BOOKS?!

Many ppl will deny reading them, many will brag about how much they read.

I' m just curious about who here enjoys reading and if you do, what do you like to read, your favorite authors and stuff like that.

I' m currently obsessed with books by Chuck Palahniuk. He wrote such stories as Fight Club, Diary, Survivor. He has a very informative and dark style. Thats the kinda stuff I like reading, twisted dark and/or unsual. Not necasarrily horror books. Just stuff thats different.

I read fantasy maybe, some horror novels along the lines of H.P. Lovecraft, and some crime books by John Sanford. I also read books of philosophy from time to time but for the most part it' s a rough time trying to get from one chapter to the next, even though the studies are really interesting.

And some of my favorite fantasy artists are as follows:

Robert Jordan-The Wheel of Time series...awesome.

George R. R. Martin- A song of Ice and Fire series, another badass series in the making.

Terry Goodkind- His Sword of Truth books are pretty good, although not as good as the first 2.

Raymond E. Feist-About as good as Goodkind, only he is a writing machine. The Riftwar series is his best.

I used to read a lot more than I do now.
Now I stay up late playing games rather than reading books.
I do like fantasy books (Dragonlance series) and I read science books.

I read stuff like hatchet and stuff. Gary paulsen is the best author! I don' t normally read books though. Ive read for fun like twice. I just read game magazines, thats about it.

I really enjoy the fantasy genre. Love Terry Brooks to death. Enjoyed Terry Goodkind and the Dragon Lance series (well some of it). But by far Terry Brooks is my favourite. I think I will lump my addiction to Harry Potter in this category as well as my enjoyment of Anne Rice.

Recently I have hit a major science fiction type addiction. I am talking about Michale Crichton, Robin Cook, Richard preston, etc. Virus is let loose on the world... chaos ensues, that kind of thing.

I am also *coughgeekcough* a big classic lit sucker. Give me Austen, Dickens, Dostoevsky, then I am one happy girl.

I really can' t stand Terry Brook' s books. I' ve read almost all of them, except for his latest 2 books in the Shannara series. The only book series that I' ve really enjoyed by him was Running with a Demon, a great book. The last 2 in that series were not as good but still good. The Shannara series is just getting old IMO. He should have stuck with one enemy throughout the whole of the series...all this changing has really hurt the series IMO.

See, that is where I disagree. I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole Shanara saga. Because that is what it is, a saga. You have centuries of history from the same world without beating the same characters to death. That is my one complaint with The Sword of Truth series, all these unbelievable things happen to the same group of people in a relatively short period of time. I think Brooks has done a wonderful job of keepin the series exciting and interesting by the introduction of new characters with common roots. Some of it does get predictable, but I still buy it.

Well, for me there are probably 4 great fantasy writers out there right now working on finishing up their series:

Robert Jordan-His Wheel of Time series is epic, and although he is a bit long winded at times his story of the Dragon Reborn is one of the best I' ve ever read.

George R. R. Martin-A Storm of Swords, A Game of Throwns, and a Clash of Kings are another great set of books. They flow and what separates him from the rest is his characters. The background, and just overall...character of each person is just incredible. You really get a feel of who you hate, even though they may not be the bad guy in the story.

Stephen King-Some do not even know that King writes fantasy, but he is in the process of finishing the best of all of his books, and definately a fantasy epic to compare with any before and after. His Dark Tower series is great, the story of the last Gunslinger on a quest to find the Dark Tower to make the world right again may seem a little cliche but it' s good. The series spans all of King' s universes that he has created over the year, with father Callahan (Salem' s Lot) making an appearence, and a direct tie in with his collaborations with Peter Straub, The Talisman and Black House. Mark my words, King is going out in style.

J.K. Rowling-Say what you want about Harry Potter, but it' s been awhile since someone has created such a rich universe as she has. Reading one of her books is like sitting in front of an open fire, it just brings a warmth to my bones. The books are gradually getting older, along with Harry it seems, with the last 2 having some very graphic parts that I wouldn' t recommend you read to a 7 year old. I just hope she can finish this series in a good way, and not sell out and make tons of spin offs.

I will Agree with you about Rowlings and her Harry Potter Universe. I enjoy those books so much. And she has phenomenal talent.

AS i mentioned (or I may have failed to mention) Brooks was my first, therefore he will always ahve a place in my heart. But compared to the others I have read, he is still tops. I have only begun to read George R R Martin (I just started A Game of Thrones yesterday) so I have yet to form an opinion on him.

Philosophy, and as much as it hurts to admit, I' m a " closet potter fan" . I also enjoyed the Halo books.

I dont want to celebrate, I want to sell you hate.

I will agree with yoshi that Robert Jordan' s " The Wheel of Time" series is one of the best fantasy series ever, and IMO, THE best. I started reading them back in ' 98, and I haven' t been able to put them down ever since. The first six books are a lot better than the last four, but that' s okay. He' s just trying to milk the series now, which is fine for profit, but not so great for the readers. He' s gonna die before he finishes this flippin' story! LOL Still, after 10 books and a prequel (about 9,000 pages of reading), I' m still VERY satisfied.

I also enjoy the classics, and my favorite authors include Thoreau (" Walden" is my favorite book of all time), Steinbeck (Cannery Row is just awesome), Fitzgerald (besides The Great Gatsby, his short stories are amazing), and Irving (" A Prayer for Owen Meany" is one of the best books I' ve ever read). In the past, I' ve also liked " Snow Falling on Cedars," and " The Invisible Man." I' ve never been a fan of Melville (" Moby Dick" ), Hemingway (" For Whom the Bell Tolls" ) or Hawthorne (" The Scarlet Letter" ), but I have read them.

As far as poetry goes, you can' t go wrong with Longfellow or Frost, IMO. Most of Poe' s stuff is good, but it' s usually too dark for me. Dickinson is good too, but I haven' t read as much of her stuff as I' d want to. Emerson' s essays were unbelievable, if I remember correctly, but he' s one of those writers you kind of have to be in the mood for.

Kikizo Staff Writer

The last few books were a bit boring, with all of the political stuff and what have you. I hope he gets back to business towards the end. I believe he' s said he plans on writing 2 more books after the next, plus 2 or 3 more prequels.

Also for fans of the series there is also a comic book being drawn for the prequel of the series, New Spring. I have seen some of the drawings and I have to say they look damn good. Find all of your Wheel of Time news at:

www.dragonmount.com

im a huge reader.....right now im on a big Kurt Vonnegut kick, just finished with my Herman Hesse kick as well. pretty sweet stuff.

Read this story heheheheheheheheheheheee

Guts

yoshimitsu, I just finished " A Game of Thrones" and wow was it fantastic. I cannot wait to read the sequel. Still isn' t my number one fantasy book, but it ranks up at the top.