Printable View
I know a lot of people that read and then, I also know a lot who don't and never will. Once when I was walking in a bookstore with a friend, we parted ways and he said, "There isn't anything in there for me." and left. >.>
Anyway, do you read books (reading for school assignments doesn't count). If so, what do you read?
I'll start.
I usually read, well anything, Shakespeare, Hunter S. Thompson, Bram Stoker and The Harry Potter thingys just to name a few.
I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam I Am.
Considering the English degree takes a lot of time, its hard to read books off assignment (Books read for that include Woolf's "To The Lighthouse", Fritzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and Lawrence's "Women in Love"). I usually read for leisure in the summer, but I'm currently reading Douglas Coupland's "Girlfriend in a Coma".
I usually spend more time reading Poetry, most recently Kei Miller's "There is an Anger that moves", and at the moment Sophie Hannah's "Hotels like Houses"
Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Part of the reason why I'm becoming an English teacher.
I read a lot of different things. Lately, it's been British Lit, for my British Lit class. But since that doesn't count, I'll list some of my favorite books.
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
World War Z - Max Brooks
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Battle Royale - Koushun Takami
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan
Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkein
Right now, I'm in the process of reading
Arcadia - Tom Stoppard
Pnin - Vladimir Nabokov
Hurry Down Sunshine - Michael Greenberg
Les Miserable - Victor Hugo
I started reading in self-defense when I stopped taking english classes ;)
I've got a few books started right now; Hyperion Cantos (soooooooooo good), Twilight(lol?:D), and some Andre Norton books.
As for books I like, I've started compiling a list on my site: Snowy-day: Joie de Vivre
It's funny you should say that, because I too am studying to become an English Teacher. =/ My main thing is writing though and I hope to combine teaching and writing to make a career out of them both.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rye
I like to read James Bond books.
I don't read enough, but I like to. It's just hard to set aside the time to do so.
However, my current favorite book is 1984. I have a list of books to read from people who suggest them to me, so this is subject to change when I finally get around to reading them.
I don't have the attention span to read. Reading also makes me sleepy. :(
And that is why I almost failed high school.
I am reading Melville's Moby-Dick right now.
My favourite books include The Aeneid, Requiem for a Dream, Trainspotting, Haunted, and Maus.
I've only recently taken a real interest in reading, so I can't say I have any favourite authors. But I like Hubert Selby, Jr.'s style.
I usually read a lot, but lately I've been out of it. It saddens me.
I adore reading, but it seems to have gotten shuffled out of my life somehow. I only read about once a week now. Disgraceful.
Reading is fun stuff, but I rarely have time for it ever due to school. Luckily, I'm being assigned books I actually want to read... so it isn't too awful. Like, my last English project involved me reading Catch-22 (which is now one of my favorite books). My top three favorite books would be Orwell's 1984, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, and Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra (which I'm reading right now).
My other favorites would be things like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. I also really liked Animal Farm, The Metamorphosis, Les Misérables, and The Hobbit.
I used to read a lot at work but don't really find the time at home. I'm slowly reading the Hobbit atm. I mainly read Fantasy books but not always.
>>> I read this forums..
if that counts.
I have the same dilemma as Jack; essays and other school stuff among other things take a lot of time, particularly when you have to read novels for all those literature classes. I only tend to read for leisure in the summer or during Christmas break.
I read all kinds of stuff ranging from fantasy to postmodern novels, and the authors I read come from all around the world. Unfortunately I don't have much time to read thanks to a busy schedule, so I've had to narrow things down to books that my friends have recommended. The most recent novels I've read are Mikko Karppi's Väinämöisen vyö (The Belt of Väinämöinen), Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, Isabel Allende's Zorro, Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's The River Between. :p
Charles Bukowski - Ham On Rye
Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card - Speaker for the Dead
Victor Hugo - Les Miserables
Anthony Kiedis - Scar Tissue
Chuck Palahniuk - Choke
Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club
Chuck Palahniuk - Invisible Monsters
Anne Rice - Interview With The Vampire
Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughter-house Five
Ender's Game is my favorite book ever, with Speaker for the Dead as a close second, but I can't stand reading any other books written by Card. He does not strike me as a good author, and I think he only had breakthroughs with these two books.
I'm currently reading When Rabbit Howls. I've never been a fan of biographies, but this one is definitely different. I don't know what to think of it.
Also, I'm a huge fan of Palahniuk.
There's a lot of books I should read that I just haven't. I have a giant list, but I procrastinate.
When Rabbit Howls looks fantastic, it's on my list to buy.
I just purchased The End, but it hasn't been delivered to me yet. ;;
The way its written confuses me a little bit. I really don't know if I love it or if I hate it. I want to read about the personalities, but its weird. I'm halfway through and I want to quit. :(
Hurry Down Sunshine is a bit like that. It's about a father's experience with his daughter suddenly becoming insane. It's really hard for me to read, and I keep quitting, but the writing is incredible and I know it's worth reading if I can just break through.
Anything by Stephen King, JK Rowling, Derek Landy, Brian Jacques, Chris Paolini, ARR Robers, Michael Gerber, Karen Travis or Tolkein and im away
There's some books on your list I've been wanting to read. I've heard World War Z is great, but that's just because my boyfriend and his friends love zombies.
Yeah, I like reading. Just finished The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and now I'm gonna read Wuthering Heights.. which is gonna be interesting.
I do less reading for leisure than I'd like.
I am currently reading Angels and Demons. Before that I read the Dexter series, before that I read World War Z, before that the Hannibal Series, before that I don't remember.
I read quite a lot, mainly fantasy, but I'll read just about anything really. Katharine Kerr is my favourite author.
Unfortunately, I've been reading less and less lately. It's so sad.:(
I've been reading a lot more recently having read about a book a month since June. Which to some that probably isn't much, but to others that might be a lot.
2008 Reads:
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Dry by Augusten Burroughs
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger by Stephen King
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands by Stephen King
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah by Stephen King
Current Read:
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower by Stephen King
Up Next:
Lamb by Christopher Moore
Running With the Demon by Terry Brooks
Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson
By no means did I enjoy all these books, but here are my recent reads of new books:
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
The Road by Cormac Mccarthy
Towelhead by Alicia Erian
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Twilight "Saga" By Stephanie Meyer
I also just finished up reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice for like the 20th time.
Out of the books I listed, I loved The Road the best. Gruesome, but so powerful.
My tastes in books kinda range all over the place for me. More than genre, I have to like the writing style. And there has to be some sort of connection with the book. It doesn't have to be right away, but books I have an instant liking of, I usually end up loving. I love David Sedaris, but I dislike Augusten Burroughs. I'm in love with The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion, but I can't stand The Wheel of Time series. I generally dislike classics and I'm more of a fan of contemporary work, but Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors ever. I read everything from fantasy to post-apocalyptic to chick lit. The only genre I really avoid is thrillers and mystery. Can't stand that stuff. That's why I won't go anywhere near Stephen King.
The latest book I'm reading is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. I'm 2 pages into it and I know I'm gonna love it. The writing is very... fluid. My eyes just drink them in.
I don't read as much as I would like to and have only finished about five or six books in the last couple of months. It's sad, really, considering how much I used to read.
I'm currently reading Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer to see what the big deal about it is. I'm actually sort of enjoying it, but I won't admit that anywhere but in this thread. There is a lot of potential in the series as a whole but the author does tend to make a lot of 'mistakes' that I don't approve of.
I'm also a big fan of R.A. Salvatore and I'm working on The Lone Drow simultaneously to Eclipse.
I tend to read more high fantasy or dark fantasy rather than sci-fi or non-fiction, although I have read my fair share of both. I'm also waiting for the second book of the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. Other than that, I don't really have anything else on my list of planned reading.
I read a fai bit. Mostly Terry Pratchett and Niel Gaiman. With other bits of crap thrown in for good measure.
Call me sceptical, but I was rather amused at some of the 'highbrow' books people claim to be reading here. I'm genuinely impressed if they're all true, but I'm doubtfull.
Personally, I love reading (and re-reading) the Harry Potter books. They were published in Welsh as well, so I have both version of each book. I love Shakesperian plays, but don't seem to read enough of them. I will pretty much read anything given to me and I find it very easy to be sucked into a story.
I loved My Sister's Keeper. I don't really like many other Picoult books, but I adored that one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Miriel
I love Augusten Burroughs as well. Huxley says he shines most in Dry, so consider trying that, because a lot of people are put off by Running with Scissors.
No - WWZ is great because it's exceptionally well written. It could be about the lives of sheep farmers in southern Wales but if it was by Max Brooks it'd be incredible. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Shorty
Anyway yeah books. Because of college my leisure reading isn't high lately. Most of these are not in full, but just relevant parts for classes and papers;
Nations and Nationalism - Ernst Gellner
Why Globalization Works - Martin Wolf
Fences and Windows - Naomi Klein
In Defense of Globalization - Jagdish Bhagwati
A Century of Genocide - Eric Weitz
The Presidential Difference - Fred Greenstein
Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents - Richard Neustadt
The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader - Fred Greenstein
That's pretty much it since summer :(
I am an avid reader always have been since I was six. Oh man oh man I haven't read one of the Boxcar Children books in the longest. I think I had 8 of them, but i lost them. All the books that I read in recent years I think are...
The entire Harry Potter series
I Am Legend
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Lord of the Flies
Currently I'm reading
The Pact by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt
Double Sided by Raven Magwood you might have heard of her. She's a 15 year-old girl who almost got into the Olympics. I met her in church one time and she signed my book.
I am currently looking for psychological thrillers and anything involving mind control. Please inform me if you happen to know any great authors that work in those areas.
I read a lot. The most recent book I've finished was "Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity" - which was smurfing awesome and everyone should read it.
Currently I'm about 1/3 of the way through Don Quixote.
edit:
Like, with Cupid and Psyche and stuff? Excellent story, yo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nominus
Anything by Dean Koontz is good by my book, the guys awesome.
I plan on reading all the books I own but haven't read (except the ones in a series where I lack a previous book) by fall 2009.
Right now I'm on Adams's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, but I did just start yesterday.
Me too! The first was so good. One of the best fantasy novels I read in a while. I mean, most the books I read are enjoyable however they are very rarely of the quality of The Name of the Wind.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bunny
I am also waiting for this summer for the release of the fifth book of the Nightrunners series by Lynn Flewelling. I forget its title at the moment.
I just finished Owlsight by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixion. Gonna buy the last of the Darian series, Owlknight, when I get back to Montreal. It is an alright book. Part of Lackey's famous Valdemar universe.
Also picked up where I left off in queersexlife by Terry Goldie. Good read but often alludes to other cultural, queer, literary, gender studies texts that are unfamiliar to me and often assumes the reader has read them. Thus his arguments are not as clear as I would like though mostly, I understand them for the most part. Just written more on a scholarly level than layman's which normally not a problem if I were a student of that field. However, if I can find it on a common bookstore's self, I would assume it'd be more accessible to the masses. Then again, if I had more of an interested in queer theory, I'd read up on those other sources. Anyways, hoping to finish it before I leave my parents' or on the train back to my place.
I use to adore reading when I was younger.
I owned every Goosebumps and Animorph book that was released at the time and I've read everyone at least once. Also read the entire Harry Potter series and those I had to read for class. Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, The Pearl, The Great Gatsby, Huckleberry Finn, among others.
When I moved in with my mother during the first year of high school or so, I kind of stopped reading. My mother and sister are fairly loud people and even while they're being quiet, they still walk around the house endlessly. Very distracting so I stopped reading. Read some of the books I mentioned above for school but outside of that, I read a book for leisure about once or twice a year.
Never picked the habit up again but I'm trying to.
In November, I picked up a book called "Before the Flood: The Biblical Flood as a Real Event and How it Changed the course of Civilization" by Ian Wilson. Finished it about three days later. I'm no stranger to the the Black Sea deluge theory (and I do believe it is the actual flood in Genesis) so I enjoyed it. The author does go a little to much in to speculation without hard (IE: Archeological) evidence to support his theories on how it changed Civilzation. That part of the book felt more like historical fiction than anything else.
After I finished that, I started reading "American Desert: A novel" by Percival Everett. Theodore Street is a man who thought life was dead and while on his way to commit suicide, dies in a car accident. Only to wake up at his funeral three days later. Dead. In death, Theodore finds value in life. It is a satire and one of the funniest novels I've ever read. I couldn't put it down.
This month, I picked up "Fight Club" which I previous read and enjoyed it just as much as before. I started reading "The Robe" by Douglas but the vocabulary makes it quite difficult for me to follow. I might just stop reading it. Out of 450 pages or so, I'm about 50 in.
I need to find something I can enjoy.
I enjoy reading but my law degree leaves me with little time to do so. I've just wrapped up reading The Great Gatsby though and am ready to plunge myself into The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Been doing a lot of H.P. Lovcraft lately.
He's awesome.
I hadn't noticed :o
(Hello Cthulu is the funniest thing I've seen in a while)
The Pickwick Papers are incredibly boring, but I'm trucking on through them.
I love to read. My all-time favourites are Gone with the Wind, The Time Traveler's Wife, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter and a few Stephen Kings. :) I have tons of other books I love, though. I read at least a book a week, usually.
Allie recommended the Sabriel series, and I was hesitant just because I wasn't in a fantasy mood at the time, but I've really fallen in love with them since. I'm about halfway through Lirael right now. I normally read at a pathetic pace just for lack of time I invest (usually right before I go to bed, but some nights I'm just too exhausted or go to bed too late to allow myself extra time to read) but I got through a good chunk of it yesterday and hopefully will have it finished before I go back so I can finish up the series.
I highly recommend them, they really are pretty fantastic books.
Haha, oh my god. Sabriel was my favourite book in the world for years (I read it when I was in like, 6th grade, and reread it over this last summer). Awesome. =DQuote:
Originally Posted by Hsu
Anyways, I looooooove to read. I read a lot, and I still don't feel like I do it enough. I keep track of everything I read, and I've only read 25 books this year. =/ The books I recently read (as in read this month) were The Tea Rose, Midwives, and Little Children. I enjoyed them all immensely, even though The Tea Rose wasn't that fantastically written. Little Children, however, is one of the few satires that I've actually enjoyed. :heart: Quite good, and very funny.
Aaaaand I am currently reading Hart's Hope by Orson Scott Card. =)
Oooohh I love reading! It's been one of my favourite past-times since I can remember, although as i've grown older i've found myself with less and less time for books :(
My favourites though have to be
The Harry Potter Series J. K. Rowling
We Need To Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver
Noughts & Crosses Malorie Blackman
Knife Edge Malorie Blackman
Checkmate Malorie Blackman
Chinese Cinderella Adeline Yen Mah
Carrie Stephen King
A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson
Empire of the Sun J. G. Ballard
And I could go on...
Right now I'm doing an A level in English Literature & Language so for that i'm reading Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep and Edgar Allan Poe's Selected Tales, both of which are fantastic. I'm hoping to read Twilight to see what all the fuss is about and also Double Cross by Malorie Blackman :)
I love that book. It's so disturbing. xDQuote:
Originally Posted by Imperfectionist
I used to read for charity, raised quite a bit of money for it. But after 6 years, and about 500 books, I grew very tired of it (the actual fundraising only took place for 2 weeks, that's why the book count is so low)Quote:
Originally Posted by Rantzien
I simply love to read... its one of the things that fills most of my days off.
I am currently rereading The Redemption of Althalus by the Eddings brothers one of my favorite books and I highly recomend any book by Raymond E. Feist 3 of his books in paticular stand out and they are: Magician - his very first book and supriseingly most peoples favorite, Rage of a Demon King - an absolutely amazeing book fill with large scale battles and destruction, if you like war mixed with fantasy then this is the book for you, and Wrath of a Mad God... all im going to say is wow... if you thought you had seen destruction before then your in for a real suprise.
I'm currently reading The Forever War by Haldeman. It's pretty cool :cool:
I read shampoo bottles when I'm taking a dump. Does that count?