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What are you reading? (January 2015)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Tragicomedy
Member
You have one of the defective copies missing the last three pages that answer all your questions.
My copy was missing them, too!
Ah. Well, LeadProtagonist got what I meant by it.
Hah, gotcha. I'm just not so great at GIF-communication.
The Long Earth was an interesting read. I like the possibility for adventure, the infinite exploration possible was promising, but... the characters just didn't really interest me. My favorite parts were when they were going into the social and economic impacts.
sparky2112
Member
Interesting you should say that - Malazan's Erikson claims to never make revisions. I simply cannot fathom that.
Tragicomedy
Member
When you're writing random conversations between two unknown characters that equates to pure nonsense, what's the point in editing?
I haven't read any of his stuff and cannot back up that statement with anything factual.
Christoff Yurievich
Member
Finished The Explorer by the incomparable James Smythe! Very fun sci-fi tale. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I must knowwhat does the anomaly number mean? And does it have a special meaning for you, whatevermort?
Now starting The Little Sister
The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler
You know, it sucks that when you quote a post the spoiler is right there.
At least I'm past that part so I know what you're talking about. Reading four books right now, depending on where I am and what I have space for i.e. if I'm on the front of the bus with no lights I'm reading The Explorer or Gone Girl or A Once Crowded Sky on my ipod but if I'm near the back where the lights stay on I'm reading Boneshaker on an actual book.
Gonna be forever till I get to the later Foundation books. After the third one I wanna go through the four Robot novels and then go over couple of his short story collections.
I felt the I, Robot collection was a lot stronger than the Foundation books I read(first three). The latter really didn't have much going for them apart from the central premise, which is in line with the "big idea" category of sci fi I've seen described here. After finishing them, I couldn't help but think those ideas had to have packed much more of a punch when they were first released. That's not uncommon with sci fi, for every Nueromancer we get what seems like ten Foundations, books that don't age particularly well.
I, Robot, on the other hand, has a bunch of endearing characters and interesting stories. Asimov does better on the smaller stage, with plot revolving around people rather than empires. I really enjoyed the philosophical dilemmas the AI stuff posed too, it's very good classic sci fi in the sense of how it rips philosophy topics straight out of a course and incorporates them into a great narrative. It has pretty much all of the things I love about sci fi to one extent or another, one of my favorite books. So yea, if you get bored, don't dump Asimov outright but move on to I, Robot instead, it's a treasure.
I'm the opposite. I enjoyed the mood of the first one and the way the first contact story coalesced in the end. I don't know if I would have lasted all the way through the second book if there wasn't the final one to look forward to. The second book had a few chilling scenes, but that was it.
I enjoyed all three though. If there was a barometer of some sort, the Southern Reach trilogy goes somewhere next to The Martian. No all time great, but it's fun.
I enjoy seeing which books of the Southern Teach trilogy people liked and didn't, because it seems so varied. The second was my favorite, followed by the third. And I thought the ending was just about note perfect in what it told us and what it didn't. We're all viewing every book through the lens of our personal experiences, so it's enjoyable to me to see such different takes.
It was the highlight for me as well! It was definitely the most unsettling of the three.
It seems to be the least favorite of the trilogy for a lot of people though
Just ordered the Spanish version of Carlos Ruis Zafon's "Shadow of the Wind". Spanish is my first language but nowadays i only use it to communicate with my mother and during the occasional supermarket visit down here in Miami.
I checked a sample of the novel out and it wasn't too difficult to comprehend. Definitely going to have the internet next to me in case i don't know a word.
Anybody read this in English or Spanish?
Also ordered a hardcover Albert Camus anthology, in English my French, je ne parle.
I checked a sample of the novel out and it wasn't too difficult to comprehend. Definitely going to have the internet next to me in case i don't know a word.
Anybody read this in English or Spanish?
Also ordered a hardcover Albert Camus anthology, in English my French, je ne parle.
Really enjoying Catherynne M. Valente's The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden.
I'm finding myself finally reading books that Jon Foster has illustrated the covers for. (First was Mistborn.) I remember admiring these images in his gallery, so it's nice to get some context for them! Check them out; he's seriously too fucking good.
I'm a native Spanish speaker with the same problem, but I read it in English because my book club at school ordered it like that and it was free. I've looked through the Spanish version and it really doesn't seem too difficult. I bought the sequel in spanish, but I never really got into it. I really dislike how they published it. (It's this heavy book that's bigger than it needs to be.)
Dandy Crocodile
Member
I have the Spanish edition on my Kindle! I bought it to practice my Spanish but I haven't had the time or motivation to go through it yet.
The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure
It's about an architect who is commissioned to build hiding spaces for Jews in German-occupied France. About halfway done, and it's a good story so far.
Maklershed
Member
Challenge accepted. I'll start it after I finish The Little Sister.
And sorry about the spoiler allegate. Too bad it gets revealed like that.
I'm a good way into The Hero of Ages and I'm liking it a lot more than The Well of Ascension. Really interested in seeing how everything ends and ties together.
I might jump right into The Alloy of Law and just get all the Mistborn books done in one fell swoop.
Also I'm probably going to read The Stormlight Archive now, as I'm pretty sure I'll like Sanderson's other works.
I've never really been one for fantasy or sci-fi novels that weren't considered 'classics' or 'literary' before, but lately I've been finding that a good deal of my reading is coming out of the fantasy and sci-fi section of my local used book store. I guess as an English major I was constantly reading the classics or literary fiction that I never really stopped to explore it. I'm glad I have.
... I'm still a snobby book reader though and can't get into YA even if stuff like Mistborn veers into that realm a bit.
I might jump right into The Alloy of Law and just get all the Mistborn books done in one fell swoop.
Also I'm probably going to read The Stormlight Archive now, as I'm pretty sure I'll like Sanderson's other works.
I've never really been one for fantasy or sci-fi novels that weren't considered 'classics' or 'literary' before, but lately I've been finding that a good deal of my reading is coming out of the fantasy and sci-fi section of my local used book store. I guess as an English major I was constantly reading the classics or literary fiction that I never really stopped to explore it. I'm glad I have.
... I'm still a snobby book reader though and can't get into YA even if stuff like Mistborn veers into that realm a bit.
The Alloy of Law is set generations after the main series and is... How to put this? Lame. I really didn't enjoy it.
The Stormlight Archive is a lot like Mistborn but scaled up, I suppose. I really enjoyed the first two books.
Try The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship Of Her Own Making!
Dang. I liked the idea of cops in the Mistborn universe.
the main characters are named wax and wayne. That is all you need to know
Yeah, the Mistborn series is pretty good. I always see Alloy of Law as more of a Sherlock Holmes take on the series, and a spiritual successor to the original trilogy.
I still can't get over how terrible that is
Although I have to say that I find Sanderson pretty bad at making up names in general...
Could bePossibly your expectations will be appropriately calibrated.
Yeah, I'm enjoying reading people's vastly differing opinions here. I'm liking the second book a lot just because of how much of a shift it is from book one.
Finally finished Lonesome Dove. Gave it 4/5. Loved it a lot, but the length really got to me. Glad to move on.
edit.. think I'll be reading this next.
A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention by Matt Richtel
edit.. think I'll be reading this next.
A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention by Matt Richtel
AngmarsKing701
Member
Finished Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein and really liked it. There are one or two ideas in the book that really remind you that it is over 50 years, but other than those moments it was a good read. Reading Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent because I liked the 2013 game. So far it is a breezy and fast read. Started it last night and am already on pg. 149.
So, I finished The Dark Tower series today. I've been reading it on and off for probably the last six months or so. Don't know how to frame this post, I absolutely don't want some gargantuan soliloquy on what must be like 4000 pages.
I'll say this though, it was fun. It works as an entertaining series with a really cool premise, a ton of well told plot that somehow almost never grows stale, and a good number of interesting ideas stacked on top of it. Some bad ones as well mind you, there was no reason to drag a bunch of other Stephen King books into it and even less is to be said for
But if you're not so invested in it, as I wasn't, you can stand to tolerate that stuff and move on. If this was your jam for a long time, I can see plenty of reasons to be pissed. But this sort of book doesn't bear close examination in general, woe be to the reader who holds it in too high of esteem, King will bludgeon you for it.
Getting back to the positives, Roland Deschain is a strong character. His back story is great and masterfully told, I ate a lot of that stuff with a soup ladle. The way his character comes out of a shell is fun to watch as well. Towards the latter half of the series it really bloats and Roland suffers for it, most of him is erased until all the reader has left is some superficial traits as his gang goes on one adventure after the other, but he comes back strong in the end. Jake Chambers is good too while we're at it. And did I mention the premise? LOTR plus Sergio Leone westerns, Roland slaying heroin addiction and some other stuff I'd rather not spoil in NYC instead of dragons in the sequel, oh and a dystopian alternate future and a helping robots and... a ton of entertaining, fun plot. If that(and not much else mind you) wrapped in some really cool packaging sounds fun, you may want to give this series a try.
I'll say this though, it was fun. It works as an entertaining series with a really cool premise, a ton of well told plot that somehow almost never grows stale, and a good number of interesting ideas stacked on top of it. Some bad ones as well mind you, there was no reason to drag a bunch of other Stephen King books into it and even less is to be said for
King to drag himself in.
Getting back to the positives, Roland Deschain is a strong character. His back story is great and masterfully told, I ate a lot of that stuff with a soup ladle. The way his character comes out of a shell is fun to watch as well. Towards the latter half of the series it really bloats and Roland suffers for it, most of him is erased until all the reader has left is some superficial traits as his gang goes on one adventure after the other, but he comes back strong in the end. Jake Chambers is good too while we're at it. And did I mention the premise? LOTR plus Sergio Leone westerns, Roland slaying heroin addiction and some other stuff I'd rather not spoil in NYC instead of dragons in the sequel, oh and a dystopian alternate future and a helping robots and... a ton of entertaining, fun plot. If that(and not much else mind you) wrapped in some really cool packaging sounds fun, you may want to give this series a try.
Mackenzie 92
Member
"God's Beard!"
Member
It was the highlight for me as well! It was definitely the most unsettling of the three.
It seems to be the least favorite of the trilogy for a lot of people though
Could be
Yeah, I'm enjoying reading people's vastly differing opinions here. I'm liking the second book a lot just because of how much of a shift it is from book one.
I went to Barnes and Nobles today to get the second book, but they only had the first and third :|
Wow, looks good! And Mike is in this! Will give this a watch
I've started reading The Martian and it's lots of fun so far. I like the narrator and
the change into third person on earth came a bit unexpected
NekoFever
Member
Weird. I finished it yesterday (minus Wind Through the Keyhole). Must be ka.
It felt like a long journey for me because I've been reading it on and off for about 10 years. I'd heard bad things the conclusion so expected the worst, but although I thought Song of Susannah was a weak book, I loved the last three books overall. It got quite dusty in the room towards the end there, I must admit.
fredrancour
Member
Sinking my teeth into the seventh Malazan book, Reaper's Gale by Steven Erikson. The last few books have just been getting better and better. The first book was fun but mainly a pitch for the series (which clearly worked well on me). Then the second two felt like complimentary halves of the same books, and expanded the world hugely while also drastically raising the stakes and developing more interesting characters. Four and six brought everything together and marched it all forward. The
in book six was probably my favorite sequence of any of the books so far. Meanwhile, the almost-totally-disconnected book 5 was bewildering at first but wound up really enjoyable. Tehol and Bugg were pretty fantastic.
Now, based on the dramatis personae for Reaper's Gale, it seems like this will bring things together more thoroughly, dragging the characters from the rest of the books towards the setting and conflict introduced in book 5.
Also, I'm listening to Ancillary Sword as an audiobook off and on. Still pretty neat, but I like Justice better, I think.
siege of Y'Ghatan and the process of crawling away beneath it
Now, based on the dramatis personae for Reaper's Gale, it seems like this will bring things together more thoroughly, dragging the characters from the rest of the books towards the setting and conflict introduced in book 5.
Also, I'm listening to Ancillary Sword as an audiobook off and on. Still pretty neat, but I like Justice better, I think.
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
I'm currently bouncing around the Kindle Unlimited selection, which brought me to Fast Food Nation. It's very obviously a decade old at this point, but the concepts and big-picture ideas are still very relevant. I like that the book never rams a thesis down your throat like a lot of other authors would - it lets you appreciate the spectacle that is the fast food industry first before unsettling you.
Makes me crave fast food like crazy, weirdly enough. I must be brainwashed. Kindle Unlimited is paying off so far - three books this month.
Also reading The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov. It's very ambitious, even for Asimov, but some of the most out-there stuff comes off surprisingly well and not hackneyed or silly.
Christ almighty. Looks fantastic.
I can't handle some of these hats!
Mackenzie 92
Member
Just finished 1984 (Orwell) since i wanted to read some classics. Pretty interesting but it's not going to be a favourite or even a reread. Mood and atmosphere of the "world" is pretty intense and well written. Crazy how some aspects/"rules" are well thought and fleshed out.
Probably going to tackle the side story books of The Malazan Book of the Fallen world next.
Probably going to tackle the side story books of The Malazan Book of the Fallen world next.