what are you reading and guilty literary pleasures

[booblay]

Blood Meridian was quite possibly the vilest, most miserable, horrible books I've ever read....but it was also beautiful and amazing at the same time and left me jealous....All The Pretty Horses is good. Not as bleak and inhuman as B.meridian, but still meaty. If you like him, you'd probably like Marquez....he's another bloody amazing writer, but slightly bonkers..I'd recommend Love in The time of Cholera and 100 Years of Solitude..

I like George Carlin. I don't find him hugely funny (not as funny as Bill Hicks or Doug Stanhope for example) but I like his moxy.

And Silmarillion - yeah, it is good. Shame Tolkien himself didn't manage to get it all finished himself before popping his clogs...there's alot of fab stuff in there but it's all crammed, kind of wasteful, it could have been as epic as LOTR. As it is, it's more like the Mabinogion.

Now Gormenghast - anyone read that? It's flippin awesome.

Skwoddy - you would not like to have a drink with me. I'd get piss all over your dishes. Bad aim.

[esmecullen]

I've been revisiting the Harry Potter books these past couple of weeks Not as keen on the films tho........... too much artistic licence!!!!

I do love Tolkein's books........... have most of them in my bookcase, along with Clive Barker, Michael Moorcock & Agatha Christie

My guilty pleasure is the Twilight books

[Skwoddy]

Oct 16, 2012 14:32:51 GMT booblay said:

Blood Meridian was quite possibly the vilest, most miserable, horrible books I've ever read....but it was also beautiful and amazing at the same time and left me jealous....All The Pretty Horses is good. Not as bleak and inhuman as B.meridian, but still meaty. If you like him, you'd probably like Marquez....he's another bloody amazing writer, but slightly bonkers..I'd recommend Love in The time of Cholera and 100 Years of Solitude..

I like George Carlin. I don't find him hugely funny (not as funny as Bill Hicks or Doug Stanhope for example) but I like his moxy.

And Silmarillion - yeah, it is good. Shame Tolkien himself didn't manage to get it all finished himself before popping his clogs...there's alot of fab stuff in there but it's all crammed, kind of wasteful, it could have been as epic as LOTR. As it is, it's more like the Mabinogion.

Now Gormenghast - anyone read that? It's flippin awesome.

Skwoddy - you would not like to have a drink with me. I'd get piss all over your dishes. Bad aim.

You can piss on my dishes anytime hun, just as long as there is beer involved

[kurotoshiro]

Oct 16, 2012 14:32:51 GMT booblay said:

Blood Meridian was quite possibly the vilest, most miserable, horrible books I've ever read....but it was also beautiful and amazing at the same time and left me jealous.

I found it enjoyably grim. Same thing with The Road.

I have a copy of All the Pretty Horses but haven't started it yet. It's next on my list.

Oct 16, 2012 14:32:51 GMT booblay said:

And Silmarillion - yeah, it is good. Shame Tolkien himself didn't manage to get it all finished himself before popping his clogs...there's alot of fab stuff in there but it's all crammed, kind of wasteful, it could have been as epic as LOTR. As it is, it's more like the Mabinogion.

I'd argue that it's more epic than LOTR. I mean, it begins with a creation myth and spans over two ages of an entire world. How much more epicness do you want?

When push comes to shove, I think I just prefer it to most other fantasy stories because there's no central hero or quest. It's just a massive web of tragic events that all unfold on the basis of one or two simple actions in the early formation of the world.

Have you tried any other early fantasy writers like Dunsany or Eddison?

[Roger]

Reading "Angels of Vengeance" the third book in the 'Without Warning' series by John Bimingham

www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/john-birmingham/

If you like fantasy, Raymond E Feist is worth a go, as are
David Gemmel
Terry Goodkind
David Eddings

[womble]

Oct 17, 2012 12:34:16 GMT Roger said:

Reading "Angels of Vengeance" the third book in the 'Without Warning' series by John Bimingham

www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/john-birmingham/

If you like fantasy, Raymond E Feist is worth a go, as are
David Gemmel
Terry Goodkind
David Eddings

Feist is amazing and he has a long line of books all following the same realm. I have all his books.

Gemmel is brilliant and you can really get into each books story, some of his books though I feel aren't up to scratch. I have all of his books as well.

Goodkind I liked when I was younger, but I feel his books are for younger audiences.

Eddings is the master of deep stories and books written with small typeface, I haven't read too many of his books for some reason, I should read more.

[Roger]

Oct 17, 2012 13:09:24 GMT womble said:

Oct 17, 2012 12:34:16 GMT Roger said:

Reading "Angels of Vengeance" the third book in the 'Without Warning' series by John Bimingham

www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/john-birmingham/

If you like fantasy, Raymond E Feist is worth a go, as are
David Gemmel
Terry Goodkind
David Eddings

Feist is amazing and he has a long line of books all following the same realm. I have all his books.

Gemmel is brilliant and you can really get into each books story, some of his books though I feel aren't up to scratch. I have all of his books as well.

Goodkind I liked when I was younger, but I feel his books are for younger audiences.

Eddings is the master of deep stories and books written with small typeface, I haven't read too many of his books for some reason, I should read more.

I'm a bit worried cos when I like an author, they seem to not hang around

Both Gemmel & Eddings have departed over the last couple of years.

I would disagree that Goodkind's books are for younger readers, the 'Sword of Truth' series can be very dark at times. Sure you don't mean Terry Brooks?

[womble]

Oct 17, 2012 14:34:57 GMT Roger said:

I would disagree that Goodkind's books are for younger readers, the 'Sword of Truth' series can be very dark at times. Sure you don't mean Terry Brooks?

Yeah you're right Always get those 2 mixed up

[Roger]

Oct 17, 2012 16:21:00 GMT womble said:

Oct 17, 2012 14:34:57 GMT Roger said:

I would disagree that Goodkind's books are for younger readers, the 'Sword of Truth' series can be very dark at times. Sure you don't mean Terry Brooks?

Yeah you're right Always get those 2 mixed up

Some of his newer ones and the Shannara one aren't too bad, Landover can be a bit silly at times.

[Cambo]

As others have said, I enjoyed the Harry Potter books, thoroughly enjoyable escapism. I also love Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, romance, history and time travel combined - what's not to like? Lol. I read loads of different stuff, biographies, the classics, 'kids' books.... I just enjoy reading, especially historical stuff, but I have to say I've not yet managed to get past the first chapter of Fifty Shades, it just doesn't catch my attention.

[2risky]

I'm mostly reading police procedurals set in LA at the moment, quite enjoying Michael Connelly, just finished James Ellroy's LA Quartet which I liked a lot, but I stalled on his later stuff about politics.

I will definitely have a go at Bukowski, been meaning to for years.

Gormenghast is ace.

My guilty pleasure is Jack Vance, who writes ludicrous fantasies of no merit, but his writing style is so beautiful and amusing. 'Cugel's Saga' is the place to start. It's like a childrens' book in many ways, but Vance is sly, with prose as elegant as Wodehouse.

I also recommend, for the low-commitment literature crowd, Kurt Vonnegut. maybe start with 'Breakfast of Champions'.

Also
Richard Morgan - Takeshi Kovacs series
Neal Stephenson - Baroque Cycle

Terry Goodkind is an Ayn Rand acolyte. I advise that nobody gives him money on the grounds that a) he can't write for toffee and b) he's a social Darwinist so he is basically asking to be poor.

I've just realised that most of the books I read are guilty pleasures. Oh well.

[Cambo]

Oct 18, 2012 16:09:19 GMT 2risky said:

Terry Goodkind is an Ayn Rand acolyte. I advise that nobody gives him money on the grounds that a) he can't write for toffee and b) he's a social Darwinist so he is basically asking to be poor.

Once tried to read Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand), it's still sitting on the bookshelf with the bookmark in it. Boring beyond belief.

[2risky]

Yes, it's just as well it's practically unreadable. Very influential politically in the US though, sadly (from my point of view anyway). Goodkind's work is basically Ayn Rand's utopian individualism, disguised with swords. Only the 'strong' deserve to survive etc. Yuk.

[Ratfinkz]

For fantasy lovers try poison studies series they're amongst my favourite. Also loved harry potter series and queued up at midnight just to get the first of the last - just to say we had done it lol - kinda grown out of them now though! Also afraid to say I enjoyed the twilight series - both of these series are much better as books than films though! Would be interested in the one set in aberwystyth if it had any other genre as that's where I went to university! Thanks for the e mail list will sign up to that. Working through little women atm and loving it! SOrry about lack of caps am on phone!

[Roger]

Oct 18, 2012 16:27:17 GMT 2risky said:

Yes, it's just as well it's practically unreadable. Very influential politically in the US though, sadly (from my point of view anyway). Goodkind's work is basically Ayn Rand's utopian individualism, disguised with swords. Only the 'strong' deserve to survive etc. Yuk.

Big fan of Goodkind then huh?