-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
What are you reading? (January 2012)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
If I had to choose, NFL.
Read it about a year ago. Good read but not as good as the first. Still very enjoyable though.
VonRehausen
Banned
Anyone here already read Alastair Reynolds´Blue Remembered Earth? If so, how was it?
dat book is definitely on my list. thanks for the warning though, i'll try not to read it in public.Just started this:
A Song of Ice and Fire (in german). Just finished A Storm of Swords and started a feast of Crows. Damn these books. If George R.R. Martin would have written Lord of the Rings
nobody would have survived long enough to get even close to Mordor. Aragon kills Frodo, Gollum kills Saruman, Boromir kills Faramir and Joffrey would rule Gondor with Gandalf.
Man, I'd be down for reading that version of LotR!A Song of Ice and Fire (in german). Just finished A Storm of Swords and started a feast of Crows. Damn these books. If George R.R. Martin would have written Lord of the Ringsnobody would have survived long enough to get even close to Mordor. Aragon kills Frodo, Gollum kills Saruman, Boromir kills Faramir and Joffrey would rule Gondor with Gandalf.
I've just finished Shadow of the Wind. I loved the atmosphere and tension he managed to build throughout the book. It has a really charming whimsical feel to it, which nicely contrasts with the sadism and cruelty of several of the characters. The only thing that irked me slightly was that the writing and dialogue is clunky and awkward at times, but that could well be down to the translation.
Clever Pun
Member
Thanks, that sounds really interesting. I don't read a lot of Non-Fiction, but Millard is great and I definitely need to move this up my To-Read list.
Maklershed
Member
Just started up ...
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
I'm already a bit disappointed that
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
I'm already a bit disappointed that
it's not continuing Robinette's story. But I'm sure I'll probably like it just the same. It's already interesting that they've found a fully loaded Heechee food mining facility.
I am continuing reading the anthology (now ~1350 pages in), which adds three more children's novels: Playing Beatie Bow, The Book of Three, and Podkayne of Mars. The first two were good to excellent; Podkayne was ... annoyingly sexist. Though I hear there's par for the course from Heinlein.
I also read the sixth hardcover compendium of Invincible.
And I've started Isaac Asimov's Foundation. Somewhat surprisingly, I am enjoying it more than I expected I would. I really liked his robot novels, but I wasn't really expecting Foundation to be as interesting as it has been so far.
I also read the sixth hardcover compendium of Invincible.
And I've started Isaac Asimov's Foundation. Somewhat surprisingly, I am enjoying it more than I expected I would. I really liked his robot novels, but I wasn't really expecting Foundation to be as interesting as it has been so far.
28 Posts Later
Member
A Song of Ice and Fire (in german). Just finished A Storm of Swords and started a feast of Crows. Damn these books. If George R.R. Martin would have written Lord of the Ringsnobody would have survived long enough to get even close to Mordor. Aragon kills Frodo, Gollum kills Saruman, Boromir kills Faramir and Joffrey would rule Gondor with Gandalf.
More like if Martin had written LOTR
everyone would appear to die then miraculously re-appear for the convenience of drama.
I just finished reading all 5 of the books - couldn't put them down, nor bring myself to read anything else! You'd think changing viewpoints and events as often as Martin does would break the pacing but if anything it enhances it, I can't imagine reading a linear book from a single perspective any time soon just because of how jarring the difference in structure will be.
Storm of Swords was the personal favorite; it had a blend of character development and action that is unmatched, even if there's no set-peice quite as large-scale as
the attack on Kings Landing in Clash of Kings.
Maklershed
Member
The book is decent, the movie is great. (a sentence I rarely use)
Attackthebase
Member
My boss gave me a pretty sweet book the other day, so I'll attempt to read it during the semester:
Is Tennessee Williams as awesome as my boss claims him to be?
Is Tennessee Williams as awesome as my boss claims him to be?
Holy crap. I can't believe how well this series ended. Just finished book 3 and I'm still blown away the following day at how good this book was. I had NO idea at the ending and everything was planned out so well. Even small things from the first book which I never bothered to think twice about turned out to be megaton revelations in the finale.
Awesome, awesome, awesome book and series. I can see why Robert Jordan chose Sanderson to finish the wheel of time. If he does anywhere near as good of a job with that series as he did with Mistborn, I'll forgive Jordan for the 9000 pages of descriptive nothingness.
Yes! I've just read the first book so far and continued with Elantris but damn, that first book blew me away. It was such fun!
I listened to some episodes of Brandon's podcast and feared that he was just all mouth. But damn, that guy can write. Mistborn is fabulous! I can't wait to delve into his other stuff.
That said Elantris is fairly boring 25% in
You're refering to the big mistake right? That's when a black hole "accidentally" got into Earth or something like that?
Precisely.
From what I understood that was the destruction of Earth, or at least what caused it. And then Hegira was the general time when humanity left Earth to colonize new planets.
Hegira's real world definition is "any flight or journey to a more desirable or congenial place" so it makes sense. I definitely didn't feel like it was explained well enough, though. Didn't quite know what it meant until looking it up after I had finished. The way Simmons capitalizes it I thought it was a fictional term :lol
Hegira's real world definition is "any flight or journey to a more desirable or congenial place" so it makes sense. I definitely didn't feel like it was explained well enough, though. Didn't quite know what it meant until looking it up after I had finished. The way Simmons capitalizes it I thought it was a fictional term :lol
---
Does anyone know of any good Syd Mead artbooks out there? This man's work just blows my mind, would be awesome to have a nice coffee table sort of thing for it.
Shamelessly copy-pasting what I said on my thread just now...
And I'm officially done.
As expected, devastated, hahaha. But what a freaking ride it was. Can't recommend these books enough. All three of them - I just can't decide which is better. And the ending is just perfect, with closure and all that wonderful stuff you don't expect from most novels.
Can't wait to watch the four amazing films they will be adapted into over the next few years.
And I'm officially done.
As expected, devastated, hahaha. But what a freaking ride it was. Can't recommend these books enough. All three of them - I just can't decide which is better. And the ending is just perfect, with closure and all that wonderful stuff you don't expect from most novels.
Can't wait to watch the four amazing films they will be adapted into over the next few years.
Finished this tonight, really fresh take on vampires with a really down to earth writing style. I'd say the laughs are equal to the scares in this one! Only $4.99 on Kindle right now.
I just finished the final [sixth] book of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. Man, what an awesome and epic fantasy series, this man can do no wrong.
I cannot recommend it enough. End of sixth book is the end of the saga, all the story lines are completed, no cliffhanger. EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ IT NOW.
I loved that series, but I'm glad he finished it. I hope he starts another new series with a planned ending, because Dresden is starting to get too much power creep.
Sgt.Pepper
Banned
I should finish this one by tomorrow, very informative in the history of Apple (and Jobs, of course). It definitely changed my thinking of him, and Apple.
And
Oh, boy. I'm definitely enjoying this one.
Dresden Files does have a planned ending though, heck he's gone as far as to tell us the last three books will be set post-apocalypse. After reading about Jim's writing style I think it's safe to say he wouldn't write something without a plan.
roosters93
Member
Trying to read the latest Lee Child book The Affair. This is laughable.
I've always known he wrote tripe but it seems he decided to step it up a notch.
I don't think I'll finish it.
I've always known he wrote tripe but it seems he decided to step it up a notch.
I don't think I'll finish it.
Post-apocalyptic? Wow, that's cool.
I've always wondered if I should give Dresden Files another shot some day. For some reason, Storm Front really struck me the wrong way. Finished it and did not enjoy it.
finowns
Member
There is something really bad but equally entertaining about Lee Child's books. I haven't read the prequels though.
I have a confession GAF I read Terry Goodkinds new book. It was terrifyingly terrible.
Storm Front is the worst in the series; I think everyone would agree.
Is that the one he wrote without an outline just to prove to a prof he could or something? Series does get better as it goes along.
New shit (novella and then a new book) is due soon. So hype.
The best of them are like, I dunno, 80's action movies. Badass ex-MP dude goes around boning women while solving crime and killing people that deserve it.
Of course after a while they take a dip and never recover and I don't bother with the new books anymore, but they were good fun while they lasted.
Yes, Mistborn's world is less dense so it requires less world building and it's much faster paced.
It might make you want to get into the Way of Kings again. I admit I couldn't get into it until about 20% of the way through because I didn't really understand the concepts of the world. It started reaching brilliant levels only when I learnt what all the terms meant, the political situation of the world and when I started to connect more to the characters. It is quite a slow burn.
20% you say? Well, as I am almost there anyway, I'll just continue to read then. I really haven't enjoyed much of what I've read so far but the constant praise I keep hearing keeps me curious. fuck
Meatpuppet
Member
Finished:
Really liked it. Starts off as a standoff between a writer and his muse, who has come to him rather peeved that all of his female characters die gruesomely. He shrugs it off by saying that it's all just a game--yet to her as a figment of his imagination it is some thing far more--or something. Think I'll track down her other books.
I knew her after uni, nice lass. Kept odd company though.
ShinobiFist
Banned
I'm in the 12th Chapter of 11/22/63. And holy shit at the last three chapters, so intense(Except for chapter 11, it went straight to the point) The way the 10th Chapter started was straight to business with
The tone of the book totally went grimy. It was very apparent when
saw the
And the way he describe the
very grimy.
. Going to crush a few more chapters after the GIANTS game.
Mr. Ambersome
George Ambersome
The Yellow Card man, Not holding a Orange card this time, but a blackcard, and dead.
cards texture
The phone call he made in chapter 9 I believe to Emily Dunning was crazy. Harry dead because of Nam, fucked me up
I quite enjoyed 11.22.63 but there were several things I didn't like about it. I don't think the mundane life stuff meshed very well with the (very mild) supernatural/ horror stuff. Also King seems to reuse a lot of the same motifs (if that's the word) in his recent fiction and I find it a bit tiresome.
Throughout the book I was thinking it really needed a fantastic payout at the end, and, well, I didn't like it at all. I thought it was
even though I think some review I read said it was really clever.
I didn't really mind that the late 50's/ early 60's weren't portrayed in that much detail - although it seemed a bit of a missed opportunity - as it wasn't vital for the story I guess, but when
I mean, I thought the book was good. I enjoyed it, with reservations.
I'm reading Adam Bede by George Eliot now. I had taken Embassytown off the bookshelf to read, but got to playing with my e-reader and one thing lead to another.
By this I mean the strings, the harmonics, the card men, the general mechanics we find out about at the end.
Throughout the book I was thinking it really needed a fantastic payout at the end, and, well, I didn't like it at all. I thought it was
a complete cop-out,
I didn't really mind that the late 50's/ early 60's weren't portrayed in that much detail - although it seemed a bit of a missed opportunity - as it wasn't vital for the story I guess, but when
Sadie asks how different it is in the future and Jake says 'there are more buttons' I just thought, 'you're talking to a woman! and what about gay people, black people...'
I mean, I thought the book was good. I enjoyed it, with reservations.
I'm reading Adam Bede by George Eliot now. I had taken Embassytown off the bookshelf to read, but got to playing with my e-reader and one thing lead to another.
Clever Pun
Member
Im a fan of Reynolds so Im looking forward to this. Just a shame its not available to buy a kindle version.
brianjones
Member
it's really one note so far but i'll be damned if the humor doesn't greatly appeal to me
Maklershed
Member
Must not avatar quote
brianjones
Member
haha.. i never got around to the book
Maklershed
Member
Yeah me neither even though American Psycho is one of my all time favorite movies. Now that I think of it its been awhile since I watched it. I have to rectify that.
I'm also reading The Hunger Games and I'm also 2/3 through, I'm up to Part III The Victor. And while I am enjoying it, I agree that it falls back on too many tropes and cliches. The writing is..OK I guess, nothing offensive I would say. I think what it has going for it is pacing. It's not a long book and it gets going pretty quickly and hasn't slowed down much, it makes for an "easy" read. I will finish it but I will probably pass on the sequels. It doesn't help that I recently finished Ender's Game, which I thought was fantastic.
I have so far read the two prologues and started the first chapter. I'm really liking it. Especially the philosopical bits in the second prologue were great. I like this sort of stuff and hopefully there's more of that.
Oh, there's more. Lots and lots more!
Currently still on the Judging Eye by the abovementioned author.