Thirith on 29/10/2008 at 13:54
Currently reading Salman Rushdie's The Enchantress of Florence. Best Rushdie in a long, long time. The two books before that were We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families (very good but tough read about Rwanda) and China Mieville's Perdido Street Station - I love Mieville's imagination and his writing is the first (adult) fantasy I've read in a long time that doesn't read like second rate D&D.
Other authors I like a lot: Haruki Murakami, Alan Moore, Don DeLillo etc.
Shayde on 29/10/2008 at 14:16
Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett, Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, the Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton and I'm still trudging through the Iliad - 3 months after I started. I'd probably get through more books if I spent less time reading porn online.
And shut it Queue - the Twilight series is squishy, comfort goodness and you have a gutter soul for slamming it. pttttthhh!
Stitch on 29/10/2008 at 14:24
Quote Posted by Queue
(except for that God-awful Twilight series).
Don't forget Harry Potter.
BrokenArts on 29/10/2008 at 14:45
My almost 14 yr old daughter loves the Twilight series. Any book that can get kids to read in this day and age, isn't all bad. She's a book worm anyway.
fett on 29/10/2008 at 14:58
Queue - Preston and Child are usually very solid, even their solo stuff like The Codex, and Tyrannosaur Canyon. They do a great job of telling the story without pandering and patronizing like most thriller writers of late.
Shayde - does 'reading porn' mean you're just looking at it for the articles?
Haven't read Twilight but I guess I should check it out to see what all the fuss is. Seems that lately, the marginally popular authors are better than some of the big books like Septimus Heap, Inkspell, Potter, Levine Thumbs, etc. - alot of the bestsellers are derivative at best while the original stuff is getting pushed to the back. Still, I'm glad it's at least available, and the variety in that genre right now is absolutely amazing given the cautious nature of the publishing industry.
pavlovscat on 29/10/2008 at 15:54
Quote Posted by Shayde
Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett
I just re-read Good Omens again. Great story. I also recently enjoyed Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire & Douglas Smith. I love to read. My favorite genres are horror, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, true crime & women's porn (Trashy Romance Novels).
Shayde on 29/10/2008 at 16:05
Quote Posted by fett
Haven't read Twilight but I guess I should check it out to see what all the fuss is.
Don't expect high lit - it's YA feel good romance at its best, but very basic. I'm with you on the YA kick at the moment, I can't even bring myself to carry on with A Song of Ice and Fire - bloody slaughtering, callous author.
Queue on 29/10/2008 at 16:08
Good Omens--mmmmm, my all-time favorite, pav. My wife and I actually dreamt up a cast for a movie when this came out. I can't remember it all; but there was Amanda Plummer as Agnes, Penn Jilette as Crowley, and Teller as Aziraphale (wth Terry Gilliam directing).
BA--
My thirteen year-old daughter loves the series, too, but even she admits that it's poorly written ("...as if by a love sick teenage girl who usually writes bad poetry," was how she put it). I guess it's much like the first Harry Potter book that was a rambling mess for prose, but the story was interesting (though nothing more than the typical British Boarding School plot retold yet again) so it caught on.
But, as you said, whatever gets them reading is fine by me.
