Anybody read a good book lately?

[Eagles_Legendz]

Got Tomorrow and Tomorrow today.  Plot synopsis seemed like something I'd like.  I plan to blame Rome if I don't like it.

[smeags]

found an audio version of jrr tolkien's, silmarillion. much more enjoyable then reading the book.

[rjs246]

Just Kids: A long time ago Patti Smith dated an artist dude who turned out to be gay. Then he died and she wrote a book about him. That book is called Just Kids and it's sort of ok. Much more interesting as a window into the NYC art scene in the 60s and 70s than as a story about some flighty artists.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being: Soviet rule was bad. Sex and Lust and Love are all different things. Removing one's self from society's rules and temptations leads to more happiness. Really good book that I just ruined for you. You're welcome.

[Geowhizzer]

The Fiery Trial by Eric Foner
Deals with Lincoln and his evolving viewpoint on slavery.  Early on, he was antislavery but mostly as it affected the marketplace.  His views began to edge toward a more stridently abolitionist viewpoint only during his presidency, and it was interesting to see that shift.  Foner credits Frederick Douglas with a large amount of influence over Lincoln's shift during his presidency.  It's a good read.

The Dark Horse:  The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield by Kenneth D. Ackerman
I'm in the middle of this one now.  I wanted to read a book not based on my curriculum, and have not really delved much into Garfield or his presidency.  Not the deepest book I've read, but it's an easy read and I've found it interesting.  And Roscoe Conkling was a sonofabitch!

[General_Failure]

The Collector by John Fowles. A terrifying look into what it would be like if MDS was into girls and butterflies instead of sports journalism.

[rjs246]

I made the mistake of picking up The Forest of Hands and Teeth because that's a pretty cool title for a zombie novel. Dear god, it's teenaged melodrama in the vein of The Hunger Games and (I suspect) the Twilight books only way more teeny-juvenile-love-triangle-but-tee-hee-no-sex horse-shteint-y. It's so farging bad. But hey, great title.

[Munson]

I made the mistake of picking up The Forest of Hands and Teeth because that's a pretty cool title for a zombie novel. Dear god, it's teenaged melodrama in the vein of The Hunger Games and (I suspect) the Twilight books only way more teeny-juvenile-love-triangle-but-tee-hee-no-sex horse-shteint-y. It's so farging bad. But hey, great title.

lol

I posted about his YA series before here, but Jonathan Maberry's Rot & Ruin series is pretty good for YA. The main protagonist is 15 or 16, so there's definitely a few parts of the book that are corny, but overall it's a good 4 book series. It has a bit of a love story in it, but it's only noticeably annoying once or twice from what I remember. Definitely not in the same vein as Twilight, and I think a bit less melodramatic than the Hunger Games.

If you're looking for a good adult zombie book instead, go with Maberry's Dead of Night" and it's sequel "Fall Of Night". They also serve as kind of a prequel to the Rot & Ruin series. Joe McKinney's Dead City (And the rest of the Dead World series) is also good, but you may have read that one already.

[Diomedes]

Snow Falling On Cedars.  It was popular and celebrated when published, and I suppose I can see why, but that's not a compliment.  Modern people, especially Americans, are probably the stupidest humans ever to live.  But I digress.  It's a small town murder trial drama set in upper NW fishing island around 1955.  Accused is Japanese-American, veteran.  Victim is white, also veteran.  Everyone knows everyone, and there are connections between them all that are not known, etc.  It has a facile, tidy, hopeful ending and justice prevails.  Everyone is healed, or has hopes of it, the storm ends, the lights come back on, etc.  I liked the description of the community and the era, which I reckon was not inaccurate, but the characters never grabbed me and the plot was pedestrian.  The actual writing was okay, but not good enough to make me stop reading, re-read a passage and consider it for any reason.  Style, meaning, etc.  I don't usually read books like this--contemporary fiction that goes bestseller--because I often end up with a review like this one.  Mostly, it's okay stuff but what passes for a great book in our days usually isn't even close to great.

So, casting about through my books for the next title, I fell upon Homage to Catalonia.

I cannot overstate this:  Orwell is a master.  I am enjoying every sentence.  It's like going from a steady diet of Coldplay to one of Fugazi.

Also, to follow up on a discussion from some time back:  I got Richard Newcomb's Iwo Jima for Christmas, and read that.  It was exactly what I was looking for, and I'm no longer completely uneducated regarding that terrible saga.  If you have any interest in the subject, read it.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Cool I remember you looking for more reading stuff on Iwo Jima - I'm going to buy it.

The Snow Falling caught my attention bc I like murder mysteries and that era is also an attention grabber for me...I may read it to see if I like it

[rjs246]

Finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth. It was awful. Trying to decide what to read next but I'm worried that the brainless dreck I just finished has ruined my brain for the short term. Send help.

[Munson]

Finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth. It was awful. Trying to decide what to read next but I'm worried that the brainless dreck I just finished has ruined my brain for the short term. Send help.

Like I said before, if you're still looking for zombies, do Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry. Or Dead City by Joe McKinney, if you haven't read that one yet.

If you want more YA zombies, get Maberry's novel Rot & Ruin. Some cheesy teen moments but not nearly as bad as what it sounds like you were describing.

[rjs246]

Are you farging retarded. I do not want any more YA shtein. Jesus christ.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Jack Reacher series.

[Munson]

Are you farging retarded. I do not want any more YA shtein. Jesus christ.

Alright alright. Just saying Rot & Ruin has gotten good reviews for YA, seems a lot of adults enjoy it. I haven't read Hunger Games yet so i can't comment on if it's as bad as you say that is.

Get Dead of Night and Dead City, both are pretty enjoyable, and not YA.

[smeags]

found an audio version of jrr tolkien's, silmarillion. much more enjoyable then reading the book.

finished the book. great actually. i hope they leave this book alone and not try to make it into a movie. i know the tolkien family ownes the rights but you never know down the road. be impossible to make the whole book into a movie considering it spans 2,500 years.