Kasei

Wow, I'm actually rather surprised to see Lord of the Rings under children's fiction--what kind of children are we talking about here? xD But cool! Thanks for the help guys, I'm just trying to compile some reading lists for myself and wanted to branch out a bit from my usual selections, but I wasn't sure where to start. If anyone else has any out there though I'd still love to look! Ones curiosity must never be satiated.

I'm trying to find a good list of must-read books out there but so far I'm struggling. I mean, I understand that a task like making a list of books everyone should read is an extremely difficult if not impossible task due to differences in taste, but I was wondering if anyone around here had found (or even made, if you felt industrious once upon a time) such a list.

I just recently picked up this series after the ranting and ravings of a friend who is totally into them. So far so good, though I've only just started book three. A lot of people complain about the slow pace, but I feel that a lot of character and world building makes the climactic scenes that much more intense because of all of the knowledge you have as a reader. To me it makes it more believable....but I dunno, everyone seems to think that the series lags a bit toward the end so we'll see if I still feel the same way when I'm on book 8.

Woo! I finally finished The Wild Road! Yaaaaaay! When I get a bit of time I think I'll try my hand at writing a review. This should prove either interesting or pathetic as I've never written one before, so we'll see. Anyway, I'm on off to read The Son of Summer Stars by Meredith Anne Pierce! I've had my eye on this book since I picked it up from the library a week ago and I think that it might be partly to blame for my labored reading of The Wild Road. It's the final book in a trilogy that's very difficult to locate these days (been out of print for ages) and I cannot wait to dive into it! Technically I should be reading The Golden Cat now since it's the sequel to The Wild Road, but I don't think I could take much more of that scenery just now.

Haha, yes, well--I'm really in to animal books but a few weeks ago I ran out of ones that I'd heard good things about. Then, after reading Raptor Red it struck me that I hadn't read a whole lot of Dino novels outside of Jurassic Park...so I went and checked out a bunch of them from the library that had good reviews on Amazon. I can't wait to get started!

Hey there Steve, welcome to the forum! It's great to have you with us, I'm sure you'll love it here.

Beauty and the Beast

The Bible, no contest. I've had my own copy since I was about 12 and I still haven't gotten through even half of the New Testament. If we're talking novels though, there's one called Elephant Memories by Cynthia Moss. I got it as a senior in high school (almost three years ago) and I still haven't even opened it--which is odd because I adore animal books, particularly ones that follow the lives of a family group and document their behavior.

So far I most definitely have! And I love that my list of books I want to read is growing so rapidly thanks to all of the great reviews and book discussions. I wish I could get paid to read; if my pile of books keeps growing at this rate I won't have time for much else!

Ugh. It is taking me ages to get through The Wild Road. For some reason I just cannot get into this book. It seems to have picked up the pace a bit in the last few pages, but I'm about 1/4 of the way through the book and still am not getting that need to read that I normally succumb to once I'm this far into a novel. I think I've been trying to get into the story for about a week now...I'm hoping that writing about it here will help me finish it or something. Who knows. Edit: Now that I think of it maybe the reason that I can't jump into this book the way I normally do is because I've got about 15 other books checked out from the library at the moment, most of them I'm dying to read. So I guess I'm distracting myself. e_e

Good luck completing your goal of 100 books! I suggest going to your local public library and just browsing for a few hours. I often go and walk around snatching books off of the shelf that catch my eye or have an interesting summary--this is a great way to find new favorites! I don't know if you're into medieval type stories, but I would recommend Crown Duel and Court Duel by Sherwood Smith. There's romance, action, and intrigue and I found them to be quite nice reads. If you like more modern stories I would suggest Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Martyn Pig is a suspense book about an accidental murder with some nice plot twists that will keep you wondering "What next?" Speak was a dark, stunning story about a girl who suddenly stops speaking, apparently without reason, her freshman year of high school; as the story unfolds more and more surprising things are revealed about this girl's life to help give you clues as to the real reason she doesn't talk...but even then I was unprepared for the end which took me completely by surprise. Both of these books are definitely worth picking up as they are not very long (both around 200 pages) and hard to put down once you start reading. Again, good luck and I hope you come to enjoy reading as much as the rest of us do!

Haha, #5 was my favorite--it needs to happen, end of story. How about Voldemort turns out to be the true Dumbledore in disguise? Or maybe Draco and Harry finally admit their undying love for one another, just to satisfy the fangirls. Heh, I'm afraid I'm not very good at making these up, I've read all of the books and cannot think outside of that box anymore. :

"I want her to waken." "We all want that." "Then help me!" The Wild Road by Gabriel King.

Let's see...I had to think way back but the last CD I actually bought was Wolfsheim's Spectators. The only reason I was interested in the CD were the songs "Heroin She Said" and "K

Haha, oh yes. I'm very guilty of multitasking with my novels. A few weeks ago I was running around the house frantic looking for more bookmarks because I was tired of using tissues and bits of paper to hold my places. I do the same thing at the library--every time I go to return a book I inevitably come back with at least two more and then start reading them, it's a bad (and sometimes confusing) habit. Especially when I get so many going that I don't have enough time to read them all before they're due--the compounded suspense from multiple unfinished books is horrid I can assure you. I'm trying to get better though. I still check out a lot of books but I'm now trying to finish them one or two at a time in order to keep things manageable.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! You guys all seem so nice, I'm having a ball so far! I was thinking about this place at work today and couldn't wait to get home to gab it up with the rest of you. Haha, very cool. I wish I could convert some of the people I work around. I work at a daycare and I can't even get the kids to talk books with me. It amazes me. I mean, when I was a kid I inhaled literature...I miss that kind of free time. In the two years I've worked there I've only seen one kid with a book and that was Pony Pals (I'm assuming it's like babysitter's club only with horses). None of them had even heard of the Warriors series, which I found astounding. e_e

Yeah, I had a hard time getting through the first portion of the book myself. A few of those chapters he would just ramble on and on about random topics that had nothing to do with anything and it got annoying. And I know exactly what you mean about trying to navigate the book--sometimes it's almost like a maze! x_x But the last half of the book (if you can muscle your way through it to that point) is so interesting and creepy and fun to read because of the layout (the reading also goes faster because he starts spacing out the words a LOT. Sometimes only one to a page) that by the end of it you're sitting there going "woah" and eyeing all of the shadows in your house with mistrust for about a week. If you ever get some time, I think it'd be worth another try, but that's just me.

I don't think I could bring myself to read the end of a book before its time even if I wanted to. Just the thought of it is making me cringe, literally. xD I guess I'm too much of a stickler for not knowing the ending (or much of anything really. I like to go into books without even knowing the premise sometimes, just to surprise myself. I've found a number of unexpected favorites this way) to read the last pages...or even to skip ahead. To me, if I see a character's name at the end of a book then it ruins it for me during the reading every time it looks like that character might die, or has died, because I know that they will be fine in the end. Saps all the fun and suspense out of it in a way.

Hehe, sounds good--I'm sure I will. So far I'm having a blast just browsing around (and adding books to my must-read list) and everything looks great! Haha, oh yes. I tried so hard to start up conversations, but sadly most of the people I know hardly read at all and so they would just give me these weird looks. It's even worse at work. I swear not one of those people have picked up a book in years...it's sad really.

Nope, they kept those titles--just changed the first one. Now that I think of it all of the titles are the name of an object except for Northern Lights. Maybe that's why they changed it to The Golden Compass? In order to tie all three titles together? I dunno, just a theory. Who knows the actual reason.

Northern Lights is coming up fast on my to-be-read list. It looks promising and if all goes well I'll definitely be looking into the rest of the series. Whenever I find out that a book is being adapted to a film that I have an interest in seeing I immediately run to the library to check out the book. I cannot help myself--I have to read the book before I watch the film because I don't want to spoil the book by watching the movie first. I like to get my own ideas about the way everything looks before viewing someone else's interpretation of the author's words. I'm not fond of the US title either--I think the original title sounds much better. Out of curiosity, does anyone know why many publishers so often feel the need to change the titles of books when they go overseas?

Alright, will do! I just looked up the series you're talking about and it looks interesting--I'll go ahead and add it to my list. Sadly, other than Encyclopedia Brown, a Nancy Drew book, and Martyn Pig, my experience with Mystery books is extremely limited; so the suggestion is much appreciated! I really need to broaden my horizons a bit.

Loooove that series. The first two books especially. The last book was a bit "eh", but I'm hoping the final book will make up for it by tying up all those loose ends...and hopefully it comes out soon! She's been writing that series almost her whole life apparently. :0 I recommend House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, a 709 pager. There are a few chapters that drag, but I found myself unable to put it down for the sheer brilliance of the way the text is laid out (and slowly falls apart) as the novel progresses. It's like you can read the author going mad as you get near the end, it's incredibly intriguing. Lion's Blood by Steven Barnes is also a highly recommended chunker. I inhaled this book when I first got my hands on it back in high school. This novel is more in the sub-genre of historic fantasy as it is set in alternate-universe colonial America where Africans inherited the New World and Irish slaves are imported. It really is a compelling, thought-provoking piece of literature and one of my all-time favorite books.

I've never done anything like this before, but it looks like fun (and a great way to keep my readings in order) so here I go...starting July 2007, here is my reading list: Key: * = recommend - = I didn't care for the book All unmarked books mean that I enjoyed the read Currently Reading: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Exact Revenge by Tim Green Sitting on the shelf in Que to be Read: The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien Dracula by Bram Stoker Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Beowulf Aesop's Fables by Aesop A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Would Like to Read but do not currently have in possession: Cretaceous sea: A novel of time travel by Will Hubbel Dinosaur Summer by Greg Bear Fatalis by Jeff Rovin Ice Hunt by James Rollins Raptor by Paul Zindel Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas J. Preston The Black Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Ratha's Creature by Clare Bell The Golden Cat by Gabrielle King The Golden Compass/Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman Tailchaser's Song by Gabrielle King Name of the Wind by Pat Rothfuss West of Eden by Harry Harrison The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Time-Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger Return of the King by JRR Tolkien Have Read: Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker Lion Boy by Zizou Corder The Birth of the Firebringer by Meredith Anne Pierce Dark Moon by Meredith Anne Pierce The Warriros Series (the first six books) by Erin Hunter The Theif Lord by Cornelia Funke * Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones* The Haunting of Alizabel Cray by Chris Wooding - Bonita, Sierra, Esperenza, and Spirit by Kathleen Duey The Wild Road by Gabrielle King The Warriors Series (the second set of six books) by Erin Hunter Son of Summer Stars by Meredith Anne Pierce

Birthday: July 21 1987 Age: 19 Starsign: Cancer Single/Married/Other? Single Children? Nope Where do you live? Texas Do you work? Sort of. I work full-time over the summer at a daycare near my parents' house and am trying to find part-time work near my apartment during the school year. Favourite author? I love many authors, but I suppose the author who has the highest number of books I've enjoyed is Robin Mickenly. Favourite book? Again, many. Too many to name or pick. How did you get here? Got fed up with trying to start up decent book discussions elsewhere and, being unable to attend local book club meetings with anything resembling regularity, I finally had the brilliant idea to do a Google search for book club forums and voil