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What are you reading? (January 2013)

Guileless

Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
Hi Gaf,

Anyone have any recommendations for a book I can read. In my 20's depressed, not sure what I want to do in life. Looking for a meaningful book I can enjoy that might show me different perspectives and such.

Thanks.

You should give Dickens a try. Great Expectations is a good place to start. Turn off all electronics, sit down, and read it. Plus it won't cost you anything via ebook or the library. Use the money you save to get a good cup of coffee or tea.
 
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I read "Summer" last year. It was surprisingly modern and I loved her biting style. I plan to read more Wharton.
 
Does anyone have an opinion on Vernor Vinges Rainbows End?

I'm thinking of getting that or Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson but can't decide. One being fantasy fiction I assume more people would have an opinion.

Basically which once should I read first?
 

Piecake

Member
Nope! It might come up again briefly, but it's not the center of any other books (so far... I haven't read them all yet).

One of the amazing things about the series is how varied it is: if one book is about revolutions and the masses, the next might be about the soldiering life, or finance and banking, or music. This can also be a problem in some ways. Like, if you liked the plots and themes of the first two, well, you're not going to see much of that stuff again, at least not in the same way. But it also makes for a great ride that rarely feels repetitive.

I will say, though, that Teckla is probably my least favorite of the books. Well, possibly excepting the one that's entirely from a minor character's POV. I missed Vlad's snark, in that one.

Sort of not really a spoiler:
Another interesting thing about the series is the choice of titles. Like, you probably noticed that each book has a plot-important character of the titular House. But did you notice that each book also has Vlad act like a stereotypical member of the House? In Jhereg he's doing his criminal thing, in Yendi he's getting all plot-happy, in Teckla he's running and hiding. Just a fun thing to notice. :)

Ah thank god.
I wanted to poke my eyes out a few times during all those speeches about the revolutionary group's glorious work, how easy it was for them to gain recruits, and how the leader's stirring words stopped the conscripted Teckla from fighting the masses.

I just found it so stupid when Taltos says that they dont care about the individual the commie's response was that these ideas have come from every individual that is apart of the masses or some crap, and Taltos doesnt have a response to that like he is conceding the debate. I mean, come the fuck one. Why are we assuming that humans are rational actors that do things in their best interests and willing to sacrifice themselves for their future best interests in this case?

My aversion to that crap though probably stems from reading a lot on Chinese history. Let me tell you, reading revolutionary tracts and 'novels' gets old real quick

I have no problem with variety and enjoy it if its topics that i am interested in (A soldier's life, music, finance, and music all seem like interesting topics for a book). So does this mean that in the next book Taltos is going to act like Taltos? heh
 
Got 100 or so pages into Water for Elephants

Thinking of pausing it and starting A Fine Balance

Any recommendations for a guy who loved Thousand Splendid Suns? I like the books on Middle East/India though ones that focus on a personal story as opposed to something overly political. But I'm open to any suggestion of the type

Also have Harry Potter on tap. I want to know what the fuss is about in regards to the books/movies but I've never given it a proper shake

Get better taste? :p

Hate that inauthentic orientalist stuff.

That said, I like Naguib Mahfouz's Palace Walk trilogy for Arab lit, Orhan Pamuk's 'My Name is Red' for Turkish lit and, I'd second the Midnight's Children recommendation for sub continental stuff.
 
I'm still trying to get through Erikson's Gardens of the Moon and I'm having a really tough time with it. The writing itself is quite good, but I'm having so much difficulty understanding the plot and what's going on. So much foreshadowing, so much history, terminology, characters, places, dates, names, gods, portals, dimensions....it's tricky stuff. I'm close to throwing in the towel, but we'll see.
Don't do it man!! keep reading, it really pays off in the subsequent books. Didn't dig Gardens of the Moon too much but it's now one of my favorite series
 
I'm really enjoying this so far:

LabyrinthBookCover.jpg


I even have a good story of how I got it.

I worked at GameStop in 2011 and we were hosting a midnight launch party for the new Mortal Kombat game. If you're under 18 you must have a parent accompany you, so this 16 year old comes in and brings his mother. She asked me to set up a chair for her in the back corner of the store, and she sat there and read Labyrinth. I felt kinda bad for her because it must have sucked to be in a video game store at midnight, so I went up and shot the breeze with her. I asked about the book she was reading and she told me it was great, and she actually finished it by the end of night and gave it to me! She even wrote my name in it. A couple months later her son came in and dropped off the sequel to the book, with a note written on the inside cover saying "For Paul." What a nice lady! It's amazing what you can get for just giving people the time of day.
 

Trouble

Banned
Finished
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And I have to say, I actually liked it better than any of the books in the Maze Runner trilogy. Not because it was anything terribly original, but just because it was a better story with actually formed characters.

Been putting this one off for a while. Time for some non-fiction.
In_the_garden_of_beasts.jpg
 

Zerokku

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
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The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman

Generally speaking I'm not a huge fan of children's/YA stuff, but I can't put this down. Absolutely loving the series so far. Hits all the right notes for me.
 

Horseticuffs

Full werewolf off the buckle
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The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman

Generally speaking I'm not a huge fan of children's/YA stuff, but I can't put this down. Absolutely loving the series so far. Hits all the right notes for me.
Oh, the whole series is amazing. I wish I could read it all for the first time again. It's been so long though that I'm going to cover it this year.

I always suggest this series to people.
 

Jarlaxle

Member
200px-TheWayOfKings.png


I'm about 900 pages in now and I think without even finishing this, I feel confident saying that it's probably Sanderson's best work. I expect the last 300 pages to fly by within the next couple of days.
 

Piecake

Member
200px-TheWayOfKings.png


I'm about 900 pages in now and I think without even finishing this, I feel confident saying that it's probably Sanderson's best work. I expect the last 300 pages to fly by within the next couple of days.

Yup, totally agree on this. I could never get into Mistborn, but this one was great. eagerly awaiting the second book
 

Nymerio

Member
The Way of Kings is great. Can't wait for the next book. I've just read the Emperor's Sould which is also all kinds of amazing. Sanderson is definitely one of my favourite authors.
 
I'm really enjoying this so far:

LabyrinthBookCover.jpg


I even have a good story of how I got it.

I worked at GameStop in 2011 and we were hosting a midnight launch party for the new Mortal Kombat game. If you're under 18 you must have a parent accompany you, so this 16 year old comes in and brings his mother. She asked me to set up a chair for her in the back corner of the store, and she sat there and read Labyrinth. I felt kinda bad for her because it must have sucked to be in a video game store at midnight, so I went up and shot the breeze with her. I asked about the book she was reading and she told me it was great, and she actually finished it by the end of night and gave it to me! She even wrote my name in it. A couple months later her son came in and dropped off the sequel to the book, with a note written on the inside cover saying "For Paul." What a nice lady! It's amazing what you can get for just giving people the time of day.

I really liked that book. I read it a few years ago. Have had the sequel, Sepulchre sitting in my backlog pile for a loooong time now. I suppose I should get around to that sometime.
 
Does anyone have an opinion on Vernor Vinges Rainbows End?

I'm thinking of getting that or Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson but can't decide. One being fantasy fiction I assume more people would have an opinion.

Basically which once should I read first?

Death by Black Hole is hilarious and informative, plus it's a quick read. Highly recommended.
 
wg_countzer.jpg


William Gibson - Count Zero. My first novel of 2013? It's quick and cool.

Chris Hayes - Twilight of the Elite.

My sister got it for me for christmas. She met him (I assume she means at a book signing) and got him to sign it with a little message to me. My dad's read it and like it.

I heard him speak in Chicago and it was very interesting. You should post your thoughts after reading the book.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
mistborn.jpg


About 150 pages in and I'm loving this. First time reading Sanderson and I really like his writing style. Intriguing magic system and promising characters. Not that far in, but I've read enough to know that this one is right up my alley. The chapter where Kelsier
goes to town on an army of Hazekillers with just a letter opener and steals the safe
was just amazing to read.
 

Nymerio

Member
mistborn.jpg


About 150 pages in and I'm loving this. First time reading Sanderson and I really like his writing style. Intriguing magic system and promising characters. Not that far in, but I've read enough to know that this one is right up my alley. The chapter where Kelsier
goes to town on an army of Hazekillers with just a letter opener and steals the safe
was just amazing to read.

It gets better and better as the series goes on. This series has some of my favorite action scenes, and the fourth book even manages to top that.
 
I started the new year with Warm Bodies from Isaac Marion. There were some great ideas in this book, but overall it wasn't extremely captivating. But I really liked the approach of reading into the mind of a zombie instead of a human survivor.

A few days ago there was a special offer on Amazon where I got Dschinnland from Kai Meyer. Since I wanted to read one of his books for a long time, it was a great opportunity. It's the first part of his Stormkings series which takes place near Bagdad. I really liked the world he created and was pleasantly surprised. I can't wait to read the second part but before that I have to finish Something Rotten from Jasper Fforde. I didn't like the third book of his Thursday Next series but this one is really good so far.
 
I finished this classic, but I'm afraid it went over my head:


The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

So about the ending,
the world they're living in isn't real? Isn't that what the I Ching revealed? And why did the SD end up letting Frank Frink go? What exactly was Wegener's angle? He just didn't want total annihilation of the Japanese islands?
 
Just read that a month ago and had the same feelings/questions as you. What I understood is that
Juliana and the author (at the end) discover from the I Ching that their world is fake and the real world is what is described in The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. Why they accept that, I don't know. The book abruptly ends at that point. Apparently, questioning reality and false realities is a major theme in most of Dick's works.
 

Collete

Member
Finished "Mort", I liked the book, was a bit slow in the first half, but picked up in the last half.
I reread the part where you're first introduced to Mort and still love it, haha.

Now I'm starting two books:

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For the second book, I don't know if it's any good, but I bought it on sale at Half Price Books hardback edition. So I thought, why not?
 

Shiv47

Member
Just read The Last Headbangers, which turned out to be fairly inconsequential, like a book-length puff piece magazine article. Fortunately it read very quickly, otherwise I'd not have bothered finishing it. If you want some quick NFL nostalgia, it may interest.

51%2BN-Y1dejL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg
 
For the second book, I don't know if it's any good, but I bought it on sale at Half Price Books hardback edition. So I thought, why not?

Small Gods is one of the best Pratchetts; you're in for a treat. Regarding Unseen Academicals, if you enjoy soccer, you'll probably like this book. I thought it was great fun, but opinions vary.
 

DagsJT

Member
Small Gods is one of the best Pratchetts; you're in for a treat. Regarding Unseen Academicals, if you enjoy soccer, you'll probably like this book. I thought it was great fun, but opinions vary.

I'm a big football fan and found it to be one of the worst books. Not a bad book but not particularly great.
 

BeeDog

Member
Reading my first book in quite a while:

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I've only read around 60-70 pages, but so far, so good. At first, the book was throwing me off with its odd writing style, e.g. no quotation marks to indicate dialogue and intentional(?) spelling errors everywhere, but after a chapter or so I got into the groove. Let's hope the book keeps getting better and better!
 
Finished that Osama book.

Reminded me of Man from High Castle actually NakedSushi, so if you haven't got enough, then you can move onto it.

Was smokey as hell, weird and unsettling but also political. Very good stuff.

So now moving on to another book. Reading
Snuff_cover_low.jpg

For something less perplexing :D
 

Fjordson

Member
Finally finished The First Law Trilogy. It was so good. That ending was tough in that it was sort of a downer, but it certainly skirted around how I was expecting it to end based on most fantasy books I read.

I loved the trilogy so much that I'm tempted to move right into Abercrombie's standalone books.
 

saunderez

Member
About 200 pages into John Dies At The End. Watched the movie a couple of weeks ago and instantly bought the book. Love it so far, it's given me insight into things that were explicitly spelled out in the film and its more or less its own story so I'm not simply retreading the movie.
 

Afrodium

Banned
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Very very though. I don't think I knew what I was getting into at first. I'm only about 250 pages in, and I'm starting to get the hang of it. The entire first section was a trial of perseverance for me. I must have read each page twice to figure out what was even happening. Now I'm starting to understand Pynchon's prose and can follow it for the most part. I'm enjoying it very much, I'm just hoping that I'm able to tough it out until the end. I'm getting the feeling that I'll be reading this book for a while.
 

jacobs34

Member
Finished The Art Of Fielding, which I really enjoyed and now I'm about a third of the way into:

birdbybird.jpg


I've heard numerous glowing reviews about this book as one of the premiere sources for help on writing. And yes, I do own (and cherish) On Writing, by Stephen King.
 

THRILLH0

Banned
If im buying the ASOIAF series on Kindle, is the 5 book deal grouped as a single entry on the kindle or as if you buy them separately?

Seeing as ADWD will likely come down in price before i even get to it, is there any reason not to go book by book?
 

Narag

Member
If im buying the ASOIAF series on Kindle, is the 5 book deal grouped as a single entry on the kindle or as if you buy them separately?

Seeing as ADWD will likely come down in price before i even get to it, is there any reason not to go book by book?

It's one big entry iirc. There's another bundle with the first 4 books for a bit less that's cheaper than the individual books though.
 

Masenkame

Member
I finished A Dance with Dragons. I liked it, for all the characterization and world building. There is a lot left up in the air which worked for A Feast for Crows, but not as much for this novel. I suppose since the two novels were supposed to be one it makes sense. Still, there is a lot of information packed into the novel. I am excited for the continuation of the series.

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I read Childhood's End next, which was a quick read. I liked it, and wasn't expecting the
paranormal
aspect to it. I felt some horror due to the imagery and implication of that approach.

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Next up is The Sparrow, which I have been looking forward to for a while.
 

Fjordson

Member
Has anyone read The Great North Road by Peter Hamilton? Is it able to stay interesting despite being over 1000 pages and the dual narrative?
 
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Not going to lie, it has held me so far, about 50% through. Not sure what to make of it.

This is a strange little book. I'd be very interested to talk with you about it when you're done. I read it as part of a cultural sci-fi/fantasy class this last semester. Book does a lot of interesting things.

I'm currently about 1/4 of the way through
The_Brothers_Karamazov_by_Fyodor_Dostoevsky.JPG


Has me intrigued, and reads easier than I would have expected. Lots of names to keep straight though, and Dostoyevsky doesn't make it easy for you, since every seems to have two or three monikers at least.
 
This is a strange little book. I'd be very interested to talk with you about it when you're done. I read it as part of a cultural sci-fi/fantasy class this last semester. Book does a lot of interesting things.

Finished it last night. Really reminded me of man in the high castle. I loved his descriptions of Vientiane, transported me back there instantly. Staying with me, which I think is the sign of a good book.
 
Has anyone read The Great North Road by Peter Hamilton? Is it able to stay interesting despite being over 1000 pages and the dual narrative?

Just added that to my wishlist. Also added 1356 but I'm disturbed that the price is set at $16.99 for the Kindle version. Not cool.
 

Burger

Member
Has anyone read The Great North Road by Peter Hamilton? Is it able to stay interesting despite being over 1000 pages and the dual narrative?

Yeah I read it a month or two ago. Breezed through it and found it thoroughly enjoyable. I'm a bit of a Hamilton fan, although I thought the Void trilogy was a bit shit.
 

Keen

Aliens ate my babysitter
Just added that to my wishlist. Also added 1356 but I'm disturbed that the price is set at $16.99 for the Kindle version. Not cool.


I've read Great North Road, and liked it.

Currently reading Malice by John Gwynn. It hasn't really grabbed me, so also started Cold Days, the latest Dresden Files book.
Plan on picking up a Memory of Light today as well, can't believe that WoT is done.

Finished Red Knight by Miles Cameron. Highly recommended.
 
3vv1n.jpg


Very very though. I don't think I knew what I was getting into at first. I'm only about 250 pages in, and I'm starting to get the hang of it. The entire first section was a trial of perseverance for me. I must have read each page twice to figure out what was even happening. Now I'm starting to understand Pynchon's prose and can follow it for the most part. I'm enjoying it very much, I'm just hoping that I'm able to tough it out until the end. I'm getting the feeling that I'll be reading this book for a while.

Ugh. I've avoided this forever, because I have no intention of going anywhere near it without a reader's guide. Same for Ulysses. Maybe 2013 is the year I should nut up.
 
Has anyone read The Great North Road by Peter Hamilton? Is it able to stay interesting despite being over 1000 pages and the dual narrative?

After about 300 pages or so, just skip all of the Newcastle bullshit and it becomes a pretty decent book. You won't miss anything by skipping the Newcastle stuff either.

I still wouldn't recommend it if you have other stuff to read though.
 
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