Official Book Thread

[ntw3001]

Just using the word 'verdict'. The verdict: Overused.

[ntw3001]

Ah, okay, I probably should have read the next two pages before making that post about Wuthering Heights. Problem is solved, we're rosy. Panic over, guys.

[Skimba]

I'm reading 4 books at the moment. Two at home and two at work, depending what I'm in the mood for.
And yes, I still get odd looks from people in my building of "what you readin' for?" when I'm on break or lunch.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Currently reading: Journey to the West. It's an unabridged translation, so it's pretty long, but well worth it. (I'm about a third of the way through now).

[PonderThis]

Oh let's see I'm reading I Shall Wear Midnight (Terry Pratchett), Side Jobs (Jim Butcher), 1635: The Cannon Law (Eric Flint and Andrew Denis) and Spook Country (William Gibson). And one of these days I'm going to get back into Stalin's Ghost (Martin Cruz Smith).

And I've got Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks sitting there just begging me to start reading it ...

[Dusk]

I'm reading Fight Club again, because that's about where my brain is right now.

[Dusk]

Also, this is the best kids book I've read in a long time.

[Saltine]

MO WILLEMS

[jvcc]

MO WILLEMS
MO PROBLEMS

[IanC]

Finished reading Fulgrim by Graham McNeill, the 5th book in the Horus Heresy series.

... yeah Slaanesh is one fucked up Chaos God. Or at least his followers (even unwilling followers) are.

[Null]

Also, this is the best kids book I've read in a long time.

That does not appear to be a hound on the cover.

[quetzalcoatlus]

I am currently reading Psychotic Reactions And Carburetor Dung by Lester Bangs. I've read a lot of music-related books, but most of them have been retrospectives on different scenes, so it's kind of interesting to read stuff that was actually being written as things were still happening. I got a Barnes And Noble gift card for Christmas, and I spent it on that, Good Omens and American Gods. The latter two will be my first steps into Terry Pratchett and/or Neil Gaiman geekdom, assuming I like them.

[Null]

I am currently reading Psychotic Reactions And Carburetor Dung by Lester Bangs.

That's a hugely fun book, except for the dour Village Voice pieces in the latter part of the volume. He has another book, Main Lines, [something else] and Blood Feasts, but the good stuff was pretty much in PRAC.

Richard Meltzer's Gulcher is an equally fun book.

[jvcc]

I'm reading Richard III for my Shakespeare class. I've only made it through the first act, but I can already tell that it's going to be up there with Twelfth Night among my favorite of his works. Also, my professor for that class is actually British, which is fun. Sometimes she sounds Australian, though, and it confuses me.

[chrismachine]

That is indeed a great play. Read "Merry Wives of Windsor" if you get a chance

[quetzalcoatlus]

I am currently reading Psychotic Reactions And Carburetor Dung by Lester Bangs.

That's a hugely fun book, except for the dour Village Voice pieces in the latter part of the volume. He has another book, Main Lines, [something else] and Blood Feasts, but the good stuff was pretty much in PRAC.

Yeah, so far I especially liked the title essay due to how much detail he puts into all those nonexistent Count Five albums - I kind of want to hear someone try to write some of those songs, if such a thing has not happened already.

[giantsfan97]

Just finished "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. Definitely one of the most interesting books I've ever read. It's non-fiction, and in it he basically examines what makes successful people successful beyond just being smart and hardworking. It's amazing all the random coincidences that go into making a successful person. There is more to the book than that as well, explaining why summer vacation from school in the US is stupid, and why Korean airline pilots used to have a legitimately scary high rate of crashing their planes.

[fanelian]

I can't recall ever reading a non-fiction book that wasn't related to my career, except for manuals such as cookbooks.

A friend gave me "The hunger games" for my birthday. I found the premise interesting (I now have to read battle royale, I know), but I found the narrative lacking. I want to forgive the author, making up the excuse that the lack of better description and depth comes from the story being told from the limited perspective of a 16 year old and the tense it's written on. The descriptions at some point read like something I would've written 10 years ago. It's also a spanish copy, and when that's the case I have to give authors some slack because some things I find annoying may come from the translation; I have often found that I would never have translated something the way they did, but alas, they're the pros, not me. In this particular book there are made-up words and for some reason instead of using the same made up word, they made a new one in spanish, and It's obvious that the word you're reading in spanish is not what the author wrote, that it distracts you. All in all, I found it entertaining, but obvious; after all, it's still a "Young adult" book.

Oh well.

[ntw3001]

(I now have to read battle royale, I know)

Oh Battle Royale. I never read you, but I saw the film of you, then I saw the sequel and we played a long-distance pick-a-number-and-when-your-number-dies-you-lose game.

[giantsfan97]

I can't recall ever reading a non-fiction book that wasn't related to my career, except for manuals such as cookbooks.

Biographies can be super interesting, but I'm a nerd and most of the ones I've read are about celebrities or athletes.

[fanelian]

I want to read Tina Fey's. I read an excerpt and it was very funny.

[James]

Handling the Undead has good characterization, but I didn't find it as emotionally engaging or insightful as Let the Right One In. I'm currently reading Harbour, also by John Avjide Lindvist, and about which I'm not yet decided. He writes good characters, and has an unusual approach to the supernatural (by my reckoning, anyway). Prevailing themes are children and tragedy, and these themes are often combined. He's a good author.

[Skimba]

MO WILLEMS

They look AMAZING!

Long overdo. I just bought a few of these for my niece, neice...fork nothing looks right as it is spelled today. Also, I do not fork my nieces.

[giantsfan97]

I want to read Tina Fey's. I read an excerpt and it was very funny.

I actually started to read it (it was laying around my parent's house when I was back for thanksgiving) and it was OKAY. I love Tina Fey, so I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt that the book just starts a little slow. It's also clearly directed at females who have an awkward side. I am not female.

[James]

But you make up for it by having two awkward sides?