WZ Book Club

[FromTheSouth]

That was my least favorite of the Dan Brown novels. It was an OK read, but I didn't kill it in a few hours like I have the others.

I think that Dan Brown's first book was a great first attempt, but he definitely improved by the time Deception Point came out.

The usual Brown recipe was there. A twist, a double agent, a few murders, and someone lost in a foreign country. If you're looking for something to read at the beach, then this is a good book for you. If you need something for a literary analysis, meh.

 

[Cowboyfromhell]

Has anyone else read the Sookie Stackhouse books? They are the books for the HBO series True Blood. There are 9 in all and the basic premise is that the Japanese have developed a synthetic blood, for medical reasons, but because of this vampires have announced to the world that they exist. They are very simple books, bubble gum, but kind of addicting. We have been passing them around where I work and discussing them, just curious if any of you on here have tried them.

 

[rony31]

I was at Chapters today, randomly browsing through the wrestling books when I stumbled upon Jericho's autobiography, "A Lion's Tale". Couldn't say no for $9.50, especially since I was hooked on Bret's book a few months back.

Read the first chapter and so far you can tell that it's written in a more fun-loving tone, whereas Bret's was sort of a smack to the face and had a lot of shock value. More to follow when as I read through it.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Has anyone else read the Sookie Stackhouse books? They are the books for the HBO series True Blood. There are 9 in all and the basic premise is that the Japanese have developed a synthetic blood, for medical reasons, but because of this vampires have announced to the world that they exist. They are very simple books, bubble gum, but kind of addicting. We have been passing them around where I work and discussing them, just curious if any of you on here have tried them.

I keep wanting to start them, as I love the series. I want to see how well the author creates the imagery. I think that the settings for the show are so perfect. I can't imagine anything being better than the way HBO places the scenes.

I know KB has been reading them, and he seems to enjoy them.

 

[Loveless]

Currently Reading - One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I'm about 4 chapters in and it's kind of hard work, mainly due to the family males all having similar names and the book existing in a kind of time vacuum. Still it's interesting and I like where it's going.

Previously Read - Human, All Too Human by Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche is awesome but by christ, you better have a dictionary handy. He has a beautiful way of explaining the most complex ideas but when he's writing at length, it's difficult to keep up.

Reading Next - Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger
I should have read this a decade ago but I always had a issue with it because of it's association to the death of John Lennon

Favourite Book - The Diary of a 12 Year Old Girl by Anne Frank
Anne Frank is awesome, seriously. People who haven't read the book will dismiss her as just an ordinary girl writing about the war. They would be way off the mark. This was a remarkably intelligent, witty and human girl with unbelievable insight into human nature. The 20th century lost one of it's greatest writers before she was even 16

Favourite Author - Anais Nin
Nin is revolutionary and is probably the most important female writer of the century. She proceded the sexual revolution by about 25 years and it couldnt have happened without her. In addition to that, she's just a fantastic writer, philosopher and poet.

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

I'm currently reading Catch-22. It's actually a genuinely funny read. I know humour doesn't usually transcend time periods very well, but its a really witty, cynical sort of humour that you can just pick up and love.

That and I just got finished with The Stand. WWII fighter pilots sure beats post plague apocalyse.

 

[Tastycles]

Catch 22 is probably my all time favourite book. Some people have difficulty following it, but that's kind of the point. I'm thinking about reading something soon, but I can't really be bothered to go to the university library, and don't want to buy any books as I live in quite a small flat.

 

[Cowboyfromhell]

I keep wanting to start them, as I love the series. I want to see how well the author creates the imagery. I think that the settings for the show are so perfect. I can't imagine anything being better than the way HBO places the scenes.

I know KB has been reading them, and he seems to enjoy them.

The television series is actually better than the books, at least season one was(season one was the first book). Try to get through the first book, which in my opinion is harder because you know what is going to happen because you watched it. The books are only around 300 pages and are a quick read, nothing terribly in depth. There are 9 books and the characters are fun. Everyone I know that has read them has enjoyed them. So read up and let me know what you think.

 

[RVDgurl]

I keep wanting to start them, as I love the series. I want to see how well the author creates the imagery. I think that the settings for the show are so perfect. I can't imagine anything being better than the way HBO places the scenes.

I know KB has been reading them, and he seems to enjoy them.

Read these fucking books!! Cowboyfromhell gave me the first book to read and it was all over from there. Sookie and crew have been an obsession for the past couple of weeks. I am getting ready to reading book 9 and then I'm sure I will go into complete withdrawl until book 10 comes out in May.

I don't have HBO, so I've never seen the True Blood tv show. I hear it's actually better than the books simply because the characters are more in depth. The books are just simple, quick reads, but they are so addicting.

 

[Phoenix]

I recently finished Wicked after being recommended by a friend. I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. The telling of a story and giving a backbone to Oz when the previous 17 books never went thorough into its history, but this book did it and I was so impressed by how deep the story of the Wicked Witch (or Elphaba) goes and how her relationship with her sister and Glinda is. It makes want to read the original novel and other stories about Oz, this one will get you into it. I do want to see the musical of it now.

Currently reading and nearly finished Friends Like These by Danny Wallace. If there's one thing I've found is that a Danny Wallace book is always going to be enjoyable, I loved Yes Man and that made me feel good about myself after reading it and this was a nice deep meaning number. Going through the ideas of growing up and what happened to your old friends from school, I like his books because of the honest touch and the fact that the events are real as he actually did these things. Nearly finished and I look forward to reading his other novel, can't remember the title, at one point.

So two books I recommend there.

Another book I read earlier in the summer was A Lion's Tale by Chris Jericho, a brilliant piece and this made me liked Jericho even more because of his aspiration, experiences and determination to get to the WWE/F. While naturally it's not going to match on granduer like Hart or Foley, this is a great piece and the best part is, you know more is coming after you read it. Definitely recommend this to any Jericho-holic or just anyone who likes him for a small reason, this really gets you even more into Jericho. Another great read for wrestling fans.

 

[Phoenix]

1984 and Animal Farm are classic Orwell. 1984 had a great romantic plot thrown right into the middle of a dystopic society. You honestly couldn't trust anyone in that book, even if Orwell presented them as good and did all but promise you they wouldn't betray the protagonist. Animal Farm is simply an awesome portrayal of what happens when government goes corrupt, and it really hits home in today's age. What with the rash of spin and re-writing of facts to make everyone's agenda seem the best.

Loved Animal Farm, got to study it for GCSEs. But the one thing I loved about it is the truth factor is plays, the retelling of rise and failings of the Russian Revolution with Stalin, etc. That's why it truly hits home, because it was based on a real event series that affected Russian for a number of years. The sheep representing the masses, accepting how it went, the horse being a good worker who becomes useless with age and is removed, the rise in power, betrayal, corruption. If you look up the details of the Russian Revolution, you will see it all make sense and fall into place. But that's the amazing part about Animal Farm, that it doesn't matter that it was based on the Russian Revolution, it applies even today!

 

[Baller]

I had to read Animal Farm for school and it is indeed a great book. It is very interesting how Orwell could make these pigs exactly like Stalin and the Soviets at the time. It is a great read if your into history in such a different manner then most books. Overall 7.5/10 if you ask me.

 

[HBK-aholic]

Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli

Basically, a new girl starts at a school and she's really different. Everyone likes her, then hates her, then likes her, then she leaves. Throw in an annoying narrator and a stupid 'romance' and you have not only the essence, but everything that happens in the hundreds of pages.

I only made it through to the end so that I could rightly say how bad it was. I was kind of hoping something big would happen, a great twist, an unexpected event, you know the thing. But there was nothing..it was like "Yay we like you again" then "She never returned". It was predictable, it was bland and it was boring. I'm not even sure what the point of this book was if I'm honest. Avoid at all costs.

The best part - at the beginning it shortens Hardback to HBK.
​

 

[Crush1]

People of the lie by Scott Peck.


This book is fantastic yet disturbing. Peck gives his opinion on human evil he involves religion and facts with this subject. He has stories of his former patients who he has though that these people were truly evil. An example thats in the book: A man who made a contract with the devil in his mind and that he was willing to sacrifice his own son to be ''safe''. And two parents who were so psycho that they gave their youngest son the murder weapon which their oldest son killed himself with. And what makes this book really fascinating is that the fact that you yourself can become like these people. Its a must read for people who like psychology. I just found it in the attic and I continue to re-read it. Because the more you read the more you discover.

 

[HBK-aholic]

Deadline - Simon Kernick

The daughter of a well off business woman goes missing at the same time as her husband. The daughter is held to ransom for half a million pounds. When she involves an outsider they keep the daughter and ask for more money giving her 48 hours. She calls the Police and she has to race against time to find her daughter and work out who' behind it.


This isn't the type of book I generally read, but I got it free from WHSmith when I pre-ordered the new Dan Brown book. It's a relatively simple book which isn't well-written or put together in my opinion. He's tried hard to add twists and turns to shock the reader, but when you reach the end of the book and find out what really happened you see these 'clues' throughout the book which seem to be simply thrown in, instead of integrated into the story in any way. It's almost as if he realised how weird the ending seemed, so decided to throw extra things in after the book had been completed. It's not a bad book, as in, you could probably read it. But don't expect anything amazing. It's quick paced with a lot of action, if that's the type of thing you enjoy. But it lacks the character development or any real depth.
​

 

[Барбоса]

For someone who spends his entire day reading, I have actually read very, very little in the way of famous books. It's hard to motiviate myself to read something in-depth after dealing with 2,000 year-old sources in translation and books about the events in those sources...

It also explains why many of my favourite books are about history, although I am not going to list many of them.

Titus Livius - Ab Urbe Condita Book XXI-XXX: The War with Hannibal

Written between c.29BCE and 17CE for the Roman Emperor Augustus, Livy wrote an epic 142 book work on the history of Rome. His description of one of my favourite periods of history, Hannibal's 15 year campaign in Italy including the greatest military victory in history at Cannae, is clear, concise and for the most part fair to both sides. In my mind, the perfect way to present a year-by-year account of a war.

A.H.M. Jones - The Later Roman Empire 284-602

In the past few years, this 1964 work has virtually become my Bible. Packed full of narrative and more facts than you would think possible. There is bascially a separate volume for its appendices and footnotes... It continually astounds me in its scope and thoroughness, as well as its accessibility. This is how I hope to write some day.

Mick Foley - Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks

I just love this. Foley's style is so easy to read and the mixture of heartache, story-telling and silly humour makes this so difficult to put down.

Matthew Stover - Traitor

The only series of books that I have managed to read religiously is that of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I have close to one hundred of them lying around the house somewhere. There are so many that I could list but "gun to my head" Traitor is my favourite. The imagery that Stover provides for an alien culture based on bio-technology unlike anything we have seen. The continued torturing of the main character until he sees 'white' and then embraces the light. The final battle where one character becomes a legend with the proclamation/threat "None Shall Pass!" is truly epic.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Murfish's recent reading of Gravity's Rainbow and the fact that the 2009 Nobel Prize laureates will be announced in less than a month have made me pick up Pychon's newest one, Inherent Vice (Will this be his year? Right now, I hope not). Also, I haven't read Against The Day yet, so I picked that bad boy up from the library, although it's about a 1000 pages long (should make for a taxing, hair-pulling read). Also, I recently finished Don DeLillo's Libra...very interesting take on Lee Harvey Oswald's life. I am convinced that Oliver Stone is a plagiarist now, and that he's nowhere near the conspiracy theorist that we were led to believe he was.

 

[Nitafrong]

Let the Right One In- John Ajvinde Lindqvist

Some may look askance to me posting a book review as well as a film review for this story. They are in my mind though quite separate animals though dealing with the same story. Where the film is stylish and atmospheric, the book is a darker and more detailed thriller. For those that don't know the topic, the story deals with Oskar a 12 year old boy who is quite badly bullied in a northern Swedish suburb, and his growing relationship with Eli, a vampire stuck forever in the form of a 12 year old girl.

While the film concentrated on these two principally the book extends details on a much wider cast of characters in their suburb. They are generally the downcast and depressed in society, though they all seemingly have a chance to escape this. The title of the book refers to more than the rule forbidding vampires to enter a room without permission, and widely extends to all the characters about letting the right person into their hearts.

I quite enjoyed this book, though it is not as easy or enjoyable an experience as the movie was. This of course is due to the book having more time to develop the character's and an absence of the technical style which was so good in the film. The book though works at so many more levels than the film and due to its detail- seems much more real, more human than the film. The start of the book is very affecting- Oskar's bullying hits home hard and this continues through the book as we meet the cast of society’s outcasts. Lindqvist doesn't pull any punches with his depiction of the vampire. Eli doesn't kill walking stiff's, but instead characters- character's with their own hopes and dreams to escape and better themselves.

This book isn't for everyone, its predominantly dark overtones and its cast of societal misfits, ranging from alcoholics, to paedophiles, to juvenile delinquents and some vivid descriptions of violence. The story of Oskar and Eli lifts the reader every time they are together and their romance, at different times sweet, earnest is one of the driving forces of the book and always seems realistic. Oskar especially doesn't act like a reasonable adult, he is a twelve year old boy and this is retained throughout the book. It is also quite fast paced, with plenty of action sequences through the book, especially towards the end.

So yeah I would advise this book to anyone to read, though the warning about its dark content is important to state. The film as I stated is an easier watch, but if you want something that goes deeper and forces the reader to deal with more issues, give the book a try

 

[HBK-aholic]

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
(Possible Spoilers)
​

I'd been waiting for this for months, my obsession with Robert Langdon needed more fuel. I absolutely loved this book. It's better than the Da Vinici Code, and on par with Angels and Demons, maybe better, I'll decide after reading it again. As always, Brown is great at causing suspense and how he adds such random 'facts' into it has always been a favourite part to me.

There's always a major surprise/shock when it comes to Langdon and Brown, and they definitely delivered. Maybe I'm just stupid, but I NEVER saw it coming. I was also sure Langdon was dead when he was locked in the coffin and the water covered him. I mean seriously, I could see absolutely no way out of that. Yet there was one.

I'd recommend this to everyone. Again, probably won't ever be on your High School reading list, but if you like to read a book and have fun, and not want to put it down, you should like this. The book was heavy yet I took it to college with me so I could read it on my 4 buses.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I agree with Mrs. Shawn Michaels, The Lost Symbol was a great book. No wait, that was Life Of Pi.

It's like every Dan Brown book, formulaic. If you've red one of his books you've read them all. Which is a positive as I can now skip the three I haven't read. I blame myself for being one of the only people around that thought the Da Vinci movie was good. If I hated it I would've given the book a miss. I also blame Tesco (?) for giving me a free copy of this book if I bought Angels & Demons.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I liked the DaVinci Code movie too, buddy.

I also finished The Lost Symbol. It was an excellent book, a good read, and an exciting story. It was written better than the other two Langdon stories. The description were far better. It was like you were in the story.

This book, for those who don't know, is about Freemason mythology. It all takes place over the course of one night, in Washington D.C. You learn quite a bit about the symbols in Washington. This book does not gloss over Mason mythology at all. It addresses it head on, and does place the layout of Washington, D.C. on the Masons.

If you like conspiracy theories, this book is for you. If you like to understand power, this book is for you. If you like a quickly moving story, this book is for you.

If you are looking for flowery prose that stirs your emotions, then skip this book. It is not Jane Austen. Brown writes great stories, not great books. This is not Wuthering Heights, but I bet it makes a better movie.

 

[NSL]

I've recently finished reading Lewis Black's Me Of Little Faith. If you've ever seen his stand up stuff, I suggest reading it. It's a lot like his stand up, and is also very, very funny. Instead of it just being a straight comedy, or a religious satire, it actually gives a lot of insight to who Lewis Black, the man, is. He talks about some very personal stuff (his brother dying, his first love), and he even includes a play he had written a long time ago with one of the guys from Perfect Strangers.

I'm currently reading Wicked, the prequel to Wizard Of Oz. I'm only halfway through the first part, but it's a very good read. It definitely changes the way you see some of the stuff from the movie. The only thing holding me back from reading it a bit faster is the names. Elphaba and Frexspar are the two big ones so far...

 

[Gregor_Samsa]

As a new member to the forums with a literary screen name pardon my surprise at a book discussion between wrestling fans. A very good discussion might I add. Kudos to those who mentioned Catch-22, great comedic prose. Heller's second novel "Something Happened," is completely different and somewhat disappointing.
For short stories I can't help but recommend "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka. The plight of good son and well meaning citizen Gregor Samsa is compelling. We follow his struggle of adapting to life as a beetle.
Someone mentioned notes from the underground by Dostoevsky, I would also tack on Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. Reading Russian literature is like wading through a pond of molasses though. I'm surprised no one in the thread has mentioned anything by Chuck Palahniuk yet. "Rant" was his most innovative novel but they all can be sort of morbid. Just google "Palahniuk, Guts" for an example.
I enjoy the prose of H.P. Lovecraft. I don't find his stories particularly scary but his writing is wonderful.
As far as reading that requires no thought, James Patterson comes out with a new novel every month. Jeffrey Deaver, I believe, is better at that last second twist that thriller readers love. The Empty Chair was full of twists.
I have heard many good things about Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, but I have yet to read it.
Of course all that I've mentioned pale in comparison to my blog medicatedminutes.blogspot.com Good short stories and essays there.

That's all I got. Read on.

 

[NSL]

I've been reading Let The Right One In for about a week now, and I'm only about 48 hours from the end. Anyone who has read it, knows what I mean.

I'm loving this book. It's miles better than the movie, and that speaks volumes. I am a huge fan of the movie, and think it's one of the best of the last 10 years or so. The book though, adds in so much more detail and description, and really takes you into the story.

I'd highly recommend this for just about everyone. Like the movie, it has aspects of every genre.

 

[bucks8897]

I was a big wrestling fan when i was younger in the early 90's up untill around 2001 when I was a senior in high school and following wrestling was not on the top priority list haha. Plus WCW had completely folded and WWF had become stale in my eyes but in the last year I got hooked thanks to Wrestlemania 25 and I haven't missed a Raw or Smackdown since.

I'm a big fan of wrestling history and love reading books about it. Does anyone have any good wrestling book recommendations for me? I just finished Bret Harts auto bio and I enjoyed it very much. I'm sure their are tons of good wrestling books out there, I'm hoping I can get some good recommendations here.