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What are you reading? (October 2010)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Tim the Wiz
Banned
The New York Comic Con had a pretty decent panel last week (involving Jim Butcher, Joe Abercrombie, Peter V. Brett, Naomi Novik and Brandon Sanderson), and for once, video of it made its way onto the net in equally decent quality. Part one. Part two. Around an hour's worth of viewing.
Personally, I watched it for Abercrombie (alas, nothing new is said about The Heroes), but Sanderson was certainly the most passionate speaker of the bunch, even if I barely remember the one novel of his that I have read - the charming caper-driven first volume in the Mistborn series. Be warned: It's more about writing and influences than their actual work.
Personally, I watched it for Abercrombie (alas, nothing new is said about The Heroes), but Sanderson was certainly the most passionate speaker of the bunch, even if I barely remember the one novel of his that I have read - the charming caper-driven first volume in the Mistborn series. Be warned: It's more about writing and influences than their actual work.
terrdactycalsrock
Member
Hey guys, im looking for something to read but the problem i find with books is that there is no central website or magazine, that i know of, to learn about authors and genres so i was wondering if you guys could toss some recommendation my way. to give a little back story i have read a couple of chuck palunik books and found them to be entertaining but i want to experience a new aruther and the only other book i have read is "the road" which was incredibly depressing but great at the same time. and in generally i like stories that are mostly based in reality. so thanks for taking the time to read this entirely to long post asking for recommendation and i look forward to seeing results!
DarkGiygas
Member
Just finished The Passage by Justin Cronin. It wasn't bad, but definitely overhyped by being on all the "must-read" lists for the summer. I probably won't even care when the next book in the series comes out. :/
Now Reading Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. So far it seems like a fun, light read, but I'm a Steampunk whore so I'll probably love it regardless.
nakedsushi
Member
terrdactycalsrock said:
But there is a central website! I work there, so take my advice with a grain of salt (or not!) but Goodreads.com is great for book recommendations and info. It does have a little learning curve to use though, if your'e a new member. We focus more on human-generated recommendations than code-generated (like Netflix's recommendations) so the best way to find out about books is to friend/follow people who read books that you also like.
DarkGiygas said:
I felt the same about The Passage. I don't know why it was so hyped! The ending/solution was so fore-head slap crappy and obvious. I was really excited about Boneshaker too, but meh...
edit: The marketing people for The Passage must have spent tons of $$$ promoting it. There's a huge billboard on the way to the office just for the novel! It was the first time I've ever seen a billboard promoting a book.
element3477
Neo Member
Right now:
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor.
Both are for school and I wish I had time to read things I actually want to read again.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor.
Both are for school and I wish I had time to read things I actually want to read again.
DarkGiygas
Member
And apparently Ridley Scott's production company bought the film rights, before the book was even finished.nakedsushi said:
whatsinaname
Member
Quincey said:
I've read it too. It's damned good. The diagrams of early formations are hilarious.
Much of it is cultural and political, rather than being expressly focused on football - there's a terrific chapter, for example, on the Viennese coffee-houses.
If you haven't read 'Those Feet' by David Winner - I would recommend that first, but this is one of the better football books.
(wish that Canada would have gotten this cover)
After finishing the Farseer Trilogy over a year ago, I was a little tired of these characters, so I decided to give them a break. Now, I'm engaged and enjoying them once more. I'm around 130 pages into the adventure, and it's starting to take shape, with a visit from the Fool.
I really love Hobb's style, and her ability to make you care deeply about the lead character. Her dialogue is also stage-like, and very pleasant to read.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Maklershed said:
American Gods tastes like.. I don't know, something that tastes pretty bad, at least.
nyong said:
The book fell apart and turned to shit already during the first hundred pages. So goddamn boring. It's probably the worst thing I've read by Gaiman.
Ten pages left in finish Husain Haddawy's recent translation of The Arabian Nights. Very enjoyable and readable!
Next up, Ibsen's play "Hedda Gabler", which as far as I know is his darkest.
After that, I don't know. I probably have more than 50 unread books to choose from. I'm leaning towards Aravind Adiga's "White Tiger", though. Has anyone here read it? Other maybes are Toni Morrison's "Jazz", Thomas Mann's "Buddenbrooks", the complete works of Oscar Wilde, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera", and Günther Grass' "The Tin Drum". Please help me choose!
Next up, Ibsen's play "Hedda Gabler", which as far as I know is his darkest.
After that, I don't know. I probably have more than 50 unread books to choose from. I'm leaning towards Aravind Adiga's "White Tiger", though. Has anyone here read it? Other maybes are Toni Morrison's "Jazz", Thomas Mann's "Buddenbrooks", the complete works of Oscar Wilde, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera", and Günther Grass' "The Tin Drum". Please help me choose!
nakedsushi said:
I haven't read it in a long time, but I wouldn't recommend reading The Difference Engine. I like William Gibson very much but I'm not so much into Bruce Sterling and I don't think their writing styles meshed together very well at all. I also distinctly remember swaths of the novel being a pretty serious slog to get through. Now, it's been over fifteen years since I last read the book and perhaps I'd react differently to it now, but if you start reading The Difference Engine and decide you aren't really feeling it, I wouldn't hesitate to give it up and reach for another book.
FnordChan
Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
Inverting the Pyramid is very inside baseball (or football in this case.) The chapter about Viennese coffeehouses is great, but a lot of it is very technical. If you find football tactics fascinating, then this is your book. But if you're a casual fan, then it is probably overkill.
movie_club
Junior Member
First time
HamPster PamPster
Member
HamPster PamPster said:
I started this on Sunday and I'm around half way through as of last night. I'm enjoying it. It took quite a beating in the game's official thread with one gaffer saying his wife started hitting the book. Seems like typical fantasy stuff to me - reminds me a lot of the first Codex Alera novel by Jim Butcher. Middle of the fantasy book bell curve stuff
It starts off great but its dragging in the middle right now and I don't like the newest addition to the cast.
Some were saying that the book was an outlet for Brad's crazy political / social beliefs but I'm not really seeing it.
::hits books::
Fuck this book
It ends on a HUGE cliffhanger and resolves nothing!!! >:O
I'll be there day one for the next one just to see what happens. I hate myself
nakedsushi
Member
Finished
I wanted to like this book more than I did, but in the end, the characters were pretty shallow and one dimensional. The premise of the book is fantastic. On the outside, a world that's frozen in time so that no one could use any technology/science past the medieval ages. In this world, there's this huge, labyrinth-like prison called Incarceron that's self-aware (think Hal in Space Odyssey) where no one gets in and no one gets out. People have been living in Incarceron for hundreds of years, but only one person has been rumored to make it out.
full review here
I wanted to like this book more than I did, but in the end, the characters were pretty shallow and one dimensional. The premise of the book is fantastic. On the outside, a world that's frozen in time so that no one could use any technology/science past the medieval ages. In this world, there's this huge, labyrinth-like prison called Incarceron that's self-aware (think Hal in Space Odyssey) where no one gets in and no one gets out. People have been living in Incarceron for hundreds of years, but only one person has been rumored to make it out.
full review here
nakedsushi
Member
Starting to read
But with a grain of salt because of the mixed reviews on GR and what you guys said about it. I'm only about 20 pages in and it took me 8 pages to get used to the writing style (it's been a while since I read Gibson) but so far, so good. More books would be easier to get into if they started with a lady of the night like this one.
But with a grain of salt because of the mixed reviews on GR and what you guys said about it. I'm only about 20 pages in and it took me 8 pages to get used to the writing style (it's been a while since I read Gibson) but so far, so good. More books would be easier to get into if they started with a lady of the night like this one.
movie_club said:First time
I need to go back and re-read this, following it up with the rest of the series. After being more than satisfied with Asimov's Robots books, this felt very different and I think I was just expecting something different than what I got. It's more of a short story collection than a proper novel, which confused me at first. I think that if I go in again knowing what the book is, I should enjoy it much more.
How do you like it so far?
Father_Mike
Member
Surface detail just came in the mall, so that will be my next book.
nakedsushi said:Starting to read
But with a grain of salt because of the mixed reviews on GR and what you guys said about it. I'm only about 20 pages in and it took me 8 pages to get used to the writing style (it's been a while since I read Gibson) but so far, so good. More books would be easier to get into if they started with a lady of the night like this one.
Are all of Gibson's books as difficult to understand as Neuromancer? As much love as that book gets, I just didn't care for it and found it a chore to get through because of the weird narrative style and structure. Basically, I had almost no clue what was happening for about 75% of the book. I don't consider myself stupid, and I like to think that I can grasp complex material, but Neuromancer was just over my head.
crowphoenix
Banned
Finished reading Fool Moon, and while I thought it was fantastic, I did have a major problem with one scene.
That scene, as short as it was, was unnecessary and really made me consider putting the book down. Do I have to expect something like that out of every book from here on out? Or is that infrequent?
Also, started reading Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," and surprisingly enough, I'm really enjoying it.
I'm talking about the battle in the Full Moon Garage. The violence, cannibalism, and resulting werewolf sex party was a bit more disgusting, explicit, and sensationalist than I could really stand.
Also, started reading Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," and surprisingly enough, I'm really enjoying it.
Tim the Wiz
Banned
crowphoenix said:
Really? Maybe I'm desensitized to these things in my old age, but I don't remember it being too crazy or "disgusting". If you haven't already guessed, sex and violence (inclusive of the interspecies kind) won't be going away in the series, but I think that's the last you'll see of explicit cannibalism. I kid. No more cannibalism.
crowphoenix
Banned
It wasn't the sex or the violence. Either of those I can handle. It was the way it was written.Tim the Wiz said:
That and the FBI agents eating the man before a wolf threesome was just all sorts of ugh.
the way Dresden described the change
I mean, I still think the book was fantastic, but that scene was just pointless sensationalism, but I suppose I shouldn't expect subtlety in my noir fantasy.
Just finished
What a letdown. I enjoyed A Wild Sheep Chase so much I ordered a dozen or so Murakami books. Dance Dance Dance and The Wind Up Bird Chronicle were basically variations of Sheep Chase. The short stories were mostly ok, except for a couple of stand-outs. After Dark was just weak, though.
Just started
and the first 20 pages already put it way above and beyond After Dark. Haven't read Queiros in over 10 years, so maybe that's part of why I'm enjoying it so much.
What a letdown. I enjoyed A Wild Sheep Chase so much I ordered a dozen or so Murakami books. Dance Dance Dance and The Wind Up Bird Chronicle were basically variations of Sheep Chase. The short stories were mostly ok, except for a couple of stand-outs. After Dark was just weak, though.
Just started
and the first 20 pages already put it way above and beyond After Dark. Haven't read Queiros in over 10 years, so maybe that's part of why I'm enjoying it so much.
crowphoenix said:
I'm with Tim here; I don't remember thinking any parts of Fool Moon (or, really, any of the Dresden books) were excessively sensationalistic, but I could just be jaded. I think that as the series progresses it sticks more with the noir, magic, and adventure elements than it does horror. If you really enjoyed the book I think you'll be okay with the rest of the series.
Meanwhile, I finished William Gibson's Spook Country last night and enjoyed very much. Alucard, from what I recall Gibson's novels generally have a structure where characters are off doing their own thing and they eventually intersect just in time to pull the plot together. So, if you aren't into reading about the characters, enjoying the prose and world building, and appreciating how Gibson brings everything together at the end, he may not be the author for you.
Next up:
Yes.
FnordChan
nakedsushi
Member
Alucard said:
The only other Gibson I've read was Neuromancer, but I didn't find it that hard to understand. I think what FnordChan says has some truth though. If you don't care about the characters, it does get to be a slog to get through. I mainly just read it and let his narrative and structure go through me, trying not to focus on too many details, and eventually it'll come together through osmosis!
Can't really say if Difference Engine is indicative of his style or not, since he wrote it with Sterling.
crowphoenix said:It wasn't the sex or the violence. Either of those I can handle. It was the way it was written.And it didn't really add anything to the story. We knew already that they were monstrous. It hadn't been hinted at that affliction was in any way sexual, which was something I think Tera would have picked up on. And it wasn't used later except as a way to add credibility toThat and the FBI agents eating the man before a wolf threesome was just all sorts of ugh..the way Dresden described the change
I mean, I still think the book was fantastic, but that scene was just pointless sensationalism, but I suppose I shouldn't expect subtlety in my noir fantasy.
I thought that scene was excellent, it showed the extreme perversion not only of the magic they used to shift, but of the people themselves. It really made them into monsters and CLEARLY showed the difference between them and the "natural" wolves that Dresden is friends with.
Nymerio said:Just finished:
Don't know what to start next...
Did you like it? If you are a fantasy fan (and if you haven't read it yet), I would recommend the Long Price Quartet, by Daniel Abraham. Much more subtle, and waaay less battle-heavy than the Black Company, but it's the best escapist fiction I've read in months.
nakedsushi
Member
Gave up on reading:
Got about 20% in, then realized that I was *forcing* myself to read this. What a chore. The characters are pretty shallow and therefore not likable. And nothing is happening! Well, things happen, but in the grand scheme of things, nothing seems to happen.
Switched to reading Stephenson instead:
This may be my last steampunk book of the month. Still thinking about a theme for next month. It'll either be a ladies of sci fi or ladies of fantasy month where I read nothing but works by female authors. Or maybe a nothing but short fiction anthologies month.
Got about 20% in, then realized that I was *forcing* myself to read this. What a chore. The characters are pretty shallow and therefore not likable. And nothing is happening! Well, things happen, but in the grand scheme of things, nothing seems to happen.
Switched to reading Stephenson instead:
This may be my last steampunk book of the month. Still thinking about a theme for next month. It'll either be a ladies of sci fi or ladies of fantasy month where I read nothing but works by female authors. Or maybe a nothing but short fiction anthologies month.
Re: The Difference Engine:
This jives with what I remember of my own experience. Though I eventually got through it, I sure wasn't feeling it. There's enough of a vocal minority singing TDE's praises on Amazon that I may give it another go to see if my tolerance for the pacing has improved since I read it last.
Re: The Diamond Age
While TDA has some steampunk trappings, it's much more a near-future SF/cyberpunk novel. Not that you shouldn't read it, mind you - I liked the novel quite a bit - but I wouldn't want you to be disappointed in the book because you went in expecting it to be something it's not.
FnordChan, about 1/4 of the way through Cryoburn and thoroughly enjoying it
nakedsushi said:
This jives with what I remember of my own experience. Though I eventually got through it, I sure wasn't feeling it. There's enough of a vocal minority singing TDE's praises on Amazon that I may give it another go to see if my tolerance for the pacing has improved since I read it last.
Re: The Diamond Age
While TDA has some steampunk trappings, it's much more a near-future SF/cyberpunk novel. Not that you shouldn't read it, mind you - I liked the novel quite a bit - but I wouldn't want you to be disappointed in the book because you went in expecting it to be something it's not.
FnordChan, about 1/4 of the way through Cryoburn and thoroughly enjoying it