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[Tragicomedy]

Poetry is my favorite, and the only form of writing I've ever tried my hand at. I've written poems consistently for the last 15 years. It's very therapeutic and has helped me relive the best and worst moments of my life. The vast majority of what I write stems from military experiences in nasty places. Some day I might flesh out some of the better ones and collect them together. We'll see.

Poems also make wonderful gifts, as an added bonus. Even when you suck at it like I do, it's terrifying and exhilarating to watch someone's reaction to reading something you put down on paper for them.


The Garden of Forking Paths

Like Borges' "Two bald men fighting over a comb,"
you and I never knew what we wanted
or why we wanted it.
All we knew was the want.

Our appetites were never satisfied;
insatiable desire was our only common ground.
We fed off each other's souls that way,
always taking and never replenishing,
until the rainforest of our love was left desolate.

-----

Arabian Knights

To sleep is to slide surreptitiously away
from this forsaken place,
in hopes of drifting to safer environs;
some nights I end up trading
one nightmare for another.

The earth cries out with a resonating thud
as hell personified rages down from above,
sending shockwaves through her surface.

I'm no longer asleep. I scramble
for my coat-of-arms and trip out into a darkness
filled with a thousand wailing sirens.

As I navigate through the stinging dust,
a steady stream of gunfire
rings out in the distance,
like a metronome, keeping time
to death's soundtrack.

-----

In conclusion, read poetry!

 

[Cade]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=966287 Was going to make this thread but for books, but i'll just ask in here: what (semi-modern) books are standalone? The Martian is one I've read in the last little while but I could see it getting a sequel. I like series as much as the next guy, but I'd love to read some recent standalone genre fiction.

 

[Mumei]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=966287 Was going to make this thread but for books, but i'll just ask in here: what (semi-modern) books are standalone? The Martian is one I've read in the last little while but I could see it getting a sequel. I like series as much as the next guy, but I'd love to read some recent standalone genre fiction.

Oh, oh.

(prepare for rambling)

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke technically has a sequel coming eventually, but the book came out 10 years ago and you'll probably be fine with it. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, again, has a coda story that came out 27 years later, but you obviously don't need to read it. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker is absolutely wonderful, aside from a few plot contrivances towards the end. You might also like Bujold's Chalion series; while it is a series each book features a separate protagonist and shares very few links (besides the same world) between them. The first two, Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, are real stand-outs. Gene Wolfe's works, such as The Fifth Head of Cerberus (three novellas that make up one novel), Peace (it can't be explained without being at least slightly detrimental to the experience but read this until you decide to read it and then stop), or There Are Doors, among others are all great one-shot genre fiction. If you want something longer, you could treat Gene Wolfe's four book series The Book of the New Sun as a single book in much the same way that The Lord of the Rings is one book made up of three volumes of six books; if that is too much of a leap then disregard that. If it isn't too much of a leap, you could say much the same thing about T.H. White's The Once and Future King. Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed or The Left Hand of Darkness or The Word for World is Forest, or her short story collections like The Wind's Twelve Quarters or Four Ways to Forgiveness are also all wonderful books. I also liked Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Liebowitz. I also liked some of Gaiman's lighter stuff like The Graveyard Book, Stardust, or Coraline. Carl Sagan's Contact is also great, and I definitely preferred it over the movie. Penguin's collection of The Complete Fairy Tales by George MacDonald is fantastic (haha) stuff and worth it for the essay The Fantastic Imagination alone - which you can technically find alone but you should still read the book.

Hope you find something you like!

Edit: Wait, I forgot to mention Catherynne Valente. I mean, granted I think her best work has been her series but stuff like Palimpsest or The Melancholy of Mechagirl or whatever is also great. I am especially partial to the short story Thirteen Ways of Looking at Spacetime!

 

[Incandenza]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=966287 Was going to make this thread but for books, but i'll just ask in here: what (semi-modern) books are standalone? The Martian is one I've read in the last little while but I could see it getting a sequel. I like series as much as the next guy, but I'd love to read some recent standalone genre fiction.

Most of Guy Gavriel Kay's fantasy novels are standlone. He writes emotional historical fantasy with very light supernatural elements. The Lions of Al-Rassan was one of my favorite books I read in 2014.

 

[Verdre]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=966287 Was going to make this thread but for books, but i'll just ask in here: what (semi-modern) books are standalone? The Martian is one I've read in the last little while but I could see it getting a sequel. I like series as much as the next guy, but I'd love to read some recent standalone genre fiction.

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente - A bit of a retelling of russian fairytales set alongside the Russian revolution - I also love the take on dragons in this one.

"That's how you get deathless, volchitsa. Walk the same tale over and over, until you wear a groove in the world, until even if you vanished, the tale would keep turning, keep playing, like a phonograph, and you'd have to get up again, even with a bullet through your eye, to play your part and say your lines."

Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon - I don't really know how to explain this one, other than saying it's near future scifi dealing with autism.

Tamsin by Peter S Beagle - Part ghost story, part coming of age tale. All Beagle.

You don't have to believe in Hell. All you need is to hear someone who really does, who believes in it this minute, today, the way people believed in 1685—all you have to do is see his face, hear his voice when he says the word… and then you know that anyone who can imagine Hell has the power to make it real for other people.

 

[Dresden]

friends if you don't like poetry or if you like poetry you should all read War Music by Christopher Logue.

When I read the New Yorker, I always make it a point to skip the poems (granted, I only read the feature articles). Poetry has never clicked for me.

I still go through the poems but I can't remember the last one that I actually liked. The fiction also disappoints - last one I bothered reading through was the dismal post-apocalyptic story which was very post-apocalyptic in a checklist sort of a way. I regretted spending time on it. Or maybe it was the other one about the woman who starts stripping? I don't know.

Like there's only two authors I remember by name in the last few months out of TNY and that's because one of them is Tom Hanks.

 

[Cade]

Oh, oh.

(prepare for rambling)

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke technically has a sequel coming eventually, but the book came out 10 years ago and you'll probably be fine with it. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, again, has a coda story that came out 27 years later, but you obviously don't need to read it. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker is absolutely wonderful, aside from a few plot contrivances towards the end. You might also like Bujold's Chalion series; while it is a series each book features a separate protagonist and shares very few links (besides the same world) between them. The first two, Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, are real stand-outs. Gene Wolfe's works, such as The Fifth Head of Cerberus (three novellas that make up one novel), Peace (it can't be explained without being at least slightly detrimental to the experience but read this until you decide to read it and then stop), or There Are Doors, among others are all great one-shot genre fiction. If you want something longer, you could treat Gene Wolfe's four book series The Book of the New Sun as a single book in much the same way that The Lord of the Rings is one book made up of three volumes of six books; if that is too much of a leap then disregard that. If it isn't too much of a leap, you could say much the same thing about T.H. White's The Once and Future King. Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed or The Left Hand of Darkness or The Word for World is Forest, or her short story collections like The Wind's Twelve Quarters or Four Ways to Forgiveness are also all wonderful books. I also liked Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Liebowitz. I also liked some of Gaiman's lighter stuff like The Graveyard Book, Stardust, or Coraline. Carl Sagan's Contact is also great, and I definitely preferred it over the movie. Penguin's collection of The Complete Fairy Tales by George MacDonald is fantastic (haha) stuff and worth it for the essay The Fantastic Imagination alone - which you can technically find alone but you should still read the book.

Hope you find something you like!

Edit: Wait, I forgot to mention Catherynne Valente. I mean, granted I think her best work has been her series but stuff like Palimpsest or The Melancholy of Mechagirl or whatever is also great. I am especially partial to the short story Thirteen Ways of Looking at Spacetime!

Woooow, lots of stuff here, thanks. I picked up The Golem and The Jinni recently and will read that soon, and I'll look into lots of stuff here. Thanks!

Most of Guy Gavriel Kay's fantasy novels are standlone. He writes emotional historical fantasy with very light supernatural elements. The Lions of Al-Rassan was one of my favorite books I read in 2014.

Sounds pretty cool, I'll look into him. Thanks!

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente - A bit of a retelling of russian fairytales set alongside the Russian revolution - I also love the take on dragons in this one.



Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon - I don't really know how to explain this one, other than saying it's near future scifi dealing with autism.



Tamsin by Peter S Beagle - Part ghost story, part coming of age tale. All Beagle.

Those latter two sound interesting. I'll look into them, thanks!

 

[LProtag]

Just finished the first Mistborn.

Really enjoyable. I hope the rest of the series is as good. I could have done without some of the romance plot, as it got to be a little much at times. I can forgive that though.

 

[The Atticus]

Just finished Wolf in White Van

Wow.

Where did this come from.
Haven't had a book resonate with me in such a way for a very long time.

Anyone else deeply enjoy it?

 

[LProtag]

Just finished Wolf in White Van

Wow.

Where did this come from.
Haven't had a book resonate with me in such a way for a very long time.

Anyone else deeply enjoy it?

I liked it, but it didn't really strike me the same way it did you, it seems. The last few chapters were pretty gripping though, and the prose was great.

 

[BronzeWolf]

I hated The Karamazov Bros. Didn't find the character particularly interesting or relevant to my life. I kind of loved the imagery and the monologues though. The plot is laughable (again), and it rolls along like this:

Character A talks to Character B about plot related stuff, Character B gets angry, Character A cries, Character B is happy now!, oh wow Character A is disappointed but then becomes serious, Character B does a monologue, Character A gives his opinion, Narrator finishes the scene, we move on.

By the way, the conclusion you have been waiting for? it just happens in a few pages.

Total 3/5 stars for me. I rated it higher than other books, because I read it Spanish and the translation made the prose seem very old. If TBK had a better more modern prose, I think the work would be seriously improved over what is right now.

 

[Gaz_RB]

So I just finished Leviathan Wakes and was fairly disappointed in the ending. Is the rest of The Expanse series worth a read?

 

[BronzeWolf]

So I just finished Leviathan Wakes and was fairly disappointed in the ending. Is the rest of The Expanse series worth a read?

I read the second book and it/s no better nor worse than the first. Less letters are dedicated to the characters presentation but there is character development and a new character is added (not a copy of the previous one). I strongly believe that you will have the exact same feelings throughout the second book than you did during the first. I loved both books so I was pretty excited. Haven't read the others.

 

[Pau]

It's easier for me to enjoy Spanish poetry than English poetry for some reason. Sor Juana and Lorca particularly.

 

[Gaz_RB]

I read the second book and it/s no better nor worse than the first. Less letters are dedicated to the characters presentation but there is character development and a new character is added (not a copy of the previous one). I strongly believe that you will have the exact same feelings throughout the second book than you did during the first. I loved both books so I was pretty excited. Haven't read the others.

Cool thanks. I think I'll jump in to the second one because I really liked the first. It's just the ending that I didn't like, so I'm in!

 

[Necrovex]

I still go through the poems but I can't remember the last one that I actually liked. The fiction also disappoints - last one I bothered reading through was the dismal post-apocalyptic story which was very post-apocalyptic in a checklist sort of a way. I regretted spending time on it. Or maybe it was the other one about the woman who starts stripping? I don't know.

Like there's only two authors I remember by name in the last few months out of TNY and that's because one of them is Tom Hanks.

I also skip the fiction portion of TNY. Not enough time to read everything the magazine, so I focus on the feature articles.

 

[Maklershed]

I am currently reading this and it is absolutely fantastic. I am only about 1/3rd of the way done, but so far it is my favorite of the Oxford series and will likely be my favorite history book if it continues to be this good.

If you only read one book on this period, this is definitely the book to read.

Seems interesting. Just got the audio book from Audible based on your praise.

 

[Tragicomedy]

It's easier for me to enjoy Spanish poetry than English poetry for some reason. Sor Juana and Lorca particularly.

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer is my hero, and wrote my favorite poem.

¿Qué es poesía?

¿Qué es poesía? --dices mientras clavas
en mi pupila tu pupila azul.
¿Qué es poesía? ¿Y tú me lo preguntas?
Poesía... eres tú.

 

[Mumei]

Just finished Wolf in White Van

Wow.

Where did this come from.
Haven't had a book resonate with me in such a way for a very long time.

Anyone else deeply enjoy it?

Besada did!

I also enjoyed it, but I didn't connect with it like either of you seemed to.

It's easier for me to enjoy Spanish poetry than English poetry for some reason. Sor Juana and Lorca particularly.

Whenever I read translated poetry I wish I could read the original, even when I really, really liked the translation. I especially felt this way about Rimbaud and Neruda.

 

[Maklershed]

Finished The Son and now starting The Explorer by noted author James Smythe.


The Explorer by James Smythe

 

[sparky2112]

Finished The Son and now starting The Explorer by noted author James Smythe.

Not THE James Smythe, surely. Seriously? What I wouldn't give to have THE James Smythe in this very thread! But alas, we are the little people, and he is a GOD.

)))))))

 

[Althane]

In the vein of more books to read, does anyone have any recommendations along the line of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denosovich?

One Day is probably one of my favorite books, since I read it when I was a young teen, and I've been reading it almost annually since, always looking for more things I haven't noticed before. I recently finished reading it again (It only takes a bit, it's a short book), and was wondering if there were more stories along that line.

It's done a really good job of getting into his skin, and how he feels about the prison work, and ultimately his hopes. Just looking for something else written along those lines, historical fiction maybe?

 

[ShaneB]

Onto part 3 of Lonesome Dove, the end is in sight!

 

[Piecake]

Seems interesting. Just got the audio book from Audible based on your praise.

I'm listening to it as well. The narrator is quite good. I'll probably do a significant review of the book once I am finished because I want to get a few of the major points of the novel on paper, specifically the causes of the Great Depression and the New Deal's impact. He has some very interesting ideas that I think he conclusively proves.

 

[justjohn]

Finished 'The shining' by Stephen king. Wasn't a full blown horror like I thought but it was very atmospheric and the tension right at end was something else. Also surprised at how different it is from the movie, and to be honest I can understand why King hated it. Wendy was much more assertive in the book whilst the movie made her look like some timid servant to jack. Anyway, this is only my second King novel after Misery and Im now a huge fan of his.

Next book is 'Political order and decay' by Francis Fukuyama.

 

[Sniper McBlaze]

Reading Sandman #2 and The Ocean At The End Of The Lane. Does Sandman get better? #1 was a masterpiece in my eyes. And how is the Ocean book?

 

[Haly]

Gets better and better and takes a dip and better and better and BEST.

 

[whatevermort]

Not THE James Smythe, surely. Seriously? What I wouldn't give to have THE James Smythe in this very thread! But alas, we are the little people, and he is a GOD.

)))))))

Award winning God, don't forget. Award winning.

And I hear that he is a very benevolent God, for what it's worth. He accepts tributes in many forms.

 

[Hrothgar]

Started reading Malazan: Book of the Fallen. I'm about halfway through Gardens of the Moon. People who said it was a difficult read weren't lying. Erikson sure loves dropping you in the middle of conversations between people you've never met talking about things you don't know anything about.But all the fantasy is very interesting and I'm excited to learn more about the world.a

You will certainly learn a lot more in the coming books. I was disoriented myself when I was dropped in the story like that, but I am happy I never gave up.

For all those who have read the Malazan series, I strongly recommend reading Forge of Darkness when you are done.

 

[Mumei]

Reading Sandman #2 and The Ocean At The End Of The Lane. Does Sandman get better? #1 was a masterpiece in my eyes. And how is the Ocean book?

I think Sandman gets better over time because it builds on itself so well; each volume is all very much of a piece with the whole. You might like individual segments more or less than others, but I think the overall effect works brilliantly. But the first volume is generally considered a bit "rough" compared to the rest of the series, for whatever that's worth.

You might enjoy reading these when you finish the series. There's one for each volume, and it points out things you might otherwise miss.

 

[BronzeWolf]

Just finished



Which I think was excellent! 4 out of 5 stars for me, which means it's a darn great read. I am very impressed with King's ability to easily go from genre to genre without breaking a beat. While The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was a superb survivor story, Joyland is a great coming-of-age love thriller story. It's great at all of those too. It was very cheap too.

Now I don't know what to read next. I am moving soon, so I won't be buying new physical books, but I still have some left to read. Maybe



because I love the subject matter and Good Calories Bad Calories was great

 

[Nymerio]

Finished Rudolph! He's the reason for the Season yesterday evening. I liked it a lot but it should've ended when the main story concluded. The additional stories felt totally unnessessary and weren't on the same level as the first part of the book.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

Finished Old Man and the Wasteland.
It was quite good. My favorite book is Old Man and the Sea, so I liked the references to it.


Started

 

[Maklershed]

Feed is $1.99 on Amazon today. I wasn't super in to it personally but I know quite a few people in these threads have read it and enjoyed it, so heads up for anyone that's interested.

 

[Cade]

Finished Annihilation on the day I got it and started it and I'm reading Authority now. I can see why the shift of premise put some people off but I'm eating it up.

 

[Epcott]

At this point, I'm really loathing this series and am barely hanging on just to see the conclusion in A Memory of Light.

The women in the story are annoying (Min being the only tolerable one of the bunch) and the men just seem a bit bland, aside from Mat.

At the same time, I'm afraid to stop reading, since I'm waiting for the next ASOIAF, Joe Abercrombie First Law continuation, or Sanderson story. It actually makes me appreciate First Law and ASOIAF more so, which has no qualms towards killing its cast.

Spoiler

It's stated several times Moiraine is dead, but I don't believe it.

Should I just skip to the final two books? I can't take it.

 

[Zona]

At this point, I'm really loathing this series and am barely hanging on just to see the conclusion in A Memory of Light.

The women in the story are annoying (Min being the only tolerable one of the bunch) and the men just seem a bit bland, aside from Mat.

At the same time, I'm afraid to stop reading, since I'm waiting for the next ASOIAF, Joe Abercrombie First Law continuation, or Sanderson story. It actually makes me appreciate First Law and ASOIAF more so, which has no qualms towards killing its cast.

Spoiler

It's stated several times Moiraine is dead, but I don't believe it.

Should I just skip to the final two books? I can't take it.

Finish that one then read summaries for 7-10 and pick it back up with Knife of Dreams.

 

[Epcott]

Finish that one then read summaries for 7-10 and pick it back up with Knife of Dreams.

Thank you! Will do.

 

[Mr.Swag]

Spring semester just started and I already finished reading.

I'm just not feeling like it this week, got three books in progress I haven't touched in a couple days.

Gueess because I read everyday since october

 

[antipod]

Bought it yesterday, have only had time to read for a couple of pages so far.

 

[X-Frame]

Bought it yesterday, have only had time to read for a couple of pages so far.

Nice! I finished it this morning.

 

[hythloday]

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Not bad! I expected to be bored because I'm not really into Greek myth but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[Cade]

Nice! I finished it this morning.

Was it much better than the first?

 

[X-Frame]

Was it much better than the first?

Personally, I think it was better than Steelheart.

 

[Cade]

Personally, I think it was better than Steelheart.

Sweet. I'll check it out sometime then.

 

[Wurst]

Was it much better than the first?

I enjoyed it more than Steelheart, too.
Setting was really creative, as was the action. All things considered, the story felt character driven and emotional. Really good stuff.

 

[Cade]

I enjoyed it more than Steelheart, too.
Setting was really creative, as was the action. All things considered, the story felt character driven and emotional. Really good stuff.

I'll definitely check it out then as I liked Steelheart but felt like I didn't care about a few of the characters. Can someone refresh my memory on how (major spoiler)

Spoiler

Steelheart was killed? I don't remember what his weakness [don't remember what it's called] was.

 

[Draconian]

I'll definitely check it out then as I liked Steelheart but felt like I didn't care about a few of the characters. Can someone refresh my memory on how (major spoiler)

Spoiler

Steelheart was killed? I don't remember what his weakness [don't remember what it's called] was.

Spoiler

He can only be killed by someone who does not fear him. So he ends up firing a gun that results in him getting killed.

 

[Cade]

Oh yeah! That was pretty sweet. Thanks guys.

 

[Epcott]

Reckoners has no relation to Sanderson's Cosmere books, right?