Do you read?

[Ginko]

 

Just finished Dune for the umpteenth time. There's no point in reading anything else  .

 

Loved it when I read it in my teens. Never re-read it, suspect it might be a disappointment now. 

 

I did start reading the (first) sequel, Dune Messiah - thought it was crap and gave up. 

 

 

One of my mates recommended the Dune series to me. He thought they were all brilliant. I'll get around to them eventually.

As for me, I just finished  'On Writing'  by Stephen King, which is not a fiction novel, but a book in three parts. The first part is about his early life and the experiences that made him into the writer he is today, the second part is about his opinions on what constitutes good writing and how you should go about putting your stuff out there to literary agents and publishers, and then the final part is an account of when he got hit by a van whilst out walking in 1999 and very nearly died, which inspired him to finish this book on writing because he was very close to giving up on it prior to this.

I'm a King fan anyway but I found it brilliant just because I'm somewhat of a wannabe writer, which I suppose is good being a journalism student. Anyway, it was a good read, and quite short too.

I'm back to fiction now though, I'm going to start reading the Dark Tower series since I haven't attempted them before. One question to anyone who has read them: Should I begin with  'The Gunslinger'  (being the first book in the series) or would it be wise to read 'The Stand' beforehand? 

Edited May 6, 2013 by Ginko

[Keyblade]

 

Just finished Dune for the umpteenth time. There's no point in reading anything else  .

 

Loved it when I read it in my teens. Never re-read it, suspect it might be a disappointment now. 

 

I did start reading the (first) sequel, Dune Messiah - thought it was crap and gave up. 

 

 

I highly recommend you read it again...or at least the first one. It's nothing short of amazing imo.

[hogso]

back to fiction now though, I'm going to start reading the Dark Tower series since I haven't attempted them before. One question to anyone who has read them: Should I begin with 'The Gunslinger' (being the first book in the series) or would it be wise to read 'The Stand' beforehand?

Naw, just start with The Gunslinger. There is a really awesome connection to The Stand in The Wastelands (part 3) which literally had me whooping for joy. But if you start the game of reading everything that is referenced in DT, then you'll pretty much have to read everything by King. Ergo, you may as well just start DK. The biggest connections, for me, are 'Salems Lot & Everything's Eventual - both the short story of the same name, and the Little Sisters of Eluria from the same short story compendium. You don't need to read them first, though. It's just nice when certain people pop up, and you already know them.

A more pertinent question may be which version of The Gunslinger do you read? King went back and changed a bunch of stuff in the first book, adding continuity and introducing some ideas from the later part of the series at the start. Makes sense, really, given King only wrote The Gunslinger as a one off, but it just grew after that. I read the second cut first, and as such, that's what I prefer. I know that the first cut is more popular with readers of that one first, so, yeh. If you're buying a new paperback version, it'll be the newer version.

Edited May 6, 2013 by hogso

[Ginko]

Thanks Hogso, I bought it on Kindle and all I can find on it is that it was published in 2003 which, since the original was published in 1982, I assume is the revised edition, which I think I'd prefer on this occasion despite generally being a bit of a purist.

I've seen a few reading order lists for Dark Tower, and one friend who is pretty damn knowledgable about books said it didn't really matter but reading The Stand beforehand wasn't the worst idea in the world, but this is the one I've decided to go with. See if you agree.

 

1. The Gunslinger
2. The Eyes of the Dragon
3. The Drawing of the Three
4. The Waste Lands
5. The Stand
6. Wizard and Glass
7. 'Salem's Lot
8. Wolves of the Calla
9. The Little Sisters of Eluria
10. Everything's Eventual
11. Low Men in Yellow Coats
12. Song of Susannah
13. Insomnia
14. Black House
15. The Dark Tower

 

I don't plan on reading much else even if it is linked, like reading IT for example. My friend told me the only real connections, so I don't think it's worth me reading. Any suggestions on that order you want to make would be appreciated though and the same applies to anyone else who's read them.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Ginko

[FrenchVillaLova]

[hogso]

1. The Gunslinger

2. The Eyes of the Dragon

3. The Drawing of the Three

4. The Waste Lands

5. The Stand

6. Wizard and Glass

7. 'Salem's Lot

8. Wolves of the Calla

9. The Little Sisters of Eluria

10. Everything's Eventual

11. Low Men in Yellow Coats

12. Song of Susannah

13. Insomnia

14. Black House

15. The Dark Tower

Haven't read 2, 11, 13 & 14, so can't really comment on that list. I know of 11 specially though, as the titular entities are in DK, although not referred to as such. As I said before though, I would definitely put The Stand before The Wastelands.

I guess it depends how quick you read, and how much time you want to invest in it. I mean, The Stand is great, but it's pretty massive - especially the complete version.

All I can really say is that I've enjoyed the connections to DK in King's other work, whether that's been from a book I read before DK, or after. In fact more so after - stuff like The Mist, From a Buick 8, and the recent 11/22/63, which gave me a massive retrospective DK stiffy.

Oh, just realised, there is a book missing from your list - the recently published Wind Through The Keyhole, which is a proper DK book, 4.5 to be precise. By 4.5 I mean after Wizard & Glass :-)

Edited May 6, 2013 by hogso

[Ginko]

Ah okay, cheers. I'll add it to my list and switch The Stand and The Waste Lands around.

[coda]

Yeah, I think I mentioned that before. Drove me a bit mad. Finished it, though. I can't not finish a book, no matter how bad/infuriating.

I used to be like that about having to finish books. Not anymore and there's no way I can handle over 600 pages of that style.

 

 

Hmmm, yeah. I LOVED the LA Quartet. But started Underworld USA with American Tabloid, and didn't enjoy it nearly as much. Been putting off Cold Six Thousand precisely because I fear the mannered style may have gone too far.

It's the first Ellroy I've read and it sounds like I started in the wrong place.

 

 

I hate McCarthy's style so much it pains me to read it. I just about dragged myself through No Country but as much as I've heard Blood Meridian is fantastic, I got about 100 pages in and gave up on it.

Is it the lack of quotation? I like how he doesn't dress things up too much. I'm no fan of Westerns and while this book is deeply unpleasant he's got to be one of the best writing today.

[mjmooney]

 

Free on Kindle. Just downloaded it. 

[hogso]

Ah okay, cheers. I'll add it to my list and switch The Stand and The Waste Lands around.

Going back to this, another thought, on Little Sisters of Eluria. It's kind of a hard one to place, as chronologically it takes place immediately before The Gunslinger, but involves concepts that aren't properly brought up until the latter books. So I couldn't say for sure the best place to read it would be...it is a neat little story, but not a very good introduction to Roland and his world, I suppose.

Plus, I have no idea why I kept saying DK there...must've been autocorrect

Edited May 6, 2013 by hogso

[Ginko]

It's okay, I didn't even notice you said it.

After a bit of revision, I've changed the list to one I saw on another website in which the guy making the list explains the choices he makes. So I've gone for:

1. The Gunslinger
2. The Drawing of the Three
3. The Stand
4. The Eyes of the Dragon
5. The Talisman
6. The Waste Lands
7. Wizard and Glass
8. 'Salem's Lot
9. Insomnia
10. Everything's Eventual
11. The Little Sisters of Eluria
12. Hearts in Atlantis
13. Black House
14. The Wind Through the Keyhole
15. Wolves of the Calla
16. Song of Susannah
17. The Dark Tower

 

I've missed a few from the list this chap made, but he said they weren't that essential really.

[Pelle]

Just finished "The Passage" by Justin Cronin.

 

Quite a long book but I really enjoyed it.  I would give it 9 out of 10.

 

It's about a experiment that goes very wrong and the earth pays a heavy price for this.

 

1 girl holds the key to it all and what starts out as a description of her and her mothers early life turns into a story spanning a 100 years give or take.  There is a point in the book where I was speechless and had to put the book down for 10 minutes to contemplate what just happened,  absolutely brilliant.

 

I could not put this book down and there is a follow up book to this also.

 

A little late. But yes, it's a very good book. The sequel is already out, isn't it? Should be released here in Sweden in May so I'm expecting it to be in the stores here really soon, now. Really looking forward to it.

[veloman]

There has been quit a bit of coverage this week regarding the anniversary of the Atlantic convoys and the merchant seaman who perished. Quite rightly too IMO; brave beyond belief; but that is another subject. If you have any interest in that period of World War 2 may I suggest reading 'The Cruel Sea' by Nicholas Montserrat. I had to read it for 'O' Level English but even back then found it both fascinating yet chilling. Just a suggestion.

 

PS. At school, we had the 'abridged' version of the book, suitable for schools; I later found out that the full version contained slightly more 'lurid' accounts of the sailors pulling women whilst on shore-leave, getting VD etc. This would have been much more interesting !

[mjmooney]

The Cruel Sea is excellent, as is Monsarrat's "Three Corvettes".

 

For the other side of the story, Lothar-Günther Buchheim's "Das Boot".

[knoppy1987]

Embarrassingly I have only just got around to reading Trueman Capote's 'In Cold Blood'. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has been on 'the list' since I started high school 15 years ago and it took a bit of luck with my neighbour doing a bit of book recycling to get my hand on a copy. Made the book even better as I nicked it from his door collection box - terrible really.     

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

I love 'In Cold Blood'. Easily one of my top ten.

[mjmooney]

Yep, great book.

[flamingsombrero]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/10049454/Dont-make-fun-of-renowned-Dan-Brown.html

[FrenchVillaLova]

 

 

Free on Kindle. Just downloaded it. 

 

Looking forward to your feedback when you've finished reading it.. 

[mjmooney]

Four chapters in. I like it so far.