Books!!

DeletedUser

After starting to read "The Bonfire of the Vanities" I am changing my favourite author. Tom Wolfe kicks ass.
 
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DeletedUser

On the advice of ya'all, I picked up and read my first Terry Pratchett novel. It was "Going Postal" and I listened to it on audiobook. Very funny.

Thanks for the suggestion, guys.
 

DeletedUser

One I'd suggest is new. It's called Bison King, and it's the true story of a murder trial written by Kenneth Miller. It shows how the police coerced testimony and confessions, harassed "suspects", lied, etc. in order to solve a cold murder case. The proceeds from it are being used to help one defendant get caught up financially because of the expenses of the trial, and to try to get another released from prison (since he is only in there because of a coerced confession.)

I personally know several people mentioned in the book (including the main one who was charged), and several people who attended the trial. The book seems to stick to the truth as much as anyone can - or as well as anyone knows what the truth really is. The writing itself may not be award winning, but almost everybody who's read it says they wouldn't be surprised if a movie was eventually made from it.
 

DeletedUser

Adelei Niska said:
On the advice of ya'all, I picked up and read my first Terry Pratchett novel. It was "Going Postal" and I listened to it on audiobook. Very funny.

Thanks for the suggestion, guys.
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You are most welcome :)

I do recommend starting with the earlier discworld books though, as the world does change through the books.
 

DeletedUser

John Rose said:
I do recommend starting with the earlier discworld books though, as the world does change through the books.
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My reading time has been cut since my family increased. Most of my "reading" is done via audiobook to and from work. Unfortunately, the library only seems to have his later books on CD...

But, I was wondering about that. How much of a background do I need on the older books to be able to enjoy the new? As I read "Going Postal", it really seemed to me that it was a stand-alone book and almost not part of a series at all (but, perhaps part of the same world).

Terry Pratchett has a wit that I just love..and a way of questioning our base assumptions and turning them on end that really takes me back. It's like Robert Asprin's Myth series combined with Monty Python and throw in a bit of George Carlin for good measure. Pure fun.
 

DeletedUser

It's been years since I've read Pratchett....used to love him back when I was a teen.

Just finished reading Elmyr's suggestion, The Engineer trilogy, and I would recommand anyone who hasn't do so too. Very good series.

Next I'm gonna read The Fencer trilogy, by K.J.Parker, same author of the series mentioned above.
 

DeletedUser

Adelei Niska said:
My reading time has been cut since my family increased. Most of my "reading" is done via audiobook to and from work. Unfortunately, the library only seems to have his later books on CD...

But, I was wondering about that. How much of a background do I need on the older books to be able to enjoy the new? As I read "Going Postal", it really seemed to me that it was a stand-alone book and almost not part of a series at all (but, perhaps part of the same world).

Terry Pratchett has a wit that I just love..and a way of questioning our base assumptions and turning them on end that really takes me back. It's like Robert Asprin's Myth series combined with Monty Python and throw in a bit of George Carlin for good measure. Pure fun.
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Every book is stand alone in its own way, but if you read them in order you see the world evolve. In some more than the others. Going Postal should definitly be checked out before checking out Making Money, which is the 2nd book with Moist as a protagonist.

One could probably read them in random order so to say, but having the "chronological" order gives you a unique perspective to enjoy them from.

My personal favourites in the discworld universe has to be every book featuring Samuel Vimes. These shoudl definitly be read in chronological order.

So I recommend reading up on which books belong in which "series", IE, Watchmen/Samuel Vimes, Witches, Moist, Death, etc. You get the picture.

@Toko: Yup, I might check them out, got Dawkins to finish first thoug, and afterwards it's time for Hemingway's Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises.
 

DeletedUser

What is your favorite type of book? Fiction
Your favorite book? Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Your favorite Series? The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
You favorite Author? Ray Bradbury
A series you would recommend? The Great War series - Harry Turtledove
 

DeletedUser

On a suggestion of a friend (and then looking up how people rated it in other places), I just finished World War Z by Max Brooks.

Now, I'm into science fiction and fantasy, but some stories are so goofy that I just can't get into them. I thought, anyway, that a world war involving zombies would be one of them.

Oddly enough, I was drawn into these stories, these narratives about this fictious event.

I've read some fiction that was written so well, you could forgive the story which wasn't all that inspiring, in and of itself (Out Stealing Horses, for example). I've read some fiction that has such an interesting storyline, that you could forgive that it wasn't written terribly well (Harry Potter series).

This book, for me, had a lot to overcome. It had to overcome a completely ridiculous storyline -- world war with the zombies. It did so because it told the narrative of a bunch of different people around the world, from the perspective of their different cultures and how these people dealt with the zombie menace in their own ways. It did so by inserting a whole bunch of interesting and well-thought-out philosopy when it comes to fighting zombies vs. a human army.

For example, when talking about fighting a war, it talked about how no society has ever been able to wage total war -- that is, a war where every man, woman and child is helping with the war effort. With the zombies, you had a society waging total war. With every other army, fear and moral becomes one of the biggest weapons...which is why we used the Shock and Awe campaign against the Iraqis. But, that kind of campaign doesn't work against the zombies. In every other army, there is a cap in terms of how many people you can get to fight. The zombies create their own warriors with a bite.

Anyway, I listened to this on audiobook and it had a good cast:

Max Brooks: Max Brooks
Arthur Sinclair: Alan Alda
Jurgen Warbrunn: Carl Reiner
Philip Adler: Jürgen Prochnow
Saladin Kader: Waleed Zuiater
Joe Muhammad: Dean Edwards
Jesika Hendricks: Michelle Kholos
Ahmed Farahnakian: Maz Jobrani
Todd Wainio: Mark Hamill
T. Sean Collins: Henry Rollins
David Allen Forbes and Paul Redeker: Eamonn Walker
Ajay Shah: Ajay Naidu
Serosha Garcia Alvarez: John Turturro
"The Whacko": Rob Reiner
Bob Archer: Jay O. Sanders (credited as "Jay O'Sanders")
General Travis D'Ambrosia: Dennis Boutsikaris
Christina Eliopolis: Becky Ann Baker
Kwang Jingshu: Steve Park
Nury Televadi and Tomonaga Jiro: Frank Kamai
Ernesto Olguin: John McElroy

I would recomend it if you get the chance.
 

DeletedUser

World War Z was a good read. A post-apocalyptic novel with a twist.

Speaking about post-apocalyptic novels, King has quite a few good ones - The stand, Cell, The mist.
 

DeletedUser

World War Z was great. Adelei refers to the plot as "ridiculous", but it's a horror book, so zombies or the norm for that genre. I enjoyed reading about the military strategies and geopolitics in the book.

Nineteen Eighty-Four
Animal Farm

I liked both of those. I think it's interesting how George Orwell was a Socialist, but he recognized the faults with it, like Ingsoc in Nineteen Eighty-Four and Communism (represented as "Animalism") in Animal Farm.
 

DeletedUser

facepalm.jpg
 

DeletedUser

Oh, an Onionistic word.

The Franklin (that's just an alter alias I go by, by the way) Dictionary of Words:
Facepalm
1. An Onionistic/Noobish word serving the vague purpose of insulting an enemy without having a real reason or easily explained reason for why the comment was found to be nonsensical. Often used by Onionists referring to Quadradiists (though the actual word is not solely used in religion). Can be compared to "yo momma....", a common Gangsta expression.
Rosism
1. The religious or political theorems of John Rose.
2. To act like John Rose.
3. To surround oneself with an entourage of fanatics who are hypocritical of their leader's views and often palinize their enemies.
Rososphere
1. The section of the West Forum dominated by John Rose. The leading political movement of the Rososphere is the Rosist Party (those who follow Rosism) and the main religion is Onionism. The Rososphere is currently at war with the considerably smaller and sparsely populated Frankosphere.

1984 and Animal Farm WERE good books.
 

DeletedUser

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=facepalm" said:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=facepalm]
facepalm
The only logical answer to a stupid question or statement.
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Now, let's get back to talking about books.

I haven't read 1984 yet, but it's on my list.
As for Animal Farm, yes indeed it was a good book.

The facepalm was in no way intended towards those two.
 

DeletedUser

And how was the statement stupid? (I'm sure you'll facepalm me here also)

Now, that is the definition of Facepalm when used by an urbanite. You use it like the definition in my fake Dictionary, it seems.
 
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