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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter shuke
- Start date
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
This is definitely weird, but I really didn't enjoy it as much as other surreal authors, like Thomas Ligotti.
I'm still kinda reeling from the ending (teaser 
)
beer 30
Footballguy
On the recommendation of Doctor Detroit I just got Greetings From Afghanistan, Send More Ammo: Dispatches from Taliban Country by Benjamen Tupper.
From Publishers Weekly
This collection of blog entries that Captain Tupper wrote during his year-long deployment offers a scattershot view of the minutia of being deployed in Afghanistan rather than the munitions. In these short entries, Tupper covers such unexpected terrain as the importance of Pop-tarts (as a reward to local children for information), the value of a good haircut (which offers a rare female touch), and the differences between summer and winter warfare. He shares the many nicknames he's earned, such as Captain Prozac, Captain Care Bear, and Ring (short for ringworm), and jokes that importing Italian and Brazilian women to the country would cure sexually-frustrated Taliban soldiers, liberate repressed Afghani women, and ultimately end the war. Tupper hits a somewhat more resonant note when he ponders the careless but successful command mission that made him a hero, compared to his friend "Deg," who followed the rules and died anyway, leaving him with "a sense of remorse that maybe the wrong guy made it home." Once home, Tupper continues his blog, relaying the dissolution of his marriage with sobering tones and touches of the jargon ("We had to embrace the suck") that lends so much personality to this timely chronicle.
Really looking forward to it.
From Publishers Weekly
This collection of blog entries that Captain Tupper wrote during his year-long deployment offers a scattershot view of the minutia of being deployed in Afghanistan rather than the munitions. In these short entries, Tupper covers such unexpected terrain as the importance of Pop-tarts (as a reward to local children for information), the value of a good haircut (which offers a rare female touch), and the differences between summer and winter warfare. He shares the many nicknames he's earned, such as Captain Prozac, Captain Care Bear, and Ring (short for ringworm), and jokes that importing Italian and Brazilian women to the country would cure sexually-frustrated Taliban soldiers, liberate repressed Afghani women, and ultimately end the war. Tupper hits a somewhat more resonant note when he ponders the careless but successful command mission that made him a hero, compared to his friend "Deg," who followed the rules and died anyway, leaving him with "a sense of remorse that maybe the wrong guy made it home." Once home, Tupper continues his blog, relaying the dissolution of his marriage with sobering tones and touches of the jargon ("We had to embrace the suck") that lends so much personality to this timely chronicle.
Really looking forward to it.
The Real Hipster Doofus
Footballguy
Just finished John Adams a few weeks ago. Really enjoyed it. Not sure what I am going to read next, but my reading has slowed to a crawl lately considering I am reading 300+ pages a week for school already.
FUBAR
Footballguy
mad sweeney
Footballguy
I'm halfway through Larsson's 2nd book, ...Played With Fire and I really do not get the uber love for them. I realize that a lot, or most of it actually, of it comes down to translation and cultural storytelling differences but the books are so awkward. Three pages about shopping at Ikea? The actual stories of the first two books are good, but the telling of them just isn't grabbing me, though granted I am just getting into the meat of pt II.
Todd Andrews
Footballguy
Finishing a Joyce Carol Oates short story collection--Husbands, I think it is called, and then I am lining up my holiday reading.
D_House
Footballguy
My wife loves this book. She checked it out from the library to re-read and breezed through it. I decided to give it a try. I'm ninety pages in and so far have the same impression as you. I'll finish it because it's short and because of the praise for it here, but I was tempted to quit.
beer 30
Footballguy
Just about finished with this, can't recommend it enough. Just a series of blogs really so each chapter is basically a short story about events that happened to Tupper while in country. Short, quick, entertaining, insightful and very, very sad. Highly recommend it
Bull Dozier
Footballguy
Just finished the Harry Potter series. I don't have a lot of time to read, and I don't read all that fast, so it took me since February (I wanted to have finished by the time the most recent movie came out, but I just missed it).
For a slightly quicker read, I just started Season of Life A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood by Jeffrey Marx. This one shouldn't take long.
For a slightly quicker read, I just started Season of Life A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood by Jeffrey Marx. This one shouldn't take long.
igbomb
Footballguy
I just finished the sixth one last night. Good, short entertaining books. I can hardly remember the prior book whenever I start a new one, but I still enjoy them.
FUBAR
Footballguy
I thought it was great but only read the first 3 books. Of course that was in High School. I didn't even realize there were 12 until I looked it up.
FUBAR
Footballguy
Has anyone else read this? I almost put it away after 50 pages, but it starts getting interesting when he discusses the individual presidents.
Sundays Rule
Footballguy
Ulysses- is it worth even trying to read this? Ive always meant to, one year I took a trip to Dublin on what happened to be Bloomsday, had no idea what it was about til a tour guide explained it. Is it took cryptic to even enjoy? I tried reading the first few pages and I feel like he's making allusions to crap i'm not getting. However, some of it seemed amusing. The dialogue reminds me Confederacy of Dunces for some reason.
pricklypete
Footballguy
Finished The Stand.
Very much enjoyed it.
Just started Tommyknockers.
Not sure what I think yet. Characters aren't very likable imo. I guess I'll see how it progresses.
Very much enjoyed it.
Just started Tommyknockers.
Not sure what I think yet. Characters aren't very likable imo. I guess I'll see how it progresses.
ConstruxBoy
Kate's Daddy
The Stand is my favorite book of all time.
Spike
Footballguy
Mine also.
pricklypete
Footballguy
This was my first King book so I was looking forward to it.There wasn't really anything I DIDN'T like about it. Character development was great. I cared about them (with the exception of Frannie, she annoyed the hell out of me) and felt that I knew them. I love how the characters 'grew' throughout (most notably Stu and Larry), and I thought the storytelling was top notch.
Favorite characters were Tom Cullen and Old Baldy.
One thing I've noticed about King after reading The Stand and 10 chapters of The Tommyknockers. He must have bad knees. Every character that bends down or kneels gets up with their knees popping. Without fail.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
The Stand is awesome. Tommyknockers is pretty bad, and I love King.
igbomb
Footballguy
Completely agree. The Stand is my favorite King, Tommyknockers is my least favorite.
facook
Footballguy
That's a fantastic observation. I'm with the others that Tommyknockers isn't that great. I loved the Dark Tower series, but if you don't want to get into a huge series, I think I'd suggest The Talisman and Black House. Both were written with Peter Straub, and I thought they were both fantastic.
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Urinal Mint
Footballguy
Got some fantastic gift ideas for my wife in here. Many thanks.
pricklypete
Footballguy
Well, it looks that I'll have both ends of the spectrum taken care of with the first two books.Other than The Stand, what are your favorites?
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pricklypete
Footballguy
I'll have to check those out. Thanks.That's a fantastic observation. I'm with the others that Tommyknockers isn't that great. I loved the Dark Tower series, but if you don't want to get into a huge series, I think I'd suggest The Talisman and Black House. Both were written with Peter Straub, and I thought they were both fantastic.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
IT is really good. Someone mentioned The Talisman - another good one. A lot of people put The Shining as his best; I don't but it's still pretty good. Pet Semetary is damned creepy.
kupcho1
Footballguy
It's not an easy book, but it is absolutely worth reading. If you need to, you can refer to the BBC's cheat sheet. There's also a number of references for Joyce on-line including this one.
Sundays Rule
Footballguy
Downloaded a free e-version of it to peruse. Those links seem helpful, i'd like to try and puzzle most of it out on my own.
Hellfire Snail
Footballguy
Pet Semetary contains the most disturbing, creepiest last page of any book I've ever read. IT is definitely the best King book next to The Stand. Salem's Lot, The Shining, Misery and The Green Mile are in the next tier.
KarmaPolice
Footballguy
Couple days ago I started The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night (or whatever it's titled). Surprised how much I like this so far.
igbomb
Footballguy
Really liked this book. I have absolutely no idea what goes on in the head of an autistic person, but his writing had me convinced.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
The Shining, IT, Dark Tower series, The Long Walk
Todd Andrews
Footballguy
One Percent Doctrine by Ron Suskind
Excellent behind the scenes account of our scramble to go after Al Qaeda worldwide immediately after 9/11 and generally how the US government reacted and overreacted.
Excellent behind the scenes account of our scramble to go after Al Qaeda worldwide immediately after 9/11 and generally how the US government reacted and overreacted.
facook
Footballguy
Just finished, at my Dad's insistence, The Confession by Grisham. I was tired of Grisham's act quite a while ago. This book isn't terrible, but as I explained to my wife, there isn't one surprise the entire way. Not one. "This happened. Then this happened. This guy was bad. This guy was a sympathetic figure." NOTHING surprising. How is that even possible?
Now starting Sacred Games, by Vikram Chandra. I loved Shantaram and really enjoyed A Fine Balance, both of which were set in Mumbai. This is another epic set in that city, following the struggle between a detective and gangster from what I can gather. Hoping it lives up to the hype.
Now starting Sacred Games, by Vikram Chandra. I loved Shantaram and really enjoyed A Fine Balance, both of which were set in Mumbai. This is another epic set in that city, following the struggle between a detective and gangster from what I can gather. Hoping it lives up to the hype.
mad sweeney
Footballguy
Loved it. Great story and his prose is so descriptive without being overbearing that when I looked up pics of the settings in the book (about halfway through the book) they were nearly identical to the vision I had in my head. He deftly weaves the recent history of India into his story through flashbacks of characters and his immersive dialog is a Coen brothers worthy effort. I'd say the 3rd quarter started to lag a bit but it picks up again and it's not enough to make it anything but a great read. Hope you enjoy it, I'll definitely read it again some day, I just wish I hadn't given my copy to a chick that stood me up for the next date (and she was Indian, I think I just wanted to get invited for home cooked Indian food).
D_House
Footballguy
What are the best books you read this year? My top 5:
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (liked this one more than Never Let Me Go)
The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (liked this one more than Never Let Me Go)
The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
Jedi Knight
Footballguy
Starting Tom Clancy's newest, "Dead or Alive". So far, so good.
igbomb
Footballguy
I got about 15 pages into Lone Survivor tonight and gave it up after already running into his second anti-liberal rant. I loathe political grandstanding in the books that I read. I respect the guys right to feel however he wants to, and I certainly understand where he's coming from after what he's been through, but I knew the book wasn't for me.
beer 30
Footballguy
You're loss because it isn't too long after that that he actually gets into the mission and sets aside politics until the very end of the book.
igbomb
Footballguy
Fair enough. I picked it up because I'd heard it was a compelling story so it doesn't surprise me that it gets a lot better. And I'm okay with opinions shining through in someone's writing. It's inevitable.But Lutrell obviously subscribes to the Glenn Beck 'liberals are evil' school of thought. And as soon as I read the passage that said something like 'Liberals have never been wrong about anything. Just ask one and they'll tell you' I completely wrote the guy off as devoid of critical thought.
If you have an opinion, convince me through your writing. Don't beat me over the head with it. And if you subscribe to the theory that one side of the political spectrum has a monopoly on arrogance and bad people, then you're delusional.
Now moving on from politics, I've replaced Lutrell's spot on my list with The Good Soldiers by David Finkel, who is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and was embedded with a Ranger battalion in Baghdad during the surge. Really looking forward to this one.
Rick James
Footballguy
Just wrapped up George R.R. Martin's A Feast for Crows. Now I get to join the ranks of Ice and Fire devotees and wait patiently for A Dance With Dragons.
Now I can finally finish Cryptonomicon.
Now I can finally finish Cryptonomicon.
5Rings
Lurker
I'm with Shuke. The Stand and the Dark Tower Series are my all time favorites.I'm reading The Dome right now. About 25% of the way in of the 1000 page book, pretty good read so far.Previous to that I read books 1-2 of The Strain Trilogy (The Strain, The Fall) by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Pretty mediocre, to be honest. Saw a review of Book One on the plane, said it was a High Tech Vampire series....meh.
dharmapunk
Footballguy
An amusing little read. It was a BIG DEAL last year in publishing circles.
njherdfan
Footballguy
I just started Infinite Jest, I'm 60 pages in. Very confusing so far, although I like the writing style very much.
dharmapunk
Footballguy
I'm halfway through The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, by David Mitchell. It's a good read, not earth shattering like Cloud Atlas, but worth the time.
Next up is supposed to be Nabokov's An Invitation to a Beheading, but Mason & Dixon keeps staring at me from the shelf...
Gotta stay the course. I have a month of me-reading. The list stays firm -
1. Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet
2. An Invitation to a Beheading
3. Freedom, by Frazen
Next up is supposed to be Nabokov's An Invitation to a Beheading, but Mason & Dixon keeps staring at me from the shelf...
Gotta stay the course. I have a month of me-reading. The list stays firm -
1. Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet
2. An Invitation to a Beheading
3. Freedom, by Frazen
