Finished Ubik couple of days ago. It was my first sci-fi novel so I was wondering if I would like it. And I definitely did. the characters, the setting, the story were all just great.
I started reading the Moral Landscape by Sam Harris today. Seems pretty interesting.
Right now I'm reading Debord's Society of the Spectacle and it's safe to say I'm in over my
head. Perhaps I should brush up on my Marx and Hegel because I'm just not following with Debord is saying.
Flashy has just met his doppelganger prince for the first time
--and while I've enjoyed it, it hasn't been as satisfying as the first book. I think it's because the death-toll isn't as high; not enough misery and whatnot.
Flashy has just met his doppelganger prince for the first time
--and while I've enjoyed it, it hasn't been as satisfying as the first book. I think it's because the death-toll isn't as high; not enough misery and whatnot.
Don't worry. Stick with it and you can get more than your share of human misery in Flash for Freedom!, which is followed by the astounding one-two punch of Flashman at the Charge and Flashman in the Great Game. Those two back to back are absolutely fantastic and you get to see Flashy try to squirm his way out of the Charge of the Light Brigade and the Great Mutiny of 1857. So, stick with it. Flash won't disappoint you!
Speaking of Royal Flash, the film adaptation, directed by Richard Lester and starring Oliver Reed as Otto von Bismarck and - who else? - Malcolm McDowell as Flashman, is pretty solid and worth watching.
Far enough into HULL ZERO THREE that I feel obliged to redact my comment about it being similar to Pandorum. I'll finish it this afternoon. My wife needs to get home or I'm going to run out of stuff to read.
Finished Royal Flash tonight, and the ending was damn good--wish he'd made off with the jewels.
Flashman on the March is just excellent, though. Meant to only get a little start, but ended up forcing myself to stop on page 117 or so, right as he reaches the crosses. Skipping ten or so novels in between it and Royal Flash felt rather odd, but once I started reading I forgot all about it--and somehow, Flashy, despite being a scoundrel still and a coward to boot, has become a hero. It's like his reputation reached such a soaring height even maintaining the appearance of being Sir Harry, V.C., has forced him to, well, be the hero he never was. Just enjoying the hell out of the book.
FnordChan said:
Don't worry. Stick with it and you can get more than your share of human misery in Flash for Freedom!, which is followed by the astounding one-two punch of Flashman at the Charge and Flashman in the Great Game. Those two back to back are absolutely fantastic and you get to see Flashy try to squirm his way out of the Charge of the Light Brigade and the Great Mutiny of 1857. So, stick with it. Flash won't disappoint you!
It really was. The beginning was rather slow, but things just gather steam and blow up near the end.
Finished Flashman on the March. Loved the hell out of it. Meant to read the Charge/Great Game books next, but I might pick up Mountain of Light instead. Either way, I'm going to just go through every book.
It was sad to find out Fraser never did write about Gettysburg, by the way.
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
I really like it so far. It's a loosely tied together collection of short stories. Loosely tied together because it's about a bunch of people who are all somewhat related in a 6 degrees of separation kind of way, but their stories are completely different.
I put off reading it because I thought it'd be trying too hard to be clever and hip, but boy am I completely wrong. This book has a lot of heart. And Egan is a master at making seamless, graceful transitions between present-time and flashbacks.
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
I really like it so far. It's a loosely tied together collection of short stories. Loosely tied together because it's about a bunch of people who are all somewhat related in a 6 degrees of separation kind of way, but their stories are completely different.
I put off reading it because I thought it'd be trying too hard to be clever and hip, but boy am I completely wrong. This book has a lot of heart. And Egan is a master at making seamless, graceful transitions between present-time and flashbacks.
will all of my new free time, i went to Barnes and Nobel and bought 8 books the other day! Though I am quickly finishing up Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter, which is goddamn great.
Just finished Machine of Death this week. Very good collection of short stories, which is also available in a free pdf and is being slowly podcasted in the form of audio books.
I just finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy on the Kindle. They were all very good. I am not sure what I am going to read next, I read a good amount of books from getting the Kindle about 3 months ago and am now slowing down, not sure what I want to read next, I still have a few books on it I would like to read, but also thinking about the A song of fire and ice series since I heard those are really good.
This was pretty amazing, and really different from anything else I have ever read.
Wiki said:
Halting State is a novel by Charles Stross, published in the United States on October 2, 2007 and in the UK in January, 2008. Stross has said that it is "a thriller set in the software houses that write multiplayer games". The plot centres around a bank robbery in a virtual world. It features speculative technologies, including Specs and virtual server networks over mobile phones. The book is on its second printing in the United States. The novel was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 2008.
You know, I'm usually overly sensitive to po-mo part of books, I didn't really mind the ones here. I thought the power point presentation was funny and kind of sad and poignant. Some of the graphs I skipped through, but the how
son trying to communicate to the dad through the music and the dad not really 'getting it'
was really touching.
Short review: One of the best-written books I've read. I think people of my generation (the Nintendo generation?) are especially prone to like it.
Long review:
A talented artist can paint a picture that evokes an emotion. The viewer looks at the painting and feels nothing but what the artist strives to communicate. The viewer doesn't notice the brushstrokes, the colors, or any of the physical aspects of the painting -- only the essense of the painting. Jennifer Egan is the artist and A Visit From the Goon Squad is the painting.
You know how sometimes you'll notice something, like the shoes a stranger is wearing, or a purse across the room and it'll remind you of something and you'll end up staring into space, lost in that memory? A Visit From the Goon Squad is kind of like that. The funny thing is, I've never worn safety pins in my clothes, I've never had some 40 year old guy do coke off my bare butt, and I've never dived into a polluted river, but A Visit From the Goon Squad made me nostalgic for those events.
A Visit From the Goon Squad is hard to describe as a book. It's narrative fiction, but it's not just one story and it's not only a collection of short stories. It's a collection of short stories connected through some shared characters and a strong central theme that I didn't really understand until halfway through the book. It's not preachy, it's not too-hip-for-thou, and it's not difficult to read. It's wonderfuly written with amazingly seemless transitions between the past and the present.
I can see it as a book that won't appeal to everyone. I had doubts about liking it because of its title and cover (I know, I know), but even I have to admit that it's one of the best written books I've read.
I'm re-reading The Mote in God's Eye in preparation for The Gripping Hand... which I am certain will disappoint me based on what I've heard, but whatever. The former is excellent, of course.
My reading habits have been very sporadic of late, so I thought another short story collection by one of the masters would be a good fit for my current state of mind and practices.
I was never really into Steven King, but my book pick for 2010 was Under The Dome. It does have a few horror elements, but I would say it is far from being a horror book.
Finished Masters of Doom about Carmack and Romero. Recommended for anyone interest in the subject matter, although I didn't like the way the author wrote the inner monologues of the main players. It is amazing that two twentysomethings in Shreveport created what has become the industry standard, the modern 3D shooter, from scratch. And the hubris of Ion Storm is a great story too. I forgot what a leap it was to go from Wolfenstein up to the hardware accelerated Quake 2 in just a few years.
I can't believe this story hasn't been made into a TV movie or miniseries, although I guess it's just not mainstream enough.
I was never really into Steven King, but my book pick for 2010 was Under The Dome. It does have a few horror elements, but I would say it is far from being a horror book.
Thanks, I'll take a look after I finish the third Millennium book.
One question: I'd rather read the kindle version, but I heard there are maps in this book which could render the experience useless. Is it true? And does the kindle convert it in a good way?
I'm reading through Druss the legend. I'm strangly addicted to this series. I can't nail down why. Part of it maybe that my friend has the whole series, which I love knowing this is plenty more to read even as I breeze through a book.
I have a man-crush on Greene. While most scientists do a midling job writing for the layman, Greene just GETS it. He really is able to think about complex ideas from the perspective of someone who knows none of it and then explain it in an orderly fashion. A lot of the time when I'm reading science stuff I'm like, 'Yeah, but what about...?', but Greene does a good job of anticipating all of that and addressing it. We're lucky to have guys like him - elbowing with the big boys, but hanging out and having a beer with us 'normal' folk too...
i'm often curious about this, so i'll ask reader-gaf.. do people really read more with an e-reading device? if so, why? if you have an e-reader thingy..do you now read in places where you didn't before? if so, why?
I actually have read fewer books since I got my Kindle because I have started reading newspapers again. I read the Times of London and New York Times on it. Also, I read a lot of free Kindle samples before I decide what to buy. I spend as much or more time actually reading but I finish fewer books these days.
i'm often curious about this, so i'll ask reader-gaf.. do people really read more with an e-reading device? if so, why? if you have an e-reader thingy..do you now read in places where you didn't before? if so, why?
I seem to be reading slightly more since I got my kindle, but it hasn't really been long enough to tell. I think the main difference for me will be a drastic reduction in the number of books I reread. Before something like a third of the books I read were rereads, and usually that was just cause I was too lazy to get myself over to the bookstore. Now I have a practically infinite supply of new books at my fingertips in the kindle store, so I'll never run out of new reading material. And I find I'm usually more into a book if I haven't read it before, so I read faster. As for reading in different places, well, I occasionally go through a few pages on my iphone if I've bothered to download my current read to it, but nothing major.
I actually have read fewer books since I got my Kindle because I have started reading newspapers again. I read the Times of London and New York Times on it. Also, I read a lot of free Kindle samples before I decide what to buy. I spend as much or more time actually reading but I finish fewer books these days.
interesting. that's one of the things i fear about the digitization (digitalization!?!) of books, that they're somehow cheapened in the process.. like if i spend 15$ on an actual book, i'm obligated to read that book. i see it standing on my shelf say 'read me'. whereas downloading a book for a few bucks, i don't know if i'd feel as obligated..
I only read Dragon Tattoo, and that's all I'll be reading. It was okay, at best. Certainly vastly overrated if considered in terms of its success. There are much, much better thriller writers out there.
I seem to be reading slightly more since I got my kindle, but it hasn't really been long enough to tell. I think the main difference for me will be a drastic reduction in the number of books I reread. Before something like a third of the books I read were rereads, and usually that was just cause I was too lazy to get myself over to the bookstore. Now I have a practically infinite supply of new books at my fingertips in the kindle store, so I'll never run out of new reading material. And I find I'm usually more into a book if I haven't read it before, so I read faster. As for reading in different places, well, I occasionally go through a few pages on my iphone if I've bothered to download my current read to it, but nothing major.
I'm reading a lot more now with my kindle. I do end up reading in places I normally don't just because I usually have my kindle with me everywhere, which is not the case when I have a physical book. I tend to read long books, so lugging a 700+ page book around isn't really feasible. I also read a lot before bed and the kindle's more comfortable for me because I don't have to keep changing my position based on what page I'm on. I also like making the text really big and then read while I take my walk.
A great conclusion to a sometimes rocky, meandering series. Each of the final two volumes improves the series greatly as Williams finds his way through all the mythology and mysteries he set up in the first book. Not as consistent as Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, but I'm sorry to see it come to an end nonetheless.
