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Astrognome posted:The Library at Mount Char The Library at Mount Char strikes a weird chord with me that has only ever been struck before by Rick and Morty. Anisocoria Feldman posted:I've finished the first two and just don't feel like I can go on with the series. As was stated, it's hard to determine how much of MZD's motivation is experimentation with the form vs. marketing/profit. I just can't justify plopping down $15 27 times. The characters and slowly-forming plot are mostly interesting and the graphical aspect is neat too. The Narcons in Book 1 were especially fascinating. Apparently Book 5 is the finale of "Season 1" and my pretentiousness limit has been breached so I'm likely done with it. And yet I remain curious about what kind of story this is that Danielewski thinks it'll take 27 volumes to tell. As someone who was a pretty diehard House of Leaves fan in college but bounced off Only Revelutions pretty hard, how far would you say I'd get into it?
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Apr 20, 2017 08:15
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Lawen posted:...go on Yea, the need to update the cover.
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Apr 20, 2017 08:56
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Solitair posted:
I enjoyed House of Leaves immensely, but haven't checked out Only Revolutions because of poor reviews. I think you'd make it about as far as I did: two books in and severely questioning whether the rest is worth it. It's not so much that the story will take 27 volumes to tell, it's that a considerable amount of pages are mostly sans text in service to the graphic design aspect of the books. If this were a "traditional" novel I'm sure he could tell the story in 400 pages or less.
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Apr 20, 2017 19:46
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York_M_Chan posted:I just read The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break and really enjoyed it. Basically The Minotaur (of mythology) now works as a line cook in a restaurant in South Carolina. It kind of reminded me of Tom Robbins mixed with Erskine Caldwell, two of my favorite writers. It is an honest but not over-dramatic look at the south and modern day masculinity. It is a quick, easy read that I highly recommend. I loved this as well, don't see it mentioned much. He just wrote a sequel of sorts, but I haven't read it yet.
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Apr 20, 2017 22:17
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Day of the Jackal. That was a really, really smart read. Lots of fun, very tense. I'm happy to read something less exciting now.
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Apr 20, 2017 22:27
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Just finished Slaughterhouse Five and enjoyed it a lot. The prose style and content reminded me a lot of The Things They Carried, though I've never read that one all the way through, just an excerpt for a class I had to prepare for. The direct and matter-of-fact telling pairs well with the weird narrative structure because it keeps everything grounded while things are rolling around.
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Apr 21, 2017 04:06
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I recently zipped through The Not-Quite States of America, by Doug Mack. As someone who admittedly knew almost nothing about the various US territories beyond some very basic knowledge of Puerto Rico before I picked up this book, I found it to be an enjoyably informative read.
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Apr 24, 2017 18:42
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Station Eleven A post apocalyptic dystopia genre fiction book that's better than 90% of genre fiction books. It has an incredibly interesting plot thread that intertwines all of the characters, and there are more than a few handfuls of drop dead gorgeous prose. Highly recommend.
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Apr 25, 2017 00:41
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Gaiman's Norse Mythology - I loved Greek and Roman and Egyptian and Authurian mythology as a kid but never really read Norse stuff. I would've loved this. It isn't a comprehensive encyclopedia, just Gaiman retelling some Norse myths in a very Gaiman-y storytelling voice that makes you want to read it aloud. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins - mentioned a couple times recently in this thread or the recommendation thread, which is why I picked it up. Really, really enjoyed it. I think a lot of authors would have just called this book done at about the 80% mark but I really appreciated the way it was wrapped up. I've been recommending it to people irl since I finished it. Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey - probably also heard about this here? Magician Hitman Badass escapes from Hell to be noir as gently caress and avenge a dame in modern LA. I liked it more than the handful of Dresden books I've tried but that's kinda damning with faint praise. It was a fun read though.
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Apr 25, 2017 03:11
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Loving Life Partner posted:Station Eleven Station Eleven is cool because you hear post-apocalyptic novel you think a band of survivors rebuilding society or hunting other humans in the wood, but really it's an exploration of identity and human experience through creativity and how that fits into the world and the mankind's survival; the survivor stuff is there though. Using a theater troupe as the band of survivors is a fun idea too, and has historical precendence.
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Apr 25, 2017 03:19
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We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor. Saw it talked about here and picked it up. The quick pitch of "The Martian but with an AI clone of a software engineer geek running a space probe in the future" sums it up pretty well. It's a good popcorn read. It's pretty light, lot of comic tone with some action moments and I sped through it. I've also seen someone compare it to "Ready Player One". Don't worry, it isn't like that. Bob is a Star Trek nerd and the are a bunch of references to that it and some other sci-fi stuff, but notm major beating you over the head with it all. No "Ohhh it's just like episode blah blah and I can solve the problem copying it exactly!" The sci-fi problem solving are fun without being full of techbobabble slurge or taking too long. Other characters are introduced without breaking the "wooo I'm a spaceship!" vibes. Like so much new sf/f it's part of a series, with sequal hooks clearly built in. But the book has a solid ending, letting it be a complete stand alone story. DroneRiff fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Apr 27, 2017 |
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Apr 27, 2017 20:17
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DroneRiff posted:We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor. Saw it talked about here and picked it up. The quick pitch of "The Martian but with an AI clone of a software engineer geek running a space probe in the future" sums it up pretty well. It's a good popcorn read. It's pretty light, lot of comic tone with some action moments and I sped through it. I just finished the second book in the series and although it still had the same fun entertainment value it wasn't able to tackle as many big themes as the first one. I did feel like its starting to suffer from an overabundance of "main" characters a bit. I had trouble keeping track of the different AI's as independent characters. It also definitely felt like a setup book for the (presumably) third novel in the series, with the ending somewhat weak on resolution. I posted something similar in the audiobook thread, but the narrated version of these books are great both because of the quality of the narrator, but also having the several main characters voiced by the same person using slightly different voices and speech patterns was very fitting with the theme of the books.
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Apr 27, 2017 21:00
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Survivor by Chuck Paluniak I enjoyed Haunted and Choke. Survivor, not so much. It had the base of a good story about the struggles of the lone survivor of a suicide cult. His writing style was all about continually throwing in random details, often with the appearance of trying to be edgy. Someone here once said that they liked Paluniak less the more they read of him. I hope that's not the case and this book was just an anomaly.
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Apr 28, 2017 01:41
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I'm sorry but it wasn't. The good news is Choke is his best book
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Apr 28, 2017 01:56
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Afraid by Jack Kilborn and J.A. Konrath Wow. What a thoroughly stupid and entertaining book. Plot is that a team of death row serial killers get trained/brainwashed/modified by "The Government" to become on-demand terrorists that global governments can use to spread terror and death wherever they want. Then, of course, they get unleashed on a sleepy Wisconsin town on accident and have to get taken down by a hard-boiled, grizzled detective and a rambunctious diner waitress while "The Government" tries to keep everything under wraps by quarantining the town. I picked this up having read Jack Kilborn's short stories, which were really good for what they were. Gory, nasty, little doses of entertainment. I don't think it worked as well in long form. The gist of the story was pretty obvious early on, and more often than not I only read forward to see what the conclusion was going to end up being. Airport fiction, through and through. I still managed to finish it, which is more than I can say of a lot of airport fiction. If you like dumb, readable horror it's a good pick. Demian by Herman Hesse Decided to offset Afraid by reading some "PROPER LITERATURE." I've read other Hesse, and I felt that this was his weakest. It got a little too mystical for my tastes without justifying itself. (e.g. Being able to "will" events into existence by concentrating on them enough and telepathically being able to "call out" to other characters.) It was a coming of age story of a boy in pre-WW1 Germany who meets a friend and mentor who he crosses paths with several times between his youth and adulthood. The novel covers the major "awakenings" in his life. I enjoyed it, but it felt like territory that Hesse had covered before and better in Siddhartha or Steppenwolf. Though, it could very well have been the translation. I had a horrible time finding a good translation. Bazanga fucked around with this message at 04:42 on Apr 28, 2017 |
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Apr 28, 2017 04:35
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The Grey posted:Survivor by Chuck Paluniak "Continually throwing in random details" is how Palahniuk writes most of his books, and I think it's also why people like him less the more of his they read. If any of his other books have a story or setting that appeal to you I'd definitely give it a go, but if you're planning to work your way through his bibliography I think you'll soon be tired of it. That said, I'll always love Fight Club and Haunted. Stay away from Snuff, though.
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Apr 28, 2017 10:36
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I read the Squirrel Girl novel, and it was a neat little read. Basically exactly what you'd expect from a Squirrel Girl novel.
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Apr 28, 2017 15:00
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The Grey posted:Survivor by Chuck Paluniak From memory, Survivor was the book that came after Fight Club and it read to me like he was trying to recreate the previous book much to its detriment.
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Apr 28, 2017 15:08
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Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway -It was good? I'm not trying to be smart-rear end, but for me it was a decent read that I picked up for the historical significance, but for entertainment value it wasn't great. I liked For Whom the Bell Tolls far more as the main character had more of a background and it had a strong sense of fatalism, plus the setting in Spain was fascinating. The Last Policeman trilogy (The Last Policeman, Countdown City, World of Trouble) by Ben H. Winters -I enjoyed this series (I picked it up after it was recommended in this thread.) The author has good pacing that helps the dystopia unfold in a believable manner. The series doesn't get too ambitious (we don't have the hero travel the globe or go into space). An entertaining light read, and you can get through each one in a few days. The first book is the strongest but they stay pretty good. I was glad the book stuck with the premise and let the asteroid hit the Earth without a cop-out. I like the author pointing out how the world falling into turmoil was entirely self-inflicted, and the asteroid hadn't done anything to make people turn on each other. One quibble is the hero being badly injured over and over again. It seemed unnecessary that the author felt the need to maim him at least once per book. For the rest of the series sticking to reasonable realism, having him survive serious injuries every book strained the narrative. Wonder Boys - Michael Chabon -I liked this a ton. Enjoyable characters, and the writer's struggle to finish a novel was engaging. Not as good as Yiddish Policemen's Union, but I liked it more than Kavalier and Klay. Pastoralia & In Persuasion Nation - George Saunders -Also picked these up off Book Barn recommendations. I'm not the most educated reader but I enjoyed about 2/3s of the stories. I especially liked "Pastoralia", "Sea Oak", "I CAN SPEAK!", and "My Flamboyant Grandson". I didn't really understand ones like "CommComm". I am currently working through Tenth of December and it is excellent.
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Apr 28, 2017 23:57
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I just finished the white company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was entertaining and super pro english.
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Apr 29, 2017 12:25
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Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People I knew the basic of Jonestown but this is an almost 700 page biography of Jim Jones and those around him. The author, Tim Reiterman, was actually one of the reporters that was shot at on the runway when the congressman and reporters were killed.. It is insanely thorough and he really does everything he can to make sure facts are checked and stories are accurate. This was a fascinating read and with as many people and places that are involved I never found it confusing. If you are at all interested in the Jonestown story I don't think there is a better source.
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May 1, 2017 20:24
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Blood Bound--Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #2) I enjoyed this one more than the previous Moon Called. Briggs widens the scope on her world of coyote mechanics, douchebag vampires and raging bro-werewolves by introducing a new villain. The romantic angle wasn't as irritating as before, but that could just be the Stockholm syndrome settling in. Mercy is still Mercy, meaning she vacillates between being a clear headed heroine and having the emotional maturity of a twelve year old. Still, I'll read the next one.
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May 2, 2017 01:30
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I just finished Post Office by Bukowski, my first Bukowski book. I enjoyed it quite a bit although the style didn't totally resonate with me. I'd love to read some of the women's perspectives on their relationships with him. It didn't leave me with a burning desire to read more of his books right away but I'm keeping them on my "to read" list for down the line. It was much easier reading than I expected.
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May 2, 2017 01:46
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No one reads Bukowski for the woman's perspective
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May 2, 2017 05:14
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Acts of Worship: Seven Stories The Sound of Waves Madame De Sade - Yukio Mishima Acts of Worship has 3 super-standout stories (Sword, Act of Worship, Sea and Sunset) and the others were decent. Sound of Waves was excellent, if a little simple regarding plot and characters. Madame De Sade didn't really connect with me at all. Some decent sections but a letdown. Human Acts - Han Kang Pretty good, but the book she wrote before (The Vegetarian) is supposed to be better. It certainly shines a light on an event I had no idea about. The last chapter is a little too meta but didn't really spoil what came before.
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May 2, 2017 18:25
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The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu When I first bought this short story collection, I was riding high from reading The Three Body Problem and wanted to read more of the author's work. Now that I've finished it, I'm not looking forward to reading The Dark Forest and Death's End anymore. So many stories in this book rely on high concept, character-light ideas and apocalypses that have no impact and just feel like sound and fury after the fourth or fifth one in quick succession. The most ridiculous story is one in which Liu inserts himself into the story, and writes himself and his friend causing the cyberpocalypse in a drunken stupor. Not every story in the collection is bad, but none of them have any subtlety at all. What a disappointment.
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May 4, 2017 19:46
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The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco I really don't get the hype behind this book. I didn't know much about the book before reading it, but this was one of the first books in a while that I nearly gave up on. While the ending was somewhat rewarding/cathartic, I straight up skipped a few of the passages later in the book that seemed like they were going into religious visions and arcana of catholic history (which really, I can't think of many things I'd care less to read about).
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May 5, 2017 02:37
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Colonel Taint posted:I straight up skipped a few of the passages later in the book that seemed like they were going into religious visions and arcana of catholic history (which really, I can't think of many things I'd care less to read about). why, uh, why were you reading Eco at all
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May 5, 2017 03:48
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chernobyl kinsman posted:why, uh, why were you reading Eco at all They were all out of The DaVinci Code.
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May 5, 2017 03:54
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Colonel Taint posted:The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco That stuff is cool and why wouldn't you want to read about it
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May 5, 2017 06:45
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Every time Eco listed things or actions in The Name of the Rose was awesome.
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May 5, 2017 08:42
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chernobyl kinsman posted:why, uh, why were you reading Eco at all Someone recommended Eco for people who like Neal Stephenson books, which I mostly enjoy. I really enjoyed Anathem so I thought reading another book, this time about actual monks, might be OK. I'm not saying it was all bad. I get that there was probably a lot of symbolism in the visions/dreams etc but I just couldn't care about it or the esoteric history stuff. Just not my cup of tea really. Colonel Taint fucked around with this message at 12:45 on May 5, 2017 |
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May 5, 2017 12:12
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Colonel Taint posted:Someone recommended Eco for people who like Neal Stephenson books, which I mostly enjoy. I really enjoyed Anathem so I thought reading another book, this time about actual monks, might be OK. I'm not saying it was all bad. I get that there was probably a lot of symbolism in the visions/dreams etc but I just couldn't care about it or the esoteric history stuff. Just not my cup of tea really. I love Eco and I love Stephenson, but man I would never recommend one based on the other. But Eco is pretty consistent, so Foucault's Pendulum probably won't be your cup of tea. (You should still read it.)
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May 5, 2017 14:49
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The Snowden Files - Luke Harding Excellent detail into not only the surveillance abuses the United States has committed against its allies, but the deception involved in mitigating the fallout from the Snowden revelations. Also, the detail of the account of the first meeting between Snowden / Greenwald / Poitras / MacAskill is far greater than any of the movies on the subject-- Citizenfour etc.
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May 5, 2017 16:46
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The Chilling Stillness of Lizmy Deadman - Raspy Trashfucker This little-known spinoff of the Babys Mange series is more intimate in scope, but manages to still be thought-provoking even without its predecessor's time- and space-spanning themes on identity and mortality. In fact, the concerns of its main character are all the more relatable without the outlandish Taoist fantasy elements. It's commonly criticized for being little more than a variety of circumstances where Lizmy inconveniences, enrages, or perplexes black men by not moving; but that's a reductionist view. Every occurrence grows so organically out of the narrative and characterizations that it's hard to imagine any other way it could go. Most readers don't even notice that black (or black-presenting) men are constantly being frustrated by the main character's Stillness unless someone points it out to them. ★★★★☆
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May 11, 2017 22:29
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Octagon by Fred Saberhagen I'll admit that I bought this book off the clearance rack based mostly on the cover. I enjoy reading weird old sci-fi books that don't age well. This one was written in 1982. I remember reading some of Saberhagen's Berzerker books as a kid and enjoying them, although I'm not sure if I would still think that today. There is this new turn based strategy game going on that has a bunch of players.This being the early 80's and the players scattered throughout the country, everyone is playing by snail mail. You mail your moves to the game HQ, they process everyone's turns, then mail the results back out to the players. Normally you'd only think of neckbeards playing this sort of thing, but this game has: - Hero dude who just got out of the military - Hero's super rich and technically cutting edge uncle. (He has robots rolling around his house acting as servants.) - A theology professor in Chicago - An "athletic and tall 20-year old woman who could be mistaken for a man if it wasn't for her large breasts" - Some loser nerd who just got divorced and gets killed off early - A smart 12-year kid who's grandfather works for Los Alamos The kid ends up hacking into Los Alamos using his grandfather's modem. He gets on their Cray Supercomputer to help plan his moves, and then we get a War Games scenario where the Supercomputer thinks the game is real life and starts trying to kill off the kid's competition. This is no ordinary computer though, it can reach into any network and take it over. At one point it takes over an automated factory and builds that wheelchair death-bot thing you see on the cover, complete with one hand for holding a pistol and one hand for choking. I'm not quite sure how it managed to get up stairs and curbs to murder though. As is frequently the case with old sci-fi male authors, the woman and sex are laughable. There is a scene where the hero and another woman have sex and are cuddling in each other's arms afterwards. The dialog literally goes like this: quote:He stroked her and asked curiously: "Why don't you shave under your arms?" I wouldn't call this book "good", but it is enjoyable. The Grey fucked around with this message at 00:29 on May 14, 2017 |
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May 14, 2017 00:27
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The Grey posted:- An "athletic and tall 20-year old woman who could be mistaken for a man if it wasn't for her large breasts"  Thank you for the laugh, I needed this today.
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May 14, 2017 01:47
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All Systems Red by Martha Wells. Tiny little novella at 149 pages, but mostly fun. A secretly free-willed combat robot is assigned as security to a scientific expedition and poo poo starts going wrong but the self-proclaimed Murderbot would rather watch soap operas. Not much of a plot and most of the characters are thin on the ground, but it's the closest thing to a novella from the perspective of HK-47 that I've ever seen. Worth a checkout from the library, imo, but I chewed through it in a couple of hours.
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May 14, 2017 02:29
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Cythereal posted:All Systems Red by Martha Wells. Tiny little novella at 149 pages, but mostly fun. Seconded. The opening lines: quote:I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don’t know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.
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May 14, 2017 05:21
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Just finished Snow Crash. Was good.
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May 15, 2017 02:16
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