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Maklershed · Mar 1, 2017

Maklershed · Mar 1, 2017

Currently reading (and almost finished with) Breakfast of Champions by Vonnegut.

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

AngmarsKing701 · Mar 1, 2017

Still reading To Green Angel Tower, Part 1 by Tad Williams. More time writing and less time reading is really dragging it out.

Speaking of writing, Knight Ardent, the Second Entry in the Knight's Journal, is now live on Amazon.

Knight Descendent, the First Entry, will be free March 1 - 5, so if you want to jump in to the series and get a feel for whether it's for you, snag a copy!

fakefaker · Mar 1, 2017

Wow, where's the time go? Still reading The Borrowedby Chan Ho-Kei and my feelings are mixed with it. It's great that it's pretty much Hong Kong's version of noir, but ithe lack of atmosphere and suspense kinda kills it.

lawnchair · Mar 1, 2017

NEW THREAD!

i've just started a couple of things.

i'm finding this to be very funny. i'm reading little pieces of the dialogue and stuff to my girlfriend and she doesn't find it funny at all. oh well. the plot and the characters are much more appealing to me than those in The Circle, the only other Dave Eggers book i've read.

and i'm reading this self-helpy book trying to find some motivation:

which is at least a fast read and has made me think about stuff. can't really ask for more out of this kind of book.

Mumei · Mar 1, 2017

Nearly done with:

So good.

Fuu · Mar 1, 2017

Continuing my semi-chronological studies of Brazilian history with Coronelismo, Enxada e Voto (1949) by Victor Nunes Leal, doing some mythological reading with Gaiman's new novel Norse Mythology (2017), studying fairy tales with The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (1975) by Bruno Bettelheim (suggested by a friend while we were talking about the importance of children's fiction being scary), and since I'm always down for a good gay novel, I'm following André Aciman's Call me by Your Name that I read last month with Allan Stein (1999) by Matthew Stadler.

Mumei · Mar 1, 2017

Fuu said:
Continuing my semi-chronological studies of Brazilian history with Coronelismo, Enxada e Voto (1949) by Victor Nunes Leal, doing some mythological reading with Gaiman's new novel Norse Mythology (2017), studying fairy tales with The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (1975) by Bruno Bettelheim (suggested by a friend while we were talking about the importance of children's fiction being scary), and since I'm always down for a good gay novel, I'm following André Aciman's Call my By your Name that I read last month with Allan Stein (1999) by Matthew Stadler.

I just got a copy (read it a couple years ago), since the film has me interested in revisiting it. What did you think?

NipplesAndToes23 · Mar 1, 2017

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemison. It's well-written, but it's not just clicking with me. I don't know why I can't really sink into a book that's not by J.K. Rowling or Octavia Butler. There has to be another author out there that can give me that same feel where I really feel lost in the story and look forward to reading it.

lastflowers · Mar 1, 2017

About halfway through these three.

.

Zelenogorsk · Mar 1, 2017

I'm really trying to push through The Wise Man's Fear but this Maer/Denna/Vintas section is so slow and boring. Sucks because the first third of the book when Kvothe is still at the University is AMAZING, I liked that more than the entirety of Name of the Wind but then you get to Vintas and it's like "Why do I care about any of this?".

If Denna dies in The Doors of Stone it will be the greatest book I've ever read.

ATF487 · Mar 1, 2017

Enjoying both so far!

frontovik · Mar 1, 2017

Just finished Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder.

It was a compelling & sobering read about the ethnic cleansing, starvation, and genocide that transpired in the regions of what is now present day Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states during the Second World War.

A particular information that I found interesting was that it was Soviet Ukraine and Belarus that suffered the highest casualties during the war, while Soviet Russia was relatively moderate.

Fuu · Mar 1, 2017

Mumei said:
I just got a copy (read it a couple years ago), since the film has me interested in revisiting it. What did you think?

I actually loved it. Elio's nonstop overthinking ends up being charming and captivating, and I enjoyed all his yearning and tendency to obsess. I got invested in the microcosm he creates for himself and Oliver during that summer and their little games of signals and interpretations.

Even the more outlandish stuff like the peach scene and when they're in the bathroom in Rome is touching in a way due to the good prose. With the way it concludes the novel encapsulates those experiences in our lives that we can't help but compare the present to and keep revisiting in our minds thinking "what if?".

The Italian setting was very evocative too, to the point it got me to change my wallpaper to a picture of Bogliasco, haha. I really want to watch the movie, I'm curious about how they'll deal with certain parts since so much of the novel is about Elio's introspection. Hopefully it doesn't take long to get a wide release.

Pau · Mar 1, 2017

Blasian Persuasion said:
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemison. It's well-written, but it's not just clicking with me. I don't know why I can't really sink into a book that's not by J.K. Rowling or Octavia Butler. There has to be another author out there that can give me that same feel where I really feel lost in the story and look forward to reading it.

Have you read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin?

kswiston · Mar 1, 2017

I am about 1/3rd of the way through Old Man's War. It is enjoyable, but not really anything special so far.

I will probably move on to All the Pretty Horses after that. It's been a couple of years since my last McCarthy book, and that one has been in my backlog long enough.

Mumei · Mar 1, 2017

frontovik said:
Just finished Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder.

It was a compelling & sobering read about the ethnic cleansing, starvation, and genocide that transpired in the regions of what is now present day Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states during the Second World War.

A particular information that I found interesting was that it was Soviet Ukraine and Belarus that suffered the highest casualties during the war, while Soviet Russia was relatively moderate.

I just read his new book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, today (more of a pamphlet than a full fledged book, really). You should check it out and also Black Earth. Black Earth and Bloodlands are two of the most sobering, impactful works of history I've ever read.

Fuu said:
I actually loved it. Elio's nonstop overthinking ends up being charming and captivating, and I enjoyed all his yearning and tendency to obsess. I got invested in the microcosm he creates for himself and Oliver during that summer and their little games of signals and interpretations.

Even the more outlandish stuff like the peach scene and when they're in the bathroom in Rome is touching in a way due to the good prose. With the way it concludes the novel encapsulates those experiences in our lives that we can't help but compare the present to and keep revisiting in our minds thinking "what if?".

The Italian setting was very evocative too, to the point it got me to change my wallpaper to a picture of Bogliasco, haha. I really want to watch the movie, I'm curious about how they'll deal with certain parts since so much of the novel is about Elio's introspection. Hopefully it doesn't take long to get a wide release.

It does have a kind of effortless nostalgic charm.

I haven't seen the film, sadly, since I am not the kind of person who gets to go to festivals, but the two clips, especially the second one, look great. And the reviews, well. I'm very excited. As for the introspection, apparently they manage to successfully communicate his interior states as he develops simply through the actor's performance. I was very pleased to hear it, because it is a deeply introspective novel.

NipplesAndToes23 · Mar 1, 2017

Pau said:
Have you read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin?

No.

Funyarinpa · Mar 1, 2017

Pau said:
Have you read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin?

Blasian Persuasion said:
No.

Well, time to rectify that! The Dispossessed and A Wizard of Earthsea are both incredible places to start.

As for me, I'm veeeery slowly going through Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology as my very first audiobook. I love Gaiman's prose and narration but apparently mythology itself is not really my thing.

Also reading Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami. I like it, but it feels slightly different in tone from many of his other books (no surrealism so far).

sugarhigh4242 · Mar 1, 2017

History of the Russian Revolution - Leon Trotsky

Mumei · Mar 1, 2017

It's only $5 on Amazon for the physical copy / $3 Kindle right now. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Atraveller · Mar 1, 2017

Mumei said:
It's only $5 on Amazon for the physical copy / $3 Kindle right now. Can't recommend it highly enough.

The sample of that book only has the cover, what the hell lol.

nolips · Mar 1, 2017

I've just rekindled my love for Lovecraft ( once again), and I think that Stephen King «Crouch End» is one of the best Cthulhu short story out there. The way he weaves the cthulhu-mythos around one of the most uncanny parts of London is masterful storytelling IMO.

On another note, Neil Gaimans' «Shoggoths Old Peculiar» is also highly recommended.

NiiloPielinen · Mar 1, 2017

Just got this one.

If it doesn't qualify as a "real" book, then here is second one.

MilkBeard · Mar 1, 2017

Just finished The Colour of Magic. In the last thread I said that I didn't really like Terry Pratchett's style too much. I do have to say, though, that the book got better towards the end, with more interesting and fun ideas. I may pick up another of his books down the road.

Next up is Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy. Taking a one day hiatus, and will be starting it tomorrow.

Cerity · Mar 1, 2017

Just finished up Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuval and City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennet.

Sleeping giants was a nifty jump into sci-fi, though the journal entry format of it got fairly frustrating at times, especially things were happening quickly.

Other than the whole god moment in City of Blades, that was a pretty cool read too.

Mumei · Mar 1, 2017

Atraveller said:
The sample of that book only has the cover, what the hell lol.

Remember to check Google Books.

Pau · Mar 1, 2017

Blasian Persuasion said:
No.

She reminds me a bit of Octavia E. Butler in that her science fiction is more than just spaceships and lasers. She also has very diverse casts.

If you want fantasy, I'd start with A Wizard of Earthsea. If you want science fiction, I'd start with The Left Hand of Darkness.

Maklershed · Mar 1, 2017

Finished Breakfast of Champions and back to the Lew Archer series with book 2 - The Drowning Pool.

The Drowning Pool by Ross Macdonald

xeroborn55 · Mar 1, 2017

lastflowers said:
About halfway through these three.

.

Any thoughts on Thinking Fast and Slow? I just picked that one up the other day, havent started it.

Christoff Yurievich · Mar 1, 2017

Cerity said:
Just finished up Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuval and City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennet.

Sleeping giants was a nifty jump into sci-fi, though the journal entry format of it got fairly frustrating at times, especially things were happening quickly.

Other than the whole god moment in City of Blades, that was a pretty cool read too.

It was awesome as an audiobook because each journal entry was narrated by a different person, gave it a lot of character (heh) that I imagine the book may have lacked.

Since I haven't posted in awhile, is there an update to the Explorer Quartet? IIRC, March 2017 was mentioned once. Hey hey, it's March 2017!

MrOogieBoogie · Mar 1, 2017

Finished reading this today.

You know, despite some qualms with characterization and dialogue, I ended up really enjoying this book. It's weird, it's absolutely absurd, and I'm still not entirely sure how some of the pieces of the story and plot fit together, but I was very engaged the majority of the time.

The book walks a very fine line between being grounded and being a cheesy, over-the-top mess.

I hear Erikson's writing improves in the latter books, so I'm curious to see if my problems with him are alleviated in Deadhouse Gates. I just want to feel strongly for these characters. The world is there, now make me care for what happens to everyone in it. If the dialogue is more natural in the second book it'll already be an immediate improvement over Gardens of the Moon.

Intheflorsh · Mar 1, 2017

MrOogieBoogie said:
Finished reading this today.

You know, despite some qualms with characterization and dialogue, I ended up really enjoying this book. It's weird, it's absolutely absurd, and I'm still not entirely sure how some of the pieces of the story and plot fit together, but I was very engaged the majority of the time.

The book walks a very fine line between being grounded and being a cheesy, over-the-top mess.

I hear Erikson's writing improves in the latter books, so I'm curious to see if my problems with him are alleviated in Deadhouse Gates. I just want to feel strongly for these characters. The world is there, now make me care for what happens to everyone in it. If the dialogue is more natural in the second book it'll already be an immediate improvement over Gardens of the Moon.

I finished it too, I'm just over 100 pages on the second book now. So far I wouldn't say the quality of dialogue and characterization strikes me as massively better or anything, but it seems sharper and it helps that there are a few returning characters. There's also much less of a "what the fuck is happening" hump at the beginning, which is good.

I enjoyed the first book the most when it was focused on the scheming and intrigue between the city and the empire, although the more bombastic elements were enjoyable too. Overall it was very readable and not the slog I was prepared for.

brawly · Mar 1, 2017

Halfway through

[

I really like it. I can already tell it's having a big effect on me and my daily life.

Killerhertz · Mar 1, 2017

NipplesAndToes23 · Mar 2, 2017

Pau said:
She reminds me a bit of Octavia E. Butler in that her science fiction is more than just spaceships and lasers. She also has very diverse casts.

If you want fantasy, I'd start with A Wizard of Earthsea. If you want science fiction, I'd start with The Left Hand of Darkness.

Funyarinpa said:
Well, time to rectify that! The Dispossessed and A Wizard of Earthsea are both incredible places to start.

As for me, I'm veeeery slowly going through Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology as my very first audiobook. I love Gaiman's prose and narration but apparently mythology itself is not really my thing.

Also reading Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami. I like it, but it feels slightly different in tone from many of his other books (no surrealism so far).

Thanks. I'll check it out.

Pau · Mar 2, 2017

Any recommendations on the history of crime in cities like New York? Including stuff (maybe exclusively) about more recent changes and trends?

May or may not be research for Batman fanfiction.

Haly · Mar 2, 2017

Pau said:
Any recommendations on the history of crime in cities like New York? Including stuff (maybe exclusively) about more recent changes and trends?

May or may not be research for Batman fanfiction.

TestMonkey · Mar 2, 2017

513T9%2BL2dSL._SX320_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Really fun so far. The 1930s were a different time.

DemWalls · Mar 2, 2017

MrOogieBoogie said:
You know, despite some qualms with characterization and dialogue, I ended up really enjoying this book. It's weird, it's absolutely absurd, and I'm still not entirely sure how some of the pieces of the story and plot fit together

Well, I suppose it wouldn't be weird if you felt the same even after reading the whole saga

fakefaker · Mar 2, 2017

I'm going to start reading The Wonder by Emma Donoghue after finishing The Borrowed by Chan Ho-Kei last night.

NekoFever · Mar 2, 2017

Just started this today.

It's about the persecution of Catholics and the spy networks pitted against them under Elizabeth I, specifically after she was condemned by the Pope. Great reviews so let's see.

wild wild rice · Mar 3, 2017

Finished Transit by Rachel Cusk and really loved it. Gonna start Huck Out West by Robert Coover tomorrow.

Edit: I love that the reading thread has more pictures than almost any other thread I read.

MrOogieBoogie · Mar 3, 2017

Intheflorsh said:
I finished it too, I'm just over 100 pages on the second book now. So far I wouldn't say the quality of dialogue and characterization strikes me as massively better or anything, but it seems sharper and it helps that there are a few returning characters. There's also much less of a "what the fuck is happening" hump at the beginning, which is good.

I enjoyed the first book the most when it was focused on the scheming and intrigue between the city and the empire, although the more bombastic elements were enjoyable too. Overall it was very readable and not the slog I was prepared for.

Bro, I dunno, I read the prologue and first chapter of Deadhouse Gates, and my jaw literally dropped at the writing.

From the first PARAGRAPH of the prologue I was like... "Holy shit." Erikson's prose and story-telling in this is unbelievably evocative and improved from his first book.

Not only that, but his characters thus far are far better realized for some reason. I'm not kidding, characters like Fiddler, Kalam, and Crokus have more personality in ten lines of text in DG than they did in the ENTIRETY of Gardens of the Moon for me. That's not an exaggeration.

Can't freaking wait to continue with the story.

Extollere · Mar 3, 2017

I'm reading a book called Nitro Moutain. It's like, uh, a thriller, with rednecks. So far so good. I don't read as often as I'd like to. Trying to change that.

Kawl_USC · Mar 3, 2017

Making my way through the Widow's House, book 4 of the Dagger and Coin series. I've been really enjoying it and it has stayed great through the first 3.

Mild Spoiler:

I particularly enjoy the fact that you get POV from Geder and that his flaws seem so much less evident when its his chapter to narrate.

depward · Mar 3, 2017

Recommended by a friend after I told him I enjoyed Children of Time. Pretty good so far (seems like a quick read).

besada · Mar 3, 2017

Been reading comics since I finished Lincoln in the Bardo. Starting Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor tonight.

aidan · Mar 3, 2017

depward said:
Recommended by a friend after I told him I enjoyed Children of Time. Pretty good so far (seems like a quick read).

I discovered this book years ago thanks to GAF. It turned out to be one of my top 10 favourite books of all time. I recently bought the audiobook, which I thought would be a fun way to revisit it.

besada said:
Been reading comics since I finished Lincoln in the Bardo. Starting Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor tonight.

Ooh! I loved the first Binti novella. Can't wait to dig into this myself.

thomaser · Mar 3, 2017

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. It's good. And it's readable. And understandable. Early Joyce is good stuff.

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