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meru

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Currently reading Kafka on the Shore.

 

<3 Murakami; you can't go wrong with anything he's written. I think my favorite is Dance, Dance, Dance, but I usually recommend Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End of the World to people first to see if they'll like his stuff. Have you read anything else of his? Have a favorite?

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<3 Murakami; you can't go wrong with anything he's written. I think my favorite is Dance, Dance, Dance, but I usually recommend Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End of the World to people first to see if they'll like his stuff. Have you read anything else of his? Have a favorite?

I first read Wind Up Bird Chronicles by him, and I'd say that's my favorite. I'm loving Kafka so far, though.

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Should get around to Murakami sometime.

 

I've been barely reading anything recently (both VN and book), so I put Hyperion on hold and am now reading The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Hoskin.

 

The thing I love the most about it is that the format of the book is perfect: Small, sleek, thin.

 

As for what it contains, it's somewhat interesting. When I finish my current batch of novels, I should get around to Murakami and the AVSI books.

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With spring break coming up soon, I've been having a strange itch for a good Sci-fi book. Any suggestions?

My personal recommendations would be Flowers for Algernon (brilliant book on all points), and the Dune series (the main one for good old space opera with a certain depth to it, and the sequels/prequels/whateverels written by Herbert's son for more modern, "popcorn" space opera). Of course you might have read those already...

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With spring break coming up soon, I've been having a strange itch for a good Sci-fi book. Any suggestions?

 

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a must read. I do not think I've read anything with such a brilliant sense of humor. (The closest thing is Hunger Pains, and remotely.)

 

If you like world-building and a painstakingly shallow all-male cast isn't a dealbreaker for you, Isaac Asimov's Foundation is pretty good. 

 

2001: A Space Odyssey because reasons.

 

I would recommend Dune as well, an interesting take on the genre with a good set of characters, a lot of terminology and a meaty storyline. I've only read the first so far.

 

Edit: I'm not very well into the genre, given how I've read all these books in the past two years. 

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I finished the first Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon light novel. It was by no means deep, but it was definitely fun, with the ecchi element being very minor; I'm not chomping at the bit for more, but I'm looking forward to picking up the future books when I need a little break from the more epic stuff. It reminded me a lot of the parts I enjoyed more of the SAO anime, when the interpersonal drama was low but the stakes were still high (like parts of the Aincrad arc).

 

Having finished that little detour, I've since spent maybe an hour or two on the first Lightbringer book, The Black Prism, and it is damn good so far:

- characters are already interesting (the apparent hero doesn't look too together so far, but I expect he's supposed to shape up along the way; slightly less main characters are both badass and already surprisingly complex)

- magic system is creative, large, and seems to be well-defined. Contrasts strongly with the system from The Night Angel, which was really loose. I find I enjoy well-defined systems more (e.g., Sanderson's Mistborn), so I'm happy about this.

- setting, I can't really say much about; I haven't seen enough of the general environment and culture to get a feel for it yet.

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I finished the first Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon light novel. It was by no means deep, but it was definitely fun, with the ecchi element being very minor; I'm not chomping at the bit for more, but I'm looking forward to picking up the future books when I need a little break from the more epic stuff. It reminded me a lot of the parts I enjoyed more of the SAO anime, when the interpersonal drama was low but the stakes were still high (like parts of the Aincrad arc).

 

Having finished that little detour, I've since spent maybe an hour or two on the first Lightbringer book, The Black Prism, and it is damn good so far:

- characters are already interesting (the apparent hero doesn't look too together so far, but I expect he's supposed to shape up along the way; slightly less main characters are both badass and already surprisingly complex)

- magic system is creative, large, and seems to be well-defined. Contrasts strongly with the system from The Night Angel, which was really loose. I find I enjoy well-defined systems more (e.g., Sanderson's Mistborn), so I'm happy about this.

- setting, I can't really say much about; I haven't seen enough of the general environment and culture to get a feel for it yet.

Lightbringer, eh? Definitely a good read. I'm on the third one myself.

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So the other day I overheard a bus driver who claimed to read 200 books a year. A friend of mine has already read about 15 this year.

 

Is anyone here as avid of a reader?

 

I possibly used to be, but I finished less than ten properly long books in the last six months.

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I possibly used to be, but I finished less than ten properly long books in the last six months.

That's still a lot more than myself. I honestly don't think I've actually finished a book outside of English class.

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I should probably say upfront that in addition to being a collage student I work part time in a library and that last summer I won a gift certificate because I read more over the summer then any other librarian in our library system, these two facts should give you an idea about my attitude towards books and reading.  my top twelve authors are Brandon sanderson david weber jim butcher Glen cook J.R.R. tolkien Jack campbell Joe abercrombie Mark lawrence Patrick rothfuss scott lynch Steven erikson and H P Lovecraft in no particular order.  I couldn't possibly say what my favorite book but I would say the best one I have read so far this year is Erin Morgenstert's the Night Circus and I have no idea how it managed to elude my for three and a half years.

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You know, I think it's about time I started getting back into non-otaku literature. It's been quite a while since I've read any books like that, and it's something I don't have a lot of experience with either. Would anyone have any recommendations on fantasy and/or adventure stories? I'm not gonna be too picky on the setting and whatnot, but I'd like it to have to have a good amount of world building to it. I've read a couple popular series like Harry Potter and Inheritance. And while I have not yet finished either, I'm kinda more in the mood to pick up something different.

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Would anyone have any recommendations on fantasy and/or adventure stories? 

 

Comedy – Terry Pratchett

 

Serious, gritty fantasy – George Martin

Steven Erikson

R Scott Bakker

 

Best fantasy which doesn’t really fit into a category – Neil Gaiman

 

Cerebral/intellectual fantasy – Neal Stephenson

China Mielville

 

Steampunk - Gail Carriger

Scott Westerfield

Cherie Priest

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