Author Topic: What are you reading? (Read 1059780 times)

Sandikal · **Reply #1225 on:** February 23, 2010, 01:11:47 AM

I just finished listening to "The Warded Man" by Peter V. Brett. It was amazingly good. I'm just very disappointed that it turns out to be the first part in a series. Part 2 isn't due out until April.

I'm also reading "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman. I'm about halfway through and not really finding the charm in it. It seems to be trying really hard to be a "grown-up" version of Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia, but the characters seem even younger than Harry and his friends. I can't even believe they're in college.

Talia · **Reply #1226 on:** February 23, 2010, 04:59:11 AM

Quote from: Sandikal on February 23, 2010, 01:11:47 AM

I just finished listening to "The Warded Man" by Peter V. Brett. It was amazingly good. I'm just very disappointed that it turns out to be the first part in a series. Part 2 isn't due out until April.

I'm also reading "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman. I'm about halfway through and not really finding the charm in it. It seems to be trying really hard to be a "grown-up" version of Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia, but the characters seem even younger than Harry and his friends. I can't even believe they're in college.

Warded Man was great, yeah! I felt bad for making fun of the cover (looks just like "left behind" cover to me). But boy the content was good stuff.

Keep on with 'The Magicians'. I found it very enjoyable

Sandikal · **Reply #1227 on:** February 24, 2010, 06:14:27 AM

I finished "The Magicians" and wasn't very impressed. It was too consciously derived from Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia without the originality or charm of either. There were about 50-75 pages that grabbed me near the end, but the rest was just annoying.

I just grabbed "Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse" off my bookshelf and have started "Darwinia" by Robert Charles Wilson.

Talia · **Reply #1228 on:** February 24, 2010, 06:43:34 AM

Quote from: Sandikal on February 24, 2010, 06:14:27 AM

I finished "The Magicians" and wasn't very impressed. It was too consciously derived from Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia without the originality or charm of either. There were about 50-75 pages that grabbed me near the end, but the rest was just annoying.

Huh, I really enjoyed it. (and I've read and liked both Narnia and HP). Guess the style doesn't suit for everyone.

Listener · **Reply #1229 on:** February 24, 2010, 08:09:39 PM

"Top Dog" by Jerry Jay Carroll. Mid-90s fantasy about a man who's abducted from his position as an extremely powerful financier and turned into a dog in a fantasy universe. I've read it before. Six chapters in and he's still the same asshole he was back in the real world, which you don't see a lot.

gelee · **Reply #1230 on:** March 03, 2010, 05:28:31 PM

Just finished "Shadow of the Torturer" by Wolfe. Very disapointed. Serious pacing problems.
I love the premise. The setting is fascinating. The main character is very interesting. The story telling is just not so hot.
It begins strongly, establishing the setting and letting us get to know the MC. Then it draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaags for quite a long while in the middle, and suddenly stops, for no apparent reason, with a badly framed cliff-hanger sort of moment.
The imagery is interesting, and reminds me a lot of King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King." Sort of a decrepit humanity hanging on the exhausted remains of a world, surrounded by very far future tech that no one understands, and no one really cares to.
Does anyone know if it picks up at all? I've always heard that this one is canon, but I'm hesitant to pick up the next one.

DKT · **Reply #1231 on:** March 03, 2010, 07:02:19 PM

Oh, I loved that book!

I didn't mind the change-of-pace in the middle, but I do remember the ending being a very peculiar and unexpected WTF? The other volumes continue getting weirder and have some huge mindscrews...wow, I really need to go back and reread them, because I know there's a lot I missed and a ton I forgot. But if you didn't like the first one, I don't know that I'd suggest finishing it up. I imagine the pacing will continue to bother you.

(Ironically, I read a short story by Wolfe last night set in Urth...weird, weird, weird, but I love - and am quite jealous of - his use of subtlety.)

I'm currently in the middle of Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, which is weird YA steampunk. I'm loving it and now I'm wondering if my appreciation of steampunk depends to some degree on the weird quotient.

lowky · **Reply #1232 on:** March 03, 2010, 07:08:35 PM

I tried starting On The Road by Kerouac today, but having a hard time following it via audiobook. Not sure why will give it another try later.

gelee · **Reply #1233 on:** March 03, 2010, 07:37:07 PM

Quote from: DKT on March 03, 2010, 07:02:19 PM

Oh, I loved that book!
I didn't mind the change-of-pace in the middle, but I do remember the ending being a very peculiar and unexpected WTF? The other volumes continue getting weirder and have some huge mindscrews...wow, I really need to go back and reread them, because I know there's a lot I missed and a ton I forgot. But if you didn't like the first one, I don't know that I'd suggest finishing it up. I imagine the pacing will continue to bother you.
(Ironically, I read a short story by Wolfe last night set in Urth...weird, weird, weird, but I love - and am quite jealous of - his use of subtlety.)
I'm currently in the middle of Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, which is weird YA steampunk. I'm loving it and now I'm wondering if my appreciation of steampunk depends to some degree on the weird quotient.

I thought some of it was really strong. A lot of the complaints I've seen are about the frequent asides, but those have turned out to be my favorite part. It's not the subtlety, really, it's the whole episode between him meeting Agia and the duel at the Sanguinary Fields that bothers me. It's probably 2/3 of the book, and nothing is really happening.

DKT · **Reply #1234 on:** March 03, 2010, 07:41:10 PM

Quote from: gelee on March 03, 2010, 07:37:07 PM

Quote from: DKT on March 03, 2010, 07:02:19 PM
Oh, I loved that book!
I didn't mind the change-of-pace in the middle, but I do remember the ending being a very peculiar and unexpected WTF? The other volumes continue getting weirder and have some huge mindscrews...wow, I really need to go back and reread them, because I know there's a lot I missed and a ton I forgot. But if you didn't like the first one, I don't know that I'd suggest finishing it up. I imagine the pacing will continue to bother you.
(Ironically, I read a short story by Wolfe last night set in Urth...weird, weird, weird, but I love - and am quite jealous of - his use of subtlety.)
I'm currently in the middle of Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, which is weird YA steampunk. I'm loving it and now I'm wondering if my appreciation of steampunk depends to some degree on the weird quotient.
I thought some of it was really strong. A lot of the complaints I've seen are about the frequent asides, but those have turned out to be my favorite part. It's not the subtlety, really, it's the whole episode between him meeting Agia and the duel at the Sanguinary Fields that bothers me. It's probably 2/3 of the book, and nothing is really happening.

Right, sorry. I wasn't trying to imply that the subtlety bothered you. And for some reason, I imagined it was the Agia section - it's very different from the first half, which is all about him being a torturer and being exiled. IIRC, all of the stuff with Agia plays significantly in the later volumes, but it is a very layered and convoluted story.

Listener · **Reply #1235 on:** March 03, 2010, 09:20:19 PM

Greg Bear, "Darwin's Radio". I'm about 15 chapters in and it's really, really disturbing.

Bdoomed · **Reply #1236 on:** March 04, 2010, 08:14:40 AM

So I started to read And Another Thing... A few hours ago. And by started I mean continued. School has prevented me till now, anyways there was a really entertaining bit on Cthulhu in there. Thought you guys would like that. Even mentioned Lovecraft

still reading it, pretty damn entertaining, a good addition to the trilogy

Poppydragon · **Reply #1237 on:** March 05, 2010, 10:00:55 PM

Quote from: Listener on March 03, 2010, 09:20:19 PM

Greg Bear, "Darwin's Radio". I'm about 15 chapters in and it's really, really disturbing.

I read this a few years back and thought it magnificent and disturbing in equal measure, a brilliant read.

Listener · **Reply #1238 on:** March 05, 2010, 10:21:23 PM

Quote from: Poppydragon on March 05, 2010, 10:00:55 PM

Quote from: Listener on March 03, 2010, 09:20:19 PM
Greg Bear, "Darwin's Radio". I'm about 15 chapters in and it's really, really disturbing.

I read this a few years back and thought it magnificent and disturbing in equal measure, a brilliant read.

His descriptions of people remind me of my own when I first started writing -- a new character appears and the author gets the pesky physical description stuff out of the way quickly in one big infodump. It's the only part of the book I haven't liked because it reminds me of my extremely-crappy first novel.

It's EXTREMELY disturbing. Especially the tent scene between Mitch and Kaye... for some reason that really bothered me.

Bdoomed · **Reply #1239 on:** March 06, 2010, 07:02:07 AM

Finished And Another Thing. I really enjoyed it! Highly recommend it for guide fans!

Sandikal · **Reply #1240 on:** March 06, 2010, 04:31:52 PM

I just finished a non-genre book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's one of those books that I've seen in the store and have never even looked at the blurb because the title is so silly. I thought it was one of those books about old ladies or something. However, I had a few people tell me it was absolutely wonderful, so I picked up a copy at the library. I'm usually really hesitant about books that are enormous best sellers, especially when they are "literary". I normally find those books to be really awful. I was really pleasantly surprised by The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it taught me a lot about civilian life in WWII England that I didn't know. It's a short book and a quick read, I highly recommend it.

I also finished the short story collection Wastelands: Tales of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams. It was recommended to me on this thread and I'm very glad I read it. I love post apocalyptic fiction and I thought every story in here was a great example of the genre. I really liked that none of the stories involved zombies or aliens, the apocalypses were all very plausible.

I'm currently reading Proven Guilty, a Dresden Files novel by Jim Butcher and will be starting Three Days to Never by Tim Powers. I only have a week to read the Powers. I hope I can do it. His work is very dense and I can't blast through it like I do most books.

Sgarre1 · **Reply #1241 on:** March 08, 2010, 01:00:13 AM

Finished PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOUDOIR: OR, THE IMMORAL MENTORS by Sade and THE DEDALUS BOOK OF SURREALISM 2: THE MYTH OF THE WORLD.

Listened to the audio book version of Ira Levin's ROSEMARY'S BABY. I'm a die-hard fan of the movie (probably one of my favorite movies of all time) but I've never read the book, and technically I still haven't, but I was astonished at how close the adaptation is. Dialogue is almost word for word and there's very little that doesn't make it into the movie besides some extrapolation of the dream sequences and internal thoughts of Rosemary's from the end. This latter bit was very gratifying, however, as it answered something I'd always wondered about (Rosemary DOES consider killing the child - realizing that she could likely only have time to pick it up and jump out the window) and made arguments that I always felt were being implied at the end of the film (that the situation is left as a "nature vs. nurture" conflict). Still, hearing it as a book reminds me what a reactionary, conservative novel it is (essentially - Rosemary's parents are right - she shouldn't have married a Presbyterian) and how easily that's overlooked because of its charming characters and masterful plotting. (Wikipedia tells me that Polanski wasn't aware of how much adaptation was allowed to change by publishing standards and so changed almost nothing).

Still working on SHOWCASE PRESENTS: HOUSE OF SECRETS VOLUME 2 as bathroom reading - 70's horror comics anthology of vintage weak-sister title to DC's HOUSE OF MYSTERY.

Starting a classic werewolf novel, THE UNDYING MONSTER: A TALE OF THE FIFTH DIMENSION by Jessie Douglas Kerruish from 1922. I ordered the Ash-Tree Press version from Inter Library Loan and got an actual copy from the 40's! I'll finally be able to watch the movie version from 1942 after I read the book.

Very soon, will be starting SENSO: AND OTHER STORIES by Camillo Boito, covering stories from 1860 to 1890.

Anarquistador · **Reply #1242 on:** March 09, 2010, 05:37:20 AM

Just read And Another Thing... by Eion Colfer. Not bad, but it did feel a little like it was just going through the motions, trying to repair the damage done by Mostly Harmless. Entertaining in that particular dry British way.

Also working on getting through my personal backlog of history books, just finished reading If A Pirate I Must Be by Richard Sanders, comprehensive biography of the pirate king Bartholomew Roberts. Interesting stuff. A frank and honest depiction of 18th-century sailing life, and just why so many men actually WANTED to become pirates. Currently I'm working through my Medieval-Renaissance studies, reading about the Freemasons.

stePH · **Reply #1243 on:** March 09, 2010, 06:48:01 PM

Quote from: Bdoomed on March 06, 2010, 07:02:07 AM

Finished And Another Thing. I really enjoyed it! Highly recommend it for guide fans!

So it's better than So Long and Thanks for All the Money and Mostly Worthless is it?

Bdoomed · **Reply #1244 on:** March 10, 2010, 08:28:20 AM

Sigh.
I love all of the guide books. All of them.
I do admit the last few were weaker, but I love them just the same.

Anyways... I feel really bad for Arthur. He's had a tough existence.

Listener · **Reply #1245 on:** March 10, 2010, 03:06:23 PM

Just finished "Unseen Academicals" for the second time (I started it about a day before PC posted the review... totally coincidental). The ending does slow down and drag a fair bit.

Next up is either William Gibson, "All Tomorrow's Parties", or Connie Willis, "Doomsday Book".

Willis's "Passage" is one of my favorite books.

stePH · **Reply #1246 on:** March 10, 2010, 07:23:55 PM

bdoomed: is it, or is it not, better than those two? Is it at least on par with Life, The Universe, and Everything?

As for me, I'm reading The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby (picked up on it from the Point of Inquiry podcast) and the first volume of Azumanga Daioh (picked up on it from the Questionable Content webcomic).

Bdoomed · **Reply #1247 on:** March 11, 2010, 07:58:06 AM

At times, it hit the nail on the head. It was awesome, hilarious, and witty.
At other times, it felt like it was diving into YA fiction... But only slightly.
And at other times, it felt too story driven for the series... Seems like a funny thing to say about a book, but there were times when it seemed pretty straightforward. I mean they weren't bad, but it was a little off style. Can't blame him tho, he isn't Douglas Adams...
Oh, and Zaphod is a badass.
I'd say, considering your opinion on those books, it is better than those two. But that's just my opinion. The ending is almost as disappointingly awesome as the ending of the fifth book, but makes a whole lot more sense, even if it's not satisfying. However the very last line is reassuring.
It is highly entertaining, and well worth the read.

By the way, I don't distinguish between the different books. I read them all in the ultimate collection, and didn't really pay attention to when one ended and another began, they kinda all melted into one for me, so I don't know what happens in each book on it's own. It's all one big mesh of awesome to me.

stePH · **Reply #1248 on:** March 11, 2010, 04:24:10 PM

Quote from: Bdoomed on March 11, 2010, 07:58:06 AM

At times, it hit the nail on the head. It was awesome, hilarious, and witty.
At other times, it felt like it was diving into YA fiction... But only slightly.
And at other times, it felt too story driven for the series... Seems like a funny thing to say about a book, but there were times when it seemed pretty straightforward.

"Story-driven" is a good description of Life, the Universe, and Everything (save the universe from the Krikkit robots) and is primarily why I didn't like it as much as the first two, though I still consider it the last one that was actually good.

Planish · **Reply #1249 on:** March 13, 2010, 03:40:29 AM

First time I've cracked a dead-tree-substrate book in many months: Stephen King's Duma Key.
It's like meeting up with an old friend.

Quote from: Anarquistador on March 09, 2010, 05:37:20 AM

Also working on getting through my personal backlog of history books, just finished reading If A Pirate I Must Be by Richard Sanders, comprehensive biography of the pirate king Bartholomew Roberts. Interesting stuff. A frank and honest depiction of 18th-century sailing life, and just why so many men actually WANTED to become pirates.

Much better working conditions and terms of employment than with His Majesty's Navy.