Conkersbadfurday
Member
At a certain point, he lowered the age of his market and yeah.
But damn, they have been fun to return to for small amounts of time. First time rereading them in over a decade, so it's been a nostalgic trip.
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What are you reading? (September 2014)
- Thread starter Maklershed
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But damn, they have been fun to return to for small amounts of time. First time rereading them in over a decade, so it's been a nostalgic trip.
The sequel it worth a read right after John Dies at the End if you like it. Not sure if this is a two book deal or more, but I got the feeling that there will be more.
bennywhatever
Member
How it is? I was tempted to pick this up. I have two free credits on audible at the moment.
Also, can I just say that Please, Save My Earth is one of my most favorite mangas. Glad other people are giving it a chance
It's really good so far. The book itself isn't the most well-written, but it's in the perspective of a super nerd teenager so that's OK. Will Wheaton reads it very well and with entirely too much passion (which is to be expected of a super nerd).
I finished up Last Picture Show yesterday. Meh. I love a good coming-of-age story, and with how much praise Lonesome Dove gets, I wouldve imagined Larry McMurty wouldve written a great coming-of-age tale, but it just was a big miss. Liked it enough to quickly finish it as it was a fast read, but I was skimming the last couple chapters, and there was some really strange/awkward parts to read. Moving on.
In a mood to switch things up really, was in the mood for some fantasy really, and thought maybe The Way of Kings, but didn't want something do daunting, and then realized I could just read some historical fiction and since I've wanted to read this for a while...
Now Reading...
The Winter King (The Arthur Books #1) by Bernard Cornwell
In a mood to switch things up really, was in the mood for some fantasy really, and thought maybe The Way of Kings, but didn't want something do daunting, and then realized I could just read some historical fiction and since I've wanted to read this for a while...
Now Reading...
The Winter King (The Arthur Books #1) by Bernard Cornwell
Finished Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer this weekend. I found it to be lovely, haunting, dark, and strange in equal measure. It does a fantastic job of bringing together the disparate elements of the first two books, and gives what I felt to be a very satisfying ending. The Southern Reach books are some of the best I've read this year, and I'm looking forward next year to reading all three in a single go.
I'm currently reading Leckie's Ancillary Justice, which I'm enjoying when she can get out of her own way. It really feels like a first novel, which isn't to say it isn't interesting, but she seems to have a hard time juggling the multiple story lines in different time periods. I'm not quite done, though, so maybe she'll pull it all out of the hat at the end.
Once I'm done, I suspect I will be moving onto some Nancy Kress (Thanks again, Aidan!)
I'm currently reading Leckie's Ancillary Justice, which I'm enjoying when she can get out of her own way. It really feels like a first novel, which isn't to say it isn't interesting, but she seems to have a hard time juggling the multiple story lines in different time periods. I'm not quite done, though, so maybe she'll pull it all out of the hat at the end.
Once I'm done, I suspect I will be moving onto some Nancy Kress (Thanks again, Aidan!)
PassiveObserver
Member
Last Words from Montmartre
I have a fascination with suicides, and here is a book, a epistolary novel of sorts, written by an experimental queer Taiwanese novelist, published after her suicide in 1995. I was also drawn to Suicide, written by Édouard Levé, who also took his life ten days after delivering the manuscript to his publisher. These suicide notes in book form hold a morbid appeal that I can't really justify in any meaningful way. I just like reading them and ruminating about mortality and depression, which are pet concerns of mine
I have a fascination with suicides, and here is a book, a epistolary novel of sorts, written by an experimental queer Taiwanese novelist, published after her suicide in 1995. I was also drawn to Suicide, written by Édouard Levé, who also took his life ten days after delivering the manuscript to his publisher. These suicide notes in book form hold a morbid appeal that I can't really justify in any meaningful way. I just like reading them and ruminating about mortality and depression, which are pet concerns of mine
Very slowly trying to make my way through this monster. I'm only about 150 pages in right now but I'm really enjoying it. It's pretty fascinating stuff. It is also surprisingly easy to read but still not super fast to read because of all the names and organizations to keep track of. I hope I can stick with it but it's going to take a while for me.
I wish it had a different cover on it though. I like to read on the balcony of my apartment and I think my neighbors might be a little suspicious of me reading a book plastered with swastikas.
Orbis Tabula
Member
Throw my name on the list of people who adore Catch-22. One of my all-time favorite novels, and the only novel I've ever really read twice. It's brilliant and I recommend it to anyone who will listen.
However, I just finished reading Closing Time, Joseph Heller's sequel. I made a thread about it but it fell off the front page pretty fast, no surprise. I found it pretty lacking. I knew not to expect it to be as good as Catch-22, but I was still pretty disappointed. Just wasn't able to capture the magic again.
Now that I finished that, I'm going to finish reading The End Of Time by Julian Barbour. It's a little more physics-y, though, so I'll probably start a new novel to read concurrently. Probably the next Sherlock Holmes novel that I haven't read.
However, I just finished reading Closing Time, Joseph Heller's sequel. I made a thread about it but it fell off the front page pretty fast, no surprise. I found it pretty lacking. I knew not to expect it to be as good as Catch-22, but I was still pretty disappointed. Just wasn't able to capture the magic again.
Now that I finished that, I'm going to finish reading The End Of Time by Julian Barbour. It's a little more physics-y, though, so I'll probably start a new novel to read concurrently. Probably the next Sherlock Holmes novel that I haven't read.
nakedsushi
Member
Finished some light reading:
Us by David Nicholls
3.5/5 stars.
I got the ARC from the publisher because it sounded like something I'd want to read, and I was right. The book has its shortcomings, but I enjoyed it and looked forward to reading it each night when I had free time and really, isn't that what's most important in a book?
Us by David Nicholls
3.5/5 stars.
I got the ARC from the publisher because it sounded like something I'd want to read, and I was right. The book has its shortcomings, but I enjoyed it and looked forward to reading it each night when I had free time and really, isn't that what's most important in a book?
ChopstickNinja
Neo Member
Finished two books this month.
First was Redshirts by John Scalzi.
I like it well enough. The back half kind didn't have the same hold and intrigue for me as the first half though. I did like the very ending though, the frame of the book, was great. Overall, good easy. I actually finished it over the course of two days.
Redshirts was actually a break for me between Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear.
I am really enjoying this series. Again the framing device of the book is elegant and I read it more as a mystery then fantasy, I'm constantly and intently looking for clues for why
. I have found that I am missing a lot of subtleties of the plot due to the length of the novels. For instance, it really went over my head that
. I simply can't remember a paragraph or song lyric from early in the first book when it is vaguely referenced midway through the 1000 page sequel. I'm rambling now and probably more upset I didn't put it together myself....
Next up for me is the Count of Monte Cristo.
First was Redshirts by John Scalzi.
I like it well enough. The back half kind didn't have the same hold and intrigue for me as the first half though. I did like the very ending though, the frame of the book, was great. Overall, good easy. I actually finished it over the course of two days.
Redshirts was actually a break for me between Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear.
I am really enjoying this series. Again the framing device of the book is elegant and I read it more as a mystery then fantasy, I'm constantly and intently looking for clues for why
Kvothe lost his 'powers' and is now an innkeeper
Kvothe's mother is likely the older Lackless sister that ran away with the Ruh
Next up for me is the Count of Monte Cristo.
i_am_ben
running_here_and_there
Trying to read this and I'm about 30 pages in.
The prose is beautiful but very reader unfriendly.
Has anyone read it? Should I bail?
So I just finished this book and it was amazing. It's about two gay boys during the lead up to the Easter rebellion in Ireland.
It apparently holds the record for the most expensive advance ever to an Irish author and its very easy to see why.
The characters, plot and prose are all superb.
Catch-22 was fantastic. I found it a bit off-putting at first, in that I wasn't sure how seriously I should take it (and I got the impression that the answer was "completely, and not at all"), but once it clicked I was in love with it. Homophobic Bullying was ... interesting. I didn't learn too much from it, and I was somewhat disappointed that it didn't reference some work that I was familiar with (though that work wasn't framed as bullying research), but I did find it disconcerting reading about the long-term effects of homophobic bullying, because I thinking, "Yeah, that was me. Yes, that was my high school experience. Yes, I have issues with that." And it's things that I don't think about, or I just think of as "me." It makes me wonder what sort of person I'd be like without those experiences, and whether I'd like that person better than the person I am.
Currently Reading:
Dickinson is still on backlog, though my copy is currently in transit. Whipping Girl is quite good; I think I'll read Serano's Excluded this year, too. And, uh, I'm still on the second issue of X-Statix. I'll get to it!
sparky2112
Member
Still reading:
Fascinating...up until the bottom fell out of the French efforts to build it. Now it's a whole bunch of pages dedicated to finger-pointing/trials in France, which is of little interest to me. I'll punch through it, but it's a serious momentum-killer.
Also, just started this:
I've never read Moore, and I guess besides Watchmen, this is considered his best work? He came up on the David Foster Wallace listserve (among) other places, because he's just finished his 1 MILLION word draft of Jerusalem, his second novel. A few folks on the list have read his first novel and liked it quite a bit, so I need to check that out as well. It'll be a while before Jerusalem is published anywhere, so I've got plenty of time.
Oh, yeah, for comparison, Infinite Jest is a little over 500k words. Mind. Blown.
(BTW, what is UP with the lettering in From Hell? Yes, the art is a bit rough/stylish, but why make it weird to actually read?)
Fascinating...up until the bottom fell out of the French efforts to build it. Now it's a whole bunch of pages dedicated to finger-pointing/trials in France, which is of little interest to me. I'll punch through it, but it's a serious momentum-killer.
Also, just started this:
I've never read Moore, and I guess besides Watchmen, this is considered his best work? He came up on the David Foster Wallace listserve (among) other places, because he's just finished his 1 MILLION word draft of Jerusalem, his second novel. A few folks on the list have read his first novel and liked it quite a bit, so I need to check that out as well. It'll be a while before Jerusalem is published anywhere, so I've got plenty of time.
Oh, yeah, for comparison, Infinite Jest is a little over 500k words. Mind. Blown.
(BTW, what is UP with the lettering in From Hell? Yes, the art is a bit rough/stylish, but why make it weird to actually read?)
Mackenzie 92
Member
Just about done with Echo Burning. Twists and turns, and then more twists and turns. Still, pretty entertaining.
Next up
Bleachers by John Grisham
Next up
Bleachers by John Grisham
Nappuccino
Member
Just a guess, but maybe to replicate the accents in text-form?
Have been debating reading this as well for a while, so will see what you think.
I'm reminded why I have stayed away from high fantasy/science fiction. Even with The Winter King, I'm already having trouble just keeping up with names and places and all that.
Tragicomedy
Member
Are you me? Substitute in the first book of the Southern Reach trilogy, Annihilation, and this is exactly what I'm reading right now. So far I'm vastly prefering VanderMeer's book. No idea how everything will progress in the next two books, but this one is a huge winner for me.
This freaking book, man. It's dystopian science fiction, but I've gotten one or two moments of chills that are straight out of the better Stephen King novels. I want to know what the hell is going on, but at the same time I don't want the book to rush toward answers. Slow burn, please!
BriareosGAF
Member
(BTW, what is UP with the lettering in From Hell? Yes, the art is a bit rough/stylish, but why make it weird to actually read?)
It's Eddie Campbell, I think that's just part of the scratchy pen nib aesthetic. Man, I love him, and Moore, and this book so much. The background notes, too, just so good. I even bought & read the entire Alec collection. Need to do the same for Bacchus one of these days.
sparky2112
Member
Cool, thx for the input.
On a related note, Peter O'Toole was almost too pretty to be a man. In a good this-coming-from-a-hetero way.
Lollipop Dave
Member
Fantastic book, I'm little over 3 quarters and loving it. Recommend it to any WWI lovers.
The Guns of August, is another fantastic book that I finished just before starting the above.
sparky2112
Member
yay
Whoever designed that cover is a genius. For serious.
I agree with you, but I think you mean, whoever chose that picture for that cover.
edit: Come to think about it, I agree with you even more now. There's actual design behind the font choice and colors.
Wiktor
Member
Finished
Now reading:
Liked it. Not a great book, but the lead character is very charismatic and the sense of Tokyo setting was excellent. Overall a good novel and very nice start of a series (crime series tend to improve considerably in later entries). Will pick up second volumne in a while.
Now reading:
One of the few recent King books I didn't read close to release, because I find JFK's assassination to be a pretty mundane and boring topic for a time travel story. But I've heard so much praise for this novel that I decided to give it a try.
sparky2112
Member
Orbis Tabula
Member
Never read it, trying to correct that error. I've read The Road and Blood Meridian. I love McCarthy's work. It's strange; his style of prose is always a little off putting when I start but once I hit the dialogue everything clicks and I'm hooked in.
Interested to hear your opinion on it. I've read The Road and Blood Meridian both this year and loved them. I kind of feel the same way about his work that you do. There's like this mode you need to be in to really get it, and you just have to wait for it to click.
sparky2112
Member
Never read it, trying to correct that error. I've read The Road and Blood Meridian. I love McCarthy's work. It's strange; his style of prose is always a little off putting when I start but once I hit the dialogue everything clicks and I'm hooked in.
Great book. By turns funny and tragic. Very deserving of the National Book Award.
Drop it like it's hot, brah. You can always come back to it later.
Tragicomedy
Member
Don't tell that to Nicholas Sparks.
D
Deleted member 125677
Unconfirmed Member
I need someone to tell me whether I should start reading The Marriage Plot, The Summer Without Men, Beloved or the Rabbit Angstrom novels?
sparky2112
Member
I meant it when I said he's the Kenny G of novelists. (Homer Simpson voice): 'It's funny because it's true.'
nakedsushi
Member
Orbis Tabula
Member
Just finished another book today in the Metro.
I really enjoyed it. I'd previously read Cat's Cradle and I'm growing to like Vonnegut. Slaughterhouse Five was a really fun read. And short, too. I loved the way the novel was framed. The story within a story with unreliable narrators. And I really empathized with Billy Pilgrim's worldview. Or the Tralfamagorians view. At first I found Billy annoying because of the way he seemed to just passively play along with whatever fate dealt him but it really worked well once you got further into the story and understood his past. Future. Whatever. Point is, I would recommend.
I think I might read Lolita next. Just another one of those books I hear nothing but praise for. Might as well stick with classics so I know I'm getting something good!
I really enjoyed it. I'd previously read Cat's Cradle and I'm growing to like Vonnegut. Slaughterhouse Five was a really fun read. And short, too. I loved the way the novel was framed. The story within a story with unreliable narrators. And I really empathized with Billy Pilgrim's worldview. Or the Tralfamagorians view. At first I found Billy annoying because of the way he seemed to just passively play along with whatever fate dealt him but it really worked well once you got further into the story and understood his past. Future. Whatever. Point is, I would recommend.
I think I might read Lolita next. Just another one of those books I hear nothing but praise for. Might as well stick with classics so I know I'm getting something good!
Way of Kings kindle is free atm. Might be a price error? Go go go!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003P2WO5E/?tag=neogaf0e-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003P2WO5E/?tag=neogaf0e-20
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
I finished The Colorado Kid by Stephen King today. It was only 180 pages so I just knocked it out in a sitting. It was ok, I guess. Sort of interesting, but ultimately nothing happened. I have his second Hard Case book, Joyland, that I'll start soon. Then it's back onto the Expanse series.
Speaking of the Hard Case books are any of you guys familiar with that imprint? Is there a book (or books) under that label I should pick up?
Speaking of the Hard Case books are any of you guys familiar with that imprint? Is there a book (or books) under that label I should pick up?
Cool. "Bought"
Damn. Picked that up even if I'm still not into Fantasy (again) yet.
You can always delete it and pretend it never happened.
That's true. That's a bonus. I'll probably like it, though. It could jumpstart me back into the genre
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