What Are You Reading 2017 - Page 3

On January 05 2017 20:18 Salteador Neo wrote:


I had the same feeling about The Way of Kings, but I don't think the first half is bad per se, it's just really slow. The second half is pure awesome tho, and I think it makes the first book slightly better than the second.

On January 05 2017 11:03 IgnE wrote:
So you read those four books in the 10 other days of December?

On January 05 2017 22:34 Acrofales wrote:
I actually rather liked the entire Kaladin story. It's one of the stories with decent depth to it. Shallan has too shallow a story and is too far removed from the interesting parts (rectified in Words of Radiance), but in particular the bits about Szeth past the first chapter are just not that interesting. His story gets a bit better in Words of Radiance, but I still don't find him particular engaging as a character, which is a problem for a viewpoint character.

Imho, WoK is a better book than WoR, though. WoK does a good job introducing the characters and building the world, and then has this awesome ending. WoR kind of squanders that by just meandering along for pages and pages before the interesting stuff starts happening again.

On January 06 2017 01:05 goody153 wrote:

Oh definitely. His story and Dalinar's are my absolute favorite. They are both flawed and likable enough. Especially Dalinar, i don't think i've ever read a more balanced character than him(isn't Gary/Mary Sue)

I just meant usually people didn't like the start of Kaladin's introduction(i didn't hate it but it wasn't the part i was excited about at my first read .. well later on Kaladin and Dalinar's perspective easily became my favorite).

Idk man WoR has ALOT of stuff happening. And it's pretty fucking epic that it felt like i was reading a finale of other series even though it's still book 2

On January 06 2017 01:19 B.I.G. wrote:

I actually thought Kaladin was a bit too much of a prodigy at everything. He should be like 10 years older to make his dramatic history + mad healing skills + combat skills + leadership skills + now lightning skills a bit more believable.

On January 05 2017 23:29 farvacola wrote:

I would take PKD's prose in Ubik, Minority Report, or Paycheck over literally anything Clarke or Asimov ever wrote, so it would seem as though consensus on literary technique in sci-fi is as elusive as we might guess

On January 06 2017 05:55 zulu_nation8 wrote:
trying to get through Radiguet's The Devil in the Flesh, don't know if it's worth but it's short.

On January 06 2017 06:29 corumjhaelen wrote:

Yeah, despite horrid french translations, many PKDs novels seem much better than Asimov's, especially his early works, which are written by... let's say a teenage who is not Rimbaud. Very interesting ideas though

I'd say it's really not, much better French lit to read out there.

On January 06 2017 06:29 corumjhaelen wrote:

I'd say it's really not, much better French lit to read out there.

On January 06 2017 21:35 123Gurke wrote:


Can you recommend something to me? I am trying to integrate more into France, and maybe reading some literature is useful for this. So far, the only French author I have read is Houellebecq (which I found awesome) and some novellas by Maupassant a long time ago. I have quite little time to read, so I would prefer shorter books (so no Comte de Monte-Cristo for the moment). Any recommendations where I should start?

I am still reading Le Rouge et le Noir which is great so far.

On January 07 2017 07:34 corumjhaelen wrote:

Well, it's a very large question so I'm not sure where to wander... Nothing too unexpected hereafter !
If you want to look into some classic culture many French people are proud of, and remember about, or maybe even know some parts by heart you might want to look toward La Fontaine, Voltaire (Candide obviously), or some classic theater : Racine (Phèdre), Corneille (Horace, Le Cid), or obviously Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, our national pride which every middle schooler has to read at list one play (I'd go for the more serious comedy, Tartuffe, Le Misanthrope or Dom Juan). Another more recent option, and I think it is very French in an amusing way (but I still love it) his Edmon Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac.
If you're more into novel, and you like Stendhal, you might look for the other big two : Balzac and Flaubert. Flaubert, well, either go with Salammbô or with Sentimental Education - I like Mme Bovary less, but this is very personnal. For Balzac, it's larger, and he has written novels, novellas and short stories of every length. I'd choose among Eugénie Grandet, La Peau de Chagrin, Le Père Goriot or Gobseck. Le Père Goriot will give you an accurate idea of the French myth of Paris.
Close to that movement, you have Maupassant you talked about, if you haven't read Boule de Suif, you should !
You talk about Dumas, but he hasn't written only huge novels, even though that's a specialty. Maybe try Capitaine Pamphile or Les Quarante-Cinq. My favorite is Vingt Ans après, but you'd probably want to read the very long The Three Mousketeers before. But while we're at adventure novels, have you read Jules Verne, another true national glory ? Go for 20 000 lieues sous les mers, Le tour du monde en 80 jours or L'île Mystérieuse. A bit less well-known, our national Conan Doyle, but on a much lighter tone, Maurice Leblanc. His character, Arsène Lupin, is a dashing burglar with a great sense of humour, and his light-hearted stories with tons of unexpected developments are a pleasure to read (cf L'Aiguille Creuse, 813, or simply Les Aventures d'Arsène Lupin, a collection of very short stories).
Speaking of which, maybe you think French people are mostly interested in sex and women. That's greatly exagerated, but if you want to follow that road, try Laclos and his Liaisons dangereuses.
Finally, maybe you want something more modern. Here, I have less to offer, but I think Perec is well-worth a read. La vie, mode d'emploi while amazing, might be a bit long, but W ou le souvenir d'enfance could be a more sensible choice.
Or wing short books and children, and just read Proust :D

Obviously, if you read 5 of those books, you'll know French literature better than 95% of French people (like, I guess not every German has read Der Process, Faust, Prinz Friedrich von Homburg, Die Räuber and Der Zauberberg), so it might not help that much to blend in !

On January 12 2017 01:44 B.I.G. wrote:
You guys ever read Alain de Botton's stuff? Anything good?