Yeah, I have the same trouble. I got through like ten books so far but I've only watched one movie.
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What are you reading? (February 2012)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Yeah, I have the same trouble. I got through like ten books so far but I've only watched one movie.
Pfft just go to a site like icheckmovies or something and go through the lists!
You could try the imdb Top 250 or Roger Ebert's Great Movies list for inspiration.
Bill Murray
Banned
Really enjoying this. Reminds me a lot of BSG with a little Ender's Game thrown in. Really well written. Definitely going to be continuing with the series.
Opportune moment to try a different palette.
I'm reading stuff I've read before, watching films I've watched before, and also not counting some stories, whilst counting other films, and transmogrifying 2 part TV dramas into one single bout of film, and a whole host of other things.
I've never been more engaged with a book before this one, the stories just blew me away and gave me chills.
Ah I really need to pick this up.
OK. I've finished Life of Pi. The second half of the book is certainly strange but I was thoroughly engaged with it. The ending, the uncertainty it presents, put the story in a new light for me. It affirmed the religious themes of the book and it seems to want to defy explanation; it asks the reader what story it wants to believe. Should credulity get in the way of the better story?
I will probably be reading The Sun Also Rises next.
I will probably be reading The Sun Also Rises next.
I read this back in 10th grade - I remember thinking that
the dude ate everyone else.
Decided to pick it back up after that thread about the five best horror novels or some such thing, and Anno Dracula turned out to be as good the second time as it was on the first. Great, great book - not just for fans of horror, but for fans of alternative history, mystery, or just a plain good story. Just exceptional all around.
Either going to start 1Q84 for real or the Ciaphas Cain books for Warhammer 40k, which I've heard is like Flashman in space. Sounds awesome.
Either going to start 1Q84 for real or the Ciaphas Cain books for Warhammer 40k, which I've heard is like Flashman in space. Sounds awesome.
Why didn't you like it?
I love that series. Keep reading it's getting better and better. And luckily it keeps up the balance between serious and funny.
I've been sitting on this for about three weeks now at almost three-quarters done and I don't know what it is, but I'm just never motivated to pick it up. So many people have recommended this and love this book to death so I really feel like I'm missing out on something.
It's not bad or anything, I'm just kind of ambivalent towards it. Maybe it's something you've got to read first as a kid? I don't know. We'll see how I feel once I finish it.
Clever Pun
Member
Have you reached the part where they start telling their stories? They are definitely the highlight, so I recommend at least reading through one or two of those before moving on.
Neffarias_Bredd
Member
Something about the priests tale...I was disturbed for an entire day after I read it
Such a stupid book with non constructive criticism that comes across as juats hateful and idiotic. The whole idea of Modernism in architecture is using the design aspect of it in amore practical, economical way and the burgious status of it by the end of the 19th century didn't benifit the world in the 20th century a sthe world was in turmoil.
Having said that, its a gpood read to actually learn about the history and the background of modern architecture. You come across plaenty of names in other architectural book without any context, ut in this book it kind of tells you what exactly did Bruno Taut did, and who is Philip Johonson.
Yeah, you're into the meat of the book. The priest's tale is one of the best parts. I'm also in the camp that wasn't as swept away by the book as I thought I would be, but I probably should have tempered my expectations a little more. When you read "best sci-fi book ever" from a few critics and readers, you tend to get your hopes up.
I've been sitting on this for about three weeks now at almost three-quarters done and I don't know what it is, but I'm just never motivated to pick it up. So many people have recommended this and love this book to death so I really feel like I'm missing out on something.
I felt the same when I picked it up from the library a few months ago. I got through about 100 and something pages, but it just wasn't gripping me. :-/ I plan on going back and finishing it at some point. I'll probably start over and just go in with an open mind.
Clever Pun
Member
Yeah that's probably my favorite of the tales. Super creepy and interesting.
That may have helped me - I didn't know it was supposed to be such a classic, so my expectations going in were pretty muted. Though it didn't help with the second book. I enjoyed the first so much that Fall was a pretty big letdown.
truthiness
Member
Attempting to read Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen). I would have stopped reading the book already if I didn't want to like the series so much. I shall continue on...
Yeah, I don't even remember Fall at this point. I just forced myself to read it to finish the story. It felt like a totally different book from the first.
The Priest's Tale is what hooked me on Hyperion. I went in with no real expectations though, having only been recommended the book by a friend as an alternative to the Stephen King binge I'd been on for about a year. This included no real idea of the plot or structure, so I wasn't really expecting a Lovecraftian epistolary tale in the middle of what I assumed would be a straight science fiction story.
Starting taking medication a couple of weeks ago which was making it really hard for me to concentrate on reading. I attempted Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson and Oblivion: Stories by DFW, both to no avail.
Seems to be coming back now though, but rather than jump back to either of those I decided to go for something short and less complicated.
Seems okay so far. Writing isn't the best, but it's competent enough and the premise is pretty neat. Reminds me quite a bit of Ender's Game actually, although on the opposite end of the age scale, obviously.
Starting taking medication a couple of weeks ago which was making it really hard for me to concentrate on reading. I attempted Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson and Oblivion: Stories by DFW, both to no avail.
Seems to be coming back now though, but rather than jump back to either of those I decided to go for something short and less complicated.
Seems okay so far. Writing isn't the best, but it's competent enough and the premise is pretty neat. Reminds me quite a bit of Ender's Game actually, although on the opposite end of the age scale, obviously.
I am also reading Hyperion at the moment. I am about halfway through the book, Having just started the Scholars tale.
I have to say that it is rare for me to be disturbed or sickened by something I read. Books just don't tend to do that to me, Partly because I don't choose to read horror novels. However the priests tale really made me feel quite ill.
The second story, I felt was a huge let down in comparison.
I have to say that it is rare for me to be disturbed or sickened by something I read. Books just don't tend to do that to me, Partly because I don't choose to read horror novels. However the priests tale really made me feel quite ill.
The idea of the cruciform parasite was rather disgusting, As was the description of the tendrils spreading throughout the body of the Bikura that Dure sees through the medscanner. Yuck.
The second story, I felt was a huge let down in comparison.
Neffarias_Bredd
Member
The last 3 tales are easily the best...Still can't decide whether I like the Scholars Tale or the Consuls tale better...they're both pretty heartbreaking
Clever Pun
Member
Yeah that was my least favorite as well. I enjoyed Sol's tale, however - it resonated the most with me emotionally, as opposed to being disturbing like the Priest's.
Pollux
Member
I've never been more engaged with a book before, the stories just blew me away and gave me chills.
I just looked into this, it sounds absolutely amazing. Finishing Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy now, but this is definitely my next book. Downloading on the Kindle now.
Emerson
May contain jokes =>
Totally agree. All I heard was "best sci fi ever" and "it's the Song Of Ice and Fire of sci fi" and was massively let down. It's a good book and well written, but it's not as good as all that.
Finished Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.
Thought the ending sort of fizzled out, but I really liked the characterization. Definitely going to give Murakami's novels another shot.
Starting David Simon's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets which has been sitting on my (Kindle) bookshelf forever.
amazingly excellent so far. real as hell.
Thought the ending sort of fizzled out, but I really liked the characterization. Definitely going to give Murakami's novels another shot.
Starting David Simon's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets which has been sitting on my (Kindle) bookshelf forever.
amazingly excellent so far. real as hell.
googoomuck22
Member
ever since i read The Big Sleep i've been on a real big Raymond Chandler kick and proceeded to read The Long Goodbye and The High Window. I'm just over halfway with this and in typical Chandler style it doesn't disappoint in the slightest
I usually read a graphic novel concurrently with a novel and so I decided to give this a go after loving Black Hole and Xed Out. It's really good, very dark humor and morose stories accompanied by heavy black and white illustration.
going to start this when i'm down with Farewell My Lovely, I'm a huge fan of the film so i'm interested in reading the novel and seeing how accurate the film is.
I finished 1Q84 just a couple days ago and it's one of the most overwritten books ever. Do I really need to be informed a thousand times over and over that Tengo is a large man and teaches mathematics? I wonder if there was any editor working on this book.
At the moment I'm finishing Apocalypse bébé by Virginie Despentes. It gained some awards a couple of years back and the flow of the book is really superb (especially after 1Q84 lol). It's a story of two women hired as detectives to find a missing 15 years old girl. Really interesting, I recommend it if you speak French (or try to learn it like I do).
Bill Murray
Banned
Finished Dauntless and jumped right into the next book Fearless.
This is my favorite modern sci-fi that I've read since the Commonwealth Saga. Really enjoying it. I'm probably gonna blow through all six books in the next couple weeks.
This is my favorite modern sci-fi that I've read since the Commonwealth Saga. Really enjoying it. I'm probably gonna blow through all six books in the next couple weeks.
Maklershed
Member
Just over halfway through -
Pretty great so far. Like the parts with Enid and Alfred a lot less than the others, but still overall very good.
"I thought Jonathen Franzen's Corrections needed none."
Chaboooooooooooooooooone!!
And I'm instantly interested.
ReturnOfTheRAT
Member
Bill Murray
Banned
And I'm instantly interested.
It's good, but it's not really the same type of space opera. It's more like BSG with a little Ender's Game thrown in. Lot of talk about military tactics and such.
Great series though, really recommended. The books aren't all that long either, 250 pages or so.