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England2669 Posts
So catching up because I lost access to my TL account.
For those wondering about The Glass Bead Game, I took a break because I just couldn't focus on the German. Will finish it soon.
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. I was planning to read this one last as I'd been told about it being his toughest book, but someone bought it for me, so I thought I may as well. I have to say, this book was amazing and I found it really readable, more so than any of his others. The length of it meant that things had more time to breathe and everything was a little bit more linked and cohesive. Yes it was a sprawling and wacky plot, but it was always about the same area, which made it a lost easier for me than V (which I didn't exactly struggle with anyway). Additionally, I found the more emotional and "serious" parts that much more powerful in this book than in the other three I've read (V, Lot 49 and Inherent Vice for those not up to date on what I'm reading). Overall, it was a great read and probably my favourite of his books so far. Not sure which one I'll go for next, probably another of his more recent books.
Conversely, I read most of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. As you can probably guess by the "read most of", I didn't really get on with it. I was very disappointed with it and if it weren't for the fact that I generally trust sheep's recommendations, it could almost stop me trying anything else of his. It was very interesting to begin with, then just became a structured loop of reveals and reminiscing. After I got bored of this, I gave up on the book and looked up what happens online. I was about 2/3rds in and it basically went the way I thought it would. I know this book's power is supposedly in the emotional impact, but I just didn't really feel or care for anyone and the writing itself didn't do enough to hook me. I will say the way he talked about English schools was vaguely nostalgic, but that's about it. Compared to The Unconsoled, it's hard not to feel like Ishiguro sold out and wrote a pop-lit book to make some money.
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On August 17 2018 07:33 Flicky wrote:
Conversely, I read most of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. As you can probably guess by the "read most of", I didn't really get on with it. I was very disappointed with it and if it weren't for the fact that I generally trust sheep's recommendations, it could almost stop me trying anything else of his. It was very interesting to begin with, then just became a structured loop of reveals and reminiscing. After I got bored of this, I gave up on the book and looked up what happens online. I was about 2/3rds in and it basically went the way I thought it would. I know this book's power is supposedly in the emotional impact, but I just didn't really feel or care for anyone and the writing itself didn't do enough to hook me. I will say the way he talked about English schools was vaguely nostalgic, but that's about it. Compared to The Unconsoled, it's hard not to feel like Ishiguro sold out and wrote a pop-lit book to make some money.
I picked up The Unconsoled after he won the pulitzer (or some other prize?). Couldn't finish it... was so relentlessly emotionless and bland, not to mention bizarre and absurd. I guess the latter was intended but I felt so impatient to get on with some kind of story, or some reason to keep reading.
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Baa?21244 Posts
The Unconsoled is one of the best books written in the past few decades and will be recognized as a canonical masterpiece in its time.
NLMG is one of Ishiguro's weaker books imo, but it makes sense since its his first foray into using genre fiction techniques/settings/narratives. Buried Giant is better. I did like NLMG though, maybe I'm a sucker for sentimentality and I don't need to like characters.
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On August 17 2018 13:17 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:
The Unconsoled is one of the best books written in the past few decades and will be recognized as a canonical masterpiece in its time.
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Why do you think so?
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On August 14 2018 00:48 Korean-MILF wrote:So I`m currenty reading "Shattered Sea" series, and getting well into book 3 now. But when I`m done with that, I`m not sure what serie to dive into next. The options are: -Ravens shadow -The faithful and the fallen -Broken empire -Hyperion -The Red Queen's War Keep in mind that I loved "The kingkiller chronicles" and "The first law", and I really enjoyed the "Shattered Sea" series so far. That being said, does anyone who have read some, or more of these series got any recommendations to where I should start next? Also any series like these you believe I absolutely should check out, don`t hesitate to tip me 
Hyperion is pretty damn good but its not fantasy
I suppose broken empire(if you like a protagonist who's the assiest you've read like really mean one)
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Never Let You Go
or
The Unconsoled
for someone who hasn't read any ishiguro?
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On August 19 2018 08:38 goody153 wrote:Show nested quote +On August 14 2018 00:48 Korean-MILF wrote:So I`m currenty reading "Shattered Sea" series, and getting well into book 3 now. But when I`m done with that, I`m not sure what serie to dive into next. The options are: -Ravens shadow -The faithful and the fallen -Broken empire -Hyperion -The Red Queen's War Keep in mind that I loved "The kingkiller chronicles" and "The first law", and I really enjoyed the "Shattered Sea" series so far. That being said, does anyone who have read some, or more of these series got any recommendations to where I should start next? Also any series like these you believe I absolutely should check out, don`t hesitate to tip me Hyperion is pretty damn good but its not fantasy I suppose broken empire(if you like a protagonist who's the assiest you've read like really mean one)
Guess we got a winner. Logen in the first law and Thorn Bathu in Shattered sea is my kind of fucked up people.
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On August 19 2018 11:11 IgnE wrote:
Never Let You Go
or
The Unconsoled
for someone who hasn't read any ishiguro?
I only read buried giant so far and while i enjoyed it for its prose and thematic, i think the plotting was rather weak and his take on adding fantastical/fanatsy elements not fully realized. Is it a good starting point? Idk
Sorry for not being of any help :D
Started with the unconsoled now because it is apparently "a masterpiece", we'll see. As someone else said, pretty odd so far, almost kafkaesque but holds my attention (maybe because of it). Might be a mistake to read it as his second book if it's really his best, but hey i was a bit underwhelmed with the giant, so maybe this will open my eyes to the true potential of ishiguro
On August 20 2018 01:07 Korean-MILF wrote:Show nested quote +On August 19 2018 08:38 goody153 wrote:On August 14 2018 00:48 Korean-MILF wrote:So I`m currenty reading "Shattered Sea" series, and getting well into book 3 now. But when I`m done with that, I`m not sure what serie to dive into next. The options are: -Ravens shadow -The faithful and the fallen -Broken empire -Hyperion -The Red Queen's War Keep in mind that I loved "The kingkiller chronicles" and "The first law", and I really enjoyed the "Shattered Sea" series so far. That being said, does anyone who have read some, or more of these series got any recommendations to where I should start next? Also any series like these you believe I absolutely should check out, don`t hesitate to tip me Hyperion is pretty damn good but its not fantasy I suppose broken empire(if you like a protagonist who's the assiest you've read like really mean one) Guess we got a winner. Logen in the first law and Thorn Bathu in Shattered sea is my kind of fucked up people.
Pls read hyperion as well at some point though, definitely one of the best scifi (even if it is more of fantastical/philosophical approach than hard scifi) out there.
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Bad idea to start with The Unconsoled. Part of the book's intent as a buy product does make you kind of impatient/frustrated I think, and I feel like those feelings are not conducive to liking a book.
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On August 20 2018 01:26 The_Red_Viper wrote:
Pls read hyperion as well at some point though, definitely one of the best scifi (even if it is more of fantastical/philosophical approach than hard scifi) out there.
Well, hard SF sucks anyway ;-)
No, honestly, I never saw the appeal of so-called 'hard' SF. But that might be because I generally do not care if technical background and so on are realistic. To me SF is just a way to explore alternative realities, societies or generally possibilities for what might be. If this is done well (for example I think that in Hyperion it is done pretty well), I don't care about realism.
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On August 20 2018 04:20 123Gurke wrote:Show nested quote +On August 20 2018 01:26 The_Red_Viper wrote:
Pls read hyperion as well at some point though, definitely one of the best scifi (even if it is more of fantastical/philosophical approach than hard scifi) out there. Well, hard SF sucks anyway ;-) No, honestly, I never saw the appeal of so-called 'hard' SF. But that might be because I generally do not care if technical background and so on are realistic. To me SF is just a way to explore alternative realities, societies or generally possibilities for what might be. If this is done well (for example I think that in Hyperion it is done pretty well), I don't care about realism.
I only added that because some people are really strict with their scifi definitions, i agree with you though. In general i am not super keen on all the different genres being used so much, i get that it is used as marketing more than anything else, but in a sense it works against what art should be, creative.
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On August 20 2018 01:07 Korean-MILF wrote:Show nested quote +On August 19 2018 08:38 goody153 wrote:On August 14 2018 00:48 Korean-MILF wrote:So I`m currenty reading "Shattered Sea" series, and getting well into book 3 now. But when I`m done with that, I`m not sure what serie to dive into next. The options are: -Ravens shadow -The faithful and the fallen -Broken empire -Hyperion -The Red Queen's War Keep in mind that I loved "The kingkiller chronicles" and "The first law", and I really enjoyed the "Shattered Sea" series so far. That being said, does anyone who have read some, or more of these series got any recommendations to where I should start next? Also any series like these you believe I absolutely should check out, don`t hesitate to tip me Hyperion is pretty damn good but its not fantasy I suppose broken empire(if you like a protagonist who's the assiest you've read like really mean one) Guess we got a winner. Logen in the first law and Thorn Bathu in Shattered sea is my kind of fucked up people.
I went through kingkiller chronicle recently too and loved it.
Now started with brandon sanderson books and they are just so great. Really good, so would strongly recommend if you havent read them yet.
Stormlight archives might even be my favourite book series and i read tons.
I now finished the first three mistborn, which are amazing too - but stormlight ranks higher for me.
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England2669 Posts
On August 19 2018 11:11 IgnE wrote:
Never Let You Go
or
The Unconsoled
for someone who hasn't read any ishiguro?
Well out of those, I liked The Unconsoled, but not Never Let Me Go. However, I would go with this:
Do you like more surreal literature? Do you enjoy books that are more about literature as an art-form than plot? Have you read books considered difficult and enjoyed them?
I really enjoyed The Unconsoled, but I would say it was very hard to get through for it's confusing nature (it's not scattershot, it's just hard to follow by design, you'll see what that means when you read it). It's also emotionally challenging and dense.
----
Also, to anyone thinking about whether to read Hyperion or not, listen to everyone else and do it. It's a fantastic book.
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It's funny to see that at different times seemingly random books seem to pop up in this thread that everyone recommends and that disappear afterwards. This seems to be the case for Hyperion now: for a book that is more than 25 years old now, it is curious to see that it is recommended all the time this year while I have never seen it mentioned before in this thread. Don't get me wrong, it is a good book but I don't see where the sudden love is coming from. Am I missing something?
I still remember, a few years back everyone was telling me to read Heart of Darkness which seems to have disappeared now.
I wonder what the next book will be.
That said, I trust this thread more for book recommendations than most other places or people I know.
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On August 20 2018 09:02 Flicky wrote:Show nested quote +On August 19 2018 11:11 IgnE wrote:
Never Let You Go
or
The Unconsoled
for someone who hasn't read any ishiguro? Well out of those, I liked The Unconsoled, but not Never Let Me Go. However, I would go with this: Do you like more surreal literature? Do you enjoy books that are more about literature as an art-form than plot? Have you read books considered difficult and enjoyed them? I really enjoyed The Unconsoled, but I would say it was very hard to get through for it's confusing nature (it's not scattershot, it's just hard to follow by design, you'll see what that means when you read it). It's also emotionally challenging and dense. ---- Also, to anyone thinking about whether to read Hyperion or not, listen to everyone else and do it. It's a fantastic book.
I am 1/4th in it now and it keeps being very motivating to read. Especially because of its surrealism, the mood ishiguro paints here is quite magical and reminds me a little of murakami (some people here will hate me for that statement haha).
I would think you only really need to read the first encounter with "gustav" to get a good idea about the style of this book and if it catches your interest or not. Not saying it encapsulates every aspect of the work, but stylistically it is close enough to the general narrative structure for sure. (passive main character stumbling into new situations, big monologues by people around him)
On August 20 2018 18:49 123Gurke wrote:
It's funny to see that at different times seemingly random books seem to pop up in this thread that everyone recommends and that disappear afterwards. This seems to be the case for Hyperion now: for a book that is more than 25 years old now, it is curious to see that it is recommended all the time this year while I have never seen it mentioned before in this thread. Don't get me wrong, it is a good book but I don't see where the sudden love is coming from. Am I missing something?
I still remember, a few years back everyone was telling me to read Heart of Darkness which seems to have disappeared now.
I wonder what the next book will be.
That said, I trust this thread more for book recommendations than most other places or people I know.
I think that's mostly due to recency bias in a sense. Hyperion isn't extremely old, a lot of mid 20s will have heard of it now by simply being interested to read some scifi. Some older works are mostly forgotten now, and that's exactly why this thread is great because you can actually discover things you maybe wouldn't have otherwise, as long as the more knoweldgeable people post about it ofc :D
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Hyperion is routinely put on lists of best sci-fi novels of all time, so it's like really well known.
The things I find most interesting in The Unconsoled is just the construction of the dreamscape and Ishiguro's experimentation with tinkering/twisting details of traditional realism to skew our perception of distance and space and time. Traveling from the hotel takes ten minutes. Coming back takes hours. At one moment, it's Ryder's "family," and in the next moment they're strangers. The three musicians that cross paths at numerous points are at the same time singular and distinct. The sidetracking that Ryder experiences is interesting in and of itself, but it's enhanced by just how well Ishiguro is writing a seemingly "realistic" novel in the most surreal of fashions.
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Cause well Hyperion is really damn good. Not a big "hard scifi" reader either(more of a fantasy guy) but Hyperion explores alooot of concepts like not just the customary scifi concepts like spaceexploration/cultural/religious-evolution/AI/etc but it actually explored concepts that you would see in slice of life(aka the bliss of domestic life which is not one you would see on SF).
Just the concept itself of 6 pilgrims who travel together and their story being told was well-executed.
Went to a trip with someone and borrowed her book
![[image loading]](https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465761302l/28257707.jpg)
Normally i don't read self-help books(i usually hate them) but hey this one is ok. It doesn't sugarcoat shit and it doesn't drive you "to be positive" which usually what most self-help book contains. It doesn't tell you to pretend so that's good.
Would recommend this one(probably the only one i would)
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Recently finished:
![[image loading]](https://ecsmedia.pl/c/calamity-w-iext48340538.jpg)
Ending a little bit rushed like all books in the series. Superb writing as always with Sanderson but plot isnt spectacular. A decent and very quick read and conclusion to series.
and
![[image loading]](https://cf1-taniaksiazka.statiki.pl/images/popups/C41/9788379642045.jpg)
Good writing. Presenting a really grim look at EU and its enviromental/energy policies and general future of the world. The plot is ok i guess but the ending is really weird or someone could even say stupid. Dunno if it will be translated to english, its not a masterpiece but worth the time.
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So i just finished:
![[image loading]](http://zenoagency.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/McDonald-Luna2-WolfMoon-Blog.jpg)
Which is very similiar to first book in the series. Same advantages and disadvantages as the previous book. Namely a lot of cool new ideas about NonEarth society and how it can develop the flip side is that some of those ideas doesnt really make sense. Writing is good. Ending surprised me in positive way, McDonalnd avoided going standard "rebels are succesful" way, i hope it stays that way if there is more books to come.
![[image loading]](http://geniuscreations.pl/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Pok%C3%B3j-%C5%9Bwiat%C3%B3w-Pawe%C5%82-Majka.jpg)
I dont think this one is translated into english. Reading it i felt like reading Eriksons Malazan Book of the Fallen only in Slavic edition. Gods, Demons, Spectres, Ascendants everywehere. Power overwhelming. Decent read but i doubt anyone not polish will find this book enjoyable without heavy commentary, it is realying ehavily on polish folklore, literary heraitage and history.
BTW: Guys, am i the last person reading books on TL?
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![[image loading]](https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780007439034-uk.jpg)
Currently reading "King of thorns". Book 2 of "The broken empire" trilogy.
This is a rollercoaster of emotional carnage. 100 pages in, and I actually had to stop reading for a day or two. Can`t wait to see where the last book and a half takes me
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EPT
