Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?

[Scepticalscribe]

Greatest writer and free thinker, Christopher Hitchens:

Hm. Hyperbole always bothers me; the use of the word 'greatest' is one I am most miserly with, as I am not sure it should be bestowed so readily.

Anyway, to my mind, Christopher Hitchens is always well wrote reading. Generally, he writes exceptionally well, and is always thought-provoking and interesting and challenging - indeed, he makes you challenge your own adhesion to your own assumptions if only to refute him. Moreover, he touches on material and ideas that many mainstream thinks wouldn't touch with a barge pole. However, each to their own, but I'd dispute the use of the word 'greatest'.

 

[northernmunky]

I am currently reading life after death This is my favorite author Deepak Chopra. this book based on its all depend on how u will die . Ater death you die and life goes on with or without you simple just make the best if life while your still alive

Deepak Chopra is a well known loon. He things individual human cells are 'conscious' and have conversations with each other. Richard Dawkins is famously quoted as saying "...One of the problems is that the so-called 'nones' often give up religion for something even worse," and jokingly added "they take up Deepak Chopra or something like that."

 

[ucfgrad93]

I have started reading The Sword of Shannara triology since I'm watching the Chronicles of Shannara on MTV.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have started reading The Sword of Shannara triology since I'm watching the Chronicles of Shannara on MTV.

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The original trilogy is very good - though I'm inclined to think that the Elfstones of Shannara are probably the best of the books in the entire body of work. For that matter, I also quite liked the quartet of books that followed - The Talismans of Shannara.

After that, alas, things became pretty repetitive with stories, plots and characters endlessly re-cycled.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

Started reading Lost Scriptures by Bart D. Ehrman. It's a book that covers the apocryphal gospels and other rejected epistles and books from the New Testament. It's a very interesting read so far.

 

[fitshaced]

I gave Harry Potter a fair chance but won't be reading book 2 or beyond.

Now reading a classic detective novel. I've read two earlier books by Chandler and this is apparently his best.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I gave Harry Potter a fair chance but won't be reading book 2 or beyond.

Now reading a classic detective novel. I've read two earlier books by Chandler and this is apparently his best.

For an vivid expression of a certain type of fictional voice, very American, very distinctive, and very much of its era, Raymond Chandler is hard to beat.

Re Harry Potter, all I can say is that the series gets much better with the third book (Prisoner of Azkaban).

 

[txa1265]

I just started re-reading Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, for at least the 25th or so time since I first read it more than 35 years ago. It is a book that always surprises me, that I always find a new view, new twist, new nugget no matter how many times I've read it ...

As for Harry Potter ... love them in book and movie form. We read them aloud to our kids when they were little, and were waiting in line at midnight for the last book, and although they were well past needing me to read aloud, we still did it as a family activity. Great memories ... I just bought the $15 collection edition (well, when it WAS $15 last week!)

 

[ucfgrad93]

The original trilogy is very good - though I'm inclined to think that the Elfstones of Shannara are probably the best of the books in the entire body of work. For that matter, I also quite liked the quartet of books that followed - The Talismans of Shannara.

After that, alas, things became pretty repetitive with stories, plots and characters endlessly re-cycled.

Agreed. The first trilogy and the Scions of Shannara series was the best of the books.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Agreed. The first trilogy and the Scions of Shannara series was the best of the books.

Yes, that quartet; actually, I think the entire thing was called the "Heritage pf Shannara".

Anyway, the four books were "The Scions of Shannara", "The Druid of Shannara", "The Elf-Queen of Shannara" (the first three were excellent), and the final book in the quartet - "The Talismans of Shannara".

To my mind, this quartet, and the original trilogy comprise the best - by far - that has come out of the Shannara world. The world was still newly conceived, and the characters and stories and narrative arcs still fresh.

Subsequently, and unfortunately, it became a matter of re-cycling and re-heating characters, stories, plots, dilemmas, and settings.

 

[JamesMike]

Reading 'Notes From A Small Island', it is a very funny book about an Amercian's stay in England. It is worth reading!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Reading 'Notes From A Small Island', it is a very funny book about an Amercian's stay in England. It is worth reading!

Who wrote it?

 

[JamesMike]

Bill Bryson, after spending two decades in England he decided to walk the Appalachian trail to reconnect to the US and wrote 'A Walk In The Woods' equally funny, I think you would like his humor.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I am currently reading The Martian on my Kindle. I put a hold on it at my local library in November, and it just became available.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Bill Bryson, after spending two decades in England he decided to walk the Appalachian trail to reconnect to the US and wrote 'A Walk In The Woods' equally funny, I think you would like his humor.

Thanks for the reply. Bill Bryson is always worth reading, and writes exceptionally well.

 

[LadyX]

I gave Harry Potter a fair chance but won't be reading book 2 or beyond.

I'm sorry you won't be finishing the series. I don't reread books but I am planning on rereading the Harry Potter series very soon. That's how much I love it.

 

[LadyX]

@Scepticalscribe - Don't know if you're already aware but Garth Nix revealed two days ago that there's going to be a fifth book in the Old Kingdom series which will be released in October. It's called Goldenhand.

 

[nightcap965]

I generally have more than one book going at a time. I'm reading Nathaniel Philbrick's account of the wreck of the Essex, "In the Heart of the Sea" and the second of Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire mysteries, "Death Without Company." I'm always gratified to thoroughly enjoy a book and find it's the first in a series.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

@Scepticalscribe - Don't know if you're already aware but Garth Nix revealed two days ago that there's going to be a fifth book in the Old Kingdom series which will be released in October. It's called Goldenhand.

Thanks for the heads up.

Actually, just by chance - I dropped in for a swift look at Garth Nix's site, to check whether anything worth noting had taken place - I caught the original announcement that he had finished the book a few weeks ago on his Twitter feed - it was also on his website as they are linked - but at that stage, he hadn't announced a title for it.

"Goldenhand" - now, that sounds like Lirael, as if memory serves, she was named Lirael Goldenhand towards the end of one of the earlier books.

Hm. Inevitably, the next question concerns the planned date of publication……..let us hope that it will be sometime during 2016.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Over the week end, I read the 'fourth' book in the 'Millennium' trilogy.

The title of the book is "The Girl in The Spider's Web" and it was written by David Lagercrantz, with a by-line (written in smaller print) announcing that this is "continuing Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy".

 

[txa1265]

Over the week end, I read the 'fourth' book in the 'Millennium' trilogy.

The title of the book is "The Girl in The Spider's Web" and it was written by David Lagercrantz, with a by-line (written in smaller print) announcing that this is "continuing Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy".

So ... how was it?

 

[kaiju_wars]

"Losing the Signal" by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff
and
"Gifted Hands" by Dr. Ben Carson

 

[Scepticalscribe]

So ... how was it?

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I enjoyed revisiting this world, but - of course - it wasn't Stieg Larsson.

Some of the stuff in the world crafted by Stieg Larsson - the endless cups of coffee, and how they were served, the detailed description of what people ate, - are things I rather like to see in fiction, although some critics didn't much care for them.

Likewise, the detailed character building and background of many of the secondary characters was one of the strengths of Larsson's trilogy; while that is done here, to my mind, it is not done to quite the same extent.

Then, there is the wonderful Lisbet Salander - she still rocks, but not in quite the same way as in Larsson's books.

Having said all that, it is a very enjoyable read, and a respectful homage to the world of Stieg Larsson; in David Lagercrantz's hands, in fairness, the characters behave much as anyone who has read the original trilogy would expect them to behave - they are not traduced and they remain true to themselves. And technically, Lagercrantz is actually probably a better writer than Larsson was.

I suppose the very existence of the book does raise questions as to who owns characters, the author (who is dead, in this case), or the readers.

 

[Don't panic]

just finished the Gentleman Bastards series

the Lies of Locke Lamora was brilliant.
great world-building, original, witty. nice story and characters. top-notch writing

Red Seas was not quite as good, but still a lot of fun to read

Republic of Thieves was a disappointment. the same good writing as the previous books, but the storylines (both) were thin, and i couldn't stand Sabetha's character, or Locke's interaction with her. plus the finale was bad. maybe it is all just a prep for the next upcoming book, but i fear where it might go with the revelations about Locke's background

 

[Scepticalscribe]

just finished the Gentleman Bastards series

the Lies of Locke Lamora was brilliant.
great world-building, original, witty. nice story and characters. top-notch writing

Red Seas was not quite as good, but still a lot of fun to read

Republic of Thieves was a disappointment. the same good writing as the previous books, but the storylines (both) were thin, and i couldn't stand Sabetha's character, or Locke's interaction with her. plus the finale was bad. maybe it is all just a prep for the next upcoming book, but i fear where it might go with the revelations about Locke's background

This is a series I really like.

The first book - The Lies of Locke Lamora - was excellent - absolutely brilliant. Just rollicking and gripping from start to finish.

In 'Red Seas', granted, it started somewhat slowly, but I'd argue that once they put to sea the book really took off, and became that cliché of a book that could not be put down. And, besides, I must say that I loved Zamira Drakasha - the pirate stuff and sea battles were outstanding. And Jean's relationship with Ezri Delmastro was wonderful.

Re Republic of Thieves, hm. I find myself sort of agreeing with you. While I love the backstories, - especially anything which includes Chains - I prefer them to have some sort of heft.

What could you not stand about Sabetha? Their relationship doesn't bother me, because I like the fact that Scott Lynch is capable of having a completely screwed up hero. And what are your thoughts about Locke's background?