Books: Suggestions, Reviews, Discussion

[BlakeMP]

Currently reading Gregory Maguire's Lost. Man, I really wanted to love this book. Wicked was great, and the ties to A Christmas Carol made me very interested, but getting through this book is a downright chore.

[Cosmos]

So I got past the Lost Symbol. Phew, not worth it in my opinion. Too much hype to deliver.

Now I've got a whole list to get started on. Anyone read Columbine? Heard it was interesting. It's the compilation of new stories and journal entries where they bring up some new theories on the shootings.

[BeachGurl]

Okay. I need something new to read. Anyone have any suggestions for me? If you know me, you know what I like.

[taquazi]

Okay. I need something new to read. Anyone have any suggestions for me? If you know me, you know what I like.

Might not be your style but these books changed my life

The Holy Man by Susan Trott
and
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Super easy reads and great birthday gifts

[BlakeMP]

I just finished Ancestor by Scott Sigler. If you're into sci-fi thrillers, you need to pick this one up. A group of scientists are developing a new organism based on some ancient DNA in the attempt to create an animal with organs suitable for human transplantation. This being a thriller, things go wrong. Great fun, pretty violent (if you like that sort of thing, which I do) and some really well-developed characters. Give it a read.

[RVDjeep]

I just finished Ancestor by Scott Sigler. If you're into sci-fi thrillers, you need to pick this one up. A group of scientists are developing a new organism based on some ancient DNA in the attempt to create an animal with organs suitable for human transplantation. This being a thriller, things go wrong. Great fun, pretty violent (if you like that sort of thing, which I do) and some really well-developed characters. Give it a read.

Looks a lot like the Movie Splice that just came out

[BlakeMP]

No, no, I said "well-developed" characters.

:rimshot:

Actually, I didn't see Splice and except for that fact that it involves genetic engineering, I don't know anything about it. But unless Splice also involves people being hunted by forty carnivores the size of rhinos with the speed and ferocity of a lion on a frozen lake in Canada, I don't think there are too many similarities.

[RVDjeep]

Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson.

Very long but rewarding series (so far im reading book number 3) Some of the best fantasy i have read since George R.R. Martin.

Must read imo for any high fantasy fan.

---------- Post added at 01:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:20 PM ----------

No, no, I said "well-developed" characters.

:rimshot:

Actually, I didn't see Splice and except for that fact that it involves genetic engineering, I don't know anything about it. But unless Splice also involves people being hunted by forty carnivores the size of rhinos with the speed and ferocity of a lion on a frozen lake in Canada, I don't think there are too many similarities.

Lol indeed there none of that in splice :P

[nickphillips97]

Looks like no ones commented lately, I'll try to get it going again. I'm currently reading Kingdom Keepers 4 & Careless Love: The Unmaking Of Elvis Presley. Careless Love is volume 2 of an Elvis biography by Peter Guralnick. Good stuff.

[BlakeMP]

I'm reading Rick Riordan's Throne of Fire, second book in the Kane Chronicles. Good, but still not as good as his Percy Jackson stuff.

[Anders Limpar]

I'd highly recommend Disney War. Its a nonfiction book about Eisner's reign at Disney. It provides a lot of insight into what Eisner did right and what he did wrong. Its mainly about the movies and the tv side of things as opposed to the theme parks. I still found it very interesting despite being much more of a fan of the theme parks.

[CrustyJuggler]

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - If you like cars and dogs then you'll probably like this book. It's one of my all-time favorites.

I recently just finished Moneyball by Michael Lewis. I've been meaning to read it for years and am glad that I finally did. As a longtime baseball and Red Sox fan it's a very interesting read and covers the 2000-2003 period in baseball when the way teams were built started to transform.

[Hellsatyr]

The Morbidly Obese Ninja By Carlton Mellick III
It is a fun little novella following the story of Basu; a 700lbs ninja operating in Neo Tokyo, California.
Synopsis:
These days, if you want to run a successful company . . . you're going to need a lot of ninjas.
Neo Tokyo, California is a city built so high that none of its residents have ever seen the ground. It is a place where citizens cosmetically alter their bodies to look like Japanese anime characters. It is a place where ninja battles determine the fate of corporate business ventures. It is the home of Basu - a 700 pound killing machine who uses his grotesque excess weight as a deadly weapon.

Also, I can't help but recommend Battle Royale by Koushun Takami.
It takes place in an alternate timeline Japan in 1997. The totalitarian government of The Republic of Greater East Asia (which Japan is part of). Each year, 50 Junior High classes are picked to enter into The Program. The Program is a military research project that pits a class of junior high students against one another in a fight to the death. The government's objective in this project is to weed out an increase of westernization in Asia's youth and to create paranoia as to subvert any sort of uprising or insurrection from ever occurring. This is the tale of one junior high class of 42 students and how they are whisked away by the government to participate in this brutal "sport". The main character, Shuya, is an American rock & roll fanatic and uses Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" as a backdrop to the horrors of the program and his need to escape Japan.



It is an excellent book. Every time I go to read I can't put it down and I end up blowing through its 600+ pages in a weekend.
It is violent and can be "disturbing" at parts, but I highly recommend it.

[tandedobbs]

I would hight recommend Gwen Cooper's "Homer's Odyssey" for all you animal lovers out there! She's amazing and the book will have you smiling the whole time!
It's about a blind kitten that she adopts and her life with him.
She also has a Facebook page and always replies to your posts/messages!


Here is her blog as well:
http://www.gwencooper.com/blog.php

[JasonD]

Also, I can't help but recommend Battle Royale by Koushun Takami.

One of my absolute favorite books.

[HitchHikingGhostFangirl]

The Morbidly Obese Ninja By Carlton Mellick III
It is a fun little novella following the story of Basu; a 700lbs ninja operating in Neo Tokyo, California.
Synopsis:
These days, if you want to run a successful company . . . you're going to need a lot of ninjas.
Neo Tokyo, California is a city built so high that none of its residents have ever seen the ground. It is a place where citizens cosmetically alter their bodies to look like Japanese anime characters. It is a place where ninja battles determine the fate of corporate business ventures. It is the home of Basu - a 700 pound killing machine who uses his grotesque excess weight as a deadly weapon.

Also, I can't help but recommend Battle Royale by Koushun Takami.
It takes place in an alternate timeline Japan in 1997. The totalitarian government of The Republic of Greater East Asia (which Japan is part of). Each year, 50 Junior High classes are picked to enter into The Program. The Program is a military research project that pits a class of junior high students against one another in a fight to the death. The government's objective in this project is to weed out an increase of westernization in Asia's youth and to create paranoia as to subvert any sort of uprising or insurrection from ever occurring. This is the tale of one junior high class of 42 students and how they are whisked away by the government to participate in this brutal "sport". The main character, Shuya, is an American rock & roll fanatic and uses Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" as a backdrop to the horrors of the program and his need to escape Japan.



It is an excellent book. Every time I go to read I can't put it down and I end up blowing through its 600+ pages in a weekend.
It is violent and can be "disturbing" at parts, but I highly recommend it.

And I thank you for not being like most fans of it and doing the whole "it's better than the Hunger Games" thing.

[Hellsatyr]

And I thank you for not being like most fans of it and doing the whole "it's better than the Hunger Games" thing.

You are welcome. Well, see I have never read the Hunger Games, but from what I understand beside the whole child combat thing they aren't really similar.
However, that is were my niceness ends. Hahaha, having watched both movies I feel BR is the better watch while Hunger Games just builds me up only to not deliver, that is just my opinion though.

One of my absolute favorite books.

It really is such a good book. I should read it again sometime soon...but I have a lot on my backlog.