What are you reading?

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AGNKim
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by AGNKim »

I'll be the voice of dissent... I didn't really care for American Gods. As a story, I think its pretty cool, but Gaiman's writing left a lot to be desired. It was infuriating the number of times the main character (and by extension, the reader) was told, "Don't worry about it" when shown an odd scene or a weird vision. And the protagonist took everything with such ease and coolness, so much so as to be unrealistic, ("We are going to Texas and talking to a giant giraffe about a painting I saw of a strawberry. We need to be there by 7:30am Sunday morning." ... "OK.") I was just waiting for it to be over.

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TheMetal1
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by TheMetal1 »

Just Jeff wrote:Metal, I highly recommend the audio version of The Graveyard Book. It's read by Gaiman.
Just checked it out on amazon. Looks pretty interesting read. Gaiman read Neverwhere so I'm sure Graveyard will just as well done.

As a side note, the Neverwhere RPG is free at RPG Now here is the link to 3rd and 2nd editions of the game

3rd Edition - http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php? ... s_id=65343

2nd Edition - http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php? ... s_id=54783
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gwb83
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by gwb83 »

Current reading on my bedside table:

Stars Without Number RPG - I never got into Traveller, but this really strikes a chord with me.

The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard - Just discovered what I've been missing all these years... Most fantasy I've tried hasn't held my attention, but Howard has a combination of menace and grittiness that I like.

Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball Team Histories
Gary Brown
Whimstorm ...some gaming archives

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S.Baldrick
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by S.Baldrick »

Finished up A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin a few days ago. Instead of moving on to A Storm of Swords, first I am going to finish Ghost Story, the latest Dresden Files novel by Jim Butcher.

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dachda
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by dachda »

The Compleat Enchanter: The Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea. By L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt. Finally read this, from Appendix N's reading list from 1e's DM guide. Fantastically fun stuff.

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Breakdaddy
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Breakdaddy »

Let me tell you cats that this is the coolest book Ive ever picked up at gen con, and one of the coolest books in my entire collection. A fairly exhaustive history of most RPG companies since TSR in the beginning (By Mongoose Publishing). Get your copy ASAP. I can't stop reading it. There is tons of stuff I didn't know in here. Troll Lord is in there too in case you're wondering:

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Lord Dynel
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Lord Dynel »

Omote wrote:That's pretty cool. I just fnished re-re-re reading Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I love that book. The rest are cool too, but as the story get's more epic, it looses that certain low-level flavor to it. :)

~O
Dude, I agree 100%. I've read that book ike 3-4 times. And, while I've read the rest the same amount of times, I can't agree enough on that fact. That book seemed to capture "low level AD&D" more than probably any other book I've read.

I'm thinking about picking up Fellowship of the Ring, but haven't started it yet. It's a toss-up between that and this. Anybody read this yet?
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AGNKim
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by AGNKim »

One of the better books I have read in a while.

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kreider204
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by kreider204 »

- a collection of Lovecraft stories
- Watchmen, again, for a chapter that I'm writing for a philosophy textbook
- James Joyce's Ulysses, again (fifth time), for book club
- all sorts of C&C stuff

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Pilgrim
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Pilgrim »

Just started on Blood Rites a novel of the Dresden Files.
"Not all those who wander are lost." ~ JRR Tolkien

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kreider204
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by kreider204 »

Pilgrim wrote:Just started on Blood Rites a novel of the Dresden Files.
My wife loves those - she pounces on each new one as it comes out, and goes through it in a weekend.

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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Relaxo »

I finished Diary and highly recommend it.

I'm currently reading American Gods, I'm maybe halfway through it and I like it a lot. Don't love it, but I might. Kim, I totally see your point, Shadow is often like, "ok whatever you say boss" which is starting to feel like lazy narrative. But it's consistent, and I think Gaiman made a point of showing that shadow is like that or becoming like that in prison (before the book starts, not really a spoiler). So it's... whatever.
Overall, I do dig it.
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Piperdog
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Post by Piperdog »

I bought the Robert E Howard Omnibus on Kindle and am having a blast. Not only are there a smattering of Conan, Solomon Kane, Kull, and more, but there are tons of westerns he wrote. I have been literally laughing out loud at the character Breckinridge Elkins, a young mountain man from the hills in the old west. Friggin' brilliant!

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AGNKim
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Post by AGNKim »

Piperdog wrote:I bought the Robert E Howard Omnibus on Kindle and am having a blast.
Great minds think alike! I bought that as well. A few thousand pages of REH for, what, $2.00? It is awesome. But I'm reading the Conan stuff... again. Good Lord I love me some Conan.

I just started "Hunger Games". I heard its a young adult genre book, but also heard it was pretty good. I'm 2-3 chapters in and I really like the story, background, world that has been crafted. Anyone read it?

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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Relaxo »

I've nothing but great stuff about Hunger Games! I plan on reading that soon. I picked up some REH omnibuses a year or three ago, one was Solomon Kane (who I had never heard of) and I LOVE IT. Good fun to see the real roots of Conan too, those are great.

To everyone else who read American Gods: am I the only one who thinks Jack Nicholson would be a great Wednesday?
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Sir Osis of Liver
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Sir Osis of Liver »

Going back to the classics...James Fenimore Cooper's The Deerslayer. Needing inspiration for outdoorsy-type adventures (as well as more appreciation for the classics). Doesn't hurt that it was a free download for my Kindle. :)

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Re: What are you reading?

Post by cinderblock »

Just finished A Dance with Dragons. Great stuff and a quick read. Starting John Dies at the End, a book my friend suggested. Let ya know when I'm finished if its any good. Reading on and off, The Engines of God. Interesting book and parts have been great but it reads really slow. I've put it down like three times to read other books.

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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Relaxo »

I haven't had my coffee yet, so I thought you were beginning at the end of a book called "Joe Dies"... I was like, what an odd thing for your friend to suggest. (duh)
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by cinderblock »

Hehe I guess I could have offset it or italicized the title to make it easier to understand. But I would probably read a book called Joe Dies. Its kinda compelling.

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AGNKim
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by AGNKim »

While it has nothing to do with RPG or even fantasy, this is a great book so far.

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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Relaxo »

I've heard that's good.

I finished American Gods, and despite the concerns I voiced earlier, I loved it. The last 100 or 150 pages I couldn't put down, I loved it.

Now I'm into The Hunger Games. I figure 500,000 fans can't be wrong, right? It's good! Can't put it down. I'ts nothing new, but it's very well written and compelling so far.
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by CKDad »

Guilty pleasure time - using Heat Rises by "Richard Castle" as mental floss.
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mordrene
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by mordrene »

just started world war z. so far its great. have the zombie survival guide and loved it.

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AGNKim
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by AGNKim »

Relaxo wrote:I've heard that's good.

I finished American Gods, and despite the concerns I voiced earlier, I loved it. The last 100 or 150 pages I couldn't put down, I loved it.

Now I'm into The Hunger Games. I figure 500,000 fans can't be wrong, right? It's good! Can't put it down. I'ts nothing new, but it's very well written and compelling so far.
The first book in the Hunger Games trilogy is pretty good. The second is OK. The third is pretty bad.

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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Relaxo »

to Kim: ALAS!
I've heard the triology as a whole is disappointing b/c the 3rd volume is weak. Too bad. I'll probably still read it all anyway.
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AGNKim
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by AGNKim »

Relaxo wrote:to Kim: ALAS!
I've heard the triology as a whole is disappointing b/c the 3rd volume is weak. Too bad. I'll probably still read it all anyway.
if someone told me what I told you, I'd still read all three. I'd have to. It's a compulsion. :)

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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Relaxo »

Yeah, exactly. I want A) to see if I agree (I may love it) and B) if it does suck, how does it suck? Besides, it's not like slogging thru War and Peace, it's a quick read, a mental confection.
and
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Sir Ironside
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Sir Ironside »

Woken Furies by Richard Morgan. I've read the two previous books; Altered Carbon and Broken Angels. Some how missed; Market Forces but put on my reading rotation. An, excellent "hard" sci-fi series with not a dog in the bunch, he manages to keep the books as enjoyable as the last.
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Re: What are you reading?

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Catching up on some Lovecraft. I found a website where you can read all his fiction. I'm working on an adventure based off one of his stories for my campaign. :twisted:

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Re: What are you reading?

Post by CKDad »

Sir Ironside wrote:Woken Furies by Richard Morgan. I've read the two previous books; Altered Carbon and Broken Angels. Some how missed; Market Forces but put on my reading rotation. An, excellent "hard" sci-fi series with not a dog in the bunch, he manages to keep the books as enjoyable as the last.
IMHO, Altered Carbon and Woken Furies are the best of the Takeshi Kovacs books, with WF nosing out the first book. I haven't read Market Forces, but in case you didn't know, it's unrelated to the other books.

Also a stand-alone by Morgan that's quite excellent is Thirteen (aka Black Man in the UK, possibly Canada). A totally different world but another kick-ass anti-hero.

His recent fantasy work is interesting too, and has some neat twists on the classic tropes. The first book is The Steel Remains; the second, The Cold Commands is in the publication queue.
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