The original Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I've tried to pick it up once or twice in the past but usually got distracted and never got too far, but this time I'm really taking to it. A bit overwritten, maybe, but Burroughs can describe an exciting situation really well, and a way of making you accept even the most "yeahbutwha...?!?" situations as matters of fact (e.g., Tarzan teaching himself to read English without ever having heard or seen any form of human language before).
I read ERB's first Tarzan novel a few years back. Started it one night at about 11pm figuring I would read for an hour or so then goto sleep. Around 4am I finished the book. The later books in the series are as good if not better than the first book.
Good to know! And since they're public domain, you can download them for free. Reading this one through iBooks on my phone... prefer real books to digital, but it's hard to beat the price.
Some of them are public domain; not all of them. The earliest, I believe are PD, but the later books would still be copyright protected. I'm not sure which ones; it all depends on when ERB died and what the copyright laws were at that time. (Today, a copyright continues for up to 70 years after the creator's death.)
And, if I'm not mistaken, I believe all of ERB's books are still trademark protected, since trademarks don't expire so long as they are renewed -- which the ERB estate does.
I heard it is only the first 5 or 6 Tarzan novels that are public domain in the USA. But I am betting more are PD in Australia. Since their copyright laws are very different.
Maybe. It depends. The Berne Convention that was signed in the late 70's guarantees that all of the signatories will respect and protect the copyrights of other nations; if Australia was one of the signatories, then they're obliged to respect ERB's copyrights. On the other hand, that may not necessarily apply to ERB's works since they were written long before Berne. Only a copyright attorney could say with any certainty.
The reason I mentioned Australia is because on the Australian Project Guttenberg site they have a lot more of the REH Conan stories. The US based Guttenberg site only has a few. Cause under US copyright laws only a few of the Conan stories are PD. I might be wrong,cause I don't know that much about copyright laws and the public domain.
I'm about halfway through a book called "Chop Suey", about the development of Chinese-American food. I find food history interesting anyway, and a few years ago I learned that most of my favorite Chinese dishes are not only simply Americanized versions, but completely invented here in the States. Emperor Tso's Chicken, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Chop Suey, etc. I knew I wasn't eating authentic Chinese food when I ate that stuff, but I'd always assumed they were at least watered down versions of things found in China. So, I'm curious to see how something like that comes about.
It starts back in the 1700s, and so far what I'm mainly learning is that journalists and travel writers 100-200 years ago were horribly racist.
And now the epic run of reading has ended. The Dresden Files: Book 13 - Ghost Story is now complete. Like it but didn't feel the threat of the bad guy, as I did in previous volumes, but I liked the main mystery that Harry was trying to solve. Would have liked to see a bit more chaos in the wake of the events of Changes. Now I have to wait to see what is next, which is going to suck.
And now the epic run of reading has ended. The Dresden Files: Book 13 - Ghost Story is now complete. Like it but didn't feel the threat of the bad guy, as I did in previous volumes, but I liked the main mystery that Harry was trying to solve. Would have liked to see a bit more chaos in the wake of the events of Changes. Now I have to wait to see what is next, which is going to suck.
Welcome to the club brah. I have been having to wait on each book since 5 or 6. For awhile I was waiting on the paperbacks,but with Ghost Story I bought the hard cover.
And now the epic run of reading has ended. The Dresden Files: Book 13 - Ghost Story is now complete. Like it but didn't feel the threat of the bad guy, as I did in previous volumes, but I liked the main mystery that Harry was trying to solve. Would have liked to see a bit more chaos in the wake of the events of Changes. Now I have to wait to see what is next, which is going to suck.
Just finished Star Trek: Before Dishonor by Peter David. Some interesting things happened, especially yo major characters, but it all came across a bit ho-hum. It just didn't work for me. I found it a bit heavy in ST mythology, which you would expect, but it made it difficult for me to get into the world. But it was stand alone, which is good
And now the epic run of reading has ended. The Dresden Files: Book 13 - Ghost Story is now complete. Like it but didn't feel the threat of the bad guy, as I did in previous volumes, but I liked the main mystery that Harry was trying to solve. Would have liked to see a bit more chaos in the wake of the events of Changes. Now I have to wait to see what is next, which is going to suck.
I'm not quite there yet but almost. Looking forward to finally getting caught up with the adventures of Harry Dresden.
Right now I'm reading Star Trek: Titan: Synthesis. I have really enjoyed all of the Titan books so far. It has characters you know and love like Riker, Troi and Tuvok plus some new and interesting characters as well. Good stuff so far.
I remember reading several of those old Tarzan novels as a kid and being stunned at how violent they were. i seem to remeber a line of natives moving through the jungle, tarzan cutting the head off the last guy in line then swinging above them through the trees and appearing in front of them with their friend's bloody head in hand. Didn't see Ron Eli doing a lot of that stuff on TV! 12 year old me loved it!
also i finally finished the Jim Butcher book Academ's Fury and will be starting Cursor's Fury later today. like the Dresden books the first book was okay and each subsequent book gets better and better and larger and larger in scale. i'm hooked
I remember reading several of those old Tarzan novels as a kid and being stunned at how violent they were. i seem to remeber a line of natives moving through the jungle, tarzan cutting the head off the last guy in line then swinging above them through the trees and appearing in front of them with their friend's bloody head in hand. Didn't see Ron Eli doing a lot of that stuff on TV! 12 year old me loved it!
also i finally finished the Jim Butcher book Academ's Fury and will be starting Cursor's Fury later today. like the Dresden books the first book was okay and each subsequent book gets better and better and larger and larger in scale. i'm hooked
I have been surprised by how good and violent the Tarzan novels are. Currently reading the 3rd book.
Finished the first Tarzan book last night. Much, much different than I was expecting based on the movies and TV shows and stuff. Really enjoyed it, and though my grad school semester starts this week, I'm hoping to move onto the second one.
Just got two hardbacks for $5 each. Changes by Jim Butcher,have already read this when it came out. But couldn't pass it up for such a cheap price. Then got Countdown to Lockdown by Mick Foley. Might start reading it tonight.
I'm about to begin Hawkmoon by Michael Moorcock, the third volume in his Eternal Champion cycle.
ALL Moorcock books are part of the Eternal Champion. Elric, Erikose, Hawkmoon, Jerry Cornelius, Corum, Von Beck. the whole baliwack is part of the multiverse and it ranges in quality from mediocre to brilliant. i think he wrote Hawkmoon over a weekend to make money to keep his literary magazine afloat. don't get me wrong i love the stuff but some is clearly better than others. although bad Moorcock is still better than average.
I'm about to begin Hawkmoon by Michael Moorcock, the third volume in his Eternal Champion cycle.
ALL Moorcock books are part of the Eternal Champion. Elric, Erikose, Hawkmoon, Jerry Cornelius, Corum, Von Beck. the whole baliwack is part of the multiverse and it ranges in quality from mediocre to brilliant. i think he wrote Hawkmoon over a weekend to make money to keep his literary magazine afloat. don't get me wrong i love the stuff but some is clearly better than others. although bad Moorcock is still better than average.
That's pretty much true. But although all of his books are part of the Eternal Champion cycle, only a handful are really key; most of the rest could be read as stand-alones. Hawkmoon is one of the key books, and actually one of the ones I like the best, along with the Prince Corum volumes.
I'm reading from the White Wolf Dark Fantasy collection, which published the entire cycle in a very handsome set of hardcovers and trades (fifteen specific volumes, though I choose to also include The Cornelius Quartet). Unfortunately, I don't have the entire set, which hampers the enjoyment somewhat -- I'm especially missing the concluding volume, Count Brass, which, at least, I still have in pocketbook form -- but, as I have most, I intend to read through the entire cycle as best I can.
After about a year and a half, finally finished the Kindle edition of HP Lovecraft's complete works. Okay, I still have the poems to read, and it doesn't include his non-fiction, but I've basically read all of his short stories and novellas. Many of them I'll probably never read again, as "complete" means you have to wade through a lot of lesser works and things that probably never should have seen print. I think Poe is the only other writer I've done this with.
My next undertaking like this will probably be the complete works of Mark Twain, but I'm not sure when I'll start that.
I've momentarily put the Tony Hillerman books on hold. Haven't been able to find a copy of Listening Woman at any of the local libraries.
In the mean time I've been reading:
Architectural Acoustics a continuing education monograph. So far it reads like toaster instructions. Really important topic for work, but horrifically dull reading.
Necromancer by Gordon R. Dickson. Continuing my intended read of the Dorsai! books / Childe Cycle. This one was a bit more painful than Soldier, Ask Not. It built on the overall universe and expanded the concept, but it spent so much time on the nihilistic Destruct! philosophy, that it took some of the wind from my sails for carrying on. If I can find a copy of The Tactics of Mistake at the Library, I may give it a spin, but I'm not enthusiastic enough at the moment to even take a look at the used bookstore.
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham. Prior to this I'd only read Abraham's contributions to the Wild Cards books and his GRRM comics adaptations. Overall, I really liked it. It seemed a bit slow at times, but is doing a nice job of building the overall world.
Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. I've heard rave reviews of Mieville's work for years. Ran into it at the library and decided that, since many of the reviews were coming from people whose taste I often times respect, I figured I'd give it a go. So far, I'm struggling a bit. While the world is moderately intriguing, I'm struggling with his use of language. While he seems to use similar linguistic strategies as Stephen R. Donaldson, I find it far less... charming (? seems to be the wrong word to use to describe anything Donaldson does). I'll carry on until I either finish or it's due to go back to the library. Unless things change significantly, it's not something that I'll renew.
I'm on my second read through of the Dark Tower novels by Stephen King. Love the universe he's created there. If u want an epic then get on this series. I'm also getting through the Game of Thrones novels now (which are also really good reads), if u like these then get the dark tower series and you'll be in for a massive treat!
Forgot about David Drake's In Stormy Red Sky and Some Golden Harbor. I enjoyed both. I continue to miss Drake doing Hammer's Slammers, but these will suffice in the short term. My only real complaint is that, as with the Lord of the Isles books, Drake appears to be trying to make each book stand alone, though they are referential to past storylines. The end result is that some things get painfully repetitive, particularly with regard to reiterating the major character beats of Leary, Mundy, and their supporting cast.
Comments
It starts back in the 1700s, and so far what I'm mainly learning is that journalists and travel writers 100-200 years ago were horribly racist.
Very light, very funny.
also i finally finished the Jim Butcher book Academ's Fury and will be starting Cursor's Fury later today. like the Dresden books the first book was okay and each subsequent book gets better and better and larger and larger in scale. i'm hooked
'twas great.
I'm reading from the White Wolf Dark Fantasy collection, which published the entire cycle in a very handsome set of hardcovers and trades (fifteen specific volumes, though I choose to also include The Cornelius Quartet). Unfortunately, I don't have the entire set, which hampers the enjoyment somewhat -- I'm especially missing the concluding volume, Count Brass, which, at least, I still have in pocketbook form -- but, as I have most, I intend to read through the entire cycle as best I can.
Picked this up today for a buck figuring it might be a decent read.
My next undertaking like this will probably be the complete works of Mark Twain, but I'm not sure when I'll start that.
In the mean time I've been reading:
Architectural Acoustics a continuing education monograph. So far it reads like toaster instructions. Really important topic for work, but horrifically dull reading.
Necromancer by Gordon R. Dickson. Continuing my intended read of the
Dorsai! books / Childe Cycle. This one was a bit more painful than Soldier, Ask Not. It built on the overall universe and expanded the concept, but it spent so much time on the nihilistic Destruct! philosophy, that it took some of the wind from my sails for carrying on. If I can find a copy of The Tactics of Mistake at the Library, I may give it a spin, but I'm not enthusiastic enough at the moment to even take a look at the used bookstore.
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham. Prior to this I'd only read Abraham's contributions to the Wild Cards books and his GRRM comics adaptations. Overall, I really liked it. It seemed a bit slow at times, but is doing a nice job of building the overall world.
Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. I've heard rave reviews of Mieville's work for years. Ran into it at the library and decided that, since many of the reviews were coming from people whose taste I often times respect, I figured I'd give it a go. So far, I'm struggling a bit. While the world is moderately intriguing, I'm struggling with his use of language. While he seems to use similar linguistic strategies as Stephen R. Donaldson, I find it far less... charming (? seems to be the wrong word to use to describe anything Donaldson does). I'll carry on until I either finish or it's due to go back to the library. Unless things change significantly, it's not something that I'll renew.