Ubik by Philip K. Dick
Just finished it yesterday after reading about Stanislaw Lem's hearty recommendation. So good.
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What are you reading? (September 2012)
- Thread starter Maklershed
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Ubik by Philip K. Dick
Just finished it yesterday after reading about Stanislaw Lem's hearty recommendation. So good.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
I finished this today:
I love Maberry's Joe Ledger novels.
I love Maberry's Joe Ledger novels.
Finished
I really enjoyed it despite the kinda bad opening section, I'll definitely be picking up the sequels.
My only gripe is that some of the formatting is dodgy on the Kindle version, so buyer beware. It's still perfectly readable, there are just the occasional word which will have a space between the first letter and the rest of the word.
Not sure what I'm going to read next. Probably more Hitchhiker's guide.
I really enjoyed it despite the kinda bad opening section, I'll definitely be picking up the sequels.
My only gripe is that some of the formatting is dodgy on the Kindle version, so buyer beware. It's still perfectly readable, there are just the occasional word which will have a space between the first letter and the rest of the word.
Not sure what I'm going to read next. Probably more Hitchhiker's guide.
Roland Deschain
Member
Book 3 of 1Q84. Great stuff.
I thought it kind of fell apart at the end. I did enjoy it though.
Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
This author really makes interesting magic systems in his books, haha.
Try Mistborn series, best magic system ever, in my opinion..(same author)
TerryWogan
Member
Started reading Catch Me If You Can last night. Probably finish it tomorrow. It's excellent - differs a little from the film but essentially the same deal. So if you enjoyed the film...
Thought it'd be a nice light read before joining the GAF Book Club for this month with Dostoyevsky.
Thought it'd be a nice light read before joining the GAF Book Club for this month with Dostoyevsky.
Silas Lang
Member
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
I'm a little sad that I won't be able to participate in this book club. My workload for the semester is a bit more than I expected.
ElectricBlue187
Member
My own personal Heinlein Fest 2012 continued with Space Cadet (1948), one of Heinlein's earliest novels and a pretty darn good one. It's basically a SF rendition of Heinlein's experiences at Annapolis shoved through the coming of age filter and it's quite entertaining, if not the deepest reading experience you're ever going to have. Definitely recommended.
Then Patrick O'Brian got his hooks well and truly into me as I read through The Ionian Mission (1981), Treason's Harbour (1983), and The Far Side of the World (1984) in quick succession. When I last left off with The Surgeon's Mate, the series had wrapped up a cycle of sorts; in contrast, The Ionian Mission stands alone reasonably well, with Aubrey and Maturin being stuck with blockade duty in the Mediterranean while trying not to become mired in convoluted Eastern politics. However, another cycle begins in earnest in Treason's Harbour, with our heroes embroiled in French espionage in Malta and a particularly tricky expedition into the Red Sea, leading directly into The Far Side of the World, which sends the pair round Cape Horn in search of an elusive American ship. My introduction to the series was the Peter Weir movie, and while the film adaptation was a pastiche of bits from throughout the series large chunks of it's structure are adapted from this book (as spelled out in the film's subtitle); that said, the events in the novel are significantly more complicated and still entirely gripping for someone who has already enjoyed the movie version. O'Brian has a knack for giving readers enough of a resolution at the end of each novel to be satisfying while still leaving enough unresolved to leave one yearning for the next adventure. I'm sure I'll be diving into the eleventh book in the series, The Reverse of the Medal, in short order.
It hasn't been non-stop naval adventure, however. I have been eagerly awaiting Gunmetal Magic, the latest book in Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series. The heroine of the series gets a bit of a break here, however, as Gunmetal Magic is a side-story about Kate's best friend Andrea Nash. Without going into any great detail, poor Andrea had been put through the wringer as of the last book, so it was nice to see her get a chance to shine, explore unseen areas of post-magic-apocalypse Atlanta, spend time with (and giving Andrews a chance to develop) some secondary characters, and resolve a lot of the complications in her life without having to try to keep sneaking things into the subplots of the regular series. As a nice bonus, the paperback includes the novella "Magic Gifts", which runs concurrently with Gunmetal Magic and shows what Kate herself is up to. (In a word: Vikings.) Together, both stories make for a nice treat for Kate Daniels fans and while I wouldn't describe either one as the pinnacle of the series or anything they easily served to stave off the pangs of addiction while waiting for the next proper novel in the series to hit sometime this coming spring.
I was sad to hear about Harry Harrison's death and decided to remember him by re-reading one of my all-time favorites: The Stainless Steel Rat (1961), which introduced me to Slippery Jim diGriz, galactic criminal extraordinaire, brilliant con man, and loveable, larcenous rogue. For anyone new to the series I wouldn't dream of telling you more than that; I'll just say that it's an incredibly entertaining, fast-paced read and I had one helluva great time reading it for the Nth time. I'm hoping to read at least the next two books in the series in the not too distant future.
However, the Rat is going to have to wait: Dragon Ship, which by my count is roughly the 15th novel in Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Liaden series, just arrived today and it goes immediately to the top of the to-read pile. I'm totally stoked!
FnordChan
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Read this years ago when I was in high school. I enjoyed it then but can't remember any of the specifics. I might have to see if I still have my copy kicking about.Started this yesterday. It's not related to the movie although I guess the movie was kinda inspired by it, but this is totally different. So far it has been really good. I read that Long doesn't keep it up, but I'm hooked, so we'll see where it goes.
The Descent by Jeff Long
nakedsushi
Member
After watching the movie, I wanted to read the book so I did and now I'm done with it.
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Pretty good spy book. It's my first Flemming book. It's definitely a different feel than the movie. Bond seems more human and fallible in the books, which I liked. The setting during the Cold War was nice too. I wonder why they didn't do that for the movie.
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Pretty good spy book. It's my first Flemming book. It's definitely a different feel than the movie. Bond seems more human and fallible in the books, which I liked. The setting during the Cold War was nice too. I wonder why they didn't do that for the movie.
Just finished:
Was really great. Glad I gave it a go. Murakami is fantastic at developing characters.
Now onto:
and
Any fans of audiobooks here? I just signed up for Audible last month and bought quite a few titles in the sale they're having. Wind-Up Bird Chronicle particularly I thought was great in audio.
Was really great. Glad I gave it a go. Murakami is fantastic at developing characters.
Now onto:
and
Any fans of audiobooks here? I just signed up for Audible last month and bought quite a few titles in the sale they're having. Wind-Up Bird Chronicle particularly I thought was great in audio.
Maklershed
Member
Finished J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets and started Leviathan Wakes
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
I just read the first book in that trilogy. Loved it. Finished in 3 days. Gonna read the sequel after I finish:
I read the trilogy last year. Finally moving on the other novels. Half way through and it's great.
Finished J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets and started Leviathan Wakes
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Good book I just finished it...
Now reading
BrokenFiction
Member
Love me some Chuck Wendig.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Finished J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets and started Leviathan Wakes
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Interested to see what you think of it. One of the few sci-fi books I ended up putting down.
Neffarias_Bredd
Member
Just finished Midnight Tides by Stephen Erikson...I can not give this book series enough praise. Absolutely chock full of imagination and detail. It's like the opposite of Lost; Erikson seems to know exactly where he wants to go, as details hinted at in earlier books pop up later.
Can't wait to read the next book in the series, but I think I'm going to read Snow Crash and Cloud Atlas first.
Can't wait to read the next book in the series, but I think I'm going to read Snow Crash and Cloud Atlas first.
I started reading Sharp: A Memoir the other night. It's a memoir about a guy who was a cutter. I'm only on the second chapter but I liked what I read although it was pretty depressing.
Has anyone else read it? It came out last month I think so its pretty new.
Lets see if my awesome attention span will let me finish it.
Has anyone else read it? It came out last month I think so its pretty new.
Lets see if my awesome attention span will let me finish it.
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
I just finished The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I'm debating either picking up the next Sherlock Holmes compilation or something else. I'm about 15% into Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and 10% into The Brothers Karamazov.
Finished J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets and started Leviathan Wakes
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Thanks to earlier recommendation I'm also reading this. It's a good read so far, I'm about 100 pages in. If it doesn't turn ugly I'll pick up the second book next.
Comments like this makes me worry though, which is why I haven't already bought the second book.
nakedsushi
Member
Finished The Night Circus.
The concept and set up was better than the actual story.The ending was pretty much just "I dunno. Magic!"
I agree! The lack of story ruined the book for me. It was all polish and no substance.
It's not that it turns ugly. It jumps the shark in a way that made me go "WTF, am I still reading the same book?" It was unexpected and...strange.
Finished The Night Circus.
The concept and set up was better than the actual story.The ending was pretty much just "I dunno. Magic!"
Excited for The Blinding Knife on Tuesday.
Two of my favourite books I've read this year! The Blinding Knife improves on The Black Prism in every conceivable way.
Just finished this and awaiting the 2nd part from Amazon.
Awesome book. I can't believe I'd never heard of Gene Wolfe before (picked the book up at random at Barnes & Noble not knowing what to expect). Difficult to read at first due to the exotic vocabulary, but after a couple chapters I couldn't put it down. I love how the author presents a culture that's degenerated past the point of understanding its own technology (e.g. a mechanism powered by 'lightning' instead of electricity).
ElectricBlue187
Member
this month I am reading:
I just opened the cover and the first 8-10 pages is a big ass timeline that covers hundreds of years. Looks like its right up my alley
I just opened the cover and the first 8-10 pages is a big ass timeline that covers hundreds of years. Looks like its right up my alley
Ninja Beagle
Member
Halfway through Life of Pi.
HiroProtagonist
Member
When it comes out on the 18th:
The Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson
I had no clue this book existed until a few days ago. I thought Steven was done with Malazan, but I guess not.
The Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson
I had no clue this book existed until a few days ago. I thought Steven was done with Malazan, but I guess not.
Just finished this and awaiting the 2nd part from Amazon.
Awesome book. I can't believe I'd never heard of Gene Wolfe before (picked the book up at random at Barnes & Noble not knowing what to expect). Difficult to read at first due to the exotic vocabulary, but after a couple chapters I couldn't put it down. I love how the author presents a culture that's degenerated past the point of understanding its own technology (e.g. a mechanism powered by 'lightning' instead of electricity).
I read this last year and had my mind blown as well.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Still reading Pandora's Star by Peter F Hamilton. Going on 8 months now.
Target is to finish by the time Abercrombie's "Red Country" comes out next month.
I'm on page 817 out of 989 or something. I think I'll make it.
Target is to finish by the time Abercrombie's "Red Country" comes out next month.
I'm on page 817 out of 989 or something. I think I'll make it.
Really difficult to get into, but I like it so far.
Nice cover.
I read Notes a couple weeks back. The first half is pretty tough, but it opens up in an extraordinary way in the second half. It's one of the best things I've ever read.
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