What are you reading? (April 2012)

Castor Krieg said:
My Kindle arrives today, I have a 5-hour train trip tommorow. I'm going to be reading this:

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Fantastic, if depressing.
 
Keen said:
What do you think of Pushing Ice?
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Really loving it so far. It's got a bit of a Dead Space feel to it .. not to say the stories are similar in any way. And I'm loving the element of the unknown and exploration. Unless the second half falls apart I think overall this is gonna be one of my favorite books that I've read in the past year or two.
 
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I know you guys hate him around here. I decided to finish the SoT series (Took a little break) before moving on to The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.
 
Endymion from Dan Simmons. So far liking it more then Fall of Hyperion. Although M. Bettik is a bit too much of a R. Daneel Olivaw clone for me.
 
Monocle said:
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A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
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Just finished this on Saturday; loved it!

It has recently occurred to me that I do not read enough non-fiction. To remedy this, I am stealing the strategy that another gaffer came up with, and I will be reading one nonfiction for every fiction; just switching off after every book. I just started reading this:

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In college, I had a "Cultural Anthropology" course as an elective. It was one of the more interesting courses I ever took, so this seems like it'll be a good fit.
 
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Want to stay ahead of Season 2. Read almost half the book before the premiere and I'll likely finish the book this week so it shouldn't be an issue.
 
I haven't posted in a book thread in awhile. I haven't been reading much prose... too bogged down in manga and stuff. I have this huge backlog of books lying around from back when Borders closed I'm going to be slowly chewing through.

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Super old Tim Powers, with all the typical weird crunchy magic you'd expect in a Powers book. I like the lead, who's a middle-aged mercenary who's probably too old for the shit going down in the book.
 
about to start but it's been so long since i read the first 2. anyone know where i can find summaries of the first 2 books?

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Jintor said:
I have always been curious about this series (I got a little burned on a similar series, Kushiel's Dart). Could you tell me more about it?

I was going to grab Pale Blue Dot but there's no Kindle Edition and I'm going overseas in a week so I don't really want to order it off Bookdepository right now. Maybe when I get back. In the meantime, stocking up on Kindle samples to see what I like.
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It's dark, gritty, and full of violence. There isn't a lot of "fantasy" in it, it's more about the lives of thieves, politics and scheming. It takes a bit for the author to find his rhythm, but once he does, you're in for a wild ride. Also, the series doesn't pull any punches, like a R rated documentary, for it's a brutal world the author has created.

Hope you enjoy the series if you get it!
 
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Dutch translation. Technically, I just finished it. My local library loaned out the third one so I'll have to wait until it gets back before I can finish the series. So far, I'm impressed.

Not sure what I'm gonna pick up next. Just spent a few hours going through the library's online catalog, and there's a few scifi interesting scifi novels I might check out.
 
About a quarter of the way into Warbreaker:

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I'm not blown away by it so far but I like the characters and the world. Certainly seems Sanderson-ey for better or worse.
 
Now reading:

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Halfway through The Tin Drum by Günther Grass. It has a really original feel to it, and I love every page. The main character is unique, to say the least. Can't remember reading anything else so... distinctive. I see it's the first book in the "Danzig" trilogy. Will get the other two for sure, even if the three books don't seem to be closely related - they only happen in the same town during the same years.
 
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Currently reading this. I'm only 1/4 of the way in, and enjoying it. My only real gripe so far is that it switches between characters so rapidly. Sometimes it feels like I'll only spend 2 or 3 pages on one character before it switches to the next, then 3 pages later I'm back to the first. It's not all that bad, it just makes it really hard to pick up any kind of momentum.

Canuck76 said:
Guys make me a feel a little better. I was trying to read Ananthem by Neal Stephenson. Couldn't. Just got so bogged down in all of the descriptions and 150-200 pages in, nothing's happened i go to wiki and the first sentence (of the sequence of events) has not happened

I've given up and moved on to Clash of Kings. I had Ananthem for a while so i decided to pause my song of fire and ice reading but i just can't guys.

Tell me I'm justified please

I just wanted to repost tell me I'm somewhat justified. Are all Neal Stephenson's book's super slow/really descriptive?
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You're absolutely justified. If you aren't feeling a book, there's no reason to waste your time on it. I absolutely loved Anathem and it was probably my favorite book of 2008, but if you're not sucked into the world, you might as well bail out. Even though it can take a while for the primary plot thread to get started, I doubt your feelings on the book would change once you got started.

I wouldn't abandon Neal Stephenson altogether yet though. He really has a pretty diverse catalog. (The only attribute that all his novels seem to share are people complaining about the endings). If you didn't enjoy Anathem, you may not enjoy his Baroque Cycle, but Snow Crash and Diamond Age are very different beasts and I wouldn't write them off based on Anathem. I would definitely give Cryptonomicon a chance too. Though it's as thick as Anathem, I think the meat of the story picks up pretty quickly (but I could be wrong, it's been a decade since I read it).

In any case, this has given me the itch to read Anathem again, and after that I'll probably give his REAMDE a read. Anyone have any thoughts on that? I know literally nothing about it.
 
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Finished Ham on Rye, I loved it. It kind of reminds me of my childhood lol. Next I think I'll read When You Are Engulfed in Flames or Escape from Camp 14
 
x-Lundz-x said:
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I know you guys hate him around here. I decided to finish the SoT series (Took a little break) before moving on to The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.
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What do you think of the series? I picked up the first 3 books for about $6 total and have not read them yet. As you said, he gets a lot of hate around here even though for the first few books are quite well liked at other places, so I am not sure what to expect once I read them.
 
Hanzou said:
What do you think of the series? I picked up the first 3 books for about $6 total and have not read them yet. As you said, he gets a lot of hate around here even though for the first few books are quite well liked at other places, so I am not sure what to expect once I read them.
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My own two cents: The first six books are decent, and better than most people give them credit for. Not good, by any stretch, but alright for some popcorn reading. Naked Empire is the worst book I've ever finished.
 
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Recommended to me by a friend. I was really put off by the cover, for obvious reasons, but after giving it a chance, it really makes me think about the person I used to be when I was with my ex.
 
Trying to read Dark Tower book 1. I can't even get past the first page. I want to like this series. I need to push on but I just can't focus.
 
siddx said:
Trying to read Dark Tower book 1. I can't even get past the first page. I want to like this series. I need to push on but I just can't focus.
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I really struggled to enjoy the first book and was about to quit the series once I'd finished it, but for a friend who urged me to read the second book. I did, and fell in love with everything afterwards. If you need to, just move onto The Drawing of the Three, it's a very different experience from The Gunslinger and more representative of the overall series. Once you're done, go back and read The Gunslinger for a great perspective on the events that happen in it.
 
aidan said:
I really struggled to enjoy the first book and was about to quit the series once I'd finished it, but for a friend who urged me to read the second book. I did, and fell in love with everything afterwards. If you need to, just move onto The Drawing of the Three, it's a very different experience from The Gunslinger and more representative of the overall series. Once you're done, go back and read The Gunslinger for a great perspective on the events that happen in it.
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I might try that, because like I said I really want to enjoy this series, I'm missing a good multi part epic in my life.

I'm a little annoyed I can't get the whole series as one package deal on my kindle though. Don't want to pay for each individual book.
 
Reading this now, about 3/4 through, one of the best sea stories I've read.

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And anxiously awaiting the release of this tomorrow:

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siddx said:
Trying to read Dark Tower book 1. I can't even get past the first page. I want to like this series. I need to push on but I just can't focus.
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Don't worry, it gets good. I hate the first book but love the series overall.
 
Started reading this on sunday night, finished it monday night, always a sign of a fun read when I can't put it down...

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aidan said:
I really struggled to enjoy the first book and was about to quit the series once I'd finished it, but for a friend who urged me to read the second book. I did, and fell in love with everything afterwards. If you need to, just move onto The Drawing of the Three, it's a very different experience from The Gunslinger and more representative of the overall series. Once you're done, go back and read The Gunslinger for a great perspective on the events that happen in it.
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I wouldn't recommend skipping it. I understand that the first book can be a struggle, especially of you're reading the old unrevised version, but it's important to read it to appreciate where the story goes. It's only about 230 pages, which you can knock out in a day or two.

With that said, I'm confused by people who don't like the book, because I personally love it. Finished it yesterday and am 45% into book two now.
 
It finally went up for download so :

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Been looking forward to this since it was first announced. Can't wait to blow through it in a day :)
 
aidan said:
My own two cents: The first six books are decent, and better than most people give them credit for. Not good, by any stretch, but alright for some popcorn reading. Naked Empire is the worst book I've ever finished.
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As someone else who has actually finished this series, I would mostly agree with this except for some caveats. I'd only say the first 3 (maybe 4) books are fun reads. I really enjoyed the first 3 and then I hated the 5th one (Soul of Fire) and then really liked the next one again. Then the series takes a huge nosedive and never really lets up. Pillars of Creation is way worse than Naked Empire imho.
 
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