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The BOOK Thread

Gregory Maguire books...non-Disneyfied fairy tales.

"Wicked" and "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" were good...alot of political, theological, and social analogies. And the people actually have sex.

I'm still disappointed that the made Wicked a damn musical.
 
the last several books i've read have been by 1 of 3 authors. 1.)irvine welsh 2.)tom robbins 3.)hunter s. thompson.
 
just finished the last Harry Potter - it was sick.

Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and Digital Fortress is a must read.

For some lighter reading (if you will) read I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Tucker Max. It changed my life and made me laugh out loud at the same time.
 
Just in case...:D
 

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duc c-zon said:
Gregory Maguire books...non-Disneyfied fairy tales.

"Wicked" and "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" were good...alot of political, theological, and social analogies. And the people actually have sex.

I'm still disappointed that the made Wicked a damn musical.
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The thing with Wicked (the book) and Wicked (the musical) is that you can't completely compare the two. The book was amazing and, if you are in to theater, the musical is amazing. The production is an interpretation of the book, however... much like many musicals that were based on books and other writings. I don't compare the two because, well, you really can't... they are both absolutely amazing, in their own regard.

It is similar to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: a great number of people got so worked up over the movie, because it deviated from the book, but if you follow the history of the story and the many times it was translated into different media, you'll see that Douglas Adams had his hands in every single one of them, and they are all different - he even helped with the screenplay for the movie before he passed away. It's all in appreciating the individual works of art and literature, even if they are derived from the same source!

Regardless, Gregory Maguire's writing is quite enjoyable. Wicked and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister are both wonderful (and quick) reads!
 
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Nemo Brinker said:
I'm partial to the classix...
anyone read the Golden Ass by Apuleius (2nd century Roman)? Bestiality, pursuit, execution in the areana, bandits...what's not to like?
And Petronius' Satyricon is awesome. Viciously satyrical, written during the reign of Nero. Only survives in fragmented form, sadly, but the fragments are pretty wild. Greed and corruption and savagery are nothing new, it appears.
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yes, both of those, very entertaining!

seneca's octavia is a good one.

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weak_link said:
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
books
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I plowed through that one a few years ago over a series of about 6-7 business trips crammed into two months. I read it mostly in airplanes and hotels. Gave me a real unique sense of empathy for the main character. I liked it a lot, it lacked that offputting coldness that usually steers me clear of Gibson's work.
 
and the trilogy of nietzsche.

the birth of tragedy
thus spoke zarathustra
beyond good and evil
 
planegray said:
I wish I could read science fiction...just can't stick with it

currently checking out "On War" by Carl von Clausewitz ....

wow......makes one think
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Even though he was considered a brilliant strategist, I never "got" his use of the word "state" in the current context. Many of the groups fighting do not constitute a state with all its resources e.g. al qaeda. I fail to see how one would engage in "total war" with such formless enemies.
 
Reading/ Recommend:

- Terry Pratchett: JUST ABOUT ANYTHING THIS GUY WROTE IS GOLD

- Tanith Lee: "The Silver Metal Lover" . Chick book. but it's ok, because chicks like guys who read chick books :laughing

- John Derbyshire: "Prime Obsession". Read Cryptonomicon? Liked it? Want to know more about the Zeta function? Read this.

- Douglas K. Smith and Robert C. Alexander: "Fumbling the Future: How Xerox Invented, Then Ignored, the First Personal Computer". Title says it all. Not a "thrilling" read, but if you've even been pissed at an executive for not seeing why what you're working on is important, this is the book for you.

- "US Navy Diver's Handbook"

Books I Don't Like:
Those George R.R. Martin "clash of kings" books... blech... needlessly bloody, and moves WAY TOO DAMN SLOW, and way too predictable. I forced myself through the series and I *won't* be reading the new one when it comes out.
 
MtnRacer said:
George RR Martin, The Song of Fire and Ice series. Excellent prose, very well written and terribly fun to read. His characters are wickedly imperfect and you end up loving the worst of them. I never really read fantasy outside of the LOTR trilogy, but these books are top notch!

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Steve
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I like GRRM, I think very highly of the Targaryen character.
:laughing
 
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