Overly Chatty Penguins

The Ready Room => Off Topic => Topic started by: Goldy on June 22, 2005, 06:55:05 AM

Title: Book++?
Post by: Goldy on June 22, 2005, 06:55:05 AM
Who's reading something cool? Guen had me start The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles, by Roger Zelazny. It's a collection of 10 fantasy books in a series about a place called Amber. I'm currently on the fourth and it kicks absolute ass.

btw, no spoilers here please!

*stickied* -dev
Title: Book++?
Post by: Dubbilex on June 22, 2005, 07:10:24 AM
Why not!  I'm reading Opening Mexico: The Making of a Democracy (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374529647/qid=1119445538/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-0041962-9568614?v=glance&s=books&n=507846).  A little slow, but I've been enjoying it like crazy.

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Two reporters lately posted in Mexico by the New York Times review the county's recent political history in this hefty narrative. The authors structure their story line around the relinquishment of presidential power, which was held without interruption for the preceding 70 years by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (known as the PRI), in the 2000 election. They develop the PRI's increasingly blatant rigging of elections over the course of the 1980s and 1990s and the types of opposition the chicanery provoked. They describe the protests and appraise the motivations of election monitors, intellectuals, candidates, Mexican journalists, and leaders of a rebellion in Chiapas. As for the PRI's response to discontent with its rule, the authors recount the ascent of figures such as Carlos Salinas and Ernesto Zedillo and their differences in handling the severe crises (assassinations, the collapse of the currency, the wave of hypercriminality) that wracked Mexico during their terms. With a concluding and diffident portrayal of current president Vicente Fox, Preston and Dillon have compiled a crowded, comprehensive survey for watchers of contemporary Mexican politics.

Pretty awesome, huh?   :p
Title: Book++?
Post by: Manta on June 22, 2005, 07:55:42 AM
State Of Fear, by Michael Crichton. It's about the "truth" behind global warming and other supposedly harmful effects on the environment, as well as a group of eco-terrorists using advanced coordination techniques and how a group of people, headed by a federal agent and a wealthy philanthropist, try to uncover what is going on.
Title: Book++?
Post by: SgtFury on June 22, 2005, 07:57:04 AM
Hehe, just finshed reading Angels and Demons, nice bit of "fiction"   ;)
Title: Book++?
Post by: GrayDuck on June 22, 2005, 09:26:46 AM
hehe I'm reading 'Harry Potter' - I'm up to the 4th book, and I'm totaly into it, but my coworkers have me hooked on watching Lost - so my spare time has gone from computer, to reading, to lost ;)  Almost done with it though.

Side note:  I'm not a reader - so Harry potter is a big commitment and achievment for me.  gooooooo me \o/
Title: Book++?
Post by: Diablus on June 22, 2005, 09:28:23 AM
Not reading anything currently, but I did read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien for my term paper during the year and I must say it was by far the best book ive read in quite some time.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Manta on June 22, 2005, 09:37:03 AM
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hehe I'm reading 'Harry Potter' - I'm up to the 4th book, and I'm totaly into it, but my coworkers have me hooked on watching Lost - so my spare time has gone from computer, to reading, to lost ;)  Almost done with it though.

Side note:  I'm not a reader - so Harry potter is a big commitment and achievment for me.  gooooooo me \o/
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Ahh, I love Lost. It's a shame the season has ended though.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Niteowl on June 22, 2005, 10:57:05 AM
Finished 'BreakFast of Champions' and 'Slaughterhouse 5' by vonnegut, currently reading 'Grapes of Wrath'.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Malevolent on June 22, 2005, 11:12:21 AM
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Quote
hehe I'm reading 'Harry Potter' - I'm up to the 4th book, and I'm totaly into it, but my coworkers have me hooked on watching Lost - so my spare time has gone from computer, to reading, to lost ;)  Almost done with it though.

Side note:  I'm not a reader - so Harry potter is a big commitment and achievment for me.  gooooooo me \o/
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Ahh, I love Lost. It's a shame the season has ended though.
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Lost is an awesome show.

And I plan on picking up the new Harry Potter book.
Title: Book++?
Post by: sonic on June 22, 2005, 11:29:49 AM
I read the paper this morning, if that counts.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Wolfwood on June 22, 2005, 01:02:41 PM
I'm currently working on a lot of books right now.... lemme list them.

Book of Amber - Roger Zelazny(I found it on my dad's shelves, but I haven't quite gotten too far into it)

Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (I managed to not read it during my sophomore year, so I'm doing it now)

And these next 3 are just for kicks, found them in the basement:

The Prince - Machiavelli

Divine Comedy - Dante

Leviathan - Hobbes (probably not going to read this one, I was just inspired to pick it up after having forgotten what Hobbes had taught during the AP test >.<)

For my Junior year, I have to read:

Fountainhead - Ayn Rand (not sure what to think, my girlfriend is reading it and having major conflicts with the whole thing and getting all spastic)

Of Mice and Men (i can't remember the author, wow I suck)

There Are No Children Here - Alex Kotlowitz (never even heard of this book, but I have to read it anyways)

And the book that I'm currently reading/most interested in, due to my dark nature  :ph34r: :

Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice

^^ Good book.

Yeah, so I plan to read the 6th Harry Potter book whenever that comes out too. Yup...

Edit: I was so inspired to bold all the book names... and italicize the authors ^_^
Title: Book++?
Post by: [JFF]Kirby on June 22, 2005, 01:10:44 PM
ive gotta read the long walk for school over summer break... there were other books but since this one is stephen king its probably the best...

then its off to 1984... im not a very intense reader though so i probably wont get around to it for a while yet..
Title: Book++?
Post by: Dubbilex on June 22, 2005, 01:15:13 PM
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I read the paper this morning, if that counts.
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baby steps!
Title: Book++?
Post by: Goldy on June 22, 2005, 02:48:11 PM
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Fountainhead - Ayn Rand (not sure what to think, my girlfriend is reading it and having major conflicts with the whole thing and getting all spastic)
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I read the Fountainhead, at least up until the end. The style of the writing was great, the way structures/architecture and such were described. However I never really paid attention to the philosophy of it, even thought I guess that was the entire point of the book.. which was why I stopped reading at some point during the 4,000 page speech dictating what Ayn Rand thought about whatever the crap. Yawn!

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ive gotta read the long walk for school over summer break... there were other books but since this one is stephen king its probably the best...
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You're reading the Long Walk.. for school? Wow. Do you know what it's about? This isn't spoiling since it's revealed right away: it's a race where everyone walks above a certain speed until one person is left, and it's violent, and a lot of fun. Beware the blisters...

I started a thread about Lost since three people mentioned it: http://www.lunixmonster.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3315 (http://www.lunixmonster.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3315)
Title: Book++?
Post by: Niteowl on June 23, 2005, 11:13:57 AM
I've read one of rand's books. "Atlas Shrugged".

Longest. Read. Evar.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Malevolent on June 23, 2005, 11:35:28 AM
Quote
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (I managed to not read it during my sophomore year, so I'm doing it now)

Fountainhead - Ayn Rand (not sure what to think, my girlfriend is reading it and having major conflicts with the whole thing and getting all spastic)
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Both very good books I must say. The Foutainhead has a story, but it is second after all the things the book makes you question about society.

And, Nite, I still need to read Atlas Shrugged. I assume it's good?
Title: Book++?
Post by: LowCrawler on June 23, 2005, 11:35:32 AM
the grey king


by susan cooper


probably my favorite book ever. and i dotn like fantasy
Title: Book++?
Post by: Niteowl on June 23, 2005, 03:15:39 PM
Quote
Quote
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (I managed to not read it during my sophomore year, so I'm doing it now)

Fountainhead - Ayn Rand (not sure what to think, my girlfriend is reading it and having major conflicts with the whole thing and getting all spastic)
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Both very good books I must say. The Foutainhead has a story, but it is second after all the things the book makes you question about society.

And, Nite, I still need to read Atlas Shrugged. I assume it's good?
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Never has any book inspired a stronger urge for me to do physical violence to the main character than Catcher in the Rye.

Meh, she's long winded and has a simplistic view of the world. It was an alright read. But drawn out. DRAAAAAWN OUUUUUT...
Title: Book++?
Post by: 2_of_8 on June 23, 2005, 03:39:05 PM
Leviafan, by Boris Okunin (Russian). Some detective story set the mid-19th century... it's good :)
Title: Book++?
Post by: devicenull on June 23, 2005, 06:13:06 PM
Bunch of sci-fi here.. these are all good books
Back slash - William h Lovejoy
Secret Realms - Tom Cool
Ender's game - Orson Scott Card (This is a awesome book)
Dreaming Metal - Melissa Scott
Exegesis - Astro Teller

Also a good book, The Art of Deception - Kevin Mitnick

I have to go out to my car later and get the rest of the books that are in there

Also, any book by Issac Asimov, is well worth reading.. (I didn't like the foundation series though), I managed to find a digital copy of every sci-fi book he wrote :)
Title: Book++?
Post by: Plaguebearer on June 23, 2005, 07:00:24 PM
I go thru books too quickly - sometimes more than one a day, if I decide that I just want to read on a day off (though that hasnt been lately).

Let's see, recently re-read the Riftwar books by Feist, the Amber books by Zelazny, the Chanur books and the Foreigner books by Cherryh, some ransom Trek books, the Thrawn trilogy by Zahn, random Discworld books, and Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett.

And several reefkeeping and marine aquaria books...

My biggest problem is that since I go thru books quickly, I want to read something that will be worth the 'investment' ... so I often end up rereading old books instead of getting new ones.
Title: Book++?
Post by: SgtFury on June 24, 2005, 02:28:23 AM
Good Omens is a great book. I remeber doing a book review on it about ....... my god.......12 years ago!! (God I feel Old).

Speaking of old I started to reread the Lensman books again. These were
written by E.E. Doc Smith in the 30s-50s. It's science fiction from another era. Everything is force rays and computers were unheard of :). Anyone else heard of them?

Title: Book++?
Post by: Niteowl on June 24, 2005, 10:42:06 AM
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Speaking of old I started to reread the Lensman books again. These were
written by E.E. Doc Smith in the 30s-50s. It's science fiction from another era. Everything is force rays and computers were unheard of :). Anyone else heard of them?
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I read somewhere that the Lensman books was the foundation for the Star Wars universe.
Title: Book++?
Post by: LowCrawler on June 24, 2005, 12:14:03 PM
my girlfriend told me to read the guardian... so i did. I dont remember the author but it starts as one of those silly girly books... a chick has problems like parents dying and such and she gets a black lab pup who is apparently an excellent judge of character. The dog loves a guy and growls at another (basically giving away the whole book)

minus the shallow plot and all, the suspense with the bad guy trying to kill her and the dog isnt so bad.



2 stars
Title: Book++?
Post by: Goldy on June 24, 2005, 03:32:28 PM
Sigh, apparently the narrator for the Amber series a few people have mentioned changes after the first 5 books (not really a spoiler). So I highly recommend it - it's the best fantasy series I have ever read - but prepare yourself for the narration switch. It was hugely disappointing for me, I thought I had 600 more pages of the guy. Now I have to force myself the accept the new narrator...
Title: Book++?
Post by: That Annoying Kid on June 28, 2005, 11:58:30 PM
Rogue Warrior's Strategy for Success: A Commando's Principles of Winning

Behold a Pale Horse


I swear upon MUGA that these are good reads, and if you shouldn't be satisfied with either read you can feel free to come to my town and butcher the damn thing  :cool:
Title: Book++?
Post by: ziggot on June 30, 2005, 12:11:23 AM
Im currently reading Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King.
Its the fifth book in his dark tower series, his fantasy series. Its okay.

Outside of Joseph Heller, Douglas Adams and Isaac Asimov nothing ever seems to hold my interest long.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Goldy on June 30, 2005, 07:09:19 AM
I gave up on the Dark Tower partway into Wizard and Glass. Stephen King has been pretty bad since he got run over, it seems. That's probably just a coincidence. Wasn't he going to quit writing?
Title: Book++?
Post by: Manta on June 30, 2005, 07:27:42 AM
I read the fifth one. I didn't really like it, especially since I'm not exactly fond of the way he wrote himself into the book.
Title: Book++?
Post by: ziggot on June 30, 2005, 11:04:29 AM
He is in the book? I must say that I liked the first couple of books more but having read so much of it, I feel like I have to finish.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Manta on June 30, 2005, 11:49:33 AM
I finished all the books for the same reason. And yes, he put himself in the book as a sort of character. It's not exactly a spoiler; he mentioned it when he was giving a seminar or something at some university.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Goldy on July 06, 2005, 07:10:08 AM
I'm also reading America: the Book, from the writers of the Daily Show. It's as hilarious as the show.
Title: Book++?
Post by: That Annoying Kid on July 06, 2005, 07:47:04 PM
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Rogue Warrior's Strategy for Success: A Commando's Principles of Winning

Behold a Pale Horse


I swear upon MUGA that these are good reads, and if you shouldn't be satisfied with either read you can feel free to come to my town and butcher the damn thing  :cool:
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^^
Title: Book++?
Post by: Nadja on July 06, 2005, 09:46:36 PM
I've recently finished Tartarin de Tarascon by Alphonse Daudet, Dubliners by James Joyce, The Odyssey trans. by ****les, Vol de nuit by Saint-Exupery, and Jennifer Government by Max Barry.

I'm half-way through The History by Herodotus. I truly enjoyable history that can be easily found online. I'm working on A History of Narrative Film by David Cook.

Oh and I've recently discovered just how rusty my Biblical Greek is. Hopefully I can bring up to the level of my Latin, which is nothing to brag about.

I have a whole stack of French books that I brought back from Montreal to read as well as the corpus of Western thought in the form of Britanicca's Gread Ideas series. So much to do so little time.

Catcher in the Rye was a enjoyable. The book that made me want kill the main character was Bigger, which I had to read for summer reading. Oh and you Sci-Fi fan's should try out Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age and Snow Crash, although he tends to dwell on the technologies, which, for me, is a plus.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Rath on July 06, 2005, 10:13:38 PM
Just finished Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card - the last book in the Bean series, which starts with a book that happens at the same time as Ender's Game(great book!)

Currently reading a collection of short stories by Arthur C. Clarke (wrote 2001: a Space Odyssey)
Title: Book++?
Post by: LowCrawler on July 07, 2005, 07:38:10 AM
The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks.... its essential

THE BOOK. (http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/zombiesurvivalguide/)
Title: Book++?
Post by: Spectre X on July 11, 2005, 08:19:34 PM
sci fi and horror books for me (if you can call anything horror)

the Ender's game saga (all like 8 of em, including the shadow ones0

the shining

IT

the stand...

all are awesome.
Title: Book++?
Post by: EmperorPenguin on July 12, 2005, 10:42:58 PM
I read a ton, but I've traditionally shunned fantasy books just because I'm notorious for getting sucked into large pulp collections (Star Wars, for instance).  Recently I picked up The Thousand Orcs by R.A. Salvatore, and actually enjoyed it.  I also finally know just what Guenhwyvar is.  Too bad my penguins have no sway on the astral plane :D

But I digress.  I'm also simultaneously reading through Winston Churchill's Second World War memoirs.  They're in-depth but quite dry at times, and are also rather long.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Sydney Carton on July 13, 2005, 12:16:32 AM
When I read these days it's mostly out of math journals, but I have to give props to my favorite book of all time, Small Gods. If you like Adams-style humor, witicisms about religion and philosophy, or Terry Pratchett, it might be the book that changes your life.

I'm only really waiting on A Song of Ice and Fire and the last book in Age of Unreason, the former of which is the best modern fantasy as far as I'm concerned, the latter of which is a neat little alternate history where Newton's alchemical experiments turn out to be fruitful. The last book in Unreason is actually out, but I haven't picked it up yet.
Title: Book++?
Post by: Black Mage on September 28, 2005, 06:13:35 PM
currently reading:
The Art of War for all your warmaking needs

books that you should read:
The Art of Deception (give it back, nooblet ... or bring it to the house when we go out)
Hacking Windows XP (white hat hacks)
Battle Royale (did someone say weeaboo? i thought i heard someone say weeaboo)

on my (to read list)
The Art of Intrusion (lot's of The Art of * books, eh)
The Network Security Bible
Windows Server 2003 Administration (and you thought the xbox was microsoft's heaviest product)
Cracking the Data Encryption Standard (aka Cracking DES)
Title: Book++?
Post by: JHunz on October 11, 2005, 09:30:22 AM
I'm rather shocked that nobody has mentioned the series A Song of Fire and Ice, by George R.R. Martin.  It's fantastic so far, with hugely complex politics, engaging characters, and an author who's not afraid to kill off the person you thought was the most important.  Three books are out now and I believe a fourth one is scheduled to hit before Christmas
Title: Book++?
Post by: LowCrawler on October 12, 2005, 03:50:48 PM
discworld!