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Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein. Enjoying it so far, anyway.
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Jun 1, 2009 03:56
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Finally picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Not sure why I put it off for so long, I'm enjoying the hell out of it.
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Jun 1, 2009 04:34
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Zubumafoo posted:Just wondering, have you read the Tawny Man and Liveship Traders trilogies from her also? I liked the the trilogy that Shaman's Crossing was in, I forget the name of it, but I don't think it was as strong as her others. I was considering it, but I had about enough of FitzChivalry and his complete and utter impotence. He was admirably stoic and things didn't always go his way, no doubt, but man that kid just could not win. I got both Gears and Thunderer from Comic-Con. For some reason, I lost interest in Thunderer. Is Gears any more gripping?
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Jun 1, 2009 05:14
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The Road by Cormac McCarthy, as I'm sure a lot of people are reading now for the first time also Got interested in it after reading up on the upcoming movie. Enjoying the hell out of it, it's such a visual book and it's got such unique prose.
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Jun 1, 2009 07:45
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anathenema posted:I was considering it, but I had about enough of FitzChivalry and his complete and utter impotence. He was admirably stoic and things didn't always go his way, no doubt, but man that kid just could not win. If you went that far with the Assassin's trilogy, then I recommend finishing it, if not now then at some point. Yea, his completely loving up all the time did get a little irritating after a while, but...I don't want to spoil anything, but the end of the Tawny Man trilogy almost brought a happy tear to my eye. Also I would recommend the Liveship Traders trilogy. I didn't read it for the longest time because it didn't sound like something I would enjoy, but I ended up liking them a lot. Also, yea, I agree Thunderer was a little tough to get through at times, but ultimately satisfying. Gears seems to be holding my interest more, but it's been so long since I read Thunderer that I may not be remembering correctly.
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Jun 1, 2009 14:59
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Roomate just lent me The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene. Very interesting stuff in this book, really makes you think and notice things.
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Jun 1, 2009 15:13
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Zubumafoo posted:Just wondering, have you read the Tawny Man and Liveship Traders trilogies from her also? I liked the the trilogy that Shaman's Crossing was in, I forget the name of it, but I don't think it was as strong as her others. Does Gears have any relation to Thunderer or is it a completely brand-new setting/plot? I read Thunderer a few months back and thought it was pretty good, so I was thinking about reading Gears once the local library got a copy in.
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Jun 1, 2009 18:41
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Encryptic posted:Does Gears have any relation to Thunderer or is it a completely brand-new setting/plot? The main character in Gears (at least so far) is Arjun, same dude who was looking for his God in Thunderer. Edit: It also takes place in Ararat, same as Thunderer. Which I suppose doesn't mean much seeing as it seems like Ararat could be pretty much anything.
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Jun 1, 2009 19:00
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I'm just starting Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. Seems like it will be pretty light and easy reading.
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Jun 1, 2009 22:32
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I picked up Roberto Bolano's Nazi Literature in the Americas a few days ago since I couldn't get enough of him, and I also bought the Melville edition of Harper Perreniel's new little short story collection, because I love what they've been doing with design and I couldn't argue with their consistent 10$ price point. Got last month's Believer at the same time and enjoyed the excerpt from A History of Kindness. The day after that I bought The Origin of Species by... well, by Darwin, because I realized I've never read the whole thing. Just today I came across a little bookstore that had a few copies of The Romantic Dogs, a book of Bolano's poetry, which is fantastic and, I'd argue, really constructive in getting a handle on his ouevre. They also had a gorgeous little bilingual Heinrich Heine collection-- maybe some other time.
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Jun 2, 2009 00:24
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I've been slummin' it at the library. As I wrote in the "What did you just finish?" thread, I picked up Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects. I'm 36 pages in right now, and it qualifies as great pulpy trash so far even if Flynn's obsession with childhood sexuality is a bit off-putting sometimes. In one chapter her protagonist reveals that  she first masturbated after encountering a makeshift slaughterhouse with nudie pinups on the wall. That juxtaposition of images is revolting!
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Jun 3, 2009 08:31
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I just bought a book on Zen and JD Salinger - Nine Stories, or something similar. Amazon might as well own my soul at this point, I can't resist their 1p books with only £2.75 P&P, it's like daylight robbery on my part. Considering buying Outlaws of the Marsh but it's like £20 and I'm poor post-studenty dole scum and don't know if I can justify spending that much on a book. Mind you I wouldn't think twice about spending it on a game so maybe I should just click the checkout button and be done with it. Reading-wise, it's Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle.
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Jun 3, 2009 21:31
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I finished The Empty Space not too long ago. The analysis of Measure for Measure has prompted me to begin it. I was rather surprised that I hadn't even heard of it before Peter Brook.
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Jun 4, 2009 01:15
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I just bought Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Bearing An Hourglass by Piers Anthony, and Porno By Irvine Welsh. Cannot wait to read them!
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Jun 4, 2009 02:31
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I have begun my adventure into science fiction, with The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin as my entry point. I am a mere three chapters in but I find it captivating thus far! It is rich with allusive dialogue regarding the usual suspects -- philosophy, physics, psychology, and so on -- that is affixed to a gripping scenario which is all written with a keen sense of humour. What more could I ask for, really?
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Jun 7, 2009 09:12
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A few weeks ago, I discovered a new used book store in my area. Although it didn't have a good selection, I managed to find Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which I have already started reading. I also have Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle on hold at the library.
Twin Cinema fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Jun 8, 2009 |
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Jun 7, 2009 18:23
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After a six-month hiatus from all things literary (misdirected angst about my useless degree in the current job market), I just started the same book I last finished: The Unnamable by Samuel Motherfucking Beckett. In a nutshell, it's a 145-page monologue by the universe's most ambiguous narrator (Is he alive? dead? a blind mute quadriplegic in an urn? in heaven? hell? an empty void? a blackened pit? a brain trapped within a skull?) who is certain of nothing except a compulsion and desire to speak at last one true thing and consequently to be finally and eternally silent, complicated by his mistrust of his own words and those of the apparent other characters (real people? shades? disembodied voices? voices in his own head?) who attempt to convince him that he is in fact them and he has lived their own disparate, sordid, and absurd existences. On the one hand, it is rather , but on the other, it somehow strikes me as the most truthful piece of writing I have ever read.
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Jun 8, 2009 03:02
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Just picked up Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. Having a little trouble keeping some of the names straight, but it's a fantastic book despite my ineptitude with names.
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Jun 8, 2009 03:42
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Tumbler Taker posted:Just picked up Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. Having a little trouble keeping some of the names straight, but it's a fantastic book despite my ineptitude with names. I guess judgments like this are inherently subjective, but this is a really superb work. Enjoy! Just started a number of works on contemplative prayer(these include The Cloud of Unknowing and Open Mind, Open Heart, and I just finished a related book by Merton), which is a Christian analogue of sorts (similar, but certainly not the same) to meditative techniques from various Eastern traditions (e.g., Vipassana).
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Jun 8, 2009 04:24
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Just started Ian M. Banks Consider Phlebus, the first Culture novel. So far its pretty cool.
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Jun 8, 2009 05:27
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Just started The Lazarus Effect, the sequel to The Jesus Incident. I loved The Jesus Incident but everything I loved about it, the political intrigue, sentient ship and the idea of colonization of a foreign world all seem to be gone from the sequel.
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Jun 9, 2009 21:20
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I don't remember which thread it was but someone suggested The Raw Shark Texts . Thanks a lot, I got so into it I couldn't sleep until 4AM and I've had to drink a ton of coffee to stay awake at work  Seriously it's a pretty good book so far, though I get the feeling it's about to go off the rails. I stopped at the stuff about Mycroft Ward copying his brain into other people to stay alive forever
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Jun 9, 2009 21:51
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Just started a re-read of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn. I have no money to buy new books, so time to go through my library.
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Jun 10, 2009 15:34
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Eely posted:Just started a number of works on contemplative prayer(these include The Cloud of Unknowing and Open Mind, Open Heart, and I just finished a related book by Merton), which is a Christian analogue of sorts (similar, but certainly not the same) to meditative techniques from various Eastern traditions (e.g., Vipassana). Thomas Merton? I'm a huge fan of his poetry but never read his theological (I guess? Maybe his spiritual work is more apt?) stuff. Hm. Anyway I just bought Take It, Joshua Beckman's newest collection of poems. I've been hearing a lot of good things about him lately, but it's on the backburner while I finish some Melville short stories, picked up on the basis of how cute the new Harper line of short stories by various masters is-- might go out and get the Tolstoy one sometime, as well.
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Jun 11, 2009 00:50
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I've finished the third of ten books in Roger Zelazny's "Great Book of Amber" series. I spend much more time on movies and music than books, so I don't read very often, but a friend lent it to me after I became interested in his explanation of the nature and philosophy of Amber in the story. I have to say, this book is incredible so far. I'm quite surprised there's not a Zelazny thread in here, seeing as how he's basically heralded as a legend in the eyes of Martin and other popular fantasy writers. This book would make a fantastic movie, too. I'm trying to convince said friend to start a Zelazny or just an Amber thread here, because it seems the type of story that SA would love.
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Jun 11, 2009 17:55
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Ballsworthy posted:The Unblemished by Conrad Williams Started this last night. Jesus gently caress christ mohamed miles davis, this poo poo is severely hosed up. Loving it.
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Jun 11, 2009 18:27
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Bookstore run today: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and a collection of plays by Satre- No Exit, The Flies, Dirty Hands, and the Respectful Prostitute to be specific. Started IJ today-hoo boy, it's a doozy, but I can't wait to read more of it. It feels like a more accessible Gravity's Rainbow from the little bit I've read
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Jun 11, 2009 22:38
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After reading and loving Blood Meridian, I decided I needed another McCarthy fix. I bought Suttree after weighing it against Outer Dark. I may still buy Outer Dark on my next outing if Suttree is as good as everyone says it is. I also picked up Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Illych (and other stories). My hope is that it will prepare me for his longer novels. Probably a dumb idea. Lastly, and there's no great rationale behind this, I purchased DeLillo's White Noise. I tried to find Pale Fire but they were all out. Jurispathic fucked around with this message at 19:24 on Jun 12, 2009 |
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Jun 11, 2009 23:48
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Slackerish posted:Started IJ today-hoo boy, it's a doozy, but I can't wait to read more of it. It feels like a more accessible Gravity's Rainbow from the little bit I've read It definitely gets more difficult (I wouldn't say as difficult as Gravity's Rainbow gets, though).
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Jun 11, 2009 23:54
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Just started Molloy by Sam Beckett today. It's interesting so far, but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.
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Jun 12, 2009 00:55
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Grabbed the first Mistborn book, the first First Law book, and The Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan off the library shelf the other day. You know, since I need to get light fantasy reading and hardcore economic reading done this summer.
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Jun 12, 2009 10:13
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I've been buying books for pretty much the whole week, mostly trying to get rid of all the "I really liked this book and feel bad about not owning it" guilty thoughts I've been having from downloading. So far I've picked up a few books in A Song of Ice and Fire I was missing, The Bell Jar, Kafka on the Shore and I'm trying to find an edition of The Road with a really nice cover. There's the bluish one with trees which isn't so bad, but I prefer the plain covers and I haven't been able to find one yet. Also, I wandered into a discount store and found a stack of... interesting non-fiction books. Including this. DIY in comic-book form! I'm sure it offers a lot of helpful tips, but I can't get past the terrible puns ("let's get cracking on those tiles", anyone?) and superhero sideplot.
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Jun 12, 2009 15:43
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Birthday haul yesterday: Kim Cooper - 33 1/3: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. If you're not familiar with the series, 33 1/3 are ~100 page booklets each tracing the story behind an influential album. Already finished this one -- it was decent, but a little underwhelming. Mangum himself wasn't interviewed, so the material's all second hand and barely covers his subsequent withdrawal into obscurity. Pynchon - The Crying of Lot 49. Already read GR and M&D; this probably fits next in my bizarre best-to-worst order. Starting shortly. Richard Powers - The Gold Bug Variations. I'm behind the game on Powers, but given all the DFW/Vollmann comparisons, my expectations are high. Eugenie Samuel Reich - Plastic Fantastic. The rise and fall of Jan Hendrik Schon, infamous scientific fraud.
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Jun 12, 2009 19:20
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Twin Cinema posted:A few weeks ago, I discovered a new used book store in my area. Although it didn't have a good selection, I managed to find Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which I have already started reading. I also have Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle on hold at the library. Well, I am still waiting for Jackson's book, but, I did manage to find a book called Sneaker Wars by Barbara Smit, which is a look on how Adidas and Puma formed, and became the names they are today. I also bought the Savage Detectives because of how good 2666 was. As I Lay Dying ended up being one of the most enjoyable books I have read.
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Jun 12, 2009 22:58
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Just got cracking on American Gods some nights ago, and it should prove to be good. Downer opening, but fascinating so far. Also borrowed from a friend Stanley Kubrick, Director as a complement to my recent Netflix activity and Silence: Lectures and Writings by John Cage, which looks to be, seriously, the House of Leaves of textbooks. I am preparing for challenges.
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Jun 13, 2009 00:07
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Reading John Marks' Fangland. Interesting premise but it took a while for the pace to pick up, resulting in me putting it down for a few days to read Douglas Coupland's Shampoo Planet. Now that I'm back to Fangland, it's really starting to move forward.
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Jun 13, 2009 01:02
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WoG posted:Kim Cooper - 33 1/3: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. If you're not familiar with the series, 33 1/3 are ~100 page booklets each tracing the story behind an influential album. Already finished this one -- it was decent, but a little underwhelming. Mangum himself wasn't interviewed, so the material's all second hand and barely covers his subsequent withdrawal into obscurity. Hey, I have that! I quite liked it. Would've been better if Mangum had been interviewed, but otherwise I think it did a fine job of covering Neutral Milk Hotel's "rise to fame".
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Jun 13, 2009 02:14
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Just started The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski aka the first Witcher book. I'm not very far into it but so far its just short stories involving Geralt, which is okay because they're pretty good stories.
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Jun 13, 2009 03:10
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I started reading The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard a few days ago. It's essentially a political history of the Caribbean pirates during the golden age of piracy c. 1690-1720. It's not really an era or a subject I've ever had a lot of interest in but his take and explanation of the motivations for both the pirates and the people hunting them (and them usually not being just "let's go hunt for some treasure/stop our treasure from being taken") are so fascinating that I'm being really drawn in.
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Jun 13, 2009 03:22
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I have just begun to read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. It took me just a little time to get used to the writing style but I enjoy it. A friend just told me this week that they have already started making a movie about the book. I saw the trailer today and so far it looks straight out of the book.
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Jun 13, 2009 06:43
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