I've had GR in my amazon cart for the longest time, but apparently the penguin version is littered with errors. I keep an eye out for a used copy of an older version, but yeah, I heard the book is challenging enough as is...
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What are you reading? (September 2014)
- Thread starter Maklershed
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I've had GR in my amazon cart for the longest time, but apparently the penguin version is littered with errors. I keep an eye out for a used copy of an older version, but yeah, I heard the book is challenging enough as is...
You say bloat I say Glorious world building.
Speaking of
AngmarsKing701
Member
I liked The Name of the Wind but considered Wise Man's Fear a pretty significant step down.
Maklershed
Member
Finished The Mystery of Edwin Drood and now starting Perfidia. New Ellroy whoo!
Perfidia by James Ellroy
Perfidia by James Ellroy
BuckRobotron
Member
First is the 12th book of The Dresden Files. Lives up to the name as alliances, relationships, and simply the power potential of various players is changed up significantly.
Second is the short but densely efficient horror story. Inspired a watch of the first movie Hellraiser on Netflix a few days later.
Third (and current read) is entirely different. A pleasant light novel series that dips into a medieval world, focus on economics of all things and a slow-burn romance. Quite enjoyed the anime.
Nice! Don't want to flood you with names that you're probably aware of, anyway, so I'll leave you with one of my favourites, Isaac Babel. Definitely a classic, but a bit of a forgotten one. Hope you enjoy Pushkin for now, though.
melonrabbit
Member
Just started listening to this audiobook, narrated by WILL WHEATON.
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
You know how to hurt a person's feeli--
I'm going to tie you down to a chair, and force you to read the entirety of the Sword of Truth series.
Hey guys!
I was going to start a thread to ask, but thought I'd start here...
My brother is writing a new novel and I have pitched the idea of him doing monthly releases of chapters. Either in blog form or otherwise, releasing a chapter every 1st or 15th (or something) of the month. Try and build readership that way in small doses.
I had a thread last year for his books, and even gave them away for free, but when it's a massive book...I think people are hesitant to put the time in.
What do you think? Good idea?
I'm pitching to him to do monthly releases (after he's built up some headway, halfway through the book or so), and then at the end, if he wants he can go back and edit and and release an eBook for 99 cents or something.
What say you, readers of GAF?
I was going to start a thread to ask, but thought I'd start here...
My brother is writing a new novel and I have pitched the idea of him doing monthly releases of chapters. Either in blog form or otherwise, releasing a chapter every 1st or 15th (or something) of the month. Try and build readership that way in small doses.
I had a thread last year for his books, and even gave them away for free, but when it's a massive book...I think people are hesitant to put the time in.
What do you think? Good idea?
I'm pitching to him to do monthly releases (after he's built up some headway, halfway through the book or so), and then at the end, if he wants he can go back and edit and and release an eBook for 99 cents or something.
What say you, readers of GAF?
A lot of long form fanfiction is released like that, so it works... as long as your brother's schedule is consistent and the content is engaging. Fanfiction has the edge here because using a preexisting property provides an immediate hook/point-of-interest on top of whatever additional hooks the author creates. Unless your brother already has a following, he won't have this advantage. One month is a very long time when it comes to entertainment in the modern world and it's difficult to keep readers interested for that long.
I am reminded of monthly manga series as well. One of the problems I have as a follower of monthly or bi-monthly manga is having to reread the previous chapter so I remember what's going on. Rereading chapters is far less convenient for prose, unless the chapters are very short. That will work against him if he follows a monthly release schedule.
On the other hand, what you're proposing is similar to how Hugh Howie found success with Wool. The key difference is that Wool was published as five separate novellas. The first two novellas are more-or-less standalone stories. It is only in the third novella that Howie really begins the arc for Wool. In a way, the first Wool novella was like a television pilot, used to establish an audience and interest, before committing to a full novel.
I am reminded of monthly manga series as well. One of the problems I have as a follower of monthly or bi-monthly manga is having to reread the previous chapter so I remember what's going on. Rereading chapters is far less convenient for prose, unless the chapters are very short. That will work against him if he follows a monthly release schedule.
On the other hand, what you're proposing is similar to how Hugh Howie found success with Wool. The key difference is that Wool was published as five separate novellas. The first two novellas are more-or-less standalone stories. It is only in the third novella that Howie really begins the arc for Wool. In a way, the first Wool novella was like a television pilot, used to establish an audience and interest, before committing to a full novel.
Thank you for the insight, Haly! I really appreciate the answer. Maybe it's bimonthly..1st AND 15th or something.
He's not expecting a huge readership or anything, he had trouble giving away his last one for free. But there are some people who would read it, and who knows...
Is a Blog the typical way to do this? I've designed nice headers for each chapter so far just in case we do it, it could work in any medium really.
Nice! Don't want to flood you with names that you're probably aware of, anyway, so I'll leave you with one of my favourites, Isaac Babel. Definitely a classic, but a bit of a forgotten one. Hope you enjoy Pushkin for now, though.
Thanks, I wasn't aware of Isaac Babel, but he sounds right up my alley. Goes to the reading list!
Wow. I just finished The Long Earth and actually really, really liked it. I'm a huge sucker for books about adventures with no particular goal in mind and strange, inhuman companions, so this book hit a lot of checkmarks with me, but overall it was awesome anyway. The ending didn't really end on too much of a cliffhanger, so I don't need to read the rest of the books right now, but damn. I definitely want to read them soon. I don't mind that there wasn't a central goal pulling you through, as Wetflame said, just because I liked the amount of interesting stuff going on on the journey so much. Damn. I have that post-good-book afterglow, which I haven't in a while.
Now on to 1Q84.
Now on to 1Q84.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Dear Funko,
Please make an Evilore Funko Pop.
Yours,
GAF
Please make an Evilore Funko Pop.
Yours,
GAF
I'd read that
I'd banged while reading that.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Easystride
Member
Still working my way through John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman. My god, I had no idea how much of a dick John Lennon was. The author hasn't shown many redeeming qualities for him (I'm 30% in). However, I will say one thing: it has really increased my appreciation for the Simpsons' Beatles episode.
"Pete Best forever, Ringo never!"
It has been a pretty intriguing read, though. It's amazing how many times the Beatles could have faded into obscurity and how many people passed them up.
"Pete Best forever, Ringo never!"
It has been a pretty intriguing read, though. It's amazing how many times the Beatles could have faded into obscurity and how many people passed them up.
Maklershed
Member
What kind? What genre do you like? What authors have you enjoyed previously? What do you dislike? Etc
I'm slowly (reading ocd) going through Lovecraft complete work. Well, I aim for a Mythos read for a start. Never read the man except for 'The rats in the wall' which terrified me as a kid and with the help of some early Koontz (I read a lot of the latter, softer Koontz first) and oh my, the beginning of a Barker, helped quench my thirst for supernatural readings. A genre I love but there is so much trauma one can add up in a short time
It's good. It's really good and I'm glad I manned up*. And strangely, while I read the whole thing without a priori, the elephants in the room tends to leave me cold while texts I had never heard about are enchanting me. So yeah, 'The Call of Cthulhu', uneven at best, 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward' (on it atm) the bore that never ends etc... But aside from these there are really good short stories. 'The hound' in particular stood out to me, not for the plot but for the wonderful tone of the characters presentation. There are a lot of really good short pieces. Horror, pulp, etc... And the chronological reading allows for the fascinating observation of the construction of Lovecraft's work.
I'm enchanted. Now if Charles Dexter Ward could end, it would be perfect. Not that it's particularly bad, mind you, but Lovecraft delivered so much more in far farrrrr less words...
* unneeded. WIth the exception of 'The Color Out of Space', Lovecraft's early work is not really scary.
It's good. It's really good and I'm glad I manned up*. And strangely, while I read the whole thing without a priori, the elephants in the room tends to leave me cold while texts I had never heard about are enchanting me. So yeah, 'The Call of Cthulhu', uneven at best, 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward' (on it atm) the bore that never ends etc... But aside from these there are really good short stories. 'The hound' in particular stood out to me, not for the plot but for the wonderful tone of the characters presentation. There are a lot of really good short pieces. Horror, pulp, etc... And the chronological reading allows for the fascinating observation of the construction of Lovecraft's work.
I'm enchanted. Now if Charles Dexter Ward could end, it would be perfect. Not that it's particularly bad, mind you, but Lovecraft delivered so much more in far farrrrr less words...
* unneeded. WIth the exception of 'The Color Out of Space', Lovecraft's early work is not really scary.
You are reading my favorite book of all-time.
Enjoy Major Major Major Major.
I've tried Catch-22 twice and put it down about 20 pages in each time. It was long enough ago that I can't say why with much conviction. Let's try it another way, why do you think it's so good?
I've picked up and dropped Catch-22 at least five times now. I love all the crazy stuff that's going on in the beginning, but I end up putting it down for some reason or another.
One day I'll finally get through it, I swear.
In the meantime:
The Forever War - I knew this was an older classic, but was not expecting the tone. Really liking it so far, still pretty early in
Rise of the Warrior Cop - Picked this up because of recommendations in the Ferguson thread, it's been a really good bathroom read as I'm still working though the play by play history stuff.
One day I'll finally get through it, I swear.
In the meantime:
The Forever War - I knew this was an older classic, but was not expecting the tone. Really liking it so far, still pretty early in
training in the suits.
Rise of the Warrior Cop - Picked this up because of recommendations in the Ferguson thread, it's been a really good bathroom read as I'm still working though the play by play history stuff.
awanderingsoul
Member
I've read these so far this month, thinking about checking out Dark Places by Gillian Flynn next.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Has anyone here read Malice by John Gwynne yet? I saw it in B&N last night and it looks interesting. Good reviews on Amazon. I put it on my wish list but wondered whether GAF had an opinion.
Tragicomedy
Member
+1. It's the best. Indescribably good. I cannot think of a single complaint about the book.
Third time's the charm? I'll give it one more go.
Far too many books out there to try a novel for the third time.
This.
I'm wondering whether to read this.
Conkersbadfurday
Member
Just finished Triss which is a Redwall novel by Brian Jacques. Fun to go back to those on occasion. Currently going through an audio version of Under the Dome by Stephen King.
Conkersbadfurday
Member
It's not very good. I'd stay away from it.
themidnightsun156
Member
thats the next book i want to read
I fully agree. I also found a lot of it extremely relatable, because I have to deal with copious amounts of absurd bureaucracy as well as things adhering to a generally twisted logic in my everyday life.
few things i read recently
the cuckoo's calling, by j.k rowling. in this murder mystery she calmly and enjoyably takes you through a vast web of clues and evidence, confident in the the pleasure of her light humour and side characters and your curiosity in trying to piece it all together. unfortunately i didn't much care for the central duo who i find blandly overly talented and straightforward, i'll probably read the sequel though, so maybe they're richer there or there's more to their relationship.
staring at the sun, by julian barnes. this is occasionally a beautifully written book with moments of wonder and deep sadness as it meditates on how to live a meaningful life that remind you of why barnes is a talented writer, which just never works as a novel for me. it's all over the place structurally as it jumps through time then characters and themes so rapidly, such that nothing feels like it has proper weight, and clumsy recurring motifs aren't enough to make it cohere.
to the letter: a journey through a vanishing world by simon garfield. a sort of breezy light history slash appreciation slash physical object nostalgia about the art of letter writing from seneca to ted hughes. it's a pleasant, enjoyable book that succeeded in making me want to read some collected letters (though doing this feels super intrusive in a way the book doesn't talk about really) and write to my grandmother, but a bit too nice and boring to make you think about anything in a meaningful way.
now i'm reading mr sammler's planet by saul bellow. i like that this book takes you directly into the mind of a singular person and there's some mesmerizing passages of writing but i think i understand about a third of each page. maybe just above my level, which is a shame as i loved seize the day.
the cuckoo's calling, by j.k rowling. in this murder mystery she calmly and enjoyably takes you through a vast web of clues and evidence, confident in the the pleasure of her light humour and side characters and your curiosity in trying to piece it all together. unfortunately i didn't much care for the central duo who i find blandly overly talented and straightforward, i'll probably read the sequel though, so maybe they're richer there or there's more to their relationship.
staring at the sun, by julian barnes. this is occasionally a beautifully written book with moments of wonder and deep sadness as it meditates on how to live a meaningful life that remind you of why barnes is a talented writer, which just never works as a novel for me. it's all over the place structurally as it jumps through time then characters and themes so rapidly, such that nothing feels like it has proper weight, and clumsy recurring motifs aren't enough to make it cohere.
to the letter: a journey through a vanishing world by simon garfield. a sort of breezy light history slash appreciation slash physical object nostalgia about the art of letter writing from seneca to ted hughes. it's a pleasant, enjoyable book that succeeded in making me want to read some collected letters (though doing this feels super intrusive in a way the book doesn't talk about really) and write to my grandmother, but a bit too nice and boring to make you think about anything in a meaningful way.
now i'm reading mr sammler's planet by saul bellow. i like that this book takes you directly into the mind of a singular person and there's some mesmerizing passages of writing but i think i understand about a third of each page. maybe just above my level, which is a shame as i loved seize the day.
OfWhiteSkinOnRedLeather
Member
A little over halfway through and so far so good.
Maklershed
Member
Started reading The De-Textbook from the fine folks at cracked.com
The De-Textbook: The Stuff You Didn't Know About the Stuff You Thought You Knew by Cracked.com
The De-Textbook: The Stuff You Didn't Know About the Stuff You Thought You Knew by Cracked.com
Christoff Yurievich
Member
I had to give up on Redwall after the stories moved away from the original characters and just became an exercise in frustration and dibbuns. Lots and lots of dibbuns.
Just started reading this. It's been a while since I've read something short that I'll actually be able to finish in a timely manner. Blade Runner is one of my favorite films and I figured it was finally time to read this. It's very interesting to see the differences between the novel and script. What fascinates me the most is the obsession with animals that isn't really discussed in the film, outside of the scenes with the snake and owl.
I'm open minded. I love ASOIAF, trying to find Abercrombie at my library. Tried some other fantasy, but really didn't like Wheel of Time (god, every character was thinking like a 12 yo). Erikson is ok, great world-building and all, but his characters aren't that great and after having read MoI, which is supposed to be his best book, I'm not that impressed. Also reading and liking Doug Adams' Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, but real sci-fi probably isn't my thing. I'd be willing to give it a try if it was a well written book/series with good characters though. Also catching up on the classics (currently A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway). Stephen King's The Dark Tower also is on my list. I haven't read that much tbh.
Recently finished:
Merlin book 1: The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
I enjoyed this but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's definitely more a historical novel than a fantasy. There is some magic, but it's very understated. The book is presented as a memoir, covering many years of Merlin's early life by outlining several key episodes, some of which are much more interesting than others. There are a few sections where it almost becomes genuinely boring, but then it recovers nicely by the end. The writing itself was superb, and Merlin is a fascinating character. Overall i would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Jack Reacher book 19: Personal by Lee Child
This is definitely not one of the better Reacher books, but it's not terrible either. The books in this series come in a lot of different flavors depending on the kind of threat Jack Reacher is dealing with. Some are noirs, others are straight mysteries, others are action adventure novels... This one is basically a spy story. Jack goes to europe trying to track down a sniper. It's reasonably fun and worth reading if you like the series, but nothing spectacular.
All Heads Turn When The Hunt Goes By by John Farris
This is a horror novel I've been meaning to read for quite a while. It isn't very well known in the mainstream, but it has a strong cult following in horror circles, and most consider it to be John Farris's best novel. Any detailed description of the story would probably give too much away. Suffice to say that it is a well executed combination of the Southern Gothic tradition and Lovecraft. It's sleazy, violent, extremely well written (most of the time), with perfect pacing and some excellent characters. The book is also kind of a mind-fuck, in a good way. I loved it.
Adversary Cycle book 3: Reborn by F. Paul Wilson
This is pure pulp. Easily the weakest Adversary cycle book so far. It's a twist on a pretty common story--I won't give it away, but you'll recognize it very early on. Some parts of it are poorly written. None of the characters are particularly likable or believable. It managed to keep me entertained in a very shallow way, but when i finished I was just about ready to give up on this series, and that meant also giving up on the Repairman Jack books, which are directly connected as the other half of Wilson's "Secret History of the World" saga. Trying to read both series combined--and the connections are quite direct so it feels like the only proper way to do it--is a pretty massive time investment, and i wasn't sure i could make it to the finish line if the books weren't going to be better than this. Luckily I decided to keep going...
Repairman Jack book 2: Legacies by F. Paul Wilson
This book was actually written 14 years after the first Repairman Jack book, which is a good thing, because Wilson's writing has clearly matured dramatically in the intervening years. It was an extremely fun read that I devoured in a couple of days, and lacks nearly all of the glaring flaws that annoyed me in Wilson's books from the early 80s. The story in this one doesn't contain a supernatural element, and is only very distantly related to the Secret History of The World, but there are connections which become clearer in the next book.
Repairman Jack book 3: Conspiracies by F. Paul Wilson
In this book Jack has to go undercover at a conference with various conspiracy theorists (UFO people, Christian rapture people, New World Order people, etc) in order to find a missing woman. The story is so tightly interwoven with The Adversary Cycle that it should be counted as a mandatory read in that series. The more I read of these, the more I feel it's all just one giant series, and I think I'm doing the right thing by reading them together. I really, really liked this book. If you start the Repairman Jack books, or the Adversacy Cycle, or both and you aren't overly impressed with the first few book(s), just read a little further. The improvement is drastic.
Merlin book 1: The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
I enjoyed this but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's definitely more a historical novel than a fantasy. There is some magic, but it's very understated. The book is presented as a memoir, covering many years of Merlin's early life by outlining several key episodes, some of which are much more interesting than others. There are a few sections where it almost becomes genuinely boring, but then it recovers nicely by the end. The writing itself was superb, and Merlin is a fascinating character. Overall i would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Jack Reacher book 19: Personal by Lee Child
This is definitely not one of the better Reacher books, but it's not terrible either. The books in this series come in a lot of different flavors depending on the kind of threat Jack Reacher is dealing with. Some are noirs, others are straight mysteries, others are action adventure novels... This one is basically a spy story. Jack goes to europe trying to track down a sniper. It's reasonably fun and worth reading if you like the series, but nothing spectacular.
All Heads Turn When The Hunt Goes By by John Farris
This is a horror novel I've been meaning to read for quite a while. It isn't very well known in the mainstream, but it has a strong cult following in horror circles, and most consider it to be John Farris's best novel. Any detailed description of the story would probably give too much away. Suffice to say that it is a well executed combination of the Southern Gothic tradition and Lovecraft. It's sleazy, violent, extremely well written (most of the time), with perfect pacing and some excellent characters. The book is also kind of a mind-fuck, in a good way. I loved it.
Adversary Cycle book 3: Reborn by F. Paul Wilson
This is pure pulp. Easily the weakest Adversary cycle book so far. It's a twist on a pretty common story--I won't give it away, but you'll recognize it very early on. Some parts of it are poorly written. None of the characters are particularly likable or believable. It managed to keep me entertained in a very shallow way, but when i finished I was just about ready to give up on this series, and that meant also giving up on the Repairman Jack books, which are directly connected as the other half of Wilson's "Secret History of the World" saga. Trying to read both series combined--and the connections are quite direct so it feels like the only proper way to do it--is a pretty massive time investment, and i wasn't sure i could make it to the finish line if the books weren't going to be better than this. Luckily I decided to keep going...
Repairman Jack book 2: Legacies by F. Paul Wilson
This book was actually written 14 years after the first Repairman Jack book, which is a good thing, because Wilson's writing has clearly matured dramatically in the intervening years. It was an extremely fun read that I devoured in a couple of days, and lacks nearly all of the glaring flaws that annoyed me in Wilson's books from the early 80s. The story in this one doesn't contain a supernatural element, and is only very distantly related to the Secret History of The World, but there are connections which become clearer in the next book.
Repairman Jack book 3: Conspiracies by F. Paul Wilson
In this book Jack has to go undercover at a conference with various conspiracy theorists (UFO people, Christian rapture people, New World Order people, etc) in order to find a missing woman. The story is so tightly interwoven with The Adversary Cycle that it should be counted as a mandatory read in that series. The more I read of these, the more I feel it's all just one giant series, and I think I'm doing the right thing by reading them together. I really, really liked this book. If you start the Repairman Jack books, or the Adversacy Cycle, or both and you aren't overly impressed with the first few book(s), just read a little further. The improvement is drastic.
TestMonkey
Member
Just started:
I noticed that there is a sequel to it and would like to know if it's just a duology or if there are more books expected. Also is the sequel recommended immediately after or could I hold off?
I noticed that there is a sequel to it and would like to know if it's just a duology or if there are more books expected. Also is the sequel recommended immediately after or could I hold off?
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