Books: a literary discussion

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  • edited January 2011
    PainDealer wrote: »
    I'll just die of boredom if I try to read any book that is completely fiction. But I love comics (fiction yeah but stories are short enough) and science magazines.

    As opposed to what? historical fiction? fiction based on a true story? non-fiction?



    I like to read escapist fiction (high fantasy and/or science fiction.)

    I read The Hunger Games trilogy, and I really didn't like it that much. My parents say that it, in part is a social commentary about the effects of war on the human pyche; and how corrupt government is in general despite who is in charge... but I don't care about any of that. I want to be entertained, not bummed out by efforts to teach a lesson on the human condition.
  • edited January 2011
    Science Fiction's roots are hardly in "escapism". The core of the genre is rooted deeply in the ability to reflect on real, contemporary social issues through the lens of science fantasy.
  • edited January 2011
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    As opposed to what? historical fiction? fiction based on a true story? non-fiction?

    If it's fiction, it's fiction, as opposed to a cold hard fact.
  • edited January 2011
    Science Fiction's roots are hardly in "escapism". The core of the genre is rooted deeply in the ability to reflect on real, contemporary social issues through the lens of science fantasy.

    blah blah... lol.

    fine I'll reiterate. I like mostly science fiction, science fantasy, and high fantasy which are most commonly escapist (though there are exceptions.)

    My favorite books/series are

    Ender's Game (first book)
    Harry Potter
    Lord of the Rings/Hobbit
    Narnia
    Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide
    Star Wars: Darth Maul series
    and various Star Trek books written by Peter David

    I haven't read the Discworld books yet, but my wife's brother recommended them.


    My wife's family used to like The Wheel of Time, but they say it hasn't been any good at all since book 5, (there are now 14 or so books, with more to come) so I refuse to read it.
  • edited January 2011
    PainDealer wrote: »
    If it's fiction, it's fiction, as opposed to a cold hard fact.

    You said you bore of "completely fiction," which suggests you may enjoy or tolerate fiction intermingled with/based on fact, which is why I asked you to elaborate. My mom likes to read historical fiction, wherein a fiction is created surrounding factually known historical events. That qualifies as not-completely-fiction, doesn't it?

    There are various types of fiction, so to say fiction is fiction is fiction barely qualifies as saying any-fiction-at-all-is-completely-fiction and therefore bores you to death.
  • edited January 2011
    ...Okay, you have to be pulling my leg now. The Ender books aren't escapist in any sense of the word. Hell, Ender's Shadow opens on the beautiful scene of CHILD RAPE IN A SLUM.
  • edited January 2011
    I said Ender's Game. The first book, not the whole series. And I also said there are exceptions.


    I didn't like The Hunger Games trilogy because it's really very dark, the "muttations" are gruesome, and it doesn't have a happy ending at all really. When someone says of the dark nature and the ending "well, it's a sort of social commentary about..." I really don't care. It wasn't my thing. By the same token, I would have been disappointed if Tales of Monkey Island had ended with Guybrush stuck in the Crossroads.

    I like Ender's Game because it has a lot of action, and despite all the strife that Ender goes through psychologically, he's brilliant in how he overcomes all adversity to achieve victory. Plus, the Buggers remind me of the Borg. The Locke/Demosthenes stuff was interesting, but I liked reading about Ender more. Speaker for the Dead was okay, with the mystery surrounding what the heck was going on concerning the Piggies, but I really lost interest in Xenocide the more it talked about Qing-jao and not about Ender.
  • edited January 2011
    I'm getting back into the Horus Heresy series at the moment. Although I've been immersed in Games Workshop products and settings since approximately 1990, I never liked Space Marines. Up until I read Horus Rising. In the Horus Heresy books Space Marines are actually people, not (just) zealots in power armour, which isn't something I was expecting. Except for the sixth book in the series (Descent of Angels) which was SO BAD that it was the reason I stopped reading the series in the first place.

    Also, you can go into the series knowing little to nothing about the setting, and still enjoy the books. There's lots of little nods and references that make the fanboys/girls go squee, but that's just a bonus. A lot of of them are standalone as well, the first three are a trilogy, the terrible sixth one is followed by a (supposedly less terrible) sequel in the eleventh one, and number fifteen is a sequel/prequel to number 12. The rest can be read alone, only the ones that are linked are in chronological order.

    I wouldn't call myself a big fan of sci-fi by any stretch of the imagination, I've always been a big fantasy fan. BUT I LOVE THESE BOOKS. (except for number 6)
  • edited January 2011
    I’m interested to read some classic noir detective/crime stories. But I don’t know where to start. Anyone here got any suggestions or some tips?
  • edited January 2011
    For a good murder mystery I'd recommend Wilkie Collins' Woman in White or The Moonstone. Plus you can never go wrong with a little Arthur Conan Doyle.
  • edited January 2011
    I’m interested to read some classic noir detective/crime stories. But I don’t know where to start. Anyone here got any suggestions or some tips?
    My Dad says he likes the Harry Bosch Novels alot:

    The Black Echo (1992)
    The Black Ice (1993)
    The Concrete Blonde (1994)
    The Last Coyote (1995)
    Trunk Music (1997)
    Angels Flight (1999)
    A Darkness More Than Night (2001)
    City Of Bones (2002)
    Lost Light (2003)
    The Narrows (2004)
    The Closers (2005)
    Echo Park (2006)
    The Overlook (2007)
    The Brass Verdict (2008)
    Nine Dragons (2009)
    The Reversal (2010)
  • edited January 2011
    I recommend Lewis Trondheim's fantastic Herr Hase comic serie (humour, depth, touching).
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    Oh and just because i recently lend it to a friend, you might also enjoy David Gerrold's and Larry Niven's Die fliegenden Zauberer if you're into more intelligent humorous SF.
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    And also Stanislaw Lem with his own kind of humour (he has written so many great stories).
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  • edited January 2011
    I just finished reading Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby. Like Hornby's other works it has great humor and really draws you into the characters. It also has great insights into the kind of people who dwell in forums :p

    I just ordered a hardback of Jurassic Park to re-read before the series comes out. While I'm waiting for it to be delivered I think I'll read George Orwell's Animal Farm. It's short and I've meaning to get around to reading it for quite a while now.
    I’m interested to read some classic noir detective/crime stories. But I don’t know where to start. Anyone here got any suggestions or some tips?

    I'm agree with mgrant, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a great place to start. Try A Study in Scarlett, the original Sherlock Holmes novel.
  • edited January 2011
    For those who like fantasy, I would recommend the Symphony of Ages series by Elizabeth Haydon.
    I'm looking for more mystery type novels, sort of in the same league as the Dan Brown books. Any suggestions?
  • puzzleboxpuzzlebox Telltale Alumni
    edited January 2011
    I just finished Her Fearful Symmetry, the second novel from Audrey Niffenegger. A bit disappointing to be honest - I loved The Time Traveler's Wife and even cried at the end like a pansy little girl, but this one failed to make me feel much for the characters and I didn't find the whole ghost premise particularly inspiring.
  • edited January 2011
    Been reading short stories from Jorge Luis Borges Ficciones while I've been making dinner lately. I love how dense these stories are. I mean, The South is seven pages long and I can remember my world lit class at Junior college debating about it for a weeks worth of class time.
  • edited January 2011
    For those who like fantasy, I would recommend the Symphony of Ages series by Elizabeth Haydon.
    I'm looking for more mystery type novels, sort of in the same league as the Dan Brown books. Any suggestions?

    The Confessor by Daniel Silva was quite good... I went on to get his other books - I haven't read the latest ones although I own them.

    Recently I read the Nikki Heat books that go with The Castle TV series. I thought they were great, so if you're a fan of the show I recommend them!

    Another mystery/crime series of books I like are by David Hewson. They are set in Italy, and I can't wait for each one. Also Scott Mariani does a good series too, I found the Mozart Conspiracy on sale and it really drew me in.

    My favourite books are Terry Pratchett's Discworld, I like to reread them, especially the Night Watch ones.

    I recently picked up a Hal Spacejock book on sale, and thought it might be good, a bit like Space Quest in a book. I've only read a few pages, but quite liked it so far. The clincher was in the recommendations at the front which mentioned it was a bit like Discworld, so I hope it lives up to those standards.
  • edited January 2011
    Marc-Antoine Mathieu's Julius Corentin Acquefacques serie.
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    Hermann Hesse's Das Glasperlenspiel.
    Das%20Glasperlenspiel.JPG

    And Piers Anthony's Aton serie.
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  • edited January 2011
    These days i'm reading 1984 by George Orwell.

    If you like good SF, i recommend you to read Isaac Asimov's Robot and Foundation series that are great, and all Philip José Farmer's stuff, starting by the Riverworld series that is just so awesome.
  • edited January 2011
    Personally I love anything by Terry Pratchett - my favourite being 'Unseen Academicals.' I also love The Hitchhiker's Series by Douglas Adams, but I couldn't really get into his other books. Other books I like would be:

    Dracula - Bram Stoker
    Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
    Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
    Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
    Toast - Nigel Slater
    The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
  • edited January 2011
    Guys the old irish group here in york is reading the Tain Bo Cuailnge. This makes me a very, very happy nerd.
  • edited January 2011
    Finished reading the first 3 books (of 5) of the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

    Am now going to start reading Boycotts & Barflies, which was originally an AU (alternate universe) fanfiction based on characters from the Twilight series, but was so popular that the author pulled it from fanfiction.net, changed the characters' names and physical appearance, then had it officially published. (btw, being AU, it has nothing at all to do with vampires or any of that.)

    My wife read it and said it was good/funny, so I'm going to.
  • edited January 2011
    I want to read Agatha Christie's Poirot. Which are the best ones (not Murder on the Orental since everyone knows the end).
  • edited January 2011
    coolsome wrote: »
    I want to read Agatha Christie's Poirot. Which are the best ones (not Murder on the Orental since everyone knows the end).

    The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The Mysterious Affair At Styles (available on Project Gutenberg). Death on the Nile. Start with those, especially Ackroyd, and then read all of them.
  • edited January 2011
    The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The Mysterious Affair At Styles (available on Project Gutenberg). Death on the Nile. Start with those, especially Ackroyd, and then read all of them.

    I plan to but since theres so many I wanted to start with the rly gd ones.
  • edited January 2011
    coolsome wrote: »
    I want to read Agatha Christie's Poirot. Which are the best ones (not Murder on the Orental since everyone knows the end).

    I second Death on the Nile, I really liked that one. I would suggest you read some of the short stories, too.
    The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first one, but you don't need to read them in order, and I wouldn't personally say it's among the best.
    Five little pigs aka Murder in Retrospect is one I liked too.

    Although not a Poirot story, Ten Little Indians aka And Then There Were None might be my favourite Christie book.
  • edited January 2011
    Dupy's and Berberian's comic serie about Monsieur Jean.
    3938511028.jpg

    Stefan Zweig's Schachnovelle.
    zweig-stefan-schachnovelle.jpg

    If there is one book/serie you need to read from Philip Jose Farmer then it's The World of Tiers serie.
    900f36c622a08c6b9d943110.L.jpg
  • edited January 2011
    taumel wrote: »
    If there is one book/serie you need to read from Philip Jose Farmer then it's The World of Tiers serie.
    900f36c622a08c6b9d943110.L.jpg

    Is it the one with Robert Wolff and Kickaha? I only know the french title of those books.:/
    If yes, i agree to say that it's a great serie, but i prefer Riverworld, more catchy and easy to read in my opinion.
    Whatever, every single book from Farmer is just awesome. :D
  • edited January 2011
    Yep that's the one. I only liked the first book of the Riverworld. The idea was good but i always had the impression that he couldn't deal with all the possibilities properly. World of Tiers in comparison is more round and a lot more fascinating. He also has written some bad books imo.
  • edited January 2011
    I think my love of Russian literature is getting somewhat out of hand...
  • edited January 2011
    Having a Kindle really has re-ignited my interest in books. I mean really, by leaps and bounds.

    Maybe because it's a new toy/gadget. Maybe because it feels Star Trek-ish to me.


    ...and you know what, I really don't understand for someone to say they'd want this ebook reader instead of that ebook reader because of native support for certain file types. I mean, all you'd have to do is break the drm and then get Calibre to convert it to whatever other file type. No big deal.
  • edited January 2011
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    ...and you know what, I really don't understand for someone to say they'd want this ebook reader instead of that ebook reader because of native support for certain file types. I mean, all you'd have to do is break the drm and then get Calibre to convert it to whatever other file type. No big deal.

    They probably don't want to have to. For simplicity's sake, they want to buy a book and read it right away. And maybe they can't be bothered to actually install the thing and learn to use it.
    Not to mention breaking DRM is technically illegal and they might have a problem with that, too.
  • edited January 2011
    If I can break Amazon's DRM, why would I want to buy one device and then have to break the DRM of several different stores? Can't I buy one device that can read the books from most stores, and then only break the DRM of the ONE proprietary store that I don't have support for? Also, you can't just go and break the DRM of, say, digital library books(which use protected ePub) while still honoring the deal you made with the library. Also, I hate proprietary standards. Also, I think Amazon is a big bully in this market and they want to ensnare their customers, which I don't like. Even if I can get around the shackles, why put them on in the first place?
  • edited January 2011
    So you don't like the Kindle. Fair enough. Which one do you prefer?
  • edited January 2011
    I'm okay with any device that natively accepts most modern standard file formats. I personally use a Barnes & Noble Nook(e-ink, not Color), though many others work as well. The key features that mattered to me at the time were the price, 3G, supported file formats, and in-store features such as being able to read any ebook for free as long as you were in a B&N store(!), coupons, and product support in B&N stores(they got my device fixed and returned in an hour when something happened to the battery, no having to ship it somewhere).

    Also, I thought the touch LCD was neat.

    Chyron is right about Calibre, though. Nobody with an ereader should go without that program. Using an ereader without Calibre is like writing with your dominant hand cut off.
  • edited January 2011
    I think you've sold me. I probably should've figured that there might be something to the Nook when my sister, who works at Borders, was convinced to buy one. She's going to school to be an elementary school teacher right now, and she thinks a Nook could be a useful tool for her. What's funny is that until last night, she was okay with me taking interest in any e-reader as long as it wasn't "the competition", and now she wants one.
  • edited January 2011
    One thing to note is that the battery is significantly shorter than the Kindle's. With all the bells and whistles and constant use, the device gets about a waking day's worth of battery life, which is fine by me, but I've heard of the Kindle getting up to a month(I've been able to get a week with wireless off, usage fairly often). The thing is slightly bulkier and heavier too(you can see them at retail locations), but I personally prefer the feel of the thing. More than that, I use a cover(mine) that makes it even bulkier, but it feels more "like a book"). I think ereaders are in a class where thinner and lighter really isn't all that important or necessary, and the Kindle in comparison feels weird to me. Mileage may vary.

    Some reviews you find may refer to the page-turning being slow or the responsiveness being low, but those are based off older firmware. The thing is pretty speedy now. I find the LCD to be nice because it can change what "buttons" you have to press contextually based on what you're doing.
  • edited January 2011
    I got my Mom's old Kindle 2 for Christmas. I don't remember the details, but there was something about that something was wrong with her Kindle 2 so she called Amazon to have them fix it, but she didn't want to wait for it or maybe she is so addicted to her Kindle that she wanted a backup device in case one broke... or something like that. I don't know.

    But anyway, she gave me her Kindle 2 for Christmas now that she has a Kindle 3, to which I promptly affixed a "Solid State Black" DecalGirl skin.

    hpim0878.jpg


    Truth be told, I like the idea of having numerical buttons on my K2 keypad. for the K3 to have numbers only on the SYM key menu is a bit odd.



    I have watched quite a few comparison reviews of Kindle vs. other devices and I was struck by how slow the touch-screen's directional pad was for the Nook, or how they guy said there was no way to search an ebook for previously highlighted text; but if RD says that those sorts of things were on older firmware then maybe so.

    Some reviews I watched have said that the Kindle supports Audible books where Nook and Sony does not. I don't know, I don't have an Audible account nor will I spend the money for one (I might sooner buy it in MP3 format or on disc and rip it, depending on price, and listen from my mp3 player or PC.)

    All I know is that I'm very very happy with my Kindle, and given the fact that the Tulsa County Library doesn't support azw/mobi books (they use Overdrive,) I'm not convinced to have to blame Amazon any more than blaming the Library itself (or Overdrive) instead.


    It does surprise me the number of people who complain so loudly about not wanting a Kindle because of the lack of access to library ebooks. tbh, the last time I visited the public library I was likely a Sophomore in high school, which would mean at least 15 years ago.
  • edited January 2011
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    I have watched quite a few comparison reviews of Kindle vs. other devices and I was struck by how slow the touch-screen's directional pad was for the Nook, or how they guy said there was no way to search an ebook for previously highlighted text; but if RD says that those sorts of things were on older firmware then maybe so.
    Yeah, a lot of features like more robust searching and sorting, along with far faster refresh times(the Kindle and Nook are very close in terms of response now) are a lot better than they were when I got it. I was really amazed actually, I had no idea that much could be done with firmware changes. You can see a sample of the last two iterations of the Nook firmware running side-by-side here. The speed increase also came with some better responsiveness on the LCD and between the two screens when they worked together. It's very nice.
    Some reviews I watched have said that the Kindle supports Audible books where Nook and Sony does not. I don't know, I don't have an Audible account nor will I spend the money for one (I might sooner buy it in MP3 format or on disc and rip it, depending on price, and listen from my mp3 player or PC.)
    Yeah, this is what I do for audiobooks as well, except I place them on my Nook(which has a headphone jack and an MP3 playback ability). Sometimes I put them on my phone too...I don't have a dedicated audio player. Heh. It's true, Nook does not support the proprietary Audible audio book format.
    All I know is that I'm very very happy with my Kindle, and given the fact that the Tulsa County Library doesn't support azw/mobi books (they use Overdrive,) I'm not convinced to have to blame Amazon any more than blaming the Library itself (or Overdrive) instead.
    It seems to me that if everyone else in the industry is using a format, and you refuse to support it across various hardware iterations, it's at least partially your fault for stubbornness. "You" being Amazon in this case, I have no personal beef with you. I'm just rounding out the reader opinion and supplying my personal experience and hoping it's helpful. :P
    It does surprise me the number of people who complain so loudly about not wanting a Kindle because of the lack of access to library ebooks. tbh, the last time I visited the public library I was likely a Sophomore in high school, which would mean at least 15 years ago.
    Depending on your library, it's actually possible to have library books lent to you from a browser without ever leaving your house. Very convenient.
  • edited January 2011
    Here in -40 weather, I borrow ebook way more than real books. Downloading it directly from home and not having to return it is worth a LOT. And they're compatible with pretty much all ebook readers (except for Kindle).
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