Heh if I were you I'd see the movie first so I don't get disappointed. The book was really good -- quite bleak too -- but there have been rumors going around for a while that the movie isn't so hot. And I'm not sure how bleak the Fresh Prince can play.

plus, they changed the locale from L.A. to New York! That changes everything. In L.A., the protagonist has to keep exploring an ever widening circle from his home in order to gather food, supplies and kill vampires during the day. The city is laid out flat - not one big high-rise. In New York, you wouldn't think it'd be that difficult to just shore up and batten the hatches.

I'll go see this but I know I'm going to be disappointed.

Yeah, and L.A.'s geography has a certain anomie even before people have turned into vampires explicitly.

re-reading ender's game.. makes me feel like a kid again.

just finished i am legend which is an awesome, fun, quick read. the bit with the dog is fantastic.

I am going to read the short story first so that the movie doesn't sully the story for me. I feel pretty confident about this move. I just did the same thing with "The Mist" the last couple months. I think that seeing the movie first would have taken away from the brilliance of the story for me.

I plan to start I Am Legend tomorrow night since I have a huge paper to write tonight. Wicked is getting perpetually pushed back.

I am Legend is a very good book, I just got done reading it. I think the movie will probably be disappointing but meh.

I'm going to start 'The Godfather' soon. Hopefully its as good/better than the movie.

orange,

The Godfather is ridiculously good, in my opinion. We had it assigned to us in Prose class. I hadn't seen the movie at that time (shockingly!) and I absolutely loved the book. It has a lot of really interesting plotlines and some characters that aren't included in the movies. If you loved the movie (sounds like it) then you're going to love reading the novel. It's enjoyable and not a chore.

^ it's a lot weirder and funnier than the movies, too, which is nice

Just finished up World Without End by Ken Follet. It's the long awaited sequel to one of my favorite books Pillars of The Earth.

Pillars of the Earth, a book set in medieval England, it spans two generations and centers around religion, politics and architecture. Recently it was made an Oprah book selection, but don't let that deter you, it was a good book before she ever read it.

World Without End takes place about two hundred years after the original, and involves much the same mix. If you enjoyed the first, you'll enjoy the second. It's not necessary to read them chronologically, but it doesn't hurt.

Really good stuff, I'd highly recommend it.

I was at the library today and picked up Orson Scott Card's Empire randomly. I now have Wicked, I Am Legend, and that to get through.

Anyone read Empire? I've only read Card's Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow....

Just started Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. It's very funny and cute, which is nice because it's about dismemberment and decomposition.

Hahaha. I might consider looking into that book just because of your post, Kimbell.

i'm reading 'the broom of the system'

I have to admit this was a weird segeway caused by us not importing posts in current threads earlier than our import date. However, that is only because I am personally involved. While weird, I didn't find it that hard to go back to the archives and regain the continuity. We are looking at possible solutions.

So If I can ever get back to reading I was working on Alastair Reynolds Absolution Gap

I pretty much agree with this, and I didn't finish it either.


I'm also currently reading Garry Kasparov's new book called "How Life Imitates Chess." Pretty good so far -- you can apply lots of the stuff he talks about to poker (or anything else).

Also i'm rereading this first edition book I found at a used book store entitled "The Concrete Wilderness." It's about a freelance photographer who gives himself the assignment of capturing the wildlife of a big city. It's a cute book if you're into nature/wildlife.

I am reading "Quicksilver" by Neal Stephenson. I loved Cryptonomicon, so now my plan is to read the Baroque Cycle. Although, the books are very long, so I will probably read stuff in between. Since I liked Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, I am thinking of reading "Andromeda Strain" or "Sphere" or "Congo" soon. I haven't exactly decided by I am planning also on "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy and "100 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I have a lot of free time and I will travel a lot soon (when I travel I read a lot because of the idle time in buses, planes, metro, etc).

I remember reading Andromeda Strain and liking it. The movie has kind of wan, drained actors that sucked some of the life out of it, but the book by my memory was a pleasant surprise.

I have just recently finished rereading Bill Bryson’s “Mother tongue” a study of the English language filled with witty and informative anecdotes and interesting facts. The fact that I have read it twice shows how much I liked it.

Is Bill Bryson big in America? He is American but lived in the UK for twenty years and had his first really successful book published while living here.

I think Bryson is pretty big. His books seem to sell well. I have read "A Walk in the Woods" and "Lost Continent" both pretty good. I want to read his book about the story of science

"The Bottom Billion" by Paul Collier. He discusses the plight of the world's poorest countries, generally focused on Africa, and offers potential solutions for their development.

Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. I just read the first three chapters and holy ****.

For those interested, this is being made into a movie. I haven't read the book, but I remember some people being excited about the transition to a different medium.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380510/

Just skipping through the thread here guys so not sure if these 2 have been mentioned yet

At the minute Im reading Marching Powder which is a great true story of one time Cocaine smuggler and his time spent in a famous Bolivian Jail...really is a great story which i am finding fascinating. Also Ill be travelling to South America in Feb and will be stopping there for a visit.

But one book I read about a year was just amazing which was Shanteram . This book just grabbed me by the bol*ox and never let go.

AFAIK Johnny Deep has bought the rights to this book and intends to make it into a film soon, maybe ye have all heard about it but I could not put this book down at all- it cause me to miss a flight from Barcelona to Ireland about 3 years ago (and i was about 30 foot away from the check in counter 2 hours ahead of schedule...but thats a different story)

Has anyone read/heard of it?

For anyone who hasn't read David Foster Wallace, I highly recommend "A Supposedly Fun Think I'll Never Do Again". It's a book of essays - the best 2 are the title essay (about going on a cruise), and "Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All" (about the author's trip to the Illinois State Fair).

Wallace is such a great writer, he can make almost any subject interesting. he also has another book called "Consider the Lobster" which includes the essay "Up, Simba", which is an awesome look at life on the McCain campaign trail in 2000.

I recently read both of these, they are great if you love great writing and nonfiction.