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What are you reading? (July 2015)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Definitely avoid all the spoilers. You can join in on the discussion in a few weeks when you finish.
Wooo
I'd give anything for the next book. I might read the first two again after I finish Dune.
Re-reading 1,200 page books makes my eyes boggle.
Maybe I should. I just feel so lost with no motivation to pick it up.
I love Pluto! It's too bad that I haven't read it in, like, five or six years and can't remember the part you're talking about well enough to tell you anything helpful. But I love it!
How can you love it if you don't remember one of its most shocking scenes ( ._.)
Just kidding.
Though seeing him get killed like that was so painful. I really grew to like him, even with the revelation of his crime. The scene at the end where we saw how he found his child and cared for him with his wife brought tears to my eyes.
That's how good they are!
Haha. I've read them. They are good. I'm just slow as heck and would rather read three new 400 page novels.
I'm... reading something else. My plan is to bounce between the Vor books and non-Vor books for the time being.
I wanted to revisit that thought after reading Fire Next Time. I get the feeling that these parallels run deeper than just Coates's stay in Paris, but it's impossible to know without reading the other text. Not that reading it will be any chore.
It's turning into a real affliction.
Wooo
This reminds me of an old Writing Excuses episode where he was like 'yeah so the rising arc of my story took 70k words!' and everyone else was like, uh, that's a novel Brandon.
He mentioned recently that he usually does like 2000 words a day, though, which in the end isn't all that much for a full time writer. Working on multiple projects at once to deal with tedium and blocks, and just marching on through.
Parmadillo Marshmallow
Member
Wooo
Can't wait!
Recently read some really short/easy material compared to what I normally read, all of it excellent though.
I'm gonna unspoiler this bit because it's not a spoiler: every time I see a post here commending The Martian, I think to myself they should be reading Seveneves. It's also just as suitable, if not more so, for a movie or a tv series. Unless there's an inherent issue people have with scope(the catalyst of Seveneves is a huge event) or length of the novel, it's really worth reading for those who enjoyed The Martian.
That is rather nice! The book as a physical object can be such a lovely thing.
Jack Glass by Adam Roberts comes to mind. Amazon blurb "Riffing on the tropes of crime fiction (the country house murder, the locked room mystery) and imbued with the feel of golden age SF ... Roberts never loses sight of the need to entertain and JACK GLASS has some wonderfully gruesome moments, is built around three gripping HowDunnits and comes with liberal doses of sly humour."
The first section, at least, is a little similar, in surviving and escaping from somewhere thought to be impossible, with very limited resources. I guess it's more 'puzzle solving' than 'problem solving' in general though, and not particularly thriller-ish, if that's why you liked The Martian. But I thought it was great fun.
I really must get on this.
Maklershed
Member
If anyone wants to sing the praises of The Black Company, now is your chance:
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?p=172224002#post172224002
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?p=172224002#post172224002
So my least favourite part of reading since I picked the hobby back up 2 years ago is the indecision that comes with finishing a book and deciding what to read next...
I should be done The Confusion at some point in the next week (about 2/3s of the way through so far). I think that I will space out the next three books in volume 3 to avoid burnout. No idea what to read next. Perhaps I should take inventory of all the half finished series that I have started since the beginning of 2014.
I should be done The Confusion at some point in the next week (about 2/3s of the way through so far). I think that I will space out the next three books in volume 3 to avoid burnout. No idea what to read next. Perhaps I should take inventory of all the half finished series that I have started since the beginning of 2014.
What series do you have going?
Quite a few actually.
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/32224879-kyle-swiston (ignoring anything prior to 2014)
Some of my ongoing series are on hold because I am often not in the mood to commit to 750+ page books. The Malazan series for instance.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Considering how long it took me to read WoR I'd need to start a re-read now. I don't every want to read that book again though.
AngmarsKing701
Member
I know somebody who has a 400 page non-Vor novel!
I've read both of them 3 times each. At least. WoK probably 4 or 5 times (There was a longish wait between WoK and WoR after all).
But then i'm the sort of crazy when it comes to reading. If i'm in the mood, i'll read a lot at once, usually at the expense of sleeping. I also tend to re-read books a lot, partially because i don't often get new ones, partially because i like re-reading books.
I think a book's good if it is the sort i'd read again.
Piecake: If you look, you'll find that he already has that series going. <3
Please accept my friend request~
And since you are already reading Vorkosigan, you should continue that and / or start the Chalion series.
Please accept my friend request~
And since you are already reading Vorkosigan, you should continue that and / or start the Chalion series.
Please accept my friend request~
And since you are already reading Vorkosigan, you should continue that and / or start the Chalion series.
Do people still suggest to read the Vorkosigan Saga following internal chronology? If so, I skipped Barrayar, but already have Vor Games. I guess I could read that next.
I finished this tonight.
I hate this cover so much. I still have no idea who the Robin Hood figure is supposed to be...Cephelo? Doesn't represent any part of the book IMO. These are much better:
I blazed through the final 150 pages or so. Thoughts are below:
It was truly great. Eretria is written as one of the most alluring female characters ever in fantasy. So basic, but HNNNNNG.
Now I'm off to finish the trilogy.
Hoping for a satisfying conclusion. I'll be moving away from the Shannara books after this and attacking other parts of my bookshelf backlog. Before then, I'll happily jump right into this one.
I hate this cover so much. I still have no idea who the Robin Hood figure is supposed to be...Cephelo? Doesn't represent any part of the book IMO. These are much better:
I blazed through the final 150 pages or so. Thoughts are below:
It was truly great. Eretria is written as one of the most alluring female characters ever in fantasy. So basic, but HNNNNNG.
Now I'm off to finish the trilogy.
Hoping for a satisfying conclusion. I'll be moving away from the Shannara books after this and attacking other parts of my bookshelf backlog. Before then, I'll happily jump right into this one.
I have recently got into graphic novels. Never really been a comic book or graphic novel guy before. Always have been more of a normal book reader.
However, the issue now is that there's this sharp dichotomy between these two formats, and my recent interest in the graphic novel is making it hard for me to put any attention back to my long-time interest, the book. Thus, I have been stuck on the same novel for over a month and a half.
Kind of pains me, really.
However, the issue now is that there's this sharp dichotomy between these two formats, and my recent interest in the graphic novel is making it hard for me to put any attention back to my long-time interest, the book. Thus, I have been stuck on the same novel for over a month and a half.
Kind of pains me, really.
Wasn't much of a comic reader either until I saw Sin City, movie really got me into comics.
The Shadow
Member
Finished this last night:
Just a quick synopsis. It's about these two bounty hunters, the infamous Eli and Charlie Sisters, who are tasked to kill a gold prospector. The story starts from the point where they're given the "job", and follows their (mis)adventure from then on.
I started reading this after dropping Armor and I was absolutely gobsmacked how much I liked it. It wasn't a theme I really was interested in (1850's wild west), and after reading a few recommendations that didn't sit well with me, I was feeling a little doubtful about this one (A co-worker recommended this one).
The chapters are incredibly short and the writing style is somewhat succinct, but it seemed to match the voice of the narrator perfectly, as it's written from the point of view of one of the brothers, Eli.
It's a fast read but definitely worth it. I really enjoyed it.
Just a quick synopsis. It's about these two bounty hunters, the infamous Eli and Charlie Sisters, who are tasked to kill a gold prospector. The story starts from the point where they're given the "job", and follows their (mis)adventure from then on.
I started reading this after dropping Armor and I was absolutely gobsmacked how much I liked it. It wasn't a theme I really was interested in (1850's wild west), and after reading a few recommendations that didn't sit well with me, I was feeling a little doubtful about this one (A co-worker recommended this one).
The chapters are incredibly short and the writing style is somewhat succinct, but it seemed to match the voice of the narrator perfectly, as it's written from the point of view of one of the brothers, Eli.
It's a fast read but definitely worth it. I really enjoyed it.
I wish I was in this situation. My problem id I've got at least a couple of books lined up as must-read-next nr1, nr2, nr3 etc after every book finished. So when I add a book, say from reccs in this thread, it'll usually be a long time before I get to it.
I just finished Go Set a Watchman and it was a huge disappointment. There's far too many examples of Lee telling us, in long speeches, how characters feel instead of showing us. It is vastly inferior to To Kill a Mockingbird.
I've seen some people defend the book as a rough draft, but once it's published, it's not a rough draft anymore. Obviously, it's a final draft.
I've seen some people defend the book as a rough draft, but once it's published, it's not a rough draft anymore. Obviously, it's a final draft.
GasProblem
Member
Almost done with Mistborn (My reading has been so slow )
After this I'm in the mood for some dark fantasy.
I think I'm going to jump into the Broken Empire trilogy first. After that, it's time for the big one, Malazan.
When I'm done with Malazan the third Stormlight Archive book will be finished and there will be a Winds of Winter release date. Hopefully. Then I'll have to re-read those books. Sigh.
)After this I'm in the mood for some dark fantasy.
I think I'm going to jump into the Broken Empire trilogy first. After that, it's time for the big one, Malazan.
When I'm done with Malazan the third Stormlight Archive book will be finished and there will be a Winds of Winter release date. Hopefully. Then I'll have to re-read those books. Sigh.
Maklershed
Member
Just to be clear though - Harper Lee never wanted the book to be released, right?
flatearthpandas
Member
Just finished Anna Karenina and liked it decently. Rereading The Dark Tower books to see if I still actually like the books while I'm contemplating a tattoo of the eye of the crimson king. Will probably start Bleak House over very soon because I got distracted and set it down for a while even though I was loving it. Got that Dickens urge. Oh, and One Piece Volume 2. Judging from the first volume it isn't something I would dig that much in my native language but being at the perfect level for my Japanese practice, I am enjoying reading it quite a bit.
It's been a controversy. For years, she said there would never be another book. When the unpublished manuscript, which was written before Mockingbird, was discovered, a publishing deal quickly happened. Because of her age, many believe she does not want the book published.
It's all very shady. http://news.yahoo.com/controversy-rages-over-harper-lee-second-novel-195908027.html
Just finished Neil Stephenson's The Diamond Age. Lots of fascinating stuff in it, plenty of interesting themes. I think I'll be processing it for a while. I mean, it's only natural for a coming of age story featuring a poor disadvantaged girl to have Neo-Victorians, nano-technology, long discussions of Turing machines and a new boxer rebellion. Good stuff though.
Next up, Andrew Weir's The Martian
Next up, Andrew Weir's The Martian
Finished The Big Short tonight:
Goddamn if it isn't fucking phenomenal. Even knowing next to nothing about stocks, it was great. I guess if I was to criticize this exceptional book, it would be to point out that there wasn't really a character on the inside of one of the banks as the story unfolded. We got a telling glimpse towards the end, sure, but it would have been interesting to see both sides for the duration. The US gov's role(bail out, TARP etc) was also covered in only a couple of pages. Anyway, it's a fantastic revelatory book.
I think it's on to Diamond Age as that was the recommendation I got here after finishing Seveneves.
Goddamn if it isn't fucking phenomenal. Even knowing next to nothing about stocks, it was great. I guess if I was to criticize this exceptional book, it would be to point out that there wasn't really a character on the inside of one of the banks as the story unfolded. We got a telling glimpse towards the end, sure, but it would have been interesting to see both sides for the duration. The US gov's role(bail out, TARP etc) was also covered in only a couple of pages. Anyway, it's a fantastic revelatory book.
I think it's on to Diamond Age as that was the recommendation I got here after finishing Seveneves.
Dedication Through Light
Member
Reading Can Financial Markets Be Controlled?. Author brings up a interesting point in his preface about how there were more works plays and novels about finance and business in the nineteenth century than recent times, with only the crisis of 2008 or so bring a few more novels (The Fear Index, Capitol). I wonder why.
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
Yes! The Diamond Age is everything the final third of Seveneves isn't - a roughly believable and unique future built on a rich speculative history with good characters. I love the technology on display (the blend of Victorian society is genius) and the social aspects read like their own wacky sci-fi tech in a weird way.
Par for the course with Stephenson, the last 80 pages is a roughly written blur, but the world building is worth the cost of some plotless sections.
EDIT:
Stephenson skipped around so much in Seveneves, so I feel like there's a lot that could be filled in. Probably not by him in subsequent novels, but in some serial form that's half educational, half thrilling adventure, filling in the gaps of the first two thirds of the novel. I'm thinking a TV show halfway between Cosmos and Battlestar Galactica.
Plasticine
Member
Recently finished The Murder of Angels by Caitlin R Kiernan. Such a beautifully written book. Kiernan is one of my favorite writers, and her work here only reinforces that belief. She has such an amazing command of language, along with a good handle on her characters. A sequel to her debut novel, Silk, this book moves away from straight horror and more towards Fantasy and Cosmic Horror. While I loved the book, I feel like it's the weakest of her work I've read. It's still great, just not as great as the others.
Just started:
Just started:
Dedication Through Light
Member
I finished this tonight.
I hate this cover so much. I still have no idea who the Robin Hood figure is supposed to be...Cephelo? Doesn't represent any part of the book IMO. These are much better:
I blazed through the final 150 pages or so. Thoughts are below:
It was truly great. Eretria is written as one of the most alluring female characters ever in fantasy. So basic, but HNNNNNG.
Now I'm off to finish the trilogy.
Hoping for a satisfying conclusion. I'll be moving away from the Shannara books after this and attacking other parts of my bookshelf backlog. Before then, I'll happily jump right into this one.
Shannara love, if I had an active library sub or if they were cheap digitally id read them from start to finish, was my first non kids targeted fantasy series.
higgsboson1997
Member
Just finished The Hero of Ages, which is the final book of the first Mistborn Trilogy.
I've got to say - the ending is probably the best ending I've read to a fantasy series. Amazingly well done!
5/5
Next, I think I'm going to tackle The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.
I've got to say - the ending is probably the best ending I've read to a fantasy series. Amazingly well done!
5/5
Next, I think I'm going to tackle The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.
I bought the latest Freakonomics book this afternoon, When to Rob a Bank. I think the series is 'fun' or interesting, though 'correlation does not imply causation' is always on my mind when I read them.
This book is the second in the series to claim that there are people - apparently African-Americans of a lower socioeconomic class - in the US called 'Shithead'. But when you Google this, snopes brings up an example of this, and other "funny names" which are clearly untrue/urban legends and examples of racist jokes. It's bizarre that the reiterate an urban legend as reality.
This book is the second in the series to claim that there are people - apparently African-Americans of a lower socioeconomic class - in the US called 'Shithead'. But when you Google this, snopes brings up an example of this, and other "funny names" which are clearly untrue/urban legends and examples of racist jokes. It's bizarre that the reiterate an urban legend as reality.
I'm getting a few books from volunteers during my stay here. So, I know one of the mods will be happy to know I have Wolf in the White Van, and I got a non-fiction South African novel. Still not reading for the next couple weeks due to work, but I'll be back at it soon enough! My next book may focus on Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted something something.
Kindle
Dead Space: Martyr by B.K. Evenson
Not a classic or anything, but that book is way better than it had any right being. Really added to the Dead Space games knowing how the Unitology church got their start and learning about their messiahwho was just a normal dude who wanted nothing to do with them so they killed him with necromorphs and made him a god.
Edit: Screwed up the quote, whoops. lol
Dedication Through Light
Member
Finished Can Financial Markets Be Controlled?
Howard Davies wastes little time in getting to the point of this book. Though the answer to the title is as ambiguous and difficult to answer as anyone would imagine it to be, I believe he provides many great points for how an eventually better financial market ought to be. Particularly, that though there needs to be more regulation, having too much regulation would be disastrous. Additionally, that the regulation ought to be one that should protect the public and private, and that it should be ethically driven. I was surprised to read that there were banks that didn't treat people politely. My bank I go to are all so kind hearted and nice people that make you want to do business there. I believe the document linked to in the book about how a bank ought to be is a good one to read. Additionally, I liked the summary statement that a bank ought to be well run and the analyses provided on what it was that made some banks not fail during the crises.
What is left without a clear resolution however is the question of how much regulation is enough, how much risk should a bank be willing to take, how much should the top performers in banks be rewarded. The politics issue was another part that suggested that too much regulation or rather regulation for global banks would be difficult and inconsistent. Similarly, politics would want banks to take more risk so that people in ethnic minorities and lower financial situations could become homeowners. It seems that some risk is needed if the certain sectors of the economy need to grow.
Howard Davies wastes little time in getting to the point of this book. Though the answer to the title is as ambiguous and difficult to answer as anyone would imagine it to be, I believe he provides many great points for how an eventually better financial market ought to be. Particularly, that though there needs to be more regulation, having too much regulation would be disastrous. Additionally, that the regulation ought to be one that should protect the public and private, and that it should be ethically driven. I was surprised to read that there were banks that didn't treat people politely. My bank I go to are all so kind hearted and nice people that make you want to do business there. I believe the document linked to in the book about how a bank ought to be is a good one to read. Additionally, I liked the summary statement that a bank ought to be well run and the analyses provided on what it was that made some banks not fail during the crises.
What is left without a clear resolution however is the question of how much regulation is enough, how much risk should a bank be willing to take, how much should the top performers in banks be rewarded. The politics issue was another part that suggested that too much regulation or rather regulation for global banks would be difficult and inconsistent. Similarly, politics would want banks to take more risk so that people in ethnic minorities and lower financial situations could become homeowners. It seems that some risk is needed if the certain sectors of the economy need to grow.
I decided to give Game of Thrones another read. I forgot how good this book is. The sophistication of the world's politics and history. Brilliant character introductions. To the point narration and writing. It really highlights how stretched out and padded the series has become. GRRM tells more in the first 100 pages of GoT than he did in 1600 pages of consecutive later books.
I was planning on taking it slow, just reading before bed, but I find myself burning through it.
I was planning on taking it slow, just reading before bed, but I find myself burning through it.
I think the proper amount of regulation is to ensure that the people who do financial deals or are the middle men of financial deals get fucked if the deal goes sour. And that the people doing the deals know that they will get fucked.
That right there I think is the theme of the 2008 crisis. Way too many people were able to offload obligations to others while making a hefty profit. No bank or lending institution is going to lend someone money if they can't afford the loan if that lending institution is on the hook for that loan, no matter if lending regulations are eased by politicians and the government.
Mortage lenders and firms made huge commissions and profits selling subprime mortgages and got paid even more money if they wrangled them into crappier deals than they were actually qualified for. Did they care? Nope, because they were able to make a huge profit on those deals and were able to 'unload' that risk onto hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions. If the mortgage loan went under, well, it wasnt the mortgage lender or the firm that would pay the price for it (so long as they still werent knee deep in mortgage lending when the housing market crashed - which I think basically every mortgage broker was due to greed).
Same thing with financial institutions. They were able to make a shit ton of profit and off-load that risk and even bet against those investments because the people they were trading with were supposedly 'intelligent investors' like pension funds and insurance companies, and apparently dumber financial institutions.
Same with rating agencies. They competed for business, meaning that financial institutions could shop around for the best ratings. Ratings agencies cared more about business and profits than actually properly rating new investments. Again, we see a huge glaring conflict of interest. This is what regulation needs to eliminate.
I would recommend reading Hall of Mirrors by Barry Eichengreen. While it doesnt chiefly focus on de-regulation, it discusses it due to it being significant factors in the savings and loan scandal and the 2008 crisis. He could talk about it more, but I am only about half way done.
Fancy Clown
Member
Finally finished 20,000 leagues under the sea (I liked it but there was wayyyyy too much description of fish and science mechanics and too little adventure).
Just started In Cold Blood and it's fantastic so far.
Just started In Cold Blood and it's fantastic so far.