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DrunkleJon said:
I am most of the way through the first book of the Dies the Fire series. I like distopian fiction. Like the way the author started the 'change' and all that. Kinda irked about how lucky/untouchable the main characters are, but then again you cant have a main character if they get killed off or paralyzed in their first few skirmishes. I will keep reading though some main characters need some really bad luck soon to balance things out.

On a side note, I think the autor must be a wiccan.
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If you like Dystopian fiction (and have a Kindle), check this out: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HPM3PDA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 It's currently available for 99 cents... MORE than worth it, by far...

One that I found there was the "Yesterday's Gone" series. While it's not exactly "dystopian", it's a great read, with well-developed characters. I went ahead after reading the first season* as part of that anthology, and have bought all the subsequent seasons. I just finished the 5th season a few days ago...

Right now I'm in the middle of Ray Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near".

(* I use the term "season" because they had originally released each "season" as a serial... I personally read them all at once, rather than as a serial.)
 
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Will definitely check that out. Cant beat a dollar for the amount of reading that will include.

I am a binge reader. This could be troublesome.
 
Just finished "Lamb, the gospel according to Biff" by Christopher Moore.

I've been reading all of his books. Nice and light reading and good amount of humour.

Lamb is kind of irreverent, but yet it does get a lot of Jewish and Christian biblical information packed into it. Sometimes not exactly as previously recorded, and there is a lot of "filled in the blanks for ya!" kind of stuff, but it was fun. Just be aware that the actions and mannerisms portrayed would not be accurate for people of that time from what we know of history.
 
Dust of Dreams

Book 9 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. If you are looking for a break from Song of Ice and Fire or want a fantasy series with a good chunk of macabre humor, try the Malazan series. My only criticism would be theres like 9,000,000 million characters (usually its not tough to keep track of them).

High Fantasy + very macabre military humor + bits of mystery = recipe for sucess
 
I am trudging through Hunger Games - Mockingjay. I read the first two a long time ago, and decided to read the final book before I saw the movie. Of course, the final movie is split into two (so dumb, another topic).

I say trudging because this book is, so far, no comparison to the others. I remember them being action-filled, quick reads, entertaining.
 
passedpawn said:
I am trudging through Hunger Games - Mockingjay. I read the first two a long time ago, and decided to read the final book before I saw the movie. Of course, the final movie is split into two (so dumb, another topic).

I say trudging because this book is, so far, no comparison to the others. I remember them being action-filled, quick reads, entertaining.
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Yeah, number 3 was nowhere near the others. I guess it had to be tied up though and you can't maintain deathmatch arena level excitement that way. I kinda wish I read them in reverse order or something
 
Amazing. I'm an avid reader, and I read a lot of literature (like Moby Dick or David Copperfield) because I enjoy it. But I hate online "What are you reading?" threads and discussions because someone will say, "I'm reading Hunger Games - Mockingjay" and then, inevitably, someone else will pounce and whip out their big Dickens to shout "I just read Moby dick and now I'm reading David Copperfield!!1!" It always becomes a downward spiral of pretension and one upmanship.

I just read through this entire thread, and it hasn't happened once. Stay classy, HBT.
 
I recently watched "Salinger" on Netflix.

I have since started reading all his short stories (For Esme:--with Love and Squalor, etc....)

I then plan on re-reading Catcher in the Rye for the umpteenth time.
 
I'm not reading anything right now, but I did just finish "The GO Point" by Michael Useem on a recommendation. It was interesting. He evaluates critical points in decision making, and he places special emphasis on using examples from a variety of fields, including business, wilderness firefighting, and battlefield strategy. I would recommend it as well. I'll have to carve out some time for a new book over the holidays.
 
Barley_Bob said:
Amazing. I'm an avid reader, and I read a lot of literature (like Moby Dick or David Copperfield) because I enjoy it. But I hate online "What are you reading?" threads and discussions because someone will say, "I'm reading Hunger Games - Mockingjay" and then, inevitably, someone else will pounce and whip out their big Dickens to shout "I just read Moby dick and now I'm reading David Copperfield!!1!" It always because a downward spiral of pretension and one upmanship.

I just read through this entire thread, and it hasn't happened once. Stay classy, HBT.
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Haha, good point. I do read a lot of classics too. Maybe more. But I read everything. Two books ago I read the girly teen book Fault in Our Stars. I thought it was pretty good. So much for having a big Dickens.

I also read a pretty even mix of both fiction and non.
 
DrunkleJon said:
I am most of the way through the first book of the Dies the Fire series. I like distopian fiction. Like the way the author started the 'change' and all that. Kinda irked about how lucky/untouchable the main characters are, but then again you cant have a main character if they get killed off or paralyzed in their first few skirmishes. I will keep reading though some main characters need some really bad luck soon to balance things out.

On a side note, I think the autor must be a wiccan.
Click to expand...

I don't generally seek out dystopian fiction but I am currently reading Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Very good, extremely well written, and dark! I found about it in one of the "help me find well written science fiction" threads that float around the aether.
 
If you like mystery, I'd highly recommend Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Luis Zafón. Excellent read, keeps you on your toes
 
I just recently finished War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells which was a very enjoyable read. I've been reading a lot of e-book stuff from Amazon, some of my recent favorites are anything by Hugh Howey (the Wool saga, Sand, even his short stories are awesome) and I just finished the first two books of Joseph Lallo's Big Sigma series, and eagerly anticipating the third. I also recently re-read A Song of Ice and Fire in preparation to start watching the show (never seen any of it). In between these I've been picking at Faust, I can only read so much of that at a time between the language and the stage-script format.
 
I'm working my way through the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I'm halfway through book 5 now (Soul of the Fire), and I have to say that the series as a whole so far is very hit-and-miss (overall pretty good though).
 
Auger said:
I just recently finished War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells which was a very enjoyable read. I've been reading a lot of e-book stuff from Amazon, some of my recent favorites are anything by Hugh Howey (the Wool saga, Sand, even his short stories are awesome) and I just finished the first two books of Joseph Lallo's Big Sigma series, and eagerly anticipating the third. I also recently re-read A Song of Ice and Fire in preparation to start watching the show (never seen any of it). In between these I've been picking at Faust, I can only read so much of that at a time between the language and the stage-script format.
Click to expand...

I loved the Hugh Howey books. I'll have to check out Joseph Lallo. I read the Song of Ice and Fire series and absolutely loved them. Normally, reading the book before the movie or series hasn't caused my appreciation of the series to suffer. However, in this case, I didn't make it through the first episode of the series. It was well done but just felt kind of "awkward". Like knowing too much. I'll have to try it again once my memory of the books fades (which will likely take some time).
 
I got into audio books several years back due to my long commute. I've listened to a lot of both fiction and non-fiction. A lot of "age of sail" British navy stuff and I like Sci-Fi as well.

Listening to The Rings of Haven part of The Frontiers Saga by Ryk Brown. Not hard Sci Fi more of a damaged ship too far from home by accident meets Star Wars type rebels. Good action stuff.

For book fans that remember all the pop, RPG and video game culture of the late 70's - 90's check out Ready Player One.
 
SquidPope said:
I'm working my way through the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I'm halfway through book 5 now (Soul of the Fire), and I have to say that the series as a whole so far is very hit-and-miss (overall pretty good though).
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My first introduction to this series was the amazing (awful) TV adaptation Legend of the Seeker. If you haven't watched this, and you love watching amazing (awful) stuff like I do, its very very entertaining. I've heard its not a very well made adaptation of the books so I am curious about reading the book series. The guy who plays Zeddicus seriously makes the show awesome (I am very much like watching bad/horrible tv shows/movies, if I only watch critically acclaimed movies/tv shows, then I have no way to measure if something is good or bad, you have to try bad beer so you know what a good beer tastes like)

MichaelBrock said:
I loved the Hugh Howey books. I'll have to check out Joseph Lallo. I read the Song of Ice and Fire series and absolutely loved them. Normally, reading the book before the movie or series hasn't caused my appreciation of the series to suffer. However, in this case, I didn't make it through the first episode of the series. It was well done but just felt kind of "awkward". Like knowing too much. I'll have to try it again once my memory of the books fades (which will likely take some time).
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I've re-read the books a couple times now to refresh my memory for when I watch the TV show on HBO. It is awkward, I guess for me the first season was sort of tough/awkward as well. It picks up later after they start killing of some characters and the younger/newer actors/actresses start to find their style and grow up a little bit.

In a way I prefer the tv show simply because each year I know there will be a new season. I may not see another book till I'm 35 (6 years from now, 10 year break from the last book released).
 
passedpawn said:
Loved it too. I CANNOT believe it's not a movie yet. It has to be made.
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Ready Player One is worming its way through development hell right now. I can't see a movie doing it justice and if you didn't grow up in the age of quarter arcades much would be lost on you. I'd like to see it as a mini-series.

I'm a long time geek but never been an R.P.G. player however I knew enough about D&D to get the references.

One total nerdgasm for me was I'd played Dungeon of Daggorath on a friends CoCo2 back in the day.
 
Auger said:
I just recently finished War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells which was a very enjoyable read.
Click to expand...

I read it in a four book compendium over the summer, and I really enjoyed it too. The compendium also included The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The Invisible Man. All four were good, but The Time Machine and The Island of Dr. Moreau were in another league. They're all fairly light reads, so, if you like War of the Worlds, I would definitely recommend those two.
 
SquidPope said:
I'm working my way through the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I'm halfway through book 5 now (Soul of the Fire), and I have to say that the series as a whole so far is very hit-and-miss (overall pretty good though).
Click to expand...

I've read the first 8 of the series and I agree, good series but the further into it you go, the more misses. But I figure I've gone this far I plan on finishing the series.

I just started The God Makers by Frank Herbert. This might help me give Dune another try.
 
Barley_Bob said:
I read it in a four book compendium over the summer, and I really enjoyed it too. The compendium also included The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The Invisible Man. All four were good, but The Time Machine and The Island of Dr. Moreau were in another league. They're all fairly light reads, so, if you like War of the Worlds, I would definitely recommend those two.
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The Food of the Gods, HG Wells, was also good. BTW, those are probably all free on Kindle. I read all these about 100 years ago; sci fi back then was fascinating. Those old ones don't always translate now, with our ready access to 400 channels, 20 theaters in one bldg, and infinite stimulation from the webz.

Fantasy is easier, since it dwells in the past (or without a time relative to ours). Sci Fi relies on technology, which gets dated very quickly. Some of the M Crichton books don't do well now. E.g., a lot of the technology in Andromeda Strain was very dated, not a good thing for a sci fi.

Old stuff from the horror genre is still good. Pick up Frankenstein or Dracula. Still great.
 
trussell said:
For a really freaky horror/invasion trillogy check out Infected by Scott Sigler crazy stuff.
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The Infected Trilogy was excellent :D I remember it being such a happy accident that I even found out about it; the cover of Book 1 caught my eye in the bookstore, and after that I accidentally found out about each of the sequels.
 
trussell said:
Check out Redshirts by John Scalzi

For a really freaky horror/invasion trillogy check out Infected by Scott Sigler crazy stuff.
Click to expand...

Nice, thanks. I bought Scalzi's Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded on a whim because it was like 99 cents when a Borders near me went out of business...its basically a collection of random posts from his Whatever blog. He's hysterical.
 
Barley_Bob said:
Amazing. I'm an avid reader, and I read a lot of literature (like Moby Dick or David Copperfield) because I enjoy it. But I hate online "What are you reading?" threads and discussions because someone will say, "I'm reading Hunger Games - Mockingjay" and then, inevitably, someone else will pounce and whip out their big Dickens to shout "I just read Moby dick and now I'm reading David Copperfield!!1!" It always becomes a downward spiral of pretension and one upmanship.

I just read through this entire thread, and it hasn't happened once. Stay classy, HBT.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Interestingly, I went back a few years ago and read many of the "classics" I'd missed out on over the years. Somehow I got through high school without being assigned To Kill A Mockingbird or One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, so I added those. In addition, I picked up both War and Peace and Crime and Punishment.

I'm amazed at how terrible of a book War and Peace was. I swear the only reason people talk about reading it is to sucker other people into knowing the pain that is reading it.

I absolutely won't read something like Twilight, and although I haven't touched either of them, might merely consider Hunger Games or Harry Potter... But I can guarantee I would have gotten more enjoyment out of reading either of those than I got out of War and Peace.
 
Auger said:
I just recently finished War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells which was a very enjoyable read. I've been reading a lot of e-book stuff from Amazon, some of my recent favorites are anything by Hugh Howey (the Wool saga, Sand, even his short stories are awesome) and I just finished the first two books of Joseph Lallo's Big Sigma series, and eagerly anticipating the third. I also recently re-read A Song of Ice and Fire in preparation to start watching the show (never seen any of it). In between these I've been picking at Faust, I can only read so much of that at a time between the language and the stage-script format.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the rec on Lallo. Looks like Book 1 of the series is free right now for the Kindle, and Book 2 is only $2.99.

It'll give me something to read on the long plane ride home from Asia next week ;-)

Looks like I'll be adding Ready Player One to that list too...
 
Also recently read B is for Beer by Tom Robbins...

Given the crowd here at the site, you may come across this as a recommendation. Overall I was not that impressed. Perhaps if you're a huge Tom Robbins fan, you might like it. But if you're not, best not to waste your time. Especially not at the current Kindle price of nearly $10. Not worth it.
 
bwarbiany said:
If you like Dystopian fiction (and have a Kindle), check this out: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HPM3PDA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 It's currently available for 99 cents... MORE than worth it, by far...

One that I found there was the "Yesterday's Gone" series. While it's not exactly "dystopian", it's a great read, with well-developed characters. I went ahead after reading the first season* as part of that anthology, and have bought all the subsequent seasons. I just finished the 5th season a few days ago...

Right now I'm in the middle of Ray Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near".

(* I use the term "season" because they had originally released each "season" as a serial... I personally read them all at once, rather than as a serial.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. The first book was worth the 99 cents alone.
 
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