Books worth reading
- Thread starter Spike
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Lekki_Sheep
Posts: 135 +0
I quit watching TV about two and a half years ago and haven't looked back since. What I'd recomend is that you don't try and be cultured. Sure, read the classics, but if you approach it like some kind of duty you're just trying to improve your image. It's tantamount to having an unread copy of 'Don Juan' on your coffee table to impress visitors. If you don't want to read it, don't. It doesn't mean your inferior, it just means you don't have sufficient interest to justify struggling with something like 'Phantom of the Opera'.
I'm not getting at anyone here, just stating my beliefs on the matter. I'm not suggesting you're pretentious if you read classic literature. In fact I'd encourage it (unless you want to read a novel by Thomas Hardy, just don't really. His poetry is fantastic though).
Reccomended book:
Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
I'm not getting at anyone here, just stating my beliefs on the matter. I'm not suggesting you're pretentious if you read classic literature. In fact I'd encourage it (unless you want to read a novel by Thomas Hardy, just don't really. His poetry is fantastic though).
Reccomended book:
Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
hewybo
Posts: 417 +0
Desert man
The six "Dune" books by Frank Herbert. (although skipping "Children of Dune" hurts nothing)
Some interesting "cyber" plots/ ideas by Melissa Scott: "Trouble and Her Friends," among others.
Andrew Vacchs(sp), Johnathan Kellerman, early Robert Ludlum, all Robert Heinlein, most Isaac Asimov, some Arthur C. Clark, Greg Bear, and, just out, "Between the River and The Bridge" by Craig Ferguson.
Too many others to list- tis easy to lose one's self in a good book.
(did I mention Stephen King? Not all is horror, and he's a masterful storyteller) :approve: :wave:
The six "Dune" books by Frank Herbert. (although skipping "Children of Dune" hurts nothing)
Some interesting "cyber" plots/ ideas by Melissa Scott: "Trouble and Her Friends," among others.
Andrew Vacchs(sp), Johnathan Kellerman, early Robert Ludlum, all Robert Heinlein, most Isaac Asimov, some Arthur C. Clark, Greg Bear, and, just out, "Between the River and The Bridge" by Craig Ferguson.
Too many others to list- tis easy to lose one's self in a good book.
(did I mention Stephen King? Not all is horror, and he's a masterful storyteller) :approve: :wave:
paranoid guy
Posts: 408 +0
I did. See reply 14. Hey Halo71, great minds... :haha:halo71 said:
paranoid guy
Posts: 408 +0
Yup, read it. I really have to see that film(the da vinci code), any one know if it's good?
Lekki_Sheep
Posts: 135 +0
Critics are morons. They said the dialogue in Revenge of the Sith was poor and Matrix Reloaded was nonsensical. I mean come on, what did they expect from a Star Wars film? It's high fantasy in space, not high art. As far as Matrix Reloaded is concerned anyone who can't grasp the basics of existentialist theory has no right to say that it doesn't make sense. Made perfect sense to me.
Episode 4: A New Hope, got terrible reviews. Can you belive it?
If you're gonna' rely on the press and the media to formulate your opinions about entertainment of any kind you're gonna' be disapointed. Some of the best things (most in my opinion) aren't hyped up by advertising and can't be found in your local supermarket. You have to experiment to learn. Buy something from international cinema. Buy a book by an author you've never heard of on the strength of the synopsis. A whole new world of posibilities opens up when you're not just reading the latest 'best seller', or watching the block buster of the year.
An example: the winner of the Cannes film festival last year was a south korean film called Oldboy. I bet you've never watched it, but it's a fantastic film (not for the faint-hearted though).
Episode 4: A New Hope, got terrible reviews. Can you belive it?
If you're gonna' rely on the press and the media to formulate your opinions about entertainment of any kind you're gonna' be disapointed. Some of the best things (most in my opinion) aren't hyped up by advertising and can't be found in your local supermarket. You have to experiment to learn. Buy something from international cinema. Buy a book by an author you've never heard of on the strength of the synopsis. A whole new world of posibilities opens up when you're not just reading the latest 'best seller', or watching the block buster of the year.
An example: the winner of the Cannes film festival last year was a south korean film called Oldboy. I bet you've never watched it, but it's a fantastic film (not for the faint-hearted though).
TonyGuitar
Posts: 90 +0
Mr. Garibaldi interesting.. Oscar Wild / Dorion Grey.
Many great choices can be enjoyed here. Oscar Wild*s writing in Dorion Grey was brilliant and fun to read. I didn*t know Wilde was gay at the time and how persecuted he was in his lifetime.
I don*t care if he was green cheese from Mars. Nothing could take away from the brilliance.
Similarly brilliant fun to read humour can be enjoyed in *little town sketches*. Stephen Lea****. About the push and pull of human life and politics in a little town of Mariposa.
Lea**** had connections with McGill university in Montreal Quebec and his writing is so much fun to read, in the sense that you should never miss the movie, *The Blue Matador* with Peter Sellers in this lifetime. TG
Many great choices can be enjoyed here. Oscar Wild*s writing in Dorion Grey was brilliant and fun to read. I didn*t know Wilde was gay at the time and how persecuted he was in his lifetime.
I don*t care if he was green cheese from Mars. Nothing could take away from the brilliance.
Similarly brilliant fun to read humour can be enjoyed in *little town sketches*. Stephen Lea****. About the push and pull of human life and politics in a little town of Mariposa.
Lea**** had connections with McGill university in Montreal Quebec and his writing is so much fun to read, in the sense that you should never miss the movie, *The Blue Matador* with Peter Sellers in this lifetime. TG
XenaWP
Posts: 53 +0
Might I recommend two that I particularly enjoy: Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter) and Victor Hugo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). Both writers have a way of writing that makes you feel that they have, like a wise old grandfather, put their arm around your shoulders to lead you through their tales. Both convey this incredible sense of compassion for their characters. Amazing writing.kirock said:
sllewe
Posts: 1,343 +6
Ah I read the Scarlet Letter in School a couple years back. It was a ok book, despite the bashing by students.
Two more recent books I haved read (or tried to)
Cod. - I read a book about oranges and found it to be outstanding, so I tired this, to my disappointment.
Naked.-Very Very funny, great writing style.
Two more recent books I haved read (or tried to)
Cod. - I read a book about oranges and found it to be outstanding, so I tired this, to my disappointment.
Naked.-Very Very funny, great writing style.
iss
Posts: 1,994 +1
I was a big fan of frank herbert's "Dune" series. dont care for his sons books though. I am also a great fan of Roger Zelazny, "This immortal, Lord of Light, Creatures of light and darkness, " and alot of his short stories. my favorote being "for a breath I tarry". I also liked Karl Edward wagner's, Kane series. enjoyed James Clavell's asian saga series, Shogun, Taipan, Noble house, and Gaijin, didnt care for whirlwind though. Thomas Harris another favorite, Red Dragon, Silence of the lambs, I was a bit disappointed with Hannibal though.
in Non fiction I just finished reading "The gift of fear", By Gavin DeBecker and "on Combat" by Lt. Col Dave Grossman.
almost forgot I also like most of Michael Crichton's books, jurassic park, Sphere, congo,eaters fo the dead, and his latest, State of fear.
in Non fiction I just finished reading "The gift of fear", By Gavin DeBecker and "on Combat" by Lt. Col Dave Grossman.
almost forgot I also like most of Michael Crichton's books, jurassic park, Sphere, congo,eaters fo the dead, and his latest, State of fear.
