Westward Ho!

Recently I've read some books of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, among them The Big Sleep, The High Window, The Lady in the Lake, The Maltese Falcon... I've also got The Thin Man and The Little Sister to go through later.

At the moment though I'm re-reading The Diamond Throne, by David & Leigh Eddings. If you like fantasy, I cannot recommend this book enough!

Oh, and yes, I recently purchased and read through the entire Sin City collection of yarns by Frank Miller. That was some good stuff indeed!

-Fred

Blimey that's a lot of books. Some really good ones too.

I just finished re-reading Lord Of The Rings... I don't do it quite as frequent as Old Jim does, but I re-read them quite a bit...

Reading is one of my favorite past times. You can do it anywhere, and it will take you wherever you want to go.

-Fred

I have probably read no more than 10 novels in my lifetime. A lot of people are quite shocked at this... but I have read hundreds of reference books, and god knows how many journals. I am not one of those people who believes reading fictional stories is a frugal activity, I just don't like the monotony attached to the physical act of sitting and reading.

-Cub. =o)

There are many times when sitting is something you're doing while waiting. While you're on the plane, for instance, or on the bus, or on the train, or on the crapper, reading is something that will make the time fly. Perfect time to read!

I do admit to having had days where I do nothing but read though. Been a few years since the last one now, however.

Books I can remember reading in one sitting were Stephen King's 'Misery' and David Eddings' 'The Seeress of Kell', the last in a series of 10 novels. Also Raymond Chandler's 'Farewell, My Lovely', though I did take small breaks from it. Finished it in a day, though. 'Misery' was a real page-turner, just couldn't let it go!

-Fred

I agree with you for the most part Cub... I don't get out of control with my reading and you can usually find me reading some sort of resource book over a novel... But there are a few out there that are worth picking up...

I just finished reading "manual", published by Microsoft. It came with my computer, and as it turns out, it *isn't* about a guy from Mexico like I thought it would be. No wonder tech support was pissed.

I don't read nearly as much as I used to, mostly because of what I can only call adult ADD. Currently in my life I have this problem. I'm obsessive. Whenever I get into something I want to be fully into it, and won't accept anything less. But usually in the midst of trying to fully embroil myself into something, I get bored, and have to move on to something else to put my mind to fully. Then it becomes my new obsession. Rinse. Repeat.

But I guess the very last book I read was ... I believe .. was "Fifty Yards to the Outhouse." By Willy Maket. I believe it was published by Betty Dont.

No seriously, I think it was the first book in Terry Brooks "Shannara" series. Don't remember the name, but the Druid Allanon was still alive and led an expedition across the sea to find remnants of a civilization long dead. The new series I mean. I've read all the old shannara books.

Sad to announce that i'm not the biggest reader as well. I know I should be, but i'm just not. I read every now and then, but I just struggle finding that 1 book that I can commit to. My English teachers at school used to cite this all the time in their reports where during reading classes i'd spend half to three quarters of the class finding a book before actually settling into one. I have to say, being innundated with teenage fiction at secondary school didn't amplify my enthusiasm for reading.

If on a train or in a waiting room, i'm more likely to take out my iPod and listen to an album rather than read a few chapters of a book. But, when I do find the time and the book to read, it is nice.

I am an avid reader and in some cases a re-reader. For example, I've read LOTR many times and The Chronicles of Narnia 3 times and I find them quite fascinating. Also, I have read the Bible numerous times and find greater joy and wonder each time through.

Although James Patterson is not one of my fav authors, he is fast moving to my top ten. Why? Well, my wife baby sat a young girl for about 8 years before losing this responsibility last October (bummer, we need the do-re-mi). Recently she sat for this girl and her sister - a one day affair - and the girl was reading James Patterson! And she is only 10! Well, I checked it out and it seems JP has written a series of fantasy books for the 8-16 year olds. She left the first one here so my wife could read it, but I soon found myself perusing the book with animated curiosity. Next thing I know, voila! I have finished the book in record time. I went back to the girl and she has loaned me books 2 and 3 and there are even more. The series is called Maximum Ride and deals with some children who have been secretly taken for genetic experimentation. This particular group has had wings grafted to their bodies and seem to possess some rather extraordinary strengths. Over time they also soon acquire other super human abilities. However, there just so happens to be several other mutations of an evil kind that are out to destroy these youths since they had escaped captivity from their lab/home.

Needless to say I have thoroughly enjoyed every page and both of the first 2 books are pager turners! Like Narnia, they may have been written for the younger generation but I just cannot help myself! They are that good! Course, it could have something to do with my approaching the ever fateful second childhood. Still, for you fiction lovers out there, these books are easy to read, interesting and fun. I highly recommend them.

I used to never read books but I get the train to work these days so I try and make the most of it then, either playing on my DS for a bit or reading a good book. As it turns out, there was a copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover that someone left in reception so I've given up on Westward Ho (for the time being) to read something far more modern. So far it's not a bad book, and not entirely what I was expecting.

That said I'm only on page 33.

I liked the comment about reading "Manual". Made me laugh.

I wonder if the new Dan Brown will be any good, or any different to the last four books he's written?

Demonlawyer wrote:
I liked the comment about reading "Manual". Made me laugh.

I wish I could take credit for that one, but that is actually an old joke from a Dilbert comic strip, looooong ago. I used to really love Dilbert, and still do from time to time. Which reminds me, if comic books count, then I have a treasure trove of old comic books. I'm not so much into the marvel DC stuff, as I am Dilbert, Zits, Calvin and Hobbes fan. I absolutely love Dilbert though. Some of his really early stuff could literally bring me to tears. I have a few Garfield comics too, as they're not too shabby if read in succession one after the other, after the other. I guess it's actually fitting to my style of thinking, because I don't have to follow a plot line for longer than three windows. Unless it was a Sunday Comic. Oh well, rambling again ...

*FIN*

Actually I was just reminded of why I don't do as much reading these days. Demonlawyer might be able to relate to this. As you know, i'm doing a double degree in Law combined with an Honours thesis in Media studies, both fo which require hours upon hours of reading. I spend most of my time reading some pretty dense texts, so when it comes to having some down time, even if its a comic, reading isn't something i'm in a hurry to do.

I'm currently reading Spade and Archer by Joe Gores. It's a modern piece that is supposed to tell the prequel to The Maltese Falcon. So far I'm enjoying it, even though I'm not very far into it. Work, my social life, and the digital age (the internet) keep distracting me.