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The Prince, Machiavelli

Speaker for the Dead; book two of the Ender saga, by Orson Scott Card.

Just picked up 'Vampire Wars' VonCarsteir Trilogy Omnibus from Black Library.

Only up to page 3....

I guess 5th ed rulebook will be read alot over the next few weeks.

Cheese Elemental wrote:Speaker for the Dead; book two of the Ender saga, by Orson Scott Card.

I liked this book a lot, probably moreso than the Bean series of books. However, I
imagine a wargaming community might rather enjoy the political conflicts that take
place in the Bean books.

atm Im actually reading the dawn of war trilogy.
I think Im near the end of book one.... but i find it a rather ... stiff read.

Ah, CS Goto's writings. Imo, his only good books were the Deathwatch duo.

The Host, by Stephenie Meyer.



Synopsis
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

Currently reading Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union. I'm a one-at-a-timer, but my wife reads around 3-8 books in various rooms, at work, in bed, etc. She concedes that I have a greater volume over time, however, as she's likely to drop a book and not finish it until much later. I average about 1-3 books a week, reading in any bit of spare time I have not spent doing something else, including walking (much to the amazement of my co-workers). My tastes are primarily in the fantastical, but I enjoy fiction and non-fiction as well.

My last read, Orson Scott Card's The Crystal City from the Alvin Maker series, was a bit lackluster compared to the previous books, but I think that reflects Card's desire to move on and the industry's need to keep making money with familiar titles.

The Redwall series is inspiring and light-hearted, with a touch of tragedy, great for adults and children alike and have wonderfully descriptive meal scenes that leave your mouth watering. The battles are well written and the characters familiar even over the course of multiple generations.

One of my favorites has been Judith Merkle Riley's The Master of All Desires and The Oracle Glass, and Serpent Gardenwhich are historical fantasies. Throw in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell and you have a wonderfully funny and tragic set of novels that satisfy anyone's taste for the supernatural. Much better than the recent spat of modern fantasy novels that are everywhere now... ugh.

Terry Brooks new Shanarra books have grabbed my attention as well. I started with Scions around 20 years ago and still love the character of Walker Boh, the Dark Uncle. As far as pure fantasy goes, nothing beats Fritz Leibur (that's pronounced "lie-burr") writing Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It's solid win, a slice of fried gold that will leave you wondering why your D&D characters ever went to dungeons when they could have been exploring Lankhmar.

In February I bought the collected works of Jane Austen as a Valentines present for my wife. We read them for the second time since high school, this time together. Don't knock it guys, corny as it may sound it's very romantic and a sure way to get on the good side of She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed

I really should look through my "Have Read Once" shelves before posting so I could present a more complete list, but I'd be distracted by the "Have Read Several Times" shelf and might grab one of those to read again. Luckily, due to library sales, our boxes of "Have Not Read Yet" haven't yet been depleted. Now it's time to get new shelves!

Well, finished as much of the "Crit Lit" book as I felt I needed to read. Tackled The Call of the Wild (saw some of the Marxism, noticed some ?homosexual references?), reading White Fang right now. Oh, 5ed. B&C's take on 5ed, it's got some funny bits. I think the best thing about it is it keeps making me searching through the rules asking myself "does it really say that?", which is good. Oh, also read "Troy" by david gemell (sp???). Really good mind-candy read, if you like it lite.

im reading the series called: sir apropos of nothing by:____ _____(dont remember tha name). its a really funny tounge-in-cheek look on fantasy novels. it was really a great reprive from all the serious cliche fantasy novels i like reading so much. made ma laugh a lot too. and the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. <-- good stuff there as well. and very punny to boot.

Gavin Thorne wrote:
The Redwall series is inspiring and light-hearted, with a touch of tragedy, great for adults and children alike and have wonderfully descriptive meal scenes that leave your mouth watering. The battles are well written and the characters familiar even over the course of multiple generations.

Terry Brooks new Shanarra books have grabbed my attention as well. I started with Scions around 20 years ago and still love the character of Walker Boh, the Dark Uncle. As far as pure fantasy goes, nothing beats Fritz Leibur (that's pronounced "lie-burr") writing Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It's solid win, a slice of fried gold that will leave you wondering why your D&D characters ever went to dungeons when they could have been exploring Lankhmar.

In February I bought the collected works of Jane Austen as a Valentines present for my wife. We read them for the second time since high school, this time together. Don't knock it guys, corny as it may sound it's very romantic and a sure way to get on the good side of She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed

Hey Gavin, it's nice to see mention of good quality kid's books. I am a big fan of literature that can work for both audiences, and games that are like that, too! The Redwall books are quite good. I have fond memories of reading them to my little brothers.

Quoted for Truth when it comes to Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser! The best swords and sorcery style fantasy of all time.

I concur with the reading out loud part. It's a great part of storytelling and appreciating literature that we don't indulge in much when we're older. I have notice that more movies and TV shows are using voiceover narration now than ever before, and I think that this speaks to a desire to hear oral storytelling. I've actually had some good times readnig and being read to, even as an adult. My sister was once so kind as to read to me while I worked on a terrain project commission.

Ok, I am reading the Return of the King Again, and decided to bite the bullet and read the Silmarillon. I haven't tried that one again since I first attempted (and failed) to get into it in high school We'll see how it goes.

Legion.... finally.

nathonicus wrote:
Ok, I am reading the Return of the King Again, and decided to bite the bullet and read the Silmarillon. I haven't tried that one again since I first attempted (and failed) to get into it in high school We'll see how it goes.

I had the same problem in high school with the Silmarillion, but after I'd had some time to mature, it was much easier. Be prepared to be bored in some parts, though, I described it as "the Bible that Tolkien wrote" and it repeats itself a few times in the beginning as well as having some parts mysteriously similar to the "begats" of the Bible.

David Gemell is a good writer too... I've had the pleasure of reading his "alternate" histories or pre-histories as it were. Good stuff.

Chase The hero wrote:and the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. <-- good stuff there as well. and very punny to boot

Chase, if you like Xanth, try Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality, especially Riding a Pale Horse. Wonderful stuff, light like Xanth, but a tad more mature. Also, look for Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series!

I recently read Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars and am eagerly awaiting the sequel Seeing Redd to hit my bookstore. Very interesting take on the Lewis Carrol classic. The Hatter is awesome!

I just got "Battle for the Abyss" this morning. I am about to dive in.

Canada Defence Research Board: Arctic Air Navigation

Disaster Capitalism, the shock doctrine - Naomi Klein

the conclusion is:

feth AMERICA!!!!!

Currently reading the Three Musketeers as it had somehow passed me by.

Very enjoyable swashbuckling romp, but I can't help but wonder why the Musketeers are using swords as opposed to (say) muskets?

Currently reading Nagash the Sorcerer having finished off Red Fury on the weekend.

Enjoying the Nagash story so very much so far, more so than I did Heldenhammer which is a (pleasant) surprise.

Gemmel was ok in the "end", but admittedly it was book two in a trilogy. Reading David Weber. Again. Wife got me one of his hard backs a while back, and it came with a CD of all his books on it. About 35 novels! For me, traveling all the time, that's priceless. This will be my 4rth time through the Honor Harrington series.

Currently reading "The Enchantress of Florence" by Salman Rushdie.

Halfway through "Killing Rommel" by Steven Pressfield. Set in the North Africa campaign featuring a small British force called the long range desert group, or just LRDG. I'm enjoying it, but not as much as some other Pressfield books. Maybe he's just better at ancient warfare.