hobbygamers ~ View topic - So what are you reading? (Survey/Discussion)

VG Cats # 184 - The Pungent Scent of Mildew

A beautiful visualization of why fighters are so frequently a** r***d by larger monsters.

And the Necromancer was just plain ROFLness.

Emo freaks necromancers! ahaha..

Old Dragon Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 413 Location: Limbo

What the? Necromancers? Linken Park? Laughing

I can't believe I haven't linked this one before:

Girl Genius, a webcomic by the incredible duo of Phil and Kaja Foglio of Magic: the Gathering art fame (D&Ders may be more familiar with their What's New with Phil and Dixie in the late lamented print run of Dragon magazine).

Page 1

Girl genius is a hilarious sci-fi alternate history, taking place in a Victorian Europe populated by Mad Scientists (more politely referred to as "Sparks"). Steampunk, Foglio style. Good solid storyline, and wacky art characteristic of the Foglios. EDIT: Bear with the earlier black and white stuff. It's good sheet, and once you hit the later parts, it's all in glorious color.

Oh, and out of raw wackiness, from the Foglio sketchbook, presenting a little known monster of the Cthulhu Mythos

Come on. I've linked that last page. Laughing

*Casting Raise Dead*

Currently watching:

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Bamboo Blade

BTW does anyone have the copy of the new Genshiken? me want to read it.

Garfield minus garfield

The Bible according to Ceiling Cat

Genesis, in LoL Kitteh (From the above Bible Lolcat translation project).[/url]

Just finished reading Silient Blade by R.A Salvatore, starting with Spine of the World. Also I've been trying to keep up with my comic collection that I havn't read yet namely almost every DC comic titile till April '08

Last time I read was a motorcycle magazine been reading about the latest models and newest gadgets.

The four agreements.

Currently reading:

- Green Lantern & GL Corps: 2 words - Blackest Night
- JSA
- Final Crisis

Those are the comic books I actually buy.

Mudholed by: BJ

You are probably not familiar with this, as you've been gone a while. But the download of other people's intellectual property is not to be discussed in these forums.

Books I've been reading lately: accounting books (for our business that we're setting up in front of DLSU)

Got around 30++ books in my collection that I need to read, probably when I'm jobless or if I can squeeze the tiime in during the weekends.

Half the books are either New Weird, Steampunk, Dark Fantasy or Sword and Sorcery. Hal Duncan, Jeff Vandermeer, Alan Campbell and lots more.

I buy most of my tomes from Fully Booked or NBS' cut price booksale during September.

Recently, Neutral Grounds slashed prices off their older DnD tomes, and I hoarded a couple of monster manuals, Vampire clanbooks, and other stuff for my own writing reference just like China Mieville who is my current god of the craft.

For Comics, I buy Legion of Superheroes (I'm a die-hard fan of Wildfire, Shadow Lass, Dawnstar, Timberwolf and Ultra Boy), Green Lantern, X-Infernus ( because they've brought back Magik aka Illyana), Astonishing X-Men (because Simone Bianchi draws like da Vinci), anything drawn by Kenneth Rocafort (he's better than Travis Charest, if you can believe)--namely Marvel's Astonishing Tales and the upcoming Cyberforce-Hunter Killer.

Books, comics, reference manuals are some of the best stuff you can waste half your salary on, especially if you're a writer/artist because the stuff helps you hone your craft and skill and is probably the cheapest way to live alternate lives in alternate worlds. Twisted Evil

Here's an interesting thought: If you were stranded in a desert island/moon/planet and could only have 10 books to keep you sane, what books would you have with you? Preferably hardbound of course.

My Picks:

1.Perdido Street Station- China Mieville's steampunk opus, combines retro-futuristic themes and magick, the author is only a year younger than I, but his body of work has surpassed everything that has already been written in speculative ficiton, the best New Weird writer right now.

2.Severian of the Guild- Gene Wolfe, a favorite of Neil Gaiman who is also a prose stylist, one of the books in this collected edition won the Hugo or Nebula--The Claw of the Conciliator yata.

3.Elric- Michael Moorcock, this guy elevated sci-fi/fantasy, weird pulp into a literary genre. also a prose stylist.

4.The Lord of the Rings-J.R.R. Tolkien, if not for him, there would be no other place to go after you died except heaven or hell, now if I die, I'd like to pass on to Middle-Earth.

5.Neuromancer-William Gibson, cyberpunk may sound cliche nowadays when most of the tech and environments of the novels are all too real already, but this hip, prose stylist is a master of noir, crime fiction set in a futuristic world.

6.Neverwhere-Neil Gaiman, his best novel for me because of the spooky and seductive world he creates that is a shadow of London. Although I might replace this choice with the Graveyard Book also by Gaiman.

7.The Iron Dragon's Daughter-Michael Swanwick, steampunk nightmare world that breaks traditional themes established in high fantasy, a very disturbing novel for purists and a wonderful read for anarchists like me.

8.Vellum-Hal Duncan, the writer is a superfluous faggot whose work is a supreme example that style can be as valuable as substance.

9.Dune-Frank Herbert, sci-fi where tech is played down and conflict between warring Houses is cloak and dagger. I'm a cult fan of Frank Herbert even if the latest prequels written by his son disrupt continuity.

10.Rats and Gargoyles-Mary Gentle, a Dickensian world with dying gods and steampunk tech. Difficult to read at first but the world building is so magnificent that you fall in love with the book. I'm trying to get my sister to get me a hardbound copy off Amazon. Twisted Evil

I just read the Graveyard Book, the new YA novel by Neil Gaiman. The story is inspiring and life changing. I now have Nobody Owens' passion for exploring the world and Silas' sense of duty to protect the innocent from creeps like the Jacks-of-all-Trades.

Of course, I fell in love with Liza Hempstock.

Right now, I'm starting to read Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentine equivalent of Clark Ashton Smith. His surreal writings are making me believe that you can write in a style that is art for art's sake.
Weird pulp rules!

I just finished reading The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (basically the HGttG trilogy of 5 books (yes, you read that right) + Zaphod bonus story). It was juaberman's copy.

All I can say is it ended in the same way how the book started, absurd.

I enjoyed it very much. I was shocked with the plot of the last book though, didn't see that coming, with the way how the 1st 3 books were made.

ADD: I just learned that there is a 6th book. Haven't read it. Does anyone have it?

Goddess Joined: 30 Nov 2006 Posts: 1118 Location: denial

Resurrected thread. XD

I'm reading Peter & Max. The new novel set in the Fables-verse written by Bill Willingham.

Peter Piper ("Peter Piper picked a peck..") and Max Piper (Pied Piper of Hamelin).

Yey Thread Nekomancy! *miao*

Current list:

-The House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski
This thing is a monster of a book. Part haunted house tale, breakup story, love story, rambling stream of consciousness, and a big flying-fsck you to the academic scholastic establishment, this is a fun and tough read so far. As I haven't finished reading it yet, I don't know if Danielewski's formal play actually says something important or if he's just pulling our reading leg for shites and giggles.

-Severian of the Guild by Gene Wolfe
Also working on this one, on and off with the House of Leaves. A highly acclaimed SF classic.

-Honor: A History by James Bowman
Non-fic on the concept of Honor and its historical evolution, and cultural perspectives. Damned fine reading.

-Vom Krieg (On War) by Carl von Clausewitz
No serious wannabe military buff should be without this book, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and Machiavelli's The Prince. "War is a mere continuation of policy by other means."

-Eberron Campaign Guide, Dragonmarked, and Secrets of Xen'drik by Wizards of the Coast, Eberron created by Keith Baker.
I love the Eberron setting. Call it what you will, Steampunk, Dungeon Punk, Fantasy Noir or whatever. This game setting kicks arse and takes names. It's the bastard child of Full Metal Alchemist and Indiana Jones, with a little of In the Name of the Rose, The Maltese Falcon, and a healthy mix of the Industrial Revolution, the Age of Colonization, World War I, and the Cold War thrown in for good measure.

-The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa
Haruhi Suzumiya is quite possibly the most awesome demiurge I've seen in a long while. And mountains of narrator snark by Kyon is pure win.

Honorable Mention: A whole slew of Osprey Military History books that I've been poking through. I've even got a book on the Japanese Ikko-Ikki warrior monks illustrated by Wayne Reynolds!

@Q: Paperback. A few of the tenses seemed slightly off, but the translation was pretty damned readable. Of course, I haven't compared it to the digital translations out there. It's going for around 300php in NBS, you'll just need to dig around in the Children's/Young Adult sections.

Found a hardcover copy of America (the book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. Woot! Score! Reading Underway, entertaining

Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris
It's essentially a slice-of-life novel set in an office. Funny parts, depressing parts, (intentionally) awkward parts, pretty much what you'd expect from a realist piece of fiction. Kinda easy to get lost at first but I'm liking it now.

Winter's Heart - Robert Jordan
Book 9 of the Wheel of Time. Great if you've been following the series, better than the eighth book from the onset. Something you can really sink your teeth into, which actually could be said for every book in the series.

Fables 12 - Bill Willingham
Finally found it thanks to the power outage. I enjoyed seeing Geppetto as a crotchety old man haha. Kinda depressing on the whole though.

EDIT: Also, some required reading (for me, anyway).

-Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson)
An eclectic, quirky book that combines the internet, cryptography, the Philippines, mathematics, World War 2 action-adventure, and computer science all into one massive tome (the pocket book version stretches the definition of "pocket book" at more than 1k pages). Neal Stephenson first wowed me with Snow Crash, and does not disappoint with a book set in World War 2-era and 1999-era Philippines. Great versimilitude, punk-ish perspectives and storytelling, and a seamless interweaving of jargon with quirky narration. The tech bits reminded me why I wanted to take up Computer Science in the first place. The storytelling remind me why I ended up in Creative Writing.

-Order 66 (Karen Traviss)
The Republic Clone Commandos are put to the test in the final novel of Karen Traviss's Republic Commando Tetralogy. The Clone Wars are rising to a crescendo of violence, even as Kal Skirata and Omega Squad begin to learn disturbing things about Chancellor Palpatine, the Jedi, and the Republic's cloning program. As the war reaches the shatterpoint, Omega and Delta Squads, the Kal Skirata and his Null-ARCs, and the Jedi Etain Tur-Makan must all decide where their true loyalties lie. Karen Traviss ends the Republic Commando series in style in a conflict that pits brother against brother as Chancellor Palpatine's Order 66 changes the galaxy forever. I can only hope the new Imperial Commando series is just as good.

-Warhammer 40k: Angels of Darkness, Horus Heresy: Descent of Angels and Fallen Angels
I hold Warhammer 40,000 as the gold standard of grimdark, and the Space Marines of the Dark Angels Legion have always been one of the more mysterious elements of the series. With the publication of the Horus Heresy series of Warhammer novels, some of the secret history of the Dark Angels finally see the light of day. And like all things in Warhammer 40k, nothing ever ends well.

-Finder: Talisman (Carla Speed Mcneil)
A beautiful comic about storytelling, the art of writing, and that one book that always escapes you. Yey indie comics.

-Halo: The Fall of Reach (Eric Nystul)
Halo: Combat Evolved is a damned good game, one of the best of its generation, but it was this book, The Fall of Reach that really sunk its claws in me and dragged me into the Halo universe. The story is a prequel to the first Halo game, and details the genesis of the SPARTAN-II project: a secret UNSC bioengineering project that involved kidnapping little children against their will so that the little tykes could be turned into the UN's perfect killing machines. It's creepy. It's awesome. And the duo of John-117 and Cortana is just :consored: kick-ass. Honorable mention must go to Captain Jacob "Schoolmaster" Keyes, a devastatatingly ballsy starship captain. Pity the man wasn't so capable in ground ops in Halo. And the story explains one of the more mysterious lines in one of Halo 3's easter eggs, Cortana to John-117: "It was the coin's fault! I wanted to make you strong, keep you safe. I'm sorry. I can't."

Goddess Joined: 30 Nov 2006 Posts: 1118 Location: denial

Currently reading books by Diana Wynne Jones. Howl's Moving Castle (ebook, yes, but I do plan to buy a copy when I find one), and the two other books in the series; Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways.

Oh, and if I find a copy of Tough Guide to Fantasyland, too. XD

Just finished reading Dark Sun's The Verdant Passage, which is Part 1 of the Prism Pentad series. Since the timeline of 4E Dark Sun comes right after this book, I feel like I can run a DS campaign now.

Next on my list would be the next two books of the Prism Pentad:

The Crimson Legion
The Amber Enchantress

The amber enchantress, Sadira, intrigues me. She's solidly part of the preservers of the Veiled Alliance, but she's oh-so-close to being a defiler. Sort of like the DS version of Cade Skywalker.

The books themselves are by Troy Denning, which isn't exactly my favorite fantasy writer. But he's good enough.

Young Adult Dragon Joined: 25 Dec 2009 Posts: 96

@princessa: You should check out her other series/one-offs too! I haven't read House of Many Ways yet, sadly. I recommend 8 Days of Luke, Dogsbody, and the Dark Lord of Derkholm (or however you spell it) series. >_> Seriously, the last one is pretty lulzy.

BJ Edit: I believe it's time to tell you one of our rules. While you're free to offer your RL name, you cannot refer to other members by their own RL names, even if they offered it at a previous thread.

Please stick to their boardname in the future to avoid inconveniences.

@knightingaleGods, yes, the Dark Lord of Derkholm! Roughly, you could consider it the companion to The Tough Guide to Fantasy, really, as it takes the Tough Guide's ideas and runs with it into an entire novel. Haven't read the follow-up books to that one though. But I remember Dark Lord of Derkholm being a really fun read. Hmm...*digs through bookshelves*

Also, after another conversation regarding the mangling of Ghibli's Earthsea movie (which I still occasionally defend), I think I'll be rereading Le Guin's Earthsea novels. Now if I could just find a new copy of A Wizard of Earthsea. I still curse my brother's rabbit for chewing on the spines of my books. May as well look for a copy of the Tales from Earthsea anthology while I'm at it, as I'm curious how the dragon enchantress managed to get into the wizard's school of Roke.

Young Adult Dragon Joined: 25 Dec 2009 Posts: 96

@BJ: Right, sorry! I think I missed it the first time around 'cause it was in the 'meta' section, not the rules.

@Revan: The only reason I even remembered these books is 'cause we've been doing renovations around the house, and had to sort through my book piles to decide what was 'keep' and 'stay.' Naturally, all my Diana Wynne Jones Novels had to stay. Razz

In her more "serious" works, I'm oddly fond of The Magicians of Caprona.

In other news, I'm lending my collection of Discworld books to PMP, book by book, to broaden his uhhh literary horizons. In return, he's lending me Usagi Yojimbo and a couple of nonfiction books, so I guess it's a fair trade. Razz

Since my sister has a copy, and I'm all out of things to watch (aside from daily TV), I'm watching FRIENDS season 1 - 10, currently at season 2.