books you've read !

[MoogleRancha]

Originally Posted by pine

I'm working my way through quite a tome right now (Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson) so I dunno if I'll be able to interrupt your spree in this thread. But keep posting, I like hearing about those books.

Damn, I was just about to start that. :x

Right after I finish A Clockwork Orange.

[pine]

Well I'm about 1/3 of the way in now and I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you have any interest in the 17th century and the revolution of scientific thought. I say this because the book has all the awesome I'd expect of Stephenson but it really takes awhile to get going; however, if you are interested in the aforementioned topics you won't mind that aspect at all.

[MoogleRancha]

Originally Posted by pine

Well I'm about 1/3 of the way in now and I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you have any interest in the 17th century and the revolution of scientific thought. I say this because the book has all the awesome I'd expect of Stephenson but it really takes awhile to get going; however, if you are interested in the aforementioned topics you won't mind that aspect at all.

It sounds perfectly interesting to me, but I've had no encounters with Stephenson, so I'm going in with no knowledge of his writings. I decided to try him due to recommendations.

[AsToRoTh]

Recently..

Douglas Adams - HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy (The Trilogy of Four).
Ben Elton - Chart Throb

Currently - Richard Hammond - (Whatever his biography is called... kids bought it me for xmas cos I watch Top Gear LoL)

[GotBeer?]

Dune: The Butlerian Jihad and Dune: The Machine Crusade
I'm reading The Battle of Corrin now. They pretty well suck, but I can't just stop reading it now that I've started. I must see this through to the bitter end, and then...I dunno, sue them or something.

[_Zd_Phoenix_]

Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett - 7/10

Jingo by Terry Pratchett - 9/10

I love Discworld books, I think Terry Pratchett is an absolute genius: the way he orders and chooses words that suddenly become hilarious is amazing, and often has me re-reading sections over again just because it's so good.

I particularly like the cop stories focused on Sam Vimes and the City Watch of Ankh Morpork, I really love the characters. Prachett books are always really good, it's usually a matter of what in particular he's satirising or certain quirks of the plot as to whether it's great - and Jingo was great, brilliant plot and just bloody hilarious. I bought 5 more of the series today ... worth every penny.

[Lizard Of Oz]

Lately, I've been into Travel books. But not your typical travel books.




The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa by Neil Peart

Dysentery, drunken soldiers, and corrupt officials provide the background for Neil Peart's physical and spiritual cycling journey through West Africa. The prolific drummer for the rock band Rush travels through African villages, both large and small, and relates his story through photographs, journal entries, and tales of adventure, while simultaneously addressing issues such as differences in culture, psychology, and labels. Literary and artistic sidekicks such as Aristotle, Dante, and Van Gogh join Peart and his cycling companions, reminding the reader that this is not just another travel book—it is a story of both external and introspective discovery and adventure.




Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart

In less than a year, Neil Peart lost both his 19-year-old daughter, Selena, and his wife, Jackie. Faced with overwhelming sadness and isolated from the world in his home on the lake, Peart was left without direction. This memoir tells of the sense of loss and directionlessness that led him on a 55,000-mile journey by motorcycle across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again. He had needed to get away, but had not really needed a destination. His travel adventures chronicle his personal odyssey and include stories of reuniting with friends and family, grieving, thinking, and reminiscing as he rode until he encountered the miracle that allowed him to find peace.




Roadshow: Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle by Neil Peart

Neil Peart is an internationally acclaimed, bestselling, and award-nominated author, and for more than thirty years has been the legendary drummer and lyricist for the band Rush. For decades, Neil prepared and waited to write a book about the biggest journey of all in his restless existence, his ultimate travelogue - a concert tour. Finally, the right time and the right tour: Rush's 30th anniversary trek -- 9 countries, 57 shows, and 500,000 fans.




Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times by Neil Peart

The music of Frank Sinatra, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and many other artists provides the score to the reflections of a musician on the road in this memoir of Neil Peart's travels from Los Angeles to Big Bend National Park. The emotional associations and stories behind each album Peart plays guide his recollections of his childhood on Lake Ontario, the first bands that he performed with, and his travels with the band Rush. The evocative and resonant writing vividly captures the meanderings of a musical mind, leading rock enthusiasts to discover inside information about Rush and the musical inspirations of a rock legend.


Personal opinion of Neil Peart's books:

If you didn't already know, Neil Peart is the drummer for RUSH. He's is a much better writer than you might think, but does appear to have a huge ego, and is bit narrow minded and some times pretentious ("The Macallan") about certain things. But over all I really like his books. If you read only one of his books, read "Ghost Rider", it's easily the best of the bunch, with "The Mask Rider" being the second best.







Jupiters Travels: Four Years Around the World on a Triumph by Ted Simon

Simon rode a motorcycle around the world in the seventies, when such a thing was unheard of. In four years he covered 78,000 miles through 45 countries, living with peasants and presidents, in prisons and palaces, through wars and revolutions. What distinguishes this book is that Simon was already an accomplished writer. In 25 years this book has changed many lives, and inspired many to travel, including Ewan McGregor.




One Man Caravan by Robert Fulton

Grandson of the Fulton Engine Genius, and Discoverer/Inventor in his own right, rides around the world on a Douglas Twin during his twenties on a bit of a lark. Out of his off-handed remark to impress a young woman we have one of the best motorcycle travel books ever written.





Have you guys seen the "Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device" (currently sold out)?

Looks pretty interesting. The device cost $400.oo and books cost $10.00 or less. You can also subscribe to some magazines, newspapers and blogs, but I'm not really interested in that stuff. I'm seriously considering getting one of these. Right now, I'm just going to research it a bit more. Amazon curently has 114,156 book titles availible in the Kindle store, but I expect that to increase over time. I am pleased to learn that it can display simlpe graphics...



It also has the complete "New Oxford American Dictionary" and you can access "Wikipedia" with it.



Some Kindle links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle

http://reviews.cnet.com/e-book-reade...-32751890.html

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/11/a...e-book-reader/

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/kindle/am...dup-324554.php



Kindle competition:

The Sony Reader.

And there are some other E-Book readers

[dragonfliet]

Originally Posted by Lizard Of Oz

Have you guys seen the "Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device" (currently sold out)?[/url]

Yeah. eReaders are pretty spiffy, but massively overpriced. When they drop to about $100 I'll maybe start caring. I mean, the convenience of them is wonderful, and it would be perfect for long vacations, as I wouldn't have to haul around a lot of books and the battery life is great. However, I would never replace books with it.

I love holding books, I love being able to see how far through a book I am by looking how much I've read, I love filling bookshelves in my study, I love making small notes in the margins. So far, only the iLiad allows writing in the margins (and it's a very nice looking reader) and the sony eReader is pretty sexy as well, so I'll keep watching out for them, but I don't think I'll be interested in getting one for quite a while.

As for the Kindle specifically, it's too bulky, and too ugly for me to take seriously. The free service to be able to buy books anytime is cool, but I've never needed a book that immediate to need that. It's neat that you can look at blogs and newspapers, but it costs money, and I can do that on a real computer for free.

I think the technology is promising and interesting, but far too young and far too expensive as of yet.

~Jason

[Renegade Retard]

I've read somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 books in the last year, anything from Fantasy to Autobiographies to Commentaries. Of all those, there is one book that stood out above the rest:

Joe Abercrombie - The Blade Itself

This was a fantastic read. It is a "fantasy" book, but there is only a small amount of the magics sprinkled here and there throughout story. The story includes gruesome battles, disturbing torture, a contest, and comedy. What really sets this book apart from other fantasy style books is the character development. The author spends a lot of time getting the readers inside the head of the main characters. The best example of this is how the author changes voice when telling the story through the eyes of the torturer Glokta, a brutal torturer who fights his own personal demons. There are no true heroes in this book, but rather all the main characters are anti-heroes - everyone has their dark secrets that they have to live with.

Check out the reviews for this book on the like I provided. It is well worth your investment. If you're still not sure, then just read the first chapter. I promise you, you will be hooked.

The second book, Before They are Hanged, just came out in the US (I believe it's been in the UK for a while). I picked it up yesterday, and I'll give my thoughts on it when I've finished it.

[Lizard Of Oz]

Originally Posted by dragonfliet

Yeah. eReaders are pretty spiffy, but massively overpriced. When they drop to about $100 I'll maybe start caring. I mean, the convenience of them is wonderful, and it would be perfect for long vacations, as I wouldn't have to haul around a lot of books and the battery life is great. However, I would never replace books with it.

I love holding books, I love being able to see how far through a book I am by looking how much I've read, I love filling bookshelves in my study, I love making small notes in the margins. So far, only the iLiad allows writing in the margins (and it's a very nice looking reader) and the sony eReader is pretty sexy as well, so I'll keep watching out for them, but I don't think I'll be interested in getting one for quite a while.

As for the Kindle specifically, it's too bulky, and too ugly for me to take seriously. The free service to be able to buy books anytime is cool, but I've never needed a book that immediate to need that. It's neat that you can look at blogs and newspapers, but it costs money, and I can do that on a real computer for free.

I think the technology is promising and interesting, but far too young and far too expensive as of yet.

~Jason

I never knew these eReaders existed until last night, so this is a whole new world to me.

What I like about the Kindle is the built-in dictionary, the free download service, the fact that's not dependent on a computer or WiFi, the access to Wikipedia, its (some say flawed) access to the web, and the huge library of availible eBooks (100,000+ titles so far).

But the more I look into it, I see how many different eReaders there are, and I see how much I need to research them before I commit to anything.

If I ever cared about how far I was into a book it was because the book was boring me, and I was looking to see if I was close to the end. So, I've really no need to see "how far I've read". I have never felt a need to write stuff in the margins of books, unless it was a school textbook or some technical manual, and if I ever have need for one of those, I'll just buy the paper version. The eBooks I would buy will just be novels and such. I don't collect (paperback) books, and after I've read them, they're mostly just a pain. I either give them away or trash 'em. I do keep the few hardbacks I've bought.
The cool thing about the Kindle is that if there is any ebook you want to re-read, you can download it from Amazon again at no charge. Once you've bought it, it's yours for life.

Anyway, clearly more research is required, and I'm off to do just that.

[dragonfliet]

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

This is one of my new favorite books. The story is told in the present--a post apocalyptic world in which Snowman is the only human left that he knows of. His past, when he was known as a man named Jimee is told in sections between the present, and explains how things came to be that way. While the plot is fascinating and beautifully written, the condemnation of current class distinctions (the suburb is beautifully mocked) and corporate policy is just wonderful and perfectly done. I recommend this book to anyone with a pulse.


@Lizard of Oz: All eReaders can read any eBook (not just the kindle) as well as .doc and PDF files, etc. While I've never been so compelled to buy something from a cellular service, not POSSIBLY being able to wait until I could get to a computer, the kindle's main functions are bleh and the thought of trying to surf the internet on a device with a screen refresh of about a second makes me want to cry. It's a good enough reader, though, and these are completely my opinions.

More than anything else, I'm curios to see how the flexible eInk comes out because if they make a book that I can unfold and is a single, foldable piece that could do a passing imitation of a magazine and display 2 pages at one, then I'd think about snatching it up.

~Jason

[Jordan L]

Forgotten Realms: Dissolution , from 8+ years ago, probably my most recent book I've read. It was actually pretty good from what I remember.

[dragonfliet]

Originally Posted by Jordan L

...from 8+ years ago, probably my most recent book I've read.

[Jordan L]

Originally Posted by dragonfliet

[Lizard Of Oz]

Originally Posted by dragonfliet

Oryx and Crake

@Lizard of Oz: All eReaders can read any eBook (not just the kindle) as well as .doc and PDF files, etc. While I've never been so compelled to buy something from a cellular service, not POSSIBLY being able to wait until I could get to a computer, yabbity dibby da....

I believe that both the Sony and Kindle have a proprietary format, though both can do .doc, .txt (plain text), and .pdf (Though I read that the kindle has troubles with .pdf). I.e, Books you buy from Amazon.com for the Kindle are not readable on the Sony (not yet anyway).

But it doesn't matter, I've decided that I don't read enough to justify the cost. I'll be buying paperbacks for the foreseeable future.

[dragonfliet]

Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock

Finally got my freaking copy today. Stupid freaking USPS. Book was sent on Saturday, shipped from Cincinnati, OH (I live in Columbus, OH) to somewhere in Illinois, where it sat for two days, then BACK to Cincinnati, OH, then finally here. Sigh. Took over a week.

I have to say how freaking happy I am for Don. He's a genuinely wonderful guy and truly deserves the attention he's getting, even though it's quite surprising for a book of short stories. It's really amazing how big this book is. A blurb from Chuck Palahniuk, reviews in nearly every major outlet (good ones) and #1 in Short stories on Amazon.com (#6 for all US books). Pretty impressive stuff.

Okay, the book. The book is great. The stories are nice and short, 6-12 pages for the most part and the book is only 200 pages long, which is nice. Things, such brutal things, are laid out in crisp, easy language and are so, so easy to be lost in. I think the best comparison is between Flannery O'Conner and (the milder) of Palahniuk. He doesn't have the religious background of O'Conner or the penchant for the bizare of Palahniuk, but instead of being a mash, he molds his own path.

My biggest frustration is that Knockemstiff seems to be a place without tender moments, the story "Lard" having perhaps the most touching scene in the entire boo, and even it is just sorrow. Oh well, I guess I'll go read some more Murakami to cheer myself up.

~Json

[dragonfliet]

Lamp of the Body by Maggie Smith

I must preface this by saying that I'm not much of a poetry reader. This short collection of poems is generally beautiful. Smith is a talented poet and she obviously spends a lot of time mining mythology, religion and popular culture for the images and metaphors in her work. In "Country Warnings" she employs the biblical metaphor of the bride of Christ being bitten in the heel to speak of the real work fallacy of being swept away in allegory. Great stuff.

For me though, who loves verse poetry (particularly well-crafted sonnets and villanelles, etc.), the free-form style that Smith employs drives me up the wall. While some of her lineation is clever and smartly done, some is simply frustrating and random. She creates neat stanzas of two or three lines that have no apparent meaning other than tidiness and her meter is sometimes all over the place. I suppose she is most easily comparable to James Wright, another poet who's form annoys me. Not really sure if anyone here reads modern poetry (though I doubt it--not that I blame you. Essentially noone reads poetry, hence why there isn't a single literary poet who makes a living on their work), but there ya go.

Only 4 more books of poetry to go this quarter.

~Jason

[Lizard Of Oz]

My latest Amazon order:


"Lois on the Loose: One Woman, One Motorcycle, 20,000 Miles Across the Americas" by Lois Pryce

Bored by her desk job at the BBC, Pryce decided to convert her travel daydreams
into real-life adventure. At her local travel bookshop, she discovered a book
called Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon as well as a few handbooks on motorcycle
adventuring, and she was hooked. She bought a small dirt bike, a versatile and
affordable Yamaha XT225 Serow, and decided she'd bike from Anchorage, Alaska,
to the southernmost city of South America, Ushuaia, Argentina—almost 20,000 miles.
In this engaging read, Pryce narrates the adventure. Local bikers helped the
witty and sociable Pryce get her Serow fixed, strangers offered shelter or
advice and various friends joined her, for better or worse. She rode through
flaking dried mud and boulder-strewn donkey paths, through broiling desert
heat and blinding Andean snows.

"The Longest Ride: My Ten-Year 500,000 Mile Motorcycle Journey" by Emilio Scotto

Emilio Scotto recounts his world-record, decade-long motorcycle journey through
virtually every country in the world. Photographs accompany his adventures, which
begin in Scotto's native Argentina and include traveling Panama in the tumultuous
time of Noriega; riding through Mexico in the midst of an earthquake; breaching
the Iron Curtain; crossing the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie; being blessed
by the Pope; set upon by cannibals in Sierra Leone; fleeing Somalia on a freighter;
and ranging worldwide from Tunisia to Turkey, Petra to Afghanistan, Yugoslavia to
Singapore.



"Riding High" by Ted Simon

Riding High is packed with untold episodes from the Jupiter journey - his
confrontations with a murderous military in Chile, his farcical arrest in India,
bizarre customs in Thailand and Malaysia, his hilarious entanglements with a
bottle of bad Dubonnet in Ecuador and many more. Simon contrasts them with the
touching and turbulent events that followed his return to domesticity, and
explains what became of him in 'life after travel.'


"Two Wheels Through Terror: Diary of a South American Motorcycle Odyssey" by Glen Heggstad

Glen Heggstad is an adventure motorcyclist who seeks out and rides the most rugged
places on the planet. He has been a Hell's Angel and a martial arts competitor,
but no amount of training or experience was able to prepare him for what he became
while riding to the southern tip of South America: a prisoner. This book is the
shocking travelogue of Heggstad's journey through Central and South America,
including his capture by Colombia's rebel ELN army, and the eventual realization
of a dream.

[dragonfliet]

Goodness you seem to be on quite the motorcycle book frenzy. I didn't even KNOW there were this many motorcycle travel books.

~Jason

[Lizard Of Oz]

Originally Posted by dragonfliet

Goodness you seem to be on quite the motorcycle book frenzy. I didn't even KNOW there were this many motorcycle travel books.

~Jason

Yeah, I guess so. But it's not really the bikes that attract me. There's just something about traveling by bike that lends itself to great adventure. I guess it's that fact that the authors are not boxed in some can, passing the world by at a blurry 65mph. They are in the thick of things.

Funny part is that I don't own, and have never owned, a motorcycle. And there's a 99% chance that I will never will.

In one of the books above (The Masked Rider) the author (Neil Peart) travels across Africa on a bicycle, and I found that one just as interesting as the other books, and some cases more interesting.