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[Fjordson]

^ Never read that or saw the movie but the love they were giving it on the recent Giant Bombcast has me curious.

That's what prompted me to bite on the full collection. That, and the fact that every sci-fi fan I know absolutely loves the books.

It's been over 10 years, but I remember the first book being good.

 

[Granger Danger]

<3

 

[nakedsushi]

Just finished


The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

I thought I'd like this more than I did, but just found it kind of meh. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood to read it. I really wanted to like it because of its references to classical literature, but the adventure was so predictable =/

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

<3

this is great

 

[Gila]

Anyone recommend any other good biographical business (even non-business) books?

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Starting and stopping periodically with Good Omens. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of the genre but enjoyed some of Pratchett's Discworld books and Gainman's Neverwhere about ten years ago and thought I'd give this a try. It hasn't really grabbed me yet, though there's nothing specifically to dislike either; it takes a lot for fiction to engage me these days anyway.

Also started reading Cassavetes Directs this week. I went through Ray Carney's exhaustive compendium on Cassavetes' work early last year and jumped at the chance to pick this film-specific book for a couple of dollars. Love Streams is one that I've only seen a couple of times and am looking forward to watching it again after going through this book.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

I just read Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. It's a great book, very informative, well-written (mostly straightforward but with a good use of analogies/metaphors/etc. to relate concepts and fields that would not be familiar to the layperson), even provocative at times. It's essentially a 425-page overview of human history as it relates to technological and agricultural development, positing that the essentially European-dominant culture of the modern day is primarily the result of a myriad of geographical factors, rather than due to any innate intellectual or cultural differences between societies of different continents. If that sort of thing sounds interesting to you, I suggest that you check it out; it's a very simplified take on history, which he admits a number of times throughout the book, but it examines broad historical patterns in a very interesting and insightful way.

Next: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse; the book is very short, so I suspect I'll be able to finish it in a single read.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

I just read Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. It's a great book, very informative, well-written (mostly straightforward but with a good use of analogies/metaphors/etc. to relate concepts and fields that would not be familiar to the layperson), even provocative at times. It's essentially a 425-page overview of human history as it relates to technological and agricultural development, positing that the essentially European-dominant culture of the modern day is primarily the result of a myriad of geographical factors, rather than due to any innate intellectual or cultural differences between societies of different continents. If that sort of thing sounds interesting to you, I suggest that you check it out; it's a very simplified take on history, which he admits a number of times throughout the book, but it examines broad historical patterns in a very interesting and insightful way.

Next: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse; the book is very short, so I suspect I'll be able to finish it in a single read.

I watched the documentary on guns, germs and steel and i loved it. Dispels any concepts of inherent cultural superiority allowing for advanced technology, but simply their geographical 'lottery'.


and Siddhartha is FANTASTIC. all caps, i loved it. You will probably finish it in a single sitting, and then re read it right then. It's thought provoking in a different way from Guns, Germs and Steel. lots of introspection

 

[KidDork]

The Catcher in the Rye is up there on the "Books I've Found Most Difficult To Read" list. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head that was worse to read was the biography of Weary Dunlop (which was interesting, but horribly written).

I think I came to it with too much anticipation, and found Caulfied to be a bit of a pain in the ass. I remember reading a short story at around the same time that I thought did a far better job of detailing teenage alienation, but do you think I can remember the name or author? It was about a kid who worked in a Broadway theatre as an attendant, and how it was the only world he wanted to be in since his home life was so horrid. Images from that story have stayed me ever since, while I think I can clearly remember only one scene from Catcher.

As for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, it won me over at the end, but the Blomkvist stuff was a slog. I just imagine Larsson writing it while he chain smoked, half exhausted, making sure he didn't miss a single detail about anything.

Currently enjoying this:

I've only read one another Swierczynski novel before--The Wheelman--and while I didn't care for the ending, I loved the hard crime feel to it. Package is so far much more ludicrous, but it's very entertaining. It also has some full page illustrations thrown in which just give the book even more of a Vertigo comic book feel.

 

[LocoMrPollock]

Currently enjoying this:

That looks badass. Gonna check it out.

 

[CrocMother]

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man

4/5 way through. It is difficult to follow what exactly is going on but the writing is good enough that it isn't important. Joyce is such a master of describing thought, that the action isn't so important.

 

[Cfh123]

A Bridge too Far by Cornelius Ryan

Fantastic history book about Operation Market-Garden in WWII. Written in the 1970's so many of those involved on both sides were still alive and interviewed by the author.

 

[Frester]

I started reading The Trial but I really can't get into it. I'm about 50 pages in, is it worth it to keep going?

 

[DesertEater]

Right now, I'm reading The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdi. I felt really uncomfortable reading the first hundred pages or so, it just kept jumping from one place/story to another. After that, everything was a lot clearer and now I'm really liking the book.

Next: My first Charles Dickens book, David Copperfield (following a gaffer's recommendation).

 

[DesertEater]

I started reading The Trial but I really can't get into it. I'm about 50 pages in, is it worth it to keep going?

Yeah, I thought it was worth while. Hmm it gets a little crazier.

 

[Dresden]

Pretty cool so far. I haven't enjoyed one of his books this much since Cuba Libre.

Finished it.

It was an enjoyable ride most of the time. The ending feels off though, like most Leonard novels I've read - a few people just die, and things just end with no real feeling of conclusion. Still, shit was fun man.

 

[T1tan]

I started reading The Trial but I really can't get into it. I'm about 50 pages in, is it worth it to keep going?

Read it when I was 13 and got depressed for a week. Only book to ever have that effect on me. So yeah, um...enjoy.

 

[ramyeon]

iBooks version, I've been meaning to read this for awhile now so it was kind of an impulse buy as I wanted to (Finally) use the iBooks app on my iPhone and iPad 2. Loving it so far, so I'm sure it won't disappoint.

 

[Karakand]

Still slowly making my way through Shadow's Edge

Thankfully the main character has finally stopped being incredibly stupid and naive. Or at least I hope so.

Spoiler

Him selling his kick ass one of a kind magic sword to buy some obnoxiously expensive engagement ear ring things pissed me off to no end.

Don't blame him, the perfect killer has no identity (Identity is formed in response to experience, which is what we need to stop being stupid dopes.)

 

[Apple Sauce]

I decided to read Ulysses after hearing a lot of praise for it and its parallels to the Odyssey, one of my favorite stories. I'm 150 pages in and I'm finding it really hard to follow and retain my attention. I don't really know what I think of it yet or if I'll finish it.

You're not going to get 90% of the allusions, parodies and subtext with a straight reading of Ulysses.
That's not an insult to your intelligence, you're just not. I wouldn't and I doubt anyone on this site would either.
Joyce famously said:

'I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality.

It's a book deliberately written to challenge the best literary minds of the generation.
Reading Ulysses isn't like reading a regular novel, it's a project.
If you really want to get the most you can out of your reading, you should pick up some notes, which are so numerous they're published in a separate, encyclopedia like book, and perhaps read some literary criticism.
If you can't be bothered will all that but still want to read some Joyce, I'd reccomend his excellent short story collection: Dubliners.

 

[KidDork]

If you can't be bothered will all that but still want to read some Joyce, I'd reccomend his excellent short story collection: Dubliners.

Seconded. I've tried to get through Ulysses three times, and finally said to hell with it. I want to be told a story, not constantly be reminded of how smart and clever Mr. Joyce was. Having said that, I enjoyed Dubliners immensely.

 

[m3k]

reading song of fire and ice, book 4

only thing making my heavy work load bearable

 

[Pau]

Picked this up blindly, and I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying it. It's one part child memoir, one part history of the city. I think what interests me most about it is how well Pamuk manages to convey the feeling of loss without becoming morose. Will definitely be reading more of his novels after this.

 

[Tapiozona]

Just finished Hyperion and started the follow up... Amazing books

 

[Samara]

Just finished Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by Anne Rice. My God, I can never look at Beauty the same way again. Gangbangs, rapes, plugs, sheesh. It was so absurd I would burst out laughing a lot of times or would just shake my head. Its better than those romance books that take 2 days to read since there is so much---well, you know. I am such a sucker for those.

 

[Piecake]

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man

4/5 way through. It is difficult to follow what exactly is going on but the writing is good enough that it isn't important. Joyce is such a master of describing thought, that the action isn't so important.

God, I absolutely hate that book, mostly because I find the main character absolutely insufferable. "Oh poor me, I am so alone and no one understands me because I am smarter and better than everyone else, WAhhhhhh" If that dude ever materialized before me I would kick him in the nuts so hard

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Just finished Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by Anne Rice. My God, I can never look at Beauty the same way again. Gangbangs, rapes, plugs, sheesh. It was so absurd I would burst out laughing a lot of times or would just shake my head. Its better than those romance books that take 2 days to read since there is so much---well, you know. I am such a sucker for those.

Heh, we used to do dramatic readings of these things in the Borders inventory room and occasionally over the headsets in an attempt to make someone laugh if they appeared to be dealing with an especially straight-laced customer for a long period of time.

 

[Narag]

Finished:


Grave Peril by Jim Butcher


Summer Knight by Jim Butcher


Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

Hoping to finish the following this weekend:


A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin


Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

 

[UltimaKilo]

The Art of War.

I re-read this and "The Prince" once a year. Fantastic.

 

[Gvaz]

A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Very early on in this. The writing style takes some getting used to, and at the beginning it's kind of a slow burn, but it's starting to pick up with some backstabbing, firings and general debauchery.

 

[PS3GamerKyle]

The Plague by Albert Camus

Dubliners by James Joyce

The Trial by Franz Kafka

Just finished The Trial, moving onto The Plague. Very excited. From absurdism to existentialism. I'll finish it off with Joyce, which should be a treat.

 

[Narag]

Very early on in this. The writing style takes some getting used to, and at the beginning it's kind of a slow burn, but it's starting to pick up with some backstabbing, firings and general debauchery.

Interested to hear your thoughts when you finally finish it. Their SNL book was as you described above too but turned into something marvelous.

 

[Apple Sauce]

Just finished The Trial, moving onto The Plague. Very excited. From absurdism to existentialism.

Top it off with Beckett's Waiting for Godot, a nice mixture of the two and a must read if you're going for philosophical literature.

 

[Granger Danger]

 

[thomaser]

Picked this up blindly, and I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying it. It's one part child memoir, one part history of the city. I think what interests me most about it is how well Pamuk manages to convey the feeling of loss without becoming morose. Will definitely be reading more of his novels after this.

You should read "My Name is Red". It's an amazing murder-mystery where nearly every chapter is narrated by a different character. It's so fascinating trying to figure out who did it. One of the chapters is narrated by a coin. Another by a dog. And... well, I have to spoil things and reveal that neither of them did the killing.

 

[Velinos]

Finished last night:

Started this morning:

One down, nine to go.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

I'm reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte at the moment; I got about halfway through with it yesterday and am planning to finish it up sometime today or tomorrow. It's good so far.

After that comes You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers, which is my "second chance" for the man.

 

[Sleepy]

Just finished:

Players- Don DeLillo

I wouldn't recommend it; plodding, with no real pay-off. The characters were incredibly uninteresting, with opaque motives, and the death of a minor character at the end held no real purpose (or maybe I missed it). Finishing this book forced me to rethink why I even like DeLillo. I came to the conclusion that, out of the 10 or so books I have read, I have only really appreciated White Noise and Libra.

Just started:

Chronic City- Jonathan Lethem

Not that far into it, but I like it. The use of "distance" between characters is interesting.

After that comes You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers, which is my "second chance" for the man.

Let me know how that goes for you. I made it 30 pages...

 

[SolKane]

After that comes You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers, which is my "second chance" for the man.

Not sure he deserves a first chance, even.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Let me know how that goes for you. I made it 30 pages...

Well, a friend of mine has it as one of his "liked" books on Facebook, so I figured I'd give it a chance. It is a second chance for Eggers because I thought "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" was pure garbage from beginning to end, and I want to see if a straight novel might force the man to write in a non-terrible way.

Edit: And also, after reading "Broom of the System" and attempting to start "Infinite Jest" only to be turned off by how poor the writing was even in the first 40 pages, I'm pretty convinced that David Foster Wallace fans were made to exist to troll me specifically.

 

[Sleepy]

I want to see if a straight novel might force the man to write in a non-terrible way.

Edit: And also, after reading "Broom of the System" and attempting to start "Infinite Jest" only to be turned off by how poor the writing was even in the first 40 pages, I'm pretty convinced that David Foster Wallace fans were made to exist to troll me specifically.

The only thing I have liked by Eggers is "Away We Go."

I just finished The Pale King, as well. Wallace is great in very small doses.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

But I have to ask: what is great about him? In over 500 pages of material that I've read from the man, I've seen pretty much no insight, no real ability with imagery (over-describing something is not the same thing as having a way with imagery), no compelling narrative or characters, just a lot of pseudo-intellectual posturing, over-use of cliches (which he attempted to mitigate by claiming that cliches have a "great truth" in them, a justification that I find quite hollow), and BS.

I will say that he and Eggers (the Eggers I've read, anyway) are at least notable in their badness, which is worth at least something, I guess.

What was so surprising about the Eggers for me was that I recall thinking "Where the Wild Things Are" was pretty good. Then again, that was mostly in the acting and visuals, now that I think about it; the actual script was so-so.

 

[Sleepy]

pseudo-intellectual posturing.

Well, I think there is where we deviate-- I don't consider it "pseudo." I think I like Wallace for the same reason I like Pynchon: I am in awe of their genius, their ability to be difficult without seeming forced.

Have you tried Wallace's essays? Lots of good shit there.

 

[CajoleJuice]

I would say to try Wallace's essays as well. If you don't like them, you're probably a terrible person.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Well, I think there is where we deviate-- I don't consider it "pseudo." I think I like Wallace for the same reason I like Pynchon: I am in awe of their genius, their ability to be difficult without seeming forced.

Have you tried Wallace's essays? Lots of good shit there.

I've seen bits and pieces (such as that commencement speech that he gave), and frankly, I've had pretty much the same reaction. Pynchon I can't really comment on, as I've really read only bits and pieces, but at least in the case of Wallace, I think it's pretty much smoke and mirrors without much in the way of real substance behind it.

 

[CajoleJuice]

Yep, an objectively bad person.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Yep, an objectively bad person.

Hey, I didn't know the man, and I don't pretend to comment on who he was as a person. But, I'm prepared to defend my position on grounds artistic.

 

[Mifune]

Wow, worst opinion ever Snowman. If you can't see the incredible humanity leaking out of every fucking word in Infinite Jest, then maybe this books thing isn't for you.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

Ah, books, the source of learning, understanding, compassion. oh wait...