Reading List Thread
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marduk1507
Member
La Rocque
I am that I am
Just finished reading 'Perfect Soldiers' by Terry McDermott
This book explains how 19 zealots (who they were,why they did it) on Sept.11 hijacked the planes and slammed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, engrossing and deeply disturbing - Recommended
This book explains how 19 zealots (who they were,why they did it) on Sept.11 hijacked the planes and slammed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, engrossing and deeply disturbing - Recommended
Lolita Vampiriá
Sister of Mercy
The Stand was indeed very good but I liked the best IT and maybe Tommyknockers. But they are actually so good that it's hard to say which is the best.
marduk1507
Member
Yeah, its funny how King writes always about the same thing, but in a different setting and with different characters. His depiction of the psyche of his chars is fabulous. He seems to be really deeply concerned with the childhood and how it affects the future of everybody, many times with almost mystical, or apocalyptical consequences. I guess the butterfly effect tells him a lot. Some say his books are junk, but I think he should have his place in anthologies.
Stabbie said:
Oh dear, I quite pity you. I'm still halfway through Crossroads of Twilight and I expect I will be for another eternity. It's funny thinking I started on it six months ago and back when the books were actually any good (up until around Lord of Chaos, although even then the pace had begun to be a bit too slow - The Great Hunt was and still is my absolute favourite in the series) I would finish one book in about 2-3 days.
Oh, how I wish I could somehow go back in time and have a serious yet inspirational chat with Mr. Jordan (naturally assuming some sort of unearthly shape), thus possibly saving what once had the potential to be one of the best fantasy series ever written. Now I see that Jordan has lost his chance and left the playing field wide open for George R.R. Martin (A Feast for Corws is finished! Everybody shout "yay" and dance like mad in anticipation!), which isn't so bad when you think about it
As for Stephen King, I've read The Stand, IT and The Green Mile and enjoyed them all. I think the last one is probably my favourite. Is King a crap writer? I wouldn't say so. Of course, a lot of people considering themselves the essence of the intelligentsia will frown and say he is, but I maintain that a book is all about storytelling - are you able to keep the reader on edge for nearly every page of your book, eagerly turning pages so that they will find out what happens? Congratulations, you've written a good book. If it's written in a "omg he uses similes about giant lumberjacks and crepes and uses expressions such as 'septic thunder' and 'instantaneous velocity that charged the air with unleashed memories of mournful days past, ere the monumental twilight hit the dying suns with a vivacious echo of distant souls', he's like a genius"-sense, or more simply, it really doesn't matter... it's all about being able to give the reader a feeling for the story.
If that makes any sense.
Anyway, I certainly wish I could write like King when it comes to the amount of material he produces. He never suffers from writers block, but rather writes too much. Must be good. Then you have so much more to choose from...
Lolita Vampiriá
Sister of Mercy
marduk1507 said:
Well said sir.
I was into King for many years when I was a teenager then I somehow stopped reading his books for I thought the new ones got boring and like you said, they were about the same thing basically. I should probably start again.
rahvin
keeper of the flame
i can't stand stephen king. i still think he should have a place in anthologies (which should be devoted to influential authors, alongside good writers), but his style is trite and weak. the stand and it are two very good ideas, yet the development is uninspired and plain: aside from the topic and the varying quantity of profanity/sex/violence/gore, his generation of shopping-mall fiction writers churns out completely identical novels with no variation in tone or pace or plot structure.
as for what i'm reading, i'm currently almost done with the complete works of chuck palahniuk, about to start with the complete works of tom robbins, will refresh my memory of george martin's "song of ice and fire" before i dive happily into the new book, and aim to get a better grasp of what modern "locked-room murder" novels are like, beginning with elizabeth george.
as for what i'm reading, i'm currently almost done with the complete works of chuck palahniuk, about to start with the complete works of tom robbins, will refresh my memory of george martin's "song of ice and fire" before i dive happily into the new book, and aim to get a better grasp of what modern "locked-room murder" novels are like, beginning with elizabeth george.
Lolita Vampiriá
Sister of Mercy
@rahvin: Nobody said King is something of intellectual or anything like that but very good entertainment. The fact is that I also got annoyed/bored at some point and didn't get anything out of his novels anymore. But I'll give it a try once again after so many years.
King Chaos
Pomeo Osoponeor
I agree with Rahvin about Stephen King. I find myself interested with the stories, but I get fed up with the way he offers them. It's usually the case that he just eludes any characterisation and goes straight on to passages of disturbing events, with no purpose other than just to be 'distrubing', like in The Gunslinger, where the boy remembers his death and comments on his genitals being crushed. Wtf is the point? Similar to James Herbert. If you ever want a shit but entertaining book to look at, check out The Rats (although Im sure most of you already have). From memory the first half is just setting up different characters before they are torn to shreads by rats the size of dogs. A page spent on building the character, then 15 pages of in depth gore.
I just did my english lit exam, and I didnt want to distract myself with any reading up until I'd got it out of the way. despite just paying attention to those 2 books for 2 months or something, I still managed to fuck the exam up big time. I'm probably gonna read Phil k dick's 'A Scanner Darkly' now, Maybe get my hands on K.V's 'Cat's Cradle'.
I just did my english lit exam, and I didnt want to distract myself with any reading up until I'd got it out of the way. despite just paying attention to those 2 books for 2 months or something, I still managed to fuck the exam up big time. I'm probably gonna read Phil k dick's 'A Scanner Darkly' now, Maybe get my hands on K.V's 'Cat's Cradle'.
ahh I finished Lullaby by Palahniuk a couple of days ago, and loved it
he must really hate humanity though
i hope writing helps him let out some of his anger towards mankind
as for King- yeah, same thing. I read him when I was 16 years old. I like his stories, don't love the way he tells them, and I tend to hate his endings. I'd like to think he has improved a bit though- Apt Pupil was a great story. oh and you gotta love Carrie.
he must really hate humanity though
i hope writing helps him let out some of his anger towards mankind
as for King- yeah, same thing. I read him when I was 16 years old. I like his stories, don't love the way he tells them, and I tend to hate his endings. I'd like to think he has improved a bit though- Apt Pupil was a great story. oh and you gotta love Carrie.
marduk1507
Member
Apt Pupil is really good. I am planning to go through the Palahniuks books, read only Fight Club so far. Choke will probably be the next. And Freaky Green Eyes from J.C.Oates.
about The Wheel Of Time:
I'm currently reading book 9 of the series and get done about 2 pages per day. it used to be more exciting with the first, say, three books, but i ended up buying a new volume when i had nothing else to read. which is why i am continuing now - nothing else to do. it's pretty much like watching a daily soap.
about Stephen King:
i really used to enjoy the stand but got bored with the rest i read of him, namely (translated literally) "fire child" and "spring, summer, autumn and death" (4 short novels). can't really say what was wrong with these books exactly but they were dead boring.
about other books:
a while ago i read Frank Schätzings "The Swarm", which wasn't exactly brilliant literature, but a nice and entertaining read, and with facts very well researched. I believe the creepiest stories are those which you think could actually happen, and since i'm not much of a phantast, plain facts do it for me. all of the above actually goes for dan brown's "angels and demons" and "da vinci code" as well which i read a little earlier.
other than that i didn't read much novels lately, been focusing on learning stuff and magazines.
I'm currently reading book 9 of the series and get done about 2 pages per day. it used to be more exciting with the first, say, three books, but i ended up buying a new volume when i had nothing else to read. which is why i am continuing now - nothing else to do. it's pretty much like watching a daily soap.
about Stephen King:
i really used to enjoy the stand but got bored with the rest i read of him, namely (translated literally) "fire child" and "spring, summer, autumn and death" (4 short novels). can't really say what was wrong with these books exactly but they were dead boring.
about other books:
a while ago i read Frank Schätzings "The Swarm", which wasn't exactly brilliant literature, but a nice and entertaining read, and with facts very well researched. I believe the creepiest stories are those which you think could actually happen, and since i'm not much of a phantast, plain facts do it for me. all of the above actually goes for dan brown's "angels and demons" and "da vinci code" as well which i read a little earlier.
other than that i didn't read much novels lately, been focusing on learning stuff and magazines.
La Rocque
I am that I am
I've read this book also, never thought I'd see it on the forum as most reader here are into fiction/fantasy. Were You reading this book for a school class(sociology, maybe economics)?insilence said:
I'm now reading 'the R. Crumb Handbook' by R. Crumb and Peter Poplaski.
I don't know if R is well know but he is one of the most influential cartoonists of all time. He cast an unblinking eye onto the underbelly of modern life, an urban nightmare of human weakness, lust, terror and cruelty, all see through the comic lens of his satire. It's a frickn' laugh riot. I'm up to where he is at the opening of the R. Crumb exhibit at the Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany.
This book is borrowed from the library but I like it so much I'm going to buy a copy.
No, I don't go to school ,it's just one of my favorite since it brilliantly reflects on the reallity and what might be in store for me.La Rocque said:
opacity
Member
Poul Anderson: The Broken Sword
quite a gory story
myths from the scandinavian and irish realm combined to a brutal story about the legendary sword Tyrfing
quite a gory story
myths from the scandinavian and irish realm combined to a brutal story about the legendary sword Tyrfing
King Chaos
Pomeo Osoponeor
opacity said:Poul Anderson: The Broken Sword
quite a gory story
myths from the scandinavian and irish realm combined to a brutal story about the legendary sword Tyrfing
I loved it, even if the style was a little dry. the story had a real mythical quality about it. I loved the love interest, the tragedies, everything really. The battles were uber, and the elves were really well done I thought, as like a neutral sacry supernatural, but kind of bastardly race (it opens with an Elf raping some women he has locked up for such moments, from memory). Lovely stuff.
