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What are you reading? (July 2011)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Cringe Humor
Banned
SolKane said:
It appears I've been out book-snobbed.
Yeah, that's a better word.
I don't think 'sparse' fits, either. Blood Meridian is excessively, fantastically violent. Baroque, or maybe epic. I like 'fabulous,' myself. The book's cover shoulda been pink.
e: also making my way through Towers of Midnight. I can't take more than a chapter at a time, so it's been a slow ride. Highlights include Ituralde being a boss, Mat being a boss, and Rand being Buddhajesusallah. Everything else blows.
e: also making my way through Towers of Midnight. I can't take more than a chapter at a time, so it's been a slow ride. Highlights include Ituralde being a boss, Mat being a boss, and Rand being Buddhajesusallah. Everything else blows.
charlemagne
Member
Just finished Accelerando by Charles Stross. I wouldn't say it wowed me, but I'm still interested in reading some more of his work.
That little blurb on goodread makes it appear like it has a lot of the elements that Foucault's Pendulum satirized, yet I still think it sounds like a great read.Cyan said:Book club currently open to nominations for next month's reading selection.
Possibilities so far include:
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
I'm working my way through Blood of Elves at the moment. What can I say, sometimes my inner fanboy likes to jump medium. I don't read a lot of fantasy novels (I think this may be the 4th or 5th ever), so I can't say how cliche it is, but I'm entertained so far.
Granger Danger
Member
First he has the first four tomes to read, which are widely available for just a couple of bucks nowadays. And by the time he finishes those the fifth will be out in paperback as well.Karakand said:
RageWaffles
Member
I just finished this; what a depressing book. Good, but so godawful depressing.
Maklershed
Member
FYI - There's a Kindle book sale on Amazon. I perused the selection and unfortunately its mostly shit but I saw Jonathan Strange on there for $2.99. And although it doesn't seem to be my cup of tea I also saw Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for $.99.
Gummifaust
Member
Started:
And will be getting this in the mail today. I am little skeptical but still looking forward to it.
And will be getting this in the mail today. I am little skeptical but still looking forward to it.
Musha_Soturi said:
Well, there are enough of them. Your mission should take awhile.
Finished up UNDER THE DOME last night. The Stand still retains the top title of my favourite King book, but this one came a close second. I was a bit dubious as to how he'd pull off the explanation for the Dome, but it worked. Others have pointed out that some of the characters are reminiscent of people from The Stand , and that's a fair call. There is clearly a group dynamic he enjoys when writing a catastrophe story. I also realized last night that King is the only author besides Tolkien that I've been reading since my childhood.
I need a break from horror for a bit, so I guess I'll check this one out next. Have you guys ever heard of it?
KidDork said:Well, there are enough of them. Your mission should take awhile.
Finished up UNDER THE DOME last night.
I really enjoyed Under the Dome minus
the unsurprising 'alien' ending. Not a terrible conclusion but certainly not a great one.
Ive been reading:
Im about 30% in but am having a hard time staying interested. Maybe too many character plots (if its heading where I think it is). Will keep reading though.
Deified Data
Banned
Words can't express how wonderfully brutal this man's fantasy is.
ServBotPhil
Member
If I may, I would like to ask how to get past my ADD to read a book. I end up starting for a few minutes, but it makes me sleepy. Funny thing is, I can do puzzles that force my brain to compute, but there just endes up being this invisible wall when I try to read. Any help GAF?
I just finished reading Mistborn: The Hero of Ages. And I gotta say, I'm pretty satisfied with the ending. I still found the book weaker than the first one, but overall it was a fun read.
Some thoughts on the ending.
Now I don't know if I should start reading Wise Man's Fear, Black Company or dive into the first 4 books of ASoIaF.
Some thoughts on the ending.
I found it pretty funny that as I kept reading the third book, I started hating Elen and Vin more, while I grew to like Spook and Sazed. I was actually happy when Elend died and Vin suicide attacked Ruin. There couldn't have been a better ending.
One thing I still wonder about is whatever happened to Marsh. It was never stated he died, but I wonder if Sazed interfered and made him human or let him stay as an Inquisitor.
One thing I still wonder about is whatever happened to Marsh. It was never stated he died, but I wonder if Sazed interfered and made him human or let him stay as an Inquisitor.
Now I don't know if I should start reading Wise Man's Fear, Black Company or dive into the first 4 books of ASoIaF.
I didn't care for this much either. The first few stories were really fascinating until the 50 first dates/benjamin button and the annoyingly cliche detective with a vagina story.The Chef said:I
Im about 30% in but am having a hard time staying interested. Maybe too many character plots (if its heading where I think it is). Will keep reading though.
So I finished Towers of Midnight and despite all the annoying, dumb shit that fills the book the last hundred pages or so is a fucking blast and I want more. Cool to see Sanderson somehow pull together all the disparate strands of the story that Jordan had haphazardly cast into the wind. Hopefully he can knock out a banger for the finish.Dresden said:
ServBotPhil said:
Well you can try making reading into a game or puzzle-based activity. Not sure how you can do this creatively, but you could think of an "experience meter" like in RPGs, where you read 20 pages one day, 30 pages the next, etc. At the same time monitor your progress - you can draw an empty bar on a piece of paper divided into segments, filling them in as you accomplish your page goals. Once you've finished the book you might feel like you've accomplished something, just finishing a puzzle or a game. Puzzles are rewarding, right? Try to think of reading the same way.
Also make sure to pick up a book you're interested in. I don't think you can really force yourself to read something if you're not genuinely interested in the material.
Finished reading The Fall (CHuck Hogan/Guillermo Del Toro), which I really enjoyed. Looking forward to the last part now. ^^
Just started reading Sandman Slim:
Based purely on Ted Price mentioning it on Twitter. It had better be good! *shakes fist*
Just started reading Sandman Slim:
Based purely on Ted Price mentioning it on Twitter. It had better be good! *shakes fist*
Maklershed
Member
I would say the last sentence there is the most important. Also, it may help to set a goal before you start. Nothing major, you're not in a competition with anyone. Just say to yourself that you're going to read 10 pages or 1 chapter and just do it and put the book down. And just keep doing that once a day. And maybe after a month you start to feel comfortable with it so you up it to 30 pages or 2 or 3 chapters and so on.SolKane said:
Also, its the opposite of what some people would suggest but I get antsy, particularly if I'm sitting in dead quiet so maybe playing some soft music in the background or having the volume of your tv on low might help. Although for someone with self proclaimed ADD that may be horrible advice. Haha
charlemagne
Member
I'm going to (finally) start reading Game of Thrones.
Vanillalite
Ask me about the GAF Notebook
ServBotPhil said:
If you have to try and just read a chapter at a time. Sure you won't be plowing through books anytime soon, and you might not have a need for a e-reader or a large book shelf to catalog all your books. Yet at least you can get through something.
Just try and get through a chapter a night before bed, and maybe the continuous fact that you're reading daily will help push your interest which in turn could help conquer your ADD (at least for a little while anyways). It doesn't help you that some books are slow going or slow to get your engaged as a reader with your ADD. You're also less likely to stick with a book that might be in your comfort zone (if you even know what that is) so I'd suggest trying to move towards your comfort zone even if it's not reading what everyone is suggesting to you (or is the hot new book to read).
elrechazado
Banned
The Chef said:
whatsinaname
Member
Just finished reading this. Awesome hard sci-fi. Some amazing concepts in the book.
Yes, it's on my list of books to read. I'm working my way through Haruki Murakami's books actually, I've read Kafka on the Shore and currnently I'm about 200 pages into The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.KidDork said:I need a break from horror for a bit, so I guess I'll check this one out next. Have you guys ever heard of it?
Pretty fucked up stuff from a country that is considered one of the most safest countries in the world. Companies hiring Yakuza thugs to silence people at public stock holder meetings and the part about collect bad debt from Yakuza during the bubble burst were probably the best part of the book.
perfectnight
Banned
Quite a short read it was. It was certainly thought provoking and quite multi-layered. It's hard to say anything else because this wasn't really a book I "enjoyed" in the usual sense of the word.
The Take Out Bandit
Member
Deified Data said:
Words can't express how wonderfully brutal this man's fantasy is.
This is relevant to my interests! :O
Picked up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdderrallServBotPhil said:
Rated-Rsuperstar
Member
charlemagne
Member
Yep, the one with the lobsters. I was thinking of reading Singularity Sky at some point.Help Me! said:
Salvor.Hardin
Banned
and
A Time for Everything by Karl Ove Knausgaard
I see a lot of fantasy fans on here, and while I'm no expert or great lover of that genre, this book should be one you all check out.
Translated from Norweigan this 500 page epic retells certain stories from the Bible (Cain and Abel and The Great Flood for example) as it seeks to trace the history and significance of angels.
The prose is rich, yet accessible and told through some of the most evocative descriptions of the natural world that I can recall.
Support independent fiction and give this one a go! - http://www.archipelagobooks.org/bk.php?id=62
About 110 pages into The Black Company
The book is very different from the other fantasy books in the way they are written. I found it confusing at first, but I'm getting used to it. I also find it funny how some events that could be considered epic or important get only 2 lines of mentioning. Like how they were about to take down a Rebel fortress. I thought I will get a whole chapter about, but I just got 3 lines saying they took down the fortress.
The book is very different from the other fantasy books in the way they are written. I found it confusing at first, but I'm getting used to it. I also find it funny how some events that could be considered epic or important get only 2 lines of mentioning. Like how they were about to take down a Rebel fortress. I thought I will get a whole chapter about, but I just got 3 lines saying they took down the fortress.
LocoMrPollock
Banned
survivor said:About 110 pages into The Black Company
The book is very different from the other fantasy books in the way they are written. I found it confusing at first, but I'm getting used to it. I also find it funny how some events that could be considered epic or important get only 2 lines of mentioning. Like how they were about to take down a Rebel fortress. I thought I will get a whole chapter about, but I just got 3 lines saying they took down the fortress.
It gets better, and Croaker becomes a much improved narrator as the book goes on.
As for me, I finished up Dance and was thoroughly blown away. It's amazing that GRRM has been able to keep the quality of the series so far above everything else out there so consistently, book after book. The man truly is a boss. If only he could write a bit faster.
Now gonna finish up Child 44.
D
Deleted member 22576
Unconfirmed Member
The Deathgate Cycle.
I am fucking in love with it so far. I have never read a fantasy series before this so everything is incredibly fresh! And my friend is super into it so I get to ask him stuff the whole way through. Seriously, this series is so fucking incredibly insane. Do yourself a favor and read it.
I am fucking in love with it so far. I have never read a fantasy series before this so everything is incredibly fresh! And my friend is super into it so I get to ask him stuff the whole way through. Seriously, this series is so fucking incredibly insane. Do yourself a favor and read it.
Cringe Humor
Banned
I've never read Vonnegut, believe it or not. What is considered to be his BEST work?
elrechazado
Banned
A good series. I think it's the best of Weis and Hickman's books.Jtwo said:The Deathgate Cycle.
I am fucking in love with it so far. I have never read a fantasy series before this so everything is incredibly fresh! And my friend is super into it so I get to ask him stuff the whole way through. Seriously, this series is so fucking incredibly insane. Do yourself a favor and read it.
ZephyrFate
Banned
In my opinion, Timequake. In general public opinion, Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle, or Sirens of Titan.Cringe Humor said:
