Books/What are you reading?

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Micky
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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by Micky »

I feel like I read too much at this point.

I just finished reading Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. Someone bought me this book as a birthday gift in 2017, and I had started reading it back then, but due to personal issues, I put it down and didn't pick it back up until now. I did read in between that though, and one of the books I read was The Outsider, which is a follow up to Mr Mercedes in a lot of ways, and is part of that same series.

The book series goes: Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch, The Outsider, If It Bleeds(1 of the short stories, anyway)

This book is about a cop who is hunting down a man who drove a Mercedes through a crowd of people killing them. It was one of the most different books that I have ever read by King. Normally his books have an element of the supernatural or things like that. No there, it's a straight up cop book, and a damn good one.

The characters are great, the villain is fantastic, the story keeps you wanting more, everything needed for a successful thriller.

8/10.

Next up, I'm going to read a story about the early years of my favorite cannibal
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gbruin
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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by gbruin »

I'm reading The Innovators: How A Group Of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created The Digital Revolution, by Walter Isaacson. Isaacson has written several excellent biographies, including the recent one of Steve Jobs and a classic one on Einstein. It dives into the background and careers of a number of luminaries in the development the theories, hardware, software, and overall philosophies that made computers a reality and put them in the hands of everyday human beings. It's a surprisingly easy read that provides a fascinating and inspiring look at a lot of really incredible people who may not be familiar to us but who made more of an impact on our everyday lives than any politician or athlete or celebrity ever has.
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Micky
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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by Micky »

I just finished reading Hannibal Rising, the final book in the Hannibal Lecter series and a prequel about him becoming Hannibal Lecter.

The author has openly admitted he was forced to write this by a producer in Hollywood, and it’s clear that Thomas Harris didn’t give his all to this one.

The book is okay. It’s short, but also sloppy. It bounces around a lot and there is so many different characters that it’s hard to keep up with what’s going on all the time.

You also feel like the book makes you sympathetic towards Lecter and makes him a sort of anti-hero, which is almost a betrayal of his character.

I’m giving this a 4/10. It’s got moments, it’s fun, but ultimately unnecessary and you can tell Harris’ heart wasn’t in it.
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Micky
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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by Micky »

I just finished Unshakable Hope by Max Lucado, and it was one of the most thought provoking, enriching books I have read.

I won’t get religious here, but if you are a believer, I highly recommend.

8/10.
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gbruin
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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by gbruin »

If anyone wants an honest and open look into the life and philosophy and training and highs and lows and wins and losses of an emergency physician in Colorado, get Fragile: Beauty in Chaos, Grace in Tragedy, and the Hope That Lives In Between by Shannon Sovndal.

And he's a friend of mine.

https://www.amazon.com/Fragile-Beauty-C ... B084Z5DX3L
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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by MaraCarr »

gbruin wrote:If anyone wants an honest and open look into the life and philosophy and training and highs and lows and wins and losses of an emergency physician in Colorado, get Fragile: Beauty in Chaos, Grace in Tragedy, and the Hope That Lives In Between by Shannon Sovndal.

And he's a friend of mine.

https://www.amazon.com/Fragile-Beauty-C ... B084Z5DX3L
Interesting... Thank you.

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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by MaraCarr »

While looking for treasure in a local thrift store I found a book titled “Slash” “It seems Excessive but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” New York Times Bestseller

Yes... I bought it .. even though I have a scribd membership.
Last edited by MaraCarr on Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:13 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by MaraCarr »

Duplicate Post :shrug
Last edited by MaraCarr on Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by Devil Inside You »

I just finished reading Carnosaur by Harry Adam Knight! I'm surprised he never sued Michael Crichton/Steven Spielberg for the countless similarities between Carnosaur and the Jurassic Park film/novel

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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by MaraCarr »

I just started reading anew in today it’s called “How Yoga Works“ a great friend of mine insisted that I read it.

I’m at and incredible place in the book and since I lost my dad I know now why he was so persistent that I read it.

The quote that woke me up... “And they realize the body itself is a prison.” That only death can free!

I’m on page 40. I’m in it now...

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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by MaraCarr »

I just started reading a new one today it’s called “How Yoga Works“ a great friend of mine insisted that I read it.

I’m at an incredible place in the book and since I lost my dad I know now why he was so persistent that I read it.

The quote that woke me up... “And they realize the body itself is a prison.” And only death can bring true freedom.

I’m on page 40. I’m in it now...

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I've lost my towel, I'm starting to panic, and the answer is 54??

Post by gbruin »

It is the weirdest thing. I really needed something inane and irreverent and totally non-serious in my life for a bit, so I decided to reread Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I read the series before and loved and laughed the whole way through it, and I throw out references to the stories with some frequency, so I have great memories of the books and I thought it would be good for my mental health to dive back into them for a while. I had copies of the individual books before, but they are stored somewhere else so I bought a new volume that has all 5 books in one.

But as I am rereading the collected books now, I seriously have no recollection of ever reading like 75% of the things that are happening. It's like I've never read the books at all in the first place. And instead of it being new and funny, I'm literally wondering if somehow I've picked up some weird bootleg volume that has rewritten the stories and published them just to screw with everyone, which would be really cool and hilarious, but doesn't seem very likely. It's like picking up The Lord Of The Rings and reading about Frodo having a love affair with a troll, Gandalf and Saruman opening a coffee shop, and Sam pawning the Ring to buy more gardening tools.
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zazthespaz
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Re: Minus points for no "Oy-like" character too.

Post by zazthespaz »

Don't know how I missed your post Greg - what things are you reading that you don't remember?

I just finished reading Dune (after literally months of reading it because I didn't pick it up for a while). I don't get why it's such a big hit, I felt like it was written haphazardly. At least one character was introduced but never seen, then killed off a chapter or two later and it was supposed to have a profound effect on the main character, new vocabulary is constantly being introduced throughout the book, time either moves forward quickly with no mention of it (so much so that one character isn't even sure where in time he is) or the events of the book happen in a relatively short time frame, idk, way too much happening for me to understand why it's so well respected to the extent they're making it into a movie AGAIN. If anyone cares to enlighten me, please feel free to (try).
anguyen92 wrote:
Oh well. Deal with it.
gbruin wrote:
Go reread what zaz says

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Duh

Post by Andy92 »

zazthespaz wrote:Don't know how I missed your post Greg - what things are you reading that you don't remember?

I just finished reading Dune (after literally months of reading it because I didn't pick it up for a while). I don't get why it's such a big hit, I felt like it was written haphazardly. At least one character was introduced but never seen, then killed off a chapter or two later and it was supposed to have a profound effect on the main character, new vocabulary is constantly being introduced throughout the book, time either moves forward quickly with no mention of it (so much so that one character isn't even sure where in time he is) or the events of the book happen in a relatively short time frame, idk, way too much happening for me to understand why it's so well respected to the extent they're making it into a movie AGAIN. If anyone cares to enlighten me, please feel free to (try).
You wouldn’t have all these problems if you’d just read Sanderson.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

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zazthespaz
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Re: Kinda like Borat quotes.

Post by zazthespaz »

Andy92 wrote:
zazthespaz wrote:Don't know how I missed your post Greg - what things are you reading that you don't remember?

I just finished reading Dune (after literally months of reading it because I didn't pick it up for a while). I don't get why it's such a big hit, I felt like it was written haphazardly. At least one character was introduced but never seen, then killed off a chapter or two later and it was supposed to have a profound effect on the main character, new vocabulary is constantly being introduced throughout the book, time either moves forward quickly with no mention of it (so much so that one character isn't even sure where in time he is) or the events of the book happen in a relatively short time frame, idk, way too much happening for me to understand why it's so well respected to the extent they're making it into a movie AGAIN. If anyone cares to enlighten me, please feel free to (try).
You wouldn’t have all these problems if you’d just read Sanderson.
Fair enough.

I played some Overwatch today and someone quoted a line from Dune. I thought it was quite the coincidence given I just finished it 15 hours prior, but maybe people are always making Dune references and I'm just now getting them.
anguyen92 wrote:
Oh well. Deal with it.
gbruin wrote:
Go reread what zaz says

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Re: Books/What are you reading?

Post by Ubik »

You didn't mentions worms once in your review, so I can only presume that you, like Greg before, have inadvertently read the wrong book.
For all of the hope that it brings...

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zazthespaz
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Re: Every 42nd worm had a towel.

Post by zazthespaz »

Ubik wrote:You didn't mentions worms once in your review, so I can only presume that you, like Greg before, have inadvertently read the wrong book.
They talked about worms all the time, but I think the plot would've been the same if there were none!
anguyen92 wrote:
Oh well. Deal with it.
gbruin wrote:
Go reread what zaz says

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Re: Every 42nd worm had a towel.

Post by Ubik »

zazthespaz wrote:
Ubik wrote:You didn't mentions worms once in your review, so I can only presume that you, like Greg before, have inadvertently read the wrong book.
They talked about worms all the time, but I think the plot would've been the same if there were none!
Translation - I wanted more worms.

I actually kinda agree about being oddly written. I found the plot very readable in a straightforward hero's journey kinda way (I mean, George Lucas ripped most of it off not long after so I was already bought in), but the setting itself was by far the most interesting thing for me, and all the other good bits of the book (space politics, transdimensional narcotics getting shat out by giant worms) rest on it, if you don't buy that I don't think the rest stands up on its own. I think he also published it as a serial in a magazine initially, then as two separate volumes, which does contribute to a kind of episodic feel. I loved it, but can definitely understand the complaints.
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zazthespaz
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Re: No, Shea. Canadian validation is not the same.

Post by zazthespaz »

Ubik wrote:
zazthespaz wrote:
Ubik wrote:You didn't mentions worms once in your review, so I can only presume that you, like Greg before, have inadvertently read the wrong book.
They talked about worms all the time, but I think the plot would've been the same if there were none!
Translation - I wanted more worms.

I actually kinda agree about being oddly written. I found the plot very readable in a straightforward hero's journey kinda way (I mean, George Lucas ripped most of it off not long after so I was already bought in), but the setting itself was by far the most interesting thing for me, and all the other good bits of the book (space politics, transdimensional narcotics getting shat out by giant worms) rest on it, if you don't buy that I don't think the rest stands up on its own. I think he also published it as a serial in a magazine initially, then as two separate volumes, which does contribute to a kind of episodic feel. I loved it, but can definitely understand the complaints.
No, I want a Dune sequel that tells the perspective from the worm's POV.

Thank you for giving me validation to my thoughts. You're European, so I'm saying that sincerely.
anguyen92 wrote:
Oh well. Deal with it.
gbruin wrote:
Go reread what zaz says

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Re: You're American so I'm saying that with sarcasm so you wont blow up Canada

Post by SHEAKENBAKEN »

zazthespaz wrote:Thank you for giving me validation to my thoughts. You're European, so I'm saying that sincerely.
If anything Canadian validation could at least be the 2nd most appreciated validation, dissimilar or not, because I don't think American validation is as sincere as ours ;) :lol :eek

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