Eye of the World was pretty fucking good. Loaded with fantasy tropes, but I liked it well enough. Will probably start the second novel in the series next week.
By Baconsaurus Go To PostEye of the World was pretty fucking good. Loaded with fantasy tropes, but I liked it well enough. Will probably start the second novel in the series next week.Based braid tugging.
I remember really enjoying the first three books as a young lad, liking the next three or so, after that ... yeah. Kind of incredible that I managed to finish the series, actually. Though it was over 10 years or so, which softened the blow, so to speak, and I think I might've read the abridged version of a couple books. Book 10-12, somewhere around there. Sanderson did a really good job rounding everything up, all things considered.
Just finished Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki...by Murakami.
I've been going through some hard, soul-searching times recently. I've owned this book for a while but for some reason it called out to me a couple of weeks ago.
It spoke to me in a very profound way. The journey of the protagonist and his emotional pilgrimage mirrored mine in so many ways. Absolutely devastating and beautiful.
I've been going through some hard, soul-searching times recently. I've owned this book for a while but for some reason it called out to me a couple of weeks ago.
It spoke to me in a very profound way. The journey of the protagonist and his emotional pilgrimage mirrored mine in so many ways. Absolutely devastating and beautiful.
After I finish the three books i am reading my next book goal is going to be to read Karl Ove Knausgård'a My struggle.
Also, anyone down for a real book club?
Also, anyone down for a real book club?
Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The Remains of the Day is one of my favorite novels. Absolutely devastating.
The Remains of the Day is one of my favorite novels. Absolutely devastating.
If Ishiguro can win, Murakami can too.
Unconsoled > Wind Up Bird Chronicle.
At any rate, I don't care for either of their writing styles.
Unconsoled > Wind Up Bird Chronicle.
At any rate, I don't care for either of their writing styles.
By Phoenix RISING Go To PostMy copy of We Were Eight Years in Power arrived today.
Sorry you have to wad through the most boring writer in the history of America. Fun fact. You can skip everything but the last three paragraphs of a Coates essay and still come out with the same knowledge as someone that read the whole thing
By reilo Go To PostI haven't read in nearly two weeks and I actually miss it. Who am I?
Read this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0441007465/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1507849314&sr=8-1
Pairs well with Blade Runner
By Apollo Go To PostSorry you have to wad through the most boring writer in the history of America. Fun fact. You can skip everything but the last three paragraphs of a Coates essay and still come out with the same knowledge as someone that read the whole thing
I still hate his Black Panther. Between the World and Me was...satisfactory.
I think I love his longform essays, though. So this book has been on point with me so far. The way he frames the Cosby Pound Cake speech...I was among the minority when I agreed with Cosby back in 2004 (at the time it took place, I was doing a fellowship in the heart of the AUC ), and now, even more so.
I could pull some quotes, but I don't think this thread is that deep. One of his problems that will prevent him from reaching James Baldwin-tier is his dissociation with the (black) church. Thus, Coates is very much a writer of this generation--just (yet) another secular black intellectual--and that might prevent him from being discussed 50+ years from now...unlike Baldwin, who is being reprised with I Am Not Your Negro.
I think after this, I'm going to revisit Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain.
By Baconsaurus Go To PostEye of the World was pretty fucking good. Loaded with fantasy tropes, but I liked it well enough. Will probably start the second novel in the series next week.tbf it isn't full of fantasy tropes more it started a bunch of tropes... The Great Hunt is one of the greatest fantasy books ever
By Zabojnik Go To PostBased braid tugging.No he didn't... but was happy for closure
I remember really enjoying the first three books as a young lad, liking the next three or so, after that … yeah. Kind of incredible that I managed to finish the series, actually. Though it was over 10 years or so, which softened the blow, so to speak, and I think I might've read the abridged version of a couple books. Book 10-12, somewhere around there. Sanderson did a really good job rounding everything up, all things considered.
By Phoenix RISING Go To PostI still hate his Black Panther. Between the World and Me was…satisfactory.
I think I love his longform essays, though. So this book has been on point with me so far. The way he frames the Cosby Pound Cake speech…I was among the minority when I agreed with Cosby back in 2004 (at the time it took place, I was doing a fellowship in the heart of the AUC ), and now, even more so.
I could pull some quotes, but I don't think this thread is that deep. One of his problems that will prevent him from reaching James Baldwin-tier is his dissociation with the (black) church. Thus, Coates is very much a writer of this generation–just (yet) another secular black intellectual–and that might prevent him from being discussed 50+ years from now…unlike Baldwin, who is being reprised with I Am Not Your Negro.
I think after this, I'm going to revisit Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain.
what? The reason Baldwin is talked about now has nothing to do with "I am Not Your Negro". That doc was a reaction to his popularity. The reason he's being talked about is the same reason he has been talked about for the last 50 years. It's because he was a gay black man writing openly about society. Coates won't be remembered because he is saying shit that Toni Morrison has been saying --in better and more informative ways-- for years now. He's also nowhere near as creative as James Baldwin was.
Taking a break from WoT. First two books were ace. Looking forward to starting The Dragon Reborn next month.
In the meantime I read Inside Out (Nick Mason is a funny bloke) and Slapstick, Or Lonesome No More! for some Vonnegutian goodness. Not his best but it's short and has a couple of great sci-fi concepts.
Started The King In Yellow, it's almost Halloween after all. Maybe I'll throw some H.P. Lovecraft into the mix when I'm done.
In the meantime I read Inside Out (Nick Mason is a funny bloke) and Slapstick, Or Lonesome No More! for some Vonnegutian goodness. Not his best but it's short and has a couple of great sci-fi concepts.
Started The King In Yellow, it's almost Halloween after all. Maybe I'll throw some H.P. Lovecraft into the mix when I'm done.
Finishing off Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman very soon.
It's enjoyable but nowhere near as good as American Gods. As fast paced as it is, it does tend to meander a bit.
It's enjoyable but nowhere near as good as American Gods. As fast paced as it is, it does tend to meander a bit.
Has anyone read the new Pullman book yet? I loved His Dark Materials but haven't read anything else by him so would love to know how this stands up.
Currently reading Foundation and Empire by Asimov. Planning on finishing up S. by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst soon, also.
Started rereading Way of Kings and Words of Radiance in preparation for Oathbringer. Let's see if I can get through 2000+ pages in a month lol.
By Funyarinpa Go To PostCurrently reading Foundation and Empire by Asimov. Planning on finishing up S. by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst soon, also.
Foundation is a quality read.
The last new book I finished was Jon LeCarre's A Legacy of Spies. I had forgotten I had preordered it on amazon and it just popped up on my kindle one day. I ended up reading it in 2 days and really enjoying it. It has its flaws and has a lot of redundant LeCarre-isms but was still a good not-ending for an important era of his career and fictional spy-verse. Anyone else read A Legacy of Spies or other LeCarre works?
Finished Blood of Elves. Was alright, not reading it again though. I'm overall not really impressed with the books so far.
I'm about halfway through The Devil in the White City at the moment. I hope that Scorsese adaptation eventually gets made just so we can see a recreation of the fairgrounds, the descriptions make the place sound insane.
Just finished reading:
Voice and Vision
A Guide to Writing History and Other Serious Nonfiction
By
Stephen J. Pyne
Which was fantastic, despite it not being a genre I'm used to reading, or like for that matter. I recommend it to anyone writing or thinking about writing, even fiction.
Also this month finished Richard Morgan's "The Dark Defiles" and Vonnegut's "Galapagos."
Voice and Vision
A Guide to Writing History and Other Serious Nonfiction
By
Stephen J. Pyne
Which was fantastic, despite it not being a genre I'm used to reading, or like for that matter. I recommend it to anyone writing or thinking about writing, even fiction.
Also this month finished Richard Morgan's "The Dark Defiles" and Vonnegut's "Galapagos."
I just finished The Expanse: Babylon's Ashes which sadly was my least favorite of the installment so far. It has some great parts but most of it is slow. Took me a long time to read.
I just started The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille
I just started The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille
To add to my above post, since finishing LeCarre's latest, I've begun re-reading Gore Vidal's Lincoln. A really great book that is lean in all the right ways and yet complex and full in depth in all the right ways too.
By Watershed Go To PostThe last new book I finished was Jon LeCarre's A Legacy of Spies. I had forgotten I had preordered it on amazon and it just popped up on my kindle one day. I ended up reading it in 2 days and really enjoying it. It has its flaws and has a lot of redundant LeCarre-isms but was still a good not-ending for an important era of his career and fictional spy-verse. Anyone else read A Legacy of Spies or other LeCarre works?
Yeah, I finished The Honourable Schoolboy recently. Probably not as recently as it seems actually, because it's one of those books that sticks with you and suggests itself to you in certain situations at work or in conversation, etc. I wish Alfredson would try adapting it to film, instead of skipping right to Smiley's People, just like the BBC did. (Of course, I should probably aim lower and just hope that Alfredson gets to make another movie at all, after The Snowman debacle.) Smiley's People is now in my backlog, but it's gonna be a while before I get to it.
By Directed by Fulci Go To PostYeah, I finished The Honourable Schoolboy recently. Probably not as recently as it seems actually, because it's one of those books that sticks with you and suggests itself to you in certain situations at work or in conversation, etc. I wish Alfredson would try adapting it to film, instead of skipping right to Smiley's People, just like the BBC did. (Of course, I should probably aim lower and just hope that Alfredson gets to make another movie at all, after The Snowman debacle.) Smiley's People is now in my backlog, but it's gonna be a while before I get to it.Honourable Schoolboy was a slog of a read for me. I went thru a period of reading a ton of LeCarre in a short time span and I think that way of reading wore me down to all of LeCarre's thematic devices and turns of phrase. Smiley's People is a dense, dense read but I found it more rewarding than The Honourable Schoolboy at at the time was the end of the Smiley novels.
Just started The Terror by Dan Simmons again, quit a couple pages in last time and I'm not sure why. Hyperion is one of my favorite books and I'm a sucker for expedition stuff. Only 20ish pages in but I'm excited to continue.
By Watershed Go To PostAnyone else read A Legacy of Spies or other LeCarre works?
I didn't find the book remarkable, but John LeCarre sure is. To be writing at 86!? Assuming a draft hasn't been laying around in a desk drawer for 20 years, it has to be very rare if not unprecedented.
I liked The Honourable Schoolboy a lot. Not knowing much about Hong Kong around that time, I really enjoyed his depiction of it and the general tour of Southeast Asia that follows. All of that worked for me. Looking back at the series, The Honourable Schoolboy and Call for the Dead(the first book) stand out. Seeing the movie first may have taken something away from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Have you tried Alan Furst's Nigh Soldiers? It's a must if you like LeCarre. The only knock on it is it's fairly grim, but otherwise it's fantastic.
Also, hello everyone. Between this and the NBA threads, I'm finding this forum very cozy.
Finished Blood, Sweat, and Pixels the other day. Enjoyed reading it was a great look into the world of game development. Moving onto Dune next any impressions on it?
So I've been reading The Remains of the Day, and I'm currently around 170 pages in. It's a good book. I am enjoying the way Ishiguro has brought in new details and character subtlety the last 50 pages. I plan to finish this one soon and start reading Warbreaker by Sanderson during November while I'm participating in NaNoWriMo.
Currently about 3/4 of the way through the new Philip Pullman. Really good at the moment (although not up to the heights of the Subtle Knife) but what’s even better is being back in Lyra’s world - it just seems so rich, odd yet inviting with all the twists from our own world, mixed with similarities.
By PhoenixMilk Go To PostSo I've been reading The Remains of the Day, and I'm currently around 170 pages in. It's a good book. I am enjoying the way Ishiguro has brought in new details and character subtlety the last 50 pages. I plan to finish this one soon and start reading Warbreaker by Sanderson during November while I'm participating in NaNoWriMo.
Remains of the Day is amazing!
I finished Neverwhere - as I said before, it was enjoyable but nowhere close to American Gods.
Also found the protagonist to be a bit boring - he just felt like a bystander for a lot of the novel. Still worth a read though.
Might try and read All the Pretty Horses now.
Need to get into that Mccarthy rhythm though.
I’m late to it, but I’ve been reading the Three Body Problem series, I’m halfway through the second book, and so far I’m enjoying it a lot.
I’m not a sci-fi expert so there might be stuff that impressed me here that’s actually unoriginal, but I love how much is going on conceptually. Hell, I don’t even want to describe the premise because it would spoil a chunk of the first book, but let’s just say there’s astrophysics and a VR MMO involved, in the shadow of events that happened decades before, during the Cultural Revolution.
It’s less character oriented than books I usually enjoy, but as someone who’s studied a fair bit of serious physics in their life, I find that the author is really good at articulating complex concepts in a very understandable manner.
As an aside, the second book’s style is a bit stiffer, and I assume this is because of the translator change.
For some reason, I never managed to get into the sequels, but I’ve found different things in the first book every time I’ve reread it.
I’m not a sci-fi expert so there might be stuff that impressed me here that’s actually unoriginal, but I love how much is going on conceptually. Hell, I don’t even want to describe the premise because it would spoil a chunk of the first book, but let’s just say there’s astrophysics and a VR MMO involved, in the shadow of events that happened decades before, during the Cultural Revolution.
It’s less character oriented than books I usually enjoy, but as someone who’s studied a fair bit of serious physics in their life, I find that the author is really good at articulating complex concepts in a very understandable manner.
As an aside, the second book’s style is a bit stiffer, and I assume this is because of the translator change.
By cantaim Go To PostFinished Blood, Sweat, and Pixels the other day. Enjoyed reading it was a great look into the world of game development. Moving onto Dune next any impressions on it?I love Dune. I love how thematically multi-layered it is. There’s space opera in there, there’s a desert epic, the Rise and Fall of noble houses, religion, hard science.
For some reason, I never managed to get into the sequels, but I’ve found different things in the first book every time I’ve reread it.
Started The Collector by John Fowles earlier this month. Wow. It’s been an enthralling read. Only just got to part 2 the other day. Never have I felt so hooked and into a book, but absolutely disgusted by it at the same time. Wolfe’s depictions of the main character’s thoughts and his justification for his actions are just so vile, but the whole time you’re wrapped into the situation with nothing but utter contempt for the person whose head you’re in. Great read, and perfect for the month of October.
By brawly Go To PostFinished Blood of Elves. Was alright, not reading it again though. I'm overall not really impressed with the books so far.Yeah don't think I would have enjoyed the series as much if it weren't for the games.
By TTG Go To PostI didn't find the book remarkable, but John LeCarre sure is. To be writing at 86!? Assuming a draft hasn't been laying around in a desk drawer for 20 years, it has to be very rare if not unprecedented.Have you watched the BBC adaptation of Tinker, Tailor? I enjoyed the film but appreciate the BBC series much more. Smiley's People (the BBC series) is not quite as good as Tinker, Tailor. I haven't read Alan Furst at all. I may some day though. Thanks for the suggestion.
I liked The Honourable Schoolboy a lot. Not knowing much about Hong Kong around that time, I really enjoyed his depiction of it and the general tour of Southeast Asia that follows. All of that worked for me. Looking back at the series, The Honourable Schoolboy and Call for the Dead(the first book) stand out. Seeing the movie first may have taken something away from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Have you tried Alan Furst's Nigh Soldiers? It's a must if you like LeCarre. The only knock on it is it's fairly grim, but otherwise it's fantastic.
Also, hello everyone. Between this and the NBA threads, I'm finding this forum very cozy.
Has anyone read THE KING IN YELLOW? I’m waiting for the hardcover edition to come out this year and going to read it for the first the first time.
By cantaim Go To PostFinished Blood, Sweat, and Pixels the other day. Enjoyed reading it was a great look into the world of game development. Moving onto Dune next any impressions on it?I’m on the fourth chapter. Can’t wait to get to the shovel knight chapter.
Reading "The Core" by Peter Brett and am interested to see if it has a momentous conclusion. Also likely to re-read The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance yet again in preparation for the full release of book 3.
Man, All the Pretty Horses is a lot more difficult to read than some of the other Mccarthy stuff I've read.
It's beautiful prose but the descriptions of the landscapes just confuse me. Grasses this and creeks and south and west and all sorts.
It's beautiful prose but the descriptions of the landscapes just confuse me. Grasses this and creeks and south and west and all sorts.
Currently working through Stephen King's The Shining. I've got roughly 100 pages left and I've enjoyed it overall. I think I watched the movie a bit too close to the book though because I routinely found myself wanting to rush through the build up.
By Lightus Go To PostCurrently working through Stephen King's The Shining. I've got roughly 100 pages left and I've enjoyed it overall. I think I watched the movie a bit too close to the book though because I routinely found myself wanting to rushed through the build up.I found it a little slow sometimes. It definitely picks up around where you are. I was particularly upset with the whole 3-5 pages about the fire hose. I understand the goal of the event, it just dragged on.
Overall I enjoyed the book and would like to see a movie that follows it a little more closely than SK's adaption. Not the mini series.
By Alcotholic Go To PostI found it a little slow sometimes. It definitely picks up around where you are. I was particularly upset with the whole 3-5 pages about the fire hose. I understand the goal of the event, it just dragged on.
Overall I enjoyed the book and would like to see a movie that follows it a little more closely than SK's adaption. Not the mini series.
Yeah it's moving faster now. There were a few times where I'd think "Oh is something spooky about to happen! I'm ready for iiitttt...... Oh nope, Jack is just cranky again".
I think knowing where everything was building to was a large reason why I felt that way. It's definitely a good book but unless you're really into the world I'd wait at least 3 years after watching the movie to read.