I have the first dune book somewhere... looks like it's time to dig it up I just finished Ghosts of Onyx which is book 4 of the halo series I still have to read contact harvest and the cole protocal which are the last 2 halo books. I've been wanting to dig up and reread the entire hitchhikers guide series because I first read it in 11th grade and I feel like I missed a lot. I've also got long dark tea time for the soul lined up.
Not being a good student in High School, :ashamed001, I vowed to sart reading the classics. A couple of years ago, I read "David Copperfield" and loved it. Then it was "Of Mice and Men" and just finished "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. Both are great books. Not sure what is next for me. Aaron
I just finished Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh. Switching to something lighter so I am starting off the Piers Anthony Xanth series again. Then I suppose I should start reviewing some actual content area texts... blah...
ooo of mice and men is great stuff, I've always said I want to read the jungle but at the same time I have a feeling it will be a hard read emotionally for me.
I've actually been re-reading Of Mice and Men off and on with the other books I have been reading. It has been a long time - I think freshman year in high school. As for classics, there are many good ones out there. I was recently turned on to Dickens. I had never read anything by him until a few years ago. Can you believe that? The American education system (granted, this was California) does not include any novels by Dickens in important English literature? I read A Tale of Two Cities - incredible book. The ending is the best part. True bravery and self-sacrifice. I was moved. Great Expectations was next, followed by David Copperfield. I would recommend them all. Next on my list will be Bleak House. It is sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. For other classics, I enjoyed Ivanhoe, and some of the adventure novels are great reads. Although it has been a while, I really enjoyed Jack London, as mentioned before. Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth was also very entertaining. Bram Stoker's Dracula is SO much better than any movie ever made from it. Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Kidnapped, Treasure Island. I'll also throw in some other great sci-fi - Asimov. Not a lot you can go wrong with. I enjoyed the original Foundation trilogy. The Robot mystery novels were also good. Try Card's Ender's Game. I didn't care for it as much as some, but it is one of those at the top of most recommendation lists. Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is great. Finally, I love a good thriller/action novel. Tom Clancy, in his earlier days, was always great. I felt he went downhill beginning with Without Remorse, and definitely with Red Rabbit. But his earlier novels are excellent. Try Red Storm Rising, Patriot Games, Hunt for Red October, and Cardinal of the Kremlin. I really enjoy the Vince Flynn novels - if you enjoy the TV show 24, you'll probably like his stuff. His major character throughout his novels is very much a Jack Bauer. Finally, Robert Ludlum. His stuff may seem a little dated, as he was dealing more with cold war types of threats, and I will warn you that he tends to get very formulaic, and once you have read a few of his books, it seems like you have read them all. However, try the Bourne Identity. I didn't care so much for the other entries in this particular series, but the first is definitely exciting - it bears very little similarities to the movie. Alright, that is my list for now. My other favorites are history, but I'll leave this post for the fiction.
[montgomery burns] excellent! [/montgomery burns] I find that the dictionary at the end isn't really needed. You can pick up most of the word meanings in context, at least for that first novel. Later novels aren't so accessible. I'm continuing my Larry Niven kick. I'm currently working on Destiny's Road, which is another Niven novel about another colonized planet that's been abandoned. This is a very common theme in his work. As usual, he spends a lot of time exploring the science behind colonizing a genuinely alien planet.
David McCullough's biography of John Adams is excellent. My father-in-law also likes his biography of Truman, but I was less interested in that. A little while back I read Toland's biography of Hitler - massive, but interesting, kept me reading. Did you mean only biographies, or general non-fiction? I love history, especially military history. McCullough's 1776 is excellent. I have heard good things of most of his books. I recently read the first of Simon Schama's History of Brittain trilogy, and liked it. For World War II, Ambrose's Band of Brothers, or Flag of Our Fathers. For World War I, Tuchmann's Guns of August. For Civil War, Bruce Catton's Army of the Potomac Trilogy is excellent - non-fiction that reads like a novel. Sorry, I have a fondness for war history.
I found these fascinating: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312291450/?tag=thshde-20 http://www.amazon.com/dp/0735201994/?tag=thshde-20 http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Whats-It-All-About-id-039458421X.aspx http://www.amazon.com/dp/0471332062/?tag=thshde-20
"flowers for algernon"-Daniel Keyes if you haven't yet read it already now that a month has past Ok I usually don't discuss what I read w/ other people that also read. People who read have knowledge and can actually back up there debates w/ facts and sources instead of "yeah well your mom". Big fish small pond ftw! Anywho I have read most the classics and can honestly say I don't care for many of them. I understand thier importance and significance to writing but that doesn't mean I have to like them. I feel dickinson wrote backwards, and hemingway bores me, I enjoy most of shakespeare as long as you keep MacBeth far far away from me. Keep in mind these are my opinions and shouldn't effect your like/dislike of them it's just so people will know my interests and were I stand on these matters. I prefer hacker novels mostly w/ scifi and fantasy and action making up most of the other group. This includes "hitchhikers guide series" and "Drizzt saga"-by R.A. Salvatore and almost anything by R.J.Peneiro though "firewall" is my favorite he's done so far, no I haven't read "dune" but I'm getting to it promise My favorite book ever is "The Ultimate Rush" by Joe Quirk a have never read a book so fast because of the pace of the action and emersion the author presents. A lot of the stuff is inaccurate in description but who cares it's intertaining. The book I always recommend to people is "Hitching Rides With Buddah"- by wil ferguson. This guy hitch hiked across the entire country of Japan and writes of his adventure. I read in spurts I won't touch a book all year then I'll read non stop for a month straight So I usually like to find series so I can keep going without looking for another author that I like. Currently reading: Incarnations of Immortality- Piers Anthony (book 1 On a Pale Horse) Warriors-Erin Hunter (yes I know it's kinda juvenile but I like it so:taunt002) Drizzt-R.A. Salvatore (book IV halflings gem) Snow Crash-Neal Stephenson
I just finished reading Leisureguy's Guide to Gourmet Shaving. 2nd Edition. Doubt I need to read the 3rd, which is out now. I am going to finish reading now my book on wine a friend sent to me.
Is it better than "Atlas Shrugged?" I liked the ideas in Atlas (most of them), but it could be painful at times to read, especially Galt's soliloquy that was the size of a novella. I don't know that I read it so much as endured it.
Finally finished Dune! Much like the filmed versions, it dragged in places, but it was overall a very great read. To have been written in the 1960s it sure did capture a lot of the political turmoil that drives the middle east today, no? Did anyone else feel like the end just sort of clipped off? I was reading the book, and set it down thinking I didn't have time "to read a few more pages." Imagine my chagrin when I picked the book up an hour later, read the next paragraph, turned the page and saw "Appendices" :ashamed001 At any rate, I feel I'm a better man for having finally read this literary sci-fi (though it's more of a political thriller) classic. The movie certainly makes more sense now. Now, I'm on to some lighter reading: Click the picture for descriptiony goodness.
That's a critical distinction to make about all Rand's work. which one? The Lynch version, or the sci fi network version? I prefer Lynch's. It just feels right to me, where the sci fi network version feels too slick and sanitized. Oh, and if you're speaking of Lynch's version, then that one comes in multiple versions as well. The one with Lynch's name on it is best. The others were released against his wishes, although I think they finally released a director's cut with his name on it a few years back... I digress. I haven't read the book in many years. I seem to remember the abrupt ending and I went straight into reading the next in the series, thinking it would somehow complete the story. Don't do that. If you think Dune dragged then the next two will be unbearable.
This one is the one I watched last night. I actually own this one and the sci-fi version, which I also enjoyed thoroughly, but they are very different interpretations of the book. I can see why Lynch didn't approve of the extended vesion presented on this dvd (at least I think he didn't like this one). It was very heavy-handed in it's exposition, assuming the audience couldn't figure anything out on their own. On the other hand, without the voice-over, the choppy editing would probably be hard to make sense of. Regardless, it was still nice to see a visual presentation of some of the scenes and ideas presented in the book. It was a fun diversion from all the dreck that is being made these days.
I like the Star Trek: Stargazer novels for some light distraction reading. Right now, I'm reading Gauntlet Book One.
I'm starting a series called The Best American Short Stories 19xx. They have released this book every year since around 1905 and is compiled of the best short stories chosen by an editor they pick. My library has about the last 10 years of editions. I also picked up The Complete Short Stories Of Robert Louis Stevenson.
