Author Topic: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?  (Read 190227 times)

Offline Ben

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #840 on: March 5, 2010, 08:17 PM »
I am intrigued by this novel already.  If I can get through the first couple of chapters, that is.



I loved this book. I think I read it in two nights. I just couldn't put it down. I would still love to see the movie, but I think I'll have to wait for DVD/Blu-Ray now. Don't give up on it.  :)
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Offline Tracy

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #841 on: March 8, 2010, 07:00 AM »
I am intrigued by this novel already.  If I can get through the first couple of chapters, that is.



I loved this book. I think I read it in two nights. I just couldn't put it down. I would still love to see the movie, but I think I'll have to wait for DVD/Blu-Ray now. Don't give up on it.  :)

I ended up reading it in about 3 or 4 days - I had a hard time putting it down.  It was beautiful and haunting at the same time.  I, too, am looking forward to seeing the DVD.  I am curious to see how it will translate to film.  
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Offline EpicGon

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #842 on: March 8, 2010, 12:41 PM »
I´m reading essays on Derrida, Lacan Freud, to update my literary theory, one of them is the essay of Frederic Jameson, "the Post modernism or the cultural logic of advanced capitalism".
« Last Edit: March 8, 2010, 12:43 PM by EpicGon »

Offline Phrubruh

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #843 on: March 9, 2010, 12:22 AM »
Now reading "Metal Storm" by Kevin J. Anderson.



Bestseller Anderson's super-size mosaic of intergalactic, Darwinian conflict has been compared to some of the genre's grandest epics with good reason, but the breakneck sixth book (after 2006's Of Fire and Night) of this shelf-bending space opera fails to satisfy on its own merits. The quickly deteriorating Terran Hanseatic League (Hansa), the formidable Ildiran Empire and the newly created Confederation of Hansa's ex-colonies and rivals are in a fight for their very existence, battling not only each other but rogue robots, sentient fire entities and an ancient insectoid race, thought long extinct, which plans to eradicate all life on the planets it claims to own. Although Anderson brings all of his considerable skill to bear, much of the action-packed conflict remains relatively predictable, perhaps due to the unwieldy cast of characters, tapestry of intertwining subplots and eon-spanning backstory. A sparse conclusion leaves readers hanging in anticipation of book seven.

For years, the alien Klikiss robots have pretended to be humanity's friends, but their seeming "help" allowed them to plant an insidious Trojan Horse throughout the Earth Defense Forces. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating war, swarms of ancient robots built by the Klikiss continue their depredations on helpless worlds with stolen and heavily armed Earth battleships.

Among the humans, the Hansa's brutal Chairman struggles to crush any resistance even as King Peter breaks away to form his own new Confederation among the colonies who have declared their independence.

And meanwhile, the original, voracious Klikiss race, long thought to be extinct, has returned, intent on conquering their former worlds and willing to annihilate anyone in the way.
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Offline Scott

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #844 on: March 9, 2010, 12:38 AM »
I took on the Wheel of Time books...slow slow going so far.  I guess I am sort of liking to see how each writer more or less takes the Ring story and makes it their own.  Most of the High Fantasy I have read over the last two years (Belgariad, Riftwar, the Kid with the dragon books) has been variations on said story.  I guess that is why they call it High Fantasy.   Obviously, with multiple rather thick books, WoT is way way more in depth and involved so it will be interesting to me to see where it goes...long journey ahead :-\

Offline Phrubruh

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #845 on: March 16, 2010, 12:43 AM »
Finished "the Hunger Games". Excellent book. You guys would really enjoy it.

Now on to "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart.



"Are you a gifted child looking for Special Opportunities?" This curious newspaper ad catches the eye of orphan Reynie Muldoon. After taking exams that test both mind and spirit, Reynie is selected along with four other contestants--Sticky Washington, a nervous child with a photographic memory; irrepressible Kate Weatherhill; and a tiny child who lives up to her name, Constance Contraire. The children soon learn they've been chosen by mysterious Mr. Benedict for an important mission: they are to infiltrate the isolated Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, from which messages of distrust and compliance are being broadcast into the minds of the world's citizens. Debut novelist Stewart takes some familiar conventions--among them, an orphan struggling against evil forces (Harry Potter, anyone?)--and makes them his own. But like the Potter books, his story goes beyond mere adventures, delving into serious issues, such as the way sloganeering can undermine society--or control it. Through its interesting characters, the book also tackles personal concerns: abandonment, family, loyalty, and facing one's fears. The novel could have been shortened, but Stewart writes with such attention to the intricacies of plot and personality, his story rarely feels slow; only a significant disclosure about Constance seems forced. Smart kids who like Blue Balliet's books are the natural audience for this; but, read aloud, the novel will attract many others as well.
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Offline Morgbug

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #846 on: March 16, 2010, 02:17 AM »


Some of you will love this book, some won't.  I personally found it thoroughly enjoyable.
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Offline Nathan

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #847 on: March 18, 2010, 04:24 AM »
Just wrapped "The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo" and Ayn Rand's "Anthem." Starting on "The Hobbit" and "The Fountainhead." I've been reading too much nonfiction lately so I'm trying to get back into some fic.

Brent, I just added yours to my library request list per recommendation.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2010, 04:25 AM by Nathan »
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Offline Phrubruh

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #848 on: March 21, 2010, 10:01 PM »
Starting up "Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission" by Hampton Sides.



The Bataan Death March was just the beginning of the woes American soldiers captured by the Japanese army in the Philippines had to endure. The survivors of the march faced not only their captors' regular brutality (having surrendered, they were considered to be less than honorable foes), but also a host of illnesses such as dysentery and malaria. For three years these "ghost soldiers" lived in misery, suffering terrible losses.
When Army Rangers among Douglas MacArthur's forces arrived in the Philippines, they hatched a daring plan to liberate their captured comrades, a mission that, if successful, would prove to be a tremendous morale booster at the front and at home. Led by a young officer named Henry Mucci (called "Little MacArthur" for his constant pipe as well as his brilliance as a strategist), a combined Ranger and Filipino guerrilla force penetrated far behind enemy lines, attacked Japanese forces guarding Allied prisoners at a jungle outpost called Cabanatuan, and shepherded hundreds of prisoners to safety, with an angry Japanese army in hot pursuit. Amazingly, they suffered only light casualties.

In Ghost Soldiers, journalist Hampton Sides recounts that daring rescue, once known to every American schoolchild but now long forgotten. A gifted storyteller, Sides packs his narrative with detailed descriptions of the principal actors on both sides of the struggle and with moments of danger and exhilaration. Thrilling from start to finish, his book celebrates the heroism of hundreds of warriors and brings renewed attention to one of the Rangers' finest hours.
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Offline Phrubruh

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #849 on: March 26, 2010, 12:39 AM »
On to "100 Cupboards" by N.D. Wilson.



Twelve-year-old Henry York wakes up one night to find bits of plaster in his hair. Two knobs have broken through the wall above his bed and one of them is slowly turning . . .Henry scrapes the plaster off the wall and discovers cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he can hear the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room–with a man pacing back and forth! Henry soon understands that these are not just cupboards, but portals to other worlds.

100 Cupboards is the first book of a new fantasy adventure, written in the best world-hopping tradition and reinvented in N. D. Wilson’s inimitable style.


Also reading: "Without Warning" by John Birmingham



Birmingham’s acclaimed Axis of Time trilogy, an alternate history of World War II, now seems a mere warm-up for this blockbuster set on the eve of the second Gulf War. On March 14, 2003, as coalition forces ready their assault on Iraq, a massive energy wave envelops the continental U.S. and portions of Canada and Mexico. Quickly dubbed the Disappearance by baffled onlookers, the wave mysteriously obliterates all life forms, human and animal, within its shimmering borders. As politicians and scientists try to make sense of the anomaly, some foreign observers, including Iraqis, start celebrating, while others descend into chaos. Birmingham follows the volatile developments through the eyes of an American general in Guantánamo Bay, near the wave’s perimeter; a city engineer in Seattle, the only major U.S. city left unscathed; and an American secret operative fending off assassins on the streets of Paris. While Birmingham’s shocking premise may unnerve some American readers, a story line replete with full-throttle action should appeal to Anglophones everywhere.
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Offline Phrubruh

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #850 on: April 1, 2010, 09:04 PM »
Here is the sequal to "The Hunger Games":

"Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins.



Every year in Panem, the dystopic nation that exists where the U.S. used to be, the Capitol holds a televised tournament in which two teen "tributes" from each of the surrounding districts fight a gruesome battle to the death. In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the tributes from impoverished District Twelve, thwarted the Gamemakers, forcing them to let both teens survive. In this rabidly anticipated sequel, Katniss, again the narrator, returns home to find herself more the center of attention than ever. The sinister President Snow surprises her with a visit, and Katniss’s fear when Snow meets with her alone is both palpable and justified. Catching Fire is divided into three parts: Katniss and Peeta’s mandatory Victory Tour through the districts, preparations for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, and a truncated version of the Games themselves. Slower paced than its predecessor, this sequel explores the nation of Panem: its power structure, rumors of a secret district, and a spreading rebellion, ignited by Katniss and Peeta’s subversive victory. Katniss also deepens as a character. Though initially bewildered by the attention paid to her, she comes almost to embrace her status as the rebels’ symbolic leader. Though more of the story takes place outside the arena than within, this sequel has enough action to please Hunger Games fans and leaves enough questions tantalizingly unanswered for readers to be desperate for the next installment.
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Offline Mikey D

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #851 on: April 13, 2010, 03:32 PM »
Finished:



and



Almost Finished:



Up Next:





Common sense isn't so common

Offline Phrubruh

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #852 on: April 16, 2010, 03:24 AM »
Now reading "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Seth Grahame-Smith.



This may be the most wacky by-product of the busy Jane Austen fan-fiction industry—at least among the spin-offs and pastiches that have made it into print. In what’s described as an “expanded edition” of Pride and Prejudice, 85 percent of the original text has been preserved but fused with  “ultraviolent zombie mayhem.” For more than 50 years, we learn, England has been overrun by zombies, prompting people like the Bennets to send their daughters away to China for training in the art of deadly combat, and prompting others, like Lady Catherine de Bourgh, to employ armies of ninjas. Added to the familiar plot turns that bring Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy together is the fact that both are highly skilled killers, gleefully slaying zombies on the way to their happy ending. Is nothing sacred? Well, no, and mash-ups using literary classics that are freely available on the Web may become a whole new genre. What’s next? Wuthering Heights and Werewolves?
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Offline Phrubruh

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #853 on: April 23, 2010, 06:19 PM »
Just starting: "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells



Famous for the mistaken panic that ensued from Orson Welles’s 1938 radio dramatization, The War of the Worlds remains one of the most influential of all science fiction works. The night after a shooting star is seen streaking through the sky from Mars, a cylinder is discovered on Horsell Common in London. Naďve locals approach the cylinder armed just with a white flag—only to be quickly killed by an all-destroying heat ray, as terrifying tentacled invaders emerge. Soon the whole of human civilization is under threat as powerful Martians build gigantic killing machines, destroying all life in their path with black gas and burning ray. The forces of Earth, however, may prove harder to beat than they appear.
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Offline JediJman

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Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #854 on: April 24, 2010, 01:58 PM »
Just finished X-Wing Rogue Squadron about a week ago and have moved on to Wedge's Gamble.  RS was okay, not a big fan of WG thus far.  The lack of any real antagonist in these books makes them a tad boring IMO (Loor is far away and fairly uninvolved thus far).

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