charlemagne
Member
Definitely interested in hearing more thoughts on this. Nearly picked it up the other day, but held off due to a huge to-be-read pile. Still in the back of my mind, though.
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What are you reading? (July 2014)
- Thread starter Maklershed
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Definitely interested in hearing more thoughts on this. Nearly picked it up the other day, but held off due to a huge to-be-read pile. Still in the back of my mind, though.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Just got to the mice and men part of 11/22/63.. not sure why, but it slayed me. Really loving this book. King at his best.
Conflict NZ
Member
By far, I've never been a King fan(in terms of writing style, his story ideas are brilliant) but something about 11/22/63 gripped me and made me love it. I wouldn't even know it was King if his name wasn't on the cover.
Bit of Sad new's, Seems Pratchetts Alzheimers is getting to the point where it cant be managed quite so well 
on a positive note the article also says the 5th Tiffany Aching book is underway which is good to hear, interested in seeing how her story progresses.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/02/terry-pratchett-cancel-appearance-alzheimers-discworld
on a positive note the article also says the 5th Tiffany Aching book is underway which is good to hear, interested in seeing how her story progresses.http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/02/terry-pratchett-cancel-appearance-alzheimers-discworld
I'm glad I got to see him (albeit from like probably a kilometer away from a very high seat onto a tiny stage) when he last came down to Sydney, although I missed the Ecksian Discworld Convention where he was guest of honour a few years back :<
Anyway, keep on truckin', Sir Terry
Anyway, keep on truckin', Sir Terry
O.DOGG
Member
Sorry, I just now saw your reply. Yeah, Neuromancer is one of my favorite books as well. Probably read it 5-6 times now and it's still amazing.
As for similar books, have you read Snow Crash? It's the only book I've read that comes somewhat close to Gibson's cyberpunk. Also his other cyberpunk series, the Bridge trilogy - Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties - is also worth a look.
I may be in the minority but I wasn't all that impressed with Altered Carbon. It was alright I guess but it felt shallow somehow.
ayy lmao. books are a product of the devil and tv is twice as fast.
Serious: Last book I read was on poisonous plants. Bretty gud.
Isn't it obvious? The OP was just filled with dem words.
start with something that interests you. I was never really into books until I started reading Star Wars novels. Now I read all sorts of stuff.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Honestly, I'd never make time to sit and read. That's why I love audiobooks!
Audio-whats?
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
I really love Sanderson so I decided to read the wheel of time by proxy....
Just finished book 9 of the series and I am losing my will to live. I know that I am going to finish this because I invested too much already but the last few books were not so good. Maybe it would help if there wasn't a clearly defined end goal right from the beginning with everyone constantly reminding you about it, then many of these side stories, some of which are really good, wouldn't feel so boring and inconsequential. I think this is an example of why you shouldn't have your wife as an editor, clearly she couldn't say no to him.
Everything about the main love story, love square, whatever it is, is very cringeworthy and reads like a terrible harem manga.
Why am I doing this to myself
Just finished book 9 of the series and I am losing my will to live. I know that I am going to finish this because I invested too much already but the last few books were not so good. Maybe it would help if there wasn't a clearly defined end goal right from the beginning with everyone constantly reminding you about it, then many of these side stories, some of which are really good, wouldn't feel so boring and inconsequential. I think this is an example of why you shouldn't have your wife as an editor, clearly she couldn't say no to him.
Everything about the main love story, love square, whatever it is, is very cringeworthy and reads like a terrible harem manga.
Why am I doing this to myself
This. The Halo books are one of the main series that got me back into reading in high school.
bennywhatever
Member
Most all of the books I read are Audiobooks as well. I think the last book I sat down and read was Dark Tower VII about 3 years ago. Since then, I've listened to about 25 books.
More_Badass
Member
I'm almost done with Nathaniel Philbrick's In The Heart of the Sea. A very compelling and harrowing book, I'm excited for the movie now
I really love Sanderson so I decided to read the wheel of time by proxy....
Just finished book 9 of the series and I am losing my will to live. I know that I am going to finish this because I invested too much already but the last few books were not so good. Maybe it would help if there wasn't a clearly defined end goal right from the beginning with everyone constantly reminding you about it, then many of these side stories, some of which are really good, wouldn't feel so boring and inconsequential. I think this is an example of why you shouldn't have your wife as an editor, clearly she couldn't say no to him.
Everything about the main love story, love square, whatever it is, is very cringeworthy and reads like a terrible harem manga.
Why am I doing this to myself
If you had trouble with book 9, book 10 will be really tough (hint: use online chapter summaries to skip the boring parts).
After that it's smooth sailing. Book 11, Jordan's last book, is one of the better books in the series, and all Sanderson's books are excellent as well.
Basically, from the first few pages of book 11 the series kicks into a different gear, and stays there until the end. If you liked the early books (and you must have liked them at least a little to make it this far) then you'll enjoy every book from 11 onward.
But you'll probably really hate 10. Worst book of the series, easily.
fredrancour
Member
Finished a feast for crows.
I'm going to attempt to wait before reading a dance with dragons because I'm sure 2015 is too optimistic for winds of winter.....
A feast for crows discussion:
If a song of ice and fire has any sort of overarching 3-act structure, this is very much the act 2 of it. An exhausted world eating itself as some people slowly realize how collectively screwed they are.
spoilers of varying magnitude:
I'm going to attempt to wait before reading a dance with dragons because I'm sure 2015 is too optimistic for winds of winter.....
A feast for crows discussion:
If a song of ice and fire has any sort of overarching 3-act structure, this is very much the act 2 of it. An exhausted world eating itself as some people slowly realize how collectively screwed they are.
spoilers of varying magnitude:
Cersei's soul going through a blender has been amazing, but I think Jaime bitch-slapping a Frey with his solid-gold prosthesis takes the goddamn cake for most satisfying thing. Hopefully the remainder of BasedArya's murderlist victims live until she's there to end them herself. Finally, I wonder what's up with the Pate kid from the prologue and final Sam chapter. I'm assuming he prologue was the actual Pate's death and we saw a Faceless man at the end..... makes me sad that we probably don't see any of Oldtown in Dance. Fingers crossed for more Arya appearances in the next one, though. If the books are entirely concurrent I guess that can't happen. On the bright side, Tyrion should almost make up for it.
i'm liking a lot,i think i am in the middle of the book and i'm hooked. I normally don't read a lot but i am start liking the sci fi genre
I don't even particularly hate the last few books, there are definitely interesting moments every now and then. The reviews for book 10 look terrible
Ventilaator
Banned
Felt weird about waiting a year for the next small part of the ASoIaF story when several more parts already exist, so I'm now reading A Clash of Kings, so I could read A Storm of Swords, so I could move on to "new material" that I keep hearing is not that great. Sigh.
Also I've been reading the A Series of Unfortunate Events books and just finished the third one. The plot similarities between the three make me worry about the books getting stuck in a formula.
Also I've been reading the A Series of Unfortunate Events books and just finished the third one. The plot similarities between the three make me worry about the books getting stuck in a formula.
Maklershed
Member
Finished One Summer: America 1927 and need a new audiobook to listen to. Anynoe have historical non-fiction recommendations?
that's just noise, don't bother about opinions until you've actually read it yourself. I enjoyed the last two books for example.
nakedsushi
Member
Halfway through this:
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook
It's really depressing and has got me to think about never eating an out-of-season tomato ever again.
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook
It's really depressing and has got me to think about never eating an out-of-season tomato ever again.
I guess considering I've never read a King book, I guess that would be a good place to start based on your rec. I'll have to bump it up.
finished the prologue, just about to start it
This seems like it could be a really interesting read.
fredrancour
Member
Re: asoiaf:
Well, as a person who was able to read book 4 at his leisure, it was a very fun read. It is definitely a transitory, slower part of the story in comparison to the all-out war in previous book, but it all felt necessary and a natural evolution of what already happened. It would have still probably been infuriating to have waited for years for a transitional part of a larger story, of course, but I liked the characters and overall story enough to barely notice any difference.
Re: a series of unfortunate events: the formula eventually breaks down.the middle books play with it, and the later ones discard it.
I just finished All You Need Is Kill in anticipation of the movie Edge of Tomorrow.
It was a short read being around 200 pages, but it was a very good read. I would recommend it if you enjoyed the movie or you find the idea interesting.
The movie and the book are a little different but the concept is generally the same.
The Warmth of Other Suns.
I truly think that this is a book that all Americans need to read.
charlemagne
Member
I really love Sanderson so I decided to read the wheel of time by proxy....
Just finished book 9 of the series and I am losing my will to live. I know that I am going to finish this because I invested too much already but the last few books were not so good. Maybe it would help if there wasn't a clearly defined end goal right from the beginning with everyone constantly reminding you about it, then many of these side stories, some of which are really good, wouldn't feel so boring and inconsequential. I think this is an example of why you shouldn't have your wife as an editor, clearly she couldn't say no to him.
Everything about the main love story, love square, whatever it is, is very cringeworthy and reads like a terrible harem manga.
Why am I doing this to myself
This made me glance guiltily over to book 9 on my to-be-read shelf (where it has sat for over a year). I want to read it, but I remember being so unimpressed when I was reading book 8...
XGRaViSmOrSX
Member
Just decided to start reading again. My topics I mostly stick to are non-fiction based on sports. I just started and am about a quarter of the way through this:
So far i'm absolutely hooked. A great insight into the minds that prepare and build engines/race cars for specialized purposes/events. The twisting of the open ended rules and sanctions to the tireless hours spent in secrecy and the lengths some guys go through to make sure no one finds out.
What really got me to check out the book was this excerpt from Racer magazine:
http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/1...that-shocked-the-racing-world-at-the-indy-500
Should be done with the book in about day or two and will then play the waiting game until Bloodsport: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis, and the Quest to End Baseball's Steroid Era by Tim Elfrink comes out on the 8th.
So far i'm absolutely hooked. A great insight into the minds that prepare and build engines/race cars for specialized purposes/events. The twisting of the open ended rules and sanctions to the tireless hours spent in secrecy and the lengths some guys go through to make sure no one finds out.
What really got me to check out the book was this excerpt from Racer magazine:
http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/1...that-shocked-the-racing-world-at-the-indy-500
Should be done with the book in about day or two and will then play the waiting game until Bloodsport: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis, and the Quest to End Baseball's Steroid Era by Tim Elfrink comes out on the 8th.
I read that earlier this year; I would also suggest Family Properties.
Welcome aboard! Will be paying attention to your book choices moving forward in that case.
Interesting. I'll have to check that out since I enjoyed Coates article when he dealt with real estate issues.
I am currently reading The New Jim Crow. And holy crap, I knew our criminal justice system was fucked up and made no sense, but my god, I did not know it was this bad and that it began as a deliberate action of social control by racists and segregationists (debatable if it is now - institutional inertia and all that). My eyes honestly started to water a bit because it was just so depressing.
Interesting. I'll have to check that out since I enjoyed Coates article when he dealt with real estate issues.
I am currently reading The New Jim Crow. And holy crap, I knew our criminal justice system was fucked up and made no sense, but my god, I did not know it was this bad and that it began as a deliberate action of social control by racists and segregationists (debatable if it is now - institutional inertia and all that - I mean the deliberate part sicne it is cleary racist). My eyes honestly started to water a bit because it was just so depressing.
Finally reading through the Foundation. It's fun and rather light but I can excuse that because it was written in the 40's and 50's!
Looking for a non-fiction recommendation too:
Something that gives an overall history of the rise and downfall of enlightenments from Ancient Greece-Rome, China, Islamic, and to the Age of Enlightenment. A pretty broad piece of history but I'm interested.
Looking for a non-fiction recommendation too:
Something that gives an overall history of the rise and downfall of enlightenments from Ancient Greece-Rome, China, Islamic, and to the Age of Enlightenment. A pretty broad piece of history but I'm interested.
I've been chewing through The Book of The New Sun series by Gene Wolfe, super-compelling and descriptive story. I love the hints of the old pre-apocalyptic Earth scattered around.
Seriously. I thought you were reading the Cliff Notes version or something for a second there.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
So I'm reading The Stand and, holy shit. I knew King was a fan of my man
but I'm just being introduced to the character and it's so obvious and SOOOOO badass.
This was a a good story already but I feel like it REALLY just got started.
Lovecraft, and I'd heard that Randall Flagg is hinted about later on to be Nyarlathotep
This was a a good story already but I feel like it REALLY just got started.
Maklershed
Member
Look what I just discovered while browsing Audible ...
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Two things:Look what I just discovered while browsing Audible ...
A) Please tell me you were specifically going there and looking for a book written by him.
B) Please tell me this is actually THE Mr. Balki Bartokomos.
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