books

[Kenneth R.]

Ursula K LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness

 

[noble savage]

Ursula K LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness

Awesome book! I definitely think that it is the best "social" science fiction book ever written - way better than Dune, in my opinion.

 

[Kenneth R.]

We'll see, Dune is a high bar to clear. Though, there are others I would rate far, far, higher.

Next up after LeGuin is Wise Man's Fear.

 

[Frontal Lobotomy]

George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series is coming to HBO in April. The series is call "A Game of Thrones", which is the title of the first book and it boasts Sean Bean in a lead role. The books were great and Martin is one of my favorite authors of all time. I'm really looking forward to the series.

Mac

Two thumbs WAY up for this! I'm currently on A feast for Crows. I'm trying to read it slowly so I'm done right before the new book, but it's freakishly difficult to put it down once I start! And Sean Bean as Ned Stark is an excellent choice. They did a great job with the whole cast, in fact. Can't wait for it to come out on DVD, since we can't get HBO or Sky where I live

What I love about Martin is that he is not afraid to do all the things most other writers dread. I have also heard great things about Brandon Saunderson, so his books are next on my list. Well, I'll have to fit Paul Auster's The Book of Illusions in between there...

 

[Prog is King]

A Game Of Thrones starts tonight on HBO! For all of you George R.R. Martin fans.

 

[Kenneth R.]

I'll be watching. Which is a significant thing, since the last time I watched a TV show was 1999.

On books, I've finished the EXCELLENT Wise Man's Fear. Looking forward to Mieville's Embassytown, a pile of books on my shelf, and the historical canon of China.

 

[Prismatic Sphere]

A Game Of Thrones starts tonight on HBO! For all of you George R.R. Martin fans.

I thought it was excellent.

 

[Prog is King]

^I thought so too! Very well done. Great action scenes. Can't wait for the next episode.

 

[Kenneth R.]

great action scenes he says.

yeah, it was well done considering they had to work around the primary novelty of the book - each chapter from a different character's perspective.

 

[SymphonyXV]

I was never much of a reader, until recently I bought two books. I bought Wizard's First Rule and A Game of Thrones. I had no idea A Game of Thrones was so popular! I'm guessing I'm going to like it. I'm not going to bother watching the HBO series until maybe after I finish the book.

 

[Kenneth R.]

yeah, you'll probably find you bought one of the best and one of the worst first books each from the genre. Enjoy GoT.

 

[maestro41]

What do I read?

Depends how many times I have to shit that day

LOLOL
+1

 

[Kenneth R.]

Wow, been a while here.

Since the last post, I read:

China Mieville - Embassytown 5/5
China Mieville - Iron Council 4/5
Gene Wolfe - The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories & Other Stories 3/5
Kim Stanley Robinson - The Wild Shore 3/5
George RR Martin - A Dance With Dragons 5/5
David Mitchell - The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet 5/5
Iain M Banks - The State of the Art 1/5
Tad Williams - Shadowmarch 1/5

The last two were particularly abysmal. I would not recommend them to anyone. I would however recommend Mitchell, Martin, Mieville - great works.

Now reading

Marcel Proust - Swann's Way
Jorge Luis Borges - The Book of Sand & Shakespeare's Memory

 

[metalxmetalx]

Richard Dawkins - The Greatest Show on Earth.

 

[Argentina X]

Just finished Renè Barjavel's "La Nuit des Temps". Just... F*CKIN' AMAZING!!!

 

[Wander]

I read Robert McCammon's Swan Song.

I'm pretty split on this book. It has good things, but it definitely has it's faults too. It's clearly overlong by atleast a couple of hundred pages for one thing (nearing 1000 pages). Also has a bit too obvious MacGuffin in it. Then again, the post-apocalyptic setting thing is worked pretty well here and it does have the "have to read what happens next" quality to it. A decent book.

 

[Rocksister]

Hmm, well my favorite books are "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" by Stephen R. Donaldson, but the last four books in the 10-book series are disappointing, so I put number 8 down a few pages into it and never picked it back up. But the first six books, which were released in two trilogies, are some of the BEST fiction I've ever read, if you are into fantasy. No dragons, no elves, no fairies, nothing like that. Just alternate world with humans, but man, you gotta read at LEAST the first book, "Lord Foul's Bane." You WILL read the second. And check them out at you library, just in case you don't like them. That way it's free and you lost nothing but time. Right now I am reading the personal memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. Yes, quite a switch from fantasy to history, but I got the Ken Burns DVD miniseries on the Civil War, and after THAT emotional rape, I had to continue my self-punishment by reading Grant's memoirs. Such an un-lovely time in America's history. The older I get the more into history I become. And I'll be 55 this week, so I gotta hurry. LOL

 

[Kenneth R.]

You might like Wolfe's New Sun.

 

[ABQShredHead]

Also a HUGE fan of the Covenant trilogies. I haven't had time to go past the second trilogy though. Since it's been over 20 years since I read them, maybe I need to read them again and check out the latter books as well. And particularly since there's a rumored movie afoot...

Right now, I'm looking forward to Rosenberg's next book, The Tehran Initiative, coming out on the 18th.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

Bleh! uke:

I haaate reading. I haven't read more than 2-3 novels in my entire life, and that was only because I was forced to while in school.