I don't know how I missed this post before, but this sounds like a book I need to read. I'm going to look for it, thanks for bringing it to my attention. If you have any free time these days I'd like to pm you and ask a few quick questions on if it might be helpful to me and why I think I might need to read something like this.
Anyone a fan of The Butler? Wil Haygood came to talk to my honors class today. Picked up an autograph.
Just picked up "The Literary Guide to the Bible" edited by Robert Alter and Frank Kermode "Tupac: Resurrection" "Writing the TV Drama Series" by Pamela Douglas
I read the first section of Julius Caesar by Luciano Canfora. I don't want the ending spoiled, so don't tell me whether he dies.
Fiction: Foundation (almost done with this. I really like it but debating whether to continue with the series or read "A Brave New World" next) Non-Fiction: Eleven Rings by Phil (just a few chapters in but I can already tell I'm going to love this) Test Prep: Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE 2016 (although it's discouraging to know that as much as I study for the GRE, my application to most of the graduate programs I'm interested in might be immediately dismissed because of my undergrad GPA) Religious: Bible (slowly reading through it for the first time. Some really interesting stuff. Got bored half way through Genesis though and skipped to the New Testament)
Eleven Rings was a great read, I need to find time to re read it. 50 books in 52 weeks died after February, life happens and theres just no time.
Man if you got bored with Genesis you're gonna have a blast with Leviticus and Numbers. Hope you like pages and pages of laws for every little thing. And good luck with 1st Chronicles, your brain may go numb from reading names.
The new Harry Potter "book" (script for a play) is pretty bad. As a huge fan of the series, I enjoyed reading through it just from the excitement of having new material. But after finishing it and looking back, it comes across as poorly written fan fiction. I mean I can see it being a cool play, but this should not be canon.
Just finished Girl on a Train. Not sure what the hype is. Hopefully the movie is better. If you like reading about serial killers, the FBI agent who coined the term and led the FBI in profiling wrote a book about various serial killers. It's called Whoever Fights Monsters. I'm half way into it and it's great.
I just bought that play and I'm re-reading all the older books to get back into the mindset. I'm nearly finished with Goblet of Fire and I'm always shocked at how easily these books read. I think Rowling needs to go back to the drawing board. A great idea I think would be to follow a teacher or an auror or something. Someone who can have multiple adventures away from the school setting and broaden the world a bit. The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie seems to be along those veins.
Bathroom reads: Vonnegut's Galapagos. Plutarch's Life of Caesar. School reads: Fabric of the Cosmos Arrian's The Anabasis of Alexander (the Great) Need to read like ASAP for classes: 1984 V for Vendetta The Stranger (again)
It took me about 9 months on and off to finally finish the Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence. He built a wonderful fantasy world set in a dystopian future. The protagonist is one of the most compelling characters I've read about. It's also not an easy read, has some very slow moments. A three book character study of you will, don't expect GoT level of plots intertwining with one another. Gonna take a break with some smaller stories and then ready the "sequel" trilogy based in the same world, Red Queen's War.
Finally finished Foundation and Eleven Rings. Foundation was really interesting and I hear that the sequels are even better, but something about its format (the book is broken up into four sections, each with its own protagonist and hundreds of years apart) is kind of curbing my enthusiasm to continue on with the series right now. The constant switching of main characters is preventing me from getting emotionally invested. Eleven Rings was a good read. Some very interesting insight into Phil's relationships with our players, and I think the way he applies his "Zen" attitude to management and personal relationships is pretty insightful. It's ironic though how he's talking so much about teaching his players to kill their egos to buy into a bigger movement ... yet right now he's kind of letting his ego cloud his vision of how the NBA is evolving. Right now I'm reading "Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know" and "Inferno" (like the second sequel to the Da Vinci Code). Dan Brown gets a lot of hate but I've enjoyed all of his books. He's not a literary genius. His books aren't works of art. But they're entertaining and easy to read. I've also been wanting to reread "The Stranger". I read it in high school and enjoyed it, and it's a very quick read. Since high school, it's been sitting in my closet 10 feet away from me ... but I'm wary to open it up again mainly because my high school teacher encouraged us to write notes in our books and I don't want to re-read all the cringeworthy things I wrote in that book the first time I read it.
It took me a month and a half to finish the Red Queen's War trilogy by Mark Lawrence. It's based in the same world as the Broken Empire trilogy, focuses on a different main character but it's offset by a couple weeks/months. It is a much lighter read than the prior, easier read as well since the characters are just so lovable in their own special way. I do highly recommend both trilogies for those that are fans of the fantasy genre. ------ Earlier in this thread I talked about doing a 50 books in 52 weeks challenge. I failed that miserably because life was just so hectic and changing every couple weeks. But I do plan on tackling it again this upcoming year. Going to take a break before starting the Coldfire trilogy by CS Friedman. Luckily you guys have recommended a lot of books so I'll be making a list shortly.
Just finished Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy. I loved every peace of it and am about to consume the remaining stories placed in the same universe next. It's a strange series, with basically no characters I could relate to or even consider "good". It was a lot of fun though, I recommend it to anybody who's into fantasy.
Ok just got off the last book in the "series". I would grade them slightly worse than the actual trilogy, but great reads still. I hope Joe decides to write another book with the Bloody Nine in it, that's some seriously mad f***er I love to read about. If anybody could have handled Conan, it would be him lol
We're on week 6 of the year and I've read 6 books already. The Lower River by Paul Theroux Grendel by John Gardner Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn The Secret History by Donna Tartt See Jane Run by Joy Fielding Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke The Secret History was the best of the bunch. Worst is probably Grendel, short read but it was just too dense for me.
