What Have We Been Reading

[Kevin]

The Help

[szymborskalyte]

Now onto David Foster Wallace's Oblivion. Really, there's no one author that quite challenges my vocabulary the way this bastard does ... makes me feel quite inadequate, actually. What a shame he committed suicide.

[Earl Grey Tea]

As an ex-pat in Korea, I am reading an amazing book about the 1592 Japanese Invasion of Korea called The Imjin War.

[Dave]

I'm Mainly consuming audiobooks at the moment. Recently listened to The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. I found it novel but ultimately it didn't grab me. Just finished The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. I really enjoyed his style of writing and the narration by William Hurt was very good. I think I would have loved it, but I've become a bit spoilt by action books such as Neal Stephenson's Reamde. I found The Sun Also Rises a little lacking of things actually happening. I'm trying to stay off action books for a while, and hopefully will get more enjoyment out of my next Hemingway.

[Cyn]

I just finished The Millennium Trilogy this evening. Starting Blood Meridian tonight.

[John]

Finishing up Lauren Oliver's Delirium at the moment. I seem to be the only person on the planet that didn't care for it. Heh.

[Steve]

Cyn wrote: "I just finished The Millennium Trilogy this evening. Starting Blood Meridian tonight."

Wooo! I enjoyed the M Trilogy, but if you thought the bit of violence that had to offer was something, get ready for Blood Meridian :D

[Janet]

I just finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. What a book. Highly recommend it to everyone, especially if you're in need of a soul search.

[Julie]

I started The Witch Of Portobello, but I think I am going to hold off on that and begin A Wild Sheep Chase instead.

[Steve]

I've been listening to the audiobook for the first book in the Game of Thrones series. VERY entertaining. My first audio book.

[John]

Now working on Summer Knight. I like the Dresden series. Total brain candy.

[Ted]

John wrote: "Now working on Summer Knight. I like the Dresden series. Total brain candy."

I love the Dresden series. I've been picking them up between other reads. Have fun!

[Ted]

Making my way through The Bourne Identity. Happy to find it different from the movies, a little surprised to see how old it is. Very repetitive though, hoping the pace picks up soon.

[Ted]

Finished The Bourne Identity. Can't say I was thrilled. Maybe thrillers were less thrilling in 1980? If you like the movies, the book might be of interest for contrast.

[Cy]

Currently going through Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie. It's nonfiction, but written in such a way that it seems like very tragic fiction.

Reading that after I couldn't get more than a hundred pages into Gregory Macguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Ugh.

[Talha]

I am reading Evolution by Stephen Baxter these days. This is my first Baxter's book. From the first few chapters the book looks interesting. It's impressive how well he describes the scenery of 65 million ago. I hope it would not turn out to be a disappointment in the later chapters.

[Kimberly]

The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud. I didn't realize this book is almost 10 years old?! But it has the same feel as one of my favorite books growing up, Good Omens. It could easily slide into the Discworld complex. Arrogant magicians, smartass demons and London.

[Ted]

Started on Reamde. A thriller for the WoW age? So far, so so.

[Steve]

Talha wrote: "I am reading Evolution by Stephen Baxter these days. This is my first Baxter's book. From the first few chapters the book looks interesting. It's impressive how well he describes the scenery of 65 ..."

I've read the Manifold series, mind-bending sci fi :)

[Elizabeth]

Kimberly wrote: "The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud. I didn't realize this book is almost 10 years old?! But it has the same feel as one of my favorite books growing up, Good Omens. It could easily slide i..."

Do you like it? I started that a while back, but I couldn't get into it. Ran across it again the other day when I was cleaning off my bookshelf and making a "To Donate" box.

[Ted]

Hornblower During the Crisis - how sad to read an uncompleted novel. We miss you, Forester.

[Nikiverse]

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach.

It got a little dark on me. I thought it was going to be more about interesting things about cadavers (like worms and CSI stuff). But it's getting into the weird stuff people do with cadavers in the name of science.

[Steve]

onto A Dance with Dragons in audiobook format. It's taken months, but this series is great when narrated by Roy Dotrice.

[Ted]

Steve wrote: "onto A Dance with Dragons in audiobook format. It's taken months, but this series is great when narrated by Roy Dotrice."

Dotrice is a good performer, but I didn't like this reading. He changes voices of characters with no consistency, and some choices of accents just make me cringe. Now that's not his fault, he's just the reader, but the publisher should have someone checking up on this. Plenty of audiobooks get it right.

[Talha]

I finished reading Pascal Zachary's Show Stopper. It details the story of the development of Windows NT and the people who made it possible. The technicalities have been dumbed down so even non-software people can read and enjoy it.

If you want a glimpse of early Microsoft culture, give this book a try.

[Ted]

I've finished a re-reading of the Amber series (The Great Book of Amber), as part of a personal goodbye to Roger Zelazny. I don't think they are his best work but they have a lot of personality. By the tenth book the plot is largely misplaced; old enemies team up with our hero on sort of a chummy, what the heck basis, so that we can tie up one loose end and call it a day.

[Steve]

Ted wrote:
Dotrice is a good performer, but I didn't like this reading...."

He does have hundreds of characters to voice.. perhaps I'm OK with it as I didn't have an idea of what the characters should sound like already? I found that he is fairly consistent with the main characters, but I have no other audio books to compare..

[Steve]

Hi folks. I know you're reading.. so am I! I took a vacation and read pretty much non-stop. Hammocks are good for that purpose.. no all time favourites this time around, but here's what I found.

4/5 stars
Apathy and Other Small Victories
Hell of a fun book, unfortunately this author has disappeared off the face of the literary planet!
Wait Until Spring, Bandini
My first John Fante, apparently an influence for Bukowski, whom I love dearly.
Kim's Convenience
Based on a play from Toronto, Ontario, so wonderful I had to pick up this physical copy.

3/5 stars
Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto
A great look at the history of this series. I think someone here suggested it..
Breakfast of Champions
As I continue reading all but the most popular Vonnegut, I realize I don't really care for his writing, but it is far from terrible.

2.5 stars
Casino Royale
James Bond began as a very useless, sexist dummy.
You're Not Doing It Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations
Remind me to stop reading autobiographies by comedians..
The Sense of an Ending
No comment. This sucked.

[Dylan]

Currently reading The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem.

[Alex]

Currently reading Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber - it's one of the best books I've ever read. :)

[Steve]

Debt looks like a must-read. Thanks for bringing it to my attention! I just finished up A Confederacy of Dunces. I believe it was a group read here, or on /r/books, but I just got around to it. I enjoyed the first part of the book, but the narrative structure changed considerably throughout the book and ultimately I didn't care for it at all by the halfway point.

[Alex]

I just finished The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Sagan. It was very good, as one would expect from Sagan. But not really as world-view transforming as Debt was.

[Greg]

That book sounds great Alex, I'll definately check that out.

Hey Steve, I think the second half becomes more of an adventure/silly plot. I still think it's one of the funniest books i've ever read, and I always love to get into tat one.

Myself, I just started "House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton. I'm always into 'great american novel' types.

[Roddy]

Started Dead Men's Dust by Matt Hilton and Last Man Standing by David Baldacci, and gave both up after a few pages. So badly written. I have just finished Echo Burning by Lee Child and it was a great read. Going to read The Phantom by Jo Nesbo next, guaranteed enjoyment!

[Ted]

Another happy reader of The Night Circus here. A glance at the review page shows that it is not for everybody - well, I'm not everybody, and it worked great for me. If you love rich description and don't mind the plot getting lost now and then, this one could be for you too.

[Steve]

Anyone else read Gone Girl this summer? It surprised me with more depth than I expected. My review.

[Neil]

I just started Gone Girl. It was on my to read list, but I saw a few people here enjoyed it, so it moved to currently reading. about 100 pages in and very intrigued so far.

[Neil]

I just started Gone Girl. It was on my to read list, but I saw a few people here enjoyed it, so it moved to currently reading. about 100 pages in and very intrigued so far.

[Ted]

Just finished A Very Private Gentleman (which was re-issued as The American to go with the movie release in 2010). It's not often I can say that I enjoy both book and movie versions of a story; in this case it is because the stories are so different, while holding to the same essentials. Whether you liked the movie or not, I recommend the novel - roam around the Italian countryside with it and enjoy the view.

[Ted]

Just finished The Cosmic Computer and posted a long-winded reminiscence of 50s sci-fi at http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/....

[Steve]

The Fault in Our Stars

Wow. I really enjoyed this. 5 stars. I struggled with giving it 4, but as I thought about the book, it really had more of an impact on me than I expected and I simply want to read it again. It didn't hit me as emotionally as I've heard people going on about, but there are some really moving and inspirational moments, alongside some well written existenstial passages. Recommended.

Reading The Dog Stars now, because.. well.. Stars. So far I can't put it down! This is my kinda book, gets my adrenaline pumping, I couldn't sleep last night!

Edit: The Dog Stars is an amazing book. It did not head where I expected and blew me away regardless. Between these two books, 10 stars. I'm not sure which I would crown 'book of the year' so far, but perhaps there is another contender I can squeeze in before 2012 counts down?

[Nam]

I'm starting on the guild wars novel specifically Guild Wars Ghost of Ascalon in preparation for the game. I have never played the first game so I am basically going to this book without any preknowledge.

[Katie]

Just finished Kapitoil. Not a book I would usually read, and I was very close to giving up. But because someone recommended it to me, I gave it all I had. Not bad.

Now I'm a few pages into Ready Player One. It's been on the top of my to-read list forever now, and I finally found a copy. :D

[Katie]

I'm in the middle of a couple long books too. I checked out both Reamde and Infinite Jest from the library. But if I have a book for over two months, I feel guilty about not sharing. So brought them back and I'm waiting for them to be free again or hope to find one to buy around here.

[Steve]

Katie, Ready Player One was a ton of fun. I enjoyed it and heard similar comments from a few people. I've also heard that Reamde is good, and my girlfriend has begun Infinite Jest, which she should finish in two years, haha.

[Steve]

Nobody has updated in awhile, so here's my 4 and 5 star reads since last November. I'm usually reading a couple of books at once, but tend to notice that when reading an excellent book, it really isn't fair to read a subpar book, it just makes it look like the dumb kid in class.

John Fante - Ask the Dust *****
Clifford D. Simak - Way Station ****
Hugh Laurie - The Gun Seller ****
Chris Ware - Building Stories ****
Ben Fountain - Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk ****
Amid Amidi - Art of Pixar ****
Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud.. ****
Raegan Butcher - Rusty String Quartet ****
J.M. Koetzee - Life and Times of Michael K ****
Erich Maria Remarque - All Quiet on the Western Front *****
Michael Herr - Dispatches *****

[Lynn]

I started the Wizard of Oz books. There are 14 in all. The first one is about Dorothy and there were striking differences between the book and the movie. For example, the slippers are silver, not Ruby red.
I am now on the second one in the series. They are easy to read, with a few plot "holes". However the author was not expecting a second story in the series and they are entertaining.

[Ted]

Wow, seeing Way Station on the list really took me back. Simak is one of the authors who helped me make the leap from space opera to science fiction. Great stuff, and Way Station is particularly memorable.

[Steve]

Way Station would have been a 5 for me if it had just been expanded. I didn't want the story to end, it felt too short to do the plot any justice.

[Ted]

Steve wrote: "Way Station would have been a 5 for me if it had just been expanded. I didn't want the story to end, it felt too short to do the plot any justice."

Simak wrote just enough to give us a feel for the place and tell one story about the place, while hinting of a lot more going on around us. I'd like more too, but that's what he did and he did it well.