Discussion Does anyone read?

[Antigonish]

Im an advent book reader. And I was wondering if anyone had any great or amazing books they'd like to suggest. Doesn't really matter the topic or subject as long as it was a book that moved or touched you in a great or bad way. I usually like fiction. In the that category I usually like dramas, horrors, suspense, thrillers, etc. On a another level I do love good dystopia or post-apocalypse. Young adult and new adult or also pretty fab. Guess it doesn't matter I'll read just about anything.

 

[Life_and_Death]

i was liking before i go to sleep by s. j. watson before my memory failed me, then i had to put the book down and havent read since

 

[Antigonish]

i was liking before i go to sleep by s. j. watson before my memory failed me, then i had to put the book down and havent read since

I looked it up and it does sound pretty good. Thanks, I'll be sure to check it out.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

If you can handle fantasy then I recommend:

Malazan Book of the Fallen - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It makes Game of Thrones look like a child's story. Good luck though, if you like it, it will take over your life for a year. The second book is the only book I've ever read that made me cry at the end.

If you want something lighter, the Dresden Files are pretty much what started urban fantasy:

The Dresden Files - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Fast paced, funny, original (at the time) and absorbing, plus the novels are quite short and the early ones are cheap on kindle.

In sci-fi, I'd dig in to any of the Culture books:

Culture series - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Very clever and well written.

And for a classic noir crime writer, you can't beat a bit of Raymond Chandler:

Philip Marlowe Series by Raymond Chandler

Philip Marlowe was Los Angeles's toughest detective in the groundbreaking series by Raymond Chandler that helped establish the hard-boiled subgenre of de...

www.goodreads.com

 

[Antigonish]

If you can handle fantasy then I recommend:

Malazan Book of the Fallen - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It makes Game of Thrones look like a child's story. Good luck though, if you like it, it will take over your life for a year. The second book is the only book I've ever read that made me cry at the end.

If you want something lighter, the Dresden Files are pretty much what started urban fantasy:

The Dresden Files - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Fast paced, funny, original (at the time) and absorbing, plus the novels are quite short and the early ones are cheap on kindle.

In sci-fi, I'd dig in to any of the Culture books:

Culture series - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Very clever and well written.

And for a classic noir crime writer, you can't beat a bit of Raymond Chandler:

Philip Marlowe Series by Raymond Chandler

Philip Marlowe was Los Angeles's toughest detective in the groundbreaking series by Raymond Chandler that helped establish the hard-boiled subgenre of de...

www.goodreads.com

Thank you, thank you. I've been looking for my next read and the suggestion are helpful.

 

[greebo6]

Im an advent book reader. And I was wondering if anyone had any great or amazing books they'd like to suggest. Doesn't really matter the topic or subject as long as it was a book that moved or touched you in a great or bad way. I usually like fiction. In the that category I usually like dramas, horrors, suspense, thrillers, etc. On a another level I do love good dystopia or post-apocalypse. Young adult and new adult or also pretty fab. Guess it doesn't matter I'll read just about anything.

'Archangel' and 'Fatherland' by Robert Harris are really good thrillers. Great reads .

 

[Good4Nothing]

I read a LOT. Or used to... now I'm mostly blind, which makes reading very difficult.
When I was a kid, there was no internet or game consoles. Just television, the very rare movie at a theater, and books. I loved books. I have read thousands and thousands of books. I miss reading, but video games fill that void fairly well, I guess.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

I read a LOT. Or used to... now I'm mostly blind, which makes reading very difficult.
When I was a kid, there was no internet or game consoles. Just television, the very rare movie at a theater, and books. I loved books. I have read thousands and thousands of books. I miss reading, but video games fill that void fairly well, I guess.

I too once read a lot. Barely read at all now. I find it hard to relax and concentrate, it's doing stuff that is keeping me going and I'm just not chill enough to read.

 

[Antigonish]

I too once read a lot. Barely read at all now. I find it hard to relax and concentrate, it's doing stuff that is keeping me going and I'm just not chill enough to read.

I read because it takes my mind off of things. Whatever in life I may be doing, I end up comparing it to my own life. So the best way for me to get away is by doing something incomparable. Reading passes the time and helps me improve my writing. It also alleviates my psyche by allowing me to leave my own mind and be in someone else's. Letting me think their thoughts, live their pain, feel their fear, and etc.

Couldn't live without it. It's the only thing that relieves my 'writer's block'.

 

[Sensei]

In sci-fi, I'd dig in to any of the Culture books:

Culture series - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Very clever and well written.

And for a classic noir crime writer, you can't beat a bit of Raymond Chandler:

Philip Marlowe Series by Raymond Chandler

Philip Marlowe was Los Angeles's toughest detective in the groundbreaking series by Raymond Chandler that helped establish the hard-boiled subgenre of de...

www.goodreads.com

I really second these two. If I should add something myself, I'd recommend Umberto Eco, most notably The Name of the Rose, The Island of the Day Before, and Baudolino. Somewhat demanding reads, but also very rewarding.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

I can't do demanding reads anymore unfortunately. I'm glad I re-read the Malazan books before my six months without sleep. I'd not stand a chance now, my memory has really suffered and I daresay lost a good few IQ points. Now I have to stick to easy reads if I can concentrate at all.

oo oo oo The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is ofc worth a go:

The Dark Tower (series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Antigonish]

I can't do demanding reads anymore unfortunately. I'm glad I re-read the Malazan books before my six months without sleep. I'd not stand a chance now, my memory has really suffered and I daresay lost a good few IQ points. Now I have to stick to easy reads if I can concentrate at all.

oo oo oo The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is ofc worth a go:

The Dark Tower (series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I've just finished several books by stephen king.

1. It
2. The long walk
3. The talisman
4. An assortment of short stories

I've been debating for a while if I wanted to start the series. But was appalled by the number if books in it. I like shorter series. But I definitely will move these closer to the top of the list.
A few of my favorites

End of Alice
Sharp Objects
Beloved
Dark Places
The Girl Nextdoor
A Density of Souls
It

There so many more but if I keep typing I'll be late for work

 

[Belaya Noch]

In the cathegory of young adult literature I could recommend Stanislav Lem's novels The Star Diaries and The Cyberiad. These were collections of sci-fi stories, where many philosophical problems where put in question in a satirical manner, usually with some surprising results. This author is a bit antiquated but in my opinion still worth to be recommended.

And recently I got impressed by Ferdinand Celine's Journey to the end of the night, maybe you know, but it's more like quasi-autobiographical novel, which contains many reflections about the moral condition of this world, written in a pretty light manner.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

I've just finished several books by stephen king.

1. It
2. The long walk
3. The talisman
4. An assortment of short stories

I've been debating for a while if I wanted to start the series. But was appalled by the number if books in it. I like shorter series. But I definitely will move these closer to the top of the list.

It and The Talisman both tie into the DT books, as many of his later works do. I'd advise you to try reading the first book 'The Gunslinger.' It's weird, flawed, original and quite wonderful (well I thought so). He originally wrote it with no idea whatsoever where he was going with it, it just spewed out his mind. It's most unlike his other work and far better. The reader generally has no clue what's going on because the writer doesn't either. The rest of the books he basically had to try and figure out how to explain all the ideas he'd introduced in the first book.
Also, the first book is short and very easy to read.

 

[Antigonish]

It and The Talisman both tie into the DT books, as many of his later works do. I'd advise you to try reading the first book 'The Gunslinger.' It's weird, flawed, original and quite wonderful (well I thought so). He originally wrote it with no idea whatsoever where he was going with it, it just spewed out his mind. It's most unlike his other work and far better. The reader generally has no clue what's going on because the writer doesn't either. The rest of the books he basically had to try and figure out how to explain all the ideas he'd introduced in the first book.
Also, the first book is short and very easy to read.
View attachment 46894

Say less I'm sold, buying it right now.
Everyone else keep those suggestions rolling.
I love you guys.

 

[Good4Nothing]

It and The Talisman both tie into the DT books, as many of his later works do. I'd advise you to try reading the first book 'The Gunslinger.' It's weird, flawed, original and quite wonderful (well I thought so). He originally wrote it with no idea whatsoever where he was going with it, it just spewed out his mind. It's most unlike his other work and far better. The reader generally has no clue what's going on because the writer doesn't either. The rest of the books he basically had to try and figure out how to explain all the ideas he'd introduced in the first book.
Also, the first book is short and very easy to read.
View attachment 46894

The Gunslinger is amazeballs.
Unfortunately he lost me at book 2, but The Gunslinger is well worth the read.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I don't like reading books anymore that aren't graphic novels. I might be an anti-intellectual or whatever but I feel I've read too much in my lifetime.

When I was in middle school, we had this thing called an "Accelerated Reading Program" where we were required to read three books per year on our own time and take a quiz on it. Now before this I enjoyed reading for leisure all the time and I was into Harry Potter and other books like that like any millennial would be.

But then my father, in his stubborn insistence on me having to try too hard, he forced me to keep reading books for the AR program way beyond the three I was required to read. I read so many books in 7th to 8th grade that I started to hate reading books.

Even though I kept trying to tell him that doing extra books for the AR program did nothing, he wouldn't listen and insisted I read more and more books as if they would give me some kind of award for reading the most (they didn't give an award and even if they did there were still other freaks who actually read even more than me). To this day I try to refrain from reading anything that doesn't have lots of pictures and even that's a chore for me.

The literature industry is fucked anyway. I figure that if something isn't good enough to be a movie yet then why should I read it? Even if it is a movie I'd rather just see that even though I know so many adaptations are actually quite bad.

 

[Antigonish]

But that's the thing, just about all movies are based off books. And those that aren't are produced by people who were inspired by one they read. Books are so undervalued. And to say the least graphic novels or manga are still considered literature in my mind. When you read open your imagination and picture what you can't see. If that doesn't help, whatch a good movie then go back and read the book. I did it with the hunger games. And I was impressed by how much the movie left out. Now movies do have perfect visuals, sometimes, that books can't do. But for the simple fact that they are dying is a huge concern for me. Considering that people read now more than ever. Be it a text message, DM, social media, or a forum post. If person could here someone's story being told directly. Why not read it through a book. You just have to find the right one for you.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

But that's the thing, just about all movies are based off books. And those that aren't are produced by people who were inspired by one they read. Books are so undervalued. And to say the least graphic novels or manga are still considered literature in my mind. When you read open your imagination and picture what you can't see. If that doesn't help, whatch a good movie then go back and read the book. I did it with the hunger games. And I was impressed by how much the movie left out. Now movies do have perfect visuals, sometimes, that books can't do. But for the simple fact that they are dying is a huge concern for me. Considering that people read now more than ever. Be it a text message, DM, social media, or a forum post. If person could here someone's story being told directly. Why not read it through a book. You just have to find the right one for you.

That may be true, but I'm just bitter about the fact I had to read so many books before and was punished for not being able to retain them perfectly. Maybe if I had a book I could directly relate to but even then I don't see myself reading it for long because I'm sick of using my imagination.

 

[Xocoyotziin]

I read rarely but when I do I exclusively read science fiction. It has the idealism and emotionality of fantasy mixed with the rawness of reality, so there tends to be this twisted hopeful melancholy that I really like. It's like making do with what you've got to build a better future, its so desperate and sad but still beyond the reaches of our reality where it seems like there's no solution. And excuse the hornyposting but the romantic subplots tend to appeal to me a lot, especially when aliens are involved. The gods themselves is probably my favorite romance novel lmao.

Oh I was supposed to recommend something. My tastes are pretty commonplace but my favorites are roadside picnic, by far my #1, solaris, and the aforementioned the gods themselves.

 

[Antigonish]

I read rarely but when I do I exclusively read science fiction. It has the idealism and emotionality of fantasy mixed with the rawness of reality, so there tends to be this twisted hopeful melancholy that I really like. It's like making do with what you've got to build a better future, its so desperate and sad but still beyond the reaches of our reality where it seems like there's no solution. And excuse the hornyposting but the romantic subplots tend to appeal to me a lot, especially when aliens are involved. The gods themselves is probably my favorite romance novel lmao.

I only read fiction. I wouldn't touch nonfiction with a ten foot pole. I hate nonfiction because it's always opinionated, and a story that's told by no one who was really there or either biasesly recounted by someone who was. In fiction there's control. All that matters is who the narrator is and how they tell the story.

 

[lady sea]

Im an advent book reader. And I was wondering if anyone had any great or amazing books they'd like to suggest. Doesn't really matter the topic or subject as long as it was a book that moved or touched you in a great or bad way. I usually like fiction. In the that category I usually like dramas, horrors, suspense, thrillers, etc. On a another level I do love good dystopia or post-apocalypse. Young adult and new adult or also pretty fab. Guess it doesn't matter I'll read just about anything.

Oh boy do I have a bunch, we should talk about it if you end up reading any of these.

-My Heart and Other Black Holes, by Jasmine Warga
-The dangerous Art of Blending In, by Angelo Surmelis
-Elenor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell

Let me know if you want more suggestions, these are just my top 3 good reads.

 

[Lupgevif]

A book that touched me was One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, but I don't think it is for everyone, albeit a masterpiece. It is a magical realism fiction, so it has mundane elements mixed with the absurd. It has nothing to do with solitude though. I am recommending because it is a very good read, but I can't guarantee you will like it.

 

[Xocoyotziin]

I only read fiction. I wouldn't touch nonfiction with a ten foot pole. I hate nonfiction because it's always opinionated, and a story that's told by no one who was really there or either biasesly recounted by someone who was. In fiction there's control. All that matters is who the narrator is and how they tell the story.

I agree. I feel like it's so much easier to tell the truth through narrative. Fiction that has a point or many points, however abstract they may be, is the best.

What I hate most about nonfiction is all the padding. So much of it could be condensed. Philosophy in particular is the bane of my literary existence because they expect you to grasp their syntax and I have a hard time deviating from my own thought patterns

Another good one that's kind of a meme but a great exposé on mental illness is crime and punishment. Raskolnikov is basically my spirit animal lol. All of dostoevsky's stuff is great, but I miss a lot of the subtext because I'm not up on russian history.

 

[Antigonish]

Oh boy do I have a bunch, we should talk about it if you end up reading any of these.

-My Heart and Other Black Holes, by Jasmine Warga
-The dangerous Art of Blending In, by Angelo Surmelis
-Elenor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell

Let me know if you want more suggestions, these are just my top 3 good reads.

I gave you a follow, and as soon as I read we will definently discuss.

A book that touched me was One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, but I don't think it is for everyone, albeit a masterpiece. It is a magical realism fiction, so it has mundane elements mixed with the absurd. It has nothing to do with solitude though. I am recommending because it is a very good read, but I can't guarantee you will like it.

I will definitely be sure to check this one out.

It may sound touchy, touchy, but you guys are giving my life meaning. It's so hard to find people with common interests. Let alone people who read and appreciate books. Such a lost art. I just love reading and the diversity of each and every author.
Wish I had enough friends who actually read, so I could start a book club. The one thing I hate after reading a good book is having no one to talk too about it.

 

[VIBRITANNIA]

i read from time to time, but not as much as i'd like to.

i read the book thief last year. i loved how the author chose death as the narrator. not surprising, considering the time period, but it's interesting nonetheless.

another book i enjoyed reading was shanghai girls. i've reread it multiple times, and it never gets old. i really did feel as if i was living the protagonist's life.

i'm currently making my way through crime and punishment. i like it so far, although the language is putting me off a bit.

 

[Good4Nothing]

My favorite book of all time is Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein".
If you haven't read it, do. It's a masterpiece, and one that most of us on this forum can relate to very personally.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

My favorite book of all time is Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein".
If you haven't read it, do. It's a masterpiece, and one that most of us on this forum can relate to very personally.

And last time i checked, it was free on Google Books!

Wish I had enough friends who actually read, so I could start a book club. The one thing I hate after reading a good book is having no one to talk too about it.

I think a book club thread sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Soul]

I prefer nonfiction, but for fiction ... how about Zora Neale Hurston's books? Moses Man of the Mountain is my favourite, but they're all great.

The Complete Annotated Sherlock Holmes is a trip. The Annotated Alice too.

 

[Deleted member 4993]

I used to read a lot, history fiction anything that interested me but I don't now,
i always loved the book. White Fang but that's just one of my old favourites