The Hunger
I love to read, almost as much as I love to game. I also love my wife and kids, and I have to work. All of those four things demand time, so I try to allocate my time appropriately. The hardest thing for me is to find the time to read, because when I read, I say every word in my head as if I am speaking it aloud. Sometimes I do say it out loud, if it is a powerful enough passage. I enjoy being engrossed in a book; therefore my preference is to read in solitude, or silence.
During the day, I sit in my office jumping between my paperwork, the telephone, and the computer. Every time I am on hold, or opening my imposing stack of mail, or just have a minute to spare, I am reading someone's opinion on something. Given the nature of my job, I may get 2 minutes here, 3 minutes there, so reading relatively short forum posts is perfect. I can read several short stories in the span of a few minutes or, as it turns out more often than not, many episodes of a lengthy series. When I am away from work, I prefer the latter of the two.
The reader in me was only recently awakened, about four years past. Maybe awakened is not the right choice of word, I have always read books, but it was then that I was revitalized. The book was The Crystal Shard, by R.A. Salvatore. I know, not the most substantive piece of literature, but it hooked me. It drew me into a far away realm of magic, conflict, and honour. In my minds eye I can still recall what the characters and landscape looked like, although the exact happenings of this story I cannot separate from the events of the books directly before and after it.
Anyone familiar with The Crystal Shard, or its author, knows that there are many books in Salvatore's part of the Forgotten Realms. I wanted to read them all. A friend of mine had access to about nine or ten of these books, so I began to chew through them. In the space of a week, I finished the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Six months and eighteen books later, I was stuck waiting for the last book in the Hunters Blades series. The beast was becoming restless.
I had a thirst that ached to be sated. I began to consume Terry Goodkind's Wizards First Rule. With strong character development, and excellent atmospheric descriptiveness, I was again drawn into a world that needed me to bring it to life. Within my Cloak of Invisibility I stood beside protagonist and antagonist alike, experiencing the incumbent fates of all. Soon enough and nine books later, I found myself at the end of an unfulfilled journey, waiting for the next chapter of my adventure with Richard and Kahlan.
After that phenomenal year of reading, I seemed to hit a drought. The books that I read were more like fluff, and I ventured into different genres. Nothing held my interest, so I gave the majority of my free time to video games. After a brief stint of a less than satisfactory original Xbox Live experience, I found Harry Potter.
My wife had borrowed The Philosopher's Stone from her sister, and when she was finished, I read it myself. I was impressed with the book, even though it was aimed at a younger crowd. It kept me reading all the way through, and wondering what would happen next. After the series began introducing more adult content, I was caught up in J.K. Rowling's alternate (or IS it) reality of our world. Then, as it seems is my fate, I found myself at the end of another as yet unfinished tale. My soul wept with emptiness.
Luckily I did find some solace in a newly released title in Salvatore's series, and then one in Goodkind's as well. Still, nothing was complete. Sure, the Salvatore title finished a trilogy, but it truly concluded nothing.
This past winter was a very slow time for reading. I purchased a Wii, and a 360, with high hopes of gaming in engrossing virtual worlds to satisfy the hunger of my imagination. And, with the help of a website that I found filled with witty banter, intellectual debate, and hilarity a-plenty, I now have plenty of things to digest.
I am looking forward to this year, with the release of the final Potter chapter, and the conclusion of Terry Goodkind's epic. Though I will not be long satisfied, for I have been recently absorbed by George R.R. Martin's masterpiece, A Song of Ice and Fire. I am just finishing the third in his series, and have the fourth on its way. There are titles for three more after that. How will I last through the years those will take to finish?
Maybe this site isn't the place to discuss books, as I can't find a discussion about them since a few years back, but I have a feeling there are a lot of readers here. Do you have any recommendations for a man such as I? I think I will pick up Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series, but I don't have any other ideas except for what Amazon recommends.
Aries
You'll get an assload of recommendations, as well as a couple of links to extant threads. Does Greenwood's still survive in Edmonchuck? If so, go.
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Oh if you search you'll find some "what are you reading?" posts. The goodjers are a well-read bunch, however you'll find very few that share our love for the Sword of Truth series
Currently reading: Wyrd Sisters (Terry Pratchett), Stingray Shuffle (Tim Dorsey. Florida is insane.)
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If you haven't read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy yet, then you have only two options before you:
1: Seppuku, the grotesque ritualistic form of Japanese Suicide in which you slice open your own stomach and spill your entrails following which you are mostly beheaded.
Or
2: Read it.
On the other stuff, I've read all of those at one time or another. Terry Goodkind is simply a master of his art, and George R.R. Martin, while taking an eternity to spin his wonderful tale of political intrigue, betrayal, love, hope and shattered dreams, is simply masterful. JK Rowling is, by compare, what I consider to be a dirty pleasure, but one I openly admit to. I am, in fact, remiss in not having preordered the last book.
One that you appear to have overlooked, and I was somewhat suprised by this, is Terry Brooks and the Shannara series. They start with Sword of Shannara and simply become more wonderful from there. Also, while somewhat repetitive and over the top, but worth reading all the same is Wheel of Time, from Robert Jordan. It's a love it or hate it affair, yet I find it rather enjoyable, even if I do want to strangle a character from time to time. I suppose that just means he's doing his job quite well.
I too find it hard to fit in casual reading around my day to day schedule, but when I do, I've been reading Dune for the first time(!!!), which is strange and sad considering my love for the movie and also the Sci-Fi miniseries, which was considerably better.
Coldstream wrote:
Actually, I did read the Hithhikers Guide many years ago to avoid said Seppuku. And I did read the Sword of Shannara, but it didn't hook me until well into the book, which makes it tough for me to read. You (AnimeJ) say they get better from there?
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May I *highly* recommend the 'Swords' series by Fred Saberhagen
Michael A. Stackpole's wrting is also fantastic, his best is in the 'DragonCrown War Cycle'
Sara Douglas with her 'Wayfinder Redemption' series
Melanie Rawn's 'Exiles' series (although woefully unfinished... the third book should be out sometime before the end of the mayan calendar)
Finally in lieu of the Harry Potter love, maybe check out Paolini's Eragorn series? the movie was awful but the books are a enjoyable.
None of these are going to change the world, but damn if i don't enjoy them, and your tastes look pretty similar to mine...
George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. I'm reading it right now, at the recommendation of many Goojers, and it is good.
Edit: Some book recommendation threads from this year and last:
http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/26329
http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/29940
http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/22192
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wordsmythe wrote:
Thank you.
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You're a dirty skimmer!
Oh, and to add to the thread... Robin Hobb's Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies, Raymond Feist's Riftwar and Empire series (co authored by Janny Wurts). Stephen Erikson's Tales of the Mazalan Book of the Fallen (several books in the series so far).
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Woah, didn't realize the hate here on Goodkind. I enjoyed the first few more than the last few, but I am still anxiously awaiting the end of the series.
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Meh, I liked his books. At first... then towards book 5 or 6 they started getting too contrived. "Contrived?" Yes, contrived. But then again, I also enjoyed reading Ayn Rand. So there you go.
I've also been re-reading the Mission Earth books from L. Ron Hubbard. I'm stalled out on the seventh one though. It's what I get for starting up Final Fantasy Tactics Advance again.
Mission Earth is an easy to get through trashy adventure which, remarkably, spends a lot of its time trashing Psychology, Psychiatry, the Media, and the Government.
Politely rude. Briskly vague. Firmly uninformative.
I recommend the "Prince of Nothing" series by R. Scott Bakker. The first book is called "The Darkness that Comes Before". There's three so far, nothing got resolved, so you'll hate my for doing this to you.
I'm tracking this series almost fanatically.
I also -strongly- recommend Dan Simmons' "Hyperion" books, if you haven't read them. The story gets concluded nicely at the end.
Continuing in the sci-fi trend, I've also been enjoying Jack McDevitt's work. It's fluffy and predictable, but I really like the worlds. This may be more fascinating to me solely because I really find the idea of xenoarchaeology fascinating, and his books focus on that.
I stopped tracking Goodkind and Jordan at around book 7 on both. I'll get a complete set once they FINISH THE GODDAMN SERIES. 12 books later on each, I don't want to be waiting anxiously for that.
Oh, and I'm probably one of the few dissenting voices on George R.R. Martin's books. The first one was great, the second was less interesting than reading telephone listings. To me, anyway.
Mystic Violet wrote:
Hurray, another excuse for me to type my two favorite words on reading! Richard Matheson. Incredible Shrinking man, Duel, What Dreams May Come, I Am Legend, and a treasure trove of short stories, a lot of which were made into Twilight Zone episodes.
Oh and yes, if you say Terry Goodkind here, you will have tomatoes thrown at you.
As you should!
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The Road by Cormac McCarthy, though you should be warned it might destroy your will to live.
But in a good way.
Also, I'll second the recommendation for the first two books in the Hyperion series. I haven't read the two Endymion books that follow, but I understand they're not as good.
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You are not alone, though every one of his short stories I've read has been fantastic.
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Absolutely! The 4 books (Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion) were amazing, and 2 other books (Ilium, Olympos) were also fantastic. Can't suggest them highly enough.
I'm the same with Jordan, I really liked the books but gave up since I realized I'd have to keep rereading to remember what happened in the years since the previous book.
Gave up on Goodkind, though. I was halfway through the 4th book when I realized it seemed to be the same as the previous 3. Never did finish it.
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I'm with you on George RR Martin and the Harry Potter books. I got a Goodjer recommendation to check out Steven Brust last year (from whose books Morrolan takes his nick, btw), and I've been reading them ever since. I'm almost out of the books in his Dragaera series. If you read them, start with the Vlad novels and read them in the order they were published. Then read the Khaavren romances. I haven't read Brokedown Palace yet, but I'll read it fairly soon.
Good on ya AnimeJ for reading Dune! For anyone who doesn't know, my nick is from Dune. Those books are SO awesome, and so, so much better than the movie or TV series.
My favorite modern writer is Robert Heinlein, who is one of the three "grandmasters" of science fiction, along with Asimov and Clarke. Start with The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers.
There's of course Tom Clancy if you're into that, and newcomer Vince Flynn in more or less the same vein.
Mein gott - no one has mentioned Ender's Game yet! Read it for sure, and then consider the sequels. They are totally different, but still good. I think perhaps the Bean books have gotten quite tired.
I tend to find a new series that I like and then read all the books right in a row, which it appears you do as well, Aries. I'm actually a little nervous about what I'm going to read after I'm caught up with Steven Brust. Well, Harry Potter this summer. There are two George RR Martin short stories that are set in his Song... world, and are printed in novella collections called Legends...I've got those on order.
Read some classics if you haven't: Farenheit 451, 1984, Animal Farm, A Brave New World, The Catcher in the Rye...
Can anyone tell me whether Raymond E Feist is worth reading, and if so, where to start? The only fantasy that I've been into in years is Martin and Brust, but I'm open to more.
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Here you can actually read 3 of David Wellington's zombie books online. They are all good as well.
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I bought Monster Island and that was pretty satisfying.
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Right on, thanks for all the suggestions!
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Where's that website? Do I have to pay or need an invite?
Anyway, I'll try and hit some classics:
[*]Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever
[*]Just about anything by Neal Stephenson, but particularly Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, and the Baroque Cycle
[*]James Joyce's Ulysses
[/list]
I'd also recommend Phil Dick, because he was great + nuts, which is a winning combination in any book, and Robert Heinlein and Bradbury, because you really ought to. If you like younger fantasy, check Brian Jaques' Redwall series.
Agree on all those.
Once you finish all of that, get back to me.
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Here's a rundown. If you want to skip any, skip the ones he "co-authored" (whatever that nonsense is supposed to mean). I haven't tended to like those as much.
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Guns, Germs and Steel.
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I really enjoyed Sword of Shannara for the same reason I like Spiderman; the heroes are more of the everyman type who get tossed into the mix, and yet still don't develop anything really above the board, so to speak. Sure, they're more than mere mortals, but still plagued by their doubts and fears. Unlike Richard Rahl or Rand'al Thor, they don't have the whole 'I am a supreme badass' mentality going on.
On Dune, I had indeed noticed that your nick comes from there. It's amusing, that what really got me into reading them were some of the books set in the Machine Crusade that I picked up while I was deployed last summer. As to Heinlein, I haven't read Moon is a Harsh Mistress or Starship Troopers(both grevious errors in need of correction), but I absolutely loved Stranger in a Strange Land.
Other things I left out in massive error are The Farseer and The Tawny Man from Robin Hobb. I read those last summer as well; they were absolutely fantastic. Fitzsimmons is simply the man.
Lastly, echoes of thanks for the suggestions that I haven't read and need/should get into.
Coldstream wrote:
words, you clearly have very good taste in books. I too enjoy the writings of Philip K. Dick. I think I prefer his short stories to his novels, because about half of anything he writes tends to self-destruct (due to the drugs and insanity, no doubt), and I hate to put in the time to read a novel and then see it bomb at the end. Still, I like Do Androids... and The Man In the High Castle. Flow My Tears, The Policeman said started out awesome and ended with a "What the HECK?!?!?!"
AnimeJ - you find the Dune prequels to be worth reading? Because of my love for the originals, I read the first one, but it didn't really rock me. It's probably a fine novel in and of itself, but as a "Dune book" I didn't like it enough to continue. Should I reconsider?
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I truly, truly fear the world in which the Leper Hero books are considered "classic". I would not have used those pages for firestarter, or mulch.
Mystic Violet wrote:
Peter F Hamilton, The Neutronium Alchemist series. Long-winded, but very creative space opera series.
Sean McMullen, the book series starting with "Souls in the Great Machine".
Anything by Ian M. Banks.
Seriously. Although "The Wasp Factory" is not representative (even though it's great). Maybe "Consider Phlebas" or "The Algebraist" or "Use of Weapons".
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And damn you Robear, I wanted to be the first to recommend Banks! It's worth noting that he writes stuff of more of a 'serious literature' nature, of which The Wasp Factory is quite representative, as Iain Banks, and hard sci-fi as Iain M. Banks. Both types are great, but I suspect the latter will appeal more to most of the people in this thread. The Algebraist is a very good one to start with.
EDIT: I also second Azure Chicken's disdain for Donaldson. I hated, hated, hated those books.
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I haven't read the House prequels, but I find the Machine Crusade Chronicles quite interesting. Reading about Agamemmnon and the Overmind are pretty cool, as well as seeing what drove the society to do away with computers and so much technology so completely. I suppose it's probably a love it or hate it ordeal.
Coldstream wrote:
I enjoyed those books, but I too have mixed feelings about them. I think I would say that there are DOZENS of great ideas in those books, any one of which could spawn its own novel, but that the writing itself and the resolution of the series didn't totally rock my world. Like you said, long-winded.
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That's why I mentioned his sf pseudo. But still, the disturbing nature of Wasp Factory does not really recur, not even in the story about the Japanese musician in Panama. I'd hate for someone to read WF and decide that all his books are like that.
Irvine Welsh, that'd be different.
Love him to death but he doesn't range as far afield as Banks.
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+1 for Feist, in particular Magician is an excellent read. I've worked my way through a few others of his, but none of them quite match Magician to my mind. Great read.
Away from fantasy, I'm currently working my way through Snow Crash, although I've been stop-start on it for months. It's very good up to where I've gotten so far though, which is about 2/3's of the way.
And I can't believe no-one's mentioned William Gibson yet; shame on you all! Neuromancer is possibly my most favourite book of all time. But it's a toss up between that and the s-u-p-e-r-b* I Am Legend by Richard Matheson--a book so good, I obssessively read it cover to cover in a single afternoon. (Someone really should make a game based on that story, too.)
* And I'm not even bullsh*tting you.
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