1. Due to the increased amount of spam bots on the forum, we are strengthening our defenses. You may experience a CAPTCHA challenge from time to time.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Notification emails are working properly again. Please check your email spam folder and if you see any emails from the Cantina there, make sure to mark them as "Not Spam". This will help a lot to whitelist the emails and to stop them going to spam.
    Dismiss Notice
  3. IMPORTANT! To be able to create new threads and rate posts, you need to have at least 30 posts in The Cantina.
    Dismiss Notice
  4. Before posting a new thread, check the list with similar threads that will appear when you start typing the thread's title.
    Dismiss Notice

What are You Reading Right now?

Discussion in 'Books & Comics' started by Suspiria, Aug 26, 2015.

  1. lostken11

    lostken11 Clone

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2022
    Posts:
    8
    Likes Received:
    28
    Trophy Points:
    12
    Credits:
    192
    Ratings:
    +35 / 0 / -0
    I really dug the Battlefront II and Battlefront Twilight Company books. Star Wars The Dark Disciple is legendary. A New Dawn is also fantastic. Currently I am reading Star Wars: The Clone Wars: No Prisoners. The next book would be Catalyst (A Rogue One Novel). Anyone read it?
     
    • Like Like x 2
  2. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2015
    Posts:
    2,573
    Likes Received:
    11,264
    Trophy Points:
    90,417
    Credits:
    12,073
    Ratings:
    +12,943 / 27 / -10
    Oh good choices! I'm pretty sure I read Catalyst back in the day, but it didn't make nearly as much of an impression as some of the other stuff on the list. I'm assuming you've read Inferno Squad, but have you read Lost Stars or any of the Claudia Gray books yet?
     
    • Like Like x 2
  3. lostken11

    lostken11 Clone

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2022
    Posts:
    8
    Likes Received:
    28
    Trophy Points:
    12
    Credits:
    192
    Ratings:
    +35 / 0 / -0
    I have not read Claudia's stuff. Is it good?
     
    • Funny Funny x 1
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
  4. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2015
    Posts:
    2,573
    Likes Received:
    11,264
    Trophy Points:
    90,417
    Credits:
    12,073
    Ratings:
    +12,943 / 27 / -10
    Some of the best stuff to come out of the new canon in my opinion. Lost Stars was her first book and a sleeper hit at the time. It wasn't as promoted as some of the other Road to the Force Awakens content at the time, partially due to being YA and owned by a different publisher IIRC. But Collider's Jedi Council was at its height at the time, and its host Kristian Harloff pushed that book, and it performed incredibly well and is still remembered fondly. Harloff even got a planet named after him called Harloff Minor in Claudia's next book as a thanks for helping promote her book.
    Since Lost Stars, Claudia has become something of a staple in the new canon. She's written a few books focused on Leia (I recommend Bloodline), an amazing Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon focused book called Master & Apprentice, and some stuff in the High Republic I've yet to get around to.
    She's worth it, but it's more for the characters and characterization than the military aspect.
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Great Post Great Post x 1
  5. urrutiap

    urrutiap Rebel Commander

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2017
    Posts:
    82
    Likes Received:
    92
    Trophy Points:
    2,682
    Credits:
    565
    Ratings:
    +139 / 0 / -2
    I read Star Wars Catalyst Rogue One Story for the 2nd time couple of days ago. Still a good book to read. That and Rebel Rising if you want to know what Jyn was doing right before Rogue One.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  6. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    Just finished the original 3 Psycho novels. It was interesting and entertaining and like the movies the first was amazing while the sequels paled in comparison but were sometimes entertaining. From what I understand Bloch was told they were making a film sequel and that they didn't want him involved and so he rushed out to write his own sequel that would be guaranteed to make Universal angry. Which it did, both in the shock value and the fact it's a satire/hit job on the movie industry. As the plot revolves around a film of Norman's murders being shot and deaths on the set. Norman's not even alive in the third one, it deals with people's interest/obsession with true crime and serial killers when some guy rebuilds the Bates Motel and adjoining home as a morbid tourist attraction.

    Anyway there's another book, not by Bloch but from the last 10 years by some other author that takes place between the first and second books when Norman Bates is in the State Hospital. It's supposed to be really good (better than the other sequels at least), all the reviews are pretty positive so I picked it up and going to start it tomorrow.

    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 3
  7. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 2
  8. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    [​IMG]

    I've never really been a cyberpunk fan but I decided to give this a shot because I understand Gibson's Sprawl trilogy is some of the best in the genre (and some say Gibson the inventor, he's at least inventor of the term "cyberspace") as well as being a considered great sci-fi in general. I read the 3 preceding short stories first, including Johnny Mnemonic which was a film that didn't impress me when I saw it in the theater but I recently enjoyed watching for how weird/silly/miscast/90s it all is. It was my least favorite of the 3 short stories set in this universe but I enjoyed the others and am enjoying this so far. His writing style is unusual and the slang sometimes a bit hard to follow and annoying at times but important to the world building which is good.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  9. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    I'm on the second book of the Sprawl trilogy, Count Zero, but I'm also reading this which is very good...

    [​IMG]

    It's the same Michael Palin of Monty Python fame and various travel shows. I thought it was just going to be about the Lost Franklin Expedition that disappeared up in the Arctic back in the 1800s until both ships (Erebus and Terror) were found not too long ago. However I'm about 60% through and that expedition hasn't even launched. It turns out the book covers the ship's entire history from being built as a warship (that never saw any action) and successful 3 year Antarctic expedition prior to heading off to the Northwest Passage to get icebound and lost. It's been very good so far though.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  10. DGC

    DGC Rebel Commander

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2014
    Posts:
    19
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    2,602
    Credits:
    906
    Ratings:
    +48 / 1 / -1
    I received Shadows of the Sith today!
    I'm only a few dozen pages in; already interesting background on Rey's mother & grandmother.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Cool Cool x 1
  11. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    Has anybody read this?

    [​IMG]

    I got it on Kindle, it sounds kind of funny and I'm planning to start it tomorrow probably but I was curious if anybody here knew of it. It has good reviews but not many, so few that it could just be the author's friends.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  12. Choose Light

    Choose Light Mando Maven and Brown Eyes Backer

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2016
    Posts:
    2,097
    Likes Received:
    37,728
    Trophy Points:
    161,667
    Credits:
    26,716
    Ratings:
    +40,656 / 13 / -2
    Piranesi_(Susanna_Clarke).png

    Could have been a horror story but chooses not to be. Haunting and beautiful.

    It's better to go into this book not knowing much about it, IMO. It left me a bit shook but in a good way.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Informative Informative x 1
  13. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    Finished that Waiting For Star Wars book, it was pretty funny/entertaining light reading. Just a guy talking about growing up with Star Wars and the life of collecting.

    I've been taking breaks for other books in between but I'm now onto the third and final book of the Sprawl Trilogy

    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Informative Informative x 1
    • Cool Cool x 1
  14. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    [​IMG]

    A pretty interesting true story that's been the subject of several films (the most famous probably being The Ghost And The Darkness with Val Kilmer) as well as several History Channel shows. A more modern account written by an actual author would probably have been better, this is the account written by the engineer/hunter who finally killed them, it's pretty dry, brief and doesn't really give much insight. To make matters worse (for the reader, not the workers) the lions are done away with by 1/3 of the way through the book and the rest is just about the engineering of this railroad as well as his trophy hunts.
     
    • Informative Informative x 2
  15. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    [​IMG]

    I actually started reading this once way back before there were any movies, I just thought it was some standalone Ludlum novel and got a chapter or two in before realizing it was the second book in the series and tossing it aside. I enjoyed the first three movies when they came out but by the time the trilogy finished so did my interest pretty much and I haven't really gone back and watched them much or kept up with the series too well. I watched The Bourne Legacy once and don't remember a single thing about it and I never got around to Jason Bourne. I just finished The Bourne Identity last night and it was pretty good, Ludlum is great with plots but not so great with characters and dialogue but it didn't really matter since it was still entertaining. Since the first movie wasn't too faithful to the book it didn't really spoil anything and I was still wondering what was going to happen next. The rest should be more so because the 2nd and 3rd Bourne movies basically just borrow the titles and have almost nothing to do with Ludlum's stories.
     
  16. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2015
    Posts:
    2,573
    Likes Received:
    11,264
    Trophy Points:
    90,417
    Credits:
    12,073
    Ratings:
    +12,943 / 27 / -10
    Most of my reading currently is books and comics for my students, but that doesn't mean they aren't enjoyable.

    Children of the Fox by Kevin Sands

    [​IMG]

    A fantasy heist book where a group of preteen and teenage thieves are tasked to steal a mysterious magic item. The team must come together and work as one while figuring out why they were hired, and how that plays into the world they live in. It's not a complex heist or even a complex world, but it's well-thought-out and a fun story overall.

    Next up is A Taste of Magic, a book I just finished within the hour (after starting it roughly two hours ago).

    [​IMG]

    I saw it at B&N a few weeks ago, and I love to buy children's chapter books with black girls as the protagonists so that maybe the girls in my class can feel a connection to the protagonists in a way I didn't as a kid - there weren't a lot of "black boy stories" and fantasy crossovers when I was their age or even when I was in middle school. Now we have Tristan Strong, Maya and the Rising Dark, and so many more!
    A Taste of Magic was a very fun and solid read. The socioeconomic theme was very prevalent, but it wasn't overpowering either - it was a natural part of the story. And the connection between the wizarding "hidden" world and the main one was fun. Our may protagonist Kyana, instead of going to a European-style boarding school, has Saturday school classes at her hair salon. Instead of wizards hiding in their own mystical world exclusively, they host jobs in the community and enjoy helping out behind-the-scenes. Instead of cloaks and robes, there are wigs that transform the entire wardrobe into protective garb - and give you a makeover while they're at it! There's no Big Bad evil here, just a girl learning about her history (both family and cultural), her world (both magical and mundane), and herself (both as a witch and as a preteen girl). It's a joy to read, and I'm glad I read it. I hope my students will read it. This is a highly recommend book if you know someone who is looking for a book like this or may enjoy it. (My sister asked about books for black girls the other day, so I'm glad I can fully recommend this book!)

    Unfortunately (or rather, incredibly fortunately), about half of them are obsessed with Amulet.

    upload_2022-9-17_18-51-3.jpeg

    This was to be expected, as every family friend - and indeed said family friends' family friends - who was recommended Amulet later reported back to me that their kid(s) tore through the series like it was nobody's business. Heck, I tore through half of the series like it was nobody's business! My most frequently asked question that doesn't relate to school and schedule times by my students is "when are you getting Amulet 5?" followed up by "who has XYZ volume of Amulet?" I plan on buying Volumes 5-8 in October (and an entire second set eventually so they can stop hiding the volumes and stop fighting over who has which one), but for now, I want them all to read what I have and, once they finish, force them to read other things as well. I say unfortunately because the focus on graphic novels means that my students aren't really reading all of the chapter books I have. Some of the more advanced/ambitious students are, but several are fine just reading graphic novels. A big part of me is incredibly happy with that, as:
    1) I love graphic novels and I love that I can share that love of graphic novels with the kids.

    2) Graphic novels give kids more unique words per 1000 words than pretty much anything other than a newspaper at their level (the problem is that several of these words are seen in different contexts, which is how one increases their vocabulary).

    3) They're reading. That's a BIG thing, as students (and adults) would rather watch YouTube or TikTok or television than read. And that's not always a bad thing! I LOVE watching YouTube to decompress, and I started the entire "what show are you watching" thread in the television section.

    But I also love books and reading, and there's a value in that. The more my students read, and the more books they read without pictures, the better off they'll be. (It also doesn't help that at their age I was reading Redwall and Warriors books without help and at a pretty fast rate. This makes it hard for me to connect with the kids and their level, because a part of me thinks that they should be beyond said level.)


    Personally, I'm reading the novelization of Revenge of the Sith at the moment, and I'm really enjoying it. It's very different from the movie and the new canon stuff, so I'm still struggling to fit it into the characterization, but it's a very solid read!

    Next week, the finale to Brandon Sanderson's middle grade series Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians comes out. Bastille vs the Evil Librarians, cowritten by Janci Patterson, has been a long time coming. It should be a quick and fun read, and I can't wait to enjoy it!

    [​IMG]
    --- Double Post Merged, Sep 18, 2022, Original Post Date: Sep 18, 2022 ---
    The Jason Bourne movies are a very good example of a successful movie franchise that became successful because it didn't follow the books. My dad sometimes talks about this series in particular, and how the first few adaptations of The Bourne Identity weren't very successful or good because they were too accurate to the book's many twists and turns and overall unreliability. By slimming everything down and taking one or two core ideas from the books, the Matt Damon movies succeeded. I have yet to read the book. (I actually lost my dad's old copy and owe him a new one...)

    EDIT:
    I'm not sure I posted it here, but did finish In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan a few months ago. It was a really good read! It's sandwiched between the Powder Mage trilogy and its sequel trilogy, Gods of Blood and Powder, respectively. I'm very excited for the sequel, but there's no timeline on that at the moment. Here's to hoping we'll find out around Sanderson's Dragonsteel Convention 2022
     
    #796 Use the Falchion, Sep 18, 2022
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2022
    • Like Like x 1
    • Cool Cool x 1
  17. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    I don't know, the first movie probably could have been more faithful than it was and still been good but I honestly prefer the plot of the films. I enjoyed the plots of those movies but it was the action scenes that raised them above being just more spy thrillers. Even the Bond franchise was ripping off the action from Bourne. It's been a long time since I've seen the TV mini-series (and I kind of get it mixed up with The Osterman Weekend, another boring Ludlum adaptation) but from what I can remember it was most of the talking with only as much action as a shoestring TV budget and no special effects could provide. I'm guessing in the post 9/11 world nobody wanted to see a movie that kind of glorified a real-life terrorist, especially one who by 2002 was a not-so-glamorous prison inmate so dropping the whole Carlos The Jackal storyline was probably a good idea.

    The only thing I'd have liked to see in the movies that was in the books was more Conklin, Chris Cooper's character. He's great in the books and in the 2nd one is actually a good guy. In the first book he had once been Bourne's best friend but thinks Bourne has turned (for some good reasons) and just like in the movies is trying to kill him but at the end he's convinced of the amnesia and calls it off. Beginning with the second book he's a partially retired alcoholic who feels awful about what happened and how angry Bourne is with him but when things go South he's going against the CIA and is helping Bourne and Marie stay off the grid while being the most likable character in the book.
     
  18. Jayson

    Jayson Resident Lucasian

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,160
    Likes Received:
    6,601
    Trophy Points:
    16,467
    Credits:
    8,696
    Ratings:
    +9,540 / 39 / -14
    upload_2022-9-27_8-44-55.png

    upload_2022-9-27_8-47-0.png

    Cheers,
    Jayson
     
    • Cool Cool x 1
  19. NunbNuts

    NunbNuts Rebel Official

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Posts:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,576
    Trophy Points:
    7,592
    Credits:
    2,149
    Ratings:
    +2,230 / 10 / -3
    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 1
  20. urrutiap

    urrutiap Rebel Commander

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2017
    Posts:
    82
    Likes Received:
    92
    Trophy Points:
    2,682
    Credits:
    565
    Ratings:
    +139 / 0 / -2
    re-reading some of Dreams in the Witch House and Other Weird Stories and then going to read Clive Barker's Books of Blood Vol 1-3 for the first time this month
     
Loading...

Share This Page