What is it about though? The title doesn't give a whole lot away. 
What Books are You Reading & What Do You Like About Them? Book Reviews Encouraged!!
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Just got done reading of Mice and Men. I liked it a lot better than to Kill a Mockingbird.
My favorite series of all time is, and will always be, Harry Potter, but I did read a very good and unique series a year or two ago called Alcatraz Smedry VS the Evil Librarians. The author has a very unusual and slightly insane way of writing, and the story is very creative.
If you like Fantasy or Sci-fy, and want a good laugh you should definitely try it out.
If you like Fantasy or Sci-fy, and want a good laugh you should definitely try it out.
MountainDrew said:
Ahh, I just got finished reading To Kill a Mockingbord. It's pretty good, I suppose.
Recently, I've been reading Physics of the Impossible, by Michio Kaku (my favorite scientist). It's a great book, even if you know absolutely nothing about physics, and I would recommend it to any sci-fi fan.
The book discusses many of the things used in science fiction novels, movies, etc. such as laser guns, force fields, and the like. If you like sci-fi, read this book!
I'm currently reading The Tao of Pooh and once I finish I'll read The Te of Piglet.
Lately I've been extremely interested in meditation and Buddhism and was on another forum when I came across these titles. These books are religious/philosophical books explaining the beliefs of Taoism and seeing the beauty of the world. I've learned that unlike the Buddhist view that suffering is eternal, the followers of Taoism prefer to see the world as a beautiful place and try to see the good in everything. Although I'm only about halfway done with The Tao of Pooh, I've really enjoyed it so far and would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting read.
If you're interested, feel free to PM me about it or leave a comment on my profile!
Lately I've been extremely interested in meditation and Buddhism and was on another forum when I came across these titles. These books are religious/philosophical books explaining the beliefs of Taoism and seeing the beauty of the world. I've learned that unlike the Buddhist view that suffering is eternal, the followers of Taoism prefer to see the world as a beautiful place and try to see the good in everything. Although I'm only about halfway done with The Tao of Pooh, I've really enjoyed it so far and would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting read.
If you're interested, feel free to PM me about it or leave a comment on my profile!
I'm reading The Sleeping Sorceress by Michael Moorcock.
It is an epic fantasy centered around Elric's grudge with the Pan Tangian sorcerer Theleb K'aarna. The Pan Tangians fancy themselves expert sorcerers and seek to emulate the Bright Empire of Melnibone. Well, Elric (a Melnibonean) showed Theleb for an ineffectual sorcerer in a previous story and stole Theleb's lady friend. This novel opens with Elric in pursuit of Theleb. The chase brings Elric to the mythical castle of Kaneloon, where dwells Myshella the Dark Lady. Theleb wants to kill Myshella because she's a figurehead of Law upon the Earth. Doing so would put Theleb in high standing with the Lords of Entropy, whom Elric also serves. So Elric quests to protect Myshella from Theleb's schemes. What's interesting is how viciously Elric deals with Theleb and other enemies (many of whom he made). This novel introduces the concept of Elric as a manifestation of the Eternal Champion, which is further developed in subsequent novels.
I can't recommend Moorcock's work enough. So many of the tropes found in modern fantasy originated either within Moorcock's Eternal Champion novels or the Conan series by Robert Howard. Whereas Robert Howard is adept at prose and scenery (descriptive without going overboard), Michael Moorcock is excellent at characterization. I'm especially fond of how Moorcock works science into his epic fantasies. You can see a bit of that in The Sleeping Sorceress, in the form of a tower that travels between the planes of the Multiverse/
It is an epic fantasy centered around Elric's grudge with the Pan Tangian sorcerer Theleb K'aarna. The Pan Tangians fancy themselves expert sorcerers and seek to emulate the Bright Empire of Melnibone. Well, Elric (a Melnibonean) showed Theleb for an ineffectual sorcerer in a previous story and stole Theleb's lady friend. This novel opens with Elric in pursuit of Theleb. The chase brings Elric to the mythical castle of Kaneloon, where dwells Myshella the Dark Lady. Theleb wants to kill Myshella because she's a figurehead of Law upon the Earth. Doing so would put Theleb in high standing with the Lords of Entropy, whom Elric also serves. So Elric quests to protect Myshella from Theleb's schemes. What's interesting is how viciously Elric deals with Theleb and other enemies (many of whom he made). This novel introduces the concept of Elric as a manifestation of the Eternal Champion, which is further developed in subsequent novels.
I can't recommend Moorcock's work enough. So many of the tropes found in modern fantasy originated either within Moorcock's Eternal Champion novels or the Conan series by Robert Howard. Whereas Robert Howard is adept at prose and scenery (descriptive without going overboard), Michael Moorcock is excellent at characterization. I'm especially fond of how Moorcock works science into his epic fantasies. You can see a bit of that in The Sleeping Sorceress, in the form of a tower that travels between the planes of the Multiverse/
I've been reading Divergent (and Insurgent) by Veronica Roth on repeat for ages.
It's set in a future Chicago where, at the age of 16, everyone goes into 1 of 5 different factions - Abnegation (selflessness), Amity (peaceful), Candor (honest), Erudite (intelligent) or Dauntless (brave). Before they transfer into whichever faction they choose, they go through an aptitude test.
16 year old Beatrice (Tris) Prior takes her aptitude test; unlike most people, she doesn't fit into one faction, she fits into 3 - Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite. This is classed as Divergence.
When the choosing day comes, Tris decides to transfer to Dauntless. There, she quickly makes friends, and enemies - Peter, another transfer, does his best to make sure Tris doesn't pass initiation.
I really recommend reading this series. It's one of the best I've read yet, and there's so many small things in there, and Veronica Roth puts Tris' perspective so well.
It's set in a future Chicago where, at the age of 16, everyone goes into 1 of 5 different factions - Abnegation (selflessness), Amity (peaceful), Candor (honest), Erudite (intelligent) or Dauntless (brave). Before they transfer into whichever faction they choose, they go through an aptitude test.
16 year old Beatrice (Tris) Prior takes her aptitude test; unlike most people, she doesn't fit into one faction, she fits into 3 - Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite. This is classed as Divergence.
When the choosing day comes, Tris decides to transfer to Dauntless. There, she quickly makes friends, and enemies - Peter, another transfer, does his best to make sure Tris doesn't pass initiation.
I really recommend reading this series. It's one of the best I've read yet, and there's so many small things in there, and Veronica Roth puts Tris' perspective so well.
I just got done with Frankenstein, I love this book with the confliction of romanticism and realism, it does have touches of gothic literature in it.
Its about a scientist (Dr. Frankenstein) wanting more knowledge and has an epiphany when he see lightning hits a tree. He creates a creature, who wants love and nurturing and is rejected to the brink of insanity and depression. It has a Lachrymose atmosphere in the book.
Its about a scientist (Dr. Frankenstein) wanting more knowledge and has an epiphany when he see lightning hits a tree. He creates a creature, who wants love and nurturing and is rejected to the brink of insanity and depression. It has a Lachrymose atmosphere in the book.
Quantum physics/mechanics very deep and interesting
I am currently reading.... everyone else's comments XD
In all seriousness, I am currently re-reading Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn, the first book in the Tales of the Otori series.
The series is amazing. It is what got me into reading. Its pretty much about Samurai/Ninja assassins with special powers, set in Feudal Japan, with a bit of a love story around it.
In all seriousness, I am currently re-reading Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn, the first book in the Tales of the Otori series.
The series is amazing. It is what got me into reading. Its pretty much about Samurai/Ninja assassins with special powers, set in Feudal Japan, with a bit of a love story around it.
I read Erebos! it's written by U. Poznanski. Really good!!
As an English Literature major, I have to read 30+ books a semester. I just read The Stranger by Camus, The Narritive of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Main Street by Lewis Sinclair, Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, 14 Stories by Pearl Buck, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Absalom Absalom by Faulkner (in just the past few weeks).
Absalom Absalom is horrible to read, but has a good plot. I just don't get hype of The Stranger, but it's an easy read. Frederick Douglass's book is great, but is anti-climactic (Spoiler: he doesn't tell us how he escaped slavery, which is what we want to know!) Main Street is good, but way longer than it should be (450+ pages). I had never read The Scarlet Letter before, but it's very good. Moby-Dick is not bad, but not good (there is no plot and is about 600+ pages of nonsense). 14 Stories was the best thing I have read this semester. It's a hard find, as it's not in print anymore. I have heard her novels are great, too. Can anyone comment on this?
I will soon be reading Gimple the Fool by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Collected Plays by Wole Soyinka, View With a Grain of Sand by Wislawa Szymborska, Sula by Toni Morrison, The Awakening by Kate Chopin (I have high hopes for this), The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass, and Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Davis to round out the semester.
If you're wondering, my classes are about Nobel Prize winners in literature and 19th Century American fiction.
And, for fun, I love to read Agatha Christie (and watch David Suchet as Poirot in his Poirot British series).
EDIT: Lols at the Moby-Dick
Absalom Absalom is horrible to read, but has a good plot. I just don't get hype of The Stranger, but it's an easy read. Frederick Douglass's book is great, but is anti-climactic (Spoiler: he doesn't tell us how he escaped slavery, which is what we want to know!) Main Street is good, but way longer than it should be (450+ pages). I had never read The Scarlet Letter before, but it's very good. Moby-Dick is not bad, but not good (there is no plot and is about 600+ pages of nonsense). 14 Stories was the best thing I have read this semester. It's a hard find, as it's not in print anymore. I have heard her novels are great, too. Can anyone comment on this?
I will soon be reading Gimple the Fool by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Collected Plays by Wole Soyinka, View With a Grain of Sand by Wislawa Szymborska, Sula by Toni Morrison, The Awakening by Kate Chopin (I have high hopes for this), The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass, and Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Davis to round out the semester.
If you're wondering, my classes are about Nobel Prize winners in literature and 19th Century American fiction.
And, for fun, I love to read Agatha Christie (and watch David Suchet as Poirot in his Poirot British series).
EDIT: Lols at the Moby-Dick
J
Juliacoolo
I enjoyed reading your post, momoxmomo. Could you recommend me some literature that is very 'emotionally rattling' but still of high literary merit?
It depends on what you mean by "emotionally rattling." Frederick Douglass's narrative was very sad and heart wrenching at times, due to his descriptions of some of the beatings he witnesses. Maggie by Stephen Crane can be emotional at times. Spoiler: It's about a poor Irish girl, who dreams of escaping poverty, but doesn't make it. She experiences way too many hardships and nothing good happens to her. It's really sad. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is usually seen as very emotionally heartbreaking. Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland is about a painting that appears in many different lives over the course of time, which I found emotional. The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean is about a guide at the Hermitage during the fall of Leningrad. I liked that a lot.Jay said:
These are some nice comments, momo. Allow me to clear only one point. You said Moby has no plot and it is 600+ pages of nonsense. In fact, it's not. Herman Melville's books (Moby, White Jacket, Billy Budd) aren't centered around a plot, but around life at sea. Moby is an amazingly detailed diary of the life on a whale-hunting ship. White Jacket is the same for a warship. If you like that stuff (and I personally do), then the books are a great read. Otherwise, they'll seem long and tiring.
Anyway, I recently re-read The Sandman by Miles Gibson. I won't openly recommend it, because there's a good chance it won't appeal to many. It's basically the diary of a serial killer and the way he saw life. It's very hard to find here in Greece, but it might be easier in the States or the UK.
Anyway, I recently re-read The Sandman by Miles Gibson. I won't openly recommend it, because there's a good chance it won't appeal to many. It's basically the diary of a serial killer and the way he saw life. It's very hard to find here in Greece, but it might be easier in the States or the UK.
Ice Jackal said:
Don't get me wrong, there are some great illustrations about life at sea, and Melville is great at creating characters and relationships, but the lack of plot throws me off. Now, if it was much shorter, I might even praise it. But it's just a continuous narrative reiterating the same themes and points.
Yay, another English major! Anyway, I have been reading a lot of books this year as well, primarily because I am an English major. I just got done reading The Plague by Albert Camus. It was a very interesting read, seeing as it made many parallels with absurdism and WWII. Specifically, I found the notion of an outbreak of the plague during a more modern time period to be very interesting, because I believe that most people view the plague as a thing of the past. All in all a very good book with very interesting characters. Next we will be reading Blindness by Saramago, which I will post about later.
For fun I am about to start reading The House of Hades by Rick Riordan. I am really hoping that this book stands up to the rest of them, I think that he is a phenomenal writer. For those of you who don't know, this series is mainly about Greek Mythology. Specifically a large camp of "demi-gods" that live in modern times and save the world more than once. They are very good books once you get into them.
For fun I am about to start reading The House of Hades by Rick Riordan. I am really hoping that this book stands up to the rest of them, I think that he is a phenomenal writer. For those of you who don't know, this series is mainly about Greek Mythology. Specifically a large camp of "demi-gods" that live in modern times and save the world more than once. They are very good books once you get into them.