NSR-what books(if any)are you reading?

EvilNerdLord · Post by **EvilNerdLord** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:50 pm

The new 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons core books....

I've been playing and DM'ing since high school ('77 when the 'white box' came out) and got sooooooo burned out by 3.5 I gave it all up.

Now I'm feeling the fire again...

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 7:49 pm

TVB wrote:
Syd wrote:Just for fun I re-read "The Hobbit" over Christmas....
Just curious, but did it take you more or less time than the 8-hour running time of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit Plus? :/

jrsjr · Post by **jrsjr** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:54 pm

TVB wrote:
Syd wrote:Just for fun I re-read "The Hobbit" over Christmas....
Just curious, but did it take you more or less time than the 8-hour running time of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit Plus? :/

Good question! I'm no purist, but I knew something was up way back when my son came home from the first movie and said, "Where the Hell is the rest of the movie?" I guess they mined the appendices of The Trilogy books for material and I think they even picked up some material from The Silmarillion, too? That's what I heard, anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing it, though. I wanted to do one of those epic viewing of all three movies in one show, but I couldn't muster any support for that idea. Lol.

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 2:59 am

My latest:

Fire from Ashes: The Reality of Perpetual Conversion - a simple but insightful book
Beginning Prayer - A classic by Andrew Bloom

Choices Under Fire: Moral Dimensions of WWII - Michael Bess - I've been reading this off-and-on for a while. It's very good and raises some fascinating questions using a number of historical illustrations.

Assassination Vacation - Sarah Vowell - one I borrowed from my sister about 2+ years ago and have yet to finish.

My biggest issue is that I read "too heavy" and end up getting sidetracked by lighter fare or just stopping for a while. Picking it all back up can be difficult. Need to find some good Sci-Fi or Fantasy and enjoy some relaxing, mind-numbing action.

Dage'sVew · Post by **Dage'sVew** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 2:24 pm

pugbuddy wrote:. Need to find some good Sci-Fi or Fantasy and enjoy some relaxing, mind-numbing action.

Have you read Lois McMasters Bujold's stuff yet? Multiple Hugo and Nebula award winner. For sci-fi start with "Shards of Honor" or the first two combined in "Cordelia's Honor", and go on through the Vorkosigan saga. Her two fantasy series, one starting with "Curse of Chalion" and the other one "The Sharing Knife, Beguilement" are exceptional as well. My all time favorite author in the genres.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:08 pm

jrsjr wrote:Good question! I'm no purist, but I knew something was up way back when my son came home from the first movie and said, "Where the Hell is the rest of the movie?" I guess they mined the appendices of The Trilogy books for material and I think they even picked up some material from The Silmarillion, too? That's what I heard, anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing it, though. I wanted to do one of those epic viewing of all three movies in one show, but I couldn't muster any support for that idea. Lol.

They didn't just dig through Tolkien's notes, they invented new characters and subplots (e.g. the elf Tauriel, trying to make up for the absence of any female characters in the book). Also, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were different kinds of stories (a little person's big adventure vs. the epic end of an age), but Jackson made the same kind of movies out of them. I'll watch LotR again, but unless someone makes an unauthorized edit that brings The Hobbit down to two hours (about y'know ... the hobbit), probably not.

EvilNerdLord · Post by **EvilNerdLord** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:46 pm

jrsjr wrote:
TVB wrote:
Syd wrote:Just for fun I re-read "The Hobbit" over Christmas....
Just curious, but did it take you more or less time than the 8-hour running time of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit Plus? :/
Good question! I'm no purist, but I knew something was up way back when my son came home from the first movie and said, "Where the Hell is the rest of the movie?" I guess they mined the appendices of The Trilogy books for material and I think they even picked up some material from The Silmarillion, too? That's what I heard, anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing it, though. I wanted to do one of those epic viewing of all three movies in one show, but I couldn't muster any support for that idea. Lol.

I first read LOTR in highschool and every couple of years UI get the urge to reread them (except The Silmarillion, it's as dry as a box of saltine crackers).

to date...20 times.

haven't seen any of the hobbit movies, waiting for whole set to come out on dvd/blue ray to add to collection.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 4:04 am

TVB wrote:
jrsjr wrote:Good question! I'm no purist, but I knew something was up way back when my son came home from the first movie and said, "Where the Hell is the rest of the movie?" I guess they mined the appendices of The Trilogy books for material and I think they even picked up some material from The Silmarillion, too? That's what I heard, anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing it, though. I wanted to do one of those epic viewing of all three movies in one show, but I couldn't muster any support for that idea. Lol.
They didn't just dig through Tolkien's notes, they invented new characters and subplots (e.g. the elf Tauriel, trying to make up for the absence of any female characters in the book). Also, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were different kinds of stories (a little person's big adventure vs. the epic end of an age), but Jackson made the same kind of movies out of them. I'll watch LotR again, but unless someone makes an unauthorized edit that brings The Hobbit down to two hours (about y'know ... the hobbit), probably not.

Agreed. "The Hobbit" is a movie for people who haven't read the book, at least not recently. They made up characters, they introduced characters from LOTR that weren't in TH, they redesigned the war, ... Color me disappointed.

hackett · Post by **hackett** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:31 pm

BuddyRaton wrote:
hackett wrote:Working my way through Gravity's Rainbow.
I need to give that one another try. About 25 years ago I just wasn't able to get through it.

I think this is my third attempt. Close to the end now. And coincidentally, this came up on my radar recently, and I was glad I listened to it: https://soundcloud.com/kings-college-lo ... ne-enright

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 2:53 pm

My son took a theology course on Monasticism last semester, and I suggested that he read Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" just for fun. A book of this complexity was ludicrously oversimplified by the Sean Connery movie. I've read it a few times, and keep discovering something I skipped before. Perhaps I'll have another go at his "Foucault's Pendulum", which is another challenging read.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:56 pm

PeteH wrote:Perhaps I'll have another go at his "Foucault's Pendulum", which is another challenging read.

It's worth it.
Though I'm glad I did it when I was younger and had more free time.

Tenchi · Post by **Tenchi** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:58 pm

Excellent book regarding what to do with your life after you retire, does not focus on financial issues, but how to adjust to retirement and not waste the time you have left. Should probably e-mail the author and recommended buying a scooter.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:38 pm

I haven't read it recently, but a great read for whale and conspiracy lover is ple The Illuminatus! Trilogy. It's a hoot.

EvilNerdLord · Post by **EvilNerdLord** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:24 pm

Syd wrote:
TVB wrote:
jrsjr wrote:Good question! I'm no purist, but I knew something was up way back when my son came home from the first movie and said, "Where the Hell is the rest of the movie?" I guess they mined the appendices of The Trilogy books for material and I think they even picked up some material from The Silmarillion, too? That's what I heard, anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing it, though. I wanted to do one of those epic viewing of all three movies in one show, but I couldn't muster any support for that idea. Lol.
They didn't just dig through Tolkien's notes, they invented new characters and subplots (e.g. the elf Tauriel, trying to make up for the absence of any female characters in the book). Also, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were different kinds of stories (a little person's big adventure vs. the epic end of an age), but Jackson made the same kind of movies out of them. I'll watch LotR again, but unless someone makes an unauthorized edit that brings The Hobbit down to two hours (about y'know ... the hobbit), probably not.
Agreed. "The Hobbit" is a movie for people who haven't read the book, at least not recently. They made up characters, they introduced characters from LOTR that weren't in TH, they redesigned the war, ... Color me disappointed.

sorry to hear that...I had high expectations.
having read the whole series more than 20 times (first in HS, then every few years since I get 'the urge' (I still have my white cover books from HS in fact)...
I even have the BBC radio serial of the story on cd....

agrogod · Post by **agrogod** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:25 pm

Chilton's repair book for Dodge trucks. Winter has been rough this year.

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 10:05 pm

Heh - Haynes Vespa P/PX 150/200 for me

Stormswift · Post by **Stormswift** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 12:16 am

New hobby reading: anything about drones

DrScoot · Post by **DrScoot** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 3:03 am

Currently wrapping my head around the ol Catch-22, love it thus far

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 4:45 am

EDIT: I'd already made a list here! I guess I need to visit the forum more often to keep up (so I at least don't double post). Here are a few old faves to make the post worthwhile.

Books I regularly reread and recommend to everyone:

Silverlock - John Myers Myers
The Alienist - Caleb Carr
King Leopold's Ghost - Hochschild
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex - Edmund Morris
Everywhere Present - Fr. Stephen Freeman

As always, it seems I am constantly reading a few at a time and rarely finishing any!

BigDaddy SnakeOiler · Post by **BigDaddy SnakeOiler** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 9:21 am

About 600 pages into this...

The ironic thing is I have time to read because of my 2 subway, 1 bus commute. Once my Stella is delivered I'll be riding that to work and there goes my reading time.

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 3:57 pm

Dage'sVew wrote:
pugbuddy wrote:. Need to find some good Sci-Fi or Fantasy and enjoy some relaxing, mind-numbing action.
Have you read Lois McMasters Bujold's stuff yet? Multiple Hugo and Nebula award winner. For sci-fi start with "Shards of Honor" or the first two combined in "Cordelia's Honor", and go on through the Vorkosigan saga. Her two fantasy series, one starting with "Curse of Chalion" and the other one "The Sharing Knife, Beguilement" are exceptional as well. My all time favorite author in the genres.

I will take a look. I just bought another copy of Silverlock by John Myers Myers that includes The Silverlock Companion (a read through of most of the literary characters and references in the book) as well as copious amounts of information on the author, how the book came about and a section on the songs! I began reading it again but loaned it to my sister since she has never read it. Great book; I cannot wait to read it again.

I want to read The Bros. Karamozov. I've never read it but I heard good things.

The new 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons core books....

I've been playing and DM'ing since high school ('77 when the 'white box' came out) and got sooooooo burned out by 3.5 I gave it all up.

Now I'm feeling the fire again...

I've got a box with all the original D&D books in it, as well as all the characters I created and played "back in the day". A friend also gave me the 3.5 books and I updated my characters to that. But I actually just love the original stuff and revisit it every now and then (I have an art degree so I tend to go back and draw my characters from time to time). If I could find a group that wanted to do it, I'd play it again in a heartbeat.

snoozy · Post by **snoozy** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 6:07 pm

Just finished reading Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert Goolrick. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1340 ... -wonderful

Really good use of language, imagery, characters, plot.

DennisD · Post by **DennisD** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 6:58 pm

"A Thousand Acres" - Jane Smiley

"The Ocean at the End of the Lane" Neil Gaiman

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:06 pm

Syd wrote:... am now in the middle of Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian". It's kinda weird, the way it's written.

Finally trudged through it. One of the best American novels of all time? Not in my book it isn't. Guess I'm not literary enough.

still shifting · Post by **still shifting** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 3:25 pm

Silverlock is a faverate I have given away several copys. Just finished; The Thirteen Gun Salute by Patric Obrien one of the more "gritty" of the series, but very fine... R

still shifting · Post by **still shifting** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:17 pm

Wild the book is arguably better than the movie but the visuals of the movie are great. R

GregsBuddy · Post by **GregsBuddy** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:24 pm

Just finished five books on the Vietnam war.
After spending the Holidays in Vietnam I was very interested in reading the war's history from both sides.
We have not learned as much as we could've from this history.

Modern Buddy

NSR-what books(if any)are you reading?

How to Retire, Happy, Wild and Free