BOOKS

I haven't read any fiction lately. Don't know why. :? I think the last book I read was A Cultural History of the Penis, and I'm working on Foucealt vs. Chomsky, plus A History of the Wife. My go-to reference book right now is Baby Boys: An Owner's Manual. :lol:

Okay my big suggestions for quick reads are:
2 series:

pick one Vampire trilogy +1 Good Vamp lite fiction for the not so much with the NC-17 crowd.
series: Stephanie Meyer
book 1 Twilight
Book 2 New Moon
Book 3 Eclipse
Book 4 New Dawn (comes out Aug 2)

pick 2: Here is whay Amazon says about the book. It is a good summary but I could have done without the slam to the Buffy Books:
Montmorency: thief, liar, gentleman?, a British import from debut author Eleanor Updale, is a smart, stylish antidote to the proliferation of Buffy novelizations masquerading as mysteries these days. In a London cellblock in 1875, career criminal Montmorency is serving time for burglary. Captured while fleeing police, Montmorency suffered several grievous wounds that attract the attention of a brilliant young doctor named Robert Farcett. When Dr. Farcett displays Montmorency's newly healed body before the membership of London's Scientific Society, Montmorency overhears a presentation on the city's new sewer system that will change his life forever. Once released from prison, Montmorency uses his knowledge of the underground tunnels to steal from some of London's wealthiest neighborhoods. But in order to enjoy his new riches, he must assume a dual lifestyle. By day he is Mr. Montmorency, a mysterious opera going gentleman who resides in one of the city's most affluent hotels. By night, he is drain-dwelling Scarper, a smelly character who keeps a room in a dirty boarding house. How long can he keep up this agonizing pretense before someone, perhaps even the good doctor, recognizes his scars and exposes him as a fraud?
series: Eleanor Updale
Book 1:Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman
Book 2: Montmorency On The Rocks: Doctor, Aristocrat, Murderer?
Book 3:Montmorency And The Assassins
Book 4: Montmorency's Revenge

A CUTURAL HISTORY OF THE PENIS? Hmmmmmmmmmm.......does the book grab you right away?

:roll: 8-)

Ahahaha! :lol: Yes, actually. It takes the penis through being demonized by the church to being analyzed by Freud to medicalization. I found it pretty interesting. If you like history or gender studies, it's a good read.

I am in love with Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Can't wait for book 4 in August and I saw a trailer for the movie on IMDB last week. It actually looked like how I pictured it in my head while reading it. I hope the whole things is like that. Movie comes out in December, we'll see then.

I'm almost done re-reading the Harry Potter series. I'm partway through book 7.

I have Kim Harrison's Dead Witch Walking, I just haven't read it yet. It's on a shelf with a bunch of other books I own but haven't read yet including a couple of TV show companions and some novels that I got really cheap (ten cents a piece).

Right now I'm reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. Never read it before. It's good but slow. I like the style, I think it's just the language that's slowing me down. For some reason older novels are more difficult for me to get through, even when I like them.

OMG VL they have the trailer UP???

Oh I am so looking for that.

I even thought about buying Eclipse again just for the small excerpt of book 4. I am so lame.

Just found the website! WOW.

Twilight movie site

http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

Movie site!!! Thanks for that Ramones! Awesomeness!

I'll tell you what Step....you start reading Kim Harrison and I'll start reading the TWILIGHT series. Harrison's first 2 books were pretty awesome, the third I was pissy about but the fourth was great. I llook forward to the fifth. She weaves a remarkable and enticing world of the supernatural. A good read and well written.

One of my recent reads was "Gods Behaving Badly" by Marie Phillips. Easy, fun read but it's not a complete fluff book.

Right now I'm gearing up to get back into some of my heavier reading:
"The Rule of Benedict"
"The World Without Us"

And I'm thinking of rereading the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. It's been a while.

I still have to read "The Last Lecture" written by that professor who has terminal cancer and they mentioned him on ABC News.

There is another book that I have called "Nothing but Red" one of my co-workers had a part in writing and based on an incident that had had happened regarding a girl's murder. I know that Joss mentioned the incident on Whedonesque like a year ago.

Very recently finished A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khalid Hossein. Fantastic story and very moving. I'm going to read The Kite Runner next. :)

RAMONES WROTE:Okay my big suggestions for quick reads are:

series: Stephanie Meyer
book 1 Twilight
Book 2 New Moon
Book 3 Eclipse
Book 4 New Dawn (comes out Aug 2)

You know I keep passing these in Borders and debating to buy 'em up and read them. I may have to read them in between grad textbooks this summer. Thanks for the suggestion Ramones.


The last book I read for pleasure was. . .The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Good book, the Lifetime movie not so much.

I have three books on the shelf for summer reading thus far, Eye Contact, To Kill A Mockingbird (yes I know I haven't read it, I've been in a deep dark hole), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I need a bigger list of suggestions. . .hint, hint. ;) ;)

Now Children's Books, I've got a slew of suggestions thanks to my time in kindergarten :lol: , but I'm pretty sure you guys are out of that area . . . by now ;)


Hippie - I may have to go over to amazon.com and take a look at your book suggestions :lol:

Selz - Keep us posted on The Kite Runner - I'm interested to know if it's a good read. :)

Reading... I do love that... when the kids let me. I am glad this thread was up because I have been looking for some vamp fiction. I was getting ready to re-read Anne Rice, but now I can move on.

Kite Runner - a good read but a very hard read. The movie was even harder to watch in parts.

I am about to make a radical suggestion on vamp fiction. I always feel guilty when I bring up this author, but she is the best at what she does, and this trilogy rocked. Witches, shapeshifters, bad ass vamp... what more does one need?
-Nora Roberts
Morrigan's Cross
Dance of the Gods
Valley of Silence

OH!! I have to admit it - I have a soft spot for Nora Roberts "fluff." I just finished re-reading the "Three Sisters" trilogy:
Walk on Air
Heaven and Earth
Face the Fire

I was thinking about pulling out the "Key" series for mindless reading, but now I think I need to hit the used bookstore!


I forgot - I'm also reading a book called "Altared" which is a collection of stories from modern women (I think they might all be authors) about the various aspects of getting married. Very enjoyable - NOT your usual etiquette and flowers book. :D

Okay Myth. You got a deal. I'll move the first Kim Harrison book up on my list to be the next one I read. I have it, just haven't read it yet.

Superspy - I read the first book in Nora Roberts Circle Trilogy. Very good. I have the other two, just need to get around to reading them.

And re-read Anne Rice? I could barely manage my way through Interview with a Vampire. Eventually I'm going to attempt Queen of the Damned, but it'll probably be a while yet. I have a few more desirable books to be read before I get around to another Anne Rice.

yes Montemorency and then imagine this in the lead....
[image]

sprook: I was drawn to the angst of twilight I really enjoyed them and they have the movie trailer up as well as a myspace page for the movie... SquEEEEEE

Sprook - will do. It'll be a while though, I'm quarter-way through a trashy load of rubbish at the moment. :lol:

Ramones - Ok, then I will get some time and try the first of the series this summer. I'll have to check out this myspace trailer too.

Selz - You can make it through, I have faith ;)

yes it is better than I thought it would be?

VAMPIRE LADY WROTE: Superspy - I read the first book in Nora Roberts Circle Trilogy. Very good. I have the other two, just need to get around to reading them.

And re-read Anne Rice? I could barely manage my way through Interview with a Vampire. Eventually I'm going to attempt Queen of the Damned, but it'll probably be a while yet. I have a few more desirable books to be read before I get around to another Anne Rice.

Before you read Queen of the Damned, you really have to read Vampire Lestat. Most of Rice's vampire books are not stand-alone reads, as everything is coming off the book before. History, blah blah.

Sorry you don't enjoy them, but neither did my hubby.

I have a lot of the series, about 6 or so books. I'll very slowly get through them. I kind of have to psych myself up to read them now. But I really want to attempt them 'cause I'll usually read anything vampiric without too much of a problem.

Umm er ah read?
Just finished, "Longbow; A social and military history".
Guess I have to pick up some fiction if I want to sound like I belong here. ;)

Fogey - I read non-fiction! Tom Friedman's The World is Flat is a great. I am getting ready to stark Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

Have yet to read the Meyer books, though have had them recommended by a number of people so they will be on the to-read list.

Received Paulo Coelho's book Brida for mother's day....really looking forward to reading it! :D

Love Simon Green's Nightside series (not read the Deathstalker??? ones yet). Funny aside I live with someone who is writing in the vein of the Nightside, so I get a double helping when I'm looking at those manuscripts.

Have been working my way through all of Laurell Hamilton's works, both series. The Anita books are interesting if you take an over arcing view of the series & can get through the erotica books - the last one I felt was a return to the pre very heavy erotic ones.

Also been getting through Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series - they are my popcorn books (a la popcorn movie analogy).

Plus occasional dippings into Jodi Poucolt........so far each has kept me up way past my bedtime when I start. :shock:

Also read all of Kim Harrison's - I've been getting a little tired of them - hoping no. 5 picks up again. Not sure what's going on there.

Kim Wilkin's writing as Kimberley Freeman Duet was good.

Trying the waters with Harlan Coben - for me it's a hit & miss affair. Like Patricia Cornwell (um, From Potter's Field)...didn't like her stuff. Much prefer Kathy Reichs.

Loving the books by Kelley Armstrong - the women of the otherworld series - the novels & the online fiction that goes with it.

I read a lot of YA books - couple of authors are Scott Westerfeld & Garth Nix. (Read a lot of these cause my stories seem to be settling in this arena....for now).

Plus of course I live in my own created world & cast - basically YA & at last count there are 10 books to get writ. It's kinda like Kelley Armstrong is the best analogy - the way she writes a story with a lead character who also intersects with other characters who may have had other books/stories told/to tell (though they are completely different worlds, well, except it's alternative secondary world fantasy type stuff :mrgreen: ).

Oh & for general research, non-fiction, interest reading, varying books on the Inca, Maya & Aztecs.

I'm done. :geek:

Reading "The Golden Compass" then I don't know what.

I LOVED "A Thousand Splendid Sons"

Just finished Harry Potter 7 for the second time, almost done with Dracula.

I've started reading Stephen King's Skeleton Crew, which is a bunch of short stories including The Mist. I wanna read it before I see the movie and I got my mom the movie for Mom's Day so I'm hoping to be able to borrow it once I'm done with the story.

I also started reading the first volume of the Firefly Official Companion. Some interesting stuff. They have entire episode transcripts. It's kind of crazy-like.

Thinking of re-reading Twilight, again.

Will be started Kim Harrison's Dead Witch Walking (I think that's the first in the series) once I'm done with the Firefly Companion.

Steph - Isn't HP7 just too good for words? Could easily be the best one of them all...or at least one of the best.

Now reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods, cos I thought it was about time...so far so good. afterwards it's The Princess Bride. I've never read the book, and I really want to...and of course, in between everything, Dr. Seuss' Fox in Socks every couple of days... :lol:

FAT TONY WROTE:Steph - Isn't HP7 just too good for words? Could easily be the best one of them all...or at least one of the best.

It was good but I liked 6 better. I hated the ending of HP7. I think that words "WTF THAT'S ALL!?!" came out of my mouth. I expected something more huge and better. The build up was awesome but the grand finale sucked.

And don't even get me started about the epilogue...wtf was that?

I loved it from beginning to end. Epilogue was cheesy but forgivable. I have a problem with 6...it's not written as a book. It's written as a movie. I hated that. It's like all she had in mind while writing it was the movie they were gonna make of it afterwards. Seven was simply perfect. Some of the most memorable moments in the series, and my favourite part, what she did with Snape. He's always been the most intriguing character, and I never bought the story that he's totally bad, simply because he's not one to follow someone else's fame, but I won't lie, she had me going for the entire last book that he's 100% a bad guy. And I was disappointed. But then she flipped it on me with the Lily story, and that was the absolute best way it could have turned out. He's not pretending to be good, he's not pretending to bad, he couldn't care less about this whole battle, he's got one thing in heart, and that's what drives him. Perfect. Having Harry's annual talk with Dumbledore at the end of each year in his head. Perfect. Harry walking to his death. Perfect. Final showdown? After this entire ride, even if it sucked I'd still love the book, but in my eyes it didn't. I wasn't disappointed one bit. In my eyes 7 is way up there with 3 and 4, which up until 7 were my favourite ones.

HP7 is the best, followed by HP4. After that it's kind of a toss-up.

True, true. 7, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6, 2. Or something like that...

I loved the whole book up until the ending and I just got the impression that she just wanted to end it and get it over with. I think it would have been a little bit more. I did love the snape/lily story. I didn't think he was all bad, I knew there was something she wasn't telling us.

My favorite is 4. I LOVED that book. Then its 6 and then 7 (only because I hated the ending)

I'm still totally obsessed but what's even awesome is I got Jake into the series and he makes little harry potter references. He called chocolate "Dementor Repellent" once and I laughed about it for 30 min.

Spreading the word...kick ass. I got my friend on it and he became obsessed. He read the whole series in just a couple of months, and would call me up everytime something exciting happened. :lol:

Yeah I think its cute when he's reading it and then starts cracking up.

I want to re-read the series. I haven't read them in so long I think its time to refresh before the next movie comes out.

I reeeeeeeally hate the movies...pieces of shit one by one. Money milkers with nothing behind them. LAME!

I like them but I love the books.

For the last book they are doing a 2 part film. I'm actually intrigued. I think they aren't going to cut hardly anything.

Which is interesting given how much they've hacked from book 4 onwards for the movies. No one mention Dobby to the LegoKing as he was 'just wrong' for the movies *shakes head*.

Now he has evolved to Lost & Cloverfield (LegoKing, not Dobby though typing that would make interesting sight Dobby with the Cloverfield monsters). For books LegoKing has been into Kevin J. Anderson's Empire of the Sun (is that right??? he's still sleeping *lol*) series & is very impatient for the next one (not here in Oz yet).

IMHO I think book 5 onwards could have done with a bloody good long structural & line edit. Each one I glazed over & skimmed page after page after chapter. (Damn me learning the craft). I think they'd have been much better for it. A lot happens and she tells a fantastic story. Story is King, Queen & the God of all but when it's fluffed around in a lot of wordage (which wasn't all purple prose) for me the story essences got a little lost.

The movies I'm not too fussed but then again I know once a book goes to film it's all a different thing & you toss the coin over how it will match your imagination :shock: . That was too deep for a Saturday morning before coffee :o !

Can we all be afraid :o? Thanks to my years with you guys LegoKing has become a) an avid board user (he just passed 10,000 on a Bionicle/Lego site) & b)fanfic boy (ok, short man)......

Me writing fanfic for some members here he witnessed and heard about & now in turn writes Bionicle based fanfic....of course for him (at nigh 14yrs) it's all action, adventure & world domination theories...... (hmmm, perhaps he is the son of a hellgoddess :lol: :twisted: :lol:).

Oh & also on books he has been reading the Evil Genius series (YA level). All about well, evil geniuses.....

Don't even get me started on the movies, especially 4 and 5. I'm a little scared to see how much they butcher 6. Alas, I will still see it in the theater and get the DVD, I am pathetic that way.

As for reading, I like long weekends, even though technically it's not on the extra day yet. I've finally finished DRACULA. Was a slow/long journey but still good. I enjoyed it. Tried watching the movie as soon as I was done, but it was late (for me, at least) and I was tired. Fell asleep in about 10 minutes. I'll try again later.

Finished the first volume of the FIREFLY COMPANION and then started and finished the second volume as well. Very interesting stuff. Nice, quick reads.

OKAY MYTH! I've started Kim Harrison's DEAD WITCH WALKING. This one should be good for me since it's set in Cincinnati, Ohio, about and hour drive from me. So an area I sort of know. Now it's your turn to start reading Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT. :D Enjoy!

VAMPIRE LADY WROTE:As for reading, I like long weekends, even though technically it's not on the extra day yet. I've finally finished DRACULA. Was a slow/long journey but still good. I enjoyed it. Tried watching the movie as soon as I was done, but it was late (for me, at least) and I was tired. Fell asleep in about 10 minutes. I'll try again later.

Ah... but which version were you watching? Was it Branaugh's Bram Stoker's Dracula (with Keanue "The Original Captain Cardboard" Reeves) or was it the Bela Lugosi flick? Take the Bela flick over the other. Black and White. Bela Lugosi. Need I say more?

I'm with Nat - Bela is the Once and Future Vampire King.

I'm rereading The Martian Chronicles - coincidentally enough myself. Gets better with age.

Ok. Here it goes. Since December I have read, in this order...

Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
And now The Host and New Moon at the same time (The Host is Stephenie Meyer's new book that isn't part of the Twilight series, and I'm only reading it and New Moon because I lent my niece my copy of Twilight)!

For those of you who have been intrigued by Twilight but haven't yet given in, stop fighting! I have only one warning...they're just a wee bit addictive. :lol:

Ramones - The 4th book is actually called Breaking Dawn. I pre-ordered my copy yesterday! :D

Val - I have showed immense constraint and have stopped myself from doing what you have been doing. It's been really difficult but I thankfully have other books to help keep my interest. But I know that I will probably be re-reading them sometime in the very near future.

VL - You know, I've actually visited Twilightmoms' forum a couple of times. The whole endless re-reading of the Twilight series is known there as "revamping". I actually laughed out loud when I read that one for the first time. :lol:

That's funny. A revamping. I'll keep that in mind if I can't ever restrain myself and constantly re-read them.

i love books, which is part of the reason why I'm in the process of becoming a librarian. For the last week or so I've been in a romance novel mood, so that's what I've been reading. Today I started reading Barth Bane: Rule of Two and I've also been working on The Count of Monte Cristo.

I could so totally see you as a librarian. What do you have to do to become one? Maybe I'll switch from English editor to librarian. Wait, which one deals with less people? :lol:

Lots of reading going on for me. Kim Harrison's DEAD WITCH WALKING was good. I also just finished Keri Arthur's 5th(?) Riley Jenson novel, EMBRACED BY DARKNESS. It was good. I really like that series - part vampire/part werewolf. Has some violence, some sex. My kind of novels. :twisted:

Will be reading the 2nd Mercy Thompson novel, BLOOD BOUND, by Patricia Briggs next. After that will probably be the 2nd Rachel Morgan/Hollows book by Kim Harrison.