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I'm 56 pages into The Road. Here's the last line I read earlier today: "He shoved the pistol in his belt and slung the knapsack over his shoulder and picked up the boy and turned him around and lifted him over his head and set him on his shoulders and set off up the old roadway at a dead run, holding the boy's knees, the boy clutching his forehead, covered with gore and mute as a stone." McCarthy.  e. Decided to spoiler the line but out of context I don't think it would hurt much. Fun Times! fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Oct 1, 2012 |
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Oct 1, 2012 05:08
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| # ? May 28, 2024 18:32 |
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I just finished the YA novel Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon. It was described as "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" lite. I know nothing about hacking, but the thing that killed it for me was the constant Boston references. Honestly, if this book had a drinking game where you took a shot for every time something Boston related was mentioned, you'd be dead. Name-checked: Various T-Stations Prudential Building Cambridge Somerville Red Sox and Bruins Harvard and Tufts Hynes Convention Center Widner Library and the Boston Public Library BMC and much shaming of Brookline. It was so bad, I was actually saying "are you loving kidding me?" every time I flipped a page.
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Oct 1, 2012 08:03
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oneneatcat posted:I just finished the The Book Barn > What book did you just begin/buy?  oneneatcat posted:YA novel Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon. It was described as "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" lite. I know nothing about hacking, but the thing that killed it for me was the constant Boston references. Honestly, if this book had a drinking game where you took a shot for every time something Boston related was mentioned, you'd be dead. A book set in Boston includes things that are known to exist in... Boston?? Oh my god. This is unprecedented.
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Oct 1, 2012 11:31
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Just began Zone One by
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Oct 1, 2012 15:16
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tonytheshoes posted:Just began Zone One by Hated this book, gave up about two-thirds of the way through. Not because of the lack of action- I actually dig the idea of the book, especially the protagonist as something other than a survivalist badass- but because Whitehead feels the need to cram the whole idea of our society being full of frivolous bullshit and thus unprepared for adversity down the reader's throat in such a smug, smarter-than-thou fashion. Didn't hate it as much some of the other, recent "literary genre" stuff, but also didn't loving care how it ended.
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Oct 1, 2012 16:09
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funkybottoms posted:Hated this book, gave up about two-thirds of the way through. Not because of the lack of action- I actually dig the idea of the book, especially the protagonist as something other than a survivalist badass- but because Whitehead feels the need to cram the whole idea of our society being full of frivolous bullshit and thus unprepared for adversity down the reader's throat in such a smug, smarter-than-thou fashion. Didn't hate it as much some of the other, recent "literary genre" stuff, but also didn't loving care how it ended. Agreed, I don't necessarily mind a lack of action if the book itself is engrossing, but you're spot on with regards to the smugness. Ugh.
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Oct 1, 2012 16:13
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I started 2 new books for October: Absolution Gap by Alastair Reynolds (the last book in the Rev. Space universe that I have to read, apart from The Prefect. I've read all the short stories and novellas). I've heard it to be rather maligned as a disappointing end to the trilogy. Well all I can say is I'm about 50 pages in, and it's sheer joy to be back with these awesome characters and this terrifying universe. Plus I know how it ends... I've read the short story "Galactic North" so i know all about the GREEEEEEEN. It means I can just enjoy the ride even more now. Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. Seems to be a magical realism/fantasy story similar to The Magicians by Lev Grossman, not least because (so I've heard) important to the plot is a fictional series of fantasy novels that the protagonist loves.
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Oct 3, 2012 04:56
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Just got The Blade Itself by Abercrombie. I haven't delved into a new fantasy series in a while, I was in the middle of Mistborn and took a long hiatus before the third book, but I'm thirsting after reading a bunch of sci-fi. I already like the main characters a lot, especially Glokta. Also according to the SF/Fantasy thread, I'm done being introduced to characters more or less, which is GREAT. I dunno why, but the "dizzying 100 pages of 16 character POV" thing just doesn't do it for me anymore, I have no patience.
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Oct 3, 2012 05:46
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Going all-horror for October, just finished The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Not scary, but a little creepy, I guess. I've read that it would have been much scarier when it was written, mostly due to undertones of child molestation that would have been more apparent to that day's audience. Anyway... Just started Occultation by Laird Barron. It's a collection of short stories, and I've finished the first one so far, "The Forest," which was a clever little story that I don't want to talk too much about since, with horror, I feel that the less you know, the better.
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Oct 3, 2012 15:40
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Arnold Schwarzenegger's autobiography: Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story Good stuff. Maybe better than M. J. Fox's books.
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Oct 3, 2012 22:30
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I'm still fairly early in Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake, the first book in the Gormenghast series, which was recommended to me when I went looking for fantasy without Tolkien or Howard influences. So far it seems to be justifying the high praise it was presented with. It's written in a very rich, musty prose full of delightfully repulsive and grim imagery - grimagery, if you will - so I'm taking it much slower than I usually read fiction and just soaking in the mood. It's goth as gently caress.
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Oct 4, 2012 11:16
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Bongo Bill posted:I'm still fairly early in Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake, the first book in the Gormenghast series, which was recommended to me when I went looking for fantasy without Tolkien or Howard influences. So far it seems to be justifying the high praise it was presented with. It's written in a very rich, musty prose full of delightfully repulsive and grim imagery - grimagery, if you will - so I'm taking it much slower than I usually read fiction and just soaking in the mood. It's goth as gently caress. Be sure to follow up with Gormenghast and Titus Alone. It gets worse in the best way possible. Also, the opening paragraph of Titus Groan is one of my favorites in any book. It perfectly establishes the bleak, "ponderous architectural quality" of both the books and the eponymous castle.
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Oct 4, 2012 15:44
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Just started Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, based on a Goon recommendation. Ended up staying up later than I should have because I was instantly sucked in--it was an act of will to put the book down to go to sleep. I'm enjoying it very much so far.
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Oct 4, 2012 16:36
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Zola posted:Just started Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, based on a Goon recommendation. I loved book 1, but I found book 2 to be even better. The 3rd one and Joe Hill's new book are my most wanted for 2013.
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Oct 4, 2012 17:18
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I'm currently trying to catch up on books I never got to read in high school. I'm almost halfway through The Grapes of Wrath, and I'm really struggling to get through it. Steinbeck's style is just so slow and overly descriptive for me. I didn't even have this much trouble with all three Lord of the Rings books. But I'm gonna finish it, dammit!
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Oct 4, 2012 18:08
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I just starting re-reading The Passage by Justin Cronin in anticipation of the next book coming out in a couple weeks. Also reading The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce. It was free on Copia and some of the definitions are really funny. "LOVE, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage". And they're giving $2,000 in free ebooks to the person who adds the best definition. There are a lot of fall books I could get with that!
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Oct 5, 2012 18:10
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Saw a church having a garage sale today while driving and pulled in. I ended up buying a copy of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and Stephen Harrigan's The Gates of the Alamo, a novel of the battle of...well, the Alamo, for a dollar total. Not a bad deal. I may start Angels and Demons tomorrow because I think I need a brainless thriller to relax for a bit. I also saw them selling a copy of The Ghurkas: The Inside Story of the World's Most Feared Soldiers by John Parker for another 50 cents but then my roommate snatched it out from under me.  Picked up a copy of it off of Amazon when I got home.
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Oct 7, 2012 05:53
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Tardigrade posted:Be sure to follow up with Gormenghast and Titus Alone. It gets worse in the best way possible. Titus Alone, though recognizably the same author's work, is very different from the first two books, partly for reasons related to Peake's illness. Personally, though, I feel that just gives it extra impact. The tangentially related Boy in Darkness is also very, very good. Has anyone else read Titus Awakes? For context, this is a book written by Peake's wife Maeve Gilmore after his death, loosely based on his fragmentary notes for the fourth Titus book he might have written; it remained unpublished (lost, in fact) until a couple years ago, decades after her own death. It's a fairly odd experience; the book seems pretty clearly written more for the sake of her own memory of Peake than for any kind of audience, and I occasionally felt like I had no business reading something so private.
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Oct 7, 2012 18:10
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Just started American Gods. This'll be my first Gaiman book.
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Oct 7, 2012 23:01
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I found a used bookstore while driving out in the countryside today. Picked up a copy of The Stories of John Cheever, Camus' The Outsider and The Cowards by Josef Skvorecky. Looking forward to all of them, but I'll probably tackle the Camus first.
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Oct 8, 2012 01:19
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About 20% through Swarm by BV Larson. I'm not usually a huge military sci-fi person but this one's moving fast and pretty entertaining.
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Oct 8, 2012 05:57
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I've been reading that series, and it's fairly good. Weird, but good. Haven't read the last book in it yet. The one before it was kinda strange, but still, decent military sci fi.
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Oct 8, 2012 15:24
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Just started Sandman Slim on Kindle, one of the Goons in the Dresden thread was kind enough to mention that it's on special for $0.99. I'm liking it fine so far, although I think the real devotee is going to be the husband because he's been stealing my Kindle to read it every time I put it down.
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Oct 8, 2012 20:28
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I just started Aftermath by Geordi La Forge, I mean Levar Burton.
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Oct 9, 2012 02:27
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I started The Hot Zone by Richard Preston yesterday.
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Oct 9, 2012 02:55
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I just started Geisha by Liza Dalby. It's already pretty interesting. I had no idea the first geisha were men.
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Oct 9, 2012 11:27
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Chiba City Blues posted:Just started American Gods. This'll be my first Gaiman book. Hey, me too! ...are you me? This is freaking me out.
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Oct 9, 2012 18:22
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I'd been reading shorter novels as of late and wanted to switch that up a bit, so I decided to pick up Anathem by Neal Stephenson. So far it's quite enjoyable, though it will likely take me as long if not longer to read than the last four books I've read.
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Oct 9, 2012 20:31
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Just started The Grapes of Wrath. Never read any Steinbeck before but so far the book seems dirty and hot, which is weird because it's getting cold where I live.
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Oct 11, 2012 01:10
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The New Tycoons (http://www.powells.com/biblio/9781118205464) and the Nate Silver book: The Signal and the Noise (http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781594204111-2). Got to finish up some other stuff and then get crackin on these. Can't wait!
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Oct 11, 2012 01:46
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Well, the last book I purchased was What to Expect the First Year, but I assume that's not at the top of most people's lists, so I'll skip any description  Otherwise, I most recently downloaded The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. I'm only a few short chapters in (hard to tell how many pages it works out to be on an iPad), but already enjoying its... Britishness. It reminds me, very loosely, of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - an old idyllic town, gossipy neighbors, town politics. It's hard to tell which direction the book will take (I've stayed away from reviews or synopses thus far), but so far it's a nice book to curl up with on a cool autumn day.
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Oct 11, 2012 16:03
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Fun Times! posted:I'm 56 pages into The Road. I put off reading The Road for so long because I thought I'd hate its bleakness. I was so wrong. It was bleak and difficult and haunting and I hung on just about every word. Hope you're enjoying it! I'm now embarrassed to say that I haven't read any other McCarthy yet, and I know I should.
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Oct 11, 2012 16:05
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Just started Waging Heavy Peace by Neil Young, I'm a huge fan, and it's fairly interesting so far. So it should be a good read.
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Oct 11, 2012 19:17
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Just bought A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava having read a bunch of intriguing sounding stuff about it online. It was a self-published novel because the author was unwilling to edit it to meet publisher demands, then proved to be a rare self-publishing success story as it gradually accumulated critical praise and was eventually picked up for legit commercial publishing by the University of Chicago Press.
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Oct 11, 2012 19:54
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I just started Daniel Martin by John Fowles. I dont know what it is about the writing style, but I am really enjoying it so far. It reminds me a lot of The Book of the New Sun in how much time is spent by the narrator just talking about why/how they think about things. No idea where its gonna go from here plot wise (only 40 or so pages in) but I am hooked.
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Oct 11, 2012 20:24
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Going to hit some shorter stuff for a little bit. I loved Wool by Hugh Howey and I recently grabbed two of his other stories The Plagiarist and The Hurricane. Hoping to find more good stuff but I won't deny that Wool has made me a fanboy.
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Oct 11, 2012 23:19
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Ingram posted:Going to hit some shorter stuff for a little bit. I loved Wool by Hugh Howey and I recently grabbed two of his other stories The Plagiarist and The Hurricane. Hoping to find more good stuff but I won't deny that Wool has made me a fanboy. I just started Wool by Hugh Howey so far I am liking it. I am in the second part of the Omnibus and I find myself being unable to put the book down at times because I want to know what is going to happen to the characters and hopefully figure out what is going on. Howey write in a way that build subtle suspense which is making the it hard to put the book down.
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Oct 13, 2012 19:24
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I'm about halfway through Ghostwritten by David Mitchell and I really like it, and I also like getting ahead of myself, so I just bought Cloud Atlas. Also I like to be that smug guy that says "The book was better  " when talking about movies, and the movie adaptation of Cloud Atlas just came out.I also just bought The Rebel by Albert Camus and The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussel. I'm excited to read The Great War and Modern Memory, as I know very little about WWI.
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Oct 13, 2012 19:50
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Cloud Atlas owns, but don't discount Mitchell's more grounded books - Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet and Black Swan Green were great too. Picked up John LeCarre's The Little Drummer Girl and Zadie Smith's White Teeth recently, and the Rushdie memoir Joseph Anton just came in from the library. Lots of stuff to read!
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Oct 13, 2012 20:17
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| # ? May 28, 2024 18:32 |
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In the spirt of Halloween I just ordered Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Life of Aleister Crowley. Also picked up Warlock by Oakley Hall. It has been awhile since I read a western.
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Oct 14, 2012 01:52
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