Author Topic: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?  (Read 189673 times)

Offline Phrubruh

  • Jedi General
  • *
  • Posts: 7847
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #915 on: September 4, 2010, 12:59 PM »
I don't know. I didn't particularly like Under the Dome. It felt like King was trying to duplicate The Stand too much and it felt forced. The boss hog character didn't have that extra bit of evil I was hoping for like Flagg had. I didn't like how they kept the hero in jail for two thirds of the book and then he didn't do much. The ending was just a let down for me. I guess I was hoping it would go into a different direction. It would have been nice to have some Lost-type twists in there but it seemed pretty straight forward. It's pretty typical King with a lot of anger in that book. King must have hated high school since all the bad guys are the stereo-type bullies. I gave it two stars over at GoodReads.com.
This message brought to you by Wookiee Cookiees - "MMM... Chewie!"
Visit The Endor Express - The Ultimate Guide to Disney's Star Tours

Offline Phrubruh

  • Jedi General
  • *
  • Posts: 7847
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #916 on: September 5, 2010, 07:55 PM »
I just finished Science Fair by Dave Barry. I highly recommend you all read this book. It's got a huge subplot about Star Wars Collecting. The subplot is about a guy dressed up like Darth Vader and his pal that looks like a certain Wookiee try to steal the hero's parent's Star Wars collection. Very funny book and a nice short read.

This message brought to you by Wookiee Cookiees - "MMM... Chewie!"
Visit The Endor Express - The Ultimate Guide to Disney's Star Tours

Offline Phrubruh

  • Jedi General
  • *
  • Posts: 7847
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #917 on: September 8, 2010, 07:26 PM »
Finished Blood Rites. Now reading "Powers (Annals of the Western Shore)" by Ursala K. Le Guin.



Gavir, a 14-year-old slave in a noble household in Etra, one of the city-states in Le Guin's vividly imagined country, the Western Shore, is troubled by visions that may or may not foretell future events. Kidnapped in early childhood from the northern Marshes, set apart by his darker skin and hooked nose, endowed with a prodigious memory, Gavir is educated to become the scholar who will teach the family's children and their slaves. Protected by his elder sister, Gavir accepts his lot, unable to imagine any other life. Trusting his masters implicitly, he is blind to the danger that enslavement poses to his beautiful sister. When she is raped and killed by the second son of the household, Gavir walks away from the city, crazed with grief. He continues to walk for three years, passing through a wild forest into the Marshlands where he was born. He meets a variety of people along the way, some protective, some threatening, each one contributing to his quest to discover who he is and where he belongs. Hunted by an old enemy from Etra, Gavir returns to the forest to rescue a small girl he met there. In a thrilling escape sequence, he carries her to freedom. He finds a home with Orrec, Gry, and Memer, heroes of Gifts (2004) and Voices (2006, both Harcourt). Le Guin uses her own prodigious power as a writer to craft lyrical, precise sentences, evoking a palpable sense of place and believable characters.

This message brought to you by Wookiee Cookiees - "MMM... Chewie!"
Visit The Endor Express - The Ultimate Guide to Disney's Star Tours

Offline Nathan

  • Jedi Knight
  • *
  • Posts: 4063
  • Destroying the hobby one EU figure at a time.
    • View Profile
    • The Clone Wars Unofficial Site (in carbonite)
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #918 on: September 11, 2010, 03:06 PM »
Twitter: @OKeefeNathan
Blog: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Fanboy (in carbonite since '09, back someday)

Offline Phrubruh

  • Jedi General
  • *
  • Posts: 7847
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #919 on: September 18, 2010, 10:12 AM »
Now starting, "The House of Thunder" by Dean Koontz.



Koontz ( Watchers , The Servants of Twilight ) has come up with an intriguing premise: Susan Thornton wakes up in a hospital after a serious car accident with an odd, selective amnesia. She can remember nothing of her job, yet she is stricken with fear when the company she works for is named. And that's not all. Thirteen years earlier, Susan had witnessed the murder of her boyfriend during a brutal fraternity hazing; her testimony sent one of the four men responsible to prison. Now she sees the same men, looking not a day older, walking the corridors of the hospital. Even worse, she has recurrent macabre hallucinations involving them and the decomposing corpse of her boyfriend. Susan doubts her sanity until she stumbles upon a bit of hard evidence right out of one of the "hallucinations." Koontz's resolution, involving a complex Soviet plot, transforms the story from a cozy chiller to political thriller and may not please readers tired of cold war paranoia and propaganda. Others, however, should find this tale satisfying from start to finish.
This message brought to you by Wookiee Cookiees - "MMM... Chewie!"
Visit The Endor Express - The Ultimate Guide to Disney's Star Tours

Offline Phrubruh

  • Jedi General
  • *
  • Posts: 7847
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #920 on: September 22, 2010, 12:06 AM »
Also starting "Hocus Pocus" by Kurt Vonnegut.



Among the most original stylists in America today, Vonnegut vents his disgust and moral outrage with government and humanity and the entire universe in yet another scathing social/political/philosophical satire. Set in the year 2001, but jumping over the last half of the 20th century, Hocus Pocus takes on an absurdist's perspective of human history. Protagonist Eugene Debs Hartke, West Point graduate, Vietnam vet, college professor, educator of the disabled and the illiterate, is awaiting trial for a crime initially unspecified. Until this time, Hartke has diligently and good-naturedly participated in whatever was expected of him, including involvement in the evacuation of American personnel from Saigon. At one point, however, he calculates the remarkable fact that he has killed exactly as many people as he has had sex with, a coincidence that causes him to doubt his atheism. The narrative is composed of short takes in which Hartke's thoughts skip between the inconsequential and the profound, giving Vonnegut occasion to interject interesting tidbits of information, scientific and historical and otherwise. The cumulative power of the novel is considerable, revealing Vonnegut at his fanciful and playful best. First serial to Penthouse; BOMC selection; QPB featured alternate.
This message brought to you by Wookiee Cookiees - "MMM... Chewie!"
Visit The Endor Express - The Ultimate Guide to Disney's Star Tours

Offline Chris M

  • Jedi Apprentice
  • *
  • Posts: 2368
  • Time to nut up or shut up.
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #921 on: September 25, 2010, 10:24 AM »
I've got a month in between masters classes, so I picked up Ozzy's book that I've been wanting to read for a long time.  Only about 30 pages in and already getting some great laughs.

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."  Ben franklin


Embrace the suck.

Offline EpicGon

  • Jedi Padawan
  • *
  • Posts: 697
  • The life so short, the craft so large to learn.
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #922 on: September 25, 2010, 02:42 PM »
Currently I´am reading Phases of English Poetry by Sir Herbert Read

A clear and academic essay which deals with the topics, periods and motivations of the finest poets in their development of their best work.

A must to read if you want to get insight into English literature.

Here is a biography of the author:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Read

Offline Phrubruh

  • Jedi General
  • *
  • Posts: 7847
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #923 on: September 28, 2010, 02:37 PM »
Now starting: "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters" by Jane Austin



This latest effort to combine Jane Austen mania and pop culture horror takes the same format as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies minus the innovation of being the first to do so. Using the familiar plot structure of Austen's first novel, and a few of the most famous lines, the mannered life of early nineteenth century gentry is stripped of witty dialogue and replaced with monsters, vulgarity, and violence. When Mr. Dashwood is eaten by a hammerhead shark his daughters Marianne and Elinor, along with their sister and mother, are sent to Pestilent Island where they meet Sir John Middleton, owner of the islands, and squid-faced Colonel Brandon. Marianne is rescued from a giant octopus by Mr. Willoughby, causing her to fall in love with him. Meanwhile, Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars who is engaged to the evil Lucy Steele. Readers who found humor in the contrast between Austen's familiar novel and the addition of zombies will probably welcome this unevenly written effort.
This message brought to you by Wookiee Cookiees - "MMM... Chewie!"
Visit The Endor Express - The Ultimate Guide to Disney's Star Tours

Offline Nathan

  • Jedi Knight
  • *
  • Posts: 4063
  • Destroying the hobby one EU figure at a time.
    • View Profile
    • The Clone Wars Unofficial Site (in carbonite)
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #924 on: October 5, 2010, 12:11 AM »
Twitter: @OKeefeNathan
Blog: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Fanboy (in carbonite since '09, back someday)

Offline EpicGon

  • Jedi Padawan
  • *
  • Posts: 697
  • The life so short, the craft so large to learn.
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #925 on: October 8, 2010, 09:05 PM »
I´m reading "The techniques of modern fiction. Essays in practical criticism." by Jonathan Raban. It deals with the novels of the 60´s, mainly English or American writers, comparing topics with other writers of other countries.

Offline Phrubruh

  • Jedi General
  • *
  • Posts: 7847
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #926 on: October 8, 2010, 10:27 PM »
Now reading "The Clan of the Cave Bear" by Jean M. Auel.



When her parents are killed by an earthquake, 5-year-old Ayla wanders through the forest completely alone. Cold, hungry, and badly injured by a cave lion, the little girl is as good as gone until she is discovered by a group who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This clan, left homeless by the same disaster, have little interest in the helpless girl who comes from the tribe they refer to as the "Others." Only their medicine woman sees in Ayla a fellow human, worthy of care. She painstakingly nurses her back to health--a decision that will forever alter the physical and emotional structure of the clan. Although this story takes place roughly 35,000 years ago, its cast of characters could easily slide into any modern tale. The members of the Neanderthal clan, ruled by traditions and taboos, find themselves challenged by this outsider, who represents the physically modern Cro-Magnons. And as Ayla begins to grow and mature, her natural tendencies emerge, putting her in the middle of a brutal and dangerous power struggle.

Although Jean Auel obviously takes certain liberties with the actions and motivations of all our ancestors, her extensive research into the Ice Age does shine through--especially in the detailed knowledge of plants and natural remedies used by the medicine woman and passed down to Ayla. Mostly, though, this first in the series of four is a wonderful story of survival. Ayla's personal evolution is a compelling and relevant tale.


This message brought to you by Wookiee Cookiees - "MMM... Chewie!"
Visit The Endor Express - The Ultimate Guide to Disney's Star Tours

Offline Mikey D

  • Jedi Knight
  • *
  • Posts: 3440
  • Lost soul
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #927 on: October 12, 2010, 07:59 AM »
Finished:



and



and



Reading now:


Up Next:
Common sense isn't so common

Offline Chris M

  • Jedi Apprentice
  • *
  • Posts: 2368
  • Time to nut up or shut up.
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #928 on: October 12, 2010, 09:41 AM »
Finished Ozzy a few days ago and now I'm about halfway through this:

I had a friend give this to me several years ago when we were deployed but didn't read it then.  It's really eery reading now.




"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."  Ben franklin


Embrace the suck.

Offline Phrubruh

  • Jedi General
  • *
  • Posts: 7847
    • View Profile
Re: JD Book Club: What Are You Reading Now?
« Reply #929 on: October 14, 2010, 12:45 AM »
Also reading, "Dreamland - Retribution" by Dale Brown.



The Dreamland team used stealth, raw nerve, and technology to defuse a nightmare on the other side of the world. But now the darkness is racing toward America at blinding speed. With more than two dozen nuclear devices unaccounted for, the global masters of terror have set a catastrophe in motion a surprise attack more deadly than Pearl Harbor and 9/11 combined. If the nation is to survive, Lt. Colonel Tecumseh "Dog" Bastian and his crew will have to reach deep into their cutting-edge arsenal. And they'll have to do it short-handed because two of Dreamland's best and bravest have been lost at sea . . .

This message brought to you by Wookiee Cookiees - "MMM... Chewie!"
Visit The Endor Express - The Ultimate Guide to Disney's Star Tours