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What are you reading? (February 2015)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
A foreign world to bring to life requires a lot of writing, and you're usually working on multiple peoples' interweaving stories. When you're dealing with something like the Stormlight Archives, there's just so much going on. The scale is massive. If he were to reduce the page-count, there would be so much character development and world detail missing, and make, what I believe, would be a much worse book.
I love the pacing allowed with a large book. Not everybody utilizes it well, but I really appreciate slow scenes and more thought-provoking chapters, which a large book will allow in the fantasy genre.
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150119-the-21st-centurys-12-best-novels
What do we think? I don't keep up with new releases, so there's only a couple I can vouch for. Wolf Hall certainly deserves it, no mention of sci fi is an omission. So, is this a good list/resource?
What do we think? I don't keep up with new releases, so there's only a couple I can vouch for. Wolf Hall certainly deserves it, no mention of sci fi is an omission. So, is this a good list/resource?
First update for the month~
Finished:
Currently Reading:
I hate Tuon. God, she's insufferable. She better improve or I'm going to imagine fan fiction in my head where terrible, terrible things happen to her.
I hate Insert female WoT character. God, she's insufferable. She better improve or I'm going to imagine fan fiction in my head where terrible, terrible things happen to her.
I actually have had female characters grow on me. I mean, there are so many more female characters than male that some of them are bound to be likable at some time or another, if only because of their effect on other characters I dislike more.
<_<
I still like Cadsuane. And Alviarin really needs a raise. The Dark One doesn't pay her enough
Maybe I gave up before those two got introduced. Its been a while though, so I might have just forgotten about them.
Truest words on NeoGAF.
Photon
Member
Just started Lord of Chaos and can't help but think what a pleasant reprieve the last book was with the complete absence of Faile.
Reading this too.
I hated Egwene for the majority of the series until The Knife of Dreams. But it was Book 12 that I really started to like her by Book 14 I was actually emotionally invested in her character.
I really don't want to add City of Stairs and The Goblin Emperor to my reading list, but you guys won't stop talking about them.
Trying to get a balance of Literature (with a capital L) and sci-fi/fantasy going. I'm an English major through and through and always feel guilty when I read a lot of stuff that lacks academic merit (this is in no way dissing the genre, a good book is a good book), haha. Also I sometimes fantasize about going back and getting my Ph.D in literature, which means I'll need to take the GRE in English Lit which basically tests you on your knowledge of the canon... which I'm woefully unprepared for.
Trying to get a balance of Literature (with a capital L) and sci-fi/fantasy going. I'm an English major through and through and always feel guilty when I read a lot of stuff that lacks academic merit (this is in no way dissing the genre, a good book is a good book), haha. Also I sometimes fantasize about going back and getting my Ph.D in literature, which means I'll need to take the GRE in English Lit which basically tests you on your knowledge of the canon... which I'm woefully unprepared for.
If needed drop some other sci-fi/fantasy from your reading list and replace with those two! You won't regret it!
Not only they are both great, they are also not doorstop-sized and go by really fast. Also, while both authors are working on some sort of sequel or companion book, both are self-contained so you're getting a full story with an ending right away.
You're a teacher, right? If I were you, I would be happy with that and enjoy reading what you like while still getting to discuss and teach literature in some sort of fashion.
I tried graduate school in history for a while, but I end up quitting since I found out that I actually didnt enjoy DOING history (was quite tedious), the hours were insane, and the job prospects abysmal. I mean, its not good if you only have like a 10% shot of getting an adjunct position in some bum-fuck college where you have to support yourself on welfare and food stamps.
So yea, read City of Stairs! I quite Enjoyed Goblin Emperor as well.
Oh, I know that a career as a humanities professor is pretty much out of the picture at this point. It's just something I think about. My real plan is to get my masters in English so I can teach college level courses to high school students in partnership with my state university.
Anyway, I'm just complaining that I'm too excited to read so many books. Makes it hard to read everything I want to!
Anyway, I'm just complaining that I'm too excited to read so many books. Makes it hard to read everything I want to!
Me too, I haven't watched to movie yet but I love the book. Way funnier than I anticipated.
420bits
Member
Just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman and it was pretty good, overall it was a bit disappointing because I've seen so many 10/10 reviews of it that I thought I would think better of it. By no means a bad book but not a 10/10 Flawless victory with a finisher on the top.
No rest for the wicked so today I'm starting with Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence!
No rest for the wicked so today I'm starting with Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence!
StrongArmSteady
Member
you're in for a treat, Jorge is an arsehole but he grows on you
Half through Acceptance (Book 3) from the Southern Reach Trilogy. Good so far. It's tying together some strings. Book 2 slowed down a lot till the book finale (spoiler from mid/end part)
Whitby's hidden "party room" scene with Control was tense
I think i'm going to read something funny next in german or english. Want to laugh again. Sad that the new Terry Pratchett books are so dull now. Read them all except the newest 2.
Want to shove in some "shorter" books before i dive into a long Fantasy/SciFi series again. Since i powered through a bunch of long Fantasy ones recently, it's time to get into a long SciFi one again. Which can you guys recommend? (Going to check the links in the OP soon).
Read Ender Game (O.S.Card) and the following book with the piggies. I have read online that the book after it is a bit dull so i made a break there.
Laieon
Member
Speaking of short books, does anyone have any recommendations? And by short, I mean like "Of Mice and Men" and "Animal Farm" short. I guess Novella is the correct term...
Half through Acceptance (Book 3) from the Southern Reach Trilogy. Good so far. It's tying together some strings. Book 2 slowed down a lot till the book finale (spoiler from mid/end part). Curios the see how it all "resolves". Hope it doesn't get too silly or too meta.Whitby's hidden "party room" scene with Control was tense
I think i'm going to read something funny next in german or english. Want to laugh again. Sad that the new Terry Pratchett books are so dull now. Read them all except the newest 2.
Want to shove in some "shorter" books before i dive into a long Fantasy/SciFi series again. Since i powered through a bunch of long Fantasy ones recently, it's time to get into a long SciFi one again. Which can you guys recommend? (Going to check the links in the OP soon).
Read Ender Game (O.S.Card) and the following book with the piggies. I have read online that the book after it is a bit dull so i made a break there.
The Book of the New Sun.
Yeah, that's what I thought from the way the first ended. Nothing about it struck me as believable.
It's been about eight years since I read the older ones, so my recollection of those is a bit fuzzy. I liked it a little bit less than the first two. I gave it 3/5 on Goodreads, but that's what I gave the others, as well.
Thanks. Never heard of it but Gene Wolfe rings a faint bell.
I love Calvino and Borges and it's interesting that she brings them up. They certainly do delve into the realm of fantasy, so I could see how they work as a kind of bridge between literary fiction and genre fiction. And certainly genre fiction is written much better than it was decades ago from a stylistic point.
I wonder if the two are moving towards each other. A lot of postmodern authors who will certainly be accepted into the canon, if they haven't been already, have elements of fantasy in their novels. Look at someone like Murakami.
It reminds me of the comment Gene Wolfe said about magic realism; that, "magic realism is fantasy written by people who speak Spanish." Marquez works, too. And Calvino was deeply influenced by Borges. Nabokov has elements in several of his novels that are or could be seen as at least "fantastical." And authors like Murakami, as you said, or Mikhail Bulgakov. And coming from the other direction, there are science fiction and fantasy authors like Le Guin herself or Gene Wolfe, both of whom acknowledge a debt of influence from authors like Borges, Nabokov, or Woolf.
I've also seen it argued that magic realism isn't fantasy, but I think that's defining fantasy too narrowly.
bennywhatever
Member
I am SO CLOSE to being finished with Reamde. This is a hella-good thrill ride.
Are you trying to blow up his brain?
It's a long sci-fi book, just like he asked for!
Speaking of, I'm going to reread Dune this month. I last read it in 2004...ish so I'm interested in seeing if I like it more. I don't really remember it too well, though the hand in the box thing at the beginning was very memorable.
FairFriend
Member
Finished
Was the first book written by Joyce that I've ever read and I really enjoyed it. I think I will soon read Dubliners, still not ready for Ulysses.
also
Starting
Was the first book written by Joyce that I've ever read and I really enjoyed it. I think I will soon read Dubliners, still not ready for Ulysses.
also
Starting
Rug Monkey
Member
You can't go wrong with more Steinbeck: The Pearl, The Red Pony, and Cannery Row, which are all lovely. I love the guy's style so much. His travelogue/diary Travels with Charley is also great. He gets in an RV with his poodle, and spends a year driving around America just talking to folks.
If you haven't read Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, that's exceptionally short, and brilliant.
I barely have enough internet to be on Gaf as is, so I am curious about this new in depth love for Goblin Emperor. I'd search for more details on my own, but being restricted to one gig of data a month hurts my ability to research thy topic.
After hearing Tragic description on Sun, it sounds like he would get through a 1200 page Scifi book quicker than Gene's book.
After hearing Tragic description on Sun, it sounds like he would get through a 1200 page Scifi book quicker than Gene's book.
I was invested in it because of the prose, the bizarre, retro-futuristic setting, and the stories. I thought Severian was interesting, if not likable. Wolfe is a very tricksy writer, though. His work in general may be confusing at times, but it's not simply opaque for the sake of being confusing; it's opaque for the sake of being figured out. Though it can also be read as a straightforward bildungsroman, if you want.
My library happened to have one book in the literary criticism section that dealt with his work, and it had a chapter on The Book of the New Sun. It's a good read whether you've read it or are interested in reading it and don't mind spoilers.
My problem is that I pretty much require that I be interested in the characters to be invested in a novel. I can read a book with no plot or a heavily intricate plot, average prose and excellent prose, etc, but good characters are absolutely necessary.
I was pretty much reading it to see if it would get better due to all the GAF hype (meaning not paying complete attention), and then they went into that arboretum...
That absolutely killed the book for me because I had no desire to figure out what the fuck was going on because, like I said, I wasnt invested in it and was pretty much reading to see if it got amazing later.
That absolutely killed the book for me because I had no desire to figure out what the fuck was going on because, like I said, I wasnt invested in it and was pretty much reading to see if it got amazing later.
Hey guys, I have read one book ! Even better, I read one book last month ! Incredible isn't it ?
I'm joking because these last years I suffered from reading OCD and this turn of event is very pleasing, indeed. Do you imagine turning from a literary type for whom a book is never big enough to someone who can barely read one book a year ? Fucking hell, plain and simple.
Another pleasing evolution is a return to my roots these days. I was more of a horror guy in my younger years and chickened out of the genre after some really disturbing scenes from an early Koontz and an early Barker. The trauma was such that I have instituted a rule for my reading habit (well, non-existent habit would be more suited in that case) : King / Barker / Masterton ? Nope, I'm outta there.
And despite that, after reading a fair bit of Lovecraft's Mythos, I got a little tired and decided to read... the first Book of Blood by Clive Barker !
I was fascinated by the Midnight Meat Train plot summary on wikipedia and decided to try it out. I'm now glad I did this unwise jump on a gore minefield. Discovering an author, and his early work at that, is fascinating in itself. And that's without speaking about the quality of the work itself, quite stunning for the most part.
If "The Midnight Meat Train" was a relative let down (interesting but underdeveloped concepts) and Barker attempt at a comedy novel with "The Yattering and Jack" was quite pathetic, the three other short stories of the first volume ("Pig Blood Blues", "Sex, Death and Starshine", "In the Hills, the Cities") where simply fantastic.
So this month I read...
So novel, much surprise, isn't it ? ^^
All in all it was a far weaker volume in my mind. it opens with its strongest story "Dread", but from this strong start it goes on with its weaker story, "Hell's Event". Seriously, I'm beginning to think Barker has a problem with writing horror-light stories. That or he suffers from a second story curse. Then the thing regains some strength with "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament". Very disturbing, quite interesting, a little too deep for me maybe ? Interesting but also very unsubtle take on the androgyne by the end. "The Skins of the Fathers" was a rollercoaster for me as I found the start pretty mediocre but the story gains strength with each passing scene to the point that I finally found the story really engaging. Not particularly subtle in its handling of who the demons really are, but the first real introduction to the monsters Barker is famous for and his stance about their supposed "evilness" was really interesting. Yeah, engaging. The volume unfortunately ends on another weak part, "New Murders in the Rue Morgue", hmm, pointless maybe ? I must admit the thing flew a little over my head, what about the whole guilt thing in the final... I don't know, thinking about it I get the feeling that there was lost potential by not digging on the past lives of the three main characters and the period they lived in. Like Barker could have brought meaning to what is currently (to my eyes) an anecdotal story.
So what now ? Fuck reading OCD I say, I must follow up on that reborn reading habit !
But you don't simply decide to do things in these case (or maybe you do), I fear that picking a full novel would be risky, too much potential for giving up. But while I deeply love short stories, I could do with more developed tales.
So I will go at it like a kid, step by step, from shorter to bigger. Hesitating between Skin Trade by George R.R. Martin or Cycle of the Werewolf by King (I spoiled myself on who the bad guy is, fuck). I'm still very wary about what to read and what not to read concerning King's work, some novels looks way off the charts on the trauma meter, like Pet Sematary, but the man writes so much that I should find some good things to read. Then again, I think I will soon have to try my hand at another genre to freshen things up.
I'm joking because these last years I suffered from reading OCD and this turn of event is very pleasing, indeed. Do you imagine turning from a literary type for whom a book is never big enough to someone who can barely read one book a year ? Fucking hell, plain and simple.
Another pleasing evolution is a return to my roots these days. I was more of a horror guy in my younger years and chickened out of the genre after some really disturbing scenes from an early Koontz and an early Barker. The trauma was such that I have instituted a rule for my reading habit (well, non-existent habit would be more suited in that case) : King / Barker / Masterton ? Nope, I'm outta there.
And despite that, after reading a fair bit of Lovecraft's Mythos, I got a little tired and decided to read... the first Book of Blood by Clive Barker !
I was fascinated by the Midnight Meat Train plot summary on wikipedia and decided to try it out. I'm now glad I did this unwise jump on a gore minefield. Discovering an author, and his early work at that, is fascinating in itself. And that's without speaking about the quality of the work itself, quite stunning for the most part.
If "The Midnight Meat Train" was a relative let down (interesting but underdeveloped concepts) and Barker attempt at a comedy novel with "The Yattering and Jack" was quite pathetic, the three other short stories of the first volume ("Pig Blood Blues", "Sex, Death and Starshine", "In the Hills, the Cities") where simply fantastic.
So this month I read...
So novel, much surprise, isn't it ? ^^
All in all it was a far weaker volume in my mind. it opens with its strongest story "Dread", but from this strong start it goes on with its weaker story, "Hell's Event". Seriously, I'm beginning to think Barker has a problem with writing horror-light stories. That or he suffers from a second story curse. Then the thing regains some strength with "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament". Very disturbing, quite interesting, a little too deep for me maybe ? Interesting but also very unsubtle take on the androgyne by the end. "The Skins of the Fathers" was a rollercoaster for me as I found the start pretty mediocre but the story gains strength with each passing scene to the point that I finally found the story really engaging. Not particularly subtle in its handling of who the demons really are, but the first real introduction to the monsters Barker is famous for and his stance about their supposed "evilness" was really interesting. Yeah, engaging. The volume unfortunately ends on another weak part, "New Murders in the Rue Morgue", hmm, pointless maybe ? I must admit the thing flew a little over my head, what about the whole guilt thing in the final... I don't know, thinking about it I get the feeling that there was lost potential by not digging on the past lives of the three main characters and the period they lived in. Like Barker could have brought meaning to what is currently (to my eyes) an anecdotal story.
So what now ? Fuck reading OCD I say, I must follow up on that reborn reading habit !
But you don't simply decide to do things in these case (or maybe you do), I fear that picking a full novel would be risky, too much potential for giving up. But while I deeply love short stories, I could do with more developed tales.
So I will go at it like a kid, step by step, from shorter to bigger. Hesitating between Skin Trade by George R.R. Martin or Cycle of the Werewolf by King (I spoiled myself on who the bad guy is, fuck). I'm still very wary about what to read and what not to read concerning King's work, some novels looks way off the charts on the trauma meter, like Pet Sematary, but the man writes so much that I should find some good things to read. Then again, I think I will soon have to try my hand at another genre to freshen things up.
I'm exactly the same, doesn't matter how well written the novel is if it doesn't have any good characters for me to invest in my attention just dwindles to nothing.
AngmarsKing701
Member
This last is great info and much appreciated! I already have too many series going.If needed drop some other sci-fi/fantasy from your reading list and replace with those two! You won't regret it!
Not only they are both great, they are also not doorstop-sized and go by really fast. Also, while both authors are working on some sort of sequel or companion book, both are self-contained so you're getting a full story with an ending right away.
I did the same thing with my book. Self contained story, but the "sequel" is in the same world (different characters).
My mind has trouble encapsulating what's gone on in the first three books because so much happens. I may have to install a cranial hard drive when I finish reading them all.
As for why epic fantasies tend to run long...I'm not always convinced that fantasy authors need to stretch their stories out several, doorstopping volumes aside from publishers seeing a gold mine if a book hits, then quietly begging the writer to squeeze out the story to fill a few more volumes. I can't blame either the editor or writer, because having a hit is akin to a lottery win. Make hay while the sun shines. As well, there are fans who aren't that worried about plot when they read--they want a sense of place, a visit with characters they love, so epic stretch isn't an issue with them. Which I respect. We all read fantasy for our own reasons.
But with authors like Erikson and Jim Butcher, I think the expansion of the story is down to how much they themselves have become invested in their worlds. They seem just as fascinated with figuring out what they've created and the characters they've thrown into that world as we are. With Erikson, I get the feeling The Malazan Book of The Fallen would have been written even if there was no chance of it getting published, if it never progressed beyond being a few save files on his computer. I get the same vibe with Tolkien, that his stories were going to be written no matter what. Some stories simply take over an author's life. And if that obsession is well written and fascinating, well, we all win.
They just tend to be a bit expansive, is all.
Just started The Long Mars.
I enjoyed the first two books (The Long Earth, The Long War).
Ohh, that's interesting.
Sometimes i hate these threads. I have already put like 6 books on my "to read list" now.
Tragicomedy
Member
I read it a few years ago and I liked it more than ever. It really is a phenomenal book. When I consider that damn book was written in 1965, it blows my mind. The Houses, the Bene Gesserit, the mentats, the melange, the sandworms, the Fremen. Just thinking about it makes me want to read it again. 1965!
After hearing Tragic description on Sun, it sounds like he would get through a 1200 page Scifi book quicker than Gene's book.
It's weird, because the whole tetralogy (and then the coda) took me forever to read, but it was geniunely enjoyable the entire time. The writing is just so damn dense, and you have to do double and triple takes to figure out what's going down in certain scenes. Then you have to ask yourself whether Severian is telling the truth in a particular scene, or if he's lying/embellishing...
I'm also a bit of a Philistine when it comes to them thar big fancy words, so phrases like:
aren't straightforward at all!
Don't worry, I had no idea what the hell that meant either.
kinoki
Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promise only; pain we obey.
I'm buried in books to read... and still haven't finished Finnegans Wake (happy birthday Joyce) but I still went ahead and bought even more books. After Dark by Murakami, In Search of Lost Time (part 1) by Proust and both Tender is the Night and The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also, this morning I started reading Paper Towns by John Green.
Hopefully I can free up some time soon.
Hopefully I can free up some time soon.
Finished Roadside Picnic. Liked the world and stuff but the ending fell flat and the storytelling devolved into talking heads for a very long time in the middle.
Starting
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(sadly not my cover as I'm reading the ebook but that's my favorite)
and I think I'll do the free trial of Kindle Unlimited and read some PKD.
I've never tried Dick but I feel like some good Dick is what I'm in the mood for.
Starting
(sadly not my cover as I'm reading the ebook but that's my favorite)
and I think I'll do the free trial of Kindle Unlimited and read some PKD.
I've never tried Dick but I feel like some good Dick is what I'm in the mood for.
RepairmanJack
Member
Just finished the first Mistborn book. I really enjoyed it. Vin is a great character and I'm really interested in where it goes from here.
Only complaint:
Next I'm on the last book of the Wayward Pines series now that I have a book in between this one and the last.
Only complaint:
How the hell does Elend get to become king?! What?! Dude read some books and gave a good speech, let's make him king. Felt like Dox or Marsh was getting set up to be king once Kel died.
Next I'm on the last book of the Wayward Pines series now that I have a book in between this one and the last.
This bit gets expanded on in Book 2 and suffice to say
it wasn't a good idea.
RepairmanJack
Member
Good, at least there is follow up to it. I expected something to come of it, I just didn't get it at the time.
Just finished The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Beautiful book.
Also I'm realizing that I rate all of the books I read very highly. I'm not sure if I'm not a very critical person when it comes to enjoyment of books (which is weird because I feel like I'm a critical person) or if I really just mostly love everything I read.
Debating between A Canticle for Leibowitz or Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell next.
Also I'm realizing that I rate all of the books I read very highly. I'm not sure if I'm not a very critical person when it comes to enjoyment of books (which is weird because I feel like I'm a critical person) or if I really just mostly love everything I read.
Debating between A Canticle for Leibowitz or Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell next.