Tragicomedy
Member
Wasn't that the entire point of the book?
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What are you reading? (March 2014)
- Thread starter Maklershed
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Wasn't that the entire point of the book?
TheCrazyGuru
Banned
To just scatter unnecessary 80s references throughout the book for no reason? Am I supposed to like it more because some videogame from the 80s is mentioned and feel the nostalgia?
Many of the 80s references was established well for the quests, etc. within the OASIS so it was mostly well done overall.
Yes.
That was what a lot of people got from the book, myself included, because the prose and storytelling itself isn't exactly fantabulous.
Tragicomedy
Member
EverythingShiny
Member
Finished:
The more I read the series, the less I like it, which is really disappointing.
The series is clearly written by a dude in his late 50's. It's amazing how women fall all over this guy who is not that handsome, kinda fat, a little charming and not all that smart. Total wish fulfillment. It's starting to get a little annoying. I much prefer the Walt Longmire of the TV show to the narrator in the books. I bought a 4-pack of the first four books in the series, so I'll eventually read the 4th one, but I'll probably stick to enjoying the TV show.
This, on the other hand, was great. Cordelia is a fantastic character and so is Aral Vorkosigan. The beginning of the plot was slightly cliched, but it made sense in the end. I'm glad it wasn't the typical "love at first sight" story. Definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
Now reading:
The more I read the series, the less I like it, which is really disappointing.
The series is clearly written by a dude in his late 50's. It's amazing how women fall all over this guy who is not that handsome, kinda fat, a little charming and not all that smart. Total wish fulfillment. It's starting to get a little annoying. I much prefer the Walt Longmire of the TV show to the narrator in the books. I bought a 4-pack of the first four books in the series, so I'll eventually read the 4th one, but I'll probably stick to enjoying the TV show.
This, on the other hand, was great. Cordelia is a fantastic character and so is Aral Vorkosigan. The beginning of the plot was slightly cliched, but it made sense in the end. I'm glad it wasn't the typical "love at first sight" story. Definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
Now reading:
I thought Cyber Storm was great!
I guess the ending felt a little too neat and tidy, but I'd argue there was plenty of character development, I cared a lot about these people. Some very very tense moments
I settled on this for my next read...
Now Reading - Hard City
Five Books by Italo Calvino, $1.99 Each
Ive already read Invisible Cities, but Italian Folktales sounds really interesting. I might pick that up.
Ive already read Invisible Cities, but Italian Folktales sounds really interesting. I might pick that up.
As a long-time Murakami fan I couldn't even finish it.. and I disliked most of it.
Don't recommend it.
Kevitivity
Member
I'm almost finished with Neal Stephenson's Reamde and I'm enjoying it. BTW, the audio book version is on sale on Audible !!! Under $5.
http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Reamde-Audiobook/B005PMU12U/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1395354052&sr=1-1
http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Reamde-Audiobook/B005PMU12U/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1395354052&sr=1-1
LanceVance
Member
I finished The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Fantastic Sci Fi) the other night and I'm currently reading Enders Game. Going to read Gates of Fire once I've finished that.
mariachi507
Member
Reading Columbine by Dave Cullen, afterwards I will Dance with Dragons.
Tragicomedy
Member
Tragicomedy - 16/50 Books | 19/50 Movies
I finished Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. ★★★★★ - It didn't meet my lofty expectations; it crushed them. Even better than the first book, with much better pacing, tons of action, and answers for basically every question from The Way of Kings. There were three moments where I vocalized a "Hell yeah!" and I never do that in books.
I finished Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. ★★★★★ - It didn't meet my lofty expectations; it crushed them. Even better than the first book, with much better pacing, tons of action, and answers for basically every question from The Way of Kings. There were three moments where I vocalized a "Hell yeah!" and I never do that in books.
Didn't know there were movies before searching for that image. Only ten percent in, I'm liking it thus far. I went through the first 50 pages or so of about three books before this one? Hasn't happened in a long while, anyway point being is it took all of five minutes to figure out that I'm sticking with this one all the way through. Quality of the writing is so good, just hits you right off the bat.
Very close to dropping Hard City and just moving on. Guess my expectations were too high, but its just not clicking at all. Another example of not being sure why this just isnt first person. Its clearly Richies story, and the author claims it is at times autobiographical, so why not just have it be first person and draw the reader in from a more retrospective point of view in a coming of age story like this. *shrug* Will see how I feel at the end of today, so who knows.
The Kindle daily City of Thieves sounds great, so Ill pick that up, and I bought Shotgun Lovesongs on a whim.
The Kindle daily City of Thieves sounds great, so Ill pick that up, and I bought Shotgun Lovesongs on a whim.
Jag
Member
Picked up City of Thieves, but I don't want Words of Radiance to ever end....
Tragicomedy
Member
I just finished reading Furies Of Calderon, It started a little slow but by the end I was hooked.
Really interested to see how the story unfolds, probably be fished by this time next week, but that doesn't matter so much, I could read another 100 future Dresden books and still not be satisfied.
Really interested to see how the story unfolds, probably be fished by this time next week, but that doesn't matter so much, I could read another 100 future Dresden books and still not be satisfied.
Tragicomedy
Member
It's a freaking tome, and I'll admit it took me almost a month to finish. I wasn't doing a 50/50 challenge back then and took my sweet time with every book. But it's really, really good and was never even slightly boring.
this year i wanted to try and read more longer books than last year, as i felt i was limiting myself by not trying more expansive stuff and find sprawling stuff where you either spend a lot of time with characters or really thoroughly tackle a theme satisfying, but i'm so bad at pacing myself through them. i've been reading the 650 page skippy dies for five-six weeks. still only 400 pages in. yet in that time i've read 6-7 other books of 180-300 pages long. it's weird because whenever i read skippy i enjoy it and it's not exactly a hard read. bah.
i'm never going to manage to read infinite jest am i
Finished up Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.
It was quite good, and gives an excellent understanding of the man and his times. I also found it informative because it completely dispelled the myth that I still somewhat held (apparently) that our founding fathers were better men, different from the politicians from today. Well, Washington seems like a good dude. the book slaughters Jefferson though. By the end of the book, I ended up thinking, Just like Washington, that Jefferson was a deplorable, conivying person who would do anything to achieve his goals and ambition (some of his goals were obviously lofty/good ones). We will see how I view him once I read his biography.
Next up, John Adams by David Mcllough
The opinion I got from Washington is that he is a petty, jealous, and envious little man. I am curious to see if that changes as well.
It was quite good, and gives an excellent understanding of the man and his times. I also found it informative because it completely dispelled the myth that I still somewhat held (apparently) that our founding fathers were better men, different from the politicians from today. Well, Washington seems like a good dude. the book slaughters Jefferson though. By the end of the book, I ended up thinking, Just like Washington, that Jefferson was a deplorable, conivying person who would do anything to achieve his goals and ambition (some of his goals were obviously lofty/good ones). We will see how I view him once I read his biography.
Next up, John Adams by David Mcllough
The opinion I got from Washington is that he is a petty, jealous, and envious little man. I am curious to see if that changes as well.
Tragicomedy
Member
You and me both. :/
FUBAR McDangles
Member
This is my first Brad Thor book and I am very pleased with it so far. Got it for 25 cents at a book sale at my college so it's got some of the best bang (pun not intended) for my buck in a while.
Anybody else read these?
sukie_in_the_graveyard
Neo Member
The Bell Jar will depress the ever living shit out of you. But definitely a good read!
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
I'm 40% done. I can't really get over how fucking great this book is. I wasn't that into Shallans chapters in the first book (book was still ace, but that was break time usually) but there is nothing in this book I haven't wanted to read. moves at a crazy pace.
Plasticine
Member
Finished Clive Barker's Cabal & Other Notations. Like the rest of Barker's early works, I read this back in high school and like rereading the Books of Blood, this proved as wonderful as I remembered it. The book moves quickly, rarely pausing to explain much of what's happening, much to its benefit. It's a Clive Barker novel, so the prose is wonderfully rendered and extremely rich. There are sections that are so beautifully realized, they must be read and reread several times before moving on. It really is a great book. It's a shame Barker never did a sequel at the time. The ending really does leave a huge door opened. Maybe someday Clive will walk through it.
This particular hardcover edition by Fiddleblack includes around a hundred pages of scholarly essays that tackle Cabal on various levels. They're all interesting, and provide some nice insights into the text. It also includes a healthy endnote section that interprets various lines of the text. It's a quite handsome limited edition, capped off with some marvelous Clive Barker sketches from the original British edition of Cabal. If you're a fan of the book, or of Clive's in general, it's well worth the $40 asking price.
Up next:
Never read anything by Dennis Cooper, but saw some recommendations for his novel Frisk in a Goodreads group. Since that's part of a five cycle book series, I thought I'd try out the first in the series. It's a really short book, so if I enjoy it I'll probably burn through the whole series pretty quickly.
This particular hardcover edition by Fiddleblack includes around a hundred pages of scholarly essays that tackle Cabal on various levels. They're all interesting, and provide some nice insights into the text. It also includes a healthy endnote section that interprets various lines of the text. It's a quite handsome limited edition, capped off with some marvelous Clive Barker sketches from the original British edition of Cabal. If you're a fan of the book, or of Clive's in general, it's well worth the $40 asking price.
Up next:
Never read anything by Dennis Cooper, but saw some recommendations for his novel Frisk in a Goodreads group. Since that's part of a five cycle book series, I thought I'd try out the first in the series. It's a really short book, so if I enjoy it I'll probably burn through the whole series pretty quickly.
Easystride
Member
Is The Godfather worth the read if I've seen the movie multiple times? Just finished Words of Radiance and need a break from fantasy.
BriareosGAF
Member
It's an incredibly short read and I think contrasting presentations like that are interesting, so yes, I would read it. If I remember correctly it also fleshes out the scenes with the movie producer/Fontane quite a bit. Ending is tonally different, too.
That might be an interesting sub-group to discuss, too; films with interesting relationships with their original source adaptations. Akira by Otomo Katsuhiro also springs to mind.
Maklershed
Member
Such as - there was no mention of Soylent Green in the book the movie was based on. And Blade Runner is one of the few movies that's way better than the book.
Currently half way through "The Goldfinch" and I must say, this is shaping up to be my favorite novel of all time. Maybe it's because the things the main character goes through are very similar to things I've gone through. I just am so surprised to see written things by someone other than myself that are so similar to my experience. And, it's masterfully written.
elrechazado
Banned
Yes it's very good. Complimented the movie incredibly well for me.
BlueDogAnchorite
Member
Currently reading All You Need Is Kill. It's a really good read so far. I'm finding it hard to put it down. After I finish that book, I'm going to start reading The Sandman Omnibus volume 1, and volume 2. Than I'm going to start reading the New X-Men Omnibus. I've been using goodreads, and I've been doing the reading challange.
<3
I love Sandman. I've been (slowly) rereading it, a few issues every once in awhile. Have you read it before, or is this your first time?
I finished Fool's Errand yesterday. I'm starting the next Farseer book tonight. I just love everything about these books. Such amazing characters. Makes me actually wonder if I'll even bother going back to the Wheel of Time series. Don't know if I can take it anymore after this.
Wiktor
Member
Finished:
The more I read the series, the less I like it, which is really disappointing.
]
Yeah. If he was like in TV show it would make sense, as the guy oozes charisma and manliness. As he's described in books..not so much.
Now Reading..
Off to a fantastic start so far.
loved that book!
Goddamn I hope there's some fucking light in this bleak ass world.
R'hllor will show you the light you seek.
I'm about 30% into A Game of Thrones now, and while I am definitely enjoying the new medium of experiencing the ASOIAF world vs. watching the show, I've watched Season 1 a couple times, and so many scenes from the show are almost mirror images in the book right down to the dialogue, it's difficult sometimes to not instantly have the scene from the show flash into my mind as I read that part in the book. I can't remember the last time I read a book after watching the movie or TV show, it's weird at first.
My plan is to at least complete up to the mid-half of A Storm of Swords so that I would be caught up the show by April 6th, but not sure if I would be able to read that much. That is around 750,000 words from now and if I cut ASoS in half, so 50,000 words a day, haha. It's not the biggest deal if I don't by the first episode, as I'm sure I would be able to by the 2nd episode.
I'm very much looking forward to catching up to everyone else though eventually, and finally be able to enter the ASOIAF book spoiler threads!
My plan is to at least complete up to the mid-half of A Storm of Swords so that I would be caught up the show by April 6th, but not sure if I would be able to read that much. That is around 750,000 words from now and if I cut ASoS in half, so 50,000 words a day, haha. It's not the biggest deal if I don't by the first episode, as I'm sure I would be able to by the 2nd episode.
I'm very much looking forward to catching up to everyone else though eventually, and finally be able to enter the ASOIAF book spoiler threads!
Yeah, fantastic so far. Know I'll like this, was hard to stop reading already, so I know it's got me hooked. Will be a fast read.
I just finished this and the ending was so heartbreaking to me.
Anyway, ending theories and spoilers ahead:I don't think Sabetha left because of what she saw of Locke in the painting. I think she left due to seeing something of herself in it that would crush Locke and make him blame himself for it all. The book straight up says that the man in the painting looks nothing like Locke, but there is a red haired woman as well and Sabetha has always been extremely touchy when it came to her hair color. That being said, I think it's pretty easy to see a parallel between the ending of the play they perform where Amadine kills herself for Aurin and Sabetha fleeing in the night to save Locke the grief her being there would cause.
The entire book is just so sad though. Two people who want to be together no matter what, but just can not for any length of time. I look forward to seeing Sabetha make an appearance in a later book...it's practically guaranteed considering how much of Locke and her past hasn't been cleared up. I also think that Locke and Jean may find out something more about her in the next book considering they're going to Emberlain next where she just came from.
The entire book is just so sad though. Two people who want to be together no matter what, but just can not for any length of time. I look forward to seeing Sabetha make an appearance in a later book...it's practically guaranteed considering how much of Locke and her past hasn't been cleared up. I also think that Locke and Jean may find out something more about her in the next book considering they're going to Emberlain next where she just came from.
whatevermort
Member
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!
She should count herself lucky. My second novel was published in the US with the mock up cover actually printed...
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