Author Topic: Rate the last book you read.  (Read 194193 times)

oneaprilday

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #470 on: June 07, 2010, 12:20:53 AM »
My other big issue is that LWW isn't really my favorite. It's the one I know the most and with the movie I felt like I needed a new place to start. I do like the sense of wonder jumping right into Narnia, but I also love Aslan's song and that whole thing. And the world between worlds is a fantastic idea. I'd love to see an adaptation of it where justice can be done to the ideas. It's full on fantasy at its best.
I hear you. It is a great book. Difficult to imagine an adaptation that could do it justice. (No movie has done justice to any of them so far. :) )

Lewis was not a reader of his books, only the writer (as if that isn't enough) and I think that TLTWATW is the best introduction to Narnia.  The Magician's Nephew is fine, I suppose, as an intro but the land itself isn't so wondrous as presented in Lucy's book.  It builds so well, with Aslan as the climax of the land.  And it does matter what order they are read.  The trilogy Caspian-Dawn Treader-Silver Chair really ought to be read that way because the children change and the reasons given are in order.  The Horse and His Boy must be read after TLTWATW because there are small spoilers there.  And, of course, The Last Battle must be read last.
Completely agree. I don't think there's much dispute about how to order the Caspian-Dawn Treader-Silver Chair-Last Battle books. Those are clearly sequels. It's just where to put the two prequels.

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #471 on: June 10, 2010, 10:44:46 AM »
Ex Machina Deluxe Vol 1 (issues 1-11) - Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris.

This is a pretty good series. It's able to deal with both superhero and political issues with relative ease and without making everything seem crazy. And the ideas are cool. And it's a fun read (wouldn't expect anything less from Vaughan).

A.
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ses

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #472 on: June 10, 2010, 05:19:12 PM »
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (by Stieg Larsson, narrated by Simon Vance)

Listened to the audio version of this.  I thought it was a great book.  The story was intricate and interesting and there was good character development. Warning, it is a bit graphic at some points, but that doesn't normally bother me.  I also thought it dragged on a bit at the end, but now that I have started the second book The Girl Who Played with Fire, I can see that Larsson was setting up the next part of the story.  I thought the narration was also very good.  I am going to check out the film this weekend, and I look forward to the next two books.
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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #473 on: June 10, 2010, 05:35:52 PM »
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (by Stieg Larsson, narrated by Simon Vance)

Listened to the audio version of this.  I thought it was a great book.  The story was intricate and interesting and there was good character development. Warning, it is a bit graphic at some points, but that doesn't normally bother me.  I also thought it dragged on a bit at the end, but now that I have started the second book The Girl Who Played with Fire, I can see that Larsson was setting up the next part of the story.  I thought the narration was also very good.  I am going to check out the film this weekend, and I look forward to the next two books.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is nearly impenetrable, unfortunately.

Also Larsson wrote the text as one long book.  The publisher made the decision to divide the manuscript into three books so they do dovetail nicely.
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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #474 on: June 12, 2010, 12:03:32 AM »
The Sandman Vol 1. Preludes and Nocturnes. - Neil Gaiman.

And so the great re-read begins. I got through maybe four or five of the TPBs a couple of years ago and this summer I want to do the whole thing. So I've read this book three or so times now and I think I finally get most of what's going on. The stuff all works as it should. And it's really engrossing. The 24 hour segment is fantastic and disturbing and great.

A+.
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Abomination

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #475 on: June 12, 2010, 01:57:28 AM »
Have you ever read past the fifth TPB?  If not, you are in for a treat.  I think the series remains consistently great through to the end after it finds its footing in the second TPB.

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #476 on: June 12, 2010, 09:53:59 AM »
I don't really remember where I read. I know I did the one that revealed the missing sibling but I don't even remember what went on in it.

Speaking of rolling...

The Sandman Vol 2. The Doll's House - Neil Gaiman.

Yes, this is a fantastic work of fiction. Everything works. There are ideas here that just astound me (like the Gilbert thing) and the convention is just great. Awesome stuff.

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alexarch

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #477 on: June 12, 2010, 09:58:16 AM »
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is nearly impenetrable, unfortunately.
Impenetrable? I thought it was kind of silly.

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #478 on: June 13, 2010, 01:35:31 PM »
The Sandman Vol 3. Dream Country - Neil Gaiman.

The least connected story-wise set is just 4 little short stories set within the Sandman universe. Of course, using the word "just" is kind of misleading because these are amazing stories. Calliope is probably the weakest, but the stream of ideas at the end is really interesting. A Dream of a Thousand Cats is right up my alley because cats are awesome and it shows another way of looking at the Sandman himself. A Midsummer Night's Dream is likely the most famous of the Sandman stories and rightfully so. The first time I read it I hadn't read much Shakespeare but after the class I took I got a lot more of the jokes and stuff. It is good stuff. Façade is a story that is right up my alley. I like the philosophical nature of the story, cool stuff. I like the book but its nature prevents it from reaching the heights of some of the other, longer stories as a whole.

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #479 on: June 20, 2010, 11:02:54 PM »
The Sandman Vol 4. Season of Mists - Neil Gaiman.

This is my favorite so far. I love this kind of stuff. When the key to Hell is given to Dream he has to find a way to do something with it that makes sense. A hard task when everybody from demons to faeries to a cardboard box wants to control the vast kingdom. Political intrigue and drunkeness abound and I had a great time reading it. Gaiman is flashing his knowledge of tales from all over at us and I drink it up.

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