Books to be read

[geonuc]

As I've mentioned in other threads, I have a shelf in my library/computer room dedicated solely to books I own but have yet to read. My poor memory forced me to do this, as I found that I kept buying books I already own but which I stuck somewhere else on the shelves and forgot about. Now, at least they're right there in front of me so maybe I'll remember that I have a copy already. Of course, I've also bought books that I have read and maybe even still own, but forgot. Nothing to be done about that.

Does anyone else have this problem?

On the shelf right now:

Mastering Knife Skills, Norman Weinstein
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver
The Map That Changed the World, Simon Winchester
Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond
Twilight, Stephanie Meyer
The Price of Admiralty, John Keegan
Nicholas and Alexandra (two copies - see above), Robert K. Massie
Planetary Petrology and Geochemistry, Snyder, Neal and Ernst, eds.
Maps of Time, David Christian
The Geology and Climatology of Yucca Mountain and Vicinity, Southern Nevada and California, Stuckless and Levich, eds.
The Oxford History of Medieval Europe, George Holmes
The Vikings, Else Roesdahl
Drawing Down the Moon, Margot Adler
The Celts, Gerhard Herm
How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill
Six Frigates, Ian W. Toll
A World Lit Only By Fire, William Manchester
Blood Ties, Pamela Freeman
The Sultan's Seal, Jenny White.
The Battle for the Falklands, Hastings and Jenkins
Gallipoli, Alan Moorehead
A History of American Law, Lawrence Friedman
Ship of Fools, Katherine Anne Porter

And I'm part way through:

Dreadnought, Robert K. Massie
The World Without Us, Alan Weisman
The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer

And I'm a slow reader. I'll never get through these books, especially since I keep adding to them - two McPhee books on order from Amazon right now. And Death from the Skies.

[Gillianren]

In my opinion, you can skip Twilight. It was very bad.

[hhEb09'1]

In my opinion, you can skip Twilight. It was very bad.Started it Thursday on the strong advice of a sophomore, who'd "memorized" it. There was a sense of urgency: "the movie comes out in a few weeks." When she saw me reading it, my 17yo daughter was aghast, "I'm probably the only girl I know who hasn't read it." The physics/math teacher had read the series because of her daughter, and thought the character development was too narrowly focussed on the main character, and wasn't as good as, say, the Harry Potter series. Well, it's written first-person, so...that makes sense. :)

I'm 3/5 through, I'd say it was 8th grade level, with a liberal sprinkling of gratuitous SAT words. :)

PS: When I looked for it in the library, I found that Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries) had published a book named Twilight three years ago, and in it the heroine falls in love with a guy from a previous century. Maybe it's a trend. Who knew that being born before the parents could be such a turn-on?

[Romanus]

I feel your pain; I'd say about a quarter to a fifth of the books I own I've never read, and that's a crying shame. Hence, the reason that I try to limit the books I buy to ones that I *know* I'm going to read.

It's worth noting that I also have The Map That Changed the World and Guns, Germs, and Steel, both gifts which I haven't read yet.

[geonuc]

In my opinion, you can skip Twilight. It was very bad.
But the rest are OK? ;)

[Ivan Viehoff]

I can strongly recommend Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel. After you have read it, you'll probably want to try his Why Civilisations Fail.

I wasn't willing to spend serious money to buy the Winchester book, as it sounded a bit too similar to some other stuff I'd recently read. But I'll probably get to pick it up for 50p in a charity shop eventually.

Never heard of any of the rest.

[Gillianren]

But the rest are OK? ;)

Twilight is the only one I've read. I read it because I've been to Forks, WA, where it's set, and the thought of vampires there made me laugh until it hurt. The thought of anything interesting ever happening in Forks was pretty funny. Apparently, they're experiencing a tourism boom; I figure it's a great disappointment for tourists when they get there and discover that there isn't even a McDonald's.

[HenrikOlsen]

I figure it's a great disappointment for tourists when they get there and discover that there isn't even a McDonald's.
And there's one point for Forks right there:)

[Gillianren]

And there's one point for Forks right there:)

Last I was there, the only fast food in town was a Subway that was connected to a gas station. It's a nowhere little logging town.

[Fazor]

Last I was there, the only fast food in town was a Subway that was connected to a gas station. It's a nowhere little logging town.

All the better reason to resort to vampirism as a source of nourishment ...

[geonuc]

Well, I'm disappointed, then. A good vampire novel would be nice right now.

At least I have Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires to watch from Netflix. :D

[mugaliens]

Wow! That's quite a collection!

Tell you what - I'll let you post under my username if you'll let me take some time off from posting while I read a few of your books.

Deal?

By the way, according to this site (http://cyberstrike3000x.wikispaces.com/Vahi+toa), you may be a "vahi toa," unless, of course, your life doesn't depend on video games, at which point you're just another bookworm, albeit, apparently, one that's starving.

Perhaps you should put down that vampire book and go find your next victem.

[PraedSt]

I think Mugs is drunk this evening. Further evidence (from another thread):

The hills, are alive, with the sound, of mam-moths..."

BLLELLEERREEAAAHHH!!!

On topic. I read somewhere that Bill Gates takes a fortnight off every year to do all his reading. He says he gets more done that way. Might be an urban legend of course...

[geonuc]

Wow! That's quite a collection!

Tell you what - I'll let you post under my username if you'll let me take some time off from posting while I read a few of your books.

Deal?

By the way, according to this site (http://cyberstrike3000x.wikispaces.com/Vahi+toa), you may be a "vahi toa," unless, of course, your life doesn't depend on video games, at which point you're just another bookworm, albeit, apparently, one that's starving.

Perhaps you should put down that vampire book and go find your next victem.
A vahi toa? Where do you get this stuff? :)

I'm not into video games, so I guess I don't qualify. But I do read my books; it's just that the input exceeds the output, at the moment.

Thanks anyway, I'll let you continue being the mugs around here - you're somewhat unique.

Any one else qualify as a vahi toa?

[mugaliens]

A vahi toa? Where do you get this stuff? :)

Well, I was going to say I've read way too much in my lifetime for any of it to be useful anymore (which is true), but in this case, it was merely the result of (deleted by the committee to elect Mugs for President).

I'm not into video games, so I guess I don't qualify. But I do read my books; it's just that the input exceeds the output, at the moment.

Careful... That usually results in inflation...

Thanks anyway, I'll let you continue being the mugs around here - you're somewhat unique.

ureally think so?

[geonuc]

After comments posted here and by PM, I think I'll not read Twilight.

[Rift]

I had a fever when I read 3/5ths of Twilight a few months back. I quit because, i blame it on the fever, i was starting to get obsessed with it like, well, a 16 year old girl. Purple prose abounds. I thought the vampire was the narrowly defined character, with the word 'perfect' in every physical description of him, which appeared in nearly every paragraph that had the main character looking at him, which happened quite often.

Apparently there seems to be a common problem that is popping up (I asked a therapist she said yes) that teenage girls are so infatuated with this perfect immortal fictional boy (there are 3 more books after twilight, the last one 700 pages long), that they are having problems dealing with and accepting imperfect mortal REAL boys.

Thank goodness my fever broke....

[Rift]

Who knew that being born before the parents could be such a turn-on?

Oh lordy that's funny.

Sounds like you are at the spot i was when I stopped reading it.

I asked a teenage girl what was the fascination with the vampire boy, and she said it was because he put others before himself.

Umm, i do that and I'm not immortal. Easy to put others before your self when you can jump in front of a careening van and save a girl with absolutely no fear anything will happen to you.

I found him to be a jerk actually. He lusts after the girl's blood, she's his 'flavor' yet he sticks around when he could loose control and kill her in a second. Umm, yeah, that's true love and putting others before yourself all right...

Hard not to gag and I am glad my fever broke before I ran out and feverishly (pun obviously intended) read all 4 books. I talked to another teenage girl who had read all 4 books in five days and was seriously obsessed with the vampire boy.

I still find it strange that one thinks he actually put himself into danger for others when he has none of the drawbacks traditional vampires have. He actually got more physically beautiful and 'perfect' (somebody needs to do a word count to see how many times Meyer used it to describe the guy) during the day. Where's that air sickness bag?

[jokergirl]

He is also creepy and succeedinly stalkerish. He breaks her car later on so she can't go hang with her other friends. How is that putting others before himself?
Generally he treats her not as an equal, but as a child who can't take her own decisions throughout the series. Is that the role model we want to give our daughters to aspire to?

;)

[geonuc]

That's not a vampire I can get into.

Would that someone would write a good, traditional scary vampire novel again. Where is Dracula when you need him?

Actually, I just finished The Historian, which is a pretty decent Dracula novel.

[jokergirl]

Your wish is my command!
I haven't fulfilled my NaNo quota for today and yesterday anyway...

;)

[geonuc]

Your wish is my command!
I haven't fulfilled my NaNo quota for today and yesterday anyway...

;)
Wow. Cool.

Do I get three wishes? :D

[hhEb09'1]

He is also creepy and succeedinly stalkerish. Early in the book, he slips into her room at night, and watches her sleep, because he doesn't have to sleep. He tells her later what she said in her sleep.

I mean, slips in every night.

[Graybeard6]

Have read:
The Map That Changed the World, Simon Winchester
Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond
Twilight, Stephanie Meyer
The Price of Admiralty, John Keegan
Nicholas and Alexandra (two copies - see above), Robert K. Massie
The Oxford History of Medieval Europe, George Holmes
The Vikings, Else Roesdahl
The Celts, Gerhard Herm
How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill
Six Frigates, Ian W. Toll
A World Lit Only By Fire, William Manchester
Gallipoli, Alan Moorehead

Plan to read:
Mastering Knife Skills, Norman Weinstein
The Battle for the Falklands, Hastings and Jenkins
Dreadnought, Robert K. Massie
The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer

Might be interesting:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver
The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer
Maps of Time, David Christian

[geonuc]

Really? You've read all those? Wow, we must either have similar tastes or you have read a cartload of books!

[Rift]

Early in the book, he slips into her room at night, and watches her sleep, because he doesn't have to sleep. He tells her later what she said in her sleep.

I mean, slips in every night.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. And she, and most of the 16 yearish old girls reading the book I imagine, some how found that 'romantic'. Why this guy has such a following among teenage girls, and boys!, is beyond me...

And if I hear one more teenager say it's because he's 'perfect'.... ~looks around for the air sickness bag~

I still maintain he's not a 'vampire'. He has none of the traditional flaws of a vampire, none of the disadvantages, he is perfect, there is absolutely nothing wrong with him, no 'curse', only advantages. And the girl is described as one dimensional in reviews for the book? I thought she was very deep and rich and likable compared to him, who was flat and boring.

There is a lot of discussion amongst the fangirls, apparently, and disbelief that he was cast, that the guy they got to play him in the movie isn't 'hot' enough. I'm sorry but if you read some of the purple prose, 2 or 3 adjectives used every time he's described ( 'chiseled greek statue' 'Adonis-like' 'gorgeous beyond belief' not to mention the 10,000 times the word 'perfect' is used) nobody on the friggen planet is 'hot' enough to play the guy.

[Graybeard6]

Yes, I have read more than a cartload of books. I'm in the process of purging my collection, and haven't decided what I'm going to get rid of. Some, I will donate to my local library (Patrick AFB) if they promise to shelve them. The paperbacks, I can trade, SWMBO has never understood why I want to keep so many books. Shortly after we moved to Florida she gave away nine cartons of books (mainly history, but 20 years worth of Anolog/Astounding magazines) but I had to forgive her.

[SeanF]

I'm sorry but if you read some of the purple prose, 2 or 3 adjectives used every time he's described ( 'chiseled greek statue' 'Adonis-like' 'gorgeous beyond belief' not to mention the 10,000 times the word 'perfect' is used) nobody on the friggen planet is 'hot' enough to play the guy.
Oh, all right. I'm not really an actor, but I'll do it.

EDIT: In all seriousness, who did they cast? I looked up the movie on IMDB, but I don't know which character is the 'perfect' one.

of course, I never thought Robin Wright lived up to the descriptions of Buttercup, either, but that movie still worked...

[PraedSt]

of course, I never thought Robin Wright lived up to the descriptions of Buttercup, either, but that movie still worked...

Now that's a great book; as is the movie. I have to admit I fell in love with Robin :)

[hhEb09'1]

EDIT: In all seriousness, who did they cast? I looked up the movie on IMDB, but I don't know which character is the 'perfect' one.Edward.

According to my daughter, "Edward" bumperstickers have taken over facebook.

[Whirlpool]

I've wanting to have this Book :

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

[SeanF]

Edward.
Thanks. Checked out some photos. Not a bad looking guy.

I like the 'stache (http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1911198976/nm1500155) - he must be a traditionalist (http://guerillaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/firefly-quote-of-day_11.html).

According to my daughter, "Edward" bumperstickers have taken over facebook.
Either "bumperstickers" or "facebook" doesn't mean what I thought it did.

[hhEb09'1]

I like the 'stache (http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1911198976/nm1500155) - YikesEither "bumperstickers" or "facebook" doesn't mean what I thought it did.I googled "Facebook bumperstickers" and found Yahoo Answers: How do you search for bumper stickers on facebook bumperstickers?? (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080901180346AAO2iNL) (note double ?), which probably doesn't help you at all, does it? :)

[geonuc]

I've wanting to have this Book :

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
What do you know about it?

[Rift]

I figure it's a great disappointment for tourists when they get there and discover that there isn't even a McDonald's.

You say that as if that's a bad thing :P

[Gillianren]

You say that as if that's a bad thing :P

Think about this a minute. You have come perhaps thousands of miles. The nearest airport is seventy miles away on windy roads, which is also where the nearest movie theatre is. The nearest mall is in another country. And you've come all this way, and basically, if you want to eat, you can pretty much sit down at the Subway, which is part of a gas station, or a bar.