The Great Books! ( And What Are You Currently Reading? )

[HegemonKhan]

for me, it was just too wordy, even the bloody scenes or action scenes still felt like words describing it (this probably doesn't make sense, meh, but I don't know how else to describe it), lol. Also, it's vocabulary is quite challenging hehe.

a good name to use for the creature, and which is used in the book, is (the) "Wretch".

(sadly, most adaptations of Frankenstein get it completely wrong, thinking that Frankenstein is the creature, sighs)

(the) creature: the "Wretch", the victim of Humanity's evil...

Frankenstein: Dr. Frankenstein, the HUMAN scientist, the real monster of the story...

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P.S.

I bought and own/have the book, so I can look up anything at any time, so my failing memory isn't too big of a deal as I can refresh myself on whatever topic or chapter-page number, hehe.

[juUnior]

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein book is so cool - some time ago it was my favourite book but I'm writing this post <maybe I will go a little offtopic, so very sorry> because the movie adaptation of this book <and there's at least one major difference between the book and the movie but it doesn't diminish anything, without spoilers> I consider in my list of book adaptions as EQUAL to the original, that is book. Also, if someone is fan of De Niro, he plays.. "Frankenstein"'s creature. This is probably one of the few such occurences when I recommend both ^^

[baboysai]

speaking of humanity's evil and stuff, or monster-people, has anyone here read "The Picture Of Dorian Gray"?

[Naomidee]

speaking of humanity's evil and stuff, or monster-people, has anyone here read "The Picture Of Dorian Gray"?

I haven't read it, no. Do you recommend it? And it sounds so familiar, as though I might have picked it up on a shelf before. Is it a classic?

And YES, juUnior, you have that right. I absolutely loved Frankenstein as well. I was hooked from the very first chapter when I read it last year around Halloween. You mentioned the film, but I've never seen it. I don't think I would want to spoil the image I have in my mind though, so I might just skip on it unless you insist.

[RaveDragon]

Started Reading "Grimm's Fairy Tails" by the brothers Grimm...wow the Fairy Tales of the childhood are quite cool and unexpected =D

[baboysai]

I haven't read it, no. Do you recommend it? And it sounds so familiar, as though I might have picked it up on a shelf before. Is it a classic?

I think it's a classic, yeah. It's a mindf*ck for me, but maybe because I'm stupid, lol. It's supposed to have all these underlying meanings about corruption of morality, etc. How one becomes something truly dark from being so beautiful at the start, or something to that effect.

---------- Post added at 09:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 PM ----------

speaking of Grimm's Fairy Tales, when you do read them, the original versions, you'd think "why did they ever tell these to children?" because they're quite dark and creepy and violent.

[RaveDragon]

speaking of Grimm's Fairy Tales, when you do read them, the original versions, you'd think "why did they ever tell these to children?" because they're quite dark and creepy and violent.

Different ages me would guess, at the time they were written the children were more mature and less sheltered than today, so Walt Disney decided to make them more appropiate but I have to say the brothers werent called Grimm for nothing, and they really know how to use paper and pen

[Naomidee]

I'll put The Picture of Dorian Gray on my list then. From the way you describe it, the book seems to be something I would enjoy.

I've started a novel called Lolita by a Russian author. I'm just in the first chapter, but I like the writing so far.

[phio_chan]

I've finished Blue Bloods and Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz. So far only those two books available here on my country from that series. I gotta continue with the third book of Mysterious Benedict Society, but well, kinda dragged it for this time. ^^"

[baboysai]

Naomi, Lolita is a classic, I believe. ^^

[yukihime03]

Reading Darke by Angie Heap. Anyone here reading Septimus Heap series?
The story is kinda childish, I know but it's great in unique ways.

[RaveDragon]

Reading Darke by Angie Heap. Anyone here reading Septimus Heap series?
The story is kinda childish, I know but it's great in unique ways.

I am reading septimus heap page whatnot of the first book but i cant seem to get involved in it, written in a beautiful way and my friend loves it so she lent it to me but its so tiring and sometimes the writing seems to not flow. But it is quite imaginative so im not giving up on it yet...the funny thing is that the adults seem to act more childishly than the kids

[Jammin]

Reading Darke by Angie Heap. Anyone here reading Septimus Heap series?
The story is kinda childish, I know but it's great in unique ways.

I just read some Septimus Heap books last week, (Magik, Flyte, and Physk). I liked what i read but i didn't get the feeling that the plot was really going anywhere. I'd be interested to hear what you think of the books after those(in vague terms of course). Should i continue reading?

I'm not to picky about what section of of the bookstore something comes from. Kid's Books, Adult Books, it's all the same to me. If a story is good and the characters are good i want to read it.

I've been reading through looking for decent fantasy books of all kinds to fill the Harry Potter void lately. Here's some of what i've read and my thoughts on each one.

(note: There are no actual spoilers in those tag's i just did made those to prevent this post from consuming a whole forum page)

Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher(12 books ongoing, with the 13th coming out this month)
My favorite post-Harry Potter discovery. It's a series about a long suffering, heroic, increasingly downtrodden, extremely mouthy wizard by the name of Harry Dresden who operates in Chicago and advertises in the yellow pages.

I've laughed and cried reading these books. Dresden's life is one long and tremendously entertaining string of heroic accomplishments and personal disasters. The books are at times hilarious and at times touching but always enjoyably. Jim Butcher has created an impressively interconnected world and filled it with riveting characters.

The first of the books is probably the weakest of the series, since it's more "detective" and less "wizard" than the rest, but even it is a very very entertaining read which i recommend as strongly as i possibly can.

Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan(9 books completed series)
The tale of an orphan boy assigned to be a rangers apprentice. Though there is not much in they way of magic of fantasy elements in these books it never held these books back in the slightest.

A strong cast of characters and wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor made these a joy to read.

Codex of Alera series also by Jim Butcher (6 book completed series)
A fantasy series about the life of a young man named Tavi. In a kind of psuedo roman magical fantasy world.

Though i was hesitant to pick up this series initially(not a big fan of roman stuff) after reading a bit it became clear that Jim Butcher brought a lot of the same humor and excellent character and world building that makes the Dresden files great to this series as well.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud (3 Book completed series)
Good books that center around a sarcastic and mouthy demon named Bartimaeus and his master. The star of this series is more Bartimaeus than his master, which to be honest i wasn't a huge fan of, but at the end these books come together beautifully. Which makes these books pretty memorable.

Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind (11 Book Completed series)
A long series that i found to be hit and miss as far as my enjoyment of them went. I would say about half of them were good, and one of them was great(Faith of the Fallen), but sometimes it would lapse into soap opera territory and i didn't like that at all.

Plus the amount of.... *how should i phrase this?*..."violent sexual themes" in this series often goes completely over the top and are mostly completely unnecessary.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan (5 "Percy Jackson" books, and 1 book ongoing continuation of the series under the name "Heroes of Olympus")
Just a great series about Greek gods and their children in a modern setting. It often draws large parts of it's story from Greek mythology and does it extremely well.

Only negative thing i can think to say is that the series never really reaches the level of mature drama that something like Harry Potter did. People do die but the author tends to soften the blow, unlike somebody like J.K. Rowling who would just blindside you with it.

Definitely worth reading though.

The Kane Chronicles Series by Rick Riordan (2 book ongoing series)
A series that is quite similar to the Percy Jackson books but instead of the Greek Gods it's more Egyptian themed. And I found them to be just as enjoyable as the Percy Jackson books though.

Inheritance Cycle series, a.k.a. "The Eragon books", by Chistopher Paolini (3 book ongoing series, 4th due out this year)
I liked the books but they seemed filled with a bit to much, fluff i guess you call it. Many times the author seems to use 3 pages to describe something that really should have only taken a few sentences.

And when the author tells the story from a perspective other than Eragon's, which happens more often in later books, the plot seemed to drag noticeably for me.

Artemis Fowl series by Eion Colfer (7 book ongoing series)
A rather unique sci-fi, fantasy, crime series about a young super-criminal named Artimis Fowl and his various schemes involving the world of faeries.

I've loved all the books so far. Artimis is a such a lovable teenage sociopath.

Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima (2 books with the 3rd due out next month)
I'm pretty into this series. It's story about a Queendom where wizards are slowly taking over, told from the perspectives of about the somewhat sheltered crown princess and poor boy from the city slums. Their two stories intertwine well and help to provide a nice contrast to one another.

My only complaint about this series is that the princess spends much of her time in the first book "The Demon King" acting like complete moron. Which made the chapters staring the slum boy much much more enjoyable for me. In the second book "The Exiled Queen" that issue is fixed(mostly) so the whole book feels like a more balanced experience.

Nightside series by Simon R. Green (11 book ongoing series)
It's about a private eye type guy named John Taylor who has the ability to find anything, and his adventures in a place called Nightside in London which is a bit like a alternate version of the city filled with gods and demons and every kind of weirdness imaginable.

A series similar to the Dresden files but IMHO is not nearly as good. The 4 significant differences being.....

1)John Taylor is basically just a supernatural private eye, meaning all of the books are generally about him finding something. As opposed to Harry Dresden who is a wizard and he does whatever somebody needs a wizard to do.

2) Harry Dresden's life doesn't happen in some parallel universe were he can choose to leave if he wants to. If he could he would have looooong ago.

3) While both series draw from all kinds of supernatural stuff(gods, demons, faeries, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, angels, etc..) the actual characters created off that stuff have a lot less personality than they do in the Dresden files universe.

4) Each night-side novel is extremely short, rarely more than 250 pages, combine that with the authors habit of wasting at least 10 pages on some Noir style narration and it's just not long enough to get a good plot going and not nearly enough to keep character development flowing.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott (5 book ongoing series)
It's an ok series of books though it has seemed to get unnecessarily convoluted as the series progresses. Plus, the author has a habit of going off the deep end with his descriptiveness. Sometimes it's better to say something clearly in 3 paragraphs than it is to try and be poetic and use consume 3 pages.

Can't say i'd recommend the series overall

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So those are the series i've been through recently if anybody knows of any other good books, preferably witty ones with a decent amount of humor, but anything with likeable characters will do.. Please let me know, i read to fast for my own good. And, though i generally prefer fantasy, i read Sci-Fi too.

Though I generally don't like fantasy books that are all drama and political intrigue("Game of Thrones" for example). Kinda cuts into the sense of fun and adventure that i like in a good book.

[baboysai]

of all those, I only read Artemis fowl up to the 5th book. I do love the series. I love the protagonist Artemis. And though it would be excellent unique movie material, people are scared that children might emulate his example. That he is a young teenager that decides to kidnap and hold someone for ransom is just not... ideal. Very interesting and refreshing.

[Jammin]

of all those, I only read Artemis fowl up to the 5th book. I do love the series. I love the protagonist Artemis. And though it would be excellent unique movie material, people are scared that children might emulate his example. That he is a young teenager that decides to kidnap and hold someone for ransom is just not... ideal. Very interesting and refreshing.

Yeah, those books are definitely worth a movie adaptation. I think people who are worried about children emulating him are just being silly. After all much of the story is Artemus's grappling with his own morality, if anything i would think that would be a good example for young children.

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A few other series i forgot to put on my other list....

Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull (4 book ongoing series)
A series about a brother and sister who discover that thier grandparents run a sort of game persurve for magical creatures and have all kinds of advetures protecting it.

A good series for children but i can't say i recommend it for adults. Unlike the Percy Jackson, Artemus Fowl, and Harry Potter series Fablehaven is a series aimed very much a kids and doesn't really have much to offer adults.

The main thing that got in the way of me enjoying this series is that both main characters are at a kind of fixed level of maturity. Where in the other books i mentioned the characters get increasingly wiser and more mature as you progress through the books, in Fablehaven the brother and sister have basically been the same throughout all the books. Clearly they are meant to be relate-able to kids, and they probably are, but that lack of character growth makes them hard to relate to as an adult.

The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney (8 books ongoing)
A supernatural thriller series set in a middle ages version of england about a 7th son of a 7th son whose parents apprentice him to a "spook", a kind of ghost and witch hunter, at the age of 13. The books cover his training and his various missions to save people from forces of darkness.

A really good series which i have enjoyed a lot. It can be surprisingly dark at times for book aimed at young readers, which helps it set a nice spooky tone.

Only real issue i have with it is that the cast of central characters is fairly small. It would have been nice if they author expanded the cast a little. Perhaps give some side characters a little more screen time.

Chronicles of Black Company series by Glenn Cook (?i'm not sure how many books there are?)
A series about a group of mercenaries in a fantasy world which is written in the form of journal entries by the company chronicler, which changes at times throughout the series.

I liked the plot of these books but absolutely hated the way they were written. The writing is done in a style almost resembling a Vietnam war book, were the author creates a ton of character but never bothers describing or developing any of them; usually because they are going to die anyway. Which undermines the impact of their deaths. And this is done to such an extreme that i had to read the entire first book before i really had any idea who the people the book is about actually are.

The plot is actually fairly good and there are a fewgreat characters but i had to slog through some tedious reading to figure that out.