Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (4 Viewers)

[shuke]

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.

"DOING HARM, by Kelly Parsons: best damn medical thriller I've read in 25 years. Terrifying OR scenes, characters with real texture." -- Stephen King

I've always been sceptical about fellow author's book reviews. Couple times I'd picked up a book based on an author's reccomendation and found it meh. Just seems like publisher marketing to me.

Not to mention King is a book review whore. I swear he's never read anything that wasn't the best thing he's read in years.

 

[joker]

i started reading the Dresden Files. Pretty cheesy stuff so far...I think I'm going to see the writing improve as the series goes on.

I hope.

Read the first and bailed. Same impression.

Unfortunately Dresden Files is one of those series that takes a couple of books to get going. It's a little much to expect a reader to slog through a couple of books of mediocrity until the series ramps up, but if you have time to kill I for one thinks it gets MUCH better in book 3 and beyond. One of my favorites going.

Yeah, the first book was a class project and the second one wasn't that much different. The 3rd on are great.

I did all the Dresden series on audio books, and found it much easier to get through the first few listening to them versus reading them. Big fan of the series and agree with those who say it gets much, much better.

 

[joker]

Working on the Night Angel trilogy right now. Just finished Book 1 (The Way of Shadows) and am early on in Book 2 (Shadow's Edge) right now. Pretty good series so far - not the best I've read but far from the worst. Also have Caliban's War on my Kindle that I read at night. Loving the Expanse series so far, and I don't usually do sci-fi.

 

[Swing 51]

Just read "The Son," by Philipp Meyer. I liked it - a deconstruction of the Texas origins myth, it jumps between three generations of the same family. The stuff with the family's patriarch, who is abducted by Comanches as a boy is fantastic. The rest of it is o.k. It's kind of like "Blood Meridian" crossed with John Dos Passos, with a shot of the TV show "Dallas."

I picked this up over the holidays, sounds good.

About a 150 pages in to "The Son" - pretty damn good so far.

This has dropped off a bit. Like The_Man said above the parts with Eli, the family's patriarch, are really good. Maybe the ending will make up for an uneven book.

 

[Apes with Guns]

i started reading the Dresden Files. Pretty cheesy stuff so far...I think I'm going to see the writing improve as the series goes on.

I hope.

Read the first and bailed. Same impression.

Unfortunately Dresden Files is one of those series that takes a couple of books to get going. It's a little much to expect a reader to slog through a couple of books of mediocrity until the series ramps up, but if you have time to kill I for one thinks it gets MUCH better in book 3 and beyond. One of my favorites going.

they are very short books, so I'll fight through it.

I do keep trying to fit Dresden into the Sandman Slim mold, which probably isn't fair. I'm hoping he develops a darker side, or that I stop making these comparisons.

 

[timschochet]

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. He's a great writer, and this is pretty captivating.

Just about done- the only complaint I have is that he doesn't spend enough time discussing his last years in jail, his negotiations with the government, the end of Apartheid, and his time as Prime Minister. All of these fascinating subjects get brief treatment in comparison to his earlier life. He could have written a second book just on the last part of his life alone.

 

[Clifford]

Reading "Light in August". I had kind of forgotten the overpowering genius of Faulkner.

One of my top 5 favorite novels. Just amazing right from that fantastic, almost hallucinatory description of Lena hitchhiking in the beginning, right through the cutting edge (for the time, and still really) dissection of race in America. Pure genius.

Joe Christmas is right up there with Huck Finn, Jay Gatsby, Holden Caulfield, and Jack Gladney as an archetypal American figure.

Yeah, really striking and memorable. A woman on a plane sitting next to me asked me to describe what it was about. Tough one...

 

[Possum]

here are a couple I finished recently and would recommend:

White Shadow by Ace Atkins: historical fiction set in 1950s Tampa that follows the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Wall, the city's original mob boss. Atkins was a former crime reporter in Tampa and does a hell of a job bringing to life a large cast of Ybor City underworld figures, Sicilian mafia (Santo Trafficante, Jr. is a main character), crooked cops, fugitive Cuban revolutionaries, and hardboiled detectives. His style reminds me a lot of Elmore Leonard - authentic and tough without being wordy - and this was a great read.

The Severed Streets by Paul Cornell: this is the sequel to Cornell's London Falling and is sort of a dark police procedural fantasy set in the UK. It follows a team of Metropolitan Police officers who've developed the ability to see a hidden occult side of London and use that to work homicide cases related to that world. This series is really gritty and well written - it sort of works from the premise of "what if you were a cynical undercover cop who's suddenly able to see all this weird, gruesome paranormal stuff no one else can see? How would you collect evidence or arrest entities that are invisible to the rest of your colleagues?" and does it really well, with lots of gore, action and grimey London atmosphere.

 

[facook]

Finished The Dog Stars last night, mentioned in this thread several times. Really different take on post apocalypse. Most similar to The Road, but far more hopeful. I liked it.

 

[shuke]

Finished The Dog Stars last night, mentioned in this thread several times. Really different take on post apocalypse. Most similar to The Road, but far more hopeful. I liked it.

 

[Possum]

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.

just finished this one the other day after seeing your post. I enjoyed it a whole lot, even though I'm a Florida boy that's never been within 500 miles of Detroit. LeDuff seems like the kind of guy who might be a little too over the top personality-wise, but the man can definitely write some memorable stories. Don't think I put the book down for more than a few minutes the whole time I was reading it - it really sucked me in and brought the city to life.

 

[Swing 51]

Just read "The Son," by Philipp Meyer. I liked it - a deconstruction of the Texas origins myth, it jumps between three generations of the same family. The stuff with the family's patriarch, who is abducted by Comanches as a boy is fantastic. The rest of it is o.k. It's kind of like "Blood Meridian" crossed with John Dos Passos, with a shot of the TV show "Dallas."

I picked this up over the holidays, sounds good.

About a 150 pages in to "The Son" - pretty damn good so far.

Maybe the ending will make up for an uneven book.

payoff wasn't worth the 850 pages.

On to The Raven's Gift:

John Morgan and his wife can barely contain their excitement upon arriving as the new teachers in a Yup'ik Eskimo village on the windswept Alaskan tundra.

and chaos ensues...

 

[Redwes25]

just started rereading Wheel of Time. God help me.

Just read the first book? Does it get any better? Seemed to be a huge Tolkien ripe off and way too long for no reason. Think the author even realized it was to long and used a transporter to get them in the right place for the last 150 pages. Also, pretty poorly written (even for a Fantasy novel). I am a fan of fantasy so that doesn't bother me.

 

[sn0mm1s]

just started rereading Wheel of Time. God help me.

Just read the first book? Does it get any better? Seemed to be a huge Tolkien ripe off and way too long for no reason. Think the author even realized it was to long and used a transporter to get them in the right place for the last 150 pages. Also, pretty poorly written (even for a Fantasy novel). I am a fan of fantasy so that doesn't bother me.

I would say that the first 4-6 books are the same quality and then it sort of goes downhill. Sanderson rescues it for a novel or two - but the final novel isn't very satisfying (unless you are like me and just wanted to grit out the series).

The books were actually very good for the genre considering that the first one was released in 1990. At the time, the worldbuilding really wasn't surpassed by anyone.

That said, if you didn't really like the first book I wouldn't continue with the series.

 

[The Flying Elvis]

Got into a bit of a crypto fix, read The Code Book: Secret Science of Cryptology and then jumped into fiction with Cryptonomicon. Really liked both.

Checking out some of Neal Stephenson's other work with The Baroque Cycle, not sure if I am gonna really get hooked.

Don't have a any real math background but I found by reading the Code Book I was then able to at least grasp the topics in Cryptonomicon.

 

[Maelstrom]

just started rereading Wheel of Time. God help me.

Just read the first book? Does it get any better? Seemed to be a huge Tolkien ripe off and way too long for no reason. Think the author even realized it was to long and used a transporter to get them in the right place for the last 150 pages. Also, pretty poorly written (even for a Fantasy novel). I am a fan of fantasy so that doesn't bother me.

I would say that the first 4-6 books are the same quality and then it sort of goes downhill. Sanderson rescues it for a novel or two - but the final novel isn't very satisfying (unless you are like me and just wanted to grit out the series).

The books were actually very good for the genre considering that the first one was released in 1990. At the time, the worldbuilding really wasn't surpassed by anyone.

That said, if you didn't really like the first book I wouldn't continue with the series.

It is one of my favorite series of books, and I still think it is one of the best examples of character building and world building in the fantasy/sci-fi realm. That said, it definitely isn't for everyone, and I can understand why people may not enjoy it. Likely if you don't enjoy the first book, you won't enjoy the rest. If you are ambivelent on the first book, books 2-4 are probably the strongest of the series, if you get through book 4 and you aren't hooked, you might as well stop there.

 

[E Street Brat]

Finished The Dog Stars last night, mentioned in this thread several times. Really different take on post apocalypse. Most similar to The Road, but far more hopeful. I liked it.

Did the herkey jerkey writing bother you?

 

[facook]

Finished The Dog Stars last night, mentioned in this thread several times. Really different take on post apocalypse. Most similar to The Road, but far more hopeful. I liked it.

Did the herkey jerkey writing bother you?

At first a lot, and I almost gave up on it 1/4 of the way in. It was still distracting throughout, but I was able to get beyond and it and just enjoy the premise and story.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Recently, I've finished the Mountain Man trilogy - zombie story set in Canada. Decently written for the genre and an easy read.

Then it was onto The Last Kind Words Saloon by McMurtry. It's (mostly) about Wyatt Earp & Doc Holiday. It's very shortremaxcolonialproperties.comrand is - I hate to say this - pretty lazily done. He basically admitted in a recent interview he wrote it for the money and it shows. Way overpriced for both the book's length and the sloppy writing.

I'm now reading Hyde by Daniel Levine. It's told first-person from the perspective of Mr Hyde (of Dr Jekyll and....fame). The style of writing took me a bit to get used to - Levine doesn't use quotation marks nor paragraph breaks for his dialogue. But, having gotten the hang of it, I can follow along easily. I haven't read the original since I was a kid and remember almost none of it, but I don't think I'm missing anything. So far, I'm enjoying it.

Next up will be Stephen King's latest, Mr Mercedes.

 

[Apes with Guns]

just started rereading Wheel of Time. God help me.

Just read the first book? Does it get any better? Seemed to be a huge Tolkien ripe off and way too long for no reason. Think the author even realized it was to long and used a transporter to get them in the right place for the last 150 pages. Also, pretty poorly written (even for a Fantasy novel). I am a fan of fantasy so that doesn't bother me.

I would say that the first 4-6 books are the same quality and then it sort of goes downhill. Sanderson rescues it for a novel or two - but the final novel isn't very satisfying (unless you are like me and just wanted to grit out the series).

The books were actually very good for the genre considering that the first one was released in 1990. At the time, the worldbuilding really wasn't surpassed by anyone.

That said, if you didn't really like the first book I wouldn't continue with the series.

It is one of my favorite series of books, and I still think it is one of the best examples of character building and world building in the fantasy/sci-fi realm. That said, it definitely isn't for everyone, and I can understand why people may not enjoy it. Likely if you don't enjoy the first book, you won't enjoy the rest. If you are ambivelent on the first book, books 2-4 are probably the strongest of the series, if you get through book 4 and you aren't hooked, you might as well stop there.

this, but i hear that if you just skip book 9, you will probably make it. 9 is where I failed, but i thought i would go through it again, maybe try to fall back in love. we all know how that usually goes.

 

[shader]

Got into a bit of a crypto fix, read The Code Book: Secret Science of Cryptology and then jumped into fiction with Cryptonomicon. Really liked both.

Checking out some of Neal Stephenson's other work with The Baroque Cycle, not sure if I am gonna really get hooked.

Don't have a any real math background but I found by reading the Code Book I was then able to at least grasp the topics in Cryptonomicon.

I loved the first two books in Baroque Cycle. The first half of book three was painful. It took me 2 years to get to the middle of the book. Then I finished the second half of the book in about 2 weeks.

"Jack Shaftoe" is without question my favorite character in all of literature. I realize that's a bold claim, but I've never enjoyed a character more.

I highly recommend reading the trilogy.

 

[ragincajun]

I am all over the place.

I have read the Alchemyst and the second book the Magician and started to get a bit bored.

I also am on the second book of Wool.

Starting Gone Girl tommorow.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Just finished


The Smart Money: How the World's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions by Michael Konik recommended on the boards here. I liked it, though the situations got a little repetitive - (bad guy off-shore betting houses turning down bets). I would like to get his collection of short stories, "

Any other similar betting story books out there you guys would recommend?

 

[Socrates11]

Just finished


The Smart Money: How the World's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions by Michael Konik recommended on the boards here. I liked it, though the situations got a little repetitive - (bad guy off-shore betting houses turning down bets). I would like to get his collection of short stories, "

Any other similar betting story books out there you guys would recommend?

It's not sports betting, but if you haven't read 'Bringing Down the House' about the MIT blackjack betting team I would highly recommend it. The movie '21' was based upon it.

 

[Sand]

Reading Predictably Irrational now. Very interesting book at how ####ed up our decision making is.

 

[Lehigh98]

Got a free trial on Audible for a couple months, any recommendations for a good audio book from them?...

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Books-Audible-Audiobooks/zgbs/books/2402172011

Will be listening an hour or so at a time when out running or doing yard work, not much of a commute nowadays.

 

[E Street Brat]

I'm thinking about a RnR bio next. Something with lots of sex, drugs and general debauchery.

Any recommendations Slash maybe

 

[Klimtology]

Currently reading Aldous Huxley's 'The Perennial Philosophy'.

From the cover: " The most needed book in the world...A masterpiece." - New York Times

 

[Chaos Commish]

I'm thinking about a RnR bio next. Something with lots of sex, drugs and general debauchery.

Any recommendations Slash maybe

Slash was good as was Nikki Sixx heroin diaries.

Oh yeah Red was good too. Sammy Hagar

Crazy from the Heat -- David Lee Roth

Keith Richards -- Life

Slash -- Slash

 

[E Street Brat]

I'm thinking about a RnR bio next. Something with lots of sex, drugs and general debauchery.

Any recommendations Slash maybe

Slash was good as was Nikki Sixx heroin diaries.

Oh yeah Red was good too. Sammy Hagar

Crazy from the Heat -- David Lee Roth

Keith Richards -- Life

Slash -- Slash

Thanks Guys.

I decided on Slash.

 

[Brony]

I'm thinking about a RnR bio next. Something with lots of sex, drugs and general debauchery.

Any recommendations Slash maybe

Slash was good as was Nikki Sixx heroin diaries.

Oh yeah Red was good too. Sammy Hagar

Crazy from the Heat -- David Lee Roth

Keith Richards -- Life

Slash -- Slash

Thanks Guys.

I decided on Slash.

I've read a few of these. Motley Crue's All The Dirt is as good as it gets IMO.

 

[oso diablo]

Michael Lewis' latest: Flash Boys

a worthy successor to The Big Sort. Both relate to nefarious and injurious practices on Wall Street. In this case, relating to shenanigans involving High-Frequency Trading, which sounds like an impossibly dull topic, but Lewis is a master of real-life storytelling.

 

[Chaos Commish]

I'm thinking about a RnR bio next. Something with lots of sex, drugs and general debauchery.

Any recommendations Slash maybe

Slash was good as was Nikki Sixx heroin diaries.

Oh yeah Red was good too. Sammy Hagar

Crazy from the Heat -- David Lee Roth

Keith Richards -- Life

Slash -- Slash

Thanks Guys.

I decided on Slash.

I've read a few of these. Motley Crue's All The Dirt is as good as it gets IMO.

I couldn't get into the self-promotion self-love whatever in the Aerosmith group bio and read a review that said Crue's was the same formula so I didn't bother. But checking your endorsement and a few more reviews, I'm going in!

Another sort of unexpected excellent read is Bit of a Blur... just looking at the cover got me laughing... Alex James, Blur, bass.

 

[Possum]

I'm thinking about a RnR bio next. Something with lots of sex, drugs and general debauchery.

Any recommendations Slash maybe

Slash was good as was Nikki Sixx heroin diaries.

Oh yeah Red was good too. Sammy Hagar

Crazy from the Heat -- David Lee Roth

Keith Richards -- Life

Slash -- Slash

Thanks Guys.

I decided on Slash.

I've read a few of these. Motley Crue's All The Dirt is as good as it gets IMO.

all the ones mentioned here are good - "The Dirt" and "Life" are my favorites, though. Duff McKagan's bio "It's So Easy (And Other Lies)" is also a great read.

 

[facook]

Currently reading Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. I'm about half-way through, and I like it. It's a little different from his normal "horror" stuff...in fact I'd say it's more detective/crime. But if he can finish it strongly (always a big if with King) it will stack up nicely with the latter half of his work.

 

[Swing 51]

The Good Lord Bird - by James McBride.

Historical fiction.

Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1857, when the region is a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces. When John Brown, the legendary abolitionist, arrives in the area, an argument between Brown and Henry’s master quickly turns violent. Henry is forced to leave town—with Brown, who believes he’s a girl.

 

[aardball44]

The Severed Streets by Paul Cornell

This.

 

[Ash]

I read the first volume of the Dresden Files books, was an easy, pretty entertaining read but didnt' see what all the fuss was about. Do they build as the series goes on, or is that pretty much it?

 

[sn0mm1s]

I read the first volume of the Dresden Files books, was an easy, pretty entertaining read but didnt' see what all the fuss was about. Do they build as the series goes on, or is that pretty much it?

Yes, the first book was written as a creative writing class project so it isn't that great. The 2nd one is a little better. 3rd on are excellent if you like the genre.

 

[Ash]

I've been completely slack about posting what I've read for about 3 months so here's a list.

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Post apocalypse story about a guy surviving in a small airport after a flu virus has wiped out most of humanity. I had this on my Kindle a long time before I finally read it but enjoyed it a lot. There was a lot of actual conflict (other survivor bands etc) but also internal in trying to stay the person he was before rather than turn into a cold survivalist hardass like his buddy at the airport, in spite of losses suffered before and during the story. Would recommend.

When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Penman

One of my favorite writers of straight historical fiction (ie no fantasy elements) due to the skillful way she builds real, deep characters with believable motivations around the skeleton of the usually sparse historical record for the time. Doesn't really venture outside her comfort zone of medieval England though which is a shame.

This one tells the story of the birth of England's Plantagenet dynasty beginning with the fight for the throne by the Empress Mathilda (daughter of the previous king and designated heir) and Stephen of Blois (the usurper and grandson of William the Conqueror) through to the meteoric rise of Mathilda's son Henry II. Does a good job showing the fatal flaws of both Stephen and Mathilda and the resulting long and inconclusive war concluding with Henry's rapid ascent to the English throne. Would also recommend this one.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I struggled to really get involved in this one in the beginning although by 150 pages in or so I was enjoying it and did through the end of the book. The book is quite plot driven with Lamora leading a small group of thieves called the Gentleman Bastards in the latest in a series of elaborate cons on members of the nobility, at the same time working against an unknown villain with a plot to take over the city's underworld. Was good, but could have been much better if both the foundations laid for character and world building had been followed through on. It was a good book but to me had the potential to be a lot better, which is why I guess I was a little disappointed in the end, despite enjoying the book overall. I found the characters a little too neat and one dimensional.

I'm really interested to hear what others thought of the remainder of the series, at least according to Amazon reviews there are some issues with the next two books and I'm not sure about continuing.

The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan

2nd book in the Powder Mage trilogy after Promise of Blood, and enjoyed this one as much as the first. There's three plot threads going in this one, Tamas' leading the defense against the Kez invasion, Taniel as a soldier on the front line, and Inspector Adamat unravelling plots in the city. Aside from a unique and really interesting world setup, the characters and the relationships between them are very well done and do a good job driving the story, without any sense of things being contrived or forced. I read this in about 3 days because I picked it up every spare minute I had. Fantastic book, and looking forward to the 3rd installment.

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan

Describing the plot to this it seems like a standard fantasy cliche, and I guess it is as far as that goes, but what's built around that well worn framework is memorable. It starts with a fallen hero in captivity telling his back story to a scribe, one of his captors. Vaelin al Sorna is the son of a revered military hero is handed over (abandoned) by his father to the be trained as a soldier by the monks of the Sixth Order and in time comes to the service of the King in an ill fated foreign war, where he's captured. There's a solid cast of both major and side characters, all well drawn and at times quite interestingly done. The plot is a little slow moving at times, but works with some darker elements as well.

Overall I'm not making this sound that great I'm sure, but it comes together as more than the sum of it's parts, and was another book I read in a few days because I spent most of my spare time on it. I've pre-ordered the sequel.

Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto

A novel by the guy behind the True Detective show, and it brings the same dark, gritty atmosphere. Told from the PoV of a small time crook named Roy who was set up to be killed by his boss, escapes with a young hooker called Rocky who was also at the scene and goes on the run to Galveston after picking up Rocky's young daughter. Most of the story revolves around them trying to stay under the radar, come up with a way to disappear and stay alive. Not plot driven obviously, but focused heavily on the impact that day gone wrong, and various parts of their lives beforehand, have on the three characters (Roy, Rocky and Tiffany, the daughter).

Very small hint on the ending, not really a plot spoiler but more of an atmosphere thing

Spoiler

You could call it a redemption story, but not how you think in that the payoff isn't worth the price that's paid. More like salvaging a couple of keepsakes after your house burns down.

Awesome book, if you liked the show, you'll like this.

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

I've gushed repeatedly about this author's work before. So far I haven't read anything of his not up to the same incredibly high standard. If you like character driven historical fantasy, read everything of his you can find. That's all.

Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin

Pure curiosity led me to read something by GRRM other than the series he's obviously known for, just to seen if there was any hint of the upcoming awesomeness in his other work. Overall I'd say no, this was a solid enough book and some of the elements are there, ie lack of black & white good/bad guys, and the clear plot direction that usually goes with that, but otherwise this was only OK.

The story is set in the Mississippi riverboat trade in the late 19th Century, and it's a vampire story basically. The main character is a riverboat captain commissioned to build a riverboat his sponsor can take up and down the river to kill off the other guys in a kind of vampire civil war. There was one element of this I found really odd and it gave me kind of a weird feeling but the main character is built like George, let's say and there's repeatedly great detail given to describing the enormous meals he sits down to. I found myself thinking every time, if this is how he eats he'll never live to finish ASOIAF. Just seemed like a really weird wish fulfillment type thing, didn't do anything for the story but he kept coming back to it anyway.

Don't think I'll be seeking out any of GRRM's other work.

 

[shuke]

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Post apocalypse story about a guy surviving in a small airport after a flu virus has wiped out most of humanity. I had this on my Kindle a long time before I finally read it but enjoyed it a lot. There was a lot of actual conflict (other survivor bands etc) but also internal in trying to stay the person he was before rather than turn into a cold survivalist hardass like his buddy at the airport, in spite of losses suffered before and during the story. Would recommend.

 

[krista4]

Michael Lewis' latest: Flash Boys

a worthy successor to The Big Sort. Both relate to nefarious and injurious practices on Wall Street. In this case, relating to shenanigans involving High-Frequency Trading, which sounds like an impossibly dull topic, but Lewis is a master of real-life storytelling.

Really need to read this; have heard great things. He's just incredibly good at making boring and complex topics (1) easy to understand and (2) compelling.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I struggled to really get involved in this one in the beginning although by 150 pages in or so I was enjoying it and did through the end of the book. The book is quite plot driven with Lamora leading a small group of thieves called the Gentleman Bastards in the latest in a series of elaborate cons on members of the nobility, at the same time working against an unknown villain with a plot to take over the city's underworld. Was good, but could have been much better if both the foundations laid for character and world building had been followed through on. It was a good book but to me had the potential to be a lot better, which is why I guess I was a little disappointed in the end, despite enjoying the book overall. I found the characters a little too neat and one dimensional.

I'm really interested to hear what others thought of the remainder of the series, at least according to Amazon reviews there are some issues with the next two books and I'm not sure about continuing.

Lynch is playing a long game in filling in the background of the characters and his world. Books 2 & 3 give more details on Locke's (& his friends') past as they jump back and forth from the past to the present (3 more than 2).

Book 2 was good, but too long and overstuffed.

Book 3 is the one that gets the most criticism and I can understand why - the con in the "present" has very little substance and is really only there to set up the next book(s). The stuff in the past, I enjoyed a lot (though one of the characters got so emo I was almost hoping that person would die). At the end is a hard left turn that, it seems to me, is setting up the real plot of the series.

This an odd series in that each book can be almost a stand-alone (unlike, say, GRRM's series where you'd be completely lost picking it up in the middle) but there also seems to be a huge over-arching plot that's really only been hinted at so far. You'd miss a lot of the callbacks to earlier events if you started with a later book, but the main cons themselves can be read as independent.

 

[FUBAR]

Started a book called Divergent recently. It kind of has a Hunger Games feel to it, which I consider a good thing.

My wife got this from the library and after seeing the movie previews, figured I'd give it a go.

Quick read, clearly not a high-end book. But entertaining enough that I'm now on book 3. These can be read in a matter of days without any real effort.

 

[eaganwildcats]

A quick plug for a friend and former professor of mine whose book, Un Moving Four Ward, recently came out. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and at 176 pages it is quick enough for anyone to mow through in a sitting or two. Well worth it, IMO.

From Amazon: "Having suffered an accident in the dorms while a student at St. John's University, Bob became a quadriplegic. This fact, however, doesn't keep Bob from living his life fully. This book describes some of his adventures--and challenges--along the way.

This book is for anyone who has faced, is facing, or will face a difficult time in their life. Meaning: it's for everyone. Equal parts humorous, inspirational, informative, and painfully honest. It provides ample doses of tough love, highlights the impact of a loving mother, and calls you to live the one life you've been given to its absolute fullest."

If the price tag is holding you back shoot me a PM and I will buy you a copy* (provided you promise to write a review after finishing it ).

Limit of 10 copies. I'm not Krista, folks.

 

[Sand]

The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan

2nd book in the Powder Mage trilogy after Promise of Blood, and enjoyed this one as much as the first. There's three plot threads going in this one, Tamas' leading the defense against the Kez invasion, Taniel as a soldier on the front line, and Inspector Adamat unravelling plots in the city. Aside from a unique and really interesting world setup, the characters and the relationships between them are very well done and do a good job driving the story, without any sense of things being contrived or forced. I read this in about 3 days because I picked it up every spare minute I had. Fantastic book, and looking forward to the 3rd installment.

I'd buy this, but they want $13 for the kindle. I've gotten spoiled - I'm not paying that kind of money for a book anymore.

 

[prosopis]

I'm thinking about a RnR bio next. Something with lots of sex, drugs and general debauchery.

Any recommendations Slash maybe

Slash was good as was Nikki Sixx heroin diaries.

Oh yeah Red was good too. Sammy Hagar

Crazy from the Heat -- David Lee Roth

Keith Richards -- Life

Slash -- Slash

Thanks Guys.

I decided on Slash.

I've read a few of these. Motley Crue's All The Dirt is as good as it gets IMO.

I couldn't get into the self-promotion self-love whatever in the Aerosmith group bio and read a review that said Crue's was the same formula so I didn't bother. But checking your endorsement and a few more reviews, I'm going in!

Another sort of unexpected excellent read is Bit of a Blur... just looking at the cover got me laughing... Alex James, Blur, bass.

Ill sleep when Im dead:The dirty life and times of Warren Zevon was pretty good.

 

[Emerson Biggens]

I'm reading Gone Girl right now, the movie comes out later this year. Good and unpredictable so far, about half way through.

 

[Jeff Vader]

I'm fairly blown away by Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin.

Baldwin has been (unfairly) pigeonholed as a black writer, and yes while he's black, he may be the black Christian Proust.

Ok, I'm stretching things a bit. But his story is so seamless, his characters so human, that he approaches Proustian levels of storytelling. His scope isn't as wide, and his language more "accessible," but the characters are every bit as full as Swann from Swann's Way.

Highly recommended, especially for any Christian guys out there. This is a very Christian novel without being dogmatic in the slightest.

 

[Moe.]

Has anybody picked up Tower Lord yet? I really liked Blood Song, but the reviews of Tower Lord that I have read are not very favorable.