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What are you reading? (July 2014)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
- Status
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
I finished "N0s4a2" this morning and really loved how it wrapped up.
Moved on to the audiobook of "The Stand". Good so far. I've only ever seen the TV movie.
Moved on to the audiobook of "The Stand". Good so far. I've only ever seen the TV movie.
=)
aparisi2274
Member
Just started this:
I heard mixed things, but I loved the Sega/Nintendo wars of the 90's. It was great to be a gamer back then.
I heard mixed things, but I loved the Sega/Nintendo wars of the 90's. It was great to be a gamer back then.
currently:
reading
75% into it
like it very much, so far.
Love that cover! Is it the European version or something?
I'm about 40% and really like it.
I'm re-reading Alistair Reynolds' Revelation Space series while I wait for Brent Weeks' 3rd book in the Lightbringer series to come out in August.
Just finished John Scalzi's Old Man's War trilogy the other day, and that was a pretty good read that I'd recommend to anyone who likes military sci-fi.
Just finished John Scalzi's Old Man's War trilogy the other day, and that was a pretty good read that I'd recommend to anyone who likes military sci-fi.
Nooooo I don't handle guilt well. My poor heart!
Just finished:
It made me cry. A lot. Even though I had a good idea of what was coming. It's YA, so the prose is not very sophisticated, but it pulls its weight for the story.
Started last night:
Time travel to WWII, by Connie Willis. Her newest books set in her Oxford 2060 universe.
Will read after:
It made me cry. A lot. Even though I had a good idea of what was coming. It's YA, so the prose is not very sophisticated, but it pulls its weight for the story.
Started last night:
Time travel to WWII, by Connie Willis. Her newest books set in her Oxford 2060 universe.
Will read after:
Yea, I have both the first and second books. I probably don't wanna jump into something as long as Goldfinch but I've been sorta blinded by all of the early year praise.
Gordon0Freeman
Member
Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield
The global war on terror caused us to do some pretty fucked up stuff. This book is as depressing as it is enlightening on how our special forces has operated the past 10 or so years.
This sounds good, Real Good. Thanks
So last month I picked up Leviathan Wakes due to mentions in that months thread and it hooked me completely. I was thoroughly entertained by it and finished it in just a couple of days. Now I've started Caliban's War and even though I've had a little less time for reading I can tell I'll enjoy this one as well (although perhaps not as much). So far I think I'd prefer it to focus fewer characters. The first book did this so well with its alternating chapters.
And I already miss Miller, but I guess that might just be my general love for noir detectives.
Man, I wish I could read that series for the first time all over again. Neuromancer, I think, is my favorite book of all time even if I realize it's in no way the "best book ever". Do you have any other books you'd recommend to someone who really loved those?Rereading old favorites. Finished Neuromancer, currently halfway done with:
Maklershed
Member
Have you read Altered Carbon yet? And I just bought a book that based on reviews is right up there with Neuromancer, namely, Hardwired by Walter John Williams. I haven't read it yet so I dont know if thats true or not but something you may want to look into.
I'd like some more recommendations though, too. I love the 'dirty' cyberpunk. Like Blade Runner / Neuromancer / Altered Carbon.
I've heard of Hardwired before but only in passing and when I went to look it up I'm sad to admit the cover turned me off of it. Now I've put both it and Altered Carbon on my to read list right after The Expanse series and The Stormlight Archive. So... in quite a while I guess
rudieboy77
Member
I'm listening to Dune again.
I am still reading this.
Try The Owner series. It just finished up and it has the same feeling, to me at least.
The first book is
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Are you in for a treat! It's so good in its own right, never mind how influential it's been.
Is that time of year again for me to read a couple books to kill this endless Summer. Just finished reading "The Disaster Artist". Highly recommended and a quick read for those that are interested behind the scenes of the movie, "The Room".
Just started reading Masters of Doom and consider this a essential book for any nerd like myself to read it once in their life. So good! And what else is good that I bought a Kindle Paperwhite and is my first e-book reader but wow! Definitely worth the purchase and find reading fun again!
Just started reading Masters of Doom and consider this a essential book for any nerd like myself to read it once in their life. So good! And what else is good that I bought a Kindle Paperwhite and is my first e-book reader but wow! Definitely worth the purchase and find reading fun again!
SliceSabre
Banned
Going on a week+ long vacation so I've finally decided to pay off my library fine of $28 from 10 years ago and pick up a good book.
Glad I found this thread. Guess I'll start with what books that NPR Sci-Fi list mentions.
Glad I found this thread. Guess I'll start with what books that NPR Sci-Fi list mentions.
charlemagne
Member
Finished. It was interesting and really encouraged me to think more deeply about my own issues and what others might be going through. The author isn't qualified in any way to give advice (i.e., doesn't have any kind of formal training in counselling), and sometimes what she says is probably too ambitious, but often the empathy she brings to it is both thoughtful and enlightening, even if it wouldn't be a huge amount of help to the person writing in. I would really like to know how some of the people are going 6 months or a year after their initial reaching out for help.
Oh yeah, after I finish Cibola Burn I'll probably read through all the Novellas (3, right?) but then I'm pretty stuck on what to read. I've got a couple more physical books I can work my way through, but if anyone has some light Sci-Fi ala the Expanse series (e.g. it's sci-fi but it's semi-grounded and isn't incredibly dense with new almost fantasy-esque concepts), that'd be great.
A couple of the sci-fi stuff I've started reading and stopped recently has been too abstract, almost more science fantasy. I'm rambling but if anyone can decipher that, I'd love suggestions.
A couple of the sci-fi stuff I've started reading and stopped recently has been too abstract, almost more science fantasy. I'm rambling but if anyone can decipher that, I'd love suggestions.
Yeah -Cade, the reason I like the Expanse is because it is I guess low-fi sci-fi in a sense. Very small scale and very inviting to read compared to some other overwhelming Sci-fi/Fantasy that takes a lot of world building.
Well Mack 92, The Rookie did temp me, but I decided to go with another Football book after hearing about it constantly on the Around the League Podcast. Seems good so far, but I know of you didn't really like it.
Now Reading...
Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football by Nicholas Dawidoff
Well Mack 92, The Rookie did temp me, but I decided to go with another Football book after hearing about it constantly on the Around the League Podcast. Seems good so far, but I know of you didn't really like it.
Now Reading...
Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football by Nicholas Dawidoff
bennywhatever
Member
Just finished the Robopocalypse sequel:
It was pretty good, but I can't say much without going into extreme spoilers. All I will say is
Today I started on this one, after lots of hype.
Pretty good so far. Reminds me of Hitchhiker's Guide a little bit.
It was pretty good, but I can't say much without going into extreme spoilers. All I will say is
the epilogue is fking amazing.
Today I started on this one, after lots of hype.
Pretty good so far. Reminds me of Hitchhiker's Guide a little bit.
bennywhatever
Member
Awesome book. You should also check out the Revenge of the Sith novel - it's so much better than the movie, and it further solidifies Obi Wan as the best Jedi ever.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Yeah -Cade, the reason I like the Expanse is because it is I guess low-fi sci-fi in a sense. Very small scale and very inviting to read compared to some other overwhelming Sci-fi/Fantasy that takes a lot of world building.
Well Mack 92, The Rookie did temp me, but I decided to go with another Football book after hearing about it constantly on the Around the League Podcast. Seems good so far, but I know of you didn't really like it.
Now Reading...
Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football by Nicholas Dawidoff
Yeah not a big fan of the Jets or Rex Ryan. Still a pretty decent football book.
RepairmanJack
Member
Made a random trip to the comic book store and decided to pick up the first three volumes of Saga. After blowing through the first two I'm now on the third.
Really enjoying it so far. The Will and the lying cat are easily the standout characters to me so far.
Really enjoying it so far. The Will and the lying cat are easily the standout characters to me so far.
Nappuccino
Member
Just finished the Robopocalypse sequel:
It was pretty good, but I can't say much without going into extreme spoilers. All I will say isthe epilogue is fking amazing.
Was it a bit more even than Apocalypse? I loved some of the chapters but that book started to lose me toward the end.
evilromero
Member
Just read The Humans by Matt Haig. And about to start into The Painter by Peter Heller. This month I'm only reading books that start with "the."
HammerOfThor
Member
Xenocide
bennywhatever
Member
No, it was not. Worse, actually.
The thing about the first book was that the whole idea of it was grand and epic, where as this is an "aftermath" book where all of the shock and awe is gone. It centers a lot more on interpersonal things instead of big action. It's a lot slower paced than the first one since there's more inner-dialogue.
SniperHunter
Banned
great bookIs that time of year again for me to read a couple books to kill this endless Summer. Just finished reading "The Disaster Artist". Highly recommended and a quick read for those that are interested behind the scenes of the movie, "The Room".
Just started reading Masters of Doom and consider this a essential book for any nerd like myself to read it once in their life. So good! And what else is good that I bought a Kindle Paperwhite and is my first e-book reader but wow! Definitely worth the purchase and find reading fun again!
Never Forever
Member
I'm reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. I was always intending to get around to it but her recent death made me decide to finally track down a copy and sit down with it. I haven't gotten far with it but I'm struck by the beauty of her prose. It's incredibly well-written, and although I've never read any of her other works I will definitely be reading them over the coming summer. The imagery is incredibly vivid and she manages to construct Stamps and the general store very effectively.
One passage has stuck in my mind: "Like most children, I thought if I could face the worst danger voluntarily, and triumph, I would forever have power over it." It rings incredibly true for me.
My favourite book of all-time is Wild Swans by Jung Chang, so I've always preferred interesting autobiographies that are completely different to what I know and my personal experiences. I love fiction of all kinds, but there's something about real life from different periods and perspectives that I find far more fascinating.
I very recently read How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran and ended up pulling an all-nighter, truly hilarious. I love the candid writing style and how the book is totally not based on her real experiences at all. However, in addition to the comedic elements, she actually has some very valid points about the class system, gender roles and journalism, as well as what it means to construct your own identity after being moulded by your parents for the first however many years of your life. It's an incredibly accurate depiction of a teenage mindset and adolescent fumbling through situations. I saw quite a lot of myself in the novel.
Almost done with Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It's a very eye-opening insight into how people think, especially how we decide between alternatives. Turns out our brains are not especially good at it. I hope I can use the knowledge from this book to become better at picking the good alternatives I get instead of the bad ones.
The book is also a great read as a member of this and other discussion forums. Kahneman explains many types of biases and how they make people unable to think straight. It's half hilarious and half scary to open a random thread here and see all the faulty assumptions and illogical arguments thrown around due to various biases. But we're all susceptible to them, me included of course, so it's only natural. Fascinating to see when you've just read about it in a book like this, though!
Try The Owner series. It just finished up and it has the same feeling, to me at least.
The first book is
Ah, Owner. Very nice cover art, unfortunately the book is rather... meh. It isn't bad but it isn't very gripping either, it is way too standard dystopic world i think.
The writer seems to be fast though, he has written quite many books in rather short time it seems.
I'm reading Genji Monogatari:
Half way through it (page 550 ca). I started learning Japanese two months or so ago and my teacher suggested me to get into Japan's literature starting with this one. It's not exactly the kind of book you rush through (I started it a couple of weeks ago) but I'm really loving it. Delicate and surprising how it's not dated even if it's a thousand years old.
I also read a mini-book called "Fear in Japan" by an Italian author, about all things horror in Japan (from yokai, to oni, to bakemono etc.). Introduced me to a lot of authors. The next book I'm going to grab it's probably Lafcadio Hearn's collection of horror stories, which I already liked in the movie Kwaidan by Kobayashi.
Half way through it (page 550 ca). I started learning Japanese two months or so ago and my teacher suggested me to get into Japan's literature starting with this one. It's not exactly the kind of book you rush through (I started it a couple of weeks ago) but I'm really loving it. Delicate and surprising how it's not dated even if it's a thousand years old.
I also read a mini-book called "Fear in Japan" by an Italian author, about all things horror in Japan (from yokai, to oni, to bakemono etc.). Introduced me to a lot of authors. The next book I'm going to grab it's probably Lafcadio Hearn's collection of horror stories, which I already liked in the movie Kwaidan by Kobayashi.
I'm reading I, Claudius at the moment, in which Livia features heavily. This sounds really interesting.
I would highly recommend I, Claudius by the way, it's fantastic.
Nappuccino
Member
Damn. Well, now I'm glad I put it back on the shelf.
Sounds interesting. I might have to check it out.
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