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What are you reading? (February 2010)
- Thread starter FnordChan
- Start date
Maklershed
Member
Hmmm ... Hell's Angels? (Hunter S Thompson)Sgt.Pepper said:
bengraven
Member
As I said in the recently abandoned January thread, thank you Kindle for making these "What are you reading?" threads expensive for me...I end up sampling quite a few of these books then making rash decisions to buy them.
This was recommended a few times last month, so I picked it up alongside The God Delusion and Omnivore's Dilemma that I had been meaning to buy forever.
hednik4am said:
reading it again... their best imo
It was good. The pendergast series is really enjoyable. I have no idea how 2 writers combine to create something but it seems to work for those two. I've read some of prestons individual works that were good also.
I'm currently reading 4 past midnight by King.
HiroProtagonist
Member
Fanboydestroyer said:
Im actually surprised that the Malazan books are not more popular here, and in general. The series can be a bit complicated, with multiple races (and gods), characters whose names change (sometimes more than once, then back again), a huge world, and tons of characters, but it is definitely worth it. The plots are always interesting (mostly- there are 9 books, so there are some lulls
Dust of Dreams: Im looking at the majority of you!
wayward archer said:
Book 5 is a great change of pace for the series up to that point, and you get to read about Tehol and his manservant - two of my favorite characters.
The_Inquisitor
Member
Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy Book 3. Damn this guy is good! I wish Lucas had done the new series to these books because the movie would have been amazing. Maybe in the future, because seriously these books have a pretty good story.
I am seriously going to read some of his non-Star Wars stuff after.
I am seriously going to read some of his non-Star Wars stuff after.
hypersheep
Member
Symposium by Plato
Reading it for a class. Haven't really gotten into the meat of it, but it seems interesting.
Blackace
if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
nemesun said:I posted it in the Feb pickup thread. I'm quite busy with those two at the moment, going to take me a week or two to finish 'em both.
what is the title of the book in the upper left corner? looks awesome
Yeah, the book is called The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich by William L. Shirer. I'm doing a bit of research for my upcoming project and this book was the first thing that was recommended to me. reading the Patton and Rommel bio at the moment and probably going to be preoccupied with it for another 2 or 3 days before having a go at the other one, but I'm looking forward to it.Blackace said:
Maklershed
Member
MilesWebber
Member
Non Fiction.
Henry Ford attempts to build a 50s era American town in the middle of the South American Jungle.
Blew through this very quickly on a couple of plane rides this weekend. My opinion of it has been lowered somewhat by so much of the original Freakonomics research becoming increasingly suspect. Plus, several chapters of this book seem to have a pretty transparent agenda (putting sulphur in the atmosphere would produce acid rain, and they never once mention this in the global warming chapter).
Still, the these guys are at their best with their crazy stories and offhand statistics, and SuperF is jammed full of them. The story of the researchers introducing money into a society of monkeys is priceless.
All in all, it feels a little bit like these guys blew their load with the first book, and this is the "B Team" book as a result. It's still very entertaining and will give readers tons of "did you know" factoids. I liked it.
Just starting this - just about ~20 pages into it. I picked it up with an Xmas gift card because
A) GAF had suggested it and
B) The cover quote is probably the most perfect book blurb I've ever read: "A Steampunk-zombie-airship adventure of rollicking pace and sweeping proportions, full of wonderfully gnarly details. This book is made of irresistable." I mean... how can you say no to that? So far the opening three chapters have been so-so, but clearly I'm going to give it a real chance.
I finished this one up last night. Free will has been under attack by psychologists and neuroscientists for decades now, although there's always a feeling that scientists are reaching too far from the modest findings that they present in articles.
This is probably the most convincing argument on the topic that I've read. It's a real tour de force, and Wegner rarely forwards an idea without first providing a solid empirical grounding.
My only problem with it is that it's almost too well-referenced. The writing style is clear, and Wegner does a good job of condensing a huge body of work, although it's still a very traditional academic text which can make sections a slog to plough through.
Next up is:
I've heard good things about it - so I'm sure that I'll enjoy it - although I imagine that it'll make for uncomfortable reading.
TheWiicast said:
I recall being very interested in this. Do let us know if it's good.
A novel along vaguely similar lines, which I mean to read soon, is John Crowley's 'Four Freedoms', set in a curious, maudlin bomber plant / village. It's a tragedy of utilitarianism, though, whereas I assume the Ford story is a light tragicomedy of utopianism.
http://www.amazon.com/Four-Freedoms-Novel-John-Crowley/dp/0061231509
'Little, Big' and the Aegypt cycle are just so god damned good that I will give Crowley a shot.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Very ashamed to admit this, but I'm working my way through Eclipse (third Twilight book) :lol
As soon as I'm done with that, I'll go for the Oxford Press edition/translation of Baudelaire's The Flowers of Evil. And when that's done with and over, there's the Oxford Press edition/translation of the Kalevala arriving in the mail (with a bunch of other books)..
As soon as I'm done with that, I'll go for the Oxford Press edition/translation of Baudelaire's The Flowers of Evil. And when that's done with and over, there's the Oxford Press edition/translation of the Kalevala arriving in the mail (with a bunch of other books)..
Just finished:
Just started:
I liked it. Very different from the previous B&KB novels, they're hardly in it actually. It's mostly dialogue, albeit not in the same vein as that between Tehol and Bugg. More like a treatise on art, artists, fans and critics, than the usual action-packed Erikson books.
It's kind of a weird book TBH, but I liked it anyway.
Just started:
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:
I liked it. Very different from the previous B&KB novels, they're hardly in it actually. It's mostly dialogue, albeit not in the same vein as that between Tehol and Bugg. More like a treatise on art, artists, fans and critics, than the usual action-packed Erikson books.
It's kind of a weird book TBH, but I liked it anyway.
hey_monkey
Banned
George Saunders, Pastoralia
Also keep poking at this year's Best American Short Stories, but it probably should have been called Alice Sebolds Shits Up the Antho by Choosing Crappy Stories from Usually Solid Magazines.
Also keep poking at this year's Best American Short Stories, but it probably should have been called Alice Sebolds Shits Up the Antho by Choosing Crappy Stories from Usually Solid Magazines.
Mr. Miyato
Neo Member
So good.
After realizing Daemon is the first in what I assume will be a long series I'm kind of done with it. It's ok as a single novel but having to read at least two more to get any sort of conclusion isn't real appetizing.
Decided to read something light, so I picked up Pratchett's Interesting Times. So far it seems a bit lazier than his other works but I love Rincewind as a character.
Probably going to pick up Comeback America by David Walker today as well.
Decided to read something light, so I picked up Pratchett's Interesting Times. So far it seems a bit lazier than his other works but I love Rincewind as a character.
Probably going to pick up Comeback America by David Walker today as well.
crowphoenix
Banned
Finished up Monster by A. Lee Martinez while I was on my trip. It was a fun read and easy read. However, the book did have a lot of problems.
The biggest problem the book had was in explaining the world to the reader. The book, in a lot of ways, takes part in a Harry Potter-esque world. The difference is that in this world the human mind is hardwired to not see magic. And while this makes for an interesting plot, I feel that it was bungled a bit in how the information was doled out.
Basically, the plot follows two characters Monster and Judy. Monster can see and preform magic. Judy can't. This creates a good dynamic and sets up some fun scenes between.
However, we learn about magic as Judy (who is often not present to ask questions) while actually following Monster's life, which leads to several scenes early on where the reader has no idea what's happening or why.
I'd also place the confusion on the fact that the story is very dialogue heavy. So much so that I barely remember what the characters look like. And then there's the occasional scene that just seems to happen at random.
Still, it's a fun and quirky read if you're sitting in an airport for hours.
The biggest problem the book had was in explaining the world to the reader. The book, in a lot of ways, takes part in a Harry Potter-esque world. The difference is that in this world the human mind is hardwired to not see magic. And while this makes for an interesting plot, I feel that it was bungled a bit in how the information was doled out.
Basically, the plot follows two characters Monster and Judy. Monster can see and preform magic. Judy can't. This creates a good dynamic and sets up some fun scenes between.
However, we learn about magic as Judy (who is often not present to ask questions) while actually following Monster's life, which leads to several scenes early on where the reader has no idea what's happening or why.
I'd also place the confusion on the fact that the story is very dialogue heavy. So much so that I barely remember what the characters look like. And then there's the occasional scene that just seems to happen at random.
Still, it's a fun and quirky read if you're sitting in an airport for hours.
sparky2112
Member
eznark said:
Cool idea, lousy execution, which I'm beginning to think is mandatory for any story involving computers/IT/video games. The fact that it's written by a supposed 'expert' in the field(s) makes it even worse, if just for the forehead-smack factor...
sooperkool
Member
Just started this, about 50 pages in and its pretty good.
Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
_Isaac said:
It is very influential and has been the most widely read English-language work on the subject since it was published in the early 60s. But modern scholars take issue with it because it was written by a journalist, not a specialist, it is somewhat dated now and does not contain new information available since East German archives were opened, and the author has an American-centric viewpoint that some consider naive.
A British academic named Richard J. Evans recently published a three volume work on the same subject.
frailimbnursry
Member
Mifune said:
Forgive me for asking a potentially stupid question (I've never entered a reading thread and am assuming you mean the Dan Simmons novel and not the poem) but have you read Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion first? I was younger when I read through the entire series and I remember putting down the last book for a while because I didn't want the story to end.
Last weekend I stumbled across his latest, Drood, and believe that will be the next book I purchase. I enjoy reading his work even if I sometimes get lost in his descriptions.
Maklershed
Member
I really gotta get a copy of HP Lovecraft and Ender's Game one of these days. I've heard so many great things about them both but never got around to either one.
Starting this today.
Finally finished book 3 in the Percy Jackson series and I'm ready for a little break from that. I'll read book 4 once this is done.
I read 3 books last month and was pretty proud of myself. A few years ago I'd slap books away for gaming or movies. Amazing how things change with age...
zero margin
Member
Rubashov said:
It's been ages since I read it, but I thought it was great. It's a wryly comic post-apocalyptic novel about the canonization of a saint, with all manner of religious subtext to go along with the overt plot. I picked up a battered copy at my parent's house a while back and wound up reading a fair chunk of the first portion before putting it back on the shelf; in retrospect, I should have held on to it and enjoyed a re-read.
FnordChan
Diseased Yak
Gold Member
HiroProtagonist said:
:lol Tehol and Bugg are the best thing ever.
I'm surprised they aren't more popular here as well. I've read most all major fantasy series and the Malazan is easily my favorite. Better than GRRM, better than Jordan.
To contribute, I'm currently working my way through this:
I am over halfway and really enjoying it. It scratches both of my itches for historical novels and horror. Highly recommended.
Grog Machine
Neo Member
It reads like a novel but is technically "non-fiction". Regardless of whether you believe or not, its an interesting read.