What are you reading right now?

Saint_Dee said:
Think long and hard before getting into Wheel of Time. I'm very wary about recommending the books because yes, it's an amazing series with great characters, plot, world, and overall lore. But there be some low points in the series (and I mean low). In any case, it's one option (and I'm a newb when it comes to the fantasy genre, being a heavy sci-fi fan). If you haven't read Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, get on that.
Click to expand...


Yes, thats why I've seen ppl say and why I dont think I want to get into. Thanks, I'll have a look at Name of the Wind.
 
Saint_Dee said:
I'm finally done with Wheel of Time after reading A Memory of Light (WoT #14). Let me tell you, the last three books make the journey really worthwhile.
Click to expand...

So you finished the series after all? Good work. I enjoyed it, but it took me years to read, mostly waiting for the next book to be written.

VirtualForce said:
Anyone care to suggest something?
Click to expand...

If you're after Fantasy, try Magician by Raymond E. Feist (Book 1 of "The Riftwar Saga" series), Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (Book 1 of "A Song of Ice and Fire" series) was a good read, and much better than the TV series. You can also try something by David Gemmel or James Barclay (maybe the "Chronicles of the Raven" trilogy).
 
VirtualForce said:
Yes, thats why I've seen ppl say and why I dont think I want to get into. Thanks, I'll have a look at Name of the Wind.
Click to expand...

Good vibes man.

matt said:
So you finished the series after all? Good work. I enjoyed it, but it took me years to read, mostly waiting for the next book to be written.
Click to expand...

Took me under 2 years (read The Eye of World in January 2013). I love the series (the last 3 were crazy hype), but for the love of all things good, Crossroads of Twilight (Book 10) made me quit reading the series for 4 months (I almost put reading altogether on hiatus). Thinking about that book annoys me actually :o. That book can go jump in the river Erinin.
 
Last edited:
matt said:
So you finished the series after all? Good work. I enjoyed it, but it took me years to read, mostly waiting for the next book to be written.



If you're after Fantasy, try Magician by Raymond E. Feist (Book 1 of "The Riftwar Saga" series), Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (Book 1 of "A Song of Ice and Fire" series) was a good read, and much better than the TV series. You can also try something by David Gemmel or James Barclay (maybe the "Chronicles of the Raven" trilogy).
Click to expand...

David Gemmell books are awesome, but not for everyone apparently. Something about the moral preachiness.

Saint_Dee said:
Good vibes man.



Took me under 2 years (read The Eye of World in January 2013). I love the series (the last 3 were crazy hype), but for the love of all things good, Crossroads of Twilight (Book 10) made me quit reading the series for 4 months (I almost put reading altogether on hiatus). Thinking about that book annoys me actually :o. That book can go jump in the river Erinin.
Click to expand...

Peace Saint Dee, Peace.
 
I've completed Dr Sleep by Stephen King and found it very enjoyable. Maybe not in the same league as The Shining but true enough to its universe to be an enjoyable read.

Next on my list (will start it tonight) is Gun Machine by Warren Ellis. If the name sounds familiar, it's probably because he is a very well known comic and graphic novel author with my favorite being Transmetropolitan. Gun Machine is his second novel that doesn't have pictures (Crooked Little Vein was a blast) and i'm really looking forward to it.
 
I am reading:
The New Century of South African Poetry - Various
Miss Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Beloved - Toni Morrison
A Grain of wheat - Ngugi Wa Thiong'o
Middlemarch - George Eliot
As well as Wife of Bath and Romantic poetry some T.S Eliot and Half a Century of South African Short stories, FML the life of an English major in their third year.
 
Last edited:
Glordit said:
I am reading:
The New Century of South African Poetry - Various
Miss Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Beloved - Toni Morrison
A Grain of wheat - Ngugi Wa Thiong'o
Middlemarch - George Eliot
As well as Wife of Bath and Romantic poetry some T.S Eliot and Half a Century of South African Short stories, FML the life of an English major in their third year.
Click to expand...

I am not a huge fan of poetry (unless it's been put to music) but "The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot is one of the most thought provoking pieces (I could never think of it as just a poem) I have ever read. Pure brilliance.

Edit: I think it's justified to add that I've seen some very, very good pieces by some of our forum members as well. I just wish those taps would flow more than just give an occasional drip.
 
Last edited:
Glordit said:
I am reading:
The New Century of South African Poetry - Various
Miss Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Beloved - Toni Morrison
A Grain of wheat - Ngugi Wa Thiong'o
Middlemarch - George Eliot
As well as Wife of Bath and Romantic poetry some T.S Eliot and Half a Century of South African Short stories, FML the life of an English major in their third year.
Click to expand...

Good luck with Virginia Woolf. We read To The Lighthouse and oh man that was horrible.
 
Mister 44 said:
I am not a huge fan of poetry (unless it's been put to music) but "The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot is one of the most thought provoking pieces (I could never think of it as just a poem) I have ever read. Pure brilliance.

Edit: I think it's justified to add that I've seen some very, very good pieces by some of our forum members as well. I just wish those taps would flow more than just give an occasional drip.
Click to expand...

I've read that poem, and I quite agree with you. I don't think I could ever measure up to such a wordsmith:o
 
Saint_Dee said:
I've read that poem, and I quite agree with you. I don't think I could ever measure up to such a wordsmith:o
Click to expand...

I will be honest, literature (mostly poetry) as a whole is entirely subjective and always up for interpretation. There is no wrong and right when it comes to interpretation, there can be a translation which can be used as a guideline. Sometimes even those are sketchy at best. Take for example the Epic The Wife of Bath, it has some modifications done to it's original that no one can seem to prove, yet it stands still today.

So T.S Eliot wrote a poem and some people liked it so much they put it in every "classic" poetry book and make scholars learn it's secrets. Poetry is just not for me, well the classic and contemporary. Give me Haiku and Limerick and I am happy.

I will always have my Geography to fall back on but I plan to get a Masters in Modern Literature, with specializations in Pop Culture, Graphic novels and the influence of English language in modern Culture.

I Digress! There is also a lot of good poetry and a lot of kak as well but everyone is different so I am sure there is someone will appreciate your works someday Dee! :)
 
Glordit said:
I will be honest, literature (mostly poetry) as a whole is entirely subjective and always up for interpretation. There is no wrong and right when it comes to interpretation, there can be a translation which can be used as a guideline. Sometimes even those are sketchy at best. Take for example the Epic The Wife of Bath, it has some modifications done to it's original that no one can seem to prove, yet it stands still today.

So T.S Eliot wrote a poem and some people liked it so much they put it in every "classic" poetry book and make scholars learn it's secrets. Poetry is just not for me, well the classic and contemporary. Give me Haiku and Limerick and I am happy.

I will always have my Geography to fall back on but I plan to get a Masters in Modern Literature, with specializations in Pop Culture, Graphic novels and the influence of English language in modern Culture.

I Digress! There is also a lot of good poetry and a lot of kak as well but everyone is different so I am sure there is someone will appreciate your works someday Dee! :)
Click to expand...

I agree whole heartedly with this, especially on the subjectivity of literature.
Three of my all time favourite books are "Slaughter House 5" by Kurt Vonnegut, "Catch 22" by Joseph Heller and "On the Beach" by Neville Shute. The first two are often praised by people who don't really enjoy it, just for the intellectual snob status that goes with it (these are the people that would leave a half-read copy of "Finnegan's Wake" in the lounge just have a prop to grab if somebody should ever ask them what they are reading) and the latter doesn't get the credit it deserves, especially in the modern era. Many others can't get into it because they are not the easiest books to read and accessibility is very important in the making of a good book, I think.
For my part, I am not that big a fan of graphic novels and comics. I do read them and I do enjoy it very much, but I will always grab a novel first, if available. The exceptions for me are "Watchmen" and "Transmetropolitan". Brilliant stories that could not have worked in any other medium than Comic/GN style.

I'm still reading "Gun Machine" by Warren Ellis and I can really recommend it to any fans of graphic novels that're looking for a standard novel. I have not read a book this beautifully descriptive of scenes and characters in a very long time. Where I usually imagine a book movie-like, I have found myself painting the comic panels mentally for "Gun Machine".
 
Glordit said:
I will be honest, literature (mostly poetry) as a whole is entirely subjective and always up for interpretation. There is no wrong and right when it comes to interpretation, there can be a translation which can be used as a guideline. Sometimes even those are sketchy at best. Take for example the Epic The Wife of Bath, it has some modifications done to it's original that no one can seem to prove, yet it stands still today.

I Digress! There is also a lot of good poetry and a lot of kak as well but everyone is different so I am sure there is someone will appreciate your works someday Dee! :)
Click to expand...

That's what I love about poetry, it's so open to interpretation that the field of appreciation can be quite wide. It's also very interesting to hear the different interpretations from people when they read your work. In any case I just jot down my thoughts and it comes out as "poetic" pieces :D (you can find some of them in the artists unite thread... link in my sig).

Also, I just remembered this little gem :D:
czc said:
OP, Original poster
That brave pioneering soul
Putting pride, passion, prejudice forward
Risking Ire
Skimming opinions, trolls, lols
Driving discussion forward
Creating a future dead thread
Click to expand...
 
Saint_Dee said:
That's what I love about poetry, it's so open to interpretation that the field of appreciation can be quite wide.
Click to expand...

This can sometimes have quite entertaining results. I remember having to write a test on Robert Frost's "Putting in the Seed" as part of our English Lit. course. Word went around the students that the poem was a metaphor for sex and thus we all interpreted it through that lens. This was much to the horror of our lecturers when they marked the tests - apparently it was just about gardening. I remember the person who marked my test commenting on my paper: "You fail to go into too much detail on certain points but perhaps that is for the better." They must have thought, these typical students, all they think about is sex :D

Here's the poem for interest sake:
You come to fetch me from my work to-night
When supper’s on the table, and we’ll see
If I can leave off burying the white
Soft petals fallen from the apple tree.
(Soft petals, yes, but not so barren quite,
Mingled with these, smooth bean and wrinkled pea; )
And go along with you ere you lose sight
Of what you came for and become like me,
Slave to a springtime passion for the earth.
How Love burns through the Putting in the Seed
On through the watching for that early birth
When, just as the soil tarnishes with weed,

The sturdy seedling with arched body comes
Shouldering its way and shedding the earth crumbs.
Click to expand...
 
Oh glorious coating, we sing of your might;
But why must you be, both sticky and white?
My sword doth shine, sparkle and glisten;
But too many’a joke, have I had to listen.
A monster’s tough hide, you have helped me poke;
Oh that’s just great, even I made a joke.
The chapter called “next” will feature your glory;
You helped cease demon life, with end that’s quite gory.
So despite your allusions to a synonym of “sailors”
We’ll still whip you out, on weapons we tailor….
To your excellence.

D'ya know where that's from?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top