Need something new to read

[Steel General]

FYI...The blog system is very open to spam.

[Jaxilon]

So I just made a quick search and found this http://www.reviewpost.com/indexpro.html ... it looks like something that could be used and its integratable with vbulletin. Question is if we can find 89 users that think this is a good idea and pay a buck to get it

Well, I couldn't make much heads or tails out of what that was, half the links didn't work for me for some reason. I guess I would break the whole thing down to a few points:

1) It needs to be decided if something like this should be included with the site. It's never a good idea to get too far off your mission statement but it seems the books that have fueled our imaginations and caused us to dream of maps might not be a bad thing.
2) Would something like this be useful in other ways for the site? Thumbnails with ratings might come in handy if that's possible.
3) Funding - If we don't do it here it might be a good use of kickstarter which should net 89 people and then some. I know I've always wanted to see a website that was easy to look up new books worth reading. Heck I need a database of just my own the way book covers change because I find myself double checking to see if I've read them before.

[tilt]

1) yep... a poll would be nice - but only if the CL's agree
2) we do allready have a rating system for the maps, but I could see the usefullness extended to for instance - software
3) Maybe its possible to find it for free, or someone in here could program it (my skills are limited but I'm guessing I could make the basics, but still would need someone to integrate it with the site). But kickstarter would be a nice solution to the "problem".

yeah, I have managed to buy a book twice, its sometimes hard to remember when they come 1-2 years apart. What I'm often missing on amazon (where I shop the most) are list telling me which books are in series with which and in which order to read them. (Not that that was proposed here, but maybe someone who added a new title would be nice to list that in comments *lol*)

[ravells]

So I just made a quick search and found this http://www.reviewpost.com/indexpro.html ... it looks like something that could be used and its integratable with vbulletin. Question is if we can find 89 users that think this is a good idea and pay a buck to get it

Looks like it's just a load of sub-forums with a template. (not that I know much about Content management systems). I don't think that there will be a book review section at the CG anytime soon (of course it's Arcana's decision), there are tonnes out there already which are dedicated to the subject. Maybe a software review section? Although to tell the truth the vast majority of users here who post maps use Photoshop, Gimp, Illustrator and CC. Not really worth it for 4 products and there's a software list section anyway...

[Gidde]

Poked into the thread because I have more credits to spend now, and just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who recommended books!

Also, my two cents on some of these that I read after they were recommended here: Robin Hobb's Tawny Man and Rain Wilds books were so great that I went back and read the Liveships books again afterwards just to stay in the world awhile. Neverwhere was FANTASTIC. Neil Gaiman narrates the audiobook himself, and it's one of the best I've "read" in that format. I couldn't get into Player of Games for some reason, I'll have to try that again at a later date. I also just read Belgarath the Sorcerer for the first time (I had skipped it because I'd heard it was horrible) and it was not nearly as bad as purported to be; I was sorely tempted to read the Belgariad and Mallorean again to continue the story Then I picked up Warbreaker, and true to the comments above, the magic system was yet another interesting, completely new system. Sanderson amazes me with those. The story, on the other hand, wasn't my favorite of his; it was so twisty it felt almost too-clever-for-its-own-good.

Next up: Iron Tower trilogy. Wee!

[Midgardsormr]

I recently picked up Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling. I wouldn't put it among the greatest books I've ever read, but it was enjoyable and a very good "what if?" story. I'll probably read at least a couple more of the books in that series.

And on the advice of a friend I'm reading Mr. Norell & Jonathan Strange by Susanna Clarke. It's an interesting piece of faux-Victorian fantasy about two magicians trying to bring magic back to England in order to help fight Napoleon.

[Gidde]

Thanks Mid! Let me know how you end up liking that one.

[Ascension]

Gaiman is great. He won some sort of literature award for a graphic novel that he put together from some Sandman comic books (which I loved back in college) and then they changed the requirements so that comic books could never win again. Frank Miller's stories are better (Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, 300) but Neil has the imagination. That's about the extent of my lit knowledge...such as it is

[Gidde]

Watchmen was really good, but it taught me that graphic novels aren't for me ... it was distracting trying to figure out where my eyes were supposed to be going at any given time (I mean, I know what the layout is, but I had to consciously direct myself to it). Didn't stop me from reading it in one sitting though I was glad that the movie did it justice.

[Juggernaut1981]

I was just a bit disappointed we didn't get the Alien Conspiracy ending...