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[LocoMrPollock]

Logen is a bad motherfucker.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Logen is a bad motherfucker.

Boy they gone and fucked up the cover didn't they?

I finished Death Troopers and started Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. Death Troopers was kind of bad. The idea of a zombie story set in the Star Wars universe was something I couldn't resist but the execution was poor. The characters are paper thin and it just kind of ended. The only reason why I finished was because it was short and stupid easy to read.

Heart Shaped Box, on the other hand, is starting out really strong. Joe Hill is channeling his father's earlier works with this one. I just hope he can finish this story better than his dad does.

 

[Y-Z]

Allthough mine is in dutch and has a way better cover

 

[movie_club]

Jeff Green has convinced me to take it off of my book shelf

 

[mike23]

Finished this last week. I liked it, but (possible minor spoiler) I always have mixed feelings about when an author brings

Spoiler

rape

into the book.
It seems to happen often in this type of book and it seems like I'm always hoping for it not to happen, only for it happen in a more jarring way than I was expecting. I guess it could be because I tend to get attached to characters.

On another note:
I'm in the mood for a fantasy/sci fi book where the protagonist goes from zero to hero basically. He starts out weak and through hard work or chance or whatever, he because strong, over-powered even. Any suggestions?

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Finished this last week. I liked it, but (possible minor spoiler) I always have mixed feelings about when an author brings

Spoiler

rape

into the book.
It seems to happen often in this type of book and it seems like I'm always hoping for it not to happen, only for it happen in a more jarring way than I was expecting. I guess it could be because I tend to get attached to characters.

On another note:
I'm in the mood for a fantasy/sci fi book where the protagonist goes from zero to hero basically. He starts out weak and through hard work or chance or whatever, he because strong, over-powered even. Any suggestions?

Errr..... every fantasy book ever :lol

Nah, check out Magician, its probably one of the better kitchen boy to super bad ass books going.

Or you can wait for Tyra Banks new fantasy series Modelland............. i wish it where a joke :'(

 

[aidan]

Finished this last week. I liked it, but (possible minor spoiler) I always have mixed feelings about when an author brings

Spoiler

rape

into the book.
It seems to happen often in this type of book and it seems like I'm always hoping for it not to happen, only for it happen in a more jarring way than I was expecting. I guess it could be because I tend to get attached to characters.

If you think it's frequent and overused there, just wait for the sequel.

On another note:
I'm in the mood for a fantasy/sci fi book where the protagonist goes from zero to hero basically. He starts out weak and through hard work or chance or whatever, he because strong, over-powered even. Any suggestions?

Try Magician by Raymond Feist.

 

[Salazar]

On another note:
I'm in the mood for a fantasy/sci fi book where the protagonist goes from zero to hero basically. He starts out weak and through hard work or chance or whatever, he because strong, over-powered even. Any suggestions?

:lol

Sword of Truth. From naive farmer boy to epic, rippling, monster-befriending, witch-bullying

Spoiler

douchebag of unparalleled proportions

.

 

[Dresden]

:lol

Sword of Truth. From naive farmer boy to epic, rippling, monster-befriending, witch-bullying

Spoiler

douchebag of unparalleled proportions

.

That fel-chicken had it coming.

 

[EricHasNoPull]

Does Self-Help books count? Or am I just setting myself up for ridicule?

Spoiler

Never Eat Alone - Keith Ferrazzi

 

[AstroLad]

Seriously, there's a lot of Wallace in here - with in-line footnotes/diagrams out the wazoo. Or if you've read The Curious Nighttime Incident of the Dog, it's close to that as well. Just smart, smart stuff...

Thanks I will check it out.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

Thanks I will check it out.

It's a little too precious, like a bad Wes Anderson film, imo, but you should check it out.

 

[TGateKeeper]

one of my favorite series.

 

[Arcane Hayter]

Just started Rainbow Six. My first Clancy book.

 

[Tashi]

200 pages in on Halo Evolutions. It's a collection of short stories based in the Halo universe. Really great so far.

 

[Lazslo]

One Bullet Away: It's the story of the First Recon Platoon commander in the initial invasion of Iraq. It's actually one of the guys portrayed in Generation Kill (HBO mini series) It's a classic page turner, highly recommended.

 

[Salazar]

Just started Rainbow Six. My first Clancy book.

Probably a decent choice, as Clancy books go. I am a sucker for macho wish-fulfilment élite squads fucking stuff up - a preference which probably influences my fantasy reading, too.

 

[Nymerio]

Nice read. I like the way he writes, but I don't really find it believable, that an

Spoiler

epidemic

would be handled that way.

Spoiler

Really interesting to read how they are trying to live together, with everyone blind. But I find it kinda strange that the people don't really talk to each other and almost no one knows the names of the other persons.

 

[sparky2112]

It's a little too precious, like a bad Wes Anderson film, imo, but you should check it out.

Actually, I wouldn't disagree with this, but that almost comes with the territory when you're writing about an extremely precocious kid and his oddball family. Still, I think the writing is excellent - some of which is darn near heartbreaking - and that more than makes up for any other issues I might have with it.

 

[migulic]

About halfway through The Pianist (compulsory reading for school).

 

[eznark]

Finished this last week. I liked it, but (possible minor spoiler) I always have mixed feelings about when an author brings

Spoiler

rape

into the book.
It seems to happen often in this type of book and it seems like I'm always hoping for it not to happen, only for it happen in a more jarring way than I was expecting. I guess it could be because I tend to get attached to characters.

On another note:
I'm in the mood for a fantasy/sci fi book where the protagonist goes from zero to hero basically. He starts out weak and through hard work or chance or whatever, he because strong, over-powered even. Any suggestions?

The way he deals with sexuality in general is just atrocious. Like the 40 Year Old Virgin talking about breasts. I made it halfway through the girl protagonists (I assume she is a main character?) before deleting that schlock.

Holy shit, ItAintEasyBringCheesy reall wasn't joking.....Modelland

 

[Cep]

The Gathering Storm

I remember talking to Dresden a while back and he said that the new Jordan/Sanderson was not that bad.

Having extensively read both authors and only liking a small part of their work(first 3 of Jordan's and The first Mistborn novel), I was pretty skeptical.

I need not have been. The novel was genuinely decent.

Rand's sections were particularly good (though Egwene's were as putrid as usual). From the moment where he met

Spoiler

Tam

till the end, I definately felt Sanderson's (superior) hand.

Last two chapters are particularly well written (only chapters since early in the series that I have felt that way about). Had the book been just the Rand chapters, the novel would have been amazing.

As is, it is pretty decent, and perhaps even worthy of a purchase.

 

[TestMonkey]

Generic fantasy but the prose is smoothly written and the plot seems to be developing nicely.

 

[Arment]

Generic fantasy but the prose is smoothly written and the plot seems to be developing nicely.

It's a pretty fun trilogy. I thought the series felt very rushed and that he could have made much deeper story, but I was reading very long books at the time like Malazan Book of the Fallen and attempting to like Wheel of Time.

Personally, right now, I just started Song of Susannah. Wolves of the Calla was alright, the ending was worth getting to. For those who have read it:

Spoiler

Robots, dressed as Dr. Doom, with lightsabers and bombs shaped like Harry Potter snitches? Awesome.:lol

 

[Dresden]

Dug up my copy of A Game of Thrones for the GAF re-read thread. Will read chapter by chapter.

Also started reading River God by Wilbur Smith, when my DSi's triggers decided to stop working. Great read so far.

 

[finowns]

Been alright so far.

 

[stupei]

Need help, GAF, but didn't necessarily seem worthy of its own thread: I've never actually read anything by Stephen King. Always intended to, just never got around to it yet. Playing Alan Wake has really got me in the mood, though, so I'm wondering if there are any suggestions for which novel to start with first?

I've heard a lot about The Dark Tower obviously but with so many people insisting its his best work, I'd really rather not start with the best and set myself up for disappointment after that. I'm thinking maybe The Shining, but any suggestions would be welcome.

Not sure if it helps to mention, but as a point of reference I'm definitely a fan of Shirley Jackson's work.

 

[Halcyon]

I started this. It's good, but feels kinda like District 9.

I'm also reading this for the first time, but i've listened to the audiobooks of 1 and 2. I'd like to read the whole series this summer.

 

[Drewsky]

Need help, GAF, but didn't necessarily seem worthy of its own thread: I've never actually read anything by Stephen King. Always intended to, just never got around to it yet. Playing Alan Wake has really got me in the mood, though, so I'm wondering if there are any suggestions for which novel to start with first?

I've heard a lot about The Dark Tower obviously but with so many people insisting its his best work, I'd really rather not start with the best and set myself up for disappointment after that. I'm thinking maybe The Shining, but any suggestions would be welcome.

Not sure if it helps to mention, but as a point of reference I'm definitely a fan of Shirley Jackson's work.

If you're interested in reading some of his short stories at all, I'm reading Skeleton Crew right now, really good so far. Might be a good way to get an idea of his style.

 

[Halcyon]

The Stand is a really good book, so you'd have that to look forward to after.

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

OK, so at the moment I'm reading Book of the New Sun vol 1 by Gene Wolfe but I gotta say, it's pretty arduous stuff and I'm not even sure if it's good.

I'm about 250 pages in, which is the length of some other entire novels but it feels as if very little has actually happened. Even worse is that the book doesn't seem very well written. Yes, it uses lots of long words and some very flowery prose, but the moment-to-moment action of the story is often confused by ssome very odd writing. For instance there was a bit a little while ago where after a crash a character is naked - but it fails to mention this for 4 pages and when it does, it only does in passing. I re-read an entire chapter to see if I'd missed anything, but no. Wolfe describes the environment, decribes the character as standing up and injured but fails to mention she has no clothes on. I honestly don't know what to think of this book.

Should I keep reading? And why? If anyone who's read this before could give me some... I don't know, pointers I'd be grateful. And especially Salazar, he recommended it to me. Why is this book good, and am I just a dumdum for finding it badly written?

EDIT: I read a bit of this review of the book too, but it's confused me even more.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

If you're interested in reading some of his short stories at all, I'm reading Skeleton Crew right now, really good so far. Might be a good way to get an idea of his style.

Good idea. King writes a hell of a short story. Pick up Nightmares and Dreamscapes and if you want something a little meatier but still a short story collection Four Seasons is fantastic. That book has four short novellas three of which actually were turned into movies already. (Apt Pupil, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and The Body which was the basis for Stand By Me)

For longer books The Stand and It are two of his best but they are long long books. The Shinning, Pet Semetary, and Carrie are considered classics.

If you do plan on getting into the Dark Tower know that alot of his works tie into that mythology. So keep an eye out for those books as a sort of suppliment to The Dark Tower. Some books have references to TDK others are straight up stories involving that universe.

 

[malingenie]

The Stand is a really good book, so you'd have that to look forward to after.

Its been my favorite from King since it came out.

 

[X26]

The Pillars of the Earth

Enjoyed it quite a bit, and despite it being close to 1000 pages it felt like a pretty quick read

Started Vineland but I can't stand the writing, so I doubt I'll finish it

 

[Littleberu]

Hey guys! I need a recommendation!

I read Accidental Billionaires, and I'm looking to read some more books of that type.

I'm interested in "We bought a Zoo!" and "No Surrender", but can you guys recommend a other books in that genre?

Thanks!

(P.S. : I don't even know what that genre can be called. Is it like, biography? I don't know...)

 

[wrowa]

I haven't read more than a few pages so far, but it seems very promising with a a nice concept. I have the feeling that the book won't live up to its potential, though, but I'd love to be surprised.

Yep, I'll start with this one after I've finished Long Way Down. I don't know why, but the Millenium series always striked me as uninteresting, although I don't even really know what it's about. It was hyped too much, I guess. I can't stand hypes when it comes to books. Well, a good friend of mine started reading the trilogy and seems to like it, so I'll give it a try.

 

[VistraNorrez]

OK, so at the moment I'm reading Book of the New Sun vol 1 by Gene Wolfe but I gotta say, it's pretty arduous stuff and I'm not even sure if it's good.

I'm about 250 pages in, which is the length of some other entire novels but it feels as if very little has actually happened. Even worse is that the book doesn't seem very well written. Yes, it uses lots of long words and some very flowery prose, but the moment-to-moment action of the story is often confused by ssome very odd writing. For instance there was a bit a little while ago where after a crash a character is naked - but it fails to mention this for 4 pages and when it does, it only does in passing. I re-read an entire chapter to see if I'd missed anything, but no. Wolfe describes the environment, decribes the character as standing up and injured but fails to mention she has no clothes on. I honestly don't know what to think of this book.

Should I keep reading? And why? If anyone who's read this before could give me some... I don't know, pointers I'd be grateful. And especially Salazar, he recommended it to me. Why is this book good, and am I just a dumdum for finding it badly written?

EDIT: I read a bit of this review of the book too, but it's confused me even more.

If you want to get the most of your first read take it slow and look up every word that stops you. You'll still have to read it twice to get the most out of it.

Also keep in mind it's written in first person and so you have the unreliable narrator, and Severian in spite of his claims that he has perfect memory often lies or forgets to mention things. You mention a good example of this.

You are going to find it very hard to argue it's poorly written. It's very dense with many levels to it.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

Yea, I agree very much. It can seem odd, but the first volume of that Wolfe series is probably one of the strongest fantasy novels I've read. And it all stems from the particular narration of Severian. That's also partly why the series doesn't remain as compelling for me as it goes on, but the first volume is great. In general I think Wolfe's prose is far, far better than a lot of genre writers. You might try some of his short fiction too, especially his early stuff.

 

[Afrodium]

I'm about halfway through The Fellowship of the Ring. I was uninterested in the movies when they came out, so I'm going into this knowing very little. I'm loving it so far.

 

[HiroProtagonist]

The Gathering Storm

I remember talking to Dresden a while back and he said that the new Jordan/Sanderson was not that bad.

Having extensively read both authors and only liking a small part of their work(first 3 of Jordan's and The first Mistborn novel), I was pretty skeptical.

I need not have been. The novel was genuinely decent.

Rand's sections were particularly good (though Egwene's were as putrid as usual). From the moment where he met

Spoiler

Tam

till the end, I definately felt Sanderson's (superior) hand.

Last two chapters are particularly well written (only chapters since early in the series that I have felt that way about). Had the book been just the Rand chapters, the novel would have been amazing.

As is, it is pretty decent, and perhaps even worthy of a purchase.

I finished this a few days ago, and thought Sanderson did a very good job taking on such a heavy task – his love of simile aside. He was able to increase the pace with shorter chapters, better placement, and forward the plot with a focus on Egwene and Rand.

I thought the Egwene and White Tower chapters were some of the best written and most interesting the book had to offer. I’m not sure where you get “putrid”, but to each his own. The Rand chapters were on-point,

Spoiler

other than all of his secondary POV characters fading to black and white

.

As is, it is pretty decent, and perhaps even worthy of a purchase.

How high in the air was your nose when you wrote that sentence? I read it in the voice of the butler from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I don’t know if it’s worthy of anyone else’s money, but I consider my twelve dollars well spent.

 

[threenote]

just incredible.

 

[tirminyl]

I started reading the Southern Vampire or Sookie Stackhouse series around April 5th and I am now on book 10 which just released this month. I will be done with 10 by Wed so I will have to find something else to read.

 

[demon]

I'm almost done with Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth".

There are three books I've got lined up to read, I'll probably read in this order (although something else will probably pop up and work its way in there in the meantime):

 

[Arkaerial]

Just started it. After just finishing the name of the wind, this book has a tough act to follow!

Reading this one too

 

[Helmholtz]

Finished a Game of Thrones, liked it a lot. Now reading:

 

[way more]

Fast and to the point. Which seems to be that the US military is smug as fuck.

 

[Tashi]

Do you guys read multiple books at the same time or just 1 by 1?

 

[coldvein]

my life in france by julia child.

 

[siddx]

Just finished "I hope they serve beer in hell" which made me laugh more than I have in a very long time. I highly recommend it.

Just started World War Z and i'm loving it. First book i've read in years that genuinely freaks me out.

God is not great is up next.

 

[Maklershed]

I'm a huge post apocalypse fan and this is one of the books I've been wanting to read in the worst way but haven't gotten around to it a) because it was rare but I think its been on Amazon for the past month again and b) because I hear its difficult to comprehend. Please let me know what you think of it when you're done.

I haven't read more than a few pages so far, but it seems very promising with a a nice concept. I have the feeling that the book won't live up to its potential, though, but I'd love to be surprised.

I read that a few years ago. Its depressing but good.