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What are you reading? - May edition

Mifune

Mehmber
FnordChan said:
I wrapped up Polar Star last week and it was excellent. The mystery itself is pretty decent in a procedural sort of way, especially given the handicaps Renko has to work with, but the book really shines in it's depictions of Soviet life in the late 80s. I just received the third book in the initial Renko sequence, Red Square and look forward to firing that one up shortly.

I love love love Martin Cruz Smith. Good to see him mentioned on here. The only one of his Renko books I wasn't a huge fan of was Havana Bay.

You should look into his non-Renko stuff, too. "Rose", his book about 1870s coal miners and a missing clergyman, is one of the best and most underrated mysteries of the last twenty years. Says me.

I'm finishing up DeLillo's Americana (which was great) and I'm about to get cracking on Kafka on the Shore. I've been away from Murakami too long.
 

Finn

Member
Just finished --

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Will soon be reading this as soon as it releases in a few days --

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Uncle

Member
Uncle said:
Right now I'm trying to study for my last exam, but after that I'll read these:
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Loved both. Took me a while, but I finally figured out what ties these to the Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies. It was the
freedom ear ring
that gave it away for me.

I started to read some Edgar Allan Poe (some illustrated collection) I found in my bookshelf, but it's a bit slow reading on a train. I'm not used to english this old. Luckily there r pictures, because words am hard. :(
 

FnordChan

Member
Mifune said:
You should look into his non-Renko stuff, too. "Rose", his book about 1870s coal miners and a missing clergyman, is one of the best and most underrated mysteries of the last twenty years. Says me.

Ooh, that sounds terrific. I'll be sure to check it out once I'm done wallowing in the Renko novels. Thanks!

FnordChan
 

Falch

Member
Finished 1984 last week. One of the most powerfull books I've ever read.

Currently reading Murakami's Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Really liking it so far.

And I just got Letter to a Christian Nation (Sam Harris) and As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner).


mr stroke said:
Anyone read this?

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thinking about giving it a try(looking for something bleak like The Road and Amazon suggests this)

I read Saramago's Blindness a few years back. Absolutely stunning, though I must say I liked the Double even more. But if you're looking for bleak, Blindness is for you.
 

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
Just finished Breakfast of Champions

Now reading
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Kinda struggling though because I normally read in like 30 - 45 minute stints before bed but its hard to do that with no chapters.

Might have to waste my bank holiday weekend spending some quality time with it.
 

Keen

Aliens ate my babysitter
Just started

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He writes damn well, and the books seems really good so far. Supposed to be pretty disturbing. There's an excerpt out there somewhere which I highly recommend.
Book is by Scott Bakker, the guy who wrote The Prince of Nothing trilogy.
 
I read a couple great books at the beginning of the month for class - I, Robot and The Martian Chronicles. I'm done with college now, so I can finally read something on my own accord. Since I've read a ridiculous amount of science-fiction over the past half-year, I had to change it up.

Going to start reading this:

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Got it as a Secret Santa gift (not from here).
 

Gattsu25

Banned
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I'm cycling between these two but the majority of my time is going toward reading the Harry Potter books

I'm on The Goblet of Fire now...around half way done.
 

Guileless

Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
I knocked out another Mitch Rapp novel, Act of Treason, in a couple of days. It was so good that I stayed up until 3 finishing it and I was actually miffed when it ended abruptly.
 

Blatz

Member
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It is suprising me how good this is. It seems to be marketed to fans of the Harry Potter series, but it's more adult than that. But it's not as mature as A Song of Fire and Ice series. I'm loving it, but I wish a Dance of Dragons would hurry up and get released.
 

Enojado

Member
Wish I was reading stuff half as interesting as what has been posted in this thread. I am reading, and will be for the next 2 months, lots of bar books so I can relearn (and in some cases learn for the 1st time) enough law to hopefully pass the CA bar for the 1st time. :(
 

Gattsu25

Banned
Blatz said:
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It is suprising me how good this is. It seems to be marketed to fans of the Harry Potter series, but it's more adult than that. But it's not as mature as A Song of Fire and Ice series. I'm loving it, but I wish a Dance of Dragons would hurry up and get released.
Sounds good from your description. Quick question before I fire off an order:

Is it high or low on magical elements or somewhere in the middle? (I consider ASOI&F relatively low on magic and Malazan Book of the Fallen high...and I fucking hated MBotF)





edit: was using the terms 'high fantasy' and 'low fantasy' though those aren't what I meant. Lord of the Rings is high fantasy and high on magic and I like that stuff to a degree...but not to the ridiculous levels of the Malazan books where each character (a level 200 wizard by D&D terms) died four times in the first book, alone, and flinging a mountain with a castle on top of it is a magical act worthy of merely a single paragraph.

I'm all for a fantastical story...so long as the author isn't an idiot who mistakes the 6th resurrection of a character in as many chapters as good writing.
 

Nooreo

Member
Last%20book.jpg


THIS!

im 3/4 into it,i hope i finish it by today or tomorrow, so far im impressed. Anyway can some on suggest me some good sci fi/fantasy books?!(Going trough posts). I think im in love with sci fi :D
 

Cosmic Bus

pristine morning snow
Having finished up Swierczynski's excellent The Wheelman recently, I eagerly snatched up Severance Package (which just hit paperback) when it came in at work today.

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I wouldn't claim that his writing is especially great nor are the ideas going to knock the crime-fiction world on its head, but anyone looking for genuinely exciting, briskly-paced and extremely likable thrillers should give any of his books a try. I love 'em.

Also got a copy of Andre Aciman's lovely-sounding novel in the mail this week:

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Mifune said:
"Rose", his book about 1870s coal miners and a missing clergyman, is one of the best and most underrated mysteries of the last twenty years. Says me.

You're someone whose recommendations I'll often take sight unseen, so I just grabbed a copy of Rose off Paperback Swap. I've never read Cruz Smith before, but this certainly sounds good. Looking forward to it!
 
Gattsu25 said:
was using the terms 'high fantasy' and 'low fantasy' though those aren't what I meant. Lord of the Rings is high fantasy and high on magic and I like that stuff to a degree...but not to the ridiculous levels of the Malazan books where each character (a level 200 wizard by D&D terms) died four times in the first book, alone, and flinging a mountain with a castle on top of it is a magical act worthy of merely a single paragraph.

I'm all for a fantastical story...so long as the author isn't an idiot who mistakes the 6th resurrection of a character in as many chapters as good writing.

*sigh* Just skip the first book. I thought Malazan was profoundly over-hyped after reading that novel, and I derided all the attempts to make the Bridgeburners appear legendary in the vein of Cook's Black Company. On the urging of someone (in real life), I picked up the second novel, and I've got to say, it and the next two stories could be the best fantasy I've ever read. There's been a drop in form with Erikson's last two or three efforts, but it is still solid and worth reading, imo. (and nowhere as bad as the first novel)

As for Name of the Wind, I really liked it. It reminded me quite a bit of Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy, in the way the character's journey is depicted, but it's very much its own tale, and there's a twist to the formula in the fact that two stories are being told at the same time. (think Wizard and the Glass) Anyway, it has mounds of potential, and some of Rothfuss' prose is exceptional, however, I wouldn't call it flawless.

Re-reading Cloudstreet by Tim Winton at the moment. Almost requires another run-through with the ending it delivers.
 

Gattsu25

Banned
Tim the Wiz said:
As for Name of the Wind, I really liked it. It reminded me quite a bit of Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy, in the way the character's journey is depicted, but it's very much its own tale, and there's a twist to the formula in the fact that two stories are being told at the same time. (think Wizard and the Glass) Anyway, it has mounds of potential, and some of Rothfuss' prose is exceptional, however, I wouldn't call it flawless.
Ahh, that's great to hear. Farseer's trilogy, while not perfect, was a good read and pretty engrossing and I personally thought Wizard and Glass, and in particular the way it was told, was fekkin' great.
 

QVT

Fair-weather, with pride!
npm0925 said:
Stalled about 350 pages into A Clash of Kings. Nothing's really happened so far.

Boi you are in for a ride! People are gonna get killed, some are gonna live, theres gonna be all kinds of crazy of drama... i wont say anymore... but watch out for the dwarv!!
 

nny

Member
This month I've been trying to read some general and introductory books on areas I'm not too familiar with and want to learn more about:

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("the mathematic of things" in english)
 

Scribble

Member
QVT said:
Boi you are in for a ride! People are gonna get killed, some are gonna live, theres gonna be all kinds of crazy of drama... i wont say anymore... but watch out for the dwarv!!

I'm around page 350 too, and boy are the Jon, Dany and Bran chapters boring. Although the latter did get slightly more interesting.
 

bone idle

Member
Attended his lecture at the monthly science meet and bought a signed copy:

Darwin's Blind Spot by Frank Ryan

(Deals with the history of the idea that evolution has a significant symbiotic aspect, then goes on to tell the evolutionary tale while pointing out where sybiosis played a role. Its great. A history of competing scientific interpretations of darwinian evolutionary theory combined with the idea that cooperation/symbiosis (as opposed to gene selfishness) can also drive the emergence of new species.

It was quite interesting to hear from the author that his chosen title "The Weave Of Life" was rejected by his publishers. Shame, as it's loads better. )


This month's VIS

(From the Profanisaurus: "bag for life" 1. n. A revolutionary twenty-first century device for carrying your organic groceries out of the supermarket and hoisting them into the boot of your hybrid-powered Lexus 4x4; similar to an old-fashioned shopping bag but with the added advantage that it combats global warming, reverses El Ninos and thus prevents polar bear cubs from drowning. 2. n. What a gentleman receives after his wedding vows. The strange phenomenon of instantaneous female personality change that occurs the moment that matrimonial formalities are successfully completed. 3. n. rhym. slang. The Wife.)


Sacred Geometry by Miranda Lundy

(Small but big treasure published by Wooden Books. Shows you how to.)


Gaia's Revenge by James Lovelock

(A must read IMHO)


No new novels :(
 

nny

Member
bone idle said:
Attended his lecture at the monthly science meet and bought a signed copy:

Darwin's Blind Spot by Frank Ryan

(Deals with the history of the idea that evolution has a significant symbiotic aspect, then goes on to tell the evolutionary tale while pointing out where sybiosis played a role. Its great. A history of competing scientific interpretations of darwinian evolutionary theory combined with the idea that cooperation/symbiosis (as opposed to gene selfishness) can also drive the emergence of new species.

It was quite interesting to hear from the author that his chosen title "The Weave Of Life" was rejected by his publishers. Shame, as it's loads better. )

This sounds really interesting.
 
The Great American Novel - Philip Roth

An amazing book about the fictional Patriot League; the third, forgotten league of American baseball. This is a great summer read if you are a baseball/sports fan; it immediately put me in the mood for all things summer. Plus, Philip Roth is absolutely hilarious; his wit and cunning are razor sharp. The prologue, which includes a brief encounter with the writer and a completely smashed Ernest Hemingway, is one of the most funny things I have ever read.

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demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
I just got from the Library:

Lullaby - Chuck Palahniav or whatever the hell is name is (author of fight club)
Choke - ditto
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Rum Diaries - Hunter S Thompson
Amusing Ourselves to Death - Neil Postman.
 

deadbeef

Member
I just read Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, in one sitting. I can't remember the last time I did that. What a compelling book - I know I'm really late to the party with this one, but if you haven't read this yet, I highly recommend it.

Hopefully I can incorporate some of this outside-of-the-box thinking into my everyday life. Wow.
 

cicero

Member
Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope by Michael Yon
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The Complete Pelican Shakespeare
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Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore
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I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks by Fletcher Hanks and Paul Karasik
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Yotsuba&! Volume 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma
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The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane by Robert E. Howard
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Classics for Pleasure by Michael Dirda
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Mifune

Mehmber
Cosmic Bus said:
You're someone whose recommendations I'll often take sight unseen, so I just grabbed a copy of Rose off Paperback Swap. I've never read Cruz Smith before, but this certainly sounds good. Looking forward to it!

Wow, thanks man. I hope you like it!
 
QVT said:
Boi you are in for a ride! People are gonna get killed, some are gonna live, theres gonna be all kinds of crazy of drama... i wont say anymore... but watch out for the dwarv!!

Should I get a cookie for being the only one to pick up on QVT's sarcasm?

Francois the Great said:
<image of Bryan Ward-Perkins' The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization>

im doing some advance reading for a class i have coming up, the book is a great read though.

<3 Definitely a good book. Read it straight after Gibbons, though.
 

Slavik81

Member
Just finished:
The Wealthy Barber: The Common Sense Guide to Successful Financial Planning

Working on:
The Philosopher's Toolkit: A Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and Methods


On my list is Faust, A Brief History of Time, 2 Person Game Theory, and Picachu's Global Adventure (a book on marketing).
 

QVT

Fair-weather, with pride!
Tim the Wiz said:
Should I get a cookie for being the only one to pick up on QVT's sarcasm?

I wasn't surprised.

I just decided to pick up Losing my Faculties it's about a teacher. I figure it's probably good to read some non fiction before I begin my epic summer reading.
 

npm0925

Member
I read another 100 pages of A Clash of Kings yesterday and must say that this book has the stench of a Robert Jordan style filler volume. Nothing is happening! Everyone is in a holding pattern.
 

Gattsu25

Banned
Karakand said:
I picked up on it too. Not too hard to spot after the fantasy novel thread a while back. :lol
have a link to that thread?
npm0925 said:
I read another 100 pages of A Clash of Kings yesterday and must say that this book has the stench of a Robert Jordan style filler volume. Nothing is happening! Everyone is in a holding pattern.
Just give up. Nothing happens from then till the end of the book.
 
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