What Did You Just Finish?

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > What Did You Just Finish?

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

This book was not so good. Gaiman's prose was drawn out and wooden, and overly clichéd producing many groaning eye-rolling moments. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural. The pacing was absolutely dreadful with unnecessary padding and filler stuffed between each shock "wouldn't it be cool if.." story beat. So many "wouldn't it be cool if.." moments made this book feel like a cheap novelisation of a graphic novel of sorts. While the book noticeably improved during the third and final part, mostly due to the tighter pacing and increased tempo of the plot, it is not enough to save the work as a whole. 2/5

# ¿ Jul 31, 2016 07:15

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# ¿ May 5, 2024 11:44

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

The Grey posted:

Also for what it's worth, I love Vonnegut but hated Catch-22.

Catch 22 is really good

# ¿ Oct 17, 2016 09:15

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Dfw sounds like an insufferable prick

# ¿ Feb 1, 2017 17:34

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

An interesting magic system is the number one thing I look for in a book

# ¿ Feb 15, 2017 12:44

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

VelociBacon posted:

I think it's one of those things that has to hit you at a certain point in your life, like a lot of fantasy/scifi stuff tbh. I'm 32 and came to adolescence watching Johnny Mnemonic and right as the internet etc was developing into what it is. It's still a guilty pleasure but I love me some cyberpunk.

32 and coming of age during the beginnings of the internet describes 90% if people on this forum. I don't really know what cyberpunk is or how its different from other forms of science fiction

Anyway I just finished The Crying of Lot 49

# ¿ May 16, 2017 08:31

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. A good book. The complex interactions and relationships of a wide cast of characters is reminiscent of the brothers k, which envelops an endearing story of friendship and adolescent discovery. An enjoyable read, looking forward to the next installment.

# ¿ Jun 17, 2017 13:35

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

i love a good synopsis in the style of the author

# ¿ Jul 2, 2017 21:56

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Captain Hotbutt posted:

The Mirage - Matt Ruff

An alternate history novel where Christian terrorists crash planes into "the Tigris & Euphrates World Trade Towers in Baghdad, and a third into the Arab Defense Ministry in Riyadh. The fourth plane, believed to be bound for Mecca, is brought down by its passengers."

There surely must be a word for this particular sort of awful

# ¿ Jul 9, 2017 23:40

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

more like Andrew Groan

# ¿ Jul 24, 2017 18:28

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

First stop on my exploration of Indonesian literature is Potions and Paper Cranes by Lan Fang, published in English by Dalang Publishing and translated by Elisabet Titik Murtisari.

This is a tragic and violent love story between a quarrelsome Indonesian couple and a geisha set during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia during the Second World War. The narrative is framed as a retelling and each character gets their chance to speak their version of events. As such the tone is conversational and reflective which is an interesting stylistic choice however the language is quite simple and ponderous at times which I think is this book's main failing. There is a good story and good characters in here just needing a bit more linguistic vision to bring it out, though whether the author or the translator is to blame is impossible to say

# ¿ Aug 8, 2017 10:41

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Mne nravitsya posted:

Sorry, I'm just not a fan of superhero type elements in my fantasy books.

drat finally somebody speaking my language

# ¿ Dec 26, 2017 19:32

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

The Left Hand of Darkness. Really cool, enjoyed the whole anthropological framing of it all. Can't believe it's taken til now to read some Le Guin. Rip

# ¿ Feb 5, 2018 15:46

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Jedit posted:

I've never understood what people see in The Wasp Factory. It bored the hell out of me.

Also it uses the trope of trans person is a psycho, which I thought would have made it persona non grata in this corner of the Internet.

An old boss of mine gave this book to me to read cuz he was a huge banks fan and it really didn't grab me at all. the twist at the end feels really contrived and completely irrelevant to the rest of the book. Anyway we never got on all that well after I gave it back to him and told him it sucked

# ¿ Feb 9, 2018 16:58

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Three Men in a Boat. A good yarn made more interesting by the fact that I live within the immediate vicinity of where some of it takes place

# ¿ Feb 19, 2018 17:58

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

A human heart posted:

You live in a boat? That's a wild coincidence

Don't we all, in some way, live in a boat?

# ¿ Feb 20, 2018 00:23

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I finished The Count of Monte Cristo and it was probably a big waste of time

# ¿ Apr 2, 2018 18:27

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

chernobyl kinsman posted:

did you think there was like a surprise at the end or what

like I think i knew there was no way it was gonna happen but I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more if everything went horribly wrong instead

# ¿ Apr 2, 2018 23:26

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Really good. Takes place before and during the Nigerian Civil War. Love to read novels about the devastating effects of (de)colonisation.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2018 22:04

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Zola posted:

Finally picked up Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

The writing was good, but the plot left me underwhelmed, I was a bit disappointed. I think it's because I disagree with several of of the premises expressed by Crake so it kept pulling me out of the narrative.

One of them was the idea that all the easily mined metal was gone. The deeper mines aren't gone, though, nor are sources of already-mined metal like iron and copper

Another was the idea that the loss of one generation was enough to disrupt everything. I don't think that's true either. If a group of humans know something can be done, they will figure out how to do it, even if it takes years.

While I did enjoy the book, for me it lacked the immediacy and sense of a possible reality that was present in The Handmaid's Tale.

drat, sounds like she needed to spend more time world building

# ¿ Aug 13, 2018 19:07

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

BurningBeard posted:

I don't think you're discussing in good faith but whatever I'll bite.

It's not at all. It is, however, pretty snotty to speak in such a way that you place yourself in a position of imagined authority on the subject and to pass judgement on others for recommending something that runs counter to your ridiculous standard.

I read a lot of threads though and this is kind of your shtick so I shouldn't be surprised.

Actually I've read loads of books including Neil Gaimans American Gods so my position of authority when it comes to saying Neil Gaiman is bad is in fact very real my friend

# ¿ Aug 17, 2018 07:17

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Bareback Werewolf posted:

I just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I actually loaned my mother the book before reading it and she sent it back after only reading like 70 pages. Oddly enough she wasn't weirded out by the prostitute sucking the dude up in her vagina but by Laura coming back from the dead.

I liked the book, but Shadow was an incredibly dull main character.

I really liked the scene where Shadow was being ferried across the lake in the afterlife by Mr. Ibis and had his heart weighed against a feather

I wish Gaiman would have done more interesting scenes like that with other mythologies.

But what did you think of the prose?

# ¿ Aug 30, 2018 12:11

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Ohtori Akio posted:

I picked up Confessions of a Mask and Thirst For Love recently. I might hit the tetralogy after those.

I recently read Spring Snow, the first of the tetralogy after having read Temple of the Golden Pavilion many years ago. Its a striking and powerful novel and can't wait to sink into the next one

# ¿ Feb 6, 2024 18:08

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Also I just finished Earthlings by Sayaka Murata. It's light and breezy to read tho goes much harder than Convenience Store Woman. Not sure what to call these types of novels. Its like a light snack, or palete cleanser between heavier courses at a meal. Enjoyable, but not too much to chew on for better or for worse

# ¿ Feb 6, 2024 18:13

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Alt-history peaked with Harry Turtledove

# ¿ Feb 9, 2024 16:48

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Just finished Seiobo There Below by Laszlo Krasznahorkai and it was quite incredible. I was definitely expecting something more along the lines of his earlier work (Satantango, The Melancholy of Resistance), but far from being harrowing and relentless this is beautiful, exuberant, and joyful. Still in his signature continously flowing style the prose practically sings to you, building tension, repeating and modulating phrases, all in service of a sublime vibe which carries you inexorably to a great climax and release. A poignant moment as each chapter concludes with the final chord still echoing in your ears long after you've read the final words. This is a book as a work of art which is about the celebration of art, the creation of art, and the human condition of being in the presence of great art. I think it might just be my new favourite of Krasznahorkai's works.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2024 14:59

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

aldantefax posted:

I see what you did there.

I thought no one would notice hehe

# ¿ Mar 7, 2024 21:38

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Golf is cool and fun. Golf players however are not

# ¿ Mar 26, 2024 14:30

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Snow by Orhan Pamuk.

Pamuk is probably one of my favourite authors. Snow is an interesting book in that it is of a very specific place and time and is very political which will probably resonate much differently if it is something you're attuned to. Nonetheless Pamuk once again tells a charming and earnest story about some very normal, complicated, simple people, which is what he does best. He is a master of elevating the mundane and burrowing deep into characters and exposing their inner workings and in this he's set it against the backdrop of a very specific political conflict. He also plays around with the framing a bit which he is wont to do. Not my favourite of his novels but I also don't think he's ever written a bad book

# ¿ Mar 26, 2024 15:54

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I can't remember a single thing about the alchemist including why I read it in the first place

# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 12:31

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# ¿ May 5, 2024 11:44

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

This started off a bit slow. And the prose felt cloyingly twee. Although as I read through I became less certain of the prose being an affectation of the author and more probably of the main characters, who are presented mostly as children. In the end it's an interesting story artfully told and well structured. I enjoyed the book despite my early misgivings and by all accounts Arundhati Roy seems like a cool person irl so I would recommend reading this book

# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 08:47

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