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Curious, I think it was the matter-of-fact way he described that bit which made it all the more disturbing. horses for courses..
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Feb 16, 2008 12:47
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Just finished Insomnia by Stephen King and Elephants on Acid by Alex Boese. I actually enjoyed the first 150-160 pages of strange chaos, and after that the story really started. I think I'm going to have to read more King. As for Elephants on Acid, meh. A lot of the experiments disgusted me, but were all genuinely interesting. I think I'm going to read The Bourne Identity now.
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Feb 16, 2008 16:40
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Finally got around finishing the Soldier Son triology.. And I have to say the last book was bit disappointing, I had hoped that Nevare would have stopped whining, but his internal whinelogue really got on my nerves.. then again to a simple mind like me, the "happy ending" left me with a good vibe.
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Feb 16, 2008 19:42
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perceptual_set posted:The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger You really need to try out Franny and Zooey if that's the case. It's a bit of Catcher in the Rye, except that it grew up a lot. That's the simplest way to describe it. I ended up liking it a lot better than Catcher. I just finished The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I was a bit underwhelmed by the last 100 pages, but the first 100 flowed and had me captivated. Esther was more interesting in her descent into madness and her disillusionment with the world.
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Feb 16, 2008 20:28
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I finished Mindswap by Robert Sheckley, it's relatively short and I blazed through it in a couple. Sheckley's writing is pretty much all the best parts of Douglas Adams, Stanislaw Lem, and Philip K. Dick combined, I'd recommend the book to anybody who likes satirical science fiction.
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Feb 16, 2008 23:46
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Just finished Deadhouse Gates, by Steven Erikson. It's the second novel in the Malazan series, and I would have to say I found it slightly better than the first. It begins to pick up the story, is kind enough to leave some of the characters you loved from the first book alive, and maintained a well woven plot. Had a few of those, "Oh man...." moments too. I'd say it's worth reading if you have the time. I'm going to start the third Malazan novel next, Memories of Ice.
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Feb 17, 2008 03:36
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Benson Cunningham posted:Just finished Deadhouse Gates, by Steven Erikson.
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Feb 17, 2008 03:41
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I just put down Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible and Fried: My Life As a Revolting Cock by Chris Connelly. I like and admire both Connelly and the Revolting Cocks and had read the travel diary by Jason Pettigrew from Alternative Press, but this hands down sounds like one of the craziest experiences ever. Connelly describes, with a lot of good humor, the ups and downs of working with Al Jourgenson and touring with both the Revolting Cocks and Ministry (and a little Pigface thrown in too) between the late 80s and early 90s. I would recommend this to someone who is a fan of either band or of Chris himself. Funny and very interesting. Valence fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Feb 17, 2008 |
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Feb 17, 2008 03:51
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Benson Cunningham posted:Just finished Deadhouse Gates, by Steven Erikson. MoI is even better than DG, in my opinion - the first two books are excellent, but I think Erikson really hit his stride with the third book.
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Feb 17, 2008 05:54
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CaptainScraps posted:You really need to try out Franny and Zooey if that's the case. It's a bit of Catcher in the Rye, except that it grew up a lot. That's the simplest way to describe it. I ended up liking it a lot better than Catcher. Who's it by?
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Feb 17, 2008 21:04
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perceptual_set posted:Who's it by? Same guy, Salinger. It's definitely a more adult Catcher, although I liked Catcher much more.
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Feb 17, 2008 22:09
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QVT posted:Same guy, Salinger. It's definitely a more adult Catcher, although I liked Catcher much more. Is it an actual sequel or only one at heart?
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Feb 17, 2008 22:44
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perceptual_set posted:Is it an actual sequel or only one at heart? I don't even know if I'd consider it a sequel at heart. It's certainly not involving Holden or anything like that. Again, some people really like it and some people really don't. It's worth reading though.
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Feb 17, 2008 23:25
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QVT posted:I don't even know if I'd consider it a sequel at heart. It's certainly not involving Holden or anything like that. Again, some people really like it and some people really don't. It's worth reading though. It has been added to my "Books to buy" list.
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Feb 17, 2008 23:46
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I just finished Fool's Errand (Book One of The Tawny Man Trilogy) by Robin Hobb. I was initially very wary of reading Hobb's books due to me being only very slightly retarded and expecting something entirely different than what she delivers. I expected something that wasn't excellently written which wouldn't have a very broad range of emotion seeping throughout the story and development of characters, but I was not disappointed when proven wrong. I've started this current Trilogy and feel that the universe created has a lot of life left in it... so I'm hoping that Hobb revisits with another trilogy or two. But I'm certainly looking forward to reading Book Two.
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Feb 18, 2008 02:26
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For the second time (and my third time through the Book of the New Sun), Urth of the New Sun (or should that be Ushas), wrapping up my re-read of The Book of the New Sun (which Urth is a coda of). Every single book in this series is fantastic. The one thing I disliked about Urth was the level of fuzzy science going on. Particularly the part where Severian spends time underwater - what the gently caress is going on here? Also, why can't Severian draw power from the New Sun? I know that the white fountain has disappeared, but there is a blazing, strong sun hanging in the sky; he was always able to draw power from whatever he found himself on in the past, why not now?. Awesome stuff. I just wish we found out more about what finally happened to Severian to end his days, and more about the future of Ushas (and also what the first Severian, not the narrator of the book but he with the unchanged timeline was up to all this time).
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Feb 18, 2008 05:53
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I just finished V. by Thomas Pynchon. It was my fourth attempt at the book, and prior to this final, successful attempt, I'd start on page 1, get to about 130 (the first Old Stencil chapter, with Bongo Shaftsbury et al) and just give up. I finally slogged through that chapter because I recently received Gravity's Rainbow, and the rest of the novel was great, albeit cryptic and dense at times. It ended up being very worth it. Great, great read.
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Feb 19, 2008 21:46
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uggy posted:The other day, I finished The Known World by Edward P. Jones. It was a fantastic read and wonderfully written. The story follows the exploits of the citizens and slaves of Manchester County, Virginia, and is a mix of fiction and fact. Each character has a colorful history and the way those stories are told is amazing. I'm so glad you read it and liked it! I recommend this book to anyone I know because I think it's absolutely loving AMAZING. It is so incredibly well done---- if I could write like that I'd die happy. Ages ago someone talked with me really briefly about their displeasure with Guns, Germs and Steel. I'm actually thinking I'm not going to be able to finish it, and I'm not very far in. My problem is that it seems to me like I'm getting really conflicting information about a couple of things and if I don't feel like I can trust a writer on a couple details, I'm not willing to stick it out. Mainly what concerned me was his interpretation of South America vs Spain; I read (and truly enjoyed) 1492, which outlined a lot of reasons why the Spanish were able to conquer so many civilizations despite the fact that numbers weren't in their favor. Of course I'm going to find authors who quibble over details, but the one thing that got me was this: I THINK (correct me if I read hastily), GG&S makes a big deal out of a couple things: disease (a given, no disputing that), horses/weapons, and "naive" cultures. I admit that I'm pretty PC so the latter bugs me and perhaps it shouldn't, but the horses and weapons thing: 1492 put forth a pretty convincing argument that these generally WEREN'T the incredible blessing that they seemed to be if only because horses really weren't great on the terrain and weaponry at that time just wasn't advanced enough to be particularly frightening unless it was at close range. Can someone who is a little more enlightened on this issue talk it over with me? I just feel like GG&S is kinda full of poo poo if this is the case. Isn't it crazy to get hung up on a tiny detail like this?
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Feb 19, 2008 22:34
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Frog Teeth posted:Last book I finished was The Stranger by Camus. I really liked it despite wanting to punch Meursault a few times. His character did grow on me a bit towards the end though. May have to reread it someday. The Plague was pretty interesting too.
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Feb 19, 2008 23:37
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Ozma posted:I'm so glad you read it and liked it! I recommend this book to anyone I know because I think it's absolutely loving AMAZING. It is so incredibly well done---- if I could write like that I'd die happy. Nice! Somebody else has read this book. I really did love it and I want people to read it, as I too recommend it to nearly everybody I know that reads, but I don't think anybody will. It's a shame too, because I have an extra copy I would give somebody to read.
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Feb 20, 2008 01:52
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Ozma posted:Mainly what concerned me was his interpretation of South America vs Spain; I read (and truly enjoyed) 1492, which outlined a lot of reasons why the Spanish were able to conquer so many civilizations despite the fact that numbers weren't in their favor. Of course I'm going to find authors who quibble over details, but the one thing that got me was this: I THINK (correct me if I read hastily), GG&S makes a big deal out of a couple things: disease (a given, no disputing that), horses/weapons, and "naive" cultures. I'm about 2/3 through the book and he gives several examples to back up statements he makes early in the book which should answer some of the questions you are having. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far, though it is a little dry reading it some places. I can only read about farming for so long
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Feb 20, 2008 02:02
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I gave my one and only copy to my sister, who is a book black hole. You give her books and she never reads them.  I have to politely ask for it back one of these days.What I tell people that I suggest it to is that you've really got to strap yourself in- I didn't personally struggle with it but read it with a class full of grad students who DID find it daunting for the first 50 or so pages. A couple didn't stick with it (fools!) but most who did said it was well worth it. perceptual_set posted:I'm about 2/3 through the book and he gives several examples to back up statements he makes early in the book which should answer some of the questions you are having. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far, though it is a little dry reading it some places. I can only read about farming for so long I'll stick with it then. I just had difficulty buying his initial argument that the weaponry really made a difference, but if he can back it up then I'm all ears. The agricultural stuff won't bug me- 1492 went off in that direction for a while and I thought it was interesting.
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Feb 20, 2008 02:02
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Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation by Asimov. The first one dragged on like nothing else and was pretty dull; GEE WHO COULD THE MULE POSSIBLY BE  -- the second was very good however. Oh, and From a Buick 8 which amazingly did not suck. It was really good, showing off King's skills as the great story teller he can be. And non-fiction: Guardians of the Flutes which discusses masculinity amongst a New Guinean tribe, which involves eight year old boys sucking the dick of older boys because semen is what turns a man into a man. It was a drat interesting read, and it's amazing how radically different other cultures can be from what we consider the norm.
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Feb 20, 2008 02:03
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Ozma posted:I gave my one and only copy to my sister, who is a book black hole. You give her books and she never reads them. Ya, it's a tad tougher of a read, and at some parts, it gets a little bit complicated, but I didn't really have trouble with it. Also, the way the book was split up into individual stories, in a way, helped make it easier to read as I could pick it up every few days and read it. Towards the end, I really wanted to find out what happened, but I could read it at my own pace and not feel bad about going a few days without it.
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Feb 20, 2008 02:04
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If immortal pirates, robot zombies and killer snails tickle your interest, 'The Skinner' by Neal Asher might be up your alley. It was good, fun, gory, solid action-sci-fi. It was good enough that I ordered the sequel from the UK, since it hasn't been published here yet.
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Feb 20, 2008 16:21
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A Game of Thrones that ending was like the greatest thing ever, I felt it in my balls.
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Feb 20, 2008 18:21
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Dune by Frank Herbert. The author created an extensive original mythology, ecology and government system that was entertaining. However, he cannot write decent dialog. Everything said was completely over the top and read like the text from a SNES RPG translated from Japanese to English.
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Feb 21, 2008 15:38
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I read crap fantasy so you don't have to! A Cavern of Black Ice by J. V. Jones, another over-inflated fantasy novel. I managed to make it only halfway through this one, which, at full length of 770 pages of dense type, is an accomplishment in any case. I think I wanted to enjoy this book, but the text itself kept frustrating me. The elements are there for a decent story - forces at work trying to foment war among barbarian clans and a boy caught between what is right and loyalty to his clan. The text kept getting bogged down in endless awkward metaphors, descriptions of every rock, tree and stream the characters encounter, and constant lists of characters, events and places that had no bearing on what was happening. There weren't any surprises, the villains were cartoony in their evilness, and it was gross having the author describe the main bad guy pissing himself every time he uses magic. The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin, isn't so much bad as derivative and inconsequential. What pushes it over the edge to crap is the terrible editing job. Besides the numerous spelling and punctuation mistakes, the map that's included is printed so poorly that it is illegible, which might make the variable geography of the text understandable. In relative close proximity in the text, a country is described as both north and south of the characters, while being to the east on the map in the front of the book. Part of this might be explained by the fact that this is one of the first books put out by Solaris, the new SF and Fantasy imprint of Black Library (the Warhammer folks), and maybe this a fluke. It does make me wary of getting anything else in the Solaris line. If you are looking for your USDA requirement of Big Fat Fantasy and looking for new authors, I'd recommend Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard Sequence for some grade A stuff, and Brandon Sanderson for some solid grade B stuff.
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Feb 21, 2008 16:54
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I just finished reading Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card's sequel to Ender's Game. I was told is was quite far removed genre-wise from Ender's Game, which was very true, but Card's story-telling ability didn't miss a beat. However, like Ender's game, I figured out the "main twist" about two-thirds through, albeit not as precisely at in Game. And, and the part where Ender is explaining things to the Piggies, and they figure out what tears mean, and what that means about Pipo and Libo, and the one piggy (I forget his name. Leaf-Eater? Anyways he totally loses his poo poo over "[killing] his tree forever", it was so heartbreaking to read. Loss of innocence stories really get to me. I've read/heard that the next two in the series are total poo poo though, unfortunately. The Shadow series was excellent throughout though. (I read Game, the Shadow books, then Speaker).
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Feb 21, 2008 17:18
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Joshtafari posted:I read crap fantasy so you don't have to! Can't say I agree with the rather negative view there. The extensive world-building was one of the things I liked about the first book, personally. Though I suppose if you didn't like the book, you're better off not continuing with the series anyway. The 3rd book that just came out recently was pretty disappointing after the first two fairly solid entries, unfortunately. Joshtafari posted:The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin I will agree with this one, though. Not terrible - just bland. I like a good epic series, but this one seems like it pulled every possible fantasy cliche out and did absolutely nothing new with them. Lynch and Sanderson are both great recommendations, of course. As far as my currently reading - I put Jon Courtenay Grimwood's 9Tail Fox down for the moment - it wasn't grabbing me so I'll come back to it soon. I decided to re-read David Eddings' Elenium trilogy in the meantime. It's aged fairly well, considering that it's been at least 15 years since I was a hardcore Eddings fan. Granted, Eddings has his faults - but the series is still a fun light fantasy read. At the moment, I'm reading Joe Abercrombie's debut The Blade Itself - it could be better so far but there's potential here.
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Feb 21, 2008 21:01
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I've been a lurker here for about a couple of months or so, after I just started getting into books. All the threads here really help me start my literary hobby. Anyhow, I just finished Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut and The Subtle Knife by Pullman. Both of which I really enjoyed. Though, I didn't fully get Slaughterhouse-Five. Currently, I'm reading The Amber Spyglass by Pullman and Guns, Germs, and Steel by Diamond, for my history class. I tried reading Blindness by Saramago, but gave up because it was just getting way too boring for me. The next books on my list in no particular order are: The Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut Breakfast of Champions by Vonnegut The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky On the Road by Kerouac Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein
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Feb 21, 2008 23:29
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One other one that I finished recently that I meant to add: Hunter's Run by George R. R. Martin, Daniel Abraham and Gardner Dozois. Martin gets top billing (for marketing reasons, I'm sure), but all three contribute to the book. The way I've explained it to a couple of friends was like the movie 'Midnight Run', and in place of DeNiro and Grodin, you've got a guy and an alien. It's not played for laughs, though, but there are a couple of moments of levity. There's a twist that's set up in the first half that's fairly obvious, possibly intentionally so. After the twist is revealed, the plot goes in unexpected directions, and kept me interested. This is a kind of classic sci-fi tale, with weird aliens and starships, but what gives this an edge over being just more-of-the-same is the characterization. Ramon is ostensibly a prospector, who lives for being alone out in the wilderness. When he comes to town, he gets edgy, drinking too much, getting into barfights, and continual fights with his lady. He's definitely an unsympathetic character, and one of the things the book does is make you give a crap about this guy who doesn't have a whole lot of redeeming qualities. There's some good questions raised by the book, but it's hard to discuss them without giving away the major twist.
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Feb 22, 2008 20:31
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The Tommyknockers, Stephen King I have to confess this is only my third King novel, after Carrie and Cujo. I'm guessing this was after he'd gotten big enough to tell editors to gently caress off if they wanted him to trim anything, cuz this book was about 200 pages too long, and a lot of stuff (notably the town history, and such) could have been lost with no ill effects. As for the "spaceship in the ground weirds out town" story, it stretches the suspension of disbelief, but in a really fun and quirky way like John Dies at the End.
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Feb 24, 2008 01:51
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Finished Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself. Pretty good read - the characters are interesting for the most part (in particular Inquisitor Glokta), though it drags a bit at times. I wouldn't call it the best thing I've read this year, but I'm interested enough to read the rest of the series. Going to get back into 9Tail Fox now...
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Feb 24, 2008 23:47
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The Cider House Rules by John Irving. I've always found his characters to be a strong point of his writing, and this wasn't an exception. I didn't really care for Garp at all, and Omen Meany was a little too saccharine for my tastes. Cider House Rules managed to toe the line between the two very well - not quite as sickly-sweet as Owen Meany, not quite as HEY GENDER POLITICS GUYS GENDER POLITICS as The World According to Garp.
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Feb 25, 2008 00:54
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Just finished the unabridged version of The Stand by Stephen King. This will officially be my last King book that I will ever read. Was it terrible, you ask? No. It was simply mediocre! 1000+ pages of mediocrity! He seems to be the king (har har) of coming up with predictable, bloated plots with characters that don't develop much at all throughout the course of the book. The book had its moments, and some of the characters were genuinely unique and likable (Tom Cullen, Nick Landros), but it was unsatisfying as a whole. It is really quite exasperating, as I've always given his books a chance because they seem like they would be good, but every book has left me in the cold like this. Thankfully, I now have Perfido Street Station to read now, and I've heard that it's great.
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Feb 25, 2008 01:02
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Just finished Blindness after looking at the bb hall of fame. While i'll admit his style is unorthodox and at times, makes it a difficult read, i thought it was a great storyline with great characters. Ending kinda sucked tho.
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Feb 25, 2008 01:07
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Clogproof Orifice posted:Thankfully, I now have Perfido Street Station to read now, and I've heard that it's great. Am I the only person who thought this book was awful? It's full of all the things that make bad fantasy and sci-fi bad. It's full of the things I roll my eyes at during bad Star Trek episodes. And it's far too long.
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Feb 25, 2008 03:05
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I just finished The Gunslinger by Stephen King. I've been saying I was going to read it for a long time but just now got around to it. I blew through it in about four days. I enjoyed most of the book and it moved at a good pace. I think it was pretty well written and I'm interested in reading the second one in the future. I also finished Triage by Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, and Edward Lee. I enjoyed Jack Ketchum's story immensely. Richard Laymon's story was extremely trashy and I've heard a lot of his work is trashy though. It was written like a bad horror movie. Icould tell he was just trying to get some cheap shocks out of the reader. The third story was by Edward Lee. It was fairly entertaining. Too bad it was ruined by the lovely porn like sex sequences with low gravity. I could just tell he was writing the story with one hand. I just started The Serial Killers Club by Jeff Povey and I'm only about a chapter in but I'm liking it so far.
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Feb 25, 2008 03:25
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Killfast37 posted:I just finished The Gunslinger by Stephen King. I've been saying I was going to read it for a long time but just now got around to it. I blew through it in about four days. I enjoyed most of the book and it moved at a good pace. I think it was pretty well written and I'm interested in reading the second one in the future. It's... it's not the same. Gunslinger may be tinted positive for me because of the crap that came after but the crap that came after was really bad. You wont notice it during those first 4 books, but when you get to 5 I know I've brought it up in this thread before but as long as you're not opposed to comic books, Preacher really is the answer to the modern western that doesn't feature gay people question.
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Feb 25, 2008 03:59
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