I'm about to finish Crime & Punishment (sogood.gif) and while I'm not busy reading it, I'm thinking about what book I'm going to read next. Can you guys recommend me a book? To give you some help: I'm thinking about something in the vein of Cloud Atlas, Foundation, Blood Meridian, Moby Dick and American Psycho. I know those books don't really fall into the same category, but they've given me a certain feeling while reading them. A feeling that I'm sure other books might give me as well.
Note that I have started reading - almost daily - about a year ago, so my knowledge of literature is not that great (yet).
Awesome! I'll be starting that tomorrow, I'm finishing up Hitchhiker's Guide #3 now, then I'll take a break from the series to fit in other books and return to #4 and #5 later.
Also, I asked Rachel Bach on Twitter about that alternate cover for Fortune's Pawn, and she responded with this:
A shame I guess, I like that mock-up version better. Oh well!
Awesome! I'll be starting that tomorrow, I'm finishing up Hitchhiker's Guide #3 now, then I'll take a break from the series to fit in other books and return to #4 and #5 later.
Also, I asked Rachel Bach on Twitter about that alternate cover for Fortune's Pawn, and she responded with this:
A shame I guess, I like that mock-up version better. Oh well!
Think it's gonna be an great read, you'll have to tell us what you think of it. Hey that's pretty cool that you found an image that wasn't released. So who's your source, c'mon tell us!
I'm about to finish Crime & Punishment (sogood.gif) and while I'm not busy reading it, I'm thinking about what book I'm going to read next. Can you guys recommend me a book? To give you some help: I'm thinking about something in the vein of Cloud Atlas, Foundation, Blood Meridian, Moby Dick and American Psycho. I know those books don't really fall into the same category, but they've given me a certain feeling while reading them. A feeling that I'm sure other books might give me as well.
Gravity's rainbow ties into themes explored in Moby dick and blood meridian. Its also a more difficult book than both, I should note. It might not be the best first Pynchon novel to read. His newest novel bleeding edge is much more accessible and more easily relevant to today's society.
Think it's gonna be an great read, you'll have to tell us what you think of it. Hey that's pretty cool that you found an image that wasn't released. So who's your source, c'mon tell us!
I already started it today! 20% done according to my Kindle, so far I am enjoying it.
Ha, no source, I just managed to find it when searching for high-quality covers in Calibre, and it found that alternate cover on it's own is very high resolution. So someone else must have leaked it somehow.
I already started it today! 20% done according to my Kindle, so far I am enjoying it.
Ha, no source, I just managed to find it when searching for high-quality covers in Calibre, and it found that alternate cover on it's own is very high resolution. So someone else must have leaked it somehow.
What is this Calibre and why do I not know about it? Actually you don't have to answer the latter part of that, I already know the answer to it. #bigunhappyface.
20% already? Well I salute you, I was gonna start tomorrow so you got the jump on me.
Finished American gods yesterday. It was a bit hard to get into in the beginning. I kinda forced my way through it yesterday in anticipation of the way of kings which I'm getting today. 260 pages, don't think I've ever done that since I'm not really a seasoned reader but the last 200 pages were like crack.
So much happened and some things felt rushed (Laura?) and the whole Hinselmann thing (What was up with that?). Anyway! I liked it and I'm looking forward to the Tv show.
It's not my favorite Gaiman book but they can't all be (He's showing up for a signing near me soon, to go or not to go).
Yeah. I mean, it was good writing and very engaging etc but it kinda came from out of nowhere. That's just what I meant. I'm no literary genius by any means but wouldn't it
have fit better earlier in the story? not at the absolute end? It was in like the last 30 pages I think.
Ugh at all the Robin Hobb going on in here. I nearly dropped Fantasy as a genre after reading her books. I was so mentally fatigued by the end and hated all her characters, Fitz and the Fool the most (obviously). I'm not sure what exactly happened or when because I must have enjoyed them enough at the time to read them all. The more I look back though, the more I dislike them.
Her Forest Mage trilogy was pretty cool though, I should have just left it at that (read that one before the Assassin's 6)
Anyhoo, currently reading this:
I love this world. Mieville's style of writing is something I can bothering a lot of people, but man he's fucking creative and original when it comes to worldbuilding. I'm also digging that each book in the series has different main characters, but the over-arching story itself is connected loosely. The background continuity is awesome.
Oh, and the Cactacae are the most bad-ass fantasy(esque) race ever.
Next up is this bad boy, been on quite a WW1 kick lately between Dan Carlin and one of my classes. This book has been highly recommended to me by a few people I know who are super into their history of warfare.
Finished Corrosion by Jon Bassoff a few days ago. I really needed something like this after slogging through Adam Cesare's Video Night, Just an absolutely brilliant book. It's a psychonoir that's bleak and beautiful. The main character is a horribly disfigured war vet who falls in love with a married woman and agrees to kill her husband. Typical noir stuff, but it's pulled through a very dark and gothic mirror that makes it something unique. Just an outstanding crime novel, and I'll definitely read Bassoff's next book when it's released in October.
I just received this beautiful hardcover edition from Fiddleblack. I've been meaning to reread it for a while, so I figure this would be a good excuse.
Ugh at all the Robin Hobb going on in here. I nearly dropped Fantasy as a genre after reading her books. I was so mentally fatigued by the end and hated all her characters, Fitz and the Fool the most (obviously). I'm not sure what exactly happened or when because I must have enjoyed them enough at the time to read them all. The more I look back though, the more I dislike them.
Her Forest Mage trilogy was pretty cool though, I should have just left it at that (read that one before the Assassin's 6)
Anyhoo, currently reading this:
I love this world. Mieville's style of writing is something I can bothering a lot of people, but man he's fucking creative and original when it comes to worldbuilding. I'm also digging that each book in the series has different main characters, but the over-arching story itself is connected loosely. The background continuity is awesome.
Oh, and the Cactacae are the most bad-ass fantasy(esque) race ever.
Next up is this bad boy, been on quite a WW1 kick lately between Dan Carlin and one of my classes. This book has been highly recommended to me by a few people I know who are super into their history of warfare.
See, I don't understand why people bother with Mieville. I liked the world itself but hate basically everything else. I don't even know how I managed to get through 3 of his books, I think I kept telling myself that there has to be something to them for people to like them. After every book I felt like I wasted time I could've spent reading something good. Different tastes I guess
Just finished Cold Days, did not see that ending coming, still a little shocked. Cant wait for the next book now and glad its only a few months away, really interested to see how Dresden's story ends, but fortunately there still seems to be alot of things to cover till then.
Took me 2 months to decide what I wanted to read first this year and I have finished the series in just over 2 weeks.
Think I need a switch of genre, not read any science fiction in a bit.
This is the best book of the series so far. Cornwell does a fantastic job of getting Uhtred out from under an Alfred-only perspective in this book. Seeing the Danes again, going a-Viking again, these were all missing from recent entries in the series. It's also a good idea to torture your characters, and Uhtred suffers quite a bit of distress in this book. The conflicts here are not just those of the Danes vs. the Saxons, but internal to Uhtred's beliefs in his family and his faith.
The battle scenes here are both epic in their historical import as well as chilling in their visceral description. Cornwell puts himself squarely in the realm of the better authors writing fierce battle scenes. Inspiring and intense.
Just finished up The Everything Store, about the founding of Amazon and Jeff Bezos. Was an interesting read overall.
Not sure what to read next. I have a few short stories left in Store of the Worlds, but after that I'm open to a new book to read, just not sure which.
Just finished up The Everything Store, about the founding of Amazon and Jeff Bezos. Was an interesting read overall.
Not sure what to read next. I have a few short stories left in Store of the Worlds, but after that I'm open to a new book to read, just not sure which.
I really wanted to branch out into new genres this year, so I thought I'd give romance a whirl (I might also check out horror if I can muster up the courage - any recommendations?) and I wasn't about to pick up something with Fabio on the cover, so I thought I'd choose Outlander because Starz is turning it into a series later this year with Battlestar Galactica head Ronald D. Moore at the helm.
It was an interesting experience. Again, I'd never read a romance novel before, so I can't say for certainty that "This was definitely a romance novel!", but it fits in very closely with what I had always imagined a romance novel would be like. I'd say it's about 75% romance, 10% political intrigue, 10% action, and 5% miscellaneous. There are some elements of sci-fi/fantasy (two, to be exact!), but they exist only on the fringes and don't really contribute much to the whole.
The story follows Claire (the book's sole point of view character), a war time nurse from 1940s England, who is transported back in time to the 1740s Scottish Highlands. Once there, she is immediately captured by a group of highlanders and is taken to their castle for questioning as a suspected English spy. As their hostage, she must learn to navigate this strange Scottish society, all the while secretly making plans to escape and return to her own time...until she falls in love with a man named Jamie. Torn between the love for her husband Frank in the 1940s and Jamie in the 1740s, Claire must make the hardest decision of her life...
It's a pretty standard fish out of water adventure/romance story, but with lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of sex. Like, a lot of sex. Now, I'm probably one of the more sex crazed people I know of - the type of person to select a film on Netflix, fast forwarding through the entire thing and only stopping to watch the sex/nude scenes.
I don't do this for films that I actually have an interest in, mind.
So when someone like me thinks there's too much sex, you know there's a problem. And there is too much sex. Far too much sex. Like, a significant chunk of the book is nothing but descriptions of sex scenes. And they're all the same "oh my god this is the best sex I've ever had oh my world is being rocked and shattered and my mind is being blown (among other things) and I love this man so much I love how he makes me feel and I love how he feels inside me and I love sex so much this sex is so good!!!!" over and over and over again. It is, quite frankly, a slog to read through.
One of the other main problems that I had is that, of the two main characters, Jamie, the main male character, is total wish fulfillment for straight female/gay male readers. He's the embodiment of all the best qualities a man could possible have: tall, broad shoulders, luxurious hair, big dick, sensitive, strong, loyal, funny, caring, brave, understanding; he can withstand incredible amounts of pain, catch fish with his bare hands, fend off hordes of bad guys with his claymore, teach children to ride horses, speak more than five different languages, is highly educated, and has a fabulous family manor, to name but a few of his (all positive) qualities. Unlike most of the cast, he doesn't actually feel like a real person. He's too perfect, too flawless. He's basically a God of Manly Awesomeness, and though he's likable enough, he's not a compelling character in the least. He's a total Mary Sue.
And that's a big problem when there's only one other main character. Who is fine, by the way. Claire isn't super interesting, but she is a pretty good female lead - headstrong, competent, capable, smart, kind, clever, etc. She's more than I'd expect from the heroine of a romance novel at any rate.
It does what it sets out to do well enough, and I suppose I can't exactly fault the book for having so much sex if that's what the point of a romance novel is, but I still think it could have been better. A romance novel has to have sex, sure, but the sex doesn't have to be repetitive and unrealistic, and it's okay to give all of your main characters flaws and make them human. That's how you craft a compelling story, romance or not.
Fuck Starling, seriously. What a bitch, the way she treats Hap is ridiculous. Telling him she found him on a dumpster and that he has about as much heart as his raping father. Fuck her. And then acting like a spoiled kid when Fitz breaks it off with her after finding out she's been married.
Ugh at all the Robin Hobb going on in here. I nearly dropped Fantasy as a genre after reading her books. I was so mentally fatigued by the end and hated all her characters, Fitz and the Fool the most (obviously). I'm not sure what exactly happened or when because I must have enjoyed them enough at the time to read them all. The more I look back though, the more I dislike them.
Her Forest Mage trilogy was pretty cool though, I should have just left it at that (read that one before the Assassin's 6)
I read the Farseer books and for me it was hard reading with Fitz sort of forever crippled and closeted in nearly everything he dealt with. Can't tell his girlfriend or anybody what he does. Gets beat up by his trainers. Can't talk about the wit. Can't see his kid. Can't be a king cause he's a bastard child. On and on. Like you were skipping from one torture to the next. Escape death to get tortured bro. Gets nauseating after a while.
Reading The Odyssey translated by Fagles right now.
Trying to get over my disdain of books that are set in the Wild West with this one. It's not really doing anything for me, but I'll get to the meat of the story before I put it down.
I was curious about this since my wife and I are currently on a Battlestar binge and looking forward to what Ronald D. Moore does next.
The basic premise has some promise, and thankfully Moore has a record of taking fairly simplistic premises and taking liberties with the storyline that give the concept a lot of added complexity.
Finished Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer yesterday, and like I stated in my Goodreads review, it plays off a lot of different aspects, and they all work well. Easy recommendation for any Football/Sports fan. Pretty hilarious as well.
Still deciding what I’m in the mood for next..
Which brings up my next question, is anyone an expert at converting a PDF to an Epub? I pretty much just buy from Amazon, but I finally used a kobo gift card I got for Christmas, and along with RJYH, I bought another book, Midnight Sin, but it was delivered to me as a PDF file, which does not really come across as convenient on my Kobo touch. I know Calibre converts, but the format ends up as pretty much jank. So I’m just wondering if anyone can help me out and convert it like a pro? AngmarsKing, perhaps you have secret author software to do so!
I was reading 50 Shades of Gray for a while, live-tweeting it. I gave up. That book is no good; it was actively making me an angrier person.
Right now I'm jumping between The Book Thief and The History of Love. I have Gone Girl and I am intending to blast through it this weekend when I can settle down to read it.
Finished reading the Penguin edition of The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx yesterday which has the awesome introduction by Gareth Stedman Jones which gives a really detailed history on how the ideas of it all came about. It was incredibly fascinating.
Going start reading The Miner by Natsume Soseki on my commute to uni today. Which I managed to acquire a cheap copy of at my favourite bookshop. Should be interesting.
The basic premise has some promise, and thankfully Moore has a record of taking fairly simplistic premises and taking liberties with the storyline that give the concept a lot of added complexity.
Right. My hope is that Moore will be able to inject some depth into the male lead and maybe focus a little bit more on the political intrigue and less on the copious amounts of sex.
On the other hand, according to Moore it's going to be a very faithful adaptation and,
There's a lot of sex in the book, so we put it in the show where it is in the book.
I've just picked up William Gibson's "Neuromancer".
A friend of mine let me borrow it a while back, but I was too busy (read: reading Wheel Of Time & SOIAF) to read it then. I've got a camping trip planned this weekend, so I intend to give it a proper go in the quieter moments. I'm at 10% at the moment and I have to say that its a pretty good read so far; like a noir with a cyberpunk background (and yes, I know that this book was the kickstarter of the genre!)
Trying to get over my disdain of books that are set in the Wild West with this one. It's not really doing anything for me, but I'll get to the meat of the story before I put it down.
If you are more interested in a less violent novel, you might be interested in Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. It's based on letters sent back to the protagonist's family, and offers more of a day-to-day view into the frontier.
Trying to get over my disdain of books that are set in the Wild West with this one. It's not really doing anything for me, but I'll get to the meat of the story before I put it down.
My favourite book of all time. I just recently bought and mailed a copy to a friend of mine that lives on the other side of the country.
I hope you enjoy it!
If you are more interested in a less violent novel, you might be interested in Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. It's based on letters sent back to the protagonist's family, and offers more of a day-to-day view into the frontier.
Trying to get over my disdain of books that are set in the Wild West with this one. It's not really doing anything for me, but I'll get to the meat of the story before I put it down.
Reading/listening on audible to that one myself (audible when I'm working)
unrelentingly brutal, but I'm struggling to really latch onto it although I'm a fair way through it.
I get the intention in terms of demythologizing the stereotypical western portrayal (book was written way before the likes of Unforgiven and Deadwood), but the lack of any characters with any degree of redeeming qualities Vs incessant waves of brutality and stupidity makes it hard to take seriously coupled with the seemingly supernatural nature of The judge looming over everything.
I agree completely! I'm more less speaking to people that might be interested in western American literature but are turned off by the violence and mythologizing done in most novels.
The Abominable by Dan Simmons. Fantastic atmospheric experience, really loved the characters. Historical elements were really well done. Had some issues with the ending but won't get into too much.
Antonia and Her Daughters: Secrets, Love, Friendship and Family in Tuscany by Marlena De Blasi. Not a "travel" book, exactly, but a good memoir.
The Terror by Dan Simmons. Really quite good.
A Guest in the Jungle by James Polster. Kindle deal. Funny and quirky.
Turn Right At Macchu Picchu by Mark Adams. Humorous vicarious travel experience. I like to read these types of books in between fiction.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman. This and American Gods were Kindle deals recently, so I grabbed them both. Never read him before, but I could see myself becoming a fan.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Currently reading, nearly done. The writing is great and the character moments are perfect.
Not as big a fan of the supernatural stuff, which is surprising because I usually am, but I am enjoying it.
I'm about to finish Crime & Punishment (sogood.gif) and while I'm not busy reading it, I'm thinking about what book I'm going to read next. Can you guys recommend me a book? To give you some help: I'm thinking about something in the vein of Cloud Atlas, Foundation, Blood Meridian, Moby Dick and American Psycho. I know those books don't really fall into the same category, but they've given me a certain feeling while reading them. A feeling that I'm sure other books might give me as well.
Moby Dick is one of my favorites, for what that's worth. Have you read anything else of his? I started with Moby Dick and then went back to read all of his books in the order they were published. Just finished Mardi a few months ago. Really enjoyed that, but it is a strange experience.
I really need to get around to Crime & Punishment one of these days.
Finished this a week ago. It was pretty good and a quick read. Read like a movie. THere were annoying 80s references scattered throughout though that served little purpose.
Just finished this book:
Enjoyable overall, but started to get repetitive & didn't have much character development.
Starting to read this that I got from one of the Kindle daily deals:
