• Welcome to the new Internet Infidels Discussion Board, formerly Talk Freethought.

What are you reading?

I recently was introduced to the wonderful world of Comic Books by a friend
So now I have read and quite enjoyed both Deadpool: Killustrated and Ms Marvel: No Normal

And now I am still reading a book A Call to Duty by David Weber and Timothy Zahn
 
Recently re-read a chapter of "Ulysses" by James Joyce: Circe. I was looking for this particularly weird chapter on my Kindle and then realised... which part of this book isn't weird?

Late last year I re-read all the "Game of Thrones" books, the first time since the TV version appeared. Now I have long preferred the books for their depth, and this time around noticed things I didn't remember. But there's just this nagging feeling as I read it (especially in the last two books) that it's not finished. I hesitate to begin a discussion of "Winds of Winter release date" - that seems to change hourly. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to it.
 
Half way through Revival by Stephen King - ''billed as possessing “the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written”
 
100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories edited by Isaac Asimov

Fun to read when I'm not in the mood for something serious or lengthy.
 
Daioh said:
I recently was introduced to the wonderful world of Comic Books by a friend
So now I have read and quite enjoyed both Deadpool: Killustrated and Ms Marvel: No Normal

And now I am still reading a book A Call to Duty by David Weber and Timothy Zahn
Click to expand...

New to comic books?

What do you like so far?
 
Underseer said:
Daioh said:
I recently was introduced to the wonderful world of Comic Books by a friend
So now I have read and quite enjoyed both Deadpool: Killustrated and Ms Marvel: No Normal

And now I am still reading a book A Call to Duty by David Weber and Timothy Zahn
Click to expand...

New to comic books?

What do you like so far?
Click to expand...
Very new
Until December last year I had basically never read a comic book (All I ever had was some "The Phantom" comics as a kid)
Although I am a big fan of Superhero movies and T.V shows

I've only gone through a few so far
Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan) who I quite like
Deadpool who is hilarious
I tried a couple of Wonder Woman comics and was a bit more lukewarm on them
And I am currently just starting a book with a whole ton of classic Avengers comics

I also have a few on order or that I am looking at trying including She Hulk, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Squirrel Girl and the new Thor
I am a bit more inclined to Marvel comics as well, but I will go to the library at some point and browse possible DC titles

and I am also reading Terry Pratchetts Making Money
 
Half the World by Joe Abercrombie. OK so far, but I'm waiting for the oh-wow-ness of the first book in the trilogy (Half a King)

- - - Updated - - -

Recently I read "Jingo" by Terry Pratchett. Apparently it is an entry point into his world. Sorry but I found it too juvenile for me. Won't be reading any more.
 
Draconis said:
Recently I read "Jingo" by Terry Pratchett. Apparently it is an entry point into his world. Sorry but I found it too juvenile for me. Won't be reading any more.
Click to expand...
I would have thought good entry points to the Discworld would be Guards! Guards! which introduces you to the Nightwatch series or Mort which introduces you to a series starring the ever awesome character of Death

I am currently reading Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
And I enjoyed reading the classic Avengers comics
 
I love Terry Pratchett, but Jingo seemed a pointless slog.
 
I am still trying to read my way through the 'People' Series by the Gear's. I am thinking I should take a few days off work and just READ while the tv or something is on. :D
 
Just finished "Half the World" by Abercrombie. Didn't think it was quite so good as the first in the trilogy: clunky romance, mary-sueisms and mostly predictable ending. Well, you don't spend all that time building characters to kill them off, unless you're GRR Martin. But will continue reading.

I think the next "new" book I will be reading is The Skull Throne by Peter V Brett. Now this series has seriously gone downhill, but I'm one of those who wishes to complete the tale just to see what happens.

Anyone out there like Brandon Sanderson? Apart from Elantris I really like his work. Stormlight archive and Mistborn particularly are "wow".
 
Draconis said:
Anyone out there like Brandon Sanderson? Apart from Elantris I really like his work. Stormlight archive and Mistborn particularly are "wow".
Click to expand...

I had never read his work until he finished Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and I was very impressed. But then, what was Jordan and what was Sanderson? It can be hard for me to distinguish.

On the heels of that, I gave his Way of Kings a try. From the beginning, I was put off by him leading with a Prelude and a Prologue, populating them with multiple characters that won't make it to Chapter One. I gave up a couple of hundred pages in. I've become spoiled when reading sprawling fantasy epics in that I have come to depend heavily on fan-created wikis helping me keep characters and plot points straight. I've used them for Wheel of Time and Game of Thrones, and I find myself reluctant to start any other fantasy epic without such aid.

When it comes to World-Building, I think I prefer not having to be introduced to too many multiple cultures, each with their own set of arcane customs and biases, all within the first chapters. I prefer to narrowly focus on just one new world for a while, until it can get settled into my head over several chapters, before the POV shifts halfway around the world to a completely different world. Sanderson does that with Way of Kings, and it makes for a struggling read, for me anyway.

But that's more about my personal preferences. I respect Sanderson's skill and I foresee many decades of quality work similar to Terry Brooks, Terry Pratchett, and the like.
 
East, West - Salman Rushdie

So far this book has given me a new favorite short story: The Prophet's Hair. It's been a while since a story had my jaw dropping. And stories like these are a reminder why Rushdie had a price on his head for so long.

Bed of Roses - Nora Roberts
Dark Witch - Nora Roberts

Bed of Roses is the second book in the Bridal Quartet storyline. I will admit that I put off reading this because the subject matter is weddings. After reading Vision in White with crazy photographer Mackenzie Elliot and Professor Carter Maguire, I have learned the error of my ways. I apologize Nora. Shame on me. lol

Now Dark Witch I might not get through before I have to take it back to the library. I own the other two in that series (The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy), but not the first one. I'm considering just buying it and then reading all three straight through. Decisions, decisions.
 
The Blood Crows - Simon Scarrow - the further adventures of Prefect Cato and Centurion Macro during the Roman invasion of Britain.
 
Finally finished reading Antimatter. A pretty good read on antimatter. Had no idea that molecules of anti-hydrogen had been made in the lab in 2004.
 
So I tried reading Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett and for some reason I just couldn't get into it, it could have been the slow plot, it could have been Moist didn't seem as dynamic or it could have been alot of other things but in the end I didn't finish it before quietly putting it away.

After that I decided to move onto Lock In by John Scalzi

Also been going through Comics more and more (Mostly what I can get from the local library)
-Aquaman: The Trench I think Aquaman is pretty badass
-Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers): In The Pursuit Of Flight and Higher, Further, Faster, More which are both pretty good
-She Hulk (Complete Collection) who is awesome
-Deadpool Kills Deadpool absolutely epic
-Birds Of Prey: The Death Of Oracle which was a fun read
-Batgirl Rising was ok, not bad and not great
-Teen Titans: Changing Of The Guard and Titans Around The World the first one being ok, but the second one being more boring then anything else
-Young Avengers: Mic-Drop at the Edge of Time and Space which I quickly gave up on reading
-Ultimate Spiderman I like this Spiderman but I'm not so fussed on the writing
 
Daioh said:
Underseer said:
New to comic books?

What do you like so far?
Click to expand...
Very new
Until December last year I had basically never read a comic book (All I ever had was some "The Phantom" comics as a kid)
Although I am a big fan of Superhero movies and T.V shows

I've only gone through a few so far
Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan) who I quite like
Deadpool who is hilarious
I tried a couple of Wonder Woman comics and was a bit more lukewarm on them
And I am currently just starting a book with a whole ton of classic Avengers comics

I also have a few on order or that I am looking at trying including She Hulk, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Squirrel Girl and the new Thor
I am a bit more inclined to Marvel comics as well, but I will go to the library at some point and browse possible DC titles

and I am also reading Terry Pratchetts Making Money
Click to expand...

I assume you already know that Frank Miller's Batman: the Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore's Watchmen are pretty much required reading.

Also worth noting:

Moonshadow by J.M. deMatteis has zero superhero nonsense, but is incredibly surreal, and the odd art is done entirely in watercolor. It's entirely possible that the narrator is either insane or lying, and so you're never really sure how much of the story is actually real.

Elektra: Assassin written by Frank Miller, art by Bill Seinkeiwicz. This is arguably my favorite work by Seinkeiwicz. The story is told from the perspective of someone who is completely insane. As with Moonshadow, you have no idea how much of the story you're being told is real or mere delusion, and the artist uses this as an excuse to get bizarre and creative. At one point, he was pasting or gluing photocopies of his own art and actual lace doilies to the canvas. It's kind of hard to tell who is more insane: the title character, or the artist.

Honorable mention:
Ronin by Frank Miller. Humanity is on the brink of extinction from an ecological disaster when an ancient ronin shows up battling a demon. Actually...

...a deformed, limbless, mentally retarded man suffering from severe emotional trauma from years of abuse has the power to reshape reality with his will. Hilarity ensues, and by "hilarity" I mean abject horror and a lot of dismemberment.



All of my favorite titles were X-Men and associated titles, but Marvel is unfortunately de-emphasizing them because they no longer own the rights to those and can't make movies out of them.
 
Underseer said:
I assume you already know that Frank Miller's Batman: the Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore's Watchmen are pretty much required reading.
Click to expand...
yeah, I know someone who has them and I will be borrowing them at some point

Just finished
-Avengers: Initiative, Basic Training
This is one set around the Marvel Civil War story (Which I haven't read) and it was not really as good as I hoped
-Marvel Universe vs The Avengers was a pretty interesting take on an alternative storyline
-Alpha Flight seems good (I only got a single issue so have read very little so far)
 
Daioh said:
So I tried reading Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett and for some reason I just couldn't get into it,
Click to expand...

I just read it. It was a slog. I finished it, but I wouldn't recommend it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom