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[MrOogieBoogie]

Clearance sale at the local thrift store. Ten books for $1. I couldn't resist. Grabbed whatever looked interesting.

The Informant, by Kurt Eichenwald
The Bear Went Over the Mountain, by William Kotzwinkle
Spook Country, by William Gibson
The Host, by Stephanie Meyer
The Dead of the House, by Hannah Green
Mariette in Ecstasy, by Ron Hansen
The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
Schindler's List, by Thomas Keneally
Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliett
Letters from Yellowstone, by Diane Smith

Any decent grabs?

 

[LocoMrPollock]

Clearance sale at the local thrift store. Ten books for $1. I couldn't resist. Grabbed whatever looked interesting.

The Informant, by Kurt Eichenwald
The Bear Went Over the Mountain, by William Kotzwinkle
Spook Country, by William Gibson
The Host, by Stephanie Meyer
The Dead of the House, by Hannah Green
Mariette in Ecstasy, by Ron Hansen
The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
Schindler's List, by Thomas Keneally
Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliett
Letters from Yellowstone, by Diane Smith

Any decent grabs?

Heh.

 

[magicstop]

Just thought someone might want to know since I see the Brent Weeks name thrown around a lot in this thread that The Way of Shadows (book 1 of the Night Angel trilogy) is the Kindle deal of the day and is $1.99 right now.

Thanks for the heads up! Just ordered this . . . probably going to try this along side of The Logic of Chance for a little brain recess

 

[mike23]

You guys probably don't need any more reason to grow your to-read list, but in case you do, we finally launched our book recommendation feature. Let me know what you think and how accurate (or not?) it is!

http://bit.ly/p7rfSJ

Looks good. Got me to start sorting my books into shelves too.

 

[Maklershed]

You guys probably don't need any more reason to grow your to-read list, but in case you do, we finally launched our book recommendation feature. Let me know what you think and how accurate (or not?) it is!

http://bit.ly/p7rfSJ

This must really work cause I just bought one of the books pictured in the example. (These is my Words)

I'll check this system out tonight. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[berg ark]

Going to pick it up today, hope its worth the money!

 

[Deified Data]

Finished this last night. Pretty good. A bit reminiscent of the Codex Alera series. Interesting novel magic system and a protagonist that can't really use it. In this case the main character is basically dyslexic and messes up any slightly complicate spell.

edit: Up to 58 books in 2011

Starting this one tonight. So refreshing to see a fantasy story contained in a single volume.

 

[aidan]

Starting this one tonight. So refreshing to see a fantasy story contained in a single volume.

It's, erm... not. The sequel just came out this Tuesday.

 

[Deified Data]

It's, erm... not. The sequel just came out this Tuesday.

Fuck! I really should know these things. Oh, well. So long as it's not 10+ volumes.

 

[aidan]

Fuck! I really should know these things. Oh, well. So long as it's not 10+ volumes.

Nope, just a trilogy. And, to be fair, each volume seems to stand somewhat on its own.

 

[Bloodbeard]

Anyone recommend anything similar to Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle? I've just started it, but it's scratched that political science itch, and would love to indulge it some more.

One Dimensional Man - Herbert Marcuse

 

[GabDX]

I've just finished reading The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft and now I'm starting to read At the Mountains of Madness by the same author.

 

[Fjordson]

You guys probably don't need any more reason to grow your to-read list, but in case you do, we finally launched our book recommendation feature. Let me know what you think and how accurate (or not?) it is!

http://bit.ly/p7rfSJ

Looks awesome, I'll try it out later tonight.

<3 Goodreads

 

[Dresden]

Still slowly making my way through Master and Margarita. I'm not digging it too much at this point, although I'll likely finish it, still.

Also started Alamut by Vladimir Bartol, which is pretty cool.

 

[Cactus]

I'm about half way through this little gem and I'm enjoying it immensely.

 

[Deified Data]

I've just finished reading The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft and now I'm starting to read At the Mountains of Madness by the same author.

Good man. What compilation did you purchase?

 

[DOBERMAN INC]

Just finished:

Pretty bland.
You get what you see on the tin, a fairly straight forward murder mystery.

 

[Vanillalite]

Hey GAF... thinking about trying to read This is Your Brain on Music... is this a worthy read?

 

[FnordChan]

Harold Lamb was probably the best writer of historical adventure fiction writing for the pulps between 1920-1940. Swords of the West is the first short story/novella collection by Lamb I've read so far and it's really good stuff. The stories mostly deal with wandering crusaders venturing beyond the the middle east into central Asia, encountering exotic cultures. Lamb is an excellent story teller who knows what he's talking about (he also wrote books about oriental history, the crusades, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, etc.) and even his shorter stories don't skimp on plot.

This sounds completely amazing and I've added it to my wish list.

Finished Bujold's Cryoburn, the latest in her Vorkosigan series. I love her writing, and Miles never fails to disappoint. That being said, this was a little dropoff from A Civil Campaign and Diplomatic Immunity, but still solid.

I have to agree with you that, while entertaining, Cryoburn wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped it would be. On the other hand, there's the epilogue which is a pretty solid kick in the teeth. Meanwhile, Bujold is finally writing The Ivan Novel, which will hopefully be out sometime late next year.

Spook Country, by William Gibson

I liked this book quite a bit; it's about a group of characters, including a journalist covering augmented reality art, a member of a family of expert smugglers, and a drug addict in the hands of a mysterious agent, whose paths all converge towards a mysterious cargo container. While the book stands alone, it's a loose follow-up to one of Gibson's previous novels, Pattern Recognition. Since you may not be able to snag that off-hand for a dime, consider it something to backtrack to if you enjoy Spook Country. This reminds me that I need to sit down and read the third book in the sequence, Zero History.

Meanwhile, I finally finished Assassin's Quest, the third book in Robin Hobbs' Farseer trilogy. I realize that cover reeks of generic fantasy - sword, dragon, wolf, etc. - but, man, did I ever enjoy the hell out of these books. Hobb has an impressive ability to put her protagonist through the wringer and even if you have an idea of where the story is going to wind up, seeing everyone go through some difficult paces to get there makes for a fine conclusion to a rewarding saga. I enjoyed the books so much I've already picked up used sets of the next two trilogies taking place in her universe. In particular, I'm told that her Liveship Traders novels are essentially Aubrey-Maturin with magic, at which point I'm completely sold.

I wanted to take a break before just jumping in with more Robin Hobb, however, so I'm currently 4/5ths of my way through Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews, the first book in her Kate Daniels series. This is another case of unfortunate cover art, what with Photoshop look, the blandly badass urban fantasy heroine, and the disembodied head of Aslan looking mournfully on from the side. However, two friends of mine raved about this series so I gave it a chance, and so far am quite glad I did so. Admittedly, our heroine does fit squarely in the magic detective mold, with all the requisite feisty attitude, sarcastic quips, and incredible powers, but I'm fine with that, as evidenced by my love of the Dresden Files. Also, the setting is pretty impressive: a future version of Atlanta that has been adapting to the waxing influence of magic in the world, which has had a near-apocalyptic effect, what with large swaths of the city falling into ruin. Sometimes technology works, sometimes magic works, and it's always pretty complicated. Along with that, Andrews writes some interesting variations on vampires (as the mindless, hungering vessels for necromancers) and werewolves (lycanthropes of various animal forms organized into rigid pack structures), with both factions being known to the public (along with magical law enforcement agencies) and ruling autonomous swaths of territory. Then there's the plot itself, which follows the standard detective story structure, with suitable amounts of ass kicking and supernatural horror thrown in. I'm sold on reading more of the series, especially as I'm told the series structure really comes together in the second novel, Magic Burns, which I may jump directly into when I'm done.

FnordChan

 

[pr0cs]

Those any good?

Yep Traviss really expands the characters, the games make a lot more sense and the characters are a lot more fleshed out.

 

[Mumei]

The entire series is incredible. The books get even more bleak and depressing as the series progresses. Tombs of Atuan with its whole claustrophobic minimalism, The Farthest Shore (which I rank equally with the first book as the best in the series) is creepy and frightening, Tehanu with its heartbreaking cruelty towards the characters, and the bittersweet finality of The Other Wind.. there's something beautiful about each of these books. Man, I need to reread them all again soon.

Indeed. I've just finished with The Tombs of Atuan. I didn't like it quite so much as A Wizard of Earthsea, though it was still great.

I think I'll stop for a bit after I read The Farthest Shore and then come back to the series in a bit after reading a few books from another series.

 

[mike23]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/414zAD26JjL.jpg[img]

I wanted to take a break before just jumping in with more Robin Hobb, however, so I'm currently 4/5ths of my way through [url=http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Bites-Kate-Daniels-Book/dp/0441014895/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316204142&sr=1-1]Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews[/url], the first book in her Kate Daniels series. This is another case of unfortunate cover art, what with Photoshop look, the blandly badass urban fantasy heroine, and the disembodied head of Aslan looking mournfully on from the side. However, two friends of mine raved about this series so I gave it a chance, and so far am quite glad I did so. Admittedly, our heroine does fit squarely in the magic detective mold, with all the requisite feisty attitude, sarcastic quips, and incredible powers, but I'm fine with that, as evidenced by my love of the Dresden Files. Also, the setting is pretty impressive: a future version of Atlanta that has been adapting to the waxing influence of magic in the world, which has had a near-apocalyptic effect, what with large swaths of the city falling into ruin. Sometimes technology works, sometimes magic works, and it's always pretty complicated. Along with that, Andrews writes some interesting variations on vampires (as the mindless, hungering vessels for necromancers) and werewolves (lycanthropes of various animal forms organized into rigid pack structures), with both factions being known to the public (along with magical law enforcement agencies) and ruling autonomous swaths of territory. Then there's the plot itself, which follows the standard detective story structure, with suitable amounts of ass kicking and supernatural horror thrown in. I'm sold on reading more of the series, especially as I'm told the series structure really comes together in the second novel, [url=http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Burns-Kate-Daniels-Book/dp/0441015832/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b]Magic Burns[/url], which I may jump directly into when I'm done.

FnordChan[/QUOTE]

I read this series a few months ago and everyone here just laughed at me when I said they were actually very good, heh.

 

[Dresden]

Still slowly making my way through Master and Margarita. I'm not digging it too much at this point, although I'll likely finish it, still.

Also started Alamut by Vladimir Bartol, which is pretty cool.

Finished Alamut. Pretty good, not great.

Back to finishing up Master and Margarita. I should get around to the new Dresden Files at one point.

 

[mike23]

Anyone know of any fiction books with a main character that is a collector of rare things? With action, adventure, and supernatural stuff maybe. I love the idea of collecting rare and precious things. Book collecting or weapons would be a plus too.

I've tried searching, but it's impossible to find anything since every search returns results about collecting stuff in real life.

If anyone has read any of the Nightside series by Simon Green, ideally what I'm looking for is a book with the Collector as the main character.

 

[_Isaac]

Anyone know of any fiction books with a main character that is a collector of rare things? With action, adventure, and supernatural stuff maybe. I love the idea of collecting rare and precious things. Book collecting or weapons would be a plus too.

I've tried searching, but it's impossible to find anything since every search returns results about collecting stuff in real life.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows


I'm reading Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.

 

[Fjordson]

Meanwhile, I finally finished Assassin's Quest, the third book in Robin Hobbs' Farseer trilogy. I realize that cover reeks of generic fantasy - sword, dragon, wolf, etc. - but, man, did I ever enjoy the hell out of these books. Hobb has an impressive ability to put her protagonist through the wringer and even if you have an idea of where the story is going to wind up, seeing everyone go through some difficult paces to get there makes for a fine conclusion to a rewarding saga. I enjoyed the books so much I've already picked up used sets of the next two trilogies taking place in her universe. In particular, I'm told that her Liveship Traders novels are essentially Aubrey-Maturin with magic, at which point I'm completely sold.

This is good to hear. I read the first book a few months ago and loved it. Royal Assassin has been waiting on my shelf since then, guess I'll read that next.

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Meanwhile, I finally finished Assassin's Quest, the third book in Robin Hobbs' Farseer trilogy. I realize that cover reeks of generic fantasy - sword, dragon, wolf, etc. - but, man, did I ever enjoy the hell out of these books. Hobb has an impressive ability to put her protagonist through the wringer and even if you have an idea of where the story is going to wind up, seeing everyone go through some difficult paces to get there makes for a fine conclusion to a rewarding saga. I enjoyed the books so much I've already picked up used sets of the next two trilogies taking place in her universe. In particular, I'm told that her Liveship Traders novels are essentially Aubrey-Maturin with magic, at which point I'm completely sold.

Amazingly amazing author, havent read anything in a while ( sorry thread) but I could re-read Hobb's series over at the drop of a hat. Painfully well written books.

Tawny Man series <3, man tears.

 

[Ratrat]

The Darkness that comes Before by R Scott Bakker.


Most enjoyable so far is the great cast of strong, intelligent female characters.

 

[finowns]

Finished Alamut. Pretty good, not great.

Back to finishing up Master and Margarita. I should get around to the new Dresden Files at one point.

You are not living up to your namesake.

 

[Maklershed]

Anyone know of any fiction books with a main character that is a collector of rare things? With action, adventure, and supernatural stuff maybe. I love the idea of collecting rare and precious things. Book collecting or weapons would be a plus too.

I've tried searching, but it's impossible to find anything since every search returns results about collecting stuff in real life.

If anyone has read any of the Nightside series by Simon Green, ideally what I'm looking for is a book with the Collector as the main character.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

 

[Granger Danger]

You are not living up to your namesake.

His namesake may be actual Dresden?

 

[MoGamesXNA]

My book backlog dwarfs even my gaming backlog, but started up a book this week as I was in the mood to not sit in front of the TV quite so much.

Started:

Liking it so far.

My favourite Hamilton novel. Nice one. The Nights Dawn trilogy and Commonwealth Saga are quite brilliant as well.

 

[Guileless]

Finished Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It lived up to the hype for me. It's not just an excuse for 80s nostalgia, but a pageturner and exploration of the evolution of videogames from the 2600 to the holodeck, and what developers would build if that were possible.

 

[GabDX]

Good man. What compilation did you purchase?

The Annotated H. P. Lovecraft, borrowed from local library. It also includes The Rats in the Wall and The Colour out of Space. The latter was awesome.

 

[Mumei]

I finished The Farthest Shore. I liked it better than the second, but not quite as much as the first. I could definitely see the order shifting around on a reread depending on what I was looking for, though. Really great stuff, and I wish I'd read it sooner.

Holding off on Tehanu, though.

Instead, I've started Kenzaburo Oe's A Personal Matter. It's excellent so far.

 

[cory.]

Just started Super Sad True Love Story.

 

[JGS]

Started reading Robopocalypse. It seems interesting but all the character in the beginning seem to have the same voice or level of intelligence. Hopefully the author isn't one note throughout the story in terms of dialogue.

 

[Agent Cooper]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Edit: in response to the book order forms in schools discussion, I'm in high school and my psychology teacher hands them out. So they're there.

 

[survivor]

Just started reading Game of Thrones. I got the boxset like couple of months ago, but was kind of putting the books on hold cause I don't want to finish them and have to wait years for the next one to come out.

I'm getting a LOTR vibe from the book so far. It's just throwing at me names of places, battles, people and stuff, and I just don't give a damn to keep up. Though I'm sure everything will be clear at one point.

 

[Granger Danger]

Across the globe, millions of computer screens flicker with the artfully coded world of T'Rain - an addictive internet role-playing game of fantasy and adventure. But backstreet hackers in China have just unleashed a contagious virus called Reamde, and as it rampages through the gaming world spreading from player to player - holding hard drives hostage in the process - the computer of one powerful and dangerous man is infected, causing the carefully mediated violence of the on-line world to spill over into reality.

A fast-talking, internet-addicted mafia accountant is brutally silenced by his Russian employers, and Zula - a talented young T'Rain computer programmer - is abducted and bundled on to a private jet. As she is flown across the skies in the company of the terrified boyfriend she broke up with hours before, and a brilliant Hungarian hacker who may be her only hope, she finds herself sucked into a whirl of Chinese Secret Service agents and gun-toting American Survivalists; the Russian criminal underground and an al-Qaeda cell led by a charismatic Welshman; each a strand of a connected world that devastatingly converges in T'Rain.

An inimitable and compelling thriller that careers from British Columbia to South-West China via Russia and the fantasy world of T'Rain, Reamde is an irresistible epic from the unique imagination of one of today's most individual writers.

 

[British Monsoon]

Currently reading this:

Harold Lamb was probably the best writer of historical adventure fiction writing for the pulps between 1920-1940. Swords of the West is the first short story/novella collection by Lamb I've read so far and it's really good stuff. The stories mostly deal with wandering crusaders venturing beyond the the middle east into central Asia, encountering exotic cultures. Lamb is an excellent story teller who knows what he's talking about (he also wrote books about oriental history, the crusades, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, etc.) and even his shorter stories don't skimp on plot.

Thank you for posting this, I love pulp fantasy/historical fiction so this is right up my alley. It's a bit pricey on Kindle, but definitely worth it, Lamb has a great style that's full of history and description without ever getting too wordy, which is often a problem I find with early pulp writers. Awesome stuff.

 

[Burger]

Oh shit! New Neal Stephenson!

 

[Pau]

EDIT is Dispossessed good? Of Le Guin's works, only ones i've read are two first books of Earthsea quartet but i didn't exactly like those. Interesting world and name-based magic but i didn't like her writing style.

I really loved The Dispossessed. Le Guin writes exactly the type of fiction I like. She approaches her sci fi and fantasy through cultural and anthropological lenses which I always find more interesting than I guess the "action/adventure" approach. But if you didn't like Le Guin's writing in the first two Earthsea novels, I don't see how you'd like it here.

Thanks to everyone who commented on Sanderson. I'll pick up the first book of the Mistborn series and see how it goes after I'm done with The Master and Margarita.

 

[CPCunha]

This




Pretty darn fun!

 

[Adam Blade]

Jhereg by Steven Brust

Good shit. I've heard good things about this series. Gets off to a good if occasionally wobbly start. Despite the scattered poor writing choices, a mostly solid effort with a great main character and a promising world to play around in.

I swear I've tried, but I just can't seem to bring myself to like Brust's books. :/

 

[Guileless]

My copy is ordered. Can''t wait. 980 pages!

 

[Mumei]

I really loved The Dispossessed. Le Guin writes exactly the type of fiction I like. She approaches her sci fi and fantasy through cultural and anthropological lenses which I always find more interesting than I guess the "action/adventure" approach. But if you didn't like Le Guin's writing in the first two Earthsea novels, I don't see how you'd like it here.

Thanks to everyone who commented on Sanderson. I'll pick up the first book of the Mistborn series and see how it goes after I'm done with The Master and Margarita.

I haven't read The Dispossessed, aside from the opening pages in the store, but I thought that that little bit did seem somewhat different from the way Earthsea is written. He might want to read a bit of it to see if it's more up his alley just in case.

I love A Personal Matter. It helps knowing beforehand that the book is semi-autobiographical; I would probably dislike Bird otherwise. Or rather, my dislike of Bird would have made it more difficult to enjoy the novel.

 

[BorkBork]

I haven't read The Dispossessed, aside from the opening pages in the store, but I thought that that little bit did seem somewhat different from the way Earthsea is written. He might want to read a bit of it to see if it's more up his alley just in case.

It is different than Earthsea, primarily because of its subject material is definitely less accessible. There are some similar basic elements though, because Le Guin very often incorporates Taoist philosophy into her writing. For example, the concept of journey and return is really evident in both.

A good short review of the Dispossessed that's similar to my thoughts:

...this is a novel that won me over by doing so much in such a short span of pages and in such a relatively low-key setting and premise. The protagonist is, again, a scientist, a representative of an egalitarian, utopian society traveling back to the planet from which his ancestors emigrated in order to further his research and bring back word of his society's philosophy and accomplishments. Le Guin builds both civilizations, and describes the events that led to their separation, and spells out their good and bad points, and lays out a blueprint for the construction of a believable--and believably flawed--socialist utopia, and weaves into all of this the coming of age of her protagonist, Shevek, and a story of political intrigue as he gets caught up in social unrest on his host planet, and is pursued for the technology his research might enable. All of this is accomplished with such grace and with so little fuss that is seems almost impossible to credit. The Dispossessed is a quiet, low-key novel whose characters face trials and upheavals with an equanimity that conceals powerful emotions, and Le Guin makes both those emotions and the struggle to calm them keenly felt. No one, I'm sure, needs me to tell them that Le Guin is a magnificent writer or that The Dispossessed is a masterpiece, but here's me adding my voice to both claims nonetheless.

It is personally one of my top three novels of all time, and one of those seminal books that has shaped my thinking. It is so many things to me - an indepth and engaging thought experiment about utopian and dystopian politics (of which there is an excellent collection of essays written about it, highly recommended if you're interested in this sort of thing), one man's personal journey to find the truth and his place in society, a poignant love story between two people, in-depth thoughts about the true concept of freedom and choice, and is just a beautifully crafted tale overall.

This is the definitive thinking man's science-fiction novel. I really can't recommend it enough.

 

[BorkBork]

I finished The Farthest Shore. I liked it better than the second, but not quite as much as the first. I could definitely see the order shifting around on a reread depending on what I was looking for, though. Really great stuff, and I wish I'd read it sooner.

Holding off on Tehanu, though.

Yeah Wizard > Farthest Shore > Atuan was my order when I finished it the first time, years ago. As I did subsequent rereads and really fell in love with the trilogy, I grew to appreciate how Le Guin subverted traditional fantasy expectations; really, who would expect Atuan and Shore to come after Wizard?

Spoiler

Who would want to see the protagonist of the first to be dependent on a girl? Everyone wants Ged to kick some ass all the time!

But they're all beautifully written, and tell of Ged's journey through life, especially the parts when he needs a little help. The angle from which she writes the series is so different than conventional fantasy, and that's what makes it SO damn good. Tehanu subverts even more of the genre, pretty much turning it on its head. It's flawed, but well worth the read. You gotta be prepared for it though.

Not many books stayed with me throughout the years, but these do. Wizard worked best for me when I loved adventure and traditional action fantasy. Atuan worked for me when I was struggling against dogma, and developing into a self-thinking individual. Shore worked best when I encountered the notion of growing old and facing death in my personal life. They're all marvelous; to me, they all resonate during different phases of growing up and growing old, because that's what they were written to do:

“ If a book told you something when you were fifteen, it will tell it to you again when you're fifty, though you may understand it so differently that it seems you're reading a whole new book.”

 

[Maklershed]

This

*The Long Ships*


Pretty darn fun!

Other than the ASOIAF books I'd say this is my favorite book that I've read in the past year or so.