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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading - June 2017
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Rob wrote: "The Gunslinger was written in serial early on in King's career and later revised (~2005) to fix some continuity issues. Drawing of Three was written as a novel. I think that's why people tend to be more receptive to it. Of course I know people who didn't like that either so it's hard to say for sure..."Oh, interesting. I knew Gunslinger had been revised (I was reading the revised one) but not that it had been a serial. I actually think that would have been more frustrating! Glad I read it as a novel. I am surely going to read the next book, though I doubt I'll get to it before the movie comes out =/ I guess there's always hope. Either way, I'll definitely report back when I get there!
I will say, you've made me very curious if Gunslinger is second least enjoyable and number 4 is most enjoyable. Gunslinger was well written, just not what I'd call "gripping," like I expect most first books to be.
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I like the first book more than most. Especially the flashback scenes to his childhood. Which is why I love Wizard and Glass so much. It's mostly flashback. It's for that reason some don't like W&G though, especially after how Waste Lands ends.
I like all the books a lot though, save maybe book 6.
Allison wrote: "I am reading Midnight Riot now. I like the title Rivers of London better. It's funny, though nothing ground breaking in the genre. I'm enjoying it quite a bit."This is defiantly one that you should listen to rather than read.
AndrewP wrote: "Allison wrote: "I am reading Midnight Riot now. I like the title Rivers of London better. It's funny, though nothing ground breaking in the genre. I'm enjoying it quite a bit."This is defiantly o..."
Hmm! I'll do my best. I could see it being a good audio experience :-)
Finished with All Systems Red by Martha Wells. Marvin the android has a tough competition now. Fun SF, but not fluffy.Already 26% into Lock In by John Scalzi. I wonder how my threep would look like.
I liked All Systems Red much more than I thought I would. Was expecting fairly simple story but it was surprisingly affecting.
Indeed, it was surprisingly engaging despite the straightforward plot. Loved the dry humour. It was my first Wells book, so she is definitely in my to-watch list now.
There's at least one more in the series out next year. She has some fantasy out too and the raksura stuff is pretty good (I've read the first one)
Wells has primarily been a fantasy author, aside from some Stargate Atlantis and Star Wars novels.I've read everything she's written, and it's all been very good and very interesting. The Death of the Necromancer is a great fantasy/mystery/"steampunk" novel that does some really cool stuff with magic/technology integration.
And I super love Moon (and Stone) from the Raksura books!
I'm reading Ready Player One and it's...meh. I'm getting all the references but it just leaves me cold. We are Legion (We are Bob) does it much better. RPO feels like a Gibson-lite deliberately dumbed down YA cyberpunk world. I'm not even sure the author understands what he's trying to portray. He listed a bunch of bands with silly lyrics and included Pink Floyd. Floyd, silly? It's a lot of things but not that. It's like he went to Wikipedia and made a list.
The incessant references to the 80s become not nostalgia but a ridiculous duty run. As for the evil corporation, must it be so simplistic? Corporation = evil, yawn.
John (Taloni) wrote: "I'm reading Ready Player One and it's...meh. I'm getting all the references but it just leaves me cold. We are Legion (We are Bob) does it much better. RPO feels like a Gibson-lite deliberately d..."
I agree that Ready Player One is dumb, but as I said in my review that's kind of like complaining cotton candy has no nutritional value.
Nothing about that world makes sense. Doing the math on the nostalgia binge watching underscores that there's just no way they could learn all of that stuff because they literally don't have enough hours in the day. Star Trek alone would take someone a month to watch if you only slept 3 hours a night.
So it was just silly for silliness' sake. That said, I'm certainly never going to waste my time reading anything else he writes.
Oh thank God I've found others who didn't like RPO. Overrated nostalgia porn for the Gen X kids who felt picked on. As is the next book which, from the blurb, sounds like a Last Starfighter ripoff. His writing itself isn't bad but he's stuck in pandering to 80s nerd culture.
AndrewP wrote: "Allison wrote: "I am reading Midnight Riot now. I like the title Rivers of London better. It's funny, though nothing ground breaking in the genre. I'm enjoying it quite a bit."This is defiantly o..."
Why?
I really enjoyed it and follow the series.
I liked the fact that Peter has to work at it (and that he is a black Londoner). He also is definitely not a Mary Sue. A proper PC plod... dry English.
Iain wrote: "Why? ."The narrator of the audio books is outstanding. He does a wide range of regional and ethnic accents for the characters. Check out the samples on Audible.
AndrewP wrote: "Allison wrote: "I am reading Midnight Riot now. I like the title Rivers of London better. It's funny, though nothing ground breaking in the genre. I'm enjoying it quite a bit."This is defiantly one that you should listen to rather than read."
Listen Defiantly! Read Aggressively! May the best style win!
I read a YA apocalyptic novel that will be completely ridiculous if you know anything about science. The book is The Ship and my review is here.I also finally read Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman which I've had for months! I liked it, although I don't have much to compare it too because I don't actually know much about Norse myth. Shameful, I know. My review is here.
So it's not sci fi or fantasy but prominently features swords: I just finished Francis Spufford's Golden Hill. Totally incredible. It's set in New York 25 years before the American Revolution and told in the style of an 18th-century novel. Rollicking and fast paced, hilarious and suspenseful. I think it has lots of crossover appeal for sff fans. (Does anyone know of novels set in fantastic versions of North America during this period?)I also just picked up Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring and am already riveted.
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I just finished The Last Days of New Paris, my introduction to China Mieville. From it I took away that he is a talented writer, but the subject matter was just TOO weird for my tastes. I definitely want to try another one of his books, although maybe I will have the same experience since he considers his genre "New Weird". But Paris was about Surrealist art come to life, so...that's pretty darn weird no matter what you do with it!Today I started Replica by Lauren Oliver.
Other recent reads for me include The Towers, the Moon by Andrea K Host, a fun triptych of short stories set between The Pyramids of London and it's as-yet-unreleased sequel, Tangleways.
Then I had LASIK performed and had to stick to audiobooks for a time. I listened to Fran Wilde's short story, The Jewel and Her Lapidary, but then realized nonfiction works much better for me when I need to listen to rather than read a book. So I partook of some Jenny Lawson (always hilarious!), Mindy Kaling, then I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life, and Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures. These last two were pretty fascinating!
After reading this month's selection The Hum and the Shiver and a watch of the South Park Movie with the kid I started free associating on their musical numbers and....(massive, total spoilers below...)(view spoiler)
John (Taloni) wrote: "After reading this month's selection The Hum and the Shiver and a watch of the South Park Movie with the kid I started free associating on their musical numbers and....(massive, tot..."Heh. Oh, that IS good.
Rick wrote: "Oh thank God I've found others who didn't like RPO. Overrated nostalgia porn for the Gen X kids who felt picked on. As is the next book which, from the blurb, sounds like a Last Starfighter ripoff...."*waves* Also didn't like RPO. My review touches on why.
I'm currently reading Brooklyn. I'm going to start The Left Hand of Darkness when I get it Wednesday.
^I giggled unseemly little laughs at your first paragraph, and outright snorted at the end of the second sentence.
Finished Hyperion and liked it a lot. I'll probably pick up the audiobook for The Fall of Hyperion sometime soon.Read The Graveyard Book. Probably my least favorite Gaiman book so far, but still an okay book.
Just started the audiobook for Ubik. I've read it before and it's a favorite, but I just picked up the audio on sale.
Starting Furies of Calderon today for a book club... that meets this week. I'm not really looking forward to it so I've been putting it off.
Currently listening to the complete & fully casted audiobook of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and it's fun. Finished Bookburners: Season One Volume One and it was good! Interesting to see how four different authors handle writing one story. Definitely in for the rest of S1 and got my hands on S2. Starting Bookburners: Season One Volume Two and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more answers.
Wait... there's a sequel to Ready Player One? Would that be worth it? I liked it. It was fun to listen to because I could zone out during the bits that bored me. =P
I know for sure that RPO is not a book that I could read and enjoy.
There isn't a sequel to Ready Player One yet--Cline said in an interview he was working one, though.The other book people are referencing is Armada, which is a standalone that is apparently an homage to The Last Starfighter, but even other fans of RPO seemed to think the schtick was worn out in Armada.
Listening to Graphic Audio version of Elantris. Finished part 1 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ) and Part 2 ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... )
Finished The Battle Royale Slam Book (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
Finish Camelot's Shadow (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
As we head into the final stretch of June I've got the following in various states of progress:
Elantris, Part 3 of 3
Infomocracy
Wild Cards - hoping to get some BG on this before the TV show starts
Ody-C: Cycle One
And still working on
Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling
in my spare time
Jordan wrote: "Finished Hyperion and liked it a lot. I'll probably pick up the audiobook for The Fall of Hyperion sometime soon."It's worth reading the other two books (really one long novel) of the Hyperion Cantos: Endymion and The Rise of Endymion. But considering the length of these works, it might be worth taking a break from the first series to the second.
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I also finally read Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman which I've had for months! I liked it, although I don't have much to compare it too because I don't actually know much about Norse myth. Shameful, I know."I started listening to this yesterday!!!
I didn't realize, until I started listening to it, how much of what I'd assumed was European continental/UK basis for fantasy is actually Norse (or more heavily Norse?).
Reading it is well-timed for me, given that Tad Williams' first book in the 2nd Osten Ard series is coming out tomorrow. He uses a lot of Norse myth as influence (or did in the first Osten Ard series).
How you know you've been reading too much of The Expanse:When you're playing Words With Friends, someone plays "Roc" and you have an "I" and wonder why the game won't take "Roci" as a word.
John (Taloni) wrote: "How you know you've been reading too much of The Expanse:When you're playing Words With Friends, someone plays "Roc" and you have an "I" and wonder why the game won't take "Roci" as a word."
Heh.
I keep doing similar things on Ruzzle (Boggle).
Just started on our BotM, but since my copy is part of a much larger book (a five volume collection of Le Guin's work), I probably won't be taking it with us on a trip my wife and I will be taking soon. Instead I'll be bringing a couple of Neil Gaiman novels, Neverwhere and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. And maybe my copy of The Hero With a Thousand Faces, which I'm reading a bit at a time so as to allow me to absorb the material better.
I just finished some shorts/novelette - which are available online - nominated for Hugo this year. My favorite (from top to bottom)You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay
That Game We Played During the War
Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies
The City Born Great
A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers
The Tomato Thief
Seasons of Glass and Iron
The Art of Space Travel
Touring with the Alien
David wrote: "Wells has primarily been a fantasy author, aside from some Stargate Atlantis and Star Wars novels.
I've read everything she's written, and it's all been very good and very interesting. [book:The D..."
Rick wrote: "There's at least one more in the series out next year. She has some fantasy out too and the raksura stuff is pretty good (I've read the first one)"
thank you for the recommendations!
Just finished a bout of reading (all illnesses should be like this). Finished reading American Gods to my son (13). I had forgotten how down and dirty it is and quite a few details of the plot. Still one of my favourites.
Finished the surrealist novella The Last Days of New Paris ★★★☆☆ by China Miéville which is a strange and interesting book. I may have enjoyed it more if I knew more art history (Might have to pick up my wife's the story o fart.
I have also started reading back picks from the club in my "spare" time and have finished The Night Circus ★★★★☆ by Erin Morgenstern
which is a good solid summer read with some interesting takes on magic.
Now to start reading The Blade Itself and to my son The Left Hand of Darkness★★★★★.
Silvana wrote: "I just finished some shorts/novelette - which are available online - nominated for Hugo this year. You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay"
You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay was excellent. Possibly the best new short story I've read since The Bone Swans of Amandale.
I'm really liking Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff so far and I've recently added some new Carl Sagan audio books from Audible. So far I'm listening to Cosmos narrated by Levar Burton. I'm re-reading Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages by Dean Koontz.
Iain wrote: "Just finished a bout of reading (all illnesses should be like this). Finished reading American Gods to my son (13). I had forgotten how down and dirty it is and quite a few details of the plot. S..."
I also just read The Last Days of New Paris!
Also, you said "story o fart", heh!
John (Taloni) wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Finished Hyperion and liked it a lot. I'll probably pick up the audiobook for The Fall of Hyperion sometime soon."It's worth reading the other two books (..."
Yeah, I plan on reading the next book fairly soon and then probably taking a break before Endymion. I tend to burn out on series/authors quickly if I don't take a break between books.
My hold on Stories of Your Life and Others finally came in. I've been wanting to read it since watching Arrival.One thing I miss reading when I read just novels is how short stories can really examine a concept, which I have enjoyed in the first few stories of this collection. I should probably work more short story collections into my reading.
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The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Stories of Your Life and Others (other topics)The Fall of Hyperion (other topics)
Hyperion (other topics)
Tangleways (other topics)
Lovecraft Country (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Linda Nagata (other topics)Paula Guran (other topics)
Saladin Ahmed (other topics)
Robert E. Howard (other topics)
C.L. Moore (other topics)
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The Gunslinger was written in serial early on in King's career and later revised (~2005) to fix some continuity issues. Drawing of Three was written as a novel. I think that's why people tend to be more receptive to it. Of course I know people who didn't like that either so it's hard to say for sure.
Dark Tower was my first real epic fantasy, and is still one of my favorite series. Personally I think in terms of enjoyment my ranking would be:
Wizard and Glass
The Waste Lands
The Drawing of the Three
Wolves of the Calla
The Dark Tower
The Gunslinger
Song of Susannah
If you do continue on, I'll be curious to see what you think about the next volume.