[Gix]

Just finished:


Starting:


Off and on:

[BigNastyCurve]

That is indeed the correct version. The abridged version is about half as long (~600 vs ~1200 pages) and mildly censored for stuffy nineteenth century audiences; most editions use the original anonymous 1846 translation. The Buss translation is pretty much your only real option for a complete, unabridged, and uncensored translation of the novel so: Yes, switch to that.

Well, crap, looks like I can't buy that version for Kindle :(

[Saadster]

Should have asked to speak with a manager.

I mean she eventually caved and gave me $7 worth of store credit, so it's not that big of a deal.

I was just annoyed by the fact that they accused me of something I absolutely did not do. I was acting within their policies. You would think that after giving them so much business they would be a little nicer to returning customers.

[alphaflightlives]

Finished the following:


Savages: A Novel by Don Winslow

Amazingly fun and clever. The sort of book you could easily finish in one sitting due to how fast and off the cuff it reads.


A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

I get pretty tired of each book in this series till it gets about 2/3 of the way through then I become completely engrossed. I'm going to have to wait a bit till I have the strength to tackle A Feast for Crows


Taking Wing by Michael A. Martin

Meh. Rote Star Trek fiction. Nothing special here. Mainly read to burn time till tomorrow when I will get the first three Neal Stephenson novels and will start with....


The Big U by Neal Stephenson

It's the first Stephenson I've read and I know he has come out disowning it but I usually like to start from the beginning when reading an author. I'm pretty excited to check out his stuff.

I usually just lurk but I want to thank everyone for all the recommendations and discussion. Every time I enter this thread I find something else I want to read!

[Mollymauk]

Well, crap, looks like I can't buy that version for Kindle :(

It's there. It's just a bit tougher to find. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Count-Cristo-P.../dp/B002RI9KL8

[Mackenzie 92]

Just finished

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Enjoyed it. Was a lot better than the movie and reminded of The Long Ships, though not as good. Anyway, would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good Viking Story.


Anyone know of any good colonization or terraforming books that are not the Mars trilogy?

[Jezabel]

doing a reread of ASOS on my flashy new kindle.

having a kindle and reading with it in bed is so damn comfortable

[Mumei]

I got a lot of reading done of Pride and Prejudice. It was a bit of a slow burn for me at the start, but it has grown on me a lot. And I like Elizabeth better than I might partially because the annotator does a really good job contrasting her with other contemporary female heroines, elaborating on the stifling social context that she lives in (and which Austen's audience would have been familiar with, presumably), and it becomes more obvious the ways that she... I wouldn't say "rebels" but at least has some push-and-pull with it. I have about 50 pages to go, which for my edition is about half of Volume III.

I also read the first volume of Wandering Son yesterday. It was ... cute, I guess. I enjoyed the author's self-deprecation at the end about all the characters looking the same... because they did.

[TTG]

I just finished the Millennium trilogy, I like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo more than the sequels, but enjoyed all of the series. Any suggestions for something in the same genre? I don't read this type of book often, so I don't want to go for something completely different just yet.

[BorkBork]

Hey I noticed you're using Goodreads.com book links (thanks!). Did you know there's a widget/shortcut thing on each book page (scroll down and look at the right side in the "Share This Book" section, click the "Your website" link) that gives you a BBcode snippet you can copy/paste to forums that includes the image and link already?

Thanks for the tip! I will do that in the future.

[deadbeef]

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston

Thanks to the recent thread on the Uganda Ebola outbreak, I just finished this book. I listened to the audio book version. Pretty frightening but compelling, like staring into the abyss or watching a train wreck - hard to look away.

[Dresden]

started The Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon--fun stuff so far, a pair of jewish bandits/adventurers swashbuckling through tenth century middle east.

[Saadster]

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston Thanks to the recent thread on the Uganda Ebola outbreak, I just finished this book. I listened to the audio book version. Pretty frightening but compelling, like staring into the abyss or watching a train wreck - hard to look away.

Dat black vomit.

[Rom1944]

I`m reading:



and boy i was missing some good historical novel now i will have to buy all the books my wallet is going to resent it.

[Maklershed]

Anyone know of any good colonization or terraforming books that are not the Mars trilogy?

Pandora's Star / Judas Unchained and the Foundation trilogy might be up your alley.

started The Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon--fun stuff so far, a pair of jewish bandits/adventurers swashbuckling through tenth century middle east.

Ohh that sounds good. Added to my wishlisht.

[FnordChan]

The Big U by Neal Stephenson It's the first Stephenson I've read and I know he has come out disowning it but I usually like to start from the beginning when reading an author. I'm pretty excited to check out his stuff!

I'm a great fan of The Big U. As a first novel it's kinda a mess, but I thought it was a really fun mess, and considering how much time I've spent refusing to leave college one way or another I appreciated the broadly satirical look at campus life. I hope you dig it!

FnordChan

[8bit]

Just downloaded this:



Been ages since I've read any of his works, hopefully still enjoyable after this time.

[dubc35]

I just started this, only 5 chapters in (they're short chapters). I'm liking it so far.

[AAequal]

I just started this, only 5 chapters in (they're short chapters). I'm liking it so far.

Such awesome book, be sure to watch the movie too (starring Bogart).

[Cactus]

I just started this, only 5 chapters in (they're short chapters). I'm liking it so far.

I love most of Chandler's novels. His works definitely have more literary value than the average detective novel, IMO.

Incedentally, I started reading Trouble Is My Business last night. Hopefully his short stories are as good as his full lengths.

[Leeroy3101]

Oh my goodness, why haven't I ever read more of Ray Bradbury?! Only thing I've read by him is Something Wicked This Way Comes. Finally got around to reading some more of him this month.

Just finished reading this:

I loved how he was able to link all the individual tales together. It reminded me a lot of 2001 by Arthur C Clark in that manner. I was impressed with Bradbury's social commentary, too. Definitely one of my all time favorite books.

Working on this:

It's more of a short story collection than an actual novel. Still, it's an incredibly well put together book with complex short stories. I'm loving it so far.

[thomaser]

I love most of Chandler's novels. His works definitely have more literary value than the average detective novel, IMO.

Good to hear - I'm just about to start a university course about the American Detective Novel, and The Big Sleep is one of the nine books we have to read. Really looking forward to it!

The other books are: Grafton: ""M" is for Malice", MacDonald: "Black Money", Paretsky: "Tunnel Vision", Cornwell: "Body of Evidence", Hammett: "Maltese Falcon" and "Red Harvest", Mosley: "Devil in a Blue Dress", and Parker: "Promised Land". I know Hammett's books are supposed to be great, and Grafton's is a famous one, but what about the rest? Are they good too?

[Cactus]

Good to hear - I'm just about to start a university course about the American Detective Novel, and The Big Sleep is one of the nine books we have to read. Really looking forward to it! The other books are: Grafton: ""M" is for Malice", MacDonald: "Black Money", Paretsky: "Tunnel Vision", Cornwell: "Body of Evidence", Hammett: "Maltese Falcon" and "Red Harvest", Mosley: "Devil in a Blue Dress", and Parker: "Promised Land". I know Hammett's books are supposed to be great, and Grafton's is a famous one, but what about the rest? Are they good too?

I'm only familiar with Hammett and Macdonald but I'd say that they're both worthy of recommendation.

[Fourman]

Finished A Storm of Swords and it was just amazing. I was on my knees begging for more after that ending so I decided to hop right into A Feast for Crows.

[Maklershed]

Working on this: It's more of a short story collection than an actual novel. Still, it's an incredibly well put together book with complex short stories. I'm loving it so far.

I should probably read this. I watched the movie recently and none of the stories made a lick of sense but they were oddly intriguing none the less. I'm guessing the stories in the book are much easier to understand.

[Arment]

Started it last night. The Silver Spike was alright, but they offed my favorite character.

[DanDeschain]

[hom3land]

just finished



Confused on one part. Who attacked Hub world, that made them have to move the rehab center to a more secluded place?"

[deadbeef]

I forgot to add - earlier this month I picked up this book after the author wrote a column regarding the recent mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado.


Columbine by Dave Cullen

I'll admit that perhaps it doesn't tell the whole story of what happened leading up to the shooting at Columbine, but it is a pretty good book. Made me sick to my stomach reading it.

[CracknutWhirrun]

Just finished House of Chains by Steven Erickson. This book series is easily the most difficult I've read; not because the books are boring, or the prose is difficult, but because it's incredibly important to pay attention as you read. Erickson plans so far ahead, and he throws little hints and important tidbits in previous books that may not come to fruition for two or three more books. I tend to skim over large sections of text in a lot of the books I read, but I can't do that with the Malazan novels. Erickson trusts his readers to intellectually put together clues he scatters everywhere. All that said, the series is becoming one of my favorite, and pretty much everything about these books has tickled my fancy so far.

I'm going to move onto American Gods by Neil Gaiman before reading the next Malazan book, Midnight Tides.

[Sajjaja]

Such a good book.... really....amazing stuff.

[nakedsushi]

I got an email saying StoryBundle is up. Not sure of the quality of the books in the bundle, but since it's pay as you like, it's easy to take the plunge. It's like indie game bundle, but for books.

Will post my reviews as I go through the books.

http://storybundle.com/

[Zerokku]

What are the next-best Cyberpunk novels after Neuromancer and Snow Crash? (Those are the two I hear talked about most at any rate)

To add to this discussion besides just looking for recommendations - Finished Crime and Punishment. Absolutely fantastic, though the prose was far more dense than Im used to. Probably would've taken another week or so to finish it (mostly on account of its prose), but our cable/internet/tv was out last thursday and friday which left me with little to do but read haha. But like I said, just fantastic.

In my continuing effort to be reading some more classics inbetween all of my sci-fi and fantasy fare,


The Complete Sherlock Holmes

Been a long time fan of Sherlock Holmes since my dad introduced me to the old Granada TV Show, and finally getting around to reading these. Great and entertaining stories, though the text is so small that it feels like I'm barely making any progress as I read through it haha.

[Keen]

Just finished House of Chains by Steven Erickson.  This book series is easily the most difficult I've read; not because the books are boring, or the prose is difficult, but because it's incredibly important to pay attention as you read.  Erickson plans so far ahead, and he throws little hints and important tidbits in previous books that may not come to fruition for two or three more books.  I tend to skim over large sections of text in a lot of the books I read, but I can't do that with the Malazan novels.  Erickson trusts his readers to intellectually put together clues he scatters everywhere.  All that said, the series is becoming one of my favorite, and pretty much everything about these books has tickled my fancy so far. I'm going to move onto American Gods by Neil Gaiman before reading the next Malazan book, Midnight Tides.

House of Chains seemed to generate lots of divisive opinions, but I liked it alot. 
Also, Erikson, not Erickson. 


Currently reading The Mongoliad by Neal Stephenson et al. and Röde Orm by Frans G. Bengtsson. 

[Dresden]

What are the next-best Cyberpunk novels after Neuromancer and Snow Crash? (Those are the two I hear talked about most at any rate)

diamond age
when gravity fails
river of gods
altered carbon
looking for the mahdi
black man
etc

[Leeroy3101]

I'm going to move onto American Gods by Neil Gaiman before reading the next Malazan book, Midnight Tides.

Good luck. I wanted to like American Gods but it never happened. I finished it but I was utterly disappointed.

[Jintor]

Hey I noticed you're using Goodreads.com book links (thanks!). Did you know there's a widget/shortcut thing on each book page (scroll down and look at the right side in the "Share This Book" section, click the "Your website" link) that gives you a BBcode snippet you can copy/paste to forums that includes the image and link already?

wat

let me try this


Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
This is actually a re-read, but since I didn't actually own the book before and it's been a few years since I last read it I'll post it here. Probably my favourite of all the Watch books, though I haven't read Snuff yet.

[catfish]

I'm on Wool #4 now. This series is wonderful. It definitely seems like the shit is about to hit the proverbial fan.

amazing books, love them. number 6 (a prequel) is great as well. number 5 is about the length of 1-4 combined I think. not entirely sure as I read it on kindle, but I think it's by far the longest.

[Sajjaja]

Has anyone read The Brothers Karamazov? It'll probably be the book I read after Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy.

I bought this edition but I haven't gotten around to it yet.


Any thoughts on it?

[Manik]

Just finished House of Chains by Steven Erickson. This book series is easily the most difficult I've read; not because the books are boring, or the prose is difficult, but because it's incredibly important to pay attention as you read. Erickson plans so far ahead, and he throws little hints and important tidbits in previous books that may not come to fruition for two or three more books. I tend to skim over large sections of text in a lot of the books I read, but I can't do that with the Malazan novels. Erickson trusts his readers to intellectually put together clues he scatters everywhere. All that said, the series is becoming one of my favorite, and pretty much everything about these books has tickled my fancy so far. I'm going to move onto American Gods by Neil Gaiman before reading the next Malazan book, Midnight Tides.

That's the same habit that I have. I'll skim quickly over a paragraph or two and have to go back and reread just in case I've missed the one vital bit of information that was casually thrown out there.

I almost feel like, after the first 5 books, I should go back and do a reread of them, before moving onto books 6 - 10, just to clarify things in my head. That, or try and devise a mind map for how everything connects. I imagine that would be quite an undertaking though.

As I said earlier in the thread, from the comments I've read HoC improves greatly if you go back and read it again at the end, as there's a lot of setup and foreshadowing that seems to make the book feel incomplete the first time through.

I'm just about to start Midnight Tides which I'm hugely looking forward to.

[CracknutWhirrun]

That's the same habit that I have. I'll skim quickly over a paragraph or two and have to go back and reread just in case I've missed the one vital bit of information that was casually thrown out there. I almost feel like, after the first 5 books, I should go back and do a reread of them, before moving onto books 6 - 10, just to clarify things in my head. That, or try and devise a mind map for how everything connects. I imagine that would be quite an undertaking though. As I said earlier in the thread, from the comments I've read HoC improves greatly if you go back and read it again at the end, as there's a lot of setup and foreshadowing that seems to make the book feel incomplete the first time through. I'm just about to start Midnight Tides which I'm hugely looking forward to.

Whoops, Erikson.

Also, someone posted this website earlier(http://www.tor.com/features/series/m...-of-the-fallen) that has a summary of each scene plus commentary from someone who is reading the book for the first time and someone who has read them all already. Careful of the comments section. It really helped me to understand some things that were confusing me, and they're usually pretty spot on.

Oh, and I second Diamond Age for anyone looking for a cyberpunk novel, although I'm not quite sure it can be called cyberpunk

[Jintor]

I don't quite think it is either, but it's definitely a future-society style work and everybody has 3D printers, so it's something close. I really enjoyed it.

[Pocks]

I loved watching Game of Thrones, so I decided to buy the 4-pack.

I'm still on the first book, but it's really quite enthralling.

[Zeth]

I'm starting Burning Angels by Rickard K Morgan. Anyone have an opinion on how it compares to books 1 and 3 (Takeshi Kovacs series)? I liked Altered Carbon but this one seems to be quite different. Hoping I get the same great future-action-detective-noir.

[Manik]

Whoops, Erikson. Also, someone posted this website earlier(http://www.tor.com/features/series/m...-of-the-fallen) that has a summary of each scene plus commentary from someone who is reading the book for the first time and someone who has read them all already. Careful of the comments section. It really helped me to understand some things that were confusing me, and they're usually pretty spot on. Oh, and I second Diamond Age for anyone looking for a cyberpunk novel, although I'm not quite sure it can be called cyberpunk

Yeah, that was me that posted that tor reread - it's come in super handy, though I seem to outpacing them so I've no idea what I'm going to do once I'm ahead of their reread chapters.

The forum over at Malazanempire.com is really useful too and helped to clarify a few things I'd overlooked but they're only worth reading after finishing the particular book you're on.

Also - I second the Diamond Age recommendation. It was my first Neal Stephenson book and I enjoyed it immensely.

[DesertEater]

(It's Guns, Germs and Steel for those browsing without images)

Just finished this yesterday. Very informative. Some of the late chapters dragged a bit but its a great book nevertheless.

Today I started Lolita. My first book to read by Nabokov. Very excited :)

[Alligatorjandro]

Starting

[Cyan]

Such a good book.... really....amazing stuff.

<3

[walking fiend]

Reading a Feast for Crows; the books is just AMAZING, I am engrossed, so much better than the TV series.

---
I also read [rather skipped through after being fed up with reading same shit over and over in each chapter] Fifty Shades of Grey; absolutely horrible, like those vampire books horrible [can't even remember the name, lol]

I loved watching Game of Thrones, so I decided to buy the 4-pack. I'm still on the first book, but it's really quite enthralling.

I found it to be substantially better than the TV series.

[Mackenzie 92]

I got an email saying StoryBundle is up. Not sure of the quality of the books in the bundle, but since it's pay as you like, it's easy to take the plunge. It's like indie game bundle, but for books. Will post my reviews as I go through the books. http://storybundle.com/

In for a fiver, the covers for the bonus books scared me off of getting them. Probably gonna start with Undersea.


Undersea by Geoffrey Morrison

Edit: kinda cool that you can have them sent straight to your kindle as well.