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What are you reading? (August 2010)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
LocoMrPollock
Banned
ymmv said:
Same for me. I Bought the whole series based in no small part on GAF's opinion. What a fuckin' turd. Or maybe it just hasn't aged well, dunno.
Anyway,
Getting back into the series after awhile and I had no idea Bean was such a badass. Liking him and his story more than Ender's. Also it's nice to get back to the same feel as the first book. Not so much religion and so forth.
evilpigking
Member
Read the first three probably five years ago but since then I've collected almost all the rest so restarting.
I finished Dennis Lehane's The Given Day yesterday. A very interesting historical novel about the Boston police force during the tumultuous year of 1919. The book covered racial tensions, a a pandemic influenza outbreak, baseball, a molasses disaster, the Boston police strike and terror attacks by left-wing radical movements. Reading the book it's impossible not to draw parallels with today since there really is not that much difference between the war on muslim radicals who want to destroy our world and the radical anarchists of the early 20th century who wanted to destroy capitalism with terror attacks.
Recommended!
I'm now reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's "To Save a World", a bundle of two short Darkover novels. I was a big Darkover fan more than 25 years ago. I loved books like "The Stormqueen" or "The Shattered Chain". I stopped following the Darkover series when MZB fell ill and the quality of the later books suffered severely. It got even worse when other writers took over. I recently bought three early Darkover novels missing from my collection and I'm now reading the first of those. I don't expect too much, most of it is minor stuff written in the early days of the series but who knows?
I'm juuust about to finish the last / middle story and get into the descending half of it. I've never had a book grow on me the way this one has. I was so close to giving up during the first story, and slightly hesitant going into the second, but by the fifth I was completely hooked. Are his other books as good?
His new novel, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, is really amazing. Definitely on a similar level for me as Cloud Atlas which, incidentally, I think is an absolute work of art and one of the best books published in the past few years (bear in mind that I tend to read older fiction). It's much more traditional in it's narrative structure than Cloud Atlas, but it's wonderfully written and the plot is very engaging.Undeux said:
I haven't read any of his other books but I've heard good things. I know that number9dream was shortlisted for the Booker prize and Ghostwritten one an award for the best first novel of the year.
Meus Renaissance
Member
Hilarious book. Highly recommend it. Here are some segments I'll share with you
On My Sixth-Grade Parent-Teacher Conference
I dont think that teacher likes you, so I dont like her. You ding off more shit than a pinball, but goddamn it, youre a good kid. She can go fuck herself.
On My First School Dance
Are you wearing perfume? Son, there aint any cologne in this house, only your mothers perfume. I know that scent, and let me tell you, its disturbing to smell your wife on your thirteen-year-old son.
On Being Afraid to Use the Elementary School Bathrooms to Defecate
Son, youre complaining to the wrong man. I can shit anywhere, at any time. Its one of my finer qualities. Some might say my finest.
On My Last-Place Finish in the 50-Yard Dash During Little League Tryouts
It kinda looked like you were being attacked by a bunch of bees or something. Then when I saw the fat kid with the watch who was timing you start laughing . Well, Ill just say its never a good sign when a fat kid laughs at you.
On Getting a Dog
Whos going to take care of it? You? Son, you came in the house yesterday with shit on your hands. Human shit. I dont know how that happened, but if someone has shit on their hands, its an indicator that maybe the whole responsibility thing isnt for them.
On Showering with Regularity
Youre ten years old now, you have to take a shower every day . I dont give a shit if you hate it. People hate smelly fuckers. I will not have a smelly fucker for a son.
On LEGOs
Listen, I dont want to stifle your creativity, but that thing you built there, it looks like a pile of shit.
On Bring-Your-Dad-to-School Day
Who are all these fucking parents who can take a day off? If Im taking a day off, I aint gonna spend it sitting at some tiny desk with a bunch of eleven-year-olds.
Other funny quotes I found
When I had an earache, my mom would piss in my ear to kill the pain, my dad once told me in an effort to illustrate the depths of his familys poverty.
Why arent you eating your pasta? she asked me one night over dinner when I was ten years old.
Its got peas in it, I replied.
So pick out the peas.
Well, you know I dont like peas, but you put peas in it anyway. Why do you do that? I whined.
Excuse me? Youre treading on thin fucking ice, buddy, my dad barked, looking up from his plate. Thats your mother. You and she are not equals. Heres her, he said, putting his hand high up above his head, and heres you, he added, putting his other hand well below the table. If she wants to serve only peas for the rest of fucking eternity you will sit there every goddamned day and eat them and say thank you and ask for more"
Meus Renaissance said:
You do know you paid for a book version of something that has been free on twitter for a long time, right?
http://twitter.com/shitmydadsays
Meus Renaissance
Member
GDJustin said:
The book isn't merely a collection of one-liners, its the story of his youth with his father. Plus, it's filled with stuff (and jokes) he obviously wouldn't tweet.
Maklershed
Member
Book recommendation request time .. when I finish The Plot Against America, I'd like to start reading some classics that I either missed or didn't get to really enjoy because I was forced to read in school. So could you guys recommend some classics that are actually fun to read and won't feel like work.
I'm thinking so far I'll try The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby, and The Jungle.
I'm thinking so far I'll try The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby, and The Jungle.
Maklershed said:
The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley.
Problems, and other stories by John Updike.
Seven Viking Romances - a Penguin collection.
The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe.
War Music, Cold Calls, All Day Permanent Red by Christopher Logue. This is three books - a poetic reworking of the Iliad. You really should get to it.
Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow.
Trawler by Redmond O'Hanlon - a classic travel book.
Alice, Let's Eat by Calvin Trillin.
Cyan said:
If you liked the first, read the second. Trust me on that one.
The third is... different, but I'm still really early so I can't say anything yet about how good it is. I'll let you know when I'm beyond half way.
These books have a tendency to take pretty big turns suddenly.You should try the Paksenarrion series. Another medieval fantasy that features a strong female main character.ymmv said:Recommended!
I'm now reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's "To Save a World", a bundle of two short Darkover novels. I was a big Darkover fan more than 25 years ago. I loved books like "The Stormqueen" or "The Shattered Chain". I stopped following the Darkover series when MZB fell ill and the quality of the later books suffered severely. It got even worse when other writers took over. I recently bought three early Darkover novels missing from my collection and I'm now reading the first of those. I don't expect too much, most of it is minor stuff written in the early days of the series but who knows?
Maklershed
Member
Going in the opposite direction of literary classics for now until I can decide on what I want to get and I'm gonna read The Hunger Games on the good ol Kindle
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Its good so far, although I much prefer Rise and Fall by Shirer.
I also started
I'm having trouble deciding on which Philip K Dick book to buy next, I really enjoyed A Scanner Darkly and Do Androids Dream. I have VALIS here which I'll be sure to finish next but I want to order another to read right after
Flow My Tears has been recommended to me, will probably try that next
I only ask because I have no idea what his books are about and I try to keep it that way until I finish reading them. I avoid synopsis'
Edit: Feel free to recommend any other scifi or any thing really good that I wouldn't be able to find in my small library. I plan on ordering 2 books from thebookdepository
Flow My Tears has been recommended to me, will probably try that next
I only ask because I have no idea what his books are about and I try to keep it that way until I finish reading them. I avoid synopsis'
Edit: Feel free to recommend any other scifi or any thing really good that I wouldn't be able to find in my small library. I plan on ordering 2 books from thebookdepository
Finished Mockingjay.
It was OK. Certainly not as good as the first two books and with an ending that wasn't satisfying at all in my opinion. She left a lot of stuff to just hang there to be shocking and it just wasn't. I don't know, maybe I just expected more, but it just felt weak.
Need other people to finish it so I can properly discuss it.
Now reading this:
It was OK. Certainly not as good as the first two books and with an ending that wasn't satisfying at all in my opinion. She left a lot of stuff to just hang there to be shocking and it just wasn't. I don't know, maybe I just expected more, but it just felt weak.
Need other people to finish it so I can properly discuss it.
Now reading this:
Max said:
a) I doubt your library will have it.
b) It is awesome.
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780141003771/The-Mortdecai-Trilogy-Dont-Point-That-Thing-at-Me-After-You-with-the-Pistol-Something-Nasty-in-the-Woodshed
nakedsushi
Member
Got done reading this on Wednesday:
Really great, touching, powerful ending.
Then finished this on a flight last night:
I'm burned out on the series. Nothing new was really introduced and the device for the two main characters' interaction (or non interaction) is getting annoying. I feel like a lot of the conflict in this book could be solved thru OPEN COMMUNICATION.
Now I'm reading this near-future dystopian novel:
Really great, touching, powerful ending.
Then finished this on a flight last night:
I'm burned out on the series. Nothing new was really introduced and the device for the two main characters' interaction (or non interaction) is getting annoying. I feel like a lot of the conflict in this book could be solved thru OPEN COMMUNICATION.
Now I'm reading this near-future dystopian novel:
nakedsushi
Member
Ryu said:
I had the same feeling you did when I first finished the book, but then I thought more about it the next day.
I was rooting for Gale and Katniss for the full 3 books and was really disappointed when they just kind of wrote him off at the end and have her marrying Peeta. But I think in Katniss choosing Peeta, she was choosing life over death, or rather, choosing to move on instead of dwelling on the past. Gale was definitely on the revenge train during the 3rd book, which is understandable, but the fact that Katniss saw him researching how to make those traps and the uncertainty of whether he contributed to Prim's death or not, probably ended the relationship for her.
I do agree that Katniss + Peeta seems too convenient and that all of a sudden he's no longer crazy. But I think Kat seeing Peeta doubting her and hating her made her feel differently towards him and maybe she understood that it was wrong or hurtful that she was using him in the past.
Snow and Coin's death did seem pretty anticlimatic, but then, Snow's death is a long time coming, so I'm not sure how she could have written it differently. I think by that point, the important part of the plot is how the society is going to rebuild, not how it's going to punish its evil leaders.
I do agree that Katniss + Peeta seems too convenient and that all of a sudden he's no longer crazy. But I think Kat seeing Peeta doubting her and hating her made her feel differently towards him and maybe she understood that it was wrong or hurtful that she was using him in the past.
Snow and Coin's death did seem pretty anticlimatic, but then, Snow's death is a long time coming, so I'm not sure how she could have written it differently. I think by that point, the important part of the plot is how the society is going to rebuild, not how it's going to punish its evil leaders.
the nightman cometh
Member
I just finished Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, one of the best books I've experienced in a while. I was so impressed with it I'm immediately moving on to Decline and Fall by him.
nakedsushi said:
Excellent point. I guess I just expected there to be more consequences or just some type of acknowledgment that went beyond Katniss simply recounting in a quick moment "memorials were built." With her being as broken as she was for the entirety of the book, heck I'd go as far as to say melodramatic, she took Prim's death pretty well considering she was the catalyst for her being in the games in the first place.
Maybe I just wanted her to have a run in with Snow in his palace before the rebels arrived and not have it end in the streets with her taking a bomb blast to her back. There was just no confrontation there, no climax. It just... ended. Maybe I just expected too much.
Maybe I just wanted her to have a run in with Snow in his palace before the rebels arrived and not have it end in the streets with her taking a bomb blast to her back. There was just no confrontation there, no climax. It just... ended. Maybe I just expected too much.
Maklershed
Member
I thought it was based on Edgar Rice Burrough's The Princess of Mars?
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
satriales said:
Only just started this book but I loved The Three Coffins (The Hollow Man), He Who Whispers, and The Crooked Hinge all of which are Locked Room Mysteries or Impossible Crimes by the same author John Dickson Carr.
Read The Burning Court too. Sadly it's the only Dickson Carr novel I've read, but by God is it good!
BobsRevenge
I do not avoid women, GAF, but I do deny them my essence.
Pretty good so far, although I'm not sure where its going to go to make it really interesting yet. I'm just kind of hoping it gets there. The whole proto-feminist Boston thing is a pretty cool sub-culture to dive into though.
CF_Fighter
Member
Reading "Nemesis" in the Horus Heresy series right now. I enjoy the books that focus away from the Spess Mehreens and get into the other aspects of the Imperium.
After, I plan to read either "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" or "The Passage"
After, I plan to read either "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" or "The Passage"
SpinningBirdKick
Banned
Finished Feast for Crows, thought it was by far the worst of the series. A focus on Cersei, who is the most one-dimensional and least interesting main character was disappointing.
Upon reflection though I do like the series. The universe is excellent and clearly lovingly crafted. Martin has created a world that I like learning more about. Sadly, he isn't very good at actually writing those stories or focusing his thoughts. As I thought about what id read I found myself really, really wishing he would hand the reins of the series and overall universe over to better writers.
The "meanwhile on the wall" epilogue may be the most hilarious thing I have ever read.
Overall I loved the stories and characters but I hated the actual writing. It makes for a fascinating reading experience.
Picked up Lowboy and am about halfway through it. Its the exact opposite (and far more common) experience. The writing is excellent but so far the story is middling.
Upon reflection though I do like the series. The universe is excellent and clearly lovingly crafted. Martin has created a world that I like learning more about. Sadly, he isn't very good at actually writing those stories or focusing his thoughts. As I thought about what id read I found myself really, really wishing he would hand the reins of the series and overall universe over to better writers.
The "meanwhile on the wall" epilogue may be the most hilarious thing I have ever read.
Overall I loved the stories and characters but I hated the actual writing. It makes for a fascinating reading experience.
Picked up Lowboy and am about halfway through it. Its the exact opposite (and far more common) experience. The writing is excellent but so far the story is middling.
More thoughts on Mockingjay:
I liked it up until the last 50 to 80 or so pages. Things really seem to start falling apart
it just seems like she was rushing. I know that apparently she was still writing once the film rights to the first book were sold, so maybe she really was just in a hurry to finish and move on to writing the script. It sort of feels that way. All this careful build up and then a hasty, messy resolution.
Now for the spoilery stuff.
The whole sloppy resolution is most annoying because I think up until a point it was nearly my favorite of the three. I really like the way the themes about media and perception are dealt with in this instance and how a lot of those ideas are explored in new ways this time. It felt like a natural evolution, but she really dropped the ball in the end. Now I'd have to say it is hugely disappointing compared to the other two.
Currently reading Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.
I liked it up until the last 50 to 80 or so pages. Things really seem to start falling apart
once the final assault on the Capitol gets really underway. From Finnick's death on
Now for the spoilery stuff.
I'm genuinely annoyed about Prim's death, even more so than the sloppy handling of Gale or the epilogue. The epilogue has a very JK Rowling "haha, you can't write the fanfic if I've already done it for you" vibe of just laying crap out there at the end to avoid speculation. The book feels like it ends before that. (Also in addition to Peeta being suddenly sane, are we supposed to be happy that damaged Annie who can barely function or recognize reality without Finnick's voice and touch is now going to be raising a baby on her own? What?)
One thing that annoys me is that Prim was the reason Katniss entered the Hunger Games. Essentially she is the entire reason all of the events of the first two books took place -- to protect her life. To have her just killed off at the end sort of makes everything that came before seem less significant, at least for Katniss, and that feels like something that could have been gone into more and explored. Instead it really feels like it's only an excuse to remove Gale as an option and resolve the storyline with Coin. Her death is just a convenient means of resolving the love triangle, and that's kind of bullshit. Throughout the story, Katniss' family has meant more to her than her own life or the love triangle. So then they're cut away so that she can finally choose Peeta? Seriously, bullshit.
One thing that annoys me is that Prim was the reason Katniss entered the Hunger Games. Essentially she is the entire reason all of the events of the first two books took place -- to protect her life. To have her just killed off at the end sort of makes everything that came before seem less significant, at least for Katniss, and that feels like something that could have been gone into more and explored. Instead it really feels like it's only an excuse to remove Gale as an option and resolve the storyline with Coin. Her death is just a convenient means of resolving the love triangle, and that's kind of bullshit. Throughout the story, Katniss' family has meant more to her than her own life or the love triangle. So then they're cut away so that she can finally choose Peeta? Seriously, bullshit.
The whole sloppy resolution is most annoying because I think up until a point it was nearly my favorite of the three. I really like the way the themes about media and perception are dealt with in this instance and how a lot of those ideas are explored in new ways this time. It felt like a natural evolution, but she really dropped the ball in the end. Now I'd have to say it is hugely disappointing compared to the other two.
Currently reading Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.
stupei said:
This pretty much nails my thoughts exactly. I was trying to convey this earlier in the thread and really lay out why the ending just didn't click at all with me, especially since I loved the first two books and this is it right here.
Prim's death really is the thing that bothered me the most. The event is so glossed over and Katniss' reaction is reduced to her just going numb. Then the love triangle resolves because, well, Peeta showed up and really, there's no one else now. Banished to her winner's home in 12 with Haymitch next door and Sae dropping in to serve food. The end. Thanks for playing. Game over. It feels insulting to the character as a whole.
What's worse is, it does feel rushed. And if it's because of the movie rights, that worries me greatly. The voice she has for Katniss in this book, the dry malaise, the lack of real fight and action, with the exception of very few moments, just makes her an incredibly weak character in the end when she should have grown leaps and bounds in the course of three or so years these books all take place over. It shows too when the author reads the character.
It's just disappointing.
[Fake edit] - all these spoiler tags makes this thread look like some secret CIA document.
DesertEater
Member
Just finished reading the first volume of Fables. It was really good specially the ending.
