166 replies to this topic

[Arbor Goldson]

I just finished On Beauty by Zadie Smith.  I thought it was an incredible portrait of the complexities of family life.  I especially enjoyed the exploration of the brother/sister relationship and the different personalities of each of the kids.

I am now focusing on some of the classics, or what I like to call, "Books I Should Have Read In High School".

First up:  Heart of Darkness

It's nice and short :)

[H von T]

Just finished Mystic River by Dennis Lehane.  A very good book.  I liked the movie as well--one of better adaptations of a novel to film.  Now I'm reading Elisabeth George's A Great Deliverance.  So far it's pretty good.  Lynley and Havers are a great team.

[Multaniette]

Arya posted,

Quote

I've barely just started Perks, so I can't really say much about it, but I have had alot of people tell me it's good, so we'lll see.

I am reading Perks Of Being A Wallflower as well and so far it is standing up nicely to its reputation.

[Voland]

Currently reading the Bonehunters by Steven Erikson. So far, ~60 pages in, very good.

[Multaniette]

Finished Perks.... It was a very uplifting read.

9/10

Edited by TrippleWinches, 23 February 2006 - 07:36 AM.

[Kingslayer]

Today is a great day... I got a package from Amazon containing the following:

The Dark Descent (a massive collection of horror stories)
Flashman in the Great Game
Flashman at the Charge
A Short History of Byzantium
An Underground Education (a collection of bizarre and/or little known history)
Schott's Original Miscellany (similar in a way, but endearingly random)

Well, this should take care of my reading needs for a while.

[Rhaco]

Kingslayer, on Feb 23 2006, 16.17, said:

Flashman in the Great Game
Flashman at the Charge

I'm reading Flashman right now.  I'm liking it, but god, Flashman really is a POS.  :lol:

[Kingslayer]

Rhaco, on Feb 23 2006, 18.55, said:

I'm reading Flashman right now.  I'm liking it, but god, Flashman really is a POS.  :lol:

Good old Flashy.  :D

[pat5150]

Hi guys!

I just finished the book this morning! Deadhouse Gates is a superb novel. Steven Erikson offers a spectacular virtuoso performance, establishing himself as one of the most gifted fantasy authors to ever see the light.

Steven Erikson shows just how much of a master storyteller he is, displaying what can only be described as uncanny control over an immense plot. From what is gradually unfolding as the story progresses, I perceive that this could well be the most ambitious work of fantasy ever written.

Deadhouse Gates brings this series to a new level. The sheer scale of the author's vision is nothing less than astonishing. And the ease with which he seems to navigate through this grand epic of mortals and gods never ceases to astound me.

Deadhouse Gates stands on a far higher plane than most fantasy novels. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, it is one of the best fantasy books I've ever read!

For the complete review, check out the blog! As for me, I can't wait to read Memories of Ice.

Patrick

[Brys]

Glad to have another Erikson fan on the boards! At the moment I'm reading Michael Moorcock's the Dancers at the End of Time - it's a hilarious novel about a decadent Jherek Carnelian, someone who lives at the end of time, pursuing his love through time travelling of a traditional Victorian woman.

[Werthead]

Yay, Pat has been converted to the light! As for myself I'm trying to polish off my House of Chains re-read before going out and getting The Bonehunters.

[Space Bandito]

I'm finally reading the Dark Tower series. I'm on book two. Am I the last person on this board to read it?

[Biter]

I didn't have the patience for Ellis' Glamorama, so I've moved on to Irvine Welsh's Filth (that's right, it's written by the guy who wrote Trainspotting). I like it so far.

[Plessiez]

I'm currently reading Victor Serge's Birth Of Our Power.  Once I've finished that, I'll have to pick up Ken MacLeod's Learning the World, which has been staring at me accusingly since I bought it two months ago.

And then I suppose I'll have to chose between having another go at Wolfe's On Blue's Waters, which I've been meaning to do since October, and heading out to see if I can find a copy of Erikson's The Bonehunters.

[Colder Hands]

jack vance: alastor series and victoria secret's christmas catalog. i got a little behind during the holidays for the good stuff.

[Space Bandito]

Colder Hands, on Feb 25 2006, 11.52, said:

jack vance: alastor series and victoria secret's christmas catalog. i got a little behind during the holidays for the good stuff.

Can I borrow that catalouge when you are done.  :lol:

[Colder Hands]

Space Bandito, on Feb 25 2006, 12.50, said:

Can I borrow that catalouge when you are done.  :lol:

you may not want it after i am done.... but i will send it to ya.

[Kingslayer]

I got a second package, this one including another Flashman book and La Capital by Jonathan Kandell (a fantastic history of Mexico City).  :)

Edited by Kingslayer, 25 February 2006 - 04:22 PM.

[Maia]

Deliah, I hope you have a good translation of Bulgakov's. "Master and Margarita" is probably my favourite book, but it is very sensitive to translation quality, because the writing is large part of the charm. Oh, and background colour may be a bit confusing for a westerner (i.e. preoccupation with being seen as "ideologically sound", "foreign spy" paranoia, constant fear of arrests and subtle hints referring to them, etc), but nowadays it is easy to check this stuff online.

I am currently reading "Woken Furies" by Richard Morgan and "Declare" by Tim Powers.

Edited by Maia, 25 February 2006 - 06:29 PM.

[Maia]

deliah, on Feb 25 2006, 21.31, said:

That is one of the things I was concerned about when purchasing the book. So I did some research and ended up going with the translation by Mirra Ginsburg. If you have any recommendations though, I would be grateful..

No suggestions, sorry. I have only seen a German translation which is rather bad and really hurts the book. I don't know anything about the English ones, so your research would have to suffice. I can only testify that in Russian it is brilliant ;).