For real. People looking for their next fantasy fix should really check out Among Others by Jo Walton. If you like genre fiction, it's like a love letter to you. More people should read it. Nominated for a Hugo this year as well.
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What are you reading? (April 2012)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
For real. People looking for their next fantasy fix should really check out Among Others by Jo Walton. If you like genre fiction, it's like a love letter to you. More people should read it. Nominated for a Hugo this year as well.
I'm like you, I have trouble finding a balance.
Reading is more of a day time activity for me and gaming is more of a night time activity. When I get home from work I sometimes just like to lay out on the hammock in my backyard, and read a chapter. Later on in the night I might play 45 minutes or so of a video game. Of course Neither is a daily activity. I skip days frequently. I also take really long to finish books and video games. I am still working on New Vegas, and I bought it around the time it came out.
Castor Krieg
Banned
No reasonable progress thanks to work. Job really changes stuff for you, same way as the baby. I started ME3 March 6th, now I'm 20 hour in, didn't play anything else.
I read when I cannot game e.g. on a train or bus. I go visit my gf every weekend so that's 2.5hrs of reading time one way.
The good side of it is my purchases are limited, I'm in no need to get any portable console, etc. Very nice to see money growing in your account.
I binge read and binge game. I will get in the mood to read and will chew through several books in just a few days, then not read anything for a week or two. Same with games, I will get into a game and just play it until I finish or get bored neglecting any other recreational activities.
Been lazy as fuck with reading in the past month or so. But I set myself a new standard of 50 to 100 pages a day. Currently reading this now. (100 pages in).
Enjoying it thus far; interested in seeing how much better it's going be than the mess of the miyazaki movie that adapted it.
Enjoying it thus far; interested in seeing how much better it's going be than the mess of the miyazaki movie that adapted it.
2/3rds of the way through The Tin Drum by Günther Grass. A spectacular book! Haven't been so enthused with a book for a long time.
This week, I'll have to put it away, though, and read Dead Right by Peter Robinson. It's for school. First time we've been assigned a crime story. Has anyone here read it? It's in the Inspector Banks series.
This week, I'll have to put it away, though, and read Dead Right by Peter Robinson. It's for school. First time we've been assigned a crime story. Has anyone here read it? It's in the Inspector Banks series.
I think the book is way better, though the movie was okay. I probably would have enjoyed the movie more if I never read the book first. lol.Been lazy as fuck with reading in the past month or so. But I set myself a new standard of 50 to 100 pages a day. Currently reading this now. (100 pages in).
Enjoying it thus far; interested in seeing how much better it's going be than the mess of the miyazaki movie that adapted it.
They changed it so much from the source.
Castor Krieg
Banned
"Nothing to Envy" will be finished soon, so now it's time for 1 fiction book. Help me GAF! Which one to pick?
Pushing Ice
Feed
Farseer Trilogy Book 1
Among Others
Mistborn Book 1
Leviatan Wakes
Night Circus
Should be easy, right? I enjoy hard sci-fi, as well as unique fantasy. Loved Dune, and LotR, etc., etc. Looking for larger-than-life characters, plots, etc.
Pushing Ice
Feed
Farseer Trilogy Book 1
Among Others
Mistborn Book 1
Leviatan Wakes
Night Circus
Should be easy, right? I enjoy hard sci-fi, as well as unique fantasy. Loved Dune, and LotR, etc., etc. Looking for larger-than-life characters, plots, etc.
I really liked Night Circus.
Maklershed
Member
My personal vote is for Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series (starts with The Dragonbone Chair). It's good stuff and its a three book series so it doesn't drag out forever.
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
Pushing Ice! Pushing Ice! Pushing IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIce!
I just finished re-reading/finishing all 13 Dresden Files books over the course of last month and a bit into this month (re-reading 1-9 and first time reading 10-13). Currently, I'm reading Side Jobs to continue my Dresden fix, but man, it's making me sad that I have to wait till the fall to read the next book. Sure, DF isn't a paragon of deep, thoughtful writing, but it's damn good and fun as hell. Easily the best "just for fun" series I've read.
Hmm...I'd say either Farseer (wonderful trilogy) or Pushing Ice.
I'm in a sci-fi mood myself lately, so I'll say Pushing Ice.
I'm able to make pretty decent progress on books by reading right before bed. Usually knock out about an hour a night when I'm on a book I really love. Gaming is more of a daytime thing for me. I mostly play in the late afternoon before my wife gets home.
My problem isn't so much balance, but laziness. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, I start slacking off and don't read anything for weeks and weeks. Don't know why, it's pretty random. Been in a rut right now since February, haven't felt like reading anything despite a massive backlog =[
My personal vote is for Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series (starts with The Dragonbone Chair). It's good stuff and its a three book series so it doesn't drag out forever.
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
Pushing Ice! Pushing Ice! Pushing IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIce!
I second both suggestions!
Castor Krieg
Banned
Pushing Ice it is then. I really want to try Revelations Space, but I noticed the whole series runs for 7-8 books.
Thanks guys!
Thanks guys!
Glad you liked it!
Since I recommended it, heh!
Found it in a leave a book, take a book pile in the laundry room. Pretty happy about that find once I started reading it.
Finished Kitchen Confidential and really liked it. Will have to read the "sequels" now. Now I'm finishing up Legacy of Kings by C.S. Friedman.
Which reminds me, for those looking for classic fantasy, don't miss her Coldfire Trilogy. First book is Black Sun Rising, and has one of the best characters in all of fantasy literature. Gerald Tarrant.
http://www.amazon.com/C.-S.-Friedman/e/B000AQ1TUO
Maklershed
Member
A million thank yous. I've passed my copy on here at work to get other people to read it.
Any more recommendations for books that are similar - set in space, exploration of the unknown, Mass Effectish?
I'm not that well versed in scifi tbh, I kinda stumbled upon Pushing Ice. And I haven't played Mass Effect, so that doesn't really help me.
I'll let you know if I find something similar. Although Leviathan Wakes might be something like that. You might've already read it, it got quite a bit of buzz last year as it is a collaboration between Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (who does something which I can't recall with/for GRRM). I quite liked it, and it has some exploration aspects to it. But it does seem to be somewhat polarizing.
Oh, and Against a Dark Background by Ian Banks was pretty good as well, even if some parts were weird and parts of the ending left me kinda cold.
Neither is as good as Pushing Ice tho.
http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-Expanse-James-Corey/dp/0316129089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334075390&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Against-Dark-Background-Iain-Banks/dp/0316036374/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334075680&sr=1-1
Going to try Stars My Destination after Legacy of Kings, which I've seen recommended here.
Maklershed
Member
Thanks for the recommendations. I just purchased the Leviathan Wakes book. That'll probably be next on my Kindle list when I finish Free Will Flux.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Put away the Sherlock Holmes collection to read something else inbetween. Read 7A, a novel for teenagers by Bjarne Reuter, Anthony Horowitz's Sherlock Holmes novel The House of Silk from last year (it was pretty good), and currently reading Language of the Dead, a horror novel by Elin Brodin and Henning Hagerup.
It's been several years since I've read it, so I dunno how well it has held up. But I remember liking it a lot back when I read it. And it is a classic!
I'm halfway through it and started it like 2 weeks ago. Stalling hard cause the pacing is so terrible.
I don't think the pacing is bad at all. It's just an incredibly dense book.
video games is a social activity for me - when my roommates come and want to play, i join them.
reading is obviously a solitary activity - i'll take my dog out and read out in union square park or a random bench someplace.
my balance is heavily weighted towards books, though.
foomfoom415
Member
I loved Perdido Street Station, but I thought the pacing was pretty bad in the last 1/3 or so. it took me 3 or 4 days to read the first 1/3, and a week and a half to get through the last 1/3.
Still, I really enjoyed the book overall and love the Bas Lag world.
I'll definitely reserve judgment then.
I do think that the book's believable characters and engrossing universe have gone a long way to alleviate any potential problems with the plotting so far. I could just soak in its atmosphere for pages and not even mind.
lunchtoast
Member
Finished Seed the other night. A friend recommended it to me raved how scary it was. All I read was a guy who had to put up with the stereotypical bitchy wife. There was only one scene that was creepy
. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't read most of it during the day.
when daughter starts to do the creepy smile to the mom
We must be reading different editions. In the book I'm reading every single time something reasonably exciting happens the book is then interrupted by a full chapter account of someone travelling through the city to some clandestine meet up. This has happened well over a half dozen times so far in just two dozen chapter. I appreciate the amount of detail that he is putting into the city of New Crobuzon but he does it here at the expense of telling an engaging story.
Well, I guess I find the full chapter accounts of traveling as interesting as the plot development.
Attackthebase
Member
My Facebook friend has failed me, thus I must ask my fellow Gaffers. I'm searching for a book (fiction or nonfiction) that analyze human morality. I am getting the Lucifer Effect tomorrow from Amazon. My interest in this subject has been rekindled, so I wan to indulge in some good literature. (Also, serial killers will also be an applicable subject).
Koroviev
Member
"Crime and Punishment" is amazing. It holds up much better than most classics, imo. Svidrigrailov is a boss.
Listen to Koroviev: Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevski is a given, along with several other of his books. Most of them include reflections and discussions on morality. But C&P is the most important in this regard.
The Stranger by Albert Camus is another great one, and it's much shorter.
British Monsoon
Member
Just finished 'The Left Hand of God' by Paul Hoffman on the recommendation of a friend and found it to be a pretty painful read. The book starts with a strong concept and setting, but deteriorates once the characters step out into the wider world and the grander back-story becomes entirely confused. It's obvious from the outset that the 'Redeemers' are based on Christianity, but as the protagonists travel to a city named Memphis and a host of other Earth-like place names are divulged, it becomes apparent that Hoffman is doing more than drawing similarities to Earth. Then, in the final act, it's revealed that the setting is indeed that of a post-apocalypse Earth and that the main character is an agent of God, his titular Left Hand, who will bring about the end of days. Kind of like Elric of Melnibone, but with none of the subtle nuances or taut and engaging prose of Michael Moorcock's saga. Speaking of which, the writing in 'The Left Hand of God' feels particularly stilted at times, and plain sloppy at others ("could care less"). While Hoffman keeps the pace up well (almost) throughout, the dialogue is such a detriment to any scene setting he's accomplished, especially with the main character, Cale, whose journey from the strange and uncaring child feared by his peers, to that of brooding anti-hero and then lovestruck imbecile, provides ample opportunity for some cringe worthy dialogue peppered with laboured exposition and bad characterisation. As the book wears on there is little about the protagonists to engage the reader, or even make them care, and the confused and sparsely-drawn setting provides a mountain of questions to which we never get any answers, while the prose and dialogue do little to carry the momentum of the book's first act. The biggest flaw of 'The Left Hand of God', however, is that it feels incapable of standing on it's own. Too much seems geared towards that big Epic Fantasy Trilogy, and not enough towards telling a good story that will ensure the reader returns for prospective follow-ups.
And on that note, can anyone recommend some really good recent fantasy releases? This was the first fantasy I've read in a quite a few months, and now I'm in need of more, just preferably not from the above author
And on that note, can anyone recommend some really good recent fantasy releases? This was the first fantasy I've read in a quite a few months, and now I'm in need of more, just preferably not from the above author
Koroviev
Member
Attackthebase might also want to check out "The Grand Inquisitor." That's really heavy stuff, and it's only a chapter of a book. I'd recommend "The Idiot" after "Crime and Punishment." It has great characters and plenty of monologues on morality, but the plot is kind of non-existent.
Just finished:
It was surprisingly good. Skipped the first book since I saw the movie and I like how it carries on nicely. Just started the third book. Don't want to wait years for the movies.
Le sigh.
Pushing Ice
I've only read the book, but I heard that the audiobook is pretty good. They have the author reading it, and multiple voice actors taking on the different characters. It's only available as an abridged audiobook, though they are planning on doing a full length one at some point(?). I'd get the novel if you don't want to miss anything.
bengraven
Member
Wait, the audiobook is abridged? I bought that a year or two ago (still haven't listened to it) and keep meaning to. I love the book and thought the audiobook would be pretty awesome.
I loved the movie, but the book was even better. I still think both have their strengths. I'm not sure why the movie gets so much hate, but then again I'm learning lately that the internet is hostile to my opinions.
Been lazy as fuck with reading in the past month or so. But I set myself a new standard of 50 to 100 pages a day. Currently reading this now. (100 pages in).
Enjoying it thus far; interested in seeing how much better it's going be than the mess of the miyazaki movie that adapted it.
I loved the movie, but the book was even better. I still think both have their strengths. I'm not sure why the movie gets so much hate, but then again I'm learning lately that the internet is hostile to my opinions.
I've been reading Escape from Camp 14. It's an amazing book and a tragic story but one that I am very glad I am reading/learning about. It's definitely the kind of thing that needs more support.
The fact that Shin receives 50% of the profits from the book makes me want to get people to support it too. It's one thing for him to have escaped but when I realised, through the book, that he has no way of making money I was glad I bought the hardback version.
bengraven
Member
Just got a copy of The King's Blood by Daniel Abraham. It's easily one of my most anticipated novels of 2012. Will start it tomorrow.
At first I was like "damn, if Martin loves it, it must be good".
Then I thought about where I heard the name before. Oh. He's the guy who collaborated with GRRM on Hunter's Run and wrote the GOT comic book.
So you'll have to let us know how it is, due to me being skeptical. ha