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What Else Are You Reading - April 2012
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Aloha
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Apr 22, 2012 03:32PM
I finished Ghost Story. I need to make my way to the discussion for that. I have so many discussions to go to this month. I also finished a thin little book, The Whalestoe Letters, that goes with House of Leaves, my favorite novel of all time. I'm finishing up Frankenstein for my SciFi Aficionados group read before I finish up The Recognitions for my Brain Pain group read.
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I'm giving Samuel Delany's Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders a shot with the big kindle sample (100 pages?). At least it's shorter than Dhalgren.Um, very explicit.
I finally finished The Oxford Illustrated History of Tudor & Stuart Britain. In celebration I am rereading some of my favourite fiction books set in that era including As Meat Loves Salt, Hell and Earth, and A Dead Man in Deptford.If anyone has suggestions for other books set in that period, (fantasy or historical) I'd love to hear them.
Have to take a pass on The Magicians since I had to spend a fortune on text books for school, orzUntil my bank account looks better, I'll be giving Fifteen Days Without a Head a read (after two ASOIAF and GW2 novels I felt like non-fantasy for a change) >.>
I finished The Magicians last night. I actually liked it; it will get a 3-star review from me later.I'm currently listening to a quick read, Earthseed, before moving into Hyperion (with how crazy work is, I feel a need to stay a little ahead). In print (e-print), I'm reading a quick nonfiction title, Imagine: How Creativity Works.
I'm finally finished with The Lies of Locke Lamora, which held up well on reread. I also finished The Kingdom of Gods, book #3 of the 100K Kingdoms, which did not go in a direction that I expected, hooray. I got through most of Marooned in Realtime, which felt oddly dated now.I've started An Artificial Night, but I'm hoping to get some Hugo reading in with my other book club, perhaps Embassytown.
I started listening to Bitter Seeds and at first it wasn't catching my attention but halfway through I'm hooked! I'm definitely not a history buff (I do watch the History Channel... Pawn Stars anyone?...) but the idea of the alternate behind the scenes of WW2 is really cool. And reading The Well of Ascension. Freaking love his magic systems.
And UPS is delivering my copy of Game of Thrones tomorrow! Watched the first season on HBO and desided to hold off on season 2 and read the books first.
Amazon just spat out "The Mongoliad" and Stephen King's "The Wind Through The Keyhole", both in the same instant. Can't talk right now, I have to decide which one to crack first...can you "crack" an ebook if it doesn't have a spine?I feel rich right now.
JDB
Finished The Bride Wore Black Leather last night (the most recent Nightside book) and, after having read three Simon Green in a row, decided I needed a break from urban/noir fantasy, so I started House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds.
Whoo-hoo! I just got Stephen King's The Wind Through the Keyhole. I have to make my way to it starting with the first in the series, but I got it! I have all of the audios in the series. Yay! The Mongoliad: Book One looks great. I love the movie Mongol, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416044/. I'm fascinated with the life of Genghis Khan, although he is a bloodthirsty, conquering guy. The movie made him a character you can sympathize with.
JD Booker wrote: "Amazon just spat out "The Mongoliad" and Stephen King's "The Wind Through The Keyhole", both in the same instant. Can't talk right now, I have to decide which one to crack first...can you "crack" a..."
Aloha wrote: "Whoo-hoo! I just got Stephen King's The Wind Through the Keyhole. I have to make my way to it starting with the first in the series, but I got it! I have all of the audios in the series. Yay! ...""The Dark Tower" series...that's some mighty Stephen King there. If you listen while you're driving be prepared to take the long way to wherever you're going, 'cause you won't want to stop.
Aloha wrote: "Whoo-hoo! I just got Stephen King's The Wind Through the Keyhole. I have to make my way to it starting with the first in the series, but I got it! I have all of the audios in the series. Yay! ..."I'm also reading The Wind Through the Keyholes.
I love it that he is narrating the book himself this time, just like when the first two books first came out in trade paperback back in 1989, the only bad thing about it is those tapes are rare and were limited editions.
Can I stop at Mile 81?JD Booker wrote: ""The Dark Tower" series...that's some mighty Stephen King there. If you listen while you're driving be prepared to take the long way to wherever you're going, 'cause you won't want to stop.
I have to see who the narrators are for the audios I have.Kevin wrote: "I love it that he is narrating the book himself this time, just like when the first two books first came out in trade paperback back in 1989, the only bad thing about it is those tapes are rare and were limited editions.
Aloha wrote: "I have to see who the narrators are for the audios I have.Kevin wrote: "I love it that he is narrating the book himself this time, just like when the first two books first came out in trade paper..."
If you have the first audio with this cover:
, then it would be narrated by King. It came in a standard edition and a limited edition, which I just saw on ebay the limited edtion was going for $300 buy it now, but when it came out I think the limited edtion was around $125, but forgot how much the standarad edition was. I think it was aroun $75, but I could be wrong.
Finished The Magicians and on to The Magician King. The only reason I'm giving Grossman another shot is that the story and the writing quality overcame my absolute hatred of almost all the characters especially Q. I hope I don't regret this decision.
King is great, but I'm saving up now to buy the audio for Geek Love, $2,000.00.http://www.amazon.com/Geek-Love-Kathe...
Kevin: If you have the first audio with this cover: , then it would be narrated by King. It came in a standard edition and a limited edition, which I just saw on ebay the limited edtion was going for $300 buy it now, but when it came out I think the limited edtion was around $125, but forgot how much the standarad edition was. I think it was aroun $75, but I could be wrong.
Aloha wrote: "Can I stop at Mile 81?JD Booker wrote: ""The Dark Tower" series...that's some mighty Stephen King there. If you listen while you're driving be prepared to take the long way to wherever you're goi..."
If you stop at Mile 81 you may never make it to Duma Key, unless you're driving a Buick 8!
Finished The Magicians for the book club. Didn't hate it, didn't love it. Thought it was okay.Think I'm going to read Wind Through the Keyhole next. Always loved the Dark Tower series, so I'm excited.
Just started A Galaxy Unknown by Thomas DePrima (Kindle edition). This is the first in a series of -- I think -- 8 books in the military Space Opera style. Been away from Space Opera for far too long, and I needed a fix! (I've been a fan of Elizabeth Moon for a while now, and I grew up on the 'Doc' Smith Lensman books)I gather that DePrima is self-published on Amazon, and that also intrigues me (one day I'll write "that book"...)
I just finished The Iron Duke for VF and now I'm on The Magicians. Before that I read The Lies of Locke Lamora which I thought was an awesome book. If it wasn't for my long list of things to read I would be all over the next book in the series. I'm torn between what to read next. Souless (the alternate book for VF) or start on the Star Wars books.
Finished The Amber Spyglass a couple of days ago. Didn't see what everyone's beef with the whole "anti-christian" angle was until this one came in. It certainly became a whole lot more overt by the time I was halfway through. Loved it though, especially the Mulefa.Ended up reading Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability for work and honestly, it was pretty fantastic. It's probably the shortest computing book I've ever read, and yet it was also the most informative. I feel like I've gone from knowing nothing about user interfaces or web design, to pretty damn knowledgeable about both in just over 2 days. If you're involved in the computing/web industry, or even have a website you like to tweak every now and then, this is probably one of the most valuable books you could read.
Finally, I also started Storm Front a couple of days ago for my March book in my reading challenge (Running a tiny bit behind) and finished it earlier today. Absolutely loved it every step of the way. I tend to like detective stories quite a lot, and magic too so this was always going to be a good choice (This is actually the 2nd Urban Fantasy series I'm reading with a crime-solving wizard detective) but I had an amazing amount of trouble putting it down. I'm looking forward to jumping into the rest of the series, but since I'm running behind in the reading challenge I've set myself and I've yet to finish either of the books for the book clubs I'm part of, I should probably leave it for a while longer.
Speaking of which, I just started Old Man's War earlier today. I'm only a couple of chapters into it so far, so the story hasn't really kicked off yet. No real feelings towards it either way so far.
Don't Make Me Think is such a web classic!
Finally got around to reading my young adult books, "Starwars Junior Jedi Knight series" book one the golden globe is quite a fun read. Nice and light before bed. Whilst reading my Tom Clancy Book, "The sum of all fears"on a morning with my coffee. (The book of corse better than the film, Particularly when you think that the only thing they have in common it the title and the same lead character. I dont know where they got the story for the film from, but it isnt the book)
I'm reading The Windup Girlthen onto Red Seas Under Red Skies
Didn't really fancy the Magicians. As a big Iain M Banks fan I was hoping for The Player of Games
I'm currently reading the iron duke by maljean brook for the vaginal fantasy hangout, also reading apollo 23 by Justin Richards which is a doctor who book. Waiting in the sidelines to be read I have game of thrones, dragon age asunder and whatever is mays book pick for the vaginal fantasy hangout - so many books so little time before I fall asleep at night!!
I finished The Recognitions. I'm glad I read it for learning purposes, but I'm glad I'm done with it. Satire for one thousand pages became monotonous. Now I have to gather my thoughts about it to join in the discussion in my Brain Pain group, since I do want to learn more about writing, even if a book doesn't jive with me.I'm currently reading The Devil All the Time for Horror Aficionado's group read. Really good story in the hillbilly horror in the woods type.
I'm nibbling on Only Revolutions, which is harder for me to comprehend than House of Leaves due to the poetry format, instead of the prose format. I am uneducated in poetry except for a few dirty limericks. Poetry is on my bucket list to tackle, along with the art of words and image. It's amazing that literature and art merge sometimes. I remember being fascinated by artists incorporating words into their work. Now, for the first time, in Mark Z. Danielewski's work, I see strong literary pieces in which the art is integral to its meaning. Amazing.
Aloha wrote: "I'm nibbling on Only Revolutions, which is harder for me to comprehend than House of Leaves due to the poetry format, instead of the prose format. I am uneducated in poetry except for a few dirty limericks. Poetry is on my bucket list to tackle, along with the art of words and image. It's amazing that literature and art merge sometimes. I remember being fascinated by artists incorporating words into their work. Now, for the first time, in Mark Z. Danielewski's work, I see strong literary pieces in which the art is integral to its meaning. Amazing."
Two of my favorite poems, both fantasy-themed.
http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/...
http://www.george-sterling.org/poems/...
I'm trying to read The 13th Tribe by Robert Liparulo, but my work and home schedule is crazy lately and is keeping from reading much at all.
Thank you, Joseph. Those were beautiful! My favorite is A Wine of Wizardry. It evokes the feeling of watching the sunset. That's why poetry is great. The words have to be the right words, the right amount, with the right arrangement.
Interesting fact about George Sterling in Wiki:"Sterling carried a vial of cyanide for many years. When asked about it he said "A prison becomes a home if you have the key".[5] Finally in November 1926, Sterling used it at his residence at the San Francisco Bohemian Club."
Aloha wrote: "Interesting fact about George Sterling in Wiki:"Sterling carried a vial of cyanide for many years. When asked about it he said "A prison becomes a home if you have the key".[5] Finally in Novembe..."
I did not know that! I think Wine of Wizardry is the only Sterling I've read (and I know of him mostly because of his association with Clark Ashton Smith, who's one of my top five or so favorite authors).
Old Man's War ended up being a VERY quick read and I absolutely loved it. I'm wondering if anyone else noticed the similarities between this and Joe Halderman's The Forever War? Maybe I'm not overly familiar with this particular sub-genre, but I kept getting flashbacks until around 2/3 of the way through.Started reading Cryptonomicon earlier too. 1 chapter (and the prologue) into it and already loving the writing. I've had mixed feelings about Reamde (which I liked overall) and Snow Crash (which had great content and story, but was really poorly presented) so this will probably help me decide whether or not to stick with Neal Stephenson in the future.
Jenny wrote: "Don't Make Me Think is such a web classic!"
I was mainly reading it to get a better handle on general HMI design. And looking at the examples, my interfaces are pretty much the same as the example "Programmer's interface" he shows at one point, with as many options and buttons as you can cram in. I'd feel ashamed but since I AM a programmer it seemed apt. Still working on finding the balance though.
about to start on some programming books for work. Fun
I finished Dracula, I'm working The Moneyless Man, which is a real account of a guy who lived without exchanging money. It's pretty cool, gives you hope if you ever find yourself in financial straits.
http://weightlossterrorists.blogspot....
I finished listening to Earthseed yesterday and really enjoyed it (review). My new audiobook will be the S&L read, Hyperion. I've read it before (but it's been years), and I'm looking forward to the re-read.And I'm still reading Imagine: How Creativity Works on Kindle, when I have time.
I finished The Devil All the Time, an enjoyable disturbing horror in the hillbilly gone serial killer vein. I figured out how to read Only Revolutions, which is like a poetry book. On one side, I read 8 pages of the girl's, flip it upside down to read 8 pages of the guy's to go back to the beginning. Then I read the sidebar's list of historical happenings for that date. I flip the book over and do the same for the guy's story. It's a gas. What a gorgeous and unique book.
I'm also reading The Sound and the Fury. Love, love Faulkner. I'd forgotten how with only a few words of banter among the characters, he can create vivid imagery and detail. I can see how influential he is to modern literature. I need to read more of him.
Just started The Wind Through the Keyhole and am halfway through rather quickly. Also started The Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company but that one will have to wait.
Finished The Magician King and actually enjoyed it. I think it is a much better book than The Magicians. I also just finished Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. I liked this book quite a bit and I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.
Just started The Magician King and after that I plan to read News From Gardenia which I supported on Unbound. After that I have Equations of Life lined up for a book club and of course Hyperion
I'm presently reading Throne of the Crescent Moon, it's very good, not a big book and for once I'm kind of grateful for it. I also just finished B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs Hardcover Collection Vol 3, probably the best one in the series.
I've finally brought myself Ship Of Fools: How Stupidity And Corruption Sank The Celtic Tiger, a wrist-slashingly depressing non-fiction dystopia about how the Irish establishment screwed up the only economic prosperity the country had seen in generations.After that I'll be rereading the first two books of Gemma Files' Hexslinger series in anticipation of the final instalment which comes out on May 12th/
Nothing more because in real countries April is over :P
I'm working through Version 43 by Philip Palmer. It's really neat right now. Will probably finish it before the end of the week.
I just finished Ship of Magic, which I had previously always passed on, until it was mentioned by Felicia Day in VF. I loved it and I can't wait to get the rest of the series. (Or more likely, the rest of everything Robin Hobb has published.) I am also going to be starting a Tad Williams book, another new author for me, as soon as I finish my guilty pleasure Regency Romance Ace of Hearts NOT an S&L...
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Books mentioned in this topic
Ship of Magic (other topics)Ace of Hearts (other topics)
The Help (other topics)
Ship of Fools: How Stupidity and Corruption Sank the Celtic Tiger (other topics)
B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs, Vol. 3 (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Gemma Files (other topics)James S.A. Corey (other topics)
Clark Ashton Smith (other topics)
Mark Z. Danielewski (other topics)
Alastair Reynolds (other topics)
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