What are you reading now and your area of interest in books.

For quite some time, I have been thinking of posting this. All of us have particular areas of interest in reading materials. Tell us about your reading interests and the authors you like.

I'll start this off by listing my favorite authors.

1. Clive Cussler--I have all but two of his books in hardbound, mostly first editions, still trying to save up to buy the first two that I'm missing.
2. W. E. B. Griffin
3. Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time)--waiting for the last book to come out.
4. Tom Clancey
5. Isaac Asimov
6. Frank and Brian Herbert (Dune Series)

I've been reading the Otherland series by Tad Williams and I'm starting the 4th/last book of the series. It's kinda hard to follow as he is trying to weave several storylines together, like Lord of the Rings, and you can get lost.

Great topic.

I love to read, but having two young kids makes it tougher these days.

I read mostly fiction but occasionally some non-fiction when the topic appeals to me.

Currently reading Dance of Death by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. They write thriller and slightly sci-fi based novels. I would say that their books are the equivalent to a great popcorn flick. Fast reads and very entertaining. Dance of Death is one in a series of novels featuring a recurring character whom I love.

One of my favorite authors is Dean Koontz. Love his descriptive writing style. His Odd Thomas series is wonderful. Great character and fun stories. I've read so many of his books, but hardly put a dent in his library. He's one of those authors that never seems to sleep.

Just got turned on to Vince Flynn. He writes political/spy novels. Local boy as well. Like him so far.

Tried to get into James Patterson, but just can't so far. Wife loves his books. He famously has the Alex Cross series. Maybe I'll give it another go.

Nelson Demille is another one I read occasionally. Good writing and good storylines.

Phillip K. Dick's stuff is always good sci-fi fodder.

Growing up I must have read every syllable that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote. Still love him. I have sort of become spoiled by his fantasy writing in that I haven't found another author that holds my attention. If anyone has some recommendations for fantasy-esque authors akin to Tolkien, please post them.

TheElectrician wrote:

Great topic.

I love to read, but having two young kids makes it tougher these days.

I read mostly fiction but occasionally some non-fiction when the topic appeals to me.

Currently reading Dance of Death by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. They write thriller and slightly sci-fi based novels. I would say that their books are the equivalent to a great popcorn flick. Fast reads and very entertaining. Dance of Death is one in a series of novels featuring a recurring character whom I love.

One of my favorite authors is Dean Koontz. Love his descriptive writing style. His Odd Thomas series is wonderful. Great character and fun stories. I've read so many of his books, but hardly put a dent in his library. He's one of those authors that never seems to sleep.

Just got turned on to Vince Flynn. He writes political/spy novels. Local boy as well. Like him so far.

Tried to get into James Patterson, but just can't so far. Wife loves his books. He famously has the Alex Cross series. Maybe I'll give it another go.

Nelson Demille is another one I read occasionally. Good writing and good storylines.

Phillip K. Dick's stuff is always good sci-fi fodder.

Growing up I must have read every syllable that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote. Still love him. I have sort of become spoiled by his fantasy writing in that I haven't found another author that holds my attention. If anyone has some recommendations for fantasy-esque authors akin to Tolkien, please post them.

Try the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.

well my grandpa got me reading scifi/fantasy when i was in the 5th/6th grade and thats where most of my reading has been. i have read some war books and other fiction but the scifi/fantasy is by far the best read/escape for me. i have read the paperback copy of war and peace, it took about 6 months to do it , dang boring and dry to me. i had until i lost them in storage all of heinlin's books only read the 1st 2 dune books but many other herbert books had like 2/3 to 3/4 of clark's books, gor series, xaneth, edgar rice boroughs, e.e. doc smith, crap can't think of her name she just died a few days ago.....the number of authors that i have read is toooo many but i have read most of all the old school ones and some of the new ones.. ahh anne mc cafferty thats the lady may she rest in peace.

currently working thru a few harry potter books i have bought at yard sales other than that i have no stash of books to read...do to the great storage loss of 98....replacement cost for the ones that where available to replace was at about 15000 bucks for the ones i could replace and i had a lot that was not available to get..hell had books with 35 cents on the cover thats how old they where.

dom60 wrote:

other than that i have no stash of books to read...do to the great storage loss of 98....replacement cost for the ones that where available to replace was at about 15000 bucks for the ones i could replace and i had a lot that was not available to get..hell had books with 35 cents on the cover thats how old they where.

Owie. I won't lend any of my books out for fear of losing them. I'd hate to think of what you lost.

well i had soo many books its unreal, i made a book shelf 4foot by 6 foot and i could rotate the whole lot out about once a month and still not get all the books on to it during a years time and the shelves where about 10 inch apart just big enough to get a hard cover book in. had ben bova books harry harrison and so many more. it sickens me when i think of all the books i lost and that 15k amount was quoted to me in 96 i think so how much more would it cost now to replace if available?

dom60 wrote:

well i had soo many books its unreal, i made a book shelf 4foot by 6 foot and i could rotate the whole lot out about once a month and still not get all the books on to it during a years time and the shelves where about 10 inch apart just big enough to get a hard cover book in. had ben bova books harry harrison and so many more. it sickens me when i think of all the books i lost and that 15k amount was quoted to me in 96 i think so how much more would it cost now to replace if available?

I shutter when I think of losing my library as they represent a lifetime of collecting (50+ years). I have over 1700 hardbound books, including 10 complete sets of the old Time-Life series and several sets of antique books dating from the late 1890s and early 1900s that fill 5 33" X 84" and 2 33" X 72" bookcases along with 18' of shelving. Yes, they are insured but you just cannot replace them.

Some of the books you lost might be available on E-Bay for a reasonable price, that is, when you have the funds available.

i also had a 1925 watkins cookbook that my grandmother had given me in with those books.

If you like fantasy, try the Iron Tower trilogy by Dennis L. McKiernan and then the other books in the Mithgar series. Influenced by Tolkien, of course, but much more accessible in my opinion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_L._McKiernan

Only books I have read and enjoyed were books 3 - 6 in The Greyhawk Adventures by Rose Estes. The first 2 were by another author and never read them. Picked up 3-5 up at PacifiCON many years ago and borrowed the last one from a friend. But I dont read books anymore, unless it's for a class or something. Just on-line forum or news articles.

Spike wrote:

If you like fantasy, try the Iron Tower trilogy by Dennis L. McKiernan and then the other books in the Mithgar series. Influenced by Tolkien, of course, but much more accessible in my opinion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_L._McKiernan

Very neat trilogy, and duology (second set of books), I liked them a lot. Easy going read, very JRRT influenced.

I started the Hobbit again the other day, plan on the whole series plus Silmarillion and Hurin. Gets you through the holidays/cold tucked into a corner with a nice tea or brandy with a good book and a favorite blanket.

I have found I really like RA Salvator. Not just the Drizzt series, explore his other projects if you have time. I really liked the Crimson Shadow. I also was spreading out a little and picked up the first Harry Dresden novel by Jim Butcher and couldn't stop buying them. Really cool look at how magic could be employed, and the whole Dime Store Detective novel approach keeps you reading.

An old series I liked by R.A. Salvatore was The Cleric Quintet (Canticle). I don't just read fantasy - currently reading an old book titled "Hackers" about the history of computer hacking.

Hope it's better than the movie "Hackers" I tore that one apart.... they really played on the ignorance of the public.

Flak Monkey wrote:

Hope it's better than the movie "Hackers" I tore that one apart.... they really played on the ignorance of the public.

Not related to the movie - this is more of a history of hacking and the hacker mentality. Written by Steve Levy and published originally in 1984 with a few updates since then. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers:_Heroes_of_the_Computer_Revolution

We have a collection of classic works and we've been working through it book by book. In the last few months, we've gone through several, including:

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson

The kids are learning how good these books are, too, since I read to them aloud. If you have only read things published since the mid 20th century, I recommend grabbing a dictionary and reading the classics. There is history and vocabulary to be learned. Not to mention the thousands of references in contemporary literature that spring from Twain, Poe, Voltaire, Homer, etc. that are best understood by reading the source.

When it comes to 20th century and beyond, two of my favorites (being a nerd) are "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman": Adventures of a Curious Character and its sequel "What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character. I am also a fan of science fiction and have recently re-read the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. In fact, most of my sf favorites I discovered by reading the Anthology and Analog books edited by John W Campbell (Astounding Science Fiction magazine).

More recently, the kids also introduced me to a couple series that are worthy of mention. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events are well done and quite entertaining. Also Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry(!) and Ridley Pearson. When I saw Dave's name on the jacket, I had to find out if it was the Dave Barry, and sure enough Dave's own brand of humor is sprinkled through the pages. The Peter books are fun prequel-style stories to the J.M. Barrie novel and play.