mega thread What book are you reading?

[Oleks 1,983]

The Truth by Terry Pratchett. I can't say much about it, except I'm really enjoying it and recommend this book to everyone, as well as any other Pratchett's book.

[Tropical Melody 5,097]

Coincidentally, I've just started Hogfather, discworld book #20.

 

[Tropical Melody 5,097]

Also, I've just finished Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys.

 

[Concerned Bystander 2,901]

I've been reading through a trilogy of Aliens books, I've finished Out of the Shadows and Sea of Sorrows and I'm half-way through River of Pain.

Minor spoilers ahead.

Spoiler

The first book in the series, Out of the Shadows, is set between the first two films and (rather bizarrely I thought) features Ellen Ripley as one of the main characters.  This left the outcome of the book fairly predictable, as it had to end with Ripley once again alone in the Narcissus with no memory of the events of the book in order to meet up with the beginning of the second film.  It was a good book but I think it would have benefited from further fleshing out its own ensemble of characters rather than what felt like a rather forced inclusion.

The second book, Sea of Sorrows is set well after Alien Resurrection, and returns us to the planet featured in Out of the Shadows, which is now a thriving colony world.  This book utilises only its own characters and is therefore unaffected by the films (except as background information) which gave the writer rather more freedom to put his own stamp on things and left the ending unpredictable.  This made for a far more exciting read and I couldn't put it down, I finished it in a fraction of the time it took me to read the first one.

Book three, River of Pain, is set on LV-426 and alternates between scenes from the beginning of Aliens and the events happening concurrently at the Hadley's Hope colony.  Again due to its place in the continuity the outcome of this book is already known to me prior to reading (ie. everyone except Newt is going to die, apart from those that will undoubtedly escape on the Chekov's Gun escape ship mentioned near the start) but I'm still very much enjoying it.

Prequels are always dangerous ground for a franchise to tread on, they almost invariably end up contradicting the established canon, and some stories referenced in the source material are best left to the imagination as any attempt to canonise those events in detail often fail to meet the expectations of the consumer, particularly as each consumer will have their own interpretation of how those events unfolded.

On the whole, if you're a fan of the Alien universe these books are definitely worth a read, especially as they were written in conjunction with Fox and are officially part of the universe's canon.

[ssj4gogita4 101]

Currently reading Crazy Rich Asians series.

[Appley Hooves 136]

Beyond The Sea by David L Golemon. Surprisingly good for some kind of alternate history modern day thing, pity the library's only got two others of his out of this 12 book series 

[CandyCorn 427]

Nothing Lost by Gemma Lauren Krebs

It was a book I got at my anime convention. I met the author, and she signed it as well!

[Tropical Melody 5,097]

Just started Hothouse by Brian Aldiss. OMG it's weird ..

Hopefully all is explained at the end . . .

 

 

Edited September 26, 2018 by Tropical Melody
Typos

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

Just finished Fellowship of the Ring and now I'm starting The Two Towers.

[Jordan D 149]

Just started on "Queen of the Black Coast". Trying to read a lot of  pulp stories from the 30s-60s. 

[Tropical Melody 5,097]

Just started Discworld #21, Jingo. (Have to say I enjoyed Hogfather very much, one of the "good ones".)

Also started The City Of The Sun by Brian M. Stableford. This is one of a series where 'inspectors' visit established other-world colonies to see how they're getting on and if they need any help. (Invariably they do!)

 

 

 

 

[Mellow Mane 5,930]

I just started reading Beren and Lúthien by Tolkien, I'm really enjoying it so far

[Oleks 1,983]

The Museum of Abandoned Secrets by Oksana Zabuzhko. One of the most stylistically peculiar novels I've ever read.

[Caligula 87]

"History of the Persian Empire" by A.T.Olmstead; "History of Ethiopia" by Andrzej Bartnicki; and "Ancient Egypt. Anatomy of a Civilisation" by Barry Kemp. Since my last message I've read also a few other interesting books - "L’Empire gréco-romain"  by Paul Veyne, essays about the cultural and social influence of Greeks on Rome; "Polis", by Hansen Mogens Herman, a short book about definition and meaning of ancient greek city-states; and a few others. 

[Fluttershutter 2,118]

Finally completing this series!

[CandyCorn 427]

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I've seen the movie with Winona a dozen times and have loved it each time. So, I thought... why not read the book that started it all? <3

[Melanie Mousse 2,198]

Just began reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’m not into reading, but I’m reading this anyways since it’s part of my literature in English class and we’re learning about the 1920s.

[Tao 6,719]

A Centaur's Life

Its a manga, but I like it so far! 

[Discordian 6,013]

My friend got me into Warhammer 40k a couple years ago so it's all I've been reading lately. Right now finishing up the first Caiphus Cain omnibus. For a comedy series it has some deep characters who you grow pretty attached to. 

 

Next up I'll be reading Helsreach which also comes at high recommendation.

[Midnight Solace 5,129]

Does Fimfiction count? 

[Tao 6,719]

The Last Wolf

Its a werewolf romance type

[Discordian 6,013]

5 hours ago, Midnight Solace said:

Does Fimfiction count? 

I don't see why not. It's still text-based storytelling.

[Midnight Solace 5,129]

1 hour ago, Discordian said:

I don't see why not. It's still text-based storytelling.

Oh, ok. I thought it didn't because everypony else was talking about non-pony stuff. 

Well, right now I am reading Naked Singularity. There's so much weird stuff on here.

[CoconutCake 360]

Velocity by Dean Koontz.

[Tropical Melody 5,097]

Just finished Discworld #21, Jingo, #22, The Last Continent, next.

Also have just started Death Of A Dentist by M. C. Beaton.

Have also got The Beach,  (Alex Garland) which is supposed to be a cult classic.