I tried to find a thread that rated the latest book you read, like we have one for the latest movie you've seen. But I could only find one about which is your favorite book. If there is already a propper thread for this, be sure to point it out so I can move my post and delete this one.
P.S. Just read the the first and the last paragraph if you find the text too long all in all.
I'm a little behind on my reading, a few parties in which I've been given a lot of books combined with seemingly having less and less free time to read them have made it so that a number of books accumelated on my shelf. When I went on vacation last week I saw an opportunity to take with me one of those neglected books. "The girl who played with fire." If you're not familiar with this book, it's the sequal to "The girl with the dragon tattoo" and is the second book in the 'Millenium' trilogy. Which has already been made into a movie starring Daniël Craig and an earlier movie from Sweden that I haven't watched yet. (Though the first book and the Craig-flic are pretty darn good.)
Off the bat this book is great. Without giving away too much the place where the main characters find themselves in, be it in the world, in the media or in relationship to eachother, is totally in line with their personalities and the events from the last book. This may seem like a dead-give-away for a sequel, but I disagree. It's a necessity, but not a given. Too often a sequel reverts the characters back to a previous state so that the dynamic between the personalities in the book can grow again. Or they change the parameters of the story too much and leave a gap that makes us whonder what happened and how these characters turned out the way they did in the sequel. In the 'Girl who played with fire' there is none of that; the transition is smooth and totally in line.
And regarding the characters themselves; we have the great continuation of the protagonist Salander and the dueteragonist Blomkvist. These grew into great and interesting characters in the first book. Salander is perhaps the best heroïne I've ever seen in books. She's been compared to Laura Croft for adults, but that is doing her short. She is quite unique, hard to describe, intruiging and has a completely different attitude. I would describe her as 'super-sane' rather than insane as most of her antagonists do. However it's this mystery's Watson that I find myself most closely connected to. Blomkvist is less smart but has as much integrity as Salander, his resourcefullness and drive can also be put on par with Salander. Though it's the fact that we get to reflect on Salander through his eyes, that makes the reader bond with this fictional persona. Like Blomkvist we feel Salander is from another world, that she won't let us in. (Even when reading her own thoughts in the book.) But reading Blomkvist's opinion about the girl makes us understand how we feel.
Their dynamic was enjoyable and touching in the first installment. However in the second there has been a fall out and most of the second book revolves around the deuteragonist searching for Salander and trying to prove her innocence from a spoiler that I won't go into here. This in my opinion is a clear metaphor for how Blomkvist is the one who seeks out Salander's companionship and friendship while Salander has never learned to express such emotional links properly and hides behind her own walls. The metaphor may be a bit overtranscendent, but it does not bother the reader at all. Because it fits in the storyline, and the storyline is simply amazing. It takes the lock-in murder case of the first book and turns it into a much faster paced tale. Again, I can't go too much into this for spoiler's sake, but I enjoyed it (even) more than the more 'dark' and 'eerie' sphere of Hedeby Island.
Perhaps my experience differs from that of the average female reader. This is a point I feel should be adressed. As this book can, I think, be categorized as a feminist thriller. At first, I admitt, this put me off to the series. In Dutch, my native language, the first of the books I saw was titled 'Mannen die vrouwen haten'. Which translates into 'Men who hate women'. Which is a pretty prominent part of the series, it would seem. I was afraid that if I'd start reading the book I would find that had pictured all men as disgusting and immoral pigs. (Which is a strawman-vision of feminism I admitt. But not one that I’ve not encountered by some ‘modern feminists’.) And I didn't want to suffer through all that for three entire books. But after seeing the movie, I realized I'd been judging the book by it's cover and that my prejudice was unwarranted. At least, mostly unwarranted.
Men are depicted as both villains and heroes in this series. Stieg Larsson, the deceased author, makes it very painstakingly clear which is which about as soon as we get to know a new persona. From the get-go we know if a character is an immoral creep or if (s)he is one of the good guys/girls. With perhaps the exception of officer Bublanski who is at first portrayed rather vague, but later turns into a more decisive good guy. When the good side’s thoughts are shown we are clearly shown a broad and wide way of thinking and analyzing. With liberal views surfacing quite a lot. While the thoughts of the bad guys are much more focused (on bad things) and much more narrow. This is a good technique to write, but I could have done without all the distracting lines popping in in the bad guy’s brain saying stuff like ‘fucking whore’ and ‘slut’. I get it, they hate women. But I think even most mysagonist assholes won’t think of how a gangster enrolled him semi-against-his-will into a gang for over a page and then blame it on the girl they raped together. Even a mysagonist would in that instance, I think, be more likely to think ‘it’s all the fault of that asshole’ than ‘it’s all the fault of that whore.’ The only exception to this is the blond giant who’se identity I can’t reveal. And that’s pretty much only because his thoughtpattern is quite necessary to be explained in the climax of the book.
For the most part it’s quite clear: either the guy is a clear white knight, or he is an immoral and quite probably criminal bastard. There is no grey area in the ‘Millenium trilogy’ which sounds more drastic than it feels when you read it. It actually works well with Salander’s vision on morality, which is pretty strong. I only wish the same dichotomy could be placed on the female characters. So far in two books I’ve only encountered four unlikeable female characters while unlikeable male and likeable female characters keep piling on. One is one of the women of the Vanger family in the first book, one is old teacher of Salander only mentioned in one paragraph (I think), one is a foster-mom who is also only excplicitly mentioned in one paragraph and one is a relative of Salander that isn’t even shown by the second book, just talked about. For all the other female characters we are to grow sympathy, empathy and respect for their strive. Which we do effectively, Larsson certainly succeeds and shows his great writing skills in this. But I would have thought it a more ‘empowered’ book if women could also have been more prominent as Salander’s adversaries. I’m not saying all should be women, or even most. But the lack of female antagonists is striking and I think a bit unfair. And ultimately, I feel, that’s too bad. Because while the book seems to try and get across the sensible and justified message that society should treat women as full and equal human beings and that we should recognize them and be harsh on mysogany, it dabbles at putting women on a pedestal. It excludes them from parts of human behavior that women, like men, are capable of. It ignores the ‘dark side’ that is in every human being and portrays most women as either morally-high-functioning or as victims of mysogany or both.
But all in all, this is a fantastic book and deserves a 9/10. The writing is swell, the story draws you in. The characters are, for the most part, interesting. The dynamic between Blomkvist and Salander is precious due to it’s scarcity in this installment but both show to be determined and powerfull players in the story even without eachother, though they’ve grown dependend (even if they won’t admit it) through the first book. This sequal was enough to make me dive straight into the third book as soon as I got home.
Geeez.. You seemingly rewrote the book here, huh?
Last book I read was Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
I've got a copy of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I may or may not read it, but probably not till winter sets in. I don't read much in the summer except The Nation magazine
Homeland by John Jakes 8/10
One of those epic thousand page historical fictions reminiscent of James Michener. Set in the beginning of the 20th Century, and follows the life of a young German immigrant making his way in Chicago, who gets involved in the politics of class struggle. I enjoy historical fiction and usually feel like I've actually learned something about history, while at the same time, immersing myself in an interesting read.
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on July 14, 2014, 05:45:32 AM
Last book I read was Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Many years ago, I bought a paperback copy off a revolving book rack at a gas station, and started reading it, but half way through I lost it on a hunting/camping trip. I went to our small town library and found it in the card catalog, but not in the stacks. I enquired with the old lady librarian when the book might be back on the shelf, and she said in hushed tones like we were discussing pornography or something, "Oh, the book is in, but we keep it behind the counter because... Well, you know."
Know what? Was the book not fit for human consumption? I asked if I could check it out, and she said, "No, we don't lend it out because... Well..."
So I agreed to finish the book in the library. I would stop by every afternoon, and she would give me the book, which I would take to a private corner and read. The library staff apparently had a discussion in her office, and one day she said, I could take the book home. But I was almost finished, and told her I didn't mind reading it in the library. Actually, it was kind of cool to go to a quiet public place for no purpose other than relaxing and reading.
After I had finished Of Mice and Men, I noticed it was back on the main shelf along with Steinbeck's other books. So someone in the library must have given it an "OK". Actually, I think it was Steinbeck's best writing. I read many of his other books afterwards, but none compared to Of Mice and Men.
John Steinbeck wrote some terrific books. My last read was The Poincare Conjecture--- In Search of the Shape of the Universe by Donal O'shea. A heavy read that I think JP would like. It not only explains the conjecture that was unsolved for a long time, it shows how the Russian mathematician Grigory Pereman solved it. If you don't know what topology means, or can think in four dimensions, you probably won't like it.
Iv'e just recently finished reading, ''The Last Dark, which is the final book in the 3rd Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen Donaldson.
Dont know if anyone on here has read any of books but i have enjoyed every last one.
If anybody has read them id appreciate ur opinion....
Also recently read The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M Banks..
Quote from: SGOS on July 14, 2014, 06:39:11 AM
After I had finished Of Mice and Men, I noticed it was back on the main shelf along with Steinbeck's other books.
I'm getting old and confused. When APA said he read of Mice and Men, I went into my Grapes of Wrath story. I don't know if the library even had Of Mice and Men. The book the Library wasn't keeping on the shelf was Grapes of Wrath.
:redface: :biggrin:
"The girl who kicked the hornet's nest."
It's the last in the millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. When I say it's the least one of the series, don't get me wrong. It's still a fine and immensly enjoyable read.
8.5/10
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on July 14, 2014, 05:45:32 AM
Geeez.. You seemingly rewrote the book here, huh?
Last book I read was Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
I've got a copy of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I may or may not read it, but probably not till winter sets in. I don't read much in the summer except The Nation magazine
The Poisonwood Bible is a great book, that one gets a 9 from me. The father is such a gigantic douchebag that it's fun to hate him. I love Barbara Kingsolver because she's a biologist, and apparently thinks exactly like I do.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was hard for me to get through because it was so upsetting and violent. It was so well-written and the characters so interesting that it was hard to remember that it is a work of fiction.
My most recent book is And The Band Played On about the dawn of HIV in the Western world. It was very long and interesting, I liked it a lot. I give it an 8.
I am about 2/3 of the way through The Devil in White City. The only reason I'm reading it is because of the book club I'm in. It is a very well-received book, but I am just not into history, which is what 90% of the book is about. I'd give it a 7.
Also recently finished: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys. Great. gets a 9.
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King, shitty, gets a 5. Some of his books are great, some really suck. This is not the suckiest of them, but it's definitely not one of the good ones.
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, very good, gets an 8.
I have been re-reading the books by Yahtzee Croshaw.
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Both are humor books and I appreciate the attempt to actually structure the stories humorously. Too many comedies could be a serious story if the tone was just changed and there a fewer one-liners. Of the two, I think I like Mogworld better. Maybe it's just a safer story or a sounder concept. Jam is also a darker, more sour story that may have hit a little close to home. In one scene, the POV character was risking his life to help the others and he got to hear them give unfavorable personal commentary on him when they thought he couldn't hear them because he was probably dead. It kind of reminded me of my family.
Jam has other problems. The story involves an apocalypse and the survivors waste no time developing Lord of the Flies-styled new societies. We only meet two of them, of course. It's a novel, not an epic. But I found the humor of these societies a bit lacking, especially the one that was based on an internet forum. The humor was already weak and then he ruins even that by baldly pointing out that it's an internet forum society. He leaned a bit too heavily on these but they aren't very funny and they take up the bulk of the middle of the book. Things pick up a bit when the main characters leave that shit behind, but my interest was already sapped. Not enough to stop reading. I leave that to anything written by Anne Rice or Melanie Rawn. But enough that I enjoyed Jam less than Mogworld
I have already re-read Mogworld, and it was still fun. I have only just started Jam again. I mainly wanted to re-read Jam because I have read it first when I decided to look at Croshaw's novels (and it mysteriously showed up in my local Barnes & Noble) and after reading Mogworld, I realized the stories were related and shared a character in common. It make me sad to think Double Bill from Mogworld had died. The surviving character turned out to be Don Sunderland, who was kind of a prick and that carries over to Jam nicely.
In any case, we'll see what a second read does to my perspective on Jam.
Historicity of Jesus by Richard Carrier. Don't buy it unless you are seriously into research or a serious historian. I'm nearly 200 pages in and have 10 pages of notes. One of the reasons I decided to stick around is because i promised Josephpalazzo a report. Pretty damning of the Jesus myth, imo.
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Only a couple stories in, but 10/10. Love it.
Quote from: Shiranu on August 10, 2014, 04:07:44 PM
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Only a couple stories in, but 10/10. Love it.
I have the complete collection; but have only read the first story (a study in scarlet). Thanks for giving me a good idea on which book to read next!
Quote from: Shiranu on August 10, 2014, 04:07:44 PM
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Only a couple stories in, but 10/10. Love it.
Read it. Used to be a big Holmes fan. The new versions, not so much.
Quote from: stromboli on August 10, 2014, 07:21:08 PM
Read it. Used to be a big Holmes fan. The new versions, not so much.
I definitely don't plan on reading any Holmes not written by Doyle. The only series I really care for is the Cumberbatch/Freeman one on BBC, though it definitely deviates from the original stories.
QuoteThanks for giving me a good idea on which book to read next!
No problem :P. I have had a hard time reading any book for more than 80 or so pages lately before moving on to the next, this is the first one in awhile that has hold my attention.
There is one other, but I'll wait till I read more of it before I post it. Great book though.
Conan Doyle was a very innovative writer. Much of what he portrayed Holmes doing led to innovative police procedure.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-obrien/sherlock-holmes-a-science_b_2549834.html
The Preservationist 3/10
Traditional thriller formula based on the old theme of split personality with one half of the person being a psychopathic killer. I think I've seen 100 movies based on this same script.
I suppose I am doing this slightly wrong, but this book (whichever I decide on) will take me awhile so...
Going to begin either Les Miserable (which I have) or Notre Dame de Paris by Hugo. NDdP seems very interesting and more what I want, but Les Mis I already own so thats a plus...
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One on the left is for my literature class, the one on the right is because it looks interesting. Really looking forward to "Fables".
Native Son by Richard Wright.
Un-freaking-believable.
On a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 15.
Quote from: Shiranu on August 13, 2014, 01:50:49 AM
I suppose I am doing this slightly wrong, but this book (whichever I decide on) will take me awhile so...
Meh, don't worry about it, just look at this like a 'literature thread'.
The sign of the four. The second Sherlock book I read. Quite good, but A Study in Scarlet, sucked me in much more. Maybe it was the religious element to the backgroundstory that was missing here :p
7.5/10
I know my review of this book will send you all scurrying to Amazon to order it posthaste.
The Book
(Playing The Percentages in Baseball)
10/10--at least.
If you have had that burning question of when to steal second, or steal it at all........or when to lay down that sac. bunt, or bunt at all.............or who are the real clutch hitters in the game, or if clutch hitting even exists...............or is pitching really 75% or the game or 90%, or 50%, or what...............or, well one could joyously go on forever! THIS is the book for you!
The Black Star by Linwood Vrooman Carter.
First of all, the author usually goes by simply "Lin Carter" but, fuck me, that's a name!
Second, the only reason I acquired this novel is because it was used as an example in "A Well-Tempered Plot Device by Nick Lowe. (http://news.ansible.uk/plotdev.html)
QuoteThis is the point to introduce you to the manual. In my experience, the book that has most to teach about the mistakes to avoid in good fantasy writing, and by that token the one that can tell you most about the rules of hacking, is itself a work of fiction. It's not one that's likely to be familiar to all, and I'd like to take this chance to bring it to notice; because while there may be other books I don't know about that could serve equally well, this is the one I've found to stand head and shoulders above all comparable handbooks of instruction.
It's Lin Carter's novel The Black Star. For all I know, every other Lin Carter book may be exactly the same. I don't know; this is the only one I've ever finished. But I've read it more times than I can say, because practically any point you could wish to make about techniques of hackwork can be illustrated from the pages of this remarkable novel, to which I'll be making quite a lot of reference in what follows. It's hard to give any idea of the flavour of this astonishing text from just a few short citations, but here by way of introduction are four passages about the same character from different parts of the book.
QuoteNiane fled down the jungle path on frantic, stumbling feet. Her gown was torn. Her slim white legs were scratched and bleeding. She panted for breath, young breasts heaving and straining against the fabric of her gown....
QuoteHe hastened to untie the girl. She was in a sorry state; most of her clothing had been torn from her, although she did not seem to have suffered any injury save the insulting touch of cold, sly hands....
Quote"Tush, girl!" the old fellow said, blushing a little at the warmth of her words and averting his keen old eyes reluctantly from the generous glimpses of her maiden flesh rendered visible by the sorry condition of her gown....
QuoteIn the crude intimacy of the cell they had shared, the temptation to touch her, to allow a comforting, soothing hand to venture an overt caress, to permit his eyes to taste the soft slenderness of her body so artlessly revealed through the sorry condition of her garments, had often been well nigh irresistible. Where another man would have yielded, perhaps reluctantly, to his need â€" which she as well felt â€" he but stiffened and grew colder, wrenching his thoughts aside from this insidious channel with distaste....
Lowe does not speak favorably about this novel, and with good reason. It was supposed to kick a new trilogy but the following installments were canceled, likely due to poor sales. But reading it was educational. It is said you can learn more from bad fiction than from good. If that is so, the Carter's Black Star is an excellent teacher.
As you might tell from the quotes, a more fitting title would have been The Black Star That Is Black Yet Also a Star But Still Black. Yes, the prose is redundantly redundant in its redundancy. Look at this:
QuoteThe old sorcerer was in a vile mood, and he turned to snarl a rude query at the inquisitive, but inoffensive, blossoms.
"What are you fools staring at?" he snarled, as he clumped within.
He tells us the sorcerer snarled and then tells us he snarls again. Two one-sentence paragraphs from one snarl. Wow.
Carter started writing in the late forties and the tentpole of his career is finishing some of Robert E Howard's Conan stories. He either worked for a penny a word or picked up on Howard's style which was penny a word. I am temped to edit the damned thing. I suspect I could get it down to half length.
Often I encounter padding like this in writing by new, inexperienced writers who are still learning their craft. That sin thus because they are unsure how to convey the scene in their head to the page, and to the reader, so they overexplain everything out of a fear that the reader won't get it. This is not what Cater is doing. Every piece of padding is there because he intended it to be there. It's kind of unnerving to realize this. I have learned a more concise and direct method of writing, but to realize that Carter is using so many adverbs, adjectives and redundancies on purpose just blows my wee little mind.
The plot, as described in Lowe's article, is simplistic.
We begin with the mighty warrior of Celtish descent Diodric-- that's "Dio" as in Ronnie James and "Dric" as in "That guy is such a dric that he'll probably die a virgin."-- standing atop the battlements of the imperial palace crying. Diodric cries again later in the novel. I guess it's supposed to be manly to weep, but jesus christ, what a crybaby. This opening also hold the first major narrative redundancy. Diodric is about to commit ritual suicide because the palace and the capital are lost to the enemy. Carter goes on for about two pages on how doing this is an honored tradition when a vetern soldier nearby that was not quite dead yet but soon will be tells him to pack that shit in and live, dammit, live! So Diodric doesn't kill himself but he doggedly stays at his post when his captain comes by and tells him to leg it because there's nothing left to guard and he should live, dammit, LIVE!
These two characters do basically the same thing: tell out lunkhead hero to stop being an idiot and stay alive because he's young and shit. A better writer, or maybe just a writer concerned with writing better, would have combined these two into one character, but then it might have taken half the number of pages to get past this opening.
Oh well. No sooner than this business is over, Diodric rescues Niane from assassins and stuff and the two manage to escape in a flying boat thing. No, really. Niane is a typical female character in this kind of fiction in that she is completely fucking useless. When shit goes down, she just panics and screams and cowers and gets her dress torn in a PG-13 manner. More leg. More cleavage. No nipple or butt crack.
The only thing important about her is she happens to be carrying the fucking Black Star of the title. Lowe explains what the hell it is better in his article linked above. Suffice to say, everyone acts like it's fucking important for no goddamned reason. This means the bad guy that took over the capital is after them now to get that thing.
Anyway, the two turn out to be shit at flying boats because they are captured by troglodytes because they moored on a mountain peak during the night. A confusing amount of time passes before the sorcerer rescues them using magic and shit, even redoing the "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" bit from Lord of the Rings, although he doesn't fall too. The sorcerer, incidentally, is named Nephog Thoon. I shit you not.
As they simply travel via airship, Niane reflects on their time in captivity with the troglodytes and that Diodric did not take advantage of her. This was good, but then she wonders if he doesn't find her attractive.
Did you get that? She basically thinks "Wow. The entire time we were stuck in that cell, he didn't try to rape me. Wait a minute. Why didn't he try to rape me? Doesn't he think I'm pretty?" This is prefaced with the line "Niane would not have been a woman had not this occurred to her also."
Linwood Vrooman Carter, ladies and gentlemen. Champion of the people.
Anyway, the bad guy uses magic to permanently ground the air ship and they have to try to reach a friendly city on foot with the bad guy's henchmen in hot pursuit. They eventually make it to a river and float down on a hastily-constructed raft when suddenly the bad guys are right in front of them. Turns out the river in its meandering doubles back on itself and the bad guys just hoofed across the land instead of following the river's course like our idiot heroes. They are saved when the Nephog Thoon shoots a spell at the chief henchman only too late to see he has a wand of some kind. The magic cancels itself out in a massive explosion that pretty much saves the day.The goodies are then rescued by soldiers from the city they're trying to reach and all is well, except that the Black Star got lost in the commotion.
It turns out Nephog stole the Star because he was enlisted by some counsel of wizards to do so for reasons of sequels. This was a nice bit of intrigue that help keep interest up. I could tell he was going to steal the Star. I just didn't quite guess why because that was too easy.
All in all, everything gets wrapped up nicely at the end the way the first Star Wars movie did. Plenty of room for a sequel, but a tidy enough ending if those do not come. And they didn't. The sequels would have picked up with Niane and Diodric's grandchildren, supposedly. So none of our heroes would have been able to do anything anymore. It's an enjoyable enough story, I suppose even if nothing much happens in it.
The weird thing is that the novel seems to be just shy of having a comedy angle to it. When Thoon is given his mission, the guy does this by whispering in his ear while Thoon rolls his eyes comically. many of the other scenes could also be made to have perfect comic timing. If this were ever made into a film, I hope they go that way with it.
The Strain by del Toro and Hogan.
How was it?
Spring of the Stag God.
Urm.. anyone easily offended by enormous orc penis you might want to avoid looking this up on amazon.com.. amazed still they allowed that cover to pass.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Not exactly light reading, but damn was Capote a good writer.
I believe that book broke new ground in writing. I like a quote made by him when asked if he was gay: "One bird in the spring does not a spring make."
David Kirk, Child of Vengeance.
Set in 16th century feudal Japan, en excellent read . 8/10
There's this book that Ken Ham kept recommending during the debate with Bill Nye. It's title is something kind of silly, like "The Bibble" or something, if I recall correctly. Well, I have to say I wasn't impressed. The main character, whose name keeps changing from "gawd" to "the lard", seems like a petty tyrant. Then there's his son, Jebus, who seems like a nice guy but who's prone to throw temper tantrums. Anyway, it's long and boring, and the ending makes no sense.
1984
I rate it 19.84 out of 20.
The only thing I didn't like about it, was that I read it in Dutch. (Bought it second hand for half a euro at a flea market.) Let met tell you 'Grote Broer' isn't quite as catchy as 'Big Brother'.
I finally finished the ASV bible!
Shit out of really bad. :oak:
Revival by Stephen King. Good premise, stupid book.
Quote from: Mr.Obvious on November 11, 2014, 05:51:21 PM
How was it?
Whoops, forgot to answer this question. Well this will be a month late I guess.
The premise is similar to Salem's Lot. In that story, a town gets slowly converted from humans into vampires. The same basic thing happens here in New York City. The town is overtaken in three nights, with widespread chaos on the final one.
It begins with a commercial airliner that literally goes dark after landing. A terrorist/hostage situation is feared and they send in a counter-terror unit that discovers that all the people are "dead" with no visible injuries. As they are examined by a doctor, some of them still have their activated phones in their hands, with their loved ones desperately calling them.
The novel switches POV more than you see King do in Salem's Lot, and again, most of those people exist solely to be killed. Because the vampire always kills and converts the same way (with their tongue-stingers), it can get somewhat repetitive.
The characters are kind of what you expect. You have the honorable plague doctor, his smart son who loves his father to death just as his father loves him. The doctor's ex-wife is kind of a bitch, of course. And of course has to date someone who is a jerk and hates the ex-husband for no reason, the wise Obi Wan old man who has a significant history with the threat of vampires.
There's also a pest exterminator who gets caught up in it, I guess it's because a group of heroes always needs a "Big Guy," and this dude is big.
There's a kind of ex-criminal named Gus, who also gets caught up in it, as he delivers the vampires coffin to a place for reasons I can't really remember. He will have a very special task in the next books, I wager.
The master vampire in this book gets a little more development than Barlow in Salem's Lot--a little more backstory with the Obi Wan. That's cool, and I imagine that development will only get bigger as you get into the 2nd and 3rd book (The Fall, and Night Eternal).
There's a lot more action than in Salem's Lot (yes, I will be comparing the books a lot). As I said, an entire city gets taken over and the Obi Wan has anti-vampire weapons including silver blades, nail-guns, and UV lamps that will blast the assholes. It's good fun.
del Toro and Hogan are also making a TV series based on the book. Don't know if I will watch it since I have all three books.
I'd give it an 4 out of 5. I probably would've liked it more than Salem's Lot if I were 15 or 14. But now that I can keep better track of just what the fuck is happening in books, I would probably score the Lot higher, at a 5/5.
The white lioness by Henning Mankell. (Original: Den vita lejoninnan)
It's part of his 'Wallander' series. Which, when you get down to it, is a basic 'detective novel' with your archetypical burned out detective with a failed mariage and a cynical look on life itself.
But if you like such novels, you'll love this series and this one is no exception.
8,5/10
Just finished all 5 A Song Of Ice and Fire books. 9/10. What a ride. I highly, highly recommend.
Part of my motivation for reading it was my heartfelt love of the series. Part of it was a fear of spoilers. May the Others take you loose-lipped book readers!
There are tons of extremely memorable characters from all walks of life, lots of intrigue and plot twists, the setting is so damn well fleshed out and reminiscent of actual medieval history that you could easily imagine it as a real place, and I particularly liked how different places have distinctly different cultures, religions, languages/dialects, even food and song. And you just can't wait to see what happens next. Seriously, you can't. *goes into withdrawal*
But the series is not without relatively minor faults:
It is possible to go overboard with the sheer number of characters and bury the reader in a bunch of trivially-important minor characters, which happens quite a bit. And another problem with having that many characters is that you're dying to learn how a character turns out and he's not even in this book or the next. Hell, he might not even make an appearance ever again. *grinds his teeth* And then there's the Samwell Tarly problem, where a thoroughly dull character gets oodles and oodles of screentime at the expense of interesting ones.
And the exposition dumps, which are normally handled fairly well, can get kinda clunky at times. Some character is lost in thought and apparently goes off on a mental tangent that spans half the history of Westeroes on occasion. And you'll be told some of the same exposition over and over again just in case you forgot.
As violent and terrible as Westeroes is, a surprising number of battles happen completely offscreen. Why? I have no idea. Apparently, we need to focus on some orphans or a main character's trek that begins and ends with not much happening. :l
And finally, there's a lot in the books that could be cut without affecting much. It's interesting padding. It's flavorful padding. But it's still padding.
[spoiler]I can't wait to see Victarion and the Damphair on the tv show. I <3 Victarion. And Doran Martel. And the fat Lord Manderly. And a certain execution along the Wall.
And I swear to the God of Flame and Shadow, the infamous Bastard letter had better amount to nothing more than FILTHY, FILTHY LIES!! *shatters his tankard against a wall, treks out into the snow and melts it by proximity alone*[/spoiler]
Not read it yet, but I treated myself with some money my aunt gave me for christmas to buy Richard Dawkins the god delusion.
The irony is my aunt is a firm believer in god, and someone who denounces evolution, so if she were to ask me what I spent it on, that will be an interesting conversation.
'The wee free men' of the Discworld saga, by Terry Pratchett.
I know this book was intended for younger readers; but Blind Io be damned you're so clever Pratchett. 8.8 out of 10.
P.S. Green Bottle; read this book!
Finally got around to Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe. Better than his NOVA specials. And, the first time anyone explained entropy in a way I could get my head around. 9/10 easily.
Currently on James Gunn's Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction and Lawrence Weschler's Boggs: A Comedy of Values. Gunn is excellent so far (of course, the subject matter is my favorite author, so that's no shocker). Haven't gotten far enough into Boggs to have a solid opinion yet.
Finished Boggs: A Comedy of Values -- it's not a large book. A light read, at turns funny and insightful. If you have an interest in money and art, I recommend it.
Finally finished "god is not great" by Hitchens. 11/10
Been reading the "Long Earth" series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. The premise is that human beings spontaneously develop the ability to travel to parallel earths by means of a simple device that someone dreams up. Which actually turns out to be a focal device for a latent skill we already have. Explores the nature of humanity and how we deal with the opening of a virtually unlimited space/time frontier. Just purchased "Long Mars" haven't read it yet.
"Raising Steam" latest Discworld book. Pratchett continues his introduction of new technology into Discworld and Ankh-Morpork, now with steam trains. The villains are a retro group of dwarves not unlike our fundie xtians or Islamists; Pratchett being an atheist, you get the message. Typical Discworld book, worth the read. Light satire in the form of scifi/fantasy.
Nearly done with Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. As one might expect, it's beautiful. The great thing about Sagan's writing is that you can hear it in his particularly cadenced way of speaking in your mind's ear. :)
A lion on Tharthee by Grant Callin.
Old school sience fiction, which I find amusing to read. Being from 1987 it's older than I am. I picked it up for half a euro in a second hand shop and am glad I did. Apparently it's a sequel to 'saturnalia', but never realized that untill I finished it, which means I must applaud it's writing.
The book is not one that will be remembered in ages to come, but it is a good and interesting read with a fascinating focus on societies and their structures, which I appreciate. The only problem is that protagonist is very much an 'everything fits' character. By that I mean, he rises to any challenge and completes it with flair and suave. He is sometimes worried, but you wouldn't read it and you know he can handle it, which lessens the suspense. Also the fact that it takes about a third of the book going through logistics and preperations before the voyage to an alien world actually starts, didn't flow so wel with me.
7.7/10
Just finished One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. It's much better the second time around.. The guys life sucked living in a Soviet gulag, but he makes the best of things and learns to appreciate the tiniest of decency in people and his day..
Just started In The First Circle by the same author..
Does anyone know of an audiobook version of this? http://www.amazon.com/Godless-Evangelical-Preacher-Americas-Atheists/dp/1569756775
My friend gave it to me for my birthday and I want to read it, but I usually have an easier time listening to audiobooks while I draw, rather than put aside time to sit read.
On a Douglas Hofstadter jag now. Working on Metamagical Themas, a collection of his columns for Scientific American in the early 1980s. And I think I need to replace my copy of Gödel, Escher, Bach because I sure can't find my last copy (my second copy, I've read and re-read the everloving hell out of that book)
Reading Dostoyevski's "The Idiot". It is really good so far, 70 pages in. The socio-political climate of Russia at the turn of the century, told through the eyes of a Jesus-like (morality wise) simpleton.
Not a real review, but i just want to mention one of my favorite authors just died.
If you havent read terry pratchett yet, i fullheartedly suggest you do. The man was sublime. I'm going through his discworld saga and have yet to find a dissapointing read. And 'small gods' Will always be one of my favorite books of all time.
You've shown us that The reaper is an okay Guy, but i am still sad he game for you so soon.
Today I both started and finished Jeremy Robinsons' Project Nemesis (A Kaiju Thriller). Not because it's a short book, but because I found it that engrossing. The last time I instantly fell in love with a kaiju like this was when I watched Godzilla vs Gigan at the age of 3. Equal parts horror and thriller, the story centers around the eponymous Nemesis, a kaiju who personifies revenge, who rampages her way through Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, killing and/or consuming every human being unfortunate enough to be in her way.
The human characters have about as much character development as you'd expect from a standard movie of the same genre, and wouldn't be out of place in a SyFy original movie. Quite a bit of the book is written from the perspective of Jon Hudson, a DHS agent heading up Fusion Center - Paranormal, a branch the rest of the DHS considers a joke at best, and a downright disgrace at worst. Hudson's perspective is written from the 1st person, even though the rest of the book is entirely in 3rd person; an odd choice, but it works. The characters are interesting enough to carry the story, but if you're expecting them to uncover the meaning of life, you're reading the wrong book.
The real star of the show is Nemesis herself. A decent chunk of the book is actually written from Nemesis' perspective, another odd choice that Robinson nevertheless executes quite well. For a giant monster, Nemesis is a surprisingly nuanced character, and arguably has the most development by far as the story progresses. The most interesting aspect of Nemesis is that she has a young girl's soul attached to her mind, the reasons for which I won't spoil. Suffice it to say, it leads to a fascinating conflict of interests: Nemesis feeds on humans, and doesn't particularly care if they're still alive when they go down her gullet, but at the same time she is disgusted at what she does. She fulfills a function of seeking vengeance against injustice, but has no problem destroying human society along the way; after all, a society that produces the degenerates she hunts can surely be no better.
If nothing else, I can promise you one thing about Project Nemesis: You will be entertained.
Bet you haven't seen this thread in awhile (since March 18th)... took me a little while to find it.
Currently reading Achebe's "Things fall Apart", one of the best pieces of literature to come out of modern Africa.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71qLnZuj5SL.jpg)
To quote the wikipedias, "Things Fall Apart, a novel set in Pre-colonial Nigeria in the 1890s highlights the fight between colonialism and traditional societies. ". It is written in a very understandable format, not overly complex or wordy just for the sake of it, and incorporates alot of Igbo (Nigerian tribe) folk lore into it to help tell the story.
It also doesn't shy away from pointing out some of the darker sides of Igbo society, nor does it preach that they are either good or bad... simple that they are there. This isn't a book that is just, "Europe sucks, white people suck, how dare they destroy our culture!" but rather a book that simply wants the reader to acknowledge that there was culture there before the white man arrived and that is was irreversibly changed.
I am only a quarter through it, have yet to get to the colonization, but it is great and Achebe is brilliant, even if I disagree with him on some things (the whole reason I bought this book was after reading his criticism of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" [another absolutely brilliant book], as much as I disagreed with him to extents I still deeply respected his opinion and his views on Africa).
I your interested in seeing the world from a "primitive" culture, or don't know much about African culture that existed pre-colonization, it's a good read.
Read that then you must read this-
(https://kenanmalik.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/black-jacobins.jpg)
Download pdf avalable
http://www.ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/CLR_James_The_Black_Jacobins.pdf (http://www.ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/CLR_James_The_Black_Jacobins.pdf)
The Black Jacobins
by C. L. R. James published 1938
C L R James was a truly great man activist scholar and author and not a bad cricketer.
(http://tim-robertson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cricket.jpg)
Quote from: jonb on November 05, 2015, 09:29:53 PM
Read that then you must read this-
(https://kenanmalik.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/black-jacobins.jpg)
Download pdf avalable
http://www.ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/CLR_James_The_Black_Jacobins.pdf (http://www.ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/CLR_James_The_Black_Jacobins.pdf)
The Black Jacobins
by C. L. R. James published 1938
C L R James was a truly great man activist scholar and author and not a bad cricketer.
(http://tim-robertson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cricket.jpg)
from the brief bit of wiki I read about it, it definitely sounds really good and is going right up to next book on my list. I love Caribbean history, partly since I have family from St. Thomas and Puerto Rico and french history as well... and of course the whole dynamic of "Liberty and equality for all... so long as you look like me, talk like me, dress like me!".
Right I can't remember on how much CLR mentions him much in the book (its a long time since I read it) but if you are interested in the Caribbean then I have to point to this man who is an absolutely astounding figure.
John Perkins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perkins_(Royal_Navy_officer) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perkins_(Royal_Navy_officer))
This is the most admirable character of that period IMHO ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/books/review/the-black-count-by-tom-reiss.html?_r=0
One's library of history and biography is so narrow, if it is limited to White folk. Though my special area of fascination is E Asian culture/history.
Having a lovely saunter through Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot.
Mundane stuff for me. Just finished The Martian. I really thought I get bored in the middle of it. But not so. The guy is a good writer. It was a fast read for me, and a good read. Anybody into Sci Fi would like it. Did not see the movie and I don't see how they could have made a good one out of it--too much in the guy's head dialogue to show his feelings on film. Could be wrong, I guess.
I just finished "The hound of Baskervilles", the Sherlock Holmes story.
I have the Sherlock Holmes omnibus and hope to read all of the stories in due time. The hound is only the third! I'm at page 305 of 1408 of the complete works... Long ways ahead I guess.
I'll be reading some different books in between. That's no blemish on the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Reading them you understand why the books are so iconic and popular. But any one fiction for an elongated time tends to bore me.
Anyways, The Hound of Baskervilles I've heard is one of the best stories. I liked it. But I'll admit I liked A study in scarlet and the sign of the four even better. Perhaps it was the 'dawww'-ish romance in the sign of the four or how Watson and Holmes grow on eachother in a study in scarlet, combined by the frequently used expression of 'ejaculate' which is absolutely hilarious... I don't know.
It was a great read and I'm glad I got through it. The mystery and suspense is good in this one. And the absence of Holmes throughout most of if does work wonders in this.
Reading Ana Karenina and Dostoevsky's "Letters from Underground" atm. Hoping I can keep the two separate in my head.
See Spot Run
What a horrid book. I'm offended by how simplistic the author expects the audience to be. Spot, the main character, is 1 dimensional at best. No word is spared on why he runs. He just runs! Am I suppose to believe this dog does not have a dark past he's running from?
0 out of 10
Making Money
The 36th of the late Terry Pratchett's Discworld saga, and the second to have the charismatic former swindler Moist von Lipwig as it's main lead.
What can I say; a great Discworld novel. I think it may even be better than 'Going Postal', the prior Moist von Lipwig story. Where 'Going Postal' was more of a continued rush, this had, to me, more noteable moments without every losing the story or it's drive completely. To anyone who has read this story; the entire climax at the courthouse was a thrill. Couple that with a more pityfull yet no less dispicable and much more interestingly insane villain in this story compared to the second, and you got yourself an outstanding piece of work.
While I suggest reading the Discworld saga in order, as I am doing. Making Money is one of the creme de la creme that make it worth it. It can really sell the charm of Ankh-Morpork, one of the most vile cities you can imagine. Or, to say it fittingly in theme with the book: it can sell the sizzle.
Sophie's World (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie%27s_World)
This book was a very fun read, and I liked the idea of using a novel to teach the history of philosophy. It also brings to life the idea that fictional characters have an actual existence of some sort. They may exist in one or another of the multiverses, but who knows which those might be.
Quote from: Unbeliever on December 15, 2015, 05:49:38 PM
Sophie's World (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie%27s_World)
This book was a very fun read, and I liked the idea of using a novel to teach the history of philosophy. It also brings to life the idea that fictional characters have an actual existence of some sort. They may exist in one or another of the multiverses, but who knows which those might be.
Since you are clearly a thinker ... have you read ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittgenstein%27s_Poker
The Sorrows of Young Werther
3/5. It was so melodramatic at times that I thought it was a comedy. Well, I didn't really, but yeah you could really see that it's a different era now. If it wasn't so tragic I would've liked it more, but then it would've lost its status and appeal probably. But what can I say, I prefer happier endings :)
Quote from: Baruch on December 20, 2015, 02:15:17 AM
Since you are clearly a thinker ... have you read ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittgenstein%27s_Poker
Sorry, didn't see this post before, didn't mean to ignore it.
No, I haven't yet read that, but I will if I can come across it. My reading list is rather hit and miss, I can't just read whatever I'd like (which is everything there is to read). At least, not until I win the lottery tonight.
'The Valley of Fear' from 1915 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Another Sherlock book, and the last of the four longer cases. Honestly, it could be concidered be the best one amongst them. It has the same structure as 'A study in scarlet' with the first half being Holmes investigation and the second part being the story that lead to it. The first half is a tad weaker than it could be, but the second half makes up for that plenty. A riveting read, I recommend it.
Let me admit up front that I saw the movie Contact (driving through a tornado warning and dodging bits of siding on the highway to get to it) before I tackled the book, and the book version I first stumbled across was the abridged reading done by Jody Foster.
I loved the movie, even though I recognized its many weaknesses. I loved the book, even in its abridged format, it was a much stronger, much more fulfilling story. And now I'm finally on (a reading of) the unabridged book.
So much better than both before. So, so much better. I love all the little background details, even if they don't directly impact the storyline. They paint the picture.
And few concepts in fiction carry -- for me, anyway -- the stunning impact of the implications of what the aliens are studying.
Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol".
I didn't read his Robert Langdon-series in order, and you really don't have to to enjoy them. This third instalment was the last one I had left to read. It was also the least, in my opinion. Perhaps due to the fact that I already read the others first and so familiarized myself with his style, but the plot-twists could be seen from a mile away. There was also less doubt to me about who was a good guy and who was a bad guy.
Still, it had the usual hyped up chase I liked from the other books. And Langdon was fun and relateable enough to enjoy. making a worthwhile book to take on a beach-vacation.
However, the greatest problem with the book, that really kept me from enjoying it at times, was the author's constant fight to keep religion and unsupported claims in a good light. While this didn't feature as much, I think, in 'Inferno', it was something I also noticed in 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels and Demons'. Brown is apparently a Christian himself, but even beyond that, I understand his need to appeal to both the religious and the irreligious audiences, especially in a mostly Christian country, and that to me seems why he constantly tries to connect faith and science, possit religion as a logical and wise and such. (Where some Christians got the idea his work was anti-christian, I got no idea.)
But while annoying in these previous titles, it really predominated here; taking up entire paragraphes and the whole ending. And worst of all, he taps a whole new dimension (almost literally). Quantum Woo.In this Langdon-universe, apparently, faithhealers and praying-circles are proven to work. Souls are shown to exist. Thoughts have mass. And guess what? All of modern discoveries surrounding quantum mechanics etc. were already foretold in ancient scriptures. And the wisest character in the book claims that that is the only reason they could've survived so long. It's painful to read as a skeptic...
But again, the drama and action and characterisation was done quite well.
7/10
Some fiction for me is like a "bad trip". It puts me into an alternative universe that feels ... disturbing. Catholic literature is like that for me ... I simply find the idea of "realism" in Catholicism (see Constantine, the movie) to be too alien. Congregational Protestantism isn't as jarring since it is closer to Judaism. I think that is the kind of thing you experienced ... Dan Brown is very Catholic in his conceptions, as well as Freemasonic. I can relate to the Freemasonic ideas better, though they are equally silly. The first National Treasure movie was OK because of that.
If the multiverse exists, then it seems to me that every fictional scenario that is logically consistent and physically realizable must exist somewhere in it. All possibilities are reified, so not only are we necessary being, but so are those fictional characters we love and hate so much.
If they can exist, they will exist.
Quote from: Unbeliever on February 02, 2016, 06:15:46 PM
If the multiverse exists, then it seems to me that every fictional scenario that is logically consistent and physically realizable must exist somewhere in it. All possibilities are reified, so not only are we necessary being, but so are those fictional characters we love and hate so much.
If they can exist, they will exist.
I've always just broken down the realm of possibility being as madam web put it, reality is a river that splits off into many parallel tributaries, and we are just stones washed down that river. Fate is nothing more then how the current takes us.
(http://devynba.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/1/7/19178091/5802587_orig.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YbqO27OpL._SX312_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Still in progress so can't rate but good so far.
Quote from: Shiranu on March 10, 2016, 09:55:01 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YbqO27OpL._SX312_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Still in progress so can't rate but good so far.
I fucking love that one!
I read The Music of Erich Zann on a really dark, rainy day. Right during the big freakout in that story, there was a damn close lightning strike. I flipped my shit.
When you finish that book, I strongly recommend the Dream Cycle (http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/sources/dc.aspx) one.
(http://cdn.rainbowresource.netdna-cdn.com/products/018010.jpg)
History of the Medieval World (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6484128-the-history-of-the-medieval-world). A pretty basic overview of the political situation of the world from 4th century AD to 11th century AD.
Lots and lots of conflicts, internal and external. Conflict between Catholic Rome and Orthodox Constantinople. Conflict between Vikings and all comers. Conflict between Europeans and Arabs. Conflict between Popes and Kings. Basically, what I've learned is to never ever be a prince's brother. Or a child king. Or a peasant. Or a girl. Or sickly. Or not particularly religious. Basically, that time period sucked. There's some good stuff (like a gradual extension of the Peace and Truce of God and a concerted push to restrict violence), but god damn, there was a lot of nastiness in those times. Just reading about the Plague of Justinian was seriously off-putting.
The one thing I liked was the gradual molding of countries into more recognizable forms - Britain, France, Russia, etc. More familiar names and religions. You really see the foundations of the modern world start to take hold during these times. It was a good read, though it's more of a general overview than an extremely detailed account. A lot of really famous figures only get a couple pages apiece.
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Preston still scares me, with his damn talent.
4 out of 5
Hydra009 ... yes, in the Medieval period, things at least started to look like what we are familiar with. Though 500 years ago was still pretty alien. It is much harder to relate to Roman or older times ... except thru Hollywood epics.
Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire by Chalmers Johnson. Good critique of USA behavior and it's imperial policy. Also while critical it does not stray into USA is little Satan territory.
Late beta version of a friend's first novel. Obviously, I can't give details, but it has promise! And a rare (and, surprisingly, successful) blend of both magic and high tech.
I'll talk about the last good book I read as I don't recall the latest one. It's called Every Day by David Levithan. It's about someone named A who wakes up in a different person's body every day. A lives their life and gets to see the world as every type of person you can imagine as long as they are near A's age. You get to see the world through the eyes of someone who has lived a day in so many lives and knows how we all see and taste and experience it all differently. A also falls in love and experiences a lot of problems over it. It's a great book which could just as easily be about someone with a fluid gender and sexuality. After several months of unoriginal/predictable copycats and/or bad writing, it was a breath of fresh air. It's not perfect mind you, but it's a good quick read for any age group.
Also, random note: my favorite book is Memoirs of a Geisha by Author Golden. My favorite books when I was younger were Where The Red Fern Grows (because it reminded me of my dad) and Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales From Africa (because it was different).
Memoirs from the House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It's quite good read but nothing more I would say. Bulgakov The Master and Margarita or Grossman Life and Fate were better.
Bluewind ... your book is describing "stream of consciousness" during dream-states. All sorts of rules are discarded during dreams, including gender rules.
Quote from: Baruch on April 18, 2016, 06:27:41 AM
Bluewind ... your book is describing "stream of consciousness" during dream-states. All sorts of rules are discarded during dreams, including gender rules.
It's less of a dream state and more of a formless person who possesses a new body each day. A cannot control the body they wake up in every day and they have a fluid sense of gender. They at times get upset when they wake up in the body of one gender and wanted to be the other. Their sexuality is polysexual and they are capable of falling in love with someone and staying in love with that person regardless of the body they are in.
Like I said, the book isn't too long so it can be started and finished in a day or so. It's worth a read when you are waiting on a new book to come out or on a library waiting list. ;)
Just finished reading Nihala. A book written by my friend. It was really good. Check it out if you can. https://www.amazon.com/Nihala-Scott-Burdick-ebook/dp/B010MNX1XM
Just finished "The status civilization", by Robert Sheckley in 1960.
A fun little book. (Read it in Dutch, well translated I believe.) A real pageturner.
Guy finds himself on an exile planet, accused of a murder he can't recall. The society he winds up in involves killing and savagery in order to climb up the social ladder and survive. Prisoners on the colony have an average life-span of 3 years. He tries to survive so he can escape and find out the truth about himself. The book is interesting and clever enough all the way through. Though I did see the final confrontation coming, though only some part in the second half.
I like old SciFi, a lot. If you do too, I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Much like in the old Star Trek ... when Scotty is accuse of a murder, that he is witnessed doing, but he can't himself recall. Turns out there is an immaterial alien going around possessing people and making them commit murder, and this same entity was the party responsible for the Jack the Ripper killings.
The Monk Who sold his Ferrari its a good book. I enjoyed it.
I have just bought my third copy of Douglas Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach. I have quite literally read its two predecessors to pieces. And my copy of his Metamagical Themas is starting to get a little ratty...
I finally got around to reading something by Hemingway. I just read For Whom the Bell Tolls. It was OK. I guess I'm not a big fan of Hemingway, although I've only read one of his books. The story was very good. His prose, which Hemingway is always praised for, seems odd to me. Instead of swearing, he would always say something like, "I 'obscenity' in your coffee." I understand that back in his day, he would have been able to publish it with the actual words. But I also found his prose odd for other reasons. I suppose he was trying to mimic how Spanish would sound translated word for word. Although I'm not sure what he was doing. I've never heard anyone talk that way. Lastly, while I've heard that his prose is clean, it seem very repetitious. His characters would frequently repeat the same phrase several times. He did that often, and it seemed cluttered to me. The story itself was a graphic and exciting depiction of war. There was a lot of preparing and waiting around, culminating in violent and hair raising action.
The Last Legends of Earth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Legends_of_Earth)
Not quite done with this, but it's looking like one of my favorite reads. Very weird, which I love. Partly a love story (True Love...), part war against alien destroyers, part philosophy.
I haven't yet even read Radix, but that'll come as soon as I can find it.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/518vOvZUcvL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Quote from: trdsf on February 10, 2017, 02:39:20 PM
I have just bought my third copy of Douglas Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach. I have quite literally read its two predecessors to pieces. And my copy of his Metamagical Themas is starting to get a little ratty...
We tried a reading club on GEB ... but nobody was serious. I got thru page 150, then gave up, because it was the sound of one hand clapping. If you can even read that book, let alone understand it (I am only on second reading, years later) ... you are smarter than you claim to be.
I'm running a bit behind.
I read the dunk & Egg novella's on my Ereader. They were great. I could reall see this becoming the spin-off to GOT, though I'd love to see something about Robert's rebellion too.
8.5/10.
I'm still reading "I have no enemies, I know no hate", by liu xiaobo. It's good, but I needed something to take a break from it. Hence the next one. I'll finish it, but I don't know when. 8.0/10 for now.
I read 'The Good Guy' by Dean Koontz. I found it a second hand shop fof a euro. Koontz is an amusing writer. Once in a while his thrillers and novels are outstanding, like 'Life Expectancy'. Life Expectancy deserves a 9/10 in my book. The Good Guy, however, is one of his more standard works. I'd still give it a 6.5/10 however, and say it's a solid read for on a holiday. 95% of the book is entertaining, and maybe it's not fair that those few things, mostly converging at the last 5% of the book, drag down it's score so much. But an ending can be just as important as the thrill of the ride.
I'm just glad I only paid 1 euro for it, as paying full price would've sucked. I paid full price for Life Expectancy, but that wasn't so bad because it was great.
The Good Guy breathes Koontz' style. From the unspoken 'unique' connection between the protagonist and the love-interest/deuteragonist. (Unique meaning here that they just happen to get eachother, both having been the odd ones out in their lives until they meet eachother. It's Koontz trademark, and either a bit too obvious in this one, or I've read it too often already.) To the powers from the protagonist and his sidekick (and the sidekick's pet) bordering on superhuman. Just not quite there, but really pushing the brink of what we can consider within the bounds of humanity; i'm talking impossible reflexes, heightened rationalizing skills, practical wits beyond compare, dogs that can sense impossible to sense phenomena, ...
So the ride and premise are great. A guy at a bar gets mistaken first for a murderer-for-hire and shortly thereafter as the cliënt wanting to assasinate a woman. What follows is his attempt to outsmart the assassin and keep the woman safe, all the while trying to figure out who wants her dead, and why.
The villain, a bit bland, is entertaining enough to keep you invested.
But the pay-off is weak.
[spoiler]
The final confrontation with the killer is good enough, but you never once feel like the protagonist is in danger. It turns out there's a big government conspiracy, while this story would've been much better without it. If it had just been some guy who wanted the girl dead, it would have made for a much more believeable story. This one stretched our willingness to believe the fiction too much. Both in how the shadow-government operates, how they get shut down, how they act after the protagonist foils their plan, ...
Tim, the protagonist is also a war-veteran and hero; having saved hundreds of lives. He doesn't want to be seen as one, however. What would've made the story much better as well, would've been if instead of saving hundreds of lives, he felt responsible for horrendous war-crimes and yet was still commended for his service. It would've given his character much more depth, as well as been a good twist on the title of the book. I think his service was meant to be a giant plot-twist, but I saw it coming. And I was hoping for it to be something horendous, rather than heroic. I was dissapointed. [/spoiler]
Only reading non-fiction right now ... did get an interesting bio of Cicero the other day, by Anthony Everitt.
Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Adichie is unquestionably a craftsman of character, which is what makes it so disappointing that the narrator is by far the least interesting one in the novel. The premise is that she and her brother have grown up in an extremely strict upper-middle class Catholic home in Nigeria, but begin to undergo transformations when they are exposed to the side of their family that is more in touch with the old traditions of the Igbo. Both of these transformations are very quiet for the bulk of the novel, and in the case of the narrator, very shallow. It seems to me that any one of the other major charaters - the brother, whose transformation ultimately proves to be a deep (yet woefully underexplored) one; the devout, autocratic father; the passively complicit yet deeply troubled mother; the frail and disowned traditionally-religious grandfather; the brash and righteous aunt; the rebellious cousin - would have been a better choice, anyone but the sponge we got. That's not to say that she is portrayed unrealistically or inconsistently. Her inner monologue does, I imagine, quite well reflect that of the quiet, obedient religious girl we all probably knew in high school. It's just that that sort of character isn't compelling, and remains so for the larger part of the book. I do think Adichie is quite a skilled author on the whole, and I could say a lot about her ability to portray, for example, how a man who considers his family an extension of himself behaves when things fall apart (which happens to be the title I read immediately prior to this, and which covers similar ground in that respect). I do look forward to reading her other novels, which I have heard are better, and it's incredible what she achieved with her debut.
I give it a 'read it if you're really interested in modern Nigeria' out of ten.
Last book I read was 'Guns, Germs and Steel'. Explained everything about why Eurasians rose to power and not Africans or Native Americans. Not racist, just better domesticatable plants and animals. And surviving the diseases that came with them.
Quote from: Cavebear on April 30, 2017, 07:19:25 AM
Last book I read was 'Guns, Germs and Steel'. Explained everything about why Eurasians rose to power and not Africans or Native Americans. Not racist, just better domesticatable plants and animals. And surviving the diseases that came with them.
Read Collapse by Jared Diamond next, the sequel is to go extinct for.
To extend my post, as a child I lived outside in the very dirty world. Lived with a dog and a cat and a turtle and a parakeet inside. Handled them often. I have not had a cold or flu in 45 years and was seldom sick before that. And when I was, I was up and about in a day. I caught the flu at 12. So did my brother. He was in bed for days. I was healthy and bored in bed the next day. I'm immune.
I spent 30 years commuting with young mothers who had sick kids and were sick almost all the time themselves. We spent an hour to work and an hour back with them coughing germs in the enclosed car all the time. They made each other ill. Me? Nothing! Sailed right through.
I should get tested...
Quote from: Cavebear on May 02, 2017, 06:23:03 AM
To extend my post, as a child I lived outside in the very dirty world. Lived with a dog and a cat and a turtle and a parakeet inside. Handled them often. I have not had a cold or flu in 45 years and was seldom sick before that. And when I was, I was up and about in a day. I caught the flu at 12. So did my brother. He was in bed for days. I was healthy and bored in bed the next day. I'm immune.
I spent 30 years commuting with young mothers who had sick kids and were sick almost all the time themselves. We spent an hour to work and an hour back with them coughing germs in the enclosed car all the time. They made each other ill. Me? Nothing! Sailed right through.
I should get tested...
Wow! God must love you!!!!
Quote from: Cavebear on May 02, 2017, 06:23:03 AM
To extend my post, as a child I lived outside in the very dirty world. Lived with a dog and a cat and a turtle and a parakeet inside. Handled them often. I have not had a cold or flu in 45 years and was seldom sick before that. And when I was, I was up and about in a day. I caught the flu at 12. So did my brother. He was in bed for days. I was healthy and bored in bed the next day. I'm immune.
I spent 30 years commuting with young mothers who had sick kids and were sick almost all the time themselves. We spent an hour to work and an hour back with them coughing germs in the enclosed car all the time. They made each other ill. Me? Nothing! Sailed right through.
I should get tested...
You should donate some cells to science so they can find out your secret and hopefully pass it on to more vulnerable people.
Quote from: Cavebear on May 02, 2017, 06:23:03 AM
To extend my post, as a child I lived outside in the very dirty world. Lived with a dog and a cat and a turtle and a parakeet inside. Handled them often. I have not had a cold or flu in 45 years and was seldom sick before that. And when I was, I was up and about in a day. I caught the flu at 12. So did my brother. He was in bed for days. I was healthy and bored in bed the next day. I'm immune.
I spent 30 years commuting with young mothers who had sick kids and were sick almost all the time themselves. We spent an hour to work and an hour back with them coughing germs in the enclosed car all the time. They made each other ill. Me? Nothing! Sailed right through.
I should get tested...
I, too, hardly ever get sick. I attribute at least part of that to the fresh, unprocessed milk we drank when I was in my early teens at the foster home I was then at. I had to milk the damned cow early every morning and every evening, so I'm glad I got something out of all that work. I had very strong hands, as well. I don't even remember the last time I got sick, but who really knows if the one thing had anything at all to do with the other...
Read the Welcome to Night Vale novel. Good read, the way it's written you can hear the prose in Cecil's voice in your mind's ear -- it many ways it's a novel-length WtNV podcast, written down. Seemed to be a bit rushed at the end, like they decided they needed to wrap it up in x number of pages, but it neatly closes out one of the early chapters in the Night Vale storyline.
Terry pratchett's 'raising steam'.
The first discworld book i read out of order. I had a coupon for my e-reader and it was The only available one left. Ironically for a book about trains, it runs a bit too smoothly. The force opposing The heroes is barely given face. And The good guys have no quarrel amongst themselves. So i never felt the same tension as in other discworld novels. Stilla good read though. Filled with wit as only The late sir knew how. And to see The characters take on any task on that flat world, is always a treat.
Been Reading 'the colour of magic', The first discworld novel, again. Amazing how both his style and The disc itself have evolved over The decades.
8/10
Anyone read the Hominid series by Robert Sawyer? I have them. Not sure they are worth the effort.