Books... y'know... the ones with no pictures.

[TheDemon'sHead]

Does anyone read any regular books on these boards?

I'm a comic reader and yes, an avid book reader as well but there isn't a section for books so I figured I'd put it here

The reason that I'm writing about this is that I just finished a superhero themed book called, "Soon I Will Be Invincible" by Austin Grossman. It's told from the perspectives of the Lex Luthor-esque vilian and a rookie hero who joins the Justice League-type of team. It's interesting enough that I blew threw it in 3 days. It's a bit Powers, JLA, The Authority and Venture Brothers all rolled into one.

I'd recommend it to the lot of you on the Hype boards. The Onion A/V Club gave it an A- and that's coming from snobby hipsters.

Anyone read anything else worth of interest though? I read tons of other stuff too...

Here's the Editorial review from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Soon-Will-Be-Invincible-Novel/dp/0375424865/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3432490-0390265?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182393550&sr=8-1

From Publishers Weekly
The realm of comic book heroes and villains gets a dose of realism in this whimsical debut from game design consultant Grossman. The story shifts between the perspectives of Doctor Impossible, a brilliant scientist turned world's greatest menace, and Fatale, a lonely cyborg and the newest addition to the venerable group of heroes known as the Champions. Though he's been out of commission for a while, Doctor Impossible hatches a scheme to knock the planet out of orbit ("As the Earth grows colder, my power becomes apparent, and the nations submit," he reasons). Meanwhile, Champions leader Corefire goes missing, and Fatale has to learn the ropes of superherodom as the conventional climactic showdown (at Doctor Impossible's secret lair) draws near. However fantastical, the characters (including a "genetic metahuman" and "an elite fairy guard") are thoughtfully portrayed, with Fatale—stuck in a perpetual existential crisis—bemused over the Champions' purpose, and Doctor Impossible wondering "whether the smartest man in the world has done the smartest thing he could with his life." Grossman dabbles in a host of themes—power, greed, fame, the pitfalls of ego—in this engrossing page-turner, broadening the appeal of an already inviting scenario. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserve

Sorry for the double post. I just realized that this would be a better place for this thread.

[tzarinna]

There have to be at least 100,000 threads on books around here.
Yes, we read books with no picutres. :p

[JTIZZLEVILLE]

There are books with no pictures?

Where?!

:p

[Immortalfire]

I read real books all the time.

[vindrow]

You mean there are other books out ther other than comic books and coloring books:huh:

[Rac]

Yep. I do. Right now Gavin Baddeley's Goth Chic.

[JTIZZLEVILLE]

I read the outside on a bag of potato chips.

My head hurt really bad after that.

[JP]

You mean comic books? Yeah, I read those.

[TheDemon'sHead]

There have to be at least 100,000 threads on books around here.
Yes, we read books with no picutres. :p

After a perusing the boards real quick I saw only one other book thread and it was on the OJ killing his wife and her lover book.

[Ghostvirus]

There have to be at least 100,000 threads on books around here.
Yes, we read books with no picutres. :p

LOL! Some of us do anyway.:woot:

[nosebleed.]

Last good book I read: Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son)

Last bad book I read: Everything's Eventual by Stephen King...I was so bored.

[BlackLantern]

im reading the ice and fire books by george r.r. martin and i just read the black order by james rollins

[Bathrat Begins]

Currently reading: The Name of the Rose

[Mr.Webs]

Reading Beyond Band of Brothers by Maj. Richard D. Winters. One of the best memoirs I've ever read.:up: Anyone interested in WWII or leadership should pick this one up. Much better than his biography, Biggest Brother by Larry Alexander.

[Leto Atrides]

Last bad book I read: Everything's Eventual by Stephen King...I was so bored.

I really liked The Shining, and some short stories, but I can't get into a lot his stuff. Which is annoying, because The Shining was the first thing I read by him and love, and like him as a person from any interviews/nonfiction I've run into from him.

[imdaly]

Moving to the Book Sub-forum...





Oh wait...we never did get that...:(

[Leto Atrides]

Moving to the Book Sub-forum...

Oh wait...we never did get that...:(

There was one one April Fool's Day, and it had a lot better posts in it than most of the sub-forums around here.

[Addendum]

Currently reading: The Mike Hammer Collection Volume 2 (One Lonely Night, The Big Kill, and Kiss Me, Deadly) all by Mickey Spillane

Books I bought still waiting to be read:

These collections I got at Barnes and Noble for 20 bucks each:
The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll

World War Z by Max Brooks
The god delusion by Richard Dawkins
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
The Plot against America by Philip Roth
Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
Chasing Ghosts by Paul Rieckhoff

[nosebleed.]

I really liked The Shining, and some short stories, but I can't get into a lot his stuff. Which is annoying, because The Shining was the first thing I read by him and love, and like him as a person from any interviews/nonfiction I've run into from him.

What other books have you tried to read that you couldn't get into? If it was Dreamcatcher then I'm sorry...that book AND movie blew chunks.

[Jack Rabbit]

Does anyone read any regular books on these boards?

I'm a comic reader and yes, an avid book reader as well but there isn't a section for books so I figured I'd put it here

The reason that I'm writing about this is that I just finished a superhero themed book called, "Soon I Will Be Invincible" by Austin Grossman. It's told from the perspectives of the Lex Luthor-esque vilian and a rookie hero who joins the Justice League-type of team. It's interesting enough that I blew threw it in 3 days. It's a bit Powers, JLA, The Authority and Venture Brothers all rolled into one.


Looks like you need to read more.:o

But seriously--yeah, I read real books. I got a whole mess of books waiting for me to take a crack at them. I'm reading We Were One, right now. Amazing.

[ComicChick]

im reading the ice and fire books by george r.r. martin and i just read the black order by james rollins

i'm reading his book Map of Bones, pretty good so far. had never read anything of his before.

How is Black Order?

[Leto Atrides]

What other books have you tried to read that you couldn't get into? If it was Dreamcatcher then I'm sorry...that book AND movie blew chunks.

I never finished "It", and I couldn't get into The Stand or the first Dark Tower book in the first place. I don't know, It may his style. I read a lot of Regency Era and Victorian stuff , so I'm not used to people cursing a lot in dialog, and pop culture references, even if they're from the 60s or 70s.

I don't know if his earlier stuff is much different, but it seems like I that better. I love The Shining, and I really like the movies(/miniseries) of Salem's Lot and Carrie.

And I'd agree, the 20 minutes or so of Dreamcatcher I've seen were terrible.

[Tangled Web]

I really really really suggest "Idecision" by Benjamin Kunkel. Great read.

I'm makinga dent in US v. Bush et al. by Elizabeth De la Vega. Really good if you want to learn something. Very much of the current event interest.

[Leto Atrides]

I'd recommend Capatin Blood by Rafael Sabatini.

It's about pirates, it was made into a great Errol Flynn movie, and is the best Adventure novel I've ever read by leaps and bounds. And it's even under 250 pages for those of you guys out there who aren't big readers.

[pavlovs dogfood]

I love books. So much so that this post excited me. Ah, an arrangement of twenty-six phonetic symbols, ten numerals, and about eight punctuation marks, and people can cast their eyes over these and envision the eruption of Mount Vesuvius or the Battle of Waterloo. So wonderous.

I am finishing up Kurt Vonnegut's Timequake, and started The Glass Menagerie 'cause I love Tennessee Williams like no other. I'm also a good way into the Bible and Mein Kampf, because I'm just that strange, quirky type of girl that likes to juggle several books at a time.

Try it. It's great.

[Tangled Web]

The Glass Menagerie was good.

[Jack Rabbit]

I love books. So much so that this post excited me. Ah, an arrangement of twenty-six phonetic symbols, ten numerals, and about eight punctuation marks, and people can cast their eyes over these and envision the eruption of Mount Vesuvius or the Battle of Waterloo. So wonderous.

I am finishing up Kurt Vonnegut's Timequake, and started The Glass Menagerie 'cause I love Tennessee Williams like no other. I'm also a good way into the Bible and Mein Kampf, because I'm just that strange, quirky type of girl that likes to juggle several books at a time.

Try it. It's great.

Have you read Cat's Cradle? :up:

[Speedball]

How manny times do I gotta say it?
Read A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. It'll make you forget about LOTR and any other fantasy novels.

[SLVRSR4]

I love books. So much so that this post excited me. Ah, an arrangement of twenty-six phonetic symbols, ten numerals, and about eight punctuation marks, and people can cast their eyes over these and envision the eruption of Mount Vesuvius or the Battle of Waterloo. So wonderous.

I am finishing up Kurt Vonnegut's Timequake, and started The Glass Menagerie 'cause I love Tennessee Williams like no other. I'm also a good way into the Bible and Mein Kampf, because I'm just that strange, quirky type of girl that likes to juggle several books at a time.

Try it. It's great.

I expected Mein Kampf to be moving and made me wonder if i really was on a sort of watch list.:o I really enjoy the lack of character developement and comedy of Douglas Coupland books like Jpods and Microserfs.

[pavlovs dogfood]

Have you read Cat's Cradle? :up:

Nope. It's kinda hard to track down a lot of Vonnegut books, for reasons unbeknownst to me. I really, really heart God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian.

[Addendum]

Just looked him up, and realized that I really need to hunt down that Wild Cards series he did.

I borrowed the first book from a friend and was blown away.

[Jack Rabbit]

Nope. It's kinda hard to track down a lot of Vonnegut books, for reasons unbeknownst to me. I really, really heart God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian.

It's great. It's the only book of his I've read, but I've been meaning to look for more, I enjoyed it that much. Bizarre, bizarre story.

And yay for suicide assisting pathologists? :huh:

[cyborg ninja 14]

Currently reading this
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fDp-FJL3L._SS500_.jpg
What I love about Shirley is that he has the midwestern sense of humor which reminds me a lot of Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy's books(of MST3K), only if they were awkward 6' 10' failed NBA players. It's also clear that he's too intellegent for his own good when compared the IQ of the NBA.

[pavlovs dogfood]

It's totally not what you think :)

[Jack Rabbit]

It's totally not what you think :)

Care to elaborate then?

[pavlovs dogfood]

Care to elaborate then?

It's one of the many instances where Vonnegut makes himself a character in the book. In this case, he makes friends with Dr. Kevorkian, who keeps killing him so he can go to Heaven and interview dead people, then the good Dr. would bring him back so Vonnegut could publish the interviews. It's presented as nonfiction, and it's very, very interesting to read. And true to form for Vonnegut, very bizarre.

In one of my favorites, he interviews Hitler, who says he apologizes for any "indirect" association he may have had with the loss of Jewish lives, and then suggests that a monument be erected in his honor, bearing only the words, "Excuse me."

[Jack Rabbit]

It's one of the many instances where Vonnegut makes himself a character in the book. In this case, he makes friends with Dr. Kevorkian, who keeps killing him so he can go to Heaven and interview dead people, then the good Dr. would bring him back so Vonnegut could publish the interviews. It's presented as nonfiction, and it's very, very interesting to read. And true to form for Vonnegut, very bizarre.

In one of my favorites, he interviews Hitler, who says he apologizes for any "indirect" association he may have had with the loss of Jewish lives, and then suggests that a monument be erected in his honor, bearing only the words, "Excuse me."

Kurt Vonnegut is a madman.:wow: I need to look that up.

For some reason that reminds me of Albert Camus' The Fall. You basically sit in a bar and listen to this guy talk for an entire book. Profoundly strange topics, and a really good read.

[ComicChick]

The only book Ive read of Vonnegut's is Slaughterhouse 5, and that's one of the frew books that i read all the way through in AP English. It was really entertaining.

Pavlov, i'm also reading multiple books at once:
Map of Bones by James Rollins
Freedom Writers Diaries
Wicked
and just finished up The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry

[Majik1387]

The Harry Potter series
The Resident Evil series
Animorphs series
Stephen King books
Wicked
Other random books I read for school and liked

[pavlovs dogfood]

Hey, a fellow adventurous literature juggler. Nice to meet you, ComicChick - I saw Freedom Writers on DVD and was moved to check out the novel diaries, but I never got around to it. Any good?


I expected Mein Kampf to be moving and made me wonder if i really was on a sort of watch list.

I know what you mean. I was like "Hmm. Am I getting flagged?" It's actually not that great of a read - the introduction even makes a point to tell us that while ol' Adolph was a great orator, his literary skills are less than impressive. I agree. It's sort of an indulgent mess.

[TheDemon'sHead]

Looks like you need to read more.:o

But seriously--yeah, I read real books. I got a whole mess of books waiting for me to take a crack at them. I'm reading We Were One, right now. Amazing.

I knew I was going to get that.
I "blew" threw it in three days with work, girlfriend stuff and other assorted activities. I usually only read on the subway and get through a 300-page book in about a week and a half while commuting... so three days is pretty quick for me.

I've read Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5, Breakfast of Champions and the short story collection Welcome to the Monkey House. Breakfast is almost as good as Slaughterhouse. Really strange though and the main character is kind of a jerk. Monkey house ranged from good to great. Nothing was really terrible in it.

Things I've read that I loved:
Lolita - Nabokov
Middlesex - Eugenides
Johnny Got His Gun - Trumbo (clips from the movie was used for Metallica's "One" video)
1776 - McCullough
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee - Brown
White Noise - DeLilio

My always growing stack of things I've bought but need to read include:
John Adams - McCullough
The Silmarillion - Tolkien
The Count of Monte Cristo - Dumas
A bunch of Murakami
The Plague - Camus

[moraldeficiency]

The only book Ive read of Vonnegut's is Slaughterhouse 5, and that's one of the frew books that i read all the way through in AP English. It was really entertaining.

Pavlov, i'm also reading multiple books at once:
Map of Bones by James Rollins
Freedom Writers Diaries
Wicked
and just finished up The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry

Anyone trying to find Vonnegut books just go to any college bookstores.

Slaughterhouse 5 was great though I liked Cat's Cradle more. If you like that type you should check out Palachnuik. He wrote Fight Club, Survivor and Lullabye very Vonnegutesque and funny as hell.

Favorite book of all time - Blood Meridian Cormic McCarthy

[pavlovs dogfood]

Middlesex - Eugenides

Oh, I love Jeffrey Eugenides to death. Virgin Suicides was beautiful to read, but Middlesex is his masterpiece. It's sprawling - and it features the most vivid tale of falling in love I've ever read. Those chapters - with the Obscure Object - are hands down the best in the entire book. Even though it ends heartbreakingly.

Now you made me wanna re read it.

[Iglius]

No pictures? Get outta town.

[Spider-Fan]

I just starting reading the Dune books. I am about halfway through Dune. The book is great.

[TheDemon'sHead]

Oh, I love Jeffrey Eugenides to death. Virgin Suicides was beautiful to read, but Middlesex is his masterpiece. It's sprawling - and it features the most vivid tale of falling in love I've ever read. Those chapters - with the Obscure Object - are hands down the best in the entire book. Even though it ends heartbreakingly.

Now you made me wanna re read it.

I actually just re-read it and it's as great as the first time around. If you loved the Obscure Object section give Lolita a read. You haven't read about love until you've read that.

Do you have any idea when a new Eugenides book is coming out? Middlesex came out at last 4 or 5 years ago.

[SpideyLad]

I've got a ton of books just waiting for me to read them. Reading 'Prey' at the moment though, and it's awesome.

[Strange]

I just finished reading "Moonshine" by Rob Thurman, it is a follow up to "Nightlife". Both are really good books with great characters. I also just found out that Rob Thruman is a woman, there are a few tell tale signs in her books but she is a good new writer. The only reason I am commenting on Rob being a woman is because I'm a big fan of Anne Rice but all her books have way too many homosexual undertones almost to the point of just being annoying. Not that there is anything wrong with being gay, it just seems like a theme in everyone of Rice's books.

[zenile]

My favorite book has got to be Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. Its totally different from his other works, which he has admitted in interviews were written for the purpose to earn enough money so he could write Pillars. Its a great period piece covering several generations of stone masons and architects as they are trying to build a cathedral. Highly recommend it! :woot:

[Prognosticator]

You mean comic books? Yeah, I read those.

LOL!! :woot: I'm nominating JP for MVP this week! :up:

[Prognosticator]

I'm working my way through a couple of Brett Easton Ellis books this week. "Less Than Zero" and "The Informers"... :up:

[Jack Rabbit]

I knew I was going to get that.
I "blew" threw it in three days with work, girlfriend stuff and other assorted activities. I usually only read on the subway and get through a 300-page book in about a week and a half while commuting... so three days is pretty quick for me.


I was just joshing yah, buddy.:o

[CyberFaust]

just finished "the long dark tea time of the soul" by douglas adams

[TheDemon'sHead]

I was just joshing yah, buddy.:o

I know, no worries.

[SapphirePrima]

I have to read The Life of Pi for a summer reading project.

[TheDemon'sHead]

Has anyone read The Road? I'm interested in reading it since it's post-apocalyptic and won the Pulitzer but at the same time it's an Oprah Book Club book? Can anyone let me know if it's worth reading or not?

[ComicChick]

The Harry Potter series
Wicked
Other random books I read for school and liked

How did you like it? I'm having a hard time getting into it. If there's promise of something better once i get further into the book, maybe i'll pick it up again

Hey, a fellow adventurous literature juggler. Nice to meet you, ComicChick - I saw Freedom Writers on DVD and was moved to check out the novel diaries, but I never got around to it. Any good?



the book is pretty good. it's really written as a diary, each entry usually bout a page or 2 so it's an easy read. some crazy stuff written in that book, but it's good.

[chamber-music]

I'm working my way through a couple of Brett Easton Ellis books this week. "Less Than Zero" and "The Informers"... :up:

Good stuff dude. I read The Rules Of Attraction and Glamorama earlier this year. I'm also into Chuck Palahniuk. I've read Fight Club and Invisable Monsters.

I'm curently reading Garth nix 'Mister Monday' from his Keys To The Kingdom Series.

[Majik1387]

How did you like it? I'm having a hard time getting into it. If there's promise of something better once i get further into the book, maybe i'll pick it up again
I liked it. Much darker than the Broadway show. Well how far in the book are you?

[Deadpool876]

If I wanted to read, I'd go to school! :woot: Nah....I recommend 'The Brethren' by John Grishham. If you look it up, you'll be impressed and want more and yes it was published back in 2000 BUT you'd be surprised how relevant its side plots are! :yay: It has suspense, legal stuff (don't let that stop u :woot: ), conspiracy, manipulative bastards, and humor too. The main plot really is about 3 former judges who created this...:woot: .....ok, just read it. :yay:

[Jack Rabbit]

I have to read The Life of Pi for a summer reading project.

Not a bad book. I couldn't get into it terribly much, but it wasn't bad...

[Mr.Webs]

World War Z by Max Brooks
One of the BEST books I have ever read. That might sound like some sort of hyperbole, but it really isn't. The research and thought put into it is amazing, and the writing is wonderful. Brooks better start writing something else before I get into a withdrawal.

[Majik1387]

^Green Eggs and Ham were much much better.:o

[batboy99]

im not an avid reader, but the last books i read( for school) were
Speak( pretty good, i liked it)
Romeo and Juliet Play
Slam( Really horrible book, my teacher even thought i was bad, but it was part of the curiculum,its horrible, everything is in slang and all about basketball, 24/7:down )

[guitarsingerguy]

I'm making my way through the Dark Tower series right now.

[TheDemon'sHead]

One of the BEST books I have ever read. That might sound like some sort of hyperbole, but it really isn't. The research and thought put into it is amazing, and the writing is wonderful. Brooks better start writing something else before I get into a withdrawal.

WWZ was a fun book to read. It's nowhere near the best on my list but I recommend it to anyone who's into zombies. Which everyone should be into...meaning that everyone should read it.

[Mr.Webs]

I just thought it was damn brilliant. As a guy who had always wanted to read a serious novelization about what a true pandemic would cause, it was a great gift.:word:

[TheDemon'sHead]

Hopefully he writes another one. Did you read his survival guide?

[Mr. Credible]

i work security (the graveyard shift), so... i read all the time. chuck palahniuk is my favorite author of all time.

[Immortalfire]

^Green Eggs and Ham were much much better.:o

Amen.

[Prognosticator]

Good stuff dude. I read The Rules Of Attraction and Glamorama earlier this year. I'm also into Chuck Palahniuk. I've read Fight Club and Invisable Monsters.

I'm curently reading Garth nix 'Mister Monday' from his Keys To The Kingdom Series.

Yeah, I was reading about his books yesterday, as well as a few others in the "Transgressional Fiction" sub-genre. Very eye-opening stuff. :up:

[redmarvel]

After a perusing the boards real quick I saw only one other book thread and it was on the OJ killing his wife and her lover book.

odd... I have 4

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=219330
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=241014
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=193309
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=141365

[SapphirePrima]

Not a bad book. I couldn't get into it terribly much, but it wasn't bad...

I hope it doesn't suck. We have to do online assignments with it. :(

[Alexia Dark]

How did you like it? I'm having a hard time getting into it. If there's promise of something better once i get further into the book, maybe i'll pick it up again.

You didn't get a response, so I thought I'd answer you. It is a very boring book at first, and indeed, most of the way through, but there is some more interesting stuff beyond the college chapters. Don't let the random ramblings of the Thropp family through you off, because the foreshadowing is to be expected. It's just one of those books with too much information shoved into the pages to fully comprehend all at once. I suggest you read it once the whole way through, even if you skip over long paragraphs to find out the important things, then come back to it later with a basic understanding of the plot points.

The book was, for me, far more interesting the second time around.

[Tangled Web]

I picked up Assault on Reason by Al Gore today.

[Green Goblin 1964]

Yesterday i picked up........
http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/unbranded/d/unbranded-dr-suess-triple-pack.jpg
...Great collection, for all readers out there this is a MUST BUY!:star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

[ComicChick]

You didn't get a response, so I thought I'd answer you. It is a very boring book at first, and indeed, most of the way through, but there is some more interesting stuff beyond the college chapters. Don't let the random ramblings of the Thropp family through you off, because the foreshadowing is to be expected. It's just one of those books with too much information shoved into the pages to fully comprehend all at once. I suggest you read it once the whole way through, even if you skip over long paragraphs to find out the important things, then come back to it later with a basic understanding of the plot points.

The book was, for me, far more interesting the second time around.

i'm not that far into it, i think the beginning threw me off cuz things kinda were overly described and was kinda boring in parts. i'm actually a lil after the birth, so i'm hardly into it at all.

i think i'm gonna give it another shot after i finish Map of Bones.

i've started Gone With the Wind 3 times and have yet to finish it. I will one day though.