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[nitewulf]

 

[calder]

What did you think of Wolves Eat Dogs? I have a copy of Stalin's Ghost that sits here, as yet unread.

And I couldn't agree with you more about Rose. I absolutely love that book. Up there with Gorky Park as my favorite MCS book period.

Wolves Eat Dogs is the "very good" one in my long winded sentence - better than Stalin's Ghost but not quite up to the standards of Red Square or Gorky Park. The setting is an obvious plus and the mystery is good, it just felt a tiny bit less impressive than the absolute best Renko stories to me. Part of that might be a personal preference for the presence or absence of certain ongoing characters from the previous books.

It's worth pointing out that for me a relatively disappointing Renko novel like SG is still an excellent book compared to most others.

And it's always nice to see "Rose" get its props. Such a great novel.

 

[Laurentius]

I am finishing this up tonight...

It's excellent in its individual chapters, but I'm still trying to like the book as a whole. I was hoping for a more consistent following of characters, instead of the "let's introduce a bunch of new characters and make you care about them for 20-30 pages and then fast forward 30-50 years and start all over again." More thoughts later. Asimov is still awesome. I will be moving on to Foundation and Empire after this.

Well, I mean, the original Foundation trilogy is really a collection of short stories. They're fantastic at what they do, but they aren't one story with the same characters throughout. I loved the "trilogy" (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation) but I'm not to fond of the two sequels. They're entertaining to read (and you can see Asimov's writing improvements) but I just couldn't get myself to get over the ridiculous concept.

Spoiler

A sentient planet and a psychic robot put the fate of the galaxy and the human race into the hands of a politician because they think he has good intuition. That's about it.

They're entertaining and certainly worth a read, but not on the level of the original trilogy.

Now, on the other hand, the two Foundation prequels (Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation) are fantastic. Getting to know the character of Hari Seldon is great as is the way he connects the Foundation series with

Spoiler

the Robot series.

I loved those two books. *shrug*

 

[Witchfinder General]

Paul Kelly - The End of Certainty

Whilst I remember Keating's coup over Hawke and the various goings on at the time al the finer details elude as I was so young at the time. This book seems like an excellent choice of understanding the the political shift in Labor in the 80s and 90s.

 

[Iceman]

Something like 200 journal articles and reviews on the regulation of actin cytoskeletal dynamics and contractility with specific regard to the trabecular meshwork and smooth muscle tissue. Writing a thesis is demanding.

Also, Watchmen graphic novel.

Next month I'll be right there with you guys.

 

[npm0925]

I just finished A Game of Thrones, which I liked but didn't love and I'm kinda on the fence about continuing with the series. I'm not much for political intrigues (I should have got a hint from the book's title) and I don't think most of the characters are interesting enough to warrant their own chapters. Also, there was such a plethora of them, all with names, nick-names and vast families. It confused me to the point where my mind just couldn't place them. Another minor thing that annoyed me was the almost "romantic novel" style of the sex scenes was off-putting and felt unnecessary and

Like I said, I enjoyed it, but there are lots of other books I want to read... Should I stick with it or move on?

I would stop. Martin introduces so much filler into book 2 that I can't believe this series will be finished before 2015.

 

[JzeroT1437]

Frankenstein: A Cultural History by Susan Tyler Hitchcock

An interesting exploration of how Shelley's Frankenstein became a cultural icon and modern myth over the span of a very short period of time. I was looking into reading up on horror culture and this seemed like a good starting place, since I've always had sort of a soft spot for Frankie.

Batman Unmasked by Will Brooker

Started this one due to renewed interest in Batman as a result of The Dark Knight, but I'm not sure if I'm pleased with it or not. It covers a broad range of topics, from Batman's inception to comic book censorship to his role in the modern world, but concerns itself a bit too much with the idea of homosexuality between Batman and other characters--most predominantly Robin. This may be something to cover, but not something which demands several pages of dedicated work. Kind of meh.

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Only just started this, but Obama can write a pretty intriguing narrative. He doesn't present in the typical drab style of politics--he weaves a story in the same way a novel's author would, which is great. Hope this turns out well.

The Joke's Over by Ralph Steadman

Will be starting this as soon as I finish the Frankenstein book. I've recently become very interested in Thompson's writing and Steadman's art, so this should be a fun, if depressing, read for me.

 

[Double D]

Same

 

[tammolives]

What do you think of Kerouac? I'm halfway through Dharma Bums. It's....different.

 

[Monroeski]

Is it weird that I have a Master's degree and I'm going back for a certification? :lol

Will be starting this soon.

Excellent, EXCELLENT book.

Will be re-reading this soon.

 

[Frester]

Watchmen!

 

[chico]

bought the trilogy for my 3 week holidays...
hope i have enough time to read all 3 books.

This is the first book in The Warlord Chronicles series by Bernard Cornwell....

The trilogy tells the legend of Arthur seen through the eyes of his follower Derfel Cadarn.
More Infos here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winter_King_(novel)

 

[nitewulf]

What do you think of Kerouac? I'm halfway through Dharma Bums. It's....different.

he was always on my "to do" list, i mean to read, not to fuck. finally decided to pick up a collection.

...

i find his writing very refreshing and exactly as i imagined it would be. no pretense. just straight-laced narrative, very fluid, descriptive. i'm only reading "on the road" so far, so i cant comment on the rest.

 

[JzeroT1437]

Frankenstein: A Cultural History by Susan Tyler Hitchcock

An interesting exploration of how Shelley's Frankenstein became a cultural icon and modern myth over the span of a very short period of time. I was looking into reading up on horror culture and this seemed like a good starting place, since I've always had sort of a soft spot for Frankie.

Finished this last night. Hitchcock offers a chronicle but lacks any sort of substance in the way of analysis or critique of Frankenstein's broader role as a modern myth. Good if you're into modern myths or monster movies, but I wouldn't suggest for anyone looking for some depth unless you're doing research and need a good source for trivia/facts.

Moving on to The Joke's Over now.

 

[FnordChan]

I'm about 75 pages into Declare by Tim Powers, a cold war espionage story with supernatural elements. It's the early 60s and our hero, long retired from the unusual special branch he served with in WWII and still emotionally scarred from a failed mission on Mt. Ararat, has been reactivated. He's going back to Mt. Ararat, this time in the company of Kim Philby, with all that entails, in an attempt to stop the Russians from harnessing some strange, as yet unexplained power there. I've only read one other novel by Powers, The Anubis Gates, but I loved the hell out of it, and having him riffing on Le Carre here is, so far, even better. I'll report back (no doubt with wild enthusing) when I'm done.

FnordChan

 

[AndresON777]

I got this book like 4 years ago had it sitting around in my collection, just read almost all of it in 3 days. I love it, my first Card book I'm looking forward to picking up the rest of the series.

 

[thomaser]

Just finished the last volume in the complete works of Alexander Kielland, one of the so-called "4 greats" of Norwegian literature (the others are Ibsen, Bjørnson and Jonas Lie). Many of his longer stories are based in an unnamed town (thought to be Stavanger, on the Norwegian south-west coast), and together they lay out the story of the town from ca. 1820-30 to ca. 1880 or so. "Poison" is the best known story. They're usually very good, but can be extremely infuriating to read since things never go as you wish they should... The "good guys" you feel positive about are almost always eventually downtrodden by the "big guys" - the priest, the owner of the local shipyard, the owner of the bank etc. The whole thing is basically an attack on the powers in the society: "Kielland revealed the oppression of the poor, scourged hypocrisy in the clergy, and satirized bureaucracy and the schoolmen." These same groups often criticized Kielland as "immoral" - a great irony if there ever was one. His very best work is a short-story called "Karen", though, about a serving-girl at an inn in Denmark being seduced by the postmaster. I've analyzed it several times at school, and it's a marvel, with three strands of story weaving together and interlocking in all sorts of ways, and more symbolism than you can shake a stick at.

Right now, I'm reading The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. After that I might continue with Miller and read The Crucible. Or I'll read Peer Gynt by Ibsen. Sometimes you need to read a play or two.

 

[Danielsan]

I started reading Life of Pi today

I'm only 73 pages in but my god, I adore this book. It's smart, funny and endearing.

 

[Night_Trekker]

I bought everything I could find and afford written by Cormac McCarthy over the weekend (everything but The Border Trilogy and his play, The Stonemason). I'm starting on Outer Dark today.

 

[KTallguy]

And I am currently reading:

That's the one that made him famous, but I personally recommend:

It's much more science fictiony.

I read a whole bunch of Murakami's books back in the day, and now I've been re-reading them in Japanese (and it takes me forEVER). My memory of the book is too hazy to remember the tone of the translation but even in English it's an astoundingly good read. I want to do Kafka on the Shore after this one.

 

[The Chef]

Right there with you my friend.
Im on

 

[thomaser]

Finished Death of a Salesman and The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Both excellent, but The Crucible hit me hardest... I HATE seeing innocent people unjustly accused, and nowhere is that done as squirmingly unjustly as in this play.

Right now I'm reading A Social History of the Media - From Gutenberg to the Internet by Peter Burke and Asa Briggs. It's for my history-studies, but it's so interesting and well-written that it could easily be enjoyed outside studies as well.

I have lots of books to choose from outside the study-books, but I have no idea which to pick next. The Man Without Qualities by Musil? The Rest Is Noise by Ross? The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Kundera? The Good Soldier Svejk by Hasek? The Historian by Kostova? What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Murakami? Underworld by De Lillo? Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck? And there are tons more still...

 

[DarkJediKnight]

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

FU#$K Im reading this too.

If I had the balls I would try to post a small thread on these books but the
backlash would never be worth it.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Just finished Watchmen at the beginning of the month, and now I'm reading this:

So far, it's been awesome.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Just finished Watchmen at the beginning of the month, and now I'm reading this:

So far, it's been awesome.

I had never even heard of this but I believe this is going to be my next book.

 

[bengraven]

Irish Fairy and Folk Tales.

 

[E-phonk]

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

I loved no country and was thinking about picking this up.
What did you think?

 

[Boogie9IGN]

I loved no country and was thinking about picking this up.
What did you think?

I'm reading it right now too and I have about 80 pages left. The lack of grammar is kinda trippy at first but it adds to the book I think. Anyway, it's really sad so far and some parts are downright depressing

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

I'm reading it right now too and I have about 80 pages left. The lack of grammar is kinda trippy at first but it adds to the book I think. Anyway, it's really sad so far and some parts are downright depressing

Let me know what you think when you finish it.

 

[Masamune]

You are the man.

I'd like to note, however, that while the Fagles translation is by far the most literal I've seen, its translation erases most poetic quality from the epic. I might recommend you take a look at the Fitzgerald translation (which typically accepted as the most accurate not only semantically but in terms of poetic rhythm) and compare the two.

 

[disappeared]

still slowly plodding through Mcarthy's The Road. only reading a few pages a night.

 

[szaromir]

I started several books, but couldn't really get into anything other than Joseph Conrad's "Lord Jim". That's a brilliant brilliant book.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

You are the man.

I'd like to note, however, that while the Fagles translation is by far the most literal I've seen, its translation erases most poetic quality from the epic. I might recommend you take a look at the Fitzgerald translation (which typically accepted as the most accurate not only semantically but in terms of poetic rhythm) and compare the two.

I will def check it out once I'm done with Fagles. Thx.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Charles Cumming's The Hidden Man and Steve Dublanica's Waiter Rant.

 

[echoshifting]

Let me know what you think when you finish it.

I know you aren't asking me but I adore The Road and think everyone should read it.

 

[Alucard]

Is it weird that I have a Master's degree and I'm going back for a certification? :lol

Not at all. I got an MA in a non-practical, useless "discipline" (Humanities), and I'll be starting a certification for something specific in the fall myself.

Yep, doing some pre-reading before my course starts in two weeks to get myself in the head space I need to be in to succeed. This is a fairly basic book, but it hits the main points and I've found it fairly useful and sometimes inspiring in its advice on teaching, learning, and keeping the classroom engaged and interested.

I've recently gone on a slight Star Wars kick, having watched the new Clone Wars animated feature, the mini-series, and Attack of the Clones (barf). This book takes place 5 years after Return of the Jedi, with Leia being pregnant with twins, and Luke trying to help establish the New Republic. There are some interesting new characters so far, particularly Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is intent on bringing back the glory days of the Empire. Anyway, the pace has been brisk and engaging so far. I'm just over 60 pages in.

 

[Eric P]

. I was looking into reading up on horror culture and this seemed like a good starting place, since I've always had sort of a soft spot for Frankie.

you have GOT to read David J Skal's The Monster Show.

http://www.monstershow.net/work3.htm

Illuminating the dark side of the American century, THE MONSTER SHOW uncovers the surprising links between horror entertainment and the great social crises of our time, as well as horror's function as a pop-cultural counterpart to surrealism, expressionism, and other twentieth-century artistic movements.

With penetrating analyses and vivid anecdotes, David J. Skal explores a broad landscape of cultural expression -- from painting and photography, to theater and television, to comic books and novels. Ultimately focusing on film, the predominant art form of the modern world, he examines the many ways in which this medium has played out the traumas of two world wars and the Depression; the nightmare visions of invasion and mind control engendered by the Cold War; the preoccupation with demon children and mutants that took hold as thalidomide, birth control, and abortion changed the reproductive landscape; the vogue in body-transforming special effects that paralleled the development of the plastic surgery industry; the link between the rise of the AIDS epidemic and a renewed fascination with vampires; and much more. With a new afterword by the author that looks at horror's popular renaissance in the last decade, THE MONSTER SHOW is a compulsively readable, thought-provoking inquiry into America's continuing obsession with the macabre.

 

[Falch]

Very intriguing book, and the first book that really made me understand the basic theories about things like black holes, symmetry breaking, the big bang, hyperspace, quantom mechanics and such. Not finished yet though, so I'm hoping it gets even better. Kaku's an excellent writer, although a bit unfocused at times.

About to start with this one. I've heard good things about it.

Been reading this on and off for the last 2 months or so. Can get a bit boring at times, but overall it's a good read, and the amount of information and research that has gone into it is astonishing.

This sounds absolutely fascinating. How is it?

 

[Chrono]

Recently finished:

Halfway through, will be done with soon:

Next up, these two:

 

[AndresON777]

The tales of Alvin Maker are great, started book 1 2 weeks ago and I'm hooked...on book 5 out of 6 now.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[sparky2112]

You are the man.

I'd like to note, however, that while the Fagles translation is by far the most literal I've seen, its translation erases most poetic quality from the epic. I might recommend you take a look at the Fitzgerald translation (which typically accepted as the most accurate not only semantically but in terms of poetic rhythm) and compare the two.

I have not read Fagles, so take my comments in that context.

Interesting that you mention Fagles impact on the poetic quality of the work. I'm curious, then, why his reputation is what it is. Weren't people ready to crown him as the grand poobah of translators? I saw him interviewed once, and he seemed like one of the LEAST dynamic/animated people I've ever seen, and I'm thinking to myself, 'Huh? This guy seems like he should be writing accounting textbooks, not translating epic poetry.'

 

[Danielsan]

I just finished Life of Pi. Amazing, absolutely amazing. I read all 401 pages in just three days and I'm not exactly a fast or heavy reader. The book just had its hooks in me. Two thumbs up.

Next up:

 

[Mkliner]

World War Z: Fucking awsome

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I had to read Life of Pi one year in high school and I swear that everyone but me hated it.

 

[Danielsan]

I had to read Life of Pi one year in high school and I swear that everyone but me hated it.

Fuck those people.
Reminds me of the time where we had to watch Monty Python's Life of Brian at school. I swear I was the only one laughing.

 

[Always-honest]

Bill Bryson: A Short History of Nearly Everything

 

[kathode]

Slowly but surely (it's crunch time):

Still trying to work out exactly which body part this is here. I'm 99% sure it's supposed to be boobs because it's a reference to the classic cover, but it just doesn't look... quite right.

After that, I'm restarting this, which I had to give up halfway through because it became impossible to keep up with the multitude of plot threads when I only had a couple hours a week to read:

Also, one more vote for Life of Pi being completely awesome. I think the movie is due out next year.