Bibliophiles R' Us

[BionicKris]

I'm an avid reader - everything from classical to sci fi/fantasy - and I'm worried about how much leisurely reading I'll actually be able to get done once school starts. I'm currently working my way through the Dresden files, hence the signature. I know I'm late, but better late than never right? Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to share with gradcafe land what your currently reading and offer any suggestions. Just another fun topic to keep our minds off packing up and moving and fellowship nominations (NSF that means you)

By the way, just finished Silver Borne (Patricia Briggs) and Succubus Shadows (Richelle Meade) yesterday. Thoroughly enjoyed both. I'm now back to the Dresden files to find out what sort of mayhem Harry'll get himself into this time.

[bluellie]

Recently read Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. Currently slogging through Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren's How To Read A Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading in preparation for the vast amounts of reading I will have to do as a grad student. It's pretty interesting, but by no means a pleasure read.

[anxiousapplicant]

In the rare moments when I get to spend a few minutes for pleasure, I have been reading Chekov and Kierkegaard.

[natsteel]

In the rare moments when I get to spend a few minutes for pleasure, I have been reading Chekov and Kierkegaard.

Every now and then I sneak a few peeks at Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch."

[wordslinger]

I just read that whole Patricia Briggs series as well! I'm on Silver Bourne now. I also read Cry Wolf, which I didn't like nearly as well. Also, I recently read the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequel (loved them both). BionicKris, what do you think of Richelle Meade? I haven't read any of hers yet.

In between working full time and writing my thesis last semester, I had no time for pleasure reading at all. So I'm soaking in this school-free semester before I head back into the fray in August. Thanks for your recommendations!

[BionicKris]

I just read that whole Patricia Briggs series as well! I'm on Silver Bourne now. I also read Cry Wolf, which I didn't like nearly as well. Also, I recently read the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequel (loved them both). BionicKris, what do you think of Richelle Meade? I haven't read any of hers yet.

In between working full time and writing my thesis last semester, I had no time for pleasure reading at all. So I'm soaking in this school-free semester before I head back into the fray in August. Thanks for your recommendations!

Yay! Another sci/fi fantasy buff. Cry Wolf isn't nearly as enjoyable as the shape-shifting coyote but I liked it. If you like Briggs' work you might also enjoy Raven's Shadow and Raven's Strike. The storytelling in that particular duology was wonderful, in my opinion. Richelle Meade is great, but not as good as Briggs. Her stories leave you addicted though. She has two series out - one about the succubus who sold her soul to protect someone she loved and another about a shaman who finds out she's actually a Fae queen.

Anxiousapplicant - I applaud you. There's now way I'm reading Russian literature for "pleasure," though I've admittedly never read anything by either authors you posted. I read Dostoyevsky in high school and that was enough for me. I did try to read Anna Karenina for years but I finally gave up.

I must say that I've fallen off somewhat with the classics. I usually read a few over the summer simply because I have more time, but lately I've been leaning more towards sci-fi and fantasy. After long days of thinking about science and "being the ball," so to speak, my brain wants to immerse itself in the tasty goodness that is pop fiction. Some think it's weird, but I love being able to escape back to my younger days when I thought magicians and wizards and necromancers were real and living next door. Maybe one day I'll jump back on the intellectual literature band wagon, but for right now, I'm all about great story telling. I highly recommend Jacqueline Carey out there for anyone that loves writers that make new and exciting worlds! She's great.

[wordslinger]

Yay! Another sci/fi fantasy buff. Cry Wolf isn't nearly as enjoyable as the shape-shifting coyote but I liked it. If you like Briggs' work you might also enjoy Raven's Shadow and Raven's Strike. The storytelling in that particular duology was wonderful, in my opinion. Richelle Meade is great, but not as good as Briggs. Her stories leave you addicted though. She has two series out - one about the succubus who sold her soul to protect someone she loved and another about a shaman who finds out she's actually a Fae queen.

Thanks for the recommendations! I am definitely a sci fi/fantasy geek. As an English person, I definitely enjoy the literary reads too, but on the weekend give me vampires and werewolves. I'm going to download Raven's Shadow tonight, in fact.

And I've just remembered, in science fiction, I've recently gotten into Greg Egan, an Australian sci-fi writer. Distress was terrific; it's hard science and attempts to grapple with physics, rather well to my minimally trained (at least in physics) brain.

[peppermint.beatnik]

In the rare moments when I get to spend a few minutes for pleasure, I have been reading Chekov and Kierkegaard.

Kierkegaard? For pleasure?! ugh!

[UnlikelyGrad]

I've been reading autobiographies lately--"Sully" Sullenberger's (not bad), and The Trapp Family Singers (by the real Maria von Trapp)--not as Hollywoodish as The Sound of Music, but more interesting in many ways.

After a looooong binge on historical mysteries, I've recently gotten started reading historical romances. *blush* I am fond of the Victorian era (both for mysteries and romances), but the high middle ages are my favorite time period. I don't do contemporary stuff--I read to get away!!

[BionicKris]

I've been reading autobiographies lately--"Sully" Sullenberger's (not bad), and The Trapp Family Singers (by the real Maria von Trapp)--not as Hollywoodish as The Sound of Music, but more interesting in many ways.

After a looooong binge on historical mysteries, I've recently gotten started reading historical romances. *blush* I am fond of the Victorian era (both for mysteries and romances), but the high middle ages are my favorite time period. I don't do contemporary stuff--I read to get away!!

I totally agree with you. Reading is definitely about escaping. After spending all day at school and in the lab, my brain needs a break. I'm not a big fan of strictly romance, but I have read a few historical mysteries. I think my favorite was probably The Historian. I know it's old but I liked it. I also really enjoyed the The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. Have you read anything by Caleb Carr? Angel of Darkness or The Alienist? I read them a long time ago but both stories were great mysteries set in the 18th or 19th century. Happy reading!

[Infinite Monkeys]

I'm an avid reader - everything from classical to sci fi/fantasy - and I'm worried about how much leisurely reading I'll actually be able to get done once school starts.

Leisurely reading? I know I don't get to do too much: I'm currently in an MA English program, and most of the reading I do is of the "You will read these fifteen novels for the semester" variety. That said, when I get down-time, it's usually murder mysteries. My current favorite is Donna Andrews' mystery series. They're engaging without being overly "thinky," which sounds pretty counter-intuitive, but I spend the bulk of my semester reading Faulkner, Hemingway, and the like, so an easy read is nice once every so often. It's the same reason I read Christopher Moore's stuff--I get to laugh and really enjoy reading for fun.

Depending on your program, you might be able to squeeze in a book or two every month or so. Maybe more, maybe less. It just depends on your workload and things like that. It tends to get better once you've got your footing once sessions start.

[Phyl]

I have pretty eclectic taste I guess I gravitate towards historical fiction and sci fi/fantasy. I haven't wanted to read anything serious for pleasure since I started college.

House of Leaves -- Weird horror novel, plays with format. Wikipedia has a pretty decent article on it. I don't read it before I go to bed.

Atlas Shrugged -- I was surprised I actually liked the style of writing

Dune and related books -- Liked the movie, love the books

and -slightly embarrassed- morbid curiosity got the best of me and I read Twilight just the first book and loathed it. I usually don't mind young adult books but a little of me died after reading it. I can't even express how disgusted I am by it.

[metasyntactic]

I just finished reading Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. It's a great cyberpunk novel, though it is slow starting and struggles with cliches. I also try reading for pleasure, but I find that the only time that I can truly catch up with reading is during the summer. What's great is that I read Pattern Recognition for a literature course that I'm taking in cyborg literature. It's a great topic for a course because it lets me read books that I would normally want to read anyway (e.g. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep).

Edited April 2, 2010 by metasyntactic

[wordslinger]

and -slightly embarrassed- morbid curiosity got the best of me and I read Twilight just the first book and loathed it. I usually don't mind young adult books but a little of me died after reading it. I can't even express how disgusted I am by it.

I must confess that I read the entire series plus The Host. Stephanie Meyer is like the heroin of books... tragically bad for you but addictive.

[BionicKris]

Ref: Infinite Monkeys - I discovered the brilliance that is Christopher Moore last year when I read Fool. Since then, I've been gobbling up his books. I think my favorite was Lamb - I loved how he told the story of Jesus (and his childhood friend Biff!). Moore was hilarious throughout the book but when he got to the crucifixion, it was like even he couldn't find light in that dark tunnel. I think it was the first time I actually cried over a story. In lighter news, have you gotten Moore's latest? I bought the other day but haven't gotten to it. Sadly, Butcher's Dresden Files and his dark humor or more my style right now. And I totally agree with not reading thinky-y books. Sometimes it pays to let your brain escape with great story-telling as opposed to great examinations of what it means to be human and moral, etc.

Ref: Phyl - What!? You didn't like Twilight? Don't let the tweens, teens and otherwise "adult" mom's hear you say that! I will admit that I did read the entire series and I liked it. Let me tell you why before you're completely lose faith in me as a serious (albeit future) grad student. Meyer's writing is crap. And I hate how much this whole movie blitz has snowballed that effect. But what she was able to capture even in the face of said crappy writing was amazing. I remember being a new kid in high school (no thanks to the Air Force) and being in love with the ever unattainable popular guy. So I guess the story kind of spoke to me in that way. I applaud Meyer for being able to capture those feelings of all consuming love and, to a certain extent, innocence. Those of us on this forum are usually so serious and we're always talking about grad school this and grad school that and all manner of adult things. It's nice to get away and not think about taxes, bills, rent, etc. That being said, I also have a mild case of OCD when it comes to starting a series and not finishing it. Sometimes I just have to know how it ends. If you didn't like Twilight you might like Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments Series - also YA. It's much better than Meyer, by far.

And last but not least

Ref: Metasyntactic - I'm sad to say that I have yet to be properly introduced to the cyberpunk genre. Please, enlighten me (if you've got the time)

Happy Reading!

[UnlikelyGrad]

and -slightly embarrassed- morbid curiosity got the best of me and I read Twilight just the first book and loathed it. I usually don't mind young adult books but a little of me died after reading it. I can't even express how disgusted I am by it.

I read Twilight (also, just the first book) just before grad school; my book club was reading it. In our group, there were 2 of us who hated it, and about 10 or so who loved it. I was in the minority who thought it was just really really dumb and completely non-compelling.

I have no desire to read the subsequent books.

Now the 4th book in the Eragon series is a different story! Hurry up & write, Mr. Paolini! (I am also a rabid Harry Potter fan.)

[spozik]

I'm currently reading This Fine Place So Far From Home: Voices of Academics from the Working Class and it is very enjoyable and informative, if not a bit repetitive. I would encourage anyone who is from the working class or is a first-generation college student to check it out: I imagine you'll find a lot you can relate to. I haven't read the slightly older Strangers in Paradise, but I've heard good things about that as well.

I mostly read stuff that is related to Classics for fun, particularly about one of my subfields (Hellenistic poetry or Augustan poetry). Every now and then, I'll get an itch to read something historical, too.

When it comes to novels, though, George Orwell is my favorite. I think I've read everything that he published, but I may be short a few pages. I've enjoyed reading Malcolm Gladwell's books as they have come out over the past few years (Blink, The Tipping Point, Outliers, etc.) as well as Jared Diamond, Michael Pollan, and others who write about food and sustainability without being too preachy.

I did read the Twilight series and liked them all, even if the last one got a bit ridiculous. They were fun reads, I thought, and I am glad my wife asked me to read them. I haven't read Harry Potter, I will admit. I'm surprised you like Eragon, UnlikelyGrad, as everything about those books seems superficial and derivative to me. Maybe I'm just too imbued with fantasy lit (I'd put Tolkien after Orwell as far as my favorite post-Classical authors go, and I think my D&D Player's Handbook is one of the most worn of all of my books), but there's nothing original to any of it, no hook to get me interested.

Of course, I like some more of the usual contemporary suspects, like Cormac McCarthy, Chuck Palahniuk... thanks for this thread, I don't think I really realized how much I read!

[Nikki]

Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series is one of my favorites - a mix of history, sci-fi, and romance set in the scottish highlands.

[BionicKris]

Every time I come back to this thread, I'm reminded of another author. Has anyone read the Sundered series by Michelle (Sagara) West? She has an interesting take on the story of how God was created. I'm a big fan of Greek mythology and the like for their stories on the "why" of the world around us. West did a pretty good job of sharing her story on how God was created.

[anxiousapplicant]

Kierkegaard? For pleasure?! ugh!

Oh come on! What's wrong with him?

[BionicKris]

Oh come on! What's wrong with him?

Did you really just ask us that? LOL. I'm sure that the issue Kierkagaard as a writer, philosopher or whatever. I believe the issue, and I'm just spit-balling here, is that fact that you read his work for pleasure. What do you read when you're working!? I don't know what you are getting your PhD in but whatever it is, I'm sure they are really going to appreciate you!

In other news, I'm currently compiling my list of classics to read for the summer, so far Jane Austen's made the list and one Sir Wilde. Any other suggestions? (Please, no Russians. Authors. Not people )

[BionicKris]

I did read the Twilight series and liked them all, even if the last one got a bit ridiculous. They were fun reads, I thought, and I am glad my wife asked me to read them. I haven't read Harry Potter, I will admit. I'm surprised you like Eragon, UnlikelyGrad, as everything about those books seems superficial and derivative to me. Maybe I'm just too imbued with fantasy lit (I'd put Tolkien after Orwell as far as my favorite post-Classical authors go, and I think my D&D Player's Handbook is one of the most worn of all of my books), but there's nothing original to any of it, no hook to get me interested.

Of course, I like some more of the usual contemporary suspects, like Cormac McCarthy, Chuck Palahniuk... thanks for this thread, I don't think I really realized how much I read!

Ha! Someone else that endured the twilight! And I agree, I was completely underwhelmed by the last installment. I glance at Chuck Palahniuk (how do you even pronounce that?) whenever I visit Barnes and Noble. I haven't read anything by him yet. Where do you suggest I start. I can see now that my reading list is going to be long this year.

Has anyone read Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie? It's an enticing story of revenge and political intrigue set in a fictional, seemingly European, land.

Happy Reading!

[Sparky]

I'm sad to say that I have yet to be properly introduced to the cyberpunk genre. Please, enlighten me (if you've got the time)

The two you gotta read are William Gibson's Neuromancer and Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. A few other good authors who write cp or cp-scented SF are CJ Cherryh, Bruce Sterling, and (some) Vernor Vinge. Philip K. Dick predates the coining of the term cyberpunk, but Do Androids Dream (what Blade Runner is very, very, very loosely based on) and to a lesser extent Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said have a cyberpunk-ish flavor and are both very excellent reads.

But if you read only one, read Snow Crash.

[anxiousapplicant]

Did you really just ask us that? LOL. I'm sure that the issue Kierkagaard as a writer, philosopher or whatever. I believe the issue, and I'm just spit-balling here, is that fact that you read his work for pleasure. What do you read when you're working!? I don't know what you are getting your PhD in but whatever it is, I'm sure they are really going to appreciate you!

In other news, I'm currently compiling my list of classics to read for the summer, so far Jane Austen's made the list and one Sir Wilde. Any other suggestions? (Please, no Russians. Authors. Not people )

I guess I did just ask that! I'm going for a degree in political philosophy. Most of my outside reading centers around philosophy or classic literature. Especially Russian literature...

[Infinite Monkeys]

Ref: Infinite Monkeys - I discovered the brilliance that is Christopher Moore last year when I read Fool. Since then, I've been gobbling up his books. I think my favorite was Lamb - I loved how he told the story of Jesus (and his childhood friend Biff!). Moore was hilarious throughout the book but when he got to the crucifixion, it was like even he couldn't find light in that dark tunnel. I think it was the first time I actually cried over a story. In lighter news, have you gotten Moore's latest? I bought the other day but haven't gotten to it. Sadly, Butcher's Dresden Files and his dark humor or more my style right now. And I totally agree with not reading thinky-y books. Sometimes it pays to let your brain escape with great story-telling as opposed to great examinations of what it means to be human and moral, etc.

Lamb is my favorite, too; I ended up doing my master's thesis on it. Three chapters on how the use of humor, the personal connections, and the theological constructions all create a more complete retelling of the life of Jesus than pop culture (or even some church sources) do. For being fiction, it was a beautifully researched novel like that. And the crucifixion was so heart-wrenching. You know what's coming the entire novel, but that knowing still doesn't make it any easier.

I sadly have not had the chance to read Fool. I'm chin-deep in high literature at the moment and craving some "fun" reads like you wouldn't believe. I'm telling myself that I can't buy anything new until I have to travel at the end of the month, which is when I'm going to need some brain escapism. (Ten high-strung, perfectionist, driven-to-win, Type A grad and undergrad students corralled in a very small space--yay?)