Currently reading:
[img]http://media.sfx.co.uk/files/2010/12/windup-girl_350.jpg[/img]
It's pretty good so far, though I'm only like 1/3 through it. The plot takes a while to get going, but that's not necessarily a bad thing because a good chunk of the start of the book is devoted to world building and the world is really interesting. It's set post-fossil-fuels and post-global-warming, but seems to be managing to pull it off without coming across too hippy environmental leftist; it's almost like the worst that could possibly happen has come and happened, but life still goes on. It's one of those books where you really get a feel for being immersed in a completely different culture (as well as being in the future it's also in Thailand), which is cool. It takes the future in a direction that I've not really seen done before; since there's no fossil fuels and genetic modification technology has improved hugely they use a lot of animal power. I've seen it described a "biopunk", which suits it pretty well.
Up next:
[img]http://screensnapr.com/e/tYZI4l.png[/img]
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Just finished Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence: After the long Goodbye
[IMG]http://i41.tinypic.com/anmvqe.png[/IMG]
This the most interesting novel I've read this year, brilliantly translated and brilliantly written. A unique and amazing take on the idea of a world with humans, robots, and cyborgs, and what it means to be the latter. DO NOT pass this up simply because it's an anime tie-in, it is written with very little reference to its source work. This is a novel any and every sci-fi fan should take a look at.
They made a novel out of it? I didn't particularly like the movie, I preferred the first one + the series.
Do you guys have any suggestions to a book I can compare to a movie adaption. For example comparing the LOTR books and movies (though I don't want to compare those because the books and movies are so long). Doesn't have to be a series of books. One book and one movie will do.
[QUOTE=Carne;33428777]Do you guys have any suggestions to a book I can compare to a movie adaption. For example comparing the LOTR books and movies (though I don't want to compare those because the books and movies are so long). Doesn't have to be a series of books. One book and one movie will do.[/QUOTE]
American Psycho, maybe
[editline]25th November 2011[/editline]
A Clockwork Orange would be a good choice
Seeing as i could'nt get a picture of this book i'd thought i'd include an extract.
well done, those men by Barry Heard
I had been improving since my breakdown four years before. I was no longer totally dependent on my wife. I could go into shops on my own if they weren’t too crowded, and I had caught a train to Melbourne on my own. I was very proud that day. But when I was asked in 1999 to give a talk to twenty-six primary school children in a remote, two-teacher country school, I felt scared and threatened. It would be a true test of my confidence if I accepted. Could I give an address about Anzac Day? Vietnam veterans capable of giving such addresses were very thin on the ground, and most requests from schools went unfilled. I decided to give it a go. A brief talk, then a few questions and home; that was the plan.
I rode my motorbike to the school, which was an enjoyable twenty-minute ride. The principal greeted me with a warm handshake and an invitation to stay for morning tea after the address. The students had cooked Anzac biscuits for their guest—me.
The twenty-six kids fidgeted and twisted as they sat on their mats on the floor. They ranged from grade one to six. After an introduction, I launched into a compressed one-page story of my life in the 1960s. I grew up in a small remote town, I told them. I left school at fifteen, worked on a farm until I was twenty, and I got called up into the army. After Vietnam, I came back and travelled a lot. I was so nervous, I think I said all of this in one large breath. Then I asked if there were any questions.
‘Did ya kill anyone?’ burst out a nine-year-old boy enthusiastically, almost leaping to his feet. My heart started to thump.
‘That’s a hard question,’ I replied, not really knowing how to answer.
‘If I was in the army, I’d kill heaps!’ he claimed.
His mate beside him shouted, ‘Yeah!’ and punched the air in triumph. Other questions weren’t so loaded.
‘How often were you attacked by lions?’
‘Did you have a pet monkey?’
These questions allowed me to calm down. Then came the right hook, out of nowhere. Yes, my guard was down.
‘Were you very sad in the army?’ one of the bigger girls asked.
I lowered my head. I didn’t want them to see how hard it was for me to hold back my tears. The teacher at the back of the room started to move toward the front. Suddenly, I spoke. ‘The army doesn’t let you be sad. We didn’t have funerals.’ I swallowed. There was a pause. ‘We just got on with the job. Many years later, all that sadness comes out, and it’s terribly hard to explain just how sad I was.’
My voice was tired and shaky.
The teacher put her handkerchief to her eyes and the kids went very quiet. Then the principal spoke softly. ‘Let’s have an early play lunch. Stand and move quietly outside.’ The Anzac biscuits were delicious. The talk was over. I’d made it. Then one of the older girls in the school knocked on the staff room door. She whispered something to the teacher, and a muffled conversation followed. They approached me. The students wanted me to give a little service at the honour board located in the community hall across the road.
You must be kidding, I thought.
I looked out the window—maybe for divine guidance, I don’t really know—and there was my answer. Outside, the students were being lined up. Two of the big kids had them organised, standing to attention: they were ready to march. They strode across the road with dignity and purpose. I joined them. Some had grabbed small bunches of flowers from the garden, and were passing them up and down the lines. By the honour board in the hall, the students formed a horseshoe. The two staff looked at me for some response. I took a very deep breath.
‘These names are names of men who have died at war. It would have been very sad for their families, friends, and their mates. The flowers you put here today say so many kind things. These soldiers on this board would be proud of your thoughtfulness, and content to know that you live in peace. Thank you for what you have done today. I hope you never have to go to war.’
Several kids came over and said thanks. Others touched my hand. One young boy gave me some flowers. I wonder if those kids realise how much they helped me.
It was after this day, standing in the community hall with them, that I went home and started to write. For the first time, I found there was a connection between my heart and the pen. I attempted to describe what it felt like standing in front of those kids. Hesitantly, I showed the effort to my new psychiatrist, who had encouraged me to put pen to paper. Now, he encouraged me even more.
You have the result in your hands.
Im sorry if it was a bit too long, but its a really good book about a vietnam vet.
[QUOTE=Carne;33428777]Do you guys have any suggestions to a book I can compare to a movie adaption. For example comparing the LOTR books and movies (though I don't want to compare those because the books and movies are so long). Doesn't have to be a series of books. One book and one movie will do.[/QUOTE]
Heh, I had an assignment like that just a few weeks ago.
I read Hunter S. Thompson's [I]Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas[/I], watched the film adaption with the same name, and then wrote an adaptation analysis. Both the book and film owns, but writing a text about them proved to be challenging since the film stays very true to the book and how loosely established the plot and themes in both are.
[editline]25th November 2011[/editline]
You could read [I]Fight Club[/I]. I'm sure there's a lot of ground to tackle on how the split-personality twist is done in the film compared to the novel.
[editline]25th November 2011[/editline]
Or [I]Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep[/I] ([I]Livstyvene[/I] in Norwegian), the novel [I]Blade Runner[/I] is very loosely based on, if you can find a copy of it (I couldn't :( )
[QUOTE=kevlar jens;33430217]Or [I]Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep[/I] ([I]Livstyvene[/I] in Norwegian), the novel [I]Blade Runner[/I] is very loosely based on, if you can find a copy of it (I couldn't :( )[/QUOTE]
This book is good would recommend
had no trouble finding it in the local waterstones but then again I live in britain rather than norway so it's probably easier to find here
haven't seen the movie though
[QUOTE=Carne;33428777]Do you guys have any suggestions to a book I can compare to a movie adaption. For example comparing the LOTR books and movies (though I don't want to compare those because the books and movies are so long). Doesn't have to be a series of books. One book and one movie will do.[/QUOTE]
You could do One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. In the book the story's told from The Chief's point of view.
[QUOTE=Zezibesh;33428108]They made a novel out of it? I didn't particularly like the movie, I preferred the first one + the series.[/QUOTE]
Not an adaptation. It's a prequel to the movie, but in name only. You don't need to have seen the movie, nor have liked it for that matter.
Do you guys know any good Lovecraftian horror comics?
I just bought [thumb]http://images.wikia.com/lotr/images/b/b8/Hobbit-cover.jpg[/thumb] and [thumb]http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/8/87/THDRKTWRTH1988.jpg[/thumb] for 9 dollars.
ready ready fun tiem
After finishing Fatherland I decided to read this to follow on with the alternate future theme:
[IMG]http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu189/Taintedmage/Swastika_night.gif[/IMG]
Bugger this book reads very much like 1984.
I've purchased Atlas Shrugged just to see what all the fuss is about, but haven't quite started it.
I really do not like beginning series and not finishing them, and I'm currently reading one which I cannot find the next book of.
Ah well, this massive thing ought to take a while anyway.
[editline]26th November 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Konakona940;33443783]After finishing Fatherland I decided to read this to follow on with the alternate future theme:
[IMG]http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu189/Taintedmage/Swastika_night.gif[/IMG]
Bugger this book reads very much like 1984.[/QUOTE]
If you're in to Alternate History type books, you should give Harry Turtledove a read. I've not read his alternate histories, but his Darkness series (based on WWII) is fascinating.
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/7/7c/20110510223953!Fear_and_Loathing_in_Las_Vegas.jpg[/IMG]
Best book I have ever read.
[img]http://images.pricerunner.com/product/image/76292659/A-Storm-of-Swords-2-Blood-and-Gold-(A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-Book-3-Part-2).jpg[/img]
Re-reading the entire series, I read it through the first time in a little under 5 weeks, and going back through it at a slower pace it's surprising how much i've forgotten and how many little things I missed, although I suppose it can't be avoided in such a complex series. Just got up to the saddest part of the entire series (You know where I mean). Manly tears were shed.
[QUOTE=cj55748;33688200][IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/7/7c/20110510223953!Fear_and_Loathing_in_Las_Vegas.jpg[/IMG]
Best book I have ever read.[/QUOTE]
I thought the plot and theme was way too loosely established.
Can I be an asshole and plug my latest book?
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Kyorei/anrui/00000/tb.jpg[/IMG]
Terminally Beautiful
by Christy Leigh Stewart
</shamelessness>
I am reading a book by Erich von Däniken right now called History Is Wrong. It's about Voynich manuscript; I hope it gives me lots of useless anecdotes for dinner parties I'll never be invited to.
Elephants on Acid is an interesting read.
Been reading a lot recently, currently reading
[img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lpwrwngWjNg/SwLLzEERUOI/AAAAAAAAEgQ/IRlZYBNiFuk/s1600/kafka20on20the20shore.jpg[/img]
I like it a lot so far.
I also read;
Enduring Love (for school), it's about an insane religious gay stalker who still somehow manages to be more likable than the complete pretentious douchebag of a main character/narrator. I've never wanted to murder a fictional character as much. The book's alright, though kinda heavy-handed in its symbolism.
Notes from Underground, which was [i]very[/i] good as a character study of a completely broken individual, and how he came to be that way.
I read Tom Sawyer and actually laughed out loud wtf
Just finished Mostly Harmless, the last story in the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide. Depressing ending. But I remember someone telling me earlier in this thread that to get, what was it? "And Another Thing"? So I think I'll do that.
Bought Dune a few days ago. It's a bit slow so far but I'm sure it'll be great.
It is. It can be slow but overall it's just such an amazing book, I think it may be the best story I've ever read. It really has no equal in science fiction, and the only thing I can think of that is generally comparable is Lord of the Rings. It is sci-fi Lord of the Rings.
I don't think I"ve posted it here so
[quote][img]http://i.imgur.com/6g5so.jpg[/img][/quote]
[B]THAT'S A BEAUTIFUL BOOK RIGHT THERE[/B]
[editline]13th December 2011[/editline]
Please ignore the modeling clay under my thumbnail
[QUOTE=Aperture fan;33709672]Just finished Mostly Harmless, the last story in the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide. Depressing ending. But I remember someone telling me earlier in this thread that to get, what was it? "And Another Thing"? So I think I'll do that.[/QUOTE]
I never even considered getting it because the same guy wrote Artemis Fowl and I thought that was awful.
Meh, I couldn't bother to read Artemis Fowl. I kind of always stuck to fantasy for some reason.
Like right now, I just re-read a Warcraft book, and I'm reading the prelude to World of Warcraft's expansion. The Warcraft series has a really good bunch of book.
I read John le Carre's books
A Perfect Spy
Absolute Friends
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Our Kind of Traitor
And I have to say, I prefer these over the more common spy novels. These are quite fun to read and I like the subtlety involved and his use of chekhov's gun in his books
Some good ones I've read was Goethe's Faust an excellent closet drama.
I got a book of poems by Giacomo Leopardi, he is probably one of the most pessimistic people you will ever read.
If you want a good philosophy book I would suggest Schopenhauer's The world as will and representation but that is more of a private study book and solemnly read for enjoyment, though I found it fascinating.
And if you don't mind washing your eyes out with bleach, 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis De Sade, I remember sharing that with my highschool teachers what fun times those were.
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