New to this text board, and I'm sure this thread isn't an original concept, however, what books are you guys reading at the moment?
For me, it's In The Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami. Got it on a whim, but it has turned out to be a truly chilling (albeit slightly weaboo) book. Long story short, guy is giving tour to foreigner around sex district in Japan, he suspects latest customer to be the culprit of a rash of recent murders.
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Anonymous2009-01-08 3:13
Just rereading The Catcher in the Rye.
Next on my list is The Inferno.
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Anonymous2009-01-08 3:26
Child of God, Cormac McCarthy
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Anonymous2009-01-08 5:27
The Woman in White and Dracula
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Anonymous2009-01-08 15:58
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill. Hasn't dragged yet, pretty golden.
Dorothy Dunnett's To Lie With Lions, sixth book in her eight book House of Niccolò series. I've been reading the series almost non-stop and I'm starting to flag. It doesn't help that she upped the drama quotient through the roof in the fifth book, especially as I'm rather disinterested in the other participant in that particular game.
Still, the woman wrote superb historical fiction. This is the twelth book I've soon read from her, and I only have problems with the last two books because I have shipping tendencies. I'd hate myself for criticizing these books because of it, but self-loathing is such a bothersome emotion.
Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.
I fucking love this book.
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Anonymous2009-01-17 21:44
Last night finished American Psycho.
Half the way on 2001 A Space Odyssey now.
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Anonymous2009-01-18 11:50
Ian McDonald - Brasyl
Not sure if it's good or lame yet.
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Anonymous2009-01-18 14:30
starting on the diamond age and lolita
because i forgot where i was in lolita
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Anonymous2009-01-19 21:51
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. It's like Da Vinci code for culturally literate and intelligent people. The major plot is the same as every other "templar g0n c0ntrul wrld lol" book (except they are going to use a bigass pendulum), but almost none of the first half of the book is even vaguely related. A lot of cultural and historical side story. Great characters and character dynamics.
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Anonymous2009-01-21 8:45
Brings me back to that blurb about Dan Brown being Umberto Eco on steroids. Made me chuckle, though I regret even laying my hands on anything written by that piece of garbage.
As for myself, I'm reading Hunger by Knut Hamsun.
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Anonymous2009-01-21 9:11
Just finished the Niccolò series. I wasn't perfectly satisfied with the ending. Not because it wasn't fitting, but because I childishly wanted it to end otherwise. I'll get over it.
No idea what to tackle next. I'm a bit drained and downcast, now that I've read both her fantastic series, and there won't be any more.
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Anonymous2009-01-21 18:27
>>23
I'm also reading The Diamond Age, heartily enjoying it. And just finished Death of a Salesman for class. Hmm, not sure how I feel about that one, it was a bit--overrated?
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Anonymous2009-01-21 23:52
Just finished "City of Dreaming Books." I heartily recommend it. Very well put together.
Currently reading both "Thank You for Smoking" and "Tales of 1,001 Nights"
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Anonymous2009-01-22 12:40
The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
The Judas Strain by James Rollins
Utopia by Lincoln Child
Monster by Frank Peretti
Comes a Horseman by Robert Liparulo
Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay
The Quixote, by Cervantes, in its original language.
Best book I've ever read.
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Anonymous2009-01-24 3:42
>>31
Well golly, I wonder what language that could be!
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Anonymous2009-01-24 16:51
Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.Titfucked a squirrel.
I'm also reading this, it's took me a very long time since I've been busy with other things lately. I'd still recommend this to others even though I myself should re-read it because of my lack of concentration.
I think The Idiot looks to be the next Dostoevsky novel that I will read.
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Anonymous2009-01-26 14:00
Diary by Chuck Palahniuk.
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Anonymous2009-01-26 16:16
I finished the Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman a few hours ago. It's about the English War of the Roses, with spotlight (and bias) on Richard III. A good book; I've spent these last few hours browsing the Net for more information on him.
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Anonymous2009-01-26 21:59
>>33 >>33 >>33 >>33 >>33
MIKE WASOWSKI
MIKE WASOWSKI
MIKE WASOWSKI
MIKE WASOWSKI
MIKE WASOWSKI
K!TTY!!!
MIKE WASOWSKI
MIKE WASOWSKI
MIKE WASOWSKI
MIKE WASOWSKI
MIKE WASOWSKI
K!TTY!!!
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Anonymous2009-01-28 23:27
American Psycho. The I'm going on to either Naked Lunch, God's Debris, or The Sound and the Fury.
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Anonymous2009-01-28 23:35
>>38
The only book there that's actually great is The Sound and the Fury, so read that.
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Anonymous2009-01-29 11:27
Wind-Up Bird Chronicle which is kind of boring me. After that I'll be reading The Once and Future King.
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Anonymous2009-01-29 21:55
Took a couple of hours out to read Asimov's 'Nightfall' compendium, a couple of days ago.
Never really got into his stuff before, but now I think I'm a fan and plan to hit-up my second hand bookshop over the next couple of days.
Would appreciate any recommendations.
In return, for that real olskool origins of SciFi feel. E.E. 'Doc' Smith's Lensmen series
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Anonymous2009-01-29 22:00
>>41
apologies for my repetitive use of the word couple there
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Anonymous2009-01-29 22:27
Should have posted here yesterday before I finished it, but:
Ian McDonald - Brasyl
In summary: holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit. Read this book.
Rereading-
VALIS, PKD
Hell House, Matheson
The Mystified Magistrate, Sade
Stand Still Like the Hummingbird, Miller
Need to go to the bookstore.
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Anonymous2009-02-02 0:16
Day of the Locust, by Nathanael West
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Anonymous2009-02-02 15:14
The Castle by Franz Kafka
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Anonymous2009-02-06 13:55
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
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Anonymous2009-02-06 15:32
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, by Douglas Adams
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Anonymous2009-02-08 8:06
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
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Anonymous2009-02-09 0:52
just finished speaker for the dead, now im reading neuromancer and the cryptonomicon
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Anonymous2009-02-09 4:28
>>53
Hey, I remember you from that other thread :D
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Anonymous2009-02-09 14:13
The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. By Samuel Johnson.
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Anonymous2009-02-09 23:52
Making my way through the first three Necroscope books, currently on book 2 (Vamphyri!). I have this to say about the series:
BEST.
VAMPIRE.
BOOKS.
SINCE.
DRACULA.
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Anonymous2009-02-10 17:37
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
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Anonymous2009-02-11 0:30
The Black Company.
Though I recently picked up The Salmon of Doubt and have been reading that in my free time between classes and whatnot. After I finish Black Company I am going to read Kafka on the Shore.
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Anonymous2009-02-11 8:21
Just finished in the last 3 days or so, guess that counts, too:
Robert Buettner - Jason Wander series (although there are only 4 of 5 of it out). Pretty decent military scifi in the vein of Starship Troopers, Forever War, Armor, even if the enemies are somewhat lame.. slugs got nothin' on bugs/ants, even if these are some badass slugs.
Jack Campbell - The Lost Fleet series, same deal with the incompleteness.. 4 of 6 in this instance. Also mil scifi, but with focus on space battles. Wasn't bad either (although the writing is definitely not as good), for me at least, having enjoyed Bujolds Vorkosigan Saga and Webers Honorverse immensely (at least until the latter turned boring with all the peace shit and OHMYGODPOLITICSEVERYWHERE).
Seems like my temporary mil scifi craving is sated for now...
Next will probably be some Buckell, Banks, Stross, Scalzi, Williams or Pratt... I have no idea yet.
>>60 >>61
I don't give a shit if it's crap as long as it's enjoyable. I don't read to challenge my mind but to kill time.
Engaging my wit while I'm at it is a nice side effect, but a side effect none the less.
Also, most of those authors are far from crappy judged by (sub)genre standards.. and there just aren't enough quality books oozing literary merit for the intellectually superior elitist gentleman at the apex of sophistication to read 50+ of them per year in general, let alone per single genre.
>>62
Dude, you're forgetting about humanity's rich literary history comprising thousands of timeless classics written in the English language alone(this includes translations into English), and you don't even need to be a literary genius to enjoy most of them. You could read 50 books a year and be good for at least 40 years. There's no need to resort to crappy genre fiction because you don't think you have enough to read because you almost definitely do.
When you're done with that, you can consult me. I'll be here.
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Anonymous2009-02-12 2:50
>>64
I think you were too hasty to jump on his excuse, rather than his reason. Not to put words into 62's mouth, but I think he might as well ended his post after the first two lines, before he went into defensive mode.
While there is unarguably a wealth of literature spanning hundreds, even thousands, of years available, I see no reason to harangue someone who reads what he enjoys, instead of what he 'should' enjoy.
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Anonymous2009-02-12 3:51
>>64
What I meant were books perceived as having literary value while also appealing to me personally. Most of them simply aren't escapist enough, at least those I have seen so far. I should have been clearer.
While I no doubt could enjoy at least some of that list, I'd honestly most of the time be too lazy to slog through all of it to find those gems that attract me and satisfy critics both. Genre conventions make that a lot easier.
I also see no reason whatsoever to force myself through a book that's deemed great for the sake of having read it if something "crappy" holds more enjoyment. So, there, make of that what you will.
Anyway, thanks for the list, I might have a look sometime.
Othello, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, John Irving's Until I Find You, a Photoshop CS3 book, and trying to finish listening to Dawkins' the God Delusion. I need to stop doing this and read one thing at a time.
I just finished Catcher in the Rye, and now I'm reading after the quake by Haruki Murakami. So far, the first two short stories have been fairly average.
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Anonymous2009-02-21 10:53
Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite and Insomnia by Stephen King.
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Anonymous2009-02-21 10:57
I've read a few pages of Slaughterhouse 5. Have had it in my shelf for a while, so I though it'd be a quick read before I begin reading Lolita.
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Anonymous2009-02-21 12:08
87: Enjoy Lolita. It's my favorite book of all time.
Currently, I'm rereding Michael Ende's The Neverending Story. I felt it was time for some childhood nostalgia. (It's the Ralph Manheim translation, if you wondered.)
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Anonymous2009-02-21 17:23
Mechanisms of Synaptic Transmission by Robinson
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Anonymous2009-02-21 23:02
Picked up two books and a graphic novel over the weekend. First is Children of Hurin by Tolkein, is awwwwite. Second is Asimov's Foundation and Empire, that series is pretty good. The comic book is Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, which was surprisingly good.
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Anonymous2009-02-22 19:04
I'm reading Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol at the moment.
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Anonymous2009-02-22 20:41
I just finished Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, about to start The Chronicles of Narnia series by i'm not so sure yet.
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Anonymous2009-02-22 21:38
Just finished Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast books. What the fuck was up with Titus Alone? I know he was planning to do the rest of Titus' life, but that doesn't make the book seem any less of a what-the-fuck after the first two.
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Anonymous2009-02-23 0:46
>>93
I think Peake was already rather ill by the time he wrote Titus Alone.
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Anonymous2009-02-23 18:21
>>92
How did you like Atlas Shrugged? I've had it on my desk for awhile but I have yet to get the initiative to pick it up.
Not the best writer. But an excellent source if you're looking for new ways to vomit your ego on paper and make plenty o' mon-mon off it.
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Anonymous2009-02-23 18:46
>>95
You didn't ask me, but I'll throw in my 2 cents anyhow. Rand is disappointing. I've heard all my life about how amazing Atlas Shrugged is, but when I picked it up to read it, I was entirely nonplussed.
If you really want to read it, prepare for 1200 pages of being hit over the head with her narrow philosophy. By the end, you'll have no doubt as to the moral, that's for sure, but you'll also put it down wondering why you just read in 1200 pages what could have been said in 300. Who is John Galt indeed.
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Anonymous2009-02-25 1:42
Not >>97, but I share his/her views (only I read The Fountainhead).
If you like Objectivism, you'll like her books; if you don't, then you'll find them either boring or loathsome.
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Anonymous2009-02-28 13:47
>>96 >>97 >>98
This is close to what I expected, which is why I haven't begun to read it yet. I will put it off a little longer now.
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Anonymous2009-03-01 20:13
I just finished On The Road today and am about to start either American Psycho or Slaughterhouse Five. Any recommendation on which to read first?