Anyone a avid Reader?

[MrEco]

I'm not sure how many people here like to read, but I love it. It's my second favourite hobby. I want to find out who here is a reader like me. So if you are, post some of your favourite books, and maybe give a small description of them. Also, post what book you are currently reading through, if you feel like it.

Favourite books:

Lord of the Rings (Trilogy) - By J.R. Tolkien - Don't think I have to explain this one too much. You'd have to be living under a rock to have never heard of it.

The Hobbit - By J.R. Tolkien - Personally better than LotR. It's also a prequel. It follows the story of Bilbo Baggins in his quest to lead a group of Dwarves to find a massive pile of treasure being guarded by a dragon.

Foundation (Trilogy) - By Isaac Asimov - This guy named Harry Seldon is a psychohistorian. Basically he uses math to tell the future. He ends up predicting the inevitable downfall of The Galactic Empire along with a 30,000 year period of barbarism following it's fall. Although the Empires failing is impossible to stop, he sets up two Foundations, one at either end of the galaxy, set up in such a way to lower the period of barbarism to only 10,000 years. The books follow a time line showing the effects of the two Foundations.

Robinson Crusoe - By Daniel Defoe - Possibly tied with The Hobbit for the place of my favourite book of all time. The book goes about as if you were reading the journal of a man named Robinson Crusoe(Oddly enough). He describes his experience of being stranded on an island and his attempt to escape.

Currently reading through:

Dune - By Frank Herbert - So far it's about a rare spice (Forgot it's name) that can only be mined on the planet Arakkis. It follows the story of Paul as he grows up. He is the son of the Duke (Or Emperor. Something like that.) that owns the planet Arakkis. His family house the Bene Gesserit are at a constant war with the family house of the Harkonnens for control of the planet. Attempted assassinations abound.

So there you have it. Please enjoy.

[MrPopo]

I went ahead and merged your thread with this existing book thread, MrEco. But you are in for a treat with Dune. I didn't try it out until I was in college, but it quickly became one of my favorite non-Star Wars books.

[MrEco]

I went ahead and merged your thread with this existing book thread, MrEco. But you are in for a treat with Dune. I didn't try it out until I was in college, but it quickly became one of my favorite non-Star Wars books.

Cool, thanks.

[ThatCrazyGu]

Sir, I must correct you. I am not in Junior high, but I am (now was) a Junior in High School (or 11th grade). I am going into my Senior year in September. And yes, that is a mst3k avatar. I think I was 8 when the show was canceled. That makes me 18 sir. And would you let a 7th or 8th (maybe even 9th) grader read Lord of the Flies?

Sorry, but I just felt like correcting you. Back on topic now. Has anyone read If Chins Could Kill? I was thinking about picking up for a read, I wanted to know if it was a good read.

I read Lord of the Flies 9th grade (freshman year) in "junior high"

[Ack]

Well, figured I'd bring this thread back. I've just read two novels by John le Carre, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy. Both made for excellent spy novels, though I'm annoyed that my university library doesn't have the third in the trilogy, Smiley's People.

I'm currently reading a weird book, In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami. It's about a Japanese man who leads gaijin through Kabukicho for money and suspects his client is a murderer. There are some interesting comments on both American and Japanese society through the perspective of the narrator. It's also pretty short, so I'll probably be reading something else in a couple of days.

[Octopod]

I'm slowly working through C L Moores Northwest Smith stories and I just purchased "On the Way to the Web: The Secret History of the Internet and its Founders" by Michael A Banks. Looks pretty interesting.

[fastbilly1]

Take that Ack, I get you hooked on a series you cant finish it...

Mr. Eco and I have surprisingly similar taste in books. Robin Crusoe is my favorite book of all time. Mysterious Island is another good one, heck all of Jules Verne is amazing.

I am currently reading World War Z and A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. The former is slow going, the latter is just deep.

[MrEco]

Take that Ack, I get you hooked on a series you cant finish it...

Mr. Eco and I have surprisingly similar taste in books. Robin Crusoe is my favorite book of all time. Mysterious Island is another good one, heck all of Jules Verne is amazing.

I am currently reading World War Z and A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. The former is slow going, the latter is just deep.

Jules Verne is quite possibly the best author ever. Well, either him or Isaac Asimov. Also, I read World War Z about a year ago. Very good book.

[dlmvii]

I went ahead and merged your thread with this existing book thread, MrEco. But you are in for a treat with Dune. I didn't try it out until I was in college, but it quickly became one of my favorite non-Star Wars books.

Cool, thanks.

I concur. Dune is amazing. (spice is called melange)

The books written after Frank Herbert died were also quite good, (House trilogy, butlerian jihad->machine crusade->something else, and hunters/sandworms of dune which are direct sequels to Chapterhouse)
Paul of Dune is coming out soon too, I believe it takes place between Dune and Dune Messiah.

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but the Discworld books are also very fun to read.

[Ack]

I've always been wary of reading any of the Dune series, because beyond the first novel, what else should I read? It's like wandering blindly into the Star Wars subsection in any book store. What is all this? Is Splinter of the Mind's Eye better than Heir to the Empire(God no, the Thrawn trilogy were my favorite Star Wars books, followed by the 'Tales of' series)? Should I read these books or those books, and what bloody order does it all come in?