Reading any good books? II

***Earniel*** · 11-12-2009, 07:36 AM

The title says it all, really. Original thread-starter was anduin. The first thread can be found here.

Aikanáro · 11-19-2009, 01:20 PM

I just read Native Tongue in one sitting. It's dystopian SF, by Suzette Haden Elgin, who is both a linguist and a feminist, and combines both in her writing.

It was brilliant.

Easily one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Bombadillo · 11-24-2009, 07:16 PM

Dystopian sci fi is the greatest. I usually go for the TVs shows a bit more than the books, though, sadly. The new Prisoner with Sir Ian McKellan as Numbah 2 -- great.

I wanna reread Brave New World soon. I always thought it deserved more attention than 1984.

Two good true stories:
Alive - about how a Uruguayan rugby team survived a plane crash in the Andes, way above treeline, on the bodies of their friends, for over a month
Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Aaron Ralston, expert mountaineer and certified badass, crushes his hand with a giant boulder at the bottom of a canyon in the middle of a god-forsaken desert all by himself, and nearly starves to death before chopping off his own hand with a dull pocket knife and scaling his way to safety.

Nothing makes me so proud to be a human being like these kinds of stories do. We can be some strong SOBs.

***Valandil*** · 12-31-2009, 07:13 PM

Just started reading Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

***Valandil*** · 12-31-2009, 07:14 PM

Oh - and I made it! I read through The Bible in 2009!

GrayMouser · 01-01-2010, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valandil

Oh - and I made it! I read through The Bible in 2009!

Including all the begats?

***Valandil*** · 01-05-2010, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrayMouser

Including all the begats?

Yes - I didn't skip a word. Some of those repetitious parts made it difficult, so it was a very self-disciplining process. Not so much the 'begats' but the parts where different groups of people and their numbers are recounted, etc.

But - those are just parts. Most of it is just incredible. And it's nice to read it within a year, and my goal is to start doing it in successive years. I know some people, for instance, who have read it every year like 25 or 30 years running. I first did it within a year in 2006, and got derailed in both 2007 and 2008. I have not started yet in 2010, so I'm still trying to figure out if that's the goal I want to pursue or if I want to do more directed study of parts. But it's early, so I can still catch up easily. Especially if I'm riding the el.

Midge · 01-08-2010, 03:19 PM

I've recently been reading through the Left Behind series. That's kind of like... almost 15 years old, but I was LITTLE when they first came out.

I've also read a book recently called "Meet Mr. Smith" which was very good. It put a new spin on purity and holiness. Very enjoyable and it actually helped me to change undesirable behaviors. Yay!

GrayMouser · 01-11-2010, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valandil

Yes - I didn't skip a word. Some of those repetitious parts made it difficult, so it was a very self-disciplining process. Not so much the 'begats' but the parts where different groups of people and their numbers are recounted, etc.

But - those are just parts. Most of it is just incredible. And it's nice to read it within a year, and my goal is to start doing it in successive years. I know some people, for instance, who have read it every year like 25 or 30 years running. I first did it within a year in 2006, and got derailed in both 2007 and 2008. I have not started yet in 2010, so I'm still trying to figure out if that's the goal I want to pursue or if I want to do more directed study of parts. But it's early, so I can still catch up easily. Especially if I'm riding the el.

Which version did you read?

***Valandil*** · 01-12-2010, 07:47 AM

I read from the New International Version (NIV). I once heard that it was considered to be the best 'thought to thought' translation while the NASB (New American Standard Bible) was the best 'word for word' translation. But really my reason for using it is different. It is used in a teen Bible study/competition program I've been involved in for over 30 years. So I'm familiar with the wording and most copies I own are that translation.

It's interesting sometimes to read from a different version, to get a different slant on it though. Helps 'round out' the picture.

***Earniel*** · 01-12-2010, 06:40 PM

Just read 'Dodo, A brief History' by Errol Fuller. Really fun book. Very interesting, easy to read and stacked with beautiful illustrations.

And now I'm left, itching to write a story with dodos but... erm, that might just be me.

Aikanáro · 01-13-2010, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eärniel

And now I'm left, itching to write a story with dodos but... erm, that might just be me.

So that's what our characters are going to find in LLL?

***Earniel*** · 01-13-2010, 06:49 PM

Well, I did say it'd be a RPG off the beaten tracks... Tempting, though. A dodo guardian...

But eh, I think most players will prefer that I'll keep dodos for my private writing efforts.

nasuada · 01-13-2010, 11:48 PM

I'm starting to read The Witch Of Blackbird pond, A lot of people have told me it's a great book.

***Earniel*** · 01-17-2010, 08:18 AM

I've split off the discussion about The Book of Job in a separate thread here.

***Jonathan*** · 01-24-2010, 02:15 PM

I decided to read Carroll Lewis's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland properly, before Tim Burton's adaptation hits theatres. It was quite enjoyable, in all its strangeness.

So for those of you who plan on seeing the film, take this opportunity to read the novel first

GrayMouser · 01-25-2010, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan

I decided to read Carroll Lewis's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland properly, before Tim Burton's adaptation hits theatres. It was quite enjoyable, in all its strangeness.

So for those of you who plan on seeing the film, take this opportunity to read the novel first

And it's got a dodo....

Gwaimir Windgem · 01-25-2010, 02:13 AM

Any book with a Dodo is good in my book.

***Valandil*** · 01-31-2010, 09:11 AM

After I finished Uncle Tom's Cabin, I read a good book called Gifted Hands, by Ben Carson. The past few days I read the first two Sherlock Holmes stories, which I had read many, MANY years ago: A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four.

Meanwhile, my son just tore through a book that I'm about to start: The Lightning Thief.

Comic Book Guy · 02-23-2010, 04:53 PM

P.G Wodehouse - World of Jeeves
James Joyce - Dubliners

11-12-2009, 07:36 AM	#1
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	Reading any good books? II The title says it all, really. Original thread-starter was anduin. The first thread can be found here. __________________ We are not things.

11-19-2009, 01:20 PM	#2
Aikanáro Chaotic Good Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva Posts: 827	I just read Native Tongue in one sitting. It's dystopian SF, by Suzette Haden Elgin, who is both a linguist and a feminist, and combines both in her writing. It was brilliant. Easily one of the best books I've read in a long time. __________________ Vanima i metta nauva, nan anda ar sarda nauva i mallë.

12-31-2009, 07:13 PM	#4
*Valandil* High King at Annuminas Administrator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Wyoming - USA Posts: 10,752	Just started reading Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. __________________ My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!!

12-31-2009, 07:14 PM	#5
*Valandil* High King at Annuminas Administrator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Wyoming - USA Posts: 10,752	Oh - and I made it! I read through The Bible in 2009! __________________ My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!!

01-08-2010, 03:19 PM	#8
Midge Faithful Gardener Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: I walk here and there, they say... Posts: 3,603	I've recently been reading through the Left Behind series. That's kind of like... almost 15 years old, but I was LITTLE when they first came out. I've also read a book recently called "Meet Mr. Smith" which was very good. It put a new spin on purity and holiness. Very enjoyable and it actually helped me to change undesirable behaviors. Yay! __________________ In God I trust, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 56:11 "Starbuck, what do you hear?" "Nothin' but the rain, sir!" "Then grab your gun and bring in the cat." Make sure to check out the C.S. Lewis forum. Game threads, movie and book discussions and more!

11-24-2009, 07:16 PM	#3
Bombadillo "The Bomb" Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: all over the place Posts: 1,601	Dystopian sci fi is the greatest. I usually go for the TVs shows a bit more than the books, though, sadly. The new Prisoner with Sir Ian McKellan as Numbah 2 -- great. I wanna reread Brave New World soon. I always thought it deserved more attention than 1984. Two good true stories: Alive - about how a Uruguayan rugby team survived a plane crash in the Andes, way above treeline, on the bodies of their friends, for over a month Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Aaron Ralston, expert mountaineer and certified badass, crushes his hand with a giant boulder at the bottom of a canyon in the middle of a god-forsaken desert all by himself, and nearly starves to death before chopping off his own hand with a dull pocket knife and scaling his way to safety. Nothing makes me so proud to be a human being like these kinds of stories do. We can be some strong SOBs.

01-12-2010, 07:47 AM	#10
*Valandil* High King at Annuminas Administrator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Wyoming - USA Posts: 10,752	I read from the New International Version (NIV). I once heard that it was considered to be the best 'thought to thought' translation while the NASB (New American Standard Bible) was the best 'word for word' translation. But really my reason for using it is different. It is used in a teen Bible study/competition program I've been involved in for over 30 years. So I'm familiar with the wording and most copies I own are that translation. It's interesting sometimes to read from a different version, to get a different slant on it though. Helps 'round out' the picture. __________________ My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!!

01-12-2010, 06:40 PM	#11
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	Just read 'Dodo, A brief History' by Errol Fuller. Really fun book. Very interesting, easy to read and stacked with beautiful illustrations. And now I'm left, itching to write a story with dodos but... erm, that might just be me. __________________ We are not things.

01-13-2010, 06:49 PM	#13
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	Well, I did say it'd be a RPG off the beaten tracks... Tempting, though. A dodo guardian... But eh, I think most players will prefer that I'll keep dodos for my private writing efforts. __________________ We are not things.

01-13-2010, 11:48 PM	#14
nasuada Enting Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: the two rivers Posts: 57	I'm starting to read The Witch Of Blackbird pond, A lot of people have told me it's a great book. __________________ Once a King or Queen of Narnia always a King or Queen. -Aslan the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hands. An Irish Blessing~ “If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.” ~ William Wilberforce

01-17-2010, 08:18 AM	#15
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	I've split off the discussion about The Book of Job in a separate thread here. __________________ We are not things.

01-24-2010, 02:15 PM	#16
*Jonathan* Entmoot Attorney-General, Equilibrating the Scales of Justice, Administrator ♎ Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 3,891	I decided to read Carroll Lewis's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland properly, before Tim Burton's adaptation hits theatres. It was quite enjoyable, in all its strangeness. So for those of you who plan on seeing the film, take this opportunity to read the novel first __________________ An unwritten post is a delightful universe of infinite possibilities. Set down one word, however, and it immediately becomes earthbound. Set down one sentence and it’s halfway to being just like every other bloody entry that’s ever been written. ☻

01-25-2010, 02:13 AM	#18
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	Any book with a Dodo is good in my book. __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle

01-31-2010, 09:11 AM	#19
*Valandil* High King at Annuminas Administrator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Wyoming - USA Posts: 10,752	After I finished Uncle Tom's Cabin, I read a good book called Gifted Hands, by Ben Carson. The past few days I read the first two Sherlock Holmes stories, which I had read many, MANY years ago: A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four. Meanwhile, my son just tore through a book that I'm about to start: The Lightning Thief. __________________ My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!!

02-23-2010, 04:53 PM	#20
Comic Book Guy Best Ex-Administrator ever Join Date: May 2001 Location: Ireland Posts: 60,547	P.G Wodehouse - World of Jeeves James Joyce - Dubliners

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