Author Topic: What are you reading?  (Read 845748 times)

Darwinist

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Reply #325 on: January 29, 2008, 04:49:25 PM
i just finished reading Breakfast of Champions - amazing
and The Reader for school... it was MEH... kinda pissed me off.

i WAS going to read Vurt next but i have a lot of philosophical reading for school to do. for a report thingy.

Yeah BOC - great stuff.  Have you read Sirens of Titan? Another good one.   

What training did you have to go through to become and acolyte of TCoRN?   

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


Simon

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Reply #326 on: January 29, 2008, 04:57:25 PM
i just finished reading Breakfast of Champions - amazing
and The Reader for school... it was MEH... kinda pissed me off.

i WAS going to read Vurt next but i have a lot of philosophical reading for school to do. for a report thingy.

FWIW I did not enjoy Vurt.  It just didn't resonate with me.  None of the Jeff Noon books I read have done so.

Seconded... Vurt is terrible, but then I have repeatedly said Noon is the worst science fiction writer Britain has ever produced, and there are a lot of shit SF writers in Britain.

I don't understand what is literary about throwing a handful of dust in the readers face, pulling three sleight of hands and then saying Taadaaaaa when you pull out some incest/murder/child abuse based denoument.



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Reply #327 on: January 29, 2008, 11:42:26 PM
i just finished reading Breakfast of Champions - amazing
and The Reader for school... it was MEH... kinda pissed me off.

i WAS going to read Vurt next but i have a lot of philosophical reading for school to do. for a report thingy.

FWIW I did not enjoy Vurt.  It just didn't resonate with me.  None of the Jeff Noon books I read have done so.

Seconded... Vurt is terrible, but then I have repeatedly said Noon is the worst science fiction writer Britain has ever produced, and there are a lot of shit SF writers in Britain.

I don't understand what is literary about throwing a handful of dust in the readers face, pulling three sleight of hands and then saying Taadaaaaa when you pull out some incest/murder/child abuse based denoument.

ha well my friend read it and thoroughly enjoyed it, and i trust his judgement.

i have read Sirens of Titan, i LOVED that book to death.

What training did you have to go through to become and acolyte of TCoRN?   
Years of intensive meditation, new and undiscovered trains of thought, and a little bit of heavy brainwashing.  I eventually spoke with the Lord our N_sh himself in a vision after coming back from the bathroom at this club and drinking my soda.  It had a mediciney taste to it... *shrugs*

training is different for each person though, it is highly personal.  You have to find yourself to find N_sh.

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


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Reply #328 on: January 30, 2008, 01:29:29 AM
Besides school reading now that classes have started up, I'm finally tackling The Ethical Slut and I'm listening to Neverwhere read by the author.

Re: Slut...I know it's like one of the polyamory bibles, but the tone of the book really annoys me.

And Neverwhere is of course excellent, and there's a lot of nuance brought out by hearing it in Neil Gaiman's voice. He's a great storyteller out loud and on paper. (And although I have steadfastly refused to settle on a single favorite author since I started reading, Gaiman is vying for the top spot recently.)

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Tango Alpha Delta

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Reply #329 on: January 30, 2008, 02:38:33 AM
i just finished reading Breakfast of Champions - amazing
and The Reader for school... it was MEH... kinda pissed me off.

i WAS going to read Vurt next but i have a lot of philosophical reading for school to do. for a report thingy.

Yeah BOC - great stuff.  Have you read Sirens of Titan? Another good one.   

What training did you have to go through to become and acolyte of TCoRN?   

Sirens of Titan -- I would elaborate, but the only Vonnegut I never managed to get into was his first: Player Piano.  Anyone know off-hand which of his books mentioned the Kilgore Trout novel about the race of aliens that communicated solely through farts and tap-dancing?  It wasn't SoT, was it?

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Darwinist

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Reply #330 on: January 30, 2008, 03:45:07 AM
i just finished reading Breakfast of Champions - amazing
and The Reader for school... it was MEH... kinda pissed me off.

i WAS going to read Vurt next but i have a lot of philosophical reading for school to do. for a report thingy.

Yeah BOC - great stuff.  Have you read Sirens of Titan? Another good one.   

What training did you have to go through to become and acolyte of TCoRN?   

Sirens of Titan -- I would elaborate, but the only Vonnegut I never managed to get into was his first: Player Piano.  Anyone know off-hand which of his books mentioned the Kilgore Trout novel about the race of aliens that communicated solely through farts and tap-dancing?  It wasn't SoT, was it?

That story was from Breakfast of Champions.   Zog the alien came down to earth to tell people how to stop wars and cure cancer.  Zog was from Margo, a planet where people communicated by farting and tap dancing.  When he landed he saw a house on fire so he ran in to warn the occupants by farting and tap dancing.  The head of the household smashed him in the head with a golf club.   Great stuff. 
« Last Edit: January 30, 2008, 03:50:19 AM by Darwinist »

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Reply #331 on: January 30, 2008, 04:25:57 AM
Now reading:  "Antarctica" by Kim Stanley Robinson, and (thanks again to Listener) "Rainbow's End" by Vernor Vinge.


Finally finished "Use of Weapons" the other day (funny how slowly I finished once jury duty was over); I was struck by the beauty and depth of it this time around.  I first read it a few years ago, while still in England, where I had discovered "Consider Phlebas" during a long mid-watch.  At the time, I was really into the universe of the Culture, and mostly enjoyed the atmospherics, big ships, and humor.  Alright, the humour.  But this time, because I was taking it a little slower, for the most part, I invested a little more thought in it.

The structure was very odd, which I had noticed but not fully appreciated on first reading.  The chapters are numbered One, XIII, Two, XII, Three, XI, etc....  with the chronology of the roman numeraled chapters working their way back into the past as the Ordinal numbered chapters move forward in the "present".  It bears up, but the point where the strands of story line meet is quite startling; and it changes... everything.


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Reply #332 on: January 30, 2008, 04:44:43 PM
Finished Gaiman's "Stardust" for the second time and am reminded of why I didn't like it the first time.  It's very much a fable told to a reader.  There's action, but you don't really feel like you're there, and once you get toward the end (after Tristan returns to Wall to confront Victoria), it's a very blah feeling. 

The film, I have to say, was much better.  I mean, sure, the book had a lot of great stuff in it (Tori Amos as a tree, for one), but the film was just... well... I already said it.  Better.  And Gaiman worked closely with the filmmakers through most of it, so I'm pretty sure most of the good stuff was his.  Also, in the film, the disposition of the witch (Michelle Pfieffer's character) was MUCH better-handled, as were the brothers.

Anyway, now reading "The Golden Compass" by Phillip Pullman again.  The prose is vivid, much more so than the film (IMO), though it does get away from him from time to time.

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Reply #333 on: January 30, 2008, 05:25:50 PM
Also, in the film, the disposition of the witch (Michelle Pfieffer's character) was MUCH better-handled

I strongly disagree with this. I think the end of the witch arc was one of the best things about the book. I understand why it was changed - but I think that, while far more exciting, the movie resolution to the arc is also a lot less interesting and tragic.

Quote

as were the brothers.

I agree here. In general, I think the movie's interpretation of the brothers was excellent and added to their representation in the novel.



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Reply #334 on: January 30, 2008, 06:03:03 PM

In general, I think the movie's interpretation of the brothers was excellent and added to their representation in the novel.

I have to say, that zombie sword fight at the end was one of the most amusing scenes I've seen in a long time.  I liked Stardust much better the second time I read it, probably because I knew what kind of story it was going to be -- a light-hearted fairytale.  I think the movie was an excellent movie, and the book was a pretty good (and fast) read.

I'm now reading Michael Chabon's Gentlemen of the Road and about halfway through.  It's starting to get pretty good, but it took a while.  I feel kind of funny criticizing a Pulitzer Prize winning author and a guy whose work I completely respect, but it feels like he was trying to hard to be literary or something the first half of the novel, instead of just having a rollicking good adventure.  I read somewhere that he'd considered titling the book Jews With Swords instead, and I almost wishe he had.  But like I said, it is getting better and it is a relatively fast read.


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Reply #335 on: January 30, 2008, 09:47:47 PM
Also, in the film, the disposition of the witch (Michelle Pfieffer's character) was MUCH better-handled

I strongly disagree with this. I think the end of the witch arc was one of the best things about the book. I understand why it was changed - but I think that, while far more exciting, the movie resolution to the arc is also a lot less interesting and tragic.


I just felt robbed.  Like, okay, so she spends all book trying to get the star's heart, manages to kill Septimus, and then just gives up at the end?

Each their own.


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Reply #336 on: February 11, 2008, 03:41:51 AM
I just finished up Humpty Dumpty in Oakland by Philip K. Dick. Its one of his non-sci-fi (or non-spec-fic) works. It was a good read. Not his best work by far, but worth it if your a fan. It has a feel to it that makes me think of John Kennedy Toole and Charles Bukowski collaborating to write Death of a Salesman  ;)



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Reply #337 on: February 16, 2008, 08:08:36 PM
The Discworld quest continues.  Since my last post, I have finished Small Gods, Lords and Ladies, Men at Arms, Soul Music, and Interesting Times.

I'm half way through Maskerade.



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Reply #338 on: February 16, 2008, 08:26:31 PM
Finished Gaiman's "Stardust" for the second time and am reminded of why I didn't like it the first time.  It's very much a fable told to a reader.  There's action, but you don't really feel like you're there, and once you get toward the end (after Tristan returns to Wall to confront Victoria), it's a very blah feeling. 

Curious -- did you read the prose only version or the one with the Charles Vess watercolor illustrations? I think the illustrations lent a certain charm to the story that made it worth reading on the page.

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Tango Alpha Delta

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Reply #339 on: February 16, 2008, 10:04:52 PM
Finished Gaiman's "Stardust" for the second time and am reminded of why I didn't like it the first time.  It's very much a fable told to a reader.  There's action, but you don't really feel like you're there, and once you get toward the end (after Tristan returns to Wall to confront Victoria), it's a very blah feeling. 

Curious -- did you read the prose only version or the one with the Charles Vess watercolor illustrations? I think the illustrations lent a certain charm to the story that made it worth reading on the page.

I'll definitely second that; I had enjoyed the novel, but found the Vess version after seeing that the movie was in production.  Vess absolutely multiplies the joy of the experience.

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Reply #340 on: February 17, 2008, 01:37:00 AM
Finished Gaiman's "Stardust" for the second time and am reminded of why I didn't like it the first time.  It's very much a fable told to a reader.  There's action, but you don't really feel like you're there, and once you get toward the end (after Tristan returns to Wall to confront Victoria), it's a very blah feeling. 

Curious -- did you read the prose only version or the one with the Charles Vess watercolor illustrations? I think the illustrations lent a certain charm to the story that made it worth reading on the page.

I'll definitely second that; I had enjoyed the novel, but found the Vess version after seeing that the movie was in production.  Vess absolutely multiplies the joy of the experience.

Thirded.  After getting the Gaiman/Vess trade edition, I lent out my mass market copy and really don't care if it ever gets returned.  But then, I loved it even before reading the illustrated edition.

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Reply #341 on: February 18, 2008, 04:41:28 AM
Finished Gaiman's "Stardust" for the second time and am reminded of why I didn't like it the first time.  It's very much a fable told to a reader.  There's action, but you don't really feel like you're there, and once you get toward the end (after Tristan returns to Wall to confront Victoria), it's a very blah feeling. 

Curious -- did you read the prose only version or the one with the Charles Vess watercolor illustrations? I think the illustrations lent a certain charm to the story that made it worth reading on the page.

I'll definitely second that; I had enjoyed the novel, but found the Vess version after seeing that the movie was in production.  Vess absolutely multiplies the joy of the experience.

Thirded.  After getting the Gaiman/Vess trade edition, I lent out my mass market copy and really don't care if it ever gets returned.  But then, I loved it even before reading the illustrated edition.

It's the first version I read. In fact, I was so taken by it that I bought a copy to give as the very first gift I gave to a young woman I met through an online personal ad and started dating. We recently celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary and the first birthday of our lovely daughter.

Oh, and now that I've finished Duncan's Vellum I've started on Parker's Devices and Desires. It got a glowing review in Locus, and so far it does not disappoint.

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Reply #342 on: February 19, 2008, 12:46:36 AM
Finished Gaiman's "Stardust" for the second time and am reminded of why I didn't like it the first time.  It's very much a fable told to a reader.  There's action, but you don't really feel like you're there, and once you get toward the end (after Tristan returns to Wall to confront Victoria), it's a very blah feeling. 

Curious -- did you read the prose only version or the one with the Charles Vess watercolor illustrations? I think the illustrations lent a certain charm to the story that made it worth reading on the page.

I'll definitely second that; I had enjoyed the novel, but found the Vess version after seeing that the movie was in production.  Vess absolutely multiplies the joy of the experience.

Thirded.  After getting the Gaiman/Vess trade edition, I lent out my mass market copy and really don't care if it ever gets returned.  But then, I loved it even before reading the illustrated edition.

It's the first version I read. In fact, I was so taken by it that I bought a copy to give as the very first gift I gave to a young woman I met through an online personal ad and started dating. We recently celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary and the first birthday of our lovely daughter.

Oh, and now that I've finished Duncan's Vellum I've started on Parker's Devices and Desires. It got a glowing review in Locus, and so far it does not disappoint.

Congratulations!  (On the familial stuff, that is... I figure this crowd doesn't need to be congratulated for reading.)

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Reply #343 on: February 19, 2008, 07:56:57 AM
Forgot to mention a political satire I read.

A Planet for the President by Alistair Beanton.  Pretty damn funny.  It's written by a writer for the BBC and pretty much says what the consequences of the Bush administration believing in global warming might be.



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Reply #344 on: February 19, 2008, 04:30:16 PM
Finished Chabon's Gentlemen of the Road.  It was okay, but I'd really only recommend it to Chabon fans.

I'm exactly 100 pages into William Gibson's Spook Country.  I tend to pretty like it more when Gibson focuses on one or two characters (Neuromancer, Virtual Light, Idoru, Pattern Recognition) more than when he splits the narration between a group of three (Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, and now Spook Country).  There's inevitably one story line that just doesn't excite or intreest me as much as the others.  Hopefully, it will get better as the story continues.


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Reply #345 on: February 21, 2008, 06:04:08 AM
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Reply #346 on: February 22, 2008, 07:19:02 PM
Finished Gaiman's "Stardust" for the second time and am reminded of why I didn't like it the first time.  It's very much a fable told to a reader.  There's action, but you don't really feel like you're there, and once you get toward the end (after Tristan returns to Wall to confront Victoria), it's a very blah feeling. 

Curious -- did you read the prose only version or the one with the Charles Vess watercolor illustrations? I think the illustrations lent a certain charm to the story that made it worth reading on the page.

No illustrations.

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Listener

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Reply #347 on: February 22, 2008, 07:20:37 PM
Now reading "The Miocene Arrow" by Sean McMullen.  It's the 2nd of the three Greatwinter novels.

"Souls in the Great Machine" is one of my all-time favorite books (it's McMullen's first Greatwinter novel).  It has literally EVERYTHING without being boring or trite.  The post-Greatwinter world, IMO, would make a great graphic novel or Sci-Fi-Channel miniseries.

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Reply #348 on: February 25, 2008, 02:07:03 PM
Now reading "The Miocene Arrow" by Sean McMullen.  It's the 2nd of the three Greatwinter novels.

"Souls in the Great Machine" is one of my all-time favorite books (it's McMullen's first Greatwinter novel).  It has literally EVERYTHING without being boring or trite.  The post-Greatwinter world, IMO, would make a great graphic novel or Sci-Fi-Channel miniseries.

... assuming they don't "adapt" it like they "adapted" Earthsea  ;)

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Reply #349 on: February 25, 2008, 02:18:44 PM
Now reading "The Miocene Arrow" by Sean McMullen.  It's the 2nd of the three Greatwinter novels.

"Souls in the Great Machine" is one of my all-time favorite books (it's McMullen's first Greatwinter novel).  It has literally EVERYTHING without being boring or trite.  The post-Greatwinter world, IMO, would make a great graphic novel or Sci-Fi-Channel miniseries.

... assuming they don't "adapt" it like they "adapted" Earthsea  ;)

I remember seeing previews for that and wondering what all the fuss was about.  I haven't read Earthsea, but it had a hobbit in the film.  That's all I know.  (Didn't watch the movie, either.)

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