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[Leeness]

Finished Doctor Sleep.

Really great and a lot of fun. It's definitely not a horror book though even though little things come up here and there. It's a really nice look into Danny's life though. I liked all the characters, and Abra was very sweet, even though she was a total God Mode character haha.

The end confrontation was a little bit underwhelming for what it was trying to build up to (and it felt like it was written "epically" but it wasn't).

But yeah, all in all, it was really great.

 

[RoH]

Still reading Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.

It's a lot of fun. The two concurrent storylines, a thousand years apart, but featuring the same POV character/narrator, offer different experiences/pacing/atmoshere that really makes it hard to put the book down. Also, the main character is a genderless AI hosted in a human female body that doesn't differentiate gender, so refers to everyone as 'she/her' as default, despite sometimes identifying them as male. Very good so far, lots of big SF ideas.

Agreed fun read.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

I love Eggers fiction and cannot wait to see what he has in store with this novel.

This combination of words, man.

Edit: I have the first 5 volumes of Will Durant's "Story of Civilization", Daniel Boorstin's "The Creators", Loren Eiseley's "The Firmament of Time", and Sandor Marai's "The Rebels" in my Amazon cart right at this moment. Methinks I'll be set for a while, between that and the dozens of other books I've not read yet.

 

[Nymerio]

I finished The Passage yesterday. The ending was a bit of a let down for me. I liked the book overall but a couple things I didn't like (some may be explained in the sequel):

Spoiler

The religious angle, I don't like that one bit. It just doesn't seem to fit. What the hell is up with Theo and Maus being saved by a ghost? I hope that's not all there is to it and that it's maybe some kind different viral or whatever, but as it is now I hated that part of the book. I also feel like the ending worked out too neatly. Sure, Sara and here group may be dead but everything leading up to this worked out so perfectly: Get to the beacon, kill Babcock, destroy the many, Lish is dying, Lish survives, Theo and Maus get saved by a ghost.

Anyway, great book and I'll definitely read the sequel too.

 

[Leeness]

Just started It this morning.

First chapter: NOPE. Hahaha omg, nope.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Finished up Butcher's Crossing. Wasn't too crazy about it.

Not sure what to start next.

 

[Vanillalite]

Rereading:

In anticipation of:

Hades just released yesterday. Currently on The Son of Neptune. Should be able to finish that and Athena this week so I can start on Hades next week!!!

 

[WeAreStarStuff]

It has some interesting tidbits but isn't very substantial; def. written for the general population and not the space/science enthusiast.

 

[steadfast]

Can anyone recommend a book that covers the majority of Greek myths and isn't boring to read? There's many options out there but I really don't know where to begin.

I'm not being condescending in recommending a children's book here; http://www.amazon.com/dp/0440406943/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It is a great primer.

 

[ShaneB]

Finished up Butcher's Crossing. Wasn't too crazy about it.

Not sure what to start next.

Read The Temple of Gold and let me know what you think!

 

[studyguy]

I have the audiobook for The Gardens of the Moon: Malazan Book 1.
The story is so disjointed that I feel it would have been better to get the actual book.

I can see the pieces, but it's only one narrator so everyone sounds the god damn same and I lose what is going on. Thought I'd really like it, but honestly everything is sort of glossed over so quickly it's getting annoying.

Did Steelheart last week.
Pretty good, wish there would have been more epics.

Jumping on A Memory of Light in a day or two, excited as fuck.

 

[arkon]

Finished off The Affirmation by Christopher Priest. Not sure what to think. I'm still trying to puzzle out what the fuck I just read. I suppose reading the book halfway and then leaving it for about 3-4 weeks before finishing it off didn't help

I guess the big parts for me were the reveals like

Spoiler

that initial reveal of the white room and the things we're told from Peter's perspective that I just automatically assumed to be true, might just be gobbledygook. Same thing happens later with the manuscript pages and I fell for it again.

Then the way the book finishes

Spoiler

with that incomplete sentence, makes me think back to what Peter said about his manuscript and that final sentence. So I've been reading his manuscript all along?

I think I need to read something a bit more "normal" for my next book. Probably Steelheart. Sanderson's books tend to be very straightforward and easy to grasp.

 

[Mumei]

In anticipation of:

Hades just released yesterday. Currently on The Son of Neptune. Should be able to finish that and Athena this week so I can start on Hades next week!!!

Wait, I need to read this.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Just finished The Stress of Her Regard. Absolutely loved it. Fantastic story and the way Powers wove Byron, Shelley and Keats into the tale was really amazing. As an English major and someone who read a lot of their poetry, I was spellbound.

As we're getting into October and the weather is changing and Halloween is approaching, I'm going to keep to things that go bump in the night with I Am Legend which I picked up recently in a Kindle daily deal.

 

[Tragicomedy]

Did Steelheart last week.
Pretty good, wish there would have been more epics.

There will be starting in book #2.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Picked these up today


Fallout by Todd Strasser


Nine Inches: Stories by Tom Perrotta


The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney

Read The Temple of Gold and let me know what you think!

Heh, already forgot about that one. Will check it out tonight and see it if it hooks me.

 

[Labombadog]

Just finished The Shining.

O_O

 

[Devil Theory]

My girlfriend and I are both reading this at the moment:

Good stuff.

 

[besada]

How was it??

I enjoyed it. I think people who read The Shining before they saw The Shining are apt to like it more than the other way around. I didn't find it particularly terrifying, and it's pretty clearly cast in the King mold, but I really enjoyed seeing what happened to Danny, Wendy, and Dick.

 

[Oshimai]

 

[remist]

Any The Republic of Thieves impressions?

 

[Seanspeed]

I just got a Kindle. The new Paperwhite model. Its lovely.

So....I need something super good to keep me up at night. A great page-turner. Preferably not sci-fi/fantasy as I read too much of that. No series. No 1000 pagers. No 'love it/hate it' books. Just a feel-good, gripping book that stands on its own and doesn't take place in outer space or have magic.

 

[Nezumi]

I just got a Kindle. The new Paperwhite model. Its lovely.

So....I need something super good to keep me up at night. A great page-turner. Preferably not sci-fi/fantasy as I read too much of that. No series. No 1000 pagers. No 'love it/hate it' books. Just a feel-good, gripping book that stands on its own and doesn't take place in outer space or have magic.

Life of Pi or The Shadow of the Wind.

 

[Seanspeed]

Life of Pi or The Shadow of the Wind.

Read both already.

 

[ЯAW]

I just got a Kindle. The new Paperwhite model. Its lovely.

So....I need something super good to keep me up at night. A great page-turner. Preferably not sci-fi/fantasy as I read too much of that. No series. No 1000 pagers. No 'love it/hate it' books. Just a feel-good, gripping book that stands on its own and doesn't take place in outer space or have magic.

Atonement by Ian McEwan or The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Or do we count post apocalyptic stories as sub genre of sci-fi? If you do then you can skip Road. Atonement is pretty great novel all in all, superb writing and pacing by McEwan, plot synopsis might not sound all that special but it's a great book.

 

[Nezumi]

Read both already.

Hm, haven't read a lot else that wasn't fantasy or sci-fi. Maybe something by Murakami but that isn't really everybody's cup of tea I guess...

 

[TheFightingFish]

I tend to read history books in themed chunks, so I nabbed this as I saw it chilling on the "notable books" shelf of my library as I'd been reading some other books on Communism such as Lenin's Tomb (David Remnick), Mao: A Life (Phillip Short), Stalin: The court of the Red Czar (Simon Sebag Montefiore).

It's solid and has a ton of research behind it, but the organization really annoys me. She broke the book up mostly by sections of control (media, business, youth organizations) but since the book bounces between East Germany, Hungary, and Poland it gets hard to follow the overall theme as you keep bouncing forward and back in time and around to all three nations in each section.

 

[NYCrooner]

The Road.

I'm LTTP on this one but after seeing film last week, I was really intrigued about the world they lived in and the relationship the had. Actually surprising how closely the movie followed the book. I guess as a HUGE fan of the Fallout series, it was almost like fan fiction for me. lol.

 

[NinjaCarrot]

Jane Eyre, The Great Gatsby and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy are on my list for this month.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

Amazing read.

 

[Seanspeed]

Atonement by Ian McEwan or The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Or do we count post apocalyptic stories as sub genre of sci-fi? If you do then you can skip Road. Atonement is pretty great novel all in all, superb writing and pacing by McEwan, plot synopsis might not sound all that special but it's a great book.

The Road was actually something on my short list. I think I might go with that.

Hm, haven't read a lot else that wasn't fantasy or sci-fi. Maybe something by Murakami but that isn't really everybody's cup of tea I guess...

I have the same problem of having the vast majority of the fiction I've read be fantasy/sci-fi. I'd like to expand my horizons a bit. I feel very pigeon-holed as a reader right now.

 

[TheFightingFish]

The Road.


I'm LTTP on this one but after seeing film last week, I was really intrigued about the world they lived in and the relationship the had. Actually surprising how closely the movie followed the book. I guess as a HUGE fan of the Fallout series, it was almost like fan fiction for me. lol.

If you have not already consider Blood Meridian next (also by Cormac McCarthy) it's incredible.

 

[kaskade]

Finally started reading another book. I'm trying to get some more reading in in my free time. I love Chuck's stuff.

 

[NYCrooner]

If you have not already consider Blood Meridian next (also by Cormac McCarthy) it's incredible.

I've not yet read it but McCarthy is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers.

 

[Seanspeed]

I've not yet read it but McCarthy is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers.

I've already bought The Road, but is more of his stuff like No Country For Old Men? I only saw the movie, but I absolutely hated it. Mainly the fact that it had no ending and was unfinished. Please tell me The Road isn't going to be anything like that?

 

[The Culture Vulture]

Finally started reading another book. I'm trying to get some more reading in in my free time. I love Chuck's stuff.

That first story...Guts...ugh one of the more difficult reads of my life. Good book.

Also love the glow in the dark cover.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

I just got a Kindle. The new Paperwhite model. Its lovely.

So....I need something super good to keep me up at night. A great page-turner. Preferably not sci-fi/fantasy as I read too much of that. No series. No 1000 pagers. No 'love it/hate it' books. Just a feel-good, gripping book that stands on its own and doesn't take place in outer space or have magic.

Gone Girl.

 

[ЯAW]

I've already bought The Road, but is more of his stuff like No Country For Old Men? I only saw the movie, but I absolutely hated it. Mainly the fact that it had no ending and was unfinished. Please tell me The Road isn't going to be anything like that?

Road isn't much like No Country. NCfOM might be one of Cormac's weakest books but I disagree with your conclusion of story not having ending and it being unfinished. Coens did excelent job with the movie and I would even consider it better then the source material.

 

[Seanspeed]

Gone Girl.

Also on my short list! Hmmm.

Road isn't much like No Country. NCfOM might be one of Cormac's weakest books but I disagree with your conclusion of story not having ending and it being unfinished. Coens did excelent job with the movie and I would even consider it better then the source material.

It was definitely unfinished and lazy, as it just ended abruptly, with absolutely no conclusion whatsoever. It was heading into the climax and just stopped. A good, satisfying ending is difficult and simply not finishing a story is an easy way out, which is then disguised as some 'artsy/interpretive' endeavour. Not fooling me. The movie's saving grace was its cinematography. Didn't really like anything else about it.

BUT, as long as The Road is different, I'm open to it.

 

[ЯAW]

Also on my short list! Hmmm.


It was definitely unfinished and lazy, as it just ended abruptly, with absolutely no conclusion whatsoever. It was heading into the climax and just stopped. A good, satisfying ending is difficult and simply not finishing a story is an easy way out, which is then disguised as some 'artsy/interpretive' endeavour. Not fooling me. The movie's saving grace was its cinematography. Didn't really like anything else about it.

BUT, as long as The Road is different, I'm open to it.

Well, good for you. I do understand that there are people who perfer closure, but if leaving things open to interpretation is easy way out to you, and considered as negative then you are restricting yourself quite a lot. Then again we all like different things, I guess there is nothing wrong in demanding closure. As for Road, I guess the ending isn't going to be your kind of ending. It's far from No country but... Well, you already have the book and the journey is well worth it, go for a ride. For a dark and grim ride.

Edit. Don't let Cormac's lack of punctuation marks bother you.

 

[krrrt]

About 20% into The Yiddish Policemen's Union. I have no interest in chess so the mystery right now isn't that exciting, but I do like Chabon's writing.

I liked that book a whole lot less than I thought I would.

Would make an awesome movie though.

 

[jacobs34]

Finishing The Flamethrowers, which is right up there with Tenth Of December as my favorite book of this year.

Really, really looking forward to The Goldfinch, which comes out in a couple of weeks.

 

[Seanspeed]

Well, good for you. I do understand that there are people who perfer closure, but if leaving things open to interpretation is easy way out to you, and considered as negative then you are restricting yourself quite a lot. Then again we all like different things, I guess there is nothing wrong in demanding closure. As for Road, I guess the ending isn't going to be your kind of ending. It's far from No country but... Well, you already have the book and the journey is well worth it, go for a ride. For a dark and grim ride.

Edit. Don't let Cormac's lack of punctuation marks bother you.

I just think its lazy, that's all. An easy way out. I can actually handle a 'difficult ending', but No Country simply had no ending whatsoever. It was unfinished. It just stopped out of nowhere. There was no rhyme or reason to it.

If The Road is going to be anything like that, I'm going to put it off. I think that sort of thing is absolute bullshit, in my opinion.

 

[lunch]

Just picked up The Lowland from the library. I loved Interpreter of Maladies and found The Namesake thoroughly average, but I'm hoping The Lowland's a return to form.

 

[Setre]

I just think its lazy, that's all. An easy way out. I can actually handle a 'difficult ending', but No Country simply had no ending whatsoever. It was unfinished. It just stopped out of nowhere. There was no rhyme or reason to it.

If The Road is going to be anything like that, I'm going to put it off. I think that sort of thing is absolute bullshit, in my opinion.

I've seen No Country and read The Roadand I understand where you're coming from in that No Country just seems to stop. The Road doesn't do that in my opinion, there's an ending to it.

 

[NYCrooner]

I just think its lazy, that's all. An easy way out. I can actually handle a 'difficult ending', but No Country simply had no ending whatsoever. It was unfinished. It just stopped out of nowhere. There was no rhyme or reason to it.

If The Road is going to be anything like that, I'm going to put it off. I think that sort of thing is absolute bullshit, in my opinion.

The Road may not be the ending you hope for but it's a respectable ending nonetheless. The relationship the reader builds with the father & son will dictate how you feel about the ending. Well worth the read. Absolutely beautifully written.

 

[Verdre]

Starting Edie: An American Biography by Jean Stein

 

[Samk]

End this Depression Now

 

[Blitzzz]

I just got a Kindle. The new Paperwhite model. Its lovely.

So....I need something super good to keep me up at night. A great page-turner. Preferably not sci-fi/fantasy as I read too much of that. No series. No 1000 pagers. No 'love it/hate it' books. Just a feel-good, gripping book that stands on its own and doesn't take place in outer space or have magic.

I'm currently in the middle of Night Film. The prose could be better but it's been a page turner so far.

 

[suzu]

Range of Ghosts, by Elizabeth Bear

So far so good. I'm still randomly getting confused with the names though. lol