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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (3 Viewers)

Don Quixote said:
I was a bit disappointed in The Girls. It didn't grab me as much as I thought it would based on the plot description and the hype that it got when it was released. The characters were not all that memorable either. But it probably falls more on the easy, beach read side of fiction, and I tend to read heavier stuff; so, YMMV.
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Agreed, The Girls was just ok. Characters weren't all that exciting, ending was anticlimactic and if you know a lot about the Manson crimes, it won't really add anything for you. 

 
krista4 said:
Did you get some sort of discount for it being his brother's ripoff of the same book or something?

ETA:  What did you think of it?
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Sorry. 

Dawn.

Haven't gotten to it yet. Got sidetracked re reading uganda le guin's Wizard of Earthsea, which I loved as a kid. The original Harry Potter, better but looser writing.

Krista, did you read Out Stealing Horses?

 
El Floppo said:
Sorry. 

Dawn.

Haven't gotten to it yet. Got sidetracked re reading uganda le guin's Wizard of Earthsea, which I loved as a kid. The original Harry Potter, better but looser writing.

Krista, did you read Out Stealing Horses?
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Googled this book. :lmao:  at the bolded.  Danged autocorrect.

 
El Floppo said:
Sorry. 

Dawn.

Haven't gotten to it yet. Got sidetracked re reading uganda le guin's Wizard of Earthsea, which I loved as a kid. The original Harry Potter, better but looser writing.

Krista, did you read Out Stealing Horses?
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I did!  And I really liked it.  And...I don't remember much.  It was a while ago, and I'm old and decrepit.  But I do recommend it.

 
I felt like reading some classics that I've never read before over the holidays...

Started with Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep.  I enjoy film noir, but I never really got into noir fiction. Good read though.  I'm planning to pick up some more Chandler at some point, and maybe check out some Hammett too.

Currently on Charles Dickens' David Copperfield.  I'm not really sure how I've never read before, as I enjoy Dickens and it was supposedly Dickens' favorite of all of his books.

 
krista4 said:
Did you get some sort of discount for it being his brother's ripoff of the same book or something?

ETA:  What did you think of it?
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Started it on the train back up. The writing is pretty fantastic, but the content and thought so far reminds me of way too many late night random dorm crazy conversations. Not a bad thing, but not grabbing me yet or pushing me into any new ground. I'm still early in the book though, and a more driving plot point may yet arise to better turn my crank.

 
I'm currently grinding through Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon.  This is really an epic story with intriguing characters, conspiracy, folk tales and funny anecdotes.  It is written in a 18th century dialect as told by a Revd.  A little to complicated to properly enjoy.  Fortunately Wiki has a synopsis of all the chapters so I can catch anything I may miss.

 
El Floppo said:
trying to find the time/energy to re-read Absalom, Absalom! ... in my memory banks as one of my favorite books, but read before I was 20 and tbh I don't remember squat.
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I had a lot of trouble getting through that, probably the second hardest 150 page book I've read. Afterward, I said I'd never read another one of his books, but I have "As I Lay Dying" on my desk at work.

 
Over the past 6 months, really liked Elon Musk book, Shoe dog about Phil Knight and Agassi's autobiography.   The Tender Bar was also pretty solid.  Reading the governator's autobiography called Total Recall now.  Pretty solid as well.

 
Reading the Obsidian Chamber by Preston & Child. Listening to The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer. Reading some Legion comics in my Marvel Unlimited app. Browsing the FFA for amusement.

 
trogg78 said:
I'm currently grinding through Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon.  This is really an epic story with intriguing characters, conspiracy, folk tales and funny anecdotes.  It is written in a 18th century dialect as told by a Revd.  A little to complicated to properly enjoy.  Fortunately Wiki has a synopsis of all the chapters so I can catch anything I may miss.
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This book took way too long for me to finish and when I did I felt nothing but relief.

 
Almost finished with Wheel of Time.  On book 12 of 13.  Great series, and from how well Brandon Sanderson is finishing the series by Robert Jordan after Jordan's untimely death, I'm starting to think that all very long series should be finished by other highly skilled authors because MAN is he doing this story justice.  Killing it.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Michael Kortya's Rise The Dark . Pretty quick, fun read. Kortya writes good characters, though they're a little rote, and writes really good dialogue compared to a lot in this genre. 4/5 stars

Paul Tremblay's Head Full Of Ghosts. The blurb makes this seem like an The Exorcist knockoff, but it's not. I'm not the most perceptive reader, so some of the twists may not be as much of a surprise to other readers, but a couple had me going "whoa....no ####?". Thoroughly enjoyed this one and his Disappearance At Devil's Rock is on my short list. 4.5/5 stars

But first, I'm gonna try The Boys Of Summer by Richard Cox. I know nothing about the author, but supernatural coming-of-age stories are catnip to me and I've read good reviews, even though it sounds an awful lot like King's IT. The back flap:

In 1979, a massive tornado devastates the city of Wichita Falls, Texas, leaving scores dead, thousands homeless, and nine-year-old Todd Willis in a coma, fighting for his life.

Four years later, Todd awakens to a world that looks the same but feels different in a way he can't quite grasp. For Todd, it's a struggle to separate fact from fiction as he battles lingering hallucinations from his long sleep.

The new friends Todd makes in 1983 are fascinated with his experience and become mesmerized by his strange relationship with the world. Together the five boys come of age during a dark, fiery summer where they find first love, betrayal, and a secret so terrible they agree to never speak of it again.

But darkness returns to Wichita Falls twenty-five years later, and the boys--now men--are forced to reunite and confront the wounds from their past. When their memories of that childhood summer refuse to align with reality, the friends embark upon a search for truth that will threaten their lives, and transform their understanding of each other--and the world itself--forever.
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This was ok. I really wanted to like it but it just didn't grab me.  

What I thought saved it was the ending, but now I'm not sure I understood it. 

Next up: Heart Shaped Box

 
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. The whole box thing (and it's basis and implications) frustrates me primarily because of the problem that was revealed by all those guys chasing the fam near the end. That said, I did like the resolution to that problem. I'd say 2.5 or 3 out of 5. Not as good as most of his others. 

 
shuke said:
This was ok. I really wanted to like it but it just didn't grab me.  

What I thought saved it was the ending, but now I'm not sure I understood it. 

Next up: Heart Shaped Box
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Are you talking about Boys Of Summer? If so, I agree with everything you said. The first half was such a blatant ripoff (one of the characters even acknowledges this!) that it had me rolling my eyes several times, but I thought the 2nd half was better. Nothing much stuck with me, though

 
El Floppo said:
Haven't gotten to it yet. Got sidetracked re reading uganda le guin's Wizard of Earthsea, which I loved as a kid. The original Harry Potter, better but looser writing.
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:lmao:  

That's the next book on my list too. Bought a fancy new edition, haven't read it since I was a kid. Charles Vess, one of my favorite illustrators, is working with Le Guin on an illustrated single-volume edition of all six Earthsea books to be released in 2018, which should be amazing.

 
Abrantes said:
:lmao:  

That's the next book on my list too. Bought a fancy new edition, haven't read it since I was a kid. Charles Vess, one of my favorite illustrators, is working with Le Guin on an illustrated single-volume edition of all six Earthsea books to be released in 2018, which should be amazing.
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Had never heard of this.  I see that it's for ages 12 or so.  How "mature" does this book or series get? 

I am reading Harry Potter with my son now, but he is only 10 and those books get a bit dark pretty quickly, but he is enjoying them.  Just looking for other stuff to read with him (hell, for me to read too).  I remember loving A Wrinkle in Time as a kid but never read any others in the series, so I was thinking about picking a couple of those up and previewing them to see if I think he would like those. 

 
KarmaPolice said:
Had never heard of this.  I see that it's for ages 12 or so.  How "mature" does this book or series get? 

I am reading Harry Potter with my son now, but he is only 10 and those books get a bit dark pretty quickly, but he is enjoying them.  Just looking for other stuff to read with him (hell, for me to read too).  I remember loving A Wrinkle in Time as a kid but never read any others in the series, so I was thinking about picking a couple of those up and previewing them to see if I think he would like those. 
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It's a little more mature than the HP series, IMO, more in terms of prose than content. Less of cinematic and linear approach and thematically more introspective. 

 
El Floppo said:
Really? I thought/think it's a great book, at any age. Quality of writing far above most kids level fare. 10yo would tear through it in a day or two
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Oh, I agree, but I am a rube with those books things.  I have an opposite take with books vs. movies for whatever reason.   I love to read, but it's more for fun entertainment.  As soon as it becomes work and more "literary" I shut down.  If it feels like a school assignment I usually won't get through it with a rare exception.  Just don't like the style of Tolkein and tried to read Fellowship last year without success too.  I try to push it and read more classics or highly rated books, but it usually doesn't work so I tend to stick to the book version of summer blockbusters unfortunately.  (when I read fiction.  I tend to read more non-fiction lately though). 

 
KarmaPolice said:
Oh, I agree, but I am a rube with those books things.  I have an opposite take with books vs. movies for whatever reason.   I love to read, but it's more for fun entertainment.  As soon as it becomes work and more "literary" I shut down.  If it feels like a school assignment I usually won't get through it with a rare exception.  Just don't like the style of Tolkein and tried to read Fellowship last year without success too.  I try to push it and read more classics or highly rated books, but it usually doesn't work so I tend to stick to the book version of summer blockbusters unfortunately.  (when I read fiction.  I tend to read more non-fiction lately though). 
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The Hobbit is really geared for kids though. More streamlined than LotR.

 
El Floppo said:
The Hobbit is really geared for kids though. More streamlined than LotR.
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Initially, PJackson wasn't going to movie The Hobbit, so the rights were still bouncing around Hollywood after LotR was shot. My director cousin was still hot - Chicago, Geisha - at the time and we actually spent a couple of calls batting around the potential of Hobbit as a musical (there are several songs in the book). Boy, did it not work out that way......

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Are you talking about Boys Of Summer? If so, I agree with everything you said. The first half was such a blatant ripoff (one of the characters even acknowledges this!) that it had me rolling my eyes several times, but I thought the 2nd half was better. Nothing much stuck with me, though
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Yes.  What was the reference, It? I've seen reviews comparing them, but they don't belong in the same sentence.  

About the ending:

So Todd rewrote the ending so they all died in childhood, preventing his son to be born? So everything we read didn't happen?

Or did Alicia write the story, living out her fantasy?
 
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shuke said:
Yes.  What was the reference, It? I've seen reviews comparing them, but they don't belong in the same sentence.  

About the ending:

So Todd rewrote the ending so they all died in childhood, preventing his son to be born? So everything we read didn't happen?

Or did Alicia write the story, living out her fantasy?
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I'll have to read that ending again, because I honestly can't recall what I thought now. 

The reference was one of the characters thinking/saying something like "it's like we're in a Stephen King story" in the middle of a scene ripped straight from King. I may have the exact details wrong, but it was that blatant. There were others too, but that one is about the only thing that stuck with me from that book.

It was ok, I guess, but just so derivative.

BTW, I happen to be re-reading IT right now for the first time in at least a decade. For whatever reason, it always bugged me that King's got the geography of Derry all screwed up - it's like the streets (& the hospital, & just about everything else) move from chapter to chapter. I found a map on line - I guess done by a fan - and that is screwed up too (understandable, given the source material).

 
Continuing my run of classics of late with Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint.  Whacking through another one that I'd never gotten around to reading.  Enjoying it, but not sure how much of the :oldunsure:  I can read about.

 
Just finished listening to Dead Man's Steel, Luke Scull's finale in his Grim Company series. Solid book, great trilogy, and the narrator was quite good. Scull certainly isn't all puppies and rainbows with his characters or the story, which I like.

Next up: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the audiobook version with the fantastic Simon Vance narrating. I'm about halfway through and it's just as good as I've heard, if not better.

 
About 3/4 of the way through The last bus to Wisdom audiobook.  Great, whimsical coming of age story about an 11 year old's adventures (sometimes solo) through the Midwest in the summer of 1951. I feel like it has more than a little Tom Sawyer to it. I can't recommend this story enough. The story, the writing, the little adventures and misadventures, you can tell the seem to come as much from the heart and life as a kid as the author's desire to make up a story.

I had never heard of Ivan Doig, until after I started, and after I found out he died of the big "C", and was suffering from it when he wrote this,  I kind of felt even more like there was a little something else in this story. I definitely will be checking out more by him in the future.

As an added plus for me (also after I started listening) I found out it's narrated by David Alan Baker who did one of my favorite audiobooks, Odd Thomas.

 
wikkidpissah said:
Initially, PJackson wasn't going to movie The Hobbit, so the rights were still bouncing around Hollywood after LotR was shot. My director cousin was still hot - Chicago, Geisha - at the time and we actually spent a couple of calls batting around the potential of Hobbit as a musical (there are several songs in the book). Boy, did it not work out that way......
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I wish he hadn't made The Hobbit into a movie (or at least not a trilogy). The LotR books are among my favorite of all time and I thought Jackson did a stunning job with the movies. The Hobbit...not so much. I recall being in the move theater looking at my watch thinking "It's been a while since I read The Hobbit but it sure seems like there's still a lot more story to tell and not much time to warp this up." That of course was because they didn't finish the story with the first movie and made it into another trilogy.

LotR was trilogy worthy. The Hobbit was not and IMO stretched out as a money grab.

 
simsarge said:
About 3/4 of the way through The last bus to Wisdom audiobook.  Great, whimsical coming of age story about an 11 year old's adventures (sometimes solo) through the Midwest in the summer of 1951. I feel like it has more than a little Tom Sawyer to it. I can't recommend this story enough. The story, the writing, the little adventures and misadventures, you can tell the seem to come as much from the heart and life as a kid as the author's desire to make up a story.

I had never heard of Ivan Doig, until after I started, and after I found out he died of the big "C", and was suffering from it when he wrote this,  I kind of felt even more like there was a little something else in this story. I definitely will be checking out more by him in the future.

As an added plus for me (also after I started listening) I found out it's narrated by David Alan Baker who did one of my favorite audiobooks, Odd Thomas.
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This sounds good. Added to "to buy" list.

 
simsarge said:
About 3/4 of the way through The last bus to Wisdom audiobook.  Great, whimsical coming of age story about an 11 year old's adventures (sometimes solo) through the Midwest in the summer of 1951. I feel like it has more than a little Tom Sawyer to it. I can't recommend this story enough. The story, the writing, the little adventures and misadventures, you can tell the seem to come as much from the heart and life as a kid as the author's desire to make up a story.

I had never heard of Ivan Doig, until after I started, and after I found out he died of the big "C", and was suffering from it when he wrote this,  I kind of felt even more like there was a little something else in this story. I definitely will be checking out more by him in the future.

As an added plus for me (also after I started listening) I found out it's narrated by David Alan Baker who did one of my favorite audiobooks, Odd Thomas.
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i liked his novels Work Song & The Whistling Season

 
Season wsa the sequel to Work song, correct? I put all his books in my "To read" list. Guess I'll start with Work Song when I start them. He definitely has a knack for spinning a good yarn, so i hope these live up to some high expectations I have coming from Wisdom.

 
Just finished up

Band of Brothers - Ambrose

and Lord of the Flies - Golding

Just startling Anna Karenina - Tolstoy

 
Half way through The Devil All the Time -Donald Ray Pollocj.  Recently finished Post Office - Charles Bukowski.

 
simsarge said:
Season wsa the sequel to Work song, correct? I put all his books in my "To read" list. Guess I'll start with Work Song when I start them. He definitely has a knack for spinning a good yarn, so i hope these live up to some high expectations I have coming from Wisdom.
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they're a pair, but i can't remember which one came first and which is the sequel.

 
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