Goodreads Singapore discussion

Hey, I thought people might be interested to just post here about books currently being read or just read. You know, just to keep things going.

To kick things off, I just finished Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. I loved it! It's about a Dutch trading post in Japan at around the time of the Tokugawa shogunate. Mitchell's a beautiful writer, and he touches on some great themes about cruelty and compassion.

I loved The 1000 Autums of Jacob de Zoet as well. After i finished it, i dug out Cloud Atlas (also by Mitchell), which i bought years ago. I never finished it the first time around, but i found it a lot easier to read the second time.

I have just re-read The Year of the Flood by Margareth Atwood and am now re-reading Oryx and Crake. I love reading both together, because they are 2 sides of the same story. A bit grim as a post-apolypse story, but very recognisable.

Karo wrote: "I loved The 1000 Autums of Jacob de Zoet as well. After i finished it, i dug out Cloud Atlas (also by Mitchell), which i bought years ago. I never finished it the first time around, but i found it ..."

Cloud Atlas is brilliant. One of my favourite books.

Cean wrote: "I finished The Nymph King, and I'm going to finish every single book by Gena Showalter next. :)"

It was good? I've only ever tried Heart of Atlantis, or something like that. It was SO BAD that I stopped after one or two chapters. I couldn't stand the protagonist.:/ All her book sounds so good, but I'm very wary of her works now. Haha, would you recommend The Nymph King?

A few days ago I started A Game of Thrones. It took about 200 pages, but I'm getting into it.

Halfway through But is it art? by Cynthia Freeland. A good introduction to some theories of art with a very easy-to-follow style. I just wish there were more pictures.

I'm currently reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Totally hooked.

Just finished the biography of Steve Jobs. That guy is iconic, but full of personality defects!

Am now reading "Am Nobody, Going Nowhere : Meditation on the Buddhist Path" by Ayya Khema and "Outside In" by Maria Synder. So many books to read, and so little time to read them. Will need 3 lifetimes to finish all the books I want to read!

I just finished a biography of Pearl Buck called Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China. Very interesting and enjoyable.

I've just finished "Flawless" by Lara Chapman. It's a really amazing book, really. My favorite thing about it is that it teaches girls (or boys!) that they're beautiful and no matter what others' say, they are.

Reading ! It's very nice and interesting :D TMI is good too!

I just finished Liz Williams's Snake Agent and the subsequent three books in the series. They were entertaining but I don't think I'll continue to read the rest. The attraction for me was the setting. The fantasy is set in a Singapore Three of the future, a sort of franchise city. The city itself seems more like Hong Kong than Singapore, which was a bit disappointing. The fun bit was the use of the Chinese ideas of Heaven and Hell. The first book was the most fun, but it starts to deteriorate from the second book onwards. I'd like to see a Singapore author do something similar, but with a more authentic Asian voice.

Currently halfway through reading A Clash Of Kings. Really loving George R.R. Martin's writing. He's a fantastic story teller and fleshes out his characters really well. I wonder how he keeps track of them all!

susanne wrote: "A few days ago I started A Game of Thrones. It took about 200 pages, but I'm getting into it."

How do you like it so far? I'm on book 2 now and I'm transported into another realm altogether whenever I'm reading one of his books!

Zuriati wrote: "Currently halfway through reading A Clash Of Kings. Really loving George R.R. Martin's writing. He's a fantastic story teller and fleshes out his characters really well..."

I've read the first four books but I've decided to wait till the man finishes the entire series before continuing. I realised reading the fourth book that I couldn't remember the characters and what happened to them in the earlier books. I certainly didn't want to keep re-reading just to keep up, and he's taking so long to get the next instalments out.

Whitaker wrote: "Zuriati wrote: "Currently halfway through reading A Clash Of Kings. Really loving George R.R. Martin's writing. He's a fantastic story teller and fleshes out his charac..."

I agree. Am primarily reading book 2 in preparation for the show's premiere in April. Usually hate watching a movie/tv show adaption of anything before having read the book but for this series I am grateful to have faces to put to each character cos there are just too many of them to remember!

Just started Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn, about 70 pages in. Feeling quite neutral especially re: his descriptive passages and naming conventions right now. The Way of Kings started better, but we'll see how it goes.

Jess wrote: "Just started Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn, about 70 pages in. Feeling quite neutral especially re: his descriptive passages and naming conventions right now. The Way of Kings started better, but we..."

I enjoyed Mistborn. It's got a pretty unique magical system.

I'm reading I'm Feeling Lucky by Douglas Edwards, about his time as Google's head of marketing. I'm about four chapters in, and am really fascinated by how the people at Google think and work.

Reading 1984 right now!! Took me awhile to get the hang of all the terms the author created in the book! But the idea for the book itself is making me so amaze @.@

Reading Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre. In contrary to my movie taste I really enjoy reading spy stories especially w/ WWII background.

I just finished Braless in wonderland...it was an awesome.. woo woo dont be so curious about the title.. this is not a book like Title-says-everything or domething kind but loved the story..
Currently reading The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.. this book requires no intro..right???.... :-)

Zuriati wrote: "Whitaker wrote: "Zuriati wrote: "Currently halfway through reading A Clash Of Kings. Really loving George R.R. Martin's writing. He's a fantastic story teller and flesh..."

Ditto. About 70% through A Clash of Kings and I'm hooked on all these anti-hero characters.

Ok just finished Mistborn 1. Once the magic system, Kelsier and Sazed were properly established I couldn't stop reading. 5 stars.

I'm reading The Valkyriesby Paulo Coelho. It is mentioned that it is a difficult book to write. I found it too a difficult book to read, though wordings are simple, the subject matter is much harder to grasp.

Currently reading The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Laurie R. Klinger, Sherlockian ;) ) and Rhinoceros (Ionesco) for school, and hoping to start on Poe's short stories soon.

Mistborn series is awesome. Know what you mean about Valkyries. Reading for school is so boring... though it does help diversify your taste. I'm reading Gods of Mars (book 2 of the John Carter series). Slow reading but once you get used to it, the pace picks up.

Amazon just sent me a replacement for my broken kindle so glad to get back to reading! Yay!

I'm currently reading all of Cyril wong's books =P I so love him!!!!

Hi everyone! I'm currently reading The Templar Legion, by Paul Christopher. Well, it's my first book from him, dunno what to expect yet. :))

About 60% through A Dance With Dragons and should be able to go through the rest of the book pretty soon. Onward to The Winds of Winter then, oh wait...

yamiyoghurt wrote: "I'm currently reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Totally hooked."

Wow, I have just placed this book and Atlas Shrugged in my to-read list. How's it coming along so far? I came across Ayn Rand on Youtube. Have you watched her interview with Mike Wallace? Pretty interesting.

I'm currently reading Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. So far extremely good and addictive.

For a balanced view, after reading Ayn Rand you should also read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein.

I'm currently reading Love Letters of Great Men, Ian Fleming's Moonraker and Cut the clutter by Cynthia Townley Ewer and I've just finished Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient

JunZhe wrote: "Reading 1984 right now!! Took me awhile to get the hang of all the terms the author created in the book! But the idea for the book itself is making me so amaze @.@"

I have this on my "To reads" book as it has been voted one of the greatest books of all time, however last time I attempted it I found it quite boring, does it get interesting?

Totalitarian states where 'Big Brother' sees all and controls all seems to be the way things are going what with all the CCTV we have now. TV shows like Person of Interest and films such as Minority Report [2002, Tom Cruise]explore the central theme of 1984(the book that coined the phrase 'Big Brother'). If you are even remotely interested in politics--or life in the modern world you should read this book. The 1984 version of the film [Tom Hurt, Richard Burton] begins with the title "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." Persevere. It's worth it.

I'm now reading The Uses of Enchantment; The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim, very good piece of work. It has been very illuminating.

Reading Murakami's 'Kafka on the shore'!

I'm reading "More Like Her" by Liza Palmer :)

I am reading:

- Animal Farm by George Orwell
and
- The Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya.

Christopher wrote: "I'm now reading The Uses of Enchantment; The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim, very good piece of work. It has been very illuminating."

Excellent work, that.

currently reading Maps For Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam as well as some e-books, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier ; Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. i like the convenience of e-books, but you know how sometimes you go back a few pages in search of a particular passage/event/character.....well, i cant get the same feeling with e-book. and for that reason, it will take me a while to finish these

Siddhartha: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence by Carl Sagan

I haven't really been checking out this forum, just realized that there were some replies to my post!

I enjoyed Fountainhead. Any Rand is about inspiring individuals to achieve their highest potential, it's an inspiring read for people who are wondering about what they are doing in this rat race.

However, I find the philosophy of individualism a little too "self-centered" though. Prefer the more wholesome and enlightened view of Aristotle (in Nichomachean Ethics), Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kahlil Gibran.

I'm not a student of philosophy, it is only recently that I discovered this intriguing genre and I'm just gobbling up books now. I find thoughts fascinating - the depth, the clarity, the connections made across the most basic concerns of mankind.

If there is anyone out there who is on a similar learning journey, I would love to make connection. The journey is always more fun with company.

Just finished Howls Moving Castle reading Diary Of A teenage Girl by Melody Carlson

Fair Coin

@Jess: Kafka on the Shore? That's next on my list! :D

I'm reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.