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I'm about to pick up Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Any ideas on what to expect? I've been reading reviews on Amazon and it seems like it's a love it or hate it kind of book.
 
I'm only 250 pages in but so far it seems to be a debate about communism/capitalism and what's more important .. the will of the good and economic equality or allowing the best to do the most for society but also reap all the rewards.
 
[/color]]It's too bad the tv show never got past 7-8 eps.:cry: Highly underrated, both book & show.
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What are you talking about the show is still on? The next episode is him traveling to Saudi Arabia.


By the way the next few books I am reading are Frankenstein, Dracula,and Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Currently I am reading The Informant a true story The amazon link for more information is here
http://www.amazon.com/Informant-Tru...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216125118&sr=8-1
. Seriously this book is really good and explains the current state of anti trust laws and investigations. Really a good book that I haven't been able to put down.

I'm about to pick up Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Any ideas on what to expect? I've been reading reviews on Amazon and it seems like it's a love it or hate it kind of book. - doraemonkerpal

Be prepared for a long read because the book is incredibly huge. Think Tom Clancy's The Bear and the Dragon huge
 
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[quote name='cindersphere']What are you talking about the show is still on? The next episode is him traveling to Saudi Arabia.[/quote]

No you're thinking of Anthony's other tv show where he travels the world searching for exotic food. I'm talking about Kitchen Confidential the tv show. It was a sitcom based off his book. It also had Nicholas Brendan (Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and John Cho (from Harold & Kumar). It aired in 2005. It was really a funny & smart show about a guy named Jack Bourdain (surprise, he's modeled after Anthony), a chef w/ rock star status who burns out from too much booze, partying & women. He's offered a 2nd chance by working for a new restaurant owned by a rich Euro. He then assembles a motley group of kitchen staff (A-team style). Unfortunately it lasted barely 3-4 episodes (while about 6 or 7 aired overseas which I was only able to watch via torrents before the 13 eps. DVD set came out)
 
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[quote name='jaykrue']No you're thinking of Anthony's other tv show where he travels the world searching for exotic food. I'm talking about Kitchen Confidential the tv show. It was a sitcom based off his book. It also had Nicholas Brendan (Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and John Cho (from Harold & Kumar). It aired in 2005. It was really a funny & smart show about a guy named Jack Bourdain (surprise, he's modeled after Anthony), a chef w/ rock star status who burns out from too much booze, partying & women. He's offered a 2nd chance by working for a new restaurant owned by a rich Euro. He then assembles a motley group of kitchen staff (A-team style). Unfortunately it lasted barely 3-4 episodes (while about 6 or 7 aired overseas which I was only able to watch via torrents before the 13 eps. DVD set came out)[/quote]
Thanks for jogging my memory. I remember that show now. Yeah I was kinda sad when it was canceled. I am gonna try to find this on dvd now.
 
[quote name='cindersphere']I'm about to pick up Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Any ideas on what to expect? I've been reading reviews on Amazon and it seems like it's a love it or hate it kind of book. - doraemonkerpal

Be prepared for a long read because the book is incredibly huge. Think Tom Clancy's The Bear and the Dragon huge[/quote]
I picked it up from the library and it's about almost 1200 pages long :lol: They're giving me 21 days to finish the book though and that should be enough time to get through the whole thing. I'm about 150 pages in and so far it's a good read.
 
Atlas Shrugged is great. I read it 2 summers ago when I went on an Ayn Rand binge. If you like Atlas Shrugged I highly recommend Fountainhead (my favorite Rand book).
 
Fountainhead was a hard read for me, guy had too much pride and got on my nerves. Not her best book but far above a lot of other things that have been written.
 
[quote name='cindersphere']Fountainhead was a hard read for me, guy had too much pride and got on my nerves. Not her best book but far above a lot of other things that have been written.[/QUOTE]

I totally agree that Howard Roark is prideful and to a certain extent selfish but the main characters in this book are far more memorable than the ones from Atlas Shrugged. Additionally, I read Fountainhead prior to reading Atlas Shrugged which might contribute to my admiration for it.
 
I will admit the characters are more memorable, though not always for the best reasons, however the characters do seem more genuine than those in Shrugged.
 
I'll be reading The Road, too, as soon as my library can get it in.

Right now I'm reading Twilight by William Gay. Incredible book. I haven't read anything else by him before, but I'll be searching out his other books as soon as I'm done with this one.
 
[quote name='Maklershed']What's it about danimal?[/QUOTE]
Twilight is about a brother and sister who find out that the local undertaker didn't give their father the burial they paid for, which in turn leads to them discovering that he's doing much much worse things with the deceased in his care. They get very damning evidence and try to blackmail him with it. He hires a real nasty local psycho to make his problem go away, and from there it's a chase.

Don't know how interesting that makes it sound, but it's the writing itself that has impressed me. The guy can flat-out write. It's a short book; only 220 or so pages. Definitely worth looking for in the library.
 
[quote name='cindersphere']Thanks for the tip. I must find this and read it.[/QUOTE]

if you've got a Barnes & Nobel by you, look up front as they should still have remaindered copies
 
finished, the gun seller.
It was enjoyable. Not fantastic, but enjoyable, was fairly, "by the numbers"
Also read McCarthy's, Child of God. Like everything else of his, its very good. His writing just clicks with me.
Started , the Terror. so far its better than i expected.
 
Just finished Aztec. That took awhile but it was worth it. A good book and a more imaganitive yet thorough story of Aztec life could probably not be found.

Now I'm on to Gunslinger by Stephen King. And I'm still working on Atlas Shrugged.
 
[quote name='paz9x']
Started , the Terror. so far its better than i expected.[/quote]

I couldn't get into that...I think I gave up before even hitting the 100-page mark.
 
I just finished Charlie LeDuff's US Guys. It was pretty fantastic; it's definitely worth a read if you're looking for something different.
 
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
It's part of a school assignment, so naturally, I can hardly tolerate it.
Someday though, I'll look back on it and see its worth.
 
Just finished Ender's Game, which was better than I expected it to be, I can't imagine 6 year olds talking/acting like that, but it was still a good story. Started a Game of Thrones which I haven't decided about yet. It seems like it could be cool, but the author also seems to have an unhealthy obsession with incest.
 
Just finished The Gunslinger. I've never seen the words "spittle" and "palaver" so many times.

Now I'm on to Lost Nation by Jeffrey Lent. (and I'm still working on Atlas Shrugged)
 
I just got two books in from Amazon:

0765308738.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
300px-Flatland_cover.jpg


the two together = $6.29 shipped. hot.

I'm not sure which to read first. Flatland is tiny, I'll probably do that.
 
I just got Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (http://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Bey...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217372261&sr=8-1) in the mail. I guess the University of Illinois is sending it out to all incoming freshmen as an inspirational tool. I had never heard of the book before but it sounds good, I'll give it a try in the future.

My requested items, Batman: The Long Halloween and Watchmen, came into my library today so I might go pick them up later tonight.
 
I also got Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder for my freshman year. The doctor in the book is incredible. Currently reading The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, not too shabby so far.
 
[quote name='scion of ys']I also got Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder for my freshman year. The doctor in the book is incredible. Currently reading The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, not too shabby so far.[/quote]
You go/went to the U of I, too? That's cool, what is your major?
 
[quote name='Maklershed']I've been curious about A Scanner Darkly amongst some of his other works. Let us know what you think when you're done.[/quote]


(Re: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4576005&postcount=442)

I finished The Man In The High Castle a couple weeks ago, and it's a pretty... unusual read. I found it a little difficult -- not solely for my third-grade level reading comprehension! -- because there really is no central plot line; however, this doesn't become evident until you finish the book. (Seriously.) Being casually familiar with P. K. Dick, I was the whole time expecting a clever, last-minute collision of individual character plot lines that would finally make me think: Oh, I see what you did there! This didn't exactly happen.

He more-or-less leaves it to you, the reader, to draw the appropriate interpersonal connections and link the themes. Honestly, when I finished reading the last sentence of the book, I flipped back through the final chapter, then the entire book, thinking that I was missing some pages or something. When I realized that I hadn't missed any crucial plot points, I started to think about meaning. My appreciation grew the more I interpreted the work, to the point that I would conditionally recommend it.

Nevertheless, I still felt a little like that one guy who didn't get the joke. Since the ending is so open, I hopped on ye olde Internet to gather some background about why Dick wrote the book. I learned some interesting things about how Dick wrote the book that made my interpretations come into sharper focus. The main theme elucidated, previously minor or insignificant plot points became complimentary. I finally had my "I see what you did there!" moment.

If you're interested in P. K. Dick, Mak, you might start with some of his short stories. I'm not saying that you shouldn't read The Man In The High Castle -- it is interesting; it is entertaining -- but it would be beneficial, perhaps, to know where you're headed when you set out.

I'm about five stories into When You Are Engulfed In Flames, and, as always, it's pretty hilarious. So far, there haven't been any really outstanding stories, nothing that bests the best from Naked or Dress Your Family, but that's hardly a criticism, given that the quality of Sedaris stories typically ranges from "Good" to "Amazing". I love David Sedaris.

I also have A Wolf At The Table by Augusten Burroughs on hold at the library, so I need to hurry up and finish When You Are Engulfed In Flames. I've read a few things about the new Auggie Burroughs, and I really have no idea what to expect.
 
I'm working on the 1st of the Star Wars: Coruscant Nights series - Jedi Twilight. And I've still got The Road to work through though, from what I've skimmed so far, it's pretty damn good.

[quote name='jlseal']Just finished Ender's Game, which was better than I expected it to be, I can't imagine 6 year olds talking/acting like that, but it was still a good story.[/QUOTE]If you liked EG, check out the sequel books - Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, & Shadow of the Giant. There's 'other' sequels like Speaker of the Dead but they're more on the philosophical side of war versus tactical war.
Started a Game of Thrones which I haven't decided about yet. It seems like it could be cool, but the author also seems to have an unhealthy obsession with incest.
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Hehehe, trust me, he's got nothing on any works by Robert Heinlein. :lol:
 
[quote name='mrchainsaw']You go/went to the U of I, too? That's cool, what is your major?[/quote]

Actually I don't go to U of I, i just got the same book for my freshman year. :)
 
Oh OK, got ya. I guess it must really be a good book in that case then.

I've been trying to get through Batman: The Long Halloween but I'm always so tired after work that any reading instantly puts me to sleep.
 
[quote name='jaykrue']Robert Heinlein. :lol:[/quote]
Oh I've read some Heinlein. His later stuff is great until he gets to the preachy parts.

The problem with a game of thrones is that I just don't care about the people involved. There's 3 story lines going at the same time and maybe 1 of them is interesting. and he doesn't spend enough time on it. And all the characters are assholes.
 
I finished the terror a bit ago. I liked it, the last 200 pages went a different direction than id have liked and didnt mesh with the first 500 pages. but it wasnt bad.

started chabon's, summerland
 
I'm in the home stretch on The Raw Shark Texts and it's amazing. I don't want it to end, so I'm trying to take my time and savor every moment. David Fincher needs to turn this into a movie.

Not sure what to read next...might take another stab at The Terror based on the praise above, or finally lay into Clive Barker's Mister B. Gone.

[quote name='fart_bubble']Don't know how serious you guys are about reading but a friend of mine is dipping into his high end stock and he's currently got 60 auctions up on evilBay right now:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfrppZ50QQfrtsZ0QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ32QQrdZ0QQsassZalienmotives[/quote]
Damn...some nice first editions there. Thanks for posting that, FB.
 
I want that copy of The Last Celt. And I know I'm not at the stage in life to be able to afford Always Comes Evening, it is part of my dream collection.......just need to scrounge up 3 grand or so and it will be mine
 
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