My plan was to go straight from the Bissell memoir into it. But I needed a breather after the intensity of the former.
And yeah, I just saw him read from his new book the other night. He's an engaging (and funny) speaker.
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What are you reading? (February 2017)
- Thread starter Maklershed
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My plan was to go straight from the Bissell memoir into it. But I needed a breather after the intensity of the former.
And yeah, I just saw him read from his new book the other night. He's an engaging (and funny) speaker.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Little Green by Walter Mosley. My enjoyment goes off and on. I find myself losing my place in the environment often when I read. I wonder if it's me, but I haven't really resonated with an author other than J.K. Rowling or Octavia Butler. I wish I could like this more. There are some good dialogue moments.
Colson Whitehead absolutely raved about it in the NY Times. Got a great review in the New Yorker, too.
wild wild rice
Member
Hyped.
Got some more of The Expanse books in my backlog that I'm clearing out.
I generally like the series, even if it's not the most highbrow work in the world. The grandiose titles that have practically nothing to do with the contents of the book are kind of eye-rollingly silly, but I don't hold that it against them.
This book though, I'm having a very hard time buying the premise that Holden would be sent as a mediator to negotiate a peace between the two groups on the planet. He's got no negotiation training, skills, or experience, no one actually bothered to outline what authority he has in this situation, etc. It's a really blatant and kind of poor excuse to stick the main cast into the story when they don't really have a reason to be there.
Still enjoying it at face value, though.
I generally like the series, even if it's not the most highbrow work in the world. The grandiose titles that have practically nothing to do with the contents of the book are kind of eye-rollingly silly, but I don't hold that it against them.
This book though, I'm having a very hard time buying the premise that Holden would be sent as a mediator to negotiate a peace between the two groups on the planet. He's got no negotiation training, skills, or experience, no one actually bothered to outline what authority he has in this situation, etc. It's a really blatant and kind of poor excuse to stick the main cast into the story when they don't really have a reason to be there.
Still enjoying it at face value, though.
sparky2112
Member
Seconded. Saunders is too smart to **** this up...
Ravensmash
Member
Uh oh... I found a bookstore close to my commute.
I love my Kindle, but something does feel special about buying a physical copy.
I need to work out a way to enjoy both...
Ah nah, I completely agree with you.
Still one of my favourite books (it's just so... cool!), but I honestly couldn't tell you much of the overall plot - although I read it last summer so it's been a while.
I do remember feeling the same way though at its conclusion.
I've been meaning to read the second book in the series, but I worry that I've left it too long now.
I love my Kindle, but something does feel special about buying a physical copy.
I need to work out a way to enjoy both...
Finished this tonight and really enjoyed it. Kovacs is a really cool character, and some of the sci-fi concepts are really interesting.
Now, I may be dumb, but my only issue with the novel was the convoluted plot, particularly in the second half. I had trouble following the minute details of the investigation and the connections between secondary and tertiary characters, even though I understood the "big picture" direction of the story. That's the only reason why the conclusion was perhaps not quite as effective as it could have been on me.
Ah nah, I completely agree with you.
Still one of my favourite books (it's just so... cool!), but I honestly couldn't tell you much of the overall plot - although I read it last summer so it's been a while.
I do remember feeling the same way though at its conclusion.
I've been meaning to read the second book in the series, but I worry that I've left it too long now.
Currently reading Gaiman's Norse Mythology which is a fun read so far. I appreciate him collecting the various myths and putting them into a novel-like form.
As for my next read, for some reason, I've been struck with curiosity about the occult. Might have to do with a friend of mine constantly toting his Book of White Magic around. Any recommendations?
As for my next read, for some reason, I've been struck with curiosity about the occult. Might have to do with a friend of mine constantly toting his Book of White Magic around. Any recommendations?
TimeEffect
Member
Do you guys know of any short story collections that maybe collects the best short stories from multiple authors?
Random short stories I read and loved:
-I have no mouth and I must scream
-The Lottery
-The Last Question
-A Good Man is Hard to Find (a few others by Flaherty)
Random short stories I read and loved:
-I have no mouth and I must scream
-The Lottery
-The Last Question
-A Good Man is Hard to Find (a few others by Flaherty)
Maklershed
Member
Wastelands is a collection of (mostly) good post apocalypse stories. There's a really good one from GRR Martin. Also, it has Octavia Butler, Stephen King, Gene Wolf, Orson Scott Card, etc.
I'm a member of a graphic novel of the month club run by a local comic store.
This month we read House of Penance, which is a fictionalized account of the building of the Winchester Mystery House. It's written by Peter J. Tomasi and art is by Ian Bertram.
The basic idea is the that the widow Winchester believes she needs to make up for the crimes of her family's invention so she recruits a bunch of other killers to continuously build this weird-ass house, with doors to nothing and stairs to nowhere in order for the souls of their victims not to get to them.
Here is a Q&A with the writer and artist from the club.
This month we read House of Penance, which is a fictionalized account of the building of the Winchester Mystery House. It's written by Peter J. Tomasi and art is by Ian Bertram.
The basic idea is the that the widow Winchester believes she needs to make up for the crimes of her family's invention so she recruits a bunch of other killers to continuously build this weird-ass house, with doors to nothing and stairs to nowhere in order for the souls of their victims not to get to them.
Here is a Q&A with the writer and artist from the club.
Finished Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill yesterday. It was really good and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about Churchill. I loved that it focused on only a small part of his life, as the author was able to go in to great detail about everything that happened to him, but now I need to find a more substantive biography on him.
I finished Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence today.
My Goodreads review: (3/5)
Also surprised by how many people just focus on how "dark!" this book is. I mean, it definitely is, but it's not that shocking if you've watched Game of Thrones. This book is maybe shocking if you're a young reader.
My Goodreads review: (3/5)
So, I wrote a lengthy review of this book, but Goodreads gave me an error when I submitted it, and I lost the entire thing. So, here's the point form version:
-I really like Mark Lawrence's prose and admire the depth of his themes and writing in what is a relatively short fantasy romp
-This book has very short chapters that act as independent set pieces in a larger story (usually three-five pages per chapter)
-The middle stretch from page one hundred through two fifty or so is really damn good
-The beginning is a bit jumpy and left me confused on my first readthrough
-The twist near the end was legitimately surprising (spoiler?)
-The pace of this book is BRISK. It's very much how I'd like to write my own fantasy books one day in terms of speed...maybe with a little more scene description than Lawrence provides, and less jumping around
-The historical setting is weird and jarring at times. Lawrence mentions Plato, Jesus, and David and Goliath (fine), but then also mentions Shakespeare and Nietzsche. (huh?) Very weird as the rest of the setting is decidedly medieval...except for a mention of a bit of twentieth century technology as well. If there's some weird multiverse thing that happens later on in this trilogy, this setting is way more amazing than I'm giving it credit for here, but just in this book alone, the contemporary mentions felt out of place
-This is a 3.5/5 book overall for me, but I rounded down in this case since I "really enjoyed" or "loved" two-thirds of it, and felt a bit tossed around by the first hundred pages
-I re-read the first chapter again when I finished this book and liked the symmetry of the beginning and end, but then skimmed the following chapters again and felt the same "jumpy" pace that I felt on the initial readthrough
Finally, I think I'd like this book even more on a subsequent read-through, and while I'm not frothing at the mouth to read the other two books in the series, I'd happily give them a shot...especially if there's a wicked multiverse element, which I doubt for some reason.
Also surprised by how many people just focus on how "dark!" this book is. I mean, it definitely is, but it's not that shocking if you've watched Game of Thrones. This book is maybe shocking if you're a young reader.
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Old Man's War is currently $2.99 on Kindle.
How does this compare to The Forever War? Seems like a similar concept. For what it's worth I loved The Foreverr War.
How does this compare to The Forever War? Seems like a similar concept. For what it's worth I loved The Foreverr War.
AngmarsKing701
Member
I might be wrong but I don't remember them being fairly similar. I know I enjoyed Old Man's War quite a bit. I've read the rest of the series save the last published.
Funyarinpa
Member
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency box set is 2$ on Kindle
I finished Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence today.
My Goodreads review: (3/5)
Also surprised by how many people just focus on how "dark!" this book is. I mean, it definitely is, but it's not that shocking if you've watched Game of Thrones. This book is maybe shocking if you're a young reader.
I agree with a lot of that. It is very jumpy and sometimes I felt like there were descriptions that felt like there was a sentence missing. The setting is actually pretty cool imo, it'll make sense later.
Need to read the third one soon. I found the first two really hard to get through.
Much worse. Its more pulpy and dumb.
Read Forever Peace instead.
Funyarinpa
Member
How is Weaveworld by Clive Barker?
AngmarsKing701
Member
I read it a while ago but I remember it being amazing.
I read this last year butGot some more of The Expanse books in my backlog that I'm clearing out.
I generally like the series, even if it's not the most highbrow work in the world. The grandiose titles that have practically nothing to do with the contents of the book are kind of eye-rollingly silly, but I don't hold that it against them.
This book though, I'm having a very hard time buying the premise that Holden would be sent as a mediator to negotiate a peace between the two groups on the planet. He's got no negotiation training, skills, or experience, no one actually bothered to outline what authority he has in this situation, etc. It's a really blatant and kind of poor excuse to stick the main cast into the story when they don't really have a reason to be there.
Still enjoying it at face value, though.
didn't they send him kind of knowing that things were going to go bad not matter who they sent and then they could just use him as a scapegoat, annex the planet and get their way? It's been a while so I may be remembering wrong.
wild wild rice
Member
I'm rereading James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son for the umpteenth time and realizing I really need to explore some of his fiction.
Any recommendations?
Any recommendations?
I recently read Giovanni's Room, the only book by James Baldwin that I've read. It was excellent. Unsparing in showing the weaknesses and passions of the characters (among other great stuff). I think it's more known as a classic gay novel and it doesn't much touch on other issues such as race or religion.
wild wild rice
Member
Excellent, yeah I was drawn toward that one so maybe I'll check it out.
Baldwin is definitely an unsparing guy, a total straight shooter, and that's one thing I love about him. He can state something incredibly complex in plain language that just hits the mark.
Ravensmash
Member
How did people find The Underground Railroad.
Maybe it's just because of my reading habits, but it's gone from being quite tight and very well paced to quite a slow and cumbersome read.
Really not a fan of this prose style where past events are just interspersed with the current narrative either.
It can make for quite a disjointed experience at times.
Maybe it's just because of my reading habits, but it's gone from being quite tight and very well paced to quite a slow and cumbersome read.
Really not a fan of this prose style where past events are just interspersed with the current narrative either.
It can make for quite a disjointed experience at times.
Tawney Bomb
Member
Finished Dune today and really enjoyed it, though I wasn't too high on Paul by the end. Is the rest of the series worth checking out?
Atraveller
Banned
Not really.
Currently reading A People's History of the United States. It's good, but somewhat depressing when you start thinking about how history repeats itself.
First three books are worthwhile. After that I think is when Frank Herbert is dead and his kid runs the series into the ground.
First three books are worthwhile. After that I think is when Frank Herbert is dead and his kid runs the series into the ground.
wordballoons
Member
Pretty engrossing thus far. If anyone has recommendations, I'm open for them. Thinking about checking out American Prometheus, too.
That's good to hear. I also have Another Country and Go Tell it on the Mountain and want to read them, but the intro to GR says Baldwin wasn't interested in being categorised which made me wonder if his other books were in a different manner and didn't have that particular quality (which is one I'm keen on). Happy it isn't so.
Rug Monkey
Member
Pretty engrossing thus far. If anyone has recommendations, I'm open for them. Thinking about checking out American Prometheus, too.
You might like Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East
IMO it's a superb book.
AliasGreed
Member
Question for book gaf. I'm the type of person that likes to read 1-2 book chapters a day. I'm a big fan of Forgotten Realms books but now that the novels have pretty much come to an end I'm looking for new stuff to read. I read history books as well but I want to focus on forgotten Realms type books for this question since now that there dead I need a replacement series.
I'm wondering if there is another series that has the same type of lore and world building.
I'm wondering if there is another series that has the same type of lore and world building.
AliasGreed
Member
Will look into pathfinder thanks.
Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots - Project Itoh
Picked this up in the library as part of a batch of other stuff (harmony, Genodical Orga, and ICO). I was hoping for an adaptation of the MGS4 story which improved on the pacing, did away with irrelevant stuff, and distilled the themes down to a more focused piece through the interpretation of a different writer. While there's a bit of that in this, overall it was a disappointment because as it turned out Itoh was a huge MGS fan who was very concerned about staying faithful to Kojima's vision.
There are a few interesting things about how the book handles the narrative framing. It's a first hand narration by Otacon for example, and he injects a lot of expansion into references to the previous games. So in essence there are mini-adaptations of all the previous Metal Gear games worked into the narrative as well. On one hand it's kinda cool to read about The Boss and Raiden contextualized into the themes of MGS4 directly. On the other hand Itoh repeats himself so much while trying to make sure everyone gets the context that it feels repetitive and overwrought. It also highlights Metal Gear's weakness as a convoluted saga.
But the book does do away with all the boss fights in the game and trims the Beauty and the Beast Unit from the story entirely. This does allow the story to flow much better because they were totally extraneous to begin with, and kinda embarrassing. Sadly there isn't much additional insight to be gleamed from the retelling of the story here. It's a fun curiosity for Metal Gear fans, but very little else. I guess it's easier to read than to replay the game, and to be fair I could see all the cutscenes and hear all the voices in my head as I read the book so I guess it was pretty memorable after all. But along with all the good feelings also came the negative feelings when the ending went on and on and on. Wish that entire second epilogue was cut.
Would not recommend this to anyone except those who already played MGS4 and wanna experience it again without playing the game. But the ending of the book does have a unique troll twist for the reader. Lol.
Picked this up in the library as part of a batch of other stuff (harmony, Genodical Orga, and ICO). I was hoping for an adaptation of the MGS4 story which improved on the pacing, did away with irrelevant stuff, and distilled the themes down to a more focused piece through the interpretation of a different writer. While there's a bit of that in this, overall it was a disappointment because as it turned out Itoh was a huge MGS fan who was very concerned about staying faithful to Kojima's vision.
There are a few interesting things about how the book handles the narrative framing. It's a first hand narration by Otacon for example, and he injects a lot of expansion into references to the previous games. So in essence there are mini-adaptations of all the previous Metal Gear games worked into the narrative as well. On one hand it's kinda cool to read about The Boss and Raiden contextualized into the themes of MGS4 directly. On the other hand Itoh repeats himself so much while trying to make sure everyone gets the context that it feels repetitive and overwrought. It also highlights Metal Gear's weakness as a convoluted saga.
But the book does do away with all the boss fights in the game and trims the Beauty and the Beast Unit from the story entirely. This does allow the story to flow much better because they were totally extraneous to begin with, and kinda embarrassing. Sadly there isn't much additional insight to be gleamed from the retelling of the story here. It's a fun curiosity for Metal Gear fans, but very little else. I guess it's easier to read than to replay the game, and to be fair I could see all the cutscenes and hear all the voices in my head as I read the book so I guess it was pretty memorable after all. But along with all the good feelings also came the negative feelings when the ending went on and on and on. Wish that entire second epilogue was cut.
Would not recommend this to anyone except those who already played MGS4 and wanna experience it again without playing the game. But the ending of the book does have a unique troll twist for the reader. Lol.
TwntyOneTwlv
Member
I finished Gaiman's latest book yesterday, Norse Mythology. It was awesome! I loved the stories and by the end I wanted more. I think I prefer this version of Thor to Marvel's!
Moving on to The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick DeWitt. Hired guns in Gold Rush era America? Sounds great, I'm in.
Fancy Clown
Member
Recently finished The North Water, which was fantastically tense. Reminded me of a Cormac McCarthy book at times.
Finally started reading Lord of the Rings after rewatching all the movies a couple months ago. I was always under the impression these books felt kinda antiquated or were too flowery and hard to get into, but that's not the case at all. I'm still in the shire but it feels just like diving into the same wonderfully homey atmosphere that Peter Jackson translated to the screen.
Finally started reading Lord of the Rings after rewatching all the movies a couple months ago. I was always under the impression these books felt kinda antiquated or were too flowery and hard to get into, but that's not the case at all. I'm still in the shire but it feels just like diving into the same wonderfully homey atmosphere that Peter Jackson translated to the screen.
Ravensmash
Member
Finally finished with The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
Didn't enjoy it that much towards the end unfortunately. The prose seemed to become very disjointed. There were sections where the narrator just veered off to the side and I'm not a fan of that.
Not a bad story overall though.
I picked up Kafka on the Shore recently and that'll be my next read, as I've only read one Murakami book so far - Wind Up Bird Chronicle.
Granted its been a while, but going over a plot summary of Wind Up made me realise how much of it I've actually forgotten.
Remembering parts of that did highlight how much I absolutely loved getting lost in it, so I have high expectations for this.
Didn't enjoy it that much towards the end unfortunately. The prose seemed to become very disjointed. There were sections where the narrator just veered off to the side and I'm not a fan of that.
Not a bad story overall though.
I picked up Kafka on the Shore recently and that'll be my next read, as I've only read one Murakami book so far - Wind Up Bird Chronicle.
Granted its been a while, but going over a plot summary of Wind Up made me realise how much of it I've actually forgotten.
Remembering parts of that did highlight how much I absolutely loved getting lost in it, so I have high expectations for this.
Maklershed
Member
Moving on to The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick DeWitt. Hired guns in Gold Rush era America? Sounds great, I'm in.
Nice. That's a really fun book. I feel like reading it again.
wittengstein
Member
Finished I Am Legend and Roadside Picnic last week,thoroughly enjoyed both.I know STALKER is loosely based on the Roadside Picnic which is a game that i've been playing on and off for years without actually finishing it,hopefully it won't spoil the game but even if it does,it was worth it.
I will start The Precipice soon which has been sitting on my shelf for a while now.
Also ordered Big Jack is Dead by Harvey Smith and the Outer Dark by Cormac Mccarthy,hopefully they'll arrive soon,i can't wait for Outer Dark in particular.I've heard that it's even more disturbing than Blood Meridian,if such a thing is even possible.
I will start The Precipice soon which has been sitting on my shelf for a while now.
Also ordered Big Jack is Dead by Harvey Smith and the Outer Dark by Cormac Mccarthy,hopefully they'll arrive soon,i can't wait for Outer Dark in particular.I've heard that it's even more disturbing than Blood Meridian,if such a thing is even possible.
Remembrance
Member
Shadowbahn by Steve Erickson arrived today. It's seriously been five years since his last one?
And how is there not a single good cover image online.
And how is there not a single good cover image online.
Ravensmash
Member
50 pages in (my old English teacher's metric for getting into a book) and I am loving Kafka on the Shore.
I have a feeling that this is a book I shouldn't try too hard to understand, and just allow myself to get swept away, right?
I think I may need much more Murakami soon.
I have a feeling that this is a book I shouldn't try too hard to understand, and just allow myself to get swept away, right?
I think I may need much more Murakami soon.
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