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What are you reading? (July 2015)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Maklershed
Member
This used to happen a lot in the early days of the kindle. I always chalked it up to some kind of scanning error. Haven't seen it happen in years now though.
Atraveller
Banned
Still better than some Japanese ones IMO.
sparky2112
Member
Not sure if Jeff Daniels' speech in the movie is out of the novel or not, but it's amazing...
Christoff Yurievich
Member
Not in ones that I've bought, no. Sometimes the errors are hilarious (I remember one about someone putting their head in an anus when the word should have been arms; clearly a scanning error) but other times it's just annoying. But then if I'm reading a copy of a book not available digitally and hard to find even in the library and I've resorted to downloading a copy someone scanned for 'free', I just accepted it.
There was a segment on this American life recently with aziz doing some live showa looking at people's phones and seeing how people texted for first dates and stuff. Is this book dealing with that information?
sparky2112
Member
Yeah, he and the psychologist he does those live events with co-wrote the book. That segment on TAL was pretty amusing...
Yeah at first it seemed like a scanning error, but there are times when it'll say "She lighted a cigarette" instead of "She lit a cigarette," or something to that effect, which really throws me off.
While "lit" is more common when referring to something being ignited (like a cigarette), both of those examples are grammatically correct in the context you've provided. So, like a stylistic thing, rather than an error in the text.
just started Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem. I'm a few chapters in and so far I really dig the setting - both the ozone-depleted Earth and the Planet of the Archbuilders as the abandoned, climate-engineered frontier. the children are well written too; Pella is a great protagonist and her brothers are very believable as scared yet adaptable kids.
if you liked the first act of Interstellar you should check this out
Hey guys, some random thoughts after a booky conversation with a co-worker.
-Brave New World is obvious and uninteresting, and 1984 shits all over it from a storytelling perspective
-The Amber Spyglass (Golden Compass 3) is fucking terrible as a novel. If you want to write an essay on why you hate organized religion, Philip Pullman, just write an essay and don't stick it in the middle of a young adult "novel"
-Brave New World is obvious and uninteresting, and 1984 shits all over it from a storytelling perspective
-The Amber Spyglass (Golden Compass 3) is fucking terrible as a novel. If you want to write an essay on why you hate organized religion, Philip Pullman, just write an essay and don't stick it in the middle of a young adult "novel"
I love 1984 and agree that the narrative is stronger, but I disagree that Brave New World is obvious and uninteresting. I feel that the influence of consumerism and groupthink was even more prophetic and relevant than the themes of 1984.
I'll need to re-read it, as the colleague I spoke with is currently re-reading it and coming to the same conclusions that I had come to when I read it in my mid-20s. The ideas were interesting, but it felt heavy-handed with the way Huxley named the lead character, and how overt it was in describing the problems of the world. Plus, I just remember it being bogged down in scientific language. I very much enjoyed Huxley's essays at the end of my edition than I did the book itself.
Of course it does. "Favorite" and "best" aren't necessarily the same thing.
I have recently been reading the Vorkosigan saga. In the last couple of weeks I've read:
Cetaganda
Ethan of Athos
Brothers in Arms
Borders of Infinity
Mirrordance
Memory
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
"Winterfair Gifts"
Diplomatic Immunity
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
Tonight I will begin Cryoburn, and tomorrow I will be sad that there are no more Vorkosigan books to read. But I'll finally be able to go back to my Hugo reading.
Cetaganda
Ethan of Athos
Brothers in Arms
Borders of Infinity
Mirrordance
Memory
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
"Winterfair Gifts"
Diplomatic Immunity
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
Tonight I will begin Cryoburn, and tomorrow I will be sad that there are no more Vorkosigan books to read. But I'll finally be able to go back to my Hugo reading.
What is your favorite book in the series?
Golden Slumbers
Member
I needed to start reading again so I picked up Andy Weir's The Martian after a friend recommended it. I think it will be a pretty interesting read.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Any of USA gaf pick up the Neil Gaiman's preferred text of Neverwhere?
koopathecat
Member
Just finished White Noise by Don Delillo (someone mentioned it on here and i liked the sound of it) very good book!
Also finished American Psycho. Didnt expect it to be so graphic. Some parts of it
made my stomach turn. Truly a vile, disgusting and horrible book.... and i ended up loving it!
Next up - continuing the Fire and ice saga with A Clash Of Kings
Also finished American Psycho. Didnt expect it to be so graphic. Some parts of it
the rat!
Next up - continuing the Fire and ice saga with A Clash Of Kings
There is a preferred text? I read it last year, so I guess not the Gaiman cut one.
Also just passed page 1,000 of The Way of Kings, getting really close to the finish line, yay.
I finished the Vor Game today. I like Miles as a character, but I sometimes get tired of the series of extremely large coincidences that always play out in his favour.
I started the Martian, and am about 40 pages into it. It is evident that a lot of Google searching went into the writing of this book.
I started the Martian, and am about 40 pages into it. It is evident that a lot of Google searching went into the writing of this book.
The Vor Game is by far the worst of these in that respect.
Just finished Seveneves tonight and wow, the last 150 pages are fantastic and gripping. The scope and ambition in just about every Stephenson work makes him easily one of my favorite authors and makes each of his novels feel like a real treat. All of this despite his flaws. Sure his characterization isn't the best in the world and yeah, he is often times way more interested in tangential backstories and information than he is about advancing the narrative, but man the ideas and concepts that he comes up with are incredibly thought provoking and believable to me.
I really enjoyed it and am sad that it's over. Now I'm gonna move on to something lighter, prolly the last book of the Mistborn trilogy, and then I hope to start the Baroque Cycle in late summer or early fall.
The thought of people quoting lines from the "Epic" because they'd been exposed to it so much was one such example, and I thought he did a really good job in the final section of the book emphasizing just how long of a time 5000 years really is.
I really enjoyed it and am sad that it's over. Now I'm gonna move on to something lighter, prolly the last book of the Mistborn trilogy, and then I hope to start the Baroque Cycle in late summer or early fall.
That's good to hear. Similar things have burnt me out in other series.
ThisGuy
Member
It is and if I remember correctly it's pretty much word for word with the book. Good scene, I'll admit his timid posture contrasts with his role for me.
TestMonkey
Member
Picked up The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander from the library. I barely cracked the book open and I am already a little put off by the Preface. Up front the author states her bias on the subject by explaining that the book is for people who already think like her and would like to reinforce their views. Echo chambering is one of my biggest pet peeves so while I will read on I'm already a bit concerned.
I don't think that's a fair reading of that preface. It's not a book for reinforcing their views. She says very specifically who her intended audience is:
She's not talking about people who agree with her now; she's talking about people who would have agreed with her ten years ago, when she thought the assertion the book makes, that the drug war is the new Jim Crow was an absurd comparison. She talks about this in the introduction, when she saw a man holding a sign with that written on it and thought it was absurd. She's since changed her mind, and she wrote the book to persuade people who care about racial justice but don't see the problem as being as big as it is that the problem actually is that big.
It's intended to persuade people, not just to preach to the already converted.
So I just picked up Saga volume one. I'm not really into graphic novels but I kept hearing good things about this one so I figured I'd give it a shot.
I'm happy I did! I really enjoy it so far. I like the blend of fantasy and sci-fi elements and the characters are well done.
I already went ahead and ordered volume two. Sorta kicking myself for not purchasing the Deluxe Hardcover edition. I may go back and purchase it after if I like the series enough.
I'm happy I did! I really enjoy it so far. I like the blend of fantasy and sci-fi elements and the characters are well done.
I already went ahead and ordered volume two. Sorta kicking myself for not purchasing the Deluxe Hardcover edition. I may go back and purchase it after if I like the series enough.
Inspired by some videos from Extra Credits, I decided to take a crack at Joseph Campbell's books, best known for the Hero's Journey concept. Couldn't get the Hero with a Thousand Faces at my uni library, so I got something else by him: Masks of God: Primitive Mythology.
It explains quite a lot of interesting stuff: what fundamental human experiences imprint deep unconscious marks in every person psyche and how mythology taps into this pool of images, creating patterns that appear in pratically every culture, no matter how advanced or primitive. There is also an explanation of how mythology evolves to acommodate the new discoveries made by primitive people, such as the existence of astronomical patterns or the invention of agriculture. He also tries to explain the similarites between different mythos by using archaeology and knowledge of the migration routes of ancient people, but this part I guess may be outdated given the publication date. Anyway, I really recommend it.
It explains quite a lot of interesting stuff: what fundamental human experiences imprint deep unconscious marks in every person psyche and how mythology taps into this pool of images, creating patterns that appear in pratically every culture, no matter how advanced or primitive. There is also an explanation of how mythology evolves to acommodate the new discoveries made by primitive people, such as the existence of astronomical patterns or the invention of agriculture. He also tries to explain the similarites between different mythos by using archaeology and knowledge of the migration routes of ancient people, but this part I guess may be outdated given the publication date. Anyway, I really recommend it.
TestMonkey
Member
I am not commenting on the entirety of the book as I'm just getting started but about the Preface and only the Preface. It pains me to read any argument that starts off immediately by excluding others. The Preface begins with the sentence "This book is not for everyone." Mass incarceration is an issue that every American should be concerned about so why alienate potential readers with such a sentence? When I picked up the book I did what I believe most people do when they find a potential book in a library or bookstore, I leafed through the first few pages and that sentence is what stood out to me. If I hadn't remembered that it was recommended by trustworthy sources I would have probably put it down.
As for persuasion versus preaching, the Preface states that it was written for, after people like herself, people who the already share her views in order to assist them in persuading others to also support her claims. As an editor who has had to go over an endless wasteland of bad viewpoint pieces I'd argue that any argumentative piece should be directed to not only people who already share your viewpoint but also those who have yet to decide on their own point of view and those who disagree with you.
I'm sorry about this. Copy editor's rant completed.
But her viewpoint is racial justice, and her book is for people who care about that. I hope that is a lot of people. Her goal is to persuade those people, with argument and evidence that the actual criminal justice system is worse than they thought. She is quite convincing.
If a person doesnt care about racial justice then that person isnt going to read the book and, even if they did, probably won't find themselves convinced due to cognitive biases and what not. I think she is just being realistic.
TheKaeptain
Banned
If you read the US version that is an edited version he hated. Not only did the version include his version of the book but there is a new short in it!
I made a topic for the Man Booker longlist if anyone is interested in literary prizes. Maybe we could choose another book from the longlist for next month just for funsies, since we rather inadvertently did that for this month.
Satin Island is only 176 pages~~
I know nothing else about it.
This hold finally came through. I have two weeks. I am an incredibly slow reader (I read like three pages a day).
How much time does that take, though?
Per the GoodReads/Kindle thing, about 7.5 hours. It's an INCREDIBLY slow week at work, so I can probably finish my other book today at the office, giving me enough time where I could read 30 mins a day and still get through All The Light...
My problem is that I usually limit my reading time to queues, waiting rooms, etc rather than making time to read so I'm resigned to how busy I am. I need to be better about that...
sparky2112
Member
Fun fact: my youngest son, whose birth accidentally began on a trip to Gettysburg, has Chamberlain for a middle name. And, yes, he as since stood on the ground the 20th Maine defended.
Well, that doesn't sound too bad to me.
Finished up books 2 and 3 of The Faith & Fallen. I feel sorta conned that I did not know there was supposed to be a book 4 and as I reached the end of 3 got worried how it was going to be resolved with limited pages to go.
Currently reading:
Nice. Gemmel's Legend is on my to-read list by the end of 2016. Let me know how you like it. Is it just the original book? And I thought the protagonist carried an axe and not a sword?
I finished Shards of Honor by Bujold, which I enjoyed significantly more than The Warrior's Apprentice. I connected to Cordelia immediately, and felt the relationship between her and Vorkosigan was a lot more natural than any of Miles' relationships in tWA. I also enjoyed seeing the origins of Bothari, and Vorkosigans' comrades in their younger forms.
I'm now reading:
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho. It's lovely. Imagine the charisma and honesty of Addison's The Goblin Emperor mixed with the magic-stuffed period drama of Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell without all the fat and tangential tom-foolery. An absolute joy so far, and clever in the way it approaches class, race, and gender in Napoleonic-era England.
I'm now reading:
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho. It's lovely. Imagine the charisma and honesty of Addison's The Goblin Emperor mixed with the magic-stuffed period drama of Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell without all the fat and tangential tom-foolery. An absolute joy so far, and clever in the way it approaches class, race, and gender in Napoleonic-era England.
I finished Shards of Honor by Bujold, which I enjoyed significantly more than The Warrior's Apprentice. I connected to Cordelia immediately, and felt the relationship between her and Vorkosigan was a lot more natural than any of Miles' relationships in tWA. I also enjoyed seeing the origins of Bothari, and Vorkosigans' comrades in their younger forms.
I'm now reading:
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho. It's lovely. Imagine the charisma and honesty of Addison's The Goblin Emperor mixed with the magic-stuffed period drama of Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell without all the fat and tangential tom-foolery. An absolute joy so far, and clever in the way it approaches class, race, and gender in Napoleonic-era England.
If this isn't out yet, you are an evil tease.
Now let me check.
... Grrr.
Falling Free is still my favourite of the 4 Vorkosigan novels that I have read to date (Falling Free, Shards of Honor, Warrior's Apprentice, and The Vor Game). I loved all the zero gravity engineering stuff in that book, and I thought it had the strongest sci fi premise. I suspect that I am not as big a fan of space opera plots.
Heh. I'm a little ahead of the game with my reading these days. At least this comes out sooner than All the Birds in the Sky.
I had a lot of trouble with tWA because it was just a bunch of talking heads discussing how clever they were for the entirety of the novel. I think Bujold writes terrific internal monologues, but tWA lacked some of the meat that made SoH so enjoyable. There was much more a sense of tension between Cordelia and Aral, not to mention a sense of danger (despite having read tWA and knowing what was coming.) I never really felt like Miles was in danger, because some coincidence or clever idea would pull him out of the fire.