Books you're currently reading???
Instead of all the music/gaming entertainment. How bout the current/last book you've read?
Right now I'm reading book 3 of stephen kings dark tower series. Book 5 should be out this month (if it's not already) and the whole series is a good read if your a king fan.
I've been in a King/Koontz rut lately, but I still have to read from Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman daily.
Cryptonomicon was recommended in a previous book thread. I cannot put it down, it is as good as advertised!
I can't read. Rho reads books to me and I memorize them. So, when I do pick one up, it looks like I can read.
Well now I'm starting to read "White Fang" by Jack London.
If you really want a good read pick up "Brave New World" I don't recall the author but I know that theres only one author.
Good reading to you!
_White Fang_ is on my short list of "books which suck so bad I threw them across the room rather than finish reading them".
Currently I'm reading Pratchett's _The Color of Magic_. I've been resisting getting sucked into DiscWorld for years, but with the Vorkosigan series apparently finished and the Harrington series just plain stalled, I think I have room for a new literary addiction.
Originally posted by r9703410
If you really want a good read pick up "Brave New World" I don't recall the author but I know that theres only one author.
Aldous Huxley.
I've completely lost interest in the Wheel of Time series. Someone predicted this in the previous thread, I forgot who.
I've been re-reading Vonnegut some, "Breakfast of Champions", "Slaughterhouse 5". I find I can't put one of his books down after I've started reading.
"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", Philip K. Dick. Better than "Blade Runner", and well-written to boot. I think I'm gonna read more of his work.
"A Youth in Babylon" by David Friedman.... entertaining memoirs of Friedman, an exploitation film producer
"Mission Jupiter: The Spectacular Journey of the Galileo Spacecraft" by Daniel Fischer
"Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World"
I'm currently reading Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (anthropology) A history of the Mongol Empire by I don't know, and The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan (classic fiction)
Yeah thanks perth. I loved it, but the first 3 chapters were hard to get through.
I read A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge yesterday. (Er, I actually read sixty pages in about two hours the day before, but most of it was on Thursday when I read from 9 AM to 2 AM.). That was such an incredible book! It started out magnificently and finished awesomely: the book is dense, the end-of-the-book excitement lasted for a hundred pages. One of the main characters occasionally refers to her grad school courses in Applied Theology. The book is strewn with awesome lines like "He was in the shade now, only sunlight was touching him".
The language was masterfully done: it felt like he wrote from the perspective of the characters instead of describing the characters from the perspective of a man living in modern America. This meant that it took me a chapter and a half to figure out what exactly the wolf-like Tines were, but I thought they were so cool when I finally did. Actually, that happened quite often: huge events were approached subtly and naturally, so that I didn't realize how cataclysmic the events were until I was several pages into them.
That was a great book, Torrere. That really was a great hook slowly discovering just what they were. I wonder if he built them as he wrote or if he had them figured out ahead of time?
The Wheel of Time series starts out really well; the first three books are a very fun adventure, the next three* are full of huge events, then the series becomes stuck in morass. Three notable events have happened in the last three thousand pages. Now, after each book is released, theories run abound that "Robert Jordan is getting everyone into position, and the series is really going to take off now!". Unfortunately, less and less happens in each book (rumor has it that only two chapters in the tenth book advanced the story). By now, the theory is that Robert Jordan has written himself into a corner and he would be hard pressed to stall for an eleventh book (this may be why he's writing prequels).
I generally recommend people to stop on the fifth book, while the series is still good. The Amazon reviews for the first books in the series are flooded with messages of "don't even start!".
* There is debate as to whether the six and seventh book should be counted as part of the "big things happening" group or the "not worth reading" group.
i finished illusions by richard bach for the...nintieth time the other day. always get something different out of it. very 'small' book that isn't as light a read as it first seems.;)
Re: Wheel of Time.
I dunno, it just really seems like he is dragging stuff on way longer than necessary. Its one thing to want to write a big, sprawling epic of a story. Its quite another to go on for 5 pages explaining just why person A is pissed off at person B. I can't make myself finish book five. I keep wishing someone would just kill all the main characters off already. Starting with Nynaeve, closely followed by Rand. Bleh.
On the other hand, I have thorougly enjoyed the "Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" series by Terry Brooks lately. Despite the numerous books in the Shannara series, Brooks can at least tell a complete story without this "Tune in next week!" crap.
Nynaeve isn't all /that/ bad. I think that the most efficient amputation for the series would be to kill off or simply abandon the entire Perrin sub-plot; Perrin, Faile, Berelain, and all.
Mission Compromised - Oliver North (yes really. It's a surprisingly good thriller/mystery/spy novel. Of course, he had help. And made himself a (minor) character in his own novel)
I've been reading too much heavy shit lately, wanted something that wouldn't tax the cranium so much.
i just read the 1st book of the wheel of time and based upon this thread and the general feeling i got from book one, i don't think i'll finish the series(even though i bought book 2 and misplaced it). I remember noticing that he wastes time on the details of traveling far too frequently...I think he was trying to follow tolkeins formula, but the characters are not as charasmatic or exciting.
On the other hand i also just read "Lamb". What a great book! It's written from the perspective of "Biff", Christ's best friend, and addresses the missing 30 yrs of Jesus' early life. hysterical. Highly recommended reading. 84 thumbs up, as my son would say.
i have had countless friends and one exhusband who raved about the wheel of time series...given that it had so much...enthusiasm placed upon it i tried valiantly to force my way through the first book to no avail.....i don't know how many times i have heard, "ah, if you just finish the first one you will see", i don't really care. i don't like to be bored. if a book doesn't grab me by the first 300 pages- guess what? it just gets added to the stacks of books littering my house never to be heard from again. i was a huge fan of the sword of truth series by terry goodkind but i found the same problem as i tried to read the 8th book 'a naked....somethingorother'. just dull, dull, dull.
The problem I had with the "Wheel of Time" series is that it takes three books to cover three chapters worth of actuall events. It's annoying. Mostly since a lot of 'major events' become meaningless. Like a couple of major villians get knocked off and you think, "okay, two down." Then they get brought back. Useless waste of a few thousand pages...
I recently read William Peter Blatty's "Legion." Loved it. Of course I tend to like stories with the good guys that are out of their league, in the "No, they really can't win" kind of way. Good stuff.
I've liked all Ayn Rand's fiction, but don't read "We the Living." Not unless you've been happy for to long and are ready for a little depression.
Originally posted by Whit
[BI've liked all Ayn Rand's fiction, but don't read "We the Living." Not unless you've been happy for to long and are ready for a little depression. [/B]
I've stayed away from "We the Living" myself, but I've read the fountainhead twice. I enjoyed atlas shrugged except for the ending. The long narrative from John Galt at the end got a bit much (I think it was him) and put it down with a few pages left to read
Rand actually has the honors of being my favorite book quote. When Howard Roark replied to Tooheys' question of what he thought of him in the fountainhead. "But I don't think of you". Quite possibly the best line in written history. (At least in my mind :D)
Currently....
Edward Debono - I am right, you are wrong
95% - slow read
Edward Debono - Serious Creativity
90% slow read
D Chu - Explosive Power & Strength - Complex Traing for maximum results
decent - 80%
T Baechile, B Groves - Weight Training Steps to Success
decent - 80%
J. Carr - RF Circuits
30% - very technical slow read
Recently
Edward Debono - Sur/Petition
Good- but slow reading
Anyn Rand - The Fountainhead
Excellent but long
Originally posted by sycamore
I can't read. Rho reads books to me and I memorize them. So, when I do pick one up, it looks like I can read.
Farenheit 451 is an excellent read. It's getting more and more relevant.
The stack next to my bed:
Nostromo, Joseph Conrad
Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, Roberto Calasso
Winterhawk, Craig Thomas
Joseph Conrad, in Nostromo anyway, is like a huge biscuit of shredded wheat. I need to just sit down and make one night a week readin' night. No TV, no Internet.
I've actually been thinking about doing more book reading...now if I would just drag my sorry ass up the street to the library...
From Jeep:
Rand actually has the honors of being my favorite book quote. When Howard Roark replied to Tooheys' question of what he thought of him in the fountainhead. "But I don't think of you". Quite possibly the best line in written history. (At least in my mind )
Yeah, I liked that, not quite as much as when Galt started talking the idiot bastards through the process of fixing the turture machine in Atlas Shrugged. Oh, yeah the Galt narrative was way to much like reading her non-fiction stuff. Save it for non-fiction books, I say. Really drags down the storyline.
Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
(This is a very strange and disturbed man. I'm only about 5 chapters into the book so far, and the plot has taken some really dramatic twists, even for one of his books. Oh, and if you haven't read it, you need to read Fight Club, even if you've already seen the movie, especially if you haven't.)
i'm on the fourth Harry Potter book. I started reading them a couple of weeks ago, because I wanted to see what all the hype was. I don't really feel like finishing it.
If you like King Arthur stories:
Bernard Cornwell, The Winter King.
this is an alternative viewpoint like the mists of Avalon, but written from the eyes of Derfel, one of his knights. The author bases his story on true events and battles, and it makes a lot more sense than the fairy tale type story we've seen on tv and in movies. Plus, it is written very well, and moves at a nice pace.
8.5/10
the sequels are just as good.
Sword of truth series.
A little preachy, but good readin'.
Just finished Wolves of the Calla. I dearly love the gunslinger series and am so relieved that Stephen King has them all finished. Now I can stop praying for his health every night.
Just another thing off my list.
Sword of Truth is getting a lot preachy recently...
Anyway, I just finished reading "What Liberal Media?" by Eric Alterman. It was pretty good, but I think I'm overwhelmed by the number of recent political books, so I'm now reading "Wasp" by Eric Frank Russel and "Sandman: King of Dreams" by Alisa Kwitney.
"What Liberal Media?" was pretty depressing, especially the last chapter, on Richard Mellon Scaife. I was reading it just as the news broke about Soros donating to liberal causes, and I listened with disbelief as people like O'Reilly screamed about it. Just a bit of interesting timing there.
"Wasp" is a lighthearted science fiction book apparently about a terrorist in an interplanetary war. I'm not too far into it.
"Sandman: King of Dreams" is essentially a summary/retrospective on Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic book. It's a beautiful coffee-table style book with tons of art from the comic and other related work.
Next up: Another book by the author of "Wasp", and then a translation of "Arabian Nights".
The Cryptonomicon lately, which is fantastic in my opinion. i'd have to say that i agree with the consensus about the wheel of time. i got a portion of the way through Path of Daggers and gave up. he's created a scope larger than he can deal with now, in my opinion. all of the female characters and a few of the males have kinda degenerated into cliches, from what i can remember.
A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin, is fantastic. i haven't read the third book in the series yet, but the first two were very good reads.
Also, Women, by Charles Bukowski. great stuff.
I just finished The Davinci Code, and am about to start Angels and Demons. Both by Dan Brown
I really liked davinci code, but I do have a few minor coimplaints. 1. I thought the charachters figured things out way to easily, they didn't ever really struggle and were almost always right. 2. Ending was lame.
Last Man Down - Battalion Commander Richard Picciotto, FDNY
I'm a little more than halfway through Quicksilver, and I like it even more than I liked Cryptonomicon. I've always had a thing for the period it's set in, though.
Now I have pirates on the brain, so I'm going to read some of Rafael Sabatini's books next. If I'm not sick of the 1700ishes by then, I'll go through the Three Muskateers books. It looks like Project Gutenburg has most of this.
I have also been meaning to read Richard Burton's translation of the Arabian Nights, partly for the stories themselves, but also because I'm curious about Burton and I hear the book has copious notes.
I was just starting on Dune: Butlerian Jihad (yes, I shamefacedly admit that I'm reading the "Dad's dead, so lets rape his literary legacy and make lots of money off it" series) but have switched over to Tony Hillerman's Talking God, mostly because the Hillerman book is a paperback, and the Dune-ish hardback is occupying too much space in the "bag of shit I take to work when it snows just in case there are no nuts".
A friend of mine gave me the Hillerman book, but I can't remember if I read it already or not. Might read the first chapter, have it all come back to me, and move onto something different.
Yah, I read Dune: House Atreides a while back. I read the old series as a yout and really got caught up in it... this series not so much. Why are we posting on the bad engrish thread, when we've had a couple of these book threads before? I'd hate to think we're dumbing down the cellar. :)
Originally posted by wolf
(yes, I shamefacedly admit that I'm reading the "Dad's dead, so lets rape his literary legacy and make lots of money off it" series)
I was too, but I could barely make it throught the end of the second book.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Originally posted by Griff
Why are we posting on the bad engrish thread, when we've had a couple of these book threads before?
Because it was the first book thread that I stumbled across, and was filled with the posting spirit.
Lead to a more grammatically correct book thread and I'll follow. :cool:
I haven't read any...
any...of the Dune books. I've always meant to, but they keep getting pushed down the stack by quicker reads.
I've seen the movie and both Sci-Fi TV series, so I'm sure I have the Dune universe thoroughly covered. ;)
I'm reading this book called Mapping Human History by Steve Olson. It is the most interesting book I've read in a while. It's actually influencing what I might change my major to. It describes how humans came to be through studying genes. It really is an awsome book.
"The Family" by Mario Puzo. It's a historical bio-drama of sorts about the Borgia family when they held power in the Vatican. Puzo considered them the first crime family in history, and wrote it with them in the same positive light he had cast the Corleones and the Clericuzio.
Gotta love Puzo. The world's a darker place without him.
Puzo wrote some good stuff...try Fools Die. Its also very eloquent, as most of his books are.
Oh yeah, and this is my 100th post! Yay!
Just finished Pattern Recognition by William Gibson.
It's different from his usual, since it's actually set closer to now ... which was a little strange to figure out, because time references are few and far between. We eventually know it's after 9/11/01, but not how far.
There's a couple of different subplots that more or less lurch through the book. I thought the pacing was extremely uneven on this one, which was a bit distracting, and the main character has a better backstory than her current existence, but it does pick up a bit. Unfortunately, after plodding along in minutae for the first three-quarters of the book, he seems to come to the realization that he's reaching the page limit for a salable novel and rushes to the finish line in an unsatisfying (for me) way.
Oh, and somebody has to tell him to lay off on the word "crepuscular" though. Once is too often. I know for-sure it's used twice, possibly three times. Oh yeah, and "liminal".
Nice vocabulary. Now go back to writing.
Oh, and what was Voytek doing with the ZX81s? Not the physical construction, but what was he going to run on the array? Or is that the next book? Could be, you know, since that was more interesting to speculate on rather than the truth behind the Footage.
International Law and the Use of Force - Christine Gray
Einführung in das Völkerrecht - Kimminich, Hobe
Have to do some homeworks!
Moby Dick - Melville
Her Privates We - Manning
I just finished Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn. The story is set in an imaginary land much like Japan during their feudal conflicts. It's a good read.
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire - Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence. Deepak Chopra.
I've never read Chopra before, but happened by this and thought it looked interesting. It's probably a bunch of crap though.
a bunch of $25 crap.....!:mad:
Golden Buddha, Trojan Odyssey and White Death, all by Clive Cussler. I'm a bit behind in my reading.
Brian
Black Metal meets the Neo-Cons.... now
thats a book review.
Lately read East of Eden... read it, you know everyone in the book.
I'm back at Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Evil shit.
Oh forgot, I'm also reading Jesse James : Last Rebel of the Civil War. So far its putting his career in the context of pre and wartime Missouri. Pretty ferocious times.
Brian R- I've never heard of any of those Cussler titles. Please tell me none of them involve Dirk Pitt. Please,please, please for god's sake man !
Not that I should be throwing stones. I've just finished The Black House ( Stephen King/Peter Straub collaboration) and loved every page.
Having said that I should point out i'm not drawing a comparison between these authors in terms of quality, only in the escapism/fantasy stakes.
Rendezvous With Rama ( Arthur C Clarke) is coming out this year as a major Hollywood production. As far as I can tell Morgan Freenman is driving with Arthur himself navigating. It's being touted as a sci-fi- bar raiser but Hollywood and their money's involved so i'm worried, but optimistic.
Speaking of major Hollywood productions, does anyone know when O. Scott Card's _Ender's Game_ is coming out? I heard it was going to combine Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow.... I can't wait to see it.
www.frescopictures.com seem to have the goods.
did you see this? it doesn't shed much light, but it does indicate that the movie IS being made, so that's good news. at least......those books are right up there on the top of my all time favorites list.
oops. wrong link try this one
novice beat me to it.
Yeah pal, like you were even in the race.
Finished Norse Mysteries and Magic by Edred Thorsson this AM, and totally unexpectedly started reading The Treasure of Green Knowe, a children's book by L.M. Boston. (how do you read a book unexpectedly? You finish one while lying in bed, and think, " you know, I should still be reading right now" ... and you reach out and grab the closest thing).
Great series of books for kids, by the by ... very magical, make the mystic real in unexpected ways. Good for about bright second or third graders and beyond. I enjoy them as an adult.
Thank you amazon.com used!!
Trojan Odyssey involves Dirk Pitt...and has some interesting plot twists that do NOT involve saving the world.
I will not spoil the book for you by even dropping a hint.
Brian
"dum dum da dum, dum DUM da dum..."
" Trojan Odyssey" Sounds like Greek porn
BTW it's "Books you're reading".
I've recently finished:
August 1914* by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
*Technically, I didn't finish it. I noticed that there were a whole slew of characters, checked the cool chapter listing at the end of the book, and realized that the set of characters and timeline and storyline in the first half of the book only had a few more chapters at the end of the book. So I read a bit more, and didn't read the 2nd book within the book. The story that I did read was remarkable, though. It felt like he had really captured the confusion of war.
I bought a bunch of Dover Thrift Edition books, because they're inexpensive and almost certainly worth reading.
What is the point of this thread when we have the one in Lady Sidhe's forum?? My god you people are stu.. uh... wai.. wait a second.. er, nevermind.
::sheepishly walks away::
I started the Wheel of Time series a couple months ago, and have made it to the 10th book. I.....can't......finish.....it. I'm stubborn enough to try and read it every day, but I can't slog through it. I just don't care what happens to any of them anymore. Such a promising start, too. In fact, I was into it all the way through book 7 or 8.
Now I'm reading the Bible a lot. The minor prophets are overlooked too often, imo. While I share the religious beliefs of the authors, if I didn't, the Bible would still be an amazing work.
Wake of the Perdido Star by Gene Hackman (!) and Daniel Lenihan. While celebrity-written books are usually almost completely the work of their co-author, Hackman has a real flair for storytelling. And I like the adventure-on-the-high-seas genre anyway.
The Prophet - Kahil Gibran. It's absolutely amazing. You can read it for yourself here:
http://www.columbia.edu/~gm84/gibtable.htmlRead Gibran a lot in the 60's. Somehow it's not the same when I'm straight.:(
Originally posted by mrnoodle
I started the Wheel of Time series a couple months ago, and have made it to the 10th book.
The 10th book? Holy shit, that's like an Ironman Challenge. :)
Reading the Star Wars Force Heretic series. I've only just discovered the extremely nerdy world of Star Wars books and these were the first I picked up. I've enjoyed them immensely so far, I can't wait to go back and read some more.
man, we just love trashing that Wheel of time series, don;t we? I'm a third of the way into book 2, because i had already bought it when i started to hear all of this...I liked the first one, although he does take his time getting from a to b, and i'll finish the second cuz i started it, but i guess i'll pay heed to your collective advice, and let it drop there.
anyone read the ring world sequels by niven?
Ringworld is great. I have almost all of Niven's books. He seems to be losing his touch recently, though - his recent books don't grip me as much.
I'm not starting Wheel of Time until it's done. I hate waitnig for the sequel, and I already am doing so with Song of Ice and Fire and the Sword of Truth (man is that sucking now).
I just read the comic book section of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol II, and am in the middle of reading the prose section. It has led me to the conclusion that my knowledge of Victorian literature is sadly lacking.
Originally posted by lumberjim
man, we just love trashing that Wheel of time series, don;t we? I'm a third of the way into book 2, because i had already bought it when i started to hear all of this...I liked the first one, although he does take his time getting from a to b, and i'll finish the second cuz i started it, but i guess i'll pay heed to your collective advice, and let it drop there.
Nah read it while you still enjoy it, but as soon as you get sick of it, quit. And yeah, I *love* bashing that series.
I tried reading the first book in the series, definitly couldn't get into it, kind of odd becuase I usually like epic fantasy.
It irritated me how the women treated the men in the Wheel of Time series. All the characters joke about it, too. That irritates me even more.
I loved the series as well, but stopped around the 7th book or so.
Originally posted by lumberjim
anyone read the ring world sequels by niven?
You betcha!
I found the best way to enjoy the series is to buy a copy of "Tales of Known Space." It's a short story collection, but provides a timeline for the stories that make up the whole series. Read them in the order specified on the timeline, not in the order published. This means that you'll be switching back and forth between the various shorts and novels, and there is even one instance where you read the first half of one book (I forget whether it's
A Gift from Earth or
World of Ptaavs) a short story or two, and then finish that one out.
I think the series was great up to
Ringworld ...
Ringworld Engineers was a little forced and
Ringworld Throne was pretty lackluster, in comparison to the rest of the books.
You guys are NOT going to peer pressure me into reading the "Wheel of Time" series.
I have just started Angels and Demons. I am prepared to hate it. It is appealing as the entire book takes place over a 24 hour period. Maybe it would be a good pic for those with ADHD.
I have devoured all of King's Dark Tower series and can hardly wait for August when the new one comes out (doing pee-pee dance)
I just finished JD Salinger's "Raise the Roofbeam Carpenter's and Seymour, An Introduction. YYAAAWWN.
Thanks to Wolf, I ordered "Fight Club" and "Choke" and am looking forward to their arrival.
I must have some seamy underbelly to peer into as my life is pretty squeaky clean.
-undone
happy happy joy joy!
I was just looking through all my paperbacks to see if I still have the first Dark Tower books (can't wait for sequel), and guess what I found?
The Brave Cowboy, by Edward Abbey. The book that shaped my views on nature vs. encroaching civilization (no, I'm not starting that up again, don't worry) more than any other.
It's a gem. You should read it.
Originally posted by mrnoodle
happy happy joy joy!
I was just looking through all my paperbacks to see if I still have the first Dark Tower books (can't wait for sequel), and guess what I found?
that up again, The Brave Cowboy, by Edward Abbey. The book that shaped my views on nature vs. encroaching civilization (no, I'm not starting don't worry) more than any other.
It's a gem. You should read it.
mrnoodle, Edward Abbey rocks. Heyduke lives!
Originally posted by undone
You guys are NOT going to peer pressure me into reading the "Wheel of Time" series.
That's right. I'm going to encourage you NOT to read it. But if you insist, you'll get to suffer like the rest of us.
And I agree with Juju. Part of why I quit reading them was because of the pages upon pages devoted to women bitching about how stupid men are.
The 'pages upon pages' thing above? I'm not exaggerating. Well, maybe a little bit.
I just read "Probability Moon". Seemed pretty good, but I remember how Kress totally messed up the Sleeper trilogy after a good start and I can't say I'm so sure I should go on to "Sun" and "Stars".
Also finished "The Silmarillion", which (along with the included notes) made me realize that Tolkein was totally obsessed. The "Vivian Girls" guy had nothing on him in that category.
Perth,
I read to escape reality. I am around bitchy women all day. Give me some peace!
I thought of another author I liked on my 45 minute drive home....Tim Dorsey, I think the first in the series is Florida RoadKill.
I'm continuing my Nordic explorations and chewing my way through
Futhark by Edred Thorsson. The clear jabs at Ralph Blum (who made a bucketload of money off a less authentic but more accesible runelore system) are pretty amusing ...
[COLOR=indigo]I just got done with "The Crystal Shard" by RA Salvatore, at the insistance of my husband. I'm currently working on "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Garcia. I was all excited to read it, supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, and .... I'm on page 250 and get my Jose Arcadio, Arcadio and Arcadio Jose's mixed up. It's pretty surreal. I guess I don't see the big deal. This is his best work and he won a nobel prize?? Perhaps I'm just too simple to understand the intricacies.
I stopped reading wheel of time at book 6.
My favorite author is David and Leigh Eddings. Specifically, the Belgariad and Mallorean (and Belgarath, Polgara and Rivan Codex).
I have yet to read the Redemption of Althalus, or the new one still in hardback. I won't buy in hardback.
Also...never, ever, ever read Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Convenant the Unbeliever series. Please. Complete and total waste of time. Like 20 books of WoT. Yes. That bad.
[/COLOR]
Anything by David & Leigh Eddings, I'm especially fond of Belgarath the Sorcerer , and Polgara the Sorceres
Oh and if you can find a copy of it I recommend Leonard Wibberly's The Mouse That Roared.
Ok that's going to bother me, I swear I didn't read OnyxCougar's' post until after I hit submit
The Redemtion of Althalus is just as excellent as their other books Onyx, in fact it's almost too similiar considering it's set in a different world. But still excellent.
Originally posted by OnyxCougar
[COLOR=indigo]Also...never, ever, ever read Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Convenant the Unbeliever series. Please. Complete and total waste of time. Like 20 books of WoT. Yes. That bad.[/COLOR]
Heh. I love that series. To each their own, I guess. But I suspect you probably want to avoid Donaldson's "Gap" series if you don't like "Covenant".
[COLOR=indigo]I really liked the two books Donaldson wrote about the mirrors... "Mirror of her Dreams" and the sequel... those were really good. Just...I read all 6 books of Covenant and was pissed I wasted that time. I could have done something more interesting, like.. watch icicles melt.[/COLOR]
I read all of the epic fantasy tome series that I could find when I was thirteen or so. I do not intend to read any again -- except Melanie Rawn's books.
I feel morally obligated to prevent people from reading the Wheel of Time.
Originally posted by OnyxCougar
[COLOR=indigo]
My favorite author is David and Leigh Eddings. Specifically, the Belgariad and Mallorean (and Belgarath, Polgara and Rivan Codex).
Also...never, ever, ever read Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Convenant the Unbeliever series. Please. Complete and total waste of time. Like 20 books of WoT. Yes. That bad.
[/COLOR]
Ugh, I bailed after book two or three of Thomas Covenant. Eddings other series, the Sapphire Rose, is pretty good. It's sort of a fantasy version of the Three Musketeers. For those who have seen the Xmen movies, picture Rogue as a young princess who inherits an unstable throne, and Wolverine as her knight protector.
For anyone who likes hard science fiction, great action, and strong female characters, the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. You can view a free copy of one of the earlier books at the
David Weber section of Baen Books Free Library Weber puts C.S. Lewis' Horatio Hornblower into a slightly awkward female ensign instead of the cocky Captain Kirk we all know.
I liked the Miles Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. There isn't a free copy, but you can look at some sample chapters at
Baen Books
John Ringo started two good series, one about a shipwrecked prince and his escort, and another about an alien invasion of earth. The first books of both series are in the
Baen Free Library
I downloaded the books to my PDA.
However, I still reread the Belgariad from time to time. I love the dialog between the characters. I think that Eddings writes witty banter better than any other author, although Tolkien had his moments, when he wasn't be overly ponderous or pedantic.
BTW, isn't it striking that the RIAA is raiding the homes of 12-year-old girls over copyright and a book publisher is giving away free samples over the Internet (and CD-ROMS with the same free library in the back of hardback editions).
Originally posted by undone
Perth,
I read to escape reality. I am around bitchy women all day. Give me some peace!
Which is why you would hate The Wheel of Time. :)
I've mentioned them before, but the Shanarra books, by Terry Brooks, are a fantasy series I've really enjoyed, even if they get a bit wordy too.
My favorite authors of all time have to be Tom Robbins and John Irving. John hasn't written a new one in a long while. His last was "Widow for One Year"; I think anyway, Anyone remember? Is that the one about the guy who gets his hand bitten off by a lion? Tom Robbins' latest is "Villa Incognito" I just love his writing. His use of the language and viewpoint of the world. I re-read "Still life with woodpecker" a couple of months ago. It is still as great as the first time. Anyone else out there a Robbins fan?
I found Jesus, He was behind the sofa the whole time
I went on a CS Lewis kick and am going through his Chronicles of Narnia. I'm on the third of them. They are a very light read, but good kids book stuff. And recently I hear they are making a movie of them!
I hooked a speech therapist co-worker of mine onto the Narnia books. I later found out she was Jewish. I wounder if I should mention to her that those books can be read as a Christian allegory... I mean, if someone gave me some books that later turned out to be, say, a Hindu allegory, I really wouldn't mind, I actually might find it more interesting. But I wonder if some people would consider it an attack on their faith, or a sly attempt at proselytizing or something.
I'm slogging through Mission of Gravity - a hard sci-fi book by Hal Clement. Imagine a super-large and dense planet with a gravity hundreds of times that of earth, yet spinning so fast that at the equator the gravity is only about 4 or 5 G's. Hal Clement's stuff is like reading a great physics book with a plot!
Oh, and I just finished reading 'Anti-Abortionist at Large: How to Argue Intelligently about Abortion and Live to Tell About It' :D It's about a pro-life philosophy professor (and I think priest) that was into public debate on the abortion issue.
Originally posted by Slartibartfast
Oh, and I just finished reading 'Anti-Abortionist at Large: How to Argue Intelligently about Abortion and Live to Tell About It' :D It's about a pro-life philosophy professor (and I think priest) that was into public debate on the abortion issue.
Huh. As if the
anti-abortionists are the ones whose lives are at risk.:rolleyes:
nope, just "unviable fetal tissue" :rolleyes:
Originally posted by mrnoodle
nope, just "unviable fetal tissue"
These days they are calling them "stem cell tissue resources" and hey, they were going to be thrown out as medical waste anyway, so why not use'em?
[SIZE=1]heck, why not cook them on a grill, its just protein[/SIZE]
Just read this on my computer screen:
ERROR 4838: Debate on abortion will cause system instability. Process canceled.
Hmm. Oh well.
Originally posted by mrnoodle
ERROR 4838: Debate on abortion will cause system instability. Process canceled.
I doubt all this joke cracking will spontaneously turn into a debate. That's like a riot spontaneously erupting nto a hockey game.
To get things back on track, I've also been reading the NY Times 2004 Almanac. I try to make it a point to by a different almanac each year. Last year I got the Britannica 2003. But its getting to the point where almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc are almost not worth the paper they are written on. Google is just 10X faster in answering most questions. I'll say this for books, they are more fun to page flip and browse.
Originally posted by Slartibartfast
I doubt all this joke cracking will spontaneously turn into a debate.... I've also been reading the NY Times 2004 Almanac.
[throws]Can you look up how many abortions we had in this country last year?[/gasoline]
Originally posted by Griff
[throws]Can you look up how many abortions we had in this country last year?[/gasoline]
2004 almanac lists only up to 1998, in which 884,273 abortions were performed in the US, down from a million plus in 1997 and each year back until 1980. I wonder if the number has gone down because of the abortion pill not being listed as an actual abortion procedure. - Edit- I just noticed that 1998 data did not include AK, CA, NH, and OK. I bet California alone would make the final number break the one million mark.
Hmm, yes, under Internet, the number one visited website is Yahoo, with a listed audience of 87,895,000. I wonder where Cellar would fall on that list.
Oh, nice weather we are having, no?
Originally posted by Cam
Oh and if you can find a copy of it I recommend Leonard Wibberly's The Mouse That Roared.
Whoeee! Someone other than me who read the book instead of just seeing the movie!
Pretty please ...
Take the abortion debate to it's own thread, don't fuck up a perfectly good book discussion ...
Originally posted by wolf
Whoeee! Someone other than me who read the book instead of just seeing the movie!
There is a movie?????
Whoeee! Someone other than me who read the book instead of just seeing the movie!
Yup.
Originally posted by wolf
Pretty please ...
Take the abortion debate to it's own thread, don't fuck up a perfectly good book discussion ...
We're just screwin' with yah.
Originally posted by wolf
Whoeee! Someone other than me who read the book instead of just seeing the movie!
There's a book??!!!!!
Hi MrNoodle,
Since we were kind of discussing cowboys, I ran across this joke. Have a great day.
A successful rancher died and left everything to his devoted wife.
She was a very good looking woman, and determined to keep the ranch,
but knew very little about ranching, so she decided to place an ad in the
newspaper for a ranch hand.
Two men applied for the job. One was gay and the other a drunk.
She thought long and hard about it, and when no one else applied, she
decided to hire the gay guy, figuring it would be safer to have him
around the house than the drunk.
He proved to be a hard worker who put in long hours every day
and knew a lot about ranching. For weeks, the two of them worked, and the ranch was doing very well.
Then one day, the rancher's widow said to the hired hand,
"You have done a really good job and the ranch looks great. You
should go into town and kick up your heels."
The hired hand readily agreed and went into town one Saturday night.
However one o'clock came and he didn't return. Two o'clock and no hired hand. He returned around two-thirty and upon entering the room,
he found the rancher's widow sitting by the fireplace with a glass of wine
waiting for him.
She quietly called him over to her.
"Unbutton my blouse and take it off," she said. Trembling, he
did as she directed.
"Now take off my boots." He did as she asked, ever so slowly.
"Now take off my socks." He removed each gently and placed them neatly
by her boots.
"Now take off my skirt." He slowly unbuttoned it, constantly watching her
eyes in the fire light.
"Now take off my bra." Again with trembling hands he did as he was
told and dropped it to the floor.
Now," she said, "take off my panties." By the light of the fire, he
slowly pulled them down and off.
Then she looked at him and said, "If you ever wear my clothes
into town again,
I'll fire you on the spot."
Originally posted by mrnoodle
happy happy joy joy!
I was just looking through all my paperbacks to see if I still have the first Dark Tower books (can't wait for sequel), and guess what I found?
The Brave Cowboy, by Edward Abbey. The book that shaped my views on nature vs. encroaching civilization (no, I'm not starting that up again, don't worry) more than any other.
It's a gem. You should read it.
[COLOR=indigo]One of my favorite books is "Flowers for Algernon". I love that book.[/COLOR]
I've read both the original, Hugo Winning novella and the expanded novel.
I remember liking the novella a lot better ... the story was tighter and most of the added stuff for the book was clearly padding to make it salable as a corollary product for the movie.
Michael Sheremer: TheScience of Good and Evil
From Booklist
The source of morality is the topic under discussion in Shermer's latest book to champion rationalism. Religion received a critique in How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science (1999) and does so again as Shermer offers propositions on the origin of our ordinary, innate sense of right and wrong. Disposing of religion's rival, moral relativism, Shermer dedicates his effort to convincing readers that his thesis, labeled "provisional morality," makes more sense. What that means is that ethical rules are accepted conditionally and are as falsifiable as any scientific theory. Shermer takes this precept into the realm of evolutionary psychology, drawing applied ethics from such drastically different sources as anthropological field studies in Amazonia and the TV show The Honeymooners. Contending that the source of ethics is solely evolutionary, Sherman conducts his argument in an assertive but not gratuitously aggressive fashion. This stance as well as his populistic bent should earn him the hearing that he clearly hopes believers in God will give him. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805075208/qid=1077202335//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-5061741-7514349?v=glance&s=books&n=507846A) Have you read The Genealogy of Morals? I am currently reading this book and find it to contain many 'awesome moments of philosophy'.
'Must not our actually German word gut (good) mean "the godlike, the man of godlike race"? and be identical to the national name (originally the noble's name) of the Goths?'
B) From your blurb, I couldn't actually figure out where he claimed that morals come from. Amazon gave me a better idea of it, and given the names (Micheal Shermer, Steven Pinker) I assume that it is more credible than I first thought.
This thread is too good to let disappear!
Has anyone hear read A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge? While I'm not currently reading it, I think it is the next book I am going to read, when I finish slogging threw Narnia.
I've read it once before, and it is in my top twenty books of all time, maybe even top ten.
One thing I was thinking, was that we could try something along the lines of the cd exchange with books. I don't mean we set up a chain and send books, I mean maybe we can all agree on a book to read every month, and we can have a forum to discuss it. Hmm... :typing:
Originally posted by Slartibartfast
This thread is too good to let disappear!
Has anyone hear read A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge? While I'm not currently reading it, I think it is the next book I am going to read, when I finish slogging threw Narnia.
I've read it once before, and it is in my top twenty books of all time, maybe even top ten.
That book rocks!!!!!!!!!
Originally posted by Griff
That book rocks!!!!!!!!!
Oh Yes! I love the well thought out aliens that basically have brains that are a distributed networks. (Vinge is a computer science guy)
But my favorite idea out of the book is the way Vinge structures the galaxy. I've read a lot of science fiction, and I've never run into an idea quite like his.
And I just looked at my earlier post and saw two errors that would make my english teacher cringe.
Originally posted by Torrere
A) Have you read The Genealogy of Morals? I am currently reading this book and find it to contain many 'awesome moments of philosophy'.
'Must not our actually German word gut (good) mean "the godlike, the man of godlike race"? and be identical to the national name (originally the noble's name) of the Goths?'
B) From your blurb, I couldn't actually figure out where he claimed that morals come from. Amazon gave me a better idea of it, and given the names (Micheal Shermer, Steven Pinker) I assume that it is more credible than I first thought.
Sorry for the delay in responding, lost in the wash and all that...
I'll have to look it up.
You have to like a guy whose organization has Penn Jilette (sp) on his board.
Edit: went back and answered the first point
[COLOR=indigo]I'm getting desperate.
"One Hundred Years of Solitude". Supposed to be this literary masterpiece. Nobel prize winning author.
I'm over 300 pages in, and I don't get it.
The names are mostly the same, which gets very confusing after the first 3 generations, and the writing style is jumbled and goes from present to future to past with very little segue.
This is supposed to be the best book he's written. And I still don't get it.
Has someone else read this? Can you tell me what I'm missing?[/COLOR]
edit: corrected the spelling of segue.
Originally posted by Slartibartfast
Has anyone hear read A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge? While I'm not currently reading it, I think it is the next book I am going to read, when I finish slogging threw Narnia.
I never thought of Narnia as a slog ... you reading them in the "traditional" order, or the "order of events" order?
Your mentioning A Fire Upon the Deep caused a disused synapse to fire, and one rummage and book avalanche later, it turns out that I have a copy I never got around to reading. A friend of mine thrust it into my hands in a book store some years back and said "buy this." I did, but never got around to reading it. I'll have to do so now.
(I also found out during this that I appear to have both the paperback and the hardback of "slippage" by Harlan Ellison.)
Originally posted by wolf
I never thought of Narnia as a slog ... you reading them in the "traditional" order, or the "order of events" order?
It just seems to be going a bit slow. I'm reading them in the order the books are numbered. Lion, Witch..., Caspian, Dawn Treader.
Originally posted by wolf
A friend of mine thrust it into my hands in a book store some years back and said "buy this."
That's very funny, because I did exactly the same thing to a friend of mine. I though it would be his type of book, so I was pretty ticked off when he gave up reading it saying he wasn't getting into it. He said he didn't like Vinge's style of throwing you into what is going on, and then only bit by bit explaining what the hell is going on. Funny, that was one of the things I
liked about Fire Upon the Deep.
So wolf, just be aware that there will be times in the book (up to about half way) when things don't completely make sense, expect to understand it all later.
Originally posted by OnyxCougar
[COLOR=indigo]One of my favorite books is "Flowers for Algernon". I love that book.[/COLOR]
Great book and very good movie. Cliff Robertson nailed it. Some books can make you cry. The scene where he drops in on his teacher after regressing is a tear jerker.
Originally posted by OnyxCougar [COLOR=indigo]I'm getting desperate.
"One Hundred Years of Solitude". Supposed to be this literary masterpiece. Nobel prize winning author.
I'm over 300 pages in, and I don't get it.
Has someone else read this? Can you tell me what I'm missing?[/COLOR]
I don't think you are missing anything. A college English prof recommended that book to me so I bought it, read about 50 or so pages, and tossed it away. It sucked. I remember having the same problem you are having: who are these people, what's going on, where am I, what is he talking about, etc.
Sometimes, these masterpeices are masterpieces for reasons other than "its a really gripping page-turner" or "what a really insightful point of view he has" or some other sound byte reason. I never figured it out, shrugged my shoulders and forgot about it until now. That was 27 years ago.
I read enough of that stuff during college - from Hegel to a whole cadre of deconstructionists who can write the most tortured prose imaginable. I'll take a page turner or a good sci-fi or whatever over that stuff anytime.
I just got to the point where I figured my time was more important than figuring out why a book I couldn't stand to read was really important.
I just listened to the audio version of Crichton's Prey, the nano-technology thriller.
Before you torch me for "reading" Crichton, my neighborhood branch library has a limited selection of books on cassette that I can listen to in my car during my long commute.
Bottom line: Chaos theory meets Pandora's box done to the tune of undercooked chicken. Literally, Jurassic park but with molecule-sized villians and a lot more of them. It wasn't thrilling and no one, not even an "out-of-ideas-Hollywood," will ever make a movie of it.
Originally posted by Slartibartfast
It just seems to be going a bit slow. I'm reading them in the order the books are numbered. Lion, Witch..., Caspian, Dawn Treader.
You must have an older publication. The recent publications rearranged the order.
I just reread my three Moomintroll books (Finn Family Moomintroll, Moominland Midwinter, Moominvalley in November). Those are fun.
Fydor Dostoevski's Crime and Punishment.
Both painful, utterly excruciating. Fantatstic piece of writing, brilliantly crafted. Makes me want to learn russian to read the original. Neil Stepherson's Suicksilver is on the todo but too daunting list.
Just finished Quicksilver last week. It's not quite as good as Cryptonomicon, but I think that's because Crypro really stands on its own. Quicksilver is part 1 of 3. I think it's building the foundation for the rest of the series. I've been dropping hints liek crazy that I want the next book for my birthday next month. It's coming out at the end of April.
Anyone else notice that Stephenson really seems to change his writing style from chapter to chapter. Some are real fast paced page turners, and others are real dry technical ones. Both are good, but the switching back and forth from one style to another is sometime abrupt. I realize the style usually changes as he follws one character over another, but sometime the style changes when writing about the same character.
I really enjoyed Stephenson's earlier works. Diamond Age and Snow Crash were outstanding.
Originally posted by glatt
Just finished Quicksilver last week. It's not quite as good as Cryptonomicon, but I think that's because Crypro really stands on its own. Quicksilver is part 1 of 3.
That's (along with the ton of unread books staring at me) why I'm waiting until they're all out to read them. I hate waiting for the rest of the story.
When will the next "Song of Ice and Fire" be out? :mad:
Originally posted by Happy Monkey
[B
When will the next "Song of Ice and Fire" be out? :mad: [/B]
I don't know, but it better be soon, I've already forgotten half the story. Between that and the Dark Tower series I was beginning to think King and Martin were out to drive me insane waiting for the next piece of the puzzle. Luckily King finally finished Wolves of the Calla. But Martin has left me hanging for far too long. :angry:
Snow Crash and Diamond Are are both legendary books, I keep copies of both. I enjoy Stepherson's writing style but christ, he needs to learn hwo to end a fucking book. Seriously, take the ending of Cryptonomicon for example, talk about quick! It's like he got bored and just wrapped it up in a page. It's not terrible and doesn't really detract from the books but it's...distinctive.
It's been a year or two since I read Cryptonomicon, but I agree with you. He spends 600 pages building an excellent story, and the ending takes less than 10 pages. Still, Crypto was an amazing book. He has so many ideas floating around in his head that he tries so hard to link together into a story.
Quicksilver is almost 1000 pages. So you get your money's worth. Forget about taking it out of the library though, most people don't have time to read a book that long before it's due back. And it's a popular book, so the waiting list keeps you from renewing.
Just finished "Northern Mysteries and Magick" by Freya Aswynn, so I'm back onto "Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge, which I'd interrupted for the research.
Just got a big tasty box of books from the Conservative Book Club too (*rubs hands together*). Hannity's new one is in there, and Treason (yeah, the one by the Devil in the Blue Dress) and a book about the atomic spies at Los Alamos.
(oh and the current "bathroom book" is "An Idiot's Guide to Shamanism.")
I bought my copy at the wonderful Foyles in London, hardback. It's been sitting on the pile ever since.. :(
I do find that massive mess of ideas facinating, bits of so many ideas and concepts floating around. As someone that's worked with the kind of individuals in Cryptonomicon (loved the guy with the house with the whireboard-walls) it hit a real chord with me, that feeling of riding this incredible wave of innovation, living in a swirl of ideas.
Did you read them all yet? If you liked them, try The Talisman and Black House.
I knocked off Engine City last week by Ken MacLeod. It was weaker than the first two in the series but not bad. He must have gotten some feedback from his publisher that folks wern't getting it because he was much more explicit about his vision of gods etc.. I don't think it was necessary. I still like Star Fraction the first book I read by him the best.
I had had my head pretty deep into some historical analysis of 11th century Britain for a while when my Ex loaned me a little fiction. I hadnt read any fiction for about two years and was kind of pleased at having a little light relief in my reading.
I didnt expect much of the book.....Its won literary prizes which I am ashamed to say generally turns me right off :P I love literature but I get myself quite wound up at the tight definition in some circles of what exactly constitutes great literature and theres always that Schoolroom worthiness to be ware of hehe
So.....I started reading and am currently halfway through one of the best books I have read in a decade or more.
"Life of Pi"
I can highly recommend it. Beautiful. whimsical, laugh out loud funny, dark in places.... a heady mix of philosophy, theology, zoology and humour. Bravo
QUOTE].[/I'm getting desperate.
"One Hundred Years of Solitude". Supposed to be this literary masterpiece. Nobel prize winning author.
I'm over 300 pages in, and I don't get it.
The names are mostly the same, which gets very confusing after the first 3 generations, and the writing style is jumbled and goes from present to future to past with very little segue.
This is supposed to be the best book he's written. And I still don't get it.
Has someone else read this? Can you tell me what I'm missing?
[QUOTE]
I remember reading that on the recommendation of a total Marquez fanatic. ...I loved it, but I could no more explain it than you. I think I liked the fabric of it. It almost doesnt matter what the detail is.....its the smell and the feel of the endless rain, its the grief that underlies the economic realities of oppression and its the hybridised culture born of previous culture clashes, magical realism at its finest though I know many object to that term. Its a fantasy woven by a storyteller poet to while away the hot hours of political frustration
I just finished (yeah, I'm a latecomer sometimes) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Yeah, the Steve Covey corporate rah-rah book. I'd actually been meaning to read this for some time ... The hospital went all TQM-y about the time I started there. I had studiously avoided reading any of the indoctrination manuals or becoming too actively involved.
It's interesting to see how far, over a 12 year span, you can stray from the original intent (Having a megalomaniacal Executive Director makes that a lot easier, of course).
My coworkers were becoming a bit frustrated with my attempts to apply what I have learned from this fine tome ... but they realized I was going to be all right when I yelled at the office manager, "Give me a fucking break, I'm trying to be proactive and think win/win here, BITCH."
(That's a real quote, not one made up for the purposes of your amusement. After all, I don't work in a normal office.)
It seems to me that almost everyone reads one book at a time. My wife does that. She can't stand the fact that I read several books at once and can follow each one.
What I'm reading now:
1) The Templars' Secret Island - The Knights, the Priest and the Treasure - Erling Haagensen and Henry Lincoln
2) The Man Of Mt. Moriah - Clarence Miles Boutelle
3) The A to Z of Serial Killers - Harold Schechter and David Everitt
4) The Secret History Of Rock - The Most Influential Bands You've Never Heard - Roni Sarig
5) UFOs, JFK, and Elvis - Conspiracies You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Believe - Richard Belzer
I would suggest "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis" to anyone.
I often have several books on the go. Right now i am reading the "Life of Pi" , "Harold:The Last Anglo Saxon King" and "Bede's Hitoria Ecclesiastica"( though that last one is actually a printed out copy of translation I found online :)
I have great difficulty with crossover if the books I am reading are too similar though.....so....If I am reading fiction ( seemingly rare these last couple years ) I might have a humourous contemporary novel on the go at the same time as some high fantasy....Usually always have at least one piece of historical analysis on the go....I found though that I had to give up reading any historical fiction set in the middle ages when I have historical research/study to do as that tends to confuse matters.....
I just completed "Pandora's Star" by Peter F. Hamilton. Has anybody else read stuff by this guy?? I think I'm more impressed by this than I have been by any other new-to-me author I've come across lately. It's an extremely complicated story, with several seeming disjointed threads coming together as the book closes. (I don't say end, because it's a cliffhanger as we await the next volume.) In fact, it took me a really long time to read it by my standards (4 weeks for 750 pages)--I read most normal fiction pretty quickly. But I never felt like it was dragging at all.
Oh, and I just started Neal Stephenson's "The Confusion" on Wednesday. I like it so far.
One of my all time favourite book titles was "Gun, with Occassional music" cant recall the author now, but it was a hell of a good book. Same guy did one called Amnesia Moon, he's an Australian sci fi writer...which reminds me, has anybody else noticed that Australia has produced some damned classy Sci Fi authors?
"On Killing" by Lt Col, USA (ret.) Dave Grossman.
excellent booking examining the psychology behind making an ordinary citizen into a soldier capable of pulling the trigger on another person.
before that "Company Commander" by Charles McDonald. again excellent memoir of WWII replacement officer. he went on to become chief historian for the army.
Whooeee ... Lt. Col Dave!!
He's a very cool guy, great speaker. Good fun at a conference.
I've been meaning to read his book. Thanks for bringing it back to my attention.
it is a very easy read wolf, you could blow through it in a weekend if you wanted.
Lt Col, USA (ret.) Dave Grossman.
Oh.....Does he lecture at Sandhurst? Is he a surprisingly young looking chap for that rank and designation? If so he was the fella I saw on a documentary recently "The Truth about killing" He was fascinating
Not Sandhurst thats the english place, whats the US military academy?
he did teach at west point but at the time my edition was published he was on staff at Arkansas State.
as far as good looking? that is kind of subjective and i kind of lean towards leggy brunettes, without, well you know - a penis.
Attractive, yeah, but good looking? Probably depends on lighting.
What I do know is that he gave the best explaination for the action of neurotransmitters in critical incident stress situations ... involved an analogy about a screen door and a pit bull.
I didnt say goodlooking....I said surprisingly young looking for his position. To be credited withthe invention of a whole brand of pshycological study and be claimed in documentaries as " the worlds' leading expert in the psychology of killing" suggested to me someone older, I was surprised when he looked younger thna I had imagined he would.
*chuckles* interesting that both of you equated young looking with good looking though
although.....thinking about it he was attactive in a quirky low key kind of a way
I just strip-mined the public libraries of Allegheny County to set me up for the rest of the summer. God bless interlibrary loaning.
Finished:
The Teeth of The Tiger by Clancy. Remarkably shorter than his other works, blew through it in a few days. Kind of a tentative nature about the whole thing, like he wanted to get it out in stores before anything more happened in the real world and fucked with his plotline. Not as much politically naivete as Executive Orders or The Bear and The Dragon, but still there.
Glorious Appearing by Tim LaHeye & Jerry Jenkins. I think this is the last book in the Left Behind series, not sure if they're going to keep going. I'd read the rest, so I wanted to see how it was all capped off. It was somewhat funny to watch them sidestep the parts of the Revelations prophecy that they didn't know squat about. I swear, there's a part in the book where a character goes "Why will Jesus be letting Satan back out into the world after a thousand years? Hey, look how shiny Jerusalem is!"
Currently Reading:
Fluke: Or, I Know Why The Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore. Nice to know it's not just the toeing of the sacrilege/blasphemy line in Lamb that drew my appreciation, this guy is genuinely a hilarious and skilled writer. Coming up on the end, worth a read from everything I've seen thus far.
On the Stack:
The Summons and The Last Juror by Grisham
Star Wars: Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn (The father of the Star Wars novel - YAY!)
In The Presence Of Mine Enemies by Harry Turtledove
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Syrup by Maxx Barry (of Jennifer Government fame - good book, that)
The Confusion by Neal Stephenson
Waiting for Pickup:
Bob Woodward's book, the title escapes me at the moment.
The DaVinci Code
Quicksilver by Stephenson
Probably a few more that I can't recall ordering in.
I saw someone recommend just outright purchasing Stephenson's books, as opposed to getting them out of the library due to time constraints. They're right, his stuff alone will break even the stoutest of mule's backs hauling it home, let alone eat up your time. Does no one else have over-the-phone renewal through their library? I refuse to believe that Allegheny County is avant-garde with anything.
Originally posted by Chewbaccus
I saw someone recommend just outright purchasing Stephenson's books, as opposed to getting them out of the library due to time constraints. They're right, his stuff alone will break even the stoutest of mule's backs hauling it home, let alone eat up your time. Does no one else have over-the-phone renewal through their library? I refuse to believe that Allegheny County is avant-garde with anything.
At our library the "new book" period is 2 weeks, with a 2 week renewal if nobody else has asked for it. That looks like enough time for me to finish The Confusion--I'm over halfway so far.
Since upgrading to a new catalog system 2? years ago, the Delaware County public library system lets you view your checked-out items on the web and renew them. They are supposed to be adding phone-based renewal, which they do not have at the moment.
I recently finished John Le Carre's "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold", on Jag's recommendation, and I really loved it, I'm looking forward to reading more of his work. I was bitterly disappointed by the ending, until I realised that it was the only ending that would make sense.
Currently reading "Dark Tide I", from the New Jedi Order series.
I read "The Da Vinci Code" a short while ago. It was a pretty quick read, and I guess I enjoyed it, but some of the theories raised in the story were just too implausible for me to remain "in" the story. That said, it was an excellent lazy day diversion.
Edit: fixed a misspelling helpfully pointed out by Lookout, below. :)
The Owner's Manual for the Brain
Good book, but pack a lunch, it's huge.
It's a great cover of many of the governing ideas about the mind, the brain and how they work together to make a person who they are.
Originally posted by perth
I recently finished John Le Carre's "The Soy Who Came in From the Cold",
is that intrigue for the lactose intolerant?
I'm trying to find the time to get started on
Imajica.
"I specialize in unlikely."
I really, really liked that line.
Damn. Spy. Correcting now.
sorry perth - i'm not really that anal retentive, i just couldn't resist.
have i mentioned that Airplane is one of my favorite movies?
Oh, I appreciate you pointing it out. I hate spelling errors as well, especially when I'm the one making them.
Spelling errors are one thing, but at least you didn't have a camera crew there to catch you mis-spelling "potato" to an 8-year-old.
Rumor has it that the Secret Service had standing orders "If Bush dies in office, kill Quale."
Just a rumor.........
maybe.........
After the Ecstasy, the Laundry.
Very interesting book, with an awesomely funny title.
Perhaps Tomas Rueda should read this one to help cope with his OOBE.
Redemption by Leon Uris. Not a bad read.
Uris can tell a story, but it's been a while since I've read him. Maybe I'll pick one up.
I'm reading Stephenson's Zodiac right now. Its remarkably different than crypto but still makes science readable. Very Cool.
Also just finished Bill O'Reilly's "Who's Looking Out For You."
Quick read, but a lot of sensible stuff in there.
Just finished re-reading Songlines by Bruce Chatwin. *Pats self on back* I used to be one of those people who read several books at once and polished off 3 or 4 books a week. Now a days I haven't been able to sustain the concentration to read a book through beginning to end for at least the past 4 years. My neurologist suggested trying to read books I've read in the past, and it worked!
Just finished 'The Dice Man' and also trying to get through 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist' - worth reading? Some interesting points in The Dice Man, re personality and the construction of the 'self' - I do recommend it, although unfortunately as with any best-selling border-philosophical fiction it glamourises its rather valuable message to the point of ridicule. Shame.
Tommy Franks - American Soldier. i would recommend it to others. there are a few "love me" parts in it, but overall a good read.
I'll just go right on ahead and assume you're not talking about a biography or autobiography of Andrew 'Dice' Clay ...
I just finished reading "Shaman" by Sandra Miesel.
Pretty solid fantasy novel, which had some interesting aspects to it, particularly the nanny-state society the main character lived in.
Wouldn't have picked it up on my own, but a coworker leant it to me. He had gotten it because he is doing a review on one of the author's other books, and wanted to get some of the flavor of her early work before starting.
I read Neil Gaiman's biography of Douglas Adams, so of course I had to reread the Hitchhiker's Guide. I'm currently up to book 4.
I'm on my fourth Patricia Moyes book in a row. Love me some British mystery authors. Huzzah, Chief Superintendent Tibbett! :D
Some John Grisham book...lemme go look and see what the title is...
"The Street Lawyer." I bought it at Lambert Airport in St. Louis last week to pass time...I've read about 2/3 of it, and it's great thus far.
"The Dark Tower" the last of The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I'm setting aside my entire Thursday afternoon to reading this book.
I'm also reading "Modern Systems Analysis and Design" You have to love college text books. :3eye:
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thomson
Natasha's Dance by Orlando Figes
I read Neil Gaiman's biography of Douglas Adams, so of course I had to reread the Hitchhiker's Guide. I'm currently up to book 4.
They're currently rerunning the
Guide on BBC Radio 4,
here's a link to related stuff.
I've been listening. Fun!
The American Leadership Tradition
Actually more interesting than it seems to be from the title. Takes a look at various moral issues across the political landscape, from Washington to Clinton, with side trips to visit Henry Clay, Booker T. Washington, and John D. Rockefeller.
At long last, I've started "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins. It's been on my "to read" pile for too long.
Blazed through DaVinci code in about five or six hours. Very entertaining. I bet that guy is farting through silk.
I thought that was the lamest mystery story I've read in years, but all my hippy chick, new age friends swear it's the most significant thing they've read in years (probably a true statement on some of their parts).
Once I break out of work today and get to the book store, I'll be buying and reading the 3rd issue of Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things (a comic graphic novel for those not in the know) and Terry Pratchett's new book Going Postal. I expect to get through both over the course of this weekend.
Rainer Rilke; took me hours to pick just one last night. Do Barnes and Noble employees ever look at you like you need to get a life? (I did put the remaining 49 books back before closing time)
I have an edition of Rilke (picked up off a clearance rack for a buck) that has the original German text on the left with the English translation on the facing page. The poems really do read better in German, but it's interesting to see how the translator worked, made word choices, and so on.
Frank G. Slaughter "Constantine" " The miracle of the flaming cross."
the complete short stories of O. Henry. Say what you will, they make for good third-shift on the crazy ward reading.
At long last, I've started "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins. It's been on my "to read" pile for too long.
Just pulled that up on Amazon. What an interesting array of reviews they have listed there.
One star......or five. Too bad I dont actually read books and instead prefer to watch Fox News. I might give it a go. :biggrin:
Jon Stewart's America -- has anyone else picked this one up, yet? I started cracking up the moment I opened the cover and saw the old school book check-in/out stamp on the inside cover.
I give it higher marks than The Onion's
Our Dumb Century. :thumbsup:
Any book banned by Wal*Mart has at least one thing going for it.
My favorite quote so far: "The Magna Carta was signed 1n 1215. This is, by law, the only thing you are required to know about it."
[list]
[*]Programming Ruby : The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide - Dave Thomas, with Chad Fowler and Andy Hunt
[*]How to Play Jazz and Improvise - Jamie Aebersold
[*]Rereading Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
[*]Just finished rereading The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle
[/list]
I thumbed through it in a store for a few minutes. It's really funny. I'm number 40 on the library waiting list. Should be a few weeks before I get to read it.
Readin "The Screwtape Letters".. wow is that a messed up book. \
I love the part where the author says that he refuses to tell you how he came upon these letters..(insert Twilight Zone theme music)
Ah my dear, dear Wormwood. Heheh -- I love that book.
So that's where Calvin's teacher's name came from!
"Clever girl.."
[list]
[*]Just finished rereading The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle
[/list]
I just finished
Tamsin by the same author.
Helping Someone With Mental Illness by Rosalyn Carter.
Yes, the former First Lady.
I have an autographed copy.
OK, I'll admit it, it was unintentional. You know those massive remaindered book sales ... the ones where hardbacks are $3 and paperbacks are $1?
That's how I got mine, several years ago. It just percolated up to the top of the book pile.
I didn't even know that there was an autograph in it, until I started reading it earlier this week.
It's actually a pretty good guide to dealing with a mental illness, whether you're a family member or friend, professional, or the mentally ill person. Goes over diagnoses, medications, treatment, support groups ... pretty much the whole gamut, includes appropriate inspirational stories, but also makes the realities and difficulties faced by the chronically mentally ill quite clear.
[list]
[*]Rereading Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
[/list]
So what does he have to say about it?
I've read several of Card's things. I really really liked Ender's Game, but I was profoundly ambivalent about most of the others.
So what does he have to say about it?
I've read several of Card's things. I really really liked Ender's Game, but I was profoundly ambivalent about most of the others.
I also loved Ender's Game. I figured that it was so good, Card must be a great writer, and I read a buch of his stuff too. At first I enjoyed everything, but then I read a few books with no substance and realized he was just phoning it in. Then there's the whole political aspect of Card in the real world, but that's already been covered here in the past.
Since HP 6 is now finished, I had to find some new books to tide me over... plus I'm not in school anymore, I have no job and law & order reruns are starting to bore me... so far this summer I have enjoyed:
Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold - Fabulous
Lunch at the Picadilly by Clyde Edgerton - NC book
An Innocent, A broad - Anne Leary
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
Witches - Roald Dahl
James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
Dumb books that I read:
Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks - I thought it was really stupid. I know a lot of people like his books, and I thought I would be one of them, but this book was just dumb...
Right now I'm trying to read A Gallant Company - The Men of The Great Escape by Jonathan Vance.
Mental Patients keep interfering with my reading time.
just finished JANE EYRE and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST. Going to dig into some more classic stuff, if the eyes hold out. Need reading glasses all of a sudden! So freaking hot out--can't do anything but stay indoors and read. Might as well be depths of winter.
Another goodie--THE GOLDEN BOOK OF FAIRY TALES, ed. Jane Werner, illustrated by Garth Williams.
Just finished the second-to-last Dark Tower book; waiting for the last to come out in trade paperback.
Started "Kushiel's Dart" based on a friend's recommendation--I don't normally like high fantasy at all, but my friend said this was palatable and so far she's been right.
I'm cheating : I don't read them currently but I enjoyed them. :biggrin:
Do you forgive me ? :blush:
“A People’s History of the United States. 1492 – Present”
HarperCollins Publishers
written by Howard Zinn, professor in Boston University
the history of US seen by people who usually can’t tell their point of vue : Indians, slaves, trade unionists, soldiers, farmers, GIs in Vietnam…
A 800 pages bible. Very, very interesting.
I’m desperately looking for such a book about France.
How US constitution was written, racism was enacted in law, Texas and California were add to US, wars were decided…
To begin with new age :
“The celestine prophecy” James Redfield
“The Secret of Shambhala : In Search of the Eleventh Insight” James Redfield
Very interesting but not always true :
“Conversations with God, an uncommon dialogue” Neale Donald Walsch
“Mutant message down under” Marlo Morgan.
HarperCollins Publishers
American doctor initiated to Australian aboriginal mysteries. Excellent, easy to read.
“the biggest secret” : 1999 David Icke
(As for me, I know that all that’s esoteric (energy, symbols…) in this book is possible)
for people who enjoyed World history, UFO, Da Vinci Code, Illuminatis…
Even if you think it’s impossible and crazy, everybody should read such a book once.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0952614766/104-3865737-2808743?v=glance
In the same kind of book “Le livre jaune n°5” and “Le livre jaune n°6”
It’s a little less “crazy” than David Icke. I’ve just found it in French but it’s free on the web :
http://chronos66.free.fr/pdf/jvh.pdf
http://www.leseditionsfelix.com/livrejaune.html
After those books we can read the Genesis in the bible.
A very creative art in France (and Belgium, like French fries) comics (sorry it’s not those I prefer) :
http://www.read-box.com/
Clic ENTRER, bibliothèque on top, chose a picture, clic “lancer la lecture”, suite, zoom, suite page suivante…
I prefer page 9 : ”La conjuration d’opale”, ”le combat ordinaire” (excellent, need to be french to understand ?), p13 ”Où le regard ne porte pas”, p16 ”Thorgal”, p1 ”Bételgeuse”, p19 ”XIII”…
Maybe you can find a US one which is a masterpiece :
Maus : A Survivor's Tale : My Father Bleeds History / Here My Troubles Began
by Art Spiegelman about the Shoah
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679748407/qid=1123839892/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-3865737-2808743?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Favorite french classic novels :
“Count of Monte Cristo” Alexandre Dumas : really better than all films inspired by it.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743487559/qid=1123840412/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/104-3865737-2808743
“Michael Strogoff” Jules Vernes restless adventure without any boring description he’s used to.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1404320938/qid=1123840339/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/104-3865737-2808743
“The Fortune of the Rougons” by Emile Zola
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1595690107/qid=1123840178/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-3865737-2808743?v=glance&s=books
Good reading !
Helping Someone With Mental Illness by Rosalyn Carter.
Yes, the former First Lady.
I have an autographed copy.
OK, I'll admit it, it was unintentional. You know those massive remaindered book sales ... the ones where hardbacks are $3 and paperbacks are $1?
That's how I got mine, several years ago. It just percolated up to the top of the book pile.
I didn't even know that there was an autograph in it, until I started reading it earlier this week.
It's actually a pretty good guide to dealing with a mental illness, whether you're a family member or friend, professional, or the mentally ill person. Goes over diagnoses, medications, treatment, support groups ... pretty much the whole gamut, includes appropriate inspirational stories, but also makes the realities and difficulties faced by the chronically mentally ill quite clear.
Would that be of any help in dealing with alzheimer's? My 65 year old uncle out in CA lives by himself and has a pretty significant case of it. We, usually my mom who's an RN, try to go out there at least once every month or so to help him out, but we normally have to resort to dealing with issues over the phone.. which can be quite stressful for both parties.
Probably not. There are very significant differences in how you deal with a mentally ill person vs. someone with Alzheimers ... things like sundowning, and constant complaints that "people are breaking in and stealing my things, and then breaking in to give them back" are not common to mental illness ... neither is truly random combativeness, and misidentifying people as folks from their pasts.
It's sad, and I've worked with some folks who are actually senile but come into the mental health system because there sometimes isn't anywhere else to go ...
I expect that there are some books on Alzheimers/Senility/Aging and coping with it, but I haven't run across any ... I probably should, as I've noticed some memory and attention problems in my mom, especially over the last two years or so.
I'd also recommend that your mom start looking into Alzehimer's Units in nursing homes near your uncle's house (there's one near here with the tagline "Specialty Living for the Memory Impaired"). Tell your mom to chat with other nurses, particularly pool or float nurses. They will absolutely know where the good and bad places are.
Just finished DANGEROUS MUSE a life of Lady Caroline Blackwood ( she was married to Lucian Freud, Isreal Citkowitz and Robert Lowell) and GREAT GRANNY WEBSTER, by Lady Caroline Blackwood. Good stuff. I love titled, crazy, alcoholic, bi-polar stories. They are sooooo interesting. :)
Does 'Forum' count?
An excerpt: "I never thought this would happen to me and I dont know if anyone'll believe it, but it really did! My regular pool guy must have been sick because he sent two 6' Amazonian women to clean my pool, instead..."
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
I blazed through the new one and discovered that I had missed several background details. Turns out I skipped the previous book. So while I enjoyed the Half Blood Prince, it was also full of spoilers for the Order of the Phoenix. I'm reading and enjoying it anyway.
I'm a slow learner. The Order of the Phoenix is spoiler packed for those among us who haven't read The Goblet of Fire. *sigh*
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. It's an odd novel of vampire lore.
I'm reading my third book in as many days--not because I read them very fast, but because the first two sucked so hard I didn't get more than 30 pages in. Both were loaned to me by a friend, which is a shame because up until now I had trusted her taste in books.
The first was
Kushiel's Dart, and the second was
Sunshine. They were both horrible.
I'm having to re-read one of my favorite books now just to remind myself that it's not me, I haven't suddenly lost my ability to enjoy books or something.
Let's all read, um...Hardy's TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES!
Or, if that is too much of a drag, we could all read some Hawthorne--Young Goodman Brown or Rappaccini's Daughter. Get us ready for Halloween!
Just knocked off Snowcrash. um... wow
yeah. that was cool.
edit: linkified for Brianna
mmmm. You guys either know more than I do--or LESS.
What are you yammering about? Snowcrash? Is that, like, some sort of Sidney Sheldon thing????
Obviously, I canna keep up. I'm only on the 1950's...so...much...lit...kulchar...
*cough* *cough*
dramatic death...and
eyeliner.
*gasp*
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. It's an odd novel of vampire lore.
I read that! It was a great first novel - I can't wait to see what she'll do next.
The first was Kushiel's Dart,
Just curious - why didn't you like Kushiel's Dart? Was it too much like a romance novel for you? I did like that book as well as the other two in the series.
In an effort to keep myself from checking only nonfiction out of the city library:
Ireland, by Frank Delaney. Bill O'Reilly recommended it, nice Irish boy that he is. Sort of Irish history as myth, and myths as Irish history.
In nonfiction, Allah's Torch and The Blitzkrieg Myth.
The first was Kushiel's Dart, and the second was Sunshine. They were both horrible.
30 pages, eh? I don't think I would have made it past the cover art ...
I'm about to start Brutal Mercies by R.E. Yantorno.
The author is a local cop, and the book is set in the Philadelphia area.
Just curious - why didn't you like Kushiel's Dart? Was it too much like a romance novel for you? I did like that book as well as the other two in the series.
Yeah, the writing style was really nice; I was quite engaged for the first bit where the main character's a child... but then it started in with the political maneuvering--I find courtly political games to be really horrifically boring. And then it got all romance-y, which I just can't take seriously.
Just tore through the Grouphug book. Ridiculous.
Also recently read The Cathedral & the Bazaar.
Geek stuff.
I just finished "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers. Pretty good, I'm not sure how to describe the writing style. Think Kerouac, although more whiney and self-centered with a thick helping of sarcastic detachment.
Also pretty much everything, if not the entire book, in Cathedral & Bazaar is on Raymond's website. It's decent, though better when the stuff was fresh. My opinion of ESR has fallen greatly in the last year or two.
The Art of Unix Programming, available in full on ESR's site, is a decent read.
ESR's siteBased on a conversation at work tonight, I may reread American Psycho, if I can figure out where in my house i put it ... probably the back of the linen closet.
After that, I have an autographed copy of Rick Santorum's "It Takes a Family."
I am sure that RichLevy thinks that the plots of these two books are identical.
Now it's Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms, by Ed Rollins. Seems being a political campaign manager is wearing on a body and soul.
Four to recommend:
'Mad World, My Masters' - non fiction/factual by John Simpson (BBC World Correspondent) - well-structured collection of stories and anecdotes. His style never fails to surprise as the stories move to different conclusions than that expected.
'French Revolutions' - non-fiction/humour by Tim Moore - non-cyclist decides to bike the route of the Tour de France - will amuse even the non-cyclist (thank god for that!) - great story-teller with all the right material and incidents to make the job so much easier.
'To the Baltic with Bob - non-fiction/humour by Griff Rhyss-Jones - non-sailor Griff takes wooden yacht from UK to Tallinn in the Baltic Sea aided by equally incapable crew of two - three obtuse personalities inside cramped quarters make for an inspiring mix of humour and tragedy (the tragedy being the funny sort!)
'The Burning Girl' - fiction/crime by Mark Billingham - #4 in the Inspector Tom Thorne series. Set in and around London - believable characters, good story well told - researches thoroughly - consider the other 3 titles as well 'Sleepyhead', 'Scaredy-Cat' and 'Lazybones'
I just finished Lucky by Alice Sebold... wow - it was so good. She needs to write more books.... I've already read both of her books and both were GREAT!
A couple of days ago a U-Haul truck pulled up in front of the hospital. One of my coworkers saw it, said, "Oh shit, I'm outta here!" and headed for a room in the office with much better blast resistance.
I, on the otherhand, took my place behind the bullet resistant glass and cheerily asked, "How can I help you?" when the driver of the U-Haul and his girlfriend came into the foyer.
"Yeah, can we donate some books? We were patients here, and we know you always need stuff for the library." (our hospital is something of a match.com for lunatics)
"Sure," I said, having no idea what I was getting into ...
Several handtruck loads later there were eight banana boxes crammed full of books in my already cramped office.
Donated book rule is this ... staff goes through them first and removes anything that would be inappropriate for our unit ... (I sure hope someone pulled "Audrey Rose," "For the Love of Audrey Rose," and "The Exorcist" out of the boxes before they got to Activities ... I would have, but I already have all three of them).
The mix in the boxes was a lot better than we usually end up with ... plenty of mysteries, lots of science fiction, some stuff that would be appropriate for adolescents, and the customary ton of romance novels.
There was even a book on MC68000 Assembly Language lurking in the textbook box.
So, right now I am screening some classic Ellery Queen Mysteries for content prior to delivering them to the unit.
Most of the books of the "I really would want these" category were ones that I had already read, and for the most part, still have in my book closet. I already finished the Archie Double Digest and the Betty and Veronica Double Digest and have passed them onto my coworker's 10 year old daughter.
(she's ending up with a couple Hardy Boys mysteries, and at least three of the Black Stallion books, and the obligatory copy of Island of the Blue Dolphins.)
I've been reading a novel called "The Door to December" by Dean Koontz, and it's around 500 pages long
And on to The Neocon Reader, Irwin Stelzer, editor. Not a manifesto, but a collection of essays about, or relating to, what for convenience we'll call neocon ideas.
Probably not. There are very significant differences in how you deal with a mentally ill person vs. someone with Alzheimers ... things like sundowning, and constant complaints that "people are breaking in and stealing my things, and then breaking in to give them back" are not common to mental illness ... neither is truly random combativeness, and misidentifying people as folks from their pasts.
It's sad, and I've worked with some folks who are actually senile but come into the mental health system because there sometimes isn't anywhere else to go ...
I expect that there are some books on Alzheimers/Senility/Aging and coping with it, but I haven't run across any ... I probably should, as I've noticed some memory and attention problems in my mom, especially over the last two years or so.
I'd also recommend that your mom start looking into Alzehimer's Units in nursing homes near your uncle's house (there's one near here with the tagline "Specialty Living for the Memory Impaired"). Tell your mom to chat with other nurses, particularly pool or float nurses. They will absolutely know where the good and bad places are.
:thankyou:
[QUOTE=perth]Aldous Huxley.
I've been re-reading Vonnegut some, "Breakfast of Champions", "Slaughterhouse 5". I find I can't put one of his books down after I've started reading.
What did you get out of Slaughterhouse 5? Did you get you can't do anything to change the future so just go with it? I dont' know. What is Breakfast of Champions about? Please let me know.
Books I've Read in Iraq
A Clockwork Orange-brilliant
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest-decent
Haunted-weird read, but good-chuck palahnuik
Fight Club-Great read, very philosophical-CP
Choke-wierd, once again-CP
Siddartha-okay, good message
Catch 22-great read if you are in the military, very funny
To Kill A Mockingbird-Best book I've ever read
It Can't Happen Here-very boring, but profound message
Devils Apocrypha-just another twist on the Bible from Satan's point of view
To Reign In Hell-another Satan's point of view book
Farenhieght 451-Incredible
Naked Pictures of Famous People-Very Funny
American Gods-Neil Gaiman-Sci-Fi Fantasy, very amusing book
Angels and Demons-Dan Brown's book before Divinci Code, it's okay.
Illuminati-odd, but thought provoking
And yes, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince-I'm only about 15% into it, but I'm not impressed thus far...I know, I know
just finished Biggest Brother. bio of dick winters, the co of easy company WWII. (band of brothers). i bought that book right when it came out and was lucky enough to meet a few of the guys in social settings in arizona long before they became famous.
i'm not into celebrity worship/hero worship, but i still stand in absolute awe of some of those guys. i actually cried when the last one that i knew, John Martin, passed away earlier this year.
Books I've Read in Iraq
I've read about 3/4's of your list.
I'm reading Haunted by Chuck Pahaluniuk right now. Incredibly bizarre stuff.
Since you seem to like him, try American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, if you can find it.
"La Rose de Paris" : French book explaining how churches are built in an energetical purpose.
French cathedrals and some west european would also follow a map that would connect them to each other.
The same kind of geographical scheme was used :
- for Mitterrand "Grand Travaux" (Great Opera, Great Louvre Pyramid, Great Arch of La Défense...)
connecting them with french freemason's lodges.
- for French and some west european nuclear stations and nuclear waste deposits.
I haven't got the time to check if this theory is true and draw these maps myself but it explains me strange architectural details I've already noticed before.
Photo Grande Arche :
http://www.digischool.nl/ckv1/architectuur/arche/arche1.htm
Photos "Grands Travaux" in Paris
http://www.architect.org/gt/gt_photos.htmlIf you're interested in that stuff, let me recommend the graphic novel "From Hell" by Alan Moore.
I've been listening to books on cd. Does that make me a dweeb? I just got 3: 1776, General George Washington, and another one the jinx picked out. I dont know why, but i am, all of the sudden, interested in the revolutionary war.
Thank you HM
That reminds me of a really excellent French "Bande dessinée" melting Jack the Ripper and... Peter Pan. Meanwhile it introduces logically Disney's story. It's sometimes tender and funny, often dark, misery and hard, and explains why PP chose dreamworld rather than reality :
"Peter Pan", 6 books, by Régis Loisel,
http://www.lefantastique.net/bd/dossiers/loisel/peterpan.htm (with I> at the bottom)
http://www.bdparadisio.com/intervw/loisel/loisel.htm
http://loiselpan.free.fr/opikanoba/pagesprincipales/bd.htm
Régis loisel also drawn "La Quête de l'Oiseau du temps", another masterpiece in heroic fantasy.
http://tnimai.ifrance.com/i am reading "Desert Flower" by Waris (who is apparently a big model)
it is so inteesting to think that she is now a famous millionaire, but grew up in the desert, being genitally mutillated and chased by lions and now Elton John owns the rights to her autobiography!!
It is a bit of a stomach turner though, everytime she gets raped in the desert, or gets her naughty bits chopped off.. i get all woozy and have to put the book down and curl up under a blanket and rock myself to sleep :*
but all aside, it a great book, inspires you to get off the couch and do something useful.. like feed the cats or something.
meh, goodnight.
Just finished The Way Out by Craig Childs. Still ruminating on it but I would recommend. Other titles of his: The Secret Knowledge of Water and The Soul of Nowhere I would both highly recommend -- especially the latter.
Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
(This is a very strange and disturbed man. I'm only about 5 chapters into the book so far, and the plot has taken some really dramatic twists, even for one of his books. Oh, and if you haven't read it, you need to read Fight Club, even if you've already seen the movie, especially if you haven't.)
Palahniuk is an amazing writer. He says he gets all his ideas from stories he's heard from other people's lives. I just read Haunted and Choke. They were both good, disturbing, but good. He is here to stay. He has a very interesting fan base. He sends people fake poop and rubber chickens as gifts when they write to him. He is gay and addicted to pills. He loves Vicadin (sp). Fight Club was amazing. I loved the philosophy behind it. It was actually very enlightening.
"The more shit you own, the more your shit owns you."
Set This House in Order, by Matt Ruff.
A novel about two people with multiple-personality disorder, attempting to bring order to their minds. Highly recommended.
The Big U by Neal Stephenson.
It starts as a hilarious exageration of campus life, and ends in lunacy (frat boys worshipping a neon sign, D&D nerds dying in dungeon adventures, armed student rebellion, and a Crotobaltislavonian conspiracy).
Megatokyo
Hehe.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman.
"A bad time for humanity", but a very cool book. It gave me a feel for the time period, and a sense of how history repeats itself (three Napoleon-invasion-of-Russia type disasters, five peasant revolts, four French military disasters...). Only a handful of the people in the book ever learned. I liked being able to come home from work and read about the epic battles of times past.
hmm in the last 6 months(I dont have a lot of time to read have a lot of parental responsibilities)
the one that stands out most would be 11th hour,11th day,11th month...a very good read about WW1 a subject Ive taken
an interest in the past couple years.
Ive read two books of Terry Brooks latest Shanarra series, I saw several posts with regard to Wheel of Time, I feel that Brooks is a much more accomplished writer in this genre than Moddisett, there is a lot more action and a lot more characters coming and going in Brooks books, at least the Shanarra series, I never took a shine to the Landover novels.
I saw King and Straub wrote another novel together at the book store or the library I know, it was in hardcover.
Ive read alot of L Ron Hubbard though ive never read the Dianetics? that I guess he has become most famous for. He wrote I think it was a 12 book series called mission earth that was really fun reading, I highly recommend it, Hubbard writes on many different levels and there is really something in it for everyone. At least read battlefield Earth, if you saw the movie(with John Travolta, a Dianetics guy) it really doesnt hold a candle to the book but do movies ever?
I was sad to hear about Hunter Thompson, if you havent read Fear and Loathing do its a riot. If you have? read it again its still funny as hell.
Of course natl Geographic comes to the house every month, last month it was stem ceels yesterday a special issue about Africa showed up, talk about a horror story, though they always manage to find some sort of hope.
if you cant find a thing to read I highly advise going to pbs.org probably the best site on the web, they have a webpage for every episode of every show they have aired over the last 5 or 6 years I would say, my favorite area is Frontline(one of the better shows on tv), go there and watch 'the man who knew', but only if you really want to understand why 9/11 happened.
Reassessing the Presidency : The Rise of the Executive State and the Decline of Freedom- John V. Denson (editor)
It's nice to read something that reinforces your belief system once in a while as long as you read other stuff as well. That said, this book is right in my wheel house. There is a particularly good section on Andrew Jackson that I just finished but I have a lot more book to go. It is interesting reading this during the most grasping and least competent administration of my lifetime.
Rrrrff. Terry Brooks is slowly learning to write, but he's really somebody to write better than. Admittedly, that's not setting the bar as high as, say, writing better than Alan Dean Foster (always competent, always publishable -- and never great). Brooks' writing is amateurish: too many modifiers and a longstanding apparent fear of the word said. Hardly anyone in the Shannara books ever simply says anything; it's always an excess of synonyms. This kind of material niggles at me until I put the book firmly down (rather like in this post). It took me two tries to plough through Sword Of Shannara, and I've only leafed through the rest to see if Brooks had improved his prose. For years, he had not.
As for that sociopath Hubbard, who founded a "religion" for the money in it, the less said the better. Three paragraphs into the first chapter of the first book of BFE was enough for me to know the writing wouldn't get any better. That man desperately needed an editor, and never had one. I'm never picking up Dianetics or taking up Scientology; I read two biographies of the man back to back. Run, do not walk, from that stuff; no good could come out of the man in those bios.
For literary grace and style in the fantastic, give me a Zelazny or an Anderson any day. For philosophy and an admirable transparency of prose (a subtler gift than you might think), give me Heinlein.
Currently reading "Le Morte D'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory. It's primarily the Winchester manuscript with some of the missing pieces filled by the Caxton manuscript. The version I'm reading also maintains Malory's Middle-English spelling.
Excellent book, takes a bit of work to read but is more than worth it.
I've got a copy of that (probably not the same edition, though) that I bought in a books by the pound sale. I haven't read it yet.
Instead, I'm currently finishing up the latest Harry Potter book.
Grant, if you feel like taking a short break from that, try Ezra Pound's sestina Altaforte. Sometimes both words appear in the title, parted by a colon. It'll put the hair up on the back of your neck; Bertrans de Born was a man who was right over the edge -- and no mean poet, in medieval French, himself. Then lateral over to Joe Haldeman's Saul's Death for another spooky exercise in the sestina verse form.
Just finished The Runaway Jury by John Grisham.
I'm not much into Grisham, but it was an entertaining story.
And it worked SOOOOO much better with the tobacco companies as the bad guys.
i am reading "Desert Flower" by Waris (who is apparently a big model)
it is so inteesting to think that she is now a famous millionaire, but grew up in the desert, being genitally mutillated and chased by lions and now Elton John owns the rights to her autobiography!!
It is a bit of a stomach turner though, everytime she gets raped in the desert, or gets her naughty bits chopped off.. i get all woozy and have to put the book down and curl up under a blanket and rock myself to sleep :*
but all aside, it a great book, inspires you to get off the couch and do something useful.. like feed the cats or something.
meh, goodnight.
Thank you for the book recommendation... I just finished it and I really enjoyed it. I really respect her - and I never would have thought that I would have said that about a model.
DEEPSIX.
Jack Mcdevitt
sorry,ya'll It's good sci fi in my faster
than light universe.
Reading: The Women's Room--Marilyn French
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead--Stoppard (play)
Now: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Next: Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
I'm in a book slump... I keep getting these books that have the dumbest endings.
I just finished this book called "Babes in Captivity" - a sort of Desparate Housewives type of book... and it was lame.
One World, Ready or Not. By W. Greider. Don't think I'll make the finish.
Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and The Crusades)
Everybody needs to read this.
Seriously.
Sorry, I admit that i haven't read the whole thread yet, but is anyone still reading or finished the Dark Tower series? I am in the midst of Song Of Susannah, but it is an audiobook, therefore VERY slow going. I am just hoping that the end is not a bust, i read the poem the series is based on by Robert Browning (I think), and the ending doesn't leave much to anticipate. Besides that I am reading The Jungle and Slaughterhouse Five.
...is anyone still reading or finished the Dark Tower series?
I'm waiting for the last one to come out in trade paperback. I enjoyed the new additions to the series but had several eye-rolling moments in
Song of Susannah. The ending is worth it, but there's a little section about 3/4ths of the way through that I just couldn't take seriously. You'll know it when you get there.
I'm reading
Zodiac, the least-known work by Neal Stephenson, and I'm enjoying it very much. I think it was marketed poorly--the cover calls it an "eco-thriller," but it's totally not. Environmentalism (which is totally not my thing) is not what this book is about.
harry potter 2 is the best
I didn't like HP 2 or 3 as much as HP 1 and 4. Books 5 and 6 are at least as strong as Book 4.
Entebbe by Iddo Netanyahu (youngest brother of Yoni and Bibi)
I think one of the coolest things about Harry Potter is that the books grow with the kids they were written for. It gets more intense and in-depth as the kids that started reading the series grow old enough to understand.
I am half-way through Song Of Susannah, and they just now jumped to Jake and Callahan, frustrating because they are my favorite characters.
I have been listening to the Enders Game books. I'm on the last of the original series 'Chilren of the Mind' at present. Orson Scott Card is the friggin Man.
the plot against america / philip roth
guns, germs, and steel / jared diamond
a history of early christianity/ bart? erdman
I am currently reading three books:
"Cnut; England's Viking King" (history)
An historical novel called "The Last Kingdom"set in 9th century Britain,
by Bernard Cornwell ( who writes fabulous historical fiction if anyone likes that sort of thing. He writes around all periods, from Dark ages through to second world war)
and "An Introduction to Latin" (text book)
Am also rather enjoying "Possessing the Secret of Joy" by Alice Walker (of Colour Purple fame)
For some reason I have an annoying ( to me) habit of getting interested in several books at a time hehe
Mostly though I am reading Cnut, because I know very little about him. My knowledge of that period doesnt really stretch further back than Edward the Confessor. Next I want to find a book about Aethelred ( The Unready :P) and then I think Athelstan ( 1st King to unite all England )
It Takes a Family - Rick Santorum
Yes, really.
Autographed copy.
Perhaps you wonder if I read paper books... Well, I do, so nyah.
Kokology The game of self discovery by Tadahiko Nagao and Isamu Saito
and
Wilderness Survival Handbook by Alan Fry
"Cnut; England's Viking King" (history)
I
totally read that wrong the first time through.
I'm re-reading A World Lit Only By Fire. Fabulous, remarkable, readable book. Also, Travesties, by Stoppard.
It Takes a Family - Rick Santorum
Yes, really.
Autographed copy.
It's research right? A deeper look into a fractured mind? Looking under a long unmoved rock?
Book 11 of the Whale of Time series, A knife of Dreams.
I broke the three book threshold and there's no stopping, no going back...
Hey, UT! do you think you could correct George's spelling error in the title of this thread. it's driving me crazy by now.
I think that's part of the essential charm of the thread.
Even if it does make me crazy every time I see it.
Normally I want the thread starter to ask for a fix. But yeah.
~ahhhh~.............much better.
Book 11 of the Whale of Time series, A knife of Dreams.
I broke the three book threshold and there's no stopping, no going back...
[fag] I'm listening to that on my iPod during my commute. the pronunciation of all of the names has me all fucked up. I don;t know who the hell they're talking about most of the time[/fag]
[fag] I'm listening to that on my iPod during my commute. the pronunciation of all of the names has me all fucked up. I don;t know who the hell they're talking about most of the time[/fag]
[fag+geek]Yeah, I had that problem when I bought the table top role playing game.[/fag+geek]
Now I'm reading the Rising Stars comic anthology in hardback and the new Thomas Covenant book. Next on the stack is Devil in the White City.
Ooooh, the White Gold Wielder. That takes me right back. I found Thomas Covenant a very entertaining anti-hero.
I always thought that Thomas Covenant was a much more compelling and independent character in our world, and a terrible, terrible whiner every time he hit his head and ended up There.
Animosity by David Lindsey
I always thought that Thomas Covenant was a much more compelling and independent character in our world, and a terrible, terrible whiner every time he hit his head and ended up There.
That was kinda the point.
As for whether you
enjoy reading his whining, that's another story.
No, I didn't enjoy reading his whining. I also didn't get WHY strong and independent and cranky ass Thomas magically turned into a Wimp in The Land. And yes, I read them more and once, just to be sure. Just like LOTR.
It Takes a Family - Rick Santorum
Yes, really.
Autographed copy.
He goes to Penguins games with a jersey with his last name on it. Last time I was there I was behind him in the beer line. I almost said to him "You never saw a defense expediture you didnt' like, eh?" But, then I decided I was there for the hockey.
" Ooooh, the White Gold Wielder. That takes me right back. I found Thomas Covenant a very entertaining anti-hero."
Man, I loved that whole sequence. I read the First Chronicles when I was 12 and the second Chronicles when I was about 14. It had a huge effect on me, because my whole family read it and passed the books around. It was just before my Mum and Dad split up so it sticks in my mind as the very last "family" thing we did together. Thomas remains my favourite ever Anti hero:)
Anybody ever read Donaldon's Gap series? Awesome Space Opera on the grandest of scales:)
I just finished Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music by Blair Tindall. This book is part memoir, part indictment of the classical music industry. Tindall, an oboist who grew up in North Carolina and moved to Manhattan after graduating from the North Carolina School of the Arts' high school program, played a lot of oboe between the ages of 15 and 40, and by her own admission played very, very few jobs that she didn't obtain by sleeping with someone. By all accounts she is a good oboist, though I was amused by her constant harping on her inability to produce good reeds. I also wondered how she managed to learn anything about the oboe as her primary teacher for almost her entire life was, according to her description, useless at best. (Except for the fact that he could recommend her to play as a sub in the NY Philharmonic.)
Although I don't disagree with much of what she writes about the state of the discipline, she seems oblivious to the fact that the same circumstances apply in many fields. (If she thinks classical musicians enjoyed an artifically created boom in the 1960s and 70s, and that music schools turn out far more graduates than there will ever be jobs for, she should consider the career opportunites her own father, a history professor at the University of North Carolina, faced in the 1960s compared with those of a 30-something humanities PhD today.)
Hey TS, is the 11th book of WOT a prequel, or are they still going forward? I forced myself through the first 10, but wasn't really paying attention after 6.
I'm going to the used-book store after work. I'm all out of stuff to read.
I found the whole Earthsea series by LeGuin at a library book sale. Very cheap. Hadn't read it in 20+ years.
I'm just about finished with Wizard of Earthsea. It started off a little slow and wasn't as good as I remembered, but now it's sucking me in.
I'll pass these off to my kids when they get a little older.
Did you see the SciFi miniseries?
If not, don't.
I'm about halfway through Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell. It's pretty much the same story as Sex and the City, et al, except with different women...sort of.
Hey TS, is the 11th book of WOT a prequel, or are they still going forward? I forced myself through the first 10, but wasn't really paying attention after 6.
The prequel is called "A New Spring," and it's not called anything except "the prequel" and its title. The "eleventh book" is called "Knife of Dreams," and it is indeed the next in the series.
The Savage Wars Of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power, Max Boot. It's about America's small wars, exclusive of the Indian Wars and other military actions inside the North American continent and around the national frontiers, starting really with the Barbary Wars beginning 1802, as it really doesn't get into the conflict-that-wasn't-quite-a-war with France of 1798-1800. Packs a lot between two covers. Persons interested in the history of the US Marines should give this one a look -- I never knew Smedley Butler had a middle name (and it sure doesn't look like he had a first name). It outlines American interventions in Central America and the Caribbean -- there was one dustup where the US Marines were fighting to defeat a coup instigated by United Fruit!
how to win friends and influence people... by some guy.
yet another series of books for yet another professional designation that geniuses like tw will scoff at.
Books for my first graduate class...I start in 2 weeks:
--Management Mistakes and Successes
--The Time Trap
--Effective Teamwork
--a management textbook published by Houghton Mifflin
Just remember, there's no "I" in "team," but there's an "M" and an "E"!
A couple months back I randomly picked up a Terry Pratchett "Discworld" novel at the local library. (I think it was "Night Watch".) I've enjoyed them a lot--they mostly have newer ones. "Going Postal" is my favorite so far.
However I attempted to read the first one of the series, "The Color of Magic," and I found it an unbearable snooze and abandoned it halfway through.
I just got done reading State of Fear by Michael Crichton.
Absolutely faaaaantastic!! I loved it.
If you are considering reading this book, I would suggest reading the appendices first. It really helps you to get an idea of where this book is coming from.
I really hope they make a movie out of it!
...
If you are considering reading this book, I would suggest reading the appendices first. It really helps you to get an idea of where this book is coming from....
This is a good strategy for many books. I only learned this after the fact, sadly, for the LoTR trilogy. Interestingly, many of SonofV's books he checks out from the school library have these helpful appendicies in them. Many of them are kind of science-y, Bats, Reptiles, Sharks, Snakes, etc, and the appendix at the end is informative to me and I use it as a stealth teaching tool sometimes when we talk about the book.
The Way of A Pilgrim
It's part of a five-book series of 'spiritual classics' that I got from the One Spirit Book Club several years ago that I never got around to reading. It's supposed to be a first person account by a Russian peasant who seeks to learn the secrets of constant prayer.
The others in the series were a book of Sufi Poetry, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, The Tao Te Ching, and The Essential Kaballah. The Way of the Pilgrim is the only book of Christian Mysticism in the set.
Currently reading 'LETTERS HOME', Sylvia Plath. Have article due soon.
Holy, holy.
The Way of A Pilgrim
from FRANNY AND ZOOEY?
I read that right after Salinger's RAISE HIGH THE ROOFBEAMS, and, CATCHER IN THE RYE .
ZOOEY AND FRANNY, or something or other, very good book.
Lotsa luck, girlfriend. I sincerely hope you can e'slpain it to me. Meaning any of the Salinger books. I 'know', but I'm afraid that I don't really "know"..---ya know?
Books for my first graduate class...I start in 2 weeks:
--Management Mistakes and Successes
--The Time Trap
--Effective Teamwork
--a management textbook published by Houghton Mifflin
Get yourself a copy of
Goldratt's 'The Goal' - it won't cost you much second-hand but it will be one of the most useful management books you read, being the entry novel to a management and business process concept that stands up to scrutiny and that really does work and deliver. I'll be surprised if you don't get hooked.
I went old school on my last audiobook purchase:
The Illiad
The Odyssey
Ben Hur
Verbal Behavior- B.F. Skinner
from FRANNY AND ZOOEY?
I read that right after Salinger's RAISE HIGH THE ROOFBEAMS, and, CATCHER IN THE RYE .
ZOOEY AND FRANNY, or something or other, very good book.
Lotsa luck, girlfriend. I sincerely hope you can e'slpain it to me. Meaning any of the Salinger books. I 'know', but I'm afraid that I don't really "know"..---ya know?
Nope. It's a translation of some
Russian Mystic Shit.
I have never actually read any Salinger. I somehow avoided that class in high school where you have to read The Catcher in the Rye.
Yes, I can see that you are surprised.
Would it reassure you any if I told you I have at least three copies of The Turner Diaries, as well as two other books from the same author?
Yes, I am duly reassured!---Now--can you explain THE WAY OF THE PILGRIM? coz after reading FRANNY AND ZOOEY, I got that book and tried to read it and I think I may have (read it) but I didn't get much out of it. Yeah--it's Russian Mystic shit and it made Franny have a complete breakdown....so....what is the deal with that book?
Books for my first graduate class...I start in 2 weeks:
--Management Mistakes and Successes
--The Time Trap
--Effective Teamwork
--a management textbook published by Houghton Mifflin
Dude, are you that pissed at tw?
Yes, I am duly reassured!---Now--can you explain THE WAY OF THE PILGRIM? coz after reading FRANNY AND ZOOEY, I got that book and tried to read it and I think I may have (read it) but I didn't get much out of it. Yeah--it's Russian Mystic shit and it made Franny have a complete breakdown....so....what is the deal with that book?
Ooooh. I didn't realize that what I thought was a relatively obscure book was referenced in another relatively obscure book.
I'm halfway through it, but it's like this.
There's this Russian peasant, see, and it's like when there were still Tsars and Pogroms and such, and he just kind of wanders around all over. Well, in the first few pages of chapter one he explains that he heard this sermon focused on a passage in First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians (not one of the more remarkable bits of the New Testament) where Paul says one should "Pray without Ceasing".
Deceptively simple, isn't it?
The Pilgrim, of course, doesn't get it.
So off he wanders until he comes upon an old priest who gives him this book of commentary by Eastern Orthodox mystics and ascetics called the
Philokalia (The Love of Spiritual Beauty). He learns from this book that he should repeat the "Jesus Prayer" thousands of times per day. Ways of working up to the recommended total are provided.
The old priest dies, and the Pilgrim spends the rest of the book wandering from place to place, finding other people from a variety of social strata (from other peasants to very wealthy landed gentry) who coincidentally are ALSO endlessly repeating the Jesus Prayer, or he talks folks into doing so to enrich their spiritual lives. He has many encounters which at first glance seem coincidental, but in which he certainly sees the hand of God at work.
And he eats a lot of bread.
Just remember, there's no "I" in "team," but there's an "M" and an "E"!
Makes me think of Shaun of the Dead :)
However I attempted to read the first one of the series, "The Color of Magic," and I found it an unbearable snooze and abandoned it halfway through.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I read the Colour of Magic when it first came out in paperback- I would have been about 14. I read my copy to bits and had to buy another one. That & The Light Fantastic were the funniest, most original books I had ever read (I had only seen Hitchhikers on TV at that age, I hadn't read the books). Then again I remember thinking we should be studying David Eddings in our English classes......
Sad to hear it hasn't aged well.
Wolf: Thanks for the sum-up. Yeah, the Jesus Prayer. Kinda like magic, right? :)
Makes me think of Shaun of the Dead :)
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I read the Colour of Magic when it first came out in paperback- I would have been about 14. I read my copy to bits and had to buy another one. That & The Light Fantastic were the funniest, most original books I had ever read (I had only seen Hitchhikers on TV at that age, I hadn't read the books). Then again I remember thinking we should be studying David Eddings in our English classes......
Sad to hear it hasn't aged well.
Pratchett is good, I like the ones with Cohen the Barbarian as they have a certain personal attraction....
His children's books Truckers, Diggers and Wings are also excellent and adult-digestible. However, after reading about 10 Discworld books I wanted something different and was introduced to Robert Rankin. I can recommend his 'Armageddon' series (get used to a time travelling brussel sprout named Barry who resides in Elvis Presley's brain - who of course is still well and living in the 21st century), but my favourite will always remain 'The Brentford Triangle' out of the Brentford Trilogy (now running to ten novels I believe) - serious laugh-out-loud material. I can only describe Rankin as surrealist humour - you have to be prepared to bend your mind to his, and provided you make this sacrifice you will definitely enjoy....
I read the Colour of Magic when it first came out in paperback- I would have been about 14. I read my copy to bits and had to buy another one . . . Sad to hear it hasn't aged well.
Well, maybe I should give it another try. I may have been more favorably inclined if I had read it first before the other novels. Though I suppose it is a compliment (however backhanded) in that it suggests great improvement in his writing over the years.
. . .I remember thinking we should be studying David Eddings in our English classes......
Oh, yeah an essay explaining the plot parallels between the Belgariad and the Elenium. There's the ticket! :biglaugha
Dude, are you that pissed at tw?
Fontbonne (the school I'm attending) has a 24-month MBA program that I considered...and every time I thought about it, I kept thinking of tw.
MBAs are overrated, IMO. The Management program I'm in is good, and only takes 18 months. That'll work for me.
Get yourself a copy of Goldratt's 'The Goal' - it won't cost you much second-hand but it will be one of the most useful management books you read, being the entry novel to a management and business process concept that stands up to scrutiny and that really does work and deliver. I'll be surprised if you don't get hooked.
Thanks for the tip...I'll have to check it out!
Thanks for the tip...I'll have to check it out!
One of his books, 'Critical Chain', deals with MBAs and takes the line you do. It's essentially about Project Management and solving the bottlenecks that you get which cause delays to completion of projects, but there is a parallel 'plot' that deals with the issues and potential solutions to the way MBAs are constructed and taught. If you end up liking 'The Goal' then the next obvious ones are 'It's Not Luck' (deals with sales and marketing) and then 'Critical Chain'.
I took a TOC course when I was working on a project for the fish and fruit markets, and the process identified some real problems plus helped create and evaluate possible solutions. I use their basic problem analysis tool (generally referred to as the Evaporating Cloud or Conflict Resolution Diagram) quite regularly as a means to condense and resolve issues, but the full programme approach is really for large tasks and projects.
Sycamore, my dear boy, get a copy of Covey's 7 Habits. They can be had for $1.99 or less from amazon.com marketplace. Then get yourself a nice degree from one of those internet diploma mills.
Intereject wise sounding nonsense from the 7 Habits into your conversations, particularly admonishing people to "Stay in Quadrant II!!" (as I recall, that's the quadrant where the Klingons aren't, so it's always a good choice)
This method will waste less of your time and money than actually going to business school, and will be just as useful in the long run.
Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue
Not a book that I would ordinarily read. It was a Quality Paperback Book Club main selection about five years ago. You all know what happened ... I forgot to send one of the little cards back, and it's less hassle to send them money once you open the package than it is to send the book back.
Follows two years of a young girl's life in London in 1760something.
It's grittier than it sounds.
"the 12th planet" and "Stairway to heaven" Zecharia Sitchin
"Gateway to Atlantis" Andrew Collins
I'm just finishing up "48 Laws of Power" by Greene. A good psychology/business book that goes about teaching its lessons in story form from history with lessons learned.
I heard about that book at a community group meeting I attended. I'm getting it from amazon at some point. (It's ordered, it's just clumped with a buncha other stuff for cheaper shipping and one of the items is taking longer than I expected)
My latest
From a Buick 8 - Stephen King
How to win friends and influence people - Carnegie
think and grow rich - napoleon hill
the bibles of sales. my stubborness has prevented me from reading them for a decade or so. my knowledge and skill have taken me as far as they will, i guess i better learn to communicate with people now.
Lookout, you want the book "Master the Art of Selling" by Tom Hopkins. HTWFAIP and Think/Grow Rich are good books, but Hopkins book is in a class by itself. Really. Pick it up.
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card. Classic stuff.
Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind - The sequels, also great, classic stuff.
The latter 3 include a lot of philosophy. Interesting read for any deep thinkers.
I finally got to "Devil in the White City". Very good.
I think that I will bounce into the
closeout section at Barnes and Noble and buy another box of books.
If I spend $25, I get free shipping and about 10-15 titles of books and software.
So far it's a book on birdwatching, a book and software on quotations, 'In Search of America' by Peter Jennings, and a few others on various political and social topics, including
My Peoples Waltz.
This should provide some reading material for my next business trip.
Unfortunately, with 1334 items under $2, I'm getting information overload. Plus the fact they only list 10 per page and I can't find a way to change that.
Oh shit.
I totally did NOT need to see that.
Oh shit.
I totally did NOT need to see that.
Did I mention the extra %5 discount for AAA members if you go in from the AAA web site?
Actually, it's a weird experience. My shopping cart went from $25 to $35 between moving to correct something. One of the books went out-of-stock and the price jumped.
I've been reading the letters of Richard Feynman (Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track). Some of them are funny, others are powerful, and I think they give a good picture of him. I wish that they included more early, early letters from when he was my age. I'm tempted to find and read compilations of letters by other people.
Oh, man. I didn't need to see that either. I've read several of Feynman's books as well as several books about Feynman, including the one that was a part of the Cellar Book Club. (If anyone with more initiative than I have wants to get that started again, that would be really cool *hint* *hint*)
I'm just finishing "Angels & Demons" from Dan Brown.
Also just finished "American Hardcore" from Simon Blush.
About 2 months ago, I picked David Weber's On Basilisk Station (the first Honor Harrington novel) off my bookshelf and reread it -- I owned the first two books in the series and had for many years but life had gotten in the way after that.
Now I own all the books in the series and have been reading them in order. I'm a third of the way through War of Honor and have Shadow of Saganami (the next-to-last book released) and the new hardcover of At All Costs (1) waiting behind it; once I get through the latter I'll be up-to-date.
[SIZE=1](1) Which comes with a CD-ROM containing just about everything David Weber has ever written. Sweet. :cool: [/SIZE]
I just finished "Freakonomics" liked it. I also just finished "Amazing Maurice and his educated rodents" by Pratchett, loved it... I am currently reading "The life of John Muir" - very intereting (not right this minute of course!) I am also reading
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374179395/103-0681283-8469434?v=glance&n=283155 "First Great Triumph: How Five Americans Made Their Country a World Power" which is sortof good, but looooong.... It is bascially a history of our imperialism....
Jorge Luis Borges: Collected Fictions, translated by Andrew Hurley. Very strange and interesting short stories.
Games People Play
Wow. I had no idea that still existed. I thought TA went the way of Primal Scream therapy. (although one of my schizophrenic gaming friends did go to The Primal Institute in California where they gave him a radical cashectomy and in return added some interesting flavoring to his pre-existing delusional systems. Last I heard, by the way, he was working for the IRS.)
About 2 months ago, I picked David Weber's On Basilisk Station (the first Honor Harrington novel) off my bookshelf and reread it -- I owned the first two books in the series and had for many years but life had gotten in the way after that.
Welcome to The Cellar, Maui Nick!!
Just finished: The Truth About Chernobyl - Grigori Medveyev
(minute by minute account of the disaster, and the several days following, including details of some amazing clusterfucks along the way)
Mildly hard to grasp ... this year marks the 20th anniversary.
GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL: The Fate of Human Societies
Jarod Diamond.
YIKES.
Welcome to The Cellar, Maui Nick!!
Thanks.
Wasn't sure where to put my first post and this thread seemed as good as any.
What Color Is Your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles.
Recommended to me by footfootfoot, for which I am indebted. This is not my first time through this collected wisdom. Many years ago I read it like a kid takes medicine, and when the job happened, I forgot the unpleasantness of the bulk of the work of the book. I am now catching up on a considerable backlog of deferred maintenance on my career.
Thank you, footfootfoot. Nine chapters down on my first lap. Keep you all posted.
Wow. I had no idea that still existed. I thought TA went the way of Primal Scream therapy. (although one of my schizophrenic gaming friends did go to The Primal Institute in California where they gave him a radical cashectomy and in return added some interesting flavoring to his pre-existing delusional systems. Last I heard, by the way, he was working for the IRS.)
I'm only just starting it. The surface premise is reasonable. I'll know more in a few weeks. I'm reading seven texts this semester in school.
The Invasion by Gerald Griffin. Vikings are invading Old Ireland. It is really interesting to read something written by a relative quite removed in time and space. I really understand the conflicted feelings he carried about his people [Irish], religion [Pagans/ Catholics], and government [how to throw out the Brits is the real question]. He's not a bad fantasy/ faux history writer but for me the cool part is to read someone whose thoughts were in part formed by my ancesters thoughts. Bottom line there is some damn good libertarian soliloquy buried in there. There is a difference in hero building compared to modern writers. In modern books heros arise when circumstances demand one. In this one, Elim (our hero) develops himself over time knowing that he's called to greatness. Interesting.
revisitng the whole Outlander series from Diana Gabaldon - time transport through standing stones into Scottish history. I'm so jealous.
Just finished the third book in George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. I have never before come across an author who so royally screws over every character with an ounce of goodness in them. I like it. :)
Absolutely. I reread book 3 last summer, and book 4 is near the top of my to-read stack.
I'm actually deliberately holding off on book 4 as long as I can, hopefully until there's an official release date set for book 5. There were 5 whole years in between 3 and 4, and the way he likes to end on cliffhangers, I'm not about to use up all my available material and have to wait that long for the next one. :)
I've read some of George RR Martin's stand-alone novels and some Short Stories over the years, but never got into the series stuff.
I am about to embark upon
The 48 Laws of Power.revisitng the whole Outlander series from Diana Gabaldon - time transport through standing stones into Scottish history. I'm so jealous.
I think this is a great series of books. The love story is wonderful. Transports me to unimaginable fantasies and stuff like that..... :blush:
I've recently finished reading the whole 7 books in The Dark Tower series and loved it. I'm a fantasy freak so anything to do with that sort of thing is great for me. Stephen Donaldson is my favourite author so if there are any other Thomas Covenant fans, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
At the moment I'm reading a biography of Mary Shelly (the chick who wrote Frankenstein).
I have to read the last three books in the Dark Tower. No spoilers, please!!
I think there was a discussion on Thomas Covenant around here somewhere ...
Roll back to around page 19 of this very thread (post 271 starts a discussion) and you'll see some talk about The Unbeliever.
It also gets mentions in
this thread.
#1) Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books always got me hot for men in kilts.
#2) How come so very many of you guys read this dastardly Science Fiction stuff? I have never read a Sci-Fi I liked. Too technical--like reading a stereo manual only on another level. I don't need fifty pages discribing how the influx capacitor worked, I am very adept at willing suspension of disbelief.
Piloting, Seamanship, and Small Boat Handling. Black Wind by Clive Cussler. Coast Guard Auxiliary Vessel Examiner Course. I should be reading somthing socelely redeeming but I dont want to.
There were 5 whole years in between 3 and 4,
Really? It was that long? Geez... I'm getting old...
I've read some of George RR Martin's stand-alone novels and some Short Stories over the years, but never got into the series stuff.
It's really quite good but, as Clodfobble mentioned, few if any characters escape some sort of horrible fate.
Brianna, Your first assignment is to read Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey, followed by Dragonsinger and Dragondrums. You might be able to find them in a three-in-one volume. This is fantasy. We will work you up to scifi.
If you wish to proceed straight to advanced work, get the Darkover novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Try starting with this one.We will work you up to scifi.
Actually, if you just keep reading the series, it works you up to scifi on its own. ;)
I was trying not to give her any spoilers, which is also why I picked the middle instead of the beginning of Darkover. *sigh*
Another book you can try, Bri, to get you into the idea of SciFi is
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith.
A Continent of Lies by James Morrow would be another good starter.
The End of Faith. Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason - Sam Harris.
This book is really good, but preaching to the choir for me, I'm wondering if anyone here of faith has read it?
Ah, sorry. I haven't read Darkover, so I didn't catch a pattern.
My brother's not into SF at all, and he likes
Nightfall, by Asimov and Silverberg.
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey, followed by Dragonsinger and Dragondrums.
Love that series. I re-read it from time to time.
Bri, I hate hard sci-fi too, and I found Julian May's
Pliocene Exile series (please ignore the really, REALLY awful cover art, it has NO relation to the story) to be the perfect scifi/fantasy halfway house of sorts.
thanks for the great leads, wolf and clod. I have read Zimmer Bradley (was, natch, MISTS OF AVALON) and my older sis (who is like you and loves the sci-fi) said she loved the McCaffrey stuff, too.
I will begin!
another great fantasy series is "The Sword of Truth". Action packed with a great love story too. ;)
Wolf, thanks for the tip on the Unbeliever stuff. I'm going to go have a look now. :)
" Ooooh, the White Gold Wielder. That takes me right back. I found Thomas Covenant a very entertaining anti-hero."
Anybody ever read Donaldon's Gap series? Awesome Space Opera on the grandest of scales:)
Dana, I'm a huge Donaldson fan. I think the Gap series is his best work ever. Even better than Thomas Covenant. I also loved Mordants Need. Has anyone ever read that one?
Speaking of space opera, who here has read the Lensman series?
I've read Lensman. Awesome story, though each book is essentially the same story but bigger.
Cool weapons.
another great fantasy series is "The Sword of Truth". Action packed with a great love story too.
The last few books have dropped a bit in quality, but the earlier ones are great. I haven't read the most recent one yet, though, so he may have regained his edge.
I read about 3 or 4 in the series. I didn't know there was more. The last one I read was when Richard and his confessor ended up being able to be together. I'll have to look into the rest of the series. :)
I've read Lensman. Awesome story, though each book is essentially the same story but bigger.
Cool weapons.
The thing I like best is the dialog and the attitude. It's like a good sherbet after a solid meal. It's a completely different, and in some ways shocking, flavor. And the attitude about how to deal with the bad guys would be pretty foreign to a lot of people today as well.
I read about 3 or 4 in the series. I didn't know there was more.
There's
9 so far. It starts going downhill in book 6, unfortunately.
Stephen Donaldson is my favourite author so if there are any other Thomas Covenant fans, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Loved the first - read it when it was brand new - second and third were pretty good. Read the next three, but it was a chore. Reread the firt one last year, enjoyed it, and stopped there.
Stoned, Naked, and Looking Through My Neighbor's Windo (grouphug.us posts)
I can't look away from the thing.
A Friend of the Earth by TC Boyle. I have never bought a book by this guy but for some reason I have 5 or 6 titles floating around the house. He's OK.
People of Darkness - Tony Hillerman
Just finished Devil in the White City. Excellent!
I just finished
My Peoples Waltz by Dale Ray Phillips. It's a thin paperback I took with me on my trip. Very nice writing. The story plays out like a bad country western song - child of divorce grows up and gets divorced, but the characters, events, and surroundings are described very well.
It's somewhere between depressing and uplifting depending on how you look at life.
Freakonomics
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed (Alan Alda's autobio)
Freakonomics
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed (Alan Alda's autobio)
I have Alda's book on hold at the library. Looking forward to reading it! Right now I'm reading "If Dog's Prayers Were Answered, Bones Would Fall From The Sky".
http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB752&AffiliateID=45228&Method=3
I have a black lab/border collie cross who I luv very much.
Just finished Lance Armstrong's autobiography
'It's not about the bike' that deals with his early career and fight aginst testicular cancer that had raged throughout his body. A very emotional read and telling of the man's unbeliveable ability to fight adversity. Hard to say how long it has been since I have read something that impacts so much. Amazing stuff - if you see it on the bookshelf it's worth the expenditure. It of course helps if you like cycling and have an interest in 'Le Tour' but there so much more besides that I reckon anyone would find this book compulsive reading.
Finished Seventh Son and started Red Prophet both books by Orson Scott Card in the Alvin Maker series. They are fantasy novels about an alternate universe set in the early 1800s America.
I gave a couple of books in that series to my sister-in-law for Christmas this year. I personally couldn't get past the romance-novel look of the cover art.
They're well worth reading if you like fantasy and/or early American history.
Never judge a science fiction novel by it's cover. Cover art on science fiction novels rarely bears any relation to the content. Cover artists tend to be given access to one or two pages of text at most and have to base their artwork on that or a brief description (prepared by some feeb at the publisher's office who didn't read the book either) of one or more of the main characters. Oh, yeah, and rejected cover art is sometimes recycled for another novel. I can't remember what novel it was, but I am pretty sure that cover art that should have gone on Enemy Mine by Barry Longyear ended up on something else ...
Anything by Michael McGarrity
But what's the name of the book ... ;)
Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt by Anne Rice
Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt by Anne Rice
What did you think of it?
Michael McGarrity Slowkill, under the color of law, everyone dies. Think that's the ones I've read or reading.
My line would have been a lot funnier if his book had actually been called "anything".
(I was going for a Who's on first thing).
I'll have to check him out ... any other that compells people to read more of his stuff is usually worth checking out.
Do his books have to be read in order, or can you jump right on on the middle?
What did you think of it?
Actually thought it was pretty good - she definitely got the feel of the times down - you can tell there was quite a bit of research involved...
my only complaint? It's a very easy read - I finished it in like 4 hours... and wanted more.
Have you read it yet?
My line would have been a lot funnier if his book had actually been called "anything".
Do his books have to be read in order, or can you jump right on on the middle?
Think it might be best to start in some order, because he uses the same (cariters, hell spell check can't even go with that) "folks."
Maybe have a look at his website?
Actually thought it was pretty good - she definitely got the feel of the times down - you can tell there was quite a bit of research involved...
my only complaint? It's a very easy read - I finished it in like 4 hours... and wanted more.
Have you read it yet?
No. But I saw news on it when it came out. I may give it a shot.
dar - I do feel it's worth the read - I am looking forward to the next one...
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
(Given my overall disappointment with The DaVinci Code, I'm not holding out much hope for this book either, but I'm giving it a try anyway.)
Just started 'Every Second Counts' the follow-on by Lancey-baby after his initial 'It's not about the bike'. Judging by first chapter it's going to be as good a read, but saving the rest of it for a very long flight towards the end of the month (bet you can hardly wait to learn what the rest of the book is like...)
Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
(Given my overall disappointment with The DaVinci Code, I'm not holding out much hope for this book either, but I'm giving it a try anyway.)
I read Angels and Demons last year, and thought it was a fun read. Not so good that I'm dying to read The DaVinci Code, though.
Based on a conversation at work tonight, I may reread American Psycho, if I can figure out where in my house i put it ... probably the back of the linen closet.
After that, I have an autographed copy of Rick Santorum's "It Takes a Family."
I am sure that RichLevy thinks that the plots of these two books are identical.
American Psycho is one of my favorites. I'd love to hear the theory for re-reading. I've had many interesting convos about this book as well
Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
This is a truly awesome book. Stunning. Like you got thwacked in the forehead by a stack of copies. That damn good.
My own current read is The Prince - Machiavelli
Yesterday I finished
Kildar by John Ringo. I liked his alien invasion series, so when I saw this and read the sample chapters, I picked it up from the library.
It's not a bad book, but it is essentially a soldier's wet dream. The basic plot goes like this.
Ex-Seal who retires a multi-millionaire is cruising through Eastern Europe and comes upon a valley with gorgeous women and great beer. He buys some real estate and becomes the de jure lord of the valley.
While fighting Chechen rebels, he rescues teenage virgins from kidnappers. Since by local custom they cannot be returned to their homes, he takes them as concubines, in addition to the gorgeous local prostitutes he has hired and the 15-year-old girl who is actively trying to seduce him.
Parts of this book read like a Penthouse forum, with blow by blow (literally) descriptions of sex and light bondage. "Dear Penthouse, I never would have guessed when I went driving through Georgia (the country not the state) that I would have a story for you."
This is the second of a series. I never read the first book. The tactical descriptions seem authentic, but the overall plot seems too contrived.
Sounds like hairy chested men's adventure novels haven't changed all that much. I favored They Call Me the Mercenary and The Survivalist, myself.
Sounds like hairy chested men's adventure novels haven't changed all that much. I favored They Call Me the Mercenary and The Survivalist, myself.
Yes, but it wasn't what I expected. His other series didn't have the explicit sex scenes.
Maybe the guy needs to get laid.
Moving on to Plato's Republic. I am plodding through the introduction(s).
Why is it that translators of "classics" feel the need to let you know exactly how erudite they are, and make passing, and often unclear, references to at least a half-dozen other works by the author you're about to read (that would have been better handled as footnotes to the main text, since they allude to passages in the text you're holding in your hot little hands)?
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas Kuhn. Very cool book.
Thud! by Terry Pratchett.
Wolf - I liked Angels & Demons, but it didn't "wow" me. It would make a fun movie though.
I think it would actually make a better movie than The DaVinci Code.
Why is it that translators of "classics" feel the need to let you know exactly how erudite they are, and make passing, and often unclear, references to at least a half-dozen other works by the author you're about to read (that would have been better handled as footnotes to the main text, since they allude to passages in the text you're holding in your hot little hands)?
You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that. I just always read those things and thought, "well, brianna, you are one dumb chick 'coz you did NOT understand anything that guy just said." :lol:
It's not you. They make no fucking sense. Actually, I'm having a bit of a hard time with some of the arguments in the early parts of The Republic. If you accept the assumptions and conclusions, you're all right, but I got stuck on the whole just/unjust thing ... I'm now on book four(?), well, anyway, the part where Socrates is editing all the literature and stories about the gods because he doesn't want people thinking in unjust/incorrect ways in the perfect city.
This is actually quite fascinating, in a 1984 kind of utopia kind of way.
It's not you. They make no fucking sense. Actually, I'm having a bit of a hard time with some of the arguments in the early parts of The Republic. If you accept the assumptions and conclusions, you're all right, but I got stuck on the whole just/unjust thing ... I'm now on book four(?), well, anyway, the part where Socrates is editing all the literature and stories about the gods because he doesn't want people thinking in unjust/incorrect ways in the perfect city.
This is actually quite fascinating, in a 1984 kind of utopia kind of way.
Sounds like an ideal model for justifying an invasion of Iraq....
This is a truly awesome book. Stunning. Like you got thwacked in the forehead by a stack of copies. That damn good.
My own current read is The Prince - Machiavelli
chuck is twisted. i like that. heard he lives in portland. . . and loves it.
you're right wolf, this book has me by the throat.
Ripples in the pond. You never know what repercussions your actions have.
Over in the Bull and Duck IOTD, the second picture reminded me of the scene where the T-Rex chases the jeep from the first Jurassic park movie. While looking for a picture to illustrate the likeness, I found a web page on the differences between the movie and the book. It's been a while since I read the book, so that was enough of a tweak to cause me to go back and re-read it.
My thanks to SeanAhern or Kagen4o4 whoever really submitted the pic.
american gods, by neil gaiman. it's good so far. i like his ideas better than his writing style or descriptive power. so far, i like this book better than neverwhere, which i read a little while ago.
american psycho is a great book. i was impressed with the sheer amount of effort that was put into describing everyone's wardrobe. that, and the album reviews, of course. i think i've read few things as graphic as that book.
Popco
Pirates of Pensacola
Paladin of Souls
God in the Machine
american gods, by neil gaiman. it's good so far. i like his ideas better than his writing style or descriptive power. so far, i like this book better than neverwhere, which i read a little while ago.
That was a great book with an interesting premise behind it.
I have a tough time with a lot of Neil Gaiman's stuff because I always try to hold him to the standard of Neverwhere. Damn, that was a really, really good book.
Elsewhere in reading...
Someone here posted about cargo cults and referenced Christopher Moore's book The Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Moore isn't quite as witty as Tim Dorsey, but Love Nun has entered my shelf of favorites. I've grown to really enjoy books that favor "broken writing" - i.e., choppy, sometimes including snippets of speech, single verb transitions, etc. The descriptions aren't ornate or detailed, making for a fun read.
a lot of people seem to like neverwhere the most. i enjoyed it quite a bit, but there were things about it that got on my nerves - especially the way that the main character is treated throughout the book. i also thought that it moved along too quickly. when i was done i found myself asking where the other 50 or so pages were (not necessarily on the end of the book, just more "meat").
i've heard there was a television series made from it, but i haven't seen it and have heard mixed reviews on it.
a lot of people seem to like neverwhere the most.
...
i've heard there was a television series made from it, but i haven't seen it and have heard mixed reviews on it.
Here it is. It's fun. It's obviously a BBC budget, but you should be able to get past that.
My favorite Gaiman is Sandman, then American Gods, Coraline, Anansi Boys, and Neverwhere. Neverwhere isn't at the top of the list, but I do like it. Croup and Vandemar have some of the funniest lines in any of Gaiman's work.
Here it is. It's fun. It's obviously a BBC budget, but you should be able to get past that.
I couldn't watch much because of the budget problem. :neutral:
Gaiman's
Sandman is a great short story with wonderful illustration. But, ah, I am biased on that one. :)
Gaiman's Sandman is a great short story with wonderful illustration. But, ah, I am biased on that one. :)
It's more than a short story. It's a collection of short stories, or one long one, depending on whow you look at it.
I'm reading: State of Fear, by Michael Crichton; and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis.
I read State of Fear not too long ago. I have loved Crichton's writing before I knew he was Crichton (The first book of his I read was A Case of Need which was published under a pseudonym while he was still practicing medicine).
State of Fear was interesting, but I in the back of my mind I have this feeling that I shouldn't have to read research to properly appreciate a novel. His plot twists, though, are really rising to the Cirque du Soleil level.
I thought Airframe was the most cool of the recent novels.
I have a tough time with a lot of Neil Gaiman's stuff because I always try to hold him to the standard of Neverwhere. Damn, that was a really, really good book.
Elsewhere in reading...
Someone here posted about cargo cults and referenced Christopher Moore's book The Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Moore isn't quite as witty as Tim Dorsey, but Love Nun has entered my shelf of favorites. I've grown to really enjoy books that favor "broken writing" - i.e., choppy, sometimes including snippets of speech, single verb transitions, etc. The descriptions aren't ornate or detailed, making for a fun read.
I'm always reading something, some book. Neverwhere is one of the few books I started and didn't finish. I read more than half of it. The main character was such a loser it was hard for me to enjoy. Does it have a good ending? Did you see the movie?
I'm halfway through C.J. Cherryh's "Destroyer". It's the 7th book in the Foreigner universe. Or the 1st book of the 3rd sequence of the series if you use their counting method.
Anyway, noone writes xeno-sociology like C.J. Cherryh. She really goes out of her way to remind us that the protagonist, a translator-ambassador, is in an alien culture.
I know I mentioned this before, but I consider this book a must read for anyone in the diplomatic service or who travels to isolated countries. It really pushes the consequences of projecting one's native cultural perspective onto natives of foreign societies.
The books have a great pace, even with the message and a lot of talk about linguistics, psychology, sociology, etc.
It would make a great movie if done right.
I'm reading "Fun Park" by Richard Laymon and "The Family Frying Pan" by Australian Bryce Courtenay.
Love, love, love Bryce's work. Its educational Fiction.
I met my favorite author, today --
Tim Dorsey, who wrote, amoung other books,
Stingray Shuffle,
Triggerfish Twist, and
Torpedo Juice. To my surprise, not only did he sign my books, but he also agreed to use my cellphone to give another big fan, who was many many miles away, an unexpected call. Boy, was my dad taken by surprise. :)
I love it when authors are that friendly and willing to chat with people that enjoy and read their work.
Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation
Includes:
a queen bee worried because all of her lovers drop dead during sex
gay octopi and bottle-nosed dolphins
super-lover drosophilia
a praying mantis who bites off the heads of her lovers because they're more satisfying without their heads
etc
It's a fun read and backed up by science, anecdotes to other species, and references in the appendix.
I picked it up because I saw a photo of the author having a drink at a party with Craig Venter and the astronomer Lord Rees. Is that a bad reason or a good reason?
An assortment of TheTick. Funny stuff.
Just started System of the World, the third book in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.
biography on [FONT="Impact"]Kenneth Tynan [/FONT]by his wife, Kathleen.
Gaiman's "Death" comics. I lent them out a while back, and got them back recently with "The Tick" as interest in the loan.
Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl
I'm not sure how I made it through gradual school without having to read it.
Went to put something into the loft (attic) this afternoon and my eye fell upon a Robert Rankin book I had bought some time ago but hadn't got around to reading - 'Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls' - the 8th (possibly 9th) book in the now famous Brentford Trilogy.
Some of you may have heard me talk of Mr Rankin before - I classify him as a writer of surreal humour. What do I mean by that? Well, maybe it's a bit hard to communicate in everyday words, so in an alternative attempt to succeed, here's the start of the book as a means to enlighten you - it begins with a poem (in fact each chapter has its own poem)....:
THERE'S A CHEF AND HIS NAME IS DAVE
There's a frog in the Kenwood blender.
There's a cat in the microwave.
There's a mouse in the waste disposal.
There's a chef and his name is Dave.
There's a cockroach that lives in the pate,
And the salt is an earwig's grave.
There are droppings all over the butter.
There's a chef and his name is Dave.
There's a nasty fungus under the stove,
Where the creepy crawlies wave.
And squeezing his spot in the beef hot-pot,
There's a chef and his name is Dave.
There's a man from the Health Department
And he's just been sick in the sink,
And the Waternman's Arts Centre kitchen
Will be closed for a while, I think.
Chapter 1
'She does what??' John Omally looked up from his pint and down at Small Dave.
'Reads your knob,' said the wee man. 'It's a bit like palmistry, where they read the lines on your hand. Except this is called Penistry and they can tell your fortune by looking at your knob.'
It was spring and it was Tuesday. It was lunchtime. They were in the Flying Swan.
'I don't believe it,' said John. 'Someone's been winding you up, Dave.'
'They have not. I overheard two policeman talking about it while I was locked in the suitcase.'
'Excuse me,' said Soap Distant, newly returned from a journey to the centre of the Earth. 'But why were you locked in a suitcase?'
'There was an unpleasantness. I don't wish to discuss it.'
'Small Dave was sacked from his job as chef at the Arts Centre.' said Omally.
'What Arts Centre?'
'The one they built on the site of the old gasworks.'
'Oh,' said Soap. 'So why did they sack you, Dave?'
'I was unfairly dismissed.'
'The manager gave Dave his cards and Dave bit the end off his knob.'
'It was an accident. I slipped on some mouse poo, and anyway he hit me with a frying pan.'
'I thought that was in self-defence, because you came at him with the meat cleaver.'
'I just happened to be holding the meat cleaver at the time.'
'You bit off the end of his knob,' said Soap. 'That is disgusting.'
'It was an accident. I slipped, he hit me on the back of the head, I fell forward and my teeth kind of clenched.'
Soap's teeth kind of clenched, and so did Omally's.
'So what happened to the manager?' Soap asked.
'He's recovering in Brentford Cottaeg Hospital. The surgeon sewed the end back on. It's no big deal. Mind you' - Small Dave smirked wickedly - 'from what I hear he's going to sue the surgeon.'
'I know I'm going to hate myself for asking,' said Soap, 'but why is he going to sue the surgeon?'
'Well,' said Dave. 'What with all the blood and it being an emergency operation and everything, it was the kind of mistake anyone could make. Especially if you're Mr Fowler.'
'What, fumble-fingers Fowler? He's not still in practice, is he? I thought he was struck off years ago.'
'He probably will be this time. He sewed the manager's knob end on upside down.'
'I think I'll go for a walk,' said Soap. 'I feel a little queasy.'
'I'll come with you.'said Dave.
'I'll stay here.' said Soap.
'Just one thing, Dave,' said Omally. 'Why exactly were you locked in a suitcase?'
++
And so it continues apace with the sudden presence of many policemen, and an amazing escape by Small Dave with Omally and Soap Distant who eventually end up wearing gardening trowels (naturally). And this is only in chapter 1 - another 25 have yet to follow..
I'll let you know when I've finished it....
Anne Rice
"the body thiefs"
victor frankel scared the shit outta me, especially when i found out later that my roommates' father survivied the jap pow camps
(the japs looked at if you DID NOT kill yourself and were captured... you must be the worlds worst loser)
"I Couldn't Keep it to Myself" by Wally Lamb. It is a compilation of Essays/memoirs by women in the York Correctional Institution in Niantic CT.
I love Wally Lamb - One of my all time favorites is "This Much I Know is True". "She's Come Undone" is also great. I wish he'd write something new.
Pot Planet: Adventures in Global Marijuana Culture, by Brian Preston
I didn't like "She's Come Undone" at all. I know too many patients that are just like her. I liked "I Know this Much is True" for exactly the same reason.
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
Sarah Vowell - Assassination Vacation
Just finished "The DaVinci Code" on audiobook, unabridged. I'm sure that I'll piss someone off when I say that most of the stuff in that book makes a lot more sense to me than most of the stuff in...well...that *other* book.
Just finished "The DaVinci Code" on audiobook, unabridged. I'm sure that I'll piss someone off when I say that most of the stuff in that book makes a lot more sense to me than most of the stuff in...well...that *other* book.
:lol:
Didn't marichiko read Viktor Frankl and freak out? Yes, I believe she did...I wonder if wolf will similarly freak?
I'm reading The Linguistics Files--How to Tell the Difference Between a Phoneme and an Allophone and Why the Fuck Should You Care?
Has anyone read Foucault's Pendulum, by Umberto Eco? I read it back in Junior High School (reccommended by my Latin/SAT teacher). I haven't read the DaVinci Code, but discussion of it always brings Focault's pendulum to mind.
Just finished "The DaVinci Code" on audiobook, unabridged. I'm sure that I'll piss someone off when I say that most of the stuff in that book makes a lot more sense to me than most of the stuff in...well...that *other* book.
Is the movie out yet? Has anyone seen it?
Is the movie out yet? Has anyone seen it?
Opening May 19 according to a poster in Chicagoland.
Elspode,
there's another book ( on audio) that looks at the facts/fiction of the Da Vince Code premises (example Constantines history placating gnostics, pagan, and original christian folks)..
Its sorta informative, just for the hell of it ....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195307135/qid=1145256084/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-8417058-5973401?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
(just hit the "more" button and ya can read the pages)
Im downloading the audiobook from my newsgroup, if ya wanna copy. (its 200 plus mgs in mp3)
I did recently re-read DaVinci Code in preparation for the movie next month. I'm skeptical that I'll enjoy the movie as much as the book, but it has a great cast.
I just finished Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. It's the true story of a group of MIT kids who, in the mid- to late-nineties, formed a card counting team and "took Vegas for millions" playing blackjack. It's a great light read that follows one team member from his addition to the team through the early struggles, the height of play, and the deterioration of the team, to present day. Well-written, and hard to believe it's non-fiction.
when your phone doesn't ring it'll be me.
really funny book.....
Has anyone read Foucault's Pendulum, by Umberto Eco? I read it back in Junior High School (reccommended by my Latin/SAT teacher). I haven't read the DaVinci Code, but discussion of it always brings Focault's pendulum to mind.
I read it, but I had a hard time maintaining interest as I read it. I'm very interested in Foucault and Eco, but this book just didn't do it for me for some reason. Maybe I'd feel differently if I read it again, but I actually struggled to get through it the first time.
Timo
Me too. It was probably the book that caused me the most difficulty in reading. There's a reason that an SAT prep teacher reccommended it - I think it contained every one of the SAT vocabulary words.
Ok, howzabout the oldie but goodie: The Cheese Stands Alone.
Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Thought so.
book review - Maximum Ride
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/reviews/review.php?id=5296&type=Book
Maximum Ride- On the Best seller list. A fun romp. A story about genetically made humans with wings. Young adult but interesting enough for an adult. I finished it in my off time in Two days.
Book Review Nightlife
http://books.monstersandcritics.com/science_fiction_fantasy/reviews/article_1150258.php/Book_Review_Nightlife_by_Rob_Thurman
Nightlife, A dark book about monsters and humans and domination. Twists I didn't expect and the look into the mind of something that kills just to feel something.
I've not finished it yet. I hope the ending is as smart as the rest of the book. Well as smart as a monster book can be anyway.
While heavy on sarcasm, mythical creatures and black humor, it is the family bond shared by Cal and Niko that adds a humanizing though occasionally overdone, depth to what would otherwise be just another empty horror read. The pacing is a bit jerky as Cal and Darkling sidetrack off into some private musings but remains fast overall. The broad range of unlikely antagonists and protagonists are nicely developed making one hopeful this will not be the last we hear of this diverse cast of characters.
Chainfire, by Terry Goodkind. My review so far: Better than the last two, but still worse than the first few.
Skinny Dip -Carl Hiaasan-starts out an ok romp but quickly disintegrates into the fantastical. Good idea gone bad.
Just started Bad Twin by 'Gary Troup'.
Skinny Dip -Carl Hiaasan-starts out an ok romp but quickly disintegrates into the fantastical. Good idea gone bad.
All of his books do that, some better than the others.
My favorite is "Skin Tight"
My current read is "
Enemies, Foreign and Domestic" by Matthew Bracken.
I'm already pissed off, and I'm within 30 pages of the beginning.
the Gish album by Smashing Pumkins...its a greaaat album for traffic jams.
Not sure why you're banned, but wrong thread.
Just finished 'Ludmilla's Broken English' by DBC Pierre. Fantastic book, would recommend to anyone.
Just started 'Love and Other Near Death Experiences' and so far it's as funny as I imagined it would be
Been making my own for a bit, my mother just gave me this with some gear. She went on vacation.
Cordials from Your Kitchen : Easy, Elegant Liqueurs You Can Make & Give Foundation- Asimov
Man, I really need to re-read that, I read it a few years ago but I'm sure I didn't understand any of it.
Not reading so much as looking at
Flight volumes one, two, and three.
They're really beautiful.
The Assassins' Gate, by George Packer. A disturbing look at the leadup to the Iraq war. Recommended to me by my dad and brother.
Rereading Terry Pratchett's Jingo. Am also reading a book called Melodies by some German guy whose name I've temporarily forgotten. It's about an alchemist in renaissance Italy and how, while trying to create the elixir of life and all that, he discovers something cool with music.
After that, I have Titan by Ben Bova waiting.
I have read every Pratchett book there is, as far as I know. The man is a genious.
The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur by Bernard Cornwell
I'm about halfway through this right now. The only other Arthur I've read is Once and Future King which is on my short list of favorites. This book takes a different tack painting a more realistic version of the legend. It creates a very real Briton/Saxon conflict and makes Arthur a real man with vision. I'm not going to go into it further because you should read it. very good stuff
Catcher in the rye
Just finished Depseration by Stephen King
I have read every Pratchett book there is, as far as I know. The man is a genious.
Amen to that! I worship the ground upon wich Pterry walks.
I have read all of them (except for Thud which isn't out inpaperback here yet) I have almost all his books too, there's maybe 5 of the 27 or so I don't have yet. I also still need to get science of discworld 3.
Doppelganger. A friend of mine's first published novel. Reviews and sales have been good enough that she just got another two-book deal for as-yet-unwritten books. End sales pitch. :)
I have read every Pratchett book there is, as far as I know. The man is a genious.
I'm really looking forward to
Wintersmith. It's been way too long since we've had a good story about the witches.
BTW, I always order my Discworld books from amazon.co.uk, even though I live in the US. Does anyone know why the US editions get such sucky cover art?
Mneh, I dont like the ones about the witches myself, I prefer the ones about the Watch, though the ones about the Wizards are a close second.
I like the ones in which Death appears, especially the one where he got laid off, Reaper Man. Awesome deadpan humor he has, Death. Scything wheat one stalk at a time. Priceless.
Yeah, the death ones are cool, but not my favorites. Mort and Reaper Man were good, though.
My all-time favorite Diskworld book would have to be Soul Music, though.
Yeah, Death is high on my list as well. Death as Santa Claus was also priceless :)
I do like the Watch. It just feels like we've heard an awful lot about Sam Vimes over the past few years, and not as much about some of the other characters.
Off Season by Jack Ketchum.
My favourite Discworldian character set is the Watch, although I agree we've been getting quite a lot of Vimes and less of the others. Rincewind books come second.
My favourite book is The Last Continent, where Rincewind ends up on XXXX.
im in the middle of East of Eden.
Just got THE CORRECTIONS and Willa Cather's MY ANTONIA (I LOVE Willa Cather!) it's raining (and, recently, tornado-ing) here, so good day to indulge the book bug.
Ah , Catcher in the rye .... Tight prose and thought . Love it . Love the scene with the little sister on the roundabout .
Have you read the book by his daughter , Margaret Salinger ? Dream Catcher } a memoir .
' My childhood was a world that dangled between dream and nightmare on a gossamer thread my parents wove without the reality of solid ground to catch a body should he or she fall' .
I never mix the personal qualities of the author with the masterpiece , but there is nothing wrong with being interested in Salinger as a person .
Oh no , I have replied to an old post again .
Nothing wrong with that. Besides, this thread's pretty much ongoing.
Well , thank you for being so kind , dar512 . I am packing up my books at the moment because I am moving from France to the Caribbean . I have given many books away , and I am now packing what I really want . It is an interesting thing to do , but very slow too , because I keep stopping .
I am flicking through Thoreau ( Walden) , also The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane . I am trying to remember certain lines so that I can attack you all when you try to justify guns .
Ah , Catcher in the rye .... Tight prose and thought . Love it . Love the scene with the little sister on the roundabout .
I'm within 30 pages of finishing Catcher in the Rye. I've got Scarlet Letter lined up (just visited Hawthorne's grave in Sleepy Hollow Cemetary), Return of the Native (T.Hardy) and A Farewell to Arms(Hemingway). Went to the library today to p/u The Sun Also Rises (didn't have it!) and got DaVinci Code and How the Horse Shaped Civilization instead.
hh
I am flicking through Thoreau ( Walden) , also The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane . I am trying to remember certain lines so that I can attack you all when you try to justify guns .
How ironic. You're gather ammunition for your argument. :lol:
No , I just like fine American ideas .
....and oh , hoof-hearted , do not think that I have not seen you . The Scarlet letter , well how can you understand Miller without Hawthorne ?
As for Hemingway , he is part of my life because I love him and because he NEVER really understood Pamplona .
Hardy is a bucolic old fart .
Voilà , I cannot be expected to talk about everyone all of the time .
Salinger was de rigour at my old school: however, my old english lit. teacher was a contempary of and actually know George Orwell, so all of his books were naturally on the menu. These days I tend to read only sci-fi (the hard stuff, not yer pansey pratchet whimsy) and at tne moment am re-reading Haldeman's The Forever War
I love George Orwell , and unlike you I have never had the privilege of being taught by a teacher who knew him .
I did however live in Barbastro in Spain at one time , where Orwell was in hospital during the Spanish Civil War . I tried to contact the old boy one night via a home-made ouidja board . Olive oil on a pane of glass . He did not reply , alas .
That explains a lot about you. You're possessed by a greasy Spanish demon.
If it's Lope de Vega , I don't mind .
Hm, I'm itching for something to read. Anyone have any suggestions? Since Amazon takes weeks, then I'm lookin' for something well-known enough to Torrent.
I think you'd really dig Neal Stephenson, Ibram. You should definitely start with "Snow Crash," and then do either "Diamond Age" or "Cryptonomicon."
I'm currently reading "A Feast for Crows", the latest book in "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R. R. Martin. This volume is OK, but it doesn't follow some of my favorite plots in the series at all. Not a whole lot has happened so far, and I'm almost done with the book. Hopefully this series doesn't go where people tell me the Wheel of Time series ended up going.
Double hopefully the next book doesn't take as long to come out as this one did.
Double hopefully the next book doesn't take as long to come out as this one did.
It shouldn't--the only reason there's a "next book" yet at all is the draft for book four became ridiculously long, and the publisher insisted he cut it into two books. That's why "A Feast for Crows" ignores some characters entirely; their story arcs all got shifted to the second book (by which I mean the fifth book, don't know if it has a title yet or not.)
I admit it - I'm reading Dance, Dance, Dance
It shouldn't--the only reason there's a "next book" yet at all is the draft for book four became ridiculously long, and the publisher insisted he cut it into two books. That's why "A Feast for Crows" ignores some characters entirely; their story arcs all got shifted to the second book (by which I mean the fifth book, don't know if it has a title yet or not.)
Cool. I knew it felt incomplete in some way.
The new SoIaF is out?!
Damn, I GOTTA get it, I've been waiting so long I stopped checking.
No , I just like fine American ideas .
That being the case, Buddug, then take a look at the later pages of the gun threads over in Current Events. I just posted a reading list of fine American ideas there myself.
PSST, buddug's been gone for months, theres no need to point her towards your neocon wishlist.
I'm reading Wolfblade, one of those wonderful fantasy books. I read lots of fantasy... I'm tired of The Wheel of Time Series though I think they have pretty much lost any sense of suspense or "OMG I can't believe that just happened!" Because the plots are just so slooooow, and the author throws in way too many frivolous details. The last "substance" book I read was The Grapes Wrath a couple of months ago, good literature piece with wonderful historical insight.
I'm tired of The Wheel of Time Series though I think they have pretty much lost any sense of suspense or "OMG I can't believe that just happened!"
If you want those, the Song of Ice and Fire series has them - and big ones. Only one in this latest book so far, but it's a doozy.
If you want those, the Song of Ice and Fire series has them - and big ones. Only one in this latest book so far, but it's a doozy.
Thanks I might try that...my local library has a fairly poor stock, normally they'll have the 2nd book of a series but never the 1st, I really need to get cards to some of the larger libraries around...just been laze.
Robert Jordan, right? True, that guy seems to have an utterly Swedish sense of dramatic pace. I'm a voracious reader, but trilogies that would stop an elephant gun are things I avoid picking up except to improve my muscle tone. Too many pages for not enough literary virtue -- kind of like the Shannara shelf-full. Though better written, which in the Shannara case isn't saying much.
Wheel of Time is Robert Jordan. A Song of Ice and Fire is George R. R. Martin.
Just checked out A Feast Of Crows from the school library!
Islands in the Stream- Hemingway It was actually edited after he died. It isn't as riveting as his other stuff but still interesting.
Just finished my parallel read V. Pretty dark stuff.
Just checked out A Feast Of Crows from the school library!
Cool! Good library.
Brand new library, just opened yesterday. It's been closed for remodelling, and its waaay cool now.
Currently making my way through
Heimskringla. Yes, the whole thing. Yes, it's fucking massive.
Grabbed the
version from Project Gutenberg. 500+ pages. Uff da! Formatted it into two columns, 10 point font, horizontal page layout. The printed 2-up (two pages side by side on a single piece of paper) to a PostScript file. 192 pages 8-) I can upload the file if anybody wants it.
The Time Traveler's Wife.
damn good.
What do you do when you meet the love of your life when you're six years old? And he's 36, but he's really only eight years older than you are? If you're Clare Abshire, you wait for each of his visits throughout the years until you meet him in real time.
Henry DeTamble is a time traveler, although not by choice. A genetic mutation causes him to spontaneously travel through time, disappearing from view, leaving behind his clothes and possessions, and arriving naked in another time and another place. For the most part, this is a curse. Henry often has to turn to petty crime to feed and clothe himself when he travels, and must run from people, thugs, or the police. Eventually Henry returns to his present time, bringing only the bodily injuries he's suffered back with him. Sometimes he travels back in time and visits an earlier version of himself. One of the places to which he travels often is the meadow behind Clare's house, and throughout her younger years, Clare meets him there and falls in love with him.
Islands in the Stream- Hemingway It was actually edited after he died. It isn't as riveting as his other stuff but still interesting.
I just finished "The Sun Also Rises". Much preferred "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and I would like to read "Death in the Afternoon".
I read a short story in college, "The Short and Happy Life of Francis MacComber(sp)" and can't recall if Hemingway wrote it...but I remember I loved the story for all its' hidden meanings and symbolism.
Just finished "Ghost Force- The Secret History of the SAS". If half this stuff is true, or even if it isn't, it's a great book.
If you liked that, Guyute, you might like 'the phantom major' by Virginia Cowles..... the story of David Stirling and the founding of the SBS/SAS
I just found a book called Vamped in my office, by David Sosnowski--"Author of Rapture." Anyone ever read it? Is it total crap?
I just finished the worst book ever...The Hidden. Lucky it was a library freebie.
I finally gave in and decided to read some of the Heinlein books we have around the house. (Generally I don't like hard sci-fi, so though it obviously came highly recommended I kept putting it off.) I started with--don't ask me why--"Job: A Comedy of Justice," and this almost stopped me from reading any of the others at all. What a retarded book.
But then I moved on to "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," which I definitely enjoyed but wasn't blown away by. I think it would have been better if I could appreciate firsthand how revolutionary it was at the time it was written. As it is, I can intellectually know it was an amazing book for its time, but it didn't awe me. I felt the same way about J.R.R. Tolkien.
Now I've just started "Stranger in a Strange Land." This one I'm liking the best by far, and I have high hopes that it will help Heinlein live up to all the recommendations everyone gave me. :)
Early Heinlein was very good. The Moon.. and Stranger... are probably his two finest works. 'Time enough for Love' is also not bad, but by this time he was letting his politics show. Check out his early stuff 'the puppet masters', The man who sold the moon, orphans of the sky.
I just finished Dance Dance Dance, having found out about it here. I was not really impressed.
I just started Going Postal, having heard about the Discworld books here. I hope it's a good one to start with.
I'm not too influenced by you guys, am I? Just don't tell me how good it is to jump off a bridge, kay?
Wow, it looks like I've chosen the absolute last one to start with. Are they all independant? Or should stop on page 20 and start with the color of magic
Based on the chart, it looks to me like you'd want to pick up "Moving Pictures" first, then "The Truth," and then you could jump back into "Going Postal."
Good idea.
Theyre almost all standalone novels in their own right, but colour of magic is the first one. I'd say finish Going Postal, then grab Colour of Magic.
Pratchet has never done it for me, though the Current Wife and Wicked StepDaughter are great fans. Still, he does help solve the Christmas present issue.
I just wish I could write to deadlines like that......
Tess Gerritsen "Vanish" My 1st by her so far ok.
I just finished "The Sun Also Rises". Much preferred "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and I would like to read "Death in the Afternoon".
I read a short story in college, "The Short and Happy Life of Francis MacComber(sp)" and can't recall if Hemingway wrote it...but I remember I loved the story for all its' hidden meanings and symbolism.
Yes, 'The Short Happy Life of Francis MacComber' was written by Hemingway. It's one of my favorite stories. Like you, I didn't find "The Sun Also Rises" great, but I was also probably too young when I read it. Doesn't mean I'd like it now, though - what I can remember, I don't much like.
I just finished "The First World War" by John Keegan. Great book, very detailed. It made me both sad and furious, reading about the rigid thinking and ineptitude of the generals that resulted in casualties I could hardly comprehend. More than 250,000 just at Gallipoli! Agghh! Keegan stresses that they didn't use the communications technology available, i.e. radio. Unbelievable.
Currently I'm working through a number of P.D. James's novels. She's marvellous. And she's in her eighties and still writing the best crime fiction out there!!!
Wow, I've not been keeping up with my posting here ... okay, not on any thread, but I'm clearly behind on listing my recent literary choices. Luckily, I have kept a chronological list since 1984.
FINISHED
Doppelganger - Marie Brennan
The Bone Collector - Jeffrey Deaver
The Coffin Dancer - Jeffrey Deaver
Gods and Myths of Northern Europe - H.R. Ellis Davidson
The Sentinel - Gerald Petievich
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being Psychic - Lynne A. Robinson and LaVonne Carlson-Finnerty
The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid
Love is the Bond - M.R. Sellars
All Acts of Pleasure - M.R. Sellars
Divination for Beginners - Scott Cunningham
The Sinister Pig - Tony Hillerman
ONGOING PROJECTS
The Old Testament
The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brother's Grimm, All New Third Edition
I like fairy tales before bedtime
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
this is a very, very long book. Not a lot happens. But these things don't happen in very interesting, nicely described ways.
Do As I Say, Not as I Do: Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy - Peter Schweizer
I get so mad reading this I can only do a little at a time, so I keep it in the bathroom.
The Robin Wood Tarot - Robin Wood
I love this tarot deck, and recently learned that the artist had written a book about it's creation, and gives details regarding the symbolism she chose for each card. So far I think it's a much better guide to the deck than Tarot Made Simple, which uses her cards also.
FINISHED
Doppelganger - Marie Brennan
What did you think about this one?
I bought it on your recommendation, and actually really liked it, for the most part. I think that the loss of dramatic tension after the ... you know, big thing that's a major plot point that I won't reveal out loud in case someone else wants to read it ... didn't serve the story well. But overall I liked the characters, I liked the world, thought the richness of the backstory was a very good thing.
I look forward to more from her.
In that case, I should tell you that the sequel just hit stores a couple of weeks ago. :)
Oooooh. I'm surprised that amazon didn't send me an email telling me about that.
The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd.
The Footprints Of God by Greg Iles.
I havn't started either of them.
There is a memorial site at the Library of Congress for Hannah Arendt. There are tons of beautiful manuscripts 1st, 2nd, and 3rd drafts etc. of her work there. She was a great philosopher and had an extraordinary writing skill set. She redefined the art of thinking. She was a student of Heidegger, Husserl, and Jaspers. Yeah, she's the real deal. Here's a link:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/arendthtml/arendthome.html"Team Of Rivals" Goodwin. A great book.
Early Heinlein was very good. The Moon.. and Stranger... are probably his two finest works. 'Time Enough for Love' is also not bad, but by this time he was letting his politics show. Check out his early stuff 'The Puppet Masters', The Man Who Sold The Moon, Orphans of the Sky.
Jay, the man's politics
always showed. Even his first juvies from the very late forties and early fifties,
Red Planet, Rocket Ship Galileo, Space Cadet, Farmer In The Sky, all include their Heinlein Lecture at some point. It's perhaps easiest to spot when you read a fistful of them one after another. Some of his later material conceals the Lectures more invisibly and smoothly, usually by spreading it throughout the plot and dialogue.
Starship Troopers and
Tunnel In The Sky come to mind, both of which have a coming of age as the backbone of their plots. The Lecture hits several points: liberty is good; competence also, and the more varied the better; maturity is essential; skill at arms can save you when nothing else will do; discipline is accomplishment's handmaiden; government should be minimal, for a government that governs most governs worst -- and that was the essential plot of more than one of his novels. It's all through
Time Enough... with its hero who sticks around long enough to take a very long perspective -- personally. I'd call that one his masterpiece. You can run your life around his Lazarus Long's Notebooks entry on "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
Some Heinleinery, including other links
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
this is a very, very long book. Not a lot happens. But these things don't happen in very interesting, nicely described ways.
I have managed to reach an approximate halfway point (page 500ish of slightly over 1K, the book is in my briefcase and I'm too lazy to look.)
I will only recognize the Old Testament and Grimm .
I am APPALLED , Wolf . Truly APPALLED .
Come and look at my books .
Come and look at my books .
Is it concieveable that buddug is...drunk?
I'm reading 12th Night; finished a four-week study of Austen's "Emma" and have really grown to hate that uptight wench. (Austen, that is. Well, Emma, too.)
No Brianna, Buddug being drunk would be too easy. She obviously doesn't understand the edit button.
Right now I'm reading the anthroplogy of religion. Can I slit my wrists now?
I will only recognize the Old Testament and Grimm .
I am APPALLED , Wolf . Truly APPALLED .
And I should care that you don't get out much, why, exactly?
If I read Bill O'Reilly's newest book, will your head explode?
The Robin Wood Tarot - Robin Wood
I love this tarot deck, and recently learned that the artist had written a book about it's creation, and gives details regarding the symbolism she chose for each card. So far I think it's a much better guide to the deck than Tarot Made Simple, which uses her cards also.
I have the Robin Wood tarot and Tarot Made Simple. Didn't even realise Robin was a she :redface:
Gods and Myths of Northern Europe - H.R. Ellis Davidson
Any good? I
love Norse mythology
I have just started Stephen King's Wolves of the Calla.
Am in the unheard of situation of having books to spare, rather than rereading the ones I have.
To read-
The Island - Victoria Hislop
The Python Years - (diaries) Michael Palin
I Can't Stay Long - Laurie Lee
Desert Royals - Jean P Sasson (trashy, but was part of a 3 book deal)
and a couple more I picked up by habit in the charity shop but can't even remember.
Feel like a bulimic at an all you can eat buffet - happy, but slightly overwhelmed :)
i'm actually reading Atlas Shrugged.....
ha ha ha
"actually" - as if this is a crazy idea
no, more like, i always hear people talking about it on here, so i figured i'd read it. seems like most of you have read it.
What a bunch of egg-heads! Just kidding.
The
Fountainhead adaptation (screenplay by Ayn Rand) is pretty cool. Starring Gary Cooper.
The Fountainhead adaptation (screenplay by Ayn Rand) is pretty cool. Starring Gary Cooper.
If by "cool" you mean "extremely boring," then I'm right there with you.;)
If by "cool" you mean "extremely boring," then I'm right there with you.
I'll be the first to admit: there are no car chase scenes, and only
one explosion.
LJ, why...why are you reading Ayn Rand?
LJ, why...why are you reading Ayn Rand?
curiosity? plus, i like to choose longer books ( audible dot com ) to listen to on my commute. more bang for your buck, what? i'm halfway through the first half of the first volume. i guess i like it so far. it's not putting me to sleep like moby dick did.
(re: Gods and Myths of Northen Europe) Any good? I love Norse mythology
In a word, no.
It's not that it's a terribly bad book, but it's a rather dry and scholarly account of the myths, doesn't relate them in full, but does give an interesting perspective on how the myths are and were expressed in some other cultural practices of the region.
I liked this edition, but any version of the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda should do for a start.
i'm actually reading Atlas Shrugged.....
Not a bad book. I was talking about Rand in another thread- I'm no great fan, but she does have some interesting points. I read a lot of work by people that I find severely offensive- she's one of them. But she does have her good moments. And for the people who found it boring? How? There were (if I remember correctly) three different ways to read that one narrative. That's genius. She's just not a genius I like. So Lj be aware.......there's more than the obvious within those pages.
I'll agree it's interesting... but there's one chapter about 3/4ths of the way through that you can just skip. You don't need it. You'll know it when you get there. It's nothing but one long speech and there's nothing new said in it, so just save yourself the time and flip ahead to the next chapter where stuff starts happening again.
i'm listening to it on mp3, so i can kind of fade out when it gets redundant. I'm finding it a bit over acted, and unnaturally repetetive in dialogue. her repeated use of the phrases "no one can blame us" and "I can't be responsible for unexpected events" by the 'bad guy socialists' is a bit... unbelievable?
Yeah... she writes parables, not realistic fiction.
I am currently reading: The Evolution of the Medieval World by David Nicholas; Bede's Ecclesiastical History and [I][I]Asser's[/I] Life of Alfred[/I].....oh yeah and a Dr Who novel :P
Very good to read Bede if you want to understand England , Dana .
Don't forget that us Welsh were Christian long before Bede .
oh yeah and a Dr Who novel :P
Oh which one? Have just bought a 2nd hand copy of Last of the Gaderene (because it's by Mark Gatiss, natch)
In that case, I should tell you that the sequel just hit stores a couple of weeks ago. :)
Thanks to clod, I have just finished reading Warrior and Witch by Marie Brennan.
Clod, let her know ... this is an awesome read, as exciting as the first, took care of some loose ends and left some more to be addressed in the next book.
I was left hungry for understanding more of the culture of the world outside of the Hunter Schools and the Witches. I am intrigued by her conception of the five-fold Goddess, which again leaves open a lot of questions about what the ordinary folk do ...
I just finished the first one today. It was a pretty good read.
Interesting tidbits... she wrote it when she was 19 (and is now 27 or 28, I can't remember) and was quite surprised to see it picked up before some of the others she's written in the years since. The first book has done well enough to get a second print run, though, so she will in all likelihood have some of those other novels come out soon.
Very good to read Bede if you want to understand England , Dana .
Don't forget that us Welsh were Christian long before Bede
Bede is a good read.......I feel I have quite a good understanding of England already however, given that I am English ( I may have mentioned that before) and having studied quite a bit of my history.
Oh which one? Have just bought a 2nd hand copy of Last of the Gaderene (because it's by Mark Gatiss, natch)
It's called 'Warmonger'. Its excellent. But the best I have read lately was called 'Fear Itself.':)
I would just like to take this opportunity to remind Buddug to be clear of Chester city walls afore sundown.....
I just started Buddism without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor. Very interesting stuff. He seems to be about keeping religious ideas out of it. I've read folks here claim that Buddism is not a religion. I'm seeing how it could be approached that way but often isn't. Anyway, nice read.
I kind of dabbled in Buddhism for a while. When I realised I didn't believe in God, I still felt I needed some sort of "spiritual" life and Buddhism seemed compatible with my beliefs. Most importantly, it didn't seem like much of a religion to me. More of a philosophy. I should follow that up by saying that I don't know a great deal about it beyond the basics.
At any rate. I'm reading I'm Just Here for the Food and I'm Just Here for More Food by Alton Brown. Not really "literature", but I'm fascinated by his ability to describe how and why something happens when you cook.
Buddhism to me.....Is philosophy. You don't have to get religious about it at all...
Just finished... The Family Trade by Charles Stross. (Waiting for vol. 2 of the series to come from the library.)
Hood by Stephen Lawhead. (Snooze... finished it, but not going to bother with future volumes)
In progress... Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett.
In the on-deck pile.... Ghost, by John Ringo
Mountains of the Pharaohs, by Zahi Hawass
My book group is currently in the middle of reading "The Chicken Qabalah"
http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Qabalah-Rabbi-Lamed-Clifford/dp/1578632153/sr=8-9/qid=1163189578/ref=sr_1_9/103-7279141-8262202?ie=UTF8&s=books
So far we have found the humor and easy writing style of this book to be helpful in understanding more about Qabalah from a layman's perspective. Most of us are interested in learning more so that we can better interpret Tarot and Astrology information.
Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3D! (Hardcover)
I saw this in Barnes and Nobles today for $10 and I had to buy it. Part of it was prurient interest, and part was my fascination with
Harold Lloyd. I knew him as a fearless comedian who did his own insanely dangerous stunts, but I had not heard anything about nude photographs, especially not 3-D nudes.
The book even includes the 3-D glasses:cool:.
Did I mention that I bought it for the articles?;):blush:
Hey, I have a copy of that!
It's a shame they did it in the red-blue format. I always preferred the side-by-side because there's no monkeying with the color.
Smart Dragons, Foolish Elves - Alan Dean Foster, ed.
Collection of Short Stories from 1991 or so, which I read when I purchased it, but not since. It migrated to the front of the linen closet and I was looking for something light and fluffy and there it was.
Interestingly, thus far none of the short stories have involved a Smart Dragon or a Foolish Elf.
They are fantasy tales with a humorous bent or wry twist to them, overall, not bad, but few of the stories are truly memorable. Except Djinn, No Chaser by Harlan Ellison, of course.
I just started the Da Vinci Code.
Your stories sound like fun wolf.
What is Lords and Ladies about Stevedallas?
I kind of dabbled in Buddhism for a while. When I realised I didn't believe in God, I still felt I needed some sort of "spiritual" life and Buddhism seemed compatible with my beliefs. Most importantly, it didn't seem like much of a religion to me. More of a philosophy. I should follow that up by saying that I don't know a great deal about it beyond the basics.
At any rate. I'm reading I'm Just Here for the Food and I'm Just Here for More Food by Alton Brown. Not really "literature", but I'm fascinated by his ability to describe how and why something happens when you cook.
Hi Perth!
What is Lords and Ladies about Stevedallas?
"Lords and Ladies" is a euphemism for elves in Discworld. The book examines what happens when some elves decide to visit Discworld.
Been kinda' stressed about trying to read again. I used to read a book a day (I don't sleep much). Once my pain levels reached a certain point my concentration reached a point where I was not retaining the last page I read. It was like someone killed my best friend without telling me.
It has been about a year since I finished a real book... I have been dipping back into my old comic collection from time to time (a long shot from ancient religious texts, great fiction and new physics journals).
I am pretty scared/apprehensive about this... in a way it would just be easier not to truly know it was gone.
I am not used to being scared of anything. I have a couple of choices I have been thinking of, couple by His Holiness The Dalia Lama or Thich Nhat Hanh. Perhaps re-reading an old favorite like the Three Pillars of Zen?
I miss the constant support of my path by these readings.
However, I wonder if reading some fiction may be "easier"... not what I think about when I think of reading, which I often do.
It seems like graphic novels should be a good direction to go. A good strategy might be to not mark your page when you put it down. When you pick it up again, just flip through until you get to the last part you clearly remember.
I tried that just before I stopped... it is why I stopped. I was reading the same passages over and over and over again. It became very frustrating.
I'm pretty sure I'm better with the pain and meds now... I hope so.
I'll agree it's interesting... but there's one chapter about 3/4ths of the way through that you can just skip. You don't need it. You'll know it when you get there. It's nothing but one long speech and there's nothing new said in it, so just save yourself the time and flip ahead to the next chapter where stuff starts happening again.
christ. it took him 3 hours to read it. from my stop at wawa 15 minutes from home, all the way back to work the next morning(1.5 hours) and all the way home again (1.25 hours) and there was no new information.
this part, though seems to be the real message of the book. if you just want her message, and politics, you could just read that part, i think. it's just really dry. I may actually re- listen to that part at some point, because there were a few times when things he said clicked.....but i was so drowsy from work, or the rambling manner of the speech, that it didn;t stick with me. it reminded me of one of radar's more lengthy posts about libertarianism.
I wonder if she wrote that first built the novel around it and then didn't delete it when it became superflous?
I see that no one has posted for a while, and as I'm insanely bored, waiting to become tired enough to pass out, I figured I'd post. Pretty much just becuase I can.
The last book I read was "Cursor's Fury", by Jim Butcher. Excellent freaking book, as are all of his books.
I'm currently waiting for Laurell K. Hamilton's next book to come out--tomorrow! "Mistral's Tears", I think it's called. I've abandoned her vampire books, but I'm completely hooked on the Meredith Gentry series.
I read the whole of Hamilton's vampire series (whole until 2001 anyway) while I lived in London. It was recommended to me by my local bookshop and although I never really rated it, it was a habit. She has great ideas for storylines, but never had the quality of writing to really appeal to me. They were Tube books (ie books I could read on the Tube without worrying I'd miss my station)
Is Meredith Gentry better, or does she still have a habit of duplicating descriptions from one book to another?
I've just finished a fantasy novel called Voyage of The Shadowmoon. It was one of the really nice occasions when I've picked up a book on a second hand stall, been intrigued and bought it despite the truly awful cover art.It takes a peculiar delight in subverting some fantasy pillars without ever losing its own cohesion. Engaging characters (one a chivalrous, 700 year old vampire, trapped inside the body of a never aging 15 year old.) Australian writer, Sean McMullen. Really good read, so much so I've ordered the second one in the sequence from Amazon:P
Currently reading: Paine's 'Rights of Man', and 'Gentlemen and Players' by Joanne Harris.
I'm currently reading a Lovecraft collection. It's weighted towards his earlier work, and some of it isn't quite so polished, but there are passages here and there that caused me to pause and reflect.
I read the whole of Hamilton's vampire series (whole until 2001 anyway) while I lived in London. It was recommended to me by my local bookshop and although I never really rated it, it was a habit. She has great ideas for storylines, but never had the quality of writing to really appeal to me. They were Tube books (ie books I could read on the Tube without worrying I'd miss my station)
Is Meredith Gentry better, or does she still have a habit of duplicating descriptions from one book to another?
Ummm.... well....
Kind of? I read most of her vampire books, but it's been quite a while. I'd have to say that yes, some of her descriptions do get repetitive. But I like her style, and I really like her characters. The Gentry books have characters that I like a lot more than the vampire ones...they're a lot more sympathetic, I suppose.
Repeated descriptions go back to Homer (and probably before). The question is, was it lazy and repetitive then, and we just give him a pass 'cause he's old?
Reasonable point Hm, but have you read Laurel K. Hamilton? I'm not putting her down, but she won't be being read in 2000 years time.
Nope. The reason for repetition is different: Homer was repetitious because it was recited to an audience and therefore needed to be easy to remember; one of the methods used to act as memory cues/aids, was a kind of circular descriptive form. There was also more of a need in oral poetry/story telling, for expected anchors for the audience, such as archetypal descriptions. You see it a lot in Norse sagas too.
I finished Hamilton's new book. While the first four Gentry books were awesome, this last one was a little dissappointing. Only 200 pages, for one thing! She's trying to do too much in too little time, and it's starting to show.:sniff:
But Darkness and Frost almost make up for it, so I suppose I'll keep reading...whenever she gets around to writing another one.
Has anyone else read it?
Access All Areas: a user's guide to the art of urban exploration, The Screwtape Letters, and will soon be starting on Michael Yon's book Danger Close
I just finished Wicked. I still don't know what to think...
When I was on vacation I got the first ed. of The Faber Book Of Northern Legends and it's companion book of Scandinavian fables.
Read "For Us, The Living" by Heinlen today (yesterday? something like that).
I'm completely on board for just about everything expressed in the book.
I'm currently reading a Lovecraft collection. It's weighted towards his earlier work, and some of it isn't quite so polished, but there are passages here and there that caused me to pause and reflect.
Dark Seas of Infinity (book club edition of Lovecraft's writings) is somewhere in the morass of covers of my bed. I set it aside for a bit, and made a terrible, terrible mistake.
Clearly, the stress of dealing with my mom has made me insane.
I bought a series of three books that looked like they should be good. The story has mystery and magick and vampires and a mission from Goddess, I mean, how much better could you get? Except that the thrice-dam'ned things were written by Nora Roberts who is a miserable, formulaic romance novel writer. Total, unrepentent suck, they are, I tell you! Plot contrivances that should have caused the pages to shred of their own accord ... forced dialog ... trashy softcore sex scenes.
Whatever you do, dear friends, steer clear of Morrigan's Cross, Dance of the Gods, and Valley of Silence. Please, do it for the children.
For a comedy:
I just read Jon Stewart's "Naked Pictures of Famous People." I laughed pretty much all the way through it.
Hitler on Larry King live
Princess Di's letters to Mother Theresa
Hanging with the Kennedys
Great stuff!
I have put the crappy novels on hold.
I bought myself an unexpected Yule gift.
Hannibal Rising - Thomas Harris.
While it's sad seeing a good author become a one-trick pony, the character is so compelling that you do want to know more and more, although, I think that this book is the one that probably should have been hinted at, rather than written. The one I want, of course, is the story which precedes Red Dragon, detailing Lecter's killings that led to his capture by Will Graham.
I am currently reading Barack Obama's:Audacity of Hope.
After that I have a political philosophy book picked out, forgot it's name.
I really like it so far, he is a very talented writer. He does a great job at pointing out what is wrong with politics today and how he is planning on changing it.
Thanks. I'll have to check that one out.
A book called "Go Ahead - Take the Wheel", subtitled "Road Racing on Your Budget", by Dave Gran. Actually Dave if a friend and former competitor of my Brother's, until he changed classes.
The guy writes well and gives a comprehensive outline of the costs and hassles of being a weekend warrior. Motorsports are never cheap, but can be much less than you would think. Well, maybe more than you think.......either way, this book lays it out in realistic terms.
http://www.goaheadtakethewheel.com/WatchtheAction!.html
Oh, and there's a picture of my Brother's last race car on the cover.
I'm reading a Discworld one, Jingo, but I'll have it finished by tonight.
I just finished The Archer by Bernard Cornwell. Excellent novel set early in the Hundred Years War.
I'm now reading the Robot Novels by Asimov.
Cornwell's historical fiction is so entertaining!
Officer, what do you think of Jingo? I am so annoyed that nobody bought me a Pratchet book this Chrimbo! I will just have to buy it myself :P
What I did acquire from my rels though, is Ben Elton's 'Chartthrob' which I have just finished, good fun, but not a patch on his 'First Casualty'. Also, I've just started thumbing though 'Amo, amas, amat and all that'. Also good fun.
Flags of Our Fathers. Got it for Christmas and it is a very good read. It's different than most war books, written by the son of one of the flag raisers, the first 1/3rd details the boyhoods of all the men involved in the flag raising and the circumstances that led them all to be a part of the Marine force that invaded Iwo Jima.
It has quickly become one of my favorite WWII books, next to Band of Brothers and The Wild Blue. I really want to get around to reading Gods and Generals one day.
Flags of Our Fathers. Got it for Christmas and it is a very good read. It's different than most war books, written by the son of one of the flag raisers, the first 1/3rd details the boyhoods of all the men involved in the flag raising and the circumstances that led them all to be a part of the Marine force that invaded Iwo Jima.
It has quickly become one of my favorite WWII books, next to Band of Brothers and The Wild Blue. I really want to get around to reading Gods and Generals one day.
If you like war books, "To the Last Man" by Jeff Shaara is a good WWI book.
DanaC - loved it. But then again i love all the discworld ones. I didn't get any for christmas either but there's a good reason for that... I was terribly geeky and bought them all already...
I like Bernard Cornwell too, but i've only read a couple of his books.
I like Bernard Cornwell too, but i've only read a couple of his books.
So far I've read his Warlord series (Arthur) and The Archer's Tale. I'm going to read more.
I'm not entirely sure which ones I've read actually. I can remember the main charcter was called Uhtred, or something along those lines...
From Amazon it looks like he's written a lot more than I knew and the Archer's Tale may have been repackaged as the first book in The Grail Quest Series.
The Last Kingdom and The Pale Horseman. There's a third one in that series too. I knew those Amazon tokens would come in handy.
I loved Last Kingdom and Pale Horseman. I haven't read the third yet, but I will acquire myself a copy asap!
Finished book 2 of the crappy romance series, taking a break from it (it was raining and book three is in the car) and am reading Eragon.
...am reading Eragon.
As is lil' Pete.:)
At about 1/3 through, I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series or not.
Freakonomics. I've just started it, but I don't get a whole lot of time to read, so I'll be a while with it.
I've just finished reading, "Don't Get Too Comfortable," a collection of writings by David Rakoff. He's described as 'skewering' by critics, but I thought his commentaries on the excesses of the '1st world' U.S. were really just smart-assed funny and very thoughtful. Maybe if I had a different mindset, I'd have been more shocked by his opinions, I don't know. I'm glad I don't know.
Currently reading?
Hmmm
The Weight of Nothing -Steven Gillis
See Delphi and Die -Lindsey Davis
Mister Posterior and the Genius Child -Emily Jenkins
Eclectic, no?
and a whole heap of new stuff that is as yet unpublished. Some of it it very good, though.
Great titles; especially the last one.
At a slight tangent, a book I am not currently reading, but which I read last year and which had a title that really stuck in my mind: Ludmilla's Broken English, by D.B.C. Pierre.
Just finished Cannery Row, then Gibran's The Prophet, now re-reading Brave New World.
A Game of Thrones. George R R Martin
an author so cool, he has two middle initials
I liked some of his standalone books (like Tuf Voyaging), but never got into the unendingly long series he's written.
I am now trudging my way through the last of the 3 crappy romance novels. As expected, the good guy vampire is falling in love with the queen.
I hope I didn't ruin it for anyone.
On second thought, I hope I just saved you from any possible curiosity that would lead to purchasing these books.
The on-deck circle contains the first book of a series about the only wizard listed in the Chicago YellowPages.
I'm reading the final chronicles of thomas covenant by Stephen Donaldson.
Game of Thrones is unrelentingly grim, and I'm not sure I see the point of the unrelenting grimness going on for a couple thousand pages. I'm having great trouble finding any character in those multitudinous pages that I actually like, except perhaps the two or three very young characters not corrupted yet by this praetorian power struggle.
I've been reading from this quadrilogy (or is it longer?) every now and again as a way of sampling current F&SF work and taking a break from reading nonfiction.
I am presently engrossed in Whittaker Chambers' Cold Friday. It's dated nowadays, but he was a vivid writer. He seems to have concluded big-C Communism happens in societies in which religion has faded. I haven't found any explicit statement of this in Cold Friday, but the implication behind a lot of his writing about Communism is that it was a kind of religion. Other writers have stated that -- perhaps they'd read Chambers and drew this same conclusion from his work.
Bernard Cornwell fans [I've only read some of his Sharpe's Rifles novels] would probably enjoy Patrick O'Brian, too. I'm reading all the Aubrey-Maturin novels I can get hold of in order of publication, which is roughly their order in the time they're set in -- the Napoleonic era.
But watch out -- these novels will give you the dangerous and unjustified impression you could go out and conn, fight, and trim the sails of a circa-1800 ship of the line with a week's hands-on experience, such is their vividness of time and place!
Ooooh Ali, Runes of the Earth? What a corker. I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out! Did you know this last set is a set of four, not three?
Hmm. I haven't read any Aubrey-Maturin novels. I may check some out.
I know! That's what i thought! *does a very happy dance*
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, hold a very special place in my heart. I read them first time out when I was about 12, because my Dad my older brother and my Mum were all reading them. Martin (my bro) had bought the first one as a paperback, read it, said how good it was and mum gave it a go. When he bought the second paperback, Dad was half way through the first.......each one of the books did the rounds of my entire family, including me heheh.
I was quite ill at that time (bout a year and a half, as the books came out in paperback and then did the rounds) so needed something to dive into. No book has ever transported me quite so completely as the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I swear I could almost taste the berries:P
It's an amazing story that's for sure. I first started reading the covenant series when I was about 18. My b/f at the time got me started on them.
When I left him, I stole his covenant books. ;)
Those ones have since fallen apart or not been returned after loaning, so I've got fairly new copies of the whole series to date.
I love stephen donaldson as an author. Have you read 'the gap' series? If not, you should have a peek. It's brilliant.
Dana,What reading level are The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant ?
What makes the Gap series stand out ? I am looking for good science fiction for my son. He did hate and could not finish the Catcher In The Rye calling the character one miserable whiney #%^ ...well you know. Seems like the main character of the Chronicles is a bit like that?
Ali, I loved the Gap series. The characters were brilliant. It was so vast in scale too.
He said in an interview that he wrote the The Real Story: Gap into Knowledge, as a novella about a decade earlier, and left it in his desk drawer, slightly disturbed by his own writing. Then he was driving along and listening to Wagner's Ring Cycle and the story came back to him and seemed to fit: hence it became a vast and sprawling space opera:)
Sky, I don't really know what the reading age would be. If you were to SPOC test it, it would likely come out at Level 2-3, which means well into the adult field. Level 1 is about age 14-15.
LJ, don't let wolf and UG scare you off the George R.R. Martin. "Game of Thrones" is awesome and it only gets better with subsequent books in the series.
Yeah, A Song of Ice and Fire is my favorite series coming out now. And I'm a big fan of the Thomas Covenant series, too. When are the next books in each series coming out?
ch'yeah, i'm gonna take ug's advice about fiction. i'm loving it. the narrator is fantastic, too. does great voices, and reads at a nice slow pace in an old english accent. my impersonation of an english accent has improved because of it.
HM, the first one(covenant) is out. it wasn't as good as the firt series, IMO. not nearly.
my impersonation of an english accent has improved because of it.
Evidence please! A youtube mehmehmeh in an English accent at the very least....
I am looking for good science fiction for my son. He did hate and could not finish the Catcher In The Rye calling the character one miserable whiney #%^ ...well you know. Seems like the main character of the Chronicles is a bit like that?
What age is your son? I couldn't make it through the Catcher in the Rye when I was a teenager for the same reason... I'm pretty good at remembering books that made an impression on me so I might be able to suggest something...?
I'm currently reading Abhorsen - the third in the Garth Nix series - Sabriel and Librael were the first two. An ex lent me Sabriel ("You read children's books about magic don't you?") and I found it interesting enough to pick up the others second hand.
I have at least 5 unread books scattered around my flat, am hoping for a book finding session this weekend.
HM, the first one(covenant) is out. it wasn't as good as the firt series, IMO. not nearly.
Yeah, but I still want the next one...
Bernard Cornwell fans [I've only read some of his Sharpe's Rifles novels] would probably enjoy Patrick O'Brian, too. I'm reading all the Aubrey-Maturin novels I can get hold of in order of publication, which is roughly their order in the time they're set in -- the Napoleonic era.
But watch out -- these novels will give you the dangerous and unjustified impression you could go out and conn, fight, and trim the sails of a circa-1800 ship of the line with a week's hands-on experience, such is their vividness of time and place!
Patrick O'Brian is on my short list.
Dana,What reading level are The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant ?
What makes the Gap series stand out ? I am looking for good science fiction for my son. He did hate and could not finish the Catcher In The Rye calling the character one miserable whiney #%^ ...well you know. Seems like the main character of the Chronicles is a bit like that?
I'd put the reading level of Thomas Covenant Chronicles at about early high school.
Thomas Covenant is indeed a world-class whiner. Two worlds' class, actually, which is strange considering that when here on earth he is a hard-bitten, surly, competent adult. Stick him in the middle of a land with magickal powers and he becomes a big, whiny baby. I did not like the books, although I did read the first two trilogies, just to make sure. I even have a boxed set of the first three books.
No way does the word preturnatural appear in an early high school book;nor, come to think of it, does the 'hero' of the book generally commit crimes like rape and end up intrinsically linked to the victim in a high school book. The story dealt with some complex issues and character developments And the character wasn't whiny, he was conflicted and bitter.
A Walk on the Nightside by Simon R. Green. I picked this out of the library. I hadn't heard of the Nightside series, but so far I find the book fascinating.
There are many similarities to the movie
Constantine, but that was based on the comic book Hellblazer. The Nightside novels haven't been made into a movie yet, but if they were it would be much more interesting than Constantine. The series explores a mystical underside of London. The style is pure Raymond Chandler with a lot of H.P. Lovecraft thrown in.
Apparently, occult detectives are now in, considering the release of
The Dresden Files, on the Sci-Fi channel.
Maybe someone should do what NBC did back in the 70's and have multiple occult detective shows in a single series.
Fantasy Detective novels could include the
Garret P.I. series by Glen Cook, the
Hawk and Fisher series by Simon Green, and possibly parts of
Discworld by Terry Pratchett. The good news is you could use some of the same sets and extras.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=2]The original incarnation of The NBC Mystery Movie consisted of three rotating series. McCloud, starring Dennis Weaver as a modern-day western Marshal who was transplanted from New Mexico to the streets of New York City, was a holdover from NBC's earlier Four in One lineup. McMillan and Wife starred Rock Hudson and Susan St. James as San Francisco Police Commissioner Stewart McMillan and his wife, Sally. And the most successful Mystery Movie segment of all, Columbo, featured Peter Falk reprising his role from the highly rated 1968 NBC made-for-television movie, Prescription: Murder, as a seemingly slow-witted yet keenly perceptive and doggedly tenacious L.A.P.D. homicide Lieutenant.[/SIZE][/FONT]
No way does the word preturnatural appear in an early high school book;nor, come to think of it, does the 'hero' of the book generally commit crimes like rape and end up intrinsically linked to the victim in a high school book. The story dealt with some complex issues and character developments And the character wasn't whiny, he was conflicted and bitter.
American High School is obviously different.
I read Willard in 4th grade, and Interview with a Vampire in 7th.
And he was SO whiny.
Apparently, occult detectives are now in, considering the release of The Dresden Files, on the Sci-Fi channel.
That's the series I'm going to be starting on next, actually nibbled on the first chapter already when it was raining and book three of the crappy series was out in the trunk of the car.
Hmm. I haven't read any Aubrey-Maturin novels. I may check some out.
First one is
Master And Commander. The movie of that name isn't so much adapted from this novel as from the entire series all at a whack. The movie's good too, even if some had misgivings about portraying tall, pudgy, blond, florid English Captain Jack Aubrey in the person of short, dark, Antipodean Russell Crowe. He did a good job anyway.
And believe me, I wasn't about to write Aubrey-Maturin as Aubrey/Maturin... that's a whole 'nother porno! And like many such things, guess where you can find it. :rolleyes:
A lot of people found Thomas Covenant damned hard to swallow, since he was so difficult to like.
Coulda been worse though; it might have been Battlefield Earth or Bio Of A Space Tyrant, a Piers Anthony piece I'm staying away from, deeming it jejune. Anthony in general doesn't satisfy my adult taste, and hasn't since age twenty-two. Hubbard, in three words, is even worse.
Thomas Covenant was hard to like. That's what made him an interesting choice for a lead character. Not many books go out of their way to make you dislike the central character. Seems to be something Donaldson is interested in playing with, as the main character in the Gap series was profoundly unlikable.....though you end up sympathising with him in the end.
American High School is obviously different.
The SPOC test which is used to get a rough guide to reading level, is based on the number of words in any 300-400 words of text, which have two or more syllables. It's used in both America and England. That is not to say no book which SPOCs at level 2-3 is ever read in high school, but it won't be the norm.
I think you're right about Donaldsons style of character creation Dana. At the end of the Gap series, i really wanted Angus to hit the high road with that beautiful big ship even though he was guilty of such horrific crimes. Quite a feat for the author really imo. Same with Covenant. He's a misery guts and carries on like a big girl, but you can't help but understand why he's so pathetic...and hope that in the end he'll find his courage and save the land.
Did you ever read Mordants Need?
I did read Mordant's need yes. But I didn't get into it like the Chronicles and Gap series. It was interesting though. Again the lead character was intriguing, but didn't hit as hard as the other two.
I think mordants need is for a younger reader, so maybe that's why it's not so intriguing? I found the same thing when I read it, although I did still love the story. Who was it looking for a fantasy novel for their child?
300 pages into The Executioner's Song.
Grapes of Wrath is next.
Ali, have you read any of Carol Berg's work? I suspect you'd really enjoy the Rai Kirrah trilogy. Wonderful main character and beautifully imagined world.
Nope, but I'll look into it. I'm always after new and exciting authors. :)
you might try your own Sean McMullen, Aliantha, especialy the 'greatwinter series' (soul of the machine, the miocene arrow and eyes of the tabulator) - a great cross between sci-fi ad fantasy.
Oh....Oh oh...Sean McMullen rocks! I recently read the two Moonworlds books.I am so impressed with this writer. Mind you, Australia does produce more than its fair share of quirky, quality sci-fi and fantasy. Greg Egan springs to mind. (up til five minutes ago, I was mistakenly under the impression that Jonathan Lethem was Australian.....apparently he isn't:P so God knows whose author biog details I've got that from:)
I am now officially reading Book 1 of The Dresden Files, Storm Front, by Jim Butcher.
Finally finished "A Feast for Crows" and have now started "The Time Traveler's Wife." Someday I may finish the books I got for my birthday and get into the stack of books from Christmas...
Currently Reading:
The Android's Dream, John Scalzi
Theodore E. Roosevelt, <something> <initial> Pringle
The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp
The Island of the Day Before, Umberto Eco
The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett
The Pickaxe Book, Pragmatic Programmers
The Time Traveller's Wife, is a wonderful book.
Right now, I am being a total geek/fan-girl and reading a Torchwood book:) I am also dipping in and out of Councils and Synods of the English Church 871-1204
My mom just finished that book, dana. I guess we still have it somewhere. Should I read it?
Fobble, Evelyn Wood is now available in book form. Gotta read it through one of these days myself.
I think The Light Fantastic was the last Pratchett I read, couple months back -- typical enough, a light confection to enjoy once and give back to the public library.
Early Julian May was more my meat, though I haven't maintained nearly as much interest in his later books.
Early Julian May was more my meat, though I haven't maintained nearly as much interest in his later books.
Do you consider the Galactic Milieu stuff to be earlier or later? [size=1] (Julian May's a
she, BTW...) [/size] Those were definitely my favorite of hers.
Just started The Absolute Sandman, Vol. I
I don't really get the comic book (or graphic novel) thing. There are so few words and you have to rely on someone else's interpretation of what things look like. Few illustrations are ever as compelling as the image in my mind's eye.
The Time Traveller's Wife, is a wonderful book.
i loved that book, too. what a neat concept.
I don't really get the comic book (or graphic novel) thing. There are so few words and you have to rely on someone else's interpretation of what things look like. Few illustrations are ever as compelling as the image in my mind's eye.
On the other hand, a good artist can give a character an expression that if fully described in prose would be clunky and unweildy, but as a single frame of art is eloquent. There are many such instances in Sandman... I wish I could read that again for the first time.
On the other hand, a good artist can give a character an expression that if fully described in prose would be clunky and unweildy, but as a single frame of art is eloquent. There are many such instances in Sandman... I wish I could read that again for the first time.
I'm another 50 pages in. Now I completely get it. Fantastic.
Dana, you might like 'British Summer Time' by Paul Cornell - he wrote a couple of the DrWho episodes.
i loved that book, too. what a neat concept.
Pete loved that as well. Are you approving it for the bits and pieces crowd?
the bits and pieces crowd...?
short attention span? limited reading time?
i listened to it on mp3 in the car, and it was compelling. It's about a guy who has an involuntary condition called temporal displacement. He time travels to different periods of his own life, forward and backward, at random times. He has no control over where or when he goes. He meets his wife when she is 6 years old and he is ?40. Then he meets her for the first time when she is 18 and he is 26. She knows him, but he doesn't know her.....although she's known him practically all of her life. You get accustomed to the flow of it pretty quickly.
read it.
Fobble, oh, yeah. Funny, I used to know that... thanks.
About the Galactic Milieu, I wouldn't know. I'm talking about early as in when written, not its setting.
I used to really love F&SF novels and would read that genre almost exclusively, enjoying the imagination of it all.
I'd like to see movies of Keith Laumer's works, still -- though I think Retief would have to be more deeply written than he usually was to make an intelligent SF movie, and likewise his Groaci opposition reworked into at least a little more than a straight-up parody of Soviet Russian foreign service and foreign aid. One gets the impression (a big impression) Laumer found a lot to dislike during his time with the State Department's foreign service in the early Sixties, and took his creative revenge on it all in his Retief stories.
We'll probably see an Elric movie first, though. Like many 20th-century writers, Michael Moorcock's writing is quite cinematic -- it should translate well.
Mercedes Lackey would, too. Even the novels full of unicorns.
the bits and pieces crowd...?
Testosterone v Estrogen. I was under the misapprehension that it was a chick book.
I loved The Time Traveller's Wife. I recommended it to everyone I know who reads. It was equally enjoyed by male/ female readers I know - but the men did have eclectic tastes and didn't need explosions and espionage in their books.
Also loved the Sandman series - I have some of the original comics, most of the series in reprint form and the graphic novels so I can read them in bed and generally not worry about damaging fragile (relatively speaking) comics. I remember my work collegue being amazed that I wasn't embarrassed about reading graphic novels on the Tube. Or children's books (this was before Harry Potter hit the public consciousness). I turned him into a Sandman fan :)
Just finished re-reading about half the Tintin series.
Pure classics. I love 'em.
Now let's all imagine Carl Sagan saying billions and billions of blistering blue barnacles...
Read a beach book over the weekend...so not like me. It was silly but it got my mind off stuff.
For a laugh, I recommend Bob Newhart's I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This...his memoirs. He's a funny guy and has some great stories about other comedians in it.
Up to Book 2 of The Dresden files, Fool Moon.
Also reading Sex Appealed: Was the U.S. Supreme Court Fool - Judge Janice Law
Ice and Fire on HBO!
Now comes word [COLOR=#0000ff]from Variety[/COLOR] that George R. R. Martin's epic "Song of Ice and Fire" series has found a home at HBO.
*gasp*
Oh man they'd better not make it suck. I wish they'd put a date on when they might start filming!
i like hbo's track record. this should be effin awesome.
i wish they'd do the ender books
I don't think HBO has made a show that sucks yet. What I'm worried about is that they'll make a show that is awesome, and then cancel it abruptly, like Carnivale, Deadwood, and Rome.
I'm about halfway through The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon and so far it's great. Maybe this is old news but for those that don't know, it's a "murder mystery" about the neighbors dog told from the view of an autistic boy. It's really interesting and gripping. I suggest it to everyone.
Downloaded Scott of the Antarctic's diaries last night (can't remember the official title). I've been looking for it for ages in book form - don't know why I didn't check the internet before.
I dovetails nicely with one of my favourite books - The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Gerrard who was a member of the expedition.
Every now and then when I really need to get things back into perspective, I read either astronomy or geology -- popular works, that is. ATM, it's John McPhee's Annals of the Former World -- dipping (if not striking ;) -- hammerheaded geologists' joke [geoke?] ) into its five books in no particular order, just here and there, finished Rising From The Plains last night.
Five books, about rocks, almost entirely about rocks -- and he makes the formations and the rocks sing.
"Gunslinger IV: Wizard and Glass", by Stephen King
It's a good yarn, but a bit uneven and inconsistent. For instance, there is a scene where Bert's bird skull is explicitly put in his saddle-bag, but at the end of the scene it's back on his saddle horn. I'm not quite sure whether this is artifice or a slip-up.
If this Susan Delgado bit doesn't end soon I'm going to be upset. She's hotter than Salma Hayek, she and Roland fall deeply in love, and the citizens of Mejis Barony are supplying Farson and his democratic revolution. I get it, move the fuck on, man.
If this Susan Delgado bit doesn't end soon I'm going to be upset.
Not to give anything away... (highlight) [COLOR="White"]but you'd best start skimming then. Her story is pretty much the book. But I know a lot of people who thought it was the best of all the Gunslinger books, so maybe you'll get more engaged in it soon?[/COLOR]
I loved The Time Traveller's Wife. I recommended it to everyone I know who reads.
So do I! I loved it. Can't recommend it enough.
I still love the classics I adored as a child. I could almost recite Little Women and The Secret Garden for you! There was a time (when I had endless summers) that I would finish either one and just start again.
I recently read "I'm not Scared" by Niccolo Ammaniti. I'd recommend it.
Am currently reading "Getting Things Done - the Art of Stress Free Productivity"
My thinking is that it will help me in my next job - seeing that I quit this one today.
Not to give anything away... (highlight) [COLOR="White"]but you'd best start skimming then. Her story is pretty much the book. But I know a lot of people who thought it was the best of all the Gunslinger books, so maybe you'll get more engaged in it soon?[/COLOR]
Maybe the reason I dislike it is that the love-story part of it is resonating a little to deeply for comfort.
I'm not currently reading it, but
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny is one of my favorite books, to the point I'd include it in here.
Right now, though, I'm reading
Buddhism: A Concise Introduction by Huston Smith and Philip Novak. It's pretty elucidating so far. I don't see how it couldn't be, though, as it's the first book I've read on true Buddhism and not simply Zen, or any religion other than Christianity for that matter. One interesting passage I've found follows:
Buddhism begins with a man. In his later years, when India was afire with his message and kings themselves were bowing before him, people came to him even as they were to come to Jesus asking what he was. How many people have provoked this question--not "Who are you?" with respect to name, origin, or ancestry, but "What are you? What order of being do you belong to? What species do you represent?" Not Caesar, certainly. Not Napoleon, or even Socrates. Only two: Jesus and Buddha (3).
For fiction I'm trying to get started reading The Briar King by Greg Keyes. Its synopsis makes it sound exactly like Martin's
A Song of Ice and Fire series so I've been having some trouble getting into it.
Finally clawed my way through all the paperbacks of the Dresden Files series, just about to start Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.
If that one's anything like Neverwhere, expect it to be good. I should see if it's out in a mass market paperback now.
schyeah!
But American Gods pwnz Neverwhere...
Yeah, it's not a whole lot like Neverwhere, outside of the "ancient magic hidden in the modern world" angle, but it's a very good book. Especially if you read any Anansi stories as a kid, or watched Reading Rainbow.
I made the mistake of picking up the first Discworld book, 'The Color of Magic' by Terry Pratchett. It's going to cost me way too much to read the complete series. If you haven't heard of Discworld, the simplest analogy is to think Hitchhikers Guide set in a fantasy universe. It seems to me, however, that Discworld is more accessible and more consistently funny (tastes may vary). I'm reading 'Wyrd Sisters' now, which features Granny Weatherwax, a witch who quickly became a favourite character of mine in 'Equal Rites'.
I vaguely remember the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy being discussed a long time ago in this thread. I read the first book late last year and have been unable to find the second so far. Hopefully I'll get the rest read soon. A wonderful first book, from the first page I could vividly imagine the world in which it was based, and felt emotionally attached to the characters.
John Swartzwelder, 'The Time Machine Did It'. The cover touts it as 'by the writer of 59 episodes of The Simpsons'. Episodes I count among my favourites. I really thought I was in for a treat and ordered this one online (which I don't really like to do). Weak story wrapped around mediocre jokes. I was disappointed when it arrived, the book was very short. I had no idea what a blessing this was.
Uh, 'Freakonomics' was good, but I'm talking too much.
I made the mistake of picking up the first Discworld book, 'The Color of Magic' by Terry Pratchett.
I'm reading them "in order", and I'm just starting "Mort." It probably has the strongest start of any of the Discworld books I've read so far.
I started Elmore Leonard's "Pagan Babies" last night, but only got a handful of pages in before he some of the characters started using what was apparently a Bantu language. Then I had to go lookup the language and get all linguistics-geek on it.
I'm a Leonard virgin; so far I'm not liking his style.
Island, Aldous Huxley.
Wonderful counterpoint to Brave New World; a true utopia, one that so far seems absolutely perfect to me, 176 pages in.
I'm reading them "in order", and I'm just starting "Mort." It probably has the strongest start of any of the Discworld books I've read so far.
I've skipped 'Mort', Borders didn't have it when I looked. I'm very eager to read it, as I understand Death plays a bigger role. Hopefully they'll have it and the next couple books after 'Wyrd Sisters' next time I go in. I hope some of the later books contain more references to the gods playing D&D style with the lives of mortals. Those passages (in the first book) were riotous.
Anyone see the cartoons? Apparently there was also a Hogfather live action special this past holiday.
Island, Aldous Huxley.
Wonderful counterpoint to Brave New World; a true utopia, one that so far seems absolutely perfect to me, 176 pages in.
That's a good one, too. Do you think Huxley makes use of drugs in both books--soma in BNW and the moksha medicine in Island--for a specific reason? Sort of to say drugs can either set you free, in Island's case, or enslave you, as in BNW?
Or was it just because he did most of his writing while high?
Those are two very good books and I highly recommend them, though I did like BNW more.
Brave New World is a better story, but Island is a much better statement.
And I'm sure he does use drugs for just that reason - they can be good or bad, its the use that matters.
So glad lots of SF&F readers here!
Currently revolving around my house, purse, car, work, and brain:
--Several guidebooks on Washington DC since I'll be going there later this month
--Similarly, "1776" and a book on the Supreme Court by Rosen
--Uncommon Grounds by Pendergrast--a book about the history and economic impact of coffee
--Just finished Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer. Excellent Urban Fantasy
Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille
Anyone see the cartoons? Apparently there was also a Hogfather live action special this past holiday.
I've heard that they exist, and a part of me is tempted to find and watch them. The problem is that I just can't imagine them living up to what my imagination does as I'm reading. I use to get excited whenever a book I had read and enjoyed was made into a film, but I've been disappointed too many times. I'll stick with the books, at least until I've read them all.
I've got them, and they were good. But I hadn't read the books they were based on, so I didn't have any preconceived notions. I have read Hogfather, to that could be a different experience.
I think I'm in love...
...with a man who's been dead for over a hundred years.
I'm now a full-fledged Oscar Wilde fanatic, both of the man and his works. I've read, completely through TWICE in the past week, Dorian Gray, Importance of Being Earnest, and De Profundis (arguably the best letter and best memoir, if indeed it is a memoir, ever).
I MUST go see him when I visit Jim in a couple weeks.
just about to start Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.
I really enjoyed Anansi Boys. Sent it to my friend in Kenya who was suffering from lack of English language bookshops so I only got to read it once. I might look out for another copy if I can get it cheap. Anansi's story about Tiger's balls is one of my favourite parts of American Gods. "I've got Tiger's testimonials" still makes me laugh.
I vaguely remember the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy being discussed a long time ago in this thread. I read the first book late last year and have been unable to find the second so far. Hopefully I'll get the rest read soon. A wonderful first book, from the first page I could vividly imagine the world in which it was based, and felt emotionally attached to the characters.
I hope you find it - again I sent mine to Kenya but I had to go out and buy another set second hand. They get better. SPOILER (seriously, do not read if you haven't finished the trilogy) [COLOR="White"]I always cry at the end of the third book. I mean actually put the book down and cry til my throat hurts.[/COLOR]
I'm now a full-fledged Oscar Wilde fanatic...I MUST go see him when I visit Jim in a couple weeks.
I'm also a fan - give him my regards if you do go there.
I've just read Haruki Murakami's
Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. He's the guy who wrote Dance, Dance, Dance which is quoted extensively in This is Not Porn.
I really enjoyed it. His prose style is so realistic, but there are sudden flashes of poetry, and the subject matter quickly twists sideways into fantasy. I really feel as if the odd worlds he describes are waiting just around the next corner or in the next train carriage. I'm going to look for his other work - I'd be interested to know if anyone else has read his other books...?
Armed Response - David Kenik
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Here's a sample:
[COLOR="Navy"]Lesson 1: "Don't criticize, condemn, or complain."
John Wanamaker [says] "I learned thirty years ago that it is foolish to scold. I have enough trouble overcoming my own limitations without fretting over the fact that God has not seen fit to distribute evenly the gift of intelligence."
Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person's precious pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses resentment.
The resentment that criticism engenders can demoralize employees, family members and friends, and still not correct the situation that has been condemned.
Do you know someone you would like to change and regulate and improve? . . . why not begin on yourself? . . . that is a lot more profitable than trying to improve others--yes, and a lot less dangerous."
Benjamin Franklin: "I will speak ill of no man . . . and speak all the good I know of everybody."
Any fool can ctiticize, condemn, and complain--and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving. That breeds sympathy, tolerance, and kindness. [/COLOR]
This is a lesson I need to take to heart.
The Good Fairies of New York, by Martin Millar, as reccommended by Neil Gaiman. I just started, but it's fun so far.
Poe. Nothin' but Poe. Poe all day, Poe all night.
I may be getting a complex.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clark. Got a hardback copy for $5 at Half Price Books, and so far it's enjoyable. The style of writing is kind of mock-Dickens, so it doesn't exactly let you get lost in the story, but it definitely succeeds at being amusing.
Funny - I saw that in the 2nd hand bookshop this morning and was convinced I'd read it. Having checked out the precis via the link I definitely haven't. I'll pop in tomorrow and pick it up!
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clark. Got a hardback copy for $5 at Half Price Books, and so far it's enjoyable. The style of writing is kind of mock-Dickens, so it doesn't exactly let you get lost in the story, but it definitely succeeds at being amusing.
I'm still struggling with this book off and on. I feel that if I'm going to be bored with footnotes I'd rather read Eco, or a textbook. Pratchett can keep me interested in his footnotes because they're so short and usually a bit funny.
I don't know why, but it reminds me more of Jane Austen (which I can't penetrate at all) than Dickens.
I really want to like JS&MN, just like I really want to like Eco's
The Island of the Day Before.
I want the new Potter book. :(
well, you're just going to have to wait, like all the rest of us.
(drums fingers impatiently)
or, you could be a total PotterNerd, and buy the book that's come out . . . about what's going to be in the book!
um...no.
I thought it was out already... when then?
Started the Heimskringla from the beginning again. This time a published (as opposed to downloaded) version. Has more copious footnotes and is a bit easier to follow - although I miss some of the terser language from the previous translation.
Listening to Prozac
Fast Company's Greatest Hits
Practical C++ Programming
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Book 7, is slated to be released July 21.
Cloud, your name wouldn't be Miranda Priestly now, hmmmmm? :lol:
(I am currently reading The Devil Wears Prada.)
i am reading "the elegant universe" by brian greene.
I'm re-reading "The Hobbit" - can't wait for them to make a movie!
A movie? Of The Hobbit? Never happen. Next you're going to tell me somebody's going to film The Lord of the Rings.
Unfortunately, Peter Jackson isn't doing The Hobbit. There's a big money brouhaha between him and New Line. And New Line's license is about to expire, so they may try to rush it through.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clark. Got a hardback copy for $5 at Half Price Books, and so far it's enjoyable. The style of writing is kind of mock-Dickens, so it doesn't exactly let you get lost in the story, but it definitely succeeds at being amusing.
The first chapter hooked me, then a lot of the middle bored me. It's a heck of a project to read through!
I thought it was more faux-Austen than mock-Dickens ... overblown comedy of manners style and all, I loved the footnotes.
There are a lot of interesting little bits in this book, it's just unfortunately inconsistent.
I just finished A Feast for Crows. now i have to wait for book 5.. i hate that shit.
I read
Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn last summer whilst on vacation. Now i've got the other 3 books, and have just started
Grass for His Pillow.
Pretty cool.
I'm about to start another reread of the Song of Ice and Fire series in anticipation of book 5, jim. Best series ever written in my opinion.
As of right now, though, I'm reading Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley.
Just started on the James Bond novels. Quite a mental readjustment required as I have mostly been reading contemporary (and therefore relatively PC stuff) recently. Live and Let Die was a jolt. Not an overly bad one, but a jolt. I never make white/black/whatever assumptions, but I live near Detroit and I previously lived in Birmingham, England. Both noted for their "ethnic minorities". (I am pinkish with hazel eyes). And I have never lived in the 1950s. Apparently, if none of these apply, it may be necessary to specify that your non-white characters are non-white/pinkish. Every time you mention them. Describing some physical characteristic helps -especially for negroes- like the nose or lips. Just in case the reader is unable to pictue a non-white. Which might have been a real concern when the book was written, but is now so uniumaginable (to me at least) that is makes the book "interesting".
Just wait til you come upon the Chigroes in Dr. No.
I'm reading Ghost Stories from the American South - W.K. Neil
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell[/URL] by Susanna Clark. The style of writing is kind of mock-Dickens, so it doesn't exactly let you get lost in the story, but it definitely succeeds at being amusing.
I'm still struggling with this book off and on. I feel that if I'm going to be bored with footnotes I'd rather read Eco, or a textbook. Pratchett can keep me interested in his footnotes because they're so short and usually a bit funny.
I don't know why, but it reminds me more of Jane Austen (which I can't penetrate at all) than Dickens.
I really want to like JS&MN, just like I really want to like Eco's The Island of the Day Before.
The first chapter hooked me, then a lot of the middle bored me. It's a heck of a project to read through!
I thought it was more faux-Austen than mock-Dickens ... overblown comedy of manners style and all, I loved the footnotes.
There are a lot of interesting little bits in this book, it's just unfortunately inconsistent.
I am4/5 of the way through and enjoying it immensely. I do love a book where you can't predict the next few chapters - and this is one. I am surprised that other people aren't able to lose themselves in it though - I have. Perhaps it's because I like Austen...?
Glad for the recommendation though.
snip~ Describing some physical characteristic helps -especially for negroes- like the nose or lips. Just in case the reader is unable to pictue a non-white. Which might have been a real concern when the book was written, but is now so uniumaginable (to me at least) that is makes the book "interesting".
Keep in mind the throughout the whole Bond series, Fleming spends half the pages describing the most minute, arcane, and often boring, details. He can spend half a page on a doorknob. Almost like reading a screenplay with stage directions.:D
Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001
Reiki: The Ultimate Guide, Volume One - Steve Murray
I haven't found the part that explains how if this guide is so ultimate, there are two additional volumes.
Stiff - Mary Roach (After I go belly up, I'm donating my body to Wright State Medical school and want to know what might happen to it. The cool thing is after they are done with it, they cremate it and it's all free!)
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
My mother-in-law just arranged to have that done. That reminds me of a John Prine tune.
The Accidental Buddist - Dinty Moore Irish American ex-catholic writes about his exploration... good stuff right in the wheel house.
The Cellar has a unique connection to Mr. Dinty Moore, as he attended our 1994 BBQ and wrote a chapter about us in his book about the fledgling Internet.
Neat, I didn't realize that was the guy!
Definitely him, as I folled his career a little and noticed that he had picked up the Buddhism.
Bone Dry, A Blanco County, Texas, Novel, by Ben Rehder. The book jacket claims it's like, "Carl Hiaasen with a Texas accent." But I never did read the one Hiaasen book I picked up (I don't remember the name...it had a dog head on the cover). So, I just imagine Joe Bob Briggs narrating it.
The Carl Hiassen book you (everyone) need(s) to read is "Skin Tight".
It's the best of all of them.
I just finished John McPhee's latest: Uncommon Carriers. It's a McPhee go-there-and-explore look at the business of commercial transportation, and a slice of the lives of the people who make their livings at it: owner-operators of eighteen-wheelers, river towboats (which actually are push boats) -- you know, navigation gets interesting when the river is narrower than your barge string is long -- a digression into a canoe trip replicating more or less the trip Thoreau and his older brother (who died young of septicemia) took; a coal train out of Wyoming taking low-sulfur coal to Georgia. As is usual with McPhee when he writes about this kind of thing, you get a lot of I-never-knew-that tidbits.
This may not be the titanic work Annals of the Former World was -- anyone who enjoys geology should read that -- but it upholds McPhee's reputation.
The Carl Hiassen book you (everyone) need(s) to read is "Skin Tight".
It's the best of all of them.
I thought we'd agreed that Hiassen is insane.
A Bried History of Nearly Everything
Lucy Gault - Wm. Trevor
Evolution vs. Creationism - Eugenie Scott
But I never did read the one Hiaasen book I picked up (I don't remember the name...it had a dog head on the cover). .
Sick puppy.
---
xob -you're right about the doorknobs. Goldfinger has the most excruciating game of golf. I'm at the skimming point now, this may well be my last Bond. (Who am I kidding, I'm seriously short of alternatives in the mindless fiction category..... :rolleyes: )
Anyone read "Next" by Michael Crichton?
I'm just starting and it's.. interesting.
I got it for my birthday back in November. It's next in line in the to-read pile, which means I might get started on it, oh, by July if I'm lucky. I miss having time to read.
"Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood" by Koren Zailckas.
This relatively young woman writes her memoir about her relationship with alchohol, starting with her first drink in high school and culminating in her alcohol-ridden college experience. She uses facts about women and drinking and her own experiences. She writes in a wonderfully honest voice. I think young women should read this book.
Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001
A very good book about a very good group of dedicated individuals.
Sick puppy.
Ah--thanks.
Just finished The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell, by Loraine Despres. A "Southern romance novel," I figured it would be sappy fluff, so I put off reading it until I needed help falling asleep one night. But it turned out to be really interesting. The story's set in 1920, so the author took advantage of the time period, and wove a few well-researched issues of the day into the plot--women's suffrage, eugenics, spread of the Klan and the automobile, etc.
I'm reading Lord Foul's Bane. Finally.
I've seen it around for years but until reading about it here I wasn't fussed about reading it.
I have to admit I'm mildly disappointed so far.
It just doesn't have a lot of substance to it.
I should have read it years ago.
That's a sequel right? Did you read the one(s) leading up to it? Thomas Covenant, right?
I'm just starting Bel Canto.
I'm pretty sure I'm reading the first one
The character is introduced before he travels to the other world - it starts with him going to pay a telephone bill...
My bad. It's been 20 years or so since I read it.
Don't worry - I know what that's like
I actually bought a book from the charity shop the other day and got 3/4 of the way through before I realised I'd read it. In my defense it was really generic chick-lit though.
Andy McNab: Recoil
TheMercenary- yeah, it's sad to see the sticks thrown in the wheels of guys actually trying to make a difference...Wonder where the world would be now if they had been able to operate like it was 1975.
I thought we'd agreed that Hiassen is insane.
Completely nuts, which is why you should read Skin Tight.
"Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood" by Koren Zailckas.
This relatively young woman writes her memoir about her relationship with alchohol, starting with her first drink in high school and culminating in her alcohol-ridden college experience. She uses facts about women and drinking and her own experiences. She writes in a wonderfully honest voice. I think young women should read this book.
I get to see that shit in person often enough that I don't need to read someone's maudlin memoir. No matter how much uplifting bullshit she offers, especially toward the tear-evoking end of the book, she's going to be on the "slip up" detox rehab merry-go-round for the rest of her life.
I have to admit I'm mildly disappointed so far.
It just doesn't have a lot of substance to it.
How far in are you SG? As I recall it starts off quite slow, the substance takes a while to build.
How far in are you SG? As I recall it starts off quite slow, the substance takes a while to build.
I enjoyed LFB, when I read it *cough* 30 years ago.
I'm about 2/3 of the way through.
I don't mind slow books - it's just not as deep as I expected it to be. Hard to explain. It's all about my expectations rather than the book itself I think.
I'm always looking for the next great book - the one that sticks in your mind and rewards you every time you read it, the one that changes your mind about something or someone, the one that you feel bereft when you've finished.
This isn't it, which doesn't mean I think it's a bad book.
I am once again attempting to claw my way through Foucoult's Pendulum. It's been sitting at the bedside, mocking my inability to retain interest in it.
Reading Judas Unchained, the sequel to Pandora's Star, by Peter F. Hamilton. Has anyone else read any Hamilton? The Nuetronium Alchemist, Fallen Angel, his Mindstar books?
SG have you read Carol Berg's Rai Kirrah trilogy? or Donaldson's Gap series?
Both of those I think are real transport you to somewhere else books.
I thoroughly enjoyed LFB but I think the series becomes more powerful in the later books.
Nope and nope, but I will look out for them.
I have a list for when I go to the charity bookshop :)
DAMN - just realised I'd better get my book buying in soon - I'll miss it when I move!
(It's laid out like a proper bookshop, with everything in sections arranged in alphabetical order and even a separate children's room. Not like the usual charity shop with two or three shelves of random paperbacks next to the dead people's shoes)
I am once again attempting to claw my way through Foucoult's Pendulum. It's been sitting at the bedside, mocking my inability to retain interest in it.
Ha! I read that in junior high school!
Ummm... It's about Rosicrucians, right?
Oh, shit man ... you just spoiled it for me.
Did I? I don't even remember enough about the book to know whether you're joking.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Superlong, but a wonderful send up of the comedy of manners style. A lot of people were annoyed by the footnotes, but I loved them, and thought that a lot of the time they were more intriguing than the main action.
the footnotes are entirely tolerable in audio book format. the narrator is excellent. and with the drive i have, the longer the better.
Just finished A Sweet Obscurity by Patrick Gale - I adored it. I need to hunt out some more of his books now. He has a lovely turn of phrase and a clear eye for the way people delude themselves, without being a cynic.
I suppose you would call it romantic fiction, in that it's quite gentle and focuses on relationships, thoughts and feelings. But there is a darker side to the situations and characters (I haven't linked to the Amazon page because it gives far too much of the plot away imo).
He reminded me of Kate Atkinson, another author I love.
In my bag at the moment - Madame Sadayakko, The Geisha Who Seduced the West. I picked it up secondhand quite randomly and wish I hadn't. It is written by Lesley Downer, and I didn't really enjoy the last book of hers that I read. Ah well, I'll muddle through it.
Dean Koontz - "Odd Thomas". I put off reading it even though I love Dean Koontz because I was tired of the whole "I see dead people" thing but it's really good.
Just started The Tender Bar by JR Moehringer. So far I think it's good.
I just started Ringworld by Larry Niven
Ghost Towns & other quirky places in the New Jersey Pine Barrens by Barbara Solem-Stull. History plus maps & directions.
I drove through the big fire in the Pine Barrens a few years ago (along the GSP)...I forget which year.
I just finished a scintillating instruction manual for completing the individual portion of my current class...blecch!
I drove through the big fire in the Pine Barrens a few years ago (along the GSP)...I forget which year.
I just finished a scintillating instruction manual for completing the individual portion of my current class...blecch!
I've spent as much time as I can in the pines over the past 35 or so years. A great place to relax or explore. If my family follows my wishes, my ashes will be spread there. :ghost:
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
the ending was weak. really weak. it's a damn shame, too, cos i liked it up until the last hour or so. It was like he got tired of it, and just tied everything up real quick and ended it. It felt like he could have gone on for a good deal longer with the lines that were developing....and then......climax, denouement, end.
National Geographic Vol. 178, No. 2- Auust 1990. I love reading old NG's, the articles are wild.
Suuuuuure it is. I bet you read Playboy for the articles too. :rolleyes:
It's all about the dowas (so I hear.)
waaaatch it, some of us browse at school. I'm fairly certain that if i can show that it's Nat.Geo., i can get away with it, but... at least gimme a 'heads' next time.
Re-reading (for the trillionth time) some Wilde. I've got Dorian Gray, Windermere's Fan, Salome, Ideal Husband, and Earnest in my pocket right now.
Read Cat's Cradle this morning. Very weird structure, very weird theophilosophy, very weird plot... very Vonnegut - therefore very, very, VERY good.
Sorry man. It totally is a National Geographic picture, by way of a Google image search.
Consilience by Edward O. Wilson
have just finished Skin Gods by Richard Montanari, just about to start Aloft by Chang-rae Lee. Also working my way through Stephen Kings Dark Tower series, i'm half way through the fourth book
Hi tissy:) Nice to see another brit. Funnily enough, we just lost our one leicester member (she's moving to London and is offline for a while).
Hi DanaC. How are you? Yeah, I saw the post Sundae Girl posted about moving.
Yup. Very sad not to have her around for a while :sniff: she's a top bird.
But she swore blind she'd return to the cellar one day!
So whatcha think o'them tharr Dark Tower books?
They're ok, keep reading bits of them in between other books. I been a fan King for years (who hasn't?) which the main reason i picked them up in the 1st place
Just finished "God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian" by Vonnegut.
Short but wonderful. I highly suggest it.
I'm about 50 pages into Breakfast of Champions now.
Shogun, by James Clavell =)
I always meant to read David Brin's Uplift series, so I am.
I've only read The Postman by him. He's good.
Just finished "Wolves of the Calla" by Stephen King. One of the best Dark Tower/Gunslinger books so far.
I'm now reading Ringworld Engineers. The first book gripped me. The idea of building a ring around the sun 93 million miles in radius and have the ring itself 1 million miles wide is amazing. Will we as a species ever accomplish an engineering achievement on that scale? I hope so.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR HARRY POTTER! I WILL FINISH IT IN 1 DAY! not go to work, see friends, leave my room. Hopefully I can hold my bladder until I'm done and my sister can deliver food to my room. I'm not currently reading it, but it is MUCH anticipated.
I was looking forward to the last book too but not that much.:eyebrow:
Well, you didn't let Harry Potter engulf your literary childhood, like I did. And I don't regret it. :D
Just finished "Descent" by Jeff Long. 2nd best book I've ever read, and CREEEPY.
Re-reading For Us, The Living - Heinlein's last book.
As close to a Utopia as I can envision... maaaybe would be a little better with a little of Aldous Huxley's Island mixed in.
I'm about halfway through The Great Mortality by John Kelly. It's been alternately fascinating and utterly depressing at times.
Halfway through E.P Thompson's The Making of the English Working Class. Excellent book.
Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong
(i have Industrial Magic as my next up, unless I decide to read The Criminalization of Christianity first.)
I'm re-reading the Pendragon Cycle: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur. I'm half way thru Merlin. I read these a long time ago.....while in Jr high? looks like there are 2 new books i never read. Pendragon and Grail.
I was disappointed in Dime Store Magic, Wolf.
Reading (re-reading?) The Stand by Stephen King. It's the 'uncut' version. A bit tedious, but some good stuff to take out of it. I have found that my reading preferences have changed much since High School!
As a matter of fact, I tried re-reading that last week (or two weeks ago or something like that).
I just couldnt. I got about a hundred pages in and just... couldnt do it again. Not worth it.
Infinite Possibilities - Heinlein
Choke by Palahniuk. Yeah I know I'm behind the times.
How To Be good by Nick Hornby
choke- that's a good un, bb....
Animal Farm - George Orwell
dresden files- jim butler
road to dune- herbert&anderson
thud- terry pratchett
yes all at once
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Started last night, now only 1,450 pages to go! I'll keep you abreast on progress...
Thats funny; i'm about 200 pages into Anna Karenin and loving it.
Thats funny; i'm about 200 pages into Anna Karenin and loving it.
Now that's much much more than your average bathroom reader there!
Last 3 books
Demian - Interesting, but i think people completely misinterpret it and like it for the wrong reason but im still not sure where the author intended either.
Old man's war - good sci-fi
River of Gods by Ian McDonald -excellent sci-fi
currently reading:
The Fall - i dont know, im half way through and so far all he does is go on and on about how mutch a fraud he feels he is for helping people because it makes him feel good. Its really exaggerated. I hope something interesting/useful comes up. Some good prose through.
Infidel - interesting autobiography
What we believe but cannot prove. - short get you thinking essays, very good
Beyond the Sea of Ice - William Sarabande
Men At Work - George Will
My Ishmael - Daniel Quinn
Ishmael - Daniel Quinn
My Ishmael - Daniel Quinn
I'm impressed with your staying power...
Currently reading about 5 - my flat is such a mess I keep losing the ones I've started.
The Dark Tower by King, except it's cheating - I have been looking for
The Song of Susannah for a couple of months in the charity shop and decided to skip it for the time being. I've got a large, colour illustrated copy of
The Dark Tower and I can't guarantee I'll find it again easily. I told myself I'd hold it in reserve until I found Susannah - I lasted a day.
In my bag - so least likely to get lost - is Thomas Pynchon's
Mason & Dixon. Took me a little while to get into it, but in hindsight reading it in the pub during a Liverpool vs AC Milan game might have been a reason.
Just finished 6 Graham Masterson books (2 x omnibus). Not that impressed, but I bought them for braindead entertainment and they surprised me with some nice turns of phrase.
Finished
Sputnik Sweetheart by Huruki Murakami - didn't impress me that much. I think because it's so short. Some beauty in there, but the two previous books of his (
Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World,
Dance, Dance, Dance)I have read have had the edgy feel of revealing something at the edge of our lives - like if you stepped into the wrong railway carriage you would see a different world. This one seemed pedestrian in comparison. But hey, if anyone wants it send me a PM :)
I was disappointed in Dime Store Magic, Wolf.
I didn't have very high expectations, so I thought it was okay. Not so okay that I'm going to get the rest of her books, though.
Choke by Palahniuk. Yeah I know I'm behind the times.
All of his books stand alone, and you don't need to read them in order or immediately upon publication. I really recommend "Haunted."
Rant: The Oral Biography of Buster Casey was very strange. I tried describing it to someone, and well, you just can't.
I'm impressed with your staying power...
Thanks, I really like the first book so its only natural to go onto the sequel. After "My Ishmael" I don't know if I will read other books by Quinn or move onto the list of 10 or so books I have.
Currently reading about 5 - my flat is such a mess I keep losing the ones I've started.
I tried four at once and that didn't work. I usually try to go one at a time, maybe two if one book isn't that interesting.
I do the same thing. Usually three at once. 1 literature, 1 sci-fi and one non-fiction. Usually with the literature after a chapter or 2 i feel i just have to sit and absorb what i've read. Non fiction my eyes start to glaze over after few chapters. Than i usually go finish half the fiction book! :-) lol
I typically have two going at once ... one that I carry around, and one that I leave in the special reading room with the porcelain chair.
The book in the reading room is usually one with short segments that lends itself to intermittent reading. Currently I'm reading Mars and Venus in the Workplace.
The best book so far that I had for that kind of occasional reading was The Encyclopedia of Mystic Places ... had a page or two on all kinds of cool sites, both real and fabled, like Glastonbury Tor, Stonehenge, Atlantis, the Piri Reis Map, etc.
Right now it's The Bomb, A Life by Gerard J. DeGroot. It's a look at how it "dominated the psyches of millions, becoming a touchstone of popular culture, celebrated or decried in mass political movements, films, songs, and books." That is, it's a social history of The Bomb.
He does bend over too far backward to give the Soviet Russians the benefit of any possible doubt, and such effort towards the US is not evident, but keeping this in mind allows one to gain much from the book.
Sunday...we have a copy of Suzannah's Song you could borrow. ;) Don't miss it. You'll love it. It was my favourite one of the dark tower series...well, kind of. Maybe not. They were all awesome although I found the first book a trudge. Ripped through the rest though.
I"m reading the second book in Ian Irvines 'mirror' series. I'm enjoying the story although I find his writing a little bit immature in style in some ways. It's a great story, but I don't get the same visual images as I get with other authors.
um---is most of the stuff ya'll read Sci-Fi? None of the above books for the past 5-6 posts rings any bells... :blush:
I'm reading the memoirs of Laetitia Pilkington--a Lady of the 18th C. who was a close friend of Swift, was divorced by her Parson husband who was having an affair with an actress (the nerve!) but who divorced her on grounds that SHE was the adulterer, lost custody of her children, was so poor and hungry she very well MAY have prostituted herself to survive (the jury is out on whether she really did or not), wrote poems and ditties for other people who claimed them as their own (for cash) and was sent to Debtor's Prison for a two pound debt. Really fascinating--this woman is completely relatable to a modern day reader. I feel sort of secure knowing that nothing really ever changes in this world.
I mean, really! This DeGroot (see post 840) visibly approved MAD over Reagan and SDI. Well, SDI f*#@n' BROKE the Soviets. Put that in your pipe, DeGroot. With the Soviet effort broken, nuclear tensions declined.
um---is most of the stuff ya'll read Sci-Fi? None of the above books for the past 5-6 posts rings any bells... :blush:
Don't worry about not recognising the ones I mentioned -
Graham Masterton writes middle-of-the-road horror, although as I said he turns a thought-provoking phrase from time to time. Also I guess he lived in England for a while - for an American author he has included some valid British episodes. This always pleases me, which I know is a little sad.
The Dark Tower series is horror/ fantasy by Stephen King rather than sci-fi. Although it is rambling enough to create it's own genre...
The only name you should have picked up on was Pynchon (as in Gravity's Rainbow), but as I hadn't read any of his books until I saw Mason Dixon in the charity shop I'm hardly one to point the fingerer.
I'm reading the memoirs of Laetitia Pilkington--a Lady of the 18th C... Really fascinating--this woman is completely relatable to a modern day reader. I feel sort of secure knowing that nothing really ever changes in this world.
Sounds great! I will look out for it.
Sunday...we have a copy of Suzannah's Song you could borrow. ;) Don't miss it. You'll love it. It was my favourite one of the dark tower series...well, kind of. Maybe not. They were all awesome although I found the first book a trudge. Ripped through the rest though.
If it's not too much to send (it will count as printed papers, but any shipping from Oz to here costs the earth) and you can spare it I'd love to borrow it! I'll keep looking in the charity shop, but PM me if you think it's viable - I'm about to start cataloguing my books for sale on eBay so if there's anything I have you want I'm happy to return the favour.
I'm loving theDark Tower so far - about halfway through the book and have just had a good cry. I won't say why in case anyone else is intending to read it, but
you'll know why.
Hi SG - I suppose I'm a selective Stephen King fan - loved 'The Stand' and have read a couple of others by him (titles are in the loft/attic as I write, sorry). For SciFi, though, I like surreal Mr Robert Rankin - but there's no way he is anything like Stephen King - Rankin's an acquired taste - more of the 'if you like Marmite, then maybe' ilk....
Currently reading my fifth Mark Billingham - crime novelist - stories are usually based in London. I never read crime novels so he can't be that bad - latest is called 'Lifeless' and is set in the world of the homeless and rough sleepers.
Next in line, post Billingham, is/will be 'Londonstani' - written by a young Asian, Gautam Malkani. Written in current Asian youth-speak - looks like being a good read - one for the plane next week. Initial page-flicking felt a bit like when I picked up 'Clockwork Orange' all those years ago, before it was well known, and read the first page. Iain E Banks 'Feersom Engin' is another in that mode that springs to mind.
Bought Lifeless and Londonstani as two of a 'buy two, get one free' offer at W H Smith. The freebie is a Rankin 'The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse'..... (well I did say he was surreal). It's set in Toy City (used to be Toy Town, but it grew bigger), and the hero's a private eye, named Eddie Bear (I think you're getting the picture) - I'll let you know in due course....
Ooh - I've read Scaredycat!
I must write down his name (and Robert Rankin/ Gautim Malkani - hadn't heard of them). The only disadvantage of the charity bookshop is that it's so large. Therefore it's laid out as a proper bookshop, which is an advantage of course, but you need to remember author's names rather than relying on browsing.
I loved The Stand. Although I'm currently looking for a copy of Rose Madder - I read it when my (ex) husband and I were in Cuba and gave it away when we divorced because it reminded me so specifically of the time in my life. Now I'd quite like to read it again - just not enough to want to pay bookshop prices!
I'll let you know when I'm in Greenwich anyway - I'm hoping we can at least have a drink and a bookswap.
Be careful with Rankin - choose the wrong one and you'll be put off him for life - The 3rd book in the Brentford Trilogy (9 books in total), 'The Brentford Triangle' is still my favourite, although I did quite enjoy his 'Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls' - same heroes in both books: Jim Pooley and John O'Malley. His Armageddon Trilogy is also quite good if you're into time-travelling Brussel Sprouts and firmly believe that Elvis Presley is alive and kicking.
Up to you now...
Just got my first issue of The Smithsonian.
....I'm hoping we can at least have a drink and a bookswap.
Have to be a Sunday, girl....
Sundae, I'll organize a copy for you. PM me your address and I'll get it in the post shortly.
not currently reading it-- but on my wish list:
Flock of Dodos: Behind Creationism, Modern Intelligent Design, & the Easter Bunny
The blurb:
"What is creationism? Is it science, theology, both, neither? Who's behind it? What does it mean for Western Civilization? And why should you give a damn in the first place?
National Lampoon veteran Barrett Brown and Professor of Sociology Jon P. Alston, Ph.D, answer these questions - and perhaps one or two others -in a superbly unorthodox, serenely offensive and splendidly hilarious look at the forces behind the most talked-about pseudo-theory in modern history.
In Flock of Dodos, the reader will discover ominous parallels between Billy Joel's greaser anthem Uptown Girl and chief intelligent design proponent William Dembski, the wholly non-Christian origins of the United States, the goofy history of the creation science movement, secrets of a happy marriage to anti-feminist icon Phylis Schafly, stunning evidence that William Jennings Bryan might not have been all that bright, the the three interesting things that occurred in 2004, and the true nature of the millennia-old Conspiracy of Nonsense that threatens the very fiber of Western Civilization."
Books I want to read :
The Science of Success: How to Attract Prosperity and Create Harmonic Wealth Through Proven Principles
Zen and the Art of Guitar: A Path to Guitar Mastery
( not for me but I can still read it)
The Girl with the Pearl Earring.:blush: Yes that's right.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring.
After the character gets kicked out of her employment I have to know why she went to the old mans house and not to her boyfriend who wanted to marry her. :blush: It's true. I love historical fiction.
Right now
Paint It Black--Janet Fitch.
Nicely written.
Anita Brookner-Falling Slowly
Mexico- Mitchner
The Art of Learning - Josh Watsisname
Picture Perfect--Jodi Piccoult
Anne's House of Dreams--LM Montgomery
Mary Robison-Why Did I Ever
On The Wealth of Nations, P.J. O'Rourke. Seems a good try at an Adam Smith for Dummies. While you do get some O'Rourke punchlines, here they seem more muted and sardonic than his usual Dave Barry-only-funny.
Just finished The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and the Environment.
Everybody should read this. I'm quite serious.
Just started on The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution.
(I preorded three P.I.G.s from amazon earlier this year, they showed up on the doorstep a couple of weeks ago. #3 is P.I.G. to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again))
Thought the South already had -- with Jimmy Carter.
Joachim Schlor (don't know how to get an umlaut on here) "Nights in the Big City: Paris-Berlin-London 1840-1930"
It's a history of the effects of artificial lighting. Looks at the effects on society, different classes and how their interractions may have altered; psychological effects, such as the change in peoples' relationship to time and the day/night cycle; economic effects, etc.
Very interesting.
Thought the South already had -- with Jimmy Carter.
It really is weird how the South rose as a centralizing big government force with Johnson, Carter, Clinton, and Bush after fighting against that so hard. I guess their philosophy was beaten out of them.
Joachim Schlor (don't know how to get an umlaut on here) "Nights in the Big City: Paris-Berlin-London 1840-1930"
It's a history of the effects of artificial lighting. Looks at the effects on society, different classes and how their interractions may have altered; psychological effects, such as the change in peoples' relationship to time and the day/night cycle; economic effects, etc.
Very interesting.
That does sound interesting. I wonder at what candle power does the middle class feel good about wandering a city?
That's an interesting question Griff. I've only just started reading the book but the person who recommended it to me was saying that a side effect of artificial lighting was also to bring the working class out later into the night as well. This apparently caused some degree of consternation amongst the middle classes:P
Hi Dana
I am on Amazon.com checking out the reviews for the book you are reading.
'Nights in the Big City'
sounds very interesting :)
I'm reading Book of Lost Things (don't remember the authors name at the moment, and can't be bothered to go downstairs and find out). So far I really like it. Always enjoy when people mix mythology and/or faerie-tales with our world. Very exciting!
I'm re-reading the Pendragon Cycle: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur. I'm half way thru Merlin. I read these a long time ago.....while in Jr high? looks like there are 2 new books i never read. Pendragon and Grail.
these books all suck. dont read them.
Read Darwin's Children, whooohoooo!!!!!!
Darwin's Radio/Darwin's Children... great books.
Has anyone read I Am Legend by Richard Mattheson? Apparently it's one of the top vampire horror stories of all time, and Will Smith is making a movie of it to be released in Dec.
Never heard of it.
Mayflower - Nathanial Philbrick
Because he did such a great job with In the Heart of the Sea (Moby Dick).
Has anyone read I Am Legend by Richard Mattheson? Apparently it's one of the top vampire horror stories of all time, and Will Smith is making a movie of it to be released in Dec.
Never heard of it.
I am Legend goes in and out of print. I read it years ago (also read the novel that Invasion of the Body Snatchers was based on ... very much Cold War SF.)
Two prior movie versions ... Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price and the much better known Omega Man starring Charlton Heston.
Well I'm impressed at your knowledge Wolf. As a lifelong SF reader, I think this one just slipped by me. Certainly it will be re-issued to tie in with the movie.
I read I am Legend in very grim circumstances
As grim as a sunny morning in a beautiful, huge, warehouse-style apartment can be anyway (booty call with ex, he got a call from another woman he "had" to take and was on phone for 90 mins - all I had was the book and my own furious seething). So for me it recalls sunlight, the smell of cooked breakfast and heartache.
Any WAY.
Interesting. But didn't live up to me ridiculously high expectations.
The film won;t address the tension and emotions, it will be a blind actioner. Ow.
Currently reading The Mermaid & The Drunks by Ben Richards (hence me sig). Lovely, lovely. Teaching me how you can miss out huge chunks of timw without losing your readers.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip Dick
Something Happened - Joseph Heller.
Old Man's War by John Scalzi. This guy might be the next Heinlein.
Just finished rereading the last 2 Potter books.
Just started John M. Barry's The Great Influenza.
We went north for my vacation and my son's grandmother gave me a book to read. It's called "Dark Woods" It's a big foot novel.
It's not anything like I would normally read inspite of my silly primate thread. I've very 'into it'
Slaughterhouse-5
A Man Without A Country
-Kurt Vonnegut
I just finished The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
Finished Influenza, it was amazing.
I cannot recommend it highly enough, seriously.
(There is a spot, where he is setting-up the framework of the institutions and the "players" where I could see those who are not into history books getting a bit bogged-down. But, if you marshal through these two little dry chapters the pay-off is spectacular)
Starting Irving's Until I Find You tomorrow.
I've read a few of his, therefore, I'm looking forward to this.
I am Legend goes in and out of print. I read it years ago (also read the novel that Invasion of the Body Snatchers was based on ... very much Cold War SF.)
Two prior movie versions ... Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price and the much better known Omega Man starring Charlton Heston.
Anyone have the Timmy Valentine book that Rice plagiarized? (yes, and I'm not making it up, I still like her vampire books, they are fun pulp, but she ripped the basic idea off)
Someone stole mine and I have been wanting to re-read it for years.
I am very trustworthy and will mail it back. Will not trust my wife, she lost a gift I was supposed to send a dweller here, the pooping reindeer, you know who you are. I am VERY sorry.
Let me know how Irving's book is, rage. I've read quite a few of his, they're usually an interesting read.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again).
So far it's fun to read, but not as good as most of the other P.I.G.'s that I've read. I think it's more of a stretch to fill out a whole book with "the South is really great because" while skipping over a lot of factual stuff. I thought there'd be more Civil War history.
John Irving? The Water Method Man?
I assume that's the Irving we are talking about. Water Method Man, Prayer For Owen Meany, Hotel New Hampshire etc.
Just finished Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and just finished My Friend Leonard by James Frey.
What was My Friend Leonard like? I almost bought that a few months ago.
I ended up going back down to Leicester again Yesterday to see Sundae, have a few beers and help her with a few other bits and bats (trips to the city dump, and old clothes to the charity shop etc) .....mainly it was for a few beers and a laugh though:P Anyway....what am I writing about?....oh yeah, whilst there she loaned me a few books that I haven't read. So, on the train back, I started Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. What a superb book. It's basically a detective/mystery type story, but that doesn't do it justice. The mystery is the backdrop, what's important is the characters and the intertwining stories of human relationships, love, loss and growing up/old.
It's a really bitter sweet book. I found myself chuckling a few times on the train....but at times I also had to put the book down and get ahold of myself, cause I felt like I was about to start sobbing. Tears pricking the backs of my eyes, the whole works. Two and a half hour train journey and the book was halfway finished.
Annotated Alice Definitive Edition. I've read earlier versions, but I've gotta have the latest and greatest in annotated Alices.
You may well enjoy "Automated Alice" by Jeff Noon. It's a third book in the Alice in Wonderland sequence, set in Manchester.
I like the annotated books. Have an Annotated Grimm and borrowed Annotated Uncle Tom's Cabin from the library. UTC was very interesting as it explained some of the ideas of the time and the opinions of Stowe and social activists.
What was My Friend Leonard like? I almost bought that a few months ago.
I loved it. Very interesting ending. I would definitly recommend it. Have you read A Million Little Pieces?
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed - Jared Diamond
Finished the (awful) potter book in like, four hours...
So it's back to Plato's Republic, followed by Count of Monte Cristo.
I liked Deathly Hallows enough -- though I've only finished it an hour ago and I'm watching now to see how my initial impression settles out... looks like the HP 'shippers are vindicated, eh?
Dean Koontz 'Out Of The Corner Of His Eye'
The character Jr. Cain thinks just like my ex...b..f It's freakin me out! :unsure:
...oh and when I read about this guy watching the 'goofy movies too'
I said,
ah ha! see :corn:
Finished the (awful) potter book in like, four hours...
So it's back to Plato's Republic, followed by Count of Monte Cristo.
So which one do you like better? :p
I liked Deathly Hallows enough -- though I've only finished it an hour ago and I'm watching now to see how my initial impression settles out... looks like the HP 'shippers are vindicated, eh?
What is Deathly Hallows about? I might like to read it.
Winding down to the end of Diana Paxson's Taking Up the Runes. I've been working with runes for years, there's not much in the way of surprises in her book. Actually, I've been having problems with her slopping around between pathways to try to wedge interpretations into her particular worldview.
I have In the Presence of Mine Enemies by Harry Turtledove in the on-deck circle.
I've heard about Turtledove for years, found this one used. As far as I know it's a standalone book rather than part of one of his multiple series.
Just finished
My Year of Meat by Ruth Ozecki (read it Saturday in one day, I liked it that much.)
I loved it. Very interesting ending. I would definitly recommend it. Have you read A Million Little Pieces?
I have that book on my bookshelf....and haven't read it yet. I probably should read some of the many unread books I have lying around... :P
"The House of Leaves" and "The Idiot".
My tracts, I have a collection. I like reading about how bad I am and how hell awaits me.
It comforts me.
I'm currently starting the, A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin.
I'm only about halfway done on, A Game of Thrones, the first book, and there are I believe 7, at about 1000 pages each. I've gots some reading to do.
There will be seven. Currently we are still waiting for the release of number 5.
My tracts, I have a collection. I like reading about how bad I am and how hell awaits me.
It comforts me.
That's only worth it if they are Chick Tracts. The others just don't have the same flair.
There will be seven. Currently we are still waiting for the release of number 5.
Well, yeah, that was what I was thinking about, but did a poor job expressing it. :P
Wolf, I'm a big fan of Turtledove (and alt history in general) - In The Presence... is a standalone book, and a quality read. I've found that his standalone stuff is typically better than his sequential stuff, in my opinion: Turtledove's developed a tendency to recycle phrases and themes in his serial novels, and it tends to distract from the work.
Currently working on Brothers by David Talbot - a narrative history of the Kennedy administration focused on the tight-knit relationship between JFK, RFK, and their inner circle of advisors, and the tension between that circle and the military-bureaucratic establishment of the time. (CIA, Joint Chiefs, etc.) Think "Thirteen Days", spanned across the three years of the administration.
Very good so far - draws heavily from recently declassified documents, Congressional hearing testimonies, CIA internal histories, and direct interviews with the surviving participants of the time (MacNamara, Gore Vidal, Ted Kennedy, Walter Sheridan, Cynthia Helms [wife of de facto CIA Director Richard Helms], et al) The bibliography is around eight pages, front and back.
Well, yeah, that was what I was thinking about, but did a poor job expressing it. :P
Read slowly, if you can manage it. (I tried, but couldn't.) They are highly addictive, and it's really frustrating to read howevermany in a row and then know you have to wait a year or more for the next installment.
Read slowly, if you can manage it. (I tried, but couldn't.) They are highly addictive, and it's really frustrating to read howevermany in a row and then know you have to wait a year or more for the next installment.
At this rate, I should be good to go, I started reading A Game of Thrones in late June-ish and I am almost 600 pages in. I've been to busy as of late to read it.
But I often find myself having to read paragraphs over and over again because of the insane amount details. but it's an amazing book.
I just finished To Kill A Mockingbird, an started American Psycho. I'm a pretty great fan of the film, and I suppose Ill like the book better
It's unfortunate that you've seen the film of American Psycho. I thought the book was better constructed.
I'm plodding my way through Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen.
I am half way through if nobody speaks of remarkable things by jon mcgregor.
Wow. Just wow. This is his debut novel, but you would not think it. it is beautiful and compelling, and crafted with assurance and skill. Very much blurring the line between prose and poetry.
Finally found the time to finish Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and have now started Michael Crichton's Next. We'll see how many months that takes me... :rolleyes:
Please suggest some hard Sci-Fi (I do want to read the Ringworld novels, I have only read the shorts), or regular, just not the frufy shit and some good fantasy, also no frufy shit.
To give you an idea of what I like, I have read everything Heinlein wrote and have read the Elric saga many times, I also liked Nivin's Earth a lot.
Try Robert L. Forward - Dragon's Egg
(a thought ... do we need a separate thread where people make requests for book suggestions? hmm.
Yes, I've decided we do.)
Just finished Ender's Game by Card and Rainbow's End by Vinge. I'm starting the second book in Card's Homecoming series and Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit by R. E. Kennedy a Jesuit Priest and Zen teacher.
I just finished "Beyond the Gap" by Henry Turtledove. SUCKED!
hated the dialog, the plot was shitty, and i hated it.
i could have liked it.....but i didn't. (if you've read turtledove, you'll know what that's about)
'Outlander' by
Diana Gabaldon was damn good. A bit of a chick book, but I'm in touch with my feminine side. Reading 'Dragonfly in Amber' (sequel) now. She's a good writer, and the narrator is good too.
Harry Potter, all seven books in a week. A book a day in other words. Re-reading them for the first time since HP7 came out, which I've already read once.
Are you actually Harry Potter?
Nope, not even close. :p
Right now I'm reading an Inspector Rebus novel, Mortal Causes. Ian Rankin's great!
I want to get the Harry Potter school books, any one read them?
I'm not really into horror books but I had them so I just I finished Dean Koontz "Out of the Corner Of His Eye"
I don't know how it is possible to like an authors style (ie: prose and humor )but not like his storys. I didn't like it. I like historical fiction like what lj is reading. * wink*
That said....I am reading "One Door Away From Heaven" and it better be good or else I am done with Koontz for good.
I want to get the Harry Potter school books, any one read them?
You mean the quiddich one and the animals one?
The magical animals book was okay, the quiddich one was boring as fuck.
I just stumbled though Crash by j.g. ballard. I have not a clue!
I read for enjoyment, to pass time and sometime for education.
Damifino just what that book was.
Just started "1776" by David McCullough and "Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. Have heard a lot of good things about both of them, looking forward to 'em!
Culture Jam
The Elegant Universe
The Arabian Nights
Just finished the book I was reading (been abusy week) If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things.
I know I've already tagged that book in here, but having finished it I want to mention it again. One of the best books I have read in years.
Finished Crichton's genetics "thriller" in a surprisingly short time. Maybe that's because there was no substance to it. (Oh, snap!) Seriously, it was really more like an essay on the state of modern genetics that he had sort of shoehorned some characters into to illustrate his examples. It was interesting, no doubt--but not a novel.
Now I'm reading The Road to Gandolfo by Robert Ludlum. I'm only a couple of chapters in and I've already laughed out loud more than once. Very funny.
About done with Until I Find You by John Irving, captivating story.
It does not feel nearly as long as it is. It is flying by, a high compliment when you realize that I sometimes have to reread parts because of spasms or pain.
Sometimes I dip into my history of tobacco book, really good too.
Reading "American Theocracy: The peril and politics of radical religion, oil, and borrowed money in the 21st century."
I'm just finishing The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
Very engaging story, containing interesting details about life in Canada in the 1860s.
Certainly better than the dreadful thing by Jodi Picault I read last week. I flinched when I realised the title referred to The Tenth Circle of hell in Dante's Divine Comedy as I could tell from the start what sortof facile moralising, badly written tripe it was, and I hated the idea of people gobbling it up and thinking they knew anything about the Inferno.
Meh - it had holes in the plot you could drive a bus through and the scenarios were so bizarre (trying to suggest that it's normal for 15 year old girls to give a blowjob to every random guy at a party, then feel embarrassed about flashing their boobs?!)
I have another 6 from the library today - yum, yum. May take one to the park with me tomorrow, and my camera probably.
you all read some serious stuff. I enjoy a book as a way to relax. I am currently reading "Absolute Power" by David Baldacci. He is one of my favorite authors and I realized I had never read his first book. So, now I am.
I'm on the 3rd installment in the 'Outlander' series(mentioned
here)...Voyager. I dig 'em. I actually look forward to my long commute when i have a good book to listen to. This is one of those. (3 of them, i should say)
I've been reading the Rangers Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
They are fantasy books written for kids (5th grade and up, probably), but they are pretty good. Lots of authors have jumped on the HP bandwagon, but this series is superior. If you have a kid who is a good reader, I recommend them. I'm going to send them to my grandson after I'm done.
the tale of despereaux yes kids book i know but a newbury award winner and my 11 yr old begged me to read it
The King of Elfland's Daughter, by Lord Dunsany.
"Johannes Brahms" by Jan Swafford (done--took way to long to finish over the summer)
"College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Coeds Then and Now" by Lynn Peril (done)
"Boomsday" by Christopher Buckley (just started)
"Terman's Kids: The Groundbreaking Study of How the Gifted Grow Up" by Joel Shurkin (just read the intro)
On order from the library...
"Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail" by Danica McKellar
"Letters from Nuremberg: My Father's Narrative of a Quest for Justice" by Sen. Christopher Dodd
Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond
ooh, that was a good one! Very interesting.
Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes--So far, I've pretty much only read the jokes, and scanned the paragraphs before and after. All funny stuff! Perhaps one night when I'm having trouble sleeping, I'll read the rest.
The Last Templar - Raymond Khoury
The Book Of Fate - Brad Meltzer
The Collected Works Of Venerable Master Chin Kung
Swastika - Michael Slade
The Notebooks Of Leonardo Di Vinci
finished Water for Elephants--meh. ok story.
Now am reading Mark Doty's Dogs' Years---it's killing me softly. It really is.
PS--no, I am NOT gay. Though there's nothing wrong with being gay.
Theodore Dreiser-An American Tragedy
Just got an order from Doubleday book club (like Christmas at Shawnee's house.) Last night I started "Halfway House." I'll let you know if I like it.
"Brain Child" by George Turner. It's the first sci-fi book I've ever read that is set in Australia and is full of decidedly Australian language. Interesting so far, but a little heavy on the foreshadowing. Practically every paragraph has a reference like, "Of course later we would all come to regret this meeting very much," and "The horrible events that would unfold would show me just what a lie this really was," etc. But hopefully that will tone down the farther in I get.
The wheels were beginning to turn in Clodfobble's mind; but she had yet to realize how soon she would find herself looking back on her realization of coming to regret her decision to plow forward into this increasingly patronizing series of sophomoric semaphores. The day would come, soon enough, that she would find herself curled up in the corner of a padded room, in a puddle of her own drool...
I just stood up after sitting on my foot for a while and it gave me pins & needles /ralphwiggum
Sorry, reading Jodi Picault killed off too mant of my brain cells...
Just finished a Peter Robinson book - can't remember the title & too lazy to go upstairs to check. I like him because he has the same name as my Dad. Now reading a Rebus book (Ian Rankin) ditto re fiding out the title, but it's the one set during the G8 summit.
Prior to that I read The Memory Keeper's Daughter. I was very wary of it. The characters were oddly motivated to my mind, and a little wooden. I also questioned that a newborn baby would sleep for 12 hours after birth, but perhaps the author had experience of that - I don't. I hate it when I start questioning the plot, in theatre terms it shatters my willing disbelief.
All reasonable, but nothing stunning. I want a book I can fall in love with again.
I also questioned that a newborn baby would sleep for 12 hours after birth, but perhaps the author had experience of that - I don't.
They can, but you're not supposed to let them. They need to eat every 2-3 hours whether they want to or not. Mine regularly slept anywhere from 8 to 13 hours at a time when he was a couple weeks old, but he'd already gained enough weight by that point that they said it was okay (truth be told, he was a fat little bugger.)
Reminds me of our first.
We were such neurotic and clueless first time parents. The doctor had scared us with tales of babies that lose weight after they are born. Our daughter would sleep a lot (bless her) and we were doing stuff like putting wet washcloths on her to wake her up to eat. We were so neurotic. It took a while for us to clue in that since she was growing really well and was in the 95th percentile for weight, we could relax a little bit.
They can, but you're not supposed to let them. They need to eat every 2-3 hours whether they want to or not
You can feed 'em while they sleep.
--Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts by JK Rowling. -- very fun little books she did for charity.
--Just Finished Born in Fury by David Weber. Military SF, and as usual with David Weber, very detailed accounts of military hardware and enemy strategy (which I skim, looking for the stuff about the characters! ). Really good.
The odd thing is, it's apparently an expanded version of an earlier book (Paths of Fury), and I didn't think I had read that book. But the day after I finished it I happened to come upon the original book in my bookcase. I don't even think I finished that one.
Now I'm gonna go back and re-read all my Honor Harrington books. At least until the last ones, which got too overblown.
"Harbinger Hall", a short story by Bill Roorbach--
I am in great need of anyone who has read this, who would also be willing to talk about it with me.
I just started "Early Trade Unions: Fraternity, Skill and Politics in the Workplace, by Malcolm Chase. It's for a module i'm doing, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. Very accessible writing style and sound analysis. Made even more exciting by the fact the author is also the lead Professor on the module :)
Theodore Dreiser-An American Tragedy
Isn't it amazing how some of the best writers have such completely fucked up lives. Dreiser was a bit of a fraud in that his characters were much more tragic than he was. Compared to Poe and Lovecraft, his life was a cakewalk. I'm assuming that the title refers to his works and not his personal biography?
Autobiography of a Face - Lucy Grealy
The World Treasury of Science Fiction
They can, but you're not supposed to let them. They need to eat every 2-3 hours whether they want to or not. Mine regularly slept anywhere from 8 to 13 hours at a time when he was a couple weeks old, but he'd already gained enough weight by that point that they said it was okay (truth be told, he was a fat little bugger.)
My daughter slept thru the night from night one, but only because I had perfected sleeping on my side with a baby latched on with my son. I'd roll over/switch sides at some point and sleep on till morning...
I do read four or five kid's books aloud a day too
I haven't started this yet, in fact I have not even bought it yet, but after reading this review it is on my list purchase at my next visit to B&N.
Stanley, I Presume
By PAUL THEROUX
The Impossible Life of Africa’s Greatest Explorer.
By Tim Jeal.
Illustrated. 570 pp. Yale University Press. $38
Poor Africa, the happy hunting ground of the mythomaniac, the rock star buffing up his or her image, the missionary with a faith to sell, the child buyer, the retailer of dirty drugs or toxic cigarettes, the editor in search of a scoop, the empire builder, the aid worker, the tycoon wishing to rid himself of his millions, the school builder with a bucket of patronage, the experimenting economist, the diamond merchant, the oil executive, the explorer, the slave trader, the eco-tourist, the adventure traveler, the bird watcher, the travel writer, the escapee, the colonial and his crapulosities, the banker, the busybody, the Mandela-sniffer, the political fantasist, the buccaneer and your cousin the Peace Corps Volunteer. Oh, and the atoner, of whom Thoreau observed in a skeptical essay: “Now, if anything ail a man so that he does not perform his functions ... if he has committed some heinous sin and partially repents, what does he do? He sets about reforming the world.” Thoreau, who had Africa specifically in mind, added, “Do you hear it, ye Wolofs?”
These people have been in and out of the continent since the beginning of the 19th century, much earlier if we include the Arab slave traders and the tourist Herodotus. A common denominator in this assortment of foreign visitors — high-minded pests and exploiters alike — is their wish to transform themselves while claiming they want to change Africa.
Henry Morton Stanley is a classic case. “We went into the heart of Africa self-invited — therein lies our fault,” Stanley confided to his diary. The words are quoted in this magnificent new life of the man, by Tim Jeal, a biography that has many echoes for our own time.
Burton and Speke poked at the edges of Lake Victoria, and Livingstone walked in circles around Lake Bangweulu speculating on the source of the Nile, pretending to be a missionary. Jeal was the first to reveal in his 1973 life of Livingstone that the melancholy Scot had made just one Christian convert (who later lapsed). Even the Arab slave traders stayed away from l’Afrique profonde. But on his second African journey, a few years after finding Livingstone, Stanley thrust his way through the midsection of Africa from east to west, and later from west to east. His journeys were valiant, well organized, and the man was a hero. But he was also prone to exaggeration in reporting the events of his travels, and he had many personal secrets.
“Yet despite the pain and weakness of his physical body,” Jeal writes of Stanley’s exhaustion after the first traverse of Africa, an almost unthinkable 7,000-mile journey to crack the secrets of the central African watershed, “Henry pulsed with almost mystical self-belief: ‘For my real self lay darkly encased, & was ever too haughty & soaring for such miserable environments as the body that encumbered it daily.’ ”
This “real self” is the one that Jeal gets to grips with. Most of what we have been told of Stanley, and much of which he wrote himself, is wrong. Jeal nails the falsehoods as “misguided lies.” For one thing his name was not Henry Morton Stanley. He was not, as he claimed, an American from New Orleans. He had not been adopted. It was not The New York Herald’s idea for him to find Livingstone, and the Livingstone he found was not, as he claimed, a saintly figure devoted to the uplift of Africa. He did not utter the words “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” He was not the violent hanger and flogger he was reputed to be, nor was he a willing cat’s-paw for King Leopold’s infernalities. But, as this book demonstrates in a way that makes it a superb adventure story as well as a feat of advocacy, Stanley was probably the greatest explorer ever to set foot in Africa.
The man we know as Stanley was born John Rowlands in North Wales to a dissolute mother, and at the age of 6 was confined to the misery of a workhouse. He escaped once but was sent back by ashamed and indifferent relatives. He was discharged from this semi-prison at 15, got a job on an American ship, which he jumped in New Orleans. He worked awhile there, experimented with a new name and identity and joined the Confederate Army, in a local regiment, the Dixie Grays, in 1861. He fought at the battle of Shiloh, was captured by a Union patrol, clapped into prison at Camp Douglas and given the choice of fighting for the North or rotting. He changed sides, marched under a Union flag, then deserted and sailed to Wales, where he was again rejected by his mother: “Never come back to me again unless you are in far better circumstances than you seem to be in now.”
“Unloved and deeply sensitive, but angry, too,” Jeal writes, Stanley searched for a way to prove himself. In being rejected he had also been liberated, and his reading (especially travel books) was another liberation. He made a disastrous journey to Turkey and was for a while a war correspondent, reporting on the massacre of American Indians in Iowa and Ethiopians in Magdala. Then, at 31, he persuaded James Gordon Bennett Jr. of The New York Herald that he could make headlines finding David Livingstone, who was not exactly lost but who hadn’t been heard from for a while and was fading from the public memory.
The success of this African trip from the coast to Livingstone’s hut near the shores of Lake Tanganyika was a great coup and a bold headline, and it had the effect of transforming the fortunes of both men. Stanley proved himself a more than able explorer — he was a real leader and he had stamina. His account of the trip showed him to be a persuasive writer, though in his wish to justify the effort, he over-egged his descriptions of Livingstone and thus canonized him, obscuring the man’s oddities and failures. In Livingstone, the fatherless Stanley found a powerful (and idealized) father figure, whose stated mission to explore and improve Africa could be his own. Importantly (and this is one of the many modern dimensions of Jeal’s book) he found a continent where he could transform himself. Africa gave a man who had experimented with multiple identities a name, a face, notoriety, a mission, problems to solve, and it confirmed his greatness as an explorer.
One of the enduring but creepier features of the emotional life of the British is envy. I see it as arising out of the rigidity of the class system. Jeal anatomizes this corrosive quality in describing how throughout Stanley’s life the British press, the big bugs in the Royal Geographical Society, statesmen and rival adventurers spent much of their time making sport of the shy man, trying to tear him down and belittle his achievements. By inventing and improving his past, Stanley gave them lots of ammo. A self-made man in every sense, he had concealed or prettified so much of his early life that he never seemed anything but dubious — there were always whispers and there were often attacks on his character. Nor did his tendency to exaggerate help him in his quest for respectability. Even in Africa, when he efficiently managed to fight off the spears and arrows of an onslaught of attackers, with a small loss of life, he increased the death tolls, overcolored the encounters, made them emphatically incarnadine and portrayed himself as a battler. No one quite knew who he was, and he didn’t want anyone to know. Jeal movingly describes how even at the end of his life, wishing to write his autobiography, Stanley wandered the streets and cemeteries of New Orleans looking for a plausible family history, “all because he could not endure the thought of admitting that his adoption had never happened.”
Yet look what he achieved. The driven workhouse boy dreaming of fame broke free of his class and his country, Americanized himself (he cultivated the accent and the brashness) and became a world-renowned reporter. He single-handedly created the myth of the saintly Livingstone. He then set forth, and in an epic three-year journey he established “the true parent of the Victoria Nile” and followed the Congo River to the Atlantic. Recrossing Africa, he rescued the elusive Emin Pasha (Eduard Schnitzer, a slippery fez-wearing German who was ambivalent about being rescued) and — duped by King Leopold, believing that he was civilizing the Congo — established trading posts as far as Stanley Falls. Five years later, Captain Korzeniowski would steam upriver in the Roi des Belges and identify the area as the Inner Station, the Heart of Darkness.
The irony was that in spite of his idealism, his boldness in opening the heart of Africa to the world, he was (Jeal writes) “one of the unwitting begetters of the historical process that led to the terrible exploitation and crimes against humanity on the Congo.”
But Africa was the backdrop for Stanley’s real life. “I was not sent into the world to be happy,” he wrote. “I was sent for special work.” The epitome of his work, as he saw it, was an ordeal. He was most at ease with Africans and Englishmen from humble backgrounds like his. The well-born white officers who wished themselves upon his expeditions were usually a source of pain and scandal.
Adventure travelers in Africa are nothing new. In the late 19th century they took the form of wealthy young men who bought their way onto a journey. They were the feckless and disobedient officers in Stanley’s Rear Column who caused the great scandal that dogged Stanley’s reputation. Take the abominations of James Jameson, the Irish whiskey heir, who stayed behind while Stanley went on searching for the reluctant Schnitzer. “Fascinated by the subject of cannibalism” and something of an amateur sketcher, Jameson bought an 11-year-old girl while bivouacked on the Congo and handed her over to a group of Africans; and while they stabbed her, dismembered her, cooked her and ate her, Jameson did drawings of the whole hideous business.
Stanley’s nickname was Bula Matari — “the breaker of rocks” — in Africa, but he was shy everywhere else, and diffident when pursuing a woman. His love affairs were all failures. He was wooed by a woman who insisted on his marrying her, and she stifled him, refused to allow him to return to Africa, got him to run for Parliament, which he detested, and sent him to exile in an English country house and death at the age of 63. Because he had been scapegoated so often he was refused a burial in Westminster Abbey.
Stanley’s life speaks to our time, throwing light on the nannying ambitions that outsiders still wish upon Africa. Among other things it is a chronicle of the last years of the Arab-Swahili slave trade, which was fairly vigorous as little as a hundred years ago, and which Stanley opposed. What would have happened if the Arab-Swahili slavers had remained unopposed throughout Africa? “Darfur provides a clue,” Jeal muses.
There have been many biographies of Stanley, but Jeal’s is the most felicitous, the best informed, the most complete and readable and exhaustive, profiting from his access to an immense new trove of Stanley material. In its progress from workhouse to mud hut to baronial mansion, it is like the most vivid sort of Victorian novel, that of a tough little man battling against the odds and ahead of his time in seeing the Congo clearly, its history (in his words) “two centuries of pitiless persecution of black men by sordid whites.”
Paul Theroux has been writing about Africa and traveling there for more than 40 years. His collection of novellas, “The Elephanta Suite,” has just been published.
A few pictures on the original site:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/books/review/Theroux-t.html hmm, looks interesting. I'd like to read a biography of Richard Burton (the explorer, not the actor) grin
Let's see, I'm on the 5th Honor Harrington book; also reading Riding the Dragon; The Artist's Way at Work by Julia Cameron; Paralegal Career for Dummies by Scott and Lisa Hatch; and Stephen Ericksen's first Malazan Book of the Fallen (but I can't remember the name off the top)
Just finished One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson. She revisits the characters of Jackson Brodie (now living in France following Binky's bequest) and Julia from Case Histories.
As I have come to expect from any of Atkinson's books it drew me in from the first chapter. I sat eating tea, not really thinking about reading and realised I was missing out on what was happening in the book. I love the way she draws the characters - they are well rounded and even those that don't have redeeming characteristics at least have realistic motivation.
I laughed out loud (as usual) and only cried twice (less than usual)
I love the way her multiple plot lines revolve like distant landmarks, drawing in together as you move further into the journey. To change metaphors completely she's a master weaver. She's also not one of those authors that sneak unknown facts into the summing up (not being a traditional detective story there isn't really one), all her clues hide in plain sight.
I can't recommend this author highly enough - I know Dana agrees with me. She's very British, but if you can take tights and pavement instead if pantyhose and sidewalks she is well worth a read.
hmm, looks interesting. I'd like to read a biography of Richard Burton (the explorer, not the actor) grin
It's good. There are better.
Ugh. Mr. Clodfobble has been trying forever to get me to read any of the many fantasy books by Stephen Brust, which he just loves. I finally started one. I wanted to toss it aside after about 4 pages, but have stuck it out for about 40 just for his sake. I haven't officially decided how long I'll keep giving it chances, but so far it's just ridiculously bad. I hate it.
My mom wants me to read these books where aliens turn off our tech. They sound dumb to me, but I'll give them a shot.
I don't like stuff that does not make sense.
If matches work gunpowder would work... they sound stupid to me.
What are the books called? I read a sequence of books that may be the same, but I can't recall the title. If it's the same, then it's seriously good fiction.
I am looking for the darkest Russian story ever.....I've read the usual suspects...Does anyone know of something obscure and really dark?
I'm flying through volumes and volumes of the classics.......any suggestions?
What are the books called? I read a sequence of books that may be the same, but I can't recall the title. If it's the same, then it's seriously good fiction.
S.M. Stirling's
The Protector's War.
um . . . isn't there a story by Kafka where the protagonist turns into a cockroach?
Or am I thinking Wild Cards?
The Metamorphosis?
I believe the roach's name is Mr. Samsa.
oh, yeah, that's it. I knew I knew it. Can't imagine anything darker than that.
Rk, that isn't the one i was thinking of, but it looks quite interesting. The one I read was a trilogy set mainly in America with hi-tech alien take over of the earth having first stripped us of electricity and radiowaves and pretty much anything like that (planes dropping out the sky and pace makers stopping, no telecoms etc).
Yeah, I still have problems with matches working and gunpowder not working.
Just make a cannon/guns that run on match heads/formula. I am trying to reserve judgement... It's hard to with this oversight.
like the end of Escape from L.A. Long live Snake Pliskin!
Just finished the gravedigger's daughter by Joyce Carol Oates-now, I hate myself.
The Fart Party, by Julia Wertz.
You
gotta read
this comic.
It's even easier to read
this comic: Doc Rat.Re-read Ender's Game in anticipation of finally reading the rest in the series, but then Speaker for the Dead got put aside for I Am America. I'll be back on track shortly though.
Shapeshifter - Tony Hillerman
The Federalist Papers
Dreamcatchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality -Philip Jenkins
I just finished reading A Beautiful Mind which was surprisingly good. I even learned a thing or two about maths.
Now i'm reading a biography of Marlene Deitrich.
Reading I, Lucifer - a Modesty Blaise book by Peter O'Donnell.
It's corking - recent enough to be racy (late sixties) but dated enough to offer a glimpse into another world.
I remember Dad telling me he read Ian Fleming's books for the sex and fast paced lifestyle when he was took young and shy to have a hope of either himself. I'll have to ask him if he read any of these too.
Read Prey by Michael Crighton last night instead of packing my bag. Meh. Should've saved it for the train here. The literary equivilant of the peanuts they give you on flights (except unlikely to be fatal).
Lent my Mum Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson when I was last here - she loved it. Talking to her (Mum) about it reminded me why I enjoy Atkinson's books so much - her wonderful portrayal of women. So many female characters are described purely by their looks and/ or their relationship to another character. They are the love interest, the mother, the daughter. Atkinson writes about the "ordinary" women who muddle through, the ones who suddenly realise they aren't the heroine after all, that there won't be an exciting plot twist which brings them happiness. They can't work out where their life has gone, wonder why they squandered the years when they were lissome. And yet she's funny with it.
Sorry, I am contractually obliged to sing her praises at regular intervals.
I got 2 absolutely adorable "Catwing" books by Ursula Leguin. They are "chapter" books, and I'm going to give them to a granddaughter for Christmas. I want a catwing! You can take a peek here:
Catwings at Google Books
Orson Scott Card had this to say about the series:
Yet even though LeGuin's stories are not sentimentalized, neither do they shock or brutalize in their truthfulness. Rather, as she makes danger and loss and injury and fear and all the passages of life seem natural and unavoidable, LeGuin also lets us see that life can still be well-lived, and individuals can still act rightly and lovingly and bravely, and can bear with dignity whatever losses come. Not a bad set of truths for children to learn in a couple of gentle, well-told tales.
I haven't read them but I have a high opinion of Ursula Le Guin - will look out for them at the library.
I've just finished The Skin Gods by Richard Montanari - a so-so crime book, but it appealed to me because it was set in Philedelphia and made the city an integral part of the book. So I'll see if I can find the others now.
Okay, not strictly speaking a book, but I am just in the middle of reading an journal article on the Coventry ribbon weavers and their disputes with the Warehouse Men in the last decades of the 18th century. Fascinating stuff.
Just finished A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin, and I'm going on to the 3rd book of his series. I also finished Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett, and I'm gonna start The Fountainhead soon, god help me.
Okay, not strictly speaking a book, but I am just in the middle of reading an journal article on the Coventry ribbon weavers and their disputes with the Warehouse Men in the last decades of the 18th century. Fascinating stuff.
It sounds interesting to me!
"rant" by chuck palahniuk .
i hope they make this one into a movie too, fight club was awesome
I just got the new Thomas Covenant book and the first two volumes of Absolute Sandman for my birthday.
:celebrat:
Ooooh. I really enjoyed the new Covenant book.
Oh and Good Omens is an excellent read, very funny.
@Cloud. What fascinates me about their dispute is that a recent series of strikes by postal workers in the UK carries real echoes of the Ribbonweavers' complaints. One of the things that the Ribbonweavers were fighting against, was the cultural shift away from them being paid purely for what they produced (piece) and instead being required to work to a particular timetable. Where traditionally they'd been able to set their own pace, maybe working slowly at the beginning of the week and picking up the pace towards the end, under the warehouse men they were expected to be there at the opening of the day and stay there til the close. One young lad was refused permission to go outside and get a mug of beer: this set off a minor dispute as such freedom was their customary right.
A couple of weeks ago I was listening to the radio and the topic was the upcoming postal strike. One of the things the postal workers were striking over was the removal of their customary right to work at their ow pace. It's always been the case that if postal workers either delivering or sorting, arrived very early and worked through at a steady pace, finishing their work by mid afternoon, they were then free to leave. Essentially, they worked early and fast to buy themselves an early finish. Management have been pressuring branches to do away with this freedom, saying that they are paid for 35 1/2 hours a week, and if they finish their work in less time then they should look to see if anybody else needs help, or other work needs doing. There are differences, but essentially this is a clash between a traditional custom of being paid for your work (piece) rather than your time, and the employer-led culture of being paid for both your work and your time (stint).
I sat on the train reading the piece on the Coventry ribbon weavers and the parrallels just about blew my mind. I love moments like that, it's why I study history:)
Just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseini who wrote The Kite Runner. Loved both of them. Almost through Rumspringa: To Be or Not To Be Amish , a documentary by Tom Schactman. Very interesting.
Not sure what to read next.
I went through a pile of mysteries provided by one of our nurses ...
Prayers for Rain - David Lehane (pretty typical hard-boiled detective novel, with tough dames and quirky sidekicks abounding.)
Rough Justice - Lisa Scottoline (lawyer with an icky client, set in Philadelphia, so there's lots of local flavor. The author was raised on the Main Line)
Grave Secrets - Kathy Reichs (It seems that she ends her books very abruptly, almost as though she realizes she's approaching her max word count and has to wind things up too quickly, very out of balance with the pacing through the rest of the book)
Now working on Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
I actually abandoned a book in mid stream. Early stream, really. Fantastic Voyage: Microcosm by Kevin J. Anderson. Remind me not to read sequels by someone other than the original author.
Ooh darwin's radio is a great book. Darwin's Children is good too.
Grave Secrets - Kathy Reichs (It seems that she ends her books very abruptly, almost as though she realizes she's approaching her max word count and has to wind things up too quickly, very out of balance with the pacing through the rest of the book)
That's the impression I've had as well. She's much better at building a story than concluding it.
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, upon the enthusiastic recommendation of Shawnee123.
Thanks Shawnee!
Stupid Sock Creatures Very funny and clever; and gonna make some for Christmas.
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, upon the enthusiastic recommendation of Shawnee123.
Thanks Shawnee!
That is one of the most brilliant children's books of all time, right up there with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
Some of my other kidlit favorites include The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper (movie is coming out in December, I think), and The Green Knowe books by L.M. Boston. The first one is Children of Green Knowe.
The Phantom Tollbooth is my all time favorite book. :) I've read it so many times that the binding on my copy has worn off.
oh i love phantom tollbooth too, its amazing. you people read good books.
While I have your attention, I would like to reemphasize,
as I pointed out here, that I bought the book at a
wonderful brick and mortar bookstore in my home town. Yes, I know Amazon is here too. But there is something special about wandering the aisles of a bookstore, browsing among the stacks and shelves of books. There is something magical about this store. Walking around here is like a
tour through an Aladdin's cave of textual treasures, with unimaginable riches before and behind. If there were only food in here, I would never have to leave.
Uh-oh. I may have spoken too soon.
PS--Tink and I met Colin Powell here, when he signed two copies of his book for us. He spoke directly with us for a minute or two when he noticed us signing to our son. It was awesome.
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, upon the enthusiastic recommendation of Shawnee123.
Thanks Shawnee!
Glad you like it and glad other Cellarites see its value.
I think I ordered it in like 4th grade from the scholastic book club. My mom always had to *try* to limit me to 5 or 6 books as I would have ordered them all. It was so good and I have re-read it as an adult.
All hail Milo!
I just finished Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett this weekend. Of the 30+ Discworld books I've read, the books in the Tiffany Aching arc have been my favorites. I was a little disappointed by this one, though. I felt like I was just starting to get into the "good part" when the novel ended. Maybe because it's a children's book, it doesn't go quite as in depth as some of Pratchett's other novels.
Speaking of things ending too soon -- for those who enjoyed the His Dark Materials trilogy, I'd recommend Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman. It features a short story, "Lyra and the Birds," along with some other materials like a map of Oxford. It's not long by any means, but just long enough to draw you back in to Lyra's world for a while...
Finished Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me?" by Jen Lancaster. An absolute hoot. ...."the bus driver slams on the breaks and my ass becomes an airbag for the poor sap sitting next to me". Based loosely on her life with her husband Fletcher living in Chicago.
Now on to 'Life's a Beach' by Claire Cook. So far so good.
Postsingular, Rudy Rucker. Some damn good cyberpunk.. but oh, wait, it's free!
Read it!
Creative Commons rocks, have a blast.
Right now I am supposed to be reading various sourcebooks on property in skill during the long eighteenth century....what I am actually reading is a really delightful biography of Karl Marx by Francis Wheen. Fascinating stuff. Nice to have the subject treated as a human being rather than the canonised view that tends to come from the left and the satanic view that tends to come from the right.
Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me?"
Wow, that sounds fun!!
Umm let's see.. .Recently finished
"Not Much Just Chillin: The Secret Life of Middle Schoolers"
"Making Money" by Terry Pratchett (Discworld)
"Look Me In The Eye" by John Robison
Started and/or on deck:
"Farthing" by Jo Walton (*This was recommended on Boing Boing--and there was another mystery that sounded verrry interesting that I read about somewhere--I thought BB also--but now I can't find. I HATE when I see a book I want to read and then forget what it is before I can get it or make a note)
"Letters from Nuremberg" by Christopher Dodd
"The Naked Brain: How the Emerging Neurosociety is Changing How We Live, Work, and Love" by Richard Restak
"A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts" by Andrew Chaikin
Umm let's see.. .Recently finished
"Not Much Just Chillin: The Secret Life of Middle Schoolers"
Started and/or on deck:
"Letters from Nuremberg" by Christopher Dodd
"....The Secret Life of Middle Schoolers". Sounds like something most of us parents of middle schoolers would like to know. :0)
"Letters from Nuremberg" by Christopher Dodd
I hear this is really good. Would love to read it sometime. I'm a history nut! Complete non-fiction and the occasional "novel-based on fact" but with a bit more creative license. Case in point: The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. Great book. Anyone around live near Franklin, TN?
Though mostly Revolutionary & Civil War as well as old Britain. Went so far as to knock on a door in Star Tannery, VA a couple years back at the place where there is a family cemetary from 1787! Researched and found that with my dad.
Does the Cosmo magazine in the breakroom count?
"....The Secret Life of Middle Schoolers". Sounds like something most of us parents of middle schoolers would like to know. :0)
My take on it is, no, you probably wouldn't. :eek:
"Letters from Nuremberg" by Christopher Dodd
I hear this is really good. Would love to read it sometime.
I'm enjoying it.. I'm about halfway done. It's part of the same trend I often here, where most of the people involved in WWII just won't talk about it. (I should have added
Flags of Our Fathers, about the marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. It's written by one of their sons, who said that his father never talked about it and that he and his sibs were raised with instruction to tell reporters who called looking for interviews that Dad was gone fishing in Canada. Delaware County has chosen it as the fall "book for everybody to read" this year.)
The Developing Mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are.- Daniel J. Siegal
This is pretty fundemental stuff. Kids don't need all those classes just one good relationship with an adult who is present. Brain science and Buddist philosophy coming to the same conclusions.
Thanks Griff, that's been added to my Christmas wishlist!
Rereading an old favorite: The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.
I just finished reading The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I liked it.
I then just started reading Confronting Iran by Ali M. Ansari.
Pablo Neruda - One Hundred Love Sonnets
The Gathering - Ann Enright
Off Armageddon Reef
By David Weber
It's pretty OK so far....I'm not crazy about the narrator at this point....but he's tolerable I guess.
rant
chuck palahniuk
and
room full of mirrors
charles r cross
the last summer by ann brashares
Langford- A Polite and Commercial People
Without internet, I find that I am reading more.
Since the move ...
Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley (much angrier book than I recall. I must have been angrier then, too.)
Armageddon: The Musical - Robert Rankin (supposed to be humorous, ended up just being confusing; if you happen across a copy of this, don't bother)
Darwin's Radio - Greg Bear (heavy, confusing, well-described science, middling character development; will not seek out sequel)
Seaward - Susan Cooper (fantasy novel written by author of The Dark is Rising Sequence, not part of that series, probably intended for teen readers. meh.)
Seaward - Susan Cooper (fantasy novel written by author of The Dark is Rising Sequence, not part of that series, probably intended for teen readers. meh.)
I read Mandrake a little while back. Seemed to lack the cohesion and character development of The Dark is Rising series, I was very disappointed. Although perhaps it was just adult cynicism for an adult subject. A couple of the set pieces stood out and are still in my mind.
The Bone Garden
Tess Gerritsen
Just finished
Skullduggery Pleasant, by Derek Landy, (alluded to in another thread, not pleasant). I found it immensely enjoyable, and I eagerly anticipate further adventures of these characters. Four stars!
Darkover Landfall - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Stormqueen - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Hawkmistress - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Healer's Manual - Ted Andrews
Pagan Book of Living and Dying - Starhawk & M. Macha Nightmare
I really need internet.
Seriously.
Not that I mind reading, but I miss you guys.
I've just finished reading April Fools Day by Bryce Courtenay.
Now I'm reading the second book in the final chronicals of Thomas Covenant. by Stephen Donaldson.
I'm on a Michael Chabon rave recently. Just finished Wonder Boys, and read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay last month. Both highly recommended.
Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower - William Blum
ooh, another Darkover fan!
Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
After coming off a long Orson Scott Card re-reading streak, Palahniuk's style of writing is very, very different, and I'm having a hard time settling into it. But I recognize that this is temporary; the book itself is very good so far.
The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher
the Nightside books by Simon Green
and working my way slowly through "The Last of the Mohicans". I despise Fenimore Cooper's overblown writing, but at least it's better than "The Deerslayer"
I read a ton, so what I'm reading is ever-changing.
Dave Barry's "History Of The Millennium" (So Far)...Which actually starts January 1, 1000 (And the Y 1K Problem therein) and can only be described as a look at history as seen by the warped mind of Dave.
Read it in a public place and watch as people stare at you strangely as you randomly laugh out loud.
Just finished I Am America (And So Can You!) by Colbert Himself, and now i'm reading A.J. Jacobs' The Year Of Living Biblically. SO interesting! (if a little too pro-religion for me). Well, I guess it's not pro-religion at the beginning.... anyway it's still incredible.
Got Jeff Pearlman's "Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero" for Christmas. Fantastically written, very in-depth biography of Bonds and a study of the environment he grew up in. Highly recommended for any baseball fans.
Saturnalia Lindsey Davis
:D
The original "Batman"- The Count of Monte Cristo.
Just finished
Slam, but the same guy, Nick Hornby, who wrote
About A Boy and
High Fidelity. Pretty good.
Recently finished:
Jerry Spinelli - Milkweed
William Goldman - The Princess Bride
Dashiell Hamett - The Maltese Falcon (As an aside, this book ended up inspiring a weird dream last night where I was working as a private detective with several other Dwellars and then got tased while I was following someone -- the iTaser thread was the last thing I looked at before bed, last night. I woke up from the dream unable to move or speak until my brain caught up and I realized I had not actually been tased.)
In progress:
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
Sandra Cisneros - The House on Mango Street
I'm taking a course on Adolescent Literature this semester that requires me to read about two novels a week, so I expect I'll be making frequent visits to this thread over the next few months.
In progress: Darwin's Radio -Greg Bear and Living Budda Living Christ - that monk guy
Just finished Slam, but the same guy, Nick Hornby, who wrote About A Boy and High Fidelity. Pretty good.
*ahem* also
Fever Pitch. But it wasn't about baseball when he wrote it, rather the mighty mighty Arsenal FC.
oh, and I just finished reading
I Am Legend. Not bad, but not great either.
Fnished-
Interworld. An interesting little pilot for a Saturday morning cartoon series in book form.
Reading-
M is for Magic. Short stories, some of which I already had. Good stuff, though.
Iron Hand of Mars. Lindsey Davis.
Ovenman. Jeff Parker.
David Copperfield
I didn't know your talents extended to reading jimbo. Impressive!
Just read Smashed - Growing Up A Drunk Girl by Koren Zailckas.
I think Brianna recommended it to me, but I just happened to see it in a charity shop. Her story is nothing like mine, but some of her descriptions of coming off and going back on booze, and her descriptions of depression really resonated. I've sent it to my Mum because I think it's worth reading. With a note to say it doesn't mirror my experiences! Don't want Mum to suddenly start worrying I was drinking spirits at 14!
Currently reading The Mill on the Floss, George Elliot. Working my way through all the important books I seem to have missed out on. It's holding my attention better than Dickens or Austen because it's funnier. Even if I have to switch my brain into a slightly different gear in order to appreciate some of the sly humour.
Just read I Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg. Disappointed. I loved Fried Green Tomatoes...and Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, but recently they've been too winsome for me. Perhaps I was less cynical when I read the other two. Nah, they were definitely funnier and harder hitting.
What else... Oh - I read a great book the other week Darkmans by Nicola Barker. It appears very simple to start with, but the strands of story soon begin to diverge and the characters really draw you in. I found myself looking out for them in my daily life and realising with a start that they were fictional. It's set in the present day but the past resonates in the story. It's almost but not quite supernatural and you're never really sure whether you can trust the characters to report what is really happening as they all have their own problems and agendas. Well worth a read.
I'm also working through Patricia Highsmith's Ripley books - I've read them slightly out of sequence and just finished Ripley Underground. Am going to see what else they have for me when I finish on here (I'm at the library).
Oh and finally I also picked up If I'm So Wonderful Why Am I Still Single in the charity shop. It has almost but not quite persuaded me that I will go speed dating on Valentine's Day as it advises treating looking for a partner in the same way as you would looking for a job. Good point. And just as scary.
I'm reading for a class: Witchcraft in Colonial America---great stuff. If she looks like a witch, you build a bridge out of her...no, wait, you see if she weighs the same as a duck...or...
I'm reading for a class: Witchcraft in Colonial America---great stuff. If she looks like a witch, you build a bridge out of her...no, wait, you see if she weighs the same as a duck...or...
I'd like to see someone try that with Wolf! :corn:
I'd like to see someone try that with Wolf! :corn:
agreed! :)
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
*then*, now that I'm hooked, I want to get them in order.
The Color of Magic, (done) and
The Light Fantastic, (done) and now
Equal Rites (underway,
at last).
Recently completed
DeathNote 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata. I'm trying to keep up with SonofV.
If you haven't already read the early ones, it's worth noting that they evolve quite a bit across the series. Early discworld novels have a different flavour to the later ones, but are entirely worthwhile in their own right. Where the later books concentrate primarily on mirroring our world, the main focus of the early books is to satirise the fantasy genre of the day (as well as comment on our world). The style changes quite a bit from there.
The main character in the first two books (and recurring at various points across the first few) is Rincewind. Excellent character. I loved him.
Playing for Pizza John Grisham
Just finished Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk. It was definitely entertaining, but overall he's just not really my thing. A lot of the gimmicks get old (you know the running joke in Fight Club about "I am Jack's ruptured spleen," etc.? There's like four or five different gags like that, and they just keep repeating.) And then the "twist" I was promised on the back cover was not really a twist at all, just a bizarre way to wrap things up because there was nowhere else to go. But I did like it, despite my bitching... To be honest, I think his writing style just works better on film (like, say, Fight Club) rather than book format.
Now I'm halfway through Orson Scott Card's Songmaster.
Just finished The Companions by Sheri S Tepper. Worth reading, but not her best. Didn't help that I'm not a dog person I suppose.
Found some more Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake books. They improve when they're not read back to back (I read 5 in one weekend once) as she repeats many phrases and descriptions and for an attentive reader like me that really jars. So Cerulean Sins and Narcissus in Chains pleased me - now I just have to wait another 3 years before picking up the next one.
Along the same lines I'm reading Dimestore Magic by Kelley Armstrong. I enjoyed Industrial Magic but disliked Haunted (any book set in heaven gives me the shudders. With the possible exception of Dante's Paradiso!) It's okay so far - I'll see how I feel about Broken when I've finished both.
I have a pile of books (safely stowed in a big shopping bag since tidying my room yesterday) to get through. My problem is remembering them when I'm here!
Have you read Hamilton's fairie series? A bit of the same problem, but at least they're a change of pace.
I was not impressed with Dimestore Magic.
I read "The Tale of Tom Kitten" by Beatrix Potter last night. lol
Little one actually let me read the entire book. Ok, its not that long. But he has the attention span of about 4 pages when it comes to me reading. I also recommend "B is for Bear" by Roger Priddy and "What Floats" (Baby Einstein series).
I'm reading
Wicked. I could have sworn I'd read it before, but it's like reading it for the first time. Great book.
DaVinci Code. Saw the movie, thought I should read the book.
The Redbreast. By Jo Nesbo
Mac OS X - The Missing Manual by David Pogue
The Anasi Boys by Neil Gaiman. I am enjoying it.
ooooh. Anansi Boys! I just read that last week! Excellent book.
I never get to read for fun anymore. It's all for work.
I read anansi boys a couple months ago. it's kinda cool. has that whole "storytime" feel to it. especially in audiobook format, read by a guy with a rich Carribean accent.
I didn't know your talents extended to reading jimbo. Impressive!
well....actually.....i listen. audible dot com is great
The "Ender's Shadow" series by Orson Scott Card.
I'm halfway through the 2nd book, but it's excellent per usual.
He's one of my favorite authors, but I never got around to reading this particular string of novels...even though the Ender series was just about my favorite of his works.
Grace After Midnight, by Felicia "Snoop" Pearson. A bit of insight into one of the more chilling characters on "The Wire".
I was not impressed with Dimestore Magic.
I won't say I was impressed with it, in the way I am impressed with say, Kate Atkinson or Jonathan Coe novels, but that and
Broken whiled away some spare time.
Just finished
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, which didn't annoy me at all in it's portrayal of a potential afterlife, it was just sweet and whimsical. I think perhaps it intended to be moving, but it didn't hit the mark with me.
I'm going to pick up some new books today as I have 7 free on this card (I'm like people who see credit card limits and and think that's how much they have to spend). Despite the fact I have 6 books at home on my Woolwich library card... and 3 books I bought from Save the Children... Greedy, greedy!
The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny. It's been a while since I first read this.
Manless in Manhattan by Amy Holman Edelman
Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
Hey, Happy Monkey, that brings back happy memories. Anyone a Wild Cards fan? There's a new Wild Cards book, Inside Straight, edited by George R.R. Martin, which is the best Wild Cards book in a long time. Kind of a aces-in-the-21st-century piece.
I met George R.R. Martin, Melinda Snodgrass, and a bunch of the other Wild Cards authors when I was involved in a local science fiction convention, so the series has a special place in my heart and memories.
I haven't read any Wild Cards (yet), but I am looking forward to the next Song of Ice and Fire book, and the upcoming HBO series.
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett... yes, it's the Oprah book. Please don't scorn me for that, BUT it's REALLY REALLY good! Wish I had more time to read it!
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Hemingway
preface excerpted from:
[SIZE=4]For whom the Bell Tolls [/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]John Donne[/SIZE]
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
[youtube]AetZXksLdJk[/youtube]
is this metallica's new bassist? he looks like a cave man!
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett... yes, it's the Oprah book. Please don't scorn me for that, BUT it's REALLY REALLY good! Wish I had more time to read it!
my boss has been raving about the sequal to this, so these books are on my toread list.
I just finished "
Remind Me Again Why I Need A Man" by Claudia Carroll and now it's time to read "
Sonderkommando" by Shlomo Venezia.
I have to read this whole thread when I have more time, I love reading and am always looking for recommendations. :)
Holy Cow by Sarah Macdonald. A travel/expat memoir about India. Very good.
The Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Pratchett
The opening reminded me of The Borrowers with John Goodman. Very enjoyable, I'll likely finish it tonight. Which is a good thing since it's due tomorrow.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I had very low hopes for this book, but it's turning out to be an excellent read.
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett... yes, it's the Oprah book. Please don't scorn me for that, BUT it's REALLY REALLY good! Wish I had more time to read it!
Are you really my friend Dave? I was talking to him on the phone just last night and he is reading and enjoying it too. Check out who it is dedicated to. I know her. In fact I slept overnight more than once in Mr F's house after hard partying...
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Hemingway
And are you stalking me? I read
David Copperfield recently and I have this in my book pile to read this week. I must stop buying cut priced books from Save the Children and get on with my library books.
I'm reading
Wicked on Happy Monkey's recommendation - and also because my ex-pat bff enjoyed it. I like it so far, but worry that it means I can't see the musical because it will annoy me how much they've left out. Always something to worry about...
I've just finished
A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown. The story of a child who went through the childcare system and ended up a drink and drug addict, stealing and turning tricks to support her habits. A surprisingly funny book - I laughed out loud in the hairdressers and found it hard to explain what was funny (Cup has the DTs and is swearing at the spiders approaching her singing a Queen song). I liked it less when she found God, but I guess you have to take some of that from people who've been through the Twelve Steps. I didn't go to AA that evening because I felt I'd had enough of coincidences being chalked up to a Higher Power for one day. Honestly, God can find the time to provide crockery for a reformed addict but doesn't step in to stop the child abuse that caused the addiction. Hmmmm.
"Evidence Management for Paralegals" -- oh, such a scorcher! ;)
WITCHES OF EASTWICK-Updike (Updike played himself a few nights ago on the Simpsons) It's a "take your mind off of it, brianna." kind of book.
A LONG WAY GONE-Memoirs of a boy soldier (boy soldier during civil war of Sierra Leone) - Ishmael Beah
And I WAS trying to stay along with the syllabus of that English class I got kicked out of but, I'm sorry, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF just kind of sucks.
Talent Is Never Enough - Maxwell
motivation for me.
You're Broke Because You Want To Be - Winget
research for a possible new client segment.
WITCHES OF EASTWICK-Updike (Updike played himself a few nights ago on the Simpsons) It's a "take your mind off of it, brianna." kind of book.
I just finished re-reading
Rabbit, Run. I'm a fan of Updike, but haven't read Witches yet. Next library trip...
I thought the library was the place that homeless people shave and go BM. [/Peter Griffin]
Reading Lolita in Tehran. Wow!
They wouldn't let you read it in Washington?
Just finished
Slawter by Darren Shan. It was ok. I'm keeping up with SonofV. He eats this stuff up.
Current reading: Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, Isobel Rules: constructing queenship, wielding power, The Press in England, Problems with Probate Inventories ......and Doctor Who: Earthworld :p
Recently finished:
Sharon Draper - Copper Sun
K.L. Going - St. Iggy
An Na - A Step from Heaven
Stephenie Meyer - Twilight (Awesome/fun read, except now I am tormented by the fact that NONE of the local bookstores seem to have the second in the series.)
In progress:
Neil Gaiman - American Gods (reading for the second time and picking up TONS of stuff I missed on the first go)
R.A. Nelson - Breathe My Name
I thought the library was the place that homeless people shave and go BM. [/Peter Griffin]
lol
That too!
*jots down notes for new book idea*
Whatcha think for a title: Dumps and Dostoyevsky?
Whatcha think for a title: Dumps and Dostoyevsky?
Do it!
Oh hey, I very nearly bought American Gods the other week. Was torn between that and 'Ugly One Morning'. Bought the latter.....it's ok, but wishing I'd bought American Gods now.
"The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.
"The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.
Thank you Lord for the restraint I am about to exercise.
Thank you Lord for the restraint I am about to exercise.
Just trying to understand what is going on so I can make a lot of money off of it. ;)
Just trying to understand what is going on so I can make a lot of money off of it. ;)
In that case have at. :)
The Hobbit/ Lord of the Rings
Great Books!
Recently finished:
Stephenie Meyer - New Moon
Stephenie Meyer - Eclipse (Books two and three of the Twilight series -- couldn't put them down!)
Kirsten Smith - The Geography of Girlhood
Currently reading:
S.E. Hinton - The Outsiders
Maureen Howard-Before My Time
Memory Keeper's Daughter.
I've been re-reading some of my Darkover books by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and reading some of the newer ones I never got around to.
Darkover holds a special spot in my SF heart. Like many of Anne McCaffrey's books, these are technically called, "planetary romances" rather than straight SF or fantasy.
MZB wrote or sponsored something like 30 Darkover books. They're interesting, because many of them are inconsistent with each other. The premise and science of the books are pretty iffy, mostly because they are based on some of her juvenile writing (that is, written when she was very young, not written for juveniles), but the characters and world are compelling anyway.
Some of the themes are: ethics and composition of a telepathic society; new technology (represented by the Terrans) v. traditional mores; and, of course, being MZB, the position of women.
One of my favorites is
Exile's Song and its 2 sequels.
Just started David Baddiel's second novel Whatever Love Means. It's already made me spurt out inappropriate laughter in a public place. I've loved his other two and am not disappointed by this.
He's better known in the UK as a stand-up/ TV comedian/ professional football fan. But I've always just seen him as a fanciable, smouldering, semi-Jewish, dirty-but-I'd-go-there, don't-make-me-choose-between-him-and-Frank-Skinner, intelligent older man. Not that I have ever had a crush on him or anything.
Brian Lumley's, Blood Brothers
Just finished James Clavells' GAI JIN
Brian Lumley's, Blood Brothers
What did you think? My Mum cried her eyes out at the musical, not sure which I want to do first... (no spoilers either way please!)
Just finished James Clavells' GAI JIN
Great holiday read - what did you think?
I really enjoyed Hillerman. I must have read at least 6.
Terry Pratchett is my favorite. I think I'm caught up with all of Discworld except for the Wee Free Men series. Most of Pratchett's books are themed. Targets include cops, Australians, banks, the post office, space exploration, etc.
And of course you have Death, dwarves, the four horsemen, witches, vampires, etc.
Back to Hillerman. I classify his stories as 'cultural' detective. In his case it's Native American.
Harry Kemelman wrote an interesting series with a Rabbi as a detective. They turned it into a mini-series called "Lanigan's Rabbi". I think I read most of them.
My guilty pleasure has been
Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" novels, where the protagonist is a working class Trenton girl who does bail bonds work and solves mysteries. It's sort of a "Sex and the City" meets "Nancy Drew" meets "Jersey Girl" book. I keep on telling myself it's a detective novel, but deep in my heart I know it's one step from Jackie Collins. BTW, if you read them, stick to the books with numbers in the title "Lean Mean Thirteen", etc. She writes these 'between the numbers' novels that move the character into the fantasy realm (working for Cupid, guys who think they're Leprechauns). Pratchett also write some juvenile fiction mixed in his Discworld series (A Hat Full of Sky). If you go in fully informed, some of its not bad. Isaac Asimov also wrote juvenile fiction (Lucky Starr).
Pratchett, Kemelman, and Evanovich are 'fast reads', books you can take to a pool. Hillerman is a little meatier.
Maybe it's generational, but back in the 60's and 70's, you would go to a pool and every other chair would have a 'summer book'. I remember the 'Rabbi' series, 'The Godfather', etc. I just don't seem to see the same number of books out anymore.
Pratchett, Kellerman, and Evanovich are 'fast reads', books you can take to a pool.
Yes, but Evanovich and Pratchett have a way with words. Pratchett more than most. And to start with they broke the mould. Hillerman's Orthodox Jewish detective (and family) were wonderful for me - I love crime novels and my Mum grew up on the edge of a Jewish community, but I didn't and know nothing about them (you!). It was worth the read for the insight, but they're also fast paced and read-in-one-sitting enjoyable.
Pratchett's early books were mind blowing. There just wasn't anything like them. The original paperback of The Light Fantastic had a quote that said they were Jerome K Jerome meets Lord of the Rings. My Dad didn't know who this Jerome bloke was (neither did I for years) but figured I would like it. I wrote an exam paper on it ("compare 3 books the same genre")
Even now, lines from that and The Colour of Magic (first in book terms, second hitting paperback as far as I was concerned) swim up into my head sometimes.
[QUOTE=Sundae Girl;445408]What did you think? My Mum cried her eyes out at the musical, not sure which I want to do first... (no spoilers either way please!)
I'm not sur that we're talking about the same book, mine is a book about vampires. Lot of blood and dead peoples, not the best musical.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
it was pretty good. Neil is a great story teller. He narrates his own audio books, and has that comfy vague british accent.
Terry Pratchett is my favorite. I think I'm caught up with all of Discworld except for the Wee Free Men series.
Pratchett also write some juvenile fiction mixed in his Discworld series (A Hat Full of Sky).
I'm just reading "Crivens!" I think the Third Wee Free Men book, I didn't realise it was part of a series and got about a third of the way through before looking it up because of the constant back references. I then found out it's some sort of kids book, hadn't really noticed. "Waily, Waily, Waily is my new catch phrase
audio books do not count!
They count for Jim, because of the length of his commute.
What do you think LJ? I really enjoyed it, but I'm a big fan anyway.
Found some good kids fantasy books: The Lightning Thief and its sequels by Rick Riordan. Kind of Harry Potterish, 'cept the hero finds out he's a half-blood Olympic hero, son of Poseidon.
Always looking for good books for my voracious reader 9 y.o. grandson and these fit the bill!
none of you freaks and hippies read anything I do and I am wondering about that. is it YOU or is it ME?
It's you.
2012 A humorous way of telling me the world is about to end.
I love historicals, gothic esp vampire novels.
I read Wicked for a lark. It started off good then the author just got lost. It was disappointing.
(edit- I'm sure Wicked's a great play though. I love the stage)
I just read Emma and Me which is totally nothing like I have ever read before.I don't like disturbed children stories. I have vowed never to read the book called,' A Child Called It' or anything like it. I'll take a good blood sucker book or Mary Queen of Scots or Russian royalty,ancient China ect.
http://www.dzancbooks.org/BLP/temporarypeople.html
it promises to be fantastic! I just got back from a launch reading and I can't wait to get stuck in. But i must at least until Saturday, otherwise the things I need to do won't get done.
audio books do not count!
DO SO! in fact, I get an added dynamic.....the narrator makes a huuuge difference in my enjoyment of the book(as evidenced in George RR Martin's Series that changed from the really excellent narrator of the first 4 books, to some one that was NOT excellent), and I have to pay attention cuz rereading a paragraph is a big pain in the ass.
They count for Jim, because of the length of his commute.
What do you think LJ? I really enjoyed it, but I'm a big fan anyway.
I like the way Neil's stories flow. And the way his protagonists are always unassuming regular guys that make a big difference. This was a good one, too....you're right in London Below and don't want to come back out. I'm kind of torn on whether I liked this better than American Gods, because I think I might like it better just because i read it more recently...... In any event, I'd recommend him as an author that you can read regardless of title or topic. Orson Scott Card is like that. And so are Larry Niven and Poul Anderson.
...so, are you getting an idea for a new thread?
too late.Egyptian Magic - E.A. Wallis Budge
Debating Calvinism - James White and Dave Hunt
1776 - David McCullough
(This is incredible, and could be a great Cellar Book Club Discussion Book. I'm only just finishing chapter 1, but wow. I don't remember history being this exciting in high school.)
I was underwhelmed by 1776 actually.
and audio books may count for entertainment, or even education, but not as reading.
Brianna: different strokes, ya know? the books we choose to read are highly personal.
Cloud- 'twas joke.
Also, I like to name-call.
;)
not name calling if'n it's the truth!
but I do think the choice of books is personal--can't tell you how many times people have recommended books to me as wonderful, and I can't get into them.
maybe it's just that I have to choose. a bit stubborn, ya know?
I was just wondering how so many of you guys here know about authors I've never heard of!! I feel very out of the loop here which is weird as I read nearly constantly (apologies to Dorothy Parker, Constant Reader column!)
Is it sci-fi/fantasy that you're all wild about? coz I hate that genre. too technical----I just want some hot sex in my book, ya know? :)
I undertstand what y'all are saying. I haven't even heard of most of the sci-fi authors, but that doesn't mean anything. I have tried to get into the fantasy/sci-fi books but it's not my cup of tea. I remember my friends raving about "A Wrinkle In Time" when I was young but I just couldn't get into it. It disappoints me, a little, that a whole genre(s) is out of reach to me. However, if the book were about hidden passages, haunted houses, witches who rode vacuum cleaners (The Wednesday Witch was a really funny kid's book) I liked it.
These days I prefer the slice of life type books (I mentioned this in another thread).
Then, I recommended Life of Pi to my brother. He's not a big reader, but I thought if I could just cajole him into reading until the "big event" or the "wtf" moment he would be hooked. He just couldn't make it that far, and I was like HUH? What is wrong with you? ;)
Yes, to each his own. I always figure as long as someone reads something, anything, it's a good thing.
Edit: Hey, Bri! :)
hmm. I am a lifelong SF and fantasy reader and fan. To a lesser extent, I also like romance, mystery, historical fiction, thrillers. I do read a lot of history and non-fiction, also, but for fiction--I don't like it to be too real. Present day, real drama--why would I want to read that? I live in the real world, I don't necessarily want to read about it.
I want to be taken awaaaaaaay!
. . . wait. that didn't come out right!
Hey, Shawnee! I went to Glenn Helen yesterday! 'Twas brillig!!!
:flower: <---'tis favorite smilie now
Beautiful area. Haven't been for years. I wonder what will happen to the Antioch campus? Let's buy it and start our own school!
I love Yellow Springs! It's like the Key West of Ohio.
@ Cloud: I get that. I do like to be taken away, too. But, I have this obsession with human feelings, emotions, reactions, and the like, though. I am touched by reading about real people: screwing up, wanting acceptance, loving, learning, screwing up, feeling happy, sad, screwing up. It' s more about the depths of the writing and the words that pull me in. For instance, The Glass Castle was a brilliant memoir. That certainly was real life, but nothing at all like my life!
Is it sci-fi/fantasy that you're all wild about? coz I hate that genre. too technical----I just want some hot sex in my book, ya know? :)
Philip Jose Farmer - Flesh
Not terribly easy to find, but a classic.
and audio books may count for entertainment, or even education, but not as reading.
do you just mean in the technical sense, or are you saying that listening to a book is invalid for some other reason? cuz i've done a good bit of both, and i don't see much of a difference.
oh, I don't mean that listening to a book is "invalid"--it's just not, technically, reading. I think the brain processes audio and visual input differently.
at least mine does--
oh, I don't mean that listening to a book is "invalid"--it's just not, technically, reading. I think the brain processes audio and visual input differently.
at least mine does--
so, technically, yes listening to a book is not the same because the information arrives aurally instead of optically. ok. but the repeated comment that audio books don't count as reading is incorrect on any other level. When I listen to a book, I get at least as much information as I do when I read it visually. I still get the mental imagery that comes to me when I read. I hear all the words in the book. Your comment that the brain processes the info differently is based on what, exactly? If anything, I think listening to a book is better than reading it because your listening skills improve. In case you can't tell, I'm irked at your tone.
maybe you have a right to be, I'm sorry. I just don't think it's the same.
Listening, to me, is much more passive. For example, if I, as a teacher, assigned my students to read a book, I don't think it would "count" if they listened to it, in the same way that reading Cliff Notes or something is not equivalent to reading the book itself.
I don't know--I'll have to think about it. I mean, it doesn't seem to count to me, but this is real life, not a test, and why should you care what I think anyway?
guess I'm just biased in favor of the printed word. I've tried audiobooks, but they seem slow and boring to me. But my commute is only 5 miles roundtrip!
(trying to dodge the irk):vomitblu:
ah, your mom doesn't count.
how about braille? does that count? If I listen to a book and you read it, do you understand it better than I? jibbahjabah!
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
From penile implants to the role of the urethra in female orgasm, Roach covers the subject of physiological research on human sexual function through the ages (and today). It's interesting stuff, and she has a wicked sense of humor.
Here:
[ATTACH]17729[/ATTACH]
Look it's even color-coated.
:p
But does it come with pants?
Tai-Pan, by James Clavell
Tai-Pan, by James Clavell
One of my all-time favorites. Must have read that thing 20 times when I was growing up. "Noble House" isn't bad either, but Tai-Pan's a classic.
Feeding your Demons by some former female Buddhist monk, I mean to say, she's still female, but she gave up monking ... She probably grew up with some perfectly normal name, but now is called something like Tsultrim Allione (actually, she's called something exactly like that).
Not a bad book about facing your personal issues in a personified way and addressing them by "feeding" them in a spiritual sense to transform the energy. She also gives ways of using the techniques for group work.
When faced with my demons
I clothe them and I feed them
And I smile, yes I smile
As they're taking me over
(Catatonia -
Strange Glue)
I'm reading
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. Not because of the film - the trailers scared me because there were too many big lips, but because I read
The Boleyn Inheritance (the sequel) a couple of months ago and it was a reasonably wholesome snack. Not a main course, and certainly not a baquet, but not something that rots your teeth or makes you fat either.
A Prisoner of Birth Jeffrey Archer
The Appeal John Grisham
Betrayal John Lescroart
Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile
It's a really good read (despite the poor proofreading job).
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Stasiland by Anna Funder
I actually read that one a while ago, but it is just extraordinary. If you were intrigued by the historical aspects of the film The Lives of Others, you will appreciate this book. It looks at the affects of the Stasi on a selection of former East Germans. It's engrossing and heartbreaking.
just finished
Rise to Rebellion
From Publishers Weekly
Once more breathing vigor and passion into the dusty annals of our nation's history, the author of the bestselling Civil War trilogy (Gods and Generals; The Last Full Measure; Gone for Soldiers) demonstrates an ever-growing level of literary competence in the first installment of his projected two-volume saga of the American Revolution. Spanning the crucible years beginning with the Boston Massacre in March 1770 and continuing through the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July, 4, 1776, the story is told from the perspective of a handful of characters well known from our history books. In Boston, the Sons of Liberty activist Samuel Adams and his younger, more intellectual and oratorical second cousin, John Adams, speak out against King George III. In London there's aging Philadelphian Benjamin Franklin, who has resided for a number of years abroad, an agent for home colony Pennsylvania (and others). In New York, Gen. Thomas Gage is the ranking British officer on American soil. And heroic colonial planter George Washington has risen to full colonel in the Virginia militia fighting for George III during the French and Indian War. This masterful dramatization of the fateful escalation of the rebellion following the Boston Massacre moves from the battles of 1775 at Lexington, Concord, Fort Ticonderoga, Bunker Hill and the siege of Boston, through the convening in 1776 of the Continental Congress and the reading of the Declaration of Independence. Richly embroidered with portraits of such heroes as Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Thomas Jefferson, the tapestry chronicles America's plunge toward liberty. (July; on-sale June 12)Forecast: Ballantine is bringing out the big guns for this one: major advertising, a Boston launch, a 13-city author tour and Fourth of July Gettysburg media appearances. Simultaneous BDD Audio. Expect patriotic sales.
now i'm reading
The Glorious Cause by Robert Middlekauff
that (although it is a different author) picks up right where it left off.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Many histories of the American Revolution are written as if on stained glass, with George Washington's forces of good battling King George III's redcoat devils. The actual events were, of course, far more complex than that, and Robert Middlekauff undertakes the difficult task of separating the real from the mythic with great success. From him we learn that England taxed the colonials so heavily in an attempt to retire the massive debt incurred in defending those very colonials against other powers, notably France; that the writing of the Constitution was delayed for two years while states argued among themselves in the face of massive military losses; and that demographic shifts during the Revolution did much to increase America's ethic diversity at an early and decisive time. Vividly told, this is a superb account of the nation's founding.
Quicksilver- very good stuff but I'm buying the next one cuz its too long for a library book and I don't have TIME!
"Dead to Worse" -- the newest Sookie Stackhouse book by Charlaine Harris. Just received it yesterday afternoon (yay for Amazon pre-order!). Finished it at 1 am.
am suffering this morning.
Still in the first hundred pages of True Women by Janice Woods Windle.
The Rolling Stones -- Robert Heinlein
Has anyone read
Strangers to Love by Rick Roller?
I just started reading a book today that I know, ten pages in, is going to stay in my head. The writing is beautiful, challenging and lyrical. It's called Riddley Walker, by Russel Hoban.
Written 20 years ago and republished in an anniversary edition, it's set in a post nuclear holocaust Kent in the South of England. The english language has evolved and a kind of strange mix of iron-age culture and remnants of our own culture translated through many generations until they are echoes.
The opening lines caught me as I browsed in the library:
"On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly ben the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadnt ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen."
Damn Dani, am gonna have to find it just on your recommendation.
John Adams - David McCullough
I'm finding out exactly how many corners were cut by HBO for the sake of pacing.
There's a lot of rich detail regarding Adam's life because he was a frequent letter writer and diarist, so there's a wealth of primary sources.
I'm not even sure where I picked up the book I just started. Its called A Salty Piece of Land and it's by Jimmy Buffett. It's about a guy rebuilding a lighthouse to be a womans last resting place.
well , now I am reading "who says the elephant can't dance"
Welcome to The Cellar Liya.
I'm reading "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett. Very readable. So far it looks like the movie stuck very close to the book.
I just finished
Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates. I've had the book for a while, so I assume it was one of a bulk of books I got at deep discount from Barnes & Nobles or possibly at a library book sale (I will NOT pay $12 for a paperback).
Sex, CIA, drugs, shaman ism & Catholicism, as well as the protagonists unrequited lust for his 15-year-old stepsister.
There are also stilts and a wheelchair involved.
Tom Robbins mentions James Joyce's
Ulysses a lot in this novel
, and, while
Fierce remains readable, you can see the connection. A disgruntled CIA agent who knows how to refer to a woman's privates (I am unsure if it's the vagina or clitoris) in 75 languages has a series of mind expanding adventures.
I found it an interesting book. It was incredibly strange, but I may have made a mistake in reading this book while sober. Unfortunately, I don't drink or otherwise indulge, so there's no way for me to tell.
In the past few months I went on a Neil Gaiman binge. I went through the entire Sandman series, Coraline (with one of the kids I'm tutoring), The Wolves in the Walls (with the other kid I'm tutoring), M is for Magic, Fragile Things, Marvel 1604. Oh, and a not-so-good graphic novel adaption of Neverwhere.
I think I'd probably sell a kidney to own the Absolute Sandman books.
Anyway, what I am currently reading is Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke and Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
"Make Them Go Away: Clint Eastwood and Christopher Reeve and the Case Against Disability Rights" by Mary Johnson.
Shows all the loopholes that businesses in America find to avoid having to accomodate those with special needs. Really pisses you off sometimes as you read through it. I think I'll pick a crime drama next.
[SIZE="2"][SIZE="1"]REVIEWS . . .
"You really need to read this book. If it makes you grit your teeth, read it anyway. It will help you explain to others why we need to change our way of thinking about disability rights in general and the Americans With Disabilities Act in particular." [/SIZE][/SIZE]
Just finished
Don't Cry for Me Aberystwyth by Malcolm Pryce.
Fourth in a series. Superb, all of them.
Complex plots, improbable but well rounded characters, obscure motivation and a gorgeous noir twist on this Welsh seaside town. All feature
Louie Knight, a private detective and a regular cast of dark and peculiar figures.
Just finished "Odd Hours" by Dean Koontz. Book 4 in the Odd Thomas series. Another great read.
Can't wait for the final "Frankenstein" installment.
Lessee.....what am i reading now.....a Doctor Who novel (classic series) and a collection of Doctor Who short stories (Short Trips).
@SG, I know, I can see that's really surprised you:P
I fell off my swivel chair.
I just read "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" recommended by my international book club (my sis in law and I exchange books when she comes home from NZ twice a year.)
A very interesting, very different book. I am drawn to the "slice of life" type stories, human condition with all our foibles. This book was written from the perspective of a 15 year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome.
I really enjoyed that.
Little bits stuck with me for ages afterwards.
Egyptian Book of the Dead - E.A. Wallis Budge translation
Eldest - Christopher Paolini
A Whack to the Side of the Head
Read about it on the Ask The Headhunter website, then my wife found a copy at the thrift store.
It's supposed to promote creative thinking/help you to break out of your restrictive thought patterns.
You? Restrictive thought patterns? That's almost as bad as saying MY thoughts are restricted...my free associating brain is what usually gets me into trouble, or gets me jokes, in the first place!
I finished Stonehenge by Robert Cornwell yesterday. It turned out to be an interesting exploration of religion, government, and human nature. Good stuff/ recommended.
You? Restrictive thought patterns?
I know, I know. But like I said she saw it at the thrift store, so we bought it for like 99 cents.
Currently reading: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Just finished: Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert. Last week was: Choke by Chuck Palahniuk.
Next on the list is Children of Dune by Frank Herbert, then Stardust by Neil Gaiman, then God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, then Rant by Chuck Palahniuk, then another trip to the book store. Thinking of picking up a collection of H.P. Lovecraft.
Just picked up Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, and am very much looking forward to how the series ends!
@ Stress Puppy. I went through a lovecraft phase not so long ago. Most satisfying. When I read Lovecraft's stories, I connect instantly with that feeling I used to get as a kid, sitting up in the middle of the night, reading whatever odd book I had grabbed from the big bookcase. Usually a little spooky, mostly old and forgotten books. No other author connects me as much to that feeling.
When I lived in Rhode Island, I was literally a few miles from his grave in Swan Point Cemetery. Which, I might add, is a very beautiful place to take a walk.
The Long Walk Home by Will North.
Set in Wales. Some great visual descriptions. I'd love to go someday as that is my family heritage. Welsh, British, Scottish. A British Isles mutt I am. :D
In case I never mentioned it here...that one time that I was tripping out about our inaccurate ideas about historical people/events...it was because I was reading
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got WrongJust picked up Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, and am very much looking forward to how the series ends!
I ended up staying up the whole night to read the book through, and finished the 700+ page beast around 6:30 this morning.
I was very disappointed with the twist the series took at the end. I think I'd rather pretend this book never happened than see the story end so oddly.
Is there a literary equivalent of "jumping the shark"? :neutral:
Just read Water for Elephants it was good. About a guy in the circus.
Last night, I started Honeymoon with my Brother, about a guy who gets dumped just before his wedding, but the reception and honeymoon are already paid for, so he has a big party with all his friends and family, and then goes on the honeymoon trip with his brother. Too soon to tell if it's any good.
I ended up staying up the whole night to read the book through, and finished the 700+ page beast around 6:30 this morning.
I was very disappointed with the twist the series took at the end. I think I'd rather pretend this book never happened than see the story end so oddly.
Is there a literary equivalent of "jumping the shark"? :neutral:
I don't know if there's been a phrase coined for it, but I've seen it in a few series. Dune, for instance. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as well.
I tend to be very leery of a series when the series wasn't planned out in its entirety ahead of time. For instance, Lord of the Rings. Love it. Was written as one huge book, then broken down by publishers so the public would actually read it. But when the author is just trying to come up with more ideas for a character to do to milk the success of a previous novel ...
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I must admit, this book is excellent. It's refreshing to see someone that explains how to become rich but who also says there are no shortcuts, and it won't be easy, and it will take about 7 years.
He gives step-by-step instructions without being vague or ambiguous. He's very clear and his plan works 100% of the time.
Oh I loved that book!
Lj, have you seen the BBC dramatisation of I Claudius? It was serialised, I think either late 70s or early 80s. It's Derek Jacobi's finest performance as Claudius. Also an early glimpse of the future Capt. Picard :P
A fiction book about the British Raj in India around the time of the indian rebellion. I don't know if history was as bloody as the fictional book portrays it to be.
I don't know if history was as bloody as the fictional book portrays it to be.
Things did get very bloody.
I Claudius
Heh, I'm reading
Claudius the God.
Welcome back, Happy Monkey. You're being paged over
here.I just got finished reading
"Waiter Rant", by the Waiter
"Indelible", by Karin Slaughter
and just started "Kiss the Girls" by James Patterson.
I have returned to a book I got halfway through a couple of months ago: Child Workers in England, 1780-1820 by Katrina Honeyman. It's really very good. She's pretty much the last word on this subject at the moment. It only came out about a year ago and the research is extensive. What I find interesting is that she doesn't shy away from looking at the contribution those youngsters made to the massive industrial growth of that era.
Actually I've just finished reading it, but it was called, 'The Best Friends Guide to Pregnancy'. SG sent it to me. It was a good read. I'm going to make Dazza read it next so he knows how much I'm suffering for his offspring.
The past two weeks:
Leaving Dirty Jersey--a memoir of a meth and heroin addict
Loose Girl--a memoir of a loose girl
The Divorce Party--actually surprised me, I liked the story and the characters
Almost through Cider House Rules, and it is as good as people said and as I figured it would be!
Just got a bag from the charity shop.
Mostly trashy crime novels - well, they were having a sale. A book for 10p? Can't turn it down - all you can buy for that is 10 penny sweets which don't last nearly as long and are worse for your teeth.
Will let you know as I wade through them.
I mourn the loss of my Leicester charity bookshop :(
The books were far more expensive but because the shelves give up their prizes more easily, treasures abounded.
It's been a busy couple of weeks.
I am now on vacation.
Which involves a lot of reading.
Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark - Stephen Mark Rainey and Elizabeth Massie
The Wiccan Year - Judy Ann Nock
The Federalist Papers - Mary E. Webster, ed. (this is the edition that is presented in modern language, and indexed by issue)
The Clinic - Anthony Pietropinto, M.D. and Elain Piller Congress, M.S.W. (who knew there was a M*A*S*H-like novel about an outpatient mental health clinic. There were a lot of stories in there that had me going "I've done that, I've said that, I've had to chase a naked guy around the lobby...")
The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman (really didn't like this at all. Figured out I wasn't liking it someone early one, but had to finish the whole cycle because a friend wants to discuss it)
Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch - Lara Parker
The Last Days - Joel C. Rosenberg
Mindfields - Stories by Harlan Ellison, Art by Jacek Yerka
Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition - Richard Smoley (Kind of mixes Christianity with a lot of New Age practices, I'm pretty sure it's heretical, but since I'm not a Christian, that doesn't worry me)
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I must admit, this book is excellent. It's refreshing to see someone that explains how to become rich but who also says there are no shortcuts, and it won't be easy, and it will take about 7 years.
He gives step-by-step instructions without being vague or ambiguous. He's very clear and his plan works 100% of the time.
I love this book.
It works.
It more than works.
But you do have to be dedicated to the program.
I'll admit that I've fallen by the wayside as far as tracking my progress on the spreadsheet, but the Snowball, that's brilliant.
Summer reading... Hmm let me think... I feel like I'm leaving one or two out...
Altered Carbon; Thirteen; and Woken Furies, all by Richard K. Morgan
A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
Staked by J. F. Lewis
Basket Case by Carl Hiassen
American Savior by Ronald Merullo
in progress:
Blue Light by Walter Mosley
The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton
Looked good but just couldn't get into
Stiff by Mary Roach
American Nerd: The Story of My People by Benjamin Nugent
ATM, the most interesting thing I'm reading is Michael J. Gerson's (not to be confused with Mark Gerson) Heroic Conservatism. While he's rather more statist than I am, he's definitely striking a chord with me.
just finished "In Defense of Food"
I'm ordering 6 copies to give to people. Fantastic.
Yeah I've got to get that one nutkin! I believe in Mr. Pollan's ideas.
Just starting a book recommended by a friend about nutrition called The China Study. Its supposed to be very good and somehow involves some kind of intrigue.
just finished "In Defense of Food"
I'm ordering 6 copies to give to people. Fantastic.
why?
"The Temptation to Exist" again. E.M. Cioran.
I just like his word usage. I like it when I have to read
very slowly to understand what's being said. He's so caustic and poignant that he does "asshole" justice for once. One of those, you are an asshole, but you do have a point. Love it!
http://books.google.com/books?id=VHtvC5CMbMIC&dq=The+Temptation+To+Exist+E.M.+Cioran&pg=PP1&ots=sDH9JskLYD&sig=Q0drbWVc4rx6Ke6Si-DRZblWY98&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=resultMerciless by Richard Montanari
Good read
Glory Road by Heinlein, read Stanger in a Strange Land a couple of months ago, I'm not really digging him, I think the style is dated.
It is. I kind of like that about Heinlein. What I really like, though, is that he was part of that first tranch of modern science fiction that explored what it is to be human and the implications of scientific progress. Sometimes it seems achingly naive, and at other times it seems to hit on something more fundamental.
why?
Do you mean wht eat?
Why read it?
or why buy copies for people?
Rakoczi's The Painted Caravan-a penetration into the secrets of the tarot cards. Published, 1954.
It's fascinating stuff.
Do you mean wht eat?
Why read it?
or why buy copies for people?
Why buy 6 copies for people? What made is so fantastic that you'd buy it rather than just recommend it? In defense of a food sounds like a justification to be fat...... ;)
In Defense of Food, to me sounds like it might be part of the slow food movement?
Those are all the books Cloud will have in the near future?
no, only a small portion. :)
Cloud clearly has some issues. And I don't mean magazines.
clutter issues? camera issues? dates issues?
actually, I took that photo because I'm doing a series of reviews on body art books, so those are all of my body art books. I was working for several years on a book to be published (which I hope will still be published by my co-author) and collected quite a few references.
Okay. Whatever you say.
~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~
Ancient Egyptian Magic - Bob Brier
It is. I kind of like that about Heinlein. What I really like, though, is that he was part of that first tranch of modern science fiction that explored what it is to be human and the implications of scientific progress. Sometimes it seems achingly naive, and at other times it seems to hit on something more fundamental.
Stranger in a Strange Land was good for that, but I'm finding Glory Road glib. One of the first SF authors I read was Asimov, a lot of short stories and background too. It's interesting to read abou the early SF movement and how they explored ideas that weren't discussed, i.e. "are all new technologies going to turn out be beneficial in the end"
At first that was often enough, but now a lot of ground has been covered a decent plot and charcters are needed too.
Milan Kundera's The Joke.
Next: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold
One of the English professors set up a table with free books she was trying to get rid of. I love me a free book, even textbooks, so I grabbed quite a few.
My treasure so far is Nothing But the Truth, An Anthology of Native American Literature. The first story I read (as I was manning a stupid table for a stupid event and was bored because I couldn't do my work out there) was The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor by Sherman Alexie. It was a beautiful short story, funny and touching.
The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor by Sherman Alexie. It was a beautiful short story, funny and touching.
Sherman Alexie is great. I think I abandoned one of his short story collections in when I moved. He's best known for "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" and he wrote the screenplay for the move
Smoke Signals.
"Boots and Saddles" by Elizabeth Custer. Basically takes everything you think you ever knew about General George Custer and gives you food for thought.
Sherman Alexie is great. I think I abandoned one of his short story collections in when I moved. He's best known for "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" and he wrote the screenplay for the move Smoke Signals.
Thank you for that, wolf. I had no idea, but now have something else for my "to read" list (and an idea for my mom's Christmas present.)
Amazing how things find us.
Left Behind - Tim LeHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
(Yes, Really. The scary part is that I'm up to chapter two and it's actually fairly entertaining.)
I don't want you all to freak out or anything...but I just finished reading a book. A real book...a novel, actually: "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris.
I realized I had lost my copy of Dune, so I got a nice used hardback to replace it.
Also, I've never gotten around to reading the unexpurgated version of Stranger in a Strange Land, so I got that one, too.
reading the classics, man!
Notes On Embalming - For Students (1936)
From "
The McAllister School Of Embalming, Inc."
I also read the classics.
But this one guarantees I'll be left alone while eating.
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao.
WOW.
The Shipping News
-E. Annie Proulx
The Shipping News
-E. Annie Proulx
I saw that movie. I didn't *get* it, but, maybe I was high. IIRC, it was depressing.
The book is written in such a different way that I found myself thinking "how did they make this into a movie, how could they capture this?" I vaguely remember the movie.
I did notice earlier that the book you're reading also won the Pulitzer for fiction! I can see why The Shipping News did, because the prose is very different and beautiful. Now I think I shall try your book next.
I'm reading Connie Willis' Bellwether. I am two or three chapters into it- so far so good. I don't know why i gave her another chance because I didn't like the last book of hers that i read- the Doomsday Book - even though that one somehow won a Hugo and a Nebula I wasn't impressed with it.
I'm also reading a biography of Carl Sagan. What a strange guy he was.
And I'm reading a book edited by Asimov called Before the Golden Age that is a collection of short stories written in the 1930's or 1940's in the pulp magazines. I have had to skip a few stories because they really were too pulpy and not good enough, but some are interesting.
I'm thinking of reading Watchmen again, the movie looks really good special effects wise, though who can tell if the plot will be any good.
My tastes lean towards science fiction, though I read a lot of other stuff too.
welcome, No. 2, and yay for SF!
Glad to be here Cloud! :) You guys are a fun bunch!
Obama Nation - Jerome Corsi, Ph.D.
Philip K. Dick-Martian Time-Slip
Just finished The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chadon
It's set in a world where Jews were temporarily resettled in Alaska before (and therefore mostly avoiding) the Holocaust. The book is set just before Reversion, where the State returns to American rule. The everyday language is Yiddish, although of course the book is written in English, just using certain words and phrases.
I thoroughly recommend it. The anti-hero is wonderfully noir, the education (for me) in Yiddish phrases and Jewish customs is fascinating and it just has a wonderful twist added by it being set in an alternative version of history. It's also fast-paced, funny and has some gorgeous characters and descriptions.
Currently listening to Neil Gaiman's recently released
The Graveyard Book.
Mr. Gaiman is on tour, promoting his new book, and reading one chapter of the book at each stop. Videos of the readings are being posted at
mousecircus.com. Chapters 1-3 are up so far, with the others soon to follow.
Robert Graves The White Goddess, really fascinating stuff.
Philip K. Dick-Dr.Bloodmoney
Rocker, you may have inspired me to try to find my PKD books in the bookpile!
October so far ...
American Indian Food - Linda Murray Berzok
Hunter of the Light - Risa Aratyr
A Witch's Halloween - Gerina Dunwitch
Weather Shamanism - Nan Moss with David Corbin
The Center Cannot Hold - Elyn R. Saks
Nephilim Stargates - Thomas R. Horn
Current book is 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories (seasonally appropriate short story collection that tester-san found for me)
Blood Moon - M.R. Sellars
Latest in a series of Wiccan Detective novels. I've been enjoying them a lot.
The Spirit that Kills - Ronald Levitsky
Mystery novel set in the Black Hills, involves Injuns, but not in the same way as the Hillerman mystery novels
Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
This is a cool book. Really it's more like two books in one ... one about the Columbian Exposition, and a second about some other things going on in the City of Chicago at the same time. Interestingly written. And there was a moment, early on in the book, that grabbed my attention. In talking about one of the character's background story, it mentioned that he had worked very briefly at "The Norristown Asylum." Gets all of three lines, but how often do you open a book about somewhere you used to live, and find something about where you work?
Twlight - Stephenie Meyer
I'm not getting it. One of my cow orkers insisted that I read this because it was so fantastic. Magical. Awesome. Thrilling. With "beautiful use of language," "The New Harry Potter." She was so enthusiastic that against my better judgment, I read the first one. I'm not getting it. It's a plodding, predictable, teen romance novel. meh
I didnt much like Twilight either, wolf. Couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it's like there was something missing from it.
Att he moment, I am reading My BookyWook, by Russell Brand. I am loving it. He's a very good writer.
Anybody had a chance to read Anathem by Neal Stephenson? Came out two months ago. I'm wondering if it's worth reading at 900+ pages. Online reviews are mixed, but I've enjoyed his other work.
Oooh. I didn't know he had a new one out. It's on my Christmas wishlist now. :)
I didnt much like Twilight either, wolf. Couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it's like there was something missing from it.
Att he moment, I am reading My BookyWook, by Russell Brand. I am loving it. He's a very good writer.
Hebe started with the fouth book, Breaking Dawn, and loved it. Then she started Twilight and didn't like it.
I'm currently reading "the City of Ember" so I can discuss it with my 4th grade daughter. It's actually pretty good so far. Intriguing.
Chatter,
by Patrick Radden Keiffe
Ayn and Kafka again, and an oddity, Marion Bradley-Priestess of Avalon, Treas got me all curious about a different book from the same "saga".
I'm reading Duma Key by Stephen King. It's pretty good so far, although I find with a lot of SK's stuff, he tends to waffle on just to (or so it seems) make the book longer.
I used to love Bradley's stories when I was growing up. I think she's probably ushered a hell of a lot of girls into a conscious awareness of gender realities and gender questions, over the years.
I havent read anything of hers since I was around 17. I might revisit Avalon and (most especially) Darkover sometime. I'm intrigued to see where the writers who followed took the narrative.
I've just been wiki-ing Darkover and reminding myself of the stories. Shattered Chain really impacted with me when I first read it. I must have been about 13 or so. Nice memory trip!
Just started two new ones: Manifold Time by Stephen Baxter and The Heart of Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh
I don't think I've read Baxter before but Nhat Hanh wrote Living Buddha, Living Christ which is a good read.
some crap by some chick-lit author. i suspect I'll abandon ship pretty soon. am between rivetting series and feeling bereft.....
I hear ya monster. It's so hard to find something worthwhile. I think that for a while, I'll stick to classics. Would you believe I've never read Wuthering Heights? Jane Eyre is next on my list after my current book. Now that my quarter is ending, I'll finally have time to get into it - I'm reading Atlas Shrugged.
Jane Eyre is one of my favorites! She is one cool old-skool chickie-poo.
Right now I'm reading Run by Ann Patchett.
I never could get into Jane Eyre...or Wuthering Heights.....never tried Atlas Shrugged...
Christ I'm such a philistine lol
Right. Says one of the smartest folks I know. :right:
:p
The Investigators - W.E.B. Griffin
Not My Child - Linda Harvey
Lies We Tell Ourselves - Greg Laurie
Acts of Malice - Perri O'Schaughnessy
A Guide to Quality, Taste, and Style - Tim Gunn
The Ghostway - Tony Hillerman
Cause of Death - Patricia Cornwell
Khaboris Manuscript - Yunan Codex Foundation
Black Belt Patriotism - Chuck Norris
Enemy Ace: War Idyll - George Pratt
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
I still don't get the "Twilight Phenomenon." The books just aren't that good!!
(It's been a very wordy last half of November ... didn't get the chance to post as I was reading, so they all clumped up there at the end)
Currently re-reading 'Neverwhere' by Neil Gaiman.
Also periodically reading the SAS Survival Handbook.
Working my way through
Anathem - Neal Stephenson
(on the Kindle. Trying to decide if I want to dive into the Baroque Cycle next, or read some other, lighter things before diving in)
Currently I am reading Amber and Blood, the final book of the Dark Disciple trilogy in the Dragonlance series.
Jane Eyre was kind of a snooze. After I finished it I found out that the edition I had wasn't even the whole book, just part of it. What a ripoff.
I just finished Kite Runner -- it's one of the books we're doing next quarter for a lit class, might as well get a head start. I liked it a lot. Next on the list is James Joyce's Dubliners.
If you've finished Jane Eyre, perhaps you can answer a question for me Juniper? Apart from the presence of officers in their snazzy uniforms, does the book show any effects/impact of war?
The Grin of the Dark - Ramsey Campbell.
Much underrated horror writer, in fact I only started reading him in the 80s because he was name-checked by Stephen King.
I can only assume he doesn't sell in huge quantities because his books almost never turn up in charity shops. Unless the people who buy them are like me and hang on to them!
Even the books of his that haven't had an immediate impact on me, have lingered in my memory. I'll often think of some description or plot twist at a later date. He has a sly sense of humour and and understated (almost spare) way with description. He evokes loneliness very well - wonderful when building suspense.
This one is about a music hall comedian who went on to make silent films - loads of them, all featuring his name - but seems to have been completely forgotten. There is something very sinister in the scraps of information a researcher is able to find and certainly something very wrong with the clip of film he unearths. Effectively (so far at least) it is about the fine and bloody lines between funny ha ha, funny peculiar and just plain sinister. Drawn with a scalpel rather than an axe.
Have just read The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
What?
I'm a completeist.
I love Rowling's illustrations - she knows her own limits. She's not an artist, but she's a fair doodler. For the record I cannot draw at all, but know many people who can - my whole group of friends in school and college years were studying art one way or another.
I got a good haul from the charity shops this week - in really good condition too! AND cheaper than London. I think parents are having a clearout before Christmas because there are some suspiciously unread-looking books - my assumption is unwanted birthday presents.
I'll report back when I'm into them.
Oh and for the record, Beedle passed a pleasant half an hour. And I got it free on my loyalty card (it was half price, which I assume makes it a loss leader).
Just finished "The Graveyard Book". A fun, quick read. Alas, too quick.
I'm reading many titles from Lynn Kurland :blush: Not really historicals but very entertaining. The time travel thing cracks me up.
My next reads will be 'Twillight' and the new one from Ken Follet. 'World Without End' I loved 'Pillars Of The Earth' waay before Oprah made it cool.
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
They have not gotten any better. If anything, it's worse.
And I hear that she's rewriting the entire series from the point of view of the lead male, which is a sleazy technique, even if they are essentially romance novels.
Come up with a new frickin' idea, why don't you?
My next reads will be 'Twillight'
Please, don't do it. Save yourself while you still can.
and the new one from Ken Follet. 'World Without End' I loved 'Pillars Of The Earth' waay before Oprah made it cool.
Ken Follett has been way cool for YEARS. Why is it that it's like Oprah discovered him or something? Eye of the Needle is one of the best spy novels I've ever read. Key to Rebecca was great as well.
I'm currently enjoying NOT reading Jane Austen. God, I hate her.*
I AM reading Secrets of the Celtic Underwold because I am a dork.
*yes, I know Sundae likes her.
If you've finished Jane Eyre, perhaps you can answer a question for me Juniper? Apart from the presence of officers in their snazzy uniforms, does the book show any effects/impact of war?
What officers in snazzy uniforms? Maybe I missed something...
Left Behind - Tim LeHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
(Yes, Really. The scary part is that I'm up to chapter two and it's actually fairly entertaining.)
You would probably like Swan Song then. It was scary.
So let me know how the book ends so I can decide if I want to read it.
Notes On Embalming - For Students (1936)
From "The McAllister School Of Embalming, Inc."
I also read the classics.
But this one guarantees I'll be left alone while eating.
you lie! :p
Jane Eyre was kind of a snooze. After I finished it I found out that the edition I had wasn't even the whole book, just part of it. What a ripoff.
I just finished Kite Runner -- it's one of the books we're doing next quarter for a lit class, might as well get a head start. I liked it a lot. Next on the list is James Joyce's Dubliners.
I've picked up Kite Runner several times. I just don't know if I would like it.
Please, don't do it. Save yourself while you still can.
What is so bad about it except that vampire novels are done to death? No pun intended.
Ken Follett has been way cool for YEARS. Why is it that it's like Oprah discovered him or something? Eye of the Needle is one of the best spy novels I've ever read. Key to Rebecca was great as well.
Yes she discovered him this summer! humhpt
Left Behind made it very clear that there was more to come, laid out the timetable for the tribulation, rise of the AntiChrist and all that. Entertaining, but not essential reading. I actually liked it a lot better than the Twilight books.
What do I have against the Twilight books? Other than being trashy vampire romances? Isn't that enough? Actually they are poorly written, trashy vampire romances. I was barely able to tolerate the well-written vampire romances (Interview with a Vampire, et. al.), but these ... they're like the mist that traditional vampires would disappear into. In general I like vampire lore, love Dracula and so on, but, well maybe the problem is that I'm not a teenage girl, but that's not entirely it, apparently there are grandmothers clutching the books to their heaving breasts ... anyway, I'd set fire to the books if they didn't belong to my cow orker. Ordinarily that would't stop me, but then I'd have to buy new copies to return to her, because that's how I am about books and I don't want to give any money to this author.
They're just really bad. I can't tell you exactly why without dropping really big spoilers.
Thanks
I understand about the over sexed nature of some books.ie: romance and the newest vampire novels.
I like a good lore/goth and history book. I can't stand it when there is an obvious bent towards the romance
to the exclusion of history/lore. I love reading about time periods and ways of life and of course in human relationships there will be love/heartbreak/integrity and betrayal.
I know how to find good history novels but there are more vampire novels than one can shake a steak at.
http://www.vampirelibrary.com/lists/series.htm
any suggestions?
(I like over-sexed books) :blush:
I know how to find good history novels but there are more vampire novels than one can shake a steak at.
http://www.vampirelibrary.com/lists/series.htm
any suggestions?
I would say that usually "series" is a word that should warn you off. This is particularly true of, say, Piers Anthony, who writes a great first book, and okay second, an "I'm getting tired of this idea" third, and then churns his way through the remaining five novels he's promised you.
I make exceptions for the occasional Hairy Chested Men's Adventure Novel (They Call Me The Mercenary is a personal favorite), Harry Potter, and the Black Stallion books.
For Vampire Fiction, though, I can recommend "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova.
For General Fiction, magic but no vampires (sorry), try Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Incredible first novel.
Good call on Piers Anthony, wolf.
He wrote better than L. Ron Hubbard.
"Series" on a cover usually means one or two books' worth of artistic and literary virtue is diluted to fill five or more. Life's too short.
One exception I can think of to the above is Zelazny's Amber, though I got much more of a stylistic kick from the first part of it than the second part/second series. Where Zelazny went right was that he took his time -- years between books, with other novels intervening, letting ideas and themes germinate, incubate, and flower instead of giving us a line of potboilers. Zelazny always did have the sensibilities of a poet. He didn't rush. Good publishing contracts, maybe.
(I like over-sexed books) :blush:
Beauty's Price, Beauty's Punishment, Beauty's Release -- S&M/B&D from Anne Rice. Ultimately it's all fluff, but there's some guilty pleasure to be gained. From quite a while back.
If anybody thinks
Fear Of Flying is an erotic novel, they don't know what eroticism is.
For a pornicious classic, it's hard to beat Anaïs Nin:
Delta of Venus, short stories, some near novella length.
Good call on Piers Anthony, wolf.
He wrote better than L. Ron Hubbard.
An illiterate peasant farmer without a pen writes better than L. Ron Hubbard.
The Grin of the Dark was very good.
No big explanation/ confrontation/ denouement at the end, but hey - that's why he hasn't been press-ganged by Hollywood.
Since then read The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson.
She's not an author that has aged very well for me.
Explanation - I adored Which Witch - which was on my sister's reading list when she was ten, and I listened to Mum read it every night (then snuck the book and read ahead). I can still read WW today (I have a copy) and get the same satisfaction from it. But when I read a new book of her's, it doesn't have the same appeal. They are still medal winners, but miss the mark for me. Same as Journey to the River Sea - it interested me, but I really needed more... magic, frankly. That's why I still read children's books (that and I want to write one, one day, yawn, yawn, yawn like everyone else who works in an office). I knew her first as a fantasy author.
Diana Wynne Jones however, can still engage me in her stories. Perhaps because when I first read some of them, they left me exhilarated but slightly baffled, like someone falling into a bear-trap, because they were above my reading age. Even now I am amazed at the complexity of some of the books I simply swallowed whole. Sheri S Tepper can do that to me now in an adult was, but I rarely fnid her books.
Also read an Anthony Horowitz book for the first time. Raven's Gate (The Gatekeepers). Simplistic - probably written for boys rather than girls, but an interesting premise. Fantasy and magic warefare don't need to be set in Olde Englande - they can be right here right now with fish & chip shops and takeaway Chinese. Completely British (this first one was anyway) but good fun. Reasonably densely plotted without too much lyricism. A great book for a boy who doesn't really read - esp because England will already seem like a far off land to a Merkin child.
Just started Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki. Interesting to hear the truth after reading Memoirs of a Geisha, but hardly a challenging read. No dedicated charity bookshops in Aylesbury either I'm afraid. I get what I can.
Sundae, have you ever read Joe Abercrombie's books?
The First Law trilogy.
Here's an extract from part one: The Blade Itself. If it grabs you let me know and I'll post you the trilogy:)
It's a pretty long sample, the first 63 pages of the book (including cover, title pages, imprint, blank pages between sections etc)
http://www.joeabercrombie.com/downloads/TheBladeItself_US.pdf
This is the best debut I've seen in ages in the fantasy genre. I love his writing style. Normally, I skim descriptions of battles, for example, I find it hard to sort the details in my head and get bored by them. In Abercrombie's books, I am totally there and can see the battle unfold. The characters are complex and there's a good deal of moral ambiguity. It's fast-paced but balances that with beautifully indepth characterisation: his writing changes subtly depending on which character he's following, he incorporates their ideosyncracies into the narration without battering you over the head with them. So much so, it really gets you inside that character's internal world. It also has an epic feel to it; managing to convey a sense of long historical forces without boring the reader to tears with history lessons.
It's dark, human and funny. It's also vicious and compelling.
I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit fresh in fantasy.
I wanted to read something fun and fluffy over winter break, but doesn't look like I'm going to get to. I've got quite the reading list for next quarter -- let's see:
Graceland - Chris Abani
An Indian Story - August English
Dubliners - James Joyce
Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (already read that one)
I guess there's still time if I find a good one. I like historical fiction with a bit of romance. I should like Philippa Gregory, I guess, but never got into it. Maybe I'll give her another try.
Fear of Flying -- LOL, Erica Jong was my first literary "turn-on." I felt so naughty reading her books and couldn't believe they were at the public library. :)
Piers Anthony - also in agreement with stated opinions - I did enjoy the Incarnations series, but that was back in high school. I doubt I'd be able to stick with it now.
One exception I can think of to the above is Zelazny's Amber, though I got much more of a stylistic kick from the first part of it than the second part/second series. Where Zelazny went right was that he took his time -- years between books, with other novels intervening, letting ideas and themes germinate, incubate, and flower instead of giving us a line of potboilers. Zelazny always did have the sensibilities of a poet. He didn't rush. Good publishing contracts, maybe.
I'm in agreement with you on Zelazny's Amber.
I also hold a high opinion of Larry Niven's Known Space books, which are for the most part shared universe rather than series stories, although, of course, there are exceptions ... like the Ringworld books that seem to appear from out of nowhere every couple years.
Anathem - Neal Stephenson
This is the kind of book that I really like. You really don't get the whole story until the end. He builds the development of both the characters and the world somewhat slowly, giving you a chance to savor everything. The world is complex, and there are tantilizing hints that draw you through it. Just when you think you've got it figured out, something happens in a not at all contrived way to cause you to shift your impressions. There is a lot of philosophical discussion that goes on amongst the characters, some of which is of the "sufficiently confusing to make your head hurt" variety. I've read other Stephenson, my favorites are his shorter novels, Snow Crash and The Diamond Age. Might put those on my to be reread pile.
I'd like to hear from folks who have finished the Baroque Cycle ... should I or shouldn't I? Please, don't drop any spoilers, I'm just looking for a general impression.
Of course, I read this on my Kindle. Love it!! Everyone please buy one so that it remains on the market and they keep supporting the format.
Also have finished The Ezekiel Option - Joel Rosenberg, a political thriller for the Left Behind crowd. I've read the first two books in that series as well. The proselytizing wasn't quite so heavy handed in the earlier novels.
Just started Spook Country - William Gibson
Trying to cram in Elemental Witch by Tammy Sullivan, because I'm thinking of offering it to my student.
.
I'd like to hear from folks who have finished the Baroque Cycle ... should I or shouldn't I? Please, don't drop any spoilers, I'm just looking for a general impression.
Do it. I got a little distracted during book two, but book three was solid.
Nora Ephron - I Feel Bad About My Neck (more Crone Work)
I've got to stop looking at what everyone is reading. It sends me to amazon where I then spend all my christmas money.
I'd like to hear from folks who have finished the Baroque Cycle ... should I or shouldn't I? Please, don't drop any spoilers, I'm just looking for a general impression.
Yes, I would recommend the Baroque style, although not strongly. I liked Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Cryptonomicron a lot. There are parts of the Baroque Cycle that are extremely appealing, and parts where it gets bogged down and you wonder why you are reading it. I kept a 3x5 index card to use as a bookmark, and I listed new characters as they came up and put very brief notes about them next to their name so I could remember who they were. I filled the fronts and backs of 3 index cards as I went through the Cycle. There are a lot of people to keep track of. Many of them come into the story and then leave a chapter or two later, but some stick around for the whole Cycle and must be remembered.
You will learn a lot about history. I was just watching this thing last night on PBS about coffee, and they were talking about when the Sultan was laying siege to Veinna and how coffee was introduced to Europe at that time. I could picture the battle for Veinna, because it's a major scene in the first book. I'd never heard of it before then.
I wanted to read something fun and fluffy over winter break, but doesn't look like I'm going to get to. I've got quite the reading list for next quarter -- let's see:
Graceland - Chris Abani
An Indian Story - August English
Dubliners - James Joyce
Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (already read that one)
I guess there's still time if I find a good one. I like historical fiction with a bit of romance. I should like Philippa Gregory, I guess, but never got into it. Maybe I'll give her another try.
Fear of Flying -- LOL, Erica Jong was my first literary "turn-on." I felt so naughty reading her books and couldn't believe they were at the public library. :)
Piers Anthony - also in agreement with stated opinions - I did enjoy the Incarnations series, but that was back in high school. I doubt I'd be able to stick with it now.
If you liked The Kite Runner I would recommend you read A Thousand Splendid Suns (also by Hosseini.) Suns focuses on women in Afghanistan rather than men. I liked them both very much.
I'd like to hear from folks who have finished the Baroque Cycle ... should I or shouldn't I? Please, don't drop any spoilers, I'm just looking for a general impression.
Definitely do, if you're liking
Anathem. My general understanding (though I haven't read it yet) is that
Anathem goes farther along the writing-style path that he started with the Baroque Cycle. It's not at all like
Snow Crash or
Diamond Age, but I'd put
Cryptonomicon about halfway between his old stuff and his new stuff.
I'm reading Bryce Courtenay's new book, 'Fishing for Stars'.
I'm not really liking it much. Definitely not one of his best in my opinion. It's like he had to come up with a story to meet some publishers deadline or contract and it was the best he could do. Even the language in the book is boring.
Uninspiring.
The Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling
One of my favorites. Every couple of years I decide to reread it.
And it cost me under a buck on the Kindle.
I also got a complete Sherlock Holmes for about that.
My Dad's just bought my 10 year old niece the complete Belgariad. God I loved that sequence! I wish I'd never read it so I could borrow it and read it again for the first time lol.
The Christmas Sweater - Glenn Beck
Sundae, have you ever read Joe Abercrombie's books? If it grabs you let me know and I'll post you the trilogy:)
Ooh, it grabs me, it grabs me!
One of my presents this year has been a certain amount to spend on Amazon. Well, me being me, I wasn't going to say no. Also, me being me I wanted to get as much value as possible from the deal and ended up buying second hand books (it wasn't a voucher, just a personal agreement).
I am now the proud owner of the whole True Game series (9 short books or 3 decent length ones) by Sheri S Tepper. They were my first introduction to this wonderful author, and I really regretted lending/ losing/ donating them over the years. I won't tell you how much it cost to track them down, except that it was within the budget. I'd have paid twice as much if I'd been in a position to.
Just waiting for Jinian Star Eye to arrive - I have the 3 Jinian books separately as I did originally. I have Mavin's book in the same imprint I had, but Peter's books are in a much nicer paperback - soft pages, very easy to turn. Which may sound silly, but I like it when a book doesn't fight against me.
So if you want a book exchange Dana, just let me know.
I will be wallowing in them over Christmas though. It's like being a child again, sneaking off to read my Christmas books :)
Ohhhh. Mavin Manyshaped! God I loved the True Game series!
I'll post out the Abercrombie books, they'll likely get to you after New Year:)
Wicca for One - Raymond Buckland
Inherit the Earth - Gary North
Killing Time - Caleb Carr
(not worth the time I spent reading it, think Stephen Hawking as Captain Nemo with a cooler version of the Nautilus, and twice as much costly wood paneling on the interior. Thin plot, stilted dialogue. Shame, really, because I had enjoyed two of his other novels, The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness)
The Copper Scroll - Joel Rosenberg
(one more and I'm caught up with the series)
Valkyrie - Hans Berndt Gisevius
(not impressed so far. He was a minor functionary in the German Embassy or something in Switzerland, claimed to have involvement in Operation Valkyrie, seems more like a self-serving memoir designed to make his role appear far more important than it was. Seems I picked the wrong book, but as it contains more fluff than stuff, shouldn't take me long to read.)
I'm not going to listen to wolf anymore: RE: books. coz I'm spending too much money at Amazon.
More Tolstoy. I have a mental aberation.
Here are a few of the non-technical ones I have finished recently (in the last two weeks) or are in-progress (and actively being read) at the moment:
The World Is Flat -- Geeze, Thomas Friedman repeats himself a lot.
Necronomicon: Collected Lovecraft -- A lot of fun stories. A lot of bad stories. Lovecraft likes semicolons almost as much as I.
Here Comes Everybody -- Too soon to tell.
Scratch Beginnings -- Inspiring once you get past the intermittent hubris.
The Chronicles of Narnia -- I've only read the first "book" so far. Boring except for one section that tickled me.
Putt's Law -- Most of the conclusions are "common knowledge" at this point, but it's nice to see the reasoning explicated.
My Job Went to India -- Good advice for increasing the value of your contributions and keeping your job.
The tech books I'm actively studying:
Programming Erlang (along with the Pragmatic screencasts)
Pragmatic Programmer
Making Things Happen (project managment)
I also found that you can download a copy of The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs for free. That made my day yesterday.
Oh, and Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers, is even better than the first two.
Philip K. Dick-Now Wait For Last Year
The Chronicles of Narnia -- I've only read the first "book" so far. Boring except for one section that tickled me.
Not sure what the experience of Narnia is when you read it for the first time as an adult, but I do know that there's a lot of difference in the experience based on the order in which you read the books.
I take the position that you have to read them in the order of original publication (which means The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first). By starting in the middle of the story it's a better experience for me ... there are many things about the world that are left unsaid, and the mysteries remain mysteries for a little longer. If you start reading at the Magician's Nephew, you get the background first, and it's nowhere near as much fun.
Not sure what the experience of Narnia is when you read it for the first time as an adult, but I do know that there's a lot of difference in the experience based on the order in which you read the books.
I take the position that you have to read them in the order of original publication (which means The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first). By starting in the middle of the story it's a better experience for me ... there are many things about the world that are left unsaid, and the mysteries remain mysteries for a little longer. If you start reading at the Magician's Nephew, you get the background first, and it's nowhere near as much fun.
I'd agree with that. I loved the Narnia books as a kid. Nothing in the world of books has ever quite compared with that world and that wardrobe.
Not even JRR Tolkien?
Not even close!
I'm reading several at the same time:
The Middle Ages by Morris Bishop
The Heritage Guide to the Constitution edited by Meece
Indoctrination U by David Horowitz
The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
An Incomplete Education by Jones and Wilson
My Dad's just bought my 10 year old niece the complete Belgariad. God I loved that sequence! I wish I'd never read it so I could borrow it and read it again for the first time lol.
I read the Belgariad and Mallorean (and Belgarth and Polagara) a few years ago, and I read it once every other year or so just to enjoy it. I introduced my son to them and he reads them once a year. Exceptional fantasy.
Left Behind made it very clear that there was more to come, laid out the timetable for the tribulation, rise of the AntiChrist and all that. Entertaining, but not essential reading.
I really enjoyed the 12 book series, glad I read them all when I was able to go out and get the next right away instead of waiting a year or two to get the next installment. That drives me nuts.
I have not read the "prequel" or "epilogue" series.
I have read "The Truth Behind Left Behind" which is about the biblical passages and inspiration behind the events of the series.
Finally am absorbing The Lewis and Clark Journals via audiobook.
Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
(currently waiting for the Kindle to finish charging, did spend coffee and breakfast time this morning reading Armageddon Now - Dwight Wilson, which is the book I'm currently reading while sitting on the special chair in the small room)
Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
Excellent! I love the Baroque Cycle. I just reread Snow Crash, and it was just as enjoyable as the first time around, if not more.
I'm reading
A Fortunate Life at the recommendation of my Aussie sister-in-law. So far, I love it. Stark, simple writing; it lets the story tell itself without the weight of constant analysis and emotional baggage.
THE VIRGINIAN (UGH!) and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING which, in all honesty, I'll prolly read the sparknotes. God bless the sparknotes.
im currently reading the BTK Killer...its a great book
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING which, in all honesty, I'll prolly read the sparknotes. God bless the sparknotes.
Admittedly, it is a bummer to read Shakespeare for a class ... I like to read it just for me best.
You could always rent one of the multitude of movie versions ...
I'm reading A Fortunate Life at the recommendation of my Aussie sister-in-law. So far, I love it. Stark, simple writing; it lets the story tell itself without the weight of constant analysis and emotional baggage.
They made a movie out of that book. I went to school with the boy who played the teenage version of the man the story is about.
This week I read
QBQ - Question Behind the Question and now I'm reading "48 days to the work you love".
"48 days to the work you love"
Is that supposed to help you love the miserable pit you're currently working in, or is it a guide to help you find a new job or entrepreneurial enterprise?
It's to help you find something you love to do and find personally satisfying, but which you can make an adequate income doing. People generally excel at things they like doing. If you can find something you're passionate about, uses your natural skills and abilities, and you get paid to do it, you'll be very happy.
It's like the old saying goes, "Do something you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
For instance, there was a guy who really loved reading history books, but he didn't think it could turn into a job. Then he got a job reading books for books on tape.
I've secretly always wanted to do cartoon voiceovers and I do a lot of voices with my friends and family and they keep telling me to try it. I have connections now in the entertainment business, so I might try it as a side thing.
Radar...a good friend of mine is looking for a couple of American voice actors to do a little voice work for a game he and his group are making (as part of a university project). Mostly they've been able to get what they need from the campus, but they still need a couple more. If you fancy/have the time to help them out, give me a PM :)
*Takes deep breath*
Michel Foucault - Security, Territory, Population: Lectures at the College De France, 1977-8
Various - The Political Thought of Carl Schmitt
Claire Colebrook - Critical Thinkers: Giles Deleuze
Michael C Williams - The Realist tradition and the Limits of International Relations
Neal Stephenson - Anathem
Murakami's "Kafka On the Shore."
The Catcher in the Rye, my favorite =]
Philip K. Dick-Flow My Tears,the Policeman Said
SPOOK by Mary Roach. I liked her STIFF. Was hilarious - about what they do with 'donated to medical science/medical schools' bodies. Some of us will end up at the Body Farm, some of us will be in vehicle safety testing...some of us will be getting posthumous facelifts...
The Void Captain's Tale - Norman Spinrad.
I'd actually reread this since I read it a long time ago and at a bad time due to a passing of a loved one. It was a mixed bag of emotions for me at the time. Between that and the Silverberg story on "rekindling" (Born with The Dead) it was a bit tough to get my mind straight at the time.
Now the VCT is less of a personal thing. I can look upon it, as I'm much more detached emotionally, as a parable.
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan...bit heavy going, Grace Abounding's a damn sight easier to get my head around than the Progress. Actually found myself enjoying Grace Abounding, last night.
Am also reading: Short Trips: Steel Skies ...a Doctor Who anthology *grins*
And Almost Perfect...a Torchwood novel
Obviously there's a bunch of other stuff mainly relating to class and gender, but I'll not bore you with that :P
Went on a Douglas Adams binge ... Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe, and Everything, and So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.
For reasons that are unclear, there is no Kindle Edition of Mostly Harmless, so I've skipped on to The Salmon of Doubt.
In between I finished a borrowed book, Hillerman Country, by Tony Hillerman, which was just lovely. It's a coffee table book of glorious photos of the Southwestern U.S.
I've also got Dead Men Do Tell Tales going. May take that to work instead of the Kindle, today.
I scored four Lemony Snicket books from the table in the mailroom at the apt, might hit those so I can throw them back into the wild.
Hell's Angels - Hunter S. Thompson.
In this "book" Thompson comes right out and states that women WANT not only to be raped but to be gang-banged, and that the women who allege rape against any Angel pretty much had it coming to them. Yeah, it's a beaut. I had to go and throw up so many times while reading (skimming) it that I now can fit into that mini skirt and halter top. Hope I get invited to some parties! /sarcasm
Juni---don't take this class. It's disgusting.
Dracula - Bram Stoker
A horror story with Victorian manners.
Hell's Angels - Hunter S. Thompson.
In this "book" Thompson comes right out and states that women WANT not only to be raped but to be gang-banged, and that the women who allege rape against any Angel pretty much had it coming to them. Yeah, it's a beaut. I had to go and throw up so many times while reading (skimming) it that I now can fit into that mini skirt and halter top.
I think I recall the part you're referring to. The words were from an Angel to HST and he merely reported them and refrained from comment on them. I don't have the book handy at this point but if you could point out where it occurs and in what context I'll look it up next chance I get.
The Catcher in the Rye, my favorite =]
"What's your name, Catcher?"
--Justine in The Good Girl
I'm reading A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle to my kids and couldn't be happier with it. Outstanding story and perfect writing.
In our local library, I stumbled across the book titled something like 50 Books For Kids That Hate To Read (can't find it on Amazon) which recommended it along with some others that look really good.
Parts of it are a little scary but its very easy to edit as you read aloud to tone down the intensity. My kids are 8 and 9 which is probably on the younger side for the book. I grade kid's books partially on the extent to which the writing lends itself to easily visualizing the events and characters. That helps keep the kids interested and helps them remember the story. This book gets an A+ from me for that and for the story itself.
The Phantom Tollbooth is the best kids book...EVAH.
Future linguists will love it. :)
I'm a few chapters into
The Steel Remains. I checked it out of the library last week. It's your basic sword and sorcery yarn except for the part where the hero is gay.
This sort of threw me when I first caught on. The good guy is gay and so far all of the priests are either corrupt inquisitors or nosy bullies. I could almost put up with it except the plot seems to plod and there is a little uncomfortable detail in some scenes.
Fortunately, a new Nightside novel was on the shelves Friday so I have something else to read.
Dead Men Do Tell Tales - William R. Maples, Ph.D. and Michael Browning
Not for the squeamish. I don't think the squeamish would make it out of the introduction.
A forensic anthropologist discusses his career and cases in more detail that most people need. It takes a special writer to really evoke the sense of the stench of decomposition in his reader.
I am also reading The Salmon of Doubt. Those sorts of posthumous collections of bits and pieces always make me sad.
A Clash of Kings - George R R Martin. Like Tolkein meets Machiavelli. Truly great series. The disturbing possibility of any of the main characters dying also makes a nice change.
Also just started Slavoj Zizek's Violence. Not sure what to make of it so far, but its early days yet.
SPOOK by Mary Roach. I liked her STIFF. Was hilarious - about what they do with 'donated to medical science/medical schools' bodies. Some of us will end up at the Body Farm, some of us will be in vehicle safety testing...some of us will be getting posthumous facelifts...
I liked that too. what's Spook like?
Indian Captive - Lois Lenski
1942 Newbery Honor book for older children. It's the story of a captive of the Seneca around the time of the French and Indian Wars. Dated, but more sensitive than one would expect. I did find myself wanting to know more than just her first two or three years with the tribe.
#6 The Ersatz Elevator - Lemony Snicket
#8 The Hostile Hospital - Lemony Snicket
Terribly fun. Thank you mysterious stranger who abandoned them in my mailroom. I hope the library stocks them.
A Clash of Kings - George R R Martin.
That was recommended to me yesterday. Looks like I should get on board.
That was recommended to me yesterday. Looks like I should get on board.
Just in time: the long-awaited fifth book finally has a release date this fall.
Indian Captive - Lois Lenski
1942 Newbery Honor book for older children. It's the story of a captive of the Seneca around the time of the French and Indian Wars. Dated, but more sensitive than one would expect. I did find myself wanting to know more than just her first two or three years with the tribe.
#6 The Ersatz Elevator - Lemony Snicket
#8 The Hostile Hospital - Lemony Snicket
Terribly fun. Thank you mysterious stranger who abandoned them in my mailroom. I hope the library stocks them.
All mentioned have been burned through by my girls. The Snickets should all be in the library. They are wildly popular.
Maybe I should wait for Martin to close the cycle? I hate getting ahead of the author.
#10 The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snicket
Continuing to be delightful. What other children's book series contains a direct reference to C.M. Kornbluth?
Joe Klein-The Running Mate
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.
It deals with the difficulties of subsequent generations to comprehend the Holocaust; specifically, whether a sense of its origins and magnitude can be adequately conveyed solely through written and oral media. This question is increasingly at the center of Holocaust literature in the late 20th and early 21st century, as the victims and witnesses of the Holocaust die and its living memory begins to fade.
Because it has been made into a movie starring Kate Winslet, it's everywhere. Mom loaned it to me. I'm only about halfway through but it's very interesting.
The Reader was an Oprah Book.
momwolf decided she wanted it.
Outside of cookbooks, momwolf is not a terribly big reader. At least not a reader of linear stories. She's more of a browser than a reader. Wanders around a book, dipping into bits and pieces. I really need to get her books made of assemblages of little pieces, like the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, only with more content. She did like
Do as I Say, Not as I Do.
So, anyway, she read The Reader and was unimpressed.
I read The Reader and was also unimpressed, but it was long enough ago that I don't remember all of the details. Probably got weirded out by the age disparity between the characters and the situation and all that.
I remember not liking it much.
I finished #11 The Grim Grotto - Lemony Snicket.
I need to get to the library for the rest of them, but I'll probably wait until after my conference.
Just started Another Life - Andrew Vachss.
Talk about contrast from what one last read ...
I am always apprehensive about Oprah books.
I tend to read more slice o' life type stories, paying close attention to writing style. I had no idea what this one was about...so I was like "oh..." when I started. Now I'm in part II at the trial, and I'm finding the story interesting. Not so much a great book, but keeps me interested. Of course, I was nodding out reading last night, so i probably missed something important. :)
wolf reads so much I swear she must work third shift.
I'm reading Confederacy of Dunces, The Last Madame (about Norma Wallace in the French Qtr) and Bre'r Rabbit.
I'm still in de souf.
Oh, when Oprah called White Oleander "liquid poetry" I knew she was an idiot.
wolf reads so much I swear she must work third shift.
Second, actually.
I don't get to do all that much reading at work, either. I'm lucky if I get in a page here or a page there, usually while I'm out on the veranda, attending to another important need.
The River Why? - D J Duncan
and
The Siege of Vienna by John Stoye
Toward 2012: Perspectives on the New Age - Daniel Pinchbeck, ed.
How are things looking for 2012? Do I need to put up more goat fence?
How are things looking for 2012? Do I need to put up more goat fence?
How many times must I say it? 2012 =
Fin!
So that'd be a big NO on the 'more goat fence' question.
So how much fence is that in rods?
How are things looking for 2012? Do I need to put up more goat fence?
Definitely more goat fence, and more goats, but that's primarily to get you through the current emergency.
At this point, I'm approaching the halfway point. The 2012 book so far actually has very little to say about 2012 and the prophecies, and more to say about hallucinogenics as a shortcut to shamanic experience. Think highbrow High Times. Quite a few years ago, I read the SAME ARTICLE in High Times and in Shaman's Drum. Stopped buying Shaman's Drum after that. Peer reviewed journal my ASS.
There is one very good article on Casteneda and how he basically made shit up and did a lot of damage ... to the field of cultural anthropology, to the tribes that the hippies flocked to in a kind of drug tourism, and to shamanic teachings as a whole.
Fifty Key Thinkers in International Relations - Various
Pax Pacifica: Terrorism, the Pacific Hemisphere, Globalization and Peace Studies - Johan Galtung
A Feast for Crows - George R R Martin.
Equivocal Beings: Politics, Gender and Sentimentality in the 1790s, Claudia Johson
The Island Race: Englishness, Empire and Gender in the Eighteenth Century, Kathleen Wilson
The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands, Mary Seacole
Doctor Who, Short Trips: Steel Skies, a short story anthology.
Heat - Stuart Woods (disposable novel I took to the conference. Still chugging through it because I spent most of my train time doing Sudoku)
Medical Science of House, M.D. - Andrew Holtz, M.D. (Throws in an occasional House reference, which is probably what put it over the edge as far as getting it published. Otherwise, it's pretty much a book on what doctors do. Still pretty cool.)
Voluntary Madness - Norah Vincent
She's quite right about some things but she's also kind of a hack and a bitch AND manic-y.
Kissinger - The White House Years
Ivan Molly - Rolling Back Revolution: The Emergence of Low Intensity Conflict
Malcom Dando - Bioterror and Biowarfare
Kissinger - The White House Years
Ivan Molly - Rolling Back Revolution: The Emergence of Low Intensity Conflict
Malcom Dando - Bioterror and Biowarfare
Are you trying to make me look politically unaware?
you
bastard!I like to think my reading list makes everyone look politically unaware. Especially me, since I'm the one reading them all.
Besides, its either that or read the Twilight series, and I'm not sure I can take that much hilarity again, especially so soon after the film.
Norah Vincent is your worst nightmare: a self-absorbed depressive with a Thesaurus. OMG. I'm going to burn this book and mail the ashes to her publisher.
Reckless, irresponsible, highly flawed and just wrong.
She's like a plant: a Blooming Idiot.
Son of the Circus
by John Irving
Just read biogs of Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong and a novel by Perri Klass called The Mercy Rule which was pretty good.
How you finding son of the circus Lj?
I never finished that one. It's the only Irving I've ever started and not finished reading. Dunno why, wrong time to read it.
Norah Vincent is your worst nightmare: a self-absorbed depressive with a Thesaurus. OMG. I'm going to burn this book and mail the ashes to her publisher.
Reckless, irresponsible, highly flawed and just wrong.
She's like a plant: a Blooming Idiot.
See, that sounds hilarious to me. For all the wrong reasons, but still...
Of late, I have become addicted to bad fanfic, however, which is like nothing you can find in print, x100. My new favourite site, TV Tropes, is to blame.
So far, thanks to the fearless and possibly brain damaged Tropers, I have read:
Dragonball Z/Diary of Anne Frank fanfic.
Cthulhu Date Rape fanfic
Harry Potter turns to the Lord fanfic
Hermione's new change fanfic
Paul McCartney gets pregnant fanfic, and
Snape on the Astral Plane, a fanfic so bad, I have only ever been able to find extracts of the original.
Sometimes, I worry about my own writing skills. Then I read stuff like this, and I realize I'm
the goddamn Batm...uh, Shakespeare, by contrast.
Oh, goody goody!
Angela Carter - Wise Children and the Bloody Chamber
Anita Brookner - Hotel du Lac
Edward Hirsch - How to Read a Poem
Henry James -Turn of the Screw
Yah, my Amazon order came in! YAY!
Turn of the Screw suckedx. dammit!
Just finished Shadow Divers - the story of the two wreck-divers who worked to discover the identity of the German U-boat found off the coast of New Jersey. A good yarn, well told.
How you finding son of the circus Lj?
I never finished that one. It's the only Irving I've ever started and not finished reading. Dunno why, wrong time to read it.
it's well written, as is all Irving.....
but it kind of meanders......as does all Irving....
you're never really sure where the plot is going.....and yet, when you reflect on it....it was there from the beginning.
of COURSE the murderer was the transvestite who married the rich old man, and only killed the golfer to cover his/her tracks!
it's worth reading, but i liked his other stuff better.
Just in time: the long-awaited fifth book finally has a release date this fall.
looks like rich r r levy.....
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/
where did you hear the release date for book5?
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/if-update.html hasnt been updated for over a year.....
[FONT=Verdana]Jane Charlotte has been arrested for murder. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]She tells police that she is a member of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil; her division is called the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons—"Bad Monkeys" for short. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]This confession earns Jane a trip to the jail's psychiatric wing, where a doctor attempts to determine whether she is lying, crazy—or playing a different game altogether. What follows is one of the most clever and gripping novels you'll ever read. [/FONT]
I stumbled across this book at the library - its hard to miss with the Curious George yellow cover. Picked it up to check it out and
can't put it down.
New York Times review
Author's websiteDead Men Do Tell Tales - William R. Maples, Ph.D. and Michael Browning
Not for the squeamish. I don't think the squeamish would make it out of the introduction.
A forensic anthropologist discusses his career and cases in more detail that most people need. It takes a special writer to really evoke the sense of the stench of decomposition in his reader.
Based on your description, I'll get a copy for my sister who, sometimes, I think is
your sister. :)
After reading a couple Lovecraft anthologies, I'm rereading Foundation.
Very different styles there.
Every so often i feel the need to revisit Lovecraft.
I'm giving Anne Rice a try. Working on "The Witching Hour."
So far I like the story, very intriguing. I'm not too impressed with the love affair/making, the main female character is just too submissive and weak when it comes to that. I'm only 200pgs in, mebbe that'll change.
The Hour I First Believed - Wally Lamb
I got a complete Lovecraft for my Kindle. My intention is to dip into it in between other books.
So far the plan hasn't worked out very well. I'll probably just have to dive straight into it.
Go on...dive in...but wait until your alone on a graveyard shift :P
My favourite time to read Lovecraft is early hours of the morning when sleep eludes me. Takes me back to being a kid and reading whatever obscure spooky stories I cuold find on the family bookshelves. Also, for some reason, the Miskatonic seems to flow a little stronger, and Arkham's walls stand a little more solid in the early hours, by lamplight.
This sent me off on a little time travelling. Haven't been to this site in years:
http://www.miskatonic-university.org/I got the Time Traveler's Wife from the library over the weekend. It's good so far.
Finished Coraline - brilliant. Now on to The Graveyard Book; Good Book (Plotz) and Making Lists.
Am refusing to read the male version of the hateful Jane Austen: Henry "Fussy" James, and his The Portrait of A Lady. Would rather drop the class. Is awful. Reading about 'class' and "marriage' and 'spunky young women' makes me wanna vom.
Sort of off-topic here, but does anyone own a Kindle? I am thinking of treating myself to one for my birthday, but they are expensive, and I would like some feedback first.
All Quiet on the Western Front
epic.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsey.
Wow. Just wow.
Sort of off-topic here, but does anyone own a Kindle? I am thinking of treating myself to one for my birthday, but they are expensive, and I would like some feedback first.
I love my Kindle, but I have a Kindle 1, can't speak to the new version.
Currently reading: Android Dreams - John Scalzi
Thanks Wolf, I really think I want one.
Chronicles of Riddick - Alan Dean Foster
No, I don't know why, either.
Steamrolled through To Kill a Mockingbird yesterday because I have to start teaching it tomorrow. (Yuck.)
Reading The Graveyard Book for pleasure, during that imaginary thing they call "free time."
Double Star - Robert Heinlein
heh heh heh heh...instead of reading Shakespeare, I'm just getting the DVD's!
tonight: Henry V.
HA!
Admittedly, Will plays better than he reads, but there is a longstanding academic tradition of sweating your way through that incomprehensible Elizabethan dialog.
Make sure that you're following along with your printed copy, a lot of the film versions have a tendency to leave out big chunks just to move the action along.
Also, movies tend to drop the stuff that's less readily accessible to a modern audience. Quite often that involves dropping bits of humour. A classic example is in Othello. The scene where Iago makes a joke about an enema, the terminology is so archaic it tends to get dropped. I've only seen that bit included in old BBC stage productions.
My current reading is mainly around my dissertation... a particularly good one is Equivocal Beings, by Claudia Johnson. Fascinating stuff. Looking at women writers of the 1790s-1830s and how they placed themselves in the national debate. It's quite a difficult text for me to get my head around in places. I am used to reading historians and this is from the lit crit section. I find the lexicon difficult to get to grips with. I hadn't realised how comfortable I'd become in my own field.
For leisure, I am on an audio book. I mainly prefer to read novels myself, but every so often I go through an audio book phase. Right now that's driven by the fact I really like the reader on this series of books. It's the second in the Dexter series: Dearly Devoted Dexter. Makes excellent night time listening. I love Jeff Lindsay's writing style. It is so lyrical and playful. The guy who reads them has really caught that I think.
both you right and noble ladies are correct in your happy and learned reports.
what grand company mine own corset keeps! (I would have preferred to use 'codpiece keeps' but I don't wear a codpiece except for very special occasions)
:)
(which you've presumably filmed for our later edification?)
(which you've presumably filmed for our later edification?)
:D
naturally!
The Barcode Rebellion - Suzanne Weyn
Just finished the newest Dresden novel, Turn Coat. Wow. Butcher tied up a lot of loose threads, and then set them on fire.
The public library is your friend.
Prospects For Conservatives, Russell Kirk. While he has an unabashed reverence for an ancien régime of aristocracy that I do not share, there's a lot that's seminal here.
hee hee - UG said Seminal.
...And there was the poor Indian the Florida State Police arrested and grilled all night until towards dawn the policemen got what they wanted...
*
*
*
*
...a nocturnal Seminole admission.
Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith
Weird dialog style, pulls you out of the story, otherwise interesting mystery set in Stalinist Russia.
SPQR I: The King's Gambit - John Maddox Roberts
Who knew there was a police procedural mystery story set in Ancient Rome, and a series of them at that?!
Dogs & Goddesses - Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, Lani Diane Rich
Chicklit at it's zaniest. Talking Dogs, Ancient Mesopotamian Goddesses, Math Professors with limited social skills.
Household Gods - Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove
Quickly became annoying. Too much feminist whining.
Hey, police procedurals set in old times worked for Ellis Peters, Wolf... his Brother Cadfael stuff. Try reading the more recent ones, though; they have a better sense of time and place than the earlier ones, which have from none at all to hardly any.
Feminoxiousness is a killer, isn't it? That's why I'll probably never take up Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon again.
Feminoxiousness is a killer, isn't it? That's why I'll probably never take up Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon again.
I used to love MZB as a teenager. For a young woman growing up, that kind of consciously feminist (or at least feminism aware) sci-fi really helped balance out a lack of positive female characters and heroes in what was a very male dominated genre.
That said... *smiles*... a bit like any backlash or movement forwards, the pendulum overswings. There's less need for the overtly feminist sci-fi, because 'women's issues' are no longer a separate strand and female lead characters no longer speciality fiction.
I find MZB a little difficult to read now. It's a little like being battered over the head with a feminist manifesto. But it was important work at the time. It broke through some boundaries and helped school a lot of young women in a way of thinking that didn't simply accept that 'hero' was a male concept in fantasy and sci-fi.
It doesn't have to be so obvious now. I went looking for books for my niece who is into fantasy and wild rides. The choices open to her are much greater than were open to me in terms of available character templates and stories. There are lots of strong, interesting, complex and still very girly heroes for her to get her teeth into. And the gender question isn't the biggest thing to answer in these books. MZB was writing against a much more overtly gendered setting, when sci-fi was very, very male and when the position of women in society at large was a very immediate issue.
It was only in the 1990s that British law recognised the possibility of rape in marriage. There are still gender questions to look at and find answers to. But when MZB was writing, it was the big issue for a lot of women. Like all movements, the first few waves tend to be a little strident in how it expresses itself. Eventually it settles down and stops being a 'movement' and starts being just another facet of a wider society (much like the 'civil rights' movement, or Gay Pride) and the issues it raised find their way into the broad sweep of fiction along with everything else. But ya need those first few strident voices to push it along and make changes; otherwise it never does make into the mainstream and remains an excluding factor in cultural production.
SPOOK by Mary Roach. I liked her STIFF. Was hilarious - about what they do with 'donated to medical science/medical schools' bodies. Some of us will end up at the Body Farm, some of us will be in vehicle safety testing...some of us will be getting posthumous facelifts...
I need to read these threads more often....
STIFF was GREAT!
The Wife got to the facelift part, came to me and said -
"You are fuckin' kiddin', right? That's what happens?"
"Sometimes. Thinking about leaving your body to science?"
"Fuck you."
It's a wonderful thing to be at a restaurant, and just look at her, and say those magic words -
"Just below the jaw."
A couple of hours of silence.
Michael Slade.
Go ahead.
You'll love it.
Ok, Michael Slade - but which book do you recommend?
Start with Headhunter.
First line - "The body hung upside down from the ceiling by nails driven through both feet."
How can you not love that?
The books do follow each other, but you can pick up one and start reading, and not really lose much, as the history of the characters is touched on in each book.
Just remember, Zinc Chandler is a badass.
And if the author names chapters "Iron Maiden", "Twisted Sister", "Grim Reaper", ect. [in the book Ghoul], it just has to be good.
"Bergdorf Blonds" by Plum Sykes
It's actually pretty funny.
Still finishing up The Graveyard Book. It was delayed because I picked up Hanging Out with the Dream King this weekend, a book of interviews with Neil Gaiman and his collaborators through out his career.
One of my graduation gifts was a big ol' gift card to the bookstore, so this is the haul I brought home with me today. Some of it is for me, personally, and some of it will be for my future classroom.
Reading Lolita in Tehran -- Azar Nafisi
The Wiccan Year -- Judy Ann Nock
The Freedom Writers Diary -- The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell
My Sister's Keeper -- Jodi Picoult
Love, Stargirl -- Jerry Spinelli
A Mango-Shaped Space -- Wendy Moss
Howl's Moving Castle -- Diana Wynne Jones
Speak -- Laurie Halse Anderson
That oughta keep me busy.
Finished
Men of the Otherworld by Kelly Armstrong. A really nice book on werewolves.
Finished
Maelstrom, the third book of the Destroyermen series. Two WWII destroyers go through a rift into an alternate earth. The equipment and procedures seem very authentic.
Looking forward to reading Conspirator, the 10th book in the Foreigner series. I had to request it from my library. They did not order it even though they have the other nine.
I'm reading everything by Chris Crutcher. it's Teen stuff and boy-friendly. it's awesome, but tough going. his characters do not live happy fluffy lives. I loved it so much i went to his website to send a fan email (my second ever) and was gobsmacked to find that schools are banning his stuff! And..... they don't even seem to get to the content (which i guess could be controversial) -they're all hung up on the occasional swear words that crop up.....
http://www.chriscrutcher.com/Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto - Mark R. Levin
UG will like it, may think it doesn't go far enough.
The rest of you will think it's wacky or wrong, despite it being well researched and documented.
Just started Koontz's "Shattered", just finished "The Good Guy". "Odd Thomas", "Forever Odd", and "Brother Odd" all were great, as, I'm sure "Odd Hours" will be, also. (All by Dean Koontz)
The Consolations of Philosophy - Alain de Button (hilarious)
all of my Scott Cunninghams
The God Delusion (audiobook)- Richard Dawkins, read by the author.
Really far more entertaining than I had expected. I have loved his books about evolution but was a little leary of this one. I was worried it wuold be too polemic to be entertaining. Quite the reverse. he dedicates it at the start to Douglas Adams, and the whole thing is done with a nice twist of humour and the style is a gentle nod to the Hitchhiker's guide.
Joined the lie-ber-erry!
Woohooo!
Now I can participate in this thread. My absence is not because I don't read, it's just because I am ashamed at rereading so much of the time. 15 books, 3 weeks, wow.
Okay - six of them are "teen" books. Three by my favourite author as a teen - and one now endorsed by Neil Gaiman - Diana Wynne Jones. The woman writes a cracking narrative and twists that make you go back to reread because you know you missed a clue somewhere along the line. The others by Garth Nix - not as good (and a suspiciously high output in a short space of time) but good enough for a low day when a Booker Award winner would stall me.
I'm waiting to afford The Ask and the Answer, the next book by Patrick Ness. Author of *The Knife of Never Letting Go*. A crossover teen/ adult book that knocked me out of alignment. And one I would challenge anyone who denigrates my reading tastes not to marvel at (I'll lend to anyone who asks, if you're interested). It has me by the throat even now, just thinking about it. The river, oh god, the river. I put the book down and sobbed.
Anyway, am on Hexwood by DWJ. It's all good fun. Not a classic of hers, but a rollicking good read. Will keep you up to date on the rest.
** ETA - do not look this up on Wikipedia if you are intending to read it. I just checked it out of interest and it gives away the whole damned plot.
The Broken Window - Jeffrey Deaver
(Somebody remind me not to read mysteries that touch on my own fears regarding identity theft, EZPass being evil, and monitoring of retail behavior.)
B is for Beer - Tom Robbins
(just started this one, but I'm already hooked.)
What I will be reading as of tomorrow afternoon. I actually had to tell the library to order this book. They have the other 9 in the series, but seem to have missed this one. They moved pretty fast, since I think I put the request in less than 2 weeks ago.
The Foreigner series is one of the best SF series when it comes to portraying alien psychology. Sure, a lot is cribbed from feudal Japan and possibly even social insects, but Cherryh really manages to project a real sense of 'otherness' onto her aliens.
RESERVE NOTICE
The item you requested is now available for
pickup. Please bring your library card when you
come to the library for your item(s.)
If you do not already receive notices by email,
go to ccls.org and update your library record.
AUTHOR: Cherryh, C. J.
Conspirator : Foreigner # 10
CALL NO: SF CHERRYH C.J. C
LOCATION: ChestrCnty New Book
PICKUP AT: Chester Cou
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto - Mark R. Levin
UG will like it, may think it doesn't go far enough.
The rest of you will think it's wacky or wrong, despite it being well researched and documented.
I've heard of it; I'll keep an eye out. Still have Thomas P.M. Barnett's
Great Powers to finish. Recommended for anybody with a broad interest in geopolitics. Also,
A Blueprint For Action.Crucified - Michael Slade
U.S Army/Marine Counterinsurgency Field Manual - General David Petraus / General James Amos
The Haiku Anthology - edited by Cor Van den Heuvel
Epidemiology - Leon Gordis
The Consolations of Philosophy - Alain de Button (hilarious)
An excellent book indeed.
I'm reading Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security by Buzan and Waever, and Japan's Reluctant Realism: Foreign Policy Challenges in an Era of Uncertain Power by Michael J Green.
I'll probably start Neal Stephenson's Anathem tonight, too, since I've been meaning to read it for ages.
I didn't start Anathem, though I now know where it is, which is a good start.
Instead, its Capitalism and Schizophrenia by Deleuze and Guatarri. Namely the first book, Anti-Œdipus. Anti-fascism, psychiatry, political economy and post-structuralism here I come! Woo.
ok fair warning. I only read fluff books. ( these days )
A month ago I read Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon. oooh I scoffed at that book. It was horrible. The winning....the martardom, the repetition of characters internal dialogue as if the author couldn't find anything else to say. Talk about the proverbial whipping boy. I think the author was exorcising every masochist fantasy she ever had.
I then decided to go with the story I've been longing to read. That is Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Yes they are young adult books but the author is a very good writer. I didn't read anything cliché....well maybe the last book in the series got that way but I ate them up. Twilight was the best in the series.
I then read a book by Susan Wiggs. Another horrible lazy writer. Every cliché you could think of was in that book. I doubt this person ever really had a romantic relationship.
I then picked up Rosamunde Pilcher. It's called "Coming Home"
I never thought I would ever read one of her books. I always thought they were books old ladies read.
[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"][edit- I didn't know the story was infact very british and proper until years after my inital thought about'who might read them'. ( like this month ) I guess I have entered the ranks if spinsterhood.[/COLOR]
[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"][I then found the book][/COLOR]Very tame and British and proper BUT I must admit she is a fine story teller. I am wondering if I will read the 'Shell Seekers' next. humm
So...'Britishness' is an old lady quality then?
No Dana C but the author is and her own brand of propriety shows.
Years ago I only considered them to be quite tame. I didn't know how properly British they would be until I read one this month. If you look up the Author you can see she is nothing if not a true lady.
*Reading back a few pages*
Rich Levy- Science fiction books the Foreigner looks interesting. I read sci fi in college but I have some sort of a block these days that prevents me from reading anything that causes an dialouge within my brain..
Sundae-*The Knife of Never Letting Go* seems intriguing.
Start with Headhunter.
First line - "The body hung upside down from the ceiling by nails driven through both feet."
How can you not love that?
Gawd----Remind me to never come for a visit. :P
Coraline is another teen book that I'd read. Neil Gaiman intrigues me
I then decided to go with the story I've been longing to read. That is Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Yes they are young adult books but the author is a very good writer. I didn't read anything cliché....well maybe the last book in the series got that way but I ate them up. Twilight was the best in the series.
Seriously?
I know you said you only read fluff books, and I hate calling people out over something as subjective as book taste....but you really didn't find them cliché or creepy?
I read the first book, after being advised to by several friends. One in particular said "its dreadful, you'll love it". She was right. On first read, sure, it seems like fluff writing by a not very talented writer, but on the second reading...oh where to start? There is a very creepy undertone to the entire premise of the series, namely the "romance" between Bella and Edward, which reads like an abusive relationship more than anything else.
I could go through the levels of plot creepiness and bad writing in this book, if you wanted, but I don't want to make it seem like I'm slamming on you. Its just the damnable series and how so many of its fans have bought into it being the "perfect romance story" (I never knew so many girls liked being stalked) that winds me up.
Oh, honey, I wasn't really offended :P I just tend more towards deadpan, than obvious sarcasm. I'll try to remember the :p in future *smiles*
[eta] I haven't read the Twilight books; but from the little bits I have heard it sounds quite an unhealthy romance to me. I do wonder, sometimes, at the stuff that is aimed at teenage girls.
Seriously?
I know you said you only read fluff books, and I hate calling people out over something as subjective as book taste....but you really didn't find them cliché or creepy?
I read the first book, after being advised to by several friends. One in particular said "its dreadful, you'll love it". She was right. On first read, sure, it seems like fluff writing by a not very talented writer, but on the second reading...oh where to start? There is a very creepy undertone to the entire premise of the series, namely the "romance" between Bella and Edward, which reads like an abusive relationship more than anything else.
I could go through the levels of plot creepiness and bad writing in this book, if you wanted, but I don't want to make it seem like I'm slamming on you. Its just the damnable series and how so many of its fans have bought into it being the "perfect romance story" (I never knew so many girls liked being stalked) that winds me up.
Oh, honey, I wasn't really offended :P I just tend more towards deadpan, than obvious sarcasm. I'll try to remember the :p in future *smiles*
[eta] I haven't read the Twilight books; but from the little bits I have heard it sounds quite an unhealthy romance to me. I do wonder, sometimes, at the stuff that is aimed at teenage girls.
The main character was the stalker stalking the vampire teenager. There wasn't any sex, or bloodletting or anything abusive in Twillight. There wasn't any descriptive sex details in the others as far as I can remember.
Oh and it
IS an unhealthy relationship. The girl does alot of internal dialouge about why it is and the vampire teenager tries to push her away and avoid her much of the time. I don't think the author protrays it being a 'good thing' They become friends.
For the rest of the series...Let's just say I didn't loan my neighbors teenager the second book in the series. I thought that was better left up to the parent and her conscience. The second does lose it's innocence of the first but I liked them.
I didn't view the first as a romance but then I am quite old. I do see how the others are questionable to some people who aren't into the vampire genre.
[SIZE="4"]I appologize to anyone who is offended by my reading of that damnable series! [/SIZE]
I am sure there's more crap than that out there to call out.
thanks
I've just finished a poor book called In This Skin by Simon Clark.
I thought it was a vampire novel from the cover (I'm a library member again now! so I choose by cover if I want to) but it was more a monster book. It had great promise, featuring a spooky run-down dancehall in Chicago, people with mysteriously fast-healing wounds and a terrifyingly disgusting character glimpsed on occasion. But it just because a bit blah, and was actually quite saccharine from about 2/3 in.
Next is Bite Club by Hal Bodner.
This one is definitely a vampite book as it tells me on the cover, "A West-Hollywood Vampire Novel". Might start it tonight.
Just finished The Margarets by Sheri S Tepper.
Not one of her best. Or maybe it's because I've read a couple of hers back to back (I got out two I had already read - I love the luxury a library permits!) The cumulative effect is a bit preachy. Also, a jarring momnet - in this ideal Earth that is being created after all the people who have lots of babies are sorted out (recurring Tepper theme) she reintroduces dairy herds.
*Spang* I immediately question this, which takes me out of the novel.
Now I'm by no means a card carrying member of PETA. I love me some dairy products. But this ideal Earth is being monitored by intergalactic bodies (also recurring theme so not giving away any plot here). I am dubious as to whether they would approve of human dairy consumption, given so many people worldwide are lactose intolerant, that cows suffer in order to supply us with constant milk and that as a lactating species ourself it is not biologically sound for us to drink another animal's lactation, designed to promote growth of a completely different animal.
Anyway. That's just what I thought :)
S.G. The Bite Club is suppose to have alot of humor in it.
and I like your thought spin on the last title The Margarets.
The main character was the stalker stalking the vampire teenager.
Uh, you may want to re-read it. There are quite clearly several points before their relationship starts where Edward is stalking Bella, including where he breaks into her house to watch her as she sleeps.
Also, you have to factor in he admits to having violent impulses towards her and fantasizes about killing her, and indeed claims to be on the verge of doing it several times before.
There wasn't any sex, or bloodletting or anything abusive in Twillight. There wasn't any descriptive sex details in the others as far as I can remember.
True on the sex part, but vamprism is pretty much a metaphor from sex, right from the get go. The whole exchange of bodily fluids etc...even the film makes this pretty explicit after the final fight scene.
Oh and it IS an unhealthy relationship. The girl does alot of internal dialouge about why it is and the vampire teenager tries to push her away and avoid her much of the time. I don't think the author protrays it being a 'good thing' They become friends.
Actually, throughout the series, she generally does. Also Word of God (ie author interviews) make it explicit she intended for Edward to be seen as the perfect romantic figure - and many of the fans agree.
Also, I would suggest Bella's internal monologues are just (bad) ways of raising the level of angst and tension into the plot. While she gives reasons, they're not actually the reasons most people would give as to why there might be problems with this relationship. Most of it stems from the fact that Bella is a typical "Anti-Sue", a character who believes they have no redeeming traits, yet the world still, somehow, manages to revolve around them (basically antiheroes and heroines for poor writers, who are unable to plot effectively and/or don't realize an antihero is meant to have flaws, not be made of them).
For the rest of the series...Let's just say I didn't loan my neighbors teenager the second book in the series. I thought that was better left up to the parent and her conscience. The second does lose it's innocence of the first but I liked them.
Personally, I thought the werewolf c-section in one of the later books was hilarious, but I would agree with discretion concerning who reads them, considering their content and the age-group to whom the original book was targeted.
I didn't view the first as a romance but then I am quite old. I do see how the others are questionable to some people who aren't into the vampire genre.
Well, I will admit I'm not massively into the genre (Bram Stoker was good, Terry Pratchett's parodies were better, the Buffy TV series was pretty good mainly because of the genius of Joss Whedon, but that's about it). In fact, the only reason I know as much about this book as I do is because I intend to co-write a subversion of it, where what I consider the creepy subtext to the main plot is made much more explicit.
Satire is hard work, but someone has to do it.
ah
I won't be re -reading it. I don't care that much that Bella was a black hole for the dangerous or that Edward used her for smell-avision. I'll be trading them in for something else to read.
good luck on your pursuits
I won't be re -reading it. I don't care that much that Bella was a black hole for the dangerous or that Edward used her for smell-avision. I'll be trading them in for something else to read.
Nicely put. You really do have a smashing way with words Sky.
Nicely put. You really do have a smashing way with words Sky.
aww a best friend uses the word smashing.* sniffle *You made me miss him with your kind word.
I don't know whether to thank you or not. :P * tease*
Hahah. A cruel dilemma indeed. :P
I just finished "The Yiddish Policemen's Union". It's something different in the way of a hard-boiled detective story. Lots of fun if you're familiar with even a little Jewish culture.
At the risk of destroying this thread, since I read about one book every 20 years...I've read two in the past month.
*ducks*
Anyway, they are books by Michael Pollan, who writes for the NY Times magazine: "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food." Great books that really make you think about food and how it fits into our culture. I got to meet him at a book signing in St. Louis last week...great speaker. I strongly recommend the books.
I just finished the 3rd book in the Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini. It'd been awhile since I had read the first two, Eragon and Eldest. Originally this was supposed to be just a trilogy, so I'm excited its turned into a cycle. I like the characters, so I want more books! I just have to wait for more cuz they aren't written yet. Damnit.
Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher. WASTE OF TIME AND $$$$
Best line in the book: If religion is the opiate of the masses, I took masses of opiates religiously. otherwise, lots of Debbie Reynolds worship, not much about Paul Simon (except this little bit of advice: "if you can get Paul Simon to write a song about you, do it!" - gee, Carrie, thanks for THAT; and a bunch of shite you can hear at any AA meeting. Yawn. Give me Augusten Burroughs any day.
S.G. The Bite Club is suppose to have alot of humor in it.
Trouble is, much of the humour was slapstick and/ or cliched. And the main protagonist's bf was the most annoyin character I have read in a very, very long time. He minced and screamed and bitched his was through the book and no-one killed him. Missed opportunity. Also the author needs to look up the definition of "quipped" because some of the things that character quipped were neither clever nor witty.
I just finished "The Yiddish Policemen's Union". It's something different in the way of a hard-boiled detective story. Lots of fun if you're familiar with even a little Jewish culture.
I loved it too!
Here is my impression of it.
Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher. WASTE OF TIME AND $$$$
I nearly picked this up at the library last week. I'll give it a miss I think.
*sigh* I admit it (reluctantly) that I am reading *new moon*, the second in the twilight series.
I used to read a book really quickly, but its a hard slog these days...but I am making the effort.
I actually just finished the last book in the twilight series. Personally, I liked them - the last one was a little more "blood graphic". For me, that's ok. I thought the books were ok. I will admit, I like fluff, so I read mostly romance novels whether on-line or paperbook.
I'm rereading an Asimov collection of the first three Foundations, The Stars, Like Dust, The Naked Sun, and I, Robot. Gotta love the classics. I need to get more Asimov; other than this collection, I haven't read him much since I was a kid.
Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks (yes I know, I am sad) by Trevor Baxendale.
He's one of my favourite DW authors. His stories usually have a seriously dark edge and they really get this mythic qualities of the character.
Pygmy - Chuck Palahniuk
Hombre - Elmore Leonard
Amerithrax: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer - Robert Graysmith
Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling
Fractal Time - Gregg Braden
Currently reading
House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies - Henry Jacoby, editor
Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton. Quite good so far, but shit, I'm a good 300 pages in and we're just barely out of "introduce all the characters" mode. I'm not complaining, because it's been very enjoyable--but I'm questioning whether he'll have enough pages left to pull off the rest of the plot...
i've been reading the same book for about 5 months now. lol I don't feel very good about that.
I go through phases like that ali. I remember this one time (at band camp) I was out of my reading mood. It took me damn near half a year to finish one terry pratchet novel.
yeah well, it's not that I don't want to read. It's that I climb into bed, open my book, and then read half a paragraph and fall asleep. lol
It's all Max's fault!
Actually, over the last few days I've managed a couple of pages each night. Things are improving.
Ironically, given current events on this here e-biz board. I'm read Tom C. Schelling's Strategy of Conflict, an excellent book on game theory.
Just finished To the Devil A Diva by Paul Magrs.
Now that's how you you write horror with a camp feel and a modern twist. My only complaint is that it was finished off far too abruptly, with a two page letter from one of the protagonists tying up all the loose ends. It had a flavour of, "And then I woke up and found the whole thing had been a dream!" when you got bored of your creative writing homework.
Apart from that, funny, incisive and with some lovely turns of phrase.
Just started The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. The first non-Thursday Next novel of his I've read. The jury is still out, but then I'm only on the second chapter.
Just had a library run today.
Must remember to review more of them, even if it's just a line or two. I get through at least 4 a week, but if you read this thread you wouldn't believe it. Not having any baby sons (or even baby suns) to tend to, I have no excuse not to!
Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People - Tim Reiterman with John Jacobs
Any good?
I'll look out for it if so.
Oh buggeration...I never did send you those books did I? I still have 'em set aside in a pile on my landing. Must do that this week. You'll love 'em.
Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People - Tim Reiterman with John Jacobs
Any good?
I'll look out for it if so.
So far, yes, although I've only gotten as far as the early years of his marriage, before he started preaching. The author is doing a good job of capturing the bizarre, manipulative aspects of Jones' personality.
I've been fascinated by his story since the mass suicide, which occurred while I was in high school. I've read many of the other books, both quickies and well-researched, on The People's Temple.
I've been fascinated by it since a puzzling reference in a Stephen King book.
There have been many, which I have tracked down over the years!
My parents couldn't help either.
It must have been big news over here too, but neither of them knew what Jim Jones or poisoned Koolaid meant.
It's far easier to track down refs now, because of the internet, but I much prefer to read around them too.
I might ask my Secret Santa this year for a good Jim Jones book, so be prepared to be consulted. Hey! Maybe our theme could be serial killers for 2009! Or just Murder Most Horrid. I mean you have everything from clown wigs to Koolaid...
i've been reading james rollins - deep fathom, excavation, amazonia, ice hunt to name a few. others would include steve berry - the templar legacy, david baldacci - the whole truth.....all pretty good books, and that was just in the last month!
Tears and hugging of disoriented, sleeping-until-just-now husband as I finish reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger at one in the morning. I borrowed it from a friend after she discovered that I *gasp* hadn't read it yet, and I ploughed through it in two days. I loved it, and found it both beautiful and unbearably sad -- kinda like life.
Oh Clod - I envy you reading it for the first time.
I love that book. If I was stranded on a desert island it would be in my top ten books to be stranded with.
Oh I adored that book. It's an amazing story. In fact I think enough time has now passed that I might reread it.
Oh Clod - I envy you reading it for the first time.
I love that book. If I was stranded on a desert island it would be in my top ten books to be stranded with.
Do you mean Clod or Choco? Coz, chick, they are reading different books. I need to know. I'm going on vaca with the rents in July and MUST stock up so...if Time Traveler's Wife is awesome, lemme know. I've never read it either.
I"m reading Stephen Fry Revenge; The Noon Day Demon (an atlas of depression) and How Proust Can Change Your Life.
I read Time Traveler's Wife a month or two ago, and liked it. It was pretty good. I'd recommend it.
Hey glatt! I'm going to Sebago Lake! Yipppeeeeee!
Yes, much reading material required.
Oops, I meant Choc.
Yes I would wholeheartedly recommend The Time Traveller's Wife for you Bri.
Just don't get so caught up in it that you miss your vacation!
thanks! I'll be getting to the library just before we go.
put it on order, bri -it's popular.....
Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton. Quite good so far, but shit, I'm a good 300 pages in and we're just barely out of "introduce all the characters" mode. I'm not complaining, because it's been very enjoyable--but I'm questioning whether he'll have enough pages left to pull off the rest of the plot...
wow...I was reading this at that same time and didn't notice your post!
I'm on Judas Unchained (sequel) now.
These books are quit a bit like the George R R Martin Series, A Song Of Ice and Fire, in that they encompass LOTS of characters and plot lines. It makes the story seem so ....BIG.
I'm right at the end of the second book......1.75 hours of the audio book left....
There were a couple things that stuck in my logic filters, but I was able to get it unjammed and enjoy it. (there's a scene where someone gets stabbed, and the knife is left in the victim...and they can't figure out who did it....and no mention of fingerprinting the knife is made.......it's way in the future, and I assume we'll still have fingerprints.....
but...yeah....good big long books, neat tech stuff and a few likeable characters....I picture Ozzy looking like Hendrix, btw...
Well, they've got that whole "cellular reprofiling" thing, maybe it's way too easy to change fingerprints so nobody cares anymore? Ozzie is definitely Hendrix, although I picture him like Hendrix would have looked if he'd had the chance to get older--a little paunchy, a little more tired under the eyes...
wow...I was reading this at that same time and didn't notice your post!
...
Which is why we need a bookclub!!!! *grins*
"Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie"
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Katherine Howe
Pretty good for a first novel, but there were a couple of times that I wanted to shout at the main character's stupidity, being that she's a doctoral candidate in American History and she can't figure out something blazingly simple for close to two whole chapters.
Other than that, it's very cool, story jumps between Colonial and Modern(ish, set in 1991, probably because she didn't want to have cellphones) New England.
Just started Glenn Beck's Common Sense
Still chugging along with Raven.
Nation, by Terry Pratchett. What a superb book. I think it was written with older children in mind. It doesn't pull its punches. Funny and also quite horrifying in places.
Y'all seem to read quite a bit. I am impress how y'all have the time to read and be on here this often. If I'm here, I don't have time to read. If I'm reading, I am absent from the forum. :p
Anyways, I am currently reading (slowly) The Mission Song by John Le Carre. :D
I don't read anywhere near as much as I used to. I tend to listen to audio plays and books a lot these days...mainly Doctor Who if I'm honest...
Just finished Kate Atkinson's Scenes from Behind the Museum - brilliant! Loved every minute of it!
Time Traveler's Wife - left me cold. It was about 200 pages too long. *sorry!* :blush: I know a lot of you loved it. I found the characters shallow and the author waaaay too eager to show off her vast hipness-factor (Punk rock! Art! Obscure artists! French phrases! GERMAN phrases! A rich girl with maids and a Mama and they dress for dinner!) And I felt like I'd lived all of this before. Then, I remembered: I had!
TV show Quantum Leap
"Theorizing that one could travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator, and vanished.
He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al; an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so, Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap, will be the leap home." -from the show's intro.
Now on to Yiddish Policeman's Union - Chabon.
a special thankee to the Dwellar who so kindly sent these books along!
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman. Excellent, but it suffers from the "year 2000" problem, where 2000 seemed so futuristic in the '70s.
Time Traveler's Wife - left me cold. It was about 200 pages too long. *sorry!* I know a lot of you loved it. I found the characters shallow and the author waaaay too eager to show off her vast hipness-factor (Punk rock! Art! Obscure artists! French phrases! GERMAN phrases! A rich girl with maids and a Mama and they dress for dinner!)
Oh thank goodness I'm not alone. I mean, sure, it was a reasonable concept, but I found the writing to be insipid, and I didn't care about the characters at all. In addition to all the hip-references, I found all the instances of sex to be really awkwardly crammed in as well (so to speak.) And the foreshadowing was anything but subtle. Anyway, I could see how people liked it as a bit of read-on-vacation fluff, but it was too "Oprah's Book Club" for me.
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman. Excellent, but it suffers from the "year 2000" problem, where 2000 seemed so futuristic in the '70s.
great book. I got a kick out of how technology changed so quickly from their perspective because of relativity and space travel.
I don't remember the "year 2000" problem, but I read it in the 80's so 2000 was still a little over a decade away.
...it was too "Oprah's Book Club" for me.
yeah. I remember when Oprah called White Oleander "liquid poetry." I read that book and wondered what was wrong with me. Then I figured it out - Oprah is stupid.
I don't remember the "year 2000" problem, but I read it in the 80's so 2000 was still a little over a decade away.
The main character's girlfriend was born a year before me.
Ridley Scott's got the rights (he'd been after them for years). I wonder whether he'll set it in the future, or make it an alternate history.
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Too fat to fish - Artie Lange
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Do let me know your opinion - I loved the pants off it. I became more lukewarm as the series went on, but The Eyre Affair had me laughing out loud on the bus.
Ah Bri and Clod - I mourn for you.
I guess I'm just too much of a romantic. TTTW had me from the moment Claire ran whooping across the square because she'd finally got to meet Henry. Oprah might well be stupid - I have no idea about any of her other book choices - but I don't think this book is insipid. And I now know I have vast hipness factor, because I didn't find any of that stuff obscure :) I didn't always agree with her tastes of course. Thai, meh.
I cared deeply about the characters. To me it was a romance first. A book about a relationship and how it has to crack and bend along the way. With an imaginative external device. And blood and spew and drunkeness and the Violent Femmes and beautiful beautiful hair. And world enough, and time.
Of course it is all purely subjective and I love you none the less.
Just be warned that when I get my mind-probe working, you're on my list.
Hope you adore The Yiddish Detectives Union to make up for it!
Really, it was my fault, because I don't do romance at all and I already know this. I had been misled to believe it was almost more of a fantasy/sci-fi book, so I went in expecting all the wrong things.
I'm with sundae. that book was excellent. intricate.
I disagree. It was hack writing; I think she was being paid by the word.
:)
ANYWAY - I adored Kate Atkinson and am getting two more of her books at the library along with some Esther Freud!
We can't all like the same things - it would make life boring.
I was thinking of this when I went to get Grandad's shopping today.
Two miles in the tall heat, occupied by an internal monolgue which effectively boiled down to you are wrong.
When I got home I realised it was unfair and unnecessary.
And after all, anyone who likes Kate Atkinson is alright in my book(s).
Just hope you like Esther Freud now...
And I'm very flattered you followed my recommendation despite the mismatch :heart-on:
I'm reading the second in the Chaos Walking series (trilogy? not sure yet) by Patrick Ness - The Ask and the Answer. The first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go was so captivating, I've read it about 5 times. I was waiting for the papernack to come out, but a generous benefactor sent me a birthday prize and I capitulated and bought the hardback.
It's good, but not quite as good as the first. Well, I'm a third of the way through so maybe that's not fair. The premise of the first was breathtaking, so of course another novel set in the same scheme of things can never have quite the same impact. But it's emotionally engaging, the characters are as conflicted as previously and I feel their hurt as much. I haven't cried yet - but I suspect Ness has something up his sleeve... Like Atkinson, the emotional impact of his words remain long after you finish reading.
Oh, it's technically a children's book. Blimey - they have to be so much tougher than we were if they have the stomach for this. It's a battering. In a good way. I'll always venerate Rowling for making it is acceptable to read good children's literature. It was my guilty secret for so many years. Although bless her - even the Deathly Hallows doesn't approach the intensity of this. Horses for courses.
Ah, I'm too harsh a critic because it's the only fun I have these days (critizing, that is!)
There are few authors I get excited about but Atkinson is definitely one of them.
I guess I'm not a romance kind of reader, either, like Clod said. I prefer horrid circumstances, abuse, murders, tragic landscapes, haunted houses, the emotionally destryoed, the drug addled, the incarcerated, the tortured soul and the curiously suspect.
I'm really just a Poe girl at heart. :reaper:
FWIW I read the Bridges of Madison County when it was first popular and laughed my fool head off - I thought it was the dumbest book ever.
I can tell you what I'm not reading: Amish Chick Lit. Apparently it is the thing in the Wally Worlds, because I passed a whole cardboard rack of them. I don't know if it is one character named Rebecca, or if other Amish chicks feature in the others. I didn't see "Rebecca Does Dallas." I'm guessing most of it is about pure and chaste love, perhaps a buggy chase thrown in for excitement. Seriously.
hehe I've seen that stuff Shawnee. scary. i'm miffed now, thouhg, because after all thos rave reviews I rdered TTTW from the library and it just came in this morning. But now I suspect i'll hate it because i don't "do" romance either. Ah well. Might as well try it after all that effort. you never know......
Chris Crutcher write good teen books -"boy" teen books
Keep in mind I hate lots of things that everybody likes. Dune, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Star Wars, the whole Kushiel's Whatever series, Chuck Palahniuk, some Heinlein... I'm just a misanthrope.
the women of the cellar HAVE all gone mad
If it makes you feel better, I'm still really loving the Peter F. Hamilton book. I'm only, like, 200 pages further than I was the last time it was mentioned, but still...
I am mad, it's true. I have a Community Psychiatric Nurse visiting me at home for goodness sake!
So what does it make all these others?
Barking. And that's a proper mental health care term.
Just finished Kate Atkinson's HUMAN CROQUET - twas brillig.
Clive Cussler's Medusa
I'll let you know how it goes...
Do you read it using a mirror?
I loved Behind the Scenes at the Museum. Again (Like Time Travellers Wife) I read it with zero expectations, having never heard of it, and was just delighted by it in every way.
@ Monster: I loved TTTW but I am no fan of romance stories generally. For me it was more of a tragedy. The star crossed lovers. There was somehting strangely parental about his love for her. It played with the conventions of romance, but to me was something quite different.
Do you read it using a mirror?
Actually, TWO mirrors. Otherwise the text is reversed and reading is much slower.
Do let me know your opinion - I loved the pants off it. I became more lukewarm as the series went on, but The Eyre Affair had me laughing out loud on the bus.
I've been reading enough that it's keeping me off the internet more!
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Another recommendation by my bookseller friend. Interesting discovering a world that's not quite ours ... where books are highly regarded, with a nearly religious fervor in some cases, and the Crimean War is still being fought, 100 years later. Entertaining SF/Fantasy/Mystery. I really enjoyed this, not sure how it will work over more books, I can see things like the Dodo becoming tiring. Actually, it became quite tiring in this one. I did get a lot of giggles out of it.
The rest of the recent reads ... (these are since the beginning of July. I've been reading a LOT!)
Rules of Modern Policing: 1973 Edition - "DCI Gene Hunt" (Guy Adams)
For fans of the BBC Series, Life on Mars, this is a treat. From Gene Genie's misogynistic advice to Chris Skelton's Schoolboy doodles, it's a fun complement to the show.
One Second After - William Fortschen
This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper. Post-big awfulness novel, well researched, but I think the author made people a lot nicer than they would be under the actual conditions he describes.
Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin
My bookseller friend strikes again. First of a series about a female physician and forensic specialist ... near the end of the 12th Century. Think Medieval Quincy! I will have to read more of these.
Serial - Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch
Free Download from amazon.com for Kindle. Not sure I would have found it otherwise. Interesting literary trick ... two authors, two main characters, neither told the other what their character was doing other than the basics of the premise ... then they wrote. More of a novella than novel, but interesting. And gory.
Darkfever - Karen Marie Morning
Awful, awful, awful paranormal romance. Has some good story elements, creepy settings, interesting characters, but all of that gets lost in the bubblegum pinkness, heaving breasts, and inane dialog. Free amazon.com Kindle download strikes again.
Most remarkable departure from my usual nonfiction these days (must hurry to finish What's So Great About Christianity, D'Souza 2007, before it's due back) is a couple of mysteries. There's a rather charming English-village series that for convenience should be called the Aunt Dimity series... and Aunt Dimity's a ghost who communicates through her personal blue ledger book, in a copperplate hand. Sundry and assorted, even concatenated, intrigues plus slice-of-life in the wholly obscure village of Finch. They're not always murder mysteries. There is the occasional, um, vampire. Or is he? Or she? Or...? By Nancy Atherton.
I'm giving a first try to a series set in late 13th century England that begins with Satan In St. Mary's, P.C. Doherty 1986. I'm comparing it against Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael stuff. It seems more vivid in its sense of time and place -- which early Ellis Peters isn't, could be any time and place -- but the writing suffers from a few too many modifiers. If I like his plotting and historical sense enough, I'll see if he cures that problem and generates leaner prose.
I recently read somewhere that romance novels are relationship porn for women, as contrasted with the copulatory porn men are likelier to read, both being literarily pretty exiguous and hence disposable reading.
And that does a lot to explain yaoi. It may be copulatory, but it's very much a relationship story, without which the buttsex would be deadly dreary.
And where copulatory and relationship porn slide together is lesbian erotica -- popular with anybody with a visceral appreciation of women.
And that does a lot to explain yaoi. It may be copulatory, but it's very much a relationship story, without which the buttsex would be deadly dreary.
You go through life, never expecting to see certain words together, and yet here we have "buttsex" and "dreary".
---------------------------------
Recently finished "Crucified" from Michael Slade.
"Germany: a bulldozer on a construction site uncovers the remains of a Second World War bomber and so begins a treacherous international journey from the crucifixion of Jesus at Golgotha to modern archaeological discoveries. Lawyer/historian Wyatt Rook and Liz Hannah must solve a series of whodunits to unravel the Judas puzzle. Blocking them at every turn is the
"Legionary of Christ", a crusader backed by a secret inquisition that will stop at nothing to make sure the Judas puzzle remains unsolved."
Also
The Big Book Of Freaks and
The Big Book Of Weirdos.
Thus completing the 17 volume set.
Dead Heat - Joel Rosenberg
Final book of a series of Thrillers. Didn't expect the ending. Really.
Her Wiccan, Wiccan Ways - Traci Hall
Free Kindle Download. Cute teenage angst book, with ghosts and telekinesis.
Paranoia - Joseph Finder
Free Kindle Download. Industrial espionage thriller. Enjoyable, even if some of the dialog was stilted.
The Dreamstone - C.J. Cherryh
Not sure how I missed this years ago. The BF recommended a later book in the series, so I decided to start from the beginning.
Free Download from amazon.com for Kindle. ...
Wolf - how do you like the kindle. I've been jonesing for one ever since I saw it!
I can't determine if it's worth the $$$. I think the ease of getting reading materials would be great.
I also keep thinking that it would be a great gift for my mom since she's an avid reader, but needs to buy large print books (limits options for her)
Which one do you have - and what's your review?
I have a Kindle1, recently got to play with a Kindle2 in the wild, and liked it. They just made a significant drop in the price point, so it's that much ($50) easier to make the decision to get one. The text-to-speech feature is a little klunky, but can be invaluable to people with vision problems. I'm trying to decide if I want a Kindle DX (that's the one with the larger screen) or not.
I think it's worth every penny.
Elegance of the Hedgehog - m. barbery
Blink
Julie/Julia (so funny!)
I don't often read fiction these days. Mostly if I am reading at all, it's history books. Instead I listen to audio books and plays. Currently I am listening to two audio plays. Am half way through a Big Finish Doctor Who audio play, called The Rapture. A clever little play looking atthe power of religion to move people and what happens if that power is misused.
I'm also two parts into a three part BBC audio production of Le Carre's The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. I think it's probably my favourite of the Smiley novels and I adored the 80's tv adaptation of it. When BBC Radio4 announced that they were doing the Complete Smiley, adapting all the Smiley novels I was so excited, but also a little wary. It's so easy to get an audio play wrong, and terribly hard to get it right. But, my worries were unfounded. I have now listened to the first two Smiley plays and parts one and two of TSWCIFTC and have been thoroughly impressed. Neat and well ordered little plays they are. Dark and grainy like Smiley should be. Infused with cold war culture and the weariness of an old spymaster. Very well acted and very well directed.
Half Blood Prince, again.
Shaman by somebody . . . (non fiction book on Shamanism)
Ed Hardy, Art for Life
Behind Adobe Walls: the Hidden Gardens of Santa Fe & Taos
Opening Up: Body Modification Interviews by Shannon Larratt
For some reason...
Fahrenheit 451, then 1984, now Brave New World.
Erich Fromm's afterward to 1984 suggests Yevgeny Zamyatin's We would be the logical next step. Also might try Jack London's The Iron Heel, said to be the first novel of this type. I do have Ayn Rand's Anthem on the shelf, and might pull that one down too.
Any other suggestions, in the dystopian vein?
For some reason...
Fahrenheit 451, then 1984, now Brave New World.
Erich Fromm's afterward to 1984 suggests Yevgeny Zamyatin's We would be the logical next step. Also might try Jack London's The Iron Heel, said to be the first novel of this type. I do have Ayn Rand's Anthem on the shelf, and might pull that one down too.
Any other suggestions, in the dystopian vein?
You keep this up and you're going to end up slitting your wrists. Why not read something happy in-between?
The happy in-between is when I put the book down and I'm back in the good ol' U S of A.
I've polished off two more of the Teen Paranormals by Traci Hall, Something Wiccan This Way Comes and Wiccan Cool.
I also made the mistake of hitting a free Kindle Download, My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent, which is the prequel to some awful paranormal romance series. Stupid Stupid Stupid. But they did get some of the nuthouse stuff right, including the dosing of the calm the nut down real fast shot.
I FINALLY finished Raven by Tim Reiterman, which is about the People's Temple mass suicide. I've been fascinated by that since 1978. I've been reading the book off an on since January ... a chapter here, a chapter there (a lot of them in the special reading room). I made it the primary book while momwolf has been having her shingles and prednisone psychosis.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speare
Somehow managed never to read this Newbery Medal book. Found it on the free-to-a-good-home table in the mailroom. It was actually pretty good and has a feminist theme that was quite ahead of it's time in 1958 when it was published.
Old Man's War - John Scalzi
Should have read this one before the Ghost Brigades, but it was still very good. New Science Fiction Classic, me thinks.
The Tree of Swords and Jewels - C.J. Cherryh
Read the next one in the series because it's the one that Tester-San actually recommended. Didn't really enjoy it much. Although I've read a couple of C.J. Cherryh's SF novels, I've never really taken to her ... I think for the same reason I didn't like these two books. She plods along with vaguely interesting minutiae for about 85% of the book and then crams all of the actual plot into the last 15% ... and skips over what should be important details.
ugh. I agree--I can't stand C.J. Cherryh!
Manifold: Time - Stephen Baxter
Free Kindle download, wouldn't have read otherwise. Science Fiction, quite heavy on the science, quite heavier on the super-duper technological advancements we don't have to make the story work. There are apparently two other manifold books that are supposed to cover the same events from different viewpoints or something? Not going to read those.
Puritan Economic Experiments - Gary North
The Last Witchfinder - James Morrow
When I started reading this book, having no idea where the story would lead, I thought that I may end up drawing comparisons between it and Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, because in the first few pages I was directed into a world that somehow managed to have room for both Witchfinders and Isaac Newton. In short, I was wrong. I should have known that James Morrow would dance on an entirely otherly oriented Cartesian plane, perhaps one that would be described, imprecisely, as "just off center."
Fortunately, I enjoy that kind of thing.
Each turn of the page brought a new adventure for our heroine, and for her compatriots, at least one of whom becomes a well-known Patriot.
Suspend your disbelief and have some fun.
I always wondered what my books were doing behind my back. I don't know whether to be worried or comforted by the information
The Drunkard's Walk - how randomness Rules our Lives : L. Mlodinow (nice counterpoint to "Blink")
bio of Ben Franklin - forget who but was a Pulitzer finalist
My Life in France - Julia Child
Kafka - The Metamophosis
Flambert - Madame Bovary
Augusten Burroughs - Dry
Just finished Paradise Postponed, by John Mortimer. The parallels to Bleak House were enough to get me Googling, and I found that Mortimer indeed used Bleak House as inspiration for it.
harry potter
The Last Witchfinder - James Morrow
TTTW... [was] a book about a relationship and how it has to crack and bend along the way. With an imaginative external device. And blood and spew and drunkeness and the Violent Femmes and beautiful beautiful hair. And world enough, and time.
And now I have seen trailers for the film. And Claire Abshire has shoulder length hair. Why? In these days of hair extensions? Why? When it's stated in the book that she feels there are there are three of them in the relationship; Claire, Henry and her hair. Why not even bother?
I've been spanked here before for making too much of a deal of original texts (aka beloved books - note the viewpoint.) So I am not going to mention this again.
EXCEPT! EXCEPT! The wedding is outside! How can Henry hide?
No, I mean it.
I didn't go see the Narnia films,
Coraline, The Dark Is Rising, The Golden Compass. I won't go see this. So you'll be spared my grumpiness. FTR - this didn't fit in the other thread, not being a children's book - it's just been discussed here recently.
ETA - Welcome colemanmmorgan
The Steep Approach to Garbadale, by Iain Banks.
I haven't read any Banks in ages. Hasn't totally grabbed me yet but I was trying to read it whilst sitting in the Jurors' Lounge at the courts and had to keep half an ear out for the semi-regular announcements.
Am also tentatively approaching the Poldark books.
I'm still reading the same book I started about 8 months ago. Not bad for a person who used to go through one book a week.
I have down time so I am devouring the books. Last night I bought 'I am Legend' and a budget book of poetry at Borders.
I thought the poetry would get my mind muscles working for learning anything.
I was looking for 'From Time To Time' by Jack Finney having just read Timeline by Micheal Crichton but they didn't have it.
( previously, read all of the Diana Gabaldon's books too and what? the 7th volume in the time traveller series is being released september 22nd! :D)
Finished Dry and Metamoprphosis. Still working on Madame Bovary and have picked up America: the Book by Jon Stewart.
I also have about 6 Nicholas Sparks books to read. I finally saw the movie "The Notebook", and I rushed out and bought the first Nicholas Sparks book I could find. I've since collected all of them. I read "Nights in Rodanthe", and lovedthe book so much I went out straightaway and bought the movie, and was horrbily, horribly disappointed. So now I'm afraid to read the Notebook, because I really loved the movie.
There. I said it.
Olive Kitteridge - e. strout
Auspicious Eggs - James Morrow
The Philosopher's Apprentice - James Morrow
Both of these are weird morality tales, but in different ways.
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
Delightfully creepy. Not sure about the Newbery Medal-ish-ness of it, though.
ooooooooo- I loved the Graveyard Book! Hope it's made into a movie! :ghost:
A movie of the Graveyard Book could go either way ... could be really cool, could be sort of lame, like Neverwhere. But I doubt that the BBC would get the contract to make the movie, so that makes good to awesome more of a possibility.
Did you like Coraline? I didn't see the movie but I want to. The book was good. I liked the Graveyard Book a bit better, though.
Haven't read Coraline. Probably will get around to it eventually.
I'm reading Conspiracy - Gary North
ooooooooo- I loved the Graveyard Book! Hope it's made into a movie! :ghost:
Someone is asking for a spanking!
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.
I was looking for a book to take to my day at the pool yesterday, and found this one in Wally World.
I think the writing is lovely and the emotion real, not sentimental. I've only just started into Chapter Two (I guess it's really not a chapter per se as it is a series of stories that tie in somehow with the Olive Kitteridge) but so far I really like it.
Second Spring - Maoshing Ni
I have a couple of brands in the fire right now, Marcus Aurelius "Thoughts of the Emperor"....I really, really like this guy.
I'm also reading "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells.
I read more on deployments.
The Darkest Evening Of The Year by Dean Koonz
I love his positives and his prose but I didn't like anything else about this book.
I believe Neil Jordan has already signed on to direct the film version of The Graveyard Book, so it's on its way!
crap by crappy author, -decadence :lol:
Statue of Limitations by Tamar Myers
it's ok. it's mindless which is my main criteria right now
Garden of Beasts - Jeffrey Deaver
Meant to keep me entertained during the plane ride. Worked most of the time, except for when the dude in the row ahead of me projectile vomited and apparently didn't know enough to grab the air-sickness bag. Of course, they don't label them as to purpose any more, so perhaps dumbass thought it was some kind of trash bag or something.
Worst thing in the world, puke on a plane. The rest of the flight is a challenge for everyone else to keep from chain-hurling.
So, anyway, the book is set in pre-WWII Germany, at the time of the Berlin Olympics. There is a moderate amount of intrigue, some Stormtrooper bashing, and a really, really thin plot that gets twisted out of all recognition in the last 75 pages or so.
The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
I'm only a chapter into it, but I'm finding it captivating. I would like to hear a Vietnam Vet's perspective on it, though ... it reads like the stories my late friend told, so it feels like it touches truth.
Why We Make Mistakes, Joseph Hallinan. How we look without seeing, forget things in seconds, and are all pretty sure we are way above average.
Well written and fun information....
The Sari Shop Widow - Shobhan Bantwal
Free Kindle download, has romance-ish aspects to it, but it's more of a slice-of-Indian-immigrant-and-first-generation-offspring-life in New Jersey. It was interesting, but not a book that I would ever have picked up otherwise. I'd be interesting in knowing what someone Indian thinks of it. The writing wasn't the greatest, a bit wooden, but the story kept moving along okay.
Her two previous novels look interesting, both set in India dealing with culture bound issues like arranged marriages and birthing girl-children. I might read those eventually.
House Unauthorized: Vasculitis, Clinic Duty & Bad Bedside Manner - Leah Wilson, editor.
Nowhere near as interesting as House and Philosophy. No real insights or revelations offered.
The Brass Bed - Jennifer Stevenson
Free Kindle download that was SO awful I abandoned it after chapter 3. Surprised I made it that far. Please remember that I have a type of literary OCD that requires me to finish any book I start. Apparently I have an awfulness threshold that this book crossed.
Hostile Intent - Michael Walsh
Yet another Free Kindle Download. This one is pretty good ... adventure/thriller, starts off with a bang, peopled with the kind of darkly mysterious guys that know like two dozen ways to kill you with a credit card.
Currently I am listening to the audiobook Dead until Dark (the first of the Southern Vampire Mysteries. I am very impressed. Very entertaining stuff.
I am also reading Oeconomy and Discipline, which is a detailed appraisal of the British army in the eighteenth century. It's fascinating. Very well written and very informative.
just read Big Trouble and Tricky Business by Dave Barry. Hiaasen he is not, but he's close enough. Was then disappointed to learn these are the only two adult fiction he's written. Fucker. Write more. I need more Florida crazy. And Hiaasen need to pull his finger out too.
a biography of Sir Richard Burton (the explorer, not the actor). interesting guy
just read Big Trouble and Tricky Business by Dave Barry. Hiaasen he is not, but he's close enough. Was then disappointed to learn these are the only two adult fiction he's written. Fucker. Write more. I need more Florida crazy. And Hiaasen need to pull his finger out too.
You could always read Dave Barry's commentaries ...
The one where he talks about the sidewalk reconstruction in West Chester, Pa. is hilarious. He used to be a really funny local guy before he became a nationally funny guy and moved somewhere with worse weather.
Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane
Good for the first three quarters, became a totally different book in the last quarter. I don't mean that in a good way. Loan from a cow orker, who clearly has no idea what I'll find entertaining, despite working with me for the last three years.
Book of Fate - Brad Meltzer
Pretty basic political intrigue conspiracy stuff.
But it has it's own
commercial.
Advertising didn't work. I got it from a nurse at work, she got it from the Goodwill, so she didn't pay more that a quarter.
You could always read Dave Barry's commentaries ...
The one where he talks about the sidewalk reconstruction in West Chester, Pa. is hilarious. He used to be a really funny local guy before he became a nationally funny guy and moved somewhere with worse weather.
thanks, I got a couple out of the library, feeling optimistic....
Wobble to Death - Peter Lovesey
A Case of Spirits - Peter Lovesey
The Sergeant Cribb mysteries, which have been out of print for at least 25 years, are being released on Kindle format!!
I am very happy, and will very likely read through all of them in short order.
Dave Barry is vulgarly unfunny. P.J. O'Rourke has what Barry lacks.
Try Joe R. Lansdale if you like Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiaasen. Same rural-uncool sorts of characters, all of them about as marginal sorts as the heroes of a Warren Zevon song. Setting is eastern Texas and the writing is blackly funny.
The Tick of Death - Peter Lovesey
I am a slave to literary fashion. But only because I bought it using BOMC bonus points.
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
I was all thrilled over having cracked the code on the back cover (simple pig pen cipher, just had to figure out the coding variation ... then I found more of the stupid things.)
Ok. I'll bite.
What's a 'simple pig pen cipher' - ?
It's a basic substitution cipher, usually one of the first that you learn if you're interested in codes and codebreaking. It's the one where you write the alphabet into a tic-tac-toe board, then a tic-tac-toe board with dots, then an x, then an x with dots.
Anyway, although I know there was no way that I was one of the first 33, I still put in an entry on the cover puzzle. I am such a geek.
"The Lost Symbol" - Dan Brown
The Portable Door, by Tom Holt.
Read it before but I like to revisit Holt's world from time to time :)
Back to my Sergeant Cribb fest, finished The Detective Wore Silk Drawers, Mad Hatter's Holiday, and I am three-quarters through Abracadaver.
Just finished "His Majesty's Dragon". The Napoleonic wars, but with dragons. Master and Commander crossed with The Dragonriders of Pern.
How could you not like this book?
I finally got the boy to start reading Johnny Tremain after bugging him for 2 years about it. He read the first the first chapter last night and decided it doesn't suck.
Johnny Tremain was a good book.
I grew up in New England, and live in the South now. It's funny to see the stuff my kids are taught in school. My American history education was very Boston centric, like Johnny Tremain. Here, everything is Virginia.
A year or two ago was the anniversary of the Jamestown settlement. Very big deal down here. I think I saw one mention, once, of the Popham settlement during the whole thing. No other mention that both colonies started the same summer, and nothing about how, while half of the colony in Virginia died, the Popham colony in Maine was much more successful.
Yeah, it was required reading where I went to school in NY.
The way our history requirements are written (for homeschooling, to comply with state standards) we must include US and PA history in grades 1-6. The PA stuff is easy since we live in historically significant area with lots of sites and museums. We've studied the Revolutionary war pretty extensively and will be moving on to civil war stuff soon ("what's so civil about war anyway?")
I'm excited to go to OBX so we can include some history stuff that's out of our area. Roanoke (lost colony) specifically, but also the Wright bros museum and stuff.
Second attempt. No reason you should know this except I wiped out a fair amount of type and it might make me more angry as I'm now doing this second time round. Bear this in mind.
I'm usually pretty bad at remembering to review books I've had from the library. I'm also not great at being objective - my general review would be Great story, liked it or, Bleurgh. I have tried to be more fair, but I am not a reviewer.
Also, of the last batch, I've included some I got out for Mum - this was over the operation/ recuperation period, so they were not all that taxing.
Skin Trade - Laurell K Hamilton - what can I say? I picked it up out of sheer laziness. At least I have that in common with the author. Less group sex than usual. Less sex in fact. It was okayish. I don't recommend it. Will I get the next one from the library if I see it? Yes I will. I'd like to think that's a comment on modern horror rather than my own tastes. But if I wake screaming in the night it's despair not fright..
The Cure - Athol Dickson - Hmmmmmmmmm. Something is foreshadowed, perhaps explained/ resolved in this book. I went back twice to try to find it because I didn't quite get the denouement. I couldn't find it. My fault, but it bugged the hell out of me. All I wanted was to reread the pivotal point of the book and I couldn't find it.
Twas okay. Glas I read it. Would read again, but only to find the one part I need clarification for. Don't get me wrong, I rarely skim (see later book) and never speed read, but in order to grasp the heart of this book, you need to really understand this one point. I didn't get it when I read it, and until I read it again I cannot match up the two sides. That's all.
Jonathan Maberry - Bad Moon Rising I might have missed out by reading the third in a trilogy, but the intro assures me it can be read as a stand-alone.
The reviews also say it rivals Stephen King.
Don't believe them.
The multiple and concluding plot lines make it hard to read as a stand-alone and the author lacks King's lightness of touch.
It's okay - but in the last 2/3 I started to skim. Oh, big battle in hospital? I can skim that. Oh, big battle in hollow? I can skim til that ends up with main characters alive. Some intersting folklore, but choked, choked, gagging in detail.
The Serial Killers Club [sic] - Jeff Povey
Good, clean fun!
Okay, a bit gruesome, but laugh out loud funny without being a comedy.
Very well observed with a very flawed hero. Nice piece of fluff - if you like fluff that comes with blood on.
Murder Most Fab - Julian Clary Ah now. Talking about fluff and blood. This is the ultimate accidental/ oops did I do that/ blood and guts and every day life and showbusiness tale. Brits know Julian Clary as a very camp gay stand-up. Very intelligent and cutting. He brings 75% of that to the book, which is more than may writers. He has a deft touch with the plot too, outrageous though it is. And some fun comes from wondering if/ who is based on real life characters. I recommend wholeheartedly to Brits, and to borrow for Merkins (to see it it translates)
FTR - realised the ones I got for Mum were all Agatha Christies (okay, not all, but she has the chick-lits downstairs.)
No point in reviewing an Agatha Christie.
Fun to read, pretty easy to untangle - except those where she withholds vital info til the last chapter. Dated, but intelligent. And I've seen all three (of the ones I got out) on TV anyway - Miss Marple is a staple here.
Slave narratives. Tons and tons and tons of 'em...all over the map. Was NOTHING written in the mid-19th C. besides slave narratives? (In American lit, I mean, natch) One has to wonder just how much actual slaving was going on when everydamnbody was writing a narrative about it...sheesh!
just finished "Sail" by James Patterson last night and started the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
'Where the Wild Things Are', over and over, to my 3 year old nephew.
'Where the Wild Things Are', over and over, to my 3 year old nephew.
...and to think I used to dislike you a bit.......opinion changed. A bit. :)
We're currently stuck on Tea With Ruby, as she has a copy autographed by the illustrator, so now PrincessotR thinks the book was written about her....
Caring for Victor by Robert Ellis: Ellis is the Army nurse that had to make sure Saddam stayed alive before he was executed. The nurse is from here in St. Louis.
Gotcha Capitalism by Bob Sullivan: I like reading him on The Red Tape Chronicles on msnbc.com, so I figure this should be a good book.
I won another Firstreads book on
Goodreads.
Basically, you end up with free books by promising that you'll review them. The more you review, the greater the likelihood that you'll be chosen to receive more books.
2666 - Roberto Bolaño
The book was published posthumously. The author died young. The author description doesn't say of what. Wikipedia barely says ... hints at a heroin addiction and maybe liver failure as a complication of Hep-C.
Anyway, it's a strange book. I'm not really sure what it's about, and I'm a chunk and a half into it. The book is divided into 5 parts, that have titles that read like the names of Friends episodes, "The Part about the Critics," "The Part about Fate," and so on. I thought this was a really clever observation, until I found out that the Time Magazine Critic said the same thing a year ago.
'In the Night Kitchen'
"I'm not the milk and the milk's not me...I'm Mickey!"
My nephew loves the story 'cause Mickey flies around in a bread dough plane.
The Grandma hates it 'cause Mickey runs around naked.
My brother, the dad, just rolls his eyes and says, 'that Sendak fella must be from California...'
HA!
State Of The Art - Iain M. Banks
Mary Barton. So is Bri. Damn depressing.
Mary Barton. So is Bri. Damn depressing.
Dammit! I'm only on chaper five. Howzit going for you?
Just started reading Ayn Rand and Henry Miller...now there's a hell of a combination!
Which Ayn Rand?
I have finally finished 2666. I have to write my review. I'm going to read fluff next. I deserve fluff. I have Marley & Me in queue.
Atlas Shrugged. I have Fountainhead on order.
I loved Atlas Shrugged. I have never been so pissed off by a book.
Dammit! I'm only on chaper five. Howzit going for you?
About halfway through, right to the point where I am pretty sure I know how it ends. As I said, damn depressing. But don't let me hinder your enjoyment. :thepain:
Just finished Conn Iggulden's first Julius Ceasar novel. Very good stuff except for one bit of dialogue that came directly out of Dickens.
I'm in several religion / spirituality books mostly buddhist stuff along with Jesus for the Nonreligious by John Shelby Spong. He attempts to strip the nonsense out of the Jesus story to make him relevent to modern people <shrug> we'll see how he does.
Unseen Academicals, a Discworld novel, Terry Pratchett.
Also re-reading Vurt by Jeff Noon: one of my all-time favourite books.
A huge hardcover historical novel about Joan of Arc.
I am only halfway through and the author is hinting at the reasons for putting her to the stake whether it be political or thinking she is a witch who has manipulated the French army or a combination of both.
I am barely entertaining the idea that if she was a man they may not have fried her.
Dipping into The Complete Tales of H.P. Lovecraft because it's seasonally appropriate.
Isaac Asimov, The Complete Stories, Volume 1. I think I'm missing something in "Hostess".
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy :D I deserve a treat
Clinging to the Wreckage, John Mortimer
*dreamily* what's it like to read for pleasure? I can't remember... *dreamily*
Ghostwalk Odd book. Includes the mysterious deaths surrounding Isaac Newton, 17th century alchemists, modern-day rights-of-animals terrorists, and the life of the 'other' woman.
Clinging to the Wreckage, John Mortimer
One of my favourite books of all time!
Am I being horribly patronising to wonder whether some of it baffled you due to your age & nationality? Profound apologies if that is so. I read it as an 18 year old Brit with a fondness for tales from my Grandparents, I just don't know if it travels well.
Please let me know what you think of it.
I used to carry that or Orwell's
Homage to Catalonia with me in stressful situations, knowing I could dip into it and find comfort. Later on I revered Barry Humphries'
More Please and David Niven's
The Moon's A Balloon in the same way.
Yes, I was hopelessly lost with many of the references, especially to playwrights, actors, etc. As a nerd-child growing up in the 80s, my taste in reading material ran mostly towards American science fiction, leaving me very out of touch. I was similarly confused by a piece a friend of mine did on the life of Alistair Cooke a few months back.
I did pick up quite a bit about England, pre-WWII, from the Dorothy Sayers novels. It seemed like such a romantic period to me. I went so far as to buy and read "Conundrums for the Long Week-End: England, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Lord Peter Wimsey" to flesh out my understanding.
I'm heading back to the USA for my next book -- Boom!, Tom Brokaw.
Just finished: Eclipse by S. Meyer
Reading now: Breaking Down
Reading next:vampire diaries series
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - Max Brooks
Alien Hand Syndrome - Alan Bellows
Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran - Robert Spencer
Marley & Me - John Grogan
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
Taking the Leap - Pema Chodron
Hi Melini:) welcome to the cellar!
Geez. Audiobooks are a ripoff. Itunes wants $50 for HP and the Half Blood Prince.
Fifty dollars!
That would be a No Fucking Way.
Itunes is an expensive way to buy audiobooks. Audible is way better.
but how would I get it on my ipod, then?
okay, I looked at Audible.com. You have to sign up for a monthly plan.
Oh HELL NO.
True. But the first 3 months are only 3.99 a month (for which you get a credit exchangeable for pretty much any audio book) and after that 7.99. (or whatever the dollar equivalent is). given that the credits now carry over (they didn't used to) that basically means you are paying 7.99 a month for one audiobook. Any month you dont get a download, you can carry that credit to a maximum of 6 months. So you can just store up a few credits and then go on an audiobook bonanza when you fancy. That credit per audiobok is excellent value. If you want to buy other books on top of the one you pay for with your monthly fee, they're significantly cheaper than anywhere else. You can download them in various formats: mp3, enhanced CD, etc. You can download straight to your ipod, or to your computer. And your purchases are stored on your 'bookshelf' so if you want to redownload them at any time you can in a different format if you wish. It's waaay cheaper than any other way of getting audiobooks and there's a bunch of freebies too (podcasts and interviews with writers, reviews free sample chapters to help you choose etc). You can also cancel at any time, so you're not tied in for a contract.
Worth doing, I thought, just for the three months trial (at the lower price) it basically means you're getting three full price audiobooks for £12. That's what i decided to do anyway :P I may decide to keep it going at the full price (£7.99) when the trial runs out next month. I haven't decided yet.
I just have an aversion to "signing up" for anything that costs monthly money. Netflix, for instance, pisses me off royally because of their constant popup ads which don't seem to be avoidable, plus the monthly charge. I just want to rent ONE movie at a time; buy ONE audiobook, etc. Plus, I don't listen to many audiobooks anyway.
But I admit that for some people it looks like a good deal.
The other option, of course, is to buy audiobooks on cd from amazon or ebay. They can be a bugger to get onto the ipod, but if you set up a playlist folder then have each cd as a playlist within that folder it works just fine.
i have 2 audible accounts
i just checked, and I have 158 books on one account and 244 on the other. 402 books.
wow
wow, indeed. Great for commuting, but since my entire roundtrip commute is 5 miles . . .
funny...the one with 158 is my older account. It's a type of account that you can't get anymore.... one credit gets ANY book where with the current Platinum membership, some books cost 2 credits. The down side is that the credits don't roll over like they do with the new account types.....so I guess I've missed the boat quite a bit on that account.
I have to say I havent actually come across any of the books that require two credits (yet).
Currently reading:
Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan
On the way:
Knife of Dreams
The Gathering Storm
oh dear...they just released book 12 of that series on audible.
it's been so long since book 11......
That's why I'm re-reading the series.
I didn't realize Jordan had carked it....
The final volume of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times best-selling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan's editor - his wife, Harriet McDougal - to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presents The Gathering Storm as the first of three novels that will make up A Memory of Light.
Yes, I was hopelessly lost with many of the references, especially to playwrights, actors, etc. As a nerd-child growing up in the 80s, my taste in reading material ran mostly towards American science fiction, leaving me very out of touch. I was similarly confused by a piece a friend of mine did on the life of Alistair Cooke a few months back.
I did pick up quite a bit about England, pre-WWII, from the Dorothy Sayers novels. It seemed like such a romantic period to me. I went so far as to buy and read "Conundrums for the Long Week-End: England, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Lord Peter Wimsey" to flesh out my understanding.
I'm heading back to the USA for my next book -- Boom!, Tom Brokaw.
Completely missed your reply, Pie.
I'm a Sayers fan as well. And yes, even I have to look things up. Not meaning I am in some way superior, just that as stated before I have more of a connection to the era.
I've just taken an armful of books back to the library and of course not written a review for a single one of them. Still, I expect to be fined - I'm sure some must have been late - so I'll review them as and when the titles come through :) An expensive way of reviewing! Just so much has been happening IRL...
Relic - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Think Indiana Jones and the Scary Beast Loose in the Museum.
Stupid and contrived, don't waste teh bucks. Figured out the twist less than halfway through, kept waiting for the characters to have the lightbulb go on, must have been burned out.
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Boyfriend's taking me to see the movie in the next couple of weeks, figured I'd read it to see what it's about. I usually like post-apocalyptic fiction, but I'm more of a Canticle for Leibowitz or Alas, Babylon, or even The Survivalist, kind of reader. This is pretentious stream of consciousness crap. The world's ended and he's using words like "palimpsest?" Oh, puh-leaz.
The Age of Misrule series by Mark Chadbourn.
It's sort of like National Treasure meets Lord of the Rings. It's set in England, and pages and pages of the book are part history of England, and part lengendary/occult history of England. Some of it was myth presented as truth, like the story of
Mary Kings Close.
From Wikipedia.
Despite the myth, victims were not walled up in the closes and left to starve. In fact, there had been a long tradition of organized quarantine in the town. Over many previous outbreaks, those infected with the plague enclosed themselves in their house and indicated their plight by displaying a small white flag from the window. In response, bread, ale, coal and even wine were delivered to them daily, and a plague doctor would visit to drain bubos - the pus-filled lymph nodes, which threatened to rupture and kill the patient through septicaemia. Some people were quarantined in wooden huts or ‘ludges’, outside the town at Sciennes, Boroughmuir, or in the King’s Park, for anything from two to six weeks or until death, whichever came the soonest.
Still, Chadbourn does lead a great tour of England and Scotland. It's a bit of a slow read, but he does set the mood and build the characters well. I'm just finishing the second book
Darkest Hour and picked up the third book from the library today.
...This is pretentious stream of consciousness crap. The world's ended and he's using words like "palimpsest?" Oh, puh-leaz.
I had to google that word.
Of course, as everyone here prolly
already knows, "palimpsest" means "a manuscript or document that has been erased or scraped clean, for reuse of the paper, parchment, vellum, or other medium on which it was written."
I'm reading junk. Potboilers. Rags. They are very tasty.
Mmm. I kind of did know that.
I am reading....a Doctor Who novel, hurrah!
Mmm. I kind of did know that.
That's because you're a liberal
elitist with a big, fancy education.
The Dr. Who novel is a shock, though. :)
Yeah. I can see, it just about shocked you off've your chair.
It's a good one this time though;) A return to an old favourite I read years ago: Fear Itself. One of the eighth Doctor (Paul MgGann) books. It would stand up as a damn fine sci-fi book without the Doctor as a recognised character.
The Anglo Files by Sarah Lyall. Accurate/Astute observations of Brits by a transplanted Yank, in the main, but her claim that she loves both is blatant publicity BS and her vitriol toeards her adopted countrymates sadly overpowers the lol moments.
Ilium by Dan Simmons. Great read if you like the sci-fi and tech speak.
That looks rather good Jim. I might get hold of a copy of the series.
I'm thinking, if you haven't already come across them, you might like Joe Abercrombie's trilogy. First one is called Before They Are Hanged, I think. Awesome fantasy series, with a political intrigue at its core (which is what made me think about it now ;p)
One Second After Sure you can discard it as conservative scare tactics, or decide to pick apart the workman -like writing, or debate whether the science holds true... or you could just enjoy it as a novel that might get you to look at your day to day life and dependence on technology.
The basic premise is that the US is shut down by EMP and life must continue.
Eesh. It's an interesting premise, and I went to check it out on Amazon... but just based on the preview pages there, I know I could never get past the crappy writing. Let me know how it ends. :)
Haven't read Ilium, but I adored Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. Recommended to me by the lovely man who used to give me a lift to and from work. He hid a burning creative light beneath a cynical, techie carapace. I adored him, and regret losing contact.
I recommended he read Against A Dark Background, and he dismissed it as sci-fi-lite. I claimed it was because it had a female main character (okay, I was 19) and he gave me Hyperion in return. We talked about it for the next week. I was embarrassed that he picked up on far more of the literary references than I did, because I assumed as a techie he wouldn't be well read. Thank goodness I met him, or I might still be insufferable today :)
Anyway.
Recently read.
The Good House, Tananarive Due
Supposed to be a horror. FAR too much given away on the back page. Written by a black woman, and all the major characters are black (and most are female). Always interesting to read from a different perspective. No real scares though. Good horror is hard to find.
As you can see below I keep trying though.
London Under Midnight, Simon Clark
Some interesting ideas. Again, supposed to be a new slant on the vampire genre, but not densely written enough to occupy you for more than an afternoon. And the ending was like a soap opera episode.
The Silver Face, Edward Wright
Lightweight, good fun. I'm a big fan of complex and literary murder mysteries. This was neither and I guessed the killer very quickly. Which is not like me. But this killer had a sign round their neck saying, "Hello, I've just been introduced as the killer!" And that was before someone even died. Nicely evocative of '50's Hollywood though.
Monster Nation, David Wellington
Zombie novel. Don't bother.
I've read others, but am losing the desire to write about them.
FTR:
Blood Atonement, Dan Waddell - C
Bloody Mary, Whiskey Sour and Fuzzy Navel[3 novels], J A Konrath - C+
Little Face, Sophie Hannah - C+
The Japanese Corpse, Janwillem Van de Wetering - C
I'll be back at the library sometime this week because I've reserved a DVD (Let the Right One In, if you're wondering), so I'll try to choose more carefully this time, instead of my usual snatch and grab. I also promise a review of Mr Darcy, Vampyre and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Under the banner of Heaven - Krakauer
One Second After
Finished it a couple of months ago, really enjoyed it.
Since Late November ...
UR - Stephen King
Creepy novella, about the Kindle, read on a Kindle.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design - Jonathon Wells, Ph.D.
I usually really like the P.I.G.s, this one got repetitive.
Maximum Ride 1: The Angel Experiment - James Patterson
Free Kindle Download. It was supposed to suck me into reading the rest of the series. It didn't. Think Dark Angel without the EMP but with the mad scientists.
American Gothic - Robert Bloch
Fictionalized account of the story of HH Holmes. Devil in The White City was WAY better, less melodramatic. But melodrama is what I expect from the author of Psycho.
The Prisoner - Thomas M. Disch
Familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. This was published shortly after the original TV series aired.
Am I the Only Sane One Working Here? - Albert T. Bernstein, Ph.D.
Amusing variation on those management guru books.
Going Rogue: An American Life - Sarah Palin
Yes, I really read it. It's actually pretty good. The letter to Trig got me tearing up.
Cunningham's Book of Shadows - Scott Cunningham
A lot of the material appears in his other books, but it has potential as a good reference. I'm not on board with his personifications of Goddess, God, and Creator. One thing that was kind of jarring ... after years of seeing cause of death in the author's bio, it's now downgraded to "after a long illness."
By Reason of Insanity - Randy Singer
Courtroom drama. Another free Kindle Download. I could probably chug along for several years on free downloads alone.
The Eyre Affair had me laughing out loud on the bus.
I'm about halfway through and loving it. Any author who names characters Thursday Next and Jack Schitt is worth a read. :D
I'm re-reading Kate Atkinson's stuff. LOVE her.
*thanks SG
Two-stories-in-one-book cheapie: "The First Mountain Man: Preacher's Justice"/"Fury of the Mountain Man" by William W. Johnstone.
The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler...he led the FDA during Bush 41 and Clinton. Good book...very insightful.
I did it, I did it, I did it!!! I finished the Baroque Cycle!!!!!!!
(If you know what it is, you know that making it through is quite the achievement)
If I have to read another jane austen novel I'll squirt toothpaste in my eyes.
good god! unbelieveable stuff. Mansfield park. Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiich.
I did it, I did it, I did it!!! I finished the Baroque Cycle!!!!!!!
And did you like it?
Yes, actually, I did. All 2,760 pages. I loved that it was a cyberpunk novel set prior to the Industrial Revolution. and the American and French revolutions, for that matter. I didn't like The Confusion as much as I did Quicksilver and The System of the World ... felt the story bogged down in the middle, all that sailing and pirating ... strangely I found Eliza's chapters more exciting ... and she was just busy engaging in economics.
Currently reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time - Mark Haddon
Came in a bag of donated books. I'm "screening" it for the unit. I didn't know anything about it before I started, but it's very interesting.
strangely I found Eliza's chapters more exciting ... and she was just busy engaging in economics.
I liked the secret code in the handkerchief sewing. Neat idea.
Blood Diamonds. It is pretty good. Better than the movie, as usual.
Possession - A. S. Byatt and LOVING IT
the Anglo Files by sarah lyall. very funny.
the Anglo Files by sarah lyall. very funny.
it was funny, but -despite her protestations- she really hates Brits and it gets a little grating after a while
Polo by Jilly Cooper, for the umpteenth time.
I need a good book to read otherwise I'll be forced to buy An Echo and the Bone. I suppose I can find one for half the cover price.
Wolf: I read the Angel Experiment. I didn't know it was a teenage read when I bought it. I thought it was pretty good if simple.
Mistborn caught my attention but if it is tooo fantasy it doesn't keep my attention. No offense because neither did the L.O.T.Rs.
Social science fictions ok though.
I am thinking about World Without End.
I would probably like The Blood Diamond.
:( [SIZE=1]*sigh*
I think I'll mess my place up just so I can clean it up. Hurry up spring so I can go outside and play in the dirt!
[/SIZE]
it was funny, but -despite her protestations- she really hates Brits and it gets a little grating after a while
But! she married one! She LIVES there!!
right. and she wishes she didn't. she may say otherwise ...but she has to.
right. and she wishes she didn't. she may say otherwise ...but she has to.
i just started it but I DO see your point.....
It gets worse... and she gets more and more into politics. It IS funny though, and she's very accurate in her observations, but I eventually stopped about 3/4 of the way through.
What is it she doesn't like about us?
What is it she doesn't like about us?
so far I think she;s making observations that are pretty broad - even stereotyping. I'm not all the way thru the book yet - but stuff that could be said about ANY culture, reeally. She's going on about teams (cricket?) or stag parties getting drunk. Well, yeah. Duh. she talks about the booze culture in the UK- and with exactly NO first hand experience of the UK booze cx, all I can say is that it sounds a hell of a lot like the booze culture over here.
Ahhh. To be fair our booze culture is a little over the top. *grins* the government tried to do away with the whole 'last orders' melee in towns and bring about a little inner city and towncentre, nightlife revival by changing the licensing laws. instead of having all the pubs shutting at 11 o'clock, they extended the opening hours and allowed late licences, and 'all day drinking' (previously, there was a limit on licensing hours so that you could drink for a while during the day and then all the pubs closed until evening then opened again and shut at 11pm). The basic idea was that we'd end up with a less hysterical approach to alcohol consumption....maybe even foster a kind of European style pavement bar culture....
Bless. How naive. We are not French. We have a different relationship with alcohol than the French do. Giving us an extended number of hours in which to consume alcohol will not make us French. It just allows us to drink more :P
The Secret of Shambhala - James Redfield
Heart of the Christos - Barbara Hand Clow
Both recommendations from my boyfriend.
Id be interested to know if richlevy or his wife has read Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, since the main character/storyteller is an autistic teen. The writing seem "authentic" to me.
Dana, read it.
I started out laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes, but after a while all I could think of is that she really doesn't like "us". She's very obserative and very accurate in the main, rarely unfair, but somehow as the book progressed, I felt an overwhelming disapproval/superiority thing creeping in until it got to the point that it spoiled the fun and I stopped reading.
The Power of Female Friendship - Paul Dobransky, M.D.
Funny that a book on Female Friendships should end up written by a male psychiatrist ... not bad, but he gets really hung up on his little charts and graphs, many of which are repeated over and over again through the book. Increases the page-count, though. It was a Christmas gift from a girlfriend.
The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
Book 2 of the "Millennium Trilogy." Better than the first one, more consistent. Makes it more clear that it's a shame that Larsson turned in the three manuscripts to his publisher and died. Wonder what else was in there. Can't wait for #3, supposed to be published in America in May 2010.
Devil Bones - Kathy Reichs
Saw it in the supermarket months ago, didn't want to pay $8 for it, know a nurse at work who reads all of her books, borrowed it. Meh. Offered canned description of Wicca straight off every teenwitch website on the internet, and a plot that started well, confused itself around a couple of corners, and ended badly.
The Girl Who Played with Fire - an excellent read. The author's sad fate is a warning to all of us smokers - especially the ones who do not exercise. :(
The Kindle makes me do strange things.
It gives me books for free that I would never have read otherwise.
I just finished an Amish Romance Novel.
Now, as much as I like and am fascinated by the Amish, I am not one for romance novels.
My favorite authors are Andrew Vachss and Harlan Ellison. No touchy-feely-nicey-nice in either of them.
But I read this because it was free:
The Shunning - Beverly Lewis
And I was curious. I plead temporary insanity.
That must be it.
We should maybe start a thread on cheap/good books on Kindle. After reading The Hedge Knight in a collected works book, I've taken a flyer on the <$2 George RR Martin A Game of Thrones.
Tao Zero by Poul Anderson was a nice cheapy as well.
I regularly check the Kindle Bestsellers, that's where I find a lot of the freebies.
I've been listening to Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Nivens (and Jerry Pournelle, but who the hell's ever heard of him?) on audiobook. Classic post-apocalyptic before the post-apocalyptic thing was overdone. Very entertaining so far, and it's aged just fine--you only get the barest hints that it was written in the 70s, mostly when monetary amounts are mentioned (like a "couple hundred bucks" being "about a week's pay"...)
A side note for LJ: I find the male voiceactor's female voices to be extremely irritating. Is it just me, or do guys find guys-doing-female-voices to be annoying too?
I read that one with my eyes, and enjoyed it.
as far as male/female voices go, i usually get used to it as long as they are consistent. I'm reading
WarBreaker by Brandon Sanderson.....narrated by James Yamagashi...... Who I assume is Irish....... and he does the one character(Lightsong) in such an annoying voice that I hate the fucking character.....and it seems lke this character is going to be one of the main good guys by the end of the book.
Thunderstruck - Erik Larson
Same guy who wrote Devil in the White City, which I loved. This was somewhat better than merely okay, but not spectacularly good. Once again he tells two parallel stories, but the joining of Marconi's wireless experiments and Crippen's murder of his wife seems forced, where HH Holmes and the Chicago Exposition played out against each other much more smoothly.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe - C.S. Lewis
Just take it as a given that I'm reading the whole set, even if I forget to update posts here. I watched Prince Caspian yesterday, and was inspired to start the books again. AND I'm reading them in the RIGHT order (publication, not storyline presence).
I'm listening to my l;atest Audible purchase: Whiteout by Ken Follett. It's really rather good!
Just finished Richard Marcinko/Jim DeFelice's "Rogue Warrior: Dictator's Ransom".
k, I am now halfway through Whiteout and I gotta say it rocks!
David tennant is the narrator, and he is always stunning at narrating novels. It's like having a full cast of characters, because he 'acts' each one so well. His female voices aren't remotely irritating ( @ Clod: I have found some male narrators do very annoying chick voices; mind you I have heard female narrators do deeply annoying guy voices too). Then again, one of his early tv roles was as a transexual called Davina who was very sexy and feminine.
It's a really tense story. And, i literally can't put the bastard down! My bath finished running over half an hour ago, but i just couldn't take my ipod off. I will probably have to add some more hot water to the bath to heat it back up again now.
Sounds like I'm gonna have to get that one, Dana, I've always been a fan of Folletts novels. Ive just finished listening to Stephen King's Then End of the Whole World (and other stories), Terry Brook's Magic Kingdom For Sale (Sold) and Michael Crichton's Next. Kings was a lot of fun -Matthew Broderick and Tim Curry are narrators and I love those guys. Next was hard to follow as an audiobook and Dyan Baker does annoying women. I've loved Terry Brook's Sword of Shannara. This one was OK, but really doesn't have the same magic. Im getting ready to listen to Nora Roberts Strangers in Death, a mystery. Since my eye surgery, these audio-books are a life saver since I cant really read or watch TV.
I loved Magic Kingdom for sale (Sold) but I've never heard the audiobook. The narrator can make or break a story I find. There have been a few in the last year that I've had to give up on, just because I couldn;t get along with the narrator. The Witches of Chiswick was one like that. It's a story I've been meaning to read for ages; then saw it available as an audiobook. Got it and hated it. It's probably a really great book and very funny; but the narrator was pants.
The guy who narrated Darkly Dreaming Dexter was excellent. Can't recall his name now. That was beautifully read; if you haven't heard it yet, I can highly recommend it.
At the moment though Tennant is my favourite narrator. His light Scottish lilt is just adorable; and when he does the character voices they all take on real personality and a range of accents and cadences. Most of his readings are of Doctor Who novels but he's done three straight novels too. Whiteout, Quite Ugly One Morning, and another one the title of which escapes me just now.
I'm planning on listening to Quite Ugly One Morning next, so I'll let you know if it's any good.
I haven't actually read any Follett before; but after listening to this story i am going to seek out more: either as audio or in print. Brilliant story teller. His characters are so 3 dimensional. And the action is very well-paced.
i've got another audiobook on standby that i got for mum and she said was great: The Truth About Melody Brown. but it's something like 9 hours, so am waiting til I have more time on my hands lol.
I rarely actually read books these days. I find my eyes closing after a few pages. From time to time I'll hit a reading mood, but mostly if I am reading it's for my studies and is heavy-going history texts. Reading for leisure is an increasingly rare occurence now, especiallly since I got my ipod :P If it wasn't for audiobooks I'd probably get through less than 3 books a year at the moment.
[eta] Oh! another excellent narrator is Paul McGann. He narrated Vurt by Jeff Noon and also some of the Sharpe novels.
Hey - Dana likes something David Tennant has done - who'd a thunk it? ;)
I read Devil in the White City - awesome and informative and creepy - the trifecta of good.
currently reading The Moonstone. digging it. After Austen and Bronte and Dickens (the trifecta of suck) this is a breath of fresh 19th Century air.
Finished Prince Caspian this morning. I'm taking wee break, mainly because I have to go visit a patient today (to celebrate her out of the hospital anniversary) and I don't want to leave the Kindle freezing in the car. I rummaged through the to read stack and came up with a Star Wars short story collection, Tales of the Empire.
LIT - mary Karr (The Liar's Club) about her alky-hall-ism. Doing this one for fun.
I won LIT as a free firstreads from Goodreads. Unlike most drunken memoirs, it's both good and readable. Mary Karr can write. She is a poet, and therefore understands the melody of words.
That's probably a paraphrase of my posted review ... which I may have posted here as well, but I'm too lazy to check.
Bah! i just checked and the audio of Whiteout that's available on the USA Audible site is narrated by somebody different to the one on the UK audible site. So, whilst i can still recommend the story, I can no longer recommend the narrator, since I don't know what she's like.
Started Quite Ugly One Morning, last night. It's very good. This one I can recommend the narrator (Tennant) as his is on the USA site as well.
Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth, set in 12th century England, was a great read..but long (1000 pages). The sequel was a disappointment.
Just finished Everything Under the Sky, by spanish author Matilde Asensi. A Spanish artist and her teen-age niece, due to circumstances beyond their control, go on an Indiana Jones type romp through China in the 1920s, searching for lost treasure from China's first emperor.
Just starting The Collector of Worlds: A Novel of Sir Richard Francis Burton about his adventures in India, Mecca and Africa.
Blizzards make for good reading time!
Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! - Katharine DeBrecht
Help! Mom! Hollywood's in My Hamper! - Katharine DeBrecht
Help! Mom! The 9th Circuit Nabbed the Nativity - Katharine DeBrecht
These are HILARIOUS. If you're a conservative. Libs will despise them. The illustrations are dead-on caricatures, and you have to really look at everything to catch some very clever jokes.
There's supposed to be a fourth one coming out that includes a female governor saving the day. Based on the sample pages I looked at, it appears to be a sequel to Liberals Under My Bed.
Just finished
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You by Peter Cameron.
Disaffected youth as the narrator, but was everything Holden Caulfield was not (to me at least). And some beautiful writing to boot. Far too short - loved it.
Am currently reading a foreign book. I knew this because a number of times during the first two chapters I had to refer back to previous text and still couldn't work it out. Yes. It is American.
Now I've been reading American books since I was a child (
What Katy Did,
Little Women etc), and I thought I was used to mentally translating. But this one gives fewer clues as to context. I am beginning to understand why Merkins get Harry Potter transalted.
FTR the book is
The Birthing House by Christopher Ransome. No opinion on the text so far.
And for the pedants among you, who are wondering what could possibly confuse me to this extent; two examples:
He ordered the country fried steak with three over easy [ordered it again] Now lightheaded from all the hash browns and gravy...
Whaaa? Don't know what three over easy means. I guessed it was eggs (which is just weird anyway). Where did the gravy and hash browns come from?
They went to a lunch of the locally renowned Cornish pasty stuffed with cubed beef, potatoes, onions and rutabaga. The miners' dish was hard and salty, even with the cocktail sauce you were supposed to splash all over it.
WHAAA?
Okay, I translated rutabaga, it was in the Belgariad. But - salty? Badly made I say. COCKTAIL SAUCE? You what, you what, you-what-you-what-you-what? (Football chant, usually to refs)
I'm not saying either of the above is incorrect. But they are jarring to an overseas reader, and have jerked me out of the story in a way that the previous novel set in NY never did.
Cubed beef, I ask you.
He ordered the country fried steak with three over easy [ordered it again] Now lightheaded from all the hash browns and gravy...
Whaaa? Don't know what three over easy means. I guessed it was eggs (which is just weird anyway). Where did the gravy and hash browns come from?
Country fried steak is a steak (normally a tougher cut) breaded and fried like chicken. It is generally served with a milk gravy. Hash browns are de rigueur for breakfast eaten out.
You are correct that the three over easy are eggs. The eggs are turned during frying.
Unthinkable
excerpt in link - Start on Paragraph 4
I'm reading "Earth Abides," which was discussed at some point earlier, recommended by glatt I think. It's a big change of pace from the books I have been reading recently (which have all had complicated plots, and many intertwining characters,) and I'm liking it a lot.
I'm reading the third of the
Night Angel series by Brent Weeks... I enjoyed the first two, and the third seems on a par....
I'm reading "Earth Abides," which was discussed at some point earlier, recommended by glatt I think. It's a big change of pace from the books I have been reading recently (which have all had complicated plots, and many intertwining characters,) and I'm liking it a lot.
Simple can be a very good thing, if the writer has talent.
Scored the fourth Help! Mom! book ... Help! Mom! Radicals are Ruining My Country, in which Governor Sarah saves us from the likes of Speaker Queenosie and Congressmen Fwanks and Schmoozer.
Am still reading the Birthing House. Have simply decided it's poorly written. Ihave to go over some sentences three or four times to get the meaning. That is what my Year Two students do, not me.
In good books (and here!) "Americanisms" make me me want to know more. If there is blame to be apportioned I believe it is with me, for my lack of knowledge. In poorly written books it is slapdash writing. It is, really.
Birthing House has a number of extraordinarily poor reviews on amazon.com
I would have checked it out to support you and be in a position to explain the confusing American bits, but the kindle edition costs almost as much as the hardcover!
Meh - my copy is from the library. I'd hate for someone to PAY for this and encourage the author.
The only reason I am still reading it - yup, plugging away - is because I have no more books to read. I'm off to the library on Saturday to get a new batch for my trip to the 'Dam.
Hostage - Don Brown (2nd book in the Navy Justice Series)
Dracula. last fookin' book by a 19th C brit I shall ever, Ever, EVER read.
I hate 19th C. British literature - all of it. ALL OF IT! DO YOU HEAR? IT ALL SUCKS!!!
I hate it from Coleridge to Austen, from Wordsworth (the candy ass) to Disraeli, from Darwin to Collins, Bronte (Charlotte) to Bronte (Emily) to Bronte (Anne) To Byron To Shelley!!! I've hated them all -
except Keats. I liked Keats.
lol - Tell us how you really feel Bri.
lol - Tell us how you really feel Bri.
k.
My tolerance for pretentious, arrogant, fuck-tards with delusions of somebody-gives-a-fuck schmuck's has gone down in the past year.
Keats is ok, though.
:)
srsly, though. I'm really hatin' on these types. All this "I'm Not REALLY a genius I just Play One on TV *wink wink* but have I shown you my Pultizer? It gets me laid quite a bit..." is getting ON MY NERVES. Fake Gee-Whizery. Gah.
Just finished The Hunger Games as I was recovering. What a load of unoriginality. Now recovered, i started to try and read the sequel. 5 pages was too much -I realized how ill I must have been to make it all the way through the first book. I guess all the teens who are raving about it haven't come across Running Man, 1984, Handmaid's tale, Brave new world....
Does anyone ever write a book these days that isn't part of a series? Jeeze.
Dean Koontz' "The Face". Fairly entertaining.
Dracula. last fookin' book by a 19th C brit I shall ever, Ever, EVER read.
I hate 19th C. British literature - all of it. ALL OF IT! DO YOU HEAR? IT ALL SUCKS!!!
I hate it from Coleridge to Austen, from Wordsworth (the candy ass) to Disraeli, from Darwin to Collins, Bronte (Charlotte) to Bronte (Emily) to Bronte (Anne) To Byron To Shelley!!! I've hated them all -
except Keats. I liked Keats.
I am not a fan of 19th C literature (Brit or American) on the whole. Never been able to get into the Brontes at all. Byron and Shelley leave me a little cold mostly. I do like some Coleridge, but mainly that's just Kubla Khan. Dracula I quite liked: but if I had to study it I'd hate it. I read it as a kid, at night, when the rest of the house was sleeping :P No need to worry about subtext or cultural indicators when you're ten. Got the same kind of kick from that as from reading Lovecraft or Edgar Allen Poe.
The only two 19th C authors I can truly say I love ( beyond historical interest which is something else entirely) are Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I've read pretty much everything those authors ever wrote.
Does anyone ever write a book these days that isn't part of a series? Jeeze.
If they do, then their editor tries to convince them to make it a series before they'll publish it.
I have a week and a half.
What should I read? (NO FUCKING SCI_FI!)
My wife recently read
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. She thought it was really good, and she reads a lot and isn't easily impressed by a book.
It's the trendy book to read these days.
I can only recommend SF, so that's why you get this second hand recommendation.
thanks, glatt - but no slave narratives, either. I've read so many damn slave narratives that I wonder that there was any slaving going on for all the writing those guys were doing....
ha ha. j/k all you PC types!
thanks for the recommed, though. all you guys are big, fat SCi-Fi nerds, aren't you?
Yes. Yes, you are.
The Baroque Cycle - Neal Stephenson.
You'll need more than a week, though.
The First Casualty, by Ben Elton: a murder mystery set in the trenches of ww1. Very good book.
The Horse Boy (author, i can't recall) written by (and in audio narrated by) the father of an autistic boy and telling their story. It's beautiful.
Nation, by Terry Pratchett. It's written for a young adult audience, but is really rather good. It's a departure from his discworld stuff and is set in the real (more or less) world. It's a lovely story. A girl from England in something like the Edwardian or Victorian era, is shipwrecked on Island. Also alone on this island is 'Nation' an adolescent boy who is the sole survivor of his people (hence taking on the name Nation), his whole tribe having been wiped out by a freak tsunami whilst he was alone on a different island undergoing a solitary coming of age ritual.
They have no language to link them. But they grow a close friendship. It's really wonderfully written. Funny and poignant by turns. I highly recommend it to anyone.
Texas Hold 'Em: How I Was Born in a Manger, Died in the Saddle, and Came Back As a Horney Toad, By Kinky Friedman, John Callahan
It is an unconventional autobiography. Very Funny... I lol too much for Flint while lying in bed reading it.
Oh! I love Kinky Friedman!
Me too. He is a riot. He totally turns my giggle box alll the way over... on more than on occasion I've found myself laughing and some what spastic to the point I could hardly breath.
But then... I'm kinda a spazz
I have a week and a half.
What should I read? (NO FUCKING SCI_FI!)
read the bible, you shameless harlot!
read the bible, you shameless harlot!
but...which version?
which version?!Done with An Echo and the Bone. I don't know. I've never seen so many cliffhangers in one story before. I'll forgive that overdone-ness on the account of the others in the series.
Then,tried to read, just for lack of reading material, a truly stupid book which makes me want to go against my principles and do one of those heckler blogs and heckle the author. I don't know what to do with this unread book.
On my second attempt to find something different to read at the commercial publication mills which are filled with equally retarded books but more honestly portrayed, I found The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo! wow one good book among a whole rack. Why do grocery stores not sell better books. grr:rant:
can't get good food in a library either
can't get good food in a library either
True. But you can get coffee and a danish in almost every bookstore these days.
I have a week and a half.
What should I read? (NO FUCKING SCI_FI!)
FreakonomicsAh, hell. My latest audiobook selection,
Elantris, is kind of crap. I had to choose on short notice, so I went with one of the best-sellers. Should have known better. It's a passable plot (though very predictable so far,) but Christ the writing is inane. Stuff like, "'I don't believe you,' she said in disbelief." Not a direct quote, but it might as well be.
Now I have to decide whether I'm going to keep listening to it until I get another credit next month, or shell out money for a different book.
Bri, read Janet Evanovich. Total poppycock, but fun all the way.
The blog The Art of Manliness has some really terrific book lists. I like that the entire pictures are shown--really gives a flavor of perusing the stacks for something to read.
50 best books for boys and men
I sent this one to my avid reader grandson:
50 fictional adventure books
100 must read books: The Essential Man's LibraryMrs. Z and I listened to
Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell on the drive to/from STL yesterday. I picked it up from the library based on the blurb on the back. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Bazell is a witty writer with some nice turns of phrase.
I read Beat the Reaper a month or two ago, based on an invitation to do so I got from Goodreads.com. Hilarious book. I look forward to more.
I just finished The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
I found it at work, and will be releasing it back into the wild shortly. It was interesting, but I didn't find it as wonderful as most of the reviewers.
Am still reading the Birthing House. Have simply decided it's poorly written. I have to go over some sentences three or four times to get the meaning. That is what my Year Two students do, not me.
In good books (and here!) "Americanisms" make me me want to know more. If there is blame to be apportioned I believe it is with me, for my lack of knowledge. In poorly written books it is slapdash writing. It is, really.
Wot Sun sed.
And thanks for the warning, SG.
Started 'The Girl Who Played With Fire'
Second in the Millennium trilogy.
Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis. Hmmm. I love her Falco Novels. This is slower going, hasn't made me smile yet and is freaking huge, so big I can't easily carry it with me to read while waiting at the grocery store checkout. So of course the line was huge tonight.
Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie. It's excellent. Every time I read one of his books I am blown away by his writing.
@ Sundae: it's set in the same world as that trilogy I sent you (The Blade Itself etc)
"Terror" by Dan Simmons.
Hyperion series by Simmons was simply a genius' work but I am little disappointed with "Terror" so far. A mighty, turtle slow story. Read 100 or so pages and there's been nothing happening (I am the last person to complain about the lengthy reads).
Complete works of Lewis Caroll. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Alice books are his only works of genius.
I'm currently reading "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe": by Douglas Adams.
Black Sea Affair - Don Brown
Anthem - Ayn Rand
American Salvage
Bonnie Jo Campbell
Neon Angel - memoirs of Cherie Currie.
AWESOME!
Bad Traffic -Simon Lewis
-no I haven't finished the other two yet, I just keep losing them.
Joe R. Lansdale... if you don't mind that the main character is always this unchangeably marginal person who never has any money. "Hank" resembles the Patrick Swayze character in Roadhouse -- his best buddy "Leonard," the gay, black ex-Marine with a penchant for burning down crackhouses, twice per if he thinks it's necessary, seems more capable of evolving and development. Otherwise Hank sounds like a less smartalecky Kinky Friedman -- the character, not the author. In their dark way, Lansdale books are damn funny mystery novels.
That sounds quite fun. I am a huge fan of Kinky Friedman. Maybe I'll give this Lansdale a go:)
Bad Chili was my first Lansdale book. There is a degree of continuity book to book, so probably you should try to read them in order of publication date. BC was a riot, tho'.
For "Hank" read "Hap." Steel-trap memory needs some mental WD-40 and a scouring pad.
That sounds quite fun. I am a huge fan of Kinky [COLOR="Wheat"]Friedman[/COLOR]. Maybe I'll give this [COLOR="Wheat"]Lansdale [/COLOR]a go:)
What was it you were saying about youtube vids :P
Dog On It by Spencer Quinn.
Bernie and Chet make up the Little Detective Agency. Chet, the narrator, is an observant and reasonable fellow - unless distracted by a parrot or cat. Chet is a mixed breed, K-9 school dropout. (There was that unfortunate incident with the cat)
It's a fast read and I found it to be thoroughly lovable - and a good detective story. If you like this sort of thing, this is just the sort of thing you would like.
Whether by accident or intent amazon.com recently had most of the Lemony Snicket A Series of Unfortunate Events books available for free download.
So I downloaded all of them. I am swiftly working my way through them.
If it was an accident, read 'em fast. Can't Amazon undownload things for your convenience?
I've just finished reading
Happy Like Murderers by Gordon Burn.
It's the story of Fred and Rosemary West and the house of horrors.
I found the story interesting, but I can't believe the poor writing style exhibited by the author, and the editors should be shot for letting it pass as it was. I almost stopped reading it because it was so poorly written, but I really wanted to know what motivated them to be as they were.
I've got that.
I liked it.
Then again I was drinking pretty heavily back then...
As I read a lot that's quite a few books, so here we go :
Manuel Puig - El beso de la mujer araña (Spanish)
Jean M. Auel - Shelters of stones (English)
David Weber - At all costs (English)
Frank Thilliez - L'anneau de Moebius (French)
I'm currently trying to get through Paradise Lost by John Milton.
French being my native language.
I just finished the 12th Dresden files book. Absolutely awesome! Very very dark, with flashes of gallows humour and snarkiness. A lot of loose threads were tied up (burned, slashed, shredded) and the hero took another onslaught of suffering and pain. Pathos, passion, and absolutely cold-blooded ruthlessness are mixed with epic conflict.
I could barely put it down.
Awesome.:thumb:
Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game
An old one but still good
'The Right Man' by David Frum (great bedtime reading):zzz:
(recently) 'War of Gifts' by Orson Scott Card :turd:
Who the hell names their kid 'Orson' anyway?
Who the hell names their kid 'Orson' anyway?
Orson Welles and Orson Bean
And let's not forget Mork's boss.
(recently) 'War of Gifts' by Orson Scott Card :turd:
It was indeed a stinker. Just 'cause Ender is in it, doesn't mean it's any good. I read it to my daughter, because we'd read a couple other Ender books together, and she was also not impressed.
Just got my new Sookie Stackhouse book, "Dead in the Family." Pre-ordered from Amazon for $10. I mean -- you can barely get a paperback book for $10 these days.
Fear Nothing - Dean Koontz
Then
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. Release on May 25th!
wow it's $11 dollars on Amazon too.
_White Fang_ is on my short list of "books which suck so bad I threw them across the room rather than finish reading them".
I'm glad I'm not the only one. "Jesus Saves" by Darcy Steinke pissed me the hell off. I was angry for DAYS after I read that book.
I'm looking to try to read "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco again. My husband and I were going to read it together, and pull a couple of friends in to read it, so they could understand some of the things we were talking about. Most of our friends, unfortunately, aren't very literary though, and to trust them to read anything over 50 words is a bit of a stretch :neutral:
It IS a good read though- it is translated from Italian to English- but it would be helpful if the reader knew a touch of Italian and Latin. Or are clever enough to read context clues well enough. AMAZING book though.
Just finished 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Nice story, but for Christ sake every page has at least 4 paragraphs of what every damn type of fish is called and what color they are. I actually started skipping sections so I could get to the plot development.
Interestingly, Jules Verne, in 1869, makes a number of specific observations that I see verified in articles in Scientific American that I happen to be reading in 2010.
Just finished 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Nice story, but for Christ sake every page has at least 4 paragraphs of what every damn type of fish is called and what color they are. I actually started skipping sections so I could get to the plot development.
That's due to the writing style of that period. If you were to read "Le Capitaine Fracasse" by Théophile Gautier (1863), you would find the same kind of lengthy descriptions. If memory serves me, The first 4 or five pages of the book are about describing the castle of a minor noble in the southwest of France. Yet, the plot is nice but it's more of a romance than an adventure.
I still read both of these authors with pleasure.
Originally Posted by russotto
_White Fang_ is on my short list of "books which suck so bad I threw them across the room rather than finish reading them".
I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Nooooooooooo!
Still, I read it when I was about 11 so it might suck I suppose. At the time I adored it.
I'm looking to try to read "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco again.
Lent to me by a very intelligent man who was trying to get into my knickers. His obvious scheming meant I gave up on it twice, but when I was no longer in contact with him I adored it.
LOL SG, I meant being so angry to throw books in general, I've never read White Fang, but I did throw Jesus Saves across the room when I read the ending. I was fuming for quite awhile over that stupid book.
Relentless - Dean Koontz.
Edge of your seat page turner!
I usually like Dean Koontz but in this particular book, the main character is running a gambit of catastrophes and bizarre occurrences running from one side of town to the other in the course of 8 hours all of this after his dad dies in the hospital.
I know it is fiction but the progression of events is annoying.
* spoiler alert*
All in the course of 8 hours.
[COLOR=White]His dads body is stolen.
Visits friend.
[/COLOR][COLOR=White][COLOR=Black][COLOR=White]Genetically engineered [/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=White]evil monkeys kill friend.
Evil monkeys play head games with main character.
Evil monkeys start fire.
Main character barely makes it out alive.
Main character goes to another friend.
eats - takes a shower they see the evil monkeys.
Main character leaves.
Evil monkeys stalk main character on bicycle.
Main character goes to another friend.
Weird things are discussed.
Main character leaves runs into
sheriff. Sheriff is becoming infected
with evil monkey traits.
Main character kills psychopathic cop then blows up his car.
[COLOR=White]There is 4 more hours of sunrise and[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Black][COLOR=White]the main character spends all of them in even more bizarre life lessons which I am not going to mention. It is very redundant.( maybe redundant isn't the right word. I want to say incredulous but then why should I feel some sort of flaw in logic. I mean the book taking about evil monkeys for crying out loud!
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=White]I am almost finished with it and it is defiantly NOT a keeper. I am though turning pages as fast as I can to see what happens with the evil monkeys.
[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]:sweat:
[COLOR=White][COLOR=Black][COLOR=White]
[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[/COLOR]
I just finished two very different books on Faith.
Have a Little Faith - Mitch Albom
This is a small delight of a book. Rather than defining Faith, Albom shows it to you, through the lives of two very different kinds of clergymen, a Rabbi and a Christian Pastor.
Dynamics of Faith - Paul Tillich
Supposed to be a classic in the discussion and definition of Faith. I'm sure it is. I found this very difficult to read and comprehend in a lot of places ... not for a lack of trying. But it's a rare book that makes me reread and go back a couple pages here, a chapter there. There are reasons that I chose not to be a philosophy major. Books like this were one of the biggies. Well, that and the lack of job opportunities for Industrial Philosophers these days ...
Don't worry SG, I loved White Fang too (assuming you mean the one by Jack London rather than some newly published piece of vampire/werewolf porn that the youth are all gaga about currently).
@ Wolf: have you 'The five people you meet in heaven' ? also by Mitch Albom.
Wolf Hall
September (rosamund pilcher is a guilty fave)
re-reading a bunch of kate atkinson. LOVE HER!
Don't worry SG, I loved White Fang too (assuming you mean the one by Jack London rather than some newly published piece of vampire/werewolf porn that the youth are all gaga about currently).
Oh, no. Proper Jack-London-frozen-wastes-Klondike
White Fang.
re-reading a bunch of kate atkinson. LOVE HER!
My work here is done :)
Do you have
When Will There Be Good News?
Also, did I introduce you to Esther Freud?
Another very English author who writes shatteringly about childhood but with exquisitely barbed humour.
Do you have When Will There Be Good News?
Also, did I introduce you to Esther Freud?
Another very English author who writes shatteringly about childhood but with exquisitely barbed humour.
I've got
When Will There Be Good News right now!
No - I've not read Esther. What should I get to start?
If you need one right now read Peerless Flats or Hideous Kinky.
But I'm happy to send you some in our product exchange :)
She's better once you have her vibe, so try to start with the ones I've recommended as opposed to The Sea House or Gaglow.
Oh and yes she is the niece of Clement and daughter of Lucian.
ah, Lucian! Lady Caroline Blackwood's ex!
I like White Fang way better than The Call of the Wild, though now I'm thinking I should re-read both. :wolf:
I just finished Precious (that poor girl!) and now am reading Two Rivers. It's OK.
@ Wolf: have you 'The five people you meet in heaven' ? also by Mitch Albom.
Not yet, but it is on my rather extensive to read list. I'm trying to work my way through some of the books I've bought and downloaded first, though.
Currently reading:
Second Coming - David H. Burton
Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy (the big cataclysm brought magic back to the Earth, events of the book take place a couple hundred years post fall)
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel DeFoe
Never read it when I was supposed to. It was free Kindle content.
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Excerpts from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. I think I got it because it was part of a "members selection" (book we send you if you forget tell us not to, and it's a hassle to send it back after you open the box because you don't remember what you ordered or didn't, so you might as well just pay for it) from One Spirit Book Club
Dominion and Common Grace - Gary North
This is the book I leave in the special tiled reading room. I would probably be getting more out of it if I were reading it all at one shot rather than a paragraph here and a paragraph there.
I think that's it for right now ...
Not yet, but it is on my rather extensive to read list. I'm trying to work my way through some of the books I've bought and downloaded first, though.
Currently reading:
Second Coming - David H. Burton
Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy (the big cataclysm brought magic back to the Earth, events of the book take place a couple hundred years post fall)
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel DeFoe
Never read it when I was supposed to. It was free Kindle content.
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Excerpts from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. I think I got it because it was part of a "members selection" (book we send you if you forget tell us not to, and it's a hassle to send it back after you open the box because you don't remember what you ordered or didn't, so you might as well just pay for it) from One Spirit Book Club
Dominion and Common Grace - Gary North
This is the book I leave in the special tiled reading room. I would probably be getting more out of it if I were reading it all at one shot rather than a paragraph here and a paragraph there.
I think that's it for right now ...
Wolf, check out Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying; An exploration of Consciousnes with The Dali Lama, Edited and narrated by Fancisco Varlea, Ph. D.
Glad it's on your list. I thought it was an amazing book. Sent it round the family when I was done.
Wolf, check out Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying; An exploration of Consciousnes with The Dali Lama, Edited and narrated by Fancisco Varlea, Ph. D.
Thank you, wishlisted!
Percy Jackson and the olympians #2 The Sea of Monsters
Human Croquet - Kate Atkinson.
Perfect, perfect novel.
Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help - Douglas Anthony Cooper
Hilarious. It's about a kid who chats with the multitude of ghosts in his school, and then gets noticed and it's decided that he needs Professional Help.
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
Final book in the Millennium Series.
I read Dead and Gone. If I had known I was going to be mildly entertained I wouldn't have started with the last of the series first. Oh well, I went ahead and bought two others in the series. It was a protest buy after buying a book that I dislike. I am reading it right now. The protagonist is an anti-protagonist. ( abused women who is more screwed up than the man she is married to. I can't believe a man wrote it. ) I hate her and the author too. I can't wait to finish it.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest is on Pre-order. This is a good series. I highly recommend them.
Corsair by C. Cussler and J. Du Brul (in English)
The Last Centurion - John Ringo (in English)
Also, other the next few weeks, I intend to read the Koran (in a French translation).
That's to follow the time honored principle : know your ennemy.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest is on Pre-order. This is a good series. I highly recommend them.
It's even more intricate that the first two. I also recommend the series!
Great stories. The third one is on it's way from Amazon tomorrow.
Worthy note since it is a tragic loss for literature.
At his death, Larsson left the manuscripts of three completed but unpublished novels in a series. He wrote them for his own pleasure after returning home from his job in the evening, making no attempt to get them published until shortly before his death.
Stieg Larsson will be sorely missed by all of us in the international anti-fascist network, Antifa-Net, who had the unforgettable privilege to know him, work with him and debate with him.
He was also a shy and very modest person who made enormous sacrifices for the anti-fascist cause and asked for so little in return.
With his warmth, intellectual clarity and remarkable personal courage, Stieg made an incalculable contribution to anti-fascism, the Left and the cause of a better, more humanistic and more equal world. His death is a terrible blow to all of us. We have collectively lost a comrade and a friend. His record as an internationalist – especially his work in the international anti-fascist movement but also long before that – will never be forgotten.
Antifa-Net, sends its deepest condolences, sympathy and solidarity to Expo at this very sad time.
Salud! Stieg
http://www.expo.se/stieglarsson.html
"Drood" by Dan Simmons:vomit:
"Power of the Mountain Man" by William W. Johnstone
Filled with pulpy goodness. 'Smoke Jensen', the main character, once subdued Chuck Norris with a throaty belch.
Came here to post about my book....and find that others have posted on the series in the last couple of days also :D
The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson
Great story!! I'll be buying the other two books in the series.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - #1
and
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest - #3
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Colon Forward-Slash Forward-Slash Cellar Dot Organisation.
... It's a book, isn't it? Rather long-winded title, but, well.. It's the best book that I've ever read!
Last King of Damascus by Jennifer L. Armstrong
The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson
Great story!! I'll be buying the other two books in the series.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - #1
and
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest - #3
Oh dear heavens! How can you read the middle book first???
The story through the three books is such that you really need to read them in order! There are things that happen in the first book that help the context in the second and third.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-just read the first one and loved it..have been recommending it to everyone pretty much ad nauseum. Have purchased the second one and will start reading as soon as I finish Nomad, the follow up to Infidel.
Here's a summary and review of Nomad.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-05-22/ayaan-hirsi-alis-new-book-nomad-reviewed/full/
It seems like the kind of book I would like to read.
I am glad you liked the Stieg Larsson books. It is a pleasure to find well written contemporary fiction.
Like Wolf said, book #1 will tie in the events of book #2.
I read
Pillars of the Earth last year, and am now reading a pseudo sequel,
World Without End. It's set in the same town, but 200 years later, and the characters form the first book are only referred to occasionally. Ken Folet is a good author.
I've read Pillars Of The Earth once long ago then recently. I have World Without End in my book list. I hope it is good as the first.
I am still making my way through the Stackhouse novels. I have yet to see a True Blood episode.
The Dispossessed - Ursula K. LeGuin for an online bookclub ... and I ended up as the discussion leader.
Robot Dreams - Isaac Asimov on loan from a friend.
American Gods - Neil Gaiman for the fantasy division of the same online bookclub, I'll not volunteer again so soon for leader responsibilities. This is a reread for me.
American Gods peaked my interest after reading Neverwhere.
I have not put it on my book list. How is it?
It's actually quite cool. This is a second read for me, it's been 9 years since I read it (published 2001), so it's both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
I've read Pillars Of The Earth once long ago then recently. I have World Without End in my book list. I hope it is good as the first.
is
is
that depends on what the definition of 'is' is.
Spartan - Valerio Massimo Manfredi.
"Brothers by Blood, Enemies by Fate, Heroes by Death."
American Gods peaked my interest after reading Neverwhere.
I have not put it on my book list. How is it?
Very good.
And apparently, one of the things Gaiman made up for it
is now true[COLOR=white](According to some reference book)[/COLOR].
Very good.
And apparently, one of the things Gaiman made up for it is now true[COLOR=white](According to some reference book)[/COLOR].
And what is this thing that is fact now? He doesn't say! or at least not explicitly. I don't have time to search through twitter for a clue. :)
Has anyone figured out what the thing is? I'm hoping that there really is an extra-dimensional portal in that cool-sounding place ...
Just finished
A Princess of Mars
Heavy on the action. Not so much for character development. But a good yarn overall.
It should make a good
movie if they don't screw it up.
La Enigma de Paris - Pablo de Santis
Adventures in the Rifle Brigade, by Captain Sir John Kincaid.
I've been meaning to read it for a couple of years (rather than just scanning my library copy for relevant terms in the index). So when I saw it in bookstore at 30% off sale price, I snapped it up.
I 'made' myself start reading it, with the thought that it wold be a valuable thing to do, and would help me 'read into' this period of warfare. What i didn't expect was for it to be such fun!
If you like the adventures of Sharpe by Bernard Cornwell, then you'd love Kincaid's recollections. He enlisted in the 95th (Rifles) in 1808 and fought in the Penninsular War. He was basically a real life Sharpe.
Funny and poignant by turns it reads wonderfully well. Sometimes the archaic language patterns seem to drop away and there is something very real and now about his words
'Night of Thunder' by Stephen Hunter
''Paved With Good Intentions'' By Jared Taylor
What a compelling book even though I don't agree with a lot of his viewpoints.
Little, Big - John Crowley.
Love it, Love it, Love it!
Also - Wise Children - Angela Carter.
Hidden Wives - Claire Avery
Cow orker got it free from goodreads.com as part of the FirstReads promotion. It's about a couple of girls in a polygamist cult. It's not a cute and quirky cult like on Big Love. This is the awful, creepy kind of polygamist cult.
Last Night in Twisted River
--John Irving
I had no idea he had a new book out, found it amongst the covers of vampires, Amish girls gone wild, cowboys and girls, women in period costume about to bust out (I think it's called "heaving") of their bodice, an alien or three (who can count aliens? they gots all kinds of weird appendages) and more vampires...some near fucking.
It was like the heavens opened and the angels sang as bright light surrounded a decent freaking book.
Well, it's no The Hotel New Hampshire or Cider House Rules or Garp, but it's good.
Jumping on the Stieg Larsson bandwagon. I've finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire and am currently on The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
I highly recommend them.
Oooh, I love that series! I haven't read the final one yet, but as soon as the library gets it or its out in paperback, I plan to pounce.
I don't know if this author has been mentioned here, but Alan Furst has been my latest discovery. He writes wonderful dark, brooding stories about espionage in some of the lesser known European countries during WWII. Lots of stuff about underground resistance and attempts to get Jews and others out before too late.
Furst carefully researches his books and writes as if he had been right there - a part of the action.
The two novels I have read so far are The Spies of Warsaw and Spies of the Balkans. 5 *****
Morning Drive: Things I wish I knew before I Started Talking - Michael Smerconish
Interesting to read. Smerconish breaks the proscenium a bit more than he usually does while broadcasting. I think I would like to sit and chat with him, and tell him that I didn't pay attention to him at CB West Football Games while I was in a rival school's marching band.
The Five Love Languages - Gary Chapman
recommended by a friend, I downloaded it months ago and never got around to reading it. I've read a couple of different relationship books. They all seem to make some sense, not sure how it will work in practical application. Forgot to check this author's biography to see how many times he has been married and divorced.
Another trilogy to devour:
Currently reading:
#1 The Strain
by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
to be followed by The Fall (coming in Oct 2010) and The Night Eternal (2011).
Vampire story...sort of. Author Nelson DeMille says its Bram Stoker meets Stephen King meets Michael Crichton. That feels about right 125 pages in. :3_eyes:
I'm going back and forth between reading The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Both are interesting reads and true stories.
I loved Devil in the White City.
I have recently finished Code Triage - Candace Calvert
It's the third book in the Mercy Hospital Series. The author sent me an advance copy. I'd written to her after I read the first one (Critical Care) and really liked it.
Currently reading: Earth is not Alone - John Knapp II
It's set in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania, post EMP story. Not sure how it will go, I literally just started. It's a free-for-review copy from the publisher.
The World According to Garp
the Mayflower
Sea Glass - Anita Shreve - shameless vacation reading.
Can't wait for Aug. 19th when Kate Atkinson's new one will be released! Titled Started Early, Took My Dog - first lines of an Emily Dickinson poem!!!!
It's John Irving month! I haven't had much time to read lately, so my reading of his new book has stalled, but it has made me want to go back and read Garp and Hotel New Hampshire again!
Son of the Circus was pretty good too
I've never read that one, jim. I need a trip to the 'brary this weekend. :)
(Haven't read A Prayer for Owen Meany either. I want to read Cider House Rules again too.) I love Irving.
The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry, and today I bought a biography of Nikola Tesla that I'll start tomorrow.
Just finished
The Lost City of Z by David Grann. About an explorer of the Amazon who made several trips in the early 1900s mapping the completely uncharted territory and looking for the legendary city of El Dorado. He disappears on one trip and scores of rescue parties try to find him. They all disappear too. Grann uncovers new information about his final ill fated expedition from recently released archive documents and personal diaries collected from family members, and sets off to the Amazon to see if he can find out what happened to this guy. It's a pretty interesting book.
Some are aware that I don't pick out books at library, I just dump my tote and they fill it again. Some are winners, others NOT.
Reading Raven's Prey. By Jane Ann Krentz, writing as Stephanie James.
Do they pay by the word and does no one proof read?
Of course they had to have some sex so, "At the height of her response he saw the way her eyes squeezed shut and she clamped down on her lower lip with her own teeth."
As oppose to who else is teeth is involved?
Starting Louis L'Amour's "Silver Canyon" later this morning.
According to my online library card I've checked out 195 books since May last year.
I'm going to go back and try to pick out at least some, as I feel I let you down badly by being such an infrequent reviewer.
Not all of course.
Some I barely remember and some I simply didn't care about enough to comment on.
These will not include biographies/ autobiographies as I think they depend on an interest in the subject (Alan Carr, anyone? Julian Clary? Both exceptional books).
Or books I've been lent - some of which have been superb.
Marco and the Blade of Night - Thom Madley
A tween book - quite good as I remember. I still read these because they almost always have a rollicking good narrative. It's set in Glastonbury and certainly made me want to visit there.
Aenir/ The Fall/ Castle - Garth Nix
I have little memory of these. I think I was going through a bad patch and wanted the comfort of fantasy aimed at children. Diana Wynne Jones almost always delivers, Philip Pullman less reliably but packs a pucnh when he does, Margaret Mahy's books often haunt me even if I've not been charmed at the time... Garth Nix - not so much. As always a good narrative, but the endless writing of series is wearing, Stories never seem fully completed.
The Dead Fathers' Club - Matt Haig
Very good! Based on Hamlet, but I got that from the cover. Knowing that, I was able to pick up the sly references throughout the text. I suppose it is a coming-of-age story as much as a Shakespeare homage, in that the protagonist is only 11. A lovely combination of fate and reality which comes to a believable conclusion.
Lucy's Monster - R L Royle
Do not read. Dreadful book. Riddled with plot holes big enough to trash Jinx's Jeep. And not even properly proofread - some real zingers of mistakes. I actually complained to the librarian when I took it back, suggesting they removed it from the shelves. And I didn't finish it. And that is so not like me.
Blood is the New Black - Valerie Stivers
Worth reading for vampire fans simply for the frothy treatment of vampires meet fashion. Set at a magazine HQ - Tasty - it's The Devil Wears Prade meets any recent lightweight vamp fic. Nicely written at least.
Procession of the Dead - Darren Shan
A really good read. Dark, fantastic, confusing in places (confusion later resolves) a cross between a gangster novel and something along the lines of Ian Banks' The Bridge. It's not real life, although it's gritty. It's not fantasy but it isn't set anywhere recognisable. Something like Murakami. It's the first of a trilogy and I'm now writing down the author's name as I'm determined to read the rest of them!
Creepers - David Morrell
Okay. Pretty much a pedestrian suspense/ spook novel about people who go exploring in abandoned buildings getting more than they bargained for. More could have been done with it.
The Family of Max Desir - Robert Ferro
Wonderful, moving novel about a gay man's relationship with his family and how it changes over time and due to outside events. At times heartwarming and brutal.
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters - Gordon Dahlquist
Something went wrong about the time I had this book out of the library. I read 2/3 of it, enjoyed it enormously, got a library fine for it but didn't finish it. I think the 'rents might have been away and I was on a drunk. It's now another I have on my list to get out again. It's a densely plotted novel, set in what would appear to be Victorian Europe - perhaps even London - with a twist. It's proper fantasy, with its own rules and regulations, but tethered to the feeling of a particular time and place. Rather wonderful as I remember, dark and atmospheric and complex.
Tis enough for now. I hope to come back to this (I'm up to August 2009), my library session has just timed out.
"The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre"
.....its bit a difficult read for me as per Lovecraft's writing style. But as soon as I was engrossed within myth and darkness of the book, it didn't matter any more.
Highly recommended.
Starting Louis L'Amour's "Silver Canyon" later this morning.
Read every single book he wrote many years ago. Then read them all again. Loved his westerns. Another good man gone.
Breakthrough! (Free Book for a Limited Time): How the 10 Greatest Discoveries in Medicine Saved Millions and Changed Our View of the World (Kindle Edition) - Jon Queijo
I am fascinated by the subject, and I also really like the "free" part.
Is the whole book free or is this a partial?
Is the whole book free or is this a partial?
A month or two ago it was a free chapter. This week it's a whole free book, not sure how long the offer is good. B&N wants $20 for a nook download. (I check because I have two friends with nooks, and I try to include the nooklink in my recommendations to them)
Just finished re-reading the Diana Tregarde trilogy by Mercedes Lackey
- Children of the night
- Burning water
- Jinx High
I really enjoyed those. I wonder if I still have them ...
I'm reading an electronic galley of 2010 Best American Comics.
There's a site called netgalley.com that allows you to sign up for review copies of prepub galleys. I just started getting books from them (mostly electronic).
There have been a number of people here who liked the Stieg Larsson trilogy.
There's a spoof on the series at The New Yorker by Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle) called
The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut.
Comes a Time for Burning - Steven Haverill
another electronic galley, the book is due for publication in February 2011, according to amazon.com.
It's a frontier medical thriller. I know I'm staring a number of anachronisms right in the face, but I'm trying to look past that and just enjoy the story.
am into the left behind series. on book three of eight now.....
am into the left behind series. on book three of eight now.....
I only read the first one, but enjoyed it more than I expected.
I liked Joel Rosenberg's series that starts with The Last Jihad better.
Bloody Mohawk by Richard Berleth was my main beach book this week. It is a narrative history of the Mohawk Valley but by necessity extends its reach into Pennsylvania. It is an excellent read so far. You see the Iroquois making some pretty astute political moves but they knew and from here we know, it was only a matter of time before they lost their grip on the land.
As an aside, I had to rebuff a Baptist proselytizer who was reading Cooper's
The Prairie and saw it as an opening to request my email address. I still managed to recommend the book to him, I wonder if it will have any effect on his chosen people view of American history.
am into the left behind series. on book three of eight now.....
I've read 'em all (I think), they're all awesome!
Reading Robin McKinley's "The Hero and the Crown". Tiny, tiny print.:cuss:
Waxwork - Peter Lovesey
Last of the Sergeant Cribb mysteries reprinted by SoHo. Great to read again!
The Children's Book - A. S. Byatt
I was in a restaurant, sitting by myself, reading (something I probably do far too often), when the very young waitress approached me. Eyeing my book, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, she gushed, "Oh, you're reading!" (Like that's an entirely unusual occurrence to her.) "Wow, I'd never think of reading a book that big!"
I just looked at her. Thinking very disdainful thoughts. Like, maybe that's why you're a waitress, and I'm sitting here able to pay for my steak. I mean no offense to hard working waitstaff. I mean offense to dumb, ignorant, people though!
I may have said this before. But check the dedication.
I was a friend of a friend of hers.
And did e for the first time in her basement flat (which was part of the house owned by her father...)
My memories of that party go a long way to forgiving him for his books.
Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs
It's one of many Temperance Brennan books. The TV series Bones is loosely based on her books.
I love these things. I got started when I listened to Devil Bones on disc during a car trip.
I was in a restaurant, sitting by myself, reading (something I probably do far too often), when the very young waitress approached me. Eyeing my book, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, she gushed, "Oh, you're reading!" (Like that's an entirely unusual occurrence to her.) "Wow, I'd never think of reading a book that big!"
Got one like that too... a bit more closer to home though...
Christmas diner with family, and for the first time, my brother's girlfriend...
At one time, she turns to me and let it drop : "You know, your brother is intelligent. He reads."
What can you say in front of that ?
Even 4 years after that dinner, my brother's library still numbers less than 200 books. My own, at that time ? I don't know. What I know is its weight since I had moved to a new location a short time before : somewhere around 4800 lbs among which there were 4 Bibles, 1 Kama-Sutra, the Story of O, the whole works of Rabelais, Voltaire, correspondency from Chirchill during WWII, books ranging from Asimov to Zimmer-Bradley with everything in the middle : McCaffrey, Lackey, Zelazny, Jean Auel, Marquis de Sade, Puig, Tolstoï... in English, French and Spanish... books on computers, architecture (building and naval), poetry, strategy, role playing games....
Since she's now my nephew's mother, she's here to stay... Alas...
well, it's up to you, then, uncle!
"You know, your brother is intelligent. He reads."
It's all relative. :D
Yep... I think that her brain is a bit out of order from all those drugs she does.
As far as I have been able to determine, there's nothing she hadn't tried at least once.
Fortunately, the kid seems OK.
Continuing on with my electronic galley reads.
Roman Games - Bruce MacBain
Historical Mystery, set during the reign of Domitian. Very good. Better writing and more complex plotting than John Maddox Roberts' SPQR series.
Double Prey - Steven Havill
Southwestern US mystery, doesn't fall into the trap of trying to be like Hillerman, but there's more loose ends than I like.
Mirror Image - Dennis Palumbo
Psychological Mystery (think Jonathan Kellerman) set in Pittsburgh. I'm about a third of the way through, pretty decent storytelling so far.
Stardust - Neil Gaiman
absolutely charming. I LOVE it!
Neverwhere is next.
I like Gaiman.
I tried to read The Madness of Angles. I couldn't finish it. It WAS mad! The author should have called it ,Lost in Translation. A knock off of Neverwhere I thought.
The Strain. Couldn't finish it. B rate horror. Gory creatures extending from the body, all that.
World Without End by Ken Follett. :thumb:
Well written! I've read Pillars Of The Earth, many years ago. This was the sequel. :)
Freedom - Jonathan Franzen's newest.
Loving it!
Baroque Cycle. Excellent, though some of the swashbuckling sometimes feels a bit farfetched.
The swashbuckling bits feel very Hollywood; and might inspire very good movie scenes. Unfortunately, as the series is so long and complicated, they would probably result in very good scenes in a mess of a movie.
But I do like the exploration of the beginnings of science and modern finance.
bleh. did not like Stardust at all.
Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Study Guide.
joy.
Baroque Cycle. ....
But I do like the exploration of the beginnings of science and modern finance.
I actually learned a fair amount of history from those books. Put stuff into a perspective I had never had before. For example, I never knew much about the Barbary pirates before.
Just finished Louis L'Amour's "Kiowa Trail". Just started Louis L'Amour's "Passin' Through". Apparently, that's the main character's name, Passin' Through.
Those two bring back some good memories Digr - Cloud ... blech.
Those two bring back some good memories Digr - Cloud ... blech.
Printed the entire Louis L'Amour catalog (titles) the other day, gonna do 'em all.
I think I still have them all in my basement ... somewhere. Actually I know I do.
Did you read the Sackett series yet? Start with this one - "The Sackett Brand"
Baroque Cycle. Excellent, though some of the swashbuckling sometimes feels a bit farfetched.
The swashbuckling bits feel very Hollywood; and might inspire very good movie scenes. Unfortunately, as the series is so long and complicated, they would probably result in very good scenes in a mess of a movie.
But I do like the exploration of the beginnings of science and modern finance.
I actually learned a fair amount of history from those books. Put stuff into a perspective I had never had before. For example, I never knew much about the Barbary pirates before.
I agree with both of you. I'd like to see lots of those scenes on the screen, I enjoyed them immensely in my head.
I've only completed Quicksilver, not the last six (two? I get confuzeld). It is a lot of reading.
The Ethical Slut.
A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships & Other Adventures
2nd Edition updated and expanded.
A very entertaining and informative read so far
(55! pages of reviews here). (not really 55 factorial, come on. 55 wow, ok?) I'm only partway through the second section and I've already gained a lot. One particular paragraph seemed to crystallize my experience:
We believe, on the other hand, that friendship is an excellent reason to have sex and that sex is an excellent way to maintain a friendship.
But monogamy-centrist culture affects us all. in single life, we can observe the Land of One-Night stands, in which you go home with each other and share some hot sex, then the next morning you look at each other and decide if the relationship has life-partner potential. If not, you leave, with much embarrassment, and the unspoken rule is that you will never be comfortable with that weighed-in-the-balance-and-found-wanting person again. Sex as audition is detrimental to people and to relationships. It happens because most people have no script for sexual intimacy in the midrange between complete stranger and total commitment.
Emphasis mine.
I married in haste and repented (and repented and repented) at leisure. I married in haste, because, well, although there weren't any shotguns in attendance, it *was* the next step. I need more steps. I hope to find some ways to identify them in the pages of this book.
V, the question is "After reading this book, will you be a better slut?"
I'm already a better, and more ethical slut.
Some of this change is due to what I've read in the book, but more of it is due to the other changes in my life that also led to my introduction to this book.
The world needs more better sluts.
The word you're searching for is gooder, Gravdigr. Put that edjumacation to work now!
I said 'more better', what do you people want from me?!:p:
Wait!
I think you meant "more, better sluts". Better sluts and more of them. I couldn't agree more better.
Denial of Death - Ernest Becker.
Just wow
Boneshaker - Cherie Priest
for a book club, wouldn't have chosen it on my own
House of the Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Drove past it on the way out of Salem, glad I didn't pay for the tour, or for the book (free Kindle Download). How does something that boring get to be a classic.
On Killing - Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Cool guy, finally getting around to reading his book.
Valley of Dry Bones - Priscilla Royal
Another netgalley.com electronic galley, due out in November, I think. 12th century mystery. Pretty good so far, about halfway through, but someone better get on to doing some detecting ... that corpse isn't getting any fresher or the intrigue any less confusing
Wait!
I think you meant "more, better sluts". Better sluts and more of them. I couldn't agree more better.
V's right. It needs the comma.
The Stranger - Camus
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
Cyborg by Martin Caidin (in English)
Cyborg by Martin Caidin (in English)
Wow. Congratulations on finding that! It is long out of print. I loved the book, as well as it's sequel, Cyborg: Operation Nuke, read them both back in the 70s, and yes, for the obvious reason.
Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Study Guide.
joy.
Spoiler alert: The Macintosh dies at the end.:rolleyes:
Spoiler alert: The Macintosh dies at the end.:rolleyes:
Ah. It was fiction, then.
The Rule Of Four.
412 bad reviews ( one star rating ) of this book on Amazon. I am only a few chapters in but I don't get all of the disdain. Brown Lover's? Untried young author envy?
I like the book well enough so far. Well see....
There are a lot of jealous novice authors out there. It's not unusual for them to post (repeatedly) bad reviews on their rivals. I've sent myself a sample and will give it a shot, probably some time later this year. I have a REALLY long TBR queue.
I recently started As Always, Julia.
If you saw (or read) Julie and Julia you know about the correspondence between Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. Well, this is it. With pictures, many of them taken by Paul Child. It's due for publication in December 2010. I have an electronic galley from
netgalley. I'm really enjoying it.
You sound like my son. His book queue is enormous. My style is hit and miss. Probably why I read so many crappy books. :)
I'm glad you are enjoying your new book.
The Rule Of Four.
412 bad reviews ( one star rating ) of this book on Amazon. I am only a few chapters in but I don't get all of the disdain. Brown Lover's? Untried young author envy?
I like the book well enough so far. Well see....
I read it in French. I didn't like it. I found it confusing and with some very long moments in it. I may give it another try in a few years.
I read it in French. I didn't like it. I found it confusing and with some very long moments in it. I may give it another try in a few years.
I hope it is better than the reviews. Page 89 doesn't give me much to go on yet.
In the next few days, I'll go through :
- the Paladin of Shadows by John Ringo (in English)
- the Cristal Singer by Ann McCaffrey (in French)
and another try at the Koran (in French)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
jim had recommended this when I was talking about my love of Irving. Once again, I love the characters and the descriptions and (pssst) the political commentary and the humor and the sadness...
Getting near the end. Might finish it today as they once again replace my freaking headlight on my car.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
jim had recommended this when I was talking about my love of Irving. Once again, I love the characters and the descriptions and (pssst) the political commentary and the humor and the sadness...
Getting near the end. Might finish it today as they once again replace my freaking headlight on my car.
The movie (Simon Birch) is pretty good. I haven't read the book, though, so I don't know how close it stays.
Oh wow...that movie is based on Owen? I had no idea! That isn't a character in the book. Must see it.
I was wondering why they hadn't made a movie and I thought maybe it would just be too difficult to capture the essence of Owen.
Oh wow...that movie is based on Owen? I had no idea! That isn't a character in the book. Must see it.
I was wondering why they hadn't made a movie and I thought maybe it would just be too difficult to capture the essence of Owen.
They renamed Owen to Simon Birch at Irving's request because he didn't think it would translate well to a movie.
Ahhhh, just what I was thinking. It sounds like it was well-received. Once I finish the book and see the movie I'll report back.
Finished Owen. Loved it.
Now I'm starting another Irving: A Widow For One Year. As always, I'm immediately into the story.
Also: Revenge of Anguised English, two Life Magazine photo collections, and a book about becoming real and stopping the negative thinking that holds you back (self-help books are often hokey, but I happened upon it at the library and thought I'd give it a shot. Self-actualization in 5...4...3...or maybe not.)
"Why Not Say What Happened?" - Ivana Lowell (adopted daughter of Robert Lowell)
Interesting life she's led thus far.
I'm on a Harry Potter kick. Finished the first three, am now on Goblet of Fire.
I've also been reading The Wiccan Minister's Manual.
And some other good stuff:
Radium Halos - Shelley Stout
The Malacca Conspiracy - Don Brown
Mr. Toppit - Charles Elton
Big Machine - Victor LaValle
Den of Shadows Quartet - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
On Killing: The Psychological Costs of Learning to Kill - Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
The Proteus Operation - James Hogan
Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead - Frank Meeink
Ethics and the Craft - The History, Evolution, and Practice of Wiccan Ethics - John J. Coughlin
Heart Transplant - Andrew Vachss (Author), Frank Caruso (Illustrator), Zak Mucha (Afterword)
Guess it's been a while since I've posted in this thread ...
Just finished "Daring Young Men" last night -- a history of the Berlin Airlift. Attributes the national recoalescence of West Germany in some part to the effort to sustain and save West Berlin. A general of the time said at the end of the Airlift and of nascent West Germany, "This was their Valley Forge."
Something I hadn't heard about was that a certain amount of goods came in quietly, privately, through East Berlin, the Wall after all being more than ten years in the future.
I guess consumer goods stamped "Made In Occupied West Berlin" over those eleven months are collector bait now. Their aggregate tonnage was a bit over eighty-one thousand tons flown out aboard the same aircraft doing the airlift.
Wolf, J.K. Rowling will no more send you to the dictionary than Ernest Hemingway will -- but indisputably she has written literature. However unsubtle her writing might be, when I noticed my rereadings of Harry Potter were catching up to my rereadings of Lord of the Rings...
The Disappearing Spoon, by Sam Kean. A fun book, but it doeasn't answer the obvious question of whether gallium is poisonous (answer: inconclusive, but doesn't seem to be).
"Rocky Mountain Company: Fort Dance" by Richard S. Wheeler
New Mexico, 1841
Lives of the Poets - E. L. Doctorow.
Wow wow wuzzy! Incredible - simply beautiful. AMAZING.
Reading his stuff brings a clarity to my life. I am NOT a writer - never was. Just wow. He's a master.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
An old one in my library, along with "Friday"
At the moment, I'm reading "The Wrecker" by Clive Cussler & Justin Scott.
8th grade urban fantasy The Mortal Instruments. I loved them. :blush:
I never read Harry Potter just because they were kids books. When I picked up the first book, City Of Bones I didn't know they were for teens but, I swear, I was captivated beginning to end.
The Disappearing Spoon, by Sam Kean.
New guy at work was reading that tonight, I've sent myself a sample, may wait until the price drops to read it, sooner if the sample hooks me.
"The Rosary Girls" by Richard Montanari
"Substance B" by Benard LENTERIC (French)
It's about our pursuit of happiness (B is for "Bonheur" meaning Happiness in French) and the false hope to find it in pills.
As far as I know, it has never been translated to English. I suppose "pREPARATION H" would not be an ideal title. ;)
A Game of Thrones - George RR Martin
Jimbo made me do it.
I should get that book next.The Game Of Thrones.
I am reading, The Greatest Knight. A book about William Marshal. I am not greatly impressed. It's ok
Maybe I am just blah.
I just finished We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
Just, wow. Well, I thought so. I thought the writing was wonderful. I think the author did a great job of dealing with the subject matter honestly. Anyone else read this? What did you think? It was one of those books I woke up in the middle of the night to read more (of course, I'm off work this week) and when I finished it, I just sat there for a minute. I'm still thinking about it.
Now I'm starting on The Artist's Way. I wonder if I'm disciplined enough to do the work. I'm going to try, though. I like the concept. It can't hurt, and it's free.
It's a chore but I have to do it for the job
"Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Bar code symbology — QR Code"
Reference ISO/IEC 18004
A Clash of Kings - George RR Martin
The Book of Air and Shadows - Michael Gruber
lent to me by one of the nurses at work.
How do you generate enthusiasm or motivation for completing
a non-fiction book you started 3 months ago ?
I saw the author on one of CSPAN's book fairs and was very excited by her descriptions
of the research and interviews she did during the writing.
So I jumped on Amazon and ordered it that same day.
A third of the way through over several days of fitful starts and stops,
I realized I was utterly bored, and it became my "coffee table book".
Now dusty and forlorn, it's a matter of "Read it or Trash it".
What's the book? Maybe if somebody else has read it, they can reassure that that it gets better, or commiserate with you that it gets even more deadly dull towards the end.
Wolf, it's doubtful anyone else in the whole world is interested !
FWIW: Mendez v. Westminster
School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights
It's a history of the civil rights movement in southern Calif
before the Brown vs Board of Education case.
Groan... I know. The title should have warned me what was coming. :right:
But the author was very entertaining on CSPAN, and brought the events to life.
It was of interest to me because I grew up there (near DisneyLand),
and did not know anything of what was going on in the schools we attended.
But as far as I've read, the text is dry and dusty, like the bean fields all around us.
Well then .... if you leave it on the coffee table it will make you look smarter.
I see what you mean.
I have occasionally read supreme court decisions that interest me, but the idea of tackling a whole book of commentary on once case ... thou art a braver man than I.
The authoress, was she, um ... pleasant on the eye?
The authoress, was she, um ... pleasant on the eye?
:) How does it go ... not so much !
I think I'll shelf it... maybe there'll be a chance to "re-gift it".
I just finished "The Poisoner's Handbook" by Deborah Bloom. A history of the invention of forensic medicine. Similar in structure to "The Disappearing Spoon".
And I'm just starting the latest Thomas Covenant book.
ooooooo. I held off buying that for myself, just in case any family got me it for Christmas :P
They for me other stuff, so I am going to buy it.
I think I'll shelf it... maybe there'll be a chance to "re-gift it".
E-bay it?
Doctor Who and the Coming of the Terraphiles - Michael Moorcock
Yes, after my last disastrous encounter with a Doctor Who novel, I decided to try again ... on two counts. First, Michael Moorcock is a fine author. Second, this book has been chosen by my SciFi and Fantasy bookclub as their discussion book for January.
We are still in disaster territory. So bad, I'm wondering whether Michael Moorcock is having an acid flashback. The only thing that makes The Doctor identifiable as the current doctor is the bow tie and the presence of Amy Pond.
I'm 3/4 through and you know what I've ended up wondering about? There's this big space battle about to take place and a bit of description has kept me awake wondering ... how does a centaur sit in a bucket seat?
To restore my faith in The Doctor I've unearthed my box of Target novels and am reading Terrance Dick's Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen.
I just finished We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
Just, wow. Well, I thought so. I thought the writing was wonderful. I think the author did a great job of dealing with the subject matter honestly. Anyone else read this? What did you think? It was one of those books I woke up in the middle of the night to read more (of course, I'm off work this week) and when I finished it, I just sat there for a minute. I'm still thinking about it.
I had to reread it, questioning how accurate the narrative voice was all the way through - we only heard it from her perspective and she was a very frustrated woman. I still wan't sure at the end of the second read, but it was due back at the library.
I enjoyed it and was disturbed by it in equal measure and yes it really did make me THINK.
"Mojave Crossing" by Louis L'Amour.
First line of the book:
"When I saw that black-eyed woman a-looking at me I wished I had a Bible."
I had to reread it, questioning how accurate the narrative voice was all the way through - we only heard it from her perspective and she was a very frustrated woman. I still wan't sure at the end of the second read, but it was due back at the library.
I enjoyed it and was disturbed by it in equal measure and yes it really did make me THINK.
I think that's one of the reasons I liked it so much? Her fault, his fault, bad seed? Does anyone ever really have answers to those things? Her failings as a mother as vehicle for evil son, true or false? Was husband so damn stupid about it all? I would think the narrative voice of a person who were actually in her shoes would be hard to dissect. This is the beauty of it: I'm STILL thinking about it.
I read a bad review about it, some mad mother saying the woman didn't behave like a real mother would. Well, who gets to say how all real mothers behave? Miss Doting Overprotective isn't guaranteed a perfect child. She didn't blame video games or movies or society. There are all kinds of mothers out there, as we all well know. What sorts of things made this kid the way he was? So much food for my brain.
I thought the writing itself was extraordinary. I read it twice. Cried at the end both times, but slice of grim reality can do that to me. Neat little bows of explanation bore me...I'll be considering this tale for some time.
Of course, there were no spaceships or wizards or vampires. :p:
"Mojave Crossing" by Louis L'Amour.
First line of the book:
I love me some Louis L'Amour. I just got done with Utah Blaine.
Mortal Fear by Greg Iles. Good book!! Very current.
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
getting ready to start Shadow Divers - the true adventures of two americans who risked everything to solve one of the last mysteries of WWII
At Home - bill Bryson
LIFE - Keef Richards.
"The Defector" by Daniel Silva.......Prior to that
"Moscow Rules" by the same author.......
"Hollywood Crows" by Joseph Wambaugh and
"Deliver Us From Evil" by David Baldacchi.......
since I have retired I now have the time to really enjoy reading.
Juanco.......
A brief history of time- Steven Hawking
the time machine - HG Wells
Continuing with the Doctor Who Fest ... I decided to read them in show order as much as possible, although I'm already getting tired of Hartnell's Whiny Old Man Doctor ...
An Unearthly Child
The Daleks
Edge of Destruction
Marco Polo
Keys of Marinus is nett up.
I've decided to read Last of the Breed - Louis L'Amour. Tester-San gave it to me last year because he'd liked it very much. I'm about 2/3 finished.
And I've got a book from one of the nurses from work ... The Book of Air and Shadows. It's developing slowly, so I'm taking breaks from it.
Currently reading:
Nomad, by Ayaan Hirsi Alli. Not as good as Infidel, but still very powerfully written.
and
Discarded Science: Ideas That Seemed Good at the Time, by John Grant. Part of a trilogy, the next one is Bogus Science, and then Corrupted Science.
I've got some Terry Prachett I want to read when I am done with these books, and I also have a graphic novel called Logicomix that is about Bertrand Russell
How do you generate enthusiasm or motivation for completing
a non-fiction book you started 3 months ago ?
I saw the author on one of CSPAN's book fairs and was very excited by her descriptions
of the research and interviews she did during the writing.
So I jumped on Amazon and ordered it that same day.
A third of the way through over several days of fitful starts and stops,
I realized I was utterly bored, and it became my "coffee table book".
Now dusty and forlorn, it's a matter of "Read it or Trash it".
Wolf, it's doubtful anyone else in the whole world is interested !
FWIW: Mendez v. Westminster
School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights
It's a history of the civil rights movement in southern Calif
before the Brown vs Board of Education case.
Groan... I know. The title should have warned me what was coming. :right:
But the author was very entertaining on CSPAN, and brought the events to life.
It was of interest to me because I grew up there (near DisneyLand),
and did not know anything of what was going on in the schools we attended.
But as far as I've read, the text is dry and dusty, like the bean fields all around us.
Hey Hey Hey... I finished the book. Turned out it was a
great read !
This weekend being MLK Day, I decided I would either read it thru or donate it.
I went back a few pages to start over, and plugged away for while.
Then, it turned magic... exciting and moving... all the way to the Epilogue.
This little book, a layman's history of one legal case, falls mainly into 4 parts
A) All the people and organizations and institutions involved - boring
B) The legal strategies of Attorney Marcus - some interesting bits
C) The federal District Trial, itself - warming up, finally got my attention
D) Judge McCormick's decision - BAM, THERE IT IS... The reason I bought the book !
Judge McCormick''s "Conclusions of the Court" were wonderful reading.
So many of the facts and ideas and principals of the yet-to-come
Civil Rights Movement of the 60's started here with his writings:
He first determined the legal standing of the federal government in education
He developed the argument that segregation
is discrimination
He established as Fact that
all children are harmed by segregation
He decided the State of California was in violation of the 14th Amendment
He ordered the State to immediately integrate Mexican-Americans in all public schools
The case was appealed to the 9th District Court of Appeals and was upheld.
Although the case did not become national law at that time,
these writings and findings of fact became the basis for Brown vs Board of Education.
One last comment. Of all those people at the beginning of the book,
it's remarkable how many later became well-established figures in our legal and social system.
While most of their names were unknown to me, the organizations they started are now house-hold names.
This book stays on my bookshelf !
"Darwin's Blade" by Dan Simmons (in English)
In honor of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday today I am going to read some of his short stories.
I really can't wait for the Poe movie to come out this fall.
In honor of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday today I am going to read some of his short stories.
I really can't wait for the Poe movie to come out this fall.
Poe movie?
There's a Poe movie? Do tell!
It's about
a guy who nobody can tell whether he's insane or joking.
Ohhhh, John Cusack, even better!
I always thought if I had been alive then, I would have been E A Poe's girlfriend. :lol:
More info. And
another upcoming Poe movie. Possibly a
third?
From
Bill Hicks (edited)
I've noticed a certain anti-intellectualism going around this country;
since about 1980, coincidentally enough. … I was in Nashville, Tennessee,
and after the show I went to a Waffle House.
I'm not proud of it, but I was hungry. And I'm sitting there eating and reading a book.
I don't know anybody, I'm alone, so I'm reading a book.
The waitress comes over to me like, [gum smacking] "What'chu readin' for?"
I had never been asked that. Not "What am I reading?", but "What am I reading for?"
Goddangit, you stumped me. Hmm, why do I read?
I suppose I read for a lot of reasons, one of the main ones being so I
don't end up being a fucking waffle waitress.
"Ford County Stories" by John Grisham - meh.
Mercury Falls - Robert Kroese
Apocalypse done funny.
Saw dat on the kindle page. Worth a shot?
Saw dat on the kindle page. Worth a shot?
Completely. I'm 75% through, and having a great time.
I also recommend "The Force is Middling in this One."
He is a funny guy.
I would favorably compare Bob Kroese to Douglas Adams, except that Adams had a typically dry British sense of humor, and Kroese is decidedly American, geeky American at that, using Linoleum as a plot point and sneaking in a reference to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. At page 11. I like.
Finished Doctor Who and the Sensorites, starting on Doctor Who and the Reign of Terror (last episode of Season One).
Completely. I'm 75% through, and having a great time.
I also recommend "The Force is Middling in this One."
He is a funny guy.
I would favorably compare Bob Kroese to Douglas Adams, except that Adams had a typically dry British sense of humor, and Kroese is decidedly American, geeky American at that, using Linoleum as a plot point and sneaking in a reference to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.
Just getting into it, but he is friggin hilarious.
Book ADD continues.
A Storm of Swords - George RR Martin
365 Ways to Drive a Liberal Crazy - James Dellingpole
Wolf and Iron - George RR Dickson
Star Trek 1 - James Blish
Doctor Who: The Rescue - Ian Marter
All at the same time. I switch whenever the story starts lagging.
"Re"-reading Star Wars: The Mandalorian Armor - K.W. Jeter
Not sure for how much longer, though: I didn't finish it the first time.
"The Sign" by Raymond Khoury
"The Husband" by Dean Koontz
[strike]A Storm of Swords - George RR Martin
365 Ways to Drive a Liberal Crazy - James Dellingpole
Wolf and Iron - George RR Dickson
Star Trek 1 - James Blish[/strike]
Doctor Who: The Rescue - Ian Marter
Crystal Singer - Anne McCaffrey
Erewhon - Samuel Butler
Oh, I loved Crystal Singer! Read it years and years ago. Might reread it sometime.
I had forgotten a lot of the story ... I remembered the major stuff, but some of the character interactions were very fresh on the reread. It's probably 20 years since I read it last.
I'm in book two of Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis. It's an interesting take on time travel as run by the Oxford history department.
golden buddha - clive cussler
i like me some good modern day indiana jones :D
I had forgotten a lot of the story ... I remembered the major stuff, but some of the character interactions were very fresh on the reread. It's probably 20 years since I read it last.
Ha. Must be about the same here.
"The ship who sang" by Ann McCaffrey
The Ship Who Sang is one of my favourite books ever. That whole sequence was just amazing.
I own a lot of books by Ann McCaffrey. The whole Pern ballad, Freedom novels, Crystal Singer, Pegasus Flight, Tower and Hive, Brainships, etc...
I no longer have the books. I had to sacrifice my book collection when I moved into this house, and have steadfastly avoided keeping a collection since. Basically, anything that I can't readily re-acquire should I want to I keep. And books that were given as particularly meaningful presents. And my signed copy of the Crucible of course :p And stuff I haven't got around to reading yet. Basically, despite my best efforts my house is still creaking with books, but I do at least offload them every year or so. Last year I got rid of all my 8th Doctor books, as I have them all now as pdfs. And all my new Doctor Who novels, except the three I hadn't read yet. And all my Terry Pratchett hardbacks, as I now have them all on audio.
Just finished the newest Dresden novel, Turn Coat. Wow. Butcher tied up a lot of loose threads, and then set them on fire.
The public library is your friend.
I just started Storm Front on the recommendation of my PC doctor. I'm enjoying it a lot. Love the quirky characters.
You have a specialist to cure your tendencies toward political correctness? Damn, that's a good HMO you've got there.
based on the last page of posts you all are nerds.
I don't recall ever hiding the fact I am a nerd :p
I don't recall ever hiding the fact I am a nerd :p
I know! You guys are
proud of it! ;)
I know! You guys are proud of it! ;)
Damn straight.
You have a specialist to cure your tendencies toward political correctness? Damn, that's a good HMO you've got there.
:D
based on the last page of posts you all are nerds.
Actually, I am a geek. I do not have any tape holding my eyeglasses together and I have never cut my hair so short that I don't have to comb it when I get out of the shower.
Geeks are nerds with style.
Actually, I am a geek. I do not have any tape holding my eyeglasses together and I have never cut my hair so short that I don't have to comb it when I get out of the shower.
Geeks are nerds with style.
I stand corrected. :)
wish we had a Geek smilie...
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.
It's no The Corrections, but it's OK.
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.
It's no The Corrections, but it's OK.
that's exactly what I thought. It seems a bit breathless - paragraphs-long sentences, etc.
that's exactly what I thought. It seems a bit breathless - paragraphs-long sentences, etc.
Yeah, that's a good way to put it. I was interested at first but it loses my attention. I'm hoping it'll pick back up.
I've been reading Lionel Shriver's books since I finished
We Need To Talk About Kevin, and she does the same thing, but I hang onto every word.
I stand corrected. :)
wish we had a Geek smilie...
All smileys are geek, really.
Just started The Scent of Jade, a $0.99 kindle book described as Romancing the Stone meets Survivor.
I am a nerd and a geek. basically I am a geek who has nerdy moments. I think all Brits have an inner nerd.
My next batch of reading includes two book-club reads
Hyperion - Dan Simmons
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward - H.P. Lovecraft
Doctor Who: The Romans - Donald Cotton
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward - H.P. Lovecraft
I read that one when I was a teenager. I still have the book along with other works by Lovecraft.
Hey Wolf, if you're into Lovecraft, check this out:
http://www.bigfinish.com/141-Doctor-Who-Lurkers-at-Sunlights-Edge
It's a brilliant (imo) homage to Lovecraft. One of the most fun Doctor Who audios I've listened to in ages.
I'd be very interested to hear your take on Hyperion, Wolf.
I used to get a lift to work with a hard sci-fi fan, and we often discussed what I was reading. I'd just finished Iain M Banks' Against A Dark Background and really enjoyed it so lent it to him. He pretty much dismissed it, which narked me. In return he proffered Hyperion and it blew me away. Banks is often described as sci-fi-lite, which is probably why I'm such a fan. Dan Simmonds also focuses very much on character and plot, but is definitely sci-fi.
I followed it up with The Fall of Hyperion and that makes it onto my Top 20 book list, but the final two didn't grip me in the same way. To the extent I have forgotten their names. Still worth reading though.
ETA - I often read this thread, and often feel so guilty about not relating what I am reading.
The truth is I get 10-15 books out of the library every three weeks and few of them move me enough to bother reviewing them. And I also have the worry that I'll rave about a book in a heightened state of emotion, only to have someone point out how very dire it it. Unlikely, as I am a pretty savvy reader, but the fear is there because I am still a child at heart and put a rollicking good plot and sympathetic characters about anything else.
Just read Silence by Josie Henley-Einion. Don't rate it. It left me confused. I don't like books that hint at events all the way through and then don't actually make them clear. I suppose it's clever, but it just left me confused and I didn't enjoy the book enough to go back through and thread the clues together. It's about a lesbian couple (both with aforementioned secrets in their past) and takes the form of an autobiography written after an event means one of them ends up in prison. Except some of it is written from the other's POV, which is odd as it's about the past, not the present.
Started Pratchett's Reaper Man. S'okay so far. The usual shits & giggles. I lost it yesterday, only to find it in my bed last night.
So I also started Peter Straub's In The Night Room. Straub is a very worthy author, and has some exceptional ideas (If You Could See Me Now, olfactory prescience) but sometimes I find myself drifting when I read him. I'll read a chapter and realise I've been skipping text. I do read quickly, but I am NOT a speed reader, so I have to go back and read it again. I'm going to stick with this one because the premise is good so far.
The Sevenwaters Trilogy
Really really good books if you like that kind of genre.
Need some recommendations for a good sci-fi/fantasy series. I read through the Song of Ice and Fire books and need more reading material but I don't want to waste time on a crappy book (which it seems there are a few in the genre.)
Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven. Not a series, but a damn good book, and pretty long so it'll last awhile. :)
This isn't a book I'm reading but what do you guys know about the Kindle or Nook? Or has this thread already been made? Sorry...thinking about saving up for one for my mom for Xmas...yes that's how long it will take
Daughter of the Forest was pretty good.Very good if you like ancient Celtic lore. Good enough I wanted to read the sequel, Son of the Shadows.
It took me a while to get used to the writing style in the first book and to get through the story set up, so I keep thinking the second one will get better too, but I am 170 pages in and I am finding the long winded and without direction and not very believable or special as the first one is. I will probably forge on to the third, even though the reviews go down in estimation. I have found the Amazon reviews less than reliable at times.
Daughter of the Forest is great though.
This isn't a book I'm reading but what do you guys know about the Kindle or Nook? Or has this thread already been made? Sorry...thinking about saving up for one for my mom for Xmas...yes that's how long it will take
I have never wanted the kindle, but the Nook[color] intrigues me. The touch screen the color, the other apps.
This isn't a book I'm reading but what do you guys know about the Kindle or Nook? Or has this thread already been made? Sorry...thinking about saving up for one for my mom for Xmas...yes that's how long it will take
The Kindle is the most awesome device evah.
And yes, I do think we have several threads where I endlessly extol it's virtues.
http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=23525&highlight=kindle
http://www.cellar.org/showthread.php?t=23021
Those are the dedicated threads, but there are a lot of other mentions including the Books You're Reading and Products I Wholeheartedly Endorse threads.
Thanks for the suggestions. I will check one or both of those out.
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny. For me, a good read.
Still reading Case of Charles Dexter Ward
finished Hyperion ... very disappointing. Even in extended series, I expect a little more closure, and a far less stupid ending.
Moved on to Doctor Who and the Zarbi - Bill Sutton
"Out of the silence" by Erle Cox
Justinian's Flea - Starting off strong smaat writing.
I just read a SS by David Foster Wallace and now I want to kill myself.
What?
I've gotten through all the Lionel Shriver books I've found. Some I really like, some are just OK. The last one was interesting, about population control in Africa, Game Control.
There are still some I haven't read but I didn't see them at my library.
I'm reading House Rules, by Jodi Picoult, on the strong recommendation of several friends. The main character is high-functioning autistic.
She did a fantastic job of capturing his voice (a lot of it is first person from his perspective) and portrays the conflicting emotions of his mother and brother excellently as well. The underlying plot is pretty good so far too. It's a little pedantic at first, assuming the reader has absolutely no experience with the disease, but it gets past that quickly. This book is my new recommendation for friends and relatives who want to get it, but don't yet.
Oh wow. I JUST finished that book, Clod. (I've been on a reading marathon, about 2-3 books a week lately.)
I was going to ask you what you thought of it or if you'd read it, but it slipped my mind. I liked it, but of course your perspective is something else entirely. I thought about you a lot as I read it.
I'm about halfway through
Room, a book written from the point of view of a kid born to a woman kept captive in a sound proof shed. The kid is 5 years old and has never known anything outside of Room. He only knows Ma, and the captor. There's a TV, but he doesn't understand that the TV is showing the real world. It's really well written from the kid's perspective and is quite a page turner. Easy read and riveting.
I'm going to look for that at the 'brary. I think I'd like it. Thanks.
I have, somewhere, a VHS tape of a Nova show called "Secrets of the Wild Child" a true story about a kid who was chained up for years (by her elderly parents) before she was discovered. It went into the whole nature/nurture argument. It was fascinating, though no real conclusions were drawn. The story, and the girl, mesmerized me. So sad.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2112gchild.htmlGlatt - that book was the talk of the staffroom yesterday. In fact I came here directly from Amazon, looking to see if I could snag a second hand copy (the teachers reading it already have their books promised elsewhere).
They say it's really sad.
I haven't finished it yet, so I don't know if it's a happy ending or a sad ending, but the overall book has some serious ups and downs. Certainly some very sad parts. But also some amazing parts.
I'm going to stop reading this thread, I'm skeered of spoilers. :worried:
Oh wow. I JUST finished that book, Clod. (I've been on a reading marathon, about 2-3 books a week lately.)
I was going to ask you what you thought of it or if you'd read it, but it slipped my mind. I liked it, but of course your perspective is something else entirely. I thought about you a lot as I read it.
I'm only halfway through so far, but the part early on [whited out for small spoilers] [COLOR="White"]where the kid is in jail... that shit had me crying. I had to go pick up Minifobette from therapy right in the middle of those scenes, and I was just sick to my stomach the whole way, until I was able to get back to the house and tear through the pages until I got to the part where he finally got out again.[/COLOR]
Currently I am reading:
Una McCormack, Doctor Who: The King's Dragon. Not bad, not great.
Edward Coss, All for the King's Shilling: The British Soldier Under Wellington, 1808-1814. Brilliant. Just brilliant. One of the most important new works in my field.
John S. Cooper, Fusilier Cooper: Experiences in the 7th(Royal) Fusiliers during the Penninsular Campaign of the Napoleonic Wars and the American Campaign to New Orleans. Fascinating, and very readable.
Just finished "Land of the painted caves" by Jean M. Auel
When Madeline Was Young by Jane Hamilton
Annotated Grimm's Fairy Tales. I'm not impressed with the annotations; I'm probably spoiled by The Annotated Alice.
I'm about halfway through Room, a book written from the point of view of a kid born to a woman kept captive in a sound proof shed. The kid is 5 years old and has never known anything outside of Room. He only knows Ma, and the captor. There's a TV, but he doesn't understand that the TV is showing the real world. It's really well written from the kid's perspective and is quite a page turner. Easy read and riveting.
Stoopid library didn't have it.
Reading
The Book of Hard Things by Sue Halpern
No, it's not pron. Just picked it out of a lineup at the 'brary.
I finished Room a few days ago. It was good throughout. Had an appropriate ending.
Gone With The Wind Margaret Mitchell (Hebe's teacher told her to read it to slow her down -they're working on Civil War fiction, I have never read it, so we both got a copy from the library)
Schooled Gordon Korman
Two for The Lions Lindsay Davis
Nothing "worthy" although Schooled may be in it's genre (it's a kid's book, Thor brought it home and it was on the table when my other book wasn't to hand.....like mother, like daughter, like son)
See if your kids like The Phantom Tollbooth.
GWTW is cool to read, most have only seen the flick.
Stoopid library didn't have it.
.
ours does. 130 requests on 63 copies......
ok requested phantom tollbooth too. hebe says she's heard of it.
I think you guys are stalking me. When i started writing my post about the three books, Happy monkey was the last to post 5 days ago. By the time I hit submit, two new posts had appeared (yes, i wandered off to find out the author of schooled and got distracted....)
ok requested phantom tollbooth too. hebe says she's heard of it.
It's one of my all time favorites. I got it as a kid and have loved it ever since.
I think you guys are stalking me. When i started writing my post about the three books, Happy monkey was the last to post 5 days ago. By the time I hit submit, two new posts had appeared (yes, i wandered off to find out the author of schooled and got distracted....)
Well, I can't speak for glatt but yeah, I'm stalking you. What of it?
ours does. 130 requests on 63 copies......
I don't know the numbers, but there was a huge waiting list for Room in our library. My wife was on the list, and finally got the book, and after she finished it in two days, she let me read it before returning it. It took me a whole week to read, because I don't have a lot of free time.
I'm all about free time. I've been reading almost every night, and long Saturday afternoons.
Hmmm, just checked on my library's online search and they do have it (room.) Due back May 2.
I didn't see it using the computer in the 'brary. It's not on hold so I'll just look for it in my weekly trek.
The local Borders is going out of business, and the scifi/fantasy section was 50% off. I got some Drizzt D&D boxsets, a Niven book from back when he was good, and a new Niven book. But that's a bit off-topic, as I'm not currently reading them yet.
See if your kids like The Phantom Tollbooth.
GWTW is cool to read, most have only seen the flick.
Phantom Tollbooth rocks. I loved that one in school. LL can't seem to sit still long enough to really get into it, but that's another story.
I got it quite by accident, really. My mom would let me order from the scholastic book club, but she always had to have me shave a few off the list. Out of all the books I ordered over those years, that one sticks with me the most as an adult, and I think it would appeal to an adult on first reading, too.
Of course, I have fond memories also of Mystery of the Witches Bridge, The Wednesday Witch, and Hex House, and The Secret Tree House. Do I see a theme? :)
ok I finished schooled. Thor can have it back. i bet he doesn't read it/finish it. Not sure why his teacher gave it to him, it's a little teen in the boring to 9yo way.....
Now I really must clean and bake birthday cakes
how do you clean a birthday cake? doesn't the icing cover up any dirt and grime?
Just finished "Terminal Freeze" by Lincoln Child. I liked "Deep Storm" a lot more.
Starting on "The Sahdow of Ararat" by Thomas Harlan
Vanity Fair for a stinkin' Buddy Read. I remember why I didn't read it in high school and relied on the Monarch Notes version.
how do you clean a birthday cake? doesn't the icing cover up any dirt and grime?
Don't cover up the sprinkles!
See if your kids like The Phantom Tollbooth.
GWTW is cool to read, most have only seen the flick.
Hebe and Thor loved it, Hector is busy with the book he has to read for school.
I've just finished the second book of Steig Larrsen's Millenium series. I found the first book a bit of a drag to get into, but once I got there, it was great. Last night I was up till 3 am finishing the second book. (I looked at the clock at 10.30 and decided to give myself another hour. Next time I looked - after turning the last page - it was just before 3am.)
I'll get started on the third one tonight, although I don't expect to last long. I think I'll crash before I finish the first chapter.
read those too! great books.
donch'a hate falling asleep when you're trying to read? I do.
I'm reading the old Niven book (Crashlander), which turned out to be a somewhat new Niven book, made up of old Niven stories interspersed with mini-chapters connecting them into a new story. Sort of like I, Robot. The old stories are great, not sure yet about the new stuff.
Hebe and Thor loved it, Hector is busy with the book he has to read for school.
Yay! :)
I'm reading A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley.
Still couldn't find the Room book at the 'brary. I can see it when I search online, that they at least own it, but the online card catalog shows no returns to searches for title or author. I'm smart enough to go to that section of fiction for the last name, but there is a big gaping hole.
Now I can't find the book searching the online card catalog for my library. I swear I saw it. How can they NOT have it?
I suppose I could have them order it from another 'brary. Or maybe I'll go to the county 'brary in my hometown.
edit: nope, checked out there.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
[QUOTE=infinite monkey;722790]Yay! :)
I'm reading A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley.
[QUOTE]
I read another one by her-The Real Life Adventures of Lidie Newton or something. It looked really boring, but ended up being a compulsive read.
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker - Gerry Davis
(Getting to the end of the Hartnell's finally)
Darkover (Short Stories) - Marion Zimmer Bradley
(reread for a book club, feel obligated because it was my suggestion and won the poll)
Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
(still going. It is long.)
Dean Koontz' "Frankenstein: Book Four: Lost Souls"
I have just started this series, with book four.
Anybody else read them? Should I read the others first? It appears like it's gonna stand alone fairly well, most of Koontz' related stories/series read pretty good w/o the previous books...
Just fisnished "Level 26: Dark Origins" by Anthony E. Zuiker
I liked the web enhancements.
I read another one by her-The Real Life Adventures of Lidie Newton or something. It looked really boring, but ended up being a compulsive read.
I enjoyed A Thousand Acres. Like you said, it seemed it might be boring but it really wasn't. It was compelling as well.
I've just finished the second book of Steig Larrsen's Millenium series. I found the first book a bit of a drag to get into, but once I got there, it was great. Last night I was up till 3 am finishing the second book. (I looked at the clock at 10.30 and decided to give myself another hour. Next time I looked - after turning the last page - it was just before 3am.)
I'll get started on the third one tonight, although I don't expect to last long.
I couldn't put them down until I'd finished the whole series, even though the second one got to be just slightly on the contrived side (she said putting it mildly). Once I'd finished though I was happy to move on to something else.
I enjoyed A Thousand Acres. Like you said, it seemed it might be boring but it really wasn't. It was compelling as well.
I'll check it out. The place I'm renting/housesitting at the moment has the most fantastic collection of books. I've started reading Christopher Hitchens The Trial of Henry Kissinger. I saw Hitchens on TV years ago and thought he was a complete tosser. Then I read Clive James' latest memoir about a year ago which stated how incisive Hitchens was and thought perhaps that I shouldn't wipe him off the slate entirely.
I'm also about halfway though a Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke. Thought it was going to be a really good book. It's alright, but can take it or leave it.
Daybreak Zero. It is the follow up to Directive 51. It is part SciFi, part apocolypse/post-apocolypse, part political intrigue. A bit wordy at times but a couple of fun novels.
Finished 1453 and well into Spinward Fringe.
Just finished The Roots of Obama's Rage a fantastic read.... Explains a lot of how the man thinks. First read Dreams From my Father by Obama himself, fits like a glove. Well footnoted. Explains a lot of how this fella thinks.
Dreams from my Father made an 8 hour plane flight pass very quickly. I'll have to check out the other one you mentioned.
Just started Spin. Really nice understated sci-fi, at least so far.
BUT... the voiceactor (I'm actually listening via audiobook) is the same dude who did The Worthing Saga. He's not my favorite guy to begin with, and now I'm having a really hard time separating him from the previous novel. Especially since the main characters in both books have the same damn first name.
Daybreak Zero. It is the follow up to Directive 51. It is part SciFi, part apocolypse/post-apocolypse, part political intrigue. A bit wordy at times but a couple of fun novels.
Just started Spin. Really nice understated sci-fi, at least so far.
BUT... the voiceactor (I'm actually listening via audiobook) is the same dude who did The Worthing Saga. He's not my favorite guy to begin with, and now I'm having a really hard time separating him from the previous novel. Especially since the main characters in both books have the same damn first name.
These two caught my eye. I will check them out.
Just started Spin. Really nice understated sci-fi, at least so far.
BUT... the voiceactor (I'm actually listening via audiobook) is the same dude who did The Worthing Saga. He's not my favorite guy to begin with, and now I'm having a really hard time separating him from the previous novel. Especially since the main characters in both books have the same damn first name.
I don't generally listen to books is this a common problem?
Can be. The reader can make or break an audio book. Some readers just give it life (David Tennant is one that does, as is Nick Briggs) But some either sound as if they are reading, or just have the wrong voice for the story. Some can make each character that speaks sound like a distinct individual, others just sound all the same, or do different vioces that don't quite work.
It's rare I totally turn off a story because of the reader but it's happened a couple of times. I didn;t click with the reader of the Sookie Stackhouse stories and fell off them quicky because of it. The reader of the Dexter books by comparison, was so good that despite having strong preconceived notions of how the character should sound because I'd come to it through the tv show, his voice became Dexter's voice for me very quickly.
I don't generally listen to books is this a common problem?
It can be an issue sometimes. Just like putting the wrong actor in a movie role. Sometimes someone you never would have cast yourself turns out to do a fantastic job in ways you never imagined. And sometimes it's still Tom Cruise no matter what costume you put him in.
I don't need distinct character voices so much, just enough that I can tell who's talking during long conversational scenes. Overall delivery is more important to me, and the guy I'm talking about (Scott Brick) has this kind of over-dramatic lilt to everything he says. But he's done tons of audio books, especially sci-fi, so obviously someone thinks he's good.
omg, I so hope there aren't any audiobooks read by Bill "One-tone" Paxton or Kevin "Monotone" Costner.
A history of TE Lawrence in 1916.
omg, I so hope there aren't any audiobooks read by Bill "One-tone" Paxton or Kevin "Monotone" Costner.
Or William Hurt
i did it, I finally finished Vanity effin Fair.
It consumed my reading time from March 28 thru May 6, 2011.
I read other books in the middle, else I would have tackled it more quickly. I did get into a big push at the end to get it over with.
912 pages in which less happens than in the average episode of Seinfeld. And there was no Soup Nazi.
I am now reading Beneath the Bleeding by Val McDermid for fun and S'Mother: The Story of a Man, His Mom, and the Thousands of Altogether Insane Letters She's Mailed Him by Adam Chester for review.
I also have Doctor Who: The Gunfighters by Donald Cotton going. I don't like his style as far as Doctor Who novelizations goes, so it's not as fun a read as most of those old Doctor Who Target novelizations, which I am attempting to read in broadcast order.
I am listening to In Your Dreams by Tom Holt. I've read the book before (along with the rest of that trilogy) but ages ago. I am really enjoying it.
Love Tom Holt's slightly quirky take on the world and magic.
Reading The Executioner's Song (Norman Mailer).
I have Merc to thank for this, he sent me Under Heaven's Banner, and the reviews on the cover and inside reference it alongside In Cold Blood - which I read years ago.
I have no idea how this book escaped my notice, but I was genuinely unaware of it until now. The only Norman Mailer book I'd read was on Marylin Monroe. I thought he wrote very worthy books about a political system I did not understand. There is also a possibility I had him confused with someone else.
Anyway, I'm loving it so far. I'd heard of Gary Gilmore, but I don't know what he did *. So it's still in the future for me. Like when I watched Apollo 13 without knowing if any of them survived.
*Anyone trying to tell me will be buttfucked in the mouth. By Diz.
Ohhhh. I wish I was reading
Snuff, the new Discworld novel....but it isn't out yet. Boooo. It's a Sam Vimes story. I love me a bit of Vimes.
According to the writer of the best-selling crime novel ever to have been published in the city of Ankh-Morpork, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday would barely have had time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse.
And Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is on holiday in the pleasant and innocent countryside, but not for him a mere body in the wardrobe. There are many, many bodies and an ancient crime more terrible than murder.
He is out of his jurisdiction, out of his depth, out of bacon sandwiches, and occasionally snookered and out of his mind, but never out of guile. Where there is a crime there must be a finding, there must be a chase and there must be a punishment.
They say that in the end all sins are forgiven.
But not quite all…
I'm about halfway through Room, a book written from the point of view of a kid born to a woman kept captive in a sound proof shed. The kid is 5 years old and has never known anything outside of Room. He only knows Ma, and the captor. There's a TV, but he doesn't understand that the TV is showing the real world. It's really well written from the kid's perspective and is quite a page turner. Easy read and riveting.
I just started that yesterday. I went to the bookstore. My brother had given me a gift certificate that he had for christmas, over the weekend. Would've been better had I remembered to take it to the store.
So far it's interesting.
I read another one by her-The Real Life Adventures of Lidie Newton or something. It looked really boring, but ended up being a compulsive read.
I read that one, too, casi. I thought it was good, but A Thousand Acres was better imo.
Finished The Melting Season by Jami Attenberg.
galley for review - Fever Dream by Dennis Palumbo
I read another of his (Mirror Image) last year, this is his second novel featuring the same character, a psychologist in Pittsburgh. This one starts with a pretty spectacular bank robbery and hostage situation.
The Los Angeles Diaries: a Memoir by James Brown (no, not that James Brown)
wow. Chills.
Just added that to my list, Bri. Thanks!
Monsters of Men, the third novel in the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness.
Written as a teenage book, it is bloody devastating.
And not a teen book like Vampire Twilight Diaries either.
The first two books made me cry (and I felt the pain for days), made me question myself and my anger, made me me consider my own reaction and what I could excuse in the heat of the moment. The emotions it stirs up are murky and what you hope for might not always turn out to be the best outcome.
All that with an amazing set of characters, new ideas and a rollicking good narrative.
I didn't rate the second book so much.
The Ask and the Answer
If you read it first it might not grab you - it's very conflicted.
But the first and the last will devastate you with innocent intentions, appalling outcomes, the longevity of decisions made in haste and the sheer power of emotions.
I haven't finished this book yet.
I know it won't end happily. Not a spoiler - you know from the first book that this isn't Disney. I will cry. And then reread. And cry.
It'll be with me for a ewhile.
Greedily gobbled up Monsters of Men.
And as expected, I cried.
Honest, proper crying, not just leaking from the eyes. I put it down and cried because my throat hurt trying not to. And not just at the end.
And at least reading it alone I could call out all the way through the book, "Don't trust him! Don't trust him!" Which was right, but not a spoiler, as there are many people that could refer to, at many points in the book.
And yes I will reread it.
Reread all three.
Wonderful.
Recommend to anyone who liked Pullman's His Dark Materials.
It's less complex in a narrative sense, but deeper and more emotional because the characters are better written and more well-rounded. And no deux ex machina.
From the corners of a wounded mind - Theodore Knell
It's poetry. Well, some poetry, some prose.
But not the usual sort of verse.
It's man poetry.
Man poetry written by a British retired airbone sergeant.
There's a lot of pain here.
If you're interested, my review appears
here.
Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys (the tale of the FIRST Mrs. Rochester before that bratty bitch Jane Eyre came in and ruined her life)
Blue Hour, a bio of Jean Rhys - messed up white Creole woman with messed up life.
This Vacant Paradise - Victoria Patterson. Very good, about the nuts living in Newport Beach, CA. and their materialistic ways.
Inside the Machine. It's a technical book about CPU architecture and instruction language. Not really a novel, but hey, it's a book I'm reading atm :p
The Los Angeles Diaries: a Memoir by James Brown (no, not that James Brown)
wow. Chills.
Can't find that one, even at the bookstore.
I'll keep looking though.
Currently reading Imperfect Birds by Anne LaMott.
I have a couple in queue I actually bought (oh, and I bought and read Room, pretty good) but can't think of what they are offhand. :blush:
Another Lionel Shriver my 'brary didn't have. I've liked most of her books so far.
I got the los angeles diaries from the centerville library - doesn't your college carry it? it's really good stuff.
eta: love anne lamott. she's awesome (even if a bit christian-y at times)
Inside the Machine. It's a technical book about CPU architecture and instruction language. Not really a novel, but hey, it's a book I'm reading atm :p
I'm reminded of Tracy Kidder's The Soul of a New Machine.
Total geek porn.
I wonder what rereading it now might be like ...
I just started that [Room]yesterday. I went to the bookstore. My brother had given me a gift certificate that he had for christmas, over the weekend. Would've been better had I remembered to take it to the store.
So far it's interesting.
You must be done with it by now, what did you think?
I liked it. She did a good job with the narration.
I'm not one to like a story all tied up in neat little bows, but I would have liked more in-depth with the family relationships...the "before" of the event. She alluded to the relationship with her mother, but I think there could have been more to that aspect. Maybe a bit more about the background of Old Nick, and the "event." (Trying for non-spoilers.)
@ Bri, not seeing it at the college on the online search. Maybe I'll look around for it at lunch. I don't expect my 'brary to get it anytime soon: the voters DID pass the levy this time (YAY) but the funding doesn't go into effect right away I don't think. As it is, they have signs asking for copies of new books to offset funding cuts.
The narration was my favorite part. I liked the matter of fact way the kid would describe things we would find horrific and/or really fascinating.
In my mind I sort of parallel the narration with Flowers for Algernon, the writing in a voice that is completely different from your own voice. It's hard to do well. She nailed it!
I started Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood yesterday.
I'm underwhelmed.
So Much for That by Lionel Shriver.
As always, I like it...I think she's the bomb.
It's official. I despised Oryx and Crake. Useless piece of preachy crap.
I am starting In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.
He wrote Devil in the White City, which I loved, and Thunderstruck, which I at least kind of liked, although the story wasn't anywhere near as exciting as Devil in the White City.
This one is about the experiences of an American Family that goes to Berlin in the early 1930s. There usually seem to be two elements to Larsen's stories, so Hitler's early years in power is one piece, not sure what the other will be yet. I've only just finished the prologue.
In the Garden of Beasts never really took off, despite several opportunities to keep the story interesting. Hell, he did two chapters on the Night of the Long Knives without calling it that. And there's cool stuff that gets alluded to, but dropped without further comment. Oh well.
Now rereading The Colour of Magic for an online bookclub.
LOTS recently!
I'll try to remember them. They come from a new friend (from work! A real flesh and blood and living in my town friend!) who has tastes that overlap with mine. We both like magic, fantasy, vampires, faerie et al, but she's into more whimsical stuff and doesn't like graphic sex or violence, torture, murder, mayhem and general seediness. As I looked through my book collection to return the favour, I realised my most treasured books contain all of that and more. I really wanted to lend her my Sandman graphic novels, as she is a Gaiman fan, but the first one features serial killers and a complete bloodbath in a diner and a nightmare called The Corinthian who has mouths for eyes, and likes to eat other people's... Thought it might be a bit much for her...
Anyway
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
First of the Gentlemen Bastards trilogy. Adored it. Funny, sly, well rounded characters - even if they are too clever for their own good. There are various deaths throughout the book, and you care about each one. I kept expecting a deus ex machina, but none turned up. Set in a different world, magic is possible, but only rarely available, and paid for in good hard cash. Theieves and gangs and politics and downright swash-0buckling are all in evidence. I'll be asking her for the other two.
The Amulet of Samarkand - Jonathan Stroud
A teen book, but well plotted and highly enjoyable. Abo9ut a boy and "his" demon. Again, I thought he must be able to weasel his way out of some off the misfortunes that befall him, but some he simply does have to take on the chin. Set in London (mostly) which has undergone a dramatic change as magic is now commonplace among the rich and powerful. The non-magical and poor are beginning to make a stand - I expect to see more of that in later books. A good fun read - kept me interested.
Lion Boy - Zizou Corder
Was okay. A bit simplistic, but again it is a teen book. The story ticked over nicely, but there were some glaring plot holes and other parts where I thought, "But what about....? Surely if....?" Written by a mother and daughter (young daughter) it does have the breathless "and then!" feeling of a child's imagination. The hero is young and mixed race, so that's a welcome change - given the amount of mixed race (dual heritage?) children they need to have more books which include their "issues" as simply part of the text. I'll read the next one just to see what happens.
Blackberry Wine and Chocolat - Joanne Harris
I've avoided her for years, thinking she wrote chicklit, and also getting her mixed up with Jeanette Winterson for some reason. She is a real find. The books are sweet and simple and generally set in France. The two I've read end up in the same village. It is our world, and our time, but there is a whisper of magic, or other-worldly things being possible. I wouldn't buy her books, but I would look them up in the library to pass an afternoon with. When I get round to paying my library fine that is :(
And am currently reading Warhorse by Michael Morpurgo.
I didn't realise it was a children's book. It's good, but I can't feel anything for it. It's just trots along, despite the horrific setting (WWI). I'd so love to see it on stage though. This one I borrowed from school.
Oh that reminds me, I'm working my way through the Percy Jackson series. Ticked off the first two, looking for the next one at school. I should love it, but it just a bit meh. Again - plot holes you could drive Phaeton's chariot through. Still, a bit of fun.
Honestly can't remember the previous armful I borrowed. If I do, I'll come back and let you know.
I might give that Gentleman Bastards trilogy a go, it sounds wicked!
I am currently reading Transition, by Iain Banks. very strange book, as most of his are. Set in the real world, but with infinite parrellel worlds, and a bunch of characters who can hop about between them inhabiting the bodies of similar people. It's a strange mystery/thriller played out accross multiple realities, with compelling and well-drawn characters.
I think you'd like it. It's quite lite, but in a rollicking good way.
If you like a little whimsy in your fiction, I can highly recommend anything by Tom Holt.
Ooh yes - Wiki says I will likey.
I'll check the Oxfam bookshop.
Particular faves in no particular order:
Flying Dutch
Expecting Someone Taller
Who's Afraid of Beowulf?
Falling Sideways
Only Human
An absolute must for all Holt fans:
The whole of the J.W.Wells series:
1. The Portable Door
2. In Your Dreams
3. Earth, Air, Fire and Custard
4. You Don't Have to be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps
5. The Better Mousetrap
6. May Contain Traces of Nuts
These are best read in order, so might be worth ordering from the library.
Am really looking forward to his new one:
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages
A Discovery of Witches - light, but fun. I'm about half-way done.
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts - the genetic roots of Britain and Ireland by Bryan Sykes.
Really excellent, FUN read. You learn a lot but it doesn't feel like scholarly work. V. readable.
Seven Daughters of Eve - same author. Too much about the science - rather boring.
Oh, I might give that Sykes book a go. Sounds fun.
If youliked that, you'd probably really like Neil Oliver's History of Celtic Britain. He also did an earlier series, History of Ancient Britain, which looks at the very earliest habitation of Britain and takes it right up to the Bronze Age. I love Oliver's style. Very accessible and almost lyrical in places. I could listen to him all day :p But then his Scottish brogue probably helps that.
Here's part 1 of his history of Celtic Britain:
The first five minutes or so recaps what went before in the Ancient Britain series, then moves onto the Celts.
[YOUTUBE]QDCwVVvWP1c[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]FlbsLwP3cps&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]oQchIo-8OYg&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]GtbdBJnYg-8&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]
thanks Dana! I love this stuff!
The Wasp Factor - Iain Banks
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
This is my first Banks book. It's one of his non-SF ones, apparently.
It is fucked up.
(I mean that as high praise at about 20% completion)
The Wasp Factory is one of my all time favourite books ever. My bro got it whne it first came out (80s) and it did the round o fthe whole family.
It was Banks's debut novel. My God, what an opening salvo.
I hope you haven't been given The Twist yet. Avoid any and all spoilers, because I never saw it coming :p
You can tell which of his are sci-fi and which are 'straight' novels (though many of his straight novels have elements of magical realism to them) by how his name is presented on the book: Iain Banks = straight novel, Iain M Banks = sci-fi.
I haven't really got into his sci-fi (I started Consider Phlebus years ago and didn't click with it), I may give them another go, they're highly respected amongst the sci-fi literati apparently.
Here are a couple of recommendations though for his straight novels:
The Bridge. This has influenced quite a few authors and tv makers over the years. I think Life on Mars may have taken some of its influence from there. A very strange and slightly disturbing book. It all takes place on a giant bridge into which are built apartments and offices and a whole community. Very bureacratic, with importance given to which level you live and work on. There is no end to the Bridge, it just goes on. The main protagonist awakes to find himself there with no memory of before.
Walking on Glass: Again very strange book. This was his second outing, released not too long after Wasp Factory. It contains one of my favourite ever literary devices, which I won;t detail in case it spoils it for you:p It is made up of three separate but ultimately connected story strands, with one of them taking place in a bizarre old castle. Like the Bridge this seems to exist outside of time and reality as we understand it. The occupants engaged in a never ending series of games. My recollection of the other two strands is a little hazy, but something about the couple in the castle just stays with me.
I'm probably not doing it justice, but it really is worth reading.
Espedair Street is also brilliant, but much more of a straight story. It doesn't have the gothic horror of Wasp Factory and Walking on Glass.
The Crow Road is really good, and was adapted into a tv series. I always loved the main character Prentice.
Complicity is an intriguing murder mystery but also a delving into human nature and sin. Be warned, it gets very dark.
A Song of Stone was a return to the slightly bizarre, magical realism of his earlier work. Again quite disturbing in its own little way :P
I am halfway through Transitions, which is his most recent novel. It really is very good. Compelling characters, intrigue and plotting, a kafkaesque agency, and a strange and twisted love story played out across multiple versions of reality.
thanks Dana! I love this stuff!
Most welcome m'dear:)
James Patterson's/Andrew Gross' "Judge & Jury"
Ohhhh. My dad used to love James Patterson's books. I read a few of them that he loaned me. Pretty decent stories. Nicely paced, good sense of atmosphere and solid characters.
I adore Iain Banks in both his incarnations.
A friend bought me The Wasp Factory and it blew me away.
I mentioned it recently, but I won't link to the post because it gives away The Twist.
Consider Phlebus is interesting, but Use of Weapons and Against a Dark Background are wonderful. Although I lent them to a hard-core sci-fi fan and he dismissed them, so I guess it's about what you're looking for from a book.
I dragged my poor ex-husband up to Scotland on holiday because of The Crow Road. We stayed close to Lochilphead - where we had the best chips I'd ever tasted, served by the surliest chippy EVAH. I was too scared to go back, despite how good they were.
"All your nonsenses and truths, your finery and squalid options..."
Ohh. God some of the lines he writes just send a shiver down my spine.
We're agreeing too much.
Say something stupid so I can attack you kthxby.
We're agreeing too much.
Say something stupid so I can attack you kthxby.
Chuh! YOU"RE the chippy!!
;)
Butt out, bitch!
Stop standing up for Dana - I knew you had a secret girlie gang behind my back and this just proves it.
This will be my last post because you've driven me away from the only board I ever felt comfortable on with your nasty comments. And always directed and me, no-one else. I'm fed up with being your target.
Goodbye.
Sundae! Come baaaaaaack!
Even though it 'tis true and my attacks have been, indeed, directed at you AND Dana and I are in a girlie gang (we have matching fedoras!) I really, truly want you to come back to the cellar.
So I can beat up on you some more.
:D
Okay I'm back.
Dana has my address any time you decide to send me a fedora.
UGH.
Disgusted.
Just finished Discovery of Witches and the author (Deborah Harkness) should be burned at the stake for resurrecting every effing cliche in the canon.
Hated it.
Will throw book across room now.
PS - what is your hat size, darling? ;)
Technically it's GBFH.
I don't know if they use Saville Row sizes in America tho9ugh.
Also known as Great Big Fat Head.
Dana I'm enjoying that series! The timing is perfect. A while back I watched Tristan and Isolde and it got me looking into the ancient history of England and Ireland.
The Wasp Factory is one of my all time favourite books ever. My bro got it whne it first came out (80s) and it did the round o fthe whole family.
It was Banks's debut novel. My God, what an opening salvo.
I hope you haven't been given The Twist yet. Avoid any and all spoilers, because I never saw it coming :p
I had an inkling by the time I was at the halfway point, although I do admit to two competing theories.
I liked it a lot, although I thought the ending was a little to open, but it didn't anger me like some of those sorts of endings do.
The Postman - David Brin
I could have sworn I'd read this years ago, but I clearly didn't. Maybe I bought it and it hasn't emerged from the box since the move.
I'm reading a copy someone abandoned on my mailroom table.
I'm reading a copy someone abandoned on my mailroom table.
Do you feel badly about neglecting your Kindle while you spend time with this anonymous stranger?
Alexander the Kindle understands, especially when he's getting a good charge.
And I don't usually just read one book at a time. I have several going ...
This is Water - David Foster Wallace.
His 2005 commencement speech to Kenyon College.
You can also listen to this speech via youtube.
Excellent stuff.
The Postman - David Brin
I loved the first half of this book. The second half, though, seem to come out of some Hairy Chested Men's Science Fiction Adventure Novel scrap heap ... There didn't seem to be any really useful reason for the bad clichés that got pulled into the tale.\
On to Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks (for a different book club)
Oooh. Let me know what you think of that Wolf. I never got into it, but am intending to go back and give it another go some time.
i've been reading a world to win at work:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_World_to_Win_(Lanny_Budd)
it varies between so-so and boring.
On to Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks (for a different book club)
Oooh. Let me know what you think of that Wolf. I never got into it, but am intending to go back and give it another go some time.
I had a hard time staying interested in Consider Phlebas. I never engaged with any of the characters, and the events are just such an absurd mish-mash of extraordinarily bad luck and poor judgment, that I never became concerned about what was going to happen next, because, pretty much throughout, no matter what happened, I knew there was going to be some completely unlikely resolution.
I will give a try at Player of Games which several people have described as being much better. But frankly, that bar isn't set very high.
Ack. That was my problem with it too. Just couldn;t connect with any of the characters. I was disappointed because I absolutely love his straight novels.
But it did have some lovely ideas in in.
The Culture themselves for example. The Minds, the names of the ships. The motivastion of the disparate characters.
I love the idea of the game of Damage too.
I think it was such an astonishing book for me because it dealt with such big ideas, in a really fast paced yet lyrically written way. I don't like all of his sci-fi - Excession was hard going, and was Feersum Endjinn. But this one was "lite" enough to be enjoyable. Although the all-out sprint towards the finish was, I admit, disconcerting.
I tried to read The Room. Couldn't get into it before the library wanted it back
Gotta say, regardless of what I think of the books, Feersum Endjinn is a frakkin awesome name.
Death Du Jour - Kathy Reichs
I'm a big Ian Banks fan, really liked Consider Phlebas , because of it's fast pace and huge scope. Didn't care for the Wasp Factory much. Non sci fi Espedair street was great and Complicity I have re read several times.
Feersum Endjin was tough with all the Pidgin English, but he story is great, Excession was a bit too out there.
Doctor Who: The Underwater Menace - Nigel Robinson
(yes, I am well into the Troughtons!)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers. Extremely well done characters, in a somewhat surreal, but very plausible American south between world wars.
To follow the actual thread title, the book I'm currently reading is
The Windup Girl by
[COLOR=#0645ad]Paolo Bacigalupi[/COLOR] . I read on some thread somewhere about what's hot in new sci fi so gave it a shot, I had to wait 7th in line for the reservation at the library.
Very good, I'm liking it a lot, the Wikipedia article there calls it BioPunk, :neutral:
It's set on a future Earth very beleivable extension of current technological advances, no laser guns, anti gravity or aliens.
Doctor Who and The Cybermen - Gerry Davis
(broadcast title: The Moonbase)
Technically not 'reading', but I've been listening to the Clarkesworld short story podcasts. This one stood out, but I can't tell you why without it being a spoiler.
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/audio_05_11a/
BTW, Kate Baker, who narrates all of the Clarkesworld stories, or at least the ones I've heard up until now, has a very sexy voice.;)
Every Last One--Anna Quindlen
Crooked Little Heart--Anne Lamott
I'm starting to reread Game of Thrones. I'm not sure yet if I'll hold off reading the new book until I've finished rereading the others.
@ HM: I got the audiobook, but I'm not clicking with the reader. Might have to get ahold of a paper copy.
I'm currently reading the extended version of The Stand by Stephen King. I'm really enjoying it.
My original copy of The Stand fell apart, so I had to buy the extended version.
Even now I still remember which parts were extended (jore or less).
I need to buy a new copy now - hope there isn't any more added to it...
Just remembered - the first time I read it I didn't know what Pop Tarts were (someone eats a cold Pop Tart at some point - possibly Larry).
That seems like a LONG time ago now.
Yes I think it was Larry when he was still in NY.
The copy I'm reading is Dazza's and the back cover is gone and so is the front. The pages are very yellowed and I'm not sure if it's got the final few pages still, but here's hoping. I haven't wanted to look at the back of it because I hate spoiling the ending.
I think I might get a new copy though. This one is very uncomfortable to read because of the state it's in.
It would be one of my desert island books - from sheer length and episodic readability. It's like a made-for-TV-series with gore and sex and continent-wide scope. Not worldwide, but hey. That would have made it even longer!
I'm not saying it's a great book. But it's a bloody good read.
BTW - the Pop Tart comes later. But I can't give you any more details if it's your first time round.
It's not a seminal plot point - it's a [SIZE="1"]tiny[/SIZE] detail. I only remember it because it made no sense to me at the time - but anything else I write would be a spoiler.
If you're in New York with Larry you will remember his mother sneezing and saying shit. That stuck with me a while too. I sneeze at any given stimulus - including other people sneezing. Imagine me with a throat infection. OWWWWW! Certainly sneezing feels like I have Captain Trips. Just can't say shit now I work in a school.
I'm up to the part where Nadine moves in with Harold in Boulder. About 2/3 of the way through.
Stephen King's books are usually a really good read. He has the ability to draw really believable and approachable characters. I loved Needful Things. Awesome book.
Finished Player of Games - Iain M. Banks
Definitely liked it better than Consider Phlebas. Pacing was more even, and the concept was fascinating ... lots of that headology stuff going on.
Stephen King's books are usually a really good read. He has the ability to draw really believable and approachable characters. I loved Needful Things. Awesome book.
When I was in HS and college my mom would get me the latest King hardback for birthday or christmas. I've always loved his 'non-horror' stuff, like The Body, from which Stand By Me was made, or Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
I got his latest collection of short novels from the library and only read one before I had to return it. I may give it another shot but the story I read didn't really do it for me.
And he is STILL carping about getting hit by that car. Yeah, it was subtle but he was absolutely whining about being hit by a car and being a celebrity. ;)
Of course, if I were hit by a car I might feel similarly. Of course, if I were a multi-millionaire I might feel differently.
Right now reading I'm reading Good Faith by Jane Smiley. It's not my favorite of her books that I've read. Really way too much detail into the crazy madcap world of real estate. I guess real estate just isn't my bag, baby.
And he is STILL carping about getting hit by that car. Yeah, it was subtle but he was absolutely whining about being hit by a car and being a celebrity.
No kidding. He even turned his getting hit by that car into a major plot section of the last Gunslinger book. He seriously needs to let it go.
No kidding. He even turned his getting hit by that car into a major plot section of the last Gunslinger book. He seriously needs to let it go.
:lol:
I am so glad I'm not the only one who has noticed. I noticed it some years ago, but as I was reading the story I actually said out loud to myself "Oh for god's sake LET IT GO!"
I can even almost forgive the getting hit by the car carping, but it was OH SO WORSE for him because of his fame and fortune. pffffft.
:D
Out of books rfn...Reading a stack of about two years worth of Rolling Stone mags my buddy gave me, circa ~2006-09.
Why would anyone ever pay for this rag? The interview, or the Q&A, is the only thing in there worth shit, and only about one out of five of those is interesting stuff. Unless you're a fan of epically slanted political writing.
Rolling Stone hasn't been good since they started printing on slick paper.
I don't like the smaller, magazine-type issues, either.
I just finished Doctor Who: Evil of the Daleks - John Peel
It's a Troughton story and it was fantastic. I'm not used to the plots being quite so complex as this one, particularly in older Who stories, which usually managed clever, but rarely were multilayered.
Riddley Walker - Russell Hoban
Several people on my Apocalypse Whenever Book Club have recommended it. I'd never heard of it. Haven't actually cracked it open, but it's ready to go.
I'm reading Deceiver (#11) in C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series. I had started reading Betrayer (#12), but realized after the first page that I had skipped over a book in the series.
Amazing series. Sort of Shogun meets The King and I mixed in with a little Babylon 5.
I just finished Doctor Who: Evil of the Daleks - John Peel
It's a Troughton story and it was fantastic. I'm not used to the plots being quite so complex as this one, particularly in older Who stories, which usually managed clever, but rarely were multilayered.
Riddley Walker - Russell Hoban
Several people on my Apocalypse Whenever Book Club have recommended it. I'd never heard of it. Haven't actually cracked it open, but it's ready to go.
think the Troughton era, and particularly the latter part of his run is when the stories do start to get a little more complex. Not all of them, there are still the simple adventures and/or morality tales, but some of them are quite multi layered.
I read The Unincorporated Man by the Kollin Brothers and A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz on vacation this week. Both get high recommendations. The Kollin Brothers book is strong sci-fi with a cool premise and will give you something to reflect on in the What is the nature of freedom? department, especially if you are a reflexive libertarian. Horwitz travels the Americas trying to piece together the exploration and colonization of the US vs the nonsense our generation was taught BITD, good stuff.
I'm up to the part where Nadine moves in with Harold in Boulder. About 2/3 of the way through.
You're close to the end then.
I think Larry was badly treated by the story. Okay, so there's a part of him that's like biting on tinfoil, but by the time he's punished for it, he's reformed anyway.
And he is STILL carping about getting hit by that car. Yeah, it was subtle but he was absolutely whining about being hit by a car and being a celebrity.
I was hit by a car. On a ZEBRA CROSSING! [cars give way to people as a rule of the road]. I still mention it. It's a good story. And all I got was soft tissue damage. Although this does mean I have a large numb spot on the point of impact, which makes shaving my legs more exciting. Oh and the biggest and baddest bruising anyone outside of hell could imagine.
Had I been hospitalised I'd have had far more to write about.
I liked Lise's Story and Duma Key.
I'm reading Deceiver (#11) in C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series.
I'd like to change my name to Cherryh.
Just started a Long Rider story: "Kill Crazy Horse", by Clay Dawson.
I'd like to change my name to Cherryh.
Cherreh?
More Ian M . Banks, Surface Detail. Culture book, I'm nearly 200 pages in, about 1/3, and the 3 or 4 plot lines are coalesing into a story. Most of the stuff I read is done in 200 pages
A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
Why, oh why did no one warn me that this was a "My Boyfriend is a Vampire" book. Also ... it says "a novel" on the cover. Implies a single event, right? No, the damn thing is part of a series that isn't yet written. I noticed I was running out of pages before I ran out of story and went, ut-oh ...
Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein
read this as an antidote to the irritation of the Witch book.
On the Beach - Nevil Shute
one of my online bookclub sets forth three challenges per month that I'm poor at meeting. I have to read something about siblings, something with a summery word in the title, and I forget the third one. Since I don't read books with drawings of Fabio on the front, I have chosen this as my Summery Word in the Title book. And it's also additional antidote to that witch book. I need to scrub that out of my brain, kind of like how you use the coffee beans to reset your scent receptors when checking out perfumes.
Grave Goods - Ariana Franklin
I love the Mistress of the Art of Death books, this is the third in the series. They're mysteries, set in England during the reign of Henry II. The mystery parts are quite good. The author apologizes for and points out historical inaccuracies in the afterward, frankly, I wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't said something.
I'm having book ADD again ...
Cyborg - Martin Caidin
The Machine of Death
Doctor Who and the Wheel in Space - Terrance Dicks
Caged in Darkness - J.D. Stroub (online friend of author, trying to find diplomatic way of writing review, so I'm taking my time with the book)
Red Mars - Kin Stanley Robinson
The Power of Four: Leadership Lessons of Crazy Horse - Joseph Marshall III
The Age of Odin - James Lovegrove
The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon
I read a little bit, put the book down, decide I want to know what's going on in another one, or I end up in another room where the book isn't but there is a book at my elbow, so I read based on availability ...
I just started Neuromancer by William Gibson.
Beautiful and Abundant: Building the World We Want by Bryan Welch. He is a Mother Earth News editor laying out ideas for how we as individuals can improve the way our world operates without getting caught up in ideas that are not self-sustaining. He is interesting because his magazine manages to occupy a market space which includes dirty hippies, survivalists, small farmers, and backyard and urban gardeners.
I'm continuing to read The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle. So far, most of it is adopted wholesale from Buddhist thought but I'm enjoying the way he relates and defends the idea of being present.
I loved neuromancer. I went through a Gibson phase in my 20s. Some awesome stuff.
I have just finished the second Jack Nightingale mystery, Moonlight, by Stephen Leather, on audio. Bloody marvellous. I listened to the firts and second in quick succession and am now bereft as the next one is yet to be written.
They're like a traditional detective story but with a supernatural satanic twist. Excellent lead character.
Just finished The Secret Tunnel by James Lear.
Not quite as filthy as The Back Passage but well worth buying second hand for 99p.
I want to get The Hot Valley next.
They are much better written than most erotic fiction, as he is a real author. By which I mean he is a published author of mainstream fiction. And the storylines hold together as well as the one-wank-per-chapter set pieces. But yes, it's mostly the pron :yum:
Also reading some Mandasue Heller's Mum got from the library.
Not so good.
I'm wading through them because I don't like to see books unfinished. But they're essentially dull and have a minor plot stretched thin across far too many pages.
Snatched and Two-Faced.
Avoid.
I don't have a book on the go at the moment. I want something similar in tone to the Jack Nightingale stories I just finished.
there are several books I wanna read but I'm gonna have to buy them from Amazon as stupid library doesn't have them and prolly never will.
Reading my Father - Alexandra Styron
The House on Crash Corner - Greenstein
Bad Dog - Martin Kihn
I just saw that Neal Stephenson's
next new book is coming out next week. I had no idea it was coming. He takes so long between books, I forget about them. The new book got a good review on BoingBoing.
I finished rereading Song of Ice and Fire... :( Now I have to wait again.
Sweet! Thanks for the heads up, glatt.
Received and read Hot Valley.
Enjoyed muchly.
I know from reading around the book that he ensured it was as historically accurate as possible, which meant nothing jarred. As long as you accept it's gay pron and every man the main characters meet will be gay, bi, curious, or easily persuaded ;)
Rollicking good fun though, even if it is all wrapped up rather neatly. But then romantic fiction has that downfall, without lots of torrid sex to offset it.
Now waiting for Sticky End.
Also read Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel.
I know it's been out years, but I never saw it for £1 before. I'd already read her second - More, Now, Again which I feel I should reread in the light of the first.
I disliked her Epilogue. It was very much of the time, and essentially wrong. I know hindsight is a powerful tool, but she was (is) super-bright and was the Senior Prefect of the zeitgeist after all. Sorry darling, you extrapolated your own feelings and writ them large and it was just what you were seeing after all, not a world change.
Oh and read the dreadful The Devil's Numbers by G M Hague.
Just awful. The same scenario over and over again with more detail given to the imminent victim than the supposed heroes. And huge logistical gaps ie the characters targeted, the malevolence with which they are treated and their subsequent behaviour.
Rubbish. Back to the charity shop. I did pick it in a hurry when I was waiting for the bus though.
A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
Why, oh why did no one warn me that this was a "My Boyfriend is a Vampire" book. Also ... it says "a novel" on the cover. Implies a single event, right? No, the damn thing is part of a series that isn't yet written. I noticed I was running out of pages before I ran out of story and went, ut-oh ...
In error, I read that book. Ms. Harkness should be burned at the stake for creating such a travesty! Or at least burned a little with a cigarette (as Dana recommends).
Simply put, the book sucketh whole and entire and the author - well, if we can't burn her, maybe we can make her walk the plank. the entire story is rancid and puke-provoking and puerile and unforgivingly bull-shitty.
Also, I didn't like it.
In error, I read that book. Ms. Harkness should be burned at the stake for creating such a travesty! Or at least burned a little with a cigarette (as Dana recommends).
Simply put, the book sucketh whole and entire and the author - well, if we can't burn her, maybe we can make her walk the plank. the entire story is rancid and puke-provoking and puerile and unforgivingly bull-shitty.
Also, I didn't like it.
Just make sure you don't use a roll-up cigarette. They go out too quick.
Just make sure you don't use a roll-up cigarette. They go out too quick.
;) words to live by, dana. Wise words to live by.
Finished two books in two days, mentioned them earlier ...
The Survivalist #1: Total War - Jerry Ahern
Classic post-apocalyptic Hairy Chested Men's Adventure. The author writes extensively about survival, so it's interesting on a couple of different levels.
The Power of Four: Leadership Lessons from Crazy Horse - Joseph M. Marshall III
Better than most of those "be a better person/be a better manager" books. It's short, direct, and uses good teaching stories to get the point across.
Hit the motherlode at the library - Dexter and Philosophy and an unauthorized history of the simpsons! YAY!
Rereading "Steel Beach".
Next up: Anathem (speaking of Stephenson).
Rereading More, Now Again as predicted.
Need moar books!
The 'rents are away next week, gonna persude Mum I need to borrow her library card.
Can't use mine, ran up a fine on it (:rolleyes:)
I'll tell her I've lost mine and can't afford a replacement just yet.
I need new books damnit.
The beautiful, glorious, heavenly, marvellous, wonderful thing about the library is the dabbling.
If it's a pile of pants you haven't lost anything. And there are some sparkling diamonds out there. James Lear was a library discovery. Way to be open-minded County Library!
Yeah, I will face my fine some day.
But I need my fix sooner than I can get brave.
I could never get away with that. The librarian would always recognize me. I spent a lot of time there as a child.
More, Now,Again by Elizabeth Wurtzel?
She's a nut. Kinda brilliant, i'll give her that, but still, a narcissistic nut job.
The amount of self-pity in that book alone qualifies her for a disability.
she's part of the Naomi Wolf, Katie Roiphe, wife of Jonathan Frazen trio of brash, brassy nut jobs.
Lizzie makes it a full quartet. :D
Finished:
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher: A "teen" book but certainly appealing to adults too. A student sends cassette tapes to various people to explain her suicide.
Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson: An amnesiac's memories are erased nightly.
Going to start:
The Girl on the Volkswagen Floor by William Arthur Clark: (another recommendation from sis-in-law)an older book, 1971, about a murder in an Ohio town (reviews tell me that town is Dayton.)
The Girl on the Volkswagen Floor by William Arthur Clark: (another recommendation from sis-in-law)an older book, 1971, about a murder in an Ohio town (reviews tell me that town is Dayton.)
yeah, not far from my house. Corner of E. Dorothy and Wilmington was a store called Ontarios. That's where they found her in her car.
I remember when we had an Ontario. Then it turned into Rinks. Now it's long gone.
I saw that it was near you. It will be interesting. Have you read it?
I started a new audiobook last night. Dean Koontz, What the Night Knows. The jack Nightingale books have had me in the mood for that detective murder mystery/supernatural thriller combo for weeks. So was delighted to discover this book.
It's quite spooky. Delivering the pieces at a nice pace and with some genuinely chilling moments. Great reader too. Which of course makes all the difference.
It's ages since I read (in this case listened to) a Koontz novel, I'd forgotten how rich his prose is. And because the reader has a mellifluous voice, you really get the rhythms and music of alliteration and wordplay. Incredible level of texture and detail.
Started listening at 1am(silly I know) and eventually had to force myself to turn it off around 3:40.
I remember when we had an Ontario. Then it turned into Rinks. Now it's long gone.
I saw that it was near you. It will be interesting. Have you read it?
No, haven't read it but I wanna. gots to find me a copy. It should take me right back to the '70's...ah, what a weird, wacky time.
Don't fret...I haz a copy.
Sissy-law said it was probably out of print. I found it through Amazon but it was really from goodwillbooks.
'Course, area libraries probably carry it...but I'll loan you mine when I'm done if you want.
Have you read And True Deliverance Make by John Fulker? He's a local attorney who follows a murder mystery from long ago. (Having trouble remembering details right now, it's been a while) but I remember being very intrigued with the descriptions of the way things were around here, way back when. I got some history on my little neck of the woods.
Mom got me an autographed copy years ago. It was just returned to me as my ex found a bunch of books I'd left behind.
Local murders...and not even HOBOS!
OOOO! No, I hadn't heard of that one. I will try to find copy. LOVE that stuff.
It's pretty good. Some dry lawyer-ese but I really liked it.
"Law of the Mountain Man" by William W. Johnstone
Am still waiting for A Sticky End to arrive.
That's the trouble with ordering books for pennies with discount delivery.
I'm trying to focus and finsih Red Mars, but it's slow going. First I thought I was having trouble because they were in transit, and things would pick up when they landed. Then I thought things were slow because terraforming takes a long time. I briefly thought maybe I just don't like books about Mars, but I loved the Martian Chronicles, so that's not it. Then I thought things were slow because the characters were uninteresting. Then I thought things were slow because nothing interesting actually happens.
I'm at 45% and dangerously close to shelving in "So Bad I Couldn't Finish," except that I usually abandon a book as bad in the first 10%, so it doesn't seem right not to soldier on.
Oh, turns out I hadn't ordered A Sticky End, it was The Low Road (both James Lear) instead. It was good fun, but I can tell it was one of his earlier ones.
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.
The first three chapters had me laughing out loud at times, due to her characterization of some of the characters, thinking thoughtfully for a minute, for the same reason, and at the end of each chapter I was like "wow." (How's that for literary description?)
I don't know yet though. I'll let you know. I like her writing style.
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.
The first three chapters had me laughing out loud at times, due to her characterization of some of the characters, thinking thoughtfully for a minute, for the same reason, and at the end of each chapter I was like "wow." (How's that for literary description?)
I don't know yet though. I'll let you know. I like her writing style.
Sundae turned me on to Kate Atkinson and I LOVE her! LOVE HER!
I loves me some Jackson Brodie but check out her other stuff, too.
Someone or something made me buy it (cheap from Amazon) maybe I'd heard you all talking about her? Anyway, yeah, she's a wonderful writer.
I saw that she had a couple/three books centering around Jackson Brodie, but there are others too.
I'm always happy to find a new (to me) writer when I've exhausted my selection from my current favorite writer (Lionel Shriver has stayed with me a few months now.)
I think pretty much every Atkinson book has made me cry.
If Case Histories is the one with Blue Mouse (not a spoiler) then that was probably the one I cried at the most. Love and self worth and all that shit (also not a spoiler!)
I've loved her whole ouevre, but the one that comes back to me again and again in terms of phrasing and ideas is her first - Behind the Scenes at the Museum. Many of her books are about mothers and daughters, but this one spoke to me the most. But I admit it wins by a thin hair.
I have posted about her a couple of times. Perhaps slightly incoherently. And perhaps praising the English tone of her writing - which ensnares me and I'm glad isn't an obstacle to an American reader.
While you're all open & susceptible can I suggest Esther Freud (esp Hideous Kinky and The Wilds) and Jasper Fforde (esp The Eyre Affair). The former for crystal clear writing about childhood and its completely ordinary pain. The latter for puns and grins and literary pleasure. Again, both very English and both absolutely delightful.
I have finished playing fairy-bookmother now and am off to read some gay pron.
Yes, it is the one with Blue Mouse!
I can't wait to see (read) what happens. Thanks for no spoilers. :)
I'm half in love with Jackson, too! I need a man like that in my life...anyhoo, her very latest is Started Early, Took My Dog (a line from an Emily Dickenson poem - Kate loves Emily) which Sundae so very kindly gave (mailed) to me for a birthday pressie! Loved that one, too; I also have Emotionally Weird which some critics weren't thrilled with but I LOVED it. I feel like I've actually been to the places she writes about. The landscape and culture are as much part of the story as the characters and plot.
I'm reading the subject of
this cartoon:
I'm hoping it beats the odds.
I"m reading a very junky piece of crap at the moment. I usually can't read more than a chapter (some of which are very short) before falling asleep.
It's called 'Rhett Butlers People' and is another add on book from the 'Gone With The Wind' saga.
I'm not quite sure if I'll finish this book, but it's a good cure for insomnia in any case.
Just finished "The Help", by Kathryn Stockett. Great book!
The Help
I'm hoping it beats the odds.
It does. It's Stephenson. How can it not?
Just finished "The Help", by Kathryn Stockett. Great book!
I enjoyed that too. Got a very scruffy copy for minor ducats.
I'm liking it so far.
Anathem? Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I picked it up to read a couple years ago. I couldn't get past the first couple pages.
Anyone started his new book yet?
If you can't get past the first few pages, you're probably running up against xkcd's issue.
Anathem? Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I picked it up to read a couple years ago. I couldn't get past the first couple pages.
Anyone started his new book yet?
I can't afford it yet. Waiting for the Kindle Price Drop.
I adored Anathem. I haven't bought Reamde yet. Scared by reviews calling it too popular/shallow.
I'm curious about the new Terry Goodkind book, too.
Anathem? Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I picked it up to read a couple years ago. I couldn't get past the first couple pages.
It has an awkward start, as I recall. Did you read the explanation of the ancient timeline before starting? Stephenson put in this whole rant with it about how he didn't want to include it, he thought the story was better if you had to pick up the details along the way, but his publisher made him put it in anyway. Personally I thought it was very helpful in picking up on what was going on in the beginning.
I just finished The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi. Good sci-fi thumbs up
Starting, Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne. This is a history of the Comanche people, looking very good.
Finished Anathem. It beat the odds.
Starting the Night Circus, as reccommended on NPR.
...as reccommended on NPR.
doesn't this make you a communist?
"The Weird Sisters" by Eleanor Brown.
Liking it very much - is light fun. Three small town sisters with a Shakespearan prof. father, mother with breast cancer and the three girls are messed up one way or another.
escapist fun.
Oh Frabjous Day!
SF Gateway is live.
It's not perfect, but it's a start. Basically it's a list with redirects to places you can purchase the ebooks, if they're available in your jurisdiction.
Sci-fi, but very realistically done - excellent book 1 and am now on book 2 of the series.
The Hunger GamesI read the first couple chapters of The Hunger Games when it came out (Kindle Sample), but it didn't click for me so I haven't gone further. Farther. Whatever.
We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates.
So far it's just making me very very very sad. :(
SHOOT!
(what I say now I work with childer)
I did my flicky, scrolly, spoiler thing.
Dwellars I adore did not approve of A Discovery of Witches.
Haven't read it all of it yet.
But I will let you know.
Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith. Very surreal, very good, often creepy.
The Case of the Indian Trader by Berkowitz, about the history of trading posts in the west, as well as the current propensity for federal law enforcement to go into SWAT-team raid mode on people who deal legally in Indian collectibles.
I'm about halfway through - the history of trading posts on Indian reservations is pretty interesting, but I've yet to hit the part about the raids on the Hubbel trading post and the questionable/overly aggressive tactics of federal law enforcement.
Glinda! Where the heck have you been? :)
Glinda! Where the heck have you been? :)
*
waves* :D
Aw, just busy with life. You know how it is, running hither and yon working a bunch of crap-paying part-time jobs in hopes of making enough to pay a
couple of bills... *
sigh*
I've also been suffering an ancient, extremely glitchy computer, which generally makes using it more aggravating than productive, so I tend not to be online much lately. (No shit, I literally have to HIT the damned thing to get it to turn on. How wrong is
that?!?)
The good news is, a replacement computer will be on its way shortly, thanks to my crazy friend that owns a town in Montana. He wants me to write his life story (as with the book mentioned above, my friend is also a dealer in Indian collectibles, and has been the target of
two federal law enforcement raids that have resulted in no charges or arrests - he's now suing the government, believe it or not) and isn't willing to let my old computer dictate its progress.
Enh. It's a life. ;)
I see that I missed the return (and subsequent departure) of our good friend Pammy.
HAGGIS!I'm happy to see you! I've wondered about you. :)
That sounds like an interesting story to write! Oh do let us know the progress.
I'm happy to see you! I've wondered about you. :)
Ok. I confess. I'm Pam. Been driving you goofballs crazy for months now! HA! ;)
That sounds like an interesting story to write! Oh do let us know the progress.
He's
just asked me to do this for him, so it's still in the planning stages, but I'll definitely keep you all updated when something happens. Happily, there will be pay involved during the process! YAY!
We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates.
So far it's just making me very very very sad. :(
STOP reading JCO right now!!
She is a complete downer and that book is a complete downer and you do NOT need any more downers, young lady!!
I assign you to read STRAIGHT MAN by Richard Russo.
It's funny and it's about academic life and it's GOOD.
It's antivenom for JCO.
Then, because it's Halloween-ish you may read WHERE ARE YOU GOING WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN by JCO if you wanna.
and Sundae?
When you're done with Discovery of Witches I want your review on my desk by 3:30. Please make sure you do it in crayon this time. :D
:)
Well I HAVE to finish it. But I'll take your advice: no more JCO. If they're all this sad, I don't want.
I'm so mad right now at the parents I could strangle the book!
and Sundae?
When you're done with Discovery of Witches I want your review on my desk by 3:30. Please make sure you do it in crayon this time. :D
My official review is
here.
if you're on goodreads already, friend me. If you're seeing the site for the first time, join and then friend me ...
I have no idea what goodreads is.
I'm just upset because I treated myself to a NEW BOOK only to find it had already been trashed by the Cellar.
I have the receipt.
I am tempted to take it back unread.
Am currently reading Let the Right One In (John Ajvide Lindqvist).
Far more detailed than the film of course - the Swedish one I mean.
Haven't even attempted to watch the American remake as it's bound to appall me.
When you remake you change and the original did not need changes.
I signed up for goodreads some time ago but I haven't really done anything with it.
goodreads.com is a social networking sort of site for people who read.
You can mark and rate which books you've read and post reviews if you like to do that sort of thing.
I like that sort of thing, so I have reviewed a lot of books ... pretty much everything I've read over the last two years.
Ok - I joined and I friended the wolf!
Accepted, and you're on my "top friends" list.
There are some fun groups to join, too ... some genre based, some general. I'm in a couple that are a lot of fun. I'll send you invites. One of them shows as a "closed" group that's not accepting any new members, but if you sign up tell the mod you're a friend of mine.
William Sarabande's "Walkers of The Wind"
just finished childhood's end. good ending.
Is that the one with the devil aliens?
i believe they prefer "overlords"
i believe they prefer "overlords"
who?
:vikingsmi ?
presumably the aforementioned 'devil aliens'...
I finished A Dance with Dragons about a week ago.
Not what I'd hoped for, not at all.
I am now reading Doctor Who - The Seeds of Death (nearly done Troughton!!) and the sequel to Mercury Falls, Mercury Rises, by Robert Kroese.
After it was referred to here (on the Cellar, not this thread) I bought a cheapo copy of Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Not all that impressed. It's very thin, dated and doesn't have much depth.
Yes, it is the Paris Hilton of real-life-stories.
I did get it for 99p plus postage, and it filled a gap in my education.
And you can't put a price on that.
Well, you can. But it's cheaper second-hand.
But unusual and therefore fun to read a book set in Australia. I think the last one I read was by Nevil Shute ;)
Also read The Palace of Varieties by James Lear.
I think I now have all of his books, mostly bought cheaply from America.
All gay porn. But all well written.
I might start reading his mainstream novels now (under a different name).
Stephen King's latest, 11/22/63. Freakin' AWESOME!
Stephen King's latest, 11/22/63. Freakin' AWESOME!
Really?
extrapolate!
(I'm channelling Captain Jean-Luc Picard!)
Another library Kindle book ... 100 Mistakes that Changed History - Bill Fawcett
Imagine drinking with a history professor who has a somewhat dry, pedantic delivery, who discusses fuckups from the beginning of recorded history.
Would be better as a bathroom book than a straight read, I think.
I also am continuing with Mercury Rises, which picks up where the hilarious Mercury Falls left off.
Really?
extrapolate!
(I'm channelling Captain Jean-Luc Picard!)
:D
The premise in a nutshell:
[INDENT]
Common Question: If you could go back in time and change ONE thing, what would it be?
Typical Response: Stop Oswald.[/INDENT]
King takes it one step further... and of course, it [FONT="Impact"]rocks[/FONT]. :cool:
If you are a fan of classic science fiction and have not yet done so, you owe it to yourself to read the various
Little Fuzzy books by H. Beam Piper.
If these books don't make you smile, then you are way too uptight and need to cut back on cable news.
Halfway through the latest Discworld novel, Snuff. It's a Commander Vimes story, which is always good. I'm really liking it. Vimes is a nicely dark character at times.
If you are a fan of classic science fiction and have not yet done so, you owe it to yourself to read the various Little Fuzzy books by H. Beam Piper.
If these books don't make you smile, then you are way too uptight and need to cut back on cable news.
I loved it. Thanks to the Kindle I was able to read it, finally. I'd been looking for it for years without success (ever since I read David Gerrold's book about his experiences writing The Trouble with Tribbles, because he talks about Little Fuzzy). I have a copy of John Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation, not sure when I'm going to get to it though.
I just finished the new Kindle Fire Edition of The Watchmen.
VERY cool. Deeply saturated colors, crisp lines. The panel navigation isn't quite as seamless as I'd like, but oh well.
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
The Screwtape Letters - C.S.Lewis
Public library ebook. I'm thoroughly liking the public library ebook thing. Especially since my library is, um, marginal. It's not in the worst neighborhood, but it's not in the best, either, and like many city libraries, it's a hangout for the homeless that are kicked out of the shelters until the evening.
Crazynurse's teenage granddaughter told me I had to read The Hunger Games. I'd been actively avoiding this book on the grounds that if the Twilight crowd loved it that much, it was probably something I wouldn't like. So against my better judgment (the granddaughter beat me at a Twilight Trivia game last Christmas), I got it free from amazon Prime Lending and actually liked it.
Now trading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, which is fascinating.
Now trading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, which is fascinating.
Always meant to give it a go, but I find the man repulsive.
Did I already admit that I will read the follow-up to
A Discovery of Witches when it's out? I spend my reading life dumpster-diving. I'll finish anything which doesn't actually stink. And I find some really wholesome stuff along the way.
Stretching my metaphor beyond what is really acceptable - this book was like finding a wrapped burger. Edible. And memorable simply because it was unusual - an otherworldy romance novel that didn't make me heave. Was it good? No.
It sufficed.
Bourdain is one of the few "food people" I'd like to have over for dinner.
I'm impressed by his natural way of showing his "sacred hospitality".
The art of saying goodbye. by Ellyn Bache
I just started reading that
Hugo book last night. After ten minutes, I had read 80 pages. I think I was mildly irritating Mrs. glatt with the fast flipping of pages.
Always meant to give it a go, but I find the man (Anthony Bourdain) repulsive.
Frankly, so do I. I pretty much only know Anthony Bourdain as "that sonofabitch from Top Chef," and the book hasn't really done anything to change that impression.
He is irascible, cantankerous, foul-mouthed, and has both over- and underlying anger issues.
He is, however, funny as hell, and communicates his rancor against the cooking establishment masterfully. And he imparts some important information ... never order meat well done, and don't ever choose the fish special on a Monday.
An autobiography, "Against all odds" by Paul Connolly
The author grew up in a childrens home in East London. He was one of 8 children sharing a dorm and suffered years of abuse from the staff. When he was 35, the police called and told him 6 of the 8 were dead. This is a very harrowing and uplifting story, telling of the years of abuse and how he overcame it.
Tony, I know you were Quarantine (sp?) but are you also Carruthers?
I'm not stalking you, it's just wonderful and strange to come across people in geographical proximity on a global forum. And by proximity I mean less than an hour away - which is housemates by the standards of many Dwellars.
Read One Day by David Nicholls.
It was recommended by so many people and "well loved".
I just didn't connect. I found the characters annoying; I couldn't relate to their circumstances, politics or goals.
All round disappointment.
And as I finished it, I was accosted by a young lady on my bus who demanded to know how much I had adored it. And I had to find a polite way to explain that I just hadn't connected with it.
The above is an exaggeration. She didn't accost or demand, but she was surprised and disappointed that I thought it was pretty rubbish (I didn't actually say that, but it's true).
All sparkle and no shine.
I raised The Time Traveller's Wife, thinking she would like it and I was right. Redeemed.
I ventured Kate Atkinson, and left her saying she would try.
I spread the word whenever I can.
Tony, I know you were Quarantine (sp?) but are you also Carruthers?
I'm not stalking you, it's just wonderful and strange to come across people in geographical proximity on a global forum. And by proximity I mean less than an hour away - which is housemates by the standards of many Dwellars.
Hi Sundae, Feel free to stalk. I am not Carruthers, I've only had the 2 usernames here.
Zendegi - Greg Egan
More future history than science fiction, but interesting.
Looks like I will take Mum's Kindle to Glasgow.
Recommendations?
Some description rather than just title and author please.
I will hijack this thread for the next 3 days.
Stephen Leather's 'Nightfall: The First Jack Nightingale Supernatural Thriller'
Followed by 'Midnight'.
I am eagerly awaiting the next one which will be released in January.
One of my favourite recent discoveries. Starts out fairly normal PI type stuff. Then descends into oddness. I really like the central character Jack Nightingale. He's very well drawn.
The whole thing has a quirky dark humour. Very well written. Bags of character and a plot that keeps you wanting to know more.
Check out the Look Inside free sample:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nightfall-Nightingale-Supernatural-Thriller-ebook/dp/B003LPUPC4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM
http://www.jacknightingale.com/Because it's that time of year, I've read A Christmas Carol for the umpety-umpth time.
How does it get better everytime, even though it's so familiar ...
Now reading Killer Genesis - by Axel Kilgore ... pen name for Jerry Ahern
Sundae, I really enjoyed
More Blood, More Sweat, and another Cup of Tea, but it might not do as well for you ... it's a collection of blog entries by a British Emergency Medical Technician. I hang out with EMTs and I found it funny and truthful, but some of the stuff might get a bit grimmy for civilians. And it's only 49 pence, or whatever you call your smallest clanky money.
I was looking over the Amazon.co.uk offerings, didn't know if you'd read Stieg Larson's Millenium trilogy yet. The first one takes a bit of getting into, and there are some nasty bits, but overall, it's a solid mystery.
then I had this idea ... Since you're going to Glasgow, do you want to read something set there?
I found a website that lists books set in Scotland.
Ta.
Haven't read Larson yet - good idea. I can do nasty bits.
And I think I'll try the Medical Technician thing - Mum used to be a despatcher for the Ambulance Service. I heard plenty of anecdotes that I was really too young to deal with, because I was the only one awake when she came home (Dad also worked shifts and my siblings slept like the dead - I'd hear her come in and get up to make her a cup of tea).
I value a good British book, some of my favourite authors (Kate Atkinson, Ian Banks, Rankin et al) write about Scotland, but I will check that site before I go.
"The Quest of Lee Garrison" by Max Brand
Zendegi - Greg Egan
More future history than science fiction, but interesting.
I adore Greg Egan's work. I remember the first of his that I ever read. It was called Quarantine I think (or Quarantined). The book cover was awful. Looked like one of the worst pulp sci-fi hack jobs. God alone knows why I picke dit up, there was just something about it that caught me. It was awesome. Really truly awesome. Mindblowing stuff.
I've since read several of his stories and haven't yet found one that didn't stretch my mind a little :p
He's also done some really great non-fiction essays on issues that matter to him (like Australia's approach to asylum control for instance).
Wolf, have you ever read any Jeff Noon? If not check his stuff out. He's a British author and his work sits somewhere between sci-fi and magical realism (according to a website I just looked at he is the 'celebrated pioneer of urban fantasy'). Very much a child of the Gibson era, but with a touch of Clockwork Orange. All his early stuff is set in Manchester, though it's very much an imagined Manchester. Despite the way its warped into something different, as a Manc, I totally recognise it.
First one's called
Vurt and won the 1994 Arthur C Clark award.
Don't know if it's available on Kindle though.
It was available as an audiobook on cassette (!). I have a copy, but it's a bit fucked on the sound I think...
It's on my list of top ten favourite books of all time. That said, it has its critics, and as Noon's debut novel it isn't as polished as his later work.
Pollen, the followup to
Vurt is in some ways a better book. It's beautiful and lyrical and has a depth and texture to it that I can still feel when I think of it.
Both those early books are special to me, because that was the initial discovery. Since then he's written some really important stuff, that pushes the envelope and plays with the very idea of literature and words. And numbers too...
Nymphomation for instance.
I could go on all night, so I better stop now.
This page is a brilliant write up of his works, in order. Shows the progression of concepts and styles.
http://www.themodernword.com/scriptorium/noon_works.htmlI recently finished my third Kate Atkinson book with the Jackson Brodie character.
When Will There Be Good News? Before that Case Histories and One Good Turn.
I think the next JB book is Started Early, Took My Dog. My library doesn't have it yet.
I've never really been into serial character books, but these are so good!
edit: I think I have a crush on Jackson. Is that wrong? ;)
YAY! I'm so glad you like them!1
I, too, have a crush on Jackson. In the series he's played by Jacob Isaacson which really is perfect casting, IMHO.
Thanks to Our Gal Sundae I HAVE SETMD!! She mailed it to me for my birthday last Feb. I'd be happy to send it your way.....lemme know if ya wanna.
:)
PS - have you noticed Kate Atkinson's love of Emily Dickinson?
She wrote a book that is very quirky (but I quite liked) called Emotionally Weird where she uses lots of lines from Emily's works.
And she really makes me feel like I've been to Scotland. :f167:
She's a wonderful writer. I'll have to pick up Emotionally Weird. I'll let you know about SETMD. I still need to give you the Girl on the Volkswagen Floor!
yes, woman, you DO need to give me that one! LOL!
I am really dying to read it. I live two minutes from the old Ontario parking lot.
We should do lunch...after winter quarter is underway and I'm not so stressed! :)
We should do lunch...after winter quarter is underway and I'm not so stressed! :)
total deal.
I'll even insist you pick the place.
Cool, I'll check out options! I have a bit of personal time I need to use, so I could probably snake an hour and a half lunch. We can tawk!
Loius L'Amour's "The Warrior's Path"
Hey Grav. I got a bunch of my old Louis L'Amour books out of my parents basement over Christmas.
They've been down there for years. I'm gonna start rereading some.
Dana, I've put Jeff Noon's Vurt onto my TBR pile, I'll let you know what I think.
I'm continuing to read Doctor Who novelizations, have made it up to Pertwee, just finished Cave of Monsterswhich was based on the first Silurians episode, now reading Ambassadors of Death.
I borrowed Kathryn Stockett's The Help from crazynurse's daughter, liked it more than I expected to, but I still wasn't entirely pleased with it. It is charming and poignant, without being overtly sappy, and really focuses on the strengths and foibles of the women, both black and white, involved. The white women tended to be two dimensional caricatures, all hair styles and silver patterns, but I guess less of their story was being told.
I'm currently reading Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum - Mark Stevens.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. :p:
Just finished
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. A really interesting take on a futuristic war, with a focus on how near-light speed travel screws up the soldiers' subjective timelines, so they go fight on the front for a couple of years but the laws of relativity mean they return to Earth 50--or 500--years in the future, depending on how much accelerating and decelerating they did. I highly recommend it.
1-1-12 meant that I can get another lending library book amazon, so I'm on to the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire
Dunkirk by Sean Longden. The true story of the 41,000 British soldiers who were left behind after the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940.
Yeah. That's a good one.
ditto
Dana, I've put Jeff Noon's Vurt onto my TBR pile, I'll let you know what I think.
I'm continuing to read Doctor Who novelizations, have made it up to Pertwee, just finished Cave of Monsterswhich was based on the first Silurians episode, now reading Ambassadors of Death.
I borrowed Kathryn Stockett's The Help from crazynurse's daughter, liked it more than I expected to, but I still wasn't entirely pleased with it. It is charming and poignant, without being overtly sappy, and really focuses on the strengths and foibles of the women, both black and white, involved. The white women tended to be two dimensional caricatures, all hair styles and silver patterns, but I guess less of their story was being told.
I'm currently reading Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum - Mark Stevens.
Oh, yes, let me know what you think of Noon.
Broadmoor Revealed is an excellent book. Really well-written. I have a side interest in criminality and social resistance in the 18th and 19th centuries.
At the moment I am still working my way through some Pratchett audios. Basically, I started out with the intention of just listening to those stories with Sam Vimes as the central character. Then I decided I'd also include any of the stories that have Vimes or the Ankh Morpork City Watch in them at all.
Started out with Men at Arms, as I'd not so long since listened to the radioplays of the first Vimes book (
Guards, Guards). Then changed my mind, went back and listened to Guards Guards after all :p
Am now just approaching the end of
The Truth , which is a brilliant look at the growth/role of the press. Great characters, excellent story, and just enough of a Vimes appearance to make me happy :) I particularly like the central character in this story: William deWorde.
Next up: Nightwatch. Probably my favourite of the Vimes stories. This one has Vimes as its central character and plays with time travel (under the watchful gaze of some temporal monks).
Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson. They hadn't even put it on the new arrivals shelf yet but it showed available on the computer.
The librarian said they had just catalogued it and got it from the back for me. :)
Brianna, is there a real life Jackson? Because he is so...just so.
Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson. They hadn't even put it on the new arrivals shelf yet but it showed available on the computer.
The librarian said they had just catalogued it and got it from the back for me. :)
Brianna, is there a real life Jackson? Because he is so...just so.
YAY! I'm so glad you got it and hope you love it - but read all her others - they are just wonderful.
I don't know about a real-life Jackson but
isn't he just so?!
Fell in love with Kate and Jackson at the same time.
I read BLAME by Michelle Huneven which was stunning and "Let's Take the Long Way Home" by Gail Caldwell - a memoir about her friendship with columnist Caroline Knapp who died in 2002 at age 42 of lung cancer. it's a book that I can only describe as clear light and breathtaking views.
get both. You'll love them.
Thanks for the suggestions. They will go on my list.
I did read the first three jackson books. Her writing always pulls me right in.
I just read Maine by J Courtney Sullivan. I really liked it.
I just googled Maine and it looks like my kind of read.
I'll try at the library tomorrow.
Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope
Borrowed it from a friend who borrowed it from somebody else. It's nice, but I'm about 1/3 in and haven't hit anything really substantive, mostly reminiscences about childhoods, how plucky and courageous she is, that sort of thing. I'm hoping there will be more details of the treatment and real assessments of her progress and capabilities, but I'm not expecting any. not Hopeful enough,.
Good luck with that. My mother read it also - told me not to waste my time.
Hopin she was wrong and you find something. PLEASE let me know if you do.
I read a book in one day, with a nap in between, but it kept me up most of last night because I liked it so much.
It is The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst. The writing is incredible, and the story is no less incredible. Plus, the protaganist is a writer and her latest book is a rewrite of all the endings of the books she'd written before...so you get short stories, the endings of the books the character got published with, with alternate endings, in between what she is going through in her real life.
Because you seem to have the same tastes in books, I thought you'd like this one. It was available in the new section of my library so I bet you can find it in yours. :)
I thought it was amazing.
Thank YOU!
I'm really needing a new read right now and I think we have the same taste in books, too!
I'm still waiting to get MAINE and I'll look for this one while I'm at the library.
:) many thanks.
Death of Kings: A Novel (Saxon Tales) : Bernard Cornwell This is like number 6? in the series. Uthred continues to kick ass. He is simply a great character in interesting times.
Gabby ended up being pretty much what I expected it to be ... although, they did point out that her rehab experience was seriously not typical. I was the only person among my friends who wasn't surprised by her resignation ... they had been talking about her in the next election cycle and they were appalled that I was saying there was no way that she was ever going to be capable of remaining in congress. Turns out, of course, that I was right.
I finally read The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. Awesome cross-pollination of science fiction and mystery. Neither genre would work for the story without the other ... good mystery AND good SF in the same package, rather than a convention mystery with spaceships and rayguns added to it.
Now onto Percepliquis by Michael J. Sullivan. It's the final book in the Riyria Revelations fantasy series.
Percepliquis was awesome. Rare that a fantasy series stays consistently good from beginning to end.
Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon
Had a couple of false starts on this, keep getting distracted by other (i.e., Kindle) books. This is one of the massive pile of books I ended up with during the Borders closing sale.
Not even a quarter into it ... it's a detective story set in an alternate history Sitka, Alaska, temporary homeland for Jews after WWII. The Alaskans seem to be kicking them out.
The Greenlanders, by Jane Smiley. Very interesting content, but I find the prose style extremely difficult to get into. I gave up on my first attempt years ago, but I'm sticking to it this time.
Bernard Cornwell is one of my faves Griff. Pisses me off that this particular series is only available in the abridged version on audible. Not gonna burn a credit on a 5 hour book.
I'm reading Reamde by Neal Stephenson. just started it, so.... I'll let you know.
Sick of my tapatalk sig
I'm reading Reamde by Neal Stephenson. just started it, so.... I'll let you know.
I just started it as well. Good so far.
"The Lost Wagon Train" by Zane Grey
Bernard Cornwell is one of my faves Griff. Pisses me off that this particular series is only available in the abridged version on audible. Not gonna burn a credit on a 5 hour book.
I'm reading Reamde by Neal Stephenson. just started it, so.... I'll let you know.
Sick of my tapatalk sig
I just started it as well. Good so far.
Gonna need a report from both you dudes... after six months or however long this one takes. :)
I get about 2 hours in per day, and its 25 hours long, so .....2 or 3 weeks?
I get through about 15 pages each night before falling asleep, and it's like 1000 pages long, so maybe by the Fall...
I think dana would enjoy this book. I want to play the mmorpg it's protagonist invented.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Don't let the fact that a dog narrates this story put you off. It is far from some cute little kid's story. The book is about grit, the human spirit, the devotion of a dog, and of course, racing in the rain.
Also just got myself a replacement copy of Pablo Neruda's Cien sonetos de amor (100 Love Sonnets). The Spanish and the English translations are side by side - useful if your Spanish is rusty like mine is. Neruda's command of the art of poetry, his way of turning a phrase, and his deep love for his wife Maltilde for whom these sonnets were written make this a "must have" volume for anybody who enjoys poetry. Sample from Sonnet 11:
I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day
I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps...
And I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight,
hunting for you, for your hot heart,
like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.
[FONT="Trebuchet MS"]como un puma en la soledad de Quitratue[/FONT].
Great stuff!
Just read "Before I Go To Sleep".
Bleh.
Glad I didn't buy it (I read Mum's copy)
I read it in one evening for a start.
And I certainly wouldn't read it again.
Currently trudging through "Under the Dome"
I actually flicked to the back to see who survives. I think I've only done that with 2 or 3 books in my life. It's a bloated, turgid read which nevertheless heaps atrocity upon atrocity. I read somewhere it was Orwellian. Ha ha ha. It's ten times the length of any of his books with a tenth of the depth.
I like Stephen King. I don't expect him to be George Orwell.
I often need to reread his books again a few years later because something in them has resonated with me. Or a phrase or description sticks in my head. But it helps to know the end; he's longer any good at suspense.
"Marine Corps Martial Arts" by The United States Marine Corps - MCRP 3-02B
Mockingjay. Oh boy. I should never have started. never. But the recommender's grandmother had just died. I was trying to make her feel better, so I said I'd read the books ... at least I didn't pay for them.
I should really learn to listen to that little inner voice, the one that screams at me telling me I'm being stupid when I accept reading recommendations from other people, or at least ones without a good track record at suggesting books that I'll actually like. A special pox on those who recommend the first book of a series ...
But anyway.
I was trying to pacify a friend's teenage daughter by acquiescing to her claims of the awesomeness of the Hunger Games.
That's it. That's my only excuse. For the first one. Which wasn't bad. It was interesting, a different take on The Running Man, but with kids, and a strong government is evil subplot. Fine. I read it.
Then I figured out that Catching Fire was very much of a bridge book. It only existed to drag the reader from point A to point C.
So here we are. Mockingjay. The culmination of what now passes for an epic storyline, and clearly isn't.
Think Running Man meets Twilight, but with more gunfire and explosions.
I like gunfire and explosions, but not these.
I saw the ending from the beginning, which is never a good thing.
Oh, and everybody sparkles in the pretty, sunsoaked meadow at the end.
The Innocence of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton
Bought it shortly after I got my first Kindle, it's been sitting in my TBR for far too long. I love these stories, had read a few of them in my teens, recently started watching the Father Brown stories on Netflix and have gotten hooked again.
The Wisdom of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton
Just picked up A Hard Day's Knight, the next to last Nightside novel, from my local library. After reading the first page I realized that..
A) I had missed reading the previous novel
B) The first page contained a spoiler to a major event in that novel
Now I have to take back the book and read the previous book, although from the description maybe I did read some of it 2 years ago. I'm getting deja vu looking at the Amazon description. But I can't remember reading the event that the spoiler mentioned.
Knocked off Agincourt a couple days ago. Am re-reading the Art of Happiness after a few years. And am not getting excited about a bio of Ben Franklin but maybe it will catch eventually.
The Secret of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton
I just finished book six of Harry Potter and The library copy of 7 is out and the bookstore is closed.
AAAAAAH
I've sent out emails to local friends...
I read Reamde. It was fine; not quite up to my usual Stephenson expectations.
I don't have enough shelf space for Diskworld (though I do have a few of them), but now that I have a Kindle, I'm starting from the beginning. I'll probably do a mix of publishing order and an order I found online.
I'd do the standalones in publishing order (stuff like Thief of Time, Moving Pictures, Small Gods) but the arcs I'd definitely take together.
So, for instance, the Rincwind arc, starts with Colour of Magic and ends with The Last Continent I think.
The City watch/Commander Vimes arc starts with Guards Guards, and ends with Snuff
The Witches arc starts with Equal Rites and not sure what it ends on.
The two Moist von Lipwig stories (Going Postal and Making Money) are worth taking together and best left until after at least some of the City watch stories have been read :)
The Death arc starts with Mort I think, though he appears in the first couple of books as a support character.
This page lists the different arcs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiscworldStill wandering through the Target Doctor Who novelizations, well into Pertwee (The Mutants), on the side, I'm reading the manga Hikaru No Go, since I just finished watching the series, which was a remarkably faithful adaptation, also have Redemption Day by Steve O'Brien, which is a review copy from the publisher (adventure/thriller), and got my copy of Warrior Mindset signed by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman at his presentation today, so that's now on the top of the pile beckoning me. I also started The Lion, the Lamb, and the Hunter, the newest book by Andrew Kaufman.
Can you tell I'm a little anxious?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld
Through that, I found
this, which is a newer version of the reading order I have been using. Cool.
The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. It's highly amusing and the solutions to some of the mysteries are genuinely unexpected.
I also just recently finished reading A Dance With Dragons - the most recent Song of Ice and Fire book. I really liked it but I do wonder how long this story is going to go on... so many plots!
I figure GRRM is just going to have to have a comet strike Westeros, killing everyone. It's the only way to resolve the stories in two more books.
It is just supposed to be two more, isn't it?
Finished Doctor Who and the Mutants last night. I really need to read the review book. And there's some editing I'm helping a friend with on a paranormal romance. She's nice. I do it in little bits so it isn't as awful as a sit down read through.
I read Reamde. It was fine; not quite up to my usual Stephenson expectations.
I read about a hundred pages and then never seemed to pick it up again. Is it worth the read? Should I pick it back up?
I read about a hundred pages and then never seemed to pick it up again. Is it worth the read? Should I pick it back up?
The first hundred pages aren't necessarily representative. The plot takes some wild turns. Like I said, it was good, but not great. It felt like the novelization of a decent action/adventure/thriller movie, rather than a literary adventure I am used to getting from Stephenson.
I wouldn't give up on it, but, I am extremely averse to giving up on books. I only remember doing so once, and:
The Greenlanders, by Jane Smiley. Very interesting content, but I find the prose style extremely difficult to get into. I gave up on my first attempt years ago, but I'm sticking to it this time.
I don't get it. If I am really into a book you couldn't shoot it out of my hands. If I've read a hundred pages I'm either going to quit or finish it just to see how stupid the protagonist can get.
But I don't read those super-epic-50-volume series books, either.
Except Amish romances. I love a good Amish romance. I can't WAIT to see if Rebekah and Sarah board the spaceship and take it over with their phasers by shooting the one eyed Charpalthar and the Ruminating Romping Rigomatarman or if they quit rumspringa altogether.
I also just recently finished reading A Dance With Dragons - the most recent Song of Ice and Fire book. I really liked it but I do wonder how long this story is going to go on... so many plots!
I figure GRRM is just going to have to have a comet strike Westeros, killing everyone. It's the only way to resolve the stories in two more books.
Maybe I'm crazy, but I can kind of sense it starting to turn, all the plots starting to face each other so they can crash together in a spectacular wrap-up. Here's a collection of major plot points as I see it (not actually spoilers, since who knows, but a lot of detailed ideas you may or may not want put into your head):
[COLOR="White"]I think Jon Snow is a Targaryen. His mother is still mostly a mystery, but once, in the very first book, it was mentioned that he has violet eyes, which I only noticed because it was right after describing Daenarys with violet eyes and I thought, "Two major characters with very strange-colored eyes? Not a coincidence." And in ADWD it was noted again that Targaryens have violet eyes.
So Daenaerys is gonna finally show up in Westeros, and she and Jon Snow will get married, maybe before or maybe after figuring out they're related. He'll have to abandon his vows as Lord Commander to do this, which will of course be a torturous decision, but he will rationalize that it is necessary in order for them to join forces so they can defeat the eventual major attack from the Others/Wights (which has got to be the major climax of the whole series,) which is ultimately the Lord Commander's job so by breaking his vows he's actually upholding them.
Penny, Cersei, and Tommen are all going to die. Tyrion will return to Westeros to take the Iron Throne briefly, but will only use it to destroy the last vestiges of his father's realm, basically handing it all over to the Tyrells. He will marry Marjorie to accomplish this, but again not sleep with her, thus continuing the cycle of multiple-marriages-but-no-consummation for both of them. Arya will come back and match wits with the Spider, ultimately killing him. Daenaerys' dragons will only be able to be ridden by women, and Arya will ride the white one in the final battle. The green one will be ridden by Brianna (Maid of Tarth, the big dykey one.)
Also, Rickon has to show up at some crucial plot twist, having been completely missing since the Red Wedding.[/COLOR]
spoilers ho: [color=white]well ... I don't disagree that Jon is a Targaryen, But I think his Mom was Eddard Stark's sister, who was raped by the Targaryen. I think Eddard, aka the most and possibly only man in Westeros who is faithful to his wife made up the story because there couldn't be a living Targaryen heir running around, it would have either made Jon a target or destabilized the Barratheon throne almost immediately. I also think he pushed Jon into the Night's Watch because the oath would prevent him ruling if his parentage ever were to come to light. I think that Arya (my favorite character at this point, which means she's likely dead as a doornail) will come back to Westeros for the pleasure of killing Cersei, and maybe the Red Witch. Rickon is off being raised by wolves (or wargs) somewhere, and will be the last Stark standing. For House Lannister, it's really been interesting watching Jamie turn into less of a sonofabitch, that's for sure.[/color]
The Hunger Games (bought on Mum's Kindle by accident while showing her the steps needed to browse and purchase).
I liked it.
But accept that the following books might be pants.
Still, a colleague has #2 so I can read it without wishing I hadn't bought it.
clod and wolf: (secret spoiler type question)
[COLOR="White"]Didn't Jon Cark it at the end of the DWD you read? Or do you think He's not quite dead yet....?[/COLOR]
reamde was decent, not great. I liked the characters mostly... but.... The plot relied on far too many coincidences for it to be believable. the 1st 3rd was more geeky with how the game worked and stuff,.... and i was liking it... but then it turned into a spy thriller james bond type of thing. not a stand out book.
I just finished the latest Outlander book. The Fiery Cross. I love Clair and Jamie. ANd Davina Porter does such a great Scotch accent.... (audiobook) it was loooong.... but enjoyable. I cant wait until the revolutionary war breaks out.
Currently reading Armor. sci fi junk.
Currently reading Armor. sci fi junk.
I read it some time last year. That's junk all right.
Currently reading Armor. sci fi junk.
I actually loved that and want to read it again. John Steakley, right? It's in a box here, somewhere.
SF fan who wanted to be able to be a con guest rather than an attendee, wrote himself a book. It sold. Wrote himself a second book. It got made into a movie by John Carpenter. WIN.
clod and wolf: (secret spoiler type question)
[COLOR="White"]Sure looked like it, didn't it? But since when does GRRM do the expected thing. Multiple factors in play here ... you got the Red Witch, the hardiness of the Starks and possibly Targaryens, and magick is coming back into the world as the dragons grow up. Not to mention whatever it is that Uncle Benjen has become, yes? I'm thinking some Red Witch action, myself.[/COLOR]
clod and wolf: (secret spoiler type question)
Answer: [COLOR="White"]Yeah, I don't think Jon's really dead. There have been a couple of times where main characters were assumed dead at the end of their chapters, and then turned out to only be wounded later. I bet Ghost plays into the explanation for why Jon didn't actually die. I even kind of wonder if Stannis is really dead, but I think he probably is.[/COLOR]
The Hunger Games (bought on Mum's Kindle by accident while showing her the steps needed to browse and purchase).
I liked it.
But accept that the following books might be pants.
Still, a colleague has #2 so I can read it without wishing I hadn't bought it.
I just read Hunger Games too. It was good, but I didn't love it. My wife read number 2 and says it's actually better than 1. I'll get around to reading it in the next few weeks.
reamde was decent, not great. I liked the characters mostly... but.... The plot relied on far too many coincidences for it to be believable. the 1st 3rd was more geeky with how the game worked and stuff,.... and i was liking it... but then it turned into a spy thriller james bond type of thing. not a stand out book.
Yeah, it's when it took a turn for the more James Bondy kind of thing that I started losing interest. The last I read, they had just arrived in Asia to find the guy.
I like it when he geeks out on details. Like the road going through North Dakota that follows the longitude lines, and jogs at 90 degrees to the left suddenly for a few hundred yards to account for the curvature of the earth, and one of the characters drives off the road there. That kind of thing is cool.
I actually loved that and want to read it again. John Steakley, right? It's in a box here, somewhere.
SF fan who wanted to be able to be a con guest rather than an attendee, wrote himself a book. It sold. Wrote himself a second book. It got made into a movie by John Carpenter. WIN.
I did too. Felix was a bad ass. 1984. Was there a sequel?
Not that I'm aware. I heard that Steakley died. Sometime in the last two years, maybe? (yes,
November 2010)
I just read Hunger Games too. It was good, but I didn't love it. My wife read number 2 and says it's actually better than 1. I'll get around to reading it in the next few weeks.
All the girls in my house loved it. Unfortunately the movie director, who was apparently faithful to the book, chose to to film it in the vomit inducing style which has become so common place.
I enjoyed The Hunger Games. Knew it wasn't going to be great, didn't expect it to be great, but it didn't suck like the last book that sold in crazy numbers to teens.
Catching Fire (#2) was okay, but very clearly only existed as a bridge between 1 and 3.
Mockingjay was tedious. Predictable. Not interesting in any significant way.
"Preacher's Fury" - William Johnstone
"The witch of Exmoor" Margaret Drabble
I liked it. Read it in two days. Did not know she is the sister of
A. S. Byatt.-
Only book that's moved vaguely forward are the Doctor Whos ... now on Carnival of Monsters.
Still reading The Lion, the Lamb, and the Hunted.
The Complete Unabridged Stories of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.
If I ever write a book, I'm going to use all 3 of my names.
If I ever write a book, I'm going to use all 3 of my names.
You could only get away with that in the 19th Century. Now it means you're either a serial killer or presidential assassin.
Or maybe there's something we don't know about Mr. Doyle.
If I ever write a book, I shall refrain from using all four of my names. I may use a couple of initials though :P
I am on page 70, so far an interesting read.
Finished The Lion, The Lamb and the Hunted - Andrew E. Kaufman
Billed as a "psychological thriller," which it is, but the key plot device was so incredibly predictable, that all I did was wait for the big reveal, which when it did come, was pretty ho-hum and got overshadowed by an action scene that would make even Bruce Willis cringe from the confluence of coincidences.
Also finished Dr. Who and the Carnival of Monsters.
Started Gates of Fire - Stephen Pressfield. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman recommends it highly ... it's about the Battle of Thermopylae.
Currently reading Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.
There are some passages of truly epic writing in here and it has inspired me to improve the stuff that I am currently writing.
I'm only about a third of the way into the story so far.
I have a pile of books to review for you.
So this is just a teaser.
Don't hold your breath - they're teen fiction or gay non-fiction, so perhaps of limited interest.
Battle Royale is one of them though. Having read The Hunger Games trilogy.
Crikey me, the author liked similar names!
You know when people say "I'm terrible with names but I never forget a face!"
Well it turns out if the names are foreign*, I'm terrible with names as well as faces (I already knew about faces, foreign or not).
* NOT a xenophobic or racist statement, but I know no-one called Yukie, Yuko or Yoka so when they all turn up in the same scene I forgive myself for being a little confused as to character and motivation. Not to mention Yukiko, Yumiko and Yoshimi. And yes, I did just look those up :)
I know three people called Yukiko.
See? They all just blur together.
Oh I'm not using it as a criticism of the book per se.
Just something that confused me.
I had the same issue with some Greek names in Classical Studies but it was so long ago I'd forgotten about it.
I had friends called Michael, Mikey, Mike and Mike C. Never had any issue working out who was who. Bikey Mikey, Pikey Mikey, Mr Mike, Mike Flex etc [okay, the last one was a joke]
Same with Clare/ Claire x 5 at work.
And multiple Steves, even when they should be Stephs!
When I know people or have something to hang their name on I am fine.
Multiple Mikes in a book would probably trouble me as much as many ladies with names beginning with Y, but it's easier for my brain to hook on surnames like Smith, Jones, Weir, Donachie etc.
What about Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich?
[YOUTUBE]EwfI677mRXo[/YOUTUBE]
I enjoyed The Hunger Games. Knew it wasn't going to be great, didn't expect it to be great, but it didn't suck like the last book that sold in crazy numbers to teens.
I think the story suffered from its point of view. There's a self-centeredness about the narration that prevents it from becoming more than "plucky teenaged protagonist prevails against great odds by means of extreme plot contrivance."
Sundae, I've met a Yoku, Yoko, Yuka and Yuki.
In the same English class.
That only had four students.
But no, they didn't all look the same. [size=1] Just very similar. [/size]
Ashley, Ashlee, Ashleigh, and Ashlea. ;)
Books recently read:
Cover Letters for Dummies by Joyce Kennedy :greenface
Magnificent Desolation by Buzz Aldrin
Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert (gave about about 1/3 in)
Currently starting Goethe's Faust, which I've wanted to read for years, but never made it. I'm hoping a more modern translation will help.
I am totally lovin' on Scalzi. I have Fuzzy Nation but I haven't cracked it open yet.
And now, on to engaging in shameless promotion for a publisher that occasionally gives me advance review copies ...
I received this request from the publisher to let folks know that a book I recently reviewed will be free for Kindle.
Thank you again for accepting a copy of Steve O’Brien’s Redemption Day for review. April 19 is approaching – and this is a day of significance in the book. Steve will be offering the Kindle version FREE on Amazon from April 15th – 19th . It would be great if you could help spread the word to your book community.
Here is a little write up from Steve about April 19 and its significance in Redemption Day.
April 19 has become a date marking horrific violence in this country's history.
The date is not well known like September 11 or December 7, the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Unlike dates that commemorate great military victories or the end of World Wars, April 19 is about a different kind of violence.
Violence between citizens of this nation and the government itself.
Like most traditions it began as a coincidence, but later transitioned into a date of significance for members of sovereign citizen groups like the Posse Comitatus.
It began in 1985. Jim Ellison was the leader of a sovereign group called CSA (The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord. On April 19, 1985, three hundred federal officers surrounded his compound in northern Arkansas. Ellison surrendered and was later convicted of conspiracy and weapons charges. Aside from traditional firearms, the federal officers rounded up hand grenades, plastic explosives, blasting caps, land mines and even a US Army anti-tank rocket. One of Ellison’s men, Richard Wayne Snell was charged with murder and his execution took place ten years later as fate would have it, on April 19.
April 19, 1993 the FBI stormed the Branch Davidian complex outside Waco Texas, killing seventy six members, including seventeen children. David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidian group was sought for illegal weapons charges, something sovereign groups adamantly believed was not a crime, but a right. This came on the heels of the Ruby Ridge shootings which had enraged members like Tim McVeigh. Terry Nichols and McVeigh saw Waco as yet another illegal intrusion by a corrupt government.
Following Waco, April 19 became a date of significance for sovereign groups. They would use the date as a symbol and cause to retaliate against the government.
On April 19, 1994 militia leader Linda Thompson issued a call for sovereign citizen groups to assemble in Washington DC, armed and in uniform. The purpose of the assembly was the forced repeal of the Brady Bill and the arrest of Congressmen and Senators for treason. She identified herself as the acting adjutant general of the Unorganized Militia of the United States. Although later rescinded, her call to arms became known as the Thompson Ultimatum.
At nine pm April 19, 1995, CSA member, Richard Wayne Snell, was put to death by lethal injection in Arkansas. Twelve hours earlier, Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols had ignited a truck bomb outside the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killing 168 people.
For McVeigh and Nichols the date was not a coincidence.
Reading Ringworld again
That sounds like a great idea. :)
yeah, I'm just filling in time until my new credit rolls around for this month. It's been 4 years or so since I read it. plus, I like Luis Wu.
I am totally lovin' on Scalzi.
I'm looking forward to
Redshirts.
I made an unplanned digression into
Triplanetary when it popped up on the public library's ebook list. I'd heard of E. E. Smith and the Lensman series, but never read any of it.
Sliding Down the Telephone Pole by Dick Burns
Trails in the Sand by Peter Dragon
Sliding Down the Telephone Pole by Dick Burns
Trails in the Sand by Peter Dragon
BigV's Penis, by Peter P. Payne
I think the story suffered from its point of view. There's a self-centeredness about the narration that prevents it from becoming more than "plucky teenaged protagonist prevails against great odds by means of extreme plot contrivance."
I just kept thinking Running Man
I just kept thinking Running Man
With a bit of The Tenth Victim, but not any of the good or interesting parts.
Lost Girls by Bob Mayer
Not my usual fare, but it looked interesting enough to try when I read a blog post from the author about ebook/self-publishing issues and he had this one and a couple others up for free as a promotion.
I'm a few chapters in, and it's OK, but I almost didn't make it past this sentence from laughing too hard:
He was wearing a baklava.
:lol2:
That must be like wearing a tobboggan. Man that drives me crazy when my friends call hats toboggans. Whose idea was that? :lol:
finished Hyperion ... very disappointing. Even in extended series, I expect a little more closure, and a far less stupid ending.
that's because it wasn't the end, wolf.
I read
Hyperion, and enjoyed it... It did end right before the climax though....
or what I thought would be the climax.... so I got, and am reading Fall of Hyperion now... about 3/4 of the way through.
2 thumbs up.
I picked it because there were so many positive reviews from authors I like. Someone said he's a writer's writer. And that he didn't start out doing sci-fi, but that he mastered it with his first try. I could see this book being made into a movie. Very deep, layered plot line and great characters that become very real to the reader. He uses John Keats (poet) as a character (or 3) which is kind of cool It made me want to read some of his poetry... which... meh... \\anyway// good books, but you gotta read both.
In the years I've been reading Pratchett's books I've generally avoided the ones for children/YA readers. I've read one or two, but the ones set in the discworld just never appealed to me.
In desperation, having run out of Granny Weatherwax stories, I decided to listen to the Tiffany Aching series. The story of a young witch, beginning when she is 9 years old and before she has realised her talents, and going through four books to her as a 15-16 year old.
What totally delightful books. Dark and funny and centred in humanity. Not childish. This is an author who treats children as intelligent, curious and creative readers. The only thing that marks these as 'children's books' is the fact of a child protaganist, and a sensitivity to some of the issues that might concern a youngster. Beyond that they are no different to the other Discworld books. If anything, I think they're a little darker in places. They certainly expect an ability to handle some quite heavy concepts. I mean heavy in a real way, not heavy in a theoretical multiverse kind of a way. Human nature, red in tooth and claw. Particularly in the last two books (I'm almost done with the final one). It's also laugh out loud funny in places.
I'm almost done with my discworld quest, unless the man writes another novel set there (he's got several books coming out but they're not DW). And I will be sad when that is finished.
My first post in this thread:
Margaret Atwood - The Year of the Flood
Is it a requirement for me to make some kind of comment?
I should later, I'm becoming quite involved in it.
I made a terrible, awful mistake.
You all know that I know better than to bow to public popularity, and read what everybody else is reading and telling you you should read. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
yes, I read that. Well, not really read. Started. Thank goodness for Kindle Samples which saved me the pain of actually having paid any money to read the first two chapters of the latest, hot, piece of word-processed crap.
I had to do something to clear the palate after tasting the book that shall not be named.
I had a brake light come on (and then go off), and was hoping that it was just fluid sloshing around in the reservoir ... no such luck. So I was at the mechanic today for several hours. My kindles were all charging, and I wasn't willing to trust that any of them had enough power to make it through the whole wait, so I grabbed a dead tree book off my stack from the Borders closing sale.
People, you need to read The Invention of Air, by Steven Johnson. Absolutely fascinating look at 18th century politics, philosophy, and science. Especially the science, so far. It is really cool.
The Hunt for KSM. Great book. It will give you some great insight on our sucess and failure as a nation to thwart the attacks on 9/11 and what great work those who tried to do the right thing but failed.
I am entirely too busy to read anything that requires brain power. I get very few, scarce moments to read and I want those moments to be filled with light and fluffy. I have enough ponderous and challenging issues in real life. I don't need to read about them too.
So I'm reading the Gone book series by Michael Grant. On book #2, Hunger, right now. I'm enjoying.
Gone seriesMudbound by Hillary Jordan. Nice storytelling about a farm and folks in the Mississippi Delta in the forties. I highly recommend it.
Ben Aaronavitch 'Rivers of London'
Turns out, alongside the Met Police, there's a super secret little department of wizards. Well, wizard, really.
Awesomeness.
Vandal love - Deni Y.Bechard.
This is a book about landscape eith some family thrown in.
If you're a fan of landscape - go for it. I'm not loving it.
Still reading Invention of Air, but I have a book club discussion I need to join in on and so I'm rereading A Scanner Darkly. Beautifully paranoid.
"The Violent Land" - William W. Johnstone/J.A. Johnstone
I read a lot of his "Ashes" series back in the day. Didn't like it much. I preferred Jerry Ahern's Survivalist.
Finished A Scanner Darkly, am working on The Kobra Manifesto - Adam Hall, and still enjoying The Invention of Air.
The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Maid Mother & Crone
by Barbara G. Walker.
Becoming radicalized whilst quietly sitting at home.
Started listening to the audiobook of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. Read by Gaiman.
Was sort of enjoying it. It's very good. But wasn't as into it as some of my more recent listens. Just wasn't quite hitting the right buttons. So, decided to step away and listen to the first of a new fantsy series. The Name of the Wind:Part One.
Wow. Just wow. Love it when a book grabs me straight off. Within about five minutes I had settled into the rhythm and feel of this new world, and its instantly likeable and/or intriguing characters. Brilliantly read too. Glad I opted for the audio rather than paperback, because the narrator adds so much to it.
I am currently reading The Thirteenth Majestral, by Hayford Peirce. Idle reading in the sci-fi genre. I also read Phylum Monsters prior to this and liked it. Interesting premise and fairly believable. This one is too early to call.
The main reason I dug these two out of the used bookstore stacks is because I happen to know the author and was, until recently, going to have him for dinner. (Yes, I went there! Ha Ha)
He has promised to sign them for me, which will probably double their value. I threatened to return them to the used bookstore (they buy books) and demand more than I paid since they are signed first editions. The owner was less amused than I was. :D
Next on my reading list (and yes, I *do* read) is Poems from a Transgendered Heart, by Sally Jackson. Yes, I know the author here, too. And yes, she will sign it for me. (Is this a pattern?)
Reviews to come.
Pamela
.
Finished A Scanner Darkly, am working on The Kobra Manifesto - Adam Hall, and still enjoying The Invention of Air.
Good movie, probably bears about as much relation to the book as Bladerunner to Do Androids Dream of electric Sheep, but stands on it's own anyway.
On my birthday I had a 50% book voucher at a local store and grabbed Transition by Ian Banks and have just now started reading it, interesting and odd so far.
Checking his bibliography I notice a few I have missed.
I like this description of Matter by Banks, i may have to try it next.
"It's a real shelf-breaker," he says enthusiastically. "It's 204,000 words long and the last 4,000 consist of appendices and glossaries. It's so complicated that even in its complexity it's complex. I'm not sure the publishers will go for the appendices, but readers will need them. It's filled with neologisms and characters who disappear for 150 pages and come back, with lots of flashbacks and -forwards. And the story involves different civilizations at different stages of technological evolution. There's even one group who have disappeared up their own fundaments into non-matter-based societies".
Manners From Heaven - Quentin Crisp.
HEY!
'member Hot_Pastrami?
'member he wrote a book?
Here's a link to it in e-book goodness. name your own price, even.
don't be a dick. he's cool.
I have a dtb edition of HP's book. It's a lot of fun to read. Damn Interesting, indeed!
Just finished The Forever War - Joe Haldeman. Classic of SF that I somehow skipped over until now.
"In the Garden of Beasts", by Erik Larson. A nonfiction book with a novel-like structure about the American ambassador to Nazi Germany and his family. Very good.
I am sooooo enjoying The name of the Wind. It's the best fantasy book I've 'read' for a long time. Though, as I say it's an audiobook.
Sometimes the main benefits of an audiobook are that it's convenient and doesn't matter if my eyes are tired, but sometimes the audio reading really adds something to the experience. This is one of those times. Such a good reader.
agreed. I just wish I could actually hear him play the sound of the misty forest with his lute.
Ohhhhhh you have it too? Awesomesauce. You're the first person I've spoken to who has heard of it!
[eta] ah man, I just checked and you guys have a different narrator. Daresay as good.
I just listened to the sample of your guy reading. He's good.
But I prefer mine :)
http://www.audible.co.uk/search/ref=sr_lftbox_1_1
[eta] Just realised the .com site has both the English and American versions available. The .co.uk site only has the English version.
The Name of the Wind Part 2 is just as good as the first.
I just read most of Hugh Howey's catalog. He's kind of a breakout self-published guy. Good sci-fi/fantasy. Start with the Wool Omnibus Edition.
Currently reading The Inheritance of Rome.
Oh I really liked Inheritance of Rome!
[eta] the Chris Wickham book?
a good narrator can make a book. much of the reason I liked game of thrones so very much was because of the narration of Roy Dotrice.
john lee is also good, but when he popped up doing the fourth book, I was pissed. very glad that Roy came back for book 5. .... even though he apparently forgot how to pronounce most of the names, and is now doing Varys' very distinctive voice for some other character
I hate when they switch narrators midseries.
Most of the Pratchett books are read by Nigel Planer, with the later ones read by David Briggs (I think was his name), both of whom are great. But there're three (i think) read by a woman. It really threw me. She was a good reader, but there was one character, unfortunately a very prominent one that she just plain got wrong. It sounded weird. You've got this old lady who's round, and wrinkly but with a strong right arm and big boots, and she gave her a really weird quavery voice that just sat completely wrong with all the other descriptions of her.
Totally wrecked that book for me.
Jim knows... Roy Dotrice is great but the voice for Daenaerys is so, totally, completely wrong. She's a teenage girl, and he gave her the voice of a puckery old lady.
I actually coldnt listen to the GoT audiobook. I just couldnt get to grips with the younger characters at all. Loved his narration until he had to voice a younger character.
Not helped by having see the tv series first, so had really clear voices in mind.
Jim knows... Roy Dotrice is great but the voice for Daenaerys is so, totally, completely wrong. She's a teenage girl, and he gave her the voice of a puckery old lady.
yeah... that was kind of icky.
sounded toothless, and wet. :chills:
Oh I really liked Inheritance of Rome!
[eta] the Chris Wickham book?
That is the one.
"In the Garden of Beasts", by Erik Larson. A nonfiction book with a novel-like structure about the American ambassador to Nazi Germany and his family. Very good.
I read that a couple of months ago for a book club. It never really took off for me, never seemed to actually get beyond interesting, never really exciting, the way his other books have.
All these came this morning, which is good, cuz I'm outta books.
[ATTACH]39320[/ATTACH]
*blinks*
How can anybody look at that bear's face and think...that'd look better on my wall?
:p
I can't believe I'm even admitting to this.......am I really? ugh. ok ok. my sister finally talked me in to the grey series. we made a deal that if I read at least 50 shades that she'd read a novel of my choice.
Until I get the rest of my books unpacked, rereading Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, and for chuckles, Tempest-Tost by Robertson Davies. I love his dry wit.
i'll trade ya 50 shades for Tempest!
You can keep 50 shades - I'll take that novel of your choice that you're gonna have your sister read. :p:
*blinks*
How can anybody look at that bear's face and think...that'd look better on my wall?
:p
The word you're looking for is "plate."
The wall, floor, or display corner thing is a bonus.
The Hangman's Daughter - Oliver Potzsch
It was so good, I've already started The Dark Monk.
"Teeth of the Tiger" by Tom Clancy
&
"The Outlaws of Mesquite" by Louis L'Amour (collection of short stories)
I am trying to decide whether to keep struggling through 1q84. It is interesting, but hasn't risen beyond that. Not skimmable, either. It is very .... intricate.
"The Skeptical Feminist" Barbara G. Walker.
When I become fully radicalized it will be b/c of her.
(because you and I like a lot of the same books and you're one of the few who doesn't read sci-fi/fantasy exclusively.)
I loved The Age of Miracles. It's about a rather sci-fi theme (or is it?): the slowing of the earth's rotation. But what's good about it is that it's written from the perspective of a 12 year old girl. It's really, then, a coming of age story in a setting that is made plausible by the author's style. That it is a plausible idea and the characterization of the girl and her family is why I enjoyed it so much!
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12401556-the-age-of-miracles(because you and I like a lot of the same books and you're one of the few who doesn't read sci-fi/fantasy exclusively.)
[/url]
Hey! I resemble that remark!
I started reading Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde.
Partly because I adore him as an author anyway, partly because it really made me laugh to myself that if anyone saw me reading it, they would assume I'd picked it up thinking it was 50 Shades of Grey. We laugh easily, myself and I.
Sadly I was reading it in the library, whilst killing time in town, and had no library card with me.
So I bought it on Mum's Kindle (so much cheaper!) which she has promptly taken away with her house-sitting.
I am on a knife edge of antici....pation.
In the mean time I am wading through Mum's extensive collection of Georgette Heyers.
They are influencing my dreams, and mildly educating me into the Regency world - she's supposed to be historically accurate at least.
Her writing about "halfwits" and "retards" is shocking to modern sensibilities (her books were written from 1921- 1974) but reflects the age she was brought up in as much as the age she was writing about. I have already identified two autistic characters, although the condition would not have been known to her by official diagnosis. Other children are described as moon-faced (Downs) or addlepated (possible ADHD or high anxiety).
It's all good old-fashioned fun though.
Just read "Divergent" and "Insurgent". Fun little "Enders Game" meets "Hunger Games" books about kids fighting in/for/against a creepy future state.
About to start reading all of the L. Frank Baum Oz books.
Taking a break from Diskworld - about halfway through.
(because you and I like a lot of the same books and you're one of the few who doesn't read sci-fi/fantasy exclusively.)
I loved The Age of Miracles. It's about a rather sci-fi theme (or is it?): the slowing of the earth's rotation. But what's good about it is that it's written from the perspective of a 12 year old girl. It's really, then, a coming of age story in a setting that is made plausible by the author's style. That it is a plausible idea and the characterization of the girl and her family is why I enjoyed it so much!
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12401556-the-age-of-miracles
Hey! I resemble that remark!
;)
Seems whenever I post a book all of a sudden there are 53 people who want to talk about their latest sci-fi/fantasy series collection part 73.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.
I just miss discussing books with like-minded individuals.
I'm usually just too lazy to post.
I rarely read sci-fi/ fantasy (as a percentage of all the books I read).
But I admit I do read a lot of crap that I can't get fired up about.
I am in my annual read of the Lord of the Rings.
thanks for the heads up, Infinite Monkey.
I'm currently reading "Controlling People and How to Get Them Out of Your Life" because, why, yes, yes I AM driving my mom and dad to Pennsylvania this weekend!
The ONLY reason being that I do not want my mother to be killed in a MVA. My dad- meh, not so much.
Y'all are welcome at my house, with the exception of you have to leave when people are coming to view it to see if they want to buy it.
I've started the classic behemoth, "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett.
Greatly enjoying it so far. I guess there's a reason it's a classic.
I know the person that's dedicated to.
Well, I knew her at drama college, if that counts.
Y'all are welcome at my house, with the exception of you have to leave when people are coming to view it to see if they want to buy it.
that is so sweet of you and I'd take you up on it in a minute except we go to the north western-side of PA. New Castle. Right across from Youngstown and straight on til dawn.
I have officially given up on 1Q84. The library sucked it back off my Kindle. In three weeks I had made it to the end of the first section. I don't know if I'll try again at some point in the future.
It was going nowhere with breakneck slowness.
I think I figured out the main intention, but of course, those Orientals, they're inscrutable, so I could be entirely wrong about it.
"The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" by Edgar Allen Poe
Man, this is a tough read.
Poe's only complete novel, so I've read.
Read "Witch & Wizard" by James Patterson in a single sitting a couple weeks ago.
Decent story, but, kinda teenagery.
The Uninvited Guests--Sadie Jones
In One Person--John Irving
Oh, and
A Reliable Wife--Robert Goolrick
My wife just read Reliable Wife. Is that the one about amnesia? If so, she liked it.
No amnesia, but some arsenic is involved.
I'm reading "The Earth has a Soul" by Jung.
well, it DOES have a soul you godless heathens!
No amnesia, but some arsenic is involved.
I believe they can both have devastating effects. I will try to remember which one is which though.
Am working my way through Limey's Kindle. Sorry, I mean
my Kindle. You're my Kindle now!
Am reading the
Etymologicon (Mark Forsyth) which is amusing me enormously. I keep wanting to come on here and share some of the connections, and then remember that at least one other Dwellar already knows them.
Last paper book was
The Blackhouse by Peter May.
It only cost £1 thanks to a voucher in the newspaper and Mum paid that anyway!
I mostly enjoyed it. I would read it again, having absorbed much of the pronunciation that originally grated (it's set on the Isle of Lewis where Gaellic is still spoken) but Mum gave it to the charity shop after she finished it. I like longer to digest a book.
One of the pivotal points was the skua cull which takes place every year. I had heard of it - there was a chef that travelled there and cooked guga, but was thoroughly revolted. The locals love the taste of a bit of gannet and look forward to obtaining it every year. Wish I could remember who it was and find the clip *
Anyway - enjoyable read. If I can pick up any more Peter May books cheap, especially those based on Lewis (trilogy apparently, sad to waste the knowledge I've already attained) then I'll have a punt.
ETA - it was Gordon Ramsay on the F Word in 2005 and is available on Youtube. And he didn't hate it, he quite liked it, although Giles Coren said it was less appetising than poo and Ramsay's maitre d' (Jean-Baptiste) politely palmed his and dropped it on the floor.
Shada, partially by Douglas Adams.
It really feels like a Tom Baker episode, even in prose.
I just finished "Gut Shot Straight" by Lou Berney.
Entertaining writing, but a little anticlimactic, and predictable. I like the guy's writing style though.
Anybody ever read Mo Hayder?
No. Any good?
I'm reading Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds which is interesting so far and I grabbed a book of short sci-fi from the library called Alien Contact written by a bunch of most favored peeps like Baxter, Card, Gaiman...
No. Any good?
I don't know. I've got "Birdman" on the Nook, and was thinking about trying it.
I'm currently trying to read "The Lens and The Looker" by Lory S. Kaufman, but it's gonna hafta do something pretty quick or I'm gonna bail.
I think westerns have ruined books for me. It's all I can read and enjoy seems like.
Gone Girl
Mrs Z got me started on it. It's a page-turner but there's no one to like in this book.
This must be the latest thing. I'm reading a copy from one of Mrs. Z's friends, but I checked the library and there's 13 copies and 400 something holds.
Arthur C. Clarke's
Imperial Earth. Interesting book. It has a vivid description of the future, but an all but nonexistent plot. Written in 1976, it has a passable, if quaint, prediction of the internet.
Can I include audiobooks here? It's all I get time to "read" just now. If so, then I've just finished The House of Silk, by Anthony Horovitz. A Sherlock Holmes story which I found to be excellent. Now I'm enjoying I Found my Horn, by Jasper Rees.
Sent by thought transference
I believe they can both have devastating effects. I will try to remember which one is which though.
Am working my way through Limey's Kindle. Sorry, I mean my Kindle. You're my Kindle now!
Am reading the Etymologicon (Mark Forsyth) which is amusing me enormously. I keep wanting to come on here and share some of the connections, and then remember that at least one other Dwellar already knows them.
...
I saw what you did there!
Glad you're enjoying the Kindle :) haven't finished the Etymologicon myself yet ...
Sent by thought transference
Arthur C. Clarke's ... all but nonexistent plot.
Thinking back to the handful of Arthur C. Clarke books I've read, I'd say this describes them all perfectly. He has amazing ideas and describes them really well, but the "plots" are virtually nonexistent. At least, thinking back, all I can remember are the ideas, and not a single plot.
The worst is probably Rendezvous with Rama, where the entire plot is following explorers as they explore an abandoned alien space ship and catalog everything they learn.
Been reading Charles Mccarry, Mo Hayder.
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodward gets into our regional belief systems. It is interesting in that he attempts to give background to what I see as varying definitions of liberty among different groups of Americans. It shows how embedded in regional culture it is, which may explain why people can't seem to respect each others values in our failing state.
I'm listening to the audiobook of Mogworld, by Yahtzee Croshaw, at the moment. It is making me laugh out loud.
It's set in a standard fantasy type MMO game, like World of Warcraft. Told from the perspective of Jim, formerly a trainee mage, now an undead minion. He's an inhabitant of the world, unaware of the existence of players.
As a young mage he dies in battle, and is buried, Some 60 years later, his spirit is rudely yanked from the eternal light and bliss that surrounded it and back into his dessicated corpse.
In the decades since his death the world has changed utterly. People no longer die. Those who died before the change, if brought back can no longer return to death. They sort of die, then are shunted back into their corpses (now most likely even more battered than they were before) to continue. Everyone else, the ordinary living inhabitants of the world, die and are helped back to the world and fresh new bodies by priests.
All Jim wants is to die properly. In order to this, he has to figure out what the fuck is going on....what the fuck are those angel type creatures who go around deleting things and forcing errant souls back into bodies, why an entire coastal town appears to have gone quite mad, with people speaking random jumbled up...scripts whilst attempting to walk through walls and suchlike, but most all, why everybody stopped dying, and how to get things back to normal?
The standard trope of a dark forboding castle keep, filled to the rafters with undead ghouls and zombies all intent on preventing you, the adventurer, from getting to the really interesting treasure chests, takes on a very diferent hue when one of those zombies is telling the story.
About 3/4 of the way through Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein.
It's a non-fiction book about the effects of the "girlie-girl" culture on young girls. All that pretty pink princess stuff... does it come at a price? (A: Yes.) Topics so far include Disney princesses, American Girl dolls, beauty pageants, Lohan/Spears/Cyrus, superheroes and the differences/similarities between girls and boys.
At times funny and often unsettling, it's been a very interesting read.
Psalm 91 Gods Shield of Protection...
Trying to fight my way through "Morals and Dogma" by Albert Pike, again.
About 3/4 of the way through Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein.
It's a non-fiction book about the effects of the "girlie-girl" culture on young girls. All that pretty pink princess stuff... does it come at a price? (A: Yes.) Topics so far include Disney princesses, American Girl dolls, beauty pageants, Lohan/Spears/Cyrus, superheroes and the differences/similarities between girls and boys.
At times funny and often unsettling, it's been a very interesting read.
I heard an interview with someone about the pink phenomenon. I wonder if it was her, or someone else working in the same field.
at the advice of someone I respect (not a dwellar) I've been reading 1,000 gifts or something like that; written by a stay at home mom (on a fucking farm, of course) with six damn children and SHE HOME SCHOOL'S THEM and home-makes all their food and has time to write this book on gratitude even though she saw her little sister killed by a semi.
I hate this fucking bitch. Plus, there's a lot more about washing dishes than I expected.
example: today she's grateful for how the sun makes a rainbow on the soap bubble as she's washing dishes.
Yuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
I'd rather have a book that had gratitude like: Today I'm grateful that I escaped from prison and so far, no drop bears. You know. REAL stuff.
omg...that's like some lady on TV that makes all these crafts and stuff and I'm like "oh aren't you so clever turning empty clorox bottles into the loveliest Santa Clauses...get a hobby, oh that is your hobby. OK, so keep the hobby but quit being so damn happy about it all the time. It ain't rocket science."
:lol:
I'm tellin' you, Tril, The Age of Miracles. I loved it.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12401556-the-age-of-miracles
I'm tellin' you, Tril, The Age of Miracles. I loved it.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12401556-the-age-of-miracles
Ok. Just so long as it isn't a
course in miracles.
yeah. I fell for that bullshit in the 90's. I'm a ramblin' kind of gal.
Of course it's not a course
Would I send a Trojan Horse
Full of religious force?
No, that would be coarse
Unless of course
You like the horse.
:D
I do like the horse!
eta: My sister has a horse. there is NO WAY IN HELL i would do all things you need to do for a horse.
I'll need a groom/stable boy as well as the horse.
I do like the horse!
eta: My sister has a horse. there is NO WAY IN HELL i would do all things you need to do for a horse.
I'll need a groom/stable boy as well as the horse.
If you had a groom/stable boy, would you still need a horse? :P
If you had a groom/stable boy, would you still need a horse? :P
damn good question!
Save a horse, ride a cowboy.
But where have all the cowboys gone? Yippee yay yippee yo, I sure don't know.
The Burning House: What Would You Take?
Based on the blog of the same name, this book is a collection of photographs with captions depicting what people would take with them if their houses were burning. "It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable, and sentimental." Feels like a very intimate peek into people's lives.
I'd grab whatever living thing was nearest (i.e. fur friends), toss it out a window, and make sure the human beans were out. That's it. The rest is replaceable, with more or less inconvenience.
Seriously, do people list the things they grabbed in a real fire? Or do they talk about what they would take in theory?
A bit of both. I've only gotten a little ways in, but among my favorites were the 6 year old who would save his Bumblebee Transformer, and the 60 year old who would take "my cat, and treats for him. My husband, and treats for him."
One photo features a battered childhood teddy bear that has already survived one house fire.
Most of the items focus on memories -- token items from departed loved ones, photo albums for the older generations and external hard drives (with thousands of digital photos) for the younger set.
The Thirsty Muse - about Faulkner, Hemingway, O'Neill, and Fitzgerald and their respective alcoholism. O'Neill was the only one to break the addiction but he was still a son of a bitch when sober. He's the father of Oona O'Neill who, at 18 married a 54 year old Charlie Chaplin and had 8 kids by him. She was very beautiful.
The book postulates that the alcohol ruined the talent but the writers thought just the opposite (except O'Neill) that it fueled their talent; let them see the world more clearly.
Fitzgerald was probably the worst when it came to denial. O'Neill had a ONE EVENING blow out with a bud and stayed in bed for two weeks to recover. Lots about the poisoning agents in etoh during Prohibition; some say the government put those poisons in there----thin the heard and all that. Interesting read if you like literary artists and their insanity. Edna St. Vincent Millay is not included here (it's a book about guys) but her and her morphine/etoh habit are mentioned. She died falling down the stairs. They mention Zelda Fitzgerald who died in an asylum ---- there was a fire and hardly anyone got out. The only thing left of hers they found was one single shoe.
Golden lads and girls all must
as Chimney sweepers
Come to dust.
Re-reading Lord of Light, a Zelazny Sci--fi.
Just bought Barbara Kingsolver's 'Flight Behavior'. Looking forward to it very much.
Just started Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy. I'm only about 15 pages in, and I'll admit it made me giggle to see characters say "fuck." Makes me think of all the cursing Harry Potter would've done if his series had been written for adults. "Voldemort, he's back! Fuckfuckfuck..."
Recently finished "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" by Max Brooks. Not wild about the 'interview notes' style of writing.
Spoiler Alert:
One scene in the book I can't wait to see is the [COLOR="LemonChiffon"]thermobaric bomb scene, I can't wait to see the undead walking, on fire, with their lungs/abdomen/wind pipe/organs hanging out of their mouths. On fire.[/COLOR] That's gonna rock.
Just started "A Rocky Mountain Christmas" by William W. Johnstone with J.A. Johnstone
I'm enjoying a bit of a return to sword and sorcery fantasy. I finished the first of The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling and am now on book 2.
They're very entertaining. Though I would probably recommend them for reading rather than audiobook (I am listening to the audio) as the narrator is a bit hit and miss with some of his accents.
@ Sundae: I think you might enjoy these. The character Seregil for instance, aside from being a very cool, funny and charming protagonist is also gay. There's a bit of a romance brewing between him and the young man he takes on as his apprentice in thieving and spying. Very nicely done. Not gay fiction, just a really well-drawn gay character at the centre of the story. Reminds me a bit of Captain Jack in that regard.
One of the things I like is the regular swearing by this or that deity's eyes or balls or on one occasion 'Balari's codpiece!'
It's funny and charming, with a detective story and courtly intrigue and spying and disguises and magic.
I'm almost finished the third book in the fifty shades series. I have to say I'm not overly impressed. In fact, I've started skipping over all the gratuitous sex scenes which is making the reading of the last book go pretty quick.
hahahaha. My mum really enjoyed the first book. She ended up quite enjoying the whole series, but by halfway through the second book she was skipping whole pages.
Very nearly through all the Quillers ... on Quiller Meridian, which I think leaves only Quiller Balalaika.
damn, but I love these.
Finished Flight Behavior, which was a typical Kingsolver exercise in excellence ... also just read Death Comes to Pemberley, a lark by P.D. James, of all people. I thought she did a great job, caught Austen's sentence structure and caustic wit very well. And P.D. James is 91. :notworthy
There is another Quiller left ... Quiller Salamander. But before I do that the goodreads.com Science Fiction and Fantasy ebook group is doing Neuromancer, and I do love me some Gibson, haven't reread it in quite a few years (probably at least 10-15).
Finished listening to Gone Girl, per Pete Z's suggestion (He suggested the read, but I didn't have time)
I have to say the reading by two actors (man and woman) was brilliant. It was unabridged, like 18 hours of reading. I definitely could have read it faster, but the performances were masterful.
I was/am totally freaked out. Still freaked out. I have to read more of her stuff.
Finished listening to Gone Girl, per Pete Z's suggestion (He suggested the read, but I didn't have time)
I have to say the reading by two actors (man and woman) was brilliant. It was unabridged, like 18 hours of reading. I definitely could have read it faster, but the performances were masterful.
I was/am totally freaked out. Still freaked out. I have to read more of her stuff.
well, that clinches it. I'm buying it today on Kindle. I hope the plot includes some asshole in AA lecturing about her lack of commitment and she stabs him in the eye with a shiv. THAT's the book I'm looking for.
Balalaika.
damn, but I love these.
What woman doesn't love Balalaika? If it's done correctly, I mean.
well, that clinches it. I'm buying it today on Kindle. I hope the plot includes some asshole in AA lecturing about her lack of commitment and she stabs him in the eye with a shiv. THAT's the book I'm looking for.
Yeah, I'm gonna have to say you wouldn't be happy with this book in that case.
Am tempted by Gone Girl too. But I am making tough going of reading at the moment.
I still stay up after my parents (22.00) but the second I feel weary I'm off to bed, lights off and sparko.
Reading The People's Queen by Vanora Bennett and have been for at least a week (!) It's pretty much okay but I can't hold Plantagenet politics in my mind indefinitely, so I keep having to backtrack. I'm not doing it justice.
I also have Anno Dracula by Kim Newman waiting in the wings. I bought it on a whim because Mum used my Waterstones card to get a few books she wanted post-Christmas, giving me enough points that I only paid £1.13 for it. Given the price of paperbacks nowadays I count this as a bargain and am determined not to be disappointed. When I finally get round to it.
And I have bought 11.22.63 by Stephen King. Ebay 99p. The benefit of waiting until other people have rushed out to buy it and then just want to pass it on. I did the same for Rowling's A Casual Vacancy. It's on free delivery of 10-12 working days but I'm hardly worried about the time it takes to get to me.
When I worked in the charity shop they sent all of Rowling's books for pulping. Just too many people bringing in the Hogwarts series and too few people who hadn't already read them. That's why I love eBay, there are people out there willing to take a punt on a book, without worrying that it is taking up shelf-space on something they can sell for more.
Hey Sundae, did you see my recommendation further back in this thread for a series of fantasy books I think you might like?
Nice flag-up - I didn't.
Will definitely check out. Need to rejoin the library.
ETA checking eBay first - what's the actual title?
ETAA - Luck in the Shadows. Just bought it :)
"Swordmage: Blades of the Moonsea Book One" by Richard Baker
Finished listening to Gone Girl, per Pete Z's suggestion …
I was/am totally freaked out. Still freaked out. I have to read more of her stuff.
It's very cool that you took me up on my suggestion. Can you see why aspects of your situation reminded me of that book?
Take care of yourself my friend.
It's very cool that you took me up on my suggestion. Can you see why aspects of your situation reminded me of that book?
Take care of yourself my friend.
Oh shit yes. I am afraid to sleep at night. I'm thinking of going down to the mall and trying to buy...
Have just started Luck in the Shadows.
Made me grin because I am now trying to work out which character is gay (am I really that transparent?)
Reminded me of From Ducsk Til Dawn - I knew there were wampyrs in it, but that was all. Sat down in cinema and thought, "Oh, vampires run an off-licence, cool!" Then "Bank robbers are vampires, cool!" Then "Kidnapped women is actually a vampire, cool!" and finally "Oh okay, family in camper van. They must be vampires, right? "Shut the fucking door!................. Please.""
So I half expect the bender is yet to arrive.
Loving it already though.
A Hologram for the King - by Dave Eggers.
Interesting glimpses into a world both familiar and foreign. Brings back memories of my time there and marriage to a Saudi. Very well written book.
Just started listening to the audio book of Pandora's Star, by Peter F. Hamilton. Really loving it. Very deep and detailed.
trying again with Tolle's A New Earth.
it's slow going.
I read Gone Girl while I was off and out (off work but 'out' of the bin.) They had two copies at my library, and there were 11 hold requests. But then I remembered I got a $20 gift certificate for a local bookstore for christmas, and I got the hardcover for 2 dollars!
It was really good. I always love a good "wait...seriously?" That woman was something else. (avoiding spoilers)
But did anyone notice all the hobo references? Dead hobos, killing hobos...I swear I think people do get ideas from reading the Cellar. I remember one part where someone said that the killing hobos thing didn't really take off until...some year I can't remember. So, like many fad phrases, it could be that we invented it, or it could be that one of us just heard it somewhere. I prefer to think we invented it. Which means I need to be very careful or there will be nothing left for my book. ;)
Thanks for the suggestion, all you who suggested it.
Read Gone Girl too on Cellar ref.
Loved it. Twists and turns and from me, verbal expressions of surprise and disbelief. Had to stop reading it after the 'rents went to bed because a nocturnal ejaculation of "WHAT?!" wouldn't be appreciated.
Great suggest, I agree.
And yes, got the hobo refs but wondered which came first - have we just been tapping into the zeitgeist?
Now reading Anno Dracula by Kim Newman.
Loving it. So many sly refs I'm sure I'm missing some. I think I have most of the literary characters nailed, just not sure about all the real people. I admit to thinking I might make up a reference list as the cast is large and the names are so venerable.
This makes it sound more complex than it is, but I do like things ordered. And inhabiting a world so skillfully written is a pleasure. I want to wring every last drop. I've thought this about various books - and even the Cellar when I was a noob - but honestly? Never actually got round to it. I'll just read again. And maybe just Google it ;)
Just started listening to the audio book of Pandora's Star, by Peter F. Hamilton. Really loving it. Very deep and detailed.
The further into this I get the more I am loving it. Really nicely paced and balanced between several separate but interconnected story strands. Proper space opera.
I've given in: reading Gone, Girl via Kindle.
dammmit!! my kindle won't hold a charge! Luckily I have performance protection plan but it'll take till Sat. to get my new supercharger and charger and I wanted to read Gone Girl NOW!
waaaaaahhhhhh! First world problems....what a pita.
read it on your desktop/laptop whichever you use. There's a Kindle for windows app that can be downloaded for free and all the stuff from your kindle is accessible through that.
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
I liked Gone Girl so much I bought Sharp Objects and Dark Places.
I like how her characters are flawed. Even the good guys. In ways you don't think of until the character lets us in on it...usually later.
I read one book some time ago where the supposed 'heroine' had no flaws, and no character. She was boring as fuck and I know the author meant to portray her as just a normal gal who got into a sticky situation...but I wanted to kill the character myself, just for having NO layers, no particular personality, not even a bad one... nothing.
I finished the book to see how many more stupid things she'd do (but in that Eeyore kind of way "Oh well, I suppose I'll let this guy in on everything because since I just met him and we talked for a few minutes I'm SURE he's on my side...ho hum.")
Not Ms Flynn's characters. They got some shit going on! ;)
Reading Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson.
I remember discussing Kate Atkinson with Bri. We were hoping for a real life Jackson Brodie, if I reckon correctly. This isn't a Jackson book, and somehow had slipped through my radar...because KA is a wonderful writer. Witty. Even with intense subject matter this book is witty. It's hard to explain why I like that so much.
She has a new book coming out Life After Life, due out in the beginning of April. I can't wait.
"People of the Fire" by W. Michael Gear & Kathleen O'Neal Gear
I'm still wading through the audiobooks of Peter F Hamilton's epic space opera series. Am now into the second book in the second series (trilogy). set about 1500 years after the first (pair).
It's fucking awesome. I love good space opera and this is excellent stuff. Beautifully written with great characterisation, set on epic scale.
The first pair, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained wracked up to 80 hours of audiobook. The followup trilogy is around sixty hours or so.
Apparently he's working on a third trilogy. This makes me happy.
Right now, at like 110 hours of this stuff, i think I partly live in his Commonwealth universe.
[eta] I'd love to see someone turn it into a tv series.
reading Judas Unchained, good stuff.
Isn't it though? I love its epic feel. Did you read Pandora's Star (the first)?
No. I didn't realize this was the second book. It stands on its own. I love the whole train/wormhole thing. Where in the timeline does Pandora's Star fit? Epic is the word. This is a giant universe of potential. I wish I had time to just sit and read...
Judas Unchained follows directly on from Pandora's Star.
Then for the void triolgy there's a 1500 year leap forwards. Lot of new characters but also a handful of the old characters from Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained.
I read them. Dont remember them though...
Just read Ilium by Dan Simmons. Good book, interesting. I'm not sure I'm ring to read the next in the series, too much bad press by the regular reader.
I finished all of the Discworld books available on Kindle (essentially all of the novels except The Last Hero. Alas, there probably won't be many more (at least from Terry).
Did you read the whole wheel of time books? Is the last one out?
Reading Proof of Heaven, a few Agatha Christies I haven't yet read, and Collapse by Jared Diamond. The last is truly an important book. The others are brain candy.
The Wisdom of Compassion.
The author's credit says His Holiness the Dalai Lama. But it's really written by some other dude who watched the Dalai Lama do stuff and then wrote about it.
It's a series of vignettes, really ... sometimes there will be three chapters on one public appearance, and then you get a five minute snippet out of another, that was probably far more interesting than the three chapters, but of course, since the three chapters were on a visit to a children's cancer ward, well, you don't focus on the brevity of the one chapter than potentially had a lot more to say about mindfulness and compassion. I mean, why talk about it when you can show it, right?
Hmmm... I must still have a guilt button. I saw wolf was reading serious stuff so I opened up Robert Thurman's Inner Revolution again. I do need to get my (wait our?) shit together.
I mean, why talk about it when you can show it, right?
Some people discover their calling is to be, the best bad example. ;)
Did you read the whole wheel of time books? Is the last one out?
No, I never read Wheel of Time. I was already keeping up with Sword of Truth and Song of Ice and Fire, and didn't want to get into another ongoing series. I may drop that on my queue at some point now.
Probably better than the end of Sword of Truth, but I'll take your word for it.
Just read Ilium by Dan Simmons. Good book, interesting.
I wrote an absolutely brilliant and insightful post about Dan Simmons, and managed to delete it.
Just imagine it, okay? It was amazeballs.
Infi, I believe I introduced Brianna to Kate Atkinson.
Even if I didn't, I want to pretend I did.
Sorry I didn't do the same for you.
Yes, she has a new book coming out.
If you promise not to buy it Stateside, I promise to send it to you after reading. As I did for Bri. Makes me less cry-y that way.
Illusions - Richard Bach
I read this book when it was published.
And again.
And again.
I probably wouldn't be reading it again right now, except that one of the hen-friends expressed that she wanted to "connect more" with me.
I have a work schedule that is the complete opposite of most people, and I am not a big friend of the phone, generally. Used to talk on the phone all the time when it was wired to my wall ... hours long conversations. But now that I have one in my pocket? Never exceed my minutes. Never.
So anyway ... I came up with the idea that we should both read the same book, and since one of our points of connection is spirituality, I suggested that perhaps we could buddy-read a book and discuss it.
Then she asked me what I wanted to read.
Darn it, I was hoping she'd figure that one out and save me the effort.
So, I suggested I book I'd mentioned to her before. It's rather long, and the first half discusses the science of happiness, the second half the spirituality and practice ... I started reading it a good while ago and stalled on it and put it aside. Thought it might be a way to get me back into it.
And then I started thinking about Illusions.
I read it in high school (at the time of it's initial publication, which was 1977, to save you from having to look it up on Wikipedia).
It really opened up a lot of interesting spiritual possibilities for me, and likely was a strong first step in the direction of my current spiritual relationship to the world.
So, that's why I'm reading Illusions right now. Again.
I remember reading Illusions when I was too young to get it. I think I was maybe 10 or 11. I only read it because a) it was written by the same author as Johnathon Livingstone Seagull which had hit me right between the eyes, and b) my big brother had just read it.
I ploughed through, and got something (don't recall quite what) from it, but I remember feeling like I wasn't really getting it. One of those times when I was conscious of something going over my head.
[eta] JLS remains one the best books I have ever read. It was one of those that did the family rounds. Passed around from martin to mum, to dad to me etc. Those were always my favourite reading experiences. When a book got all of us it seeped into the fabric of the house for a little while. Probably one reason why Thomas Covenant got so deep with me.
I loved Jonathan Livingston Seagull. My 6th Grade teacher read it aloud in class. I have a treasured paperback copy that is falling to pieces. I always loved, the hardback, though, with those occasional vellum pages that let the page beneath peek through. I also have an LP of Richard Harris reading the book.
Reading
Ever After, the latest book in the
Hollows series, Read a lot of it yesterday night and I expect to finish it by the weekend. I'm trying to figure out between Rachel Morgan and Harry Dresden, who has more baggage. After I finish this book, I'll be up to date in both series, not counting short story collections.
Anna Karenina ... I've been going back and reading all the classics I never got around to that came free (out of copyright) with my Kobo
Aside from the weirdness of Russian names/nick names - which don't always correlate well, I'm really enjoying it ... but I've always liked epic novels
Chester County library book sale was this weekend. Yesterday hardbacks were $2.50 each and we picked up a few things but it was close to closing and we would be in the area today. Today you could fill a paper shopping bag with books for $5. I picked up some of the Sookie Stackhouse series that became the TV series Trueblood. I've never read them. Picked up some other series I'e never read. I went into the 'special room' where they keep the books that they want to charge more for. They cut the price in half for today and I loaded up on childrens books. I got some Hardy Boys and found Huckleberry Finn, Red Badge of Courage, and a few others in the
Great Illustrated Classics series. 50 cents each
I seriously loaded up on cookbooks, since my daughter-in-law likes them and since there were some BBQ/Chili/Rotisserie books for me.
Between the Mrs and myself, we filled one bag with 'special room' books and three bags with 'all you can bag' books. Probably about 60 lbs of books.:eek:
My vacation is coming up. Looking forward to some reading time.
Picked up Starfish by Peter Watts at the library. About halfway through already, and it's really excellent. Every character is a basket case in their own way, so it's like a 6-way psychological thriller where you don't even know which one of them is going to snap first.
Just started some book by Demetri Martin. Highly amusing. Don't remember what it's called.
Just finished Eat & Run by Scott Jurek (and some real writer). It was entertaining. Full of good recipes. Inspiring like all these endurance athlete books are.
I'm reading a PDA (Past Doctor Adventures) 5th Doctor novel on my kindle...but I'm still mainly listening to audio books: just finished the fourth book in Stephen Leather's Jack Nightingale series. I love them! I just wish there were more of them but this most recent ne only came o ut this month...be at least another year before another one (unless he drops off Nightingale for a bit).
Am now listening to the third book in the Tome of Bill sequence. Very funny, and with a plot that carries and characters that come off the page.
Trying to calm down by reading mother earth, gardening, and cooking mags. Ha.
Otherwise, reading Understanding Global Health, Intro to Global Health, and Understanding Health Policy. Very interesting.
In fiction, rereading Bill Bryson and Carl Hiaasen. I think Hiaasen is greatly underrated.
Doing my mandatory re-read of Ender's Game pre-movie. Also re-reading Epee 2.0. Reading the Lama's compassion book and just started Defenders of the Faith: Christianity and Islam Battle for the Soul of Europe, 1520-1536 by Reston.
found the copy of ender's game during a hunt for a tool. I'm happy to report I found the tool and the book. I'll put them both to good use right away.
Ploughed through my signed first edition copy of Neil Gaiman's latest novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, today. "They" say it's his best, HE says its his best, but it is decidedly not my favorite of his work. I didn't find myself swept away by it. Usually his books leave me feeling either like my heart has been buoyed up by a breath of life, or like my soul has been bruised by an aching sadness. This one did neither. I feel like I missed something or like a piece of the book is missing. Still a good read, though.
Randomly picked up a novel called "666 Park Avenue" by Gabriella Pierce at the library today. Started reading before lunch and just couldn't put it down -- finished it this evening. The tag line is "what if your mother-in-law turned out to be an evil, cold-blooded witch... literally?" I was expecting it to be a paranormal romance type, but it was less of a romance and more of a drama. It wasn't saccharine as I thought it would be. Fun read.
(Apparently there was a short lived tv show on ABC based loosely on it, but from what I can tell it didn't share anything but the basic premise of socialites in NYC being witches.)
I'll be going back to the library for the sequels tomorrow.
Reading
The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi. This is the second book. If you want a different reality, holy shit this is it.
Enola Gay: Mission to Hiroshima - Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan Witts
"Folk Medicine of the Mammoth Cave Area" edited by Lynwood Montel
Very interesting for me, as people used to come to my grandmother from all over for various cures/treatments/salves/poultices. And such. I can remember, as a young child, my grandmother calling all over creation asking if the people she was talking to knew where there might be a patch of this weed, or plant, so she could get the roots, or what have you, to make something for someone who was traveling a fair distance to get it, and she wanted to be sure and have it ready, because these kinds of people really relied on some of this stuff. Hardly ever accepted any money.
Now that I think about it, she must have been somewhat regionally famous, to an extent.
Grav, that's really fascinating. What an interesting lady.
the 100 year old man who climbed out the window.
like forrest gump with explosives
I am almost too ashamed to admit that I read 50 Shades of Grey. It's like porn written by a not very imaginative virgin.
Ploughed through my signed first edition copy of Neil Gaiman's latest novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, today. "They" say it's his best, HE says its his best, but it is decidedly not my favorite of his work. I didn't find myself swept away by it. Usually his books leave me feeling either like my heart has been buoyed up by a breath of life, or like my soul has been bruised by an aching sadness. This one did neither. I feel like I missed something or like a piece of the book is missing. Still a good read, though.
Yes; it had the open-endedness of a short story, but the length of a novella. Sort of a long short story.
I am now reading the Anne books, by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Briefs Encountered
Julian Clary
A ghost-comedy-of-errors. Written by out and proud English comedian Clary, the book is full of the sharp comments and one-liners you would expect. It is also touching and slightly savage by turns. Quite frothy, but well-observed. Richard Stent, actor, buys Noel Coward’s house (which Clary lives in) only to find some things bump rather than bang in the night. Great period detail and an obvious love for the property and former owner.
The Boy Who Could See Demons
Carolyn Jess-Cooke
I’m sure I’ve reviewed this before.
Trouble is, the posts I delete by mistake tend to be the longest, and I get so furious I have to log off rather than smash my fists againt the keyboard until they bleed.
This is a marvel of a book, set in Northern Ireland, It shows the fallout of the Troubles on the second and third generation. Told in the voice of an equally prescient and naïve child, it questions what is true in memories and reality.
It’s accessible, but in turns dark and disturbing. It can also be laugh out loud funny.
It left me thinking and puzzling and assessing after I finished it. I reread it again almost immediately, to see how it panned out with what I thought I knew at the end.
The Small Hand: A Ghost Story
Susan Hill
Now I usually love Susan Hill. Her books haunt me.
Perhaps I did not give this one enough time. I just didn’t engage with it very well.
It’s not overtly spooky - Hill rarely is - so perhaps it will work on my sub-conscious until I have to read it again. Any books which feature abandoned gardens are worth a second look.
Couple of Janet Evanovitchs
Equivilant of a takeaway delivered to your house.
Convenient, filling and joyful. Forgotten next day. Nothing wrong with that.
Dare Me
Megan Abbott
Interesting book set in a stereotypical American school, focusing especially on the cheerleading squad. I say stereotypical because I have no idea whether it is real, but it is written by an American author. It’s dark; teen girl jealousy, bitching and revenge. There is a glossary, but I had to look up many cheer terms online; I was pleased I did though, added to my meagre sum of knowledge.
Probably worth a read, short and fast-paced even if it is uncomfortable in its stark representation of teens.
Apocalypse Cow
Michael Logan
Really enjoyed this. A good, honest Scots voice in the tradition of Iain Banks and Irvine Welsh, although utterly unlike them. The humour veers from bawdy and current to subtly referenced and classic. And yeah, there’s gore. The heroes (?) feel like real people faced with overwhelming odds, and are quite capable of f**k ups. Read as a horror and it will surprise you with a belly laugh.
Graceland
Christopher Abani
This book is both whimsical and unrelenting. It details the life of a young lad in Lagos, Nigeria in an uncompromising way. Drugs, alcoholism, murder, sleeping rough, rape, prostitution. But also friendship, family ties, both acceptance and denial that this is all there is, and a touch of superstition. And flashes of humour - this is not a hard book to read.
Going through the books I've had out on my library card, there are a fair few I can't even be bothered to mention.
These ones are special though:
Broken Homes
Whispers Underground
Moon Over Soho
Rivers of London
by Ben Aaronovitch
In the first book, Peter Grant, a newly qualified Police Officer, mixed race (this ends up a reasonably imporant factor, as well as being of cultural interest), working for the London's Metropolitan Police, meets DCI Nightingale during what appears to be a routine enquiry.
What follows is a magical romp through London, Police jargon, pop-culture refs [Aaronovitch wrote for Dr Who] and sly humour. Oh and some mystery, dangling ends and blowing shit up. Usually by accident.
It's marvellous. Can't recommend to everyone, but if you can get it free or cheap do try it. If you're a furriner you might want Wiki handy too. Not being patronising, I've had to sip from the Wiki cup at least once in every book.
ETA - I think they are in order above. I'm not great on placing books if I've caught them as they come out.
EATA - You read from the bottom up!
Pandaemonium
Christopher Brookmyre
Another Scots author. Absolutely zings with the real voices of teens whose trip to a retreat to deal with a traumatic incident does not offer the peace they sought. Graphic violence, swearing, sex, drug use, anti-establishment views and the supernatural; what’s not to like?
Well, there is an extremely large cast of characters who also go by nicknames. And some stereotypes that while they are later exploded do sully the narrative initially.
It’s fairly densely written for a slash & burn, but I count that in its favour.
I want to read more from this author. Oh, I forgot to mention he can be extremely funny as well as hand-over-mouth shocking.
Hater
David Moody
I recently saw Pacific Rim. Guillermo del Toro said something like he wanted audiences to walk out pale-faced as if they’d been smacked in the face. It was good cinematic fun, but it didn’t have that effect on me.
Hater did.
It’s low-down-dirty, smash-and-grab, nasty, violent and thought provoking. It’s no classic, no Last Exit to Brooklyn, it’s just a grisly horror that does what it says on the tin.
England is plagued by an ever increasing series of uber-violent attacks on random citizens and no-one knows why, when or how the next will happen.
It’s simply written, short, fast-paced once the action starts, but haunting.
Oh and btw, the Guillermo del Toro ref wasn’t random, he has written the comment on the back of the book.
Your House Is on Fire, Your Children Have Gone
Stefan Kiesbye [German author, English book]
Interesting. It seems to start as a series of disconnected stories, but you know from the start that the protagonists grew up together. Each chapter advances a different part of the story and shows a different perspective. It should be disjointed, but it is held together by a particular mindset and location, by the unmentioned, or rarely mentioned history of the village and the mores and morals of different generations. Some revelations are staggering, some can be anticipated. It is decidedly creepy, dealing as it does with the innocence and brutality of childhood, especially confined in a remote village with violent secrets.
Aaronovitch's books are da bomb. I loved Rivers of London.
I like food related books and often spend time reading cookbooks but I recently finished a historical book called "Salt, A World History" by Mark Kurlansky.
I am now 3/4 of the way through Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential"
Next up is "A History Of The World in 6 Glasses" by Tom Standage
"The Last Gunfighter: Montana Gundown" by Wm. W. Johnstone w/J.A. Johnstone
I love these western stories of Johnstone's. Like a poor man's L'Amour.
game of thrones by george r r martin
a father's day gift from BD
:)
I've had The Hobbit in my possession for 11 years but have never gotten past page 42 despite starting it on four different occasions.
Attempt #5 begins... now!
The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. terrific story...savouring the last two chapters.
Lionel Shriver does it again. Big Brother is wonderful. I just love the way that woman writes.
"Killing Custer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn and The Fate of the Plains Indians" by James Welch w/Paul Stekler.
This historical account is somewhat unique in that James Welch is a half-blood Blackfeet Indian and was born on a Blackfeet reservation in Montana. This account is related from the Indians' viewpoint, and gives a little more weight to the causes & effects of that viewpoint.
Battle participant (Cheyenne) named Two Moons, in describing the battle:
It took about as long as it takes a hungry man to eat his dinner.
Was the interest sparked by the movie Little Big Man (of recent posts) or vice versa?
Anyway, totes cool. (13 yr old niece: totes short for totally.) :)
Umm...I'm reading
The Undead: The First Seven Days.
Each
Day is released separately, monthly (I think) as a serialised story, but they've put the first week together into a single novel. I assume they'll do the same with the second week.
I've been kicking around looking for something (anything!) to pick up the Walking Dead hit, since I finished all the available episodes of that. I do have the first two comics now, but whilst they're good they don't hit me in quite the same way. I'm not a comic book afficonado, so I am less attuned to that medium.
Got loads of free samples of zombie apocalypse novels on kindle. Most of them sucked. Lot of them were poor writing, and didn't really manage to get across the horror for me. Or, the characters were very inaccessible to me, and didn't draw me in much.
Some seemed like they were probably really good books, but just didn't grab me enough. Some I was put off by the format. Too many journal entry, survivor recollections - didn't sound like they'd pull me in the same as a straight forward linear novel. I also was a bit put off by the first person narrative a lot of them go for. It can work, but I often balk at first person.
I started
The Undead as a sample, because it was set in Britain, which is rare, and has a very ordinary bloke as the central character (as opposed to the crack team of Marines, stranded in the desert when the apocalypse hits which seems a whole sub-genre) and the reviews were good.
Was a bit bleh when i realised it was yet another first person narrative - but was drawn in within a few paragraphs.
Loving it. The first two Days in particular got under my skin and had me checking I'd locked my door at night and mentally assessing the defensible capabilities of my house (none). It's funny at times, and when it is creepy, it is very creepy.
The later stages go a bit kickass zombie squad, but it's a fairly believable journey for the characters to get there.
It can be sampled, for free here:
http://authonomy.com/books/48662/seven-days-of-the-undead/read-book/#chapter
But it's a nicer read on Kindle :)
Was the interest sparked by the movie Little Big Man (of recent posts) or vice versa?
Anyway, totes cool. (13 yr old niece: totes short for totally.) :)
I think it was the opposite. I've been reading 'Killing Custer' (off/on) for two weeks. I woke up the other morning with that line from 'Little Big Man' in my haid. 'Little Big Man' is mentioned in the book, however.
Subliminal suggestion maybe?
I'm just starting A Storm of Swords. I know, I'm pathetically far behind everybody else on this, but I've watched the first two seasons and read the first two books and now am on the third. I can't get streaming to watch the third season online until November, because I can't sign up for HBO2Go until I get back to Almost Heaven and have access to my Comcast account number again. So I'll read ahead and then enjoy the video.
The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. terrific story...savouring the last two chapters.
I got this book at the library yesterday on your recommendation. I'm about halfway through and i really like it. Thanks, I'm always looking for authors I've not heard of yet, in the genres i tend towards (family dramas or mysteries and mostly just 'slice of life' type books) and this is right up my alley. There are some very well-read and smart folks here, but i don't usually share their tastes in books. Maybe I have a new Book Buddy? ;)
Also, The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer was quite good.
Have you read anything by Kate Morton-excluding House at Riverton (it sucked), Mary Lawson's 'Crow Lake', Diane Setterfield's '13th Tale', Andrew Davidson's 'The Gargoyle', Sadie Jones' 'The Outcast', Jane Johnson's 'The 10th Gift', Jennifer Donnelly's 'The Tea Rose'......the list goes on and on :)
Well...
The Undead: The First Seven days got a bit tiresome around Day 5, so have set it aside for now. I may go back at some point.
I have discovered a new author. New to me that is...he's been publishing since early naughties.
Jasper Fforde. Bloody hell this guy is awesome. I experienced my first Fforde novel last week:
Shades of Grey (no not that one!) It's brilliant, but damn I wish the sequel was due sometime soon!
Here's how Amazon describes
Shades of Grey:
Hundreds of years in the future, after the Something that Happened, the world is an alarmingly different place. Life is lived according to The Rulebook and social hierarchy is determined by your perception of colour. Eddie Russett is an above average Red who dreams of moving up the ladder by marriage to Constance Oxblood. Until he is sent to the Outer Fringes where he meets Jane -- a lowly Grey with an uncontrollable temper and a desire to see him killed. For Eddie, it's love at first sight. But his infatuation will lead him to discover that all is not as it seems in a world where everything that looks black and white is really shades of grey ...If George Orwell had tripped over a paint pot or Douglas Adams favoured colour swatches instead of towels ...neither of them would have come up with anything as eccentrically brilliant as Shades of Grey.
It's funny and clever and underneath it all is a sliver of darkness.
I listened to the audio version of it and the narrator was superb.
Since the next one isn't due until sometime next year, I went looking for his earlier works. So right now I am reading
The Eyre Affair, the first of a series of books concerning literary detective, Thursday Next.
Again, it's witty and clever with dark edge underlying.
This particular one had me thinking of Trilby. I think she'd have loved it. It pokes affectionate fun at the world of literary classics in a way I think she might have appreciated, even though she wasn't one for 'sci-fi'.
The other person I automatically thought of with this one was Sundae.
Here's the write up for
The Eyre Affair:
There is another 1985, somewhere in the could-have-been, where the Crimean war still rages, dodos are regenerated in home-cloning kits and everyone is deeply disappointed by the ending of 'Jane Eyre'. In this world there are no jet-liners or computers, but there are policemen who can travel across time, a Welsh republic, a great interest in all things literary - and a woman called Thursday Next.
In this utterly original and wonderfully funny first novel, Fforde has created a fiesty, loveable heroine and a plot of such richness and ingenuity that it will take your breath away.
My very clever review on The Eyre Affair on here was, "Let me know your opinion - I loved the pants off it!"
Lloved Fforde for years. He can be outre and sly. And if you can him when he's sly you feel like Brian Cox. But have a sneaky suspicion he's just thrown you a Roy "Chubby" Brown line anyway.
Glad you like him too.
I think I sent some of my old Ffordes to Em in Kenya (still alive at least) but if I have any I'll dig them out. The Thursday Next books are worth reading in order, just to ensure coherence. Funnily enough, time jumps around a little. Characters appear and disappear with dizzying speed because of the ChonoGuard, ditto villains. Better to know where you stand even before he makes your brain explode.
Down with the Cheese Board I say!
Thanks for the recommendation, I only have about 15 minutes left on my current audiobook (Peter F. Hamilton) so I needed a new one. I've just picked up "Shades of Grey," we'll see how it goes.
My very clever review on The Eyre Affair on here was, "Let me know your opinion - I loved the pants off it!"
Lloved Fforde for years. He can be outre and sly. And if you can him when he's sly you feel like Brian Cox. But have a sneaky suspicion he's just thrown you a Roy "Chubby" Brown line anyway.
Glad you like him too.
I think I sent some of my old Ffordes to Em in Kenya (still alive at least) but if I have any I'll dig them out. The Thursday Next books are worth reading in order, just to ensure coherence. Funnily enough, time jumps around a little. Characters appear and disappear with dizzying speed because of the ChonoGuard, ditto villains. Better to know where you stand even before he makes your brain explode.
Down with the Cheese Board I say!
Ha! I thought this seemed like it would be right up your alley, so to speak ;p I must have missed your Eyre Affair review.
Have you read Shades of Grey, too?
I am loving the Eyre Affair.
I suspect I'll be on a Fforde jag for a while now. And I would generally read in order anyway. Even if novels are standalone, if there's any kind of a link between them I'll do them in order. Can't bear the thought that an in-universe joke or reference might be missed otherwise lol
@ Clod: let us know how you get on with it. Also, which Hamilton are you finishing up?
The third in his Greg Mandel series, "The Nano Flower."
Ahh. I haven't read the Greg Mandell series yet. They're on my list for when I hit that mood again :)
Just finished A Storm of Swords; about to start on A Feast for Crows. My light reading after too much lit searching at work.
My current audiobook is: Infection: Alaskan Undead Apocalypse .
It's excellent. Very well written and narrated, with three dimensional characters and cracking pace.
It actually had me slightly choked up at one point. The first few chapters are heartbreaking. And the horror when it hits is truly horrifying.
So yeah...I'm still all about the Zombies.
FWIW. Lady at the library told me I had checked out 974 books in last 3 years, read most of them. Yeah, I know. I need a life. Now reading Daniel Silva, Portrait of a spy.
That's awesome! These are full length books? That's almost a book a day.
@ Glatt Yes. I don't care for sic-fi or books with a bunch of short stories. I also hate to start a series of books in the middle. But, I take what they give me. New books come in on Wednesday, so today or tomorrow I'll have a look. I get almost, first pick.
When you read that many books, do you remember them a month or two later? Or are they pretty much disposable in your memory?
I've read enough books that were unmemorable, but I don't read nearly as many as you, so it makes me curious.
I can get halfway through a hum-drum murder mystery before I remember I've read it before.
But I still refuse to read the back of them; talk about spoilers!
"Following the sudden death of her husband and daughter [Chapter Three], Jennifer finds out perhaps all was not as she realised. As she gets drawn deeper into the world of diamond trafficing [so her husband's business partner Mr Nan der Kleef may not be all he seems] she has to face yet another personal tragedy [penultimate chapter].
An Inspector Glatt murder."
I don't read as many books as Buster as I am too lazy to source them. But I do read almost constantly.
I've been loaned Stephen King's Doctor Sleep and I'm enjoying it so far.
Ooooh. I'm thinking of getting Doctor Sleep. Not sure whether to get it on kindle or spend an audible credit on the audio book.
FWIW. Lady at the library told me I had checked out 974 books in last 3 years, read most of them. Yeah, I know. I need a life. Now reading Daniel Silva, Portrait of a spy.
Wow!
All my read books are marked with a stick on B. Also on the page number ten, 0 is blacked out.
The part time deadheads look for B and not inside. So if a book comes from another library in our system it won't have the b. I hate to reread a book, but will, like the Wilbur Smith ones
I tried to get into them but couldn't. My niece loaned me the first two books. They seemed good, but I think I was in the wrong mood.
Might give them another go at some point.
You should, if only for the cultural references.
I found they varied in both tone and quality but she can turn a good phrase and although the books are not tongue in cheek she does have a good sense of humour.
And of course it fulfils the childhood longing that doesn't leave some of us, that someone will turn up and say it's all a big mistake and we really are special after all.
hmmmm...
Just Tell Me I Can't by Jamie Moyer has entered my stack of books. Its a good read so far mixing timelines and sports psychology. Moyer is a PA guy 1 or 2 years older than me whose baseball career was fascinating. He was a journeyman pitcher with a high school fastball who knocked around a lot but finally got cut from a team when he was about 30. Normally that means its time to pack it in. He got his brain worked on and became one of the best pitchers in baseball in his thirties and forties. He finally retired at 49 after successfully coming back from Tommy John surgery. Moyer is one of the true good guys in sports.
I've been loaned Stephen King's Doctor Sleep and I'm enjoying it so far.
I'll probably read that...Should I re-read
The Shining, as I don't remember a lot of it, beforehand, or can it (
Dr. Sleep) stand by itself?
Wait,
Dr. Sleep is the story about the kid from
The Shining, isn't it?
Yeah. The little boy all grown up.
I might have to retread the shining too. Not exactly a chore it was a belter of a story
Re: Shades of Gray by Jasper Fforde (not really spoilery, but white-texted just to be safe...)
[COLOR="White"]Holy fucking fuck. What a bleak and brutal ending, after being all deadpan absurdist humor and physical comedy throughout the first 95% of the book. I still can't decide if I'm okay with the ending--I mean, it would be a great ending on a different book, I was just so unprepared for it.[/COLOR]
Did you read Choke?
Chuck palatunik or however you spell that. Guy that wrote fight club.
The movie ends differently.
Anybody read the 13th Tale by Setterfield? It's a gothic and right up my alley....:ghost:
Did you read Choke?
Chuck palatunik or however you spell that. Guy that wrote fight club.
The movie ends differently.
Did I post that I have Snuff out of the library or are we now so closely attuned you can read my thoughts?
No, I don't read thoughts. I read breasts. Thing is I learned to read them in Braile.
My breasts are shrinking along with the rest of me.
There is now no longer any way for them to reach across the Atlantic.
I can only assume the Cellar has a camera in my bedroom.
Diz says sorry for the recent run of poop.
And I say sorry for the baggy knickers. A few more months and I'll replace them. I want to skip a size.
Re: Shades of Gray by Jasper Fforde (not really spoilery, but white-texted just to be safe...)
[COLOR="White"]Holy fucking fuck. What a bleak and brutal ending, after being all deadpan absurdist humor and physical comedy throughout the first 95% of the book. I still can't decide if I'm okay with the ending--I mean, it would be a great ending on a different book, I was just so unprepared for it.[/COLOR]
[COLOR="White"]Ahh, now, see, I kind of expected something. To me there was a very dark undertone to some of that ostensibly light material. A kind of dangerous infantilism.
Like the childlike vocabulary in Clockwork Orange.
[/COLOR]
It is, by the way, only the first of a series. But the next one isn't due until sometime next year (/sob)
In the Thursday Next series, Fforde usually manages to make me gasp and cry as well as laugh. And things that should be bluffs and easily resolved plot points really aren't. Someone really is dead, or missing. Fforde just throws you a few biscuits every now and then, where things really are joyfully resolved, the man shall have his mare again and all shall be well.
He can't hit me as hard as Kate Atkinson of course.
Where not only have I had to put the book down in order to cry properly, but the sadness has lived with me afterwards. Ditto Esther Freud, some of whose passages I think I know by heart now.
And yet both have made me properly laugh out loud, as well as snort, snigger and blow down my nose, which seems a method of expressing humour no-one else shares.
I just started "The Eyre Affair," and so far I'm not very taken with it. Part of it is the narrator, who talks so slowly. I'm going to give it a little more time, but things better start happening soon.
I suspect the Eyre Affair works better when read, rather than as an audio. I tried a sample of the audio and didn't get on with the narrator's voice at all. But I bought on kindle and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact I'm halfway through the second book now.
There's quite a lot of humour in the text that probably wouldn't come through the same in audio. Some of the wordplay is quite visual. Like when the bookworms get agitated and start crapping apostrophes.
Yeah, I should know better by now than to buy a book without listening to the voice sample. I know Audible takes returns, I just hate to be that person.
Death Of Kings. By Bernard Cornwell
Just finished King Of The Mild Frontier (an ill-advised autobiography) by Chris Crutcher. Very enjoyable, lends even more authenticity to his books (teen coming-of-age sports fiction, boy-oriented). And the guy is a hero. He has a swimming-based book called Stotan. I called my boy Stotan on facebook because of his crazy practice schedule in the summer and dropped CC an email about it -he send my boy a signed book. (Whale Talk -the first of his I read, highly recommended)
Been on a manga kick ... Hikaru no Go, Death Note, Doubt (rabbit doubt), Judge, couple of less memorable ones. Currently reading Mushishi and a Charles Stross novel, Accelerando.
Turns out it wasn't Doctor Sleep which induced my narcolepsy.
Filth, Irvine Welsh had the same effect. I took it to Luton for my hospital appointment and woke up in Ivinghoe, terrified I'd missed my stop (which we wouldn't arrive at for 45 minutes)
Thought I'd read it - I've been a Welsh fan since Trainspotting (the book - though I adored Danny Boyle's take on it.)
But despite some complex plot machinations I was bound to forget anyway, I did not remember any of the big reveals either, so I guess not. My payday treat next week is going to see the fillum. Dr R laughed at that. By all acounts it is absolutely Filthy. But then I've spoken to peepes who weren't even able to finish the book.
On The Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor Pelevin. I'm reading it in translation of course - only one person on this board fluent in Russian that I know.
It's supposed to be multi-layered and allegorical. I think I'll have to reread. Am far too fascinated by the life of a Taoist 2000 year old fox working as a prostitute to bother with a subtext right now, although there is nothing graphic. 'Spect I'm taking in more than I realise anywhay.
The Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield. I'll let you know...
None of the stupid cinemas round here are showing the Filth on or after stupid payday.
How stupid. So I have to wait for it to come out on DVD as even the cins in London (where I think I am going to have my hair done) don't like to give up the information of what they are showing next week (and a cinema week begins on a Thursday, how convenient). But how stupid.
It was still in the Top Five (Number Three I think) in the charts last week, but how can it do anything to make money now everyone has read the reviews and seen the trailers and just can't see it?!
And.... relax. And talk about books, baby.
Kept leaving Werefox book in the spare room, which Mum colonises every night, so am reading instead The Devil's Mask by Christopher Walking. Super so far, really drawing me in. A little bit Gatiss I feel, but without the outre gags and sly references. A Proper book, albeit still A Bit of Fluff. May be the period it's set in.
Someone by Alice McDermott
Who Asked You by Terry McMillan
2013 Step-by-Step Medical Coding.
It's freaking awesomely interesting. Really. Totally engrossing. :neutral:
That's what we need, water on the back of the neck and the code. Now, supposing I play a little guessing game with you...
"Slocum & The Red River Renegades" by Jake Logan
#111
Just finished Wool, now reading Dust.
Just one evil act. By Elizabeth George.
I'm up to book seven of Mark Tufo's Zombie Fallout series, Got them on audio having heard a sample and loved the narrator's style.
It's brilliant. Really fun ride. Not like any other zombie story I've come across. What's intriguing is that the main character, Mike Talbot, who is something of an every man character, is the same lead in all his books. We meet him as a teenager in the Indian Hill series, then as the lead in Zombie Fallout and later on we meet him again as an immortal in Lycan Fallout. They're sort of the same guy, but not a continuous story as such. Like the same guy has led several different lives.
I haven't read the other series, but I will do!
He's an indy writer, initially self publishing and then with a small publishing house. So, every so often there is a bit that could be edited. But there's a real joy and verve to his writing that makes the whole thing a fun ride.
Dark, funny, and very human.
"How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big," an interesting take on his own success by Scott Adams (author of Dilbert.) I agree with most of his advice and worldview, though sometimes it does get a little self-congratulatory.
"Deadline." By Sandra Brown. Nice.
Just finished "Whispers of the River", by Tom Hron (not a typo).
Now reading:
"First King of Shannara" by Terry Brooks
Has Terry Brooks finally conquered that amateurish aversion to using the word "said?"
Not that I'd read the guy anyway; it took me about three tries to get through Sword of Shannara as a young man, lord what a thicket of adverbs and adjectives and maybe a third of them necessary, and I haven't been back in any serious way. That, and how hardly anyone ever just said something. Usually they employed some other verb, or possibly even utilized it. With an adverb. Lots of those. It got annoying.
Amersterdam, By Russell Shorto. Much more that ya ever wanted to know. I was in Amersterdam in 1962 and again in 67, so I though this would be a good read. Only if ya need to do a school paper.
I made heavy going of American Weather by Charles McLeod.
I know what it was trying to do, but in doing so it really just bored me. Maybe that was the point, that life in the 21st century is basically meaningless.
I'm not all that smart and I have quite basic tastes when it comes to novels.
I appreciate good writing and I think I can recognise it, but what I really want is a rollicking good plot with as few holes as possible, characters I can believe in and a bit of something that makes me feel smarter for having read it.
American Weather did not deliver.
I ploughed through because I thought it might grow on me like American Psycho. Now that took a little while to immerse myself into, but once I did it paid back.
AW had pages of nothingness describing how people valued nothingness. "I sell to the you you want to be. The you who drives a Prius, who takes out the recycling, who supports local causes, who.." blah blah blah. PAGES of it. And then pages of the opposite "Not the you who secretly wants to visit whores, who wanted to hit that homeless man who ..." Not direct quotes - the book is back in the library - but you get my drift.
There was very little actual plot.
What there was, was already revealed on the back cover. Or on Amazon. The (frankly impossible) main event which happens is in the last few chapters. And then an afterward which was more interesting in two pages than the rest of the book.
It got really great reviews.
So it was either too clever-clever for me or I'm just not clever enough to enjoy it.
Maybe I should stick to V C Andrews in future.
I just started Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight. It's about a mother who has to piece together her daughter's life through texts, emails, and FB posts, after her daughter's apparent suicide. I'm about 50 pages in and will be doing my best to plough through it as much as my daredevil/explore all the things one year old will allow.
Update on Reconstructing Amelia -- I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5. There were some unresolved plot points and the last third of the book was weaker than the rest of it. Interesting food for thought about parenting in the 21st century, and about how tough it can be to be a teenager now that every action is instantly public through social media.
W.E.B Griffin Hazardous Duty. MASH goes to the white house.
On Thursday I bought a book for my Kindle because I couldn't sleep.
Yes, it was payday.
But just this morning I've been thinking "Hang on. I always buy second hand books or go to the library. What's with this spending £6 on a book lark?"
I need to be careful of that in future, I've become too used to getting the cheap and free books on Kindle and it's made the transaction a little too familiar.
So I have just finished James Lear's The Hardest Thing.
As it's subtitled as a Dan Stagg novel, and this is a new character, I can only assume he has a book deal.
It's very typical of James Lear. Well-researched, slyly funny and overtly sexual and explicit.
tend to buy Kindle books but 'Er Indoors bought me a paper book "Two Brothers" by Ben Elton.
you can google Ben Elton, basically a sound bloke and funny as you like.
he has a serious side and this book is inspired by him having (long story short) uncles who fought on both sides in WWII.
As his novel based on his personal commentary of Holocaust events it's possibly as good as it gets.
Also tells the Goys something that not all of us (goyim) know.
I've had close association with many Jews in my time and I'm loving this book because I can relate to it.
Even without knowing anything about Jews the plot and narrative mean that you can slot in to it easily.
good book, good read, and I haven't even finished it yet!
Ever since the inexplicable invasion by the This is not Porn folks, I've been wondering about Harkins Murakami. I made an abortive attempt at reading 1Q84 but stalled after book one when my library loan of the Kindle edition expired. I'm now halfway through The Wind - Up Bird Chronicle. I'm still not sure about him, but I'm continuing onward.
Just started "Adventure" by Jack London.
The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. Book 1 in the Gentlemen Bastards sequence
Listening to the audiobook - excellent story, with brilliant narrator. Best fantasy novel I've read/heard since Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy.
Laugh out loud funny in places, but with the occasional punch to the guts too. I;ve laughed and cried. Finding it very difficult to switch off and sleep at night!
I'll have to look for it. I'm always looking for bedtime recreational reading.
My current reading is 'Understanding the US Health Services System, 4th Ed.'; riveting stuff.
Also perusing a new cookbook, even though I don't have the energy to cook these days. I may take up a raw diet from sheer lack of energy. :p:
"Bear Is Broken" by Lachlan Smith (on NookHD+), it was a Friday Freebie.
The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. Book 1 in the Gentlemen Bastards sequence
Listening to the audiobook - excellent story, with brilliant narrator. Best fantasy novel I've read/heard since Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy.
Laugh out loud funny in places, but with the occasional punch to the guts too. I;ve laughed and cried. Finding it very difficult to switch off and sleep at night!
Now that's weird, because I thought you recommended the Gentlemen Bastards to me.
Unless you did and it's only the audiobook that's new to you.
Just finished
More Awkward Situations for Men by journalist and occasional talking-head Danny Wallace. From the library, I wouldn't have bought it as it is a piece of froth. Funny froth though, in sippy mouthfuls. And pretty much every mini-chapter (think article, really|) made me laugh out loud, some really quite hard.
And
He's Always Watching by Chevy Stevens (female, unexpectedly.)
I wanted to see how it ended, and it was engaging, but again I'm glad it was from the library. No great writing or insight. A good travel read.
Just started what I think might be a teen book about zombies. Meh. Kills time. And eats it.
Now that's weird, because I thought you recommended the Gentlemen Bastards to me.
Unless you did and it's only the audiobook that's new to you.
Don't think so. Unless I talked about it the last time we spoke. It's a new one on me! But its like 23 hours on audiobook, so I've bene listening to it on and off for a couple of weeks.
Just finished actually, and am on the second one in the sequence now (no audible credits left and put membership on hold for a while so *cough* piratebookbay *cough*) [/quote]
Just started what I think might be a teen book about zombies. Meh. Kills time. And eats it.
By whom?
Undead, by Kirsty McKay.
Probably won't finish it.
Reading poetry instead.
Ahh. yeah i tried that but thought it was a bit pants. Mark Tufo's Zombie Fallout is much more fun :P
Also he wrote an excellent zombie series for young readers all from the perspective of a dog called Riley.
Did you ever read the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness?
Bloody good. And has a good dog in it.
My gift to you, intellectually speaking. Although you may lay claim to my Dragon Book of Verse, except it only has post-it notes in it; I never got the chance to annotate this version.
Oooh. That title is familiar.
I'm always looking for bedtime recreational reading.
I saw what you did there.
Just finished The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. The cover and the title make it sound like fluffy chick-lit, but it's a lot more than that. It's about secrets, moral responsibility, vengeance, relationships. How well do you know your spouse? Can good people do very bad things? Funny and sad and a quick read. Highly recommend it.
Hey Choco, long time no see!
Reading "Beyond the Pale" an autobiography/ history of The Sierra Nevada brewing company.
Very interesting look into the insane amount of effort, luck, self sacrifice that went into growing that brewery.
Enough industry info to give context to non experts but not so much that it drags.
I give it two pints up.
Now that's weird, because I thought you recommended the Gentlemen Bastards to me.
Unless you did and it's only the audiobook that's new to you.
.
It occurs to me that you may be thinking of
Luck in the Shadows. Similar kind of themes, with thievery and chicanery, and also a series of books.
I enjoyed the first of that series, but fell off halfway through the second. Seemed a bit one paced after a while, and a little too light.
The Gentlemen Bastards series has held me completely. I'm halfway through book 3 now and wishing that the fourth was out already!
Much more depth to it and a lot more of a mix of dark and light. Laugh out loud funny in places, but has also had me in tears a few times. Ya know, the kind of fantasy story that gets properly under your skin. The names of places and peoples have as much resonance as real world places and peoples, because the cultures are so well drawn. And I can't remember the last time I fell so in love with a cast of characters.
Oh you deffo sent me Luck in the Shadows.
But the Gentlemen Bastards have an underground lair (no spoilers) and although the young lad conscripted also has to learn heaps about correct manners the tone is very different.
I probably just assumed I read it because of you, because it's intelligent fantasy.
Just read Pegg's autobiography.
Although his voice comes through strongly he is too guarded. Should've written it later in life when more people were dead. Although there is an episode with a farting teacher that made me cry with laughter for minutes.
Reading The Fields by Kevin Maher. Funny and horrible in turn. Dark story of an Irish childhood (a novel, not misery-lit), interesting to see where it goes, only halfway through.
Learned that Saidhbh is pronounced Sive (rhymes with hive) which I almost worked out, but Googled just to be sure (only to have it explained in the very next chapter)
I have a limited but better than average knowledge of Irish names simply from going to a convent with Irish nuns and fellow pupils.
I would run a sweepstake on how to pronounce Eaghdheanaghdh, but given we have no Irish speakers here I'd be far too suspicious if anyone got it right. I didn't have a fecking clue, bejesus.
FTR both the above are names from the same family, "her Father's dead proud of being Irish so he... makes his kids spell their names with as many 'bh's and 'dh's as possible.".
The book Thief. Just started it.
Reading 'Gone Girl' again as a study in psychopathic personality. Pondering how much is inborn and what may be precipitated as a survival mechanism in an abusive environment.
Why did no one warn me that Divergent is a terrible, lame, load of crap?
Cuz we didn't read it, and now won't. Thanks for taking one for the team.
Started listening to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers last night. Very enjoyable, and offers some interesting statistical insights for parenting and personhood in general.
"Life Expectancy" by Dean Koontz
Re: Terry Brooks:
...lord what a thicket of adverbs and adjectives and maybe a third of them necessary...
WORD.I decided not to proceed further with the Book Thief. Am I the biggest philistine around? And how do you pronounce that anyway?
Phyllis Steen
I don't know anything about the Book Thief, I just keep hearing the name thrown around. Should I try it? Or is it dumb? Usually books that are this popular are very appealing to Oprah's Book Club types, and thus not at all interesting to me.
The girls here read and liked it. I didn't read it but thought the movie was good.
W.E.B Griffin Hazardous Duty. MASH goes to the white house.
You made me giggle.
WEB Griffin wrote several of the MASH Goes to sequels. Very funny. I have the whole set.
Gone Girl was some serious kind of fucked up. But unfortunately predictable.
Gone Girl was some serious kind of fucked up. But unfortunately predictable.
The book was predictable, but a psychopath of that sort is not uncommon. I imagine the author knew one. She communicated the coldness and inability to empathize on any level very well.
I'm listening to the audiobook of The Passage by Justin Cronin. What a wonderful book! And beautifully read too.
I'm so pleased to be into something again. Had a spell of not being able to get into anything. tried a dozen books on kindle and several on audio that just didn't click with me. Probably because I'd previously had a run of superb books that spoiled me for a while. Y'know when a book or a series gets right under your skin and you just want that same hit, but nothing quite compares?
Some of the books in that run of awesomeness:
1. If You Fall I Will Catch you , by Eifion Jenkins. Unusual for me to go for a standalone novel. Usually I prefer series or at the very least standalones by an author with a large back catalogue of books to hit if the style grabs me (like Tom Holt or Stephen King) - but this was a real gem of a novel. Not all that long, maybe 350 pages - but by the end of it I felt like I'd read an epic. Hard to describe it - it's sort of sci-fi, but with a spirituality to it. Beautifully written and with a surprising depth. Set in the future, after a plague (I think was a plague) has wiped out much of humanity. The world is dominated by a Spanish empire of sorts, but the main character, Gwidion is in a Welsh village (to start with). He's haunted by a memory of sorts - and a 'twin' brother who never existed. The twin is connected to the events of 9/11, and event Gwidion knows nothing about, and yet is connected to via the twin and dreams of falling.
I'm not doing it justice - just take my advice and read it. You'll be glad you did.
2. Dark Eden - another standalone. And another sort of sci-fi with a spiritual edge. Set a century and a half after a small group of people landed on the planet they called Eden. A strange planet completely alien to Earth, with no sunlight. The light all comes from the plants and animals. The descendants of the small group are all one family, though divided into little groups. They've remained in theplace where the craft landed - fearful of ever straying too far in case the shps came from Earth to retrieve them and can;t find them - stuck in a cycle of repetition and locked into living in the same way, following the same paths their forebears had, with most of the planet unexplored. One youngster wants to change ho they live - he recognises that they cannot continue to exist in the little valley, with food running scarce as their population continues to grow. Again, I'm not doing this justice :p One of the lovely things about it is the language. It's told from the perspective of different characters, swapping between them as the story unfolds, and using the dialect and speech patterns of the little colony. Reminded me a little of Ridley Walker at times. The rhythms of the speech and the little survivals of words and concepts from Earth (such as the yearly meetings known as Any Virsries and the occasional Strordinry Meeting - with the Secret Ary taking notes, scratched on bark).
I've already talked about the Gentleman Bastards series on audio - listened to the three currently available - was a marathon! 70 hours or thereabouts - like watching a boxset :P Made it difficult to get into any audio afterwards - was so good and so well read.
The other series that got under my skin was on kindle - The Demon Wars cycle, by Peter V Brett beginning with The Painted Man (The Warded Man in the US). Tried the audio and it didn't click with me - but then I got them on kindle and they blew me away. Love the way it's written - the dialects remind me a bit of Game of Thrones (inasmuch as I can hear the accent). Really well- built world, with a clear sense of place and people. Gutted when the third book ended on a (fairly literal) cliffhanger! Now probably have a year to wait at least for the next instalment.
The Demon Wars trilogy spoiled me on reading, in just the same way that Gentleman Bastards spoiled me on audio. I so wanted that same kind of feel and just couldn't find it anywhere.
I tried so many different books on kindle and audio and nothing was clicking with me. I'm a chapter or three into about 8 books just now. I'd get into one a little and read for a night, but then didn't feel drawn to return to that story. And tried a few audios too, none of which took. Then I remembered The Passage, which I got through audible a couple of years ago for Mum and never listened to it myself.
So pleased it's good. I really needed to be into a book!
"True Evil" by Greg Iles. A good read. IMHO.
I'm listening to the audiobook of The Passage by Justin Cronin. What a wonderful book! And beautifully read too.
Many years ago the local PBS radio station had a program called "Reading aloud" and there were a few good books that I was able to listen to. I heard the end of the play "Equus" by Peter Shaffer and many years later was able to acquire a copy to read. I also say the movie but was very disappointed, because they took a stage production and shot the movie on non-stage locations. Next I listened to parts of "Miles from Nowhere" about a bicycle trip by a couple who rode around the world. In One of the more interesting segments, they were crossing Northern Africa and stopped for the night next to some Bedouin shepherds, visited with them and then want to bed in their tent. A short time later they heard them approach on foot and were afraid they might be attacked, robbed, and killed, and then they heard the men playing their musical instruments and singing, they were serenading them to sleep.
Right now I'm reading "Buddhism: it's essence and development" by Edward Conze.
Before that I read "The Tibetan book of the Dead" by W. Y. Evans-Wentz.
Both were and are slow reads, as I read a few pages when I go to bed. When I can no longer focus on the page, I put it down and go to sleep.
I do that with car repair manuals. That shit puts you right to sleep.
I sometimes used AM talk radio. I'd find a program discussing a topic I could not have cared less about, and listen to it just loud enough to hear, but, not catch every word.
It worked.
Just finished listening to "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime." The voiceacting was very good; he got the main character's cadence just right.
I found it especially amusing that while the book is generally highly-acclaimed, there is a solid core of 1-star reviews on Amazon, and the majority of those run along the lines of, "I have autism myself and this character is not exactly like me therefore it is false and the author is a fraud." Which is, of course, to be expected.
Going through a Bernard Cornwell phase for a bit -- enough to note the Sharpe novels hew to a pattern. Like how poor Richard gets ever so many opportunities to be a lover; at least once per book, regardless of anything. If only he had the money, he might have been a gigolo -- Sgt Harper's assessment of him notwithstanding.
Don't seem to remember the TV series being quite so stuffed with stray petticoats. Though in that era, women did seem to be ninety percent linen -- and pin-curls. ;)
I'm listening to the audiobook of The Passage by Justin Cronin. What a wonderful book! And beautifully read too.
I'm so pleased to be into something again. Had a spell of not being able to get into anything. tried a dozen books on kindle and several on audio that just didn't click with me. Probably because I'd previously had a run of superb books that spoiled me for a while. Y'know when a book or a series gets right under your skin and you just want that same hit, but nothing quite compares?
Tree jumpers!
Don't seem to remember the TV series being quite so stuffed with stray petticoats. Though in that era, women did seem to be ninety percent linen -- and pin-curls. ;)
Perhaps not quantity, but quality. Elizabeth Hurley shows up without the linen.
Just read The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley Started Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline.
Both are about a hit and run. WTF! does someone pitch an idea out to all writers, then they all jump on it?? But but they'er all new york times best sellers. Right?
slumming it with takedown twenty by janet Evanovich. Old, Done, Series way way way past it's prime, may serve to help me get to sleep every night for the rest of the year at this boring rate!
Lisa Scottoline. I owe you an apology. Got better later sorry.
Drlackofaffect lent me Knight by Gene Wolfe. I've never read anything by him, but he hangs words together in some really awesome ways.
She laughed, and the wind and the sea were in it; she was the spray, and the waves that broke outside her cave. When I talked to her, I was talking to them.
A Dirty Job is brilliant. Any book that hangs together the words "Artificial boob spooge" is worth a look, or in my case, a listen.There is something terribly, terribly wrong with Christopher Moore. And I am good with that.
The Rule of Nobody by Philip K. Howard.
A story about the paralyzing effects of overly detailed laws and regulations. He makes a case for governing by principle, and not by rules. He suggests that individual human judgement, even by government officials is better than mindless compliance with inflexible rules.
I like it so far.
Drlackofaffect lent me Knight by Gene Wolfe. I've never read anything by him, but he hangs words together in some really awesome ways.
Remember the section of Reader's Digest called 'Torwards More Picturesque Speech' (or something like that)? I've often thought of starting a thread in the same vein.
Currently trying to read "I Hunt Killers", by Barry Lyga.
Jazz is a likable teenager. A charmer, some might say.
But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, "Take Your Son to Work Day" was year-round.
I always forget about this thread - I think because it seems to move fast, but also a lot of my reading doesn't seem to fit in (from what I remember when I posted a couple times).
I saw some others using goodreads, so I wanted to invite you to come friend me on there :) I am blbst36 on there. I have a goal of 52 books to read this year and I have finished 26 so far.
I also just looked and realized I don't know where one of the books I am reading is actually at and I want to read it - lol
Now on A Clash of Kings.
Which I shouldn't be, as I still have four library books to read. But I missed Daenerys so much I had to start it. I'll find out what I've been reading recently and post it soon; some of them were really quite good.
From Survival to Recovery
Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett. I'm not sure what genre Discworld has transformed into. It's not really comedy anymore; sort of satire blended with historical fiction set in a fantasy world. Which, since the definition of "historical fiction" is a fictional stories set in the real world, is hard to do.
Pratchett hasn't lost his touch yet, but a preemptive Fuck Alzheimers. Any book could be his last.
"The Normans: From Raiders To Kings" by Lars Brownworth
"Head To Head" by Linda Ladd
Been delving into the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz...currently on the 2nd book. Also read Food Rules by Michael Pollan and OITNB. I tried reading Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, but it pissed me off.
Love Odd Thomas.
Checked out the movie yet? "Odd Thomas" is currently on Netflix, I believe.
Finally finished American Gods. I can't wait for the tv series! Now focused mainly on Lawrence In Arabia. Side reading on bees and disabilities.
Love Odd Thomas.
Checked out the movie yet? "Odd Thomas" is currently on Netflix, I believe.
I've seen some of it, which pushed me to read the books. I'm now on book 3, Brother Odd.
Far From the Madding Crowd
What a gem:
[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to chinks, and diverging wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.[/SIZE][/FONT]
Beautiful.
Recent reads:
Goddamn Scary Monsters, by Rick Gualtieri - the fifth book in the Tome of Bill series. Hilarious and still very much on form. I love Bill the Vampire. A real antidote to the Twiglet vamps.
usually I get the audiobooks because the narrator is kickass. But, I couldn't afford it this time so got the kindle edition - loved it - and the narrator's voice was clear enough in my mind that i could basically hear him telling me the story :)
Mort (The Fearlanders), by Joseph Duncan
A zombie apocalypse take with a difference. Great book - funny and tragic by turn. Also:
Cattle set in the same Fearlanders world but around ten years later - possibly one of the darkest books I have read in a very long time. Genuinely disturbing in a way that most zombie fiction really isn't. Ten years after the outbreak and some of the zombies have regained their minds and memories - but not their emotions. They have won the war - humans are few and far between. The new clever zombies have taken to farming humans for meat.
It's beautifully written and doesn't pull its punches. I haven't finished it yet - needed to take a break from the tension. I highly recommend this book.
Wilt, by Tom Sharpe - I've read this book several times over the years but it's probably over a decade since I last revisited Henry Wilt. I still love him. it's a brilliant book. The cat and mouse game between Wilt and the Inspector (who is convinced he has killed his wife) still makes me laugh out loud and cheer him on. The man with the jackrabbit mind indeed.
There have been a bunch of others that I can't be arsed listing (some zombie apocalypse, natch, also some space exploration type stuff) might come back to at some point.
Currently reading:
Last Night, by Stephen Leather - the fifth book in the Jack Nightingale series. As with the Tome of Bill, I'd previously listened to these on audio but went with a kindle edition this time - and again, I can clearly hear the narrator which is great.
Nightingale is a great character - and the books are a nice mix of crime fiction and supernatural shenanigans. None of them quite hit like the first - which was spooky as hell and really got under my skin, but they're still good fun and well written.
Let's see how many books I can juggle at one time...working on Book 3 of Odd Thomas, already have Book 4. Started Fast Food Nation last night. Also been reading Ron Burgundy's "autobiography" off and on for about a month. And I want some Jim Hightower books now.
Finished the English Patient, also A Most Wanted Man by Le Carre
Good stuff.
Goddamn Scary Monsters, by Rick Gualtieri
:lol2:
Damn I got the title wrong lol
It's
Goddamned Freaky Monsters.
I was mixing it up with book 2 (
Scary Dead Things)
The whole series is awesome
Bill the Vampire
Scary Dead Things
Holier than Thou
The Mourning Woods
Goddamned Freaky Monsters
I really cannot recommend them enough.
Here's the write up for book 1:
Meet Bill Ryder: programmer, gamer geek, and hopeless dweeb when it comes to women. All he ever asked for out of life was to collect his paycheck, hang out with his buds, and eventually (someday) ask out the girl of his dreams.
However, then Bill met Sally. She was mysterious, aggressive, and best of all...smoking hot. Bill never stood a chance. Before he knew what was happening Sally had lead him to his death, and that was only the beginning of his troubles.
Now Bill awakes to find himself an undead predator of the night. The only problem is he’s still at the bottom of the food chain.
He’s in way over his head, surrounded by creatures more dangerous, better looking, and a whole lot cooler than he is. Worst of all is the dreaded Night Razor, a master vampire who just can’t stand him. He gives Bill a 90-day deadline to either prove himself or meet a more permanent kind of death, and the deck is definitely stacked against him.
But Bill isn’t exactly average. A vampire like him hasn’t been seen in over five centuries. He's got a few tricks up his sleeve, unlikely allies to help him out, and an attitude problem that makes him just too damn obnoxious to quit. He may just pull it off... if he doesn't get his teeth kicked in first.
And I really, really recommend the audiobooks, because the narrator is brilliant. Laugh out loud funny.
Been listening to Kasher in the Rye, the (fucked-up-)childhood memoir of comedian Moshe Kasher. The audio is definitely better than regular reading in this case, as it's read by the comedian himself and the voices and delivery are of course hysterical. Highly recommended.
Reading Under the Dome by Stephen King.
Those are downstairs in the bedroom. On the eBook side, I have Odd Hours, Fast Food Nation and Finding Kansas (a book written by a kid that has just been diagnosed with Aspie's).
I think I'm good for awhile. :D
Finished Winter of the world. By Ken Follett. All freaking 940 pages.
Doing a re-read of Dune after 33/34 years... still holds up.
Just started "Envy" by Sandra Brown
It appears to be a book about a book. I've only read the first chapter, though.
Almost done with "Homicide," the relatively old nonfiction book by a journalist who embedded with the Baltimore police for a year, which inspired the TV show by the same name. Really fantastic weaving together of several dozen homicide cases the squads took during that time, plus lots of morbid but hysterical transcribed dialogue. If you liked The Wire, you will love this book.
Damn I got the title wrong lol
It's Goddamned Freaky Monsters.
I was mixing it up with book 2 (Scary Dead Things)
The whole series is awesome
Bill the Vampire
Scary Dead Things
Holier than Thou
The Mourning Woods
Goddamned Freaky Monsters
I really cannot recommend them enough.
Here's the write up for book 1:
And I really, really recommend the audiobooks, because the narrator is brilliant. Laugh out loud funny.
Only 6 hours long... And still costs one full credit. That's like paying for the buffet, but only eating soup and salad.
I like to stay above the 15 hour line.
I do have 3 credits right now though...
Hmm.
Ooooo. Free! On Audible :
Free: The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories : The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories
by R. A. Salvatore
Narrated by An All-Star Cast
Series: The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories
10 hrs and 24 mins
4.44 (284)
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY
The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories expands upon the epic legend of the dark elf with 12 tales performed by the all-star cast of Felicia Day, Dan Harmon, Greg Grunberg, Tom Felton, Danny Pudi, Sean Astin, Melissa Rauch, Ice-T, Wil Wheaton, Al Yankovic, Michael Chiklis, and David Duchovny!
For years, the Legend of Drizzt has included short stories published in Forgotten Realms anthologies and Dragon magazine. Available here for the first time in audio are all the classic stories by the New York Times best-selling author R. A. Salvatore!
From the startling origin of Drizzt’s panther companion, to the tale of Jarlaxle and Entreri’s first encounter with the dragon sisters, the tales in The Collected Stories enrich this vividly-imagined series by building the world around Drizzt through exploring the backstories of side characters and magical locations.
In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons this year, The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories will be available for free for forty (40) days, starting August 12th 2014 12:01am ET through September 20th 2014 11:59PM ET.
Been listening to Dan Savage's "The Kid," about the adoption of his son with his then-boyfriend now-husband. It's the funniest one of his that I've listened to; the politics is minimal. (Not that I disagree with his politics necessarily, but none of his views on gay rights will come as a surprise.)
Dan Simmons is a pretty good writer. I just finished Olympos. Sequel to Ilium. Both are quite long, involved and multi layered works.
You like the characters, they grow, and change and its all good.... Until the end of the second book...
Its like he just got tired of the story and it just kind of... fades away. Meh.
I am trapped in a bizarre vortex of reading. Currently, I am reading Buddhism for Dummies, The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus, and conducting historical research on the usage of camels in Alabama and Mississippi prior to the start of the Civil War. Don't forget to add my Rosetta Stone course in Vietnamese. I'm serious.
Unfortunately, my dreams combine these works at night. Dreams of Buddha riding a camel along the Tombigbee River or Roman Legions, speaking Vietnamese, fighting in the Civil War can be unsettling.
[SIZE="3"][SIZE="2"]Just started Winter of the World by Ken Follett.[/SIZE][/SIZE]
Ooooo. Free! On Audible :
Free: The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories : The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories
by R. A. Salvatore
Narrated by An All-Star Cast
Series: The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories
10 hrs and 24 mins
Cannot thank you enough for that!
I think I'm about half way through.... how bad is IceT's narration .... sWord. who pronounces the W in sword?
who pronounces the W in sword?
My childhood friend, when we were playing D&D. I had to keep correcting him, and he eventually stopped.
I started re-reading Stephen King's Misery. One of my favorites by him, though after that I'll probably read Cujo.
Finished Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr
Reading the last of Ken Follett's Century Trilogy. Edge of Eternity. TMI. On page 178 of 1098. Someone told me book weighs about 4 pounds.
"Vanished" by Irene Hannon
Bone Deep, Randy Wayne White
Blood Song- Anthony Ryan
An epic fantasy exploring themes of conflict, loyalty and religious faith. Vaelin Al Sorna, Brother of the Sixth Order, has been trained from childhood to fight and kill in service to the Faith. He has earned many names and almost as many scars, acquiring an ugly dog and a bad-tempered horse in the process. Ensnared in an unjust war by a king possessed of either madness or genius, Vaelin seeks to answer the question that will decide the fate of the Realm: …who is the one who waits?
Blood Song is the first volume of Raven's Shadow - a new epic fantasy of war, intrigue and tested faith.
"Anthony Ryan is a new fantasy author destined to make his mark on the genre. His debut novel, Blood Song, certainly has it all: great coming of age tale, compelling character, and a fast-paced plot. If his first book is any indication of things to come, then all fantasy readers should rejoice as a new master storyteller has hit the scene." -- Michael J. Sullivan, author of The Riyria Revelations
"Anthony Ryan’s Blood Song is a tremendous debut; it has a fast paced, action packed and character driven story. Qualities to admire in any genre story and most of all in an epic fantasy." -- Fantasy Book Critic blog
was excellent, compelling. The sequel,
Tower Lord is also very good
"
What If?" by Randall Munroe.
Quite a fun book.
...an ugly dog and a bad-tempered horse...
I like it already.
This thread has been going for almost 11 years.
Proves how easily entertained we are.
Oz
The Complete Collection
Peter and Max, by Bill Willingham. I've been reading all the
Fables stuff; it's really good.
Also reading
With the Old Breed, by EB Sledge. I recently rewatched HBO's The Pacific, which is partially based on this book.
Also rereading Song of Ice and Fire.
America, Imagine a world without her. by Dinesh D'Souza
Just started listening to Neil Patrick Harris' autobiography. It's clear he had a ghost writer, but no shame in that. It's funny as shit. I cackled twice just in the 15-minute drive home. It was written as a "Choose Your Own Adventure," which you would think wouldn't port well into audiobook form, but so far it's working.
Reading Orange is the New Black. Markedly different from the show. It is really obvious how TV completely whored-up the story to make "better" TV. I would argue that the material and especially Kerman's portrayal of life inside is poignant enough and ultimately would be better fare for a nation that consumes way too much processed bullshit either as food or food for thought.
I recently finished a truly awesome fantasy book - got on a whim via Kindle lending - then discovered it was a recently published book and the sequel isn't due until some time next year. Boooo.
Anyway - really worth it for any fantasy fans - it's called The Shadow of What was Lost. Very original concept of magic, really good characters, a world that feels like it breathes and a story that keeps you turning the pages.
Now am reading the first in another fantasy series, by Joe Abercrombie. I loved his first trilogy (The First Law) and found his standalone novels to also be very entertaining. Well, he's done it again: The Shattered Sea trilogy, beginning with Half a King. Seriously, anybody who likes good fantasy needs to read this guy's work. His world building is really wonderful. You get a real sense of the cultures and histories, but done with such a light touch, you almost don't realise he's doing it.
He's a wonderful writer, with a beautiful turn of phrase, underscored with savagery and humour. His characters are complex and human.
Started/finished
"Last Call" by Rob Cornell last night/this morning.
72,000 words of karaoke noir
Didn't start off very good at all, but, it must be good, I read all 202 pages in one sitting. That's kinda rare for me.
Got it free on NookHD.
snip--
I would argue that the material and especially Kerman's portrayal of life inside is poignant enough and ultimately would be better fare for a nation that consumes way too much processed bullshit either as food or food for thought.
Agreed.
This bears repeating.
I am not a big reader, but I'm totally absorbed in this one. :D
Through the Language Glass, a good overview of the classic linguistic debate of how much our learned language shapes our thoughts and vice versa. Pretty good so far, but I geek out over linguistics stuff so maybe not the most fascinating to a normal person, I dunno.
Received "Innocence" by Dean Koontz for Xmas, may start it, as I'm currently without reading material.
Anyone read it?
Just finished the Red Cloud biography The Heart of Everything That Is. Kinda make you hate whitey.
Just finished the Red Cloud biography The Heart of Everything That Is. Kinda make you hate whitey.
Until lions write their history, ...
Humans of New York.
It's mostly looking at pictures, but there are a few captions here and there.
That is an enjoyable macebook feed.
Trust Me, I'm Lying by professional media manipulator Ryan Holiday.
Yeah yeah, we all know you can't trust everything you read on the internet--this guy proves you can't trust
anything, with detailed examples of campaigns he personally ran, online firestorms you will recognize that he manufactured out of nothing, and how bullshit makes the leap from bloggers to "respected" news outlets, while still retaining 100% of its bullshit. Fascinating in a horrifying kind of way. You think you're cynical, but not nearly as much as you will be after this book.
Dana, be warned: the author clearly recorded the audiobook version just sitting in his office, and the room reverb is bad. It's only tolerable if you keep the volume relatively low.
But, how do you know the guy isn't just using more of his techniques, now marketing himself? :) :yelgreedy
Is he behind the measles story?
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
But, how do you know the guy isn't just using more of his techniques, now marketing himself? :) :yelgreedy
isn't that one title "Trust me, I'm lying; the recursive edition"?
End game
John Gilstrap.
Not my usual fayre -random shelf pic. thoroughly enjoying it.
'Innocence' by Dean Koontz
Typical Koontz.
Also reading a collection of Hemingway's first 49 short stories.
And attempting Benjamin Franklin's autobiography.
Rereading Harold Robbins. The Carpetbaggers, 79 Park Avenue, and A stone for Danny Fisher.
The lady at library gave me a book with all 3 novels. I read these back around 40 or 50 years ago. Still a good read.
reading another Gilstrap. Hostage Zero. also good, but getting samey already. oh well....
Shadow Ops: Breach Zone by Myke Cole
So many to catch you up on...
And more to come, as my recent case worker in the nuthouse got my library fines cancelled and I'm allowed to take books out again. In the mean time a guardian angel has been supplying me with the odd book here and there. And when I say here and there I mean on my doormat. Regularly.
Last week I read Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
Both were chosen by me as having a connection with my life. Neither were perfect but both absorbing and crept into my dreams.
Elizabeth is written from the POV of a lady with dementia. Very touching, and a unique "voice". I've gifted it to Mum. Ostensibly a detective story, it is more about the past and how it bleeds into the future, especially in the mind of people who can't hold onto new memories.
The Girl is written from the POV of an alcoholic woman. As with the above, it is something that the plot revolves around, but it still has it's own engaging narrative outside of that. Ostensibly a crime story it is more about how you surrender control when you can no longer control your drinking.
I wouldn't take either of them to a desert island, but I feel I've gained something from reading both.
Better than both, but read at a more galloping pace were two hack books.
Hack in both meanings (journalist and horse riding).
Carruthers kindly sent them to me and I think was slightly alarmed at how quickly I gobbled them up.
They were written by a fellow Bucks resident and horse lover, Dylan Winter, and document his riding adventures. The first (which I read second) was along the Wales/ England border. It was a perfect match for me, being a closet Welsh lover. In fact I'd been boring poor Carr on the subject of Caer Idris when he sent it to me. It's replete with wonderful anecdotes and even made me think about liking horses, which Carr does naturally.
The second came about in a similar way, in that we'd been talking about the American North West. Y'all know how I love to travel-dream. Dylan Winter lived the dream, riding two horses along the Oregon Trail - barring illness, cast shoes, spilt hooves and accidents. He's not Bill Bryson, because only Bill Bryson is, but he doesn't try to be and writes in a casual laid back honest way. And he loves the Merkins, which speaks in his favour. It was almost as good as being there, except it only lasted two nights because it was too good to put down. And I didn't get saddle sores, but then I didn't get the yummy food either.
Oh the books were A Hack in the Borders and A Hack Goes West respectively.
"Closure" by Randall Wood
The end of that book leaves you hanging.
Just finished Thinner, which I was rereading after a long time.
My perception of it was markedly different to when I read it as a late teen. I though the people in it were SO old and SO fat back then!
Some things didn't happen the way I remembered either. I think I may have watched the film in the intervening years, because what I remember incorrectly are plot points which I can't think I would have changed, but a Director might.
Reading The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (charity shop find) and Mr Shivers, which I picked up from the library yesterday. The first is surprisingly touching, the second it's too soon to tell. I like how spare it is though.
what I remember incorrectly are plot points which I can't think I would have changed, but a Director might.
Unless you have been hiding a secret talent for film directing all these years!
The end of that book leaves you hanging.
Srsly, or, is that a LumberJimism?
Just finished Thinner
The one by Stephen King?
If so, it would be the first time (I think) that I've read a book that another Dwellar actually spoke of.
Unless you have been hiding a secret talent for film directing all these years!
I've been hiding it from myself too. Explains where all the money went I guess.
The one by Stephen King?
If so, it would be the first time (I think) that I've read a book that another Dwellar actually spoke of.
Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman, yes.
My Daddy brought me home his books when he worked at a printers. He occasionally..ahem... liberated them from the pulping skip.
Sadly, he ruined the surprise of The Long Walk by being too enthusiastic about a book he was reading where (decades old spoiler alert!) [COLOR="White"]boys were killed if they walked below a certain speed.[/COLOR]
lumberjism. Hahahahahaha.
Ah, The Bachman Books.
You realize, of course, we're the lowest common denominator?
I am.
I always am.
But we both look sexy in a wife beater.
Oh man, I loved
Thinner! I used to read a lot of King/Bachman. Every so often I revisit. I think my favourite was Needful Things (film was nowhere near as good, but did star Amanda Plummer, funnily enough ;p).
Right now I am in between books. I had a run of much wanted books - the latest instalments in several ongoing series:
Zombie Fallout 8, Lycan Fallout 2,
Half a Prayer (Tome of Bill book 6) and
San Francisco Night, the sixth Jack Nightingale mystery. This run of good books has spoiled me.
Have tried getting into a couple of sci-fi and fantasy books, but nothing is grabbing me. Seriously considering going back to the start of the Zombie Fallout books and rereading.
Anybody else read the Jack Nightingale mysteries? I highly recommend them - particularly the first one - the rest are all good, but that first one was awesome. They're written by Stephen Leather - and like most of his books there's a strong thread of detailed police/spy procedural.
Here's the plot summary for Nightshade, the first in the series:
'You're going to hell, Jack Nightingale': They are words that ended his career as a police negotiator. Now Jack's a struggling private detective - and the chilling words come back to haunt him.
Nightingale's life is turned upside down the day that he inherits a mansion with a priceless library; it comes from a man who claims to be his father, and it comes with a warning. That Nightingale's soul was sold at birth and a devil will come to claim it on his thirty-third birthday - just three weeks away.
Jack doesn't believe in Hell, probably doesn't believe in Heaven either. But when people close to him start to die horribly, he is led to the inescapable conclusion that real evil may be at work. And that if he doesn't find a way out he'll be damned in hell for eternity.
Starting Dean Koontz's "77 Shadow Street" tonight.
Hahahahhaha. That's wicked.
Frozen in time, by Mark Kurlansky. About Clarence Birdseye.
Starting Dean Koontz's "77 Shadow Street" tonight.
Not quite halfway through.
Not really grabbing me.
I seem to remember giving up on that about a third of the way through
Finished The Exiles, book 1 of the Australians. By W. S. Long Next, The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye.
I read these books back in the early 80s
Still haven't finished "77 Shadow Street".
Reading this book should be a form of punishment. It really is like work.
Just got the 2nd book of the Australians today. The Settlers. As a bonus it was wrapped in the wine & dine guide from the El PAso times. Don't think I'll be making any of the hot spots listed.
Hell of a drift, but I once stopped at a truck stop, east of there and ordered Pecan pie. It was, I think oatmeal with peanuts on top. WTF
Yes, I'm a terrible Dwellar. I'm not allowed to go on from work, and it's a PITA from the phone. But I'll try to do better. Really.
Dead Wake - Erik Larson
As usual, he tales a story that is about technology, war tactics, and diplomacy and turns it into a compelling story about people. Shame on Netflix for not having any documentaries on the Lusitania.
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Hi glatt!
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Pines by Blake Crouch. Confusing but interesting so far
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On to Wayward, book of the Series.
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On to Wayward, book of the Series.
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Book 2. Don't know where my number disappeared to.
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Wayward fell flat in the same way that the D.F. Jones Colossus sequels and the second half of David Brin's The Postman did.
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Kindle Fire is great for reading comics without filling up the house. I read Fables, and am almost done with Unwritten. Thinking of starting Saga next. I'm also rereading Song of Ice and Fire.
I love my Kindles. Just finished The Glass Magician by Charlie N Holmberg. It's the second book on the series. The first was The Paper Magician. I am appreciating the books for some decent editing (rare amongst new authors) and a unique magic system.
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The Last Town - Blake Crouch. Wayward Pines #3
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Just finished The Secret Histort of Las Vegas by Chris Abani. It was debatable at one point whether I'd finish it, but I did. was OK. Remember, I'm a philistine, it was probably pretty good.
here's the WaPo review. I just picked it off the library shelf because it was a paperback and in the crime section.
Landed Gently - Alan Hunter
The books are not at all like the TV series.
Shadows of the Workhouse - Jennifer Worth
The books are entirely like the TV series (Call the Midwife)
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Starting Use of Weapons - Iain Banks. I find him slow going. I think it's the names.
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I just started
Seveneves by Stephenson. I'd forgotten what a pleasure he is to read.
The collected
Maus, by Art Spiegelman.
Not sure how many graphic novels/ comics it originally comprised, but I had it all in one book.
I'm not sure I can do it justice. It's Pulitzer prize winning. They had to shoe-horn in into a category because there wasn't one for "black and white artistry, simply drawn in a comic book format but which will make you cry til your skin gets chapped."
Art's Dad was a Polish Jew.
You pretty much know how that went.
He lived and was fucked up. But he was such a bloody survivor.
The ghettos, Auschwitz, TB, starvation, you name it he did it.
And the book is narrated in his voice, in his slightly broken English. Which allows the Jewish voice to come through.
The illustration is very simple, but as you read it becomes very powerful. What looks like a fun cartoon at the start becomes your world as you read it. The Jews are depicted as mice (obv because they were viewed as rodents) the Poles as pigs, the Nazis as cats. There are even sections where the mice wear pig-masks in order to "pass".
And you never, ever forget that this is a real account. Told by a real man with a number tattooed on his arm, to his son who happened to be a graphic artist. And he wasn't a lovely cuddly man either; he was a real man with real problems.
The most exceptional book I've read in years.
I have Maus in two volumes, which is how I think it was originally published. I liked it.
It is hot Summer here, which I think makes it a perfect time to reread The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling.
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I guess I read some of the original serial in high school? I'll need to look for the bound copies.
I'm reading The Martian by Andy Weir.
The movie trailer looks amazing, and then over the 4th of July weekend, my brother strongly recommended that I read the book. I thought there wouldn't be time to read it before the movie comes out, but the movie still has a couple months before it comes out. So I bought the paperback.
I'm making a conscious effort to not read it all in one sitting. I wanted to be able to bring it to this Boy Scout camp where I have a chaperone shift the second half of this week. There will be a lot of down time, and I need a book to read while I hang out in my hammock. Anyway, even with trying to slow myself down, I'm already three quarters of the way through the book. It's riveting. So good. Just typing this and thinking about it, I'm wishing I was reading the book instead.
If you haven't seen the movie trailer, check it out.
[YOUTUBE]Ue4PCI0NamI[/YOUTUBE]
The trailer looks like the movie follows the book very closely. But of course the book will have more detail.
Just listened to God is not great by hitchens.
excellent of course.
If you haven't seen the movie trailer, check it out.
1st: I love space and submarine movies.
2nd: "The Martian" looks fan
ƒuckingtastic.
"Blackfoot Messiah" from The First Mountain Man series by William W. Johnstone.
A re-read.
Just finished up the Fables comic series. Sort of a slow end to a fabulous (get it?) series. I think it fit, though. Their spinoff series Jack of Fables already had an apocalyptic end; it wasn't necessary here.
Finished Unwritten, and read the Saga books up to the latest collected volume (Even in Kindle form, I don't want to clutter my space up with monthly issues).
Still rereading Song of Ice and Fire, slowly. Maybe the next one will come out around the time I finish.
Werewolves by Elliott O'Donnell. Must have had this out of my public library a dozen times as a kid. It's a "scholarly" study on the werewolf phenomenon throughout Europe, but does make occasional mention of those backward countries that have to rely on tigers and hyenas for their weres. Stodgy, pedantic style of writing. It was way better when I was monster crazy pre-teen.
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Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi
Book 4 of the Old Man's War series. I loves me some Scalzi. It's a parallel book to The Last Colony, which I read but don't remember at all.
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I'm reading The Martian by Andy Weir.
The movie trailer looks amazing, and then over the 4th of July weekend, my brother strongly recommended that I read the book. I thought there wouldn't be time to read it before the movie comes out, but the movie still has a couple months before it comes out. So I bought the paperback.
I'm making a conscious effort to not read it all in one sitting. I wanted to be able to bring it to this Boy Scout camp where I have a chaperone shift the second half of this week. There will be a lot of down time, and I need a book to read while I hang out in my hammock. Anyway, even with trying to slow myself down, I'm already three quarters of the way through the book. It's riveting. So good. Just typing this and thinking about it, I'm wishing I was reading the book instead.
If you haven't seen the movie trailer, check it out.
[YOUTUBE]Ue4PCI0NamI[/YOUTUBE]
The trailer looks like the movie follows the book very closely. But of course the book will have more detail.
Finally saw The Martian yesterday. Most excellent. It followed the book pretty closely. I loved it, but the real test was if my wife, who hadn't read the book, also liked it. She did.
So go see it. It's good.
I read a fabulous alien invasion book last week. Gets the prize for worst and most uninspiring title ever - turned out to be one of the best books I've read in ages.
Iron Mike, by Patricia Rose. It's her debut novel and it had me utterly gripped. Wonderfully strong character building - we jump between different character perspectives and one of them is a dog called Hershey, who I just adored. The alien invasion itself is thoroughly unsettling. I got a sample on kindle and by the end of that I had to buy the book (£1.99).
Currently reading The Last: a Zombie Apocalypse Thriller (Zombie Ocean Book 1) , by Michael John Grist. Verrrrrrry different take on zompoc fiction. Really enjoying it. It's a clever story, and very well-written. So many zompoc novels are inexpertly written - often very engaging stories, but with writing that is perfunctory, or just lacking in any flair or style. This one is very good. I like the author's style.
Just finished another re-read: "Forty Guns West", & "Preacher's Peace", a two-books-in-one deal, by William W. Johnstone.
Just read the excellent We Are a Muslim, Please by Zaiba Malik.
Autobiographical, about growing up in a Pakistani, Muslim family in Bradford in the 70s.
The book is very funny in parts, but it does also include a lot of detail about Islam - some of which I didn't know.
Written in 2010, she includes a polemic against one of the 7 July terrorists (Tube bombing) who it turns out grew up very close to her, albeit at a different time. It brought it all back and made me cry. I was living in Leicester at the time, and pulling a sickie because I'd just had my eyes lasered and they were really hurting. I switched the news on for a bit of background noise, intending to close my eyes, and saw the city I'd once called home being hit harder than the IRA ever managed. I still had friends in London and tried to get hold of many of them, but I couldn't get through. I even checked on the Evil Ex.
Anyway, the book is marvellous. Written with a light touch, the characters engagingly drawn, informative enough to be interesting without being scholarly. And for better or worse she's writing about my part of the world now. I may not know the exact places she writes about in Bradford, as they're housing, but I know a little of Bradford and of course Leeds. She even mentions Otley (yay!) although only as an example of a white-flight destination. Which is reasonable; everyone here is white as ice-cream, except in the Red Pepper, and I think the waiters and chefs there have to roost in the rafters during the day, so as not to scare the locals.
Am 2/3 way through The Mirror World of Melody Black by Gavin Extence. It's very good so far. Without being spoiler-y (unlike the blurb on the dust jacket) the herione suffers from a mental health condition. It's not mine, but there are enough parallels to keep me interested. The author himself has the condition he has written her, so he knows what he's writing about. The story is interesting, but of course we all like reading about ourselves, as UT pointed out :lol:
Couldn't help comparing her to myself at various points. FTR she's doing a lot better.
"The Frontiersman: River of Blood" by William W. Johnstone, w/J.A. Johnstone, but seeing as William W. died ~10 years ago, I think they should just go with J.A. as author.
:2cents:
Finally saw The Martian yesterday. Most excellent. It followed the book pretty closely. I loved it, but the real test was if my wife, who hadn't read the book, also liked it. She did.
So go see it. It's good.
used a credit from Audible for this today based on your review. And some
funny quotes I saw
I’m currently reading ‘The Red Atlas - How the Soviet Union secretly mapped the World’.
It documents, in considerable detail, the efforts of the Soviet Union to acquire intelligence about potential adversaries and produce maps to be used when the tanks rolled in.
Much of the mapping appears to have been lifted from maps in the public domain, (Ordnance Survey and USGS) guide books, text books, satellite imagery etc.
The authors compare the Soviet maps with those produced nationally and conclude, by date comparison and other means, that some details shown can only have been acquired by ground based observation.
An example of this is the road bridge plotted near the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham which has notes on width, construction type and load bearing capacity.
Always helpful if you want to drive an armoured division across.
In the US a number of city plans show not only factories, but the type of goods produced therein and the manufacturer’s name.
The authors note that
‘such detail depended on the presence of somebody on the ground and this may have been more readily accomplished in the United States’. Raise an eyebrow at that statement if you wish!
There is one minor irritation about the book, however. Unfortunately, text can be separated from the map extracts by a number of pages.
If comparing two or three map extracts in association with the text it can be annoying having to continually flip back and forth.
A larger format might have solved that problem to a degree.
The book has had a gestation period so long it would have made an elephant look positively hasty in comparison.
I first signed up for Email notification of its publication well over two years ago.
In fairness, I believe that there were concerns over copyright issues as the Soviet Union appeared to have made wholesale use of Ordnance Survey mapping over many years.
The OS jealously guards its intellectual property as some have found out to their cost.
The authors are British, the publisher is the University of Chicago Press and it’s printed in Canada.
I might be mistaken, but I wonder if there is a degree of risk spreading going on there.
The website for the book is well worth a look as it contains several map samples for cities in both the UK and US.
Here’s a screen grab showing Arlington which might be of interest to glatt.
[ATTACH]62678[/ATTACH]
The maps are zoomable and, in my opinion, well worth a look:
The Red AtlasThat's cool. I love maps.
Soviets aren't the only ones to do this. I know someone employed by the US government who has been on many trips around the world over decades collecting public domain documents locally to help piece together one of these maps for the US. Some of his sources were public domain and some he wouldn't talk about.
He gave me an old Soviet atlas of the US that was going to be thrown away at work. Not much detail, but I had fun looking up the name of my hometown in Russian. For whatever reason, I thought it was neat that the Russians came up with a name to call my little town.
And looking at that map of Arlington is really interesting. It's old and before they put Route 66 through the county. Very interesting to see where the streets used to continue before they were bisected by the highway, and fascinating to see what houses were torn down and roads removed to make room for the highway. That must have been a wild time, dissapearing neighborhoods.
After in dissolution of the Soviet Union, that group emigrated to CA to form Google Earth. :haha:
After in dissolution of the Soviet Union, that group emigrated to CA to form Google Earth. :haha:
If they were Russians, shouldn't that be Gogol Earth?
Ya see what I did there? I took the, and then I,...
yeah you saw it.:D
If they were Russians, shouldn't that be Gogol Earth?
Ya see what I did there? I took the, and then I,...yeah you saw it.:D
Brilliant, Mr G!
You win the thread! :thumb:
Rattlesnake Wells, Wyoming by Wm. W. Johnstone, w/J.A. Johnstone. Idk why they don't just go w/the nephew (J.A.), the uncle (Wm), has been dead for 13 years. I think all his fans are aware of the changeover by now.:right:
Also:
The Mantle, And Other Stories, by Nicholas Gogol.
![the goddamn Batm]("http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/df/GoddamnBatman.jpg"){kind=link}