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[Kyleripman]

Finally finished The Dark Tower IV and now onto Wolves of the Calla...

Excited to continue the story! Some of the best books I have read up to this point, highly recommended.

This is my favorite one in the series, I think...you're in for a treat.

 

[Maklershed]

Had some pretty good picks ups with John Adams, The Lost City of Z, and Blindness at $2 a piece as I was going to buy them from Amazon soon anyway. But any savings I may have gained I lost on going nuts with Clive Cussler stuff.

 

[Salvor.Hardin]

Finished The Left Hand of Darkness today. Incredible book and it leaves so much to think about gender, duality, and social structures. Highly recommended if you're in the mood for a great scifi, or just a great book in general.

For those that have read it, is The Disposessed by Le Guin equally great?

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

I've read "The Creators" and "The Discoverers" but have not read his America trilogy. He has the same approach where he examines a rarely observed historical fact as a launching point to describe larger global events. Boorstin was a polymath with an almost inhuman amount of info stashed in his brain. Although these days Boorstin-style history is considered "old school" in academic circles - today there is a bigger focus on sociological/anthropological analysis and the disenfranchised/minority experience - his writings are endlessly entertaining and rich with mind-blowing facts.

I have The Discoverers - very excited to read it.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

It's really not... It's so full of conveniences and contrivances I couldn't even finish the first book it was so bad.

Stay away.

They definitely get better, but yeah, probably not for you if you take it too serious.

 

[Kuraudo]

House of Leaves.

About fifty pages in and not really feeling it. I really like Navidson's story, but find Zapano's digressions not really adding a lot at this point and I hate Johnny Truant and his little interruptions about getting high.

I feel at this point I like the ideas a lot - I love how it's formatted, I like how there are at least three levels to the story (the tape, Zampano's text, Truant's annotations) - but that the execution doesn't do the ideas much justice.


I'll probably keep at it though. Was kind of horrified when I added up my pennies for the month and realised how much of my non-essential spending was going towards new books which were just being added to a backlog (or just simply ended up unread). Managed to make a pile of seven books that I want to read (not including Uni-books) and have set myself a goal not to buy anything else until either the end of the year or the pile is depleted.

 

[suffah]

Looking forward to this next week:

 

[Mumei]

I am making slow progress in Pride and Prejudice, and I'm now about a fifth of the way through it. The annotations slow me down, and I just haven't spent as much time reading it as I might usually. I like Elizabeth, though.

Finished The Left Hand of Darkness today. Incredible book and it leaves so much to think about gender, duality, and social structures. Highly recommended if you're in the mood for a great scifi, or just a great book in general.

For those that have read it, is The Disposessed by Le Guin equally great?

Yes, it's just as thought-provoking. The subtitle "An Ambiguous Utopia" is perfect for it. And did you enjoy her introductory essay at the beginning of The Left Hand of Darkness?

 

[Maklershed]

Finished The Glory Game and on to Blindness


Blindness by José Saramago

 

[Cpt.Underpants]

Just started with Fevre Dream

 

[Maklershed]

I'm over 100 pages into Blindness now and at first the way the dialogue is handled was driving me crazy. No quotation marks, no acknowledgement of who is speaking, separated only by commas. But then I started thinking, in a way its actually kind of brilliant as the blind people don't know to whom they're speaking. At least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself so as not to get frustrated. For anyone else that read Blindness - what did you think of the dialogue situation?

 

[Mollymauk]

Just wanted to praise this thread and its incarnations for recommending The Lost Ships. It quickly became one of my favorite books. I can't help recommending it to others. I describe it as a Viking tale as told by Stephen Fry. That's who I hear when I read the book.

By the way, this thread is dangerous to read from an iPad when one is enjoying wine. Too easy to make many purchases.

 

[Emerson]

Finished:

Starting:

 

[Tigel]

Finally finished The Dark Tower IV and now onto Wolves of the Calla...

Excited to continue the story! Some of the best books I have read up to this point, highly recommended.

You should read The Wind Through the Keyhole first, since it's set between tome 4 and 5.
Not that it matters much though. It's a pretty stand alone book, but you'll get some hints at things to come.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

For my horror fix

 

[Donthizz#]

then

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Yukio Mishima's 'Confessions of a Mask'
I'm about halfway through this, very interesting reading and a very intimate insight into sexuality.

Earlier today I also read Yoko Ogawa's 'The Diving Pool', her writing always invokes feelings of a sweltering summer with foreboding darkness seeping through the landscapes, it's very consistent - I liked some of the humour in 'Pregnancy Diary' and I welcomed some of the more perverse elements that make up 'The Diving Pool', the main story itself, they're reminiscent of her other novel I read not long ago, 'Hotel Iris'.

I also read Taichi Yamada's 'Strangers' today, it was a very easy read but I felt like it didn't particularly excel at anything, aside from presenting a different approach to spirits and ghosts and whatnot.

 

[nakedsushi]

House of Leaves.

About fifty pages in and not really feeling it. I really like Navidson's story, but find Zapano's digressions not really adding a lot at this point and I hate Johnny Truant and his little interruptions about getting high.

I think you should stop if you're not really feeling it. It doesn't really change from 50 pages on. I enjoyed the book mostly for how different it was and for Navidson's story like you. But yeah, the other stories, especially Truant's were kind of a slog to get through. I don't think the book ever redeemed itself for the un-interesting side-inner-stories so if you have a backlog already, you can probably skip this.

I finished this last night:

Blood Kin by M.J. Scott
It was what I was expecting, which was pretty good because I was in the mood for exactly that: paranormal with a little smut thrown in.


Now halfway done with:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
I don't remember if I had read this when I was younger, but it seems familiar as I read it. I can't tell if it's because I've seen the Garland movie or what. A couple of things surprised me because they were so different from the movie. The book seems a little darker than I would have expected for a kids' book.

 

[Manik]

Finished -

I really enjoyed the more single character focused first book, which was a nice change of pace from the previous novels, though it left the final 3 books with a bit too much ground to cover. From reading the comments afterwards, however, I get the feeling it's a book that is necessary to set up a lot of the series' following events and is a lot more impressive on a reread. If I ever make it to the end of book 10 then I'll be sure to go back and see what had been foreshadowed and curse myself for not having seen it sooner

To give myself a breather in between MBotF books I've started -

A collection of short stories from the author of 'How to live safely in a science fictional universe'.

 

[ultron87]

I'm on Wool #4 now. This series is wonderful.

Spoiler

It definitely seems like the shit is about to hit the proverbial fan.

 

[Sleepy]

Reading:

I can't get enough of this author. How's Middlesex?

 

[8bit]

Just finished Charles Stross - Rule 34, good but I've missed the previous tales and need to drop back into them.

Wool 1-5 (& First Shift), which I really enjoyed.

Gave up with Rob Reid - Year Zero which may be the worst book I've read in a couple of years. It's compared to a modern Douglas Adams on Amazon who clearly haven't read Douglas Adams' work.

 

[nakedsushi]

Reading:

I can't get enough of this author. How's Middlesex?

I got enough of him after the Marriage Pact. I also read Virgin Suicides a long time ago and it was okay, but nothing that pushed me to read Middlesex. Some people seem to love, love, love Middlesex, so you may be in that camp.

I do NOT recommend Marriage Pact though. All the characters were pretty banal and the book wasn't every good in general.

 

[Cactus]

Finished the Warden last night (loved it) but I think I'll read a few other books before I jump into Barchester Towers, starting with:

 

[Sleepy]

I do NOT recommend Marriage Pact though. All the characters were pretty banal and the book wasn't every good in general.

Huh...The Marriage Plot was one of the best books I have read this year. I really enjoyed the English Studies stuff in it, which probably accounts for my opinion.

 

[BorkBork]

Went on a bit of a reading binge after not reading anything new for a while.

The Paradox of Choice

"When people have no choice, life is almost unbearable. As the number of available choices increases, as it has in our consumer culture, the autonomy, control, and liberation this variety brings are powerful and positive. But as the number of choices keeps growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear. As the number of choices grows further, the negatives escalate until we become overloaded. At this point, choice no longer liberates, but debilitates. It might even be said to tyrannize."

Really good pop-psych read on why having more choice can actually make us less happy.

Fixing the Sky: The Checkered History of Weather and Climate Control

Arguing that geoengineering is nothing new, Fleming uses a historical lens to examine the various myths, quacks, and well-meaning people who have sought to control the weather and climate.

Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World

There is no "wildness" anymore; humanity has affected every part of the world. This is a really easy, intriguing, and different paradigm of nature conservation.

Galapagos

2/3rds through this one, and it's been a hilarious read.

Finished The Left Hand of Darkness today. Incredible book and it leaves so much to think about gender, duality, and social structures. Highly recommended if you're in the mood for a great scifi, or just a great book in general.

For those that have read it, is The Dispossessed by Le Guin equally great?

I think I'm in the minority, but The Dispossessed is better, and one of the best books I've ever read. Here's a good review and brief synopsis of it:

http://wrongquestions.blogspot.ca/2010/10/recent-reading-roundup-28.html

 

[Dresden]

flipped through Invented Knowledge for a bit.

Also picked up The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obrecht and Gentlemen of the Road by Chabon.

 

[Broder Salsa]

Finished Lolita which was a pleasure from beginning to end. Now going to start on something less serious but no doubt equally beautifully written.

This review sold me

I was worried, worried that for all the fame Karl Pilkington has enjoyed this past year or so, he'd have gained some actual - genuine - knowledge, and by default this book would have become less enjoyable, clouded by information and 'facts' that actual rang true.

I needn't have worried. Karl remains as impervious to knowledge as a moth does to the damaging effects of hot light bulbs. He seeks knowledge, but when it happens upon him something gets twisted in the transmitter and it comes out of his mouth adapted, totally different to the true meaning.

 

[Neffarias_Bredd]

I did enjoy the single character focus of the first book of HoC, mainly because there were far fewer secondary characters to try and keep track of.

As far as the main storyline goes I still get confused with which characters are allied with which and, occasionally, get the races muddled up. The T'lan Imass and the Tiste... and the Edur, Imass and... argh. And don't get me started on the warrens. I'm getting there though!

I usually find if I get lost off during a chapter, but persevere, then it all comes together in the end.

The most confusing part of the books for me are the warrens; I just can't seem to grasp what they are, how they work, and most importantly their names. Erickson name drops like I should know what he's talking about, but when it comes to warrens, I'm totally lost

 

[Witchfinder General]

Krav Maga: How To Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault - Imi Sde-Or & Eyal Yanilov

 

[JohnsonUT]

Just about to finish this. Really long, but also pretty engrossing throughout. Roosevelt was a complete badass at all ages.

 

[nakedsushi]

Went on a bit of a reading binge after not reading anything new for a while.

The Paradox of Choice



Really good pop-psych read on why having more choice can actually make us less happy.

Fixing the Sky: The Checkered History of Weather and Climate Control

Arguing that geoengineering is nothing new, Fleming uses a historical lens to examine the various myths, quacks, and well-meaning people who have sought to control the weather and climate.

Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World

There is no "wildness" anymore; humanity has affected every part of the world. This is a really easy, intriguing, and different paradigm of nature conservation.

Galapagos

2/3rds through this one, and it's been a hilarious read.




I think I'm in the minority, but The Dispossessed is better, and one of the best books I've ever read. Here's a good review and brief synopsis of it:

http://wrongquestions.blogspot.ca/2010/10/recent-reading-roundup-28.html

Hey I noticed you're using Goodreads.com book links (thanks!). Did you know there's a widget/shortcut thing on each book page (scroll down and look at the right side in the "Share This Book" section, click the "Your website" link) that gives you a BBcode snippet you can copy/paste to forums that includes the image and link already?

It looks like so:

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz

 

[falconzss]

The author also runs blog called Japan Subculture Research Center, some good stuff there now and then. Ps. while the book had interesting subject I find the author to be terrible writer.

I actually liked his way of writing but that's just personal taste

Spoiler

or my taste is just poor

Anyways, finished The Aquariums of Pyongyang last night. Glad I've read it. Shocking and disturbing. It's baffling and astounding what amount of suffering and abuse a person can go through without being completely broken.

Just noticed that Amazon has a 3 for 15 deal.
I am more or less set on getting Brave New World and Norwegian Wood but I don't know which other book I should choose. I'd be glad if someone could recommend me a title. Sorry if it's not the right place to ask.

 

[Grenouille]

I'm over 100 pages into Blindness now and at first the way the dialogue is handled was driving me crazy. No quotation marks, no acknowledgement of who is speaking, separated only by commas. But then I started thinking, in a way its actually kind of brilliant as the blind people don't know to whom they're speaking. At least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself so as not to get frustrated. For anyone else that read Blindness - what did you think of the dialogue situation?

I haven't read blindness, but he writes that way in his other books too. In Cain (his last one) and The Cavern, the ones ive read, he does tell you who's speaking, but it's very easy to get lost. I like it though, I don't know, it just seems to give the book a fast pace, with so many commas instead of full stops and dialogues getting mixed with thoughts and descriptions..

 

[Maklershed]

Finished Lolita which was a pleasure from beginning to end. Now going to start on something less serious but no doubt equally beautifully written.

This review sold me

Ohhh gimme! (when you're done with it of course. :b )

I haven't read blindness, but he writes that way in his other books too. In Cain (his last one) and The Cavern, the ones ive read, he does tell you who's speaking, but it's very easy to get lost. I like it though, I don't know, it just seems to give the book a fast pace, with so many commas instead of full stops and dialogues getting mixed with thoughts and descriptions..

How is The Cave? I've had it for the longest time but haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[KrymynalChylde]

Starting:

I LOVED that book. I have a hard time reading non-fiction, but love history, and this book made me feel like I was learning a lot without having to slug through some dry textbook-like writing style.

As for me, currently reading:

Anybody else find this series absolutely boring as fuck? I'm in dire need of a fantasy fix so I'm forcing myself to read it, but other than Cithrin and to a lesser extent Geder, I can barely get through any of the other characters POV chapters. I just skim through Lady Kalliam's to see if anything worth note is happening.

I can't wait for THIS to come out though, been loving the series so far. I'm just worried I'm going to get Jordan'd or Tolkien'd as I hear the author is really sick and may not live long enough to finish

 

[aidan]

I LOVED that book. I have a hard time reading non-fiction, but love history, and this book made me feel like I was learning a lot without having to slug through some dry textbook-like writing style.

As for me, currently reading:

Anybody else find this series absolutely boring as fuck? I'm in dire need of a fantasy fix so I'm forcing myself to read it, but other than Cithrin and to a lesser extent Geder, I can barely get through any of the other characters POV chapters. I just skim through Lady Kalliam's to see if anything worth note is happening.

I can't wait for THIS to come out though, been loving the series so far. I'm just worried I'm going to get Jordan'd or Tolkien'd as I hear the author is really sick and may not live long enough to finish

That's not even remotely true. He's physically fit and is currently an acting fire fighter. The illness he's fighting is depression and anxiety, a subject he is very open about. He's not going to die.

 

[KrymynalChylde]

That's not even remotely true. He's physically fit and is currently an acting fire fighter. The illness he's fighting is depression and anxiety, a subject he is very open about. He's not going to die.

Well my mistake, the internet has once again fed me lies and hyperbole. That's good news though!

 

[Grenouille]

Ohhh gimme! (when you're done with it of course. :b )



How is The Cave? I've had it for the longest time but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I got the name wrong because mine is the portuguese version (a caverna).
It is well written and has some great thoughts in it but I found the story itself not very interesting.

 

[Jintor]

I am making slow progress in Pride and Prejudice, and I'm now about a fifth of the way through it. The annotations slow me down, and I just haven't spent as much time reading it as I might usually. I like Elizabeth, though.

I really enjoyed Pride & Prejudice, so I thought I would automatically enjoy Emma, but it turns out that isn't the case. Emma is a goddamn slog. I finished the first book of it and haven't touched it since.

Anyway, got this in the mail today.

Looking forward to cracking it open, but I need to get some law readings done first...

(It's Guns, Germs and Steel for those browsing without images)

 

[thomaser]

Just finished Hussain Haddawy's translation of "Sindbad and Other Stories from the Arabian Nights". Entertaining stuff, and a very clear and readable translation. The Disney Aladdin is nothing like the original at all.

Now, starting Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It has received lots of praise here on NeoGAF, but I know many people dislike it too. I loved McCarthy's Border trilogy, so chances are I'll like this one too.

 

[Lamel]

Yesterday I went to barnes and noble to return my abridged version of "the count of monte cristo". It was under the "barnes and noble classics" line so I assumed it was the full book and it didn't say it was abridged on the cover (it did say it was abridged like 10 pages in).

Anyway I didn't have my receipt but I knew they keep an electronic record if you pay by credit card. So I go up to the lady and say I want to return this.

Lady: "Do you have a receipt?"

ME: "No but I think you can look it up on your computer right? I am returning it because it's abridged and it's not what I want."

Lady:"Well sir you should have known it was abridged, it's such a "small" book (I admit I was ignorant and didn't research well enough)"

ME: "Sorry I just assumed it was the full book, but it really is falsely advertised if they don't say abridged on the cover."

Lady:"Ugh, ok. Also, this book has definitely been water damaged."

Now this is where I was annoyed, she thought I had damaged the book which is why I am returning it. I didn't damage it at all, I had only read 70 pages and it seemed a little "opened". It was a small sized book, 7"x4" probably, so you can imagine how it would bust open if it is over 700 pages.

ME: "Uh...I have only read it a little, it definitely has not been water damaged, or damaged in any way."

Lady: "*rolls eyes* SIR, we are book EXPERTS. It definitely has been damaged in SOME way."

Then she shows the book to some other customer and he agrees "oh yeah totally damaged..."

Now I am standing there like "wtf."

ME: "Listen I'm glad you think you're an expert, but it isn't damaged, now can you please give me my money back."

Lady: "Sir I don't want to argue with you PLEASE."



At this point I was fed up. So she just gave me back store credit with a really mean attitude.


I was really annoyed, book experts my ass. I stayed in the store and looked at other copies of the same book and they looked IDENTICAL to the one I returned. I should have showed her that. But what arrogance.

 

[aidan]

Yesterday I went to barnes and noble to return my abridged version of "the count of monte cristo". It was under the "barnes and noble classics" line so I assumed it was the full book and it didn't say it was abridged on the cover (it did say it was abridged like 10 pages in).

Anyway I didn't have my receipt but I knew they keep an electronic record if you pay by credit card. So I go up to the lady and say I want to return this.

Lady: "Do you have a receipt?"

ME: "No but I think you can look it up on your computer right? I am returning it because it's abridged and it's not what I want."

Lady:"Well sir you should have known it was abridged, it's such a "small" book (I admit I was ignorant and didn't research well enough)"

ME: "Sorry I just assumed it was the full book, but it really is falsely advertised if they don't say abridged on the cover."

Lady:"Ugh, ok. Also, this book has definitely been water damaged."

Now this is where I was annoyed, she thought I had damaged the book which is why I am returning it. I didn't damage it at all, I had only read 70 pages and it seemed a little "opened". It was a small sized book, 7"x4" probably, so you can imagine how it would bust open if it is over 700 pages.

ME: "Uh...I have only read it a little, it definitely has not been water damaged, or damaged in any way."

Lady: "*rolls eyes* SIR, we are book EXPERTS. It definitely has been damaged in SOME way."

Then she shows the book to some other customer and he agrees "oh yeah totally damaged..."

Now I am standing there like "wtf."

ME: "Listen I'm glad you think you're an expert, but it isn't damaged, now can you please give me my money back."

Lady: "Sir I don't want to argue with you PLEASE."



At this point I was fed up. So she just gave me back store credit with a really mean attitude.


I was really annoyed, book experts my ass. I stayed in the store and looked at other copies of the same book and they looked IDENTICAL to the one I returned. I should have showed her that. But what arrogance.

Should have asked to speak with a manager.

 

[Kodiak]

Self help with a dash of science.

Just Finished - has helped me tremendously. I now completely bypass all arguments with my girlfriend and everyone at my coffee shop loves me because I learned their names and ask about their day. I've also become much happier and less shy at work. Basically helped me get over my fear of other people.

Reading:

I suck horribly at money, and decided to stop sucking at it.

And:

 

[Gix]

Just finished:

Starting:

Off and on:

 

[TheChewyWaffles]

That is indeed the correct version. The abridged version is about half as long (~600 vs ~1200 pages) and mildly censored for stuffy nineteenth century audiences; most editions use the original anonymous 1846 translation. The Buss translation is pretty much your only real option for a complete, unabridged, and uncensored translation of the novel so:

Yes, switch to that.

Well, crap, looks like I can't buy that version for Kindle

 

[Lamel]

Should have asked to speak with a manager.

I mean she eventually caved and gave me $7 worth of store credit, so it's not that big of a deal.

I was just annoyed by the fact that they accused me of something I absolutely did not do. I was acting within their policies. You would think that after giving them so much business they would be a little nicer to returning customers.

 

[alphaflightlives]

Finished the following:


Savages: A Novel by Don Winslow

Amazingly fun and clever. The sort of book you could easily finish in one sitting due to how fast and off the cuff it reads.


A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

I get pretty tired of each book in this series till it gets about 2/3 of the way through then I become completely engrossed. I'm going to have to wait a bit till I have the strength to tackle A Feast for Crows


Taking Wing by Michael A. Martin

Meh. Rote Star Trek fiction. Nothing special here. Mainly read to burn time till tomorrow when I will get the first three Neal Stephenson novels and will start with....


The Big U by Neal Stephenson

It's the first Stephenson I've read and I know he has come out disowning it but I usually like to start from the beginning when reading an author. I'm pretty excited to check out his stuff.

I usually just lurk but I want to thank everyone for all the recommendations and discussion. Every time I enter this thread I find something else I want to read!

 

[Mollymauk]

Well, crap, looks like I can't buy that version for Kindle

It's there. It's just a bit tougher to find.

http://www.amazon.com/Count-Cristo-Penguin-Classics-ebook/dp/B002RI9KL8

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Just finished

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Enjoyed it. Was a lot better than the movie and reminded of The Long Ships, though not as good. Anyway, would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good Viking Story.


Anyone know of any good colonization or terraforming books that are not the Mars trilogy?