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Just got A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson for a bargain price (Borders sales etc). I'm out of the loop on his recent books, but if the I'm A Stranger Here Myself brand of humor has been preserved, humorous history might be a good change of pace for me.
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Aug 8, 2011 02:49
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De komst van Joachim Stiller (the coming of Joachim Stiller) by Hubert Lampo. Probably his best-known novel. Beautifully written, especially the dialogues, but somehow I doubt many people in 1950's Antwerp actually talked like that.
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Aug 8, 2011 02:55
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Samej posted:Just got A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson for a bargain price (Borders sales etc). I'm out of the loop on his recent books, but if the I'm A Stranger Here Myself brand of humor has been preserved, humorous history might be a good change of pace for me. Despite the title, it's actually a science book, not a history book!
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Aug 8, 2011 04:03
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Picked up Cynthia Ozick's Metaphor & Memory and Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday today at the library. I've been wanting to read Mao for a while and I gave up on finding a used copy. Ozick's book was a blind buy, but it looks interesting - it's a bunch of literary reviews and criticism - and it was only a dollar.
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Aug 8, 2011 17:28
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I've recently purchased Franz Kafka's The Castle in its definitive edition from the 70s. So slow-moving! as one can expect from an existentialist author. I am a big fan of The Trial and had hoped it would be similar. Has anyone read it? I need counsel whether or not I should continue.
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Aug 8, 2011 18:31
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I just started Neuromancer after putting it off for a long time. I've always been rather interested in the cyber-punk genre, even though my only real brush with it was Deus Ex, so I was rather curious to see what it was like starting out. I've been kind of apprehensive about reading it, like I am whenever I read something that started a trend, because on one hand, it started the trend for a reason, but on the other it's also without the however many years of improvement and experimentation that the genre has gotten. It doesn't help that my edition's typography is pretty bad.
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Aug 8, 2011 20:39
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I just bought The Complete Works of Jane Austen (Annotated with Biography and Critical Essays). I've never read Austen's work before, so I'm very excited. I'm going to start with Emma before delving into Pride & Prejudice though. You have no idea how disappointed I was when Jane Austen's wallpaper didn't show up when I put my kindle to sleep afterwards.
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Aug 9, 2011 03:35
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Octy posted: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. Yah, towards the end (1939-1940) it felt like he suddenly figured what kind of essays he wanted to be writing and things got really interesting. His comments on Dickens were great.
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Aug 9, 2011 04:32
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I've got a copy of The Death of Ivan Ilyich & Other Stories translated by Pevar & Volokhonsky- I've always meant to try some Tolstoy but I didn't want to commit to the big honking huge novels for my first go. Since it's a collection of stories I'll probably take a break from it every now and then and work my way through another proper novel, probably something by Pynchon since I've got a poo poo ton of unread Pynchon books lying around.
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Aug 9, 2011 04:36
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Arrhythmia posted:I just started Neuromancer after putting it off for a long time. I've always been rather interested in the cyber-punk genre, even though my only real brush with it was Deus Ex, so I was rather curious to see what it was like starting out. I've been kind of apprehensive about reading it, like I am whenever I read something that started a trend, because on one hand, it started the trend for a reason, but on the other it's also without the however many years of improvement and experimentation that the genre has gotten. It doesn't help that my edition's typography is pretty bad. Plus there's that first sentence: once a profound metaphor, now incredibly amusing to people who don't remember the world before cable TV.
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Aug 9, 2011 04:47
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I started Jonathan Littell's The Kindly Ones. Written in french by american born Littell. It's like a car crash I can't look away from. Its a 900 page novel narrated by an unrepentant former SS-officer, and describes his role in the execution of the Holocaust in meticulous and disgusting details. The novel has apparently received numerous French literature awards, but has also caused quite the controversy regarding it's treatment of the very delicate subject matter. Now I'm currently on page 150 and I have not had the same impact from a book since I read Roberto Bolaņo's 2666. I guess I'm a masochist who likes crazy mind-gently caress books.
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Aug 9, 2011 18:45
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I just started Everyone's Just So So Special by Rob Shearman. Loved his previous short story collections Tiny Deaths and Love Songs For The Shy and Cynical (both of which I can only describe as surreal fiction). Two stories in -- so far, so good, and slightly surreal... I'd say I want to be in the authors mind to see how he comes up with this stuff, but on the other hand, I'd probably be a bit too scared. 
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Aug 11, 2011 06:45
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Cannabear posted:I've recently purchased Franz Kafka's The Castle in its definitive edition from the 70s. So slow-moving! as one can expect from an existentialist author. I am a big fan of The Trial and had hoped it would be similar. Has anyone read it? I need counsel whether or not I should continue. The secret of The Castle is that it is exactly as baffling, boring, agonizing, and ultimately pointless as the main character's travails.
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Aug 11, 2011 07:20
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Just started No Hero by Jonathan Wood. So far, it's kinda good. Very british though. Basic idea seems to be a secret government agency that protects us against all threats evil and lovecraftian. Not very far into it right now, but will probably finish it tonight. The only weird thing is the hero's obsession with Kurt Russell as an action movie cop and "What would Kurt do in this situation?". Dunno if it's cause it's across the pond or what, but the Kurt I think of is Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China. The Kurt this guy thinks of is from Tango and Cash, and that's... a little disturbing for some reason. Eh, still a fun read so far 
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Aug 11, 2011 13:37
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Just started reading Alien Contact. It's a collection of alien - based short stories by some great authors, including Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. The stories are more sci-fi thriller-ish as opposed to horror, but they are really good so far.
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Aug 11, 2011 16:19
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Being an avid reader for most of my life, and having read and appreciated books across all sorts of genres, my wife has been hounding me for years to read the Twilight series. I told her I respect the books for the success they have achieved but I have no interest in reading a book I am sure I will not enjoy. So, we have come to a somewhat agreement in that I started reading her other book The Host. And, I am not hating it. Not a brand new concept, by any means, but I am actually enjoying it. Has a much more sci-fi twist to it, which appeals to me. This still doesn't change my opinion of reading Twilight though.
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Aug 11, 2011 16:37
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Started The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters - got the book because it was heavily discounted from its original price at the bookstore and I haven't read a ghost story in a while. I'm not really familiar with the rest of her work, but so far, there's nothing very ghostly; it seems like a social novel focusing on the dying landed gentry. Writing style is good though, and I'm actually going through it pretty quick.
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Aug 11, 2011 18:34
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I just started The Pale King 
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Aug 12, 2011 01:37
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I started reading Mao: The Unknown Story a couple days ago. It's somewhat dense, but there's a lot of detail about his early life in here.
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Aug 12, 2011 15:48
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paigeturner posted:Just started reading Alien Contact. It's a collection of alien - based short stories by some great authors, including Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. The stories are more sci-fi thriller-ish as opposed to horror, but they are really good so far. Wait, are you talking about this book? Because it hasn't been published yet! 
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Aug 13, 2011 14:04
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Hedrigall posted:Wait, are you talking about this book? Because it hasn't been published yet! I want to believe...that it is that book. It could be an advance reader copy. I have a couple of those somewhere, one of them is for the book Raven or Ravens about some family that wins the lottery or something. I think that will be the next thing I try to power through since I don't think it was that bad.
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Aug 14, 2011 04:03
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Just started A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I usually only read sci-fi/fantasy but after much persistent nagging by my girlfriend decided to go out of the box with this one. Quite enjoying it so far, much more than I though I would, Meany is an excellent character.
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Aug 14, 2011 12:32
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I just started Startide Rising by David Brin and I'm already digging the biologically-uplifted-dolphins-as-main-characters angle. I love sci-fi set in oceans (eg: Seaquest DSV, the novella "Turquoise Days" by Alastair Reynolds, etc) so I feel like I am going to love this.
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Aug 15, 2011 16:29
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Bought and am halfway through George R. R. Martin "A Feast for Crows" the 4th novel in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. There are a couple of other topics in this thread (some are spoilers) discussing the latest book in the series. Anyway, a great writer, excellent character development, plots/subplots everything needed to keep you awaiting the release of the next book.
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Aug 15, 2011 16:32
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Old Crows posted:Bought and am halfway through George R. R. Martin "A Feast for Crows" the 4th novel in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. There are a couple of other topics in this thread (some are spoilers) discussing the latest book in the series. Anyway, a great writer, excellent character development, plots/subplots everything needed to keep you awaiting the release of the next book. I bought this yesterday and am waiting for it to arrive, I'm on the verge of finishing book(s) 3 and I really can't stop.
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Aug 15, 2011 21:42
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I'm about half way through Sepulchre by Kate Mosse. I really enjoyed her book Labyrinth so I said I'd give this a shot and I am also captivated by this book too.
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Aug 16, 2011 01:33
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I've just started reading Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington. It has less of the Aga-drama-with-elves vibe of the first novel in this loose series (Elfland), but it's also doing less with the fantay as a lens to examine real-world experiences. I'm still really enjoying it, though. Up next after this: Anthony Powell's A Question of Upbringing (when I get to the library) and probably Lev Grossman's The Magicians if I'm not too horrified by it.
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Aug 16, 2011 02:43
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Nevitt posted:Just started A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I usually only read sci-fi/fantasy but after much persistent nagging by my girlfriend decided to go out of the box with this one. Quite enjoying it so far, much more than I though I would, Meany is an excellent character. That's my favorite Irving book. It's quite a ride. There was an abortive attempt to film it. That abortion was called Simon Birch. Do NOT watch it. Seriously, don't.
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Aug 16, 2011 02:57
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Making good on my promise to read more Pynchon I'm now 50 pages into Inherent Vice. Talk in the Pynchon thread of there being a movie adaptation has caused me to be unable to picture the main character as anyone but Robert Downey Jr.
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Aug 16, 2011 03:43
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Falls Down Stairs posted:Making good on my promise to read more Pynchon I'm now 50 pages into Inherent Vice. Talk in the Pynchon thread of there being a movie adaptation has caused me to be unable to picture the main character as anyone but Robert Downey Jr. Funny, I started it a week ago and couldn't finish it. I had the same problem with Gravity's Rainbow. Perhaps Pynchon isn't for me. Just recently finished The Remains of the Day , now starting Bolano's The Savage Detectives
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Aug 16, 2011 05:56
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All the President's Men (Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein) - it's a reporter's wet dream. Seemingly fairly insignificant assignment turns out to be major and changes the course of world history. And they had the support of the Washington Post to do it! So far, it's a bit of a disconnect for me as I probably should have found something that was about Watergate itself, instead of how Woodward and Bernstein were able to do it. Still, as someone who has a B.A. in Newspapers, it's enough to keep me going right now.
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Aug 18, 2011 00:27
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Ready Player One(Ernest Cline) - I am just a couple of chapters in but this is such a fun book. Plot is in 2044 almost everyone plays a virtual game called OASIS. The creator of the game (who is Bill Gates rich) dies. In his will he explains that he hid several easter eggs in the game, and if you find them you will get his fortune. So the world goes crazy looking for them. The main character of the book is a poor kid you finds the first one (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory like). What makes the book fun, outside of the story, is how loaded down it is with pop culture references from 80's. In the first chapter alone everything from Oingo Boingo, John Hughes, the movie Heathers, The Muppet Show, Atari 2600, Dungeon Master's Guide, and so on is mentioned. As someone who grew up in the 80's this book was written for me. If you like video games and pop culture I think you will like this book. Edit: Just wanted to point out the author, Ernest Cline, also wrote the movie Fanboys (which I never seen). nate fisher fucked around with this message at 13:06 on Aug 18, 2011 |
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Aug 18, 2011 13:04
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nate fisher posted:Ready Player One(Ernest Cline) - I am just a couple of chapters in but this is such a fun book. Plot is in 2044 almost everyone plays a virtual game called OASIS. The creator of the game (who is Bill Gates rich) dies. In his will he explains that he hid several easter eggs in the game, and if you find them you will get his fortune. So the world goes crazy looking for them. The main character of the book is a poor kid you finds the first one (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory like). I actually finished this yesterday and I came in here looking to see if there was some sort of consensus on it. I loved it, but I have the creeping feeling that I'm going to be the odd man out, at least on this forum.
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Aug 18, 2011 22:47
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Re: Ready Player OneDivisionPost posted:I actually finished this yesterday and I came in here looking to see if there was some sort of consensus on it. I loved it, but I have the creeping feeling that I'm going to be the odd man out, at least on this forum. I'm at the halfway point and, oddly enough, I'm about half-and-half on the book. I was thinking about posting a thread about it when I finished. It's got some fun details, and some of the same problems I have with the genre, but I'm hooked and I expect to finish it tomorrow morning unless my boss actually expects me to do actual work while I'm at my job. (In which case, I'll be done tomorrow afternoon)
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Aug 19, 2011 00:34
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nate fisher posted:Ready Player One(Ernest Cline) - I am just a couple of chapters in but this is such a fun book. Plot is in 2044 almost everyone plays a virtual game called OASIS. The creator of the game (who is Bill Gates rich) dies. In his will he explains that he hid several easter eggs in the game, and if you find them you will get his fortune. So the world goes crazy looking for them. The main character of the book is a poor kid you finds the first one (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory like). I finished this last night and I enjoyed it immensely, even though it's far from perfect. The main thing that bothered me was the fact that whenever the protaganist's back was against the wall, he would almost always be able to find some rare item in OASIS that could be used for that situation. Even with the minor annoyances, it's still the most fun I've had reading a book in years (since I read the Matthew Reilly Jack West Jr. books). Also, the pop culture references reminded me of my youth. When I was a kid, I used to watch the Japanese show The Space Giants. I have never met anyone who also watched that show as a kid, and when the book referenced it, I was happily surprised. It would be nice to have a thread to talk about it. The pop culture references alone are worthy of a discussion.
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Aug 19, 2011 14:31
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nate fisher posted:Ready Player One(Ernest Cline) Sounds good. This co-incidentally enough was waiting for me today on the doorstep as I arrived home from a mid-morning second hand book store run. Problem is that Rule 34(Charles Stross) beat it by one day, and I got straight into that, although the 'you are the protagonist' style is already off putting enough for me to consider switching them around. Having said that, I find this comparison: GGAllinThicke posted:the most fun I've had reading a book in years (since I read the Matthew Reilly to be somewhat concerning, given what I've read of Reilly. Of course I just read the OP of the Dresden Files thread and it's inspired me to charge out and get Storm Front before the shops close. Goddamnit I've just got back into reading after being so slack for years and now I can't choose a loving book to stick with 
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Aug 20, 2011 07:04
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Just started George R.R. Martin's A Storm of Swords 1: Steel and Snow.
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Aug 20, 2011 07:09
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I just started Apathy and Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan. Apparently Amazon thinks every Christopher Moore fan should read it so I'm giving it a shot.
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Aug 21, 2011 17:32
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I just started The Once and Future King. It's really good, not at all what I was expecting.
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Aug 21, 2011 23:05
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Just got Dune Messiah and Children of Dune, pretty good condition, (just the spine's got 'creases', really, showing that it's been read a few times) $2AUS each. Gonna have to dig into those, as soon as I finish the original! (about 3/4 through)
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Aug 22, 2011 01:40
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