Reading at t'moment?

#10341 Serenity

Saki!!!!!

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Posted 20 March 2013 - 01:34 PM

Morgoth, on 19 March 2013 - 04:32 PM, said:

Serenity, on 19 March 2013 - 02:27 PM, said:

Still slogging through The Way of Kings. It's okay, but I'm convinced it would be better with roughly half of it edited out. But then I felt the same about the second and third Mistborn books, so I guess I'm just not going to be a Sanderson fan <<shrugs>>

You're in good company.

Glad it's not just me!

#10342 amphibian

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Posted 20 March 2013 - 02:01 PM

It's not just you. I put in a bunch of posts criticizing Sanderson's writing tactics somewhere - mostly revolving around how he sometimes projects his religious/personal beliefs in a way that doesn't seem to fit with the characters in my mind and my view of his writing as humdrum - though torrential in output - prose.

He definitely clicks for quite a few people though, so he's doing many things right and is reaping the rewards of that with his many series. Good for him, but not my cup of tea.

I just started two books - Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee and Railsea by China Mieville. Disgrace was recommended to me by my younger brother, which is a bit odd because the first section of the book (university professor stage) has tons of reference to things I'm not sure he has any experience of beyond the music.

I survived the Permian and all I got was this t-shirt.

#10343 T77

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Posted 20 March 2013 - 02:12 PM

Serenity, on 20 March 2013 - 01:34 PM, said:

Morgoth, on 19 March 2013 - 04:32 PM, said:

Serenity, on 19 March 2013 - 02:27 PM, said:

You're in good company.

Glad it's not just me!

The only Sanderson I've read is the first Mistborn book and I was not impressed. I have no intention of reading any more of his books. Except that I just started The Wheel of Time and I will have to read three. Maybe it will change my mind.

#10344 Hound

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Posted 20 March 2013 - 10:57 PM

Just finished Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines. Thank you forum for another awesome bookrecommendation!!

#10345 yuna_anomander25

sapper elite red coat

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Dresden Files,
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Anime,

Posted 21 March 2013 - 12:01 AM

nearing haf-way down on Royal Assassin, so far so good, and i'm liking it more and more, also came back to my re-read of Memories of Ice (still haven't finished this one, been giving way to more new books, that's why) during my coffee time,

i have decided to start and read The Chronicles of the Black Company on my 1-week vacation to Singapore next week, i believe it's finally time to go and check this for myself, and see the influences which gave birth to Malazan,

It's not who I am underneath.. but what i do that defines me - Batman, Batman Begins; 'Without our deaths, sir, there would be no crime. Thus, no punishment to match,' 'Mortal Sword - '
'We are done, my friend. Now, in this manner, we choose the meaning of our deaths' - Mortal Sword Brukhalian to Veteran Nilbanas, siege of Capustan
'Ippen shinde miru (want to try dying this once) ?' - Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl)

#10346 polishgenius

Heart of Courage

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Posted 21 March 2013 - 12:04 AM

Read A Song for Arbonne yesterday. Although it's a much less flawed novel than Lions of Al-Rassan and therefore probably better overall, I think it did suffer a bit from me reading it so soon after that one, because even more than most of Kay's work they're very similar in a lot of ways and it also lacks Al-Rassan's greatnesses.

Finishing my Revelation Space re-read with Absolution Gap next.

amphibian, on 20 March 2013 - 02:01 PM, said:

I think it's great that Sanderson is doing well, since he's been a shot in the arm for epic fantasy - proving that works not set in standard medieval analogues can work, be epic fantasy, and sell well - but I'm not hugely fond of his writing either. In Mistborn, the only thing I've read so far, with one notable exception his characters are flat, his prose is, as you say, humdrum, and in the second two books especially the pacing is pretty dreadful.

He's not really bad, as such, just pretty average. I don't think Mistborn is going to age especially well to be honest.

I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you.

#10347 Ukjent

First Sword

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Posted 22 March 2013 - 12:16 PM

Done with Furies of Calderon in a bit over a day, and i now regret that i only bought the two first books for the break. Pure awesomeness, not in the same way as dresden, but still, awesome as hell. Read over 500 pages yesterday and seriously screwed up my night.

#10348 Captain Beardface

Mason of Serc

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Posted 22 March 2013 - 02:08 PM

reading Assassin's Apprentice, liked Hob's short story in the EPIC Anthology so I figured I'd give the rest of her stuff a shot... liking it so far nice easy reading in between studying mechanical vibrations

Monsignor:...Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.
Connor: [as the brothers exit the church] I do believe the monsignor's finally got the point.
Murphy: Aye.

Boondock Saints

#10349 Gothos

Map painting expert

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Posted 22 March 2013 - 03:18 PM

Bill Bryson's NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND. so far so good, but not as entertaining as DOWN UNDER, which was super awesome.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

#10350 D'rek

Consort of High House Mafia

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Posted 22 March 2013 - 07:41 PM

I'm reading Good Omens, by Pratchett and Gaiman. It's fun!

worrywort, on 14 September 2012 - 08:07 PM, said:

I kinda love it when D'rek unleashes her nerd wrath, as I knew she would here. Sorry innocent bystanders, but someone's gotta be the kindling.

#10351 worry

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Posted 22 March 2013 - 08:56 PM

Oh cool, that's a positive sign. I was thinking of reading it, so that augers well for my chances.

They came with white hands and left with red hands.

#10352 Salt-Man Z

My pen halts, though I do not

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Posted 22 March 2013 - 09:25 PM

worrywort, on 22 March 2013 - 08:56 PM, said:

Oh cool, that's a positive sign. I was thinking of reading it, so that augers well for my chances.

You could, in fact, say that it's a--

Ah. Clever worry.

"Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?"
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch

#10353 Ukjent

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Posted 22 March 2013 - 11:10 PM

In my last post i praised the Furies of caldreon, now I sucked into Academy fury. And if there are anyone else from Norway here who knows where they sell the rest of the books except from Outland shout out!

This post has been edited by Graablick: 22 March 2013 - 11:20 PM

#10354 Morgoth

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Posted 23 March 2013 - 07:48 AM

Graablick, on 22 March 2013 - 11:10 PM, said:

Seeing how you're spending your days in Trondheim, I'm pretty sure Ark at the top of Nordre gt sells the whole series, but I stopped going to those places much once I started using Amazon more actively.

Take good care to keep relations civil
It's decent in the first of gentlemen
To speak friendly, Even to the devil

#10355 Serenity

Saki!!!!!

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Posted 23 March 2013 - 12:09 PM

Finished The Way of Kings. Straight to the charity shop for that one. Have now made a start on Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds. According to the blurb on the back, it's "equal parts steampunk, western, planetary romance and far-future SF". I like it already

#10356 Ukjent

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Posted 23 March 2013 - 08:08 PM

Done with Academy fury, not as awesome as the first one (I do not highly enjoy spiders). But still, I had a good time reading it and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Edit: Some webshops (ark.no) should/shall burn! Went looking online for the next book in the series, and don't you think that the fuckheads had a line of the text under the title of the books containing spoilers! The pain of toes against chairlegs is nothing compare to the fury of getting something spoiled. I just don't understand it, was the point of spoiling things just for fun.. bet the ones who design the shop got spoiled lots of stories as a children. That was without doubt the last time I went looking there. bah.

This post has been edited by Graablick: 23 March 2013 - 08:37 PM

#10357 Morgoth

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Posted 24 March 2013 - 07:26 AM

Ah, I was thinking the physical store. I guess I'm still stuck in the old ways

Take good care to keep relations civil
It's decent in the first of gentlemen
To speak friendly, Even to the devil

#10358 Ukjent

First Sword

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Posted 24 March 2013 - 11:21 AM

Morgoth, on 24 March 2013 - 07:26 AM, said:

Ah, I was thinking the physical store. I guess I'm still stuck in the old ways

So was I, but since its eastern I'm home i Bodø and the chances of finding books here are pretty small .Or I bet I can find twilight and the hunger games, but nothing better then that.

#10359 Kruppe's snacky cakes

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Posted 24 March 2013 - 10:42 PM

Way freakin' behind in entering books. They are piling up next to the computer, waiting to be mentioned, poor little fellas. I'll just add a little at a time until I catch up.

53. I Hate Other People's Kids by Adrianne Frost - I love "mean" humor, but this was just predictable and unfunny.

54. Ideas That Changed The World by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto - Nice coffee table book about human invention and ingenuity, everything from prehistoric hunting to relativity.

55. Doomsday Prophecies: Armageddon A To Z by Jim and Barbara Willis - An encyclopedia of terms related to prophecies about the end of the world, from "abomination of desolation" to Zoroastrianism.

56. Another Heaven, Another Earth by H. M. Hoover - Old school (circa 1980s) YA sci-fi novel. I had never heard of it. After reading, I understood why.

57. Queen Victoria Demon Hunter by A. E. Moorat - Another in a long line of mash-up novels wherein zombies/demons/werewolves or whatever are combined with literary classics or biographies. I don't know why I keep reading these. I have yet to enjoy one.

58. The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld - About a war between immortals and "machine-augmented humans who worship planet-sized AI's." Sounds awesome, right? Except the author focuses 90% of the book on the two LEAST interesting characters, who are neither immortal nor machine-augmented. So no...great premise, but boring execution.

59. Lockdown: Escape From Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith - So-so YA dystopia. Recommended for hardcore genre fans only.

A bunch more that I will enter at a later date...

I'm George. George McFly. I'm your density. I mean...your destiny.