What book(s) are you currently reading?

[ggallegos1]

I just found an old kindle from 2016 that I haven't touched in years. Genuinely thought I sent it back to Amazon for credit. So I'm likely going to use it on work trips since it still works like a charm, albeit with a small crack in the screen.

On paper, I started a book called "The Theory that Would Not Die", it's slower but I'm enjoying it so far in doses.

 

[Takumaji]

Decided to read "The Phantom of the Opera" for like the 100⁹ time.

Great story, isn't it. I got a book set from my aunt called "Bibliothek Dracula" (Dracula library) as a Christmas present when I was 12 which came in a slipcase of 10 volumes with classics such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, Shelley's Frankenstein, lots of novellas and Leroux's Phantom of the Opera. Of course I started with Dracula but Phantom fascinated me much more, living in some sort of secret hideout beneath the Parisian opera house and being able to come and go at will sounded cool to me as a kid.

From then on, Phantom became one of my fav books of the genre and I've also re-read it countless times. Still have the Bibliothek Dracula books and if you take a look at them on my shelf, all books look quite tidy except for Phantom which is well-thumbed and worn.

Speaking of Phantom, the silent movie from 1925 with Lon Chaney is still the best of them all, fuck the new versions and specially that dreadful musical, it's nothing less than an abomination if you know the real story.

 

[HellioN]

Great story, isn't it. I got a book set from my aunt called "Bibliothek Dracula" (Dracula library) as a Christmas present when I was 12 which came in a slipcase of 10 volumes with classics such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, Shelley's Frankenstein, lots of novellas and Leroux's Phantom of the Opera. Of course I started with Dracula but Phantom fascinated me much more, living in some sort of secret hideout beneath the Parisian opera house and being able to come and go at will sounded cool to me as a kid.

From then on, Phantom became one of my fav books of the genre and I've also re-read it countless times. Still have the Bibliothek Dracula books and if you take a look at them on my shelf, all books look quite tidy except for Phantom which is well-thumbed and worn.

Speaking of Phantom, the silent movie from 1925 with Lon Chaney is still the best of them all, fuck the new versions and specially that dreadful musical, it's nothing less than an abomination if you know the real story.

Are you aware there are two different silent versions?
The original 25 version and a 29 re-release.
Some sound was added, scenes reshot, and the masquerade ball was colourized.
The unmasking scene is different between them as well and presented from two different angles.
You can easily look up all the changes and I think kino has a DVD release that has both versions on it.
I'm honestly a big fan of the entire world surrounding the story and probably enjoy 90% of everything out there.
Some of the weirder things are a point and click adventure game titled "Return of the Phantom" and an animated movie that IMO does a pretty good job with the original story.

Quick edit,
You can get the game on both steam and gog for less than $5 right now.
I'm willing to bet you can find it "even cheaper" if you look hard enough.

 

[Takumaji]

Are you aware there are two different silent versions?
The original 25 version and a 29 re-release.
Some sound was added, scenes reshot, and the masquerade ball was colourized.
The unmasking scene is different between them as well and presented from two different angles.
You can easily look up all the changes and I think kino has a DVD release that has both versions on it.
I'm honestly a big fan of the entire world surrounding the story and probably enjoy 90% of everything out there.
Some of the weirder things out there are a point and click adventure game titled "Return of the Phantom" and an animated movie that IMO does a pretty good job with the original story.

Didn't know there are two versions of the movie but now you come to mention it, I think I remember those colourized masquerade ball scenes, back then I thought it was an edit of the broadcaster... heh, you learn something new every day, eh.

IMO the biggest flaw of most movies and the musical is their focus on the unmasking scene. Yeah, it's a key scene but also marks a radical change in the story where the unmasking leads to Erik finally unleashing his inner monster without the Phantom character ("angel of music") restraint. It's this combination of Erik's life before he became the Opera ghost and his love for Christine which makes his character so interesting but also much more appalling than in the quite romanticized movies and musicals that came out in recent years.

Anyway, fantastic book, I think it's time for me to read it again, thanks for the inspiration!

 

[HellioN]

Didn't know there are two versions of the movie but now you come to mention it, I think I remember those colourized masquerade ball scenes, back then I thought it was an edit of the broadcaster... heh, you learn something new every day, eh.

IMO the biggest flaw of most movies and the musical is their focus on the unmasking scene. Yeah, it's a key scene but also marks a radical change in the story where the unmasking leads to Erik finally unleashing his inner monster without the Phantom character ("angel of music") restraint. It's this combination of Erik's life before he became the Opera ghost and his love for Christine which makes his character so interesting but also much more appalling than in the quite romanticized movies and musicals that came out in recent years.

Anyway, fantastic book, I think it's time for me to read it again, thanks for the inspiration!

Awesome, glad to read that.
On a side note, there is a (obviously not official) book simply called "Phantom" by a woman named Susan Kay that tells a possible backstory that Erik may have lived.
It's hit or miss with a lot of fans but I liked it.
I'm pretty sure it finally got an ebook release.
Physical copies can be hard to find at times.
Maybe give it a go if you want to try something different but stay in that universe per say.

 

[SouthtownKid]

but Phantom fascinated me much more, living in some sort of secret hideout beneath the Parisian opera house and being able to come and go at will sounded cool to me as a kid.

You ever read those French pulp novels Fantômas? They also might be up your alley.

 

[Takumaji]

Oh yes, Fantomas is well known over here, mainly due to the movie series with Louis de Funes but the books were also quite popular for a while and still are to some extend. I've read a lot of the stories and some are very good, intense, so uncommon for their time and still fresh in many aspects. Even though he does not get named as often as, say, Moriarty or some famous Bond villains, Fantomas is one of the earlier super villains of the new type that became popular in the 20th century.

Yeah, recommended.

 

[Skokage]

Just finished The Hive by Nick Cutter, who is probably one of my favorite reads these days.

He's not the best Horror writer out there, but his stuff is easily-consumed and is a proper fix my Horror junkie brain on the go.

It was far from his best and ended kind of weakly, but it was still fun as usual.

Nearly done with the current final Dresden Files book as well, but I've been back on a manga kick and it's been slow.

I’ve only ever read The Troop by him, but i really enjoyed that one. Curious if you’ve read a lot of his stuff where you would go next?

 

[Average Joe]

I've read/listened to everything he's done and think it's all worth your time, but Little Heaven is his best and most complete book by far with it feeling like a proper novel and not just something where some disturbing creature creates chaos and body-horror havoc (even though that is fun as hell.)

 

[Average Joe]

The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue, #1)

Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune…

www.goodreads.com

Just finished this and I loved every word of it.

I had never heard of the author before and it was a totally random pick from my local library, but it might have been my favorite read in years.

He seemlessly managed to make something so effortlessly funny in a world full of fantastical detail and creativity. It honestly reminded me of when I first discovered Discworld and Pratchett and how he managed to do the same things. From the very first pages I found myself both chuckling and intensely interested in how this magical world operated and that is a balancing act that is not easy to find.

 

[max 330 megafartz]

The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue, #1)

Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune…

www.goodreads.com

Just finished this and I loved every word of it.

I had never heard of the author before and it was a totally random pick from my local library, but it might have been my favorite read in years.

He seemlessly managed to make something so effortlessly funny in a world full of fantastical detail and creativity. It honestly reminded me of when I first discovered Discworld and Pratchett and how he managed to do the same things. From the very few pages I found myself both chuckling and intensely interested in how this magical world operated and that is a balancing act that is not easy to find.

Gonna grab this from interlibrary loan. You had me at Pratchett

 

[fake]

I finished The Case Against Satan a few weeks ago and started The House Next Door.

 

[Bill Kilgore]

Just finished The First and the Last by Adolf Galland. It's about the rise and fall of the Luftwaffe in ww2. He started as a fighter pilot and then rose to the rank of commander of the fighter forces. I loved to read his experiences as a pilot, especially with the Me-262 jet fighter and his fiery discussions with that pompous Herman Göring.

 

[SML]

A fan compiled complete stories of R A Lafferty.

I mentioned elsewhere that I get annoyed by stories that are too centered around clever conceits (the writer being too “cute” about what he or she is doing) but Lafferty seems to sidestep the issue by being impenetrable. I can’t roll my eyes and say “I get it” because I’m never sure I do get it.

I like it?

 

[ggallegos1]

Read Later by Stephen King on a flight last week. Short little novel, more crime thriller than horror but there are some semblances of the horror genre there. For my first Stephen King novel, I really enjoyed it and will likely delve into his more famous works.

Currently rereading the Hobbit because why not.

 

[Taiso]

I just wrapped up another read of The Two Towers, myself. Now I'm slumming it with Dragons of Winter Night, Dragonlance book 2.

The Dragonlance books are not fit for adult consumption, I think. The characters are mostly annoying, complain about everything and argue with each other all the time. Laurana, Tasslehoff, Caramon and Tika are all right. But the rest are just so irritating. Loved Sturm as a kid. Now I wonder why he comes off like such a bitch. Probably what they thought knights should act like in a fantasy setting.

Still, these books taught a generation of nerds how to begin their own role playing and the series was a breakout hit for TSR in the 80s. I have a lot of fond memories of this series but that's mostly tied to the way me and my friends shared our thoughts and opinions about the series while we gamed and hung out.

I won't call it 'great' but it's a milestone in fantasy publishing for sure. While it's not saying much, Salvatore's Drizzt books are a better example of this particular subgenre of fantasy fiction. Both Dragonlance and the various Forgotten Realms novels are products of their publishing environment and it's plain to see but they were also quite trailblazing relative to the industry that produced them.

 

[LordCollector]

Currently reading an interesting book “Problems with History and Current Events”. In the first section, It takes the problems of the different eras of history from the Roman Empire to our current international political system. In the second section, it takes all the problems with American democracy that was laid bare by the Trump presidency. In the third section it takes the problems of the narratives of the other cultures/societies outside the Western paradigm. Very engaging and educational.

FULL TITLE

Problems with History and Current Events: Reflections on Historical Narratives from an American Who Lived in Paris​

 

[SouthtownKid]

I just wrapped up another read of The Two Towers, myself. Now I'm slumming it with Dragons of Winter Night, Dragonlance book 2.

That is something I could never do. If I reread one of the LotR books, I have to reread all of them.

 

[Taiso]

That is something I could never do. If I reread one of the LotR books, I have to reread all of them.

Tolkien's prose can be exhausting so sometimes I need a break between books.

 

[famicommander]

Tolkien's prose can be exhausting so sometimes I need a break between books.

Every time I read the books I'm surprised by how much I've read and they're still not at fucking Rivendell

 

[Taiso]

As I get older, I become more and more aware of how much the films deviate from the books. Some of the changes, I still agree with.

Tom Bombadil is...not my cup of tea. It's only out of respect for Tolkien that I am not calling him 'fucking gay' and I'm kind of relieved he's not in the films. I truly believe Tolkien was not really sure how he was going to get where he was going with those books when he started and discovered the path along the way. I have yet to read any documentation or any of his letters contradicting this but I'm sure it's quite possible he was transitioning the tale to start out rather innocent, like The Hobbit, and gradually grow darker and darker and move away from the childlike qualities of Bilbo, the potentially unreliable narrator.
On the other hand, he was writing those books during the Blitz and the spread of Naziism in Europe and his mood in many of his letters at the time reflect his frustrations with Hitler and his ilk. It's entirely reasonable to theorize that as his world became more serious, so did his writing.

But other changes aren't so cool.

 

[fake]

Tom Bombadil = the green man, IMO. I'm fine with him not being in the movies, though.

 

[famicommander]

Tom would stop the movie cold just when it starts to get going

 

[Average Joe]

I found out there is a pretty kick-ass used bookstore a few towns over so I went there today.

I ended up finding one of my favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy books (Moon Pool) and then to balance it out I picked up some pulpy Horror trash called Floating Dragon, which is apparently about some mutant animal AND a toxic gas cloud that drives people insane that run rampant in some small town in Connecticut.

I also managed to find the prequel to A Blacktongue Thief (The Daughter's War) at my local library so I'm hoping to give that a start today.

 

[ggallegos1]

Finished the hobbit not long ago, still a fun little diversion as always.

There was a deal from Amazon for the Star Wars prequel novelizations all in one file for $4 or $5, i remember enjoying the Revenge of the Sith novelization a lot so i'll dive into all three of these. May check the Thrawn trilogy afterwards to see what the big deal is with this guy.