Another book thread.

As some of you may remember, I READ. I am not sure how many books I own, but I know it is in the multiple thousands.

Butterfly and I have similar tastes and have swapped books and authors for years.

I am currently reading "Out of the Dark", by David Weber.
So far, it has been his usual high caliber of work.

Anyone else reading anything good?

 

I'm currently reading the "Good Parts" version of The Princess Bride. I grew up on that movie, and I really love it. The movie is pretty true to the "Good Parts" version, so far =3

Also, all time favorites: Harry Potter, Twilight (Movies, not so great... But I like the style the books are written in).... I've read too many books, that I forget unless I see them LOL Artemis Foul was good series. InkHeart (again, movie not so great LOL)...

I have enough books in my closet to open a small book shop LOL And that's *after* I sold about 1/2 of them!

 

Cool!

The Princess Bride is excellent both as a book and a movie.
I have been looking for an Andre the Giant autograph from the movie since I started collecting autographs.

Books will be torn from my cold dead hands and bequeathed to certain people, after the reading of my will.

 

I'm currently reading Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper series.
It's pretty good, though I'm getting crotchety with writing styles. I've spent too much time examining the way things are written, and I fixate on little flaws. In this, there's information about the world that takes too long to come through.

 

The Princess Bride is awesome LOL My mom got me a shirt for Christmas, and a few years ago for her birthday, she got a special edition DVD and Fezzik shirt pack, and I stole them both (I did replace the DVD, though, 'cause I'm nice like that )

 

I'm currently reading "The Things They Carried" by TI'm O'Brien. He's definitely one of my favorite authors.

 

Just finished the Game of Thrones series by George R. R. Martin. The first couple were really good, the last few kinda dragged on and on.

Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas - really good and funny at times if you are interested in corals or reefs.

 

The Hunger Games trilogy anyone? Awesome books

 

Eragon was a good series, as well! Again, movie, not so much It would have been pretty good if the editors had ever heard of something called "sound balance"....

I'll probably be adding to this thread for the rest of my life, while other good books pop into my head XD

The Hunger Games trilogy anyone? Awesome books

I think I ordered that from Scholastic. I've yet to read it yet because I have so many other books to get through first LOL

 

Mike, I hear you on GOT.

Try David Weber's Off Arrmegedan's Reef.
If you liked the first couple of GOT, you should like it.

I need to pick up Hunger Games, been meaning to do that.

 

The Definitve H.P. Lovecraft: 67 Tales of Horror.

 

I am currently about 100 feet behind in my reading.
It is so much quicker to buy than read a book.

 

Mike, I hear you on GOT.

Try David Weber's Off Arrmegedan's Reef.
If you liked the first couple of GOT, you should like it.

I'll check it out - thanks

I need to pick up Hunger Games, been meaning to do that.

Lot of people like that one.

 

I am currently about 100 feet behind in my reading.
It is so much quicker to buy than read a book.

It really is! Espectially when you buy from a Scholastic catalog LOL They've gotten so much money from me.... I think I've payed a good majority of their bills


Another great series, aimed at young adults, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. There are 4 or 5 books out right now, and at least two more to come by 2016. They are also getting ready to bust movies out for them... Why is it that I always pick series that end up being made into movies LOL

 

I am currently about 100 feet behind in my reading.
It is so much quicker to buy than read a book.

I've got so many books on my Kindle, I'll never get throught them all.

 

I've got so many books on my Kindle, I'll never get throught them all.

How do you like your Kindle? I've been considering one, but I really like the feel of holding an actual book in my hand, and turning the pages, and going out and shopping for them, and stuff. And I'm not sure I like reading off the screen very much either... I've got to play around with my friends some more before I can really decide lol

 

Sadly, the way the current situation is with the publishing industry is going, very few single, stand alone books are being purchased.
A small part of that, I believe, is due to the possibility of movies.

Boris, I too read H.P. !

 

How do you like your Kindle? I've been considering one, but I really like the feel of holding an actual book in my hand, and turning the pages, and going out and shopping for them, and stuff. And I'm not sure I like reading off the screen very much either... I've got to play around with my friends some more before I can really decide lol

I really like it alot, although it did take a little getting used to. You can turn the screen to which way is more comfortable to hold it. After awhile, it just seems normal.

As for reading on a screen, if you want one just for reading books, the Kindle 3, or Touch would be best. The screens on these are not back-lit, so it just looks like pages from a reagular book. Alot easier on the eye, than something that is back-lit.

If you were into magazines, or pictures, you would want a Kindle Fire. It is back-lit, and I guess it is more of a tablet, than just an E-Reader.

 

I really like it alot, although it did take a little getting used to. You can turn the screen to which way is more comfortable to hold it. After awhile, it just seems normal.

As for reading on a screen, if you want one just for reading books, the Kindle 3, or Touch would be best. The screens on these are not back-lit, so it just looks like pages from a reagular book. Alot easier on the eye, than something that is back-lit.

If you were into magazines, or pictures, you would want a Kindle Fire. It is back-lit, and I guess it is more of a tablet, than just an E-Reader.

Whats the average price like per book? I tend to get my books out of the clearance section in BAM lol I like to pay less than $10 for a book (though, there are exceptions )

 

Whats the average price like per book? I tend to get my books out of the clearance section in BAM lol I like to pay less than $10 for a book (though, there are exceptions )

Anywhere from $0 to $ 12.99.
Most of the ones that I have gotten, are in the range of $ 9.99 and down.

Here is a link to a site that has free books.... https://www.ereaderiq.com/freebies/

The only thing you have to watch out for, in the free books, there is a lot of junk, so the reviews are really helpful.

My wife got all three of the Hunger Game books for free, when they first came out. Every once in a while, you can stumble into something really good.

 

Anywhere from $0 to $ 12.99.
Most of the ones that I have gotten, are in the range of $ 9.99 and down.

Here is a link to a site that has free books.... https://www.ereaderiq.com/freebies/

The only thing you have to watch out for, in the free books, there is a lot of junk, so the reviews are really helpful.

My wife got all three of the Hunger Game books for free, when they first came out.

Oooh, now I'm really liking it! XD

 

The thing with a lot of the free books, is that they don't stay free for long.

If bye chance you were into the classics, you can get most of them for free through Amazon.com

You can also get free books through Project Guttenburg.

 

I just finished "The Sky People" by S.M. Stirling, which was okay, not great.

Bought "The Things They Carried", haven't read it yet. I also have "The Lord of the Rings" series, but the first two I lost somewhere in my room. Already read "The Hobbit", and I CANNOT wait for the movie to come out! Read part of Chuck Palahunik's "Fight Club" but I got distracted halfway.

All-Time favorite books are, of course, the entire Harry Potter series, which I have re-read each book three times at the very least. I also really enjoy the First Nations series by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. They're the series that starts with "People of..." such as "People of the Wolf", "People of the Fire", "People of the River", "People of the Lakes", "People of the Raven", etc, you get the idea. I also LOVE the Eragon series. I'm glad that the author has stated that he will return to Eragon's world at some point in the future but Eragon's story is done. It'll be with a different story.

I have a lot of reading to do.

 

Zeez, we read a lot alike.

Read Sterlings Dies the Fire set, it is much better as is the Nantucket set.

I know the Gears and have most of their books signed to me.
They come to a local scI fI convention most years.

Great folks.

 

Sadly, the way the current situation is with the publishing industry is going, very few single, stand alone books are being purchased.
A small part of that, I believe, is due to the possibility of movies.

Boris, I too read H.P. !

Generally only if an author already has a good following, though an editor will periodically take a liking to a particular book. However, publishers almost never make a deal for a single book from an author, even if the editor likes an author's standalone. In that case, they'll make a deal for three standalone books.

 

Zeez, we read a lot alike.

Read Sterlings Dies the Fire set, it is much better as is the Nantucket set.

I know the Gears and have most of their books signed to me.
They come to a local scI fI convention most years.

Great folks.

You know them personally or you go to the scI fI convention? I asked them several years ago if they planned on a book anywhere in my local area, in the Carolinas. They responded and said that they did in a couple of years. Well, it's been a couple of years, and they have no First Nations series planned on their site, only other series.

I'll give Dies the Fire a chance and see if I like it or not. "The Sky People", while it had a great concept and a good story, along with good characters, it was somewhat hard to feel anything for the book, if you understand what I mean. I didn't really have any real emotion while reading it. All of the technical terms made me feel kind of detached...

I'm on a website, BOMC2.com It's a Book of the Month club. If you sign up, you get a free book and pay $9.99 monthly. However, a huge selection of their books are eligible for discounts. That $9.99 per month is what you pay for the monthly book you've chosen for your reading list and they'll send it to you. Any more books than that, you pay the normal price. I've gotten books that cost $35 for $9.99. I only get one book per month, but I have a lot of other things distracting me, and I'm already behind so one book per month is enough for me.

Just thought I'd share that with you guys.

 

My parents and I used to own a business where we sold rocks, minerals, jewelry and carved stone and wood at scI fI conventions.
I have probably been to 20 conventions over the years where the Gears have been at.
They have also purchased stuff from us.
While they may or may not know my name, they recognize me by sight.

 

.
While they may or may not know my name, they recognize me by sight.

You don't think it's the red suit by any chance?

 

You don't think it's the red suit by any chance?

 

Just finished "The Passage", before that "One Second After". Been into the end of the world theme I guess. Anyone read "Swan Song" ?

 

No, I generally do not wear the suit to conventions, unless I am going thru an airport. Then, I wear red from head to toe and carry the suit with me in my carry on.

I went to the ACA's in Denver in 2004.
I took the suit so that people could have pictures made with me.
I went thru 5 airports, there and back, and always turned heads as I walked thru the airports.

 

So, finished -Out of the Dark- good, but far from David's best work.

Riverwolf, if you are following that theme, read -Dies the Fire- by S. M. Sterling.

Up next, -All Clear- by Connie Willis.

 

just finished firebird by jack mcdevitt

 

it's been a long time since i've read a book that I genuinely loved, although I read "the help" recently and was surprised at the writing quality. i've re-read david eddings' books so many times I could recite them by heart, and I was surprised that with all the scifi/fantasy that nobody mentioned anything by neil gaiman. I found "good omens" to be particularly humorous. I may find myself re-reading douglas adams' timeless classic soon; it's been quite some time since I read the whole series, and since my brother stole my punching bag, I think i'm entitled to one of my books back.
for those of you who are enjoying the ya scifi/fantasy, you might try the dragonriders of pern, or tamora pierce's earlier works (although I agree with you SDS, her work isn't exactly "classic literature material").

 

American Gods is one of my all time favorite books, as is Good Omens.
Neverwhere is also on my shortlist.

I need to dig up the shot me me, Neil Gaiman and Terry Prattchett that I had taken at World Con 2004 and post it.

 

Terry Pratchett is one of my very favorite authors. Plus, he has a sword made from space rocks. That is the coolest. Thing. Ever.

Speaking of space rock swords, Jack Whyte's take on the King Arthur legend is fantastic. (This is a novelist, not the White Stripes' lead singer. )

 

it's been a long time since i've read a book that I genuinely loved, although I read "the help" recently and was surprised at the writing quality. i've re-read david eddings' books so many times I could recite them by heart, and I was surprised that with all the scifi/fantasy that nobody mentioned anything by neil gaiman. I found "good omens" to be particularly humorous. I may find myself re-reading douglas adams' timeless classic soon; it's been quite some time since I read the whole series, and since my brother stole my punching bag, I think i'm entitled to one of my books back.
for those of you who are enjoying the ya scifi/fantasy, you might try the dragonriders of pern, or tamora pierce's earlier works (although I agree with you SDS, her work isn't exactly "classic literature material").

I used to really enjoy the Dragonriders of Pern, even played in an online text-based roleplaying type of game called a MUSH that nobody plays anymore now. Anyway, once the books got into discovering the long-lost computer left behind by the original settlers, I lost interest. Anne McCaffrey and her sons that wrote the future books got power-hungry and started suing anybody who did fanart and fanfiction. They didn't want ANYBODY to be imaginative with Pern. Yet, often what they said was canon conflicted with what was written in the books. That's another reason why the MUSH games started closing down, because Anne and her sons were suing them and forcing them to. Players were getting discouraged and stopped.

In the end, I just sold off my entire Pern collection, which had some hard to find out-of-print books and gave up on the series. Anne McCaffrey and her sons could learn a few pointers from J.K. Rowling, in my opinion.

 

Just finished John Grisham's "The Confession."

Downloaded a sample of Stephen King's new one about the JFK assassination to test out the e-reader on the new Tablet, so I'll be starting on that tonight before buying the full book.

Next will be "The Litigators" from Grisham.

A buddy of mine is finishing "The Hunger Games" and will be loaning that to me. I guess it's like a "1984" meets "A Brave New World" meets "The Running Man" kind of story.

Need to get back into the Wheel of Time series that Robert Jordan (RIP) started. Read all but the last 3 books, but I think 2 1/2 of those were written by the guy who picked it up after Jordan passed away.

Oops...Forgot "IT" for about the 100th time. Read that one while I was out of town last week.

 

Need to get back into the Wheel of Time series that Robert Jordan (RIP) started. Read all but the last 3 books, but I think 2 1/2 of those were written by the guy who picked it up after Jordan passed away.

Yep, Branden Sanderson. Originally, they were meant to be one book, written by Jordan. He died. It was known that the family would need someone to fill out the notes (which were copious enough to actually be the last book. They just weren't in the artistic style needed to call them a novel). Hundreds of novelists wrote, "I want to finish them!" the day Jordan's death was announced. A friend or family member saw Branden Sanderson's post (either in his blog or on the Wheel of Time forums). It was incredibly well-written, and it wasn't self-serving. He was contacted, met with Jordan's wife, looked at the notes, and they realized that it was going to have to be three books. He then got to work writing them.

Sanderson's a good writer and an interesting guy. I got to hear him talk about a number of subjects (including how he got the gig... sadly, there were a couple of self-important fans who sort of ruined that panel) at a local convention.

 

Sanderson's a good writer and an interesting guy. I got to hear him talk about a number of subjects (including how he got the gig... sadly, there were a couple of self-important fans who sort of ruined that panel) at a local convention.

He's actually written scripts for several popular video games, hasn't he? I could swear I remember reading about him in one of my gaming mags for quite a few popular games.