What book is on your nightstand? Readers!

[seatazzz]

My Kindle is heavy on Anne McCaffrey and Rita Mae Brown. On my nightstand right now is 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith (the original) and my go-to is Vision Quest by Terry Davis. Yes, these are technically "youth" or "teen" books but I don't care. About every 6 months I'll go through the Harry Potter series, and about once every two years I have to read The Stand by King (the unabridged version). When I first read that, I imagined Jodie Foster as Frannie, and watching the TV version with Molly "Can't Act her Way out of a Wet Paper Bag" Ringwald in that role pissed me off. And they should have got Chris Walken as the Walking Dude. But, I digress.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

About every 6 months I'll go through the Harry Potter series, and about once every two years I have to read The Stand by King (the unabridged version).

I can't re-read books. In fact, there have only been a few books I've ever read more than once, and often in those cases they were books I read when I was younger (like Lord of the Rings, read first at ~13 yo and then re-read before the movies came out).

How do you do it? Is the experience different for you each time you read Harry Potter as you pick up things that maybe you missed the first time around, or is it a comfort thing to go back to something you enjoyed before?

 

[user 246304]

I can't re-read books. In fact, there have only been a few books I've ever read more than once, and often in those cases they were books I read when I was younger (like Lord of the Rings, read first at ~13 yo and then re-read before the movies came out).

How do you do it? Is the experience different for you each time you read Harry Potter as you pick up things that maybe you missed the first time around, or is it a comfort thing to go back to something you enjoyed before?

Find a way to obliterate your memory. Awesome for experiencing the same crap over and over.

 

[bleme]

Is the experience different for you each time you read Harry Potter as you pick up things that maybe you missed the first time around, or is it a comfort thing to go back to something you enjoyed before?

I can't re-read either, but I must have read 1,000 Harry Potter stories on fanfiction.net. It was cool to see everyone's slightly different spin on the same thing. My favorites were the ones that put together 100 different details from the story (that I hardly noticed) to show how evil Dumbledore was, or whatever else they were spinning.

 

[fourfarthing]

I can't re-read books. In fact, there have only been a few books I've ever read more than once, and often in those cases they were books I read when I was younger (like Lord of the Rings, read first at ~13 yo and then re-read before the movies came out).

How do you do it? Is the experience different for you each time you read Harry Potter as you pick up things that maybe you missed the first time around, or is it a comfort thing to go back to something you enjoyed before?

I re-read big stories with tons of detail (think Lord of the Rings or bigger) and do find that I pick up on different nuances each time. That said, I only do it if I love the read the first go, so it is a limited set if books here.

 

[passedpawn]

I can't re-read books. In fact, there have only been a few books I've ever read more than once, and often in those cases they were books I read when I was younger (like Lord of the Rings, read first at ~13 yo and then re-read before the movies came out).

How do you do it? Is the experience different for you each time you read Harry Potter as you pick up things that maybe you missed the first time around, or is it a comfort thing to go back to something you enjoyed before?

Ever read most of the way through a book before you realize you've read it before? Haha, I have. I think it was a Grisham book.

There's only a few I've reread. Les Mis, Atlas Shrugged, HHGTTG, The Hobbit. The Steven Hawking one, maybe a couple more that aren't coming to me. I'd like to reread the Richard Bach books, really loved them and they'd be better now that I'm older.

I read for entertainment, like most of you. Sometimes for education. But occasionally a book is a cathartic experience, and that's something worth repeating.

 

[passedpawn]

I think I read Great Expectations (Dickens) twice. I still have the copy I stole from a Los Angeles library right next to me, mostly due to guilt (I threw away most of my books, but this one isn't mine ) Due circa 1983. Srsly.

 

[MaxStout]

Ever read most of the way through a book before you realize you've read it before? Haha, I have. I think it was a Grisham book.

I did that once. Even worse, I actually bought the book a second time, at a garage sale. I didn't realize I had bought--and read--that book several years before. Maybe the cover was different the second time. I just didn't recognize the title, so I picked it up. It was a Clive Cussler novel and I didn't make my realization until I was well into the book. At that point I decided that Cussler books, while fun to read, seem to have the same formula.



This is my current read. The story of Michael Swango, a doctor who had a habit of killing his patients all over the world. It's amazing how some people in the medical community can cover for a bad doctor. Over and over again.

I lived in one of the towns where this doctor was working in the early '90s. The local media was buzzing about it and some of the radio hosts in town were calling him "Dr. Death." Years later, the law caught up with him and he's now sitting in the supermax in CO.

 

[user 246304]

Ever read most of the way through a book before you realize you've read it before? Haha, I have.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Reader after my own heart, Passed.

Except you are a serious reader. I admire that.

Reading Reading Between the Wines, by Terry Theise. As far as I know, still the husband of Odessa Piper, my wife used to work for her. Odessa was a pioneer chef, along with Alice Waters, of the American farm to table movement. Also in helping to open the doors to the Boys Chefs' Club, long overdue.

Theise has done a lot to bring Austrian wines to our attention here in the States. The book is more a meditation, than anything else. Guy loves his German Riesling (so do I, mad for it), and gives his respect to Pinot Noir. So I can like him.

 

[jrgtr42]

Most of what's on my nightstand (and the end table at my end of the couch) is magazines - I'm a couple months behind on Brew Your Own, Premier Guitar and WoodenBoat magazines, plus the stuff I picked up at Free Comic Book day a couple weeks ago.
I get most of my reading done at work - kindles and the like are great for that. I'm currently reading Armada, by Ernest Kline, same author as Ready Player One (that one's on deck the library, as is King's Dark Tower #1.) Also on there is Robert Jordan's Eye of the World, Ada Palmer's Too Like Lightning, Huxley's Brave New World, and a few others.
I like having the capability through my library to borrow books onto my Kindle, though I don't usually finish them before the loan's up - I just keep the Wi-Fi off on it, it doesn't register to the machine and I have as long as I need to finish the books.
Its about time that I reread Lord of the Rings, probably starting with The Hobbit. I've read it every year or two since I was in college, mid nineties or so. Same with Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and a few others (Good Omens, Joshua Slocum's Sailing Along Around the World, Neil Peart's series of travel lit, Harry Potter series.) I like rereading books, partly because if I'm watching TV or something at the time, If I miss a passage, I'm still OK, and I do catch things that I haven't caught before, even if I've read it a dozen times or more. I should also probably reread the Fire & Ice series. Maybe by the time I finish up book 5, GRR Martin will get book 6 out. Then I get to wait 10 more years for the presumed last one, book 7... if he makes it that long...

 

[DaddyDanny]

So, recently I finished Brave New World. Generally I prefer to read paper books, but in this case I had electronic version for my iPad. I regret that I did not read this great book before, it was amazing. In fact, this book seemed terrible to me, because the described by the author can become reality. The people of this society are happy, but seem stupid.

Anyway, now I'm more interested in novels of Aldous Huxley.

 

[fourfarthing]

Most of what's on my nightstand (and the end table at my end of the couch) is magazines - I'm a couple months behind on Brew Your Own, Premier Guitar and WoodenBoat magazines, plus the stuff I picked up at Free Comic Book day a couple weeks ago.
I get most of my reading done at work - kindles and the like are great for that. I'm currently reading Armada, by Ernest Kline, same author as Ready Player One (that one's on deck the library, as is King's Dark Tower #1.) Also on there is Robert Jordan's Eye of the World, Ada Palmer's Too Like Lightning, Huxley's Brave New World, and a few others.
I like having the capability through my library to borrow books onto my Kindle, though I don't usually finish them before the loan's up - I just keep the Wi-Fi off on it, it doesn't register to the machine and I have as long as I need to finish the books.
Its about time that I reread Lord of the Rings, probably starting with The Hobbit. I've read it every year or two since I was in college, mid nineties or so. Same with Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and a few others (Good Omens, Joshua Slocum's Sailing Along Around the World, Neil Peart's series of travel lit, Harry Potter series.) I like rereading books, partly because if I'm watching TV or something at the time, If I miss a passage, I'm still OK, and I do catch things that I haven't caught before, even if I've read it a dozen times or more. I should also probably reread the Fire & Ice series. Maybe by the time I finish up book 5, GRR Martin will get book 6 out. Then I get to wait 10 more years for the presumed last one, book 7... if he makes it that long...

Re-reading GRRM is tempting fate.

 

[passedpawn]

Re-reading GRRM is tempting fate.

What's the over/under on that series being done? GRRM looks like he could go keel-up any minute. And, regardless, he doesn't seem to want to do it, and the massively popular HBO show is going on without it. And, he's got all the money in the world, which was his ambition when he was broke and went to Hollywood.

GRRM is an interesting dude. Read up on how he got into the novels.

 

[fourfarthing]

What's the over/under on that series being done? GRRM looks like he could go keel-up any minute. And, regardless, he doesn't seem to want to do it, and the massively popular HBO show is going on without it. And, he's got all the money in the world, which was his ambition when he was broke and went to Hollywood.

GRRM is an interesting dude. Read up on how he got into the novels.

I put it at less than 50%. He is definitely not planning ahead a la Jordan. And yeah, he is a crazy dude, though he does own a movie theater now...

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

So, recently I finished Brave New World. I regret that I did not read this great book before, it was amazing. And now I'm more interested in novels of Aldous Huxley.

Well, the next on the list is Island... Brave New World was his dystopian version; Island was his utopian version.

 

[jrgtr42]

I put it at less than 50%. He is definitely not planning ahead a la Jordan. And yeah, he is a crazy dude, though he does own a movie theater now...

I always heard he had a rough outline of how he wanted things to go, including the last chapter or so, and was always planning on 7 books. He keeps teasing about book 6 release, then gets involved in other things.

 

[fourfarthing]

I always heard he had a rough outline of how he wanted things to go, including the last chapter or so, and was always planning on 7 books. He keeps teasing about book 6 release, then gets involved in other things.

I think he always new the beginning and the end but is making the middle up as he goes. Based on the ‘Myrenese knot’ I believe that he never sorted the structure or arcs out.

 

[passedpawn]

So, recently I finished Brave New World. I regret that I did not read this great book before, it was amazing. And now I'm more interested in novels of Aldous Huxley.

My daughter had to read this in high school. When I bought her the book, I read several of the opening chapters and was blown away. Seemed VERY cool. One day, I'll finish it.

 

[seatazzz]

@bwarbiany....it's kind of both, comfort and getting something new (especially with The Stand) out of a book every time I read it. Or maybe I remember something happening in a certain book, and go back to refresh my memory.

 

[estricklin]

I can't re-read, but I have read Harry Potter twice, and a few others that I read the first time when I was 12-14, an example would be SK's It. I have read Huck Finn many many times though, not sure why I don't mind reading it every couple of years, it's my all time favorite book.

I read Brave New World a couple of years back, pretty good book. Oh ye!

I just finished Christine, and the Immoral Irishman. Both good reads. Started Dreamcatcher yesterday and I have Far From The Madding Crown on deck and Forgive Me: Leonard Peacock in the hole.

 

[PlexVector]

"Loop Quantum Gravity" by Carlo Rovelli. Puts me to sleep in "no time".

 

[user 246304]

So, recently I finished Brave New World. Generally I prefer to read paper books, but in this case I had electronic version for my iPad. I regret that I did not read this great book before, it was amazing. In fact, this book seemed terrible to me, because the described by the author can become reality. The people of this society are happy, but seem stupid.

Anyway, now I'm more interested in novels of Aldous Huxley.

Sorry, I know this is , but read your post then happened to glance at your avatar.

Onwards, Schraderbräu. Forever loyal.

 

[passedpawn]

Anyway, now I'm more interested in novels of Aldous Huxley.

An interesting coincidence, I read a book by Aldous' father, Thomas, on yeast A few years back I did a search for free kindle books on brewing topics and downloaded one called Yeast. It's very short. Anyway, the authors' name was Huxley and it turns out to be the father.

 

[bleme]

It has been a while since I read Split Second by Douglas E Richards, but I have been thinking about it a lot lately. It is a really good book with a completely new take on the time travel paradox.

 

[FatDragon]

Well, the next on the list is Island... Brave New World was his dystopian version; Island was his utopian version.

Tell us how it goes. Sometimes utopian lit ends up being just as dystopian as its antithetical cousin. And sometimes that's the point...

He also had a follow-up to Brave New World called Brave New World Revisited, which was included in my most recent copy of the book (gave it away a couple months ago). I don't recall all that well what it was about, or even if it was fiction - like a continuation of the story or the world of BNW - or non fiction - like an analysis of the book ten years after writing it, but I remember thinking it was worth reading at the time.

Lots of other good dystopian literature out there. 1984 and Animal Farm by Orwell of course, but also The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood), We (Yevgeny Zamyatin), Walden Two (B.F. Skinner - interesting conceptually but written with all the charm you'd expect from a scientist. It's also hard to tell if this one is supposed to be dystopian or utopian - the reader is expected to decide for himself), and plenty of others I probably haven't heard of. I'll also give a shout out for Alexander Solzhenitsyn (special mention to The Gulag Archipelago), Ryszard Kapuscinski (I can vouch for The Soccer War, Shah of Shahs, and The Emperor. Imperium is alright, but not to the level of those three), and Mario Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat (maybe other books as well - this is the only one of his I know) whose writing on real-world dictatorships is a good companion to dystopian literature.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Tell us how it goes. Sometimes utopian lit ends up being just as dystopian as its antithetical cousin. And sometimes that's the point...

I meant the next on the list for @DaddyDanny is Island. I've read it.

And I agree. It purported to be his utopian version, but I found it to not exactly be what I would call utopia.

 

[ElijahPeteeQ]

I am currently reading The Outsider, by Stephen King.

 

[PMcGuen]

I am currently reading The Outsider, by Stephen King.

Also reading this. Just finished Jordan Peterson’s new book “ 12 rules for Life”.

 

[Kharnynb]

reading "mote in god's eye" by niven/pournelle, hadn't read it since I was a teenager.

now it really starts to feel creepy as the "moties" could so easily be us.

 

[passedpawn]

Finished Julia Child's biography My Life in France a few days ago. Nice read, but dragged on a bit. Only real conflict in book was her eroding relationship with the original two co-authors of her seminal french cookbook. Recommended only for foodies and francophiles.