What Books Are You Reading Right Now?

[happyturtle]

Can't speak to your memory, but the other two things are pretty true. It's a big, sprawling, complex book.



I actually find Veppers amusing because he's so shameless it's hilarious, but I can definitely see where you're coming from. As for his importance, keep in mind that the civs that are dealing with him in-depth generally aren't at the level of the Culture; they're somewhere in between the Culture and the Enablement. There's also some factors that...you'll see. How far into the book are you?

Spoiler: Chapter 21

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Ledeje and Falling Outside the Normal Moral Constraints are arriving at the Tsungarial Disk, Veppers has just left the same with the space elves (GFCF). Yime and the Buddha (Bodhisattva) are adrift after being attacked at the Balbitian. Hell continues to be hellish for Chay.

Since we're reading the books aloud, we often rename things, either because the original is hard to pronounce, or because one of us made a joke, and we stuck with it. Hence the GFCF are the Space Elves or the Space Disney Princesses because they were described as small and fine limbed with big eyes and fancy hair.

[BWR]

I finally finished Wilkie Collins' "The woman in white" It's taken me this long (at least a month) because I mostly read in bed these days, and recently I've been tired enough that I'd get a few pages along and find myself nodding off. It was ok. Nothing of interest really happened until half-way through the book, then the last half took way too long to get to any sort of resolution. I'm not by nature an impatient person, and I can very much enjoy a slow, wandering story or film, but they have to be well written/filmed/acted to keep my interest. This story could have easily been half the length and been a better story for it.

On to Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's "THe House by the Churchyard". I've greatly enjoyed Le Fanu's ghost stories, and Carmilla is an undisputed classic of the vampire genre. I'm given to understand this book is not a supernatural tale, which is a mark against it - I prefer my horror and mystery of the supernatural variety. But it's Le Fanu which is several more marks in its favor. Hopefully I won't be falling asleep on this one all the time.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by warty goblin
*tall stack of Bronze Age awesome*

I do believe I'm in your debt. That's quite an impressive list.

As it happens, I have Osprey's Troy c. 1700-1250 BC, as well as Hittite Fortifications c. 1650-700 BC, and I've also looked at Bronze Age Greek Warrior and Warships of the Ancient World: 3000-500 BC. I really enjoy the Osprey titles, and I've slowly accumulated a small shelf of them, but mainly through birthday gift cards to Amazon and the like. Their Campaign titles are a good value, but when they charge $17.95 for a 48-page pamphlet I have to say no.

Fortunately, they're so lightweight that they barely cost a couple of dollars on ILL.

As for Barry Strauss, I've read his Battle of Salamis and while I enjoyed it for the overview, he does have something of a breezy style. My only recommendation on Greek naval power would be Lords of the Sea by John Hale, which I absolutely loved--there's real maritime experience behind the writing, and it makes for an excellent survey with some rugged human detail. You come away with a real appreciation for just how much skill and coordination was required to pull off some of their squadron tactics.

--And, I've just this moment come across 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, by Eric Cline, an archaeologist who's done a couple of audio courses I listened to recently, one an overview of ancient Greece and the other on the archaeology of the Iliad. I may ask my library to add this to their holdings--they're pretty good about that.



And finally, on Michael Wood:

Spoiler: A Brief Rant

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o gawd, that Michael Wood.

My family watched his recent series on India, The Story of India, which should really be titled Many Closeups of Michael Wood's Face With Interesting Bits of India Somewhere in the Background.

We watched six hours of the program, and the few scraps of India we could see over his shoulder, or hear over his incessant voice, looked really interesting. Unfortunately, Michael Wood spends far too much time right in front of the camera, either talking or reacting insightfully to other people talking, and not enough time letting the many fascinating people he finds actually speak for themselves.

I really wanted to like that program, and I gather that some people from India at least appreciated that he included history from the entire subcontinent, rather than focusing on certain favored regions. That's great--but he inserts himself into virtually every shot, so what should be a fascinating scene of cultural importance becomes Michael Wood's personal travelogue through a fascinating scene of cultural importance. The emphasis becomes following Michael Wood's rather self-involved experience, as opposed to providing any real insight into everything we see--much less letting the Indian people speak for themselves.

So. I will have to pass on Michael Wood's take on the ancient world. In The Story of India it was painfully clear that he's no historian; he's a filmmaker who imposes his own personal experience and political views onto a world that isn't remotely his own. I don't think I'd like to see that repeated in the context of the Trojan War.

[happyturtle]

I finally finished Wilkie Collins' "The woman in white" It's taken me this long (at least a month) because I mostly read in bed these days, and recently I've been tired enough that I'd get a few pages along and find myself nodding off. It was ok. Nothing of interest really happened until half-way through the book, then the last half took way too long to get to any sort of resolution. I'm not by nature an impatient person, and I can very much enjoy a slow, wandering story or film, but they have to be well written/filmed/acted to keep my interest. This story could have easily been half the length and been a better story for it.

On to Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's "THe House by the Churchyard". I've greatly enjoyed Le Fanu's ghost stories, and Carmilla is an undisputed classic of the vampire genre. I'm given to understand this book is not a supernatural tale, which is a mark against it - I prefer my horror and mystery of the supernatural variety. But it's Le Fanu which is several more marks in its favor. Hopefully I won't be falling asleep on this one all the time.

I agree with your opinion of The Woman in White to an extent. Of course, that's a hazard of reading Victorian novels. They are all rather long-winded - particularly the ones published in serial form, as this one was. I think it's a great story with memorable characters - in particular Marian Halcolmbe and Count Fosco. But it's also good at falling asleep too, as I have the audiobook in my ipod and use it often for that purpose.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by happyturtle
But it's also good at falling asleep too, as I have the audiobook in my ipod and use it often for that purpose.

I usually read a little in bed, too, which often involves jolting awake over a half-remembered page.

[TheThan]

I have a kayak, which covers a lot where I live.

Nice.
I have the opposite problem here, not enough water.
Anyway. zombies desiccate really fast in my environment, I hope that doesn’t mean they turn into mummies. CR ½ to CR 5 yuck.

[turkishproverb]

Just finished Brent Weeks' Way of Shadows. Not a bad read, but probably longer than it needed to be. Currently working on Charles De Lint's Spirits in the Wires.

[darkillumine]

Listening to audiobook of Words of Radiance while commuting. Oh, god, this is going to take months... 48 hours of audio.

Also reading several print books at once. Most recent effort is Nova Swing. I mostly despised its predecessor (Light) but the universe is interesting enough that I thought I'd give the sequel a chance.

[BWR]

I mostly despised its predecessor (Light)

You, you you you what?
Why?
I loved that book, like I do just about everything Harrison's written.

NS is quite different. It's basically Harrison's rewrite of "Roadside picnic" for the Light universe. It adds a number of interesting details to the universe, focusing on planetside life rather than k-ships. You might want to steer away from Empty Space, which I found to be the weakest of the series. There was some expansion of the universe, but for the most part it wasn't quite as good as the other two.

[warty goblin]

Finished my reread of Dying of the Light last night, er, this morning. It had been a couple years since I last read it, and I'd forgotten how marvelously put together the novel is. It's not quite Fevre Dream, but it's still an exceedingly good book. Not a happy book, not a comfortable book, but a story that goes some interesting places.

[Feytalist]

Finished my reread of Dying of the Light last night, er, this morning. It had been a couple years since I last read it, and I'd forgotten how marvelously put together the novel is. It's not quite Fevre Dream, but it's still an exceedingly good book. Not a happy book, not a comfortable book, but a story that goes some interesting places.

Oh hey I remember Fevre Dream. Read it years and years ago, and I came across it again the other day. Was quite surprised when I saw who the author was.

Great book.

[Eldan]

Currently re-reading Blue Remembered Earth, since I recently acquired On the Steel Breeze, the sequel. BRE is still Reynold's weakest book in my opinion, but I'm willing to give the sequel a chance, since there were a lot of interesting world-building elements.

[Aolbain]

Richard Morgans Black Man. Pretty smart book, even if I don't agree with everything.

[warty goblin]

Oh hey I remember Fevre Dream. Read it years and years ago, and I came across it again the other day. Was quite surprised when I saw who the author was.

Great book.

I've thought for some time that Fevre Dream is, word for word, the best novel-length thing Martin's ever done. A Game of Thrones is a close second, but I think loses something for its broader scope instead of the very tight character focus of Fevre Dream. Mind, I'm probably swayed since I find the main character of Fevre Dream about as close to me in personality as I've ever found in fiction.

[Lycunadari]

I just finished Tamora Pierce's Lady Knight (the last of the Keladry books). That was quite a bit darker than the previous books without becoming frustrating or too dark for my taste.

Spoiler: The end

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And finally a heroine who doesn't get married/paired of at the end.

And now I have to wait till I get home so I can borrow Trickster's Choice from my sister...

[IthilanorStPete]

I've thought for some time that Fevre Dream is, word for word, the best novel-length thing Martin's ever done. A Game of Thrones is a close second, but I think loses something for its broader scope instead of the very tight character focus of Fevre Dream. Mind, I'm probably swayed since I find the main character of Fevre Dream about as close to me in personality as I've ever found in fiction.

Have you read Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon? Very different book, but the main character's fairly similar, at least superficially. It's a pretty neat book, with an Arabian/Persian mythology setting that's a breath of fresh air compared to the Europe-based settings so prevalent in fantasy.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by IthilanorStPete
Have you read Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon? Very different book, but the main character's fairly similar, at least superficially. It's a pretty neat book, with an Arabian/Persian mythology setting that's a breath of fresh air compared to the Europe-based settings so prevalent in fantasy.

After a brief glance at the nominations this book has received, it's on my list. A personal recommendation plus Hugo & Nebula attention is good enough for me.

[IthilanorStPete]

Spoiler: Chapter 21

Show

Ledeje and Falling Outside the Normal Moral Constraints are arriving at the Tsungarial Disk, Veppers has just left the same with the space elves (GFCF). Yime and the Buddha (Bodhisattva) are adrift after being attacked at the Balbitian. Hell continues to be hellish for Chay.

I'm curious what you think of the FOtNMC. Personally, it's one of my favorite ships.

Since we're reading the books aloud, we often rename things, either because the original is hard to pronounce, or because one of us made a joke, and we stuck with it. Hence the GFCF are the Space Elves or the Space Disney Princesses because they were described as small and fine limbed with big eyes and fancy hair.

Heh, I approve!

[Feytalist]

Richard Morgans Black Man. Pretty smart book, even if I don't agree with everything.

Morgan is pretty much my favourite author. I sing his praises whenever I get the chance. He does have some... strong views on human nature, doesn't he. And he's not afraid of inserting them in his work. I also don't necessarily agree with some of it, but damn the writing is good. Black Man is good, yeah. Depressing, though. Have you read the Kovacs trilogy? If Black Man is to your liking, you'll love that.

I've thought for some time that Fevre Dream is, word for word, the best novel-length thing Martin's ever done. A Game of Thrones is a close second, but I think loses something for its broader scope instead of the very tight character focus of Fevre Dream. Mind, I'm probably swayed since I find the main character of Fevre Dream about as close to me in personality as I've ever found in fiction.

I don't care much for A Song of Ice and Fire, but I've read some of his other work, quite by accident. Short stories, especially. I actually think he's at his best when limited by words or content. My personal fondness is for his short story Sandkings. I occasionally reread it just because. I think he missed his true calling: horror. Heh.

Have you read Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon? Very different book, but the main character's fairly similar, at least superficially. It's a pretty neat book, with an Arabian/Persian mythology setting that's a breath of fresh air compared to the Europe-based settings so prevalent in fantasy.

Well, you got my interest piqued. I'm definitely taking a look at this.

After a brief glance at the nominations this book has received, it's on my list. A personal recommendation plus Hugo & Nebula attention is good enough for me.

Word

[happyturtle]

I'm curious what you think of the FOtNMC. Personally, it's one of my favorite ships.

Spoiler: Middle of Chapter 23

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I was pretty horrified by FOtNMC with the whole 'torture and rape the human avatar' bit at the beginning, and I still don't think 'but he won't remember it now' gets the ship off the hook for that. Not sure what to make of its interest in Lededje. But when the fight with the smatter infection led to a hole in one of the fabricaria and discovery of the ship being built within, I said 'Falling Outside is going to LOOOOOVE this.' Later that chapter: 'I'm going to get to strut my stuff, I'm going to get to be me, girlie' and the like - basically FOtNMC/Demeisen dancing around in utter joy at the prospect of getting to have a war. So a chocolate chip to me (not a whole cookie - too obvious ) for that guess.

[warty goblin]

Started How I Live Now yesterday. So far I'm very much enjoying it, which is a touch surprising. I don't usually like first person narration, and the Cormac McCarthy Punctuation-Lite thing generally just cheeses me off, but Rosoff welds the two into a very strong and very believable main character. It's a pretty easy read, but a completely involving one, with a sort of self-awareness that both works well within the framework of the narrative, and makes nearly every paragraph in some small way hilarious. The chapter I'm reading now opens with "So there we were carrying on our happy little life of underage sex, child labor and espionage..."

It's also readily apparent that the movie is significantly different from the novel. Which I'm absolutely fine with, since the film worked quite well as a Hunger Games without the safeties on sort of deal. By upping the grit factor from a coupla obviously evil people get whacked isn't reality TV bad to Tour de Warcrime: Teenage Refugee Edition, and making the protagonist directly responsible for keeping her much younger cousin alive instead of a weird rebellion deal, I thought it ended up at a fairly interesting place, with a main character at once much more heroic and much more believably so.

[Aolbain]

Morgan is pretty much my favourite author. I sing his praises whenever I get the chance. He does have some... strong views on human nature, doesn't he. And he's not afraid of inserting them in his work. I also don't necessarily agree with some of it, but damn the writing is good. Black Man is good, yeah. Depressing, though. Have you read the Kovacs trilogy? If Black Man is to your liking, you'll love that.

I've got Altered Carbon sitting in my shelf. Started reading it once but ...stuff came in the way.

[Piggy Knowles]

I finished my re-read of One Hundred Years of Solitude today, and it occurs to me that despite how much I love ****, I still haven't read The Man in the High Castle yet. I'll probably start that one later tonight.

Still working on what is probably my sixth or seventh re-read of Foucault's Pendulum, and I'm about two-thirds of the way through that one. Not sure what I'll pick up in its place after I finish. I got a whole passel of used books on vacation a couple of weeks ago, so I'll probably pick up one of those.

[EmeraldRose]

Restarting Pratchett. For the...I don't know...third? fourth? time.

I picked up The Color of Magic first. We shall see which one jumps off the shelf next.

[warty goblin]

Finished How I Live Now last night. Definitely one of the more unusual romantic stories that I've read; generally they don't spend so much time describing trying to find enough food. Started Atonement, which appears to be a very enjoyable read. Hopefully Bronze Age Military Equipment arrives today. I don't have too much work this weekend, so I could actually get into that to a reasonable degree.

[Cristo Meyers]

Restarting Pratchett. For the...I don't know...third? fourth? time.

I picked up The Color of Magic first. We shall see which one jumps off the shelf next.

You know, I may finally have to break down and give him a try. There's just a major dearth of books I find interesting enough to pick up these days and re-reading what I have is getting me nowhere...

[EmeraldRose]

You know, I may finally have to break down and give him a try. There's just a major dearth of books I find interesting enough to pick up these days and re-reading what I have is getting me nowhere...

Anything is worth at least a try. I figure the fact that I have re-read him so many times is a good thing. There are a few other authors too, but again, it all depends on the mood I'm in.

[Cristo Meyers]

Anything is worth at least a try. I figure the fact that I have re-read him so many times is a good thing. There are a few other authors too, but again, it all depends on the mood I'm in.

I've got $1.92 left on a reward card to get rid of and a Half-Price Books within walking distance. I guess I know what I'm doing for my lunch break now.

[turkishproverb]

You know, I may finally have to break down and give him a try. There's just a major dearth of books I find interesting enough to pick up these days and re-reading what I have is getting me nowhere...

What kinda books do you like? I'd be happy to recommend something.

[Cristo Meyers]

What kinda books do you like? I'd be happy to recommend something.

Lesse...I have every Dresden Files novel to date, save the most recent. All of the Codex Alera series too. I have a few of Guy Gavriel Kay's historical fictions, Luyenko's Night Watch series, a handful of Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Neil Gaiman, and a couple of the great epics in the Iliad, the Odyessy, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I picked up Small Gods and Reaper Man just today and Promise of Blood that happyturtle mentioned earlier in the thread too.

I think part of the problem is that the things I used to read just aren't doing it for me anymore. The Fantasy/Sci-fi shelves used to be an old standby, but not anymore. At this point I really am up for just about anything.