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[Easystride]

Reading Rise of Empire (Riyria Revelations):

I am really liking this series so far. It isn't terribly original, but it is a very fun read. I've been plowing through this book at a very fast rate, and enjoying every minute of it.

 

[waypoetic]

This

masterpiece!

 

[Maklershed]

Finished The Heroes and on to In the Garden of Beasts


In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson

 

[Guileless]

Finished The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan. Too strange to adequately describe. If you want something atmospheric and unsettling, it is a good taut read.

In non-fiction, I finished 500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars. Someone here recommended it highly. Interesting approach to give a chronological story of all the different things that happened after 9/11: the war in Afghanistan, anthrax attacks, Bali, buildup to Iraq, etc. A lot of it is devoted to the legal wrangling over interrogation and the legal status of detainees. This was the weakest part because it was shallow. I also got a little tired of all the Woodward-style dialog reconstructions. Who has any idea how accurate those are. But overall I recommend it. It reminds you how strange those first few months after 9/11 were.

 

[Fjordson]

Mak, how was The Heroes? I remember you loving Best Served Cold (which I plan on reading soon).

 

[Meteorain]

Decided to have a look at the Jack Reacher novels after having sen the film adverts floating around. The books really are not something i expecyed. I really liked them, and I'm not a person to leave my comfort zone of Fantasy/Sci-Fi too often. I read the first two and thorougly enjoyed them. I guess i love how he explains everything for the plot, nothing is left vague.

Currently on the third book

 

[Maklershed]

Mak, how was The Heroes? I remember you loving Best Served Cold (which I plan on reading soon).

Welp, I hate to say it but it was my least favorite of all Abercrombie books so far. It's missing world building, in depth exploration of characters, pretty much a story in general really. It's just describing

Spoiler

a huge three day battle between the north and the Union. And in the end, there's no point to any of it. Literally. It changed nothing, except killed off a few characters. The North got nothing out of it, the Union got nothing out of it. Bayaz got nothing out of it. Bayaz's nemesis in the south (whose name escapes me) gets nothing out of it. And I could be wrong but I don't think anything that happened in this book will impact anything in any consequential books. So overall it was kinda pointless. I know I'm being harsh here but it kinda reminded me of watching Naruto and hitting filler episodes before it goes back to a main story arc again.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Oliver Twist on Kindle

 

[Nymerio]

Ship of Fools keeps on delivering. The just found

Spoiler

the dead ship.

This reminds me of the strange house in House of Leaves.

 

[MutantCyborg]

I'm about 2/3 of the way through and loving it, but I can't stand when Tolkien rambles on about something that doesn't seem important at all. Most recently, When

Spoiler

Bilbo and the Dwarfs escape from the Wood-elves kingdom. Tolkien describes the journey to Lake Town in about 4 pages. Those four pages just dragged on forever and I felt like they had no real point considering Tolkien skips parts of the journey that seem more interesting than floating down a river.

 

[dosh]

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon.

This is the first book by Chabon I've ever read, I'm amazed at the writing.

 

[nakedsushi]

Finished:


Blood Rights by Kristen Painter

No. Just no. Everyone was acting so stupidly in this book. What a hot mess, and not even in a good way. Parts of the plot made no sense at all.

 

[Kareha]

 

[aidan]

A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright

This is a terrific book. It changed the way I thought about progress, success and the way I want to set my own personal goals.

 

[Delicious Waffles]

Started it yesterday. Got it from Story Bundle a few months ago. Pretty good so far.

 

[Krowley]

Decided to have a look at the Jack Reacher novels after having sen the film adverts floating around. The books really are not something i expecyed. I really liked them, and I'm not a person to leave my comfort zone of Fantasy/Sci-Fi too often. I read the first two and thorougly enjoyed them. I guess i love how he explains everything for the plot, nothing is left vague.

Currently on the third book

If I'm remembering correctly, Tripwire is pretty good, and it gets into Reacher's past a little bit.

The Reacher books vary in quality quite a bit. You'll run into one occasionally that's just pure shit, and you shouldn't hesitate to skip one of it isn't working for you. There isn't a whole lot of continuity and it doesn't hurt to read them out of order. Some of the books feel phoned in and just aren't worth bothering with, but on the plus side, there hasn't been an extended decline or anything. Child always seems to rebound with a solid effort to keep the series on track after one or two really bad ones.

Looking ahead from where you are, Echo Burning (book five) and The Persuader (book seven) are two of my favorites. Books four and six are kind of foggy for me, which probably means I didn't like them that much.

 

[Fjordson]

Welp, I hate to say it but it was my least favorite of all Abercrombie books so far. It's missing world building, in depth exploration of characters, pretty much a story in general really. It's just describing

Spoiler

a huge three day battle between the north and the Union. And in the end, there's no point to any of it. Literally. It changed nothing, except killed off a few characters. The North got nothing out of it, the Union got nothing out of it. Bayaz got nothing out of it. Bayaz's nemesis in the south (whose name escapes me) gets nothing out of it. And I could be wrong but I don't think anything that happened in this book will impact anything in any consequential books. So overall it was kinda pointless. I know I'm being harsh here but it kinda reminded me of watching Naruto and hitting filler episodes before it goes back to a main story arc again.

Ah, that's disappointing to hear. Do you plan on reading Red Country? I've heard mostly good things.

 

[ClassyPenguin]

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.

Suttree by cormac mccarthy
or his border trilogy ( All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain).

 

[OttomanScribe]

Welp, I hate to say it but it was my least favorite of all Abercrombie books so far. It's missing world building, in depth exploration of characters, pretty much a story in general really. It's just describing

Spoiler

a huge three day battle between the north and the Union. And in the end, there's no point to any of it. Literally. It changed nothing, except killed off a few characters. The North got nothing out of it, the Union got nothing out of it. Bayaz got nothing out of it. Bayaz's nemesis in the south (whose name escapes me) gets nothing out of it. And I could be wrong but I don't think anything that happened in this book will impact anything in any consequential books. So overall it was kinda pointless. I know I'm being harsh here but it kinda reminded me of watching Naruto and hitting filler episodes before it goes back to a main story arc again.

In terms of the spoilers:

Spoiler

I think that is the whole point. The Heroes is fundamentally an anti-war, war novel. If you got 'pointless' out of it, then you are reading it right

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

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.

The Bible. I think it's just what you're looking for.

I've been reading Halo: The Thursday War this week:

Poor Karen Traviss, she does get shit on a lot by SF fans, but based on these books I can't see where the hate is coming from. I've not read her before, but I'm really enjoying this story about ground-level spooks and ODSTs and the post Halo 3 political landscape. She has put together a really warm and engaging motley crew of characters and I cannot wait to see where this goes and how it plugs into what we know from Halo 4. And I'm enjoying this a hell of a lot more than the impersonal and bewildering Forerunner books, those are terrible.

 

[TestMonkey]

Just finished Catcher in the Rye. Would have stopped if not for the 50-50. The stream of consciousness from a spoiled white kid who learns nothing and had zero redeeming attributes made me unable to read it straight through.

Now onto

 

[Deleted member 1235]

just finished the black company by glen cook.

Was pretty cool, I liked croaker a lot.

Started 'the devil you know' Felix Castor #1

which is scratching my 'I want a dresden files book again already' itch quite nicely.

 

[Afro Thunder]

Planning on finish this book next week. Nice examples on how the media in general do more harm than good when talking about scientific subjects.

 

[SmoothCB]

Nexus by Ramez Naam

Quite simply one of the best books I've ever read. The author's vision is enlightening and I think truly prescient--I believe that it reads like a window into our near future. I can't wait for more of his fiction and am definitely planning on reading some of his non-fiction work.

 

[KimiNewt]

About 2/3rds of the way through (just 300 more pages!). Some really poor pacing, but the good parts are really good.

 

[Jintor]

These.

Also these:


Crimes Against Humanity by Geoffrey Robertson

Still slowly plugging away.


The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Finished the first book, stopping to work on a chapter of Crimes Against Humanity for now.

 

[Maklershed]

Ah, that's disappointing to hear. Do you plan on reading Red Country? I've heard mostly good things.

Yes, I still have plenty of confidence and good will from his previous books to keep buying anything he puts out.

In terms of the spoilers:

Spoiler

I think that is the whole point. The Heroes is fundamentally an anti-war, war novel. If you got 'pointless' out of it, then you are reading it right

But I already knew that before I read 800 pages or whatever that was! :b

 

[Mackenzie 92]

finished Revolution 19. eh, it was ok.

starting

The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers

 

[kinn]

I want friends on goodreads, add me please

Added!

 

[ShaneB]

Added!

Thank you! Much appreciated

 

[Schlep]

Also added after signing up. Damn their app is ghetto.

 

[SniperHunter]

been reading a lot of books on kindle, the software is simply amazing

ebooks›>>>™paper books


cant share lidt, will updare soon

 

[ymmv]

Finished "The Briar King". Now reading "The Charnel Prince":

The first book in the series was a lot of fun. I was skeptical during the first 100 pages, it felt too much like a generic fantasy with all the maps, silly names and such, but it got better the more I read and the last 100 pages were full of adventure with each chapter ending with a cliffhanger, so I had to keep reading.

 

[TCRS]

Poor Karen Traviss, she does get shit on a lot by SF fans, but based on these books I can't see where the hate is coming from.

Yeah me neither. I really liked her SW: Legacy of the Force books, she was much better than the other two authors. Her books were really detailed, more emotional and explored the characters way better than the books by Troy Denning and Aaron Allston.

 

[ShaneB]

Finished Ready Player One, thought it was fantastic Not perfect, and it can get pretty outrageous and silly, but I loved it, it's just pure fun.

Now to decide what to read next!

 

[Guileless]

Nexus by Ramez Naam

Quite simply one of the best books I've ever read. The author's vision is enlightening and I think truly prescient--I believe that it reads like a window into our near future. I can't wait for more of his fiction and am definitely planning on reading some of his non-fiction work.

This is on my list.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I just finished this last night. What a really good book. Those last 75 pages or so were amazing. I guess it's a really good sign that after 1250 pages, I'm bummed that there's not more. I can't wait for the second book and hope it comes this year.

 

[Piecake]

I just finished this last night. What a really good book. Those last 75 pages or so were amazing. I guess it's a really good sign that after 1250 pages, I'm bummed that there's not more. I can't wait for the second book and hope it comes this year.

Great book.

Spoiler

Basically, my thoughts on the ending were "Kal, fuck yea!" and "Oh shit, that dude planned it all?!?". Im super exciting to see how Kal and the other guys deal with the assassin in white and to see how he fleshes out the magic system, characters, and world (basically everything) more.

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/

Well, if we dont get it this year, I imagine we will see it early next year.

 

[black_13]

Finished Ready Player One, thought it was fantastic Not perfect, and it can get pretty outrageous and silly, but I loved it, it's just pure fun.

Now to decide what to read next!

Funny I JUST finished it as well. While it was fun, it felt very childish. Just from the level of writing I could tell the author wasn't that experienced and lo and behold it turns out its his firs book. It lacked any real excitement. Seemed like a cool idea but without the proper execution. Could have been so much better. It seems perfect for the hardcore Wow player though.

And well reading Foundation 1 before this doesn't seem like a good idea now. Made the book seem like a kids book.

For my next book I'm thinking trying both Foundation 2 and Speaker of the Dead and see which one I get into easier. Eventually finish them back to back.

 

[Nymerio]

About 60% into Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

 

[demon]

I may or may not have posted this already, but recently started this:

'Twilight of the Elites' by Chris Hayes

 

[nakedsushi]

Finally read something by Scalzi!


Old Man's War by John Scalzi

I really liked this, despite the mix-up that made me think I was reading The Forever War for a bit. But by the time I figured out I was reading the wrong book, I was invested in this one. Are the other books in this series as good? I liked that it was straight forward, action packed, but still had some humor.

It's kind of unfortunate to have this title because imagining a book about the elderly in space battles doesn't really sound exciting to me.

 

[ShaneB]

Funny I JUST finished it as well. While it was fun, it felt very childish. Just from the level of writing I could tell the author wasn't that experienced and lo and behold it turns out its his firs book. It lacked any real excitement. Seemed like a cool idea but without the proper execution. Could have been so much better. It seems perfect for the hardcore Wow player though.

And well reading Foundation 1 before this doesn't seem like a good idea now. Made the book seem like a kids book.

For my next book I'm thinking trying both Foundation 2 and Speaker of the Dead and see which one I get into easier. Eventually finish them back to back.

All valid points and not much I can disagree with There was a early section in the book that just seemed so absurd, and then just as I was thinking that, Wade/Parzival said that indeed, the scenario seemed so absurd. But I mean, perhaps that's what I liked about it, I wrote a review on Goodreads and mentioned how there were themes I wish were explained deeper, but I still really found it a fun adventure into what could be a plausible future. I could've done without all the anime references though

I'm still not sure what to read next, think it's either going to be Marooned in Realtime, or Ship of Fools.

 

[foomfoom415]

All valid points and not much I can disagree with There was a early section in the book that just seemed so absurd, and then just as I was thinking that, Wade/Parzival said that indeed, the scenario seemed so absurd. But I mean, perhaps that's what I liked about it, I wrote a review on Goodreads and mentioned how there were themes I wish were explained deeper, but I still really found it a fun adventure into what could be a plausible future. I could've done without all the anime references though

So much of the book seemed like something you'd find in a 13-year olds's Kickstarter Pitch for the BESST MMMORPG EVAR! Most of what remained were extraordinarily clumsy references to the 80s that seemed to be written for someone born in 2005.

I could see someone enjoying the book if their interests overlapped just so, and I could even probably manage to enjoy it myself if the level of writing just wasn't so poor.

I'm still not sure what to read next, think it's either going to be Marooned in Realtime, or Ship of Fools.

Ship of Fools is still next up in my to-read pile, but I loved The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime when I was a kid. I haven't thought about those books in a decade or two, but if 14-year old me is to be trusted, they're a safe bet.

 

[gdt]

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.

I'm about 400 pages in and things have been moving for about 100 pages now. Really digging it at the moment.

 

[ShaneB]

So much of the book seemed like something you'd find in a 13-year olds's Kickstarter Pitch for the BESST MMMORPG EVAR! Most of what remained were extraordinarily clumsy references to the 80s that seemed to be written for someone born in 2005.

I could see someone enjoying the book if their interests overlapped just so, and I could even probably manage to enjoy it myself if the level of writing just wasn't so poor.

Ship of Fools is still next up in my to-read pile, but I loved The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime when I was a kid. I haven't thought about those books in a decade or two, but if 14-year old me is to be trusted, they're a safe bet.

I haven't read Peace War, but when Marooned in Realtime was suggested in a thread before, It sounded so cool. Had no idea MiR was the sequel, but apparently it's not necessary to read Peace War before just jumping to MiR, is that a fair assessment?

 

[foomfoom415]

I haven't read Peace War, but when Marooned in Realtime was suggested in a thread before, It sounded so cool. Had no idea MiR was the sequel, but apparently it's not necessary to read Peace War before just jumping to MiR, is that a fair assessment?

You can definitely read Marooned in Realtime on it's own, and though my memory of the mid 90s is fuzzy, I'm reasonably sure I read it before Peace War (and enjoyed it more).

 

[ShaneB]

Sounds great, thanks for the replies, guess that makes it official. Actually Cyan, it may have been you that recommended it. lol

Now reading!

 

[GalacticSushiman]

 

[Photosynthesis]

In the process of reading:

Goddamnit, Cugel is unlikeable. Vance is a great writer, though.