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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (12 Viewers)
- Thread starter shuke
- Start date
Arch Stanton
Footballguy
I thought 1 and 2 were awesome. Hated the third book. Did what Highlander II and Phantom Menace did for their predecessors. Ruined the dark passenger aspect for me. maybe the 4th is better but I have no interesxt in it anymore. 1 and 2 were great thgouh.
uwillbsoon
Footballguy
I love Palahniuk, but hated Snuff. Easily his worst book. Thank god he redeemed himself with Pygmy.
remote controller
Footballguy
Job
ODoyleRules
Footballguy
excellent. thanks!
JFT Ben
Footballguy
I just finished Warrior Elite: the Forging of SEAL Class 228. a non-ficiton book by former SEAL **** Couch.
Cool book that focuses almost entirely on the BUD/S Training of SEALs and what it consists of following a class from Indoc to graduation and then a bit on advanced training prior to platoon deployment. As an endurance athlete (an Ironman triathlete at one point), I wanted to see if it was something that I could hang with (evaluating in my mind anyway), and the answer is no. The cold water torture would be my undoing. With a wetsuit, I think could hang for awhile.
One interesting nugget he through in at the end. The book was written in or around 2000, and at that time, there were about 500 deployed SEALs and their budget was about $500 million ($1 million per actively deployed SEAL, which also includes a plethora of training, administrative support, and so forth; still a huge number)
Cool book that focuses almost entirely on the BUD/S Training of SEALs and what it consists of following a class from Indoc to graduation and then a bit on advanced training prior to platoon deployment. As an endurance athlete (an Ironman triathlete at one point), I wanted to see if it was something that I could hang with (evaluating in my mind anyway), and the answer is no. The cold water torture would be my undoing. With a wetsuit, I think could hang for awhile.
One interesting nugget he through in at the end. The book was written in or around 2000, and at that time, there were about 500 deployed SEALs and their budget was about $500 million ($1 million per actively deployed SEAL, which also includes a plethora of training, administrative support, and so forth; still a huge number)
Socrates11
Footballguy
Didn't mind the third too much although I can see what you're saying. The fourth is just freakin' terrible. I think it was just a money grab for Lindsay.
igbomb
Footballguy
A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane
Excellent mystery novel. Lehane has a heck of a resume and it looks like it's well earned. He really gave Boston a distinctive feel in the novel. I'm not terribly well-read in the mystery genre, but he appears to be to Boston what James Ellroy is to L.A. or Carl Hiaasen is to South Florida.
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Decent book, but by the hype this guy gets I was a little underwhelmed. The book was thin on just about everything. The mystery was transparent and the hook (real life wizard P.I. in modern day Chicago) didn't go beyond clever. There seems to be pretty broad agreement that he gets a lot better by the third or fourth book. And I did like it enough to give him a chance to get his legs under him, so I guess I'll be reading another book or two of his at least.
Now back to Everything is Illuminated.
Excellent mystery novel. Lehane has a heck of a resume and it looks like it's well earned. He really gave Boston a distinctive feel in the novel. I'm not terribly well-read in the mystery genre, but he appears to be to Boston what James Ellroy is to L.A. or Carl Hiaasen is to South Florida.
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Decent book, but by the hype this guy gets I was a little underwhelmed. The book was thin on just about everything. The mystery was transparent and the hook (real life wizard P.I. in modern day Chicago) didn't go beyond clever. There seems to be pretty broad agreement that he gets a lot better by the third or fourth book. And I did like it enough to give him a chance to get his legs under him, so I guess I'll be reading another book or two of his at least.
Now back to Everything is Illuminated.
Broncoholic
Footballguy
Just finished it last night. It will be interesting to see how the movie handles the "twist" at the end.
D_House
Footballguy
I agree with both takes here, I think I posted reviews in this thread of both of these books. Lehane is great, A Drink is very impressive considering it was his first, and he certainly improved - I loved Mystic River, greatly enjoyed Shutter Island, and although I didn't read the novel, the movie adaptation of Gone Baby Gone was excellent as well. Looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation of Shutter Island.
On the other hand, Storm Front starts with a nifty premise and then devolved in your typical cliched mystery/crime.
In the same vein as these authors, I recently read Knots and Crosses, the first in Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series. Rankin is beloved in Britain, and he definitely makes Edinburgh come alive (just as Lehane does with Boston), but the story here was weak and the pacing unbalanced, with a slow buildup to a rather abrupt conclusion.
this thread for a while. Decided to get back into some reading this year and cruised through McCarthy's The Road and Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. Started Life of Pi after reading some of the reviews in here. Liking it so far.
Men-in-Cleats
Footballguy
Just finished "Beat the Reaper" as well and really enjoyed it. I had some minor quibbles in that I'm not sure how I feel about the ending and he was a bit obvious with the foreshadowing a couple of times (although not to the level of someone like a Dan Brown to where it detracted much). Definitely develops some interesting characters in the book and it is a very fun book to read. Also finished "Blink" as well, which was a very interesting book. I've read some of his articles from the archive that someone posted here a long time ago but hadn't read any of his books. Will definitely have to pick up a couple of others and give them a go.Before that I finished "Kitchen Confidential" from Anthony Bourdain and really, really enjoyed that. Very entertaining read that gives a much different picture of the restaurant kitchen than what you'd anticipate from watching the Food Network.Still reading "A Fire in the Deep" from Vernor Vinge and am enjoying it thus far but currently am in a bit of a slower spot in the book and not reading too much.
Men-in-Cleats
Footballguy
Without Remorse is my favorite book from Clancy that I really enjoyed. I liked his older novels a lot but haven't been able to get into his newer stuff. Pretty much anything after Rainbow Six has been meh to me.
Hov34
Eephus's Great Great Great Love Child
Wow, I just finished "Reaper" too, and really did not like it. I take that back I liked the first 2/3 of the book, but about the shark tank chapter it lost me. And then the whole ending. C'mon...
Arch Stanton
Footballguy
Just finished Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. It's the book that Polanski's The Ninth Gate was taken from. Roman makes a lot of use of poetic license and ignores the entire Dumas angle of the book. Knowing the movie wasn't too much of as obstacle but I think the book would've been better if it was closer to the movie. Not a bad book but not great, but he creates a pretty good literary atmosphere with dozens of made up literary works from throughout the ages. TheFlanders Panel by the same author was better, IMO. Sort of similar to Blow Up or Blow Out with a blur between art and reality plus a chess angle that I enjoyed. Trying to find my next conquest...
Dunno if I mentioned it before but The Lions Of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay is a great book that brings the Iberian peninsula in the time of El Cid vividly alive, though thinly masked as a made up realm. Being made into a movie by the director of Glory.
Dunno if I mentioned it before but The Lions Of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay is a great book that brings the Iberian peninsula in the time of El Cid vividly alive, though thinly masked as a made up realm. Being made into a movie by the director of Glory.
Tough As Nails
Glave Master
If you liked the "literary atmosphere" of Club Dumas...give The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón a try. I definitely prefer it to Dumas. Fermin is an all-time great character and the components all fit and make sense (which is a very tough thing to pull off considering the depth of the entanglements here). A quick synopsis should tell you whether you'll enjoy it or not. A young boy is taken to a "Cemetery of Forgotten Works" and is drawn to a certain book. He discovers things about that book, the author, his life and the post Civil War world in Spain.
Tremendous Upside
Footballguy
I dug The Flanders Panel
the chess parts helped a lot
the chess parts helped a lot
Men-in-Cleats
Footballguy
I didn't mind the shark tank stuff too much other than it seemed like the friend turned on him in a flash when he should have been grateful that he wasn't ratted out for murder. The ending was highly unbelievable but the author pretty much warns you ahead of time that it is going to be highly unbelievable. All in all, I think he could have worked out the ending a little better but it was a fun read and very enjoyable. It's his first novel so hopefully he'll get some good feedback on it and improve on his weaknesses.
Arch Stanton
Footballguy
Thanks, I'll put it on my list. When I returned Dumas I just glanced along the shelves at the new library, first on ever for me in walking distance, and found The Gone-Away Wordl by Nick Harckaway, who is John LeCarre's son. For being a cold grab, since I didn't have a book sent to library in time, it's turning out to be pretty enjoyable.
igbomb
Footballguy
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
This book was decidedly mediocre to me. Frankly, I'm not even sure how to describe it. It felt gimmicky at first, but that quickly went away and I could focus on the story. But the story itself just didn't do much for me. There were moments that I started to get sucked in, but it would always fall flat soon after.
I don't read a great deal of modern literature, but I'd take Cormac McCarthy and David Mitchell all day over Safran Foer.
Of course, having said all that, I'll probably read his second novel at some point since the reviews generally agree that it's a good step up from his debut.
Next up: Patriot Games by Tom Clancy and Good to Great by Jim Collins
This book was decidedly mediocre to me. Frankly, I'm not even sure how to describe it. It felt gimmicky at first, but that quickly went away and I could focus on the story. But the story itself just didn't do much for me. There were moments that I started to get sucked in, but it would always fall flat soon after.
I don't read a great deal of modern literature, but I'd take Cormac McCarthy and David Mitchell all day over Safran Foer.
Of course, having said all that, I'll probably read his second novel at some point since the reviews generally agree that it's a good step up from his debut.
Next up: Patriot Games by Tom Clancy and Good to Great by Jim Collins
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Tough As Nails
Glave Master
Some decent discussion on Gone Away World buried somewhere in this thread. I would liken it to Beat the Reaper that's been heavily discussed these past couple weeks. More of a "graphic novel" feel with lots of references to 'fun' ideas like ninjas and superheros while still trying to keep things in the realm of "real world" limitations for the most part. I think both books work well about 85% of the time. If you can stomach the 15% without having it ruin things for you...both books are well worth your time.Arch Stanton said:
Pooch
More Yang than Yin
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Really liked this one. Some reviews said it was slow, but I didn't think so.
D_House
Footballguy
My favorite from PKD so far. Better than Androids and High Castle by a lot, I think. Supposedly some of the drug stuff was autobiographical.Now reading Blood Meridian.
pantagrapher
Footballguy
Next up for my book club: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Meanwhile, Giles Goat-Boy is proving to be a tough slog. I was intrigued by the "publisher notes" at the opening, but haven't found the storytelling interesting since then. I'm forging ahead and hoping it gets better.
Meanwhile, Giles Goat-Boy is proving to be a tough slog. I was intrigued by the "publisher notes" at the opening, but haven't found the storytelling interesting since then. I'm forging ahead and hoping it gets better.
SimonMoon
Footballguy
Almost finished with A Confederacy of Dunces.
The story of how this book came to be is incredible.
John Kennedy Toole wrote it in the early 60's; couldn't sell it; committed suicide at age 32 in 1969 via exhaust-through-hose-to-window-of-car. His Mom started pestering Walker Percy - who wrote the forward to the edition I have - in 1976 about this great novel her son had written years before. Publishing date is listed as 1980. So.
The thing won The Pulitzer Prize. It's a pretty amazing book thus far. Here's an excerpt from Percy's intro, regarding the main character:
"Here at any rate is Ignatius Reilly, without progenitor in any literature I know of - slob extraordinary, a mad Oliver Hardy, a fat Don Quixote, a perverse Thomas Aquinas rolled into one - who is in violent revolt against the entire modern age, lying in his flannel nightshirt, in a back bedroom on Constantinople Street in New Orleans, who between gigantic seizures of flatulence and eructations is filling dozens of Big Chief tablets with invective."
ETA: Highly recommended, if only to enjoy the fact that most of us, while we may agree with some of that invective on some level, at least have the good sense to keep it to ourselves or save it for drunken ramblings among friends.
The story of how this book came to be is incredible.
John Kennedy Toole wrote it in the early 60's; couldn't sell it; committed suicide at age 32 in 1969 via exhaust-through-hose-to-window-of-car. His Mom started pestering Walker Percy - who wrote the forward to the edition I have - in 1976 about this great novel her son had written years before. Publishing date is listed as 1980. So.
The thing won The Pulitzer Prize. It's a pretty amazing book thus far. Here's an excerpt from Percy's intro, regarding the main character:
"Here at any rate is Ignatius Reilly, without progenitor in any literature I know of - slob extraordinary, a mad Oliver Hardy, a fat Don Quixote, a perverse Thomas Aquinas rolled into one - who is in violent revolt against the entire modern age, lying in his flannel nightshirt, in a back bedroom on Constantinople Street in New Orleans, who between gigantic seizures of flatulence and eructations is filling dozens of Big Chief tablets with invective."
ETA: Highly recommended, if only to enjoy the fact that most of us, while we may agree with some of that invective on some level, at least have the good sense to keep it to ourselves or save it for drunken ramblings among friends.
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Bull Dozier
Footballguy
I'm almost done with 1491. I agree with the poster that said it would have been better in a shorter version. I think if it was written as a narrative in about 200 pages, it would have been great. I felt like I was reading a college text book a little too much.
I started the first Harry Potter book, mainly as a bonding exercise with my 12 year old step daughter, who is currently ripping through the series. It's not as bad as I was expecting, and is quite the quick read.
I started the first Harry Potter book, mainly as a bonding exercise with my 12 year old step daughter, who is currently ripping through the series. It's not as bad as I was expecting, and is quite the quick read.
D_House
Footballguy
I'm at p. 186 and finding this a bit of a slog. Just relentlessly violent to the point of repetitiveness. Although I admit that I haven't been reading as closely as I should and may be missing a lot.
Abraham
Footballguy
It's reminding me of a videogame I played on the Apple 2E as a kid called "Wastelands" where you create a character and roam through a post-apocalyptic area fighting, pillaging, and trying to avoid bands of marauders who would kill you. This book is obviously not set in such a time, but the general aimlessness and purposelessness of that game is similar to the Kid in this book up to where i am (he's just joined the army). Sort of wandering around, acting without premeditation and also without regard for consequences. Weird, I know. But I like it so far. The first 5 pages were written in an almost impossible style and I thought "I sure hope the book doesn't continue like this or I'll have a headache." Then he ends up in Galveston and it smooths out a lot. I also like it (as I like much of CM's work) because I'm very familiar with all the areas he talks about. I grew up in East Texas and spent a fair amount of time in Nachadoches, so when the Kid rides along and "is no longer among the pine trees" I can imagine the exact point when I'm driving on 79 or 290 where the East Texas pines turn in to the Central Texas cedar just as I could feel the dust and heat of Del Rio in No Country because I've spent a lot of time there in the middle of the summer. The environments of his writing make a lot of sense to me.
Regular Crust Pizza
Footballguy
Generation A by Douglas Coupland.
It was alright. I saw it at the library, and didn't really want to read it. I remember liking Generation X so much, and have been disappointed by pretty much everything since Girlfriend in a Coma. It was better IMO everything since then, but still, a sequel (in theme if not characters) just isn't the right move I think.
If it was the first time I read his work, I probably would have liked it a lot more than I did. He needs to pick a new theme to work with every once in a while.
It was alright. I saw it at the library, and didn't really want to read it. I remember liking Generation X so much, and have been disappointed by pretty much everything since Girlfriend in a Coma. It was better IMO everything since then, but still, a sequel (in theme if not characters) just isn't the right move I think.
If it was the first time I read his work, I probably would have liked it a lot more than I did. He needs to pick a new theme to work with every once in a while.
igbomb
Footballguy
Patriot Games by Tom Clancy - Exactly what I expected, in both a good way and a bad way
Also, about 1/4 of the way through Good to Great by Jim Collins. So far, I am thoroughly unimpressed, for a number of reasons. It seems, like so many other business books, to be much more fluff than substance. Also, it appears that he makes the same mistake so many before him have and equates correlation with causation. I'll probably continue with it for a while, but I would much rather read a good journal article or more rigorous academic book than these popular business books.
Also, about 1/4 of the way through Good to Great by Jim Collins. So far, I am thoroughly unimpressed, for a number of reasons. It seems, like so many other business books, to be much more fluff than substance. Also, it appears that he makes the same mistake so many before him have and equates correlation with causation. I'll probably continue with it for a while, but I would much rather read a good journal article or more rigorous academic book than these popular business books.
Prince Myshkin
Footballguy
i am by no means a fan of the fantasy genre, but i read "the hobbit" along with some of my students and absolutely loved it. i'm probably the only person in the world not to have read/seen "the lord of the rings" trilogy, but "the hobbit" was so good i was inspired to start reading them. i'm about 2/3 of the way through the "the fellowship of the ring". it's pretty decent, but nowhere near as good as "the hobbit" imo.
someone a page or two back mentioned "dracula". i had always heard the vampire stories, seen the movies, etc. but never read the actual book. a couple of years ago i came across a copy and started it on a whim...it was very good (i guess there is a reason why classics are classics) and i would suggest that anybody that hasn't read it to do so. i hear the same is true of "frankenstein" which i may start soon.
someone a page or two back mentioned "dracula". i had always heard the vampire stories, seen the movies, etc. but never read the actual book. a couple of years ago i came across a copy and started it on a whim...it was very good (i guess there is a reason why classics are classics) and i would suggest that anybody that hasn't read it to do so. i hear the same is true of "frankenstein" which i may start soon.
oso diablo
Footballguy
i've had The Idiot on my shelf for a while. Should i read it next? If anyone would know, it's you.
ConstruxBoy
Kate's Daddy
I only made it through 100 pages and stopped. I know it is a classic, I just didn't like it.
igbomb
Footballguy
Unnecessary, but
Pooch
More Yang than Yin
Extremely visual and graphically violent novel. One of my favorites. Get used to reading "They rode on"
igbomb
Footballguy
Finished Good to Great last night on my way to class. What an awful book. And in an odd coincidence, my professor in my strategy class spent about fifteen minutes talking about the negative trends in business publications, specifically targeting Jim Collins and his books for about five minutes of his diatribe. I couldn't have agreed with him more.
While there are a few pieces of wisdom in Collins book such as leaders should put the company's welfare above all else and firms should only do those things at which they have the potential to be the best at, these are well known concepts and he offers nothing new regarding them and certainly nothing on how to accomplish them. And beyond these few points, he spends the rest of the time spouting unproven nonsense that he garnered from his studies. He repeatedly takes the position that since the successful companies that we studied all exhibited XXX and their comparison company did not exhibit XXX, then XXX is vital to being a great company. He totally ignores any discussion of correlation versus causation, or cause and effect. For example, one of the more absurd things he states is that humility and a desire to avoid the spotlight is vital to being a 'Level 5' leader, a requirement for a company to become great.
While there are a few pieces of wisdom in Collins book such as leaders should put the company's welfare above all else and firms should only do those things at which they have the potential to be the best at, these are well known concepts and he offers nothing new regarding them and certainly nothing on how to accomplish them. And beyond these few points, he spends the rest of the time spouting unproven nonsense that he garnered from his studies. He repeatedly takes the position that since the successful companies that we studied all exhibited XXX and their comparison company did not exhibit XXX, then XXX is vital to being a great company. He totally ignores any discussion of correlation versus causation, or cause and effect. For example, one of the more absurd things he states is that humility and a desire to avoid the spotlight is vital to being a 'Level 5' leader, a requirement for a company to become great.
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I felt the same way until I finished the trilogy and then I realized that the Fellowship >>>> Hobbit, just has more backstory that needs to be introduced.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Not his best work, but I could read a Palahniuk book every month and be happy. 6/10Now reading Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt
Arch Stanton
Footballguy
Got it from the library the other day but as soon as I read the first sentence I put it down. I'm really not a big fan of first person and after BTR and GAW and one other I can't remember, I've had too much fp for awhile. It goes on the backburner for now. Picked up The Three Musketeers instead, going with the original.
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
reading the first of three volumes in the library of america philip k. **** series (four novels from the '60s)...
really liked rereading do androids dream of electric sheep (ie - made into blade runner) and the three stigmata of palmer eldritch (a revelation), but put it down for a while. recently finished the man in the high castle, and finishing up ubik. i find his writing has a sort of haunting quality, and strange way of getting under your skin. i previously thought his work was good and he was visionary and very imaginitive, but mabe not among my favorite in the genre (robert heinlein old school, neal stephenson contemporary)... starting to revise that opinion, and think he was a master in the sci fi form...
will definitely be reading volumes II & III in relatively more rapid succession... also have two half finished short story collections (a few that were made into movies, like total recal, minority report, etc) that i need to wrap up.
really liked rereading do androids dream of electric sheep (ie - made into blade runner) and the three stigmata of palmer eldritch (a revelation), but put it down for a while. recently finished the man in the high castle, and finishing up ubik. i find his writing has a sort of haunting quality, and strange way of getting under your skin. i previously thought his work was good and he was visionary and very imaginitive, but mabe not among my favorite in the genre (robert heinlein old school, neal stephenson contemporary)... starting to revise that opinion, and think he was a master in the sci fi form...
will definitely be reading volumes II & III in relatively more rapid succession... also have two half finished short story collections (a few that were made into movies, like total recal, minority report, etc) that i need to wrap up.
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Chaka
Footballguy
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.
This hippie took one too many acid hits. Please tell me that it becomes more interesting and/or insightful the further I read. I was already disappointed with my last highly recommended book, my first exposure to Heinelin, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (it just fell apart in the last 1/3rd of the book) and I was hoping for something insightful from Tolle who comes highly recommended too. Right now I think he's just high.
This hippie took one too many acid hits. Please tell me that it becomes more interesting and/or insightful the further I read. I was already disappointed with my last highly recommended book, my first exposure to Heinelin, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (it just fell apart in the last 1/3rd of the book) and I was hoping for something insightful from Tolle who comes highly recommended too. Right now I think he's just high.
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roadkill1292
Footballguy
Power Trip by Nashville energy writer Amanda Little. A nice big picture look at the overall structure of the nation's power grid and some eye-opening facts about our dependency on oil for more than just fueling our cars. Also takes a good look at developments in renewable energy, which was more optimistic than I would have thought. This book has definitely helped me organize my own thoughts about where we are and where we're headed.
