Last book you read?

[Butterscotch]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Just finished rereading this. I had read the first six HP books over the summer, but when it came time to read this one again I felt a bit burnt out, and it took me three months to make my way through it. Because I had read the others so recently, I felt even more attached to the characters, and got more emotional over the deaths that occur.

My biggest criticism of the book is that some parts feel like ass-pulls. Normally, Rowling is very good at foreshadowing, but some revelations felt a bit... I don't know, a bit forced? Too convenient, maybe? Of course, the parts that do tie back to earlier books are immensely satisfying.

[BorderWolf]

Teh Itteh Bitteh Book of Kittehs: by Professor Happycat

The third book of LOL cats, very funny. The picture are mostly of kittens though there is a few with the mom cat, and a few with the dad cat.

[ruthienick]

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Awesome book of awesomness but the adults are too important here. I especially love the last sentence of the book.
@butters: never read harry potter but i watched deathly hallows part 1 last night. they're gonna keep me in suspense for one. whole. year!

[BorderWolf]

The Wonderful Future that Never Was: by Gregory Benford and The Editors of Popular Mechanics


This book contains predictions from 1903 to 1969, of what the future would hold. Most of the predictions didn't come to pass, but a few did even if not as accurate. One of them that was made in 1967, would be that there will be mapless driving. A device that you enter a code number representing your destination, and roadside transmitters would guide you to it. That device of course is the GPS units that most cars now have, that get the directions from satellites.

[ruthienick]

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Titan's Curse

I guess it's my fave Percy Jackson book because it's when Nico appeared =) But somehow I find this book one of the most boring. Of course, there are funny parts especially the chapter "I Have a Dam Problem" but I somehow feel unsatisfied reading this. Maybe it's because Annabeth's gone?

[BorderWolf]

Hogfather : by Terry Pratchett

Another of the Discworld novels. This one poke fun of what Christmas would be on Discworld. Someone wants to harm the most beloved icon. When the Hogfather goes missing, Death himself is taking up the reins of the sleigh to make sure the presents still get deliever, while his level-headed granddaughter Susan races to unravel the mess to where the Hogfater is being held captive.

[ruthienick]

Sixth Grade Secrets

I guess it's okay. Louis Sachar is always awesome.

[Butterscotch]

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

The book is split into two parts. The first part tells of a young couple, Noah and Allie who had a special summer romance when they where teenagers, but were forced to seperate. They reunite as adults and Allie is torn between Noah and her fiance.

I know this is billed as one of the greatest romantic stories of recent times, but to be honest, I found it fell flat. We know the characters have a special love because Sparks tells us so, but it's hard to see. Most of the story is told from Noah's eyes and he gets some good characterization, but Allie falls flat. She is supposed to be wonderful and kind and funny, but this doesn't really show. I hesitate to label Allie a Mary Sue, but she does have many of the trappings of a typical Sue.

I found the second half of the story to be a little more interesting, but to be honest, I had to force myself to finish.

[kirika]

Sundays at Tiffany's

I got into it after Lifetime released a movie based on it. Though I have to saw the book is way better though Micheal is a bit creepier in the book. You see in the beginning when he's Jane's imaginary friend he's actually a 30 year old man playing with her, where in the movie they made him a 9 year old boy too. >.>

[TBustah!]

I'm reading Raise The Titanic, an old paperback from the mid 70's that my mom found for me at a library sale. I was obsessed with Titanic history when I was little, so she figured I'd like it.

I thought it was just gonna be some cheesy dime store novel, and so I started reading it purely to mock it, but it's actually pretty good.

Basically, the premise is that there was a large load of this rare mineral on board the Titanic when it sank. In the present day (or rather, the 80's, it's set a bit in the future from when it was written), a secret government think tank is developing a new type of defense against nuclear weapons, but they need this mineral to finish it. The scientists find out that the Titanic had some on board, and so they set out to raise the ship from the ocean floor.

It's based on the belief that the so-called "experts" had that the ship sank in one piece (despite hundreds of eye-witness accounts that it broke in two), since the book was written nine years before Robert Ballard actually discovered the wreck, so you have to suspend what we know now in order to believe the story, but it's still pretty good. I don't know how they're going to raise the ship (or why they can't just send a submarine down to get the mineral), but it's great so far.

If you like history or spy novels (there's some espionage going on), and can find a copy, give it a try.

[BorderWolf]

The Peyton-Allan Files: by Phil Stanford

This is a true crime novel about the deaths of two teenagers in late November of 1960 in Portland, Oregon. Larry Peyton was found dead in his car that was parked on the edge of a backroad in a park. His girlfriend Beverly Allan was found dead a month later 38 miles away from where his body was found. It took a little over nine and a half years to bring this case to trial. Three people were suspected on the deaths, even tough the evidense didn't match them to the crime. Both of them were released after several years. It was quite an interesting read, enough that I read the whole book in one day. It is that good of a book.

[Mage the Observer]

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. In a post-apocolyptic North America, the nation of Panem rises. Panem is divided into a capitol district, where the elite live in splendor, and the twelve outlying districts, where you're priveliged if you have enough to eat.

We meet our protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, on the day of the reaping. Every year, the Capitol holds a free-for-all deathmatch called the Hunger Games, and forces two children from each district to compete. To the citizens of the Capitol, it's just entertainment.

To the people of the Districts... well... let's just say that there used to be thirteen of them...

It's a beautiful story, containing a lot of suspense, political intrigue, and humanity. Read it. Now.

[BorderWolf]

Star Wars: Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry

This book tells the story of the building of the first Death Star. The story is see by several characters, including some of the major characters from the first movie.

Very good story in my opinion.

[ruthienick]

Skip Beat (a manga is also a book... right?)

It's about a girl, Kyoko, who always looked up to Shotaro, a Japanese idol whom she lives with. One day, she finds out that Shotaro was just treating her as a slave and she vows to get revenge and ruin Shotaro.

It's pretty funny but the layout is so messy and sometimes I have no idea what's going on. The story is also very cute and you just can't stop reading it. The art is fine for the girls but how come in every shoujo, they just have to make the boys have super wide and long necks and super sharp chins and super long legs.

[Butterscotch]

Manga is fine for this thread.
I read the first few volumes of Skip Beat, but I had some trouble sticking with it.