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What are you reading? (February 2014)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
My thoughts as well. Not about that specific book I mean, but just the times when a book does suck me in and grip me, and become that unstoppable page turner. Every moment I'm not reading it I wonder what is going to happen next, etc etc.
obin_gam
Member
Finished Dan Simmons' The Abominable yesterday... how the hell did such a great buildup and historical documentary turn into THAT ENDING? Seriously!?
Extraordinarily bad.
Now I've started King's 11.22.63 and am four chapters into it. Intriguing and genuinely great!
For some reason the twist made the story MORE unrealistic than had it been real snowmen instead of germans wanting to get hold of paedo-Hitlers pics.
Now I've started King's 11.22.63 and am four chapters into it. Intriguing and genuinely great!
Tried to read this a year ago after I attempted to read my copy of Dante's Inferno, and failed to read both.
So this time I bought the audio book and tried again.
Ten minutes into the book, I began to fall asleep. I just don't think I can do it
What is wrong with me? (cries)
You might just not be ready for it. I started reading Paradise Lost in college, got through the first 'book' and then put it down and didn't come back to it until years later after being intrigued by praise for Lucifer's portrayal.
I had read other epic poems since then, and I guess at some point the form "clicked" for me, and I was able to read Paradise Lost much more fluently.
I think it's a combination of being more experienced reading (or listening to) long-form poetry, and being motivated.
Recently finished:
The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny - Actually, I've only finished the first five books, but I've heard that the Merlin books are like a whole different series, so I'm going to put them off for a while. Overall I've really enjoyed what I've read so far. The series is very trippy, very imaginative. It can be very arty at times. Some of the artiness works really well, some doesn't, but the books never get bogged down in their pretentions enough to slow the pace to any great degree, so it always feels like fun, light reading. Zelazny's writing style really grew on me as the series went along, and I love the main character.
I just finished reading The Sandman Companion recently, and Moore and Gaiman both mention Zelazny's influence. This sounds very interesting.
Definitely. It's difficult, though not impossible, to just jump in to epic (or any) poetry and expect to understand the language and nuance. Shakespeare is the same way. Modern readers just aren't familiar with these styles of narrative (through no fault of their own) and get lost and/or frustrated when they try to read a Paradise Lost or Dante's Inferno.
I started Wuthering Heights this week, which has somehow eluded me all these years, and even though I'm only three chapters in I think I'm gonna love it. I had no idea how much gothic imagery was in it. Unfortunately, my copy of Bravely Default shipped early and any time I'd normally dedicate to reading has gone to that. Whoops!
Ranger Taffles
Member
So I've finished:
Simply marvelous. Once I was nearing the final pages there was this overwhelming joy and sadness at the same time that I'm about to be done with Yossarian's journey. Although I stalled the book numerous times, I ended up regretting it altogether. Masterpiece of a work. Certainly the best satire fiction I've read so far.
Now starting:
Heard good things about it from a group of friends. Willing to try it out.
P.S
Before joining GAF I was always lurking around the What are you reading? thread for good recommendations, and I must say that I've always been satisfied of the good lot of picks here.
Simply marvelous. Once I was nearing the final pages there was this overwhelming joy and sadness at the same time that I'm about to be done with Yossarian's journey. Although I stalled the book numerous times, I ended up regretting it altogether. Masterpiece of a work. Certainly the best satire fiction I've read so far.
Now starting:
Heard good things about it from a group of friends. Willing to try it out.
P.S
Before joining GAF I was always lurking around the What are you reading? thread for good recommendations, and I must say that I've always been satisfied of the good lot of picks here.
nakedsushi
Member
Totally. I think I may be on this boat too. Something feels very sterile in his writing.
Maybe I am an outlier as I was hooked from the first paragraph.
I haven't read many books, especially as a lot of people here, but it is easily my most favorite book overall that I have read. The wait for WoR is brutal, especially with all these pictures of the finished hardcover floating around.
Yeah, I can see the influence. The Amber universe is weird in a way that is kind of similar to the Gaiman stuff I've read.
If you decide to tackle it, know that the first book is probably the weakest, and at times it almost feels like a rough draft that got published. It's still entertaining, and has some of the most imaginative moments in the series, partly because it feels like he wrote it without any sort of filter, but the quality of the writing improves drastically in later books. Even the plot of the first book is kind of bizarre and unfocused.
Can anyone recommend any short story collections on Kindle worth reading? Either by one author or a group of authors, I don't mind. I don't care if the stories or authors are recognisable names or independent writers or competition winners, just as long as the collection is enjoyable.
It's annoying that Kindle doesn't have a short story collection category. I know there are the Singles but they are, obviously, single stories.
It's annoying that Kindle doesn't have a short story collection category. I know there are the Singles but they are, obviously, single stories.
In the mood for some good comfort food reading so started rereading the Belgariad. Book One (Pawn of Prophecy) is better than I remembered, Book Two (Queen of Sorcery) is worse than I remembered, especially the bits involving the Tolnedrans and Ce'nedra. Sigh. Man, Eddings is such a weird writer.
DarkChronic
Member
That's a great way to explain it. It's not that I think he is a poor writer - it's just sterile, like you said. Felt that way about the first Mistborn book. Good, just not great.
So I did a little bit of internet reading on Sanderson's "Cosmere" stuff and how it relates to all his books - now that stuff is fascinating. How did readers gather the information about that? From Way of Kings? Because I didn't catch any of that in the first Mistborn book.
Well, you can never go wrong with Faulkner. Alice Munro deservedly won a Nobel Prize last year, so maybe a best of collection might catch your eye. This Lovecraft collection is excellent, and presents all his work in chronological order (and it's cheap!). The Weird is an exhaustive anthology of strange, esoteric short fiction from all around the world. It's edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer, and while they have some excellent collections (such as this and this), this is absolutely the best. If you're interested in speculative fiction, I've enjoyed a few of these collections as well. The Best American series always puts out worthwhile collections, and I noticed while browsing Amazon that they have a few samplers up for free.
Hope some of these are of interest!
Disappointing to hear that Republic of Thieves isn't as good as the first two books. I'm currently reading Red Seas and I'm only about 1/3 through and its taking a while to get going, but I'm still enjoying it. Lies of Locke Lamora was great. I could name flaws, but really, it feels like one of those stories where its best to not to take everything too seriously and instead just enjoy the fun adventures and dynamics between the main characters. So far, at least...
nakedsushi
Member
Oh interesting. I didn't know about the Cosmere stuff at all but I did notice some similarities between Mistborn and Way of Kings, at least what I've read of it. That makes sense. See, that makes me want to read his other books, but when I actually do sit down to read them, I get turned off by the writing. His ideas are good, but his writing does nothing for me and I think I have a fairly low threshold for good writing!
tauroxd
Member
The Way of King is my first and only Sanderson book (I plan to read the Mistborn series), probably by 15% I was already into that book like it was the most awesome thing in my life. By 20% I just wanted to read till i finished the book. So yeah, you have to keep on... If you reach those numbers and feel the same... Well, I really think you should give it a try. It's a huge book, I know. but I think it deserves your time.
I don't know what made not to love it right away, I think because when I usuallyt get into huge fantasy books is one in the ASOIAF series and knowing this was nothing like it put me off. I don't know, really.
And yes, all those pictures are making me desperate!
H.Protagonist
[-_-]/
At 1/3 into Red Skies it was still good. Let me know how you feel when you're over halfway through.
I'm hoping for Republic of Thieves to be a return to form, even if it doesn't measure up to LoLL.I read Wuthering Heights all in one day and had the most terrifying nightmares that night. It's quite a wonderfully dark book.
And if you've never seen this, well, here you go.
Kate liked it, too.
charlemagne
Member
Now starting:
Heard good things about it from a group of friends. Willing to try it out.
Wish I could read it again for the first time.
Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile by Nate Jackson
Well written account from the journeyman's perspective in the NFL. Definitely a nice change of pace from the usual view I'm given of the league.
Joe Shlabotnik
Banned
Tenth of December by George Saunders.
Reading Guns, Germs, and Steel and enjoying it so far. With such an information heavy topic as the history of civilization, the author has done a good job so far of relaying what i need to know chapter by chapter.
Going to read some Hunter S Thompson for the first time when i Finish this.
Going to read some Hunter S Thompson for the first time when i Finish this.
I read around 300 pages of Way of Kings before dropping it, something I rarely do. It's boring with average writing and characters. Could not imagine an additional 700 pages of that. It gets so much praise though that I ended up getting the audiobook later. Dropped it soon after. I don't get the appeal.
DarkChronic
Member
Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt this way while reading. I'm up to page 500 now. My interest has increased ten fold after learning about this Cosmere overarching story. Hope to learn more about that in this book...
About 2/3 of the way through Pale Fire at the moment. Haven't read any Nabokov before but good god can this man write. I've been grinning ear to ear at some of these sentences. The structure of the novel is strangely meandering, although I admit I didn't follow Kinbote's advice and instead read the poem first and I'm now going through the commentary.
Debasertron
Neo Member
I just started Brave New World, and I'm not sure if I like it that much. I feel like I need to get further in to really see the fleshed out world Huxley built, but I'm not sure if it's his writing style or what, but I find it incredibly hard to actually enjoy reading.
I'm about 300 pages into The Brothers Karamazov. Incredibly dense yet a slow burn for sure. Definitely not a page turner and some of the long unbroken passages can be a challenge to read, but I'm compelled to continue. From what I understand the pieces are still being set. Hopefully the payoff is good.
Also just finished the eight volume of The Unwritten, which is definitely the most consistent, entertaining, and enlightening comic book currently being written.
Also just finished the eight volume of The Unwritten, which is definitely the most consistent, entertaining, and enlightening comic book currently being written.
Finished Sea of Poppies yesterday, he should really have pressed the awesome setting he came up with to the forefront. Here's the thing, how much do we know about the Opium Wars? I know next to nothing, I have a better idea of India under British rule at the time, but a well researched book on that subject is still very compelling. And it actually is, he does a fantastic job; my issue is that he falls in love with his characters and "plottiness" of their tales. All of that is decidedly not so good, the bad guys are cartoonishly bad, the twists and turns are telegraphed and perhaps the most disconcerting of all is how unbelievable some of this stuff is(a French white girl sneaking onto a ship filled full of Indian serfs and getting away with it...yea). Anyway, I enjoyed it, but won't be going back for the second.
Next up is the first book I've reread in probably close to ten years:
And I still love it. How nice it is to feel good about one's adolescent taste in at least this instance, God knows I've been embarrassed countless times with other shit I thought was great at the time.
Next up is the first book I've reread in probably close to ten years:
And I still love it. How nice it is to feel good about one's adolescent taste in at least this instance, God knows I've been embarrassed countless times with other shit I thought was great at the time.
Aw man, you're scaring me.At 1/3 into Red Skies it was still good. Let me know how you feel when you're over halfway through.
I'm about halfway through and its a bit ridiculous, but I'm still hanging on! If it continually gets worse, I'm going to subconsciously blame this on you, you know that right?
I'm thinking of reading Game of Thrones after I finish Band of Brothers, but I don't know if I should. I'm not sure I'll like it and I hate to waste the money on something I'll never finish. I've never read any fantasy books before and the only fantasy movies I can think of that I've ever watched are the Lord of the Rings movies, and I hated them. What do you think GAF, should I try it, anyway?
AngmarsKing701
Member
Do you have a Kindle? Try the sample chapters.
I... don't understand... you hate the LOTR movies? That's... inconceivable.
Difficult to say. GoT isn't your typical fantasy series. Its certainly nothing like Lord of the Rings. Its got a lot of political intrigue and character drama. Its not an adventure fantasy or anything and its hooked many people who would never think of themselves as fantasy fans.
Read the first book. You'll know by the end whether you like it or not and want to continue on. Its too good a series to not at least try out.
Reading short snippets just wouldn't do it justice, I don't think.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345408772/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Catherine The Great: Portrait Of A Woman.
Fantastic book. Will read more from this author's series.
Catherine The Great: Portrait Of A Woman.
Fantastic book. Will read more from this author's series.
I read it the same way. From what I've seen, it's possible to read it in any number of ways, though there are some interesting things revealed almost immediately if you read it with reference to the commentary immediately.
If you really love it, I strongly recommend Brian Boyd's Nabokov's "Pale Fire": The Magic of Artistic Discovery for a very interesting take on the chimera.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345408772/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Catherine The Great: Portrait Of A Woman.
Fantastic book. Will read more from this author's series.
I am reading Peter the Great and its fantastic. I definitely will read more from this author as well
Oh man, I blitzed through the book.
I cannot believe how good it was. One of the best fantasy books I've read in a long while. I cannot wait for the next book. I also cannot believe he had to self publish considering some of the shit I've read in the genre.
I really like the way the plot was laid out. Wonderful twists and turns with the manner of his revelations of links in the plot were well laid out.
Yup, it was definitely one of the best books that i read last year and one of my favorite fantasy books in general. I think it is easily the best coming of age fantasy story that ive read.
I'm reading Ancillary Justice and I'm liking it a lot. Although I have to ask, does anyone else sometimes feel confused by the dialogue and narration? Like it takes a few rereadings to understand what One Esk is really talking about and sometimes even then her meaning is obfuscated?
I don't know if this is intentional on the author's part, poor writing, or just my reading comprehension going to shit from too much NeoGAF.
I don't know if this is intentional on the author's part, poor writing, or just my reading comprehension going to shit from too much NeoGAF.
charlemagne
Member
I had the same problem. It really turned me off the book.
I just started Brave New World, and I'm not sure if I like it that much. I feel like I need to get further in to really see the fleshed out world Huxley built, but I'm not sure if it's his writing style or what, but I find it incredibly hard to actually enjoy reading.
I've tried to read Brave New World a few times and I have a hard time making it more than four or five pages. Something about it is just really hard to read to me.
Having read most of Stranger in a Strange Land and all of Starship Troopers... that's some overrated stuff. There's classic sci fi that just hasn't aged well, but one can still appreciate where it came from, this is just bad the whole way through.
Afaik the sample is about the first 15% or so of the book. Not your typical snippet.