January 2012 - New Year, new reads

[Durckad]

The Idiot is one of the best books I've ever read and my second best by Dostoyevski, after The Brothers Karamazov. But it got me astonished from the very first scene on a train, so I guess you might not like it after all.

I like it so far, but it is slow going.

Moving directly from Richard Morgan's vivid cock descriptions to Russian literature is a bit jarring.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Ooh, one of my absolute favorites! I actually fell asleep trying to watch the movie but I've read the book a couple times. I hope you like it!!

The Count of Monte Cristo was easily the best classic I've read so far. I can see why it is well liked on this board. Tyrion could learn from a master of intrigue like the Count!

Poison Study by Maria Snyder is up next. The synopsis sounded interesting and the Study bundle was really cheap so I downloaded to my e-reader.

[Bellis]

I read Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, one of last year's more acclaimed genre releases. It's the magic realist (or is it entirely mimetic??) coming of age story of these children who grew up in a now-bankrupt Florida themepark. Unlike some of the reviewers, I actually appreciated and was impressed by the fall out of wonder the main character experienced

where she realized that not all mysterious strangers were magical beings and that life is not a magic realist adventure

I thought this incident worked well in twisting genre expections.

The ending was a little rush, and it meandered a bit, but overall, this worked for me.

[Grack21]

eink doesnt help either. Not that I could aford an ereader anyway.

But I found Use of Weapons and the other B&N. So ha.

[williamjm]

Is Use of Weapons a good one to start with or do you have to read them in order?

They're all independent stories so you can read them in any order (the only exception is that you should read Use of Weapons before Surface Detail, otherwise you won't entirely understand one plot point in Surface Detail). I think Use of Weapons is my favourite Culture book, so it is a good place to start, The Player of Games and Consider Phlebas would be other good starting points - Phlebas was the first one published, although I think it's one of the weaker books in the series.

[SkynJay]

Reread Wyrd Sisters by Pratchett(like you didn't know).

Now trying out Sandman Slim because it was a kindle deal. Quarter way in, and it is enertaining enough, but I am realizing more and more that I am not that in to Urban Fantasy. Loved Gaiman, read a bit of Carrie Vaughn, but the whole genre seems to lack originality. It is like steampunk, both have some standouts, then a ton of clones.

[jagilki]

Y'know about the only of the Discworld sub-series(?) I haven't touched is the Witch ones....

Am I missing a lot on that?

[SkynJay]

Y'know about the only of the Discworld sub-series(?) I haven't touched is the Witch ones....

Am I missing a lot on that?

Oh god yes. Wyrd Sisters and Lords and Ladies espcially, plus it opens the door for his great YA series. Maskerade was really good too, hampered only by some cheep jokes. Think I said it earlier in the thread, but I used to be a Vimes fan, but Granny is my favorite Diskworld char.

[Procrastimancer]

I read Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, one of last year's more acclaimed genre releases. It's the magic realist (or is it entirely mimetic??) coming of age story of these children who grew up in a now-bankrupt Florida themepark. Unlike some of the reviewers, I actually appreciated and was impressed by the fall out of wonder the main character experienced

where she realized that not all mysterious strangers were magical beings and that life is not a magic realist adventure

I thought this incident worked well in twisting genre expections.

The ending was a little rush, and it meandered a bit, but overall, this worked for me.

I'd call it entirely mimetic. There are elements that feel fantastic because they are filtered through the imagination and sense of wonder of a child, but are presented as mundane events. Though, on occasion there may be a bit of dramatic flair involved.

Swamplandia! was one of the best books that I read last year, but it was one of the worst, too. The turn you refer to is the reason for that. I can appreciate what it did--it was a brutal introduction to reality that shattered a child's innocence and stripped away that sense of wonder--the act itself was horrible, horrifying. All of it, the act and its effects, is like an emotional kick to the gut. It was a very good book, but one that I will likely never read again.

[Eponine]

Finished Nothing to Envy, based on oral accounts of North Korean defectors. Even the most matter of fact parts were incredibly sad, and the stories of those who had gotten out and were successfully settled in China or South Korea were shadowed by the knowledge that they had left behind relatives and friends or had only left after the people who had been closest to them had died of starvation. They have a lot of guilt, but a strong desire to rebuild their lives. I'm sure that many were hoping that Kim Jong-Il's death might create changes, and maybe it still will, but thus far it isn't looking promising and crack downs seem to be making defection even harder right now.

[Datepalm]

Finished Blue Remembered Earth - Very readable, lots of totally cool stuff, but feels a bit pointless both as a novel and as SF, overall. It is like Arthur C. Clarke, but it's like one of those meandering, minor Clarkes - Imperial Earth or 3001 - where its all just a tour of the future without really saying anything about it (or, consequently, the present.) Maybe together with the sequels it'll gain more meaning.

Also, Rule 34, by Charles Stross - it's like the opposite of BRE, a much choppier read, and totally lacking in cool wow stuff, but adding up to a coherent something or other, both with the plot and with the old 'what if?'ness.

What is it with Scottish SF featuring ex soviet quasi statelets though? Projecting much when it comes to questions of contemporary political sovreignty?

[Starkess]

Finally finished Gardens of the Moon. The last 20% or so was much better than the beginning, I felt like a real story involving people I actually cared about was coalescing, but I'm not sure it was worth the long slog to get there. Seemed like everything was packed into one little sequence that happened too fast and then it was over, just when I was getting into it. Not sure if I'll be trying the next ones or not.

[williamjm]

Finally finished Gardens of the Moon. The last 20% or so was much better than the beginning, I felt like a real story involving people I actually cared about was coalescing, but I'm not sure it was worth the long slog to get there. Seemed like everything was packed into one little sequence that happened too fast and then it was over, just when I was getting into it. Not sure if I'll be trying the next ones or not.

The next two books are better paced in terms of interesting things happening throughout the book, rather than most of the novel being spent in building up to the last 100 pages where most of the real action happens. However, Erikson does return to the structure of having a lengthy build-up before a big finale in some of the later books, House of Chains or Toll The Hounds, for example.

[Peadar]

Reading Embedded by Dan Abnett.

[SkynJay]

Reading Embedded by Dan Abnett.

I would like a review when your done.

I finished Sandman Slim, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Had some of the trappings that drive me nuts about UF, but advoided a lot of them as well. I can see me reading the next couple when I need something light and fluffy(in a violent Urban Fantasy type of way).

Now i am reading my first ever Black Library entry, as the Eisenhorn omnibus showed up today.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Poison Study by Maria Snyder was an entertaining read. Nothing earthshattering, but I had a hard time putting it down.

I fetl like reading a non-fiction book next, so I picked up The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant.

[RedEyedGhost]

I finished up Germline by TC McCarthy the other day, and it did end really well... but I'm not sure if the journey to get there was worth it (because the last section is very familiar

coming home from the war, ptsd

). It was a great book detailing the horrors of war, and life after war, but it was very repetative in the early sections and the secondary characters are very thin.

I've barely started The Weavers of Saramyr by Chris Wooding as part of The Braided Path Omnibus. This book is way too big to be a paperback, and it's definitely more unwieldy than ADwD or TWMF.

[mashiara]

I finished The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi. At first I found it really difficult to understand what was going on, and who was who, and what the basic premise of the book was. About halfway I started really enjoying it though, and loving the complexity of it. It's not a book to read while you are absent minded, you have to pay attention to the details and figure things out for yourself. I enjoy a challenge so I found it a really good read. If only I had been able to feel anything for any of the characters, that would have made the experience even better.

I also read The Reapers are the Angels, by Alden Bell. Loved it! I've read my share of zombie books but this was beautifully written, the language just sucked me in and I couldn't help but feel depressed by this gruesome, gritty book. I couldn't stop reading during the final stretch, to the point of balancing a whiny baby in my lap and pretty much ignoring him otherwise so I could get to the end. The two main characters felt like real people to me and I was holding my breath, seeing what would happen next. I would recommend this to everyone, even people who aren't fans of zombie fiction.

Also read, Baby Signing for Dummies, by Jennifer Watson Marx. I only read it because dalThor really wants to try this with the boys. I guess it's a good book if you want to have an idea of what baby signing is all about and it gives you a lot of useful instructions but the writer came off as a bit of a fanatic about this. I mean, bragging because she still signs with her 5 year old son? I thought the whole point is to teach them to sign so you can communicate with them before they are able to speak.

I now started Room by Emma Donoghue. I only read a couple of pages last night and then exhaustion won and I fell asleep, so I'll be starting over sometime today. :)

[SkynJay]

Also read, Baby Signing for Dummies, by Jennifer Watson Marx. I only read it because dalThor really wants to try this with the boys. I guess it's a good book if you want to have an idea of what baby signing is all about and it gives you a lot of useful instructions but the writer came off as a bit of a fanatic about this. I mean, bragging because she still signs with her 5 year old son? I thought the whole point is to teach them to sign so you can communicate with them before they are able to speak.

I ment to look into this whith my son, but life went to quickly. What I wondered was if the signs were actually ASL or something else. Because god knows I would have loved to give the young one an early start on an amazing skill.

[Starkess]

Just got Blackout by Connie Willis. Sounds fairly interesting and I am looking forward to something a little different.

The next two books are better paced in terms of interesting things happening throughout the book, rather than most of the novel being spent in building up to the last 100 pages where most of the real action happens. However, Erikson does return to the structure of having a lengthy build-up before a big finale in some of the later books, House of Chains or Toll The Hounds, for example.

Okay, maybe I'll give the next one a shot. Probably see if the library has it.