Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2010 18:30:08 GMT -5
Right now I'm reading Number 9 Dream by David Mitchell. There seem to be a lot of these set-in-Japan-with-self-deprecating-hero-and-girls-with-beautiful-neck books around, but I like it so far. there's one called 'Audrey Hepburn's Neck' that i bought 'cause of the title, but never read also, Megatokyo but ohh.... 'Number 9 Dream' = 'Norwegian Wood'?
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Mahoney
True Scene Leader
"you don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows"
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Post by Mahoney on Oct 8, 2010 0:55:04 GMT -5
Holy crap, READ THIS BOOK! I went to the book store to pick up a couple of books, and this one caught my eye, so I took a shot in the dark, and what a shot. Fome Amazon: "Ruiz Zafón's novel, a bestseller in his native Spain, takes the satanic touches from Angel Heart and stirs them into a bookish intrigue à la Foucault's Pendulum. The time is the 1950s; the place, Barcelona. Daniel Sempere, the son of a widowed bookstore owner, is 10 when he discovers a novel, The Shadow of the Wind, by Julián Carax. The novel is rare, the author obscure, and rumors tell of a horribly disfigured man who has been burning every copy he can find of Carax's novels. The man calls himself Laín Coubert-the name of the devil in one of Carax's novels. As he grows up, Daniel's fascination with the mysterious Carax links him to a blind femme fatale with a "porcelain gaze," Clara Barceló; another fan, a leftist jack-of-all-trades, Fermín Romero de Torres; his best friend's sister, the delectable Beatriz Aguilar; and, as he begins investigating the life and death of Carax, a cast of characters with secrets to hide. Officially, Carax's dead body was dumped in an alley in 1936. But discrepancies in this story surface. Meanwhile, Daniel and Fermín are being harried by a sadistic policeman, Carax's childhood friend. As Daniel's quest continues, frightening parallels between his own life and Carax's begin to emerge. Ruiz Zafón strives for a literary tone, and no scene goes by without its complement of florid, cute and inexact similes and metaphors (snow is "God's dandruff"; servants obey orders with "the efficiency and submissiveness of a body of well-trained insects"). Yet the colorful cast of characters, the gothic turns and the straining for effect only give the book the feel of para-literature or the Hollywood version of a great 19th-century novel. " It's a good one.
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Post by bloodystereos on Oct 8, 2010 10:38:56 GMT -5
Sounds like a worthy purchase Mahoney. I will def check this one out as both you and Stephen King are singing its praises. Right now I am on book 5 of 11 in the Sword of Truth series. I may need a break before reading the other 6. Either way I will get my hands on this eventually. Thanks
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Post by jwd on Oct 8, 2010 10:44:36 GMT -5
"Never Let Me Go"
"War"
Two opposite ends of the spectrum. Equally moving.
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hollybruises
Clever Kid
I'm sick of all the sucking up; I'm terrified of coming down..
Posts: 54
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Post by hollybruises on Oct 19, 2010 5:50:32 GMT -5
Just finishing 'The Yiddish Policemen's Union' by Michael Chabon (3rd reread cos I enjoyed it so much the last two times!) - well worth picking up, wry, bathetic and very richly written
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Post by laurenjean on Oct 23, 2010 21:16:36 GMT -5
I just read John Green's "Looking for Alaska." It was really well written, but kind of hard on my heart.
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Post by hoodrat on Oct 24, 2010 9:51:03 GMT -5
i was going to post this over in the photo thread, but all those photos are all freaking amazing. and this was more amusing. i think maybe someone really hates jonathan franzen: come to think of it, they might just really hate jack kerouac. hmmm.
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Post by spunout on Oct 26, 2010 9:44:14 GMT -5
'UFOs and the National Security State, Part 2' by Dolan.
'The Sound of Our Town' by Milano. History of Boston R&R
'Quantum' by Kumar. History of Quantum Mechanics
'The Locals' by Powell. Bigfoot in Calf.
'Tall Trees, Tough Men' Pike. Logging in NE.
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Post by theblondette on Nov 6, 2010 6:43:15 GMT -5
Love that, hoodrat.
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Post by kojiroshinkara on Nov 22, 2010 18:46:56 GMT -5
I just read sci-fi and fantasy.
Offhand, what I've been reading lately has been two series (by the same author) Jim Butcher.
The Codex Alera, which was written because of a bet that real author's could take a bad plot idea and make it great. He took two, and made it awesome. They were, of all things, the lost 9th Roman Legion and Pokemon.
The other is his Dresden files, which is essentially magic, but way different from Harry Potter, mixed with first person detective noir.
Both are fantastic in their own ways, mostly due to the main characters and the ensemble casts.
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Post by chipsahoy240 on Nov 23, 2010 13:20:26 GMT -5
if you like sci fi, anything richard matheson
i just finished factotum by bakowski. amazing amazing book.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2010 17:31:37 GMT -5
anything by Richard Matheson EXCEPT What Dreams May Come you should also read him if you like horror
i just finished Imajica by Clive Barker. it's not horror... more of a pure religious fantasy novel. kinda mixes up Jesus with urban fantasy, feminist, and 'gay' themes (there's gotta be a better way of saying that). utterly magical and redemptive.... read it
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Post by bloodystereos on Nov 24, 2010 20:11:29 GMT -5
i just finished Imajica by Clive Barker. it's not horror... more of a pure religious fantasy novel. kinda mixes up Jesus with urban fantasy, feminist, and 'gay' themes (there's gotta be a better way of saying that). utterly magical and redemptive.... read it Did you love it ? I loved that book ! Have you read either Damnation Game or Weaveworld ? Both are also great
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2010 22:04:01 GMT -5
i just finished Imajica by Clive Barker. it's not horror... more of a pure religious fantasy novel. kinda mixes up Jesus with urban fantasy, feminist, and 'gay' themes (there's gotta be a better way of saying that). utterly magical and redemptive.... read it Did you love it ? I loved that book ! Have you read either Damnation Game or Weaveworld ? Both are also great yeah, i loved Imajica. just so... humane and warm. i liked Weaveworld, but not as much i've also got access to Everville and the Books of Blood, but i'm not sure i can handle his horror BTW, anyone notice that the blurb on Barker's early books: 'I have seen the future of horror, and his name is Clive Barker' - Stephen King is just King paraphrasing Jon Landau on Springsteen?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2010 18:18:39 GMT -5
alright, halfway through Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill - Stephen King's kid. CAN'T PUT IT DOWN its a fucking rock and roll ghost story. scares on every page. random AC/DC references. hot goth girls. Southern gothic. sweeeeeeeeet
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Post by Sapphire on Dec 10, 2010 8:44:56 GMT -5
At the moment, I'm chillin' with some new collected works by Joyce Carol Oates and re-reading Inferno.
Tough for me to only read 1 book at a time.
I like collecting older books. Found Don Quixote with full color wood carving illustrations printed in 1921. Excellent condition. Got it at local library. Luckily, they just wanted to get rid of it for 8 bucks.
Does anyone else collect old and rare books? Just curious.
Addy
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2010 0:18:58 GMT -5
started on The Pastel City by M John Harrison. amazing, amazing writer. read The Centauri Device for an anarchist take on the space opera genre
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Post by massiveknight on Dec 14, 2010 0:28:40 GMT -5
Quick plug for the person asking about Neil Gaiman's work
+1 for American Gods by Neil Gaiman and Anansi Boys (The follow up)
For other American Urban Fantasy I also really liked
Mortal Coils by Eric Nylund.
For a great fantasy read with a con-man protagonist I suggest "The Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch.
Happy reading people :-)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2010 0:49:43 GMT -5
weird... just putting up a tour by Neil's wife. on a related note, The Dresden Files are supposed to be good urban fantasy, but i've only read one book. want to get more into Tim Powers... he inspired my favorite RPG, Unknown Armies. real street level stuff. there's also Emma Bull's War of the Oaks if you want to read about a singer and an elf falling in love in Minneapolis...
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Post by chipsahoy240 on Dec 14, 2010 21:03:45 GMT -5
anything by Richard Matheson EXCEPT What Dreams May Come you should also read him if you like horror i just finished Imajica by Clive Barker. it's not horror... more of a pure religious fantasy novel. kinda mixes up Jesus with urban fantasy, feminist, and 'gay' themes (there's gotta be a better way of saying that). utterly magical and redemptive.... read it why not what dreams may come? that book changed my life. its touching and beautiful and one of his best works. its not quite scifi like the rest but a magnifecent read none the less. i wont lie. the book made me cry. so did his short story return. im quite in touch with my emotions for a 17 year old boy.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2010 21:50:12 GMT -5
anything by Richard Matheson EXCEPT What Dreams May Come you should also read him if you like horror i just finished Imajica by Clive Barker. it's not horror... more of a pure religious fantasy novel. kinda mixes up Jesus with urban fantasy, feminist, and 'gay' themes (there's gotta be a better way of saying that). utterly magical and redemptive.... read it why not what dreams may come? that book changed my life. its touching and beautiful and one of his best works. its not quite scifi like the rest but a magnifecent read none the less. i wont lie. the book made me cry. so did his short story return. im quite in touch with my emotions for a 17 year old boy. because it was so blatantly him trying to pretend that there's something - ANYTHING - after death. he even tacked on the prologue that claimed it might be true
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Post by laurenjean on Dec 14, 2010 23:42:07 GMT -5
I just finished Louise Erdrich's "The Plague of Doves." This is now my second favorite of her books, just behind "The Last Report of the Miracles at Little No Horse" and before "Love Medicine."
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Camie
Midnight Hauler
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Post by Camie on Dec 16, 2010 0:04:41 GMT -5
I just read John Green's "Looking for Alaska." It was really well written, but kind of hard on my heart. I love John Green. You need to read the rest of his stuff. "An Abundance of Katherines" is good, but not as good as "Looking For Alaska" His third novel "Paper Towns" is as good as, if not better than "Looking For Alaska" he is also a pretty swell guy! To Anyone who likes Young Adult Fiction you really need to read Stephanie Perkins' first novel "Anna and the French Kiss" It is quite adorable, plus I know her and really want her to do well, so I get more books that she has written!
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Post by Stainless on Dec 28, 2010 15:55:44 GMT -5
Recently re-read the rather remarkable Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Ms. Susanna Clarke. Its take on Englishness and the importance of gentlemanly conduct is still so sharp I often feared it would give my ocular appendages lacerations. Or to rephrase; Shit is so sharp it almost scratched my glasses yo. I don't think I gave this book its due the first time around, right now I can't wait for her to continue this whole Restoration of English Magic-thing she's got going on.
Before that I was on a bit of a modern fantasy rampage. I read a lot of books that were entertaining, but I can't remember the names or plots of most of them, meaning they couldn't possibly have been very good at all. One major standout though, Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. Boy is a hardworking little novelist, taking a bit of high magic, some high politics, some high treason, a shitload of highly sympathetic characters and mixing them in with some butter love. Nerdy, but awesome.
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Post by bloodystereos on Dec 30, 2010 12:26:41 GMT -5
Just started Kraken by China Mieville. Only about 120 pages in but really digging it so far. Not as overly detailed as Perdido St. Station was - more dialogue than description.
Also recently got The Scar - also by China , and The Shadow of The Wind (recommended above) so those are on deck.
Finally finished the Sword of Truth series - all 11 books one after the other. Kind of got bored about 5 or 6 books in but had access to all of them so I just had to finish. Kind of reduntant and anti-climactic.
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