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What are you reading? (August 2013)

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S

ShaneB

Member
Finished up Mockingjay. Found it the weakest of the three, but still really liked the trilogy overall. Now to see what my mood calls for to read next.

edit: Maybe I'll update my goodreads goal again. Already at 35/40. I remember at the start of the year when I wondered if I would get to 12 with reading one a month.
 
V

Vyer

Member
cvLuitH.jpg
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Looked this up when I heard about the upcoming Fincher movie. I enjoyed it. The first half is the strongest part of the book, and I thought it was pretty captivating. When the story shifts for the conclusion I think a lot of the bite went out of it, but by that point I was hooked enough to see it through. In all I flew through this book pretty quickly and was entertained.

I'm interested in seeing what Fincher does with it.
 
M

Mackenzie 92

Member
Vyer said:
Looked this up when I heard about the upcoming Fincher movie. I enjoyed it. The first half is the strongest part of the book, and I thought it was pretty captivating. When the story shifts for the conclusion I think a lot of the bite went out of it, but by that point I was hooked enough to see it through. In all I flew through this book pretty quickly and was entertained.

I'm interested in seeing what Fincher does with it.
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Me too, but I got a little less excited when I saw Reese Witherspoon and Ben Afleck were involved as well. I don't mind Afleck if he stays behind the camera producing or whatever he does, just wouldn't be happy with him and/or Witherspoon playing the leads.
 
V

Vyer

Member
Mackenzie 92 said:
Me too, but I got a little less excited when I saw Reese Witherspoon and Ben Afleck were involved as well. I don't mind Afleck if he stays behind the camera producing or whatever he does, just wouldn't be happy with him and/or Witherspoon playing the leads.
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looks like Witherspoon is just involved with production, last I read.

I don't mind Afleck acting, and he is working with Fincher so I'm still hopeful it will turn out well.
 
F

fakefaker

Member
Finished 1984 by George Orwell yesterday and keep thinking about the ending and just how amazing the book is.

Started Out by Natsuo Kirino.

25365.jpg
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
Currently reading WebMage

975638.jpg


Wasn't at all what I was expecting. Thought it'd be more in the veins of Snow Crash by Stephenson, but feels like an offshoot of Harry Potter almost, aimed at YA. Anyone else read this? Does it change tone at all? (about 26% complete atm).

Disclaimer:
I have not read Harry Potter but this is how I imagine it reads...
 
R

Rug Monkey

Member
Cyan said:
Door into Summer is excellent. I think that was my first Heinlein.
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Mine was Stranger in a Strange Land (a movie I've waited a lifetime for ... please god let Nolan/PTA/Fincher direct and not Snyder/Cameron)) and immediately after Time Enough For Love
 
D

Deified Data

Banned
Electric_ Cthulhu said:
I'm reading Winter is Coming: Symbols and Hidden Meanings in A Game of Thrones on my Kindle and furthermore this:



I really like it so far (50 pages in).


Can someone recommend me a good (crime) novel that mindfucks the shit out of me? Something in the vein of Shutter Island or The Murder of Roger Ackroyd?
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I got Red Country on day one because I love the First Law series to death, but regrettably I've never been able to finish this one. Got about halfway through before things got a bit too slow and I moved on to something else. I'll finish it someday, but it's definitely Abercrombie's weakest, IMO.

Currently taking Arthur Machen for a spin...how did it take me this long.

white-people-other-weird-stories-arthur-machen-paperback-cover-art.jpg
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
Deified Data said:
I got Red Country on day one because I love the First Law series to death, but regrettably I've never been able to finish this one. Got about halfway through before things got a bit too slow and I moved on to something else. I'll finish it someday, but it's definitely Abercrombie's weakest, IMO.
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Though not his best, I didn't think it was his weakest. The standalones for me go:
The Heroes > Red Country > Best Served Cold.

With the trilogy itself at number one (imo better than GRRM's aSoIF).

I can understand feeling it's a bit slower than the other books, as Best served is pretty much an action movie, but I still enjoyed it a lot.
 
M

Mackenzie 92

Member
Speaking of Abercrombie, sounds like he finally announced his next book to be published next year. He's taking a break from the First Law World and this is to be a new trilogy set to publish in July 2014 with 2 sequels to come out at 6 month intervals.

In some ways this is a very different sort of book from what I’ve written so far. It’s aimed partly at younger readers (maybe the 12-16 range). It’s much shorter – 80,000 words compared to 175,000 for my shortest, Red Country, and 230,000 for my longest, Last Argument of Kings (though still over twice the length of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, believe it or not). It’s set in a very different world with what you might call a viking or anglo-saxon feel. It’s much more focused, with a single point of view. It’s not so overtly ‘gritty’ although it’s a long way from smooth. It is punchy. It has drive. I aimed to deliver a slap in the face with every page.

Before some of you groan in horror at this wounding betrayal of all you believe in, I also wrote this with established readers, and indeed with a wider adult readership, very much in mind. In some ways it’s a very similar sort of book to what I’ve written so far. It’s fantasy, but light on the fantasy, and heavy on the vivid characters, the visceral action, the mixture of wit and cynicism, the twists and surprises. I hope that it will have a wide appeal. But I don’t feel that I’ve compromised on the way I’ve written. I think it’s as tough, surprising, challenging, and morally ‘grey’ as the rest of my output.
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More here - http://www.joeabercrombie.com/2013/07/19/half-a-king/
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
Mackenzie 92 said:
Speaking of Abercrombie, sounds like he finally announced his next book to be published next year. He's taking a break from the First Law World and this is to be a new trilogy set to publish in July 2014 with 2 sequels to come out at 6 month intervals.



More here - http://www.joeabercrombie.com/2013/07/19/half-a-king/
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Read about that a while back, strangely I somehow got the notion that it would still be set in the First Law world, no clue where I got that idea from, hmm.
 
N

noal

Banned
Pau said:
I've been going through Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Shit's so incredibly fucked up and we just glossed through it in the several U.S. History courses I've taken throughout the years.
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A terribly sad book from start to finish. It certainly does seem to have all been swept under the carpet. It also turns most of the Western films into a joke; how can you take them seriously after reading this book?

I would recommend to everyone.
 
I

Incandenza

Banned
9443405.jpg


At about 50% through right now, although with footnote-heavy books it's always hard to tell on a kindle. If you thought postmodern novels had enough metafictional layers to wrap your head around before, wait til you read an unfinished postmodern novel. A couple chapters definitely feel like rough drafts, but do they feel that way because the novel hadn't been edited yet? Or is it because he's trying to capture the voice/thoughts of an overly garrulous character? How much would the book really have been edited down, considering you have a story where the entire point is to show how people deal with onslaughts of information? Not only that, but you have extensive passages addressed at the reader, where the version of the novel Wallace assumes you're reading (i.e. the finished work) is not at all the one you have in your hands. It's weird.

But even though chapters aren't as consistently brilliant as Infinite Jest, there are still a few that are right up there with that book's best stuff, and once again Wallace depicts real, daily human emotion and struggle with a relatability that literary authors rarely ever reach for me.
 
D

Deified Data

Banned
Paganmoon said:
Though not his best, I didn't think it was his weakest. The standalones for me go:
The Heroes > Red Country > Best Served Cold.

With the trilogy itself at number one (imo better than GRRM's aSoIF).

I can understand feeling it's a bit slower than the other books, as Best served is pretty much an action movie, but I still enjoyed it a lot.
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I'll drink to that. Best Served Cold is actually my favorite of the stand-alones, but that's because I believe "fantasy Die Hard" is what Abercrombie does best.
 
A

AngmarsKing701

Member
michaeltraps said:
Uh oh. What didn't you like about it?
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It feels pretty bloated to me. Definitely longer than it needed to be. It took me like eight months to read it. I hope it clicks for you. I've seen quite a few people who like it.

Deified Data said:
I'll drink to that. Best Served Cold is actually my favorite of the stand-alones, but that's because I believe "fantasy Die Hard" is what Abercrombie does best.
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Bro fist. Not sure how I feel about Abercrombie's direction for the next book. He's my favorite author so I'll no doubt pick it up day one but I'm nervous about it.
 
M

Mackenzie 92

Member
AngmarsKing701 said:
Bro fist. Not sure how I feel about Abercrombie's direction for the next book. He's my favorite author so I'll no doubt pick it up day one but I'm nervous about it.
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I wasn't that worried until I saw the synopsis
A classic coming-of-age tale, set in a brilliantly imagined alternative historical world reminiscent of the Dark Ages with Viking overtones, the book tells the story of Yarvi, youngest son of a warlike king. Born with a crippled hand, he can never live up to his father’s expectations of what a real man should be and his destiny is not the throne but the Ministry, not the sword and shield but the book and the soft word spoken.
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Doesn't really sound like something I'd like. Prefer the dark gritty stuff.
 
K

Krowley

Member
Just finished reading:

X5pYH96.jpg

The Passage by Justin Cronin
All the praise this has been getting in this thread finally compelled me to give it a try. Overall I was very impressed. When it's going good, this plays out as a perfect mix between The Stand, Swan Song, and I am Legend, with a little bit of Fallout thrown in for good measure. The writing is really great, and he does an excellent job sucking you into the story. During the better parts of the novel, I could hardly put it down.

There were some serious flaws, too. I thought there were too many flashbacks, and too much time spent fleshing out very minor characters. Also, the story takes some weird turns that didn't entirely please me, and some of the big scenes failed to deliver. In particular:
the scene with the escape from the haven by train was a total clusterfuck in my opinion.

Overall the good outweighed the bad by a good margin. In some ways it was, admittedly, kind of a mess, and I was annoyed by all sorts of things while I was reading it, but any book that keeps me glued to the page as well as this one did is doing something right. All things considered, I think I would give it 4/5 stars, with the understanding that it is a messy, and inconsistent 4/5.

I've already (barely) started reading the sequel. My mom read both books and she tells me that the sequel is better. If true, it will be a pretty amazing book to read.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
I haven't read a book in a really long time but my friends are getting me to read Daemon right now. Loving it. The fact that all of the tech talk in the book is completely legitimate really adds to the authenticity of the book.
 
J

jacobs34

Member
Incandenza said:
At about 50% through right now, although with footnote-heavy books it's always hard to tell on a kindle. If you thought postmodern novels had enough metafictional layers to wrap your head around before, wait til you read an unfinished postmodern novel. A couple chapters definitely feel like rough drafts, but do they feel that way because the novel hadn't been edited yet? Or is it because he's trying to capture the voice/thoughts of an overly garrulous character? How much would the book really have been edited down, considering you have a story where the entire point is to show how people deal with onslaughts of information? Not only that, but you have extensive passages addressed at the reader, where the version of the novel Wallace assumes you're reading (i.e. the finished work) is not at all the one you have in your hands. It's weird.

But even though chapters aren't as consistently brilliant as Infinite Jest, there are still a few that are right up there with that book's best stuff, and once again Wallace depicts real, daily human emotion and struggle with a relatability that literary authors rarely ever reach for me.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on a lot of points here. It's really hard to know how much of what's in The Pale King as we know it, would have ended up in if Wallace had lived to finish the novel. I think there are brilliant passages: the passage where the accounting professor addresses his class comes to mind, but a lot of the prose feel like they lacked that elite level of polish that DFW is renown for. For a fan of Wallace, this is absolutely worth the read. If you want to learn more about the editing of this unfinished work, there are a lot of great interviews with Michael Pietsch (David's Editor) on Youtube.
 
S

ShaneB

Member
Wow, a little late in learning this, but apparently CyberStorm has been picked up for a movie by Fox. I really liked the book, so that's cool.
 
B

Bazza

Member
Finished Guards! Guards! today, probably my favorite so far along with the 1st 2 books, cant quite pick between them.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
Currently reading the Passage. Really enjoying it. Gives off a Stand vibe.

But the reason I'm posting is really a public service message for anyone that hasn't read:

241798.jpg


Do yourself a favor and read this book. It could save your life. I'm not saying the Vogons are coming, but I'm not not saying that the Vogons are coming.

I think the cover has changed, but that's my version that I read in the 80s. Probably one of my favorite books of all time.
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
Listening to the audiobooks of Hitchhikers Guide, and must say the first one narrated by Stephen Fry is easily the best, First one with Martin Freeman was ok, but I'm having hard time finishing the third one.
I know, how lazy do you have to be to not be able to finish an audiobook, but everytime I start listening to it, my mind drifts, cause it's not interesting enough...
 
J

Jintor

Member
Do you know where your towel is?

I was going to make a joke about how any mention of HH2TG just results in an endless meme fountain but frankly I enjoy that series so much I don't particularly mind
 
S

ShaneB

Member
Mackenzie 92 said:
Ah, cool. I bought the book but haven't read it yet. Will have to move it up the queue.
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As you should! It's really good.

DagsJT said:
Just started reading it yesterday, good timing by me!
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Yeah, I saw your goodreads update, and that prompted me to check out what I wrote in my review, and then I saw the comment from someone to the author congratulating him on the movie deal. So that's pretty cool.

Decided what I'm reading next. I wanted a summer read, and something with sports, and something perhaps a little longer since I've breezed through so many short books lately. So I decided on this... Now reading..

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
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I also picked this up from Amazon for a few bucks, seems like something I'd love.
Hard City by Clark Howard
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edit: dammit, last post on the page! :(
 
S

Samk

Member
Taliban by Ahmed Rashid.

I know some of you guys like Archer, spy-type stuff. Well here's the real deal. Crazy learning about it.
 
K

KingGondo

Banned
Just finished:

15797397.jpg


Really excellent book. Concise, clearly written, and not too preachy.

I already eat pretty well and cook quite a bit at home, but this book will make me push almost all processed foods out of my diet.

Really scary what's being put in our food supply in pursuit of convenience, year-over-year profits, and stock price. Just another instance of how Wall Street is helping to ruin our country.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
I need to get off the processed food wagon. Hard as hell with kids around. Maybe I'll pick up that book for a kick in the ass.
 
K

KingGondo

Banned
Jag said:
I need to get off the processed food wagon. Hard as hell with kids around. Maybe I'll pick up that book for a kick in the ass.
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It isn't a long read, and it does a good job of simply laying out the facts and letting you reach the obvious conclusions.

I think Moss is actually very fair to the food manufacturers, and he readily admits that most of these processed foods are downright unpalatable without the salt, sugar, and fat they contain.

Unfortunately, the quantities in which we consume these foods is doing massive harm to the health of millions of people, and not just Americans.
 
dream

dream

Member
A friend of mine recently told me about this emerging trend of self-published romance novels and I sort of feel like I have to read this one just because of the amazing title and the amazingly alliterative pen name of the author.

18281356.jpg


Nick Wolfe is famous in Chicago – or is that infamous? He’s not only known as the illegitimate son of Mafia boss Rinaldo Moretti, but also as an unstoppable ladies’ man. He always seems to get the girl in the end, even when everyone around tries to plot against him. He’s a party guy, doesn’t work, and spends all his time picking up chicks and making notches on his headboard. He's the ultimate ladies man...or is that man-whore? Until he meets her, and she turns the tables on him.
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