Chaos Reading discussion
It's all about you
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What are you reading right now?
Tracy wrote: "Okay, I finished Grace Paley's Little Disturbances of Man.http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...
I think my review should be there. Sorry it's short but it would..."
Hi Tracy, Here's the link for The Mighty Roman for convenient reference:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14...
Hey, I'm gonna send you an Evite to the Publication Party just to keep you in the loop ... or in case by some small chance you're gonna be in the Bay Area this weekend. J:o)n
Tracy wrote: "BTW: how do you do the links that just show the book name? Looks better."Above the comment box there's a link that says "add book/author"
Theo wrote: "Tracy wrote: "BTW: how do you do the links that just show the book name? Looks better."Above the comment box there's a link that says "add book/author""
Thanks Theo, that helps me too (hidden in plain sight)The Mighty Roman < Worked like a charm!
I am onto Couldn't Keep it to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional InstitutionLooks promising!
Mod
Mod
12 MONTHS? Surel..."
Well there are a LOT of 1,000 page books in the series!
Ruby wrote: "Rida wrote: "Ruby wrote: "All I can suggest is maybe not A Game of Thrones - unless you want to spend the next 12 months engrossed n nothing but that series! At least that's what I've heard.."12 ..."
Here the books where "cut in half" so there are 10 game of thrones books, with roughly 400 pages each. And still they charge 20 euros for each! *shakes fist*
Depends of course of how fast you read, and probably you'll wanna read other books in between 'cause it gets tiring reading the same story for months!
Other point you should consider is, there are still a couple of years to go until the story is finished, and the last book is a bit of a cliffhanger - maybe you'll wanna take it slow or don't start it at all yet :D
I wish I had waited, I hate being on hold like this >.>
I am reading The Game of Thrones series but super super slow, along with about a thousand (it seems)other books. Maybe that will work to my advantage then!
Mod
Other point you should consider is, there are still a couple of years to go until the story is finished, and the last book is a bit of a cliffhanger - maybe you'll wanna take it slow or don't start it at all yet :D"
Good luck with the taking it slow! I tried to spread them out, but that next chapter, and then that next book, sit there and call to you until before you know it you're done. I'm counting on the HBO series to act as a reminder of the action up to the time the next book comes out.
Here the books where "cut in half" so there are 10 game of thrones books, with roughly 400 pages each. And still they charge 20 euros for each! *shakes fist*
Do you have an e-reader, and if so can you order books from Amazon or others? You can get the series much cheaper that way .
Mark wrote: "So I think I will wait a bit on A Game of Thrones but it sounds like they are worth the effort. Still undecided, but we taking a day trip today and I will be on the lookout for used bookstores to see what treasures I might find. "Its definately worth the effort, its a good story :D
If you're up for a bit of a challenge, you can always let someone browse your to-read shelf and pick one for you!
Whitney wrote: "Do you have an e-reader, and if so can you order books from Amazon or others? You can get the series much cheaper that way . "
I have a kindle, I've read them all for free already. :D But I try to have a paper copy of all the books I like, and this one is gonna take a while until its complete :'(
I read A Game of Thrones last August and A Clash of Kings in October, but I know that the series is not finished and that George R.R. Martin has been taking his time with them. So I'm trying to space them out more. I did just get A Storm of Swords from the library though. You're right Whitney, it's hard to resist them.
Tower: An Epic History of the Tower of London by Nigel Jones; Divorced, Beheaded, Survived by Karen Lindsey; and The Paris House by Elizabeth Bowen.
I'm re-reading Don Quixote at present, as I've not ventured out to my favourite book store in some time to pick up some new reads. I currently have Ulysses in the glovebox of my car for days where I need to totally escape both reality and structured storytelling.
I just finished Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang and it was amazing. Review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...Now I'm reading My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands, which I had intended as light kindle reading between other things, but I've had nothing to do all day and it's entertaining enough that I might actually finish it tonight.
The Divine Comedy and rewarding myself with stupid books in between sections. For reading Inferno I then got to read Disco Bloodbath which was too funny!
Leo wrote: "The Divine Comedy and rewarding myself with stupid books in between sections. For reading Inferno I then got to read Disco Bloodbath which was too funny!"I like that method!
Riona wrote: "I just finished Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang and it was amazing. Review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...Now I'm reading My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands..."
Lesley wrote: "Riona wrote: "I just finished Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang and it was amazing. Review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...Now I'm reading My Horizontal Life: A Collection of On..."
I have that book and read a chapter here and there on my kindle between books or perfect for at Dr office waiting room.
Mod
I'm also reading The Beetle and Four in the Morning.
Just got my first bunch of ARCs via NetGalley, so I'll be interested to see what that whole experience is like. I guess I'll have a few reviews to write in the near future!
Theo wrote: "I read A Game of Thrones last August and A Clash of Kings in October, but I know that the series is not finished and that George R.R. Martin has been taking his time with them. So I'm trying to spa..."I'm still refusing to read them - but I've caved on the TV series, and watched the first two episodes last night. I'm still not going to read the series 'til he finished it!
I have so much trouble with epic fantasy stuff, I'm not refusing, just avoiding. Right now I'm on East Is East; started The Time of Our Singingbut I wasn't in the mood for it.Leo and Froznwaffle wrote:Leo wrote: "The Divine Comedy and rewarding myself with stupid books in between sections. For reading Inferno I then got to read Disco Bloodbath which was too funny!"
I like that method!
You guys are on the right track; that is a great method, unfortunately I'm not always disciplined enough to stick with the plan...I tried to get through
The Ambassadors, promising myself something pulpy for dessert, but after about 100 pages or so, I just pushed the vegetables aside and went straight for the pie!
Derek wrote: "Theo wrote: "I read A Game of Thrones last August and A Clash of Kings in October, but I know that the series is not finished and that George R.R. Martin has been taking his time with them. So I'm ..."The series has NOTHING on the books. Season 1 was good, Season 2 I found extremely disappointing. By watching the show you are still going to want to know the rest of the story...
That method only works if there's enough in the heavy-reading book to keep you interested. I'd do it for something like The Divine Comedy, because it's a fascinating story, but hard work for a modern English reader. I did it with Riddley Walker, this week, but I doubt I could do it for something that was pure "vegetable".
Lauren wrote: "The series has NOTHING on the books. Season 1 was good, Season 2 I found extremely disappointing. By watching the show you are still going to want to know the rest of the story... "I'm sure - I'm just hoping I'm not going to need to know the rest of the story until he gets it finished. I swore I'm not going to start another unending series. (and this time, I have all my GR friends to hold me to that!)
Mark wrote: "I still haven't made a decision and now I am finished with Slaughterhouse-Five. This is very unlike me as I usually know exactly what book will be next. Heading to the book store now; a decision will be made. "
Go Mark! Go! Go! *crowd cheer*
Riona, I took a peek at the discription and that does sound pretty interesting. Adding it to my tbr. ^^
As for me, I finished Perdido Street Station - which opened my mind to new literary flavours previously unknown to me. I'm thankful. I suspect I just found a way to a ton of new favorites - oh, such a happy life as the one I lead! :')
On the other hand, I'm still struggling with Slaughterhouse-Five, halfway though it and I'm still kind of bored.
Mod
An anthem for impatient GoT fans: Write Like the Wind.
I just finished The Sheep Look Up. This novel impacted me greatly when I first read it back in the seventies and it was also a big influence on young people involved in the environmental movement. Apparently it still is in a lot of circles. Some of the terminology is dated and the notion of one charismatic figure pulling it all together and into perspective for the population at large isn't as convincing now as it did back then but I can see why Brunner utilized this character, Austin Train(who had a lot of convincing things to say) as such considering that the book was originally published in 1972. He had the fates of Ghandi, King, and the Kennedy brothers to draw from. Also, the edition I have comes with a very long Afterword that places the book in the context of what has occurred environmentally over the intervening years. It is as equally scary as the book. My next novel is Leviathanby Paul Auster. I got it out of the library this week so I'll start it sometime this weekend
Frozenwaffle wrote: "On the other hand, I'm still struggling with Slaughterhouse-Five, halfway though it and I'm still kind of bored"If you're not a fan of Vonnegut, you can leave SH5, it's cool. I'm sure he would've been the first to admit how hit-and-miss his books can be, in terms of quality and reader's opinion :0) That doesn't count as discussing it I promise!
Also glad you like the serious-stupid book sandwich method! It has served me well :D
Andrea wrote: "You guys are on the right track; that is a great method, unfortunately I'm not always disciplined enough to stick with the plan...I tried to get through The Ambassadors, promising myself something pulpy for dessert, but after about 100 pages or so, I just pushed the vegetables aside and went straight for the pie! "
The accomplishment of a tough book can eclipse the importance of a stupid one, but they are equally as important! Dostoyevsky is indebted to Chelsea Handler for my appreciation of his work :-)
Leo wrote: "If you're not a fan of Vonnegut, you can leave SH5, it's cool. I'm sure he would've been the first to admit how hit-and-miss his books can be, in terms of quality and reader's opinion :0)"This is the first Vonnegut book I ever picked up, I had never even heard of the guy.
I'm not so bored as to not finish it, in fact there are lots of small passages that I like, but the whole of it is so RANDOM that it just doesn't suck me in. you know the feeling?
But I wanna know my stuff in order to participate in the book discution - even if the other half of the book doesnt convince me, hey, theres always a need of a non-fan to keep things balanced in a discussion :D
I am currently reading, The Woman, by David Bishop. Incredible read, very fast paced. I am really into indie authors and he has published at least 5 books.
I haven't read any more of S5 by Vonnegut, and it's 7 days till the end of the month. Vonnegut, if I wasn't stubborn as all hell, I'd be abandoning it...But I'm stubborn, so I'm going to read it, I guess. If only so I can go 'I HATE THAT BOOK'. BLAH! Seriously, hardest book I've ever tried to read.
Most other books I could actually get through, but this one is blocking me hard-core. It's really annoying.
Mark wrote: "Gotta love the used bookstore. Scored a copy of Perdido Street Station, in good condition too. It is already my official "currently reading now". I am so relieved."Funny, I'm reading the book you've just finished, and you're reading the book I just finished. ^^
Hope you enjoy it!
Hello everyone! I am a new member to this group, so I do not know if I am interrupting a special thread or not. If I am, I apologize. I was wondering, nonetheless, if any of you have read Tom McCarthy's Men in Space? I just picked it up at the bookstore because it somehow coaxed me into purchasing it.
I would like to know your thoughts.
You're absolutely not interrupting. People tell us what they're currently reading, and that sometimes blasts off into a side-thread, but having somebody new drop in with their current read helps keep us on track.That said, I know nothing about Tom McCarthy...
OK, now I know a little more, and GR author #30757 must be two different people, because it seems really unlikely that “English fiction’s new laureate of disappointment” would be writing about Banting & Best, Nellie McClung & Norman Bethune - those subjects scream "Canadian Author"
Just finished The House of the Spirits. I'm not much for reviews, but I couldn't help comparing it to One Hundred Years of Solitude, which is, of course, what people have been doing since it was published. I think I preferred Allende's story, probably because I'm a woman and this was a woman's story. I also felt her style was more accessible, if not a bit distracting with the numerous POV changes. The story also felt more "real" to me because of the personal connection Allende had to the subject matter.Anyway, starting Blood Red Road because there's nothing like YA dystopia for a palate cleanser.
Jon-Erik wrote: "Hello everyone! I am a new member to this group, so I do not know if I am interrupting a special thread or not. If I am, I apologize. I was wondering, nonetheless, if any of you have read Tom McC..."
Never heard of that book, sorry! Welcome to CR though! :D
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Went to the library with my grandfather while visiting him in the desert and picked up a copy of The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. Had to leave it at the library, but i'll be picking up my own copy. I miss the Barksian Duckverse!
Thanks, Derek and Frozenwaffle! So the far the book is loaded with esoteric historical facts. It's pretty much in the same vein as Pynchon. Post-modernity galore.
Mod
I ♥ Perdido Street :)
I just finished an intriguing ebook last night: Four in the Morning. It was great, but I really just wanted to edit it myself! It didn't have typos or anything like that, but just a few tweaks here & there would have made it a REALLY good book. I ended up giving a 3 star book 4 stars on the basis that it would have been a 4 star book, had there been a half-decent editor involved! Review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I'm also really enjoying The Beetle which I only discovered via the nominations for the Insect themed-read. I love the old-skool horror tone - oh the melodrama!
Wool omnibusWool Omnibus Edition. I actually bought the first book on my Kindle not knowing it was part of a serie. Got a little disappointed that it was so short and offered no real ending. Read the second and third book yesterday and today and cant wait to start reading the next one......
Ruby wrote: " I ended up giving a 3 star book 4 stars on the basis that it would have been a 4 star book, had there been a half-decent editor involved! Review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/..."Different strokes... I'd probably have given it 2 stars for failing to get an editor!
I'm still working on Half Life: A Novel, but I've also started RuPaul's autobiography, Lettin It All Hang Out.
Started reading Ghostwritten by David Mitchell, as well as Slaughterhouse-Five which I hope to finish in time for the discussion.
Chaos Reading
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http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...
I think my review should be there. Sorry it's short but it would be hard to write more without giving away too much. It's a great little book about some of the odd combinations of relationships humans can find themselves in. Highly recommend. Next I'm either going to do Billy Liar, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30... Mighty Roman,(sorry, no link yet), or go back to Henry Miller's Sexus.http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25...
BTW: how do you do the links that just show the book name? Looks better.