[Aptorian]

Every time I watch that video I'm shocked by just how good that song is.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Aptorian, on 20 June 2019 - 06:54 PM, said:

Every time I watch that video I'm shocked by just how good that song is.

And by "shocked", you mean "ejaculate on a book".

[Mezla PigDog]

Abyss, on 19 June 2019 - 02:58 PM, said:

Mezla PigDog, on 18 June 2019 - 08:27 PM, said:

...
I finished The Fifth Season this morning. Waking at 3am and being unable to go back to sleep has it's bonuses. I think it is the second or third book I have finished since my son was born 3 years ago! SHAME. I have started about 5 books so the fact I found the energy to finish it says enough for how good it is. However considering it starts with

Spoiler

a toddler boy being beaten to death

my nerves were pretty shredded for the first half or so.

Started Obelisk Gate this evening.

Spoilers Mezla, spoilers. MODGOD NOTICE OF FIXED.

That said, that scene... yeah, it's viscerally offputting. Deliberately so, and important to the story, but wow i was unprepared for my own reaction to it.

It's the beginning of the first chapter. Hardly a spoiler. I read it in a review when deciding whether to buy the books. I don't think it would have bothered me much if I didn't have a kid of similar age. It's not like it hasn't happened countless times throughout history.

I didn't know anything about the author before I finished the first book and googled the name afterwards. I spent a lot of the time enjoying how blatantly female the writing was but was still ..... I'm trying not to use the words "really good". Do I mean gritty? I haven't read any sci fi written by a woman before - Fantasy yes but not sci fi. I don't know what I'm trying to say. I guess the fact that it was blatantly female writing (to me, anyway) and a ripping yarn is still a surprise in this day and age. Or maybe I am just not well read enough - highly likely on my recent showing. Anyway, it struck a chord. I'm well stuck into Obelisk Gate already.

[Andorion]

Mezla PigDog, on 21 June 2019 - 01:15 PM, said:

Abyss, on 19 June 2019 - 02:58 PM, said:

Mezla PigDog, on 18 June 2019 - 08:27 PM, said:

...
I finished The Fifth Season this morning. Waking at 3am and being unable to go back to sleep has it's bonuses. I think it is the second or third book I have finished since my son was born 3 years ago! SHAME. I have started about 5 books so the fact I found the energy to finish it says enough for how good it is. However considering it starts with

Spoiler

a toddler boy being beaten to death

my nerves were pretty shredded for the first half or so.

Started Obelisk Gate this evening.

Spoilers Mezla, spoilers. MODGOD NOTICE OF FIXED.

That said, that scene... yeah, it's viscerally offputting. Deliberately so, and important to the story, but wow i was unprepared for my own reaction to it.

It's the beginning of the first chapter. Hardly a spoiler. I read it in a review when deciding whether to buy the books. I don't think it would have bothered me much if I didn't have a kid of similar age. It's not like it hasn't happened countless times throughout history.

I didn't know anything about the author before I finished the first book and googled the name afterwards. I spent a lot of the time enjoying how blatantly female the writing was but was still ..... I'm trying not to use the words "really good". Do I mean gritty? I haven't read any sci fi written by a woman before - Fantasy yes but not sci fi. I don't know what I'm trying to say. I guess the fact that it was blatantly female writing (to me, anyway) and a ripping yarn is still a surprise in this day and age. Or maybe I am just not well read enough - highly likely on my recent showing. Anyway, it struck a chord. I'm well stuck into Obelisk Gate already.

If you haven't read much female SF I highly recomment Lois Bujold's Vorkosigan books - honestly those are rollercoaster trips and so addictive.

What I loved about Jemisin's writing was that she manages to strike a balance between really inventive worldbuilding and great character work. Also her writing style can be hypnotic and gritty never becomes grimdark for the sake of being grimdark.

[Andorion]

Read Mark Lawrence's One Word Kill and was not really impressed. Seemed like a weird attempt to inject time travel into Stranger Things.

Also read Daniel Polansky's Those Above and its absolutely brilliant. Far better than the Low Town books.

[Aptorian]

Finished Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

I almost dropped this before it really started but I'm glad I read it. This book resonated with me much more than a book like 1984 does.

I think you can use Fahrenheit as a reflection of so many aspects of our modern Western society. It's fascinating when you read one of these old classics and you discover that not only does it hold up, it's perhaps more relevant than ever.

Still, the story shows it's age and there's long passages that feel like a slog. A lot of the narrative and inner monologue feels very disjointed and erratic to me.

But then there's other parts where it speaks of litterature, art and human expression and memory and something inside me resonates like Bradbury's ringing a bell inside my head.

I think I'm going to buy a copy of this book and reread some of the dialogue now and then.

[Dadding]

Finished up THE STONE SKY. I still think Book #1 was way better than the next two. This one was a little underwhelming. Still, enjoyed the series as a whole. Now I'm on to TITUS GROAN / GORMENGHAST. Not sure if I want to listen to it as an audiobook, or switch up Wheel of Time to audiobook and read it instead. It might be a bit too cerebral for my distracted audiobook-listening. Be curious to hear what people think.

Speaking of Wheel of Time ... I'm on to THE SHADOW RISING. Man, the first 350 pages were terrible. Just hanging around and complaining about whoever each character's love interest is. It's picking up a bit now though, but it worries me a bit about the "mid-series-dip" that everyone talks about.

[amphibian]

Aptorian, on 21 June 2019 - 08:23 PM, said:

Finished Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

I almost dropped this before it really started but I'm glad I read it. This book resonated with me much more than a book like 1984 does.

I think you can use Fahrenheit as a reflection of so many aspects of our modern Western society. It's fascinating when you read one of these old classics and you discover that not only does it hold up, it's perhaps more relevant than ever.

Still, the story shows it's age and there's long passages that feel like a slog. A lot of the narrative and inner monologue feels very disjointed and erratic to me.

But then there's other parts where it speaks of litterature, art and human expression and memory and something inside me resonates like Bradbury's ringing a bell inside my head.

I think I'm going to buy a copy of this book and reread some of the dialogue now and then.

This is the best take I've ever seen you make on anything.

Have you read Crime and Punishment? I and several other people I know actively loathed the first half, then found itself enthralled and nearly unable to put the book down after that.

This kind of dynamic when reading is something that Erikson tried to do in many places in Malazan. I think he succeeded more than he failed, but trying is something amazing.

[Coco with marshmallows]

Andorion, on 21 June 2019 - 04:37 PM, said:

Read Mark Lawrence's One Word Kill and was not really impressed. Seemed like a weird attempt to inject time travel into Stranger Things.

Also read Daniel Polansky's Those Above and its absolutely brilliant. Far better than the Low Town books.

I liked his low town books as well tbh, think the sequel to Those Above suffers from some of the same issues though.

[Aptorian]

amphibian, on 21 June 2019 - 08:51 PM, said:

Aptorian, on 21 June 2019 - 08:23 PM, said:

Finished Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

I almost dropped this before it really started but I'm glad I read it. This book resonated with me much more than a book like 1984 does.

I think you can use Fahrenheit as a reflection of so many aspects of our modern Western society. It's fascinating when you read one of these old classics and you discover that not only does it hold up, it's perhaps more relevant than ever.

Still, the story shows it's age and there's long passages that feel like a slog. A lot of the narrative and inner monologue feels very disjointed and erratic to me.

But then there's other parts where it speaks of litterature, art and human expression and memory and something inside me resonates like Bradbury's ringing a bell inside my head.

I think I'm going to buy a copy of this book and reread some of the dialogue now and then.

This is the best take I've ever seen you make on anything.

Have you read Crime and Punishment? I and several other people I know actively loathed the first half, then found itself enthralled and nearly unable to put the book down after that.

This kind of dynamic when reading is something that Erikson tried to do in many places in Malazan. I think he succeeded more than he failed, but trying is something amazing.

Crime and Punishment is on that list of classics I want to eventually read but isn't a priority.

Currently I've got Slaughter house 5 and Catch 22 waiting in my library reservations.

[Aptorian]

Finished up a bunch of stuff in the past few days.

Besides Fahrenheit 451 I've read:

The Lars Lykke Rasmussen interview book, Befrielsens Øjeblik. I mentioned it above. I think the Primeminister is way too slippery to ever be cornered in this book, so it mostly reads as a spin book for the election he eventually lost.

Still, I like the guy even though he's a sorta dirty politician. I could see him winning the next election again if the Social Democrats fuck up.

Also read Korrektshedsbiblen (The Correctness Bible) by Christina Hagen.

It's a sort of concept piece a la a book of quotes or individual thoughts related to political correctness and the hypocrisy and hysteria that sometimes surrounds it.

It's a book that takes correctness to an extreme but it's sort of a one note take on the idea of it. Like a sorta funny joke that's lost it's appeal on the third page and there's over 200 pages of this stuff.

I don't understand why this got a positive reception. Ended up just flipping through it trying to see if there was a punchline. There's not.

Read/skimmed Emma Gads' Takt og Tone (Tact and Tone). It's an old Danish instructional manual for people of high society to learn about proper behavior. It's from around the turn of the last century and kind of infamous.

It covers everything from birth and death. Funerals, weddings, holidays, how to dress, how to speak, how to act, etc. It's an utterly boring chore of a book but also a fascinating artifact of a different age. It's a sleeping pill in book form.

Just started up another political portrait book, this one about the political leader of Social Demokraterne, our soon to be Primeminister, Mette Frederiksen. Second woman Primeminister in history and the youngest to be elected.

So far it's mostly about her youth. What I've learned is that Frederiksen is about as White Bread as possible. Very traditional, very politically active, very boring. Looking forward to getting into the actual story of her professional career.

I can feel I've been doing a bit too much reading for knowledge and culture and not enough reading for fun. So I've started up The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North.

About forty pages in and very much enjoying it. Compared to the writing of for example Fahrenheit 451, Harry August just flows. Very good pace and well written so far.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 22 June 2019 - 07:00 PM

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Novik's Spinning Silver.

[Andorion]

Aptorian, on 22 June 2019 - 06:59 PM, said:

Finished up a bunch of stuff in the past few days.

Besides Fahrenheit 451 I've read:

The Lars Lykke Rasmussen interview book, Befrielsens Øjeblik. I mentioned it above. I think the Primeminister is way too slippery to ever be cornered in this book, so it mostly reads as a spin book for the election he eventually lost.

Still, I like the guy even though he's a sorta dirty politician. I could see him winning the next election again if the Social Democrats fuck up.

Also read Korrektshedsbiblen (The Correctness Bible) by Christina Hagen.

It's a sort of concept piece a la a book of quotes or individual thoughts related to political correctness and the hypocrisy and hysteria that sometimes surrounds it.

It's a book that takes correctness to an extreme but it's sort of a one note take on the idea of it. Like a sorta funny joke that's lost it's appeal on the third page and there's over 200 pages of this stuff.

I don't understand why this got a positive reception. Ended up just flipping through it trying to see if there was a punchline. There's not.

Read/skimmed Emma Gads' Takt og Tone (Tact and Tone). It's an old Danish instructional manual for people of high society to learn about proper behavior. It's from around the turn of the last century and kind of infamous.

It covers everything from birth and death. Funerals, weddings, holidays, how to dress, how to speak, how to act, etc. It's an utterly boring chore of a book but also a fascinating artifact of a different age. It's a sleeping pill in book form.

Just started up another political portrait book, this one about the political leader of Social Demokraterne, our soon to be Primeminister, Mette Frederiksen. Second woman Primeminister in history and the youngest to be elected.

So far it's mostly about her youth. What I've learned is that Frederiksen is about as White Bread as possible. Very traditional, very politically active, very boring. Looking forward to getting into the actual story of her professional career.

I can feel I've been doing a bit too much reading for knowledge and culture and not enough reading for fun. So I've started up The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North.

About forty pages in and very much enjoying it. Compared to the writing of for example Fahrenheit 451, Harry August just flows. Very good pace and well written so far.

I think you will love Harry August Apt. Is it your first Claire North?

[Aptorian]

Yeah. I have my eye on 84 K as well.

I'm about 200 pages into Harry August now. It doesn't let up. Really goof. It effortlessly jumps between lives and narratives.

Really impressive writer so far.

[Andorion]

Aptorian, on 23 June 2019 - 05:51 PM, said:

Yeah. I have my eye on 84 K as well.

I'm about 200 pages into Harry August now. It doesn't let up. Really goof. It effortlessly jumps between lives and narratives.

Really impressive writer so far.

You should know that this same author wrote the Matthew Swift urban fantasy books.

Other than Harry August, I recommend Touch and the Gameshouse trilogy.

[Aptorian]

Stop, stop, my TRP can only get so high!

[Tiste Simeon]

Aptorian, on 23 June 2019 - 05:51 PM, said:

Yeah. I have my eye on 84 K as well.

I'm about 200 pages into Harry August now. It doesn't let up. Really goof. It effortlessly jumps between lives and narratives.

Really impressive writer so far.

84K is weird. Very bleak in that it's quite plausible (though perhaps not in Denmark idk) It's also written in a very disjointed way which makes it hard to follow at times. I loved it though it wasn't a comfortable read.

Harry August is just fantastic though. One of my favourite books.

[Zeto Demerzel]

- Greatcoats 2 - Knight's Shadow: Dropped it after 5 pages, not because of anything in this book, but because I couldn't remember anything - other than the fact that the end was a muddle - that happened after Rijou in book 1. And I'd read book 1 just a couple of months ago. Can't find a plot summary anywhere. Some help please?

- The Grey Bastards: Sped through two-thirds in double-quick time. This is a book with some serious attitude. Starts off very ... small scale but soon expands into something more complex. Very fun read so far. It's not often that I stumble across elves, orcs and halflings in a book with nary an eye-roll.

- Wax and Wayne 3 - The Bands of Mourning: also moving along at a fair clip. Has a slightly lighter (compared to book 2), more fantasy quest-y feel to it.

This post has been edited by Zeto Demerzel: 24 June 2019 - 03:55 AM

[Tsundoku]

Recently finished

Calgar's Siege - Paul Kearney is simply one of the best authors I have ever read. He can even elevate middling pulp style genre stuff. Beautiful but tight prose and brilliant action scenes.
Nine fungus-based xenos scum out of ten.

Which coincidentally brings me to ...

Orconomics - Quite entertaining spin on the old RPG kill-loot-sell staple. Will definitely get any more in the series. Simply written, interesting plot and fun characters redefining what is right and wrong.
Seven pre-hatched counted chickens out of nine.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 25 June 2019 - 11:47 AM

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 19 June 2019 - 04:27 PM, said:

BfuckinK, on 19 June 2019 - 03:56 PM, said:

It was a fucked up scene in BE. One among many more.

I know two readers who dropped the book right there.

It's a shame because of how brilliant the trilo is and how much most fantasy lit fans enjoy it, but that one scene is so vividly disturbing

Spoiler

especially for parents

that i get it.

The author accomplished exactly what she set out to there, but i wonder in retro if she would still write it that way knowing the reaction it prompts. Probably. Jemisin doesn't exactly shy away from anything.

She's fairly accessible on twitter, i should ask her one of these days.

polishgenius, on 19 June 2019 - 10:13 PM, said:

She fucking blocked me years ago and I've no idea why. Sadface.
...

It may have nothing to do with you directly. Between being a woman author, a black woman, and a very vocal critic of things Trumpian, she does receive a metric fucktonne of attacks from the subtle to dire. If i've followed right (i only semi pay attention to anything on twitter not related to physical danger in my city of the moment) if someone has even a sideways twitship (retweet, like, engage with, etc) with anytwit she has a problem with, or who has a problem with her (her books, beliefs, morals, friends, etc), she blocks 'everyone' so that person has no way to get at her sideways. She's basically said she has enough followers who don't attack her/her, and doesn't need to suffer attacks to maintain a however many lost each time.