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[KingGondo]

Just finished:

I had always wanted to read a comprehensive Civil War history, and I'm glad I picked this one. The book is ~850 pages, it's absolutely crammed full of crucial information, yet still manages to maintain forward narrative momentum and drama. It also contains lots of background, setting the stage for the war itself for a good 150-200 pages.

Highly recommended.

I need a break from non-fiction though. Gonna read 2-3 shorter novels then dive back in with the first Caro LBJ volume.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

I'm blowing through Ceryptonomicon at a rate of around 80 pages a day. Maybe I'll finish it this year! I wonder if it's possible for me to like a book any more than this one. I love how Stephenson is just obviously having a good time writing it while still making the occasional point.

The Capt'n Crunch chapter had me dying of laughter, in public no less. Will likely live on as one of my favorite passages in any book.

 

[ShaneB]

Reading Leviathan Wakes, as of now(150pg) it's boring shit. Reminds me of Peter F.Hamiltons Pandoras Star. Think Ill stick with classic stuff here on out.

Can you elaborate a bit more? I've got LW on my to read list someday, so just wondering why you think it's boring after hearing so many other great reviews.

I think I'll be done Great Gatsby today, really loving it so far, and glad it turned out to be a much more smaller scale story than I expected.

Think I'll read Replay next since that seems so fascinating to me, but also, my Star Wars nerdom is kicking up, and I say it everytime but I might finally read the Thrawn trilogy next.

 

[Erico]

Finished Leviathan Wakes as well, didn't really like it.

Felt like a mediocre connect-the-dots detective novel in space.

Now reading Stanislaw Lem's Solaris

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Can you elaborate a bit more? I've got LW on my to read list someday, so just wondering why you think it's boring after hearing so many other great reviews.

For me it was just a boring universe (solar system really, since that's as far as humans have made it) 2 boring POV characters and an extremely boring mystery story densely written that turns out to be probably the dumbest reveal ever. I don't know, I didn't like it at all.

Think I'll read Replay next since that seems so fascinating to me, but also, my Star Wars nerdom is kicking up, and I say it everytime but I might finally read the Thrawn trilogy next.

I loved Replay. It's the type of book I will end up reading a few times over.


Hmm Amazon has a New York Review Club book on sale today The Siege of Krishnapur


The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell

 

[sgossard]

I loved Replay. It's the type of book I will end up reading a few times over.

It felt to me like Quantum Leap: The movie for some reason.

 

[ShaneB]

Finished Leviathan Wakes as well, didn't really like it.

Felt like a mediocre connect-the-dots detective novel in space.

For me it was just a boring universe (solar system really, since that's as far as humans have made it) 2 boring POV characters and an extremely boring mystery story densely written that turns out to be probably the dumbest reveal ever. I don't know, I didn't like it at all.

I loved Replay. It's the type of book I will end up reading a few times over.

Fair enough on the LW comments. I think I'll read it someday regardless, but I'll keep it on the virtual shelf for now.

 

[Mifune]

Hmm Amazon has a New York Review Club book on sale today The Siege of Krishnapur

Oh, thanks for the heads-up. This book is supposed to be amazing.

 

[Piecake]

Strongly considering doing a book club for next month (actually probably two months), but I think I'll hide the reveal until tomorrow, if I decide for sure to do it.

Twilight

You know you want to

 

[Ratrat]

Fair enough on the LW comments. I think I'll read it someday regardless, but I'll keep it on the virtual shelf for now.

I haven't finished it like the others but the writing isn't very good, not horrible but when you've read similar books that were over long and unrewarding you become less tolerant. The characters are especially dull.

 

[foomfoom415]

Fair enough on the LW comments. I think I'll read it someday regardless, but I'll keep it on the virtual shelf for now.

For what it's worth I really enjoyed Leviathan Wakes. While far from my favorite book, I wholeheartedly disagree that its universe is boring. To be fair, I'm a sucker for the still-in-Sol-system expansionist-strife-period setting and will take it over galactic-spanning FTL jumps any day of the week, but the LW Universe is really intriguing. Though KSR's 2312 is probably a more successful take on this era in future humanity, I wouldn't tell anyone to pass up Leviathan Wakes. It's a solid mix of a noir mystery in a science fiction setting. And Caliban's War is even better. The comment about poor writing really struck me as odd. Occasionally you can tell that the book is written by two authors when the quieter voice breaks through but even taking that into account it's a wonderfully well written pair of books.

Edit: And those covers! Get that stupid George R.R. Martin quote off of LW and it's flawless.

 

[Casanova]

 

[Azrael]

Finished:

(the first one is a re-read)

Starting:

Feeling good I'll get through 50 books this year.

 

[Wiktor]

Finished:

Started reading:

I must say Haruhi is surprisingly fun in novel format.

 

[ShaneB]

New book club thread for February through March. I think everyone's going to be excited! http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=510146

Sounds good to me, I may participate

Started Replay, and after just a couple chapters, I am definitely hooked. Thanks for this recommendation, know I'm going to love it.

I set my goodreads goal at 12 books this year, and it feels like I'm going to blow past that. lol

For what it's worth I really enjoyed Leviathan Wakes. While far from my favorite book, I wholeheartedly disagree that its universe is boring. To be fair, I'm a sucker for the still-in-Sol-system expansionist-strife-period setting and will take it over galactic-spanning FTL jumps any day of the week, but the LW Universe is really intriguing. Though KSR's 2312 is probably a more successful take on this era in future humanity, I wouldn't tell anyone to pass up Leviathan Wakes. It's a solid mix of a noir mystery in a science fiction setting. And Caliban's War is even better. The comment about poor writing really struck me as odd. Occasionally you can tell that the book is written by two authors when the quieter voice breaks through but even taking that into account it's a wonderfully well written pair of books.

Edit: And those covers! Get that stupid George R.R. Martin quote off of LW and it's flawless.

The bolded is probably what sells me on still reading it. Sounds like a perfect mix for me. I'll get around to it someday

 

[Mumei]

So far this January, I have read:

Tarzan of the Apes, by Edward Rice Burroughs
Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy, by James Stark
The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan
Challenging Casanova, by Andrew Smiler
Great Singers on Great Singing, by Jerome Hines
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, by Timothy Snyder
Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino
Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn (Vol 1), by Grant Morrison
The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, or, There And Back Again, by J.R.R. Tolkien
To What Miserable Wretches Have I Been Born: Revenge Poetry for Babies and Toddlers, by Suzanne Weber

I haven't really been updating in this topic, though. Invisible Cities is my early favorite fiction book; Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy is prooobably my favorite non-fiction although Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin did an admirable job of making comprehensible the sufferings and deaths of tens of millions of people. There were more than a few times I was brought to tears reading it and trying to wrap my head around it.

I'm reading The Complete Dinosaur, Second Edition, which is an absolutely incredible 1200 page book about all things dinosaurs - from the history of early discoveries to discoveries by continent to osteology to reconstructing musculature to taxonomy to paleoneurology to technology and the study of dinosaurs and so forth. There's some stuff that makes my head spin a bit, particularly the intricacies of the chapters about anatomy, but it's been a fascinating read so far.

 

[Nymerio]

Finished both the second and third Twenty Palace Society books yesterday.

I like Ray and Annalise, sucks that the series is canceled. And just when shit was starting to go down.

 

[Quake1028]

Joe Hill's book HORNS is $1.99 on one of today's Kindle deals.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036F6WYO/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[Maklershed]

New book club thread for February through March. I think everyone's going to be excited! http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=510146

I already read that but I enjoyed it so much (and I'm not even a conservative) I could be convinced to read it again.

 

[Burger]

Just started:

Finished this morning. Really disappointed, considering I'm a fan of his other work.

It was good enough that I didn't give up, but I seriously questioned where the book was going in the last quarter. 2 stars.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Joe Hill's book HORNS is $1.99 on one of today's Kindle deals.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036F6WYO/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Picked it up, thanks.

Finished this morning. Really disappointed, considering I'm a fan of his other work.

It was good enough that I didn't give up, but I seriously questioned where the book was going in the last quarter. 2 stars.

That's disappointing to hear. The premise sounded cool enough that I impulse bought it awhile back and haven't gotten to it yet.

 

[Like the hat?]

Read Hatchet by Gary Paulson last night for the first time. Pretty fun, but the ending was dumb.

 

[eattomorro]

Finished The Godfather by Mario Puzo tonight. Truly an awesome awesome book.

Starting Harmony by Keith Brooke.

 

[nimbus]

Read about 1/3 of it months ago and put it down due to me not being in a reading mood. Picked it back up again during the last week and re-reading a few chapters just to refresh myself.

 

[Burger]

That's disappointing to hear. The premise sounded cool enough that I impulse bought it awhile back and haven't gotten to it yet.

If it had been condensed down to half its size, it would have been a good first few chapters of a Peter F Hamilton book.

It felt like a drawn out introduction to a much larger story really. I understand it's the first of a trilogy but it seems like a wasted opportunity.

 

[MoGamesXNA]

I love this novel. I've read it twice now. The Devils of Loudon, The Doors of Perception and Heaven & Hell are great reads as well.

 

[EVOL 100%]

(Released as Photo Shop Murder in English - Only two stories out of nine are in the English version)

 

[ymmv]

I loved the French movie "Tell No One", I really liked "Caught", the first book by Harlan Coben I read, so now I'm reading ...:

 

[nicoga3000]

I think I'm finally going to read the third Hunger Games book. I really hate leaving the series open like this.

Serious question

Spoiler

that I mean no harm in asking, I promise!

: does the concept of "speed reading" apply to novels/works of fiction, or does the lower comprehension level make it a sin in the world of reading for pleasure? As I stated, I don't mean it in a way to "read more books as fast as I can" as a way of hindering my enjoyment and appreciation for the work, but it's something that I've been interested in improving.

 

[DagsJT]

The start of "Old Man's War" was great, really enjoyable and a 5/5. But since it's changed and it's all missions etc now, it's probably dropped to 3/5 rating. Hope it picks up.

 

[gdt]

Just finished Way of Kings, the second half of the book was awesome. Can't wait to see where this goes next. Some of the reveals at the end were pretty damn awesome.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

I finished Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom. Quite a good read, so I've started The Pale Horseman.

 

[Maklershed]

Finished Foundation and started Foundation and Empire


Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

 

[tanooki141]

I think I'm finally going to read the third Hunger Games book. I really hate leaving the series open like this.

Serious question

Spoiler

that I mean no harm in asking, I promise!

: does the concept of "speed reading" apply to novels/works of fiction, or does the lower comprehension level make it a sin in the world of reading for pleasure? As I stated, I don't mean it in a way to "read more books as fast as I can" as a way of hindering my enjoyment and appreciation for the work, but it's something that I've been interested in improving.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you mean but imo it really depends on the type of reading.

If it was a textbook, political opinion piece or something similarly dense then it obviously warrants a very different style of reading then fiction like the Hunger Games.

If I start reading fast while doing school reading then I begin to miss important points and lose track of the flow.

Reading fiction fast is usually what happens when I am really enjoying the book and I can usually still comprehend what is happening.

 

[KingGondo]

Just finished Way of Kings, the second half of the book was awesome. Can't wait to see where this goes next. Some of the reveals at the end were pretty damn awesome.

Ordered this blind on GAF's recommendation, this post makes me even more excited to read it.

I need to read 3-4 shorter books though... It seems like everything I read now is 800+ pages so I probably only average 10 books/year. My goal this year is 26.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

The Knife of Never Letting Go is on sale today for $1.99 One of the best YA book series out there, much better than Hunger Games. I highly recommend it.


The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

 

[Nymerio]

Started the first Dresden Files on sunday. I'm liking it so far, Dresden seems interesting but a bit of a whimp? I guess this leaves a lot of space to grow.

 

[Keen]

Started the first Dresden Files on sunday. I'm liking it so far, Dresden seems interesting but a bit of a whimp? I guess this leaves a lot of space to grow.

I'll spoiler this just in case, but just a comment on his wimpiness as the series progresses.

Spoiler

he gets less and less wimpy as the series progresses.

 

[Wiktor]

Started the first Dresden Files on sunday. I'm liking it so far, Dresden seems interesting but a bit of a whimp? I guess this leaves a lot of space to grow.

If you like the first one you will love the series. It gets so much better with latter volumes

 

[Nymerio]

Sounds great and I'm liking it so far. Is there some kind of overarching storyline connecting the books or are they all standalone?

 

[Nezumi]

Started the first Dresden Files on sunday. I'm liking it so far, Dresden seems interesting but a bit of a whimp? I guess this leaves a lot of space to grow.

I have to second, that if you like this one, you will like the rest. Well the second one is a bit weak, but starting with 3 this series really kicks of. And if you call my literary crush a whimp one more time...

Edit: Every book is more or less a stand alone, but there are overarching elements that are present in the books. Depending on the book stronger or weaker. In my opinion this is one of the things that Butcher handles really well.

 

[DieUnbekannte]

Started the first Dresden Files on sunday. I'm liking it so far, Dresden seems interesting but a bit of a whimp? I guess this leaves a lot of space to grow.

I finished Storm Front just last week. The beginning was a little bit slow but after the first half the story started to become more and more interesting. The combination of fantasy- and detectivenovel works perfectly. At the moment I'm reading Fool Moon and so far this one is better than Storm Front.

 

[Fjordson]

I didn't really like Storm Font, but everyone tells me it's weak compared to most of the other Dresden books, so I may have to check out one or two more before I abandon the series (since I think the premise is pretty neat).

 

[thomaser]

Came back from a short trip to Oslo with a bunch of books. Didn't plan to buy anything, it just happened. Won't be able to read them for years, though, due to the backlog, but it's always nice to expand the collection! Here's what I bought:

- Chinua Achebe: All Things Fall Apart
- Samuel Beckett: Collected Works (Grove paperback edition... has basically everything: novels, plays. poems and various other texts. But it doesn't have the introductions by other authors that were in the hardback edition.)
- Roberto Bolano: The Savage Detectives
- Clare Connors: Literary Theory
- Jared Diamond: The World Until Yesterday
- Junot Diaz: The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
- Tomasi di Lampedusa: The Leopard
- David McCandless: Information is Beautiful
- Gregory David Roberts: Shantaram (The author's life story and the story behind the writing of this book is incredibly fascinating!)
- Hunter S. Thompson: Hell's Angels

 

[CiSTM]

- Samuel Beckett: Collected Works (Grove paperback edition... has basically everything, both novels, plays. poems and various other texts. But it doesn't have the introductions by other authors that were in the hardback edition.)

Isn't it missing a lot if it only has two novels? Great haul btw. Reminds me that I need to pick up Diamonds new book.

 

[thomaser]

Isn't it missing a lot if it only has two novels? Great haul btw. Reminds me that I need to pick up Diamonds new book.

You got me! I have a bad habit of writing "both" when listing more than one thing...

 

[Keen]

Dude, wtf, you just ruined the entire series for me! :/

Sorry you might as well not read it at all now

 

[SmoothCB]

Started the series when the Eye of the World came out and was deeply involved in the 90's. Stopped around Crown of Swords, I think. Doing the whole series all the way through now--I feel that I owe it to my younger self! I don't give a fuck if it drags for a bit. I must finish it.

 

[Maklershed]

Here's what I bought:

- Hunter S. Thompson: Hell's Angels

Nice!

 

[TheWraith]

I have to second, that if you like this one, you will like the rest. Well the second one is a bit weak, but starting with 3 this series really kicks of.

This is so true, in the 3rd the whole world suddenly opens up so much more, and is what hooked me to the series. I also loved the way the 3rd book started. The first two were so-so in hindsight when compared IMHO.