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bradzilla posted:Holy poo poo the original Jurassic Park book is so fuckin good I've been thinking about going back to that one lately. It's been quite a while, but I remember thinking it was solid, and it's basically my favorite pitch for a general techno-thriller. For other adaptations, another thread reminded me that I need to re-read Dune too. Sticking to audiobooks kinda screwed me over there, though, for some reason all audible has for that one is a full cast recording. Those are fine sometimes, but I'm general I much prefer a straight-up narration with one or two readers.
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Dec 31, 2023 22:32
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Just remember to go no further than #4.
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Dec 31, 2023 22:42
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Started re-reading The Wheel of Time. I read it many years ago and I found that I've just forgotten so much of it - it's like reading it totally new. Also reading The Ends of the LCMS. This is a bit interesting to me since this was the church I grew up in, and even then I recognized the median age as 'quite old'. This goes into the denomination's aging population, lack of pastors, and the financial realities. It's been my way of 'catching up' with a piece of my childhood.
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Dec 31, 2023 22:46
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Just finished The Institute by Stephen King. Decent enough as always - I've never read a King I didn't at least enjoy. Some dumb ??? logic and of course it wouldn't be Stephen King if the ending wasn't a bit of a fart but an almost comically evil research facility still makes for a decent read
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Jan 6, 2024 19:49
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I enjoyed that one quite a bit. I've come around a lot on King over the years, even with his many flaws there are also few books of his that I don't like on some level. Coincidentally, Tommyknockers is kinda my background reading right now, just popping back into it for a while when I'm between other stuff. It gets a bad rap as being the big novel he wrote at the low point of his struggle with drug addiction, and you can really feel that reading it. But I think there's a more interesting core story there too, it's always fun when he leans more into science fiction-y stuff, and it has some vibes from older works like Color From Out Of Space that I enjoy. Probably should've come back and edited the hell out of it after he was done blasting cocaine 24/7, but oh well.
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Jan 6, 2024 20:50
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On the subject (sort of) King, I've just finished Incarcerat by Garth Marenghi. I'm guessing some posters are familiar with Garth Marenghi's DarkPlace, the TV show from about 20 years ago? For those unfamiliar, Marenghi is a comedy character created by a writer/actor called Matthew Holness and he's essentially a parody of a self-important pulp horror-writer, down to the leather jacket and oversized tinted glasses. Only in the last couple of years has he released actual novels, with Incarerat being the second. James Herbert is probably a closer idea of who's being parodied, but there's a bit of Clive Barker/Stephen King in there for sure. And it's very good. Holness has a very distinctive voice and set of pre-occupations for the character. Not every gag lands for me, but there are so many that it's still a consistently funny book. It's basically three stories within an overarching framing, so there's an "evil psychic research lab" story, a gothic horror and a take on a Nightmare on Elm Street/Candyman style supernatural slasher. I've also just started Fern Brady's "Strong Female Character" - so far, really good and funny exploration of growing up as an autistic, working-class Catholic Scottish woman; I know that sounds worthy, especially with the title, but its very funny and self-aware.
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Jan 7, 2024 19:56
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I got a bunch of books for Christmas and have really been enjoying the Golden Peaches of Samarkand. It's a non-fiction catalog of the numerous exotic imports to the Tang dynasty in medieval China. It seems like it would be dry as hell, but it's such a window into another time and place based on material goods. The author peppers different sections with appropriate verses from Chinese poetry and in general just makes reading about the differences between white lotus and pink lotus captivating.
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Jan 7, 2024 20:49
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Disco Pope posted:Garth Marenghi I've been halfway through the audiobook version of TerrorTome for a while, I don't how I'd feel about the print version, but Holness narrating is great. It's a very funny book that I constantly chuckle at, but I was surprised to find out I don't listen to much of it at a time. Even though I like it, my best guess is that it's so constantly on in terms of structured comedic bits that it requires more sustained focus than the stories I generally listen to. Anyway, I still like it and I'm glad to see him getting more attention. It felt like DarkPlace was a hidden gem that almost nobody I knew had heard of for way too long.
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Jan 7, 2024 21:13
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Captain Hygiene posted:I've been halfway through the audiobook version of TerrorTome for a while, I don't how I'd feel about the print version, but Holness narrating is great. It's a very funny book that I constantly chuckle at, but I was surprised to find out I don't listen to much of it at a time. Even though I like it, my best guess is that it's so constantly on in terms of structured comedic bits that it requires more sustained focus than the stories I generally listen to. I think with both TerrorTome and Incarcerat, an audio book would probably be better - it's very easy to "hear" the text as Garth, but they do strike me as something that could be read aloud at live shows and stuff without losing anything.
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Jan 7, 2024 22:29
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I'm reading Outlaws of the Marsh AKA Water Margin. It's sort of like Chinese Robin Hood, it's pretty engaging as far as extremely old books go. The central premise is a bunch of heroes are driven to form a bandit brotherhood due to corrupt officials, scheming wives, and the like... except that once you're a ways into the book you notice the standard way to recruit new bandits becomes something like 1) We're in a predicament, but I know just the renown fellow who can solve all our problems. 2) Let's ask him to join us, oh drat he said no. 3) Let's entice him to join us by framing him for murder, or treason, or killing his entire family. 4) Hey, now that your life is ruined and you're on the run from the law why not join our gallant fraternity? There are 108 of these guys so it gets kind of repetitive. They also all have cool nicknames like The Unrestrained, The Somewhat Restrained, and The Righteous and Filial Dark Third Son. The battles are basically Dynasty Warriors.
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Jan 7, 2024 23:15
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I finally finished "Green Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson and have moved on to the final book of the trilogy, "Blue Mars". I never recall knowing the word "piste" before, but boy howdy do I know. Pistes all over Mars. Non spoilery recommendation: If you're into "harder" sci-fi, you'll probably dig this series. Over the series of books it is progressing from the first visit and first permanent colony on Mars into a future where there are millions living on the planet and terraforming is well underway (a controversial subject in the book). It is very very dry, and there's little real character development or even dialogue. The personal element seems very secondary to the author's primary objective of laying out the fictional colonization of Mars. If that interests you, I bet you'll dig the books. I am a huge nerd on the subject, so I'm right at home, really enjoying the minute details. If it doesn't, don't bother, it will bore you to tears.
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Jan 24, 2024 23:35
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I'm reading the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown and it also involves Mars and colors, OP I like it because it's entertaining and pretty badass
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Jan 24, 2024 23:37
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Jelly posted:I'm reading the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown and it also involves Mars and colors, OP Give me a non-spoilery summary if you would.
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Jan 24, 2024 23:38
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redshirt posted:Give me a non-spoilery summary if you would. Man, I'm so bad at this. Society (which spans our solar system) has been divided up into classes / colors and the working class basically labor for the rest of society and don't even know what the rest of society looks like or that it even exists. Something tragic happens to upset this and one of these laborers (who is intimately involved with this tragedy) infiltrates the upper classes in the most extreme way imaginable in an attempt to bring justice / balance to his people. I'd say it's a blend of sci-fi/fantasy and involves lots of crazy technology, political intrigue, and badass warfare. quote:Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope. Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie.
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Jan 24, 2024 23:42
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I was reading David Weber's Out of the Dark but the ending absolutely disgusted me by being supernatural out of nowhere after hundreds of pages of diligent firearm details in a sci Fi book about earth being invaded Now I'm reading Exordia by goon author General Battuta. It's many, many times better than the dog poo poo I was reading before.
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Jan 24, 2024 23:49
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Jelly posted:Man, I'm so bad at this. Society (which spans our solar system) has been divided up into classes / colors and the working class basically labor for the rest of society and don't even know what the rest of society looks like or that it even exists. Sounds pretty cool, thanks for the good summary! I will check it out.
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Jan 24, 2024 23:49
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AARD VARKMAN posted:I was reading David Weber's Out of the Dark but the ending absolutely disgusted me by being supernatural out of nowhere after hundreds of pages of diligent firearm details in a sci Fi book about earth being invaded A Deus Ex Machina?
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Jan 24, 2024 23:50
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Recently finished Convenience Store Woman by Sakaya Murata. Its a Japanese book about an ostensibly autistic woman who has been working at a convenience store for 16 years. The people she knows keep giving her a hard time about getting a better job and boyfriend, but shes not interested in either of these things. She likes her job and routine and being a “cog in the machinery of society” Now Im reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco which is about a 13th century friar in northern Italy who solves a murder mystery in a monastery. Its really good.
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Jan 24, 2024 23:58
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Speaking of mysteries in monasteries, one of my favorite sci-fi books ever (I guess it's sci-fi; it might have another genre though) is "A Canticle for Liebowitz". I read it again from time to time and just love it. So odd a story, such a strange book, and yet it's hypnotizing. Never certain if this book is well known or not.
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Jan 25, 2024 00:03
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flipping through computer power and human reason by joseph weizenbaum. so far a delightful yarn on how incredibly stupid it is to empathize with computers
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Jan 25, 2024 00:07
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WILDTURKEY101 posted:Now Im reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco which is about a 13th century friar in northern Italy who solves a murder mystery in a monastery. Its really good. Movie is p good too if you’ve not seen it
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Jan 25, 2024 00:25
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redshirt posted:Speaking of mysteries in monasteries, one of my favorite sci-fi books ever (I guess it's sci-fi; it might have another genre though) is "A Canticle for Liebowitz". I read it again from time to time and just love it. So odd a story, such a strange book, and yet it's hypnotizing. Very great book, it comes up in post-apocalyptic discussions sometimes but I get the sense it's kind of an underdog for some reason even though it's brilliant. Never read the sequel, but been mildly curious.
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Jan 25, 2024 00:36
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I'm now reading the Elric saga by Moorcock. I like Elric. He's so doomed. Its very relatable.
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Jan 25, 2024 05:43
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The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire William Dalrymple
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Jan 25, 2024 07:56
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The Crossing - Cormac McCarthy First book in this trilogy hooked me, this one is even better. His writing is very matter of fact in a way that just feels serene. The Wings of the Dove - Henry James It's good to go slow and just let it seep. Feels like I should get a paperback and go through it with a highlighter.
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Jan 25, 2024 09:14
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Worf posted:The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire Good book I'm reading Rejoice Rejoice: Britain in the 1980s by Alwyn Turner. It's a bit like Perlstein's books about recent American history in that it encompasses political, social and cultural events in a very readable narrative
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Jan 25, 2024 09:19
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EoinCannon posted:Good book Yes I forgot to put what I like about it but what I like about it is basically listed in the title
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Jan 25, 2024 12:29
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I'm re-reading Terry Brooks' Word & Void trilogy, which I enjoyed pretty well a few years back, but my favorite thing about it is completely accidental. The series is set in a recognizable earth but with some secret magical elements, with the books set in 1997, 2002, and 2012. But the funny part is that the latter two were written right after the first one came out, at the exact time to barely miss things like 9/11 and the massive shift in internet and computer availability and the proliferance of cellphones/smartphones. So the latter two are a glimpse into a world that never moved beyond the mid-90s. Computers are mostly just a novelty some people might have access to. Folks are running around in airports because the whole shift to security theater never happened. Someone in the last book gets their power and phone line secretly cut by a badguy, and they just go to bed vaguely hoping that the power and phone companies eventually fix it, because they have no concept of having even a dumb cellphone to make it trivial to contact anyone or call for help. It's such a completely coincidental circumstance that massively changes how the books read for anyone getting into them much after their 1997-99 publication dates. I think they were perfectly fine stories, but there'd be no way they'd stick in my mind nearly so much if it weren't for that one weird thing.
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Jan 25, 2024 20:00
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That's pretty cool, frozen in place in "The Before Time".
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Jan 25, 2024 23:22
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I'm trying to read The Ark Sakura by Kobo Abe. It's been pitched to me as a surreal satire of modern survivalism, but I'm struggling to get into it because I find the central character so thoroughly unpalatable. I don't care that the humour is at his expense, I just don't enjoy spending time in his viewpoint.
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Jan 25, 2024 23:36
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BigHead posted:I'm plugging my way through The Dark Forest trilogy for the second time. It's pretty good sci fi. Also it is a look into Chinese culture where the Chinese culture isn't the star of the show. Like an American writing about Chinese culture will make the culture some big obstacle or spectacle or something. It's refreshing just reading what people do someplace that isn't my country. Although this author really leans into the trope of everyone getting a label and acting in accordance with that label. Oh yeah I really liked the first book but felt the second was a big drop off, I got annoyed during a giant battle where everything was supposed to be happening super fast when characters kept stopping to have long conversations. Tying in to what you said, it felt very non-western culture for the UN to play such a prominent leadership role instead of America totally ignoring them. Currently reading The Sierra Adventure: The Story of Sierra On-Line. At first was unsure as it’s a self published work so cover & pages look a bit amateurish, but so far it has been a delight with plenty of interesting interviews & insights not only into Sierra but computer game company culture in the 80s, like how when someone wanted to sell a homemade game that only worked on a specific Apple computer he mailed it to his brother in Illinois who had to open the yellow pages & find which independent computer stores had that model, then drive there & talk the owner into letting him install it to demo, then selling in person to whoever wandered in. Also listening to Discworld book The Fifth Elephant, not much to say other than another solid entry of humor, plot, & likable characters that Pratchett did masterfully.
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Jan 25, 2024 23:40
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WILDTURKEY101 posted:Recently finished Convenience Store Woman by Sakaya Murata. Its a Japanese book about an ostensibly autistic woman who has been working at a convenience store for 16 years. The people she knows keep giving her a hard time about getting a better job and boyfriend, but shes not interested in either of these things. She likes her job and routine and being a “cog in the machinery of society” Convenience Store Woman sounds interesting and I'll add it to my list. The Name of the Rose is another one I've been meaning to read since I read Foucault's Pendulum a while back. I just finished Varieties of Disturbance by Lydia Davis. It's a short story collection in which most of the stories are flash fiction 1 - 2 pages long. She has a real talent for implication and leaving things unsaid, while weaving in a dry humor.
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Jan 25, 2024 23:48
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redshirt posted:Speaking of mysteries in monasteries, one of my favorite sci-fi books ever (I guess it's sci-fi; it might have another genre though) is "A Canticle for Liebowitz". I read it again from time to time and just love it. So odd a story, such a strange book, and yet it's hypnotizing. It was good but seriously suffers from a complete lack of female characters The few that are in there mean nothing and it's super anti-abortion as well So it's fabulous at world building and it makes you think but it has a fatal flaw of being completely male centered. I also really enjoyed the realization that part of the end of Babylon 5 really stole from it
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Jan 25, 2024 23:55
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Spinz posted:I just read it in one night a couple nights ago because it was mentioned and linked! in some other thread and you praised it there too lol I tried to pitch it to my wonderful book club, which is mostly women (2 other guys and me), and for some reason I led with "Yeah, this book has almost no women characters and certainly no female perspective" trying to lead with humor, but I doomed myself right there. But in the book's defense, it's set at an all male monastery. So it makes sense there's no women from that perspective. But yeah, I get it. I hope it's a unique enough tale to still be enjoyable despite that.
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Jan 26, 2024 00:09
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redshirt posted:lol I tried to pitch it to my wonderful book club, which is mostly women (2 other guys and me), and for some reason I led with "Yeah, this book has almost no women characters and certainly no female perspective" trying to lead with humor, but I doomed myself right there. Yea It was an entertaining few hours and I'm glad that I read it but it keeps it from being an absolute masterpiece. You get used to it but this time it was just glaring Watership Down mentioned a few posts above was the same way I would have to say that is a masterpiece but again---- all guys It's common Spinz fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Jan 26, 2024 |
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Jan 26, 2024 00:22
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I read that one a while back and enjoyed it despite that, too. The weirdest thing is that I found it on the giveaway table at work, which normally consists of 10-40 year old textbooks people get rid of when they're cleaning their offices.
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Jan 26, 2024 00:31
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Spinz posted:Yea It was an entertaining few hours and I'm glad that I read it but it keeps it from being an absolute masterpiece. You get used to it but this time it was just glaring Lots of media used to be entirely male and it was fully accepted. 1959 is the year "A Canticle for Liebowitz" was published. That same year another post apocalyptic "classic"(I think it's known as) was published: "Alas, Babylon". An interesting window into the minds of peak cold war American society I suppose. It's set in Florida, and it's racist and sexist but without even a notion that it is. Like it's not deliberate, it's just "society". Everyone has their place, and it's up to the protagonist to put everything back in its right place. Not sure I would recommend it for anything other than the window into how this author saw America at that time.
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Jan 26, 2024 00:41
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redshirt posted:Lots of media used to be entirely male and it was fully accepted. this is exactly how i like all my porn
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Jan 26, 2024 02:00
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mono gender casts like The Thing ftw. i was curious how many films feature all women though so i found this wikipedia article https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_featuring_an_all-female_cast The following 24 pages are in this category, out of 24 total. ... 
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Jan 26, 2024 02:05
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wait thats movie... still
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Jan 26, 2024 02:06
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