Recommended Reading

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Chancellor Valium

And now, I must away....

...ere break of day, to claim your long-forgotten gold?

[MaverickZer0]

Oh boy, books. Now that I'm finally caught up on math, I can focus.

First off, if you're into comics and Japanese manga, I higly recommend X/1999. It's dramatic and well-written for a comic, with only a little shonen-ai.

As for regular books, I'd recommend Dragonriders of Pern but someone's done that already. I do, however, like British mystery books..."A Matter of Clues" by Monica Marsden springs to mind. It's hort, but very enjoyable. And I don't think anyone has mentioned another classic-Narnia. For what was originally kids books, tehy're very good. I have to dig out my old box set sometime.

All I've really had time to read recently is stuff for school, and that means Shakespeare. "Romeo and Juliet" was good, but I liked "A Midsummer Night's Dream" a lot better.

The worst part is, we had to watch the new Leonardo Di Caprio version of the Romeo and Juliet movie because my class wouldn't shut up until we did. And it was horrible. But considering who was in it, I suppose that was a given.

Anyways, that was a tangent. I have to go pick up "Catch 22" from the bookstore now...

[Sa'ar Chasm]

The worst part is, we had to watch the new Leonardo Di Caprio version of the Romeo and Juliet movie because my class wouldn't shut up until we did.

Aww, you missed the version with the boobs. My teacher rewound and had another look.

[Kira]

Thank goodness that movie wasn't around when I took Romeo and Juliet.

All I've really had time to read recently is stuff for school, and that means Shakespeare. "Romeo and Juliet" was good, but I liked "A Midsummer Night's Dream" a lot better.

I'm a fan of the "comedies" over the tragedies too, but nothing has ever been able to stand up to my high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (or adaptation thereof). The guy we had playing Puck was so perfect that I've never been able to see any other version since. My two favorite adaptations are Much Ado About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson (and Keanu Reeves, BOOO!) and Twelfth Night with Helena Bonham-Carter. Shakespeare in Love, too, just for pure cleverness and the mixture of Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night.

[Alexia]

Much Ado was my favourite Shakespeare play of the ones that I studied in college. I was actually laughing at points throughout the play...and everyone was looking at me going, "What?"

Well, I thought it was funny :wink: :mrgreen:

[Sa'ar Chasm]

When watching the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet in Grade 12, I was the only one who laughed when it got to the graveyard scene and the line "You don't want to go to England. It's full of Englishmen" went by.

[Mj]

Books eh? Dunno if Dan Browns books have been discussed yet... AMAZING read. And also I'm reading another amusing book set by Jasper Fforde, again a really good read!

[PointyHairedJedi]

You know, I always get Dan Brown and Dale Brown mixed up.

But anyway. Kim Stanley Robinson is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors, no mean feat, I can tell you. I'm also reasonably impressed with this George Martin chap, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series which Nic turned me on to.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

I read the Red/Green/Blue Mars series and came away with the impression that KSR couldn't actually write.

The ideas impressed me, but the narrative and the dialogue were nigh-well intolerable.

[MaverickZer0]

As far as sci-fi hrillers go, I'd say check out "Digital Fortress". It's written by the same person who wrote 'The DaVinci Code' which I haven't bothered to pick up yet.

(Actually Sa'ar, we saw that one in Drama class two years ago. The acting was a lot better...not that it's even a real comparison...)

[PointyHairedJedi]

Originally Posted by Sa'ar Chasm

I read the Red/Green/Blue Mars series and came away with the impression that KSR couldn't actually write.

The ideas impressed me, but the narrative and the dialogue were nigh-well intolerable.

It is difficult reading, yes, buit for some reason I found that after half of Red Mars it suddenly got easier. I've no idea why. But anyway, I always maintain that the best books are sometimes the least easy to read, though with the Mars trilogy I think you can either get into it, or you can't. You might try the Three Californias trilogy, which tell a different sort of story, or The Years of Rice and Salt, which I found to be magnificent, analagous in many ways to The Shape of Things to Come.

[Alexia]

On a non sci-fi note, I'm reading the Adrian Mole books at the moment and laughing a lot. Anyone who thinks they are childrens books is mistaken in the same way as people who think Shrek is a kids film. I'm glad I didn't read them when I was a kid, I'd have missed some great humour!

[Chancellor Valium]

On a non-fiction note, Rubicon by Tom Holland is good - about the decline and fall of the Roman Republic - very readable, and very interesting.

[Chancellor Valium]

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but......The Diary Of A Nobody. Go. Read. Now.

[PointyHairedJedi]

Read Antartica not so long ago, by - you guessed it - Kim Stanley Robinson. Okay, so it's a book with an agenda, but not in a pushy way - it's still very well written, with characters that you can actually (gasp!) like, though I maintain that isn't always necessary in a book. Anyway, say what you like about him, the man can write.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

Anyway, say what you like about him, the man can write.

Were you reading the same books I was?

[PointyHairedJedi]

The real question is - how many Dried Frog Pills had I just taken?

I can see that his style would not be to everyone's taste, but I still myself think he is an excellent writer.

Can I ask - is it just Red Mars you tried to read?

[Sa'ar Chasm]

I plodded through all three. I liked the ideas, and the little nuggets of scientific gimickry he worked in.

The narrative and the dialogue, however, were hard to stomach. I did manage to finish them, rather than tossing them across the room like I've done to other books.

[PointyHairedJedi]

I think it says something about me that the only book I've ever put down before I'd finished it is Lord of the Rings, which it took me four goes before I managed to read completely. Although I did recently put down a Douglas Reeman after reading only the first chapter, but that was mainly because I knew what was going to happen, more or less exactly - he writes exactly the same story in almost every single book he's written. After you've read ten or so it just gets repetitive.

You should, at any rate, try and read The Years of Rice and Salt. It's a totally different book than any other he's written.

[Chancellor Valium]

"A Hat Full of Sky" by Pratchett is definitely worth buying, nay, paying money for.

As usual, Pratchett is on top form with another masterful piece of witchcraft for nine-year-olds.....