Finished Never Love a Gambler, and now I'm about 60 pages into:
It's pretty good so far. Starting to pick up.
Not a well received book. Interested to hear what you think of it.
What are you reading? (January 2016)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Not a well received book. Interested to hear what you think of it.
MDSVeritas
Member
About 100 pages into Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings. It's been a long while sense I've had the rush of being able to dig into a new fantasy world. Can't wait to get further.
Left Hand of Darkness is great stuff. I wasn't sure how much I'd really enjoy it even about half way through, but once you begin to see how well the characters develop and what the journey ends up being on the whole it's fantastic.
Just happened to finish Ready Player One about two weeks ago. The 80s trivia never lets up, but the story moves at a nice pace, and it's a fun and easy-to-read adventure.
I finished reading Death by Water by Kenzaburo Oe today. It's a really interesting novel that basically goes out of its way to break the "show don't tell" rule. I think part of his motivation for writing it is to give the people who run creative writing workshops a coronary, really.
Anyway, I really liked it, but if you are looking for your first Oe I would suggest A Personal Matter first.
Anyway, I really liked it, but if you are looking for your first Oe I would suggest A Personal Matter first.
Axelstream
Member
As am I. I'm the only person I know of who liked it, and I liked it quite a bit!
Dandy Lyin
Member
Just finished The Well of Ascension. The second half of the book was much more compelling than the first and I was pretty satisfied with how it ended.
I spent a whole 5 minutes debating whether I should take a break from Mistborn for a few weeks before diving into The Hero of Ages. The beginning drew me in very quickly -- hope it can keep me entertained the whole way through!
I spent a whole 5 minutes debating whether I should take a break from Mistborn for a few weeks before diving into The Hero of Ages. The beginning drew me in very quickly -- hope it can keep me entertained the whole way through!
Glitchesarecool
Member
There's a great book on the early days of Nasa, Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Gene Kranz. Dude was part of the entire origins of Nasa. Or are you looking for something with a bit more focus on the overall broad picture of the Soviets vs USA?
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey: Just finished this; it took a while to read this, not because it was slow going, but just because I had a bit of a struggle to make time for it at times. I had previously read Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang and not really liked it much; this was a huge improvement, in my opinion. Stylistically, especially, this was much more readable. 500 pages long, it feels a bit weird, structurally; it takes about 250 pages for the titular characters to meet, and huge, huge developments are crammed into the last 75 pages or so. That aside, I enjoyed it, and it's a vivid portrait of Australian colonial society.
Lazarus v.2 by Greg Rucka & Michael Lark: The first volume introduced a fairly confined cast of characters, within the ruling family of a particular part of a post-apocalyptic America where everything is run by oligarchs; here there's a pretty distinct group introduced, as well follow a very Grapes of Wrath-esque journey by some poor in search of a better future. It all ties together at the end, in the process expanding our sense of the series' world quite a bit. Rucka's a great writer, and I like how this series is going so far.
Lazarus v.2 by Greg Rucka & Michael Lark: The first volume introduced a fairly confined cast of characters, within the ruling family of a particular part of a post-apocalyptic America where everything is run by oligarchs; here there's a pretty distinct group introduced, as well follow a very Grapes of Wrath-esque journey by some poor in search of a better future. It all ties together at the end, in the process expanding our sense of the series' world quite a bit. Rucka's a great writer, and I like how this series is going so far.
I've nearly finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. It's alright. It's light and engaging and made a good holiday read.
From a few pages back regarding the books we most want to read in 2016, for me there are too many and it changes all the time, but the books I absolutely will read in 2016:
The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Thanks for this, the different ways male and female authors write about love is something I've thought about, so this was really interesting.
... adds Knausgaard to my must read in 2016 list.
From a few pages back regarding the books we most want to read in 2016, for me there are too many and it changes all the time, but the books I absolutely will read in 2016:
The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Thanks for this, the different ways male and female authors write about love is something I've thought about, so this was really interesting.
... adds Knausgaard to my must read in 2016 list.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
I'll check that out! Thanks!
MultiJhonny
Banned
Yup no problem! They only adapted the first 3 to the anime thus far. But all the novels are going to be translated. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the 5th and 6th at the end of this year as well.
Just finished Storm Front, by Jim Butcher. Pretty fun book and a very easy read. I heard from others that the first two books in this series aren''t as good as the rest, so I'm quite curious for the rest.
Now I can either read Dracula (Bram Stoker), Bridge of Birds (Barry Hughart), or Hyperion (Dan Simmons). I think I'm gonna start with Bridge of Birds next, but I haven't decided yet.
I haven't read his previous books, although I've seen the movie adaptation of Never Let Me Go. I tend to try and step outside of popular criticisms and see for myself. With this book I had not much of an idea what I was getting into.
The beginning 20-30 pages weren't terribly interesting, but the characters, dialogue and plot are starting to become more interesting and developed as I read. I am curious how it compares to his previous books. I can see how people would be turned off from this book, because it has more of a simple premise that seems inspired by a fairytale or something similar. I'll come back with my full impressions after I finish it.
TheExhaustedWalrus
Member
Just finished this:
I enjoyed it, although it was brief and didn't beat around the bush. I found out I have similar quirks to Steve Martin, which is comforting. Stand-up seems brutal.
I enjoyed it, although it was brief and didn't beat around the bush. I found out I have similar quirks to Steve Martin, which is comforting. Stand-up seems brutal.
180 pages into City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett and am really enjoying it. The world seems to be built on a solid and interesting foundation. For a book about world building though the writing has felt neither boring nor dry, which is to be expected in a book setting up a new world.
Just finished Wool or the Silo series. Decent read but it felt a bit by the numbers to me. Then again I've read a lot of stories with similar settings and stories so I may just be a bit moor critical.
Just started Annihilation and I can already see why people compare it to A Roadside Picnic. Not completely sold yet but I'll continue with it.
Just started Annihilation and I can already see why people compare it to A Roadside Picnic. Not completely sold yet but I'll continue with it.
You Know Nothing
Member
I just finished Wool and really liked it but j don't tend to read a lot of dystopian stuff.
The stuff I have seen or read doesn't really go into what happened or has very little people or stuff to learn along the way. And this book went in the opposite direction: pretty much what I want out of dystopian stories.
It wasn't a bad read by any means, I enjoyed it. Just felt that it did what a lot of other stories with the same set up but I don't think that it was the authors intent to go bigger or dig into the history of the world.
Was a smaller scale character driven storystory . And it worked well as that.
Wouldn't mind either. I'm assuming I'm going to be reading a lot about it eventually. :3
Bridge of Birds may still be my favorite book ever. Just an absolute joy of a book to read. Never did pick up the sequels though.
BrokenFiction
Member
I think the sequels are an absolute delight. It's a shame that Hughart never wrote anymore, but it sort of makes the books we have even bigger gems.
Dylan Sexbang
Banned
Hello Reading GAF. I just bought myself a Kindle Paperwhite, it arrived today. I've been wanting to read lately, I used to read plenty in my free time in high school, but I've needed something to keep me occupied aside from video games, work and GAF.
wanted something short to start out with, so I'm currently reading A Clockwork Orange. My next book I'm planning to read is The Martian, and no I haven't seen the movie. Feels good to read again though! Turn off the TV, put the phone on silent and get lost in a book. Can't wait to expand my library.
wanted something short to start out with, so I'm currently reading A Clockwork Orange. My next book I'm planning to read is The Martian, and no I haven't seen the movie. Feels good to read again though! Turn off the TV, put the phone on silent and get lost in a book. Can't wait to expand my library.
Finished reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, massive book, but thoroughly enjoyable. Entire time reading it, I kept thinking this is like Bakuman if it was set in WW2 America and was written by someone competent.
Also read Sidewalks by Valeria Luiselli. The only book by her that I haven't read yet. Unfortunately it was a bit disappointing. A collection of essays about her trip to Venice to visit the grave of Joseph Brodsky and some other musings. But most of the writing just wasn't captivating. Which is surprising considering her fictional books, The Story of My Teeth and Faces in the Crowd were just great and creative.
Also finished reading Senslessness by Horacio Castellanos Moya. It's very much like his other book that I read, The Dream of My Return. A paranoid man in Latin America who thinks the government's agents are everywhere after him. Although in this one, the protagonist ends up being justified at the end.
Also read Sidewalks by Valeria Luiselli. The only book by her that I haven't read yet. Unfortunately it was a bit disappointing. A collection of essays about her trip to Venice to visit the grave of Joseph Brodsky and some other musings. But most of the writing just wasn't captivating. Which is surprising considering her fictional books, The Story of My Teeth and Faces in the Crowd were just great and creative.
Also finished reading Senslessness by Horacio Castellanos Moya. It's very much like his other book that I read, The Dream of My Return. A paranoid man in Latin America who thinks the government's agents are everywhere after him. Although in this one, the protagonist ends up being justified at the end.
nailbombxx
Member
I started reading a couple of stories from the collection Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
My impressions so far? Absolutely phenomenal. I feel like I'm reading the effortless work of a genius. The two stories I've read are Tower of Babylon and Hell is the Absence of God.
Both stories have heavy religious themes but question the nature of God. The Tower of Babylon is a story about a colossal pillar erected in Babylon, built upon for centuries and centuries into the sky to penetrate the "vault of heaven", with hopes to make contact with God and see more of his creation. Hell is the Absence of God is a story in which the existence of God is undeniable: souls of the deceased can be seen ascending to heaven or descending to hell, visitations by his messengers are not too uncommon occurences, often performing miracles as well as bringing destruction in their wake. At its core, it is a story about man's complex relationship with God, the struggle to find meaning in his unpredictable actions.
The first thing that really struck me with Ted Chiang's work is that he was able to take such fascinating ideas and write about them in a way that works and makes sense, in a way that is immediately appealing, in a way that is both profound and relate-able without being superfluous. His work is so compelling that whenever I start one of his stories I just can't put it down. I can't wait to read the rest of his stories.
EDIT:
Haven't read much of Mieville's stuff but let me plug in an unjustly obscure author that is commonly mentioned alongside him: Michael Cisco. Cisco is a writer of incredible talent, and his stuff is about as weird as it gets.
Start with the Divinity Student.
Here is what I wrote about it in the previous thread:
My impressions so far? Absolutely phenomenal. I feel like I'm reading the effortless work of a genius. The two stories I've read are Tower of Babylon and Hell is the Absence of God.
Both stories have heavy religious themes but question the nature of God. The Tower of Babylon is a story about a colossal pillar erected in Babylon, built upon for centuries and centuries into the sky to penetrate the "vault of heaven", with hopes to make contact with God and see more of his creation. Hell is the Absence of God is a story in which the existence of God is undeniable: souls of the deceased can be seen ascending to heaven or descending to hell, visitations by his messengers are not too uncommon occurences, often performing miracles as well as bringing destruction in their wake. At its core, it is a story about man's complex relationship with God, the struggle to find meaning in his unpredictable actions.
The first thing that really struck me with Ted Chiang's work is that he was able to take such fascinating ideas and write about them in a way that works and makes sense, in a way that is immediately appealing, in a way that is both profound and relate-able without being superfluous. His work is so compelling that whenever I start one of his stories I just can't put it down. I can't wait to read the rest of his stories.
EDIT:
Haven't read much of Mieville's stuff but let me plug in an unjustly obscure author that is commonly mentioned alongside him: Michael Cisco. Cisco is a writer of incredible talent, and his stuff is about as weird as it gets.
Start with the Divinity Student.
Here is what I wrote about it in the previous thread:
If that sounds cool to you, then dig in. Just don't expect to understand everything at first and enjoy the ride!
Quote
Member
Does anyone have any tips or remember a time where it just "clicked" when it came to fast reading?
I wonder how much of it is concentration vs. actually reading quick. I find myself having to re-read sentences/paragraphs often because i'll keep reading even though i'm thinking about something else.
I wonder how much of it is concentration vs. actually reading quick. I find myself having to re-read sentences/paragraphs often because i'll keep reading even though i'm thinking about something else.
Glitchesarecool
Member
I can slide over sentences pretty well, for me it relies on not having any kind of other language communication going on as well as particular interest in the writing. Music is fine as long as there aren't vocals. But if I don't care what's going on, I find myself getting the "eyes glossed over" state of mind. I think the interest thing is really key for being able to process the information quickly.
Quote
Member
Yeah. I do find it's much easier after the first 25%. By then i'm pretty involved.
Though, in some cases the openings can be so strong that I fly through it.
Tragicomedy
Member
Finished this a couple of hours ago. It's preeeetty good. Well-paced epic fantasy with some solid action and fight scenes. Great characters. Think of it as a more modern Three Musketeers. The villains were stale but unobtrusive to the story. Four stars.
I'm also wrapping up the novel for The Force Awakens. Don't bother. If you've seen the movie (and who hasn't?) then there's almost nothing new here. It feels like it was lifted directly from the screenplay with minor fleshing out. I was expecting some additional insight into the story, but so far only three new minor things to speak of (SPOILERS if you haven't seen the film, but they are nothing if you have):
(1) Maz Kanata is NOT a Jedi but has been around for over a thousand years and is sensitive to the Force; (2) the reason the resistance knew to go rescue Han, Finn, Rey, and Chewie on that planet is C3PO had sent out an alert to droids everywhere to notify him if they encountered BB-8 and one did when they entered the bar; (3) Unkar Plutt, the slug looking dude who gave Rey rations for salvage, actually tracks her down at Maz's bar...after a confrontation, Chewie literally rips his arm off and tosses it across a table.
Wonder Boys is pretty good. Read it for a college class.Kavalier and Clay was great. I love Chabon's prose and look forward to picking up Wonder Boys at some point in the future.
Onward to The Confusion. Feels really good to be in this world again and I'm liking the structure with more rapid switching between the characters.
I've heard it and Werewolves in Their Youth are good. I've enjoyed Kavalier and Clay and Yiddish Policemen's Union quite a bit.
set a goal this year for 25 books, well above my usual 5-8ish of recent years but unambitious enough that I think it could get me into a more regular pattern of 15-20 a year. so far:
The Crying of Lot 49 enjoyed it quite a lot. My first Pynchon. Funny and knotty, truly does capture Southern California accurately. Plenty of unforgettable turns of phrase, as well. "Shall I project a world?" has been stuck in my head all month.
Zeroville Plenty of arresting imagery and the occasional novel insight into film spectatorship. Mostly, however, a kind of Forrest Gump aimed at cinephilesand even counting myself among that group, this is frequently annoying when its characters actually talk about movies. It makes sense that Vikar's descriptions of movies would be generic and reference-dependent to the point that the identity of the movie being discussed becomes an obscure puzzle, but the other characters talk about movies and music the same distractingly unrealistic way. Instead of "Vikar goes to see Possession" Erickson writes "Vikar goes to see a movie by a Polish director starring the woman who was Victor Hugo's daughter in the movie where she follows her soldier-love to Nova Scotia," and boy does it get exhausting. The added confusion isn't constructive in any way, only serving to further mark references to X-Ray Spex and Force of Evil as hip. Clarity can be cool.
Couple chapters into Black Wings Has My Angel, endearingly descriptive so far, all kinds of colors and textures. Much as I like the Spillane I've read this kind of hard boiledness is more my speed.
Trying not to cheat on my goal by only picking "easy" reads but a ton of stuff on my reading list just happens to be in the 100-200 page range. This, Train Dreams, Between the World and Me, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. Guess I should just not fret over length and simply read what interests me.
The Crying of Lot 49 enjoyed it quite a lot. My first Pynchon. Funny and knotty, truly does capture Southern California accurately. Plenty of unforgettable turns of phrase, as well. "Shall I project a world?" has been stuck in my head all month.
Zeroville Plenty of arresting imagery and the occasional novel insight into film spectatorship. Mostly, however, a kind of Forrest Gump aimed at cinephilesand even counting myself among that group, this is frequently annoying when its characters actually talk about movies. It makes sense that Vikar's descriptions of movies would be generic and reference-dependent to the point that the identity of the movie being discussed becomes an obscure puzzle, but the other characters talk about movies and music the same distractingly unrealistic way. Instead of "Vikar goes to see Possession" Erickson writes "Vikar goes to see a movie by a Polish director starring the woman who was Victor Hugo's daughter in the movie where she follows her soldier-love to Nova Scotia," and boy does it get exhausting. The added confusion isn't constructive in any way, only serving to further mark references to X-Ray Spex and Force of Evil as hip. Clarity can be cool.
Couple chapters into Black Wings Has My Angel, endearingly descriptive so far, all kinds of colors and textures. Much as I like the Spillane I've read this kind of hard boiledness is more my speed.
Trying not to cheat on my goal by only picking "easy" reads but a ton of stuff on my reading list just happens to be in the 100-200 page range. This, Train Dreams, Between the World and Me, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. Guess I should just not fret over length and simply read what interests me.
TheChewyWaffles
Member
Whoever mentioned The Passage, thank you!!! Now moved on to The Twelve.
I think Erickson does this to blur the line between history and fiction. Using real names and titles places the narrative squarely inside an existing reality or history. By refusing to name names he shifts it all slightly out of wack, to a universe where a frame of film could hold the secret meaning of existence.
Also, the entire book is written in a dreamy, hazy, defiantly unreal style, so I think the lack of specificity is fitting.
Atraveller
Banned
It's still not out on American Amazon ;_;Finished Memories of Ice, probably my favourite out of the three so far, time to read something else.
Start adding books to wish list, and use this to track prices, Amazon has sales from time to time.Hello Reading GAF. I just bought myself a Kindle Paperwhite, it arrived today. I've been wanting to read lately, I used to read plenty in my free time in high school, but I've needed something to keep me occupied aside from video games, work and GAF.
wanted something short to start out with, so I'm currently reading A Clockwork Orange. My next book I'm planning to read is The Martian, and no I haven't seen the movie. Feels good to read again though! Turn off the TV, put the phone on silent and get lost in a book. Can't wait to expand my library.
Love love love this! This is one of those books where you want it to never end.
Yeah, the whole series for me. Love the characters. Backed this one on KS and got it autographed. Michael Sullivan is a really cool and down to earth guy who responds to emails (at length!) and really cares about his fans.
He writes quickly too. He has a full series of 5 books ready to go that are just waiting for the publisher release dates. That's refreshing when compared to a few other well-known authors/series =)
sparky2112
Member
Such an unexpected change of pace following Quicksilver. Loved it. Jack is just the best...
City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeet.
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