What Books Are You Reading Right Now?

[happyturtle]

After finishing Surface Details with my husband, it was my turn to pick. I wanted to share some short fiction with him, so I went with The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere (since nominated for a Hugo award ) and Shtetl Days. He thought they were okay, but he just doesn't fall in love with short stories and novellas the way I do. It only took about a week to get through the two, and I pointed out that his last choice had taken weeks and weeks to read, so I should get at least another novella. Unfortunately, I hadn't prepared a third one, and I could tell he wasn't thrilled with the idea of another piece of short fiction. So we compromised. I said we could go back to the Culture, but it had to be either Player of Games or Excession as those were my favourites. He picked Excession.

The second day into Excession, the Affront had a scene. I had forgotten them. They are a race of cheerfully misogynist, abusive, bullies. Okay, sure, they're supposed to be the bad guy race. I get that. But when the Affront ambassador's uniform is described as having medals that represent times he had sex with the wives of other Affronters, I just wanted to bang my head against the wall. These creatures are not humans with rubber masks. They aren't even biped. They have tentacles and beaks and float bladders and live in a high pressure ocean of some sorts. There was absolutely no reason at all to assign them human gender roles and human ideas about sex and have the Affronter males behave like the worst stereotype of the Pickup Artist. The author made the choice to do this, and it makes me seethe. He could have made the Affronters just as repulsive and vicious without bringing sexism into it. If he were still alive, I'd ask him. "Why? Why the hell? Seriously?"

Ann Leckie writes a very good analogy about how it feels when science fiction shows the unconscious sexism and racism and other-isms of the author. I just wish there were more restaurants where I didn't have to get punched in the face.

[Emperordaniel]

Recently finished reading A Dance with Dragons and am now currently rereading the series, starting with A Game of Thrones (I often reread books soon after finishing them, to pick up on details I may have missed on my first readthrough or three ).

Might read Ivanhoe sometime soon after that.

[Palanan]

So, I finished "The Snow Queen" last night. It was...quite odd.

Spoiler: In Case You Haven't Seen Frozen

Show

I understood before I started that it wouldn't be anything like Frozen. What puzzled and surprised me was that it wasn't like much of anything else, either. It's an odd compilation of elements, too short to be truly picaresque, and it only really gets going towards the end, when Gerda meets the Lappish and Finnish women. For most of the tale it wanders and meanders, often almost losing itself in strange involute eddies. The extended flower-tales in particular were a little much for me.

What I also found very surprising is that the Snow Queen herself is barely a character at all. Apart from kidnapping the boy, she hardly seems that evil, and has no personality or motives I could detect. (Sadly, unlike some of the fantastic concept art from Disney, she doesn't ride in a sled pulled by polar bears.)

There are really only a couple of elements they ended up incorporating into Frozen. The core concept in "The Snow Queen," which was also the central theme of Frozen, is that an act of love can thaw a frozen heart. In both stories this is taken literally, although much more so in Frozen. And the character of Anna was the Disney team's direct interpretation of Gerda, the girl questing to rescue someone dear to her.

Beyond this, Frozen is entirely the Disney team's invention, although they did borrow the reindeer who plays a small role in the original tale. What made the film work was their decision to shift Elsa from a villain to an empathetic character, and Anna as her sister created the story's emotional core.

I suppose I'm surprised that they managed to create what they did with so little to go on--and the same holds true for C.S. Lewis and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, which was apparently also inspired in part by "The Snow Queen." In that story, some of the elements are more directly borrowed, in particular the ice-witch kidnapping a boy--and in Narnia, of course, her evil is self-evident.

So I'm not sure what to make of "The Snow Queen" itself, and based on a first read I'd have to say that both Narnia and Frozen are much more interesting and involving than their original inspiration.

And yet other stories in the Anderson collection are both more interesting and more in the line of classic fairy tales, such as "The Bog King's Daughter," which so far has mixed in classical elements with some homely humor and genuine natural history. I don't know if Tolkien ever read this in particular, but there's something very much like an ent in there, and I was reminded of swanmays as well.

Somehow this story feels much more like what I was expecting. "The Snow Queen" wasn't anything like I was expecting...and for me, it just didn't feel like much on its own. I feel like I'm missing something tremendous here.

[warty goblin]

Finished All Creatures Great and Small. On to The Woman in White. Yay for books.

[Feytalist]

Now that I'm done studying I can finally start reading again.

Was strolling through the bookstore today and saw the new Witcher book finally out in passing. So yeah, I have that now.

But first I need to finish GEB, Memories of Ice and The Intelligent Investor.

Yay for books indeed.


Oh! Anyone who is interested in the history of economics (and statistics, to a lesser degree) in a very general way must, must, must read Dr. Strangelove's Game by Paul Strathern. Light on theory, but wonderfully, entertainingly rich in history. I've never read a more gripping history book.

[Cristo Meyers]

'bout halfway through Reaper Man now, it's proving much more entertaining than I thought it would be. Usually I stay away from highly-hyped authors, but this one is delivering. Small Gods is still in the pile, waiting to be read.

...I have a book backlog for the first time in years. That's a weird feeling. The hardest part is going to be figuring out which one on the pile to read next...

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by warty goblin
Finished All Creatures Great and Small. On to The Woman in White. Yay for books.

Hadn't heard of that second one, sounds classic and interesting. Hmm.

Also, yay for not letting the thread vanish forever.

Originally Posted by Feytalist
Oh! Anyone who is interested in the history of economics (and statistics, to a lesser degree) in a very general way must, must, must read Dr. Strangelove's Game by Paul Strathern. Light on theory, but wonderfully, entertainingly rich in history. I've never read a more gripping history book.

Aha, thank you--I'll check it out.

I've tried reading The Lady Tasting Tea for a history of statistics, but only made it halfway through. Just not my (wait for it) cup of tea.



For myself, I'm finally, finally coming to the end of Hadrian, which has been a tremendous slog. I enjoyed Anthony Everitt's first two books on notable Romans, Cicero and Augustus, but this third in the series has been bland and draggy, to the point of being absolutely mind-numbing in spots. Everitt also spends far too much time on the poorly documented, much-theorized relationship between Hadrian and Antinous, the "Bithynian boy," with more graphic detail about certain classical subcultures than I ever wanted to hear about.

For now I've given up on The Silver Ship and the Sea. There are too many other things I want to read, and it simply doesn't fire my mind, intrigue my emotions, or otherwise hold my attention.

Fortunately, I've just started a new book on Henry VII, Winter King, which looks to be worthwhile. I've been reading about Henry VIII for half my life, but never did know much about his father, and it covers a period of history I'm very interested in from other perspectives. Looks promising so far.

[warty goblin]

'bout halfway through Reaper Man now, it's proving much more entertaining than I thought it would be. Usually I stay away from highly-hyped authors, but this one is delivering. Small Gods is still in the pile, waiting to be read.

...I have a book backlog for the first time in years. That's a weird feeling. The hardest part is going to be figuring out which one on the pile to read next...

Funny, I have a book backlog that will take me years. Seriously, it's an entire shelf. Stacked vertically, and the mass market paperbacks are double-thick. Not counting certain volumes in the Classics shelf that are due for a (re)read, but were filed there for aesthetic reasons. A man may not have read all of Jane Austen yet, but he cannot store leatherette edition with the faux-gilt pages and integral ribbon-bookmark next to the yellowing midcentury pulp novels in danger of losing their covers. No, it goes next to the padded slipcase version of Moll Flanders with the original illustrations and copper inlay, and the aged and fragile Tennyson with the painted metal covers.

This isn't counting most of the poetry, because the purpose of the poetry section of the bookshelf is to have a store of verse on hand whenever the mood strikes. It's not a thing I read in an organized fashion so much as something I open up at pseudo-random and start reading on an as-needed basis.


The good news is that I actually managed to read every book I bought last month last month. It's not progress, but at least I'm not backsliding any further. The bad news is that I really do need another bookshelf.

[Cristo Meyers]

The good news is that I actually managed to read every book I bought last month last month. It's not progress, but at least I'm not backsliding any further. The bad news is that I really do need another bookshelf.

There was just a major dearth of anything that sparked my interest in recent years that wasn't a part of an established series. From the day Borders finally shut down to just recently just about the only new books I read where the Dresden Files. Now I've just been more-or-less pulling things on a whim from the shelves at Half Price Books (well, and finally caving on not reading Terry Pratchet...).

Heh, I've needed a new bookshelf for years. My wife just refuses to entertain the idea that the rickety, wobbley alleged 'bookshelf' actually needs replacing. That fact that it's full notwithstanding.

[happyturtle]

I remember fondly one apartment that my ex-husband and I lived in that had two built in floor to ceiling bookcases. For the first time in my entire life, there was enough shelf space for the household's books.

That lasted maybe 6 months.

I don't keep paper books any more, except for those with photographs or illustrations. I know it's heresy to some, but once I read a book on the kindle, I couldn't go back. So over time, Mr HT and I began pruning books as we replaced them with e-versions. Now we only have two shelves of physical books. It certainly makes moving house easier. Helps with allergies. But still, I'll see a used book store with a table of books out front, and for a second, I'll think 'Oh! We have to stop and look!'

[Jordan Cat]

Finished The Great Hunt today. I do have to say, I am quite enjoying Robert Jordan's series. The Dragon Reborn is on the list for my monthly Book Store visit.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Cristo Meyers
...I have a book backlog for the first time in years. That's a weird feeling.

I've had a book backlog for the past fifteen years at least. Not having one would just rock my world.

Originally Posted by warty goblin
A man may not have read all of Jane Austen yet, but he cannot store leatherette edition with the faux-gilt pages and integral ribbon-bookmark next to the yellowing midcentury pulp novels in danger of losing their covers. No, it goes next to the padded slipcase version of Moll Flanders with the original illustrations and copper inlay, and the aged and fragile Tennyson with the painted metal covers.

Clearly book-arranging is an art form in the Goblin House.

I have one twelve-inch shelf of Osprey titles arranged in vaguely thematic order--the Fortress series, the Campaign series, the Warrior series. I have a long shelf for my tree and plant field guides, another shelf for mushrooms and mammals, and everywhere else is happy chaos.

Originally Posted by happyturtle
I remember fondly one apartment that my ex-husband and I lived in that had two built in floor to ceiling bookcases.

Sigh.

I have no more room in my household for bookshelves. I have several in the garage, including one six-foot-tall unit that's remained unbuilt for years.

Originally Posted by Cristo Meyers
From the day Borders finally shut down....

A sad day indeed. I remember visiting Chicago a couple years ago and seeing an empty storefront...and I think they lasted longer in your area than here in Virginia.

The Borders I just about lived in, up in Arlington, is now an upscale furniture store. With staff who didn't appreciate my stopping by to mourn its passing, and torment myself with the resonance....

[Cristo Meyers]

A sad day indeed. I remember visiting Chicago a couple years ago and seeing an empty storefront...and I think they lasted longer in your area than here in Virginia.

The Borders I just about lived in, up in Arlington, is now an upscale furniture store. With staff who didn't appreciate my stopping by to mourn its passing, and torment myself with the resonance....

Yeah, I think the one that used to be nearby where I work was one of the last to close down. It's still empty. Much of our book shopping ended that day.

[Muz]

I'm a little more than halfway through the 3rd book in Scott Lynch's "Gentleman Bastard" series (Republic of Thieves). I only discovered the series last year, loved the first two, and was glad I had only just then found it because it meant I didn't have to wait too long for book 3, which came out a few months ago. (I think book 2 came out in 2007 or 2009.) One reason I'm reading it so slowly--apart from just being really busy lately--is that I'm not looking forward to having to wait for the next book before I can read more!

If you haven't heard of it, imagine the literary love child that might result if George R. R. Martin wrote Ocean's 11, and you might begin to approximate the series. (Fantasy, rather gritty, about a group of thieves/con-artists.)

Great read.

[EmeraldRose]

'bout halfway through Reaper Man now, it's proving much more entertaining than I thought it would be. Usually I stay away from highly-hyped authors, but this one is delivering. Small Gods is still in the pile, waiting to be read.

...I have a book backlog for the first time in years. That's a weird feeling. The hardest part is going to be figuring out which one on the pile to read next...

Excellent! I just finished that one, and I'm on to Witches Abroad. I am not entirely certain where Small Gods is, or if we've loaned it out to someone? Either way, Lords and Ladies is the next one after that...and it's one of my favorites for sure.

[warty goblin]

I don't keep paper books any more, except for those with photographs or illustrations. I know it's heresy to some, but once I read a book on the kindle, I couldn't go back. So over time, Mr HT and I began pruning books as we replaced them with e-versions. Now we only have two shelves of physical books. It certainly makes moving house easier. Helps with allergies. But still, I'll see a used book store with a table of books out front, and for a second, I'll think 'Oh! We have to stop and look!'

I made an honest go of e-readers. I found, weirdly enough, that the only books I would buy for the device were those that I had no intention of ever rereading. And I hated trying to find a book to read on the thing. When I go book shopping I very seldom go looking for any particular book, but instead browse for whatever strikes my fancy. Sort of a literary goat you could say.

So it was never my favored form of reading, and then I discovered a really fabulous used book store within a couple miles of my place. There I can easily browse to my heart's content, get trade-in credit, and either spend no more than I would for the e-book, or end up with a really gorgeous edition.

Clearly book-arranging is an art form in the Goblin House.

It is under that rarest of circumstances; having ample room on the shelf. Currently the art is mostly focused on packing the things onto the shelf in something like resembling a kind of order. So most of the classics are on the classics shelf, although quite a few of them are stacked horizontally on top of the regular line of march.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by EmeraldRose
I am not entirely certain where Small Gods is, or if we've loaned it out to someone?

Small Gods is still a bit ahead of where you are. In some ways it was one of the very best of the entire series.

Originally Posted by warty goblin
...and then I discovered a really fabulous used book store within a couple miles of my place.

Ai, you are the lucky one.

I have a used bookstore within two blocks of me. The only used bookstore within easy driving distance...and I can't stand them. I won't go through all the reasons why, but I haven't been in there in years.

I used to live in a small town which had an excellent Half-Price Books. I don't miss that town, not remotely (...well, okay, 20K gorgeous coeds in a subtropical climate) but I do miss that bookstore.

Originally Posted by warty goblin
I made an honest go of e-readers.

I didn't.

[EmeraldRose]

Hrm? Small Gods is next. I'm not reading chronologically as written, but as the suggested reading for when stuff sort of happened...

[Palanan]

Ah, sorry. I read them in order of publication.

In fact, I tend not to think much about their chronology in any consistent sense, since the early ones tended to bounce back and forth. I just roll with it.

[russdm]

I have made good use of my kindle and my amazon account to get books which I frequently reread. I like have my entire library in one object because it makes it simply easier to carry. Also, I can pick up where ever I left off. I like that a lot. The best is being able to get free books to read that allows me to check a book series before buying more.

I am planning on getting the next Dresden files, plus maybe some more Discworld, though I usually buy Star wars books and star trek books. Its rather choosy for trek books as not all are that good although some are really good. Its the same with Wars, but I can pick up books that read quite a while ago and read them again whenever I want. I love that.

[EmeraldRose]

Ah, sorry. I read them in order of publication.

In fact, I tend not to think much about their chronology in any consistent sense, since the early ones tended to bounce back and forth. I just roll with it.

No worries...the first time I read them, I think it was in order of publication. And I've read them in order of "chronology". I've also read them in whatever order I happened to pick them up off the shelf, or whichever one I wanted to read at the moment. It just sort of depends what kind of mood I'm in. This readthru is a "chronological" one.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by russdm
...but I can pick up books that [I] read quite a while ago and read them again whenever I want. I love that.

I can do that too, just by walking over to the right bookshelf.

Originally Posted by EmeraldRose
It just sort of depends what kind of mood I'm in. This readthru is a "chronological" one.

Yar, that sounds like fun. But my next full-series read-through will have to be the Patrick O'Brian novels. I've learned a lot more about frigates and their sailing since I first began the series--and the second time through, I need to sit down with some maps.

[IthilanorStPete]

Ancillary Justice won the Clarke Award! A very well-deserved piece of recognition for an awesome book.

[warty goblin]

Hadn't heard of that second one, sounds classic and interesting. Hmm.

To both, yes. I'm sixty pages in, and despite the fact that basically nothing particularly dramatic has happened yet, it has got its hooks into me. It's written in that strangely conversational style of some nineteenth century novels; where the author (or narrator in this case) occasionally refers directly to the audience. Not in the drearily ironic way that a modern webcomic might, but simply to better communicate the message to the audience. For instance the bit where the narrator describes a woman with whom he is instantly smitten, but then basically throws up his hands and goes 'imagine her as the first person who made your heart beat funny' except in better prose. It's really an effective device for communicating the point, and at the same is remarkably human somehow.

Or maybe I'm just a fuzzy sentimentalist.

There was just a major dearth of anything that sparked my interest in recent years that wasn't a part of an established series. From the day Borders finally shut down to just recently just about the only new books I read where the Dresden Files. Now I've just been more-or-less pulling things on a whim from the shelves at Half Price Books (well, and finally caving on not reading Terry Pratchet...).

I was in that situation for a while. Then I kinda stopped reading fantasy. Or rather stopped reading fantasy exclusively, or even preferentially. The bookshelf pretty much instantly filled up.


Also stumbled upon this little article this morning. Worth a read, and I'd be curious to hear other people's thoughts.

[Cristo Meyers]

I was in that situation for a while. Then I kinda stopped reading fantasy. Or rather stopped reading fantasy exclusively, or even preferentially. The bookshelf pretty much instantly filled up.

Kinda where I am now, it's just oftentimes a struggle to find anything that even creates that first 'hey, pick me up and take a look' spark of interest.

Also stumbled upon this little article this morning. Worth a read, and I'd be curious to hear other people's thoughts.

Oftentimes I wonder if maybe the idea that everything was so much more intense when we were younger isn't just the all-too-common exaggeration made by adults for their past. Especially in this age where it seems like my generation is almost defined by nostalgia for childhood. But now I'm rambling.

I don't think the inability to let go as described is a symptom of adulthood, I think it's just a symptom of time. It's hard to read like a kid when you've been reading for 20-30 years.

Forgive me for this, but my first honest reaction was 'in other words, TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life.' It's not adulthood that's the problem, it's experience.

[happyturtle]

To both, yes. I'm sixty pages in, and despite the fact that basically nothing particularly dramatic has happened yet, it has got its hooks into me. It's written in that strangely conversational style of some nineteenth century novels; where the author (or narrator in this case) occasionally refers directly to the audience. Not in the drearily ironic way that a modern webcomic might, but simply to better communicate the message to the audience. For instance the bit where the narrator describes a woman with whom he is instantly smitten, but then basically throws up his hands and goes 'imagine her as the first person who made your heart beat funny' except in better prose. It's really an effective device for communicating the point, and at the same is remarkably human somehow.

Or maybe I'm just a fuzzy sentimentalist.

I'm not a fuzzy sentimentalist at all, and I thought that was a very sweet and well-written scene.

Also stumbled upon this little article this morning. Worth a read, and I'd be curious to hear other people's thoughts.

I can understand the nostalgia for those 'first' experiences, but I don't understand how she thinks that she, or anyone, can re-create that.

[Feytalist]

I read with more enjoyment, attention and immediacy now than I ever did as a child.

What she describes is far from a universal constant.

[Cristo Meyers]

I can understand the nostalgia for those 'first' experiences, but I don't understand how she thinks that she, or anyone, can re-create that.

Indeed.

And speaking from personal experience: chasing that feeling generally only leads to disappointment.

[Knaight]

To both, yes. I'm sixty pages in, and despite the fact that basically nothing particularly dramatic has happened yet, it has got its hooks into me. It's written in that strangely conversational style of some nineteenth century novels; where the author (or narrator in this case) occasionally refers directly to the audience.

I've seen a lot of this ever since I started reading older Chinese literature (what little I can find translated, anyways). Water Margin is full of it, for example.

[SeeDarkly_X]

Still attempting to complete The Witching Hour by Anne Rice.
However, I just got Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David from the library so that has taken priority in my attempt to finish it before it's due.
And I'm listening to A Feast of Crows by George R.R. Martin ( I kind of think some of the show may be spoiling this book for me me so I want to get through it before watching any more of the current season.)