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What are you reading? (March 2013)
- Thread starter Maklershed
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Mackenzie 92
Member
Couple good deals on Kindle today $1.99 each
Troubles by J.G Farrell (New York Review Books Classics)
The Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut
Troubles by J.G Farrell (New York Review Books Classics)
The Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut
Last Visible Dog
Banned
You may like
Gregory Macguire - Wicked - how Elphaba got like that. Oz for grownups.
Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials trilogy - to explain would lessen the pleasure
Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn trilogy - what's it like living in a place where the evil overlord has defeated the forces of good, and has ruled for a 1,000 years?
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Maybe "Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones". (It's different from the movie, fyi.)
I'm going to start "A Face Like Glass, by Frances Hardinge" soon, and that might be up your alley too.
Nemesis by Philip Roth
Found it an unremarkable, technically well written, novel. That while describing the ensuing panic of a polio epidemic, never really engaged me or made me care about the fate of the characters. It didn´t help that the books second half played out exactly like I thought it would.
Thank you, kindly, sir. That sounds quite interesting. I shall take a look into that.
This is definitely on my list of things to read. I would like to read more of the entries first, though.
I recall liking this when I was younger, I can not comment on if it holds up or not. Amazon reviews seem to point to it doing so however.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Finished Bernard Cornwell's The Pale Horseman a few days ago and jumped right into:
I may take a break after getting through this one. It's a long series and while the first two books have been good, I feel like I need to spread out how much time I spend with Uhtred.
I may take a break after getting through this one. It's a long series and while the first two books have been good, I feel like I need to spread out how much time I spend with Uhtred.
BrokenFiction
Member
Rereading Elizabeth Bear's 'Range of Ghosts' in preparation for the sequel 'Shattered Pillars'
Just finished The Night Circus as well.
Just finished The Night Circus as well.
All the McCarthy talk earlier in the thread put me in the mood to devour another one of his books and I tackled this one.
It's super-short, so I read it in just a few hours, but I had to space it out over a few days time because the book is so intense and I'm reading several other things at the same time.
For those who haven't read this, it's basically a horror novel for all intents and purposes. Very very twisted. Definitely one of the darkest books I've ever read. And it is disturbing just as much for what it doesn't explicitly show as for what it does. I liked it better than No Country for Old Men, but not as well as The Road. All three are excellent.
His writing was a little more Faulkneresque here than it was in the other two books. Denser and a little more challenging at times, but still very effective and very sparse.
I still have several of his books to read. Blood Meridian is supposedly the best, but for some reason I haven't felt quite ready to start it yet.
It's super-short, so I read it in just a few hours, but I had to space it out over a few days time because the book is so intense and I'm reading several other things at the same time.
For those who haven't read this, it's basically a horror novel for all intents and purposes. Very very twisted. Definitely one of the darkest books I've ever read. And it is disturbing just as much for what it doesn't explicitly show as for what it does. I liked it better than No Country for Old Men, but not as well as The Road. All three are excellent.
His writing was a little more Faulkneresque here than it was in the other two books. Denser and a little more challenging at times, but still very effective and very sparse.
I still have several of his books to read. Blood Meridian is supposedly the best, but for some reason I haven't felt quite ready to start it yet.
Fished:
My head is spinning. This is by far the hardest piece of literature I've ever read. It made Brothers Karamazov feel like light reading in comparison. The are parts in this novel that are tedious to the point where I thought I was losing my mind, but I kept reading because the prose are so beautiful and there are many sections that are just awe inspiring - particularly when the story starts to focus on Gately - who is easily one of my favorite characters ever written. It's a book that I'd have a hard time recommending to anyone, but I don't regret for one second the two weeks I spent with it.
I really want to pick up something "fun" next. I hear good things about:
Will probably read it this week as a mental detox.
My head is spinning. This is by far the hardest piece of literature I've ever read. It made Brothers Karamazov feel like light reading in comparison. The are parts in this novel that are tedious to the point where I thought I was losing my mind, but I kept reading because the prose are so beautiful and there are many sections that are just awe inspiring - particularly when the story starts to focus on Gately - who is easily one of my favorite characters ever written. It's a book that I'd have a hard time recommending to anyone, but I don't regret for one second the two weeks I spent with it.
I really want to pick up something "fun" next. I hear good things about:
Will probably read it this week as a mental detox.
I was in a bookstore today and decided to grab the Penguin Classics version of The Count of Monte Cristo.
I only made it part of the way through the older translation I tried to read before, and wanted something that would take more than a day or two to read.
PS. Chain bookstores are pretty awful these days. I had a big list of stuff I was looking for and they had absolutely zero of it.
I only made it part of the way through the older translation I tried to read before, and wanted something that would take more than a day or two to read.
PS. Chain bookstores are pretty awful these days. I had a big list of stuff I was looking for and they had absolutely zero of it.
Wool is the opposite of fun! I love it but it can be quite emotionally draining and made me anxious for most of the time I was reading it.Fished:
My head is spinning. This is by far the hardest piece of literature I've ever read. It made Brothers Karamazov feel like light reading in comparison. The are parts in this novel that are tedious to the point where I thought I was losing my mind, but I kept reading because the prose are so beautiful and there are many sections that are just awe inspiring - particularly when the story starts to focus on Gately - who is easily one of my favorite characters ever written. It's a book that I'd have a hard time recommending to anyone, but I don't regret for one second the two weeks I spent with it.
I really want to pick up something "fun" next. I hear good things about:
Will probably read it this week as a mental detox.
sparky2112
Member
Fished:
My head is spinning. This is by far the hardest piece of literature I've ever read. It made Brothers Karamazov feel like light reading in comparison. The are parts in this novel that are tedious to the point where I thought I was losing my mind, but I kept reading because the prose are so beautiful and there are many sections that are just awe inspiring - particularly when the story starts to focus on Gately - who is easily one of my favorite characters ever written. It's a book that I'd have a hard time recommending to anyone, but I don't regret for one second the two weeks I spent with it.
.
Yeah, you're not gonna push IJ on just anyone who 'likes to read'. It's a FUN read, but only for those that don't mind working for their mental sustinence. And I'll tell you, read up a little on IJ online with regard to its many threads and then do a re-read? MIND BLOWN. It's almost chicque to say these days that Wallace was almost better at journalism than fiction. NO. Once the threads in IJ start to make sense....WHOAH.
I thought you guys did like a summer reading thing with it a year or so ago.
I paused mid-way through Heroes as well, and am now reading through the Mistborn trilogy. I'll wrap it up after that. I needed a break, which is rare for me. I went through the First Law trilogy pretty quickly, but Heroes isn't really doing much for me.
Next up: Wool omnibus and the shift series.
These might fit your bill, though from what I gathered so far they are a bit darker than your examples.
OMG I USED TO HAVE THIS BOOK!!! Thanks for linking it to me! Wow this was sooo long ago!
LAntConroy
Neo Member
I just started re-reading these again. I like em but probably not everyone's cup of tea.
JehutyRunner
Banned
And now I am continuing with this one:
Almost at page 500 so still not even halfway yet haha.
Funny you should mention a Murakami because...
I finished Norwegian Wood on Friday (yeah, I know, the above is for the movie poster, but still).
Chapter 7 was a mammoth read. Finished all 102 pages in about three hours from start to finish. But I loved it.
I was so saddened by the ending, though.
Poor Naoko
I thought at first Midori was gonna turn out to be crazy. By midway, she just seemed to be charming but also crazy ("will you take me to a porno movie?"). I thought it was going to reveal some sort of sex obsession.
By the end, it turned out she had a sweet side to her. Charming, in fact. And caring also. I think the section
with her Father in the hospital
Thought Reiko was the best side-character in the book with an interesting background and personality.
I can't believe it took me two years after I bought the book (and film too together) to read it. Better now than never, though. Utterly brilliant and comes recommended.
Now reading:
I was meant to start reading it in the early hours of Saturday morning, but my sleep caught up to me. I started the first part yesterday afternoon, though. The narrative and how it was going to be told through letters was a bit jarring at first, but I got with it eventually by the end of the first part. Gonna dig into it some more.
As I did with Norwegian Wood, gonna read the book, then pick up the movie once done.
Mackenzie 92
Member
They have all 4 of the Hangman's Daughter Mysteries on kindle today for 99 cents each. I've only read the first one and it was decent, not sure if the sequels are any better, but I went ahead and picked them up, just in case the mood ever strikes me.
The books focus on a hangman in 1600s Germany solving murders with his daughter and her Dr friend. It's pretty authentic, just a little on the boring side at times.
The books focus on a hangman in 1600s Germany solving murders with his daughter and her Dr friend. It's pretty authentic, just a little on the boring side at times.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Finished The Expendable Man. Enjoyed it, started to lose me a little by the end though.
Also, heads up The Returners Season 1 is free for the next couple days. It's written by the guy that did Scooters voice in Borderlands, and looks pretty fun.
The Returners: Season One Omnibus by Mikey Neumann
Also, heads up The Returners Season 1 is free for the next couple days. It's written by the guy that did Scooters voice in Borderlands, and looks pretty fun.
The Returners: Season One Omnibus by Mikey Neumann
Maklershed
Member
Catch a riiiiiiiiiiide!
Mackenzie 92
Member
lol scooter was awesome
nakedsushi
Member
Finished this last book in the series a few days ago:
Heroes' Reward by Moira J. Moore
I read it mostly to finish the series. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first three books, but I think that's just because I'm used to the new magic system by now so it wasn't something refreshing. I mostly got annoyed by how stupid the regular citizens were being and that there was no sweet, sweet revenge.
I still can't get into The Host. Maybe it's a slow start. Either way, I'm chugging my way through this:
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
Hubbard is such a crazy asshole! I can't believe people take his drug-induced writings as truth.
Heroes' Reward by Moira J. Moore
I read it mostly to finish the series. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first three books, but I think that's just because I'm used to the new magic system by now so it wasn't something refreshing. I mostly got annoyed by how stupid the regular citizens were being and that there was no sweet, sweet revenge.
I still can't get into The Host. Maybe it's a slow start. Either way, I'm chugging my way through this:
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
Hubbard is such a crazy asshole! I can't believe people take his drug-induced writings as truth.
I'm reading R.A. Salvatore's "Servant of the Shard" great so far
Does anyone have a history in reading "The Sell Swords" trilogy? I don't know if I should go right into Sea of Swords after this or go into Promise of the Witch King. Any help or opinions would be great!
I would read them in publishing order (always my preferred method) so I would read Sea of Swords next. I just finished The Last Threshold yesterday.
Today I'm starting:
I'm very excited to jump back into more Dark Tower after all these years. I love this series.
RepairmanJack
Member
Today I'm starting:
I'm very excited to jump back into more Dark Tower after all these years. I love this series.
What's this supposed to be? I don't really keep up with King as I'm not a fan other than the DT series, but I haven't heard anything about this.
I might need to immediately run out and get this.
It's basically Dark Tower 4.5
It goes between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla. It's supposedly like Wizard in Glass as in it is a story inside the story. More info on Roland's childhood, etc. I'm only 25 pages in but I'm hooked. I'm one of those people who really loved all of the Dark Tower (including the last 3 books).
RepairmanJack
Member
Sounds good, I'll check it out. It might jump ahead on my list and be my next read, even though I wasn't a big fan of the later books(though I loved the ending).
evanswolves
Member
Finished The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester today
Loved it
And started Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy today
Loved it
And started Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy today
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Slog through it, but Drawing Of The Three is where it all clicks together.
Hale >>>>>>>>>>>>> Whelan
It's short enough that you should really push through it. The next three books really are worth it.
It's really cool and actually opens the door for other books using the setting with main characters other than Rolland. I'm not sure if King will ever walk through that door, but this book makes me hope that he does so.
For the record I'm a big dark tower fan also, and loved the whole series including the ending. The only book that really annoyed me was Wolves of Calla which sagged really bad in the middle IMO.
The first book is so different stylistically from the rest of the series that it almost feels like it is written by a different author, and basically it was since he initially wrote it during the early seventies as a series of short stories, then combined them together and published them as a novel in the early 80s. The second book came out in 1987, 17 years after he started writing the first book, so his style had evolved a lot by then
The Gunslinger is actually pretty cool, very grim, and I ended up liking it, but things really open up in the next few books. As a fan of the Wheel of Time series, I think you would probably really like the Dark Tower books if you could get to the good stuff.
There is another stylistic shift a little later. There was about a ten year delay between the writing of the wastelands and wizard and glass, which is sort of a prequel to the whole series... Then when he finally returns to the main adventure in Wolves of Calla, some of the characters feel a little... different... Some of this is explainable by time passing in the world of the story, but it is a problem and it was one of the things that made that book a little tough for me to get through. I probably wouldn't have noticed it as much if I had waited 10+ years, but I read through them all pretty quick, so the change stood out.
After that, though, I adapted to the new feel of things and the last few books were an absolute joy. Lots of action, very unpredictable, with plenty of great epic moments.
So I just noticed that They Thirst is now available for Kindle. Will pick that up soon - was recommended on GAF although I'm not sure in which thread.
It's weird, but it was the prologue (preface? I can't remember) that hooked me on that series.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Agree with all this. I was flipping through Book VII the other day and I'd forgotten how fantastic it was.
JehutyRunner
Banned
Finished Perks.
Couldn't help but feel like the ending satisfied me but also didn't satisfy me in that
Gonna start Cloud Atlas tomorrow. The last book of my little marathon. My next readathon looks set to consist of Number9dream, 1Q84 and something else TBD.
Couldn't help but feel like the ending satisfied me but also didn't satisfy me in that
while they did finally admit their feelings to each other somewhat, Sam and Charlie didn't quite go the full nine yards in finally "admitting their feelings" if you get what I mean.
Gonna start Cloud Atlas tomorrow. The last book of my little marathon. My next readathon looks set to consist of Number9dream, 1Q84 and something else TBD.
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