What are you reading? (January 2017)

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I'm still chugging with the Sherlock Holmes collection, it's over 1000 pages, this is gonna quite the undertaking.

Grimalkin said:
I finished Swan Song last week.

The book was sloppy. The themes were heavy handed and pointless. In the end, every action was preordained to happen, thus no one had any real agency. The theme of preordination wasn't handled well. The true purpose of Job's Mask had me sigh audibly. Any part of the book that had promise was squandered. The book did have some ideas worth pursuing but instead of focusing on one of them and cutting all the fat, they are jumbled together and don't coalesce into anything worthwhile.

The best chapters were the
Devil
chapters, as he was the best character and the only one even remotely thematically interesting or fleshed out. The book should have been about him, and much darker in tone.

Not the worst book I've read but if you are looking for apocalyptic fiction, pass on this one. Choose something with teeth, as this novel is PG-13 at best. I would honestly put this on the same level as Eragon, as the prose is what I'd expect from a "talented" sixteen year old.
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It's too bad you didn't like it, i personally enjoyed it but it had problems. Now i wonder if a certain someone has also finished Swan Song, i want to hear his thoughts too.
 
So I (mostly) finished a series of Virginia Woolf short stories that I had been reading alongside more contemporary shorts. And I gotta say, to my utter shock, I don't think Virginia Woolf is a good short story writer. For awhile I thought it was in my head, but now I damn pretty sure of it. That doubt led me to get some background info and turns out she didn't actually write short stories very often. Just not her thing. Sometimes her editor would ask her to write some, and Woolf would refuse if she was in a bad mood at the time. Reading through her stories, I couldn't help but seeing little stuff in prose that I've seen in her novels, so I am pretty sure she primarily used them to experiment for future works. It was a neat reading experience to end my year and kind of funny that one of the greatest novelest was pretty shitty at writing shorts.

Anyway, moving on to more fun stuff, I started The Disaster Artist. About fifty pages in and I will attest that Tommy Wiseau is the greatest literary character of all time. To the extent that if I didn't already know a bit about The Room and him, I would think, "This man can't really exist. He just can't..." Super interesting read so far that is carried easily by what an eccentric weirdo Tommy is.

220px-The_Disaster_Artist.jpg
 
I finished the Fifth Season today. Good book. I knew it was the first in a series, but for some reason I thought we would see a resolution to
the stuff with the protagonist's husband and daughter


I need a break from sci fi and fantasy. Not sure what I will pick next yet.
 
kswiston said:
I finished the Fifth Season today. Good book. I knew it was the first in a series, but for some reason I thought we would see a resolution to
the stuff with the protagonist's husband and daughter


I need a break from sci fi and fantasy. Not sure what I will pick next yet.
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Read Murakami's Underground.
 
Finished Sleeping Giants the other day. It was entertaining, thanks to whoever put me on it here.

I'm now reading The Human Stain and The Fellowship of the Ring at the same time, good pairing so far.
 
Cool essay Narag linked me: http://lithub.com/the-murakami-effect/#

It's a rumination on the role of translators as cultural bridges and the effect Murakami's success has had on the sub-industry, as well as the particularities of Murakami's work that makes itself so accessible, most of all its intentional translatability, so the author argues.
 
Mumei said:
Fiction or non-fiction?
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Either I guess. Preferably less than 350 pages and not short story collections :P

duckroll said:
Read Murakami's Underground.
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Thanks for the recommendation. I will see if I can find that for a reasonable price. The Kindle version is $12, which is a bit much for digital.

My local library network has been on strike since last May, which makes these sorts of things more difficult than they should be.
 
EVOL 100% said:
Started on After Dark by Haruki Murakami.

WkSDY0B.jpg


I remember liking it a lot the last time I read it, but as I had pneumonia and was in a fever induced trance on a shitty military hospital bed, I'm going through this with a clearer mind this time.
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Finished this.

I liked the actual narrative of the estranged sisters and the downtrodden, but it had the same problems that I have with most of Murakami's books - Surrealism for the sake of surrealism.

I really don't see the point of the bit about the office where the programmer works and the man with the covered face appearing in the elder sister's dreams. It's interesting imagery I guess, but I think it detracted from the actual narrative.
 
I just finished reading Black Liberation and Socialism by Ahmed Shawki. Might tackle The Reactionary Mind by Corey Robin next. I've been on a non-fiction kick.
 
kswiston said:
Either I guess. Preferably less than 350 pages and not short story collections :P
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Excellent~

The Genius of Birds, by Jennifer Ackerman
Persuasion, by Jane Austen
The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Colbert
Wolf in White Van, by John Darnielle
Pit Bull: The Battle Over An American Icon, by Bronwen Dickey
Inferno: An Anatomy of American Punishment, by Robert A. Ferguson
The Quiet American, by Graham Greene
What Belongs to You, by Garth Greenwell
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
We Have Always Lived in The Castle, by Shirley Jackson
The Moor's Account, by Laila Lalam
H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, by Eimear McBride
Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty, by Dorothy Roberts
Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth, by James M. Tabor

Tried to do a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Hopefully something looks interesting—and yes, I was too lazy to check your Goodreads first. Sorry. :x
 
jonno394 said:
It was my new years resolution to read more in 2017, and after starting with two Light Novels in the Bakemonogatari series, I stumbled upon this book in this thread and liked the sound of the premise. Basically it's very much like a Vault from the fallout series.

61LcBudYelL.jpg


Blitzed through the first three parts. Really enjoying the authors style of writing as well as the characters and the extremely well realised world and setting he has created. Extremely good page turner that is hard to put down with the whole "just one more chapter" feel to it
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Really loved Wool. Worries me a bit for the other novels in the Silo series, if they can live up to the first.
 
Mumei said:
Excellent~
snip
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Catch-22 is the tits. Anyone ever try his other work?


EVOL 100% said:
Am attempting to go through this again:

Last time I read it, I think I got 200 pages in before I felt my brain was unraveling and had no idea what was going on - We'll see how well I get through it this time. It'll probably a long time before I finish this one
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I've tried twice. That's how good his introduction was, I just couldn't pass up that kind of talent, but it conquered me somewhere in the hundreds both times. Every single page after a while is just "look how clever and amusing I am, look it, look it!" I felt like I was watching the author masturbate, literally insufferable.
 
Am attempting to go through this again:

Je5j6A6.png


Last time I read it, I think I got 200 pages in before I felt my brain was unraveling and had no idea what was going on - We'll see how well I get through it this time. It'll probably a long time before I finish this one
 
Haly, you are adorable.

TTG said:
Catch-22 is the tits. Anyone ever try his other work?
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I have not! You should read his other work and report back. :)

I've tried twice. That's how good his introduction was, I just couldn't pass up that kind of talent, but it conquered me somewhere in the hundreds both times. Every single page after a while is just "look how clever and amusing I am, look it, look it!" I felt like I was watching the author masturbate, literally insufferable.
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I read it a couple years ago at someone else's prompting. I still had to read a plot synopsis after to see how much I got.

I got most of the basic plot except for the parts where I was just reading the words to get to the next part.<_<

I do kind of want to try it again one day, though.
 
Haly said:
song_siren.gif
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The Crying of Lot 49 doesn't have that repellent onanist quality, it's just not my thing. Pynchon making it into an anime in interesting, does this mean there's anime worth watching beyond Cowboy Bebop and GotS?


Mumei said:
I read it a couple years ago at someone else's prompting. I still had to read a plot synopsis after to see how much I got.

I got most of the basic plot except for the parts where I was just reading the words to get to the next part.<_<

I do kind of want to try it again one day, though.
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Why don't you start a book club then? Honestly, you ask me to list some of the most beautiful excerpts in English literature and that opening is one of the first that comes to mind. I just couldn't bear what followed. Maybe with company?
 
TTG said:
The Crying of Lot 49 doesn't have that repellent onanist quality, it's just not my thing. Pynchon making it into an anime in interesting, does this mean there's anime worth watching beyond Cowboy Bebop and GotS?
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That's from Ms. Bernard Said, a comedy about book readers. The amount of titles namedropped on it is actually quite impressive: http://pastebin.com/nnerYt5h
 
About half way through Flying Dutch by Tom Holt. Not bad so far. Anyone else read this author? He seems to have a lot of published works. Opinions?
 
TTG said:
Why don't you start a book club then? Honestly, you ask me to list some of the most beautiful excerpts in English literature and that opening is one of the first that comes to mind. I just couldn't bear what followed. Maybe with company?
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That'd be great, it'd definitely serve as motivation to go through it.

Reading a page felt like the equivalent of reading 50 fucking pages of a different book.
 
TTG said:
Catch-22 is the tits. Anyone ever try his other work?
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I love Something Happened a lot...and didn't get to finish it, so I've been meaning to get another copy asap, lol. Its twisted neurotic take on middle-class ennui and domestic life and identity and empathy, etc., was right up my alley during the time I read it...though its verbosity can be overbearing iirc. I forgave it when its sardonic bite made me though.
 
The Prohibition book has me wanting to read more about 19th and early 20th century American industrialists. Any recs in that regard?
 
TTG said:
Why don't you start a book club then? Honestly, you ask me to list some of the most beautiful excerpts in English literature and that opening is one of the first that comes to mind. I just couldn't bear what followed. Maybe with company?
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I will... if Cyan deigns to participate.
 
Maklershed said:
That does sound really interesting. Thanks. Side note: Did you ever read his bio on Hamilton? If so, how is that?
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I haven't yet, but Chernow is widely considered to be America's best biographer, along with Robert Caro (whose obsession with LBJ is basically crazy).
 
Killed off Scythe by Neal Shusterman and enjoyed it immensely. For a YA book there sure was a lot of death. Wonder how they'll deal with it in the movie?

And now to head into ominous woods with Stallo by Stefan Spjut.

stallo.jpg
 
sparky2112 said:
I haven't yet, but Chernow is widely considered to be America's best biographer, along with Robert Caro (whose obsession with LBJ is basically crazy).
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Well to be fair its probably not often you get a president that calls his tailor directly and asks him to build ample 'nut' room into his pants. lol
 
Started to re-read Dune, and it feels so much more enthralling this time around (despite remembering very little). I now see the conciseness of the prose, feel the barrenness of Arrakis, and marvel at the intricacies of House Atreides' politics. It's absolutely amazing. Might give Hyperion another try as well after Dune and The Farthest Shore, because Hyperion had also left me with a similar impression.
 
I finally polished off Locke Lamora, which was just absolutely fantastic. I see why it's so highly regarded around here!

Now for something a little different -

51UqNte6QxL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


Yeah, it's technically a kids book. But the art is gorgeous and it's fun and silly and I love Neil Gaiman shut up
 
Almost done with The Name of the Rose, think I'll read Babylon's Ashes next.

Been listening to Dune and The Chronicles of Narnia at work.
 
TTG said:
Catch-22 is the tits. Anyone ever try his other work?
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I think I like Something Happened as much as Catch 22, but it's so incredibly bleak. Most of us haven't experienced warfare but a vast majority of us has endured an ordinary suburban 9 to 5 existence and Something Happened does the same hatchet job on that as Catch 22 does on the military and oh it hits hard, but it somehow uplifts you too..

Good as Gold does politics but didn't resonate with me, haven't read anything newer though I keep meaning to read the Catch 22 sequel Closing Time
 
Rug Monkey said:
I think I like Something Happened as much as Catch 22, but it's so incredibly bleak.
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I've heard it described as a mild masterpiece that suffers from the wake of Catch-22. Not sure I wouldn't want to kill myself after reading it, though. Same reason I've been reluctant to read Revolutionary Road by Yates...
 
Life in Parts was excellent. Recommend it to anyone interested in acting and/or a well-written autobiography. Cranston is a great guy and his work ethic is inspiring.

KrellRell said:
Getting into Sapiens, shit is wild.
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Yep. The content of the first few pages is already super interesting.
 
I recently finished Perdido Street Station and The Scar and loved both of them. The Scar in particular was great since it managed to balance the world building of the first book with a really well constructed plot full of intrigue and twists. Plus Armada is just a fascinating setting for a book.
 
Mumei said:
Excellent~

The Genius of Birds, by Jennifer Ackerman
Persuasion, by Jane Austen
The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Colbert
Wolf in White Van, by John Darnielle
Pit Bull: The Battle Over An American Icon, by Bronwen Dickey
Inferno: An Anatomy of American Punishment, by Robert A. Ferguson
The Quiet American, by Graham Greene
What Belongs to You, by Garth Greenwell
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
We Have Always Lived in The Castle, by Shirley Jackson
The Moor's Account, by Laila Lalam
H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, by Eimear McBride
Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty, by Dorothy Roberts
Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth, by James M. Tabor

Tried to do a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Hopefully something looks interesting—and yes, I was too lazy to check your Goodreads first. Sorry. :x
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I was thinking of reading a classic, so maybe I'll go with Persuasion. I finished Mansfield Park and Pride and Predjudice last year.

It doesn't hurt that I can get the Kindle version for $1 :p

Now to find the version that has the least copy errors!
 
Intheflorsh said:
I recently finished Perdido Street Station and The Scar and loved both of them. The Scar in particular was great since it managed to balance the world building of the first book with a really well constructed plot full of intrigue and twists. Plus Armada is just a fascinating setting for a book.
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Skip Iron Council and go to Embassytown.
 
After I watched Arrival I decided to read some Ted Chiang short stories...

Story of Your Life
While the basic character beats of the story are pretty similar to the film, the tone and message of the short story are completely different. I'm kinda happy I didn't read the story before watching the film, because I would probably have liked it a lot less. It's interesting to see the difference in approach though. In some ways the themes of the story run completely counter to the themes in the film. Where Villeneuve saw fate and mutual exchange, Chiang sees inevitability and the irrelevance of motive. I think the story is far more elegant, but the movie is definitely more.... tense I guess? Lol.


Tower of Babylon
Damn this was fucking good. Imaginative, bold, and the sort of story you don't expect. A setting Gene Wolfe might think up. A narrative that invokes images of Shin Megami Tensei. I don't even know what genre this really is. Ancient alternate reality religious fantasy? Whatever it is, it was fucking awesome. The imagery as they climb the tower was beautiful. The end of the story was a really cute way to end it.


The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
Another period historical fable type story, but this one is way more traditional in the vein of Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories. The stories with in the story framing adds variety to the tale, and creates the atmosphere of a mini-Thousand And One Nights. For the short story, the scope is admirable and the content is really dense. Yet very readable and flows at a great pace. Would make a good film. Wonder when Hollywood options this one!
 
duckroll said:
Where Villeneuve saw fate and mutual exchange, Chiang sees inevitability and the irrelevance of motive. I think the story is far more elegant, but the movie is definitely more.... hollywood I guess? Lol.
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Fixt.
 
Reading Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise and learning more about baseball than I ever wanted to. :P

duckroll said:
Tower of Babylon
Damn this was fucking good. Imaginative, bold, and the sort of story you don't expect. A setting Gene Wolfe might think up. A narrative that invokes images of Shin Megami Tensei. I don't even know what genre this really is. Ancient alternate reality religious fantasy? Whatever it is, it was fucking awesome. The imagery as they climb the tower was beautiful. The end of the story was a really cute way to end it.
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I really enjoyed this one too. Very imaginative. You should also read "Seventy-Two Letters" and "Hell is the Absence of God." They feel very different from "Tower of Babylon" but also have that weird religious-fantasy spin.
 
Pau said:
Reading Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise and learning more about baseball than I ever wanted to. :P


I really enjoyed this one too. Very imaginative. You should also read "Seventy-Two Letters" and "Hell is the Absence of God." They feel very different from "Tower of Babylon" but also have that weird religious-fantasy spin.
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I'm getting there. I just had to post impressions to score points with Haly first.
 
I've been making my way through the Lightbringer Saga. Should've done this way sooner, book 3 was amazing and I'm now almost halfway through the fourth book.
 
kswiston said:
Either I guess. Preferably less than 350 pages and not short story collections :P
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Well, you really cannot go wrong with Murakami. Dunno about the price, but Room by Emma Donoghue is quite the read if you can stomach some fucked up stuff. It's about a child that's always lived in a 12ft x 12ft room, Jack, and his Ma.

Edit: Can't decide whether to buy Norwegian Wood or rebuy Dune in ebook format. ;_; Guys, send help
 
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