Favorite books / What are you reading?

Sander said:
You could also try using the Kindle app, or FBReader or another e-reader app on your mobile phone or tablet for a while (if you have those). Not quite the same as an e-reader, but works pretty well -- and means you don't have to buy yet another separate device.
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I've got an android phone, but reading on that is worse than reading on my laptop. I was thinking about buying a tablet, but the selection of those that are cheap and look legit are very few. Then again, a lot of the cheap e-readers also look sketchy, but I think I've managed to find one that is cheap and reportedly works okay. (it's called the Icarus Essence, strangely enough there's nothing about it in English, only in Hungarian and Norwegian, as far as I can see)

Tagaziel said:
Sander said:
you don't have to buy yet another separate device.
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Which reminds me: What in the fuck was Amazon thinking when it didn't include ePub support in Kindle?
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Yeah, it's pretty mind boggling. All I can think of is that either it has something to do with DRM, or maybe they want to emphasise their uniqueness by having their own format.
 
I just finished the last "Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser" book written by the original author Frietz Leiber. The series is great (definitely a fantasy must-read) yet the last book is the worst by far. The characters all seemed...out-of-character. I'm sure this has to do with the fact that since it's the "last" book the protagonists must end their adventures either by dying against great odds or just retiring...the author chose to have them retire. I guess you have to have the story end calmly when they just call it quits. I would still suggest the entire series to anyone.

Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller
 
Finally the rest of the first Dune trilogy. Currently on Dune Messiah. Looks like I need to get the second trilogy soon...
 
What would you guys say is better Mary Shelly's Frankenstein or H.G Well's War of the Worlds?

I'd say both were very influential on science fiction, and while I liked the concept of the War of the Worlds and admired certain aspects of it, Frankenstein is just simply written better and in a more interesting manner.

I suppose a better comparison would be Frankenstein versus The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
 
alec said:
Reading Euclid's Elements. Fucking beautiful.
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I'm somewhat interested in reading it, but I'm not actually sure how I should approach it. I mean, Euclid was a mathematician, and mathematics and I have mostly parted ways quite some time ago. Not to mention that, thanks to the brilliant education system, my humble knowledge of mathematics sucks and is pretty much upside-down.
I'd love to read the product of such a brilliant mind, but I'm not sure if I fit the bill. How demanding is that book? I imagine that the style is quite archaic too.
 
I should have added that I'm only reading the last three books on solid geometry because that's what I'm interested in atm. My knowledge of plane geometry is pretty decent 'cause I saw a whole lot of that at school and it really stuck. I still know how to construct a regular pentagon with nothing but a compass and an unmarked straightedge. Yeah, I rock. :roll:

I'm reading an annotated edition, and it's a modern translation, so it works just fine. You have to move into the zone, though, 'cause it can be awfully confusing, it's like trying to keep track of something that is moving way too fast (since the sides CB and BA equal the sides BA and AE respectively, and the angle CBA equals the angle BAE, it follows that the base AC equals the base BE, the triangle ABC equals the triangle ABE, and the remaining angles equal the remaining angles ...).

It's got pictures, though, so that helps a lot.
 
Thanks for elaborating.
I suppose I will invest some time in it at some point in the future. I don't think I could currently manage to read through it all, and being a book "completionist", I'd have to read all 13 tomes - otherwise, I'd feel bad. Added to "to read" list.
 
I'm reading Elminster: The Making of a Mage. It's a D&D setting book that's actually good. (most D&D novels aren't even worth reading)

Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller
 
Reading a collection of HP Lovecraft stories, never read one beyond descripions of his gods and assorted creatures (which are pretty cool), so time to see what's the fuzz all about.
 
Walpknut said:
Reading a collection of HP Lovecraft stories, never read one beyond descripions of his gods and assorted creatures (which are pretty cool), so time to see what's the fuzz all about.
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Did you see the link I posted with most of his books downloadable?
 
Akratus said:
I'm thinking of buying the necronomicon collection of his works. What kind of stories should I expect if I do?
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His stories are rarely too complex if you're looking at the basic premise itself - mostly written in first person and detailing accounts of events which are of peculiar, often ominous nature. Eldritch, as he would say.

Do not expect to be frightened in the real sense - majority of his works are nestled so deep within the popular culture and sci-fi/fantasy/horror or general fiction tropes that there will hardly be anything that will be scary or completely novel to you - though a chill down the spine here or there is not uncommon - but you will often find yourself in awe of his imagination. And his unique writing style. Seriously, reading Lovecraft is good for your vocabulary.
Back to the content of his stories - there are many fine elements of his writing, intricacies that go beyond simple horror that require attention. Again, there have been innumerable analysis of his work and many later authors have drawn inspirations from him, including these more complex elements of his opus, that few things will seem new, but it is never a bad idea to go and drink the waters from the source itself.

That all being said, there are some really brilliant stories of his that deserve full attention. Many people who want to read Lovecraft expect some sort of horrible hentai horror that will scare them to death, but that is simply not a case. What you have here is a New England gentleman who was extremely frustrated with himself, the world around him and his lack of purpose in it - so he poured that frustration into a work which, from a certain point of view, perfectly echoes the loneliness, emptiness and fear of realization that it is a futile existence which he, and the human race in a more cosmic sense, experience. Was he right or not, I leave to you.

I would highly recommend getting Necronomicon, the edition I've mentioned in the other thread. All of his best stories are in there.
 
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I like The Outsider, Rats in the Walls, At the Mountains of Madness, and a few others that escape me at the moment. The additions to the lore by his friends later on are pretty good as well. I played Call of Cthulhu the PnP RPG in high school. The lore in those books alone are worth a gander.
 
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