Anyone reading any good books lately?

edited April 2009 in General Chat
Well, I've just started reading Airborn, which is turning out to be a pretty nice book. It basically takes place in an alternate version of the 1900's where air vehicles are used almost entirely for transportation, and it's basically an airborne version of a Pirates of the Carribean film. Only with a fifteen-year-old cabin boy instead of a Johnny Depp-lookalike captain, as well as other younger people.

Oh, yes, and I'm rereading the new Sam & Max Surfing the Highway paperback I got in the mail a few days ago :D

So I'm wanting to know, what are some other books you guys are reading? Anything the rest of us should keep an eye on?

Comments

  • edited April 2009
    I read "Son of the Mob" a while back, and then I read "Bifocal".
    I don't know if I would recommend any of them, they were okay.
  • edited April 2009
    I read Yes Man by Danny Wallace recently. The book chronicles a year of Danny's life after he was kind of stuck in a rut when a stranger on a bus told him to say yes more. So he decides to then say yes to EVERYTHING for an entire year. Quite literally everything mind you. Best part is that it's an entirely true story and is hilarious throughout! and yes the Jim Carrey movie is based on the premise of the book. Though they're almost nothing a like. I highly recommend it to everyone!
  • edited April 2009
    Let the recommendations begin!

    If anyone is looking for a nice, lengthy series to get into, I would suggest Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I must warn you that the series is a bit better if you've read most of his other stuff, because he drops a lot of references to his other works throughout the series, but it would also be magnificent as a standalone piece. Following Roland of Gilead, the last gunslinger, in his travels through Midworld, our world, and multiple others, in a quest to save everything (not just one world, but literally everything, in all worlds and all dimensions) which leads him to the Dark Tower. This 7-book series is some of the best stuff I've ever read.

    Another great series to look into is Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. 5 books of hilarity ensue after Arthur Dent's world is destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway.

    Unfortunately, I fail to do justice to the awesomeness of these series.

    Right now, I'm reading less exciting stuff - Inkdeath, the finale to Cornelia Funke's Inkheart series. I hadn't read ay of the series since Inkheart came out, and when I heard all three were released, I decided to read 'em all over again.
  • edited April 2009
    recently i have read the first 3 Bone books which are ace (as you should all know). As well as Angel after the fall (a graphic novel set after the TV series which is also pretty good).
  • edited April 2009
    Another great series to look into is Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. 5 books of hilarity ensue after Arthur Dent's world is destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway.

    Unfortunately, I fail to do justice to the awesomeness of these series.

    I've also been reading those because of the new sixth one coming in October. It's being written by Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame. I think he may have some explaining to do because at the end of the fifth book,
    everyone dies. Everybody. Arthur, Ford, Trillian, etc. All blown up by Vogons on a parallel Earth.
  • edited April 2009
    I've also been reading those because of the new sixth one coming in October. It's being written by Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame. I think he may have some explaining to do because at the end of the fifth book,
    everyone dies. Everybody. Arthur, Ford, Trillian, etc. All blown up by Vogons on a parallel Earth.

    I heard about that, too. Didn't know it was coming out in October, though... I'll have to be through my pile of books-to-read by then. That thing's gotten way too big; I really need to catch up.
  • edited April 2009
    Regarding the title of this thread, (not the be annoying, but)
    "reading any good books lately" is bad grammar.
    "reading" means you are currently in the book, and "lately" means in the past.
    So it's a PARADOX!!!!
  • edited April 2009
    I've been reading Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
  • edited April 2009
    I've just started reading the book version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. It's basically the exact same events of the games, only in writing form. It's a lot better because you don't have to do any work. And besides, I had already returned my copy of the game back to Blockbuster.
  • edited April 2009
    A Year at the Movies by Kevin Murphy
  • edited April 2009
    I heard about that, too. Didn't know it was coming out in October, though... I'll have to be through my pile of books-to-read by then. That thing's gotten way too big; I really need to catch up.

    I liked the first two-and-a-half books. After that, it just got downright confusing. I still read them though.
  • edited April 2009
    Halo.
  • edited April 2009
    I've also been reading those because of the new sixth one coming in October. It's being written by Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame. I think he may have some explaining to do because at the end of the fifth book,
    everyone dies. Everybody. Arthur, Ford, Trillian, etc. All blown up by Vogons on a parallel Earth.
    Not really.
    Douglas Adams thought the ending of his series was too bleak, and was actually planning another sequel before his death. He was going to bring Arthur back through the Babblefish, which he would say traded for the secret of extra-dimensional travel from the dolphins in exchange for the secret of a good place to have parties.
  • edited April 2009
    Is this going to be the plot of the next book?
  • edited April 2009
    Is this going to be the plot of the next book?
    Actually, I just double-checked, and I'm confusing the facts. The above was the ending of the radio drama version. But anyway, Adams still was planning a sequel, though most of his writings compiled in Salmon of Doubt don't really amount to full ideas for another book.

    Anyway, I'm sure the new guy will do something. I wouldn't mind if he borrowed the radio play ending.
  • edited April 2009
    The last book I read was 'The Graveyard Book' by Neil Gaiman. It's a tribute to the Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, only set in a graveyard. It's something of a children's book but I'm a huge Gaiman fan. It's still a fairly good read.
  • edited April 2009
    If light novels count I just started reading Ballad of a Shinigami which is way better than I expected. I also got a deal on a great Sherlock Holmes compilation. I've always loved those stories.
  • edited April 2009
    Anyway, I'm sure the new guy will do something. I wouldn't mind if he borrowed the radio play ending.

    Hell, sounds better than my idea.

    THE LAST FIVE BOOKS WERE A DREAM...
  • edited April 2009
    I've been reading Journery to West. It's about the monk Xanzang on his journey to get the scriptures from the Thunder Monastery. On the way, he gains disciples such as Sun Wukong the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Zhu Bajie the Iron Bristled pig, & Friar Sand-the guy with a stick. It's a classic.
  • edited April 2009
    Nation by Terry Pratchet is fantastic.
  • edited April 2009
    Hitchhiker's sounds interesting. I should take a walk to the library sometime this month.
    Right now I'm just reading some classic Agatha Christie stories.
  • edited April 2009
    Just read: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
    Now Reading: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
    Soon to be reading: Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman
    Want to read: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen
  • edited April 2009
    Right now I'm forcing myself to read the Earthsea Quartet. I can honestly say that it's one of the most overrated books I've ever read.

    I knew to expect the clichéd form of fantasy with staff wielding wizards I've come to detest (unless it's in the parody 'Pratchetian' form ;-)) but I'd seen the anime adaptation and my hopes were raised. (I had read reviews that the film was loosely based on the books, but some of the things said made me think it was a sort of 'Gonzo' adaptation, so I gave it a chance).

    Well, I was right about the gonzo bit; the film's character's were highly close to the book's, the situations they get into are the kind they might have got into in the book and they react in the same ways as their counterparts. The difference is that the film is entertaining while the book completely lacks complexity; every step of the plot is strait forward one-step-infront-of-the-other journey.

    The prose are nice but she (Ursula leGuin) frequently tries to hard to make her words sound pretty (but a lot of authors of this style of fantasy fall into this trap).

    I don't know why I've been forcing myself to continue reading as I have done. It's been months. I actually find excuses not to read it ("Nah, I'd rather play some computer games", "No, I've been meaning to watch [...] for a while...", "No thanks I, err... Need to wash the dishes", "This is no time to read! The... Errr... Ummm... Toilet needs scrubbing!"). And I don't know why I don't just write it off as a bad job and give up but I'm determined to see it through.
  • edited April 2009
    ig0rpwnwEd wrote: »
    Nation by Terry Pratchet is fantastic.

    Anything by Terry Pratchett is fantastic :)
  • edited April 2009
    Molokov wrote: »
    Anything by Terry Pratchett is fantastic :)

    You have a point there :)
  • edited April 2009
    im reading spy chickens by me.
  • edited April 2009
    That only sounds half as insane than what I'm writing. Think Ni Hao, Kai-Lan (if you don't know what this is, click here) meets Wanted and The Matrix.

    No, I am not getting high while writing it...surprisingly.
  • edited April 2009
    Besides what I drabble in my notebooks, I am going to soon be continuing the Maximum Ride series by James Paterson with the fifth novel: Max. As soon as it reaches my house, anyways. My grandma ordered it for me. :D
  • edited April 2009
    My dad got the audiobook for that one. I haven't been that interested in the Maximum Ride books...but I may be persuaded to try the first one out. Y'know, once I finish my Star Wars book.

    I'm also reading a comic collection of Bloom County, of which my avatar comes from.
  • edited April 2009
    I didn't realize that Stephen King Goes to the Movies was just a re-collection of 5 of his short stories that were made into movies with new 1-2 page intros until after I bought it. It seems almost like a filler book whilst his ever-loyal fans wait for Under the Dome to release later this year. Over 1,000 pages of long-delayed glory...

    *cough*

    I think this book might be an attempt to pull in the fans of his movies who had never read any of his written works. It was certainly a good medium for that quest, but beyond that, it hardly deserves to exist. However, I figured that since I had already purchased the book, I may as well read it. They're the same great stores that appeared elsewhere first, and it's always worth a re-read of any of his stuff.
  • edited April 2009
    I just finished reading the five The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy books. (I bought the "A trilogy in five parts" edition, which includes the five books in one.)
    My favourite was the third one, but I think the ending of the fifth was a bit sad. I'm looking forward to the Eoin Colfer's sequel. (I've read the first five Artemis Fowl's books by Eoin Colfer too.)

    Recently I ordered online Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, The long-dark tea time of the soul (Both by Douglas Adams.) and The Salmon of Doubt, but I haven't recieved them yet.
  • edited April 2009
    Recently I ordered online Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, The long-dark tea time of the soul (Both by Douglas Adams.) and The Salmon of Doubt, but I haven't recieved them yet.

    Coincidentally, I am currently reading The Salmon of Doubt, and own Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (but haven't yet read them). The Salmon of Doubt is definitely worth the purchase, and I'm actually saying this before the generally anticipated part (the beginnings of what was going to be either the 3rd Dirk Gently book or the 6th Hitchhiker's book). This guy has a sense of humor like no other.
  • edited April 2009
    Yes, the usual British sense of humor. :) Never gotten old yet.
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