Reading genre

[Altairion]

Since I was a kid, I've been a huge Sci-Fi/Fantasy reader. (Lord of the Rings has always been near the top of my list.) I still branch out frequently, but I've always enjoyed having the chance to experience something completely new and different when I read.

Anyway, what does everyone else out there like?

 

[D_Barbi_Queue]

I'm not sure if I have a favorite genre.

I used to read a lot of Stephen King when I was a teen and then a few of Rice's Vampire Chronicles. About a year ago, I zoomed through the LOTR trilogy and loved it. More recently I've been getting into historical and historical fiction. Right now I'm working on Texas by Michener. Oh, and I'm highly addicted to the Harry Potter books. *hides face in shame*

 

[dickbulge]

I always look for the newest Peter Straub and Clive Barker, who fall into the horror genre I guess, but, to me, Stephen King is less interesting.

For straightforward mystery I like Jonathan Kellerman's "Alex Delaware" series.

 

[Dr Rock]

I compulsively read everything that doesn't suck.

 

[13788]

hung_big: I like to read two types mainly:

Fantasy - I've always liked midevil-set books, such as the great "Dragons off the...(autum twilight etc)" series. I like the fiction because they tend to be very descriptive, spark the imagination and have great plotlines (if written well)

Non-Fiction - I like reading about real-life experiences. Simply put I love to have a window into other people's lives, to give me perspective in to things. I think that if you yourself will never experience a certain situation the next best thing is to read about it and educate yourself. I feel personal accounts do that best, rather than statistics and biased arguments.

 

[DenBoy]

I can't answer this one with out making multiple choices I read a lot of all but Horror and Romance. 4 of the 6 choices.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

I enjoy history.

I also enjoy novels set in history like the works of Herman Wouk, James Clavell, James Michener.

I like some sci-fi like Larry Niven's series and Robert Heinlein.

SG

 

[Pecker]

I used to be a huge Stephen King fan. I'm still huge but Stephen King has gotten flaccid - talky and unscary.

I'm with Dr. Rock - if it interests me, it's good.

 

[naughty]

HI I guess I am all over the board...

many of you have already mentioned some of my favorites.

I love Anne Rice in all of her incarmations...
I really enjoy Anne Rivers Siddons and her Neo Southern Gothic
I like Stephen king
I love Michener
I luuuuuuved Harry Potter.
I am now on a Tudor period binge, ficton and non fiction alike
I love biographies.

naughty

 

[steve319]

I don’t think I could choose a genre as a favorite. I’ve ended up loving books from all over the map. But, in general, I love fiction more than non-fiction.

There have been phases of my life when I’ve just devoured books of a certain genre or author, but I haven’t lingered in one spot for very long. At one point or another, I’ve ended up loving some of the stuff you guys have mentioned: the first four or five of Rice’s vampire books, the short story collections of Clive Barker (I liked those more than his novels), the Tolkien books (even tried The Silmarillion but I just couldn’t do it--has anyone here managed it?), and a couple of Stephen King’s novels (but everyone tells me I’ve chosen the wrong stuff—is there a favorite?). I went through a period of reading all of Toni Morrison’s early stuff then several of John Irving’s big, old-fashioned novels, then the Brontë sisters' novels. So, for me, it’s kind of all over the place.

Right now, I’m enjoying digging for books with quirky structure or unreliable narrators (you know, where you’re not sure you can exactly trust what the narrator is telling you).

I have to share a couple of my favorite books from the past year or so:

Life of Pi by Yann Martel (fascinating look at God, inspiration, and storytelling—it has to be read to be believed)
Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey (strange and funny gothic novel with an interesting collection of nutcase characters and unusual structure)
The Kite-Runner by Khaled Hosseini (makes the history of Afghanistan personal through a powerful story about redemption and family)
Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (brutal but really funny—a memoir, though I never really read them)

So, I’ve never tried Michener. Is there a favorite one that you’d recommend I try?

 

[D_Barbi_Queue]

for King - I really liked The Eyes of the Dragon (but then again, I read it like 15 years ago and can't remember much about it except that i loved it). It's more of a fantasy book though instead of horror. For horror, I enjoyed Salem's Lot and It (both were much better than the movies).

I couldn't get through Simarillion either and I think I stopped at about the 4th or 5th book in the Vampire Chronicles as well.

On Michener, I love Texas so far, but then again, I'm Texan. Speedo has recommended Chesapeake and Centennial to me, and he's a big Michener fan. Both are toward the top of my list.

DMW - I'm sorry for the typos above, I just can't muster the energy to make it right.

 

[B_DoubleMeatWhopper]

Originally posted by steve319@Apr 11 2005, 01:43 AM
the first four or five of Rice’s vampire books

Some of Anne Rice's books are okay, but she's really sloppy in her research. One of my favourite examples of this is when Lestat recounts how he and Nicki used to go to the Opéra. Impossible. This was supposed to have taken place before the French Revolution, but the Opéra wasn't even built until the days of Napoléon II. Such historical errors are rampant in her books, and such errors in The Mummy makes for painful reading by history buffs. And the Taltos books ... does she really need to take four pages to describe a house? The Witching Hour was a slow read because it was so bogged down with pointless details.

the Tolkien books (even tried The Silmarillion but I just couldn’t do it--has anyone here managed it?

I have. It's kind of difficult because it's not written like most books are. It's a scissors and paste job that Tolkien's son Christopher cobbled together from Tolkien's writings. Often there were several conflicting accounts of the same story among Tolkien's notes. It was up to Christopher to decide which was most likely the account that his father regarded as being the final version. It is useful when trying to understand some of the historical references in The Lord of the Rings.

I can't choose a favourite genre. I read anything that strikes my fancy when I pick it up. The subject matter is likely to be anything.

 

[Altairion]

Originally posted by DoubleMeatWhopper@Apr 10 2005, 09:06 PM

the Tolkien books (even tried The Silmarillion but I just couldn’t do it--has anyone here managed it?

I have. It's kind of difficult because it's not written like most books are. It's a scissors and paste job that Tolkien's son Christopher cobbled together from Tolkien's writings. Often there were several conflicting accounts of the same story among Tolkien's notes. It was up to Christopher to decide which was most likely the account that his father regarded as being the final version. It is useful when trying to understand some of the historical references in The Lord of the Rings.

[post=299411]Quoted post[/post]​

It's too bad you two haven't made it through the Silmarillion. I think it is a great work, but the first time you read it through, it takes some effort. The beginning is a bit slow, but further in everything comes together. I've read through it several times, so I could be a bit biased

 

[Dr Rock]

Originally posted by steve319@Apr 11 2005, 01:43 AM
tried The Silmarillion but I just couldn’t do it--has anyone here managed it?

[post=299393]Quoted post[/post]​

sure, I must have read it a dozen times by now. it's not a very big book. is it just the high-mythology style that puts you off? it's no good trying to read it like a Barker novel (or even like The Lord of the Rings, come to that), you gotta approach it the same way you would something like Beowulf - I mean it is essentially an epic poem rendered into prose, even though Tolkien devised it all himself. the remote, impersonal style is what makes it so engaging as a creation myth, but you've got to be able to put your mind on that level or it's just gonna give you a headache.

 

[steve319]

Originally posted by Dr Rock@Apr 11 2005, 12:43 AM
Is it just the high-mythology style that puts you off?

[post=299481]Quoted post[/post]​

I don't think it was the style or content so much as an acute case of burnout. :blink:

I had just run through The Hobbit and the whole Ring trilogy over the course of a short period of time (I was thirteen or fourteen at the time), and I think that I had to bail out from Tolkien Exhaustion. I wasn't a very disciplined reader at the time and had refused to make any notes about the name variations or anything like that, so I ended up dropping it a little past halfway in favor some of those great 19th century gothic spook novels.

I've since considered rereading all of the books now that I have some maturity and a better appreciation of them. Maybe hearing you guys rave will give me the incentive to go ahead.

 

[Altairion]

Heh go do it now Steve!

Actually, I used to read the entire trilogy plus the Hobbit and normally the Silmarillion yearly from 6th grade on or so. I only stopped right before the movies came out so I wouldn't be biased when I saw them. Since the movies are all out now, I picked up my habit again and re-read them not too long ago. They're really worth it, and I still find things I missed each time I read through them. The content to those stories is astounding.

 

[Dr Rock]

Originally posted by steve319+Apr 11 2005, 05:13 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(steve319 &#064; Apr 11 2005, 05:13 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Dr Rock@Apr 11 2005, 12:43 AM
Is it just the high-mythology style that puts you off?

[post=299481]Quoted post[/post]​

I wasn&#39;t a very disciplined reader at the time and had refused to make any notes about the name variations or anything like that[/b][/quote]
well hell, who does that? I mean I couldn&#39;t enjoy a book if I had to STUDY it to make any sense of it.

 

[steve319]

Originally posted by Dr Rock+Apr 11 2005, 09:59 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dr Rock &#064; Apr 11 2005, 09:59 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'>

Originally posted by steve319@Apr 11 2005, 05:13 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-Dr Rock

@Apr 11 2005, 12:43 AM
Is it just the high-mythology style that puts you off?

[post=299481]Quoted post[/post]​

I wasn&#39;t a very disciplined reader at the time and had refused to make any notes about the name variations or anything like that

well hell, who does that? I mean I couldn&#39;t enjoy a book if I had to STUDY it to make any sense of it.

[post=299570]Quoted post[/post]​

[/b][/quote]

Good point, Dr Rock. Maybe I get too caught up in structural things. The overlapping names and complex familial relationships in the book seemed too much for me at the time. I found myself wanting to see a dwarven family tree or something. Perhaps there were other personal factors as well that I don&#39;t remember now.

Someone (TexAssGirl? DMW?) mentioned Rice&#39;s The Witching Hour. I think that was the book that put the final nail in the coffin of her work for me, but maybe that was my own fault. I remember making a family tree on my bookmark to keep track of the whole generational saga, hoping that there would be a payoff somewhere, but it all turned out to be a pointless exercise in complexity and sprawl for its own sake. Perhaps if I&#39;d just let go and read it, not worrying about who was the cousin of whom, I would have enjoyed it more?

On second thought, nope. I was sick of her stuff for other reasons.

I remember thinking that if I had to read the word "preternatural" one more time that I would scream and run amok. :freak:

 

[Dr. Bubbles]

I enjoy mystery, nonfiction & documentaries, and the boring side of me... I do enjoy reading books concerning academe, especially as it relates to diversity and multiculturalism. Hey, be nice... that is my livihood and my Ed.D work.....

 

[Dr Rock]

Originally posted by steve319@Apr 11 2005, 02:19 PM
Good point, Dr Rock. Maybe I get too caught up in structural things. The overlapping names and complex familial relationships in the book seemed too much for me at the time. I found myself wanting to see a dwarven family tree or something.

[post=299575]Quoted post[/post]​

there are a few family trees in the appendix as I recall. although it&#39;s not really a big deal since the relationships are usually reiterated in the text where they&#39;re important.