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Maklershed · Jul 1, 2013

Maklershed · Jul 1, 2013

Make sure to stop by the NeoGaf Book Club thread hosted by Cyan!

The book for July is ...

Lolita by Nabokov

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Reading Milestones:
July 1-7 - Book 1, Chapter 1-17
July 8-14 - Chapter 18-33
July 15-21 - Book 2, Chapter 1-18
July 22-28 - Chapter 19-36

Amazon - Paperback
Amazon - Kindle
Barnes & Noble

GK86 · Jul 1, 2013

Starting up "A Game of Thrones." Can't wait to dig into this book/series.

ShaneB · Jul 1, 2013

Yay new thread. Still deciding what to read next

Anticitizen One · Jul 1, 2013

Maybe i'll finally finish it this time:

Maklershed · Jul 1, 2013

Kindle

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner

Hard copy

Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Haly · Jul 1, 2013

Repostan.

Here's a book that makes Twilight look good: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004U34BZS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Consider this an open challenge to anyone feeling particularly masochistic.

And it's free on Kindle! How can you resist?

Ingeniero · Jul 1, 2013

Red Dragon.
Hannibal, the TV show, made me want read all the books.

Empty · Jul 1, 2013

took these out the library the other day. about fifty pages into both.

sad, effortlessly well written and beautifully observed like everything he writes

pretty good so far. much funnier than i was expecting!

Narag · Jul 1, 2013

Ingeniero said:
Red Dragon.
Hannibal, the TV show, made me want read all the books.

Man, I'd been all over the TV series if I realized it had Will Graham in it. His interaction with Lecter in Red Dragon was my favorite part of all those books.

Salsa · Jul 1, 2013

I just read a Skeleton Crew short story but it's June!

survivor · Jul 1, 2013

Still reading The Road. There are a lot of words I have never heard of before so it's really frustrating having to pull the dictionary app every few lines, but hey at least I'm learning something new and challenging myself. The writing style is pretty beautiful though.

I think I will try and find time and read Lolita, but chances are I won't make it in time for this month.

KidDork · Jul 1, 2013

Still plugging away on Caliban's War. I blame The Last Of Us taking over all of my free time for the last two weeks.

Tuck · Jul 1, 2013

Finishing up House of Chains, book 4 of the Malazan series.

Its great, but not as good as book 3. Not even close.

Gonna start up on book 5 hopefully later this week, which is a prequel... not exactly looking forward to that as I'd rather just continue the story but I imagine (hope) the prequel will shed some light on the increasingly complex lore and background story.

Fjordson · Jul 1, 2013

Still reading The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft. Finished the first two stories. Love it.

Anyways, guess I'll cross-post from the June thread for discussion's sake!

SalsaShark said:
do they tho, I just gave up on Clash of Kings about a third way in cause it was boring me to hell

maybe they're just not for me. I'll watch the show

it was also getting needlessly (at least it felt nedless) complex, tho im sure part of that is the fact that even tho my english is pretty good, reading in a foreign language still gets in the way with stuff like fantasy books

Hmm, Clash of Kings felt pretty fast paced to me in comparison to the first book. That and Storm of Swords were just incredible in my opinion. But yeah, the scope of the story and who all is involved balloons fairly quickly once you're into book two. Even now after five books the cast of characters is still huge.

Sidenote: wow @ reading something that epic in a second language. I'm a bit in awe (of you and anyone else on here who can do it, I'm sure there's at least a few others on here). I took French in school and got decent at it, but that was like 6 years ago. I wouldn't have a chance of reading epic fantasy in French these days :lol

goober · Jul 1, 2013

Cool. I have so much free time this summer and really would like to get back to reading.

Any recommendations on light-hearted/funny books?

I got A Confederacy of Dunces and I'm planning on starting the Discworld series later.

Curtisaur · Jul 1, 2013

TTG · Jul 1, 2013

Currently reading:

About 100 pages in, my favorite character so far is Czernobog. Something interesting about a forgotten god who works at a cow slaughterhouse to get the thrill he used to get from his worshipers' human sacrifices.

Krowley · Jul 1, 2013

Recenty finished:

IT, by Stephen King: This remains one of the best horror/contemporary fantasy novels ever written. It's not his best book, but it is one of his best. Even though the book is huge, I went through my reread very quickly, and was totally absorbed by the story. I'm not gonna say it's perfect, but it is one of those books where the imperfections are part of the charm. It feels like King wrote this without much of a filter on his subconscious, and the book is a big, wonderful, rambling mess.

Foundation 03 - Second Foundation by Issac Asimov: This was much better than Foundation and Empire, but not as good as the first Foundation book. It still had all the same problems as the other books in the series (mostly problems with certain strange elements in Asimov's style) but I've come to accept some of the quirks now, and I think i will go on to the next book.

Blood Meridain by Cormac McCarthy: I had always heard this was his best book, but I don't agree, at least not on the first-go-round. I enjoyed The Road and Child of God more. This had some of the most gut-wrenching sequences of any book I've ever read, and it totally blew my mind on more than one occasion, but the stuff in between the good parts got very tedious at times. I do like it a little better than No Country for Old Men just because it seems more cohesive, and I think its the sort of book that might improve massively with rereading due to the density of some of the language. There is no question that I missed things, and I'll see things on a reread that will change the way I see the book.

Killshot By Elmore Leonard: This is only my fourth Leonard book, but I've enjoyed every one, and I always forget how much fun his books can be until I'm in the middle of reading one. I love the ordinariness of his criminal characters, and the two bad guys in this were especially funny to read about, even though the story is actually pretty dark with quite a bit of brutal shit going on.

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill: Absolutely fantastic. It's listed as a horror novel, and it is, but it also reminds me of a superhero vs. super-villain story from a comic book. This has great, larger-than-life characters, and even though it is long, it's very fast-paced. I loved Heart-Shaped Box, but I thought this was better in almost every way (heart-shaped box was probably somewhat creepier). I still haven't read Horns, and I guess I need to read it soon.

Currently reading: A bunch of stuff (like five books or maybe six), including a few things I already posted about in the last thread, so to avoid being repetitive, I think I'll mostly stick to posting about stuff after I finish it from now on.

Raxus · Jul 1, 2013

GK86 said:
Starting up "A Game of Thrones." Can't wait to dig into this book/series.

Doing the same. Loving it so far!

Salsa · Jul 1, 2013

Fjordson said:
Hmm, Clash of Kings felt pretty fast paced to me in comparison to the first book. That and Storm of Swords were just incredible in my opinion. But yeah, the scope of the story and who all is involved balloons fairly quickly once you're into book two. Even now after five books the cast of characters is still huge.

Sidenote: wow @ reading something that epic in a second language. I'm a bit in awe (of you and anyone else on here who can do it, I'm sure there's at least a few others on here). I took French in school and got decent at it, but that was like 6 years ago. I wouldn't have a chance of reading epic fantasy in French these days :lol

Well, as I said it does get hard when you're talking in ye olde terms or whatever, but ussually context is enough to figure it out without thinking twice about it. I'd like to think im near as good as I can get in English for everyday purposes but books like these make me realize that im mostly just good at modern discourse.

In a way it adds an extra layer of learning new words and such that I find appealing, but yeah I do think it gets in the way and doesnt help when the cast of characters is huge and such

I just hate translations, you lose so much

Fireblend · Jul 1, 2013

I'll just repost my post from yesterday over at June's thread.

So I'm halfway through The Ocean at the End of the Lane (I'm really trying to make it last).

And wow. I don't think Gaiman's writing has ever been this unsettling. I've read pretty much everything he's written (the only major work I'm missing is Anansi Boys, something I plan to take care of very soon), and while he's always alluded to some pretty dark themes and characters - even in his books for children - I don't think any of his works has ever gotten this ridiculously dark. This book really reminds me of nightmares I had as a child, and it combines them with such morbid "real" scenarios so well it truly makes me feel somewhat sick.

Thinking back of when I read House of Leaves, expecting something that would scare me, this is doing such a better job of accomplishing that. And the writing is as good as I would expect from NG. I'm enjoying it so much. Even though the supernatural and mythical elements remain (and I wouldn't want it any other way), I feel like this is such a departure from his usual work, and it works so damn well. If only it was longer

Also, recently ordered 3 new books:

Anansi Boys
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Looking for Alaska

AngmarsKing701 · Jul 1, 2013

Still reading Legend by David Gemmell. About 1/3 of the way through. Have a business trip coming up soon so I'm hoping to put some serious time into it.

RatskyWatsky · Jul 1, 2013

I'm loving it so far, but I don't quite understand exactly why it's so highly regarded (aside from the fact that it's well written and has an interesting story and characters, etc). I'm incredibly dense and I'm not very good at picking out themes and symbolism and subtext and things of that sort, which, I figure, factors heavily into Gatsby's acclaim, so does anyone know of any good essays I could read about this subject or maybe a website or a book that could help me out with this type of stuff?

Narag · Jul 1, 2013

RatskyWatsky said:
I'm loving it so far, but I don't quite understand exactly why it's so highly regarded (aside from the fact that it's well written and has an interesting story and characters, etc). I'm incredibly dense and I'm not very good at picking out themes and symbolism and subtext and things of that sort, which, I figure, factors heavily into Gatsby's acclaim, so does anyone know of any good essays I could read about this subject or maybe a website or a book that could help me out with this type of stuff?

Might try something like sparknotes' entry on the book. Maybe even tvtropes if you're wanting to start lightly?

Haly · Jul 1, 2013

Pretentious yuppie drivel.

tmarques · Jul 1, 2013

I wanted to practice my French and since Zola is beyond my knowledge of the language, I decided to go with Planet of the Apes.

Kind of wish I hadn't ordered the cheapest edition they had, though. I'm almost ashamed of being seen in public with this book. How could anyone look at that cover and think "Yeah, that'll do"?

Haly · Jul 1, 2013

That is so terrible.

Broder Salsa · Jul 1, 2013

Just started on Ada or Ardor, it's so damn long so will probably take me forever to finish, I'm a slow reader... At least slow with this kind of books.

tmarques said:
I wanted to practice my French and since Zola is beyond my knowledge of the language, I decided to go with Planet of the Apes.

Kind of wish I hadn't ordered the cheapest edition they had, though. I'm almost ashamed of being seen in public with this book. How could anyone look at that cover and think "Yeah, that'll do"?

Haha man, before even reading the text in your post I thought "what the fuck is that", when quickly looking at the cover.

VGChampion · Jul 1, 2013

Going through Andromeda Strain again. Not one of my favorites from Crichton but it's the one that I've read the longest ago so it's time to refresh.

toastyToast · Jul 1, 2013

A Feast For Crows - Around 60% in according to my Kindle and its putting me to sleep. Only one of the characters with a dominant portion of the book

Jaime

is interesting to read. I can't imagine the disappointment from the people who waited 5 years for this.

HoJu · Jul 1, 2013

I've never read an Elmore Leonard book. I really like Jackie Brown, Justified, and Out of Sight. Any recommendations for which book of his to read first?

_Isaac · Jul 1, 2013

toastyToast said:
A Feast For Crows - Around 60% in according to my Kindle and its putting me to sleep. Only one of the characters with a dominant portion of the book

Jaime

is interesting to read. I can't imagine the disappointment from the people who waited 5 years for this.

I'm about 35% of the way through. It has a really slow start so far like every other ASoIaF book.

Rug Monkey · Jul 1, 2013

HoJu said:
I've never read an Elmore Leonard book. I really like Jackie Brown, Justified, and Out of Sight. Any recommendations for which book of his to read first?

LaBrava, Get Shorty or Tishomingo Blues

HoJu · Jul 1, 2013

Rug Monkey said:
LaBrava, Get Shorty or Tishomingo Blues

will buy LaBrava after reading up on it. thanks!
and i thought GET SHORTY was ok. the movie, that is.

lightus · Jul 1, 2013

I thought about joining this month's book club, but I'm not sure how I would feel reading Lolita in public (which I do quite often). I don't have, nor do I plan on, getting a kindle either. I'll finish up my current book and see how I feel.

I'm about half way into Wool. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's not particularly deep or complex, but it's very entertaining. Can't wait to get back to reading.

webkatt · Jul 1, 2013

i'm reading neogaf! lol

Kaladin · Jul 1, 2013

I'm taking a break from NOS4A2 and The Way Of Kings and reading something different...

It's a bit of escapist literature and it should be a quick read. I also have The Great Railroad Bazaar but wanted to start this first.

bjscott05 · Jul 1, 2013

Just started World War Z. Saw the movie and was curious about the book, since I hear they are very different.

Mumei · Jul 1, 2013

ShaneB said:
Yay new thread. Still deciding what to read next

Lolita!

HoJu · Jul 1, 2013

lightus said:
I thought about joining this month's book club, but I'm not sure how I would feel reading Lolita in public (which I do quite often). I don't have, nor do I plan on, getting a kindle either. I'll finish up my current book and see how I feel.

I'm about half way into Wool. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's not particularly deep or complex, but it's very entertaining. Can't wait to get back to reading.

why? what do you think would happen if someone saw you reading it?

Broder Salsa · Jul 1, 2013

lightus said:
I thought about joining this month's book club, but I'm not sure how I would feel reading Lolita in public (which I do quite often). I don't have, nor do I plan on, getting a kindle either. I'll finish up my current book and see how I feel.

It's a pretty damn well recognized book, unless you are furiously masturbating with the hand not holding the book I doubt many would give you weird looks or think anything. Not to pressure you but... DOOO EEET.

Haly · Jul 1, 2013

All you need to do is tilt the chin upwards slightly and pour all your smugness and self-satisfaction into your expression.

No one will dare.

ShaneB · Jul 1, 2013

Mumei said:
Lolita!

ehhhh.. July is a long month, I'll get to it eventually! lol

PhoncipleBone · Jul 1, 2013

It has been years since I first read it, but I am loving it even more the second time. Such a wonderful book.

Mumei · Jul 1, 2013

lightus said:
I thought about joining this month's book club, but I'm not sure how I would feel reading Lolita in public (which I do quite often). I don't have, nor do I plan on, getting a kindle either. I'll finish up my current book and see how I feel.

I'm about half way into Wool. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's not particularly deep or complex, but it's very entertaining. Can't wait to get back to reading.

Hmm

Cyan said:
If you don't read this you're a pedophile who is afraid that reading it will make people suspicious.
- Mumei

FutureZombie · Jul 1, 2013

reapers-gale-book-seven-malazan-fallen-steven-erikson-hardcover-cover-art.jpg

Things are really converging and it's getting interesting. I'm really, really confused with the holds vs houses thing though. Seven books in and a complete understanding of warrens and magic in this series still eludes me.

I'm also annoyed by the fake deaths in this series. That shit is amateur hour.

Having said all that, it's still an amazing series with an incredible cast of characters that's second to none.

lightus · Jul 1, 2013

HoJu said:
why? what do you think would happen if someone saw you reading it?

Well I do live in Florida so....

WoodenLung said:
It's a pretty damn well recognized book, unless you are furiously masturbating with the hand not holding the book I doubt many would give you weird looks or think anything. Not to pressure you but... DOOO EEET.

<.<

Mumei said:
Hmm

UGHH FINE. I'LL READ THE DAMN BOOK.

Was going to at some point anyway.

Kahoona · Jul 1, 2013

I've been reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L Shirer. If you ever want a comprehensive account of how the Nazis came to power, this 1300 page monster is it. I feel like if I don't pay attention for one sentence I miss a vital detail to the story. It's truly fascinating and horrifying at the same time.

Ceebs · Jul 1, 2013

Curtisaur said:

Fantastic Choice. Hope you are using a good nautical dictionary of sorts to get all the jargon and terminology down. It's a slog at first, but once you learn it all (and you will if you keep reading the series) the books are fantastic reads.

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