The Dark Alliance
Open Area => General Discussion => Topic started by: Sagafar on 18 December, 2013, 11:44:51 AM
-
As I'm a big fan of books and have read a wide variety of different genres I'd like to share this particular author.
http://www.amazon.com/Jan-Guillou/e/B001HPO9L8/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
I'm sure some of you are familiar with atleast some of his productions.
I just finished reading his "sort of" self biography, Ondskan (Evil), and I'd like to promote it as a good book.
I can't say that I have a favorite author as I read so many different genres, phantasy, thrillers, horror, pure fiction and a few others. One genre that I really like is phantasy, especially vampire novells. And yes I've read all books by Stephanie Meyers (Twilight author). But there are so many other, unknown, authors out there who has written some amazing novells that kept me awake way past my bedtime ;).
So, why this post?
I dunno really, I just want to share my love for books and share some good books/authors for anyone interested in it and maybe discuss a little about what you like.
-
Books are the best gates to a virtual world! - better than any game imo, shame just I find mashing keys far easier commitment :P - should read more (on hols, with no computer normally eat through 3-4 books)
Never been into much of fantasy book myself (aside from must read Tolkien before everybody jumped on the film wagon), but is not cause wouldn't enjoy them, just there is too many books that call my attention from multiple genres!
Currently reading Papillon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0007179960) and loving it.
-
Thanks for bringing up the topic! :D
I wish games weren't such an easy escape from everything, with such a low demand on concentration... I would read so much more...
I've enjoyed Desmond Bagley in my youth, some Terry Pratchett, and lately my definite favorite series has been the Malazan Book of the Fallen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malazan_book_of_the_fallen) (just some 11,000 pages total) by Steven Erikson.
-
I personally do really like fantasy books, and ever since eBooks became popular i've actually been reading more than i used to, as they're so convenient in bus / train. Currently reading The Temeraire series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temeraire_%28series%29) , which I thought was quite original. It's about a British navy captain in the time of Napoleon. Everything is 'normal' except for the existence of dragons (quite rare). Also recently read The mistborn series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistborn_series) which is way more fantasy-like, but I really enjoyed that too.
My favourite writer is probably Terry Pratchett, as you just know whenever you buy any of his books that you'll be entertained. And luckily there are a lot of them :D
Non fantasy type books, I like James Clavell's books (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clavell#Novels) and also Tom Clancy's novels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_clancy#Jack_Ryan.2FJohn_Clark_universe_chronology).
I'm not really into literature though as I just don't find them entertaining :) Gonna check out some of the books mentioned here, nice! :)
-
Oh Papillion, I've only seen the movie but I'll give the book a go when I get my hands on it.
Pratchett is quite different, he has a weird mind when it comes to making up stories imo, tho I've read only 5 or 6 books of him so can't say that's the case for all of his books.
I enjoy reading several books that are in "series", like Lord of the rings, Twilight and a bunch of others. And on that topic I want to promote Stieg Larson's Trilogy - Millenium (http://www.amazon.com/Larsson-Millennium-Trilogy-Audiobook-Bundle/dp/073935275X)
-
I was given one of Larson's books for x-mas one year. Haven't read it, partly because I found the one movie in the series that I've seen very uncomfortable - and since books usually go further in provoking feelings I guess the theme of the series simply isn't for me.
Reading Frederick Forsyth's Dogs of War at the moment. "The moment" is a stretch as I've been reading it since bloody summer - it's so dull... I think I have to call it a financial thriller. The book is so much about how they're organizing stock trades and tricking systems, and what they buy and where... 58 pages left, maybe I finish it before I leave so I don't have to bring it :p
edit: My father agreed that Dogs of War is a boring book, and gave me three other books from his shelf.
Two novels by Martin Cruz Smith (in his Arkady Renko series), plus Rising Sun by Michael Crichton. Guess I've got plans for when the female unit is at work this x-mas.
-
Delay, which film was it? The swedish and the american versions are quite different, I prefer the swedish version a lot more simply bcse I believe that's more close to what the book is all about.
Btw, what part of the film made you feel like that?
-
Daniel Dennett, Darwins dangerous idea.
Richard Dawkins, An appetite for wonder.
Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw, why does e=mc²?, The quantum universe.
Lawrence Krauss, Atom, an odyssey from the big bang to life on earth and beyond.
Richard Feynman, six easy pieces, six not so easy pieces, the character of physical law. (i started the 'feynman lectures on physics' too, but i have to admit that's out of my league, those 3 volumes would take me years to even partially understand i think. the math is just too complex for me to follow)
Jarred Diamond, Guns, germs and steel, Collapse, The third chimpanzee, The world until yesterday.
Christopher Hitchens, Arguably.
... and a few other books slated my thirst for reading over the last 6 months. i read more than i watch Tv.
-
One of the Swedish ones. I'm guessing Flickan som lekte med elden. I think the overall story made me uneasy in general, and the rape scene in particular was very uncomfortable to watch. I know it's meant to be - part of the story and all - but it's just not what I want to watch. I also saw Män som hatar kvinnor, getting the same general feeling. I guess I just prefer feel-good stuff.
Muylae: that looks awfully geeky. I think I will have to get a hold of some of those books :D
-
I can see why some of us have a hard time watching the film since it's indeed some nasty scenes in it. Though I read the books before I saw the movies so I knew what to come and the book didn't gave me the same feeling allthough it's different when it comes to details n stuff. Too bad you feel too uncomfortable since it's a really good read but enough is enough I guess :)
-
Some nice possible new books in here, cool.
Right now I'm reading some easy going stuff:
1. Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time book 14.
2. Inferno, Dan Brown (da vinca code).
3. Dutch author brain book.
-
Inferno is a kick ass book, read it in just a few days which doesn't happen to often when it comes to me. Just couldn't put it down once I started reading, fell asleep with the book in me hands for 3 straight evenings. :)
-
hehe i am also a book eater when travelling and so on...
i m very suprised that on the whole lot of you only Nayna has mentionned robert jordan Wheel of time. it is definatly one of the best saga that has been written in the past years... unfortunatly the author died before finishing. last ook has been written by his son tho.
the song of fire and ice from GRR Martin is also great... more famous under the name: Game of Throne (wich is actually only the name of the first book)
David Gemmel is also a very good one. most books are stand alone, but some characters are redundant and you can follow some cycles (druss) the guy was war reporter... wich gives a special type of writting, some kind of short and violant that i pretty enjoyed.
Robin Hobb is also nice with the farseer trilogy and some other saga.
Tolkien and pratchet are not even to be mentionned since they are such classics :)
delay you were refering to "the girl with the dragon tatoo" right ? i ve seen the swedish movie that was quite good. my brother's wife is reading the follow up and other books from this author and she really loves it so i assume it can be recommanded :)
-
Yeah, Hanza, that's the series we were talking about :)
-
After a longer break I started to read Monk and Columbo stories. Lightweight - to say so - can put it away and start over later etc. A few days ago I found a books with Roald Dahl stories... So, the urge is growing again ;-)
Happy reading!
-
Inferno is a kick ass book, read it in just a few days which doesn't happen to often when it comes to me. Just couldn't put it down once I started reading, fell asleep with the book in me hands for 3 straight evenings. :)
Indeed it is , i just read it recently =)
-
Sweet, I just finished a new book by Sam Bourne This one (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1201589.The_Last_Testament). Imo it was kind of a mix between Dan Brown and Henning Mankell (Swedish author), I liked it a lot.
-
Looks interesting :)
Reading Polar Star by Martin Cruze Smith in-between paying attention to the female unit and playing STALKER. I like it! I think I may have to read all the Arkady Renko books, now.
-
I'd like to promote another swedish author by the name of Henning Mankell (http://www.amazon.com/Henning-Mankell/e/B001HPCS0C).
I've read basically all of his books with Kurt Wallander in it, reading his final one with K. Wallander in it right now and it's just amazing. He's also written a bunch of other stories, but take a look for yourselves.
-
Tips from me:
Conn Iggulden - The Gates of Rome and the rest of the series.
If you are fascinated by Egyptian mythology and pharaohs like me, :) you should read books by Pauline Gedge, such as Child of the morning.
Another book that is clearly worth reading is Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read. The book documents the story of the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes mountains. Read it!
-
Tips from me:
Conn Iggulden - The Gates of Rome and the rest of the series.
i've read the emperor series, and his series about the mongols. first book was nice, by the time i reached the last one, they bored me.
if you like that sort of stuff, you might want to check out Robbert Harris's Imperium series about the orator Cicero.
-
speer reloading manual 14 is the last one for me ... but i guess that isn't a kinda book one read from one side to another :D
-
Isaac Asimov (one of the two Sience Fiction writers that i enjoy, the other being Arthur C Clarck, they are the only ones who actually understand science, that i'm aware off. all (well, at least the ones i know) the other writers are science fantasy) : The Complete Robot ("I, Robot" and all that)
Richard P Feynman : Quantum Electro Dynamics (hard science with a capital letter), Don't you have time to think (non science, basically a collection of his correspondence with various people, probably not interesting unless you are a feynman fan boy)
Lawrence M Krauss : A universe from nothing (soft science, no formulas involved, easy to read, well, that's probably relative, the concept might be a bit mind blowing)
Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose : The nature of space and time (hard science with a capital letter, some of the math is beyond me).
that's my reading list while in australia, i might need more books, depending upon how much dead time i have.
-
If you like detective/criminal novells I'd like to recommend Lars Kepler (http://www.amazon.com/Lars-Kepler/e/B004DWWKM2), So far I've read two of his books, The Hypnotist and The Fire Witness, both are really awesome if you don't mind some scary stuff. I enjoy reading Horror, Thrillers and stuff like that if it's well written and Lars handles the story with such strength and awareness, I guess it's not for the faint hearted people but if thrillers is your cup of tea then you found a new author for sure.
Gonna read The Paganini Contract as soon as I'm done with a book called The Dying Detective by Leif G.W Persson (http://www.amazon.com/Leif-G.-W.-Persson/e/B0042GB71O).
-
I tested out my newly received e-book reader today by reading the Call of Chtulhu after finishing Stalin's Ghost in paper format. Looks pretty decent! Not heavy, hardly any reflex/shine in the screen. Will try finishing Mrs. Raffles next... Free ebook classics :D
-
E-book u say, you read it on yer PC or what? Tablet maybe??
-
E-book u say, you read it on yer PC or what? Tablet maybe??
think he reads eBooks on his eReader. Like a kindle? Special device mostly for just reading books. They have this screen that doesn't give off light so it's much calmer to your eyes to read it and it doesn't reflect when looking at it from an angle.
-
Ah, never seen one, nor have I heard bout em either =)
I'm not such a tech freak, I prefer a regular book as I love to read in bed before I'm gonna sleep. Would prolly just drop and break an e-reader :P
-
You're both right :)
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm297/brotulix/2014-01-23193458.jpg) (http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm297/brotulix/2014-01-26191103.jpg)
A Kobo Glo (http://www.kobo.com/koboglo), behaves mostly like a book, light-wise. This particular model also has an optional backlight, though. I didn't want a Kindle because I've heard too many horror stories about how scoundrelly Amazon are.
I tried reading on my phone for a time, but the screen really is too small and too power hungry.
My library currently contains 88 free eBooks (such as those shown above), mostly classical works from Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/). That in combination with being a poor student seems to be the kick in the hind that I need to actually read such books, so it's quite all right. Had never heard of the book I'm currently reading (Blue Lights), and I would probably continue not having read Call of Chtulhu for several years if it hadn't been freely downloadable :)
Would prolly just drop and break an e-reader :P
I guess that's an important consideration if one ponders acquiring one :)
I don't think I've ever fallen asleep over a book (or anything else, except once - as a young scout - over a bowl of porridge)...
-
I don't think I've ever fallen asleep over a book (or anything else, except once - as a young scout - over a bowl of porridge)...
i guess you don't go to bed with a book, a glass of whisky and a sleeping pill as standard procedure like me oO. there are few things i hate more than laying in my bed, beeing awake for half an hour or more and think about stuff i don't want while waiting to fall asleep.
but i guess that would be 'with a book', not 'over a book'.
-
a sleeping pill
Nope, never used those. A glass of whisky on the other hand...
there are few things i hate more than laying in my bed, beeing awake for half an hour or more and think about stuff i don't want while waiting to fall asleep.
That happens quite often, but I usually "tough it out", just waiting for my mind to capitulate. 2-3 hours and I give up and get back out of bed to get my mind occupied before trying again.
Anyway! It's been a few short stories on my Kobo since last, and I'm off to bed and reading right now! Nn!
-
I read my book(s) every night when I go to bed, usually ends up with me reading, I think, with closed eyes slowly falling asleep. Most of the time I open my eyes thinking, where was I, ending up confused and decide it's time to turn off the light n get sum sleep. It's a bit funny that I continue to read even if I've closed my eyes and began my journey into the darkness, but when I open the book again and starts reading I can't remember which page I was lookin at before closing the book. Tho when I start at the top of the page I clearly remember how far I did get and resumes as if I've just blinked ^^
Sleepreading is my new hobby ;)
-
Bumpeh for Leo !
-
good that this has been bumped cause i stumble on a few good books lately that i can recommand:
The ship of theseus (novel written by Doug Dorst and conceived by J.J. Abrams)
the lone samurai (life of Miyamoto Musashi)
-
OOhh.. Samurai's, sounds interesting and needs a check up. Thx for the tip mate.
-
Thanks dennis!! :)
-
Thanks dennis!! :)
No problemo my friend!
Keeping this thread alive is good fun and recieving new tips on books to read is just awesome so.
-
also on the same topic the book of the 5 rings (story of Myamoto Musashi's life)
for those interested in the legendary character and the philosophie of the swordman it is very interesting !