What are you reading?

[Technomancer]

I've only read Evelyn Waugh's semi-autobiographical Sword of Honour trilogy, which is an interesting, haunting and story that takes a somewhat satirical, unromanticized view on England during the Blitz, characterizing it as a small island in a state of chaos with patriotic fervour and unpatriotic profiteering by speculators. Its only satiric on the side-lines, though, since its actually very serious with its characters and story than some of Waugh's early work. Still its a good read and will tell you a lot of WW2 from the British perspective. Since you're on a Waugh-binge you should try and read it.

Seconded, its a good book. There's also a miniseries as well (it ran here on TVO a few years back).

[ich1990]

I've only read Evelyn Waugh's semi-autobiographical Sword of Honour trilogy, which is an interesting, haunting and story that takes a somewhat satirical, unromanticized view on England during the Blitz, characterizing it as a small island in a state of chaos with patriotic fervour and unpatriotic profiteering by speculators. Its only satiric on the side-lines, though, since its actually very serious with its characters and story than some of Waugh's early work. Still its a good read and will tell you a lot of WW2 from the British perspective. Since you're on a Waugh-binge you should try and read it.

Seconded, its a good book. There's also a miniseries as well (it ran here on TVO a few years back).

Thank you for the recommendation, I will add it to my list. I had heard that Brideshead Revisited was his best non-satire work, but I will swing for Sword of Honor instead.

[bigsleepj]

Thank you for the recommendation, I will add it to my list. I had heard that Brideshead Revisited was his best non-satire work, but I will swing for Sword of Honor instead.

Brideshead Revisited probably is his best, but I haven't read it. I know people who can get quite lyrical about it, though.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Beginnings, Middles, & Ends by Nancy Kress. This was a really good book of writing advice, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Wow. I love this book, even though it thoroughly depressed me. An awesomely-written book about a woman who goes from a world of luxury to an insane asylum. And because I love reading about insane people (especially when I can see inside their heads), I loved this. Plath is awesome with her word choice and metaphors.

Now I'm in the process of reading Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card, which is another writing advice book, focusing on characters. Card is awesome, that's all I can say.

[uc pseudonym]

Elephantmen by Richard Starkings

Somewhat novel premise, nice writing, interesting things to say about cloning and humanity, but ultimately it didn't feel all that weighty or significant to me. Perhaps it is the number of characters, which reduces it to a set of vignettes instead of the lengthier narrative that it seems to include.

[rocklobster]

Just finished The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. Very thought-provoking. I'm going back and highlighting stuff I liked.
I'll be starting The Great Divorce tomorrow as well.

[Kkun]

Will in the World: How Shakespeare became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt.

[ich1990]

Just read:

Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox. The Artemis Fowl series has been one of my absolute favorites series for quite a while now. It has snappy dialogue, elves, adolescent criminal masterminds, and an almost Sherlock Holmes style plot. Needless to say, it is a great series and I have spent many an afternoon reading and rereading (a rareity for me) the books. It hurts me, therefore, to say that The Time Paradox was not a very good book.

The majority of the characters acted out of character, a romance developed, the plot was hap-hazardly put together, most of the wit and banter was gone, the villains were mostly recycled from the other books, Artemis himself was rarely in control of the situation (imagine Holmes constantly getting hoodwinked), and the book practically beat you over the head with save-the-animal statements (it is not bad to make a point, it is bad to constantly try to tatoo the point into your reader's mind).

Nonetheless, there were a few good moments. Sadly, these moments mostly just served to remind me how great the rest of the series was and how great this book could have been. I rate this book so harshly only because I know it how much better it could have been. 5/10

Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. If I planned on reading three of his non-satire books, I figured, I might as well read three of his satirical ones. This particular book was, as always, well written and funny. Where it deviated from the other two I have read ("A Handful of Dust" and "The Loved One"), however, was the not unhappy ending. This did not detract from the story too much, however, considering that there wasn't a whole lot of story to begin with. It wasn't a bad novel in the least, but, this was his first satire, and, frankly, it shows.

Sort of an unpolished genius. Funny but not uproarious. A caricature but not a mockery. A satire but not a tragedy. Read "The Loved One" instead. 7/10

[the_wolfs_howl]

Finished Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card, loved it.

Now I'm reading Shade's Children by Garth Nix, and am ripping right through it. It's quite exciting, and good writing (though not outstanding) as usual with Nix. It's basically a post-apocalyptic story where all the adults vanished one day when the Overlords came, leaving only children. The children are now grown and harvested, not so unlike The Matrix if you ask me. But some children have managed to escape, and have banded together under a virtual personality that goes by the name of Shade. I'm enjoying this book quite a lot, though that's little surprise ^_^

[Htom Sirveaux]

Finished Reaper Man, reading (what else?) the next Discworld book: Witches Abroad. I see no reason to stop and read something else.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Finished Shade's Children, though I sort of lost interest towards the ending. It was probably partly my fault, though.

Then I read Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. It was really good - different and more specific advice for how to arrange sentences than any other book I've read. It was a little boring since it was about syntax and sentence structure rather than the makings of a good novel, but I think even just one read-through will improve my essay writing in future.

Then I took an hour to read Rotten Rejections, a book compiling some scathing rejections of very famous authors (like Dickens, Bronte, etc.). It was encouraging, because if even well-established and amazing authors like that can weather through rejections, an amateur like me can too.

Now I'm reading On Being a Writer, which is a collection of interviews of various famous authors. Most of them are just names I've heard but never read anything by them (I think the only authors I've actually read are Madeleine L'Engle and Ray Bradbury). All the same, it's awesomely inspiring to read about authors of any kind. I'm nearly halfway through the book, yet for some reason it's just exhausting to be reading this much (I'm trying to finish the book by Monday, and I only started yesterday). I said last night that I feel like too many brain cells have been blooming in my head, so now I need to go play a video game or something and kill some of those brain cells

[sharien chan]

Just finished Save Me From My Self by Brian Welch.
It's the guy from Korn who got saved and how he left the band, and it goes through his walk as a christian.
I'm also reading a book on how to deal with people with Borderline Personality Disorder. My mom is borderline, and my fiance's mom picked the book up for me ^_^
It's really interesting. It has actual people's (those with the disorder and those that have someone close to them with the disorder) viewpoints.

[Sheenar]

I'm starting on my summer read-athon. I am starting with Marley and Me --it's described as life with the world's worst dog --it's on the New York Times Best Sellers list, so I'm giving it a try.

I plan to alternate between fun, lighthearted books and more serious ones.

[RobinSena]

Finished reading Dune, now I'm part way into Dune Messiah.

[jon_jinn]

A Thousand Cranes

[Radical Dreamer]

I've been reading The Time Traveler's Wife for a few months now; I'm finally nearing the end! XD I love the concept of this book, and it's really getting interesting as I close in on page 400 or so. XD

[uc pseudonym]

God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer by Bart Ehrman

As usual, Ehrman is a clear writer and gives a good deal of solid exegesis of scripture. Many Christians need to read this book for the sake of proper interpretation (coughRevelationcough), not to mention a more comprehensive view of suffering. In some ways I feel we are similar thinkers and much of what he says about the Bible resonates with me.

At the same time, there are some profound differences (other than the obvious). Some of the answers to the problem of suffering I feel are cliché he actually never mentions. I was also struck by how he discovered Lutheran Disaster Response as an adult pastor... that's incredibly alien to the church in which I grew up. While it's not as though a different upbringing would have dramatically changed his opinions about religion, I can't help but wonder what effects it is having on many in the grip of radically off Christianity.

The Best Comics of 2007

I have been reading this off and on for a while now and will probably not finish it. If I gave my thoughts on this subject it would be a lengthy essay critiquing modern writing in general, but in brief I find myself utterly without compulsion to read further and often wondering what these authors and artists believe is the purpose of literature.

[Radical Dreamer]

I finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife last night (thoughts in my LJ)! Now, I've started reading S. Morgenstern's The Princess Bride, abridged by William Goldman. It's excellent so far. XD

[Monkey Princess]

I just finished Breaking Dawn and Hawksong.
I loved Hawksong. If you can get your hands on it, you should read it.

I thought Breaking Dawn was like an insanely long, yet well-written fanfiction. Oh well.

[ich1990]

Thank goodness for vacation! I am finally starting to get caught up on my reading.

Just read:

Telling the Truth by Frederick Buechner

This book seemed to me like the Dionysian equivalent of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. In contrast to the latter work, this book did not set about to prove Christianity through logic. Instead, it explores Christianity to find out why it works emotionally. Through the book, Buechner shows how the Gospel simultaneously and seamlessly incorporates the three main emotional elements of the world: the tragedy, the comedy, and the fairytale. I found the book to be very enjoyable. The negative thing that I found is its excessively heady and emotionally charged language. Additionally, in order to set the appropriate emotional “feeling”, the author sometimes twists his sentences and minces the English language. Overall, I think it makes a favorable if subordinate companion to Mere Christianity. If you have the time, give it a read, it is only 100 pages long. 9/10

Crown Duel (double book including Court Duel) by Sherwood Smith

As a person who enjoys reading the writings of dead people (see Buechner above) far more than that of those who yet draw breath, I had a sort of built in prejudice against this modern fantasy story. Additionally, (and unfortunately), I started reading this book right after some highly engaging literature, so my critical thinking apparatus was still in full drive. Sure enough, the details and characterization were not perfect and the story had dead spots. The main character kept on reacting emotionally to everything and the story made liberal use of the Deus Ex Machina plot device. Another main character was a flamboyantly mysterious blond bishounen who wanted nothing more than to spill his heart out to a whiny teenage girl. However, despite all of these drawbacks I still found myself enjoying the book. If you are looking for slightly-more-intelligent-than-average mindless reading, than this book is perfect. If you are looking for a harmless book to get your tween daughter to start reading, then this book is perfect. Everyone else will probably have trouble getting past its faults. 7/10

Success for Dummies by Zig Ziglar

Mr. Ziglar is one of the best respected motivational speakers of all time. Given his reputation, I have been meaning to read one of his books for a long time. As it so happens, this was the only Ziglar book in the whole library. Given its topic, this book would also allow me to get another view on the topic of success. Ideally, I could contrast this book with Steven Covey's “7 Habits” book and achieve a broader view of the subject of success and how it is achieved. As it turned out, however, the concepts of success propagated by both books were identical, only the format was different. Covey focused more on the ideals of success while Ziglar concentrated on the actual prospect of achieving success. To sum it up: Covey is more concise while Ziglar is more practical, at least on the topic of success. Now that I have read two highly regarded books by influential authors and found them virtually identical in form and congruent with biblical principles, I believe that I have a firm grip on what it means to be truly “Successful”. 7/10

Hostage to the Devil by Malachi Martin

This book is a sort of a primer on demonic possession and exorcism. “Hostage” is written from a Catholic standpoint, but the principles of exorcism and possession are universal and the knowledge is helpful to Protestants and Catholics alike. Of particular use are the first chapters involving the different stages of expulsion, and the appendices which are an analyses of the purposes and effects of possession by evil and redemption by God. I would recommend that you avoid the five case files of possession (that is what I did) due to the extremely graphic and mature content that they contain. If you would like to read about a case of possession but want to avoid heavy content, then try Adam by Ted Dekker. It is fiction, but it is largely accurate and even references “Hostage”.

Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas

Yet another classic. This book is widely regarded as one of the top books in trading/investing psychology. Although this book is primarily directed at traders (because trading is a highly psychological exercise). Despite this many of the principles and ideas translate well into other areas of life. For instance his chapter on how beliefs are formed and transformed helped my entire family, traders and not, see our own minds clearer. As good as this book is, it has several let downs. First and foremost is the needless repetition of ideas. It is as if the author sent a 100 page manuscript to the publisher, and the publisher insisted that the author reiterate his ideas until he had filled up 200 pages. The result is that the book is highly bloated and the main points are far and few between. Also, the book contains lots of technical trading references that make most of the chapters hard to understand to those who aren't involved in technical analyses of markets. Finally, the author delves quite deeply into his own metaphysical hypotheses. Once, he even insists that beliefs are self-aware without providing much proof to back up his claim. These musings are unnecessary and drag the book down. Ultimately, however, they are easy to dismiss and do not harm the points that he is trying to make. This is a book that I wish everyone could read and enjoy, but one that only a few people will be able to appreciate. If you don't have the time or perseverance to read the entire book, at least read the chapters about nature of beliefs, they are by far the strongest part of the book. 9/10

[jon_jinn]

Death in Midsummer: And Other Stories by Yukio Mishima

[Radical Dreamer]

Adding The Prestige (by Christopher Priest) and Selected Stories of O. Henry to my list of books to read. XD Finish one, add two more! XD

[Kkun]

George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones for pleasure and I'm studying Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Christabel for a class.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Most recently, I've been reading An American Childhood, Annie Dillard's autobiography. I seriously recommend this book. The style is really beautiful; it makes her normal childhood experiences seem so otherworldly. I greatly admire her skill and style, and this just makes my opinion of her shoot through the roof. If I ever write an autobiography, I want it to read like this.

I've also been reading the Collected Fictions of Jorge Luis Borges, my second-favorite author ever. I also recommend his stuff; his style is scintillating, and his ideas are so otherworldly that I can barely wrap my mind around them. My favorite of his stories is still "The Library of Babel", though I think a close second would be "The Immortal". Even though the statements he makes in those stories are ones I don't agree with at all, the way he does it is just amazing.

[bigsleepj]

Yay! My Borges proselytizing paid off!

[ich1990]

Just read:

This thread by CAA

Yes, I just finished reading all 86 pages of posts. Why? Well that is a good question. Initially, I began in an effort to find new authors/books that I would enjoy. This eventually transmogrified into an obsessive compulsion to finish. Why? So, I could say I read all 86 pages and then proceed to analyze my mental state at the time, of course. What I learned:

1.That every book (or nearly so) that I have ever read has been mentioned in this thread.
2.That I have not read a Terry Pratchet book and need to do so.
3.That I have not read a Neil Gaiman book and need to do so.
4.That bigsleepj is the only person other than myself to mention Shusaku Endo on this thread.

Silence by Shusaku Endo

My reading this book was a direct result of its favorable mention in Philip Yancey's “Soul Survivor”. This book primarily concerns itself with situational morals. For instance, if a group of people were forced to spit on a bible or die, what would be the appropriate choice? If you chose to die, you would be a much celebrated martyr who died with conviction in your heart. If you chose to spit, however, you would remain alive to influence those who you come across for Christ. At the very least, a living person has many more chances to do good than a dead one. Or, is that just cowardice? Those sort of questions make up the essence of this Japanese flavored novel.

In addition to the thought intensive content, the unique, uneven narrative style adds to the uniqueness of the novel. For instance, part of the story played out through letters sent to the Vatican while another part is told in first person. While this alternative form of narration adds the novel's interest, it is not as seamlessly or skillfully done as, say, Frank Peretti's “The Oath”. Another detraction is the novel's translation which is quite literal in form. The result is that the writing is a bit dry and apathetic. In spite of this, the book is surprisingly intense and makes me wonder what the novel would be like in its original Japanese.

Overall, I found the book to be highly enjoyable and thought provoking. If you ever find yourself reading “Foxe's Book of Martyrs” or “Jesus Freaks” then this book would provide an excellent view of the other side of the coin. 9/10.

A Very Short Introduction to Human Evolution

I am not impressed with my very first very short introduction. It was indeed very short, but it was not very introductory. Well it was introductory, but it was not a good introduction to human evolution. If one were to want to read a very short introduction to the problems associated with finding and identifying fossils and their meanings, then this would be a good introduction book. As it is, this short introduction was not good because its title was misleading. Although, it was short. So, the very short introduction's not so very short title is partly misleading, which is not a good sign for the rest of the series.

[Fish and Chips]

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

I tend to enjoy the Discworld books surrounding Death and the City Watch more than the rest of them, not that there aren't a couple other particularly good ones outside that.

And also, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig was recently recommended to me by my dad.

[jon_jinn]

The Great Ponds - Elechi Amadi

[uc pseudonym]

Provocations: writings of Søren Kierkegaard (edited by Charles Moore)

A friend has left this lying around and because I have wanted to read Kierkegaard for some time I have been picking it up from time to time. But since I never officially planned to read it I never mentioned it here... now I'm over 100 pages in, so I guess I'm reading it.

My feelings about his work are mixed (either strongly positive or strongly negative), but as a whole he is a refreshing author. I feel much of what he condemns in the church of his day could still apply to ours and it is a message that many need to hear. There are many authors urging people to stop reading their Bibles and start obeying them, but he manages to say it in a new fashion.

But I thoroughly disagree with him when it comes to matters of subjectivity versus objectivity. I don't think his examples stand up to reality, I don't think his observations match Christianity, and (most critically for his position) I can't even begin to relate to what he says about the experiential. If we had a theoretical conversation on this subject, I wonder how it would go.

I also wonder if he would rail so strongly against scholarship if he lived in today's increasingly anti-intellectual environment. It is ironic that he is primarily read in institutions of higher learning, though, and I hope this isn't lost on his readers.

[quote="ich1990"]Silence by Shusaku Endo

My reading this book was a direct result of its favorable mention in Philip Yancey's “]
This book has long been on my list of things that I feel I should read eventually, so it is interesting to hear your thoughts.

[Technomancer]

Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War by Kaveh Farrokh

Pretty much what the title says; it covers the period stretching from the arrival of the early Indo-Aryan peoples to the fall of the Sassanids. Definately worth reading.