Just wondering if you've ever read his Sandman graphic novels. If you haven't I would definitely suggest them as they are more in line with what you're describing.
What are you reading? (August 2012)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Just wondering if you've ever read his Sandman graphic novels. If you haven't I would definitely suggest them as they are more in line with what you're describing.
I know the facts.
PhoenixSFT
Member
It took me forever to get through the first 80 pages, but that's because the prose is so dense. It's a really intriguing book though, I'm on the 3rd "story".
eattomorro
Neo Member
Finished off Sacred games by Vikram Chandra which was really enjoyable. Started There goes the Galaxy by Jen Thorson and it's already made me chuckle in the first couple chapters.
Just curious if anyone knows of a good steam punk novel/series to start into the genre with? I think Kevin J. Anderson is coming out with one soon.
Just curious if anyone knows of a good steam punk novel/series to start into the genre with? I think Kevin J. Anderson is coming out with one soon.
nakedsushi
Member
Yeah the first story is the hardest to get through, I think. It's a shame though, because the book is great but some people end up not reading it because of that first story.
dream
Member
I'm with you on this. I thought it was a terrible book with some of the worst characterization I've come across in quite some time. Yet the world Morgenstern creates is so incredible, which probably contributed even more to how much I hated the novel.
BrokenFiction
Member
Knocking about with a little:
RockAction
Member
Meant to go onto the third part in a trilogy, Grand Design by John Dos Passos but got derailed and am now reading this; le brocquy's images are excellent
Just finished this:
I liked that it was a stand alone since so much of what I read winds up being these massive ten volume sets. Sanderson really has some fresh and interesting new ideas for magic systems that I've seen in a long time. The dialogue is well written and legitimtely witty. The only prolem I had with the book was one of the main characters, Vivienna. She was so cliched and her section of the story seemed to drag all the time. It didn't help that she wound up receiving problem the largest amount of page time either. Also, while the ending did tie most things up, it also left me a little unsatisfied. Still a good read though. I think I also only counted two instances of eyebrow raising
I'm a little undecided on what to start next. I have three books still sitting on my bookshelf but as there is no resolution of any of them coming anytime soon, I don't know if I should just wait until the later books come out.
My choices are Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and Way of the Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I've also been thinking about maybe picking up Heroes by Joe Abercrombie.
What should I read next. What say you GAF?
I liked that it was a stand alone since so much of what I read winds up being these massive ten volume sets. Sanderson really has some fresh and interesting new ideas for magic systems that I've seen in a long time. The dialogue is well written and legitimtely witty. The only prolem I had with the book was one of the main characters, Vivienna. She was so cliched and her section of the story seemed to drag all the time. It didn't help that she wound up receiving problem the largest amount of page time either. Also, while the ending did tie most things up, it also left me a little unsatisfied. Still a good read though. I think I also only counted two instances of eyebrow raising
I'm a little undecided on what to start next. I have three books still sitting on my bookshelf but as there is no resolution of any of them coming anytime soon, I don't know if I should just wait until the later books come out.
My choices are Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and Way of the Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I've also been thinking about maybe picking up Heroes by Joe Abercrombie.
What should I read next. What say you GAF?
Currently I am reading my first Dicken's novel in David Copperfield. I've heard that this is one of his best books and one of the better novels of all time. However, I just can't get in to it. I'm about 300 pages through and it has been a bore to me.
Some of it so far has been enjoyable, but most sections just seem tedious and drawn out.
I hope there is something that I'm missing, or maybe I'm still in the early stages and it will soon get better?
I hate to put it down, but I don't know if I could commit to read the last 500 or so pages.
Some of it so far has been enjoyable, but most sections just seem tedious and drawn out.
I hope there is something that I'm missing, or maybe I'm still in the early stages and it will soon get better?
I hate to put it down, but I don't know if I could commit to read the last 500 or so pages.
Mackenzie 92
Member
I finished this up and really loved it. I'd recommend it if you love football and italian food. I had the munchies the entire time I was reading this.
Playing For Pizza by John Grisham
I'd go with Heroes. Great book and if you're planning on picking up Abercrombie's next book in October it will refresh the world for you. Well that's assuming you've read all of his other books since they're all related.
Playing For Pizza by John Grisham
I'd go with Heroes. Great book and if you're planning on picking up Abercrombie's next book in October it will refresh the world for you. Well that's assuming you've read all of his other books since they're all related.
Maybe make it one of those long-term books while you read something else. That's what I'm doing with Emma. :/
PhoenixSFT
Member
Knocking about with a little:
When you're done, post how it was, I've been interested in the book for a while but haven't picked it up yet.
Just finished this:
I liked that it was a stand alone since so much of what I read winds up being these massive ten volume sets. Sanderson really has some fresh and interesting new ideas for magic systems that I've seen in a long time. The dialogue is well written and legitimtely witty. The only prolem I had with the book was one of the main characters, Vivienna. She was so cliched and her section of the story seemed to drag all the time. It didn't help that she wound up receiving problem the largest amount of page time either. Also, while the ending did tie most things up, it also left me a little unsatisfied. Still a good read though. I think I also only counted two instances of eyebrow raising
I'm a little undecided on what to start next. I have three books still sitting on my bookshelf but as there is no resolution of any of them coming anytime soon, I don't know if I should just wait until the later books come out.
My choices are Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and Way of the Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I've also been thinking about maybe picking up Heroes by Joe Abercrombie.
What should I read next. What say you GAF?
Lies is fun, but throwaway. Name of the Wind is good, but you might not like the sequel. Way of Kings is interesting, but it's very long and just the beginning. I personally thought Heroes was Abercrombie's worst book so far.
I'd go with Lies or Name of the Wind.
Just started it. No idea what it was about going in (still not really sure). Picked it because I just bought a Kindle Touch and it was available from the public library in Kindle format.
Have you read Spook Country and Pattern Recognition? Won't get the references, etc. if you didn't.
Just Finished
Now Reading
What did you think of the Bill Simmons book? I've been interested for awhile.
I loved it, but then again, I love me some Bill Simmons. If you are worried about it being biased, don't be, it's pretty level headed. Kindle version sucks though because the footnotes are all at the very end of the chapters, and some of the chapters are very long. It links back, at least on iPad, but it's a pain in the ass.
ShadyMilkman
Banned
Finishing up:
It's a pretty fun read. I always like No Reservations so it was cool to get the background on his career.
Also, does anyone have any good recommendations on any horror? I'm in the mood for something scary, but I've never gotten in to the genre in terms of books and don't know where to begin.
It's a pretty fun read. I always like No Reservations so it was cool to get the background on his career.
Also, does anyone have any good recommendations on any horror? I'm in the mood for something scary, but I've never gotten in to the genre in terms of books and don't know where to begin.
Bought myself ten books yesterday on a short trip to Oslo. Won't actually read them in a long while due to the Backlog, but it's still nice to have them around until then:
- Albert Camus: The Plague (Penguin). I read The Outsider many years ago, and have eyed this novel ever since then.
- Umberto Eco: Inventing the Enemy (Harville Seeker). A collection of essays on a wide range of topics, from why we construct "enemies", to censorship, to fire, proverbs, Joyce's "Ulysses" and WikiLeaks. Eco's books make me feels smart. Then they make me feel stupid. Or vice-versa.
- Mo Hayder: Tokyo (Bazar). A friend gave me this one. It's a thriller, and according to my friend it is a very good one: both terribly exciting and quite disturbing.
- Michel Houellebecq: The Map and the Territory (Vintage). A book by one of the biggest contemporary French writers. Houellebecq himself is an important character in the novel.
- Daniel Kahneman: Thinking, Fast and Slow (Penguin). A popular pop-psychology book about how the mind works. Kahneman is one of the world's leading psychologists, and received the Nobel Prize for Economy in 2002.
- Selma Lagerlöf: Gösta Berlings Saga (Bonnier). One of the best known Swedish books, the debut novel by the first female recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature. Written in 1891, it tells the story of the life of Gösta Berling, an alcoholic priest. I got it in the original Swedish, which is nice.
- Flann O'Brien: The Complete Novels (Everyman's Library). I've read "The Third Policeman", which was very funny, very creepy and totally surrealistic. This book also contains novel "At Swim-Two-Birds", together with "The Poor Mouth", "The Hard Life" and "The Dalkey Archive".
- Philip Roth: Portnoy's Complaint (Vintage). I haven't read anything by Roth before, and this seems to be a good starting point. The premise seems very funny!
- August Strindberg: Ett Drömspel (A Dream Play) (Norstedts). Another Swede! This year marks the 100th year since Strindberg died, and lots of books have come out in celebration. Among them, his complete works in nice hardcover editions. I only got this work, though - his best known play.
- David Foster Wallace: The Broom of the System (Penguin). Had to pick this up since this particular edition was so attractive, and since I want to eventually read all of DFW's works.
- Albert Camus: The Plague (Penguin). I read The Outsider many years ago, and have eyed this novel ever since then.
- Umberto Eco: Inventing the Enemy (Harville Seeker). A collection of essays on a wide range of topics, from why we construct "enemies", to censorship, to fire, proverbs, Joyce's "Ulysses" and WikiLeaks. Eco's books make me feels smart. Then they make me feel stupid. Or vice-versa.
- Mo Hayder: Tokyo (Bazar). A friend gave me this one. It's a thriller, and according to my friend it is a very good one: both terribly exciting and quite disturbing.
- Michel Houellebecq: The Map and the Territory (Vintage). A book by one of the biggest contemporary French writers. Houellebecq himself is an important character in the novel.
- Daniel Kahneman: Thinking, Fast and Slow (Penguin). A popular pop-psychology book about how the mind works. Kahneman is one of the world's leading psychologists, and received the Nobel Prize for Economy in 2002.
- Selma Lagerlöf: Gösta Berlings Saga (Bonnier). One of the best known Swedish books, the debut novel by the first female recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature. Written in 1891, it tells the story of the life of Gösta Berling, an alcoholic priest. I got it in the original Swedish, which is nice.
- Flann O'Brien: The Complete Novels (Everyman's Library). I've read "The Third Policeman", which was very funny, very creepy and totally surrealistic. This book also contains novel "At Swim-Two-Birds", together with "The Poor Mouth", "The Hard Life" and "The Dalkey Archive".
- Philip Roth: Portnoy's Complaint (Vintage). I haven't read anything by Roth before, and this seems to be a good starting point. The premise seems very funny!
- August Strindberg: Ett Drömspel (A Dream Play) (Norstedts). Another Swede! This year marks the 100th year since Strindberg died, and lots of books have come out in celebration. Among them, his complete works in nice hardcover editions. I only got this work, though - his best known play.
- David Foster Wallace: The Broom of the System (Penguin). Had to pick this up since this particular edition was so attractive, and since I want to eventually read all of DFW's works.
BrokenFiction
Member
You really can't go wrong with any of those choices. I think Heroes is probably the best of those, followed so very closely by Lies.
8BitsAtATime
Member
Saw these on gaf and they caught my eye so I picked them up.
ShadyMilkman
Banned
About to start:
Carver is so, so, so good.
On page 410. Determined to finish it. At times eye watering funny, at other times it's clear that this isn't a book I can read when I'm tired. Every. Word. Counts. And yes, I know that all good writing should be that way, and Wallace was the king of that approach, but when it's just before bed and you're starting to drift off, Infinite Jest is not the most forgiving of novels.
I am enjoying it, despite the intellectual heavy lifting involved.
thoughthorizon
Member
Actually much better than I thought it would be - tones of WWZ but with the creative freedom that robots allow over zombies.
If you like science fiction and apocayptic themes, give it a try.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Finished Catching Fire today. Another 2-day read like Hunger Games was. I'll be starting the third book when I can find it in my apartment...
DarkestLight
Member
finished clear and present danger last night. I enjoyed it, really looking forward to reading the sum of all fears and without remorse, but im getting burned out on that kind of book so started reading something a little different
Started this last week, only 30 or so pages in, but finding it really interesting so far
I like to have one fiction and one non fiction on the go at the same time, so i also started this: Never been a huge fan of star wars, seen the movies a few times but never really got into the expanded universe, saw this cheap and remember it being recommended. Im enjoying it a lot more than i thought i would.
Started this last week, only 30 or so pages in, but finding it really interesting so far
I like to have one fiction and one non fiction on the go at the same time, so i also started this: Never been a huge fan of star wars, seen the movies a few times but never really got into the expanded universe, saw this cheap and remember it being recommended. Im enjoying it a lot more than i thought i would.
nakedsushi
Member
Finished:
Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents by Ellen Ullman
If you ever wanted to know what programmer was like, from the mouth of a programmer, read this book. It describes the programming mentality perfectly.
Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents by Ellen Ullman
If you ever wanted to know what programmer was like, from the mouth of a programmer, read this book. It describes the programming mentality perfectly.
Currently reading:
It's not very good to put it mildly. I was a big fan of Bradley's Darkover novels, I must have read at least a dozen of the. Favorites back in the days were Stormqueen and Two to Conquer. This book is not in that class by far (either that or I really had a lousy taste in SF).
It's a very short novel (only 150 pages) but still it feels like a padded novelette because so many sections present the same information over and over again. First something happens to character, then he tells someone else about what happened and then they both discuss the matter in more detail without coming to any new insights for the reader. It's just a waste of pages. It doesn't help that the antagonists (psychic cat people) remain invisible and unexplored for just about the entire book. And then there are countless pages spent explaining Darkover's semi-scientific psi forces (laran, keepers, matrix stones, etc), all concept that every Darkover reader finds in every single book but everything has to be explained again to new readers of course. It makes for a tedious book.
It's not very good to put it mildly. I was a big fan of Bradley's Darkover novels, I must have read at least a dozen of the. Favorites back in the days were Stormqueen and Two to Conquer. This book is not in that class by far (either that or I really had a lousy taste in SF).
It's a very short novel (only 150 pages) but still it feels like a padded novelette because so many sections present the same information over and over again. First something happens to character, then he tells someone else about what happened and then they both discuss the matter in more detail without coming to any new insights for the reader. It's just a waste of pages. It doesn't help that the antagonists (psychic cat people) remain invisible and unexplored for just about the entire book. And then there are countless pages spent explaining Darkover's semi-scientific psi forces (laran, keepers, matrix stones, etc), all concept that every Darkover reader finds in every single book but everything has to be explained again to new readers of course. It makes for a tedious book.
I'm currently reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin thanks to Nymerio's recommendation in this thread!
I'm enjoying it so far, although the intro felt a little rushed as though the author didn't really know how to start and introduce the land and so just kinda...went. But after the first chapter it gets super interesting and the world is fleshed out really well, I'm not too far into it yet but i'm definitely enjoying it a lot so far.
Only issue i'd mention other than the intro is that the Kindle version has some bad formatting in places. It's disappointing but nothing experience ruining.
I'm enjoying it so far, although the intro felt a little rushed as though the author didn't really know how to start and introduce the land and so just kinda...went. But after the first chapter it gets super interesting and the world is fleshed out really well, I'm not too far into it yet but i'm definitely enjoying it a lot so far.
Only issue i'd mention other than the intro is that the Kindle version has some bad formatting in places. It's disappointing but nothing experience ruining.
Finished Ryosuke Akutagawa's "Rashomon and 17 other stories" yesterday. Some real gems in there! One describes the last waking moments in the life of a soldier who gets his head chopped off on a battlefield. Another, "The Spider Thread" is a Buddhistic allegory that actually inspired the design of a temple in Zelda Skyward Sword. The very last story, "Spinning Gears", is among the creepiest stories I've ever read. It's a self-biographical account of the last few days in the author's life. He thinks "someone" is out to get him and that he's about to die, and he sees bad omens everywhere, reducing him to a bundle of nerves. The last sentence is a plea for someone to strangle him in his sleep. He took his own life right after finishing the story.
Now, I'm going to start reading books for my English study. One course is about the American Detective Novel, and the first book on the schedule is Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon", followed by "Red Harvest". Another course is called Language and Society, and I'll read books about sociolinguistics: Melchers and Shaw: "World Englishes", Coupland and Jaworski: "Sociolinguistics: A Reader and Coursebook" and Holmes: "An Introduction to Sociolinguistics".
Now, I'm going to start reading books for my English study. One course is about the American Detective Novel, and the first book on the schedule is Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon", followed by "Red Harvest". Another course is called Language and Society, and I'll read books about sociolinguistics: Melchers and Shaw: "World Englishes", Coupland and Jaworski: "Sociolinguistics: A Reader and Coursebook" and Holmes: "An Introduction to Sociolinguistics".
Just finished:
Took me a while, but it's done. What a fantastic book. If you have any interest in Lincoln or the Civil War, go out and grab this book now. I knew very little about either subject going in, and I'm impressed at how detailed the book was.
Next up:
Heard a lot of good things about this one, so I'm looking forward to delving into it!
Took me a while, but it's done. What a fantastic book. If you have any interest in Lincoln or the Civil War, go out and grab this book now. I knew very little about either subject going in, and I'm impressed at how detailed the book was.
Next up:
Heard a lot of good things about this one, so I'm looking forward to delving into it!
nakedsushi
Member
Got an early copy of this to read:
Riveted by Meljean Brook
Really liked it. I think this is my favorite book of the series so far. They just keep getting better and better. I like the topic of homosexuals in this book and the naughty scenes were HOT. I also liked that the male character wasn't too alpha-male and had a disability.
Riveted by Meljean Brook
Really liked it. I think this is my favorite book of the series so far. They just keep getting better and better. I like the topic of homosexuals in this book and the naughty scenes were HOT. I also liked that the male character wasn't too alpha-male and had a disability.
nakedsushi
Member
It is totally a steampunk bodice-ripper and exactly what I was in the mood for. But the cover isn't really very *accurate* to the book. I hate it when cover artists don't stay true to the book.
Next up:
Heard a lot of good things about this one, so I'm looking forward to delving into it!
You're in for a delightful treat, and so is 8BitsAtATime when s/he reads The Left Hand of Darkness!
As for myself, I have fallen apart and started reading multiple books at the same time:
Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics - 137/374
Sonnets and Shorter Poems (Francesco Petrarch) - 314/352
Men & Masculinities: A Social, Cultural, and Historical Encyclopedia - 351/892
Three Kingdoms - 2453/3115 (half of them are Chinese, so halve both numbers)
The Norton Anthology of Children's Literature: Traditions in English (1818/2471) (have not read since February and started in January; really should just knock that out)
The Aquariums of Pyongyang - 120/238
And the book of the month club starts again with The Brothers Karamazov which just arrived in the mail along with I, Claudius and I bought several other books from Half-Price Books (some intersectional study book of race / gender / class the name of which I cannot recall offhand and something about studies of Japanese leisure activities), as well as the Vintage Classics edition of The Sorrows of Young Werther from a brick-and-mortar store.
I hope to finish The Aquariums of Pyongyang, Sonnets & Shorter Poems, and Inverting the Pyramid by the weekend!
I finished Time Traveller's Wife. It was okay. I feel it picked up more in the latter half and there were a hell of a lot of ontological paradoxes but I can handle it. It kind of meanders though and didn't feel, to me, like it really had much of a point.
Patience & Fortitude: Wherein a Colorful Cast of Determined Book Collectors, Dealers, and Librarians Go About the Quixotic Task of Preserving a Legacy by Nicholas A. Basbanes
Super interesting. I'm beginning to think I just really like non-fiction.
Patience & Fortitude: Wherein a Colorful Cast of Determined Book Collectors, Dealers, and Librarians Go About the Quixotic Task of Preserving a Legacy by Nicholas A. Basbanes
Super interesting. I'm beginning to think I just really like non-fiction.
Mackenzie 92
Member
nvm, wrong month
I didn't even realize they were related. I just picked it up from my library's ebook section since it was immediately available. They don't seem to actually be a trilogy, just shared characters. I'll probably loop back and read the first two at some point.