Who is a serious reader? What do you read? (novels, edition, cover)

[BlueLily7]

>>I am editing to add that I didn't realize there was a separate forum for books, sorry! I would have posted this there! I saw it as a hobby...before I saw the book forum...<<

I am an avid reader...I read books for fun that a lot of people suffer through only because they have to in a college or high school class. I read anything and everything....I tend to like things that I find appealing for being smart, witty, intelligent, well-written....not just fluff...I tend not to like most of the mass market paperbacks on grocery and drugstore shelves and I tend to dislike westerns and romance a lot. (My grandma LOVED westerns the best! She liked Zane Grey)...

I love, love, love children's books and think I should have been a librarian. I love nonfiction, reference, biographies, history, fantasy (but not so much pure science fiction). And yes, I do sometimes read fluffy stuff.

So what do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? What are your favorite books/series?

Me- love fantasy, even children's and young adult...so of course, all the standards- Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Little Prince, the Harry Potter series....Alice in Wonderland, fairy tales...Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials....

I also love Stephen King. I like most of his books except i HATE Pet Sematary. It bothers me too much!

And yeah I like "the classics"- Charles Dickens (favorites are Great Expectations and Christmas Carol)...Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita...Salinger's Catcher in the Rye....let's put it this way, if there is a Cliffs Note or study guide for it I probably like it!

I also like Sylvia Plath a lot. Mostly her journals and some of her poetry, and especially biographies about her.

I love The Six Wives of Henry the VIII and books about Tudor England.

I also like Arthurian legend. I like the more scholarly works and traditional tales, and don't really like things that are too fictionally made up by one author based on their own ideas. Same with things like Anne Boleyn...I like to read biographical stuff about Anne Boleyn but do NOT like the trend of people writing fictional stories starring her. Same with Sylvia Plath, I like to read anything by or about Plath except there is one book out that's a fictional novel about what her last winter was probably like. I don't like stuff like this.

I love any and all good children's and young adult books. I also like parenting books, and ....admit to loving college textbooks, reading them for fun even when I don't take the class.

I'm a nerd.

What don't I read? I read dictionaries a lot....and I like books about Irish folklore and things like encyclpedias and references on creatures such as banshees, faeries, elves, etc.

I also like to read criticism and books of essays about books, such as the Harry Potter series and critical editions of books.

And things like The Odyssey, Beowulf, Tartuffe (Moliere), Shakespeare...etc...

Problem is I read so much, my brain doesn't have room for it all, and I forget a lot of it after a time. I have read many Shakespeare plays but it's been so long, a lot of the time I'm not very good at the Shakespeare questions on Jeopardy or when people ask me stuff about the plays I have no idea, can't remember. In a way it's good because I can re-read it without being bored.

[cpg35223]

As part of a project, I'm reading my way through the Modern Library's Top 100 Novels of the past 100 years. It's been very rewarding. I've read 42 so far. Sure beats reading whatever best seller gets dished out.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by BlueLily7

I don't really like things that are too fictionally made up by one author based on their own ideas. Same with things like Anne Boleyn...I like to read biographical stuff about Anne Boleyn but do NOT like the trend of people writing fictional stories starring her.

Except for this bit you sound like you could be me. I think it's interesting to read how authors envision the everyday lives of historical characters.

I'm not keen on books about wars/politics, and a lot of sci-fi books leave me lukewarm. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman don't do it for me, I think they are too over the top, whereas I know a lot of people think they are just great.

I read a lot of young adult books too, it gets me some odd looks when I'm browsing at the library.

I bought a set of encyclopedias. My kids thought I was nuts, because "Hey, Mom you can look all that stuff up on the internet." It's not the same though.

My secret vice is true crime books, shhhh.

Originally Posted by BlueLily7

Problem is I read so much, my brain doesn't have room for it all, and I forget a lot of it after a time. In a way it's good because I can re-read it without being bored.

Exactly!

[Sunnydee]

I'm an avid reader as well. I read a little bit of everything. Have you read Stephen King's Duma Keyyet? I really liked it. How about The Kite Runner? I absolutely loved it.

Children's books I adore:

Bridge to Terabithia

The House of the Scorpion

Incident at Hawk's Hill

Old Yeller

Where the Red Fern Grows

Holes

Has anyone read these?

[miguel's mom]

Oh oh oh, if I just had two or three more hours a day to read more.
The times when it only took me 2-3 days to read a book are long gone which is really really sad.

I just LOVE to read and do it every free minute I have which is mostly in the evening.

I love children's books, have read all the Harry Potter books, The Narnia Chronicles and the first part of the Ink series.
I also like to read stuff like Lord of the Rings altho that was a bit difficult to read in English (I'm native German and this one was heavy for me and I only read English books lol). I also found a new author (a German one Markus Heitz) who wrote a series about the dwarfs and these are fabulous!

I also love crime stories and they can be fiction, they just serve well. I like James Patterson and started the Alex Cross series (reading Roses are Red at the moment), The Womens' murderer club (but didn't like this too much). I also have nearly all books by Greg Iles. I like Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell, too and have nearly all Kay Scarpetta books by P. Cornwell.

Historical books are fine too for me. I've read a few about Egypt, but prefer medieval England, 18C Ireland, books about the American Civil War and about WWII. Also Russia is very interesting for me.

My, you really got me started.
I got really great recommendations through the other threads. I already bought the first volume of the Twilight series and my to-read-shelf is full.

I still need to read:
The Magician's guild
Violets are blue
Twilight the first volume
P.S. I love you (sometimes I love such tearjerkers)
Justine (by Marquis de Sade)
North & South
Halfway to the Grave (oh I also have both complete series by Laurell K. Hamilton)
and some more.

Can't wait to go on reading.

[karibear]

I started reading when I was 3, and since then I've read anything and everything with print, right down to the ingredients lists on cereal boxes. I have always considered myself a serious reader, as in seriously obsessed with the printed word - even though now my 'reading' is mostly audiobooks.

[Full-Blooded American]

I read threads on City Data. Is that serious?

[Huckleberry3911948]

french literature. its slow going i am not a fast reader.
do much better with big fat american novels.

[Niki]

My favorite is classic literature. Austen, Hugo, Hardy, Dickens, Tolstoy, Bronte, etc. I just finished The Count of Monte Cristo.

I don't care for most fantasy, but I loved The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I have both and also other Tolkien books I've yet to read, including The Silmarillion. There are more Tolkien books I want to buy.

I have a long list of books I want to buy. Mostly classic literature. I also have several books on my bookshelf that I still have to read.

I read very little non-fiction. I've read Band of Brothers. That was interesting. And I have John Adams on my list of books to buy. I'm trying to find a hardcover edition of it.

I'm trying to replace all my paperbacks with hardcovers. Leather-bound, if I can find them. When we get moved into a new (to us) and bigger house, one of the rooms will be a library. Complete with built-in shelves, oriental rug, a globe (tan, not colorful), etc. I want lovely (& longer-lasting) hardcover books on my shelves.

Yes, apparently I am a geek. Didn't use to be, but I seem to be turning into one. lol

[twange]

Originally Posted by Niki

Yes, apparently I am a geek. Didn't use to be, but I seem to be turning into one. lol

Well, no shame in that. Geek culture is very "in" right now

I like to rotate between denser, non-fiction(huge range here from philosophy, sociology, history, politics, technical, poetry), Classic literature, the occasional fantasy/sci-fi(LOTR, HP, Arthurian legends, Ray Bradbury). I find that mixing it up, especially in regards to difficulty, helps me appreciate what the different genres have to offer and helps with critical thinking. Novels tend to be character/plot-driven, while philosophy is conceptual. In other words, it's good to diversify the portfolio

Anyway, I've been into Dickens the last year or so as well. That man could really fill up a page with jibber-jabber! And I love his heart and sentimentality. He had a real eye for real people. Victorian English is so fascinating to me. Great colloquialisms etc...Indeed.

I'm also a huge Edward Abbey reader. While Monkey Wrench Gang is the popular title, I prefer his essay collections and travelogues. Desert Solitaire is the best but others such as: One Life at a Time Please, Down the River, The Journey Home, Abbey's Road, Beyond the Wall, all contain some real gems. I think his best novel is The Fool's Progress.

I like the James Howard Kunstler books I've read(urban design and criticism): Geography of Nowhere and Home From Nowhere. A bit snarky but informative. I like Eric Schlosser as well. Fast Food Nation is a must read and Reefer Madness is great as well. He's a diligent, careful, informed and fare muck-raker.

Oh, and if you've never read Carl Sagan's Contact, treat yourself to something insightful and elegant.