley - another outstanding british author from the romantic era. The adventures of Caleb Williams is often referred to as the first modern detective story. So this whole family with utilitarian and anarchistic ideals mixed with a solid detective story is like a dream come true for a literature student with anarcho capitalistic sympathies like myself. Have so far only read like 40 pages, but it shows a lot of promise.
Will read:
As a literature student this is something you should have read. This summer I'm trying to get through all the books I am supposed to have read and this one is first in line. Pretty much all my proffesors mentioned this book in different circumstances and claimed it to be as famous and important as for example Crime and Punishment. I was embarrased to have never heard of the book before and decided to get to it when I had time.
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On July 11 2011 00:49 Krigstar wrote:Just read: I have tried to read this book three times and have never been able to finish it. I didn't finish it this time either but got to a new record with 200 pages. I honestly don't get this book or the genre over all. So far Frodo and his mates have visited 3 homes where they ate, drank and slept alot. In between the house visits they sing and get in trouble. I hate to stop reading a book without finishing, but this is honestly torture for me. I just don't get the hype. To be fair, the swedish translated version I read is supposed to be horrible and translated by a man who later developed a deep seeded hatred for Tolkien fans and even wrote a book about it, claiming Tolkien fans did drugs and had sex orgies among other things at their meetings. Crazy stuff.
Can't say anything about the swedish translation, but i do know that the books are amazing and the story is well told.
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Just finished: The Passage
The prologue of the novel (first 250 pages) was amazing, but then the rest of the book is terrible, still recoomanded, just read the first 250 pages and then stop. Currently reading: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
It a true crime novel, or as some put it "creative non-fiction", so far its great. Also, the title of this novel is fucking AMAZING! Next on the list: Zombie Haiku
Got it as a gift, should be fun.
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The book is fairly old now, but nevertheless really good. Recommended. Loosely based on real events, though the names of practically every figure have been altered from their real life counterparts.
+ Show Spoiler [Premise] +Year 1600. Protestant skipper lands in Catholic-infested Japan, right in the middle of a big political turmoil. With the Catholic priests breathing down his neck, he quickly becomes an important figure and plays a role in the ascent of Toranaga (Tokugawa) as Shogun.
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A collection of his articles from The Guardian from ~2005-2007, funny stuff.
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United Kingdom16710 Posts
On July 10 2011 23:47 Daigomi wrote:Recently finished:A very strange but exceptionally well written historical fantasy novel. It's set during the Tang dynasty in China, and mixes storytelling with historical characters and events in such a way that I'm having difficulty telling what really happened and what didn't. Worth a read if you're looking for something different. Be warned: it can be quite slow at times. Currently reading:I was helping my girlfriend with her dissertation (Examination of Philip II's Military Developments) recently, and I decided to pick this up for source reading. I've got about 10 pages left, and it's quite good. It contains ten journal articles that look at ancient strategy (Persia to Rome) and loosely applies it to modern warfare. Topics inlcude urban warfare, propaganda, counterinsurgency and fortifications and frontier defense. It's interesting, but it's not pop-science/history so don't get it for light reading. Future reading: (deciding between) + Show Spoiler +I should be reading Nudge as it's relevant to my own dissertation (behavioural finance), but I'm not sure if I want to read another non-fiction book right now. The other two books should be nice and fun fantasies, so I'll probably go with one of them. I've read both The Wise Man's Fear and Red Seas Under Red Skies and recommend both. In my humble opinion, they're not as good as their respective prequels but certainly add more flavour and depth to the rich worlds the authors have created.
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Just Finished:
Currently Reading:
After about 9 months of struggling through Pynchon, I will read:
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On July 11 2011 04:05 bellhop wrote:Currently Reading: WHAT UP. That book is the tits.
Currently Reading:
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On July 11 2011 00:16 Senj wrote:Reading now: + Show Spoiler +I'm having trouble getting in to Foundation. Kinda thinking I might drop it and find something else that's more enjoyable.
Foundation starts slow, but once things begin to piece together, you'll find it hard to put down. The original trilogy (Foundation, Foundation & Empire, Second Foundation) is probably my favorite series by Asimov. Stick with it until the second book, at least.
As for myself:
Currently reading ASOIAF, obligatory since I saw Game of Thrones. I'm just about done with the first book and it's simply amazing how close the show kept to the story. One of the few instances where 'the book is always better than the movie' does not apply.
Afterwards, going to finish Dune. Apparently the series goes to shit after the first three, though, so I don't plan on reading any after Children.
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On July 11 2011 00:16 Senj wrote: I'm having trouble getting in to Foundation. Kinda thinking I might drop it and find something else that's more enjoyable.
I just finished the 3rd book in the series - it has it's down points, but overall the books are very enjoyable. I'd recommend getting through most of the first book at least before putting it down.
Just finished: Hard to follow at points, but he has a great writing style.
Currently reading:
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+ Show Spoiler +On July 11 2011 04:07 nemo14 wrote:WHAT UP. That book is the tits. Currently Reading:
Nemo14, I have Crytonomicon on my bookshelf. Gotta read it when I have a nice block of time. From what I hear, it's the ultimate geek novel. :D
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Just finished:
Reading now:
Next read: Not exactly sure, might read
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I haven't finished anything recently (in the past 6 months at least). I went halfway through Demons by Dostoevsky before losing momentum.
Now reading: Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre A very odd novel in that a lot of the text is direct experiential observations of the narrator as to what his mind experiences, as opposed to familiar structures of description of action. Breaks it down to more fundamental components and is one of the main canonical pieces of existential writing.
To me (I'm almost finished), it ends up very powerful once it all comes together even though portions of it are quite obtuse (or I just get lost in unfamiliar territory because I'm not used to the different structure in writing what's in the mind--and not really a normal person mind) and I will sit there having to go over it multiple times to figure out what he's saying exactly and digest it.
I need something lighter next though, not sure what yet. Nausea also will get you snared in existential malaise if you are prone to that or not ready to fight it off.
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finished:
reading:
Planning to read:
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