Tocky on 28/2/2015 at 08:40

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I just might have to read that one. I saw the movie as a teen but I have a feeling it's one of those where most of the action goes on internal.

I just finished The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by King. I had forgotten how good he can be when he doesn't get lost and just have everybody blow up at the end which is ironic considering the whole book is about a little girl lost in the woods. That's it, wandering the woods, but his discriptions resonate and it's as if you are there. Of course there's something bad in the woods besides starvation but that alone would be interesting the way he as much as takes your hand and leads you.

Shear luck, both good and bad, happens in just such ways as in this book. The huffing grunt heard though nothing is seen is very real. The smell, though he describes it as primeval, is less dramatic though somehow as visceral. I've experienced it. Twice. It's unnerving. It hits the core and reminds you something very bad can happen just as it did for those with the worst luck.

This is a very realistic work for King. On a level with Delores Claiburn. I reccomend it, particularly if you are intimate with nature.

faetal on 22/5/2015 at 08:50

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Since I gave away most of my belongings prior to emigrating, I've been reading books using the Google books app on my phone and it's proven to be my new favourite way to read. Sure there are all kinds of folksy "you can't beat the feel of paper" and "I like the way books smell" etc... reasons to love the real thing, but the fact is that my throughput has shot up since I can now just pull my phone out when waiting for lights to change, for an elevator to arrive, for an assassination target to leave an embassy etc... as well as all of the usual times where I'll read in a prolonged fashion. So I've become a far more voracious reader thanks to the switch to e-books.

Add to this the excellent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Books_Library_Project) Google books library project and I've been pretty much seeking out some of the classics for FREE. Not that I won't pay money for a good book, but a FREE book means I can just jump in care free without worrying about buyer's remorse. So with that said and done:

Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas - first English translation from the late C19th - Can't believe I waited so long to read this - it's easy to just overlook the classics as being probably not as cool and interesting as something edgy, yet they remain classics for a reason. This is one of the most page-turningly charming books I have ever read and by all accounts, later versions of the book (certainly in English) lost something by toning down the characters of Dartagnan and the Musketeers. The dialogue and scenarios are hilarious and every turn of the story just oozes charisma. Will read again in French once my language skills are up to snuff.

Treasure Island by Robert Luis Stevenson - Another very readable book, greatly enhanced by a delightful idiom which doesn't get in the way of the story or the characters. Good deal of tension as well.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - I had read this as a child and loved it, but this reading didn't do a whole lot for me. I think it's very of its time and the psychedelic nuance has been outdone in far too many ways since to hold up as much more than a good book for children, simply for the fun and nonsense.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - Having loved Three Musketeers so much, this one was obviously high on my list and it didn't disappoint. A lot more sober, meandering and lengthy than TM, but absolutely worth the ride. Such a grand and elaborate tale of betrayal and revenge, with plenty of very good twists and turns and excellent character work. Probably enjoyed it just a little less than TM because Dartagnan and his dynamic with the Musketeers is just the distilled essence of all buddy comedy, but they are both 10/10 for me.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Very well crafted with some amazing dialogue and subtle characterisation. Mr Bennett in particular with his surgical bon mots is the perfect trickster in the background and the story is developed well. That said, given how much this type of circuitous love story has been told in various forms, it did end up feeling a tad mechanical at the end as everything happens just like you know it will, but I'm guessing that at the time, it probably hit a deal harder.

Currently reading Moby Dick by Herman Melville and it is already shaping up to be one of the best books I've ever read. The flow, colour and texture of the prose is practically edible and the vivid philosophical analogies embedded in the most seemingly inconsequential scenarios make even the mundane seem profound. Not sure what to go for afterwards.

scumble on 22/5/2015 at 18:00

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One of the few books I couldn't stop reading. I think I read the thing in two days over a weekend, and it's an enormous book...

bjack on 23/5/2015 at 00:07

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I've pulled up some classics (including the Bible) from Project Gutenberg.
(https://www.gutenberg.org)

The Prince, Also sprach Zarathustra, etc. I am going to get into much earlier works when time allows. I have read pieces of them in college years ago, but nothing beats getting the whole in context.

But as for now, other than some "trashy pedestrian" novels from Stephen King, the last book I read recently was the Bhagavad Gita (as it is). Not cover to cover though. Just a few chapters here and there. George Harrison was my second favorite Beatle. I've been reading that book for decades. Some has even rubbed off on me. Not enough yet, in my observation. :ebil:

van HellSing on 23/5/2015 at 19:30

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Most recently I finished Echopraxia by Peter Watts. Not as good as the phenomenal Blindsight, but still enough good ideas to make it worthwile.