Books

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Books

This post isn't so much a review but to help people looking for a good translations of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. We were talking about it on the shoutbox a little. And the biggest thing is that almost everyone suggests getting the full version NOT the abridged version. It's more effort but the story is much better with all the details and context. That means buying multiple volumes or a box set of books.

The most respected versions are from Moss Roberts and Charles Brewitt-Taylor. The Roberts one is newer and people think it has a more modern feel to it. Easier to read, less big words, et cetera. It also uses the pinyin system so the names are Cao Cao, Liu Bei, etc as opposed to the older Tsao Tsao and Liu Pei. Roberts also includes a lot more notes, maps, and illustrations in the text.

The Brewitt-Taylor one is the first complete English translation of the story, and it's older so it uses the Wade-Giles romanization system. But a lot of people say it's more poetic and flowery than Roberts' more modern translation. So if your into reading old literature that maybe has a little bit more flair, then that one could be for you. A disadvantage is it doesn't have as many maps I think.

Also, apparently there is a full text translation of Brewitt-Taylor's version that also uses the pinyin system uploaded on

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. So that might even be the best option if you want the older style but don't want to get confused with how the names appear in the video games.

Hope that helps anyone who's interested in the story. ^_^

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: Books

Not sure if i ever mentioned them here, but The Earth's Children series by Jean Auel. If you're interested in prehistory and like historical fiction, i think you'd like these.

I'm rereading them. I love these books.

 

[Hentaispider]

Re: Books

So, what are people reading for Christmas? I just ordered a bunch from Amazon:
Last Watch and Twilight Watch by Lukyanenko
Snuff by Pratchett
and Final Empire by Sanderson.

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: Books

Christmas reading well...

I'm reading:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Sword and the Dragon by M. R. Mathias (and the rest of books in this trilogy)
Also the "Song of Dragons" trilogy over again. The new one came out yesterday! They're by Daniel Arenson

(EDIT: Finished the last Song of Dragons book and I gotta say it was AMAZING)

 

[Kusanagi]

Re: Books

Trying to finally get myself some of the Discworld books. The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rights, and Mort. Also hoping to get the last book in the Inheritance series..... Inheritance. Yeah, I've seen and heard a lot of people saying it's a disappointment (and the title of the book being the title of the series kinda makes me suspicious), but, damn it, I've come this far, might as well ride it to the end. Besides, I won't know if it's really that bad or not unless I at least give it a try. Can't be any worse than when I tried to read Stephanie Meyer's books. Then again, I doubt many books will seem as bad as that to me now.

 

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Books

I'm psyched for Christmas so I can actually have time to read something fun!

I'll hopefully be reading all of these...

Patrick Rothfuss: The Wise Man's Fear
Chloe Neill: Some Girls Bite

And one of these: Robert Harris: Conspirata, Azar Nafisi: Reading Lolita in Tehran, or a biography of Eva Peron.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Books

Wise Man's Fear! I couldn't put that book down when I read it.

 

[aika]

Re: Books

Been reading a lot of non-fiction, most notably

The God Delusion and The Ethical Slut which is about polyamory and really thought provoking stuff about our assumptions on what relationships should be.

 

[JulySilverbird]

Re: Books

Call me old fashioned, but I like Shakespeare =V

Also, was reading A Game of Thrones, and sorta liked it, but had to take a break cause of university finals... Now, I cant remember where I put the book >_<

 

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Books

Call me old fashioned, but I like Shakespeare =V

Also, was reading A Game of Thrones, and sorta liked it, but had to take a break cause of university finals... Now, I cant remember where I put the book >_<

I like Shakespeare too, but I'll still call you old fashioned. =P On the other hand, I prefer Chaucer and medieval literature which is EVEN MORE OLD FASHIONED. But totally cooler. ^_~ Anyway, I always liked Romeo and Juliet even though its kinda simple, and I think my favorite is Macbeth. What's yours?

Oh and in case anyone was wondering, Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde is awesome.

 

[JulySilverbird]

Re: Books

I like Shakespeare too, but I'll still call you old fashioned. =P On the other hand, I prefer Chaucer and medieval literature which is EVEN MORE OLD FASHIONED. But totally cooler. ^_~ Anyway, I always liked Romeo and Juliet even though its kinda simple, and I think my favorite is Macbeth. What's yours?

My favorite till now is King Lear, though its hard to choose among the Great Tragedies...

Oh and in case anyone was wondering, Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde is awesome.

Ty for the suggestion, looking forward to add Chaucer to my library

 

[dmronny]

Re: Books

Could never get into Chaucer when I tried to read The Canterbury Tales, of course that was way back in high school when my reading tastes were different. Should probably try it again sometime.

Shakespeare is actually a favorite of mine as well, though I'm more a fan of the comedies. Comedy of Errors and Merry Wives of Windsor are my favorites, for the tragedies I like Othello and Cymbeline. Still glad I found that complete illustrated book of Shakespeare at the local resale shop for cheap.

Currently I'm rereading To Kill a Mockingbird, which I read at least once a year as it's my favorite book. Though I need to find a new copy as it's falling apart.

Also reading Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, a spin-off of Dracula wherein Dracula turns Queen Victoria into a vampire.

 

[Newbie]

Re: Books

My favorite book has been for some time One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Haven't read it in a good while, though.

 

[Goldstein]

Re: Books

Still haven't gotten around to reading Cuckoo's Nest. It's sitting in a pile somewhere in my room.

The 'serious' book I last read was Ivan Denisovich, but most recently I've been reading the second Ciaphas Cain collection; the only 40k material that I've actually read.

 

[macror]

Re: Books

I just read Freakonomics. Very interesting book.

 

[Hentaispider]

Re: Books

During Christmas I managed to finish Snuff and Final Empire.

Snuff: It's Pratchett and it continues the watchmen series, though it focuses on Vimes with the other watchmen just making a few appearances, instead of the watch itself or large part of it being the focus. Not Pratchett's best work, but not his worst either.

Final Empire: I liked it. The plot is sort of a mixture between Ocean's Eleven and a fantasy epic. The main character is interesting and so are the other characters. I really like the way magic works: both allomancy and feromancy are interesting. Not worldshattering, but pretty powerful despite their limitations.

 

[Hentaispider]

Re: Books

I've been interested in the series since trying to watch the movie (twice) and failing because it was so damn boring... but the book came first so I've got some decent hopes.

I'll have to read Metro 2033 first.

I just stopped watching the Night Watch movie about 10 minutes in, and it looked like they smashed the plots of the first two books to bits and tried to assemble something coherent out of them. They got the names right and the plot elements seem to be there, but that's about all the books and the movie seem to have in common. I just couldn't keep watching, since it was just so wrong.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Books

Heh, well even for someone who hadn't read the books, the movies were bad. Just jumping everywhere after puking the basic information in your lap in five minutes

 

[Termite]

Re: Books

Finally found this topic.

So here's the deal. I work security, and now I work overnight at a business. This business has an intense fear of anyone accessing the network, so the guards aren't allowed to use the internet during their down time. They also can't bring in any devices whatsoever, not even a normal flip phone, so the only thing I have to entertain myself at night is a good book. So I now have a brand new library card, so I need reading suggestions. I know I could just go back through the topic, but I'm being lazy.

If you're wondering about genres then anything that isn't romance heavy should be fine. If you're wondering what I've read so far it isn't much. I haven't picked up a book since I was a teenager. What I have read is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Unholy Night, Against All Enemies, and a novelization of Act of Valor. I'm gonna go find Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies because I enjoy the author, but after that I have no clue.

Suggestions?

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Books

World War Z, and The Dresden Files (whole series, starting at the beginning of course.) I could give you a massive backlog of fantasy novels that I've read, but having read most of it was a kid or teenager means my opinion of most of them is somewhat outdated.