Author Topic: What are you reading? (Read 1059405 times)

Scattercat · **Reply #1150 on:** December 22, 2009, 01:00:04 AM

I've been reading Joe Abercrombie's "The First Law" series which, apart from having absolutely top-notch titles, have produced a new character to add to my list of favorites. I speak, of course, of Sand dan Glokta, former war hero turned crippled torturer, who is unfailingly paranoid and caustic. Basically, the whole series (I'm only on the second book) is reminding me of Martin's "Game of Thrones" series, but with all the parts I didn't like removed, and Glokta particularly reminds me of Tyrion, who was easily my favorite character from that series.

The worldbuilding is a leeeeeetle thin and the characters aren't quite completely separated from their obvious inspirations (what I call "2.5 dimensional characters." Alternately: "Imperfectly-filed serial numbers.") However, I'm enjoying them immensely. They are exceedingly violent and feature graphic torture scenes, so not for the squeamish, but the books take the right approach to violence, in my mind. That is, the violence is horrific and unpleasant, and generally the characters regret it even if they win. In particular, Glokta's nuanced and terribly cynical view of his own role as torturer rings darkly true to me.

Planish · **Reply #1151 on:** December 23, 2009, 09:48:30 AM

Something new for me, a graphic novel. My son has The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman.
I was most impressed by (the audio version of) his How To Talk To Girls At Parties so I'll give it a try.

Planish · **Reply #1152 on:** December 23, 2009, 10:08:10 AM

Quote from: lowky on November 18, 2009, 12:46:24 AM

listening rather than reading per se , but have been reading Greg Crites. The first book I read was Devlin Abnormal Investigations: The Hell Hermit, then I read Dunkin the Vampire Slayer: Something Porcine This Way Comes, and am currently reading Dunkin the Vampire Slayer II:Death Rides a Pale Pink Porcine Horse. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. This is seriously laugh out loud funny. The one liners and insults almost mean you dare not listen while eating/drinking unless you want it coming out your nose.

I had no such problem. I got about 1/2 way through listening to Dunkin the Vampire Slayer: Something Porcine This Way Comes and gave up on it, but I don't have the heart to erase it from my iTunes Library. I might pick it up again later, out of politeness.

Quote from: Anarkey on December 17, 2009, 09:42:14 PM

I recently got a Sony E-Reader, which I love (this is not a holy war about tech).
[snip]
And now I'm stuck. And haven't picked up the thing in two months (went back to regular books), because I'm in the middle of this book that's totally bewildering. It's "Battlestar Galactica" by Jeffrey Carver. And so, it seems like a novelized version of the tv show. Like, scene by scene. Now since I don't watch much tv, I can't say that I've read many novelizations of this type. Hence my question: is this standard? Is this how it's supposed to work? Where the book is a page by page duplication of the show?

Because OMG BORING. I had no idea.

Question two, presuming the answer to question one is DUH, that's how it's supposed to work...People read this stuff? Instead of rewatching the show? Why?

I'm not trying to be a jackass here. I'm totally bemused, and I need it explained to me. What is the point of this exercise?

It doesn't surprise me. Some podcast stories are best left to dead tree substrate, and some vice-versa. I like reading Stephen King, but except for The Shining I find the movie adaptations mostly "meh".

Yargling · **Reply #1153 on:** December 23, 2009, 12:14:27 PM

I've just read the book "Blood Pact" in the Gaunt's Ghost series of the W40k universe. Now trying to get into the second Mass Effect book before the second game comes out, heh.

Talia · **Reply #1154 on:** December 23, 2009, 12:19:57 PM

Quote from: Planish on December 23, 2009, 09:48:30 AM

Something new for me, a graphic novel. My son has The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman.
I was most impressed by (the audio version of) his How To Talk To Girls At Parties so I'll give it a try.

*gasps*

New to 'Sandman'? Oh lucky person. You have a treat in store...

Sandikal · **Reply #1155 on:** December 23, 2009, 04:15:35 PM

I'm currently reading "Norse Code" by Greg van Eekhout. It's very good, but it's not at all what you'd think it would be from the cover and the back blurb.

I'm also reading "Wireless", a collection of short stories by Charles Stross. As usual for me and Stross, it's a bit hit and miss. I really love "On the Farm" and will be trying out his novels about The Laundry soon.

I've also got a non-genre read going, "So Brave, Young and Handsome" by Leif Enger. It's about a writer who sets off on a road trip in the 1910's with an old man who turns out to be a fugitive train robber. It's extremely well-written and satisfies my need for an occasional Literature read.

Boggled Coriander · **Reply #1156 on:** December 23, 2009, 05:12:26 PM

Christopher Moore's Fluke. I'm liking the Tom Robbins-esque humor. It's either fantasy or science fiction, I don't know yet, and frankly it may not matter all that much in the end. I'm learning a lot about whales, all of which is probably utterly at odds with reality.

Talia · **Reply #1157 on:** December 23, 2009, 06:59:48 PM

Quote from: Boggled Coriander on December 23, 2009, 05:12:26 PM

Christopher Moore's Fluke. I'm liking the Tom Robbins-esque humor. It's either fantasy or science fiction, I don't know yet, and frankly it may not matter all that much in the end. I'm learning a lot about whales, all of which is probably utterly at odds with reality.

I've been on a Christopher Moore kick lately myself.. if you like Fluke definitely check out his other stuff, its all written in the same rather tongue-in-cheek manner.

stePH · **Reply #1158 on:** December 27, 2009, 05:24:47 PM

Quote from: Anarkey on December 17, 2009, 09:42:14 PM

... I'm in the middle of this book that's totally bewildering. It's "Battlestar Galactica" by Jeffrey Carver. And so, it seems like a novelized version of the tv show. Like, scene by scene. Now since I don't watch much tv, I can't say that I've read many novelizations of this type. Hence my question: is this standard? Is this how it's supposed to work? Where the book is a page by page duplication of the show?

That's what "novelization" means. The same story in novel form. As for why... sometimes it's better as a book... like Alan Dean Foster's novelization of Dark Star which manages to be funny where the film only tries, doesn't have the long draggy bits from the film, and as an added bonus, the reader doesn't have to hear the song "Benson, Arizona".

But I hear ya; I'd rather read original stories set in the same universe as the show, like the Babylon 5 or Star Trek novels (some of the former actually fill in gaps that the show didn't have time for, and are essential reading for fans).

Anarkey · **Reply #1159 on:** December 27, 2009, 06:43:26 PM

Quote from: stePH on December 27, 2009, 05:24:47 PM

That's what "novelization" means. The same story in novel form. As for why... sometimes it's better as a book... like Alan Dean Foster's novelization of Dark Star which manages to be funny where the film only tries, doesn't have the long draggy bits from the film, and as an added bonus, the reader doesn't have to hear the song "Benson, Arizona".

But I hear ya; I'd rather read original stories set in the same universe as the show, like the Babylon 5 or Star Trek novels (some of the former actually fill in gaps that the show didn't have time for, and are essential reading for fans).

Well, I wish you'd warned me before I started reading it, Steph.

I think I'm just going to move on to my next book, then, and leave this one unfinished.

I read a good Babylon 5 novelization...to dream in the city of sorrows? And yeah, I'd have to say I'd rather have a new story with beloved characters than the same story just in a different format. Weird that people do that though.

Boggled Coriander · **Reply #1160 on:** December 27, 2009, 07:00:57 PM

James Swallow, who's recently written a Stargate: Universe novelization, has a post up on John Scalzi's Whatever all about this very issue. He says:

Quote

So what did all this leave me with? In the end, Air the novel isn’t ‘Air’ the TV episodes, and I’m happy that it isn’t. After all, what would be the point of reading a book that slavishly follows every tiny element of the TV stories? What the novelization brings is what made me read novelizations as a kid – an internal viewpoint for the characters that explores them in a way that TV just can’t do, a seamless story experience that broadens out the scope of the narrative, and a chance to see the bits of plot that were cut for time.

From what Anarkey says, sounds like the BSG novelization may not have been fully successful there.

eytanz · **Reply #1161 on:** December 27, 2009, 07:18:15 PM

Quote from: Anarkey on December 27, 2009, 06:43:26 PM

I read a good Babylon 5 novelization...to dream in the city of sorrows? And yeah, I'd have to say I'd rather have a new story with beloved characters than the same story just in a different format. Weird that people do that though.

Why is that weirder than people making a movie version of a book?

Anarkey · **Reply #1162 on:** December 27, 2009, 07:47:09 PM

Quote from: eytanz on December 27, 2009, 07:18:15 PM

Quote from: Anarkey on December 27, 2009, 06:43:26 PM
I read a good Babylon 5 novelization...to dream in the city of sorrows? And yeah, I'd have to say I'd rather have a new story with beloved characters than the same story just in a different format. Weird that people do that though.

Why is that weirder than people making a movie version of a book?

I find people making movie versions of books pretty damn weird, too, eytanz, so you're probably asking the wrong person. But, at the very least, the movie adds a sense, right...auditory? And if image processing is neurologically different than word processing it adds two. So that could be worth it for some. Going the other way seems to strip away some of the sensory input (which could be good, I guess? If the sensory input is undersirable, like the song Steph was mentioning).

You potentially gain internal viewpoint and emotional access, which is what Boggled Coriander was saying Swallow talked about, but the particular example I was reading didn't have much in the way of worthwhile emotional connection or riveting internal monologue. Hard to know if most novelizations fall that way or I have a poor example, which is part of why I was asking.

eytanz · **Reply #1163 on:** December 27, 2009, 07:56:55 PM

I would say that the chance that a novelization will add something of value to a movie is lower than the chance that a movie version will add something of value to a novel (itself a rather low chance). The types of novelizations I find worth reading are two:

- The very rare case where someone takes a mediocre movie/TV series and rewrites it as a better tale. One example is the novelization of "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman - he took a mediocre TV series and made it into a far more entertaining book.

- The cases where the novelization is so godawfully bad that it crosses into the "so bad it's good" territory. These are far more common, but are not worth seeking; rather, they make entertaining finds when I bump into them.

However, to go beyond the small question and into a somewhat larger one - I find the idea that there should be one true format of any story somewhat perplexing. The idea that there is one correct version of a story is a modern perversion; for most of human history, storytelling was about retelling tales just as much as it was about coming up with new tales. We should be welcoming the few bastions of this dying art, rather than puzzling over them as oddities.

stePH · **Reply #1164 on:** December 27, 2009, 10:40:47 PM

Quote from: Anarkey on December 27, 2009, 07:47:09 PM

I find people making movie versions of books pretty damn weird, too, eytanz, so you're probably asking the wrong person. But, at the very least, the movie adds a sense, right...auditory? And if image processing is neurologically different than word processing it adds two. So that could be worth it for some. Going the other way seems to strip away some of the sensory input (which could be good, I guess? If the sensory input is undersirable, like the song Steph was mentioning).

Foster's novelization of Dark Star also adds some internal viewpoint for the character "Pinback" that fleshes out an aspect of his character that is only mentioned once in the film. I'll probably never watch the movie again; it bored me. But I'll re-read Foster's book.

B5: To Dream in the City of Sorrows (which is not a novelization, Anarkey*) is an excellent example of what I was talking about... it completes the story of Jeffrey Sinclair and what happened to him between his departure at the end of season 1 and his return in season 3. There's also the "Legions of Fire" trilogy which covers the fate of the Centauri Republic between the end of the show's main narrative and its 20-years-into-the-future conclusion, and it was written from an outline that JMS provided to author Peter David so it can be considered canon.

*There are novelizations of some of the B5 stories; I think they're all novelizations of the TV movies like Thirdspace and In the Beginning. But To Dream... and the like are original stories that were not told on the TV screen.

Listener · **Reply #1165 on:** December 28, 2009, 01:51:39 PM

Quote from: eytanz on December 27, 2009, 07:56:55 PM

- The very rare case where someone takes a mediocre movie/TV series and rewrites it as a better tale. One example is the novelization of "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman - he took a mediocre TV series and made it into a far more entertaining book.

- The cases where the novelization is so godawfully bad that it crosses into the "so bad it's good" territory. These are far more common, but are not worth seeking; rather, they make entertaining finds when I bump into them.

I really thought the Neverwhere book came first. Go fig.

As to the latter: the "Snakes on a Plane" novelization is a perfect example. The book wasn't godawfully-bad, but there's only so much you can do with "Snakes on a Plane". I actually own the book and, to the author's credit, she really tries to give everyone (except the asshole bald guy who gets eaten by the giant blue snake) a positive spin on their characters, from the fat lady to the rapper to the annoying blonde with the tiny dog.

http://www.amazon.com/Snakes-Plane-Christa-Faust/dp/1844163814/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262008245&sr=1-1

Listener · **Reply #1166 on:** December 28, 2009, 02:03:30 PM

Now reading "The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", edited by John Joseph Adams. Enjoyable, for the most part. The authors really do, pretty much, capture Watson's voice excellently.

Anarkey · **Reply #1167 on:** December 28, 2009, 03:37:12 PM

Quote from: stePH on December 27, 2009, 10:40:47 PM

B5: To Dream in the City of Sorrows (which is not a novelization, Anarkey*) is an excellent example of what I was talking about... it completes the story of Jeffrey Sinclair and what happened to him between his departure at the end of season 1 and his return in season 3. There's also the "Legions of Fire" trilogy which covers the fate of the Centauri Republic between the end of the show's main narrative and its 20-years-into-the-future conclusion, and it was written from an outline that JMS provided to author Peter David so it can be considered canon.

*There are novelizations of some of the B5 stories; I think they're all novelizations of the TV movies like Thirdspace and In the Beginning. But To Dream... and the like are original stories that were not told on the TV screen.

Right, Steph. My bad. I meant it as a counterexample to the BattleStar Galactica book. Don't know why I typed novelization. Didn't mean it.

Liked the book though. Have a B5 naming scheme for my computers. Currently typing on G'Kar.

And not to be deraily, and in order to swing this boat back on topic: I'm reading Caitlín R. Kiernan's "The Red Tree". It's A LOT like "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski, and I'm finding it hard to figure out the YA angle, which "The Red Tree" ostensibly is marketed as.

DKT · **Reply #1168 on:** December 28, 2009, 05:33:27 PM

When I was a kid, I used to love reading novelizations of films. Especially rated-R films my parents wouldn't let me go see, but would let me buy the books of. But I imagine I'm a pretty small demagraphic in that area

It's been a long time since I've read a novelization, or even, a story set in a pre-established universe. Star Wars novels took a dive for me like 10 years ago because the continuity became so insane (and then kind of, so arbitrary, too, what with the prequels and the novelizations not lining up at all). Although I am really curious about Death Troopers.

Heradel · **Reply #1169 on:** December 28, 2009, 06:21:48 PM

Quote from: DKT on December 28, 2009, 05:33:27 PM

When I was a kid, I used to love reading novelizations of films. Especially rated-R films my parents wouldn't let me go see, but would let me buy the books of. But I imagine I'm a pretty small demagraphic in that area

It's been a long time since I've read a novelization, or even, a story set in a pre-established universe. Star Wars novels took a dive for me like 10 years ago because the continuity became so insane (and then kind of, so arbitrary, too, what with the prequels and the novelizations not lining up at all). Although I am really curious about Death Troopers.

I think there's also a pressure with the Star Wars books to constantly have new ones about the same characters, and trying to figure out the plotlines would probably require a Talmudic reading of a few shelves worth of books. I remember reading about Jacen Solo back in middle school when he was in the Jedi Academy YA series, and according to a dust jacket I saw the other day he's now a Sith Lord? And there was also one about some mysterious bit of kit that had been on the Millennium Falcon the entire time Solo had had it and no one noticed it. Which seems a bit, well, much, considering how many times we saw the guts of the thing being dug into to re-jury-rig something.

DKT · **Reply #1170 on:** December 28, 2009, 07:24:34 PM

Yeah, exactly. I mean, I remember reading about the Organa-Solo kids when they were kids, even reading indirectly about some of them being killed off is kind of off-putting. But essentially, I think they lost me when they killed Chewie, anyway (not that I read that one, either, but it was kind of a point of no return for most of those books).

Like, I'm good with upping the stakes and everything, but Chewie? As Will Smith put it, Aw, Hell No!

Sandikal · **Reply #1171 on:** December 28, 2009, 09:04:28 PM

Thanks to the link on Podcastle.org, I got a free audiobook from Audible.com. I chose "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson. I've listened to about 2 hours so far. The sucker is over 24 hours. It's going to take me forever to listen to it. Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time at the gym.

DKT · **Reply #1172 on:** December 28, 2009, 09:15:02 PM

Quote from: Sandikal on December 28, 2009, 09:04:28 PM

Thanks to the link on Podcastle.org, I got a free audiobook from Audible.com. I chose "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson. I've listened to about 2 hours so far. The sucker is over 24 hours. It's going to take me forever to listen to it. Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time at the gym.

Oh, do you like it, then? I've been curious about trying out some Sanderson. (Like I need more stuff to read GrumbleGrumble.)

Sandikal · **Reply #1173 on:** December 28, 2009, 10:14:22 PM

Quote from: DKT on December 28, 2009, 09:15:02 PM

Quote from: Sandikal on December 28, 2009, 09:04:28 PM
Thanks to the link on Podcastle.org, I got a free audiobook from Audible.com. I chose "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson. I've listened to about 2 hours so far. The sucker is over 24 hours. It's going to take me forever to listen to it. Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time at the gym.

Oh, do you like it, then? I've been curious about trying out some Sanderson. (Like I need more stuff to read GrumbleGrumble.)

I thought the Mistborn trilogy was one of the best fantasies I've read. "Warbreaker" seems to be just as intriguing. Sanderson is really good at creating a tight story that doesn't need to go on and on and on. I'd like to see him try his hand at science fiction because he tends to really think out his magic systems so they become more science than fantasy.

My big problem with the audio version is the narrator tends to slide into a surfer-dude drawl. He really plays up the surfer dude for one of the gods in the story. It sounds very much like Keanu Reeves in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure." I don't know if I would have come up with that if I had been reading the printed version. (It's very unlikely.) I'm finding listening to a book to be an odd experience anyway. I've always been more of a reader than a listener. I have a hard time focusing when I'm listening. The Escape Artists podcasts work for me because they are short. I have trouble with longer pieces, like the Podcastle Giants.

Ocicat · **Reply #1174 on:** December 29, 2009, 08:18:22 AM

Quote from: Listener on December 28, 2009, 01:51:39 PM

I really thought the Neverwhere book came first. Go fig.

The novel of Neverwhere didn't come first... but neither did the mini-series, really. Neil wrote the script for the miniseries first, then while it was being filmed he didn't really like how it was turning out (writers don't really have a lot of control...) so he started writing the novel right then and there.

I wouldn't call it a novelization, any more than 2001 is. That was also written at the same time the movie was being made, by the same author.