What books are you reading right now?

I had such a love/hate relationship with that book. Enjoy

 

Reading the news--this is kinda cool (sorry if off-topic). NYPL = New York Public Library
89-year-old woman left @nypl $6 million in her will simply because she enjoyed reading: http://nym.ag/1kjedS0 via @barerliterary

 

This is the first book (excluding A Song of Ice and Fire and The KingKiller Chronices) where the main characters are out of their minds insane.

 

I've been reading collections of the short stories of Robert Silverberg. I enjoy his work very much, though it sort of seems like he gets B-listed among the great sci-fi writers of his era. If people know him at all, they know him for the original Majipoor trilogy, which, granted, was awesome, but he did write some very good things besides that, and I think his short stories were some of his best work.

I'm not usually a short story person, BTW. But sci-fi and mystery are almost the only two genres in which I really love the short story form.

 

I finished Anus Mundi, and I'm not sure what to think. I don't want to post any spoilers. Kielar suffered, but his experience for the most part was relatively painless, and he was incredibly very lucky. Both of which he openly acknowledges. Two things stick in my mind.

1. In that environment it's every man for himself. Giving a starving person part of your food stash on Wed most likely means you'll be hungry on Thu. Protecting the weak from the strong--soldiers and predatory inmates--sounds noble in theory, but will get you targeted and possibly killed in practice.

2. Form allegiances, and learn to kiss ass. There is strength in numbers. Including the enemy in that number is a necessary evil.

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I've just started They Shall Not Have Me by Jean Helion, a book about a French POW experiences in a WWII German concentration camp. It'll be interesting to see how it compares to Anus Mundi.

 

Just finished Words of Radiance by Sanderson. Excellent book. I dont know how to follow it up. Think im going to re-read Hitchikers Guide or move on to Great North Road by Hamilton.

 

I heard the author on the radio the other day and it piqued my interest.

A little known chapter of US history (maybe Oregonians know it) -- Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire

 

I am reading the fault in our stars, I have 60 pages to go or so and I really like it, but I don't know if I want to finish it, it's so sad but I shall finish it tonight I'm sure ill b bawlin my eyes out

 

I thought it was a good book, and then went on to find the rest of the books in the Ender series quite disappointing.

 

I started Vampire Academy last night.


...I really have no idea why, other than the fact that it was only three bucks.

 

Just finished 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Clarke. A very enjoyable read. That concludes Book #8 of my 40-book Goodreads challenge for 2014. Now, for Book #9......

 

FWIW, I thought Dune was fucking gorgeously brilliant-- arguably the best sci-fi novel of the twentieth century, and one of the best novels of any kind. But the rest of the series was only okay to fairly good. And I don't count all the ones his son published. I read part of the first couple of those and couldn't make it through: terrible job.

I have to say, I tend to distrust most of what I read on the internet about books (present company excepted, of course). I nearly never check out reviews or discussions of book series. I will read on personal recommendations, or if I liked something else the author wrote, or if the author of something I like cites a particular author or work as a favorite; I also do a lot of reading short story anthologies in the genres I enjoy, and discovering authors that way.

 

I never realized that the book was written AFTER the movie because......so many people didn't understand the movie (I didn't). And many people acted so fugging smug because THEY read the book BEFORE seeing the movie.

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BG, I frequently find that reading the book, seeing the movie, etc.,
after hearing the all the hype
leads to disappointment.

 

I'm reading The Panic Virus, by Seth Mnookin. Interesting and infuriating at the same time.

 

Exactly.

From my mind to your keyboard.
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Not strictly true. The film was based on an idea initially written by ACC in a short story called "The Sentinel". SK and ACC worked on the expanded story together, developing a screenplay, shooting script and novel in parallel.

Some elements were too expensive to film. In the initial book version the monolith is near Saturn not Jupiter, but I think this was changed in reprints. Certainly the sequel novels are Jovian.
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For myself, amongst several things, I'm rereading The Handmaid's Tale.
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Sorry to geek out on you, but, good. I'm glad.

I used to be able to quote extensive passages, but years of therapy have helped. It's an amazinhly dense book, and stunningly detailed.