Books

So, I thought I'd make a topic to discuss books in general. What did you read last? What are some favorites? Why? What do you recommend? Why?

To start things off, I re-read The Alchemyst, by Michael Scott, for the umpteenth time. My favorite books ever are The Trilogy, by Henryk Sienkiewicz, trans. Kuncizak. I'm not kidding when I say that I believe that they are better than 99% of books out there for many reasons: Descriptions, characterization, plot lines, and more. I recommend the above (though be forewarned, they're probably PG-13). I also recommend The Alchemyst series, LoTR, anything by Joseph Conrad, and Agatha Christie.

BTW, you almost definitely never heard of Sienkiewicz, and possibly not Conrad. Sienkiewicz is a Polish writer (that's why I had "trans.") who mainly wrote historical fiction in the form of epics (i.e. The Illiad). And Conrad is a "classic" writer of fiction, so you may have read some of his works in school.

Whoohoo!!!! I love books!

Haha, I'm reading the 'official novelization' of the Spider-Man movie. Don't ask why. I found it at a used book store for a buck and a half.

Haha, I'm reading the 'official novelization' of the Spider-Man movie. Don't ask why. I found it at a used book store for a buck and a half.

Weirdly enough, that reminds me: What really got me hooked on Bionicle were the movie novelizations. The first one I got was Metru Nui: City of Legends, which seemed pretty exciting, but not as much as other books I read. But when I read Web of Shadows, I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. An army of evil spider-guys vs. a couple of antihero half-beasts? Luvved it to death. Of course, I later realized that they weren't the best books, but without them, I would never have become a BIONICLE fan.

Haha, no way!! The thing about movie based off of books is that 1) they hardly ever are as good as the original book, and 2) I always end up wathing the movie way more than reading the book. Like, I'll get facts mixed up, because I watch LoMN instead of read the book, and reviewers point that out in my fics.

Yeah. The only book-that-became-a-movie that I actually liked is LoTR.

Anyways, I personally believe that, in most cases, novellizations of movies are worse than the movie versions of them, as generally, they're made just as part of the marketing attack of the movies, and, thus, are usually poorly written. Of course, that's not true for all novellizations, and it's just my two cents. Also, I actually get the oppisite of #2 (the only exception being LoTR).

Hahaha!! What a coinkidink! Same here! I didn't really like the books, cuz they were too descriptive and slowmoving, but I loved the movies! But I also liked the Narnia movies (the more recent ones with Liam Nesson and stuff) better than the books too.

Agreed. One of the main things that people don't like about LoTR is that it takes a while for everything to get going, cuz the author's describing things.

However, that's a two-edged sword, as it helps build character's personalities and increases the realism of the book. I didn't like it either at first, but that's what helps make an epic an epic, and that's what made me care about it when Pan Longinus Podbypienta died (long story about The Trilogy, but he was my favorite character, and I was sad to see him go).

Yeah, Narnia's probably better off as a movie. I didn't like the books as much.

Haha yeah... We had to read the hobbit in school, and everyone hated it, I'm pretty sure. I read the first two and a half books, and then I got bored halfway through Return of the King.

Speaking of Return of the King...

It's a weird book. I mean, come on, the climax is in the middle, the author uses Deus Ex Machina, and the Two Towers had more action than the book that was the climax of the series. Because of those reasons, my favorite books of LoTR are the first two.

And, while we're still on the subject of LoTR...

The Mines of Moria, Helm's Deep, and the Siege of Minas Tirith were my favorite parts. I'm 99% sure that the Mines inspired D&D, as they are so awesome that a company just had to use them as inspiration . And, come on, a few adventurers against an army of orcs and a demon? With ancient secrets being uncovered (okay, not so much)? You gotta love it. I read LoTR because of it (long story). Helm's Deep? You just can't beat epicly awesome war scenes (same for Minas Tirith). And Minas Tirith also had the internal conflict of the steward of Gondor or whatever.

I know, right! I mean, the dumm climax in the middle totally threw me. Helm's Deep was one of my favorite battle scenes in the movie, if I"m thinking of the right one. Its where Galdalf and Co. come and save the day at the end, right?

Yeah, a climax where almost completely unknown slightly cameo'd eagles come in randomly and out of nowhere to save the day = Eww...

You've got it right about the rescuing and the battle. Weirdly enough, I just realized that in every huge battle scene, someone comes in to save the day:

Helm's Deep-Gandalf and Co.
Minas Tirith-Aragorn and Co.
The Black Gate-Eagles

However, not all of them are Deus Ex Machinas, only the last.

Yeah, but wasn't the Black Gate kind of just Frodo and Gollum? Or am I completely messed up?

Speaking of our schizophrenic little friend....



yeah... he scares me.

Yeah, but wasn't the Black Gate kind of just Frodo and Gollum? Or am I completely messed up?

Well, they did go to the Black Gate, but I meant the battle of it, between Aragorn's forces and Sauron's, which was at the climax.

Yes, Gollum scares me also. The scizophrenic, third-person speaker is creepy...Which reminds me of the GONE series, which is actually kinda good. Anyways, the main antagonist in the third book is described as:

"Hungry...hungry in the dark."

It reminds me of something Gollum would say, and Makuta Teridax, among other things.

The books themselves, though, are Sci-Fi, and remind me of Maximum Ride, inasmuch as there are genetically mutated teenagers struggling to survive in a world gone wrong.

Mangai: Paladin wrote:

Yeah, but wasn't the Black Gate kind of just Frodo and Gollum? Or am I completely messed up?

Well, they did go to the Black Gate, but I meant the battle of it, between Aragorn's forces and Sauron's, which was at the climax.

Yes, Gollum scares me also. The scizophrenic, third-person speaker is creepy...Which reminds me of the GONE series, which is actually kinda good. Anyways, the main antagonist in the third book is described as:

"Hungry...hungry in the dark."

It reminds me of something Gollum would say, and Makuta Teridax, among other things.

The books themselves, though, are Sci-Fi, and remind me of Maximum Ride, inasmuch as there are genetically mutated teenagers struggling to survive in a world gone wrong.

Is the Gone series the one with a bunch of teens trappped in that forcefield type thingy, and no one over 15 survives or something?

*big gasp* OMG, I luv Max Ride. Hehehe, Total is my fav

Rusty Red Raptor wrote:

Mangai: Paladin wrote:

Yeah, but wasn't the Black Gate kind of just Frodo and Gollum? Or am I completely messed up?

Well, they did go to the Black Gate, but I meant the battle of it, between Aragorn's forces and Sauron's, which was at the climax.

Yes, Gollum scares me also. The scizophrenic, third-person speaker is creepy...Which reminds me of the GONE series, which is actually kinda good. Anyways, the main antagonist in the third book is described as:

"Hungry...hungry in the dark."

It reminds me of something Gollum would say, and Makuta Teridax, among other things.

The books themselves, though, are Sci-Fi, and remind me of Maximum Ride, inasmuch as there are genetically mutated teenagers struggling to survive in a world gone wrong.

Is the Gone series the one with a bunch of teens trappped in that forcefield type thingy, and no one over 15 survives or something?

*big gasp* OMG, I luv Max Ride. Hehehe, Total is my fav

Total fans unite! *high fives* Yeah, Total makes me .

You're correct. I'm not sure how the author does it, but I'm pretty sure he writes them in around a year each, and they're about 500-600 page books .

Yeah, I read the first GONE book, with Sam and Astrid and Co, and I have the second book sitting in my 'books to read' pile. Haven't really gotten around to it yet, though.

XD, Total and Akila are my favorite couple in the entire series!! They're so cute!! Max and Fang are okay together, but I think James Patterson made a huge deal out of them. It got old, to me.

Max and Fang are okay together, but I think James Patterson made a huge deal out of them. It got old, to me.

Yeah, it did get a little old...

Actually, I've never had the chance to read the whole series, only the first three books, so my knowledge is limited.

Sam is actually part of the inspiration for...Well, you'll find out who in my epic, soon.

I just know I didn't like Astrid. She annoyed me. Mary Sue. And don't update your epic tomorrow, cuz I'm not gonna be around tomorrow. I'm going on a top secret mission to save the world, and participate in other extreme sports.

Rusty Red Raptor wrote:I just know I didn't like Astrid. She annoyed me. Mary Sue. And don't update your epic tomorrow, cuz I'm not gonna be around tomorrow. I'm going on a top secret mission to save the world, and participate in other extreme sports.

YOU. TOTALLY. RIPPED. OFF. MAXIMUM. RIDE.

Astrid was a bit of a Mary Sue, though I'm pretty sure that she becomes less in Hunger (the next book). And Lies are already on the loose ...

Okay. I'm writing a SUPER LONG CHAPTER anyways, so I'll update the day after tomorrow.

Yeah, Narnia's pretty good. My favorites are probably the last one and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

But what's the Trilogy of the World about? You've got my interest piqued...

I liked the His Dark Materials trilogy. The story was very encompassing (pun intended )

1984 is one of my favorites, George Orwell is an excellent author. I'm looking for a copy of Animal Farm to read.

Animal Farm? Yeah, it's really good. Never got my hands on 1984, though...

His Dark Materials was pretty good. The Subtle Knife reminds me a lot of the Olmak.

I like the Lord of the Rings (though I like the movies more than the books), The Hobbit, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Red Pyramid, the Bionicle books, Artemis Fowl, Warriors, and Chronicles of Ancient Darkness.