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[xxracerxx]

Too upsetting? I didn't think it was that graphic, but I honestly don't remember.

Just finished

Absolutely fantastic. For some reason I assumed he was going to be mailing it in by book 5, but he did a deep delve into some character backstories and also really shook up the status quo.

Where Cibola Burn was a very local story, Corey went the opposite direction with Nemesis Games. My only disappointment was that it ended too abruptly. But I guess I can understand since the series has 4 more books to go and elements of this new plot line could conceivably go the distance.

Fun fact, Corey is actually just a pen name for two authors who collaborate together on these books.

 

[Mumei]

Honestly, I love that shit.
I know it's been overused in absolutely everything, but the original stories are just so awesome and usually much darker than they make them out to be in pop culture. I would also recommend reading some Scandinavian Folklore tales, I had this book with Swedish ones:

Well, these stories are from the Victorian era so they aren't quite so dark as stuff you would have gotten from, say, folktales or fairy tales during the Enlightenment. There's no little cat saying, "Slut! To eat the flesh and drink the blood of your grandmother!" in these stories. They're still great, though! But it's a different period, featuring writers like MacDonald, Thackeray, Wilde, or Nesbit.

I will add that book you mentioned to me TBR pile, though!

Just started, and it already feels like it's going to be something special.

 

[opticalmace]

Are y'all reading regular novels or on ereaders? I've never really used a Kindle for any length of time. I'm kind of interested but it's fun having something to put on your shelf, and something to scuff up as you read it.

 

[Haly]

Both, ereaders are pretty popular here.

Makes reading really easy, if you're the kind that used to read but don't do so anymore, a kindle might be what you need to kickstart that reading habit again.

 

[Pau]

If only I could thumb through the pages of an eReader.

 

[Haly]

Yeah

 

[Kyleripman]

Up to about 30% in (had a lot of time today) and so far, this is the kind of book I wish I had read in college just to have the benefit of a roomful of people to discuss it with! It's clearly working on a few different levels. Starting the book with Norton's

Spoiler

sexual allegations

makes me question everything he does, the relationships he has with people (especially Tallent so far), etc.

 

[Mumei]

If only I could thumb through the pages of an eReader.

Paper the best

Up to about 30% in (had a lot of time today) and so far, this is the kind of book I wish I had read in college just to have the benefit of a roomful of people to discuss it with! It's clearly working on a few different levels. Starting the book with Norton's

Spoiler

sexual allegations

makes me question everything he does, the relationships he has with people (especially Tallent so far), etc.

Yes, definitely. It's almost not worth spoilering considering how early it comes!

 

[Chittagong]

Really funny, has made me literally laugh out loud many times. It's a book of observations by a young north London dad. Each observation is a few pages long, and really captures deep funny thruths like what it's like to notice you forgot a sock in your jeans leg, or how awkward it is if someone unknown walks at the exact same pace next to you.

His earlier book, Awkward Situations for Men was hilarious, too.

 

[Necrovex]

Are y'all reading regular novels or on ereaders? I've never really used a Kindle for any length of time. I'm kind of interested but it's fun having something to put on your shelf, and something to scuff up as you read it.

I used both. I have a dozen of physical novels and a ton of e-books. I typically read my physical books during the sunlight hours and my kindle in the evening.

 

[Uga]

44% into Revival by Stephen King. It's only now starting to turn a bit weird. I like it so far.

 

[Maklershed]

Speaking of Stephen King .. sorta .. Joe Hill's N0S4A2 is $1.99 today. Pretty fun horror. Well worth $2.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NF6Z2K/?tag=neogaf0e-20


NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

 

[Atraveller]

Read Stardust, I like it a great a deal better than the film, which was a fun but generic fantasy movie. Now I gotta catch up on my ASOIAF reread.

Are y'all reading regular novels or on ereaders? I've never really used a Kindle for any length of time. I'm kind of interested but it's fun having something to put on your shelf, and something to scuff up as you read it.

eReader, price(I'm in a non-English speaking country) and mobility make it the king.

 

[Apt101]

Working on We the Drowned. Instant classic. Immediately humorous, then brutal, and all the while thoughtful. I may even have more adjectives by this time tomorrow. Anyways, it's a great book.

 

[Jag]

Fun fact, Corey is actually just a pen name for two authors who collaborate together on these books.

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin series. I can't wait until March 2016 for the conclusion! Just not sure who to give credit for the Expanse.

 

[thomaser]

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. Halfway through, and it's really, really good. It's about a young girl who wants to solve the death/murder of her older brother when she was very little. Can't remember reading anything else that captures the inner life of kids as well as this.

Any Tartt fans here? This is the first of her books that I read, but I also have The Secret Society, and have heard great things about The Goldfinch.

 

[Kyleripman]

Paper the best



Yes, definitely. It's almost not worth spoilering considering how early it comes!

Haha, I almost didn't spoiler it, but figured just in case. Will post later once I get a bit further. So far Norton is not a particularly likable person, though his biographer/editor friend seems completely blinded to that.

 

[Number45]

Finally caved and bought the Matt Damon edition of The Martian. About 10% in and really enjoying it, much more so than other sci-fi I've read recently (pretty new to the genre).

It's like it was designed to show how cool science can be when you apply seemingly mundane experiments to a 'real' situation. Hoping I'll be able to recommend it to my 10 year old daughter when I'm done.

 

[whatevermort]

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. Halfway through, and it's really, really good. It's about a young girl who wants to solve the death/murder of her older brother when she was very little. Can't remember reading anything else that captures the inner life of kids as well as this.

Any Tartt fans here? This is the first of her books that I read, but I also have The Secret Society, and have heard great things about The Goldfinch.

I think that The Secret History is one of the greatest books ever written. The Goldfinch is a bloated book of excellent writing that desperately needed a forceful editor. The Little Friend underwhelmed me - it's good, but after TSH, I wanted OH MY GOD.

 

[fakefaker]

Are y'all reading regular novels or on ereaders? I've never really used a Kindle for any length of time. I'm kind of interested but it's fun having something to put on your shelf, and something to scuff up as you read it.

Have a Kindle that I enjoyed for a while, but ya I missed books too much and haven't gone back to it since. Would maybe use it on a long trip, but I could just take a big book too.

 

[Kyleripman]

Are y'all reading regular novels or on ereaders? I've never really used a Kindle for any length of time. I'm kind of interested but it's fun having something to put on your shelf, and something to scuff up as you read it.

After I moved a couple of times and had to cart endless boxes of books, I switched to Kindle and never looked back. Only real books I buy anymore are special editions or signed copies or whatever - collectibles basically, and those are few and far between.

 

[Jag]

After I moved a couple of times and had to cart endless boxes of books, I switched to Kindle and never looked back. Only real books I buy anymore are special editions or signed copies or whatever - collectibles basically, and those are few and far between.

Moving cured me of book collecting. It's nice to have a pretty bookshelf, but e-readers are just so good for devouring books at a fast clip.

 

[Haly]

If I was an engineer at amazon, I'd add a little plastic flap to the side of the kindle to simulate page turning and it would actually turn the pages.

Practicality be damned.

 

[FUBAR McDangles]

Fairyland is still really good. I could definitely see this being a movie down the line. Very fun.

44% into Revival by Stephen King. It's only now starting to turn a bit weird. I like it so far.

I struggled through about 90% of this before it finally got good for me. That ending was great, especially in comparison to the rest. One of the rare times where Stephen King had a weak build up and strong finish, rather than the typical reverse.

Good luck.

Speaking of Stephen King .. sorta .. Joe Hill's N0S4A2 is $1.99 today. Pretty fun horror. Well worth $2.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NF6Z2K/?tag=neogaf0e-20


NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

Thanks. I was interested in this a while back but completely forgot about it.

Should be good to read near the end of October.

 

[Nymerio]

If I was an engineer at amazon, I'd add a little plastic flap to the side of the kindle to simulate page turning and it would actually turn the pages.

Practicality be damned.

That would actually be amazing. Even better if they had something similar to simulate flicking through pages. Could be just a couple of plastic flaps stacked together so it feels somewhat like a book.

 

[kswiston]

Moving cured me of book collecting. It's nice to have a pretty bookshelf, but e-readers are just so good for devouring books at a fast clip.

Also, books weigh a ton. I don't know how many books I own, but it's at least hundreds, and moving them is the world's largest pain in the ass. Especially textbooks.

E-books don't take up physical space, and with the constant Amazon deals, I buy most of them for $2-6.

 

[Kyleripman]

Moving cured me of book collecting. It's nice to have a pretty bookshelf, but e-readers are just so good for devouring books at a fast clip.

Yep, I was always a big reader, but I read so much more now.

If I was an engineer at amazon, I'd add a little plastic flap to the side of the kindle to simulate page turning and it would actually turn the pages.

Practicality be damned.

I know it's not the same, but this is why I will stick with my Kindle 3/Keyboard (with buttons) for as long as I possibly can. I also use the keyboard on it all the time to search.

 

[Haly]

I think the big hurdle is refresh rate. If they ever solve that, and your kindle becomes as responsive as an iPad, it's going to be amazing.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

That would actually be amazing. Even better if they had something similar to simulate flicking through pages. Could be just a couple of plastic flaps stacked together so it feels somewhat like a book.

Tack on a little sound effect to that and boom.

 

[Cade]

Guys I'm going nuts trying to find an upcoming book. I don't remember the title but it was Sci-Fi (or fantasy), had a female villain protagonist, and was written by a female writer for Destiny. I read an interview with them and it sounded interesting and some of the Destiny lore is great, but I can't find anything anymore. Anyone know?

 

[thomaser]

I think that The Secret History is one of the greatest books ever written. The Goldfinch is a bloated book of excellent writing that desperately needed a forceful editor. The Little Friend underwhelmed me - it's good, but after TSH, I wanted OH MY GOD.

Nice, glad I have The Secret History in the shelf, then!

 

[Masenkame]

Guys I'm going nuts trying to find an upcoming book. I don't remember the title but it was Sci-Fi (or fantasy), had a female villain protagonist, and was written by a female writer for Destiny. I read an interview with them and it sounded interesting and some of the Destiny lore is great, but I can't find anything anymore. Anyone know?

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson seems like it would fit. It's a fantasy novel released last month, by a male author who's written lore for Destiny. I haven't read the novel, but have read online that the female protagonist is morally ambiguous. I've heard it's a pretty good novel. Hope that helps.

Edit: Found this article over at Clarkesworld with Destiny lore writers. Kind of interesting, since I've read work by all those authors except Dickinson. They're all good, so I might have to check out Destiny.

 

[linkboy]

Just finished a fan made twilight princess novel.

I'm going to start Clive Cussler's Fargo series next.

 

[JaseMath]

Will be finishing The Dark Tower while on the plane to LAX later this evening. It's my second read-through and I'm liking it much more the second time than my first.

After that, jumping into Ready Player One.

 

[Cade]

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson seems like it would fit. It's a fantasy novel released last month, by a male author who's written lore for Destiny. I haven't read the novel, but have read online that the female protagonist is morally ambiguous. I've heard it's a pretty good novel. Hope that helps.

This is it. I don't know why Seth became a girl in my mind, or why it became sci-fi, but thanks man. Will definitely check it out.

 

[Mr.Mike]

Learn you a Haskell for Great Good maybe isn't what usually would be posted here (It's a programming book), but I've been really liking it. Programming books tend to be terrible, dull technical tomes. Learn you a Haskell for Great Good on the other hand, is kinda whimsical, while still doing a good job explaining things. Separate from the book itself, learning functional programming is a fun, enlightening and novel experience for someone who's mostly only had experience programming in the traditional imperative (and often object-oriented) style.

Also, the book is freely available online.

The other book I've been reading is The Brother's Karamazov. I started reading this book mostly out of historical interest in 19th century (read, pre-Soviet) Russia, and the philosophy of the time. I definitely haven't been disappointed.

 

[Piecake]

Mumei, please tell me why After Appomattox is so good

 

[Mumei]

Mumei, please tell me why After Appomattox is so good

It's basically a reframing of the Reconstruction story that foregrounds the role of the military in the post-Appomattox period, with arguments over declaring the end of the war and the continuation of war powers (where the military had broad powers to override civil authorities, jail people, depose civil servants, etc.), and showing repeated ebbs and flows (mostly ebbs) of military presence on the ground and military authority led to an inability to maintain the occupation of the South and made it so that there were wide areas of many states where there was essentially anarchy.

Plus David Blight provided a quote on the back, so that alone basically makes it required Civil War / Reconstruction reading, you know?

 

[Piecake]

It's basically a reframing of the Reconstruction story that foregrounds the role of the military in the post-Appomattox period, with arguments over declaring the end of the war and the continuation of war powers (where the military had broad powers to override civil authorities, jail people, depose civil servants, etc.), and showing repeated ebbs and flows (mostly ebbs) of military presence on the ground and military authority led to an inability to maintain the occupation of the South and made it so that there were wide areas of many states where there was essentially anarchy.

Plus David Blight provided a quote on the back, so that alone basically makes it required Civil War / Reconstruction reading, you know?

Thanks, that does sound like a book that I will be including when I get to my Civil War/Reconstruction period of American history review/actually learning and remembering it project.

If you are still interested in the period, you should definitely check out these two books

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1054644.Apostles_of_Disunion

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13707548-freedom-national

 

[Jintor]

I think the big hurdle is refresh rate. If they ever solve that, and your kindle becomes as responsive as an iPad, it's going to be amazing.

Yup.

E-ink movie viewer. My eyes will thank me

(actually I'd be happy just with a reliable e-ink manga reader)

By the way, is there an external website beyond Amazon's Daily Deal tracker that tracks all kindle books that get reduced to <$10 or $2 or whatever? Seems like there's hidden deals all the time but they're never promoted for some reason.

 

[bitizenbon]

This is my first Murakami book, and I've been meaning to read it for about six months. I'm fifty pages in and, although I'm enjoying it very much, I have no idea what's going on or where the story is going!

Just my type of novel.

Any thoughts on The Wind-up Bird Chronicle?

 

[Zona]

Sort of Lovecraft-Light mixed with nostalgic Americana, I found it enjoyable but not hugely deep. You can see hints of the style he adopted in City of Stairs.

It's a Victorian novel, in which all the characters are dragons. It worked for me, but remember it's a Victorian novel complete with hugely unlikely coincidences leading to a pat ending.

I'm also making my way through The Book of the New Sun series. I was hesitant to pick it up after reading some of Gene Wolfe's newer books and being turned off by the almost stream of consciousness style. I'm enjoying this quite a bit more and will move onto the Book of the Long Sun series once I'm finished.

 

[gabbo]

Will finally finish this.
Worth as an interesting follow up to the original so far unless the last 40 or so pages drop the ball. I wish I hadn\t waited so long after reading the first book, as some of the overall metro layout has slipped my mind and this novel is less concerned with how they all fit together (and not sharing the same protagonist doesn't help at times).
A murky, grim look at the human condition when pushed to the edge of extinction. A little more grounded (since the Dark Ones arent involved)

I'm looking for more alt-history and/or [originally] non-English science fiction, and hope GAF can provide a few examples.

 

[FnordChan]

For now though I think I might try reading a random Heinlein. I've never read his novels before but I picked up one from a used bookshop. It is called "The Cat who walks through Walls" or something like that.

I'm a fan of Heinlein and am always happy to see folks picking his work up, but I'm afraid you stumbled across one of the absolute worst ways to start reading the man. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls heavily references (and assumes you've read) several of Heinlein's earlier novels and was written well into his Dirty Old Man Without An Editor period. Now, I maintain that Heinlein could write the phone book and it would be pretty entertaining, and if you're already getting into the book and digging it that's totally great. That said, you may want to set it aside and go for another Heinlein novel as a starting point; The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is my personal favorite and is one of the key books you'd want to have under your belt if you do try to give The Cat Who Walks Through Walls a go.

Meanwhile, I spent most of the weekend reading The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher, the first book of his new steampunk series The Cinder Spires. I tore through it in three days, so I reckon I liked it. Butcher has fun with the steampunk tropes (up to and including coming up with a reason for everyone to have goggles), doesn't dwell overly on the worldbuilding (though he does provide a reason why everyone is tooling around in airships), takes a bunch of likeable characters and sends them right into the middle of all hell breaking loose (with plenty of action, derring do, and so forth), and generally has big fun with the whole setup. Also, at one point Butcher goes really out of his way to set up a terrible pun, which I can respect. Oh, and the setting has sentient cats with opposible thumbs who are incredibly arragont and enthusiastically violent. They're practically the best part of the whole damn book.

I also recently read the first four novels in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, i.e. the Napoleonic era with dragons. They've been absolutely terrific in an addictive, historic serial fiction sort of way. The only reason why I took a break from the series was that I was excited for the new Butcher novel and I'm still waiting for the ffith Temeraire book to arrive in the mail. I'm excited to get back to it in short order.

FnordChan

 

[CaptainofIndustry]

Reading through Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. It's pretty good. I read the first two books last month and enjoyed them. I wanted a change of pace after reading The Stand by Stephen King which I thought was good, but had a disappointing ending.

 

[opticalmace]

I'm a fan of Heinlein and am always happy to see folks picking his work up, but I'm afraid you stumbled across one of the absolute worst ways to start reading the man. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls heavily references (and assumes you've read) several of Heinlein's earlier novels and was written well into his Dirty Old Man Without An Editor period. Now, I maintain that Heinlein could write the phone book and it would be pretty entertaining, and if you're already getting into the book and digging it that's totally great. That said, you may want to set it aside and go for another Heinlein novel as a starting point; The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is my personal favorite and is one of the key books you'd want to have under your belt if you do try to give The Cat Who Walks Through Walls a go.

Meanwhile, I spent most of the weekend reading The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher, the first book of his new steampunk series The Cinder Spires. I tore through it in three days, so I reckon I liked it. Butcher has fun with the steampunk tropes (up to and including coming up with a reason for everyone to have goggles), doesn't dwell overly on the worldbuilding (though he does provide a reason why everyone is tooling around in airships), takes a bunch of likeable characters and sends them right into the middle of all hell breaking loose (with plenty of action, derring do, and so forth), and generally has big fun with the whole setup. Also, at one point Butcher goes really out of his way to set up a terrible pun, which I can respect. Oh, and the setting has sentient cats with opposible thumbs who are incredibly arragont and enthusiastically violent. They're practically the best part of the whole damn book.

I also recently read the first four novels in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, i.e. the Napoleonic era with dragons. They've been absolutely terrific in an addictive, historic serial fiction sort of way. The only reason why I took a break from the series was that I was excited for the new Butcher novel and I'm still waiting for the ffith Temeraire book to arrive in the mail. I'm excited to get back to it in short order.

FnordChan

Thanks for the advice. I also have a copy of "Stranger in a Strange Land", which I didn't realize (and have not yet read). I am enjoying Cat so much I think I will finish it and then get to Stranger and also pick up the one you mentioned, Moon/Mistress. I love the way Heinlein writes, the humour is fantastic.

 

[You Know Nothing]

Reading through Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. It's pretty good. I read the first two books last month and enjoyed them. I wanted a change of pace after reading The Stand by Stephen King which I thought was good, but had a disappointing ending.

I haven't read much King, but disappointing endings are like his modus operandi.

 

[FUBAR McDangles]

I haven't read much King, but disappointing endings are like his modus operandi.

As a recent King fan, I agree. Most of his books that I have read have let down endings.

If you want the opposite, go ahead and read Revival (talked about this last page).

Or for a consistently good (great) book, read 11/22/63

 

[Nuke Soda]

Read 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz. I found it lacking. The characters were not good and one or two flat out sucked, I'm looking at you Winny and Mickey Dime. I must admit the initial horror mystery was interesting, until you had the answers. Then things kind of went into a who cares phase, but I was so close to the ending that I finished it, by the last 50 pages I was more interested in being able to say I finished it than the actual reading of it. All in all it wasn't a terrible book, but it isn't one that will be remembered.

 

[Ephidel]

By the way, is there an external website beyond Amazon's Daily Deal tracker that tracks all kindle books that get reduced to <$10 or $2 or whatever? Seems like there's hidden deals all the time but they're never promoted for some reason.

There's ereaderiq (you can select UK/US/CA stores on the top left of the screen) which seems to catch a lot of them, though not all. You can limit the search function to certain price ranges, and you can also import/set up wishlists with the prices you're prepared to pay and it will notify you if titles hit that mark.