1886 réponses à ce sujet

[xxEvenstarxx]

Currently reading - A feast for Crows - George RR Martin, but I want to read The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss, next really bad

Modifié par xxEvenstarxx, 09 décembre 2012 - 02:14 .

[MichaelStuart]

I'm reading Caves of Ice by Sandy Mitchell
http://www.blacklibr...ves-of-Ice.html

Modifié par MichaelStuart, 09 décembre 2012 - 02:16 .

[xxEvenstarxx]

The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

[Swagger7]

xxEvenstarxx wrote...

The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

That book is amazing, and the sequel is just as good!  I'm eagerly awaiting book 3.

[Swagger7]

Swagger7 wrote...

Addai67 wrote...

Swagger7 wrote...

Oooo, sounds interesting.  I may have to add that to my reading list....

Your recs look very interesting as well!

Provided I remember, I will post my impresions of those books when I finish them.

There are many interesting titles in this thread.  I will have to remember to come here if I run out of things to read.

Great thread Addai, even if it did take me three years to find it! 

Well, I promised I'd give my impressions, and so now I shall! 

The book Napoleon's Marshalls by R F Delderfield was a great introduction to the members of Napoleon's Marshalate, and also can serve as a good introduction into the life of Napoleon and the times in which he lived.  However, with 26 marshalls and one book, it wasn't able to go into too much detail on each individual.  Sadly, it's somewhat lacking in the citations department, although it appears to be quite well researched.  The fairly light tone of the book makes it easy to read, like a good popular history, while at the same time sticking close to known historical facts.  I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the time period, the history of France, or military history in general.  A republished version is available on Amazon for $13.11 in the US. 

[Chewin]

Talous ja Utopia - Sixten Korkam.

Translated to English: Economy and Utopia by Sixten Korkman.

Modifié par Chewin3, 29 décembre 2012 - 01:04 .

[Fukairi]

Demian : The story of Emil Sinclair's youth by H. Hesse

It's one of my favourite books. No scratch that, it probably is my favourite book. It has great symbolism and amazing quotes and it's just beautiful.

I'm also in the process of re-reading watership down by Richard Adams and some novel collections (like the dollhouse) from Tove Janson.

[mousestalker]

The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick

I'm 2/3's of the way through and I'm probably going to abandon it. The more I read, the more I dislike the protagonist. Everyone is fundamentally nasty in this book and I suspect that doesn't change. It is very well written and is reinforcing my thoughts about the publishing business.

[xxEvenstarxx]

A Dance With Dragons - George RR Martin

A Dance with Dragons is the fifth of seven planned novels in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by American author George R. R. Martin.
Despite original predictions of possible completion in late 2006, The
novel was released on July 12, 2011. Martin officially finished the book
April 27, 2011 by delivering the 1500+ page manuscript into the hands
of book editor Anne Groell while completing it at her office in New York
City.[1]
'The Dance of the Dragons' is the name given to a civil war in the prior history of Westeros, leading to much speculation that the novel will feature the long-awaited invasion of Westeros by the army of Daenerys Targaryen. However, at ComiCon 2006, George R. R. Martin says that is not necessarily what the title is referring to.[2]
A Dance of Dragons was originally the title of the second
novel in the sequence, when Martin still envisaged the series as a
trilogy. Some early US editions of A Game of Thrones list A Dance of Dragons as the forthcoming second volume in the series. It was also the original planned title for the fourth novel.

A very good book like most of his are, I wish they were illustrated sometimes

Modifié par xxEvenstarxx, 30 décembre 2012 - 01:33 .

[Swagger7]

mousestalker wrote...

The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick

I'm 2/3's of the way through and I'm probably going to abandon it. The more I read, the more I dislike the protagonist. Everyone is fundamentally nasty in this book and I suspect that doesn't change. It is very well written and is reinforcing my thoughts about the publishing business.

Oh, what are your thoughts on the publishing business?

[Swagger7]

xxEvenstarxx wrote...

A Dance With Dragons - George RR Martin


A very good book like most of his are, I wish they were illustrated sometimes

Have you read any of his Hedge Knight short stories?  They're also set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, but about 100 years earlier, IIRC.  There are graphic novel versions.....

Also, if you like art from the Song of Ice & Fire there's always Amok's fanart.  He does an amazing job and has done art for the card trading game and the Art of Ice and Fire book.  GRRM himself has given him advice and corrections.  Amok has a website where you can browse his art (mainly character portraits), but when I tried to go there just now McAfee blocked it.  Apparently it was hacked recently and used as an attack site.  When it becomes safe again I'll post the link here (provided I remember).  In the meantime, a DeviantArt user was allowed to upload a tiny portion of his portraits, whcih you can find here:

http://xtreme1992.de...allery/39357763

[Yana Montana]

"Divina Commedia" by Dante degli Alighieri

[mousestalker]

I have abandoned the Iron Dragon's Daughter and am now reading Summa Elvetica by Theodore Beale.

Swagger7 wrote...

mousestalker wrote...

The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick

I'm 2/3's of the way through and I'm probably going to abandon it. The more I read, the more I dislike the protagonist. Everyone is fundamentally nasty in this book and I suspect that doesn't change. It is very well written and is reinforcing my thoughts about the publishing business.

Oh, what are your thoughts on the publishing business?

Most editors come from staggeringly similar backgrounds. Publishers are very conservative these days in what they pick to publish, so most books are selected because they are safe (Top Selling Authors and hot trends). If Stephen King ever wrote a novel about a woman who was half vampire/half werewolf and her affair with a bodybuilding sparkly elf, it would be snapped up in an instant.

The few books that fall outside those two criteria tend to be all of a piece, with large vocabularies, meticulous grammar, unlikeable characters and depressing plots (i.e. Don DeLillo). There are exceptions, of course, but it's amazing how that profile fits across the genres. It's no accident that the one publisher I know has been consistently profitable has no editors in New York and does not publish very many books that fit the 'literary' mould.

That's not a slam against New York. It is a slam against a small and shrinking community of like minded clones.

[Chewin]

Has anyone here read Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince?

I have recently been surfing through the internet to find the right book, but quite many translations seem to have the translators own reflection off the book, and / or introduction to Machiavelli's historical context.

Not saying I don't mind an overview of Machiavelli's principal ideas or such, though I'm curious if anyone has read a similar version I described of The Prince, and if a particular translations is worth buying over another.

If not, if someone could point me to simply the book itself and its publisher, that would be appreciated.

Modifié par Chewin3, 30 décembre 2012 - 05:13 .

[Paragon Gabriel]

Chewin3 wrote...

Has anyone here read Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince?

I have recently been surfing through the internet to find the right book, but quite many translations seem to have the translators own reflection off the book, and / or introduction to Machiavelli's historical context.

Not saying I don't mind an overview of Machiavelli's principal ideas or such, though I'm curious if anyone has read a similar version I described of The Prince, and if a particular translations is worth buying over another.

If not, if someone could point me to simply the book itself and its publisher, that would be appreciated.

Many translations do indeed have a "summary" of The Prince and of Machiavelli himself. It's mostly to bring up the themes he wanted to bring up in the novel, or simply for some history education.

I'd recommend two versions on The Prince that I have personally both read. One is the Original classics and the other is the Oxford's World classics.

The Original classics is translated by Tom Butler-Bowdon, and he gives an excellent introduction on Machiavelli, both on him as a person and on his work. The summary was very enjoyable read, and definitely one that I recommned (apart from the book itself).

The second one, Oxford's classics; The Introduction by Maurizio Viroli is well worth reading, explaining some of the more complex issues and high lighting key themes in the text. He also debates whether this was in fact a begging letter from Machiavelli or more a show of skill on his part for the sake of skill itself. Also one I enjoyed reading very much.

But were I to choose one of these, I'd choose Original classics. Hope it helped!

[Sulligy]

What am I reading? This topic as of now.

[Homebound]

a men's health book.

I was struggling with this for such a long time and a friend noticed my problem and without even being asked, she offered it to me. :'D

edit: Warning, mature subject material.

Modifié par Homebound, 31 décembre 2012 - 04:57 .

[Fiddles dee dee]

Homebound wrote...

a men's health book.

I was struggling with this for such a long time and a friend noticed my problem and without even being asked, she offered it to me. :'D

edit: Warning, mature subject material.

OT, I'm re-reading Dorian Gray.

[Swagger7]

mousestalker wrote...

I have abandoned the Iron Dragon's Daughter and am now reading Summa Elvetica by Theodore Beale.

Swagger7 wrote...

mousestalker wrote...

The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick

I'm 2/3's of the way through and I'm probably going to abandon it. The more I read, the more I dislike the protagonist. Everyone is fundamentally nasty in this book and I suspect that doesn't change. It is very well written and is reinforcing my thoughts about the publishing business.

Oh, what are your thoughts on the publishing business?

Most editors come from staggeringly similar backgrounds. Publishers are very conservative these days in what they pick to publish, so most books are selected because they are safe (Top Selling Authors and hot trends). If Stephen King ever wrote a novel about a woman who was half vampire/half werewolf and her affair with a bodybuilding sparkly elf, it would be snapped up in an instant.

The few books that fall outside those two criteria tend to be all of a piece, with large vocabularies, meticulous grammar, unlikeable characters and depressing plots (i.e. Don DeLillo). There are exceptions, of course, but it's amazing how that profile fits across the genres. It's no accident that the one publisher I know has been consistently profitable has no editors in New York and does not publish very many books that fit the 'literary' mould.

That's not a slam against New York. It is a slam against a small and shrinking community of like minded clones.

This sounds a bit like my thoughts as well.  All publishers are alike, in film, videogames, books, music, etc.  They are very conservative and unwilling to take risks.  Of course, we can also blame the average consumer some.  If they didn't buy so many ****ty books then the publishers wouldn't stick to the old formula.  (Shades of Gray, I'm looking at you!)  <_<

My experience is a little limited because when it comes to fiction I mainly read high fantasy and hard science fiction.  I don't think the publishers of hard sci fi are very stilted like that, although that's mainly due to the genre readers expecting original ideas and new things.  On the other hand, high fantasy seems to be weighed down a lot more by genre conventions than by publishers' whims, although I'm uncertain what role publishers have in enforcing those conventions......

[Swagger7]

Chewin3 wrote...

Has anyone here read Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince?

I have recently been surfing through the internet to find the right book, but quite many translations seem to have the translators own reflection off the book, and / or introduction to Machiavelli's historical context.

Not saying I don't mind an overview of Machiavelli's principal ideas or such, though I'm curious if anyone has read a similar version I described of The Prince, and if a particular translations is worth buying over another.

If not, if someone could point me to simply the book itself and its publisher, that would be appreciated.

I have a personal copy of The Prince, but it's currently put away so I can't be certain about the publisher.  (I think it came from Barnes & Nobles' own classics publishing department.)  The thing to remember about The Prince is that it likely intended to be taken seriously.  Machiavelli was actually a staunch republican and The Prince is a great departure from his other writings.  Some view it as satire, intended to sarcastically poke fun at the Medicis (to whom it was addressed and who had tortured him in the past) and their cruel methods of ruling.  Others see it a some sort of trap layed by Machiavelli, where he gave the Medicis bad advice to try and set up a government he knew would be overthrown:

http://en.wikipedia....re_or_as_deceit

Of course, none of this has stopped a number of powerful men from taking him seriously......

Modifié par Swagger7, 31 décembre 2012 - 09:04 .

[Neoleviathan]

Cloud Atlas, insta-buy after seeing the film. Best movie I'd seen all year, & the books been a good read. Not sure what will be next, might re-read Sometimes A Great Notion to celebrate the film adaptions release on DVD & BluRay.

[Chewin]

@Gabriel Thanks for the summary! The looked up the Original classic's publish of The Prince, and was impressed by what other people as well commented on it. Went and ordered that copy.

@Swagger That's what I've read / heard as well. Gonna be an interesting read.

[Swagger7]

Galvanization wrote...

The grafitti sprayed on the corner of a wall outside my bedroom window.

Says "Fück da police."

Does it actually include the umlaut, or did you add that to escape the autocensor?