Author Topic: What are you reading?  (Read 845450 times)

DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #2500 on: December 18, 2014, 04:04:33 PM
Are you liking it, Danooli? How's the narration?


danooli

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 1745
    • Who Doesn't Love Stories?
Reply #2501 on: December 18, 2014, 05:02:35 PM
Yes, I am enjoying it, so far! I loved the series when I first started it, but it did get bogged down with way too many details. Listening to it I don't mind the minutia as much though.

There are two narrators, one for the male POV chapters and one for the female. I like them both, but they didn't compare pronunciations prior to recording and that bothers me immensely. The producers are at fault for that though.



stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2502 on: December 18, 2014, 11:51:05 PM
Finished Allegiant, last book of the Divergent Trilogy. Two "meh"s up.

I actually put it down for a while because The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Steven Baxter became available and I had less time to read that one before it had to go back to the library - and with ebooks you can't just keep it longer and pay an overdue fine.

Now reading that book's sequel, The Long War.

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


wintermute

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1291
  • What Would Batman Do?
Reply #2503 on: December 19, 2014, 02:31:56 PM
I'm now about a third of the way through Horrorstör, Grady Hendrix's novel about a haunted IKEA. I honestly can't believe no-one's done that before; it's probably the ideal setting for a modern ghost story.

Not the scariest thing I've ever read, but there are some genuinely creepy moments in it, and I'm enjoying it.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2014, 02:37:48 PM by wintermute »

Science means that not all dreams can come true


DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #2504 on: December 19, 2014, 03:41:31 PM
Oh, interesting! I really like Grady Hendrix's stuff (his Stephen King reread on Tor.com was epic - I hope they pick him back up to do more of those at some point). I may have to check that out!


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2505 on: December 29, 2014, 10:02:33 PM
Finished Son, the last book in Lois Lowry's "The Giver Quartet", and now a couple of chapters into Ancillary Justice, another ebook brought to me via the OverDrive app and my local public library.

"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 #2506 on: January 15, 2015, 03:56:46 PM
Now about halfway through Ancillary Sword - which I've learned is not a reference to the penis of one of the characters.  ;)

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


Tango Alpha Delta

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1778
    • Tad's Happy Funtime
Reply #2507 on: January 16, 2015, 02:46:34 AM
Now about halfway through Ancillary Sword - which I've learned is not a reference to the penis of one of the characters.  ;)
Wait - is this like that riddle about using three coins to make $0.25, and one of them can't be a nickel...?

This Wiki Won't Wrangle Itself!

I finally published my book - Tad's Happy Funtime is on Amazon!


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2508 on: January 16, 2015, 03:36:08 PM
Okay, to clarify, it's not a reference to anybody's penis. As far as I can tell, anyway.

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


CryptoMe

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1146
Reply #2509 on: January 20, 2015, 02:25:16 AM
... with ebooks you can't just keep it longer and pay an overdue fine.

You can always modify the date on your device to keep reading an e-book after the due date.
But you didn't hear that from me....



stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2510 on: January 21, 2015, 10:21:56 PM
Finished Ready Player One a couple of days ago; LOVED IT! even though it's basically a gigantic nerd jerkoff fantasy - videogame prowess and encyclopedic knowlege of 1980s pop culture saves the world and gets the girl.

But I'm a gigantic nerd jerkoff, and I was a teen in the 80s, so there's that.  ;D

"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 #2511 on: January 21, 2015, 10:22:53 PM
...now reading Pratchett & Baxter's third in the series, The Long Mars.

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


Fenrix

  • Curmudgeonly Co-Editor of PseudoPod
  • Editor
  • *****
  • Posts: 3996
  • I always lock the door when I creep by daylight.
Reply #2512 on: January 21, 2015, 10:24:35 PM
Finished Ready Player One a couple of days ago; LOVED IT! even though it's basically a gigantic nerd jerkoff fantasy - videogame prowess and encyclopedic knowlege of 1980s pop culture saves the world and gets the girl.

But I'm a gigantic nerd jerkoff, and I was a teen in the 80s, so there's that.  ;D

Wil Wheaton narrates the audiobook. It's pretty great. I'm not sure it needs a sequel, though.

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


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2513 on: January 21, 2015, 11:34:55 PM
Wil Wheaton narrates the audiobook [of Ready Player One]. It's pretty great. I'm not sure it needs a sequel, though.

I'm absolutely sure it doesn't.

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


wintermute

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1291
  • What Would Batman Do?
Reply #2514 on: January 22, 2015, 02:34:25 PM
Finished Ready Player One a couple of days ago; LOVED IT! even though it's basically a gigantic nerd jerkoff fantasy - videogame prowess and encyclopedic knowlege of 1980s pop culture saves the world and gets the girl.

But I'm a gigantic nerd jerkoff, and I was a teen in the 80s, so there's that.  ;D

If you liked that, I'd recommend Missy Meyer's We Could be Villains. In terms of plot, there's not a lot of similarity, but ... I don't know. The tone is similar. There's certainly a nerd revenge fantasy thing thing going on there, too. Check it out.

Science means that not all dreams can come true


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2515 on: January 22, 2015, 05:08:05 PM
I will certainly take it under advisement, wintermute, and thank you. :)

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


SpareInch

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1388
  • Will there be sugar after the rebellion?
Reply #2516 on: January 26, 2015, 02:05:50 PM
I'm currently listening to an audio edition of The Dreaming Void by Peter F Hamilton.

Actually, I got it ages ago when the book first came out and I found an unabridged audio edition on CD in my local book store, but I was so thoroughly pissed off when I discovered that they had no intention of bringing out the rest of the trilogy on audio CD that I never did download them, so I need to go through this one again, then I suppose it's over to Audible for me... Or possibly iTunes.

I'll check iTunes first, I think. Since I already have an account there. :)

Anyway, TDV is still as good a read as I remember it being.

Fresh slush - Shot this morning in the Vale of COW


Alasdair5000

  • Editor
  • *****
  • Posts: 1022
    • My blog
Reply #2517 on: January 26, 2015, 03:25:47 PM
Just finished Bowl of Heaven by Niven and Benford which really, really annoyed me. It plods, repeats the same three plot beats about four times and doesn't end, it just stops. Seriously, end of an entirely tensionless scene with nothing resolved you get:

END OF BOOK ONE

I've been sent Shipstar to review as well and am sitting on that for a couple of weeks so it can sit and think about what it's done.

In happier news:)

-Reading The Lost Level out a few days from Apex. Does an awful lot of the things Bowl of Heaven does but does most of them right in half the time and seems to give roughly 80% more of a crap.
-Just finished Armoured, the John Joseph Adams edited power armour anthology, which was great.
-About to start in on the first Judge Dredd mega collection volume, which is the excellent America and it's various sequels



lowky

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 2717
  • from http://lovecraftismissing.com/?page_id=3142
Reply #2518 on: January 31, 2015, 01:29:04 AM
ReadingMiss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which has a really unique premise, in that there are a bunch of old photos used to tell the story of these really creepy children.  The author got the photos from collectors, and they have an index of what photo and what collector.  
« Last Edit: February 03, 2015, 06:40:03 AM by lowky »



stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2519 on: January 31, 2015, 06:02:00 AM
Steal Across the Sky by Nancy Kress. I don't remember why I reserved this book from the library, other than that I recognize her name from Escape Pod, but it's engaging me so far.

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


wintermute

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1291
  • What Would Batman Do?
Reply #2520 on: January 31, 2015, 04:30:42 PM
Speaking of Nancy Kress, I'm on the third of her Probability trilogy. Not the best I've ever read, but decent. I'll certainly check out more of her work.

Science means that not all dreams can come true


Fenrix

  • Curmudgeonly Co-Editor of PseudoPod
  • Editor
  • *****
  • Posts: 3996
  • I always lock the door when I creep by daylight.
Reply #2521 on: January 31, 2015, 04:56:10 PM
I found Nancy Kress's Beggars in Spain pretty interesting. It's clearly a response to ATLAS SHRUGGED, and it both succeeds and fails to achieve its full potential as a response. Because I knew it was a response to Rand, the frequent lecture breaks annoyed me a lot less than they certainly would have lacking that warning.

This story succeeded at painting a compelling world, moving the reader along at a good pace, and developing believable characters with understandable motivations. However, the John Galt surrogate was presented as a flat moustache-twirling devil. I could understand it if we only saw the villain from an outside POV, but it's inexcusable to have someone be that flat whose POV we move into. If you want to make your point and show the world in shades of grey, then make every character believable; this was wasted potential and could have elevated the book from good to great.

I've liked her stories in the Apocalypse Triptych. Thematically similar to Beggars in Spain but without the oppressive Rand response.

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


stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #2522 on: February 02, 2015, 04:41:24 PM
...and speaking of responses to Atlas Shrugged, I must recommend Matt Ruff's Sewer, Gas and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy (a single novel contrary the title) which I found an excellent takedown of Rand and her work.

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


eytanz

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 6109
Reply #2523 on: February 02, 2015, 11:48:31 PM
I'm reading The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine. Even though she is a genre author (her stories have appeared in both Escape Pod and Podcastle multiple times), this is not strictly speaking a genre book - it's a fairy tale (The 12 Dancing Princesses) retold in a real-world setting (prohibition-era New York). Her short stories have been hit and miss with me, but I have no reservations about recommending this book. It's really, really great, in every respect.
« Last Edit: February 02, 2015, 11:50:51 PM by eytanz »



DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #2524 on: February 03, 2015, 04:00:39 PM
I'm reading The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine. Even though she is a genre author (her stories have appeared in both Escape Pod and Podcastle multiple times), this is not strictly speaking a genre book - it's a fairy tale (The 12 Dancing Princesses) retold in a real-world setting (prohibition-era New York). Her short stories have been hit and miss with me, but I have no reservations about recommending this book. It's really, really great, in every respect.

Thanks for saying this - I may just pick it up. I keep hearing good things about it.

I finished listening to The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling. Excellent ride - really a lot of fun - moreso than the first book (which I also enjoyed).

Am now listening to Stardust, which I haven't read in ages. It's still pretty charming.