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Maklershed · Feb 1, 2015

Maklershed · Feb 1, 2015

Kindle

Tales From the Radiation Age by Jason Sheehan

Hard Copy

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Audio Book

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Secks4Food · Feb 1, 2015

I just started (and will probably finish) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad today. I'm not sold on the story so far but the man can write, really, really well.

User 479360 · Feb 1, 2015

I'm still about 1/2 way finished this. I haven't really read as of late, but plan to finish it this month.

I also have these out from the library still, and plan to read them this winter/spring:

LProtag · Feb 1, 2015

Enjoying it a great deal so far.

Tragicomedy · Feb 1, 2015

I'm reading two great books right now.

The GAF hype got to me. At 25% in, it's proving well deserved. This is clicking with me on every level and is giving me those early "masterpiece" vibes.

So yeah, this is better than the movie in every imaginable way, and I really like the movie. There is so much more to the characters of Jack and Danny Torrance than you would ever realize watching the Kubrick film. There's this slow build up of tension that is sublime.

Dedication Through Light · Feb 1, 2015

White Plague (A Joe Rush Novel) is what I will be reading once it arrives this week.

Kyleripman · Feb 1, 2015

Still working on The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco).

Just grabbed Stardust (Neil Gaiman) for $2.99 on Amazon (kindle deal), should still be up if that interests anyone.

block tower · Feb 1, 2015

sadly just two books this month.

hammertomb · Feb 1, 2015

I just started reading interview with an exorcist. Definitely recommended to those who have a passing interest in paranormal activity.
Interesting to read about how an experienced exorcist deals with those situations.

block tower · Feb 1, 2015

hammertomb said:
I just started reading interview with an exorcist. Definitely recommended to those who have a passing interest in paranormal activity.
Interesting to read about how an experienced exorcist deals with those situations.

Piecake · Feb 1, 2015

LeadProtagonist said:
Enjoying it a great deal so far.

Tragicomedy said:
I'm reading two great books right now.

The GAF hype got to me. At 25% in, it's proving well deserved. This is clicking with me on every level and is giving me those early "masterpiece" vibes.

You guys have excellent taste. Those two are among my favorites

hythloday · Feb 1, 2015

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Enjoying it so far, but definitely not as much as I enjoyed the Stormlight Archive books.

Minor book backlog problems: I guess publishers change covers or editions of Kindle books, causing Amazon to re-list the book with a new URL. I keep seeing "Title no longer available" in my wish list which is a bummer. Once or twice I've been able to remember what it was and search and find the right book again, but sometimes I forget completely. Wish list is too long if I am forgetting titles, I suppose.

ShaneB · Feb 1, 2015

Just posting to sub at the moment, still deciding what to read next. Not sure what my mood is for at the moment.

Mimosa97 · Feb 1, 2015

KINDLE

Just finished it. I have to say i'm a bit disappointed. Zweig wrote some of the best biopics and this might be his weakest one. Still a good read though.

61tsmRbStXL._AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-46,22_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg

Vive l'Empereur !

Cyrus_Saren · Feb 1, 2015

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I first read the book when I was 9 or 10 (has it seriously been 17 years? Jesus...) so I felt it was time to go back and reread it. Not to mention, with seeing the first two movies, I want to get the pure experience and see just how badly they mangled the films.

FUBAR McDangles · Feb 1, 2015

I started one of the last few Jack Reacher books I have not read already. Bad Luck and Trouble is off to a more promising start than the last few I read and I'm looking forward to it. I'm ~110 pages into it, so a little less than 1/4th.

Tragicomedy said:
So yeah, this is better than the movie in every imaginable way, and I really like the movie. There is so much more to the characters of Jack and Danny Torrance than you would ever realize watching the Kubrick film. There's this slow build up of tension that is sublime.

The last time I tried to argue this on gaf I had about 15 people calling for my head.

I agree completely.

Plasticine · Feb 1, 2015

Finished revisiting Clive Barker's The Damnation Game a few days ago. I last read it back in high school, and it absolutely blew my mind. Thankfully it was every bit as great as I remembered it. There's a ton of grotesquely horrible things in it, but there's also a nice fantastic streak that signals the direction Barker would head with his subsequent novels.

Since I revisited an old favorite, I thought I'd explore a new author.

Just started this today. Solid and entertaining so far.

fakefaker · Feb 1, 2015

Barely started Serpents Rising by David A. Poulsen as I'm spending more time watching anime and being with my GF. So far so good tho.

AngmarsKing701 · Feb 1, 2015

I'm only about 25% into Words of Radiance and I've been reading it for more than a month. I'm enjoying it, but something about huge books always makes it harder for me to dig into them.

LProtag · Feb 1, 2015

hythloday said:
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Enjoying it so far, but definitely not as much as I enjoyed the Stormlight Archive books.

This is the last major Cosmere novel I have left to read (besides the novella that came after this and the short stories he's written). Since I read all the other Cosmere novels in January I think I'm going to take a break before coming back to it...

AngmarsKing701 said:
I'm only about 25% into Words of Radiance and I've been reading it for more than a month. I'm enjoying it, but something about huge books always makes it harder for me to dig into them.

I tore through it in about 4 days thinking "oh, it's so big that it will last more for a while and I can just read as much as I want without worrying about the series being over for now". Maybe this will work for you? Haha.

VanWinkle · Feb 1, 2015

LeadProtagonist said:
This is the last major Cosmere novel I have left to read (besides the novella that came after this and the short stories he's written). Since I read all the other Cosmere novels in January I think I'm going to take a break before coming back to it...

Nice. I still have Alloy of Law and Elantris. Well, and Emperor of Souls, which is shorter and set in the Elantris world.

After loving Mistborn so much, I'm excited to get into Alloy of Law, even though I've seen some negative opinions here.

My dad has a paperback copy of Elantris, so I'll probably read that soon since I don't have Alloy of Law yet.

ShaneB · Feb 1, 2015

Plasticine said:
Since I revisited an old favorite, I thought I'd explore a new author.

Just started this today. Solid and entertaining so far.

Remember seeing this a while ago and thinking it looked interesting, share what you think when finished please!

Necrovex · Feb 1, 2015

Decided to go on a non fiction kick for my next couple of books. Though it is better to say I am on Malcolm X kick. I am reading his autobiography and the Pultizer-winning biography on his life.

Cerity · Feb 1, 2015

A little more than halfway through, the writing is dense and a little difficult to get through completely, I find myself skipping passages every so often. Enjoyable and very keen to see what Havisham has planned.

Pau · Feb 1, 2015

Saw that a lot of you folks enjoyed City of Stairs so I picked it up.

Pretty interesting so far! I really like the premise.

Regiruler · Feb 1, 2015

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

My non-spoiler review so far (with chapter numbers spoilered out for the dedicated and spoilery comments in a full spoiler)

Chapter

07

:

Chapter

14

:

Leave it to the illustration to spoil the chapter

Chapter

28

:

What a tease

Chapter

32

:

Chapter

33

:

You think he's about to pull a Rand? Psych!

Chapter

34

:

Chapter

52

:

Replace love with revenge

Necrovex · Feb 1, 2015

I'll probably City of Stairs once I finish 1Q84. Sorry Mumei, I need a few books break from your fiction collection after tackling John Prester.

Madness · Feb 1, 2015

After seeing the movie recently, and then seeing the intense debates and controversy after, I had to get the book to see what the differences are, what the actual Chris Kyle said and felt etc.

Mumei · Feb 1, 2015

I'm pretty sure last month was the biggest topic we've had, or very close to it. How exciting.

Necrovex said:
I'll probably City of Stairs once I finish 1Q84. Sorry Mumei, I need a few books break from your fiction collection after tackling John Prester.

Prester John*

And no worries; I'm finished at least The Wheel of Time before reading the other book you wanted me to read.

Polari · Feb 1, 2015

On holiday for a couple of weeks from Friday and have been saving this one up:

His TV series are all really great, and the book comes highly recommended - not least of all by Louis Theroux. Should be good.

A Fish Aficionado · Feb 1, 2015

It's on sale currently.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439158657/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Lerozz · Feb 1, 2015

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Robot

Cerity · Feb 1, 2015

Cerity said:
A little more than halfway through, the writing is dense and a little difficult to get through completely, I find myself skipping passages every so often. Enjoyable and very keen to see what Havisham has planned.

So yeah, went from a little more than halfway through to finished in a few hours. The book really picks up in the second half. The holes start to get filled and it all comes together beautifully.

Easily one of the best books I've read in a long time and something I'll definitely be re-reading in the future.

Nymerio · Feb 1, 2015

Finished Ghost Brigades a couple of days ago and started with the Princess Bride.

Jag · Feb 1, 2015

Based on GAF recommendations. Like it so far. My Grandpa was born in the area and time this take place, so I find the setting interesting as well. I really like the comparisons of the Arab and Jewish cultures. So close and similar, yet so far away.

Glaurungr · Feb 1, 2015

Some of what I read in january:

Standouts were the two Eddas. Also liked Firefight and Brothers in Arms. Disliked Fortune's Pawn (awful romance and ending), The Divine Comedy (Inferno was interesting enough, but the rest wasn't for me), and The Invention of Murder.

Now reading:

thomaser · Feb 1, 2015

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. I just love the corny way he writes dialogue!

Maklershed · Feb 1, 2015

I feel like everyone in these threads has read or is reading Stoner. I suppose I should join the party soon.

ShaneB · Feb 1, 2015

Nymerio said:
Finished Ghost Brigades a couple of days ago and started with the Princess Bride.

Was late to the party with Princess Bride as I mentioned when I read it, and read the book before watching the movie last year. Book is hilarious, moreso than the movie.

Freeza Under The Shower · Feb 1, 2015

Still going with Story, very, very slowly.

And reading / researching Starship Troopers on the side. Honestly it's not exactly the most fluid thing ever written. You can tell its serial origins very well. The language is to the point though, so that's a good thing. But Zim is inconsistent as shit, the movie did far better on that. Like: no fucks given about trainees dying in boot camp, but still having 'camaraderie' in a Spartan squad? Really? I'm supposed to combine that with Liberty? (fuck yeah)

I'm just not sure what Heinlein was trying to do here. You can read it as Rico not giving a second thought about other people dying, or you can read undertones of people (civilian doctor) not wanting to talk about how the army is useless in a peaceful world, which also appears to send people to death "for science". How is anyone NOT to read "Dr. Mengele, please report to observation." in this thing? It's weird. He loves the army (read his wiki, and that of his wife, who was actually higher in rank than he was, yet the Federation in the novel is all male...), but he seems to fundamentally dislike why it (has to?) exists in relation to politics.

I suppose that is due to this being early work in an age where editors were still largely non-existent though. A modern editor would send it back with a note: "make a choice and stick with it", I imagine.

Piecake · Feb 1, 2015

Maklershed said:
I feel like everyone in these threads has read or is reading Stoner. I suppose I should join the party soon.

You should! It is one of my favorites

X-Frame · Feb 1, 2015

Glaurungr said:
Some of what I read in january:

Standouts were the two Eddas. Also liked Firefight and Brothers in Arms. Disliked Fortune's Pawn (awful romance and ending), The Divine Comedy (Inferno was interesting enough, but the rest wasn't for me), and The Invention of Murder.

Unfortunately the romance in the Fortune's Pawn series gets worse with the final 2 books. I thought the 1st book was actually the best of the 3.

Pau · Feb 1, 2015

Glaurungr said:
Some of what I read in january:

How did Clariel compare to the older Abhorsen books?

KidDork · Feb 1, 2015

Coming to the end of Memories of Ice. I've read it before, and my copy will not survive another re-read. Love this book.

bengraven · Feb 1, 2015

Pau said:
How did Clariel compare to the older Abhorsen books?

Allow me to second this.

I'm sad we haven't seen another trilogy planned. There's a lot of potential with the series.

Incandenza · Feb 1, 2015

KidDork said:
Coming to the end of Memories of Ice. I've read it before, and my copy will not survive another re-read. Love this book.

I just hit 40%. Slower going now that I have schoolwork to contend with but I'm still trucking. This story is enormous.

LProtag · Feb 2, 2015

I forgot how quickly most books go by when they're not giant 1000 page fantasy novels. I wonder what it is about fantasy that lends itself to such long books. Worldbuilding and the heavy dependance on structured plotlines is my guess.

Piecake · Feb 2, 2015

LeadProtagonist said:
I forgot how quickly most books go by when they're not giant 1000 page fantasy novels. I wonder what it is about fantasy that lends itself to such long books. Worldbuilding and the heavy dependance on structured plotlines is my guess.

my guess is a desire of most fantasy authors to create something epic, and epic=long. Plus, long fantasy books and long series seem to have become standard and expected.

Verdre · Feb 2, 2015

Finished a re-read of Peter S Beagle's The Folk of the Air

"I will miss it so," she said beside him. "This hell of a place, I will miss it so much. This fat body, walking mud puddle, deceived by everything, this impossible, ruinous accident of a world, these people who would truly rather hurt one another than eatoh, there is nothing, nothing, nothing I would not do to stay here ten minutes longer. Oh, I will leave clawmarks, I will drag mountains and forests away under my fingernails when I am dragged off. Such a stupid way to feel. I will be all dirty from clutching at this stupid planet, and the gods will laugh at me."

Probably my second favorite book of his, behind The Last Unicorn and so very different from it. He's supposed to be working on a new version of it, which will be interesting to see. If it ever surfaces.

LeadProtagonist said:
I forgot how quickly most books go by when they're not giant 1000 page fantasy novels. I wonder what it is about fantasy that lends itself to such long books. Worldbuilding and the heavy dependance on structured plotlines is my guess.

I think at some point it became The Thing To Do, for whatever reason.

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