What Have We Been Reading

[Steve]

Okie dokie so I finished A Visit from the Goon Squad. I gotta ask, if anyone has read this, what in the hell were they thinking giving this book the Pulitzer? Parts of this book were OK, moreover a lot of the book was a twisted mess of writing that barely tied together and a terrible ending to wrap everything up. Yikes. I mean, I finished it, but that's all I can say.

[[deleted user]]

Welp, that book gets kicked down the TBR list.

[whimsicalmeerkat]

Yeah, it just keeps slipping. The trying too hard promotion on this site doesn't help matters.

[Steve]

Honestly, I do not recommend it, but (and a huge BUT).. read the first chapter.. it's a good indication of the writing style that continues, but by no means an indication of the plot (which is an incoherent mess).

[Alan]

I read The Haunting of Hill House back when that awful movie came out in 1999. The writing style took me a while to get used to, but it really sucked me in by the end. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

I recently finished Hellforged by Nancy Holzner, a better-than-decent followup to her novel Deadtown, which I picked up last year and really enjoyed. I also just started Freakonomics, which people have been raving about, and very much liked the first chapter. It's a way more interesting use of numbers than the stuff I learned in school.

[Tekka]

I'm about halfway through 1984. It's very well written. I love how purposeful everything is.

[Nimit]

1984 is one of my favorite books. If you like it you should check out Animal Farm by Orwell and Brave New World, which as time has passed has kind of become the counterpoint to 1984 in terms of societal development. This has been passed around on reddit over and over, but I direct you to this comic for a better explanation: http://www.recombinantrecords.net/doc...

[Steve]

meant to post this in here!

Just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman and Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. Both excellent works, Kafka.. really surprised me.

[[deleted user]]

Murakami has been on my tbr pile for a while. I still haven't gotten to any of them...

[whimsicalmeerkat]

*gasp* He's sooo good!

[[deleted user]]

Yeah, well, I've been busy reading others.

So pfft.

I'll get to him eventually.

[Steve]

I've read two of his now and honestly, he's worth being bumped up on the tbr list. Kafka on the shore was really interesting. I also read Hard boiled wonderland, which was a bit wacky but a good read. The 'end of the world' section of the latter book is my favourite Murakami read so far.

[CJ]

Alan wrote: "I read The Haunting of Hill House back when that awful movie came out in 1999. The writing style took me a while to get used to, but it really sucked me in by the end. I hope you continue to enjoy..."

Watch the original movie, by Ray Wise... it's much closer to the book, and creepy as hell. I always tell people that the movie wasn't remade, it was bent over a casting couch and sodomized for two hours.

[Steve]

Finished reading The crime and punishment of I.G. Farben. Basically in three parts: the rise of the german dyestuffs industry and the brilliant minds responsible, then the role played by said industry in WWI/II, then the legal battles in postwar America to avoid returning foreign German assets to German hands. Pretty interesting stuff, but very dry by the end. Review here.

[[deleted user]]

That's one of those books that I'll will pretty much never read, unless by some twist of fate I'm trapped on an island with it.

It just looks so dull.

[whimsicalmeerkat]

Steve wrote: "Finished reading The crime and punishment of I.G. Farben. Basically in three parts: the rise of the german dyestuffs industry and the brilliant minds responsible, then the role played ..."

I may be imagining it, but I swear this was just mentioned in Gravity's Rainbow.

[Steve]

HA, that's about what I expected to see in response.. It was ultra dull at the end, but for non-fiction, the first half was actually very interesting.. some of the most brilliant minds alive were employed by the German industries at the turn of the century.

Reading Hunger now.. Basically a guy wandering around starving to death, slowly (or quickly?) going crazy over lack of sustenance. Not sure where it's heading, I'm assuming death.. Yikes. I'll be reading Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life after to try and lighten the mood.

[Ryan]

I am reading Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. So far it is fantastic. I needed something to take my mind off the wait for another Song of Ice and Fire novel and LOLL is working out splendidly.

[[deleted user]]

Red Seas Under Red Skies is great too. A bit dense at the start, but it picks up rather well.

[Jack]

I've just finished reading The Kite Runner. Quite serious subject matter, but it lightens up slightly at the very-very end.

[Laurel]

Currently reading World War Z. It's interesting, and I'm not saying I'm not enjoying it, but... I'm getting a bit bored by the fact that it's not written in a standard narrative form. Maybe "bored" is the wrong word. I'm about 72% done and I can see how it's all panning out, there isn't really any suspense and there isn't a protagonist to care about – it's just not really holding my attention anymore. I do want to finish it, but I think I'm going to take a break and read something else for awhile.

[whimsicalmeerkat]

I loved it, but I also really enjoy oral histories and knew what to expect, I guess?

[Alan]

Laurel wrote: "Currently reading World War Z. It's interesting, and I'm not saying I'm not enjoying it, but... I'm getting a bit bored by the fact that it's not written in a standard narrative form. Maybe "bored"..."

If you're willing to give it another shot, I'd really recommend the WWZ audiobook. It's abridged, but has some great voice acting that really adds a new dimension to each story.

[Laurel]

Alan wrote: "Laurel wrote: "Currently reading World War Z. It's interesting, and I'm not saying I'm not enjoying it, but... I'm getting a bit bored by the fact that it's not written in a standard narrative form..."

Thanks for the rec – unfortunately, I can't do audio books. My mind wanders too much and I totally lose my place (there's actually a current discussion about this in r/books). I'm definitely planning on finishing this book – like I said, it's not that I'm not enjoying it at all, but it's starting to feel like a bit of a chore. I'm just going to take a break and then come back to it later.

[Steve]

Wrapped up The Gulag Archipelago: 1918-1956 the other day. Yowza. A lot of history there I did not know, but I'm sure I wanted to know it either. Painful history there, but lessons to be learned. I had no idea how close 1984 was to the truth until I read this one.

Onwards with Ready Player One, which is ultra nerdy, ultra geeky, hopefully an ultra good read, but so far I'm not too sure it's all it is cracked up to be. Anyone else read this yet?

[Fathermocker]

I read it a few weeks ago, it was a loooot of fun. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Sharon]

Anyone have any plans for Halloween reads? I just finished Hell House and am currently on The Haunting of Hill House. Surely I can't be the only one with a horror-only agenda in October?

[Fathermocker]

I'm currently reading John Dies at the End, I don't know if that counts as a Halloween reading :P

[[deleted user]]

I want to do some horror this month, just haven't gotten to any yet.

[Steve]

We should set a horror book as reddit book of the month.. suggestions? I'm not a horror buff..

[Fathermocker]

I've been wanting to read House of Leaves for the longest time, but never got around to it. Maybe we should use October as an excuse? What do you think?

[[deleted user]]

Works for me

[Steve]

Yeah I've been meaning to read it, I even had it out from the library once and somehow it dropped off my list.. just found a magical online version of it. format of this one is STRANGE, but I could use a good horror treat for October..

Just finished Ready Player One. Interesting read, but I wouldn't personally recommend it. Extreme geek alert.

Moving on to some of the Haruki Murakami books I haven't read, in anticipation of his new english port.. :)

[Fathermocker]

The format is one of its cool things. I highly recommend reading the physical version though.

I just can't get tired of Murakami :)

[whimsicalmeerkat]

Fathermocker wrote: "I just can't get tired of Murakami :)"

^

[Sharon]

Fathermocker wrote: "I've been wanting to read House of Leaves for the longest time, but never got around to it. Maybe we should use October as an excuse? What do you think?"

I'm up for it! Haven't read it in almost ten years, so I think it's been long enough. I have since lost my copy, though. *sigh*

[Fathermocker]

I read After Dark last week, it's a pretty good book. You should try reading one of his long novels though, something like Kafka on the Shore.

[Steve]

Finished up Murakami's first two novels Hear the Wind Sing & Pinball, 1973. Both pretty good, but Pinball really struck me, excellent read. I am awaiting his third from the library.

Quickly read The Old Man and the Sea, which surprised me. I would have read it long ago if I had known it's length/style. Not a recommendation, but it was fairly good..

[Fergus]

The Old Man and the Sea is a divisive book, but The Sun Also Rises was, in my opinion, a better read. The prose was fascinating at points.

I'm currently reading Suttree, my first McCarthy, on recommendation from an old English teacher. Loving the way he puts sentences and words together, although sometimes the verbosity is a bit clunky. However that's really infrequent, for the most part it's pure poetry.

[John]

Starting Cherie Priest's [Book: Boneshaker] tomorrow.

[Sharon]

John wrote: "Starting Cherie Priest's [Book: Boneshaker] tomorrow."

Just started Four and Twenty Blackbirds by this author. Only a few chapters in, but I really like it so far.

[[deleted user]]

John wrote: "Starting Cherie Priest's [Book: Boneshaker] tomorrow."

Good luck. I rather disliked that book.

[whimsicalmeerkat]

John wrote: "Starting Cherie Priest's [Book: Boneshaker] tomorrow."

You have my sympathy.

[[deleted user]]

Finished Ready Player One. Good old quest story with a lot of geekiness and nostalgia.

[John]

Wow, not a popular one I see. I'm only about 70 pages in thus far... haven't made any decisions yet.

[[deleted user]]

Once the story gets going, you'll understand why some of us don't like it.

[John]

I'll let everyone know when I hit the upcoming wall :)

[Victoria]

More than halfway through In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences. Absolutely fantastic, I can see why it's a classic and one of the prime examples of its genre. Now I hope that I can find similarly well written and researched books such as this one as I start venturing more and more into True Crime.

[Steve]

Just finished Norwegian Wood. My first 5 star read since May! It's a straight up love story, but it blew me away and I'm almost tempted to re-read it already, if it weren't for 1Q84 coming on Tuesday!

[Fathermocker]

That's a great book man, really sad though. That was my first Murakami read.