What was the last book you read?

[Jotari]

"Catherine the Great: A Short History". Yes, I am a nerd.

It's a website devoted to a tactics based Japanese video game. I think we're all nerds.

[Knight Falchion]

Just finished This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin. It was a pretty good read and easy to understand as someone who's not too well versed in music composition or the physics behind it. I also finished rereading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy saga. I think it's the third time I've reread the whole saga, though the count for some of the individual books is higher.

[Otr]

I'm currently reading the second of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn books, the Well of Ascension

Also reading Max Mosley's Rush FAQ, 'cause they're awesome.

[blah the Prussian]

It's a website devoted to a tactics based Japanese video game. I think we're all nerds.

Well, yes, but a history nerd. The kind that always themes his Pokemon teams around great leaders.

[Rend Keaven]

The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M.Harris

It's basically the Norse Mythology but told in the Trickster Gods point of view. It was my first time reading Norse Myths and it was a fun read when I was visiting South America.

Very funny, written in the first person really well and a good way to start reading Norse Mythos for those who like Loki (Norse or Marvel version)

[Original Alear]

The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth. It's a pretty great book. The main character is basically a walking pile of double standards, but it's a compelling read.

It's a story that takes place during William the Conqueror's invasion and occupation of England. The main character is a landholder who loses everything and ultimately takes up leadership of a small group of raiders who try and fight back. The chief conceit is that the book is written in what the author calls a "shadow tongue." I think he calls it this because it's meant to imitate old english somewhat, but has many alterations to make it readable. Like I've seen many say, I agree that one quickly gets immersed in the language and understands what's being said. Occasionally there are words that one has to look up - for instance, "fugol" is a name for a kind of bird which I had never heard of before - but context mostly satisfies.

[Zanarkin]

The Universe in a Mirror by Robert Zimmerman.

A historical account of how the Hubble Space Telescope was developed, built, sent into space, fixed, and the story of some of the people responsible for it. Neat book, I enjoyed reading it a lot.

[Jotari]

Took an embarrassing four months to get through War and Peace but now I'm on The Last Unicorn which is ridiculously short in comparison.

[Walker]

I'm rereading The Two Towers for the probably the twentieth time. Lord of the Rings is unbelievable. Most recent new read was Calamity (Reckoners). Excellent end to a series.

On my list is the next book to the sequel series to Saga of the Seven Suns. I don't actually know the name of the blasted series, but I know it's the sequel series to Saga of the Seven Suns.

EDIT: This is so much fun, going over these forums. Let's see ... I've read that. Read that. Read that ten years ago. I'm a read-aholic, what can I say?

Edited February 24, 2016 by StWalker

[Alertcircuit]

Just finished A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. It was a really weird experience because I watched and loved the show, but this book was hard to get through. I think it's the sheer length (the first 3 books in the series combined are significantly longer than the entire Bible) combined with having seen the show already so I have this sinking feeling I'm wasting my time. It's written really well though, probably some of the best writing I've seen in a while actually.

I'm going to read the Narnia series next. I think I read Wardrobe, Caspian, and Dawn Treader when I was like 10, but I don't remember a whole lot about them, so it'll be fun to re-experience that.

[Icemario]

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I had so many overturned misconceptions about this one.

[Irysa]

Alexander Pope's translation of The Iliad.

I've never really been big on the Epic Poems of the Western Canon but Pope's translation successfully captivated me because of the fact he was willing to be more liberal with script in order to make it function as poetry in English. This article explains better than I can why Homer just doesn't work in English very well.

I mean seriously, just look at how this reads. It's a joy.

Nor yet the rage his boiling breast forsook,

Which thus redoubling on Atrides broke:

"O monster! mix'd of insolence and fear,

Thou dog in forehead, but in heart a deer!

When wert thou known in ambush'd fights to dare,

Or nobly face the horrid front of war?

'Tis ours, the chance of fighting fields to try;

Thine to look on, and bid the valiant die:

So much 'tis safer through the camp to go,

And rob a subject, than despoil a foe.

Scourge of thy people, violent and base!

Sent in Jove's anger on a slavish race;

Who, lost to sense of generous freedom past,

Are tamed to wrongs;—or this had been thy last.

Now by this sacred sceptre hear me swear,

Which never more shall leaves or blossoms bear,

Which sever'd from the trunk (as I from thee)

On the bare mountains left its parent tree;

This sceptre, form'd by temper'd steel to prove

An ensign of the delegates of Jove,

From whom the power of laws and justice springs

(Tremendous oath! inviolate to kings);

By this I swear:—when bleeding Greece again

Shall call Achilles, she shall call in vain.

When, flush'd with slaughter, Hector comes to spread

The purpled shore with mountains of the dead,

Then shall thou mourn the affront thy madness gave,

Forced to deplore when impotent to save:

Then rage in bitterness of soul to know

This act has made the bravest Greek thy foe."

This translation took like seven years to finish. Unfortunately, his followup work on The Odyssey was done in collaboration with other poets and churned out at a faster rate, and just doesn't have the same magic to it, so it's been slow going. I hope to finally read Joyce's Ulysses once I actually get through the entirety of The Odyssey.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Irysa

[blah the Prussian]

Currently reading A Farewell To Arms for school and The Guns of August for pleasure. I can't stand A Farewell to Arms. It's like Hemingway suddenly becomes a shit writer as soon as he writes about someone with a vagina.

[garrisoncade_3576]

I don't know if works by Plato count for this thread. But I've read Phaedrus and Phaedo so far.

It makes me wonder if the soul is immortal.

[peener weener]

idk if drama counts but in the last couple days i've read waiting for godot and death of a salesman. waiting for godot is genuinely as funny as it is cynical, and death of a salesman was this very nihilistic deconstruction of the american dream in a way that felt like the message was an accidental consequence of the very organic character interaction. both are excellent reads and wonderfully expressive despite the medium. i wish i was able to see a production personally, but i'm not dissatisfied

[Magical CC]

Embers of War by Fredrik Logevall. It's about the behind scene of Dien Bien Phu Battle. A pretty nice read if you are into Vietnam war.

[master egg]

I'm rereading the whole Percy Jackson saga (including The Heroes of Olympus series). Brings me back to middle school lol. I also enjoy Mr. Riordan's new book on Norse mythology, The Sword of Summer. It's a great read. Can't wait for the sequel~~~

[Jotari]

Does anyone here have a GoodReads account and feel like getting a few more connections on it? I find it a good way to find good books and also to spread the word of them.

[Original Alear]

I finished Gardens of the Moon and Deadhouse Gates again. I like Steven Erikson.

[Meiko]

Just read Calamity by Brandon Sanderson, it's the third book in a trilogy. It was alright, but the ending was a bit odd and it follows the stereotype of the first book being better than the sequels.

[Sentacotus]

As of late I've been reading various technical books to get IT certifications which I guess was for both work and pleasure. Other than that my more intellectual books I last read from graduating last semester were M4 Sherman (Hunnicutt) essentially a tome about the history of the development and variations of the M4 Sherman good stuff for tank fans and Console Wars by Blake J. Harris.

[Icemario]

About a month ago, I ended up losing A Christmas Carol midway through, which is a very terrible feeling and obliterated my literary momentum for a while. But I'm starting to regain my stride and I've recently finished The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it was an enjoyable read.

Probably gonna read some Charles Dickens next.

[Levin's Scarf]

The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. Haven't finished it yet, though.

[Julius Nepos]

*Looks over at Tolkien shelf.*

The History of Middle-earth: The Shaping of Middle-earth. It was a nice read, and I especially enjoyed to learn about the earlier conceptions of the geography of Arda, though I prefer both the book that comes before and the book that comes after this one in the History of Middle-earth series.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Hattusili I

[Blue Druid]

Captain Corelli's Mandolin. A really deep and somewhat witty book.