What are you reading? - May edition
- Thread starter Witchfinder General
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voodoojohn
Banned
Not enjoying it nearly as much as I did No Country... I'm struggling to even get past the first 100 pages. Really a dull experience after the revelation that was One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Maybe I should have chosen something a bit more lighthearted as a transition.
Witchfinder General
punched Wheelchair Mike
Just started:
MedievalManIII
Member
The Notebook, the Proof, the Third Lie by Agota Kristof
Nostrildamus
Member
TerryLee81
Member
What's the word on Tad Williams' Otherland series? Any good?
Hellshadow
Member
lastendconductor
Put your snobby liquids into my mouth!
re-reading all Moorcock stuff after 10 years.
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
TerryLee81 said:
It was my first (and only) foray into sci-fi. I picked up the first book several years ago -- yeesh, it's been 12 years! -- without realizing that it was part of a series. Enjoyed it quite a bit, liked the characters, settings, etc. and felt compelled to continue with them as they came, but found myself less and less enamored with the books the further into it he went. That said, I know they're reasonably well-regarded and someone who's more into the genre than me ought to enjoy them.
dark_chris
Member
After reading the Twilight series, I decided to give this one a shot. And so far, its so good. =)
Star Power
Member
Baraka in the White House
2-Terms of Kombat
Freeza Under The Shower
Member
Romeo & Juliet is good, but all I can do when reading is remember watching the play which was awesome.
I've only read the Biographical Notice and Editor's Preface of Wuthering Heights so far, but that was really interesting. And how could it be a bad book? Everything about it so far attracts me.
Självkänsla Nu is a book on self-esteem. I love it, she's no master writer but she's gone through stuff and it's easy to relate. Helps me a lot.
Of Mice and Men seems like a good book but I just don't really read it much. And it's so short too. I just don't know. I like reading it out loud. Ha.
Röda Rummet is fun. A bit old and dry but fun so far. And Strindbergs descriptive prose and humour really comes alive when read out loud.
I'd recommend reading books out loud more often to people. It's hilarious and educational and often leads to interesting discussion with whoever you're reading to.
Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
I finally read Hitchhiker's Guide. I have to say, I did not like it. If I had read it when I was 17 when it was assigned in high school I probably would have loved it, but now it just seemed like it was trying too hard. I can imagine what a breath of fresh air it must have been in the 80s though.
I'm also reading The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815 by Timothy Blanning, part of the Penguin History of Europe series. I missed a lot of the references in a book about Napoleon and needed more background on the era. Very confusing, what with Hapsburgs and Bourbons and such. The book comes highly recommended and I am enjoying it so far, although the only thing that makes the author depart from objectivity is when he has a chance to ridicule Christianity.
I'm also reading The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815 by Timothy Blanning, part of the Penguin History of Europe series. I missed a lot of the references in a book about Napoleon and needed more background on the era. Very confusing, what with Hapsburgs and Bourbons and such. The book comes highly recommended and I am enjoying it so far, although the only thing that makes the author depart from objectivity is when he has a chance to ridicule Christianity.
Freeza Under The Shower
Member
scorcho said:
(cries). one more paper to go...
I remember scanning through this one.
I've been reading nonfiction since January and I'm kind of having a tough time figuring out what novel to read next, now that class is ending and I actually have time to get obsessed with one. The last novel that I was really into was either Cryptonomicon or The Time Traveler's wife - anyone have any recommendations along those lines? Not necesarily in content but in, uh... overall quality, I guess. It's hard to describe what I'm looking for or why.
Edit: Reading now:
Surprisingly entertaining - I expected it to be really dry, but it's actually a fun read in spite of its content.
Edit: Reading now:
Surprisingly entertaining - I expected it to be really dry, but it's actually a fun read in spite of its content.
I wrapped up the fifth Repairman Jack novel, Hosts recently and, while it wasn't the most amazing book I've ever read, I enjoyed it. The series is beginning to progress, giving a bit more of a background story to why Jack keeps finding himself involved in deep shit, and giving us a bit more information about his past. It's also a pretty rough ride for our boy. While I'm not desperate to read the next book in the series right now, I'm looking forward to getting back to Jack before too long.
I've just started Martin Cruz Smith's Polar Star, the sequel to Gorky Park. Gorky Park, written in the early 80's, is about Soviet detective Arkaday Renko, who is very good at investigating and rather bad at working within the Party system. At the beginning of Polar Star Renko has fallen very far from grace and is busy cleaning fish on a Soviet factory ship when the body of a crew woman is pulled up along with a large catch, at which point he finds himself back on the job. So far it's got the same fascinating detail about Soviet life that really sold Gorky Park, while Renko has developed an even drier sense of humor during his exile into the depths of the system. I'm digging it so far and will report back when I'm done.
FnordChan
I've just started Martin Cruz Smith's Polar Star, the sequel to Gorky Park. Gorky Park, written in the early 80's, is about Soviet detective Arkaday Renko, who is very good at investigating and rather bad at working within the Party system. At the beginning of Polar Star Renko has fallen very far from grace and is busy cleaning fish on a Soviet factory ship when the body of a crew woman is pulled up along with a large catch, at which point he finds himself back on the job. So far it's got the same fascinating detail about Soviet life that really sold Gorky Park, while Renko has developed an even drier sense of humor during his exile into the depths of the system. I'm digging it so far and will report back when I'm done.
FnordChan
dreadfulwater
aka morbidesque
the Oblivion prima game guide.
Witchfinder General
punched Wheelchair Mike
Whelp, Hell House was a disappointment, especially considering how good I Am Legend is.
Anyhoo, this is what I'm reading now:
The author's biased. There's no arguing the fact. However, it's a powerful read and he raises many valid and frightening points.
Anyhoo, this is what I'm reading now:
The author's biased. There's no arguing the fact. However, it's a powerful read and he raises many valid and frightening points.
ChackanKun
Member
I wrapped up Polar Star last week and it was excellent. The mystery itself is pretty decent in a procedural sort of way, especially given the handicaps Renko has to work with, but the book really shines in it's depictions of Soviet life in the late 80s. I just received the third book in the initial Renko sequence, Red Square and look forward to firing that one up shortly.
However, while waiting for Red Square to arrive, I started up The Family Trade, the first book in Charlie Stross' Merchant Princes series. It's about this special group of aristocrats who are born with the ability to travel between dimensions and the incredible amount of intrigue that goes on between them...oh, wait, that's Amber, isn't it? Stross is absolutely up-front that these books are his take on Zelazny's Amber setting and, so far, the first book is off to a pretty decent start. Our heroine was orphaned as an infant and doesn't receive her mother's mysterious locket until her early 30s, after having a very bad day involving corporate intrigue. However, that's got nothing on the intrigue that awaits her once her family realize the long-lost heroine has been found. I'm about 100 pages in and things are firmly in the fish-out-of-water stage, but it's off to an interesting start and it's interesting to see how Stross riff's on the Amber concept.
FnordChan
However, while waiting for Red Square to arrive, I started up The Family Trade, the first book in Charlie Stross' Merchant Princes series. It's about this special group of aristocrats who are born with the ability to travel between dimensions and the incredible amount of intrigue that goes on between them...oh, wait, that's Amber, isn't it? Stross is absolutely up-front that these books are his take on Zelazny's Amber setting and, so far, the first book is off to a pretty decent start. Our heroine was orphaned as an infant and doesn't receive her mother's mysterious locket until her early 30s, after having a very bad day involving corporate intrigue. However, that's got nothing on the intrigue that awaits her once her family realize the long-lost heroine has been found. I'm about 100 pages in and things are firmly in the fish-out-of-water stage, but it's off to an interesting start and it's interesting to see how Stross riff's on the Amber concept.
FnordChan
Recently finished Bruce Feiler's Learning to Bow. Easy and interesting read.
I'm plowing through an H.P. Lovecraft collection The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories and Terry Pratchett's Night Watch.
Estival said:
It's pretty good so far, although she tends to exaggerate the strangeness of some things that I've always thought were fairly normal. What's so weird about an adult having some plastic pony toys?
I know what you mean. I got the same feeling when watching this talk at Google. Maybe I'll browse the book later.
Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
I just finished Making Friends With Hitler by Ian Kershaw. It is about a British aristocrat, Lord Londonderry, who was forced out of the government in 1935 and had extensive contacts with Nazi leaders during the 30s, trying to head off war. He was not a fascist or Nazi himself, but he had been at the Somme and was terrified that a new war would mean the end of Western civilization and the triumph of Bolshevism.
He entertained Goring and Ribbentrop at his estate, and he never realized until it was way too late that the Nazis were not normal and could not be dealt with rationally. He was a prodigious letter writer and saved all of them, so he is an historian's dream. By the end of the war, he was disgraced, disillusioned, and a relic of a bygone time. Highly recommended.
I also read The Return of History and the End of Dreams by Robert Kagan. It is a long essay about the future of foreign relations, which the author sees will be divided between autocratic powers Russia and China and the democracies. His main thesis is that with the success of those countries, there is now a legitimate alternative to liberal democracy that will attract leaders who want to globalize without opening up their political systems and having their power threatened.
He entertained Goring and Ribbentrop at his estate, and he never realized until it was way too late that the Nazis were not normal and could not be dealt with rationally. He was a prodigious letter writer and saved all of them, so he is an historian's dream. By the end of the war, he was disgraced, disillusioned, and a relic of a bygone time. Highly recommended.
I also read The Return of History and the End of Dreams by Robert Kagan. It is a long essay about the future of foreign relations, which the author sees will be divided between autocratic powers Russia and China and the democracies. His main thesis is that with the success of those countries, there is now a legitimate alternative to liberal democracy that will attract leaders who want to globalize without opening up their political systems and having their power threatened.
Currently kind-of reading
to finish off the series, but mostly all I'm doing these days is trying to finish as much anime as I can before A-Kon in two weeks or so.
I know that doesn't sound like the most glowing review now that I re-read what I typed, but I honestly did love the book. I recommend it to anybody.
to finish off the series, but mostly all I'm doing these days is trying to finish as much anime as I can before A-Kon in two weeks or so.
That's a great book. It's amazing how easy it is to read to me, with how long it is and how dry it is in long stretches. I kept thinking to myself "why am I enjoying this so much?" but I was totally addicted. How can you not love a book with footnotes that take up 3 pages? :lolYonn said:I'm just about to start reading this:
I just finished Middlesex and wow, I haven't read such a great book since I read 1984 last year. The second half of the book was superior and more interesting, but it was still an awesome read.
I know that doesn't sound like the most glowing review now that I re-read what I typed, but I honestly did love the book. I recommend it to anybody.
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