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What are you reading? (October 2016)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
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FlowersisBritish
fleurs n'est pas britannique
Finally finished Rilke's Letters to the Young Poet. Went at them at a slow pace, reading one, rereading it, and just sitting on the words within it. Glad I did, because some of these letters are pretty hefty even if there aren't many of them. Still, glad I did it that way. Lots of good lessons on art and life in them. Glad I took my time.
I don't think I've ever read a book dedicated specifically to those topics. The most recent notable text on Roman history I read was Tom Holland's Rubicon, about the decline of the institutions of the Roman Republic.
Maklershed
Member
I read that last year. Great book. As it turned out I found a recommendation from Reddits 'Ask Historians' subreddit for The Fall of the Roman Empire, so I purchased that.
The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians by Peter Heather
IlGialloMondadori
Member
Absolutely incredible in every way.
pluginbaby121
Member
My Paperwhite will be arriving today so I'm excited to start reading on it. Maybe going for the Witcher books first. My main issue is I'm a physical book person but I have very little room anymore except for the stuff I feel the need to actually own so going digital will be a little rough at first but hopefully for the better.
Finished 1984. Was depressing as fuck.
Yeah, you lose some of the charm, but it quickly loses its effect when you get into the book. If anything you learn to appreciate it, rather than feel like you're missing the "full reading experience".
Oh, you should get used to it pretty quick. I used to prefer physical books, but now I know it's much more convenient to read with an E-book reader. You can read anywhere, no matter the light conditions, and it's light, so you don't have to carry all these heavy books everywhere.
Yeah, you lose some of the charm, but it quickly loses its effect when you get into the book. If anything you learn to appreciate it, rather than feel like you're missing the "full reading experience".
Funyarinpa
Member
A heads-up: A huge number of public domain books are free or for very cheap. Dostoevsky/ Conan Doyle/ Mark Twain/ Dickens/ Plato/ Lovecraft etc. have their complete compiled collections being sold for a dollar a pop. I've also found Tolstoy, Flaubert and Kafka's (individual) works for literally free on Amazon. So there's a ton to pick from even if you don't want to spend good money on a book beforehand.
Finished up Death of Kings. Still enjoying the series very much, although I definitely need to break it up between instalments - for some reason I thought I had only one book left but it seems there are three!
As it's already on my Kindle, I'll go with:
... wasn't 100% on the first one, but I'll give it a chance.
As it's already on my Kindle, I'll go with:
... wasn't 100% on the first one, but I'll give it a chance.
YMMV on the free stuff, especially by authors whose work was translated to English. Between old/out of favor translations and shoddy book to digital copy editing, you really need to read the user reviews before picking a version.
Finished Abaddon's Gate yesterday. Was all set to jump into book 4, but the audiobook was a 13 buck addition as opposed to the $3.50 books 1-3 were. I'll just snag it with my next Audible credit, I guess.
In the meantime, I've started Name of the Wind.
I hear good things (though I also hear that the second book isn't nearly as good). So far, I'm not particularly impressed, but I'm not turned off either. This despite the protagonist being the archetypal "Great at everything superman," and the fact that the framing device didn't make itself apparent as a framing device until you get like 8 chapters into it.
In the meantime, I've started Name of the Wind.
I hear good things (though I also hear that the second book isn't nearly as good). So far, I'm not particularly impressed, but I'm not turned off either. This despite the protagonist being the archetypal "Great at everything superman," and the fact that the framing device didn't make itself apparent as a framing device until you get like 8 chapters into it.
I have been on a bit of a Vorkosigan Saga kick. I finished Memory Yesterday and started on Komarr. I haven't decided if I will actually take a break after Komarr, or continue on. I have A Civil Campaign, Diplomatic Immunity, and Captain Vorpatril's Alliance in the backlog.
How important is Winterfair gifts to the stuff that comes after it? I am assuming fairly important based on how many times the material covered in Mountains of Mourning, Borders of Infinity, and Labyrinth have been referenced in the main novels.
If you are doing the Whispersync thing with the Expanse books, you should know that they hired a different narrator for book 4. The original narrator is back for book 5, so I would imagine it was scheduling issue that the audiobook publisher couldn't be bothered to work out ahead of time. Sort of annoying.
How important is Winterfair gifts to the stuff that comes after it? I am assuming fairly important based on how many times the material covered in Mountains of Mourning, Borders of Infinity, and Labyrinth have been referenced in the main novels.
If you are doing the Whispersync thing with the Expanse books, you should know that they hired a different narrator for book 4. The original narrator is back for book 5, so I would imagine it was scheduling issue that the audiobook publisher couldn't be bothered to work out ahead of time. Sort of annoying.
Absolutely incredible in every way.
Man, this cover is so much better than the one we got here in the UK.
I've still not had a chance to read this yet. I should make more of an effort to read Manbooker prize winners.
I'm halfway through this.
Redemption tale set in purgatory. Creepy place, I say. Full of creatures such as giant jellyfish-like beasts in the sky who yank people into nowhere and assholes who strip any payment they can possibly get by new stragglers looking for a way to heaven (or hell?). Awesome artwork by an artist I grew up adoring combined with a brisk pace and a highly imaginative storytelling ability. I will probably read his Krampus novel again around yuletide. Rah ha ha.
Up next: The Hike by Drew Magary.
Recently finished...
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (very good, as per usual)
State of the Art by Iain M. Banks (first Banks book for me...weird and imaginative, and very cynical, but very much enjoyed it)
Now back to Holmes with The Return of Sherlock Holmes short story collection. Can't seem to go wrong here. Going to polish off the last two Holmes books after this one too. Think I'll get there in 2-3 weeks.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (very good, as per usual)
State of the Art by Iain M. Banks (first Banks book for me...weird and imaginative, and very cynical, but very much enjoyed it)
Now back to Holmes with The Return of Sherlock Holmes short story collection. Can't seem to go wrong here. Going to polish off the last two Holmes books after this one too. Think I'll get there in 2-3 weeks.
Funyarinpa
Member
Wow, thanks a lot for that- looked it up just now and it seems really interesting.
Maklershed
Member
Nice - Carrion Comfort is on sale for $2.99 today.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Fantastic book. I would also recommend it for people who do not usually read fantasy/sci-fi.
About half way through The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams.
I had a really hard time getting into this book. I have restarted it probably 3 times. The beginning is very slow, and honestly it's nothing you haven't read 100 times before if you are a fan of fantasy. But I stuck with it, as people who I respect really like the series so I kept reading. It's picked up a bit now; still traditional fantasy and I don't judge it too harshly since it is 28 years old.
The only part I find really grating is how
Simon treats Marya once it is revealed she is female. It' so tedious to read. I know it was written in 1988 but... really?! It's not Terry Goodkind level of bad but honestly, it reminds me of Robert Jordan's treatment of female characters which isn't a good look (in my opinion, of course).
I keep waiting for something to elevate it above a Dungeons & Dragons tie-in novel. I can happily read Dungeons & Dragons tie-in novels but my expectations were a bit higher for this series.
I finished reading The Magicians and I'm in the middle of 100 years of Solitude. I did write down my thoughts on Magicians but by the end I realized that everything I wrote was already said much better elsewhere.
https://youtu.be/2doZROwdte4
Not to say I didn't end up enjoying enough of Magicians. The second part is sort of clever and I can see the appeal of the deconstruction. It sort of reminds me of the way The Melancholy of Haruhi is done. Although the latter does it much better.
https://youtu.be/2doZROwdte4
Not to say I didn't end up enjoying enough of Magicians. The second part is sort of clever and I can see the appeal of the deconstruction. It sort of reminds me of the way The Melancholy of Haruhi is done. Although the latter does it much better.
Finished the Honor Harrington, the Crown of Slaves and Saganami Island series by Mark Weber, completely hooked. Working through the Worlds Of Honor Anthologies (which I am slightly regretting not reading in order) at the moment, after that there is the Manticore Ascendant and Stephanie Harrington books, so about 6 books in total before I can start on Shadow of Victory which I believe is released tomorrow.
I don't know if there is a combined reading order for this series like there is for the last Game of Thrones book but from War of Honor onward the remaining books take place over a 2 year period and several chapters are repeated in different books which I assume is to tie the timelines of the different series/books together.
Overall thoroughly impressed with the Honorverse and glad that there are more books to come (assuming Shadow of Victory is not the last).
I don't know if there is a combined reading order for this series like there is for the last Game of Thrones book but from War of Honor onward the remaining books take place over a 2 year period and several chapters are repeated in different books which I assume is to tie the timelines of the different series/books together.
Overall thoroughly impressed with the Honorverse and glad that there are more books to come (assuming Shadow of Victory is not the last).
Maklershed
Member
Finished The Harrows of Spring over the weekend which was great. The World Made by Hand series gets better and better. Now reading Frankenstein. I wanted to cram it in before Halloween. I probably wont finish in time but oh well.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Finished it on Saturday. I felt like it was overall a much better book than The Broken Eye, and I was able to read/understand it much better. Admittedly, I read The Broken Eye when I was sick, which... obviously has a significant impact on my reading ability. But does anyone else feel that way about it?
Vampirolol
Member
Virginia Woolf - To the lighthouse
I needed some well written classics and I'm liking it a lot for now.
I needed some well written classics and I'm liking it a lot for now.
xeroborn55
Member
About half-way through 'Death's End' by Cixin Liu. Truly fantastic science fiction. Each book of the trilogy expands the scale and scope of the story. Highly recommended.
It doesn't matter if what you thought was "said much better elsewhere", you are still entitled to your thoughts and I would bet most people haven't read the "elsewhere".
Have you watched the show? I felt that it tried to make the characters too likable (in comparison to the book) but I can see how a tv show with mostly unlikable characters wouldn't sell to suits.
That was fast! Anyway, I loved The Broken Eye. I don't recall thinking things weren't explained sufficiently (though my memory is v.v.v.bad). My reading attention definitely takes a hit when I'm ill.
I'm probably going to start The Blood Mirror tonight, been looking forward to it for a year! It would be great if it's even better than TBE, but I'll be happy as long as it's not a significant step down, I read the first two Night Angel books in the past year and wasn't impressed.
Pazu
Member
If you're on a Vorkosigan run, you should read it. It's not essential but it does tie A Civil Campaign to Diplomatic Immunity, and features Armsman Roic in a key role (and Roic has a major role in Diplomatic Immunity).
I'm up to Captain Vorpatril's Alliance myself, but taking a break to reread Barrayar. I've reread a bunch of of the earlier books but still have CVA, Cryoburn, and Gentleman Jole to complete my first reading of the series. So far Mirror Dance, Memory, Barrayar, The Warrior's Apprentice and A Civil Campaign have been my favorites.
Christoff Yurievich
Member
Finished The Harrows of Spring over the weekend which was great. The World Made by Hand series gets better and better. Now reading Frankenstein. I wanted to cram it in before Halloween. I probably wont finish in time but oh well.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
My son built a Frankenstein monster at TRU this weekend. I asked him what the things name was and he sighed and said, "this is Frankenstein's monster, created by Dr. Frankenstein." Ok so was there a monster in the story? "Yes, it was Dr. Frankenstein." The way he was saying it made me think we've had the conversation before. lol
Maklershed
Member
Right here ...
NEW THREAD IS UP
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1304531
NEW THREAD IS UP
Ha your son sounds pretty smart. :b
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