That's a bit dark, but to each their own. George R.R. Martin is pretty damn bloody. It's not the Hunger Games, but it is the Game of Thrones. If you're up to reading some tomes and devoting some time to a pretty epic tale, this might be for you. Just be prepared to come to a screeching halt after five books and be ok with waiting a decade or more (if that b*stard doesn't pull a Jordan) for the story to be over. One of my all time favorites is The Lions of al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. He made up a fantasy setting based on medieval Spain with three religious groups clearly modeled on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It's a bloody fascinating novel filled with brilliant characters, epic moments, and a great deal of bloodshed and murder that Kay describes in gory detail. There's also Joe Abercrombie. He writes dark fantasy with very black humor and over the top bloody mayhem.
For myself, I went through a pretty extended dry reading spell (one of the longest I've had in over a decade). I had Water for Elephants as my next book to read for quite a while, but I never thought it would take me over three months to get through Shadow of the Wind. I'm down trying to get it going again, but I feel I have a good 10 deep must read next pile that I need to polish off before I can start reading for a book club.
I picked this back up over the holidays determined to finish it this time. For a history book, its fairly easy reading and comprehensive. I would also say it lacks depth but understandably so given the topic.
Let me correct myself about the murder type books. That is not what I meant, I was just giving a general idea, but it was bad. I like books like the "native son" "crime and punishment" "the hunger games" "the outsiders" "angelas ashes" "the kite runner"(not the series, 2nd one was okay, 3rd one was boring).. I also like reading sports stories that have motivational things in it. I get bored reading books like Harry Potter, The Awakening, Scarlet's Letter, Invisible man. I'm not sure where i"m going with this but yea, i don't know what genres these books are because i'm don't read much, which needs to change. And thank you ScriboErgoSum for your recommendations.
Scribo - Should I have any optimism at all about Lynch releasing The Republic of Thieves this year? I swear this guy is worse than Martin.
Have you read Daemon? It's one of my favorites from a few years ago, and I think many others on here liked it as well. It's a techno-thriller that keeps you locked in from start to finish. It's very entertaining, so I think you'd enjoy it.
You should read Zinn's original (A People's History of the United States) to give a frame of reference to the "wannabe counterpoint" above. My two cents.
Finished this last night -- what did you think? I thought three things: (1) I'm glad I read it; (2) it's not life- or perspective-altering (even though I learned a lot about the East Bay); and (3) dude needs an editor, badly. My favorite recent read was The Beauty and the Sorrow: an amazing account of WWI as told by twenty people who actually experienced it, by using their journals. I haven't learned so much so fast in a long time. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/books/the-beauty-and-the-sorrow-by-peter-englund-review.html?_r=0
I know he turned in a full manuscript in 2012, but he didn't get the edits completed in time for a late year release. I have no idea where they stand at this point. I probably have some cautious optimism that it'll be out this year, but seeing it slip to 2014 or later would not surprise me at all. I'll give Lynch a pass though. His mother died a few years back, and he went into a pretty dark depression, splitting up with his wife along the way. He wound up going into a lot of therapy and medication and seems like he's building himself back up into a healthy person. It's not like he's screwing around playing videogames, watching TV, and going to every fan convention he can.
Still reading it. All Chabon books I've read take a lot of effort to get into them, but by about page 75 or so, I'm typically relatively hooked. He doesn't ever do a good job of introducing the characters at a good pace.
Reading Isaac Asimov. Just finished "The End of Eternity", it is brilliant. Reading the Foundation right now.
Currently on A Dance With Dragons (been on it for a while but I had to take a brake) Next two in line are Wards of Fairy (Terry Brooks) & The Hun Games (Suzan Collins)
