What are you reading?

fragtasticator's Avatar
I'm a scifi/fantasy geek.

Just finished the "The Immortal Empire" series by Kate Locke, sort of a gas lamp/vampire mashup that was fun, and transitioned to the next book in the John Ringo "Black Tide Rising" set - a zombie apocalypse/modern pirates deal.

Favorite authors include:
David Eddings, Steven Brust, George R.R. Martin, Jim Butcher, Robert Asprin and David Weber among many more....
As cliche as it sounds I just finished "How to Make Friends and Influence People" which has impacted my daily interactions with employees and partners.

Next up is Cosmos by Carl Sagan, don't know how I've made it this far without reading this book so finally pulling the trigger on it
Balderfiddle's Avatar
Seriously. The LoTR series and the Hobbit are books where I actually like the movies considerably more than the books. Originally Posted by jbravo_123
Woah now that's going too far. The movies are almost like an impressionistic overview of the story going through the best looking scenes with just the bare bones of storyline. I feel like the main reason I enjoyed them was bc I *had* read the books and was now getting some illustrations to put along side the text. Plus the core themes are totally lost - the various hobbits were able to do what they did not bc they were powerful but *because* they were meek and humble.
That just means you didn't get far enough for the homoerotic dwarf-hobbit bath scenes. I kid you not.

People who've only watched the movies have no idea what's tucked away in that series. Originally Posted by Balderfiddle
Here, this fan explains it all to you:

http://cassieclaire.livejournal.com/
(The original pervy hobbit fancier's Journal)
Dorian Gray's Avatar
jbravo_123's Avatar
Woah now that's going too far. The movies are almost like an impressionistic overview of the story going through the best looking scenes with just the bare bones of storyline. I feel like the main reason I enjoyed them was bc I *had* read the books and was now getting some illustrations to put along side the text. Plus the core themes are totally lost - the various hobbits were able to do what they did not bc they were powerful but *because* they were meek and humble. Originally Posted by Balderfiddle
See, I'm the opposite. The books had way too much extraneous stuff (all the walking around, singing, Tom Bombadill, good god the endless singing!) for my taste. I enjoyed the movies more because it trimmed things down to something more palatable as opposed to something that would make you constipated when you read it.

To be fair, I always hated hobbits. Don't trust the sneaky hairy-footed bastards.
fragtasticator's Avatar
To be fair, I always hated hobbits. Don't trust the sneaky hairy-footed bastards. Originally Posted by jbravo_123
I agree with you wholeheartedly: but then, the Hobbit book basically shows that in universe, all hobbits are assumed to be thieves, so.....
jbravo_123's Avatar
I agree with you wholeheartedly: but then, the Hobbit book basically shows that in universe, all hobbits are assumed to be thieves, so..... Originally Posted by fragtasticator
That +2 dex, small size, luck bonus to saves. All makes them great rogues.

Gandalf pretty much randomly chooses Bilbo, who turns out to be a fine burglar off of his natural racial talents alone.

Filthy Bagginses...
boardman's Avatar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1l8HXa3HLk Originally Posted by Dorian Gray
I see Lavar is moving up in the world since the days of Kunta Kinte.
freakanomics by steven levitt
The bible... Just can't get enough of that shit. Originally Posted by Valerie
Gotta be the King James version
The 33 Strategies of War - Robert Greene
Reading Black Boy by Richard Wright
Skyblaster99's Avatar
"Always pick a Ivy League Quarterback", by Bill O'Brien
R.M.'s Avatar
  • R.M.
  • 08-14-2014, 06:44 AM
Life inside the bubble by Dan Bongino
The Billy Bob Tapes: A cave full of ghosts by Billy Bob Thornton and Kinky Friedman