DEATHSTARS OFFICIAL FORUM

Finished Dickens' A Christmas Carol yesterday, and me likey. Is not that strange since I liked the film (one of), but the one with Patrick Stewart.. and the film is very strongly like the book, even when it comes down to monologues or dialogues..

Now am reading the second part of that Christmas Books part 1, "The Chimes" .

Harry Potter's kinda cool I guess...and I love Catcher In The Rye. Awesome book.

^ I don't get what people love about that book. I found it... well, nothing special.

@t: Right now I'm on Terry Pratchett's Discworld high. I have read The Truth and Monstrous Regiment recently and currently I'm reading Carpe Jugulum.

I found it boring, to be honest. To me, it's one of the most overrated books of all time. But that's just my opinion.

At the moment, I'm reading a biography about Catherine de' Medici. I'm a sucker for European 13th - 18th century history, and so have a loooong line of various biographies to read (along with Pratchett, Sandemo and quite a few classics). Wish I had more time, because I own so many books I have yet to read. Meh.

Well coming to the end of year I thought about the number of books I read, and am happy to say I kept a list, even though it's not quite long.

Books read:

January:
Laurell Hamilton - Lick of Frost
Anne McCaffrey - Dragonflight
Anne McCaffrey - Dragonquest
Anne McCaffrey - The White Dragon

February:
Laurell K. Hamilton - Swallowing Darkness

March:
Robert Jordan - The Eye of the World
Robert Jordan - The Great Hunt
Robert Jordan - The Dragon Reborn

April:
John Wyndham - The Day of the Triffids

May:
Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's Dart

July:
J.R.R. Tolkien - the Hobbit

August:
Robin Cook - Abduction
Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
Scarlett Thomas - The End of Mr Y

September:
Charlotte bronte - Jane Eyre
Dan Simmons - Hyperion
Stephen King - The Gunslinger

October:
James A. Moore - Writ in Blood
Dan Simmons - The Fall of Hyperion

November:
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Two Towers

December:
Stephen King - The Drawing of the Three
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol


Books bought;
Anne McCaffrey - Dragonriders of Pern (Dragonflight, Dragonquest, the White Dragon Omnibus)
Laurell Hamilton - Swallowing Darkness
Anne McCaffrey - Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
Anne McCaffrey - Dragonsdawn
Robert Jordan - The Great Hunt
Jules Verne - De Reis om de Wereld in Tachtig Dagen (Around the World in Eighty Days)
Jules Verne - Van de Aarde naar de Maan (From the Earth to the Moon)
Jules Verne - De Reis om de Maan (Around the Moon)
Robert Jordan - The Path of Daggers
Robert Jordan - Winter's Heart
Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's Choice
Robert Jordan - The Shadow Rising
Jacqueline Carey - Naamah's Kiss
Dan Simmons - Hyperion
Scarlett Thomas - The End of Mr Y
James A. Moore - Writ in Blood
James A. Moore - The Pack
James Clemens - Shadowfall
Robert Jordan - Crossroads of Twilight
Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
Dan Simmons - The Fall of Hyperion
Stephen King - The Drawing of the Three
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair

I am currently reading Jacqueline Carey's Naamah's Kiss, started yesterday, now half finished and I love it lots.
Think I skipped some books here and there maybe, when I was too lazy to keep up with the list. Know I read some Lovecraft and Poe stories in between.. ah well. Also started Vanity Fair, not finished yet.

^ Do you like the Gunslinger? Cause I read it, and felt kinda let down. I loved Under the Dome so much, and then to read the Gunsliger, it just wasn't that great.

You really shouldn't compare those books, Under the Dome (which I haven't read yet) is supposed to be very much what SK writes these days.. his books are very different from the earlier works. The Dark Tower series he'd been working on for very long.. the first book was written ages ago, so his style was quite different. Is like you can't compare, say, Carrie and It with the books he writes these days.
Plus, the Gunslinger is more fantasy than horror. And yes, I loved the Gunslinger, but this time was the first time I read it in English.. before I have read it twice in dutch translation, I tried to get into the series but was utterly bored with it and couln't even get to the third book. Now I have finished the second and adored it, can't wait for the third. Translations can make that much of a difference.

^ Ok then. I guess you can't compare them, and I've only read the 2 SK books. But whether or not you can compare them, I still liked one and not the other. I found the Gunslinger to be kinda boring.

I agree on the Gunslinger being somewhat of a slow start, and I promise, it gets better, the second book (the Drawing of the Three) is already much better.

Finished Naamah's Kiss, now reading on where I left off in Robert Jordan's The Shadow Rising.. thought I'd finish some unfinished books before the end of the year, and since I have about only 150 pages to go, that shouldn't be a problem if I can keep my attention on this book.

Damn Uni, that's one hell of a list. And I thought I liked to read.

@T: Currently reading Gods and Heros of Ancient Greece (Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library) by Gustav Schwab. It's a huge collection of Greek myths and legends, really interesting read if you're into that kind of thing.

Angels and demons by Dan Brown
Devil's diaries by M. J. Weeks
Cyanide for smile I, II, III by Rodica Ojog Brașoveanu
Harap Alb by Ion Creangă
Dr. Mengele the angel of death by I don't remember who write it...

Those are my favorite. I read other books, but I didn't liked. I like to read about war, mafia, detective, sf, sprinkled with humor.

I`d read "Conversations with Myself" by Nelson Mandela over x-mas/new year.
It is a mix of notes he did while he was arrestet, and snippets from interviews.
One side is, that you`ll learn a lot of things, and will be very thoughtfull. The other is, that you`ll be very shocked about the things happen to him, his family and the people of south-africa. (too, myself was kinda pissed of the lack of informations and so on, while the world-cup in south-africa last year. the history of this country and its people is pretty interessting and we all coud learn a lot of things from it)
"Conversations with Myself" is a book I will read twice, and after it again and again.
Cause its a lesson about never giving up, and about fighting patiently for what you love and what you believe in, from your very heart.

Am currently reading The picture of Dorian Gray. Should finish it today. It's the first work of Wilde I've ever read.
On one hand I really like the philosophical thoughts about humanity, its feelings, desires and fears. On the other hand, it makes the book a little tough too read. But all in all I do like it so far.
And it's like a mine of good quotes

On the sidenote, I bought the edition with a screenshot from the film on the cover and I'm thinking the actor they chose might actually suit the role really well, despite the fact he's not blond. I recently saw him in Easy virtue, and he indded is beautiful. Not hot, not manly, nor handsome. Just simply beautiful.

^ I loved that book, and the movie. And yes, I think the actors are well suited. Ben Barnes is very beautiful, just like Dorian

^ Wilde. *draws hearts*

@t: I decided to reread the Discworld novels about Tiffany Aching, currently reading the last one, I Shall Wear Midnight. And then I'm planning to read A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks (I think it's his name, right?). I picked it up because I have heard good things about it, so I will see if I like it.