Book thread

[Mark Bee]

That's what I should do. But for some reason I horde books. The hardest adjustment I had to make moving to an e-reader was losing the pleasure I get from simply admiring my collection on the shelves. I think my fiancé is happy about my switch to kindle. I've stacked books to the ceiling that loom over her desk in our office. We have a little lending library in my building'slaundry room. I should start moving some of my novels down there.

One thing about ipads is that I have rediscovered magazines. They look great on tablets.

[Johannes]

yeah me too...but i try to get those i don't "need" on paperback so i just horde the leatherbound and what not...

magazines...same problem with those. everywhere! haha i might have a problem...

[Graeme]

I got a kindle a couple of years ago as a gift and really liked it at first, but since amazon raised the prices of ebooks (I recall reading something about publishers being butthurt about the prices amazon was charging) I can't be bothered because to me, an ebook is only worth it if it's significantly cheaper than a paper book. A couple of months ago I bought a new mass market copy of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss for about ten dollars at Indigo. That was the cover price, no discounts or anything like that. When I got home I looked up the book on the kindle, and it was around $12. That to me is absurd, because not only am I paying extra to "lease" the book, there aren't printing, warehousing, distribution cost, retail overheads, etc there. In theory once you make one digital copy of a book and have the infrastructure in place to distribute it, your costs are so minimal, and I resent paying the same or more for the digital copy. I can't see myself really using e-readers with that being the case.

I also really like paper books, though I did find the kindle nice to read on and after I got used to the device it felt pretty much the same as reading a paper book. I don't like that there's no cover art (or poor cover art) but that's kind of neither here nor there.

[kylegrey]

Just read JG Ballard's "Cocaine Nights " and really impressed by his stuff I've promptly ordered "High Rise ". Cocaine Nights is set on the Costa del sol and examines what happens when people get too much sun and become lazy with leisure . He presents a self-policed , post-civilised society in which citizens steal , vandalise , commit rape and arson , prostitute themselves and deal drugs as a series of leisure options .

[else]

He presents a...society in which citizens steal, vandalise, commit rape and arson , prostitute themselves and deal drugs as a series of leisure options .

Sounds just like my hometown.

[kylegrey]

Just finished Brighton Rock by Graham Greene which is really beautifully written and at times almost poetic . I was really struck by a feeling that it has many parallels to a Clockwork Orange and the antihero Pinkie is a great character along with his girlfriend Rose they are a old timey Sid and Nancy of sorts . I've also discovered Harry Crews and brought a great collection of his works Classic Crews , his writing is pretty brutal and he presents some freaky characters which he cherishes and so will you . I liked Marvin Molar a guy with stumps for legs, who's deaf and can't speak ,walks on his hands and subsequently lives in the local gym (where he was dumped as a baby) and has a fine set of 20 inch arms .

[Avery Taylor]

Just finished Brighton Rock by Graham Greene which is really beautifully written and at times almost poetic . I was really struck by a feeling that it has many parallels to a Clockwork Orange and the antihero Pinkie is a great character along with his girlfriend Rose they are a old timey Sid and Nancy of sorts . I've also discovered Harry Crews and brought a great collection of his works Classic Crews , his writing is pretty brutal and he presents some freaky characters which he cherishes and so will you . I liked Marvin Molar a guy with stumps for legs, who's deaf and can't speak ,walks on his hands and subsequently lives in the local gym (where he was dumped as a baby) and has a fine set of 20 inch arms .

Harry Crews has a short scene in the documentary "Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus". I was not a huge fan of the movie, but it has a couple of cool parts in it, and Harry Crews is one of them. I was born and raised in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia so I am usually disappointed by any films or books about the south. They rarely seem to be anything other than a cliched view of the region. Crews, however, is an exception. If you like him you should also look up Breece Pancake. He only wrote a handful of short stories before he killed himself, but the stories are very good, and very true to the region.

I recently read "The Sisters Brothers",and really enjoyed it. It is kind of a Jim Thompson style western that will almost certainly be made into a movie. Read the book first before they start casting the movie.

[tattooedgirl]

I just started reading "The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty" by Anne Rice (it is listed under a different name). It is very odd to me. Not a usual Anne Rice book but then again she is writing as someone else. It was recommended to me after reading the 50 Shades of Gray series.

[Delicious]

i've read that book.. its graphic bdsm, with a shitty story. nothing really good about it. its pretty much like porn but in book form

[donbcivil]

I've also discovered Harry Crews and brought a great collection of his works Classic Crews , his writing is pretty brutal and he presents some freaky characters which he cherishes and so will you .

Harry Crews rocks, I've enjoyed his books for some time. Really bummed to hear that he died 1-2 years ago. I think my favorite book from him was "Body".

Of writers currently writing, my favorite is probably Neil Gaiman. "Good Omens", co-written with Terry Pratchett was brilliantly funny and "American Gods" is awesome.

In fantasy, "The Name of the Wind" by Rothfuss is excellent.

Everything ever written by Ray Bradbury.

Thomas Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49"

And this book about literary tattoos rocks: link

[Eskimette]

Im on the 3rd book of 50 shades of grey *shame face*

i borrowed the first one out of humor so i could have an educated opinion on everyone's bullshit about it..

then the book ended with him beating her with a belt and her running away...so..i couldnt let it end like that...one thing led to another, and several bottles of wine later here I am reading more smut

sigh

i reiterate

shame face

[donbcivil]

i reiterate

shame face

Look at the plus side.

Someone tough enough to get through several of these books is someone to fear. :)

[Eskimette]

Look at the plus side.

Someone tough enough to get through several of these books is someone to fear. :)

LOL my hubby is afraid

we made the book into a drinking game

i name a page, and a line number, and he has to read it out loud...it ends in him drinking LOL

...then we switch

...its colorful

but amusing

[donbcivil]

LOL my hubby is afraid

we made the book into a drinking game

i name a page, and a line number, and he has to read it out loud...it ends in him drinking LOL

...then we switch

...its colorful

but amusing

My wife works in a library and I'm imagining how she's react if I suggested she read it:

(Here's me desperately trying to wash pepper spray out of my eyes)

- - - Updated - - -

Not to disrespect your book choices or anything...

[Eskimette]

My wife works in a library and I'm imagining how she's react if I suggested she read it:

(Here's me desperately trying to wash pepper spray out of my eyes)

- - - Updated - - -

Not to disrespect your book choices or anything...

hahaha none taken - As mentioned It all started as a joke... before tattooing I got a history degree..(oh so useful) and through the course of that was made to read so many books that to me were terrible repetitive bs that it took the magic out of story telling...lol..analysing everything..

50 shades started as a joke, but turned into something i could turn my brain off for..which sometimes? I really need.lol. It's the same old formula kind of book..

When we get into favorites on a serious level I'm a huge stephen king fan.

[Delicious]

Im a huge fan of The Song of Ice and Fire. George R.R. Martin. I love most everything that Orson Scott Card writes. I'm getting into Lovecraft, and I am beginning to love Neil Gaiman

[HaydenRose]

Im a huge fan of The Song of Ice and Fire. George R.R. Martin. I love most everything that Orson Scott Card writes. I'm getting into Lovecraft, and I am beginning to love Neil Gaiman

GRRM is the best! I'm currently halfway through A Clash of Kings (started the series like 187276375338 months ago... Lol) and the writing is breathtaking.

[tattooedgirl]

i've read that book.. its graphic bdsm, with a shitty story. nothing really good about it. its pretty much like porn but in book form

Yes that is what I thought. Have you read the series? There are 2 others in this series but I am not so sure that I want to read them. I loved 50 shades , all of them but this book may be too much for me. The Prince is a jerk, and you are right about the graphics. I do not mind a book being graphic but it was not really what I expected.

[Delicious]

I know. If the plot was good and the characters relatable, then the graphicness of it could be forgiven. But it's not.

[donbcivil]

BTW, for anyone on goodreads.com, my username there is donbcivil too.

[MGblues]

I'm reading "The Shadow Over Santa Susana" A bunch of theories and tangents of the Manson family murders tied up in one nice little package. I'm not a conspiracy theory nut or anything, but it does make for a good read.

[Graeme]

I'm about 450 pages into The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss and I am really into it so far. I liked The Name of the Wind, but I found it a little bit lacking because it didn't really have the depth and the richness that I wanted, but there's far more of that in this new book. The characters and their relationships are further developed, we see more of the world and how it works, the pacing is great, and it's just a really satisfying read so far.

[Mark Bee]

I'm about 450 pages into The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss and I am really into it so far. I liked The Name of the Wind, but I found it a little bit lacking because it didn't really have the depth and the richness that I wanted, but there's far more of that in this new book. The characters and their relationships are further developed, we see more of the world and how it works, the pacing is great, and it's just a really satisfying read so far.

I'm glad you reminded me about this book. Its buried in my "to-read" stack and I'd forgotten about it. Since spring has finally arrived maybe I should find a patio and start reading it. Or...maybe I should work on finishing this degree. I think I see which way this is going...

[Shaun1105]

Im a huge fan of The Song of Ice and Fire. George R.R. Martin. I love most everything that Orson Scott Card writes. I'm getting into Lovecraft, and I am beginning to love Neil Gaiman

I can't stop reading this right now. Re-reading, actually, since I read them about 7ish years ago but it seems I've forgotten just about everything past the first book. I'm about halfway into A Storm of Swords.

I find it difficult to get myself to read fiction, but once I'm done this series I will check out the other authors you have listed there.

[tattooedgirl]

I know. If the plot was good and the characters relatable, then the graphicness of it could be forgiven. But it's not.

Exactly. The plot just stinks all around. It really surprises me that it comes from Anne Rice. I have liked the books that I have read from her so far.

Do since I liked the whole 50 shades series, anyone have any books that are similar to this, that are NOT like The Sleeping Beauty series?