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Thread: What are you reading?

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    What are you reading?

    So what are people reading right now or read recently? Might me a fun thread to talk about what everyone is reading. People do read around here right?

    Anyway I am so far behind on my fun reading due to taking a literature course during the fall. Hoping to do some reading for fun here soon. The reading I did for my class was pretty cool. I will come back to this thread later this morning and list what we read. It was for a dystopian literature class.

    Currently I am hoping to catch up on the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series and some YA stuff I like to read that I have gotten behind on. After that I am going to catch back up on R.A. Salvatore and his books involving Drizzt who is one of my favorite characters.

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    World Champion Donald's Avatar
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    What an excellent idea for a thread, MTR. I am very bad when it comes to reading. I really, really want to read more, but I have a hard time starting.

    I have several Stephen King books that I am behind on, like Under the Dome, 11/22/63, Mr. Mercedes, and Doctor Sleep. I suppose I should read instead of popping on Netflix or Amazon when I get home from work. An hour or two of reading a day seems like a good goal.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    I used to read Stephen King all the time. I would read the new novel when it would come out but I grew kind of tired of him. I tried to pick him back up but could never get into any of the books I tried. He is a great author and I love several of his novels but kind of gotten away from him.

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    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    Great idea for a thread! I read more than I watch TV, especially when there's no sports on. I have a Kindle and as of last count have roughly 60 books to read. Right now I'm alternating between a Clive Cussler series and autobiographies. I just started Gunslinger, which is Brett Favre's biography. I also downloaded the Lenny Dykstra biography as well as a book about the hard-partying Cowboys of the 90s. All seem like they'll be good reads.

    For those that liked The Princess Bride, I highly recommend As You Wish. It's behind-the-scenes stories of filming the movie. Flew through it.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    I used to read a ton of sports biographies and autobiographies but have not done so much lately. I started As You Wish and then had to bring it back to the library due to lack of time. I need to go grab it off the shelf again....

    I have a co-worker that is always reading stuff on her kindle. I have the kindle app and nook app and kobo app on my ipad and phone and use those but honestly I try to just check out books from the library I work at when I can.

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    Isaiah 40:30-31 Hero!'s Avatar
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    Brick by Brick - the story of how Lego went from near bankruptcy 15 years ago to dominating the toy market. Absolutely great read with lots of insight into how to turn a business around by re-evaluating, refocusing, and rebuilding. I've got like 5 pages left, so i'm gonna go return it in a bit and grab something at the library. Give me recommendations, doodz.

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    GP OG Percussion's Avatar
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    Was knee deep in ...

    ... but I lost it due to being a dumbass. Was terrific what I'd gotten through, about 2/3 of the way.

    In the meantime I finished ...

    ... which I highly recommend. Great bit of relaxation technique and a good introduction to meditation.

    Started ...

    ... but it's kinda terrible and so I haven't picked it up much.

    Just got into ...

    ... which has been pretty enjoyable, if just on the human interest side ...

    ... and ...

    ... but haven't had enough time at all to gauge how I'll like it.
    Last edited by percussion13; December 29th, 2016 at 12:41 PM.

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    Currently making my way through The Making of Modern Britain from Andrew Marr.

    Never really had too much of an interest in history, but Marr's a wonderful storyteller and drags you into the time.

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    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    I would love to work in a library. I used to check out several books at a time at my local library and swore up and down I'd never get a Kindle because I was a purist. Fast forward a couple years and I got tired of my wife complaining about me being up until 11 or later every night with a light on in the bedroom, reading in bed. Her mom gave me a Kindle she didn't want and the rest is history.

    Billy Crystal's book Still Foolin' 'Em was great. I couldn't put it down.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    My wife and I read a lot of the same books and our daughter also likes to read some of the stuff that we read so when we do buy books now we tend to buy ebooks so we can just read on our own devices and not fight over the physical book. That and we are trying to eliminate a lot of the books we have at the house due to space issues.

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    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    There's a great little bookstore in the town in VT my wife and I visit a lot. There's also outlet shops. More often than not I end up in the bookstore for longer than my wife is in the outlet shops.

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    World Champion Donald's Avatar
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    I don't think I can read electronic books. I just prefer having a physical copy.

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    too big to fail Tainted Eclipse's Avatar
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    right now most actively reading this book http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic...=9781107063693 comparing early state formation in england and spain and the effects the respective kinds of state formation processes had on the development of their colonies; along with the origins of political order by francis fukuyama, a good general overview of why the state and development outcomes of europe, india, china and the islamic world were different.

    also working my way through the short stories of flannery o'connor and re-reading some maupassant in french.

    just got this book in the mail yesterday https://www.amazon.com/Europeans-Lui.../dp/0140071504 because it was mentioned in an article and it sounded interesting. but it was a couple weeks ago so i don't really remember its premise. i think it's by a journalist going around europe in the interwar contrasting the national characters. haven't started it yet.

    last book i finished was the rise of early christendom by peter brown, very great serious historical work and very readable and entertaining. he's a pioneer of the study of late antiquity and now i want to read a couple more of his books.

    i haven't read a novel in a few months now. last one was temple of dawn by yukio mishima. it's the third installment of his sea of fertility series, a very interesting and very philosophical, both in abstract and specific political terms, examination of modern japan up until mishima's death (he ritually killed himself shortly after finishing the series after embarrassingly failing to instigate a nationalist revolution). the writing is also superb, very highly recommended.

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    Not Elected to Read McBain's Avatar
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    My Kindle is my favourite possession, read constantly since I've had it.

    Usually I read mainly non fiction but currently I'm ploughing through "The Bricks that Built the Houses" by Kate Tempest. It's excellent.

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    Drink Champion Clive Plasma's Avatar
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    The Refusal of Work by David Frayne; https://www.ft.com/content/46ae5d52-...9-b89a1dfede9b

    Very interesting so far. Bit more substantial than the previous works I've read on this type of stuff. I expect it, much like the review states, to kind of fizzle out when it comes to actual implementation or evidence beyond theory. But the ideas are 'nice' escapism on the surface.

    This new book, The Refusal of Work, argues that the time has to come to challenge the work-centred nature of society. The author, David Frayne, an academic who looks at consumerism and radical approaches to work, describes the powerful view that jobs are an expression of our creativity and selves. There is for some, a religious devotion to work.He writes: “Gratifying work is a fantasy that we have all been trained to invest in, ever since our teachers and parents asked us what we wanted to ‘be’ when we grew up.”
    Also just got the last 4 back issues of Delayed Gratification; http://www.slow-journalism.com

    It's a 'slow news' magazine, publishing news 3 months late in a bid to present the entire story, factually correct, and avoid knee-jerk journalism. Very slick looking, great infographics and the articles are mostly long form, which makes a change from over-used photos, unengaging facts and figures combined with repetitive poorly edited content.

    Last edited by Clive Plasma; December 29th, 2016 at 1:02 PM.

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    The Stale Smell of Excess Jimmy Zero's Avatar
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    Right now I'm reading American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. I like it a lot, but it's not living up to the hype. I haven't read much by Gaiman, but he can be really heavy handed in AG.

    Before that, I read the Collector trilogy by Chris F. Holm. It's a series of relatively short novels done in a detective noir style about a guy that has to collect damned souls for hell for eternity. It's really cool. Not very deep stuff, but the popcorn movie equivalent of a book. Really fun easy reads. Interesting main character and the author does a great job of fleshing out the mythology of the world these books take place in while keeping the action moving. I highly recommend these books. They're also very inexpensive, so there's minimal risk in terms of spending $20 on a book you're on the fence about. Book 1: Dead Harvest

    Next up, I'm going to read Defending the Damned: Inside Chicago's Cook County Public Defender's Office. This is a really intimate look at the public defender's office in Chicago, specifically at providing defenses for alleged murderers. Really looking forward to this one as I work in the legal field in Chicago (albeit business law as a paralegal), and I've heard that this is a fantastic book.

    Also next up, The Lives of Tao. I love sci-fi books, and this one seems like it's right up my alley. I don't know anything about the author or this book, other than the description, but it sounds interesting.

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    Isaiah 40:30-31 Hero!'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Donald View Post
    I don't think I can read electronic books. I just prefer having a physical copy.
    i love physical books, but my library allows digital and audio book rental which is super easy to use. I can literally borrow an audio book 5 minutes before I leave work and listen to it on the way home. I buy all my physical books at yearly library sales. A lot of local libraries will have a day where you can buy a bunch of books for a couple bucks. We went the day where you could buy a $5 bag and fill it up and we got 100+ kids books and at least 50 books for the wife and myself. It's awesome.

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    What the fucks up Dennys! Nash Diesel's Avatar
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    I'm just now starting IT by Stephen King. Only about 15 pages in. I fucking love his movies but it's sad to admit that the only book of his I've read is Eyes of the Dragon. Great book, completely different than what most people associate with King. I read it back in 5th-6th grade. My aunt had all of his books that were out at the time (so we're talking 1994-1995) and she wouldn't let me borrow any of them due to the language I assume. Eyes has some "mature" content but I mean I'm 15 pages in to IT and yeah, not exactly the same lol. So I'm very excited to read the books that some of my favorite movies of all time are based on.

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    Not Elected to Read McBain's Avatar
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    I prefer real books and like to keep growing my collection but my kindle display is very like off the paper and very convenient for when travelling.

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    Titty Master Jordo's Avatar
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    I'm currently rereading the dark tower series by King in anticipation for the movie. I also read it so fast the first time a lot didn't sink in. I've read virtually every thing king has written and I've even started reading the stuff his son has done.

    I should probably branch out a bit

    I also do my reading on my phone. I do love the feeling of holding a book but I read mostly in bed with my lady so the phone eliminates the need to turn on a light
    Last edited by Jordo; December 29th, 2016 at 1:59 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nash Diesel View Post
    I'm just now starting IT by Stephen King. Only about 15 pages in. I fucking love his movies but it's sad to admit that the only book of his I've read is Eyes of the Dragon. Great book, completely different than what most people associate with King. I read it back in 5th-6th grade. My aunt had all of his books that were out at the time (so we're talking 1994-1995) and she wouldn't let me borrow any of them due to the language I assume. Eyes has some "mature" content but I mean I'm 15 pages in to IT and yeah, not exactly the same lol. So I'm very excited to read the books that some of my favorite movies of all time are based on.
    Wonderful book.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    So I just took a dystopian literature class which was really cool. Here is what we went through during the course of the semester.

    We by Zamyatin. This was written back in 1921. I struggled getting into this one a bit. Not a bad read though.

    The short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. I have read this short story before. I enjoyed it and found a couple videos were people made some short films of it.

    Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury. Classic book for those that have not read it before. My son read it and also enjoyed it and ended up doing a book project on it as well.

    Logan's Run by Nolan and Johnson. Interesting read where everyone goes to a death chamber at the age of 21 and Logan is a person that catches runners who try to avoid it and he ends up becoming a runner himself.

    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip Dick. This is the novel that Blade Runner is adapted from. I preferred the book. I know that is cliche but it is true. I enjoyed the movie but didn't think it was a great adaptation of the novel.

    Neuromancer by Gibson. I have to admit I struggled this one and never finished. It was okay and I had a friend tell me they really enjoyed it and people in my class did as well. I may need to go back and finish it.

    The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood. Another classic of sorts. The US government is overthrown and women's rights are pretty much abolished and this is a tale of woman basically used to try to bear children to rich families where the wife can't and most of the time the husband is sterile as well. There is a movie which was pretty good and good adaptation of the book with just a few minor changes. I think there is another film in the works.

    The Giver by Lowery. Great YA book that a lot of kids read in school. Both of my kids did. Great movie adaption out there as well that I watched for this class.

    The Walking Dead Days Gone By. So we got to read the first graphic novel of the comics. I had never read the comics so it was nice to compare. We also got to pick an episode to watch and review.

    Never Let Me Go by Ishuguro. Couldn't even get started in this one for some reason. Skipped over it. Need to go back and try again.

    The Hunger Games by Collins. Read it before and nice to have some discussion about it and the movie in class.

    Unwind by Shusterman. This is YA and it is pretty good. Kind of unnerving but honestly a lot of this stuff is because of the dystopian nature. There are more books to the series which I would like to read at some point.

    Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Another good YA that talks about some characters and their lives before and after a super flu wipes out most of the world.

    Watched a couple other films to go with stuff. Really cool class.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jordo View Post
    I'm currently rereading the dark tower series by King in anticipation for the movie. I also read it so fast the first time a lot didn't sink in. I've read virtually every thing king has written and I've even started reading the stuff his son has done.

    I should probably branch out a bit
    I have read half of that series. Really struggled with it. My wife loves the whole series though.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nash Diesel View Post
    I'm just now starting IT by Stephen King. Only about 15 pages in. I fucking love his movies but it's sad to admit that the only book of his I've read is Eyes of the Dragon. Great book, completely different than what most people associate with King. I read it back in 5th-6th grade. My aunt had all of his books that were out at the time (so we're talking 1994-1995) and she wouldn't let me borrow any of them due to the language I assume. Eyes has some "mature" content but I mean I'm 15 pages in to IT and yeah, not exactly the same lol. So I'm very excited to read the books that some of my favorite movies of all time are based on.
    IT is a great book. The mini-series that was made was terrible with a great cast though. Eyes of the Dragon is one of my favorite books.

  25. #25
    World Champion Donald's Avatar
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    I think I'm going to attempt to read every Stephen King novel/short story collection in chronological order. I've read most of them before but it's been at least ten years since I last read one so it will be good to re-visit them.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jordo View Post
    I'm currently rereading the dark tower series by King in anticipation for the movie. I also read it so fast the first time a lot didn't sink in. I've read virtually every thing king has written and I've even started reading the stuff his son has done.

    I should probably branch out a bit
    The Dark Tower is the best series of books I've had the pleasure of reading. The Gunslinger is unlike every other book in the series and The Waste Lands isn't quite at the quality of the others, but still good. The Drawing of the Three and The Wolves of the Calla have a strong shout of being my favourite book I've read.

  27. #27
    The Stale Smell of Excess Jimmy Zero's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Donald View Post
    I think I'm going to attempt to read every Stephen King novel/short story collection in chronological order. I've read most of them before but it's been at least ten years since I last read one so it will be good to re-visit them.
    Ugh, why would you do that to yourself?

    Stephen King is alright, but I'm not a huge fan. His good stuff is really good, but his bad stuff, and there is a lot of it, is, IMO, god awful.

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    Titty Master Jordo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MTR View Post
    IT is a great book. The mini-series that was made was terrible with a great cast though. Eyes of the Dragon is one of my favorite books.
    Tim Cury was the only saving grace for the mini series.

    The IT movie coming out could be pretty good as it's being sold as being more faithful to the books.

  29. #29
    Isaiah 40:30-31 Hero!'s Avatar
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    Yeah, I don't really get the love for King. Some of his stuff is great like It, Dark tower, Shawshank, basically all of the big stuff, but a lot of his work is just wordy and boring.

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    What the fucks up Dennys! Nash Diesel's Avatar
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    The movie IT was awesome. I remember back in the day they would show it on USA but in 2 parts. The first half would be on Saturday and the second on Sunday. I can't compare it to the book just yet as like I've said, I'm barely into it. But I do remember my aunt telling me that so many of the movies are not as good as the book. She didn't mean it in a bad way, she just meant that due to how detailed and long the books are it's impossible to cram everything in and that's par for the course with a lot of books that get turned into movies. You can't cram 1200 pages into a 2-3 hour movie.

  31. #31
    World Champion Donald's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hero! View Post
    Yeah, I don't really get the love for King. Some of his stuff is great like It, Dark tower, Shawshank, basically all of the big stuff, but a lot of his work is just wordy and boring.
    I just discovered him when I was younger, around 12 or 13, and have been hooked since. I think enjoying horror and scary stuff also helped. Always will be a big fan.

    First book I read was Desperation, then IT, and the Shining, Salem's Lot, Carrie....Signing up to the Stephen King Library, where they sent you a new book every month was fantastic for me. Then I started getting duplicates so I stopped that

  32. #32
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    I have trouble reading King because I find him to be plodding at times...that said, my father in law absolutely loves his work.

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    King has such an expansive library covering multiple genres, it's not surprising a few aren't up to the standards of Dark Tower, The Stand, Dead Zone, Green Mile, Shawshank, It, Salem's Lot etc.

  34. #34
    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nash Diesel View Post
    The movie IT was awesome. I remember back in the day they would show it on USA but in 2 parts. The first half would be on Saturday and the second on Sunday. I can't compare it to the book just yet as like I've said, I'm barely into it. But I do remember my aunt telling me that so many of the movies are not as good as the book. She didn't mean it in a bad way, she just meant that due to how detailed and long the books are it's impossible to cram everything in and that's par for the course with a lot of books that get turned into movies. You can't cram 1200 pages into a 2-3 hour movie.
    They show it in two parts because it was done as a mini-series that was shown over two nights back in the day. They really don't do those anymore. The Stand was done over 4 nights and was great. IT was terrible without even comparing it to the book. It was choppy and just not written well. Great cast though. Loved cast and Tim Curry was great but yeah not a great movie in my view and you are probably one of the first people I have heard actually say it was a great movie. The book is awesome and you will love it.

    Typically movies are not as good as the book but they can still be great movies and good adaptations of the book. I have seen some terrible adaptations of books though. It is hard to cram everything into a 2 to 3 hour movie and stuff gets left out which is why one hopes they catch the main points of the book in the movie.

  35. #35
    1-800-Call-My-Bluff Fro's Avatar
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    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    Was that any good! I used to be such a big Norm fan, back in the day.

    I just finished reading Crash and Burn by Artie Lange. Brutal description of addiction and the insanity that accompanies it. Tough to read in some spots.

  37. #37
    1-800-Call-My-Bluff Fro's Avatar
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    I just started it but I think if you like Norm you'll like it

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    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MTR View Post
    Typically movies are not as good as the book but they can still be great movies and good adaptations of the book. I have seen some terrible adaptations of books though. It is hard to cram everything into a 2 to 3 hour movie and stuff gets left out which is why one hopes they catch the main points of the book in the movie.
    I know you're talking about King books, but that's the case for all movies into books I think. And it's not just because it's hard to cram everything that takes 5+ hours to read into a 2-3 hour movie or because the screenwriter/director make changes from the book. For me, personally, it's always two main issues: what happens on screen isn't how I imagined things to be in the book, or the actor/actresses just aren't doing a good enough job.

    One of my favorite books of the last few years was Silver Linings Playbook. Fantastic book, terrible movie. And I say it was terrible not because I don't like the actors they chose, it just wasn't how I pictured it and they made big changes.

  39. #39
    Titty Master Jordo's Avatar
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    The book to movie thing is really tricky it seems a lot of times having read the book ruins a movie. Which is a shame because in the case of silver linings playbook, that's a pretty good movie (critically acclaimed) and it seems reading the book has ruined it for you.

    That's a shame.

    I tend to go into movies based on books I love with low expectations and I tend to be pretty happy. You know going in things will change but it's an adaption. A movie based on a book I like being different doesn't burn all the copies of the book. It's still there to be loved.

    I was on a Stephen King fan page on Facebook and had to leave because I was sick of arguing about the dark tower series. For those that don't know they cast Idris Elba as Roland. Roland is the main character in the dark tower series and is 100 percent a white guy, there is no ambiguity about it in the books. Idris being black has just fucking ruined the movie for a lot of people and I just don't get it really.

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    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    It didn't help that they cast an actress I can't stand in the main role. That aside, they made some major plot changes to the movie that I didn't like either. And I did go into the movie with very high hopes because, aside from Jennifer Lawrence, I genuinely liked all the actors they cast. My wife, who didn't read the book, did enjoy the movie. Every time we see a trailer for a movie that's based on a book, we have a debate about whether we should read the book first. Basically, the question is do we want the book to be ruined by seeing the movie or do we want the movie to be ruined by reading the book?

    I try not to get too caught up in casting prior to seeing a movie unless it's a drastic change. For me, casting a black actor to play a fictional white guy isn't a big deal. But, if they take one of my favorite books about a shark and make the shark a puppy...yeah, that's a big change.
    Last edited by BigAle; December 29th, 2016 at 3:40 PM.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    I love to read the books first. I try to not compare them both too much because I understand what I think is important and should have been in the movie is not always what a lot of others think. I loved the Harry Potter movies and overall I think they did a great job adapting the books to movie but yeah there were things I would have changed. I loved both movies and book.

    I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson books. The first movie came out and it is a really good movie. It is a terrible adaptation of the book though. I have not watched the second film because I honestly don't know who they were going to pull it off with the changes they made to the first book in the first film and I am not sure I want to see what they did. Despite it being a terrible adaptation I really enjoyed the first film though even though it left no room to really continue the story line. Guess I should see how they did things in the second film. My daughter on the other hand hated the movie because they changed so much of it.

  42. #42
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    I generally try to read the book first. I like to write, so I'm always more interested in how good a book is than how good a movie is. However, more often than not I'm disappointed in the movie.

    One of the more recent "based on a book" movies I really liked was Into The Wild. I thought it was a great movie and really did the book, and McCandless' story, justice.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    My daughter just read that book in school. I might have to check that out.

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    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    She did? That's awesome. I wish my school had that on the reading list. I was lucky enough to read it in college.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    It was actually for a dual enrollment lit course. She is getting college credit for it.

  46. #46
    What the fucks up Dennys! Nash Diesel's Avatar
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    I've read enough comics to fill the Titanic and I've read enough books to fill a size 12 shoe box lol. Reading you guys' posts makes me feel sad. I need to read way more books.

    Quote Originally Posted by MTR View Post
    They show it in two parts because it was done as a mini-series that was shown over two nights back in the day. They really don't do those anymore. The Stand was done over 4 nights and was great. IT was terrible without even comparing it to the book. It was choppy and just not written well. Great cast though. Loved cast and Tim Curry was great but yeah not a great movie in my view and you are probably one of the first people I have heard actually say it was a great movie. The book is awesome and you will love it.

    Typically movies are not as good as the book but they can still be great movies and good adaptations of the book. I have seen some terrible adaptations of books though. It is hard to cram everything into a 2 to 3 hour movie and stuff gets left out which is why one hopes they catch the main points of the book in the movie.
    I'll be honest, I've never heard anyone say it was a bad movie unless it was someone who just doesn't like horror movies.

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    83% Insane Rip's Avatar
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    For what it's worth mate I've just this minute finished Salvation Run, the Mrs got me an out of print copy for Christmas.

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    Nothing wrong with reading comics. I wish I had the money to collect and read more of them.

  49. #49
    The Stale Smell of Excess Jimmy Zero's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nash Diesel View Post
    I've read enough comics to fill the Titanic and I've read enough books to fill a size 12 shoe box lol. Reading you guys' posts makes me feel sad. I need to read way more books.
    I used to not read as often as I do now. There were two things that got me reading again. First, I started to find stuff that really spoke to my interests. I'd never really given sci-fi books a chance until the last few years because I was snobbish about what books I read, but when I said fuck it and started opening my mind to the genre I realized that I love them. Urban fantasy especially. Second, now that I have an office job in downtown Chicago, I take the train to and from work. I now have a half hour+ each way of nothing to do, so that's my primary reading time. I'm blowing through books at a rapid pace.

    I'll be honest, I've never heard anyone say it was a bad movie unless it was someone who just doesn't like horror movies.
    The IT movie? Man, I've never heard anyone say it was anything other than dog shit. I love horror movies, but I hate IT. Such garbage, especially once they characters are all grown up and go back to the town.

  50. #50
    GP OG Percussion's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clive Plasma View Post
    The Refusal of Work by David Frayne; https://www.ft.com/content/46ae5d52-...9-b89a1dfede9b

    Very interesting so far. Bit more substantial than the previous works I've read on this type of stuff. I expect it, much like the review states, to kind of fizzle out when it comes to actual implementation or evidence beyond theory. But the ideas are 'nice' escapism on the surface.]
    Just had B&N put in an order for this off of this reco ... looking forward to it.

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    too big to fail Tainted Eclipse's Avatar
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    i have a short commute and especially going in, the trolley is 90% of the time too packed to sit down, this has really cut down on my pace of reading.

  52. #52
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    I used to do audio books on my 30 minute drive to work but I found it dangerously distracting on the road. Now I pack my kindle in my bag and get in 30 minutes of reading during my lunch break. Best 30 minutes of the workday.

  53. #53
    Legend Mik's Avatar
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    The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

  54. #54
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    Currently reading The Moth, which is a collection of short stories which the name comes from either a radio show or a podcast (not sure which because, well, I don't know) but it's been mostly interesting stories so far. About a quarter of the way through.

    Just began Catch Me If You Can, which has been as entertaining to me as the movie was.

  55. #55
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    One of the only parts of college I miss is being able to read outside during nice weather for basically as long as I wanted on most days, if I wasn't working or doing homework.

  56. #56
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    Currently reading Running with scissors by Augusten Burroughs. Not very far in but I have a feeling it is going to be all sorts of messed up.

    Finished Invisible monsters remix and furiously happy in the past month as well.

  57. #57
    World Champion lotjx's Avatar
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    I finished Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein book. Pretty good read with a lot of behind the scenes photos. I will start the new Twin Peaks book this week.

  58. #58
    Her right to choose… Tyson's Avatar
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    Currently rereading the series "A Dream of Eagles" by Jack Whyte.

  59. #59
    World Champion Marlon Dingle's Avatar
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    Just finished Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, which is part of the Southern Reech trilogy. Quite short but really interesting and mysterious.

  60. #60
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    Yup. Not going to get anything for fun finished before starting back to classes next week. This sucks. Because really hard to squeeze anything in with all the reading I have to do for the various classes I take.

  61. #61
    Legend Mik's Avatar
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    The Bone Clocks by Davis Mitchell now.

  62. #62
    Not Elected to Read McBain's Avatar
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    I've just started Slade House by David Mitchell.


    Would be interested in what you make of Bone Clocks when you're done. I've already read it.

  63. #63
    Legend Mik's Avatar
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    What did you think? I love Mitchell (especially cloud atlas) but this one is coming off a little conventional and frothy at the moment and I wanted something a little less light.

  64. #64
    Not Elected to Read McBain's Avatar
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    I wasn't a major fan but it's not that conventional in the end. Don't want to say too much though.

    Cloud Atlas is by far my favourite too though.

  65. #65
    Legend Mik's Avatar
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    It feels like it's going to go a bit Neil Gaiman and light horror/fantasy. Something her brother said to her when she was leaving home put me on the scent and if it is can you let me know and I'll give it a miss and come back to it some other time?

  66. #66
    Not Elected to Read McBain's Avatar
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    I don't know Gaiman, but it goes a bit other dimensiony, good vs evil.

  67. #67
    Legend Mik's Avatar
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    Yep, very Gaiman and I love Gaiman. But I'm out. Thanks for that.

  68. #68
    World Champion Donald's Avatar
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    Haven't read anything in a few years. What's a good recommendation?

  69. #69
    an affront to god mth's Avatar
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    Just picked up "A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age" by Daniel J. Levitin from the library after seeing it at the bookstore a couple days prior.

  70. #70
    Not Elected to Read McBain's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Donald View Post
    Haven't read anything in a few years. What's a good recommendation?
    Have a look through this thread and see if any of the descriptions fit into something you might want to read.

  71. #71
    The Stale Smell of Excess Jimmy Zero's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marlon Dingle View Post
    Just finished Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, which is part of the Southern Reech trilogy. Quite short but really interesting and mysterious.
    I loved each one of the books in that trilogy. The guy that directed Ex Machina is directing the film adaptation.

  72. #72
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    Just finished The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins. Absolutely heartbreaking at the very end. The ending stuck with me for a few days. Couldn't get over it right away. I tried to explain it to my wife but she didn't read the book so she didn't understand.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    Well about to start up some reading for a history class I am taking. First book that I am starting this week is Republic of Debtors by Bruce Mann.

  74. #74
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MTR View Post
    Well about to start up some reading for a history class I am taking. First book that I am starting this week is Republic of Debtors by Bruce Mann.
    What is the history class?I loved my history classes at college and ended up minoring in American History.

  75. #75
    Simon
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    I've just started reading Jon Ronson's "So You've Been Publicly Shamed", which focuses on modern social media's move back towards a bygone era where crimes were punished by public humiliation. Ronson is a Louis Theroux-type who investigates all sorts of weird shit going on in the world - he wrote 'Them' about extremists and conspiracy theories, 'The Psychopath Test' about the diagnosis and symptoms of psychopathy and other forms of so-called madness, and also the book that led to the movie 'The Men Who Stare At Goats'. He's sometimes criticised for being a little light on fact and fudging details, but he's very entertaining.

    This Guardian article by Ronson gives a brief summary of the book - I'm not far into it but it's great so far, and The Psychopath Test was very good too.

    https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...one-jon-ronson

  76. #76
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    I have that in my Kindle as well! Definitely looking forward to it.

    I just finished Nails, the Lenny Dykstra autobiography. It wasn't very good. He skipped around a lot, going from 1987 to 1993, then jumped ahead to 2001, then back to 1991. And I came away thinking he wrote the book more to brag about his drug use, his steroid use, his ability to party and then play the next day. He didn't take responsibility for anything he'd done wrong.

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    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigAle View Post
    What is the history class?I loved my history classes at college and ended up minoring in American History.
    This particular one is called American Forgiveness: Reconciliation, Reparation, and Pardon in U.S. History.

    I have taken all kinds of interesting history classes under this professor and others over time here.

  78. #78
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    That sounds very interesting.

    I took a class that studied how the game of baseball changed with the history of the US. It was an easy summer class that I took because I had the time and it was three credits towards the 21 I needed for a minor, but it was one of my favorites.

  79. #79
    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    I have also taken the following classes under this guy

    The Politics of Secrecy in America, 1790-Present
    Advertising and American Society, 1790-Present
    The Politics of Medical Science in America: Colonial Times to the Present
    Panics, Recessions, and Depressions in America, 1789-Present

    These were taught but other people but it were interesting:

    History of the Mafia in Italy and the United States
    "Happy Wars and Sad Love Songs:" A History of Ireland
    The American South in Black and White

    Not a history class but also took a class about The Beatles that was fun.

  80. #80
    Simon
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    If you ever want to get an idea of Ireland without the dryness of some history books, I'd massively recommend Tony Hawks' (not that one) 'Round Ireland With A Fridge'. It's probably my favourite book and perfectly encapsulates the Irish 'spirit.

  81. #81
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MTR View Post
    I have also taken the following classes under this guy

    The Politics of Secrecy in America, 1790-Present
    Advertising and American Society, 1790-Present
    The Politics of Medical Science in America: Colonial Times to the Present
    Panics, Recessions, and Depressions in America, 1789-Present

    These were taught but other people but it were interesting:

    History of the Mafia in Italy and the United States
    "Happy Wars and Sad Love Songs:" A History of Ireland
    The American South in Black and White

    Not a history class but also took a class about The Beatles that was fun.
    I'm a history nerd so most of those sound really interesting. American South in Black and White sounds great.

    I took a class called The History of Rock in America. Very cool. Could count as a history or a music class. Basically we studied how music reflected society during different points. The blues in the early part of the 2oth century, protest songs, etc. A lot of fun.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    If you ever want to get an idea of Ireland without the dryness of some history books, I'd massively recommend Tony Hawks' (not that one) 'Round Ireland With A Fridge'. It's probably my favourite book and perfectly encapsulates the Irish 'spirit.
    I will have to check that out. Yeah as much as I like some of these history classes the reading can be rather dry at times.

  83. #83
    Pissed Off MTR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigAle View Post
    I'm a history nerd so most of those sound really interesting. American South in Black and White sounds great.

    I took a class called The History of Rock in America. Very cool. Could count as a history or a music class. Basically we studied how music reflected society during different points. The blues in the early part of the 2oth century, protest songs, etc. A lot of fun.
    The American South class was very interesting. I will have to find my reading list for that around here. I actually still have those books. I don't always buy them but I did in this case. He also sprinkled in some pdf's of some articles and such to go along with the texts.

  84. #84
    Main Eventer Alcohol's Avatar
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    Just finished reading 'Alexander Hamilton' by Ron CHernow. It's the book that Lin Manuel Miranda based the Hamilton musical on. I've always loved history and politics and it's a really quite interesting view on a pretty important part of modern history, not least in how important Hamilton seems to have been while still being relatively unknown, until recently anyway.

    Also finished reading 'Norwegian Wood' by Haruki Murakami. Had it recommended to me by a friend and I absolutely loved it. It deals with a lot of things, but its handling of mental illness resonated with me and felt very familiar, so that may have coloured my opinion. That said it's definitely got me interested in reading more of his work.

    Next up is 'Empire Games' by Charles Stross. It's part of his Merchant Princes series, not my favourite, but it'll keep me ticking over until July hen the next book in his Laundry Files series comes out.

  85. #85
    Simon
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    Alcohol I bought that Norwegian Wood book for my stepdad last Christmas, the Amazon algorithms must be up the shitter because for weeks afterwards it kept telling me I'd love various books about chopping actual wood

  86. #86
    Main Eventer Alcohol's Avatar
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    I know what you mean. I'm getting lots of those as well atm, not to mention lots of recommendations for 'Hamilton Rice Cookers' since the Chernow book.

  87. #87
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alcohol View Post
    I know what you mean. I'm getting lots of those as well atm, not to mention lots of recommendations for 'Hamilton Rice Cookers' since the Chernow book.
    There was a funny tweet going around a while ago from someone saying that Amazon had taken their purchase of an air purifier to be the start of a passion for air purifiers which was certain to lead to a vast collection

  88. #88
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fro View Post
    What an absolutely bizarre book. Just finished it last night. I laughed at times, but when I was done I sat back and said "what the hell did I just read?"

  89. #89
    Not Elected to Read McBain's Avatar
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    A people's history of the United States by Howard Zinn. I should have probably read this at university but glad I'm finally getting around to it.

  90. #90
    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    That's a good one. When you're done, check out the show on that on the History Channel. It features "celebrities" reading passages from the book and then an explanation of what was happening in the country at the time. Pretty good.

  91. #91
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    I recently read the book about the Four Horseman that they used for reference on the What Happened When podcast when they did the two Four Horseman episodes.

  92. #92
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    New literature course for the fall. almost done with this degree. This is Eve to Ifemelu: Gender and The Fall(s). Here is the reading list

    Othello by Shakespeare
    Much Ado about Nothing by Shakespeare
    Paradise Lost by Milton
    Frankenstein by Shelley
    Pride and Prejudice by Austin
    Jane Eyre by Bronte
    Selections from The Wasteland and Four Quartets by Elliott
    The Return of the Solder by Rebecca West
    Invisible Man by Ellison
    Beloved by Morrison
    Persepolis by Satrapri
    Americanah by Ngozi Adichie

  93. #93
    What the fucks up Dennys! Nash Diesel's Avatar
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    Crisis on Infinite Earths

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    Main Eventer BigAl's Avatar
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    Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead, by Frank Meeink. Brutal book, but very very interesting.

    https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography...s=frank+meeink

  95. #95
    Not asleep The Beer Monster's Avatar
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    I recently read Good Omens on holiday and have off and on been making my way through the Long Earth books. This has made me want to go back to the Discworld books. The wife got me the first 4 for my Birthday, at the speed I get through books, I might finish all 41 by retirement. Good to set realistic goals.

  96. #96
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    Currently reading The Beer Monster's post.

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    I'd wait till the paper back.

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    I'm thinking of reading all of Stephen King's books in publication order. I've read most of them already, but it will be fun to do regardless. I'll start with Carrie sometime tomorrow.

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    The 'me' in 'team' Dreyski's Avatar
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    I used to read a lot of travel writing, but more recently I've moved onto history books.
    A people's history of the United States
    Don't know much about History
    Don't know much about the Civil War
    Victoria's wars
    A couple of others I can't bring to mind at the moment

    And right now I'm setting some time aside for

  100. #100
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    Borne by Jeff Vandermeer

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