Evil Avatar discussion

I've added a few books that I think I could easily recommend to anyone I know. Add your favorite books to the bookshelf, and let's see what tastes we have (and don't have) in common.

Have you ever loved someone, only to have that relationship falter for whatever reason? It's that person, that what-could-have-been, maybe even that first-love, that keeps a spot in your mind forever. This is that story. Blankets, by Craig Thompson. It's a 'graphic novel' (or 'comic,' as I call them,) and it's a fantastic read. At almost six hundred pages you'll be surprised how easy of a read it is, particularly considering how Thompson's art easily tells more than a thousand words per picture.

So, if you have any adoration for comics, and/or love stories, and/or coming of age stories... You'll want to check this out.

I adore Blankets. One of the perfect examples of how non-superhero graphic novels are perfectly valid forms of literature.

Don't be so quick to toss Superhero graphic novels into the giant trash can of pulp in the sky. Just read about anything penned by Alan Moore, particularly Watchmen. Tell me that's not literature. That and Dark Knight Returns are perfectly valid examples.

I added the four books of the "Hyperion" series by Dan Simmons. The first one, "Hyperion", is easily the best and has a very entertaining Canterbury Tales style. The sequel and remaining books are well done and it is impressive to see how well Simmons maintains a universe and how it remains in flux.

A bit of warning, however, as I feel that the endings could have been done better: they were, essentially, ended with "and they lived happily ever after. The End."

Also, by the last book, some things have occurred or concepts introduced that are hard to swallow. Still at the very least, the first two are very much worth the read. I read the second two because I enjoyed the universe created in the first.

Have you read any of his other books? I really liked Ilium and Olympos.

I'm actually reading Terror by Simmons right now.

It's a hefty tome that is psuedo-history in the arctic. Sort of like Hyperion's monster meets snow.

It's an ok read, but a bit dry here and there.

I added I Am Legend to the pile. It is a great book and I know a lot of people on Evil Avatar have read it.

Placed Halting State to the group list...I think most gamers will enjoy this book. Give it a look!

Ben, if you liked Halting State (which is on my to-read list), do try some of Charles Stross' other books. Accelerando, for instance, is a good book.

Thanks Ted! I've added Accelerando to my to-read list.

Okay, I added what is quite possibly my favorite book ever: The Liar by Stephen Fry. It's about homosexual coming-of-age, a cabal of academics who worked for Her Majesty as code-breakers during WWII, and an extremely unreliable narrator. It makes for a very clever, intellectually playful, funny novel.