Books

I set aside books a while back in favor of exclusively studying holocrons. >.>

I mostly read fantasy and sci-fi for enjoyment. Wrapping up Darth Plagueis now before re-reading the Hobbit in anticipation of its home release. I also read... whatever my attention latches on to at the time, including science and language textbooks, various theological and apologetic works, and so on. Also, comics.

For better or worse, I'm warming up to reading on my tablet. The convenience is great. It's just that the historian/librarian/archivist in me feels uneasy about not having a physical book in my hands. :p
 
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I mostly read either fantasy or sci-fi for enjoyment. And then for hobbies like programming or making electronic gadgets or learning anything tech ... I read a lot of books. Although now I try to get ebooks rather than paperbooks.
 
Still paper books. Science fiction, History, biography, whatever fancies my tickle. I am a little upset that there is no room to dig out my assorted collection in this house. I really like my sailing books and they are all put away.
 
As of recently, I've mostly read Brandon Sanders, Orson Scott Card, or Star Wars fiction. I was reading the wheel of time series, but it was rough.
 
I read. Although mostly manga these days. it's been a little while since the last time I read a full text book -- which was all of Harry Potter.
 
Joshinator said:
As of recently, I've mostly read Brandon Sanders, Orson Scott Card, or Star Wars fiction. I was reading the wheel of time series, but it was rough.
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I used to read a lot. I need to get into the habit again to keep my edge as a pastor, but the minutia keep getting in the way. Most of the time I have two or three books going. One is usually church related (Church Mouse right now) and the other for pleasure. I've read Tolkien, Orson Scott Card, Robert Jordan, Isaak Asimov, I want to start reading the Star Wars books. There is a guilty enjoyment from reading some of the "pulp" novels.

Oh, I never got around to finishing the Wheel of Time. I loved the early books, but somewhere around 8 or 9 I got sick of the 20 different plot lines I could barely keep track off. He's a good author, the story got way out of hand IMHO.
 
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As a pastor speaking to a pastor, you should always be reading one story. Story helps in message building. Eugene Peterson suggests mystery novels and whodunits, they tend to have good stories and require little brain power.

Also, have you tried audio books for the church books? This can be a good way to increase knowledge in a different way. I listen while I exercise.
 
Kahiel said:
I used to read a lot. I need to get into the habit again to keep my edge as a pastor, but the minutia keep getting in the way. Most of the time I have two or three books going. One is usually church related (Church Mouse right now) and the other for pleasure. I've read Tolkien, Orson Scott Card, Robert Jordan, Isaak Asimov, I want to start reading the Star Wars books. There is a guilty enjoyment from reading some of the "pulp" novels.

Oh, I never got around to finishing the Wheel of Time. I loved the early books, but somewhere around 8 or 9 I got sick of the 20 different plot lines I could barely keep track off. He's a good author, the story got way out of hand IMHO.
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The star wars books (EU after episode 6) are enjoyable. I got a little burned out though. I suppose reading 12 (all regular 300+ page novels) of them in a 2 week timespan wasn't the smartest thing I could do.

If you like Orson Scott Card, I definitely recommend stuff by Brandon Sanderson. He's another mormon author who puts great themes in his stories, and has real intelligent dialogue and "magic" systems. He wrote the mistborn trilogy, warbreaker (available on his website for free), elantris, The Way of Kings (amazing book, start of a series), and something else I am probably forgetting. Great guy.
 
Books? Books? They still make books?

jk.

I'm always reading, usually multiple books at a time.

As of right now I'm reading mostly Christian books. Although I've got Atlas Shrugged about 60% and waiting.
 
The author I have come to like lately is Stephen R. Lawhead. http://www.stephenlawhead.com/. I read his The Dragon King Trilogy and those were great. Started up his Bright Empires series but haven't gotten the second or third book yet. If those four books are any indicator of how he is with his other series, they should be awesome. They play out like a movie for me as I read them. I am certainly a fan of his and will most definitely hope to be picking up some more of his books soon.
 
Razzle0925 said:
The author I have come to like lately is Stephen R. Lawhead. http://www.stephenlawhead.com/. I read his The Dragon King Trilogy and those were great. Started up his Bright Empires series but haven't gotten the second or third book yet. If those four books are any indicator of how he is with his other series, they should be awesome. They play out like a movie for me as I read them. I am certainly a fan of his and will most definitely hope to be picking up some more of his books soon.
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Nice to see a fellow Lawhead fan, he's probably my favorite author. If you like sci-fi, I'd recommend Dream Thief, or the Empyrion series, which are both great. If you like fantasy, the Song of Albion series is amazing. Really, just read them all, they're all good.:D
I was actually just about to start reading the Bright Empire series for the first time, looking forward to it.
 
Sarugon said:
Nice to see a fellow Lawhead fan, he's probably my favorite author. If you like sci-fi, I'd recommend Dream Thief, or the Empyrion series, which are both great. If you like fantasy, the Song of Albion series is amazing. Really, just read them all, they're all good.:D
I was actually just about to start reading the Bright Empire series for the first time, looking forward to it.
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The first book, The Skin Map was AWESOME. I finished it and just had this "bummer" feeling and can't wait to get the next one. I want to try and get all of his books as I really like his style of writing. He does a great job with the story telling.
 
I love reading. However, I'm a bit of an obsessive reader. If I get stuck in a good book it is usually to the exclusion of all else. Needless to say, this does not work well with family. So I abstain for long periods of time before gorging on another book, realizing I am neglecting my family and then abstaining again. When I read it is fiction and usually in the genre of SciFi or Fantasy but I will jump on a Cussler or Crichton novel without issue.

I only own a handful of books. I've moved enough times that boxes of books became the bane of my existence. I've finally convinced my wife that the library does a better job of storing books than we do. So I own the Lord of the Rings series, Lewis' Space Trilogy (slowly collecting the Narnia books), and Alexander's Pyrdain Chronicals. If I were to expand my set I would probably grab Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy (I hated the fourth book).
 
Joshinator said:
As of recently, I've mostly read Brandon Sanders, Orson Scott Card, or Star Wars fiction. I was reading the wheel of time series, but it was rough.
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Kahiel said:
Oh, I never got around to finishing the Wheel of Time. I loved the early books, but somewhere around 8 or 9 I got sick of the 20 different plot lines I could barely keep track off. He's a good author, the story got way out of hand IMHO.
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My advice to everyone: Read the first 3 books of Wheel of Time then quit. Do not pick up book 4. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, and do not continue after the third book. If you just have to know what happens next, read plot summaries.

On a related note: Ignore the hype. A Song of Ice and Fire (starting with A Game of Thrones) is written by an angry atheist and it shows. Skip the entire series or, at the least, stop reading after book 3. (Is this a trend in fantasy or something?) I'll admit George R.R. Martin is a talented writer and the plots and characters of the first 3 books kept me engaged, but books 4 and 5 (like so many sci-fi and fantasy novels in series) spread the characters too thin with little to nothing of actual importance happening until plot avalanches near the end of the books.

As always, I strongly recommend The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion by Tolkien, The Space Trilogy and Till We Have Faces (especially if you've studied Greek mythology for the latter) by Lewis, and the Timothy Zahn Star Wars trilogy. (Zahn's Conquerors Trilogy is pretty cool, too, from what I remember.)

Isaac and Asimov and Robert Silverberg are both great authors, but may not be healthy reading for young or immature Christians not yet grounded in their faith. As is the case with so many sci-fi writers, both authors write from an agnostic or atheistic perspective. Same warning applies to Frank Herbert's writing, though Dune is still a sci-fi classic, even if all other books after the first in the Dune series pale by comparison.

Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship is an excellent read and I highly recommend it to all Christians. Returning to Lewis, specifically to list his non-fiction works, Mere Christianity, God in the Dock (a collection of articles, essays, and letters), and The Problem of Pain are all fantastic.
 
Speaking of books... I think I need more bookshelves.
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The Silmarillion is a tough read too. The narrative parts are a delight, but the transitional notes are dry.

Phoenix, my bedroom has two wall length book shelves, there is a 6 foot one next to this desk and I still have about 15 boxes in the attic. I really need to stop buying books. Never.
 
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