Tawney Bomb
Member
Finished A Clockwork Orange. Think I'm going to start The Bear and the Nightingale next.
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What are you reading? (August 2017)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Yo, read'em all straight through.
<3Just finished with
The writing is beautiful and the way all of the layers of the story slowly converge is incredible. The only other Atwood I've read is The Handmaid's Tale, and I enjoyed this even more. Anyone have a recommendation for what to read next from her?
The Blind Assassin is my favorite Atwood book so I'm glad to see someone else on GAF reading it!
Give Oryx and Crake a try. I liked it about as much as The Handmaid's Tale.wild wild rice
Member
If all goes well and my bookstore has it in stock, I'll be picking up Book One of My Struggle by Knausgaard today. I read the first dozen pages or so and it seems like the book I wish I wrote.
I'm gonna grab Kingkiller Chronicle as a gift for my wife, too. I'm not a genre fiction fan, but she loves the stuff and a friend said it's highly recommended.
I'm gonna grab Kingkiller Chronicle as a gift for my wife, too. I'm not a genre fiction fan, but she loves the stuff and a friend said it's highly recommended.
sparky2112
Member
The fact that you and I posted next to each other is gold. Different books, exact same complaint. Clockers was first, and it was a big deal when it came out. The Wire then overshadowed it. I still think my favorite Richard Price is the The Color of Money script, but he's a giant in both novels and screenwriting.
Just finished with
The writing is beautiful and the way all of the layers of the story slowly converge is incredible. The only other Atwood I've read is The Handmaid's Tale, and I enjoyed this even more. Anyone have a recommendation for what to read next from her?
Atwood is legit and Blind Assassin is one of her best. I kind of prefer her more grounded works from what I've read. I'd recommend Cat's Eye for something broadly similar. Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake and its sequels are all more sci-fi or I guess speculative fiction. Sci-fi is probably an inappropriate description. In my opinion, Atwood books have strong openings and great concepts, but suffer from poor conclusions and this is particularly noteworthy in her less grounded books. Still worth reading though. I'm hoping to read Alias Grace in the near future.
WAR recon zero
Banned
This book. Heard good things an awful things. Got it 6 years ago. It's a 1800 page behemoth. One or half chapter a day we go!
Rereading this. This is my happy place. They are all back and adorable.
This is me. 100%
Rereading this. This is my happy place. They are all back and adorable.
This is me. 100%
Just finished volume 2 of The Gulag Archipelago and about to start volume 3. Absolutely fascinating.
I've never read these books, but Cancer Ward is one of the greatest novels I've ever read in my life. I'd recommend you read that if you like Solzhenitsyn.
Happy 50th, dude! Us oldsters gotta stick together (40 here).
I have not read any Marquez but I'm reading a book that's considered a big influence on magical realism writers like him and Rushdie, The Tin Drum, and it's phenomenal.
Maklershed
Member
*fist bump*
I'm 31, thanks for making me feel younger.
The Rise and Fall of DODO does not have the weight or presence of a proper Stephenson book. Then again, it's obviously meant to be light and fun despite its size. I wish I was laughing more, or more charmed. It's cheerful, so that's a positive, I'll see if it goes anywhere.
The Rise and Fall of DODO does not have the weight or presence of a proper Stephenson book. Then again, it's obviously meant to be light and fun despite its size. I wish I was laughing more, or more charmed. It's cheerful, so that's a positive, I'll see if it goes anywhere.
i was actually very surprised at how much the religious themes resonated with me, considering i'm actively areligious. I suppose there's something in me that still needs that stuff in my head, if not in my heart.
The final third in particular was absolutely fascinating to me.
Septimus Prime
Member
Not fun.
Will get back to this afterward, though:
The only Urban Fantasy works I have ever read are the Dresden Files books (which I originally LOVED and still look upon fondly, but can see their flaws more clearly), does any one have any recommendations for something Urban Fantasy that is at least as good? Or is Dresden the tops for Urban Fantasy?
I really like the idea of Urban Fantasy and have read quite a few, but they rarely turn out to be all that good. Maybe I secretly don't actually like Urban Fantasy, but I swear, the amount of crap books seems to be a lot higher than in other genres.
One series that I think is good (good, not great) is the Alex Versus series.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/71196-alex-verus
I'd recommend checking it out if you like urban fantasy.
I get what you're saying. But to me it's equally mind-blowing reading it and seeing a clear line between what started it all and all the things I love now. I had the same experience with Neuromancer. It's like with every page seeing the genesis of modern sci-fi. Something like Cowboy Bebop suddenly makes complete sense. You don't see life changing experience because you've already been influenced by it long before you ever read it.
WAR recon zero
Banned
Finished my re-read of HP#1. A nice read and I was smiling the whole way.
Next books are...
I have DEVOURED books in August. Read 6 books, restarted 1.
Next books are...
I have DEVOURED books in August. Read 6 books, restarted 1.
Dragon Springs Road
I didn't really know what to expect with this, and for a good chunk of the earlier parts of the novel I had a lot of difficulty reading it naturally because it felt like a book about a period Asian setting written by someone who cares deeply about the culture and setting, but writing it in a very western way for a western audience. It felt awkward to me. But once I managed to get over that and let the narrative just flow, it was pretty good. The setting is neat, the supernatural elements are handled in a very matter-of-fact way which doesn't get in the way of the historical setting or character drama. It never feels cheap, just hauntingly beautiful. There's a lot of tragedy in the tale, but it's handled with a lot of optimism as well, which is what I like in this sort of stories. I liked the final third of the book a lot.
Can't wait for the Hollywood adaptation with Emma Watson in the lead.
I didn't really know what to expect with this, and for a good chunk of the earlier parts of the novel I had a lot of difficulty reading it naturally because it felt like a book about a period Asian setting written by someone who cares deeply about the culture and setting, but writing it in a very western way for a western audience. It felt awkward to me. But once I managed to get over that and let the narrative just flow, it was pretty good. The setting is neat, the supernatural elements are handled in a very matter-of-fact way which doesn't get in the way of the historical setting or character drama. It never feels cheap, just hauntingly beautiful. There's a lot of tragedy in the tale, but it's handled with a lot of optimism as well, which is what I like in this sort of stories. I liked the final third of the book a lot.
Can't wait for the Hollywood adaptation with Emma Watson in the lead.
daTRUballin
Member
Wait, is this actually going to happen or is this just a joke?
sparky2112
Member
This is pretty good, isn't it? Kinda makes me want to chuck it all and go back to being a hunter/gatherer, modern life being evil, and incompatible with our genetic makeup, and whatnot.
I finished A Game of Thrones last week and I'm 100 pages into Ready Player One. I'd like to be further but school and work have taken up a lot of reading time.
So far I'm enjoying it. The first four chapters are slow (some could say the fifth chapter is too but I liked the biography of Halliday) but after Wade
So far I'm enjoying it. The first four chapters are slow (some could say the fifth chapter is too but I liked the biography of Halliday) but after Wade
has an epiphany of the location of the key I blew through three chapters.
I just finished reading Robin Hobb's Elderlings books -- all of them.
While I enjoyed the series overall, the final trilogy is basically a compilation of Hobbisms that could be used an an example of why some people aren't fans. By the end it just got to be a drag. There's nothing wrong with hurting your characters, but at some point it turns into sadism. Of course, by then you don't mind so much because if you have to read another two-page discourse by Fitz over how terrible he is and how everything is his fault, you don't so much mind it when she grinds him to paste.
Genuinely, the final trilogy made me like nearly all the major characters less. This is the Farseer line at its worst, being abominable human beings all around, with the Fool being the biggest asshole of the bunch.
I've moved on now to new Bujold (Squee!). Penric and Desdemona are back and hunting for foxes. Unfortunately, I'm already sixty pages into an 84 page novella, so I'll be hunting up something to read again tomorrow.
While I enjoyed the series overall, the final trilogy is basically a compilation of Hobbisms that could be used an an example of why some people aren't fans. By the end it just got to be a drag. There's nothing wrong with hurting your characters, but at some point it turns into sadism. Of course, by then you don't mind so much because if you have to read another two-page discourse by Fitz over how terrible he is and how everything is his fault, you don't so much mind it when she grinds him to paste.
Genuinely, the final trilogy made me like nearly all the major characters less. This is the Farseer line at its worst, being abominable human beings all around, with the Fool being the biggest asshole of the bunch.
I've moved on now to new Bujold (Squee!). Penric and Desdemona are back and hunting for foxes. Unfortunately, I'm already sixty pages into an 84 page novella, so I'll be hunting up something to read again tomorrow.
About 650 pages into Anna Karenina. Soooooooooo good. I didn't really know it was an ensemble, I mean it is about Anna and her affair with Vronsky, but it also has episodes detailing the interior worlds and lives of other major and minor characters. The characterisation is sublime, none of them feel like cheap archetypes or stereotypes to set up drama.
This is pretty good, isn't it? Kinda makes me want to chuck it all and go back to being a hunter/gatherer, modern life being evil, and incompatible with our genetic makeup, and whatnot.
98% of us would have to die to make a global return to hunter gatherer societies.
The first quarter to a third are excellent and so are some parts about the evolution of economics later.
We really fucked up with domestication and farming didn't we? Now a tiny percentage of us do it, but it feels like the lifestyle has remained. Post apocalyptic tv shows and movies are the best we can do to escape apparently.
Drag her.
I just read the two most recent Penric novellas this past week. Penric is easily my second-favorite Bujold creation after Miles now. Sorry, Ista!
Anything is possible right?! Okay, okay, maybe Sophie Turner now.
daTRUballin
Member
I don't know whether to be glad or sad. I've never read the book so I'm not sure if Emma Watson would be a good fit for this, but at the same time, I'd watch anything with her in it.
I would love if Sophie Turner stopped acting tomorrow.
Emma Watson at least has some chops. Colonia was pretty good.
daTRUballin
Member
Sadly, a good chunk of GAF would say otherwise. This site has some sort of strange hate relationship with her. Probably because of the recent Beauty and the Beast remake. Or maybe I'm just looking too much into things.....
MDSVeritas
Member
I've become a pretty big Murakami fan over the past few years, and Kafka is next on my list. I'm about halfway through it now and really enjoy it. Murakami does a really sublime mix of a fairly grounded story dealing with very real issues (in this case finding a sense of purpose, being lost in life, what it feels like to live a life with almost no personal relationships and trying to seek them out) and peppering in a fascinatingly subtle amount of supernatural elements ( 1 in 1000 people that can somehow talk to cats, spirits that live detached from bodies for periods of time) that keeps the story refreshing while never feeling outlandish or beyond the ability to empathize with characters.
I think what draws me to Murakami novels the most, though, and what I'm really enjoying about Kafka so far, is the vividness in which he paints characters; almost every character feels completely detached from any stereotype. They all have really interesting pasts, and intriguing quirks (which occasionally verge on the supernatural), and its a treat to read as they're characters are slowly unfurled through the story.
I think my biggest issue, which I don't find too frustrating, is that Murakami seems hesitant to stray from one particular mold for his main characters, which is to say a relatively calm and detached man without particular passions who sort of walks into weird scenarios, and has various characters (often attractive women) inexplicably drawn to him. This character is one of the furthest from that mold, but it still more similar than I would have hoped.
Overall, though, I'm really digging it.
Yeah Ready Player One is a really enjoyable read that's very easy to just blaze through. It's not particularly deep but its a fun romp. It's some good pulp writing and some admittedly entertaining 80s themed wish-fulfillment.
This is pretty good, isn't it? Kinda makes me want to chuck it all and go back to being a hunter/gatherer, modern life being evil, and incompatible with our genetic makeup, and whatnot.
Similar to another poster, I enjoyed the first third of the book where the author focused mostly on the origins of modern humans. The later parts of the book were far too speculative for my liking. I felt like the author was pushing an agenda and was quite prone to making sensationalist statements which flew in the face of the relatively well-cited materials in the early part of the book. I believe the author defends imperialism at one point because it offered stability to citizens. Sure, if you ignore the murder and enslavement of millions of people.
I won't read anything by the author again, despite enjoying first section of the book.
sparky2112
Member
That's what I'm finding a bit frustrating as I wade further into the book - he does a good job of saying things like 'acceptable wisdom is' and 'these two theories don't agree', but there is also this sense that he might be pushing an agenda without necessarily making it overtly plain that he's doing so - like the whole vibe of 'large societies are garbage' that is driving the part of the book I'm currently in...
Ah you're not finished yet? I'll say no more. Let us know your thoughts when you reach the end. The further I got, the more the issues grew for me.
I've always found illness in Jane Austen really curious. Medical knowledge wasn't great then, and I've wondered what Austen knew (my knowledge isn't brilliant either...). Not the ones who are obviously shown as hypochondriacs (although they're very interesting too of course in their own way, I just love Mary in Persuasion), but the ones Austen portrays as genuinely ill. There's Marianne in S&S, there's the girl who fell off a step in Persuasion... many others I don't recall right now. I think because Austen was such a careful observer she never goes wrong but there seems to be a vagueness to it - that would probably be consistent to their understanding at the time.
What do you think about how she portrays illness generally?
Best summary.
...
Currently abandoned/ reading several (dozen) books I've lost track. Currently currently reading All That Man Is by David Szalay which I'm enjoying a fair bit and who knows I might actually make it all the way through.
Finished The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland.
This turned out to be an action packed romp, sort of. Stephenson can and does write straight action, as you know if you've tried Reamde, and this is not unlike that except the premise(as the title suggests) is a history of an organization that has a number of episodes with largely discrete casts of characters and settings besides the main thread. To break up this plot plot action action, the book is written in an epistolary fashion which I've never seen work well in sci fi. Exposition/info dumps written in character voices with all the "lols" and tone of a layman breaking it down to the reader? On the flip side, narrative passages masquerading as mission reports and such(here's what went down, but first a paragraph on the nature of that day's sunset) or more blatant, one character explaining something fundamentally obvious in a letter to another so the reader is clue'd in, perhaps with a couple of "as you well know" interspersed to sell it? Yes, yes and more besides. I'm sorry to ramble on about this, but it irks me. As do developments late in the game, it's one of those don't think about this too hard or it will fall apart deals, which fits the style of an action packed romp to be fair.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but it falls short in a way that really hurts. A book like this needs characters you cheer on or worry about or despise, get invested in somehow, we don't have any of that here. Oh there's a cast, but it falls so short of the mark I wonder what the hell happened. They are outlines and very familiar at that, nothing that endears them, no chemistry between them. It's bewildering, 700+ pages, 2 experienced writers, you gotta do better than that.
This turned out to be an action packed romp, sort of. Stephenson can and does write straight action, as you know if you've tried Reamde, and this is not unlike that except the premise(as the title suggests) is a history of an organization that has a number of episodes with largely discrete casts of characters and settings besides the main thread. To break up this plot plot action action, the book is written in an epistolary fashion which I've never seen work well in sci fi. Exposition/info dumps written in character voices with all the "lols" and tone of a layman breaking it down to the reader? On the flip side, narrative passages masquerading as mission reports and such(here's what went down, but first a paragraph on the nature of that day's sunset) or more blatant, one character explaining something fundamentally obvious in a letter to another so the reader is clue'd in, perhaps with a couple of "as you well know" interspersed to sell it? Yes, yes and more besides. I'm sorry to ramble on about this, but it irks me. As do developments late in the game, it's one of those don't think about this too hard or it will fall apart deals, which fits the style of an action packed romp to be fair.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but it falls short in a way that really hurts. A book like this needs characters you cheer on or worry about or despise, get invested in somehow, we don't have any of that here. Oh there's a cast, but it falls so short of the mark I wonder what the hell happened. They are outlines and very familiar at that, nothing that endears them, no chemistry between them. It's bewildering, 700+ pages, 2 experienced writers, you gotta do better than that.
Ridiculous. She was easily the best kid actor in the Harry Potter films starting with Prisoner of Azkaban and on through to the end.
...okay, back to books.
I disagree to a degree about the characters. I enjoyed that there's no villain in the traditional sense of the word. In fact, the brief period in which one is introduced is the part of the book that veers closest to tropeville that we've already seen before. It was way more fun to watch the organization come crashing down under its own weight, particularly in the way it occurs here. The last act was bonkers, and I loved it.
It was good, wasn't it? Anything to do with Magnus rocked. I liked Kerpathy as well, but again they drop the ball and her big payoff(
I was so ready for Mel's reunion with her, some heartfelt moments, understanding for how the years took a toll on her etc.
DarkMaigle
Member
So I'm currently reading IT and like absolutely devouring it, probably gonna be done by the end of the week. Looking for a recommendation for another horror book. Preferably no Stephen King as he's the only horror author I've read. A point in the right direction would be appreciated.
Dandy Lyin
Member
I'm 60% of the way through, and enjoying it a lot more than I did TWoK. I'm not sure why, but probably because there is more Shallan. Kaladin is still dull character, but at least interesting things are happening around him and his story isn't as repetitive as it felt in TWoK.
WAR recon zero
Banned
25% into it. I have not liked this no sir. Maybe I have read around that this is not the easiest book to get into Discworld and maybe I would agree. The style is very confusing and sometimes I don't know wtf is going on.
Dandy Lyin
Member
I've heard similar things about Discworld. I've only ever read Colour of Magic but it was so long ago that I don't really remember anything more than a few bits and pieces of it. Mort, and Guards! Guards! are supposed to be good entry points.
Maklershed
Member
Half way trough, enjoying it but seems like jo is trying to tie as many plot lines as he can, is this the last Harry Hole book?
Harry Hole? *tee hee*