Author Topic: What are you reading?  (Read 845516 times)

Fenrix

  • Curmudgeonly Co-Editor of PseudoPod
  • Editor
  • *****
  • Posts: 3996
  • I always lock the door when I creep by daylight.
Reply #2325 on: June 22, 2013, 01:58:39 PM

I'm currently working through two short story compilations.

The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft - Even though I've been interested in his work for years, I have never taken the time to really sit down with his stories until now. I'm enjoying every minute of my time with it.


You might enjoy also listening to the H P Lovecraft Literary Podcast (hppodcraft.com) while you work your way through. Let them read the terrible stories so you don't have to.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


Listener

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3187
  • I place things in locations which later elude me.
    • Various and Sundry Items of Interest
Reply #2326 on: June 25, 2013, 12:01:28 PM
FINALLY finished the first Wheel of Time book. I may read the second... next year sometime.

Currently blazing my way through Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

"Farts are a hug you can smell." -Wil Wheaton

Blog || Quote Blog ||  Written and Audio Work || Twitter: @listener42


Devoted135

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1252
Reply #2327 on: August 05, 2013, 06:03:56 PM
Jut finished devouring Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed (literally, I read it in two days). Yay! It's so good! Makes me so happy. :)



Moritz

  • Lochage
  • *****
  • Posts: 512
Reply #2328 on: August 05, 2013, 06:27:18 PM
Currently blazing my way through Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Read this one this weekend as a reward for finishing beta-reading a novel the weekend before.



lowky

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 2717
  • from http://lovecraftismissing.com/?page_id=3142
Reply #2329 on: August 06, 2013, 04:36:54 AM
Reading NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.  Really enjoying it.  Reminds me of the good parts of a Stephen King novel.  Especially the King/Straub collaboration The Talisman


*edit*
having just finished it, and reading his acknowledgements where he mentioned his mother Tabitha King, I looked on line and discovered that he is the son of Tabitha and Stephen King.  Didn't know it going in, but it sure explains why it reminded me of Stephen King.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2013, 05:35:19 PM by lowky »



Procyon

  • Palmer
  • **
  • Posts: 51
Reply #2330 on: August 08, 2013, 03:19:08 AM
Just finished "Kraken" by China Miéville.  It was the first novel I've read by him, and I have to say I don't really know what to think.  I suppose I liked the beginning and the ending, but the middle felt really draggy.  I also felt like I was missing a dimension to the story & characters because I'm not English -- whether it's true or not is anyone's guess.  The result was I didn't really like any of the characters.  But the main reason I picked it up in the first place was out of a love of deep-sea monsters, benthic titan gods slumbering in trenches, and I suppose I must admit it did scratch that particular itch.  Though I'm not sure I would have had the momentum to propel me through a similarly written book not concerning a subject I didn't already like (if that makes any sense).



Bdoomed

  • Pseudopod Tiger
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5891
  • Mmm. Tiger.
Reply #2331 on: August 08, 2013, 05:14:36 AM
Maybe perhaps slightly re-reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.  I say maybe because I might not be able to find time to squeeze it in.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #2332 on: August 08, 2013, 02:20:46 PM
Reading NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.  Really enjoying it.  Reminds me of the good parts of a Stephen King novel.  Especially the King/Straub collaboration The Talisman


*edit*
having just finished it, and reading his acknowledgements where he mentioned his mother Tabitha King, I looked on line and discovered that he is the son of Tabitha and Stephen King.  Didn't know it going in, but it sure explains why it reminded me of Stephen King.

I cannot recommend checking out Heart-Shaped Box as well as his comic book series Locke & Key enough. Oh, his short story collection 20th Century Ghosts is one of my favorite single author collections, too. (I haven't read Horns yet, but am pretty excited about it.)

NOS4A2 I mostly liked, but there were some aspects of the end that frustrated me. I listened to it in audio, and Kate Mulgrew (Janeaway) read it, and gave an incredible performance.


DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #2333 on: August 08, 2013, 02:32:46 PM
Let's see, been a while, but recently I've read/listened to:

1) The Ocean at the End of the Lane (excellent)
2) The Log from the Sea of Cortez (good, if you like John Steinbeck and/or marine biology)
3) Promise of Blood (not my favorite, but I can see it's appeal)
4) Broken Mirrors and Grim Tides (way more fun than I thought possible)

I think Gaiman actually had the deck stacked against him this time - it'd been nearly 10 years since Anansi Boys, and 5 years since the Graveyard Book, and he's been so successful that it wouldn't have surprised me if the backlash started to spread. But this book really surprised me, and felt unlike any of his other books. It's incredibly personal, and the restraint he shows in the writing is incredible. It's a short book, and it's the perfect length for the story he's telling.

I've been doing my reading mostly through audiobooks as of late, and have been reviewing them over at the AudioBookaneers, if you're interested in reading more of my in depth reviews, you can check them out there :) If not - I'm sure I'll keep posting sporadically in here!

Next up, I'm gonna check out The Cuckoo's Calling and Robert Jackson Bennett's American Elsewhere. (The Troupe was one of my favorite books of last year, hands-down.)


Scattercat

  • Caution:
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4904
  • Amateur wordsmith
    • Mirrorshards
Reply #2334 on: August 08, 2013, 04:56:21 PM
(I haven't read Horns yet, but am pretty excited about it.)

"Horns" was effing brilliant, just delightfully wry and cynical and twisted, but never quite devolving into nihilism or unalloyed misanthropy.  Right at the sweet spot for me.  Also completely hilarious.  Not really horror at all, if you ask me, but I might have a skewed perspective.



lowky

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 2717
  • from http://lovecraftismissing.com/?page_id=3142
Reply #2335 on: August 08, 2013, 06:41:09 PM
Just picked up Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb book two of The Rain Wilds Chronicles from the Library.


DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #2336 on: August 28, 2013, 01:57:28 PM
Just finished listening to Robert Galbraith's (aka J.K. Rowling) new mystery The Cuckoo's Calling. It's a detective story where the case is pretty much made by the interviews, and the victim is brought to life by a lot of conflicting perspectives from friends and family. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and hope she cranks out another soon.


lowky

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 2717
  • from http://lovecraftismissing.com/?page_id=3142
Reply #2337 on: August 28, 2013, 02:26:16 PM
Reading Dragon City book three in the Rain Wilds Chronicles.


Cynandre

  • Palmer
  • **
  • Posts: 37
  • I May be Addicted to Words...
    • Cynandre
Reply #2338 on: September 30, 2013, 07:33:39 PM
Nothing. My Books are all packed away for Our Move. :(

10/7/2013 Reading Doctor Sleep.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2013, 02:46:38 AM by Cynandre »

Insanity takes it's toll. Please have exact change.


lowky

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 2717
  • from http://lovecraftismissing.com/?page_id=3142
Reply #2339 on: October 01, 2013, 12:56:29 AM
Just finished Blood of Dragons book four in the rain Wilds Chronicles  by Robin Hobb. 
Now Reading The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (pseudonym for J.K. Rowling).


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2340 on: October 04, 2013, 05:01:33 PM
Now with "Barnabas" my r00ted B&N Nook Tablet, I've got more books in my backpack than I have time to count (downloaded a torrent or three). I've recently read a Kindle purchase, Crap Kingdom by D C Pierson (mentioned when he was last a guest on The Indoor Kids podcast), an epub edition of The Snow Queen by Joan Vinge (it got a favorable review in a 1980 issue of Heavy Metal that I was rereading on my 10" Toshiba tablet "Toshiko"), and the Doctor Who "Virgin New Adventures" series which pick up after the last classic episode "Survival".
Just this morning on the bus I finished Cat's Cradle: Warhead, the second of the "Cat's Cradle" trilogy, and it gives Torchwood: "Children of Earth" serious competition for being the darkest, grimmest shit I've ever seen in the Whoniverse.
http://www.doctorwhoreviews.co.uk/NA06.htm

So next I'll be reading Cat's Cradle: Witchmark; did I mention the Seventh Doctor and Ace were my favorite DW set of characters?

"Nerdcore is like playing Halo while getting a blow-job from Hello Kitty."
-- some guy interviewed in Nerdcore Rising


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2341 on: October 08, 2013, 08:37:33 PM
...the spreadsheet I created to catalog my ebook collection has 3458 line items on the main tab; a very few are double copies (both .pdf and .epub format).
The Doctor Who tab that I just completed last weekend has 508 line items, 23 are double copies with a .epub or .html format in addition to the .pdf that most of them are in.

So that's something approaching 4000 ebooks, not including Kindle and Nook purchases, or digital comic books.
Not all are readable though - I attempted to read Reaper Man but some sections are hash, and there appear to be whole other sections of text missing. Most, however, seem to have no worse than minor typo/scanning errors.

"Nerdcore is like playing Halo while getting a blow-job from Hello Kitty."
-- some guy interviewed in Nerdcore Rising


Darwinist

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 701
Reply #2342 on: October 15, 2013, 12:24:37 AM
Just finished Hugh Howey's Wool trilogy and thought it was excellent.  Starting KSR's Red Mars.  I've owned it for a long time, finally took it off the shelf.

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.    -  Carl Sagan


Gamercow

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 654
Reply #2343 on: October 15, 2013, 02:04:20 PM
Currently reading Revelation Space, by Alasdair Reynolds.  Liking it more than Chasm City so far.  The interlocking stories were confusing at the beginning, but I'm about 2/3 of the way through and things are tying up nicely. 

The cow says "Mooooooooo"


DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #2344 on: October 15, 2013, 02:34:55 PM
I'm listening to The Shining, which I've never read/watched/listened to before. I can completely understand why it's an iconic horror story.

After that, it's Doctor Sleep, which I'm not expecting to be as good.


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2345 on: October 15, 2013, 10:41:57 PM
A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four; the first two Sherlock Holmes novels, which precede the short stories that were published in The Strand.
I'd read these in comic book form last year but never the original words-only novels.
About to finish Sign tonight, so not sure what next.

"Nerdcore is like playing Halo while getting a blow-job from Hello Kitty."
-- some guy interviewed in Nerdcore Rising


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2346 on: October 21, 2013, 05:28:02 PM
Re-read Jeff Lindsay's Darkly Dreaming Dexter last week, and now into Dearly Devoted Dexter.

I had to reread the first book because when I started the second, I couldn't remember what was in the novel and what was the first season of the show (which is all I've watched). But I'm informed that only season 1 is an adaptation of Lindsay's writing, and that book 2 and season 2 go their separate ways after that.

"Nerdcore is like playing Halo while getting a blow-job from Hello Kitty."
-- some guy interviewed in Nerdcore Rising


DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #2347 on: October 22, 2013, 03:03:17 PM
Finished The Shining - excellent. Currently listening to Doctor Sleep (a sequel to The Shining, in that it features one of the characters from that book as the protagonist), which I was prepared to really dislike because it seemed unnecessary, but am floored by how good it is thus far, and how well it works.


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2348 on: October 22, 2013, 03:40:05 PM
Currently listening to Doctor Sleep (a sequel to The Shining, in that it features one of the characters from that book as the protagonist),
Which character? I hope it's Dick Halloran.

...which I was prepared to really dislike because it seemed unnecessary,

No, what would be really unnecessary would be to tie it in with The Dark Tower tragedy.

* * *
Jeff Lindsay's Dexter novels have taught me two things so far:
  • The Cuban dialect of Spanish is all-but incomprehensible to non-Cuban speakers.
  • Drivers in Miami are murderously insane.

"Nerdcore is like playing Halo while getting a blow-job from Hello Kitty."
-- some guy interviewed in Nerdcore Rising


DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #2349 on: October 22, 2013, 03:52:39 PM
It's not Halloran, thought he's (thankfully) in it a little. The book centers around a grown-up Danny Torrance.