Author Topic: What are you reading?  (Read 845413 times)

Troo

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Reply #450 on: May 07, 2008, 09:37:06 AM
I'm reading ICanHasCheezburger mostly. Witty, poignant, and deeply moving at times.

Seriously, apart from that... Mostly I'm reading the third Phantoms at the Phil which Chaz Brenchley unscrupulously pushed into my hands at Alt.Fiction the other day. Damn him.

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Alasdair5000

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Reply #451 on: May 07, 2008, 10:18:23 AM
I'm reading ICanHasCheezburger mostly. Witty, poignant, and deeply moving at times.

Seriously, apart from that... Mostly I'm reading the third Phantoms at the Phil which Chaz Brenchley unscrupulously pushed into my hands at Alt.Fiction the other day. Damn him.

Whereas right now, I've got The Time Traveller's Wife, which is so good I think I hate it a little and Jumper on the go.  Both excellent, both very unusual.



birdless

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Reply #452 on: May 07, 2008, 03:21:14 PM
Kingrat like the WW2 p.o.w. camp movie?
Don't think so.... Not unless China Miéville wrote that one....not sure... haven't started it yet.



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Reply #453 on: May 07, 2008, 04:00:11 PM
Kingrat like the WW2 p.o.w. camp movie?
Don't think so.... Not unless China Miéville wrote that one....not sure... haven't started it yet.

I think it's more like Neverwhere than the Great Escape.

I put off reading that one for a while because I really love Neverwhere, but I do have it.  I really need to read it soon, because I love Mieville.  Anyway, let us know what you think!


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Reply #454 on: May 07, 2008, 04:02:04 PM
Kingrat like the WW2 p.o.w. camp movie?
Don't think so.... Not unless China Miéville wrote that one....not sure... haven't started it yet.

The WW2 book was James Clavall of Shogun fame.



wintermute

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Reply #455 on: May 07, 2008, 05:01:34 PM
So, I'm currently consuming:
1759 by Frank McLynn (not science fiction) - dead tree
Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty - audiobook
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - eBook.

There are various circumstances where each of those are more convenient than the others, so it works out nicely.

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birdless

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Reply #456 on: May 07, 2008, 08:20:24 PM
1759 by Frank McLynn (not science fiction) - dead tree

:chuckle: "dead tree" :D

My first mental image was of you standing in the middle of a field reading something inscribed on the bare-limbed, upright trunk of a dead tree.



Planish

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Reply #457 on: May 12, 2008, 06:24:24 AM
Now about 1/3 through At All Costs, David Weber's eleventh "Honor Harrington" novel.

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Listener

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Reply #458 on: May 12, 2008, 11:49:10 AM
"The Secret Books of Paradys I & II" by Tanith Lee

Just finished the first third of the first book (something about "crimson")... a very confusing vampire story with a twist that, when it was written in 1988, might have been shocking, but when I read it I was like... "did I miss some context clues?"

So I went back and skimmed.

I didn't.

Part 1.2, "something something Saffron", to begin tonight.  Maybe.

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cuddlebug

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Reply #459 on: May 12, 2008, 12:13:26 PM
*prepares herself for being shouted at / shunned / refused the right to call herself a SF-Fantasy-Geek any longer*

... Terry Pratchett's The Color of Money ...

I know, I know, Pratchett is a MUST for any SF/Fantasy Fan, but I never got around to reading any of his stuff. I have a collector's nature and I was always/am still afraid I will feel the urge to buy and read ALL of  them. TCoM was sitting on my night stand for ages and I always put off reading it, fearing the Pratchett-hype would get to me or, even worse, I might not actually like it in the end...

...and I was right, maybe I am just too old, but it really isn't all that great. Don't get me wrong, it is funny and the world-building is AMAAAZING (I actually have the 'Almanak' and other Discworld-related stuff and always liked it, the art, etc..) but I am halfway through and the plot kind of escaped me, or maybe (there isn't really one to begin with, ... please don't hit me!!!)

Anyway, will finish it and then decide whether I will read more of his books or maybe I will start reading the Inkheart trilogy (by Cornelia Funke, in the German original, BTW, Tintenherz for the Germanophiles - not -phobes, mind you). I think the first film is coming out soon and I want to have read it before that. I completely fell in love with the language as I browsed through it (not sure if that comes across very well in the English translation.)

So, will keep you posted on my experiences with Mr. Pratchett and I do have all the best wishes for his mental health and otherwise.



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Reply #460 on: May 12, 2008, 03:10:56 PM
*prepares herself for being shouted at / shunned / refused the right to call herself a SF-Fantasy-Geek any longer*

... Terry Pratchett's The Color of Money ...


Well, I won't shout at you for not having read it, but perhaps you mean "The Color of Magic"?

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cuddlebug

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Reply #461 on: May 12, 2008, 03:36:23 PM
*prepares herself for being shouted at / shunned / refused the right to call herself a SF-Fantasy-Geek any longer*

... Terry Pratchett's The Color of Money ...


Well, I won't shout at you for not having read it, but perhaps you mean "The Color of Magic"?

Oh no, maybe that's why it's crap, I picked up the wrong book, that would explain it ...  ::)

Thanks Listener, you just gave my ab-muscles a good workout, I haven't laughed this hard in quite some time. (Guess that means I can no longer call myself a geek then, damn...)




birdless

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Reply #462 on: May 12, 2008, 05:11:06 PM
*prepares herself for being shouted at / shunned / refused the right to call herself a SF-Fantasy-Geek any longer*

... Terry Pratchett's The Color of Money ...

I know, I know, Pratchett is a MUST for any SF/Fantasy Fan, but I never got around to reading any of his stuff. I have a collector's nature and I was always/am still afraid I will feel the urge to buy and read ALL of  them. TCoM was sitting on my night stand for ages and I always put off reading it, fearing the Pratchett-hype would get to me or, even worse, I might not actually like it in the end...

...and I was right, maybe I am just too old, but it really isn't all that great. Don't get me wrong, it is funny and the world-building is AMAAAZING (I actually have the 'Almanak' and other Discworld-related stuff and always liked it, the art, etc..) but I am halfway through and the plot kind of escaped me, or maybe (there isn't really one to begin with, ... please don't hit me!!!)

Anyway, will finish it and then decide whether I will read more of his books or maybe I will start reading the Inkheart trilogy (by Cornelia Funke, in the German original, BTW, Tintenherz for the Germanophiles - not -phobes, mind you). I think the first film is coming out soon and I want to have read it before that. I completely fell in love with the language as I browsed through it (not sure if that comes across very well in the English translation.)

So, will keep you posted on my experiences with Mr. Pratchett and I do have all the best wishes for his mental health and otherwise.
Don't worry—you're not alone: I've never read any Pratchett, either. I think I picked up a Discworld book a looong time ago while browsing in a bookstore somewhere. I remember loving the look of it, but, for some unknown reason, I felt like the writing itself was going to feel like Brian Jacques and his Redwall series (I read the first one, Redwall, with high hopes... <sigh> While the elements were there... well, good concept poorly executed, imobymmv). I may have to actually give Pratchett a shot one of these days.



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Reply #463 on: May 12, 2008, 05:15:48 PM
*prepares herself for being shouted at / shunned / refused the right to call herself a SF-Fantasy-Geek any longer*

... Terry Pratchett's The Color of Money ...


Well, I won't shout at you for not having read it, but perhaps you mean "The Color of Magic"?

Oh no, maybe that's why it's crap, I picked up the wrong book, that would explain it ...  ::)

Thanks Listener, you just gave my ab-muscles a good workout, I haven't laughed this hard in quite some time. (Guess that means I can no longer call myself a geek then, damn...)

IIRC, it was his first novel, and he's stated in recent years he doesn't like reading it/owning up to it in recent years due to embarrassment at having written it.

Which is fairly common with any creator looking at their early work.

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birdless

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Reply #464 on: May 12, 2008, 05:16:53 PM
So we shouldn't judge the rest of the series by the first book?



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Reply #465 on: May 12, 2008, 05:31:20 PM
Well, in the case of Pratchett, it's probably a good idea not to judge the series by the first few books. His writing style shifted a lot through the years. If you read the books in order then it's pretty seamless - it's a gradual change, not a sharp one - but if you pick up one of the older ones and compare it directly to a recent one, there's a big gap in style, subject matter, and the nature of the humor. It's just a result of how many of them there are.

If you don't like The Color of Magic it's a good bet you won't like The Light Fantastic (book 2), but I don't think it's a good predictor of whether you'll like Reaper Man, or The Last Continent, or Making Money.



Heradel

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Reply #466 on: May 12, 2008, 05:43:16 PM
First time I came across Pratchett was a last minute 10-hour-trip-no-book-airport-B&N-60-seconds-of-free-time kind of decision (incidentally, same way I came across the Belgariad), so my first book was Guards! Guards!, and I progressed in terms of the plot lines (all the Guards, all the Wizards, all the Death) rather than the order of writing. I still haven't gotten to the Witches, but hopefully I'll get into those over the summer.

It's probably better to start at the beginning of a plotline rather than jumping in half-way(I got lucky grabbing Guards! instead of Jingo or Feet of Clay), but I don't think it would be that much of a difference.

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cuddlebug

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Reply #467 on: May 12, 2008, 07:59:23 PM
First time I came across Pratchett was a last minute 10-hour-trip-no-book-airport-B&N-60-seconds-of-free-time kind of decision (incidentally, same way I came across the Belgariad), so my first book was Guards! Guards!, and I progressed in terms of the plot lines (all the Guards, all the Wizards, all the Death) rather than the order of writing. I still haven't gotten to the Witches, but hopefully I'll get into those over the summer.

It's probably better to start at the beginning of a plotline rather than jumping in half-way(I got lucky grabbing Guards! instead of Jingo or Feet of Clay), but I don't think it would be that much of a difference.

Wow, Mr Pratchett's work seems to hit a nerve with quite a few people. Thanks for the comments/advice, I promise I will work hard on my geek-ness and not give up on Discworld just yet. I see it as a right of passage that earns me a place in the community, so to speak.

BTW, eytanz kindly pointed me towards the Discworld reading order guide by Krzysztof K. Kietzman on www.lspace.org, Birdless if you are interested, or anyone else for that matter.



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Reply #468 on: May 12, 2008, 08:03:21 PM
"The Secret Books of Paradys I & II" by Tanith Lee

Any good?  I have those from a library sale but haven't started them yet.  The only Lee I've read was Electric Forest which I did like.

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Reply #469 on: May 13, 2008, 12:44:15 AM
Ha.  As I mentioned on another thread I just recently finished my first Pratchett - Jingo.  From what I've been able to gather Jingo's an utterly unremarkable book from the very middle of the Discworld series, so in that respect I guess it was a decent introduction to the Discworld universe.  And I had Wikipedia to fill me in on gaps in my knowledge.

If I'd had access to a large and well-stocked lending library, I would happily have started with The Color of Magic and read my way through the books chronologically...

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Windup

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Reply #470 on: May 13, 2008, 04:52:19 AM

OK, I'll take this opportunity to own up to not even having heard of Terry Pratchett until I started frequenting these forums. 

There's a long gap in my exposure to the genre between my high school, college and young adult years -- which were very SF/Fantasy intensive -- until just a few years ago, when I started adding more SF and fantasy to my reading mix again. (There's a period of several years in there when my daughter was very young and I read almost nothing that didn't rhyme or have pictures.)  My guess is that Mr. Pratchett became part of the scene during that period. 

The reading queue is rather deep at the moment, but I'll give the Discworld series a look when it thins out a bit. How can this many forumites be wrong???

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Reply #471 on: May 13, 2008, 05:00:37 AM
Actually, my recollection was incomplete. The reason I choose Terry Pratchett in the airport bookstore was because I'd been given Maurice and his Educated Rodents in middle school to read from the library, so the name seemed familiar though it took me like a month to place it.

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Reply #472 on: May 13, 2008, 05:12:10 AM

The Iliad by Homer


Out of curiousity, what do you think of it? 

One of serveral things that jumped out at me was the raw ferocity of a warrior culture. Like when Agamemnon is rallying the boys for one more run at the walls of Troy and shouts, "Let us vow not to leave the field until each of us has lain with the wife of some Trojan!"  I thought: "Yowza. And these are the Good Guys..."

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Reply #473 on: May 13, 2008, 01:34:43 PM
I'm reading ICanHasCheezburger mostly. Witty, poignant, and deeply moving at times.

Seriously, apart from that... Mostly I'm reading the third Phantoms at the Phil which Chaz Brenchley unscrupulously pushed into my hands at Alt.Fiction the other day. Damn him.

Whereas right now, I've got The Time Traveller's Wife, which is so good I think I hate it a little and Jumper on the go.  Both excellent, both very unusual.

Same here with Time Traveller's Wife.  I'm about 50 pages in and enjoying it.  Question: can Henry control the jumps?   I can't figure out how he can go back to precise times to meet himself as a child.

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


qwints

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Reply #474 on: May 13, 2008, 05:40:33 PM
From what I remember, he has absolutely no control over the jumps.

The lamp flared and crackled . . .
And Nevyrazimov felt better.