I am wondering about the kind of books you like to read, so i post a poll on this thread. Forgive me if i forget any style.
Under other, I mean historical fiction (not necessarily romance). Mainly sci-fi and fantasy, though. P.S. You got me with all the little boxes. I like checking little boxes. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
ehehe Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I like Sci books, fantasy, science(astronomy), religion and spirituality (buddhism) and sexuality Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I ticked other. A lot of the books I read are just books about people, they don't readily fall into any of those categories. Some books I've read recently that I've really enjoyed, just to give you an idea: Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time Khaled Mosseini - the Kite Runner Graham Greene - the Heart of the Matter Tim Winton - Cloud Street M. J. Hyland - How the Light Gets In I don't think any of those really fall into the categories you described, they are more - and this is kind of hard to explain - just books about /things/ that /happen/... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I also ticked Science Fiction, because I just read 'Sphere' by Michael Crichton and thought it was pretty good Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
i like sci-fi as well, mostly because it not only describes what could (have) happened, but why it did/will as well.
mmmyesss. sci-fi. Wonderful stuff. Although I like the term "speculative fiction" because it covers a wider range IMO than science fiction implies. I also rather enjoy horror/terror; Brian Lumley is one of the objects of my collection though the lion's share of my books are anthologies. Anthologies in the topics of sci-fi, horror and fantasy to be specific. Other than these genres of fiction I enjoy historical fiction, history and general science; i.e. biology, psychology, sociology, genetics and hereditary science as well. Jez call me a bibliophile. Greetings and salutations to all btw, this being my first post. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
not-very-boring-books? those are all my favorites! historical fiction rocks. and real science fiction. science in general. adventure. sometimes childrens books are better than anything. Greetings and salutations, Drake, this is my 90-something-th.
Easier to ask me what kind of book I don't read. I've usually got about six or seven going on at once. I like the out-of-print leather-bound early 19th century books, regardless of topic. Talk about a whole different world! I've got biographies, history books, sci-fi, fiction of all sorts, and a friend just gave me a small library of true crime books, including one on child abuse (the A.J. Schwarz case). I've got light fiction, horror, romance, trivia, bathroom readers, and my pick-up usually has a book or two sitting on the seat so I have something to read while it warms up in the morning. Currently in circulation are "The Life and Character of Stephen Decatur", "Life of George Washington", the Darksword trilogy, "Dark Eagle", "Pirate Coast", and if my cat doesn't get off curtains right now, I'm going to research a book on just how many ways are to skin a cat! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I agree about the children's books. I just finished "The Little Prince".
I mostly read sci fi and fantasy. I guess that includes Harry Potter too. I didn't think to check "normal" since you had so many other categories. The sci-fi/fantasy community calls that "mainstream." I should have because I like historical fiction like Michener and Jean Auel. And the occasional mystery. I didn't check "horror" but I read about two Dean Koontz books a year. I guess that's about one third of his output.
I thought it might be interesting to list what is on my bedside table: these are what I am presently reading. Before The Flood Ian Wilson Dramatic new evidence the Biblical Flood was a real-life event The Ancestor's Tale Richard Dawkins A Pilgimage to the Dawn of Life The Dinosaur Hunters Deborah Cadbury A story of scientific rivalry and the discovery of the prehistoric world Lorna Doone R.D.Blackmore In The Kingdom of Gorillas Bill Webber and Amy Vedder The Quest to save Rwanda's mountain gorillas RedemptionArk Alastair Reynolds Science fiction novel The Tesseract Alex Garland Complex novel by the author of The Beach Man of Everest Tenzing Norgay/James Ullman Autobiography of Tenzing Black, White & Gold Kelly Holmes Autobiography of double gold Olympic medallist Venus II Bougher et al Geology, geophysics, atmosphere and solar wind environment Mars: The Living Planet Digregorio et al Examination of evidence for life on Mars Chasing the Molecule John Buckingham The development of the understanding of molecular structure The Whig Supremacy 1714-1760 Basil Williams Vol 11 of The Oxford History of England The Age of Reform 1815-1870 Sir Llewellyn Woodard Vol 13 of The Oxford History of England National Geographic Encylopedia of SpaceOrigins Ron Redfern The evolution of continents, ocean and life
Has anybody here ever read a book multiple times just for pure enjoyment? My Harry Potter series is getting a little dog-eared, as is my Darwin Awards series and "History Laid Bare" by Richard Zacks and "After the Funeral: the Posthumous Adventures of Famous Corpses" by Edwin Murphy.
I've read many books a few times. Sometimes it's because I don't have anything else to read, sometimes because I just really enjoyed them. I've read the 'His Dark Materials' (or whatever it's called: Northern lights, Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass) series a few times, 'The Heart of the Matter' (Graham Greene) recently earnt a reread and no doubt I've read some of the Harry Potters more than once - just to name a few.
Oxygen: I'm impressed, that's a lot of reading. How do you guys feel about having more than one book going at the same time? I generally avoid it, but I'm not so sure it would really bother me. Any particular reason why you do this? One gets slow so you pick up something else and come back to it? Ever lose interest in books because you put them down for too long? I'm reading a book of short stories by Somerset Maugham right now, and I'm breaking that up with some Sonya Hartnett (read 'Thursday's Child' everyone, it's fantastic) and whatnot, but I don't think that counts as more than one book at the same time.
For me all these books are like a buffet line. I take a good variety and read a bit in whatever book suits my mood. I have books for whimsy, books for inspiration, books for satisfying my intellectual beast, and my history books, which I also call my time-travel machines. I prefer historical biographies from before the Victorian age. The Victorians really whitewashed a lot of it. My personal favorite historical figure, Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr., got so whitewashed that they turned him into an uber-boy scout. Pre-Victorian records paint a more believable picture of him (although no less epic). My 1840 George Washington paints a very human picture of an American legend. I'd love to see something pre-Victorian on Lord Nelson, because even he got whitewashed, I'm afraid. I have no problem keeping track of where I am in mulitple books. The only times I ever stop reading a book before finishing is if the plot doesn't hold my attention. Sometimes, I'll start reading a book only to find out that it's part of a series. Normally, I don't mind a series if the story merits it. Unfortunately I've found some that were forced to stretch into a series that didn't merit it.
