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What are you reading? (May 2017)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
The Once and Future King is only $2.99 for Kindle today.
sparky2112
Member
Yeah, the third book is when the 'shit gets real, yo'. Despite Lena going off on her own, Lila still plays very heavily in the book, mostly through her employment situation. The politics is more in the forefront, too. So, yeah, far less 'soap opera', I'd say.
And I just saw that the whole thing is coming to HBO, which will obviously help with the visualization, but this will be kinda like filming Proust - what's the point? It's so heavily first person interior monologue (VERY tell, don't show), How does that translate to film? Thinly, I'd think.
Read this a couple of months ago. Excellent book that starts out seemingly as a children's tale (and was adapted as The Sword in the Stone) and ends up far from that. It's really very long though!
I hope this means you got the Penguin Classics edition!
Yep. Punches you right in the feels.
I sure did! Already read the introductory stuff, but it's probably gonna be a while before I'll get to the actual book.
It's like a bible.
At some point, I'm definitely going to read this again and make sure I go for that version. I read this version (mainly because it was free).
EDIT: This is what I should go for, right?
At some point, I'm definitely going to read this again and make sure I go for that version. I read this version (mainly because it was free).
Free is how they trick you, yes.
Yes, that's right.
DyslexicAlucard
Member
Some amazing deals on Kindle today. A lot of classics are on sale:
-East of Eden by John Steinbeck
-Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
-The Godfather by Mario Puzo
-Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
-On the Road by Jack Kerouac
-2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
-Foundation by Isaac Asimov
-Lord of the Flies by William Golding
I own all of them except The Godfather. Does anyone have any thoughts on it? It obviously spawned an amazing couple of films. But unlike, say, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or 2001: A Space Odyssey, I haven't heard much about to original novel itself.
-East of Eden by John Steinbeck
-Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
-The Godfather by Mario Puzo
-Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
-On the Road by Jack Kerouac
-2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
-Foundation by Isaac Asimov
-Lord of the Flies by William Golding
I own all of them except The Godfather. Does anyone have any thoughts on it? It obviously spawned an amazing couple of films. But unlike, say, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or 2001: A Space Odyssey, I haven't heard much about to original novel itself.
Funyarinpa
Member
HOLY SHIT. Gonna have to buy one or two of those.
mobilesworking
Member
I'm reading DIVINE INVASIONS, Lawrence Sutin's biography of Philip K. Dick, and I'm about halfway through Herbert Bix's HIROHITO AND THE MAKING OF MODERN JAPAN.
About to have a loooong commute with my new job, so I bought The Godfather with narration. Never even considered reading it before so I hope it's good.
I really enjoyed the Godfather... I would describe it as slightly overblown (in a good way IMO) historical, epic crime fiction.
Bigger than life characters, bigger than life drama, a story that spans generations... That sort of thing.
I remember it being a well executed and addictive page turner, and the character's in the book are just as great as they are in the movie, but you get inside their heads and get more backstory on them.
It's not written as literary fiction, it's straight-up entertainment. It's been a very long time since I read it, so take this recommendation with a grain of salt, but I would give it a definite thumbs up.
Atraveller
Banned
It's reads like a longer cut of the movie, as the movie was a very faithful adaption of the novel. The novel has more characters their stories.
Atraveller
Banned
Stranger in a Strange Land's reader reviews are a bit too polarized for my liking, how was it?
TheExhaustedWalrus
Member
Thanks for this! Gonna grab Foundation seeing I've never read it.
Yeah, I'm wondering too if I would like it. Never read anything by Heinlein.
PushTheButtonMax
Banned
Just finished reading Gateway by Frederik Pohl. My dad had told me many times how much he loved this book so I finally got a copy (there's no Kindle version, yet there are for the sequels).
So the premise is that humans have discovered an asteroid near Venus that was hollowed out and converted into a station by an alien race thousands of years ago. Docked in the asteroid are thousands of small ships that have destinations throughout the galaxy pre-programmed in (as well as the return route to the station). Humans have figured out how to launch the ships, but don't know the destination ahead of time, or how to properly change course to a new destination. A corporation that runs the station allows people to go out in these ships and pays out bonuses (sometimes in the millions) for any scientific or alien artifact discoveries. It's a risk, as you could come out way too close to a star and get fried, or the journey could be so long that your food supplies run out and you starve to death and arrive back at the station a corpse. It's a cool and frightening premise.
Like the best sci-fi tales this book centers on the main character's personal story against this huge backdrop. It almost left me a little frustrated by the end, as there are so many questions I wanted answered about the alien race and the technology, and yet the book stays firmly focused on the main character's struggles. Apparently the sequels really expand on the backstory of the ancient race so I'm looking forward to getting in to those. It can feel a bit dated at times as it was written in the 70s (data storage is referred to as "tapes") but it doesn't really get in the way. Overall if you're looking for a good sci-fi premise and want a quick read I highly recommend it.
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
I'm happy that we keep each other posted about deals.
But My wallet surely isn't happy. Foundation and East of Eden are mine!
Kindle is the greatest.
brianjones
Member
what do you guys do with old physical books you don't want anymore?
is it even worth it to try and sell them? I'm thinking not.. should I just give them to the library?
is it even worth it to try and sell them? I'm thinking not.. should I just give them to the library?
Thanks for these tips. I picked up Cat's Cradle and East of Eden. Of the others I've read Stranger in a Strange Land (enjoyed it, bit weird), On the Road (hated it, don't understand the appeal) and Lord of the Flies (loved it, would not hesitate to recommend it).
How is 2001? I love the movie, but I feel that's mostly down to Kubrick. I'm also interested in Foundation, but I'm trying to avoid sci-fi series these days, too much time commitment. Is it good as a standalone novel without reading the follow up books?
This week I've finished Faceless Evil by Henning Mankell, the first book in the Wallander detective series. I loved it, very short quick read but that's mostly due to the pacing that sucks you in. I don't know what's triggered this love of Scandinavian crime fiction lately, but I'm on board. Some of the political aspects of the book are quite interesting and still relevant despite the book being written in 1990.
I'm now reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Very interesting concept for a pseudo-true crime novel. Supposedly Capote spent 4 years living in the town writing this book and it really shows. The level of detail is astounding. I'm only 25% in but loving it so far. Seems like it might be a long read but so far the pace has been good.
It is a regional issue, but you can get around that. I do it all the time. I buy from both the Amazon UK and the US store as they have wildly different deals going on at any one time. You just need a valid US address that you can change your settings to. Switch to that when you want to buy from the US kindle store through the Manage Your Content and Devices page.
Hah, well that was easy. Even had a valid US address saved in my existing addresses for some reason. Got Foundation for $1.99. Thanks a ton!
Weird that they even have these kind of regional sales though, considering how easy it is to change your region/country.
When I've had to move and get rid of a bunch of books, I've usually looked each up on Amazon to see how much they sell for. If they sell over a certain amount then I'll sell on there. If not, then they get donated. If you live near a used bookshop, it's always worth taking a bunch of stuff in to see how many books they'll take and what they'll give you for them.
This sounds awesome.
Mossybrew
Member
Reading it for the first time right now, almost halfway through, still not quite sure how I feel about it.
Not sure that enough is happening? Not sure how you feel about all the fantasy neologisms being thrown at you?
For a book that was published only a few years ago and appears to be quite well-regarded its surprisingly difficult to find anywhere, at least locally and/or in formats that I prefer. The audiobook is unavailable in my country and in terms of physical releases the only options are either a slightly too expensive hardcover edition or a mass-market paperback edition which I usually dislike. While its not ideal, with any luck I might get the latter of the physical editions come next weekend. Im looking forward to it.
Recently I began reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (which happens to have been originally published in the same years as The Goblin Emperor but is readily available even here) by Becky Chambers.
This was in the post box when I got home:
Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb. I'm about to start reading it now
That's a much better cover than the one I've seen.
There's a glossary with names and places in the back!
Yeah, I have the mass market paperback. I'd like to hardcover, but it's ~$30 for a used copy and nearly $50 for a new one. :|
Atraveller
Banned
I don't find them hard to keep track since they are unique in their own ways. Or maybe as a ASoIaF fan I was just used to a large cast.
Maklershed
Member
Ah shit I'm realizing I forgot to get Lord of the Flies while it was on sale yesterday.
I don't read physical books all that often but what I do is I put my used ones in a box and when it's filled I take it to Goodwill. I had been saving them to donate to a community library that was in the works but plans for it fell through.
I sold the majority of my fiction library a couple of months ago to make space for a woodshop. I sold 29 banker's boxes of books, mostly paperback, about 60% science fiction. I made about $250. Just enough tfor buy a band saw.
Great series of books. Pohl was one of the great masters. I had this exact cover on a hardback until recently.
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Read my first Gaiman novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
Really enjoyed the prose and mysterious story. Didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised.
Reading it after Malazan felt like biting into cotton candy. So easy. Ahhh!
Really enjoyed the prose and mysterious story. Didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised.
Reading it after Malazan felt like biting into cotton candy. So easy. Ahhh!
KonradLaw
Member
Finally finished The Enemy by Tom Wood.
Also finished
Loved it just as much as the first one. Great action, tight plot and fascinating lead character. There's a lot of good tough-guy book series these days, but Victor above most of the competition because of how compeling the lead is.
Also finished
Very fun and short read. To the point, not dwelling on useless tropes typical for fantasy light novels. It's just a dude who is obsessed with killing goblins and is incredibly inventive at doing it.
Glitchesarecool
Member
Slowly breaking through every canonical Sherlock Holmes story (novels, short stories, etc).
It should go without saying that these are great. They always paint a wonderful picture in the mind.
It should go without saying that these are great. They always paint a wonderful picture in the mind.
The UK hardback editions for this series are really nice. In the flesh, that yellow on the cover is shiny gold. And it has decorative endpapers.
It sounds - rather alarmingly - like you haven't bought a copy!
Also, considering your opinion that Maia makes Fitz look bad, your timing... *grumbles*
(I've been meaning to re-read The Goblin Emperor as well
I'm happy it's just as good the second time.)NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
Getting back into leisure reading after having not picked up any novels in a couple years. Working on these two atm:
I've found most of Stephen King's short stories to be better on average than his novels, so Bazaar has been pretty fun. Little Heaven has been interesting thus far.
I've found most of Stephen King's short stories to be better on average than his novels, so Bazaar has been pretty fun. Little Heaven has been interesting thus far.
More_Badass
Member
I can definitely recommend Cutter's The Deep and The Troop. Have Little Heaven on my To Read list
The UK hardback editions for this series are really nice. In the flesh, that yellow on the cover is shiny gold. And it has decorative endpapers.
It sounds - rather alarmingly - like you haven't bought a copy!Also, considering your opinion that Maia makes Fitz look bad, your timing... *grumbles*
(I've been meaning to re-read The Goblin Emperor as well
I do think that
Maia makes Fitz look bad, but I also think that Miles is the one I usually think to compare him to.
EverythingShiny
Member
I need some horror novel recommendations. The posts above reminded me that Nick Cutter is on my list to-read - which of his should I start with?
I've read all of Stephen King (he's my favorite) and I just finished Ship of Fools which Maklershed recommended and I loved it. I'll check out the thread on cosmic horror, but I'm also looking for good, straight-up paranormal stories, too. Recent books I enjoyed were A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay and Bird Box by Josh Malerman.
I've read all of Stephen King (he's my favorite) and I just finished Ship of Fools which Maklershed recommended and I loved it. I'll check out the thread on cosmic horror, but I'm also looking for good, straight-up paranormal stories, too. Recent books I enjoyed were A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay and Bird Box by Josh Malerman.
