Topic: Books for 2012 - Discussion Thread

[pandamonium]

For books that you want to talk about, but not necessarily make a new thread for. List thread is right here.

[Calinthalus]

Thanks Panda.

This year, I'm going to move forward on my quest to read the entire Discworld series in order.  Likewise, in honor of the passing of Anne McCaffrey, I'm re-reading the Brains & Brawn series and might go on to re-read the Dragonriders of Pern this year.

[stonesean]

Holy Crap!

Anne McCaffrey died!?   

So, the last living female Grand Master is Ursula K. Le Guin?

[pandamonium]

By far my latest start date. 

A1. Stranger in a Strange Land

Excellent choice, Skeptress. It's really interesting.

[stonesean]

So last week I read "Bossypants" by Tina Fey, and "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling.

My wife got em on her kindle, and I snagged it from her.

Fey's book is interesting to me as a long time fan of Second City and Saturday Night Live.  (of which she was a large part the last couple decades) Kaling's book is more just sort of a set of funny essays, some which deal with "The Office" and some which are just funny stories.

I highly recommend "Bossypants" and if you are bored and looking for a laugh, you could do far worse than "Is Everyone Hanging Out......"

[Guillermo]

I want to make a list, but I have limited reading time, and on top of that I am a slow reader.
My sights are now on Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. I was going to read Through the Looking Glass, but I am no longer interested after being disappointment with Alice in Wonderland.

[Avarice]

I'm listening to Hitch-22 on tape right now. It's 15 glorious disks long.

I always liked Christopher Hitchens, but he lived a much more depressing life than I realized. That stuff about how his mother died was rough IMO.

[pandamonium]

I'm listening to Hitch-22 on tape right now. It's 15 glorious disks long.

They still make those?

[Avarice]

I meant on CD.

I'm just used to calling audiobooks "books on tape". Must be a midwestern thing.

[pandamonium]

ah. i called them that up until a couple years ago. i actually have several books on audicassette. i haven't listened to them all, but i should.

[stretcher]

I randomly purchased The Woman In Black because I wanted a ghost story. Later I saw Daniel Radcliffe on some talk show promoting the film adaptation. So, cool, I thought - first I can finish the book then see the movie with one of my favorite actors. Booyaakasha.

The Discworld series is something I want to get started on but it's intimidating. And since I'm a completionist it scares me - all those books. The writing style and humor, is it similar to Pratchett's other works like Good Omens?

[Guillermo]

The writing style and humor, is it similar to Pratchett's other works like Good Omens?

After reading two books from discworld and the sandman series. I have noticed that Good Omen combines both styles. You can barely notice the contribution of both authors. I think the styles are slightly different.

[David E.]

I randomly purchased The Woman In Black because I wanted a ghost story. Later I saw Daniel Radcliffe on some talk show promoting the film adaptation. So, cool, I thought - first I can finish the book then see the movie with one of my favorite actors. Booyaakasha.

Oh, I will have to check that book out.  The movie trailer looked very good.  Old House Horror always gets to me. 

[Calinthalus]

I just finished Superfreakonomics.  I didn't like it as well as the first one...except:

(click to show/hide)

The final piece about prostitute monkeys.  That really floored me.  Talk about the oldest profession.  As soon as a living creature can appreciate money...someone will use it for sex.

[Calinthalus]

Just finished Breakfast of Champions by Vonnegut.

To quote Simon Tam, "This must be what going mad feels like."