What other books are you reading?

[Amanisilion]

I just got done reading The Lord of the Rings for the second time. Boy, does it get better and better!

Anyhow, one of my friends referred me to some Brian Jordan novels (The Wheel of Time). I'm thinking about giving those a shot.

Are there any other good fantasy novels out there? Please chime in. Thanks!

[Sindalómiel]

Originally posted by Amanisilion:
<STRONG>I just got done reading The Lord of the Rings for the second time. Boy, does it get better and better!

Anyhow, one of my friends referred me to some Brian Jordan novels (The Wheel of Time). I'm thinking about giving those a shot.

Are there any other good fantasy novels out there? Please chime in. Thanks!</STRONG>

Wheel of Time guy is Robert Jordan, not Brian. Just a hint in case you can't find a Brian Jordan. smilies/smile.gif
And they are very good books too.

[Rosa Underhill]

Now you've done it... smilies/biggrin.gif

Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (start with "The Book of Three")

Anything by Brian Jaques (Redwall)

"Ratha's Creature" by Clare Bell (and after that, try finding "Clan Ground", "Ratha and Thistle-Chaser" and "Ratha's Challenge")

The unicorn books by Merideth Ann Peirce ("Birth of the Firebringer", ack I can't remember the middle one! and "The Son of Summer Stars")

The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (start with "Dragon Wing" there)

"Powers That Be" by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis...

Heh, that oughta' keep you busy... Hope some of these interest you! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Perethil]

read the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
they are comedy/fantasy...
there is an extremely large amount of imagination while at the same time the books are hilarious

[Maltagaerion]

You really wanna know what book I am currently in the middle of? Well ok, but I warn you, you might find it a little boring...

"To Fly and Fight: Memoirs of a Triple Ace"

Basically the autobiography of WW 2 P-51 pilot Clarence 'Bud' Anderson.

(Yes, I do read books other than sci-fi/fantasy, its good to be diverse smilies/smile.gif)

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

You've opened the can of worms that is my bibliography of further reading.

At the moment I'm on some standard stuff for this site: The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays, the author and editor of which need no introduction, and there's a copy (translation I blush to admit) of Beowulf awaiting my attention in conjunction with the essays on the subject.

Most recently I've been through, inter alia, Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud; Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell (historical drama set in the Hundred Years' War and culminating in the battle of Crecy); The White Rabbit: the man the Gestapo couldn't crack (the biography of an RAF officer turned secret agent); Mansfield Park by Jane Austen; Hero in the Shadows by David Gemmell and Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett. Also I recommend The Greek Myths, I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves, and Covenant with Death by John Harris.

I'd continue, but you're already asleep. One of the banes of my existence is a wide range of interests and another is a paucity of time.

[Rosa Underhill]

Right now I'm reading "Lord of the Rings" (agian), "The Silmarillion", "Tolkien: A Biograph" by Humphry Carpenter, "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Phillip Yancy and "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. And I just got "The Hobbit Companion" today, so I might start into that as well. (Yes, I'm reading these all at the same time. It's more enjoyable that way, like being at a big party with lots of food and having a bit of everything on your plate so you can eat whatever you feel like eating.) Heh, books are to me as food is to hobbits! smilies/biggrin.gif I'm the Hobbit of bookworms! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Lily Tussle]

I could write pages on good fanatasy novels!!

The Belagriad Series, Mallorean Series, Elenium Series, and Tamuli Series by David Eddings
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles and the Lyra Books by Patricia C. Wrede (or anything else she's written)
The Song of the Lioness Quartet, the Immortals Series, the Protector of the Small Quartet, and the Circle of Magic Series by Tamora Pierce
Avi
Madeleine L'Engle
C.S Lewis
Brian Jacques
Lloyd Alexander
Robert E. Feist
Robin McKinley
Diana Wynne Jones
Mercedes Lackey (the Valdemar Books are the best)
The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea

I could go on and on, but that should last for a LONG time! smilies/biggrin.gif

[KayQy]

Patricia C. Wrede, Mercedes Lackey, and Anne McCaffrey are all good. So's Michael Chrichton. I also recommend Rosemary Edghill, especially The Sword of Maiden's Tears and its sequels. Simon Hawke is good for some comic sci-fi-fant. And Laurie R. King has a Sherlock Holmes series that's even better than the original.

Most recently finished Great Expectations by Dickens, The Once and Future King by T. H. White, and G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories. Am currently in the middle of the Silm., La carta esférica by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Don Quixote, Shakespeare's Language, and I pick up a Sluggy Freelance every so often.
One of the banes of my existence is a wide range of interests and another is a paucity of time.
Squatter, you are far from alone. After all, this is only what I read! Let's not even get started on everything else I try my hand at...

[Amanisilion]

Thanks for all your recomendations. Those books should last me a life time. =)

I've seen "Tolkien, Man and Myth," by Joseph Pearce lying around bookstore shelves. Looks very interesting indeed! Has anyone read that? It would be great to get some incite.

[Sindalómiel]

Originally posted by Rosa Underhill:
<STRONG>(Yes, I'm reading these all at the same time. It's more enjoyable that way, like being at a big party with lots of food and having a bit of everything on your plate so you can eat whatever you feel like eating.) Heh, books are to me as food is to hobbits! smilies/biggrin.gif I'm the Hobbit of bookworms! smilies/biggrin.gif</STRONG>

Someone else who does this! Every I know thinks I'm mad because I tend to read about 6 books at a time. At the moment I'm only reading 3, shall have to start some more soon.

[Rosa Underhill]

Someone else who does this! Every I know thinks I'm mad because I tend to read about 6 books at a time. At the moment I'm only reading 3, shall have to start some more soon.



We should start a book club... "For those who regularly read more than three books simultaniously..." And that doesn't count my college textbooks, (heh, um, I kinda don't read those...at all if I can help it. smilies/biggrin.gif Bad Rosa! 'Tis no way to earn an English degree! But 'tis the most enjoyable way... smilies/biggrin.gif )

[Birdland]

While re-reading LoTR, I'm also reading Nickel and Dimed: On (Not)Getting By in America. When the struggles of the working class get me sufficiently P.O.'d I flee back to Middle Earth.

On the coffee table, waiting:

King Jesus - Robert Graves
When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Life of Animals - Jeffrey M. Masson
Tis - Frank McCourt
The Practical Princess and other Liberating Fairy Tales - Jay Williams

Also something called The Silence in Heaven, by Peter Lord-Wolff, which appears to be about the adventures of banished angels here on earth. If anyone's read that and wants to give me a quick review, feel free.

Man, where's Evelyn Wood when you need her??

[ February 08, 2002: Message edited by: Birdland ]

[the Lorien wanderer]

I just finished Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin and found it quite enjoyable. Terry Pratchett too is excellent, amazingly witty and full of unexpected bits of wisdom.

Robert Jordan can be a bit of a drag at times though.

[Birdland]

Originally posted by the Lorien wanderer:
<STRONG>I just finished Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin and found it quite enjoyable. </STRONG>
Ooooh, I also have The Other Wind, "the fifth Earthsea novel", waiting in the wings. Can't wait to read that.

(Must stay away from bookstores...must catch up...)

[Mister Underhill]

I'm in the midst of The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell -- most interesting stuff, but on the dense and dry side -- which I'm reading along with Robert Louis Stevenson's The Master of Ballantrae. I have several books jostling for the next slot, including Le Morte D'Arthur, Sir Richard Burton's translation of The 1001 Arabian Nights, a couple of Barbara Tuchman books, and Bradbury's Farenheit 451, which more or less jumped off the shelf this morning and begged to be reread.

[Rosa Underhill]

Farenheit 451?! I read that book in seventh grade and it scared me no end. A world without books...*curls into fetal position and rocks back and forth*

I highly recommend Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Excellent book and terribly sad since the society described in the book occures in varying degrees throughout the world... Stupid Taliban...

[Joy]

Originally posted by Birdland:
Also something called The Silence in Heaven, by Peter Lord-Wolff, which appears to be about the adventures of banished angels here on earth. If anyone's read that and wants to give me a quick review, feel free.

I have not read this series, but I have read the AngelWalk Trilogy by Roger Elwood. Very good. Also, I like Frank Peretti. Anything by Randy Alcorn is very good. One of his books, Edge of Eternity, is a good mixture of CS Lewis's ShadowLands and John Bunyan's Pilgram's Progess.

[Starbreeze]

Originally posted by Rosa Underhill:
<STRONG>
The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (start with "Dragon Wing" there)

</STRONG>

I read Dragon Wing but I can't find any of the others, what are the names of the rest of the series and do you know anywhere/one who still sells them?

Apart from that: 10th Kingdom by Kathryn Wesley

any book by David Gemmell

Dalamar The Dark by Nancy Berberick (i think thats how you spell it).

They're good books to read if you like J. R. R. Tolkein.

[Bombadil]

I'm in the middle of Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch's first volume about the Civil Rights struggle in the Southern U.S. from 1954-63. It centers on MLK, but it also touches on many other lives. I grew up in the South (Mississippi to be precise -- any other Gulfport folks out there?), and though I don't live there anymore, I find the book absolutely fascinating. The sequel -- Pillar of Fire -- is next on my list.

[Rosa Underhill]

You must read the "Death Gate Cycle" in this order, or it will make absolutely no sense whatsoever:

Dragon Wing
Elven Star
Fire Sea
Serpent Mage
The Hand of Chaos
Into the Labyrinth
The Seventh Gate

You should be able to find them at most well-stocked libraries. If they aren't there, I've seen the pocket paper backs at most book stores in the sci-fi/fantasy section. Good luck and happy reading! (Haplo's dog is cool, isn't he?) smilies/smile.gif

[silme-ranaa]

Daggerspell and it's sequel by Katherine Kerr.

[Daisy Sandybanks]

Okay, I know that her novels aren't really fantasy, but I am completely shocked as to why I havent seen anyone mention Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles yet in this forum?
Maybe Iv justed missed someone mentioning it, but if I haven't does anyone else like her novels? Because I absolutly LOVE them!!
I am on The Queen of the Damned (yes... i know.. its comming out in theaters soon, but I wanted to read the book first) and boy is it good!
So for all of you who have never read anything by Anne Rice, read her Vampire Chronicles!! They're SO good!!

[the Lorien wanderer]

Birdland- I'm dying to read that one too. Do let me know how it is.

[Starbreeze]

Originally posted by Rosa Underhill:
<STRONG>
You should be able to find them at most well-stocked libraries. If they aren't there, I've seen the pocket paper backs at most book stores in the sci-fi/fantasy section. Good luck and happy reading! (Haplo's dog is cool, isn't he?) smilies/smile.gif</STRONG>

Yes Haplo's dog made me laugh. Thanks for that info.

[weirdhairdoo]

Robert Jordan's "the wheel of time" books are definatly great for the heart sick tolkien book reader after he or she finishes the lord of the rings and wants to read more more more more more. READ THEM THEY ARE GREAT AND PLENTIFUL.

Eol the elf that was simply misunderstood.

[Enedhil]

Am taking a break from reading...LoTR somewhat exhausted me smilies/eek.gif currently taking a casual stroll through the Appendices though. Then plan on reading the Hobbit then the Silmarillion. Ooh - then I might hunt for the Chronicles of Narnia smilies/biggrin.gif my first encounter with fantasy when I was only knee-high to a hobbit smilies/tongue.gif <skips off happily with happy-kiddy-memories> <wonders what happened to Old Plastic Yellow Sword...>

[Rosa Underhill]

Heh, hey Starbreeze, want a sausage? smilies/biggrin.gif

Okay, y'know that big ol' list of books I said I was reading, well, let's add some more to it! "The Oath" and "The Visitation" by Frank Peretti, and I just bought "Unfinished Tales" and "The Hobbit" at Wal-mart (if I suddenly stop posting here, you'll all know why: because I didn't have enough to by food after all this book buying and subsequently starved to death). smilies/biggrin.gif

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

I'm reading...Robert Louis Stevenson's The Master of Ballantrae.

Excellent choice. I picked that up in a charity shop a couple of years ago. Very Scottish smilies/smile.gif

Speaking of that, soon I shall have to start on the salvages from my last visit to the British Heart Foundation: Under Milk Wood, Last of the Mohicans and Le Carre's The Naive and Sentimental Lover; which promises much upliftingly world-weary cynicism if I know the author.

[Starbreeze]

Originally posted by Rosa Underhill:
<STRONG>Heh, hey Starbreeze, want a sausage? smilies/biggrin.gif

</STRONG>

Excuse my ignorance - but what does that mean?

[Rosa Underhill]

Oh, sorry. Haplo's dog had a fixation for sausage throughout much of the series. He even inadvertently helps an assassin find Haplo's ship because he wants the man to get him a sausage from the hold. (I think that bit's in "The Hand of Chaos".) Heh, I'd forgotten that you hadn't read the whole series yet.

[Fingolas]

The "Ender" series by Orson Scott Card is very good.

1 Enders Game
2 Speaker for the Dead
3 Enders Shadow
4 New one just out. Don't remember title. smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Starbreeze]

Originally posted by Rosa Underhill:
<STRONG>Oh, sorry. Haplo's dog had a fixation for sausage throughout much of the series. He even inadvertently helps an assassin find Haplo's ship because he wants the man to get him a sausage from the hold. (I think that bit's in "The Hand of Chaos".) Heh, I'd forgotten that you hadn't read the whole series yet.</STRONG>


Ok

[Arvedui]

Other than J.R.R. Tolkien, I have mostly read Frank Herbert's Dune, and I have the first three of Glen Cook's The Black Company series.

[al'Thingolfin]

I finished book 10 in the Wheel of Time series a couple a days ago. Although it's not amongst the best book in the WoT series it's still one of the best fantasy book I've read.

Right now im reading Sword of Truth 4: Temple of the Winds, I strongly recommended it.

[HCIsland]

I tend to drift to more science fiction, so you'll have to forgive me.

I think one of my favourite trilogies of all time will always be the Frank Herbert-Bill Ransom Jesus Incident books: The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect and The Ascension Factor. I just love the rich world and real characters.

The first author I ever really got into was Isaac Asimov, so those books will always be dear to me, especially the robot novels and especially Caves of Steel which I've always felt would make an awesome movie, but I'm still waiting.

Probably my favourite novel of all time though would be Clive Barker's mammoth Imagica, which I'm planning another reread of this summer.

H.C.

[peonydeepdelver]

I am currently reading Amazing Gracie by Dan Dye. It's actually a true story about his dog, who is an (almost) albino, oartially blind deaf Great Dane. It's actually a very good book, and I recommend it to all you animal lovers out there.

[QuickSlash]

Also a sci-fi fan, and I'm currently reading the Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. Good book.

My absolute favorite book is Dune by Frank Herbert. Also, The White Plague by the same author is one of the greatest books I've ever read.

I also enjoyed the Redwall series, though I've fallen out of touch with it.

Oh, and I personally enjoyed All Quiet on the Western Front. Just had a lot of true things in it.

Good luck with it all. ~_^

[Lady_Galadriel]

As of now I am working on re reading ROTK and a book called Death shock. I can't really remember the author right now...
Also I must say I am guilty of reading Harry potter. I got the new book and am reading it. Is anyone else?
I am also reading the Chronicles of Prydain.

Also for anyone who wants something to read might I sugest Uncle Johns Bathroom Readers. They are packed with awsome facts and unusual tidbits of information. And you don't have to read them in the bathroom.

[Iarwain]

I had plans to read Fredrich August Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom", but then I discovered that it isn't as popular as I had anticipated and that the only copy was missing from the local library. If I overcome my current bout with sloth, perhaps I'll make my way downtown to the Harold Washington Lib... For now, I'm watching my DVD edition of "Commanding Heights: the Battle for the World Economy", along with "Signs", "Orange County" and "A Beautiful Mind". Later on this summer, I have plans to read Oxford's history of Britain, as well as Beowulf and the last two parts of Hugo's Les Miserables. The mere thought of it makes me tired. I wish I had a good book right now...

Iarwain

[Lindril Arvilya]

My birthday having only just passed, I'm in the middle of both The Salmon of Doubt and Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams.

I'm only reading the two right now because I was exhausted after rereading A Tale of Two Cities, Fifth Business, Death of a Salesman, and The Great Gatsby in one week for my final exam in English.

[arianrod]

To whoever suggested Terry Pratchett: I love you. Pratchett is an insane man... good, but insane.

Also I must say I am guilty of reading Harry potter. I got the new book and am reading it. Is anyone else?

*raises hand shyly* Here. I'm trying to get through it quickly and I'm already on page 500. I've been reading it since about 7:30 Saturday morning. It's a odd thing though; it's the first HP book I've read since I was introduced to LotR. Funny, somehow it's not as captivating as it was 2 years ago...

The reason I'm reading in such a rush is that I'm supposed to be reading A Tale of Two Cities and two other unimportant books, along with my fleeting attempt to finish the Unfinished Tales. Heh heh... that's ironic...

[Lyta_Underhill]

Happy days to all of you out there who are currently reading several books at once! I do this sometimes, but not always. And I too, am guilty before the fact of reading Harry Potter. I've ordered book 5 and will definitely read it in short order. Other recent reads: Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban (read it twice and enjoyed it so much, I purchased Pilgermann, also by Hoban, but have not started it yet.

Just finished Silmarillion, will probably read it again; reading Unfinished Tales, always reading Tolkien's Letters, constantly re-reading Lord of the Rings...

I noticed a couple of people who were Dune fans: I read those in the 80's and thoroughly enjoyed them, but slowly became disenchanted after the followups to God-Emperor of Dune and have not picked up the more recent Brian Herbert efforts. I've got one of them, but it is packed in the "going to read it someday" box (there are about 20 of those stored around here). I think Asimov was the first sci-fi beyond Star Trek novelizations I got into: Foundation captured my imagination thoroughly!

Other recent reads: A whole bunch of Toby Peters mysteries set in 1940's Hollywood, with Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn and Howard Hughes, etc. as players in the stories. Great chewing gum and real hard boiled!

I'm sure I'm forgetting things, but that's how it is when you pour lots of fuel on a burned out brain! Bye for now!

Cheers,
Lyta

[Idunn]

Other good fantasy books which come to my mind are:
Dune
Dragon Lance Chronicles
Xanth series

If you ever get them, enjoyment is guaranteed!

[OddEvenstar]

I'm still goin on my second run thru the LotR...but on the side I'm reading The Legend of Luke by Brian Jacques. The Redwall series, after all, was my first obsession...before I met the wonders of Tolkien. Ah...the wonders of Tolkien

[Rumil]

Aha, Squatter of Amon Rudh, another I Claudius fan, exellent. I've just read Count Belisarius (could never find it in a library so finally had to buy it!) I can most definitely recomend it.

Lindril, loved the Salmon of Doubt, what do think about the Adams biography?

Much power to the Pratchett lovers (Does Glingleglinglefairy still post?).

Must confess (hangs head in shame) to buying Harry Potter 5 at midnight and finishing it at 8am, I know, I need help.

[Eruanna]

I too purchased Harry Potter 5 on Saturday. I'm about half way through....I don't seem to have the enthusiasm for it this time round...it is a big book, but quite repetitive.
I read "The Wee Free Men" by Terry Pratchett last week. Like "Maurice and His Educated Rodents" it is aimed at the "Harry Potter" market, I found it to be charming, funny and thoroughly engaging. I really like the sly sense of humour that comes through.
Still on with Tolkien of course, I am re-reading the Unfinished Tales.

[Lady_Galadriel]

Guess what! Today my world geo. teacher announced that we would be studding Britain this week!!! Yipee!! I actually got him going on the history and present times of Oxford and London!!! Maybe with some luck we can talk more about Oxford University tomarrow!!!! Cool hu?! we even get to read books on England and stuff!!! It's the first time I have been able to stay awake in that class!! smilies/tongue.gif

[Lady_Galadriel]

OOh!! I love the Dragonlance Chronicles!!! An old english teacher reccomended them to me after she notaiced I was a Tolkien fan.. smilies/rolleyes.gif
I too have unfortunatly just finished the book a tale of two cities for my english final... I can truly stand up and admit I WOULD RATHER READ TOLKIEN THAN DICKENS ANY DAY!!! too bad my new english teacher is not a Tolkien fan... smilies/frown.gif smilies/frown.gif *ponders how to convert her smilies/rolleyes.gif *

[Iarwain]

Lucky Galad. smilies/smile.gif

I suppose we're all Brits at heart.

Iarwain

[Yavanna228]

Hm...other books...It's definitely going to be hard to fit all these in this summer, but hopefully I can do it! smilies/smile.gif
The Poem of the Cid
The Odyssey
The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
and the odd bit of Irish mythology/history.
I have a feeling that for World Lit next year I'll be reading alot more, so I'll update you all then. smilies/smile.gif
Peace

[Orual]

I'm reading a bit less fantasy than the rest of you, and it's slightly fluffier...

-The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
Much better than the title implies...

-The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (Rebecca Wells)
A little depressing, but nonetheless a very good book.

-The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (Ann Brashares)
Sequel to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; not quite as good, but if you liked the first one, read this one.

-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)
The first book I've read in a while that didn't have a girl as the lead...

-Abhorsen (Garth Nix)
Sequel to Sabriel and Lirael...I just started it tonight, so I have no comments yet.

Orual~*

[greyhavener]

I just finished Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross. Very challenging. I think I'll try something lighter next. I'm thinking about Churchill's history of WWII next.

[Lindolirian]

The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill. An amazing book. Not incredibly well written, but the story is great, especially because it's true!

[Iarwain]

Hm. Lots of Sisterhoods, Oural. smilies/smile.gif

In my fit of laziness, I've decided to purchase my favorite film of all time. Gandhi. The thought of that has inspired me to read Tolstoy's writings on Civil Disobedience and Nonviolence, a book I know I will never finish for two reasons. A. I lack a real passion for Civil-Disobedience and cannot stand street protesters of the modern brand, and B. I've never been able to get past the first pages of a Tolstoy book, even though I've read several of his short stories...

Iarwain

[MLD-Grounds-Keeper-Willie]

Tis - Frank McCourt


Birdland- I've been meaning to read that, but first I have to buy it. I recently reread Angela's Ashes after watching the movie for the first time. They really captured the mood and atmosphere, and you really get to see (and hear) it very close to what it was. And the commentary on the dvd is great.

Right now I'm reading Bram Stoker's Dracula and I am loving it. Also, I'm going through some of my old Calvin and Hobbes comic books, particulary The Tenth Anniversary one.

[greyhavener]

Lady_Galadriel, I'm with you. I think reading Dickens is not an assignment it's a sentence. Fortunately the English teacher at our school who assigns Oliver Twisted also assigns The Hobbit and Edith Hamilton's Mythology to atone for Dickens.

[Yavanna228]

Just a humble opinion...Dickens isn't all that bad. Just cumbersome whenever you want to be reading about Beren and Luthien or the like. smilies/smile.gif
Peace

[Idunn]

Maybe you didn't get a right Dickens book. I highly recommend 'A Christmas Carol' and 'The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club' (extremely hilarious).

I don't want to be impolite, but why do you discuss Dickens prose? He doesn't seem to have much to do with fantasy, does he?

[Tinuviel of Denton]

I love Dickens. But anyway...

I shall definately read some of these fantasy books that I haven't gotten to yet.

My current reading:

Sword of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

Several books by Mercedes Lackey (I'm in love with Vanyel)

World without End by Sean Russell (Very interesting, I haven't finished yet)

The Farseer Trilogy (can't remember author.) (good books, but so depressing. Makes me want to cry.)

[Lily]

The book I was reading for awhile was the book my cousin wrote it's called "Do Dandelions Grow on the Moon?". It's a novel about this "princess" who wants to go on a adventure and does. It's really an exciting book! I've learned that well....my cousin writes good! I'm also starting the Dragon Lance books but I haven't got real far in it so when I'm done I'll come back and tell you all about it! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Lady_Galadriel]

Fortunately the English teacher at our school who assigns Oliver Twisted also assigns The Hobbit and Edith Hamilton's Mythology to atone for Dickens.

Yes, I found out today that one of the other english teachers does require the Hobbit to be read... I hope I have her for english next term!!

Dracula rocked!!! I loved that!

My english teacher also required us to read The Odessey. That was the one book we had to read, that I actually liked! I would recommend it to anyone who likes reading about mythology and the like.

[barandilwen]

i not reading any new book right now... but im re-reading sir gawain and the green knight.... by sir Tolkein
it's really great!!! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Liriodendron]

Though I'm usually too busy for fiction...an internet friend wrote a wonderful book called "The Ring of Dark Elves"...Victoria Randall. I've really enjoyed it! It's based on Norse legend, the story of Sigurd Dragonslayer (and Odin and Brynhild, and a whole bunch of other good stuff!) smilies/smile.gif Vicky fleshes it out wonderfully, and it's an easy yet very absorbing read! The author says.."I have tried to make the tale somewhat more accessible for modern readers who are unfamiliar with the opera." (Richard Wagner's..."The Ring of the Nibelung" ) Check it out! smilies/smile.gif

[Rosolas]

I have just finished reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix".

Why do people feel guilty about reading Harry Potter? I don't!

My all time favourite book is "A Tale of Two Cities" by Dickens, but I am at a loss of which book to read next.

I have this habit of buying books and never getting around to reading them! If I started reading all the books that I have bought and not read, I would probably be reading for a couple of years!

[Tinuviel of Denton]

Rosolas, a suggestion.

Try "Great Expectations" if you haven't already. Long, but still good.

And about feeling guilty about HP. I don't. (I don't read HP either, but I will spare you my rant on the subject.)

Some books I forgot to mention.

The Chronicles of the Cheysuli. Very interesting read. Eight book series that centers on a shapeshifting race and their attempts to fulfill a prophecy.

The novels of Tiger and Del: Sword-Dancer, Sword-Singer, Sword-Maker, Sword-Breaker, Sword-Born, Sword-Sworn. (Those are the six books in order.) They follow the adventures of two people who use their sword-skills to settle disputes. Fun.

Both of the above series are by Jennifer Roberson.

The Exiles (Trilogy? Series?) by Melanie Rawn. Very good read, nice looong books.

The Stone and the Flute. Hans Bemman. A truly intriguing tale of a man named Listener (even though that's the last thing he ever does) and how he learns a lot of life lessons from a stone that is called the eye-stone and a magic silver flute.

I will probably be back with more.

[ July 09, 2003: Message edited by: Tinuviel of Denton ]

[arianrod]

Why do people feel guilty about reading Harry Potter? I don't!

I think since the HP movies started coming out at the same time as the FotR release, some people thought that the two would be competing for fantasy fans. I don't think this has happened. It really shouldn't seem like a competition, but I suppose sometimes it can feel as though some enjoy comparing one to the other, which really shouldn't be done at all. They're two separate fantasy books and should be able to be enjoyed as such. But, because of all this 'competing' at the box offices and book sales, it can be easy for Tolkien fans to feel as though they'd be seen as traitors if they had a HP book in hand or were standing in line to see one of its movies. I finally finished Order of the Pheonix after 3 days of reading it.

Try "Great Expectations" if you haven't already. Long, but still good.

Sorry, Tinuviel, but I got far less out of the book when I finished it. I had to read it for English class and hated every minute of it. Just wasn't my thing I guess, or maybe I just didn't like the thought of having to read it. I may go back some day when I have the time and take a second glance at it, just to see if I like it better without fear of failing an exam on the plot and characters.

Has anyone read the "Left Behind" series? I've heard they're excellent, but haven't gotten around to reading them yet. I'm also working on "The Sword and the Miracle" by Melvyn Bragg on my own time. I'd never heard of him before I found the book on a dusty shelf in my favorite bookshop, but the book looked intriguing so I took it off the shelf and bought it. Any fans of Bragg here? I've just started the book, but it seems quite good so far.

[Tinuviel of Denton]

Left Behind is very good, but also very intense. I've read all but the latest, and the only reason I haven't read that is my mother hasn't finished (which is rather annoying, as the end of the last one I read was something of a cliffhanger). If you do read them, be warned. The usual "He/she's a main character, he/she'll be okay" does not apply. Some of the best characters die.

Anyway...

I liked Great Expectations, but maybe that's because I didn't have to read it.

I finally remembered the author of The Farseer Trilogy; Robin Hobb. The books are called Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest. They are so sad, but they are amazingly good. Most amazing, they don't borrow from Tolkien, at least not that I noticed.