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What are you reading? (September 2012)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
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Finally read this and loved it. Other than the fact that this is about a boy who finds himself on a lifeboat with a tiger I knew nothing about the book and was pretty curious how this premise would make for an interesting read. Well I'm still not sure about the how, but an interesting read it was. Still don't believe in God though, but at times the book got me wishing I could.
I remember starting this book waaaaaay back when I was like 13 or maybe 14. I didn't finish it because I simply did not understand most of it. So I figured I give it another try now that I'm all grown up and smart...
Well a lot of the science stuff still went over my head but I liked the whole idea of a world which is divided by cultural believe systems rather than nationalities.
Now starting:
Have heard a lot of good stuff about this author and this book so I'm really excited.
Oh and as an audiobook I'm currently listening to:
So far I like it though it is kinda slow paced. But considering that I mostly listen to it before sleeping that is perfect.
It's on my shelf but I haven't read it. I really liked his Book of Illusions though.
Well on Goodreads, most reviews are either 1 star or 5 star, people calling it a masterpiece or pretentious, so I'll try and get round to it!
SaltyDoughnut
Member
J-Roderton
Member
Re-reading The Scarlet Letter for the first time since high school. Never finished it.
At the library today. I finished up Invincible Ultimate Collection Volume 7 and Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics. I thought both were excellent, particularly the latter. I recently started getting into football and for me the biggest barrier is just not being at all culturally immersed in it. I don't watch basketball or (American) football, but I can name a decent number of good players, coaches, and teams and have a vague sense of when they were good (moreso basketball than football, mostly thanks to my father being a basketball nut and watching television specials or history stuff with him when I was younger).
But football for me is like "uh.... that Pele guy was pretty good, right?" So, yes, contextualizing things is nice and I think it has given me a greater appreciation of the importance of the organization of a team and its tactics and I feel like when I watch a game now I am 'seeing' more than I was a few dozen games ago.
I am also reading The Brothers Karamazov, which I am about 54 pages behind on relative to schedule. It has been getting better as I have gotten further; right now it feels like there is a lot of setup and character introductions and (admittedly well-written) philosophical filibusters, but the plot feels like it is sort of onhold at the moment and I am hoping the plot gets a kick in the pants soon.
But football for me is like "uh.... that Pele guy was pretty good, right?" So, yes, contextualizing things is nice and I think it has given me a greater appreciation of the importance of the organization of a team and its tactics and I feel like when I watch a game now I am 'seeing' more than I was a few dozen games ago.
I am also reading The Brothers Karamazov, which I am about 54 pages behind on relative to schedule. It has been getting better as I have gotten further; right now it feels like there is a lot of setup and character introductions and (admittedly well-written) philosophical filibusters, but the plot feels like it is sort of onhold at the moment and I am hoping the plot gets a kick in the pants soon.
Mackenzie 92
Member
The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle
And still working on The Descent and The Brothers Karamazov, which is slow going at the moment.
Finally read this and loved it. Other than the fact that this is about a boy who finds himself on a lifeboat with a tiger I knew nothing about the book and was pretty curious how this premise would make for an interesting read. Well I'm still not sure about the how, but an interesting read it was. Still don't believe in God though, but at times the book got me wishing I could.
Yeah, that's kind of what I got out of it too
eattomorro
Neo Member
Blood Diamonds
Banned
America by E.R Frank
...
It's really creeping me out, but I'm near the end.
BrokenFiction
Member
I've had my eye on this one. Come back and tell us what you think of it!
looks pretty interesting..
I thought it was a rather scathing and cynical look on religion.
edit: On second thought, it wasn't actually scathing, but it had a depressingly cynical look on why we have religion. I really liked it.
Really? I don't know if saying that we have religion, because a good story is better (or at least nicer) to believe in than cold and rational facts is really cynical. Maybe if religion is understood only on a purely institutional level? But I think the book was more about believe than it was about institutional religions. And in this I did not found it to be cynical at all.
Just finished:
At the end of the book I was like
So now I am onto:
Hah! What a coincidence I saw this, because yesterday I just happened to pick up this little book I've never read before.
We'll agree to disagree then. I think that the view that people believe because they don't want to deal reality is pretty cynical imo. It's basically saying that religion (even on a personal level) is escapism. Well, at least that's what I got out of it. I do think that you're view is reasonable though.
I can't wait for the film.
Ah, I see your point now. Well, I allready had the opinion that religion=escapism before I read the book. The book did not change that opinion but got me wondering if a little bit of escapism now and then is such a bad thing.
Edit: Oh and I'm excited for the movie, too. But knowing me I will probably be disappointed because when it comes to book adaptations I normally am. I think I might be a little bit to strict when it comes to that.
Monocle
Member
Just finished this and awaiting the 2nd part from Amazon.
Awesome book. I can't believe I'd never heard of Gene Wolfe before (picked the book up at random at Barnes & Noble not knowing what to expect). Difficult to read at first due to the exotic vocabulary, but after a couple chapters I couldn't put it down. I love how the author presents a culture that's degenerated past the point of understanding its own technology (e.g. a mechanism powered by 'lightning' instead of electricity).
On no account should you overlook The Urth of the New Sun once you've finished all four parts of The Book of the New Sun. It will hugely intensify your appreciation of the series by expounding many fascinating details and plot strands that were only hinted in the earlier volumes. The overarching narrative it reveals blew my mind, and the insights it offers about several major characters made me want to read the series all over again.
Urth of the New Sun is a satisfying conclusion to Severian's journeys and an exceptionally rich reward for all of the time you invested in the preceding books.
I'm a couple of chapters in to part 2 of Crime and Punishment. On the recommendation of people in this thread, I've got the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation. For comparison I read a bit of the Constance Garnett and personally I thought the P & V translation flowed much better and was overall easier to read. It's interesting so far. I have no real idea of where it's going to go.
BanShunsaku
Member
Recently finished:
Loved it. Reading The Dark Tower for the first time and very impressed with the first two books.
About 100 pages into:
Enjoying it so far - I'm a big fan of Abraham's work so I knew I probably would
Loved it. Reading The Dark Tower for the first time and very impressed with the first two books.
About 100 pages into:
Enjoying it so far - I'm a big fan of Abraham's work so I knew I probably would
Grenouille
Member
I bought that one, will read it eventually. English isn't my first language and I heard his books are complicated, so I'm a bit worried.
So to people reading The Dark Tower... how is Stephen King, generally? I tried to read Tommyknockers and got about 250 pages in before I had to put that shit down. So much padding and repetition, not to mention the boring and flat characters. Didn't like his style of writing at all. Is it representative of his work or is it one of his worst?
Maklershed
Member
Yay new Pete Hamilton book coming out soon! And its a sci-fi detective novel!
Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton
The thing I like about King is the 'communities' he creates and the cast of characters involved and their interactions .. hence I liked Under the Dome, The Stand, 11/22/63, and It. I don't like when he mostly focuses on one or two characters .. Duma Key, Gunslinger, and (to a lesser extent) The Drawing of the Three. That's just how I look at his style. And I openly admit I probably didn't give The Dark Tower series enough of a chance.
Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton
The thing I like about King is the 'communities' he creates and the cast of characters involved and their interactions .. hence I liked Under the Dome, The Stand, 11/22/63, and It. I don't like when he mostly focuses on one or two characters .. Duma Key, Gunslinger, and (to a lesser extent) The Drawing of the Three. That's just how I look at his style. And I openly admit I probably didn't give The Dark Tower series enough of a chance.
Yay new Pete Hamilton book coming out soon! And its a sci-fi detective novel!
Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton
I really need to get around to reading some Hamilton.
Canis lupus
Member
A bit of Hitman Reborn manga recently.
Maklershed
Member
I've only read Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained but I loved them both. Judas Unchained got really intense in the last 3rd of the book.
Well, on the one hand, I don't believe The Tommyknockers is considered one of King's finest moments; a recent website ranking of King's work (for what that's worth) placed it just shy of the very bottom of their list. So, you didn't pick a winner to start reading the man with. On the other hand, while I haven't read the book myself, I doubt it's radically different from King's writing style in general, especially when it comes to his padding things out just a wee bit.
If you'd like to give the man another try - and I'm enough of a fan that I'd certainly recommend doing so - pick up a copy of Skeleton Crew, which contains a fair chunk of his short fiction from the early to mid 80s. In particular, it kicks off with the novella The Mist, which is top notch and clocks in at a tight 130 pages. That'll give you an idea if you like the man's writing enough when he's on form to check out some of his more celebrated novels.
FnordChan
I found The Dark Tower to be a mixed bag. Some books I just couldn't put down and didn't want to end while others I though were horrible. Keep in mind that the Dark Tower series creates a metaverse for most of King's work so you'll be seeing people & concepts from previous novels in various Dark Tower books.
Ohh, nice. Also coming out this october is...
Can't wait!
Did not know this.
Hyyyyyyppppppeeeeee.
Never read it. Was considering reading this or Game of Thrones, and I picked this.
Amazing choice. This has been my series for the past 20 years and it is so good. You will love it.
Currently, I am reading (listening on Audible) this in preparation for the final book:
This will be my 4th read through most of the series.
Mackenzie 92
Member
A lot of good books coming out this fall:
OCT 23 - Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
OCT 16 - The Twelve by Justin Cronin
DEC 16 - Great North Road by Peter Hamilton
Probably some more I'm missing.
Where's a good place to start with Iain M. Banks? I think I actually have Consider Phlebas laying around.
OCT 23 - Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
OCT 16 - The Twelve by Justin Cronin
DEC 16 - Great North Road by Peter Hamilton
Probably some more I'm missing.
Where's a good place to start with Iain M. Banks? I think I actually have Consider Phlebas laying around.
Dead Prince
Banned
went back to reading this on my kindle the other day. only on chapter 8.
Consider Phlebas is a perfectly fine start, though in my opinion it is one of the weaker Culture novels (though still pretty good). You can start with any of them really, as they are all self contained.
I just finished the Wolves of Calla and then I moved on to this because of recommendations from last month's thread..
Absolutely loved this book. Whoever has been recommending it, thank you.
Just started...
Absolutely loved this book. Whoever has been recommending it, thank you.
It's funny reading this after reading the Dark Tower Novels as well as recently having read ASOIAF. I didn't see the plot twists at all but the book had to of been inspired by both of those series.
Just started...
UpperCaseN
Member
OK for me to just post in here without joining the GAF bookclub mentioned in the OP? I alternate my gaming backlog with my book backlog so neither of them are very consistent.
Just last night I started reading
I'm only 26 pages in but I already like it a lot! It's part Scott Pilgrim and part Willy Wonka, so far. I was born in '82 so some of the 80's stuff doesn't connect with me, I guess I was a little too young. Still, good stuff and can't wait to start reading again tonight.
Just last night I started reading
I'm only 26 pages in but I already like it a lot! It's part Scott Pilgrim and part Willy Wonka, so far. I was born in '82 so some of the 80's stuff doesn't connect with me, I guess I was a little too young. Still, good stuff and can't wait to start reading again tonight.
ThankeeSai
Member
Post apocalyptic tale of a virus that turns people into vampire-esque creatures and pretty much wipes humanity out.
1st part of a trilogy (second part out this October).
About 1/3 of the way through and it's really enjoyable so far.
How is it?
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