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What are you reading? (March 2012)

B

BanShunsaku

Member
Ceebs said:
Ugh. The absolute worst Discworld book. I know it's the first one and all, but I would never suggest someone read it as an introduction to Discworld. (Mort is a much better option)

I also hate Rincewind with a passion. The other wizards are okay in small does, but he is intolerable.

Yeah, read Guards! Guards! or Mort next.
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Zona said:
I disagree, If its his first time reading any of the Discworld books and he's already enjoyed the first one I recommend going through them in order of publication. Its not needed to enjoy them but I feel you get more out of them doing it that way. I also find the Wizard books tied with the Death books as my favorite arc.
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Yeh, I'm reading it for the first time and Rincewind hasn't given me the shits yet.

It probably helped that I read it immediately after finishing The Darkness That Comes Before, so I was in the mood for something light and humorous. It wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever read, but I got some good laughs out of it, and more than anything it just left me hungry for more. I've going to keep reading through in order until I get sick of them!
 
C

Ceebs

Member
BanShunsaku said:
Yeh, I'm reading it for the first time and Rincewind hasn't given me the shits yet.

It probably helped that I read it immediately after finishing The Darkness That Comes Before, so I was in the mood for something light and humorous. It wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever read, but I got some good laughs out of it, and more than anything it just left me hungry for more. I've going to keep reading through in order until I get sick of them!
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Whatever works, the best stuff is still many books away so you have something to look forward to.

Although you may be tempted by the City Watch to jump ahead. My favorite sub-series by far.
 
R

Rei_Toei

Fclvat sbe Pnanqn, ru?
chiba said:
Thanks for the reply. What I enjoyed most was the world he painted. I actually felt the story was sort of average, but the setting was so vivid, it sucked me right in.

I'm ashamed to admit I've never read Neuromancer, so your post got me to pick that up last night, since for some reason the kindle store has books 2 and 3 of the Bridge Trilogy, but not #1...guess I'm gonna have to hoof it to the library for that one.

About 50pages into Neuromancer now and I'm hooked, mad at myself for never trying it sooner lol.

I'm open to any recommendations for other near future dystopian/cyberpunk-ish books.



Same, I saw he's about to release a sequel to Ship Breakers in May so I was thinking of trying those out, but like you said, the YA tag makes me skeptical.

He also has a collection of short stories called Pump Six and Other Stories, with two of them being set in the Windup Girl uni, haven't read them yet though.
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Have fun with Gibson! I wish I could read it again for the first time :). Neuromancer and its two sequels are much more high-tech then the Bridge trilogy by the way - that's why I recommended the Bridge trilogy - but the overlapping story is stronger/more fleshed out then the Bridge trilogy.

Didn't know about his short stories, I think I'm gonna check these out before his YA stuff.
 
L

Lasthope106

Member
YoungMandu said:
Recently picked up House of Leaves. I've heard a lot about it before and was meaning to read it. Only about 90 pages in but it's pretty interesting so far, don't mind the frequent footnotes and such.
Haven't gotten into much of the crazier stuff yet which some people seem to dislike but that's the reason I wanted to read this, for the weird and different experience.

jHoYSqozybycg.jpg
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I really tried to like the House of Leaves, but it's such a bizarre exercise in style that I found it too difficult to keep reading past the first half. Haven't finished reading it, so I think I'll put the book on the back burner and come back after I'm done reading some titles that really, really interest me.

bengraven said:
Yep, the thread just cost me money once again. I swore I would never look in this thread if I was already actively reading books because I don't need a backlog.

Thanks to this page alone I bought 3 Dan Simmons books and The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart.




I don't know what's scarier. That someone else would shop for the same things I would, or that everyone in GAF reading would buy those books and we're all some sort of hivemind.
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Not exactly a hivemind, but I do feel internet communities develop a "group" taste for similar things, especially when we aren't as big as say as an open forum. This happens in Universities, which encourage their students to go to grad schools different than your undergrad alma-matter. However, I do believe the reading threads show that GAFfers who post here have pretty good taste, so it's not a bad thing that the same titles keep appearing often.
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
Lasthope106 said:
Not exactly a hivemind, but I do feel internet communities develop a "group" taste for similar things, especially when we aren't as big as say as an open forum. This happens in Universities, which encourage their students to go to grad schools different than your undergrad alma-matter. However, I do believe the reading threads show that GAFfers who post here have pretty good taste, so it's not a bad thing that the same titles keep appearing often.
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I definitely wasn't saying it was a bad thing!
 
L

LiQuid!

I proudly and openly admit to wishing death upon the mothers of people I don't like
Someone needs to coin a catchy term for sitting around fantasizing about all the books you could be reading on your new ereader instead of actually reading a god damned book, cause I've been pretty much doing that nonstop for weeks.
 
K

Keen

Aliens ate my babysitter
Finished up Ghost Story by Jim Butcher, and started Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
 
N

nakedsushi

Member
LiQuid! said:
Someone needs to coin a catchy term for sitting around fantasizing about all the books you could be reading on your new ereader instead of actually reading a god damned book, cause I've been pretty much doing that nonstop for weeks.
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I do that all the time. And I still keep adding to my to-read list.
 
B

Bloodbeard

Member
Does anyone have a copy of Milton Friedman's Captialism and Freedom: 40th Ed.?

I'm reading it on my kindle for an assignment for school and the reading for tomorrow was given as page numbers rather than chapters so I'm somewhat lost. I asked on the class facebook page but GAF may be able to answer a little more promptly.

What chapter starts on pg. 85?
 
C

Clever Pun

Member
Bloodbeard said:
Does anyone have a copy of Milton Friedman's Captialism and Freedom: 40th Ed.?

I'm reading it on my kindle for an assignment for school and the reading for tomorrow was given as page numbers rather than chapters so I'm somewhat lost. I asked on the class facebook page but GAF may be able to answer a little more promptly.

What chapter starts on pg. 85?
Click to expand...

According to the Table of Contents on Amazon it's Chapter VI - The Role of Government in Education

Here's a screen grab: http://i.imgur.com/sujNM.png
 
L

Lasthope106

Member
cnizzle06 said:
Im trying to get back into reading after a long hiatus. Would life of pi be a good read?
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Yes, yes, YES! The Life of Pi was for me the best book of the last decade. In the future, I predict it will be read in Literature classes the same way that Old Man and The Sea was read when I was in high school.
 
C

cnizzle06

Banned
Lasthope106 said:
Yes, yes, YES! The Life of Pi was for me the best book of the last decade. In the future, I predict it will be read in Literature classes the same way that Old Man and The Sea was read when I was in high school.
Click to expand...


That's some damn high praise. I like it. Also, I'm thinking about going digital and getting it on my iPad. Would that be a dumb move?
 
F

Fou-Lu

Member
The Darkness That Comes Before by Scott Bakker.

I've tried reading it before and couldn't get into it, but this time I am devouring it. Cnaiür, despite the fact that he is a monster, is bloody awesome.
 
G

Grakl

Member
I'm reading The Road (Cormac McCarthy) right now, and while it took me a bit to get used to the style, I'm loving it.
 
M

Mumei

Member
LiQuid! said:
Someone needs to coin a catchy term for sitting around fantasizing about all the books you could be reading on your new ereader instead of actually reading a god damned book, cause I've been pretty much doing that nonstop for weeks.
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I've experienced this. Just pick something! Chances are you'll pick something good.

Still reading Decameron myself. Going to finish the Ninth Day tonight!

Grakl said:
I'm reading The Road (Cormac McCarthy) right now, and while it took me a bit to get used to the style, I'm loving it.
Click to expand...

I loved how sparse the style was, especially sans commas and quotes.
 
L

LiQuid!

I proudly and openly admit to wishing death upon the mothers of people I don't like
Mumei said:
I've experienced this. Just pick something! Chances are you'll pick something good.
Click to expand...
Narrowed it down to vampire smut and Catcher in the Rye. Picked Catcher and not sure I made the right call.
 
F

Fjordson

Member
LiQuid! said:
Someone needs to coin a catchy term for sitting around fantasizing about all the books you could be reading on your new ereader instead of actually reading a god damned book, cause I've been pretty much doing that nonstop for weeks.
Click to expand...
Haha, I have been suffering from this for about a month now. Read so much all of last year, have a bunch of great books in mind for this year, but just haven't been in the mood. I just keep adding to my backlog =[
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
Cyan said:
This happens to me with library books. Got a pile of em at home right now.
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I had a huge stack of library books and they went overdue and I realized I wanted them all so badly that I went on Amazon and bought every single one (for less than $2 each and matched vendors to lower my shipping costs of course).

My book hoarding is bad. ha
 
K

Karakand

Member
Luap said:
The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer
by the one and only Christopher Hitchens.

103503284.jpg


It's a collection of snippets from famous skeptics/atheists (click on the link up top for the whole list), with forwards on each of them written by Hitchens. I haven't started reading it yet but I am really looking forward to it. Bought it on my new Kindle. :)
Click to expand...

Christopher Hitchens including Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right in a New Atheist Pride anthology is a level of irony I didn't think humanly possible.
 
S

Salazar

Member
18069.jpg
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Hearing him talk about it on Sunday, I think. And will get it signed. Largely because that way I get to shake his hand and tell him Rubicon was killer.

I don't know if it was a publisher decision to minimise the cover's emphasis on Islam. Shame if it was.
 
D

DesertEater

Member
Just finished Milan Kundera's the Unbearable Lightness of Being.
Though it is only 314 pages long, it is very heavy on simbolism and very philosophical, I thought.
Yet, I enjoyed it so much. It felt like reading a Murakami book.
The words feel as if they flow in, but with more meaning than Murakami and more "weight".

Next: Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, maybe.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
theislandofdrmoreaurfai8.jpg

First time reading it.
It's pretty interesting though getting used to reading 1800-early 1900 literature is a bit weird after so many years. They use a lot of terms you just don't see anymore.
 
C

Castor Krieg

Banned
Today I finished Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. I won't be buying her other books, all of it felt pretty light, but in the last 300 pages every conversation turned into this:

-Why didn't you do X?
-Because of Y.
-But if you would've said Z, you could deal with Y.
-Then I would have to deal with T.

It is really unnatural way for people to talk. Add to this stupid plot crammed in the last moment
LOVE
- not going to try other books.

Getting my Kindle soon, I'm thinking of some good high fantasy with similarities to Ishtar, Lands of Lore, etc. series of games. Anything like that? I will probably try Robin Hobb Farseer Trilogy. Any impressions?
 
C

Clever Pun

Member
zoner said:
theislandofdrmoreaurfai8.jpg

First time reading it.
It's pretty interesting though getting used to reading 1800-early 1900 literature is a bit weird after so many years. They use a lot of terms you just don't see anymore.
Click to expand...

Yeah I vastly prefer reading older books on my Kindle now because it's so easy to get the definitions for archaic or obscure words.
 
J

JB1981

Member
Reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy on the Kindle.

Really enjoying it so far. I think I enjoyed The Two Towers more than Fellowship of the Ring and just got to chapter 3 in Return of the King. I am most looking forward to finishing Return of the King because I believe the movie omitted the most from this book, so hopefully a lot of it will be new to me. After I finish this I plan on reading Dune. I just downloaded some samples and Dune is one of them. I have been reading at a pretty good clip on the kindle. Plus I got the app for my iphone so when I have some downtime at work or when I'm in the bathroom I whip out the phone and read some pages (LOL).

I almost want to go back and read through some of the books again just to refresh my memory on all that I've read. I am contemplating reading the Hobbit as well but not sure if I want to do that before or after I see the movie. Hobbit seems pretty short in comparison to the LOTR books so I just might.
 
C

Castor Krieg

Banned
JB1981 said:
After I finish this I plan on reading Dune. I just downloaded some samples and Dune is one of them.
Click to expand...

If it will be your first time remember that the series start pretty adventure-heavy, but by 3rd or 4th book it turns more towards political fiction. Last books are just full-blown political fiction dramas.
 
dream

dream

Member
Cisce said:
book3.jpg


Started Canadian High School in the middle of a Semester, I did extremely well on my English GCSEs though so I picked English as an option. I need to read this by the second of April, I actually haven't started it yet but I'm starting it tomorrow.

I'm wondering if it would be the best to make a write up for notes for every chapter like I did for Of Mice and Men or to just have notes for the entire book.
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A friend of mine is teaching Lord of the Flies and I was curious about how high school classes consider a text, so I stole her notes. From what I saw, you'll probably want to take notes for each chapter; the majority of her lesson plan dealt with how the characters play into the theme of the novel (ie mans inhumanity towards man, etc) and it would be helpful if you can refer back to your notes and be like "yup, this is the part where Jack and Ralph's ideologies clash and, oh, it was foreshadowed right at the start when Jack wanted to be addressed as Merridew and blah blah blah."
 
L

LiQuid!

I proudly and openly admit to wishing death upon the mothers of people I don't like
UtjOZ.jpg


Finished Catcher. I guess I see why it's an important book but didn't find it very fun to read thanks to Holden being completely insufferable. I guess I don't really see why it's revered by disaffected youth as some sort of handbook for if I had read this as an emo teen I probably would have been shamed straight.

e:
Now to get to some vampire smut!
 
E

Ermac

Proudly debt free. If you need a couple bucks, just ask.
dream said:
A friend of mine is teaching Lord of the Flies and I was curious about how high school classes consider a text, so I stole her notes. From what I saw, you'll probably want to take notes for each chapter; the majority of her lesson plan dealt with how the characters play into the theme of the novel (ie mans inhumanity towards man, etc) and it would be helpful if you can refer back to your notes and be like "yup, this is the part where Jack and Ralph's ideologies clash and, oh, it was foreshadowed right at the start when Jack wanted to be addressed as Merridew and blah blah blah."
Click to expand...

Lord of the Flies was one of the few books I actually enjoyed reading for school. I hated Catcher in the Rye but it's been awhile since I read it, might give it another shot
 
L

LiQuid!

I proudly and openly admit to wishing death upon the mothers of people I don't like
nakedsushi said:
Which smut are you thinking of reading? I could use a little after my current batch of books.
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Anita Blake. I read the first half dozen or so years ago which were genuinely not bad as far as trashy vampire pap goes. I quit like half way through one I found particularly boring (Moon Something?) but I was reading up on them and there are over 20(!) of them now and the synopses for them have just gotten more and more retarded as they have gone on. In the subsequent years since reading them I've developed a bit of a taste for intense stupidity so it seems like I'd be more into them now than I was back then when I was more turned off by how sexual they were getting.
 
S

SMT

this show is not Breaking Bad why is it not Breaking Bad? it should be Breaking Bad dammit Breaking Bad
01.jpg


One of the best novels I have read in my life. :)
 
M

Mumei

Member
Finished Decameron yesterday, which conveniently took ~ ten days.

Now reading Jussi, an biography of the Swedish tenor Jussi Bjorling co-written by his wife Anna-Lisa Bjorling and some other guy whose name I don't remember and didn't recognize when I saw it. Really enjoyable story, particularly about his early childhood.
 
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