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 Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:41 am
Since Zathy and I kinda went off on a rather interesting tangent in another thread, I thought I would start a bookish thread so we can all be geeks together blaugh .
Book I am currently reading: The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
How many stars? (out of 5): 4 (this is surprising, I didn't expect to enjoy it this much)
Why am I reading it?: I needed something to read while waiting for a plane and it intrigued me as many history/political geeks mention it and I had NO idea what it said.
Favourite quotes:
Would you recommend it?: Yes
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 10:20 am
I haven't read anything seriously lately. @___@ I'd start a book first semester, get caught up with homework and never get around to finishing it.
The ones on my bedstand currently are:
Hunting Humans, by Elliott Leyton.
It's a cultural anthropologist's take on serial killing. Basically, he goes through certain killers and argues that it was the media and the our culture of violence that shaped their actions, but also recognizes family, status, and other factors. Basically he says his way is best though. xd For me, it's pretty interesting to read about, but I just haven't finished it yet. @___@
Stars: Awesome out of 5. I guess 4. It's got jargon, but still easy to read if you aren't taking courses in it or anything.
Why? I'm reading it because I like to learn about creepy things, and serial killers are at the top of the list. Plus there's nice theory in there too. xd
Quotes? I don't really have any at the moment. :O
Would you recommend it? Sure, it's pretty interesting and gives a new look at something that hasn't been figured out and probably never will since nobody can agree and there is no one reason why it happens.
The Pickton File, by Stevie Cameron.
Got it for Christmas and nearly finished it! It seems like as soon as I take a book into Vancouver it gets sucked into some time warp and never gets finished. xd haha.
As the title conveys, it's about the Pickton case. She doesn't do a lot of detail about the crime because of the ban on the information in the media, but she does talk about her experiences researching it and the involvement of other families and social service workers in it.
Stars? 3/5. I like it, I like reading about how she got so deeply involved in it, with the people's families, with the previous reporters on the case. It's pretty neat, and the maps in the beginning are nice context to where it all happened.
Why? Because I have a weird involvement with this stuff. Also, got it for christmas, and had nothing else to read. xd
Would you recommend it? Hmmm, not sure.
I was also in the middle of a book about a famous groupie in the 70s. I forget the name of it, and where I left it so I can't get it out to check. :S Anyways, yeah I like hearing personal accounts so that was a fun book too.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:53 am
Book I am currently reading: Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer
How many stars?: 4/5
Why am I reading it?: I need something light, that I can put down and pick up easily, with all this moving business. I am not a romance reader* But Georgette Heyer is from a lost time. Her writing is more influenced by Jane Austen, who was in turn not necessarily writing a romance, but was a social commentary (at times quite tongue in cheek) of the rules and expectations of Society and propriety. Of course Heyer, born in 1902, was not a contemporary of Austen, and her motives for writing are different; all her books are still clever and witty, and still make excellent light reading.
Favourite quotes: There is plenty of clever banter, but nothing that particularly sticks out in my minds, at present.
Would you recommend it?: If I would recommend Agatha Christie for light reading, then, yes, I recommend Georgette Heyer, regardless of title.
I've only recently started reading Heyer. My mother and grandmother are great fans of her, and own all her books. When I was stuck in the boonies of Nova Scotia, I found the box a set was packed in, so I read Heyer's opus "The Grand Sophy" I was highly amused.
The benefit with Heyer, as with Christie, as with the passage with time, you forget the story line, and only remember points or characters, etc. So you can easily pick it up again in 5-10 years, and it's like a new book by an old friend.
Next reading: The King's General by Daphne du Maurier, unless something else catches my eye.
*(I think romance paper backs should all be burned, complete trash! Basically it's porn for women, and I think extensive reading of the modern romance novel can be damaging to your sense of reality, in the same way too much pornography is bad for the mental health of men.
The cowboy is probably not going to bail you, as a stranger, out of trouble and raise your 2 b*****d children, be incredibly handsome, and ******** your brains out after courting your delicate sensibilities.
The guy who bails you out of trouble and raises your mistakes will probably be some short balding accountant, though lacking in charm, will adore you and treat all women as his equal without effort. The sex might be so-so )
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:33 pm
Well okay, this sounds fun. Discover why Rye is shorthand for 'dangerous deviant'! (Including several I already finished, for no real reason.)
Book I am currently reading: Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov
What's it like: Fairly realistic portrayal of a man, Humbert Humbert, who falls in love with a young teenaged girl, and the various issues such a problem can cause.
How many stars: 4/5
Why am I reading it: Well, I first picked it up because of the general controversy attached to the title, but it was worth reading through to the end.
Favourite quotes: Hmm, going to have to think about that...
Would you recommend it: Considering what happens in the story, maybe. If someone seems mature enough to handle it, sure.
Book I am currently reading: Justine, by the Marquis de Sade
What's it like: A sister volume to Juliette, they really should be read together. They tell the tales of two sisters, who lose their parents and have to fend for themselves. One takes the path of debauchery, and lives long and wealthily. The other chooses the pious path, and suffers greatly for it.
How many stars: 4/5
Why am I reading it: Kind of the same as the above, plus his other works were kind of interesting. Except 120 Days of Sodom, that one was a little much...
Favourite quotes: Not sure I can say something like that here...
Would you recommend it: Hard to say, kind of the same as above.
Book I am currently reading: Negima, v. 1-16 by Ken Akamatsu
What it's like: Another in the 'young English boy-wizard' stories, this time young Negi Springfield, for whatever reason, becomes a teacher to a very exuberant class of 31 girls. Comedy and mischief abound.
How many stars: 4/5
Why am I reading it: Been a while since I read it, so going back.
Favourite quotes: Hmm, nothing really stands out.
Would you recommend it: Sure, to anyone who reads manga, anyways.
Book I am currently reading: Strawberry Panic v. 1-2, Strawberry Panic Light Novel v. 1, by Sakurako Kimino
What it's like: Lots of angst and romance, set in a trio of all-girl's schools on Astraea Hill.
How many stars: 5/5
Why am I reading it: The angst. The comedy adds a nice touch, but that delicious angst and wondering just who ends up with who makes it a favorite on my list. Yeah, there's the controversial yuri, but I think yuri titles handle same-sex couplings a lot more maturely than yaoi.
*Saves the multi-paragraph speech on the matter for another time...*
Favourite quotes:
Would you recommend it: Again again, to someone who wouldn't be bothered by the subject matter.
Book my Mom had read and recommended I try: A Million Little Pieces
What it's like: From what I remember, this guy wakes up on an airplane, with total amnesia, and tries to figure out what in the world is going on, who he is, why he has a bag full of drugs and so on.
How many stars: 4.5/5
Why am I reading it: Unfortunately haven't yet, only just remembered the title recently. The cover looks interesting, though.
Favourite quotes: Not sure.
Would you recommend it: Sure, if my Mom recommended it to me, then I'll do the same for all of you.
Well, there's a decent side-view of what I've been reading lately. Some regular books, lots of manga, most of it either obscure or controversial.
I have a small core of regular books that would make the centerpiece of my non-manga collection. Several titles by de Sade, Lolita, Machiavelli's The Prince (Yay Arlyana, someone else is reading it!), The Book of Five Rings (Not attached to that card game or the Olympics), The Art of War, The Devil and Dr. Faust (or whichever version of the title you prefer), Dante's Inferno, and the Ender series. Am I proud to read books like these? In a twisted sense, yes. Would I prance about advertising it? No.
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Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:39 pm
Either currently reading or finished recently.
Book I am currently reading: Fight Club
How many stars? (out of 5): 6
Why am I reading it?: I've seen the movie literally hundereds of times, and have finally found a copy of the book.
Favourite quotes: The whole goddamn thing o___o
Would you recommend it?: Yes
Book I am currently reading: Invisible Monsters
How many stars? (out of 5): 5
Why am I reading it?: Same author as Fight Club, got it at the same time.
Favourite quotes: "beauty is power
the same way money is power the same way a gun is power."
Would you recommend it?: Maybe not, it might make you want to shoot your face off ;3
Book I am currently reading: A ClockWork Orange
How many stars? (out of 5): 5
Why am I reading it?: Because I like the film, but never really could understand it. The book helps make it make a lot more sense, especially with the addition of the last chapter.
Favourite quotes: "Real Horrorshow" "Ultraviolence" I love all the psudo-russian slang.
Would you recommend it?: Definitely if you've seen the film. The last chapter is -neccesary- for the work, and it's a shame that Kubrick based the film off of the American edit which did not include it.
Book I am currently reading: A ClockWork Orange
How many stars? (out of 5): 5
Why am I reading it?: Because I like the film, but never really could understand it. The book helps make it make a lot more sense, especially with the addition of the last chapter.
Favourite quotes: "Real Horrorshow" "Ultraviolence" I love all the psudo-russian slang.
Would you recommend it?: Definitely if you've seen the film. The last chapter is -neccesary- for the work, and it's a shame that Kubrick based the film off of the American edit which did not include it.
Book I am currently reading: Heart of Darkness
How many stars? (out of 5): ?
Why am I reading it?: Apparently the film Apocolypse Nao is based in large part of this book, or at least alludes a lot and shares the basic theme. I've only just started reading it, unfortunately.
Favourite quotes: ?
Would you recommend it?: ?
Book I am currently reading: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
How many stars? (out of 5): 5
Why am I reading it?: The title caught my eye, as I was thinking about alchemy when I came across it.
Favourite quotes: Nothing particular comes to mind.
Would you recommend it?: Absolutely, this was a wonderful book! It was the first time in a long time that I've read through a whole book in one sitting!
..that's not including any books for school, and there are some more but I'm not going to mention them xp
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:29 am
Book I am currently reading: Charlie Bone (whole series)
How many stars? (out of 5): 3.5
Why am I reading it?: I had to do a book report on the first book in grade 8 but never read it (was a bad student)
and I have to do a book talk so I get to go to a cubs game
I left the book I wanted to read in my locker and its spring break
and the book talk needs to be done the day after spring break
So i searched my book shelf and found the dusty story
then I bought the next 2 in the series after loving it so much
I still need the cash for 3 more
Favourite quotes: I dont remember em but i have book 3 open and my fav quote from that is "Well, I honestly don't know why you bother to wear that pretty face anymore. We all know what you're really like, you old hag!"
It's one of those quotes you hafta read the book to understand though
like the infamous " NOT MY DAUGHTER b***h!" from harry potter 7
Would you recommend it?: Yes
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