Pavlos Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Don't you mean Foundation series? Oh yeah, great reads. Must-reads for any science fiction fan, along with Dune. I actually didn't much like Dune... it started off ok but I began to lose my will to live part way in - no idea why when people say such high things of it. Oh and, nice avatar Do you like any Shakespeare? My personal favourites are "The Tempest" & "Macbeth". Good plays, both . My favourites are actually Hamlet and Othello - maybe I just like to depress myself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediKnight707 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Hmmm. I've read the first few SoT novels. Talk about long! Anyway, for good reads: 1984 by George Orwell. Side note: Animal Farm was good and all, but it simply wasn't the great novel that I was expecting. And, yes I understood it just fine, but I simply didn't find it all that good. It's almost like The Da Vinci Code: it would've been a great book if it hadn't been so hyped up. Deception Point/Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. These are two techno-thrillers, and Dan Brown is a great author, besides The Da Vinci Code. Anything by Michael Crichton. All of the novels that he's written are great, especially Jurrasic Park, State of Fear, etc. James Patterson stuff. I love his Alex Cross series and his other series is starting to grow on me too. Also, though I'm not one for romance really, his two novels Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas and Sam's Letters to Jennifer are really good. Really sad. No, I didn't cry, but they were sad. I'm a little tired right now, so I can't think of any others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HK-42 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Books by Douglas Adams The hitchikers guide to the galaxy: exelent, cynical and mind-flaying crazy a must read for anyone wishing to lose their sanity The resturant at the end of the universe: end does not mean edge in this case............ like the first one, only more insano-crazy Life, the universe and everything: Learning that we did not evolve from apes is always nice for the religious person, learning what we evolved from instead, is not nice to anyone. Another must read for the slightly insane person. When reading any of the books above: DONT PANIC Animal farm by George Orwell: short but nice story about a revolution gone wrong The black magican trilogy by Trudy Canavan: probably the only fantasy triology with no big bady of doom and darkness until the last book. Recomended anyone wishing to disapear for a few hours The age of five by Trydy Canavan: One group of gods are the good guys, one group of heretics the bad guys, sounds familiar? Luckily everything is not what it seems. Recomended for anyone needing to disapear once again after reading the magicans guild. Don't forget the fourth and fifth books by Adams, So long and thanks for all the fish and Mostly Harmless...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gargoyle King Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Good plays, both . My favourites are actually Hamlet and Othello - maybe I just like to depress myself? Hamlet was good and Othello had a good plot to it, but Othello did tend to drag on a bit for me. Call me soppy, but i kinda like Rome & Juliet - It is the greatest love story ever told after all! I think the play has a solid story and the characters are so well expressed - i thought the way the film mixed the story and language of Romeo & Juliet with the modern world was truly inspiring and i was competly blown away by it, especially with the rivalries between the Capulets and the Montagues and particularly that between Romeo and Tybalt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mur'phon Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Don't forget the fourth and fifth books by Adams I didn't, it's just that a "friend" boroved them right after I got them, and now he has emigrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Geez, guys, he said light reading. I want him to emerge from his reading hidey-hole at least once a week. You give him War and Peace or Atlas Shrugged, and he'll be stuck there for like months! If you like Fantasy jimbo you might want to take a peek in to Fred Saberhagen's sword series... This book will get you started. Though it says "complete" it actually only covers the origins of Vulcan forging the 12 swords and the first 3 sword stories Since it's a 'modular' series, you can pick up the pace at your leisure without having Jae come find you and drag you out of what hidey-hole you've dug yourself.. hehehe It's definitely an acquired taste though. People tend to like the series or outright hate it, but if you like fantasy and settle in to the mythology the series sets up, I think you (or anyone else) would like it. Characters are a bit bleak.. but since it covers the swords' tales (12) moreso than the 'meatbags' that carry/discover them, I didn't complain too much.. plus they have really kewl abilities Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinkle Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Sword Of Shannara is the first book in the series (Elfstones is the second) but it's f-ing slow and only one character is migrated forward...better to start with Elfstones IMO, then read Sword once you've developed a fondness for Brooks' world =) He's a damn good writer, awful Star Wars novelizations notwithstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediMaster12 Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Well my summer reading list has been curtailed since I have to play foreman on the remodeling of my parents' house. Still for any who like romance without the smut I recommend Betty Neels' stories. They are silly love stories that make you laugh at how silly people can be. My personal favorite I think is the one called Roses Have Thorns. If you like learning something, well I have a whole collection of different texts, some on the samuraii and the way of Bushido, Aztecs, Mayans, the Middle East. I even have one that I received as a graduation gift called Symbols and Their Meanings. And you wonder how I know about certain signs. If you like Orwell type novels I recommend The Handmaiden's Tale. It differs in that instead of a Communist style of Stalin, we get a society that is dominated and controlled by a religious faction, in particular a Christian one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totenkopf Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 If you like Orwell type novels I recommend The Handmaiden's Tale. It differs in that instead of a Communist style of Stalin, we get a society that is dominated and controlled by a religious faction, in particular a Christian one. That's also been made into a movie (w/ Robert Duvall & Natasha Richardson, I think). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus Q'ol Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 If you want the ultimate swashbuckling romp with a pair of unlikely heroes through a very creatively written world of swords and fantasy sprinkled with tones of sorcery and comical comraderie, then look no further than the first three novels of Fritz Leiber's Swords series. Swords Against Deviltry Swords Against Death Swords in the Mist The titles sound ominous, but the writing is brilliant. The characters are addicting and very entertaining. I dare you to try to put them down. I never get sick of Ender's Game. The immediate sequel sucked, however, a brilliant parallel story was written called Ender's Shadow. This Orson Scott Card novel rivals the value of the original story. One Great Read! ...and you don't really have to read Ender's Game first. 'Shadow' stands on it's own. Lighter but still great are two novels from my man Ben Bova. Colony and Orion. Both great in their own right. Impossible to put down. Good hunting. A blue civic almost sideswiped me on Brady and Locust the other day, was that you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totenkopf Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 True, Cygnus, Ender's Game is a good story. Have read it several times myself. Ender's Shadow wasn't too bad either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 A book I neglected to mention before through faulty memory is "A Very Private Life" by Michael Frayn. Most definitely worth reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Dravis Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 I never get sick of Ender's Game. The immediate sequel sucked' date=' however, a brilliant parallel story was written called [b']Ender's Shadow[/b].At first read I would have agreed with you - Speaker for the Dead was much, much slower than Ender's Game. Of course, having read Xenocide and Children of the Mind convinced me that I liked that story arc nearly as well as Ender's Game itself. I did like Ender's Shadow, but it seemed very similar to Ender's Game in 'feel.' Like I said in a previous post, his other books are quite good, some of them radically different. Fun reads all, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Man Posted June 24, 2007 Author Share Posted June 24, 2007 Well, I have finished the sixth book in the Sword of Truth series so far (picked it up Monday, finished page 785 on Friday), and I gotta say Terry Goodkind is a master at the craft of writing. With every new installment, he brings to life something new about the world he has created, but in a consistent, believable manner. His world is populated with magical people and creatures that defy conventions in a way that makes you marvel at his creativity. A couple of the books have not held to the same standard as Wizard's First Rule (mostly because I did not find the villains as engaging), but, throughout, he has kept me interested in his characters. To balance the consistency of his characters' personalities and their development through over 3500 pages is an incredibly difficult feat. The way he keeps the conflict boiling through the whole book draws you into every page and paragraph. Even when the characters are not off battling The Great Evil, he finds a way to keep them in some kind of struggle that makes them grow. I find myself getting sucked in because I need to see how Richard and Kahlan are going to make it through the situation they are in. Then, as soon as that struggle is resolved, another begins, and I have to see how they work through it. If you want a book that will grab you by the throat, and not release you until you have read it all, get started in the Sword of Truth series with Wizard's First Rule. Your only regret will be that you will forget everyone you once knew before you started reading it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Hoon Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Oh, and Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. Brilliant stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Dravis Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Jimbo, the next couple books in the series were..not very interesting, to me anyway. Sad day! The best one out so far in my opinion was Faith of the Fallen, the one you just finished. I am waiting for the next one, however. Maybe it will rescue the series from the doldrums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 If you can find it, Jude the Obscure is a great book. Thomas Hardy's last novel. It's an interesting story, to say the least. Christopher Eccleston starred in a movie version of it, now I think of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Windu Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 I definitely would recommend Ender's Game if you haven't read it already. Other than that, The Kite Runner - about the life of a boy raised in upper class Afghanistan who is friends with a boy who is of lower class. Real Fox and the Hound type stuff but it's very emotional Long Day's Journey Into Night - Eugene O'Neill's great play, all of it takes place in the course of a day so don't expect a plot. It's the dialogue and characterization that makes this play so great. The Art of War - useful as a philosophy as well as a military strategy. Read and apply to your life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediMaster12 Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 I started rereading my Left Behind series. It is a series based on the end of days of tribulation. I enjoyed the series and I highly recommened for anyone who wants to renew their commitment to God and needs the push in th eright direction. I also started a new book that I heard of in passing. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. It looks good and yet I may not like it but it's ok to read somthing you don't like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabish Bini Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne and Life's Missing Instruction Manual: The guidebook you should've been given at birth by Dr. Joe Vitale are two brilliant books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis must get a mention, for it's opening line: "There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totenkopf Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Man, w/a name like that, I might've gone Menendez on my parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarfieldJL Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Armagedon's Children by Terry Brooks, waiting for book 2 to come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mur'phon Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I have just read two new books recomended for anyone missing Douglas Adams Here comes the sun by Tom Holt: The department needs a miracle, which is quite ironic since its run by gods and angels. The problem is the imortal pensoners, and to try to help things they hire a mortal to see if they can do the work instead. It's worth mentioning that the department, among other things, is in charge of gravity, earthquakes, the sun, dreams and retribution. Odds and Gods by Tom Holt: Just trust me when I say this is good, as it is to much work describing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC-1162 Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Jimbo did a really good thing when he started this thread . I took in a few recommendations here and planned to buy Ender's Game, but I didn't get it. But I did get Ender's Shadow, and after that, the rest of the Shadow Quartet. I'm halfway through the third book now. They are no doubt mind-blowing books and you'll never feel like putting them down. And a quick yaay fact: an Ender's Game movie is coming out next year too . w00t! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.