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[Freeza Under The Shower]

Still reading:

Page 408/1200

I plan to finish some time in summer.

that [not so loved book] is 1200 pages?

Fuck me, I figured it was an easygoer of some kind.

 

[FiRez]

Just finished: The old mand and the sea (8/10) and The Transformation by Kafka (6/10), still waiting for my copy of "On mice and men" and "El aleph" from amazon, in the mean time I am currently reading the 2nd issue of the zine from the literary board of 4chan: http://zwg.wildwestwaffles.com/, my story appears in this issue, is called "Dream" if you happen to read this issue, please let me know what you think about it.

 

[finowns]

This was good.

 

[RdN]

Pretty good so far.

 

[Kuraudo]

Finished reading:

My first Neal Stephenson book and I was kind of blown away by it. Great characters, great action set pieces, some very nice technical and legal stuff without resorting to BS and it's effortlessly funny without becoming facetious or parody. Had a lot of fun with it and came away feeling a little bit smarter. Great stuff.

Now reading:

About a third of the way in so far and it's a good read, but pretty disappointing following the first two novels. It's just really slow moving and lacking the ideas that Hyperion was generously filled with. I find the narrator pretty unlikable too (compared to the Keats cybrid in Fall), which isn't helping.

I'm enjoying it, but it takes some effort to pick it up at times, so I'm mixing it up by also reading:

Only a couple of chapters in. I'm not the biggest fan of alternate world fantasy right now, but I'm liking the world Mieville's building here.

 

[Flizzzipper]

I'm reading Let the Right One In right now.

But you know, I buy all my books online and most for my kindle now but I was at Wal Mart yesterday and strolled over to the book section. I'm pretty sure nearly half of the books were on vampires.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Chalion's Curse and the sequels.

 

[Ruuppa]

.. but I'm pretty stupid, so half of it goes over my head like something bad. I think. I'm just not sure anymore!!

I'd rather go back to reading Lovecraft's Omnibus 3, but I bet money on finishing this one.

 

[Salazar]

.. but I'm pretty stupid, so half of it goes over my head like something bad. I think. I'm just not sure anymore!!

Ray Monk's biography of Russell is a fabulous means of getting to his character and ideas. You don't have to be too philosophically competent or confident to make your way through it. Likewise Monk's biography of Wittgenstein.

 

[Alex Connolly]

Re-reading Ralph Peters' utterly solid tale of what a non-nuclear Soviet invasion of Western Europe would have been like, and from the perspective of the Soviet front-liners themselves. Spellbinding. World in Conflict - the novel, essentially...but even for the most cynical and haters of Clancy-esque fiction, this is intense reading.

 

[Danoss]

Whoops..

Read through this book in like 4 days, maybe the best I've ever read:

Thanks, Jedeye Sniv

Was just about to post this. I'm just starting to read this now.

 

[blazinglord]

I have been a bit insular lately and have been reading books by authors who are probably unknowns outside the UK:

Book by a guy who was Fleet Street's youngest tabloid editor at the time of his appointment, but got fired by Murdoch.

A defence lawyer who has gained infamy for defending unpopular figures including terrorists.

Both books are pretty good if you're interested in topical issues and public figures localised to the UK.

 

[Dedalus]

Just got done with:

Already a third of the way through:

(damn good read so far, can't put it down)


And got this one lined up when I'm done:

 

[Fuzz Rez]

Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia and Omertà (sequel to godfather).

Loving Cosa Nostra to the max but not really feeling Omerta. Then again I really didn't like Godfather novel either so don't really know why I picked up Omerta in the first place.

 

[X26]

Recently read:

Enjoyed it, the writing and the characterization espeically, but overall it went way, way, wayyy over my head

Two Robert Goddard mysteries, neither very good and the twists were pretty underwhelming

Mildly entertaining, but man this guy is a crappy writer, so much out of place dialouge and his naming conventions are embarassing. Hopefully the second is better...

Currently reading:

...the hell? How is his writing actually worse? Not too far along but the issues with the first book are even more pronounced sofar in this one

Halfway through, pretty dumb and mindless which is about what I'd expected

~200pgs in and loving it, much more enjoyable than kafka sofar

 

[Maklershed]

Finished Pirate Latitudes and I'm on to Alas, Babylon

 

[eznark]

Anyone read the Horus Heresy Warhammer series? Any good? Playing Chaos Rising and been debating picking up the first one.

 

[Monroeski]

Anyone read the Horus Heresy Warhammer series? Any good? Playing Chaos Rising and been debating picking up the first one.

Haven't read it myself but I've heard a lot of good things.

 

[BlueTsunami]

Picked this up from the Library two days ago...

Two chapters in and I absolutely love his ability to paint this futuristic landscape with his words. Its fantastic. He can make this technological landscapes sound beautiful and awe inspiring.

 

[Frostburn]

Just finished the excellent second book of A Song of Ice and Fire:

Just started reading the third book and loving it already:

After I finish that I'm going to take a break from the series to "hopefully" give Martin more time to finish book 5 (In my prefect world) so I can read books 4 & 5 back to back. I've bought this to read:

 

[KidDork]

Only a couple of chapters in. I'm not the biggest fan of alternate world fantasy right now, but I'm liking the world Mieville's building here.

This was my favourite of his books. His years of playing RPGs really shines through here.

As for me, I'm halfway through this:

Abercrombie's work is similar in style and tone to George R.R. Martin and Steve Erikson, so I was pretty much won over by the third page. His action sequences are a lot of fun--he really makes you wonder just who is going to survive to the end of the book, since nothing in this world--nothing-- ever seems to go easy.

 

[Stahsky]

Sorta reading this:

 

[Blindfutur3]

Still reading:

Page 408/1200

I plan to finish some time in summer.

Also reading this.

Page 932/1200

Was a slow burn until about page 700, but I've enjoyed it a lot since.

 

[eznark]

I'm about 80 pages into The Warded Man and I don't see the point. Might delete it. I was starting to like the kid from the first part and now the author changed focus. I don't know if I can slog through another torturous 64 pages to get to some payoff, only to switch perspective again.

 

[m3k]

Really digging the series. Thinking of picking up the Darksword trilogy after this; if I can find it. Anyone have any thoughts on it?

read the beginning... i did not like it

but perhaps i should try again since i dismissed it at a younger age pretty hastily

 

[eznark]

Oh wow, I read a few chapters of the girls story in The Warded Man. You have got to be kidding me with the birth control/abortion stuff. This is the most clumsily written shit I have read in ages. I thought the same when he was talking about the incestuous dad but gave him a pass. That he keeps writing like this...yeah, awful.

Sorry GAF, but Peter Brett is an atrocious author, unless he wrote the first half of this book at 12 and then came back and finished it as an adult.

 

[Frostburn]

Oh wow, I read a few chapters of the girls story in The Warded Man. You have got to be kidding me with the birth control/abortion stuff. This is the most clumsily written shit I have read in ages. I thought the same when he was talking about the incestuous dad but gave him a pass. That he keeps writing like this...yeah, awful.

Sorry GAF, but Peter Brett is an atrocious author, unless he wrote the first half of this book at 12 and then came back and finished it as an adult.

Eww that doesn't give me much to look forward to... Anyone else reading or finished with The Warded Man? I know someone on GAF said it was quite good and the story seemed interesting from the way it was described, is the writing that bad?

 

[aidan]

Eww that doesn't give me much to look forward to... Anyone else reading or finished with The Warded Man? I know someone on GAF said it was quite good and the story seemed interesting from the way it was described, is the writing that bad?

I enjoyed The Warded Man, but Brett doesn't really change or evolve over the course of the novel or the next one (The Desert Spear). If all that stuff is bothering you now, the series likely isn't for you.

I recently reviewed The Desert Spear, if any one's interested.

 

[Bananakin]

Mildly entertaining, but man this guy is a crappy writer, so much out of place dialouge and his naming conventions are embarassing. Hopefully the second is better...

Pretty much my feelings exactly. I don't considering myself a very discerning reader, but this is one of the few books where I said "Wow, this writing is kind of...bad." Dialogue was pretty awful at times. I got some enjoyment out of it, but it was bad enough to turn me off the rest of the series.

...the hell? How is his writing actually worse? Not too far along but the issues with the first book are even more pronounced sofar in this one

...and now I don't feel too bad about not reading any further.

 

[Salazar]

I picked up that Brent Weeks trilogy for $10 Aus from a newsagency. I would have been annoyed to have paid more, but it was entertaining.

 

[eznark]

I enjoyed The Warded Man, but Brett doesn't really change or evolve over the course of the novel or the next one (The Desert Spear). If all that stuff is bothering you now, the series likely isn't for you.

I recently reviewed The Desert Spear, if any one's interested.

The "stuff" isn't bothering me, I have no problem with well-written incest, rape and murder (as karakand knows if he read Father & Son) it's his ridiculously juvenile approach to it. I just picture Steve Carrel from 40 Year Old Virgin trying to describe breasts whenever Brett attempts to discuss anything remotely sexual. You call it "breezy" and "vanilla," I call it the stuff of a hack and honestly, embarrassing. The proverbial straw was the discussion about birth control but glancing back through the book the whole thing is written about that well.

It probably doesn't help that I was thoroughly unimpressed with most of what I read before that though.

Nitpick time; The boy asks how many people live in a city. Man answers thirty thousand. Boy looks quizzical. Man has to explain that "a thousand is ten hundreds." Skip forward a few pages where the origin story is being told by a minstrel to the village (including the boy) and the minstrel tells an obviously familiar tale about how the demons appears three thousand years ago. Why does no one question "thousand" in this case?!?

Nice review though, I had no idea he wrote the book on a blackberry.

 

[ultron87]

Anyone read the Horus Heresy Warhammer series? Any good? Playing Chaos Rising and been debating picking up the first one.

The first three books that came out (Horus Rising, False Gods, and Galaxy In Flames) were pretty enjoyable. They show Horus' fall from a very cool perspective.

I kind of got tired of the books after that as they pretty much became "Watch how this Space Marine chapter deals with the Heresy!" If they ever get to the Battle of Terra I'd be willing to pick the books back up again, as they are a good popcorn read.

If you're looking for any Warhammer 40k stuff I'd suggest the Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett.

 

[movie_club]

For a class, has anyone read it?

 

[Tim the Wiz]

Given a cliched beginning that could be ripped straight out of your grandmother's favourite soap opera, you wouldn't think the impact of this latest entry in the Dresden series would be such a bloody kick to the shins - in a good way, that is. The title says Changes and it's no false promise - revelations, choices, destruction, etc. abound large and small. All I can say is: No wonder the final Codex Alera book was as flat as it was. Butcher was writing this motherfucker.

Spoiler

And he has more balls than the entirety of the urban fantasy set put together. Harry's abilities, past and relationships have come home to roost in progressively startling ways. This is a nice big sloppy fuck you to the casual procedural fans. The series is straight-up serialized fantasy from here on out.

 

[Guileless]

I just finished a novel, Churchill's Triumph by Michael Dobbs. It's the fourth in Dobbs' series of novels about Churchill. The last one is about Yalta and the consequences of the end of the war, Churchill coming to tems with Britain's diminished role, and the origins of the Cold War. This one is very depressing, which is surprising considering the title and how we assume everything was great as the war in Europe was winding up.

The point of this book is that it wasn't great for people in Eastern Europe. I do recommned the series though, especially as a starting point for anyone who wants to start reading history. The author has a great eye for detail. The books read like suspense novels, with historical figures and some fictional ones mixed in to drive plot. The first, Winston's War, was my favorite.

 

[CiSTM]

Done. It wasn't really what I expected but it was still good read. I would loved to hear more stories from the authors point of view and less "news paper cliping info". Yet the whole Mafia secene in Italy is so fascinating that I couldn't put the book down. Chapter covering the Di Lauro Clan and secessionists war was really interesting. Same goes for the chapter that told more info about the women clan leaders.

 

[∀ Narayan]

Outstanding, so far.

 

[LordPhoque]

 

[seal_club]

For a class, has anyone read it?

yep. super bizarre book, but very compelling. title leads you to believe it's about some internet infatuation rather than the life and times of a midget albino working at a freak show with its invariably freakish kin.

just started this one:

looking forward to seeing where it goes.

 

[norinrad]

Third book is for a class

 

[Kuraudo]

Got this for Easter:

Been threatening to read it for nearly a decade now. Been years since I last read anything purely literary.

 

[crowphoenix]

Finished reading through this one a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it. After the Wheel of Time series, it was nice to move to a book that moved at a brisk pace, or maybe I'm just comparing a snail to a brick.

Anyway, His Majesty's Dragon is an alternate history retelling of the Napoleonic war with Dragons. It deals with Will Lawrence, a captain in the British Navy who, upon capturing a French ship, finds himself in possession of his very own dragon.

This, obviously, means that Lawrence is now one of Brittan's Avators and must go off to learn how to be one properly. It's a fun little book. Lawrence is definitely a prime and proper character, so seeing him interact with the less cultured aviators was always good for a smile.

The only problem with the book is that there are two characters, mother and daughter, that have the same last name, and Novik uses the name for both of them. It didn't really bother me, but it gave a friend of mine fits.

Anyway, after that, I decided, Lord help me, that I had to read something that I should have read years ago. So, I moved onto,

I'm about 90 pages in, and I hate Holden Caulfield more than I've hated a character in a long while. He has absolutely sapped my desire to finish this book, which is a shame because it is well written.

Help me, Gaf. Am I missing something here?

While rebuilding a desire to finish it up, I'm rereading Nightwatch by Pratchett.

 

[shamo42]

Outstanding, so far.

Fantastic science fiction. On par with the original "Rendezvous with Rama".

Will start reading this:

 

[Lamel]

It's Not About the Bike - Lance Armstrong

The book provides a very good view on what the guy had to face going through cancer and what's even more remarkable is his near miraculous recovery. I recommend it. Side note, the cycling parts may be intense for most but they might bore the living snot out of some.

 

[The Judge]

Want to read

Do it. Very interesting book.


As for myself, I'm torn between re-reading A Song of Ice and Fire and starting Hyperion for the first time. Probably going with Hyperion after mid-terms are over.

 

[Lard]

Starship Troopers by Heinlein

 

[Schlep]

Glad to see that I'm not the only dork reading a book based on a game. :lol I'm hoping that the next one makes it to the iBooks store by the time I'm done with this.

 

[brianjones]

I'm about 90 pages in, and I hate Holden Caulfield more than I've hated a character in a long while. He has absolutely sapped my desire to finish this book, which is a shame because it is well written.

Help me, Gaf. Am I missing something here?

ya.. he's too cool for you

 

[Kola]

Amazing, witty, funny. Heine was probably the best critical mind of his times.

Just started that one. I love Greene, I'm probably gonna love this book, too. Since I'm moving to Vietnam for a few months this book is a bit of a preparation for the Vietnamese culture. The first novel I read about Vietnam since Duras "L'amore".

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Just finishing Jan Guillou's Crusades trilogy. Enjoyed it a lot.