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What are you reading? (February 2009)

Undeux

Member
for class:

41QV1CH6Q4L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg

51ZK2E2XKNL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg

511AMKRQRML._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg


for me:

41CmtvdiUiL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg


i'm very tired of reading.
 

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
mac said:
That's a great first book of his to read. I've only read perhaps 5 of his works and Sirens was heavy on the weird sci-fi and frailty that I love from Vonnegut.

Yeah, my brother, who's a big Vonnegut fan, got it for me for Christmas, in an attempt to get me to read his novels. So far, so good.
 
Anobyl said:
0802140181.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


For one of my classes.

I'm about 100 pages in and and I don't know what the fuck is going on :(

Don't worry, no one knows whats going on in that book.

Out of curiosity what class is it? an upper level lit course im assuming?
 

Forsete

Member
lyth4.jpg


"The Beauty and Sorrow of the Combat" (2008) - Peter Englund
- a biography-based book about 19 people who lived during World War I
 

QVT

Fair-weather, with pride!
PhoenixDark said:
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, which wins the Best Sentence of the Written Word award

:eek:

Read more. At least it's not the godawful Road but come on, seriously?
 
QVT said:
Read more. At least it's not the godawful Road but come on, seriously?

Yes, yes, we get it already, Nabokov is the only good writer that has ever lived. All other authors pale in comparison.

Nabokov is a great writer, indeed, one of the best of the 20th century, but you need to get off your high horse already.

Whatever you want to say of Blood Meridian, it is not "godawful." You may not have enjoyed it, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading. Simply because you didn't enjoy a novel doesn't mean that others cannot enjoy that novel.

I have read plenty of literature, and I can say unequivocally that Cormac McCarthy is capable of great prose. His narratives are also fascinating and quite unique. Sure, he's capable of some stinker sentences, but who isn't? I hate to tell you this, but your hero Nabokov didn't bat one-thousand. Neither did Proust, Joyce, or whoever else it is that you look up to.
 

Blackace

if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
viciouskillersquirrel said:
2v0hg8n.jpg


Still reading. It's good so far, but one of the characters (Ellen) is somewhat... inconsistent and it's annoying me. It's like the author couldn't decide who he wanted her to be. One minute, she's a headstrong wildcat and the next she's all sweetness and gentility. Hopefully there's a reason for this later on.

Actually I really enjoyed the book. Thinking about picking up the next one, but haven't yet
 

Skittleguy

Ring a Bell for me
Now I'm reading "Mesenchymal stem cells within tumour stroma promote breast cancer metastasis" by Karnoub et al.

They kill a lot of mice in the name of cancer research.
 

Karakand

Member
Eric P said:
excellent book, but it could be called a fantasy novel.
If you're really broad with the term... or did you just spoil the novel and reveal that Sunday is actually a dragon guarding a cache of gold he took from a dwarven kingdom after slaughtering its inhabitants?

Undeux said:
for class:
51ZK2E2XKNL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg
I have to finish this for discussion tomorrow. :lol
 

Eric P

Member
Karakand said:
If you're really broad with the term... or did you just spoil the novel and reveal that Sunday is actually a dragon guarding a cache of gold he took from a dwarven kingdom after slaughtering its inhabitants?

just because it's not ripping off tolkien ripping off wagner ripping off his scullery maid's fairy tales doesn't mean it's not fantasy
 

QVT

Fair-weather, with pride!
tyguy20204 said:
Yes, yes, we get it already, Nabokov is the only good writer that has ever lived. All other authors pale in comparison.

Nabokov is a great writer, indeed, one of the best of the 20th century, but you need to get off your high horse already.

Whatever you want to say of Blood Meridian, it is not "godawful." You may not have enjoyed it, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading. Simply because you didn't enjoy a novel doesn't mean that others cannot enjoy that novel.

I have read plenty of literature, and I can say unequivocally that Cormac McCarthy is capable of great prose. His narratives are also fascinating and quite unique. Sure, he's capable of some stinker sentences, but who isn't? I hate to tell you this, but your hero Nabokov didn't bat one-thousand. Neither did Proust, Joyce, or whoever else it is that you look up to.

His narratives are anything but unique, and they're anything but fascinating. He's incapable.
 

FnordChan

Member
Karakand said:
If you're really broad with the term... or did you just spoil the novel and reveal that Sunday is actually a dragon guarding a cache of gold he took from a dwarven kingdom after slaughtering its inhabitants?

Few know that The Man Who Was Thursday is actually the inspiration for the Dragonlance series.

I'm about halfway through Scalzi's The Last Colony and so far it's as vastly entertaining as the previous books. Admittedly I'm a sucker for serial fiction, but I'm glad to see Scalzi continuing to explore the Old Man's War universe.

QVT said:
His narratives are anything but unique, and they're anything but fascinating. He's incapable.

Look, could you liven up your trolling? This is pretty dry stuff here.

FnordChan
 

Mifune

Mehmber
tyguy20204 said:
Yes, yes, we get it already, Nabokov is the only good writer that has ever lived. All other authors pale in comparison.

Nabokov is a great writer, indeed, one of the best of the 20th century, but you need to get off your high horse already.

Whatever you want to say of Blood Meridian, it is not "godawful." You may not have enjoyed it, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading. Simply because you didn't enjoy a novel doesn't mean that others cannot enjoy that novel.

I have read plenty of literature, and I can say unequivocally that Cormac McCarthy is capable of great prose. His narratives are also fascinating and quite unique. Sure, he's capable of some stinker sentences, but who isn't? I hate to tell you this, but your hero Nabokov didn't bat one-thousand. Neither did Proust, Joyce, or whoever else it is that you look up to.

Holy shit.

Bravo, good sir.
 

Karakand

Member
Eric P said:
just because it's not ripping off tolkien ripping off wagner ripping off his scullery maid's fairy tales doesn't mean it's not fantasy
It really feels like you're idly playing devil's advocate with no real intent.

Do you believe it is a fantasy novel?

If yes, why is it one?

Do genres work like miscegenation laws? (i.e. A drop of one thing overrides the majority of another.)

FnordChan said:
Few know that The Man Who Was Thursday is actually the inspiration for the Dragonlance series.
heh
 

Anobyl

Member
Suburban_Nooblet said:
Don't worry, no one knows whats going on in that book.

Out of curiosity what class is it? an upper level lit course im assuming?

American Literature. We're focusing mostly on postmodernism. It's an interesting class, to say the least.

Also, once I find the time, I need to read Sirens Of Titan. LOVED Slaughterhouse-Five.
 

Verdre

Unconfirmed Member
Finished Peter S Beagle's the Folk of the Air.

It's basically about a man coming back to where he grew up after years away and moving in with his old best friend, who is now living with an old, obese woman who is something else altogether.

Certainly not his best book, but it has wonderful moments and the ending was nice. And once again, fantasy.

Farrell had been raised in church but without religion, a compromise pleasing enough to everyone involved. He had never missed God or the hope of heaven, but he had dearly wanted confession to rest his mind, Communion to let him touch something beyond Father Krone's dry, shaky hand, and holy water to taste like starlight.
 

Alucard

Banned
Tim-E said:
Right now I'm finishing up:
2qdwzko.jpg


Trying to burn through (no pun intended) my massive book backlog.

This is a personal favourite of mine, and still my favourite dystopian novel to date, just topping 1984 by George Orwell. I adore Bradbury's evocative writing style and his characters. The book is a wonderful work of speculative fiction, and despite his grim outlook on humanity, there is a real warmth about the way the story is told, and its message about the importance of preserving knowledge is extremely important, no matter what century we're living in.
 

ItAintEasyBeinCheesy

it's 4th of July in my asshole
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:
No fantasy, psshhhhhhhhhh burn in hell fire mothers

fate.jpg


Last book, i dont want it to end :(

Finished :( i feel empty now, i need moar Q_Q . Anyways awesome series everyone should read them.
 
In the year since his death I've read a lot of Arthur C. Clarke's novels. Decided it was time to switch classic sci-fi tracks, so am finally checking out Asimov with the Foundation series.
 
41JIlx9r0rL._SS500_.jpg


Reading it for a Themes and Types in Literature class (Ours is Post-Apocalyptic stuff). I'm loving it so far. For a book with a lot of nothingness, it's certainly very interesting. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, since I HATED "No Country for Old Men". But then again, there was a lot of nothing in the movie, so maybe it's just McCarthy's writing that's intriguing.
 

Wraith

Member
mephesta said:

I read this roughly once a year for reasons that I don't entirely understand. Your posting this has reawakened the itch. I think I'll start on Alice once I finish my re-read of Steven Erikson's Reaper's Gale.
 
Just finished reading the Road. I think I teared up a little in the end. They better not fuck this movie up.

Next on the agenda is
TheHandmaidsTale%281stEd%29.jpg



Anyone read it?
 

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
killertofu said:
Just finished reading the Road. I think I teared up a little in the end. They better not fuck this movie up.

Next on the agenda is
TheHandmaidsTale%281stEd%29.jpg



Anyone read it?


Yup, an excellent book and a fantastic contrast to 1984.

Just bought today:

51zGvLdkcfL._SL500_AA240_.jpg


For college but should prove to be a fascinating read nonetheless.
 

Musashi Wins!

FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
51gDW8Rw1NL._SS500_.jpg


I just finished the first two Culture novels by Iain Banks.

Also, rereading,

41Enm7SkgnL._SS500_.jpg


though I'm reading the older, standard translation by Payne.
 

yonder

Member
0141182555.jpg


Just finished The Crucible for lit. class and quite liked it. I've never read a play before and didn't really know what to expect, but it turned out to be surprisingly powerful and moving.

99040.jpg


Maus is another first for me – I've never read a graphic novel before, and it too is unexpectedly good. I was completely engrossed in the story and only stopped reading because I had to(I'm about 100 pages in). Are there any other essential graphic novels I should check out? (Watchmen?)
 

mephesta

Member
Wraith said:
I read this roughly once a year for reasons that I don't entirely understand. Your posting this has reawakened the itch. I think I'll start on Alice once I finish my re-read of Steven Erikson's Reaper's Gale.

It really is just one of those books you love to read, I am looking forward to the annotated version, this is my first time with it and I hope it can shed some light on all the subtle nuances and anecdotes he uses.
 

Bowflex

The fact that anyone supports Hillary boggles my mind... I have tested between 130-160 on IQ tests
Just finished:
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Currently reading:
15141807.JPG
 

Tntnnbltn

Member
ThirstyFly said:
41JuAMSelxL._SL500_AA240_.jpg


Just finished I Am Legend (loved it). Now I'm moving on to the short stories also included in the book.

Soooo much better than the movie. I really really enjoyed that book. I'm currently reading
Of Mice and Men, never read it during my literature studies so I decided I should.
 
Tntnnbltn said:
Soooo much better than the movie. I really really enjoyed that book. I'm currently reading
Of Mice and Men, never read it during my literature studies so I decided I should.

It's been a while since I read it but I remember liking "Hell House" by Matheson also if you want to tray another one of his books. I am legend is by far his best.
 

thomaser

Member
Finished the first volume of Robert Musil's "The Man Without Qualities" yesterday. Want to take a break before starting vol.2, so I'm starting this today:

510RZHHGY1L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg

The Woman in the Dunes, by Kobo Abe

It's supposedly "kafkaesque", with characters getting into dire, inescapable situations.
 

aparisi2274

Member
41mZ-9Du5TL._SS500_.jpg


- Have 1 chapter left!!

26864752.jpg


- Just started this book, about 100pgs into it and loving every second of it!

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- This will be the book I read after I am done with my current book.
 
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