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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (7 Viewers)

NorvilleBarnes said:
Nothing To Lose by Lee Childs. A Jack Reacher novel. I have a feeling I'm going to get addicted to the series.
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They are quick easy reads. If you can get to "61 Hours" it starts a 4 book arc moving to "Worth Dying For" to "A Wanted Man" to "Never Go Back".

You can blow through them pretty fast. Also "One Shot" was good - the Tom Cruise movie "Jack Reacher"

 
Check your email. I received a credit for $18.75 from Amazon for an antitrust settlement involving books purchased thru the Kindle app.

Time to order more books!

 
Swing 51 said:
flysack said:
Got Pynchon's Bleeding Edge for xmas. After the first few chapters it's feeling like old skool V./GR Pynchon, which is a good thing. It ain't Pynchon Lite, that's for sure.
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Just finished this up. Was good not great. But was the first Pynchon I've read. Inherent Vice sounds interesting; heard Gravity's Rainbow is a wild read.
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If you want to dive into the Pynchon, go back to his first three books and read them in order.: V., Crying of Lot 49, then tackle Gravity's Rainbow.

V. is my favorite. It's a perfect blend of high minded, encyclopedic themes mixed with hilarious characters and oddball situations. And it's a page turner, to a point. I've also long seen it as the underdeveloped version of Gravity's Rainbow -- but also more readable.

Crying of Lot 49 is the ENG 201 Pynchon book. It's short, covers the Pynchonian themes of paranoia, etc., and is pretty damn funny. Not as deep as the other two, but a good read.

Gravity's Rainbow is the magnum opus. A sprawling, difficult to penetrate but totally worth it novel that's Pynchon firing off on all cylinders. It took me half a year to read, and I set it down for weeks at a time, but it was totally worth it.

 
I regrettably set down Bleeding Edge when I was halfway through for work reasons. Will return this summer. Maybe a chapter or two on the weekends.

Just finished Jonathon Safran Foer's Eating Animals, about factory farming. I read this with a couple of my classes. Extremely well written, can fall into sentimentalism at times but Foer does a good job keeping things balanced (for the most part). Enlightening read. Will change the way you think about food - both because of ethics and health. It's easily the most inspiring and affecting text my students have read. Their writing so far has been impassioned, and I haven't even seen their final (big) papers on the book yet. I recommend this one to everyone. Very accessible. Very important to read.

I'm also rereading Kate Chopin's The Awakening for the first time in 10+ years. It's always interesting returning to a book after a decade of education and knowledge. If it's truly good, your reading should be almost an entirely different experience, and Chopin's story is just like that. Loving it.

 
Recently read Joe Lansdale's The Bottoms... Was on my to read list, probably from recs on here.

Depression-era murder mystery set in East Texas and told from the perspective of a 12 year old kid. Heavy handed on the racial themes, although obviously that played a big part in daily life back then. Very reminiscent (derivative even) of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Narration was also kind of confused - the events were alternately related as understood by a 12 year old and by that same 12 year old several years later as an elderly man in a rest home.... Overall I wouldn't recommend it, although I'll give Lansdale another try sometime as I know he has a cult following.

 
Vike Me said:
NorvilleBarnes said:
Nothing To Lose by Lee Childs. A Jack Reacher novel. I have a feeling I'm going to get addicted to the series.
Click to expand...
They are quick easy reads. If you can get to "61 Hours" it starts a 4 book arc moving to "Worth Dying For" to "A Wanted Man" to "Never Go Back".

You can blow through them pretty fast. Also "One Shot" was good - the Tom Cruise movie "Jack Reacher"
Click to expand...
I'm on "Nothing to Lose" right now too. I got hooked with the first one immediately and have really liked the series to this point, this is number 12. Big fan of Reacher.

 
Emerson Biggens said:
Vike Me said:
NorvilleBarnes said:
Nothing To Lose by Lee Childs. A Jack Reacher novel. I have a feeling I'm going to get addicted to the series.
Click to expand...
They are quick easy reads. If you can get to "61 Hours" it starts a 4 book arc moving to "Worth Dying For" to "A Wanted Man" to "Never Go Back".

You can blow through them pretty fast. Also "One Shot" was good - the Tom Cruise movie "Jack Reacher"
Click to expand...
I'm on "Nothing to Lose" right now too. I got hooked with the first one immediately and have really liked the series to this point, this is number 12. Big fan of Reacher.
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The Reacher series lost me around book 4, which I'm told was kind of a bumpy time for the series anyway. Maybe I should pick it back up, though.

 
D_House said:
Recently read Joe Lansdale's The Bottoms... Was on my to read list, probably from recs on here.

Depression-era murder mystery set in East Texas and told from the perspective of a 12 year old kid. Heavy handed on the racial themes, although obviously that played a big part in daily life back then. Very reminiscent (derivative even) of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Narration was also kind of confused - the events were alternately related as understood by a 12 year old and by that same 12 year old several years later as an elderly man in a rest home.... Overall I wouldn't recommend it, although I'll give Lansdale another try sometime as I know he has a cult following.
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I've read this, and a few other of his books. "A Fine Dark Line" was the best, but I haven't gone back for a while, as it seems like he writes the same book over and over in many ways.

 
Ash said:
Possum said:
Here's some new fantasy stuff I've read recently:

Promise Of Blood by Brian McClellan (book one of a planned trilogy): I thought this one was excellent and would give it five stars out of five. It's a fantasy novel that's not set in the traditional medieval setting - instead, it's set in a fictional country called Adopest and the technology, weapons and government are very similar to the American Revolutionary War period. There are flintlock muskets, single-shot pistols, cavalry swords, horse and carriages, and executions take place by guillotine. Also, magic is real in this world and there are three levels - Privileged, who are basically sorcerers with serious powers that use special gloves to work magic and occupy high-ranking positions as nobility, royal enforcers, etc.; Knacked, who are people that just have one special talent, like for instance never having to go to sleep or having perfect memory; and the Marked, also known as powder mages, whose powers are based on gunpowder. They can blow up powder stores from distance or make bullets curve around walls, and they can snort the gunpowder to gain short-term increased strength and perception. The concept is really cool, and the writing is excellent - this is a debut novel but the guy writes like a veteran. The novel follows Field Marshal Tamas, a powder mage and Adopest war hero, as he leads a coup against the current king and nobility and the fallout that comes with that. I highly recommend this one - the next book comes out in May and I've already marked my calendar for it.
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Finished this a couple of weeks ago, loved it. If the second book had been out already would have been on that immediately. I think it's due in a few months. The magic stuff is unique and interesting and intelligently influences the course of events in the book. There's a nice ensemble cast built up, with the story told from a few different characters first person POV, Tamas (mentioned above), his son Taniel (a high ranking soldier and powder mage) and Adamat, a sort of PI type working for Tamas on unravelling the plots and conspiracies behind the course of events.

Plot driven with good and frequent action sequences, there's a wide cast of good minor characters all with their own secrets and agendas (see plots and conspiracies) which drive the story's direction. I'm looking forward to the second one, thanks for the recommendation.
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Just about finished with this one based on both your recommendations. Awesome book. Hard to put down.

 
Swing 51 said:
krista4 said:
Swing 51 said:
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb.

Someone in this thread recommended it - about a third of the way thru and good (ableit dark) so far.
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Probably several of us. I Know This Much is True by the same author is as good or better as well.
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Well thanks to several of you! It was a good read. Will have to check out I Know This Much is True.

Now on to Jack Reacher #9 / One Shot
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I'm close to 100 pages into "She Comes Undone" pretty good so far. I kinda get a 40's/50's "Prozac Nation" feel to it,

 
Finished And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseni

I'm a big fan of Hosseini's writing. I know I'd get pilloried by the book snobs for that comment, but I thought The Kite Runner in particular was fantastic. Comparatively speaking, this book was probably not as good as KR. He took a bit of a different approach and created a much more fragmented story, focusing for briefer periods of time on quite a few different characters. It mostly worked, and I still think this book was really good, but I prefer the more focused approach of the earlier stuff. Like his other books, Afghanistan is the main locale and the story can be completely heartbreaking. There are scenes in here that as a parent sound like pure hell. I don't really want to give any kind of details as I hate spoilers.

But I'm really glad I read this book. It just reminds me of how good of a writer Hosseini is and that I should go back and read his earlier stuff again.

 
Thanks for the recommendation on Dispatches--I think it was Chaos Commish who recommended it? I still haven't read it but Mr. krista has now, and he loved it.

 
The Secret History by Donna Tartt. About halfway through and struggling a bit. Most of the Greek references are over my head.

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.
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shuke said:
Vrana said:
Apes with Guns said:
Sand said:
If anyone is interested Sand Omnibus from Hugh Howey is on sale for $2. I loved Wool, so this is an instabuy.
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missed it. :kicksrock:
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It's worth it for the $5 or whatever it is.

I really enjoyed it. Not as good as Wool, but better than Shift and Dust imo.
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Is this a Dust sequel?
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No. Start of a different series by the same guy.

At least... I think it's going to be a series. It could be a standalone book. Either way, it's a fun read.

 
Oh! Also Red Rising by Pierce Brown is on sale for $2!

url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CVS2J80?ie=UTF8&tag=randohouseinc70189-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00CVS2J80&Ref=Email_RHPG_4/10/2014]Red Rising on Amazon

The war begins...

Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars. Generations of Helldivers have spent their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that one day people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. Mars is habitable - and indeed has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

But the command school is a battlefield. And Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda

 
Apes with Guns said:
Oh! Also Red Rising by Pierce Brown is on sale for $2!

url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CVS2J80?ie=UTF8&tag=randohouseinc70189-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00CVS2J80&Ref=Email_RHPG_4/10/2014]Red Rising on Amazon

The war begins...

Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars. Generations of Helldivers have spent their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that one day people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. Mars is habitable - and indeed has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

But the command school is a battlefield. And Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda
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:thumbup: Thanks for the heads up

 
I'm six chapters into Coetzee's newest, The Childhood of Jesus.

From what I can tell, it has little if anything to do with the big J.C. and everything to do with the European welfare state. Good story so far. It's about a mysterious foreign man and boy who come to a Spanish speaking city in search of the boy's mother. The man and boy are unrelated, and how he came to care for the boy is part of the opening mystery. They are exceeding poor - like not a penny between them. The story starts with them trying to negotiate all the welfare services in order to get food, shelter, a job, etc.

I've always admired Coetzee for writing so simply and yet with such profound philosophical depth. He truly is Beckett's protege.

 
Apes with Guns said:
great price on the the opening book in Abercrombie's First Law series. If you like fantasy, and are looking for something different, drop $2 on this.

The Blade Itself on Amazon
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Apes with Guns said:
Oh! Also Red Rising by Pierce Brown is on sale for $2!

url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CVS2J80?ie=UTF8&tag=randohouseinc70189-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00CVS2J80&Ref=Email_RHPG_4/10/2014]Red Rising on Amazon

The war begins...

Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars. Generations of Helldivers have spent their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that one day people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. Mars is habitable - and indeed has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

But the command school is a battlefield. And Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda
Click to expand...
Thanks! Both added to my collection of things to read.

 
Been forever since I read anything by Dean Koontz. Picked up What the Night Knows from a used bookstore on a whim. Ghost story thriller that I'm liking and I might have to look for some of Koontz's more recent books that aren't about Odd Thomas or Frankenstein. This one is good.

Also reading The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks based on recommendations in this thread. First none Game of Thrones fantasy I've read in a while that I actually like.

 
Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff

Wow, what a ridiculously good, sad, mesmerizing book. Detroit is a total mess, which isn't a new revelation by any stretch. But LeDuff is so damn close to it, and has been on the front lines of so many of these stories, that his perspective pulls you in like nothing else I've read or seen. And the guy is just completely willing to run out front and put himself on the line over and over again.

For anyone even remotely interested in Detroit, this book is a must-read. And Charlie himself is somewhat of an icon in this city. He's a Pulitzer prize winning reporter from the New York Times who came back home and now takes every chance he can to shame the corrupt city management. He wrote for the Detroit News until a couple years ago and now does reporting for the local Fox affiliate.

Just awesome.

Article in GQ - Charlie LeDuff: Madman of the Year

 
Maurile Tremblay said:
I just read Doing Harm. The author, Kelly Parsons, is a friend of mine from high school. He's always been really freaking smart, so I figured his first book, if nothing else, would be extremely well written. It is. It's also quite the page-turner. It's a medical thriller by a urologist who teaches surgery at UCSD med school, so he knows what he's writing about. His next book (already written and sold) is also a medical thriller, but I get the feeling that Kelly could write a riveting book in any genre he chose. He's got a pretty great day job, but he's a natural writer and I'd be a little surprised if he's not a full-time novelist within a few years. In any case, putting aside my bias as best I can, I recommend the book heartily.
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"DOING HARM, by Kelly Parsons: best damn medical thriller I've read in 25 years. Terrifying OR scenes, characters with real texture." -- Stephen King

 
Maurile Tremblay said:
Maurile Tremblay said:
I just read Doing Harm. The author, Kelly Parsons, is a friend of mine from high school. He's always been really freaking smart, so I figured his first book, if nothing else, would be extremely well written. It is. It's also quite the page-turner. It's a medical thriller by a urologist who teaches surgery at UCSD med school, so he knows what he's writing about. His next book (already written and sold) is also a medical thriller, but I get the feeling that Kelly could write a riveting book in any genre he chose. He's got a pretty great day job, but he's a natural writer and I'd be a little surprised if he's not a full-time novelist within a few years. In any case, putting aside my bias as best I can, I recommend the book heartily.
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"DOING HARM, by Kelly Parsons: best damn medical thriller I've read in 25 years. Terrifying OR scenes, characters with real texture." -- Stephen King
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Added to Wish List

 
E Street Brat said:
Maurile Tremblay said:
Maurile Tremblay said:
I just read Doing Harm. The author, Kelly Parsons, is a friend of mine from high school. He's always been really freaking smart, so I figured his first book, if nothing else, would be extremely well written. It is. It's also quite the page-turner. It's a medical thriller by a urologist who teaches surgery at UCSD med school, so he knows what he's writing about. His next book (already written and sold) is also a medical thriller, but I get the feeling that Kelly could write a riveting book in any genre he chose. He's got a pretty great day job, but he's a natural writer and I'd be a little surprised if he's not a full-time novelist within a few years. In any case, putting aside my bias as best I can, I recommend the book heartily.
Click to expand...
"DOING HARM, by Kelly Parsons: best damn medical thriller I've read in 25 years. Terrifying OR scenes, characters with real texture." -- Stephen King
Click to expand...
Added to Wish List
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:blackdot:

How does it compare to Beat the Reaper (if you've read it)? Loved that book.

 
Don Quixote said:
I recommended Goldfinch in here last year. Just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. :thumbup:
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I read Tartt'a first book The Secret History and was a bit disappointed but also have Goldfinch on my list.

Just finished The Hard Way - Jack Reacher book 10; ok, nothing special.

 
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