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What are you reading? (June 09)
- Thread starter Undeux
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crowphoenix
Banned
Probably doesn't help that the American version of Monstrous Regiment has one of the worst covers for a DW book.Uncle said:
Night_Trekker
Member
Undeux said:
I think it's an even better read if you've seen the miniseries, which leaves a good bit out, condenses a few people/characters, moves events around and has a few inaccuracies. I had an easier time identifying and following the individual soldiers and visualizing some of the events than I might have otherwise.
The book is obviously less dramatic than the miniseries (for the most part it's a straightforward account of actual events, after all), but it's a great read. I think it's inspired me to pick up Ambrose's D-Day next.
Uncle said:
Scratch that. I started Sarasvatin Hiekkaa by Risto Isomäki (literal translation would be Sand of Sarasvati). It's been a long time since i read finnish book, and it's shorter so it fits my schedule better.
It's an ecological thriller set in 2020. The book starts when scientists find a sunken city near the coast of India. They are trying to figure out what happened to the city 10 000 years ago and at the same time something is happening at the Greenland ice sheet. Things get connected and so forth. Climate change stuff. English translation will be out this year, according to Wikipedia.
Have been going through Bukowski's Hollywood at the library and plan to finish it tomorrow. It's as funny as anything he's written and there's some great anecdotes about well-known movie industry types. One of my favourites is when Werner Herzog breaks down Barbet Schroeder's car because he didn't put water in the tank, and Schroeder's subsequent commentary: "He's a genius; he doesn't know about such things." Going to watch Barfly afterwards, can't wait!
And I just started Aldous Huxley's non-fiction work The Devils of Loudun which is absolutely amazing so far. I'm underlining about 50% of every page :lol. Dude was so smart.
And I just started Aldous Huxley's non-fiction work The Devils of Loudun which is absolutely amazing so far. I'm underlining about 50% of every page :lol. Dude was so smart.
Going to start
Was also wondering, does anyone have any suggestions for some good, but quick reads? Don't have time to get into any new series, or doorstops, and am already partly invested into Song of Ice and fire. So I am looking for some good, quick reads to fill in the space.
Was also wondering, does anyone have any suggestions for some good, but quick reads? Don't have time to get into any new series, or doorstops, and am already partly invested into Song of Ice and fire. So I am looking for some good, quick reads to fill in the space.
Trax416 said:
Look no further. It is good, it is quick, and you'll want to reread it later.
http://www.amazon.com/War-Music-Account-Books-Homers/dp/0226491900
Trax416 said:
The City & The City I just read fits the bill pretty well. It's a self contained story, and not very long. A detective story with a fantasy (or weird, if you will) setting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_city_and_the_city (no spoilers)
Really good and interesting so far. Also really dense, this'll take a while to properly read.
There was an awesome little bit of history about rape law in England circa 1285. If rape was reported, the rapist was often required to marry the victim, which punishes the woman but would also force the man to take responsibility for her. Couples started to use this law in order to allow love marriages without requiring the consent of parents. So a woman would allege that her desired husband had raped her, he wouldn't oppose, and the parents would have to allow the marriage. Now that's crafty!
Had a long road trip and finished (on Audio):
About to start (reading instead of listening):
The prose really fits well in the audio version and adds a certain "this is happening" feel to the action. I've got BLOOD MERIDIAN on my reading list, though, and I'm not sure how satisfied I'll be with all the and and anding going on over the course of 300ish pages. I'll give it a shot, but I'm guessing McCarthy is better heard than read.
No need to repeat the praise heaped thus far on WIZARD & GLASS. I thought SoS (Book 6) could have been parceled out into books 5 and 7 and didn't exactly work on its own merits as a standalone. I liked book 1 more than most, though its possibly because I read it so long ago. Although the plot itself is thin, the feel to the book (sparse, post-apocalyptic, Western, fantasy) made up for it.
Also sort of surprised so many people are lukewarm on WOLVES OF THE CALLA. Sure it's Seven Samurai, but there's quite a bit more going on, and this is the point in the series where the overarching themes and ideas start to really come together. As for the ending, I'm sadly on the other side of the dividing line from most in here. A large letdown after all the work getting there. Still, it's well worth it to take the trip.
About to start (reading instead of listening):
nyong said:
The prose really fits well in the audio version and adds a certain "this is happening" feel to the action. I've got BLOOD MERIDIAN on my reading list, though, and I'm not sure how satisfied I'll be with all the and and anding going on over the course of 300ish pages. I'll give it a shot, but I'm guessing McCarthy is better heard than read.
Costanza said:
No need to repeat the praise heaped thus far on WIZARD & GLASS. I thought SoS (Book 6) could have been parceled out into books 5 and 7 and didn't exactly work on its own merits as a standalone. I liked book 1 more than most, though its possibly because I read it so long ago. Although the plot itself is thin, the feel to the book (sparse, post-apocalyptic, Western, fantasy) made up for it.
Also sort of surprised so many people are lukewarm on WOLVES OF THE CALLA. Sure it's Seven Samurai, but there's quite a bit more going on, and this is the point in the series where the overarching themes and ideas start to really come together. As for the ending, I'm sadly on the other side of the dividing line from most in here. A large letdown after all the work getting there. Still, it's well worth it to take the trip.
Finished -
Finished -
Currently Reading -
Pretty good series so far, but the last sentences of every chapter are kind of annoying. It loses the impact when you see something along the lines of "suddenly things aren't looking good" or "oh I'm so outgunned right now" at the end of 99% of the chapters.
Finished -
Currently Reading -
Pretty good series so far, but the last sentences of every chapter are kind of annoying. It loses the impact when you see something along the lines of "suddenly things aren't looking good" or "oh I'm so outgunned right now" at the end of 99% of the chapters.
Tim the Wiz
Banned
Good to see the Jim Butcher love. But don't forget the Codex Alera series.
Mifune said:
I found it to be quite boring. Most of the inteviews were so unpersonal that I just couldn't get connection for their suffering. There were some really touching stories too that really made me think about the consequences of the attack. Those stories were in minority
. I just didn't like it that much. It wasn't bad but not great either. ...Then again I almost read it on one sit so there must be something compelling about it.
CiSTM said:
That's the thing, though. Murakami doesn't approach the interviews from a normal tragedy survivor perspective. And he's not out to shed light on Aum.
He's more interested in the philosophical meaning behind the events. Murakami's novels are fairly impersonal, and I am amazed that he was able to write a non-fiction book based solely on interviews where the subjects sound like characters from one of his novels.
Mifune said:
Yep, I understand this. But this is the fact that made it boring to me. Every story was pretty much the same and after you read one you had read them all... Well okay that was overstating it but I just didn't see the point in this book. I admit that Murakami did the right thing when he chose the 'ordinary' writing style but it just didn't do it for me.
There were still many interesting points about Japanese culture/society. Like the
fact that everyone on board in these trains knew something was wrong but not any of them discussed about it with fellow passangers.
edit:Let's spoil that just in case.
Right now, I'm reading Card's "Children of The Mind," finished up my re-read of Card's Ender Universe books (all 9).
Next I'll go for Asimov's Nightfall (again), World War Z, start re-reading my favorite series ever, Asimov's FOUNDATION Universe (all 15 books), and finally start The Dark Tower.
I'll also finally read The Road somewhere in there.
Next I'll go for Asimov's Nightfall (again), World War Z, start re-reading my favorite series ever, Asimov's FOUNDATION Universe (all 15 books), and finally start The Dark Tower.
I'll also finally read The Road somewhere in there.
Finishing this today. It's gross, it's mostly a build-up for the two sequels, but it's still almost impossible to to put down. Even when you know that the character you're reading about is almost certainly going to get offed, you can't help but wait to see how it happens and cringe at the outcome. Not for the faint of heart, for sure.
Halfway through this, but taking a break to read a bunch of fiction that I've been piling up. They call it the definitive book on WWII. Given the step-by-step analysis of the war and the research behind everything, I'd be willing to say that's probably accurate. Recommended for history buffs who want to read about the entire war in under 600 pages with no pro-/anti-Axis sentiment in the writing.
They call this McCarthy's masterpiece. Personally, I enjoyed All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and No Country for Old Men far more than this book, but there is something to be said for the sheer shock you feel when reading the levels of violence depicted across these pages. This is a dirty, apathetic, middle finger of a book where every character save one is a walking pile of curses, stink, and booze. However, like Chigurh was to NCfOM, The Judge is the reason you will finish this book. His monologues are heavy-handed lessons in gnosticism and the godliness of the animal-man, but his words and actions build towards a climatic encounter on the book's closing pages that will have you scratching your head or stunned in disbelief, depending on how you interpret it. For McCarthy fans only. Everyone else, go read The Road or No Country and come back to this one later.
What I will be reading once I finish the Strain. It got a lot of good press last fall and the paperback was like $5.50 at Wal-Mart so I figured I'd give it a shot. Child abduction in Soviet Russia with political intrigue and fur hats is good enough for me to give it a shot.
I read the first few pages of this in Barnes and Noble and I'm already certain I'll like it. Child is found alone after going out with his friends into the woods, with no trace of the two missing children to be found. The kid then becomes a detective, determined to resolve the case. The writing was really strong and this book and its sequel, The Likeness, get a ton of love on Amazon. Fans of thriller writers like Cussler and Brown should check it out.
Masked Man
I said wow
Mishima Yukio - The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
Really great so far... Reminds me of Camus' The Stranger.
I didn't realize how spoileriffic the introduction to the novel would be, so I accidentally found out a little more than I wanted to know before I read, but I stopped as soon as I realized. That said, Mizoguchi is a really dark and fascinating character, and--seeing as I just met Kashiwagi--I can only imagine that things become even more deliciously twisted from here onward.
God, I love Mishima <333CiSTM said:
The book is repetitive, definitely. But why?
Is it because Murakami just needs to edit his work better? Or is it intentional? I think it's the latter.
By showing how different people recount the traumatic event in remarkably similar ways (not really what they are saying as much as HOW), he seems to be taking a look at the Japanese (and largely human) mindset. How is it that so many of these different interview subjects retell horrible tragedy in such matter-of-fact tones? Why is it that some of the victims actually continued on their way to work after nearly dying, and watching others die, from a poison gas atttack? Murakami isn't passing judgment on the subjects' behavior, but just asking why.
And finally, does any of this human behavior have anything to do with why someone could murder so many people in the first place? I mean, you have to admit, the Aum members Murakami talks to sound an awful lot like the victims.
I think the book is just an attempt to understand what happened from a psychological and philosophical perspective. He doesn't have the answers but he's asking the right questions and maybe even shedding a little light on our own behavior in the process.
EDIT: Good point about the passengers.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Anyone else doing this?
http://infinitesummer.org/
Three months, like a million pages. Spend the summer with the best book ever!
Anyway, that's what I'll be reading this month.
http://infinitesummer.org/
Three months, like a million pages. Spend the summer with the best book ever!
Anyway, that's what I'll be reading this month.
So I just picked up some books in the library (bought em), what does GAF know/think about them?
An illustrated (by Michael Whelan) version of The Gunslinger (Book I of Stephen King's The Dark Tower). Is anything cut out of this one? Or is it the original text + illustrations?
An I also picked up what I now know to be books 1-6 in Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' "Left Behind" series. Which (I gather from skimming through Amazon right now) are sorta "Christian" books. They had nice covers and synopsis' so I picked them up. Ugh.
An illustrated (by Michael Whelan) version of The Gunslinger (Book I of Stephen King's The Dark Tower). Is anything cut out of this one? Or is it the original text + illustrations?
An I also picked up what I now know to be books 1-6 in Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' "Left Behind" series. Which (I gather from skimming through Amazon right now) are sorta "Christian" books. They had nice covers and synopsis' so I picked them up. Ugh.
Monroeski said:Finished -
Finished -
Currently Reading -
Pretty good series so far, but the last sentences of every chapter are kind of annoying. It loses the impact when you see something along the lines of "suddenly things aren't looking good" or "oh I'm so outgunned right now" at the end of 99% of the chapters.
Real stuff starts happening from book 4, from then on shit really hits the fan. Awesome book series.
Masked Man
I said wow
Mifune said:
We read excerpts for my Modern Japan course, and we discussed similar ideas regarding Murakami's approach to the topic. I think I appreciated the novel more in retrospect, as it certainly is a bit tedious to read the stories consecutively.
Dan said:
Ugh.
I did a bit more research and the authors (at least one) was a pastor. And the other writes for the "Moody Bible Institute."
I should've skimmed the synopsis' better at the library.
I figured it was kinda similar to "The Stand," at least in a post-apocalyptic way. I don't really want to be converted.
Have you read them? And they still good (as long as I get over the religious stuff)?
gdt5016 said:
Nobody I respect has expressed a positive view of them. Many people I respect have expressed powerful (aesthetic, ethical, temperamental, political) disapproval of them. I'd chalk it up to experience, and be glad you didn't spend any money.
I think the 'religious stuff' is all through it; the books would not so much fall apart as cease to exist if you somehow took it away or managed to ignore it.
â Narayan
Member
Reading: Angels & Demons
Pop literature makes me groan sometimes. At least the book is entertaining enough for me to keep reading. :|
Pop literature makes me groan sometimes. At least the book is entertaining enough for me to keep reading. :|
Monroeski said:
Well, sounds good and bad then. I'm pretty picky about the actual writing of books I read, so can't wait to be annoyed myself at that. Hope the storylines are good enough to overcome. I ended up buying a boxed set of the first three in the series because they didn't have singles of book 1.
gdt5016 said:
If you just mean it has a few panels of illustration throughout the book, it's unabridged text (original text, not the revised version). If every page is illustrated, I've never seen it so couldn't tell you. I know Whelan did the art for the former though.
nakedsushi
Member
Just finished the 1st book. Now halfway thru the 2nd. I got into it b/c I liked True Blood. The books are a little different in terms of characters and side-plots, but the hot steamy vampire sex and mystery is still there. Highly recommended. It's like Twilight done right
Masta_Killah
Member
Currently:
Just finished:
Just finished:
hey_monkey
Banned
So wild that I'm following that last post up, because I'm reading Welsh, too-- Marabou Stork Nightmares. Also just picked up the 2009 Pushcart Prize anthology. Pretty excited about that, as it has John Barth as well as a new writer named Suzanne Rivecca who I love. Next on my list is Carolina Moon by Jill McCorkle. Just read The Cheer Leader earlier this month and it was fantastic.
Also about twenty pages from finishing Odalisque by Neal Stephenson, from the Baroque Cycle.
Also about twenty pages from finishing Odalisque by Neal Stephenson, from the Baroque Cycle.
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
gdt5016 said:
haha, no, they are hackery of the worse sort by fundamentalists. Burn them, teehee.
Masked Man
I said wow
I'm impressed, GAF: I don't think I would be able to handle reading multiple novels at the same time without feeling like I'm sacrificing my enjoyment of one or the other. Kudos!
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