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The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington - Two grave-robbing brothers rampage across medieval Europe and Egypt. Entertaining blend of gore and profanity with a bit of musing on faith and religion - sort of like The Name of the Rose meets Pulp Fiction. Last Call by Tim Powers - A poker player gets caught up in a mysterious web of events connected to a strange poker game he participated in 20 years earlier - involving Tarot cards and mythology. I've read a bit of Powers' other stuff and I love his style of combining fact with mythology - probably my favorite book that I've read by him so far next to Declare. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - My third Bradbury read and definitely not the last. Really enjoyed this one almost as much as the last two. Memoir From Antproof Case by Mark Helprin - Happened to see this at the library, as the unusual title caught my eye. First time reading anything by Helprin (I've seen Winter's Tale mentioned quite a few times in TBB but just hadn't gotten around to checking it out yet) and I loved it. As the title suggests, it's a memoir by an elderly American living in Brazil who narrates his life including stints as an investment banker and World War II fighter pilot, as well as numerous (mis)adventures along the way. Beautifully written with a wry sense of humor - reminded me of Chabon or a much-less off-the-wall Pynchon, and I liked the out-of-sequence way he told the story - so you get bits and pieces of how his life proceeded, rather than getting it in one straightforward narrative. Can't wait to read more of Helprin's stuff.
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Mar 7, 2010 05:19
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muscles like this? posted:Just finished yesterday with The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I also read this recently and enjoyed it as much as any book I read in the past year. In joining the secret world of Brakebills the students are not only given absolute power with no guidance on how to live with it, but by virtue of the rigors of their studies they become more and more isolated from their classmates as well as the people in their previous lives. I loved how Grossman took what's superficially a Harry Potter / Narnia read-alike and makes it his own by speaking to the real ways a young adult would be changed by spending their formative years in such an exclusive club. I was really excited to read that the author has a sequel (The Magician King) in the works for release in stores Summer 2011 (source).
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Mar 7, 2010 05:48
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Finally finished The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu. Really an excellent novel, but very long (it took me two months to read it). I really liked the translation I had (Royall Tyler) along with the copious footnotes explaining many of the customs and poetry. It's amazing how internally consistent everything is with so many characters, and how a book which pretty much has no overarching plot can go on for over 1100 pages.
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Mar 7, 2010 07:16
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The Living End by Stanley Elkin. A short but well-wrought comedy about the afterlife. Elkin definitely went to hell for writing this book.
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Mar 7, 2010 12:35
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I just finished up Blindsight by Peter Watts and I was pretty confused through pretty much the whole thing. The plot was hard to follow, the characters were all very unlikeable and it was hard to follow their motivations. Is this what happened? They took their ship to a small but very dense planet past the edge of the known solar system. The ship's AI was controlling the "vampire" the whole time. The crew (except the vampire/ship AI) went into the ship where all the crew that went had their brains hacked by all the EMF. They make a couple of trips back and forth into Rorschach and one of the crew dies. In the process the crew obtains a not-really-dead alien and takes it onto the ship. A new crewman is defrosted and analyzes the dead alien. Did Rorschach kill the biologist because he had all that cybernetic poo poo and that kept the brain hacks from working? Rorschach allowed the specimen to be taken to further an agenda that was outside the main narrator's understanding. The crew makes several trips and takes two live aliens. They hear the imprisoned aliens communicating and decide that even though the aliens are non-sentient they are still intelligent. Rorschach attacks with a cannon and gets the bodies (and experience data) of the two aliens back and also takes the replacement biologist guy with them. Then when the ship self destructs in order to destroy Rorschach the narrator is left to drift through space. He hears that "Heaven" was destroyed somehow. Somehow he knows that the vampires did it and now Earth is devoid of humans and overrun with vampires. Mankind was doomed all along and it had nothing to do with aliens. The inefficiency of sentience did us in all on our own? Is this correct?
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Mar 7, 2010 16:47
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var1ety posted:I was really excited to read that the author has a sequel (The Magician King) in the works for release in stores Summer 2011 (source). See, while I really liked the first book I'm not too sold on a sequel. By the end of The Magicians it kind of felt like he had taken Quentin as far as he could and the last thing I'd want is the story just to devolve into a standard fantasy series. A big part of what I liked about the book was the self aware and deconstructionist story elements and if the sequel is just Quentin and friends running around being the kings and queens of Filleroy it kind of becomes what he was criticizing.
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Mar 7, 2010 19:37
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Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time What to say about this book? it's massive, it's well-written and nice to read though almost nothing happens through the course of 7 books. Which is not too bad in itself as whenever something happens, it happens in such awkward & roundabout ways that you go mad on the protagonist while reading about his childish whims and doubts. Nevertheless an absolutely brilliant description of late 19th century France which also gives you a good idea how the Dreyfus affair (as a result of French antisemitism) shaped that time.
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Mar 8, 2010 12:10
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Encryptic posted:
Expiration Date and Earthquake Weather round out Last Call in a strange as hell trilogy. I actually preferred the latter books to LC. LC was genius and the way he incorporates the mythology onto a bigger canvas was greatness.
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Mar 8, 2010 15:46
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The Last Argument of Kings. Book 3 of The First Law trilogy. It's official, Joe Abercrombie writes the best fantasy ever. gently caress if he'll ever be able to follow that up properly, though.
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Mar 8, 2010 19:09
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Cyaxares posted:Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time How long did it take you to finish the entire book? I'm asking because I have the whole thing setting on my bookshelf, but I've been somewhat intimidated to start it. Also, what translation did you use (if any)? Foyes36 fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Mar 8, 2010 |
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Mar 8, 2010 19:13
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Just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, about a German girl living during WW2 and narrated by Death himself. Zusak uses a ton of synesthetic details, giving everything a taste and texture. Some of the best metaphors in the book are about words: an insult foams and drips into a puddle on the ceiling, and a plea scuttles across the floor and looks up puppy-eyed at an adult. I probably should have seen it coming, given that the narrator is Death, but Jesus the twist at the end is a gut-wrencher  Also read The Sirens of Titan, and early Vonnegut book. I could definitely tell he was still beginning, but it's comforting to know that he wasn't popping out Slaughterhouse V and Cat's Cradle the first time he put pencil to paper.
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Mar 8, 2010 20:20
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Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon Very difficult read, but just as good. Thread here. The Child Thief, by Brom Nice re-telling of the Peter Pan myth from a more adult perspective. Recommended. Out of the Silent Planet, by C.S. Lewis Really enjoyed this, it's kind of quaint how people imagined other planets before we really knew anything about them.
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Mar 8, 2010 20:42
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muscles like this? posted:See, while I really liked the first book I'm not too sold on a sequel. By the end of The Magicians it kind of felt like he had taken Quentin as far as he could and the last thing I'd want is the story just to devolve into a standard fantasy series. A big part of what I liked about the book was the self aware and deconstructionist story elements and if the sequel is just Quentin and friends running around being the kings and queens of Filleroy it kind of becomes what he was criticizing. The end of the book really opened it up for a sequel, but like you're saying, I don't see how Grossman can keep the same approach as the first book. That and the fact that he killed off the most interesting character and maimed the second most interesting will make it a tough sell for me.
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Mar 8, 2010 22:50
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I just finished Daemon by Daniel Suarez. I basically hated this book. I'm a sci-fi junkie but even my generous amount of suspension of disbelief did not even come close to helping me accept the completely ridiculous, absurd poo poo that happens in this book, all perpetrated by one [dead] guy. I suppose I should do a writeup in the Worst Book Ever thread.
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Mar 9, 2010 04:34
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Syrinxx posted:I just finished Daemon by Daniel Suarez. I basically hated this book. I'm a sci-fi junkie but even my generous amount of suspension of disbelief did not even come close to helping me accept the completely ridiculous, absurd poo poo that happens in this book, all perpetrated by one [dead] guy. I suppose I should do a writeup in the Worst Book Ever thread.
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Mar 9, 2010 14:43
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Time for a look at February: Ausgehen by Barbara Marković. It's a "re-mix" of Thomas Bernhard's Gehen set in modern Belgrade's nightlife. Don't think there's an English translation available. I liked it a lot, the long-winded sentences and repetitiveness created a special atmosphere. Die Zerstörung Jugoslawiens: Slobodan Milošević antwortet seinen Anklägern edited by Klaus Hartmann. It's a translated and annotated collection of documents giving Milošević's view on the Hague trial. Quite interesting if you're into that kind of stuff. The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Absolutely amazing. Will have to read more of his works.
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Mar 9, 2010 15:30
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The General posted:Get the audio book. Jeff Gurner really sells this book.
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Mar 9, 2010 16:27
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Syrinxx posted:Sadly, it was the audiobook. The narrator was ok other than his bro/dude voices for everyone under 30. It was the horrible horrible story full of completely retarded accomplishments by a dead guy that ruined it for me. I'm sorry you don't appreciate B-Movie plots, and loving metal Razorbacks. 
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Mar 9, 2010 16:59
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If you have a problem with the audiobook version of Daemon you have a problem with yourself. The sequel, Freedom (TM) ratchets the insanity up by about a ten notches.
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Mar 9, 2010 19:10
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muscles like this? posted:The Magicians Holy poo poo. Holy poo poo.
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Mar 9, 2010 22:59
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The Magicians by Lev Grossman is the best book I have ever read.
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Mar 11, 2010 00:35
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reflir posted:The Magicians by Lev Grossman is the best book I have ever read. This book was fantastic!
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Mar 11, 2010 03:37
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reflir posted:The Magicians by Lev Grossman is the best book I have ever read. edit: so as not to derail, I finished Under the Dome last night. Loved it.
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Mar 11, 2010 17:25
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Ended my month-long dry spell by finishing Eudora Welty's The Golden Apples and Henry James' The Turn of the Screw back to back. Both were pretty good for what they were. Welty crafted a compilation of short stories about various southern characters from the fictional town of Morgana. If you love character studies, or southern literature, or enjoy having your old southern grandma tell you stories of her childhood (for those lucky enough to have one), you'll probably like this book. When Welty is on, she's on fire, but a few of the stories drag because the characters are far from interesting. I'm also a huge fan of self-referential universes, so reoccuring characters dropping in and out of various stories was fun for me. Don't expect plot - each story hinges upon how characters act/feel/relate before, during and after a single event; purely character driven literature. Also, plenty of racism and (allegedly) pervasive references to Greek mythology - but, if you ask me, simply having a philandering wanderer doesn't in and of itself make me go "Oh, Zeus-reference!" Or, rather, it doesn't make me think it's a well done reference. James produced an interesting and quick "ghost story." There's ambiguity about what exactly is going on and it's ultimately left up to the reader to decide. Don't worry, you'll probably decide about a fourth of the way through and the rest of your reading will be shaded by your perception of what's "really" going on. While the actual writing is a bit stilted, things move along at a fair pace and there really isn't a dull moment. If I were still in undergrad and had an excuse to write about it, I wouldn't mind writing up a paper about 19th century morality as tied to sexuality and the role of authority figures in relation to defining/obscuring/protecting children from sexual "deviance" and identity as established in this piece of literature. Just because it sounds like fun to write about. Going to stop by B&N today after work to pick up The Magicians because of Goooons! Better be good.
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Mar 11, 2010 23:10
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I just finished the unabridged recording of American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson, read by the author. This was an autobiography by the Scottish-born host of the Late Late Show on CBS. I don't even really watch the show since it is on so late, but I have seen it a few times and the guy is funny. He tells a story about being a complete numbskull when drinking early in his life, and turning it around after becoming depressed and going to rehab. Once clean and sober life goes pretty well, culminating in getting his own late night talk show and hosting the Correspondant's Dinner at the White House. It was a fast book. The author's voice is pleasant and I like listening to a Scottish accent. If you like Craig Ferguson's show you should check out the book.
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Mar 12, 2010 00:33
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Pfirti86 posted:How long did it take you to finish the entire book? I'm asking because I have the whole thing setting on my bookshelf, but I've been somewhat intimidated to start it. Also, what translation did you use (if any)? I'm also interested in the answer to this. Last week I finished reading Walter Benjamin's Berlin Childhood Around 1900 (fantastic book. Benjamin's abstruse style causes every sentence to hide its meaning inside some very beautiful poetry. It's a fascinating look at snippets of his childhood in early 20th century Germany) and in the forward there is an essay comparing his work to Proust that made me interested in reading Lost Time. The length is intimidating but I will probably have a go at it during the summer.
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Mar 12, 2010 01:58
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Green Crayons posted:Going to stop by B&N today after work to pick up The Magicians because of Goooons! Better be good. I emailed the author to tell him how much I enjoyed the book and he sent a polite email back saying that that meant a lot to him  Suck on that, Rowling I also finished Rainbows End some time last week and thought it a pretty likely description of the near future, though it'll probably take a little longer than Vinge's estimated 10-15 years. It's really a novel about hidden knowledge, dangerous knowledge and their consequences. If you've ever stepped into a library and thought "holy poo poo, think of all the things I can look up here! I can know EVERYTHING" this is probably the book for you.
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Mar 13, 2010 11:08
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reflir posted:I emailed the author to tell him how much I enjoyed the book and he sent a polite email back saying that that meant a lot to him )So instead I picked up The Child Thief by Brom because LooseChanj told me to in his post above. Finished it this morning at 1 AM, actually. At times I found the writing to be more casual than I cared for at times (there's a fine line contemporary authors walk between purple prose and sounding like a high schooler's fanfiction; additionally, there were some heavy use of staples of "cool" to neckbeards such as - but not limited to - leather pants). However, the story itself is really wonderfully composed and actually matures and develops into a complex array of character conflicts that is really quite amazing. From about halfway through the novel until the very end Brom really picks up steam and really steps up to the plate as an author, going from mediocre to a really good storyteller. The Author's note at the end of the book really sealed the deal to me that Brom really put a lot of thought and effort into writing The Child Thief. I wholeheartedly second Chanj's recommendation.
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Mar 13, 2010 16:50
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Just finished Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf. I really enjoyed it; the inner monologue was great throughout, and the ambiguity of Hermine's existence, let alone murder, really made the book. Reading Goethe's Faust now, for pretty obvious reasons.
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Mar 13, 2010 18:29
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I cannot believe, and am now ashamed, that I have only recently read Lolita. I wish I could adequately express the thoughts and feelings this book effortlessly dragged up. Marvelous!
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Mar 15, 2010 02:06
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I finished Carl Sagan's Contact earlier today. It's exactly what you would expect from a novel written by an extremely accomplished astronomer - an intricate speculation on what will happen when our species establishes contact with another, which sticks to the science. It helps a lot if you've read Sagan's other nonfiction books, because he implements a lot of the points he tries to make, such as a child being discouraged to pursue their curiosities in school; his ideas about cosmopolitanism, e.g. any given person not belonging to their nation of birth, but to the world and our species; the human species' great demotions; etc. Sagan brilliantly brought all of his characters to life. Ellie, the main character, wasn't perfect, and wasn't right all the time. He does a great job of inspiring awe about the subject of contacting an alien species, but he also, in his classic Sagan fashion, reminds you right afterward about the reality of the situation. Frankly, I'm surprised he was able to flesh out such compelling antagonists--I actually sat there yelling at the paper during the chapter in which Ellie is talking with the two priests. It's definitely a great read. I'm probably going to watch the movie soon.
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Mar 15, 2010 08:22
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Finished up Star Trek Titan : Synthesis tonight. It was fairly good. It surprised me, for a star trek book. Normally they tend to resolve the major issue in the book and move on at the end of it much like an episode of the series, but this one actually raised a few big questions. I kinda dig the Titan series since they explore poo poo that no one has looked at before, and encounter some crazy poo poo in the universe. The only downside to the book series seems to be the gay trill guy who is pissed off his boyfriend got killed in First Contact (the movie, he was the borg guy that worf shot when they were doing the spacewalk thing) and he whines about it a LOT, and the whole "it's a ship of lots of different species so we can have lectures about diversity and understanding every chapter". It was a good read, and it followed me finishing up the newest Supernatural book Heart of the Dragon. That one was pretty good as well, albeit kinda weird since it didn't contain much Sam and Dean in there. It was pretty sweet having a "foreign" monster/myth/legend/creature flinging it's metaphorical (or is that metaphysical?) poo poo around. I wouldn't read the book unless you have gotten up to date on season 5 of the series though. Last but not least was Star Wars : Crosscurrent . It was an ok book, but I regret spending 5$ on it. It was just.. plodding on. I think it opened up a new possible villain/villains for the series even with the ongoing crazy jedi thing, but still, it's not really that perfect of a read. Somehow they took the idea of a 5000 year old jedi and a 5000 year old sith getting moved to what is now present day star wars universe and made it boring. The discussion of "holy poo poo I just time traveled by 5000 years" is basically "You are over 5000 years out of time!" "nuh uh!" "YUH HUH" "Seriously?" "Totally" "Aw... man.. so what are you guys up to?" I would not recommend reading it unless you are a HARDCORE star wars nerd, and frankly I am a BIG star wars nerd, and it still left me somewhat unhappy.
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Mar 15, 2010 09:33
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Anunnaki posted:I finished Carl Sagan's Contact earlier today. Audible has an abridged (  ) Contact read by Jodie Foster. Has anyone listened to this, is it worth the $7.50?
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Mar 15, 2010 16:09
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reflir posted:I also finished Rainbows End some time last week and thought it a pretty likely description of the near future, though it'll probably take a little longer than Vinge's estimated 10-15 years. It's really a novel about hidden knowledge, dangerous knowledge and their consequences. If you've ever stepped into a library and thought "holy poo poo, think of all the things I can look up here! I can know EVERYTHING" this is probably the book for you.
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Mar 15, 2010 18:09
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reflir posted:The Magicians by Lev Grossman is the best book I have ever read. I'll take your word for it. Just got it right now
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Mar 15, 2010 18:43
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Green Crayons posted:
I just finished it this morning, and I liked it as well. The style of writing does suffer a bit from being a little overly proper, but the story itself does suck you in. Plus, it's nice and short at about 100 pages. I'll wait for the paperback release of The Magicians, but I've heard good things from a lot of people - it made its way onto a few "best of 2009" lists, I think. Oh, and Encryptic - good to hear about Memoir from Antproof Case. I've read both Winter's Tale and A Soldier in the Great War and I think Helprin's pretty good. Both of them took me a while to read, but were worth the time I put in. Chamberk fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Mar 15, 2010 |
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Mar 15, 2010 18:52
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PBCrunch posted:Does this book read well as stand-alone? I read another book by Vinge called Marooned in Realtime and it was difficult to make sense of since I had not read the previous novel The Peace War. I've not read anything else by him and it was fine. So, yes.
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Mar 15, 2010 19:42
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Luminous posted:I cannot believe, and am now ashamed, that I have only recently read Lolita. I wish I could adequately express the thoughts and feelings this book effortlessly dragged up. Marvelous! sup, fellow Lolita-amazed goon Where was Nabokov all my life? edit: I couldn't really call you Lolita lover, right? rasser fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Mar 15, 2010 |
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Mar 15, 2010 19:48
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I just finished The Collector by John Fowles. It's about an obsessive introvert who wins the pools and so kidnaps an art student he had been following for years. I read it in two sittings, the main narrator is a simple soul and so the writing is not at all heavy. The sheer oddness of his behaviour compelled me to carry on reading. What I enjoyed was how the author did not present the characters as simple 'beauty and beast' cutouts. As I read it my loyalties shifted over and over again, and at points I found myself hating the victim and feeling dissapointment that she did not conform to the ideals the kidnpper had spent so long building up. I've just moved onto reading Lustum by Robert Harris, I'm in a Roman mood since I just got back from visiting Bath.
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Mar 16, 2010 09:17
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leviathan by paul auster. great book. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Mar 17, 2010 03:13
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