Books you've been reading/listening to
- Thread starter Lorcan Ward
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Try Orson Scott Card. His short stories and novels were my favorite in that genre. Heinlein and Asimov can be difficult reads at times.
wheresthefbomb
Well-Known Member
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MFB
Banned
So, I fell out of Sandman pretty quickly, the art wasn't doing it for me and in a graphic novel that's half the battle and the writing was just pretty slow to get going. I'll get back to it at some point, but no idea when.
I got thru 95% of Peter ...somethings, Wells I think?, book Starfish and a lot of people on horrorlit were saying, "oh it's a real bummer" "it's pretty heavy" and all I could think was, "heavy as what, these people are just a little rude?" Like, the general jist is that they live in a submersed station on the ocean floor, and have to go out and do ...something - I genuinely don't remember what - for a company, and the majority end up cracking due to confined living with another person, the environment itself, isolation etc. It sort of sounds like a test program just to weed out who's the most equipped to deal with it as it goes on, and I thought they'd y'know, put them against each other, but no! People just, come and go into this station and they're either integrated or outcast, and that's sort of it until close to the end when one of the outcasted folks brings a virus back to the surface. It's part of a trilogy which I wish I knew before reading, but I have no intention of continuing it.
Following that, I also broke my tablet back out and have been reading the 2015 Vader comic series they started and it's good, but it seems to be boiling down to: Vader does a thing in the shadows to further his agenda, Imperial Forces who are surveilling him at the Emperor's command somehow immediately have suspicions of him doing "the thing," and he covers his tracks while always managing to remove them from the equation to keep doing said shadowy things. It just came to a head after two volumes with him running into the Rebels/Luke on a planet, but he keeps getting slowed down and separated from them.
I got thru 95% of Peter ...somethings, Wells I think?, book Starfish and a lot of people on horrorlit were saying, "oh it's a real bummer" "it's pretty heavy" and all I could think was, "heavy as what, these people are just a little rude?" Like, the general jist is that they live in a submersed station on the ocean floor, and have to go out and do ...something - I genuinely don't remember what - for a company, and the majority end up cracking due to confined living with another person, the environment itself, isolation etc. It sort of sounds like a test program just to weed out who's the most equipped to deal with it as it goes on, and I thought they'd y'know, put them against each other, but no! People just, come and go into this station and they're either integrated or outcast, and that's sort of it until close to the end when one of the outcasted folks brings a virus back to the surface. It's part of a trilogy which I wish I knew before reading, but I have no intention of continuing it.
Following that, I also broke my tablet back out and have been reading the 2015 Vader comic series they started and it's good, but it seems to be boiling down to: Vader does a thing in the shadows to further his agenda, Imperial Forces who are surveilling him at the Emperor's command somehow immediately have suspicions of him doing "the thing," and he covers his tracks while always managing to remove them from the equation to keep doing said shadowy things. It just came to a head after two volumes with him running into the Rebels/Luke on a planet, but he keeps getting slowed down and separated from them.
Anant Naag
hate frets
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Finished the audio book "Talking to Strangers" by Malcom Gladwell. Good book, but what I enjoyed was the production. Quotes were read in most cases by the original speakers, original pieces of media played etc. Such a fun experience. Looking forward to more such audio books.
p0ke
7-string guitard
I just finished Alexi Laiho's autobiography the other day. Some interesting insight there and the end made me genouinely sad - he said he would tour until he can't anymore and then settle down in Australia ... Which obvious didn't happen.
wheresthefbomb
Well-Known Member
Arthur C Clarke - Rendezvous with Rama was fantastic. More recently I got tired of Rama II and put it down. I did not enjoy the writing of Gentry Lee, and I also did not enjoy that I read nearly half the book and they hadn't even gone into space yet. Lots of time spent setting the stage with characters I didn't care about. My enjoyment of reading overall has improved quite a bit since I started giving myself permission to just stop reading books I am not enjoying. Fuck you, Dostoevsky.
Now I'm reading Dune again. It's even better the second time through, it's much easier to pay attention to the details when I already know where the main plot is going. I'm already looking forward to re-reading the rest of the series, and I'll probably get around to reading Chapterhouse this time. Last time through I ended up really overwhelmed by all the characters, factions and plot arcs especially in God Emperor and Heretics, and had majorly lost the plot by the end of Heretics.
After that I'll probably dig into the sci fi recommendations I solicited on the previous page
Now I'm reading Dune again. It's even better the second time through, it's much easier to pay attention to the details when I already know where the main plot is going. I'm already looking forward to re-reading the rest of the series, and I'll probably get around to reading Chapterhouse this time. Last time through I ended up really overwhelmed by all the characters, factions and plot arcs especially in God Emperor and Heretics, and had majorly lost the plot by the end of Heretics.
After that I'll probably dig into the sci fi recommendations I solicited on the previous page
I hadn't read a page of it all of last year since I last said I was reading it, but I'm going to pick it up again tonight since I'm out of town for work and need something to do in the hotel. I last left off at "Book 2" (or Act 2 or whatever) of the first book.
nightflameauto
Well-Known Member
I revisit the two about every two years at this point. Quite probably my favorites ever.
Endymion is a very, very different ride and some folks can't get past the initial slow-build. By the end, it's one hell of a journey.
wheresthefbomb
Well-Known Member
I can't recommend it highly enough. I will say that if you're not familiar with the story it benefits from a close/slow reading, as there's a lot to miss. Having watched both films and the sci-fi channel miniseries helped a lot to keep the overall plot in check on the first two novels, and I highly recommend each of those as well. The sci-fi miniseries, as cheesy and awful as the CGI is, hits a lot of stuff that there just isn't room for in even a longer traditional film. It's truly fantastic for what it is.
This is probably where I'm going next, but I am absolutely hooked on Dune right now. Def appreciate the recommendation.
I think that also Hyperion has a slow pace at the beginning and gets more intriguing only when each pilgrim tells his story.
It might be a common cliché of the author.
I really enjoyed the second book (the fall of Hyperion), a faster ride and with a more "cinematic" cut.
The more classical elements regarding poetry/philosophy and religion are placed and used perfectly and are a perfect fit.
It's shocking how this book is 34 years old and seems so fresh and actual.
Highly recommended, probably one of the best sci fi books I've read.
I've only watched the first Dune movie and according to fans It seemed faithful to the books.
I'll probably dig in the future for sure, but I also have the Gormenghast Trilogy on the list
nightflameauto
Well-Known Member
It tends to be similar in his Olympos and Illium books, where they "replay" the stories of the ancients on Mars and have observers watching closely to get all the juicy bits the legends leave out. He really fleshes out some historical characters in interesting ways in those books. I've only read those a couple times, but I consider them on-par with Hyperion/Endymion, they just came into my life much, much later, when I had a lot less time to read.
I'm by no means a speed reader and definitely take my time. It was an uphill start for me because I started with the extra indices at the back of the book that go into the background lore for about 50 pages before I started the novel proper. I also utilized the vocabulary index at the back very often for the first few chapters to remind myself what certain words meant. Super helpful, but it is a bit of a barrier to entry compared to something that's easier to read. I'm fine with it, though.
MFB
Banned
Starting a re-read of The Gunslinger and potentially moving on to the rest of the whole Dark Tower franchise again, just need to scratch the itch for that very specific world it exists in
p0ke
7-string guitard
Just finished reading the Swallow the Sun book. Lots of funny tour memories and many touching moments as well, and it ended on a pretty positive note. Then again, so did Alexi Laiho's autobiography, and he died pretty soon after the book came out...
wheresthefbomb
Well-Known Member
Wrapped up Dune Messiah, started Children again but didn't feel like I'd missed as much from that one the first time around and put it down pretty quickly. Definitely got a lot from re-reading Dune and Messiah, though. There were quite a few details I'd missed and scenes I just didn't quite grasp the first time around. Eventually I'll probably skip ahead, re-read Heretics and finally get to Chapterhouse. God Emperor was enjoyable but had a pretty straightforward plot once you have all the pieces, whereas I feel like I missed a lot reading Heretics.
In the meantime, I started in on Hyperion based on a number of people here recommending it highly. The writing is a little... shall we say "dated," definitely a product of its time, but the storytelling has me completely hooked.
In the meantime, I started in on Hyperion based on a number of people here recommending it highly. The writing is a little... shall we say "dated," definitely a product of its time, but the storytelling has me completely hooked.
MFB
Banned
I'm halfway thru Drawing of the Three in the Dark Tower series, not my first time reading it, but boy did I forget how little I cared for it the first time, and I hold a special place in Hell for those who says its the best in the series (it's not, that goes to Wizard & Glass, or one of the two surrounding it [books three or five]). I'm past Eddie's introduction and now I'm reading Detta/Odetta's portion and I want to just jump to the part where they have her in, and it's resolved, so they can just bring Jake back and complete the ka-tet. But that's too easy, so I must suffer as Roland does.
I'm pausing where I'm at with it though to dedicate some time to reading The Art of Lifting by Greg Nuckols, because I wanted to start reading Scientific Principles of Hypertrophy, but it was a little too heavy handed so they recommend reading Greg's book first
I'm pausing where I'm at with it though to dedicate some time to reading The Art of Lifting by Greg Nuckols, because I wanted to start reading Scientific Principles of Hypertrophy, but it was a little too heavy handed so they recommend reading Greg's book first
Drew
Forum MVP
Been rereading The Wheel of Time again. I picked it back up in January since I was traveling and had it handy on an old e-reader, and I'm currently in nook 9. It's a fucking commitment, but it's making me sad all over again about how much the Amazon series was a missed opportunity.
