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[Harabec]

Doing a complete re-read of Malazan Book of the Fallen, and onto the second book.

It is a fantasy series, yet has a much deeper setting then you get in most fantasy series and it doesn't have the whole "good wizard defeats evil orcs" tropes common to the genre. The book is not the easiest to read, dropping you in headfirst. Many people have said the first book is the hardest to read too so many reads are discouraged from continuing, yet I feel it is worth the effort.

 

[ToxiMoxi]

Currently reading this! Amazing series, was hooked from book one! :]

 

[sparky2112]

I
I might as well post what I'm reading at this moment:

Took me 45 years to read, and that's about 45 too long. DO IT. NOW.

 

[Lumiere]

Currently reading:

It's the last of Le Guin's Hainish cycle that I had left to read - makes me a bit sad to not have any more Hainish tales to look forward to. Got this one signed at her reading in Seattle a few weeks ago. :]

First time I read anything by Octavia E. Butler. About 40% in, it's very good so far!

 

[SaltyDoughnut]

 

[Mumei]

So many books, so few free hours in the day.

I knowww. I need to become independently wealthy so I can stop wasting 8 hours a day working.

Oh well.

Glad to hear it. I read the first one last year and was actually planning on starting this one tomorrow!

!

Let's be friends. You're the first person I've met who has already read it without my nagging them about it. And I don't think that hussy Cyan has even purchased it yet even though I probably told him to.

Currently reading:

It's the last of Le Guin's Hainish cycle that I had left to read - makes me a bit sad to not have any more Hainish tales to look forward to. Got this one signed at her reading in Seattle a few weeks ago. :]

I read that this year! I don't think it's as good as her peaks (Dispossessed, Left Hand of Darkness) but I did really enjoy it. Honestly the only Le Guin that didn't do much for me was Orsinian Tales.

 

[Nymerio]

Finished The Thirteenth Tale yesterday and I loved every page of it. I think I'll be looking for more mysteries in the future, but I've already bought Deadhouse Gates so this will be next one I'm reading.

Doing a complete re-read of Malazan Book of the Fallen, and onto the second book.

It is a fantasy series, yet has a much deeper setting then you get in most fantasy series and it doesn't have the whole "good wizard defeats evil orcs" tropes common to the genre. The book is not the easiest to read, dropping you in headfirst. Many people have said the first book is the hardest to read too so many reads are discouraged from continuing, yet I feel it is worth the effort.

I'm about to start this as well. I just hope this is better than the first book.

 

[MoGamesXNA]

I might as well post what I'm reading at this moment:

How are you finding Catch 22? I've been meaning to read that after I had it recommended to me eons ago.

Edit: Just saw your thoughts higher up on this page...ignore this!

 

[Lumiere]

I read that this year! I don't think it's as good as her peaks (Dispossessed, Left Hand of Darkness) but I did really enjoy it. Honestly the only Le Guin that didn't do much for me was Orsinian Tales.

I just finished it tonight! And I agree with you, not as good as Dispossessed or Left Hand of Darkness, but still very good.
I think I can say I enjoyed every Le Guin I've read so far... haven't tried Orsinian Tales yet, though (I actually almost picked it up some time ago, but ended up grabbing The Compass Rose instead)

 

[DieUnbekannte]

I finished Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn yesterday evening. Since I normally read fantasy and scifi themed books I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but I really enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style and those twists in the story... I definitely need to pick up an other book of this author. Before I forget it: I also finally finished the audiobook of Ready Player One. At first I tried the German version, but I didn't like the narrator - I always had the feeling that I'm listening to something from The Three Investigators, so I switched to the english one. I did like the story, but I was a little bit annoyed that the main character sometimes (especially in the first half) didn't behave like an 18 year old. I had to check his age once because I thought he was about 14. Thankfully that didn't happen too often. The idea of the book is great and I really enjoyed listening to an audiobook for once.
Tomorrow I'm going to start with World War Z - after those nice zombies in Warm Bodies I really need a change.

 

[duckroll]

Yay, IT FINALLY ARRIVED! After 2 weeks of waiting! Yessssssss!

 

[Deleted member 1235]

damnit, stephen king has a new novel and

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/2/3058147/stephen-king-eschewing-ebooks-joyland

ISNT putting it on kindle on purpose.

WHAT THE FUCK STEPHEN

 

[Burger]

damnit, stephen king has a new novel and

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/2/3058147/stephen-king-eschewing-ebooks-joyland

ISNT putting it on kindle on purpose.

WHAT THE FUCK STEPHEN

It will be on ebooks, don't you worry about that. Nothing spurns people to come up with creative solutions to problems more than saying "You can't."

 

[Deleted member 1235]

It will be on ebooks, don't you worry about that. Nothing spurns people to come up with creative solutions to problems more than saying "You can't."

severely impacts my 'no physical books ever again' policy as far as staying legal is concerned...

 

[Tim the Wiz]

I need some help GAF. I'm looking for a book to read on a certain subject. A fictional story which is set in a post-apocalyptic setting, after a nuclear war. Does anyone have any tips (other than The Road)?

On the Beach by Nevil Shute

It goes without saying, but don't expect a happy ending. (Although I don't know if it exactly qualifies as post-apocalyptic - since civilization is still around, in a very hollow sort of way - so much as firmly apocalyptic.)

 

[alphaflightlives]

Lud in the Mist by Hope Mirrlees on kindle is $0.99 on amazon today...has anyone read this? Is it just a straight up fantasy tale or is it a satire of sorts?

 

[Blitzzz]

Ok, I gave up on Snow Crash. Disappointing since it had such a fantastic start. I got 30% in and was just exhausted from the constant barrage of metaphors and analogies to describe the world. The lack of plot progression and Hiro's own lack of motivation to really investigate what Snow Crash is doesn't help matters.

I applaud Stephenson's vision for coming up with most of the technology described in 1992 but it doesn't hold up so well nowadays since a lot of the Metaverse stuff no longer feels very special.

On to the next one...

 

[Tragicomedy]

Ok, I gave up on Snow Crash. Disappointing since it had such a fantastic start. I got 30% in and was just exhausted from the constant barrage of metaphors and analogies to describe the world. The lack of plot progression and Hiro's own lack of motivation to really investigate what Snow Crash is doesn't help matters.

I applaud Stephenson's vision for coming up with most of the technology described in 1992 but it doesn't hold up so well nowadays since a lot of the Metaverse stuff no longer feels very special.

On to the next one...

It's my favorite book, so I don't agree with you at all, but I can understand where you're coming from on this. I think it helped me that I read it many years ago, when the concept of persistent, online representations of ourselves was nonexistent. The book was so incredibly refreshing and different than anything I'd ever read up to that point (and, in many ways, since) that it permanently seared itself into my brain.

It's not just high concept, it's out of the stratosphere. To think it was written in 1992 really blows my mind. I've gone back and read it a few times since then, and it's ageless to me. It's still in the future, and it's a future that is inspiring and terrifying at the same time.

 

[The_Hitcher89]

I think I was hasty in my analysis of Bioshock. It gets really quite good after page 90 or so. The story is now more interesting, the prose is better, the dialogue less stilted, and the world of Rapture is as engrossing as ever.

 

[Nymerio]

damnit, stephen king has a new novel and

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/2/3058147/stephen-king-eschewing-ebooks-joyland

ISNT putting it on kindle on purpose.

WHAT THE FUCK STEPHEN

I'm one of the people who really had problems with getting myself to buy a kindle and go digital and I still love 'real' books. But this is just stupid. Fuck you too Stephen King Stephen King, you can keep your book.

Anyway, I'm about to start Deadhouse Gates. I still have some questions about the first book though if anyone can be bothered to answer:

Spoiler

Kalam and the other guy decided to bring Sorry home, only her home doesn't exist any more, does it? And I think Captain Paran knows this, because he's seen the massacre the hounds were responsible for. So why didn't he tell them when they told him their plan? And, this is maybe something that's going to be handled in the other books, but what was the game of the involved gods? What did want to do with Sorry? What were the Oponn twins trying to gain? They had the coin bearer who didn't really do anything. They had Paran, who himself didn't do that much and they had the sword in the game with which the hound was wounded. But I don't get what their goals were, if they even had one aside from causing chaos.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

damnit, stephen king has a new novel and

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/2/3058147/stephen-king-eschewing-ebooks-joyland

ISNT putting it on kindle on purpose.

WHAT THE FUCK STEPHEN

The book — about a student who must face a murder while working at a carnival in 1973 — is being published by Hard Case Crime, a smaller imprint known for its stylistic throwbacks to the pulp novels of the 1940's. "I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts," King said in a statement. "I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we're going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being.

Sounds like it might come to ebooks later and since King really embraced the e-format and helped pioneer it, he gets a pass from me.

Gotta admit, that is a pretty snazzy cover. And you really can't beat $7.77 *pre-orders*

 

[Delicious Waffles]

Picked this up from the library yesterday after putting it on hold last week. Was going through some of the old recommendation threads and stumbled onto this series. Read the first few chapters and I'm liking it so far.

 

[Mr.Ock]

Man, I love Stephen King! Even if he got worse in the last few years, with the last few novels, at least for me, he redeemed himself completely, especially Duma Key and 11/22/63. I also liked The Dome, which seems to get some hate, but I'm a sucker for his "coral" novels like The Stand or It.
Didn't like Colorado Kid though, which is the other "noir" novel from him, but I'm looking forward to read Joyland!

 

[WascallyWabbit]

just finished this:

Absolutely riveting and worthy read for anyone interested in crime and the Japanese underworld. The ending was an absolute gut punch though...

 

[Bazza]

Finished reading Excession by Iain M Banks at the weekend, really enjoyed it. I think one of the things I love about the culture books are the minds/ships and the drones, they definitely take a front seat in excession.

I'm half way through Inversions right now, a nice change of pace.

 

[Mumei]

I finished Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn yesterday evening. Since I normally read fantasy and scifi themed books I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but I really enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style and those twists in the story... I definitely need to pick up an other book of this author.

I haven't read Gone Girl, but I got the audiobook for my mother from the library... and after all her raving about the story I'm pretty sure I know the plot now! I though that the structure she was describing, alternating between the diary entries and the present day, sounded interesting, too.

 

[charlemagne]

Ok, I gave up on Snow Crash. Disappointing since it had such a fantastic start. I got 30% in and was just exhausted from the constant barrage of metaphors and analogies to describe the world. The lack of plot progression and Hiro's own lack of motivation to really investigate what Snow Crash is doesn't help matters.

I applaud Stephenson's vision for coming up with most of the technology described in 1992 but it doesn't hold up so well nowadays since a lot of the Metaverse stuff no longer feels very special.

I felt the same way, but I kept trucking through anyway. It was not worth it, it my opinion.

 

[HoJu]

THE BIG SLEEP - Raymond Chandler
love the movie, really enjoying the book.

 

[Maklershed]

^Nice. My path to The Big Sleep:

Enjoyed the movie but I was a bit confused

Read the book

Loved the book

Re-watched the movie

Loved the movie


The same goes for Murder, My Sweet (movie) and Farewell, My Lovely (book)

 

[Tenrius]

I liked the book, but have yet to watch the movie.

 

[Jenga]

just finished this:

Absolutely riveting and worthy read for anyone interested in crime and the Japanese underworld. The ending was an absolute gut punch though...

jake adelstein is also a pretty cool guy, i follow him on twitter *smiley face w/ glasses and atheist smirk*

 

[Salazar]

Picked this up from the library yesterday after putting it on hold last week. Was going through some of the old recommendation threads and stumbled onto this series. Read the first few chapters and I'm liking it so far.

Uh OH

 

[ShaneB]

Last night I finished Hector and the search for Happiness. It was definitely what I needed, and got a lot more out of it than I expected. Bordering on self help disguised in this very easy to read and funny story, it was nice to read about Hector's adventure to find out what makes people happy or unhappy, and to see his life lessons. edit: and I see that Simon Pegg will be in the movie adaptation, so that should be fun to watch.

Now to decide what to read next before Abbadon's Gate is released. edit: now reading... another brisk read.

 

[FL4TW4V3]

I just finished reading Ender's Game which was fantastic and I'm not sure how the movie can catch some of that magic. At the moment in reading the Wool omnibus which has a fantastic first chapter/book and I hope the rest of it is a great.

 

[Sleepy]

 

[sazabirules]

Yay, IT FINALLY ARRIVED! After 2 weeks of waiting! Yessssssss!

How is this series? I've had my eye on the first book for awhile.

 

[Tragicomedy]

Good choice. That's a very good read.

 

[ShaneB]

Good choice. That's a very good read.

Yeah, I just came to edit my post, I am loving it so far. It's really funny and sincere and pretty eye watering already, and I'm just 15% done. Easy to see I will really love this, already hooked.

How is this series? I've had my eye on the first book for awhile.

I think it's incredible. I loved Leviathan Wakes, and Caliban's War keeps up that standard. I'm so excited for Abbadon's Gate coming out really soon. I think the Aliens comparison is pretty apt when it was mentioned. It is space opera, but still very grounded, and some politics going on, but great action sequences, some mystery/whodunnit aspects, etc.

 

[Mr.Swag]

Finished Choke by Chuck Palaniuk recently. I was disappointed. First Palaniuk book I've read, and I don't think I liked it much.

Also finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Wow. Amazing novel. Ending wasn't what I wanted, but it was good.

Just started reading Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Hope it's as good as Cats Cradle. I was slightly disappointed by break fast of champions.

 

[survivor]

About 100 pages into A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I had no idea the book was so old, always thought it was published at some point in the past 20 years. I'm liking what I read so far, seems like the kind of slice of life story that I would enjoy a lot.

 

[Dresden]

About 100 pages into A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I had no idea the book was so old, always thought it was published at some point in the past 20 years. I'm liking what I read so far, seems like the kind of slice of life story that I would enjoy a lot.

The first half of that book is one of the best things I've ever read.

 

[eattomorro]

Finished off The Cocaine Salesman by Conny Braam and enjoyed it thoroughly. The fictional account of the cocaine trade during WW1 and after was insightful and well done.

Now onto something a little more light hearted with Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier.

 

[nakedsushi]

I don't know why it took me so long to read this, but I'm glad I finally did:


Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

At first I was scared b/c of the comparisons to Jane Austen books. I'm not a big fan of Pride and Prejudice b/c it was so boring and was just a bunch of rich people sitting around talking about rich people problems (yes, the writing is good, but the content didn't get me.) Luckily, all that was missing was MAGIC, which this book has. It definitely spruced up the content.

What's distinctive about this book is how minor a role magic plays in the story. It's just enough to keep things interesting, but not overpowering it into an OMG FANTASY book. I thought the twist at the end

Spoiler

with Jane marrying Mr Vincent was a bit sudden and caught me by surprise, but it's ok. I was hoping for more of a love triangle with that other guy with the sister.

Has anyone read next book in the series? Is it just as good, or more of the same?

 

[Lafiel]

About 100 pages into A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I had no idea the book was so old, always thought it was published at some point in the past 20 years. I'm liking what I read so far, seems like the kind of slice of life story that I would enjoy a lot.

My favorite book ever. I envy you experiencing it for the first time.

 

[velociraptor]

Downloaded for free on my Kindle a while back. Only several chapters in but it's well written and the dialogue is sharp.

 

[olore]

Shantaram. Still. Like two years on. I should stop sleeping so I have time to do stuff with two kids and a life

 

[Setre]

Finished

Not sure what to start reading next. It's a toss up between The Black Company, Leviathan Wakes, and Best Served Cold . What do you guys/gals think I should read next?

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Bowl of Heaven by Gregory Benford


About 20% in, it's ok, though it has some weird errors in it, but I'm just ignoring those and focusing on the story. Will probably finish it up over the weekend.

 

[Nymerio]

Finished

Not sure what to start reading next. It's a toss up between The Black Company, Leviathan Wakes, and Best Served Cold . What do you guys/gals think I should read next?

The Black Company is pretty amazing, I'd recommend that.

 

[Easystride]

There are 11 classics on sale on the Kindle Store today. Any suggestions from the list? I've already read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which I liked. Here's the list:

The Sun Also Rises
Gone With the Wind
Tender is the Night
Cry, Beloved Country
The Cider House Rules
The Thorn Birds
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Complete short stories of Ernest Hemingway
Farewell to Arms
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
In Our Time