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[HiroProtagonist]

:lol
Did you guys enjoy the book though? The whole "changed your life" aspect of that thread was up for interpretation, as in simply changing your view on an entire genre could qualify as "life changing" I have never really read a fantasy book like this. I am thoroughly enjoying the immersion.

It didn't change my life or make any part of my body open wide with wonder, but ultimately I enjoyed it. It would have been something if it had left my asshole agape with astonishment, but I haven't read The Scar yet, so there is still hope. *fingers fastidiously folded*

 

[_Isaac]

Any impressions so far Isaac?

I've only read a few more pages since that night I started it. I have to say it is still really really good. The guy has an amazing flow to his writing. I don't know how it would be from the point of view of a Dominican, but from the point of view of this Mexican American reader, it's pretty good. I hope it keeps it up.

 

[Suburban_Nooblet]

Read a few stories so far. For those who have read it give me a recommendation for which one to read tonight.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

I'm enjoying the story so far but it is really dated in terms of
technology used (telephones? rly?)
sexism (everything Wyoh says is pretty much eye rollingly naieve and stupid to the other characters and they treat her like a conevienent sex object to use to their advantage)
political activism (which I understand were a big deal in '66 but why propagate that stuff 110 years into the future?)

 

[BlueTsunami]

Having read through all of The Dark Tower, this could probably be considered a side story

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

It is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King_works_related_to_The_Dark_Tower_series

 

[BlueTsunami]

It is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King_works_related_to_The_Dark_Tower_series

Holy shit, I think I'll read Insomnia next. Thanks for the link!

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Read a few stories so far. For those who have read it give me a recommendation for which one to read tonight.

Scarecrow on a Unicycle, unsee it bitches.

The Desert Spear is so good, writting style is quick and easy, reckon i will be done tomorrow. Very enjoyable read!

 

[Deleted member 1235]

further expressing my love for the Joe Abercrombie First law books.

Too good! Probably not quite as awesome as A song of ice and fire series, but you have to be realistic about these things.

 

[Kuraudo]

Read a few stories so far. For those who have read it give me a recommendation for which one to read tonight.

Crouch End.

This is probably King's weakest short story collection though.

 

[Ravager61]

further expressing my love for the Joe Abercrombie First law books.

Too good! Probably not quite as awesome as A song of ice and fire series, but you have to be realistic about these things.

Have you finished them yet? I finished that last one up a few days ago and I really didn't care for the last book at all. Most of my problems stem from the ending itself but overall I just fel it was the weakest of the 3.

 

[Alucard]

I have finished reading Bret Hart's biography, which was a very dark portrait of the world of professional wrestling, and really made you feel for the amount of tragedy that Bret has gone through, while being uplifting in some strange way because of its cautionary tales. It's a must for wrestling enthusiasts, and it could be a pretty decent curiosity for non-fans as well.

I'm now moving on to another wrestling autobiography.

So far it's much lighter than the Bret Hart book, and features Jericho's usual sarcastic tone and infectious personality in the text. I'm really enjoying it.

 

[Peronthious]

Finished both Ghost Wars and The Incredible Bread Machine last week. The former was a fascinating chronicle of both the achievements and the failings of the American intelligence community in the Middle East in the past few decades.

The latter was a slightly naive libertarian manifesto that was informative in a few ways, but largely demanded being taken with a grain of salt.

I was going to read something fiction this time around, but a review of this caught my eye and I couldn't resist. It covers the history of Christianity from 1000 BC up to the present day. The Jewish background, all the little quibbles between the different sects, controversy surrounding the Crusades, development during Charlemagne's rule, everything. I'm really looking forward to digging a bit more into it, even the small bit I've read thus far is fascinating.

 

[Nymerio]

Finished it last week. Awesome Awesome book. Can't wait for the Sequels!

 

[Bluth54]

A really interesting look into the making of season 4/The Specials of Doctor Who. Basically unedited email conversations between the show runner of Doctor Who (Russell) and a writer on Doctor Who magazine (Benjamin).

One of the things I found most amusing is how much of a procrastinator RTD is. He'll know that he has a script due months ahead of time but doesn't start working on it until a week or so before it's due.

It's also interested in seeing how things change from the initial idea to the final version, such as the original companion for season 4 and scenes/dialog that were radically altered.

Of course since it's unedited emails they also talk about a bunch of random stuff, such as a bunch of British TV shows I've never seen since I live in the US. That's not quite as interesting to me, but still it's well worth reading for any Doctor Who fan, or anyone interested in reading what it takes to make a TV show.

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Finished it last week. Awesome Awesome book. Can't wait for the Sequels!

Well heres a nice big cocktease from the author himself :lol

I like how the authors all give each other 5 stars. Dont offend anyone!! :lol

Finished this today. Really, really enjoyed it. Its simple, action packed and just a lot of fun. Theres a few little things that grate on you every now and then but that doesnt hurt it at all for me, loved it and cant wait for the next one.

Pete's awesome as well, i posted last month or the month before about him giving out autographed insert cards for The Desert Spear, got mine today and he may have just sold me another hard copy........ the one i was reading got a bit banged up!

On to this now, hopefully the pace picks up and its a bit more eventful........ i mean no ones been savaged and raped and my soul hasnt been crushed, whats up with that Hobb?

 

[BrettWeir]

Love it!

 

[gburgess10]

This was my favourite of his books. His years of playing RPGs really shines through here.

As for me, I'm halfway through this:

Abercrombie's work is similar in style and tone to George R.R. Martin and Steve Erikson, so I was pretty much won over by the third page. His action sequences are a lot of fun--he really makes you wonder just who is going to survive to the end of the book, since nothing in this world--nothing-- ever seems to go easy.

After seeing you post this I pushed through all three books.

And I was a bit disappointed. The ending was good, but disappointing, like it was short something.

I didn't quite get the feeling of this is it for this universe, we're not going to see this again. It felt like he ended it on a note of coming back to it.

I enjoyed it overall, apart from some small issues I have with it.

And (don't read unless you've finished Book 2):

Spoiler

The first sex scene between Ferro and Ninefingers was priceless

 

[Tim the Wiz]

Nice bit of weekend reading ahead of exams (in a month or so).

I'm not about to go crazy and compare him to F Scott Fitzgerald in a qualitative sense, but there's a fluid grace about his writing that make his stories fly by with a kind of ease which could be reminiscent of Fitzgerald - who I see as the ultimate literary stylist or thereabouts. Some people do see him as the Berbatov of the writing, though - holding languid and sublime touch, but questionable end product. (After reading Wonder Boys, I must say: I'd disagree, and place him amongst the best of the contemporary American crowd.) How good is it all, really, then? We'll see; I'm not that far in.

 

[Nymerio]

After seeing you post this I pushed through all three books.

And I was a bit disappointed. The ending was good, but disappointing, like it was short something.

I didn't quite get the feeling of this is it for this universe, we're not going to see this again. It felt like he ended it on a note of coming back to it.

I enjoyed it overall, apart from some small issues I have with it.

And (don't read unless you've finished Book 2):

Spoiler

The first sex scene between Ferro and Ninefingers was priceless

I think he does return to the universe, although in another part of it. I think there are even some recurring characters. The ending to the trilogy was really refreshing, I guess I'll start with Best Served Cold as soon as I start/finish The Painted Man and Desert Spear.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

all this talk of endings for the first law trilogy makes me wanna push through.

kindle tells me I'm at 20% of the last book. Very interested to see where this goes.

 

[zaxor0]

Gonna start this later today.Camus <3

I'm re-reading this one right now. God, Camus is awesome.

 

[Space Cadet]

God, Camus is awesome.

Due to Camus' philosophical position, this just struck me as incredibly funny.

Next semester I am taking a lit course specifically on cyberpunk. Too many books to list, but I am looking forward to reading:

and:

 

[Karakand]

In Stand on Zanzibar there's a line, "Of course, phrasing it that way was absolutely stupid." (Might be slightly different in the text that's from memory.) Pretty much describes the entire book.

 

[finowns]

Watched the entire 24 series and I have since found out that there are books about Jack Bauer.

I am thinking about checking them out; I know this could end in tragedy. We will see.

 

[HiroProtagonist]

I just finished The Path of Daggers, and started Winter's Heart tonight. Have I already passed the supposed lull in the series, is it coming up, or am I in it? I thought I had read that it was between books 7 and 9, or 8 and 10, but I've yet to notice anything.

 

[Beowulf28]

Does it have to be set in the south? How about southern England? If so, then we can kill 2 birds with one beheading!

Would the book appeal to a zombie fan who's not into romance novels?

 

[Snoodaard]

After I finish:

Froth on the daydream

 

[Cohsae]

Finally found the time to finish this, which was fantastic.

That's Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, couldn't find a good image of this cover.

And now I'm finishing the month off with a recommendation from this very thread! Or one of these threads anyway. Only a few chapters in but I'm already having trouble putting it down.

 

[ronito]

A coworker gave me this book. She saw I was a gamer and thought I'd appreciate it.

I was a bit dismayed. By the end of the first chapter I knew how, by the end of the second I had a great guess as to who (which ended up being right).

The problem is that the author tries to make a murder mystery that is about gamers: Cool. However they don't jacksquat about gamers: Not cool. All gamers in the book are giddy mountain dew drinking ADHD people with serious ego problems.

It's because the author was so intent on treating her characters in her stereo typical fashion that her intentions for her characters are obvious to anyone actually paying attention (which makes the who and how easy to figure out). Then at the end it just all falls apart.

I like the concept of a sci-fi murder mystery, but this was not the book to deliver it.

 

[HiroProtagonist]

You're deep into the mire. The lull is from Crown of Swords to Crossroads of Twilight; most people consider either 8 or 10 to be the worst. If you haven't noticed anything partway through 9, than maybe you never will.

Well that's good. I think it's because I'm reading them back to back. In my head there is no separation between, so something exciting happens in 7 it's easily attributed to 8. Plus, If I get Min chapters I'm happy. (

Spoiler

I love her, but she's been fucking useless with the viewings

)

And nothing can compete with the fantasy mire that was A Feast For Crows. So, thanks GRRM for making the dregs of other fantasy series better by comparison!

 

[eznark]

Cohase, get me excite to read Pendulum. I've had it sitting on my nook for months and just don't feel motivated to start it.

 

[Annihilator]

I just finished The Path of Daggers, and started Winter's Heart tonight. Have I already passed the supposed lull in the series, is it coming up, or am I in it? I thought I had read that it was between books 7 and 9, or 8 and 10, but I've yet to notice anything.

I'm currently on book nine as well page 588 to be exact. I've noticed the lull already in the past few books. To many characters to keep straight and to much book lingo to keep track of especially with the seanchan. I don't read much though, it's hard to keep up when you get to a chapter and don't remember who or what is going on because the last time you read about them was 200 pages ago and over a time period of a few months. It wouldn't be bad if I read a few chapters everyday I guess so some of the problems are my fault I guess.

 

[Space Cadet]

In Stand on Zanzibar there's a line, "Of course, phrasing it that way was absolutely stupid." (Might be slightly different in the text that's from memory.) Pretty much describes the entire book.

Well hopefully I will have a different opinion; otherwise, it's going to be a long read.

 

[Alucard]

I like the concept of a sci-fi murder mystery, but this was not the book to deliver it.

If you enjoy this concept, I would highly recommend Isaac Asimov's Robots series, if you have not read it already. Start here:

Asimov may not be the most artful writer in history, but the way he crafts the journey more than makes up for his lack of narrative flair. The books are also huge allegories for civil rights, which gives them social and cultural significance, and makes them more than just pulp fiction.

 

[zero margin]

Read this over the weekend, liked it.

 

[goldlion054]

In Stand on Zanzibar there's a line, "Of course, phrasing it that way was absolutely stupid." (Might be slightly different in the text that's from memory.) Pretty much describes the entire book.

so you are saying its not worth the read or that the title gives no context to the books innards?

 

[sparky2112]

Finally found the time to finish this, which was fantastic.

I dunno. I've never had a book make me feel like such a dumbass before. That's a combination of 1) the book being difficult, and B) everyone else calling it the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I've read a LOT of 'difficult' stuff in my time, but this felt like Eco just showing off, rather than telling his (admittedly interesting) story. For some reason, I always contrast him with Rushdie, who can tell a complicated story and weave all his knowledge seamlessly into it, while Eco seems to run the two in parallel to much lesser affect.

Or something like that.

 

[Maklershed]

Done with The World Made by Hand (which was fantastic) and on to Ender's Game

 

[Monroeski]

I liked Doctorow's books a lot more before I started visiting BoingBoing and realized that 90% of the interesting stuff in his novels are just ideas ripped off of somebody else's actual projects that he puts in his blog.

This culminated in Little Brother, which IMO felt like a summary of BoingBoing's past few years mixed in with ridiculously stereotypical characters to further Doctorow's pushing of his own political views mixed with near Twilight levels of reader insertion/wish fulfillment.

I still enjoy the books before Little Brother, but they certainly lost their luster.

::edit::
It's weird how much this review mirrors my own thoughts.

 

[Cohsae]

I dunno. I've never had a book make me feel like such a dumbass before. That's a combination of 1) the book being difficult, and B) everyone else calling it the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I've read a LOT of 'difficult' stuff in my time, but this felt like Eco just showing off, rather than telling his (admittedly interesting) story. For some reason, I always contrast him with Rushdie, who can tell a complicated story and weave all his knowledge seamlessly into it, while Eco seems to run the two in parallel to much lesser affect.

Or something like that.

Oh definitely a LOT of it went right over my head, but when it got to Casaubon and Belbo in Paris at the end I couldn't stop reading.
It is very dense to be sure, but I love the way that it tries to make you fall for the Plan, by the end I felt just like the 3 main characters did, trying to draw the line between fact and fiction as you are just inundated with all this information that seems to connect. I didn't fall for it quite as much as they did though lol.
Yeah a tricky book to recommend, because it requires quite a commitment, but in my case my patience was definitely rewarded.

 

[British Monsoon]

Just finished 'Latro in the Mist' by Gene Wolfe;

Really enjoyed it overall, although the ending is a bit abrubt. Now i'm reading 'The Man in the High Castle' by Phillip K. Dick;

 

[Tim the Wiz]

I liked Doctorow's books a lot more before I started visiting BoingBoing and realized that 90% of the interesting stuff in his novels are just ideas ripped off of somebody else's actual projects that he puts in his blog.

That's how all writers operate - the only thing exclusive in that to Doctorow is that he documents it (which might tick you off, but could also be something of an aid to his writing process).

I say that never having read his fiction and only being familiar with him via his blog. So, I might have the benefit of not holding the same visceral hangups that you do.

 

[sparky2112]

Oh definitely a LOT of it went right over my head, but when it got to Casaubon and Belbo in Paris at the end I couldn't stop reading.
It is very dense to be sure, but I love the way that it tries to make you fall for the Plan, by the end I felt just like the 3 main characters did, trying to draw the line between fact and fiction as you are just inundated with all this information that seems to connect. I didn't fall for it quite as much as they did though lol.
Yeah a tricky book to recommend, because it requires quite a commitment, but in my case my patience was definitely rewarded.

Totally fair. To me, the degree to which the book succeeds (it's been very widely read, so I can't argue with that), I think it does so in spite of itself. There's a good story there, for sure - it's just buried under a mountain of smarts...

 

[Monroeski]

That's how all writers operate - the only thing exclusive in that to Doctorow is that he documents it (which might tick you off, but could also be something of an aid to his writing process).

I say that never having read his fiction and only being familiar with him via his blog. So, I might have the benefit of not holding the same visceral hangups that you do.

I realize that, though I guess a little more clarification would be necessary - I really enjoyed his books more for the cool ideas they presented, technological and otherwise, and not for the extremely two dimensional characters and weak plots. Once I realized that the ideas I thought were interesting were pretty much all lifted straight from other people and that the main parts that he seems to add are quite mediocre, it lowered the novels a few notches. If I visit the blog only once or twice a week I now feel that the books have absolutely nothing interesting to offer me. All the characters and story and such serve only as flimsy vehicles for all the other stuff that is not really his own creation.

IMO it doesn't really feel like he adds his own spin or style to his writing, it's just regurgitation, and anyone in the novels not espousing his own personal beliefs are incredibly oversimplified and demonized. Here's a shot in the dark about the content of Makers, having read nothing about it but a one paragraph teaser - 5 pages of extrapolation on why copyright laws are all evil, 5 pages of some cool technology idea that is being made today in somebody's garage that he displays as a perfect case scenario of what it could look like in 5-10 years, then one page of story where a big bad corporation sues somebody and the black helicopters show up, repeat ad nauseum, the little guy wins in the end.

This all, of course, makes me sound incredibly harsh towards him, which isn't really true; up until Little Brother, I enjoyed all of his books and would still recommend them in many cases.

 

[aidan]

And now I'm finishing the month off with a recommendation from this very thread! Or one of these threads anyway. Only a few chapters in but I'm already having trouble putting it down.

Yay! It was probably me who suggested it. Lovely book!

 

[SmoothCB]

Interesting book. The premise is that a current era business magnet is cryogenically frozen and is then thawed out about 300 years in the future. He wakes up to a world where self incorporation is the rule of law with each individual making it the goal of their long lives to earn majority in themselves. It's an interesting concept set against cool sci-fi background.

 

[SmoothCB]

Ha! I just borrowed this book from a friend. Haven't started it yet, though.

It's a fantastic first effort from the author(s). I'm about 2/3 done and loving it so far. Also, there's a sequel coming out early next month.

 

[Wellington]

I've only read a few more pages since that night I started it. I have to say it is still really really good. The guy has an amazing flow to his writing. I don't know how it would be from the point of view of a Dominican, but from the point of view of this Mexican American reader, it's pretty good. I hope it keeps it up.

Funny, I *am* Dominican and it's been really good. I am likely going to pick up the Spanish version for my mother. I'm into the chapter on Beli's father. I will likely be done with it by Wednesday or Thursday. Next up will probably be The 50th Law of Power.

I am curious, has anyone read:

Worth a shot?

 

[X26]

Finished:

The Wind' Up Bird Chronicle & Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami

Enjoyed both, wind up a bit more though however ddd had yuki and the funny descriptions of the upper class grocery store

Survivor - Chuck P

Utter shit, just like every other book of his I've read

Reading:

DUNE

200pgs in and I think it's great

Will start soon:

Snow Crash and Norwegian Wood