Skittleguy
Ring a Bell for me
There's 13 others if you're feeling adventerous.mrkgoo said:
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What are you reading? (September 09)
- Thread starter Undeux
- Start date
Skittleguy said:
13 others?
edit: Holy crap:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oz_books
40 Oz books!
I need to see Return to Oz movie again too.
bumbillbee
Member
movie_club said:
Fucking amazing book. I don't care if it's for class; just enjoy it.
Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson
I just couldn't get into 1984 so I decided I would have it a go some other time. I'm reading this now instead. I'm a really big Jordan/Bulls fan from the 90's and so this is almost a must read. I'm not that far into it but I'm enjoying it so far. Hopefully I'll find my inner Zen
Skittleguy
Ring a Bell for me
Currently reading:
Along with apparently half of Gaf.
When I finish, I might consider picking up Tropic of Cancer again. All the uses of the c-word made it hard to finish the first time. I also STILL have Gravity's Rainbow on the backburner somewhere, and half of Only Revolutions to finish. Stupid school!
Along with apparently half of Gaf.
When I finish, I might consider picking up Tropic of Cancer again. All the uses of the c-word made it hard to finish the first time. I also STILL have Gravity's Rainbow on the backburner somewhere, and half of Only Revolutions to finish. Stupid school!
movie_club
Junior Member
i am looking foward to it! just not the reading load in such a short timebumbillbee said:
~175 pages into this. I usually don't read fantasy but GRRM's ASoIaF have me itching to start a new series. It's OK so far, I've heard the first book is almost all build up so I will keep reading even though the book hasn't 'grabbed' me yet. Characters are a little flat but I'm hoping they grow and become more interesting in time. The political intrigue is somewhat interesting. I'm hoping this whole trilogy amounts to something more than a bunch of exciting torture/fight scenes.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
jon bones said:
Don't worry. They're AMAZING.
Here's what I'm up to:
Perfect follow up to Infinite Jest.
Screaming_Gremlin
My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
Dan said:
I got about halfway through Red Mars, before giving up. While I liked the general concept of the book, none of the characters appealed to me and all of their interpersonal drama eventual caused me to stop reading.
Anyway, I have always been interested in naval history so I just downloaded Six Frigates onto my Kindle. Figure it will give me something to read when I am flying back home from vacation on Monday.
I also downloaded Perdido Street Station just in case I feel like some fiction. Not sure if it will be anything I will like, but it is currently free for the Kindle so I thought why not.
J-Roderton
Member
Skittleguy said:Currently reading:
Along with apparently half of Gaf.
When I finish, I might consider picking up Tropic of Cancer again. All the uses of the c-word made it hard to finish the first time. I also STILL have Gravity's Rainbow on the backburner somewhere, and half of Only Revolutions to finish. Stupid school!
Im about to start this book next week. Let me kno how it is.
Finished 'Second Foundation' very awesome, reading the series for me, was like reading a history lesson for sci-fic. It was amazing seeing the origins of some of my favorite sci-fic themes.
Now re-reading my favorite sci-fic novel of all time childhoods end by Arthur c clarke - so good. I might re-read my other two favorite arthur c clarke novels - city and the stars & 2001 space odyssey next.
Now re-reading my favorite sci-fic novel of all time childhoods end by Arthur c clarke - so good. I might re-read my other two favorite arthur c clarke novels - city and the stars & 2001 space odyssey next.
Just finished:
Honestly, I'm a smart dude... 99% percentile and all that, but still... this book was just too much for me, at times. McCarthy's prose is extremely poetic here, and conjured up vague memories of reading Shakespearean plays in high school. (ie I could sum up what I just read - I'm absorbing it on some level, but many individual elements of symbolism and language use fly right over my head).
I understood and enjoyed the story on a literal level, but I didn't grasp much subtext, sadly.
Honestly, I'm a smart dude... 99% percentile and all that, but still... this book was just too much for me, at times. McCarthy's prose is extremely poetic here, and conjured up vague memories of reading Shakespearean plays in high school. (ie I could sum up what I just read - I'm absorbing it on some level, but many individual elements of symbolism and language use fly right over my head).
I understood and enjoyed the story on a literal level, but I didn't grasp much subtext, sadly.
It's amazing how McCarthy describing a meal that doesn't even sound *that* good (Ham, biscuits, beans, potatoes) almost made me teary-eyed. SO HAPPY FOR THEM.
John Dunbar
correct about everything
I started reading War and Peace, 50 pages down, 1400 to go.
Finished up Empire Express over the weekend. Came out more informed about the transcontinental railroad but not impressed with the style. So, would only recommend if you had to do a 30 page research paper on the subject.
Now it's time for W.E.B. DuBois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1962 by David Levering Lewis. I liked the first volume, but this one ties more directly into the Civil Rights movement so its bound to be more exciting!
Now it's time for W.E.B. DuBois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1962 by David Levering Lewis. I liked the first volume, but this one ties more directly into the Civil Rights movement so its bound to be more exciting!
malingenie
Member
Middle of the third book of Fire & Ice: Wow. Never been one-two'd this hard.
Tim the Wiz
Banned
Cyan said:
That's bloody disappointing, I was all set to pick up some Vinge on my re-entry to sci-fi. Guess I'll stick with Banks, Robinson, Wilson and Stross.
I love the stalker universe. I'm almost done and it has been enjoyable light read. A word of warning: the writing can get a little adverb-heavy in a few places.
Since it's been mentioned so much, I had a question about American Gods: did anyone beat the book against a table when
you find out that Wednesday is Shadow's father
Started reading this last night:
Would probably be more entertaining (not that it isn't already) if I had read the unaltered source material first.
Also making my way through Edgar Allen Poe: Complete Tales & Poems.
Would probably be more entertaining (not that it isn't already) if I had read the unaltered source material first.
Also making my way through Edgar Allen Poe: Complete Tales & Poems.
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
So damm good so far.
Screaming_Gremlin said:
I just came in here to post this. Even if you have an iPhone, you can download the Kindle app and grab PSS. I read it last winter (late at night too), which was the perfect companion for the book's dark, weird, horror setting. I did find the action scenes were a little weak at times, but I still find myself thinking about the book all the time, so it definitely left an impression on me.
I also recently finished Mieville's latest book, The City & The City, which I really enjoyed. It's his attempt at a mystery novel, and I think he pulled it off pretty well.
My current reading list:
I wish I had more time to devote to reading. I have a huge backlog, and after going through this thread I have about 20 more books I want to read. :lol
Finished Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Liked it, but would have liked it more if the main protagonist weren't so insufferably prudish and proper. And the ending was very abrupt, but that was okay.
Now, just started on the last book in Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, "Cities of the Plain". Loved the two previous books, so I look forward to delving into this one.
Now, just started on the last book in Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, "Cities of the Plain". Loved the two previous books, so I look forward to delving into this one.
malingenie
Member
Fireblend said:
Excellent suggestion. Neverwhere is also funny and surreal, and of course Pratchett has a never ending supply of awesomeness.
koam said:
It's been a while, but Grendel might fit the bill, especially if you had to read Beowulf at any point.
Also, my girlfriend finished up the Princess Bride recently and loved it (she's reading Hitchhiker's at the moment), so that might just work...
I'm close to being done with this book. I'm new to the fantasy genre, having only read the Harry Potter Series and the first and last Robin Hobb trilogies involving Fitz. Maybe my inexperience is skewering my opinion of the book, but I think it's one of the best things I've read in a long time. The book involves Kvothe, an adventure hardened hero, recanting his story to a scribe, starting from age 11 and onward.
I rarely get hooked early into a book and can only remember on a few occasions reading the first 40 pages and thinking to myself "<i>Damn, this is really good.</i>" Rothfuss has this way with words that draws you into the book and pulls you through the story with a reckless urgency to find out what will happen next.
One of the things I'm loving about this book is the world that Rothfuss is constructing with his first literary outing. From the little that I've read and the passages that I've sampled, I've become a fan of the fantasy settings that try to construct a world that is not only detailed and full of wonder, but is also grounded in some semblance of reality. Sure, there's magic and (some) strange creatures, but for the most part Rothfuss borrows little from the "truly" fantastical side of the genre.
The only problem I have with the book is that, while the characters are great, everything feels too "clean." The main character is highly intelligent, which can make the dialogue fun to read, but also a little forced at times. Same goes for his friends, who seem to fit into the stereotypical "friend" archetype a little too nicely.
And while the book does a fantastic job with the lore of that world, often times juking sideways to tell you the tale of an amazing hero of the land or to explain the story behind that world's Christmas, sometimes I feel like they could do more to flesh out the world. Rothfuss does a good job of throwing out foreign terms and letting the reader slowly figure out what they mean in time, but I'd like to have a formal explanation every once in awhile.
The next book is due out sometime in the near future. Not sure when, though. He has a massive FAQ on his site explaining release dates and crap.
afternoon delight
Member
Love that collection. It lives up to it's name of "best of" with the exception of "At the Mountains of Madness" being missing.
GallonOMilk
Member
Just finished the last Dark Tower book. I think the ending was really good.
I think the only way that the ending could have been better was for it to end
So now I've got a few books I'm going to be getting into:
To Kill a Mockingbird:
The Conscious Universe:
The Iliad - Robert Fagles Translation:
And finally:
Old Curiosity Shop - Charles Dickens:
Already halfway through this (well, read Volume I, have Volume II left), and it's basically the best book I've ever read. I've gotten past the somewhat difficult reading (or so it was when I was a less experienced reader) and now it basically represents writing and reading perfection to me. Heck, I think it's even made me a better writer in that it changes the way I think about forming sentences and gives my writing a new 'flair', I would call it, when I'm writing essays and the like. Really good book, I'd recommend it to everyone.
As a quick aside, the Charles Dickens Complete Works Centennial Edition set is amazing. Really high quality, very solid books. Of the sets listed on Amazon.com and the sellers I've messaged, the cheapest one which comes with all 37 volumes (almost 3/4 of which I've read since getting them) is around $475. Shipping will set you back quite a bit too. Expensive, but that doesn't work out to too much for 37 books, especially these books (very high quality). Keep in mind that this is for people who like books (tactile feel, etc.). Otherwise, I believe all of Dicken's works are in the public domain and you can pick up his entire set of works for the Kindle for $1 on Amazon.
--------------------------
Anyway, I'll probably be reading these in parallel like I always do - it helps to mix things up a bit and doesn't get you too used to 1 author's style which, I find, makes it much easier to adapt to many styles quickly in future readings. Basically, it makes you (or at least made me) a more effective and skilled reader.
I'm also still looking for another book to add to the rotation, so any recommendations based on what my post says I might like would be appreciated. (Bolded this part so people who skip the rest will at least read this )
Sure, it ended with Roland starting his journey over again but, this time he had the horn of Eld, another tool to use to actually get to the top of the tower. I think the general idea here is that he needs to make all of the right decisions along the way and end up at the tower with his entire Ka-Tet together. But I digress. Basically, I think that the ending was bittersweet - sad that Roland had to redo his entire journey, hopeful in that he might make it this time.
in Central Park with Susannah, Eddie, and Jake together, and Roland having fulfilled his quest.
So now I've got a few books I'm going to be getting into:
To Kill a Mockingbird:
The Conscious Universe:
The Iliad - Robert Fagles Translation:
And finally:
Old Curiosity Shop - Charles Dickens:
Already halfway through this (well, read Volume I, have Volume II left), and it's basically the best book I've ever read. I've gotten past the somewhat difficult reading (or so it was when I was a less experienced reader) and now it basically represents writing and reading perfection to me. Heck, I think it's even made me a better writer in that it changes the way I think about forming sentences and gives my writing a new 'flair', I would call it, when I'm writing essays and the like. Really good book, I'd recommend it to everyone.
As a quick aside, the Charles Dickens Complete Works Centennial Edition set is amazing. Really high quality, very solid books. Of the sets listed on Amazon.com and the sellers I've messaged, the cheapest one which comes with all 37 volumes (almost 3/4 of which I've read since getting them) is around $475. Shipping will set you back quite a bit too. Expensive, but that doesn't work out to too much for 37 books, especially these books (very high quality). Keep in mind that this is for people who like books (tactile feel, etc.). Otherwise, I believe all of Dicken's works are in the public domain and you can pick up his entire set of works for the Kindle for $1 on Amazon.
--------------------------
Anyway, I'll probably be reading these in parallel like I always do - it helps to mix things up a bit and doesn't get you too used to 1 author's style which, I find, makes it much easier to adapt to many styles quickly in future readings. Basically, it makes you (or at least made me) a more effective and skilled reader.
I'm also still looking for another book to add to the rotation, so any recommendations based on what my post says I might like would be appreciated. (Bolded this part so people who skip the rest will at least read this
)GallonOMilk said:I'm also still looking for another book to add to the rotation, so any recommendations based on what my post says I might like would be appreciated. (Bolded this part so people who skip the rest will at least read this
Christopher Logue's 'War Music', a poetic reworking of the Iliad in three books: 'Cold Calls', 'War Music', and 'All Day Permanent Red'. It is beautiful, and you will adore it.
Now reading - ubik by phillip l dick.
This book is pure win, so many 'oh shit that's a cool idea' moments, great writing. (as expected from PLD), some surprisingly funny moments.
One thing i'm surprised by, is for a sci-fic book. Is it remains very accessible, despite the technical jargon and unique terms that are found within here.
This book is pure win, so many 'oh shit that's a cool idea' moments, great writing. (as expected from PLD), some surprisingly funny moments.
One thing i'm surprised by, is for a sci-fic book. Is it remains very accessible, despite the technical jargon and unique terms that are found within here.
Danne-Danger
Member
Joe Chip's apartment door is probably my favorite character in that book. :lolLafiel said:
I'd really like to see someone try to make a movie out of it.
I finished Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer. Here is my review.
Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer attempts to tackle the heavy topic of the creation of the universe, in a book that attempts to be didactic and entertaining at the same time. While his motivations are admirable, as he does provide a fairly balanced criticism of evolution in parts, I felt a little cheated by the end. Essentially, Sawyer's philosophy putters out and leans on cheap and convenient plot events to help push his argument along. Sure, this is fiction, but when a book presents itself as an honest exploration of the nature of the universe and its history, especially in the first half or so of the narrative, you expect it to treat you as an intelligent reader. What Sawyer does in the third act of this novel shatters the good faith he slowly established earlier on.
Calculating God begins with an alien spacecraft landing outside of the Royal Ontario Museum, and an alien life form seeking a paleontologist. The alien being is part of one of several races who are interested in seeking God, as they have uncovered that three planets, Earth included, have experienced a series of mass extinctions that have all occurred around the same time. The timing of these events seems far too mathematically improbable to just be a coincidence, so Occam's razor quickly suggests that some form of creative intelligence is behind running life, the universe, and everything.
Sawyer does a decent job of poking honest holes into evolutionary theory, and tries to point people to a wider understanding of the universe; one which had its initial parameters set up by a creator. Sawyer uses the metaphor of God being the programmer, and the laws of physics and fundamental constants being the source code. That is all well and good, and I was happy to see Sawyer not explore God as a benevolent being who seems to care about every little thing that happens in the universe, but as an imperfect intelligence that had to make due with the existing source code. Where Sawyer's credibility falls flat is when he turns the novel into a love letter addressed to intelligent design.
A good chunk of the book is devoted to philosophical discussion between Tom Jericho, the paleontologist who is also dying of cancer and is struggling to reconcile his understanding of an unfeeling universe, and Hollus, the alien life form who believes there's a man behind the curtain. The initial conversations are fascinating, engaging, and even educational. The first part of the book reads like hard science fiction, with enough popular culture references to keep it from becoming entirely stale. As the narrative is pushed forward, however, and Sawyer starts to focus on a massive event that could tear apart the universe as we know it, we are forced to suspend our disbelief to an unfair degree. The philosophical debates from the start of the novel are almost completely abandoned, as Sawyer remembers that he still has a story to write, and he uses this story as a vehicle to push for an uncompromising conclusion. There is also an irrelevant side story about two American fundamentalists that blow up an abortion clinic and try to destroy some fossils inside the Royal Ontario Museum, which doesn't seem to serve any purpose outside of having some cheap laughs at the expense of extreme creationists.
In the end, I admire what Sawyer set out to do with this book. However, I wish he would have made up his mind as to whether he wanted this to be an honest exploration of evolutionary theory and the origins of the universe, or a cheap allegory for the existence of intelligent design. While Jericho's intellectual walls may have come tumbling down, mine were still firmly planted by the end of the book. Regardless, Sawyer's ability to get people to talk about these topics, and to keep me interested by his constant popular culture references, especially as they relate to Canadian society, were enough to push me through until the end. There are enough interesting ideas in here for the book to be worth a read, despite a cop-out conclusion. 3/5.
Next up: Neuromancer by William Gibson.
Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer attempts to tackle the heavy topic of the creation of the universe, in a book that attempts to be didactic and entertaining at the same time. While his motivations are admirable, as he does provide a fairly balanced criticism of evolution in parts, I felt a little cheated by the end. Essentially, Sawyer's philosophy putters out and leans on cheap and convenient plot events to help push his argument along. Sure, this is fiction, but when a book presents itself as an honest exploration of the nature of the universe and its history, especially in the first half or so of the narrative, you expect it to treat you as an intelligent reader. What Sawyer does in the third act of this novel shatters the good faith he slowly established earlier on.
Calculating God begins with an alien spacecraft landing outside of the Royal Ontario Museum, and an alien life form seeking a paleontologist. The alien being is part of one of several races who are interested in seeking God, as they have uncovered that three planets, Earth included, have experienced a series of mass extinctions that have all occurred around the same time. The timing of these events seems far too mathematically improbable to just be a coincidence, so Occam's razor quickly suggests that some form of creative intelligence is behind running life, the universe, and everything.
Sawyer does a decent job of poking honest holes into evolutionary theory, and tries to point people to a wider understanding of the universe; one which had its initial parameters set up by a creator. Sawyer uses the metaphor of God being the programmer, and the laws of physics and fundamental constants being the source code. That is all well and good, and I was happy to see Sawyer not explore God as a benevolent being who seems to care about every little thing that happens in the universe, but as an imperfect intelligence that had to make due with the existing source code. Where Sawyer's credibility falls flat is when he turns the novel into a love letter addressed to intelligent design.
A good chunk of the book is devoted to philosophical discussion between Tom Jericho, the paleontologist who is also dying of cancer and is struggling to reconcile his understanding of an unfeeling universe, and Hollus, the alien life form who believes there's a man behind the curtain. The initial conversations are fascinating, engaging, and even educational. The first part of the book reads like hard science fiction, with enough popular culture references to keep it from becoming entirely stale. As the narrative is pushed forward, however, and Sawyer starts to focus on a massive event that could tear apart the universe as we know it, we are forced to suspend our disbelief to an unfair degree. The philosophical debates from the start of the novel are almost completely abandoned, as Sawyer remembers that he still has a story to write, and he uses this story as a vehicle to push for an uncompromising conclusion. There is also an irrelevant side story about two American fundamentalists that blow up an abortion clinic and try to destroy some fossils inside the Royal Ontario Museum, which doesn't seem to serve any purpose outside of having some cheap laughs at the expense of extreme creationists.
In the end, I admire what Sawyer set out to do with this book. However, I wish he would have made up his mind as to whether he wanted this to be an honest exploration of evolutionary theory and the origins of the universe, or a cheap allegory for the existence of intelligent design. While Jericho's intellectual walls may have come tumbling down, mine were still firmly planted by the end of the book. Regardless, Sawyer's ability to get people to talk about these topics, and to keep me interested by his constant popular culture references, especially as they relate to Canadian society, were enough to push me through until the end. There are enough interesting ideas in here for the book to be worth a read, despite a cop-out conclusion. 3/5.
Next up: Neuromancer by William Gibson.
Cyan said:Just finished this:
As you might expect from Vinge, it's got a whole lot of big ideas that seem to have been stuffed together and pureed, then flung at a wall by the handful, and yet still hang together fairly well. And to go with the big ideas, it's full of so-so characters (though the asshole MC is pretty good for the most part), clunky dialogue, weak plotting, and prose that's decent at best. Add in an unsatisfying ending, and you're done. Not sure why this guy keeps winning Hugos; I guess clever ideas are more important in sci-fi than good writing.
Oh yeah, also, while the allusion was amusing, naming two important characters "Alice" and "Bob" seriously damaged their verisimilitude for me. I just couldn't take them at all seriously. And the reference to A Fire Upon the Deep late in the novel was a little too cute.
Anyway, at least he refrains from all that Singularity business here. He sets the novel in 2025, presumably to keep consistent with his predicted timeline of "Singularity by 2030". There is somegoing on, but it's more in the standard sci-fi vein than what he's done with that elsewhere.out-of-control-AI stuff
So after all that denigration, would I recommend this book? Sure, why not. The big ideas were a lot of fun, and there are some really clever bits (Rabbit's "how-to-survive-the-next-thirty-minutes.pdf" got a laugh out of me). I mostly enjoyed reading the book, awkward allusions and clunky dialogue aside.
I swear that I will check this author out at some point. Is A Fire Upon the Deep the quintessential place to start?
Scythian Empire
Member
Reading for my college class. I haven't read a lot of it. Only a few chapters in, but I am loving the interactions of the characters.