Bought that book from the iBookstore.thomaser said:Not reading this, but I just got it in the post today. Isn't it beautiful? It's the limited Foyles edition with red page lining.
My backlog is so large that I won't get to this until next summer at the earliest. It can look cool in my bookself in the mean time.
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What are you reading? (November 2011)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Oh man. The explanations were just so good and so meated out in perfect doses. I had no idea this guy was an actual astronomer, but it makes so much sense now. Such a believable, impactful sci-fi story. The ending was a genuine, feel-good, well-done conclusion to a heart-racing story.Seanspeed said:I'm reading Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds right now. Started out slow and I had no idea what was going on, but the more they drip-feed you info about everything, the crazier its getting. Really liking it now.
I thought Hyperion was my favorite sci-fi book/series, but this trumps it. The realistic scientific explanations of everything really make it so much more immersive.
Hello again, Dresden~
I finished The Darkest Road. I actually enjoyed the series, though my recent reading has had a serious dearth of melodrama and good old-fashioned high fantasy that this, er, more than made up for. I thought it was overhyped just relative to the quotes it got, but that's not really the book's fault.
I am interested in hearing what you started to dislike about it, though!
Next I am having a bit of an interlude:
It's a pretty short book (art book, pictures on about half the pages, under 200 pages total, etc.), so I might finish tonight.
I finished The Darkest Road. I actually enjoyed the series, though my recent reading has had a serious dearth of melodrama and good old-fashioned high fantasy that this, er, more than made up for. I thought it was overhyped just relative to the quotes it got, but that's not really the book's fault.
I am interested in hearing what you started to dislike about it, though!
Next I am having a bit of an interlude:
It's a pretty short book (art book, pictures on about half the pages, under 200 pages total, etc.), so I might finish tonight.
Finished
Very funny, poignant, and extremely readable, really enjoyed the hell out of it.
Now Reading
Around 160 pages into "Shadow of the torturer" - and it's absolutely incredible so far, really looking forward to reading the entire series front-to-back in the next 2 weeks.
Very funny, poignant, and extremely readable, really enjoyed the hell out of it.
Now Reading
Around 160 pages into "Shadow of the torturer" - and it's absolutely incredible so far, really looking forward to reading the entire series front-to-back in the next 2 weeks.
Lafiel said:
Around 160 pages into "Shadow of the torturer" - and it's absolutely incredible so far, really looking forward to reading the entire series front-to-back in the next 2 weeks.
Excellent choice! There's something about the prose that just makes you lose yourself in it.
Edit: Finished that book about Renoir and I'm now reading:
This will be the second Kenzaburo Oe book that I have read, after A Personal Matter a few months ago.
Any Alexander McCall Smith fans here?
I have a friend who's a big fan and wanted to pick up one of his recent hardcovers for her for Christmas, but he seems to have three out. Anyone point me in the direction of which is the best?
I know they're all parts of various series but pretty sure she's up-to-date with the preceeding novels of each.
Thanks in advance.
I have a friend who's a big fan and wanted to pick up one of his recent hardcovers for her for Christmas, but he seems to have three out. Anyone point me in the direction of which is the best?
I know they're all parts of various series but pretty sure she's up-to-date with the preceeding novels of each.
Thanks in advance.
Hmm, I'm pretty sure I saw someone recommend it here in the past several months, and to no one specific, but maybe you did. Either way I'm really enjoying it. Jensen is a fantastic writer, and seems culturally and historically knowledgeable enough to share his experiences in an intelligent context. It's a more introspective account of his travels than I expected for whatever reason, but it's really nice. The chapter about Security Prison 21 really depressed me. I haven't gotten back to the book in a few days but I think I'll finish it tonight.thomaser said:
Recommendation request: what's the best book on the cold war out there? I wouldn't mind a longer, comprehensive book (this is supposedly good but looks a bit short), but don't want something that's too dry.
Kyleripman
Member
Slogging through the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Really dense military history, occasionally rewarding with a rare moment of beautiful prose. I would probably appreciate it more with a more thorough grounding in the history of the time.
Confusion Illusion
Banned
Just started this recently
I want to get into some fantasy/sci-fi stuff. I'm still looking to see what piques my interest. So far I've had my eye on the Mistborn series for a while now.
I want to get into some fantasy/sci-fi stuff. I'm still looking to see what piques my interest. So far I've had my eye on the Mistborn series for a while now.
Maklershed
Member
Is this in reference to Lady Detectives books? I liked the few I read. Fun/light reading.Kuraudo said:
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Just started this one. Have never read Hemingway before.
Only a couple chapters in but I've laughed a number of times already. Wasn't expecting such witty humor.
I finished Neuromancer over the weekend, and i'm not too impressed. The list quarter was the most interesting-- scratch that, the last few pages were the most interesting. I have also been reading a lot of Halo fiction, and it's totally engrossing. Spartan III cannon fodder for the win every time.
I can't wait for the next book in the Forerunner saga.
I can't wait for the next book in the Forerunner saga.
nakedsushi
Member
Finished:
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
It was alright. I think I'm zombied-out. The writing was great and the descriptions were good, but the story was just kind of blah. Maybe because I'm also reading Walking Dead at the same time, but nothing really wowed me. The writing reminds me of if Chuck Palahniuk wrote a zombie apocalypse and managed to be inoffensive.
Now onto something of a different flavor:
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
It was alright. I think I'm zombied-out. The writing was great and the descriptions were good, but the story was just kind of blah. Maybe because I'm also reading Walking Dead at the same time, but nothing really wowed me. The writing reminds me of if Chuck Palahniuk wrote a zombie apocalypse and managed to be inoffensive.
Now onto something of a different flavor:
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
charlemagne
Member
Bam. About half-way through. So far I feel like it's just been one giant battle.
Not what I expected. I had thought this to be something along the lines of a Forties pulp, with the Germans having superheroes and the United Kingdom fielding magicians.
Which is what the book is about, but it's not delivered in the way I had thought.
It's far bleaker than I anticipated. I mean, wow. Still a great read, but I had expected high adventure, not horror. Which I guess, now that I think about it, is what genre this book actually belongs in.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
about to start
The night eternal - Guilllermo del Toro/chuck hogan
looking forward to it, read the intro chapter and :O
Also, finishing up 'carter beats the devil' by Glen david gold. It's.... pretty good but not awesome.
The night eternal - Guilllermo del Toro/chuck hogan
looking forward to it, read the intro chapter and :O
Also, finishing up 'carter beats the devil' by Glen david gold. It's.... pretty good but not awesome.
All non-fiction at the moment:
Kornai, J, L Mátyás & G Roland (eds), Corruption, development and institutional design, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK & New York, 2009.
Kettell, S, The political economy of exchange rate policy-making: from the gold standard to the euro, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK & New York, 2004.
(Palgrave Connect is the greatest thing; you just get the whole book in PDF, DRM free. THE BEST. If your university doesn't have a decent subscription, go somewhere else.)
Dickenson, J, Renegades and rats: betrayal and the remaking of radical organisations in Britain and Australia, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2006.
Moore, A, The right road? A history of right-wing politics in Australia, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1995.
Cannot wait for the 24th. LAST EXAM, WOO. Then it's one month to catch up on a year's worth of fiction.
Kornai, J, L Mátyás & G Roland (eds), Corruption, development and institutional design, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK & New York, 2009.
Kettell, S, The political economy of exchange rate policy-making: from the gold standard to the euro, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK & New York, 2004.
(Palgrave Connect is the greatest thing; you just get the whole book in PDF, DRM free. THE BEST. If your university doesn't have a decent subscription, go somewhere else.)
Dickenson, J, Renegades and rats: betrayal and the remaking of radical organisations in Britain and Australia, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2006.
Moore, A, The right road? A history of right-wing politics in Australia, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1995.
Cannot wait for the 24th. LAST EXAM, WOO. Then it's one month to catch up on a year's worth of fiction.
Started to read this because it sounded very close to the novel I'm writing at the moment. It's good, which is annoying.TeethMummy said:Just finished
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Not sure if there's any Gaf buzz around it, but its about a cure for aging and the consequences. Clever and darkly funny.
Angst said:
So much prettier than the horrendous UK cover. Even the spine looks awful on my shelf beside my other King hardcovers.
I didn't realise the book was in first person until I flicked through it. I love King's first person narrative, so really excited to read it. Gotta clear up some other books first though
I'm reading it on my Kindle, so the cover doesn't really mean much to me.Kuraudo said:So much prettier than the horrendous UK cover. Even the spine looks awful on my shelf beside my other King hardcovers.
I didn't realise the book was in first person until I flicked through it. I love King's first person narrative, so really excited to read it. Gotta clear up some other books first though
It's a good read and has apparently reviewed well, so you have a good book ahead of you.I finished "I Have Seen the World Begin" and "How to Lie With Statistics" in the past few days, and after spending that much time trying to decide what to read next (have so many books I've bought in the past month, buying them at like 10x the rate I can read them, haha) I decided on this:
I finished Orsinian Tales. I really liked some of it, found other stories a bit boring... overall I liked it but it didn't grab me like Earthsea or Left Hand of Darkness.
It's been awhile (over a month!) since I last read a Gene Wolfe book, so I started reading Latro in the Mist, the omnibus collection of Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete. It's really great and really immersive. I am not a Greek history buff by any means, but I think I'm able to figure out who many of the figures / locales are. I like that he didn't use the names we know cities by today; it makes things more interesting. The glossary is also helpful, though I think woefully incomplete.
About 2/5 of the way through, I plan to finish tomorrow.
It's been awhile (over a month!) since I last read a Gene Wolfe book, so I started reading Latro in the Mist, the omnibus collection of Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete. It's really great and really immersive. I am not a Greek history buff by any means, but I think I'm able to figure out who many of the figures / locales are. I like that he didn't use the names we know cities by today; it makes things more interesting. The glossary is also helpful, though I think woefully incomplete.
About 2/5 of the way through, I plan to finish tomorrow.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Just started this
About 10% through and it really is fantastic. If you are a Lakers fan or just a basketball fan you need to pick this up. Shoot, if you're just interested in learning how a person raised in a crappy home in WV during the 50s was able to become the logo of the NBA, pick this up. Jerry West has been one of the most private and closed off athletes of the last 50 years and this is finally an opportunity to learn about what truly defines him and makes him tick.
About 10% through and it really is fantastic. If you are a Lakers fan or just a basketball fan you need to pick this up. Shoot, if you're just interested in learning how a person raised in a crappy home in WV during the 50s was able to become the logo of the NBA, pick this up. Jerry West has been one of the most private and closed off athletes of the last 50 years and this is finally an opportunity to learn about what truly defines him and makes him tick.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
eznark said:
DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW IT!!!! Aaron Rodgers wouldn't think, he'd just click BUY!
Regarding Bitter Seeds:
I'd never heard of Bitter Seeds until just now, but I'm totally sold on the premise and will be checking it out.
Regarding The Hunter:
I'm slowly making progress through the Parker novels so I can't speak to the series as a whole, but with the first five under my belt I can absolutely say that they're completely amazing so far and, based on everything else I've ever read by Donald Westlake, I don't expect that to change at all. You've got some incredible reading waiting for you.
I've had a copy of the trilogy waiting patiently on my bookshelf for quite some time now, and I was eying it just the other night as a possibility for whenever I finally finish slogging my way through Downbelow Station. I think I'm going to dust it off and put it into the immediate to-read queue, but it's currently behind King's 11/22/63 and a couple of Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels novellas. I'm hoping to get to it before the end of the year, however!
FnordChan
KidDork said:
I'd never heard of Bitter Seeds until just now, but I'm totally sold on the premise and will be checking it out.
Regarding The Hunter:
Fjordson said:
I'm slowly making progress through the Parker novels so I can't speak to the series as a whole, but with the first five under my belt I can absolutely say that they're completely amazing so far and, based on everything else I've ever read by Donald Westlake, I don't expect that to change at all. You've got some incredible reading waiting for you.
Salazar said:
I've had a copy of the trilogy waiting patiently on my bookshelf for quite some time now, and I was eying it just the other night as a possibility for whenever I finally finish slogging my way through Downbelow Station. I think I'm going to dust it off and put it into the immediate to-read queue, but it's currently behind King's 11/22/63 and a couple of Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels novellas. I'm hoping to get to it before the end of the year, however!
FnordChan
bloodydrake
Cool Smoke Luke
Maklershed said:
kinda sad isn't it?
I have a platinum audible account I get 2 books a month for 22.99, so 11.50 for the full 31hr unabridged audio book version of this for cheaper then the electronic kindle version of the book...
Currently reading this:
First time I've read any Sherlock Holmes, and I'm all the more impressed by (and excited for the next batch) the recent BBC series because of how well they capture the character of the books.
Really enjoying going through the free classics on Amazon, so many classics that I've never read. Oliver Twist up next I think. ^_^
First time I've read any Sherlock Holmes, and I'm all the more impressed by (and excited for the next batch) the recent BBC series because of how well they capture the character of the books.
Really enjoying going through the free classics on Amazon, so many classics that I've never read. Oliver Twist up next I think. ^_^
House of Leaves ending up being meh. Wasn't bad, per se, but I'm not sure if I can say it was worth reading or not. I guess I finished it, at least, which is more than I can say for what I started after it:
Managed to get close to halfway through before I quit. Only the third book I've stopped reading all year (I've started 56 this year) so I can't say I recommend it.
Very awesome. So much so that I bought the sequel the day I finished it (luckily found it at a Half Price Books) and bought the rest of the series a day or two later online.
Halfway through and it's great as well.
Managed to get close to halfway through before I quit. Only the third book I've stopped reading all year (I've started 56 this year) so I can't say I recommend it.
Very awesome. So much so that I bought the sequel the day I finished it (luckily found it at a Half Price Books) and bought the rest of the series a day or two later online.
Halfway through and it's great as well.
I'm reading A Dance With Dragons
Been at this one for a couple of months. Progress going slow because it's in hardcover and I can't drag it into work with me. I'm enjoying it, but not quite as much as the first four books. Hoping things might heat up a bit now I'm into the last three hundred pages.
Also reading Brief Interviews With Hideous Men
This is my second Wallace book after Infinite Jest. Surprisingly focused book for a series of short stories. Some startlingly detailed looks into humanity here.
Been at this one for a couple of months. Progress going slow because it's in hardcover and I can't drag it into work with me. I'm enjoying it, but not quite as much as the first four books. Hoping things might heat up a bit now I'm into the last three hundred pages.
Also reading Brief Interviews With Hideous Men
This is my second Wallace book after Infinite Jest. Surprisingly focused book for a series of short stories. Some startlingly detailed looks into humanity here.
DarkChronic
Member
About 3/4 through Feast for Crows. It's good, but I can see why others don't like it as much as the first three books. It definitely drags a bit. Still excited to start Dance, though.
Any more impressions on King's new book? The premise sounds pretty awesome and from what I've been hearing, initial reviews have been positive.
Any more impressions on King's new book? The premise sounds pretty awesome and from what I've been hearing, initial reviews have been positive.
Auron_Kale
Member
Yep... couldn't be any more different.
