I finally got into the Warriors series after putting off reading the books for… several years. Despite the predictable storyline, and the interwoven hints that the books themselves are heavily influenced by such novels as Harry Potter and Watership Down, I am quite addicted to it. It took me about a month and a half to finish the first collection (which consists of six books), and I’m now on the first book in the “New Prophecy” series, entitled Midnight.
In my opinion, younger readers will probably enjoy this series more than older book worms, but it’s still an enjoyable collection of adventures. The main reason I like them is because the main characters are felines, and I love cats.
I’ve just finished reading the latest Alex Rider adventure, ‘Crocodile Tears’, and it was absolutely thrilling! I think it’s probably my third favourite book after ‘Eagle Strike’ and ‘Scorpia’ in first and second, respectively. Alex is once again pulled into another of MI6’s ‘benign’ assignments, and encounters his most ruthless adversary yet! Each of the Rider novels always manage to stay contemporary and fresh, with plots ripped straight from the headlines. After tackling eco-terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and human trafficking, Horowitz turns his attention to charity organizations and the GM food industry, which bears eerie real-life parallels to the recent Haitian earthquake and Avian flu-scare.
Our intrepid teenage spy travels to more exotic locales, and gets into plenty of interesting situations, some of them deadly. There is a poker card match (I particularly enjoyed reading that chapter), the standard infiltrate-into-a-suspicious-facility sequence, and one intense torture scene where he’ll be pushed to his mental and physical limits. All the while, Alex maintains his ‘everyman’ charm with dry one-liners, while Horowitz describes the scenes with effortless wit and knowledge (this guy really does his research!). But the most memorable chapter of all, which is almost the price of admission and will linger with you long after you finish the book, is Chapter 9, ‘Invisble Man’. That chapter alone is one of the most brilliant in the entire series and could almost form the basis for an entire book!
After the above-average Snakehead, this is a welcome return to form, and I eagerly await the next installment (I believe it’s ‘Yassen’?), as Alex finally turns 15 (and which Horowitz hinted is the time he will end the series).
I recently read [i]A Place Called Here[/b], by Cecilia Ahern. It was absolutely rubbish. Seriously. It was as though she thought, ‘well, I have a reasonably creative concept, so screw character development, description, or even proper grammar!’
bright dot-dasher I’d always thought the book and movie were completely different from each other but that doesn’t sound too off. Surely there’s lots of differences but still I might look into that.
Right now I’m trying to race around and read Scott Pilgrim comics before the film So I’ve but down a series called Wraeththu for right now. Anyone heard of it or read it? An old friend bought me the first three books in one (the size is only slightly intimidating). Very crazy story, science fiction, post-apocalyptic, it’s not too much to keep up with as the book goes further, but lots to learn about the made up cultures of the book but it’s not at all overwhelming. I wish I could bring myself to make more progress on it because I really like the characters. ( There’s a character named Flick x] )
Well, actually, I’m not a very good reader. That’s probably the only subject that I’m behind in. Don’t get me wrong, I love to read, but only if I’m into it. In general, I’d say I don’t like to read. But if I find somthing that really interests me, then I get hooked!
The Bible, which I haven’t really started to read until now, has been a wonderful experience so far. The only thing is, it’s a major project for someone who’s not a good reader. But we just went to the Christian book store the other day, and Mom got me a copy of The Message, by Eugene H. Peterson, which is a modern paraphrase of the Bible that I heard about in my current devotional: Pure by Rebecca St. James. It’s a lot easier to understand, and I’m loving it so far !
A couple of my favorite books are actually devotionals: Thrive.Teen.Devotional., by Blaine Bartel; Do Hard Things, by Alex and Brett Harris; and Pure, by Rebecca St. James. I also love the devotionals that make me laugh with funny stories (basically, anything by Blaine Bartel).
Other books that I like, first off, anything of The Incredibles ! Books are actually my favorite thing of them to collect. Especially the Disney Story Book Collection and the Disney Adventure/Comic Zone comics.
A few years back, I read almost the entire series of Fudge books (the real names elude me). Though they may seem kiddish, I found them rather relatable and entertaining. I actually do like younger kids books. I also liked Captain Underpants . I wish I could’ve gotten more of those… I read The Jungle Book when I was younger. I enjoyed it, not my favorite book, but I liked it. The funny thing is, the main story wasn’t my favorite. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was my personal favorite. I also grew up on the “Alice in Bible Land” series. There are others, I’m sure, I just can’t think of them.
And last, but most certainly not least, fanfictions ! I think that counts, right? Of course, I love TI related fanfics. Some of my favorites were done by our very own Dash and TSS. I also like a lot of others, but there are a few that stick out. Violet Valor 3, by TSS, is, as of recent, my favorite fanfiction. Tied closely with that one is the fanfic Incident at Western View Junior High by FreyOfDavis. These both were rather touching stories that hit me in a place of my heart I’d never felt before. Also, Friday at Seven by lupincrazed was a really cute fanfic about Violet and Tony on their first date. I’d say this was a Viony done right: sweet, but not too sappy. And it also had plenty of surprises . A Super of Friend, by BDD, was also really sweet in telling about Violet and Kari’s friendship. There were also numerous TI fanfics and a few NCIS fanfics that I really loved, but I can’t very well name them all! I also like reading my own works, but not in a big-headed kinda way .
Black Powder War - Naomi Novik
Rookie aviator Captain Laurence and his friend Temeraire the Celestial Dragon must journey to the treacherous Middle East to recover and escort three priceless dragon eggs for the British government. Along the way, they will encounter a suspicious tour guide whose loyalties are questionable, and escape the pursuit of a former enemy consumed by vengeance and bent on destroying everything and everyone Temeraire loves.
Dictator’s Ransom - Richard Marcinko
Former Navy Seal Marcinko’s literary alter-ego takes on his toughest assignment yet: a dinner date with the Dear Leader of North Korea: Kim Jong Il. On the trail of stolen nukes and Kim’s missing son ‘Demo Dick’ will be pushed to his limits to save the world from an all-out Nuclear War. But not at the expense of cracking a few witty comebacks and trying to get ‘under covers’ with his attractive colleague.
Books I want to read now:
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
Intrepid professor and reluctant hero Robert Langdon is back in action, as he races around Washington D.C. to discover the secret behind the Freemasons, while explaining historical artefacts to beautiful scientists and being chased by a tattooed assassin. Expect an announcement for the film adaptation any time now…
Beatrice and Virgil - Yann Martel
The writer of the stunning ‘Life of Pi’ brings you a heartbreaking allegory to the ‘Final Solution’ of WWII, told in a story-within-a-story of the doomed friendship between a monkey and a donkey.
Philip Pullman - The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
From the author of my favourite trilogy of all-time, comes a controversial and daring retelling of the life of Jesus, and his scheming twin brother. Both a tribute to, and criticism of organized religion, and authoritarian power. Yes, it’s a work of fiction, and no, it’s not meant to be Anti-Christian/Pro-Aetheist. Recommended only to the open-minded.
Wall-E Recharge - Boom Comics
Find out how the lonely robot became the last survivor on Earth in this origins-story by the company that brought you the Incredibles comics.
Books whose upcoming release I’m looking forward to:
Tongues of Serpents- Naomi Novik (Mid year, 2010)
Temeraire and Laurence return in the continuation of the epic Napeolic-dragon wars saga. What dangers await them in this new chapter, and will this adventure be their last?
Bone: Tall Tales - Jeff Smith (Q2, 2010)
Follow Smiley and Bartelby as they tell three unbeliveable campfire stories to the Bone brothers on a hiking trip.
I’m also looking forward to little_chef, JustSoWalleCrazy and TSS continuing their respective fanfics…
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is an excellent story. True, stories set in ww2 Germany are hardly rare but this is an excellent story and has a great protrayal of the Grim Reaper as not someone top fear but someone who is interesting and almost to be pitied. And he says that War is like an overdemanding boss if I remember correctly, and he feels pity for those left behind, saying he is ‘haunted’ by humans.
If the protrayal of a ‘Death’ who is not purely evil also interests you I also highly recommend the ‘Discworld’ series by Terry Pratchett. Sort of a parody more so on fantasy but it is excellent all in all. Death there is my favourite character. My favourite books in the series are ‘Small Gods’ and ‘Reaper Man’ so far . Though I have yet to read all of them.
The His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman is also pretty good, though I’ll admit the third book wasn’t as good as the first two, plus I had to roll my eyes at some of the heavy handedness of some things in the last book (and this is coming from someone who was going through a funk of christianity being utterly replusive at the time. [spoil]I think it’s because I expected that priest to have a little come around on his own[/spoil]. Ah well.)
The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling: I enjoyed the first 5 books, but found the last two books to be throughlly disappointing. (And no it’s not because of reasons as rediculous as shipping but due to both logical and moral descripencies from previous books, even if I should have seen it from book 5 looking back)
I’ve read some of Jim Butchers ‘The Dresden Files’ too, but I’ll admit… I actually throughlly dislike the main character. LOVE his[spoil] vampire half- brother the only good vampire currently being written in popular fiction right now[/spoil] and many other characters. But don’t like Harry very much for some reason. Not sure why. I think it’s because he has an annoying attitude surrounding people who don’t accept magic immediately for one thing. That kind of bugs me.
But I really liked the other characters, though the unsubtle attempts to alleviate christianity as ‘obviously true’ and those who worship the ‘first and bigger’ god (as apparently hindus worship ones which aren’t around as much… yeaaaah that’s not insulting at all to people/[sarcasm] plus shows that CLEARLY the author has no idea what Hinduism is about)- it leaves me cold so I had to stop reading. It felt like both the main character and author are laughing at certain people sometimes while trying too hard to be edgy and ‘cool’ about things like sex and what not and also in every book some woman is after Harry. Um yeah. Whatever. Nice try. Remind me why he’s attractive? Oh yeah. He’s not. The main character just comes off as a pretentious moron though to me.
My sister bought me The Hitchikers Guide in last September (A trilogy in five parts). I’m going to read it more later (I put it down ages ago despite throughly enjoying it). I really enjoy Douglas Adams’ writing style.
Question: Does anyone have a fantasy series to recommend? I prefer some humour in it (not total angst all the time) because that means you care for the characters as well as not being bored and almost wanting to yell at the characters to stop moaning.
XD
Ive also been trying to read the Koran (english translation obviously) in addition to the Bible. But I lost the former somewhere dang it.
(That other P.Pullman novels sounds vaguely interesting by the way)
Mr Pratchett is awesome! I read ‘The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents’ and half of ‘Night Watch’ (a brilliant spoof of the police procedural, too bad I had to return it before I could finish!)… if you like your humour dry and ‘Brit’, Terry’s your man!
I enjoyed all the Harry Potter books (well, with the exception of Phoenix, I didn’t finish it because Harry kept shouting in CAPITAL LETTERS), and I’m about a third through Deathly Hallows last time I picked it up (right after the ‘Might is Magic’ chapter). It is a very intelligent fantasy series, Rowling has cleverly commented on heavy issues like immigration policies, race politics, and jingoistic approaches to terrorism, all through fantasy allegories (which is the hallmark of great fiction).
I’ve got so many… I’ll list em’ out and you’re free to peruse them at your leisure.
Check out Cressida Corwell’s ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ series, if you’re not shy about picking up a ‘kid’s book’. A tongue-in-cheek parody of Viking mythology with fantasy fiction, that inspired the hit Dreamworks movie.
If you like espionage thrillers, I highly recommend the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Gun-toting leprechauns (here presented as members of an elite paramilitary squad named ‘Lep Recon’), a foul-mouthed dwarf with a penchant for grand larceny, and a child prodigy bent on taking over the fairy world make for a fantastic twist on the ‘alternate worlds fantasy fiction’ genre.
Uh… there’s the Bone comics by Jeff Smith. It’s Lord of the Rings meets Pogo, and there’s lots of poignant subtexts on loyalty, betrayal, and trusting your enemies (especially when it comes to the Two Stupid Rat Creatures and Bartelby subplots). Plus, the visuals are just beautiful and evocative…
Oh, and if you like anthropomorphic fiction, there’s the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. I absolutely loved the first, Redwall. A daring mouse has to rise to the occasion and save his abbey from the invasion of a villainous rat, Cluny the Scourge. Expect lots of swordfighting, rousing adventure, and great derring-do.
Along these lines, I also suggest you check out Mouseguard by David Petersen. I recently discovered this when a friend borrowed it from the library. Winter 1152 is better than Fall, but you should try read it in sequence if possible. A band of mice must protect their kingdom from ruthless enemies, while they encounter terrible dangers, both grand and personal, together.
If you enjoyed His Dark Materials, you might want to check out Pullman’s ‘other’ trilogy, the Sally Lockhart Mysteries. If you like Victorian thrillers like ‘Sweeney Todd’ or the recent ‘Sherlock Holmes’, this should be right up your dark and deserted alley. I finished Ruby in the Smoke a few years ago and it was crackin’!
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I forgot to add… I really want to read the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series by Kathyrn Lasky in anticipation of the upcoming Animal Logic-produced ‘Legend of the Guardians’!
I agree with both of you, Terry Pratchett is absolutely amazing. I’ve been meaning to read the Discworld series for a long time, but there’s a lot of books in the series so it’s quite a commitment.
As for other good fantasy series, mentalguru, you’ve mentioned the best of them…For a light but enchanting read, The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell might be worth a try. They’ve been my favourite fantasy books for years despite them being aimed at perhaps a slightly younger age, but they’re beautifully written and illustrated.
I started reading Ten P’s in a Pod, but it hasn’t really been as funny as my mom says it is so far. But I’ve only read chapter one.XD I’m also reading the Bible. I can’t decide what I want to read next: The Good and Evil (again), or Lord of the Rings (again) I could read both at the same time. I like The Good and Evil beause I understand it better than the Bible, and it’s one of those books I can’t stop reading. Lord of the Rings is also really exciting. I need to stop reading things twice after I’ve read them not too long ago. But I’ve read almost everything in the house.
It seems for me that as summer approaches each year, I suddenly want to do nothing but read books. Some of my fondest memories as a child are of reading during the summer nights, and I guess I just get nostalgic at this time every year. I find it so hard to read during the winter, especially with school and all. I just don’t hvae time to pick up a book. Perhaps this anual absence of reading is another reason I love to read in the summer time so much!!!
Hey ! I was wondering if anybody knew any good drawing books having to do with werewolves and their transformation. I looked at the book store today, but I couldn’t seem to find anything. I found one thing, but they were a little too human-like for what I’m trying to do. So I thought I’d see if you guys had any ideas. It doesn’t have to be completely focused on werewolves (though I’d prefer somthing that didn’t have evil things or demons in it), but just so that it have enough information in it so it can help me with the transformation a little.
I don’t read any werewolf fics (I should, though!), but you can check out the ‘Animorphs’ series by K.A. Applegate. I remember reading it in high-school, and the author really did her homework with regards to animal anatomy and ‘feelings’. There’s even an ‘episode’ where the kids transform into the wolves you can refer to; it’s ‘The Secret’. Hope that helps, Violet Parr!
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Naomi Novik has released the American and UK cover art for the next installment in the Temeraire saga: The Tongues of Serpents!
The Brits get an extra ‘The’! Kudos to the cover artist Andrew Davidson and Dominic Harman for their intricate and evocative illustrations!
And we get a release date: Temeraire and Laurence’s next adventure begins September 2, 2010. I can’t wait (So Mr Peter Jackson, how’s the movie adaptation going? ).
Even better, Ms Novik has released the first book in the series ‘His Majesty’s Dragon’ as a free downloadable ebook in Kindle, iPad, and PDF formats! You can download it HERE. I can’t recommend it enough if you like fantasy or historical war fiction… or both!
I put Stargirl on hold for a while (shamefully I got lazy continuing it. It’s not that it’s boring or anything, but I haven’t had any motivation to finish it because I’ve been drawing a lot and gushing over anime recently, haha). I also started a new book called The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse. It’s very well-written and the comical situations are really hilarious. I actually can’t put it down now!
Thanks, TDIT ! It looks like a very clean, well done tranceformation on the cover. I might cheack that out one day (if I can find it). Thanks! That does help!
I’m reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and Peace Like a River by Leif Enger for school summer reading. I just started Peace Like a River today, and I would say that it’s pretty good, except I only read three pages so far.
Right now, I’m eagerly awaiting Mockingjay, the third and final installment in the Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins. It’s probably my favorite young adult series. Actually, I don’t really read anything else other than young adult books, so it’s probably my favorite book series, period.
Just finished Wuthering Heights, which definitely grew on me as I went on, despite the confusing and erratic structure of the novel. Love Heathcliff though, what a guy! I’m finding it genuinely difficult to think of any other character in literature as disturbed and evil as he is, and yet he’s strangely appealing.
Now I’m onto Words Fail Me, a book about how to write ironically enough. It seems to be aimed more at non-fiction texts, but either way the advice is very useful and I’m sure I’ll refer to it countless times in the future.
! Books are actually my favorite thing of them to collect. Especially the Disney Story Book Collection and the Disney Adventure/Comic Zone comics.
. I wish I could’ve gotten more of those… I read 
