April 2011 - Reading Thread

[shadow catlady]

I just finished Zero History by William Gibson.

On a library browsing whim, after reading some strange info about Orson Scott Card on this forum, I picked up Empire and have gotten halfway through it on the beach today. I am continuing out of perverse curiosity more than because I think it's that great, and I am somewhat reminded of the time over a decade ago when a student gave me a paperback of Left Behind and I read it in one sitting, also on the beach, while concealing in another book out of fear for the attention I might have attracted otherwise. I am similarly fascinated and repulsed.

[Mjolnir]

Geoff Ryman's Air just went all weird on me. One minute it's a brilliant discourse on all the myriad ways worldshaking technology might help and also screw village life, with all the multi-faceted cultural and personal conflict arbitrary introduction of this technology might spark. And now of a sudden there's like stomach pregnancy or something, and singing food, and a cyborg talking dog that's basically a creepy version of Dug from Up, and what the fuck?

[Astra]

I have the first part of The Book of the New Sun and I'm pretty sure I'm going to start on that next, despite it being multi-volume, simply because I do feel that it's a must-read in terms of board recs

Don't get upset if you don't like it.

It was one of the worst books I have ever read. I managed to read 1.5 of the 4 books and gave up.

[TheEvilKing]

Finished Homicide by David Simon. Tremendous book, I really enjoyed it.

Also struggling my way through the early stages of Blood Meridian.I really don't like McCarthy's prose. Hoping some kind of plot will emerge that makes up for it.

[Eponine]

Also struggling my way through the early stages of Blood Meridian.I really don't like McCarthy's prose. Hoping some kind of plot will emerge that makes up for it.

It pains me to say this, because Blood Meridian is one of my very favorite books, but if you're at least to the part where the Kid joins up with the Glanton Gang and you haven't adjusted to the prose and the events haven't drawn you in, you're probably not going to get much out of the rest of the book.

[TheEvilKing]

Nah not up to that bit yet. He's in some Mexican jail and Toadvine just showed up.

I'll stick with it and try to finish it.

[Phostopheles]

I'm reading Hyperion right now.

I get the conceit, the sci-fi elements are cool if leaning too much towards sci-fantasy for my taste (granted, my exposure to the genre is minimal...maybe I just hate sci-fi), and Simmons is a generally capable writer...

but the forced allusions and the strong religious themes are leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

If this doesn't resolve in a metaphysically satisfying manner, I think I'm going to toss the rest of the Cantos into the Bookmans pile and find a Simmons book that's superficially less...preachy. Like Ilium. Or The Hollow Man.

[Grack21]

I'm reading Hyperion right now.

I get the conceit, the sci-fi elements are cool if leaning too much towards sci-fantasy for my taste (granted, my exposure to the genre is minimal...maybe I just hate sci-fi), and Simmons is a generally capable writer...

but the forced allusions and the strong religious themes are leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

If this doesn't resolve in a metaphysically satisfying manner, I think I'm going to toss the rest of the Cantos into the Bookmans pile and find a Simmons book that's superficially less...preachy. Like Ilium. Or The Hollow Man.

Yeah, Illium is much more preachy, although I read Hyperion back in like..1994, so my memory might be borked.

[Bellis]

Trisk, I was just reading Home Fires, Gene Wolfe's latest. A near future spy thriller, Wolfe channeling PKD or Heinlein. Because it's Wolfe, the prose is clean, elegant, effortless. Because it's latter day Wolfe, there are no real new themes, and it's a bit messy. Still, Wolfe is always a treat.

Oh, and speaking of treats, I just finished Deathless by Catherynne Valente. My father bought me volumes of Russian fairy tales as a child, preparing me for this moment where I could appreciate Valente's skilled deconstruction and re-workings of Marya Morevna, Koshchei the Deathless, Baba Yaga, Yelenas and Vasilisas, Ivans, firebirds and more, all in a alternate history Stalinist setting. One of her best yet.

[nickg]

Finished Homicide by David Simon. Tremendous book, I really enjoyed it.

Also struggling my way through the early stages of Blood Meridian.I really don't like McCarthy's prose. Hoping some kind of plot will emerge that makes up for it.

I love mcCarthy's prose =) but I agree with eponine, if you don't like it now I don't think there will be anything that will draw you in.

[Starkess]

So far Broken Angels hasn't pulled me in at all. Something interesting needs to happen soon! I'm like seven chapters in and nothing has grabbed me yet.

[beniowa]

I took a break from Wolf Hall to read After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn. This was my first non-Kitty book and it was quite good. It has a nice twist on superheroes with the protagonist being a normal person who helps bring down a villain through far more mundane means. That's only the setup though and there's a bit more that happens. Vaughn's characterization is strong as always. Plus, she focuses a lot on the main character's family dynamics with her super-powered parents.

I went back to Wolf Hall and got about 340 pages before giving up. I don't know if it was the odd POV or the author's writing style, but I just didn't care about anything that was happening. I usually like historical fiction so it was quite disappointing.

Next I plan to read The Enterprise of Death by Jesse Bullington.

So far Broken Angels hasn't pulled me in at all. Something interesting needs to happen soon! I'm like seven chapters in and nothing has grabbed me yet.

I had that problem too. Morgan tries to do something a little different with this book and I felt he didn't pull it off very well.

[Procrastimancer]

So far Broken Angels hasn't pulled me in at all. Something interesting needs to happen soon! I'm like seven chapters in and nothing has grabbed me yet.

I adored Altered Carbon, but I have tried reading Broken Angels a few times and have never been able to make it more than a few chapters in. It just doesn't hold my interest and some other book always comes along to distract me.

---

I am still slogging through The Fellowship of the Ring. I have read a little over a hundred pages and discovering that there were three hundred more to go induced a groan. It wouldn't be so bad if the book wasn't so damned slow... well, except for the songs. The songs can fuck right off.

[TheEvilKing]

Okay guys, tell me what I'm reading next:

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick

The Prestige by Christopher Priest

The Inkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle

First answer wins. :mellow:

[Emo Jon Snow]

I've got 1 and a half books left in the Brent Weeks Night Angel Trilogy. Just over halfway done with Shadow's Edge.

I really have enjoyed these books, I may even pick up his new hardcover depending how this series turns out.

[Starkess]

Glad I'm not the only one who had problems with it. Guess I'll keep slogging through, as I haven't got too much else to read. And I'm generally not a quitter on books. :)

[Bellis]

Okay guys, tell me what I'm reading next:

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick

The Prestige by Christopher Priest

The Inkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle

First answer wins. :mellow:

The Prestige.

[TheEvilKing]

The Prestige.

Thanks. :cheers:

[Rooster]

The last three books I've read are the Death of Grass, Petty Pewter Gods and Faded Steel Heat. I don't really know what to say about the first one except it was one of the better books I've read this year. It was a powerful and grim outlook on the breakdown of society, and only slightly marred by a somewhat predictable ending. Good novel.

I'm a lot more mixed on the two Garrett novels. Petty Pewter was possibly the worst book in the series to date. Garrett was a pawn from beginning to end, little to no investigation took place, and Old Bones had a too large presence in the novel. I like the dead bastard, but it seems the bigger role Chuckles has, the lesser will Garrett's be, which obviously doesn't work. Faded Steel Heat was better but not up to the level of the first handful. Garrett made some very stupid mistakes in it and it suffered from a lack of focus; the cast was huge. For instance, it had five(!) gorgeous women instead of the more typical one or two. I don't think Cook was entirely successful in handling the ensemble. Still, it had some definite flashes of the old Garrett, which I hope will shine all the more the further on.

I'm definitely tempted to re-read Song from the beginning now that the TV series has begun, but damn it, I don't think I have the time. But I guess it will be interesting in the sense that since I'm a decade removed from my last read, it almost feels like I'm coming to the TV series as a newcomer. Still, when Dance's manuscript is reported to be turned in, I think it's time to crack open Feast. I'll make the time for it if I have to.

[Peadar]

I'm reading Harold Lamb's Swords from the Desert.