Current Read - December

Blind Crow · Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 11:28 pm

Okay guys, so it's been a couple months (3 to be exact) since we've had one of these but I thought it would be nice to get a little conversation going.

I'm currently reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I've read it once before and immediately fell in love with it. It is the telling of a family's journey to the west and their struggle to find work so they can survive during the Great Depression. It's an immensely terrific book. I can not tell you how much I've fallen in love with Steinbeck's writing. It's definitely a must read.

Another book that I have on my nightstand is On Writing by Stephen King. This is my second time reading this one as well and its simply a pleasure to read. I've never actually read anything by King before and I can't say that this book has made me want to pick up any other book of his. But it has shown me how one can go from a nobody writer who writes in his laundry room at 3 in the morning to one of the most successful authors of our time. He has a wit about him that only increases the intimacy between himself and the reader. All aspiring writers should read this book. Amazing.

What about you guys? What are you reading this month?
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I'll walk hand and hand with my faith, step for step with my beliefs, and never fear the path unknown.

poggles · Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 2:57 am

I've read heaps of books so far this month, because we went on a 12hr each way car trip... Unfortunately, I don't actually remember any of them. There was a couple of crime fiction, the last two in a assassin-ish trilogy, and some young adult stuff.

ooo actually, I do remember some now that I think about it ;D
The Night Angel (assassin) trilogy by Brent Weeks is:
- The Way of Shadows
- Shadows Edge
- Beyond the Shadows
these books are pretty cool. I really love the main character and his character development, and how he goes from scared and pathetic to scary and powerful

They eventually get into political developments with different characters all over the place in the third one, but its necessary for the big conclusion

It starts good and then goes downhill, but they are still worth reading, especially if you don't mind reading about balance of power and that army goes this way and "I am king I have to do this" etc (which annoys me).

The other one I read that I remember the title of is "Generation Dead" by Daniel Waters. It was not very good, but I'm probably too old to really enjoy it... my younger sister chose it. It's about a goth girl who falls in love with a dead guy who has come back to life. The ending is sort of crap and leaves a lot of loose ends, but it works I guess.

What's bad though is that, although I remember the plots, I can't even remember the titles of the books I chose for myself... those are my brother's choices and my little sister's choice >_< I may look around and find the other books so I can write about them next

_________________
"It's waiting for me... Here I am!"
I bet you can't beat my brute

Band Geek · Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:33 am

Tyler: I heard Grapes of Wrath was really good. I want to get around to reading that sometime... And my APE(nglish) teacher always references that Stephen King book. She hates his other writing though... Which is weird, because he's bascially the same, but writing of other topics...Whatever.

Anna: I've never heard of any of those...Are they worth searching out?

Uhhh this month? I've barely read anything...

I re-read my independent reading book The Bell Jar, which is a reallllly good book, though slightly depressing. (It's about a college girl named Esther who has the opportunity to work in NYC for a magazine and while shes there she is gradually becoming very detached and despondent and freaked out about making decisions about her future. Eventually she leaves NYC and returns home where she becomes suicidal and nearing insane. Really weird, but realllly good.

Other than that....wow, that's actually all. Jeez. I've got a stack of books next to my bed, but I haven't gotten around to actually reading them. Oopsy.

I'll try to read a couple before I post here again. Hehe.
_________________
"I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars and you. What else do ya need to know?" -John Dillinger

poggles · Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:46 pm

The Night Angel ones might be ok, but the Generation Dead is definitely not worth the effort.

The Bell Jar sounds interesting, I might try reading it one day.

Today I bought two new books by Adam Roberts, called "On" and "Stone". They look pretty good, so I'll see how they go

_________________
"It's waiting for me... Here I am!"
I bet you can't beat my brute

Blind Crow · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:07 pm

Anna: I've heard of Night Angel but never bought it. I wasn't too sure about the title or the premise of the novels. I might try and find them though and give them a go. Once I finish my gigantic to read list that is. And, those two books you bought, what are they about?

Maggie: It is really good. The ending is a bit weird, but its only the ending so I got past it. Lmao. Nice name for your teacher. Didn't your mother teach you to respect your elders

. On Writing is something I would recommend you read just for fun. It really does show the inner workings of writing but also relays the life of an actual human being. Definitely give it ago. Even if Ape suggested it too. Get to reading young lady. And writing! I want more of that story of yours. Right away. Okay? Good.
_________________
I'll walk hand and hand with my faith, step for step with my beliefs, and never fear the path unknown.

Band Geek · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 7:44 pm

Anna: I think I'm going to look for it in the library next time I go. And if you get the chance I definitely reccomend that you read it!

Tyler: Bad endings are always disappointing...but at least it was good otherwise. lol. I respect my elders...just not that class.

She's really not that bad. But she's very...english teacher-y if you get my drift. If I see it, I'll try it out...maybe I'll borrow it from my teacher. Er, story? What story?
_________________
"I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars and you. What else do ya need to know?" -John Dillinger

poggles · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 8:43 pm

I just finished "Stone". It's really hard to describe... basically it's Science fiction, set in the future in a utopia where humanity has spread over a large area, told from the point of view of a murderer who got sprung from a super-prison-star-planet, where he was the only prisoner, to kill an entire planet. This is in a place where there is no crime ever except for like one person every hundred years or something...hence him being the only prisoner. So he's not sure who wants him to do it or why or how he's going to (especially because the entire race uses "DotTech" nanotechnology which can heal pretty much any injury), but he goes along with it so that he can stay out of prison. Anyway, it ends pretty well, and it turns out the orders are coming from the only place I did -not- see them coming from ;D The only thing I have a problem with is the whole "here, there, and nowhere all at the same time" thing. Not understanding it probably won't destroy the novel, but...all the same...it's an important concept for the novel to make sense, especially towards the end. But it is explained alot, so it worked alright for me.

Oh, and the title comes from the fact that the story is told through a series of letters to a stone the murderer-guy has found.

I really liked this book. I can't wait to read the other one ^_^

_________________
"It's waiting for me... Here I am!"
I bet you can't beat my brute