Kyleripman
Member
About to start this:
I loved this, and the second one is even better. Such playful, creative books.
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What are you reading? (September 2013)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
I loved this, and the second one is even better. Such playful, creative books.
Help me pick guys: The Stranger by Albert Camus or Pale Fire by Nabokov or ??????
A couple of recurring titles I've seen mentioned here. I'm still making my way through REAMDE, it's not bad, but the time commitment that it will take, I don't know if I'll get around to finishing it.
To get back to the OP, I've been reading Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut and some Sherlock Holmes in September. Before that, it was The Forever War by Haldeman. All three are great, but Slaughterhouse Five is especially beautiful. If anyone is on the fence, and has a kindle or something, download the free(I think it's public domain) short story 2BR02B. It's a taste of Vonnegut's genius.
A couple of recurring titles I've seen mentioned here. I'm still making my way through REAMDE, it's not bad, but the time commitment that it will take, I don't know if I'll get around to finishing it.
To get back to the OP, I've been reading Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut and some Sherlock Holmes in September. Before that, it was The Forever War by Haldeman. All three are great, but Slaughterhouse Five is especially beautiful. If anyone is on the fence, and has a kindle or something, download the free(I think it's public domain) short story 2BR02B. It's a taste of Vonnegut's genius.
The Culture Vulture
Member
The nonfiction offering by far the weakest midway through.
A Prayer for Owen Meany sounds really wonderful, I'll have to check that out.
Still undecided what I want to jump into next. I'm in football mode now, so I might check out something like Friday Night Lights, but I'm kinda itching to get back to some sci-fi/fantasy, but something still fun. I might start a Dresden book or something too.
Dang it.
Still undecided what I want to jump into next. I'm in football mode now, so I might check out something like Friday Night Lights, but I'm kinda itching to get back to some sci-fi/fantasy, but something still fun. I might start a Dresden book or something too.
Dang it.
i_am_ben
running_here_and_there
I liked the book but the ending let it down. It feels so halfhearted and unsatisfying.
It's weird because the book is so incredibly poignant (heart achingly so) in so many other places but the characters' endings are incredibly underwhelming.
sparky2112
Member
It's amazing. I've pushed it on so many people over the years, and I don't know that any of them have regretted it.
Just don't let anyone sell you on the Simon Birch movie; it's only based on the first half of Owen Meany. Good movie, but only half the story, and a stripped down half at that.
Mackenzie 92
Member
I think I've mentioned it before, but the Galactic Football series by Scott Sigler is good stuff. 1 part Mass Effect/Star Wars, 1 part Any Given Sunday and 1 part Godfather. Really like them, cheap too.
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham is also one of my favorites.
Roland Deschain
Member
Was on holiday last week and read The Twelve (good) and NOS4R2 (fucking awesome).
Finally finished Shift Omnibus. I didn't enjoy it. Throwaway characters and too many plot holes. Howey's writing lacks pace without a proper mystery driving it.
Still listening to Physics of the Impossible. I think it's going to ruin a lot of sci-fi books for me lol
Started this up. Needed a guaranteed good time after a few lackluster books.
The Iron Jackal by Chris Wooding
Still listening to Physics of the Impossible. I think it's going to ruin a lot of sci-fi books for me lol
Started this up. Needed a guaranteed good time after a few lackluster books.
The Iron Jackal by Chris Wooding
Finally finished Shift Omnibus. I didn't enjoy it. Throwaway characters and too many plot holes. Howey's writing lacks pace without a proper mystery driving it.
Still listening to Physics of the Impossible. I think it's going to ruin a lot of sci-fi books for me lol
Started this up. Needed a guaranteed good time after a few lackluster books.
The Iron Jackal by Chris Wooding
oooh didn't know there was a new one out. I loved the previous two books, this is going on my to-read list.
I had no idea it was a movie, but when the description said modern classic, I figured it was a movie, so I'm suprised I've never heard of this. Nice and cheap on Amazon, so I'll pick it up and it'll be near the top of my queue to read.
Yeah, you mentioned Playing for Pizza before, and I've got that in the queue someday, but I wanted something else besides Grisham, since I read Calico Joe earlier, so that's my Grisham quota for the time being
I'll pick up the first book of that Galactic Football series, since yeah you did mention them before and they seemed like good fun. Certainly sounds like a mix I would enjoy.I want to check out this series someday too, sounds like great adventures.
I will some day!
Maklershed
Member
Read The Long Ships, ShaneB. Be .. ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
There's actually a 4th one coming out this month. Ace of Skulls
CrichtonKicks
Member
The fourth and final book, Ace of Skulls, comes out on September 19th in the UK.
Yeah, I share your dissatisfaction with the ending. It seemed so weak compared to the sheer density of all the preceding prose. I guess by the end Levithan ran out of emotional ammo.
I must be the only person to absolutely hate the novel.
Have been reading Goldsworthy's Caesar and Carthage. Brilliant books about those time periods and definitely one of the best contemporary history writers.
Also started reading Pillars of the Earth, after hearing much praise.
I decided to purchase Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol as a preparation for Inferno (23 euros for a book is a bit too much)
Pretty excited!
Also started reading Pillars of the Earth, after hearing much praise.
I decided to purchase Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol as a preparation for Inferno (23 euros for a book is a bit too much)
Pretty excited!
Woah, that's crazy. Doesn't even seem that long ago that I read the previous books.
Finished Mr. Monster
then went straight to the next book in the series: I Don't Want To Kill You:
I'm really surprised by how much I liked them. I've never watched Dexter who seems kind of similar to protagonist of the books so it was something completely new to me.
Is the twist the book being good? I know Dexter doesn't even have that!
It's not a really a twist that he's a sociapath. He tells you that in the first few pages I think, I liked who the killer in the first book was though. I didn't quite see that coming because I dismissed how he talked about him in the beginning. I don't usually like these YA books that much, but I enjoyed these.
Decided to dip back in some non-fiction for my current football fix and expanding my knowledge on the sport.
Now reading... America's Game ... the title is a little insulting as a Canadian
Now reading... America's Game ... the title is a little insulting as a Canadian
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Started this after finishing A Game of Thrones only a few days ago, which I thought was just amazing. I'm loving how A Clash of Kings picks up right from where the first book ends, never letting up the momentum. Can't wait to see how this absolutely insane story unfolds. So many terrific characters.
And Martin has such a beautiful way with words.
Just amazing. Short, sweet, evocative, vivid. Love how he paints imagery. Really reminds me of McCarthy at times.
They are excellent if you need a light and entertaining read between more serious books. The closest thing to capturing a Firefly-ish type feel.
Finished off Dust by Hugh Howey yesterday. Second best in the trilogy but leagues ahead of Shift. It was a lot faster paced and the (imo) better characters were up in front again. The writing was a bit simplistic in that some of the issues were a bit too easily overcome. Hugh would throw out some foreshadowing and yet nothing would come of it.
Overall I'm satisfied with the conclusion to the series and ready to move on.
Next up is Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie.
I'm really looking forward to this one as I loved the second in the series. His writing is just fun. The action scenes were great, the dialogue was witty and the pacing was spot on. He even managed to keep the annoying romance aspects to a minimum. Really hoping the last in the trilogy can hold up to the first two.
Overall I'm satisfied with the conclusion to the series and ready to move on.
Next up is Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie.
I'm really looking forward to this one as I loved the second in the series. His writing is just fun. The action scenes were great, the dialogue was witty and the pacing was spot on. He even managed to keep the annoying romance aspects to a minimum. Really hoping the last in the trilogy can hold up to the first two.
Finished:
Not my favorite in the series but still a fun read. In the end things happened a bit to fast for my taste and it got a bit confusing. And like the last one this had to little Morley Dotes for my taste.
I originally wanted to read The Long Ships next, but it is not available on Kindle. So instead I just downloaded:
The praise on the last pages and the Firefly comparision got me interested. And so far Reading-Gaf has never let me down.
Not my favorite in the series but still a fun read. In the end things happened a bit to fast for my taste and it got a bit confusing. And like the last one this had to little Morley Dotes for my taste.
I originally wanted to read The Long Ships next, but it is not available on Kindle. So instead I just downloaded:
The praise on the last pages and the Firefly comparision got me interested. And so far Reading-Gaf has never let me down.
<3Finished:
The praise on the last pages and the Firefly comparision got me interested. And so far Reading-Gaf has never let me down.
No literary masterpiece, but the books are just so damn fun. I'm both excited for and sad that the series is ending in a couple of days.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Think I'm gonna have to start that Retribution Falls next. Bought it a while back when it was a daily.
i read this
i thought it was absolutely brilliant. it's a thriller of sorts about the relationship between two men - a cynical british war journalist and an idealistic american cia agent - in love with the same woman, set in the conflicts of 50s vietnam. for something written in the fifties it's frighteningly relevant to modern politics - when you hear people talking simplistically about intervention in syria it echoes much of what the book tackles.
greene's prose is wonderful - sort of combining a sparse style that i dug in le carre's 'the spy who came in from the cold' with a stunning eye for a description. i loved the 50s vietnam setting - smoking opium and hanging out in french cafes with hand grenade barriers is very different to the typical vietnam war stories, though when the story takes intimately you into the conflict between the french colonialists and the vietnamese communists it's as chilling as any war fiction i've seen.
i thought it was absolutely brilliant. it's a thriller of sorts about the relationship between two men - a cynical british war journalist and an idealistic american cia agent - in love with the same woman, set in the conflicts of 50s vietnam. for something written in the fifties it's frighteningly relevant to modern politics - when you hear people talking simplistically about intervention in syria it echoes much of what the book tackles.
greene's prose is wonderful - sort of combining a sparse style that i dug in le carre's 'the spy who came in from the cold' with a stunning eye for a description. i loved the 50s vietnam setting - smoking opium and hanging out in french cafes with hand grenade barriers is very different to the typical vietnam war stories, though when the story takes intimately you into the conflict between the french colonialists and the vietnamese communists it's as chilling as any war fiction i've seen.
bengraven
Member
I wish we had more "fun" books. There's this seeming culture clash right now between "high literature" and "crap".
Example: I would love to read some fun space opera, but I either get "it's a masterpiece that will make you think" or "it's basically fan fiction". Why can't we have "good, but fun" books?
I vote for this.
Example: I would love to read some fun space opera, but I either get "it's a masterpiece that will make you think" or "it's basically fan fiction". Why can't we have "good, but fun" books?
I vote for this.
Vorkosigan Saga!11eleventy!!fanboyravings
Professor Chaos
Member
i read this
i thought it was absolutely brilliant. it's a thriller of sorts about the relationship between two men - a cynical british war journalist and an idealistic american cia agent - in love with the same woman, set in the conflicts of 50s vietnam. for something written in the fifties it's frighteningly relevant to modern politics - when you hear people talking simplistically about intervention in syria it echoes much of what the book tackles.
greene's prose is wonderful - sort of combining a sparse style that i dug in le carre's 'the spy who came in from the cold' with a stunning eye for a description. i loved the 50s vietnam setting - smoking opium and hanging out in french cafes with hand grenade barriers is very different to the typical vietnam war stories, though when the story takes intimately you into the conflict between the french colonialists and the vietnamese communists it's as chilling as any war fiction i've seen.
This sounds right up my alley. Adding it to my to-read pile. Thanks.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Seconded. Amazing series.
Edit: Thought I was quoting the "Sabriel" statement but don't see it in the quote. Hmm. Anyway, yes to Sabriel.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Absolutely this. The Vorkosigan series is sooo goooood.
Ditto.
I'm always open to "fun" book recommendations. I love a good adventure, and am always looking for "Indiana Jones" style books.
AngmarsKing701
Member
It was in my list for the next book I read and he voted that. I started American Gods and it seems cool, but since it's a one off it wont take me long and I'll get to Sabrial right after.
Backlog is huge atm.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Book backlog huge. Check.
Movie backlog huge. Check.
TV Show backlog huge. Check.
Video game backlog ... good God it's enormous. Check.
Yep, way behind on entertainment! Fortunately I'm right on top of my work email backlog, though!
heh, I think his translation of just the Pentateuch is longer than your average Gideon Bible.
ANYWAYS, his translations highlight the literary aspects of the Old Testament, something that I perceive to be somewhat lost in a time of dry mass consumption translations focused exclusively on clarity and accuracy or nu-atheists providing laundry lists of all the abominable things it commands. People actually wrote these texts, people who were interested in aesthetics and word choice, and that's really what his translation is about (with some light apologia, IIRC).
The oft-used example from his translation is that the "stranger" and "strange" in Exodus 2:22 are words with different roots, the words themselves are even estranged from each other. I think some new translations have started using this too, though, so it's probably not the best example of what makes his translation unique anymore.
Sorry for the late reply, for the sake of my blood pressure and the happy flow of these threads I have to limit my exposure to places where people call Borges' Ficciones overrated (as if it's a fucking mascot platformer).
i read this
i thought it was absolutely brilliant. it's a thriller of sorts about the relationship between two men - a cynical british war journalist and an idealistic american cia agent - in love with the same woman, set in the conflicts of 50s vietnam. for something written in the fifties it's frighteningly relevant to modern politics - when you hear people talking simplistically about intervention in syria it echoes much of what the book tackles.
greene's prose is wonderful - sort of combining a sparse style that i dug in le carre's 'the spy who came in from the cold' with a stunning eye for a description. i loved the 50s vietnam setting - smoking opium and hanging out in french cafes with hand grenade barriers is very different to the typical vietnam war stories, though when the story takes intimately you into the conflict between the french colonialists and the vietnamese communists it's as chilling as any war fiction i've seen.
One of my favorite political fictions, though far more languid in its prose than his "high" output.