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[Kuraudo]

Struggling a bit with Catch-22, mostly because I find it hard to follow Heller's style on a noisy train where I do most of my reading at the moment. I usually read a few pages, take a break and realise that aside from a couple of pieces of wordplay I can't really remember any of it.

Absolutely loving Storm of Swords. I keep planning to take a break from this series after each volume but inevitably end up plowing through the next.

Saw the Watchmen movie recently and it put me in mind to reread the book for the first time in eight or nine years. I actually enjoyed the movie until I was reminded how incredible the book is. It's just so amazingly layered, with every panel having been carefully thought out so that it contributes to the story.

 

[Mr Biggles]

Whilst lurking on gaf ( first post! ) I saw the love for A Song Of Ice And Fire and I decided to try and get into it. After loving Game of Thrones I ordered Clash of Kings and ended up buying the books 3-1, 3-2 and 4 yesterday, loving what I've read so far, the characters are great.

 

[Maklershed]

@Mr Biggles - I just started watching The IT Crowd on Netflix :b

 

[Mr Biggles]

Good! It really is awesome, especially the 4th series.

 

[Sarcastico]

Just finished reading Survivor, the ending was epic and overall I really enjoyed the book. Going to start reading another book by the same author called "Haunted".

 

[Wubby]

Halfway through Feast For Crows. Compared to the first three novels this one is pretty hard to get through. I couldn't put down the first three but this one I can comfortably go weeks without reading. The whole book just feels like it should be covered as a montage in a movie.

Need to finish it before Dance with Dragons comes out but I don't think I'll be able to.

 

[Youta Mottenai]

I've just started reading, albeit having it for some time (nothing like depression to hamper your reading/focus abilities), and I'm really enjoying it.

 

[HarryHengst]

Halfway through Feast For Crows. Compared to the first three novels this one is pretty hard to get through. I couldn't put down the first three but this one I can comfortably go weeks without reading. The whole book just feels like it should be covered as a montage in a movie.

Need to finish it before Dance with Dragons comes out but I don't think I'll be able to.

Eh, its the book that, together with a part of ADWD, sets up the pieces for the final books. It still owns because it redeems Jaime in my eyes, shows what a dumbass Cercei really is and Sansa finally isnt a naive little girl anymore. Fuck the ironmen though (except Damphair, he's cool), boring vikings are apparently possible!

 

[bengraven]

Halfway through Feast For Crows. Compared to the first three novels this one is pretty hard to get through. I couldn't put down the first three but this one I can comfortably go weeks without reading. The whole book just feels like it should be covered as a montage in a movie.

Need to finish it before Dance with Dragons comes out but I don't think I'll be able to.

Crows is a book that's much, much better on it's second read through. Especially if you understand that it's one half of a single book with Dance being the second half.

 

[FiendAngel]

Danielle Steel - Legacy

Surprisingly decent, it was hard to put down so I finished it, it's a compelling novel.

 

[Almyn]

Just finished this, I also read the first book a few days ago. I can't believe I haven't read the hitchhikers books sooner. I decided to skip the third book for now though and move onto this...

After a slow start it's finally starting to get interesting.

 

[Tijnisch]

'The Desert Spear' sequel to 'The Warded Man'.
Really liked that book, so couldn't let this one rest on the store shelf.

The first part of the book is fleshing out the backstory... and that part is a bit too long.
Aw well. Still great fun.

 

[Sleepy]

Just finished reading Survivor, the ending was epic and overall I really enjoyed the book. Going to start reading another book by the same author called "Haunted".

Palanuik's "tricks" get old very, very quickly. A nice way to pass the time...but it soon becomes apparent that he hits the same "beats" in every book.

Speaking of passing the time (and "beat-hitting"), I started The Crystal Shard by Salvatore:

I needed something as a pool/beach read for the holiday weekend, and I hadn't read anything by him since high school almost twenty-years ago (?!). Fun stuff, if pretty brainless/derivative.

 

[Sarcastico]

Palanuik's "tricks" get old very, very quickly. A nice way to pass the time...but it soon becomes apparent that he hits the same "beats" in every book.

Speaking of passing the time (and "beat-hitting"), I started The Crystal Shard by Salvatore:

I needed something as a pool/beach read for the holiday weekend, and I hadn't read anything by him since high school almost twenty-years ago (?!). Fun stuff, if pretty brainless/derivative.

I've read that he's been running out of ideas during his last books, but tbh I really enjoy his style. I've read a little bit of Haunted and it seems different from Survivor, so far.

 

[Sleepy]

I've read that he's been running out of ideas during his last books, but tbh I really enjoy his style. I've read a little bit of Haunted and it seems different from Survivor, so far.

I'll give you that, as it's a bit like his Decameron. I have read everything but Rant, Pygmy, the pornstar one, and his newest, and after Fight Club, I was bored as hell. His style is pretty pyrotechnic and (somewhat) absorbing, which may account for his popularity; at this point it's not for his ideas. Many authors do Palahniuk better, and with more sophistication, than Palanuik. (If that makes any sense.)

 

[Sarcastico]

I'll give you that, as it's a bit like his Decameron. I have read everything but Rant, Pygmy, the pornstar one, and his newest, and after Fight Club, I was bored as hell. His style is pretty pyrotechnic and (somewhat) absorbing, which may account for his popularity; at this point it's not for his ideas. Many authors do Palahniuk better, and with more sophistication, than Palanuik. (If that makes any sense.)

Could you give me some examples?

 

[survivor]

Started reading The Well of Ascension. Pretty slower than the first one and they are still stuck in the city. I still have the other half of the book to read so it could still improve.

 

[Sleepy]

Could you give me some examples?

Sure: Joan Didion for the minimalism, Joyce Carol Oates for the horror/supernatural, and Bret Easton Ellis for the weirdness, although, only Glamorama and American Psycho are Palahniukesque, maybe Lunar Park. These are all writers before/during Palahnuik, however, so YMMV. EDIT: Oh, there is that author of The House of Leaves and Only Revolutions, he seems to be a more literary Palahnuik, from what I have heard (never read him).

@Survivor- Is the Mistborn trilogy worth putting the time into, what about The Way of Kings?

 

[elrechazado]

I just read the first Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb, and thought it was terrible.

 

[survivor]

Sure: Joan Didion for the minimalism, Joyce Carol Oates for the horror/supernatural, and Bret Easton Ellis for the weirdness, although, only Glamorama and American Psycho are Palahniukesque, maybe Lunar Park. These are all writers before/during Palahnuik, however, so YMMV.

@Survivor- Is the Mistborn trilogy worth putting the time into, what about The Way of Kings?

I personally loved The Way of Kings. It's very big and it did drag on sometimes, but so far I find it better than the first book of Mistborn.

As for Mistborn, from what I read so far it's a pretty good master apprentice type of story about assassins with magic. It has some simalarites with Night Angel triology, except that Mistborn is much better. For what it's worth, give the first book a read. I have enjoyed it more than what I'm reading of the second one.

 

[Sleepy]

As for Mistborn, from what I read so far it's a pretty good master apprentice type of story about assassins with magic.

Thanks. I heard the magic was very well done in Mistborn. Yet, one of my grad school friends said it was almost like a romance, which, honestly, put me off a bit.

 

[survivor]

Thanks. I heard the magic was very well done in Mistborn. Yet, one of my grad school friends said it was almost like a romance, which, honestly, put me off a bit.

Brandon Sanderson seems always precise with his magic. He has certain rules and guidelines and follows them very well. That's why I prefered Mistborn over Night Angel. In Night Angel it was a mess. I still don't understand how magic works, and the main character was overpowered as hell.

The first book has bits fo romance, but honestly they barely exist. It's more common in the second book right now, but if romance is the only thing that bothers you, then you will be fine by reading the first book only.

 

[Sleepy]

Sold. Thanks again!

 

[peakish]

Recently finished:

The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf. A lot of chapters did nothing for me and it was a bit wordy but I left it feeling satisfied.

Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro. A short-story collection set around music that I found as a recommendation in one of these threads. I don't think I'd have liked these stories on their own but as a whole they fit well together. I really enjoyed reading about people letting their worries go just for a minute as a song plays.


Just starting to read In Search of Lost Time by Proust, but I'm feeling like mixing it with something simpler, probably contemporary. No idea about what yet screw that, imma read A Journey to the Center of the Earth.

 

[pro_gamer666]

Re-reading that and still working on:

 

[Fjordson]

Thanks. I heard the magic was very well done in Mistborn. Yet, one of my grad school friends said it was almost like a romance, which, honestly, put me off a bit.

I don't know what it was, but I couldn't get through the first Mistborn. The magic system was cool, but I didn't find the characters or plot at all interesting.

And this is going to sound weird, but I remember someone "raised an eyebrow" as a reaction to dialogue from another character on literally every god damn page. That annoyed me so much more than it probably should have.

 

[KidDork]

Noirish fast paced yarn about a down and out ex cop (sorta) and Hollywood hit men.

Definition of summer reading but fun.

I saw that yesterday and almost picked it up, but the reading pile is already starting to sway in a light breeze.

 

[Himself]

Decided to get into some classic American sci-fi as it's relevant to some work I just finished up on Vonnegut, I want to see how far I can extend my theories or where I can expand them.

Care to elaborate on your theories? My love of Vonnegut, Dick (harhar...) and Twin Peaks make me want to hear what you have to say.

 

[mandiller]

Struggling a bit with Catch-22, mostly because I find it hard to follow Heller's style on a noisy train where I do most of my reading at the moment. I usually read a few pages, take a break and realise that aside from a couple of pieces of wordplay I can't really remember any of it.

Catch 22 can be a little hard to get through but its one of the most satisfying books to finish. It really is great - one of my favourites. Keep going with it.

This the book I'm reading at the moment. Shadow by Will Elliott. It's the second part of a fantasy trilogy written by a local Australian author. It's great and well recommended if you enjoy other fantasy trilogies like the Abhorsen trilogy (Garth Nix) or His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman). The first book is called Pilgrims.

 

[Sarcastico]

Sure: Joan Didion for the minimalism, Joyce Carol Oates for the horror/supernatural, and Bret Easton Ellis for the weirdness, although, only Glamorama and American Psycho are Palahniukesque, maybe Lunar Park. These are all writers before/during Palahnuik, however, so YMMV. EDIT: Oh, there is that author of The House of Leaves and Only Revolutions, he seems to be a more literary Palahnuik, from what I have heard (never read him).

@Survivor- Is the Mistborn trilogy worth putting the time into, what about The Way of Kings?

Thanks, I'll have a look at these.

 

[joseranulfo]

Just finished my reread of "A song of ice and fire" just in time for the launch of dragons, but in the meantime I'm making my way into some old books in the prey thriller series by John Sanford.

I find amusing and entertaining reading about the police procedure without much of the modern technology and hope to see it developing as I advance in the series.

I read good reviews of the latest books in the series so I hope it will keep me entertained for some time.

 

[Piecake]

I don't know what it was, but I couldn't get through the first Mistborn. The magic system was cool, but I didn't find the characters or plot at all interesting.

And this is going to sound weird, but I remember someone "raised an eyebrow" as a reaction to dialogue from another character on literally every god damn page. That annoyed me so much more than it probably should have.

I could not get into Mistborn either. Like people have said, the magic system is cool, but I think the characters are very flat. I also think they speak with the same 'voice', if you know what I mean, and I just found that supremely annoying and took me right out of the novel.

He improved a great deal with character voice in his later books though. I quite enjoyed Way of Kings

 

[S1lent]

Just started it.

 

[Fjordson]

I could not get into Mistborn either. Like people have said, the magic system is cool, but I think the characters are very flat. I also think they speak with the same 'voice', if you know what I mean, and I just found that supremely annoying and took me right out of the novel.

He improved a great deal with character voice in his later books though. I quite enjoyed Way of Kings

Yes, exactly. The characters just sort of blended together, apart from maybe Kelsier or whatever his name is. Though even he seemed similar. And had to raise his eyebrows at people all the time.

Sanderson seems to have a pretty big fanbase, though, so I'll have to check out some of his later stuff. Way of Kings does sound interesting. I also hear people praising his Wheel of Time books, though I can't stand that series so I'll probably never get to where he started filling in for Jordan.

 

[Ogedai_Khan]

Really enjoyed this one. Quirky characters, fresh (fantasy) concepts...it was an amusing read.

 

[UltimaKilo]

I had to see what all the fuss was about. I got a preview copy on my Kindle thinking I was going to read about Merlin and Harry Potter fighting on unicorns and dragons. So far I like the book, but as soon as I read about one fucking wizard in a funny hat, I'm deleting this bitch.

Haven't read this play in years, but I bought a pack with a few Shakespeare comedies for Kindle which only costed me $.99, so I'm going to try and get through most of them. I'm half way-through with this one and jumping on "The Taming of the Shrew" or "Much ado about Nothing" next.

I'm taking my time with this because of how much I love it and study it so I'll likely be on it for a while. I've never read it in it's entirety and I feel like an idiot.

 

[Bloodbeard]

Self-Knowledge: Sankara's "Atmabodha" - translated by Swami Nikhilananda
Chord Chemistry - Ted Greene

 

[Pixel Pete]

Im finally getting around to reading some Carl Sagan. I have 4 wonderful books awaiting me

Billions and Billions (reading now)
The Demon-Haunted World
Varieties of Scientific Experience
Cosmos

And I need a Song of Ice and Fire refresher before Dance with Dragons

 

[Misanthropy]

I'm currently reading "A portrait of the artist as a young man" by James Joyce. It's quite nice really.

 

[Gen X]

Currently reading 'Confessions of an economic hitman'. Very interesting book and just goes to show how far man will go for money.

 

[bill gonorrhea]

just finished

Just starting the n-teenth time

 

[Maklershed]

just finished

Good book. And I live within 20 minutes of where Major Winters (RIP) lived and I'll be forever disappointed that I kept missing him when he went to the one restaurant he was known to frequent in my home town.

Side note: The actor that played Gonorrhea threw out the first pitch at a nearby baseball game and he looks like Mitch Hedberg now. I would've never known it was him.

 

[Keen]

Just got done with Sandersons's Way of Kings, and popped down to the bookstore to see if they had anything good in. Turns out they did...

 

[Gvaz]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/blogs/livefeed/2008/11/11/game.jpg[/MG]

I had to see what all the fuss was about. I got a preview copy on my Kindle thinking I was going to read about Merlin and Harry Potter fighting on unicorns and dragons. So far I like the book, but as soon as I read about one fucking wizard in a funny hat, I'm deleting this bitch.
[/QUOTE]
1. The draw of this series is not the magic
2. magic in this series is more subtle, and isn't really around much at all. What's important is that never is magic an "I win" button. Magic is more like....power with consequences.
3. There's no wizards per se, nor do they wear funny hats. One character says something like [SPOILER]"I wanted to be a wizard when I grew up" and they both just laugh.[/SPOILER]
4. Most importantly, the draw of this series is the humanization of characters and the interactions of characters within the world and to each other. It feels about as "down to earth" as a fantasy novel can get.

 

[Lasthope106]

Currently reading this. I haven't read any fiction or non-fiction in a while.

 

[rando14]

@Keen: WHAT

 

[Cpt.Underpants]

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins

 

[Piecake]

Yes, exactly. The characters just sort of blended together, apart from maybe Kelsier or whatever his name is. Though even he seemed similar. And had to raise his eyebrows at people all the time.

Sanderson seems to have a pretty big fanbase, though, so I'll have to check out some of his later stuff. Way of Kings does sound interesting. I also hear people praising his Wheel of Time books, though I can't stand that series so I'll probably never get to where he started filling in for Jordan.

I wouldnt bother with his WoT books. The only thing he really improves is its pacing - meaning stuff actually happens. The problems with the series still exist - predictable plot, horrifically bad female characters, terrible character relationships/interactions, etc.

Just got done with Sandersons's Way of Kings, and popped down to the bookstore to see if they had anything good in. Turns out they did...

I hate you

 

[jvm]

I recently finished The Secret History of Science Fiction, a collection of stories selected by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel. There are several brilliant stories here, including:

• "The Ziggurat" by Gene Wolfe. (See note at end of this post.)
• "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin
• "The Martian Agent, A Planetary Romance" by Michael Chabon

All the stories are good, and some are arguably not science fiction at all, but that's one of the goals of the collection: to highlight how traditional boundaries of genre may not make sense. Anyway, I read the Kindle version and enjoyed it immensely.

I also emailed Kessel, since he's a former professor of mine (from NCSU) and told him how much I enjoyed the collection. He wrote right back, which was kind of him. I'd told him I'd be starting his latest collection of short stories, The Baum Plan for Financial Independence. He asked to write back when I've finished it to tell him how it went.

I've read the first story, from which the collection gets its name, and it was very good. (I found it difficult to enjoy several stories in his previous collection, The Pure Product.)

Regarding "The Ziggurat":

Spoiler

You can read this as straight science fiction, but Kessel and other critics have an alternative interpretation, that is very, very interesting. Basically, you're dealing with an unreliable narrator who not only kills members of his, including his son, but also appears to be taking a sinister turn with his daughter by the end. Wolfe has written some very clever stuff, but this was mindblowing to me.

 

[Sleepy]

I recently finished The Secret History of Science Fiction, a collection of stories selected by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel.

I find all the Tachyon Press anthologies well worth the money (Feeling Very Strange, Secret History of Fantasy, and The New Weird). Is this the one with Lethem's "The Hardened Criminals"? That is an amazing short story.

EDIT: It is.