2013 - What are you reading? - Page 41

SayGen

United States1209 Posts

August 26 2012 23:22 GMT

#801

Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card.
Part of an epic (I know that word gets over used) series based off Ender's Game.

I love Sci-fi that keeps it real and isn't far fetched. A nonFiction book that just hasn't happened yet so to speak.

I also plan on rereading Art of War and The Five Rings like I do every year as a refresher. 2 Great books for creating a foundation of Tactics and Strategy.

INTENZ-_-

Sweden137 Posts

August 26 2012 23:51 GMT

#802

Currently reading some Swedish stuff I've had in my bookshelf too long.

From one of our most productive writers Vilhelm Moberg I've begun reading Sömnlös (so far so good). I'm currently having some problems with insomnia and Sömnlös means Sleepless literally.
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In the previous week I've read Min första krets (My first circle) from the pretty famous Swede Olof Lagercrantz. Good autobiography about his upbringing and his first 20-25 years in life being born into Swedish aristocracy during the beginning of the 1900's. Pretty interesting.

I'm also currently working on my Stephen King collection (I got 24 books so far). I've read most of them.

itkovian

United States1763 Posts

August 27 2012 01:46 GMT

#803

On August 27 2012 04:58 miercat wrote:

Show nested quote +

What are your top 10. Or top 10+.

My top ten books... hmm..

In no particular order:

One Day in the Life of Ivan Disinovich
The Road
Slaughterhouse 5
Catch-22
Pride and Prejudice
A Song of Ice and Fire, series
Malazan Book of the Fallen, series
Lord of the Flies
Animal Farm
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

ZapRoffo

United States5544 Posts

August 29 2012 03:53 GMT

#804

Just finished Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls

Riveting first quarter and last quarter, the middle is sort of a chore though even though it's great. He writes the dialogue as if it's almost word for word translated from Spanish (although he doesn't do adjective after noun). The main tiresome parts of that to me though are how he uses thou/thee/thy for tu which makes things seem really unnatural and archaic and also the weird, unnecessary censorship, both of which feel like they take away from the plain, real telling that's the objective. It's a wonderful story though, there's not much like it in terms of pure power, taking you through life and death, passion, strong ideals and ideals dying, danger, action, heroism, tragedy, a real epic in that sense while focusing on a few characters in one place over a short period of time.

Next: Cloud Atlas, which my family says is really good, my brother was just reading it, and it happens to have a movie coming real soon. And I read the first few chapters of The Hunger Games which was sitting on my aunt's coffee table when I visited and now have to get it and finish it because it's pretty grabbing.

mmp

United States2130 Posts

September 11 2012 04:53 GMT

#805

Super awesome read.

Hamsterdam

New Zealand59 Posts

September 11 2012 08:28 GMT

#806

Just read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.
A fairly brilliant read. The way he was able to tell six different stories, each with a unique voice and style, and end up with what, at the end of the day, felt like a single novel. Didn't enjoy the metaphysical suggestions of a soul all that much, being a quite literal person, but it saw it as important (in a way the whole point of the novel) and made for some pretty interesting thoughts on the nature of fiction, and the importance of stories (true or otherwise).

Currently reading: Children of Dune by Frank Herbert.
Been a while since I read a dune novel but thought that I best finish off the original trilogy, having loved the first two (and Paul of Dune).

Next up: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell.
Enjoyed Cloud Atlas, ordered another one by the same author...

ZapRoffo

United States5544 Posts

September 11 2012 18:02 GMT

#807

Still reading Cloud Atlas myself, which is very promising so far, took a detour and read Wool by Hugh Howey (the omnibus 1-5 since it's a series of novellas).
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It was self-published on Kindle, but I was very impressed, the writing is very good for sci-fi, the plot and characters are for the most part very compelling and it's got a great ambiguity to it's commentary on societies and stuff. I really think most sci-fi fans should check it out.

snotboogie

Australia3550 Posts

September 12 2012 17:10 GMT

#808

On September 12 2012 03:02 ZapRoffo wrote:
Still reading Cloud Atlas myself, which is very promising so far, took a detour and read Wool by Hugh Howey (the omnibus 1-5 since it's a series of novellas).
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WOOL is amazing. I need more of it in my life. Hugh Howey is a really good writer who can effortlessly draw you in to his worlds.

As you've finished the Omnibus, make sure to get First Shift: Legacy (it's out now). It's a prequel of sorts and is considered WOOL 6.

After that, you can start regularly going to hughhowey.com and obsessively following his progress on WOOL 7 like me! =P He's got a wordcounter thing on the left side of the site that lets you know roughly how far he's in to his current projects.

Also, check out other stuff he's put out on Amazon, they're really great. My favourite one is The Hurricane, which isn't sci fi at all. Another memorable one is Half Way Home.

Brainsurgeon

Sweden359 Posts

September 16 2012 22:11 GMT

#809

I am currently reading this, Ulysses, and I have to admit that I have great expectations of this book, as I have heard people refer to it as the greatest novel ever written. Not to mention that T.S. Eliot and Hemingway (among others) called it a work of genius.

tokicheese

Canada739 Posts

September 21 2012 05:31 GMT

#810

Could anyone recommend some really good non fiction WW2 preferably focused on the U.S.S.R.?

I'm going on vacation and I just finished this [image loading]

Golden Ghost

Netherlands1041 Posts

September 21 2012 10:29 GMT

#811

On August 27 2012 08:22 SayGen wrote:
Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card.
Part of an epic (I know that word gets over used) series based off Ender's Game.

I love Sci-fi that keeps it real and isn't far fetched. A nonFiction book that just hasn't happened yet so to speak.

How is Earth unaware? I´m a big fan of the series but haven´t had a chance yet to pick this one up.

I just finished reading all three books of The Cadwal Chronicles (Araminta Station, Ecce and Old Earth, Throy) from Jack Vance. Not his best work but entertaining nontheless. I always love it how he describes all the planets he writes about. Their habits, psyche, surroundings, food etc. etc. He always really paints a beautiful picture of strange worlds.

Next up will be The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Looking forward to beginng it tomorrow.
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"At once wildly comic, deadly serious and strikingly original, C.S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the worldly wise old devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man."

Should be a fairly short read and after that I´ll pick up Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin.
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"The central character, Melmoth (a Wandering Jew type), is a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 150 extra years of life; he spends that time searching for someone who will take over the pact for him. The novel takes place in the present but the backstory is revealed through several nested stories-within-a-story that work backwards through time."

When I finish Melmoth I´m guessing it will be somewhere in November and I can pick up the new Brom. Krampus: The Yule lord. I´m very excited to find out what Brom has made of his newest book. I really am a big fan of his storytelling and as a bonus he interlaces the story with very good artwork.
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"Santa Claus, my dear old friend, you are a thief, a traitor, a slanderer, a murderer, a liar, but worst of all you are a mockery of everything for which I stood. You have sung your last ho, ho, ho, for I am coming for your head. I am coming to take back what is mine, to take back Yuletide..."

Pusekatten

Norway234 Posts

September 21 2012 10:49 GMT

#812

Jo Nesbø - Gjenferd.
Extremly good norwegian crime novle :D

Golden Ghost

Netherlands1041 Posts

September 21 2012 11:03 GMT

#813

On August 23 2012 17:17 Flicky wrote:
Got a bunch of books after this but next is The City & the City by China Mieville. Never read anything by him and don't even know anyone who has but it sounded interesting and he's won awards or something so let's give it a go.

I have read his Bas-Lag series (3 books set in the same universe but no real connection with eachother) and a short story collection by him. I will most likely pick up another of his books somewhere next year.

The 3 books in the Bas-Lag universe are all good reads but differ in style. A common link between the books is imo civil unrest (and the city of New Crobuzon features in them n one way or the other).
Perdido Street Station: Magic, Science, Steampunk set in a big city
The Scar: Piracy and mythological creatures
Iron council: Steampunk with Western influences

The short story collection "Looking for Jake" has some really good stories in it and some weaker imo. The story "The Ball Room" had me feeling really uneasy for several days. Especially as, coincidentally, I had to be in the described place quite often for the next couple days.

mememolly

4765 Posts

September 21 2012 11:14 GMT

#814

Read Bernhard's The Loser a while ago and really liked it so picked up The Lime Works and finished it the other day, recommended for anyone who has ever tried to do anything creative or anyone interested in seeing the mind of a genius laid bare, tragic and funny and the prose is relentless and dense, love it

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currently revisiting The Rig Veda

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not sure what novel I'm going to read next, I have a copy of this lying around that I've been meaning to read

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YoucriedWolf

Sweden1456 Posts

September 21 2012 11:28 GMT

#815

The Reality Dysfunction - Peter F. Hamilton

Meh/10
Been reading so much great SF lately and this book was nothing special. Decided to not continue with the second book even though I have it.

Now reading
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Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

Seems like it's worth the praise so far.

BenBuford

Denmark307 Posts

September 21 2012 11:39 GMT

#816

Not fiction. Great if your interested in media sociology.
The book is 13 years old by now, but still extremely relevant.

Sableyeah

Netherlands2119 Posts

September 21 2012 12:01 GMT

#817

Finished reading this a few days ago, so awesome and if I were to read up on this thread, I'm sure many of you have read it?

Anyways this is very recommendable. Intriguing and kept me reading throughout. I'm one of those that hardly ever read but I just couldn't stop.
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Reading The Five People You Meet In Heaven now.

{CC}StealthBlue

United States41117 Posts

September 22 2012 02:13 GMT

#818

Animzor

Sweden2154 Posts

September 22 2012 10:21 GMT

#819

On September 21 2012 20:28 YoucriedWolf wrote:
Meh/10
Been reading so much great SF lately and this book was nothing special. Decided to not continue with the second book even though I have it.

What great SF have you been reading?

Danglars

United States12133 Posts

September 22 2012 10:30 GMT

#820