Bookclub - what are you reading?

[man_tou_bear]

Alhana,

Hahaha.. yups at least we agree on Dragonlance!! heehee.. my fav character is Raistlin... hahaha love him to bits.. i think it must becos he does magic!! heeee... Tas was a lil' irritating at times, but at the parts where he saw the danger his frens where in really touched my heart.. esp Flint's death.. my sis still cries when she reads that part!!!

Sansa still doesn't improve??? my gdness what does it take for her to wake up??? I was just starting to thaw towards her esp the part where Joffrey ordered The Hound to punch her... and that she didn't cry.. that was pretty admirable... I like Ben Stark (the crippled) if i didn't remem his name wrongly. the guy that was left behind.. and also Jon Snow... heeee...

Hrmm which book to start with Robin Hobb? she has a lot right?

 

[alhana]

Bear,

Raistlin was cool! I liked how they played out his relationship with Caramon..conflicted and tortured, yet the bond is there. Oh yeah, Flint's death was a tearjerker...so was Sturm's. Tas provided most of the light hearted parts, and the part where he finally felt fear (at one of the Mage towers..can't remember the name..darn)..hilarious. I do agree that he can be irritating, esp in the later books (he really got on my nerves later on).

Yeah, Sansa just gets weepy and depressed .. well, can't say that I blame her since she's really in hell. Joffrey will really torment her. But I do feel pity for her...she thought she was living the life of a fairytale princess, only to realise that her Prince Charming is actually an evil childish monster. I love the Hound...he's cool too. Haha..its Bran Stark, not Ben. Ben was their uncle who got lost beyond the wall. Jon..like him too, esp his wolf Ghost.

Robin Hobb has 3 trilogies, all based on the same world. 2 are connected : The Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassin's Quest) & The Tawny Man Trilogy (Fool's Errand, The Golden Fool, Fool's Fate) - These 6 books are based on the same character. She writes from his point of view, and only his. So the continuation is there..no jumping back and forth between diff people like GRRM

The other trilogy is the Liveship Trader's Trilogy (Ship of Magic, The Mad Ship, Ship of Destiny). The characters are different from those of the other trilogies, but some of them pop up in the Tawny Man trilogy. I actually read the Liveship trilogy after finishing the other 2, and I then realised that some of the Liveship characters, and part of the storyline provided more backstory to the Tawny Man series. But you don't have to read the Liveship one to understand the Tawny Man story.

 

[man_tou_bear]

Yups Alhana, most ppl will think Raist is very ungrateful, but they never thought that Caramon's love was sooo stifling... Tas was ok with the first few books then it degenerated. BTW have u tried the other series written by Hickman and Weis? Not the DragonLance one. A 7 books series called the Death Gate Cycle. Not too bad that one. Very funny too!!!

Oops Bran not Ben.. that's why i said if i rem correctly.. heehee.... The Hound is gd or bad ah???

SO which trilogy should i read first from Hobbs? Liveship then?

 

[dottyback]

wa biang wa biang...the way u both tok abt the books like sooooooo exciting leh!

ok i will start wif...dragonlance? series? means got how many books har?

the other 1 hor..u used the word 'complex' means cheem means i tink i cannot make it lol

xie xie bear n alhana!

i finish reading the 2 books i bot from kmich 1st than go buy kakaka then i can come in n tell u all my fave charac oso

 

[alhana]

You can read her books in this order:

Farseer Trilogy ---> Liveship Trilogy ---> Tawny Man Trilogy. But you can skip Liveship w/o affecting your understanding of the Farseer & Tawny storylines. My hubby totally skipped the Liveship series coz he didn't like the concept (it featured ships that could talk). I read Farseer, followed by Tawny, becoz these 2 trilogies feature the same protagonist. I wanted to know what happened to him. Only read Liveship after that. But in terms of time frame, that's the order in which the books were published. In fact, she didn't even intend to write the Tawny Man series..but she changed her mind as she felt that she was not done with that character's story. Heh..hope I did not confuse you!

I didn't read the other books by Hickman & Weis. After I read the last Dragonlance trilogy, I swore off their stories Do you read Terry Pratchett? I've only read "Good Omens" (which was co-written w Neil Gaiman - OMG that was a funny book), but I understand Terry's Discworld series is very funny.

The Hound....later on you will see more sides of him. I don't think he can be painted as just good or bad...he seems to have a conscience..he's a very bitter and angry person. His bro, on the other hand, seems to be pure evil.

 

[dottyback]

*see stars oreadi* lol

alhana wait ah...tak brake awhile..i trying to copy everything down sia hahahaha

whose the author of dat series? hahahaha

 

[alhana]

Hi Serene

Ok, to start with Dragonlance, get these 3 books first:

Dragons of Autumn Twilight ---> Dragons of Winter Night ---> Dragons of Spring Dawning

Maybe get the first book first to see if you like it. I usually get my fantasy books from San Bookshop..they have a very good range, and many of the copies are new, or fairly new. The Dragonlance series consists of many many books, but many are standalone stories. Only 2 trilogies are good...the one I mentioned above (they refer to the 3 books abv as Chronicles trilogy) and the Legends Trilogy, which follow right after. Read these 6 enough liow......the rest very crappy.

 

[alhana]

Haha Serene..the one I mentioned in that post (The Farseer stuff) was meant for Bear. That's not Dragonlance

The 2 Dragonlance trilogies are written by Tracy Hickman & Margaret Weis.

 

[dottyback]

alhana i totally catch no ball with ur hickman etc etc etc LOL paisay ah

actually hor honestly lah i nv touched any book since i left school decades ago lol i onli started readin again when the whole world was caught in the da vinci code frenzy n i had 2 find out myself wad is the big hooha abt it...after dat then i started 2 read other things..imagine i nv read Amy Tan before n i dare dare go buy 'The Opposite Of Fate' haha n i actually finished it

 

[dottyback]

*erase erase...balik write* hahaha

ok..i shall take ur recommendation! xie xie!

if i ever finish the 3 books u gai siao..i will ask u 4 the titles of the legend series hor? kekeke

 

[alhana]

Serene...ok will try to be clearer. Sorry ah..I think I confused you with the post to Bear..it looked as though I was responding to your post.

Ok. Dragonlance. Start with 3 books:

Dragons of Autumn Twilight ---> Dragons of Winter Night ---> Dragons of Spring Dawning

Hickman is one of the co-authors of these books. Heh..think this is simplier lah.

I love reading..have been reading since I was young. Favourite genres are fantasy, horror and humour, and sometimes classics, like Jane Austen.

 

[man_tou_bear]

HAHAHAAH!! Serene! so funny!

Yups u start with Dragonlance 3 books that Alhana said.. u might also see her in them! i think in book 2 right? Winter Night hor Alhana? with Sturm Brightblade.

The next series by them is also 3 books. in fact i have all 6 of them plus the latest series.. very dog ear liao...

Ha Alhana i will go and look for the books then.. but first must finish the Fire and Ice series. heee...

 

[alhana]

Hehe...yeah, I confused her lah..what to do. She reply so damn fast...by the time i replied her first post already have another one come out

Bear, I'm not sure which book Alhana makes her first appearance. Tell you something funny. The first time I read Dragonlance, I read the Annotated Chronicles, which is essentially a 3-in-1 hard cover copy containing all 3 books that had annotations by the sides from Hickman & Weis. And the annotations had SPOILERS! Argh! The Annotated Chronicles are actually meant for DL fans who have read the books before...hubby tot it was a good deal, so he bought it for me to read. I had to control myself from not reading the annotations after reading one spoiler...but it wasn't easy.

Yah, finish Ice & Fire first. Guarantee you that the next 2 books will be even more exciting!

 

[levynn]

hmmm... serene... reading is good... good. hehe. let me know how r the 2 books u got fr kmich.

i love to read too... most probably my father's influence. me n my sisters can read until tune out everything n jump into the books liao, which sometimes pissed my mum off, esp when she's wanting us to do housework. hehe.

anyway, i like suspense thrillers, mysteries, romance... once in a while, books like "curious incident". actually i tried to read a fantasy book (i think also the Dragonlance one) recommended by a fren, but can't seem to concentrate... gave up b4 i could reach 10 pages. haha... maybe not my cup of tea. but if they turn it into shows, i'll watch... like harry potter, i've never read any of the books, but watched all the movies.

 

[man_tou_bear]

Alhana,

If i am not wrong, Alhana the character only appears in the beginning of Winter Night, when Sturm, Tanis and Tas were captured by the guards rem? Alhana was captured too rem??? Then the dragons came and Sturm protected Alhana. Rem rem rem??? heeheee...

I read the indiv books first when i was in sec 3. i think i started with Winter Night. I hate that book most. When I was in JC then i bought(i rem getting some MPH vouchers for a prize) the 3 in 1 book that was not annotated.

Me busy with my ROM.. no time to read!!! the Stephen White book I am reading has been by my bed for a wk liao (normally finished it within 3 days)!!!

 

[alhana]

Hi Bear

Yeah, I remember how they met Alhana, I just don't know which book she appears in, since I read the books in a 3-in-1 version...it's like reading one really huge book instead of 3 separate ones

The annotated version only came out a few yrs ago. They have the tradeback version now..but it's still humungous!

Heh..dun worry lah...you will always find time to read next time. Esp, if it's a good book, you will find time...

Hi levynn

Not all Dragonlance books are good. If you started off w a bad one, I don't blame you for losing interest

Harry Potter is very easy to read, and IMHO, way better than the movies. Much more depth to the stories and characters .. and I much prefer the versions of the characters in my head than those portrayed in the movie (esp for Sirius and Lupin..the kids and the main teachers are ok..quite accurate to what I imagined)

 

[man_tou_bear]

Yups Alhana, The Ice Maiden only appeared in Taris which is the beginning of book 2. heee.. if Serene is reading this we are spoiling everything for her... heeheee... kinda sad when when she gave Sturm the crystal right? what's it called again??? BTW did u read Feist collaboration with Jenny Wurts. The Daughter of the Empire, Lady of the Empire and Servant of the Empire... very gd book. more character building then the Feist books.. plus its writing with a lady so the details are much more mesmerising. Daughter of the Empire introduced me to the world of fantasy.

Levynn, try the Dragonlance books Alhana and I recommended.. its very gd.. anything else is crap. they are milking for what it is worth.

 

[alhana]

Hi Bear

No, have not read any other Feist books apart from the Riftware saga. Maybe will get the Empire series later...after I read the 4th GRRM book Yay, coming out in Nov!! Hmm..Alhana gave Sturm a star jewel...is it har? Heh..yrs since I last read Dragonlance. Only read it that one time so I don't really remember details too well. Maybe I shld re-read Chronicles. Yah lor..Serene..Don't read our posts coz lotsa spoilers here..haha.

Anyone read the Bridget Jones books? They are so funny! The 2nd movie really didn't do justice to the 2nd book..the book was so funny, but the movie was just plain silly.

 

[dottyback]

kekeke hello ppl

bear bear dun worry all those things u n alhana saying i totally catch no ball n cant rem lol probably after i start reading than will understand anyway

alhana ah..wheres tis sans bookshop ? i get all my books from borders coz 2 lazy 2 go anywhere else n hor..kinokuniya always gifs mi headache place 2 crampy liao..i always feel out of breath there haha

 

[levynn]

serene...
u rich tai tai la... BUY books to read, while the rest of us here only can rent. hahaha. i only make sure i like that book b4 i buy it.

anyway, here is the list of Sans bookshop:
Funan IT Mall #02-15
Heartland Mall #03-04
Millenia Walk #02-25C
OUB Centre #03-03
Plaza Singapura #06-11/12
Tampines Mall #03-08
The Amara #03-15
United Square #B1-56F
West Mall #04-20

i think for now, the one at PS is the biggest. i went there a few times... the books they have r mostly new ones.

 

[levynn]

bear...

u talking abt these 3 books??
Dragons of Autumn Twilight ---> Dragons of Winter Night ---> Dragons of Spring Dawning

 

[alhana]

Hi Serene

I don't usually buy books unless I know I want to re-read them. If I'm not sure it's gonna be a good book, I'll just rent them from San. If it turns out good, I can still opt to keep them.

Hi levynn

Yup, that's the 3 books Bear's talking abt. They are the first in the Dragonlance series.

 

[man_tou_bear]

Hey Serene,

Hee, quickly go and get the books to read then u will know what we are talking abt liao!!!

Yups Levynn, that's the bks i was refering to. This is the starting of Dragonlance. Subsequently will be the Legends series. The rest of the books are stand alones, with the except of the Chao Wars Series and the one more series which i can't rem what's it is called cos its crap.

Heee Alhana, okok, u read the 4th bk first then reread the Dragonlance. I normally get the books from the lib, read liao return... then i will miss reading it and go and buy them. hahahaha....

 

[dottyback]

haha levynn mi tai tai? i wish ah! its a dog's life ok?? the reason y i buy books is becoz i like 2 own them haha coz hor..i very scared spoil ppl's things then later dai ji zhuei zhuei n somemore i can take my own sweet time kekeke plus i always circulate it among my frens so still ok lar hehe

alhana n bear tell u all sumting farni...i tink i zou huo ru mo oreadi..laz nite actually dreamt abt such magical scenarios leh! wa biang...haven gotten the book i oreadi fantasize lol

bear bear i now reading 1 book n still got the sequel kekeke i scared i buy the books liao hor..then i will drop everything else dat i haven finished reading haha but i really tempted 2 buy them!!

 

[man_tou_bear]

Heee Serene take ur time lah! dun buy the rest first until u decided of u like the first book. heeee.... might not be ur cup of tea.

I also dream of dragons when i first read the books. it was something like Dennis Quiad's Dragonheart's dragon... very wise and old.... heeee..... i like dragons!

 

[dottyback]

wa biang now then i saw...alhana u n bear so early! lol

bear i cannot 1 leh..1 very jia lat thing abt mi is..i always MUST get whole series lol not nice kah lai gong...dats y always ended up wif lotsa rubbish kekekekke

i tink hor..i will go borders 2nite...since i'm going 2 b at wheelock place lol

 

[levynn]

serene...
actually u can also buy books fr Sans... n for new ones, i think they actually sell it cheaper than outside. u tell the person u wan to buy it then they won't stick the rental paper in your book.

u finish reading the dragonlance one then let me know good or not, ok...

me now stil got a number of libray books on hand that i haven't read yet.

 

[dottyback]

levynn oh ok heheheheh

eh? got 1 in tampines mall sia...din not notice it earlier or i would haf gone during lunch earlier kekekeke wasted dun haf 1 rite in orchard

 

[alhana]

Yeah Serene, u can buy the books from San. Most of their copies are brand new. Actually, the reason why I don't buy all books is becoz my book shelves are already packed! We have 6 very packed shelves, filled w all kinds of books, from hardcovers, to Tintin comics, Archie comics, graphic novels, classics, paperbacks...so to conserve space, we rent Only buy books from our favourite authors. THat's not even counting my sis's room..her shelves are also filled to the brim with books....incl manga and DC/Marvel/Image comics. Scary man, the amt of money we've spent on books But I think it's a worthwhile investment if they are good stuff...reading is always a healthy hobby

Hope you enjoy Dragonlance! Maybe I'll re-read to refresh my memory in order to discuss stuff with you

 

[man_tou_bear]

Hee Serene, u can also get from Sunny Bookshop at Far East Plaza. the new books are normally 10-20% cheaper than what is selling at those bkstores. so u can save some too!

Hahaha Alhana, sama sama... i used all available shelves and drawers for my books!!! until my drawer mechanism spoil becos of the weight!!! heee.... ya re-read ur Dragonlance.. i rem cos i read them almost everyday for 5 yrs!! heee....

 

[dottyback]

alhana n bear lol u all own a mini library! i tell u ah...the onli 'books' i had were all magazines lol

 

[kmich]

serene i aso like mags. which types do u read?
i used to buy jap mags but too expensive liao...think it's abt $18 per copy....

my fav mag now is 'shape'...teaching gals how to have flat tummy & abs muscle...some issues of 'style' aso not bad.

can read 'her world' from internet so dun need to buy...unless tempted by the free gift...hehehe

 

[alhana]

I only read fashion mags when I go to my hair salon (they stock Her World, Female etc). Sometimes will go to Times to browse thru gossip rags Don't buy mags these days coz they are so expensive, and do not have a re-read value. But my cousins buy gossip rags like National Enquirier, People, etc..so I borrow from them when they're done..haha..i just lurve reading all these tabloid stuff!

 

[dottyback]

k-mich hehehehe i loyal fans of Her World n Female...i find Style is juz like Female but not as many articles...bot it a few times but din feel as attracted

alhana i love browsing men's mags lol

 

[kmich]

serene...bet u love FHM & MAXIM lol...i only read when they rank top 100 sexiest women...

 

[levynn]

alhana n bear...
i also got quite a number of books at home... all my 'bao bei'.

anyway... got any tips to prevent not so many yellow dots on the books... everytime i see my books start to get yellow, very sad leh...

 

[dottyback]

morning alhana n bear!

i cant find the dragonlance series in borders yest!

they haf only got very few tracy hickman books leh..later i go tampines mall during lunch n try c haf anot..i cant wait kekeke

alhana i saw dat huge book tho..the annotated 1 u said..wa biang..so thick..c oreadi oso scared lol

 

[dottyback]

hey kimich

i finished the 2 dave pelzer's books...aiyo very sad leh...i tried 2 look 4 the 3rd book yest in borders 2..but they dun haf it!!

i'm gonna lend my sis 2 read hehe its unbelievable dat its true...how his mum abused him..i wanna noe wad happened in his adult life keke

 

[alhana]

Hi Serene

Don't get the annotated one hor..yeah it's thick, but the fonts are big, and not many words on each page. Surprised that Borders doesn't hv the series..did you check out the fantasy section?

Did anyone read The Notebook? I just watched the movie over the weekend. Quite touching.

 

[dottyback]

hey alhana i bot the trilogy!!! kekekke went 2 San bookshop at tampines mall juz now keke very happy~!

no lah..i wun get the annotated version..so thick i c liao scared lol

jia lat manz..i bot 1 new books yest n bot 4 2day lol tink i zou huo ru mo oreadi

 

[avid_reader]

Alhana, yes that is the only Nicholas Sparks book I've read though. Was highly recommended by my friend. One of those rare books that moved me to tears! Despite already knowing the story, I still cried when watching the movie.

Hey do you still visit the Krabi thread? Need to ask you some questions about La Playa Krabi.. did you book for the pool access deluxe room? Any supermarket near the hotel?

 

[alhana]

Hi avid

Will reply you on the Krabi thread k? Regarding The Notebook, I rented the VCD and the sound wasn't very good. What was it Noah & Allie said to each other when they were lying on the bed? Couldn't catch it. My guy friend actually cried watching it too! OMG! He said he's a real softie..hehe.

Hi Serene

Haha..See..San is very well stocked! Prefer them to Borders actually..seems these major bookstores only stock either very popular titles or brand new titles. San is good if you want to find older books. Well, let me & Bear know how you like the book k? It gets exciting right from the start

 

[dottyback]

alhana i so happy leh when i was in the bookshop 4 the 1st time kekekeke n u r rite..the books even the 2nd hand ones r so new heehee

i'm gonna read the last book of dave pelzer b4 starting on this exciting series! yahoooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[levynn]

wah, serene... u read really fast leh... let me know how the dragonlance series goes when u r done.

so, anyone knows how to prevent the books fr getting all yellow n dotty??

 

[avid_reader]

Alhana, I don't really remember what they were saying when lying in bed. Maybe you can check the book? I think the movie was shown on HBO or StarMovies some time back and I watched it for a second time, and STILL, eyes all red.... it's really quite a touching story.

Thanks again for the info on Krabi. I will need a very good book for my trip!

 

[avid_reader]

Levynn, the books on my bookshelves getting yellow too. I wanted to re-read some of the books but looking at the yellow/dotty state, don't feel like reading already!

 

[dottyback]

levynn...aiyo ever since i started wkg...i only got time 2 read b4 bed or sometimes on the ride 2 work keke if a book really captures mi..i can really read fast hehe

definitely will tell u how i feel abt my 1st set of fantasy books kekeke

 

[levynn]

avid...
i wan to re-read some of the books too... but see yellow dots, a bit heart pain leh... spend so much, wrapped up so nicely. i tried to put them in a closed bookshelf, n put silicon bits together... stil dun work... guess can't b helped...

 

[krispy]

wow... first time logging in and see all this about fantasy books. yay!!! i'm a sucker for them as well.

i've tried george rr martin... but a little chim for my tastes.

has anyone read 'the wheel of time' by robert jordan? he is my all time fav author. started reading him while i was still in my teens and wow... felt touched by his words. the earlier books were really really good, but book 7 of Wot was really really long. but still, i love how he writes. would totally recommend it to you guys.

levynn: no idea how to prevent the yellowing factor. but, anyway, i don't mind my books getting yellow and all that. i think of it as showing more character as they age.. hahahah.

 

[krispy]

btw, most recent books i read were 'the orange girl' by jostein gaardner (think that's how she spells her name) and 'the time travellers wife' by Audrey Niffenger.

Both are sort of fairytale love stories. I was sniffing and tearing through both... hubby thought i was a little mad to be crying over my books. =)