My Name Is Luke
Member
About to start Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte for my AP English class. Judging from the size of the book, this will be fun :/.
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What are you reading? (October 09)
- Thread starter subzero9285
- Start date
ClosingADoor
Member
Well, without the cover, since it's my first book on my ereader.
Listen to the song while reading, and be sure to read any notes about the sisters and the story behind the writing and publishing of the work.. was to me more interesting than the actual book. But it's still a good book, and interesting particularly in context of the time it was written in.My Name Is Luke said:
KingHenrik30
Member
crowphoenix
Banned
Finished Unseen Academicals. While it may not be Pratchett's best work, I would definitely place it in the upper half of the Discworld series.
That said, something did feel off about the work. I'm not entirely sure where it comes from, but I'm certain it does not come from the new characters, the changes to the old characters, or how the world was expanded upon. All of which was absolutely excellent.
The only cons to the book that I can think of are (Minor Spoilers ahead)
Other than those issues and the narrative feeling just slightly off, Unseen Academicals is grand entry to the series.
That said, something did feel off about the work. I'm not entirely sure where it comes from, but I'm certain it does not come from the new characters, the changes to the old characters, or how the world was expanded upon. All of which was absolutely excellent.
The only cons to the book that I can think of are (Minor Spoilers ahead)
that I wish the Discworld version of football had been a little bit more focused upon and that Glenda could become a bit aggravating at times (But only at times).
Other than those issues and the narrative feeling just slightly off, Unseen Academicals is grand entry to the series.
viciouskillersquirrel
Member
Pretty much mirrors my feelings on it. I hated the character of Ellen for pretty much being a one-trick pony with no complexity or human emotion about her apart from being anachronistic. World Without End is heaps better in this regard.jason10mm said:
I had a choice between this, Nation and Folklore of Discworld. I'll have to pick it up soon.crowphoenix said:
viciouskillersquirrel
Member
Started reading Nation by Terry Pratchett. It's good so far and surprisingly, not a Discworld novel.
Torhthelm Tídwald
Member
shintoki said:
With translations of poetry there is usually no one "best" version. It all depends on what you want to get out of the book and what kind of poetry you like. Go to a library or bookstore and read the first little bit of a bunch of editions until you find one that clicks with you. If accuracy is a concern, get one with good annotations, since there will always be a lot of fine details that you simply can't get through in a simple translation.
ElectricBlue187
Member
Now I'm reading Look to Windward - Ian m banks
Much easier to read
Much easier to read
Read the Greatest Show On Earth last month when it came out. Really great, really fascinating and Dawkins breaks it down real smooth like.
This looks good. I'm into classic sci-fi right now (lmao - never ever thought I could see myself reading this genre) and started it with Dune last month. Holy Godamm that was good.
Currently I'm reading:
And then onto:
I'm also in the middle of this one as well:
Which has been really great.
Dan said:
This looks good. I'm into classic sci-fi right now (lmao - never ever thought I could see myself reading this genre) and started it with Dune last month. Holy Godamm that was good.
Currently I'm reading:
And then onto:
I'm also in the middle of this one as well:
Which has been really great.
Gamer @ Heart
Member
vegee said:
I completely understand where you are coming from. However, the book really picks up and clicked for me at 75% and i became hooked. The first book only hints at what the other two books offer. I was on vacation and yet absolutely glued to the second and third books. It seriously gets pretty epic and the characters grow on you much better. I compel you to give it another chance.
EDIT: Im talking about the Night Angel Trilogy
Just finished 'The Damned United', David Peace's novel about Brian Clough's managerial spells at Derby and Leeds.
It is utterly wonderful, indubitably the best football book in existence. It's like 'Fever Pitch' from a psychopathic point of view. Peace's Clough is a biblical figure, raging, vengeful, coarse, obsessed.
It is utterly wonderful, indubitably the best football book in existence. It's like 'Fever Pitch' from a psychopathic point of view. Peace's Clough is a biblical figure, raging, vengeful, coarse, obsessed.
Torhthelm Tídwald
Member
Read the original Foundation trilogy all at once. All three volumes are very short and easy, and they work very well as a single novel. I don't think that the series really gets into gear until the later volumes, and if I had read the first book on its own I would have been fairly disappointed.
Christoff Yurievich
Member
posting my thoughts from the H2G2 thread about the new book:
viciouskillersquirrel
Member
Finished reading Nation by Terry Pratchett. It was really good - in fact, one of his best. One thing that did annoy me, however, was how schizophrenic it was. One minute, it'd be about the nature of identity and the next, it'd be a very preachy rant about atheism.
It was set in a "parallel universe" of Earth in the 19th century. One of the central themes in it was the conflict between science and religion and he'd namedrop scientists like Newton, Darwin and at one point, Sagan and Dawkins, characterising the Royal Society at the time as a bunch of heroic atheists pushing away the oppressive darkness of religion and so forth. Thing is, if you went back to that era, most scientists would have been religious as a matter of course and the proportion who weren't wouldn't have been bigger than any other group populated by the wealthy and educated.
It seemed very overdone and was at times jarring next to the other big theme of the book - folklore, tradition and custom and how they tie into one's identity and actions. It's like one minute, you get a very entertaining passage where cultural misunderstandings between the characters, an heroic action or a strange custom/ceremony lead you to understand more about your own culture and the next minute, Mau is having ranting arguments with an arsehole priest.
Same thing happened in Science of Discworld 3: Darwin's Watch though in that case to a far greater extent and to the great detriment of the material. Luckily, the image of the big bad religious bogeyman holding humanity down didn't take over Nation the same way it did SoD3
W.
It was set in a "parallel universe" of Earth in the 19th century. One of the central themes in it was the conflict between science and religion and he'd namedrop scientists like Newton, Darwin and at one point, Sagan and Dawkins, characterising the Royal Society at the time as a bunch of heroic atheists pushing away the oppressive darkness of religion and so forth. Thing is, if you went back to that era, most scientists would have been religious as a matter of course and the proportion who weren't wouldn't have been bigger than any other group populated by the wealthy and educated.
It seemed very overdone and was at times jarring next to the other big theme of the book - folklore, tradition and custom and how they tie into one's identity and actions. It's like one minute, you get a very entertaining passage where cultural misunderstandings between the characters, an heroic action or a strange custom/ceremony lead you to understand more about your own culture and the next minute, Mau is having ranting arguments with an arsehole priest.
Same thing happened in Science of Discworld 3: Darwin's Watch though in that case to a far greater extent and to the great detriment of the material. Luckily, the image of the big bad religious bogeyman holding humanity down didn't take over Nation the same way it did SoD3
W.
David Crystal's 'Just a Phrase I'm Going Through' - memoir of his career as a linguist. Begins more intriguingly and humorously than it becomes near its end, but good in general.
Rick Gekoski's 'Tolkien's Gown' - Collection of anecdotes about book collecting and book trading. Damned fine. Man has led a wonderful life. Salinger really is an asshole, as were Pinter and William Golding.
Anthony Grafton's 'Worlds Made by Words: Scholarship and Community in the Modern West' - Terrifically learned, especially on the sense in which the phrase Republic of Letters has a literal turn: Renaissance academics used to post like fucking demons. Fine stories, too, like Justus Lipsius reciting Tacitus from memory, with a dagger pressed to his throat to be plunged in if he made a mistake.
Rick Gekoski's 'Tolkien's Gown' - Collection of anecdotes about book collecting and book trading. Damned fine. Man has led a wonderful life. Salinger really is an asshole, as were Pinter and William Golding.
Anthony Grafton's 'Worlds Made by Words: Scholarship and Community in the Modern West' - Terrifically learned, especially on the sense in which the phrase Republic of Letters has a literal turn: Renaissance academics used to post like fucking demons. Fine stories, too, like Justus Lipsius reciting Tacitus from memory, with a dagger pressed to his throat to be plunged in if he made a mistake.
British Monsoon
Member
Currently reading River of Gods by Ian MacDonald on GAF's reccomendation - i'd previousley read Brasyl and while I enjoyed it for the most part I felt it didn't live up to the hype ascribed to it, but GAF assured me that River of Gods is the far superior book and so far I agree.
Also, recently read Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett, not one of his best but an enjoyable Discworld all the same. I'm hankering for a new Rincewind novel, it seems like alot of his recent Discworld books deal with parralels between the Discworld and our own world, but i'd just like another crazy Rincewind adventure. At least there's another Tiffany Aching book to look forward to.
Finally, I also read The Dwarves by Markus Heitz, while i'm not the biggest fan of high fantasy I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story is expertly told with some great characterisation.
Also, recently read Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett, not one of his best but an enjoyable Discworld all the same. I'm hankering for a new Rincewind novel, it seems like alot of his recent Discworld books deal with parralels between the Discworld and our own world, but i'd just like another crazy Rincewind adventure. At least there's another Tiffany Aching book to look forward to.
Finally, I also read The Dwarves by Markus Heitz, while i'm not the biggest fan of high fantasy I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story is expertly told with some great characterisation.
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
The account of how Mossad tracked down, monitored, captured and extracted Adolf Eichmann from Argentina.
itsinmyveins
Gets to pilot the crappy patrol labors
Batman: Year One and The Given Day by Dennis Lehane.
CiSTM said:
You should read this. It has a stronger parodic sensibility than his Flashman books (which is saying a lot). You might also like 'Flash for Freedom', although that is about slavers rather than pirates.
http://www.amazon.com/Pyrates-Swashbuckling-Comic-Creator-Flashman/dp/1585748005
This is also essential. I picked it up second-hand a few years ago, and it is inexhaustibly interesting.
http://www.amazon.com/Pirates-Brigands-Buccaneers-Privateers-Fiction/dp/030680722X
itsinmyveins
Gets to pilot the crappy patrol labors
CiSTM said:
I thought the Dark Knight Returns was good and so far I think Year One is pretty great too.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brewers-Rogues-Villains-Eccentrics-BrewerS/dp/0304357286
This would be superb, too - if you can stretch to it.
This would be superb, too - if you can stretch to it.
â Narayan
Member
Slowly. It's perfect since I just finished reading Absolute Sandman I-IV and Sandman: Dream Hunters. I'll be reading Sandman: Endless Nights and King of Dreams after this.
220 pages in the 'Unbearable lightness of being' by milan kundra
Very different from what i expected. (i watched the film prior) the novel has the feel of a philosophical novel, with the author using the storyline and characters as a backdrop, to express various philosophical ideals.
The prose is excellent too, the opening is one of my favorite openings in a novel.
However i feel as though, i'm missing half the meaning of the novel, i can understand the 'lightness / weight" motif. (which is what is drawing me in right now), but all the political themes feel so foreign to me.
Very different from what i expected. (i watched the film prior) the novel has the feel of a philosophical novel, with the author using the storyline and characters as a backdrop, to express various philosophical ideals.
The prose is excellent too, the opening is one of my favorite openings in a novel.
However i feel as though, i'm missing half the meaning of the novel, i can understand the 'lightness / weight" motif. (which is what is drawing me in right now), but all the political themes feel so foreign to me.
ihateyourhat said:About to start:
Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson
At 1150 pages, it'll be interesting to see how long it takes me to finish this monster since I typically only read before bed.
You are in for a treat. That is one of my favorite books. Not only is the story great (like most of Neal Stephenson's books, but the writing is superb. There were sentences where I would read them and then think to myself "wow, what a great way to say that". Don Delillo is the only other living writer that has caused me to do that.
i read about 150 pages of this
it's about a bunch of nerds who work for windows in the 90s. not only is it outdated, it's unconvincing. these dudes are somehow bored of the internet and annoyed about hearing people talk about it. an attempt to act jaded by the single most awesome thing that was happening at the time in order to seem aloof and hip, i don't even know. it annoyed me enough that i abandoned it.
just started this last night
wooooo! GIMME THE SUGAR KURT. [much better]
it's about a bunch of nerds who work for windows in the 90s. not only is it outdated, it's unconvincing. these dudes are somehow bored of the internet and annoyed about hearing people talk about it. an attempt to act jaded by the single most awesome thing that was happening at the time in order to seem aloof and hip, i don't even know. it annoyed me enough that i abandoned it.
just started this last night
wooooo! GIMME THE SUGAR KURT. [much better]
blazinglord
Member
I've just finished this:
Which was pretty good and took me back to the days when I use to watch the Big Breakfast show in the mornings before school. It also got me reading this:
Which I've just started and it has been quite interesting so far. And currently I'm just flipping through this book which I borrowed from the library yesterday:
Which was pretty good and took me back to the days when I use to watch the Big Breakfast show in the mornings before school. It also got me reading this:
Which I've just started and it has been quite interesting so far. And currently I'm just flipping through this book which I borrowed from the library yesterday:
ClosingADoor
Member
Been through the first 100 pages now. Probably finish it next week or so.
CiSTM said:
Tim Powers - On Stranger Tides
This book has undoubtedly been the inspiration for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Edit: After linking the Wikipedia entry I read this: "On September 11, 2009, Disney announced that in the summer of 2011, the fourth installment of the wildly popular Pirates of the Caribbean series would be entitled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The announcement has fueled speculation that the movie will follow the plot of the novel, with Jack Sparrow replacing Jack Shandy as the story's protagonist,[4] especially as Powers sold the film rights for the novel to Disney"
YES! YES! YES!
crowphoenix
Banned
I really need to pick this up. I'm annoyed that my bookstore doesn't carry any of Pratchett's stuff beyond the Discworld books.viciouskillersquirrel said:Finished reading Nation by Terry Pratchett. It was really good - in fact, one of his best. One thing that did annoy me, however, was how schizophrenic it was. One minute, it'd be about the nature of identity and the next, it'd be a very preachy rant about atheism.
It was set in a "parallel universe" of Earth in the 19th century. One of the central themes in it was the conflict between science and religion and he'd namedrop scientists like Newton, Darwin and at one point, Sagan and Dawkins, characterising the Royal Society at the time as a bunch of heroic atheists pushing away the oppressive darkness of religion and so forth. Thing is, if you went back to that era, most scientists would have been religious as a matter of course and the proportion who weren't wouldn't have been bigger than any other group populated by the wealthy and educated.
It seemed very overdone and was at times jarring next to the other big theme of the book - folklore, tradition and custom and how they tie into one's identity and actions. It's like one minute, you get a very entertaining passage where cultural misunderstandings between the characters, an heroic action or a strange custom/ceremony lead you to understand more about your own culture and the next minute, Mau is having ranting arguments with an arsehole priest.
Same thing happened in Science of Discworld 3: Darwin's Watch though in that case to a far greater extent and to the great detriment of the material. Luckily, the image of the big bad religious bogeyman holding humanity down didn't take over Nation the same way it did SoD3
ihateyourhat
Member
I'm about 400 pages in, and, so far, I'm really enjoying it. The discussion on the mathematics behind Turing's bicycle chain falling off was a lot of fun to read. When I started that section, I saw the equations and prepared myself to brute force my way through the pages, but I was stunned when I found out just how compelling his explanation was. The "modern day" sections do drag a bit for me. Too many business meetings and discussion of technology that seems like it should belong on a top 10 worst ideas ever list. Also, the argument about the internet at the dinner party was pretty bad. Although, to be honest, I usually hate specific technologies mentioned in books and movies. This is the first book I've read of his, and unless things go downhill from here, I'll be picking up his other work.kmfdmpig said:
ElectricBlue187
Member
MagniHarvald said:
You must read Dune at least. It's a masterpiece.
Fanboydestroyer
Member
I'm reading Endyimon by Dan Simmons and then hopefully I'll move into The Rise of Endyimion. Actually, those books are being put on hold as I have two collection of stories from Poe and Lovecraft to read over this weekend.