Sounds like a total rip-off of the King Arthur stories.Originally Posted by Paulyboy
As for me, I'm reading a book called D-Day by Stephen Ambrose. It's actually for a book report but it's sort of like a nonfiction book written in a way that makes it seem like fiction. His writing style isn't too great from what I've seen so far, and the book is pretty long. Other than that it isn't half bad.
The Republic by Plato.
the 48 laws of power by robert greene, rabble: they dont know... by noam chomsky, and the old man and the sea by hemingway...(whew!)
@XanBcoo I love "The Last Question"; It's my favorite Asimov story.
Let there be light!
"Samsonlonghair - The Defender of the Oppressed And Shunned!" -Kraco
I finished reading Pride & Prejudice about three weeks ago. Damn, if all soap operas were as good as this book, I'd be glued to the TV.
I'm now reading some books by Kazuo Ishiguro, since I have to turn an essay for him on May. I'm really enjoying his style - so flowing and elegant.
Also re-reading {I]Frankenstein[/I], since once more I have to write an essay on it...
Oh yeah, anyone here ever read The Count of Monte Cristo? God, that's one amazing book. It's just superb. Every character is built perfectly, all the interactions are flawless, the sub-plots somehow always fit into the main one.... I want to write like Dumas, he's just too great.
I also read The Count of Monte Cristo. It was about 5 years ago. I loved it!!! (I like the part when the guy is in prison.) Dumas is a great writer. You should read his other book, the Three Musketeers. I also liked it but prefered this one more.
Yeah Pride and Prejudice is pretty good actually. Right now I've added Phenomonology of the Spirit by Hegel, The Genealogy of Morals by Neitzsche, and Black Skin White Masks by Fanon. I'm supposed to be read all this shit by December :/.
Everytime I hear someone mention that book I think about The Shawshank Redemption.
"The Count of Monty...Crisco. By Alexandree...Dum...ass. Heh, 'Dumbass'."
<@Terra> he told me this, "man actually meeting terra is so fucking big", and he started crying. Then he bought me hot dogs
I will also join the bandwagon on this one. I was obsessed with Dumas back in high school. I read a whole bunch of his works... 3 Musketeers, Man in the Iron Mask, some other titles that escape me at the moment. But Count of Monte Cristo was the best out of all of them. And that's the reason why I enjoyed the anime Gankutsuo so much. It's the only on-screen adaptation (on tv or movie) that I have encountered that perfectly matched the spirit of Dumas' writing, even if it wasn't word-for-word accurate.
Ahh...i read that Fanon book, and it was...interesting, to say the least.
Easy to read?
I actually watched Gankutsuou before reading Monte Cristo, so I was expecting eh, you-know-who to die. I'm very sentimental, so I cried for hours on that episode... I was glad that death in particular was written by the anime people.
I want to read The Three Musketeers but I need a good translation. The one I have (in Spanish) isn't too good (meaning "boring as hell") and I can't read the original french... if anyone here knows of a good English or Spanish translation for the Musketeers and Man in the Iron Mask, I'll be thankful.
Latest read: The Lady of the Fountain, Celtic interpretation of the quest of Owen, one of the knights of Arthur. I'ma big fan of Arthuric literature, but my problem with the celtic e-writings is the names.... how the hell is "Glewlwyt" pronounced? Or "Gwenwyvar"? (well, that one is actually not that weird, but some others....)
Damn, you read a lot WD. Did you ever get time to read Good Omens?
If you're looking for a good English translation of The Three Musketeers I strongly advise you to not read the translation by Cooper or the translation by Le Clercq. I read both, and they were awful. It was like reading a set of blueprints instead of a novel.
I reccomend this one translated by Richard Pevear and his wife, Larissa Volokhonsky. They mostly translate from Russian (which is considerably farther from English than French is). Their translations of Dostoevsky's The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov were excellent. They put more life into Dostoevsky than any of the older college translations. Trust me, I'm picky about Dostoevsky.
I think they both teach linguistics at the University of Paris now.
If you can't wait, or can't afford to buy it right now, the 1846 edition translated by William Barrow has fallen out of copywright and is available onlive via project gutneburg. But, in ninteenth century England such depictions of sex were considered improper. Barrow edited his translation to conform to standards. This makes one very important scene with a fleur-de-lis very confusing (and the rest of the book less fun).
Happy reading.
Edit: 600th post. Woot!
Last edited by samsonlonghair; Thu, 10-19-2006 at 11:00 AM.
"Samsonlonghair - The Defender of the Oppressed And Shunned!" -Kraco
Hurray for readers of DragonLance! Read about 10 DL books so far, all owned. Waiting for some to be realeased, too busy to read others.
However my favorite series of all time would have to be The Incarnations of Immortality. Total pwnage. Everything you ever want!
I read a psychotic amount of books when I'm not at college, enough that I have to re-read books 3-4 times to save money.
Definitely pick up both "Ender's" series by Orson Scott Card. The 4 book Ender saga really delves into metaphysics in the later two books and gets pretty interesting. The Bean series, starting with Ender's Shadow is another great series, focusing more on international politics and war. Good strategy stuff and covers things like genetic manipulation.
Also on the sci-fi stint is Starship Troopers. If you've seen the movie, don't even think to associate it with this book. It's got tons of great military philosophy and is more about responsibility than anything else. It actually changed my political views completely.
Prey and State of Fear by Michael Crichton are also great books. State of Fear has gotten a lot of flak lately for it's stance on global warming, but that's really not the point of the book. The great moral of the story is summarized by a professor in one of the later chapters. Read it for yourself if you're curious. (A part of it is checking the facts yourself and making your own opinions.)
If you want more fantasy stuff, try some of the novels by Kelley Armstrong. The first book is about werewolves and is entitled Bitten. I really like her writing style and her books are among some of my favorites.
Along that same vein are the books by Kim Harrison. They're a little flakier than Kelley Armstrong's, but I liked them just the same.
If you want a really weird book, read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. The story starts with a family who notices their house is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. It just goes crazy from there. The pages are written insanely (upside down, sideways, in strange margins and patterns). It's like reading nothing else.
Also, you might as well try some collected works of Nietzsche. Personally, I like the ones laid out in aphorisms and Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
YAY another Orson Scott Card fan, I recommend you to read his Homecoming series believe me its a kick ass book. His other Tales of Alvin maker another good series of his, but I suggest you start out with The Ender series.
Plus he is the only author to win both Hugo and Nebula awards in his consecutive years as a writer.
Last edited by Paulyboy; Tue, 10-24-2006 at 05:59 PM.
No one but the enemy will ever teach you how to destroy and conquer. Only the enemy shows you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you when he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. I am your enemy from now on. From now on, I am your teacher."
-Mazer Rackham
... merged.
And I'm currently reading a delictable little treat called Fluctuating Fortunes. The Political Power of Business in America. Obviously non-fiction, and Dave Vogel does a pretty good job pulling the history of big business, lobbying and US politics into a bearable reading.
...but yeah, would much rather be reading a novel or playing video games, but this last year of college is abusing me. guess i shouldn't complain that I can actually enjoy some of the books they make me read in pursuit of the ghost of higher learning.
Humans are different from animals. We must die for a reason. Now is the time for us to regulate ourselves and reclaim our dignity. The one who holds endless potential and displays his strength and kindness to the world. Only mankind has God, a power that allows us to go above and beyond what we are now, a God that we call "possibility".
on the subject of orson scott card, i fell in love with ender's game when i read it in grade 10, and have read it countless times since. ender's shadow is awesome too, and the only reason i haven't read it as many times as ender's game is because it came out later. actually, i love most of what orson scott card has written. for series, i also recommend the homecoming saga, and for standalones, enchantment.
anyway, i just finished reading patrick o'leary's "the gift" not too long ago, which is a wonderfully written piece of literature. i highly recommend it. right now i'm reading harry potter and the chamber of secrets. i'll soon be starting ender's game again, since we're starting that in my english class in a while.
I finally had the time to read good books this past few weeks.
1984 by George Orwell :
Good book, open your eyes. I really enjoyed it even though it is not very joyful.
Dark Material’s series by Phillip Pullman :
Reread them. The first book, The Golden Compass, will be coming out as a movie in December.
The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl #5) by Eoin Colfer :
Like all the other Artemis Fowl books, it is amazing. Just enjoyed it and as always, it is full of surprises. The ending is like the 3rd Artemis Fowl book, you can’t wait until the next book to know what will happen.
Now a more serious book :
Palestine Peace not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter :
Great political science book and it is a must read by every one.
I suggest trying Tales of the Otori trilogy by Lian Hearn, pretty interesting fantasy story that take place in a fictional feudal japan.
book 1: Across the Nightingale Floor.
book 2: Grass for his Pillow
book 3: Brilliance of the Moon
The Harsh Cry of the Heron is a sequel for the series that took place 16 year after the 3rd book just got published recently.Heaven's Net is Wide is a prequel that is schedule to be published in 2007.
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