-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
What are you reading? (July 2010)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
afternoon delight
Member
Wonderful book, one of my favorites by him. Like all the critics say, his songs are a low howl of a blues note echoing across hot summer streets. Love that novel particularly.
I'm reading Carrots Love Tomatoes which is perfect source for gardeners (companion planting is genius to me) and The Crossing, which also happens to be perfect.
Edit: I need some hard SF and have heard only good things about "The Forever War". Worth picking up? My favorites in the genre are Childhood's End and Rama by Clarke, along with a lot of short stories by Bradbury and the like.
Continuing my recent sci-fi kick, I've finished Dune and moved on to this guy:
At about 100 pages in, I'm still not hooked. Maybe because I just came off the masterpiece that is Dune? I have a growing stack of other books I want to read so I'm wondering if anybody can advise. Stick with it? Bail and move on?
At about 100 pages in, I'm still not hooked. Maybe because I just came off the masterpiece that is Dune? I have a growing stack of other books I want to read so I'm wondering if anybody can advise. Stick with it? Bail and move on?
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
barnone said:
Do read The First Law trilogy! I just finished the third book yesterday and the whole thing was amazing in my opinion. Abercrombie's prose is excellent and I loved the characters and the world he built. I've read some complaints about how it all ended, but personally I think the ending was great and it was very fitting.
I immediately started on Best Served Cold and from the 30 or so pages I have read so far it looks like it might even be better than The First Law. I eagerly anticipate more books from Abercrombie. The man produces some excellent writing and stories.
MadraptorMan
Member
Almost done with the first book in the Bartimaeus trilogy; liking it a lot but I think I am gonna read something else before moving on to book 2.
carpal said:
Try Foundation if you haven't already. I went from Dune to Foundation, and while I loved Dune, I loved Foundation even more. It was an easy jump to make because of the fact that Foundation deals with politics and economy in a similar way (although slightly more complex) than that of Dune. Also, the cause and effect themes in Foundation are astounding. Really great shit right there.
Thanks for the encouragement. I'll stick it out for a bit longer. I'm into the ideas behind the book (even if its version of the Internet was obviously conceived in 1991). It has been Vinge's somewhat uninspired prose that has me feeling a bit antsy at this point.
Just so you know, here's a glimpse of what's on deck (in no particular order):
Foundation
A Song of Ice and Fire
The Book of the New Sun
Hyperion
Just so you know, here's a glimpse of what's on deck (in no particular order):
Foundation
A Song of Ice and Fire
The Book of the New Sun
Hyperion
Zeitgeister said:
Mack's biography of Pope I am reading quite slowly, with quite a bit of doubling back. It will be hanging around for the next couple of weeks.
Hill's book is only ninety pages, so rather quickly - taking quite a few notes, though.
Cerebus I read very slowly - in part because Sim's cursive script can be damned hard to make out.
Xater said:
That was my first Murakami novel. I honestly liked it a lot. Then I read Dance Dance Dance and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, as well as two collections of short stories.
Is it me or does Murakami write the same book over and over again? Man in his 30s quits his crappy job and goes searching for wife/girlfriend/sheep, antagonizes dangerous people, teams up with cynic teenager, travels all over Japan... And he always includes a psychic character so he can move the plot forward when under normal circumstances the protagonist would be stuck without clues.
I enjoyed what I've read, but talk about undeserved hype.
tmarques said:
After reading Wind-Up Bird back in February, I thought I was the only one on GAF that had found Murakami to be not quite deserving of his hype here. It really just fell apart for me in the end, and so much of it was just left up in the air that I found almost nothing to take from the conclusion, if you could even call it one. Not that I like all my stories wrapped up in a bow when they finish -- quite the opposite, usually -- but I just couldn't develop empathy for any of these lifeless people.
Looking him up after I finished, it does in fact turn out that he makes a habit of using almost the same type of narrator, with the same name, in many of his books. Call it his signature?
Anyway, I haven't given up on him, and will be reading Norwegian Wood in a few months after I plow through some of my more deserving backlog.
----
This month, I'm about 150 pages out from finishing The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. TGWPWF was fun but I've definitely noticed that Larsson's meticulous style of writing has gotten more and more inflated with each book. Still, I'm having a lot of fun with it.
As a fan of the rather wordy thrillers, I'm very much looking forward to Tana French's Faithful Place later this month. After Hornet's Nest, I'll be diving into the BOTM club with The Big Short, but then I'll be returning to Ms. French's wonderful little Irish Murder Squad, which she has established and proven to be incredibly full of enchanting, flawed characters with both In The Woods and The Likeness. After those two, it's on to A Clash of Kings, which I have been postponing for three months, which is how long it has been since I finished up the first book.
Yikes. That's a lot of pages still to read already one week into the month. Better get back to it!
About halfway through -
I'll say it's a lot better than Little Brother, IMO, but still not as good as his earlier novels. I think you could definitely see some of Doctorow's principles and political beliefs in the early ones like Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom and Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, but it was interspersed with some decent enough characterization and story, plus the tech stuff he introduced was pretty cool. Little Brother was pretty bad, I thought, because it felt like just a collection of blog posts from BoingBoing and incredibly stereotypical characters with what I thought was basically nothing whatsoever creative added by the author. It was basically just propoganda through and through, and was the first Doctorow book I got rid of after reading.
Thus far, For The Win has at least added some characterization along with pages long political diatribes. It's still very obvious that everything is headed in a very socialist pro-union direction, as is Doctorow's general slant, but I feel like I'm at least getting something in addition to the propoganda (which I didn't in Little Brother).
I'll say it's a lot better than Little Brother, IMO, but still not as good as his earlier novels. I think you could definitely see some of Doctorow's principles and political beliefs in the early ones like Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom and Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, but it was interspersed with some decent enough characterization and story, plus the tech stuff he introduced was pretty cool. Little Brother was pretty bad, I thought, because it felt like just a collection of blog posts from BoingBoing and incredibly stereotypical characters with what I thought was basically nothing whatsoever creative added by the author. It was basically just propoganda through and through, and was the first Doctorow book I got rid of after reading.
Thus far, For The Win has at least added some characterization along with pages long political diatribes. It's still very obvious that everything is headed in a very socialist pro-union direction, as is Doctorow's general slant, but I feel like I'm at least getting something in addition to the propoganda (which I didn't in Little Brother).
ipukespiders
Member
Dean Koontz Relentless.
X26 said:
40pgs doesn't really sound like sufficient time to judge the standing of any particular book in relation to another
The sequels (Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation) are as highly rated, if not higher, than the first book. I'll admit that I haven't started the 2nd or 3rd one yet, but it's on my shelf, and it's crisp paper back is awaiting destruction and a well crackled spine!
Ok just finished Hyperion and thought it was great, but had I known that there would such a big cliffhanger I would have read it later. I actually wanted to read The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo next but now I ordered The Fall of Hyperion. Please tell me I can take a break after that before reading Endymion. :lol
this just arived from the UK
Thanks for the recommendation Salazar! I'm only a couple of pages in obviously, but it's entertaining, has a good flow and seems to comprise exactly what I was looking for.
Charles Glass is an American journalist who was kidnapped by Hizballah militia in Beirut on a tour that was supposed to encompass the Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel in the 1980s. He returned in 2001 to conclude this journey. Literally a day before he sat foot on the Levant shore, 9/11 stroke, rendering this journey a piece of contemporary history once again. Well, that's all I gathered from the first chapter.
Thanks for the recommendation Salazar! I'm only a couple of pages in obviously, but it's entertaining, has a good flow and seems to comprise exactly what I was looking for.
Charles Glass is an American journalist who was kidnapped by Hizballah militia in Beirut on a tour that was supposed to encompass the Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel in the 1980s. He returned in 2001 to conclude this journey. Literally a day before he sat foot on the Levant shore, 9/11 stroke, rendering this journey a piece of contemporary history once again. Well, that's all I gathered from the first chapter.
Just finished this:
Was awesome... I remember seeing this guy give a speech at my high school back in '99... totally captivated me at the time (getting to hear talk about time travel, galactic civilizations, and alternate dimensions instead of being in class all day??? HELL YEAH!). Saw the book, picked it up and read through it really quickly. Now time to check out his other books.
Was awesome... I remember seeing this guy give a speech at my high school back in '99... totally captivated me at the time (getting to hear talk about time travel, galactic civilizations, and alternate dimensions instead of being in class all day??? HELL YEAH!). Saw the book, picked it up and read through it really quickly. Now time to check out his other books.
rubbishmonkey
Member
I'm about half way through Let The Right One In (soon to be titled Let Me In I think) and I'm really enjoying it. I did rather enjoy the film alot (and I shall probably enjoy the remake too)
So I'm just about done with The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
It is a great, beautiful novel. Anyone who enjoyed Cloud Atlas will have almost certainly enjoy this - and those who thought that Cloud Atlas was a difficult read will find this a more linear, easier to follow book. That's not to say that it isn't complex or thought provoking, because it's by no means a simple novel. Mitchell's prose is SO GOOD, god, there is some heart wrenching stuff in here. I really only have a couple gripes - the main thing being a section of the book that is completely out of character and tone with the rest of the novel, and was actually rather jarring. Regardless, though, it is easily the best thing I've read this year.
It is a great, beautiful novel. Anyone who enjoyed Cloud Atlas will have almost certainly enjoy this - and those who thought that Cloud Atlas was a difficult read will find this a more linear, easier to follow book. That's not to say that it isn't complex or thought provoking, because it's by no means a simple novel. Mitchell's prose is SO GOOD, god, there is some heart wrenching stuff in here. I really only have a couple gripes - the main thing being a section of the book that is completely out of character and tone with the rest of the novel, and was actually rather jarring. Regardless, though, it is easily the best thing I've read this year.
Hmm, I guess that depends on the kind of thing you're looking for..
carpal: What was it that you didn't like about Ghostwritten? The segmented, juxtaposed nature of it? Cause that's really what most of his novels up until The Thousand Autumns... are like.
belvedre: The first novel I read by Mitchell was Cloud Atlas. After I read it I went back and read all of his previous novels, and for me Cloud Atlas takes all of the random, segmented aspects that I was talking about and perfects it. But if you're just looking for a more traditional, linear read then I would just go for this one.
carpal: What was it that you didn't like about Ghostwritten? The segmented, juxtaposed nature of it? Cause that's really what most of his novels up until The Thousand Autumns... are like.
belvedre: The first novel I read by Mitchell was Cloud Atlas. After I read it I went back and read all of his previous novels, and for me Cloud Atlas takes all of the random, segmented aspects that I was talking about and perfects it. But if you're just looking for a more traditional, linear read then I would just go for this one.
Nice writeup, Foob.
Anyway, I own both Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas, and I just can't decide which to read first. On the one hand, I don't want everything to be downhill after reading his "masterpiece." On the other, I'm a little afraid that reading the earlier book first will lessen my enjoyment of Cloud Atlas.
Anyway, I own both Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas, and I just can't decide which to read first. On the one hand, I don't want everything to be downhill after reading his "masterpiece." On the other, I'm a little afraid that reading the earlier book first will lessen my enjoyment of Cloud Atlas.
Maklershed
Member
I'm about half way through Feed. Not digging it too much so far which is amazing given the story is about a zombie apocalypse. I feel there's too much focus on the webpage and journalism and not enough about zombies. Also, I just don't buy the interactions between the characters (particularly between George, Buffy, and Shaun) or the ludicrous idea that blogs are the most popular form of entertainment and bloggers have replaced actors as A+ celebrities.
Father_Mike
Member
Tashi0106 said:
Good.
The MIT lectures that to book is based on are up on youtube too, which makes understanding the book a bit easier.
Foob said:
I see. From what I remember, no one individual thread of the story really got its hooks into me and whatever piece it was that wove everything together was too slow to develop.
But again, I think it may have been my expectations calibrated wrong. Actually now the more I think back to why I didn't like it that much the more I'm interested in revisiting where I left off.
carpal said:
It's been a while since I read A Fire Upon The Deep, but I seem to recall that it took me a bit of time before I really got into it, but once I did I tore through the rest. So, I'd say stick with it a while longer and hopefully it'll kick in for you. By the way, it's vision of the internet seems like it's conceived in 1991 because it was; the book was first published in 1992.
Late last month I finished reading Greg Rucka's Private Wars, his second Queen & Country novel. It's a solid read, either as a stand-alone contemporary espionage novel if you're not familiar with the comics or as continuation of the character's lives if you are. That said, I didn't exactly tear through it; I liked the book fine, but it didn't really grab hold of me. So, while the third Q&C novel, The Last Run, is coming out this fall, I think I'll be content to wait for the paperback.
I'm currently reading Fledgling, a recent installment in Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Liaden series. The Liaden novels are space opera with a strong romantic element included, with our heroes generally being associated with a powerful clan of traders and merchants who have a strong independent streak at odds with the society they live in. Generally "at odds" means "the shit has hit the fan" and things get pretty exciting, so there's plenty of fighting against authority, derring-do, true love in the face of adversity, and so forth. There are also space turtles that are completely awesome. These aren't the deepest books you'll ever read, but they're a lot of fun; I'd readily recommend them to a fan of, say, Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga.
Fledgling is about Theo Waitely, a teenage girl who lives in a highly structured society of academics, where she's bright but doesn't quite fit in. When her mother decides to go back to the extra-regimented depths of the university she teaches at, Theo is dragged along and things get complicated from there. I'm a couple of hundred pages in at this point and it looks like the plot is really about to get rolling. I'm enjoying it, as I apparently have a weakness for coming-of-age-in-space novels, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this ties into the rest of the Liaden universe, which it's fairly removed from so far. I'll report back when I'm finished.
FnordChan
ClosingADoor
Member
Just finished Red Seas Under Red Skies. Fantastic book, and then to find out you have to wait for a year before the sequel comes out
Maybe someone can recommend me some fantasy novels that are like it? I don't really like those LOTR type series (dwarfs, elves, etc), but more the medieval kind, or how you would call it.
Already read and looking for something like:
- Lies of Lock Lamora
- Song of Ice and Fire
- First Law
- Temeraire
Maybe someone can recommend me some fantasy novels that are like it? I don't really like those LOTR type series (dwarfs, elves, etc), but more the medieval kind, or how you would call it.
Already read and looking for something like:
- Lies of Lock Lamora
- Song of Ice and Fire
- First Law
- Temeraire
Maklershed
Member
Finished Feed and on to The Drawing of the Three
I just finished this one, great read.kaskade said:
I'm not very far but so far it's pretty good.
Last week I read The Pelican Brief. My first John Grisham novel and I thought it was pretty good. I'll definitely read a few more of his.
I'm starting The Girl Who Played With Fire soon.
joesmokey said:
First two books are really good, I just finished the third book and although it was satisfying it wasn't as good as the first two.
Apparently there is a fourth book on a laptop somewhere with a questino about who owns the rights to it? Who knows if that'll ever see the printing press.
I'm only about 100 pages in but it really started to pick up. I imagine stuff gets more crazy but I just found out what I guess is the main point of the bookTheBranca18 said:
the murder of the guys niece i believe
Mr Nash
square pies = communism
afternoon delight said:
Ooo, I'm gonna have to check this out. Been experimenting with this in a raised bed garden, growing carrots and bush beans in alternating rows so the carrots can take advantage of the nitrogen that the beans produce. It's still early, but there is a noticeable difference. The carrots with beans on only one side are a fair bit smaller than the ones that are flanked on both sides by the beans. It's really neat to watch. Go science!
jonnybryce
Member
I really enjoyed it. You can definitely tell this man was not a writer, and being a translated book did not help, but he had some nice ideas. It had a lot of elements in it, but none of them seemed thrown in just to have a story that was shocking or varied. Most characters felt very real, the mystery was riveting and I never questioned why someone was doing something - all the motives made sense or were clearly justified when they didn't, which is something that annoys me often in books.
I'm now reading
I need a break before I go on to The Girl Who Played With Fire, and No Mercy has a cool premise. I really enjoy thrillers or mysteries. So far, despite a strong word here and there, the book feels like it's at a second grade reading level, which is a bit disheartening. The writing style...lacks style, but I'm only up to chapter five so hopefully it picks up. I've heard a lot of good about the book from the media and from some forums, so hopefully I agree.
jonnybryce
Member
TheBranca18 said:
Yeah, and it takes place in Cananda which is odd. There's no middle so it would have to be ghost written (or released middle-less) and as long as his wife hates his family hates the publishing company, she's not releasing it.
kaskade said:
It definitely took a little while to pick up. There's a lot of information and a lot of time spent on setting things up, but it's worth it to push on. I actually just watched the Blu Ray yesterday and was disappointed at how shallow and different they made it, so don't be too excited.
Similar threads
- Locked