Writing What are you reading?

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=darkviolet]This is just basically a thread to discuss books that you have read what you thought of them and if you'd reccomend them to other members. If you want to include books that you want to read, go ahead. Maybe someone else here read it and can tell you if they enjoyed it or not.

As for myself:

[b]A Treasury of Royal Scandals{/b]
This book is very informative and funny. The subject covers everything from affairs of royalty (including a very unflattering account of Wallis Warfield Simpson) to some really strange stuff about family relations. The author also included a section on Popes and a section on a few Roman Emporers. I thought that the section on Roman emporers was a bit nasty, but the section on popes was quite...interesting. This is, in my opinion, a definate must read if you enjoy history.

[b]In my Hands.[/b]
This is about a Polish woman who lived through the Nazi occupation of Poland and actually managed to hide some Jewish people right under the nose of a Nazi general. After a while the guy (who I'm guessing is about in his 60's) finds out and the woman ends up becoming his mistress so he won't tell. This is a true story. Very exciting. A few other things have happened to this woman as well. (Rape when the Russians first occupied Poland and then an attempted rape while she was prisoner. So, I wouldn't recommend it to people who are easily freaked out. but again it's another good read. Especially if you're interested in WW2 or history in general.

I've read a few more than this, but I don't really feel like discussing them right now. I'll add on later. My fingers are beginning to cramp up.[/color]

[Brasil]

[quote name='ChibiHorsewoman][color=darkviolet']My fingers are beginning to cramp up.[/color][/quote]That's usually a sign of something that needs to be considered. Perhaps you're overworking your fingers by typing too much?

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What I'm currently reading...The Bourne Trilogy. I began reading [i]The Bourne Ultimatum[/i] a few weeks ago, and last weekend, had the distinct pleasure of buying [i]The Bourne Identity[/i] and [i]Bourne Supremacy[/i] at a bookstore down the shore. I immediately started reading B.I. in our suite at the Northwood Inn on the Saturday night, and it's absolutely breathtaking.

Few novels I've read, both in casual reading, and in school-related reading, take the risks that Robert Ludlum takes, notably in terms of dialogue. There are entire pages with just dialogue, which is relatively unseen in the majority of mature literature. This would be authorial suicide if the writer is not proficient in writing believable dialogue, but Ludlum weaves this incredible tapestry, with just two characters at some points. The dialogue is fantastic, and very entertaining.

Fight scenes are more difficult to write than anything in literature. That is, [i]believable[/i] fight scenes. Some authors go overboard, and the fight scene becomes utterly campy and absurd. Sometimes, this absurdity is intended, and it works because of that intent. For the most part, however, the more overwritten or underwritten a fight scene is, the more unbelievable it becomes. Ludlum hits the proper balance, and the first fight between Bourne and a few fishermen becomes an exercise in brutality, not ballet or a Super Burly Brawl.

I've read parts of [i]2001: Space Odyssey[/i] in the past, and in the upcoming months, am intending to write an essay examining the similarities between Dave Bowman's transformation into the Starchild, and Transcendentalism, concentrating mainly on Ralph Waldo Emerson's [i]American Scholar[/i]. Incidentally, I highly recommend Emerson's American Scholar. It's quite remarkable.

Speaking about WWII, Kurt Vonnegut's [i]Slaughterhouse Five[/i] and [i]Mother Night[/i] are two outstanding novels chronicling war's devastating effects on both the environment and the human mind. Slaughterhouse Five's climax occurs during the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany, which the main character, Billy Pilgrim, witnesses first-hand, just as Vonnegut did in reality.

I would have Spoiler tagged it, but it's not some huge, secret ending. Because SL5 jumps around, as Billy Pilgrim as "become unstuck in time," mention is made of Dresden's destruction within the first five pages, throughout the novel, and the last few chapters are set in an underground meat locker during the raid.

Mother Night, which could be considered one of Vonnegut's biggest criticisms of the war, explores the aftermath of war, from the perspective of a former US spy, a man named Howard W. Campbell, Jr. In order to infiltrate the German ranks, and acquire intelligence to report back to his commanding officers in the US, Campbell poses as a Nazi sympathizer during WWII, using coded messages to relay the information over a radio show he does.

When the war ends, however, he is unable to escape the role he played, and suffers from intense anguish, both internally and from external forces.

I believe Vonnegut has described Mother Night with the following:

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."

[Luminous]

[color=silver][font=Century Gothic][size=1]I just finished [b]Memoirs of a Geisha[/b], which was excellent. Its a fictional novel about a young girl named Chiyo. Chiyo lived in a very poor village far out in the country with her sister (Satsuri), father, and mother. Her father barely makes a living and her mother is dying of cancer. She is only eight or nine at the time, and she is sent to Gion to an Okiya, where she attempts to become a geisha, but is taken out of schooling, after attempting to run away with her sister satsuri, who was placed in a whore-house, because the man who had them placed felt she was ugly..(or soemthing like that I can't remember). She has to learn to deal with Hatsumomo, a wicked, and prominent geisha, who causes her trouble, and increases her debts, which all geisha have to repay to they're okiya generally around the time they're 18-20. Truthfully I don't think I'm doing the story any justice, but Hatsumomo's rival decides to take Chiyo as her younger sister, which is used as a system to help geisha apprentices become more prominent figures with the public to increase they're earnings once they actually become a geisha. Chiyo's name is change to Sayuri, an dshe begins her troublesome life as an apprentice, Hatsumomo, has taken Sayuri's only friend Pumpkin, and uses her against Chiyo.[/size][/font][/color]

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[font=Century Gothic][size=1][color=#c0c0c0]THe story is very enlightening about the lives of geisha before the war. It chronicalizes the fictional characters life, from her village, all the way up to her second danna(what you might call... somehting akin to a husband, the man who takes her as his mistress). Then even to when she leaves to america.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Century Gothic][size=1][color=#c0c0c0]THe characters are very fleshed out, and the stroy seems very realistic and historically acurate. I think everyone should read it.[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Century Gothic][size=1][color=#c0c0c0]ja ne![/color][/size][/font]

[Doukeshi]

Hmm, I haven't been reading for a while but here are some of the things I've just finished and some of the things I am part way through.

[b]Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice:[/b] I am part of the way through this, I have been meaning to read it for some time but I just never get around to doing it. It don't find it as compelling as the previous novels in the Vampire Chronicles, it seems to lack the sensuality and flowing narratives that make up novels such as 'The Vampire Lestat' and 'Interview with the Vampire'. I also have it on tape, though I'm not really one for listening to books rather than reading them *shrugs*.

[b]Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters:[/b] This is a novel about a you girl called Nancy and her life before and after meeting Kitty, a compelling player upon the Variety stage. Its about love and sorrow in Victorian England and takes on some strange reading about halfway through. It is a truly well written book and grasps the readers attention firmly as you delve deeper and deeper into the degraded world that becomes Nan's life. As I read it I was kinda weirded out by her escapades with the "upholder of Sapphic love", Diana, but other than that I found it wonderful, charming and thrilling. Worth the read I'd say. Or you could watch the BBC two part adaptation ^_^.

[b]Dante's Divine Comedy:[/b] A poem of truly epic proportions. It's quite difficult to read due to the lyrical format and the Olde World language used, but I find it really interesting once you get into it. I am roughly up to the Sixth Circle, I keep picking it up and putting it down when the mood takes me, though I don't really know where it is at the moment ^_^. If you are interested in Hell, in Heaven and the divine worlds and characters in between I suggest you look into this. Very very interesting.

[Calaya]

Well I'm always reading, but at the moment it's [B]A Gathering Light[/B] by Jennifer Donnelly. I havn't got far but the story is about a girl at the turn of the century who wishes to write but has brothers and sisters to care for. She is connected through a murdered girl by the letters she was meant to burn.
It's make sense soon to me I'm sure.

Oh and just to point, Memoirs of a Geisha is my fave book of all time. I use the name Chiyo on all message boards but it was taken on this one. I love oriental fiction (even if the author is American and male). I love to explore the Giesha world and become involved in the life of Chiyo.

[Luminous]

[font=Century Gothic][color=silver][size=1]I've read all of whats currently out for the[/size] [b][size=2]Vampire Chronicles[/size][/b], [size=1]and I loved all of the books. My particular favorite was[/size] [b][size=2]Memnoch the Devil[/size][/b], [size=1]by the way. I also enjoyed[/size] [size=2][color=silver][b]Blood Canticle[/b]. [size=1]I invite everyone to read that as well. It crosses over with the whole Mayfair witches and taltos thing. Its about how Mona, and how she reacts to life(heh death actually but whatever) as a vampire. It's very good, I encourage people who enjoy Anne Rice's writing to read this one as well.[/size][/color][/size][/color][/font]
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[font=Century Gothic][size=1][color=#c0c0c0]Another series I'm very found of is the [size=2][b]Dark Tower[/b] [/size][size=1]series by Stephen King. Right now books ONe through six are currently available and within the next few months(or so I'm told) the last in the series will be available. These books are about Roland and his Ka(group) of people who try to reach the Dark Tower. This series is sort of a western/Sci-fi/fantasy. It's incredible, because the characters all have they're limits, and everything, though while distinctly unbelievable, seems almost as though it could very well be happening. If anybody has read the last two in the series([/size][size=2][b] The wolves of Calla, Song of Sussanah) [/b][/size][size=1]PLEASE!PLEASE!!! PM me and tell me how the books wee, I can't get my hands on them and I am absolutely dying to read them. I'd also advise either before or after reading the books, to read the coinciding poem [/size][size=2][b]Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came[/b][/size][size=1] by Robert Browning. It isn't necessary, but it helps so very much to get an idea of things.[/size][/color][/size][/font]

[Mitch]

[i]The Jungle[/i] by Upton Sinclair I read recently. It's a book that stands up to all the time that has passed since its publishing, and is still packing as dynamic a punch as it did way back when it was released. One of my favorite books I've read.

Let's see. . .what else. I read Michael Crichton's [i]Prey[/i], the novella [i]The Catcher in the Rye[/i], [i]Bestial[/i], [i]The Autobiography of Malcolm X[/i], Dean Koontz's [i]The Bad Place[/i], some of Mark Twain's [i]Letters from the Earth[/i], [i]Depraved[/i], and right now I'm reading William Faulkner's [i]The Sound and the Fury[/i], which has been hard for me to get into, since his writing is so bizarre yet so genius all at once.

My reading's been somewhat stymied from working and a lack of wanting to read really, but I plan on starting to get back on track and reading [i]The Sound and the Fury[/i] this week, late at night after I work.

[Doukeshi]

Yeah, I read [b]Catcher in the Rye[/b] recently. I think it's a good book, although Holden does tend to get on my nerves after a while. Nevertheless I enjoyed reading it. I also enjoyed reading [b]One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest[/b] by Ken Kesey. Its a very interesting look into the world of 1960s America and the perception of normality. The movie's not to bad either ^_~.

[wiccansamurai]

I'm reading [U]Pirates![/U] by Celia Rees. Its a teen book (Hey, I'm 15, I read teen books) about, you guessed it, pirates. The heroine, a merchants daughter, was to be married to a cruel man, but she ran away with a slave girl and became a pirate, a unthought of profession for a girl, especially for a high class merchants daughter. The whole year that she's on the ship, Nancy is being hunted by the man she was supposed to marry. Add that to the odd circumstances she and her childhood sweetheart see eachother, and its got a really cool plot. And action, romance, all the good stuff.

I also just finished [U]Guitar Girl[/U], I can't remember who that's by. It the story of a girl who starts a band with a few of her friends, and suddenly, before they know, they're a BIG thing. Even with all the fame, her life is falling to pieces as the record company destrys her, her love life, and her best friend.

[Delta]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkGreen]
I just finished reading The Fellowship of the Ring published by Houghton-Mifflin (spelling?). You all know what it's about: A group accompanying the hobbit Frodo in a journey to destroy the One Ring.

As always, I advise that you read the book before you watch the movie (too late for some, perhaps). Boromir was depicted differently in the book
Though half the story was left out, it's still a nice movie.

[I] Memoirs of a Geisha is a good book! It's very descriptive. Loved the cover too![/I]
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[Guest Midnight Rush]

I just finished the most breathtaking and groundbreaking novel that I have ever had the honor of reading. The characters of this Magnum Opus ex Vir are larger than life! They stand out in a dramatic idealism punctuated by the falling of an era. The word-artist paints such a colorful and emotional picture, taht I nearly cried at the conclusion.

The dialogue is Hemingway-choppy, and perfect for the worldview it portrays. It gives you the full picture without relying too too much on word description. It is truly the quintessential drama: sex, violence, suspense, and a heart punding conclusion.

After nearly ten years of intense study, one finds that the principle character, when he leaves at the end, will never return. The effect of this sad realization on the young hearts of the boy and his sister must have been tragic.

Ahh! But let us not forget the semi-misogynistic pet who nearly brought them all to an end! If it weren't for the dramatic action of those Guardians of the Vacuum, the situation surely would have failed... the free world been overcome by the commies... China GROWING WHEAT INSTEAD OF RICE! My Lord! Surely you realize the title of the Greatest Book since God's own:

The Cat in the Hat.

(Memoirs of a Geisha is my real latest book. Damned good. It was because of that book that I met a most amazing person. May the joss of God always be upon Sayuri of the Floating World.)

[Ellie3]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2][COLOR=Purple] :demon: Well I just got done reading the best novel,at least to me,ever!Demon In My View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes is about a 17 year old girl named Jessica who writes novels about the vampiric world signed with a pen name Ash Night.But Jessica thinks that her stories are all fiction and whoa is she wrong.Because of her novels she is endangering the vampiric town near hers,New Mayhem,so now a vampire Aubrey is to hunt her down to kill her or tell her stop writing.I've read the book about 37 times,no 39.Its that good.Ooooh the twists in it,I love it! :love2:

You should think about reading her books.All of them are very interesting introducing all of her characters.I wonder if one day she might have all characters meet up for the biggest adventure ever.... :confused: :D I hope so!
She has a new book coming out sometime in September or October.Try and read at least one of her books.

[U]AMELIA'S BOOKS[/U]
In The Forest Of The Night
Demon In My View
Midnight Predator
Shattered Mirror
Hawksong

I've read all of these books and you should too!!![/color][/size][/font]

[Gentle]

[SIZE=1]There was one book [B]Cold Fire[/B] by Tamora Pierce that I fell in love with last year. About a 14-year-old girl who tutors two 12-year-old twins when she discovers there magic hidden inside them while at the same time, trying to catch a criminal who was been setting fire to random places through the town she's staying in. It was one I had gotten at the library so I looked for the other's like it since it was part of a series called [I]The Circle Opens[/I] I think. There weren't any more which upset me so I got a little mad and caused a silent scene to anyone who was looking past me at that time.

Another two were by Robin McKinley. [B]The Blue Sword[/B] and [B]The Hero and the Crown[/B] I was so driven into the both of them I tried to steal the story and copy it onto a file to keep reading. The wondrous unpopular heroines just took me by surprise and I never wanted to leave then again. I got a lecture about copywriting and never got a chance to. The both of those were from a library, too. Every time I try to get another of her books, someone else always snatches it up first. Usually the same person. The closest bookstore is about a hour away at the mall so it's no use trying.

Two years ago I read [B]The Ancient One[/B] by T. A. Barron. A teenage girl travels into the past in the middle of trying to stop men from cutting down a ancient tree that lived in a forest near her grandmother's hut for over 700 years. Longest one I think I've read. They all looked like the same length but I never payed much attention to that.[/SIZE]

[wiccansamurai]

[quote name='Gentle][SIZE=1]There was one book [B]Cold Fire[/B] by Tamora Pierce that I fell in love with last year. About a 14-year-old girl who tutors two 12-year-old twins when she discovers there magic hidden inside them while at the same time, trying to catch a criminal who was been setting fire to random places through the town she's staying in. It was one I had gotten at the library so I looked for the other's like it since it was part of a series called [I]The Circle Opens[/I'] I think. There weren't any more which upset me so I got a little mad and caused a silent scene to anyone who was looking past me at that time.[/SIZE][/quote]
I don't remember if I read that one. Is that Daja's book in the Circle Open's series or is it a different book? I remember reading all of the Circle books (And all of pierce's books that are out) But I don't remember twin boys, though it was a while ago that I read the Circle books...

[Gentle]

[SIZE=1]I think that it was Daja but it's been a while. It was about a year or so after they separated from each other for the time being. And the two twins were girls at that. Identical: one outgoing and one shy.[/SIZE]

[Boo]

[color=gray][size=1]The latest books I've read were the books from the [i]Empire Trilogy[/i].
[b]Daughter of the Empire[/b]
[b]Servant of the Empire[/b]
and [b]Lady of the Empire[/b]
These books were really good, but only ofcourse if you like the way how Ronald E. Feist writes (or Janny Wurtz who he wrote the books with). When I just openend the first book, I really had to adjust myself to its writing, although eventually I got used to it and I even began to like the writing very much.
The only thing that really troubled me about the books was that they repeated themselfs quite a bit. It all went about this girl who ruled a 'house' since a young age, and she appeared to be good at it. Ofcourse there are a lot of different things in each book, but not enough if you ask me. Although, I liked how the last book turned out to be.

I'm now currently reading the english version of [b]The Hobbit[/b] for my english class. I am Dutch so its not like I read english books every day. While I think everyone knows what the book is about, I am still going to introduce it a bit lol. It's about how the hobbit Bilbo went on a trip with a bunch of Dwarves and gandalf the wizard, to get a load of gold. It all happens after the Goblin-wars, which was a war between Goblins and Dwarfs especially. A very wealthy dwarven town had been taken by a dragon with all the gold and treasures still in it. So these Dwarves are like treasure hunters and they just needed a fourteenth person to be the burglar (13 would be an unlucky number). And while taking this trip, you learn how Bilbo got the ring which returns in [b]Lord Of The Rings I/II/III[/b].

Thats like the latest books [i]I've read/I'm reading[/i].[/color][/size]

[Marron347]

[B]The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan[/B] is so far an excellent story. I have been completely immersed in it. I'm on book three right now, [B]The Dragon Reborn[/B].

Now, Jordan definately isn't the best writer in the world. (Definately not as good as Tolkien, in my opinion.) However, his unique style has captivated me.

This series is very complicated; there is a lot to it, and there is a lot the reader has to remember to understand whats going on. (For this reason, the glossary included in the back of the book is quite handy.) It is pretty much impossible to start with any of the books but the first, and once you start you can't' really stop at any of the books but the tenth, the last. It got me hooked at least.

The story is very interesting so far. I'm not going to try to explain it to you; you'll just have to read it for yourself. I will tell you that it is fantasy, though.

There is a lot of adventure and a lot of danger. There are things to laugh at, and things to be worried about and things to get pissed off at. There's romance or whatever, also...if you like that kind of thing. There isn't action every moment, but when there is action, it's exciting. Much of the time, I can really picture the fights going on right in front of me.

One of the things I really love about this series is the characters. There are so many of them and they are all unique. Many times I have been inspired to draw portraits of characters I come across reading these books. I was impressed at how Jordan has developed their personalities. Always when I think I may have figured them out, they suprise me again.

Anyway, I think that there is something for everyone in this series, even for people who don't usually read fantasy. I've heard it is a pretty popular series, but I encourage anyone who has not read it to read at least the first book and see how you like it. Sometimes there are some pretty gory and perhaps frightening parts to the story, but if you don't mind that, I recommend these books to you.