Books!

[ιηƒιηιтє.]

In all of my three am Eld forum wanderings, I'm glad to have found this thread!

A book I would recommend to those fond of post-apocalyptic settings and YA wold be New Orleans. I first read it years ago, but the last line stuck with me all this time and I ultimately decided to pick it up again. I found the author's world to be extremely fascinating; using it, she seemed to have gotten rid of almost all concepts of gender and race, replacing them with an almost caste-esque view on blood types. She -being the author- was also able to craft an entirely different goal than the cliche that so often plagues apocalyptic fiction; there is no grand escape, no grand romance to preserve(if my recollection is correct, there is no pinnacle romance at all, which I found sooo refreshing). Overall, it was a very good read with a fantastic ending, in my opinion. To be honest, the characters are a little lacking in depth or a bit annoying at times, but there is little deviation from "canon" characteristics. Honestly, a welcome take on the slightly stale genre.

Also, because I guess I'm just a huge nerd, let's ramble about classics!

Beginner to classic lit and want something that might be easy to stomach? Go with Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, and Fahrenheit. If you're feeling brave, maybe even Frankenstein, Dracula, and Monte Cristo! Strong adventure/fantasy/sci-fi elements, pretty clear plot arcs, and in-your-face, punch-to-the-gut themes make these classics memorable yet easy.

Would you happen to like something a little more pedestrian? Perhaps some commentary on so social standing, relationships, and the like? Jane Austen's gonna be your favourite gal pal, Jane Eyre's gonna be great, and Huckleberry/Sawyer (ft. Twist) your favourite ship. If you prefer these sorts of social commentary themes but maybe with a little bit more "spice", then Charles Dickens is your bro.

Want some #edgy social/political commentary? George Orwell's got you covered, Gatsby's got your back, and Mockingbird's holding your hand. In the most comforting of ways, of course.

And finally, shameless mythology plug: read Odyssey before Illiad, because the Odyssey has a much simpler Hero's Journey(not that "complicated is my middle name"Homer made anything easy) and it even takes on a pretty humorous aspect when you think about Penelope(Odysseus' wife) fending off rabid suitors with like, a candelabra or something, while Odysseus got cozy with a nymph. But, like, Achilles and Patroclus were definitely suuuuper gay for each other in the Illiad so one reason why you might like it better haha

These are all generalizations, of course, and only of the classics that I have read. I definitely haven't read all of Jane Austen's novels. Please, take everything with a grain of salt! ^^b

[Giant Talking Banana]

I just read "Hyperbole and a half" for the first time. I don't know how I didn't read it sooner, because it is amazing. Slightly sad at the same time, though.

[Silverhart]

Love classic books. XP Though I must say, I've only really learned to appreciate them now that I'm older.

Really have to read the 'Odyssey' sometime. I've read the 'Iliad', and really enjoyed it, though it was slow getting through it, as it is a rather... interesting book. Older books certainly had different styles of writing which is quite fascinating to read.

Anyway - summer's just about over. Anyone get any summer reading done?

[bubble1234]

I did read some books over the summer but it is not the books that is as great as I am reading right know for school.

The book is called "The Outsiders" and our whole class is reading it two chapters at a time. Although, the book only has twelve chapters so I finished it in like two days well everyone else was still reading. Although, it was an amazing book based of two groups, the greasers and the socs. The greasers is the group where our narrator of the story is in. His name is Ponyboy Curtis and he is different from his "gang" of other greasers. The book is based off of the trouble greasers (which are low life hoods in the book) are having from the soc's (or the popular, rich kids) who beat them up almost every time they cross paths.

Its a really good book going back to the 1950's and how life was back then. It is very short so if you are a fast reader I recommend getting another book to read after this one. I also recommend watching the movie after you read the book!

You also get to lawl about how everyone in the movie is so hot.

[scmarshtacky]

I did read some books over the summer but it is not the books that is as great as I am reading right know for school.

The book is called "The Outsiders" and our whole class is reading it two chapters at a time. Although, the book only has twelve chapters so I finished it in like two days well everyone else was still reading. Although, it was an amazing book based of two groups, the greasers and the socs. The greasers is the group where our narrator of the story is in. His name is Ponyboy Curtis and he is different from his "gang" of other greasers. The book is based off of the trouble greasers (which are low life hoods in the book) are having from the soc's (or the popular, rich kids) who beat them up almost every time they cross paths.

Its a really good book going back to the 1950's and how life was back then. It is very short so if you are a fast reader I recommend getting another book to read after this one. I also recommend watching the movie after you read the book!

You also get to lawl about how everyone in the movie is so hot.

We read The Outsiders back when I was in 7th grade I think, and I loved it! So much so that my mother bought me the book and the movie. I haven't re-read the book in years, and what stands out in my mind when I think about it now are just two scenes. I haven't thought about the story in years and this reminds me that I need to re-read it sometime and remember all the other scenes in that book. XD

[VioletStormm]

A good medieval fantasy is the Farseer series by Robin Hobb.
The illegitimate child of the crowned prince is raised in the hostile Keep, his only friends being the court jester, an assassin, and the stable master.

[Polly44]

Updated this a bit!

I love books too. I have a bookshelf packed full of them, plus more that i can't actually fit on there. My favourite genre is fantasy, but i have a read a few books of other genres or books that are fantasy and something else.

Harry Potter (I love everything to do with HP. My favourite books are Prisoner Of Askaban, Order Of The Phoenix and Deathly Hallows, though i like all the others as well.
Percy Jackson And The Olympians (Really good series!)
Percy Jackson And The Heroes Of Olympus (Again a really good series, though i have issues with the ending if i recall.)
The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance, my favourite is the first one and probably the third is my second favourite, i was slightly disappointed by the last one, especially after having to wait a couple of years for it.)
Assassins Creed Series (I loved the games first and then decided to get the books and they are really very good. My favourite is Forsaken.)
The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (Only read LOTR once though i think, as it's such a huge book. But i re-read The Hobbit after the second film came out.)
Hunger Games (Rather meh to be honest.)
Inkspell/Inkheart/Inkdeath (Only read them all once though, as they were okay, but not fantastic. Though i can't really remember them much to be honest.)
Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye and Eona: Return of the Dragoneye (Very good books. Though the dragons aren't exactly what i was expecting.)
Black Beauty (Old classic i suppose.)
The Wereworld Series (Fantasy/Horror genre, though the first five weren't very horrifying, the last one was a tad disturbing in some areas. But an excellent series, especially if you like therianthropes- Humans who can shapeshift into animals, like werewolves, though it's by choice and not by the moon i believe.)
Firebringer, The Sight and Fell (I haven't actually read all of the last one, but i've read most of it. Very good books though and not what i was expecting. First one is about a deer, and the other two are about wolves. But not what you might think. I remember the second one the best and it's about a wolf pack who have pups, but the pups are born with a special power/ability called The Sight and it throws their whole life into chaos basically.)
The novelizations of the new Star-Trek films (Also very good, but i was hoping for a few more extra bits that weren't in the films.)
The Ballad Of Sir Benfro (Really good actually. I've read the first book- Dreamwalker- and have almost finished the second- The Rose Cord. But i cannot decide if the dragons are actual dragons or humanoid dragons, which is annoying.)
A Song Of Ice And Fire (Considerably more meh than i anticipated. I've nearly finished the second, but i just cannot find the motivation to read the rest.)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Most recent book i have read and i liked it. As i loved the film.)
Septimus Heap ~ Wizard Apprentice (Pretty decent. Has a Dragon in it, though not totally sure why. I'm on the fourth one i think.)

I have also (much to my own shame) read *shiver* The Twilight Saga. We went on a trip to the book store with school and they bought us a book each and as it was free and i wanted to see what all the fuss was about i chose Twilight. I don't exactly regret that, as it was an average book and so were all the others. But the films are terrible...well the ones that i have watched anyway. Only seen the first two.

[Silverhart]

I just finished reading "The Scorpio Races" by Maggie Stiefvater. It was fantastic. Of course, I'm a sucker for anything involving waterhorses. XP Definitely going to be giving some of her other books a look.

In the meantime I'm about to take trip, and I couldn't narrow down what books to bring, so I ended up bringing four. XP I've got a history book I need to read, Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander", the next Iron Druid book I'm up to, and "Orlando" by Virginia Woolf. I'm very excited for all of them, especially the fiction books. XD Choosing which one to start with is going to be difficult.

[Sarill]

I just finished reading "The Scorpio Races" by Maggie Stiefvater. It was fantastic. Of course, I'm a sucker for anything involving waterhorses. XP Definitely going to be giving some of her other books a look.

In the meantime I'm about to take trip, and I couldn't narrow down what books to bring, so I ended up bringing four. XP I've got a history book I need to read, Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander", the next Iron Druid book I'm up to, and "Orlando" by Virginia Woolf. I'm very excited for all of them, especially the fiction books. XD Choosing which one to start with is going to be difficult.

I love all of Stivefar's stuff! Have you read "The Raven Boys" series? That one is quite good as well, although I do think that "The Scorpio Races" might be my favorite out of her books.

Has anyone here read "The Pillars of the Earth"? I've had it sitting on my shelf for quite a while and was wondering if it was good.

Is there a new Iron Druid book out? I've read the series, but I haven't checked if there was anything new in a while. Those books are so much fun. They remind me a bit of the Dresden Files, although Atticus deals with a lot more gods than Harry does, which is a good thing for him.

[Startedraining]

This isn't necessarily related to books as in authors, but I obtained a doublewide book shelf and it just BARELY managed to fit all the books in my house on it! it was hilarious. That being said, my personal favorite books managed to fit on the top shelf and all of the other books were packed pretty tightly.

I should read them, at some point, too XP