Guest Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 I finished Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, and while I'm glad that I read it for the experience and appreciated certain things I ultimately did not like it that much by the end. As was stated upthread (or in the November thread) there's a weirdness factor. Maybe there's some reading I can do to fill in some blanks, but it seemed like some of the weirdness was for weirdness' sake. A buddy at work who's read the author tells me that this is one of the author's more accessible books. I grabbed H is for Hawk at the library yesterday which is a non-fiction that got a lot of hype last year. Too early-going to say much yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Finished off Flashman on the March. Good fun as always, and educational in the sense that I now know more about the Abyssinia of the 1860s than I did before. I have now read the entire Flashman series, except for the short story collection, Flashman and the Tiger. Next up is Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan, by Morgan Robertson. It's an 1898 novella that I'm reading primarily for its historical curiosity value - it's basically a fictional account of the Titanic, as written fourteen years before the disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 The novella was a quick read. It's actually so badly dated it's funny - pot-shots at atheism, money-hungry Jews (yes, really); our hero is an alcoholic atheist who turns his life around during the disaster and its aftermath. Oh, and the thing is laden with dull prose, infodumps (yes, really), and sickening melodrama. But, yes, as an accidental prophecy, the thing is downright eerie. It's not a perfect fit - the Titan is on its third (not first) voyage, and heading east (not west) across the Atlantic when it hits the iceberg, but the rest of it... never mind the name and the iceberg, you've got the whole "unsinkable" thing with the compartments, the gigantic size of the ship, the lack of lifeboats, and the disaster taking place in April. Something like that today, and conspiracy theorists would be all over it. So, completed reads for December: Collected Ghost Stories, by M.R. James Flashman on the March, by George MacDonald Fraser Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan, by Morgan Robertson Next up is A Song for Arbonne, by Guy Gavriel Kay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Finally reading Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft. Thanks to Wert for the rec. and to Ben for reminding me... Looking forward to it. Or should that be "up"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astromech Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891 - 1924 took me a while to get through. I had a to take a break from it and read something more entertaining and lighter, so Charles de Lint's Dreams Underfoot. I would highly recommend A People's Tragedy to anyone interested in the subject, but it is quite a commitment due to length and depth. Maxim Gorky was just about the only figure portrayed in a positive light throughout the whole work. I found a few copies of works by Stanislaw Lem the other day at the discount bookseller and am now reading his The Cyberiad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andorion Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 6 hours ago, Astromech said: Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891 - 1924 took me a while to get through. I had a to take a break from it and read something more entertaining and lighter, so Charles de Lint's Dreams Underfoot. I would highly recommend A People's Tragedy to anyone interested in the subject, but it is quite a commitment due to length and depth. Maxim Gorky was just about the only figure portrayed in a positive light throughout the whole work. I found a few copies of works by Stanislaw Lem the other day at the discount bookseller and am now reading his The Cyberiad. A People's Tragedy - A great book. Difficult to read, but hard to rival for depth of detail and research Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkess Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 I just read the Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner. Pretty standard post apocalyptic dystopia YA. Super quick reads and very engaging, although not especially well written and lacking in character depth and development. Ending was totally blah. I guess I'm glad they entertained me while I'm on a business trip but can't say I recommend them. I picked up Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami from the library , but not sure I am really wanting to read that next. I've been wanting light reads lately so maybe I'll look for something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Finished The Call. Now started Porno by Irvine Welsh to finish the Mark Renton trilogy. I have high expectations for the book but low expectations for the misanthropic characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Blue at the Mizzen was OK. I think I sort of fizzled out my interest in the series towards the end. I am glad I did manage to read the entire Aubrey/Maturin completed series. I am now slightly more than halfway through Spellwright by Blake Charlton. I like well written traditional style fantasies with a unique magical system and this one is right up my alley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Pesci Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Started The Wolf of the North by Duncan Hamilton. Totally random pick (kindle unlimited has its perks), and it has been a rather nice surprise. The characters are well rounded and it has a gritty realism to the world being portrayed while not being over the top with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beniowa Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 Finished Tregillis' The Liberation. Good, but not quite as good as the first two books. I wonder what he'll do next? Also finished Babylon's Ashes. Pretty good, but somewhat lacking though I can't quite put my finger on why. I was surprised by the large number of POVs after tighter narratives for the previous books. Next will be The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. I picked up an ARC at WorldCon this past summer and I want to read it before the book comes out next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 The Hogfather, since Christmas is approaching. It's almost rude not to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wolves Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft is well worth a read -- like Jack Vance with some genuinely tender moments. The sequel is next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Spellwright by Blake Charlton was charming. A perfect lighter hearted fantasy to read in the during the pre-Christmas holiday rush. Now I am about halfway through Spellbound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garett Hornwood Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 Finished The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Volume 1) by Edward Gibbon, I can easily see why it has been read for over 200 years and still gets high praise. Looking forward to the two other volumes of the Modern Library reprint next year. While reading Gibbon, I finished The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White which is one of her most well-known books. I've started My Turn: A Life of Total Football by Johan Cruyff. This is a posthumously published autobiography of one of the three greatest footballers of all time as well as one of the greatest coaches as well. Got this book via Goodread First Reads giveaway program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 I finished Irvine Welsh's Porno, completing the Mark Renton trilogy. Very well written and always and enjoyable read but now I'm tired of the grim, bleak perspective and the nihilism of the characters. I need to pick up something quite different next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isildur's Mane Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 I've been very slack over the last 1-2 months. But I have managed to finish 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn. I loved the book even though I had watched the movie when it first came out. I still thought it was as fucked up as when I first watched it. But maybe that is why I read it slow - because I had seen it all before? I will have to rewatch the movie now to compare the 2. I am 18% through 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams', by Stephen King and I'm 73% through 'Titans of History', by Simon Sebag Montefiore and I'm 25% through 'Rogues'. That is according to my Goodreads anyway. The Next book I'm starting is 'Life, the Universe and Everything', by Douglas Adams. I had hoped to finish the Hitchhiker's Guide this year but it's not looking like I will at the rate I'm going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncalagonTheBlack Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 Anyone here read The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee? This is a pretty huge (800 pages) epic fantasy debut from Saga Press that came out in August.I read a positive review on Locus and was wondering if it's worth reading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 I finished James S.A. Corey's Babylon's Ashes which I liked a lot, although there were some things I wasn't entirely convinced by. I've put more thoughts in the thread about it. I then read Joanne M. Harris' The Gospel of Loki. It was a fairly quick read, I found it to be reasonably entertaining but I think it fell into a bit of an awkward gap where it modernised some aspects of how the mythology was told but this ended up losing some of the appeal of the original myths while not necessarily bringing much new to the actual stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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