Recommend Some Literature

[dtwpuck]

(02-09-2010 01:10 PM)BnW Wrote:  I'm not a huge Stephen King fan because I think the man writes horrible endings, but I enjoy most of his books -- until the end. The Stand was a great book but the ending just ruined it for me. I felt the same way about his other books I've read. Great story teller but can't get out of it.

Agreed. His endings make my eyes bleed. He is the Celine Dion of authors.

[Stark Raving]

"He is the Celine Dion of authors".....

Bwaaahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

Man, you have an AWESOME way of putting things! I think I just peed a little!!!

[Soldieringon]

(03-09-2010 06:33 PM)Stark Raving Wrote:  "He is the Celine Dion of authors".....

Bwaaahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

Man, you have an AWESOME way of putting things! I think I just peed a little!!!

Fair enough. I'll agree he's a little...overdone on the endings, but so many are. And as long as you go into it expecting it, he's a good read.

I just like his books. Of course, there's the Stephen King Book Club, and they send you the newest book before it hits stores (for a fee, of course), but I am not SUCH a fan that I had to join.

I liked the Dark Tower series, but the ending did suck. Made sense, but it was a disappointment

the same thing with the "Song of Albion" trilogy by Lawhead. Good stories, shitty endings.

[Stark Raving]

....don't get me wrong. I've read most of his books. (Obviously so did dtwpuck or else he wouldn't know how bad the endings can be) One of Kings newest books, Under the Dome, describes what Soldieringon is saying perfectly. I liked pretty much the whole book. End sucked (though not as bad as some) but the book was good enough that it was worth it.

[MGottwald]

Non Fiction:

The Prince - Niccolò Machiavelli
The Federalist Papers - Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay

Fiction:

The Mysterious Stranger - Mark Twain
The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg - Mark Twain
The Foundation Series - Isaac Asimov
The Robot Novels - Isaac Asimov

Hamlet - Shakespeare

[Dregs]

I guess I've just grown so used to King's endings that I don't mind them at all. In fact I actually really liked the end of the Tower series. Mainly because I really couldn't think of any ending I would have been satisfied with so why not that one! It is a fact though that the stories are so good you tend to simply forget the ending, good or bad.

[Juppers]

(03-09-2010 09:47 PM)MGottwald Wrote:  The Mysterious Stranger - Mark Twain

That was one of the first books I read that planted the seed of doubt in my mind. I still remember the feeling I had after completing it.

[Unbeliever]

(03-09-2010 09:47 PM)MGottwald Wrote:  The Foundation Series - Isaac Asimov
The Robot Novels - Isaac Asimov

Meh.

Asimov always struck me as... strange. He had interesting ideas, certainly, but the execution was lacking. He couldn't make his characters come to life. I remember... at one point in the Foundation novels, the world was literally ending. People were dying. Stuff was exploding. And I just. Didn't. Care.

There are two exceptions to this rule for me, though, and they are big exceptions. One is his short story "The Last Question". That was brilliant. The other is any explanation of science. No one is better at laying out complex theories in simple terms that anyone can understand.

[Dregs]

Contact by Carl Sagan is a wonderful book! The movie is also quite good, but of course the book is better.

Some books I have sadly not mentioned yet are those by the brilliant Richard Feynman!!

Surely You Must Be Joking Mr. Feynman!, and What Do You care What Other People Think!

Anything the man touched is gold though! I even recommend listening to his Physics lectures! His Bio is awesome too.

Lastly I'll say I loved the Jurrasic Park books. The movies suck ass, but the books are very good!

[Green]

(31-08-2010 09:54 AM)Unbeliever Wrote:  - Dune (but nothing else) by Frank Herbert

I counter that by suggesting you read Hellstrom's Hive by Herbert. It's a great book, I studied it last year for my Science Fiction course. It's about a scientist who messes with human and insect DNA to create the perfect being, he thinks it's a great idea but of course it raises plenty of ethical and moral questions. A good read, I think. Granted, Dune is probably superior (I haven't had time to read due to their extraordinary length and my already piled up readings for school) but I did enjoy Hellstrom's Hive.