What Are You Reading? vX.x

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I've made some good headway into Infinite Jest and I'm absolutely loving it. The introduction hit it spot on - the book is difficult to read, but it's difficult like a tough workout is difficult, and it's very rewarding as you get through it.

I really enjoyed the book. At the time I read it (this past spring, I had a goal of starting it on the first day of spring and finishing by the last day--I finished about a month early), I couldn't read much of anything else (usually I read 2 books at a time, one in audio and one in print), I think in part because of the various story lines running through it, it felt like multiple books.

Great book, well-worth the effort it took to read it.

/tk

[Vince, Pt. II]

The writing is just brilliant - while Wallace seems to meander through anecdotes seemingly at random, they are starting to draw ties together and I'm really enjoying the way they seem to be getting pulled together. His pacing and the timing of the jumps in scene/storyline are phenomenal as well.

As a side note - as amazing as Kindle for iPhone is (and I seriously couldn't imagine going through the footnotes in Infinite Jest without the auto-jump that iPhone has), I am having trouble navigating through the book when I want to check things or cross-reference quotes. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, but the app has trouble remembering my furthest read point, and I end up having to scroll through chapters I've already read to get back to where I left off. Anyone else have experience with this and maybe a fix for it?

[terpkristin]

Hmm I didn't have that problem with the Kindle app for iPod Touch or with the Kindle (edit to add: I too read it mostly on Kindle and Kindle app, even though I have a copy of the print version...soooo much lighter to carry around a device than the book, nevermind easier to go to footnotes!). I did have an issue when I sync'd while reading a footnote, so it thought my farthest read point was waaaay at the end, so I just had to pay attention to my location when I left off.

/tk

[Vince, Pt. II]

Maybe it has something to do with the multitasking. I tend to shut off my programs on a regular basis to try to avoid slowdown on my iPhone, maybe shutting down Kindle resets the "furthest read" point.

[path12]

Just finished Girl Who Played With Fire. Good enough to get the next when it's in paperback but I'm not in a huge hurry.

Still on my Neal Stephenson run. Finally after god knows how many tries Quicksilver clicked for me. Raced through that and have now started The Confusion.

[Peregrine]

I just finished reading Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn - definitely a very enjoyable book. It's a nice mix of Greek mythology, fantasy, and modern day adventure. Vaughn creates a very interesting near-future world where virtually everything seems to be going wrong, but it's just a background to the main story that's going on. It has some similarities to American Gods in some ways (always a good thing in my book) and I definitely enjoyed it all the way through.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by path12

Just finished Girl Who Played With Fire. Good enough to get the next when it's in paperback but I'm not in a huge hurry.

Still on my Neal Stephenson run. Finally after god knows how many tries Quicksilver clicked for me. Raced through that and have now started The Confusion.

I tried Quicksilver four times and could never make it. Would get about 100-150 in each time and would bail.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I just finished reading Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn - definitely a very enjoyable book. It's a nice mix of Greek mythology, fantasy, and modern day adventure. Vaughn creates a very interesting near-future world where virtually everything seems to be going wrong, but it's just a background to the main story that's going on. It has some similarities to American Gods in some ways (always a good thing in my book) and I definitely enjoyed it all the way through.

That's a hell of a recommendation, I'll have to put this on my list.

[rowech]

Reading "The Terror" by Dan Simmons. First book I've read by him, about 200 pages in...pretty good thus far.

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I just finished reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman - I really liked this book. It basically takes some of the same concepts used in the Harry Potter and Narnia books, except it does them from a more adult perspective.

Picked this up. I'm about 150 pages in. Enjoying it so far. Early on I wasn't sure if I was going to like it as the similarities with Harry Potter just seemed way too damn obvious but as it got along I started liking it more and more.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by rowech

Reading "The Terror" by Dan Simmons. First book I've read by him, about 200 pages in...pretty good thus far.

Dan Simmons is a hell of a writer - I loved the Terror as well as all his other books -his Hyperion Cantos is some really top quality science fiction.

[QuikSand]

I have been jumping around a lot lately. Finished the third Girl book from Steig Larsson a while ago, and while I didn't dislike it, I am ready to let go of that storyline now, I think. At Mrs. Q's urging, I read most of The Omnivore's Dilemma and found it...okay.

A while back, I got through a book that has stuck with me more than I expected - thought it worth a mention here. Await Your Reply follows a somewhat familiar approach of starting out with separate storylines, and only over time do you eventually connect the several stories a bit. I wouldn't say that I loved the book, but it's been maybe two months since I finished it and it's more forward in my memories than anything I have touched since -- so that's a pretty good thing, I think. While it's not sci-fi or fantasy writing for those completely wedded to the genres that seem to be popular here, I would note that it has a "contemporary" feel and does deal a bit with issues of identity in a pretty modern way. I'd recommend it - not a particularly tough read, I don't think.

[path12]

Originally Posted by rowech

I tried Quicksilver four times and could never make it. Would get about 100-150 in each time and would bail.

We had the same experience but for some reason after finishing Anathem I was able to get into it and am glad I finally did.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by path12

We had the same experience but for some reason after finishing Anathem I was able to get into it and am glad I finally did.

Interesting....I have read Anathem but haven't tried Quicksilver since I finished that. Might have to give it one more try.

[terpkristin]

Cripes it's been awhile since I updated. I finished The Passage. It was pretty good, but I thought the end was a bit drawn out.

I also finished The Blade Itself and have moved onto the 2nd book in the trilogy, Before They Are Hanged. I'm about 2/3 done with that one and really enjoying the trilogy. I've been listening to them in audio and keep trying to find excuses to go for drives, go for walks, as well as use it for motivation to get to the gym, since those are the places I typically listen to audiobooks.

My sci-fi/fantasy book club read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which was OK. It was a lot of words, not always as much action as I expected, given it was about a group of people starting a revolution. But I suppose many revolutions are a lot of words...

I've also started reading Christopher Moore's Lamb, which is entertaining. I bought it to try out iBooks on the iPod Touch (and have decided I don't like the interface), but at least the book is enjoyable.

I'm working on getting all my books queued for my cruise, as on that cruise I plan on finishing The First Law trilogy (assuming I don't finish it before I go), starting (and maybe finishing?) Hobb's Farseer trilogy, maybe starting the Mistborn trilogy (if I get through Farseer) and have a fair few other books I'm bringing of a non-fantasy bent that I will likely read in parallel to the fantasy stuff (including Kinsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer; Atlas Shrugged; Eat, Pray, Love; and Girl Missing--a thriller type book).

/tk

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Picked this up. I'm about 150 pages in. Enjoying it so far. Early on I wasn't sure if I was going to like it as the similarities with Harry Potter just seemed way too damn obvious but as it got along I started liking it more and more.

Finished this. After the slow start The Magicians turned out to be a fantastic book. I eagerly await the sequel.

[k0ruptr]

as far as reading ebooks go I use Stanza on the iPod and enjoy it far more then kindle/ibook/whatever else.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I know I've already mentioned it a few times, but I'm still loving every minute of Infinite Jest. Strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a very rewarding read.

[Peregrine]

Just finished reading The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman - can't believe I didn't read it before as I love her history volumes The Guns of August (covering the first month of WW1) and especially A Distant Mirror (covering the 14th century and really an amazing book for anyone who wants a better knowledge of medieval history that's easy to approach.)

It basically covers several situations in history where folly was the ruling principle - where leaders continued to act against the better interest of their government because of self-righteousness or other factors; or show "wooden headedness" - as in her quote ""Wooden-headedness, the source of self-deception, is a factor that plays a remarkably large role in government. It consists of assessing a situation in terms of preconceived fixed notions while ignoring or rejecting any contrary signs."

Her examples throughout history are Troy (accepting the wooden horse,) The Renaissance Popes (basically 6 guys that through their worldliness and greed kick-started the Reformation,) the British treatment of America leading up to and during the American Revolution (I found this especially interesting, since I hadn't really heard this side of things before,) and the American policy leading up to and in Vietnam.

Really interesting stuff if you love history, and definitely recommended. Published in 1984 it was unfortunately one of her last works before she died in 1989.

[Young Drachma]

Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food (Paul Greenberg)

Zilch: The Power of Zero In Business (Nancy Lublin)

Stumbling On Wins: Two Economists Expose The Pitfalls on the road to victory in Professional Sports (David J. Berri and Martin Schmidt)

[DeToxRox]

Looking for some more stuff to read. Kind of in a mood to read some fiction since it's been so long, but not really a sci fi guy which I see a lot of in this thread. Anything good out there people can suggest? Like espionage-y or even horror? Hell it doesn't even have that, I am just throwing stuff out there.

Also can still do anything non fiction.

[Scoobz0202]

Can't vouch for the quality as they are on my TBR shelf but here is a couple that at least interested me DeTox,

hxxp://www.amazon.com/Night-Soldiers-Novel-Alan-Furst/dp/0375760008


This ones not espionage-y in Night Soldiers type, but it deals with the underground effort of Italian citizens trying to saves Jews. In a way it is... I guess.

hxxp://www.amazon.com/Thread-Grace-Mary-Doria-Russell/dp/0375501843

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Hamilton's such a weird dude.

Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained I really enjoyed, but when I hit the Void books (which take place a couple thousand years later on), it really weirded me out.

I actually enjoy Inigo's dreams more than the outside world in the Void books. Much more interesting to me than where he's gone with the Commonwealth.

I just finished reading "Fallen Dragon" the other day. Surprised me how completely different it was in tone and style from...basically everything else he's ever written.

I still maintain that he's a weird dude, but "Fallen Dragon" is about as normal a piece of sci-fi as he's ever written. Except for the ending.

[SackAttack]

'Bout halfway through "Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death and John Madden's Oakland Raiders".

It's an interesting read, especially for those of us whippersnappers too young to remember Al Davis as anything but "that guy who can't get out of his own way."

[Glengoyne]

Just finished "the Name of the Wind" -- Rothfuss --
I enjoyed it quite a bit. Once it clicked with me, I burned through it. I'll call it a tale nicely told, especially for a first novel. There were some rough patches, where I'll call the quality of the writing "uneven", but Man did a number of sections touch me. I found myself brought to tears a couple of times, eventhough I knew it was ham handed manipulation. The bottom line was that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and look forward to the second book coming out next Spring.

At least I hope it is coming out next spring, as I'm still waiting along with everyone else for the "Dance of Dragons" . That is the name of Martin's next ASOIAF right? It has been so long. I'm just now starting the fourth audio book, and I've got to say that I recommend listening to this series even if you've read the books, maybe especially if you've already read the books. I found that I caught things I missed the first time around. A lot of things. Also Roy Dotrice, who narrates the first three books, does an incredible job of breathing life into the story. John Lee, who reads the fourth, is seeming to do an admirable job, but pales in comparison to Dotrice. Really if you haven't listened, you are missing something.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I just finished reading "Fallen Dragon" the other day. Surprised me how completely different it was in tone and style from...basically everything else he's ever written.

I still maintain that he's a weird dude, but "Fallen Dragon" is about as normal a piece of sci-fi as he's ever written. Except for the ending.

I really hated the writing in it - honestly, it was like pulp fiction that gets let of the hook because its sci-fi. After readings the likes of Banks (or even Alastair Reynolds, if you prefer hard sci-fi), Hamilton's writing is just clunky as all hell.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

I really hated the writing in it - honestly, it was like pulp fiction that gets let of the hook because its sci-fi. After readings the likes of Banks (or even Alastair Reynolds, if you prefer hard sci-fi), Hamilton's writing is just clunky as all hell.

He's improving; I think Fallen Dragon was one of his earlier works.

But the problem, at least for me, is that he's also going too far anymore with the tech and obligatory casual sex.

Where he fell apart in Fallen Dragon was the final...I dunno, 1/3 of the book. It was kind of Stephen King'ish. Great setup, didn't know where to go with it.

[spleen1015]

Went to the library and got a library card tonight with my daughter. She is in the 2nd grade and told me that all of her books were too easy to read. So, I figured this would be a good solution. She checked out 3 books and read them all to me tonight. Now, we have to o back tomorrow!

I checked out 2 books myself. Elantris and Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I figured I would check his stuff out since he is writing the end of the Wheel of Time.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

I checked out 2 books myself. Elantris and Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I figured I would check his stuff out since he is writing the end of the Wheel of Time.

Let me know how you like Mistborn. I've got that trilogy in my queue, which right now looks like this:
1) Finish Hobb's Assassin's Quest (final tome in Farseer trilogy)
2) Mockingjay (final in the Hunger Games trilogy)
3) Name of the Wind by Rothfuss (first in a trilogy, second book is due out sometime soonish, can't remember when)
4) Mistborn trilogy
5) Dark Tower series

Somewhere in there, the next in the Wheel of Time series is going to come out, I'm hoping it comes out after I finish Mistborn but before I start Dark Tower. When the next WoT book comes out, it will jump ahead in the queue.

Also, way cool for your daughter wanting a library card.

/tk

[OldGiants]

Kraken by China Mieville

Another unique book from Mieville, perhaps not as vivid a world as in The City and The City, but well thought out and with a terrific and satisfying plot resolution. At its wildest and funniest Kraken could be considered a punk version of Harry Potter. The minions of the bad guys are Knuckleheads and are fists on bodies. The two badasses are Goss and Subby, who usually inhale their victims. One key wizard is a Star Trek fan, who dresses up like Picard and fashions his wand into phaser. The Kraken is a giant squid in a formaldehyde tank in the British Museum and it goes missing. Who took it is the fun, and you don't know until the final few pages.

If you are looking for something completely different, this is it.

[whomario]

@ Glengoyne : Felt similar about the book, once i got into it i really found myself not being able to stop His one and Peter Brett´s "The Warded Man" were the best debut books i read in the last 3 years or so. 2nd book The Desert Spear was pretty good as well, although the shift of focus made it kind of difficult to get into it. One of the lesser figures of book 1 becomes the main character (or 2nd main character).
But still a nice 2nd effort, the series should be a nice one for a few more volumes

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Went to the library and got a library card tonight with my daughter

Another converted soul (or 2), nice (being a librarian)

I really liked Sanderson style of writing in Elantris (although i thought the story was kind of over-ambitious for a single book), didn´t yet have time to read the Mistborn series but have it on my list.

Currently i´m reading or have red a couple books that aren´t of much use as they are german authors ... Recently read The Monsters Of Templeton (Lauren Groff) which isn´t about monsters but is a clever and griping tale of a familie´s history, very nicely written and does a great job linking different stories set in different time periods.

[spleen1015]

I finished Elantris over the weekend. It was a pretty good read. It was a bit predictable, but the journey was pretty good.

I started the first Mistborn last night. After 2 chapters, I'm ready to read some more.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by whomario

@ Glengoyne : Felt similar about the book, once i got into it i really found myself not being able to stop His one and Peter Brett´s "The Warded Man" were the best debut books i read in the last 3 years or so. 2nd book The Desert Spear was pretty good as well, although the shift of focus made it kind of difficult to get into it. One of the lesser figures of book 1 becomes the main character (or 2nd main character).
But still a nice 2nd effort, the series should be a nice one for a few more volumes

I just finished The Warded Man and The Desert Spear. Definite thumbs up there.

Working my way through The Way of Kings by Sanderson at the moment.

In the non-fiction realm, I just finished "The Long Run" by Matt Long (NYFD firefighter who got clobbered by a bus during the transit strike) and David Sheff's "Beautiful Boy."

I found both books to be incredibly compelling reads, although The Long Run isn't due out 'til October.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Finally finished Infinit Jest and I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone. Fantastic book.

Now reading Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis. It's a collection of stories revolving around the major movers and shakers of the American Revolution during the 25 years following the events of 1776. Thus far a very entertaining and enlightening read.

[tyketime]

I have finished Book 6 of Stephen King's The Dark Tower. I bought Book 7 for my Kindle. Then I saw... over 1000 pages

On a side note: I saw where Ron Howard & others have been signed to turn the Dark Tower series into 3 films and a TV Series. Not sure of all the details, but wasn't sure this would ever make it out of print. Could be very interesting & entertaining in the right hands.

[DataKing]

Originally Posted by tyketime

On a side note: I saw where Ron Howard & others have been signed to turn the Dark Tower series into 3 films and a TV Series. Not sure of all the details, but wasn't sure this would ever make it out of print. Could be very interesting & entertaining in the right hands.

Is that part of the J.J. Abrams deal?

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by DataKing

Is that part of the J.J. Abrams deal?

I don't see his name associated with the article I saw, but who knows for sure?

On a day where Martin Freeman may have become Peter Jackson’s new Hobbit, it looks like Ron Howard may have become our new Peter Jackson. Howard and Akiva Goldsman just closed the craziest deal ever ever ever to adapt Stephen King’s Dark Tower series into a Lord of the Rings-surpassing movie trilogy and television series — and they’ll film it all at the same time, using the same actors and sets. What?

The plan is to start with the feature film, and then create a bridge to the second feature with a season of TV episodes. That means the feature cast — and the big star who’ll play [lead character Roland] Deschain — also has to appear in the TV series before returning to the second film. After that sequel is done, the TV series picks up again, this time focusing on Deschain as a young gunslinger. Those storylines will be informed by a prequel comic book series that King was heavily involved in plotting. The third film would pick up the mature Deschain as he completes his journey. They will benefit from being able to use the same sets cast and crew for the movie and TV, which could help contain costs on what will be a financially ambitious undertaking.

…to say the least! Howard (who intends to direct the entire first season of TV episodes, though I can’t imagine NBC intends to commit him to the typical 22-episode order) calls the plan “unprecedented,” and I surely couldn’t disagree. Who knew that the director of Ed TV had the biggest balls in Hollywood? I’m kind of agog at the multiple ways this could go wrong, but let your fantasy casting proceed apace.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by tyketime

I don't see his name associated with the article I saw, but who knows for sure?

Abrams originally optioned the books for $1 or something like that. I'm not sure what happened after that.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Abrams originally optioned the books for $1 or something like that. I'm not sure what happened after that.

You are correct, sir...

In his statement regarding the deal, King said, “I’ve been waiting for the right team to bring the characters and stories in these books to film and TV viewers around the world.” The strange part of this statement is that he originally sold the rights to the property to J.J. Abrams’ company for a whopping sixteen dollars. Unfortunately, Abrams did nothing with the rights.

Here is JJ Abrams statement from April:

Previously, J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot held the option, and the "Star Trek" director planned to reunite with "Lost" showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof for a "Dark Tower" TV series. In an interview with MTV in November of last year, Abrams said that the outlook was no longer promising for a Bad Robot take on "Dark Tower."

"It's such an important piece of writing. The truth is that Damon and I are not looking at that right now," he said.

Lindelof said much the same thing in an October interview with USA Today.

"After working six years on 'Lost,' the last thing I want to do is spend the next seven years adapting one of my favorite books of all time," he said. "I'm such a massive Stephen King fan that I'm terrified of screwing it up. I'd do anything to see those movies written by someone else. My guess is they will get made because they're so incredible. But not by me."

[sabotai]

Finished A Clash of Kings. I liked it more than A Game of Thrones and now it's on to A Storm or Swords.

[k0ruptr]

been reading a ton at work since I dont do anything there.

what I've read in the past couple weeks:

Dog the Bounty Hunter's second book: Where mercy is shown, mercy is given.
Word Freak: great book about scrabble, and tournament scrabble and all kinds of stuff that goes on.

Carl Hiasson -Star Island

I read both Little Brother and For the Win by Cory Doctorow, Little Brother was amazing, and FTW was very very good as well.

Dan Fesperman - Layover in Dubai - decent action drama book


Ken follet - A Dangerous Fortune
Lee Child - 61 hours

both of these were excellent.

I know I have a weird collection here haha.

Moneyball - Michael Lewis - damn about time I read this, I loved it.

The Majors - John Feinstein, I'm trying to read pretty much every Feinstein book as I love his work on sports.

A Perfect Season - The story of the 2007 Hawaii Warriors
this was a collab of all the newspaper clippings of the greatest year in Hawaii football history. Was fun to go back

Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain - LOL. I love this guy

Eat, Pray, Love

and finally

Gang leader for a day - sudhir Venkatesh - Amazing amazing book about a grad school kid who befriends a gang leader in Chicago . A must read. this kid was also mentioned in Freakonomics.

Pretty much everything here I recommend to any of you, they are all mostly solid and very hard to put down!

[terpkristin]

Gotta say, of all those in that list, "Eat, Pray, Love" seems to be the oddball out. What did you think of it? I tried to listen to it from Audible, it wasn't working for me.

/tk

[Peregrine]

I just picked up Moneyball to read too - really anything that Michael Lewis has written is worth picking up.

[k0ruptr]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Gotta say, of all those in that list, "Eat, Pray, Love" seems to be the oddball out. What did you think of it? I tried to listen to it from Audible, it wasn't working for me.

/tk

It was okay, maybe one of the weakest reads though out of everything I've read though in the last couple weeks. I still think its worth reading once though. good motivation , good story, and good natured.

[k0ruptr]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I just picked up Moneyball to read too - really anything that Michael Lewis has written is worth picking up.

agreed. Feinstein and him are probably my 2 favorite sports authors.