1. We've had very few donations over the year. I'm going to be short soon as some personal things are keeping me from putting up the money. If you have something small to contribute it's greatly appreciated. Please put your screen name as well so that I can give you credit. Click here: Donations
    Dismiss Notice

What books are you reading right now?

Discussion in 'Tilted Art, Photography, Music & Literature' started by sapiens, Aug 12, 2011.

Page 18 of 127
  1. oracle2380

    oracle2380 New Member

    Location:
    Overseas
    I've my in the office book, "Once an Eagle" by Anton Myrer, and my on the couch book "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson. Both are great books, but not for the feint of heart, each is over 1000 pages and full of philosophical ideologies. Be ready for it.
     
    oracle2380, Feb 12, 2012
    #341
  2. spindles

    spindles Very Tilted

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I read a book called "Ice Station" a few years ago. It is very much this - a page turner in the Dan Brown style. The author is "Matthew Reilly" if anyone is interested... I thought is was pretty crappy, but finished it anyway (as it *was* a page turner). I saw him interviewed a while later and he said (and I'm paraphrasing) "Yes, this is crap, but writing 'easy reading' crap isn't easy". There is a huge market for this kind of novel. My issue with it is that in fantasy writing you can leave reality at the door, but when it is fiction set on Earth with people and whatnot, it is harder to distance yourself from reality. That's one reason I like fantasy - because you are reading about elves and magicians etc. and that means the world doesn't have to follow the rules of the planet upon which we live :)
     
    spindles, Feb 12, 2012
    #342
  3. uncle phil

    uncle phil Moderator Emeritus (and sorely missed) Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    pasco county
    crossroad blues by ace atkins...
     
    uncle phil, Feb 13, 2012
    #343
  4. jannista

    jannista Vertical

    The Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong - a good story about supernatural teenagers - like a more believable Harry Potter.
     
    jannista, Feb 13, 2012
    #344
  5. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I'm going to try an experiment. I borrowed out the audiobook version of Jordan's New Spring from the library. I'll give that and Eye of the World a listen.

    I think maybe part of the issue is that I'm having difficulty separating literature as art and literature as storytelling. It might be the case that the audiobook version might instill more of a storytelling vibe that I'll be into. I can relax and just let someone tell me the story, rather than work at reading the text myself.

    I know New Spring is a prequel published at a much later time, but I want to begin at the "beginning." I do realize that I need to read/hear Eye of the World to know the main characters and learn about the kernel of the wider series.

    Anyway, this is what I'm going to do. Wish me luck.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Feb 13, 2012
    #345
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Bodkin van Horn

    Bodkin van Horn One of the Four Horsewomyn of the Fempocalypse

    Location:
    Inside The Nucleus of Feminism
    Bayesian Methods for Data Analysis
    Thinking Fast and Slow
    The Happiness Project
    Data Analysis with Open Source Tools

    I just finished The Art of R Programming.
     
    Bodkin van Horn, Feb 13, 2012
    #346
  7. sandbubba

    sandbubba New Member

    Just Finished "Too Fat To Fish" by Artie Lange (You know him if you''re a Howard Stern fan.)
    I"m about 3/4 through "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson...Very insightful, but an ambitious read with 42 chapters...and...
    Just started (to take a short break from the Jobs book for a while) "American Sniper" by Chris Kyle...Macho Navy SEAL action.
     
    sandbubba, Feb 14, 2012
    #347
  8. Speed_Gibson

    Speed_Gibson Hacking the Gibson

    Location:
    Wolf 359
    Reading "Timescout" by Robert Asprin again. Just might read the sequel again as well after I finish it.
     
    Speed_Gibson, Feb 14, 2012
    #348
  9. uncle phil

    uncle phil Moderator Emeritus (and sorely missed) Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    pasco county
    above the law by patricia d. benke...
     
    uncle phil, Feb 15, 2012
    #349
  10. Hektore

    Hektore Slightly Tilted

    [​IMG]

    About 100 pages into Car Guys... by Bob Lutz

    So far it's been equal parts: on point, worthwhile reading; related, space consuming anecdotes (aka filler); and conservative victimisation. Perhaps the last point requires some explanation. One of the points is that the Liberal Media is biased against domestic companies in favour of their foreign competitors and biased against car makers in favour of the environment. On page 35 he cites their coverage of "anthropogenic global warming" as an example of the lies the media tell that disadvantage domestic manufactures. Lies which, of course, force the capitulation of politicians. While I intend to finish the book (it has so far been a quick read), I would not recommend that any of you start it.
     
    Hektore, Feb 15, 2012
    #350
  11. paddyjoe

    paddyjoe curious

    Location:
    ROC boy gone south
    Lombardi and Landry by Ernie Palladino

    It kinda chronicles the NFL coaching origins of these two guys. If you like that football era (50's & 60's) it is an excellent read.
     
    paddyjoe, Feb 15, 2012
    #351
  12. Jove

    Jove Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Michigan
    Flowers for Algernon.
     
    Jove, Feb 16, 2012
    #352
  13. uncle phil

    uncle phil Moderator Emeritus (and sorely missed) Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    pasco county
    hate crime by william bernhardt...
     
    uncle phil, Feb 19, 2012
    #353
  14. Bear Cub

    Bear Cub Goes down smooth.

    Location:
    At the bar, eyeing the pretty one.
    How to Archer: The Ultimate Guide to Espionage and Style and Women and Also Cocktails Ever Written

    [​IMG]
     
    Bear Cub, Feb 19, 2012
    #354
  15. uncle phil

    uncle phil Moderator Emeritus (and sorely missed) Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    pasco county
    executive privelege by jay brandon...
     
    uncle phil, Feb 22, 2012
    #355
  16. CinnamonGirl

    CinnamonGirl The Cheat is GROUNDED!

    Location:
    Central Republic of Where-In-The-Hell
    I finished Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton yesterday, and started Seriously, I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres. After that, I'm going to catch up on some of the classic scifi books I've somehow missed.
     
    CinnamonGirl, Feb 22, 2012
    #356
  17. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Alas, I have failed.

    It's not fantasy, or even epic fantasy. I think it's a certain kind. In Jordan's case: he's way to verbose. Too much description, too much setting, too much repetition, etc. It's too cumbersome. I need more substance and less frills. It's a bit disappointing because at the core I do see some interesting things. Maybe one day; just not yet.

    In light of that, I'm in the middle of The Wandering Fire, Book Two of the Fionavar Tapestry. It's in the same vein as Tolkien, but it plays with the conventions and offers a different, well, tapestry of fantasy derived from various sources, many of them mythological. The most overt is the play on the Authurian myth. Fionavar is a secondary world—not unlike Narnia in principle—where the main characters are whisked away from cold, mundane Toronto on more than one occasion.

    So basically: if you're into Tolkien, Lewis, the Authurian mythology, and/or mythology in general (especially British/Norse, with a splash of Native American), I recommend it highly.

    It's well written for early works by the author—a little clunky at times but generally enjoyable to wander through. But I do hear that his later works such as the standalone Tigana are mind-blowingly good.

    So at this point, I think I have a better idea of the fantasy I enjoy.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Feb 22, 2012
    #357
  18. Levite

    Levite Levitical Yet Funky

    Location:
    The Windy City
    That's fair. I do like Jordan in no small part because I like a meticulously detailed canvas upon which the story is depicted. I'll try the Fionavar books, though I confess I cordially loathe Lewis....
     
    Levite, Feb 22, 2012
    #358
  19. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Well, I guess I found it too meticulous. I kept thinking: On with the story, already! Something happen! It would be different if much of that content were pertinent to the storytelling, but a lot of it was just detail. I understand how some would enjoy the painting of such a detailed picture, but that's not my style.

    As for Fionavar, it's only like Lewis in terms of the structure of the secondary world: real-world protagonists find a passage to a fantasy world to which they are inexorably linked. Most of the similarities end there, at least overtly. You do get some Christian symbolism/allegory, but it's actually well done instead of in the ham-fisted way Lewis does it. It's less "pure" and more "weaved" with other mythologies. You'll know what I mean when/if you read it.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Feb 22, 2012
    #359
  20. uncle phil

    uncle phil Moderator Emeritus (and sorely missed) Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    pasco county
    the plan by stephen j. cannell...
     
    uncle phil, Feb 26, 2012
    #360
Page 18 of 127