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Finished John Scalzi's Redshirts. Pretty awful. It felt like reading self-aware Star Trek fanfiction. The characters weren't memorable, it wasn't as witty as it wanted to be, and the last third of the book was dumb with constant over-the-top meta-references. I'm really, really glad I got it out of the library rather than picking it up for $5 at the discount bookstore.
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Nov 28, 2014 22:54
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In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. drat was it ever a good book. I've never been much of a crime fiction person (the only other crime-ish novel I've ever read being Silence of the Lambs this past summer, having picked ICB up as a recommendation because of how much I liked SOTL) and I was completely floored by how much I loved it. Capote's words simply come to life off the page and turn into breathing things. I felt like I was living in Holcomb every time I picked it up, and like I'd very well lived there my whole life. I felt like I knew these people, each and every last one of them. It was almost voyeuristic in how intimate a portrait it was and at times I had to remind myself that this was nonfiction because of how well it was written. If you haven't read this book yet, you're doing yourself a disservice.
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Nov 29, 2014 06:20
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House Louse posted:Without the girl. He finds a girl at the depth of his hell and then escapes because-ish of her and... yeah it's not a great metaphor.
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Nov 29, 2014 07:18
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lifg posted:He finds a girl at the depth of his hell and then escapes because-ish of her and... and then she dumps him to date Robbie Williams
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Nov 29, 2014 12:42
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Captain Mog posted:In Cold Blood Yup, it's really good! If you enjoyed the book, it's worth checking out both of the recent films based on the process Capote went through in writing it. Capote is the one that got the most recognition, but Infamous is worth a watch too.
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Nov 29, 2014 18:29
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The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. It caught my eye in the book store, then I watched a film based on a book from the same author (Under the Skin) and decided to follow the signs. Didn't regret my decision. Some soft sci-fi, but the center is the protagonist's relationship with his wife, who he's left to preach Christianity to an alien colony. Faber deals with issues like faith and belief (or lack thereof) in a sober and even-handed way. I'm Christian, though, so I'm not sure if all the biblical references would be as appreciated by a non-religious reader. I look forwarded to visiting his other works. Rush_shirt fucked around with this message at 07:47 on Nov 30, 2014 |
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Nov 30, 2014 07:36
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Rush_shirt posted:The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. It caught my eye in the book store, then I watched a film based on a book from the same author (Under the Skin) and decided to follow the signs. You should read Under the Skin. The movie is good but the book is better and actually quite different.
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Dec 1, 2014 03:47
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Yeah. The tone is very different between the two. I wasn't even sure how they could had made it into a movie without significant cutting of material (which they did).
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Dec 1, 2014 04:47
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Agreed. Both are brilliant but completely different.
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Dec 1, 2014 08:07
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I just finished 1984. I was urged to read it by friends throughout the years and always asked, "Haven't you ever read 1984?" whenever a NSA-esque political discussion took place. When my family discovered I had not read it, my brother, like a ninja, pulled it out of his pile of books and handed it to me for me to borrow. It really did not live up to its hype. I mean, I guess I'm giving it too hard a time because it was seriously hyped by my crowd. It was a good book...just not perfect. You'd think such an oft-referenced book of such age would be, y'know, diamond-perfect. The plot holes got me. The failure of human nature to take over. The inexplicable mind reading, etc. To be honest, I'm not looking to defend this point of view, I really am not equipped to do so. That being said, I'd love to hear of another read that is of the same meaning (or purpose it was assigned, which is to say a dystopian-political book) that really knocks it out of the park.
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Dec 1, 2014 08:52
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1984 (and Animal Farm) are widely agreed among non-poo poo leftwingers to be trash, if that helps. People usually say to read Brave New World instead but that's equally eye-roll inducing imo, and far more patronising ("if we give people all the material goods and drugs they want, they'll be happy, and that would be bad because of reasons! *writes furiously about promiscuous women with free birth control*"). I don't actually remember ever reading a dystopian novel that hasn't just made me think "this is dumb," so I'd also like to see suggestions if anyone has any...
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Dec 1, 2014 11:01
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DannyTanner posted:Yeah. The tone is very different between the two. I wasn't even sure how they could had made it into a movie without significant cutting of material (which they did). If by "significant cutting of material" you mean "the movie and book share only a name". Prism: try H.G. Wells' A Story of the Days To Come.
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Dec 1, 2014 11:49
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Prism Mirror Lens posted:I don't actually remember ever reading a dystopian novel that hasn't just made me think "this is dumb," so I'd also like to see suggestions if anyone has any... I enjoyed 1984 and don't think it's trash (nor do I think it is widely considered to be trash, but we probably move in different circles), but I also think it's not the kind of book you should take solely at face value. It's exaggerated, and there are plotholes, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have something meaningful to say. Anyway, to answer your question, I think the only dystopian book I've read that was realistic was JG Ballard's Kingdom Come, so maybe give that a go? Also Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, though I have a feeling you won't like that one.
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Dec 1, 2014 12:01
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1984 is a good book and a classic, but like every classic it's got a huge, flawless, best-book-ever reputation to live up to that it probably won't.
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Dec 1, 2014 12:10
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Prism Mirror Lens posted:I don't actually remember ever reading a dystopian novel that hasn't just made me think "this is dumb," so I'd also like to see suggestions if anyone has any... I just reread The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, and while it's far from perfect it's a pretty good and original take on the dystopian novel. The blurb on the front says 'Bacigalupi is a worthy successor to William Gibson' which kind of tells you what to expect. I found it really interesting as a departure from classic cyberpunk using current technologies (biochem, genetics, etc) in the same way 80s/90s writers used the technology of those days to create dystopias and extrapolate what could go wrong. It was also a breath of fresh air in that it's not at all euro-centric, despite one of the protagonists being a westerner. All the protagonists (except one, maybe two, I guess) are complete loving assholes, which is also nice. All in all, while definitely not without its flaws, I really like his take on a dystopian future because the horror comes not from either government or corporate power but rather from human hubris and failure and the failure of the government and corporations when things spiral out of control.
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Dec 1, 2014 12:48
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Prism Mirror Lens posted:1984 (and Animal Farm) are widely agreed among non-poo poo leftwingers to be trash, if that helps. People usually say to read Brave New World instead but that's equally eye-roll inducing imo, and far more patronising ("if we give people all the material goods and drugs they want, they'll be happy, and that would be bad because of reasons! *writes furiously about promiscuous women with free birth control*"). I don't actually remember ever reading a dystopian novel that hasn't just made me think "this is dumb," so I'd also like to see suggestions if anyone has any... What the gently caress are you talking about? I have never heard anyone call 1984 or Brave New World trash. Both put forth ideas of what the future would be like which is very much relevant to modern life because while its not one to one we are very much living it (at least assuming your us/british). Your view on Brave New World is childish if you could not figure out what Huxhley was saying due to you being caught up on dumb poo poo you find problematic or whatever instead of actually paying attention to what you read. Good job dumbass. Stravinsky fucked around with this message at 14:13 on Dec 1, 2014 |
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Dec 1, 2014 14:03
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Also animal farm is an alright because it tells a pretty simple story based on his own experience in Spain that even the most slackjawed idiot could follow.
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Dec 1, 2014 14:09
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Stravinsky posted:What the gently caress are you talking about? I have never heard anyone call 1984 or Brave New World trash. Both put forth ideas of what the future would be like which is very much relevant to modern life because while its not one to one we are very much living it (at least assuming your us/british). ...or North Korean.
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Dec 1, 2014 15:07
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Jedit posted:If by "significant cutting of material" you mean "the movie and book share only a name". I think I see what Glazer was going for thematically with the movie which does have the same sense of isolation in the main character but Glazer's very stylistically stark vision really worked much better on the screen than a more true to novel translation would have - when I heard they were filming a movie I was pretty skeptical on how they were going to film the big reveals without it becoming comedic.
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Dec 1, 2014 15:36
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Prism Mirror Lens posted:1984 (and Animal Farm) are widely agreed among non-poo poo leftwingers to be trash, if that helps. People usually say to read Brave New World instead but that's equally eye-roll inducing imo, and far more patronising ("if we give people all the material goods and drugs they want, they'll be happy, and that would be bad because of reasons! *writes furiously about promiscuous women with free birth control*"). I don't actually remember ever reading a dystopian novel that hasn't just made me think "this is dumb," so I'd also like to see suggestions if anyone has any... I don't often see people either trash Orwell or recommend the Huxley over him either, but maybe that's cos I\m not sure what you mean by leftwingers. As for dystopian novels, I liked Katharine Burdekin/Murray Constantine's Swastika Night. Stravinsky posted:What the gently caress are you talking about? I have never heard anyone call 1984 or Brave New World trash. Both put forth ideas of what the future would be like What.
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Dec 1, 2014 16:00
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Stravinsky posted:Also animal farm is an alright because it tells a pretty simple story based on his own experience in Spain that even the most slackjawed idiot could follow. Yeah, Animal Farm is one of the few books where, really, if you don't like it, you probably need to go back and read it again, as many times as it takes. Other good dystopian fiction: Kafka's, well, anything, but I'd suggest starting with In the Penal Colony; Clockwork Orange; We; The Handmaid's Tale; The Wind-up Girl; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. I'd also say almost anything by Kurt Vonnegut, but for a lot of his work he's talking about the dystopian present, not the future, if that makes sense, and I suspect we need a different word for that.
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Dec 1, 2014 16:15
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Yeah, Animal Farm is one of the few books where, really, if you don't like it, you probably need to go back and read it again, as many times as it takes. The Handmaid's Tale yes and also anything by Margaret Atwood because she's a fabulous writer. Oryx & Crake is a wonderful trilogy and one of my personal favorite dystopians ever (though you could argue that it's more sci-fi than dystopian if you wanted).
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Dec 1, 2014 17:06
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Stravinsky posted:What the gently caress are you talking about? I have never heard anyone call 1984 or Brave New World trash. Both put forth ideas of what the future would be like which is very much relevant to modern life because while its not one to one we are very much living it (at least assuming your us/british). Haha ok, chill. They're both ideological books and I (and other people) have ideological problems with their content (yeah, I do find some of it 'problematic'!). I'm not going to go into an indepth critique of Orwell or Huxley in the WDYJF thread but, y'know, I'm pretty sure it's possible - even good! - to read a book, understand it, and still have problems with it; so it's a little unfair for people to basically say "oh, you just didn't get Animal Farm because you're a huge moron who can't understand a simple book, read it again", or that I'm reading it at a childish surface level. Orwell is not massively well-liked among non-Trotskyist Marxists, sorry! I have been meaning to read The Handmaid's Tale for a while so maybe I'll try that out.
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Dec 1, 2014 18:29
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Poutling posted:I think I see what Glazer was going for thematically with the movie which does have the same sense of isolation in the main character but Glazer's very stylistically stark vision really worked much better on the screen than a more true to novel translation would have - when I heard they were filming a movie I was pretty skeptical on how they were going to film the big reveals without it becoming comedic. Actually it has the precise reverse kind of isolation in the main character. Johansson in the movie feels isolated from humans and develops an urge to fit in. In the book Isserley has been isolated from her own people by the surgery that made her look human, but doesn't want to fit in with humans or even accept that she's like them in any way - to the point where she lies to the visiting noble about human sentience so he won't stop them being used as cattle. Where Johansson develops empathy for her prey, Isserley is driven by destructive self-loathing. Glazer managed to miss literally everything that was interesting about the story and replaced it with desperate, failed attempts to seem meaningful.
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Dec 1, 2014 19:51
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If you like Michel Faber you have to read The Crimson Petal and the White. I understand on an intellectual level that some people don't like it, but those people confuse my heart and my gut because this book is amazingly good. The narration itself is so lively, you don't want to skim a single sentence. Every book Faber has written is completely different from all of his others, though, to the point where if you didn't know better, you'd think they were written by different people. So just don't go into one of his books expecting it to be in any way similar to another of his books that you've loved, or you'll be disappointed. Speaking of dystopian novels, I just finished Hugh Howey's Wool and enjoyed it. Anyone know if the other books in the series are any good? My brother has read them and warned me away from them, but I'm kind of curious...
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Dec 1, 2014 20:43
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If you think that dystopian novels are about what the future will be like, you're not really getting it. They more than most sci fi are basically exaggerated parables about the present, and they aren't really supposed to be the logical or even the possible future result of current events and trends. Rather, they're current events and trends exaggerated and taken to an absurd degree to make an ideological point. They're also, when we're talking about the most famous ones, speaking to anxieties felt by (generally British) leftists in the West in the middle part of the 20th Century. These are explicitly novels that use a future society as a tool to forward an ideology, although a lot of people mistake them as speculation about the ultimate ends of an ideology. Obviously that's not going to be for everyone, but complaining that they aren't realistic misses the point. They aren't realistic, but that's the novel working as designed.
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Dec 1, 2014 21:09
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Stravinsky posted:Also animal farm is an alright because it tells a pretty simple story based on his own experience in Spain that even the most slackjawed idiot could follow. I read his Homage to Catalonia for the first time earlier this year and found it a more harrowing and effective illustration of the threats of Stalinization than Animal Farm ever was. It was a very moving memoir that highlighted the sometimes surreality of the SCW which were all the more incredible because they actually happened to him.
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Dec 2, 2014 00:47
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Homage is a startling book. Beautiful and brutal. Highly recommended.
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Dec 2, 2014 01:32
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I finished Annihilation (Book 1 of the Southern Reach Trilogy) on the plane ride home for the holidays. I liked it so much I went and bought the other two books in the series, and almost read the entirety of Authority (Book 2) in the airport and plane back here. EDIT: Found out last night that the last 60ish pages of my copy of Authority are actually misprinted!  Go gently caress yourself, HarperCollins
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Dec 2, 2014 02:48
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I just finished Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS I liked it quite a bit. The author describes how the situation in fascist Germany lead him to joining the infamous military formation and why he thought he was a good guy.
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Dec 2, 2014 22:38
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Something Else posted:I finished Annihilation (Book 1 of the Southern Reach Trilogy) on the plane ride home for the holidays. I liked it so much I went and bought the other two books in the series, and almost read the entirety of Authority (Book 2) in the airport and plane back here. Urgh it's taking all my strength to do anything other than devour Authority whole right this instant, Annihilation rocks. Just finished reading Without You, There is No Us: My Time With the Sons of North Korea's Elite. Basically, crazy missionaries have been passing themselves off as teachers to the North Koreans and a journalist manages to hitch a ride as one of the teachers. It's a really impressive collection of evidence from a journalistic perspective; absolutely no one's ever been able to get a serious peek at the upper crust of North Korean society, let alone get a glimpse at the North Korean education system (to gloss over things really fast, defectors are typically more lower class people who managed to learn their way around the black market long enough to buy themselves a ticket out). It ends up being a master class on deception, authoritarianism, and the brutal, very real weirdness that is North Korea, with some extra jabs at religion for funsies. The writing isn't that consistent — the author is clearly a novelist and ends up using an adjective too many from time to time — but it was never a game killer for me in the slightest, and it was actually refreshing to see emotion and humanity injected back into a situation that's become the sterile subject of Very Serious "security studies"/armchair strategists types. Even the more humanitarian-focused works (Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy, for example, which is also great) are at a remove compared to this book. Being up close and personal does mean things are little repetitive, but it's about daily life in North Korea, there aren't going to be a lot of wacky adventures. Seriously, though 1984 is absolutely nothing compared to the real thing. When you're reading Orwell, you know it's fiction. There's also the meta-story surrounding the book that the North Korean missionary school is furious at her and can't stop posting reviews about how evil she is and how pure their mission is, which would be hilarious if it wasn't for the fact that every one of them is so clearly the tendrils of the North Korean government poking at you through the Internet.
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Dec 3, 2014 04:59
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Combed Thunderclap posted:Just finished reading Without You, There is No Us: My Time With the Sons of North Korea's Elite. Basically, crazy missionaries have been passing themselves off as teachers to the North Koreans and a journalist manages to hitch a ride as one of the teachers. It's a really impressive collection of evidence from a journalistic perspective; absolutely no one's ever been able to get a serious peek at the upper crust of North Korean society... Read Jang Jin-Sung's Dear Leader.
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Dec 3, 2014 05:36
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funkybottoms posted:Read Jang Jin-Sung's Dear Leader. Holy crap, I clearly haven't been keeping up on my North Korea lit. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Dec 3, 2014 05:59
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Finished Bring Up the Bodies by Hillary Mantel, the second volume in her historical fiction trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. As with its predecessor, I found it to be a very enjoyable read and am looking forward to the final book in the series.
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Dec 3, 2014 13:56
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The Art Of Failure: An Essay On The Pain Of Playing Videogames, by Jesper Juul. A short book, but equal parts entertaining and thought-provoking. Juul talks about failure and the pleasures of tragedy in videogames, drawing on everything from ludology to philosophy to Hamlet, and it really works for me as a whistle-stop tour of relevant theory. I'm not sure I fully subscribe to Juul's point of view, particularly with regard to player/character agency, but it's well worth checking out if you have even a passing interest on why we enjoy games.
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Dec 3, 2014 20:18
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People Who Eat Darkness by Richard LLoyd Parry, this was a well-written true crime book about a woman who went missing in Tokyo and was later found murdered. It wasn't sensationalist at all, explored it's characters and themes deeply, and managed to be very sad and emotional when it wanted to be. A Brief History Of Seven Killings by Marlon James, a mix of historical fiction and crime that starts out in Jamaica around the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976 and moves between Jamaica and the US in the 80s through early 90s. I originally became interested in this cuz it looked like a James Ellroy type story from it's description. It's less plot-driven than Ellroy but has a focus on the same types of subject matter with morally compromised characters and a distinctive stream-of-consciousness prose style(a lot of it Jamaican patois in this). This was excellent as gently caress and would appeal to anyone that likes crime or literary fiction. The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, a well written novel about a serial killer with some supernatural and horror elements. It started out so strongly, with a great premise that reminded me of Stephen King and a well-paced narrative flow that pulled me right in. It just sort of floundered for me a little more than half-way through. The plot went nowhere, with the same poo poo happening over and over, which wouldn't have bothered me much if it was stronger thematically, or had deeper protagonists that didn't feel like such one-dimensional vehicles for snarky dialogue. I can't think of another book I've read in awhile that I've enjoyed so much in the first half to actively disliking it by the end.
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Dec 4, 2014 23:42
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Because of seeing the trailer for Jason Reitman’s new movie Men, Women, & Children (shame looking at reviews the movie doesn’t seem all that good) about 3 weeks ago, I have went down the rabbit hole of the works of Chad Kultgen. Well what a strange journey it has been. In order read: Men, Women, & Children – I think this might be his best book. I like the idea of exploring the lack of imitancy that technology causes, and how the emergence and the extreme nature of internet porn is pushing our tolerance level of what we need to get off. I was kind of surprised at some of the graphic sexual details in the book. They didn’t bother me, I just didn’t know what I was getting into yet. The Average American Male – Well it didn’t take long for me to realize that graphic sexual details are the staple of his books. Also it is where I learned another staple of his books, misogyny. Still I laughed at parts of the book, and I learned to hate Casey just like he wanted me to. It felt like he was almost going for the extreme sex version of Patrick Bateman. The Average American Marriage – Follow-up to the above, and despite having less humor than the first book I liked it more. I have been married for almost 16 years now, and I have never felt the misery of being married as the characters in this book do (instead I would hate to be single). Also he took about the only character I liked in the other book ( Alyna ), and made them unlikable. The Lie - This might be his best if MW&C isn't. This is his Rules of Attraction, but it finds a way to be even darker than Ellis' book. Another book full of sex, misogyny, and unlikeable characters, but the book works (it helps it is being told from 3 POVs), and when it goes dark, man it goes dark. What a messed up book. It also features one of the most unlikable characters I've read in awhile, and of course she is a woman. Kultgen has some real issues to say the least. How do I feel about Kultgen after reading this? While I almost feel guilty saying this, I found all of his books very entertaining. His sparse straight forward style makes his book fast reads (took me 2 weeks to read all 4 of them), and I am a sucker for hedonistic writers. No surprise the reviews on his books are very polarizing. Some have even compared him to Tucker Max, which I find ridiculous cause Max is awful, but he is no Ellis or Palahniuk either. So I guess I am still not sure how I feel about Kultgen, but I will read his next book.
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Dec 5, 2014 18:12
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I just finally finished reading Peter the Great by Robert K Massie. A really good book, although not quite as engrossing as Nicholas and Alexandra or Castles of Steel. I think next I want to read his book on Catherine the Great, because every time she comes up in this book he makes it pretty clear he finds her fascinating.
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Dec 6, 2014 16:48
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CNN Sports Ticker posted:I just finally finished reading Peter the Great by Robert K Massie. A really good book, although not quite as engrossing as Nicholas and Alexandra or Castles of Steel. I think next I want to read his book on Catherine the Great, because every time she comes up in this book he makes it pretty clear he finds her fascinating. I read his Catherine the Great book earlier this year and really liked it. I haven't read Peter the Great yet, but glad to hear it's good.
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Dec 6, 2014 17:28
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The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa. An elegant and enriching rumination on war, religion, and politics. I wish I could properly convey how much it moved me. Easily the best read of the entire year for me. I went into it blind and not knowing poo poo about Latin American lit and it's awakened an aching need for more in me. I'm Amazon linking it just to make it easy on the off chance that this gets people interested in reading it.
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Dec 8, 2014 06:19
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