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[sparky2112]

Finished The Big Short tonight:

Goddamn if it isn't fucking phenomenal.

It is, isn't it?

 

[Dedication Through Light]

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.

Does it address the Too Big Too Fail idea? I always enjoy looking back at these crisis things years later to see analysis for reasons why it happened.

 

[dab0ne]

Berserk Manga

Bought them all at Comic-Con this year...it's pretty intense.

 

[Alucard]

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.

These are on my "one day" list, but I've heard mixed things about the later books. Knowing what readers know now of the Game of Thrones books, are they still worth jumping into? Also, is the series expected to end soon? One more book? Two? More?

 

[Maklershed]

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 messiah

Spoiler

who 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

*brofist*

 

[TTG]

To each his own, but...

Life is long, but also short.

Something I've noticed about a subset of fantasy aficionados following these threads is they have a parochial attachment to fantasy books. Comments like, "I'm rereading this giant book again" or "well, books 6-12 of series x weren't any good, but it's really picking up now!" are odd. This is before we get into how formulaic this genre tends to be, which isn't inherently bad, but reading this stuff almost exclusively has to make a lot of the mechanics seem contrived and stale.

Anyway, maybe pushing the book club will broaden some horizons. I don't have an interest in what's picked, but if it's a brick of a fantasy novel, I may just summon some indignant gasbaggy thoughts on the matter.

 

[Piecake]

Does it address the Too Big Too Fail idea? I always enjoy looking back at these crisis things years later to see analysis for reasons why it happened.

The book actually is about the causes of the Great Depression and The Great Recession, the similarities between those two events, how policy makers reacted ti those events, and what would have been better policy choices.

As for too big to fail, essentially yes. He argues that one of the factors for the cause of the 2008th crisis was the weakening of Glass-Steagal throughout the 80s and 90s and its eventual repeal in 2000 which allowed the banks to become too big to fail. Another major factor was the decline of private partnership model for investment banking. Public listings of investment banks were previously banned because many thought it was too risky since Partnerships would have a stake in the long-term survival of their firm while public listed companies would not.

All of this lead to consolidations of existing investing firms, them becoming pubically listed, large commercial banks crying foul because they couldnt make all that money, allowing them to then get on some of that action and then the final death of Glass Steagal in 2000 which then saw more consolidation of commercial and investment banks creating too big to fail. Basically, it seems like a tail of giving the financial industry what they wanted and then the economy getting screwed by it.

Other degulatory actions included the Riegle-Neal act which allowed cross state branching and opened the door for mega-banks and the Commodity Futures Modernization act which eliminated federal and state regulatory oversight of derivatives (good move there *sarcasm*)

He is in favor of bailing out the banks and thinks we should have bailed out Lehman brothers and the major banks that were allowed to fail in the Great Depression. He argues that we shouldnt try to teach banks lessons and care more about moral hazzard than the impact that those bank failures will have on the economy. He makes a pretty presuasive case that we put ourselves in much worse positions by not bailing out those banks. We could have taught moral hazzard lessons and punished actors afterwards and stopped future actions through better legislation.

 

[Mumei]

I did some backlog clearing today and finished up The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Between the World and Me, and H is for Hawk. I rarely read books so close together that become favorites, but that is the case for the latter two. H is for Hawk is a must-read for anyone who is a big fan of The Once and Future King.

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.

Yes, that is still recommended.

 

[Apt101]

These are on my "one day" list, but I've heard mixed things about the later books. Knowing what readers know now of the Game of Thrones books, are they still worth jumping into? Also, is the series expected to end soon? One more book? Two? More?

It doesn't slow down to a noticeable degree until about midway through book three, A Storm of Swords. Though that book still manages to have some of the best moments. The next two books really drag, moving in starts and spurts, with long stretches of droning nothing.

There are two more books planned. The jury is out if either will ever see the light of day.

Is it worth getting into? Maybe. If you enjoy the show and are afraid of investing in the books, maybe just read the first to get a sense of what inspired all of it, and how much the books truly differ from the show.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

The book actually is about the causes of the Great Depression and The Great Recession, the similarities between those two events, how policy makers reacted ti those events, and what would have been better policy choices.

As for too big to fail, essentially yes. He argues that one of the factors for the cause of the 2008th crisis was the weakening of Glass-Steagal throughout the 80s and 90s and its eventual repeal in 2000 which allowed the banks to become too big to fail. Another major factor was the decline of private partnership model for investment banking. Public listings of investment banks were previously banned because many thought it was too risky since Partnerships would have a stake in the long-term survival of their firm while public listed companies would not.

All of this lead to consolidations of existing investing firms, them becoming pubically listed, large commercial banks crying foul because they couldnt make all that money, allowing them to then get on some of that action and then the final death of Glass Steagal in 2000 which then saw more consolidation of commercial and investment banks creating too big to fail. Basically, it seems like a tail of giving the financial industry what they wanted and then the economy getting screwed by it.

Other degulatory actions included the Riegle-Neal act which allowed cross state branching and opened the door for mega-banks and the Commodity Futures Modernization act which eliminated federal and state regulatory oversight of derivatives (good move there *sarcasm*)

He is in favor of bailing out the banks and thinks we should have bailed out Lehman brothers and the major banks that were allowed to fail in the Great Depression. He argues that we shouldnt try to teach banks lessons and care more about moral hazzard than the impact that those bank failures will have on the economy. He makes a pretty presuasive case that we put ourselves in much worse positions by not bailing out those banks. We could have taught moral hazzard lessons and punished actors afterwards and stopped future actions through better legislation.

I need to read that then, plus this is fourth book I had refer to the Glass-Steagal Act, and this seems like a good way to quickly learn about it.Will add to my to buy list.

 

[Piecake]

I need to read that then, plus this is fourth book I had refer to the Glass-Steagal Act, and this seems like a good way to quickly learn about it.Will add to my to buy list.

Well, he really only talks about Glass-Steagal for about 10 pages, but he does give a good explanation of what it was and the weakening of it starting in the 80s and the consequences of that repeal. That was news to me since I thought it was untouched until it was replealed in 2000s. I do have a better understanding of it though, and realize it was even dumber to weaken and repeal it than I previously thought.

I havent gotten to the point in the Great Depression storyline where it was actually enacted, so he might talk about it further then, and the consequences of that act going forward then.

 

[higgsboson1997]

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.

Spot on! Game of Thrones is one of the most perfectly written fantasy books imo, while AFFC and ADWD are simply mediocre. Martin hasn't released a good book in 14 years now :/

 

[flatearthpandas]

H is for Hawk is a must-read for anyone who is a big fan of The Once and Future King.

Interesting. I really like The Once and Future King. Maybe i'll check it out, though I'm not big on memoirs.

 

[O.DOGG]

Finished The Long Ships. Thanks to all who recommended it. It was very enjoyable.

Now I'm reading Swords and Deviltry based on other recommendations I came across here.

 

[Das Ace]

Reading Vicious. Getting American Psycho vibes from it.

And I'm listening to the Stephen Fry version of Harry Potter. It is lovely.

 

[Nymerio]

Finished The Borders of Infinity.

Spoiler

Man, I actually thought Murka would maybe get a more prominent role with how he handled the situation in Labyrinth. Sad to see him go so suddenly :|

About to start Brothers in Arms:

 

[Cade]

Powder Mage book 1 is the fantasy daily deal on Kindle, for anyone interested. Went ahead and picked it up, straight into the backlog.

 

[Atraveller]

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.

GoTgaf is doing a re-read right now, we keep a schedule (now at book 1). Come by if you wish.
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1058368

These are on my "one day" list, but I've heard mixed things about the later books. Knowing what readers know now of the Game of Thrones books, are they still worth jumping into? Also, is the series expected to end soon? One more book? Two? More?

Series end in two books, unless GRRM decides it's not enough. It's worth reading even if you've watched the show, it's much better than the show IMO, especially the garbage that is season 5.

 

[Stasis]

Every time a new GoT book is finally released I've forgotten all about it. The show is doing a decent job of keeping me up to date I suppose, aside from odd (and sometimes annoying) differences.

Waiting 5-6 years between novels is just irritating.

I have no idea how there could eventualy be more than 7 at this rate. Good thing my backlog is huge!

 

[Shengar]

Currently reading:

So far, I like the promise and the writing. But I don't particularly like how the author write the characters behavior and mindset.

Really enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. The ending was fine but didn't feel all that conclusive. Now about that supposed sequel, it's been over ten years and still no sign. When will GRRM?

If we strictly speaking on the main theme of JSMN that is the restoration of english magic, the ending is conclusive enough.

Spoiler

The prophecy fulfilled, English magic restored, and the Raven King returned (sort of). While indeed there are much things that will going on in the future with almost everyone can cast magic, and both magicians of the age still trapped in perpetual abyss, much of those stuffs aren't covered with what the book is about.

Susanna Clarke is really a slow writer. I read it somewhere that she started writing JSMN in 1994. Well it's understandable since she's herself is a book editor and she writing the novel is just part of part-time activity. If her writing habit doesn't changed much, I expect the supposedly novel about Childermass (or character from the same background as him) wouldn't out until next year.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

Finished Pines by Black Crouch yesterday.

This book is basically Twin Peaks but with a more focused weirdness, with its sights on a definite reveal that explains everything in the end. The author even talks about Twin Peaks in his author's note at the end.

The reveal isn't bad I guess (the reveal is that

Spoiler

the town is in the future after humans mutated horribly into nasty monsters

) though it's not difficult to vaguely guess that it falls into something of that category based on the clues. The mystery up to that point is very enjoyable to blow through and the cat and mouse scenes were pretty damn tense. Not too different from your usual Dean Koontz thriller I guess, but it was never too loosely written (to keep the pace quick) which impressed me.

I haven't seen the show. Not reading the sequels. Onward and upward!

 

[Atraveller]

Every time a new GoT book is finally released I've forgotten all about it. The show is doing a decent job of keeping me up to date I suppose, aside from odd (and sometimes annoying) differences.

Waiting 5-6 years between novels is just irritating.

I have no idea how there could eventualy be more than 7 at this rate. Good thing my backlog is huge!

I think this is my third series re-read after ADWD.

 

[Lucumo]

Every time a new GoT book is finally released I've forgotten all about it. The show is doing a decent job of keeping me up to date I suppose, aside from odd (and sometimes annoying) differences.

Waiting 5-6 years between novels is just irritating.

I have no idea how there could eventualy be more than 7 at this rate. Good thing my backlog is huge!

That's why I stopped after book 1 several years ago. I'm just gonna wait until everything is released and then read them all in one swoop.

I still know pretty much everything that happened though.

 

[FunkyDealer]

I'm currently a little over halfway through Halo: The Flood. The second book in the series. It's got a different writer than the first (The Fall of Reach) and has much longer chapters. Overall I think it's not as good as the first, but it's interesting to experience the first Halo games story through such a very different medium. And it does a good job of reminding you of the level designs as it describes the locales.

I'm reading it on a Kindle Voyage, I don't know if that's considered heresy in this thread, but it's a very pleasant way to read that suits me perfectly.

I'm also slowly making my way through The Silmarillion by Tolkien, this is a paperback though. I'm maybe a quarter to a third of the way through.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

GoTgaf is doing a re-read right now, we keep a schedule (now at book 1). Come by if you wish.
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1058368

Series end in two books, unless GRRM decides it's not enough. It's worth reading even if you've watched the show, it's much better than the show IMO, especially the garbage that is season 5.

Figured I'd pose this here, although I guess it could be its own thread. If GRRM were to unfortunately pass away before he finishes ASoIaF, who would be the logical fantasy author to try and complete the series? Sanderson swooped in and finished off WoT when Jordan passed. Although I didn't read past book 7 in that series, I've heard good things about how Sanderson wrapped it up. That being said, I don't think Sanderson would be a good choice for ASoIaF.

Interestingly enough, I think some of the women of fantasy might have a decent angle on this, given their political capabilities.

- Robin Hobb (she could write the political bits pretty well, but might not be capable of dark enough)
- Elizabeth Moon might be a good choice. I haven't read much of her stuff recently but I remember The Deed of Paksenarrion being very good
- CS Friedman proved she could write dark, complicated series with the Coldfire Trilogy

But honestly, if I was going to have one grade A speculative fiction author come in and save the day here (again, if the day needed saving) it would be Lois McMaster Bujold.

I'm currently a little over halfway through Halo: The Flood. The second book in the series. It's got a different writer than the first (The Fall of Reach) and has much longer chapters. Overall I think it's not as good as the first, but it's interesting to experience the first Halo games story through such a very different medium. And it does a good job of reminding you of the level designs as it describes the locales.

I'm reading it on a Kindle Voyage, I don't know if that's considered heresy in this thread, but it's a very pleasant way to read that suits me perfectly.

I'm also slowly making my way through The Silmarillion by Tolkien, this is a paperback though. I'm maybe a quarter to a third of the way through.

Certainly not heresy. Many of us have switched over to ereaders almost exclusively. And I agree that Reach is the better novel. In fact I think those are the only two Halo books I've read.

 

[flatearthpandas]

Figured I'd pose this here, although I guess it could be its own thread. If GRRM were to unfortunately pass away before he finishes ASoIaF, who would be the logical fantasy author to try and complete the series? Sanderson swooped in and finished off WoT when Jordan passed. Although I didn't read past book 7 in that series, I've heard good things about how Sanderson wrapped it up. That being said, I don't think Sanderson would be a good choice for ASoIaF.

Interestingly enough, I think some of the women of fantasy might have a decent angle on this, given their political capabilities.

- Robin Hobb (she could write the political bits pretty well, but might not be capable of dark enough)
- Elizabeth Moon might be a good choice. I haven't read much of her stuff recently but I remember The Deed of Paksenarrion being very good
- CS Friedman proved she could write dark, complicated series with the Coldfire Trilogy

But honestly, if I was going to have one grade A speculative fiction author come in and save the day here (again, if the day needed saving) it would be Lois McMaster Bujold.



Certainly not heresy. Many of us have switched over to ereaders almost exclusively.

If all they need to do is maintain the quality of ADwD it doesn't really matter. Give it to JK Rowling or the Hunger Games author. Although, real talk, I think Neal Stephenson would do well as long as someone else takes care of the last 100 pages. He isn't known for political intrigue, but that thread is lost from the series anyway and Stephenson has the intelligence and discipline to keep things respectable and entertaining.

More importantly, ereaders are the shit. Physical for the library, digital for the actual reading.

 

[Alucard]

What's the best/most affordable e-reader on the market now? Haven't looked into the things in 3 years when I bought my wife a Kindle of some kind.

 

[j0hnny_385]

What's the best/most affordable e-reader on the market now? Haven't looked into the things in 3 years when I bought my wife a Kindle of some kind.

Kindler Paperwhite 3rd gen, IMHO.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Kindler Paperwhite 3rd gen, IMHO.

This right here. My wife has one and loves it. I use my Nexus 7 with the Kindle app and it's great for me. I don't read much outside so no need to worry about glare. But if I was getting a device specifically for reading, the Paperwhite is an excellent choice.

 

[Alucard]

Cool. I mostly read on the bus. I'm assuming this wouldn't pose any issues.

 

[Yen]

Figured I'd pose this here, although I guess it could be its own thread. If GRRM were to unfortunately pass away before he finishes ASoIaF, who would be the logical fantasy author to try and complete the series? Sanderson swooped in and finished off WoT when Jordan passed. Although I didn't read past book 7 in that series, I've heard good things about how Sanderson wrapped it up. That being said, I don't think Sanderson would be a good choice for ASoIaF.

Interestingly enough, I think some of the women of fantasy might have a decent angle on this, given their political capabilities.

- Robin Hobb (she could write the political bits pretty well, but might not be capable of dark enough)
- Elizabeth Moon might be a good choice. I haven't read much of her stuff recently but I remember The Deed of Paksenarrion being very good
- CS Friedman proved she could write dark, complicated series with the Coldfire Trilogy

But honestly, if I was going to have one grade A speculative fiction author come in and save the day here (again, if the day needed saving) it would be Lois McMaster Bujold.

GRRM has said he doesn't want anyone to finish the series if he can't.

 

[Auctopus]

What's the best/most affordable e-reader on the market now? Haven't looked into the things in 3 years when I bought my wife a Kindle of some kind.

Kindle Paperwhite. Put it on your wishlist and Amazon will usually send a £10 off voucher email within 2-3 weeks if you let it sit.

 

[j0hnny_385]

This right here. My wife has one and loves it. I use my Nexus 7 with the Kindle app and it's great for me. I don't read much outside so no need to worry about glare. But if I was getting a device specifically for reading, the Paperwhite is an excellent choice.

Kindle Paperwhite. Put it on your wishlist and Amazon will usually send a £10 off voucher email within 2-3 weeks if you let it sit.

Still love and use my 2nd gen Paperwhite, but 3rd gen got a huge screen boost. If anyone's looking for a new e-reader, 3rd gen Paperwhite is a no brainer.

 

[Fenom]

Just finished Xenocide, after reading Speaker for the dead. Gotta say I enjoyed speaker much more. Now about to move onto The Dispossessed, hoping to finish it before i go travelling and switching to my new kindle.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

Still love and use my 2nd gen Paperwhite, but 3rd gen got a huge screen boost. If anyone's looking for a new e-reader, 3rd gen Paperwhite is a no brainer.

Same here. eReaders are the bomb and my Kindle Paperwhite feels like a wonderful luxury worth having. I hate moving books around, so I use the library and my Kindle a lot.

 

[Piecake]

Paperwhite is superior just for having pop-up endnotes. I actually read those now!

 

[Atraveller]

- Robin Hobb (she could write the political bits pretty well

After reading Assassin's Apprentice, I'm gonna say no. The political part is juvenile and dull, compared to what's going on in ASoIaF.

I'm currently a little over halfway through Halo: The Flood. The second book in the series. It's got a different writer than the first (The Fall of Reach) and has much longer chapters. Overall I think it's not as good as the first, but it's interesting to experience the first Halo games story through such a very different medium. And it does a good job of reminding you of the level designs as it describes the locales.

I'd say his 1:1 game to novel conversion is what made this book hard to read, no other Halo writer is as bad as him. The part where MC fighting the flood in the library(or whatever it's called) was a chore to read through, one could only stomach so much descriptions of a person operating an assault rifle.

Certainly not heresy. Many of us have switched over to ereaders almost exclusively. And I agree that Reach is the better novel. In fact I think those are the only two Halo books I've read.

More importantly, ereaders are the shit. Physical for the library, digital for the actual reading.

Yeah, pretty much all of my book purchases are digital, aside from textbooks and artbooks. I did buy a physical copy of Vixen this month though, my favorite bookstore was going out of business, I wanted to buy from it for the last time.

 

[higgsboson1997]

These are on my "one day" list, but I've heard mixed things about the later books. Knowing what readers know now of the Game of Thrones books, are they still worth jumping into? Also, is the series expected to end soon? One more book? Two? More?

I would personally say no. The first three books are fantastic, but books 4 and 5 are bloated and meandering, with endless repetition and diluted focus, adding a host of characters that were not of the calibre of previous ones (some downright awful like Victarion), which took time away from previous characters that the many readers cared about. Those two books had less developments together than each of the previous ones had. ASOIAF ran into the same problem as The Wheel of Time - however, while that series ultimately reached a satisfying conclusion (though still one tainted by the mediocrity of the middle 3 or 4 books), we have no guarantee, in ASOIAF's case, that trudging through those two books will eventually lead to an end that makes it worth it.

If TWOW and ADOS turn out as good as the first three, then yes, I will definitely recommend that you read them. Until then, however, there are plenty of other books that are just as interesting and don't waste your time. If you do want a taste of the series at the moment though, the TV show is good enough to give you the essence of the books while being far more respectful of your precious free time.

 

[N0VAM0D]

I'm currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time, it is fantastic.

 

[Mumei]

Interesting. I really like The Once and Future King. Maybe i'll check it out, though I'm not big on memoirs.

Oh, definitely don't let that scare you away. It is a memoir, but it's also a history of falconry, nature writing, and a literary biography; it sort of weaves its way through those genre distinctions.

 

[The Shadow]

This is the worst part of reading for me. When you finish one book, and you need to find another to read. :/

I'm reading it on a Kindle Voyage, I don't know if that's considered heresy in this thread, but it's a very pleasant way to read that suits me perfectly.

I can't imagine why that would be heresy. I read almost exclusively on my Kindle Paperwhite, and sometimes when I'm gifted physical books, I'll buy the kindle version just for the convenience.

 

[Dusk88]

Currently reading:

Absolutely loving this book and the series as a whole. Can't wait to see how it develops.

Up Next:

 

[higgsboson1997]

Currently reading:


Absolutely loving this book and the series as a whole. Can't wait to see how it develops.

Up Next:

Nice! Words of Radiance is easily one of my favourite fantasy books! Following it with RPO might leave you a little disappointed in the latter though

 

[Alucard]

I would personally say no. The first three books are fantastic, but books 4 and 5 are bloated and meandering, with endless repetition and diluted focus, adding a host of characters that were not of the calibre of previous ones (some downright awful like Victarion), which took time away from previous characters that the many readers cared about. Those two books had less developments together than each of the previous ones had. ASOIAF ran into the same problem as The Wheel of Time - however, while that series ultimately reached a satisfying conclusion (though still one tainted by the mediocrity of the middle 3 or 4 books), we have no guarantee, in ASOIAF's case, that trudging through those two books will eventually lead to an end that makes it worth it.

If TWOW and ADOS turn out as good as the first three, then yes, I will definitely recommend that you read them. Until then, however, there are plenty of other books that are just as interesting and don't waste your time. If you do want a taste of the series at the moment though, the TV show is good enough to give you the essence of the books while being far more respectful of your precious free time.

Sound advice. I haven't watched the show or read the books. I'll likely wait for critical reaction to the conclusion of the books before deciding whether to dive in or not. I did the same with Wheel of Time, and it sounds like starting that journey will in the end be worth it. Looking at that as my 2016 book project.

 

[Piecake]

Sound advice. I haven't watched the show or read the books. I'll likely wait for critical reaction to the conclusion of the books before deciding whether to dive in or not. I did the same with Wheel of Time, and it sounds like starting that journey will in the end be worth it. Looking at that as my 2016 book project.

I think book 4 and 5 are much better books than any WoT book. While 4 and 5 are certainly worse than 1-3 I think they are still very very good. I can understand why some people don't like them because not much happens plot wise since these are novels that set up the final push, but the character and character interaction is still fantastic, the writing is good and the world building is there as well.

 

[Alucard]

I think book 4 and 5 are much better books than any WoT book. While 4 and 5 are certainly worse than 1-3 I think they are still very very good. I can understand why some people don't like them because not much happens plot wise since these are novels that set up the final push, but the character and character interaction is still fantastic, the writing is good and the world building is there as well.

Cool. I'm not against reading the series, but I'd like to hear some more about it before making the leap. And I like dialogue more than action in most cases, so that doesn't sound so bad.

 

[Atraveller]

Cool. I'm not against reading the series, but I'd like to hear some more about it before making the leap. And I like dialogue more than action in most cases, so that doesn't sound so bad.

In that case, just start reading.

 

[fredrancour]

I think book 4 and 5 are much better books than any WoT book. While 4 and 5 are certainly worse than 1-3 I think they are still very very good. I can understand why some people don't like them because not much happens plot wise since these are novels that set up the final push, but the character and character interaction is still fantastic, the writing is good and the world building is there as well.

I've only read the first four but I agree more with this assessment of a feast for crows than the extremely negative one. The speed in book 4 felt like a perfectly natural next-step for events at that point. It was slower than the previous book, certainly, but it just plain didn't bother me in any way.

 

[Mumei]

Currently reading:

So far, I like the promise and the writing. But I don't particularly like how the author write the characters behavior and mindset.

Can you elaborate on what you mean?

 

[Dispatch]

I'm currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time, it is fantastic.

I agree. It's worthy of its praise and awards.