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Maklershed · Apr 1, 2017

Maklershed · Apr 1, 2017

Just about halfway through Page From a Tennessee Journal

Page From A Tennessee Journal by Francine Thomas Howard

Fou-Lu · Apr 1, 2017

I've been reading the Demon Cycle by Peter V Brett. Just started the Skull Throne last night. The first book was great, but it has been downhill since then with no sign of stopping, yet I keep reading. The characters are all over the place, it feels like a soap opera half the time, there is obvious signs of the series being stretched out longer than it should have been, and the Krasian culture is such a bad caricature of an amalgamation of middle eastern cultures. Hell the main character spontaneously gains an accent in the third book and it is AWFUL. So why do I keep reading? I think I just want to see it through at this point.

Mumei · Apr 1, 2017

Rug Monkey said:
I have it here. Penguin Classics ebook. Robin Buss translation, EISBN: 9780141901251

Just quoting this for the new thread~

PFD · Apr 1, 2017

Do audiobooks count? I'm about to finish How to Win Friends & Influence People (last time I read it was 14 years ago)

Reading the War of Art next

fakefaker · Apr 1, 2017

I'm on page 130 of Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames. So far it's been a surprisingly good mix of world building, character development and getting robbed. Damn bandits.

Sean C · Apr 1, 2017

Beauty%20and%20the%20Beast_zpso3gkqvpv.jpg

Out just in time for Disney's live-action remake of the most famous cinematic iteration of Beauty and the Beast, this Penguins Classics edited collection uses the famous Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumount telling of "Beauty and the Beast" for as the thematic lynchpin of a gathering of fairy tales about humans and bestial spouses. This has been quite a fruitful area for human imagination, as it turns out, everywhere from Japan to Scandinavia to Ghana to the Yupik peoples of Alaska. It's quite easy, reading all these tales in close proximity, to identify many common themes, even beyond the expected ones like looking beyond appearances (which actually shows up less than one might think). There are also any number of stories where there's no real attempt to impart a moral at all, as with "The Dog Bride".

Kawl_USC · Apr 1, 2017

Reading IT following the trailer for the new movie coming out. Have read a handful of King novel's before so this is scratching the right itch.

Also working through the first Horus Heresy novel after picking up that humble bundle. It's interesting enough for now.

kingofrod · Apr 1, 2017

Just finished The Fisherman by John Langan. I read a lot of horror books, and I'm pretty sure someone on here recommended this one at one point, so if you're that person, THANK YOU! I'm going to have to pick up more of his writing, because Langan is fantastic. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Langan, along with some of the newer folks to come out like Laird Barron, will have some of their works included as classics fifty years from now.

I think it helps that I read In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware right before The Fisherman, and the quality of writing couldn't be more different (in Langan's favor, obviously). Ware's book is all plot, which is good for reading on a plane or on a bus - take that as you will.

I've started reading The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks - I'm about halfway through and I'm still trying to make heads or tails of it. I should be finished in the next week so I'll let anyone who's curious know the score on this one.

After that, I think I'll take a break from scary books - maybe read the BJ Novak short stories book I picked up.

AngmarsKing701 · Apr 1, 2017

Let's see, about 75% of the way through To Green Angel Tower Part 1 by Tad Williams, in my re-read of the original Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, which is really four books, given that To Green Angel Tower is split into two 800 page parts. Which it might take me the rest of the year to finish.

Also, Half a War by Joe Abercrombie. I'm reading this on digital when I travel, so it might sit for a little while, as I'm not going anywhere until the end of April. I'm about 80% of the way through this one as well.

Also, just to throw it out there for anyone who *might* be interested, I published novella #3 as part of the GAF Writing Challenge of a "novella per month for the first 3 months." I'm actually writing 12 novellas, one each month in 2017, as I document the 12 tasks a young man is attempting to complete to become a knight.

Amazon Kindle only: Knight Evident: The Third Entry in the Knight's Journal

Unducks · Apr 1, 2017

Giving the Aubrey / Maturin series another shot. So far the second book started rocky and then suddenly clicked for me. Now I feel like I'm starting to see why people love the series.

Also listening to this, both because I've been wanting to learn about Napoleon for a while and to learn a bit about the Napoleonic Wars. So far, not my favorite biography. The author just isn't focusing on the aspects of Napoleon that I find interesting, and instead goes into massive detail about minute aspects of his campaigns and policy. Well-researched, but maybe I didn't need such an extensive book.

Puck Beaverton · Apr 1, 2017

I'm currently trying to get into poetry by starting with William Blake.

It's going alright so far. Definitely have to tackle poems with a different mindset than novels

Sean C · Apr 1, 2017

Puck Beaverton said:
I'm currently trying to get into poetry by starting with William Blake.

It's going alright so far. Definitely have to tackle poems with a different mindset than novels

I had to read some of Blake's work in university, particularly in a course on Romantic writers. I could never get into him.

Saya · Apr 1, 2017

aidan said:
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is a classic, and falls right in the range you're looking for.

I started this! I'm about 50 pages in and it is pretty awesome. I'm kind of surprised by how much sex is in this haha. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it this weekend.

aravuus · Apr 1, 2017

Posting my Malazan Book of the Fallen question again:
Has anyone here read the Tor reread (http://www.tor.com/series/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen/) chapters of it while reading the books? As in, read Deadhouse Gates chapter 1 -> read the reread commentary on chp1 -> DG chp2 -> reread commentary chp2 etc?

I know the bit in the beginning says there are spoilers in the commentary, but if it's subtle stuff, reading the reread along the book could be fun. If it's blatant stuff like "this guy dies later and this war happens and everyone else also dies" then I'll skip.

MilkBeard · Apr 1, 2017

Still reading The Last Wish, but over halfway. Afterward, I will be starting Catch-22.

Paganmoon · Apr 1, 2017

Regarding Forever War. Though I really enjoyed the book (I see it as a better version of book Starship Troopers), it's sort of strange by the ending regarding it's commentary on society (spoilers of course):

Felt sort of like strange commentary on LGBT and inclusion and liberal views. With the "first" future government "encouraging" homosexuality (as if it is a choice?) as a form of birth control, and in the ending, centuries later all people are uniformly alike, and exclusively homosexual, and heterosexuality is seen as something weird.

The book was from what I've understood, written as a way of explaining the disconnect soldiers can feel from society when coming back from war, to people who've never been to war, but that aspect of it, the commentary on LGBT felt strange.

Either that was the intention of Halderman, or I've understood the ending wrong for a very long time.

Ratrat · Apr 1, 2017

Paganmoon said:
Regarding Forever War. Though I really enjoyed the book (I see it as a better version of book Starship Troopers), it's sort of strange by the ending regarding it's commentary on society (spoilers of course):

Felt sort of like strange commentary on LGBT and inclusion and liberal views. With the "first" future government "encouraging" homosexuality (as if it is a choice?) as a form of birth control, and in the ending, centuries later all people are uniformly alike, and exclusively homosexual, and heterosexuality is seen as something weird.

The book was from what I've understood, written as a way of explaining the disconnect soldiers can feel from society when coming back from war, to people who've never been to war, but that aspect of it, the commentary on LGBT felt strange.

Either that was the intention of Halderman, or I've understood the ending wrong for a very long time.

You're over thinking it. Its not about being liberal but using science to control the population and guide human evolution. Read the sequel.(or don't as its pretty awful)

IlGialloMondadori · Apr 1, 2017

Finished Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Decent, good even, but a very slight. I enjoyed it, but I almost feel like it would have benefited from a rewrite to rebalance. Lots of characters are just kind of there, on the edge of the narrative, and are given viewpoints, but they don't do much, and they don't really have much of an arc. Either that, or make it into a novella or short story.

Finishing Half a King which I'm not really enjoying at all. Feels boring and clichéd.

thomaser · Apr 1, 2017

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli. Very short book that makes it easy to get a grasp on extremely complex theories.

justjohn · Apr 1, 2017

Lyndon Johnson by Robert caro

Fuu · Apr 1, 2017

The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know (2015), Shawn Coyne
Openly Straight (2013), Bill Konigsberg
1984 (1949), George Orwell
Ico: Castle in the Mist (2011), Miyuki Miyabe

Thanks to duckroll for recommending the Ico novel and to FlowersisBritish for pointing me towards The Story Grid.

Necrovex · Apr 1, 2017

Started on Strangers In Their Own Land. About 20% in, and I'm already so frustrated with the people in these interviews. My liberal blood cannot handle the paradoxes. Though I am slowly understanding the Tea Party's viewpoints.

DemWalls · Apr 1, 2017

IlGialloMondadori said:
Finishing Half a King which I'm not really enjoying at all. Feels boring and clichéd.

I can see where you're coming from. It really feels like "Abercrombie light", but I enjoyed it nonetheless. However, Half the World is definitely better.

ronaldthump · Apr 1, 2017

Re-reading Imajika.

I've always been fond of Clive Barker's writing and this one is deep full of weird lore and a fantastical reality. I loved Weaveworld. Need to revisit that.

Saphirax · Apr 1, 2017

Rug Monkey said:
I have it here. Penguin Classics ebook. Robin Buss translation, EISBN: 9780141901251

Now I see it! Thanks. Should be helpful for some people who'd prefer the kindle version.

pa22word · Apr 1, 2017

Unducks said:
Also listening to this, both because I've been wanting to learn about Napoleon for a while and to learn a bit about the Napoleonic Wars. So far, not my favorite biography. The author just isn't focusing on the aspects of Napoleon that I find interesting, and instead goes into massive detail about minute aspects of his campaigns and policy. Well-researched, but maybe I didn't need such an extensive book.

Honestly thanks for talking about this because my mom got me this for a christmas gift but I haven't started it yet because usually biographies don't focus on the aspects of what you are talking about and instead get bogged down in personal details, devil's advocatism to the point of near absurdity, and attire to the point of insanity when talking about pre 20th century people. It sounds like it'd be right up my alley.

Based on what you said it's probably not a book you'd like, but I can't talk about Napoleon without name dropping Campaigns of Napoleon by David Chandler. Little pricey, but if you ever feel the need to learn some of the details about napoleon and his wars definitely check it out.

effzee · Apr 1, 2017

I started the Lies of Locke Lamora but am really struggling through it. Does it pick up and should I continue it?

legend166 · Apr 1, 2017

Any recommendations from the April Kindle sales? Trying to filter through the romance novels is painful.

JonnyKong · Apr 1, 2017

About 25% of the way through Girls On Fire.

I like it so far.

Servbot #42 · Apr 1, 2017

I finished this classic tale, the denouement in this novel was pretty crazy, i could have never predicted it. Now i'm onto this:

This is a short story collection from Ray Bradbury that doesn't deal exclusively in sci-fi stories. I'm not sure I totally get some of the stories but I know they are wonderfully written.

Liu Kang Baking A Pie · Apr 1, 2017

Age of Anger
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374274789/?tag=neogaf0e-20

The preface:

I started thinking about this book in 2014 after Indian voters, including my own friends and relatives, elected Hindu supremacists to power, and Islamic State became a magnet for young men and women in Western democracies. I finished writing it during the week in 2016 in which Britain voted to leave the European Union. It went to the printers in the week that Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. Each of these earthquakes revealed fault lines that I felt had been barely noticed over the years, running through inner lives as well as nations, communities and families. The pages that follow try to make sense of bewildering, and often painful, experiences by re-examining a divided modern world, this time from the perspective of those who came late to it, and felt, as many people do now, left, or pushed, behind.

z4chc3na · Apr 1, 2017

Currently reading American Gods for the first time after having a friend recommend it to me. Hopefully I can finish by the time the show starts!

goldlion054 · Apr 1, 2017

Servbot #42 said:
I finished this classic tale, the denouement in this novel was pretty crazy, i could have never predicted it. Now i'm onto this:

Just came here to post this. I've never really dug into Christie before, but I'm really impressed with the tale she has weaved so far. I've tried to piece things together and I just don't think I'm anywhere near the ballpark. I'll absolutely delve into her other works based on this one so far

Spectromixer · Apr 1, 2017

and

Some light reading to keep my mind off other things.

elhav · Apr 1, 2017

Love these monthly threads.

Currently reading The Tower Of Swallows of the Witcher series. It's the 5th book, I think. Not sure. Love it so far.

Kinda bummed knowing I only have one book left after that(I know there is a new book released in 2013, but from what I've seen it doesn't progress the story, so it sucks)

I think I'll stop at Lady Of The Lake and start playing the Witcher trilogy.
After that maybe I'll find something refreshing to read. Maybe Sci-Fi. Haven't read a Sci-Fi book yet, if I remember correctly. Dune is worth a read, or is it too archaic?

pa22word · Apr 2, 2017

Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
Age of Anger
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374274789/?tag=neogaf0e-20

The preface:

It comes across as very masturbatory. How is it? It sounds interesting, but as someone who lives in the southern US and have dealt with this and its rising tide literally since the day I was born, it kind of reeks of the same shit leftist writers put out post fall of the USSR. More about "me and my journey to acceptance of reality" rather than anything about the subject in and of itself.

wordballoons · Apr 2, 2017

The Shadow · Apr 2, 2017

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Been wanting to re-read the Harry Potter series but only got started late last year. I've been slogging through though, because it's just hard for me to re-read, re-watch, re-play anything in general.

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe

A good pickup and read book that I can read in short bursts when my 9 month old falls asleep on me. I'm about half-way through though, and I've skipped a few of the questions because some of them seem a little same-y.

kswiston · Apr 2, 2017

legend166 said:
Any recommendations from the April Kindle sales? Trying to filter through the romance novels is painful.

What genres do you like?

I see a Natural History of Dragons up there for $2.99. I think that has gotten some positive impressions here.

Neuromancer is also up for $1.99. The Lies of Locke Lamora is $1.99. Anathem is $1.99. The Fireman by Joe Hill is $1.99. Genghis: Birth of an Empire is $2.99

You could read the summaries for some of those.

gatling · Apr 2, 2017

The Princess Diarist. I am kind of surprised how emotional I am reading Carrie Fisher's books. Its like it hadn't hit me until now.

Zen Mind Beginner's mind. I read this once a year and it felt like it was time. Recalibrating my way of thinking and stressors.

Mistborn Original Trilogy - Just going through them again between newer series. Has some fun parts that remind me of how it feels being an insecure and sometimes untrusting person from time to time due to past experiences.

legend166 · Apr 2, 2017

kswiston said:
What genres do you like?

I see a Natural History of Dragons up there for $2.99. I think that has gotten some positive impressions here.

Neuromancer is also up for $1.99. The Lies of Locke Lamora is $1.99. Anathem is $1.99. The Fireman by Joe Hill is $1.99. Genghis: Birth of an Empire is $2.99

You could read the summaries for some of those.

Great, I'll look them up. Thanks!

ATF487 · Apr 2, 2017

Just started the Brothers Karamazov (Pevear and Volokhonsky translation)

Excited!

aidan · Apr 2, 2017

kswiston said:
What genres do you like?

I see a Natural History of Dragons up there for $2.99. I think that has gotten some positive impressions here.

Neuromancer is also up for $1.99. The Lies of Locke Lamora is $1.99. Anathem is $1.99. The Fireman by Joe Hill is $1.99. Genghis: Birth of an Empire is $2.99

You could read the summaries for some of those.

Seconding the recommendations for The Lies of Locke Lamora and A Natural History of Dragons.

TwntyOneTwlv · Apr 2, 2017

Command and Control by Eric Shlosser

It turns out the most dangerous nuclear weapons for the United States weren't those kept by the Soviet Union - they were, and are, America's own bombs. This book is terrifying. (It was one of Dan Carlin's sources for his recent Hardcore History episode.)

I'm also reading A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron because I need something light and happy to take my mind off accidental nuclear annihilation.

The Culture Vulture · Apr 2, 2017

Finishing a re-read of Slaughterhouse Five and in the middle of Bonfire Of The Vanities.

Read The Good Father, Powder Burn and Modern Romance last month.

Dec · Apr 2, 2017

goldlion054 said:
Just came here to post this. I've never really dug into Christie before, but I'm really impressed with the tale she has weaved so far. I've tried to piece things together and I just don't think I'm anywhere near the ballpark. I'll absolutely delve into her other works based on this one so far

There are many good ones.

And Then There Were None is a great place to go afterwards. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is another classic.

Paganmoon · Apr 2, 2017

Ratrat said:
You're over thinking it. Its not about being liberal but using science to control the population and guide human evolution. Read the sequel.(or don't as its pretty awful)

Maybe I am, but it still felt very odd to me. It was actually strange enough that I've put off reading the sequels.

The Argus · Apr 2, 2017

Almost finished with this. It's like Cormac McCarthy wrote Moby Dick. So dark and twisted, yet beautifully written.

Rug Monkey · Apr 2, 2017

gatling said:
Zen Mind Beginner's mind. I read this once a year and it felt like it was time. Recalibrating my way of thinking and stressors.
.

I do this every year with The Way of Zen by Alan Watts

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