Post by: Emma on January 17, 2015, 05:50:09 pm
Personally, I'm reading Knife of Dreams the 11th book in the Wheel of Time series, I took a break from this series for a while and in this break I read the 1st Book in the Malazan Books of the Fallen series. For my next book I'm torn between Deadhouse Gates and The gathering Storm. What do you guys think I should read.
Post by: McDonald on January 17, 2015, 05:52:12 pm
ha ha.
Post by: 4maskwolf on January 17, 2015, 05:53:09 pm
I'm reading this thread.No, you.
ha ha.
I'm reading my history textbook. But for fun reading, I haven't really read anything new in a while. Any suggestions, anyone?
Post by: Tawa on January 17, 2015, 05:57:32 pm
By the way, can anybody confirm or deny that Crossroads of Twilight is mostly an endless treatise on food and appearances and has almost nothing plot-important in it?
Post by: Emma on January 17, 2015, 05:57:52 pm
I'm reading this thread.No, you.
ha ha.
I'm reading my history textbook. But for fun reading, I haven't really read anything new in a while. Any suggestions, anyone?
It really depends on what you're into. The Wheel of Time books are pretty good, and I'm really enjoying the Malazan Books of the Fallen. If you don't mind reading fanfics Harry Potter and The Methods of Rationality and Harry Potter and The Natural 20 are written excellently and have some really funny parts in them.
Post by: Remuthra on January 17, 2015, 06:00:10 pm
Post by: Emma on January 17, 2015, 06:01:36 pm
Working on Crown of Swords, 7th WoT book, myself.
By the way, can anybody confirm or deny that Crossroads of Twilight is mostly an endless treatise on food and appearances and has almost nothing plot-important in it?
Yeah, Crossroads of Twilight was pretty dense but there are a few slightly important plot points in it, mainly towards the end, if I recall correctly.
Post by: Xantalos on January 17, 2015, 06:03:38 pm
World of Ice and Fire, Dragon's Egg, The Dwarves, the third Gotrek and Felix omnibus, and about 15 quests on Sufficient Velocity. As well as the various forum games I'm engaged in here.
Post by: Emma on January 17, 2015, 06:47:10 pm
Currently I'm reading...What do you think of The Dwarves? I've been considering reading it for a while.
World of Ice and Fire, Dragon's Egg, The Dwarves, the third Gotrek and Felix omnibus, and about 15 quests on Sufficient Velocity. As well as the various forum games I'm engaged in here.
Post by: Yoink on January 17, 2015, 08:42:37 pm
I don't spend nearly as much time reading these days.
Post by: Orange Wizard on January 17, 2015, 08:57:56 pm
Post by: TheDarkStar on January 17, 2015, 09:48:52 pm
Non-fiction: Textbooks are interesting, you know?
Post by: Xantalos on January 17, 2015, 10:12:50 pm
Seems a fairly standard fantasy thing so far, but it's written fairly well. Haven't got that far into it.Currently I'm reading...What do you think of The Dwarves? I've been considering reading it for a while.
World of Ice and Fire, Dragon's Egg, The Dwarves, the third Gotrek and Felix omnibus, and about 15 quests on Sufficient Velocity. As well as the various forum games I'm engaged in here.
Post by: Baffler on January 17, 2015, 10:32:41 pm
Post by: Remuthra on January 17, 2015, 10:35:06 pm
Wow, all these people reading 3 or 4 at a time. I usually just take one, finish it, and move on to another. Right now I'm reading The Brothers Karamazov (though I'm not very far into it.) I finished Thus Spake Zarathustra right before this, and my God that was a chore to read. I knew going in that it was just going to be a vehicle for Nietzsche's ideas, that's really the point of the thing, but I had to force myself to even finish it. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if his ideas weren't so odious to me.If you read a few at once, you can take one with you, read one at home, keep one in bed, and keep a fourth on you in case you finish one of the first three.
Post by: Yoink on January 17, 2015, 10:41:42 pm
Baffler, what do you think of 'Brothers? I don't think I managed to force myself to finish it...
Post by: Baffler on January 17, 2015, 11:05:31 pm
Post by: alway on January 18, 2015, 12:25:05 am
Post by: Arx on January 18, 2015, 01:04:03 am
Post by: masked_krusader on January 18, 2015, 01:18:24 am
Post by: Sebastian2203 on January 18, 2015, 04:05:08 am
Mass effect books and some physiology books
I do not know their names because I read them in Slovakian language.
( and translators were lazy to show the original name)
Post by: miauw62 on January 18, 2015, 04:14:01 am
I should probably go to the library to get something else and read that after this, I don't feel like reading all of these without anything else.
Post by: Dutrius on January 18, 2015, 08:37:12 am
Belgariad/Malloreon by David Eddings. Up to volume nine (of my fifth or sixth reading).Good books.
Reading Lords and Ladies atm. I got a fuckton of Discworld books for Christmas.Also good books.
I'm re-reading the WoT series. I forgot just how long it took just to get to Caemlyn.
Post by: Cryxis, Prince of Doom on January 18, 2015, 04:56:50 pm
Post by: Tawa on January 18, 2015, 05:00:06 pm
I'm re-reading the WoT series. I forgot just how long it took just to get to Caemlyn.Wasn't that like half a book?
Also, wow, this series seems to be pretty popular amongst Bay12ers.
Post by: Baffler on January 18, 2015, 05:15:43 pm
Post by: TheDarkStar on January 18, 2015, 10:04:18 pm
Post by: ggamer on January 19, 2015, 12:02:30 am
Post by: Zrk2 on January 19, 2015, 12:43:54 am
Working on Crown of Swords, 7th WoT book, myself.
By the way, can anybody confirm or deny that Crossroads of Twilight is mostly an endless treatise on food and appearances and has almost nothing plot-important in it?
The struggle is real, but do yourself a favour and make your way through it, it may be the nostalgia talking, but it's still one of my favourite series.
I'm currently reading The Twilight Reign by Tom Lloyd. He's not a brilliant author or anything, but it's entertaining.
Post by: Spehss _ on January 19, 2015, 12:54:43 am
I stopped reading WoT at...I think I'm at the 9th or 10th book. I should get back into it when I have the time. College cuts into that time though.
Post by: Arx on January 19, 2015, 09:07:48 am
Post by: Emma on January 19, 2015, 04:52:37 pm
Post by: Levi on January 19, 2015, 05:08:45 pm
Post by: Yoink on January 19, 2015, 05:23:55 pm
...I feel like I'm the only person on the forums who doesn't like WoT. I read the first couple of books and was bored/annoyed by them. :-/
I couldn't stand the Belagriad or however you spell it, either. ...All this talk of long fantasy series has got me wishing I had one to sink my teeth into, haha.
Post by: Remuthra on January 19, 2015, 05:25:01 pm
Yay comics!I've never read them, or heard anything about what they entail, if that counts.
...I feel like I'm the only person on the forums who doesn't like WoT. I read the first couple of books and was bored/annoyed by them. :-/
I couldn't stand the Belagriad or however you spell it, either. ...All this talk of long fantasy series has got me wishing I had one to sink my teeth into, haha.
Post by: Bohandas on January 19, 2015, 10:11:17 pm
Post by: Spehss _ on January 19, 2015, 10:53:20 pm
...I feel like I'm the only person on the forums who doesn't like WoT. I read the first couple of books and was bored/annoyed by them. :-/Eh. There's probably better fantasy series out there. WoT has great worldbuilding and the plot is quite complex with tons of different characters doing tons of different things all at the same time. But oftentimes the descriptions feel too overbearing or the subplots feel like unnecessary filler, and the complexity of all the different characters doing their own thing can make comprehending the plot as a whole to be difficult.
I couldn't stand the Belagriad or however you spell it, either. ...All this talk of long fantasy series has got me wishing I had one to sink my teeth into, haha.
It's a big thing to read, basically.
Post by: Arx on January 19, 2015, 11:01:54 pm
Call me a brainwashed member of society but I actually thought that The Fault in our Stars was pretty good. Sure there were problems with it, I mean what book doesn't have problems, but overall it was pretty good.
It seemed much like that to me.
I sort of liked it.
Post by: TheDarkStar on January 19, 2015, 11:05:06 pm
Yay comics!
...I feel like I'm the only person on the forums who doesn't like WoT. I read the first couple of books and was bored/annoyed by them. :-/
I couldn't stand the Belagriad or however you spell it, either. ...All this talk of long fantasy series has got me wishing I had one to sink my teeth into, haha.
Jordan is good at worldbuilding and developing characters, which can make the books interesting, but he's not as good at being concise. It gets better as the series goes on, though - I'm pretty sure there are less than ten clothing descriptions in the last book :P.
Post by: Arcvasti on January 19, 2015, 11:12:58 pm
Speaking of fucking huge fantasy series' with detailed settings and too many characters and subplots, I'm reading Clash of Kings at the moment. 0/10, not enough dragons.
Post by: Cryxis, Prince of Doom on January 19, 2015, 11:16:38 pm
First book was amazing. (I purchased the first three out of (9?)). Got half way through reading the second one before I could taste the salt in my mouth and couldn't keep reading
Post by: Arcvasti on January 19, 2015, 11:21:26 pm
I attempted reading the Guardeans of Ga'hool series.
First book was amazing. (I purchased the first three out of (9?)). Got half way through reading the second one before I could taste the salt in my mouth and couldn't keep reading
I loved those when I was younger. Because owls (http://imgur.com/gallery/eNI0V). And there are 15 books, total, even if some of them are technically chronological prequels. Book two is basically all character introductions. It sort of gets better, although it drags a bit after book 6 an before they start with the prequels.
Post by: Cryxis, Prince of Doom on January 19, 2015, 11:24:37 pm
I've got them somewhere from (3?) years ago
Post by: Spehss _ on January 19, 2015, 11:24:46 pm
I attempted reading the Guardeans of Ga'hool series.Mang, I loved those books as a kid.
First book was amazing. (I purchased the first three out of (9?)). Got half way through reading the second one before I could taste the salt in my mouth and couldn't keep reading
Post by: Cryxis, Prince of Doom on January 19, 2015, 11:25:40 pm
An owl would make the best pet ever
Post by: Mech#4 on January 19, 2015, 11:26:58 pm
I was also reading through "The Dark Elf Trilogy" by R.A. Salvatore, but I've read those so many times it's difficult to when you start remembering what's going to be happening every page.
Post by: Arx on January 20, 2015, 10:28:10 am
"Raising Steam" by Terry Pratchett. Enjoying it so far; it has a lot of call backs to previous books and seems to be making a point to include a large amount of characters for small cameos.
Considering it might well be the last Discworld book...
Post by: smjjames on January 20, 2015, 10:40:10 am
Okay I'm out of here.......
Post by: Comrade Shamrock on January 21, 2015, 02:00:17 pm
I attempted reading the Guardeans of Ga'hool series.Yay! I have read a few of those too. I think I got to the Shattering before I couldn't find them and forgot about ordering them.
First book was amazing. (I purchased the first three out of (9?)). Got half way through reading the second one before I could taste the salt in my mouth and couldn't keep reading
Anyone read Joe Abercrombie recently?
Post by: Zrk2 on January 21, 2015, 08:13:31 pm
Yay comics!
...I feel like I'm the only person on the forums who doesn't like WoT. I read the first couple of books and was bored/annoyed by them. :-/
I couldn't stand the Belagriad or however you spell it, either. ...All this talk of long fantasy series has got me wishing I had one to sink my teeth into, haha.
The ting with long fantasy series, is they all end up being really divisive, often because they're so long. I find any time someone brings them up the next comments is "Hurr durr so slow. Cut books 7-10," sometimes with a little complaining about the gender contrast, just about every time.
Anyone read Joe Abercrombie recently?
Yes. Love him. I just bought The Heroes, (I think) but I haven't read it yet.
Post by: nenjin on January 21, 2015, 08:19:00 pm
Post by: Glowcat on January 22, 2015, 09:57:58 am
It was an ethnography about people suffering under the War on Drugs's police state in Philadelphia and how they negotiated their lives. Cops beating people up as matter of policy. A urine business for people to avoid breaking parole and ending up back in jail. Systems of how police intimidate intimate partners or family that include threats of physical violence, taking children away, charging the person for their partner's crimes, harassment, etc. combined with persuasion and the consequences of standing in the community for not providing support against the law. Pretty much about the society that builds itself around legal entanglement in their lives or the lives of their close relatives.
Post by: Emma on January 25, 2015, 01:34:10 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Interus on January 25, 2015, 02:06:48 am
At this moment, I'm rereading Alloy of Law, because I've become a freaking Sanderson addict. I just finished rereading Elantris because I wanted to check to see if there was anything I missed, and that is my least favorite Cosmere book. Alloy of Law is fun though, I really like the mix of Old West, a sort of 1900's London, and magic.
Post by: Comrade Shamrock on January 25, 2015, 10:20:07 am
Well I loved it. Hope you do too. Are you reading the Shattered Sea series too?Anyone read Joe Abercrombie recently?
Yes. Love him. I just bought The Heroes, (I think) but I haven't read it yet.
Post by: Dutrius on January 25, 2015, 03:10:19 pm
Post by: Arcvasti on January 25, 2015, 04:00:58 pm
At this moment, I'm rereading Alloy of Law, because I've become a freaking Sanderson addict.
One of us! One of us!
In any case, I've moved on to reading Storm of Swords now. My god this thing is huge. Its the size of my cat. Or Words of Radiance.
Post by: SupremeSandwich on January 25, 2015, 06:44:09 pm
Enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would (I thought pop culture had given me immunity against Lovecraft. NOPE)
Post by: Emma on January 26, 2015, 03:45:50 am
Post by: Bohandas on January 26, 2015, 04:01:00 am
Post by: Bohandas on January 26, 2015, 04:02:22 am
Post by: Yoink on January 26, 2015, 05:58:20 am
It's predictably very good, but I'm kind of glad I watched the film first. Also, lobotomies freak me the fuck out.
Post by: Zrk2 on January 26, 2015, 02:26:03 pm
Well I just finished Knife of Dreams and am about halfway through The Gathering Storm at the moment and I just have to say.Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Exactly. This is, IIRC, the peak of his "fuck this shit" period.
Well I loved it. Hope you do too. Are you reading the Shattered Sea series too?Anyone read Joe Abercrombie recently?
Yes. Love him. I just bought The Heroes, (I think) but I haven't read it yet.
No. I wasn't even aware it existed yet. I have so much to read, but so little time. I'll add it to my list.
Started reading One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest the other day.
It's predictably very good, but I'm kind of glad I watched the film first. Also, lobotomies freak me the fuck out.
That's because they're fucking freaky.
Post by: Dutrius on January 26, 2015, 02:28:33 pm
So I continued read The Gathering Storm today and I swear I could tell when Brandon Sanderson took over. He just has a different style of writing and I found that showed up quite obviously, does anyone else feel the same.Can't say I really noticed, but that's because I was mostly concentrating on the story itself.
Post by: Drakale on January 26, 2015, 02:36:42 pm
Post by: Arx on January 26, 2015, 02:41:28 pm
Post by: Comrade P. on January 26, 2015, 03:26:55 pm
George Orwell - 1984; Animal Farm
Ray Bradbury - 451 F
Auldos Huxley - Brave New World
Yevgeny Zamyatin - We
Willam Gibson - Neuromancer
...
Last time I read a book unrelated to college studies was half a year ago. I almost don't read books.
Post by: Drakale on January 26, 2015, 09:45:57 pm
Hornblower, by C. S. Forrester. By far the best I've read.
I'll give it a try, thanks for the suggestion.
Post by: Dutrius on January 27, 2015, 12:03:05 pm
On to The Great Hunt.
Post by: Spehss _ on January 28, 2015, 12:08:43 am
Just finished Eye of the World.Brace yourself. The books only get thicker from here on out.
On to The Great Hunt.
Post by: Arx on January 28, 2015, 09:09:02 am
Post by: BlitzDungeoneer on January 28, 2015, 09:31:33 am
Also looking to finally start Eye of the World, from Wheel of Time, and also read A Fortress of Grey Ice, from the Sword of Shadows series.
There's actually a huge amount of books I want to read right now. I'm currently in the process of making a list of 'books I own but haven't read', so there's that.
I'm expecting there to be a minimum of 30 books on the list.
As for current reading... Just started The Alchemist, if that counts.
Post by: Cryxis, Prince of Doom on January 28, 2015, 09:57:47 am
'The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a very nice poem
Post by: Arcvasti on January 28, 2015, 02:33:22 pm
Well, currently looking for book 9(?) from the Skulduggery Pleasant series, which I absolutely adore, by the way.
/me high fives.
I am so far behind on that series. Haven't been able to find anything past book ~6 in libraries.
Post by: Yoink on January 28, 2015, 02:40:53 pm
That's a fascinating book, even if it made my head hurt. I think I was a kid when I tried to read it, though...
Post by: BlitzDungeoneer on January 28, 2015, 04:37:14 pm
High-five! Yeah, I can't find Book 9 anywhere in my area. And that's terrible, because it's a genuinely god series.Well, currently looking for book 9(?) from the Skulduggery Pleasant series, which I absolutely adore, by the way.
/me high fives.
I am so far behind on that series. Haven't been able to find anything past book ~6 in libraries.
The Alchemist? By Paulo Coelho(spl?)?Erm, no, sorry.
That's a fascinating book, even if it made my head hurt. I think I was a kid when I tried to read it, though...
Looked it up on Wikipedia, and the one I'm reading is definitely a different book.
On a related note, on the 'to-read' list you go.
Post by: Interus on January 29, 2015, 12:35:45 am
Post by: Dutrius on January 29, 2015, 11:58:15 am
I know, I'm re-reading them for fun.Just finished Eye of the World.Brace yourself. The books only get thicker from here on out.
On to The Great Hunt.
Post by: BlitzDungeoneer on January 29, 2015, 12:07:49 pm
Also finishing off the Demonata, reading the only book from the series that I haven't read, and reading book 2 of W.A.R.P.
There's also some 40-60 books I own that I have to start reading.
Halp im drowning in books
Post by: timferius on January 29, 2015, 12:13:19 pm
Post by: BlitzDungeoneer on January 29, 2015, 12:15:52 pm
Reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to my daughter. Haven't read it since a kid, the writing holds up quite well.Ah, Roald Dahl... Yeah, his writing is really good. I particularly enjoyed his biography, Boy: Tales of Childhood. I think that's what it's called, anyway.
Post by: Arx on January 29, 2015, 02:13:42 pm
Ah, Roald Dahling... Yeah, his writing is really god.
Welp. There are at least two things wrong here.
Anyway, I'm currently reading Way of Kings. It's good. I can see the influence Sanderson's had on my own writing, which is weird.
Post by: BlitzDungeoneer on January 29, 2015, 02:16:58 pm
Ah...only noticed my typo now.Ah, Roald Dahling... Yeah, his writing is really god.
Welp. There are at least two things wrong here.
Anyway, I'm currently reading Way of Kings. It's good. I can see the influence Sanderson's had on my own writing, which is weird.
I noticed my other typo too. Fixing.
Post by: Arx on January 29, 2015, 02:21:45 pm
Sorry.
Post by: BlitzDungeoneer on January 29, 2015, 02:45:37 pm
I have been OOCQed?
I always dreamt of this moment... Now I can die in peace.
/me disappears into the aether.
Post by: penguinofhonor on January 29, 2015, 03:07:57 pm
Post by: BlitzDungeoneer on January 29, 2015, 03:15:22 pm
I didn't notice those...
I am happy nao.
Post by: Tawa on January 29, 2015, 05:22:20 pm
aetherMust... resist... Ike... joke...
Post by: Quartz_Mace on January 29, 2015, 06:28:51 pm
I'm also reading the Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag a Flavia de Luce novel by Alan Bradley. It's the second book in a series about a 11 year old girl in the 1950's who is really into chemistry and uses it to solve murders. It's actually really good.
Post by: Tawa on January 29, 2015, 06:31:13 pm
Hoo boy, this will be some heck of a read.
Post by: Emma on January 30, 2015, 01:28:14 am
Post by: Comrade Shamrock on January 30, 2015, 09:09:14 am
Well, currently looking for book 9(?) from the Skulduggery Pleasant series, which I absolutely adore, by the way.Yippee! It gets a bit weird (in my opinion) but anyway not important.
"The sparrow flies south for winter"
Punches everyone who doesn't know what that means.
Well I think it's brilliant, still prefer Glokta though. Second book is supposed to be out on the 12th.Well I loved it. Hope you do too. Are you reading the Shattered Sea series too?Anyone read Joe Abercrombie recently?
Yes. Love him. I just bought The Heroes, (I think) but I haven't read it yet.
No. I wasn't even aware it existed yet. I have so much to read, but so little time. I'll add it to my list.
Post by: BlitzDungeoneer on January 30, 2015, 09:39:36 am
That's from, IIRC, book 6, right?
Post by: Comrade Shamrock on January 31, 2015, 07:25:00 am
I get it.I don't have my books to hand, but I think so.
That's from, IIRC, book 6, right?
Post by: Caz on January 31, 2015, 09:10:01 am
Well, I say 'reading'. I've been nursing the book for 4 days and I'm 5 pages in. Somehow don't have the concentration for reading anymore, even though I used to read a LOT years ago. ¬¬ Do you ever get when you've read a whole paragraph and realise you didn't take in a single word of it? It's like that. Except you read the paragraph again and it still doesn't sink in. How useful. :-\
Post by: TheDarkStar on January 31, 2015, 10:04:16 am
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Well, I say 'reading'. I've been nursing the book for 4 days and I'm 5 pages in. Somehow don't have the concentration for reading anymore, even though I used to read a LOT years ago. ¬¬ Do you ever get when you've read a whole paragraph and realise you didn't take in a single word of it? It's like that. Except you read the paragraph again and it still doesn't sink in. How useful. :-\
On the bright side, you are now immune to written propaganda.
Post by: Comrade Shamrock on January 31, 2015, 07:03:58 pm
I see we shall have to step up our efforts. I shall inform the Ministry for Propaganda.Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Well, I say 'reading'. I've been nursing the book for 4 days and I'm 5 pages in. Somehow don't have the concentration for reading anymore, even though I used to read a LOT years ago. ¬¬ Do you ever get when you've read a whole paragraph and realise you didn't take in a single word of it? It's like that. Except you read the paragraph again and it still doesn't sink in. How useful. :-\
On the bright side, you are now immune to written propaganda.
Post by: Caz on January 31, 2015, 09:42:36 pm
I see we shall have to step up our efforts. I shall inform the Ministry for Propaganda.Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Well, I say 'reading'. I've been nursing the book for 4 days and I'm 5 pages in. Somehow don't have the concentration for reading anymore, even though I used to read a LOT years ago. ¬¬ Do you ever get when you've read a whole paragraph and realise you didn't take in a single word of it? It's like that. Except you read the paragraph again and it still doesn't sink in. How useful. :-\
On the bright side, you are now immune to written propaganda.
<_<
Post by: redwallzyl on January 31, 2015, 11:22:06 pm
Post by: asciigod on February 02, 2015, 11:00:00 pm
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Well, I say 'reading'. I've been nursing the book for 4 days and I'm 5 pages in. Somehow don't have the concentration for reading anymore, even though I used to read a LOT years ago. ¬¬ Do you ever get when you've read a whole paragraph and realise you didn't take in a single word of it? It's like that. Except you read the paragraph again and it still doesn't sink in. How useful. :-\
Is this literally your first book after a long reading hiatus? If so, your concentration may have atrophied. Keep working that muscle, it'll come back!
That said, I've read a few of Dick's works and he's certainly hit-or-miss as far as presenting a lucid writing style. It's been well over a decade since I read DADOES so I don't specifically remember its level of "difficulty." I do remember UBIK (having read it last year), and it was on the easier end of his spectrum. In contrast I remember greatly struggling with VALIS many years ago.
The same swings in style can be seen in the excellent collection of non-fiction "The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick". He was a man with troubled and difficult thoughts who often struggled to express them. Don't blame yourself!
That said, I'm currently reading "Behold the Man" by Michael Moorcock. It's a time-travelling, mildly hallucinogenic take on the Christ parable. Dick would have liked it. Although its style is only tangentially similiar to his, it utilizes sci-fi in a similar manner.
And some comic books. :\
Post by: Zrk2 on February 03, 2015, 12:24:37 pm
Well I think it's brilliant, still prefer Glokta though. Second book is supposed to be out on the 12th.No. I wasn't even aware it existed yet. I have so much to read, but so little time. I'll add it to my list.Well I loved it. Hope you do too. Are you reading the Shattered Sea series too?Anyone read Joe Abercrombie recently?Yes. Love him. I just bought The Heroes, (I think) but I haven't read it yet.
Glokta is damn hard to beat. I'm glad to see he won't be a one-trick pony, though.
Post by: Emma on February 06, 2015, 03:51:49 pm
Post by: Arcvasti on February 07, 2015, 12:42:20 am
Just finished A Memory of Light last night. It was bloody wonderful. I'm now reading Sun Tzu's The Art of War and my parents have said that I can finally start reading Game of Thrones.
/me high fives fellow AMOL reader
The Last Battle chapter was larger then some books I've seen. Definitely an awesome conclusion to an awesome series. I'm so glad they decided to end with the same sentence they used to start all the books.
EDIT: All done Storm of Swords. DAMN, but George R. R. Martin has balls of Valyrian steel.
Post by: Dutrius on February 07, 2015, 09:09:53 am
Just finished A Memory of Light last night. It was bloody wonderful. I'm now reading Sun Tzu's The Art of War and my parents have said that I can finally start reading Game of Thrones.
/me high fives fellow AMOL reader
The Last Battle chapter was larger then some books I've seen. Definitely an awesome conclusion to an awesome series. I'm so glad they decided to end with the same sentence they used to start all the books.
I'm about halfway through Storm of Swords, myself. Edmure Tully just got married.
I started rereading the series after reading AMoL. There are no beginnings or endings in that series.
Post by: Arcvasti on February 08, 2015, 10:23:45 pm
Post by: timferius on February 09, 2015, 08:01:37 am
Post by: BurnedToast on February 09, 2015, 11:55:06 pm
I have yet to finish the WOT series. I started reading it back in 2001, and I was up to Crossroads of twilight I think, when it came out. But now it's been so long that I'd have to start at the beggining, and the thought of that is daunting as all hell.
I tried to start the WoT books from the beginning a year or two ago and I just... I couldn't do it. How I managed to read them the first time I don't know, I honestly have no idea. I like to read, but it's just too much.
I almost feel like just reading a plot summery for all the previous books then checking the final one out from the library just to finish it up - I remember most of the later ones ones seemed to drag on forever and much nothing ever happened anyway.
(IIRC the last one I read was path of daggers)
Post by: Emma on February 18, 2015, 04:28:10 am
Post by: Arcvasti on February 18, 2015, 06:12:01 pm
I've now finsished both Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. To be honest I was kinda dissapointed with the first one but the second was a near perfect book in my opinion, I have high hopes for A Storm of Swords!
Yeah, GoT was definitely a "calm before the storm" kind of book. Storm of Swords is pretty cool. Plus you can block some lower caliber bullets with it.
I'm like ~300 pages into A Dance of Dragons. Its good, but I miss my favourite characters from Feast of Crows who haven't appeared yet.
Post by: Zrk2 on February 18, 2015, 08:13:28 pm
Just finished A Memory of Light last night. It was bloody wonderful. I'm now reading Sun Tzu's The Art of War and my parents have said that I can finally start reading Game of Thrones.
/me high fives fellow AMOL reader
The Last Battle chapter was larger then some books I've seen. Definitely an awesome conclusion to an awesome series. I'm so glad they decided to end with the same sentence they used to start all the books.
I don't know how I didn't see that coming. Still, it was awesome.
Post by: TheDarkStar on February 18, 2015, 10:41:08 pm
I have yet to finish the WOT series. I started reading it back in 2001, and I was up to Crossroads of twilight I think, when it came out. But now it's been so long that I'd have to start at the beggining, and the thought of that is daunting as all hell.
I tried to start the WoT books from the beginning a year or two ago and I just... I couldn't do it. How I managed to read them the first time I don't know, I honestly have no idea. I like to read, but it's just too much.
I almost feel like just reading a plot summery for all the previous books then checking the final one out from the library just to finish it up - I remember most of the later ones ones seemed to drag on forever and much nothing ever happened anyway.
(IIRC the last one I read was path of daggers)
The last few books are really good. It gets a bit boring right before that, but it does eventually get interesting.
Post by: HooliganintheFort on February 19, 2015, 02:31:12 am
Post by: Spehss _ on February 26, 2015, 02:04:54 am
The descriptions of the various paintings makes me want to try drawing some of it. Was also fun to do some research on various historical figures mentioned in the story, mostly the painters. All in all an excellent reading experience for 1:00 at night.
Post by: Emma on February 26, 2015, 02:57:02 am
Post by: Parsely on February 26, 2015, 02:59:55 am
Post by: timferius on February 26, 2015, 08:43:31 am
Also planning on rereading the "Night Angel" Trilogy by Brent Weeks, amazing books. Also need to get up to date on his Lightbringer series. I love the magic in that setting.
Post by: Spehss _ on February 26, 2015, 09:40:22 am
Is reading HP Lovecraft worth it?Depends on the story. Some are well paced and gripping, others get kinda dry at places as Lovecraft goes a bit too far with describing architecture or his love for New England.
It's like an acquired taste. You get used to his writing style after a while. There's some great stories I think make it worth trying though. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, Rats in the Walls, Cold Air, the Hound, the Outsider, the Color Out of Space, the Tomb, etc.
Post by: Arcvasti on February 26, 2015, 02:28:36 pm
Is reading HP Lovecraft worth it?Depends on the story. Some are well paced and gripping, others get kinda dry at places as Lovecraft goes a bit too far with describing architecture or his love for New England.
I rather enjoyed Lovecraft, personally (http://www.psy-q.ch/lovecraft/html/catsdogs.htm). Most of them weren't especially terrifying, but they're well-written regardless. Its even better with a drinking game:
Spoiler: Rules for drinking game (click to show/hide)
Also, finished A Dance with Dragons a few days ago.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Spehss _ on February 26, 2015, 03:04:28 pm
I rather enjoyed Lovecraft, personally (http://www.psy-q.ch/lovecraft/html/catsdogs.htm). Most of them weren't especially terrifying, but they're well-written regardless. Its even better with a drinking game:You'd get drunk. Or dead from alcohol poisoning. :PSpoiler: Rules for drinking game (click to show/hide)
And yeah, I also enjoy Lovecraft, not saying it isn't enjoyable, but it can be pretty dense for readers who aren't familiar with his writing style and don't know what to expect.
Post by: Dutrius on February 26, 2015, 04:39:15 pm
Post by: Quartz_Mace on March 02, 2015, 10:24:09 pm
Kidding. I'm reading Eleanor and Park for my high-school book club. Best young adult romance I've read in a while.
Post by: Emma on March 02, 2015, 11:43:54 pm
Post by: Dorfs R Fun on March 03, 2015, 04:00:04 am
Post by: Tack on March 03, 2015, 05:21:40 am
Firstly, Drizzt Do'Urden takes me back. Shame there's so many parodies and copies of it now, but gosh it was a staple.
I should read whatever Salvatore's up to now. I heard Entrerei did a thing.
However, what I'm currently reading is the Iron Druid Chronicles, by Lean Hearn.
My first impressions, second impressions and current impressions all basically boil down to "It's the Dresden Files pumped up on Mary Sue."
For those who haven't read the Dresden Files, go do it. (If you like contemporary fantasy. Or just if you like character development in general.)
Post by: Arcvasti on March 03, 2015, 08:46:24 pm
However, what I'm currently reading is the Iron Druid Chronicles, by Lean Hearn.
My first impressions, second impressions and current impressions all basically boil down to "It's the Dresden Files pumped up on Mary Sue."
Yeah, that was my take on it too.
Post by: Remuthra on March 03, 2015, 09:13:40 pm
I've just read Call of Cuthulhu. Wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was pretty good nonetheless.I prefer The Colour out of Space, myself.
Post by: FearfulJesuit on March 03, 2015, 09:23:26 pm
Also, fun factoid: the world's largest city in 1800 was probably Edo/Tokyo, with a million people or more. Not really backwards.
Post by: timferius on March 04, 2015, 01:31:43 pm
Currently re-readng the Drizzt Do'Urden Dark elf series.I somehow originally read this as Dr. Drizzt.
Post by: Tack on March 04, 2015, 01:39:50 pm
Post by: Dorfs R Fun on March 04, 2015, 01:59:46 pm
Well to be fair, he is a bit of a surgeon.Currently re-readng the Drizzt Do'Urden Dark elf series.I somehow originally read this as Dr. Drizzt.
Post by: Levi on March 04, 2015, 03:53:52 pm
https://www.humblebundle.com/books
Post by: Tawa on March 06, 2015, 06:53:05 pm
I have a new favorite play.
Post by: Spehss _ on March 06, 2015, 06:58:15 pm
Post by: Tack on March 07, 2015, 12:22:17 am
Read Waiting for Godot a few days back.Lucky's speech is still to this day the most difficult monologue for an actor to learn.
I have a new favorite play.
Post by: da_nang on March 07, 2015, 01:17:47 am
AI and Artificial Life in Video Games
Among others. Bachelor's thesis involves a lot of reading.
Post by: Dutrius on March 07, 2015, 07:20:32 am
I'm averaging about one WoT book a month. I should be finished early next year at this rate.
Post by: HavingPhun on March 07, 2015, 12:44:12 pm
Post by: Spehss _ on March 08, 2015, 08:08:10 pm
Post by: Tawa on March 08, 2015, 08:12:53 pm
Finished Lovecraft's The Thing on the Doorstep. Never read that before, that was a nice Lovecrafty short-story.I liked that too, although most reviewers apparently hate it for not being "cosmic" enough.
I can imagine. At least they don't have to memorize anything else.Read Waiting for Godot a few days back.Lucky's speech is still to this day the most difficult monologue for an actor to learn.
I have a new favorite play.
Post by: Spehss _ on March 08, 2015, 08:25:24 pm
It's a perfect example of a pulpy Lovecraft tale. It's got everything you' expect. It's got Arkham, the Miskatonic, Innsmouth, Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, an unreliable narrator, two good friends who get caught up in horrible eldritch plots due to their love of seedy creepy eldritch stuff, use of Cyclopean in regards to ancient architecture, lots of vocabulary you'd never know existed otherwise, chanting and ravings including terms like shoggoth and Shub-Niggurath, people getting locked away in asylums, all the lovecrafty tropes.Finished Lovecraft's The Thing on the Doorstep. Never read that before, that was a nice Lovecrafty short-story.I liked that too, although most reviewers apparently hate it for not being "cosmic" enough.
Post by: Levi on March 11, 2015, 10:32:05 am
Post by: Tack on March 11, 2015, 11:49:43 pm
Post by: Tawa on March 12, 2015, 12:57:47 am
-pyramidsnip-Same reason I liked it. I also liked Shadow over Innsmouth, which was also panned by critics for the same reason. The pulpy stuff makes for better individual stories, which is also why I liked The Hobbit more than the dry, in-depth further works of Tolkien.
It's a perfect example of a pulpy Lovecraft tale. It's got everything you' expect. It's got Arkham, the Miskatonic, Innsmouth, Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, an unreliable narrator, two good friends who get caught up in horrible eldritch plots due to their love of seedy creepy eldritch stuff, use of Cyclopean in regards to ancient architecture, lots of vocabulary you'd never know existed otherwise, chanting and ravings including terms like shoggoth and Shub-Niggurath, people getting locked away in asylums, all the lovecrafty tropes.
The one Lovecraft story I don't think I'll ever finish is the one where the narrator goes out of his way to mention his cat with the racist name I forgot every few seconds. I tried reading that once, but I just couldn't take it seriously.
Post by: Bohandas on March 12, 2015, 01:17:21 am
-pyramidsnip-Same reason I liked it. I also liked Shadow over Innsmouth, which was also panned by critics for the same reason. The pulpy stuff makes for better individual stories, which is also why I liked The Hobbit more than the dry, in-depth further works of Tolkien.
It's a perfect example of a pulpy Lovecraft tale. It's got everything you' expect. It's got Arkham, the Miskatonic, Innsmouth, Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, an unreliable narrator, two good friends who get caught up in horrible eldritch plots due to their love of seedy creepy eldritch stuff, use of Cyclopean in regards to ancient architecture, lots of vocabulary you'd never know existed otherwise, chanting and ravings including terms like shoggoth and Shub-Niggurath, people getting locked away in asylums, all the lovecrafty tropes.
The one Lovecraft story I don't think I'll ever finish is the one where the narrator goes out of his way to mention his cat with the racist name I forgot every few seconds. I tried reading that once, but I just couldn't take it seriously.
I don't remember that one. Was the cat at least named something that could conceivably be innocuous depending on the cat's appearance (like "darkie") or was it named something less ambiguous like "Golliwog" or "mandingo"?
Post by: Spehss _ on March 12, 2015, 01:42:39 am
Story's called Rats in the Walls. Cat's name was Nigger-Man in the original, but in a republishing in a magazine it was changed to Black Tom. In most publications now I'm pretty sure it sticks with Lovecraft's naming. No. No it's not really ambiguous.-quote snip-
Same reason I liked it. I also liked Shadow over Innsmouth, which was also panned by critics for the same reason. The pulpy stuff makes for better individual stories, which is also why I liked The Hobbit more than the dry, in-depth further works of Tolkien.
The one Lovecraft story I don't think I'll ever finish is the one where the narrator goes out of his way to mention his cat with the racist name I forgot every few seconds. I tried reading that once, but I just couldn't take it seriously.
I don't remember that one. Was the cat at least named something that could conceivably be innocuous depending on the cat's appearance (like "darkie") or was it named something less ambiguous like "Golliwog" or "mandingo"?
Still a great story. Can't let some vocabulary completely ruin a good story, look at the whole Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn stuff. You should totally finish Rats in the Walls, Taw.
Post by: Bohandas on March 12, 2015, 01:52:20 am
Story's called Rats in the Walls. Cat's name was Nigger-Man in the original, but in a republishing in a magazine it was changed to Black Tom. In most publications now I'm pretty sure it sticks with Lovecraft's naming. No. No it's not really ambiguous.-quote snip-
Same reason I liked it. I also liked Shadow over Innsmouth, which was also panned by critics for the same reason. The pulpy stuff makes for better individual stories, which is also why I liked The Hobbit more than the dry, in-depth further works of Tolkien.
The one Lovecraft story I don't think I'll ever finish is the one where the narrator goes out of his way to mention his cat with the racist name I forgot every few seconds. I tried reading that once, but I just couldn't take it seriously.
I don't remember that one. Was the cat at least named something that could conceivably be innocuous depending on the cat's appearance (like "darkie") or was it named something less ambiguous like "Golliwog" or "mandingo"?
Still a great story. Can't let some vocabulary completely ruin a good story, look at the whole Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn stuff. You should totally finish Rats in the Walls, Taw.
Oh my! That's much worse than mandingo or golliwog!
Post by: Zrk2 on March 12, 2015, 03:24:41 pm
Terry Prattchett's "Moving Pictures"
Is it full of Rush references?
Post by: Emma on March 12, 2015, 03:45:14 pm
Spoiler: No, Seriously, Spoilers (click to show/hide)
I'm now onto reading Deadhouse Gates in the Malazan Books of the Fallen
Post by: Arcvasti on March 12, 2015, 03:50:56 pm
I finished A Dance with Dragons a few days ago, the ending was really bloody good.Spoiler: No, Seriously, Spoilers (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: NJW2000 on March 13, 2015, 05:55:28 pm
Post by: timferius on March 13, 2015, 06:49:12 pm
God, I'm so upset about Pratchett. I wonder if I should read something he wrote or just try not to think about it too much.Read the fuck out of everything Pratchett you can get your hands on, he poured his life and soul in to his writing, it's the only fitting way to remember him.
Post by: Zrk2 on March 14, 2015, 01:11:18 am
I'm now onto reading Deadhouse Gates in the Malazan Books of the Fallen
I've noticed the jerk about them is growing stronger on the internet, but seriously, they're fucking awesome.
Post by: Dutrius on March 14, 2015, 09:30:26 am
I second this.God, I'm so upset about Pratchett. I wonder if I should read something he wrote or just try not to think about it too much.Read the fuck out of everything Pratchett you can get your hands on, he poured his life and soul in to his writing, it's the only fitting way to remember him.
Post by: miauw62 on March 14, 2015, 09:32:05 am
Post by: timferius on March 14, 2015, 10:35:35 am
Post by: Spehss _ on March 20, 2015, 07:41:33 pm
Post by: FearfulJesuit on March 20, 2015, 08:07:46 pm
De Queirós is probably the best nineteeth-century novelist that nobody's ever heard of (well, outside the Lusofonia, anyways). He's long, of course, but he's free of the dreariness that pervades Dickens.
Post by: Quartz_Mace on March 23, 2015, 08:53:09 pm
Post by: flame99 on March 23, 2015, 09:07:20 pm
Post by: Arcvasti on March 23, 2015, 09:11:51 pm
Post by: Emma on March 23, 2015, 09:36:07 pm
Post by: Comrade Shamrock on March 25, 2015, 01:08:49 pm
Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives series sounds about right. His settings are always excellent. The books are pretty thick, but well-written enough to make reading them not a trial. Most of the rest of his books would also qualify.I second this choice only read the first one but it was quite enjoyable. I'm currently waiting to get the second.
Post by: Tack on March 25, 2015, 01:33:57 pm
Plus, More Kaladin. Let's not pretend that he's not everyone's favorite character.
Spoiler: Book 2, or 3 maybe (click to show/hide)
... That's really starting to get muddled in with the 3 Brent Weeks light books.
Post by: Arx on March 25, 2015, 02:20:22 pm
Post by: flame99 on March 25, 2015, 02:31:57 pm
Post by: Arx on March 25, 2015, 02:36:52 pm
Post by: HeroPizza42 on March 29, 2015, 01:14:12 pm
Post by: timferius on March 30, 2015, 09:52:24 am
Post by: Zrk2 on March 30, 2015, 11:35:00 am
Post by: aenri on March 30, 2015, 01:25:11 pm
I suppose I might as well ask for a recommendation here, but could anyone point me to a decent fantasy book that's actually, y'know, fantastical? Like not yet another rehash of Tolkeins ideas. Something fairly unique. Game of Thrones is cool, but a bit dense.
Roger Zelazny - The Chronicles of Amber decalogy? It is really a classic from the olden times.
Post by: TheKaspa on March 31, 2015, 06:07:51 am
It is DF dwaven, but it translates to Skyspear. Which, you know, Stormblessed, uses a spear...Next AMA with Sanderson, someone should ask him if he plays.
I am currently reading Memories of Ice of the Malazan's saga. I love the books but they are very long.
I am planning to re-read aSoIaF after completing Malazan, but I want to re-read before the next Martin's book so I hope it will be sooner than that.
Post by: Arx on March 31, 2015, 07:28:27 am
It is DF dwaven, but it translates to Skyspear. Which, you know, Stormblessed, uses a spear...Next AMA with Sanderson, someone should ask him if he plays.
Just realised I misunderstood the question. 'Kaladin' isn't anything in Dwarven, but 'Anrizlokum' is 'Skyspear'.
Post by: Mephisto on April 07, 2015, 10:53:43 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: i2amroy on April 08, 2015, 01:14:29 am
Ah, think I found it, I had indeed seen it on TvTropes:
http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Mankind (http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Mankind)
Post by: Mephisto on April 08, 2015, 06:55:57 am
Turns out it was a suptg (http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/9221037/images/1271396256625.png) copypasta. There's also a followup. (http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/11985698/)
Post by: WordsandChaos on April 08, 2015, 07:52:40 am
Post by: Emma on April 09, 2015, 05:30:16 pm
Can I repurpose this slightly as a "what would I like to read" thread?Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Yeah that's fine, I've been thinking of changing this to a general literature/reading thread anyway.
Post by: Levi on April 09, 2015, 05:33:28 pm
Post by: Emma on April 09, 2015, 05:42:44 pm
Post by: Dutrius on April 09, 2015, 05:57:22 pm
Post by: Emma on April 09, 2015, 06:01:15 pm
Post by: Cthulufaic on April 09, 2015, 06:38:30 pm
Space battles are so fucking epic
Post by: Zrk2 on April 09, 2015, 06:40:43 pm
Forgot to mention this earlier. The Shadow Rising. Part 3 of the WoT series.
Good. Don't give up.
Post by: i2amroy on April 10, 2015, 01:29:03 am
If you ever feel like giving up, just know that if you can make it to the last 3 books suddenly it becomes a lot easier to read. :PForgot to mention this earlier. The Shadow Rising. Part 3 of the WoT series.Good. Don't give up.
Post by: Yoink on April 10, 2015, 01:39:04 am
The book was first published in 1999, it's interesting seeing which of his ideas of the future actually came true. It's a pretty interesting novel so far, too! Action, violence, sex, dark humour, the lot. At first I thought it was going to have an irritating Mary Sue of the angstiest kind for a main character, but... well, not to give anything away, but it doesn't.
I literally found this book in a second-hand store by just rummaging through their book collection to find something interesting.
It has a bright purple and green cover, too, which is cool.
Post by: TheKaspa on April 10, 2015, 02:06:19 am
Isn't it Book 4?
It is.
Post by: Arx on April 10, 2015, 02:16:08 am
On another note I've also been reading The Dwarves by Markus Heitz it's pretty good so far and there was one plot twist pretty early on which, was well executed in my opinion.
I tried to read that, but something about it just didn't work for me. I'm not sure what.
Post by: TheKaspa on April 10, 2015, 04:08:53 am
The other were weird, and I didn't like the steampunk likeness of certain ideas.
Post by: Dutrius on April 10, 2015, 04:37:26 am
Isn't it Book 4?Yeah, my mistake. it was late at night and my internet died when I tried to change it.
If you ever feel like giving up, just know that if you can make it to the last 3 books suddenly it becomes a lot easier to read. :PForgot to mention this earlier. The Shadow Rising. Part 3 of the WoT series.Good. Don't give up.
I know, I'm rereading them because why not.
Post by: Tylui on April 12, 2015, 11:28:34 am
I suppose I might as well ask for a recommendation here, but could anyone point me to a decent fantasy book that's actually, y'know, fantastical? Like not yet another rehash of Tolkeins ideas. Something fairly unique. Game of Thrones is cool, but a bit dense.
You could try The Obsidian Trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/The-Outstretched-Shadow-Obsidian-Mountain/dp/0765341417). It's pretty fantastical! Although it's fairly... tame? I guess impaling people on spires isn't very tame but there's something teeny feeling about the novels imo. Maybe it's just because it's a coming-of-age story.
I'm currently reading a non-fiction called The Perfect Theory by Pedro G. Ferreira. It's all about the history of General Relativity.
Post by: Arx on April 12, 2015, 11:36:07 am
I suppose I might as well ask for a recommendation here, but could anyone point me to a decent fantasy book that's actually, y'know, fantastical? Like not yet another rehash of Tolkeins ideas. Something fairly unique. Game of Thrones is cool, but a bit dense.
Peter V. Brett's The Painted Man (and sequels) are pretty good.
Brent Weeks's Night Angel series is pretty good too. It has a handful of interesting concepts.
They're both pretty damn dark, though.
Post by: Bohandas on April 16, 2015, 04:22:51 pm
Post by: Yoink on April 28, 2015, 07:45:08 am
I picked out one called Nine Princes In Amber by Robert Zelazny, since it didn't look too offensively bad, and it's turning out to be somewhat interesting so far. That's probably largely due to the main character being an amnesiac, and not only that but trying to hide the fact from everyone he interacts with whilst still trying to work out what the hell is going on and who's trying to kill him.
Maybe it won't be quite as entertaining once he gets a better idea of things, but for now it's pretty good.
Post by: NJW2000 on April 28, 2015, 01:47:46 pm
Oh, and Roger Zelaney is pretty good I think... try his Deus Irae, which he did with Philip K. Dick, it's a really fun read... I especially loved Oh Ho.
Post by: penguinofhonor on April 28, 2015, 02:40:04 pm
The main plot takes place in about half of the chapters and is interspersed with other stories that usually have a more serious tone. The most prominent is a retelling of the John Henry myth. There are also backstories of various characters, and some stories that are only connected thematically and through mentions of John Henry.
It's kind of dense, but definitely worth the read.
Post by: Cryxis, Prince of Doom on April 28, 2015, 08:19:08 pm
(I can't spell and it's a word spell check doesn't know aparently)
Post by: Arcvasti on April 28, 2015, 09:11:15 pm
On page (87?) of Ferengheight 451
(I can't spell and it's a word spell check doesn't know aparently)
I didn't mind that one. Somewhat anvilicious, but its what you expect from dystopians of that time period. I'm also glad spell check abhors Fahrenheit as much as I do. For bonus points, reread the beginning sentence of the book after you finish the book. New applicability.
Post by: WordsandChaos on May 18, 2015, 08:00:03 am
Lacking a degree in physics, or even a vaguelly competent grasp of mathematics beyond counting on my fingers, so I'm having to branch off and research some of the terms and ideas that the various essays throw around like it's the boss' birthday at rhe confetti factory. Flat 3D space? It's a thing. I'm better at understanding the less science-specific stuff right off the bat, but I still find all the physics and so on incredibly interesting.
Post by: Spehss _ on May 18, 2015, 09:59:52 am
Book written in 1998 predicting the future of artificial intelligence and other general advances in the 21 century. It had some interesting stuff on AI algorithms and scientific experiments, as well as some stuff on Moore's Law and the "Law of Accelerating Returns". And it also has a lot of...not sciency silly predictions. Some of the stuff I admit sounds cool, and some of it is just absurd.
Was fun to read various predictions and see how they've come true 17 years later.
Also reading How Machines Think by Nigel Ford and The Dialogues of Plato by, well, Plato.
Post by: Zrk2 on May 18, 2015, 02:17:17 pm
Post by: Parsely on May 18, 2015, 05:31:33 pm
Post by: Devastator on May 19, 2015, 12:12:02 am
Simply amazing stuff.
Post by: Yoink on May 19, 2015, 09:43:06 am
It's called Narcopolis.
Post by: miauw62 on May 23, 2015, 03:43:32 am
Post by: NJW2000 on May 23, 2015, 07:08:42 am
Post by: Remuthra on May 23, 2015, 07:51:30 am
On page (87?) of Ferengheight 451Fahrenheit.
(I can't spell and it's a word spell check doesn't know aparently)
Post by: Jeshin on May 23, 2015, 10:28:32 am
Post by: Emma on June 07, 2015, 08:33:14 pm
Post by: Arcvasti on June 07, 2015, 08:52:05 pm
Post by: Zrk2 on June 08, 2015, 01:05:49 pm
Yeah, I liked Steelheart. Currently reading Gardens of the Moon in the Malazan Books of the Fallen. So far, I am liking it.
And we've assimilated another one. You're in for a good time.
Post by: forsaken1111 on June 08, 2015, 01:17:50 pm
Post by: TheKaspa on June 10, 2015, 02:18:05 am
Yeah, I liked Steelheart. Currently reading Gardens of the Moon in the Malazan Books of the Fallen. So far, I am liking it.
And we've assimilated another one. You're in for a good time.
First in, Last out
Post by: NJW2000 on June 11, 2015, 11:55:11 am
Ironically, my English teacher just asked me to get involved in some glorified literary project that basically boils down to me chatting with East Asian kids and Western ones in forums about books we've read...
For which I will go to a meeting, will probably have to sign something and hear several speeches...
::) And what am I doing right now?
Post by: Bauglir on June 11, 2015, 12:14:52 pm
Post by: ChairmanPoo on June 11, 2015, 12:26:35 pm
Re-reading all five novels in fact. But GoT so far.
Post by: Spehss _ on June 13, 2015, 06:13:53 pm
Post by: Arcvasti on June 23, 2015, 08:31:35 pm
Post by: Vattic on June 24, 2015, 03:35:33 am
Got my copy of I, Robot by Isaac Asimov in the mail. Glorious campy vintage sci-fi, with all sorts of sciency fictional vocabulary. It's good.Not long finished it myself. Wasn't quite what I expected, but didn't end up disappointed.
Post by: Parsely on June 24, 2015, 04:08:32 pm
Post by: Emma on June 24, 2015, 04:29:37 pm
Anyway, I recently finished the Sultan's Eyes a book that started out pretty meh, in my opinion, but got better and was actually a pretty good read in the end. I just started Schindler's Ark which is really bloody good.
Post by: Generally me on June 24, 2015, 05:11:31 pm
Post by: nenjin on June 24, 2015, 05:16:49 pm
Post by: Flying Dice on June 24, 2015, 05:27:01 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Parsely on June 24, 2015, 06:02:36 pm
Who wrote Tunnel in the Sky? A decent dystopian fiction without love and shit might make a decent read.Robert Heinlein.
Post by: Dutrius on June 24, 2015, 07:21:27 pm
Post by: Tack on June 25, 2015, 05:27:05 pm
I'm reading, like, everything Pratchett wrote.I'm trying to buy all the hardcovers and start a collection.
Problem is, they're kinda hard to get in Straya.
Post by: Emma on June 25, 2015, 05:32:47 pm
Just finished Saga of the Seven Suns again.I'm reading, like, everything Pratchett wrote.I'm trying to buy all the hardcovers and start a collection.
Problem is, they're kinda hard to get in Straya.
Really? I haven't had too much trouble personally but then again I'm not buying hardcovers.
Post by: Parsely on June 27, 2015, 10:08:31 pm
Post by: Morrigi on June 27, 2015, 10:27:51 pm
Post by: Spehss _ on June 27, 2015, 10:55:18 pm
Post by: Emma on June 27, 2015, 11:10:04 pm
Rereading through a collection of Lovecraft stories. Finished The Lurking Fear, The Temple, The Outsider, Arthur Jermyn, and The Unnameable, currently rereading The Shadow over Innsmouth.
I would like to start reading Lovecraft but I'm one not sure where to start and two not sure whether I'll enjoy his writing the little of Call of Cthulhu (or was it The Dunwich Horror) that I read leads me to believe that I may not. Granted, I only read the first paragraph or so, but still.
Post by: Spehss _ on June 28, 2015, 12:00:26 am
I would like to start reading Lovecraft but I'm one not sure where to start and two not sure whether I'll enjoy his writing the little of Call of Cthulhu (or was it The Dunwich Horror) that I read leads me to believe that I may not. Granted, I only read the first paragraph or so, but still.Lovecraft's writing can be heavy. He tends to go into lots of (unnecessary) detail on architecture or otherwise use lots of...unique word choices or sentence structure or descriptions. I'd say his writing is like an acquired taste. At first you could be like "this is awful" but after a while you get used to it.
You can find all his works online for free though, so that's cool. (http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/)
If you're looking for recommendations, I'd suggest At the Mountains of Madness, Cool Air, or Rats in the Walls. I recall Cool Air being not too hard to swallow, I think. Mountains of Madness and Rats are classics, but I don't remember what the writing is like in them. I think his best work is The Outsider, buuuut that may be hard to get through. I remember my first time reading that was confusing as hell.
Post by: Emma on June 28, 2015, 12:08:04 am
I would like to start reading Lovecraft but I'm one not sure where to start and two not sure whether I'll enjoy his writing the little of Call of Cthulhu (or was it The Dunwich Horror) that I read leads me to believe that I may not. Granted, I only read the first paragraph or so, but still.Lovecraft's writing can be heavy. He tends to go into lots of (unnecessary) detail on architecture or otherwise use lots of...unique word choices or sentence structure or descriptions. I'd say his writing is like an acquired taste. At first you could be like "this is awful" but after a while you get used to it.
You can find all his works online for free though, so that's cool. (http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/)
If you're looking for recommendations, I'd suggest At the Mountains of Madness, Cool Air, or Rats in the Walls. I recall Cool Air being not too hard to swallow, I think. Mountains of Madness and Rats are classics, but I don't remember what the writing is like in them. I think his best work is The Outsider, buuuut that may be hard to get through. I remember my first time reading that was confusing as hell.
Thanks! I'm reading Cool Air now.
Post by: Arcvasti on June 28, 2015, 12:17:11 am
I would like to start reading Lovecraft but I'm one not sure where to start and two not sure whether I'll enjoy his writing the little of Call of Cthulhu (or was it The Dunwich Horror) that I read leads me to believe that I may not. Granted, I only read the first paragraph or so, but still.Lovecraft's writing can be heavy. He tends to go into lots of (unnecessary) detail on architecture or otherwise use lots of...unique word choices or sentence structure or descriptions. I'd say his writing is like an acquired taste. At first you could be like "this is awful" but after a while you get used to it.
You can find all his works online for free though, so that's cool. (http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/)
If you're looking for recommendations, I'd suggest At the Mountains of Madness, Cool Air, or Rats in the Walls. I recall Cool Air being not too hard to swallow, I think. Mountains of Madness and Rats are classics, but I don't remember what the writing is like in them. I think his best work is The Outsider, buuuut that may be hard to get through. I remember my first time reading that was confusing as hell.
Thanks! I'm reading Cool Air now.
At the Mountain of Madness is definitely my favourite Lovecraft. Actually got the horror going, was interesting to read and used "Cyclopean" every other sentence. 10.12/10
Post by: Emma on June 28, 2015, 12:28:11 am
I would like to start reading Lovecraft but I'm one not sure where to start and two not sure whether I'll enjoy his writing the little of Call of Cthulhu (or was it The Dunwich Horror) that I read leads me to believe that I may not. Granted, I only read the first paragraph or so, but still.Lovecraft's writing can be heavy. He tends to go into lots of (unnecessary) detail on architecture or otherwise use lots of...unique word choices or sentence structure or descriptions. I'd say his writing is like an acquired taste. At first you could be like "this is awful" but after a while you get used to it.
You can find all his works online for free though, so that's cool. (http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/)
If you're looking for recommendations, I'd suggest At the Mountains of Madness, Cool Air, or Rats in the Walls. I recall Cool Air being not too hard to swallow, I think. Mountains of Madness and Rats are classics, but I don't remember what the writing is like in them. I think his best work is The Outsider, buuuut that may be hard to get through. I remember my first time reading that was confusing as hell.
Thanks! I'm reading Cool Air now.
At the Mountain of Madness is definitely my favourite Lovecraft. Actually got the horror going, was interesting to read and used "Cyclopean" every other sentence. 10.12/10
I just finished Cool Air and am now moving on to At The Mountains of Madness. Cool Air wasn't bad and I enjoyed it quite a bit but I'm not really sure that I enjoyed the ending overly much.
Post by: nenjin on June 28, 2015, 12:28:40 am
Post by: Emma on June 28, 2015, 12:59:40 am
Post by: BlackFlyme on June 28, 2015, 02:29:31 pm
Post by: Vattic on June 28, 2015, 04:07:56 pm
I would like to start reading Lovecraft but I'm one not sure where to start and two not sure whether I'll enjoy his writing the little of Call of Cthulhu (or was it The Dunwich Horror) that I read leads me to believe that I may not. Granted, I only read the first paragraph or so, but still.If you didn't like having the narrator tell of the crazy events he was involved with
Post by: NJW2000 on June 28, 2015, 04:17:02 pm
On Lovecraft: Yes, he is very dry, and of his time, as people have said. Much of his reputation for dealing with the tentacly stuff may have been accrued earlier when, paradoxically, less people wrote in that style, and were less deeply into the abominations etc, though now he seems pretty vague/dawdling with it, and in the slightly higher literary sense, he is as or less interesting than, say, Poe in his explorations of madness and the unknown, who I consider more to be a more dramatically compelling author, less verbose.
Post by: Generally me on July 20, 2015, 05:32:13 pm
But recently I read a really good historical fiction about the Great Depression in America. It's called "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. Very good reading and kinda poetic.
Post by: Arcvasti on July 20, 2015, 11:48:40 pm
I noticed nearly everyone reads fantasy/sc-fi books here, including me most of the time.
Why would I want to read stuff set in the real world? I live here already. I don't much like that type of literature, personally, although I made an except for Les Miserables because that timeperiod is basically another world as far as I'm concerned.
I'm now onto Midnight Tides, fifth tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen. In which we end up on a third major continent, entirely seperate from the other two continents that we'd been alternating between for the last four books. Honestly, if Steven Erikson was a less talanted author, I'd have ragequit the series from the constant step-sideways'. As it is, it works just fine.
Post by: Tack on July 21, 2015, 12:04:49 am
Black Libary ftw.
Post by: Vattic on July 21, 2015, 02:27:03 am
I noticed nearly everyone reads fantasy/sc-fi books here, including me most of the time.Bet this being a forum based largely around a fantasy game might be part of the reason. I tend to read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, but mostly because I get more suggestions for books in those genres. Would like more from outside and have enjoyed many.
But recently I read a really good historical fiction about the Great Depression in America. It's called "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. Very good reading and kinda poetic.
I mean to read Grapes of Wrath, but the friend who suggested it insists I borrow his copy and he has yet failed to produce it. Have enjoyed a little of Steinbeck's other work with Of Mice and Men being a stand out.
Post by: Generally me on July 21, 2015, 04:51:14 am
Another really really really good book is Gideon Mack. It goes through the life of a man who supposedly met the devil. It's completely fictional and I had so much feels by the end I literally sat there for an hour just thinking about the book.
Also yeah I think i read more fantasy books simply because that's what I read when I was a child. And I've found that I enjoy on average -even bad- fantasy books more, simply because they are so action packed most of the time. But really good, non-fantasy books let me relate to the characters more easily and feel as though they are truly real and what happens to them matters.
One of my favourite fantasy books is The Way of Kings and its sequel. These are both really well written with good description and just generally have awesome stuff in them.
Post by: forsaken1111 on July 21, 2015, 04:51:36 am
I just finished reading the last of the discworld series and could use a lovecraftian horror to wash out the fantasy comedy camp.
Post by: timferius on July 21, 2015, 10:24:09 am
Post by: Arx on July 21, 2015, 11:09:52 am
I noticed nearly everyone reads fantasy/sc-fi books here, including me most of the time.
Why would I want to read stuff set in the real world? I live here already. I don't much like that type of literature, personally, although I made an except for Les Miserables because that timeperiod is basically another world as far as I'm concerned.
Plus one.
I do love Zakes Mda's books, and quite a handful of other non-fantasies, but fantasy and sci-fi will probably always be my true love.
Speaking of which, I'm currently reading Brian Ruckley's Fall of Thanes. So far A Godless World is satisfying my somewhat peculiar taste for gritty, dark fantasy that doesn't include rape or gratuitous sex.
I've also decided that I really like the magic. It's not swords and sorcery magic, and it's not a swords and sorcery world; it's a world of people, warriors and grinding winters, with the magic to match.
Post by: Spehss _ on July 21, 2015, 11:19:54 pm
Now I'm actually reading it instead of trying to, having come down from a Lovecraft binge full of eldritch things and architectural descriptions. Refreshing change of pace from Lovecraft's writing style and more exciting a read than all the ai books and the c++ textbook I've been studying lately.
Post by: Arx on July 21, 2015, 11:58:38 pm
Post by: Spehss _ on July 28, 2015, 08:21:43 pm
Holy shiiiiiiiiiiit that was a wild ride. It just kept going and going and escalating and escalating and my mind is full of trip. 10/10 would recommend.
Post by: Arx on July 29, 2015, 12:19:26 pm
Finished it. Finished Revelation Space.
Holy shiiiiiiiiiiit that was a wild ride. It just kept going and going and escalating and escalating and my mind is full of trip. 10/10 would recommend.
Like I said.
Just finished Fall of Thanes, the last book in the The Godless World trilogy. I really liked how it evoked the feeling of a grinding war that no-one's really in control of any more.
Post by: Comrade P. on July 29, 2015, 12:34:23 pm
Post by: Whisperling on July 29, 2015, 12:42:55 pm
I've been reading a little too much of Tamora Pierce's stuff recently, mostly because I decided it was time to loot the YA fantasy section's top shelf. Turns out it actually gets a little tiring once you read 12 consecutive books with the same author. They're decent, but they're not that good.
So, that's a month of reading material blown. I really need to get around to going to the library and adding a bit of variety to my diet.
Post by: Emma on August 02, 2015, 02:52:30 am
Finished it. Finished Revelation Space.
Holy shiiiiiiiiiiit that was a wild ride. It just kept going and going and escalating and escalating and my mind is full of trip. 10/10 would recommend.
I might try it myself now. I don't read much sci-fi, any sci-fi actually, but I always like to try new things. Anyway, I'm trying to get a hold of a copy of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable because it sounds awesome and Terry Pratchett mentioned it several times in A Slip of the Keyboard. I looked for a kindle version but it cost $159 even though a quick web-search showed that you can buy it for around $30 and even Amazon sells it for $50. Someone did mention a public domain copy of it so I'll see if I can get that one and then see if my local second-hand bookshop stocks a copy.
Post by: Generally me on August 04, 2015, 03:35:55 pm
I just read the first two books of "the wheel of time" series. Thought they were alright, but I'm incredibly bored now. It's just very boring to read and I'm constantly getting annoyed about how ALL the main characters just do every thing they can to deny what is happening. Then they constantly have these moments where they just start whispering to themselves "I have to do this" or "I'll never let anything like that happen again". One of the characters falls in love with this guy who she literally had said about 3 words too. Then he also turns out to love her.
Not to mention all the weird bits where these three girls talk for like 1 minute then tell each other "i feel like we'll be best friends for ever" then have a group hug.
So yeah none that. Cause it's just dumb.
Post by: Willfor on August 04, 2015, 05:23:24 pm
Post by: Tomasque on August 04, 2015, 07:21:03 pm
Does anyone have suggestions for just a generally good book. That means no cheesy crap, unrealistic personalities and no weird sexual stuff.
I just read the first two books of "the wheel of time" series. Thought they were alright, but I'm incredibly bored now. It's just very boring to read and I'm constantly getting annoyed about how ALL the main characters just do every thing they can to deny what is happening. Then they constantly have these moments where they just start whispering to themselves "I have to do this" or "I'll never let anything like that happen again". One of the characters falls in love with this guy who she literally had said about 3 words too. Then he also turns out to love her.
Not to mention all the weird bits where these three girls talk for like 1 minute then tell each other "i feel like we'll be best friends for ever" then have a group hug.
So yeah none that. Cause it's just dumb.
Hmm..
How about some good ol' Agatha Christie? Some of the personalities are a tad bit unrealistic, but not because the author needs them to fall in love, it because the author needs them to look like a suspect. Big difference!
Post by: Comrade P. on August 05, 2015, 12:37:45 am
Post by: Vattic on August 05, 2015, 01:52:30 am
Neuromancer by William Gibson. That's some good stuff.I enjoyed his other cyberpunk stuff too. Might help that I enjoy the beat influence in his writing. If you were posting it as a suggestion for Generally me it might be worth warning that the series does contain some weird sexual stuff, but that specific book may not, I can't remember (the weirdest stuff being in his shorter stories).
Post by: Generally me on August 05, 2015, 02:56:59 pm
Post by: Arx on August 05, 2015, 03:05:24 pm
Oh, Great Expectations made me want to smack Pip repeatedly, but I'm not sure that counts.
Post by: Generally me on August 05, 2015, 03:22:53 pm
Also thank for the other suggestions, I looked them up and read a few reviews but found that they probably wouldn't be my kinda book.
Post by: Comrade P. on August 05, 2015, 03:55:41 pm
Neuromancer by William Gibson. That's some good stuff.I enjoyed his other cyberpunk stuff too. Might help that I enjoy the beat influence in his writing. If you were posting it as a suggestion for Generally me it might be worth warning that the series does contain some weird sexual stuff, but that specific book may not, I can't remember (the weirdest stuff being in his shorter stories).
Eh, in that particular book, lead characters fucked once in a pretty plain way around page 50 (spoilers?), then business as usual. I haven't read the whole series, I switched to something else back when I finished it.
Post by: nomoetoe on August 05, 2015, 09:23:06 pm
I regret NOTHING.
Post by: Vattic on August 06, 2015, 02:03:00 am
Neuromancer by William Gibson. That's some good stuff.I enjoyed his other cyberpunk stuff too. Might help that I enjoy the beat influence in his writing. If you were posting it as a suggestion for Generally me it might be worth warning that the series does contain some weird sexual stuff, but that specific book may not, I can't remember (the weirdest stuff being in his shorter stories).
Eh, in that particular book, lead characters fucked once in a pretty plain way around page 50 (spoilers?), then business as usual. I haven't read the whole series, I switched to something else back when I finished it.
Fair enough.
Post by: Tack on August 06, 2015, 02:59:44 am
10/10 would recommend.Well I'm sold.
To ze library.
I've been reading a little too much of Tamora Pierce's stuff recentlyYep yep. I like the characters, I love the world, I can tolerate the romance.
But gosh does it get samey.
I'd certainly say quality rollercoasters over time though.
Early stuff - Good
Middle stuff - Great
The Will of the Empress - Terrible.
... Actually Pratchett I'd say is similar too (for medical reasons though)
Post by: forsaken1111 on August 06, 2015, 04:42:50 am
Post by: itisnotlogical on August 06, 2015, 06:53:35 am
Post by: Mech#4 on August 09, 2015, 09:21:32 am
Because of my disappointing inability to read chinese, I have managed to read a little bit of a translated version so far and it seems to be quite enjoyable with lots of catching of darts out of mid air with whips, pinning flies to walls with gold pins and leaping across roofs and rivers. Sadly, after a brief look it seems to be quite difficult to find a bookstore that stocks a physical copy. Any suggestions on where I could look online to order, besides the obvious Amazon and Ebay?
Post by: kilakan on August 09, 2015, 09:24:38 am
Just finished Ben Bova's Mars, and another book called The First Power Play.
Both excellent novels, started on Lens of the World but can't stand the writing style... moved to Sword of The rightful King but for a story of king Aurthor it's really lackluster so far.
Post by: Whisperling on August 09, 2015, 12:06:28 pm
live near an absolutely MASSIVE chapters store with an owner obsessed with books so he always stocks one of everything usually.
I like this guy already.
Post by: Arcvasti on August 09, 2015, 05:31:50 pm
Post by: Generally me on August 10, 2015, 04:24:33 am
Just started on Reapers Gale, Seventh book of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.What is that series like?
Post by: Emma on August 10, 2015, 04:41:46 am
Post by: Arcvasti on August 10, 2015, 12:49:31 pm
Just started on Reapers Gale, Seventh book of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.What is that series like?
I'd say it hits a decent balance between Wheel of Time's long neat character arcs and A Song of Ice and Fire's grim grittiness without being either overly long and not feeling like anything is being accomplished or needlessly edgy and bopping you on the head with death and rape and similar every chapter. If you have no idea what's going on: Keep reading. Usually, you can infer what you're missing from context eventually or it'll be explained in greater detail later.
Post by: Tack on August 10, 2015, 01:10:55 pm
I thought pratchett's later works picked back up in quality. Especially the discworld series, the last few books I really enjoyed. Some of the middle ones, not as much.I dunno, Thud/Snuff was the high point for me. Unseen Academicals you noticed a decline, and Raising Steam was one of my least favorites, despite it having all my favorite characters.
Post by: Yoink on August 12, 2015, 12:03:56 pm
While the author rambles a bit at times, the setting itself is compelling enough that I don't really mind. Also I suppose it's kind of appropriate given the subject matter, and it's based on a true story besides. Still, the descriptions of beautiful historic buildings, antique furniture and the restoration and preservation of such are most likely my favourite thing about this book.
That and the drunken partying. All subjects close to my heart. :P
Post by: Arx on August 15, 2015, 02:30:57 pm
The former is on the science and art of giving and taking feedback, and the latter is historical fiction because I don't have it in me to read two science/learning books in a row this year.
Post by: Generally me on August 15, 2015, 06:43:02 pm
Post by: Emma on August 15, 2015, 08:09:26 pm
Post by: Yoink on August 16, 2015, 11:41:44 pm
It seems really good so far. Currently stopped at 80 pages, and my OCD is fighting a losing battle for me to wait there a while.
Post by: NJW2000 on August 17, 2015, 02:59:28 am
Post by: Yoink on August 17, 2015, 03:02:31 am
It certainly won't be the last, I'm really enjoying it. I'll have to pick up By Night in Chile sometime. :)
Post by: Helgoland on August 17, 2015, 05:20:22 am
Spoiler: Original (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Ad hoc translation (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Illustration on the website I retrieved the text from (click to show/hide)
Post by: Emma on August 17, 2015, 05:26:11 am
Post by: Helgoland on August 17, 2015, 05:35:36 am
Celebracion de la voz humana/2 deals with prisoners in South American dictatorships who weren't allowed to speak, but managed to communicate with their hands or by knocking against walls. Celebracion de la voz humana/3 is about a guy who was gunned down because he dared to speak up against the regime. I'm sensing a common theme :P
Post by: timferius on August 17, 2015, 09:00:10 am
Post by: Tack on August 17, 2015, 09:46:38 am
First (and biggest) book is 'Magician'.
Jim Butcher's 'Codex Alera' series is also pretty unique for fantasy.
Also David Gemell, for the visceral, sexy reading. I believe Legend was his first. Old Man with Big Axe Defends City, basically.
If you're desperate you can always pick up something useful from the Forgotten Realms people too. Something something DnD universe; takes about as much skill as the Black Library writers.
Post by: Frumple on August 17, 2015, 10:13:10 am
Would echo the riftwar stuff, too. They even made some video games (the krondor stuff) based off 'em. Or the other way around, something like that.
... also, if you could stand LotR, you might consider the Shannara stuff. There's certainly a lot of it, and it's not dissimilar in style. Also does the occasional faintly interesting thing. On the other hand, it's also more than a little sloggy, and I vaguely remember some pretty questionable writing at times, as well. Not something I'd actually recommend, but a possibility.
As for interesting settings... there are a small handful of Darksun books. I've read a few, and would probably recommend. Similarly, there's some spelljammer books (six total, making up the cloakmaster cycle) out there that are kinda' neat. Not particularly lengthy (though there's a fair few of the darksun stuff), but they provide some faintly interesting scenarios. In a similar tangent, consider that there are quite a few Magic the Gathering novels, some of which are even pretty interesting. Might be worth checking out if you're looking for fantasy that's fairly divergent from the norm.
Post by: Yoink on August 17, 2015, 11:40:23 am
I think I need a new fantasy series or something, something with a unique setting. Any suggestions? (for some of the big ones I've already read, Wheel of Time, Sword of Truth (man that one went downhill near the end), Lord of the Rings, Fionavar Tapestry)I'm sure I've recommended this just about every time someone's asked for a fantasy recommendation, but: Chronicles of and Age of Darkness, by Hugh Cook.
It's... well... it's morning here and I'm half asleep (and if I tried to describe it I'd end up rambling for ages), but it's a brilliant series.
It has your unique setting (although perhaps some elements have since become a bit cliched) as well as Cook's unique writing style.
I'd recommend starting with either The Wizards and the Warriors (the 1st book) or The Walrus and the Warwolf (the 2nd).
Although, The Wordsmiths and the Warguild was the first one I read, and it impressed me enough that I tracked down the nine other books years later.
Post by: NJW2000 on August 17, 2015, 11:45:55 am
Post by: Arx on August 17, 2015, 12:03:33 pm
Post by: timferius on August 18, 2015, 07:00:31 am
Post by: Tack on August 18, 2015, 12:41:46 pm
I just read the first two books of "the wheel of time" series. Thought they were alright, but I'm incredibly bored now. It's just very boring to read and I'm constantly getting annoyed about how ALL the main characters just do every thing they can to deny what is happening.Sort of agree but I'm up to the 7th book and the character development is getting pretty awesome. Plus that whole "insanity" twist which you always knew was going to happen, but watching the process is morbidly fascinating.
So yeah none that. Cause it's just dumb.
That being said it certainly takes a few books to get past the "villain of the week" vibe. The "BFF girl gang" stuff never really goes away though.
Post by: Arx on August 18, 2015, 12:47:15 pm
Post by: Drakale on August 18, 2015, 01:01:36 pm
Post by: Arx on August 18, 2015, 01:07:17 pm
Recently read a translation of "The three body problem" (三体) by Liu Cyxin(刘慈欣), a science fiction novel which is basically Contact in the Chinese Cultural Revolution era. Interesting characters and it's the first time I read a novelized account of life in 70's china. Very interesting stuff, I think the following novel will be translated fairly soon. Fair warning, it's not a novel where a lot happens, it's more of a slow burner, but it's the kind of novel that you keep thinking about a long time after you read it.
That one's on my to read list! I believe the second book has already been translated, but I could be mistaken. If it isn't it will be very soon.
Post by: Tack on August 18, 2015, 02:02:56 pm
Anybody read it?
Post by: NJW2000 on August 18, 2015, 02:59:10 pm
Toed an interesting line between "high concept" and space opera sci-fi, but a great read, lots of fun, and a pretty interesting subtext too, IIRC.
Kinda reminds me of a toned-down Einsteinian Roulette, come to think of it, though maybe a bit more like... normal books, I guess. In a reasonably good way, i.e. less random death, slightly less cliche, etc.
Post by: Graknorke on August 25, 2015, 04:50:15 pm
Post by: Strife26 on August 25, 2015, 06:03:57 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Edited because I wasn't proper using mvm conflict.
Post by: Helgoland on August 25, 2015, 06:11:00 pm
Post by: H4zardZ1 on August 26, 2015, 07:34:40 am
Post by: Akura on August 27, 2015, 07:18:39 pm
Post by: Emma on August 31, 2015, 01:25:22 am
Spoiler: Real Actual Spoilers (click to show/hide)
Post by: Bohandas on September 01, 2015, 02:25:03 pm
Post by: Yoink on September 01, 2015, 02:28:15 pm
Kind of confusing, but great.
Now I'm reading Colonel Greene and the Copper Skyrocket, by C.L. Sonnichsen.
It's nonfiction (I think?) about the region I'm in at the moment. Somewhat interesting so far.
Post by: nenjin on September 01, 2015, 06:04:41 pm
Post by: Generally me on September 02, 2015, 01:51:00 am
"Wild Swans the three daughters of China"
It's about real family history of 3 generations of women. Recounting their history over the last century. The cultural revolution bit was very interesting and informative.
"Stoner"
It's a completely fictional book of a farmer's son Born in 1910. It's a book about the struggles and victories of a normal life.
Both of these books are perfect for me as I like reading about someone's story right from when they are born to when they die.
Post by: nenjin on September 02, 2015, 02:10:24 am
Borges: La bibliotheca de Babel (http://www.uned.es/manesvirtual/Literalia/borges/Babel.html). Weeeeeird, sort of Kafkaesque, but very interesting.
Just saw this. I really enjoy Borges stuff. It's out there but still readable. The Library of Babel is one of my favs.
Post by: RedKing on September 02, 2015, 08:54:52 am
I just grabbed a copy of this one myself! And yes, the second book has been translated into English.Recently read a translation of "The three body problem" (三体) by Liu Cyxin(刘慈欣), a science fiction novel which is basically Contact in the Chinese Cultural Revolution era. Interesting characters and it's the first time I read a novelized account of life in 70's china. Very interesting stuff, I think the following novel will be translated fairly soon. Fair warning, it's not a novel where a lot happens, it's more of a slow burner, but it's the kind of novel that you keep thinking about a long time after you read it.
That one's on my to read list! I believe the second book has already been translated, but I could be mistaken. If it isn't it will be very soon.
Also reading Old Man's War and Redshirts, both by John Scalzi. The latter promises to be a fun read -- basically a Star Trek expy that deconstructs it by viewing it through the eyes of the expendable security teams, who are seemingly the only ones with any common sense.
Post by: Kolnukbyne on September 02, 2015, 10:12:01 am
I'm in the process of preparing myself to re-read the A Song of Ice and Fire series. It's a hefty task, but after finishing the series early in the year I've only become more interested in it.
I've also been getting into the Warcraft novels, which I was at first hesitant about and still not entirely sure where I stand on them. Arthas: Rise of the Lich King was good, overall, but man am I peeved about some of the things she chose to add or omit from the novel. I've been reading through the Warcraft Archive (Day of the Dragon, Lord of the Clans and The Last Guardian) on the side. So far I'm half way through LotC. Day of the Dragon was much better than I expected. Not great but agreeable, would have been better if the two main protagonists were anywhere near as interesting as all the other characters. Krasus' meeting with Malygos was amazing. One thing that peeved me is that, as it was written (relatively) early in the franchise's history, there are a bunch of things that don't fit with the lore. Thing is, it was written while Warcraft III was being made and the writer was collaborating with the game's writers to an extent and there appear things that just flat out don't even line up with what we see in the game, things that I suppose I'd put to the writer's past with Dungeons & Dragons novels and sticking to his own precedent regarding these things. Lord of the Clans is quite enjoyable so far. I haven't read much of it for a while though, I should get back.
Post by: miauw62 on September 02, 2015, 12:51:32 pm
Finished Neuromancer. I have to say, I really like some of Gibson's descriptive writing. The description of the matrix the first time Case jacks in is a good example. I'm not entirely sure how I'd describe it, sort of stream-of-consciousness descriptions I suppose.I absolutely adore Gibson's style of writing. I dunno, I just had a great time reading Neuromancer.
Thinking of starting Ian M Bank's "The Culture" series.Protip: start with the second book. The first one isn't very good, imo.
Anybody read it?
I don't have anything to read myself right now. I should order some more books from this list: a thread in life advice with B12s science fiction recommendations (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=150398.msg6197156#msg6197156), or continue reading Pratchett's young adult novels (which i dont have anything against, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing)
Post by: Arx on September 02, 2015, 12:56:09 pm
or continue reading Pratchett's young adult novels (which i dont have anything against, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing)
Pfft. I read Discworld for like two months straight of intensive reading (I think I was going at a book per two days) and I'm showing no ill-effects. Doo eet.
Post by: Vattic on September 03, 2015, 02:35:45 am
The style is essentially that of the Beat Generation, though his stuff is fairly tame stylistically and thematically as compared to the more extreme Beat stuff (some of it I found actively difficult to read, not because of the themes which can be tough, but because of the structure). Stream-of-consciousness is exactly how I'd describe it. I found it always took some time to adjust myself to the rhythm, but usually worth it. Though not really a Beat author himself Hunter S. Thomson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has a lot of the same style.Finished Neuromancer. I have to say, I really like some of Gibson's descriptive writing. The description of the matrix the first time Case jacks in is a good example. I'm not entirely sure how I'd describe it, sort of stream-of-consciousness descriptions I suppose.I absolutely adore Gibson's style of writing. I dunno, I just had a great time reading Neuromancer.
Just saw this. I really enjoy Borges stuff. It's out there but still readable. The Library of Babel is one of my favs.That one stood out to me too. Had encountered a similar idea where if you had every possible arrangement of black and white pixels on a high enough resolution display one of them would be a picture of you.
Post by: Arcvasti on September 05, 2015, 02:32:40 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
And now I'm on to Toll the Hounds, Eighth Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen. I WILL finish this series dammit.
Post by: Drakale on September 08, 2015, 09:14:11 am
Post by: NJW2000 on September 19, 2015, 07:38:58 am
Post by: TheKaspa on September 23, 2015, 04:18:43 am
Just finished Reaper's Gale, Seventh Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.Spoiler (click to show/hide)
And now I'm on to Toll the Hounds, Eighth Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen. I WILL finish this series dammit.
I'm behind you, currently reading Return of the Crimson Guard, as I want to read all of them
Post by: Arx on September 23, 2015, 07:49:29 am
Post by: nenjin on September 23, 2015, 09:08:35 am
Post by: Akura on September 24, 2015, 06:11:06 pm
Post by: Flying Dice on September 25, 2015, 12:09:56 am
Also finished Naomi Novik's Uprooted on that same Saturday. I enjoy her writing, but good god am I glad to see something from her pen that's not more Temeraire -- I like it, but I'm sick of it. It's fun, cute, and captures very well the feeling of faerie tales: the plot is driven almost wholly by character flaws both long-past and present, the whole truth of the matter doesn't come clear until the very end, and concludes with a very strong sense of cyclical continuation intermingled with irreversible change. Also features the 17 year old protagonist and the multi-century-old wizard mentor figure falling in love, if that puts you off too much.
Picked up a bunch of Heinlein's shorter novels, novellas and short stories that have been impossible to find--apparently Baen's been doing a mass reprinting of them--and I'm working my way through those as well.
Post by: Spehss _ on September 25, 2015, 12:24:11 am
For fun I'm rereading Isaac Asimov's I, Robot during time before college classes when I got nothing else to do.
For learning for fun I'm reading Ray Kurzweil's How to create a Mind and I'm currently trying to work through The Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Dalai Lama's Meditation on the Mind and The Universe in a Single Atom. The problem with these three books, much like the Bhagavad Gita As it Is book on Krishna-ism, is that they are all pretty dense and slow for me to chew through. Not to mention college classes are stealing time away.
Post by: RedKing on October 05, 2015, 11:40:16 am
Have now finished all three of the titles listed above. All good reads, though in different ways.I just grabbed a copy of this one myself! And yes, the second book has been translated into English.Recently read a translation of "The three body problem" (三体) by Liu Cyxin(刘慈欣), a science fiction novel which is basically Contact in the Chinese Cultural Revolution era. Interesting characters and it's the first time I read a novelized account of life in 70's china. Very interesting stuff, I think the following novel will be translated fairly soon. Fair warning, it's not a novel where a lot happens, it's more of a slow burner, but it's the kind of novel that you keep thinking about a long time after you read it.
That one's on my to read list! I believe the second book has already been translated, but I could be mistaken. If it isn't it will be very soon.
Also reading Old Man's War and Redshirts, both by John Scalzi. The latter promises to be a fun read -- basically a Star Trek expy that deconstructs it by viewing it through the eyes of the expendable security teams, who are seemingly the only ones with any common sense.
The Three-Body Problem was one hell of a mindfuck. This is old-school "big idea" sci-fi mixed with a hefty dose of Chinese literary themes (micro/macro cosmology, the power and peril of "mass action", and a critical look at the Cultural Revolution, its causes and its effects). Greatly looking forward to reading the sequel.
Post by: miauw62 on October 05, 2015, 11:48:17 am
I'm already a quarter through it because I read pretty quickly but eh
EH
Post by: NJW2000 on October 05, 2015, 12:21:20 pm
It's kinda hard to see what's going on, but it seems very good.
Post by: Tack on October 05, 2015, 08:05:13 pm
It was the only thing I was even remotely interested in buying at the airport. Shitty selection really.
Basically all of the stuff you get on the 'What if' XKCD website.
Post by: Arcvasti on October 05, 2015, 09:14:03 pm
Dear god that took far too long. Well then, on to Dust of Dreams, Ninth Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
Post by: jaked122 on October 05, 2015, 10:24:37 pm
Post by: i2amroy on October 06, 2015, 01:43:09 am
I can't help it, but something about this particular series just hits all the right notes, making me from a person who used to always respond to the "what's your favorite book series" with "I don't know, there's so many good ones" into one who responds "The Mistborn series, by Brandon Sanderson". The complex but extremely well defined magic systems that characters aren't afraid to use or explain, the fun and complex characters, a female character who isn't afraid to be a real character, stories of good against evil that isn't necessarily always evil (and other times is)... it all just adds up to make a series that definitely comes out on the top of my favorites list. This must be like time number 8 rereading the series in just these last couple of years, and I'm still loving every moment of it. :D
Post by: Emma on October 07, 2015, 12:04:50 am
The Mistborn series (http://brandonsanderson.com/books/mistborn/)... again... again again... again again again. :P
I can't help it, but something about this particular series just hits all the right notes, making me from a person who used to always respond to the "what's your favorite book series" with "I don't know, there's so many good ones" into one who responds "The Mistborn series, by Brandon Sanderson". The complex but extremely well defined magic systems that characters aren't afraid to use or explain, the fun and complex characters, a female character who isn't afraid to be a real character, stories of good against evil that isn't necessarily always evil (and other times is)... it all just adds up to make a series that definitely comes out on the top of my favorites list. This must be like time number 8 rereading the series in just these last couple of years, and I'm still loving every moment of it. :D
I can believe that, I really enjoyed Steelheart and am looking forward to getting Firefight and while they're a different series they both show off his skills as a writer far more than his finishing of Wheel of Time did.
Post by: TheKaspa on October 08, 2015, 05:19:51 am
Post by: Arx on October 08, 2015, 05:22:12 am
You do know that yesterday Mistborn #5 was published?
It's not part of the same trilogy. The Wax books are good, but they're not the same (not saying they're worse, just that they have a different makeup).
Post by: ChairmanPoo on October 08, 2015, 06:21:06 am
Post by: Arx on October 08, 2015, 10:39:10 am
I'm enjoying a lot the latest "Warded Man" book ( Peter V Brett). The previous were good enough. But this one? Characters are getting killed off at a rate worthy of GOT
The Demon Cycle is picking up a heck (Core?) of a lot as it goes along. The recent book(s?) are quite a bit better than the older ones.
Post by: TheKaspa on October 19, 2015, 05:48:38 am
You do know that yesterday Mistborn #5 was published?
It's not part of the same trilogy. The Wax books are good, but they're not the same (not saying they're worse, just that they have a different makeup).
Yes, I know. At the same time, I find them more interesting than the "original" trilogy, as they present a world with magic that cohexists with technology. And not technology enhanced by magic like in The Stormlight Archive, but real technology used by non-magic people. And, more in particular in the second one, a world that is changing because of technology and not by the actions of the main characters (like in Wheel of Time, even the introduction of gunpowder warfare is driven by them).
Post by: Spehss _ on October 19, 2015, 07:50:38 am
Post by: sprinkled chariot on October 19, 2015, 12:27:40 pm
Post by: i2amroy on October 19, 2015, 12:29:33 pm
You do know that yesterday Mistborn #5 was published?Yeah and I had it (and the eventual #3 of the Wax trilogy) both preordered. :P
Haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, but it's sitting at my parent's house waiting for the weekend when I can pick it up.
Post by: Comrade P. on October 19, 2015, 12:44:30 pm
Crime and Punishment. Grimdark.
Fun fact: that book is in high school curriculum in Russia.
Can't allow them youths to have positive thoughts.
Post by: NJW2000 on October 19, 2015, 12:46:39 pm
Post by: Urist McScoopbeard on October 19, 2015, 01:52:07 pm
At least Dostoevsky isn't mediocre middlebrow ::)
That's possibly the most whelming insult i've heard.
I'm going to start reading some Guant's Ghosts again. I love that series.
Post by: jaked122 on October 19, 2015, 02:36:45 pm
Post by: Comrade P. on October 19, 2015, 02:40:06 pm
Started Song of Susannah recently.
Post by: underkill on October 20, 2015, 02:09:00 am
Post by: Mechatronic on October 20, 2015, 03:29:39 am
Post by: Yoink on October 20, 2015, 08:29:49 am
I just want to say that Cosmic Banditos was one of the best books I ever finished over the course of a slow evening.It honestly made my day to see this post.
One of my favourite books. :D
I came in here to list my current book: Black Moon by Kenneth Calhoun.
It's about an insomnia epidemic and its effects on society, and it is actually quite fascinating so far.
Also, I finished Horrorstor (needs an umlaut in there somewhere), which concerned a haunted ikea-style store. It was kinda cool.
Not particularly frightening once things started going down, though.
Post by: itisnotlogical on October 20, 2015, 08:49:58 am
There's a lot more of the characters going "Gee, I sure wonder what he was REALLY trying to say, hint hint" than I remember from the last time I read it.
Post by: timferius on October 23, 2015, 10:30:08 am
Great Expectations. It's pretty good once it gets going.I just find it doesn't really live up to the hype.
(I didn't actually read it, just had to make that joke)
Post by: TheBiggerFish on October 23, 2015, 10:38:31 am
Heh.Great Expectations. It's pretty good once it gets going.I just find it doesn't really live up to the hype.
(I didn't actually read it, just had to make that joke)
Post by: Emma on October 29, 2015, 02:48:09 am
Post by: Helgoland on October 29, 2015, 04:37:36 am
Post by: Tomasque on November 30, 2015, 10:33:53 pm
A great book about a detective who really hates chess. Lots of dark humor, and all-around darkness.
Post by: Cthulhu on November 30, 2015, 10:40:23 pm
Just finished Black Company. Sad for a lot of reasons. For one, I've been reading that series for what feels like forever now and now it's over.
Also because holy fuck the last couple books are real spirit breakers.Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Overall great series, definitely read it. Maybe don't read it all in one go like me though. That's about 3000 pages and some of Glen Cook's narrative devices become too obvious when you see them too much. Like...
Almost everything that happens happens because characters who should absolutely be killed on sight are left alive until they inevitably escape in the next chapter. The explanation is Croaker's too soft but...Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A general tendency towards anticlimax. Things are set up only to kind of peter out. Most important characters die offscreen. In fact, now that I think of it I can only think of a couple characters that didn't:Spoiler (click to show/hide)
What plot isn't driven by Croaker's staunch refusal to cut throats that need cutting is driven by people pulling shenanigans out of their asses at the last second. Nobody explains what htey're doing until they do it, so almost everything that happens comes out of nowhere.
Likewise, Glen Cook seems to enjoy deceiving you. A lot of things seem obvious only to turn out to be completely wrong in bizarre ways.Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Still a good series. I'll probably find something else of his to read now. Instrumentalities of the Darkness or his Not Japan Series.
Post by: Yoink on December 01, 2015, 01:55:29 am
Reading Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson, the same guy who wrote Fear and Loathing. Yoink, you'd like it, I think.It was pretty decent, I read it a few years ago now.
Might re-read it sometime. Should probably read some more of Hunter S. Thompson's stuff, too.
I'm pretty much out of unread books (apart from ones I don't want to read) at the moment. Re-reading The Acid House. I need to stock up on books when I have money to spare... perhaps I'll go op-shopping when I get paid.
Post by: Cthulhu on December 02, 2015, 04:36:36 am
Sort of like how the latter books of The Black Company adhere really strongly to Indian culture, IoN is pretty much 13th century Europe with all the proper nouns replaced with mad libs. The main character is definitely not a janissary in service to what is definitely not the Ottoman empire. Meanwhile the definitely not norwegians pursue some definitely not christian monks across the sea after their leader is murdered and then taken up by definitely not valkyries. He may have been murdered by definitely not Denmark, or by the Hidden Folk, which are what's actually interesting about the book.
It sort of reminds me of a more mature, much more dense version of the Golden Compass. You've got a world that very closely mimics the real one but with magic and shit. The Holy Land is holy because of the Wells of Irhian which pump out magic. The farther you get from the central concentration of wells (There are weaker ones elsewhere) the colder it gets until you reach endless darkness and ever-encroaching glaciers. The world is infested with the Instrumentalities of the Night, which are spirits sort of like the Unknown Shadows in Black Company. Everything from minor nuisances all the way up to the gods of the world are just bigger or smaller Night spirits. The aforementioned valkyries, the all-father who sent them, the gods of the definitely not Muslims and definitely not Christians, are all these spirits that are somehow connected to the wells.
Anyway, the main character's band of definitely not janissaries gets attacked by a bogon, a malignant demigod, and in a fit of inspiration he fills the experimental cannon they brought along with silver coins and blows the thing away. The rest of the book, when it wants to stick to what's actually interesting and not veer off into mind-numbing tangents about the history of the world (which you already know because it's identical to medieval europe), is about the upheaval that comes with that. The gods of the world are just bigger, smarter bogons. The genie's out of the bottle, man's discovered a weapon that can kill God as easily as it kills Bill from down the street.
That's why it reminds me of The Golden Compass. I can't decide if it's good or not. I think it would've been better if he'd focused on one or two subplots instead of burying you in history.
Post by: jaked122 on December 02, 2015, 03:11:40 pm
Not one I'd recommend to anyone though.
Post by: Emma on December 09, 2015, 11:13:02 pm
That's why it reminds me of The Golden Compass. I can't decide if it's good or not. I think it would've been better if he'd focused on one or two subplots instead of burying you in history.
This gives me a question, what do you guys actually think about the Golden Compass? I personally find it really boring.
Post by: Arcvasti on December 09, 2015, 11:38:43 pm
That's why it reminds me of The Golden Compass. I can't decide if it's good or not. I think it would've been better if he'd focused on one or two subplots instead of burying you in history.
This gives me a question, what do you guys actually think about the Golden Compass? I personally find it really boring.
The thing I liked most about that series was how they replaced the word "electric" with "ambaric". Its a cute little plausible change that nonetheless makes the world seem a lot different then ours. That's basically it, though.
Post by: Yoink on December 09, 2015, 11:43:08 pm
I would shop for new ones, too, but it seems the most convenient decent bookstore to me has morphed into a secondhand, charity-supporting bookstore instead. Might as well have a look since I am going past there anyway.
Post by: FallacyofUrist on December 10, 2015, 09:06:18 am
Incredible, just as I expected.
Post by: Levi on December 10, 2015, 02:18:31 pm
Or maybe the comics being too much fun is the problem. :P
Post by: Whisperling on December 10, 2015, 04:52:40 pm
I just finished reading Shadows of Self, book 2 of the Wax and Wayne Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson.
Incredible, just as I expected.
Statements like this are the only things that make me reconsider my dependence on the library for reading material.
You'd think it would possible for them to order a book before its been out for six months.
Post by: Xantalos on December 11, 2015, 01:13:44 am
It's actually really good!
Post by: scrdest on December 11, 2015, 07:37:20 am
I just got a massive H. P Lovecraft pdf and am currently reading Shadow Over Innsmouth and finding it really quite good. I'm also reading the complete Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and also finding it pretty bloody good.Pro tip: dagonbytes.com hosts all (AFAIK) Lovecraft stories for free if you want to read it online/as a saved page. White text on black background, nice for reading in the dark.
Speaking of, I can't recommend Charles Stross's Laundry Series books enough. It's a delicious blend of Lovecraft, Bastard Operator From Hell, grittier spy fiction and British humor.
Post by: Cthulhu on December 11, 2015, 04:10:10 pm
That's why it reminds me of The Golden Compass. I can't decide if it's good or not. I think it would've been better if he'd focused on one or two subplots instead of burying you in history.
This gives me a question, what do you guys actually think about the Golden Compass? I personally find it really boring.
The thing I liked most about that series was how they replaced the word "electric" with "ambaric". Its a cute little plausible change that nonetheless makes the world seem a lot different then ours. That's basically it, though.
I read the first two books as a kid and liked them, but I was a Jesus person back then and when I realized what they were getting at I didn't want to read anymore. never got around to reading the third.
Along the same lines though, I always find it really jarring when people in fantasy novels use real-world expressions that wouldn't exist in their world. The Black Company refers to "prodigal sons" several times and it's always like nails on a chalkboard.
Post by: Yoink on December 11, 2015, 09:53:59 pm
I bought it, The Canterbury Tales and a collection of Rimbaud's poetry (with translations) from a secondhand store the other day, not a bad haul.
Post by: Arx on December 26, 2015, 01:09:17 am
Really enjoying The Three-Body Problem. The translation is excellent. Looking forward to The Once and Future King, I've been wanting to re-read it for years. Close to a decade, maybe. I'll probably save the Rick Riordan for when I just want to read about good guys beating up baddies. :P
Post by: Helgoland on December 26, 2015, 04:34:13 pm
Quote from: Faust
Das Pergament, ist das der heil'ge Bronnen,
Woraus ein Trunk den Durst auf ewig stillt?
Erquickung hast du nicht gewonnen,
Wenn sie dir nicht aus eigner Seele quillt.
Quote from: Rough translation
Parchment, is that the sacred fountain
A drink of which forever quells your thirst?
You have not obtained relief
Unless it springs forth from your own soul.
Quote from: God
Ein guter Mensch, in seinem dunklen Drange,
Ist sich des rechten Weges wohl bewußt.
Quote from: Rough translation
A good man, in his dark urges,
Is well aware of the right way.
Post by: Amperzand on December 26, 2015, 04:38:57 pm
Post by: Arx on December 26, 2015, 04:42:03 pm
I finished The Three-Body Problem. Very, very good. I don't know exactly what to pin it on, since there were chunks I didn't enjoy reading that much, but the cohesive whole is excellent.
Post by: Helgoland on December 26, 2015, 04:44:39 pm
Post by: Arx on December 26, 2015, 04:52:07 pm
So thanks for giving me a new sigquote!
Post by: Spehss _ on December 26, 2015, 05:55:02 pm
Post by: Helgoland on December 26, 2015, 06:04:09 pm
Post by: Amperzand on December 26, 2015, 06:21:38 pm
Post by: Spehss _ on December 26, 2015, 06:48:49 pm
Oooh, that one's pretty awesome! Like an 18th century The Martian, just better - if you can stand a fairly bad Mary Stu main character, that is.Already read it years ago, rereading it now. Still good. Still unnecessarily verbose.
All the 5 main characters seem op, but Cyrus Harding is the opest.
Post by: Amperzand on December 26, 2015, 06:52:59 pm
Oooh, that one's pretty awesome! Like an 18th century The Martian, just better - if you can stand a fairly bad Mary Stu main character, that is.Already read it years ago, rereading it now. Still good. Still unnecessarily verbose.
All the 5 main characters seem op, but Cyrus Harding is the opest.
I begin to understand why. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Post by: miauw62 on December 26, 2015, 06:57:26 pm
What should I start with?
Post by: ChairmanPoo on December 26, 2015, 07:01:23 pm
Since I'm on a Glen Cook kick now I got the first Instrumentalities of the Night book. Oh boy. I don't really know what to do with this one.
Sort of like how the latter books of The Black Company adhere really strongly to Indian culture, IoN is pretty much 13th century Europe with all the proper nouns replaced with mad libs. The main character is definitely not a janissary in service to what is definitely not the Ottoman empire. Meanwhile the definitely not norwegians pursue some definitely not christian monks across the sea after their leader is murdered and then taken up by definitely not valkyries. He may have been murdered by definitely not Denmark, or by the Hidden Folk, which are what's actually interesting about the book.
It sort of reminds me of a more mature, much more dense version of the Golden Compass. You've got a world that very closely mimics the real one but with magic and shit. The Holy Land is holy because of the Wells of Irhian which pump out magic. The farther you get from the central concentration of wells (There are weaker ones elsewhere) the colder it gets until you reach endless darkness and ever-encroaching glaciers. The world is infested with the Instrumentalities of the Night, which are spirits sort of like the Unknown Shadows in Black Company. Everything from minor nuisances all the way up to the gods of the world are just bigger or smaller Night spirits. The aforementioned valkyries, the all-father who sent them, the gods of the definitely not Muslims and definitely not Christians, are all these spirits that are somehow connected to the wells.
Anyway, the main character's band of definitely not janissaries gets attacked by a bogon, a malignant demigod, and in a fit of inspiration he fills the experimental cannon they brought along with silver coins and blows the thing away. The rest of the book, when it wants to stick to what's actually interesting and not veer off into mind-numbing tangents about the history of the world (which you already know because it's identical to medieval europe), is about the upheaval that comes with that. The gods of the world are just bigger, smarter bogons. The genie's out of the bottle, man's discovered a weapon that can kill God as easily as it kills Bill from down the street.
That's why it reminds me of The Golden Compass. I can't decide if it's good or not. I think it would've been better if he'd focused on one or two subplots instead of burying you in history.
I began to read them after this post. Quite hooked. I like it better than TBC
Post by: Teneb on December 26, 2015, 07:55:20 pm
I got Count Zero (whatever that Neuromancer sequel-ish thing is called), Green Mars and The Fifth Season for Christmas c:It is called Count Zero and, since it is the only one in your post I recognize (and read), I suggest you start with that.
What should I start with?
Reading The Differential Machine myself.
Post by: Dutrius on December 26, 2015, 08:01:58 pm
I got around to picking up Terry Pratchett's last novel, Raising Steam. It seems fairly good so far, being basically a Discworld novel.
It's not his last one, he managed to write another one, The Shepherd's Crown before he passed away.
Post by: Amperzand on December 27, 2015, 02:51:13 am
Post by: redwallzyl on January 03, 2016, 10:58:46 pm
Post by: Emma on January 29, 2016, 07:18:31 pm
Post by: Teneb on January 29, 2016, 07:22:00 pm
Post by: Elephant Parade on January 29, 2016, 09:27:41 pm
I'm currently reading this thread.an entirely different joke. I was definitely not going to make that joke.
Post by: Amperzand on January 29, 2016, 09:54:25 pm
I find myself in a position to replicate the experiment, and as such will do so.
Post by: Graknorke on February 14, 2016, 04:46:04 pm
Post by: Parsely on February 14, 2016, 04:54:08 pm
I do appreciate a bit of zircon-hard sci-fi.^^
Post by: mainiac on February 14, 2016, 06:52:19 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 15, 2016, 12:24:36 pm
I have pretty eclectic reading tastes, but still it's anyone's guess what will actually appeal to me. Who knows if I'll manage to track down said books before I go, anyway, but I'd still like some recommendations just for the heck of it.
Post by: Parsely on February 15, 2016, 03:50:49 pm
So, I have a 25-hour train trip in a couple of days. Anyone wanna recommend me some books for the journey?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magyk
I have pretty eclectic reading tastes, but still it's anyone's guess what will actually appeal to me. Who knows if I'll manage to track down said books before I go, anyway, but I'd still like some recommendations just for the heck of it.
Post by: Twinwolf on February 15, 2016, 03:51:50 pm
So, I have a 25-hour train trip in a couple of days. Anyone wanna recommend me some books for the journey?The Martian is good, if you haven't read it. Although I don't know your reading interests.
I have pretty eclectic reading tastes, but still it's anyone's guess what will actually appeal to me. Who knows if I'll manage to track down said books before I go, anyway, but I'd still like some recommendations just for the heck of it.
Post by: Helgoland on February 15, 2016, 04:25:41 pm
So, I have a 25-hour train trip in a couple of days. Anyone wanna recommend me some books for the journey?Bulgakov's short stories. They're weird, grotesque, disturbing. You'll love 'em.
I have pretty eclectic reading tastes, but still it's anyone's guess what will actually appeal to me. Who knows if I'll manage to track down said books before I go, anyway, but I'd still like some recommendations just for the heck of it.
Post by: NJW2000 on February 15, 2016, 05:47:25 pm
Post by: Helgoland on February 15, 2016, 06:20:38 pm
Post by: Yoink on February 15, 2016, 06:35:54 pm
Yeah, Walter Moers is awesome. Go for The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_13%C2%BD_Lives_of_Captain_Bluebear) if you can find it - it's the starting point of the series, and pretty much still the best of them all.Oh hey, I remember that book! It's by the same guy that wrote Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures!
I know I quite wanted to check out Captain Bluebear back when I'd just read Rumo, years ago. Maybe I shall finally get around to that.
Thanks guys, some of these suggestions have been pretty good! I have a copy of The Master and Margarita lying around somewhere in another state, although for some reason I don't think I actually finished it. Perhaps it was during the tail-end of the good old days when I used to read all the time.
Mieville might be your kinda guy. Alternatively, if weird fantasy isn't a problem, Walter Moers' Zamonia books are great.Mievelle goes in for that modern/urban fantasy kinda stuff, doesn't he? I'm afraid that sort of thing always tends to annoy the hell out of me. :-\
Captain Bluebear is certainly a winning suggestion, however! Although I'm pretty sure the book was quite large and unwieldy...
Post by: Helgoland on February 15, 2016, 06:52:26 pm
Post by: TheBiggerFish on February 16, 2016, 07:41:21 am
So, I have a 25-hour train trip in a couple of days. Anyone wanna recommend me some books for the journey?Discworld, Discworld, Discworld, Discworld.
I have pretty eclectic reading tastes, but still it's anyone's guess what will actually appeal to me. Who knows if I'll manage to track down said books before I go, anyway, but I'd still like some recommendations just for the heck of it.
And then some Discworld.
Post by: Helgoland on February 16, 2016, 09:22:59 am
Post by: TheBiggerFish on February 16, 2016, 09:23:48 am
Hmm.
I'll have to look into him then...
Post by: Arx on February 27, 2016, 11:10:05 am
Spoiler: From this point, my commentary on it becomes pretty grim too. (click to show/hide)
I'm not sure exactly who I'd recommend it to.
Post by: Helgoland on February 27, 2016, 12:32:55 pm
Post by: NJW2000 on February 27, 2016, 12:34:24 pm
Post by: Arx on February 27, 2016, 12:38:32 pm
How close to reality is it? How much artistic freedom did the authors take?
It's super close. Basically none. It's more a memoir than anything else.
Post by: Helgoland on February 27, 2016, 01:45:12 pm
Post by: Flying Dice on March 07, 2016, 01:04:05 am
As a bonus a good chunk of it was directly related to one of my major topics of study this semester.
Post by: Yoink on March 07, 2016, 01:24:54 am
Maybe not quite as good as He Died With A Felafel In His Hand (which I heartily recommend to everyone ever), but it's still quite funny and relatable.
I feel like the nature of the research the author did for the book means a lot of said research was forgotten, leaving us with a lot of filler to wade through in order to bulk out the book. Oh well, it's an amusing enough read regardless. Even if the illustrations are rubbish.
Post by: Emma on March 07, 2016, 01:37:43 am
Post by: Arcvasti on March 07, 2016, 09:37:08 pm
Post by: TheBiggerFish on March 07, 2016, 10:13:51 pm
It's not a book (yet) (as far as I know), but it really should be.
Post by: Amperzand on March 07, 2016, 10:18:15 pm
Post by: TheBiggerFish on March 07, 2016, 10:20:44 pm
EVERYTHING IS BACKWARDSSDRAWKCAB SI GNIHTYREVE
Post by: Amperzand on March 07, 2016, 10:22:40 pm
Post by: TheBiggerFish on March 07, 2016, 10:23:41 pm
Post by: Amperzand on March 07, 2016, 10:27:14 pm
[Though in fairness, I was both here and SV first. :V]
Post by: Yoink on March 07, 2016, 10:34:15 pm
Post by: TheBiggerFish on March 10, 2016, 12:02:33 am
Post by: Emma on March 10, 2016, 01:52:16 am
Yeah, the Name of the Wind starts off with a framing story for the first bit. And then goes through the main characters childhood. Then it picks up substantially. I personally really like the "Silence of three parts" as a beginning.I've almost finished now and I've got to say that it picks up significantly when he gets to the Arcanum. I feel like it's one of the few books I've read that actually do the "magical education" business well instead of pathetically.
Post by: Yoink on March 15, 2016, 09:43:23 pm
I am enjoying it greatly so far, although perhaps readers looking for something fast-paced and action-packed would do well to look elsewhere. Now, if you will excuse me I am going to get back to it.
Post by: Bumber on March 16, 2016, 12:09:36 am
Post by: Arx on March 16, 2016, 01:17:36 am
Post by: Vector on March 19, 2016, 03:22:56 pm
Post by: TheBiggerFish on March 19, 2016, 03:27:45 pm
Hi!
Post by: Arx on March 21, 2016, 10:38:45 am
This is the new book thread, right?
PTW. I guess I'll post my challenge reading list here later.
I've been meaning to get my act together and start a new 52 books thread for about two months now.
Post by: Vector on March 21, 2016, 05:24:43 pm
Post by: Emma on March 21, 2016, 11:25:27 pm
Post by: Vector on March 21, 2016, 11:30:27 pm
Post by: Bauglir on March 21, 2016, 11:35:07 pm
Post by: Arx on March 21, 2016, 11:36:17 pm
My feeling is that it should be separate. Ok, I'm going to go make a thread.
(Arx, if this is against your desires--I'm sorry!)
Nah, suits me fine. Now I don't have to get off my lazy butt. :P
Post by: moondowner on March 22, 2016, 04:26:48 am
Post by: hops on March 24, 2016, 04:54:27 am
Post by: Helgoland on March 24, 2016, 04:57:45 am
If you don't mind a bit of dryness but want to stay on the military side of things you might want to take a look at Clausewitz's Vom Kriege. He's got a very methodical approach that gets fairly tiring after a while, but nowhere else will you find these ideas expressed as clearly as Clausewitz managed.
Post by: hops on March 24, 2016, 05:47:55 am
Post by: Spehss _ on March 28, 2016, 05:25:11 pm
Man, I forgot how good of a book it is. Picked it up to read just a bit before bed and suddenly a couple hours have passed and I'm engrossed in the middle of it. Think it's possibly one of Lovecraft's best stories.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on March 28, 2016, 10:32:00 pm
Currently (re)reading The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by HP Lovecraft. Last I read it was years ago.It's good, but I'd not say it's the best. If I had to make a ranking... hmmm
Man, I forgot how good of a book it is. Picked it up to read just a bit before bed and suddenly a couple hours have passed and I'm engrossed in the middle of it. Think it's possibly one of Lovecraft's best stories.
My Lovecraft top three would be the following:
#1 The Color out of Space, for all-around creepyness. First Lovecraft story I ever read, before I knew anything about Lovecraft (I was... 15 at the time, I think), and left me shivering. My all-around favorite.
#2 The Haunter of The Dark, for similar reasons.
#3 At the Mountains of Madness. Creepy antarctic terror, claustrophobic. Predates "Who goes there" by seven years. While it lacks the latter's shapeshifting paranoia, I'd argue that overall it's far more creepy (WGT is overall optimistic and not a horror story). I'd also argue that John Carpenter's adaptation successfully merged the former's creepyness into the latter.
- I'm going to make a special mention for the Very Old Folk: While I'd not rank it among the best, I think it's underrated, and I have a soft spot for it because I read it for the first time during a dark and stormy night, in the very city it takes place.
I'm also going to include a Shit Three tier: Stories bad as shit, that must be avoided
- Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
- The Street
- Medusa's Coil
All three are basically racist tracts. Avoid at all costs.
As a bonus middleground, I'll mention two stories that make it out of the scrap above by virtue of not being that bad, in and of themselves, once you get past the bigotry
- Cool Air: It has also obvious racist undertones. Curiously enough, of the same brand of strange bipolar racism that often lies at the core of anti-Spanish prejuice: "Spaniards are short, swarthy and lazy goblins, and their women have beards. Except if you're actually white(r?). Then you're handsome, cultured, and part of the mighty whitey club.". In the story it's particularily blatant because Dr Muñoz gets a pass -which the rest of his countrymen don't- even though he's fucking undead - granted, a particularily friendly sort of undead, but it says something about Lovecraft's racist prejuices when it's worse to be swarthy than to be a zombie
However, despite all this:
I'd say that it's Herbert West- Reanimator done right. Mind you, I think that the critics are unfair on HW-R itself (despite it's flaws, I argue it's nowhere near as bad as they say, and it has some interesting tidbits. It's arguably the first "modern" zombie novel). But Cool Air is better and far more Lovecraftian.
- The Temple: The story's biggest problem is that it goes out of it's way to depict the Germans, particularily the U-Boat commander, as a moustache-twirling villain. I can kind of understand that they were barely out of WWI and that people were still caught in jingoism. Still, it makes you groan every time the U-Boat commander makes some evil reflection in his diary, to underscore how evil he is.
However, despite all this:
If you manage to ignore the anti-German prejuice, it's a pretty darn good horror story about people trapped in a cursed submarine. I'm pretty sure it has inspired -even though it goes uncredited- a number of more modern horror movies and novels.
Post by: Spehss _ on March 29, 2016, 12:42:50 am
Reanimator was written in a different format (think it was monthly(?) installments in a magazine which required Lovecraft to summarize the events of previous chapters for any new readers who hadn't had the opportunity to read them) which results in lots of filler text when compiled in a single volume. Ignoring that, I think it's another good example of Lovecraft writing a more "complete" novel rather than a short story.
The Temple is rather mediocre but it's just a short story. I think its only redeeming quality is the fact that Lovecraft made the protagonist a part of a WWI german sub crew. Even if the stereotyping is hammy.
I quite like Charles Ward. I think the way Lovecraft developed the horror describes just enough to portray what's going on to the reader while leaving most details up to their imagination. And I like the use of alchemy/daemonology/forbidden arts as contrasted to the 1700s and 1900s New England, and the general theme of anachronism, and how the protagonist pieces together the clues of the big evil and what happened in the past and how it connects to the current evil events.
I suppose it's the blend of mystery/detective and horror that keeps me interested in reading. Come to think of it I suppose it's a key figure to Lovecraft stories to have a character delving into a big evil thing, but in Ward it's more pronounced, I guess. All the clues are just hints and bits and pieces from past researchers who wanted to cover up what horrible things they found, and the grand evil scheme can't be explained fully, leaving a hanging question of what could've happened if the evil were left unchecked, what the goals of the evil was, how big a network of evil there is throughout the world of the story, etc.
I think the key contributing factor is the root of the evil. In something like Color Out of Space, the source of evil is literally from beyond human comprehension. Space rock falls, boom, shit happens, people go mad. Or Cthulhu, big octopus dragon wakes up, people go mad. With Ward and the use of alchemy and occult sciences, it suggests that the evil is all due to human search for forbidden knowledge. If it weren't for people making a science out of calling up things that should not be, the whole big evil plot of the story wouldn't have happened.
Post by: Emma on March 29, 2016, 04:27:47 am
- The Temple: The story's biggest problem is that it goes out of it's way to depict the Germans, particularily the U-Boat commander, as a moustache-twirling villain. I can kind of understand that they were barely out of WWI and that people were still caught in jingoism. Still, it makes you groan every time the U-Boat commander makes some evil reflection in his diary, to underscore how evil he is.I can see what you mean by a mustache-twirling villain. Apart from that, I'm quite enjoying it.
However, despite all this:
If you manage to ignore the anti-German prejuice, it's a pretty darn good horror story about people trapped in a cursed submarine. I'm pretty sure it has inspired -even though it goes uncredited- a number of more modern horror movies and novels.
Post by: Yoink on March 29, 2016, 06:30:43 am
This time I'm actually quite enjoying it, so I've no idea why I didn't finish it before. Pretty sure I'm already further in than I made it last time.
Post by: Spehss _ on April 03, 2016, 11:50:13 pm
Captures the feeling of being out in da woods pretty well.
Post by: Tack on April 10, 2016, 03:22:20 pm
First page has "... Let's make it clear what the science of Discworld is not. There are several media tie-in the science of... books at the moment, [which] tell you about areas of today's science that may one day lead to the events or devices that the fiction depicts.
... We could have taken that approach. We decided not to do these things for a good reason.
It would be... er... dumb"
Well great I've been avoiding this book all along because if the misleading title and it's filled with early-prattchett awesome.
Post by: TheBiggerFish on April 10, 2016, 06:25:52 pm
But II and III are full of awesome.
Post by: Tomasque on April 10, 2016, 06:43:04 pm
I've started reading The Master and Margarita again. I never got very far through it the first time, for some reason.Whadaya know? I read a good bit of it myself quite recently. It's a bit entertaining, but I feel I must be missing something, since the plot (in my head) basically boils down to: "Devil going around playing sick jokes on people, while everyone else is powerless to stop him."
This time I'm actually quite enjoying it, so I've no idea why I didn't finish it before. Pretty sure I'm already further in than I made it last time.
Granted, maybe it gets far better in the second half, but I stopped not too long into the "Second Book" (The part where you actually begin to find out about the Master and Margarita).
Am I missing something big here? :-\
Post by: Emma on April 10, 2016, 09:11:24 pm
Post by: Bumber on April 16, 2016, 10:36:58 pm
Reading Harry Potter and the Natural 20 now. I've just started the 3rd part. It's good, but not quite as good as HPMoR. The world feels lacking, although it's probably intentional, in part due to all the "NPCs" and time skips.
Edit: I've now finished all that's been written.
Post by: Yoink on April 16, 2016, 10:43:10 pm
Am I missing something big here? :-\I think it's pretty great, I would definitely recommend reading on. Very surreal and quite amusing at times.
Then again, I still haven't finished it- I haven't been reading as much lately. Need to spend less time staring at a screen and more time with my nose in a book. Still, I'm really enjoying it, even if most of the political themes would go right over my head without the ever-helpful notes, haha.
(This post seems really disjointed, but I'm not very awake right now. Apologies.)
Post by: hops on April 27, 2016, 07:25:47 am
On this conversation, I just saw this after randomly picking up this book from my dad's bookshelf.I've started reading The Master and Margarita again. I never got very far through it the first time, for some reason.Whadaya know? I read a good bit of it myself quite recently. It's a bit entertaining, but I feel I must be missing something, since the plot (in my head) basically boils down to: "Devil going around playing sick jokes on people, while everyone else is powerless to stop him."
This time I'm actually quite enjoying it, so I've no idea why I didn't finish it before. Pretty sure I'm already further in than I made it last time.
Granted, maybe it gets far better in the second half, but I stopped not too long into the "Second Book" (The part where you actually begin to find out about the Master and Margarita).
Am I missing something big here? :-\
Post by: Teneb on May 01, 2016, 09:18:54 pm
Also finished The Difference Engine and it was weird, and is certainly one of those books that makes more sense after a few re-reads. After reading it all, as well as the authors' notes at the end of the book, I think I liked it. It was a nice twist, even if I only partially understood it without an explanation.
Spoiler: Actual spoiler, related to the twist (click to show/hide)
Post by: Spehss _ on May 27, 2016, 10:37:40 pm
Wooooooo that's a good sci-fi novel. Would recommend.
Post by: Amperzand on May 28, 2016, 01:16:35 am
Post by: NJW2000 on May 28, 2016, 03:52:15 am
Pretty great.
Post by: JoshuaFH on May 30, 2016, 09:15:48 am
Before that I read "It's All About The Bike" by Robert Penn, about a man's worldwide journey, collection parts from the greatest manufacturers to build his perfect bicycle, interlaced with a biography of himself and his bicycling journeys, an informative documentary on the invention and development of the bicycle since it's invention, and interesting bicycling and bike facts. That was a great read.
I'm going to be picking back up 'Adventures of a Bystander', Peter Drucker's Autobiography. Also, Drucker's "Managing for Results" which I have on loan from the library. Just so much by him is so enchantingly pragmatic.
I grew up loving fiction, but now it seems that nonfiction has arrested my interest almost entirely, especially by worldly and wise authors. I'm actively searching for more books that fall under this distinction to gobble up.
Post by: Dozebôm Lolumzalìs on May 30, 2016, 02:21:24 pm
Edit: Jack McDevitt.
Post by: TempAcc on May 30, 2016, 02:46:46 pm
Post by: Spehss _ on May 30, 2016, 02:48:24 pm
I grew up loving fiction, but now it seems that nonfiction has arrested my interest almost entirely, especially by worldly and wise authors. I'm actively searching for more books that fall under this distinction to gobble up.I'm in the same boat. As a kid I pretty much read only fiction. Now my collection of non-fiction books is growing steadily. Most of them are computer books or robot books, but I swear I've got some philosophy in the pile as well.
Just started The Fire in The Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer 2nd Edition by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine. It's pretty neat.
Post by: Flying Dice on May 30, 2016, 06:22:00 pm
Post by: Yoink on June 09, 2016, 09:22:13 am
So far it has been one of the greatest books I can remember ever having read. For a while I was hesitant to praise it too highly, no matter how much I was enjoying it, since I've had seemingly excellent books suddenly lose their spark along the way before, but I'm (sadly) nearing the end and the quality has not let up for a moment.
In fact, it's become even more gripping in recent chapters, something that didn't seem possible given how absorbed I was in the first half- or even third- of the book. Now I shall get back to it; it seems rather likely that I will stay up until I finish it. Gods help me tomorro- er, later today when I have to make an early start, doing a lot of stressful things, most of them involving high levels of social interaction.
Worth it.
Post by: Tack on June 09, 2016, 11:07:03 am
Sadly less gripping. Awesome story and setting, though honestly the ending was surprising yet disappointing.
Post by: Emma on June 09, 2016, 04:11:50 pm
Post by: JasmineJas on June 10, 2016, 09:09:45 am
Post by: NJW2000 on June 10, 2016, 06:03:11 pm
I mean, the writing is good, but that's all I got from it... and for the price of a normal, hundred page + novel.
Post by: milo christiansen on June 11, 2016, 02:13:15 pm
As such series go it isn't bad, but I can tell that they will get really boring in a hurry... Generally I prefer something with more continuity and a non-stupid plot, but a change of pace is nice one in a while.
So far it's day 5, and 13/41 books down (with breaks for work, sleep, and plating computer games)... Yes, I am a very fast reader, I regularly astound the local librarians :)
Post by: JoshuaFH on June 11, 2016, 09:05:22 pm
Post by: TheBiggerFish on June 14, 2016, 05:07:49 pm
Having finished Aurora and needing something to read when bugger all's happening at my voluntary work, I got The Long Earth.All Pratchett is good Pratchett.
It was finished within a day of purchase.
Post by: Tack on June 16, 2016, 08:38:58 am
Gotta say I loved the premise though.
Post by: hops on June 16, 2016, 08:44:07 am
Just started Dune and I'm feeling a little disappointed. It seems to me that if George R R Martin over-describes things, Frank Herbert under-describes things.I kind of love how literally everyone in Dune talks like a computer, though.
Post by: Emma on June 16, 2016, 05:09:44 pm
I started reading The Importance of Being Earnest and it's pretty good, even if you're meant to watch, not read plays.
Post by: Levi on June 16, 2016, 05:22:51 pm
Post by: Flying Dice on June 16, 2016, 09:06:13 pm
Especially amusing given the backstory of the setting, yeah?Just started Dune and I'm feeling a little disappointed. It seems to me that if George R R Martin over-describes things, Frank Herbert under-describes things.I kind of love how literally everyone in Dune talks like a computer, though.
Post by: JoshuaFH on June 16, 2016, 09:25:36 pm
I also just finished "Managing for Results" by Peter Drucker. It's just one of those texts that make you want to want to skip backwards and reread a couple pages or lines over and over. Just so enchanted with his works.
Post by: hops on June 16, 2016, 10:34:29 pm
I haven't gotten to the part where the surviving computers show up, but I hope they're hammy and human. Then I can die happy.Especially amusing given the backstory of the setting, yeah?Just started Dune and I'm feeling a little disappointed. It seems to me that if George R R Martin over-describes things, Frank Herbert under-describes things.I kind of love how literally everyone in Dune talks like a computer, though.
Post by: Flying Dice on June 16, 2016, 11:32:27 pm
I'll be honest, I only read the original novel. I gave Children a try, gave up in disgust, and forced my way through that one trio of prequels. I'm utterly content to do nothing but reread Dune when the mood strikes me.I haven't gotten to the part where the surviving computers show up, but I hope they're hammy and human. Then I can die happy.Especially amusing given the backstory of the setting, yeah?Just started Dune and I'm feeling a little disappointed. It seems to me that if George R R Martin over-describes things, Frank Herbert under-describes things.I kind of love how literally everyone in Dune talks like a computer, though.
On a related note, a truly atrocious translation of Beowulf. Why do I do this.
Post by: Emma on June 23, 2016, 01:16:40 am
Post by: pondicherry on June 23, 2016, 02:56:17 pm
Just started Dune and I'm feeling a little disappointed. It seems to me that if George R R Martin over-describes things, Frank Herbert under-describes things.
I've abandonned Dune . . . recently. It was like a desert of ideias.
Edit: Started Maus by Art Spiegelman and a book by Laurent Gaudé called The Last Journey (or something similar, because translation issues.)
Post by: Tack on June 25, 2016, 02:37:42 pm
However, that's also about all I remember of it.
Beowulf I found a bit too jesusy... Which to be fair is probably the only reason it survived.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on June 25, 2016, 02:38:27 pm
Post by: Tack on June 25, 2016, 02:54:12 pm
My least favourite type of bastardisation.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on June 25, 2016, 03:19:29 pm
For me Dune is pure political intrigue. Frankly, it did Game of Thrones thirty years before GoT, and it did it better. Religion is only present there as a purely instrumentalized social construct in the service of power groups - in some cases it's very existence was meant as this in the first place.
Post by: BorkBorkGoesTheCode on June 25, 2016, 03:21:32 pm
I still don't get what you mean, tbh...Missionaria Protectiva.
For me Dune is pure political intrigue. Frankly, it did Game of Thrones thirty years before GoT, and it did it better. Religion is only present there as a purely instrumentalized social construct in the service of power groups - in some cases it's very existence was meant as this in the first place.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on June 25, 2016, 03:22:40 pm
Post by: Tack on June 26, 2016, 02:26:08 am
Beowulf I found a bit too jesusy...
Post by: ChairmanPoo on June 26, 2016, 12:46:32 pm
I've been kind of off the last few days. It was a tiring week...
Post by: Tack on June 26, 2016, 12:55:02 pm
Post by: JoshuaFH on June 30, 2016, 09:46:30 am
I also finished "WHY WE SNAP!" about the neurocircuitry of anger, though the book actually expands onto many interesting subjects of neurology. Interesting tidbits include: That the eyes picks up information, and split it between the conscious brain and the unconscious brain; cutting the neural circuit to the conscious brain makes you totally blind, but information is still being sent to the unconscious brain, so a blind person can still "see" facial expressions and force alerts in your brain to be frightened of things that you have no clue what you're 'looking' at. Also, estrogen alone controls the single circuit in the brain than controls intense sexual arousal and the trigger to fight to the death, with the only difference between the two being the amount of estrogen pumped into the one neuro-pathway that controls both of them simultaneously.
Really intensely cool book all around. Next I'll be starting "When the Sun Bursts" which is about Schizophrenia.
Post by: Drakale on June 30, 2016, 12:43:11 pm
Starting up Good Omens which I have somehow never read despite being a huge Pratchett fan. My side have already left the local galactic cluster.
Post by: Twinwolf on July 13, 2016, 07:40:26 am
Post by: birdy51 on July 13, 2016, 07:55:07 am
Post by: Amperzand on July 15, 2016, 06:28:06 pm
Basically a Dark Heresy campaign log, wherein the entire party is imperial guardsmen. Very entertaining.
Post by: hops on July 16, 2016, 08:11:53 am
I finished The Martian. It was a really enjoyable read, would recommend to anyone wanting to read something fun but still well-written and smart.Just finished The Martian. 10/10 would read again. Ending made me lol with how optimistic it is though. IRL NASA would've run out of fund really fast because America doesn't care.
Post by: NJW2000 on July 16, 2016, 08:13:21 am
Post by: nenjin on July 16, 2016, 01:49:50 pm
Post by: TheBiggerFish on July 16, 2016, 04:25:13 pm
http://www.theallguardsmenparty.com/index.htmlJust finished reading that.
Basically a Dark Heresy campaign log, wherein the entire party is imperial guardsmen. Very entertaining.
Post by: NRDL on July 16, 2016, 05:30:43 pm
Post by: Spehss _ on July 16, 2016, 06:25:26 pm
It was ok, I guess. Ending felt unfinished.
Post by: BorkBorkGoesTheCode on July 22, 2016, 11:21:23 am
Post by: Flying Dice on July 23, 2016, 09:10:02 am
Post by: Tack on July 23, 2016, 10:19:13 am
I read the first couple books of The Dresden Files. Interesting series.They only get better.
It does have a specific kind of character development, though.
Spoiler: not-really spoilers (click to show/hide)
For a similar series (if a little more Sue), try the Iron Druid chronicles.
Similar to Dresden, but he's not a wizard, he's a 2000 year old Druid.
It's kind of the opposite in that he's basically at the height of his power at the beginning of the series, and then slowly sheds it as the story unfolds.
Spoiler: More real spoilers (click to show/hide)
Post by: Furtuka on July 31, 2016, 01:36:58 pm
Gotta say I'm really liking Sanderson's style. Will have to check out his other stuff and this Cosmere thingy
Post by: spümpkin on July 31, 2016, 01:54:30 pm
He has a really good take on philosophy, and it's delivered really well.
Post by: Tack on July 31, 2016, 02:38:00 pm
Finished the Mistborn trilogy this morning. Moving on to Wax and Wayne.Mistborn... Breaths and heightenings?
Personally I only really got stuck on his words of radiance books.
Currently just got given two short novella series, tales of the Malazan empire and the Malazan book of the fallen, so I should work through those pretty quickly.
Post by: miauw62 on July 31, 2016, 02:45:22 pm
Post by: Arcvasti on July 31, 2016, 02:45:39 pm
Finished the Mistborn trilogy this morning. Moving on to Wax and Wayne.Mistborn... Breaths and heightenings?
Personally I only really got stuck on his words of radiance books.
You're thinking of Warbreaker. Mistborn is more metally.
I do agree that the Stormlight Archives are easily Sanderson's best series. Book 3 when
Post by: Oneir on August 01, 2016, 06:57:50 pm
Post by: xub313 on August 01, 2016, 09:02:01 pm
Post by: Arx on August 01, 2016, 11:04:50 pm
Post by: JoshuaFH on August 10, 2016, 10:56:37 am
Post by: Whisperling on August 10, 2016, 11:52:14 am
Post by: Yoink on August 10, 2016, 06:05:03 pm
Managed to find pdf versions of every single Animorphs book. Nostalgia, here I come.Oh, really? Were they free? I might have to grab those once my internet is up-and-running...
Man, I haven't posted in here for quite a while.
So, I finished reading The Master and Margarita and The Shadow of the Wind, both of which I greatly enjoyed.
Umm... not entirely sure what I read after that, those were a while ago. Then again I wasn't reading as much as I could have been back then, thanks to having internet, y'know? I know I re-read The Wizards and the Warriors for probably the hundredth time, I read a book called Cakes and Ale by Somerset Maugham that was very interesting, despite perhaps a weak ending. Gave a fascinating look at authors and such in the early 20th century.
Very old fashioned. I think slightly unsatisfying, abrupt endings are pretty much par for the course with English novels, really. :P
Now I'm reading Njal's Saga (tried to read it once before years ago and got bored, quite enjoying it this time) and a book called King's Champion by Christian Ballen.
There are probably a few other books I'm forgetting, and there's at least one or two that I've started reading then put aside for another time.
I'm thinking of joining the library... I've been spending so much time outside using their internet, and who knows, they probably have some good books.
I vaguely remember them having a selection of 40k novels nears ago when I lived here before.
Post by: NRDL on August 11, 2016, 03:52:16 am
Managed to find pdf versions of every single Animorphs book. Nostalgia, here I come.Oh, really? Were they free? I might have to grab those once my internet is up-and-running...
Don't read em all at once. (http://animorphsforum.com/ebooks/) :)
Post by: Tack on August 11, 2016, 04:39:16 pm
So I guess I know what this Erikson guy is about now.
Post by: JoshuaFH on August 22, 2016, 04:17:37 am
Now I'm reading the Jungle by Upton Sinclaire, which I'm sure most of you have heard about. Supposedly based on the true events of the utterly appalling condition of the meat packing industry in late-1800's and early-1900's, the story documents it in the form of a third person perspective of an immigrated Lithuanian trying to make it in the dystopia that is late-1800's Chicago. I feel slightly embarrassed having had to venture into the teens book section to grab this one, but I've always been curious, I've only ever read relevant snippets detailing the most ghastly and most disgusting things that apparently had happened.
One thing I found interesting, was that I'd been playing the game 'Killing Floor' on Steam for a long time now, but I just now realized that the term refers to the butchering assembly line like the ones presented in this book. But if the book is to be believed, even though the videogame's premise has you gunning down wave after wave of zombies as they crawl over eachother to devour you, the actual real killing floor was both bloodier and more inhumane.
Post by: Flying Dice on August 22, 2016, 06:17:38 pm
Post by: Spehss _ on August 22, 2016, 06:24:51 pm
Post by: BlackHeartKabal on August 22, 2016, 06:40:12 pm
Post by: Oneir on August 22, 2016, 07:09:23 pm
Post by: kilakan on August 26, 2016, 10:07:42 am
Taking a little rite of passage by picking up Dune to read from the school library. I hope it's as good as I hear it is.Prepare for disappointment.
Or well, even if you like it, disappointment that the book series only gets worse from there.
Post by: Helgoland on August 26, 2016, 05:48:58 pm
Fascinating read, all in all. Incredibly well-written, and makes one understand why a) Kaiserreich era Germany was morally and intellectually bancrupt, b) WWI happened, c) Germany lost WWI. Plus from today's perspective one can sort of tell that we as a people never really got rid of those malignant traits.
TL;DR: It made me ashamed to be German, but in a good way.
Post by: Alev on August 26, 2016, 11:01:09 pm
Post by: Parsely on August 27, 2016, 12:36:30 am
Post by: Tack on August 27, 2016, 02:24:47 pm
I really liked it. But I think it's a sad truth re: the rest of the series. It didn't need more.Taking a little rite of passage by picking up Dune to read from the school library. I hope it's as good as I hear it is.Prepare for disappointment.
Or well, even if you like it, disappointment that the book series only gets worse from there.
Just finished B3 Malazan Book Fallen. Been eating these up FAR easier than the wheel of time books.
Not sure if that's because of mid-series Perrin but who knows.
Spoiler: Perrin, Axe, Tree, Hammer (click to show/hide)
Post by: Spehss _ on August 27, 2016, 05:08:32 pm
WoT is just a slog of reading, in my experience. The first book alone is over 700 pages. The overall plot is long and complex and there's lots of filler text describing cities, towns, peoples, cultures, and customs, which does well at enriching the setting but also just clogs up the reading experience.
Post by: BorkBorkGoesTheCode on August 28, 2016, 07:43:30 am
It a Space Opera?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress)
Post by: Tack on August 28, 2016, 07:58:28 am
Post by: JoshuaFH on August 28, 2016, 08:15:26 am
Spoiler: the worst death (click to show/hide)
Post by: Flying Dice on August 28, 2016, 10:37:34 am
Prefer subjective opinion to objective link.No. It is not space opera. It's one of Heinlein's best novels (also one of the ones that belongs to that timeline shared by a lot of his standalones), and sorta defies categorization. It easily carries a slot in my top fifteen novels. Definitely would recommend, particularly to people who like other works of the Golden Age greats (i.e. the ones who wrote novels and short stories that happened to be science fiction, as opposed to the pulp dross).
Post by: kilakan on August 28, 2016, 02:00:02 pm
Post by: JoshuaFH on September 25, 2016, 12:24:19 pm
While it's very cynical, it makes up for it by being, interesting, humorous, and never stagnating on one topic too long before switching to the next one.
Post by: Arcvasti on September 25, 2016, 12:30:55 pm
The short answer: because we're barely evolved chimp people possessing brains that only have the power of a combined 85 cat brains.
I am so going to use the hell out of that statistic.
Post by: NJW2000 on September 25, 2016, 01:01:42 pm
Post by: Yoink on September 25, 2016, 03:58:22 pm
The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco.Gosh, I've been meaning to read that for a while.
...As for what I've been reading, well. I was reading Oh, Play That Thing by Roddy Doyle, about some Irish dude who comes to New York in the jazz age to escape his criminal past (and a whole bunch of Irish dudes who want to kill him). It seemed pretty good so far, although I wasn't a fan of the prose: it seems the author subscribes to the annoyingly-prevalent "let's use as little punctuation as possible so that people think our book is more fresh and innovative than it actually is" school of thought. Ugh. Still, it summons up a fascinating portrait of the times.
I also started reading The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. This is actually my first Dickens, and I'm pleased to say I can actually see why he's such a legendary author. A really enjoyable read, even if I'm not very far into it yet. Can't shake the feeling that I hazily remember watching an old movie based on it as a kid, in school...
Unfortunately, I seem to have left both those books at my mother's house, and for whatever reason none of my unread books here are grabbing my interest, so I've started re-reading 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Truly a great, strange, depressing and joyful novel all at once.
Post by: Caz on September 25, 2016, 04:03:24 pm
Post by: JoshuaFH on September 28, 2016, 08:18:12 am
Post by: TheBiggerFish on September 28, 2016, 08:28:07 am
Ignore title, get feels.
Post by: Flying Dice on September 28, 2016, 01:31:22 pm
This. (https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/battle-action-harem-highschool-side-character-quest-no-sv-you-are-the-waifu.15335/page-2#post-2943234)Aww, I was hoping you were prompted by an update.
Ignore title, get feels.
Post by: Levi on October 07, 2016, 11:55:17 am
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/transformers-revolution-comic-book-bundle
The IDW run of tranformer comics have been fantastic in my opinion (Especially the "More than meets the eye" ones). The comics in the bundle are from various points in the timeline, but most of it is AFTER the war between the autobots and decepticons ended, and Starscream is the democratically elected leader of Cybertron.
Its also got some GI Joe stuff (and Street Fighter??) mixed in there. The last 15$ or more tier gives a bunch of the "Revolution" series comics which seems to cross over a lot of the IDW comics and I'm not sure what its about yet, but the 8$ or more tier is all great. :)
Post by: TheBiggerFish on October 07, 2016, 12:11:32 pm
Finally got my mitts on a copy of The Road to Hell. It continues to hold its title as the only series Weber didn't fuck up.Sorry ;-;This. (https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/battle-action-harem-highschool-side-character-quest-no-sv-you-are-the-waifu.15335/page-2#post-2943234)Aww, I was hoping you were prompted by an update.
Ignore title, get feels.
Post by: milo christiansen on October 07, 2016, 12:38:56 pm
Finally got my mitts on a copy of The Road to Hell. It continues to hold its title as the only series Weber didn't fuck up.
I hadn't realized there were more books in that series...I knew it wasn't complete, but I didn't know if it was abandoned or if there were some I was missing (and it wasn't important enough to me at the time to check). Some review comments lead me to believe there are more books beyond that yet (or that there should be anyway), I think I'll wait to see if more books materialize before I acquire them.
I generally like Weber's work, as long as it ends before he ruins it. The Honor Harrington series was pretty good... until it got stupid (after the peeps got their asses kicked). Safehold is still mostly OK. Most of his other stuff isn't really memorable enough for me to list (it, mostly, wasn't terrible, but it wasn't awesome either). Some of the standalone books were pretty good, but I mostly worry about series.
Lately I have been reading the Grimnoir Chronicles by Larry Correia. They aren't bad, but not the greatest I have ever read either. Too bad there are only three of them (plus short stories, but I hate short stories as a rule. The simply don't have enough length to develop a good tale).
Post by: Imic on October 07, 2016, 03:19:57 pm
Post by: ChairmanPoo on October 07, 2016, 03:27:39 pm
Post by: Flying Dice on October 07, 2016, 03:44:45 pm
Finally got my mitts on a copy of The Road to Hell. It continues to hold its title as the only series Weber didn't fuck up.
I hadn't realized there were more books in that series...I knew it wasn't complete, but I didn't know if it was abandoned or if there were some I was missing (and it wasn't important enough to me at the time to check). Some review comments lead me to believe there are more books beyond that yet (or that there should be anyway), I think I'll wait to see if more books materialize before I acquire them.
I generally like Weber's work, as long as it ends before he ruins it. The Honor Harrington series was pretty good... until it got stupid (after the peeps got their asses kicked). Safehold is still mostly OK. Most of his other stuff isn't really memorable enough for me to list (it, mostly, wasn't terrible, but it wasn't awesome either). Some of the standalone books were pretty good, but I mostly worry about series.
It just came out this Spring/Summer, so I'm not surprised.
And as I said, it's pretty much the only series he's done that I can tolerate. Everything else is just fucking stuffed with author tract nonsense that overshadows the fun bits. :/
--
I'm onto Lies My Teacher Told Me (second ed.) now. Plenty that I already knew, but plenty that I hadn't as well. Good stuff.
Post by: NRDL on October 07, 2016, 05:20:20 pm
Post by: Oneir on October 09, 2016, 09:01:58 am
Sadly last months book wasn't anywhere near my tastes. :/ I've heard a lot of good things about the Malazan series, but mostly it felt like it wanted to be Black Company but couldn't.
Curse of chalion. 'Tis brilliant.
Yessss. That whole series is great.
Post by: Emma on October 20, 2016, 04:11:58 am
Post by: Arcvasti on October 28, 2016, 07:59:25 pm
Post by: Dozebôm Lolumzalìs on October 28, 2016, 08:00:26 pm
Edit: Nevermind, that's Small Gods.
Fahrenheit 451 was really good, it made me think more about free thought and press and stuff like that. Also liked the ending because it didn't conclude at all AFAIR. Not even kidding, I like books that do that.
Post by: pondicherry on November 10, 2016, 04:33:18 pm
Best 2016 discovery
(Better than Dickens some say...)
Post by: NJW2000 on November 10, 2016, 04:52:20 pm
Also must recommend The THing Itself, Adam Roberts, kinda existential sci-fi. Lots of Kant.
Post by: NRDL on November 10, 2016, 04:58:55 pm
If Cranston really wrote this just by himself, then he's a damn good writer. Engaging, witty, with a sense of energy that I only really ever see in fiction books. I honestly felt I was reading a Stephen King novel in the first few chapters. Definitely recommend this.
Post by: Yoink on November 10, 2016, 06:35:14 pm
Too early to say what I think of it. Bought this years ago whilst overseas (and thus having to scrape what reading material I could from a very small, scattered and widely-varied collection of English-language books) and for some reason never got around to reading more than the first page.
I'm kind of liking the atmosphere it summons, so far.
Bryan Cranston's autobiography, "A Life in Parts", is pretty fricking good, I'm only halfway through and I'm loving it. He hasn't even gotten to his acting career yet, his hijinks as a youth are honestly hilarious, especially because I'm reading them in his voice.That sounds interesting. I've actually not heard anything about his life outside of acting so far as I can remember. ...Unless you count that time he made out with Julia Louis-Dreyfus at the Emmy awards, I guess.
Post by: Tomasque on November 10, 2016, 08:29:07 pm
Post by: ChairmanPoo on November 11, 2016, 01:31:08 pm
I've been reading The King In Yellow. It's quite interesting, and I like how there's a bit of a meta-story to it all.You, sir, should unmask.
Post by: BodyGripper on November 12, 2016, 05:36:55 pm
The Greatship is a collection of novellas and short stories in that same setting. It has many of the same characters, but it also goes into more details about some of the different aliens and their cultures.
I must say, even though it's a sort of Space Opera, Marrow really reminds me of Dwarf Fortress in some parts. The humans have carved opulent rooms out of stone and filled them with luxurious furniture. One person is described as living inside an old hollowed out volcano with a carpet of mushrooms. A big part of the plot involves people who are stranded in a place with lots of magma and have to rebuild civilization.
Post by: JoshuaFH on November 12, 2016, 06:27:37 pm
I just started "The Three Christs of Ypsilanti" about 3 men in a mental hospital who believe themselves to be the physical reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Set in a 60's, it's pretty darn unique reading about three schizophrenics rationalize how the other two people in a mental hospital are in fact liars, and that they know 'they' are the real Jesus Christ.
Post by: Helgoland on November 19, 2016, 08:00:20 pm
Post by: timferius on January 12, 2017, 07:27:10 am
Post by: ChairmanPoo on January 12, 2017, 07:46:49 am
Post by: TheBiggerFish on January 12, 2017, 11:43:08 am
I am reading a thread called "What are you reading?"I'm reading a post in a thread called" What are you reading?" that is about reading a thread called "What are you reading?" and thinking the meta should be stopped before it goes too far.
Post by: Levi on January 12, 2017, 12:00:23 pm
Post by: timferius on January 12, 2017, 12:10:15 pm
I'm reading Harry Potter for the first time. Kinda neat finding all the details that weren't in the movies.I could never see how anyone even knew what was going on in the movies without having read the books. It seems like so many details are missing.
Post by: Levi on January 12, 2017, 05:00:32 pm
Post by: Twinwolf on January 12, 2017, 09:52:39 pm
Post by: overseer05-15 on January 13, 2017, 08:02:32 am
I'm reading Harry Potter for the first time. Kinda neat finding all the details that weren't in the movies.
Spoiler: the best part of the books tbh (click to show/hide)
Reading Dante's Inferno for a book report in English. It's funny as hell, 10/10 would recommend.
Post by: Svarte Troner on January 13, 2017, 03:26:47 pm
Post by: Oneir on January 13, 2017, 06:31:53 pm
(An angsty teen is mad about having to wear silksheen, and is currently wearing flannel. In a fantasy novel. I am way more interested in the 90s punk fantasy setting this kid feel out of than the generic one he's stuck in.)
Post by: Avis-Mergulus on January 14, 2017, 02:14:48 am
Really amusing to read for a Russian - the dude basically just keeps bugging out at everything, but he is too japanese to show it, so he's just like "<_< what the fuck is this >_> what the fuck is that I am very grateful to you for your continued assistance, foreign devil ugh why is he drinking something that came from a cow's tit". Despite that, he appears rather impressed with Russian government (these words look weird together), and also gets to meet Catherine II and she is chill with him because she is generally a chill old lady at this point (1793, IIRC).
Would recommend. I believe it's usually rendered Hokusa Bunryaku in English.
Post by: Imic on January 14, 2017, 02:27:24 am
A song of ice and fire.
Book one.
Game of thrones.
(They named the show after the first book)
Post by: Arx on January 14, 2017, 08:35:41 am
I wholeheartedly recommend Mda to anyone who enjoys insightful literary fiction that's pretty self-aware. His writing is truly excellent.
Post by: Ultimuh on January 16, 2017, 09:32:04 am
She recalled that I was talking about getting into the series at some point, but wasn't sure what book to start with.
So she bought me A Bink Of The Screen, which is a collection of some of his shorter stories.
I just today, remembered that I have gotten it. So I think I will be spending some time reading it very soon.
I have seen some short bits of the animated tv show though, but always wanted more.
So this will be my first venture into his actual books.
Post by: overseer05-15 on January 17, 2017, 11:23:13 am
This Christmas, one of my sisters gave be a book by Terry Pratchett.
She recalled that I was talking about getting into the series at some point, but wasn't sure what book to start with.
So she bought me A Bink Of The Screen, which is a collection of some of his shorter stories.
I just today, remembered that I have gotten it. So I think I will be spending some time reading it very soon.
I have seen some short bits of the animated tv show though, but always wanted more.
So this will be my first venture into his actual books.
You have entered a wonderful world, my friend. Savor it.
Post by: Jopax on January 27, 2017, 04:39:24 pm
Btw, about Pratchett, you can start at multiple points without much trouble since it's really a bunch of different series in a single world, there's one offs too but for the most part you'll have recurring folks/themes in certain series.
My personal favourites are the ones on the watch, ones about the witches and of course death and his adventures. Rincewind never really grabbed me that much tho, not sure why :s
Post by: Flying Dice on January 27, 2017, 05:06:09 pm
Post by: Tomasque on January 27, 2017, 06:37:44 pm
Watchmen. Finally got around to it, and I'm very glad that I did.Its amazing :)
Post by: hops on January 29, 2017, 01:33:43 pm
Post by: Helgoland on January 29, 2017, 07:48:48 pm
Post by: Mech#4 on January 29, 2017, 08:52:32 pm
This Christmas, one of my sisters gave be a book by Terry Pratchett.
She recalled that I was talking about getting into the series at some point, but wasn't sure what book to start with.
So she bought me A Bink Of The Screen, which is a collection of some of his shorter stories.
I just today, remembered that I have gotten it. So I think I will be spending some time reading it very soon.
I have seen some short bits of the animated tv show though, but always wanted more.
So this will be my first venture into his actual books.
Both of the animated cartoons are on YouTube, "Soul Music" and "Wyrd Sisters". I think Wyrd Sisters is the stronger out of the two, partly because the plot doesn't jump between as many characters as it does in Soul Music.
Post by: Yoink on January 30, 2017, 12:20:54 pm
It was pretty good, although I think the stylistic similarities to Gabriel García Márquez may have actually hurt it somewhat, due to such a lofty comparison. Still, I might try and pick up the next book in the trilogy at some point.
For now, though, I need to choose between Babylon Rolling by Amanda Boyden or The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston for my next read. Picked them up in the same shopping trip as Don Emmanuel's, but I can't really remember much of what I managed to glean before purchasing them.
I believe one had an annoyingly cavalier approach to punctuation and structure (as seems rather popular in books these days, probably as some misguided attempt at seeming arty and experimental), but the premise was interesting enough that I decided to give it a chance.
Right now, though, I'm going to sleep.
Post by: Yoink on February 11, 2017, 03:10:00 am
Now I guess I'll start on The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, by Charlie Huston.
I have high hopes for this book, the page or so that I read when I bought it seemed quite entertaining. Time to find out if it lives up to my expectations!
Post by: Elephant Parade on February 16, 2017, 01:28:30 am
(go read Bel Canto, people)
(also PTW)
Post by: overseer05-15 on February 16, 2017, 08:26:10 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: TheBiggerFish on February 26, 2017, 08:04:17 pm
Post by: Jopax on February 27, 2017, 04:43:30 pm
Anyways, the second part of it is not as interesting from a character point but the tech stuff and some of the solutions are pretty damn neat and evoke feelings of old school sci-fi with it's sleek desings and novel solutions to certain problems, a certain air of Syd Mead about it all I guess, which is a pretty damn big boon.
Aside from that, tho I'm not sure if it can be considered reading since it's a podcast but I've read over twenty books in audiobook form in the past six months so I'll just sort them in the same box, these would be more like short essays on certain themes. In this case, it's the Lore series by Aaron Mahnke, he's a writer but I've never heard of him before today when I learned about the series and went to check it out. It basically trawls various myths over the world and talks about them, comparing them, singling out interesting stories and talking about what they could mean or represent to the people of the time. Pretty well researched and written, and episodes are about 20 mins long so not too much time to put away for one or two.
Post by: Arx on February 28, 2017, 02:56:06 am
Post by: Oneir on February 28, 2017, 09:11:17 am
I really should give Seveneves another try because everyone seems to love it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Levi on February 28, 2017, 11:36:24 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: TheBiggerFish on February 28, 2017, 11:37:51 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Levi on February 28, 2017, 11:39:47 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: TheBiggerFish on February 28, 2017, 11:40:28 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Levi on February 28, 2017, 11:41:50 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Tomasque on March 02, 2017, 10:25:12 pm
You can read it here (https://monoskop.org/images/0/0e/Calvino_Italo_Invisible_Cities.pdf).
Post by: MoonyTheHuman on March 27, 2017, 08:40:49 pm
Post by: Starver on March 27, 2017, 08:51:24 pm
somehow failes to notice this(In response to your "I'm reading Small Gods", that you have now blanked on the other thread...)
A good standalone, in the series, that one, IMO. (Noting that there's callbacks to the book in the later Carpe Jugulum, but it's not a major link.)
I can, and may yet, gush all rhapsodical about Discworld, in general, but that'd be boring for others. Willing to discuss (spoilered?) specifics, though, if you wish.
Currently, I've got The Long War (#2 in the Baxter/Pratchett Long Earth series) in mid-read as my "bathroom book", I'm going through the Ryanverse books (Tom Clancy) in non-chronological order, Uplift (David Brin) started and Anciliary Sword (#2 in the Ancilliary trilogy by Ann Leckie) almost ready to start in a different "book queue", as notable (or at least currently memorable) other examples of current/imminent reading.
Post by: Urist McScoopbeard on March 27, 2017, 09:26:17 pm
Post by: NRDL on March 28, 2017, 12:10:36 am
Post by: Arx on March 28, 2017, 01:12:39 am
I'm re-reading the Stormlight Archives. One of these days, Sanderson will publish book three.
Post by: JoshuaFH on March 28, 2017, 12:12:21 pm
Post by: JoshuaFH on April 20, 2017, 12:12:32 pm
Steppenwolf very accurately describes how I genuinely feel in day to day life. So often I feel like an alien hiding among normal humans, and it feels so wonderful to finally find someone who 'speaks the same language as I do', so to speak. So yeah, I'm quite engrossed in it and will probably be finishing it up pretty quickly.
Post by: NJW2000 on April 20, 2017, 02:18:31 pm
Bit dated now, but interesting exploration of Tea Party/Free Market focus in US right-wing ideology that came up briefly in response to the financial crisis. Slightly helpful in understanding how right-wing ideology works, but ultimately not as good as a book about Trump and his backers. Not really the author's fault, very much a book of its time.
Post by: hops on April 27, 2017, 01:44:32 am
Post by: Yoink on April 27, 2017, 08:33:32 am
Post by: Tawa on April 27, 2017, 04:42:57 pm
My only complaints with ADWD so far are that Tyrion doesn't ask where whores go nearly enough, and [Theon's] chapters could use a lot more disturbing BDSM in them :P
Post by: itisnotlogical on April 29, 2017, 04:59:53 pm
I have no idea how I missed all the race and religion messages in Gods. It is so obvious and yet it went totally over my head the first time.
Post by: JoshuaFH on May 05, 2017, 10:31:26 am
Next up on the Hermann-o-rama: Narcissus and Goldmund.
Post by: itisnotlogical on May 06, 2017, 01:21:53 pm
Post by: hops on May 16, 2017, 01:53:06 pm
I've been reading the Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs once again. I just finished Princess of Mars and am now on Gods of Mars.I remember reading Princess of Mars, I still find it hilarious that hte protagonist and literally everyone in the book were naked.
I have no idea how I missed all the race and religion messages in Gods. It is so obvious and yet it went totally over my head the first time.
Post by: Strife26 on May 16, 2017, 02:54:32 pm
Post by: itisnotlogical on May 17, 2017, 12:23:11 am
I've been reading the Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs once again. I just finished Princess of Mars and am now on Gods of Mars.I remember reading Princess of Mars, I still find it hilarious that hte protagonist and literally everyone in the book were naked.
I have no idea how I missed all the race and religion messages in Gods. It is so obvious and yet it went totally over my head the first time.
Huh. That would have made the latter two books much more interesting to think about. Those can be summarized by "Then John did everything perfectly because he's just so cool and awesome."
I read Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. It's a collection of essays, and some of the essays are much better than others. It starts out as a slice-of-life kind of thing, then quickly turns into black comedy as it discusses pet death, failing as a teacher, stupid fancy food, and wishing that somebody would fall to their death so the author could tell a more interesting story later.
It does that frustrating thing collections do where the second half of the essays start to evolve a continuing narrative, but then it all just ends on a random note. It was consistently okay all the way through, but never really set my hair on fire. Check it out if you are utterly bored and have no idea what to read next.
Post by: Starver on May 17, 2017, 08:44:07 am
If I ever pick up find his books, my internal voice for the textual perusal is already going to be set in stone. ;)
Post by: TheKaspa on June 17, 2017, 09:03:40 am
Worm is very good.
I'm re-reading the Stormlight Archives. One of these days, Sanderson will publish book three.
This fall. November 14th, according to Amazon. And they better deliver it on time to my Kindle
Post by: hops on June 17, 2017, 09:11:21 am
Post by: Enemy post on June 17, 2017, 02:37:02 pm
I'm also currently almost done with Moby Dick and I hate this book yet I don't want to give up.
That seems fitting.
Post by: Strife26 on June 17, 2017, 06:46:49 pm
I'm also currently almost done with Moby Dick and I hate this book yet I don't want to give up.
That seems fitting.
+1
Post by: Parsely on June 17, 2017, 07:57:43 pm
Nearly done with it and Tank! is a pretty good WW2 memoir once it gets going. Reading about this guy's combat experiences is pretty dang interesting.
So far Inferno is basically a WW2 history book entirely made up of anecdotes, but it tries to balance it out a little with a historian's perspective. Interesting if you want to know what people on various believed at different points in the war.
Post by: Criptfeind on June 17, 2017, 10:39:53 pm
Post by: TheDarkStar on June 17, 2017, 11:36:19 pm
Post by: hops on June 18, 2017, 02:50:54 am
I have read an article talking about how the point of the book is that it's a labor to read, but I'm not really sure how it's going to reward me excepr to be a test of my patience.I'm also currently almost done with Moby Dick and I hate this book yet I don't want to give up.
That seems fitting.
+1
Post by: ChairmanPoo on June 18, 2017, 03:02:58 am
- I never thought it was really good. Entertaining, ok. But good? Its a storm of cliches and sues.
- the first book in particular is pretty bad because it can be summed up as 'every fantasy book ever'
- lots of early installment weirdness in the first few books actually, and ludicrously slow plot.
I do tend to agree that Sanderson is overall a better (if cookie-cutterish) writer than Jordan. He struggled to bring the series to a close, though. And some parts were lame. In particular I found Ishamael's motivations shallow as fuck by the end. I was hoping a buildup to something deeper
Post by: Yoink on June 26, 2017, 10:38:11 pm
I shall have to track down the sequel... I actually have the third one in the series, just not the second.
Today I am getting stuck into Trainspotting, after reading a couple of chapters yesterday on the train after I bought it. First time I've read it (though I've read a couple of Welsh books and would probably count him amongst my favourite authors) and I am eager to see how it compares to the movie, which is a brilliant film indeed.
Post by: Urist McScoopbeard on June 27, 2017, 11:15:40 am
pretty good, but feels very DUNEish
Post by: Yoink on July 04, 2017, 02:54:55 am
Spoiler: Non-spoilery spraff about Trainspotting (click to show/hide)
Now I've almost finished The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs, also by Welsh.
Good gods, this book is horrifying. Brilliantly horrifying. Ah jist cannae pit it doon.
I think it might top even Marabou Stork Nightmares in terms of sheer literary brutalization. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I shall quickly polish this one off before getting to work on the countless chores I need to take care of.
Post by: NRDL on July 04, 2017, 04:07:15 am
Post by: hops on July 05, 2017, 07:50:46 am
It was nice.
Do I recommend this book to other people?
No.
Post by: Gatleos on July 07, 2017, 10:38:42 pm
Do I recommend this book to other people?That thought always makes me question whether I really enjoyed something, or if I'm just glad to be able to say I read/watched/played it.
No.
...I'm reading From Bacteria to Bach and Back by Dan Dennett, it just came out earlier this year. I just got to the part where he starts discussing co-evolution of human brains alongside free-floating cultural ideas, like viruses but made of non-physical information. It's a lot more accessible than I just made it sound.
Post by: JoshuaFH on July 14, 2017, 07:44:55 am
Right now I'm reading "We make the road by walking" by Myles Horton and Paulo Friere. I gravitate the most strongly towards wise, sagacious old men authors, and this book has two. My first impression from the first chapter is good. Though I got it because I also am interested in pedagogy, and my initial web search revealed this.
Post by: Yoink on July 19, 2017, 03:28:34 am
Honestly, I wasn't really expecting it to be so good, especially considering it's by the author of Rob Roy which I remember just about boring me to tears when I tried to read it years ago, and I was in fact putting off starting Ivanhoe due to my low expectations.
How foolish of me! This is probably going to claim a place amongst my very favourite books ere the story's finished. Sumptuous descriptions of medieval life and scenery, a decided lack of the usual pussyfooted-ness I would usually (no doubt incorrectly) expect from a classic from its period, some of the snappiest, most sharp-witted dialogue I've encountered in a book from any era, and to top it off I feel like I'm learning a lot more about English history than I ever really knew before.
I've been doing more reading lately than I had been for a long time, 'tis good.
Also it's getting quite exciting indeed. Thrills the blood, it does.
In addition to that, the only novel I'm currently reading (trying to stick to one at a time, despite my enticing backlog of unread books), I've been reading a lot of poetry here and there. A collection of Keats I got from the library, the works of some fellow called Longfellow that I found at a "flea" market last weekend, those of some other guy named Francis Thompson that I've had for a while (and yet barely scratched the surface of for some reason, I shall have to remedy that), some prose translations of Rimbaud and this old, aesthetically lovely little book of "Comic and Curious Verse", selected by J.M. Cohen and printed in 1952. A lot of the verse within is very old, filled with archaic words and terms and difficult to understand, but there are definitely some poets in there whom I should like to read more from.
Post by: Parsely on July 19, 2017, 11:52:17 am
Currently I am reading Ivanhoe, and it is bloody excellent.You mean this Ivanhoe, right? http://www.gutenberg.org/files/82/82-h/82-h.htm#link2H_INTR
Honestly, I wasn't really expecting it to be so good, especially considering it's by the author of Rob Roy which I remember just about boring me to tears when I tried to read it years ago, and I was in fact putting off starting Ivanhoe due to my low expectations.
How foolish of me! This is probably going to claim a place amongst my very favourite books ere the story's finished. Sumptuous descriptions of medieval life and scenery, a decided lack of the usual pussyfooted-ness I would usually (no doubt incorrectly) expect from a classic from its period, some of the snappiest, most sharp-witted dialogue I've encountered in a book from any era, and to top it off I feel like I'm learning a lot more about English history than I ever really knew before.
I've been doing more reading lately than I had been for a long time, 'tis good.
Also it's getting quite exciting indeed. Thrills the blood, it does.
In addition to that, the only novel I'm currently reading (trying to stick to one at a time, despite my enticing backlog of unread books), I've been reading a lot of poetry here and there. A collection of Keats I got from the library, the works of some fellow called Longfellow that I found at a "flea" market last weekend, those of some other guy named Francis Thompson that I've had for a while (and yet barely scratched the surface of for some reason, I shall have to remedy that), some prose translations of Rimbaud and this old, aesthetically lovely little book of "Comic and Curious Verse", selected by J.M. Cohen and printed in 1952. A lot of the verse within is very old, filled with archaic words and terms and difficult to understand, but there are definitely some poets in there whom I should like to read more from.
I think I'll start reading it too.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on July 19, 2017, 12:21:36 pm
Post by: Arx on July 27, 2017, 08:10:52 am
Post by: pondicherry on August 04, 2017, 10:59:24 am
Having fun with the horrible life of french miners... :/
Post by: Silverthrone on September 25, 2017, 07:25:57 am
My word, they are fantastic. I adore those books, they are the sort of thing that I break out now and then to remind myself of why I write. I believe that every book is in search of its reader, someone that it will connect to, and create a strange understanding of sorts. In my case, it has been a direct hit. It is clever, it is educated, exciting and the prose is fantastic. He uses his language not merely as a vessel but as a vehicle, a method that is sadly deficient in contemporary Swedish writers. There is, of course, the inevitable deluge of fantasy names for people and places, and quite a few exorcises in Adjective-Noun, but he has been conservative with it, which I would urge every fiction writer to remain.
It rather reminds me of the Elder Scrolls; both the world of the story and the feeling and ambience that it gives me. It is not very surprising, however. They have a lot of common DNA. Further, Granström has been greatly involved in writing supplements and lore for the Drakar & Demoner RPG (That is, effectively, the Scandinavian Dungeons & Dragons), and these works are set in that particular universe. It rather shows; it is a very well-built world, and you constantly see hints and glimpses to a much greater world, with strange customs and traditions. That is one of those things that makes me sit up and listen.
Another thing that I like is that it is a rather dark and grim tale, but without dissolving into that tiresome sludge that 'Dark FantasyTM' tends to become. This is not Middle Earth. Fates are grim and men are cruel, but it is not devoid of light and goodness; there are many leagues to fall before it plunges into Grimderp, and becomes parodic and vapid. I am very pleased when a story can balance on that particular edge.
As far as I know, they are not available in English, I fear. I wish that they were, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the publisher might see the potential. Rest assured that I shall sing its gospel for the world if they do.
Post by: Spehss _ on September 25, 2017, 12:34:09 pm
Post by: TheDarkStar on September 25, 2017, 01:16:22 pm
Been reading the last 3 books of Wheel of Time. On the last book. I can hardly put these books down. After working my way through the series for years I want to finally finish it and see how the story ends.
Yeah, Sanderson was an excellent fit for finishing the series - while the middle of the series sagged a bit, the last few books more than make up for it.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on September 25, 2017, 06:06:19 pm
Its annoying because I started reading it on paperback many years ago and it was interesting, I kind of felt I wanted to retake it. I wanted a well formatted epub
Post by: Frumple on September 25, 2017, 06:13:59 pm
... any case, to actually contribute, last few days I've been reading through what translation's available for Long Live Summons!
.
.
.
It's shit. It's unmitigated power fantasy shit that manages to fail at even interesting worldbuilding, being tropes from various other punch wizard works jammed into a box with a side of clumsy smut. The main character is effectively an amalgamation of all the worst traits a reincarnated punch magic protagonist tends to have, everything else is about as single dimensional as it gets, the fight scenes are more vaguely incoherent than interesting, yadda yadda yadda. Garbage on every front, worse than mid tier fanfiction, sole redeeming feature being there's hundreds of chapters of the thing.
I'm going to finish what's available because I'm going to finish what's available, but if for whatever reason you're looking into light novel martial arts fantasy stuff, I can only recommend avoiding this massive pile of drek like the literary plague.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on September 25, 2017, 06:18:53 pm
The book is a chronicle by one of Cortes' soldiers. Its one of the ancient chronicles I mean to read, alomg with Caesar's .
I kind of got rekindled after starting reading Sumerki, by a Russian author, in which a Russian translator gets progressively obsessed with a chronicle of a lost Spanish expedition in Yucatan
Post by: Paxiecrunchle on September 25, 2017, 11:24:21 pm
Post by: Yoink on September 26, 2017, 01:46:02 pm
This dialogue is straight fire! It's funny how much I appreciate dialogue these days.
In my younger years, it seems as though if the author didn't provide me with the exact dimensions of a character's head and describe their voice and body language in great detail, I wouldn't have the slightest interest in hearing whatever that character had to say. Now, though, I find myself sometimes barely skimming physical descriptions in my rush to sink my teeth into the next juicy chunk of dialogue.
Before, the scenes I loved were those of battle, of drama, bloodshed and betrayal. Now I am far happier with something as mundane as a few grotesquely believable misfits standing around having an inconsequential chinwag, or the thoughts(inner monologue?) of some lone traveller as they trudge through some richly-described landscape alone with their thoughts(demons?).
...Anyway! This book seems to be an absolute masterpiece so far. Gets better and better. Comes tearing out of the gate with poignance and subtle-but-devastating comedy in almost equal measures.
Forgive the sleep-deprived word salad above, it is almost five in the morning and I am feeling disturbingly enthusiastic about this book.
Post by: A Thing on September 26, 2017, 03:25:52 pm
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (or Three Kingdoms) being a Chinese novel from somewhere in the 14-15th century. It certainly has problems, but after reading all of it I think it expresses the tragedy of hereditary rule really quite well (completely unintentionally, granted.) Still, I think there are enough rough edges in its roughly 1600 pages that they're worth listing:
- Dry Prose: RTK certainly has it moments of extravagant description, but there is still quite a lot of "Xu Yi Zhi slew Xi Yu Zhu in Xiayziao while Cao Cao's third cousin chilled out in the back." I think the dialogue and overall story being engaging lessens this problem, but early on it really hurts the novel. Hard to care about the Xiaoyizhiang Dynasty falling apart when it's the first page after all.
- Inconsistent Detail: The beginning of the novel has many, many anecdotal tales and sayings from the main characters. The problem being, that as the story progresses and the main characters change, these become less and less. From my knowledge, this is because the novel borrowed heavily from folk tales and plays; most of which don't concern the characters in the later portions of the novel. The thing is, the novel is already 1600 pages, so I didn't really notice this until after I was finished.
- Pretty Preachy: RTK is a romanticized historical novel (see the name) which espouses traditional Confucian virtues, a lot. I wasn't really bothered by this, but I can certainly see where it could bother others. Familial suicides are just not an acceptable thing anymore.
There's definitely a lot more then those three, but the novel's over a thousand pages long: you can write multiple essays on its problems and barely scratch the surface.
Post by: Levi on September 26, 2017, 05:16:27 pm
The hunter of course invited Cao Cao into his home for dinner. He had to go out and catch some meat first though. Unfortunately the hunting didn't go well, so he came back and rather than say "Sorry, I don't have any meat" he chopped up his wife and fed it to Cao Cao. :o
Cao Cao clued in that he was eating the guys wife, and didn't mention it. In fact, he was so impressed by the mans generosity and politeness that once he arrived back in his kingdom he arranged to send the hunter a bunch of bags of rice as a reward.
Post by: A Thing on September 26, 2017, 05:25:09 pm
There are some cool scenes in the Three Kingdoms. Its been a long time since I've read it so I'm probably misremembering bits, but one of the ones that stuck in my head was when Cao Cao was wandering off by himself one time and came up on a hunters hut.
The hunter of course invited Cao Cao into his home for dinner. He had to go out and catch some meat first though. Unfortunately the hunting didn't go well, so he came back and rather than say "Sorry, I don't have any meat" he chopped up his wife and fed it to Cao Cao. :o
Cao Cao clued in that he was eating the guys wife, and didn't mention it. In fact, he was so impressed by the mans generosity and politeness that once he arrived back in his kingdom he arranged to send the hunter a bunch of bags of rice as a reward.
It's actually Liu Bei that happens to. Cao Cao just murders a whole family on suspicion that they're planning on killing him. Apparently staying at a villagers house was a real bad idea in ancient China.
Post by: Levi on September 26, 2017, 05:27:16 pm
Post by: Strife26 on September 26, 2017, 06:45:39 pm
Post by: Paxiecrunchle on October 11, 2017, 07:34:31 am
There are some cool scenes in the Three Kingdoms. Its been a long time since I've read it so I'm probably misremembering bits, but one of the ones that stuck in my head was when Cao Cao was wandering off by himself one time and came up on a hunters hut.
The hunter of course invited Cao Cao into his home for dinner. He had to go out and catch some meat first though. Unfortunately the hunting didn't go well, so he came back and rather than say "Sorry, I don't have any meat" he chopped up his wife and fed it to Cao Cao. :o
Cao Cao clued in that he was eating the guys wife, and didn't mention it. In fact, he was so impressed by the mans generosity and politeness that once he arrived back in his kingdom he arranged to send the hunter a bunch of bags of rice as a reward.
It's actually Liu Bei that happens to. Cao Cao just murders a whole family on suspicion that they're planning on killing him. Apparently staying at a villagers house was a real bad idea in ancient China.
Having never read the book I find myself desperatley hoping that this cao cao is not the protagonist.
Post by: Yoink on October 11, 2017, 08:18:46 am
In good nick, for $10... not exactly cheap, but this was a "vintage store" as opposed to an actual op-shop, and I usually pay $10 at the ultra-cheap bookstore chain for much newer, less cool-looking editions of Welsh's novels, so it's not so bad. Also, they can be hard to find.
Anyway! As much as I've been enjoying Those Barren Leaves, I lack the self-control to continue reading anything else with an unread Irvine Welsh book just sitting there waiting for me to pick it up. Something about his writing just draws me in every time... so dark, so hilarious, so bleak and horrifying whilst also exhilarating... his books tend to scar one for life, but they are scars that one bears proudly.
It's good so far. Of course.
Only just getting into it, the first hints of the disturbing bigger picture are just beginning to become visible, but it will doubtless keep me guessing for a long while yet. Or, well, the whole book. :)
At least Welsh's books tend to be so unputdownable that I should be able to blaze through it quickly and, after perhaps a brief stay in a psych ward recovering from whatever traumas the story's as-yet unknown direction will inflict on me, get back to Those Barren Leaves.
Post by: Parsely on October 11, 2017, 11:12:06 am
It's been months and I'm still on the first book. 250 pages in and not halfway done. This is one of the most boring books I've ever read in my life. This is worse than the Belgariad and that, even though it had the same intention of touring you by the hand through a fantasy land one conversation at a time, at least had a serviceable pace.
250 fucking pages and a flock of inconsequential characters and places have been introduced and left behind. Not to mention an entire hard journey was undermined because after they arrived at their destination, another character did the whole thing by themselves without the benefit of magic, invalidating what little catharsis we got when the party finally made it to the safety of the town.
And now more things of no importance are happening as the protagonist is closed off from any kind of influence on the plot by other characters who are older than him.
Post by: A Thing on October 14, 2017, 11:33:14 am
There are some cool scenes in the Three Kingdoms. Its been a long time since I've read it so I'm probably misremembering bits, but one of the ones that stuck in my head was when Cao Cao was wandering off by himself one time and came up on a hunters hut.
The hunter of course invited Cao Cao into his home for dinner. He had to go out and catch some meat first though. Unfortunately the hunting didn't go well, so he came back and rather than say "Sorry, I don't have any meat" he chopped up his wife and fed it to Cao Cao. :o
Cao Cao clued in that he was eating the guys wife, and didn't mention it. In fact, he was so impressed by the mans generosity and politeness that once he arrived back in his kingdom he arranged to send the hunter a bunch of bags of rice as a reward.
It's actually Liu Bei that happens to. Cao Cao just murders a whole family on suspicion that they're planning on killing him. Apparently staying at a villagers house was a real bad idea in ancient China.
Having never read the book I find myself desperatley hoping that this cao cao is not the protagonist.
Nah, Cao Cao is written that way because he's supposed to be the complete opposite of the previously mentioned 'main protagonist,' Liu Bei. He gets a lot more writing dedicated to him then most characters, but he's clearly meant to be a foil to Liu Bei and not the one your supposed to sympathize with.
As for Cao Cao himself, well, this is what he says in the novel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYuy6Kg9aI) after killing the family I mentioned before.
You can definitely make an argument that Cao Cao's a better leader then Liu Bei, though. Cao Cao managed to take over some of the most vital parts of China in a very short period of time after all.
Post by: Spehss _ on October 14, 2017, 02:55:50 pm
Update on my progress with Wheel of Time:
It's been months and I'm still on the first book. 250 pages in and not halfway done. This is one of the most boring books I've ever read in my life. This is worse than the Belgariad and that, even though it had the same intention of touring you by the hand through a fantasy land one conversation at a time, at least had a serviceable pace.
250 fucking pages and a flock of inconsequential characters and places have been introduced and left behind. Not to mention an entire hard journey was undermined because after they arrived at their destination, another character did the whole thing by themselves without the benefit of magic, invalidating what little catharsis we got when the party finally made it to the safety of the town.
And now more things of no importance are happening as the protagonist is closed off from any kind of influence on the plot by other characters who are older than him.
In my opinion the first book starts off weak compared to some of Jordan's later books in the series. It's setting the scene and characters and starting the character development arcs of the three main characters. I found later books to be more rewarding to read as I'd get to see how events from the previous books would be building up into bigger and bigger outcomes, reaching the peak at the last books.
That said, the whole series is a big long read full of characters of varying relevance and there's definitely times where I think Jordan could've cut excess out. He seems to love describing all the different cultural nuances between the fantasy nations.
Post by: Arx on October 14, 2017, 05:06:54 pm
Post by: Tawa on October 14, 2017, 06:39:24 pm
Post by: Yoink on October 14, 2017, 06:45:15 pm
No! Not another WoT derail!
Three Kingdoms derails are a-okay since as far as I can remember we haven't had a tonne of those in the past, plus it sounds like an actually interesting story. >.>
I've started reading Buddy Does Jersey. No, I haven't read Buddy Does Seattle, but my library only had the sequel for some reason. Oh well.
I really need to finish some books so I can pick up the pace working through all the stuff I have borrowed from the library, ugh. Both the current novels I'm reading are ones I own...
Post by: Emma on October 15, 2017, 01:13:29 am
There are some cool scenes in the Three Kingdoms. Its been a long time since I've read it so I'm probably misremembering bits, but one of the ones that stuck in my head was when Cao Cao was wandering off by himself one time and came up on a hunters hut.
The hunter of course invited Cao Cao into his home for dinner. He had to go out and catch some meat first though. Unfortunately the hunting didn't go well, so he came back and rather than say "Sorry, I don't have any meat" he chopped up his wife and fed it to Cao Cao. :o
Cao Cao clued in that he was eating the guys wife, and didn't mention it. In fact, he was so impressed by the mans generosity and politeness that once he arrived back in his kingdom he arranged to send the hunter a bunch of bags of rice as a reward.
It's actually Liu Bei that happens to. Cao Cao just murders a whole family on suspicion that they're planning on killing him. Apparently staying at a villagers house was a real bad idea in ancient China.
Having never read the book I find myself desperatley hoping that this cao cao is not the protagonist.
Nah, Cao Cao is written that way because he's supposed to be the complete opposite of the previously mentioned 'main protagonist,' Liu Bei. He gets a lot more writing dedicated to him then most characters, but he's clearly meant to be a foil to Liu Bei and not the one your supposed to sympathize with.
As for Cao Cao himself, well, this is what he says in the novel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYuy6Kg9aI) after killing the family I mentioned before.
You can definitely make an argument that Cao Cao's a better leader then Liu Bei, though. Cao Cao managed to take over some of the most vital parts of China in a very short period of time after all.
Damn, that video makes me wanna watch the whole movie.
Post by: Max™ on October 15, 2017, 07:35:11 am
"Two buff naked dudes pound the hell out of each other in the hottest place you can imagine until one of them decides to end it by using his mouth."
Spoiler: Really not what it sounds like... (click to show/hide)
Though that wasn't the last thing I read, just on my mind since the next one is due out soonish I think, last thing I read was The Delirium Brief by Stross and I don't even know how to begin doing a misleading but accurate synopsis there... "middle-aged couple try to work things out while dealing with a new boss and pushy evangelicals" maybe?
Post by: Helgoland on October 15, 2017, 10:30:24 am
- Pulp Fiction
Post by: Max™ on October 15, 2017, 04:04:09 pm
Post by: Starver on October 15, 2017, 06:06:15 pm
(This aint things we're reading, any more. And, yes, I checked: Vincent apparently had 8.25" of handgun, Jules 'only' 7.25". Length, of course, not caliber.)
Post by: redwallzyl on October 15, 2017, 08:34:20 pm
God its depressing.
Post by: JoshuaFH on October 16, 2017, 07:59:48 am
It took me a hell of a long time to finish, despite it not being a very long book. Three days to finish one chapter, though I was honestly not reading as fast as I could, not even close. But after finishing it, I immediately felt some remorse for it being over already.
Post by: Archibald on October 16, 2017, 01:06:06 pm
Post by: NRDL on November 02, 2017, 10:27:47 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 24, 2017, 08:27:40 pm
Didn't really expect to like it, but the prose is simply fantastic, and there is a nice kind of dry humour throughout that stops just short of blatant sarcasm. Definitely worthy of its classic status!
Post by: Emma on November 25, 2017, 05:46:08 am
Post by: nenjin on November 25, 2017, 08:27:02 pm
It's a story about disaffected wealthy people and their fabulous, shitty lives and how they're shitty to each other and kind of shitty people. I've always thought it's telling that it's considered an American classic. I can't say I've ever enjoyed reading it though, and I'm the kind of person that finds reading college history textbooks enjoyable. Reading the GG always felt like a chore, and almost none of the characters were likeable. Even the protagonist is kind of "meh." As I was reading, I always found myself thinking "Everyone in this novel need a good, hard slap."
Post by: Urist McScoopbeard on November 25, 2017, 08:49:55 pm
From a literary standpoint, I enjoy GG as basically my favorite example of using environmental description to reveal the emotional states of the characters. But ya, other than that... eh.
Post by: kingawsume on November 25, 2017, 10:16:32 pm
The book might be halfway interesting, if I wasn't assigned it every year since 6th grade...
Post by: deathpunch578 on November 26, 2017, 12:10:53 am
It's a book written by an actual hit-man, unfortunately you can't find much information on it. It's interesting, the way he justifies killing people for a living is that he is correcting mistakes made by the justice system (he thinks that he is killing awful people, an example he gives is killing a rapist that got off scot-free because of a technicality).
Post by: nenjin on November 26, 2017, 04:11:49 am
Speaking of oft-assigned books, I finally finished my prescribed dosage of To Kill a Mockingbird.
The book might be halfway interesting, if I wasn't assigned it every year since 6th grade...
I debated mentioning it in my post as well. That and GG I feel are the two American Classics I've been forced to read at least 4 times a piece. At least I like TKAMB better as a story, even if it is also pretty dry at times.
Post by: Frumple on November 26, 2017, 05:20:37 am
Never really felt the inclination even back when I was reading too friggin' many books of the classic sort, either, though. If I wanted to get a gander at the issues it dealt with I could go outside or have a talk with my grandparents about their younger years, ha.
Gatsby can go right to hell, though. An eye gouging mix of boring and miserable, one of the ones near the end of what it took to get me to swear off "classics" indefinitely. The technical capabilities of the writing was fine but I'd 'bout rather jam a rail spike in my eye than deal with the rest of it, these days.
Reached a point where all the literary expertise in the world ain't worth crawling through the shite that is ruddy universally their characters, plots, and/or settings to experience. Once you've well and truly got the damn point behind any individual bit of the stuff they're trying to convey leaning on that junk it's near enough self-flagellation to make little difference... and if I'm going to inflict literary masochism on myself I'm damn sure going to at least read something that has good sex in it instead *grumbles into the distance*
E: ... though to actually contribute, I'm still chewing through Wu Dong... something. The Golden Thumbing of Dong. Bout reached the end of what's translated. It's martial arts fantasy of the cyclical deus ex machina sort, predictable enough it could be bullet pointed, but on the less terrible side of them... imagery and whatnot is decent and gets better, and while the MC is as much cheerfully inclined towards mass murder as any protagonist of these sorts of work are, he's at least fairly amicable otherwise and regularly interacting with characters written to do something other than finger his murder buttons.
Also the harem elements are pretty subdued, for all the "romance" subplot is farcical (tl;dr version, mentioned in the wtf thread, punch ghost made MC and love interest screw for its amusement, Dong spends next few hundred chapters getting thumbed along the way of hooking up with her and murdering the cousin that injured his father), which is nice after the summons thing I last mentioned. It's hilariously predictable anything female that's around him/gets much screen time has some kind of macguffin jammed in them, but hey, better is better.
Writing's still pretty much objectively trash, though, and it not being the original language probably doesn't help. Still probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless you're hard up enough for mountains getting thrown at people to slog through hundreds of chapters of mediocrity, or just want to see what a pretty generic example of the style looks like (as well as how absurd "generic" gets in the context of these things). One of these days I'll get around to reading one I'd actually recommend, heh.
Post by: JoshuaFH on November 26, 2017, 03:42:29 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 26, 2017, 04:30:14 pm
It was just $6, in the already-cheap bookstore that usually sells everything for $10. This reminds me, I need to swing by my friends' place and grab those books - I left them there since they live closer to the airport and I was flying the next morning.
The little taste I read of The Good Soldier Svejk left me with high expectations. Keen to read both books. :)
Didn't read much of everyone's opinions on Gatsby, since I am still reading it. I'm very much enjoying it though, and I am almost at the end - though I remember enjoying Mockingbird years ago, too, so perhaps there's just something profoundly wrong with me.
Gatsby's great, though. The prose is delicious and much of it is quite relatable.
I dislike this idea that a novel needs to be "about" something, something exciting with the clear skeletal structure of a story. A lot of my favourite books are the meandering kind, that take their sweet time getting to the point - if they have any point at all. Gatsby's honestly a lot less aimless than a lot of those, it has a pretty clear plot.
I'm jealous of y'all getting assigned such good books in school - maybe I would have enjoyed high school a bit more if we'd spent more time reading classics and less time being forced to slog through utter garbage written by Australian authors to supposedly help we young folks through the various trials involved in ascending to lofty adulthood - read: tales of surfing bogans and the feel-good adventures of shite football teams.
Luckily I soon mastered the art of being absent for our in-class reading sessions and simply chopping and screwing reviews mined from the internet by some poor sap who claimed to have actually read the book.
Though who knows - perhaps none of those reviews were actually by people who'd read those shitty books; everyone had just taken the same approach of repurposing other reviews - perhaps one could find a clear lineage dating all the way back to a "patient zero" of the book's first review to be published when it was released.
Sorry for rambling. I'm half-asleep, unhappy, hopped up on energy drink and waiting for a bus. ...Wait, the bus just arrived as I was typing that, but still.
Post by: Urist McScoopbeard on November 26, 2017, 05:13:18 pm
Post by: Emma on November 26, 2017, 05:56:06 pm
I'm jealous of y'all getting assigned such good books in school - maybe I would have enjoyed high school a bit more if we'd spent more time reading classics and less time being forced to slog through utter garbage written by Australian authors to supposedly help we young folks through the various trials involved in ascending to lofty adulthood - read: tales of surfing bogans and the feel-good adventures of shite football teams.
-
Post by: Starver on November 27, 2017, 09:01:10 am
At age 11+-ish, the book was The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (quintessentially upper-middle-class characters in a classroom of mid-to-low-working-class/black-collar kids, which only added to the Fantasy setting, atop the historical overtones of wartime and pre-Baby Boomer values). At 15/16ish there was Of Mice And Men (drawing upon our cousins' roll of literature, not sure if Grapes Of Wrath/Cannery Row were open options for the teacher). In the midst of that there were several Shakespearean plays beat mercilessly into us (R&J, JC, AMND) in a way that inspired us mostly negatively (I was already an unwitting and atypical fan of the Bard, as it happened, but that was a low-point in my interest and only afterwards bounced back up).
Ah yeah, now I remember getting Animal Farm, as well. Bad memories of the teaching of it, though I appreciate it for what it is (and didn't then benefit any longer from any clever-herbert trying to show off by 'revealing' that it's a political allegory, 'cos now I definitely knew it).
And there may have been War Of The Worlds. But that may have been a peer-group thing, not school.
Post by: nenjin on November 27, 2017, 11:38:04 am
In short, "Literary Fiction" is a sham made up by academics in an attempt to deify the mundane.
^
So much of what I had to read in school was the dramatization of average, every day stuff. Like I said, I prefer history to that kind of fiction.
Post by: Doomblade187 on November 27, 2017, 04:47:35 pm
Larry Correia (http://monsterhunternation.com/mhi-sample/)
Above are my two favorite authors at the moment. Armor is excellent, hard emotional punching sci find that crushes my spirit and makes my cry on the inside.
And Larry Correia writes excellent books about shooting monsters while complex plots play out in the background. Very well written, excellent gun details.
Post by: Parsely on November 27, 2017, 05:25:53 pm
Incidentally they also bagged on Ender's Game, which is a book I've actually read, and I thought their review was more or less on point, but they're kind of relentless in their criticism.
Post by: thvaz on November 27, 2017, 07:34:15 pm
Post by: JoshuaFH on March 24, 2018, 02:23:02 pm
Why am I just so in love with old dead people that barely anyone know about?
Post by: Spehss _ on March 26, 2018, 10:06:19 pm
Not very far into it yet. I find that I'm internally narrating it in a cheesy Russian accent. Must be all the Ukrainian names and the USSR setting.
Post by: WealthyRadish on March 26, 2018, 10:30:38 pm
Post by: Yoink on May 03, 2018, 04:27:39 am
How was that for a run-on sentence? Whew.
Anyway, it's the sequel to He Died With A Felafel [sic] In His Hand, the best-known book by hands-down Australia's greatest author.
I'd been meaning to read this for years, so finding a copy at work that I ended up paying less than a dollar for was amazing. The only other book of JB's that I've read was Dopeland, which was entertaining enough but in more of a documentary style and focused mainly on a single topic.
So far, Babes seems pretty great, although it remains to be seen if it can possibly live up to the literary joy that was Felafel. :D
Post by: Mephisto on May 07, 2018, 09:24:17 am
The PDF of the RPG was released two months ago. I purchased it a few days back with the intention of running it at some point. In order to be vaguely accurate to the source material, I should probably finish my book and go see if the library has the remaining two. So Promise of Blood is back on my table.
If you're into flintlock fantasy, give it a go.
Post by: JoshuaFH on May 07, 2018, 10:26:13 am
Post by: Telgin on May 07, 2018, 11:03:39 am
Someone lent it to me, so I'm having a read through it. He lent me the first one too, which was a very interesting read, as this one is turning out to be.
While there are probably places you could poke holes in the logic or conclusions, in general it seems pretty sound and is definitely food for thought at least.
Post by: scourge728 on May 10, 2018, 12:43:17 pm
Post by: birdy51 on May 10, 2018, 09:19:37 pm
Post by: JoshuaFH on May 22, 2018, 08:38:20 pm
I was honestly hoping for some humorous Trump-bashing, which I'm always up for... Well, it does bash Trump, but it's also full of disjointed blog posts pretending to be book chapters filled to bursting with sickening Liberal bellyaching; one of the 15 or so co-authors takes the words right out of my mouth in describing his own behavior as 'liberal crying', not that that makes me cut him any slack. They talk about their children, and how mutually devastated they and their precious little angels are, but I'm getting the sneaking suspicion as I'm reading this that these parents are psychologically projecting their political dismay onto their children, and then writing about it as though it were fact. I guess I can't prove that though, it's just the feeling I get from being a reader for years and picking up little between-the-lines hunches that you get when someone is incensed and arguing through a highly emotionally distorted viewpoint.
Though I did stomach it and continue reading to the end of the book, because of the many co-authors, all of them are a minority in some way, and I'd atleast like the genuine opinion of people that have a perspective that is fundamentally different and imperceptible to my privileged and relatively carefree straight white male existence. In that one facet, the book is very interesting.
Post by: Mephisto on June 12, 2018, 09:12:00 pm
Post by: Aliemma on June 21, 2018, 12:15:25 pm
Post by: Yoink on June 29, 2018, 02:34:56 am
I started reading East of Eden about a week ago. Bloody hell, what an excellent book. Plenty of sadness and other emotion mixed up in with the Happy, mind you, but that's the case with most any book worth getting excited about.
Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned it in here already, but the last book I finished was The Skating Rink. That was also a great read, but you'd be a fool to expect anything less from Bolaño.
Post by: WealthyRadish on July 10, 2018, 03:25:15 pm
The most interesting thing about Grapes of Wrath to me was the way it demonstrated the homologous nature of land management under private ownership between relatively modern times in the US and the early development of European capitalism. We often don't think of America as having had a peasant class, with the word peasant itself being considered something of the old world, but there's hardly another term to describe the homesteaders-turned-sharecroppers, and their fate was precisely that which was met by European peasants in the 1400s onward under land consolidation and commercialization. The other interesting thing about GoW was the degree to which its oblique socialist themes seem to have been either minimized or grafted onto liberalism.
I enjoyed Animal Farm, but what niggled at the back of my head the whole time was the thought that the typical high school or college graduate American reading it would be totally lost without the basic historical familiarity that's necessary to understand its obvious allusions, and would come away from the book likely with nothing more than a vaguely anti-revolutionary sentiment. It actually makes me disappointed that the book has had such wide circulation, since of all Orwell's works this is probably the one giving him the most velocity as he spins in his grave.
The Conquest of Bread was a surprise to me. I didn't know what to expect, but I came away with finding that Kropotkin had concisely (more or less) expressed most the principles I find organizing my own thoughts on society. Its reputation as a "practical" handbook is totally undeserved however, as however greatly I identified with and admired his arguments, the absence of anything concrete was noticeable (but perhaps that comes with the territory).
Post by: NJW2000 on July 10, 2018, 03:31:06 pm
Especially interesting as I'm in Prague right now, though I honestly prefer the book to the city.
Post by: Yoink on July 12, 2018, 01:54:10 am
I'm getting near the end but I feel like there's still a lot of life left in it.
No idea what I'll read next, this is almost definitely one of those books that you need to meditate on for a while afterwards, rather than just diving into your next read.
Post by: Enemy post on July 28, 2018, 10:06:05 pm
Post by: Starver on July 29, 2018, 01:51:54 am
I'm finally done reading Lovecraft. I was going to read Little Women next, but then I found out that the Dinosaur Lords series exists so I have to read that first./imagines Lovecraft/Little Women/Dinosaur Lords triple-crossover, fanfiction... They were made for each other!
Post by: Yoink on August 03, 2018, 10:24:11 pm
I ended up finding a copy at my old job and kept it for free after a co-worker cannibalised it for the cat pictures on the cover.
Before that, I blitzed through Joyland, which I'm pretty sure is the first Stephen King novel I've read. Not entirely sure what I thought of it, I guess my general impression was more-or-less positive?
It was enjoyable enough, in any case.
And before that, I read a fairly mediocre book called Asking For Trouble by some Australian author and Reheated Cabbage by the ever-brilliant Irvine Welsh.
Although it must be said, despite making me cry on one or two occasions, cabbage seemed to be on the whole far more uplifting than usual. Normally his stories are anything but, with perhaps the occasional "happy ending" (or at least Phyrric victory) thrown in to mix it up. This time, though, I actually felt gladdened by the ending, as opposed to the usual emotional brutalisation.
Those last two were library books, though. Gotta get my own copy of Cabbage sometime, as well as Glue (I shall have to make a Welsh checklist, I'm actually starting to have trouble remembering which of his books I've read without looking at covers or synopses).
Post by: Yoink on August 16, 2018, 09:15:32 pm
The book I am reading has made me laugh on several occasions thus far, with varying levels of intensity. Considering it was just a last-minute grab at the library that I picked up more-or-less at random for the sole purpose of padding my selection of borrowed books up to an even number, I am quite pleasantly surprised.The book is called Skippy Dies, by Paul Murray.
It's what the library classes as "adult fiction" but set in and around a "secondary school" and told largely from the perspective of its students, so the darkness and depths of its themes can catch one off-guard at times.
It also surprises with the quality and emotion of its prose, from time to time - for something that, probably, overall would be classed as comedic, the book has more than its fair share of feels.
If I were to offer comparisons to other, memorable books I've read set in schools, I'd say it barely approaches the comedic genius of Don't Call Me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer, but - seeing as the latter is actually a young adult book (albeit the best such book I've ever encountered) - greatly surpasses it in terms of violence, sex, drugs and adult themes in general.
Y'know. If you need such things in a book.
I'd say it's far better than Me, Earl and the Dying Girl, which I read only recently but which has already faded largely from memory, though perhaps I should re-read that one at some point to be sure.
Another similarly-themed novel is Henry Tumour, which I haven't read in freaking years and yet still find myself thinking of from time to time as I read this book... I definitely need to dig up my copy of that one and refresh my memory.
Perhaps I can set this small sub-set of books against one another in gladiatorial combat until just one could be crowned as the best, something I would never be able to do with books in general, heh.
Edit: oh wow, this book is getting more and more twisted. Gloriously so.
My planned recommendation of it on Facebook might have to come with a disclaimer at this rate, haha!
Post by: Enemy post on November 17, 2018, 03:10:23 pm
Post by: Yoink on November 17, 2018, 10:40:19 pm
In other news, I recently finished reading A Flag For Sunrise by Robert Stone (helluva book, that) and am now re-reading The City of Marvels by Eduardo Mendoza for the first time in years after finally getting a new copy. It's pretty great, especially if you have an interest in Catalan history...
Post by: heydude6 on November 19, 2018, 11:40:57 pm
Has anyone heard of the Left/Right Game? (https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/7asz8x/has_anyone_heard_of_the_leftright_game_part_1/)Hah! A fellow Redditor too I see. I just read the last part today. Great story. Honestly one of the best I've ever read.
If any of you guys are hesitant, just read a bit of the first post. The writing should draw you in almost immediately and unlike some other stories, it stays good all the way to the end.
I'll probably be spending the rest of my week trying to convince my friends to read it. Good fiction does that to me I guess.
Post by: Yoink on December 07, 2018, 03:06:07 am
It's non-fiction, but with just the right mix of novel-like prose, crunchy facts and personal digressions that give you a sense of who your narrator is without derailing things and going off on some masturbatory tangent. It's pretty good, not the sort of thing I'd normally read but I am gripped.
Before that I read Sean and David's Long Drive, which was... solidly mediocre. I don't know, I feel like I might be being a bit hard on the book. The reviewer quote on the front cover claiming that Sean Condon "comes off like Hunter S. Thompson on prescription drugs" certainly doesn't help by setting such ridiculously grand expectations. Maybe in the '90s prescription medication was seen to be far less exciting? I don't know.
It made me chuckle at least twice, so it certainly had its moments even if for the most part it felt like it was trying too hard.
Also been reading a few comics/graphic novels (technically the latter I guess, since I'm just reading collected volumes).
I re-read The Last Days of American Crime (like reading a friggin' movie - in a good way. Remender and Tocchini are a mother-lovin' dream team, another collaboration of theirs, Low, has to be one of my all-time favourite comics) and a volume of Stray Bullets, the most recent one I possess. I really need to track down the other recent collected volumes to get myself back up to date... apparently the Sunshine and Roses arc is finally coming to an end, so I could potentially start keeping up with the single issues in the not-too-distant future!
I'll probably be too broke to do any of that, though. Plus there's that beautiful, $70 hardcover collection of Low starting at me every time I wander into yon comic shoppe... ehh, what's money for if not comic books? *shrug*
Oh yeah! Before I forget, my current graphic novel is a volume of Criminal, which is apparently a gritty crime anthology series, borrowed from the library just before. I've seen various editions of Criminal before but never really looked into it, for some reasons I can't quite remember.
So far it's good, I don't know if the primary art style is entirely my "thing" but it has definitely got me in.
Not sure if the other entries in the series are particularly similar, if the regurgitated media gushing on the back cover is anything to go by this book was something of a departure, but... I shall definitely have to check them out and see.
Awright, that's what I'm reading.
I re-borrowed Shardik again too, need to figure out where I was up to and try to get back into it.
It's such a long book that I would probably be better off buying my own damn copy and taking my time with it, though.
Post by: Enemy post on December 09, 2018, 10:44:56 pm
Post by: heydude6 on December 09, 2018, 10:45:38 pm
Post by: Enemy post on December 09, 2018, 11:24:01 pm
War and Peace though, that one really stuck with me after I finished it. It took major effort to get through, but the Shmoop study guide I read was very helpful. I really wouldn't recommend anyone try reading it purely on their own. Along with the need to remember how the characters various family trees and alternate names work, Tolstoy and his target audience are Russian nobles from 150 years ago. A guide helps to understand various cultural concepts that Tolstoy considered too obvious to explain but are confusing now, such as why everyone freely speaks untranslated French in the early parts.
However, after you get through the difficult parts, there's some serious depth to that book. It's an account of the various lives of these nobles in all their tediously realistic detail. Hearing about all the mundane things in their lives makes it feel you're getting to know these characters like actual people. I probably remember the Christmas sledding scene about as well as I remember some actual Christmas celebrations I've been to. With this degree of buildup, the stakes feel significantly higher whenever Tolstoy decides to raise them.
And then Napoleon gets dropped on their collective heads.
There's also a good deal of interesting philosophy on Determinism and the Great Man theory of history. Tolstoy champions the former and is critical of the latter.
Also a policeman gets tied to a bear and thrown in a river by drunks. And if you get through it, at least you can brag to people about having read War and Peace.
*Just noticed the question is also technically asking about Red Son. It's one of the best Superman stories. It's set in a world where Superman's rocket lands 12 hours later and ends up in Soviet-era Ukraine. Superman thus grows up a Communist. The best part is that he never really breaks character. Superman is the same fundamentally benevolent person he usually is, but in this world he's far more authoritarian and willing to interfere with people's lives if he feels it's for the greater good.
Post by: heatwave on January 24, 2019, 05:17:36 am
Post by: itisnotlogical on January 31, 2019, 08:18:28 am
I just don't quite understand the layout of the cellars underneath the opera house. There's many basements, and then a lake deep underground, which can somehow also be accessed by a street from ground level...?
Post by: Mephisto on January 31, 2019, 01:01:49 pm
Quick poll before you continue. Urban fantasy book. Basically modern day plus magic. What city are you imagining?
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Levi on January 31, 2019, 03:49:52 pm
I really hope the writing quality improves after the first book though. Its been really hard to read.
It took me a while to figure out why random words seem to be capitalized until I figured out that periods were left out all over the place. Its also had a paragraph break actually start mid-sentence and often scene changes happen without even a paragraph break.
Its very confusing to read.
Post by: heydude6 on January 31, 2019, 04:16:22 pm
I've started up on the Discworld series.Seems like you bought a bad edition. My version of the first book doesn’t have those problems.
I really hope the writing quality improves after the first book though. Its been really hard to read.
It took me a while to figure out why random words seem to be capitalized until I figured out that periods were left out all over the place. Its also had a paragraph break actually start mid-sentence and often scene changes happen without even a paragraph break.
Its very confusing to read.
As for the improvements in writing quality, it will take until book 4 for things to finally start getting good. I found the second book to be very frustrating, (though I read it anyway cause I wanted to finish the story of the first book, feel free to skip it if you don’t care about it), book 3 is essentially non-canon and I definitely recommend skipping it cause it hurts the story of book 5 which is actually a pretty good read. After that things should be smoother, there will still be a few duds along the way (I’m not really a fan of Wyrd Sisters), but then you’ll get classics like Guards, Guards, Guards; Men at arms; Small Gods; and Hogfather
Post by: Starver on January 31, 2019, 04:45:29 pm
Fairly quickly things form up, as heydude says.
I do like Wyrd Sisters (but then I like and am familiar with Shakespearean themes), and it starts to set out what the future Witches books do well (not so obvious in Equal Rites, which introduced Granny) and everyone probably has an above-the-average-level favoured book if one of the 'theme' books does their area of interest justice, while others wonder what it actually is about, to some extent.
It gets into pace, IMO, by the point of Guards! Guards!, although there's something to said about Mort too, and how it establishes the main character of Death properly (in TCOM you get Him 'killing' things out of frustration, which he specifically doesn't do later) , and I am wont to argue that the Patrician of the first book is Vetinari (but in his guise of "hail the new boss, same as the old boss" necessary to get put into power, before slimming down and becoming his own brand), but you'll perhaps see that for yourself if you stick with it.
There's a rich resource of Discworldly information out there to appreciate (Mappes, etc) which were created beyond your current point of interest but rationalise well with the ad hoc geography (discography?) you started with. But I suggest you start off just enjoying the ride. Either go through the first few books by date written or consult a Reading Order Guide to follow a theme and skip over another. I have no idea what you'd find interesting, though. It may be you'd get quite into Rincewind (and the Unseen University faculty in general) while not 'getting' the City Watch.
But I leave you to decide this journey yourself. I think it's rewarding, but I've already proven myself as a fan, and so I may be a bit biased. I found Harry Potter 'derivative', and yet obviously others disagree with me, so... you know.
Post by: Enemy post on January 31, 2019, 04:51:18 pm
Post by: Loud Whispers on January 31, 2019, 07:07:44 pm
I do intend to one day do a shitty spinoff where post-WWIII Ahab hunts down a nuclear mega-whale with a devil RPG
Post by: heydude6 on January 31, 2019, 10:38:54 pm
Either go through the first few books by date written or consult a Reading Order Guide to follow a theme and skip over another. I have no idea what you'd find interesting, though. It may be you'd get quite into Rincewind (and the Unseen University faculty in general) while not 'getting' the City Watch.
That's something I really don't agree with. Though I do understand the benefits of using a reading list (I think it's incredibly important that you read the 5th book before you read the 3rd book), I find that it usually suffices to read the books in release order. I have a friend who has been reading it in order of themes (Every Rincewind book first, then every Witches book, then Death, and etc.), and I really think he's getting an inferior reading experience from this. Many of the books have callbacks to previous books of different themes that he won't understand if he sticks to just one of them at a time. Another thing to note is that as the books progress, Pratchett matures as an author, but if you start a new theme then you go back to the jank of the early days temporarily. That doesn't even get into the standalone books such as "The Truth" and "Small Gods".
I've been mostly reading in release order (minus a bit of accidental jumbling of the early books due to difficulties finding copies at the time), and it's been fine. Sometimes you have to endure a bad book, but you get an experience closer to what the author intended.
Post by: Starver on January 31, 2019, 11:56:23 pm
The actions of Small Gods (in the century before most of the other books' events) also introduce The Sweeper far in advance(!) of Thief Of Time, with The Truth setting up a couple of characters seen later in the Watch and Lipwig books (slightly more than cameos). There's very few truly stand-alones. The ones that appeared tended to spawn a continuation later on. The Amazing Maurice spun off a single-location scene 20 books earlier, in a newish part of the Disc not far from the areas dealt with 4 and 5 books earlier, but doesn't carry forward. Pyramids takes a pre-written AM guild experience over to a location barely mentioned in later works, though arguably it links into Small Gods, like Moving Pictures leads into various "Revolutionary Developments" successors.
It is simpler to read them in published order, but I can imagine someone who really didn't get on with an entire arc finding being forced to endure that arc a discouragement in attempting to follow the 41 basic books. Being aware of which arcs there are and which books are in them could save that trouble.
But caveat lector. It's a body of work that can be quickly addictive, or could just do with letting mature in the mind by revisiting some of them, from in amongst the whole series, and then appreciating the relative significance of the others.
(And you also have three made-for-TV movies/series, semi-direct from the books, which might be best watched only after reading the source material, plus two animations likewise. I highly recommend the Soul Music one, for the songs progressing through genres, even if it butchers some of the plot along the way. But that's getting towards "advanced fandom" and getting away from reading. If I went on in that thread I might end up mentioning Discworld Noir (the third PC game, all new plot) or the MUD (http://discworld.starturtle.net/lpc/)!)
Post by: Yoink on February 07, 2019, 10:31:36 am
Bloody hell, I love all this cunt's books but this is truly an epic.
It's half past two in the morning (oh hey it's my birthday) and I'd planned on stopping at several page number milestones throughout the evening, but at this point it's just a runaway truck packed with various feels and shocks and joy and I'm there unable to escape if I wanted to.
Barry.
Post by: hector13 on February 08, 2019, 02:38:45 pm
I started Moby Dick, then sidetracked when I was recommended Dresden. I also read All Tomorrows. That one was a sort of tragic/creepy history of humanity's next billion years.
I am also reading Moby Dick.
It is frustrating because it is simultaneously very interesting and WHY ARE YOU GIVING ME 70 MILLION EXAMPLES OF WHY SOMETHING BEING WHITE MAKES IT MORE TERRIFYING FUCK
Post by: Yoink on February 14, 2019, 12:29:42 am
Was nice to get more backstory on some of the central characters in Welsh's later books that I'd already read, too.
Now I'm back to reading The Mosquito Coast, courtesy of the local library. Interesting characters and dynamics surrounding them, as well as (a) fascinating setting(s) and writing adequate to immerse you in it/them. I am very much enjoying it so far, even if the author is apparently the father of that POS Louis Theroux.
Post by: hector13 on February 14, 2019, 10:20:47 pm
... that POS Louie Theroux.
u wot
Post by: Yoink on February 14, 2019, 10:29:45 pm
Post by: Loud Whispers on February 14, 2019, 11:12:17 pm
I am also reading Moby Dick.BECAUSE PURITAN THEOLOGY SOWN WITH DOUBT STRIKES YOU WHITE WITH TERROR
It is frustrating because it is simultaneously very interesting and WHY ARE YOU GIVING ME 70 MILLION EXAMPLES OF WHY SOMETHING BEING WHITE MAKES IT MORE TERRIFYING FUCK
Post by: Yoink on February 15, 2019, 02:09:02 am
Now I'm back to reading The Mosquito Coast...Okay, this book is good. Some of the themes kind of give me DF/Rimworld vibes.
Reckon I might have to acquire my own copy.
Post by: Vattic on March 22, 2019, 10:25:17 pm
Post by: Enemy post on March 24, 2019, 03:35:41 pm
Now that I'm finished with that, I'm looking forward to rereading Jurassic Park.
Post by: Arx on March 25, 2019, 03:59:48 am
Finally got around to reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant (Seth Dickinson; sold as just The Traitor in the UK). I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned some of the rave reviews were just because the protagonist is a queer black woman, but the book is fantastic and I highly recommend it.
Also re-reading The Three Body Problem by Liú Cíxīn / Cixin Liu. It's great fringe-of-plausibility hard sci-fi with a lot of compelling characters. It's also got a lot of unique Chinese flavour, which Ken Liu does a fantastic job of translating; it's a little like Russian media that plays with the USSR and its aftereffects, except with the Cultural Revolution and general Chinese isolationism instead.
Post by: heydude6 on March 26, 2019, 08:27:37 am
Finally got around to reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant (Seth Dickinson; sold as just The Traitor in the UK). I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned some of the rave reviews were just because the protagonist is a queer black woman, but the book is fantastic and I highly recommend it.
Speaking of overhyped books, I recently finished reading Foe by Lain Reid. It has a good ending but otherwise it’s nothing special. It does a good job at making you uncomfortable with the situation the protagonist is in, but the characters themselves don’t do much to get you emotionally invested in them.
My fundamental problem with this book is that it isn’t a pleasure to read. The prose isn’t particularly compelling and the plot moves so slowly that interesting developments aren’t enough to keep you engaged. It does read quickly though, but I think that’s just a consequence of the simple language.
Post by: Arx on March 26, 2019, 10:37:09 am
Post by: Yoink on April 01, 2019, 05:26:53 am
I remember it causing a bit of fuss when it came out, and at this point it is living up to the hype! Quite an enjoyable read so far, even if the quotes from gushing critics calling it the "Australian 'To Kill a Mockingbird'" might be laying it on a bit thick.
Post by: sprinkled chariot on April 01, 2019, 06:49:37 am
Well, except probably most poetic depictions of growing beans.
Post by: nenjin on April 11, 2019, 03:08:41 pm
It's....intense. I say "fiction" because it's more of a disclaimer on Rollin's part than it actually relating to the narrative. It's basically paragraph after paragraph of Rollins' ranting, putting his damaged goods on display, gnashing his teeth at everyone and everything, going further and further down the rabbit hole of a singular, isolated existence where only strength and survival matter, and literally no one or nothing else does. It's not limped-wristed, laconic nihilism. It's a furious nihilism wrapped in utter, desperate selfishness. There's no traditional story here, just different moments and rants strung together.
It's plain awful at times and makes Rollins look a bit like a psychopath. He's clearly relating his personal experiences, and feelings and thoughts. I guess part of the reason I started getting back in to Rollins is I have a lot of directionless anger, so why not listen to the guy who has built a life on it, see where it's gotten him and how he handled. Turns out he had to grow up some. Solipsist was written in 1998 and 21 years can't help but change someone. Rollins now isn't the same guy that wrote the book then. I read some of what he says and it resonates deeply with me, how being alone by choice rather than playing "the game" and sociability in general has its drawbacks and consequences for people who feel pretty displaced, who are perhaps a wee bit too self-absorbed. Some of the things he says, I myself have thought and wished verbatim.
On the other hand the savagery with which he goes after the rest of existence, the sheer desire for violence just to exercise his own demons, the seething contempt he has for other people's choices in life and the arrogance of that, reading that has made me realize I'm not as angry as he was, or is. That I'm probably harder on myself for my anger than maybe I sometimes should be because I've not gone to these depths. That despite how I feel sometimes, I don't fundamentally reject people, or personal connections, or friendship. That I'm not so horribly damaged that I refuse to let people in for fear of what they'll see. This book might have done me some real harm as a younger guy, and driven me to some intense things. As an adult though, I think it's kinda helped contextualize my anger, and given me an example of what I might have started becoming but have moved away from.
So you know, a little light reading.
Post by: Enemy post on April 11, 2019, 03:33:49 pm
Post by: birdy51 on April 11, 2019, 04:48:06 pm
I have a weird and varied taste in literature.
Post by: Yoink on May 15, 2019, 12:52:15 am
Honestly I just started reading a li'l to refresh my memory as to whether it would make a good recommendation for my mother to read.
The jury's still out, but it is an amazing and horrifying book and I feel as though it is either a perfect fit for my current, messed-up state of mind or a horrible mistake to read. Who knows. I might horf into my airport coffee at this rate.
Post by: itisnotlogical on May 15, 2019, 01:13:26 am
Post by: Iduno on May 15, 2019, 09:30:16 am
Been distracted from The Third Reich and am re-reading John Dies At the End, which I have forgotten many details of but found a new copy of the other day.
Honestly I just started reading a li'l to refresh my memory as to whether it would make a good recommendation for my mother to read.
The jury's still out, but it is an amazing and horrifying book and I feel as though it is either a perfect fit for my current, messed-up state of mind or a horrible mistake to read. Who knows. I might horf into my airport coffee at this rate.
That sounds like a good headspace for reading a book titled "This book is full of spiders..."
Post by: brewer bob on May 15, 2019, 10:17:56 am
My mom wasn't reading her borrowed copy of 1984 so I picked it up again. I'd forgotten what it was like to read a book that totally grips you with every word.
A good read, and one of my all-time favourite books.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on May 15, 2019, 12:11:35 pm
Post by: brewer bob on May 15, 2019, 03:01:52 pm
I'm reading a thread titled "What are you reading?"What a coincidence that I happened to be reading the same thread! :o
Post by: heydude6 on May 15, 2019, 08:54:10 pm
So why do I feel so sad then? Well it's mainly because of the fact that I love it for personal reasons rather than objective reasons. The book is very angsty and though I enjoy the angst, I realize that there's a pretty good chance that some of it is not that well written and my personal biases are just blinding me. In other words, it's a book that I would have difficulty sharing with others.
I guess the reason why I'm posting here is because I want to know if anyone else here has read Interview? What did they think of it? Did they like it or did they think it wasn't that good? I'm just hoping I can discuss it with someone.
Post by: Yoink on June 18, 2019, 11:07:20 pm
'Twas a lucky find in an op-shop when I was visiting family a month or so ago. As I ransacked the book section I came across it and at first was rather uninspired by its dorky cover art, but then I thought "Neuromancer... I've heard of that!"
Wasn't this book basically the grand daddy of cyberpunk? Or one of its progenitors, at least? It's quite good so far, I'm a little over halfway.
In the same book haul (the place didn't exactly have the best range, but they let you fill a bag of books for $5 so you better believe I picked the eyes out of the selection!) I scored a copy of John Dies At the End, which was nice since I have no idea what happened to my old copy - I re-read it already.
I was pretty stoked. :D
Post by: USEC_OFFICER on June 19, 2019, 07:11:57 am
Post by: catacombs on July 18, 2019, 04:20:01 pm
Post by: Yoink on July 19, 2019, 08:21:57 am
Neuromancer is the progenitor of cyberpunk, or at least something very close. If you like it you should look at some of the other novels Gibson wrote. Neuromancer is very much a first book and so lacks some of the polish that Gibson's latter novels have. The Difference Engine was kinda disjointed but the rest I read were good.I thought that was the case! Awesome, I finished reading it. It read very much like a hard-bitten pulp noir transplanted into the far future, something about the prose that I can't quite put my finger on. I definitely enjoyed it, even if I'm not ashamed to admit some of its far-out technobabble went right over my head - I kinda like that, though, when a book plunges you into its world without so much as a glossary to guide yourself by.
Again, like a noir with all their gritty gangster/private eye dialect, just from a far-removed setting.
I also finished reading Web, by John Wyndham, which I'd started reading before being distracted by Neuromancer and then reading them both concurrently. It was good, though without nearly as much depth as Day of the Triffids, but then it was apparently published posthumously so it probably wasn't quite a finished product at the time. It makes it into "not too far-fetched" territory, which is what makes it reasonably unsettling despite its age.
Now I'm reading Cogan's Trade. I watched Killing Them Softly once years ago and remember a few vague plot points, but it's been long enough that I have no idea how closely it actually followed the events of the book, haha. It's an odd read, full of rambling, conversational, believable dialogues between characters that you kinda hafta imagine 'em saying to really get.
Enjoyable so far, though. I'll probably finish it on my flight tomorrow.
Oh, I'm reading a wonderful Mad magazine collection of vintage comics by one of their artists named Will Elder, too! I think I've only read one of his original parodies before (in a special edition re-issue of an old magazine), but it's fascinating to see how his style seems to have influenced Mad as a whole.
Post by: catacombs on July 19, 2019, 01:26:54 pm
Post by: TeaAndRum on July 31, 2019, 07:57:06 am
Post by: Eschar on July 31, 2019, 03:48:37 pm
Post by: pondicherry on August 05, 2019, 07:46:15 am
It was a good way to review some of the french revolutions ideas/history - having lots of fun.
Post by: catacombs on August 09, 2019, 03:35:24 pm
Post by: mangointango on August 12, 2019, 12:16:57 pm
Post by: Jopax on August 13, 2019, 03:02:05 am
I dropped Seveneves. Really boring and too much into the technical details of space travel.
Starting Don Winslow's The Border, the final book in his "Power of the Dog" series, which I recommend everyone should read.
I managed to get trough the first part mostly because it played with some interesting tech ideas, even tho it had some really poorly done tropes shoved in (with hamfisted social commentary no less). But then the second part comes around it's got all new characters which are completely uninteresting and there's a mystery which isn't one, and worse yet is completely fuckng dumb once its explained. I just gave up on it after a few chapters and read the synopys online, saves a bunch of trouble and annoyance.
I will say tho, that despite the dryness and a requirement of taking notes just to follow it at first, Anathem was suprisingly engaging and a fun read at the end.
Post by: Arx on August 13, 2019, 04:00:54 am
That being said, the prose in Seveneves is pretty good.
Post by: Mephisto on October 26, 2019, 04:32:14 pm
Picked up Every Word You Cannot Say last night on a whim. As someone who isn't really into poetry, it's actually pretty good. It's basically self-care poetry and I'd give it a strong recommend.
Post by: Iduno on December 01, 2019, 11:16:40 pm
So I've been catching up on the humor webcomic(s) Bobbins/Scary Go Round/Bad Machinery. It's called Bobbins again. It's very British in a very specific, mostly made-up way. It's about...well, it varies. Scary Go Round was mostly horror that turned out to not be so horrible. Bad Machinery was mysteries. Bobbins was mostly just story arcs that characters created by being entertaining idiots (which is also what caused the problems in the other comics).
Post by: catacombs on December 07, 2019, 10:54:04 pm
Post by: Iduno on December 09, 2019, 09:12:11 am
English Teachers have instilled in me a terrible and lifelong hatred of reading that can only be suppressed for short periods.
That's a shame. Reading is fun. Do you know of a genre that interests you?
Not really. Anything I used to enjoy takes longer to get started than I can manage to keep interested. I think I made it through the short story the obelisk from 2001 was introduced in, but it took 2 days.
Post by: nogoodnames on December 09, 2019, 04:40:06 pm
Spoiler: Plot details ahead (click to show/hide)
Post by: Enemy post on December 09, 2019, 05:54:54 pm
Spoiler: Re:Elevation (click to show/hide)
Post by: nogoodnames on December 09, 2019, 06:13:58 pm
Post by: ChairmanPoo on December 09, 2019, 06:34:02 pm
I only read it once a year ago, but I'm suddenly struck by a desire to express my deep dislike of Stephen King's Elevation.It's also a straight rip-off of an Asimov story, I think. One which actually had two versionsSpoiler: Plot details ahead (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: nogoodnames on December 09, 2019, 06:53:17 pm
It's also a straight rip-off of an Asimov story, I think.Any idea what it was called?
Oh, I almost forgot. The book won the Goodreads choice for horror... despite lacking any horror elements whatsoever. Imagine being an aspiring horror novelist and seeing that.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on December 09, 2019, 06:59:58 pm
"Belief"It's also a straight rip-off of an Asimov story, I think.Any idea what it was called?
Oh, I almost forgot. The book won the Goodreads choice for horror... despite lacking any horror elements whatsoever. Imagine being an aspiring horror novelist and seeing that.
http://www.asimovreviews.net/Stories/Story013.html
Post by: Eschar on January 03, 2020, 12:36:29 am
I'm re-reading his Dark Tower series; currently on Wizard and Glass.
Post by: NRDL on January 07, 2020, 09:41:44 pm
Just absolutely wonderful stories of magic and people.
Post by: Yoink on February 05, 2020, 02:18:45 am
Pretty sure I've read other stuff since I last posted in here, but I'm a li'l drunk and I just want to rave about this book. I was loving it pretty much from the first chapter.
It's like a perfect book for me. A mixture of the often-bleak minuteae of everyday existence, presented in abstract prose that is beautiful in its starkness, adventure in a strange, sometimes inhospitable foreign place, a deep delve into human nature, family and emotions without ever waxing philosophical or dragging on in the least, a fascinating setting (described in just enough detail) whose inhabitants keep memories of their land's past close to their hearts and tell stories of it even as the modern age forges ahead leaving them behind, and, well, a relatable, hopeless goof of a protagonist with a good heart and a smooth brain.
I don't know, a lot of these words of description I came up with when I'd first started reading this book and I probably didn't get my points across nearly as eloquently as I'd hoped to, but still.
It just keeps getting better, too. Can't believe I'd never even heard of this author.
Post by: delphonso on February 05, 2020, 02:24:04 am
Post by: Teneb on February 05, 2020, 09:05:50 am
It's a bit hard to read due to the style, but it's a classic so I'll give it an honest chance.
Post by: Yoink on February 05, 2020, 09:29:30 am
Finally digging into Shogun by James Clavell. I found a copy in my father's house and read the first chapter - I was a bit dubious at first, but past that I have really started getting into it.Oh, I have a copy of that somewhere, unless somebody got rid of it. Not sure it ever especially grabbed my attention (I guess I was dubious, too), but maybe I should read it sometime.
Started reading Grandes Sertões: Veredas.That looks kinda fascinating! It's a shame that, from what I've read, its style doesn't really carry across well upon translation, but I wouldn't mind tracking down the best English version and giving it a try sometime. Also, I was reading about that period of time and the activities of cangaceiros not long ago and I'm pretty sure I'd planned on reading a book about Lampião at some point.
It's a bit hard to read due to the style, but it's a classic so I'll give it an honest chance.
Post by: NJW2000 on February 05, 2020, 12:46:05 pm
It's pretty anime tbh.
Post by: Eschar on February 05, 2020, 05:40:36 pm
Paradise Lost.
"...of adamantine chains and penal fire..."
Post by: Mephisto on February 06, 2020, 01:03:29 pm
Uncanny Collateral. (https://www.amazon.com/Uncanny-Collateral-Valkyrie-Collections-Book-ebook/dp/B07N52XNYR) Get a load of that book description.
Post by: heydude6 on February 06, 2020, 02:38:16 pm
Post by: NRDL on February 08, 2020, 05:23:06 am
Post by: Yoink on February 14, 2020, 02:10:37 am
Now to decide what to read next. This is kind of a different challenge to usual, since all of my stacks of books were upended, rearranged and packed into various boxes that are now stored around the room I'm staying in.
Lots of books I'd almost forgotten about have surfaced during this process, and it's a matter of digging out books in the order I can reach them.
One of the titles in the top of one box was For Whom the Bell Tolls, and I briefly gave it another go, but... the fact that it's based on a real conflict and from the perspective of one of the bad guys doesn't sit too well with me.
It's silly, I know. But when I have so many books to choose from it's easy to feel unsatisfied with what you're reading, and it is kind of nice to have a relatable protagonist.
Hmmm. Might see what else I can dig out.
I wish I had my whole collection catalogued so that I could ask y'all for recommendations.
Post by: Yoink on March 02, 2020, 09:10:12 am
Kinda makes me want to go back-packing and Bush-bashing across South-East Asia, though...
Post by: Eschar on March 02, 2020, 07:34:06 pm
Post by: Yoink on March 04, 2020, 05:27:19 am
In its own, very unusual way, it's turning out to pack as much of a gut-punch as certain Irvine Welsh novels. I've had to stop for a moment just now to catch my breath, and that's only a minor exaggeration.
I want to gush about it, but I don't want to spoil anything. I'm far enough in to whole-heartedly recommend it.
Post by: Eschar on March 04, 2020, 06:33:02 pm
Holy hell, this book just gets better and better.
In its own, very unusual way, it's turning out to pack as much of a gut-punch as certain Irvine Welsh novels. I've had to stop for a moment just now to catch my breath, and that's only a minor exaggeration.
I want to gush about it, but I don't want to spoil anything. I'm far enough in to whole-heartedly recommend it.
What book is it?
...the vaguebook from the other thread?
Post by: Yoink on March 04, 2020, 09:29:55 pm
I finished it last night. Couldn't put it down, apart from one moment where I had to stop and scoff the rest of my dinner so that I could have both hands free and no distractions. 'Twas intense. And yes, it was the one I mentioned in the WTF thread. :D
Post by: Yoink on March 07, 2020, 07:37:29 am
It was considerably less sappy than the name suggests, but it was still rather sappy. I was in two minds about it almost the whole way through, but nevertheless I could not put it down.
It sort of nostalgically exhumes one's inner child and makes him or her clap their hands with glee, whilst also thrilling one's adult self with a shocking journey through the seedy, desperate underbelly of Montreal around the time of the Great Depression.
Oh, and of course there's a reasonable amount of tragic romance, as one might expect. Also jazz. I don't think the word "jazz" was ever actually mentioned, but you just know there was at least a bit of it going on.
Some of its bouts of philosophical rambling were a bit rich and some of the prose and dialogue got a bit sickly-sweet, but I feel like that was probably the idea.
I'm not too proud to admit that I cried at least a little despite my misgivings. Then again, my emotions are somewhat frayed at present, but it still counts in the book's favour.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on March 07, 2020, 07:52:01 am
Post by: delphonso on March 07, 2020, 08:11:19 am
Post by: ChairmanPoo on March 07, 2020, 08:46:40 am
My usual sources did have a newer 2014 version. Which I'm presuming will be better based on that it's a collaboration between a Chinese Chinese literature faculty member, and an American literature faculty member.
Post by: A Thing on March 07, 2020, 01:40:21 pm
As in available from my usual sources 😜. It IS in printI have the first volume of the Yang Suwei translation and the full set of Moss Robert's (the 80's one you mentioned) and I don't remember having any problems. Honestly either Moss Robert's or it are good. Just don't read the Brewitt version, that thing is full of spelling/complete sentence errors and also lacks any sort of footnotes to explain what the hell is going on.
My usual sources did have a newer 2014 version. Which I'm presuming will be better based on that it's a collaboration between a Chinese Chinese literature faculty member, and an American literature faculty member.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on March 07, 2020, 02:21:26 pm
Edit: I've been reading this for the last couple of days and it's far smoother a read than I expected. The pace and tone are a bit odd, but so far I'm liking it well enough.
Post by: Yoink on March 24, 2020, 10:29:10 pm
Certainly a book well deserving of its status.
Post by: delphonso on March 24, 2020, 11:27:14 pm
Continuing Shogun,
Reading The Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaymes (really recommend, well-written and fascinating, if not totally convincing.)
Restarted The Vertical Plane, since I didn't get far into it. Again, interesting but unconvincing.
City Under the Sands - Mariotte, a Dark Sun novel that's well-digestible.
The Worm Ouroboros - a favorite from some years ago. Only listened to it, haven't read it before.
Post by: Yoink on April 10, 2020, 02:41:51 am
So good. I kind of wish I had someone to discuss it with in more detail. You know how, when one watches a movie or show with friends, depending on the company one will sometimes bounce their theories as to how things will progress off one another? Like, you'll have an "aha" moment, realising what a character is up to or what's about to happen, and share it with the others - sometimes being entirely wrong?
Obviously, I imagine this is something you'd only do in the right company, where it's not annoying anyone.
I'm not sure how that sort of thing would be possible with books. Everyone somehow reading at the same rate? Stopping at pre-determined points in the story to check in and trade notes? Sounds like it would get very frustrating if the book gripped one participant more than the other(s).
What I'm getting at is, I think I'm going to post some more-spoilery discussion of the book below, just to... get my ideas of what's to come recorded in writing, rather than just shouting them excitedly into the void (I'm pretty sure I've done that before, when watching something alone, come to think of it).
Please, don't read this spoiler if you haven't read The Chrysalids - go read the damn book instead.
Ah, it's good to have gotten that out of my head. I've actually been meaning to post this for a couple of days, with my reading having slowed down a great deal in the meantime. The second theory only just occurred to me today, though, since I read about 25 pages further.
Oh yeah, I finished Brave New World a while back as well - that was great, obviously. I only wish it were longer.
Post by: NJW2000 on April 10, 2020, 01:46:25 pm
-
Please do tell us how you feel about the ending, once you get there. After reading your post, I want to know.
Would you say you're identifying with the Fringe folk at all at the moment?
Post by: Eschar on April 10, 2020, 01:53:57 pm
-
Please do tell us how you feel about the ending, once you get there. After reading your post, I want to know.
Would you say you're identifying with the Fringe folk at all at the moment?
I've heard of Fringe, would you recommend it
Post by: Craftsdwarf boi on April 12, 2020, 07:28:44 pm
Post by: Yoink on May 13, 2020, 02:24:38 am
Funnily enough, this book is actually making me root for the saxons, for goodness' sake. Something's gotta be wrong here, right?!
I looked it up and apparently he is some sort of Christian himself, which I'd been getting a sinking feeling was the case.
A fair few of the Goodreads reviews seem to support this impression. Not sure if I can bring myself to finish it, since the idea of dark ages Christian subjugation is unpleasant enough when it isn't couched in, to quote one of the reviews I looked at, "...more waffle than a Belgian pastry fair".
Might dig out and re-read something involving vikings and Norse gods, instead.
I also started reading Blood's A Rover by James Ellroy, but it takes a bit of effort to get into - which may be due to the fact that it's actually third in a trilogy, apparently. The weird, detached chapter(s) introducing the characters near the start may have been just getting folks up to speed on the events of the previous books.
I hadn't actually thought of that 'til now, but it makes a lot of sense. Huh. I was wondering what was going on.
Post by: NRDL on May 13, 2020, 06:26:26 am
Once I catch up to the current book, I'll probably check out Assassin's Apprentice.
Post by: Uthimienure on May 13, 2020, 08:59:55 am
The Saga of Billy the Kid
Post by: heydude6 on May 13, 2020, 04:54:34 pm
As for the book itself, it’s a chronicle of the sexual revolution of the 60s. That time when America finally broke free from Victorian Era prudishness and pivoted to the opposite extreme instead. It was short-lived, (AIDS kind of put a damper on that whole thing), but our modern hook-up culture has its roots in that period.
The way it covers that topic is rather interesting. Rather than tell some grand chronological narrative about the country like a Wikipedia article or history textbook (or Sapiens), it instead focuses on the lives of individual historical figures (and a few insignificant normal people too). The contributions they made, the struggles they went through, some of their most intimate and personal thoughts (a lot of these people were actually interviewed by the author). The result is a book that takes a while to get to its point, but also has an unusual amount of humanity in it. The people described aren’t just historical figures, they’re characters, with their own motivations and goals, and who even undergo character development sometimes. It puts the story in history.
Naturally, it’s likely that some embellishments and artistic license was used (like any good memoir really). This book is clearly trying to be entertainment, but even so there’s a lot fascinating stuff in it that I’m sure is real. Things like the IRL monster Anthony Comstuck was and the evil legislation he pushed, as well as the ways vendors of naughty material had to secretly distribute their product back when it was illegal, to even the banning of many books that are now considered classics. The book portrays old America as this repressive, totalitarian, regime that was also intensely hypocritical up until the socks finally come off. No sex before marriage, but oral and “petting” was okay? Yeah right.
To sum it up I recommend it, I’ve never seen a discussion of human sexuality as thoughtful as this one, but I have a couple of warnings. The first is that the book seems to have a slight anti-religious bias that may put some people off. The second is that the intimate, character-focused approach also applies to the way the book talks about sex. It helps with the humanity I was talking about, but it’s also weirdly voyeuristic. Like I’m peeking behind those metaphorical closed curtains, or maybe even being let in. Serves me right for buying a book about filth written in the filthiest time in American history I guess.
Post by: delphonso on May 13, 2020, 09:02:31 pm
Toons in the book speak in bubbles which are physical objects in the world, allowing a crime to be followed up by literally seeing a victim's last words.
Post by: Yoink on May 13, 2020, 09:07:05 pm
Sounds interesting! Especially since it was written back in the day, when apparently some folks involved were still alive to be interviewed and, more importantly, presumably written in an interesting old-world style. I might have to track down a copy.
The Saga of Billy the Kid
Post by: Uthimienure on May 13, 2020, 09:29:48 pm
Sounds interesting! Especially since it was written back in the day, when apparently some folks involved were still alive to be interviewed and, more importantly, presumably written in an interesting old-world style. I might have to track down a copy.
The Saga of Billy the Kid
You're correct. It's worth reading for the reasons you said, it gives a bit of insight into how Billy really was (as far as can be given, probably).
Author is Walter Noble Burns, who interviewed witnesses to Billy's activities and were part of the Lincoln County War as it was called.
The book is written as the events happened, not like a documentary of interviews, which makes it a nice flowing story.
I'm halfway through the book and enjoying it.
Post by: Craftsdwarf boi on May 15, 2020, 03:09:26 am
I'm currently on chapter two of the Restaurant at The End of The Universe
Post by: Direction on May 15, 2020, 04:39:23 am
Post by: Yoink on May 15, 2020, 04:50:35 am
Post by: ZBridges on May 15, 2020, 05:29:18 am
(spam removed)
It's terrible and you definitely shouldn't ever use it. I hope that helps.
Post by: Starver on May 15, 2020, 09:20:41 am
(Link of my own, re that: https://xkcd.com/810/ ...)
What am I reading, myself, while I'm here..? I've been meaning to catalogue everything laid around in various places for a while. So, from my current seat, without checking precisely...
- Fifth book of A Song Of Fire And Ice (whichever that is, I forget and can't be bothered to check)
- Red Storm Rising (was shuffling shelves the other day, and that battered copy fell out and reintrigued me)
- The Gormanghast Trilogy
- Dune (Trilogy? No, it's thick, but just the first I think, not a compendium.)
- Several books on mathematical problems (Gardner, etc)
- Dipping into a number of coding books for inspiration on issues, ending up reading completely unrelated chapters instead!
Like I said, I meant to do my list for a while, I've got books all over the place, part-read and ready to continue with. Some at different houses I go to, but the situation of late has obviously been non-conducive to that practice.
Tempted to mention Nation (Pratchett), Helliconia Trilogy (Aldiss), and several other topical titles, but they're just potential next-rereads at the moment, so would be cheating.
Post by: Eschar on May 15, 2020, 12:30:01 pm
Post by: ChairmanPoo on May 15, 2020, 04:44:34 pm
Post by: Starver on May 15, 2020, 05:27:24 pm
For relevent context in this post, here's where I finally got to in my What Am I Reading list, unpolished as it is...
Spoiler: ISBNs for my various in-use books (excuse any invalidating typos) (click to show/hide)
I could go back and also name them/hyperlink them, but it seems to me to be much more fun to let anyone who is actually bothered look up themselves for any numbers that intrigue them (maybe I should at least have labelled Fiction/Non-Fiction?), and let everyone else just assume I'm bragging and not waste time on trying to justify myself in the face of such bald cynicism. :P
Post by: Yoink on May 15, 2020, 06:42:37 pm
Oh nice, I loved Titus Groan!
- The Gormanghast Trilogy
That reminds me, I eventually acquired a copy of the next book but never got around to re-reading the first one in order to finish the series.
Post by: delphonso on May 15, 2020, 09:16:28 pm
Helliconia
Additional shout out to this series. I read all three in an omnibus and loved the whole weird experience.
Post by: Uthimienure on May 15, 2020, 10:33:09 pm
Helliconia
Additional shout out to this series. I read all three in an omnibus and loved the whole weird experience.
+1
Post by: Yoink on May 25, 2020, 02:46:33 am
Read just a little bit of the prologue but it is already oh-so-exciting. Very keen to get into a book I've been wanting to read ever since, probably at least a couple of years ago now, I was reading the subject's Wikipedia page and decided that "Hang on, this was far too exciting a tale to experience as a dry, bare-bones Wikipedia article" - but I figure I'd better finish reading Blood's a Rover first before getting completely distracted.
This is a very bleak but compelling book. Imagine if basically every* wild conspiracy theory of the '60s-'70s was revealed to be true, but in a credible, well-thought-out way and set against a rich tapestry of the social climate, villainous figures, culture clashes and political skulduggery of the era. Oh, and it reeks of noir, since this is a James Ellroy book we're talking about here.
Very bleak, though. There aren't even really shades of grey, here, just shades of shit across a wide array of shitty people.
I don't know if this post makes much sense, since I've been doing far too much reading today (and before that, way too much TV-watching) and my brain is kinda addled, but there you go.
Oh, also! Before I forget, the other day I was in an op shop and spotted a book with an interesting cover, which turned out to be a book I read years ago, presumably as a teenager. It's called Psychoville, by Christopher Fowler. I can't speak as to whether it's any good or not, since I barely remember the book at all; it's a different edition in a different size with a different cover, though on closer inspection I recognised the original, larger cover artwork that I remember tucked away down on the spine of this version.
I read just enough to spot a familiar phrase that shocked me into paying attention as a kid however many years ago, so yeah, this is the same book. I know it was a considerable mind-fuck for my younger self, but other than that I remember... well, actually on second thoughts I do remember a few basic-but-important plot points as well as a couple of disturbing quotes, but not how it all goes together or what the reading experience was like.
* the ones that can coexist without completely contradicting one another, at least.
Post by: NRDL on July 02, 2020, 06:10:53 am
I fucking loved it. I loved the main characters, I loved the yetis, I loved how gripping the struggles of the people were even before the bigfoots entered the picture. The whole thing was a suspenseful thrill ride.
I think "normal people hit by supernatural/unnatural horror, adapt to it" is one of my favourite premises now. Salem's Lot was great at this too. Max Brooks just loves that found footage documentary style and uses it to accentuate the horror and action.
Post by: Starver on July 02, 2020, 10:56:39 am
I fucking loved it. I loved the main characters, I loved the yetis, I loved how gripping the struggles of the people were even before the bigfoots entered the picture. The whole thing was a suspenseful thrill ride.I'm torn. The plural of "bigfoot" should clearly be either "bigfeet" or "bigsfoot".
Sorry, this isn't a very useful book-related comment, as I haven't read this one myself. Not yeti!
Post by: delphonso on July 03, 2020, 02:07:46 am
Post by: Yoink on July 03, 2020, 09:11:07 am
Sorry, this isn't a very useful book-related comment, as I haven't read this one myself. Not yeti!You should be ashamed. That was just abominable.
Post by: gamerboy3456 on July 28, 2020, 08:29:25 am
So today I came across a problem. The problem is, we don't appear to have a Reading thread! I decided to remedy this problem! As a result here is a thread to talk about what you're reading, what you have just read and what you think of books in general.
Personally, I'm reading Knife of Dreams the 11th book in the Wheel of Time series, I took a break from this series for a while and in this break I read the 1st Book in the Malazan Books of the Fallen series. For my next book I'm torn between Deadhouse Gates and The gathering Storm. What do you guys think I should read.
Im reading "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", the new Hunger Games book.
The story centers on an 18-year-old Snow, who has been chosen to mentor one of District 12's Tributes in the 10th Hunger Games.
So far I really like the book.
Post by: NRDL on August 09, 2020, 07:53:08 am
And not just because of the
Spoiler: Assassin's Quest SUPER spoilers (click to show/hide)
Can't wait to start the next trilogy
Post by: ChairmanPoo on August 09, 2020, 09:36:42 am
Finished the first of Robin Hobb's sagas ( the Farseer Trilogy ) and boy did I love that ending.
And not just because of theSpoiler: Assassin's Quest SUPER spoilers (click to show/hide)
Can't wait to start the next trilogy
The second trilogy kind of sucks just so that you know
My advice is that you do like Paul Muad'Dib suggests and apply the attitude of the knife
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Eschar on August 09, 2020, 10:16:03 am
Post by: NRDL on September 01, 2020, 07:01:14 pm
The second trilogy kind of sucks just so that you know
My advice is that you do like Paul Muad'Dib suggests and apply the attitude of the knifeSpoiler (click to show/hide)
Do you mean the Liveship Traders trilogy or the Tawny Man?
Post by: Yoink on September 01, 2020, 07:20:53 pm
At first I found it really, really good, but I don't know if the later parts dragged a bit or what but by the end it seemed to me that there was quite a bit of, I don't know, filler? I think with some of the philosophical musings (or practical musings on philosophical characters) they started to repeat themselves and overlap as the book went on.
By the seventh time you see the phrase "a philosopher who'd thought himself into a corner" or however it went, it kinda starts to grate a bit.
Anyway, that's over and done with, on the whole I liked it. Now I am bouncing around between books like a pinball in the bumper zone.
I seem to have finally settled on Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. It's technically a book for kids, but it's interesting just to see Hiaasen clean up his usual themes a bit in order to write it, while still retaining some good storytelling. I don't know, aren't his books really books for big kids at the best of times? In my experience they're generally pretty fun once you wipe off the violence, drugs, sex and violent drug-crazed sex offenders.
Hoot keeps his common environmentalist themes, too, which I think is pretty cool for a kids' book. Not sure how realistic the dialogue that takes place between the younger characters is, but I've forgotten what normal kids talked like and I've never been to school in Florida, for that matter, so I can suspend my disbelief easily enough.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on September 02, 2020, 04:05:59 am
Tawny Man, and Fitz and the Fool trilogies. Never read the liveships.The second trilogy kind of sucks just so that you know
My advice is that you do like Paul Muad'Dib suggests and apply the attitude of the knifeSpoiler (click to show/hide)
Do you mean the Liveship Traders trilogy or the Tawny Man?
Post by: Yoink on September 07, 2020, 11:14:35 am
This book is pretty much friggin' fantastic, so far. Reminds me a little of Irvine Welsh (in a very different setting) with its conversational narration, observational comedy and the slow, seemingly inevitable trainwreck of tragedy, horror, the worst/pettiest aspects of human nature, lowbrow existentialism, hard-earned wisdom, almost Kafkaesque elements and, of course, a wee bit of creative self-medication.
Hell, that description sounded almost clever. Maybe I shoulda saved that for Goodreads. Dang.
Bought this ages ago for next to nothing from an op shop, just one of a whole bag of secondhand books. Had no idea what to expect from it but it looked at least somewhat interesting, or maybe just really weird, so in it went - and I sure am glad it did.
Post by: Rolan7 on September 21, 2020, 01:37:38 pm
Aside from the Pratchett humor which makes it easy reading, I always loved it as an explanation of fiat currency. The main plot is about a reformed con man bringing The City out of the gold standard, doing his best to convince to the masses that the gold never mattered. Which he happens to believe, though he uses his old tricks to convince them.
But the golem plot is very important too. It potentially subverts the fiat argument, but it... well:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Also I enjoyed World War Z very much, will remember to check out Max Brook's Devolution. The movie was mediocre and almost unrelated to the source material, not even exaggerating.
Post by: NRDL on September 22, 2020, 05:38:50 pm
Post by: Nordlicht on September 22, 2020, 08:12:32 pm
Post by: delphonso on October 05, 2020, 10:03:28 am
Post by: Nordlicht on October 05, 2020, 10:48:26 am
Maybe something from the Strugatskys? Snail on the Slope, Roadside Picnic, Beetle in the Anthill, Definitely Maybe, The Doomed City.
Not Russian, but eastern European: Solaris from Lem.
His Tichy (Short-) novels are philosophical, but not dark though, more like Munchhausen Stories.
Both are not the space-battle and alien Sci-Fi, more like Philip K. Dick.
Post by: WealthyRadish on October 05, 2020, 11:26:19 am
I could really use some dark Russian philosophical novels. I've been looking at How the Steel Was Tempered, but I also have only read a little of Dostoevsky. Any suggestions? Really looking for the slow build.
With Dostoevsky, it sounds like Crime and Punishment is exactly what you're looking for, if you haven't already read it. Brothers Karamazov is another that I've read that's much more of a comedy, but is quite dark (the "Inquisitor" bit still sticks with me). Tolstoy's Anna Karenina would be another place to look.
I don't know firsthand how the translations compare, but the ones I've read without any complaint were the P&V versions of Crime and Brothers and the Maude translation of Anna.
Post by: Cthulhu on October 05, 2020, 11:38:42 am
Also read his Eschaton books, Singularity Sky is good, Iron Sunrise is okay.
Also read A Fire on the Deep finally, it's damn good. Weirdly, today I saw a thing on how deepfake is getting good enough that you can run video chat on super low bandwidth and have an algorithm reconstruct the image to high definition, which is something predicted in A Fire on the Deep with evocations.
Currently reading Conan of Venarium, which is the generally accepted first story in the Conan chronology, where he's twelve and Aquilonia invades and colonizes Cimmeria. Pretty good so far.
Post by: Yoink on October 05, 2020, 08:00:14 pm
I never managed to get through Brothers. As for other Russian authors, I remember liking The Master and Margarita, though I'm not sure that was depressing enough for what you're after.
Anyway, I've read a few books lately. Currently I'm reading War by Sebastian Junger - it's basically written from the same notes and experiences he and another guy used to make the documentary Restrepo, which I was meaning to watch for a long time but found it was removed from Netflix.
The book is pretty good, but after reading most of a book called Poppy by Gregor Salmon, I think I kind of prefer a linear, chronological type of non-fiction writing. I mean, Salmon was a bit unusual in that, rather than going with a dry account of big-picture kind of things, it's basically just a straight-up, rather personal account of Gregor's trip to Afghanistan in order to research the book, with the occasional informative digression.
War (the book) was researched over a few visits throughout a year or so, and the scenes tend to jump around all over the place depending on what point the author's making or what phenomenon he wishes to explain, and it doesn't give specific dates so it is hard as heck to keep track of. Plus, once someone's been mentioned even briefly he apparently expects the reader to remember their name and who they hell they were - unless it's someone who has already been adequately described, in which case he sometimes gives you a wholly unnecessary refresher course on who they are, haha.
It's still an interesting read, though. I just think I might have preferred the documentary, which seemed pretty great from what little I watched of it.
Oh, and I read Looking For Alaska, which looking back doesn't seem like it was all that mind-blowing but it made me feel lots of feels at the time, so that's the main thing. Put it this way, I gave it a knee-jerk five-star rating on Goodreads right after finishing it, which says that I enjoyed it greatly.
I'm here to do that, enjoy books, not dissect them critically.
Before that, I read... uhhh... I can't remember. Oh, well quite a while ago there was Vernon God Little which immediately became a favourite. Cannot recommend it highly enough. Then more recently there was a book called White Noise by Don DeLillo which was pretty weird and claustrophobic but overall very good, even if I would have liked to see more of the characters.
Also, the other day I happened upon a stall selling one dollar books for charity or some shit, and they turned out to have a great selection of lesser-known classics. I picked up a hardcover copy of The Mosquito Coast, a book I borrowed from a library and loved but never owned, amongst others.
Post by: Uthimienure on October 05, 2020, 09:22:45 pm
If anyone wants the real-deal, full of firsthand accounts of what it was like to be a tank crewman in WWI and WWII, try this one that I'm almost finished with. Be prepared for some visceral descriptions of what happens when tanks are brewed up. Overall, very fascinating, eye-opening, and informative.
Tank Men: The Human Story of Tanks at War by Robert Kershaw
I was surprised by my daughter when she said she wants to read it.
Post by: martinuzz on October 06, 2020, 05:01:01 am
It was a good read, can recommend.
Post by: MCreeper on October 12, 2020, 11:22:26 am
Post by: Frumple on October 19, 2020, 12:24:04 am
Post by: delphonso on October 19, 2020, 12:35:06 am
Post by: Parsely on October 25, 2020, 08:00:14 pm
Have reread "Big Lin and Little Lin", this time fully appreciating grotesque communard satire on stuck-up corrupt richies instead of just WTFing as a child. Was disturbing, is disturbing.Huh, any way I can read this online?
Post by: JoshuaFH on November 02, 2020, 09:27:04 pm
It's very frightening to read something in the book, and then think "That's just like *real life event*" and not conclude that the motives behind them are similar as well. Overall, I think the fictional world set up is unrealistic, if only because the dystopia as explained in the book relies on both extremely numerous and highly competent people to run it, while simultaneously snuffing those people out of existence so they can't use their competence against the government. The overall motives behind it were also unbelievable, as the motives to create such a dystopia are so cartoonishly evil as to be beyond belief. Not that it is entirely realistic, there's people in existence and throughout history that are as comparatively petty and spiteful as these characters, and I question those people's motives as well, as they defy common sense.
The last fourth of the book is a little kick-the-puppy-esque, just to drive home how Satanically evil the main villains are, but I guess if you want a picture of the future, just envision a boot stomping on a man's balls, forever.
Post by: hector13 on November 02, 2020, 09:50:53 pm
Then again my interest in classics was Moby Dick, and I read a little over half because Melville writes like a narcissist with a short attention span.
Post by: JoshuaFH on November 02, 2020, 10:01:29 pm
I dunno, man, some classics are overrated.
Then again my interest in classics was Moby Dick, and I read a little over half because Melville writes like a narcissist with a short attention span.
By coincidence, what motivated me to read was playing "The Longing", which has long periods of non-action, so I started reading in order to multitask as my character chisels a crystal for 20 minutes or something. The game itself has books in their entirety available, which includes Moby Dick, so I could check that one out next if I wanted.
Post by: Enemy post on November 05, 2020, 03:55:33 pm
Post by: Dostoevsky on November 05, 2020, 04:20:37 pm
<1984 talk>
If you're up for more classic dystopia, there's always Brave New World. Notable in part for the followup book arguing 'hey, we shouldn't be trying to actually do that'.
Post by: JoshuaFH on November 05, 2020, 04:53:30 pm
From what I recollect though, the antagonist governments reached the same conclusion, just devised different methods of enforcing that conclusion. The conclusion being "Stability is more important than individual happiness."; Brave New World kept people perpetually doped up and indoctrinated into a society starved of any real hardship, thus keeping the populace emotionally infantile and unable to even imagine that their lives are that bad or need improving. 1984 kept people constantly paranoid and fearful, and starved them of friendship, family, free time, education, even the concepts of objective truth or facts, absolutely anything that might upset the enforced social hierarchy or allow any mobility at all; the ruling class believed in power, power for the sake of power, because the pursuit and maintenance of power was, to them, the end-all be-all goal as the most stable social equilibrium.
The two books even have a similar arc in the main character getting to meet natural, untainted people and getting to compare their own miserable existence against their freer, more substantive and meaningful existences.
Post by: delphonso on November 05, 2020, 05:36:00 pm
Post by: feelotraveller on November 05, 2020, 06:24:16 pm
Heading out in another direction is Ursula Le Guin's the Dispossessed. While being more utopian (or even atopian?) than dystopian, it takes up many themes around the the relation between the individual and the state in a sci-fi setting. However now it is the protagonist who could be regarded as less tainted and the strangers that he meets throughout the book as being more miserable, but not without ambiguity.
Post by: NJW2000 on November 05, 2020, 06:41:05 pm
I've read Brave New World (while listening to Iron Maiden's Brave New World) but that was a while ago, my memory of it might be a little thin.Except in BNW the decidedly miserable existence is the freer, more substantive one.
From what I recollect though, the antagonist governments reached the same conclusion, just devised different methods of enforcing that conclusion. The conclusion being "Stability is more important than individual happiness."; Brave New World kept people perpetually doped up and indoctrinated into a society starved of any real hardship, thus keeping the populace emotionally infantile and unable to even imagine that their lives are that bad or need improving. 1984 kept people constantly paranoid and fearful, and starved them of friendship, family, free time, education, even the concepts of objective truth or facts, absolutely anything that might upset the enforced social hierarchy or allow any mobility at all; the ruling class believed in power, power for the sake of power, because the pursuit and maintenance of power was, to them, the end-all be-all goal as the most stable social equilibrium.
The two books even have a similar arc in the main character getting to meet natural, untainted people and getting to compare their own miserable existence against their freer, more substantive and meaningful existences.
I think Huxley, much later in life, suggested he was 50/50 on which life was better, though I can't find the quote. Island can be read as a kind of synthesis, if that's something you care about.
Post by: JoshuaFH on November 05, 2020, 06:46:10 pm
The premise is that the nanny state excludes real happiness through disallowing the full range of actual human experience. I'm a Luddite, I know.
List of books to possibly read, for future reference:
Island - Aldous Huxley
The Dispossessed - Ursual Le Guin
We - Zamyatin
Post by: JoshuaFH on November 12, 2020, 05:11:30 pm
Post by: delphonso on November 12, 2020, 06:06:52 pm
If you read a lot in the older styles, you get used to it. I have noticed I lose my edge when I read modern stuff and try to switch back to like...Hume or something.
Post by: MrRoboto75 on November 12, 2020, 06:41:25 pm
Isn't The Dick of Moby two books in one? One half the well known fight between Sir Patrick Stewart and a whale, and the other basically Whaling Facts(tm)?
Post by: heydude6 on November 20, 2020, 02:31:45 pm
Post by: hector13 on November 21, 2020, 03:26:42 am
A lot of old books have much much slower pacing, I've noticed.
Isn't The Dick of Moby two books in one? One half the well known fight between Sir Patrick Stewart and a whale, and the other basically Whaling Facts(tm)?
It’s not even whaling facts. One chapter is Melville going on at length about the colour white and how various different cultures see it, and this just to illustrate that Moby Dick being white makes it more frightening.
One chapter is also him talking about how whales have three traits that make them difficult quarry. One is the fact they’re huge so even if you harpoon it and go to deepest darkest Africa for years and then go back to whaling you might encounter the same whale with your harpoon in it, even though you’ve been in deepest darkest Africa for years and the whale has probably been around the world a few times. Another is that they’re fearless, and will quite happily ram your boats in defense of its life. I cannot remember the third one because I don’t why he went on so much about a harpooner being in deepest darkest Africa for pages and pages when he could’ve spent a paragraph doing it and it reminded me of the chapter (AN ENTIRE CHAPTER) about the colour white so I stopped reading because holy fuck Herman I want to know about Ahab and Moby Dick not you going on at great length how whaling ships passing each other will come together so the two crews can pass on news to each other about what’s happening in the world and maybe share resources too and the captains can get together and chat or whatever but then tell me in a couple of sentences that Ahab didn’t do that because he’s a monomaniacal madman.
Post by: NRDL on November 24, 2020, 08:31:43 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This is gonna go down as one of my favourite fantasy stories ever. Now on to my next fantasy fix.
Post by: ChairmanPoo on November 24, 2020, 08:35:10 am
Post by: MCreeper on January 19, 2021, 08:50:12 am
James Clavell's King Rat. About a tricky dick living a life of luxury (such as there can be) in japanese WW2 prison camp and random nonsense happening with him and around. It's really great. Probably will also read Clavell's Shogun, i stumbled on it few times before, but dismissed it as yet another pretentious nonsense without looking at author's name. I actually did read King Rat for first time when i was a kid, when I and my mother looked for phone games and somehow stumbled on phone book. :P Pretty much only thing i remembered was main character's sort of allegorical rat-breeding scheme. Especially the moment where jerk who they fed some rats to is being told what he actually ate. ;D
Tales of dark forest. By Mushroom Elves (http://mushroomelves.ru/library/skazki-temnogo-lesa/), not Steve Barlow. I have no idea if it was translated to english. Autobiographical book about a gang of ever-high savage thughs gone larpers. Mix of "people do those things?", shitty humor and okay humor, mostly the former. Despite their profane ways, thughs manage to not actually murder anyone. Or so they say. :P
Post by: Nordlicht on January 19, 2021, 09:06:27 am
Post by: delphonso on January 19, 2021, 08:09:07 pm
Post by: ChairmanPoo on January 19, 2021, 08:56:22 pm
Also worth noting that Verne was a bit of a political radical. Comes through in several of his novels, and its fairly notable in 20k for its antiimperialist themes.
Tbh I think Nemo works better as having an ambiguous origin than the original plan of making him polish or the latter plan of making him indian. The ambiguity of the man and of his enemies made him kind of universal
Post by: Nordlicht on January 20, 2021, 08:47:31 am
Post by: Great Order on August 07, 2022, 06:34:53 pm
Finished up All Quiet On The Western Front a couple weeks back. It was, unsurprisingly, horrendously depressing, but it's filled with fantastic passages and provides a good look into the state of trench warfare.
Quote
"Let the days and years come. They can take nothing from me, they can take nothing more. I am so alone, and so without hope, that I can face them without fear."
I was surprised by how much comedy was in it too, like when Paul needs a piss but can't bring himself to ask the nurse to help him to the toilet. Then his friend tries to help before catching himself. This from two characters who have been in the trenches for two years by this point.
Also the TMI about the Russian PoWs and their masturbation habits. Thanks, really needed to know that.
I'm now onto Metro 2033, I've played the game but I'm already gathering there's a significant differences between the two, even if the overarching plot (ie dealing with the Dark Ones) is the same.
Post by: Starver on August 07, 2022, 10:37:33 pm
To quote the internal title page: "Getaway" "The eighth volume in the Saint saga". i.e. the books by Leslie Charteris. This particular copy a 16th-edition of this story, which was first published in 1932 (however much later it attained its 16th printing, an inscription says this copy was owned by my father by no later than 1942). And, being inter-bellum and "of an age" it is of course a product of its time (wannabe-repentent anti-hero Simon Templar is very much a "Self-assured, richly-living[1] and man-of-the-world" version of the self-entitled 'Brit Abroad' who is not above speaking in slow English to foreigners, expecting them to kowtow to his force-of-will. Except when he actually makes calculated use of his near flawless local accents to blend in or generally deceive those he meets, often as part of a necessary gambit due to him being in - for anyone less bold - would be considered a bit of a pickle... Such as escaping from the local(/international) police, or a criminal enemy. Or, because S.T. doesn't do things by halves, both at the same time!
The language (terminology, especially) is also a little unreconstructed, by today's standards. I'm sure some things said (or thought) never made their way into Roger Moore's version of any TV adaptations (even in the black-and-white era, which may be ironic. But it's very high-falluting vocabulary. For example "The empurpled lady lifted her yapping paladin tenderly into the last coach, and was in turn assisted steatopygously upwards."[2]. Now you definitely can't deny that modern fiction has been dumbed down somewhat, in the 90 years since this particular concoction had been assembled from the choicest of words..!
Plot-wise, it is of course a felicitous and highly luck-dependent stumble through the machinations of a very clear candidate for Evil Mastermind (with a few caveats, but definitely a chessmaster-antagonist, a well prepared and resourced villain of the peace). Hard to say if Templar is unluckier for falling blindly into the situation, or the counterpart is unluckier for having The Saint fall into the situation he was previously handling quite well, thank you very much... Well, except that The Saint (as of the book's/imprint's publication) has a further 13 more volumes in him, so no surprise that enough luck is manufactured to ensure a future for our definitely-not-luckless champion of the series. Whatever fate befalls his allies, enemies and (transiently, at least) his reputation for good or ill.
I only have a handful more of these books available to me (no idea if my father collected more than I was in turn allowed to receive, I also got an incomplete set of John Buchans (includes both famous and more obscure/unpopular Richard Hannay stories, but not the whole lot) and certainly in '42 there was a war on, so maybe if the collection was actually being assembled around that time then the effective paper-rationing (and his own wartime experiences) might have limited the opportunities.
But I chose to read this one as the first, by publication date, of its set. And I have the others (that I have) ready and lined up to delve back into when I find a further gap identified in my multi-reading schedule.[3] To see what other scrapes the unexpurgated adventures of the lovable(?) rogue creates to be endured, only to barely impact his full headlong dash through one headonistic adventure and like-as-not straight into the next.
(As a comodity, I very much doubt the physical book itself has much worth. It is foxed (and a little badgered too) and has the appearance of a mass-market (for the time) product, plus nowhere near 1st-Ed. attractiveness.)
[1] Whether it is his own riches or not seems not to be much of an issue to the character... ;)
[2] i.e., the out-of-breath rotund lady with a pekinese lap-dog needed to get back into the train, after an unscheduled stop mid-transit and an entertaining trackside argument with the railway staff over several separate fusses caused entirely by either Simon, his allies or his enemies! :P
[3] It was so much simpler when I could just stock up with a week's supply of books from.the library and, undistracted by anything as irresistable as the Internet - let alone the Web! - I could plough through them in strict order and return them half-a-week later for another (nominal) week's-worth of fiction and non-fiction.
Post by: Great Order on August 08, 2022, 08:54:49 pm
I do horror pretty well. It's one of my favourite genres. However, this book makes me nervous in the dark. I just expect something to come out of it. It's kinda cool that for some reason it's managing to do this to me, and I can't say why.
Post by: Enemy post on August 12, 2022, 01:54:09 am
A project I assigned myself for the summer was to finally finish the complete works of Shakespeare. Been meaning to do it for a while, but I'd only got through 12 of the plays in total before. As of tonight, I've finished it all with the sole exception of Othello.
I was just thinking about how, at the moment, I still haven't finished it. There's still more to read. However, once I'm done with Othello, that's it. No more new Shakespeare, most likely ever unless a lost play turns up. Wanted to make Othello special, so I think I'll actually watch this one performed. I'm going to watch the 1990 Theatre Night version with Ian McKellen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX0cbcrMAdo), and then I'll be finished.
Post by: Emma on August 12, 2022, 05:43:23 am
I've been making my way through Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels this year and they're really quite good, I only have The Story of the Lost Child left to read and I'm looking forward to getting through it. I've found each one sort of compulsive, once I start I feel like I have to finish it without interruptions from other books. I also semi-recently read Sylvia Townsend Warner's Lolly Willowes which I thought was excellent, I'm going to start Mr Fortune's Maggot tonight or tomorrow because it was probably one of my favourite books in recent years really.
A project I assigned myself for the summer was to finally finish the complete works of Shakespeare. Been meaning to do it for a while, but I'd only got through 12 of the plays in total before. As of tonight, I've finished it all with the sole exception of Othello.
Ahhh, I've been wanting to read Shakespeare properly for ages now! I always enjoyed studying him in HS lol, loved reading his plays.
Post by: Quarque on August 12, 2022, 06:42:37 am
It's about a hardheaded sheep farmer living in the 20th century, but in such poor conditions and remote location that it feels like the middle ages. Not a light snack as books go, but it has me hooked.
Post by: Great Order on August 30, 2022, 10:31:04 am
I remember it being dark, but I keep forgetting just *how* dark it is. The Scouring of the House of Pain is a pretty grim bit of the book.
Post by: Starver on August 30, 2022, 02:21:27 pm
And possibly even more so than Monstrous Regiment, Thud, Snuff, etc, although their depictions of war, conflict and racial slavery were more 'serious' than Jingo, The Third Elephant and the whole "imp-stamatic camera" thing, to pluck parallels from the solidly pre-NW books.
It's a very good book (IMO). If it weren't right in the midst of the City/Watch/Vimes story-arcs I'd perhaps suggest it as a starter-book, but to get there you do really need to go back to Guards! Guards! (prior to NW, G!G! would have been my "humour just got serious" point in the series). But if you're in a good position to (re)read it, I'd generally assume you'd be able to appreciate it fully. It sets up some of the next few books[1] well, too.
(For some reason, Unseen Academicals (for example) flips back into the early-style. It's not because it's a "Roundworld phenomena analogue" parody, because the likes of Raising Steam did that with notable grimdark to it. But it goes more towards Sourcery that (despite its potential magical holocaust) is as cartoony-threat as any.)
Sorry, meant to just congratulate you on your reading taste. But having been forced to miss this year's Discworld Convention[2], I'm releasing a lot of pent-up fandom issues. Carry on!
[1] Ok, so TAMAHER and WFM were immediate precursor and follow-up, but arguably 'Young Discworld' aimed at slightly younger than his maturing and matured fanbase. But even so. Tiffany was no stranger to grimdark fæ-folk stuff, throughout.
[2] It's as much the people (both old friends and more newly convergent spirits) as the 'fun stuff' that I wish I could have been there for... And any Cards Against Humanity marathons that I might have been in at 2AM almost any night of the long weekend... ;)
Post by: heydude6 on August 30, 2022, 04:25:34 pm
Nightwatch was the peak of the the series not just because it was a good book, but because of how the preceding books directly lead up to it. It was hit after hit up until the satisfying conclusion of Vimes' character arc that he began back in "Guards! Guards! Guards!". Though more books were made, you couldn't escape the sense that this was the end of an era.
I didn't realize just how true that would be.