Book talk!

[morment]

wow... just took the plunge today.i ordered up the last 3 anita blake books by laurell k, the last two of the sookie books, the last two of the odd thomas series by koontz, AND the two most recetn of the maximum ride series by patterson. holy crap am i going to have my hands full soon! and what a joy it is!

heck i even put in preorders for the ones that are son to be released of those series lol

I've never read the Anita Blake series even though I've been meaning to for a while now, I might have to remedy that soonish.

 

[Diana Blake]

What would you say the intensity of the Anita Blake books are? I don't mean to sound snobby but in an actual case of judging a book by it's cover I well...I've always thought they looked like something the author knocked out in a few weeks. Are they something you'd consider light reading for just a little escapism or are they the type of book you can fully immerse yourself in?

 

[Crumb]

What would you say the intensity of the Anita Blake books are? I don't mean to sound snobby but in an actual case of judging a book by it's cover I well...I've always thought they looked like something the author knocked out in a few weeks. Are they something you'd consider light reading for just a little escapism or are they the type of book you can fully immerse yourself in?

while I haven't read any Anita Blake, I have read a couple of the Meredith Gentry offerings by Laurel K Hamilton.
I have no reason to believe that the Anita Blake series is very much different from the books that I read, and going from those, I'd say them to be a little light reading for a little escapism.

 

[Shaun__]

What would you say the intensity of the Anita Blake books are? I don't mean to sound snobby but in an actual case of judging a book by it's cover I well...I've always thought they looked like something the author knocked out in a few weeks. Are they something you'd consider light reading for just a little escapism or are they the type of book you can fully immerse yourself in?

The first couple books are okay, but then she runs out of steam and just has the books be one long gang bang after another, with no shower in between. I had to stop reading them several years ago.

 

[southsamurai]

welll the anita blake stuff has several segments. the first 5 or so are damn good, well written with some awesome character work. then they get a bit iffy for a while. laurell got divorced, went a bit crazy and her writing suffered. pretty much after obsidian butterfly until the last 3 books it was all have weird supernatural sex, power up, repeat. but since skin trade she's gotten back to well thought out plots, and brought back some more of the crime/detective subject matter that gave form and flow to the early books. she does get a bit cookie cutter here and there (what author of a long running series doesnt?) but it tends to be with character descriptions, sex scenes and repeated occurrences (like using her necromancy where its always described the same way, word for word almost)

the meredith gentry stuff started out as supernatural sex and power, and stays that way right up til divine misdemeanors ( the most recent one as far as i know) but its fairies instead of vamps and shifters.

i would say that its worth a read for sure. since she does all of them as stand alone novels more or less (another reason she does so much cookie cutter work) you could read up til they get boring to you then skip ahead past the masquerade stuff.

 

[pg240]

My niece talked me into watching "Hunger Games" with her the other day, and I enjoyed it. Now I'm considering reading the three books. Yes? No?

 

[southsamurai]

My niece talked me into watching "Hunger Games" with her the other day, and I enjoyed it. Now I'm considering reading the three books. Yes? No?

yes! i read the books because of the movie, and loved the hell out of them

 

[curvyredhead]

American Savage: Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics
by Dan Savage

 

[pg240]

My niece talked me into watching "Hunger Games" with her the other day, and I enjoyed it. Now I'm considering reading the three books. Yes? No?

yes! i read the books because of the movie, and loved the hell out of them

About three-quarters of the way through book one. Can't keep my eyes open or I'd finish it tonight. Good stuff.

 

[pg240]

My niece talked me into watching "Hunger Games" with her the other day, and I enjoyed it. Now I'm considering reading the three books. Yes? No?

yes! i read the books because of the movie, and loved the hell out of them

Well, one down and two to go. Amazed how nuanced and complex "Hunger Games" is for a teen book. Nicely structured and quite impossible to put down. I'll check the other two out from the library tomorrow and suspect I'll zip right through them. Probably move on to the Harry Potter series then, other so-called teen books I've yet to read.

 

[pg240]

Finished the third book a few days ago. Enjoyed the series. Seems the middle book is generally the weakest in a trilogy, but in this instance I thought the third book -- while still quite good -- was the weakest. But I'm not complaining. I enjoyed the trilogy and am glad I read the books. Now, on to the second movie!

 

[Diana Blake]

I recently finished a few books by Wen Spencer that I enjoyed quite a bit. They were fun, quick reads with some fun sex scenes and some interesting--if flawed--science theory. I just kept thinking about them after I finished them because something was really bothering me, keeping me from putting the books out of my mind and moving on to something truly spectacular...the new Terry Goodkind novel.

It was a few days before I got it. I just really don't agree with the writer's and therefore the main character's view on sex. There was one line during the book that struck a cord that bugged me "Tinker never could understand women that were too dumb or too lazy to make money with their mind instead of their body." Not exactly a mind-blowing revelation of how many women feel about sex workers and I was willing to ignore it until I realized something kind of...scary.

See, as I've stated before...orgasms are fucking grand. Amazing, spectacular; sex is pretty much the bee's fuckin' knees man. But the main character of these two books treated sex as something that felt really great but only when she was weak. The character expresses that orgasms are freaking amazing but then only has sex when she's hurt, scared and unsure of herself. It seems that Wen Spencer thinks that intimacy can only come from weakness and that's not something I can or ever will agree with.

It's really sad and startling to me that these thoughts can be intertwined into a book that goes as far as to say that polyamorous relationships are a fine and acceptable thing. At one point the main character is captured and imprisoned with the bodyguard that her husband assigned to her and during the fear and doubt of her imprisonment she starts to have sexual feelings for said guard. Later, a family friend is killed and it's basically her fault. She's so distraught that she goes into shock and demands everyone leave her alone until she can figure out her feelings...oh wait, that's what a normal person would do. No, in this book she's so shocked and hurt that she bones the bodyguard. Like...whut?

I worry that this isn't just something that one person thinks because, like I said, it took me a few days to really figure out what was bothering me about it. It made perfect sense while I was reading it and I didn't really question it until later. I mean, I know some people use sex as a comfort tool. Sex is an amazing healer when used right but...are there women and men that think that sex is something you must always "give in" to rather than jump into head first? 'Cause, man, orgasms are kinda like Scrooge McDuck's nose dives into piles of money, pretty fuckin' sweet. I would hate to think there are people out there that feel that that's a feeling you can only reach out of desperation.

 

[Anonymous]

I recently finished a few books by Wen Spencer that I enjoyed quite a bit. They were fun, quick reads with some fun sex scenes and some interesting--if flawed--science theory. I just kept thinking about them after I finished them because something was really bothering me, keeping me from putting the books out of my mind and moving on to something truly spectacular...the new Terry Goodkind novel.

It was a few days before I got it. I just really don't agree with the writer's and therefore the main character's view on sex. There was one line during the book that struck a cord that bugged me "Tinker never could understand women that were too dumb or too lazy to make money with their mind instead of their body." Not exactly a mind-blowing revelation of how many women feel about sex workers and I was willing to ignore it until I realized something kind of...scary.

See, as I've stated before...orgasms are fucking grand. Amazing, spectacular; sex is pretty much the bee's fuckin' knees man. But the main character of these two books treated sex as something that felt really great but only when she was weak. The character expresses that orgasms are freaking amazing but then only has sex when she's hurt, scared and unsure of herself. It seems that Wen Spencer thinks that intimacy can only come from weakness and that's not something I can or ever will agree with.

It's really sad and startling to me that these thoughts can be intertwined into a book that goes as far as to say that polyamorous relationships are a fine and acceptable thing. At one point the main character is captured and imprisoned with the bodyguard that her husband assigned to her and during the fear and doubt of her imprisonment she starts to have sexual feelings for said guard. Later, a family friend is killed and it's basically her fault. She's so distraught that she goes into shock and demands everyone leave her alone until she can figure out her feelings...oh wait, that's what a normal person would do. No, in this book she's so shocked and hurt that she bones the bodyguard. Like...whut?

I worry that this isn't just something that one person thinks because, like I said, it took me a few days to really figure out what was bothering me about it. It made perfect sense while I was reading it and I didn't really question it until later. I mean, I know some people use sex as a comfort tool. Sex is an amazing healer when used right but...are there women and men that think that sex is something you must always "give in" to rather than jump into head first? 'Cause, man, orgasms are kinda like Scrooge McDuck's nose dives into piles of money, pretty fuckin' sweet. I would hate to think there are people out there that feel that that's a feeling you can only reach out of desperation.

I totally agree with you, sex can be a confort tool but it should be firstly something you enjoy because it's just fucking awsome, not something you do only to feel better.
btw I liked you thought about that book so much, I always like take what I read and find a connection to something in real life (hope this was clear, I didn't know how to explain that lol)

 

[zippypinhead]

Anyone read any Mark Z. Danielewski? I've read House of Leaves, and loved it. I've currently got The Fifty Year Sword sitting next to me, but I haven't started it yet.

 

[Magpie]

I hope nobody minds me resurrecting this thread but I love talking about books! :shock:

I need to read more classics but I am huge fan of Sherlock Holmes. I have also read far too many true crime books for my own good; lots of serial killer documentations... yeah. Ha. Other than that I like thrillers and generally anything that catches my eye!

The last book I finished was Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest by Gregg Olsen. As the title suggests it was a pretty macabre read but rather fascinating. The story itself is very interesting but I felt the author dragged it out unnecessarily. There were little bits of conjecture thrown in for some bizarre reason (detailed conversations and actions between two people that the author could have had no idea about... this was very annoying) but overall I'm glad I read it from start to finish.

Now I'm reading Inferno by Dan Brown. I'm a fan of his and have read all of his others. I'm also a big lover of Florence, having visited it twice, so I'm enjoying all the references and feeling pleased I have knowledge/memories of the places and historic details he mentions! I'm about 25% of the way through. :-D

What are you guys reading right now?

 

[ZenHedonist]

I'm looking forward to some serious reading myself. The last three books I read were "Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates" and "Jitterbug Perfume" by Tom Robbins, and "Reamde" by Neal Stephenson.

 

[xSALTx]

Currently reading: Psychomech by Brian Lumley.

 

[Gen]

I just read the Hunger Games series, I really loved them! Not at all something I expected to like but I got sucked in. It was quite dark for a young adult series but I thought the characters were great and if I knew any youngins, I'd be glad for them to read it.

Next up, I think I'll read "Emma" by Jane Austen, or Commander Hadfield's autobiography...true Canadian hero :-D

 

[SatanJonez]

Officially my favorite thread now.

Since Oct or Nov I've read the following, I'm on a serious Stephen King (and some others) kick.

- Jenna Jameson - How to Make Love Like a Porn Star (interesting, but meh)
- Stephen King - The Shining (great, scared me fairly bad)
- Stephen King - Doctor Sleep (awesome, not as scary, but definitely worth a read)
- Stephen King - Insomnia (pretty damn great, more sci-fi than horror, but a good mix)
- Stephen King - Under the Dome (scared me for all the non-horror based reason, also pretty good)
- Stephen King - It (holy shit, scary and at times ridiculous, but in a great way)


Working my way through Joe Hill's N0S4A2 right now. Creepy as balls.

Hoping to move on to Joe Hill's Horns, Stephen King's Carrie & Cujo (if I can deal, I have a severe fear of either of my dogs getting rabies) and basically anything else horror I can find that keeps my attention.

 

[WillTheBloody]

I'm FINALLY reading the LOTR trilogy still on The Fellowship. Also A Song of Fire and Ice part through a Game of Thrones. A few chapters into 1984. And I'm working on getting and reading all of Y: The Last Man waiting on vol 3 now.

 

[waogo]

Books are evil and vile things that multiply faster than I can read them.

I just finished Ender's Game (somehow, I had not read this, til now) and before that the first Pirates! book.

I was reading a giant book of Poe's complete works, back in 2009 when I had a stroke, and I basically gave up on that for a while (it was heavy, and I could barely hold it reading in bed with 2 good arms/hands). Need to get back to that, as I know I'm like halfway through that thing.

And a Library of America HP Lovecraft collection I was halfway through a very long story in that when I lost the book at school. Even though I rebought that expensive thing, I still haven't gotten back to that, mostly cause I forgot what story I was on. Also, it's printed on like Bible type flimsy, but real nice paper, so it's scary to turn pages, man.

Right now, I'm reading a book I got at the grocery store not knowing a damn thing about it, other than basically the name, and what was on the back cover. 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson. It's basically a more realistic sci-fi novel "murder mystery" type of thing. Good so far, but I read so slowly, I'm at the point I'm getting antsy about finishing it quicker. I hate that feeling, but get it every time, even if I'm enjoying the book. And it is worse on Kindle books, cause I can see percentages.

After that, it's either Book 4 of A Song of Ice and Fire, the next book after Ender's Game, or Reamde. Or... one of the other apparent 27 books I have listed as "unread" in my LibraryThing plus however many on the Kindle app. Kindle keeps things like the whole of the Oz series as 1 book, when it is like 14, which is convenient with regard to file handling, but it is like a hidden stack of books taunting me.

 

[SatanJonez]

N0S4A2 was wonderful, but I liked Heart Shaped Box better (I'm a ghost story fan). Starting on Horns tonight..

 

[CharlotteLace]

Hoping to move on to Joe Hill's Horns, Stephen King's Carrie & Cujo (if I can deal, I have a severe fear of either of my dogs getting rabies) and basically anything else horror I can find that keeps my attention.

Ahhh! Another Stephen King fan?? I fucking love his stuff. I've read Cujo, and I'll say it's a way scarier book than the movie could have possibly portrayed. Just a lot of omniscient backstory they couldn't really act out.

Also, try reading Rose Madder. It's a great example of him walking the line between real-scary and sci-fi scary. And Pet Sematary's fantastic too. :-D

 

[Poler_Bare]

I don't get to read a ton for pleasure since I'm in school and I doubt you want to hear about the thrilling textbooks I'm reading but for my late night reading I recently finished Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller (all her books are fantastic and this one was too!). I also went through a phase where I wanted really light humour books (did I mention the textbook torture?!) so I read some Chelsea Handler, and Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half. Brosh's was a super fast and entertaining read. I also read Tina Fey's Bossypants and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me which were both funny. As a more serious book, I just started a Tale for the Time Being and it seems really interesting!

 

[Red7227]

welll the anita blake stuff has several segments. the first 5 or so are damn good, well written with some awesome character work. then they get a bit iffy for a while. laurell got divorced, went a bit crazy and her writing suffered. pretty much after obsidian butterfly until the last 3 books it was all have weird supernatural sex, power up, repeat. but since skin trade she's gotten back to well thought out plots, and brought back some more of the crime/detective subject matter that gave form and flow to the early books. she does get a bit cookie cutter here and there (what author of a long running series doesnt?) but it tends to be with character descriptions, sex scenes and repeated occurrences (like using her necromancy where its always described the same way, word for word almost)

the meredith gentry stuff started out as supernatural sex and power, and stays that way right up til divine misdemeanors ( the most recent one as far as i know) but its fairies instead of vamps and shifters.

i would say that its worth a read for sure. since she does all of them as stand alone novels more or less (another reason she does so much cookie cutter work) you could read up til they get boring to you then skip ahead past the masquerade stuff.

I gave up on the Hamilton stuff about 6 books in. An author I have to recommend for a similar genre is Patricia Briggs

The Mercy Thompson Series is a great series that is still going strong. Many twists and a lot of very strong writing.

The Alpha and Omega series of hers is a spin-off from the Mercy Thompson Series.

 

[SatanJonez]

Hoping to move on to Joe Hill's Horns, Stephen King's Carrie & Cujo (if I can deal, I have a severe fear of either of my dogs getting rabies) and basically anything else horror I can find that keeps my attention.

Ahhh! Another Stephen King fan?? I fucking love his stuff. I've read Cujo, and I'll say it's a way scarier book than the movie could have possibly portrayed. Just a lot of omniscient backstory they couldn't really act out.

Also, try reading Rose Madder. It's a great example of him walking the line between real-scary and sci-fi scary. And Pet Sematary's fantastic too. :-D

I cut my teeth at a very young age (like, now adays I am sure my grandma who introduced me after I was bored of children's books to King would be considered a child abuser) on King's books so I always search out his stuff. Rose Madder has always interested me since I started browsing the books of his I don't have, but for some reason I never commited. I will give it a go after Horns.

Also, if you haven't yet I recommend his son's (Joe Hill) writing as well. Super fun and scary at times.

 

[Red7227]

 

[waogo]

bumping this, cause why not. Right now, I am reading "The Girl With All The Gifts"... This is not what I expected. Which I am not sure what I was expecting, really. All I knew was the author, a M. R. Carey was actually Mike Carey, author of the Lucifer comics and such. I did not expect it to be... So god damned bleak. I am talking almost The Road level bleak, here. Really good, but hoo

 

[JerryBoBerry]

bumping this, cause why not. Right now, I am reading "The Girl With All The Gifts"... This is not what I expected. Which I am not sure what I was expecting, really. All I knew was the author, a M. R. Carey was actually Mike Carey, author of the Lucifer comics and such. I did not expect it to be... So god damned bleak. I am talking almost The Road level bleak, here. Really good, but hoo

I read that last year. You pretty much summed it up. Very bleak. And it doesn't change all the way through.


From wiki about it:

Not too long after the book's release, M.R. Carey announced that the book would be made into its own movie, and the movie's title will differ from the book in that it will be under the moniker She Who Brings Gifts. On the 23rd of March, 2015, the casting was announced for the film: where Glenn Close will be playing Caroline Caldwell;Gemma Arterton is set to play Helen Justineau; and Paddy Considine shall play Sergeant Parks. Thus far no one has been announced to play Private Kieran Gallagher. TV director Colm McCarthy is announced to be directing the movie. It will be McCarthy's second feature length film. The film's screenplay has been adapted by Mike Carey.

The filming is set to begin in May 2015. The film has been announced to release in 2016, though an exact release date has not been issued.

Might make an interesting movie.

 

[Phoebe]

I like reading poetry...
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, sonets by Shakespear and also some poesies by Walt Whitman.
As for the prose, my favorites are Chekhov, Faulkner, Hemingway and Terry Pratchett.
And yes, I realize how different they are