Fun Reading
Well, I stole the title from redink1's thread in hope that somebody might mistake my thread for his, and actually read it.
But moving on. I've been collecting many books for my summer to read, since I'll be away for five weeks with absolutely nothing to do, and no computer, probably. Oh, how the summer will drag on. Anyway, I've collected an arsenal of decent books, including Frankenstein by Shelly, Walden by Thoreau,A Brave New World by Huxley, The Godfather by Puzo, and much more. Eh, I'll post the full list later, perhaps. Right now I'm suprisingly lazy. So moving on, I was wondering what some good pieces of literature, or anything that's 'fun reading' you guys could suggest me. I'm sure there's readers out there. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it can be. Just whatever.
That having been said...list away.
But moving on. I've been collecting many books for my summer to read, since I'll be away for five weeks with absolutely nothing to do, and no computer, probably. Oh, how the summer will drag on. Anyway, I've collected an arsenal of decent books, including Frankenstein by Shelly, Walden by Thoreau,A Brave New World by Huxley, The Godfather by Puzo, and much more. Eh, I'll post the full list later, perhaps. Right now I'm suprisingly lazy. So moving on, I was wondering what some good pieces of literature, or anything that's 'fun reading' you guys could suggest me. I'm sure there's readers out there. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it can be. Just whatever.
That having been said...list away.
Schindler's List is good. If you haven't read it already, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is pretty nice (though I admittedly still haven't finished it).
I don't read much... so that's all I can do for you. Don't forget The Foot Book.
Edit: The His Dark Materials trilogy is good. That consists of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. The Harper Hall trilogy is entertaining, also (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums).
And now that I think of it, we've had a thread just like this before..
I don't read much... so that's all I can do for you. Don't forget The Foot Book.
Edit: The His Dark Materials trilogy is good. That consists of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. The Harper Hall trilogy is entertaining, also (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums).
And now that I think of it, we've had a thread just like this before..
I agree with Striker... hours of fun can be spent on Where's Waldo. 
But, uh, for reading... The Sword of Shannara is good, even if it does seem to copy the Lord of the Rings series a lot, and is a bit predictable... but still quite good if you like fantasy.
Flowers for Algernon is for the sappy person in all of us... it's about a mentally challenged person who becomes a genius. It's really sad, but probably one of the best books I've ever read.
The Great Gatsby was my favorite book that we read in Literature class this year.
Any edition of 1001 Arabian Nights is a good bet... most of the stories are fairly short, so it's good if you want some light reading for a break from a novel. And they're also quite fun to tell if you're into storytelling.
Mike Nelson's Mind Over Matters is, I think, quite funny... basically Mike Nelson (of TV's Mystery Science Theater 3000) rants about random crap.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is a good murder mystery... also check out Murder on the Orient Express.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, which I enjoyed a great deal in 7th grade Literature (so much so that I bought my own copy). I dont know how good it is now that I havent read it in a few years, but I remember liking it lots.
Island of the Blue Dolphins is another seventh-gradeish level book, but amusing nonetheless.
That's about all I can think of for now... if all else fails, whip out the Gameboy and burn some dendrites.
But, uh, for reading... The Sword of Shannara is good, even if it does seem to copy the Lord of the Rings series a lot, and is a bit predictable... but still quite good if you like fantasy.
Flowers for Algernon is for the sappy person in all of us... it's about a mentally challenged person who becomes a genius. It's really sad, but probably one of the best books I've ever read.
The Great Gatsby was my favorite book that we read in Literature class this year.
Any edition of 1001 Arabian Nights is a good bet... most of the stories are fairly short, so it's good if you want some light reading for a break from a novel. And they're also quite fun to tell if you're into storytelling.
Mike Nelson's Mind Over Matters is, I think, quite funny... basically Mike Nelson (of TV's Mystery Science Theater 3000) rants about random crap.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is a good murder mystery... also check out Murder on the Orient Express.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, which I enjoyed a great deal in 7th grade Literature (so much so that I bought my own copy). I dont know how good it is now that I havent read it in a few years, but I remember liking it lots.
Island of the Blue Dolphins is another seventh-gradeish level book, but amusing nonetheless.
That's about all I can think of for now... if all else fails, whip out the Gameboy and burn some dendrites.
The Hitchhiker's Guide is a must. And the Disc World Series of Terry Pratchet.
Ohhhh... I like to read...
Well 'sides online works you can check out the dragonlance series and forgotten realms for fantisy, they are okay, the lord of the rings: of course, but its way to descriptive for my tastes, The Hobbit is mighty fine, and for a little tec-war, read Fatal Terrain by dale brown. (I havent read the rest of the series). Oh, and yes, ah, the dark is rising series is okay, if long and is okay. Also some textbooks are okay if you like the field, but I doubt many people would ever read thouse for fun.
Well 'sides online works you can check out the dragonlance series and forgotten realms for fantisy, they are okay, the lord of the rings: of course, but its way to descriptive for my tastes, The Hobbit is mighty fine, and for a little tec-war, read Fatal Terrain by dale brown. (I havent read the rest of the series). Oh, and yes, ah, the dark is rising series is okay, if long and is okay. Also some textbooks are okay if you like the field, but I doubt many people would ever read thouse for fun.
May 22nd 2003, 05:03 PM
DethLord
The book I recommend is 1984 by George Orwell. Famous quote "Big Brother is watching You!!" The book was actually written in 1948 but his prediction came true on the part that the government or the authority watches every move you take. He wrote this book b/c of the fear of Totalitarism or something like that. It's been a while since I last read this book.
Other great books are:
- Catcher in the Rye
- Catch 22
- Any of the Harry Potter books
- The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy
If not then go look at one of those magic eye 3d books. The one where you stare at the picture and the object jumps out at you.
Other great books are:
- Catcher in the Rye
- Catch 22
- Any of the Harry Potter books
- The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy
If not then go look at one of those magic eye 3d books. The one where you stare at the picture and the object jumps out at you.
HARRY POTTER?! Ok, you are knee deep in the crack.
Catcher In The Rye was awesome... I totally forgot about it til now. Read that, Rey. 
The Stand, by Stephen King, the long version. It's still to short !! 
KNEE-DEEP?! I could make a killing selling all that coke!
i read island of the blue dolphin in fourth grade...
geralds game by stephen king is real fun to read. a woman is handcuffed to bed by her husband so they can have kinky sex, and the husband dies while she is still handcuffed.
also, my favorite book of all time is the lords of discipline by pat conroy, its also the longest book ive ever read.
and for some good non-fiction, helter skelter, of course.
those are my top three. if you like edgar allen poe, i just picked up his complete works, ive only read about 100 pages so far, but it has some really crazy stuff.
geralds game by stephen king is real fun to read. a woman is handcuffed to bed by her husband so they can have kinky sex, and the husband dies while she is still handcuffed.
also, my favorite book of all time is the lords of discipline by pat conroy, its also the longest book ive ever read.
and for some good non-fiction, helter skelter, of course.
those are my top three. if you like edgar allen poe, i just picked up his complete works, ive only read about 100 pages so far, but it has some really crazy stuff.
Hasn't golden compass (propably the whole trilogy) got something to do with those mind-animals (pokemons ) & northern lights as a warp to another world? I remember reading that somewhere...
) & northern lights as a warp to another world? I remember reading that somewhere...Hey, Don't diss potter! It a well scripted and written book!
A well scripted book about a pot-head nonetheless.
Anyways gold compass is good but im not gona read in summer im gona play outside and play D&D ,scroo books.
Anyways gold compass is good but im not gona read in summer im gona play outside and play D&D ,scroo books.
I'd recommend "Stupid White Men" by Michael Moore. And "The Godfather" is an awesome book, I read it in 5 days! "The Sicilian" is another good read by Puzo.
I don't remember every little detail, but I believe you're on the right track.
I agree with donnamae 'The Stand" is the best I have read it 4 times and will read it again. Two other good ones by Stephen King and Peter Straub are ' The Talisman' and 'The Black House' the first is about a boy and the second about the boy grown up.They are a little strange but very good. If you are into aliens 'The Dreamcatcher' by Stephen King is good too.
My favorite books have to be the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. They got me hooked on fantasy. Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan is a must, as well as any of the Shannara books by Terry Brooks. Just about anything by Arthur C. Clarke is good. Also, Anne McCaffrey has quite an array of good books worth reading.
I could go on, but there's no point in listing things that have already been said.
I could go on, but there's no point in listing things that have already been said.
burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the
books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books!
books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books! burn the books!
what do i have against books... i could see the movie in 2 hours, instead of spending 20 hours. schools tell us to read books, why books? to make us smarter? can i build a rocket ship after i read huck fin? no!
Well in my house if there is paper around and i am bored...i might make a small and quick bon fire out in the yard, but i do have books i like, like the book A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines if you dont know about the whole civil war thing and the slaves oppresion might not know much about it but it is mainly about what slaves went through during the 1800's a very touching book...hmm.. what else... i still get a kick some times with the R L Stine books...no not just Goosebumps thats not all he wrote..he wrote some really creepy thrillers too...
I'll tell you just what my art teacher tells me. *ahem*
<with a weird accent that I'm not sure what it is but it makes him draw out his vowels sometimes>"Why make art? Aaaaallison, you have these woooonderful things in your brain called dennnnndrites. When you do something that requiiiires concentration, such as reading a booooook or drawing or paaaaainting, your dendrites will grooow. They will help you think aaaand transfer signals to your braaain faster. Doing things like plaaaaying video games and watching teleeevision shorten your dennndrites. If they get toooo short, it has beeeen shown that it can lead to braaain cancer."
Now, I've never asked about seeing any scientific reports that prove this. But personally, I'd believe it. No, you're not going to be able to build a rocket ship after reading Huck Finn, but maybe you'll learn a little something about racism or look at something from a different angle. The arts (by this I mean literature, visual art, theater, music, all those wonderful things) do help you develop both mentally and as a person in general.
As for seeing the movie, I don't think anybody who hasn't read the book should be allowed to see the movie. I mean, they change so many things, and adapt things, cut things out, in the case of Shakespeare they "modernize and simplify" (a crime against all literature, I think...), that in the end it's sometimes barely even like the book at all.
So if you wanna do nothing but watch movies and get brain cancer (maybe... I still dont know if it's scientifically true... ), go for it. I'll be sitting here reading The Sword of Shannara.
<with a weird accent that I'm not sure what it is but it makes him draw out his vowels sometimes>"Why make art? Aaaaallison, you have these woooonderful things in your brain called dennnnndrites. When you do something that requiiiires concentration, such as reading a booooook or drawing or paaaaainting, your dendrites will grooow. They will help you think aaaand transfer signals to your braaain faster. Doing things like plaaaaying video games and watching teleeevision shorten your dennndrites. If they get toooo short, it has beeeen shown that it can lead to braaain cancer."
Now, I've never asked about seeing any scientific reports that prove this. But personally, I'd believe it. No, you're not going to be able to build a rocket ship after reading Huck Finn, but maybe you'll learn a little something about racism or look at something from a different angle. The arts (by this I mean literature, visual art, theater, music, all those wonderful things) do help you develop both mentally and as a person in general.
As for seeing the movie, I don't think anybody who hasn't read the book should be allowed to see the movie.
I mean, they change so many things, and adapt things, cut things out, in the case of Shakespeare they "modernize and simplify" (a crime against all literature, I think...), that in the end it's sometimes barely even like the book at all. So if you wanna do nothing but watch movies and get brain cancer (maybe... I still dont know if it's scientifically true...
), go for it. I'll be sitting here reading The Sword of Shannara. 
As for seeing the movie, I don't think anybody who hasn't read the book should be allowed to see the movie.
Hmm... just curious, but have you read Fight Club? And before seeing the movie?
Hmm... just curious, but have you read Fight Club? And before seeing the movie?
Da Fight Club movie roxs though i have never read the book
I'm halfway through it right now. I would have read it first, but:
a) I didn't know there was a book, and
b) The first time I watched it was at my friend's house. Our options were Fight Club or Clueless. I really hate Clueless.
I would have read it first, but: a) I didn't know there was a book, and
b) The first time I watched it was at my friend's house. Our options were Fight Club or Clueless. I really hate Clueless.
>"Why make art? Aaaaallison, you have these woooonderful things in your brain called dennnnndrites. When you do something that requiiiires concentration, such as reading a booooook or drawing or paaaaainting, your dendrites will grooow. They will help you think aaaand transfer signals to your braaain faster. Doing things like plaaaaying video games and watching teleeevision shorten your dennndrites. If they get toooo short, it has beeeen shown that it can lead to braaain cancer."
Yup, based on whatever scientific and worldly knowledge I have, that sounds mostly like a load of crap to me. I'm not saying reading and stuff isn't good for you, it's just that this guy seems to be putting to much stock into pseudo-science.
Yup, based on whatever scientific and worldly knowledge I have, that sounds mostly like a load of crap to me. I'm not saying reading and stuff isn't good for you, it's just that this guy seems to be putting to much stock into pseudo-science.
It's not *entirely* a load of crap. (They make you pay if you want to read the entire article... *expletive*)
I don't know about the brain cancer part, though.
I don't know about the brain cancer part, though.
Books are good to burn when ur a hobo and ur privates are blue.Otherwise its good to read them u get a lesson of life from most of them
Well, everything in psuedo-science is based in truth, but I stick with my original statement.
Is that burning book thing a reference to Fahrenheit 451? Its Sci-Fi book by Ray Bradbury. If that guy was referring to the book, it would be "inside-joke" spam. (451 degrees fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns)
The Golden Compass? Why have they got different names in different countries, as it's called The Northern Lights over here in merry old England. Mind you, I still find it amusing they changed "Harry Potter and the "Philosophers Stone" to "Sorcerers Stone" for all the yanks without brains : Though it seems to me the ones who can't figure out what a philosopher is are also the ones who can't open a book properly, so its all a bit silly really.
I'd suggest John Wyndham as a good author, but NOT "Day of the Triffids" as though that is widely regarded as his best work, I find that it is surpassed by "The Troublr with Lichen" and "The Kraken Awakes".
I'd suggest John Wyndham as a good author, but NOT "Day of the Triffids" as though that is widely regarded as his best work, I find that it is surpassed by "The Troublr with Lichen" and "The Kraken Awakes".
