What are YOU reading right now?

Right now I'm reading Hard Rain, by Barry Eisler.

Also, more Song of Ice and Fire love. Feast is coming out in paperback in a few days; I'm stoked. :D
 
Some noobs talking about what they're reading.

That said, "A Song of Ice and Fire" sounds quite cool.
 
I Really liked reading Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath....does that count? :(

Ahh, I like Steinbeck. Read Winter of Our Discontent. And East of Eden.

As for what I'm reading now... I don't have time to read books anymore :(. Or.. well I'm planning on reading some Physical Chemistry 8th Edition by Atkins & DePaula.

As for Catcher in the Rye... ehh, I was ok with it, but it's not one of my favorite books. I know a lot of people who hate it, because Holden Caulfeld just whines and calls people phonies all the time.
 
This thread, I guess.

Actually, harry potter five. I started the series again a while ago for no particular reason.
 
Okay screw it, I'm going for full thread hijack.

I <3 ASoIaF. It's a fantasy world, but it reads like historical fiction. George Martin manages to keep the 'magic' of magic, which is something that I cannot say of many other fantasy novels. When it appears it is is otherworldly, creepy, and disturbing.

The characters are intriguing, three-dimensional, and memorable. While at first blush it seems that one family (The Starks) are the good guys, and the other (The Lannisters), are the ones in black hats, you realize there are heroes and villains on both sides. In Book 3, one of the biggest villains goes through a believable and enjoyable transformation to (semi-)good.

The plot is exciting and engaging, with twists around every corner (it seemed in the last half of Book 3 Martin was dropping a bombshell every other chapter).

For the record though, Tyrion "the Imp" Lannister is one of the funniest characters I have ever read. And at many points, you may want to reach through the book and throttle Sansa Stark. Don't. She'll improve eventually.

A Game of Thrones 9.5/10
Brilliant first novel, setting the pieces for the rest of the series.

A Clash of Kings 9/10
The action is in full swing, and we get an unbiased perspective from both sides. I'm pro-Stark, but that doesn't stop me from loving Tyrion.

A Storm of Swords 11/10
This novel wins at life. The war concludes in a blood soaked climax.

A Feast For Crows 8.5/10
The victors try to pick up the pieces after the war, although I was a little disappointed (SPOILERS!) with Cersei's chapters. Martin managed to imbue Jaime, one of the biggest and most one-dimensional villains so far, with a great personality, motives, and sense of humor. He's the funniest guy after Tyrion. Cersei though, well...she's an evil, scheming powerhungry bitch, and her chapters only made me now believe she's a crazy, evil scheming powerhungry bitch. (END SPOILERS!
 
I finished The Stand a while ago. 2nd half was a bit of a let down. 1st half was top notch though. 1142 pages...ugh...

I'm thinking of getting into some fantasy stuff. But none of that sword and sorcery crap, I need dark and gritty fantasy. But I have no idea what I'd be looking for D:

If you want dark and gritty fantasy, ASoIaF is probably the best series. The cliffhangers actually make you fear for the life of the character, because George R. R. Martin is not afraid to kill off his characters.

Edit: And while we're talking about it, my favorite characters are Jon and Arya.
 
Another vote for Arya Stark. She's one of my favorite characters, although from all the shit she's seen and done (and is still doing), I don't think she'll be all that sane by the end of the series. How she's still kicking at the end of AFFC baffles me. And all the worst villains have appeared in her chapters. SPOILERS! I mean Joffery, Rorge, Biter, AND the Mountain...being in close contact with any of those people is never good. Even the nice people she's met have always had an agenda with her. 'Cept of course Hot Pie, who wins the prize for best name. END SPOILERS!

And concerning killing off characters...Martin doesn't meaninglessly butcher our heroes. All the villains get theirs, but they take half the heroes screaming down to hell with them. Looking back you can see that their death was inevitable, even when it seemed shocking at the time. This also gives the real sense of fearing for your fav characters' lives.
 
I agree with everything said about A song of ice and fire.

My cousin let me borrow A Game of Thrones... and I wasnt really all that interested. I decided I couldnt let him down and not read it after he let me borrow it, so I forced myself to sit down one night and start reading. I think I ended up reading for like 6 or 7 hours straight. After that... I had finished all the books in a matter of a couple months.
 
One of my friends is reading the SoIaF and really digging it, he even started a D&D campaingh based off of it.

Meh, I'd try reading it if I didn't have a hate for fantasy books in general. I didn't even like the Lord of the Rings trilogy...
 
One of my friends is reading the SoIaF and really digging it, he even started a D&D campaingh based off of it.

Meh, I'd try reading it if I didn't have a hate for fantasy books in general. I didn't even like the Lord of the Rings trilogy...

Pick it up. I think you'll like it. I'd love to be in a D&D ASoIaF campaign.

I found out about the series when I read a glowing review in TIME of A Feast For Crows. It mentioned A Game of Thrones was the first book, so I bought it and became addicted to it.

Winter is coming...

EDIT: I have also heard that Theon will be reprising his role as a POV in A Dance With Dragons. Last we saw him, (SPOILERS, of course) he was being dragged off to the Dreadfort by Ramsay Snow. From what we've seen and heard, being captured by the Boltons is one the worst thing that can happen to you in the Seven Kingdoms, along with being captured by Lady Stoneheart. Or the Brave Companions...Or Qyburn...Or Gregor Clegane's posse...
 
I'm depressed because I've nothing to read. :bonce: Anyone wanna recommend me something good? Is anything by Kurt Vonnegut good? or maybe Catcher in the Rye?
 
... All the villains get theirs, but they take half the heroes screaming down to hell with them. ...

SPOILERS AHEAD

Eh? What about Frey? I'm really looking forward to him and his lot getting their due for the red wedding.
 
The alphabet of manliness.

A gripping and intelligent book I know
 
Oh, I also read To Kill A Mockingbird recently, I forgot that. Bloody good it was.
 
The alphabet of manliness.

A gripping and intelligent book I know


I <3 y'all! :D

I recently finished reading The House of Leaves. An mindnumbingly intricate book, but in the end a very simple message. It was spectacularly different. It actually tore me away from my computer for a few days. D:

Now I'm reading:
  • The Rising Sun - The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 by John Toland
  • Easy Japanese by Jack Seward
I'm also rereading and taking notes on:
  • The Last Oasis by Sue Pace
This one is one of my favorite, if not my favorite book of all time. I forgot why, but that's why I'm rereading. :D

I tried to read the Quran and the Bible, but wow. Just wow. Maybe I'll try them later.
 
I'm reading Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. And The Phantom Blooper, by Gustav Hasford.

You haven't read a war-novel until you have read The Short-Timers and it's sequel, The Phantom Blooper. Two of the best ever without a doubt. The Short-Timers was even adapted to a movie (under the name "Full Metal Jacket").
 
'Political Ideologies 3rd Edition' by Andrew Heywood

I dont read that much fiction anymore, although I really like Nick Hornby's stuff.
 
Going through a discworld phase atm, finished:

Guards, Guards
Men at Arms
The Fifth Elephant
Jingo

now onto The Truth
 
SPOILERS AHEAD

Eh? What about Frey? I'm really looking forward to him and his lot getting their due for the red wedding.

SPOILERS AHEAD! In time my child, in time...Stoneheart is working on it. My fantasy is Lord Walder bedridden by some disease or another in his castle, while his children and grandchildren tear themselves apart around him. Then as he is about to breathe his last breath, he hears the door open and a certain lady with a heart of stone enters...Something similar with the Boltons would be nice.

Petyr is definitely the archvillian though. I almost laughed in the last half of ASOS when we meet him and he does his grand reveal. (You know Arryn's murder? I was behind that. You know the letter Lysa sent that finally convinced Ned Stark to go south? I was behind that! And you know King Joff's assassination? Guess what. I WAS BEHIND THAT TOO! And now poor Sansa is trapped with a man who had seriously unresolved sexual issues with Sansa's mother, and too whom she bears a certain resemblance... :eek::naughty::eek: He definitely has a date (along with that little snot-nosed Robert Arryn) with Sansa's foot and the Moon Door.

EDIT: Death to all Freys, except Roslin, because she's hot and Edmure somehow impregnated her during the Red Wedding. Those must have been some pretty loud fiddlers outside the bedroom door, to cover the sound of a full-scale battle outside.
 
A clockwork orange, Anthony Burgess
The death of ivan ilyich, Tolstoy
The brothers karamazov, Dostoyevsky
Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
 
Lenins last stand, can't remeber who wrote it.
Reading alot of the guardian recently as well.
 
A clockwork orange, Anthony Burgess
The death of ivan ilyich, Tolstoy
The brothers karamazov, Dostoyevsky
Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Some pretty deep stuff you got there, I liked A clockwork Orange; but HATED Midnight's Children.
You should read The Satanic Verses by Rushdie instead, I thought it was a lot better and more interesting.
 
Just finished L.A Confidential, which was fantastic. I've now started on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
 
Finished the Road to Mars by Eric Idle the other day.

Its excellent, and blends some serious thoughts on the nature of comedy with a bizarro vaudeville/scifi/comedy world.
 
Back
Top