What are you currently reading?

[St. Troy]

I'm trying to remember why I kept going with Vonnegut. I'm not talking finishing one book; I read a couple that I thought were bad and just kept going. I think I had one of those collections with 3 (at least) novels in one book and felt compelled to complete it. He's good for many people, but definitely not for me.

[Ricky]

am scared I'll be so miserable reading it and think "Why did I decide to torture myself like this?

Like me with Lord of the Flies!

Reading should be for fun and shouldn't feel like work.

Yes!

I'm positive this is why I didn't like reading until I discovered Stephen King in 7th grade. All those boring school books and summer reading lists. The people in charge of curriculum and school systems don't seem to realize that kids will like reading much more (and get much more out of it) if they're offered books that are engaging, fun, or relate-able .

[Joe315]

I'm trying to remember why I kept going with Vonnegut. I'm not talking finishing one book; I read a couple that I thought were bad and just kept going. I think I had one of those collections with 3 (at least) novels in one book and felt compelled to complete it. He's good for many people, but definitely not for me.

I’ve only read Galapagos. I thought it was quite good.

[Girlystevedave]

am scared I'll be so miserable reading it and think "Why did I decide to torture myself like this?

Like me with Lord of the Flies!

I can't think of a book being torture WITHOUT thinking of you and Lord of the Flies.
Just as Frodo had to travel through Mordor and just as Indian Jones had to brave The Temple of Doom, Ricky had to finish Lord of the Flies.

Reading should be for fun and shouldn't feel like work.

Yes!

I'm positive this is why I didn't like reading until I discovered Stephen King in 7th grade. All those boring school books and summer reading lists. The people in charge of curriculum and school systems don't seem to realize that kids will like reading much more (and get much more out of it) if they're offered books that are engaging, fun, or relate-able .

Schools should definitely focus more on showing kids how fun reading can be. There are so many books out there about so many different things. Why force kids to only read the boring stuff?

[ladysai]

I agree...I think schools should encourage ANY reading. I know there are 'classics' that are used in lessons, but why not let kids loose in the library, too? Why not let them have classtime to persue reading that sparks their own interest, rather than fitting a lesson plan? Hell, if a kid only reads stuff like Captian Underpants or Goosebumps, theyre still reading!

[St. Troy]

The people in charge of curriculum and school systems don't seem to realize that kids will like reading much more (and get much more out of it) if they're offered books that are engaging, fun, or relate-able .

One of the single most important things the school system can do while they have kids in their clutches - in some ways, the single most important thing - is to get each and every student in contact with something - anything; I don't care if it's 50 Shades of Grey or what - that they enjoy reading. Once people know that reading can be enjoyable, they'll seek out the things that are for them on their own for the rest of their lives, but if they never find that first book...

[Ricky]

I can't think of a book being torture WITHOUT thinking of you and Lord of the Flies.

Just as Frodo had to travel through Mordor and just as Indian Jones had to brave The Temple of Doom, Ricky had to finish Lord of the Flies.

Oh man. Haha. I love how I'm linked with torturous reading experiences in your mind.

Schools should definitely focus more on showing kids how fun reading can be. There are so many books out there about so many different things. Why force kids to only read the boring stuff?

I agree...I think schools should encourage ANY reading. I know there are 'classics' that are used in lessons, but why not let kids loose in the library, too? Why not let them have classtime to persue reading that sparks their own interest, rather than fitting a lesson plan? Hell, if a kid only reads stuff like Captian Underpants or Goosebumps, theyre still reading!

Agreed.

When I was a long-term substitute teacher for first grade, I'd always choose letting the kids have independent reading time instead of teaching stupid Health or Science.

One of the single most important things the school system can do while they have kids in their clutches - in some ways, the single most important thing - is to get each and every student in contact with something - anything; I don't care if it's 50 Shades of Grey or what - that they enjoy reading. Once people know that reading can be enjoyable, they'll seek out the things that are for them on their own for the rest of their lives, but if they never find that first book

Yup, very true.

[St. Troy]

I finally started The Exorcist this morning; 25 pages in, going well so far, intriguing, setting the stage, etc.

[webstar1000]

Has anyone read the Wanderers by Chuck Wending?


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[Ricky]

If I read another synopsis for a book that includes kidnapped/missing children or unreliable (and alcoholic) women narrators who "might've done something wrong" or "can't remember what's reality and what's imagination," I think I may lose it. Domestic suspense is a genre trend that needs to go away.

[St. Troy]

I just finished The Exorcist.

Overall, a very good novel, certainly creepy in spots, although not mind-numbingly terrifying or as “devilish” as I’d expected; before recently buying it, I’d looked forward to my eventual read with an “oooooh…” kind of anticipation, as if it might hold things that had never entered any of the horror I’d yet read, but it didn't really hit those highs for me. Still, it was quite good, and seems strong for what I would've expected from a product of 1971 (when compared with Carrie (1974), which I liked, or Straub's Julia (1975), which I found weak, it looks even stronger).

Blatty's writing isn't as colorfully familiar as King's (which suits me fine) or as overtly literary or intellectual as Straub's, but this is not to say it is strictly "workmanlike" (as I think I'd described the very basic but sufficient writing style of another author in a previous comment); Blatty keeps us present with fluid descriptions, events and characters feel genuine and alive, and nothing ever stagnates - I look forward to reading Blatty's Legion, as (I believe) it is the closest thing to a continuation of this story, and perhaps other works of his as well.

I'd hoped this might be the scariest thing I'd ever read because, to me specifically, satanic/demonic things are generally scarier than anything else because they are rooted in reality (I say "reality" not in the sense that I'm saying that God and the devil are real, but in the sense that they aren't characters created by Blatty). Which is to say, sure, Pennywise is creepy as hell and King has given me the shivers too many times to count, but when the lights go off at night, I'm not worried about encountering Pennywise or an Overlook ghost in the darkness - but maybe of encountering someone else, someone written about thousands of years ago. So, for the last 10 days or so, you better believe that when I heard the smallest noise while laying awake in bed at night, I was thinking please don't let this turn into loud knocks...please.

Given that that is my vulnerable fright point, can anyone recommend anything similar to The Exorcist (satanic/demonic possession)? I'm not seeking a demonic equivalent to Friday the 13th (if bodies are dropping because a demon is hopping between souls at a beach or dormitory, I would find that dumb), but something more thoughtful. For comparison, I enjoyed the original The Omen movie, and while I read the novelization of that, I don't recall what I thought of it (it was a long time ago), other than that it seemed to pretty much be just that, simply a novelization, where you see what happened but don't get the real "novel" feel from it.

[Ricky]

I just finished The Exorcist.

Overall, a very good novel, certainly creepy in spots, although not mind-numbingly terrifying or as “devilish” as I’d expected; before recently buying it, I’d looked forward to my eventual read with an “oooooh…” kind of anticipation, as if it might hold things that had never entered any of the horror I’d yet read, but it didn't really hit those highs for me.

This is exactly how I felt before I read it. I also found that it didn't hit the highs of the scare-ometer like I'd been expecting. I read The Exorcist and Legion pretty close together and think I liked Legion more. Definitely give it a read. It's a good continuation with Det. Kinderman.

And regarding recommendations, have you read Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay? You might enjoy it. It's not really terrifying or "scary," but is more psychological about what's real and what's not.

[St. Troy]

I just looked A Head Full Of Ghosts up on Amazon; it looks quite interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.

[peripheral]

I personally really disliked Head Full of Ghosts. Generic, derivative, wooden characters, Exorcist Lite + Internet Age.

[St. Troy]

Last night I began A Game Of Thrones, am 24 pages in, and my experience has not been what I expected.

I'd been warned that Martin goes bananas with the number of characters, and because I already know from my personal experience with fantasy that I have difficulty remembering characters that have names like Daenerys and Illyrio instead of Joe and Fred in large numbers, I've been taking notes on every character as they pop up. I figured that, at some point, the story would proceed with the characters that are already there and wouldn't need to add more on each page - but now on page 24, I've already taken note of 24 freaking characters. I like the writing and the story is intriguing, but this is starting to seem like the literary equivalent of watching a young guitarist who thinks playing 3 minutes of 1/64th notes is the point of music - wow, you can shred, cool, we get it.

I don't consider myself someone with a short attention span for reading; I spent 9 months with Winston Churchill's The Second World War, and loved it all.

And it's not like I need something that's like a simple rollercoaster ride; I spent over a month reading Thoreau, and just read a 1000 page thing about math for God's sake.

I rarely drop out of books, but if this is going to take me 4 months to read, then...I struggle to see how this might be worth it.

I've been advised to stop taking notes for a bit and just let it go. I will probably do that, but then it becomes Mr. Alphabet Soup #1 offended Mr. Alphabet Soup #2, and this is important because something something the House of Whosey-Whatsey 500 years ago, when the forest was dark and the wall was new, and the wolves were big and the swords were particularly notable for some reason, yadda yadda yadda, what were we talking about again?

[webstar1000]

Last night I began A Game Of Thrones, am 24 pages in, and my experience has not been what I expected.

I'd been warned that Martin goes bananas with the number of characters, and because I already know from my personal experience with fantasy that I have difficulty remembering characters that have names like Daenerys and Illyrio instead of Joe and Fred in large numbers, I've been taking notes on every character as they pop up. I figured that, at some point, the story would proceed with the characters that are already there and wouldn't need to add more on each page - but now on page 24, I've already taken note of 24 freaking characters. I like the writing and the story is intriguing, but this is starting to seem like the literary equivalent of watching a young guitarist who thinks playing 3 minutes of 1/64th notes is the point of music - wow, you can shred, cool, we get it.

I don't consider myself someone with a short attention span for reading; I spent 9 months with Winston Churchill's The Second World War, and loved it all.

And it's not like I need something that's like a simple rollercoaster ride; I spent over a month reading Thoreau, and just read a 1000 page thing about math for God's sake.

I rarely drop out of books, but if this is going to take me 4 months to read, then...I struggle to see how this might be worth it.

I've been advised to stop taking notes for a bit and just let it go. I will probably do that, but then it becomes Mr. Alphabet Soup #1 offended Mr. Alphabet Soup #2, and this is important because something something the House of Whosey-Whatsey 500 years ago, when the forest was dark and the wall was new, and the wolves were big and the swords were particularly notable for some reason, yadda yadda yadda, what were we talking about again?

Same reason I gave up on these. Name of the Wind is FAR better.


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[mattgreenbean]

St. Troy, If you can get the audiobooks, they really helped meet through the current books. Fantastic narration by Roy Dotrice. He also appeared in the HBO series. He has a Guinness World Record for most unique character voices from doing these books.

[Ricky]

I just looked A Head Full Of Ghosts up on Amazon; it looks quite interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.

No problem. Let me know if you end up reading it.

I personally really disliked Head Full of Ghosts. Generic, derivative, wooden characters, Exorcist Lite + Internet Age.

It wasn't as good as I was expecting, but I didn't not like it.

[St. Troy]

Name of the Wind is FAR better.

The Name Of The Wind was great. I don't really expect anything I read to be that good (if anything happens to reach that level, it would be a nice surprise).

[St. Troy]

St. Troy, If you can get the audiobooks, they really helped meet through the current books.

Thanks for the suggestion; that sounds like a good idea for some people, but I don't really do audiobooks - and even if I did, the fact that I couldn't see the names in print would probably drive me insane (but that's just me).

I suppose I have my limitations as a reader; there are some things for which I have absolutely no patience, and I can't claim it's all logical. For example, I've heard of an author named "Poppy Z. Brite;" I have no idea what this person writes (I assume there is some horror component; that would explain why PZB came to my attention), but I just can't look myself in the mirror if I give 2 seconds of attention to someone who has chosen to do business under such a label (of course, I like Axl Rose, so...).

[Girlystevedave]

Last night I began A Game Of Thrones, am 24 pages in, and my experience has not been what I expected.

I'd been warned that Martin goes bananas with the number of characters, and because I already know from my personal experience with fantasy that I have difficulty remembering characters that have names like Daenerys and Illyrio instead of Joe and Fred in large numbers, I've been taking notes on every character as they pop up. I figured that, at some point, the story would proceed with the characters that are already there and wouldn't need to add more on each page - but now on page 24, I've already taken note of 24 freaking characters. I like the writing and the story is intriguing, but this is starting to seem like the literary equivalent of watching a young guitarist who thinks playing 3 minutes of 1/64th notes is the point of music - wow, you can shred, cool, we get it.

Sadly, this is why I gave up reading at about book 3. It became too much work to keep up with all the houses, characters, etc.

[Mattrick]

I'm halfway through Snow Falling on Cedars by David Gutterson. It's a really enjoyable read so far. I'm flying through it.

[LizzyDeschain]

Currently alternating between re-reading DT (on Wolves atm) and Sleeping Beauties.

[Garrell]

Finished Revival and really enjoyed it. Not a ton of story buy really enjoyed the character development in it.
Started Cari Mora by Thomas Harris, enjoying it so far..

[WeDealInLead]

Heinlein - The past through tomorrow vol. 1