Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Ok, I'm nearing the end of the original Omnibus. Something just happened that just got anotherJust finished part 3
I think this is really, really good.
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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter shuke
- Start date
I think this is really, really good.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Ok, finished WOOL 1-5 and would recommend it to anyone.I am now two stories into Saunders' Tenth Of December.........What.The.####.This is disturbing the hell out of me. The 1st story's format isn't "standard" (I feel the rest won't be either) - you don't get "-marked dialogue and the paragraphs seem to both start and end in odd places. But, once I kinda got used to it, it didn't bother me.Krista, I agree about "Sticks" - I'm still trying to process that one.This writer is some combo of brilliant and seriously-messed-up.
igbomb
Footballguy
Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner
Well, this book certainly didn't give me the warm and fuzzies. This history book of the CIA is VERY critical of the agency and spends 500 pages detailing the myriad of ways that they, or the people they serve, have crapped the bed in the intelligence arena. It's hard to pin down any of the leaders as actually having been good at the job. Some have had better intentions than others, but no one truly succeeded (at least as far as the book claims). And the Presidents don't come off much better. Some had more noble intentions (Carter) than others (Nixon). The failures are incredible: Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, 9/11, and on and on and on. Not to mention the myriad of local conflicts that we either ignited or tried our best to. Perhaps the most disturbing part of this book is our decades long tendency throughout the Cold War to support some truly despicable leaders, true death-dealing tyrants, in an attempt to stave off the spread of Communism by any means.
It you're curious about the CIA, read this book. Painful and maddening, but riveting nonetheless.
Well, this book certainly didn't give me the warm and fuzzies. This history book of the CIA is VERY critical of the agency and spends 500 pages detailing the myriad of ways that they, or the people they serve, have crapped the bed in the intelligence arena. It's hard to pin down any of the leaders as actually having been good at the job. Some have had better intentions than others, but no one truly succeeded (at least as far as the book claims). And the Presidents don't come off much better. Some had more noble intentions (Carter) than others (Nixon). The failures are incredible: Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, 9/11, and on and on and on. Not to mention the myriad of local conflicts that we either ignited or tried our best to. Perhaps the most disturbing part of this book is our decades long tendency throughout the Cold War to support some truly despicable leaders, true death-dealing tyrants, in an attempt to stave off the spread of Communism by any means.
It you're curious about the CIA, read this book. Painful and maddening, but riveting nonetheless.
rail
Footballguy
On an unrelated note, I just read an urban fantasy/horror that I liked quite a bit. Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig Rough, kick-### main character. Great, raw dialogue, and a very fast read. Although the ending was a little quick for me, I liked this guy's writing.
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eaganwildcats
Footballguy
Tom Servo
Nittany Beavers
It's been about 25 years since I read it, it is a let down from the original. IMO, the books get more disappointing the further you go. There are a lot of passing of characters and pretty soon you look up and you don't seem to know anyone. I polished off the Day By Day Armageddon series by J.L. Bourne. It's about zombies, obviously. The first two books are written in a diary format (including hand-drawn sketches) but the third abandons that for a regular narrative format. Depending on how things go, Bourne said he might write a fourth book as the ending of #3 could be interpreted as the end or to be continued.
Bull Dozier
Footballguy
A little behind the curve, but I'm reading "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I haven't seen Lincoln yet, and I'm hoping it is out on DVD by the time I'm done with the book.
facook
Footballguy
Glad you liked it. I pump it up at every chance, one of my favorites.Recently finished The Third Bullet by Stephen Hunter. Latest Bob Lee Swagger novel, in which he investigates JFK's assassination. I thought it was very good, and there's enough "evidence" in the book to make me wonder...Now on Wool based on the stuff in this thread.Shantaram was plugged here somewhere along the line.. great, great story.
36th Chamber
Footballguy
Over the past couple months wrapped up:The Passage followed by The Twelve - World War Z - Will be interested how the movie turns out, don't have high expectations at this point but enjoyed the book for the most partI got a burned out on post apocalyptic & zombie and turned my attention to local authors & stories:The Water is Wide - Considering we look at Daufuskie almost every day and I enjoy P Conroy I picked it up. Excellent bookMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - The wife and I have been spending allot of time in SAV lately, got a kick out of the book Now it's time to open something and not sure what to choose:South of BroadStar IslandThe TalismanSwan SongCloud AtlasAny suggestions?Can't wait for Wool to come out in March as well 
World War Z - Will be interested how the movie turns out, don't have high expectations at this point but enjoyed the book for the most partI got a burned out on post apocalyptic & zombie and turned my attention to local authors & stories:The Water is Wide - Considering we look at Daufuskie almost every day and I enjoy P Conroy I picked it up. Excellent bookMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - The wife and I have been spending allot of time in SAV lately, got a kick out of the book Now it's time to open something and not sure what to choose:South of BroadStar IslandThe TalismanSwan SongCloud AtlasAny suggestions?Can't wait for Wool to come out in March as well
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
timschochet
Footballguy
I understand that the island today is nothing like what was described in the novel. Can you expand on that?BTW, South of Broad is excellent- not quite as good as his previous, Beach Music, but still excellent.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Huge fan.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
How was this? I've read Survivor, Choke, and Fight Club (of course). I need a new book and wouldn't mind another by him. Which one should I read next?
36th Chamber
Footballguy
Sorry off topic butWoodstock, VA?I went to Massanutten Military Academy in the late 80's for a year. Is it still there?I've only read these two off of your list and would
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Yes, sir. It's probably 1/4 mile from my house as the crow flies. They've got a killer "post-grad" hoops team. I'm on Water Street.Sorry off topic butWoodstock, VA?I went to Massanutten Military Academy in the late 80's for a year. Is it still there?I've only read these two off of your list and would
36th Chamber
Footballguy
Huh.....I played JV ball when I was there and our team sucked but oddly enough we were almost as good if not better than the Varsity teamYes, sir. It's probably 1/4 mile from my house as the crow flies. They've got a killer "post-grad" hoops team. I'm on Water Street.Sorry off topic butWoodstock, VA?I went to Massanutten Military Academy in the late 80's for a year. Is it still there?I've only read these two off of your list and would
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
They've got at least 5 guys going to D1 programs, including Kansas and Mary;and. They beat teams like 130-60. Was Water St there when you were? I've seen old maps of the place where Water didn't run all the way through. I'm close to the hospital.Huh.....I played JV ball when I was there and our team sucked but oddly enough we were almost as good if not better than the Varsity teamYes, sir. It's probably 1/4 mile from my house as the crow flies. They've got a killer "post-grad" hoops team. I'm on Water Street.Sorry off topic butWoodstock, VA?I went to Massanutten Military Academy in the late 80's for a year. Is it still there?I've only read these two off of your list and would
36th Chamber
Footballguy
Unfortunately no as I personally don't know what the island was like in the early 70's as I was a toddler on the west coast. What I can say is it is still isolated in a sense and only accessible by boat. Not many cars on the island and most of the roads are dirt, I think only 1 or 2 are paved. There are a couple of resorts/private gated communities that I am sure were not there back then. Only two restaurants (Marshside Mamas & Freeport) and if you live on the island you probably do the majority of your shopping on Hilton Head or in Savannah.
36th Chamber
Footballguy
I don't recall the street names but I remember where the hospital was. It doesn't suprise me that their hoops program has got better considering their competition. We used to get smoked by the likes of Fork Union, Hargrave and Fishburne but we owned Randolph Macon.They've got at least 5 guys going to D1 programs, including Kansas and Mary;and. They beat teams like 130-60. Was Water St there when you were? I've seen old maps of the place where Water didn't run all the way through. I'm close to the hospital.Huh.....I played JV ball when I was there and our team sucked but oddly enough we were almost as good if not better than the Varsity teamYes, sir. It's probably 1/4 mile from my house as the crow flies. They've got a killer "post-grad" hoops team. I'm on Water Street.Sorry off topic butWoodstock, VA?I went to Massanutten Military Academy in the late 80's for a year. Is it still there?I've only read these two off of your list and would
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Water St runs parallel to Main St (Rte 11, which is where the Academy is)), but to the east a couple of hundreds yards. It runs between Reservoir St and Mill Rd.I don't recall the street names but I remember where the hospital was. It doesn't suprise me that their hoops program has got better considering their competition. We used to get smoked by the likes of Fork Union, Hargrave and Fishburne but we owned Randolph Macon.They've got at least 5 guys going to D1 programs, including Kansas and Mary;and. They beat teams like 130-60. Was Water St there when you were? I've seen old maps of the place where Water didn't run all the way through. I'm close to the hospital.Huh.....I played JV ball when I was there and our team sucked but oddly enough we were almost as good if not better than the Varsity teamYes, sir. It's probably 1/4 mile from my house as the crow flies. They've got a killer "post-grad" hoops team. I'm on Water Street.Sorry off topic butWoodstock, VA?I went to Massanutten Military Academy in the late 80's for a year. Is it still there?I've only read these two off of your list and would
Maelstrom
Footballguy
Anyone read I, Zombie? It's by the author of the Wool series (Hugh Howey) and presents the world from the zombies point of view. You see, in this story, the people's brain didn't die, but they lost all control of their body when they became zombies. Interesting read so far, if a bit disturbing. Starting to get a bit "meta" as the characters think about what they could/would have done differently when they actually had control of their life, no matter how #$^%@* their life was before they were a zombie. Basically coming to the realization that many of us are zombies right now, doing the same thing day in and day out for reasons we no longer understand.
igbomb
Footballguy
Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis
First book in a trilogy (book two is out and book three is due later this year). Conceptually, this book is pretty awesome. The setting is WW2, and all of Germany's horrible experimentation pays off as they create a handful of superhumans with comic book type powers (one guy has powers like Kitty Pryde, another like the Human Torch minus the flying). In response, Britain finds some secret warlocks who can summon demons to do their dirty work. The book plays out from perspectives on each side with the war's outcomes appropriately impacted given the new forces at play.
While this book was really good, I was hoping for more. I'd heard it talked up a lot, with some bloggers calling it their favorite of the year and everyone trumpeting the concepts. But the characters were just ok. Not a lot of depth, and not really a unique voice among them. Just generally a little shallow. Nevertheless, I'll definitely be reading the rest.
Currently reading: Red Country by Joe Abercrombie - About a quarter of the way through and some old characters are back. Loving it.
First book in a trilogy (book two is out and book three is due later this year). Conceptually, this book is pretty awesome. The setting is WW2, and all of Germany's horrible experimentation pays off as they create a handful of superhumans with comic book type powers (one guy has powers like Kitty Pryde, another like the Human Torch minus the flying). In response, Britain finds some secret warlocks who can summon demons to do their dirty work. The book plays out from perspectives on each side with the war's outcomes appropriately impacted given the new forces at play.
While this book was really good, I was hoping for more. I'd heard it talked up a lot, with some bloggers calling it their favorite of the year and everyone trumpeting the concepts. But the characters were just ok. Not a lot of depth, and not really a unique voice among them. Just generally a little shallow. Nevertheless, I'll definitely be reading the rest.
Currently reading: Red Country by Joe Abercrombie - About a quarter of the way through and some old characters are back. Loving it.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Interesting concept, and as someone who's going through the Wool Omnibus series right now (which is unbelievably great), I'm interested in reading more from Howey. Also...'Maelstrom said:
After reading The Passage and The Twelve, this would also be appropriate, since it sounds like the virals from the books didn't really 'die', either.
The Flying Elvis
Footballguy
Read the Wool Omnibus based on recommendations from here. I thought it was a good story but didn't get drawn into as much as others recommendations on here would have led me to believe. Probably just had unrealistic expectations based upon a lot of the hype. I enjoyed how the story played out but I was able to figure out the basic story mystery pretty quickly, or at least most of it, so any climatic reveal wasn't a shock.Not sure what I am going to tackle next. Thinking either tackle a classic, leaning towards the Russian writers, or maybe go modern fiction with Harkaway's Gone A Way World. Also might just reread some fantasy Kingkiller Chronicles again. Open to any and all suggestions.
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igbomb
Footballguy
Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
Otherwise called 'Abercrombie writes a western'. Not my favorite of his, but I thought it was really damn good nonetheless. We see the return of some major characters from earlier books. In fact, you really need to read the rest of his novels before this one otherwise I suspect big parts of it would fall flat. Like all of his works, huge helpings of violence, sarcasm, blood and misery. The key new protaganists, Temple and Shy, were both really great characters.
Looks like it will be a bit of a wait until his next book. He's now contracted to write another trilogy in the same world, but he's going to take a bit of a breather first.
If you like Abercrombie, you'll definitely want to read this. If you haven't read him before, go back to the beginning, The Blade Itself.
Otherwise called 'Abercrombie writes a western'. Not my favorite of his, but I thought it was really damn good nonetheless. We see the return of some major characters from earlier books. In fact, you really need to read the rest of his novels before this one otherwise I suspect big parts of it would fall flat. Like all of his works, huge helpings of violence, sarcasm, blood and misery. The key new protaganists, Temple and Shy, were both really great characters.
Looks like it will be a bit of a wait until his next book. He's now contracted to write another trilogy in the same world, but he's going to take a bit of a breather first.
If you like Abercrombie, you'll definitely want to read this. If you haven't read him before, go back to the beginning, The Blade Itself.
The Flying Elvis
Footballguy
Just started Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian... Seeing if I can jump into the series and get hooked on it.
Cold Dead Hands
Footballguy
I work in Winchester. Was in Woodstock last week for a meeting.Yes, sir. It's probably 1/4 mile from my house as the crow flies. They've got a killer "post-grad" hoops team. I'm on Water Street.Sorry off topic butWoodstock, VA?I went to Massanutten Military Academy in the late 80's for a year. Is it still there?I've only read these two off of your list and would
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Wow. Didn't expect to find a neighbor, especially in a book threadI work in Winchester. Was in Woodstock last week for a meeting.Yes, sir. It's probably 1/4 mile from my house as the crow flies. They've got a killer "post-grad" hoops team. I'm on Water Street.Sorry off topic butWoodstock, VA?I went to Massanutten Military Academy in the late 80's for a year. Is it still there?I've only read these two off of your list and would
Finished up Saunders' "Ten Leaves" - quirky, funny, sad, and really good. Authors described as "literary" often go over my head (my personal Gitmo torture would be reading Joyce), but I was pretty comfortable with Saunders. I'm guessing there were allegories all over the place, but sadly/thankfully I missed most of those - the stories at face-value were entertaining. I'm onto Stephen Hunter's "The Third Bullet". It's a Swagger novel about the JFK assasination. The last few Swaggers were disappointing to me, but I think this one promises a little better.Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
Did anybody else read Gone Girl?? I just finished it. Really good read and easy to plow through really. Would like to hear others' thoughts.
Shuke, I recommend if you like thriller/mystery/crime type books.
Shuke, I recommend if you like thriller/mystery/crime type books.
Usual21
Footballguy
Gone Girl. Loved it. Her other books are just as good.
beer 302
Footballguy
I really enjoyed the series but like the earlier poster, it was probably 25 years ago. Read through the series twice I liked it so much. Not sure my ADHD would allow me to do that now
Possum
Footballguy
not sure if it's been mentioned in here, but I just finished Anthony Ryan's Blood Song, which is the first book in a planned new fantasy series. Awesome reading and I'm immediately jonesing for the next book - I think this is at least as good a debut (and for me, honestly, better) than Rothfuss' Name Of The Wind.
the tone and mood of it kind of reminded me a lot of Gene Wolfe's Book Of The New Sun stuff, plus some echoes of Alexandre Dumas and George R.R. Martin.
the tone and mood of it kind of reminded me a lot of Gene Wolfe's Book Of The New Sun stuff, plus some echoes of Alexandre Dumas and George R.R. Martin.
eaganwildcats
Footballguy
Ok, I'm nearing the end of the original Omnibus. Something just happened that just got anotherJust finished part 3
Just finished up number 5 myself. Have you checked out 6-8 yet?
-fish-
Footballguy
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Finished up 5 over the weekend. Loved it. Starting 6-8 this week.Ok, I'm nearing the end of the original Omnibus. Something just happened that just got anotherJust finished part 3
eaganwildcats
Footballguy
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
The Flying Elvis
Footballguy
I follow fantasy novels pretty closely and had not heard of this book at all. Looked it up, saw that it had good reviews and was $5 for the Kindle. Everyone seems to compare it to Name of the Wind, which is my favorite fantasy series so I am going to jump in and read it. Whether all these NOTW comparisons are warranted or just a result of clever marketing, I'll soon find out.'Possum said:
igbomb
Footballguy
I just read 6 last week. So far so good, but I'll definitely need to read 7 and 8 before forming a solid opinion on them.Finished up 5 over the weekend. Loved it. Starting 6-8 this week.Ok, I'm nearing the end of the original Omnibus. Something just happened that just got anotherJust finished part 3
Lehigh98
Footballguy
Just finished all eight... that didn't take long. Overall very good, hit some lulls in a couple of spots, some questionable character decisions, and some suspension of disbelief required. These are minor issues compared to how much I enjoyed the concept, story, development and how everything came together. Didn't realize that 8 wasn't the end of the story and he's working on the next book. I would have just waited until the series was done before starting on it since I hate waiting between books. But I guess that's a tribute to the story since I want to go right on to the next one. I think I heard that he's hoping to have "Dust" done this summer, from his website...
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The_Man
Footballguy
Finished the Saunders story collection "Tenth of December," recommended by Krista and Uruk-Hai.
I liked it a lot, thought it was very funny in an extremely dark way and was enjoying it more for the quality of writing and its sensibility, until the final story when the emotional impact of that particular piece unexpectedly drilled me and left the tears welling up in my eyes.
I liked it a lot, thought it was very funny in an extremely dark way and was enjoying it more for the quality of writing and its sensibility, until the final story when the emotional impact of that particular piece unexpectedly drilled me and left the tears welling up in my eyes.
mad sweeney
Footballguy
Hopefully it's just marketing. I'll check it out, but the further from NOTW for me, the better.
Possum
Footballguy
I don't think it's much like NOTW, but that's probably going to be a common reference for debut fantasy novels these days. Blood Song is told from one main character's POV, and we meet him as a young boy and follow him to adulthood, but that's the end of the similarities to me. Blood Song is a lot more concerned with religious themes and has a more classic style to the story with more action and a darker feel than NOTW.
Possum
Footballguy
I also recently read Jeff VanderMeer's Finch (Amazon link here: http://www.amazon.com/Finch-Jeff-VanderMeer/dp/0980226015) and thought it was pretty badass.
the basic premise has a detective trying to solve a homicide case while living in a dying city under hostile occupation from fungus-based lifeforms who've subjugated the human population. Kind of a dystopian fantasy crime novel on acid, very weird, dark, genre-hopping stuff.
it's the third book in VanderMeer's Ambergris series about a fictional city - I actually read it first before I knew there was a series. The other two books are OK, but I think Finch is easily the best of the three and can be read as a stand-alone novel.
the basic premise has a detective trying to solve a homicide case while living in a dying city under hostile occupation from fungus-based lifeforms who've subjugated the human population. Kind of a dystopian fantasy crime novel on acid, very weird, dark, genre-hopping stuff.
it's the third book in VanderMeer's Ambergris series about a fictional city - I actually read it first before I knew there was a series. The other two books are OK, but I think Finch is easily the best of the three and can be read as a stand-alone novel.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Finished 6 myself today. Not bad, but lacks the suspense of the Wool series. Kinda figured what was going on early.I just read 6 last week. So far so good, but I'll definitely need to read 7 and 8 before forming a solid opinion on them.Finished up 5 over the weekend. Loved it. Starting 6-8 this week.Ok, I'm nearing the end of the original Omnibus. Something just happened that just got anotherJust finished part 3
igbomb
Footballguy
Black Cross by Greg Iles - Good action novel, but it's essentially a spy mission set in WWII, perhaps the most overplayed fictional setting there is. I may check out another of his outside of that setting. There is only so much Nazi horror a man can take.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - Quick read of one of my all-time favorites. I try to read it every few years.
How Children Succeed by Paul Tough - The latest popular science book about the human brain. The book was very good at explaining some of the developments in child psychology regarding what makes kids more successful in life (hint: it's not just IQ). While it is short on applicable techniques to leverage the findings, the book was pretty clearly not aiming to be a how-to guide. It's a short read, weaving anecdotes with scientific findings. Because of that it felt a little lightweight. All in all, a good book worthy of reading, but maybe better as a library checkout.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - Quick read of one of my all-time favorites. I try to read it every few years.
How Children Succeed by Paul Tough - The latest popular science book about the human brain. The book was very good at explaining some of the developments in child psychology regarding what makes kids more successful in life (hint: it's not just IQ). While it is short on applicable techniques to leverage the findings, the book was pretty clearly not aiming to be a how-to guide. It's a short read, weaving anecdotes with scientific findings. Because of that it felt a little lightweight. All in all, a good book worthy of reading, but maybe better as a library checkout.
The Flying Elvis
Footballguy
Finished this up. Great suggestion. Really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading the series. I can see how it could be compared to NOTW. I haven't read any Wolfe but I also think this book had shades on Peter Brett's Warded Man series as well.
