Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

I watched the movie Stardust before reading, the one with Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, and was surprised to know that it was quite different from the book. I think both were good from some aspects: the movie with more actions, and the book with a bit more complicated story and lighter ending (nobody died).

But the cartoon Coraline was... awful. I couldn't understand why they could make a cartoon so dark, so horrible, with the sharp edges and raw motions for kids to watch. Children would have nightmares after watching that. And the film got Oscar for Animated Feature!
Their technique might be good, but in my opinion kids are to watch bright movies, like those from Pixar.

Ugh, I'm off topic. On topic, I'm reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

I liked the Stardust movie as well.

With Coraline, Gaiman seems to have interesting ideas about children's stories. I read the book long before the movie and I thought it was one of the creepiest tales I've ever read. The button eyes were veritably chilling.

In about 80 pages I got a creepfest masquerading as a children's story. Absolutely loved it! But yeah - I found it a bit disturbing for kids myself.

I didn't feel that the movie had the same effect as the book.

[maianhvk]

I finished The Alchemist last night, and picked up Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch. Terrific book!

[siraks]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

I finished The Alchemist last night, and picked up Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch. Terrific book!

the alchemist the secrets of the immortal nicholas flamel ??
what are your thoughts on it?

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by siraks

the alchemist the secrets of the immortal nicholas flamel ??
what are your thoughts on it?

Er no, Paulo Coelho's, not Michael Scott's.

Anyway, I can still give you my thoughts on Scott's The Secrets of Immortal Nicholas Flamel. I remember that the series goes like this: The Alchemyst, The Magician, The Sorceress, The Necromancer, and 2 more books I don't read.

The Alchemyst was good! Very readable. Promising. Couldn't put down.

The Magician was so-so. Readable. But I started to feel the boredom, but hoped things would get better in the later books and still bought them, which was a waste of time and money.

The Sorceress was okay. I didn't have an easy time reading it, in fact I might call it "struggling". And just because I read the first 3 books in the series, I continued with the 4th. A HUGE mistake.

The Necromancer? I couldn't finish it. Too boring. If things were new and extraordinary in the first book, which distinguished it from other urban fantasy series, I felt like I was reading a mediocre teenage series with a weak story line.

Nicholas was described as half good half evil, and Perenelle as half strong half weak because she was losing her power, Scathach was like a crazy woman with no precaution and strategy thinking as she should have had with thousands of years of existence. The author told us every five lines how short time they had left, and yet at the 4th book the doom was still nowhere to be seen.

It was like Michael Scott didn't plan anything, he just got new characters popped up, each one proposed to be an incredible archenemy or the greatest warrior and every was beaten so easily.

No need to say I dropped the series where I couldn't continue with the nonsense voyage of the twins. I was so glad I borrowed the 4th book from a friend instead of buying it.

I was truly disappointed in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

and picked up Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch. Terrific book!

Loved those books.
Hope you enjoy.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

...picked up Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch. Terrific book!

Hope you like it. I've read the whole series, and whilst a bit mixed overall, they were a fun read.

The movie was a real let-down, unfortunately. I think they tried to make it grittier and harder edged than the books, and it really didn't work for me.

[captkjaneway]

Have been given James Cavell's, Tai Pan as a fictional history of my adopted home, Hong Kong..........but it's a physical paperback and I am not sure I can face putting my Kindle down to give it a go.

Will probably become my bath-tme read

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by captkjaneway

Have been given James Cavell's, Tai Pan as a fictional history of my adopted home, Hong Kong..........but it's a physical paperback and I am not sure I can face putting my Kindle down to give it a go.

Will probably become my bath-tme read

'Tai Pan' might be the worst of Clavell's Asian series, but it's still a very good read. If you are familiar with Hong Kong you'll instantly recognize the 'real' names of the people and of course all the places too. When you finish it, read 'King Rat' (excellent book and excellent movie!) which takes place in S'pore and has nothing to do with Hong Kong, but two of the important characters in 'King Rat' show up as important side characters in "Noble House," which is the continuation of 'Tai Pan' but in the mid 1960's Hong Kong and is simply fantastic!!! I've re-read the whole series several times now, and will certainly read them all again!

Stitchawl

[orlok]

^ I agree - all excellent reads. And it is fun trying to spot who's who.

[Ron.]

I am reading The Lions of al-Rassan

Here he draws on the crumbling empire of medieval Spain to inspire this tale of brutality and romance. Though the setting is the fictitious Al-Rassan, and there are passing references to the "Star-born," any ancillary connection with science fiction is almost irrelevant to the story. Kay provides insightful glimpses into the goals and motives of his many characters, including King Almalik of Cartada, his advisor Ammar ibn Khairan, a young soldier, Alvar de Pellino, and the compelling female physician Jehane. Mindful of the confusion that alternate universes can create for readers, Kay is careful to periodically summarize the current positions of the various factions in the struggles between the many kingdoms in the empire. Studded with poetry that is evocative of Spain (some selections are reminiscent of El Cid), the story is buttressed with convincing cultural and social details and descriptions of medicine as it was practiced in the 12th century. Genre fans looking for more romance and strong female character development will find this an engrossing tale


I had started this book before Into the wild but I could not stay focused on it, hopefully I can get into now after a mini break from the genre. I had just read the tree books of The Fionavar Tapestry. I was getting burned out on it...

[DiapDealer]

I am reading The Lions of al-Rassan

One of my absolute favorites.

[Fbone]

Finished The Pool of Fire by John Christopher. Book 3 in the original trilogy. And it was the worst one in my opinion. Too many impossibilities to accept.

Next up is The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton.

From B&N:

Winner of the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Novel

Michael is no ordinary young man. Mute since a childhood tragedy, at age eighteen he discovers that he possesses a skill he would never have expected. Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe…he can open them all.

It's a talent that will make Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people, and whether he likes it or not, push him closer to a life of crime. Until one day, when he finally sees his chance to escape, and decides to risk everything to return home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.

So I just finished The Financial Lives of the Poets by Walter Jess. This makes the third in a series of men in mid-life crisis books I have recently completed The other two being Straight Man by Richard Russo and The Finkler Question by Richard Russo. No special reason for this as any mid-life crisis I may have had is past and I have settled into contented mediocrity. Primarily the luck of the draw on recent local library book club selections. Of the three I enjoyed The Financial Lives of the Poets best, it was hilarious.

Now I have started on something more serious, Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Finished The Pool of Fire by John Christopher. Book 3 in the original trilogy. And it was the worst one in my opinion. Too many impossibilities to accept.

Next up is The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton.

From B&N:

I haven't read that one by Hamilton, but I've read his series. Good stuff.

[benham]

Then you definitly want to read The Lock Artist. Awesome book.