The Library/Bookshelf! (COBbie Literature Thread)

Currently reading: The Canterbury Tales. Now on The Reeve's Tale, the third tale of the book.

Rather interesting book, so far. The second tale, The Miller's Tale, have some of the most vulgar scenes I've seen in any classical liteterature. They wouldn't look out of place in Jackass.

The Wife of Bath would fit right in on Desperate Housewives.

Been going through my volumes of Stephen Jones' annual Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. Good stuff, on the main. I've really been getting into Steve Rasnic Tem lately.

I'm really liking this guy's writings. He gets seriously into analyzing the mental/emotional aspects of staying safe as well as the legal ramifications of using force. Once I have some money, I'll be buying his books.

To explain; I've always been an advocate of the idea that people should be able to use force to defend themselves if the situation calls for it...however, I've spent just as long shaking my head at the chest-beating bullshit that gets passed off as "self-defense". I've been in violent situations before and I'd rather not repeat the experience; hearing someone say "the best answer is not to go there if you can help it, here's how to make that more likely" is very refreshing.

Nice. That does sound like an approach for grown-ups.

Oh, yes: just done a quick browse through. Nice find. <careful bookmark>

edited 29th Nov '13 5:50:05 PM by Euodiachloris

Also bookmarked.

I came across this site some time ago. Very interesting read.

And bookmarked here, too.

Got the Kindle I asked for for Christmas. Guess what I just downloaded...

Good on you! Hope you enjoy it, then help out on the works page. It's kinda been "all-Maddy, all the time!" there.

I read it too, should trope it up a bit

Yes, please do!

...What an awesome moment to choose to poke my nose into the Library!

Hope you enjoy it, tgoodrich. And work is progressing on the sequel, for those of you who are waiting for it.

Good.

Finished it just yesterday, and for your information, yes, I did enjoy it.

Awesome! If you want to help, review it. Amazon and Goodreads are great places to start - and if you ever write something, I'll do the same for you. :)

Double post, because this thread moves real slow.

Just spent the afternoon devouring three Donald E. Westlake novels - these were from the early 60s, when he was writing as "Richard Stark" and talking about a professional thief named Parker. Apparently Westlake had more pseudonyms than most authors have finished books.

Anyhow, oh my fucking GOD I think I'm in love.

The prose cuts like a smoke-shop switchblade; cheap and commonplace and easily scoffed at from a distance, yet brutally effective once its flicked open in your face. Granted, the gender politics are horrible by today's standards, but there's an unapologetic honesty at work I can't help but relate to.

There ain't no "heroes" here either; Parker's a bastard, and he only wins because he's better at being a bastard than everyone who tries to mess with him. Westlake never forgets he's writing about people who break the law as a matter of course, and it shows in all the characters - even the ones we're expected to "like".

Seriously, I want to hand a copy of The Hunter to every urban fantasy author who's tried (and failed) to write a brooding alpha-male type and say "THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT!"

The prose cuts like a smoke-shop switchblade; cheap and commonplace and easily scoffed at from a distance, yet brutally effective once it's flicked open in your face.

— An excerpt from "Back Alley Reviewer" starring Humphrey Bogart as Raymond Chandler

edited 23rd Feb '14 4:09:44 AM by FastEddie

Reading Paradise Lost.

If only I wasn't a Christian...If only I wasn't an English major......

ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH, this poem is a pain! Why can't it be more fun, like The Odyssey and The Divine Comedy!

There, there: it's not Paradise Lost you should be swearing at. It's Paradise Regained: that royally sucks. <_<

Besides, a little iambic pent is good for the soul. OK — a lot of iambic pent. Besides, it's not that hard to follow, is it? It beats Marlow for ease of read... And, Chaucer for lack of headache (and having to put on a silly accent).

edited 10th Jun '14 9:24:57 AM by Euodiachloris

Let this Devil proffer for you a tool. This is handy

edited 10th Jun '14 4:53:32 PM by TuefelHundenIV

I'm slowly becoming a comic book collector. Not the super expensive vintage ones, just stuff to read and litter my couch/coffee table with. I have the second Zatanna TP, Kingdom Come, an old omnibus of A Death in the Family, three trades of Justice League Dark, and a few issues of Day Tripper, which I haven't read yet.

I'm currently awaiting the first volume of Zatanna, and then Zatanna's issues in the Seven Soldiers series.

Also I'm the only one editing Justice League Dark. I have mixed feelings about it.

Nothing wrong with reading comics. I enjoy the big book type collections. I like the Sgt Rock, Original TMNT comics, and the entire Judge Dredd series.

Can't do comic books, myself (don't want to turn in to one of my old math professors with boxes full of comics stacked higher than me) but I have been getting into the odd classic graphic novel. Unfortunately the school I'm currently enrolled at has a generally disappointing library. Hopefully once the merger is finalized the other campus will have a better library for both graphic novels and books in general.