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Author Topic: What literature are you reading?  (Read 85713 times)

Offline Feanor Fire Heart

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #625 on: July 20, 2019, 09:44:50 PM »
Just finished Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life by Gary John Bishop. Its very direct and being that I listened to him narrate it via audio-book, it came off as quite the pep-talk. I found it to be quite helpful.
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Offline GamesPoet

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #626 on: July 20, 2019, 10:10:00 PM »
Enjoying Song for Arbonne ... not quite as good as I liked Tigana, yet still worth reading.
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Offline Artobans Ghost

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #627 on: July 23, 2019, 09:02:10 PM »
Finished ‘The Beast Arises’ series. Really enjoyed it and wish there were another 12 in the series.
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Offline Gankom

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #628 on: July 24, 2019, 01:50:26 AM »
I'm reading a book on the history of Venice, by looking at a number of the famous people and personalities that were associated with the republic to various degrees. It's a really interesting book, especially when you see the extent Venice or Genoa will go to for profit.

Offline Novogord

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #629 on: July 25, 2019, 05:31:28 PM »
Ghost Ship from Clive Cussler. What else do you want with such a hot weather.
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Offline Artobans Ghost

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #630 on: August 17, 2019, 11:31:23 AM »
40k - The Hollow Mountain - inquisitorial sequel to The Carrion Throne
40k - Celestine
Pritchett - Mort
All good

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Offline Gankom

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #631 on: August 17, 2019, 03:34:03 PM »
Your motoring through the Discworld series pretty good Artoban!

I just finished a really interesting book on the history of Venice from about 1200CE to it's fall to Napoleon in the 1800's. It's incredible some of the schemes and plans the merchant republics were doing. All vying against each other and everyone else.

I'm also rereading The Path of Heaven Horus Heresy book on the White Scars. Chris Wright is definitely one of my favorite warhammer authors.

Next up is Leviathan Wakes, the first book in the Expanse series.

Offline Rowsdower

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #632 on: August 20, 2019, 02:33:33 PM »
I picked up Soldiers in the mist again. I tried to read it a few years ago but put it down and forgot about it. Then I saw a documentary about the Crimean war and picked it up again. I guess you could call it 'fitting' that the most famous event of the war is a disaster as the entire conflict was a huge fubar from the beginning 

Offline Feanor Fire Heart

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #633 on: August 22, 2019, 04:43:08 PM »
Started "Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian: The Complete Weird Tales Omnibus" by Robert E. Howard and compiled by Finn J. D. John. So far its pretty interesting. After the author's notes the first few stories has nothing to do with Conan. The first one is a Kull story (Shadow Kingdom) and the 2 following are Solomon Kane stories (Red Shadow and Rattle of Bones), followed by an Essay Howard wrote explaining the Hyborean age where Conan takes place. Finn J.D. John did this to help show Howard's evolution in writing and it does help you get a taste for what you're in for. The Conan stories are then presented in the order they are published so it leaps from different points in his life. For example, the first Conan story "The Phoenix on the Sword" takes place when Conan is now king of Aquilonia (like a mix between the Roman Empire and Carolingian Empire) so he's a bit older than his other adventures. I've only now gotten to this story but so far its pretty good. A lot of cloak and dagger game of thrones stuff going on.

« Last Edit: August 22, 2019, 07:59:29 PM by Feanor Fire Heart »
Something we as painters and hobbyists should always remember:
“Dude, suckin’ at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.”
― Jake the Dog

Offline Artobans Ghost

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #634 on: September 07, 2019, 01:12:26 AM »
Men at Arms - Pritchett
The more I read of this series, the more impressed I am of JAK’s undertaking of building the Watch’s characters. What an amazing project that I will be revisiting.

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Offline Rowsdower

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #635 on: September 07, 2019, 02:57:47 PM »
I think I misread something in the Souldrinkers omnibus. Did they just befriend a dark elder kabaal?

Offline Fidelis von Sigmaringen

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #636 on: September 07, 2019, 04:24:26 PM »
Not a younger one?
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Offline Il Condottiero

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #637 on: September 10, 2019, 02:22:43 PM »
Started "Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian: The Complete Weird Tales Omnibus" by Robert E. Howard and compiled by Finn J. D. John. So far its pretty interesting. After the author's notes the first few stories has nothing to do with Conan. The first one is a Kull story (Shadow Kingdom) and the 2 following are Solomon Kane stories (Red Shadow and Rattle of Bones), followed by an Essay Howard wrote explaining the Hyborean age where Conan takes place. Finn J.D. John did this to help show Howard's evolution in writing and it does help you get a taste for what you're in for. The Conan stories are then presented in the order they are published so it leaps from different points in his life. For example, the first Conan story "The Phoenix on the Sword" takes place when Conan is now king of Aquilonia (like a mix between the Roman Empire and Carolingian Empire) so he's a bit older than his other adventures. I've only now gotten to this story but so far its pretty good. A lot of cloak and dagger game of thrones stuff going on.



I really like every one of Howard's Conan stories, specially because the character slightly matures from one tale on to the next.

The Phoenix on the Sword/The Hour of the Dragon is great! It is inspiring stuff really, specially to set a young wargamer on to the next project! :)
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Offline Realjuan

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #638 on: September 10, 2019, 05:53:05 PM »
Was looking for a new fantasy series, and wanted to try
The series Seven Virtues by Jacob Peppers, accidentally read the last book was okay. Felt a like it was missing something, and then I realized my mistake and decided to check the first of the series. Way better characters more complex, still not a 10/10 but different enough to worth reading.
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Offline StealthKnightSteg

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #639 on: September 11, 2019, 09:24:24 AM »
Reading Farsight now.. bit of a messy start of the book sofar..

And finished up City of Secrets, was a very good read!
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Offline Artobans Ghost

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #640 on: September 11, 2019, 10:38:36 AM »
Quote SKS: And finished up City of Secrets, was a very good read!

Really liked this as well
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Offline Artobans Ghost

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #641 on: October 15, 2019, 09:41:29 PM »
Read Pratchett’s Jingo- the watch go to war. Very good.

Goulslayer - took awhile to recognize Gotrek but he eventually came thru. Looking forward to more.

Bought The Horusian Wars: Divination - then noticed it wasn’t ready for download till the 19th !!!!!!

Downloaded The Lost and the Damned - the drive of terra book 2!!!!
Can’t read that till I get the Solar wars - book 1 but I cleaned out the resources i allocated for book reading. Everything is budget conscience so I have to wait till next batch of cash for a percentage to use. Crap
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Offline Cèsar de Quart

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #642 on: October 16, 2019, 06:33:43 AM »
The Expanse books are pretty good.

Great attention to detail when it comes to worldbuilding, good dialogue, cool characters, and a good sense of when to drop the punch which makes the reader go "wait... what?... whoa man, that's nuts".

Leviathan Wakes is a great read.
Caliban's War is good, but didn't wow me.
Abbadon's Gate is when the series begins to delve away from plausible future tech and gets into the realm of alienware. It's ok.
Cibola Burn was, to me, an exhilarating read. Although some people have found it drab or slow.
Nemesis Games is divisive, to me it was exciting and very impactful, to others the level of violence was cartoonish. But what I like about the authors is that they're not afraid to smash their carefully constructed world and explore the plausible consequences. This makes it look a bit like real history.
I'm currently reading Babylon's Ashes and I'm finding it a tad boring, but every two or three chapters something happens that gets my attention. Some characters are fun to follow, others not so much.

Offline Artobans Ghost

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #643 on: October 20, 2019, 03:47:46 PM »
Just a little twist. What were your inspirational authors from young reader to teenage? I think books helped to influence us later for good or bad. As a young reader 9-12 maybe I was really influenced by Thornton Burgess and his animal stories. Later the Narnia series and into sci fi. Asimov and his foundation series, Phillip Jose Farmer and the river world series, Alice and wonderland and Through the looking glass, Mark Twain, Larry Niven and the Ringworld series. I found all these writings left an indelible stamp on my make up. Lovecraft as well. These would be the main writers before I was 17. Herge and the Tintin Series from the time I was 10. I still love all the collected works of these guys and have most of their books still. Except Twain, Niven, and the Tiintin/ asterix stuff.
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Offline GamesPoet

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #644 on: October 20, 2019, 04:10:23 PM »
One of my most inspirational books was the American Heritage History of the Civil War.  I recall when I was maybe 5 or 6 walking into the library of where my father was taking college courses, and finding this book opened up to one of the maps with all the soldiers showing one of the battlefields.  And I also from the same age range recall going to the back of a bookmobile and finding a book on the battle of Gettysburg.  After this I was always going to libraries and reading biographies and books on military history.

From a fictional standpoint, having my 5th grade teacher read The Hobbit on Friday afternoons was quite the experience.  As was picking up the Lord of the Rings trilogy sometime after that.  Those books were very foundational to my interest in fantasy.

Other inspirational writers from my youth included Poe and Shakespeare, these two were really enjoyable in my high school years.

And although not literature per say, the adventure module called The Village of Hommlet was a huge factor in my early role playing days, as was the World of Harn in my college days.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2019, 06:58:38 PM by GamesPoet »
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Offline Artobans Ghost

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #645 on: October 20, 2019, 04:33:45 PM »
I had forgotten the reading of the hobbit about the same time by a teacher. Loved it but could not get through the LotR that followed.
I had forgotten the Shakespeare and Poe during my high school. Had almost all the main Shakespeare plays. Lovecraft brought me to Poe as well. Only read about half the Shakespeare but all of Poe. Gustav Dore’s The Divine Comedy was an awesome read as well. Got my brother a coffee table copy and one for myself later. I think I still have that. All the military history as well. Mostly from SPI magazines and games in mags. A real wealth of knowledge.
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Offline Cèsar de Quart

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #646 on: October 21, 2019, 12:53:52 PM »
Tolkien, especially the Silmarillion. He was my go-to book to read when I didn't know what to read. Spanish adventure writer Vázquez-Figueroa was also one of my favourites.

Also, the poetry of Francisco de Quevedo, Becquer and Machado. It wasn't until I was older and could handle English better that I discovered Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and Whitman.

Offline GamesPoet

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #647 on: October 21, 2019, 01:23:40 PM »
Ah yes!  The Silmarillion was a book I didn't attempt to finish in my younger days, but when I picked up a second time in my college years, and it was excellent.
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Offline Padre

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #648 on: October 21, 2019, 04:27:43 PM »
Just started Gormenghast for the third time. Wonderfully tortuous language.

BTW, Artobahn, I too loved Larry Niven and Asimov as a youth, then, for a while, Orson Scott Card. Whose name reminds me ...

Other books I finished recently: "The Discoverie of Witchcraft" by Reginald Scot, published in the 1580s. A book pointing out that witchcraft was pure fantasy, and which was thus ordered burned by James VI of Scotland, being James I of England, who believed in witches and had written his onw book about them.

Also recently finished Daniel Defoe's "Journal of a Plague Year." Such fun!
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Offline Artobans Ghost

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Re: What literature are you reading?
« Reply #649 on: October 21, 2019, 05:20:12 PM »
@Padre : you might like this diary/history of a Nuremberg executioner 1554-1634. Called the The Faithful Executioner” (FSG), author Joel F. Harrington , I read this when in hospital. Great piece of non-fiction about how he kept a detailed ledger of about 394 executions and the powers/place he held in society. It’s not a gore fest but how he wound up in the business and how he approached it.
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