Books Read: 2011

[Ack]

B is for Bad Poetry, by Pamela August Russell
The 13 Crimes of Science Fiction, Edited by Isaac Asimov
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King
Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein
Kull, Exile of Atlantis, by Robert E. Howard

TOTAL: 5

The more I read of his work, the more I become enamored with the universes Robert E. Howard was capable of making. There is something so innately pleasing and artistic about his descriptions, that I can't help but feel swept up by the worlds he writes about. And his collection of Kull stories just furthered that love I've found for his literature, even moreso than the multiple collections of his Conan the Barbarian tales. Some folks could see Kull as a mere prototype for Conan and the Hyborian Age, but I see in him a distinctly character, more prone to self reflection and philosophy than Conan while faced with something terrible: the realization of his wildest dream. And now all he has is a kingdom that alternately loves and loathes him, and constant attempts on his life solely because of his title. It makes for some fantastic reading. I really need to track down the Solomon Kane and Bran Mak Morn collections, but I can never find them in my area. Apparently an El Borak collection came out a year ago, while another collection revolving around his female heroes was just release...should be some good reading.

[sputnik]

Jesus, a lot. Up until three weeks ago I was living out of a suitcase and I pretty much wrote and read exclusively on my time off. Since I was travelling I would just resell or give away any books I finished. I also read a shit-ton of magazines and comics too.

Some of my recent favourites would be:

Embryoyo by Dean Young. One of my favourite poets. My girlfriend gave it to me. Check out "No Forgiveness Ode."

The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker was pretty fantastic too. It's prose, but it's about poetry.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen is good too. I'm about two thirds through that now. It's one of the few things I've read not related to poetry, apparently. Haha.

[Gnashvar]

1. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Cory Doctorow
2. The Physics of the Impossible - Michio Kaku
3. A Princess Of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
4. The Gods Of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
5. The Warlord of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
6. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
7. The Strike at Shayol Ghul - Robert Jordan (Short Story)
8. New Spring - Robert Jordan (Short Story)
9. Ravens - Robert Jordan (Short Story)

Currently Reading

The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
Thuvia Maid of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
Have Spacesuit Will Travel - Robert A. Heinlein
Treasure Island - Robert Stevenson

[Lone Wanderer]

World War Z and Orphan's Triumph were my most recent books read.

[REPO Man]

Finished the novelization of Phantom of the Paradise, which is WAY different than the film. The book, which has been long OOP since the '70s, was based on an eariler draft of the script and as such many things are totally different. To name a few differences, no supernatural elements, no owl helmet, Swan has a full name (Alan D. Swan), Phoenix's real name is revealed, and Winslow now has a backstory.

If you like the film, try the book. But a small warning... it's real bitch to find. I lucked out and found a heavily-worn copy from someone on the Amazon Marketplace.

I'm thinking of digitizing it, but without a scanner, I'm gonna type it by hand.

[Gnashvar]

Finished Thuvia Maid of Mars.

1. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Cory Doctorow
2. The Physics of the Impossible - Michio Kaku
3. A Princess Of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
4. The Gods Of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
5. The Warlord of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
6. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
7. The Strike at Shayol Ghul - Robert Jordan (Short Story)
8. New Spring - Robert Jordan (Short Story)
9. Ravens - Robert Jordan (Short Story)
10. Thuvia Maid of Mars (Edgar Rice Burroughs)

Currently Reading

The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
Have Spacesuit Will Travel - Robert A. Heinlein
Treasure Island - Robert Stevenson

[saturnfan]

1. Disquisition of Government - John C. Calhoun
2. Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
3. Breaking the Backcountry: Seven Year's War in Virgina and Pennsylvania, 1754-1765 -Matthew C. Ward
4. Christianity in Latin America: A History - Ondina and Justo Gonzalez
5. The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America - Walter R. Borneman
6. Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517-1570
7. John C. Calhoun and the Price of Union - John Niven
8. Hall of Mirrors - Laura A. Lewis
9. Inka Bodies and the Body of Christ - Carolyn Dean (half read)
10. Texas Revolution - William C. Binkley
11. Wild Yankees - Paul B. Moyer
12. Fries's Rebellion: The Enduring Struggle for the American Revolution - Paul Douglas Newman
13. Taming Democracy - Terry Bouton (New)

And I add yet another book to the list, this one was about how the founding fathers repealed popular democratic policies in Pennsylvania during the early republic (1780's and 90's) to keep the common man down. If you are strong opponent of the Federalists and people like Hamilton, you might like this book. Of all the books I have read recently, this had the strongest political bias to it (except Calhoun of course). While Bouton has this strong liberal bias, it didn't seem to help his argument very much since he didn't clearly connect it to a broader political context. But hey, we all have our bias, I probably would have presented the exact same information with a more libertarian outlook.

It is a really interesting book though, I highly recommend it.

[Dakinggamer87]

just finished this:

Great book and awesome cover!! I picked this up on the cheap on Amazon

[dsheinem]

Pirate Latitudes - Michael Crichton
Foundation - Isaac Asimov *new*

It's hard for me to read fiction - when your job involves LOTS of reading and writing it is hard to want to read in your leisure time. That's part of the reason I play so many games! But I want to read more fiction, which is part of the reason I made this thread...

So here it is -April - and I have 2 books under my belt. Not a great start! I want to get at least 10 (or maybe 15) done by the year's end. Fortunately, both books so far have been quite good. I commented on the MC book previously, so here's a few thoughts on Foundation:

It was a really good read. I have only read Asimov's short stories previously, and was a bit nervous about jumping into a book that is part of a series of seven novels. I shouldn't have been - Foundation stands alone quite well by itself, has a clever structure that keeps things moving along at a brisk pace, and is strikingly relevant to the contemporary moment. I know that the books in this series have been long-heralded as Sci-Fi masterworks, and based on this first book I think that the reputation is probably well earned. I am eager to jump into the rest of the original trilogy before the year's out.

[Ack]

B is for Bad Poetry, by Pamela August Russell
The 13 Crimes of Science Fiction, Edited by Isaac Asimov
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King
Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein
Kull, Exile of Atlantis, by Robert E. Howard
The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty

TOTAL: 6

Ok, so I found this for sale at a local used bookshop for $2, and since I enjoyed the film, I figured I'd check out the book. I loved it far more than the film, it's a very well done horror story involving (obviously) demonic possession, but the really nifty thing about it is the focus on medical means and psychology to combat said possession. The "possession" is treated as a possibly physical or mental illness throughout the majority of the book, and the church only agrees to the exorcism on the grounds that they believe it will help through suggestion, not because the girl is actually possessed. Yes, it's more than a little dated, but there are some great references to the weirder work of men like Carl Jung. It also discusses the history of mythical monsters vs. mental illness, as well as the church's stance on it and writings concerning it.

Case in point, one of the cases mentioned involved a man who confessed to being a werewolf in the 1700s. He had been originally accused of the charge after being found devouring the corpses of his two nieces.

Anyway, currently I'm reading The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton. It's the second time I've attempted reading it, though I'm enjoying it far more than my last attempt. I suppose I just didn't appreciate the slang enough then, or a good crime story.