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What are you reading? (August 09)

V

viciouskillersquirrel

Member
Still reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (book 5 of the series and my first time through). It's quite entertaining and very easy to get through, though more than ever I'm seeing flaws in the way the Harry Potter Universe is supposed to work.

Mostly it comes down to just how overpowered magic seems to be, among a few other things. Luckily, the "children's book" elements are becoming less and less, but I'm not sure if I like the fact that they've been replaced by raging emo Harry. He seems more angry at the fact he's fourteen years old than anything else.

After I'm done with this one, I'll move on to Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows.
 
G

grumble

Member
I just finished Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn series. Great story, each book was insanely long. The Naked God in particular was the longest book I think I've ever read, at 469,000 words.
 
C

Cdammen

Member
Halfway through Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and then I'm gonna read a Stephen King short-story compilation called Skeleton Crew.
 
C

ClovingWestbrook

Banned
BTW, recently finished reading

0671728687.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


Probably THE definitive work on Nazi Germany and WWII. More detailed information than one could probably digest. Shirer truly works out the underpinnings of Hitler's intentions and his failures that led to his ultimate demise. Truly amazing. Anyone who has the slightest remote interest in this era would greatly benefit and enjoy this.
 
Druz

Druz

Member
LovingSteam said:
BTW, recently finished reading

0671728687.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


Probably THE definitive work on Nazi Germany and WWII. More detailed information than one could probably digest. Shirer truly works out the underpinnings of Hitler's intentions and his failures that led to his ultimate demise. Truly amazing. Anyone who has the slightest remote interest in this era would greatly benefit and enjoy this.
Click to expand...

Nice suggestion I'm writing it down to pick up later.
 
J

JoshuaJSlone

Member
In a recent Kindle-related thread Baen came up as an example of a place to digitally buy books that isn't so damned restrictive with formats and DRM. So I decided to check out their free library first. First read is Time Traders, which turns out to actually be a compilation of Time Traders and its sequel, from the early 1950s.
0671319523.jpg

Not the greatest and I doubt I'll be paying for the non-free further sequels. I guess it just... feels a bit too 1950s America sci-fi, even with the protagonists spending most of their time incognito in the distant past.

There was a time or two I wondered if those 1950s dates were incorrect, though. The main story is said to take place in the early 21st century, and space exploration is said to have not progressed beyond moon landings, which haven't even been done in a long time. However, it would then proceed to talk about things like all records being kept on tapes, and would date itself.

The formatting itself worked well, though. It's available in a variety of formats. I went with the RTF version, and with a bit of copy/paste to replace certain characters the Bookr program doesn't read well, have been reading it from a TXT file on PSP.
 
T

Tim the Wiz

Banned
LovingSteam said:
BTW, recently finished reading

0671728687.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


Probably THE definitive work on Nazi Germany and WWII. More detailed information than one could probably digest. Shirer truly works out the underpinnings of Hitler's intentions and his failures that led to his ultimate demise. Truly amazing. Anyone who has the slightest remote interest in this era would greatly benefit and enjoy this.
Click to expand...

It's a good resource, but I would definitely argue against it being the definitive work on Nazi Germany. Shrirer's agreement with the Sonderweg theory of Germany's development into a totalitarian state is, in my mind, a simplistic one. The preconditions for Nazi Germany are more complex than the reasons he purports.
 
M

Masked Man

I said wow
CiSTM said:
Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima. John Dunbar gave it a thumbs-up and he is always correct about everything so I decided to give it a try. Only 50 pages down but I like it so far.
Click to expand...

Seconding the thumbs-up! :D Mishima is awesome in general, but I just finished that one about a week ago and I can say that it only gets better from where you are now.

Currently:

0679722408.jpg


Runaway Horses by Mishima Yukio, second in his tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility
 
K

Karakand

Member
MaizeRage25 said:
There is a new Pynchon novel coming out tomorrow?

How did I just find out about this?
Click to expand...
I hear it's approachable (for him). Wonder if it's more so than The Crying of Lot 49...
 
M

MilesWebber

Member
Space Cadet said:
Isn't that all of Palahnuik's works though? J/K How does it stand up next to Survivor or Choke.
Click to expand...
It's an amazing book. Def stacks up. What I mean about the writing:

It's written in first person perspective of a young kid with a Russian accent. I wish I could explain it better. Lol.
 
L

Lumpy Onion

Member
Finally started Dune. Only a few chapters in, but the writing style and setting is great. I can't help visualize the Lynch film as I am reading, which I don't think is a bad thing.

Also just started, A Game Of Thrones. Have wanted to read some fantasy, and I heard it was good.
 
J

Jarlaxle

Member
viciouskillersquirrel said:
Luckily, the "children's book" elements are becoming less and less, but I'm not sure if I like the fact that they've been replaced by raging emo Harry. He seems more angry at the fact he's fourteen years old than anything else.
Click to expand...


The whole emo Harry thing kind of ends with that book. He's still a teenager in the last two books, but not such a Dbag.
 
S

Space Cadet

Banned
TheWiicast said:
It's an amazing book. Def stacks up. What I mean about the writing:

It's written in first person perspective of a young kid with a Russian accent. I wish I could explain it better. Lol.
Click to expand...


I think I understand now. Pynchon's new book is called Inherent Vice.
 
C

Caspel

Business & Marketing Manager @ GungHo
Narag said:
Started this today as I've a friend who adores Beagle. I figure I'd be doing him a disservice if I didn't check up on his favorite author.

51CoEFDzD1L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg
Click to expand...

my old film school professor wrote the screenplay for the animated movie and, I believe, still owns some of the rights for it to be translated into a live-action film.
 
U

ultron87

Member
Karakand said:
Just finished (literally tonight):

zpufc.jpg
Click to expand...

How is Diamond Age? Is it comparable to Snow Crash in insane fun mixed with ridiculous tangents?

I'm about two thirds of the way through:

dan_simmons_olympos.jpg


I dunno how I feel about it and have essentially no idea at all where this thing is headed. It might be a sign of trouble that new plot threads are still being introduced with only a 1/3 of the book left, considering this is the final book. It'll be sad if this doesn't come to a satisfactory conclusion, considering how much I really enjoyed Ilium, the first book.

Edit: Fixed spelling error.
 
P

Pikelet

Member
Just finished American Gods and it seemed very reminiscent of the Dark Tower series and Stephen Kings writing in general. Imprecise plot that (I?) cant seem to decide if it is a metaphor or just a simple story. It was still interesting because some of the characters are just awesome but i cant help but feel that i would enjoy it a lot more had i been an American.

Currently a couple of hundred pages in to The Name of the Wind and I'm really loving it. I dig the main character who appears to be a mixture of Ender and Harry potter :p but mostly its just intriguing. First semi plot-twist was extremely obvious though because
his parents were way too happy and jolly ALL the time to live much longer

Next up im gonna hit the Dune series then maybe read crime and punishment because i loved The Grand Inquisitor (thanks whoever recommended that last time one of these threads happened :D)
 
U

Undeux

Member
LovingSteam said:
BTW, recently finished reading

0671728687.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


Probably THE definitive work on Nazi Germany and WWII. More detailed information than one could probably digest. Shirer truly works out the underpinnings of Hitler's intentions and his failures that led to his ultimate demise. Truly amazing. Anyone who has the slightest remote interest in this era would greatly benefit and enjoy this.
Click to expand...
Finishing The Stand today (pretty good, but a huge disappointment after hearing that it was as good as the best books of the Dark Tower series), then I'm starting this and The Brothers Karamazov.

One thing I was wondering about this book - since it predates the KGB archives going public, is it missing a lot of essential information?
 
H

hypostatic

Member
hack646 said:
Reading and trying to understand
27604219.JPG

I'm struggling, to say the least, through this philosophical treatise, but I found this lecture series on heidegger, and I am finding it extremely helpful.
Click to expand...

I only ever appreciated Heidegger, and figured out what he was saying, once I was done reading him. Brilliant stuff.

I just finished Battle Royale, which was awesome, and I'm about halfway through Lolita.
 
U

ultron87

Member
Cyan said:
And awesome buildup to an ultimately dissatisfying ending? Yes.
Click to expand...

That's sad. Though not really outside of Stephenson's wheelhouse, at least when it comes to what I've read of him (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon).
 
A

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
Finished up The Final Empire and moved straight on to the sequel:

the-well-of-ascension-by-brandon-sanderson.jpg


The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson.
 
M

MaizeRage25

Member
Karakand said:
I hear it's approachable (for him). Wonder if it's more so than The Crying of Lot 49...
Click to expand...

Early reviews seem to indicate that it is.

I made it through GR with the help of a reader's guide, and kinda trudged through Against the Day by myself. More of a just sit back and enjoy the ride type of thing.

Amanzon still hasn't shipped my order yet though.
 
K

Karakand

Member
ultron87 said:
How is Diamond Age? Is it comparable to Snow Crash in insane fun mixed with ridiculous tangents?
Click to expand...

It's fun but flawed. (More than the ending being meh BTW.) Worth a read, but not more than 1.
 
B

besada

Banned
ccarver3 said:
15comc7.jpg


Great Book.
Click to expand...

Awesome book, which is why I'm terrified of the upcoming film adaptation.

If you've never heard MC 900 Ft Jesus's "Killer Inside Me" go find it on the intertubes.
 
T

Tigel

Member
Quick question: has anyone read The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie (House MD)? It's a new release here in Quebec (Canada) I was wondering if it is any good.
 
C

ClovingWestbrook

Banned
Undeux said:
Finishing The Stand today (pretty good, but a huge disappointment after hearing that it was as good as the best books of the Dark Tower series), then I'm starting this and The Brothers Karamazov.

One thing I was wondering about this book - since it predates the KGB archives going public, is it missing a lot of essential information?
Click to expand...

I agree about the Stand. Read it sometime ago and was sorely disappointed.
 
S

Salazar

Member
viciouskillersquirrel said:
Totally blows my mind when I see "Sorceror's Stone" instead of "Philosopher's Stone"

Why did they change it, I wonder?
Click to expand...

Uncertainty as to whether Americans would understand or respond with satisfactory excitement and intrigue to the word 'philosopher'.
 
V

viciouskillersquirrel

Member
Salazar said:
Uncertainty as to whether Americans would understand or respond with satisfactory excitement and intrigue to the word 'philosopher'.
Click to expand...
It was a CHILDREN'S book. Not many British kids would've known what the Philosopher's Stone was to begin with either. This is what I don't understand.
 
A

Alucard

Banned
Still reading this one:

51qSMbm%2BHWL.jpg


I really like it, and am about 200 pages in, but have just been distracted by life, which has slowed the pace down somewhat.
 
M

Manics

Banned
I'm re-reading Asimov's Foundation series. I last read it about 25 years ago, it amazing how much you forget after a quarter century. LOL
 
U

Undeux

Member
Just finished The Stand - has anyone here read the original version? What's different, other than the first and last chapters? Trying to figure out how 300 pages could have been trimmed from this without missing some character development.

End spoiler -
I hated the added last chapter. I know that it's post apocalyptic and I should expect a depressing, tense plot, but just give me a happy ending after shitting on me for a thousand pages, goddamn.
 
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