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What are you reading? (April 2012)

A

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
bengraven said:
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
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He's likely my favourite contemporary writer of Fantasy. Here's my review of the first novel in this series, The Dragon's Path and an interview I conducted with him (which is also linked to in that wiki article you just posted.) He's also incredibly prolific, having published 3 novels last year, one of which is nominated for the Hugo Award for 'Best Novel,' Leviathan Wakes (co-authored with Ty Franck under the pseudonym "James S.A. Corey"). A high level of quality is found across all of the projects he works on.

tl;dr - He's fucking amazing.
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
aidan said:
He's likely my favourite contemporary writer of Fantasy. Here's my review of the first novel in this series, The Dragon's Path and an interview I conducted with him (which is also linked to in that wiki article you just posted.) He's also incredibly prolific, having published 3 novels last year, one of which is nominated for the Hugo Award for 'Best Novel,' Leviathan Wakes (co-authored with Ty Franck under the pseudonym "James S.A. Corey"). A high level of quality is found across all of the projects he works on.

tl;dr - He's fucking amazing.
Click to expand...

Oh interesting, I actually have Leviathon Wakes. I'll keep an open mind.
 
F

Fusebox

Banned
cul_books_king_1114.jpg


Best Stephen King book in years, about 3/4 of the way through and I don't want it to end.

God I hope he doesn't fuck the ending to this one.
 
S

Sarcasm

Member
Hunger Games.

It is hard to get in to the writing style for me. I just finished all Harry Potter books, I enjoyed that series immensely. Though the very ending was kinda meh.
 
M

Mumei

Member
Read a little more of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, but not much. I also picked up bell hooks' Feminism is for Everybody. Really looking forward to that.
 
C

Castor Krieg

Banned
Sarcasm said:
Hunger Games.

It is hard to get in to the writing style for me. I just finished all Harry Potter books, I enjoyed that series immensely. Though the very ending was kinda meh.
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You have no idea how right you are. I am not a native English speaker, but Rowling writes clearly, she is proficient with dialogue and exposition. Collins is a mess next to her.

Made a new topic, but I can post news here as well I guess. Dept. of Justice will sue Apple and all the major publishers for price fixing e-book prices:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/11/doj-formally-sues-apple/


BrokenFiction said:
Not only is there a book, there are two sequels.

House of Many Ways - Diana Wynn Jones (Amazon)

Castle in the Air - Diana Wynn Jones (Amazon)
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WTF is HMC not on Kindle?
 
S

Snowman Prophet of Doom

Member
Read a couple of Brecht plays over the past few days (In the Jungle of City's and A Man's a Man), and... ugh. I don't have a problem with politics or non-realism, but Brecht just did it so POORLY. Hard to believe that such paltry art was some of the most influential of the past century, but then, I guess it was more his theoretical work than his drama specifically that was influential.
 
S

sparky2112

Member
Fusebox said:
cul_books_king_1114.jpg


Best Stephen King book in years, about 3/4 of the way through and I don't want it to end.

God I hope he doesn't fuck the ending to this one.
Click to expand...

It ends well. Took way waaaaay too long to get there, but that's King, I guess. Am I glad I read it? 'Meh'.

I did, however, certainly not say 'Meh' after finishing Nick Harkaway's new one, Angelmaker. I simply love his voice, even if almost every character speaks with it. He's simply too good and too amusing to pick apart all that much. As I said after Gone-Away World and as I'll say again: Harkway is Neal Stephenson mixed with Monty Python.
 
Koroviev

Koroviev

Member
Castor Krieg said:
You have no idea how right you are. I am not a native English speaker, but Rowling writes clearly, she is proficient with dialogue and exposition. Collins is a mess next to her.

Made a new topic, but I can post news here as well I guess. Dept. of Justice will sue Apple and all the major publishers for price fixing e-book prices:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/11/doj-formally-sues-apple/




WTF is HMC not on Kindle?
Click to expand...

Yeah, Apple's agency pricing. I knew something was up when I was browsing the Kindle books and noticed that many books were $12+. Haven't purchased any that had prices set by the publisher. Won't support Apple's bullshit.
 
A

Attackthebase

Member
Koroviev said:
"Crime and Punishment" is amazing. It holds up much better than most classics, imo. Svidrigrailov is a boss.
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thomaser said:
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.
Click to expand...

Koroviev said:
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.
Click to expand...

I'll give those a read once I finish 'The Road' and 'The Lucifer Effect.'

Thanks for the recommendations!
 
B

Bad7667

Member
Fusebox said:
cul_books_king_1114.jpg


Best Stephen King book in years, about 3/4 of the way through and I don't want it to end.

God I hope he doesn't fuck the ending to this one.
Click to expand...
You didn't like Under The Dome? That was the last King book I read and loved it. I love when he creates a small town and has something weird happen to it.

I've been reading this book and I am having a hard to finishing it. Half way, so ill force myself, but its taking longer than I`d like. And for me nowhere near as enjoyable as Under The Dome.
 
C

Castor Krieg

Banned
Started reading "Pushing Ice", very good so far (25% in). Everything is explained well, the science part is not too bothersome, and the action moves rather fast. Really getting "2001" vibe from this one, can't wait to read more!
 
S

Shadow Red

Member
200px-Mockingjay.JPG

With this, I have now finished the trilogy. Overall, it was great and I can't wait to see how the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movie will play out. I would say I like HG>CF>M...just felt that the writing in Mockingjay was a bit messy and there are some plotholes I'd like to be filled.
 
Koroviev

Koroviev

Member
Previewing some books on Kindle. Checking out "Popular Hits of the Showa Era" by the "other" Murakami (i.e. Ryu Murakami), as well as "And Then" by Natsume Soseki. Still considering "Black Rain," but kind of in the mood for something lighter first. Kind of depressing that pretty much any Japanese book will come with recommendations for Haruki Murakami's novels. I really like his work and all, but you'd think he was the one and only brilliant writer Japan has ever produced. Same goes for Russian literature and Dostoevsky. And of course, if you click on a classic, you're just going to get recommendations for other classics/school reading list material.

Don't know why, but I'm kind of in the mood for a book that elicits a "wtf is wrong with you, Japan!?!?"
 
A

Arcteryx

Member
ideafactorycover4hrem.jpg


Not too far into it, but I'm enjoying it so far. Picked it up after reading some stuff about it the past few weeks in the NYT.


Finished off 1Q84 and 11/22/63, wasn't a huge fan of 11/22/63 though(it was pretty fun to read up until about 2/3rds of the way through).
 
X

x-Lundz-x

Member
Fusebox said:
cul_books_king_1114.jpg


Best Stephen King book in years, about 3/4 of the way through and I don't want it to end.

God I hope he doesn't fuck the ending to this one.
Click to expand...

One of my favorite books from last year, I just finished it a few weeks ago actually.

Don't worry, he doesn't.

I'm starting Game of Thrones this weekend. I'm tired of being on the outside.
 
T

Troll

Banned
First I will read

books


Then I want to read

books

I had no idea what happens in Moby Dick until I just happened to read a recent Unwritten comic, totally spoiled the ending of a hundred year old story for me. I was doing good too.
 
M

Mumei

Member
I finished reading Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks yesterday, and I read Roberto Bolano's Tres while going on a walk (which is far less impressive than it might sound; it's extremely short).

Feminism is a great primer for anyone unfamiliar with it, though I feel like she perhaps assumed that her audience knew more than it did (or maybe agreed on some first principles). For instance, I'm not sure whether someone coming into it without having read anything else (relating to feminism) would have gotten how she was connecting various forms of dominance into one kyriarchy, which she then connected together as a part of a larger system of patriarchy.

Though from the parts she quoted from other books, it seems like those probably cover those concerns in more detail. In any case, I think it was fine as far as explaining feminism's goals and how they benefit everyone, but I thought that she could have spent more time explaining the basics for the uninitiated.
 
Koroviev

Koroviev

Member
Mumei said:
I finished reading Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks yesterday, and I read Roberto Bolano's Tres while going on a walk (which is far less impressive than it might sound; it's extremely short).

Feminism is a great primer for anyone unfamiliar with it, though I feel like she perhaps assumed that her audience knew more than it did (or maybe agreed on some first principles). For instance, I'm not sure whether someone coming into it without having read anything else (relating to feminism) would have gotten how she was connecting various forms of dominance into one kyriarchy, which she then connected together as a part of a larger system of patriarchy.

Though from the parts she quoted from other books, it seems like those probably cover those concerns in more detail. In any case, I think it was fine as far as explaining feminism's goals and how they benefit everyone, but I thought that she could have spent more time explaining the basics for the uninitiated.
Click to expand...

If you were able to finish it on a walk, then I would imagine so :lol

OT: Is your avatar Johan from Monster?
 
F

Fusebox

Banned
Happy to report that you guys are right, the ending to 11/22/63 was solid, I really enjoyed it.

I started reading Percy Jackson Lightning Thief yesterday but I think I'll stop. I enjoyed the HP series but this seems to be written for an even younger crowd, I'm having trouble getting into it.

I think I'll read Howls Castle instead!
 
E

Enco

Member
Just over half way with Mockingjay.

Im torn. The story is really interesting but the writing is getting worse and worse. Will hold judgement until the end.
 
kruis

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
Troll said:
First I will read

books
Click to expand...

So many people who want to read that book, but I can't remember anyone posting a positive review of that book her. (I personally think American Gods is hugely overrated. In fact, I couldn't be bothered to finish it)
 
A

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
kruis said:
So many people who want to read that book, but I can't remember anyone posting a positive review of that book her. (I personally think American Gods is hugely overrated. In fact, I couldn't be bothered to finish it)
Click to expand...

It's one of my favourite novels. Is that positive enough?
 
Burger

Burger

Member
After reading Gateway in two days (and loving it) I had to jump straight onto the next. Really enjoying it so far, my first delve into Frederik Pohl.

515D88CkU-L._SS500_.jpg
 
D

Deleted member 8095

Unconfirmed Member
I recently finished The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey. Really fun crime/thriller! Sakey has great voice in his writing and I will definitely be checking out some of his other books. He also hosts the Travel Channel show Hidden City which is also quite enjoyable.
 
K

Karakand

Member
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
Read a couple of Brecht plays over the past few days (In the Jungle of City's and A Man's a Man), and... ugh. I don't have a problem with politics or non-realism, but Brecht just did it so POORLY. Hard to believe that such paltry art was some of the most influential of the past century, but then, I guess it was more his theoretical work than his drama specifically that was influential.
Click to expand...

I was going to recommend you read him in the reply-I-still-owe-your-last-reply-to-me since you just finished Shakespeare, were reading Ibsen (the other 2 playwrights in the commonly-read triumvirate) and liked The Jungle IIRC. How coincidental. :eek:

Both of those plays are from his pre-Marxist, pre-non-Aristotelian (what a ridiculous thing to have to type) writing, so you're not really going to get much out of them. The only work from his "vulgar" era worth consuming (if you're not a Brechtite) is Threepenny.

"High" Brecht, the work he built his reputation on, would be stuff like Mother Courage, Good Person, Life of Galileo, and (in a distant fourth) Chalk Circle. I think a few of the mini-plays in Fear and Misery are also up there, but it's not as read or performed as the others and thus lacks that street cred.
 
S

Snowman Prophet of Doom

Member
Karakand said:
I was going to recommend you read him in the reply-I-still-owe-your-last-reply-to-me since you just finished Shakespeare, were reading Ibsen (the other 2 playwrights in the commonly-read triumvirate) and liked The Jungle IIRC. How coincidental. :eek:

Both of those plays are from his pre-Marxist, pre-non-Aristotelian (what a ridiculous thing to have to type) writing, so you're not really going to get much out of them. The only work from his "vulgar" era worth consuming (if you're not a Brechtite) is Threepenny.

"High" Brecht, the work he built his reputation on, would be stuff like Mother Courage, Good Person, Life of Galileo, and (in a distant fourth) Chalk Circle. I think a few of the mini-plays in Fear and Misery are also up there, but it's not as read or performed as the others and thus lacks that street cred.
Click to expand...

Eh, I read Mother Courage, and I'm just kinda convinced that he's a boring writer. It's a good idea for a concept and main character (the ultimate pragmatist mother trying to survive during and profit off of a holy war), but the execution was so... boring. Brecht just seems so consumed with his cardboard-thin conception of politics that he never thinks about what an audience might conceivably want to actually read or watch.
 
C

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
kruis said:
So many people who want to read that book, but I can't remember anyone posting a positive review of that book her. (I personally think American Gods is hugely overrated. In fact, I couldn't be bothered to finish it)
Click to expand...

It's probably the worst book I've read by Gaiman. Great idea, terrible execution. It just drags on and on and on and it's all just so boring.
 
C

Ceebs

Member
kruis said:
So many people who want to read that book, but I can't remember anyone posting a positive review of that book her. (I personally think American Gods is hugely overrated. In fact, I couldn't be bothered to finish it)
Click to expand...

I really liked it despite the ending being a bit anti-climatic. It's not his best, but I would read it over 90% of the genre fiction that gets posted in these topics.
 
Emerson

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
The God of Nonexistence said:
4th movie, what the actual fuck? They're turning the worst book of the series (Mockingjay) into two movies? That's just adding insult to injury.
Click to expand...

I don't know if it's true or not but I'll never forgive Harry Potter for starting this book-splitting nonsense. So wholly unnecessary and from now on probably every single mainstream phenomenon will do it.
 
E

Enco

Member
Just finished Mockingjay.

200px-Mockingjay.JPG


Not sure what to think.

Pro's
+ Reading on the new iPad is awesome
+ The series is pretty interesting
+ The characters are all pretty great
+ The whole act in the Capitol is brilliant

Con's
- The ending didn't really give a conclusion for many fairly big characters which sucks
- I didn't like how
so many characters such as Finnick died
- The ending felt a little shallow. I wouldn't call it a happy ending. It's bittersweet I guess. Don't really like how some characters were given seemingly rushed endings
- The writing gets worse and worse as the books go along
- The
death of Snow
was very, very anti-climatic

P.s. Yes, I stole the book cover from Shadow Red above
 
Setre

Setre

Member
Finished Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman as well as Storm Front by Jim Butcher. Both books were enjoyable but they both dragged at times. Going to start reading this next:

51XY8E8S7SL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg
 
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