Reader's/Writer's Thread

[thunderbolt_nick]

I knew someone would probably come up with this eventually...but that person is now me!!!

Alright, but seriously, this thread is to bring out those lovers of books, electronic and print alike, as well as the lovers of writing said books. Feel free to share anything you'd like! DISCUSS! This is a forum after all.

Anyways, a little personal taste from me. One of my favorite genres have been mysteries from as old as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) to as new as James Patterson. I've also written a little bit of mystery in my day. I still have an unfinished novel lying around my hard drive I got to find.

However, it doesn't stop there. I also delve into fantasy and sci-fi. One of my favorite fantasy writers has been Brent Weeks, famous for his Night Angel Trilogy. I can't wait to see his new stuff. Feist is another of my favorites. I love his 'world' that he creates and the characters that span across his 'universe.' Very intriguing and keeps me reading the more he publishes. As for sci-fi...surprisingly I've liked the new Mass Effect books. I know video game books are usually eh...but these are really good and worth the read. I also love the classics from Orson Scott Card and Dan Simmons.

Horror is another genre I dive into from time to time. I recently finished brushing up on H.P. Lovecraft...gruesome stuff. However, my favorite of thrills and chills will always be Dean Koontz. I know some people like to compare him to Stephen King, but I believe he writes on a level of his own that caters to me and my style. Don't get me wrong, I can still sit down and read a classic King story here and there.

Anyway, enough about me lets here from everyone else!

[Ads]

[thunderbolt_nick]

Speaking of which...something I forgot to mention. What are you reading now?

Currently Reading: Seize the Night by Dean Koontz

[Sele]

I too read a lot of James Paterson. A couple of my other favorites is David Baldacci, Patricia Cornwell, Vince Flynn, Steve Berry. I hardly ever have time to sit down and read much anymore, but I am addicted to Audible. Been a member there for the past 8 years and I go through 3 or 4 unabridged audio books a month.

Currently reading (listening): Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Sounds like a love story, but is actually the story of a World War 2 American aircrew that lost their plane in the Pacific, was on the ocean for 40+ days until they were captured by the Japanese. Next up: The Jefferson Key, Steve Berry.

[Althris]

Good thread idea, thanks nick.
I'm currently reading The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. It's the sequel to The Name of the Wind. A great fantasy series so far.
Really looking forward to the release of George RR Martin's Dance With Dragons this summer, I've loved that series so far.

About 95% of what I read is fiction, and about 75% of that is Fantasy and Sci-Fi. My brother is an English and Philosophy student though, and is always giving me other great books I've never heard of.
Reading is about the only way I can shut my mind off and fall asleep at night, so I read about an hour before bed every night.

[oscar615]

I am the type that reads several books at once. I tend to read more non fiction than anything else. When I read fiction it is typically Sci-Fi or Post Apocolyptic type stories. The books I am reading now are The Bible (always reading it), Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem, and Black Rifles/Green Eyes by Kyle Lamb. On the fiction side I am reading Journey To The Center Of the Earth by Jules Verne and really enjoying it.

[thunderbolt_nick]

I love some Classic Verne. 20000 Leagues Under the Sea is my favorite.

[thunderbolt_nick]

Good thread idea, thanks nick.
I'm currently reading The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. It's the sequel to The Name of the Wind. A great fantasy series so far.
Really looking forward to the release of George RR Martin's Dance With Dragons this summer, I've loved that series so far.

About 95% of what I read is fiction, and about 75% of that is Fantasy and Sci-Fi. My brother is an English and Philosophy student though, and is always giving me other great books I've never heard of.
Reading is about the only way I can shut my mind off and fall asleep at night, so I read about an hour before bed every night.

Let me know what you've read. I'm always trying to delve into good stuff I've never heard of.

[RyanPm40]

I'm not currently reading anything, but my favorite book is definitely Misery by Stephen King. Amazing novel. Also, I used to love reading my Calvin & Hobbes collections when I was a kid, and The Watchmen was a fantastic graphic novel.

I love writing, too. I write a lot of poetry and lyrics... I think I've written over 20 songs? I have about 15 online... I definitely wrote more than that, but they were just ones I wasn't as proud of lyrically/musically/the way I sang.

I used to love writing short stories years ago but I really lost touch with that... I remember writing a like 12 page short story in middle school which was a huge accomplishment for me at the time. I just stink with coming up with an idea and keeping my attention to it for a long period of time

EDIT

My bad, when you said Readers/writers thread, I thought it meant people who read and write, not writer's we are fans of. I really need to read more closely... I'm tired =]

[Althris]

Let me know what you've read. I'm always trying to delve into good stuff I've never heard of.

Here are some of my favorites.

Epic Fantasy:
A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin; The first three books are fantastic, then it bogs down a bit, but still good.
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan; I feel like I've been reading this series my whole life, like most it starts off great and then bogs down a bit. Jordan died and Brandon Sanderson is finishing the series from the original notes and Jordan's wife. He's put life back into it.
The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind; The first six books are really good, and then it goes way downhill.
The Mallorean and The Belgariad by David Eddings; A really good series.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson; This series goes up and down, there are a crazy number of characters. Some of the books are great, but I eventually gave up after eight books or so because I couldn't get back into all of the characters after a few years between books.
Robin Hobb has written several great Trilogies. The Farseer Trilogy and The Tawny Man Trilogy are very good.
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson; This is the first book in a new epic series, really good. Mistborn is another good one by him, but the second and third books in that series aren't very good. You can just read the first and be set.

Science Fiction:
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson; Neal Stephenson has also written a lot of really good general fiction.
Neuromancer by William Gibson; I've read almost everything by William Gibson, he's shifted away from Science Fiction the last few years.
Battletech: The Legend of the Jade Phoenix trilogy by Robert Thurston; This is one of the few series of books I have read multiple times. I believe these were the first books in the Battletech universe. My copies are falling apart, but I'm itching to read them again.

Miscellaneous Fiction:
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson; One of my favorites. Goes back and forth between current times and WWII, about codes, treasure, etc.
Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami, also The Wind Up Bird Chronicle; Japanese Magical Realism, very good.
The Amazing Adventure of Cavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon; About the start of the Comics industry.
City of Thieves by David Benioff; Set in WWII (I think, can't exactly remember.)
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett; Historical Fiction set in England.
The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier; Hard to describe, really good.

Humorous Fiction:
American Gods and Good Omens by Neil Gaiman; I've read most of Gaiman's works. Really good. The Sandman series is a classic Graphic Novel collection that is fantastic as well.
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore; He's written a lot of humor, but this is the only one I've read. I'm guessing the others are pretty good as well. I just have a fascination with Death as a character, which is what drew me to this one.

That's what I could think of off the top of my head, I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot of great ones I've read. Most of these are fairly contemporary.

[RyanPm40]

Am I lame for enjoying Eragon and Eldest?