What are you reading?

[stePH]

I think the Pentateuch is meant to be read as a complete work though; there's a narrative thread in there.

Honestly, I'd just skip Numbers and Deuteronomy.  They're mostly bunches of lists and laws.  Once you get to Joshua through 2 Chronicles, you get a bunch of really good, interesting stories.  I especially like the story of Deborah.  I think she appears early on in Judges.  (I'm not one of those Christians who can recite chapter and verse on much of anything.)  I would recommend reading the New Testament before tackling the Old Testament prophets, but go ahead and read Daniel and Jonah at any time.

I skipped whole chapters of Leviticus... the ones that gave detailed instructions on the various types of animal sacrifices. And the chapters of Exodus detailing the building of the Ark, Tabernacle, and priestly vestments (both the instructional chapters, and the chapters in which they were actually made-- which reiterated the instructional chapters virtually line-by-fraking-line).

If you have the translation I think you have, it's a good choice.  It's an academic translation and quite well done.

I did start with the Oxford Annotated Bible (New Revised Standard Version) but my mom just had a copy of the Oxford Study Bible (Revised English Bible) sent to me It's still published by the Oxford University Press and contains the apocrypha in a slightly different order. Looking at them side-by-side, the translations are slightly different (I think I like the NRSV better) but the biggest difference is that the informational essays at the beginning of the individual books are much longer (and thusly more informational) in the OAB.

[Gamercow]

Also finished Zero History. Required far more recent memory of Gibson's last few works than I have currently. Mustfind time for larger reread. Gibsony but seeming to retread a lot of old themes. Miss the Neuromancer days.

You probably don't want to go back and re-read Neuromancer, then.  It's horribly outdated, and has lost a TON of its glitter some 25 years on now.  Much like many people find Tolkein's writings dreary and slow now that elves, trolls, dwarves and orcs are everywhere in fantasy, I ifind Gibson's cyberpunk novels to be slow and, for lack of a better word, hollow.  If I compare Gibson's works to Stephenson's works, I can tell, without knowing the author, that Stephenson knows a lot more of the background than Gibson.  He's more of a geek, in short, and that shows in his books.  I think that Anathem is one of the best books of the last 5 years, and while I liked Spook Country, Gibson's technical side just isn't up to snuff for me. 

[FireTurtle]

Also finished Zero History. Required far more recent memory of Gibson's last few works than I have currently. Mustfind time for larger reread. Gibsony but seeming to retread a lot of old themes. Miss the Neuromancer days.

You probably don't want to go back and re-read Neuromancer, then.  It's horribly outdated, .....If I compare Gibson's works to Stephenson's works, I can tell, without knowing the author, that Stephenson knows a lot more of the background than Gibson.  He's more of a geek, in short, and that shows in his books.  I think that Anathem is one of the best books of the last 5 years, and while I liked Spook Country, Gibson's technical side just isn't up to snuff for me. 

Point taken. And regarding Anathem, I agree 1000%.

Finished the Way of Kings- Sanderson shares a common trait with Stephenson this time. Where did the ending go? Great world building but....Tack on an ending, Mister!

I don't need to tell you all the the audio version of Dune has captivated me and I am expecting withdrawal symptoms shortly as I only have 1 HOUR LEFT. Ack!!!! And then I remind myself that there are a MILLION sequels.

[kibitzer]

I don't need to tell you all the the audio version of Dune has captivated me and I am expecting withdrawal symptoms shortly as I only have 1 HOUR LEFT. Ack!!!! And then I remind myself that there are a MILLION sequels.

Well yeah but... do you really want to listen to them?

[Scattercat]

I don't need to tell you all the the audio version of Dune has captivated me and I am expecting withdrawal symptoms shortly as I only have 1 HOUR LEFT. Ack!!!! And then I remind myself that there are a MILLION sequels.

Well yeah but... do you really want to listen to them?

Answer: No.  No, you do not.

---

Things I've read recently that I can remember:

"Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" by David Foster Wallace. - Interesting and, in literary terms, intriguing at times, but his authorial voice reminded me a lot of the stuff I don't particularly like about myself.  (I.E. the neurotic twisty-inside bits of being a hardcore introvert.)  Also, dude writes about sex a lot and it never seems to go anywhere worthwhile.  If characters from "The Big Lebowski" sound more stable, settled, and sane than you when discussing sex, then there might be a problem.  Still, I'd never read any of his stuff before and thus was interested to see what it was like.

"The 10 Cent Plague" by Hadju something-or-other - A fairly dry history of the origins of the comic book, primarily focusing on the bizarre panic/censorship that eventually resulted in that bane of interest, the Comics Code.  I enjoy history, but I don't know that I'd recommend this as either a good read or a solid introduction to the time period.

[Sandikal]

I finished "Fragment" by Warren Fahy yesterday.  It's flawed, very flawed, but the pace keeps the pages turning.  I'm still reading "Anathem".  It seems to be picking up now that I'm 1/3 of the way in.  I'm a bit over 1/2 way through listening to "The Way of Kings" and still liking it. 

I had started "Spook Country" because of all the buzz about "Zero History".  However, I got an ARC of "What the Night Knows" by Dean Koontz.  I read the first two chapters and I'm hooked.  "Spook Country" will have to wait.  "What the Night Knows" is scheduled for release December 28.

[FireTurtle]

I don't need to tell you all the the audio version of Dune has captivated me and I am expecting withdrawal symptoms shortly as I only have 1 HOUR LEFT. Ack!!!! And then I remind myself that there are a MILLION sequels.

Well yeah but... do you really want to listen to them?

Answer: No.  No,  you do not.

Ok, I'll bite. Why? I'm seriously in need of some reading material for an upcoming vacation and life in general. I'll take recommendations. Sci fi or fantasy. No horror unless it involves teenage vampires. (just kidding-stop throwing things!)
Is the Dune series that bad? I'm desperate here, really.

[Scattercat]

The Dune sequels - in particular the posthumous ones - are of infamously low quality.

If you like epic, I've found Tad Williams to be a good, meaty read (and he has an epic fantasy AND an epic scifi series, in "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" and "Otherland," respectively.)  Alternately, the Night Watch books by Sergei Lukyankovich (sp?) are a very good bit of work with a solid and engaging English translation.

[DKT]

I don't need to tell you all the the audio version of Dune has captivated me and I am expecting withdrawal symptoms shortly as I only have 1 HOUR LEFT. Ack!!!! And then I remind myself that there are a MILLION sequels.

Well yeah but... do you really want to listen to them?

Answer: No.  No,  you do not.

Ok, I'll bite. Why? I'm seriously in need of some reading material for an upcoming vacation and life in general. I'll take recommendations. Sci fi or fantasy. No horror unless it involves teenage vampires. (just kidding-stop throwing things!)
Is the Dune series that bad? I'm desperate here, really.

What Scattercat said. I've heard Dune Messiah (Book 2) and Children of Dune (I think that's the third one) were pretty decent, though. Haven't had a chance to read them myself.

Are you specifically looking for epic fantasy?

[Talia]

I've found Tad Williams to be a good, meaty read (and he has an epic fantasy AND an epic scifi series, in "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" and "Otherland," respectively.) 

YES, READ THESE. Two of my favorite series of all time. ALL TIME. (darnit, now I have that Kanye West internet meme in my head. Heh).

Also, read the Deverry series by Katherine Kerr. It starts with 'Daggerspell.' Its a really excellent, lengthy series of high fantasy novels themed around reincarnation. Not as many people have read it as should - its fantastic and deserves more attention than it gets.

[Ocicat]

Book 2 and 3 of Dune are... okay.  Not nearly in the same class as Dune, and in some respects they reduce the grander of the original book.  I think the first book tied everything up in a nice bow, and the sequels just serve to make that bow rather messy.  That being said, there are certainly some good bits in these books!  The character of Alia particularly becomes interesting.

The fourth book, God Emperor of Dune, is somewhat different.  It takes place hundreds (thousands?) of years after the previous novel, though it stars a character from books 2-3, and features a minor character from book 1 (sort-of).  It opens up the universe quite a bit and adds a lot.  Most folks either love or hate this one.

I've read book 5, but lost interest quickly.  I finished it, but it was a slog.  Haven't tried the son's prequels, they are generally considered to be, well, horrid.

[FireTurtle]

Thanks DKT, 'cats, and Talia!
Great reccs! Haven't read any of those so theyre all goin on da list! Had heard about the horribleness of the Brian Herbert stuff but didn't know anything about the others. I think I'll get this other stuff read and if I get desperate or curious I'll pick up the Dune'quels.
Heading off to Amazon.....

DKT- epicness is not a must. Excellent world building is a must in fantasy-land, though. I find myself much more critical of fantasy- perhaps because my favorite books live there and it is hard to live up to their examples. Hmmmm.

[Maplesugar]

I'm reading "Contemporary Debates in Epistemology".  Dry as the bottom of my beer glass, unfortunately.

I challenge any writer to come up with a story incorporating Epistemological theory- please make this subject interesting for me!

<looks around for more beer to drown in>

[Boggled Coriander]

Finished:

China Mieville's The Scar.  It was my first Mieville, and it would be an understatement to say I was mightily impressed, and left wondering why it took me so long to discover him.

Nancy Kress' Beggars in Spain.  I liked it, but the question now is, do I seek out the two sequels?  I felt pretty satisfied when I finished it, and I didn't even realize it was book one of a trilogy until I started reading reviews of it online.

[Sandikal]

I finished listening to The Way of Kings today.  I'm not usually a fan of epic fantasy, I like fantasy smaller and more intimate, but this was amazing.  I can't wait for the next installment.

My next audiobook is On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers.  I've listened to the prologue and it's pretty good.  The narrator is Bronson Pinchot who played Balky on an old TV show called "Perfect Strangers".  He had a goofy accent in the show.  I think he'll be a fun narrator for this.

I'm still working on Anathem and the upcoming Dean Koontz novel, What the Night Knows.

[stePH]

Took a break from Deuteronomy to re-read The Lathe of Heaven by my homegirl, Ursula K LeGuin... a friend picked it up and read it after I mentioned it in conversation, so I thought I would too. And I plan to rewatch the DVD soon.

Last time I read this book I lived in Seattle. This time it was fun to note the Portland locations in the story. Especially when Mount Hood becomes active again, and Mount Tabor along with it... Mt. Tabor is just a scant few miles from my house, and I just about shit when I found out it's a dormant volcano. There's a *park* on it, for fraks sake!

People in the Mount Tabor area were moving out to the thriving new suburbs of West Eastmont, Chestnut Hills Estates, and Sunny Slopes Subdivisions. They could live with Mount Hood fuming softly on the horizon, but an eruption just up the street was too much.

[Scattercat]

Worked through a few more short story collections and "Year's Best" books, and am now reading "Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat," a book about animal and human interactions and psychology.  It's a little fluffy and shallow for my tastes - a problem I've had with a lot of the pop-psych books like "Nudge" and "Blink" et al - but tolerably interesting so far. 

[kibitzer]

I'm reading a book called "Possessing The Dead" by Helen MacDonald. It's subtitled "The Artful Science of Anatomy" and it's about the history of the cadaver trade in Scotland, England and Australia from around the mid-1800's. It sounds really interesting and much of the material is fascinating but the presentation somehow makes it a bit dull or hard to grasp. There's a lot of jumping around timelines and rapid introduction of many players all at once. It's a history of real events not a novel, so I understand that real life isn't as neat as a well thought out storyline but I feel more though could have gone into narrative construction, and more editing to remove repetition. It's settling down a bit and I'll persist because there's a certain macabre and morbid fascination with the topic.

[jrderego]

I'm reading a book called "Possessing The Dead" by Helen MacDonald. It's subtitled "The Artful Science of Anatomy" and it's about the history of the cadaver trade in Scotland, England and Australia from around the mid-1800's. It sounds really interesting and much of the material is fascinating but the presentation somehow makes it a bit dull or hard to grasp. There's a lot of jumping around timelines and rapid introduction of many players all at once. It's a history of real events not a novel, so I understand that real life isn't as neat as a well thought out storyline but I feel more though could have gone into narrative construction, and more editing to remove repetition. It's settling down a bit and I'll persist because there's a certain macabre and morbid fascination with the topic.

Be fun to watch "The Body Snatcher" after reading that.

[Listener]

If you must read any of the follow up books, skip the ones about Ender and read the ones about Bean that start with Ender's Shadow, IMO.

Good to know. It's pretty hard for me to NOT read part of a series....but if I start losing faith I'll leap over to them. I've got the City and the City to go next, although at risk of rotten tomatoes
being flung, I really didn't love Perdido Street Station. :ducks behind corner:

I never got more than 20 pages into Perdido - it just failed to entice me.

Absolutely adored 'City' though.

I didn't like Perdido the first time I read it, although it's grown on me. I think it was too MUCH for my young brains.

[Listener]

Since I've been gone... well, I can't remember EVERYTHING I read, but here's some:

"Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by Marisha Pessl -- good story, a little too wish-fulfillment-y (plain girl is adopted by popular clique), and the ending bothered me a LOT although it was in the style of the rest of the story. Not genre.

"Memories of the Future, Volume 1" by Wil Wheaton -- bought this for my dad, and finally had time to borrow his copy. HILARIOUS, but only if you like Wheaton's style. Otherwise... well, it's not a tell-all, so there's not a ton of behind-the-scenes stuff. But then, I've never been a huge BTS fan.

The entire Scott Pilgrim series by Brian Lee O'Malley -- great stuff, and I think the film made good choices in what to cut. It dragged on a bit in places, but overall I was very pleased. Plus, I got all six books for $24, which is a GREAT deal on manga-sized products.

"I Shall Wear Midnight" by Terry Pratchett -- my review is on the EP blog, but in short: I liked it.

"The Somnambulist" by Jonathan Barnes -- reading now. Kind of underwhelmed. There are SO MANY plot threads...

[DKT]

"The Somnambulist" by Jonathan Barnes -- reading now. Kind of underwhelmed. There are SO MANY plot threads...

My advice? Stop reading this book now. I was pretty underwhelmed reading it, too, but it ends very poorly. (And I do not mean that as a compliment.)

[Listener]

"The Somnambulist" by Jonathan Barnes -- reading now. Kind of underwhelmed. There are SO MANY plot threads...

My advice? Stop reading this book now. I was pretty underwhelmed reading it, too, but it ends very poorly. (And I do not mean that as a compliment.)

While I appreciate the tip, I don't think I can. I'd hate to think I missed out on something. I've never not finished a book I'm reading for pleasure.

At least I read fast. I should be able to finish it by the end of the weekend.

[Sandikal]

You really won't miss anything if you don't finish The Somnambulist.

I'm halfway through the audiobook of On Stranger Tides and I am enjoying it more than I expected.  It's so fun.  It really does remind me of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies even if it was written before the first one came out.  I think Disney must have borrowed heavily from this book.  I saw the synopsis of the next Pirates movie that's supposedly based on this book and it sounds like the only things they have in common is the Fountain of Youth, Blackbeard, and a daughter.

[Planish]

Stephen King's "Under The Dome".