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[LocoMrPollock]

So when does A Game of Thrones get good? I'm 50 pages in and could not be more bored.

It took awhile for me as well. It's a bit of a slow burn during the first half, but stick with it and you won't be disappointed.

 

[Kuraudo]

So when does A Game of Thrones get good? I'm 50 pages in and could not be more bored.

50 page rule. Drop it.

 

[Pikelet]

So when does A Game of Thrones get good? I'm 50 pages in and could not be more bored.

I would definitely keep reading, in my copy the plot really gets gets going within 30 pages from where you are right now.

It is definitely a slow starter though. However, that is certainly not atypical of a giant fantasy series, of which this is probably the best.

 

[Maklershed]

50 page rule. Drop it.

Don't do it! It takes a little while to get into because there's a lot to learn with names and locations and what not but once you get past the introductory background and you start to memorize who and what everything is and you can just focus on the story, it becomes an unbelievably great book. And I can tell you that A Clash of Kings is even better. Stick with it to page 100 at the very least (although I say you should go even further than that).

 

[Empty]

read fictions by borges (it's a collection of short stories). very impressive indeed, he has great range, in both genre and style and a wonderful imagination. the latter being the most impressive part of the stories, with his magical realism works being my favourite, each creating this very alluring, mystical atmosphere that is a joy to get a sense of and stirring up wonder at every turn. the collection runs the gamut from borges reveling in his own love of literature by inventing fake books and writers that he fake reviews, to quick bursts of these very inventive fantastical worlds or concepts with lots of meaning behind them (symbolic, or philosophical), to a clever spin on the classic detective story, to a very simple stories indeed marked most by excellent execution; there is a lot of different stuff to chew on in the collection, and they are all pretty damn good, and all imaginative, clever and a pleasure to read. the (translation of the) prose is quite economical and unflashy, i thought, but it means the stories progress at a steady canter, mostly it's precise and allows the stories to speak loudest, which is fine. the most impressive part of the form is not the style of the writing, but the way he gets the meat out of an idea whether in a world, narrative concept, style, magical device, all things that could easily be made into a full novel, and with great restraint pulls out at the perfect moment, meaning nearly each one feels artfully crafted and perfectly formed, never too long or too short; just right. he just gets the form so well, i think.

so yeah, kinda liked that. you can read one of my favourites here, it isn't very long.

http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_babel.html


next book: the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay by micheal chabon

really like it so far!

 

[suzu]

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

 

[Roude Leiw]

Got it on Wednesday. Fucking Epic.

sounds like that is an awesome series. is this the first book:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439176671/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Edit: ordered it.

 

[ymmv]

So when does A Game of Thrones get good? I'm 50 pages in and could not be more bored.

50 pages in? You must have read only a few chapters so far. Stick with it. Martin has to introduce a lot of characters and set up a lot of plot lines. Once all the wheels are set in motion every chapter leaves you wanting more (because of the cliffhangers).

 

[Xater]

So when does A Game of Thrones get good? I'm 50 pages in and could not be more bored.

I have read 100 pages before giving up. :lol

 

[Nameless]

Just started:

I'm really enjoying it so far. The first couple of chapters are quite the set-up for what's billed as a fantasy novel. Can't wait to delve deeper into it.

 

[Lafiel]

I have read 100 pages before giving up. :lol

I read it for 100 pages once, later dropped it. Then came back again a few months later - and bam turned into my favorite fantasy series overnight.:lol

 

[Salazar]

Chapter 6 of The Long Ships.

Krok, Toke, Solomon, and Orm are badass.

 

[Maklershed]

*high fives Salazar*

Hell yes! I would love to see this book turned into an HBO series.

 

[Salazar]

*high fives Salazar*

Hell yes! I would love to see this book turned into an HBO series.

:lol

Few more chapters in, now. Only getting better. Toke is a geezer.

 

[Splinter]

I'm also trying to get into the Game of Thrones, kinda meh so far, I'll keep going though. What can I expect without giving any spoilers away? Is it like LoTR in style and epicness?

 

[Vanillalite]

 

[demon]

Let me know how you like it. I'm enjoying Kitchen Confidential so far.

 

[finowns]

Been reading Eisler's John Rain assassin series. First 3 books are excellent. Killing Rain was ok.

 

[Blindfutur3]

Just started reading:

 

[Tashi]

250 pages into A Game of Thrones. God damn it's so good.

 

[eznark]

Just started reading:

This might be my most disliked work of fiction ever.

 

[eznark]

I'm also trying to get into the Game of Thrones, kinda meh so far, I'll keep going though. What can I expect without giving any spoilers away? Is it like LoTR in style and epicness?

I'm like 150 pages in now, it does get more interesting. So far though it is far more General Hospital than Lord of the Rings.

 

[Xater]

I read it for 100 pages once, later dropped it. Then came back again a few months later - and bam turned into my favorite fantasy series overnight.:lol

Maybe I will give it another shot by I just don't think I'm a fantasy guy. Well at least when it comes to books. I couldn't even get into Lord of the Rings. I really don't know what it is. I like the genre in films or games but in book form it's just no working for me so far.

Although now that I think about it. Harry Potter is fantasy, I guess and I liked that.

 

[ksimm]

I've finished reading and can recommend The Night Angel trilogy (Way of Shadows, Shadow's Edge, Beyond the Shadows) by Brent Weeks, which were all excellent reads!
I then moved onto The Painted Man (Warded in the USA) and the Desert Spear by Peter V Brett, which I also thoroughly enjoyed.

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks isn't out for another month that's the start of his Lightbringer trilogy - can't wait. I'm just not sure what to read right now, though A Game of Thrones sounds interesting.

Since I got a Sony Reader last year I read a hell of a lot more, and no books cluttering the shelves is a bonus.

 

[Mifune]

Only about 80 pages in and it's glorious. Waited far too long to jump into this one.

 

[Lear]

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173853526l/337007.jpg

Only about 80 pages in and it's glorious. Waited far too long to jump into this one.

One of my favourites, such a brilliant book. I still need to get round to reading his latest.

Currently reading

 

[Mollymauk]

Sounds incredible...damn no e-book version?

Can everyone visit Amazon and click to request The Long Ships in Kindle Edition?

Thanks!

 

[sadaiyappan]

Einstein's God - Conversations about Science and the Human Spirit

Just started it, so can't say if its good or not but it was in the best seller section of my library.

 

[BobsRevenge]

This is excellent so far. Eggers is a beast. Some of the most understanding writing I've ever read.

 

[Roche]

Been meaning to get around to reading this for a while now heard good things about it, I just started yesterday.

 

[eznark]

I'm also trying to get into the Game of Thrones, kinda meh so far, I'll keep going though. What can I expect without giving any spoilers away? Is it like LoTR in style and epicness?

350 pages in now and it's just a ren-faire soap opera, far as I can tell. I do not understand the LOTRO comparisons at all. King Arthur meets Telemundo.

 

[Awesome Animals]

About half way through this and am immensely enjoying it. This is my second excursion into Chabon's prose, and I am enjoying this much more than The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. I definitely have intentions of checking out his other stuff.

This will be the next book I check out, and also the second McCarthy book. The Road was brilliant, and I can't wait to start this, especially because I enjoy a good western story.

And hopefully I will eventually get to this book and series. His mentor is George R.R. Martin, and if you don't know who he is, sigh. I expect this to be strong, but I am wary because of who his mentor is, and thus my expectations are high. Speaking of Mr Martin, I want to reread his A Song of Ice and Fire series because of the HBO miniseries coming, and for the Dances with Dragons release, should it ever come. Part of me is worried because Mr Martin is 61, and he still has three more books to publish. I think he will get it done, but I don't want what happened to The Wheels of Time series to happen with this.

And to those trying to get into A Song of Ice and Fire, you must be patient. The pacing is slow, and the first book does a lot of set up work, but it pays off ten fold. The characters become so complex and eventually you are thankful for his pacing.

 

[Dresden]

Daniel Abraham is excellent. The Long Price Quartet just gets better and better as it goes, and ends on a perfect note.

 

[Awesome Animals]

Daniel Abraham is excellent. The Long Price Quartet just gets better and better as it goes, and ends on a perfect note.

Oh goodie. Thanks for the confirmation!

 

[Stealth]

350 pages in now and it's just a ren-faire soap opera, far as I can tell. I do not understand the LOTRO comparisons at all. King Arthur meets Telemundo.

If deception, power struggles, court intrigue, and Lord Snow aren't selling you, you may be wasting your time. However, the build up in the last 150 pages towards book two is really fantastic. In fact, it's about page 430 or so in the larger paperback where thing really get moving. You'll know the moment when you get to it.

Touching on the LOTR/ASOIAF comparisons, I read LOTR years ago and found the prose far more dull in moments than AGOT ever got, but then that is just my personal opinion. I also loved LOTR, both the books and the movies, but I would find it difficult to reinvest myself in them again.

I do not think the books are very similar at all to Tolkien's work other than they are firmly established worlds full of very, very human characters. Tolkien's books are actually a little bit heavier on the mythology and high fantasy, whereas Martin is writing stories more in the vein of Robin Hood meets The Tudors.

Anyway, for anyone not enjoying the book of the month, The Big Short is very, very good. The third chapter may break your brain if you have no familiarity with finance or the markets, but Lewis knows this and tries to serve up boilerplate as often as he can. Really loving the characters behind the nonsense, too.

 

[aidan]

You're a good man.

 

[Salazar]

Can everyone visit Amazon and click to request The Long Ships in Kindle Edition?

Thanks!

I do recommend buying the New York Review of Books edition.

a) Because it's really very handsomely produced.
b) Because it's an excellent, noble publishing enterprise.

I will do as you say, though. The book deserves an immense audience.

 

[Lamel]

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland -Lewis Carroll

Fantastic book. Carroll has created a fantastic world and she describes it in such vivid imagery. I will be reading Through the Looking Glass next

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

So far I am on chapter 22. It is a classic novel, albeit sort of feminine but still a fun read so far. Word of advice: keep a dictionary near by

 

[Salazar]

Fantastic book. Carroll has created a fantastic world and she describes it in such vivid imagery.

Lewis was actually Charles, a mathematics don at Christ Church, Oxford.

 

[carpal]

Finished Foundation yesterday. Not sure if I want to follow through with the whole series yet. Too much other stuff to read first!

About half way through this and am immensely enjoying it. This is my second excursion into Chabon's prose, and I am enjoying this much more than The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. I definitely have intentions of checking out his other stuff.

For my money, nobody can beat Chabon's prose. Nobody. And Kavalier and Clay is just achingly good. One my all time favorites. Have fun with the rest of his stuff. I'm always jealous when somebody has a great writer's body of work ahead of them, fresh to discover and enjoy.

And to those trying to get into A Song of Ice and Fire, you must be patient. The pacing is slow, and the first book does a lot of set up work, but it pays off ten fold. The characters become so complex and eventually you are thankful for his pacing.

I'm finally just getting into this series. A weekend at the beach gave me plenty of patience to hang with the first book and I'm definitely sucked in now. Something for you Martin fans to envy I guess. Fresh blood!

 

[Salazar]

For my money, nobody can beat Chabon's prose. Nobody.

Woah, there. Samuel Johnson is beating with fury at his coffin-lid.

 

[Mifune]

About half way through this and am immensely enjoying it. This is my second excursion into Chabon's prose, and I am enjoying this much more than The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. I definitely have intentions of checking out his other stuff.

Chabon is great. I'm sure you'll enjoy both Wonder Boys and The Yiddish Policemen's Union; they're beautiful books.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh isn't as good for sure, but keep in mind it was his first novel. Hell, Chabon himself hates it.

 

[NumberTwo]

Very fond of the movie and thought I would check out the book.

 

[carpal]

Woah, there. Samuel Johnson is beating with fury at his coffin-lid.

Ha! Let him beat! (I am not so familiar with his work, so maybe he should be raging over that fact instead of my Chabon fanboy love.)

 

[Karakand]

You wanted to be cool like me so you dumped my public library records and posted (part of) what I checked out this month here, I'm flattered! You were wrong to bank on a prolonged exile on my part, however.

This is going to come as a shock to you guys, but 100 pages in and Glen Beck is a pretty terrible novelist.

I'm reading book 2 of this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982468644/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It is truly amazing, and totally acceptable to read ironically since it's not popular like Overton Window.

Here's a synopsis of the first book if you don't believe me:

Suki is an attractive, single young professional Libertarian, performing advanced technology research and looking for a bright, nice, acceptable boyfriend. Most of the time she works in her mother’s party planning office as Project Manager/Executive Secretary and all-around technology administrator. Suki has an advanced education by 2032 standards, but it is not much more advanced that the top 25% of her peers from high school who also earned PhDs. She started college early, like many of her high school classmates. She has experimented with many things, common for a woman of her time, for most anybody of her age, and she is growing out of that.

John is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, former defense contractor, current classic car creator and "small L libertarian." He has a comfortable condominium, a nice one-man-operation garage, one true best friend and never seems to meet a stranger. He is a bit of a solitary man. After his son became a military lawyer and “left the nest”, John started tutoring subjects that he had taught his son and had tutored while he was in college, as a productive distraction from his business. It is also something he can do one-on-one, rather than having to deal with large groups. John prefers women his own age or older and would be thrilled if he finds a woman who just wants to be nice to him.

Atlas Shrugged is now more popular abroad than in the USA.

The USA is recovering from the hyperinflation of the early part of the century. The rest of the world is rapidly adopting the free market and the rule of law.

Northern Virginia is slowly leaning toward libertarian style laws, taxes and freedoms, much to the dislike of the establishment in Washington, DC, right across the river.

In Virginia, the smoking policy in businesses is set by the owner. So is the concealed weapons carry policy. DC is the opposite.

Federal recreational drug laws have been all but eliminated. Virginia has eliminated most of theirs. Prostitution laws are largely ignored in cities across the country. In Virgina as long as it is off the street it is tolerated. DC continues to issue tickets for suspected prostitution in public areas.

BDSM is more common in fashion and in commercial establishment themes, but the practice still has a slight stigma.

The story is set in the early 2030s. For more details about the background, see http://www.SukiSite.com

I immensely enjoy the connection of voluntary sexual bondage with voluntary economic bondage. I bet de Sade would vote for Ron Paul if he could.

 

[finowns]

350 pages in now and it's just a ren-faire soap opera, far as I can tell. I do not understand the LOTRO comparisons at all. King Arthur meets Telemundo.

Weren't you the guy who hated The Name of The Wind?

 

[Salazar]

The Long Ships update: Still awesome. About a third to go.

Brother Willibald has joined the list of badass characters.

 

[finowns]

I'm reading book 2 of this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982468644/?tag=neogaf0e-20

What is up with the tags:

bdsm(1)
bondage(1)
erotic fantasy(1)
erotic fiction(1)
hot erotica

I assume amazon has made a mistake; if not I might have to order this.

 

[totowhoa]

Ringworld. Over-rated, but fairly good.

 

[eznark]

Weren't you the guy who hated The Name of The Wind?

I absolutely loved The Name of the Wind. I hadn't read any fantasy for years before six months ago or so when I read that, and it brought me back to the genre. Easily my favorite non-fiction book I have read in a long, long time.

I never said I'm not enjoying Game of Thrones but the sales pitch I'd heard about it is misleading. It feels a little bit like playing Final Fantasy XIII. I think at some point something awesome is going to happen, I just need to slog through 600 pages to get there. It's the exact opposite of The First Law trilogy, where the ending was mostly pointless (and you could tell it was going to be pointless half way through the first book) but the journey was enjoyable. I think Martin's stuff is going to pay off in a big way, but getting there is a bit of a chore.