OT: Read a Book. Read many Books.

Post #661 » by **Michael Jackson** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 11:53 am

kdapiton wrote:Finished Red Country by Abercrombie. Fun read during vacation even though I have not read any of the First Law stuff, but it certainly felt like I missed out on some easter eggs.

Tempted to re-read Wheel of Time because I miss the world, characters, and had an awesome experience the first time.

Have you read Sandersons non WoT stuff?

bentheredengthat · Post #662 » by **bentheredengthat** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 3:17 pm

Bull523 wrote:picked up The Martian last night...

Read it twice. Love the characters sense of humor and attitude.

Can't wait to see the movie. The trailers look great & I like Matt Damon movies.

waffle · Post #663 » by **waffle** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 3:36 pm

DuckIII wrote:
ImSlower wrote:Don't do Half a King, in my recommendation (he is absolutely one of my favorite authors). The First Law series is what you want. Half a King is very straightforward and more of a Young Adult themed book. You want to go to the really, really good stuff that is The First Law. First the trilogy, then 3 fantastic stand-alones set in the same world.

Obviously I'm working my through the thread post by post. Same question to you that I just asked waffle.

I'm only about 90 pages into Red Country, so if there is a compelling reason to stop and go back to the other 2 stand alones first, I might.

no, I think you can read them individually. Red Country is also V. Good. I'll reply with some info on what I have been reading lately later...

waffle · Post #664 » by **waffle** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 3:38 pm

Michael Jackson wrote:
kdapiton wrote:Finished Red Country by Abercrombie. Fun read during vacation even though I have not read any of the First Law stuff, but it certainly felt like I missed out on some easter eggs.

Tempted to re-read Wheel of Time because I miss the world, characters, and had an awesome experience the first time.

Have you read Sandersons non WoT stuff?

Sanderson is also very good. Have read everything he has written.

waffle · Post #665 » by **waffle** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 3:40 pm

and, yes, you should read the First Law trilogy BEFORE you read Read Country...Actually, read the First Law before you read any of the other, related books. Quite a few references/spoilers.

waffle · Post #666 » by **waffle** » Fri Aug 28, 2015 12:23 am

I just read the Powder Mage trilogy and thought it was quite good. Learned at the foot of Mr. Abercrombie.

Also am finishing the Arthurian Trilogy by Mary Stewart. A very different take on it but oh so well written. DENSE, very English. Almost pastoral. Something I imagine I will read again.

Picked up a biography of Joan of Arc and the autobiography of John Lydon (Anger is an Energy), which can't help but be fascinating. And Target Tokyo, about Doolittle's raid. Supposedly one of the best WW II books written recently. I'll report back...

kdapiton · Post #667 » by **kdapiton** » Sat Aug 29, 2015 11:36 pm

Michael Jackson wrote:
kdapiton wrote:Finished Red Country by Abercrombie. Fun read during vacation even though I have not read any of the First Law stuff, but it certainly felt like I missed out on some easter eggs.

Tempted to re-read Wheel of Time because I miss the world, characters, and had an awesome experience the first time.

Have you read Sandersons non WoT stuff?

I've only read Mistborn. I started The Alloy of Law but couldn't finish due to reasons. The Way of Kings and Elantris were recommended by a friend.

Post #668 » by **dougthonus** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 2:11 am

kdapiton wrote:
Michael Jackson wrote:
kdapiton wrote:Finished Red Country by Abercrombie. Fun read during vacation even though I have not read any of the First Law stuff, but it certainly felt like I missed out on some easter eggs.

Tempted to re-read Wheel of Time because I miss the world, characters, and had an awesome experience the first time.

Have you read Sandersons non WoT stuff?

I've only read Mistborn. I started The Alloy of Law but couldn't finish due to reasons. The Way of Kings and Elantris were recommended by a friend.

If you like short stories, I'd recommend all of Sandeson's short stories. He has probably 15-20 different ones I've read over the years. They're all set in different worlds and quite captivating.

Way of Kings is a nice start to an epic fantasy tale. The first two books were both really good IMO. Elantris is a good one off story as well, I really enjoyed it. I pretty much love everything by Sanderson with the exception of the Steelheart / Firefight / Calamity series. It's not bad, but it's a notch below his other stuff.

bentheredengthat · Post #669 » by **bentheredengthat** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 4:41 pm

bentheredengthat wrote:
Bull523 wrote:picked up The Martian last night...

Read it twice. Love the characters sense of humor and attitude.

Can't wait to see the movie. The trailers look great & I like Matt Damon movies.

Anyone else seen the movie? I saw it in 2d and loved it thinking about seeing 3d. I was really worried they were going to change a bunch of stuff based on the previews but it was much like the book.

Also heard of new scifi channel series called The Expanse starting today, just ordered the book it was based on. Anyone read it?

Starks · Post #670 » by **Starks** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:25 pm

I saw a couple people mentioned Shantaram, which I'm currently reading. It is a fantastic book, definitely one of my all-time favorite.

For the ones who read it, would you have any other suggestion of books that would be in the same vein as this one, even though it's quite unique?

LoveDaBoo · Post #671 » by **LoveDaBoo** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 7:54 pm

Just finished East of Eden. I don't really know why I hadn't read it before, but I must say, that may have been the finest novel I've ever read.

Post #672 » by **DuckIII** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 3:48 pm

Due to the Amazon show (I haven't seen it), I decided to read The Man In The High Castle.

Wow, is it terrible. Do yourself a favor and avoid the mistake I made. The only upside is that it was only 220 pages long. Utter garbage that through some miracle nonetheless managed to win a Hugo Award.

Just started The Black Company series by Glen Cook.

Frank Stallone · Post #673 » by **Frank Stallone** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 8:45 pm

Random books I've recently read and recommend:

"Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline: I'd call it a mix of Harry Potter, Willy Wonka, and the Matrix. It's young adult, I believe, but a fun quick read.

"House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski: Strangest book you'll probably ever read. It's not for everyone, but I loved it.

"Snowman" by Jo Nesbo: Dark Norwegian mystery/thriller book in a series. The others are good as well, and you don't need to read them in order.

"The Contortionist's Handbook" by Craig Clevenger: along the lines of a Chuck Palahniuk novel, but a little less nonsensical (I like most of Chuck's book, but some are just too out there)

"Down and Out in Paris and London" by George Orwell: a lesser known Orwell book chronicling a poor chef in 1920's Europe. It could be classified as "slow", but I personally kept picking it up...just a interesting, good book.

"Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson" by Jeff Guinn: as much about Manson as it is about 60's culture in the US. You'll finish it in a couple days...great biography

jc23 · Post #674 » by **jc23** » Fri Apr 29, 2016 4:31 am

http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/04/29/the-wheel-of-time-will-be-adapted-as-a-tv-series

as someone who never read he books should i be hyped for this?

kdapiton · Post #675 » by **kdapiton** » Fri Jan 6, 2017 10:17 pm

Anyone here Brandon Sanderson fans? I've just read Warbreaker. Pretty sure I've read most of his novels: All the Mistborn stuff, Elantris, Stormlight Archive (2 books), Warbreaker.

They're all so good, but I'm awful at piecing things together, and general lore haha. He's a really good author.

JohnnyKILLroy · Post #676 » by **JohnnyKILLroy** » Fri Jan 6, 2017 11:18 pm

Just finished

NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories

It was a super quick read. I found it really funny and at times really sad.

Just started - Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello.

League Circles · Post #677 » by **League Circles** » Fri Jan 6, 2017 11:37 pm

I'm about 2/3 of the way through:

438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea

Great story so far. I'm listening to the audible book and the narration is great.

CoreyVillains · Post #678 » by **CoreyVillains** » Sat Jan 7, 2017 4:06 am

Just finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King. It's pretty long but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Hulu show did it no justice. Also recently read But What If We're Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman which was fantastic.

knickerbocker2k2 · Post #679 » by **knickerbocker2k2** » Sat Jan 7, 2017 4:47 am

League Circles wrote:I'm about 2/3 of the way through:

438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea

Great story so far. I'm listening to the audible book and the narration is great.

If you liked that book you will also like (available in audio books)

Dean King - Skeletons On The Zahara: A True Story Of Survival
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
Unbroken (Book) by Laura Hillenbrand

Ben Wilson25 · Post #680 » by **Ben Wilson25** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 3:13 am

LoveDaBoo wrote:Just finished East of Eden. I don't really know why I hadn't read it before, but I must say, that may have been the finest novel I've ever read.

Thank you for this. I just got back from vacation and based on your recommendation this was the book I took. It was incredible. I love Steinbeck and devoured Tortilla Flats and Cannery Row when I was a kid (in retrospect, kind of odd choices for a 13 year old) along with the usuals you read in school but had never read East of Eden. I was blown away.