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What are you reading? (February 2013)

ymmv

Banned
I really liked the first book in the series, the second book was still enjoyable but not as good. I'm going to finish the series because it's easy to read, fun fantasy.

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Barmaley

Neo Member
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About black women in the heavy metal scene. I don't even know why I picked it up anymore. Seemed like a fascinating topic, I guess.
 

DagsJT

Member
Finished Replay by Ken Grimwood. Absolutely fantastic book and easily one of the best books I've ever read.

Up there with the graphic novel Blankets as a book that's got to me on an emotional level and nearly had tears in my eyes, with one particular scene during Replay. Superb book.
 

The Judge

Member
Think I'm going to read some YA and other easy stuff this month, to balance out the giant Rand tome.

Yeah, I'm doing a balancing things out too. Reading Atlas Shrugged for the book club and, on the side, some fun and light readings of the Sherlock Holmes complete collection.
 

MoGamesXNA

Unconfirmed Member
I just finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy. All up the series was really good. I'm a huge fan of young adult dystopian fiction and I feel that the series lived up to the hype. It was a shock to read a novel that builds up progressively all the way to its conclusion after putting a lot of time into some sci-fi from Peter Hamilton.

I find that Peter Hamilton's novels generally peak at the inception, regain momentum halfway through and then get tied up messily at the end (ignoring the older Nights Dawn Trilogy and Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained which end well).

I had to close the book after reading first sentence of the epilogue though.
Sadly it suffers terribly from the female author syndrome where every female character has to have a white wedding and dump out a couple of kids. Obviously this is the only way a female can lead a fulfilling adult life. I guess she had to do her part to brainwash the female teen readership. Do your part for society bitches... you even get one day to dress up like a princess and become the center of attention for five minutes before getting fat, hating your husband and enjoying a life of servitude. Generic happy endings ftw.

Katniss would have been a complete headcase after going through what she had. Suicide or drug dependency would have been a more realistic conclusion. I wish that authors would end things in a plausible manner or just leave off generic epilogues all together.
 

Stasis

Member
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My reading stalled out a bit towards the end of January, so I figure going back to Abercrombie will get me going again. He has yet to let me down.

Just wrapped that up last night. Read the First Law Trilogy and then Best Served Cold right after... great stuff. I have Heroes to read, but I'm delving into:

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So far it's excellent.
 
I had to close the book after reading first sentence of the epilogue though.
Sadly it suffers terribly from the female author syndrome where every female character has to have a white wedding and dump out a couple of kids. Obviously this is the only way a female can lead a fulfilling adult life. I guess she had to do her part to brainwash the female teen readership. Do your part for society bitches... you even get one day to dress up like a princess and become the center of attention for five minutes before getting fat, hating your husband and enjoying a life of servitude. Generic happy endings ftw.

Katniss would have been a complete headcase after going through what she had. Suicide or drug dependency would have been a more realistic conclusion. I wish that authors would end things in a plausible manner or just leave off generic epilogues all together.


Its been a long while since I read the books, but I don't remember interpreting it like that at all. Katniss was pretty fucked up if I recall and the ending wasn't all roses and white weddings, (did they ever even get married?) I think it took her something like 20 years to even agree to have kids because she was so fucked up. You're reaching and over-analyzing in my opinion and projecting your own views into it.
 
I'm big into non-fiction books and have been looking around for a book about George mason. Are there any books about him that GAF recommends?
 

Sleepy

Member
On tap next, I have:
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It's daunting, but I've heard the accolades around here and I'm ready to give it a go. I've read a few pages and the style looks engaging without being esoteric, so I'm excited.


Just wait...the beginning "sprockets," while setting the tone for the book, do not completely convey just how far down the rabbit hole goes.

Zero History was good (I quite liked the reveal), as well. But PR is the best.
 

bengraven

Member
Halfway through Before They Are Hanged.

Jesus Christ, the middle part of this novel is seriously some of the best fantasy ever.
 

thomaser

Member
Almost finished with David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. It's very clever, and it's funny, thrilling and tragic in turns. Very enjoyable.
 

MoGamesXNA

Unconfirmed Member
Its been a long while since I read the books, but I don't remember interpreting it like that at all. Katniss was pretty fucked up if I recall and the ending wasn't all roses and white weddings, (did they ever even get married?) I think it took her something like 20 years to even agree to have kids because she was so fucked up. You're reaching and over-analyzing in my opinion and projecting your own views into it.

Oh I'm absolutely doing that. I only read a single sentence of the epilogue, sensed an unnecessary Hollywood style generic ending and closed the book at that point. It's not really my style. The rest of the story was genuinely great though.
 
Currently reading Carrie by Stephen King. About two-thirds of the way through. This is the first King book I've read besides On Writing. I also have the first volume of The Dark Tower on my shelf to read some day.

It's enjoyable so far and the format is engaging. My favourite part as of yet is this "If these 'outs' remember Ross as a friendly, good-natured fellow (many referred to him as a 'hell of a good shit')"
 
Both of these sound really damn cool.


Prism was a definite surprise. Wasn't expecting much from it going in, but ended up really enjoying it. I'd definitely recommend.

Oh I'm absolutely doing that. I only read a single sentence of the epilogue, sensed an unnecessary Hollywood style generic ending and closed the book at that point. It's not really my style. The rest of the story was genuinely great though.


Fair enough. I'd read the rest of it tho, you might be surprised.
 

Narag

Member

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Only ever picked this up as I commented to a friend how much I liked how reverently Shivers spoke of the Named Men in Best Served Cold and how I thought that'd be a fun read. He was happy to point out that it was, in fact, something I could.

I think this was the second time I attempted reading this. Much like the first time, I liked the Logen/Glokta stuff. Jezal was too much of a douche in my first go though but I managed through that this timet. Thought it was ok in the end with the high points being anything that involved the Named Men (Logen's chapters included) and 'The House of The Maker' chapter which seemed to be a catalyst for some change in the POV characters at last.
 

Verdre

Unconfirmed Member
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Finished a re-read of Peter S Beagle's The Folk of the Air.

The first time I read it I thought it was a bit of a chore and mediocre, but with each successive re-read I've grown to like it more and more until I sort of fell in love with it.
I'm not really sure how to describe it, other than as sort of a slice of life story. Joe Farrell comes back to his college town 10 years later to stay with his best friend and the lover he's living with. From there, as Farrell finds his way through jobs and old friends, it sort of slowly drifts into magic and gods.

She continued to smile, but the expression, like her laughter, seemed a part of some other, slower language, where everything he understood meant something else. She said, “But you had a room together, later, when you lived in New York. You would play music together, and nothing is closer than that. You see, I am jealous of anyone who was before me, like God. I can be jealous of his mother and his father sometimes.”
 

Salsa

Member
finished lullaby, wich I really liked and found surprisingly funny. I think I still prefer Invisible Monsters tho. Chuck sure likes his roadtrips.

also quicly read through this:

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and it was fantastic. My only real complaint is that its clearly a small slice of something much bigger. Really compelling. I really hope Sanderson gets to follow it with either a full lenght novel or the proposed tv series at least.

think im gonna read that short warm bodies prequel (the new hunger) before watching the film
 

Lafiel

と呼ぶがよい
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Re-reading this for like the third time or so; think I'm going to make it a yearly thing from here on out. Never read a other book that truly inspires me to push on further in the current direction I'm taking my life, so poignant, touching and genuine.. sogood.gif. I still can't hold back the tears in my reading of certain sections in the novel.

@Mumei - You definitely need to put this at the top of your reading list!
 

relaxor

what?
I just read Hesiod's Theogony. The translation was a little cutsie but the stories were fantastic. It's difficult to keep track of who was the child of whom, but once I figured out the generations of Gaia - Titans - Zeus it all made sense. There is a lot of sex in it so it has a nice atmosphere. The section about Night and her children Sleep and Death was beautiful as well. All in all, it really contextualized the whole pantheon of Greek gods which is invaluable. A good read.
 

Mumei

Member
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Re-reading this for like the third time or so; think I'm going to make it a yearly thing from here on out. Never read a other book that truly inspires me to push on further in the current direction I'm taking my life, so poignant, touching and genuine.. sogood.gif. I still can't hold back the tears in my reading of certain sections in the novel.

@Mumei - You definitely need to put this at the top of your reading list!

Well, if you insist. ;)

I am reading Akira. I read the first volume last night. :3
 
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This is my second Lipsyte. The guy is hilarious, but also so fucking bleak. But yeah, I guess self-hatred is his artform...
 

raindoc

Member
I read the first volume last night. :3

Akira is the only Manga i ever read - sooooo good!

i'm on vacation now, but forgot the pile of books i wanted to read at home. so now i've decided to reread the hobbit and the lord of rings - it's been a long time!
 

Monocle

Member
Gradually crawling through

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H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction

which I started some time ago but never finished. (His complete works are available for free, but I like having an actual book to hold in my hands.) It's utterly fantastic. I love how Lovecraft draws out each suspenseful moment with his richly spun prose. He's so great at conveying supernatural horror.

I've been listening to the corresponding episode of the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast after finishing each story in this collection. It's really insightful and surprisingly funny—I was especially entertained by Episode 2: The Tomb. Don't miss out on this if you enjoy Lovecraft.

I had a similar reaction to Shadow of the Torturer. Ultimately I decided that Wolfe is the kind of writer who has a little too much fun toying with his readers and playing little games for his own amusement. He wants to hide information from the reader and make his world as impenetrable as possible. I found the book a little self indulgent. Still, there are things I really liked about it, and I may pick up the series again eventually.
This actually fits the conceit that the books were authored by the main character (an unreliable narrator) and merely translated by Gene Wolf. Read all four parts of The Book of the New Sun and then be sure to check out the sequel, The Urth of the New Sun. It's the best payoff I've ever experienced for a fictional series.
 

Shadybiz

Member
Just finished this; it was excellent:

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Currently reading this:

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I am digging it so far. I admit that I have a deficiency in knowledge about my own country's history, and I am trying to rectify that.
 

Mumei

Member
This actually fits the conceit that the books were authored by the main character (an unreliable narrator) and merely translated by Gene Wolf. Read all four parts of The Book of the New Sun and then be sure to check out the sequel, The Urth of the New Sun. It's the best payoff I've ever experienced for a fictional series.

Yes, definitely. Wolfe might seem like he's dicking you around sometimes, but he actually gives you all the information you need to understand the plot. You don't need to get everything, and you'll definitely feel clever when you figure something out, even if it is something that is ultimately more obvious (e.g. the religious symbolism of Terminus Est being a cross)
 

Krowley

Member
Yes, definitely. Wolfe might seem like he's dicking you around sometimes, but he actually gives you all the information you need to understand the plot. You don't need to get everything, and you'll definitely feel clever when you figure something out, even if it is something that is ultimately more obvious (e.g. the religious symbolism of Terminus Est being a cross)


Yeah, actually I knew a lot of that going in, and it was one of the things that attracted me to the book. I really enjoyed the idea in theory. I didn't realize I would find it mildly annoying in practice.

I almost feel like this is one of those works that I'm going to come back to when I'm in the right kind of mood, and I'm going to end up loving it. But for now, it remains on that list of books that didn't quite work for me. I may try one of Wolfe's other works before I tackle this one again, but I probably will tackle it again.
 

eattomorro

Neo Member
Finally finished Harmony by Keith Brooke. Can't really recommend it as it was too frustrating, hated the narrator and the first POV style of writing, and the author built an intriguing reality only to blow it in cliches. Sad.

Going on to Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson and hope it's as good as a lot of people say.

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Lumiere

Neo Member
Currently reading:

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I'm just a bit into book 3 - really liking it so far. Anyone has more Arthurian novels to recommend? I have The Mists of Avalon but it sounds like it's very Morgan-centric.
 

Roche

Member
How far into this are you? It always seemed interesting to me but I see criticism (perhaps from these threads) that its very boring at times.

I'm about halfway into the the book which is the second of the trilogy. I can understand the criticism that it is quite dull at times, but that doesn't bother me too much because I find the setting and the story itself to be quite fascinating.

The book deals with some really cool sci-fi concepts which fascinate me and make me far more interested than I once was in out Solar System and Mars in particular. If you can put up with some dry overly scientific segments from time to time it might be a good book to try.
 

Krowley

Member
Currently reading:

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I'm just a bit into book 3 - really liking it so far. Anyone has more Arthurian novels to recommend? I have The Mists of Avalon but it sounds like it's very Morgan-centric.

The Once and future king is an all-time favorite of mine. I haven't been able to find anything that can match it in terms of Arthurian fantasy, but I'm thinking of starting Mary Stewart's Arthurian series, which starts with The Crystal cave. I know someone with very good taste who recommends it highly.

And also worth mentioning is the Camulod Chronicles by Jack Whyte. These put the Arthurian legend into a really gritty historical context. I have only read the first two books of the series. The first was absolutely amazing. It totally blew me away. The second was good, but not quite as good as the first. I'm not sure how the rest of the series holds up but people seem to like them pretty well, and I plan to find out in the near future. I'll probably start the whole series over myself because I want to read that first book again and it's been several years. These are basically magic-free historical novels, but they may introduce some subtle fantasy elements later, like prophecy and things of that nature, or maybe not.
 
I'm about halfway into the the book which is the second of the trilogy. I can understand the criticism that it is quite dull at times, but that doesn't bother me too much because I find the setting and the story itself to be quite fascinating.

The book deals with some really cool sci-fi concepts which fascinate me and make me far more interested than I once was in out Solar System and Mars in particular. If you can put up with some dry overly scientific segments from time to time it might be a good book to try.

Thanks for the info. Adding it to my 'to-read' list.

EDIT: Scratch that. Got impatient and bought Red Mars. Going with the red theme I got Red Country while I was at it. :b
 
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