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What are you reading? (January 2010)
- Thread starter thomaser
- Start date
Karakand said:
The book is very well written, incredibly witty, and intelligent; I just find the main relationship and some of the scenarios and descriptions to be a little hard to take sometimes.
I did review Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and thought it was a piece of crap. So what?
Well I hope you can work through those issues and enjoy it in totality; it's one of the best English-language works. Or, if you can't, perhaps suspend them until the end. Characters doing bad things can sometimes be taken if recompense is handed down for their actions.Alucard said:
Alucard said:
This is a more penetrating (apologies) and enjoyable read than the sort of article you describe. Oh, how I wish Amis would again turn full-time to criticism.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/nov/14/vladimir-nabokov-books-martin-amis
dude said:
600 pages in four days, that's massive. Read it last month, but not that quick. At the moment, I'm tired of her high standards and individualism, but soon I will have read all Rand's books
QVT said:
:lol, Lolita defense crew to the rescue. Let the man be entitled to his opinion Q, otherwise, what would he be?
sparky2112
Member
Karakand said:
Your point is dubious, at best. Reading-GAF does all sorts of dumb things. Some still read Ayn Rand, for serious, not for laughs. Some think Salinger was actually good. Some think GRRM will release a new Song book this coming decade, or, worse, that he'll actually finish the series before dying.
But steering people clear of a miserable piece of filth like Glass Elevator, particularly when it follows the beyond brilliant Chocolate Factory? Not dumb.
Yeah, and I don't care for Lolita, either.
I finished it today. As I predicted, one of my favorite books. It's probably the easiest book I've ever read, despite it's length.Batongen said:600 pages in four days, that's massive. Read it last month, but not that quick. At the moment, I'm tired of her high standards and individualism, but soon I will have read all Rand's books
I'm amazed you guys called him an idiot... Don't you guys find the subject matter disturbing? We are, after all, talking about rape and abuse. You should agree with him, he praised the book - because of it's disturbing setting, but acknowledged how "cringe" worthy it is.
Just finished -
Count Zero was great, but took a while to pick up. I can see how a lot of people wouldn't like it, just like I see how a lot of people wouldn't like the previous book Neuromancer, but I thought it was great.
Sparks was decent enough. Went places I didn't expect in the last section.
Just started -
Count Zero was great, but took a while to pick up. I can see how a lot of people wouldn't like it, just like I see how a lot of people wouldn't like the previous book Neuromancer, but I thought it was great.
Sparks was decent enough. Went places I didn't expect in the last section.
Just started -
bengraven
Member
BenjaminBirdie said:This exact copy of Stephen King's IT.
It's the one I bought in like 1989. Not only is it one of my favorite books, but from a strict design/color/everything perspective, it is probably my definition of the perfect book cover. Better than the hardcover version because I prefer the author typeface on this one.
I picked it up from storage over the holiday break and it's just pretty fantastic to have it around again. It's like perfectly worn but not falling apart. It's totally awesome.
It brings up such great memories to see this. Not because I ever read It (I didn't), but it reminds me of all the Stephen King paperbacks from the late 80's, early 90's. The black and red covers.
Which in turn remind me of the old Stephen King book club commercials that played during this time period. "Subscribe now and get ROSE MADDER, the new tale of horror from STEEPHEEN KIIING..."
Finished my re-read of Peter S Beagle's A Fine and Private Place. The first novel he wrote, at 19. It's a slow, sad, nostalgic story, though obviously a first book as his prose stumbles a bit.
About a man that has lived in a cemetery for 20 years or so. He's sort of stuck between worlds, terrified of leaving the graveyard. He welcomes ghosts as they rise from their graves and spends a short time with them before they slowly forget their lives and fade away.
About a man that has lived in a cemetery for 20 years or so. He's sort of stuck between worlds, terrified of leaving the graveyard. He welcomes ghosts as they rise from their graves and spends a short time with them before they slowly forget their lives and fade away.
Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
Past Imperfect: French Intellectuals, 1944-1956 by Tony Judt
From Publishers Weekly:
Swept up in the vortex of communism, French postwar intellectuals developed a blind spot to Stalinist tyranny. Albert Camus, who had been an authentic moral voice of the Resistance, pretended not to know about the crimes and terrors of the Soviet Union. Jean-Paul Sartre perverted logic to make an apologia for the Soviet invasion of Hungary. Simone de Beauvoir called for social change to be brought about in a single convulsion, or else not at all.
Foolish French thinkers, suffering "self-imposed moral anesthesia," defended the credibility of the show trials in Stalinized Eastern Europe. In a devastating study, Judt, a professor of European studies at New York University, argues that the belief system of postwar intellectuals, propped up by faith in communism, reflected fatal weaknesses in French culture such as the fragility of the liberal tradition and the penchant for grand theory. He also strips away the postwar myth that the small, fighting French Resistance was assisted by the mass of the nation.
From Publishers Weekly:
Swept up in the vortex of communism, French postwar intellectuals developed a blind spot to Stalinist tyranny. Albert Camus, who had been an authentic moral voice of the Resistance, pretended not to know about the crimes and terrors of the Soviet Union. Jean-Paul Sartre perverted logic to make an apologia for the Soviet invasion of Hungary. Simone de Beauvoir called for social change to be brought about in a single convulsion, or else not at all.
Foolish French thinkers, suffering "self-imposed moral anesthesia," defended the credibility of the show trials in Stalinized Eastern Europe. In a devastating study, Judt, a professor of European studies at New York University, argues that the belief system of postwar intellectuals, propped up by faith in communism, reflected fatal weaknesses in French culture such as the fragility of the liberal tradition and the penchant for grand theory. He also strips away the postwar myth that the small, fighting French Resistance was assisted by the mass of the nation.
Katzenjammer
Member
Maybe it was just me, but I really disliked the old translation by Yuji Oniki. I stopped reading it towards the end because the translation got really sloppy and small errors here and there started annoying me. It's a shame really because it was a good book.Chorazin said:
finowns
Member
sparky2112 said:
This really does not deserve a comment ... but your crazy.
I have read:
This was good. Alexander is a beast.
I am in the Sci Fi mood but this was little far fetched. What I want is something like a Mass Effect universe or a Star Wars universe. Any series kind of like that? With some believability in tech but with a Jedi like protagonist being a badass? I have read pretty much every Star WARS book and also the first Mass Effect book.
Wow I finally caught up. this was such a good book I can not wait for the next one.
I think I am going to read the Bartimaeus Trilogy or The Swans' War series next. Can I have some immpressions about either book?
Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
finowns said:
I am in the Sci Fi mood but this was little far fetched. What I want is something like a Mass Effect universe or a Star Wars universe. Any series kind of like that? With some believability in tech but with a Jedi like protagonist being a badass? I have read pretty much every Star WARS book and also the first Mass Effect book.
Hmm. Star Wars is space opera with instantaneous faster-than-light travel that just kind of throws you back in your spaceship seat like you hit the accelerator on your Camry. That's a little more far-fetched than The Forever War.
I read the first book of the Long Price Quartet and finished the third book in the Night Angel series for the second time. Technically, I read half of it in 2009, but I left it at my aunt´s home on New Year´s Eve.
Now I´m trying for the second time to get into I, Robot, but old sci-fi is sooo hard to read. I was shaking my head throughout War of the Worlds and here we have robots that can talk and stuff, but the reporter uses a super fancy new pocket notepad. :lol
GUI, microchips, internet and cell phones were really that unexpected, huh.
Now I´m trying for the second time to get into I, Robot, but old sci-fi is sooo hard to read. I was shaking my head throughout War of the Worlds and here we have robots that can talk and stuff, but the reporter uses a super fancy new pocket notepad. :lol
GUI, microchips, internet and cell phones were really that unexpected, huh.
finowns
Member
Guileless said:
I totally agree but I was not necessarily saying that the tech in Forever War was far fetched more of the social and political stuff really threw me.
What I want to read in SciFi is more stuff like Mass Effect. Emphasis on the history,social exchanges between the races, gov't bureaucracy all of which I found really interesting in ME. I read all the codex entries which is somewhat embarrassing but there was good drama in those pages (LOL if anyone gets that reference). I mentioned Star Wars books because I assume that would be what people would know and recommend when I had already read them.
Tim the Wiz
Banned
Karakand said:
I'll have to disagree: Roald Dahl's best children's fiction is worth reading at any age, even if there is much to find that is despicable in his personal character. A similar situation exists with Lovecraft. Although I daresay it never bled through into Dahl's fiction anywhere near as much.
Fanboydestroyer
Member
Working my way through Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons. Started the Hyperion series in September and am just now getting around to finishing it up. Well I still have like 600 or so pages to read in ROE, but so far I've really enjoyed this series, including Endymion.
finowns said:
I'm fond of the Mageworlds series by Debra Doyle and James Macdonald, which is essentially Star Wars with the serial numbers filed off. That said, the books are a lot of fun even if they're not what you would call wildly original. There are three books in the main trilogy - The Price of the Stars, Starpilot's Grave, and By Honor Betray'd. They're all out of print, but you can pick up used copies on Amazon for a penny each, plus shipping. If you like those there are some prequel novels and a "next generation" novel waiting for you.
Meanwhile, for a wonderful military SF series with a terrific protagonist, I cannot recommend Lois Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga highly enough. I generally recommend starting with the Young Miles omnibus, which introduces you to the manic, brilliant Miles Vorkosigan who manages to get up to all sorts of trouble in ways that tend to involve the perils of being a space marine, the politics of wormhole gates, and the impact of biotechnology. I guarantee you will enjoy reading the many ways the man leaves all hell breaking loose in his wake. If you enjoy that volume, either move on to Miles Errant or backtrack to Cordelia's Honor for two volumes involving Miles' parents.
This confirms that you really want to read the Vorkosigan series right this instant. Bujold has done a lot of world building and she spends a good deal of time looking at the interactions between different galactic cultures, exploring the history (and it's echoing repercussions) of our hero's home planet, and Miles' struggles fighting his way through (and often around) his government's bureaucracy, with plenty of corresponding political intrigue thrown in for good measure. Hie thee to a bookstore posthaste.
FnordChan
Tim the Wiz
Banned
Alucard said:
Classic literature is serious business. And, well, you did kinda miss a fair amount of the point in your reading of Lolita - if, as I take it, you took the story at largely face value and, thus, let the narrator's telling just waft by you unchecked.
Seriously though, don't worry too much. I'm sure you'll get to that point when you realize, hey, this guy is a fucking monster and he's seduced me into his vile delusion-based worldview. It's so much more than a story to feel squeamish about. Truly, it takes a special piece of writing to achieve what it does. But, I wouldn't call it the life-changing experience that some do.
finowns said:
I am in the Sci Fi mood but this was little far fetched. What I want is something like a Mass Effect universe or a Star Wars universe. Any series kind of like that? With some believability in tech but with a Jedi like protagonist being a badass? I have read pretty much every Star WARS book and also the first Mass Effect book.
Read this in the context of the war in the book being a metaphor for Vietnam and it totally changes what you're reading. Of course, that actually wasn't the author's intention, but it's hard not to see the parallels. Also, this type of book classifies more as hard sci-fi, whereas you're looking for something less concerned with realism, or soft sci-fi. Haldeman is pretty consistently a hard sci-fi writer, so you may want to steer clear of him unless you're in the mood for something a bit more grounded. Otherwise, go for the sequels.
Tim the Wiz said:
I understand that the book is meant to be persuasive to the point of sympathy for the narrator, but I also see the irony involved in a man attempting to come off as innocent and almost as a victim, which is ludicrous considering some of the thoughts that run through his mind. For example, a sentence like "should I marry this woman and murder her?" in regards to a school principal who tries to persuade Humbert to let Lo take part in more activities. He is twisted, and while the prose are playful and hypnotic at times, I think the genius of the book is in trying to fool the reader to assent to the narrator's worldview and feel that his actions and thoughts are excusable because of how he presents himself. "Poor, old Humbert," etc.
Tim the Wiz
Banned
Burger said:
Only just started. Looking forward to it.
The book has sizable differences from the recent film adaption, and, surprisingly (given how this usually goes), I would say the adaption eclipses it. That is not to say that it isn't a decidedly more than decent dystopia, but the idea is the thing that really grabs and effects you in the novel - more so than its never-astounding characterization and plot. And thus, if you've already been exposed to the film, I would argue the impact of the tale becomes diminished by quite a measure - different ending and all. Certainly still worth the read, though.
blazinglord
Member
At the moment I'm reading:
Tim the Wiz
Banned
Alucard said:
Well, yes, it is an excellent example of the unreliable narrator, but it especially works as a channel into the mind of a monster of manipulative control, falsity, tyranny and delusion. However, I get the feeling we're on agreement on this point, and that you see this negative perspective on the man as an intended construction by Nabokov. So, I'm beginning to think incorrect assumptions were made about your initial post - which I probably entered into as well. Thus, my apologies. Or, as the Scalzis say these days, my bad.
If it makes you feel any better I'm reading this because of a dare. I made with myself.Cyan said:
Some real gems in there. Like the one about an anorexic girl that gets raped because she's anorexic who then gets better and becomes bulimic.
Let's gang up on someone to mend the divisions. I nominate the inappropriate comic book posts. (But we won't be ex post facto since I remember you reviewed Blankets recently.)Alucard said:
VistraNorrez
Member
TheWiicast said:
Don't really have a problem with that. The book isn't about what causes the Dome, it's about the drama that occurs because of it. I think that
because it's cause is something simple and from a seemingly harmless source only further shows how awful the people behave. It fits in quite well with the themes of the book. If they all calmed down, instead of trying to take control, they probably would've got out of the situation with almost no problems. The fact that they only had to ask to remove the Dome just makes their behavior all the more sad.
Oh it didn't just happen in the last 50 pages. It was hinted out throughout the book and made almost explicit on page 735.
Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
I haven't thought about Tess of the D'Urbervilles in a long time. It was the last assigned reading in my high school senior English lit class, and our teacher got very far behind on the syllabus and we were supposed to finish it for discussion on literally everyone's last day of high school. Nobody read it (and this was at a hyper-nerdy magnet school where everybody did all the reading unless they were too busy doing physics experiments.) I gamely made it about 200 pages before giving up on finishing it. Unrelentingly dreary and ponderous.
I've always regretted that and vowed to go back to it, but I haven't yet.
I've always regretted that and vowed to go back to it, but I haven't yet.
Tim the Wiz
Banned
Burger said:
Amen. The paucity of serious critical recognition that followed it just cements how stubborn the blinders are amongst too many mainstream critics when it comes to films of obvious speculative origin.
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
Tim the Wiz said:
Seriously? There's a pantheon of critically acclaimed speculative films. I think you guys are just overrating Children of Men
eternaLightness
Member
Just started The Brethren today.
Has anyone subscribed to the Library of America (http://loa.org) collection? I got my first set today and they are incredible books. The construction quality blows my mind, and despite being 1000+ pages they feel great in my hands.
I got the Mark Twain set to start with:
I got the Mark Twain set to start with:
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
Karakand said:
I didn't want the snarkiness to be limited to books in this thread.