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What are you reading?

KEEP IT ALIVE PLEASE PLEEEEEASE. :(

I'm about half way into T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland" (plus a collection of his other poems, and some critiques of critics who critique classic works I have unfortunately never read). I don't know what to say about it besides it's cool, and the prefaced with a very useful introduction that tells you not to despair if you don't identify all his obscure literary references! Poetry is good stuff I'm telling you
 
KEEP IT ALIVE PLEASE PLEEEEEASE. :(

I'm about half way into T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland" (plus a collection of his other poems, and some critiques of critics who critique classic works I have unfortunately never read). I don't know what to say about it besides it's cool, and the prefaced with a very useful introduction that tells you not to despair if you don't identify all his obscure literary references! Poetry is good stuff I'm telling you

*helping keep it alive* We read The Wasteland about three weeks ago in Modernism. I was expecting to be bored because I'm not a poetry person, but I found it really stunning and beautiful to read (:

Anyway, for myself, I'm finally about to start Under the Dome! Screw University reading, it's Christmas :'D
 
Poetry really is good. I finally got into it by reading Derek Walcott and I'm rereading some of his work. "A City's Death By Fire" is particularly good in my eyes.
 
Currently I am reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, primarily for an essay contest that is due in April (I need to start doing more scholarship essays... college looms @w@). It's fairly interesting but I can already tell that it's not gonna be omg my favorite book ever or anything. From what I understand, Atlas Shrugged is by far its superior, so I think I might read it over the summer when I have more time.


I happen to be reading the Fountainhead, as well. Except I started it back in the spring...I've just had times where I've gotten bored with it. Her books are mainly just for the reading aspect, for me, though. Her philosophy is kind of...different, I guess, so I stay away from thinking too hard about it.
 
I just picked up If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. I hear it's good. Don't suppose someone else has read it. Anyone?

Recommending: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. It's exactly what it sounds like: dead bodies and what people use them for. Reading it kind of made me want to donate my body to a body farm when I die.
 
Mind if I copy and paste from what I said on another place?

The Crow by James O'Barr
This is not a book for everyone. Not one for most people who visit here. It's rough, it's grungy, it's violent beyond imagination... but in a cruel, twisted way, it was beautiful. The depiction of Detroit is accurate - even mentioning, drawing places I've personally drawn breath from, adding a layer of realism to the novel. The main character, Eric, is a frightenigly intelligent, realistic, poetic and emotional character [heck, he's even cute with that fuzzy fuzzy hair of his]. Unlike a certain novel many despise, he feels true devotion towards the woman of enjoyable character, whom you only witness through the series of memories that tears him apart.

It is solely an emotional work - the plot is thin and neglible [quite lacking the rising and falling action attributed with most plotlines]. Normally this would be enough to turn me off, but the emotion is incredibly intense. It is a pendulum - swinging from fits of purified rage reeking from the pages, to an empty loneliness that tears at your soul. Each gives to the other, giving the pendulum more and more momentum... until SNAP! the cord snaps and it drops to a level of pure sadness. I cried for a minute. I could not believe everything that I just read and witnessed. Truly, no one could write something that emotional, that true, that strong, without experiencing it themselves. The book itself did not lift the author's spirits, especially with the death associated with it. However, what O'Barr did is take those emotions and put them into a masterful work of art.

Aaaaand I'll add more to my review now:

This is possibly the only thing I've ever read, or really ever enjoyed for all that matter, that I could never really recommend to anyone. It's hard to recommend something like this - it's incredibly violent, with drugs and blood and rape and horrible, soulless people on every corner, but it's also incredibly intelligent, emotional, and it will call you to read it again. I've only bought my copy last Sunday and I've read it through every single day since. The more you read it, the more details you catch, the more you realize that the author truly thought everything through, the more you think about it, and the more you truly love it.

In addition to simply the actual story itself, the art is phenominal. O' Barr is not restricted by medium - throughout the reprinted edition I purchased there were pages done in typical pen, pencil, charcoal, watercolour and acrylics, all with the same level of artistry and attention to detail. People associate The Crow with goth culture, but if you actually read it, you realize that it can, at times, be very beautiful, warm and bright. As you progress through, there are pages that are far more detailed than others, some that feel more angry, or sad, or depressed, or lonely, or even happy. This is truly the first graphic novel I have ever read that has emotion on every single page. The only thing that may make some readers a bit confused is that sometimes his art is not consistent - sometimes a character may look like having regular sized arms on one panel, but notably larger on the next. It's minimal however and does not interfere with the story whatsoever.

Overall this was a brilliant read and was by far my favourite read I got to experience in 2009. His art and story is a true inspiration for the graphic novel I'm working on myself.
 
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After Christmas i'll be reading one of the newer books from the Ender's Game series, can't remember if it was Ender in Exile or A War of Gifts that I asked for. The last one would be more appropriate for Christmas time though lol


Ender's Game is definitely my favorite series.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF, YES! *high fives* I love those books.

Right now, though, I'm reading Asimov's Foundation series. I just finished Prelude to Foundation, and am now reading The Currents of Space. I just started reading it today, so I really can't say much about it.

But I'm liking this book so far, much the same as I enjoyed Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth. I'm not sure why. I think it's mostly likely the protagonist. That's the main reason I like Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth.

Apparently Mizan and I should start some sort of book club.
 
Currently reading
Star Wars: The Truce At Bakura by Kathy Tyers - it's been good so far
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien - only on chapter 3

Just finished
The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton -I really enjoyed this one
 
Right now, I'm reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyoshi. I just finished Breaking Dawn, and once I finish Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I'm going to start reading Hunger Games (don't know who th author is). Then I'm going to try and read The Twilight Saga again. :P
 
I just finished reading Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, which was alright, but really not as good as everyone says. Oh, and I recently read one of Gorbachev's biographies just because I had nothing else to read at the moment, even though I can't stand Gorbachev.
At the moment, I'm reading Rift Zone by Raelynn Hillhouse, Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler by William Shirer.
Next time I get the chance, I'm going to also get Nicholas and Alexandra and Mein Kampf from the library.
 
Right know I am reading The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides.
Haven't read the book, adore the movie.

I've got a guro manga stack that I finally decided to pay attention to, otherwise my psychology and art textbooks for school ;~; I keep telling myself I'm going to re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows so my recall for the upcoming film is fresh, but yeah probably not happening.
 
I'm currently reading Here, There be Dragons. :3 Tomorrow, I'm going to hunt down the second book of the series, The Search for the Red Dragon.
 
A little tome titled Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, which I stole from my younger sister (pfffah target demographics mean nothing to me >:D). Besides having a kicky name, it is chock-full of espionage tips, tween feminism and cool NYC history facts. So, basically better than the average book you might find aimed at 12-13 yr old girls/kids in general, I think. I like it a lot.

I also have a pile of heavier (well, in terms of physical weight at least) stuff I should be getting to before I have to return it to the library but screw that this book is too much fun to put down.
 
I'm about to start reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. :>

...This would be the first book I've read willingly since summer of '08. Oh my... :(
 
''Stories of Ourselves'', right now, I'm reading 'The yellow wallpaper', it revolves around sexism and insanity. :D
 
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Let's hope I don't put this one down too early.
 
Currently, I'm reading: "Fallout" by Kenneth Royce.

An escapee from a Soviet Mental Hospital is hunted down by British Intelligence and KGB for the secret he holds.

I had to persevere for a while to get really into it but.. it's worth it so far. :3
 
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