29 replies to this topic

[Astyan06]

I was a little disappointed by the lack of topic on literature so here it is.

Tell us, waht's your favorite book, author, genre ? Do you often read ? Some of probably hate reading but why ? In fact tell us the usual kind of things people say when they discuss that kind of things.


Personally, I always like reading. I think the first ones were Goosebumps (I don't remember the English name, it's supposed to be scary books for teenage?). I remember I sat at the table at my grandmother's house and spend the whole afternoon reading. Then I move to Tolkien, and now I read every genre. Hell I even read Marc Lévy and Guillaume Musso (I read the latter because he's the cousin of one of my best friend. True story (sorry I had to put a Barney Stinson reference here)).

Here's a quick list of my favorite authors :
- Lovecraft : His work is just amazing. I didn't think a book could scare me before I read him. I read Poe too, but somehow I prefer the pupil over the master.
- Robin Hobb : I read all the Royal Assassin and I'm currently reading The Soldier Son series. But I have to deal with release time and that's a real pain in the arse.
- Tom Clancy : Thanks to Ubisoft mostly.
- Cormac McCarthy : Discovered him thanks to gamefaqs. Some users were discussing The Road on the F3 board. I bought the book, loved him, buy another one, etc.
- Bernard Simonay : I don't know if he is well known around outside of France since even here he's not the most famous author. Yet, his books are wonderful. He write what could be called historical fiction, dealing with Titans, Pharaon, etc.
- René Barjavel : Another French author. You MUST read The Ice People. And Ashes, Ashes if you're a fan of Fallout.
- Bernard Werber : I promise it's the last French author. Discovered him through The Thanotonauts. I nearly read all his books.
- Tolkien : No explanation necessary here I think.
- Those I forgot .

And one last thing I must say : I read 水滸傳 (Shui Hu Zhuan, wiki page). I'm really proud of doing it. It's one of the Four Classical Novels of Chinese Literature. The French edition consists of two book, around 1500 pages, written in small font size (nearly like this) . Some of you might know Konami's game Suikoden ? Well it's actually based on Shui Hu Zhuan, the first one storywise, and the concept for the others. It tooked me about 3 monthes, daily reading one to three chapters to finish it, but damn, it's a helluva book ! You should give it a try. You should also know it's really hard to read, due to the translation sometimes. The thing that will probably give you the hardest time is remembering character they introduce 30-40 chapter before the one you're reading. And of course you haven't read a single on them during that time. Anyway : Give. It. A. Try. You'll understand how you can be proud to have read a book ^^ !

[Tamokii]

I am long time lover of all books, except autobiography/biography's.

In Order:

-Issac Asimov(Some consider him the "Father of Sci-fi")
-Ben Bova
-Tom Clancy
-Author of Dante's Inferno(Forgot the Name)
-Authors of the Halo Novels
-Others I forgot to name

[Astyan06]

Tamokii, on 16 January 2011 - 03:06 AM, said:

- Issac Asimov(Some consider him the "Father of Sci-fi")

I know I was missing an important one ! And I also forget to mention Frank Herbert '.

I haven't read most of their work, unlike the others, but I truly enjoy what I've read from them.

[CaR_HoPPeR]

I generally read anything that's near my bed or desk, but here's some of my favorites:

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (many laughs.)
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
Romance of the Three Kingdoms(Chinese Trilogy about peasants and mob rushing, 3 books with 1k pages.) - Forgotten Author
H.P Lovecraft - Forgot what book I read...
Marshes Of Mount Liang - Shi Nai'an and Lou Gaunzhong <----a series where one moment a drunken guy kills a tiger with his fist. Nuff said.

I think that's it, I'll post on more if I can remember.

[Astyan06]

CaR_HoPPeR, on 16 January 2011 - 03:46 AM, said:

Marshes Of Mount Liang - Shi Nai'an and Lou Gaunzhong <----a series where one moment a drunken guy kills a tiger with his fist. Nuff said.

That's the Shui Hu Zhuan I was talking about ! I'm surprised to find someone who read it here. This community is full of surprise As for Romance of the Three Kingdoms it was written by Luo Guanzhong. That will my next read as soon as I can get my hands on it ^^

[CaR_HoPPeR]

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is pretty Badass. Cao Cao is f'in crazy man. xD

[Phantom]

i read on occation, but for me a lot of times books tend to not catch my attention as so many start off so boring at times which i suppose is understandable because its usually some kind of back story that leads up to the dramatic and more interesting parts, yet i still find myself wanting something more within the first chapter. if you havent grabbed my attention by the first chapter, for me its usually an "i'll pass read" and most times wont ever pick it back up again, sad but true.

one of my favorite writers which from anyone here who really reads and knows of this particular author (Jackie Collins), might think me kinda weird but hey, i usually like how her books start in the first chapter as she tends to start off with a bit more enthusiasm within the first chapter, and most times ends up a good read, imho.
the first book of hers i read that got me hooked to her books was, "American Star" i think it was, ended up finishing that book within 36 hours of total reading time on a 400 page book, couldnt put it down for nothing, and turned out, for me anyways, to be one of those books that you finish reading and then get mad at the author for not making it longer and then at yourself for reading it so fkin fast...(xD), but thats just what happens when your interested and captivated by a good book.

other authors i enjoy reading from is:

dean koontz
daniel steel - (only found 1 or 2 books from her imho that were good)
Stephenie Meyer - ironically the movies are way over rated as most are, more BS and useless crap added into the movies, were the book is a bit more captivating and less bogus, grant you she is not the best writer i have seen by far but her book saga's were not actually that bad, and her book "The Host" was a very very good read as well, apart from her vampire saga, much more so imho.

[Jouta341]

I used to read alot during middle school, I would read Goosebumps, Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket (series of unfortunate events). As a kid I read Captain Underpants XD
Nowadays im reading this book in my english class called "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead" by Tom Stoppard

[zeee]

i read pretty much any author as long as the books are from the fantasy or thriller realm. other than that im much into non ficional books to keep myself educated

[nullit]

Im more into factual books, mostly physics and science (quantum physics FTW) i cant really get into fiction books easily, and it will have to be a really good writing style to draw me in.

[dazzerfong]

It's funny how most of the books people write are classics................by the way, if you read the translated version of any of the 4 Classics of Chinese, don't bother: it's much better in its original form (Chinese). They simplify everything far too much in the translated versions.

Also, one thing about Ubisoft and Tom Clancy: Clancy's books are not in games (not even Rainbow Six). He just endorses certain products of Ubisoft. Nevertheless, I enjoy reading Tom Clancy too, in addition to Clive Cussler.

[RJHelms84]

i pretty much only read batman comic books and my new vegas strategy guide

[MultiversalConstant]

Truth be told, I wish that I read more than I actually do. I used to read constantly, but it has become less and less prominent in my life as other things have slowly taken precedent.

Some of my most recent favorites have been:

*The Federalist - Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison.
*The History of Western Philosophy - Bertrand Russell
*The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan

I would definitely say that I prefer non-fiction to fiction. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to lose interest in fiction halfway through. Some authors whose fictional work I've been able to finish and enjoy:

*John Grisham : One of the more successful mainstream authors. For anyone who doesn't know him, he tends to write courtroom / law oriented stories. Pretty good stuff, generally.
*J.R.R Tolkien: ...
*Jules Verne: Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Classic literature that you read in high-school, for the most part. Still good.
*Orson Scott Card: Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind. I don't really care for Mr. Card as a person, but I enjoy his writing.
*Victor Hugo: Fairly interesting fellow, his most famous work is undoubtedly Les Miserables - Although he wrote consistently over the course of his life.
*Ayn Rand: I don't fully agree with her philosophy, but I nonetheless find it interesting and enjoy her more allegorical writing.

I need to start reading again.

[Voivre]

Ah yes, Catch 22 and Les Miserables..

I prefer Autobiographies and science fiction among other things; My top favourites have to be..

Robert A. Heinlein - Starship Troopers
Seven Pillars of Wisdom - T.E. Lawrence
The Great Betrayal - Ian Douglas Smith
The Downing Street Years - Margaret Thatcher
Et cetera..

I also enjoy reading poetry.. Some of my favourites are best in original Latin..

The Aeneid - Virgil
Richard Cory - Edwin Arlington Robinson
Et cetera

[Rodriquez]

I learned to appreciate reading a few years back when i got really bored went to the bookstore and bought my first books of Kim Harrison and Tom Clancy. But now my favorite books i read today are from Kim Harrison. i love the fantasy horror setting in her books and i mostly read her books with the lights off and candles on

[Effe]

I read quite alot, and i love to do it when there's some good atmosphere to do it, like in summer evenings when i'm on vacation or early winter

My last two books were "Life and fate" by Vasilij Grossman, a shocking chronicle of the invasion of Russia from the German Nazi army in 1941. The book contains many point of views that the author mostly lived in first person: from the bloodbath of Stalingrad to the condition of the ghettos in occupied nazi areas. Everyone should read this, it gives back a true scenario ow what WW2 was

The other book was "Mason & Dixon" By Thomas Pynchon, a great piece of literature in my opinion, it's the true story of the two english surveyors who drew the line between Pennsylvania and Maryland in late 1700. The book it's super funny, with perfectly recreated dialogues in that age's style, and creative scenarios like two clocks talking to each other, and a mechanical goose with its own personality.

I have a looong list of my other readings, and some of my favorites are

Italo Calvino - Ihe invisible cities
Joseph Conrad - I read almost everything of him, From heart of darkness to Lord Jim
John Dos Passos - Manhattan Transfer
Umberto Eco - The name of the rose
Marguerite yourcenar - Memoirs of Hadrian
Brett Easton Ellis - American Psycho

and more...

[SubZero]

I read mostly video game books and tom clancy books.

[Kayvaan]

the novels i read nowadays are basically Warhammer 40000 stuff.
mostly form the Horus Heresy series.
or if R A Salvatore comes out with a new book

and the translated Chinese novels lose alot in the translation.
alot of stuff in chinese just isn't really translatable into English

[pno310]

I always liked to read I just never did until about last year. I enjoy authors from all periods from ancient to contemporary.

Some of my favs are

Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
Mary Shelley _ Frankenstein
Hemingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls
Micheal De Montaigne's Essays
Homer's - the Illiad and the Odyssey
Their is a several more

Poets
William Blake, Wordsworth, Shakespeare and his plays, T.S. Elliot, and several others.

Playwrights

Samuel Beckett and Arthur Miller

[coleregnum]

Tamokii, on 16 January 2011 - 03:06 AM, said:

-Author of Dante's Inferno(Forgot the Name)

LOL! How do you forget who Wrote "Dante's" Inferno! XDDDDDD

Dante Alighieri wrote Dante's Inferno. Inferno is the first part of The Divine Comedy..... I smell shenanigans. Have you actually read this poem or not?

[Effe]

coleregnum, on 14 April 2011 - 06:32 AM, said:

Tamokii, on 16 January 2011 - 03:06 AM, said:

-Author of Dante's Inferno(Forgot the Name)

LOL! How do you forget who Wrote "Dante's" Inferno! XDDDDDD

Dante Alighieri wrote Dante's Inferno. Inferno is the first part of The Divine Comedy..... I smell shenanigans. Have you actually read this poem or not?

Well said, but the first part of Divine comedy is just "Inferno", "Dante's inferno" is that crap that "inspired" the freaking game, and as you said it has nothing to do with the original poem written between 1307 and 1321.

The divine comedy taught us to speak, it's the first poem ever written in a perfect italian. That's why we consider Dante Alighieri the father of our language.

[KyleSamson]

I've recently shown interest with the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King..
Just couldn't get around to it, the local book store only has it for order..

[thegerry]

I read HP Lovecraft, Theology, but Franz Kafka is probably my favorite though. I really got into him when I was in college. I took an English Lit class and we read the Metamorphosis. One of the best Novellas I've ever read. It was brilliant.

[coleregnum]

Effe, on 14 April 2011 - 11:54 AM, said:

coleregnum, on 14 April 2011 - 06:32 AM, said:

Tamokii, on 16 January 2011 - 03:06 AM, said:

-Author of Dante's Inferno(Forgot the Name)

LOL! How do you forget who Wrote "Dante's" Inferno! XDDDDDDDante Alighieri wrote Dante's Inferno. Inferno is the first part of The Divine Comedy..... I smell shenanigans. Have you actually read this poem or not?

Well said, but the first part of Divine comedy is just "Inferno", "Dante's inferno" is that crap that "inspired" the freaking game, and as you said it has nothing to do with the original poem written between 1307 and 1321. The divine comedy taught us to speak, it's the first poem ever written in a perfect italian. That's why we consider Dante Alighieri the father of our language.

Sometimes, I forget I'm on a video game forum lol '

[march]

I read Leviathan　of Paul Auster.
Book of PA was always good translate.
it's legible. and compelling story.
The new work is the enjoyment.

[aerith88]

I actually don't read, in terms of novels, real books. Last one I read of my own free will was one about a magician boy, back in junior high school, wish i could remember the name of it. Boy had a skunk familiar, about all i can recall.

In spite of not being much of a book reader, my dream job is to work in a quiet bookstore, like a nice barns & nobel, with those attached cafes. If i had that opportunity, I think I'd read all the time, if they allowed me to. Be the best job ever.

[Ruski Esplin]

I definitely read!

This is going to sound really boring, and seem like I am dodging the question, but I don't really have a "favourite" book or author, or a favourite anything for that matter, as I seem to like everything equally.
Sorry about that.

[Tyler the Orc]

There's quite a few authors that come to mind:

- HP Lovecraft: One of my favorite writers, he does an amazing job of setting the dark atmosphere. His stories are eerie, and incredibly ahead of their time. "The Outsider" was my first taste of Lovecraft, and it is one of the most, at least in my opinion, beautiful works of art written.

- Stephen King: Only this modern master of the macabre could keep me up into the wee hours of the morning. I recall being unable to sleep until 4am one night after reading the part in The Shining with the bathroom zombie. I still had to brush my teeth, but was too afraid to venture in the unsettling dungeon that is my lavatory. I had to keep reading, to find a "safe spot", to keep my mind off of moving the bathtub curtains. Incredible.

- JRR Tolkein: Come on, do you really need an explanation?

- Shakespeare: Technically not an "author", but he's one of history's greatest playwrights.

- Whoever writes the fiction in the Elder Scroll series: Some of the stories in that game are just brilliant. The author(s) deserve much more credit.

And much, much more.

[Jackel]

Aside form school books/textbooks and all other kinds of assigned reading... Sadly, Not much anymore. The last series I read and completed would've been... Eragon? Or maybe Halo... Don't know, both of those were gifts however. I'm the kind of person who won't go out searching for a book, but if you were to give me a book to read, I would read it.

[Visarett]

Bleh, I read mostly sci-fi. From the good stuff (Asimov, Heinlein) to mundane, trashy crap I pick up at the local bookstore. You know the stuff, has some kind of interesting premise but the overall writing is lackluster or the execution of the writing itself isn't of a high quality/caliber and the author lacks a voice... I find myself floating between that and some fantasy (mostly waiting for the next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series). Also read history, some sociology and warfare books.