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What are you reading? - August edition
- Thread starter Witchfinder General
- Start date
Wolves Eat Dogs is the "very good" one in my long winded sentence - better than Stalin's Ghost but not quite up to the standards of Red Square or Gorky Park. The setting is an obvious plus and the mystery is good, it just felt a tiny bit less impressive than the absolute best Renko stories to me. Part of that might be a personal preference for the presence or absence of certain ongoing characters from the previous books.Mifune said:
It's worth pointing out that for me a relatively disappointing Renko novel like SG is still an excellent book compared to most others.
And it's always nice to see "Rose" get its props.
Such a great novel.Laurentius
Member
Alucard said:I am finishing this up tonight...
It's excellent in its individual chapters, but I'm still trying to like the book as a whole. I was hoping for a more consistent following of characters, instead of the "let's introduce a bunch of new characters and make you care about them for 20-30 pages and then fast forward 30-50 years and start all over again." More thoughts later. Asimov is still awesome. I will be moving on to Foundation and Empire after this.
Well, I mean, the original Foundation trilogy is really a collection of short stories. They're fantastic at what they do, but they aren't one story with the same characters throughout. I loved the "trilogy" (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation) but I'm not to fond of the two sequels. They're entertaining to read (and you can see Asimov's writing improvements) but I just couldn't get myself to get over the ridiculous concept.
A sentient planet and a psychic robot put the fate of the galaxy and the human race into the hands of a politician because they think he has good intuition. That's about it.
They're entertaining and certainly worth a read, but not on the level of the original trilogy.
Now, on the other hand, the two Foundation prequels (Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation) are fantastic. Getting to know the character of Hari Seldon is great as is the way he connects the Foundation series with
the Robot series.
Witchfinder General
punched Wheelchair Mike
Paul Kelly - The End of Certainty
Whilst I remember Keating's coup over Hawke and the various goings on at the time al the finer details elude as I was so young at the time. This book seems like an excellent choice of understanding the the political shift in Labor in the 80s and 90s.
Whilst I remember Keating's coup over Hawke and the various goings on at the time al the finer details elude as I was so young at the time. This book seems like an excellent choice of understanding the the political shift in Labor in the 80s and 90s.
Something like 200 journal articles and reviews on the regulation of actin cytoskeletal dynamics and contractility with specific regard to the trabecular meshwork and smooth muscle tissue. Writing a thesis is demanding.
Also, Watchmen graphic novel.
Next month I'll be right there with you guys.
Also, Watchmen graphic novel.
Next month I'll be right there with you guys.
JzeroT1437
Member
Frankenstein: A Cultural History by Susan Tyler Hitchcock
An interesting exploration of how Shelley's Frankenstein became a cultural icon and modern myth over the span of a very short period of time. I was looking into reading up on horror culture and this seemed like a good starting place, since I've always had sort of a soft spot for Frankie.
Batman Unmasked by Will Brooker
Started this one due to renewed interest in Batman as a result of The Dark Knight, but I'm not sure if I'm pleased with it or not. It covers a broad range of topics, from Batman's inception to comic book censorship to his role in the modern world, but concerns itself a bit too much with the idea of homosexuality between Batman and other characters--most predominantly Robin. This may be something to cover, but not something which demands several pages of dedicated work. Kind of meh.
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
Only just started this, but Obama can write a pretty intriguing narrative. He doesn't present in the typical drab style of politics--he weaves a story in the same way a novel's author would, which is great. Hope this turns out well.
The Joke's Over by Ralph Steadman
Will be starting this as soon as I finish the Frankenstein book. I've recently become very interested in Thompson's writing and Steadman's art, so this should be a fun, if depressing, read for me.
tammolives
Member
nitewulf said:
What do you think of Kerouac? I'm halfway through Dharma Bums. It's....different.
bought the trilogy for my 3 week holidays...
hope i have enough time to read all 3 books.
This is the first book in The Warlord Chronicles series by Bernard Cornwell....
The trilogy tells the legend of Arthur seen through the eyes of his follower Derfel Cadarn.
More Infos here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winter_King_(novel)
hope i have enough time to read all 3 books.
This is the first book in The Warlord Chronicles series by Bernard Cornwell....
The trilogy tells the legend of Arthur seen through the eyes of his follower Derfel Cadarn.
More Infos here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winter_King_(novel)
he was always on my "to do" list, i mean to read, not to fuck. finally decided to pick up a collection.tammolives said:
...
i find his writing very refreshing and exactly as i imagined it would be. no pretense. just straight-laced narrative, very fluid, descriptive. i'm only reading "on the road" so far, so i cant comment on the rest.
JzeroT1437
Member
JzeroT1437 said:
Frankenstein: A Cultural History by Susan Tyler Hitchcock
An interesting exploration of how Shelley's Frankenstein became a cultural icon and modern myth over the span of a very short period of time. I was looking into reading up on horror culture and this seemed like a good starting place, since I've always had sort of a soft spot for Frankie.
Finished this last night. Hitchcock offers a chronicle but lacks any sort of substance in the way of analysis or critique of Frankenstein's broader role as a modern myth. Good if you're into modern myths or monster movies, but I wouldn't suggest for anyone looking for some depth unless you're doing research and need a good source for trivia/facts.
Moving on to The Joke's Over now.
I'm about 75 pages into Declare by Tim Powers, a cold war espionage story with supernatural elements. It's the early 60s and our hero, long retired from the unusual special branch he served with in WWII and still emotionally scarred from a failed mission on Mt. Ararat, has been reactivated. He's going back to Mt. Ararat, this time in the company of Kim Philby, with all that entails, in an attempt to stop the Russians from harnessing some strange, as yet unexplained power there. I've only read one other novel by Powers, The Anubis Gates, but I loved the hell out of it, and having him riffing on Le Carre here is, so far, even better. I'll report back (no doubt with wild enthusing) when I'm done.
FnordChan
AndresON777
shooting blanks
I got this book like 4 years ago had it sitting around in my collection, just read almost all of it in 3 days. I love it, my first Card book I'm looking forward to picking up the rest of the series.
Just finished the last volume in the complete works of Alexander Kielland, one of the so-called "4 greats" of Norwegian literature (the others are Ibsen, Bjørnson and Jonas Lie). Many of his longer stories are based in an unnamed town (thought to be Stavanger, on the Norwegian south-west coast), and together they lay out the story of the town from ca. 1820-30 to ca. 1880 or so. "Poison" is the best known story. They're usually very good, but can be extremely infuriating to read since things never go as you wish they should... The "good guys" you feel positive about are almost always eventually downtrodden by the "big guys" - the priest, the owner of the local shipyard, the owner of the bank etc. The whole thing is basically an attack on the powers in the society: "Kielland revealed the oppression of the poor, scourged hypocrisy in the clergy, and satirized bureaucracy and the schoolmen." These same groups often criticized Kielland as "immoral" - a great irony if there ever was one. His very best work is a short-story called "Karen", though, about a serving-girl at an inn in Denmark being seduced by the postmaster. I've analyzed it several times at school, and it's a marvel, with three strands of story weaving together and interlocking in all sorts of ways, and more symbolism than you can shake a stick at.
Right now, I'm reading The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. After that I might continue with Miller and read The Crucible. Or I'll read Peer Gynt by Ibsen. Sometimes you need to read a play or two.
Right now, I'm reading The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. After that I might continue with Miller and read The Crucible. Or I'll read Peer Gynt by Ibsen. Sometimes you need to read a play or two.
Night_Trekker
Member
I bought everything I could find and afford written by Cormac McCarthy over the weekend (everything but The Border Trilogy and his play, The Stonemason). I'm starting on Outer Dark today.
Mumei said:And I am currently reading:
That's the one that made him famous, but I personally recommend:
It's much more science fictiony.
I read a whole bunch of Murakami's books back in the day, and now I've been re-reading them in Japanese (and it takes me forEVER). My memory of the book is too hazy to remember the tone of the translation but even in English it's an astoundingly good read. I want to do Kafka on the Shore after this one.
Finished Death of a Salesman and The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Both excellent, but The Crucible hit me hardest... I HATE seeing innocent people unjustly accused, and nowhere is that done as squirmingly unjustly as in this play.
Right now I'm reading A Social History of the Media - From Gutenberg to the Internet by Peter Burke and Asa Briggs. It's for my history-studies, but it's so interesting and well-written that it could easily be enjoyed outside studies as well.
I have lots of books to choose from outside the study-books, but I have no idea which to pick next. The Man Without Qualities by Musil? The Rest Is Noise by Ross? The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Kundera? The Good Soldier Svejk by Hasek? The Historian by Kostova? What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Murakami? Underworld by De Lillo? Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck? And there are tons more still...
Right now I'm reading A Social History of the Media - From Gutenberg to the Internet by Peter Burke and Asa Briggs. It's for my history-studies, but it's so interesting and well-written that it could easily be enjoyed outside studies as well.
I have lots of books to choose from outside the study-books, but I have no idea which to pick next. The Man Without Qualities by Musil? The Rest Is Noise by Ross? The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Kundera? The Good Soldier Svejk by Hasek? The Historian by Kostova? What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Murakami? Underworld by De Lillo? Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck? And there are tons more still...
DarkJediKnight
Member
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
ninj4junpei said:
FU#$K Im reading this too.
If I had the balls I would try to post a small thread on these books but the
backlash would never be worth it.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
Jeff-DSA said:Just finished Watchmen at the beginning of the month, and now I'm reading this:
So far, it's been awesome.
I had never even heard of this but I believe this is going to be my next book.
bengraven
Member
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
E-phonk said:
I loved no country and was thinking about picking this up.
What did you think?
Boogie9IGN
Member
BruceLeeRoy said:
I'm reading it right now too and I have about 80 pages left. The lack of grammar is kinda trippy at first but it adds to the book I think. Anyway, it's really sad so far and some parts are downright depressing
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
Boogie9IGN said:I'm reading it right now too and I have about 80 pages left. The lack of grammar is kinda trippy at first but it adds to the book I think. Anyway, it's really sad so far and some parts are downright depressing
Let me know what you think when you finish it.
DarkJediKnight said:
You are the man.
I'd like to note, however, that while the Fagles translation is by far the most literal I've seen, its translation erases most poetic quality from the epic. I might recommend you take a look at the Fitzgerald translation (which typically accepted as the most accurate not only semantically but in terms of poetic rhythm) and compare the two.
disappeared
Banned
still slowly plodding through Mcarthy's The Road. only reading a few pages a night.
DarkJediKnight
Member
Masamune said:
I will def check it out once I'm done with Fagles. Thx.
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
Charles Cumming's The Hidden Man and Steve Dublanica's Waiter Rant.
echoshifting
Banned
BruceLeeRoy said:
I know you aren't asking me but I adore The Road and think everyone should read it.
Monroeski said:
Is it weird that I have a Master's degree and I'm going back for a certification? :lol
Not at all. I got an MA in a non-practical, useless "discipline" (Humanities), and I'll be starting a certification for something specific in the fall myself.
Yep, doing some pre-reading before my course starts in two weeks to get myself in the head space I need to be in to succeed. This is a fairly basic book, but it hits the main points and I've found it fairly useful and sometimes inspiring in its advice on teaching, learning, and keeping the classroom engaged and interested.
I've recently gone on a slight Star Wars kick, having watched the new Clone Wars animated feature, the mini-series, and Attack of the Clones (barf). This book takes place 5 years after Return of the Jedi, with Leia being pregnant with twins, and Luke trying to help establish the New Republic. There are some interesting new characters so far, particularly Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is intent on bringing back the glory days of the Empire. Anyway, the pace has been brisk and engaging so far. I'm just over 60 pages in.
JzeroT1437 said:
you have GOT to read David J Skal's The Monster Show.
http://www.monstershow.net/work3.htm
Very intriguing book, and the first book that really made me understand the basic theories about things like black holes, symmetry breaking, the big bang, hyperspace, quantom mechanics and such. Not finished yet though, so I'm hoping it gets even better. Kaku's an excellent writer, although a bit unfocused at times.
About to start with this one. I've heard good things about it.
Been reading this on and off for the last 2 months or so. Can get a bit boring at times, but overall it's a good read, and the amount of information and research that has gone into it is astonishing.
E-phonk said:
This sounds absolutely fascinating. How is it?
AndresON777
shooting blanks
The tales of Alvin Maker are great, started book 1 2 weeks ago and I'm hooked...on book 5 out of 6 now.
sparky2112
Member
Masamune said:
I have not read Fagles, so take my comments in that context.
Interesting that you mention Fagles impact on the poetic quality of the work. I'm curious, then, why his reputation is what it is. Weren't people ready to crown him as the grand poobah of translators? I saw him interviewed once, and he seemed like one of the LEAST dynamic/animated people I've ever seen, and I'm thinking to myself, 'Huh? This guy seems like he should be writing accounting textbooks, not translating epic poetry.'
Guybrush Threepwood
Banned
I had to read Life of Pi one year in high school and I swear that everyone but me hated it.
Always-honest
Banned
Bill Bryson: A Short History of Nearly Everything
Slowly but surely (it's crunch time):
Still trying to work out exactly which body part this is here. I'm 99% sure it's supposed to be boobs because it's a reference to the classic cover, but it just doesn't look... quite right.
After that, I'm restarting this, which I had to give up halfway through because it became impossible to keep up with the multitude of plot threads when I only had a couple hours a week to read:
Also, one more vote for Life of Pi being completely awesome. I think the movie is due out next year.
Still trying to work out exactly which body part this is here. I'm 99% sure it's supposed to be boobs because it's a reference to the classic cover, but it just doesn't look... quite right.
After that, I'm restarting this, which I had to give up halfway through because it became impossible to keep up with the multitude of plot threads when I only had a couple hours a week to read:
Also, one more vote for Life of Pi being completely awesome. I think the movie is due out next year.