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[DesertEater]

half way through.
well it get better as i go on ?

edit :
just got some stuff from amazon that I ll be reading.

and since everyone seems to agree that sandman comic is a must read.

I really liked Solanin, so i thought i should give this a try.

 

[Quake1028]

Book # 4

LOVE the Mitch Rapp series.

 

[finowns]

half way through.
well it get better as i go on ?

Yes. Really great book keep reading.




Just read this:

First book of a trilogy. Started getting really good towards the end. Great setup for book two.

 

[ilikeme]

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

It's a weird book. I dunno if I like it. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was good because it had a lot of supernatural/fantasy elements but this one is just plain weird. The things that the characters say (really fucked up shit or ambivalent and confusing), the way they act, how the story progresses... it's all just so Japanese (duh, I know).

But I like his style of writing and the translation from Japanese to Swedish, by Eiko & Yukiko Duke, is really nice.

You copy/pasted this from my brain, didn't you? I feel violated! 100% agreed

 

[aidan]

Just read this:

First book of a trilogy. Started getting really good towards the end. Great setup for book two.

Hey! There's a quote from me in the blurb section of this book. Yay!

 

[crowphoenix]

Currently reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, and I'm really enjoying it. The plot and characters are really fun. I'm enjoying the constant planning, trickery, and con games of the Gentlemen Bastards.

The only problem I have is actually following his descriptions. I don't know if there's just too much or if it's too flowery, but when Lynch tries to set the scene, I generally just get bogged down.

 

[fastford58]

I just finished A Short History of Medicine and am about to start on This Is Your Brain On Music.

 

[Mardil]

The Black Order by James Rolling. It's my first Sigma Force and I have a feeling it's not the first so I'm still trying to understand everything about the characters. About 70 pages in, it's been just fine.

 

[Chorazin]

Reading it only for completion's sake, as I'm reading through the Halo books in publication order. It really is just a play by play retelling of Halo: CE, but I can live with that.

The chapters about the grunt YapYap are pretty awesome though, that's totally new and actually pretty funny.

 

[cyras]

it's a little slower than the first three but i don't think it deserves as bad a rap as it gets

 

[Monroeski]

Didn't intend to start up even MORE Gibson after the sprawl trilogy, but looked at my big backlog shelf for what to read next and it just kind of happened.

::edit::
Really excited to get this in the mail yesterday as a late Christmas present, though, so I may start it up as well (or instead) -

 

[Neckbeard]

I just finished up this collection of short stories by the late David Foster Wallace. It's a pretty interesting read, although I've never much been a fan of the short story anthologies. I picked it up on a whim while in the airport at DC and read it on my flight back to AZ. Wallace does a surprising job of developing the characters' distinct personalities in each story with such little real estate.

I just started this last night. Only got through about 30 pages before the Benadryl kicked in and I passed out, but as a writer, I'm already interested. Has anyone read the trilogy? I plan on finishing them before the end of the month and my school readings pick back up.

And this is the order I got from Amazon in the mail yesterday. School books--but books nonetheless.

 

[Fleet of Foot]

Currently reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, and I'm really enjoying it. The plot and characters are really fun. I'm enjoying the constant planning, trickery, and con games of the Gentlemen Bastards.

The only problem I have is actually following his descriptions. I don't know if there's just too much or if it's too flowery, but when Lynch tries to set the scene, I generally just get bogged down.

After that, read the next in the series. It's just as good. Better, I think.

You will think, "How do these guys keep getting themselves into (and out of!) this shit??"

 

[Beowulf28]

Just finished this and loved it

Spoiler

WTF @ the simulations being real totally didn't see that coming.

Is the rest of the series this good?

 

[TheThrasher]

Just finished this and loved it

Spoiler

WTF @ the ending totally didn't see it coming

Is the rest of the series this good?

Me too with the ending. I actually came here to post I'm reading:

So far so good. It doesnt really deal with space warfare and armies the way the first did(at least, not at the point I'm at), but I'm digging it.

edit: so am I petty if I want to sell my version of Ender's Game for the one I quoted? I ordered from Border's and they sent me the one with the little boy, instead of the cool looking one:lol

 

[Chorazin]

Didn't intend to start up even MORE Gibson after the sprawl trilogy, but looked at my big backlog shelf for what to read next and it just kind of happened.

I have had that on my shelf for ages, and I just haven't gotten around to reading it. I love Gibson, but I really have to be in a certain mood to enjoy his books.

Have you read Pattern Recognition? IMO, it's almost as good a Neuromancer. I didn't think his near future stuff would be very good, but man was I wrong!

 

[ElectricBlue187]

I have had that on my shelf for ages, and I just haven't gotten around to reading it. I love Gibson, but I really have to be in a certain mood to enjoy his books.

Have you read Pattern Recognition? IMO, it's almost as good a Neuromancer. I didn't think his near future stuff would be very good, but man was I wrong!

PR was good and worth reading, much easier to follow than Neuromancer but the big reveal or twist kind of fell flat for me.

 

[Monroeski]

I have had that on my shelf for ages, and I just haven't gotten around to reading it. I love Gibson, but I really have to be in a certain mood to enjoy his books.

Have you read Pattern Recognition? IMO, it's almost as good a Neuromancer. I didn't think his near future stuff would be very good, but man was I wrong!

Not yet, but it's on my shelf. Went on a bit of a Gibson buying spree a few weeks back at Half Price Books.

 

[Timber]

started this today and will finish it tomorrow. it's the first book of his i've read and it's utterly captivating.

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

Just finished this and loved it

Spoiler

WTF @ the simulations being real totally didn't see that coming.

Is the rest of the series this good?

What are these OSC books like? How do they read? Can you tell his hateful politics from his prose? I was never one of those people that was put off Shadow Complex just cause Card is a gay-hating moron, but I don't know if I can bring myself to read a whole book (or series) by him, especially if his politics creep into it.

Also, I can't find the post to quote (damn this lack of search!) but I've bought that fantasy/SF book that Alucard recommended. It better be good man!

 

[S. L.]

What are these OSC books like? How do they read?

scifi-adventure'ish
I'd say geared toward readers in their early-mid teens (i don't mean that in a bad sense)
it's mostly light and fun to read

Can you tell his hateful politics from his prose? I was never one of those people that was put off Shadow Complex just cause Card is a gay-hating moron, but I don't know if I can bring myself to read a whole book (or series) by him, especially if his politics creep into it.

not really imo, maybe if you are really looking for it.

i only read Enders Game (I found that "twist" relatively obvious btw) and Speaker for the Dead thou

 

[major_killjoy]

Experiencing some downtime from exams and picked up some standard sci-fi from the library. (yes, they still exist)

 

[Epcott]

I've read Sandman (not the whole series), Death: The High Cost of Living, and Books of Magic, I've always loved his work. I had no idea his novels were this good.

I may have found a new author since Crichton is gone (was going to try Pirate Latitudes, but I hear the book is pure mess)... not to mention how much I hated the conclusion of NEXT.

 

[Toby]

Just finished this and loved it

Spoiler

WTF @ the simulations being real totally didn't see that coming.

Is the rest of the series this good?

The rest aren't quite as good IMO, but they are definitely worth a read.
And I don't remember seeing any of Card's "hateful politics" in the book. It really is a very good read. Anyone who hasn't read it really should.

 

[YoshiChief]

Moab is my Washpot- Stephen Fry

I love his writing!

 

[Apo]

Just finished this and loved it

Spoiler

WTF @ the simulations being real totally didn't see that coming.

Is the rest of the series this good?

I read this and Speaker of the Dead. In my opinion Speaker of the Dead starts a bit slow but in the end I liked it more than Ender's Game. So yes, I would recommend it to you if you like the first one.

 

[GDJustin]

Stilllll making my way through A Game of Thrones, which I was ~100 pages into on Jan. 3 or whenever I made my first post in this topic. I've been reading it for a good chunk of time every evening, too.

It's just so dense that it is slooooow reading, for me. I'll look up at the clock and see I've been reading for 45 minutes, but I've only gone a handful of pages.

It's nuts, because I'm usually a pretty prolific reader.

I am liking it quite a bit, though. Some character's chapters I'm enjoying much more than others... but the genius of GRRM is that who I like following and who I don't has shifted throughout the book. In the beginning Jon's shit was boring but now I can't get enough.

I still have about 100 pages left, and unless the ending is "OMFG CAN'T STOP" good, I'm not planning on diving into Clash of Kings right away. For one, I see this as a series that it would be easy to burn out on. For another, I need to stretch this shit out, because GRRM certainly is :lol

I think I'll try and squeeze one non-fiction and one fiction in after Game of Thrones, before jumping into the sequel. Probably Boneshaker and SuperFreakonomics.

 

[sparky2112]

edit: so am I petty if I want to sell my version of Ender's Game for the one I quoted? I ordered from Border's and they sent me the one with the little boy, instead of the cool looking one:lol

We have this one too. There seems to be this push to take adult fiction that's rather tame and repackage it as YA. They're doing it with Jordan too, if I remember correctly. But, yeah, it's kinda weird...

 

[Blackace]

Me too with the ending. I actually came here to post I'm reading:

So far so good. It doesnt really deal with space warfare and armies the way the first did(at least, not at the point I'm at), but I'm digging it.

edit: so am I petty if I want to sell my version of Ender's Game for the one I quoted? I ordered from Border's and they sent me the one with the little boy, instead of the cool looking one:lol

Speaker for the Dead should have kept it's first name... "Moromism in a Nutshell"

right now I am plowing through this book. I really dig it..

 

[Musashi Wins!]

I thought it was later Card that started using his fiction as a vehicle for specific, this world agendas. But I was young when I read the first 3. I wonder if I would have a radically different reading now. Not curious enough to add them to my pile, though.

 

[Calantus]

starting up song of fire and ice, i just finished the first dark tower book, didn't like it. Some say the first is the best, other say it's the worst.

What do you guys think?

 

[A Penguin]

Just finished:

Interesting to read, since I took AP US History last year and see history as my favorite subject. The book describes why people my age generally hate and disregard history as a subject and the many faults of modern textbooks. It makes total sense, considering my experience.

Also:

Definitely the worst I've read of his. Plot is ridiculous: cannibals, sea monsters, witchcraft, wat. Maybe worth a quick read on the plane as dumb fun.

 

[Alucard]

Also, I can't find the post to quote (damn this lack of search!) but I've bought that fantasy/SF book that Alucard recommended. It better be good man!

It may not shatter your world, but you'll get a well-written story out of it. The first part of the three is really the best, and it's the one that won the Hugo, but there are quite a few memorable scenes beyond that. I just think it's a really solid journey book, with beautiful writing and some interesting twists and turns. I'll be curious to hear what you thought of the ending.

P.S. I just finished this:

One of the most well-crafted and all-around best books I have ever read. Ever. I devoured it and loved every second of it. I can easily see why it won the Man Booker Prize in 1989. Stark and exacting prose, a dreamlike structure, and a tragedy without catharsis. Absolutely memorable, sad, and beautiful in its poignancy and narrative style.

I'll likely write a full review at some point Thursday afternoon.

 

[aidan]

starting up song of fire and ice, i just finished the first dark tower book, didn't like it. Some say the first is the best, other say it's the worst.

What do you guys think?

I hated it, but absolutely loved and devoured everything that came afterwards. At least give the second book a shot.

 

[elwes]

I'm really enjoying the Sword of Truth series so far. While not the most complex and masterfully written fantasy series, the pace and progression of the characters is very engaging.

 

[Salazar]

I'm really enjoying the Sword of Truth series so far. While not the most complex and masterfully written fantasy series, the pace and progression of the characters is very engaging.

Are you sure someone didn't slice off your nipple and magically compel you to post that ?

 

[Torhthelm Tídwald]

Speaker for the Dead should have kept it's first name... "Moromism in a Nutshell"

I'm not seeing it. I suspect you're thinking of Xenocide/Children of the Mind.

I thought it was later Card that started using his fiction as a vehicle for specific, this world agendas.

Card's politics were very different in the 80s/early 90s than they are today, though he denies it. But it's pretty clear that the author of Empire or Shadow Puppets would never write anything like "I Put My Blue Genes On," "Unaccompanied Sonata," Hart's Hope, or Songmaster.

 

[IZZO]

I've been thinking about getting this:

Do you recommend it GAF?

 

[IZZO]

thank you.

being a series is a plus to me. More stuff to read

 

[HiroProtagonist]

Speaker for the Dead should have kept it's first name... "Moromism in a Nutshell"

The only thing that Mormonism and The Speaker for the Dead have in common is the phrase “…for the dead”, otherwise I see no similarities.

 

[FnordChan]

i just finished the first dark tower book, didn't like it. Some say the first is the best, other say it's the worst.

What do you guys think?

Hrm. I dunno about better or worse, but I would say that the first Dark Tower book is definitely different from the rest of the series. For what it's worth, The Drawing of the Three is my favorite book in the series and it's where things really start to get rolling, so perhaps it's worth your taking a crack at it to see if you dig it more than the The Gunslinger.

I finished Wolves Eat Dogs yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Reading about poor Arkady Renko stumbling around Chernobyl was, as expected, fascinating. I was expecting the descriptions of abandoned areas to be spooky, but what was really interesting was the ragtag society of scientists, local militia, scavengers, and stubborn peasants that has cropped up in the Zone of Exclusion. All in all, it was a solid entry in the always excellent Renko series.

I'm just now starting up Jo Walton's Farthing, an English house mystery that takes place in an alternate reality where England signed a peace treaty with Hitler in 1941, leaving Europe to the Nazis. I've had the hardcover sitting on my shelf for years now, so it's about time I got around to it.

FnordChan

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

The book stores around here are horrible, I only see Da Vinci Code/Harry Potter/Twilight. Any website that ships to Colombia/Venezuela?

 

[Dorrin]

The Gathering Storm - the newest Wheel of Time book and I have to say I'm really enjoying it and I think Brandon Sanderson did a great job with it.

Imager's Challenge by L. E. Modesitt Jr

I also just finished Haze also by L. E. Modesitt Jr and I have to say that book was a piece of shit.

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

It may not shatter your world, but you'll get a well-written story out of it. The first part of the three is really the best, and it's the one that won the Hugo, but there are quite a few memorable scenes beyond that. I just think it's a really solid journey book, with beautiful writing and some interesting twists and turns. I'll be curious to hear what you thought of the ending.

P.S. I just finished this:

One of the most well-crafted and all-around best books I have ever read. Ever. I devoured it and loved every second of it. I can easily see why it won the Man Booker Prize in 1989. Stark and exacting prose, a dreamlike structure, and a tragedy without catharsis. Absolutely memorable, sad, and beautiful in its poignancy and narrative style.

I'll likely write a full review at some point Thursday afternoon.

Cool, I like reading odd SF and if it won a Hugo it must have some merit. I'll get stuck in sometime in Feb, I've still got Cookoo's Nest, Halo Ghosts of Onyx and the second in the Larsson Millenium trilogy to read yet (I might read the SF before the Larsson though, those books are intimidatingly long, if not particularly challenging).

I read Remains of the Day at college (high school for the yanks) about 10 years ago and it really blew me away. That climatic scene had me in tears, and much like the main character I couldn't put my finger on exactly why. So brilliant, made me realise that books weren't all Terry Practchett and Hunter Thompson. And it got me an A in Lit, so I'm grateful to it

 

[FiRez]

most fast-paced novel I've read so far, very bold and solid characters, awesome dialogue.
Had to stop reading after page 120 because eye-strain, is that good

 

[BertramCooper]

I've actually been working on this for a few months now. I had it about half done when I started my new job two months ago, which kind of threw my reading schedule off. I'm getting back on it now and enjoying it tremendously.

 

[Chorazin]

The book stores around here are horrible, I only see Da Vinci Code/Harry Potter/Twilight. Any website that ships to Colombia/Venezuela?

If money's not a huge issue, maybe buy a Kindle ? You pay more to download books outside the US, but you'd have such a huge variety availible, and you wouldn't be paying to ship heavy books.

Maybe look into that, make sure they'll ship one to you and that it'll work with the cell companies in your country.

 

[dinazimmerman]

::edit::
Really excited to get this in the mail yesterday as a late Christmas present, though, so I may start it up as well (or instead) -

We read excerpts from this book in my linguistics class. Really interesting stuff. As a matter of fact, I should be studying for my linguistics final right now... it's in a few hours. :lol

 

[yonder]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, accessible and comprehensive book on nutrition? I just started paying more attention to what I eat and came to the conclusion that I know very little about what happens when you eat something, and wikipedia wasn't enough. I'm not looking for any diet here, just facts so that I can decide for myself. There are so many books on this subject, and most of them seem questionable if you go by Amazon's user reviews...

 

[WanderingWind]

I just want to say...I love you guys. So many great books in this thread. I feel like a new man walking around the book store now