Books, books and more books!

Started by Immortal Flame, September 08, 2012, 06:47:21 PM

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Immortal Flame

Quote from: PuckThePlayful on September 26, 2012, 08:27:22 PM
Wow, so many authors, and books I haven't read yet. So many to try. I'm glad I popped in here, not that I really need to add anything to my reading queue.

Since discovering his work, one of my favorites has to be H P Lovecaft. He and his contemporaries built an incredible word of dark gods and horrors man was not meant to know, and so far has been one of the only authors to give me nightmares. I've read a little Steven King, and a little of Dean Koontz work, but not as much as I'd like yet. It always seems there are too many books, and never enough time.

Lately, I've actually been reading classic science fiction. Going back to Jules Verne and HG Wells. I've also been really enjoying Asimov's work, specifically the Foundation trilogy. I haven't started reading the iRobot stories yet, but they are on the list. Heinlein is another one I'd like to get into, but haven't yet.

I've not actually read much in the way of horror, though I have a friend who is Stephen King devotee for sure.  There are a couple Dean Koontz books on my To Be Read Shelf, as the plots always sound quite interesting to me!

I really have to be in the mood for some hardcore science fiction, as usually I prefer it interspersed with fantasy elements.  I attended RavenCon in Virginia back in 2011 and John Ringo was the Guest of Honor, so it was great to attend all of the panels that dealt with Science Fiction, Fantasy, and even some Lovecraft.  Getting authors going on those topics is always fun, and can give an insight into the books that I might not have seen before.


Immortal Flame

Quote from: Shire Wolfe on September 28, 2012, 06:25:12 AM
Right, since I'm a huge bibliophile, I figure I should make my mark here...

Anything by Dan Abnett is golden. Just utterly golden. Be it his Horus Heresy work, Gaunt's Ghosts, Eisenhorn, Ravenor, or his new Bequin trilogy. Though he works mostly in Science Fiction right now, and has even written a Doctor Who novel!

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. Any Fantasy series that can strech for 13+ books and still captivate you is worth a look!

Dragonlance. It's one of the Fantasy classics! A must-read for anyone that likes fantasy and D&D.

The Deeds of Paksenarrion, by Elizabeth Moon. Three novels, but extremely well written, with a fantastic main character that draws you into the world of medieval mercenaries in a fantasy setting. A genuine page-turner.

The Night's Dawn Trilogy, by Peter F. Hamilton. And we're back in Sci-Fi country. This trilogy is very well written and exceedingly creative, and shows you just how weird human culture can become. But it's an adult's only series, as it shows sexual scenes between men and women, and hints at a bit of transexual as well, but nothing overt. It's also got some faintly disturbing themes at times, but it's a brilliant and quite fun series.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Bible of the Fantasy lover. He created the modern Fantasy genre as we know it. He defined the Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings/Hobbits, as well as Orcs and Trolls, and told us just how wonderful the Medieval fantasy universe can be! A must-read for, well, anyone. The Fellowship of the Ring was the first novel I ever read, at the age of 12. And I've re-read the entire trilogy once a year.

Dune, by Frank Herbert. Sci-Fi's equivalent of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. THE greatest Science Fiction series ever, (in my opinion of course), and all of it without even a single alien! It's a great novel, and a wonderful series. Political intrigue, plots within plots within plots, mystery, awe, and wonders.

I'll post here again when I can remember some more and taken a look at my library.

I love LotR, as many others before and after surely will!  I've not read Dune, though its been on my TBR for some time now.  Have you ever heard of Brent Weeks?  I absolutely adore his Night Angel Trilogy, and he has a new series out that I am ready to dive into.

Aida

I've read several good things lately! I seem to choose books that make me cry like a baby as I read, oddly.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.  A beautiful book about a Jesuit priest and a small group of experts who make the first trip to a planet inhabited by aliens.  It's also very much about the priest's loss of faith, as what he thought was God's plan turns out to be pretty awful.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  It's about the Holocaust, told from Death's perspective.  You'll cry, promise.

Just about anything Jonathan Safran Foer has written, although I believe he only has three books out at the moment.

Room by Emma Donoghue.  A young woman is kidnapped and imprisoned for several years.  In this prison, she gives birth.  The story begins when the child is five, and has lived in the room for all of his life.  Fascinating novel.

Shire Wolfe

Quote from: Immortal Flame on September 28, 2012, 05:02:46 PM
I love LotR, as many others before and after surely will!  I've not read Dune, though its been on my TBR for some time now.  Have you ever heard of Brent Weeks?  I absolutely adore his Night Angel Trilogy, and he has a new series out that I am ready to dive into.

No, I haven't. But I'm always interested in getting into new series.

And oh, I completely forgot the A Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin, which I began to read long before the Game of Thrones TV series (which I also adore)
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Sublime

Quote from: finewine on September 27, 2012, 10:46:40 PM
If you like dragons,  Anne McCaffey's  Dragonriders of Pern series is excellent.

I absolutely adore that series; I read them as a child. I suppose you could say they were my first love :)

Sublime

I am a huge Steven King fan, though I prefer his less frightening stories like; Bag of Bones, Hearts in Atlantis and Dark Tower series. I also enjoyed Vladimir Nobokov's Lolita, Gregory McGuire's Wicked, Kurt Vongut's Happy Birthday Wanda June, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Series. Of course there are many more, but this is a short list of books I have really enjoyed.

Immortal Flame

Quote from: Sublime on October 03, 2012, 10:51:04 PM
I am a huge Steven King fan, though I prefer his less frightening stories like; Bag of Bones, Hearts in Atlantis and Dark Tower series. I also enjoyed Vladimir Nobokov's Lolita, Gregory McGuire's Wicked, Kurt Vongut's Happy Birthday Wanda June, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Series. Of course there are many more, but this is a short list of books I have really enjoyed.


I've always been a fan of Stephen King movies, though (much to my shame) have never indulged in the books!  I'm not much a reader of horror, though I do enjoy the genre as a whole.  Wicked has been on my reading list for some time, and I actually pulled it down from the shelf the other day!  From the samples that I've read of it, it seems absolutely wonderful both in prose and plot.


Immortal Flame

Quote from: Aida on September 29, 2012, 12:45:39 AM
I've read several good things lately! I seem to choose books that make me cry like a baby as I read, oddly.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.  A beautiful book about a Jesuit priest and a small group of experts who make the first trip to a planet inhabited by aliens.  It's also very much about the priest's loss of faith, as what he thought was God's plan turns out to be pretty awful.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  It's about the Holocaust, told from Death's perspective.  You'll cry, promise.

Just about anything Jonathan Safran Foer has written, although I believe he only has three books out at the moment.

Room by Emma Donoghue.  A young woman is kidnapped and imprisoned for several years.  In this prison, she gives birth.  The story begins when the child is five, and has lived in the room for all of his life.  Fascinating novel.


Oh, there are some nice titles in there that I'd like to check out!  The only one I am currently familiar with from your list is The Book Thief, and I have heard that it is a heartwrenching read.  That last one by Emma Donoghue sounds like a very interesting read as well!  I will definitely be looking up some new titles :)  Thank you for the post!

Sublime

Quote from: Immortal Flame on October 04, 2012, 11:33:19 AM

I've always been a fan of Stephen King movies, though (much to my shame) have never indulged in the books!  I'm not much a reader of horror, though I do enjoy the genre as a whole.  Wicked has been on my reading list for some time, and I actually pulled it down from the shelf the other day!  From the samples that I've read of it, it seems absolutely wonderful both in prose and plot.


Actually, the Dark Tower series is excellent and is not of the horror genre. If you are a fan of Stephen King I would emphatically suggest this series! It is glorious and you will want to read it over and over again. I would consider it more of a scifi-fantasy book series.

Wicked is a wonderful read, I was pleased by how they humanized Elphaba and shined a new light on a classic. I have probably read that book six times and it never gets old.

Oniya

Quote from: Sublime on October 04, 2012, 02:05:05 PM
Actually, the Dark Tower series is excellent and is not of the horror genre. If you are a fan of Stephen King I would emphatically suggest this series! It is glorious and you will want to read it over and over again. I would consider it more of a scifi-fantasy book series.

King's horror has sort of faded on me, but I would add Talisman and Eyes of the Dragon to the list of Stephen King books that I would recommend.
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Sublime

Quote from: Oniya on October 04, 2012, 02:14:45 PM
King's horror has sort of faded on me, but I would add Talisman and Eyes of the Dragon to the list of Stephen King books that I would recommend.
I actually can't read his scarey stuff either, my imagination is too vivid to handle it.

What a coincidence you would mention the talisman... I actually just started reading that book yesterday :P

wouldjakoindly

I don't actually consider Stephen King horror. Then again, I'm pretty anti-King... not that I want anyone to quit liking him or anything crazy like that. I just can count the books I like of his on one hand. And two fingers. Maybe it's because my mom kept on pushing me to read him and screaming at me every time I put his books down because they were boring me.

My favorite author is definitely H.P. Lovecraft. Pessimistic, dreary, terrifying in their scope. Let's see, should I be more scared of Slenderman, Jigsaw, long-haired Japanese chicks, or a color out of space that can turn you into ash and you can't even see it. What about a squid-headed giant who is dead but can still fuck yo' shit up?

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr is another one. Witty, with an amazing grasp on human nature. His death was too sudden, he shall be missed in the realms of literature. Although Slaughterhouse Five is probably his most well known work, honestly, my favorites are Galapagos and Cat's Cradle.

H.G. Wells must be mentioned as well - rather like Lovecraft in his world view, except he rights more fantastical stuff than straight up horror. Are you a Morlock or an Eloi?

The Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card is excellent sci-fi fiction, for the most part. I dislike how he handles romance, but my favorite book in the series is probably Xenocide.

I guess the most modern author I like is Pratchett. People rave him about him, and he's certainly funny, but I cringe when female characters are brought in. He plays the "they're hot and blonde and busty so everyone thinks they're attractive" card way too much, which gets on my nerves. Not everyone has the same physical interests, Terry Pratchett, trust me. Just because someone has a +20 in charisma doesn't mean they're going to be my type...

Ah, and Fannie Flagg. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and I Can't Wait to Get to Heaven are equally wonderful heart-warming books. That's some lovely down home country spirit.
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Immortal Flame

Quote from: wouldjakoindly on October 10, 2012, 11:12:19 PM
I don't actually consider Stephen King horror. Then again, I'm pretty anti-King... not that I want anyone to quit liking him or anything crazy like that. I just can count the books I like of his on one hand. And two fingers. Maybe it's because my mom kept on pushing me to read him and screaming at me every time I put his books down because they were boring me.

My favorite author is definitely H.P. Lovecraft. Pessimistic, dreary, terrifying in their scope. Let's see, should I be more scared of Slenderman, Jigsaw, long-haired Japanese chicks, or a color out of space that can turn you into ash and you can't even see it. What about a squid-headed giant who is dead but can still fuck yo' shit up?

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr is another one. Witty, with an amazing grasp on human nature. His death was too sudden, he shall be missed in the realms of literature. Although Slaughterhouse Five is probably his most well known work, honestly, my favorites are Galapagos and Cat's Cradle.

The Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card is excellent sci-fi fiction, for the most part. I dislike how he handles romance, but my favorite book in the series is probably Xenocide.

There are always lots of opinions on King, though I can't honestly speak to any except to say that I like the movies. *ducks the screaming fans of his books for speaking such blasphemy*  I have read and enjoyed some Vonnegut.  Some years ago I read "Welcome to the Monkey House," but I've never actually read Slaughterhouse Five.

I have read Ender's Game, and found it enjoyable enough, though I've never fallen into the die hard fans of the series.  I read the first actually for school (before it was pulled from the curriculum for being too "controversial.")

Most of your selections seem pretty dark (excepting the last couple).  Bishop's Black Jewels are definitely more fantasy than science fiction or horror, but their plot gets pretty dark at times and there is some controversial subject matter in the series.  I've always loved them, and actually re-read them at least once a year.


HVBill

I simply devour books. On average I read about two to three books a week as I have time to read at both work and home.  I have recently finished a 21 book series by Patrick O'Brian that begins with the book 'Master and Commander'.  The series revolves around the sailing lifestyle of members of the English navy during Napoleonic times.  The realism and focus that the author uses when describing events aboard the ships and tactics used really draws you into the story, as well as the dynamic between many of the crew members that you get to become familiar with as the series goes on.  The major dynamic involves the captain and his closest friend, the ship's surgeon.  The stories also touch on life outside of the navy and away from the wars ad fighting.  They are an amazing piece of historical fiction.

Fahrenheit 451 is also an all time favorite of mine.

Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft are two of my favorite horror authors.
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Immortal Flame

Quote from: HVBill on October 12, 2012, 01:05:07 AM

Fahrenheit 451 is also an all time favorite of mine.

Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft are two of my favorite horror authors.


Ah, the old classics.  You can never go wrong there! I've never actually heard of Robert Howard.  What sort of things does he write?

Oniya

Robert E. Howard wrote the Conan books, and others in the same universe.  There's some suggestion that his mythos connects in some way to HPL's, especially with stories like 'The Thing in the Cave'
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
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Nadir

My favourite book series is The Doctrine Of Labyrinths series by Sarah Monette. It's a mix of steampunk, horror and a few other things. The plot is enrapturing, the characters are deep and agonisingly flawed and constantly developing and the worldbuilding is gorgeous. The series needs a few trigger warnings for torture, rape and off-screen paedophilia, but the author handles her dark themes masterfully. It's not a series I would recommend to everyone, but I love it.

A gentler book which is also high on my list is Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. It's a low fantasy, regency era novel with an interesting alteration of the culture - no one cares about the gender of the person you boink. There is still a lot of sexism (which the author jabs at in the sequel) but the women are not without power. 

phoenyx

Besides Anne McCaffery, a good author I loved when growing up was Roger Zelazny and his Chronicles of Amber series.
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Trystia

Just finished reading Reamde recently, which was an awesome book, though exceptionally long. I burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter at so very many points while reading it. I really need to pick up some more books now, since there's nothing left in my 'to-read' pile, and it looks like a few authors I've been collecting the complete works of have gotten new books published recently.

Immortal Flame

Quote from: Dim Hon on October 14, 2012, 08:19:43 AM
My favourite book series is The Doctrine Of Labyrinths series by Sarah Monette. It's a mix of steampunk, horror and a few other things. The plot is enrapturing, the characters are deep and agonisingly flawed and constantly developing and the worldbuilding is gorgeous. The series needs a few trigger warnings for torture, rape and off-screen paedophilia, but the author handles her dark themes masterfully. It's not a series I would recommend to everyone, but I love it.

A gentler book which is also high on my list is Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. It's a low fantasy, regency era novel with an interesting alteration of the culture - no one cares about the gender of the person you boink. There is still a lot of sexism (which the author jabs at in the sequel) but the women are not without power.


I've never heard of Sarah Monette series you mentioned, but it sounds very intriguing!  I'm going to go do a google search on that one.  I don't mind a dark plot, as long as it is handled well. 

Nadir

She has another series going with another wonderful author, Elizabeth Bear. Their series sort of vikings-meets-pern, where instead of being bound to dragons, they are bound to dire wolves (or Trellwolves). That one also needs a gang-rape warning (one of the wolves goes into season and the bond-brother of the wolf in question was under her influence, which put him in a position he otherwise would never get into willingly)

It's not as dark as the Doctrine Of Labyrinths series, but still has stunning world building and characterisation.   

Immortal Flame

Quote from: Trystia on October 17, 2012, 09:16:43 AM
Just finished reading Reamde recently, which was an awesome book, though exceptionally long. I burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter at so very many points while reading it. I really need to pick up some more books now, since there's nothing left in my 'to-read' pile, and it looks like a few authors I've been collecting the complete works of have gotten new books published recently.

Haha, my "to-read" pile is always growing.  Some days it intimidates me to see how many books I really want to read but haven't had the time yet!  I've read a lot of great series, and I'm always stumbling upon something that looks interesting to me.  I'm currently behind on a couple of series, including the last Mercy Thompson, and a healthy  handful of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunters that I haven't caught up to yet.  JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood books are pretty lively, as well.  And though I haven't read one in quite awhile, I very much enjoy John Sandford's Prey Series.  Another one worth looking at might be F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack Series.  I think they are quite well written, and unique from many other books that I've looked into.

Immortal Flame

Quote from: Dim Hon on October 21, 2012, 07:05:40 PM
She has another series going with another wonderful author, Elizabeth Bear. Their series sort of vikings-meets-pern, where instead of being bound to dragons, they are bound to dire wolves (or Trellwolves). That one also needs a gang-rape warning (one of the wolves goes into season and the bond-brother of the wolf in question was under her influence, which put him in a position he otherwise would never get into willingly)

It's not as dark as the Doctrine Of Labyrinths series, but still has stunning world building and characterisation.

Hmmm, that sounds quite intriquing as well!  I have heard of Elizabeth Bear (I even have a few of her books on my shelf), and I've heard some wonderful things about her library. 

Songbird

Yay! A thread about books! :D

I am a rapacious reader, and I tend to read several different books at the same time. My favorite genres are the classics, mythology, history, fairy tales and folklore, poetry, mystery, true crime, horror, fantasy, roleplaying books, and textbooks. Yes, I actually read textbooks for fun! ;D Lately I have been brushing up on my Dungeons & Dragons source books, as well as reading the deliciously creepy tales of H.P. Lovecraft and M.R. James. I love a good scare. I've yet to find an author of fictional mysteries who satisfies me as well as Agatha Christie, but I would love recommendations. Ann Rule would have to be my favorite true crime author. She writes with such amazing poignancy and eloquence that really stays with you after you've finished reading.

I've fallen a bit behind in the fantasy genre, and I'm not sure which book or series to try. If anyone has any recommendations, I would love to hear them! :-)
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Oniya

Songbird - I'm also a Christie fan - I liked Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse mysteries, and the adaptations of Henning Mankell's 'Kurt Wallander' mysteries.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
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