Books. Whats the best one you have read lately?

[Boleslaus]

I'm finishing up The Name of the Rose. It's pretty good. Some points are very slow though. I like historical books, fiction or otherwise.

 

[thepartsmancometh]

I'm finishing up The Name of the Rose. It's pretty good. Some points are very slow though. I like historical books, fiction or otherwise.

Always wanted to read this but never did. Maybe I ought to pick it up. I certainly enjoyed the movie

 

[Boleslaus]

Has anyone read Ken Follett's newer book Fall of Giants? I really liked Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Winter of the World is supposed to come out this year too.

 

[iijakii]

Just finished A Storm of Swords. Decent. It's both grittier as a tale and coarser quality than the two preceding books. I hope his writing isn't slipping.

I don't see how you can finish SoS and not think it to be the best thing ever. GRRM basically just takes everything you love and ****s all over it. It's fantastic.

AFFC is still solid, but it does linger a bit. Especially Dany. I think AFFC's main downfall is that it came after SoS. SoS was packed full of so much, that AFFC is just too slow paced.

A Dance with Dragons kicks back up though. It was very solid and the ending is brutal.

 

[passedpawn]

Has anyone read Ken Follett's newer book Fall of Giants? I really liked Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Winter of the World is supposed to come out this year too.

Pillars was fantastic. One of my favorite "epic" type books. I was afraid of World due to bad reviews. What what's your take on that?

 

[Boleslaus]

Pillars was fantastic. One of my favorite "epic" type books. I was afraid of World due to bad reviews. What what's your take on that?

I was too similar to Pillars. Yes it was a continuation of the same general storyline, but the characters just didn't quite has the ridiculous depth of the first one. Although I think like someone said about a different series...it's unfortunate for World that it came after Pillars, because on its own it would have been great. Just not as great as Pillars.

 

[boxofjibboo]

Just finished A Storm of Swords. Decent. It's both grittier as a tale and coarser quality than the two preceding books. I hope his writing isn't slipping.

I'm now on A Dance With Dragons, I have heard much better things about this one than A Storm of Swords. This books holds all the characters that we really want to read about.

 

[Pilgarlic]

anything by bukowski....getting ready to start women

While in college in the late seventies I wrote a weekly feature in my college newspaper. Affectionately known as the "Buke of the Week", it was "The H. Charles Bukowski Award for Admirably Indecent Behavior". People would track me down on campus to tell me the disgusting thing they'd done last night, hoping they'd be awarded the "Buke".

Reading now? "Still Life With Woodpecker".

 

[Rubes]

I'm now on A Dance With Dragons, I have heard much better things about this one than A Storm of Swords. This books holds all the characters that we really want to read about.

Did you read A Feast For Crows? It sounds like that's what you are comparing Dance With Dragons to, as it has all the viewpoints that Feast didn't.

 

[onthekeg]

I just started a book about Johnny Magic. Autobiography so we will see how it goes. He won the WSOP in 2004 I believe. Its been off and on the first 100 pages...

 

[onthekeg]

Did you read A Feast For Crows? It sounds like that's what you are comparing Dance With Dragons to, as it has all the viewpoints that Feast didn't.

Is this a series you have to read in the proper order?

 

[iijakii]

Is this a series you have to read in the proper order?

Yes, A Song of Ice and Fire is a series that needs to be read in this order:
A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords
A Feast For Crows
A Dance With Dragons.

There are to be two more books, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.

 

[Boleslaus]

Yes, A Song of Ice and Fire is a series that needs to be read in this order:
A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords
A Feast For Crows
A Dance With Dragons.

There are to be two more books, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.

Any reason why they all begin with "A" except The Winds of Winter. Seems like a lot of work naming books to throw it away with one title.

 

[dwarven_stout]

I don't see how you can finish SoS and not think it to be the best thing ever. GRRM basically just takes everything you love and ****s all over it. It's fantastic.

Yeah, that's what I meant by "grittier". By "coarser", I meant that the dialogue doesn't seem as polished, and I felt a little bit like this conversation kept running in his head: "Hmm.. something's missing here. Dialogue's too slow. I know- I'll mention that one time someone got raped!".

Also, relevant to your comment:
http://hbowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Game-of-Thrones-1.jpg

 

[iijakii]

Any reason why they all begin with "A" except The Winds of Winter. Seems like a lot of work naming books to throw it away with one title.

He originally meant it to be a three book series. Then four. Then six. Now he hopes to finish it in seven and not eight. Maybe that has to do with it.

 

[BBKing]

Cormac's writing style is odd. He writes with a huge vocabulary and very little punctuation. I think this leads to a very fluid read, but it's definitely off-putting at first.
QUOTE]

This is excatly it. Off putting is the word also. It took me a chapter or two to really get into the swing of it but I didnt see his style as a negative.

I've read a handful of McCarthy. I could take him or leave em, but The Road is a great book. SWMBO cried at the end of the movie lol

 

[BBKing]

I don't want to ruin anything because it's so powerful, but the basic storyline is a father and very young son traveling together in a brutally harsh, post-apocalyptic world. My mom recommended it to me, and we both still talk about it when we get together because we both feel so differently about the ending.

My high school English teacher aunt and I got into it a few times about the ending as well.

I take the darker version.

 

[rifraf]

My high school English teacher aunt and I got into it a few times about the ending as well.

I take the darker version.

I think it's inevitable. Our argument always revolved around our opinion of the father at the end of the book, and whether we saw him as a good man or a bad one.

 

[teal]

Ripping off the other threads about movies and such. We know it all started here.
My current favorite author doesn't have a movie to his name yet, to my knowledge.
Clive Cussler.
I have been reading about 2 books a week of his lately. I wish there was a movie to watch to compare.

The last 2 I read were
Corsair
Plague Ship.

Both are a little out there, but you can't put them down! Anyone else enjoy the old book by the fireplace?

Sahara was a movie based off his book. I've compared them, I prefer Clive's book but the movie is decent. By that I mean you'll recognize characters and things that a non-book fan wouldn't.

Currently reading "Great Beers of Belgium" by Jackson. Love the subject, his writing - not as much. Can't put my finger on it and I do love to read (usually 2 or 3 different books at a time).

 

[BBKing]

I think it's inevitable. Our argument always revolved around our opinion of the father at the end of the book, and whether we saw him as a good man or a bad one.

Ah, gotcha. Kind of splitting hairs there

SPOILER ALERT (well, kind of):

We always argued about what happened to the boy after his dad died and the other people took him in. My aunt thinks that he was indeed "The One" and went on to save the world or whatever.

I choose to think that he had a bleak existence and died at a young age
Its more in tune to the book I think, but whatever.

 

[passedpawn]

Ah, gotcha. Kind of splitting hairs there

SPOILER ALERT (well, kind of):

We always argued about what happened...

That's a pretty big spoiler. You really shouldn't do that, even with the alert.

 

[ktblunden]

I see a lot of great books and series recommended in here. I'll second (or third or fourth) the following:
Dark Tower series (amazingly epic, and my favorite part doesn't even take place during the actual continuity of the story, Wizard and Glass is amazing!)
A Song of Ice and Fire (haven't grabbed Dance of Dragons yet, but I'll get around to it)
Wheel of Time (This one is soooo long and it really loses steam midway through, I still haven't gotten into the Sanderson books yet)
Pillars of the Earth and World Without End (I really enjoy Follett's regular spy stories, but these books are just amazing in scope, haven't read the newest one yet)

To add in my suggestions, keeping with the fantasy stuff:
Lord of the Rings (I re-read this every other year or so, it's just a masterpiece)
Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind (really good series, loses steam at the mid point and then picks back up)

And one that I just recently finished:
The Warded Man & its sequel Desert Spear by Peter V Brett. This is a series in process right now and its just a really refreshing take on the fantasy genre, very well written books.

 

[Airplanedoc]

I have been reading about 2 books a week of his lately. I wish there was a movie to watch to compare.

Sahara and Raise the Titanic were made into movies

 

[Rubes]

I see a lot of great books and series recommended in here. I'll second (or third or fourth) the following:
Dark Tower series (amazingly epic, and my favorite part doesn't even take place during the actual continuity of the story, Wizard and Glass is amazing!)
A Song of Ice and Fire (haven't grabbed Dance of Dragons yet, but I'll get around to it)
Wheel of Time (This one is soooo long and it really loses steam midway through, I still haven't gotten into the Sanderson books yet)
Pillars of the Earth and World Without End (I really enjoy Follett's regular spy stories, but these books are just amazing in scope, haven't read the newest one yet)

To add in my suggestions, keeping with the fantasy stuff:
Lord of the Rings (I re-read this every other year or so, it's just a masterpiece)
Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind (really good series, loses steam at the mid point and then picks back up)

And one that I just recently finished:
The Warded Man & its sequel Desert Spear by Peter V Brett. This is a series in process right now and its just a really refreshing take on the fantasy genre, very well written books.

I forgot about the Sword of Truth, I loved that series. When I read sci-fi/fantasy forums everyone talks **** about it, but I thought it was great. I am confused though, becauseTerry Goodkind said the series was done after Confessor came out and that he was moving on. Now I see The Omen Machine in the store, which takes place after Confessor. I guess his publisher wanted more SoT..

 

[HopHead209]

Just got it today, good read so far.

 

[Rubes]

Kitchen Confidential is a great book. Definitely puts you in your place when you're watching Food Network thinking "I could totally be a chef..."

 

[Cromwell]

I loved Pillars of the Earth, and I also loved World Without End. They're not the same, but they're both great. I also really enjoyed Fall of Giants, but it's a totally different book, nothing like Pillars of the Earth. But I didn't know much about WWI, and it was pretty enlightening.

Hunger Games was a good read - it was a good page-turner, but ultimately I didn't like the ending. Glad I read it though.

Other than Palmer's How to Brew, and 100 Classic styles, and Brewing up a Business, I'm reading 1Q84, which so far, is pretty interesting, but I'm only 1/3 through, so it could go either way.

 

[ktblunden]

I forgot about the Sword of Truth, I loved that series. When I read sci-fi/fantasy forums everyone talks **** about it, but I thought it was great. I am confused though, becauseTerry Goodkind said the series was done after Confessor came out and that he was moving on. Now I see The Omen Machine in the store, which takes place after Confessor. I guess his publisher wanted more SoT..

Ugh, I didn't know he had written another one. Authors need to leave well enough alone when they finish an epic like that.

Oh, just remembered another series I finished a few months ago. The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson (the guy finishing up the Wheel of Time). It's another unique take on the fantasy genre that isn't just wizards and elves and dwarves and stuff. Good read.

 

[Bprisk]

Kill Shot by Vince Flynn

 

[BIGCUNN60]

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, ******** Finish First, and just picked up Hilarity Ensues all by Tucker Max