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Chamberk posted:I really liked Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, it was a nice combination of a semi-autobiography and the craziest goddamn soap operas ever. I really got into Vargas Llosa this year, having read that and The War of the End of the World (which was amazing), and I've got a copy of Death in the Andes waiting around. Was Feast of the Goat good? So you would say he's worthwhile? I will give Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter a chance then, though given my current backlog of unread books I should get around to it somewhere in 2043.
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Jul 21, 2011 05:19
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Wyatt posted:Anyone read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz? I just started it and, at about 30 pages in, I am wondering whether it's worth continuing. It won a heap of awards, but I am finding the prose a little too clever for my liking. Any spoiler-free thoughts on this one? It crawls along at a slow pace at first, but starts to pick up after he goes to college. I enjoyed it a lot and was probably one of my favorite books that I had to read for school. Although the only thing that made me dislike it was all the parts that were in the DR. I felt that it didn't fit with the book at all and I felt that Diaz could of shortened it into one chapter or just left it out all together and wrote more about Oscar and his life. Also if you are from New Jersey, specifically central Jersey, get ready for a treat of familiar references of the area and if not, well just enjoy them and not understand them. EDIT: With Borders offically closing as of tomorrow, it looks like it's time to go book shopping again. The last two I brought early last month, Man with the Panby John Donohue and I Found This Funny by Judd Apatow, when I was at the Strand were pretty cheap, but not as cheap as they could have been. I will have a list tomorrow after I get home. It's going to be crazy but fun. Also what's everyone else doing about this? Taking advantage of the cheap books or just not thinking about it at all. screenwritersblues fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Jul 22, 2011 |
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Jul 22, 2011 04:02
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screenwritersblues posted:Also what's everyone else doing about this? Taking advantage of the cheap books or just not thinking about it at all.
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Jul 22, 2011 17:57
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The last time I was at Borders, it was to buy a boardgame with one of those 50% off anything in the store coupons they sent me in an email. It was already discounted, as well, so I got it for about $10.
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Jul 22, 2011 22:31
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Picked up the ESPN oral history today. It's one I've wanted to read for a while now, so I'm glad I finally got a copy.
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Jul 22, 2011 23:46
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I just bought The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I'm 40 percent through it and so far I am liking it. Really liking how he lightheartedly pokes fun at Harry Potter.
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Jul 23, 2011 07:12
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I have now started The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest and I've said it when I've started every book on this thread, these books are awesome. The English translation is great, the pacing is just right and there is just enough action to keep it going. Great thrillers  Well worth picking up the first one if you get a chance, they're very cheap second hand atm.
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Jul 23, 2011 23:28
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After sitting in traffic for about fifteen minutes, I got the the closest Borders that was closing. The place was a mad house, considering that I should have waited until the week when it would have been a lot easier to deal with, but I did get a few books that wanted and few that I picked up on a whim. Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta Medium Raw and The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdian Less Than Zero and Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis Started Early, Took the Dog[b] by Kate Atkinson [b]Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN By James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales. Waiting a few weeks and then heading back one final time to get some more. My parents will kill me, but its worth it.
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Jul 25, 2011 21:44
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screenwritersblues posted:Medium Raw and The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdian I've read all of his other books, but I have yet to pick this one up. Looking forward to when I get around to it.
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Jul 26, 2011 03:16
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From the Amazon Big Deal for Kindle thing I bought As I Lay Dying because it was only $4 and I want to read more Faulkner and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell since it sounds kind of interesting. I also have a 14 hour flight to look forward to so bought Neuromancer for some lighter reading. I'm about 60% finished with DeLillo's Underworld and really want to finish that before starting anything else. I'm really liking it but it's just so drat long.
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Jul 26, 2011 08:18
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I've just started Book one of the First Law trilogy, The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie. Thoroughly enjoying it so far! I've just finished yet another re-read of the Malazan series and this seems a lot lighter in comparison, which is refreshing after trying to keep up with all the poo poo going on over 10 books of the Malazan world.
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Jul 26, 2011 23:19
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I'm about to start the Chinese novel Journey to the West. Reading a brief description it seems to be similar to the Divine Comedy, but obviously dealing with Chinese folk religion, Taoism, and Buddhism. I'm way out of my element here but hopefully I can learn a great deal about these beliefs as I read through the work.
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Jul 27, 2011 02:26
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Just started the Discworld series. I'm starting Equal Rites tonight, really loving Pratchett so far. After this it's on to Hunger Games.
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Jul 27, 2011 04:37
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Burden posted:I just bought The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I'm 40 percent through it and so far I am liking it. Really liking how he lightheartedly pokes fun at Harry Potter. Same here. I picked this up thanks to this thread. I've only finished about a quarter of the book, but so far it's been a pretty good read. Next up is probably going to be Asimov's The End of Eternity or The Drawing of the Three (the 2nd book of the Dark Tower series). Narmi fucked around with this message at 17:15 on Jul 27, 2011 |
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Jul 27, 2011 17:11
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spixxor posted:Just started the Discworld series. I'm starting Equal Rites tonight, really loving Pratchett so far. I've been told many times to read the Discworld series but I always forget, so thank you for unknowingly reminding me. Also just finished the Hunger Games series and am restarting The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. I started it once before and had to stop to read something else that caught my eye but I am glad I came back to it because I am really enjoying it, but I enjoy most historical fiction anyways.
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Jul 29, 2011 04:48
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I'm ten chapters into American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to jump on the Gaiman train.
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Jul 29, 2011 05:59
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jaaammmie posted:I'm ten chapters into American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to jump on the Gaiman train. I actually liked Good Omens and Neverwhere more than American Gods. Even though Neverwhere was a tv show before a book, I think the book is much better, I get to use my imagination more. Good Omens was just hilarious to me, but maybe that is some of the Terry Prachett coming through.
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Jul 30, 2011 01:09
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Just went to a Borders closing and picked up Eisenhorn the 40k book by Dan Abnett and The Fall of Hyperion.
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Jul 30, 2011 02:21
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I've been reading Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I'm enjoying it, which is surprising since I'm neither a math person or a religious person and there's lots of both in the book.
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Jul 31, 2011 04:29
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Nearly at the end of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner. It's amazing how the least little thing could have scuttled this movie. Next up: I Am Spock. This has been sitting on the shelf for a while (not since it was published!) and I've started reading it today.
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Jul 31, 2011 15:52
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I've started reading Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher - forgot about the book after I bought it a while back. After that: Hexed: The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne.
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Jul 31, 2011 16:24
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Just started on George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings. I'm absolutely loving the series, though I should probably have a break after this one. I hate the fact of the series not having been completed, or that it may never be.
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Aug 1, 2011 12:24
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I just started reading Wuthering Heights. I'm at chapter eight and the style of it has finally sunk it. I love all the stories in it, it's really enjoyable. I'm reading it for class, so I should have it finished by the end of the week!
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Aug 1, 2011 13:58
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dorijan posted:I've started reading Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher - forgot about the book after I bought it a while back. I enjoyed the Furies series. I recently read all 3 of the Iron Druid series, and they were surprisingly really good. I wasn't expecting much, but it just kept getting better. Good humor, great pacing, and for some reason I just love the idea that there is an entire pantheon of every god/spirit/religion, and numerous werewolves, creatures of the night, supernatural beings of every shape and size... and they all think Thor is a dick 
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Aug 1, 2011 15:07
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From the latest trip to the bookstore: Solar by Ian McEwan. Not gonna lie, my main motivation for picking it up stems from the McEwan reference in the Super Sad True Love Story "trailer". But, 50 pages in and I'm enjoying it a lot. It's funny and tragic in this interesting, deeply intimate way; I've definitely lost my mind a bit over a relationship ending, leading me to do similar ridiculous things myself. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. I whipped through Mistborn at the beach last weekend and I'm hooked. Use Of Weapons by Iain M. Banks. My first Banks attempt was with Against a Dark background, and Christ was it dark (  ); this one was suggested to me as a better introduction to his stuff.
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Aug 1, 2011 16:57
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YA books are a guilty pleasure of mine and I found some good free ebooks. Survivors by Sophie Littlefield - http://www.thecopia.com/catalog/details.html?catId=8948372 Mutiny by Artist Arthur - http://www.thecopia.com/catalog/details.html?catId=8948371 Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa - http://www.thecopia.com/catalog/details.html?catId=8665900 They might be cheesy, but you can't fault me for loving free!
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Aug 2, 2011 21:37
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From my latest trip to the bookstore I picked up Labyrinths by Borges, a book I've been meaning to read for a long while now but could never find anywhere. Looking forward to beginning it.
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Aug 2, 2011 22:38
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Just finished a couple of birthday gifts: Dance with Dragons - GRRM Was really impressed with this, liked it way better than the last one in the series and it might be my favorite to date. Every POV switch left me wanting more from the one that just finished, as opposed to Feast for Crows where I was praying for an early death to some of the POV characters. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson I can't really say it was good but I guess it was since I was generally pretty entertained and usually genuinely curious as to what was coming next in the story. Good poolside/toilet reading I guess. quote:Just started on George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings. I'm absolutely loving the series, though I should probably have a break after this one. I hate the fact of the series not having been completed, or that it may never be. Stick with it, the last installment completely restored my faith that the fat man has a plan to finish this thing.
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Aug 2, 2011 22:42
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Kekekela posted:
This is how I feel about this series. They are good, but not the best thing I have ever read. The main thing it has going for it for me is that it is way out of my usual reading genres. Never really read a mystery until I started reading this series.
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Aug 3, 2011 02:26
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I JUST bought Bioshock: Rapture. I was skeptical since most video game books are absolutely terrible but so far this one is great. It follows the rise and fall of Rapture and the back history of Andrew Ryan. Someone recommended it to me and I'm glad that they did.
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Aug 3, 2011 03:36
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Too fat to fish- Artie Lange.
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Aug 3, 2011 04:09
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I just began reading Bridge of Birds. So far I like it but I've only gotten three chapters into it. I'm expecting things to pick up shortly.
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Aug 3, 2011 14:30
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I just bought a collection of Jane Austen books for $6 at a Borders liquidation sale and I'm 20 chapters from finishing Sense and Sensibility. Elinor better marry Colonel Brandon or I'm going to be pissed.
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Aug 3, 2011 19:53
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I have a bad habit of starting way more books than I can keep track of, so I'm taking advantage of this thread to try focusing my reading a little more. I'm currently towards the beginning of three books: George Orwell: An Age Like This 1920-1940: The Collected Essays, Journalism & Letters which is incredibly readable. So far I'm still early in his career, so he hasn't quite decided on calling himself George Orwell yet, and the pieces are mostly short book reviews, some of his early exploration of working-class life & a lot of letters to friends. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie, which would like to eat all my free time but I'm resisting. Venusberg by Anthony Powell -- his second novel. I'm surprised at how funny I find Powell, because bleak humour is usually not my thing.
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Aug 4, 2011 02:39
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Kekekela posted:Stick with it, the last installment completely restored my faith that the fat man has a plan to finish this thing. I'm certainly going to stick with it, but God knows I'll still have to wait five years or so for the next book to come out, provided George R.R. Martin doesn't die first. :P Idonie posted:George Orwell: An Age Like This 1920-1940: The Collected Essays, Journalism & Letters which is incredibly readable. So far I'm still early in his career, so he hasn't quite decided on calling himself George Orwell yet, and the pieces are mostly short book reviews, some of his early exploration of working-class life & a lot of letters to friends. I read that a few years ago. I always liked his non-fiction more than Animal Farm or Nineteen Eighty-Four. His essays are very good in the late 1930s period, from memory. Octy fucked around with this message at 13:37 on Aug 4, 2011 |
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Aug 4, 2011 13:34
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Still reading Discworld. I just started Pyramids and I really can't seem to get into it. Does it get better? Should I take a break from Pratchett and read something else? I thought it might be a bit of burnout after reading 6 Discworld books in a row, but I really enjoyed all the other ones.
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Aug 5, 2011 01:44
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Idonie posted:George Orwell: An Age Like This 1920-1940: The Collected Essays, Journalism & Letters which is incredibly readable. So far I'm still early in his career, so he hasn't quite decided on calling himself George Orwell yet, and the pieces are mostly short book reviews, some of his early exploration of working-class life & a lot of letters to friends. I'm in the middle of 1984 myself. Something tells me this book is not going to have a happy end.
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Aug 5, 2011 03:04
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Just got this from Borders today. It has 30% more zombies than the original version.
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Aug 5, 2011 19:12
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edit: Moved my question to the chat thread.
Jack's Flow fucked around with this message at 11:28 on Aug 7, 2011 |
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Aug 7, 2011 11:17
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Picked up Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. After reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy last year I've had an itch for more post-apocalyptic reading. Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven is next in the queue.
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Aug 7, 2011 20:06
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