Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
Lunchmeat Larry
Nov 3, 2012

im going to drown my son in the nile

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Radio!
Mar 15, 2008

Look at that post.

Enfys posted:

Awww boo, I was going to get that recently in a sale but was busy over the holidays and forgot.

I read it on scribd, so if you don't mind reading on the computer you can probably sign up for a free trial and read it for free.

Gertrude Perkins
May 1, 2010

Gun Snake

dont talk to gun snake

Drops: human teeth

Franchescanado posted:

Black Boy by Richard Wright

Added to the list! Thanks~

mdemone
Mar 14, 2001

1. Jerusalem - Alan Moore7, 17
2. A Billion Wicked Thoughts - Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam3, 22
3. Herman (The Game Warden, The Death of a Craft) - Laszlo Krasznahorkai9
4. The Atrocity Exhibition - J.G. Ballard8, 18
5. The Last Wolf - Laszlo Krasznahorkai9
6. The Kingdom of This World - Alejo Carpentier3, 9, 12
7. Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey3, 8
8. Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel2, 12, 13
9. Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens - Laszlo Krasznahorkai9, 10
10. Sudden Death - Alvaro Enrigue9
11. Caligula for President - Cintra Wilson2, 19
12. The Dark Highlander - Karen Marie Moning2, 22
----end of January
13. Universal Harvester - John Darnielle7, 21?



1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 7/100
2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 1/20
3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 3/20
4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author.
5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it.
6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) --> Human Acts - Han Kang2, 3, 9, 12
7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016).
8) Read something which was published before you were born.
9) Read something in translation.
10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel.
11) Read something political.
12) Read something historical.
12a) Read something about the First World War.
13) Read something biographical.
14) Read some poetry.
15) Read a play.
16) Read a collection of short stories.
17) Read something long (500+ pages).
18) Read something which was banned or censored.
19) Read a satire.
20) Read something about honour.
21) Read something about fear.
22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins.
23) Read something that you love.
24) Read something from a non-human perspective.

mdemone fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Feb 9, 2017

Bilirubin
Feb 16, 2014

The sanctioned action is to CHUG


Put me in for 30 and the challenge
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/61729436?shelf=%23ALL%23

Old Story
Jun 2, 2006

Oven Wrangler
Someone gimme a wild card over here.

Started the year with John Gardner's Grendel, fulfilling the non-human perspective.

E: is Goodreads good? What is it. I'm old

Old Story fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Jan 9, 2017

mdemone
Mar 14, 2001

I'm gonna need a ruling on how many booklord items Wolf Hall fulfills. I say historical and biographical but I will bow to the thread's consensus.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

mdemone posted:

I'm gonna need a ruling on how many booklord items Wolf Hall fulfills. I say historical and biographical but I will bow to the thread's consensus.

It was mentioned that the goal is for each book to qualify as one criteria except for non-white and female authors.

mdemone
Mar 14, 2001

Franchescanado posted:

It was mentioned that the goal is for each book to qualify as one criteria except for non-white and female authors.

Curses, foiled! Not that I'll struggle to fulfill it either way.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


Old Story posted:

E: is Goodreads good? What is it. I'm old
It's just a convenient way to track what you've read and find other stuff to read. Ignore the aggregate ratings, they're meaningless, but some of the reviews are useful.

Sandwolf
Jan 23, 2007

i'll be harpo


Someone could make a 2017 TBB Challenge page on GoodReads!

Grizzled Patriarch
Mar 27, 2014

These dentures won't stop me from tearing out jugulars in Thunderdome.



Old Story posted:

Someone gimme a wild card over here.


Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo.

Balaeniceps
May 29, 2010
I'm in. Had a terrible 2016 with too many distractions and only read 10 books, hopefully I can put things right this year.

Name: Balaeniceps
Number: 26
Booklord: I'll try

My goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1006089-robert

Balaeniceps fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Jan 10, 2017

Old Story
Jun 2, 2006

Oven Wrangler

Grizzled Patriarch posted:

Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo.

Thanks goon

Stupid_Sexy_Flander
Mar 14, 2007

Is a man not entitled to the haw of his maw?
Grimey Drawer
I forgot to do it last year, so I'm in for this year.

80 sounds like a nice round number.

Not going for any specific challenges though, I'm not a fan of checklists.

I'll update this post later on with the stuff I've gotten read so far.

THE ROAD SO FAR:
1: Waking Gods - Sylvain Neuval
2: Sleeping Giants ARC - Sylvain Neuvel
3: Super City Cops : Undercover Blues - Keith R. DeCandido
4: Super City Cops : Avenging Amethyst - Keith R. DeCandido
5: Gryphon Precinct - Keith R. Decandido
6: Goblin Precinct - Keith R. Decandido
7: Unicorn Precinct - Keith R. Decandido
8: Dragon Precinct - Keith R. Decandido
9: Penric's Demon - Lois McMaster Bujold
10: One Fell Sweep - Ilona Andrews
11: Immortal and the Island of Impossible Things - Gene Doucette
12: Flash - Susan Griffith
13: Kingston Raine and the Grim Reaper - Jackson Lear
14: The Cambion Cycle - John G. Hartness


Waking Gods/Sleeping Giants is kinda cool. It's sort of The Iron Giant meets Evangelion meets Gundam in a weird way, but also nothing like that at all. Worth checking out if you like big robot books though. Sci Fi but it's pretty hard sci fi (except for the alien tech).

Super City Cops is a police procedural in a world where superheroes exist, and I love those books. The Dragon Precinct books are a fantasy world police procedural. Highly recommend all of them if you are looking for something that's like a crime solving book but involving either superheroes or just fantasy stuff.

Penric's Demon was apparently the start of some series but it didn't really click too well with me.

One Fell Sweep is the latest book in an Innkeeper romance series that's Urban Fantasy, but while it is romance it's not porn, and generally is a neat adventure book with some feel good moments.

Immortal and the Island of Impossible Things is pretty cool. If you have read the other books in the series and liked em, you'll dig this.

Flash was neat. I'm a sucker for the TV show and this is a novel of a new series of stories based off the show (and Arrow). It was a pretty good read.

Kingston Raine was great. Basically, somehow Death manages to kill a fictional character (i.e. out of a book he was reading) and things get... complicated.

The Cambion Cycle is the year 2 anthology of short stories from Hartness in the Quincy Harker series. Pretty good series and on Kindle Unlimited if you wanna give it a shot.

Stupid_Sexy_Flander fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Jan 15, 2017

AnonymousNarcotics
Aug 6, 2012

we will go far into the sea
you will take me
onto your back
never look back
never look back
I'm in! Going for 40 books this year. I mostly stick to one genre (shitloads of dystopian fiction, lots of it YA but who cares) but I guess I'll try to branch out too. Not specifically going for the booklord challenge but I'll consider it.

So far this year I've finished 2 books. Got into this series I couldn't put down and I'm almost done with the 3rd one.

1. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
2. Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
3. Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi
3a. Roar and Liv by Veronica Rossi
3b. Brooke by Veronica Rossi
4. Wither by Lauren DeStefano
5. Fever by Lauren DeStefano
6. Sever by Lauren DeStefano
7. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
8. The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau
9. The Leftovers by Tom Perratta.
10. When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
11. The Jewel by Amy Ewing
12. The White Rose by Amy Ewing
13. The Black Key by Amy Ewing

AnonymousNarcotics fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Mar 13, 2017

potatocubed
Jul 26, 2012

*rathian noises*

mdemone posted:

Right then:

Don't mind me, just stealing your system.

1. The Good Immigrant; Nikesh Shukla (ed.)
2. The Three-Body Problem; Cixin Liu
3. The Complete Works of Kahlil Gibran

1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 1/26
2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 0/6
3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 1/6
4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author.
5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it.
6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!)
7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016).
8) Read something which was published before you were born.
9) Read something in translation.
10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel.
11) Read something political.
12) Read something historical.
12a) Read something about the First World War.
13) Read something biographical.
14) Read some poetry.
15) Read a play.
16) Read a collection of short stories.
17) Read something long (500+ pages).
18) Read something which was banned or censored.
19) Read a satire.
20) Read something about honour.
21) Read something about fear.
22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins.
23) Read something that you love.
24) Read something from a non-human perspective.

USMC_Karl
Nov 17, 2003

SUPPORTER OF THE REINSTATED LAWFUL HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT. HAOLES GET OFF DA `AINA.
So just to keep the thread rolling and maybe spark a bit of conversation, just finished my first book (Catch 22) and am already glad I took part in this challenge.

The first 100 pages or so where funny and interesting, I definitely caught myself chuckling at some of the funnier sections and just generally having a good time. After that first 100 or so, the book became a little tedious for me. I honestly think I would have abandoned it if it hadn't been for the overriding urge to not be an Internet loser, so I stuck with it. The penultimate chapter was definitely a departure from the ridiculous slapstick of the preceding chapters, and it's sudden dive into darkness and depression definitely "made" the book for me. The last chapter was, in all honestly, kind of lame. I don't know how else it could have ended, but having that ending was kind of a let down after the walk through Rome.

All in all, glad I read Catch 22. The funny parts were funny, the sad parts, while few and far between, were all the more striking because of their sudden occurrence. For example, the disappearance of Orr struck me as particularly sad. That spoiler might be the reason why I find the ending to be a bit of a let down. Also, maybe this is partly due to my job (editing English translations of Korean and Japanese patents), but the writing style was a huge turn off. Having page long sentences with 30 adjectives crammed into them just seemed to much like trying to edit horribly written patents (basically all patents), so I wasn't really able to enjoy some of the sections that I'm sure others found to be entertaining.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


USMC_Karl posted:

For example, the disappearance of Orr struck me as particularly sad. That spoiler might be the reason why I find the ending to be a bit of a let down.

Wait, did you not get that Orr had faked his death to get out of the war? I thought that was incredibly obvious, to the point that I was really annoyed at Yossarian for not immediately realising that's what happened.

Sandwolf
Jan 23, 2007

i'll be harpo


Tiggum posted:

Wait, did you not get that Orr had faked his death to get out of the war? I thought that was incredibly obvious, to the point that I was really annoyed at Yossarian for not immediately realising that's what happened.

Same, same, completely same.

Also I thought that McWatt's death was by far the saddest. It's handled so plainly, but somehow that managed to evoke even more emotion from me.

USMC_Karl
Nov 17, 2003

SUPPORTER OF THE REINSTATED LAWFUL HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT. HAOLES GET OFF DA `AINA.

Tiggum posted:

Wait, did you not get that Orr had faked his death to get out of the war? I thought that was incredibly obvious, to the point that I was really annoyed at Yossarian for not immediately realising that's what happened.

Sandwolf posted:

Same, same, completely same.

Also I thought that McWatt's death was by far the saddest. It's handled so plainly, but somehow that managed to evoke even more emotion from me.


I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most observant reader in the world. However, I didn't really get that from the reading. Orr is never explicitly marked as dead, but disappearing after a water landing seems pretty deadly to me. Granted, we are talking about the world of Catch-22 where all kinds of goofy poo poo happens, but I just kind of accepted the situation without questioning it too much. That being said all of the practicing made sense to me when Yossarian realized it, and then the whole "why don't you fly with me" spiel clicked. I guess I read that section just how the reader was intended to, because I was just as surprised as Yossarian.

Also, I didn't really find McWatt's death too sad. Nately buying the bullet was probably second for me.

Sandwolf
Jan 23, 2007

i'll be harpo


I've just finished God Knows by Joseph Heller with a pretty resounding "meh." Don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable book, I got a couple pretty good laughs out of it, and some quotes carried a lot more weight than I anticipated.

But. The book is too long, meanders around actually telling the story too frequently, repeats conversations and thoughts so often that you may begin thinking they're causing you deja vu. Similarly, I think I got more out of the story because I've had to read the Bible books being satirized (12 years of parochial school wooo), allowing for all sorts of little Biblical in jokes and references. And the ending sort of just occurs, with the major conflict being hinted at all book being resolved in two pages on the whim of David.

Soooo, it was a good book, I enjoyed it enough to want to seek out Picture This and Closing Time (and that's it, no other Heller), but it requires some foreknowledge and would have benefited from some more editing.

On to Notes from Underground!

coolusername
Aug 23, 2011

cooltitletext
I'm entering the fray!

Name: Deathbot
Number: 100.
Booklord challenge: Not this time.

What I've read in January so far.

  1. Mary Renault: Fire From Heaven.
  2. Mary Renault: Persian Boy.
  3. Becky Chambers: A closed and common orbit.
  4. China Mieville: The Last Days of New Paris.

Mr. Squishy
Mar 22, 2010

A country where you can always get richer.

Sandwolf posted:

It's handled so plainly,

I get it

Ben Nevis
Jan 20, 2011
So I'll for the most part be confining my updates to the end of the month, but I figured I may try this year to do some more detailed reviews if anything sticks out partway through the month. Part of this decision is due to the book I just finished, Umami by Laia Jufresa. I saw this on the library's new book shelves and grabbed it because I remembered seeing it on NPR's Best Books of 2016.

Umami is a book set in Belldrop Mews in Mexico City. It focuses on the losses of it's inhabitants. One family has lost a daughter, another has had the mother run away, and the landlord has lost his wife. It's interestingly told, with each chapter taking place in 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, and 2000 in sequence. Each year is narrated by a different occupant so it changes focus from a young girl building a garden in the yard, to a struggling artist, a recent widower, a young child on vacation, and a girl trying to cope with her unhappy parents. Jufresa does a great job of giving each character a unique voice and making them distinct. The set up means there's not really an overarching narrative, rather the overlapping stories paint a rich picture of the lives of all the inhabitants. The structure creates a few mysteries to keep you thinking and reading a long and humor is well used throughout to prevent the constant focus on loss from being overwhelming. In addition to grief, the book really has a lot to say about family, English, and a few other things as well.

This turned out to be a great read. If you need additional prodding, the author is Latina, it was a book written in 2016, and it has been translated, so there are some categories available to be checked off if you're reading solely for mercenary purposes.

Mollsmolyneux
Feb 7, 2008

"You're not married, you haven't got a girlfriend... and you've never watched "Star Trek?"
Good Lord
I absolutely failed to meet my target last year. First time in a few years I hadn't made it, so I though and aim again for 25 books. At least 10 I need to own already and have not read (I have a terrible habit of buying books and never reading them). I've also really got into using my Kindle and Audible account together and using Whispersync, anyone else having fun with this?

I'm not going to commit to doing Booklord, but I'm going to see how far I get as I go through the year. Changed my mind, I'm going at attempt it.

My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10984480-edward

What I'm reading:
1. The Three-Body Problem - Liu Cixin
2. Fool Moon (Dresden Files No.2) - Jim Butcher
3. The Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon Johnson No.1) - Robert Caro
4. Sourcery (Discworld No.5) - Terry Pratchett
5. The Honourable Schoolboy - John le Carré I've been reading this for ages, it's very long and heavy going - think I may get the audiobook so I can whispersync

potatocubed posted:

Don't mind me, just stealing your system.
I stole it too.

1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 0/25
1a) Read 10 books that I owned before August 2016 0/10
2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 0/5
3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 0/5
4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author.
5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it.
6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!)
7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016).
8) Read something which was published before you were born.
9) Read something in translation.
10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel.
11) Read something political.
12) Read something historical.
12a) Read something about the First World War.
13) Read something biographical.
14) Read some poetry.
15) Read a play.
16) Read a collection of short stories.
17) Read something long (500+ pages).
18) Read something which was banned or censored.
19) Read a satire.
20) Read something about honour.
21) Read something about fear.
22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins.
23) Read something that you love.
24) Read something from a non-human perspective.


If someone could hit me with a wildcard too that would be great!

Mollsmolyneux fucked around with this message at 12:33 on Jan 19, 2017

Mollsmolyneux
Feb 7, 2008

"You're not married, you haven't got a girlfriend... and you've never watched "Star Trek?"
Good Lord

Sandwolf posted:

Someone could make a 2017 TBB Challenge page on GoodReads!

Done! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18437849-goon-reads-2017---can-we-keep-talking-for-more-than-a-week

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


Mollsmolyneux posted:

If someone could hit me with a wildcard too that would be great!

The Makers of Rome by Plutarch.

bowmore
Oct 6, 2008



Lipstick Apathy
Read my first book, The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

The first half of the book is like if Brett Easton Ellis wrote Harry Potter in the mid 2000's

The second half kind of felt like Dresden Files if Harry Dresden was a grumpy piece of poo poo stuck in the fairy realms

It was trying to do a lot of things and say some other things while meandering all over the place, despite this, I enjoyed it and the gradual discovery of The Magicians world.

Lumius
Nov 24, 2004
Superior Awesome Sucks
Put me down for 25. I stop updating in the thread usually,y but I like the challenge as a guide even if i don't exactly complete it.

Kekekela
Oct 28, 2004
Name: Kekekela
Number: 10
Booklord: No
Extra: At least 8 non-fiction

nerdpony
May 1, 2007

Apparently I was supposed to put something here.
Fun Shoe

bowmore posted:

Read my first book, The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

The first half of the book is like if Brett Easton Ellis wrote Harry Potter in the mid 2000's

The second half kind of felt like Dresden Files if Harry Dresden was a grumpy piece of poo poo stuck in the fairy realms

It was trying to do a lot of things and say some other things while meandering all over the place, despite this, I enjoyed it and the gradual discovery of The Magicians world.

I mostly enjoyed the first and wasn't too into the second, but the third book in the series I actually really liked. It's probably worth powering through.

bowmore
Oct 6, 2008



Lipstick Apathy

nerdpony posted:

I mostly enjoyed the first and wasn't too into the second, but the third book in the series I actually really liked. It's probably worth powering through.
from what I hear most people enjoyed the second book more than the first and the third one is the one everyone likes the best

I don't know how keen I am to be putting up with sadsack protagonist Q but I'm going to power on anyway

Strong Mouse
Jun 11, 2012

You disrespect us. You drag corpses around. You steal, and you hurt feelings!

RRRRRRRAAAAARGH!

Prepare to die!

bowmore posted:

Read my first book, The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

The first half of the book is like if Brett Easton Ellis wrote Harry Potter in the mid 2000's

The second half kind of felt like Dresden Files if Harry Dresden was a grumpy piece of poo poo stuck in the fairy realms

It was trying to do a lot of things and say some other things while meandering all over the place, despite this, I enjoyed it and the gradual discovery of The Magicians world.

That is one of the 2 books that I have rated as 1 star on GR. One of the reasons is probably because I had just read a book that is probably on of my all time favorites now, and the Magicians just ended up hitting all of my pet peeve buttons through the book. I think not-Narnia was actually really cool, I just wish that the characters had a little bit more personality than :emo:.


I have since started the second, and I already think it is better, though it's been put in my procrastinate pile, so I have no idea when I'll actually get around to finishing it.

apophenium
Apr 14, 2009
Does anyone have some recommendations for me to pick from as far as WWI books go?

Radio!
Mar 15, 2008

Look at that post.

The obvious one is probably All Quiet on the Western Front.

A human heart
Oct 10, 2012

apophenium posted:

Does anyone have some recommendations for me to pick from as far as WWI books go?

Storm of Steel

USMC_Karl
Nov 17, 2003

SUPPORTER OF THE REINSTATED LAWFUL HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT. HAOLES GET OFF DA `AINA.
Just finished my second book, The Golden Gate by Robert Buettner. I decided after finishing Catch 22 that I could take have a little guilty pleasure, and decided to try it out. I'd read Buettner's Orphanage and Orphan's Legacy series and enjoyed them both, and this was his first foray into something else.

It was... good. Not great, but not bad. A fun read that had a totally unanticipated twist at the end. It is very forgettable though, probably not something I'll ever read again. It also had the problem that a lot of this style of pulpy sci-fi runs into, some of the conversations between the characters were pretty cringe-worthy. That being said, I am in no way a literature snob and enjoyed it. I'd give it a solid 3 stars out of 5, as long as you are just looking to have a think-free run through a somewhat light detective story, it's worth a look. The whole concept that Buettner took (a super rich tycoon gets murdered, he was known for buying up all patents centered around life extension, why was he murdered and who is going to inherit his company/the patents?!) was interesting. Where he went with it was... less so, but not hugely disappointing.

Next book, The Black Company by Glen Cook. Yeah, I know, another non-series book. I've been meaning to take a look at it since I first heard about it way back when, and this will finally get me to take a look into Fantasy, which is a genre that I never got into.

The books I've finished so far:
1) Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
2) The Golden Gate by Robert Buettner

Living Image
Apr 24, 2010

HORSE'S ASS

I'm back. Costa Rica is a beautiful land of strange creatures, I recommend everyone go there.

Updated the 2nd post. Glad everyone's having good times and reading books, it's the best.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

ulvir
Jan 2, 2005

apophenium posted:

Does anyone have some recommendations for me to pick from as far as WWI books go?

I belive a farewell to arms is about wwi

  • Locked thread