Read any good books lately? [Archive]

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AdamKadmon43

Jul 7, 2007, 3:00 PM

Whenever I meet new people, I am always quite curious as to what sort of books they like to read. It tells me something about them, and I often find that if we have similar literary tastes, we have other common ground also.

My own personal choices in literature are somewhat diverse (like certain other aspects of my life). A few of the works that I have read recently, and would highly recommended are:

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. The earliest of these seven novels were written some years back, but I never read them because I never much cared for his bizarre and macabre hack style. This is completely different and I am glad that I gave it a chance. He had me at volume one.

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Fiction. In addition to other things, it gives fascinating insights into Afghan culture.

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem. An excellent piece of fiction that looks at the strange world of Tourette's syndrome.

The Truth about Mohammed by Robert Spencer. Granted it is somewhat biased, but it makes a good counterpoint to the apolegetic books on Isam by Karen Armstrong.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I could go on and on about that one.

State of Denial by Bob Woodward. I don't know how he got all that private information, or whether most of it is even accurate, but if it is, it tells you a lot about George Bush.

The Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. Just some good, entertaining, easy read fluff.

Some things that I have re-read recently just because it has been a long time, and they are worth re-reading: The Great Gatsby, Picture of Dorian Gray, Mark Twain's Letters To The Earth.

I try to avoid going to bookstores unless I have a specific book in mind because if I just start browsing, I wind up spending a lot more money than I should. So if anyone would care to follow up on this and post the title of any recent books that have impressed you, I would appreciate it. Always looking for something new to read, and this could be an interesting way to find it.

Adam

Skater Boy

Jul 7, 2007, 3:09 PM

I try to avoid going to bookstores unless I have a specific book in mind because if I just start browsing, I wind up spending a lot more money than I should.

Adam

Yup, me too. I've amassed a small collection of psychology, sociology and philosophy books over the years. Some of which, I have yet to even read! my latest acquisition is a book called: "Sexual Desire: A Philosophical Investigation"

http://www.amazon.com/Sexual-Desire-Philosophical-Roger-Scruton/dp/0826480381/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-3070470-6557240?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183835274&sr=1-1

Although tbh, it doesn't cover much on BIsexuality.

cand86

Jul 7, 2007, 4:43 PM

I just finished reading T.C. Boyle's "The Inner Circle", about sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, from the fictionalized perspective of one of his assistants. It was really, really good- absorbing from start to finish, and with a wirting style that made me seek out some more of the author's works (I'm reading "The Road To Wellville" now).

I've also decided to start boning up on my erotic classics, so I've cleaned my library out with Elizabeth McNeill's "9 1/2 Weeks", D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover", Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer", Anais Nin's "Delta of Venus", and Paul Reagne's "Story of O". So I've got my list full of "To Reads" pretty big at the moment.

Assuming somebody pays attention to my birthday list, in about a month I'll be thoroughly giggling over Stephen Colbert's "I Am America: And So Can You!". Fingers crossed!

Other favorites of mine: "The Mists of Avalon" and "Firebrand" by Marion Zimmer Bradley, "Wigfield" by Amy Sedaris/Paul Dinello/Stephen Colbert, "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris, "How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Friendship, Theft, and Musical Theater" by Mark Acito, "The Leather Daddy and the Femme" by Carol Queen, "The Book of Night with Moon" by Diane Duane, everything, but particularly "The Wee Free Men", by Terry Pratchett, "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand, "Dangerous Angels" by Francesca Lia Block, "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden, the Meredith K. Gentry series by Laruell K. Hamilton, everything from Michael Crichton, but particularly "Sphere", "White Mare's Daughter" by Judith Tarr, "Jigsaw Woman" by Kim Antieau, almost everything from Graham Joyce, especially "Indigo", "The Tooth Fairy", and "Dark Sister", everything from Chuck Palahniuk, particularly "Fight Club", "Invisible Monsters", and "Lullabye", Emma Holly's "Strange Attractions", Ann Heredeen's "Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander: a Bisexual Regency Romance", everything by Pat Califia, but especially "Public Sex", "Just Add Hormones" by Matt Kailey, "The Drag Queen of Elfland" by Lawrence Schimel, "Pomosexuals" by Carol Queen, and "Peep Show" by Mathilde Madden. All those stick in my head, left a big impression, and I own.

And I agree with you, AdamKadmon- I love knowing what other people read, too. It tells you a lot about somebody.

Azrael

Jul 7, 2007, 6:41 PM

I'm reading Henry Miller's 'The Air Conditioned Nightmare'. All about man's separation from nature and the "spiritual and aesthetic vaccum" the "civilized world" has become. I'm also reading Einstein's special and General theory of relativity. What a headfuck that is. I'm at a loss due to my poor understanding of geoetry. I kinda doubt I'll finish that one. Also I'm reading 'Bi any other name' again :) Aside from that, doing more writing than reading as of late, even if it is just mostly revision of older works ;)
I actually started a thread just like this about a year ago :bigrin:

dafydd

Jul 7, 2007, 6:45 PM

When you're a struggling writer, you don't read. It's too painfull

coyotedude

Jul 7, 2007, 7:02 PM

I'm a Tolkien freak, through and through. Will read trashy fantasy as well just for fun - but Tolkien is the real thing.

My tastes are pretty eclectic, actually. Like current affairs, history, physics and astronomy, other non-fiction. (Every summer I pull out all the "Roadside Geology" books for the western states because I'm a volcano nut.) On the fiction side, I read mostly sci-fi and fantasy (which are often lumped together but really are two separate genres, I think). And every now and then, I'll actually pull out the Shakespeare and Chaucer and dig in. (Whan that Aprille with his showres soote....) Do enjoy some quality erotica on occasion. heh heh

Have been itchin' to get into some poetry, but am not quite sure where to start. (Any suggestions, folks?) Did borrow a friend's book of Robert Frost... was thinking about checking out some Langston Hughes and e.e. cummings, too, since I haven't read them since high school. (Did I say "eclectic"?) And I'd like to pick up some Shel Silverstein to read with my kids.

Newspaper freak and National Geographic, too....

Peace

Abbey Road

Jul 7, 2007, 7:03 PM

I love reading,always have. I like reading Tom Clancy, Alistair MacLean, J.R.R.Tolkien, Colin Dexter, Matthew Reilly, Enid Blyton, Mario Puzo, John Grisham, J.K.Rowling, Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, The Bronte Sisters, Biographies, History books, Doctor Who, Torchwood.Allsorts really. I`m just having a run on reading Doctor Who at the moment. :bibounce: :paw: :wiggle2:

Azrael

Jul 7, 2007, 7:46 PM

akeeper

Jul 7, 2007, 9:26 PM

I mostly read non fiction. Usually sales psychology or similar. I also like sea stories and even erotica. I usually read erotica online and not from a book.

DuskTillDawn

Jul 7, 2007, 9:35 PM

Cant believe noone has mentioned Jodi Picoult yet! I love her books, she isnt afraid to deal with alot of tender issues and her books are all very depressing but great reads. Her new book "Nineteen Minutes" is about a school shooting, I went to see her do a talk about writing the book and the research that she puts into writing her books is fanominal (sp?).

On a happier note, I also love chic-lits ( it seems so un-inteligent compared to what everyone else said) they are great, perticularly Marian Keyes, she is hillarious- a laugh out loud author.

Harry Potter is also of course and amazing series of books!

The Cheshire Cat

Jul 7, 2007, 10:36 PM

Harry Potter :tong:

JoyJoyHollywood

Jul 7, 2007, 11:39 PM

The best book I've read this year is Ayaan Hirsi Ali's "Infidel." It's stunning! Wonderfully written, incredibly insightful and she doesn't hold back for the sake of political correctness or avoiding death threats and assassination attempts. She's amazing. Truly amazing.

The other was Christopher Hitchens "God is Not Great." It was pretty good. He wandered a bit through some sections, but he got his argument across.

FalconAngel

Jul 8, 2007, 1:02 AM

I tried reading "A Brief History of Time" by Dr. Stephen Hawking, but couldn't get past chapter 3.

Found "Lies My Teacher Told Me" to be an interesting read, and if I can get the time to get into a good book again, I have to read "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" by Al Franken.

My wife got me into the Mercedes Lackey series of books about the kingdom of Valdamar. Now that is some good mind candy to read.

Skater Boy

Jul 8, 2007, 1:03 AM

Uh-oh! They'll be burning Megan effigies on the streets... :eek:

Herbwoman39

Jul 8, 2007, 2:15 AM

Now THIS is why school drives me nuts. Right now (until December) all I get to read is anatomy and physiology texts. I miss reading for fun. I'm an avid and voracious reader.

For those why like psychology, I cannot recommend highly enough an educational and fun read "Pooh and the Psychologists" by John Tyreman Williams And those who like historical fiction, give "The Other Boeleyn Girl" a read by Phillipa Gregory.

For those interested in an interesting tact on spiritual enlightenment, anything by Richard Bach will do nicely. My Favorite is "Illusions: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah". I also adore Johnathan Livingston Seagull and One.

rissababynta

Jul 8, 2007, 4:51 AM

i love to read books that are usually about nursing, first aid, accupressure, psychology, religion, music and art. fictional or non-fictional. occasionally i'll go for some sci fi as well. the book i'm reading right now is "Night Stalks The Mansion". it's a true story about a family's experience with the supernatural in their home...pretty much like the whole Amytyville thing.

AdamKadmon43

Jul 8, 2007, 3:17 PM

Thanks for all the input.

Saw quite a lot things that I have not read. Looking forward to reading them.

Adam

AdamKadmon43

Jul 8, 2007, 11:04 PM

Also, one of the more recent books I read was Thomas Harris's 'Red Dragon'. I'm already a sucker for Blake, but god damn, this book is friggin twisted beyond belief, and chillingly believable. Only Hannibal Lecter book I've read so far. Plan on checkin out the others.

If you think that was twisted, wait til you read the lastest one .... Hannibal Rising.

Also, while I am here.... I have studied relativity physics and to be very honest about it, I do not really understand much of it. But Albert Einstein was a very brilliant person in other areas as well (and something of a scamp at times). If you are interested, Ideas and Opinions is a very nice compilation of letters that he wrote on various topics such as world peace and humanitarian and political issues.

I just obtained a well reviewed biography, Einstein - His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson, but I have not yet started reading it.

Adam

james1

Jul 9, 2007, 1:49 AM

"Say it out loud" by Adam Sutton

Superb....... :bigrin:

bohemian69

Jul 9, 2007, 5:59 PM

Justine / Good Conduct Well Chastised by Marqis de Sade.
Really a story of Virtue vs. Vice.

A story "to make God himself blush"

mouse46

Jul 10, 2007, 7:20 AM

:bigrin: I have read Anne Rice Vampire series, Laurell K . Hamilton's "Death of a Darklord" ,erotic scenes, Marvin Kaye " Fair Folk" and now I'm readingMercedes Lackey " Diana Tregarde Investigates, with different stories revolving around some form of occult , witchcraft and psychic powers. I'm on the second story of three. Good read.

mrsgreywolf1960

Jul 10, 2007, 7:17 PM

I've read three books in the last week. James Patterson's 6th Target , Stuart Woods Fresh Disasters, but my favorite was Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box. For those who don't know JH is Stepen Kings son and this is his first book. I loved it!! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I am a voracious reader, don't feel I can destress from my day unless I lose myself into a book for at least half an hour. And ya gotta love the Harry Potter books. A great way to forget the hassles of being an adult!

canuckotter

Jul 10, 2007, 7:37 PM

creach

Jul 11, 2007, 12:12 AM

The Pyrates by George McDonald Frasier (also wrote the Flashman Papers) Hillarious read (although we did chat about this one already Adam!

i have also jus finished reading the Empire Trillogy by Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts...

Daughter of the Empire
Servant of the Empire
Mistress of the Empire

Trying to wade through the 8 books that make up the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jorden but boy are they heavy going!

and i loved the DeathStalker series by Simon R Green

Also u could try The Celestine Proficies by James Redfield can read that over and over! (don't lend it out tho u will never get it back! - I have bought it at least three times now and still don't have a copy!)

oh that should do u for now!

Creach x x x

Skater Boy

Jul 11, 2007, 5:34 PM

rayosytruenos

Jul 12, 2007, 3:33 PM

I noticed several of you mentioned "Harry Potter", and it reminded me of this article about how HP is apparently a homosexual:

http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=299

I think its sad that the world is so critical, especially since he's a FICTIONAL character aimed at children. I met a deeply religious couple once (don't ask which religion, lol), and Harry Potter seemed to be the incarnation of Satan to them.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYjUWSfj7fE

Here are some clues: he lives in a closet. Literally. He hangs out in King’s Cross looking for like-minded people. [...]There is a strange force in his life he can’t control. It grips him in adolescence and devours his whole being. Oh, and he likes to feel wood between his legs. :tong: It really seems to demonstrate that Harry Potter is gay... lol

There are several religious groups that ban anything related to Harry Potter, but mostly because anything showing witchcraft is evil for them, at least that's the explanation from different religious groups I have friends in. Some of these people I think are good, but it seems that in certain issues they are plainly brainwashed... pity!

Anyway, I can demonstrate that Harry Potter is not gay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYexLnBtZ7k&NR=1

All the best,

ray

TaylorMade

Jul 12, 2007, 4:42 PM

I'm reading Twinkie, Deconstructed (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/1594630186/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful/103-5321502-5787005?ie=UTF8&n=283155#customerReviews) By Steve Ettlinger. It's at once disturbing and enlightening- - it's about a guy who wants to know how we go from stuff that's mined, gassed, refined and re-re-fined and turn it into a Twinkie.

Makes me glad I don't like Twinkies.

I'm also reading Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics (http://www.amazon.com/Look-Both-Ways-Bisexual-Politics/dp/0374190046/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5321502-5787005?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184272822&sr=1-1) By Jennifer Baumgartner.

To be honest, Meh.

I recommend the book about the Twinkies.

*Taylor*

the mage

Jul 12, 2007, 11:07 PM

The complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

AdamKadmon43

Jul 12, 2007, 11:16 PM

rayosytruenos

Jul 16, 2007, 5:13 PM

[...] My own personal choices in literature are somewhat diverse (like certain other aspects of my life). [...]

I try to avoid going to bookstores unless I have a specific book in mind because if I just start browsing, I wind up spending a lot more money than I should. So if anyone would care to follow up on this and post the title of any recent books that have impressed you, I would appreciate it. Always looking for something new to read, and this could be an interesting way to find it.

Adam Oh my, I have so varied tastes that I would devour almost anything and as you say, I love to go to a bookshop, but I'm afraid of spending lots of money every time I go to one.

Fortunately (I'm not spending that much money now) or unfortunately (I love reading) , I have not much time to read as before, but I have spend thousands and thousands of sterling pounds/US dollars/euros in one of my passions that is books.

When I was a kid I remember picking the thickest books I could find in the library as it meant I could spend more time reading as the number of books we were allowed to pick was limited. I have to admit that another of my passions is art, so I usually picked those with beautiful illustrations. I remember the complete collection of fairy tales from the Grimm brothers (famous also for their philological studies), the fairy tales from Perrault, JRR Tolkien books, "1001 Arabian Nights"... I guess I spent as much time reading as copying or trying to reproduce the beautiful illustrations.

I remember also my readings of Enid Blyton (the Secret Seven series was one of my favourite ones together with the Famous Five, increasing my love for detective and spies fiction/actual account). So I have to mention then Sherlock Holmes. A few years later I was devouring books like Tom Clancy's, Ken Follet's, John Forsythe's, Agatha Christie's...

I am very open-minded and I am very interested too in religion, so I have read books on compared religions, Christianism, Islam, Jewish religion, (I have Bibles, Korans and Torahs in different languages), Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Shinto, Hinduism, Sufism, Vedism...

I have always been interested in the powers of the mind, all that percentage of our brain that is not used, so I love books on psychology, self-help, parapsychology...

I love languages and to communicate with people from different cultures and countries, so I try to learn a few, so I have a collection on languages books. I prefer the original versions of any books, but as my knowledge of many languages is null or very limited, I have to be satisfied with translations, but I can assure you, poems don't feel the same as in the original version as in a translation. Espronceda sounds wonderful in Spanish, Goethe is marvellous in German, Keats is amazing in English, Verlaine is surprising in French, Dante is powerful in Italian...

I could go on and on for hours speaking not only about books in general, but about many fields I am interested in, but I think I have already got you bored enough... :( :tong:

All the best,

ray

AdamKadmon43

Jul 16, 2007, 10:50 PM

I could go on and on for hours speaking not only about books in general, but about many fields I am interested in, but I think I have already got you bored enough... :( :tong:

All the best,

ray
Bored ??? Far from it..... A very inspiring response. Thank you.

Adam

nothings5d

Jul 16, 2007, 11:29 PM

I recently re-read The Lord of the Rings, I understand it a lot better now than when I was ten. I've read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series 4 or 5 times all the way through. I read the Redwall books. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant Books. Harry Potter. I've been trying to read The Once and Future King, but it gets a little boring in places. And I'll read just about anything that happens to cross my path.

Mr chadw

Jul 17, 2007, 4:59 AM

Probably the best satirist of our time... Terry Pratchett. I've read all of the Discworld books and the Johny Maxwell trilogy. The Discworld stuff is sort of fantasy humour, but really... it's satire. True genius, and entertaining as hell, if you like that style of humour.
Pratchett is wary good as is Douglas Adams and Fritz Leiber
i have read all of pratchetts books
about hafe of the h2g2 searies - some day i will get around to finishing it
and about the same with the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser saga

AdamKadmon43

Jul 17, 2007, 9:27 PM

I recently re-read The Lord of the Rings, I understand it a lot better now than when I was ten. .
The numerous mentions of J.R.R. Tolkien in the posts here got me inspired to do some re-reading. I did not want to tackle the Ring Trilogy again because of constraints on my reading time right now, so I dug out my old battered copy of "The Silmarillion" (all of which was his original work, but compiled by his son Christopher after his death). It pre-dates and somewhat sets the stage for "Lord of the Rings" .

His genius still totally amazes me. To be able to create such a world inside one's head is nothing short of astounding.

Thanks again for all the input.

Adam