What are you reading?

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Ancalagon
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Ancalagon »

Relaxo wrote:Ancalagon, how is Abe lincoln, Vampire hunter? (with the caveat that you're not done yet, I know)
I finished the book last night.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, is an easy read. There will be no trips to dictionaries to look up any of the author's word selections. The historical backdrops are sufficiently fleshed out, IMO. The story, however, is unevenly paced. The author spent a fair amount of time on Lincoln's early life, from a boy up to around age twenty-one. He learns about vampires, develops a burning hatred of them, and is trained how to combat them. Lincoln becomes the most successful hunter of vampires the century has known but the author only shows us about three incidents, all of which end quickly. The author doesn't actually show us many of Lincoln's hunting exploits since the story skips forward multiple times in gaps of five to ten years. IMO, it seemed as thought the author came with the concept of the book, started writing, then realized he could easily write two books and just decided to skip ahead and call it a day.

I was unsatisfied with the ending of the book. I won't give any spoilers.

On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best) I give Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter a 3. It doesn't suck, its not great, and won't be winning any awards. The story concept had the potential to be so much more than what the author delivered.
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by TheMetal1 »

Just picked up the next two in the Robert E. Howard collection The Bloody Crown of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 2) and The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3). The first one in the series was a pretty cool read and it is rather interesting to be reading them 'in order' so to speak at least in terms of how they were published.

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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Relaxo »

Ancalagon, thanks for the review!

Metal, I was digging those Conan anthologies (well, the first one) but didn't finish it yet. Started on teh Solomon Kane anthology (same trade dress) also sweet!

Been enjoying the complete HP Lovecraft on the wife's kindle fire when she falls asleep early and i stay up late reading Lovecraft (not always wise, LOL).

Just finished Sailor on the Seas of fate, and rather than dive into Weird of the White Wolf, I'm about 35% thru Swords and Deviltry... I'm revisiting all the classics, you see. :D I think I'll alternate between Elric and Fafhrd and Gray Mouser books until they're both done, then read the Jack Vance novel I found somewhere (not even sure which one it is, i just want to experience a novel with Vancian magic) and then back to HPL, Gods of Mars and the Conan anthologies. (I guess future reading plans are threaddrift, sorry)
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Re: What are you reading?

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Now reading Evermeet: Island of the Elves by Cunningham. I've only read the forward so I don't have an opinion yet.

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Re: What are you reading?

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Relaxo wrote:Ancalagon, thanks for the review!

Metal, I was digging those Conan anthologies (well, the first one) but didn't finish it yet. Started on teh Solomon Kane anthology (same trade dress) also sweet!

Been enjoying the complete HP Lovecraft on the wife's kindle fire when she falls asleep early and i stay up late reading Lovecraft (not always wise, LOL).

Just finished Sailor on the Seas of fate, and rather than dive into Weird of the White Wolf, I'm about 35% thru Swords and Deviltry... I'm revisiting all the classics, you see. :D I think I'll alternate between Elric and Fafhrd and Gray Mouser books until they're both done, then read the Jack Vance novel I found somewhere (not even sure which one it is, i just want to experience a novel with Vancian magic) and then back to HPL, Gods of Mars and the Conan anthologies. (I guess future reading plans are threaddrift, sorry)
Sounds like you're trying to read through Appendix N. That's been my unmentioned goal with the sci-fi/fantasy reading(and listening) that I've been doing.

+1 on The Solomon Kane collection, very well done. I was glad to read it as my only exposure to SK was the Savage Sword of Conan. I ended up getting a few mini-series books, as well as graphic novels, but while visually appealing, nothing can compare to the books. Same goes with the Conan stories. But on that note, started to watch the latest version of Conan the Barbarian with Ron Peralmen and Jason Mamona...I got about 40 minutes into and had to stop, and I almost never do that. Ah well, at least they mentioned the Heart of the Elephant.

Swords and Deviltry rocks listened to as an audiobook as well as Vance's The Dying Earth. and about 70% through Swords Against Death. For some reason i'm thinking, I might try to listen to all of Appendix N (if possible). I'm with you on the Vancian magic thing, it was cool to finally see (or in this case hear) the inspiration for Gygax's spell system. Threadrift away! Eventually, I'll get around to reading/listening to Elric and John Carter Stuff.

The thing is with Appendix N, I just never really paid any attention to it growing up and playing D&D and really it wasn't until a year or so ago that I thought maybe I should read this stuff. A lot of my motivation has to do with the Grognardia Blog and the Greyhawk Grognard Blog which have had more than a few posts about Appendix N authors.
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by serleran »

The Key of the Mysteries by Éliphas Lévi and translated by Aleister Crowley.

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Re: What are you reading?

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Aesthetics: From Classical Greece to the Present (i.e., 1966, when the book was written ... ) by Monroe Beardsley.

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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Relaxo »

TheMetal1 wrote: Sounds like you're trying to read through Appendix N.
Kinda sorta. Similar boat, it just keeps coming up so much, I'm like, well, it's gotta be good! that and I'm trying to get a real grip on the Appendix N oeuvre for DCC and just in general. This actually started abuot a year ago, I got the complete HP Lovecraft for Kindle and being a bit of a Chutulu mythos nut without ever having actually read any Lovecraft (yeah, taht makes little to no sense, I know) I figured it's time to "get authentic".... digging the HPL, and on the Kindle Fire, it's easy to look up the obscure words he loves, LOL.

Just finished "The Snow Women" (Fafhrd origin story in Swords & Wizardry) and LOVED IT.
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TheMetal1
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Re: What are you reading?

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Relaxo wrote:This actually started abuot a year ago, I got the complete HP Lovecraft for Kindle and being a bit of a Chutulu mythos nut without ever having actually read any Lovecraft (yeah, taht makes little to no sense, I know) I figured it's time to "get authentic".... digging the HPL, and on the Kindle Fire, it's easy to look up the obscure words he loves, LOL.
That's kind of how I felt about REH & Conan. I enjoyed the comic and original movie, but I figured I needed to read the actual books, a friend of mine encouraged me as well as back in the day he had read through them all.
Relaxo wrote:Just finished "The Snow Women" (Fafhrd origin story in Swords & Wizardry) and LOVED IT
Indeed, that was an excellent introduction. Grey Mouser's is pretty cool too.

As a side note, I am always impressed at the depth and diversity of stuff being read by everyone here on the forums. Very cool stuff.
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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

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Yeah I'm digging Mouse's story (The Unholy Grail). dude, Leiber is SO GOOD!
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Re: What are you reading?

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This is what I have read this year so far (excluding gaming stuff)

Currently reading : Beneath the Neon Moon Theda Black

The Dunwich Horror Lovecraft
Cruel and Usual Punishment Nonie Darwish
Islamic Scriptures Unveiled A.Ghasali
City Boy: My Life in New York City Edmund White
Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam Herbert Hayes
Bite Club Hal Bodner
Unmentionables David Greene
Sooner Dead ( gamma world ) Mel Odom
Another Enchanted April Eric Arvin
Shattered Glass Dani Alexander
Buckland's Complete Guide to Witchcraft Buckland
The Complete Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum
Dracula Bram Stoker
Driftwood Harper Fox
Illegal Citizens : Queer Lives in Islam Keith Stern

All on my Kindle

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Re: What are you reading?

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I was digging through a box of what I thought would be my wife's mechanic's books but discovered a minor trove of incidental lore...

Up first, several HP Lovecraft works:

Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos: The Greatest Cycle of Supernatural Horror -- Volume I
The Tomb and Other Tales
The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Other Stories of Horror
The Watchers Out of Time
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Fungi from Yuggoth and Other Poems
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath


and some stuff from Robert Asprin, whom I know only from some reading of The Thieves' World anthologies...

Hit or Myth
M.Y.T.H. Inc. In Action
Myth-ing Persons
Myth-nomers and Im-pervections
Little Myth Marker
Myth Conceptions


Of these former, I understand (I have not yet read these) there are some key works missing.

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Re: What are you reading?

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Now reading Evermeet: Island of the Elves by Elaine Cunningham. I'm only a few chapters in, but it's pretty good so far.

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Relaxo
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Re: What are you reading?

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Asprin's Myth books are a hoot! If you like them, dig Phule's Company also.

I've just finished Swords & Deviltry (Fafhrd & Grey Mouser 1), and have begun Gods of Mars (John Carter 2). next up is Weird of the White Wolf (Elric 3). And I pick at the complete HP Lovecraft on the Kindle when i can't sleep.
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Re: What are you reading?

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Relaxo wrote:And I pick at the complete HP Lovecraft on the Kindle when i can't sleep.
:shock: Wait...you read HPL when you can't sleep?!! Not something to get you into that sleepy time mood, unless counting night gaunts is preferable to sheep.
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Re: What are you reading?

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The anthology; Down These Strange Streets, Edited by George R.R. Martin. Supernatural short stories from established authors. Some authors I've heard of and some I haven't. Either way the majority, of the stories, haven't been very good, but I'm pushing on to find a gem. Prior to that I got a number of zombie type books. I previously had read; World War Zombie, and wasn't all that impressed but trying to read; Autumn and; The Living Dead, World War Z is a masterpiece. I don't know why the zombie genre doesn't translate well in book form. I'll probably take another stab at; Autumn as it appears to have some kind of critical acclaim.

Just prior to that I read; A Confederacy of Dunces, which I like an awful lot.

I don't have a big list of books that I'm reading simultaneously as my meds make it hard to concentrate or remember parts of books I read. I used to be able to do that, but that time is over.

I don't have a next-up because I don't decided what book I want to read next until I finish the current one.
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Re: What are you reading?

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A friend of mine gave me a stack of books yesterday. The first one I picked up was Julian of Norwich. Also reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
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Re: What are you reading?

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The 4th book of the Malazan Empire series; House of Chains. This one has too many stories to follow as compared to other books and introduces way too many new characters. The only saving grace is the convergence of the plot lines, at the end that makes reading the book worthwhile. Out of all the books, to date, this is the hardest one to follow.

My favourite, by far, is the very awesome tale of Coltaine's march of the Chain of Dogs in the; Deadhouse Gates book.
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Re: What are you reading?

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I came across two small books I remembered buying at the Epcot when I went there a few years back but had forgotten where they were...

Norwegian Troll Tales

Weird Tales from Northern Seas

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Re: What are you reading?

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Borderlands: Unconquered, based on the video game. Not exactly high literature, but fun if you're a fan of the game.

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Re: What are you reading?

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Listening to the Sword of Shanara (annotated and unabridged) as a book on CD as I drive back and forth to work in my car. I read it probably 25 years ago, and loads of fun listening to it now. Also Looking at reading the next Dark Sun book in the Pentad(?) I think its book 3.
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Re: What are you reading?

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I'm reading The Lord of the Rings. I'm a little over halfway through The Two Towers. I tried reading it before and never finished. Honestly, it bored the pants off me. I don't know what it is now, maybe I'm a tad older and wiser (well, perhaps not wiser), but I just can't get enough of it. Since I started, I just can't put it down. Middle-Earth is rapidly becoming one of my favorite settings. My awesome wife bought me Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-Earth for Christmas and I will be devouring that after I finish the trilogy. :geek:
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Re: What are you reading?

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On recommendation from Mac Golden, I started reading Elric of Melnibone'.

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Re: What are you reading?

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Well, I’ve finally finished my master’s degree, gotten everything ready for my next cycle of cadets and the classes I’ll be teaching, and soooooo actually have free time to read. Unfortunately, while working for my degree, I got out of the habit of simply reading for fun so I haven’t easily picked up a ‘fun’ book to read. However, this is what I have started reading thus far:

Bonheoffer – Letters from prison
10 books every conservative must read
CS Lewis – The great divorce
(like I said, I can’t just read for fun yet … but there is hope … )

With a single spell – picked it up last night and was able to read 30 pages before my wife ‘asked’ me – with a pillow across my head – to turn off the lamp and go to sleep
DeadReborn wrote:I'm reading The Lord of the Rings. I'm a little over halfway through The Two Towers. I tried reading it before and never finished. Honestly, it bored the pants off me. I don't know what it is now, maybe I'm a tad older and wiser (well, perhaps not wiser), but I just can't get enough of it. Since I started, I just can't put it down. Middle-Earth is rapidly becoming one of my favorite settings. My awesome wife bought me Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-Earth for Christmas and I will be devouring that after I finish the trilogy. :geek:
Glad you've found a love for ME. The hobbit, years ago, started my love for reading so I always have a soft spot for it.
serleran wrote:I was digging through a box of what I thought would be my wife's mechanic's books but discovered a minor trove of incidental lore...

...
and some stuff from Robert Asprin, whom I know only from some reading of The Thieves' World anthologies...

Hit or Myth
M.Y.T.H. Inc. In Action
Myth-ing Persons
Myth-nomers and Im-pervections
Little Myth Marker
Myth Conceptions

...
Man I haven't thought of the MYTH books in years ... Those are some FUN books!!! Enjoy
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Re: What are you reading?

Post by serleran »

After recommending it to someone else, I decided to re-read Fight Club.

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Re: What are you reading?

Post by Just Jeff »

Lurker wrote:10 books every conservative must read
That's pretty meta. :)

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Re: What are you reading?

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Just Jeff wrote:
Lurker wrote:10 books every conservative must read
That's pretty meta. :)
“meta” … I’m tooooo old and crusty to know what you mean … (my slang limit is BFF, LOL or ROTFLOL) other than that ???? ;)

If you mean it sounds good, it surprisingly is (it was suggested to me by the Presidents of a local college I’ve become acquainted with, so I expected an academic book). It is good info but also entertainingly well written.

If you mean it sounds like you’d hate it, I’d argue to give it a chance. It’s basically a summary of 15 books (yeah it goes beyond the titled ‘10’ books), a chapter per book. It points out the strengths and weaknesses of each book and the political/social/philosophical impact thereof. Even if you are on the other side of the fence, it’s a good book. It at least let you see how guys like me think etc (which is key in a good friendly debate) :D

Now, I have one more book added for reading for fun: Pressfield’s ‘Afghan campaign’. If you like historic fiction and that era, great read. Plus after all my trips over there, it’s eerie to see the setting and know how cold/hot/thirsty/scared the characters are in the same places I was cold/hot/scared etc …
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Lord Dynel
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Re: What are you reading?

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I've been reading the novelization of the Star Wars trilogy. I've been going dreadfully slow, and hope to get moving on it. It is pretty interesting, though, citing all the little differences between the novel and the movies.
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Re: What are you reading?

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Lurker wrote:
Just Jeff wrote:
Lurker wrote:10 books every conservative must read
That's pretty meta. :)
“meta” … I’m tooooo old and crusty to know what you mean … (my slang limit is BFF, LOL or ROTFLOL) other than that ???? ;)
"meta" is a Greek prefix, can mean "about," especially when used in a recursive or reflexive way. A song about songs, a speech about speeches, or (in your case) a book about books are all "meta." There - now you're hip. :)

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Re: What are you reading?

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kreider204 wrote:
Lurker wrote:
Just Jeff wrote:
Lurker wrote:10 books every conservative must read
That's pretty meta. :)
“meta” … I’m tooooo old and crusty to know what you mean … (my slang limit is BFF, LOL or ROTFLOL) other than that ???? ;)
"meta" is a Greek prefix, can mean "about," especially when used in a recursive or reflexive way. A song about songs, a speech about speeches, or (in your case) a book about books are all "meta." There - now you're hip. :)

Ohhhhh, well I do understand now, but .... still to old and crusty to be 'hip' 8-) Just ask my cadets !!! :lol:
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