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[Vyer]

Finished:

Didn't love it as much as a lot of people seem to, but it held my interest. I'll have to look up the movie (I think there's a movie?)

Started:

Just started tonight, only about 30 pages in. I know this book had a lot of hype a while back but I never got around to reading it. So far it's interesting.

 

[Dresden]

I have the first one Ship Breaker, but haven't got to it yet. Did you read that one, or starting with Drowned Cities?

Yeah, starting with Drowned Cities. Heard from a friend that they're mostly stand-alone (and that DC is superior).

 

[Ceebs]

Excellent!

Now read The Book of the New Sun.

Gotta finish my stack of books I bought first!

Dove straight into The Three Musketeers already.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Yeah, starting with Drowned Cities. Heard from a friend that they're mostly stand-alone (and that DC is superior).

Ah, good to know.

Damn I didn't know Count of Monte Cristo was such a monster, been meaning to read it for awhile now.

 

[Mumei]

Gotta finish my stack of books I bought first!

Dove straight into The Three Musketeers already.

... Acceptable!

 

[Nezumi]

Finished:

A good ending to the series though somewhat predictable.

I liked the over all theme and setting. The world was very interesting and his approach on magic and necromancy is really interesting. Thought the pacing was a bit off though. Sometimes too slow and on other times too fast, but I jumped right into:

So far I'm enjoying this even more. The pacing is a lot better and I think that lirael as a character has more depth than Sabriel.

Also started:

I liked the "The Shadow of the torturer, though I'm not sure I really understood what was going on. Especially when they were in the this huge green house...
This one seems to be no different but since a lot people here praise what a great pay off the series has I'll stick to it. And besides I somehow really enjoy that cryptic style. How important is it though to read "The Urth of the new sun" since it is not available on kindle. So far I only found it on nook, via Banres and Noble and I'm not sure if I can download there from Germany...

 

[omgkitty]

Gotta finish my stack of books I bought first!

Dove straight into The Three Musketeers already.

That's a good stack of books right there!

 

[Maklershed]

Just started tonight, only about 30 pages in. I know this book had a lot of hype a while back but I never got around to reading it. So far it's interesting.

I thought Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections needed none.

Chaaaboooooooooooooone!

 

[Number45]

Lots of people recommending Dumas. Any reason to pick one of his books over another for someone that hasn't read anything of his yet?

 

[ShaneB]

Read a bit of this ages ago, but since I'm in the mood for an uplifting rescue/sea faring tale, etc etc, I figure this is a perfect fit to get back to and read over again and finally finish.

 

[Number45]

Finished 600 Hours of Edward, a really lovely story. Apparently there's a sequel, but I'm not sure I want to read it. Think I'm going to hop into Coraline next; I've seen the film but I haven't read any of Neil Gaiman's books as of yet.

 

[Labombadog]

I finished reading Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick and absolutely loved it. I haven't read much non fiction based books but holy shit I might start to.

Currently reading: Dune

....annnnd I am not enjoying this overall. I am about 100 pages in and it drags on with political nonsense and certain phrases that I do not understand. Should I keep going or drop it and read something else?

 

[Krowley]

I finished reading Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick and absolutely loved it. I haven't read much non fiction based books but holy shit I might start to.

Currently reading: Dune

....annnnd I am not enjoying this overall. I am about 100 pages in and it drags on with political nonsense and certain phrases that I do not understand. Should I keep going or drop it and read something else?

After 100 pages I was still enjoying Dune, but in the end it didn't work for me.

I thought it was well written, and I almost liked it, but I found it a little too dry for my own personal taste. The elements of the story that interest Herbert the most are the things that interest me the least, and he tends to skip over what I would think of as 'the good parts' in favor of stuff that doesn't have much emotional impact.

There's some really great world-building in Dune, and some interesting ideas. But it is also unnecessarily disjointed with fairly flat characters.

Basically, Dune is good, maybe even great, but definitely not for everyone (including me).

 

[Flek]

could you guys recoemnd some futuristic books featuring technology (nothing to crazy) !?
Something like mr penumbras 24h bookstore for example

 

[Labombadog]

After 100 pages I was still enjoying Dune, but in the end it didn't work for me.

I thought it was well written, and I almost liked it, but I found it a little too dry for my own personal taste. The elements of the story that interest Herbert the most are the things that interest me the least, and he tends to skip over what I would think of as 'the good parts' in favor of stuff that doesn't have much emotional impact.

There's some really great world-building in Dune, and some interesting ideas. But it is also unnecessarily disjointed with fairly flat characters.

Basically, Dune is good, maybe even great, but definitely not for everyone (including me).

I did enjoy certain parts. I do enjoy the whole fear is your killer philosophy and when Paul met that tested him in the beginning (thought that part was kinda intense) but like you said it is a tad bit dry and not feeling too connected with any characters besides Paul.

 

[Krowley]

I did enjoy certain parts. I do enjoy the whole fear is your killer philosophy and when Paul met that tested him in the beginning (thought that part was kinda intense) but like you said it is a tad bit dry and not feeling too connected with any characters besides Paul.

Without getting into spoilers, I'll just say that later on, there are moments where Herbert jumps in time, skipping a whole year or more worth of highly significant events (wars, marriages, leadership changes, and shit like that) and then he'll show one little scene with a recap of what we've missed and Paul will have some kind of minor epiphany about his destiny, and there will be some shift in political strategy, and then we'll skip another year or two...

I'm probably exaggerating a little, but that's how it felt reading it. Very frustrating. I wanted it to be the kind of story where I could get lost in the world, but it just kept pulling me out again and again.

As far as the time skipping storytelling style, it's very similar to Asimov's Foundation books, but Asimov's version works better, probably because the style fits his story better. Dune cries out to be a more fully immersive experience. I feel like Dune could have been 3 large books easily.

 

[eattomorro]

Finished off Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. I really enjoyed it, especially the detective spin of it.

Inspired by the above book, gonna go full noir with The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories edited by Otto Penzler.

 

[Tenrius]

Is Aubrey–Maturin series any good?

 

[Maklershed]

This is all you need, been reading for over 6 months and have barely made a dent. All the crime and noir you could ever want from the 20s through the 40s.


The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps by Otto Penzler

I'd recommend The Big Nowhere. Revolves around a set of unsolved murders in LA. Super dark, great read from start to finish.

Just purchased these. I got the noir fever.

 

[Seanspeed]

Is Aubrey–Maturin series any good?

I finished the first book about a month ago and enjoyed it. The period is intriguing, the adventure is exciting and the relationship between the two main characters is really fun.

It wasn't easy to read, though. At all. The language and terms were a bit of a hurdle for me, although I'm not exactly a diehard bookworm or anything, so it might be easier for some others.

Continuing the series is on my future list of things to do, but I feel I want to take a break before going on because of the difficulty.

 

[ShaneB]

Just purchased these. I got the noir fever.

Reading my mind, I was just wondering what that book was that was suggested to you. I may check that out.

Finished off Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. I really enjoyed it, especially the detective spin of it.

An odd thing to do instead of just jumping into Book 2 "Caliban's War" But yeah, understandable, I loved the whodunnit angle in LW as well.

 

[Tenrius]

I finished the first book about a month ago and enjoyed it. The period is intriguing, the adventure is exciting and the relationship between the two main characters is really fun.

It wasn't easy to read, though. At all. The language and terms were a bit of a hurdle for me, although I'm not exactly a diehard bookworm or anything, so it might be easier for some others.

Continuing the series is on my future list of things to do, but I feel I want to take a break before going on because of the difficulty.

I'll probably give it a try once I'm finished with several other books (might take a while), will share my thought then.

 

[fulsome]

Finished:

Started and stopped (when does this get good?):

Currently reading:

 

[FelixOrion]

Bought a signed/autographed copy of this to read.

 

[Jay Sosa]

Finished this:

Great, great stuff, even for an idiot like me. God I wish I would've paid more attention in school.


And cause baseball season is starting (fucking finally) and you can never know enough about that great sport:

 

[moojito]

Taking a break from my usual fantasy/sci fi type novels to read:

John le Carre - The spy who came in from the cold.

I'm maybe a third of the way through. It's pretty interesting so far! I'm looking forward to checking out the film after I read it to see how it compares to my mental images.

There's some odd Americanisms in there. Even stranger since le Carre was apparently English. The (English) main character at one point talks about "sitting on my fanny". Yeah, no. That means something different here!

 

[Fjordson]

Just purchased these. I got the noir fever.

Haha, nice.

Coincidentally, I just dove back into The Big Book of Pulps as well (the thing is massive). Only read a handful of stories a few years ago. Such a fantastic collection, haven't run into a lackluster story yet.

 

[DagsJT]

Just finished "Gone Girl" and can't rate it highly enough. A fantastic book that, and I hate cliches, really was a "page-turner" and "kept me on the edge of my seat".

I've read some great books recently, hoping to continue the run so will need to see what to read next.

 

[Neffarias_Bredd]

Just read this

The Fighter's Mind by Sam Sheridan.

Very interesting and enjoyable read. The book is set up as a number of interviews with famous fighters, wrestlers, an ultra-runner, and a chess prodigy. It's almost a sports psychology book, and it explores the athletes mindsets as they compete. Good stuff

 

[ShaneB]

Just finished "Gone Girl" and can't rate it highly enough. A fantastic book that, and I hate cliches, really was a "page-turner" and "kept me on the edge of my seat".

I've read some great books recently, hoping to continue the run so will need to see what to read next.

Yeah, my favourite cliche descriptor tends to be "gripping", and that is exactly what I thought Gone Girl was as well, glad I read it as well after it was recommended here.

Also,

Spoiler

as I said before, Amy Dunne is absolutely terrifying. My god when the book dives into the second half, I wanted the worst for her.

edit: god dammit, I hope my spoiler error didn't show for anyone.

edit: That 'Fighter's Mind' book sounds pretty interesting, might check that out.

 

[DagsJT]

Amazon to acquire Goodreads, a social network for book recommendations

http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/28/4...-book-recommendation-social-network-goodreads

 

[sparky2112]

Is Aubrey–Maturin series any good?

It's brilliant. First book is the hardest, by far. If you enjoy it at all, don't quit.

 

[lightus]

Whaaaaat?

Not sure if this is good or bad. Sushi, are you allowed to talk about this? Do you know anything about how this will go down?

This is probably bad. They acquired Shelfari as well and I felt it went downhill from there. They went from letting you export your book list whenever to having to jump through a ton of hoops (fill out your profile, join like 3 groups, have x amount friends).

I hope they just leave it be.

 

[nakedsushi]

Whaaaaat?

Not sure if this is good or bad. Sushi, are you allowed to talk about this? Do you know anything about how this will go down?

Yep! I can't go into details yet, but be assured that Goodreads will still be the same Goodreads you know and love. We will not be changing your ratings or reviews. This will be a great thing for us b/c there will be better kindle integration in the future.

More details here: http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/413-exciting-news-about-goodreads-we-re-joining-the-amazon-family

 

[Deified Data]

Just about to start this:

What should I expect? I'm a huge del Toro fanboy, FYI.

 

[Number45]

I actually removed my Goodreads account recently because I honestly can't be bothered with it, but if they integrate it directly with the Kindle I'll be happy to get it back going again.

 

[East Lake]

I'm surprised goodreads doesn't have a forum. Seems like it would make sense for a large community of readers.

 

[lightus]

Yep! I can't go into details yet, but be assured that Goodreads will still be the same Goodreads you know and love. We will not be changing your ratings or reviews. This will be a great thing for us b/c there will be better kindle integration in the future.

More details here: http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/413-exciting-news-about-goodreads-we-re-joining-the-amazon-family

I hope this remains true. One of the few sites were I actually use facebook integration.

 

[sgossard]

Love both goodreads and amazon, so I can only hope for good things in the future.

bookdepository.co.uk was also bought by amazon and they didn't change a thing, so I hope same thing happens with goodreads. I know it's not the same thing, but still.

Also I didn't know a gaffer was involved with goodreads. Congrats on the awesome site and best of luck in this new beginning.

 

[Jintor]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Just started. Liking it so far, but fully prepared to be depressed in a week or so.

It's getting increasingly difficult not to put up books I've already read on Goodreads but I'm adamant of sticking to my goal of only rating books I've read or re-read since I started an account, if only to keep myself honest.

 

[Neffarias_Bredd]

Yeah, my favourite cliche descriptor tends to be "gripping", and that is exactly what I thought Gone Girl was as well, glad I read it as well after it was recommended here.

Also,

Spoiler

as I said before, Amy Dunne is absolutely terrifying. My god when the book dives into the second half, I wanted the worst for her.

edit: god dammit, I hope my spoiler error didn't show for anyone.

edit: That 'Fighter's Mind' book sounds pretty interesting, might check that out.

If you end up getting it let me know what you think

 

[BorkBork]

All Natural: A Skeptic's Quest for Health and Happiness in an Age of Ecological Anxiety by Nathanael Johnson

Good read so far. He's looked at c-sections and raw milk in the first 2 chapters. Good writing style, interesting backstory.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

Currently reading Zoo City. I got it from the Humble eBook Bundle forever ago and I suppose it's about time I read it. The writing isn't very good, but the world is so interesting and the strands of plot compelling enough that I'll keep on.

Next up, depending on my sci-fi cravings, The Windup Girl.

EDIT: The writing gets better as the exposition dies down.

 

[Nymerio]

So I'm reading this:

and Harry

Spoiler

just took over the wild hunt. And beat the shit out of Santa Clause.

Holy Shit.

 

[Maklershed]

Well I finished Farewell, My Lovely last night and started The Big Nowhere and got to 6% in when it dawned on me that this must be a sequel. Checked Goodreads and sure enough it is. So I'm pausing the reading on this now until I can get to a wifi hot spot and download The Black Dahlia. I had no idea this was part of a quartet but thats good news cause I'll have a lot of LA based noir ahead of me.

Amazon to acquire Goodreads, a social network for book recommendations

http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/28/4...-book-recommendation-social-network-goodreads

Whaaaaat?

Not sure if this is good or bad. Sushi, are you allowed to talk about this? Do you know anything about how this will go down?

I love Amazon and I love Goodreads but this is probably a bad thing. Have you ever looked at the reviews on Amazon. Almost everything, no matter how good or how bad it is, is 5 stars and the 'most helpful' reviews are 5 stars. I like Goodreads as an unbiased source of opinions on books. Hopefully it will stay that way.

 

[Fjordson]

I'm with you, Mak. Goodreads has become my go-to source for book reviews. The discussion forums on certain books and series are also good when I'm looking for impressions and general thoughts on a book I'm thinking about reading. Hopefully Amazon doesn't tamper with that aspect of GR.

Well I finished Farewell, My Lovely last night and started The Big Nowhere and got to 6% in when it dawned on me that this must be a sequel. Checked Goodreads and sure enough it is. So I'm pausing the reading on this now until I can get to a wifi hot spot and download The Black Dahlia. I had no idea this was part of a quartet but thats good news cause I'll have a lot of LA based noir ahead of me.

Ah, shit. I'm not sure if you got that Big Nowhere recommendation from me, but when I mentioned that earlier in this thread I forgot to mention Black Dahlia. Sorry about that man.

What did you think of Farewell, My Lovely?

 

[Maklershed]

No prob. I just saw the names Buzz Meeks, Dudley Smith, and Ellis Loew being thrown out there like I should know them already (which I do because of watching LA Confidential) so I figured I was missing something. No big deal. Can't wait to get to wifi though! :b

What did you think of Farewell, My Lovely?

Loved it. These Philip Marlowe books are great. Also, I didn't know it going in but I had just watched the movie version of it a few days ago. For some reason they changed the name of the movie to "Murder, My Sweet" and they changed a lot of the story elements. The last half of the book and the last half of the movie are entirely different.

 

[nakedsushi]

I'm with you, Mak. Goodreads has become my go-to source for book reviews. The discussion forums on certain books and series are also good when I'm looking for impressions and general thoughts on a book I'm thinking about reading. Hopefully Amazon doesn't tamper with that aspect of GR.

Aw, it makes me so happy that you guys value Goodreads reviews that well. I was concerned about the merge for that reason too, but so far I've been assuaged by several people saying that we will still keep our reviews and ratings independent just as they've always been.

 

[fierrotlepou]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Just started. Liking it so far, but fully prepared to be depressed in a week or so.

It's getting increasingly difficult not to put up books I've already read on Goodreads but I'm adamant of sticking to my goal of only rating books I've read or re-read since I started an account, if only to keep myself honest.

I think that's the best approach. I started by adding books I've read months ago but that didn't seem fair. Now I'm also just adding books I've read recently.

I'm also reading some McCarthy right now!

About 100 pages to go and I must say: it's not like something I've ever read before. His writing style is very 'interesting' to say the least. Very cool, but I find myself reading some parts twice or thrice to understand some of the metaphors. The story itself is beyond awesome. The judge, man. The judge.

 

[barnone]

I have an Audible credit for an Audiobook I don't know what to do with. Does anyone have a particularly well-written and well-narrated audiobook they would like to recommend? I am interested in historical figures, (auto)biographies, and science fiction.

I was thinking about Team of Rivals, unabridged.