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Booking Through Thursday: Heavy

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Walt

imageWhat’s the largest, thickest, heaviest book you ever read? Was it because you had to? For pleasure? For school?

05montecristoOffhand, I’m trying to think of any large/thick/heavy books I’ve read that would particularly trump any others. Probably The Count of Monte Cristo, read in high school.  Though that’s got enough years between happening and now that I don’t even recall if what I read was the unabridged version or if we read some sort of abridged version.

I imagine the Bible (NIV) might count—that’s certainly THE most significant book I’ve ever read. After years and years of it being any part of my life, several years back 04harrypotterI decided to take part in a 90-day bible-reading challenge with a local radio station…one of few such challenges I’ve ever completed.

Stephen King’s It may be a top candidate for length, read for pleasure sometime during high school. The fifth Harry Potter book—The Order of the Phoenix—also comes to mind as particularly thick.

03lesmisBack in 2004, I bought a copy of Les Miserables after developing a fascination with the Broadway musical after seeing a high school production with one of my best friends at her alma mater. Not sure I made it 50 pages in before being distracted by other stuff, and have yet to go back and finish it.

01capomnibusComic-wise, I think the first Ed Brubaker Captain America Omnibus is easily the largest, thickest, heaviest comic/graphic novel/whatever that I own. Though the Bone One-Volume Edition rivals it…but sadly, I’ve yet to get all the way through Bone.

Springboarding away from the topic at hand a bit, though….if we’d take “heavy” to mean substance and impact on a person for having read the work….I’d have to list the first 6 Left Behind novels, a number of Magic: The Gathering novels (primarily The Brothers’ War), several Dragonlance novels 02bone(primarily Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Summer Flame), as well as The Death of Superman, Batman: A Death in the Family, and DC’s Kingdom Come.

Of course…there’s loads I’m sure I’m not thinking of at the moment. But when you read enough….eventually one loses the ability to recall each and every thing read off the top of the head.

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Photos From Home #12

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Walt

Back in the spring of 1994, a friend convinced me to try out the Magic: The Gathering card game–at the time, I don’t think the game had even existed for more than 7 or 8 months. I initially missed the first novel published based on the game (Arena), but got in with Whispering Woods, which turned out to be the first of a 3-book series.  I followed the rest of the series, though never enjoyed these as much as the first 4.

In 1998 or early 1999, I stumbled across The Brothers’ War, and enjoyed the reading experience a great deal–particularly as it fleshed out a story only hinted at prior in comics and the cards themselves.  Late in my first semester at college I started picking up the other books, and enjoyed the rich story being assembled that tied together the entire Magic: The Gathering setting to that point.  I followed the series for several years and a number of the “cycles.” I’ve fallen behind by quite a few years at this point.

Two other series that I have a number of books are the Aliens series–based on the movies and Dark Horse’s excellent comics continuity. The other is MechWarrior: Dark Age, which followed WizKids’ moving that saga forward a generation or two for its then-new collectible miniatures game. You’ll also see the only 2 Mage Knight novels published…these were OK reads, but I was looking forward to more–sadly, they never did put any more out that I’m aware of.

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Booking Through Thursday: Fantasy and Sci-Fi

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Walt

Booking Through Thursday.

One of my favorite sci-fi authors (Sharon Lee) has declared June 23rd Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Day.

As she puts it:

So! In my Official Capacity as a writer of science fiction and fantasy, I hereby proclaim June 23 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day! A day of celebration and wonder! A day for all of us readers of science fiction and fantasy to reach out and say thank you to our favorite writers. A day, perhaps, to blog about our favorite sf/f writers. A day to reflect upon how written science fiction and fantasy has changed your life.

So … what might you do on the 23rd to celebrate? Do you even read fantasy/sci-fi? Why? Why not?

I’m not sure I’ll do anything to ‘celebrate’…I’m not much for the “big” holidays, even.

Fantasy/Sci-Fi is the primary genre I read in.  I haven’t read many of the “classics” in Sci-Fi; Ender’s Game is probably about the most “mainstream” sci-fi I’ve read. (Then again, I’ve read a number of Star Trek novels as well…)

I’ve enjoyed the Battletech books I’ve read, and I’ve read some of the more recent (2002-ish) Mechwarrior volumes (in part due to a brief period of time involved with the Mechwarrior: Dark Age miniatures game with some friends in my college days).

I’ve mentioned the Aliens series several times in earlier BTT posts–I’ve read the novelizations of the films, and about 2/3 of the novels based on the comics, and several of the Dark Horse Comics Omnibus volumes.

Some Star Trek, Stargate, Highlander, and a Star Wars novel or two can be added to the stack; and I’m sure I’ve read plenty of other sci-fi I’m not thinking of offhand…especially from the Science Fiction and Fantasy and Tolkien and Culture courses I took my junior and senior years of college.

Fantasy-wise, I’ve read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings; the primary series I’ve read in the genre, though are Dragonlance and Magic: The Gathering.

Comics-wise, it seems that a lot of the superhero stuff can be in one or both genres without being so overtly.  Superman involves plenty of science fiction elements (and certainly the same sort of “suspension of disbelief”) and yet would probably be classified “comics” or “super-hero” before “sci-fi.”  Ditto Green Lantern, and pretty much any of the “cosmic books” from DC or Marvel (or any smaller publisher. Runners, or the TMNT for example).

It’s also interesting to note that what was once only science fiction in some cases either IS–or is close to being–science reality.  And that while something may be fantasy, that does not render it un-real.

Now, despite my opening statement…perhaps–assuming I remember–I WILL blog on the topic in recognition of the day. Time’ll tell.

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