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What are you reading (June 2012)

dream

Member
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DieH@rd

Banned
Just finished listening audiobook of Blackout.
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Great great zombie trilogy. Very satisfying, but im bummed that it ended. Oh well, my giant backlog is calling me.

1st on the list:
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mjc

Member
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I'm about 150ish pages in so far and I really hope something changes for the better, because this is probably one of the most boring books I've ever read. (Which is a double cardinal sin because its a zombie book!) Please tell me it picks up, because I'm getting pretty tired of reading about how they blog for political campaigns in the post-apocalypse.
 

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
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I'm about 150ish pages in so far and I really hope something changes for the better, because this is probably one of the most boring books I've ever read. (Which is a double cardinal sin because its a zombie book!) Please tell me it picks up, because I'm getting pretty tired of reading about how they blog for political campaigns in the post-apocalypse.

People seem to love this series but I quit about halfway through the first book (which isn't something I do very often). It was a while ago so I can't really remember what I disliked, but I didn't think it was very good overall.
 
I gotta question for bookGAF: Do any of you like forewords or introductions? I don't even glance at them unless they are written by the author and even then I'm cautious. They have a habit of assuming you've already read the book and often spoil plot points. Some times after finishing a book I'll go back and read the intro, but other than that I wish they'd just stick with afterwords.

If it's by a favorite author they can influence my buying decisions. For example I was getting interested in The Long Ships after seeing a bunch of people in this thread enjoy it, but I finally bought it when I saw it had a foreword by Michael Chabon.

I also like when classics have introductions. The copy of We I recently read had a nice introduction comparing it to 1984 and how Orwell was influenced by it.
 

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
Now reading:

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Compulsively readable book. I started today and I'm at the half way point.
 

thomaser

Member
Still reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera". Almost halfway, and it's absolutely brilliant. Every single sentence that guy writes is interesting and beautiful.

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Also started reading "Psychology. The Science of Mind and Behaviour" by Richard Gross. I've been looking for a good introduction to psychology for a long time, and this seemed to fit the bill.
 
Well, it's been done before / to death, and the original poster isn't a junior, so I can only assume they either 1) don't visit the monthly reading threads and aren't aware of the generalized Rand hostility of GAF, or 2) relishes swimming against the tide, or 3) is in that stage of life when black is black and white is white and there is not one micon's bit of room for grey, or 4) thinks that unbridled capitalism is just swell and contains no flaws whatsoever and is captained by mighty individuals whose ruthless self-interest would never, ever, ever tempt them to do anything unethical and/or of an illegal nature, or 4) is just a basically heartless human being. Or, they're an architect or they run a railroad.

See? Wasn't that all just better left unsaid?

I've often checked out the reading thread, and I have not seen much hostility towards Rand, well, more like any form of mentioning her.

I also said "some of her philosophy."
 

Sleepy

Member
I am so excited.

I read this as sarcasm...

I finished:

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Some of the narrator's tics got to me eventually, but it was a damn fine novel. Holden's ruminations on the Lunds and the play were very insightful, and I'm still thinking about the implications on of the title.

I think Madame Bovary is up next.

I have Lydia Davis's translation of Swann's Way, but how are the other new translations of the rest of the books in Remembrance of Times Past? Should I have purchased the Moncrief?
 

Jintor

Member
Finished Norweigan Wood, just sat down at my desk and tore through it. I loved it. Not sure what to start next, I kind of feel like I should go out and re-read a Pratchett novel I don't own yet, but I don't have anything fungible and I already have a book backlog. Might read this:

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I'm also beginning to think we should have some kind of code in the title because subbing every month is a bit messy and 'what are you reading' gets hundreds of hits on GAFSearch.
 

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
Is it good ? Hear many positive opinions.

I enjoyed it. It took perhaps until 1/3 of the way through for the book to actually hook me, and there was one event/revelation that did it for me. The culture of the world took me a while to grasp as well but it's pretty cool once you get it. Overall I would recommend it. It's pretty well written and I'm looking forward to the second which I should be starting soon.
 
Reading the Marriage Plot right now and I hate everyone not named Mitchell and Mitchell is a fucktard.

I hated everyone including Mitchell. He was probably the least "hate-able" person, but that whole section where
he goes to some foreign country or whatever to find himself made me hate him more
 

Dresden

Member
I hated everyone including Mitchell. He was probably the least "hate-able" person, but that whole section where
he goes to some foreign country or whatever to find himself made me hate him more

I finished it tonight and I deeply hate everyone at this point, but Madeline in particular. One of the most unpleasant novels I've ever had the misfortune of reading.
 

Arment

Member
So someone stole my Kindle today. It was my fault really, I forgot it in a blood donation center. I was basically out of the front door of the place when I realized I forgot it. Walked back in and it was gone. That quick. No one turned it in, no one has called the number I left in it (in case of situations like this) and no one saw anyone take it or fessed up when I asked around.

Already ordered another one. It's not as bad as losing something like a laptop or a phone but I'm still a bit ticked off. I've never had that happen to me before.
 

lunch

there's ALWAYS ONE
Recently finished Naked Lunch. I'm not even sure if I liked the book, and yet I found it absolutely incredible; it's the rare book I can see myself flipping through and reading pages at random. Has anyone else read anything by William S. Burroughs and can recommend another of his books to read?

Also starting Augusten Burroughs' This is How. I'm not sold on the concept of a (humorous?) self-help book, but considering I own four of Burroughs' books (which means I own more of his books than any other author), I can't help but feel that I need to read whatever he releases.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
Read 'Amped' which is by the same guy that did robopocolypse.

The book was average to shit. Which is a shame, because Robopocolypse was badass.
 

ptolemy

Member
I've been reading The Burning Soul by John Connolly.
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His Charlie Parker series has that wonderful mixture of supernatural and crime, though not too much of the former that it overpowers the entire feel of the book.
Thoroughly recommend anyone who likes crime or thrillers check out Every Dead Thing by him. It won him a slew of awards.
 

Sleepy

Member
I finished it tonight and I deeply hate everyone at this point, but Madeline in particular. One of the most unpleasant novels I've ever had the misfortune of reading.

Was this the effect Eugenides was going for? I actually want to read this now.
 

NekoFever

Member
Finished Halo: Cryptum. Really enjoyed it and thought it was definitely my favourite of the Halo novels so far. I won't rush right into Primordium but I'm looking forward to reading that now.

I'm now on HP Lovecraft Omnibus 1: At the Mountains of Madness.
 

Nitemare1

Member
I recently started playing golf again and someone told me I should read Harvey Penick's Little Red Book. It's a book of golf tips really but after reading the introductions by some of his more famous students it comes off very warm and thoughtful and at times pretty humorous.
If you're a golfer and haven't read it, you should!


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NekoFever

Member
Lucky you, this book is amazing! Best in the series in my opinion.
That's good to know. I read books 1-3 of that series in a couple of weeks when I was on vacation in 2006 and bought that one, but never got round to reading it for some reason. I plan to tackle it next.
 

Yager

Banned
About to finish A Feast of Crows. After that I'm not sure if I wanna go for ADWD or change a bit and read some Borges. Or maybe Asimov, or Primordium...I've got tons of books to read.
 

Sotha Sil

Member
I like most of the cast, but the world building, the more I think about it, is so dissatisfying. It's not the vivid eastern phantasmagoria of the andat-controlled cities, that's for sure. Not to mention the disappointingly evil fascist regime--I mean, where's the nuance? In going for a more mundane setting he seems to have settled for a more mundane plot as well, and that's disappointing.

Exactly. Most of the plot points are predictable. The only character I truly like at that point has to be Yardem, for this very reason: nuance.

I've moved on to N. K. Jemisin's Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I've heard good things, and it's always nice to support a young novelist. Hope it's good.
 

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
Exactly. Most of the plot points are predictable. The only character I truly like at that point has to be Yardem, for this very reason: nuance.

I've moved on to N. K. Jemisin's Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I've heard good things, and it's always nice to support a young novelist. Hope it's good.

It's very good. Her new one, The Killing Moon, is even better.
 

Kuraudo

Banned
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Actually a reread. Picked up volumes 3 - 5 and figured it had been so long since the first two that I should reread them.

Absolutely love it. Right up there with Preacher, Sandman, Y the Last Man etc for ongoing comic series.
 
Finished Game of Thrones, I liked it more than I expected. Tyrion is a pretty cool character, and the story overall was entertaining. I think it could have been better paced, the first three-fourths is really slow, and then stuff gets much more frantic near the end.

I'm kind of disappointed in the
magic and zombies at the end. I guess I already knew about the zombies from the prologue, but the plausible parts of the book are already so interesting that I don't see what they really add. I see that they're a really interesting addition to the story since presumably they're going to make everyone want to band together to fight them off while everyone is fighting for the throne, but the King Beyond the Wall guy could have been that twist himself without the need for zombies.

And the witch lady thing was totally lame I thought, and came out of nowhere. I don't see how she contributed anything at all to the story. During the part where she resurrected Drogo and Dany killed him anyway a day later, and apparently Dany gave birth to a devil or something, I was thinking "What the hell is happening here?" Personally I think Drogo should have just died from the wound, Dany should have been injured during the battle and her baby died that way, and we arrive at the same point where Dany had lost everything that was finally making her happy. She can still walk into the funeral fire with the eggs, no need for the totally random witch lady.

The zombies I can begrudgingly accept, the dragons I think are actually pretty cool, but I really hope there isn't more magic going forward. Speaking of dragons, I'm wondering how things are going to shake out, since unless the dragons take a really long time to mature, assuming she can control them I would assume that Dany could take over the realm pretty easily with them.

Anyway, a lot of my complaints are nitpicky, it was a decent read and I'm looking forward to the sequels. I just wish they weren't so long.

I finished Game of Thrones while on a camping trip, and I didn't have anything else to read so I started a copy of this that a family member had.

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Seems interesting so far, doctors removed cells from a tumor on the woman on the cover's cervix without her consent and they started multiplying in their lab. It was the first time that human cells had done this, and the doctors gave samples to pretty much any lab that asked and they were eventually used while developing methods to cure or prevent many diseases and do experiments (for example a sample of her cells were taken into space to see how cells behave in zero gravity).

Various doctors and scientists have made a ton of money with the breakthroughs that wouldn't have been possible without these cells that were taken without the woman's permission. Meanwhile, her family live in poverty.

I'm not sure if the GAF book club is still a thing, but this would be a really good book for one, I could see it facilitating some really interesting discussion.
 
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