September 2009 Reads, Potential Reads, and Abandoned Reads

[kuroishi]

Recently started Endless Things, book four and end of the Aegypt Cycle by John Crowley, I'm so far a bit disappointed by the absence of most of the lovely cast of the previous books, hope it will be an adequate ending to a cycle I have really enjoyed over the years.

Next read will be Gormenghast by Mervin Peake, I loved the first book and hope this one will be on par. (I'm already aware that I shouldn't keep my hopes up for the third book...)

[Bellis]

Life Before Man by Margaret Atwood. The title ostensibly refers to dinosaurs. I didn't really feel this book had much of a point, other than as an exercise in character sketches, practice for some of her later novels. Easy and enjoyable to read, but definitely a minor work.

Voices From the Desert by Nelida Pinon. I found this in the library after seeing Matt's post last week. I don't know if it's the translation, but I had a hard time getting into the prose. It was just overwrought and repetitive. Meh. Catherynne Valente does this sort of stuff so much better.

I'm now reading The Women's Room by Marilyn French. It's very angry and second wave and unsubtle. I'm trying to put my finger on it, but I think what I miss most after my Atwood binge in the utter lack of irony or humor.

[Procrastimancer]

I started reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, but the prose was enough to put me off completely. Picking up just about anything afterward was like falling in a soothing narrative abyss where I was caressed by lyrical pose of such beauty as to induce tears. Ok, I am exaggerating, but only slightly.

I have decided to give A Shadow in Summer another chance and it is going better.

[Mexal]

I'm reading Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway and liking it quite a bit.

[palin99999]

Finished Safer by Sean Doolitle 7/10 - Good to great characterization, but somewhat sloppy ending.

Starting Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

[delete this account pls]

I was halfway through Gridlinked by Neal Asher, but I put it aside when Dust of Dreams arrived yesterday. Despite all my bitching, complaints, and wicked cool cynicism, I dropped everything to read the book as soon as it came out. I'm such a fscking fanboy :(

[Cuchulain]

Finished Dust of Dreams earlier today. I felt that the book dragged a bit in the middle and that there was too much philosophical rambling going on. Also, one of the elements I love most about the Malazan series, namely the humour, seemed to fail a bit in this volume. Despite these negative points, I loved the book. There are moments of greatness throughout and the finale is really something else. I can't wait for the publication of The Crippled God.

Edit: spelling.

[Isis]

I'm now reading The Women's Room by Marilyn French. It's very angry and second wave and unsubtle. I'm trying to put my finger on it, but I think what I miss most after my Atwood binge in the utter lack of irony or humor.

I tried reading this when I was about 11 - unsurprisingly I didn't get on with it 20 years ago. I keep meaning to check my library for it to have another go, so thanks for the reminder.

I persevered with Thunderer and I'm nearly halfway through now. It was definitely me rather than the book that was at fault there.

[MinDonner]

I tried reading this when I was about 11 - unsurprisingly I didn't get on with it 20 years ago. I keep meaning to check my library for it to have another go, so thanks for the reminder.

Ha, I did the same thing, though maybe age about 14. Mainly cos Clan of the Cave Bear was described, in its blurb, as "like a prehistoric version of The Women's Room", which sentiment now gets a large WTF? from me. Maybe I'll give it another go someday...

[Isis]

Someone bought me Clan of the Cave Bear years ago and it's been mouldering on my shelf (at the very back) for years. Should it just directly to the charity shop - do not pass go, do not receive £200?

[MinDonner]

Someone bought me Clan of the Cave Bear years ago and it's been mouldering on my shelf (at the very back) for years. Should it just directly to the charity shop - do not pass go, do not receive £200?

If you are no longer a teenager, there is very little reason to read it, unless you are keen on leggy big-boobed blonde Mary Sues in fur bikinis, inventing every thing evar.

[mashiara]

I'm now reading The Women's Room by Marilyn French. It's very angry and second wave and unsubtle. I'm trying to put my finger on it, but I think what I miss most after my Atwood binge in the utter lack of irony or humor.

I wasn't impressed with it at all when I read it back in May. I remember liking the first half of it and being able to relate to some of it due to shitty treatment of women still being very much a fact here, but the second half just felt really weak. The whole book felt like a big disappointment, unsubtle is a good word for it.

:lol: at The Clan of The Cave Bear being in any way similar to The Women's Room. I remember reading it as a teenager and getting all hot and bothered by it and the other Auel books. Definitely not something I would be rereading and taking seriously now.

I finished Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. I didn't expect to like it after the first few pages but it grew on me and it actually impressed me in a way. I liked and appreciated the fine satire of religion, science and politics. The whole cast of characters was original and intriguing and the ending was superb.

I also read Jazz by Toni Morrison. Even though it wasn't as good as Beloved, it was still a very good novel. I loved the language and the imagery, beautiful prose.

I have now started reading -against a certain boarder's advice ;) -Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks.

[TheEvilKing]

Finished Escape From Hell! by Hal Duncan. Damn, this one was a fun read. Very cool. Reccomended to anyone here.

Also finished The Gunslinger by Steven King. Very interesting, am looking forward to book 2.

Gonna crack open Altered Carbon and Dragonfly Falling next, and maybe crank out a short story from Dreamsongs over the weekend.

[Deornoth]

Finished reading 'Blood of the Mantis', the third book in the 'Shadows of the Apt' series. I wasn't too keen on the last book but this turned out to be a real return to form as far as I was concerned and I'm now really looking forward to the release of 'Salute the Dark'. My full review is over Here. I'm now well into 'Mythago Wood' (which is excellent) and I'm finishing off a couple of other books as well.

[Bellis]

I wasn't impressed with it at all when I read it back in May. I remember liking the first half of it and being able to relate to some of it due to shitty treatment of women still being very much a fact here, but the second half just felt really weak. The whole book felt like a big disappointment, unsubtle is a good word for it.

I didn't think it was really dated either - the parts that I couldn't relate to still ring true for my parents' generation and my mother's experiences when I was growing up. It did seem to meander too much, which is why I think the second half was weaker. That said, I found something really compelling about the story and I couldn't put it down. But afterwards... there wasn't much to think about - the author's running commentary had pretty much provided everything she wanted you to get from the book. I thought the chapter where she justified having only 1 and 2D male characters by telling people to read Philip Roth if they wanted male angst was kind of :wideeyed: .

[Peadar]

I have just finished Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. Most people here won't find the central conceit particularly original, but the treatment of it was wonderful. Recommended for those on the more literary end of the spectrum.

[Rhadamanth]

I am reading By Heresies Distressed by David Weber and I'm not liking it. Every other page is a long internal monologue from some guy laughing to himself because another guy has underestimated a woman or because he can't really accept the changes being wrought.

Just picked up The Lies of Locke Lamora and its sequel. I think I'm gonna stop with Heresies and try this one. Hopefully its better.

[Red Sun]

Right at the beginning of September, I finally read Ursula LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness, and I liked it a lot. It's amusing, though, that the setup - an investigator learns about a alien/foreign culture/society - is pretty much the same as in her book The Telling, which I have read two years ago.

At the moment, I'm slowly re-reading China Mieville's Un Lun Dun, and after this, I'm planning to give Thomas Mann, Der Zauberberg a new chance.

[Ser Barry]

Red Zone by Oliver Poole

Oliver Poole was a Telegraph correspondent who was posted to Iraq between 2003 and 2006. In that time he gained firsthand insight into what went right and what went wrong following the invasion and the subsequent breakdown in society. He pulls no punches in this account of his time there and it makes depressing reading, half a million people dead (we can argue about that all day, it is his book I am quoting) and a society forced to turn to guns due to the total lack of security afforded them. While he learned plenty about Iraq, its people, the mistakes made and the inevitable problems faced he doesn't seem to have learned how to structure a book too well. That aside there is more than enough content to make up for the inconsistent pacing. The limited scope he takes helps to keep things personal which makes you confront the stories without the haze of familiarity we get when presented with them in more familiar media settings. This deserves to be read widely.

[Isis]

I wasn't impressed with it at all when I read it back in May. I remember liking the first half of it and being able to relate to some of it due to shitty treatment of women still being very much a fact here, but the second half just felt really weak. The whole book felt like a big disappointment, unsubtle is a good word for it.

I knew I'd seen someone else mention it recently - it was you! I'll head to the library today and see if it's there. Probably, it won't be because my library is so utterly random. And Jean Auel can get dropped off on the way there. :)

Cat's Cradle is superb. Everyone I've ever loaned it to agreed - most of them didn't expect to like it either.