That's one of my favourite of the modern Simpsons episodes. So good.
"That's it, Franzen! I think your nose needs some corrections!"
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
What are you reading? (February 2012)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
That's one of my favourite of the modern Simpsons episodes. So good.
"That's it, Franzen! I think your nose needs some corrections!"
It's really really really 80s.
Finished Dauntless and jumped right into the next book Fearless.
This is my favorite modern sci-fi that I've read since the Commonwealth Saga. Really enjoying it. I'm probably gonna blow through all six books in the next couple weeks.
That's high praise, must check that out!
If I remember correctly from a podcast interview I listened to with the translator, the answer is "No."
Working my way through A Clash of Kings. It's more character driven than the first and that's just ok with me.
Slowly creeping through Shadow of the Torturer. Certainly an interesting world and writing style. I need to get back to this, but Clash is eating most of my time right now.
Welcome to the small group of people who don't think much of Neuromancer. As I've stated countless times, I just didn't get it. I didn't understand it. I barely knew what was happening most of the time, and I didn't care about any single thing that happened to the characters. It just felt too removed from human experience for me.
I've heard great things about Shadow and Claw, and would probably pick it up next. Snow Crash is another cyberpunk narrative, so maybe jumping in after Neuromancer might not be the best thing.
At part 2, no where near as good as the first two. Still loving it. Reading it day by day.... don't want it to end!
Oh, it gets worse.
Neffarias_Bredd
Member
Thanks, gonna check this out next.
Read George RR Martin's short story titled A Song for Lya...really struck a bell with me. Highly recommend it for anyone who likes George's writing or likes sci fi...or likes to read.
CarbonatedFalcon
Member
So I've been keeping a tally of books I've read in 2012 (and late 2011.)
Anyway I'm currently wrapping up my last non-fiction book for awhile, but on queue is Cryptonomicon, American Gods, and Game of Thrones.
Anyway I'm currently wrapping up my last non-fiction book for awhile, but on queue is Cryptonomicon, American Gods, and Game of Thrones.
Finished:
Seems a lot of folks complain about the ending. I really didn't mind it all that much.
Seems a lot of folks complain about the ending. I really didn't mind it all that much.
My wife and daughter complained that Prim died, but I think she had to die in order to get the plot to the point of where Katniss could kill Coin. Coin had to die, she was as bad as Snow.
Clever Pun
Member
The thing about the ending specifically that bothered me was
it felt arbitrary for Katniss to not be able to see Gale anymore because of some tenuous connection to Prim's death, but be completely okay with still having a relationship with Peeta in spite of him being way more directly involved with all the murders of the games themselves.
I picked up the first volume of the complete Sherlock Holmes again earlier this year. While I've still got the last quarter of the book to go, last night I finished "The Final Problem", the last story in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. It's all good stuff, but I'd say my favorite stories were "Silver Blaze", "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual", and "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter". I've been enjoying the hell out of the Holmes stories, but this seemed like a good stopping place for the moment. Next up, I'm going to actually take part in the book club for once!
I'm currently all of six pages into Roberto Bolaño's 2666. So far, so good, and only 906 pages to go!
FnordChan
bloodydrake
Cool Smoke Luke
Currently listening to "The Magicians" about 1/3rd way thru..its well not really grabbing me in any meaningful way.
I find the book really lacks in enjoyable dialog ..its mostly descriptive 3rd person story telling, and when there is any dialog it seems to portray all teenagers are douchey..
Hope it gets better but seems to be firmly in the EH guess its ok category.
Finished Dauntless and jumped right into the next book Fearless.
This is my favorite modern sci-fi that I've read since the Commonwealth Saga. Really enjoying it. I'm probably gonna blow through all six books in the next couple weeks.
Agreed. Its right up there with Revelation Space series for me.
I agree. The Scholar's tale is the best one.
It's just so heartbreaking. It had me on the verge of tears and not alot can really do that to me. Best part of the book in my opinion.
nakedsushi
Member
It's great to see so many people picking up Ted Chiang's stuff!
I finished another gaf recommendation last night:
The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn
What a fun ride! Anyone who's a fan of Firefly should read it. I think that's the whole reason I started reading it. It's like a locked-room whodunnit in space! With aliens!
I finished another gaf recommendation last night:
The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn
What a fun ride! Anyone who's a fan of Firefly should read it. I think that's the whole reason I started reading it. It's like a locked-room whodunnit in space! With aliens!
Jamesways
Member
I just finished Mockingjay last night. It was so so so much different than the first two. I couldn't believe the climax and ending, it's just not what you'd expect. BUT...
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. They ended up ravaged wasted husks of people from the war, manipulation, and everything they've been through. It's very reminiscent of the shock and damage Vets have after years of battle. My wife just kept saying about the 3rd book, "There's no going back, they can never go back to the way it was".
Regading Gale,
I didn't see that as an issue at all. She realized his plans were just as destructive and flippant towards lives as those in power in the Capitol. I didn't think it was just Prim's death, but also the concept of it. For Chrissakes they bombed Children, then fire-bombed their own Medics and troops coming to help just to pin it on Snow. I wasn't a huge fan of Peeta at all in this book, but she probably took solace in the fact that he understood a part of what she went through.
I actually really liked Book 2, a bit more than 1 even.
backflip10019
Member
Just bought:
All the reviews have been positive, though I haven't really ever read Stephen King (at least not in my adult life). I hope I like it.
All the reviews have been positive, though I haven't really ever read Stephen King (at least not in my adult life). I hope I like it.
Having finished Life of Pi. I've moved on to American Gods by Neil Gaiman. About 70 pages in and I like it. It's the first non-comic work of Gaiman's that I've read.
Also still listening to the David Copperfield audiobook. About 6 chapters into it. It's enjoyable but a bit slow.
Also still listening to the David Copperfield audiobook. About 6 chapters into it. It's enjoyable but a bit slow.
Slowly creeping through Shadow of the Torturer. Certainly an interesting world and writing style. I need to get back to this, but Clash is eating most of my time right now.
I read Shadow of the Torturer a few months ago; keep meaning to go back and finish the other 3 books.
I found it was one of those books that treads a thin line between being absolutely amazing and utterly indecipherable. There were moments that were really enjoyable to read and just as many moments where I was sure I was just too stupid to ever get my head around what was going on, or what was being implied. I think it definitely requires a re-read before I move onto the next one.
It's maybe one of those books that would be further enhanced if it was done in a GAF Book Club read. It'd be all kinds of interesting to talk things through about some of the events and their possible meanings / future possibilities.
It's good. It sags a bit in the middle, but overall it's very suspenseful and fun to read.Just bought:
All the reviews have been positive, though I haven't really ever read Stephen King (at least not in my adult life). I hope I like it.
Just prepare for some awkward sex scenes and a bit of a forced love interest. :-/
backflip10019
Member
I've been preparing my whole life for awkward sex scenes. I'm excited.
Might have to see if I can find this. Coincidentally the last book I was reading was Moving Mars by Greg Bear. Unfortunately I didn't make it past about halfway and haven't read any books lately.
I've never been more engaged with a book before, the stories just blew me away and gave me chills.
I'm roughly halfway into it, and man oh man it is horrifically disappointing so far. Going to give it it's full due, as I adore stories dealing with robotic advancements, but this one has just been woefully poor as yet.
Very poorly written, jarringly and awkwardly foreboding and filled with logic leaps that are so absurd it's hard to believe the author didn't even realize. For what was supposed to be a rather realistic-ish take on a robotic takeover and the pitfalls of modern tech by a Ph.D equipped author, it's actually quite the opposite.
Full take when I'm done.
Ah, damn, such a shame. I really feel it's a novel that would be so much more enjoyable reading it *with* people, rather than in isolation. There's just so much to pick out of the text, and try and interpret, in every chapter.
The closest thing I ever managed to find was a re-read of the series on another forum, which is massively enlightening, but interest seemed to fall off and the thread just stopped being updated. Such a shame
Clever Pun
Member
Fair point, and maybe it's my own failing but
it never seemed clear that Gale had that much to do with the bombing. Maybe it was obvious and I missed it, or maybe I'm just not remembering correctly, but I know after I finished it I thought the justification for her choosing Peeta over Gale was weak.
Your point about the reactions in book 3 being reminiscent of battered war vets is interesting, but I still think Katniss's behavior in Mockingjay doesn't fit with her character. If transitioning from courageous to whiny was meant to reflect PTSD from her time in the games, Collins needed to do a better job of showing her descend into that state, rather than just suddenly being that way in book 3.
Your point about the reactions in book 3 being reminiscent of battered war vets is interesting, but I still think Katniss's behavior in Mockingjay doesn't fit with her character. If transitioning from courageous to whiny was meant to reflect PTSD from her time in the games, Collins needed to do a better job of showing her descend into that state, rather than just suddenly being that way in book 3.
Cool. I don't think my local library has any of Sanderson's non-WoT books, otherwise I probably would have tried them out by now. I'm looking forward to seeing how A Memory of Light wraps up the Wheel of Time series, though. He's done a good job on the first (last?) two as far as I'm concerned.
JeTmAn81
Member
Still slowly navigating my way through NPR's top 100 scifi/fantasy list from last year. Currently on this one:
I didn't really know anything about this book before starting it, and I'm finding it to be pretty interesting so far. Apparently it's broken into multiple sections so it doesn't follow the same characters through the entire book. The guy who wrote it seems to have pretty much just written this book and disappeared for the rest of his literary career. I can tell that he was pretty into Catholicism. The post-apocalyptic setting makes it feel like it would fit very well into the Fallout universe, and I can picture all these monks sitting somewhere in a corner of that world poring over ancient texts and fretting over saints.
I didn't really know anything about this book before starting it, and I'm finding it to be pretty interesting so far. Apparently it's broken into multiple sections so it doesn't follow the same characters through the entire book. The guy who wrote it seems to have pretty much just written this book and disappeared for the rest of his literary career. I can tell that he was pretty into Catholicism. The post-apocalyptic setting makes it feel like it would fit very well into the Fallout universe, and I can picture all these monks sitting somewhere in a corner of that world poring over ancient texts and fretting over saints.
Dude Abides
Banned
Jamesways
Member
You're right, they don't just come out and say it. But
she remembers back tot the plans he was working on with Beetee and his idea of double bombing. Shes asked him if it was one of his bombs and he says "Does it really matter?" I took it to mean she he was involved especially after his actions and rage at bringing down/killing all the people in the mountain. Near the end is when she realized she didn't need that rage from him to keep her going. It may have been different if he showed up in 12 at the end instead of Peeta.
I agree with you about her character changing, to me she was
cracked and losing it from the get-go in this book. I don't think she ever recovered from being manipulated, by either side. And she spent a ton of time in the book just getting the crap kicked out of her, injured, confused, drugged up, days recovering in bed, etc.
By the time the end rolled around, I wasn't surprised either her, Peeta, and Haymitch never really recovered mentally. I thought it was awesome depicting Peeta, even the future, having to hold onto a chair fighting with temporary setbacks/bouts of madness. You gotta think too, she's still a 17 year old kid.
But yeah, she was much stronger in the first two as a whole. Times in 3 she was, I was happy she did the training and stopped being so selfish, but it just seemed like she (and the rest of the victors too) were just not quite all there anymore.
By the time the end rolled around, I wasn't surprised either her, Peeta, and Haymitch never really recovered mentally. I thought it was awesome depicting Peeta, even the future, having to hold onto a chair fighting with temporary setbacks/bouts of madness. You gotta think too, she's still a 17 year old kid.
But yeah, she was much stronger in the first two as a whole. Times in 3 she was, I was happy she did the training and stopped being so selfish, but it just seemed like she (and the rest of the victors too) were just not quite all there anymore.
It's sad. Not at all like you'd expect the story to go.
Read about 200 pages so far; and it's truly excellent, I think what makes it so great is how it taps into the "human element" of science and manages to really devolve into how people of the world made their breakthrough scientific discoveries, which is something that is not found in the vast majority of scientific text-books.
Hard to make bodily functions come off as anything but gratuitous on the page. (Because they are.)
I think it's partly because Wolfe's vocabulary and jargon are so unique and dated, which makes sense in this context because the book is supposed to have been "translated" into English anyway, and on the other hand, partly because I, at least so far, am having a hard time discerning what's important and worth remembering. The chapters are all pretty short, but at times they seem completely separate from each other, but are so detailed, that it's really hard to figure out what will play a larger role in the narrative.
I think it's best with The Book of the New Sun (or really any book written over your head) to just read through it and not worry too much if you're missing something. You are; you can't help that. Just read through and get as much as you can, and then read The Urth of the New Sun (which happens both advance the plot and reveal connections between events from earlier in the story).
It worked pretty well for me, and when I checked my understanding against a synopsis, I had gotten the vast majority of the major plot elements, but there was still enough I missed to make an eventual reread worthwhile.
AnathemicOne
Banned
Hmm it looks like I need to read 1984. Unfortunately in high school I didn't get the chance to read it as it was replaced with Animal Farm
Still slowly navigating my way through NPR's top 100 scifi/fantasy list from last year. Currently on this one:
I didn't really know anything about this book before starting it, and I'm finding it to be pretty interesting so far. Apparently it's broken into multiple sections so it doesn't follow the same characters through the entire book. The guy who wrote it seems to have pretty much just written this book and disappeared for the rest of his literary career. I can tell that he was pretty into Catholicism. The post-apocalyptic setting makes it feel like it would fit very well into the Fallout universe, and I can picture all these monks sitting somewhere in a corner of that world poring over ancient texts and fretting over saints.
This is definitely on my list of "must read it before I die." A friend of mine recommended it to me a year or so ago, and lauded it pretty highly. Seems that may critics and readers agree with her too.
Bill Murray
Banned
I read Canticle for the first time last year and I think it's really overrated. I could barely get through the third act because it's just so horrible.
It's very dated, very heavy on the Catholic Church, the highly praised repeating themes and such aren't all that profound now. I dunno, it was probably amazing for its time, but it hasn't aged well, imo. I kind of wish I would have just read the first act and then quit.
It's very dated, very heavy on the Catholic Church, the highly praised repeating themes and such aren't all that profound now. I dunno, it was probably amazing for its time, but it hasn't aged well, imo. I kind of wish I would have just read the first act and then quit.