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What are you reading? (December 2012)

Celegus

Member
I'm usually not someone who really laughs while reading a book a but the part with the Asshole BrainPal actually got a good chuckle out of me. I'm really liking it this far, but I'm only about 20% in.

I loved that part as well. Hopefully it's not the same for you, but my interest in the book pretty much fell off a cliff directly after that section.
 
Just bought

roadside-picnic-new1.jpg


I loved all the stalker games and Chernobyl lore so I am excited.

Yes!

Great story. Dark, and very Russian. Loved it.

FYI - This is a $2.99 Kindle daily deal today.
 
Reading this:

Product2637_Photo1.jpg


Never read the Bible, and so I chose an annotated version that offer insight and draw comparisons between stories, etc.
 

Mastadon

Banned
I think this has always been the general consensus as far as the starting point but is there any kind of consensus on what book should be #2?

I think 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles' is a great follow-up book, and a good introduction to the more fantastical elements of Murakami's writing.
 
51nEnP20jGL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg


I'm only in the 'introduction', which is 58 pages, but it seems really good/amusing so far. My first Moody, too, so I'm long overdue.

Still plugging away at this. Sooooooo good. I find it interesting that Moody's journey to Mars was 10x better (imho) than Kim Stanley Robinson's.
 

Jay Sosa

Member
still reading brief history of time. and slowly, veeeeery slowly I begin to understand what the f*$% he's talking about. Also read a lot about quantum mechanics, that's some intriguing shit.


lol that cover reminds me of pen&pixel art. So bad it's great.
 
I started Life of Pie the other night. I couldn't get beyond page 1. (I'll try again when i'm awake).

I started on another Dan Well's book.

hollow-city.jpg
 

npm0925

Member
I finished Red Country last week, which borrows rather heavily from a number of Clint Eastwood westerns, especially Unforgiven and whatever the western equivalent of Yojimbo is. I cannot recommend the book, as it is simply a retread of themes fully covered in Abercrombie's previous work (i.e., high fantasy low lifes).

I am currently reading Wool: Omnibus edition, which is absolutely superb. Each book concerns life in an underground vault known as the Silo (think Fallout) after some kind of apocalypse on the surface. A definite read for those with any interest in concise prose, realistic characters, and sociology experiments.
 

Jay Sosa

Member
I finished Red Country last week, which borrows rather heavily from a number of Clint Eastwood westerns, especially Unforgiven and whatever the western equivalent of Yojimbo is. I cannot recommend the book, as it is simply a retread of themes fully covered in Abercrombie's previous work (i.e., high fantasy low lifes).

I am currently reading Wool: Omnibus edition, which is absolutely superb. Each book concerns life in an underground vault known as the Silo (think Fallout) after some kind of apocalypse on the surface. A definite read for those with any interest in concise prose, realistic characters, and sociology experiments.

sounds great, thanks for the tip
 

DagsJT

Member
Finished "John Dies At The End" and it was very funny at times but dragged on a little too much. 3/5 stars.

Currently working my way through the "Locke & Key" graphic novels and will start reading "The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey tonight.
 
FYI - This is a $2.99 Kindle daily deal today.

Bought! I need to read something like 9 books in 13 days to make my 2012 Reading Challenge so this may be one of them. Started on this last night in the tub:


Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Interesting premise so far. It's told in the perspective of the zombie this time. There's something zen-ish about being a zombie in this book. A very "live in the present" type of feeling. I'm afraid that it'll just go downhill from there.
 
I enjoyed it. I plan on reading the sequels soon. Some concepts were hard to understand but the exploration/unknown aspects of it made up for that. Reminded me a lot of the Heechee Saga by Pohl.

Cool, love me some Gateway.

Bought! I need to read something like 9 books in 13 days to make my 2012 Reading Challenge so this may be one of them. Started on this last night in the tub:


Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Interesting premise so far. It's told in the perspective of the zombie this time. There's something zen-ish about being a zombie in this book. A very "live in the present" type of feeling. I'm afraid that it'll just go downhill from there.


That does sound kinda interesting. Added to my wishlist.
 
Starting Chronicles of the Black Company. Managed to get the all four anthologies for $20 total. Read The Black Company years ago and remember it being fun.
 

ultron87

Member
Finally finished up The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M Banks. I enjoyed it quite a bit, though the fairly high concept premise pretty quickly reduces itself to a fairly typical (for a Culture book at least) second half.
 

Monroeski

Unconfirmed Member
Bought! I need to read something like 9 books in 13 days to make my 2012 Reading Challenge so this may be one of them. Started on this last night in the tub:


Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Interesting premise so far. It's told in the perspective of the zombie this time. There's something zen-ish about being a zombie in this book. A very "live in the present" type of feeling. I'm afraid that it'll just go downhill from there.

Just saw a trailer for the film adaptation yesterday. Didn't realize there was a book.
 

ymmv

Banned
Now reading:

51xHZB0-ePL._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


I got a whole bunch of books by Pearl S. Buck from a recent Amazon kindle sale. I always wanted to read this. I'm only 30 pages in though but I like it so far. Even though the book is set in China, I think it's rather like a number of books by Flemish/Dutch writers of the early 20th century who also wrote about farmers and country life.
 
Started Old Man's War by John Scalzi.

51sRVdcIfqL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-70,22_AA300_SH20_OU03_.jpg


I'm usually not someone who really laughs while reading a book a but the part with the Asshole BrainPal actually got a good chuckle out of me. I'm really liking it this far, but I'm only about 20% in.

I'm a big fan of this series, but the kind of humor and dialog really starts to make it feel like it's an episode of Friends in space.
 

udllpn

Member
I started today with The Sublime Object of Ideology by Slavoj Žižek.

8HuOZ.jpg


I would also like to ask all of you a related question, since I still can't create threads. I've been meaning to buy some Art History books from Amazon UK and it seems they are offering a 36% discount in two manuals I'm interested in. Does anyone know how long do these Christmas offers normally last?

I wouldn't want to rush things (in fact, I would prefer to wait a few weeks), but I'm not sure if the prices will be the same after the 25th (or after New Year's). What did Amazon do with their book prices on other occasions?
 

Trouble

Banned
Not sure what's up next, either In the Garden of Beasts (Erik Larson) or The Scar (China Miéville)

Fuck it. Wildcard, bitches.

200px-BraveNewWorld_FirstEdition.jpg


Re-reading this about 20 years after the first time. I barely remember any details about it and I feel like I was probably too young to fully appreciate it.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
Now reading:

51xHZB0-ePL._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


I got a whole bunch of books by Pearl S. Buck from a recent Amazon kindle sale. I always wanted to read this. I'm only 30 pages in though but I like it so far. Even though the book is set in China, I think it's rather like a number of books by Flemish/Dutch writers of the early 20th century who also wrote about farmers and country life.

Read it a few years ago, very good book.
 

Verdre

Unconfirmed Member
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Interesting premise so far. It's told in the perspective of the zombie this time. There's something zen-ish about being a zombie in this book. A very "live in the present" type of feeling. I'm afraid that it'll just go downhill from there.

Saw the trailer this weekend and didn't know it was based on a book. Saw this post, got the book and read it. Thought the ending was a bit abrupt, but otherwise I really liked it.
 

Setre

Member
Finished

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Those first 100 pages were really good but after that it got kind of stale. I loved how in the very beginning the ghost was messing with Judas and he didn't even notice it. Very creepy. Also loved the part where
he's walking down the hall and notices the ghost sitting there with his head cocked, waiting for Judas to make a noise and overall just fucking with him because at any moment he could have just went after him.

Overall I enjoyed it more than Horns but wish the rest of the book had been like those first 100 pages. I would love to read a horror book that consists of that type of writing. Not just messing with the character but also the reader.

Currently reading, almost finished

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Really enjoying this.
 

H2Yo

Member
Tried reading through 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, got about 3/4 through and just could not continue.
It's excruciatingly boring.

So I picked up Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. Just finished it; Really fun book.

I'm about to start The Magician by Raymond E Feist. I'm told it's awesome.
 
Tried reading through 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, got about 3/4 through and just could not continue.
It's excruciatingly boring.

So I picked up Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. Just finished it; Really fun book.

I'm about to start The Magician by Raymond E Feist. I'm told it's awesome.

Magician is, indeed, awesome.

Quoting this post again now that I've started reading it. I'm only about 12% in, but this is very fucking good. The language is a delight, the false footnotes are a great way to build the history of the story, and the concept is refreshing. Very happy so far.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is, indeed, delightfully refreshing.
 

Jintor

Member
Magician is one of my favourite fantasy novels. The only thing else in the Riftwar saga that comes close is the Empire trilogy.

Reading this:


Virtual Light by William Gibson

It's very interesting so far, but Cyberpunk always has the jargon overload problem for me...
 

Jarlaxle

Member
Quoting this post again now that I've started reading it. I'm only about 12% in, but this is very fucking good. The language is a delight, the false footnotes are a great way to build the history of the story, and the concept is refreshing. Very happy so far.

If you're liking it that much at 12% in you are going to absolutely love it by the end.
 
Amazon has been having some good Kindle Daily deals lately. Today's deal is Old Man's War for $2.99. Worth a read?

Thanks for the heads up! I've been meaning to read this for a while, so snagged that today. Might start reading it now since I just finished up:


Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Pretty good for a zombie book. I couldn't fully invest into the conceit of the book being told purely through a zombie's eyes because R just seemed too self-aware even in the beginning of the book, but enjoyed the story nonetheless. It seemed weird how okay everyone seemed about people dying but I guess that's what happens in a zombiepocalypse.
 

Mastadon

Banned
Just started:

qAHbm.jpg


My second favourite Russian author, and for my money the best short-story writer ever.

I'm an idiot, but how do you link the cover image to the Goodreads profile?
 

Mastadon

Banned
Ah, cool! I remember him being mentioned a few times in 1Q84. Unfortunately, it looks like there are no Kindle editions of his books. May have to hit up the library!

It's worth it! Just make sure you pick up the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation where possible (this applies for all Russian translations!)
 

NeoZylom

Member
Text books. Lots of.

Would like to read The Hobbit before I see the movie. But getting done with this semester is my priority right now :p
 

Unicorn

Member
Incidentally, folks, check this out.

http://vimeo.com/55786310

Hard to express just how much these folks get it. The documentary is 40 minutes or so, but it's worth your time.

I'd love to be able to help Kenny buy the premises.

Not to sound like an asshole, but I can't understand a word that guy is saying. Need subtitles so bad. Watching anyway, but frustrated.
 
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