Author Topic: What are you reading? (Read 1059175 times)

stePH · **Reply #1825 on:** June 02, 2011, 03:22:08 PM

Starting vol. 19 of Hikaru no Go today. The Gospel of John is currently stalled.

iamafish · **Reply #1826 on:** June 03, 2011, 01:31:23 AM

started Misery by Stephen King. I'm finding the start pretty turgid and uninteresting. I think we're about to hit some plot development to draw us out of this endless stream of characterisation and scene setting that has been, as far as i can tell, mostly pointless.

Sgarre1 · **Reply #1827 on:** June 03, 2011, 03:04:34 AM

Wow, I guess this just shows how varied people are. As a person who respects King's abilities but has very little time for most of his (later) novels - I've always thought he was a better short-story writer, myself but then what do I know (what I'm implying is that I'm not a Stephen King fanboy by any means, but I respect him), I found MISERY riveting and, honestly, it's the only book in my life about which I can say "I couldn't put it down" and be telling the truth - I started it one afternoon and spent the whole evening thinking "I have to put this down, I've got to go to work" and then, suddenly, the birds were chirping outside and the sun was coming up and I was done.

Given the fact that you must have some inkling of the general scenario the book eventually reaches (although maybe not) and how limited it is, the highly intensive setting/character building might make a little more sense. You're going to be spending a lot of time with these two people in this one room so there's got to be a lot to draw on in the set-up.

Hope you've read some Somerset Maugham, he gets pretty thoroughly investigated by the end of the book!

kibitzer · **Reply #1828 on:** June 03, 2011, 11:00:09 AM

Re-reading Dan Simmons' fabulous Joe Kurtz novels. You won't find a harder-boiled detective than Joe Kurtz who stoically spends 11 years in prison after killing the mooks who killed his partner, Samantha. And that's just the first two chapters of the first book, Hardcase. I'm now halfway through Hard Freeze which is good, but dips a little after the fireworks of the first book. But I'm looking forward to re-reading Hard As Nails which ramps the action back up to 12.

These books are set in Buffalo, NY which sounds like a pretty harsh place to live. There's a sports place called the HSBC Arena, I believe, in Buffalo. According to the book, HSBC stands for either "Hot Sauce, Blue Cheese" OR "Holy Shit, Buffalo's Cold!"

iamafish · **Reply #1829 on:** June 03, 2011, 11:29:30 AM

Quote from: Sgarre1 on June 03, 2011, 03:04:34 AM

Given the fact that you must have some inkling of the general scenario the book eventually reaches (although maybe not) and how limited it is, the highly intensive setting/character building might make a little more sense. You're going to be spending a lot of time with these two people in this one room so there's got to be a lot to draw on in the set-up.

I understand that, but i can't help but feel that much of the characterisation could have been done before putting the two main characters in one room together. That way something would have actually been happening while all this scene setting was going on. it seems like King has played most of his cards very early on, so there's very little driving the plot any more. The characterisation feels excessive when all that i happening is characterisation with very little actual plot.

Quote

Hope you've read some Somerset Maugham, he gets pretty thoroughly investigated by the end of the book!

nope, sorry. I sincerely hope the pay off is still pretty decent.

I'm not saying i really dislike the book and i'll probably get to the end of it, but i'm not as taken with it as i was with The Dead Zone (the only other King I've read) and I'm really not much of a fan of King's style

Fenrix · **Reply #1830 on:** June 03, 2011, 05:04:00 PM

Quote from: iamafish on June 03, 2011, 11:29:30 AM

I'm not saying i really dislike the book and i'll probably get to the end of it, but i'm not as taken with it as i was with The Dead Zone (the only other King I've read) and I'm really not much of a fan of King's style

I think King is at his best when he is able to give us a twisted anthropology tale and develop characters. I really dug IT, The Stand, and The Shining. Haven't read either Dead Zone or Misery, but I'm working on some of the short stories now.

Devoted135 · **Reply #1831 on:** June 06, 2011, 01:59:08 PM

Currently finishing up The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington by Jennet Conant. I didn't realize it was a nonfiction book when I picked it up, but it's actually been quite interesting to read about something as incongruous as the British spying on us and disseminating tons of propaganda during WWWII, with the full knowledge (and often full cooperation) of everyone from Hoover to Roosevelt. I mean, who knew that Roald Dahl got his start as a writer by churning out semi-autobiographical, highly sensationalized accounts of his adventures as an RAF fighter pilot? (hint: not me

Gamercow · **Reply #1832 on:** June 06, 2011, 02:12:49 PM

Quote from: Devoted135 on June 06, 2011, 01:59:08 PM

I mean, who knew that Roald Dahl got his start as a writer by churning out semi-autobiographical, highly sensationalized accounts of his adventures as an RAF fighter pilot? (hint: not me

If you have fond memories of Roald Dahl stories, don't look too deeply into his real life. He was not a good man.

Devoted135 · **Reply #1833 on:** June 06, 2011, 02:47:03 PM

Quote from: Gamercow on June 06, 2011, 02:12:49 PM

Quote from: Devoted135 on June 06, 2011, 01:59:08 PM
I mean, who knew that Roald Dahl got his start as a writer by churning out semi-autobiographical, highly sensationalized accounts of his adventures as an RAF fighter pilot? (hint: not me

If you have fond memories of Roald Dahl stories, don't look too deeply into his real life. He was not a good man.

Yeah, I'm definitely finding that out! Luckily, I somehow managed to miss 90% of his books while growing up so no idealized views of him are being shattered. Now if I found out that Shell Silverstein was an underhanded spy...

stePH · **Reply #1834 on:** June 06, 2011, 06:10:56 PM

Quote from: Fenrix on June 03, 2011, 05:04:00 PM

Quote from: iamafish on June 03, 2011, 11:29:30 AM

I'm not saying i really dislike the book and i'll probably get to the end of it, but i'm not as taken with it as i was with The Dead Zone (the only other King I've read) and I'm really not much of a fan of King's style

I think King is at his best when he is able to give us a twisted anthropology tale and develop characters. I really dug IT, The Stand, and The Shining. Haven't read either Dead Zone or Misery, but I'm working on some of the short stories now.

I haven't read much of his most recent (post-injury) stuff, except for the execrable conclusion to the Dark Tower series. But I've always been a fan of the way he turns a phrase.

Resumed the Gospel of John while waiting for volume 22 of Hikaru no Go, and the library has volume 23 on order (hopefully the last one, or at this rate I'll finish the anime before I finish the manga).

Anarkey · **Reply #1835 on:** June 06, 2011, 06:11:56 PM

Quote from: stePH on June 06, 2011, 06:10:56 PM

Resumed the Gospel of John while waiting for volume 22 of Hikaru no Go, and the library has volume 23 on order (hopefully the last one, or at this rate I'll finish the anime before I finish the manga).

TENGEN on the first move?!?!

stePH · **Reply #1836 on:** June 07, 2011, 12:50:19 AM

Quote from: Anarkey on June 06, 2011, 06:11:56 PM

TENGEN on the first move?!?!

I know so little about Go... I registered at online-go.com and managed to beat the beginner-bot on a 9x9 board my second try.
Less than three hours from now, I will likely score my second victory against a human opponent... because his/her time to move will expire (my first victory went that way too). Anyway, I just have to take it on faith that Toya and Shindo and company are playing brilliant Go... I can't tell a good play from a bad one at this point in my development.

stePH · **Reply #1837 on:** June 09, 2011, 06:20:26 PM

Got volume 22 yesterday and read about half of it on the bus before I got home.
Also got Stark's next "Parker" novel (that follows Slayground) - Plunder Squad.

Sandikal · **Reply #1838 on:** June 10, 2011, 01:16:54 AM

I got a copy of "Embassytown" from the library and was having a really hard time with it. After about 40 pages, I realized that it's really a book that needs to be heard rather than read. So, I downloaded it from Audible and am really glad I did. The Hosts have two mouths and their language involves overlapping sounds. It's really cool the way the audio production handles it and I'm sure I made the right decision to listen to rather than read it.

CryptoMe · **Reply #1839 on:** June 10, 2011, 06:25:08 AM

I'm going through the Sten Chronicles, by Chris Bunch and Allan Cole. This is classic military science fiction from the 80's (though the cover art looks like it's from the 50's or 60's). Nothing profound, but fun (if you skim through the sometimes too-detailed battle scenes).

DKT · **Reply #1840 on:** June 10, 2011, 07:57:05 PM

Quote from: Sandikal on June 10, 2011, 01:16:54 AM

I got a copy of "Embassytown" from the library and was having a really hard time with it. After about 40 pages, I realized that it's really a book that needs to be heard rather than read. So, I downloaded it from Audible and am really glad I did. The Hosts have two mouths and their language involves overlapping sounds. It's really cool the way the audio production handles it and I'm sure I made the right decision to listen to rather than read it.

Interesting! I haven't picked it up yet, but I was a bit worried about getting the audio, because I thought it might be a story better to read than to listen to. But now I'm curious

I'll have to give the sample chapter a listen!

Thanks!

Sandikal · **Reply #1841 on:** June 10, 2011, 11:34:59 PM

Quote from: DKT on June 10, 2011, 07:57:05 PM

Quote from: Sandikal on June 10, 2011, 01:16:54 AM
I got a copy of "Embassytown" from the library and was having a really hard time with it. After about 40 pages, I realized that it's really a book that needs to be heard rather than read. So, I downloaded it from Audible and am really glad I did. The Hosts have two mouths and their language involves overlapping sounds. It's really cool the way the audio production handles it and I'm sure I made the right decision to listen to rather than read it.

Interesting! I haven't picked it up yet, but I was a bit worried about getting the audio, because I thought it might be a story better to read than to listen to. But now I'm curious I'll have to give the sample chapter a listen!

Thanks!

I finished listening to it today. I don't know if you'd really get a sense of the book from the sample. By the end, I couldn't stop listening and I had trouble with my usual multi-tasking. It is definitely better to listen to this than to read it.

stePH · **Reply #1842 on:** June 11, 2011, 02:13:56 PM

Hikaru no Go volume 22 and Plunder Squad by Richard Stark picked up at the library the other day; finished both in a day and a half.
While there, also picked up The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis in hardcover omnibus, and about halfway through that. Interestingly, it is neither written nor drawn by Matt Groening.

Scattercat · **Reply #1843 on:** June 12, 2011, 08:53:04 AM

Read The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar, which was fun and entertaining, although I admit I skimmed here and there. The style is very rapid and breezy and feels like quantity of plot over quality in some ways, and periodically I got tired of all the complex overview style narration and wanted to get back to a nice actual scene. Still, I'd recommend it in general.

Also read Bangs and Whimpers, which is a collection of end-of-the-world stories. It skews heavily to the classic SF, which was nice. Generally high quality all around, though "We Can Get Them For You Wholesale" was still my favorite. (I have always preferred fantasy to SF, and particularly Neil Gaiman's fantasy.)

iamafish · **Reply #1844 on:** June 13, 2011, 09:14:12 AM

Finished Misery my Stephen King. My opinion remains unchanged. Too slow and meandering. There only so much of a damn i can give about two people in the room desperately trying to kill each other while also trying to keep each other alive at the same time. Conclusion from reading two King novels: he turns a wonderful phrase, but his style is not for me. I might read the Stand at some point and maybe dabble in his short fiction a little as well.

Listener · **Reply #1845 on:** June 13, 2011, 02:14:37 PM

Finished "Embassytown". I believe the review will hit the EP blog sometime this week.

Now: "Geist", by Philippa Ballantine

Next: "Pirates" by Nobilis, "Osama" by Lavie Tidhar, possibly "Spectyr" by Ballantine depending upon when the ARC arrives

stePH · **Reply #1846 on:** June 13, 2011, 05:26:08 PM

Quote from: iamafish on June 13, 2011, 09:14:12 AM

Finished Misery my Stephen King. My opinion remains unchanged. Too slow and meandering. There only so much of a damn i can give about two people in the room desperately trying to kill each other while also trying to keep each other alive at the same time. Conclusion from reading two King novels: he turns a wonderful phrase, but his style is not for me. I might read the Stand at some point and maybe dabble in his short fiction a little as well.

Try and get a '70s-vintage edition of The Stand as it was originally published, not the "complete and uncut".

CryptoMe · **Reply #1847 on:** June 13, 2011, 11:16:41 PM

Quote from: stePH on June 13, 2011, 05:26:08 PM

Quote from: iamafish on June 13, 2011, 09:14:12 AM
Finished Misery my Stephen King. My opinion remains unchanged. Too slow and meandering. There only so much of a damn i can give about two people in the room desperately trying to kill each other while also trying to keep each other alive at the same time. Conclusion from reading two King novels: he turns a wonderful phrase, but his style is not for me. I might read the Stand at some point and maybe dabble in his short fiction a little as well.

Try and get a '70s-vintage edition of The Stand as it was originally published, not the "complete and uncut".

Hmmm. I read the stand quite some years ago. I wonder which version I had?
It's the only Stephen King I ever read. Was underwhelmed. Never felt the pull for any more.

stePH · **Reply #1848 on:** June 15, 2011, 06:19:17 PM

Butcher's Moon by Richard Stark; the direct sequel to Slayground (though Plunder Squad sits between them).
Over twice the length of his previous outings, this one is the Parker novel to end all Parker novels (and for almost 25 years, it really was, until Westlake dusted off the Stark pseudonym and brought Parker back for a few more tales).

DKT · **Reply #1849 on:** June 15, 2011, 06:32:45 PM

Quote from: iamafish on June 13, 2011, 09:14:12 AM

Finished Misery my Stephen King. My opinion remains unchanged. Too slow and meandering. There only so much of a damn i can give about two people in the room desperately trying to kill each other while also trying to keep each other alive at the same time. Conclusion from reading two King novels: he turns a wonderful phrase, but his style is not for me. I might read the Stand at some point and maybe dabble in his short fiction a little as well.

I hear that. Man, Salem's Lot bored the hell out of me. And I lurve vampires.

I'd hesitate recommending The Stand to you, personally (although I did read the 1,000-ish page version). It's epic and apocalyptic and that classing good vs. evil smackdown, but. If you don't like King's writing, you don't like King's writing, and while I imagine quite a lot of good stuff got put back in the longer version, it probably still could've been edited somewhere to a happy medium.

A lot of people I know say his short fiction is really where he shines the most. From what I've read, I'd generally agree, but I probably haven't read enough of it...

Carrie is still one of my favorites of his.