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What are you reading? (March 2014)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
- Status
Tragicomedy
Member
AngmarsKing701
Member
RoninChaos
Member
Finally getting through book one of a song of ice and fire.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Finally finished this after reading it off and on since it came out.
Dangerous Women by George R.R. Martin
Quite a few turds but worth it for The Princess and the Queen by Martin. Liked it better than all of the Dunk and Egg books. Great history and lore of the Targaryens and more action than Feast and Dance combined, and fucking dragon battles!
Also really liked My Heart is Either Broken by Megan Abbott. So damn good, it convinced me to pick up a couple of her books.
Also finished Saga Volume 1 and 2. Good stuff.
Next up
Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football by Nicholas Dawidoff
Dangerous Women by George R.R. Martin
Quite a few turds but worth it for The Princess and the Queen by Martin. Liked it better than all of the Dunk and Egg books. Great history and lore of the Targaryens and more action than Feast and Dance combined, and fucking dragon battles!
Also really liked My Heart is Either Broken by Megan Abbott. So damn good, it convinced me to pick up a couple of her books.
Also finished Saga Volume 1 and 2. Good stuff.
Next up
Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football by Nicholas Dawidoff
Tragicomedy
Member
It's more a comment about the people who seem to comprise the bulk of Goodreads members. Just a cursory glance at their book of the year winners is sad/hilarious.
EverythingShiny
Member
I have less than 200 pages left of Words of Radiance. I can taste the ending!
After that is Mother Night, then starting the Vorkosigan Saga. That will keep me busy for quite some time.
After that is Mother Night, then starting the Vorkosigan Saga. That will keep me busy for quite some time.
Finished Assassin's Quest yesterday evening. Damn was it good. Fitz is one of the best characters I've read in quite some time, can't wait to get started on the Tawny Man books.
Ending spoilers:
Ending spoilers:
I always thought that Burrich and Molly may actually end up falling in love so it didn't really surprise me that it happened in the end, what did surprise me though was that it was actually the fool who "betrayed" them to Regal. Ever since the chapter where he mentioned the betrayal to Fitz, I thought it had to be Burrich because he was the only one who new where they were, but then the fool came to Fitz and started asking him about her and broke down in tear when he became aware of what he was doing and I knew what was up 
. What I really liked was when Fitz reached through Will to Regal to kill him and I thought it would've been cool if the ferret had already managed to kill him. I was grinning ear to ear when I read that Regal didn't live too long after that because the ferret actually did kill him and ended up with Chade.
. What I really liked was when Fitz reached through Will to Regal to kill him and I thought it would've been cool if the ferret had already managed to kill him. I was grinning ear to ear when I read that Regal didn't live too long after that because the ferret actually did kill him and ended up with Chade.Excellent, been itching to get back into a Football book, so this might be next for me as well.
Started this, was the kindle daily not long ago and seemed interesting enough. Short read too, so another sort of palate cleanser I suppose after how heavy Beautiful Boy was. Pretty straightforward, and pretty much echoing a storyline from the movie "Ghost".
Now reading...edit.... After reading a bit more it doesn't really seem that good.
The Body Departed - J.R. Rain
Marcovaldo
Member
After five weeks I finally finished Infinite Jest yesterday.
Can't say I've ever read anything like it.
It features a large group of characters and by the end I loved all the main ones.
A great portrayal of addiction, of giving oneself over to one thing entirely.
With absurd plots running around these things it's a lot of fun.
I'll definitely be checking out Wallace's other stuff including his nonfiction at some point.
don gately is such a bro, loved him by the end
Giles Foden's "Turbulence".
750 pages!
*Adds to list of books to read beside count of Monte Cristo*
Hmm. Interesting.
Btw. Recommendations do not have to be related to Dracula.
Tragicomedy
Member
You are my evil twin!
You just happen to be about 300 pages ahead of me in Words of Radiance.
I'm going to finish WoR in the next week or so, then finish Mother Night, and then I might even tackle the next Vorkosigan book!
grounded_dreams
Member
Just finished reading Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, absolutely loved it, couldn't put it down Such a gripping story.
They are making a film of the book [its in post-production] but I on purpose didn't check to see who the main characters were being portrayed by, so I could put my own idea on how they looked etc
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014763/
Has anyone read any of the other novels by Tom Rob Smith? Was going to order the next one he wrote, but having a look at the reviews sounds like they are quite average compared to Child 44 and a lot of the reviews were stating the style of them was like he wrote them ready to be adapted for the screen.
They are making a film of the book [its in post-production] but I on purpose didn't check to see who the main characters were being portrayed by, so I could put my own idea on how they looked etc
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014763/
Has anyone read any of the other novels by Tom Rob Smith? Was going to order the next one he wrote, but having a look at the reviews sounds like they are quite average compared to Child 44 and a lot of the reviews were stating the style of them was like he wrote them ready to be adapted for the screen.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Just finished reading Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, absolutely loved it, couldn't put it down Such a gripping story.
They are making a film of the book [its in post-production] but I on purpose didn't check to see who the main characters were being portrayed by, so I could put my own idea on how they looked etc
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014763/
Has anyone read any of the other novels by Tom Rob Smith? Was going to order the next one he wrote, but having a look at the reviews sounds like they are quite average compared to Child 44 and a lot of the reviews were stating the style of them was like he wrote them ready to be adapted for the screen.
Oh didn't know they were making a movie. Sequel isn't nearly as good, but I do recommend The Alienist if you loved Child 44, it's actually better imo.
Edit: Tom Hardy? Seriously? WTF.
Oh, do love the Noomi Rapace casting tho, she's perfect for Raisa.
grounded_dreams
Member
I've not read any Caleb Carr, thanks will have a look.
Switch Back 9
a lot of my threads involve me fucking up somehow. Perhaps I'm a moron?
On a WW1 kick and curious as to which of the following I should read first...
The Guns of August
or
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Guns of August
or
All Quiet on the Western Front
Finished Old Man's War the other day. I just picked up The Ghost Brigades.
I actually have no idea if I liked the first or not. I have a lot of thoughts on it both ways. I'm interpreting that as indicating "it was a worthwhile thing to read", so I'm sticking with this Scalzi guy for a bit. The series is so popular I figure it's worth reading so I can talk about it next time it comes up in my life.
I actually have no idea if I liked the first or not. I have a lot of thoughts on it both ways. I'm interpreting that as indicating "it was a worthwhile thing to read", so I'm sticking with this Scalzi guy for a bit. The series is so popular I figure it's worth reading so I can talk about it next time it comes up in my life.
rudieboy77
Member
AngmarsKing701
Member
I love Scalzi. Tore through all of his stuff a couple years ago and loved it. I haven't caught up on his latest efforts, but they're on my list.
nakedsushi
Member
Disclaimer: I work for Goodreads but what I here is my own opinion.
Yeah, our site does skew toward the younger demographic and contemporary books. But I also think that with a lot of older classics, people have only read it because they were forced to in school or something and that's why they sometimes get very low ratings.
I do wish that more people my age and above would join the site and review/rate more things to help skew things in the other direction! Although, one enjoyable pastime I've discovered is reading 1-2 star reviews of books because they're usually more entertaining than other types of reviews.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Any secrets to getting noticed there to help drive readership?
Maklershed
Member
Finished Blood on the Moon and starting Suicide Hill. I think at this point its fairly safe to say that Ellroy has surpassed Hunter S Thompson as my favorite author. This will be the 10th book of his that I've read.
Suicide Hill by James Ellroy
Suicide Hill by James Ellroy
I like writing reviews on Goodreads when I finish a book. I guess now I wonder if they ever get read.
I often do, when I see you in my feed.
That's good to hear, thanks! =)
Plasticine
Member
If you have a hard copy of your book available, you can run a giveaway. But beyond that, I don't think there's any real secret. You'll want to join a bunch of relevant groups and post frequently in the various topics. Keep yourself visible, but never promote your work unless its relevant to the subject at hand. Eventually people will check you out, or maybe they won't. It's not an exact science. It could ultimately lead to nothing, but you never know until you give it a shot.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Cool. Thanks.
I've always been iffy about review sites. Or more like, you gotta spend time to figure out what reviewers have similar tastes, which can be daunting. Hence why I tend to stick to asking for recommendations on forums 'cause I feel like it's a quicker and more direct way to ask questions and get relevant answers.
Alternatively, just stalk Mumei's account.
Whoops, I should really work on phrasing my posts in a way that's semi legible. I don't mean I'm looking for the ersatz goodreads necessarily, a favorite book critic site would be fun to check out(with the caveat that I'm looking for a broad selection of stuff, not new release only).
That's cool, I use your site a lot. My problem isn't so much with the aggregate score, I just find a lot of the top community reviews insufferable. And that's why I invariably gravitate towards the 1-2 star reviews, they're fun. They don't make me roll my eyes, or cringe, or otherwise feel like an idiot for hating a review someone spent a lot of time and energy writing. They're not out there doing it professionally after all.
edit:
I owe so much to gaf for great sci fi/fantasy recommendations and I've read a couple of book club candidates as well. That's why I'm asking here first and foremost.
That's cool, I use your site a lot. My problem isn't so much with the aggregate score, I just find a lot of the top community reviews insufferable. And that's why I invariably gravitate towards the 1-2 star reviews, they're fun. They don't make me roll my eyes, or cringe, or otherwise feel like an idiot for hating a review someone spent a lot of time and energy writing. They're not out there doing it professionally after all.
edit:
I owe so much to gaf for great sci fi/fantasy recommendations and I've read a couple of book club candidates as well. That's why I'm asking here first and foremost.
Every book I review on Goodreads gets 0 stars. Not because I exclusively read trash, but because the entire concept seems absurd to me. #partoftheproblem At least I never post any reviews anymore.
Care to explain why you think this? Just wondering because I do like writing a little blurb after I'm done. It's never much, but I just like to share my thoughts on what I read.
I write blurbs too--a lot of them are nonsense mind--I just think giving Belkin Tales (something I reviewed, I'm only using it for example) 3/5 stars takes a level of arrogance I don't possess. Who the fuck are you? (Rhetorical you, not you ShaneB.)
Here's another way of putting it, I don't consider it a coincidence that cultural refuse is the most frequently scored stuff on Goodreads.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Same here. I try to be honest and not give everything 5 stars either. As an author I want honest feedback from my critics so that I can continue to improve. Slapping 5 stars on everything that's read just makes the system worthless.
roosters93
Member
Just finished Something Missing, the first novel from the author of Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend. I don't think it's quite up there with the latter but I think Dicks's main strength is coming up with interesting premises. This one is a thief who only steals small items (and in small quantity) so they're not noticed and takes from the same people over and over again. He knows so much about his "clients" that he realises when they're in real trouble and helps em out. Becomes their guardian angel!
I think he got better at finding the voice for his main characters as he went on (not in the novel in terms of his career) but it's still a fun read.
My sentiments too. Gately is the best around
grounded_dreams
Member
Can I ask what is a good book to start with by James Ellroy? Always wanted to read some of his novels but didn't know what was his best / easiest to get into his style.
Awesome! the first of many to come I hope.
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