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Moral posted:Don't watch the movie. No seriously, don't. I don't know about the second one but the first was an awful, awful, interpretation of the movie. It barely resembles it at all and butchers the plot. As far as the books go they're pretty great. They do deal with the greek gods, and others (You'll find out later). If you're going to start the series I recommend starting with the Percy Jackson series, which begin in The Lightning Thief, and end in The Last Hero (If I remember correctly.) Then Rick starts another series with some of the same characters from the Percy Jackson series as well as introducing new ones. (It's essentially a sequel to the first series.) The Last Hero is the first book of the new series! I'm actually reading the series at the moment. It's a pretty fun romp with the added benefit of actually being deeply steeped in mythology which is a super interesting element. My main criticism is that it seems to heavily push the concept of western civilisation as supreme which can get a little uncomfortable at times.
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Mar 13, 2014 12:44
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Started J.R. Ackerley's My Dog Tulip last night. It's one I picked up on a whim a month or so ago when my dog died. It's a blast: Ackerley was an English literary critic, a snarky rear end and completely smitten with Tulip. He writes about taking her for walks, sans leash, and letting her do whatever. He yells at people who complain when she takes a dump on the street ("What's the bleedin' street for," yells a passing bicyclist; "For turds like you," shouts Ackerley), lets her sniff a human corpse and takes her vets that sound like something out of a Dickens novel. Apparently the real Tulip was pretty unruly - in the introduction, it's noted that Ackerley's friends hated the dog so much they stopped inviting him over - but I'm enjoying this, it's a fun read.
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Mar 14, 2014 15:58
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Just received a couple of late birthday presents: Michael Dobbs' House of Cards and Stephen King's Skeleton Crew. I spent a good deal of time last year looking for the House of Cards' trilogy in bookstores and it's only now they've come out with a new edition to celebrate the Netflix series. I did, however, find The Final Cut at home, so I read that. I'm working my way through Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch which is as good as it is long. I'm starting to suffer from inertia in trying to finish it, because while I enjoy it, I think it could have had a better editor. I'm also a slow reader. 
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Mar 17, 2014 02:54
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Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan - the book which the hugely underrated Ben Affleck movie 'The Town' was based on. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1292495.Prince_of_Thieves Hitting up the recommendations thread for more books like this and Heat in 3...2...
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Mar 17, 2014 05:50
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Just bought This Town by Mark Leibovich, because I live in DC and I'm going through the political wonk phase of my residency here. Do you guys have any other good general-politics (not necessarily REPUBLICANS BOO or LIBERALS BOO!) books?
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Mar 17, 2014 23:52
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Just started Moby Dick after putting down Dracula. Drac was ok and the first chapter in particular was great but after that I just didn't find it grabbed me very much. I think I mostly just didn't care for Stoker's prose. Moby Dick, on the other had, is absolutely ruling me. I'm 40 pages in and I can already see a lot of reasons why it's considered a classic. I've heard there's some slow going in the middle but I think I like the prose and characters enough so far that I'll be able to push through.
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Mar 30, 2014 20:27
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I started following @MobyDickAtSea on Twitter, which tweets lines from the book at random intervals, and they are flooring me. "Our souls are like those orphans whose unwedded mothers die in bearing them" "for there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men" "All are born with halters round their necks" "I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing." "He sleeps with clenched hands; and wakes with his own bloody nails in his palms." ...I'm going to have to read this, aren't I? The book I just started today is Jesse Ball's Samedi the Deafness. Ball's latest novel, Silence Once Begun was reviewed in the New Yorker a couple months ago, and then this interview with Ball appeared in the Paris Review a few days ago, and I thought it must be fate sending a message. The descriptions of his work sound right up my alley, so I picked up Samedi the Deafness and The Way Through Doors at the library last night and started the former on my lunchbreak today. I'm enjoying it so far, 40 pages in -- it reminds me of a more elegantly written "Ghosts" by Paul Auster (which is one of my favorites), a kind of surreal mystery.
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Apr 8, 2014 20:38
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Moby Dick is really good, and twitter is terrible.
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Apr 8, 2014 21:23
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Simon Scarrow dropped off my radar for a while. Recently found the box full of his books after I moved so I've started the eagle series again and god drat they are a good read.
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Apr 10, 2014 18:35
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I just started The Virtues of War by Steven Pressfield and am pretty excited to read it. A few years back I read his book Gates of Fire and was completely enthralled by the story (Fictional account of the 300 Spartans and the battle of Thermopylae). This one follows the same style but is about Alexander the Great. Has anyone else read it and could vouch for/against it? (No spoilers please!)
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Apr 13, 2014 17:53
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Gonna bust open a classic: Our Man In Havana Haven't actually read any Greene before, should be neat. Also got a Pelecanos novel on standby as well, Drama City.
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Apr 14, 2014 02:49
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Just began The Ghost Brigades which is the sequel to Old Man's War. Loved Old Man's War was just a nice easy Sci-Fi read with some cool concepts. I just thought there could have been more to it, Old Man's War feels like it was written without the thought of a sequel.
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Apr 14, 2014 11:08
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SaviourX posted:Gonna bust open a classic: Our Man In Havana Greene is incredible. He's one of those writers whose books make you feel like you're now a wiser person for having read them. Even his "fluffy" mysteries like Ministry of Fear enlighten you about human nature. If you enjoy Our Man in Havana, try The Power and the Glory or A Burnt-Out Case next. My favorite of his books is The Heart of the Matter, but you may need to be Catholic to fully grok the main character's struggle of conscience, otherwise it will come off as no big deal.
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Apr 14, 2014 13:27
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Just began reading Dune by Frank Herbert. As a Sci-fi fan, I feel like it's one of those books I should have read years and years ago, but for whatever reason, I just didn't get around to it. So far, so good.
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Apr 16, 2014 15:29
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Finally started reading 100 Years of Solitude today after reading about Marquez's death. I read Love in the Time of Cholera years ago and loved it, and have had a copy of 100 Years laying around for a while but just never got around to reading it.
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Apr 17, 2014 23:03
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Just started reading Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. The Brontes and Austen represent a huge gap in my reading. I know my period stuff from the Russians to the French to the British and so on, but somehow I've neglected to read these books. Soon I'll be able to discourse properly on Mr. Darcy and his ilk with some very attractive girls at the university period drama society.
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Apr 19, 2014 07:53
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Octy posted:Just started reading Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. The Brontes and Austen represent a huge gap in my reading. I know my period stuff from the Russians to the French to the British and so on, but somehow I've neglected to read these books. Soon I'll be able to discourse properly on Mr. Darcy and his ilk with some very attractive girls at the university period drama society. Good luck! I'd actually suggest reading Austen before Bronte though -- all the wild emotional drama of Wuthering Heights is sort of a deliberate counter and reply to the mannered balance of Austen's romances.
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Apr 19, 2014 13:06
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Reading Wuthering Heights right after Austen is just  s all around, in the best possible way. Edit: well, or the worst way, if you're a stuck-up Victorian.
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Apr 19, 2014 16:28
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The Crying of Lot 49.
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Apr 19, 2014 17:38
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Good luck! I'd actually suggest reading Austen before Bronte though -- all the wild emotional drama of Wuthering Heights is sort of a deliberate counter and reply to the mannered balance of Austen's romances. My parents have a huge book collection but we couldn't find any Austen for the moment. It's there, but there's no organisation to the collection so it'll take some digging. On a related note, I initially thought it was unbelievable that a female author could write a convincing male character. Then I rightly felt like a huge rear end in a top hat a second later when I realised all my favourite male authors have written convincing (well, sometimes not) female characters. I should read more fiction by women if anyone has recommendations? I've only really read Agatha Christie and a few moderns whose names escape me. Octy fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Apr 19, 2014 |
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Apr 19, 2014 22:18
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The first Female Author Who Can Write Male Characters Well who comes to mind is Pat Barker, but there are tons of them. On a more general note, Margaret Atwood and A.S. Byatt are fantastic.
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Apr 19, 2014 23:50
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Rabbit Hill posted:The first Female Author Who Can Write Male Characters Well who comes to mind is Pat Barker, but there are tons of them.
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Apr 20, 2014 03:57
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Just started The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. If it keeps up its current pace, it's probably going to be one of my favorite Sci-fi books of all time. If there is to be made an argument that Sci-fi is really serious literature, Le Guin is the one that should be making it. Oh, and the current train of conversation seems apropos, 'cause she's great at writing male characters.
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Apr 20, 2014 17:18
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I picked up a copy of Nabokov's Pnin yesterday. It's one of his I've always meant to read, but never did, so I figure it's time to remedy that. I almost bought some Kafka, but I have no idea where to begin (With his stories? The Trial? Amerika?) so I passed on him for now.
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Apr 20, 2014 17:24
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barkingclam posted:I picked up a copy of Nabokov's Pnin yesterday. It's one of his I've always meant to read, but never did, so I figure it's time to remedy that. I almost bought some Kafka, but I have no idea where to begin (With his stories? The Trial? Amerika?) so I passed on him for now. If you have not read anything by him, I would say start with The Metamorphosis. Then if you want short stories go with those, otherwise head into The Trial.
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Apr 20, 2014 19:55
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Ezzum posted:Just started The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. If it keeps up its current pace, it's probably going to be one of my favorite Sci-fi books of all time. If there is to be made an argument that Sci-fi is really serious literature, Le Guin is the one that should be making it. Huh, just looked The Dispossessed up then, and seems interesting. So, what books do you think it's similar to/compare it to, just so I can get a better grasp on what it's like? (As well as other sci-fi books too, like how would you compare it with Dune, for example?)
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Apr 21, 2014 03:26
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Just started The Well of Tears by Roberta Trahan because it was free to borrow on my Kindle. It doesn't have outstanding reviews but I'm enjoying it as a pretty typical fantasy book and hey, free!
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Apr 21, 2014 03:29
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Major Isoor posted:Huh, just looked The Dispossessed up then, and seems interesting. So, what books do you think it's similar to/compare it to, just so I can get a better grasp on what it's like? (As well as other sci-fi books too, like how would you compare it with Dune, for example?) Le Guin is brilliant but she's Le Guin, not anybody else. I realize that's not much help. Maybe Margaret Atwood, maybe Vonnegut in that they're both very philosophical writers but they couldn't have more disparate styles. Maybe somewhat similar to some of Stanislaw Lem's stuff. barkingclam posted:I picked up a copy of Nabokov's Pnin yesterday. It's one of his I've always meant to read, but never did, so I figure it's time to remedy that. I almost bought some Kafka, but I have no idea where to begin (With his stories? The Trial? Amerika?) so I passed on him for now. There's always Introducing Kafka, Illustrated by Robert Crumb. I'd suggest starting with In the Penal Colony. Maybe A Hunger Artist. Octy posted:My parents have a huge book collection but we couldn't find any Austen for the moment. It's there, but there's no organisation to the collection so it'll take some digging. Yeah, Le Guin was the author who sprang to mind here also, especially Ged in the Earthsea books or, of course, The Left Hand of Darkness. Also I keep recommending Mary Renault to people lately (start with The King Must Die). Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Apr 21, 2014 |
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Apr 21, 2014 04:04
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Le Guin is brilliant but she's Le Guin, not anybody else. I realize that's not much help. Maybe Margaret Atwood, maybe Vonnegut in that they're both very philosophical writers but they couldn't have more disparate styles. Nah, that makes sense. And well, I'd say it's a pro, even - at least it's not like some authors' works, where they're effectively carbon-copies of each other. I think I'll need to look into this further...
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Apr 21, 2014 04:11
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Definitely heard of Le Guin and Atwood. I'll put those on the list for when I finish up my current reading because I know we've got them. Thanks.
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Apr 21, 2014 07:32
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figured it was time to read One Hundred Years of Solitude
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Apr 21, 2014 09:20
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Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven is also incredible and worth adding to any to-read list.
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Apr 21, 2014 13:33
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Octy posted:Definitely heard of Le Guin and Atwood. I'll put those on the list for when I finish up my current reading because I know we've got them. Thanks. If you're doing Austen and the Brontes, add in George Eliot! (Probably Adam Bede if you want well-written guys.)
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Apr 21, 2014 13:50
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ulvir posted:figured it was time to read One Hundred Years of Solitude RIP
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Apr 21, 2014 17:22
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DirtyRobot posted:If you're doing Austen and the Brontes, add in George Eliot! (Probably Adam Bede if you want well-written guys.) Daniel Deronda and Middlemarch, too. Eliot is excellent.
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Apr 21, 2014 17:56
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Stravinsky posted:If you have not read anything by him, I would say start with The Metamorphosis. Then if you want short stories go with those, otherwise head into The Trial. Hieronymous Alloy posted:There's always Introducing Kafka, Illustrated by Robert Crumb. Thanks for the Kafka tips! I'll look into The Metamorphosis and The Penal Colony. Is there a big difference in translations/editions? I know Penguin has some (I usually lean towards them), but I've several different ones for sale.
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Apr 21, 2014 19:18
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I just started Just Enough Jeeves By P.G. Wodehouse. It has Right Ho, Jeeves , Joy in the morning , and Very Good Jeeves . All my favorite stories. Just reading about Jeeves getting Bertie out of all sorts of trouble makes me so happy. 
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Apr 21, 2014 20:47
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I have started reading That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote by K.J. Bishop. She doesn't have a ton published, but I find her interesting. She is a strange author who's oddness doesn't seem to have a point other than strangeness for strangeness sake. However, her work is so tweaked it does manage to justify itself, at least to me. It is almost like a macabre Wes Anderson in the written form. You won't believe in her stories but they do seem to have a life.
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Apr 21, 2014 22:54
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Just started Frog Music by Emmma Donoghue, author of Room. It's a murder mystery set in 1876 San Francisco, where the main character is a burlesque dancer. I'm about 100 pages in and it's enjoyable so far. Nothing's really jumped out at me yet, but the characters are enjoyable and the setting is well crafted.
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Apr 22, 2014 01:44
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Started reading "Sounders FC: Authentic Masterpiece," a book covering the forming of the Seattle MLS soccer team. It's pretty fascinating and shows how intertwined the Sounders organization is with the Seahawks organization.
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Apr 22, 2014 01:58
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