Goodreads ::

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8-ball
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Goodreads ::

Post by 8-ball »

Hi, books are great and this website is like the imdb of books so...

Let's share our lists/profiles and latest ratings as in the imdb thread, k.

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/18198805

Last read: 1984 by George Orwell - 5/5
Currently reading: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Lousku »

http://www.goodreads.com/lousku

I read way too litel.

Good site.
then again i don't know anything
maybe easier not to think abouut alöl things thought than not things thought ... or something..=?
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Tigro »

Yeh I wanted to create some topic about "latest book you have read", but didnt know if elmans are so much into books, ill definetly register and share.
Edit: here ya go, add friend pls: http://www.goodreads.com/tigro
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by ville_j »

Damn, wish I knew this site much earlier than this. I've read so many Agatha Christie's books that it is just impsy to remember which ones, and then rate them. Well, now I gave each of the ones I remember reading 4 starts because I can't remember any bad ones. My profile: https://www.goodreads.com/villej.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Zweq »

i dont good readink. but in the autumn i read da vinci code in english. then i had another book which i read for 2 pages, then another which i never opened

my problem usually is that i dont really know what the fak to get from library(another problem is visiting teh twice a year), maybe can spend some time on that website
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by 8-ball »

I'm using my gf's Kindle to read, it's really nice. I read in English and it can look up any word from a book in the dictionary, helps a lot for quickly improving my vocabulary.

For book suggestions you can also try www.reddit.com/r/booksuggestions
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Post by Tigro »

In the autumn Ima going to university, so Kindle will be mandatory accessory, otherwise my eyes would be like 8O from looking into teh monitor too much. Brotha has Kindle, its great thingy, even I was against e-book readers before, now I can frankly say that it´s much more convenient to bring the whole library of 1500 books with you, and not just one thick heavy hardcover. The dictionary thing 8-ball said is really helpful stuff, as well as highlighting text. The only drawback I tell is, that when you plug the Kindle on, the folder system is kinda unsorted, when you have 100+ books in it, it becomes very hard to maintain on your PC. Calibre reduces this a bit, but still.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by pawq »

Xarthok wrote:(...) Kindle (...) can look up any word from a book in the dictionary
Dame, that's encouraging :o Checking every word in a paper dictionary is pain in the ass... :( I'll have to think about it in the summer.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by 8-ball »

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov - 4/5
now onto I, Robot
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Post by Tigro »

Don´t expect I,Robot to be the same as the film with Will Smith, its uterrly different thing. But Asimov´s I,Robot is very comprehensive imo, he writes about very interesting problems of the world of robots and human. :)

I have started Markus Heitz´s Dwarves, it is book which didn´t bring anything new so far, but I think I will like it more than Eragon :D After making school leaving exams, I have 4 free months just to read books and hoyl PC.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by totem »

Currently reading Olympos, following Ilium (by Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion)

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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Thundr- »

Im kind of a nerd when it comes to reading and collecting books. Have over 300 self-bought books (need more shelves now), half of which are fantasy, rest is varied genres. Have read maybe 95% of them. My gf is the same so we have a clusterfuck of books around in boxes here and there.

Currently reading: R. Scott Bakker: The White-Luck Warrior, Robin Hobb: The Golden Fool, Lian Hearn: Heaven's Net is Wide
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Tigro »

Thundr- wrote:Im kind of a nerd when it comes to reading and collecting books.... half of which are fantasy
welcome to the club! :)
here: Terry Pratchett, Tolkien, Frank Herbert, read also Paolini´s Eragon but it sucked... etc. etc., now Markus Heitz, it looks strange tho.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Lousku »

If anyone likes audiobooks, don't bother with audible.com. Reasons from short usage:
  • free trial ofc requires credit card info, intended to take money from trials that forget to cancel. kinda evil.
  • hard to find teh tiny button to cancel subscription. eeeevil.
  • downloads require their own software, kinda like itunes. fuck everything about that.
  • downloads come with lovely DRM so you hev to convert if want to use with a simple unsupported device.
Dunno what I expected, really.
then again i don't know anything
maybe easier not to think abouut alöl things thought than not things thought ... or something..=?
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by pawq »

Lots of time so got down to this too.
https://www.goodreads.com/pawq
I rated some of the recently read books that I remember well (and also some series of books, like Harry Potter, that I remember briefly). More to come during the holidays :)

The last few books I read:
The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov - 4/5
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson - 3/5
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick - 4/5
The Prestige by Christopher Priest - 5/5!
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke - 3/5

The Prestige was possibly the best book I've ever read. Truly mesmerising story :) I was wondering what would be going in my mind if I didn't know the story from the film...

The Thief Lord was given to me as a gift maaany years ago, but I only read it this week for the first time! It's quite obviously a children's book, but I enjoyed it nevertheless :)

I think I'll be alternating games and books in the summer, so Dead Space 3 here I come. The next book will most likely be Kevin Mitnick's autobiography - Ghost in the Wires. Also a gift :)
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by 8-ball »

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams - 5/5 - possibly even better than the first book :)
The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov - 5/5 - yet another fantastic story
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - 5/5 - even better than expected
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Tigro »

which story did you find the most exciting from I,Robot?
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Post by 8-ball »

The one about the robot who could read minds was thought provoking, hehe. And the one about the robot who was told to get lost was lolz. But really, all of them were good.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by pawq »

Xarthok wrote:And the one about the robot who was told to get lost was lolz.
Yeah :D I also loved Roundabout or somesuch, with equilibrium of priorities.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Tigro »

yep, this was my favourite as well, plus the one who was able to lie.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Lousku »

Just added:
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - 4/5
  • Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - 4/5
Both especially good at shining some light on weird human minds.
then again i don't know anything
maybe easier not to think abouut alöl things thought than not things thought ... or something..=?
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Lousku »

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt - 4/5

Nice choices lately. This one shows an economics perspective of societal issues.
then again i don't know anything
maybe easier not to think abouut alöl things thought than not things thought ... or something..=?
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Bjenn »

I have just started to read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I read the first book The Hunger Games when I was in Thailand, and it is a sure 5/5 yes.
Gonna start read on chapter 3 and it's looking very promising as well! I also have the 3rd book lying on my table at home, The Mockingjay.

The Hunger games is the only book I have read volunteeraly since 2½ of the first Harry Potter books, which was a while ago now..
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by pawq »

Impressive reading history Bjorn :D

How Hard Can It Be? The World According to Clarkson, Vol. 4 by Jeremy Clarkson - 3/5
I love Clarkson's sense of humour, but apart from that I think some of his views are very clever and wisely depict some of the today's society's flaws

A Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures As the World's Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick - 1/5
Hacking might be interesting right...? Well, no, unless you're a freak. It was possibly the most uninteresting, uninvolving book I've read. I'm sure Mitnick's life was very exciting, but for me reading about his digital feats (many described in unnecessary detail) was utterly boring.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini - 5/5
I don't care that this story is a hilariously literal rip-off of Star Wars plot in a LOTR world. I don't care about the infantile style of writing and chaotic and repetitive narration. I also don't care about any other flaws of this book, because I enjoyed it tremendously. Actually it's only the second book receiving a fiver from me, after The Prestige. However, despite The Prestige being much more impressive by literature standards, I actually had more sheer pleasure in reading Eragon. The story is fantastically involving and I can't wait to read the second one, even though I remember it quite well!
I suppose this may seem unreasonable to some of you. Well, two possible factors come to my mind. Firstly, I was several years younger when reading it for the first time (quite a lot in my time scale) and it brings lots of positive memories. Secondly, I was (and still am) ~at the age of the author, which probably means that our minds work alike - similar emotions, similar excitations, etc.
Anyway, I'll gladly return to this series in a few years again!
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Tigro »

ERAGON SPOILER ALERT
Paolini sucks. Sry Pawq, but really. First book was "let´s say is O.K.", but Eldest was just reading Christopher´s thoughts through Oromis and 3rd book was absolutely redundant, :x only thing that happened there was Brom = Eri´s daddy. You could easily skip third book and you won´t lose anything from the plot :roll: Fourth book was just "Eh, I should finish this series", with no climax at the end, like I was just thinking to myself while reading end of green book: Lol, and it´s just like that? Is that all? whattheheckiswrongwiththis?! Plus he plagiated names of many characters from games like Icewind Dale, Baldur´s Gate etc... (Quimby, Hrothgar, Arakon=almost Eragon... damn you, boy Christoph!) :!: :!:

Actually, the good writer is not that one who can write much, but who can cross out much. That´s it. Paolini obv didn´t cross out a single word. That resulted in 4 book trilogy 8O Gratz Paolini. Well done. :roll:
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by pawq »

I can't really disagree with anything you wrote. But it doesn't stop me from enjoying it :)
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Post by Tigro »

oke :)
In fact, you're right. The main purpose for me of reading books is to have fun. If you had fun, that´s good :)
Started reading Prelude to Dune: House Harkonnen. Let´s see if it is worth it, Almost all other Dunes were read so far, except Paul of Dune, Winds of Dune, Sisterhood of Dune, Road to Dune and Sandworms of Dune (Which can not be bought, no bookstore has it). :mrgreen:
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Post by 8-ball »

The Caves of Steel 5/5 =) 2/15 books done in Robot-Empire-Foundation series ;)
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Post by Kiiwi »

Readin' Baxter/Pratchetts Long earth, half way through now, very recommendable, i'll give points after done (if i remember)
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by pawq »

Eldest by Christopher Paolini - 4/5
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini - 2/5
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini - 4/5

You were totally right about Brisingr Tiggro, nothing happend :S But nevertheless, I enjoyed the series until the very end. A little unsatisfactory end, unfortunately, but I'm looking forward to any more stories from Alagaesia! After reading the last lines (or even before, during the last 20 pages or so...) I felt an unpleasant melancholy, which never happened to me before. I kind of expected it, but still I was a little surprised by the void in my mind. Well, I guess some 2700 pages let you become a little attached :) One thing for sure, I'll surely return to this series in the future!
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by Tigro »

Pawq :wink:
Now reading another book from Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson: House Harkonnen. Again one masterpiece from the Dune series, I love reading 5-7 different stories, which eventually all come together. That´s just amazing! :D
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Post by Tigro »

The Hunger games Trilogy: 3 stars
The first book was really fine, the second one was a bit lower, but the third one killed the series. The main hero is pictured in some way, and then she behaves absolutely different. At the end I was like: It´s such a pityyyyyyyy :cry:
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Post by Tigro »

In 2015 I tried to do a Reading Challenge. Didn't manage to fill every tickbox (even when one book fitted for more categories), but had pretty good book catches during the year.
I've read (only!) 12 books in 2015:

The Book Thief ****
I liked this, the poetry of Death etc.

Slaughterhouse Five ***
Was recommended to read this, was very strange, but had some kind of inner idea and message..

Hogfather *****
Awesome fun. One of the best Pratchett books ever imo.

Divergent ****
It was pretty enjoyable, really. Gonna read the rest for sure.

Do hard things *****
This is great for teens who don't want to just sit at home and do nothing, and to start doing things that are not easy but are right. Gives a good perspective on what should we do with our lives.

Súdruh Munchhausen (commarade Munchhausen) *****
This book was banned in our country several years ago (before revolution). The author was once a communist who realised what a bullshit it is and emigrated to Austria (iirc), and wrote several books there. This is one of them, and tells a story of a dude from GDR who came to Slovakia and is presented with the Great efforts of Communist Party and their endeavours and their great victories etc etc. and the reader can just laugh their ass off on how absurd and ridiculous it is. Then you realise, it is exactly how it worked. It's a laugh through tears of sorrow. Amazing.

Eric ****
Was a bit short. But still really funny and good.

Name of the Rose *****
This was the biggest goal and achievement of the previous year. It took me very long to dig through this, but was worth every minute spent. Great set, plot, storytelling... simply everything. Great Umberto Eco book.

Šaría pre nemoslimov (Sharia for non-muslims) *****
Great read if you are not a muslim and want to know a bit about how islam and sharia works. Really helpful.

Last Wish (Posledne Zyczenie) ****
Great Sapkowski book, though the translation was killing it a bit. Now reading czech translation, it's much better.

Arkham Asylum: A serious house on serious earth **
Very strange concept, the idea and story was blunt. However, nice graphiks.

The Hitchhiker's guide to galaxy **
Was super hyped for this, hearing how great piece of art this is and how many references people use, but this was utter disappointment. Seems like the author just jammed some ultra-mega-intergalactic-sub-eta-words together to create something fancy, but failing hard. Everything is so absurd that after 50 pages it's not even funny anymore.

The categories I have failed to read a book from are:
A classic romance (Really had no intention to read one)
A Pulitzer Prize winning book (Wanted to read McCarthy's "The Road", but had trouble finding it)
A book your mom loves (we have very different tastes)
A book more than 100 years old (Didn't have any good in sight)
A book based entirely on its cover (That's not how any of this works.)
A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't (Every book I should have read in school was either horrible or read already)
A memoir (huh?)
A book with antonyms in the title (I just waited to discover one at random, didn't happen)
A book that came out the year you were born (I was surprised how little OK books came out in '94. Problem was that no Pratchett book that year.)
A book with bad reviews (Basically every book has bad reviews, but I guess it should simply be 'a bad book'. And I didn't want to do that, really)
A trilogy (wanted to read Divergent series, but i read it on brother's Kindle and he took it with him to Germany, so impsy finish)
A book with love triangle (simply didn't happen, I don't like books with this very much (if at all))
A book set in high school (eh... some good instance?)
A book with color in the title (I wanted to read "The colour purple", couldn't get it anywhere.)
A book that took place in your hometown (There are literally none.)
A book written by author with same initials (I googled for M.E. author, only shit was found)
A play (meh category)

This year I have a challenge (new year resolution?) to read a book every week, so 52 books in total. You can set a challenge on Goodreads. Fingers crossed!
Someone still reading here? Some news about good books? Some 2016 challenges?

edit: The goodreads star system sucks. 2/5 stars says "it was ok". And 5 stars is too few to differentiate enough. Why isn't there a 100% scale? or at least IMDb 10 stars scale?
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by 8-ball »

Brave New World - 5/5
Expected something a bit different but was great nonetheless.

Onto The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov, can't put it down already so should be soon.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by 8-ball »

Not exactly soon but finished The Robots of Dawn, 4/5. Feel the series building up now.
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Re: Goodreads ::

Post by pawq »

pawq wrote: 3 Sep 2013, 13:44Eragon/Inheritance blabla...
Damn, been a while. It genuinely looks like I haven't read any book between that post (3 Sep 2013) and end of May this year. The only exception is probably a small (200p) psychology book and a couple of books that I started but didn't finish. I'm sure that sounds pretty terrifying for any book mole, but got into films and games a bit too much! However, for our wedding (April this year) we decided to ask all guests for their favourite books instead of flowers (brilliant idea btw, in case you ever get the chance), which was partly meant to motivate me to read more. And so, after we came home, I finally got down to it, and started by catching up with my own books from before the wedding.

12/06/2019 - New Scientist: The Origin of (almost) Everything (Graham Lawton, 2016)
23/07/2019 - Arcanum (Simon Morden, 2013)
10/08/2019 - Time flies: The story of Porcupine Tree (Rich Wilson, 2017)
12/09/2019 - Riverside. Sen w wysokiej rozdzielczości (Maurycy Nowakowski, 2016)
14/10/2019 - Metro 2033 (Dmitry Glukhovsky, 2005)
16/10/2019 - Metro 2034 (Dmitry Glukhovsky, 2009)
20/10/2019 - Metro 2035 (Dmitry Glukhovsky, 2015)

I've been pretty slow, but got really hooked on Metro just as I got ill, so that went quickly. I'll definitely keep going, I'll try to maintain at least a 1 book per month average, but we'll see =) I haven't rated these, as I feel that I read so few books in the last few years that I have no point of reference. I feel like I'm getting there though, so I'll probably back-rate these fairly soon.

About the books:

The New Scientist one contains a bunch of short chapters (2p of text + 2p of graphics per topic) about an extremely wide variety of scientific topics (from societal gak to black holes). Recommended if you're into any kind of science - gives you just enough info about a topic to give you some idea about it, and is quite good to identify topics for further reading (I wishlisted a few books after reading it).

Arcanum is historical fantasy. Quite long and, imo, not very well-structured, but an OK read. First fiction book in 6 years! :()

Then two biographies - of Porcupine Tree and of Riverside. Recommended if you're a fan of the bands I suppose, but I'd recommend the Riverside one far above the other - much better and more interesting writing imo.

And finally, the Metro trilogy. Damn, been a long time coming. Amazing post-apocalyptic underground setting, brilliant atmosphere, and a style of writing that I really enjoyed, largely because of super realistic dialogues. Somebody's drunk or semi-unconscious (or has his tongue hurt and can't close his mouth)? Their words are written exactly as you'd hear them irl. Also, one of the most satisfying endings to a book/film series I can remember! Max recommended for any fantasy / sci-fi fan.


Well, till next time =)
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