Author Topic: What are you reading? (Read 482801 times)

Rama · « **Reply #450 on:** Nov 17, 2010, 11:27:17 PM »

Quote from: Fiero on Nov 17, 2010, 03:29:13 PM

You could be disappointed with the writing.

It's not great, but when its not it makes me feel better about my own chances.

B E C K · « **Reply #451 on:** Nov 18, 2010, 09:44:30 PM »

Ha ha, same here. Whenever I think I'm a hack, I go read somebody else's stuff. Self esteem boost!

Rama · « **Reply #452 on:** Nov 19, 2010, 12:47:39 AM »

Exactly. This guy got published, so it can't be that hard.

Rama · « **Reply #453 on:** Dec 02, 2010, 12:37:05 AM »

Dune. My favorite book of all time, but not one I read often as it's kind of hard work to read it. It's not a nice, non-thinking throw away book. You gotta be fully invested in it to read it.

Fiero · « **Reply #454 on:** Dec 02, 2010, 03:56:22 PM »

I love Dune as well. I have read every book in the series including the ones his son did with Kevin J Anderson. I still love his original books as a whole more than the rest, but they had some great characters and concepts in the extended series as well.

Rama · « **Reply #455 on:** Dec 02, 2010, 04:16:53 PM »

You know what I didn't like about those later books his kid did, that he took the concepts his father did and twisted them to support his own story. That whole bit about the old woman and man really being Evermind and Earamus from his own books kinda pissed me off.

Fiero · « **Reply #456 on:** Dec 02, 2010, 04:55:56 PM »

I could see that upsetting, yes.

Rama · « **Reply #457 on:** Dec 02, 2010, 05:31:07 PM »

I mean I have no idea what Frank Herbert originally had in mind. He never got the chance to finish it, but I don't think his son knew what he had in mind there either to be honest.

Fiero · « **Reply #458 on:** Dec 02, 2010, 07:59:58 PM »

I could have sworn he had a large pile of notes from Herbert Sr, and I thought that was where all the writings were from, or perhaps that was only for a couple of the books he did.

Or maybe I am thinking of Tolkein's Children of Hurin (which is actually an excellent book).

Rama · « **Reply #459 on:** Dec 02, 2010, 11:19:52 PM »

There was a 40 page treatment he wrote for Dune 7, that they then turned into two books. So there was a lot padding there.

Rama · « **Reply #460 on:** Dec 06, 2010, 10:40:16 PM »

Done with Dune, now reading Dune: Messiah.

Rodent of Unusual Size · « **Reply #461 on:** Dec 06, 2010, 11:56:41 PM »

Quote from: Fiero on Dec 02, 2010, 07:59:58 PM

Or maybe I am thinking of Tolkein's Children of Hurin (which is actually an excellent book).

I enjoyed that one, as well, but I imagine it'd be pretty hard to get into for anyone who hasn't read Silmarillion yet.

Fiero · « **Reply #462 on:** Dec 07, 2010, 12:12:59 PM »

Do you think? I had read the Silmarillion, but I did not think it helped me all that much.

Rodent of Unusual Size · « **Reply #463 on:** Dec 08, 2010, 02:16:40 AM »

Well, Silmarillion is hard to get into unless you've read Silmarillion first.

Fiero · « **Reply #464 on:** Dec 08, 2010, 11:21:23 AM »

Quote from: Rodent of Unusual Size on Dec 08, 2010, 02:16:40 AM

Well, Silmarillion is hard to get into unless you've read Silmarillion first.

QFT

Rama · « **Reply #465 on:** Dec 17, 2010, 12:06:05 AM »

Finished Dune: Messiah.

Now I'm reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I've tried to read this before and didn't like it and stopped, and now I've returned to it and am giving it a second go. Not really liking it again so far, but I may just finish it to say I've read it.

B E C K · « **Reply #466 on:** Dec 19, 2010, 10:15:28 PM »

Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies. The graphic novel.

Rama · « **Reply #467 on:** Dec 20, 2010, 01:02:31 AM »

Yeah, didn't make it through it again. Instead I am now reading The Coming of Conan the Cimmeria by Robert E. Howard. It's a collection of Conan short stories.

Fiero · « **Reply #468 on:** Dec 20, 2010, 03:59:09 PM »

Quote from: B E C K on Dec 19, 2010, 10:15:28 PM

Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies. The graphic novel.

Ohhh, they did a GN? I actually enjoyed the book, but I think it was only due to the zombies.

B E C K · « **Reply #469 on:** Dec 20, 2010, 09:22:31 PM »

Yep, they did. I haven't read the book for PP&Z, but I am a fan of the original story.

Rama · « **Reply #470 on:** Jan 12, 2011, 01:49:04 PM »

The Complete Sherlock Homes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I think I'll be on this one for awhile...it's over a thousand pages and the text is a very small font. A Study in Scarlet ends on page 68. That's how small the text is.

Fiero · « **Reply #471 on:** Jan 12, 2011, 04:11:48 PM »

Halo: Cryptum, the first in the Forerunner Saga. I am enjoying enough to have gotten through almost halfway in a few days.

B E C K · « **Reply #472 on:** Jan 15, 2011, 12:05:01 AM »

Quote from: Rama on Jan 12, 2011, 01:49:04 PM

The Complete Sherlock Homes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I think I'll be on this one for awhile...it's over a thousand pages and the text is a very small font. A Study in Scarlet ends on page 68. That's how small the text is.

You reminded me that I have a copy of the Hound of Baskervilles so I started reading it at work. This job leaves a lot of time for reading. I got halfway through it so I'll hopefully finish it tomorrow.

Rama · « **Reply #473 on:** Jan 15, 2011, 12:54:06 AM »

Damn, I want your job. Course I've got in the habit for reading for hour or two before I go to sleep. I actually don't think I could go to sleep without doing it now.

B E C K · « **Reply #474 on:** Jan 15, 2011, 07:15:09 PM »

I tend to read my own stuff before I go to sleep. I used to sometimes read other people's stuff but if something in it didn't set right with me or made me angry, I'd just go to sleep angry or thinking about it for a good part of the night. Which I guess sometimes helped me go to sleep but not if I was angry about it. It has to be something I've already read and that I know I like.

Rama · « **Reply #475 on:** Jan 16, 2011, 12:15:23 AM »

I could never read my own stuff before going to bed. I'd keep me up all night thinking about what I could have done better. The lamp would keep snapping on and I'd be back at with the red pen. As soon as I though I got it the way I wanted it, something else would come up and I'd be back at it.

I do need to write more and read less though, or at least write as much as I read. Which I'm not doing at the moment.

Fiero · « **Reply #476 on:** Jan 17, 2011, 03:57:45 PM »

Remember with your own writing, at some point, you just have to say it's finished and never correct it again.

joe · « **Reply #477 on:** Jan 17, 2011, 11:27:41 PM »

My Kindle gets here tomorrow, at which point I will go Kindle kuh-raaaaaazeeeeee!

Finished reading The Name of the Wind, which was way better than I anticipated. It came out like three or four years ago, so I figured now I'll read the sequel, but AAAAAAHHH it's not out yet! March, I think, which is pretty sweet timing. Anyway, in a nutshell the book is like a more adult, badass version of Harry Potter, but that's kind of selling it short. I have to tell you though, every time the protagonist's college rival shows up all I could see was that fucking Draco Malfoy actor and it pissed me off and made me laugh at the same time, every time.

And The Crippled God comes out at the end of February and you damn well better believe I'm gonna shotgun that shit. If any epic fantasy series needs to be picked up as a film franchise, it's the Malazan Book of the Fallen. But it would have to be like 30 movies to get all the good stuff in there so it won't ever happen.

Which reminds me, HBO's Game of Thrones starts in April! Gonna be fucking sweet! George R.R. Martin needs to release A Dance With Dragons already, damn it!

B E C K · « **Reply #478 on:** Jan 17, 2011, 11:44:38 PM »

Quote from: Fiero on Jan 17, 2011, 03:57:45 PM

Remember with your own writing, at some point, you just have to say it's finished and never correct it again.

Yeah, I really fuck myself over at that stage which is probably why all of my stories are swiss cheese with not enough parts for anyone else to understand the entire plot.

Also, lol, that cover: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Name_of_the_Wind

joe · « **Reply #479 on:** Jan 17, 2011, 11:51:21 PM »

Haha! Wow, that's... pretty ugly. But still better than the generic one I got:

It's like... I dunno, an African backdrop, maybe? With a fucking Jedi in the foreground? Fantasy cover art is supposed to BLOW OUR MINDS. This is just the laziest of the lazy. I hope no one got paid for it. The author could have photoshopped that crap from existing art assets for all we know.