Topic: What is everyone reading right now?

[Mr Sven]

I dont litterally mean right now because the obvious answer would be this thread. What I mean ( as all you probably smart people will have guessed ) is Novels/Biographies/Guiness world record gamers editions/Dictionaries and thesauruses.. or would that be thesaurie?.

Anywho just thought to ask as i've recently had a Huuuuuge gap of getting into a novel.several years infact.

I started with Dracula about last year and got halfway through tried again and got a little further, maybe about chapter XIII but it just seemed to get less tense and more dull toward the end. not to spoil it for anyone mind you.

so anyway got bored of that and moved onto Homers Oddyssey. what an epic! though found out that after that i should have read Iliad first ( which i still intend to read at some point ) I always loved greek mythology and how the stories werent all flowers and rainbows, just like real life. poor Oddysseus huh?. Great book.

So I also have a strange facination for the 1984 Dune film which inspired me to whip out Frank herberts classic.

Now unlike The Oddyssey this is a full whack thick 600 page book not some piddly thin play ( at least the version I read )This book is great, it's got murder, revenge and plotting throughout, plus kickass sandworms and a guerrilla war ( which probably has some relevence with todays war in Iraq - "Spice is power! whoever controls the spice controls the universe!" ) sounds an awful lot like an analogy for Oil to me.

I cant see why the film was panned so badly either. ok it came out after starwars and really should have had some better visual effects, especially with the budget they had for it but seriously other than the adding of weirding modules to the film and one or two ommissions of certain plot points it did well.
I thought the book expanded on most if not every point the film made excellently.

I've finished the book now and found it grossly entertaining, enough so infact that i'm now halfway through the much thinner Dune Messiah and when thats done Children of Dune is waiting for me.

The point is this book got me back into Novels after years of just fact books and comprehensive reading ( books about space and the world around us and physics and sciency stuff ) has anybody else had an experience like this?

[Azmodan]

Kokoro. It's a very depressing Japanese novel. :(

[Mr Sven]

any good? Life's usualy pretty depressing so I find reading something Sci-fi/fantasy fiction more of an escape. though i suppose something in a book wouldn't bother me having no morals really.

[Kale]

12 kingdom series. Its being translated, I ahven't started teh 2nd book though I have it right here... but I plan to when I stop thinking about how bad I do in school >.>

that and loads of manga.

[Mobius]

Well I just finished last month's copy of Maxim over brunch. In terms of actual books, I've been attempting to get through the second James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, From Russia With Love. The first one, Casino Royale, was a real page-turner up until the stale romancing segment towards the conclusion, and the tense bacarat game at the heart of the story easily out-Bonds the poorly staged Texas hold em' tournament from the otherwise excellent movie adaptation. From Russia is taking its time getting started though, so I've been stepping in and out as time permits. Then again, I recently completed Final Fantasy VI Advance for the DS after almost 98 hours worth of playtime. That, in its own small way, was an engrossing novel experience unto itself, and I'd almost forgotten how much I loved it on the SNES. *sigh* Back when they knew how to make good FF games is all I gotta' say.

[Slayer]

Jazz.  A novel by Toni Morrison.  I just read The Awakening as well.  Really, though, this is for my literary analysis course.
I'm pursuing an English Major (likely), though, so I'll probably be reading more books soon...one of the English courses at my college is literally called "Read Your Eyes Out".

[PFG9000]

Currently working on The Stand by Stephen King.

[Cypress]

The Dune series rules. The later books will blow your mind.

Right now im reading Sun-tzu's The Art of War. I've read it 3 times but this is a new translation.

[Mr Sven]

In Reply To #7

I read part of the stand but it was a present for someone who read a whole lot more than me at the time. Its got that sort of post apocalypic feel to it from what i read and theres plenty of people gettingblown up as i recall.

In reply to #8

The first Dune Novel was amazing, certainly what i needed to get back into reading, but Dune Messiah started off a little slow. what i'm really looking forward to after these two is the Butlerian Jihad and all the stuff about thinking Machines.

[Platinum Armor]

I'm reading the Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov. They're pretty good, but sometimes the long conversations can be somewhat boring.

[The Last Belmont]

friday the 13th : Crystal Lake Memories - The complete history of friday the 13th and SW Darth Bane: The Rule of Two. Both are fantastic so far.

[Mr Sven]

In Reply To #10

isn't he the guy who defined the three laws of robotics?

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
 
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

[Platinum Armor]

In Reply To #12

Yes, he is.

[Mooning Freddy]

In Reply To #1

I'm reading Frank Herbert's Dune right now. I like the computer games and 2000 mini-series A LOT, and decided to finally read the book.

It's a difficult book, I can say that. Especially if people unfamiliar with the Dune universe are reading it. Plus, there's lots of philosophy, loads of it.

The only thing I don't like in the book is how the author gives you hints about what's about to happen next already in the beginning. The whole "prophesies" and "seeing the future" abilities is just a way to spoil the book for you.
(Spoiler!!! like the prophesy of the Duke's death by the Reverend mother, Paul knowing that he's about to become Muad'dib already in the first book, knowing that he's about to declare a jihad on the Harkonnens).

[Mr Sven]

In Reply To #14

I don't ever remember reading the part about the reverend mother prophecising the dukes death? which line is it?(admittedly i've read dune messiah and have started on children of Dune since then )

I dont think Paul actually knew he was to become Usul/Muad'dib either, the visions he has are cloudy and dont make sense while he is on caladan.

( I remember him meeting Chani on arrakis and wondering what she meant when she says "tell me of the waters of your homeworld,Usul. he thinks she means his home planet is called Usul rather than refering to his fremen name.
it's only later when he meets the fremen in their seitch that he is given the name Usul - The strong base of a Pillar its around here in the book all the visons start to make sense)

Spoiler






Plus Paul doesnt know he's going through prana-Bindu training secretly arranged by lady Jessica and the sisterhood either. after all the bene gesserit are trying to make a Kwisatz Haderach via their genetic breeding program and Paul doesnt know this.

It's only the addition of spice to his diet and taking the water of life that he has "A waking vison" and all makes sense, up until very nearly the end of the book does he truly understand everything, so it's all very hazy