What books are you reading now?

PoliteNewb · Post by **PoliteNewb** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:00 am

Almost finished with 1Q84. It was...weird. Interesting, in some ways, but mostly just weird. It doesn't help that none of his protagonists (heck, none of his main characters, really) are particularly sympathetic...I mean, I don't really have any emotional investment in what happens to Tengo and Aomame, because they are boring fucking people.

At this point, I'm just finishing it because "why not", not because I have any real desire to find out how it ends.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:13 am

Currently reading "Killing Lincoln."

Post by **fbmf** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 2:41 am

11/22/63 by Stephen King.

Game On,
fbmf

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 3:18 am

As part of my ongoing Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythos essay research, I am next slated to read the pamphlets Lewd Tales and Lurid Confessions from Cryptic Publications.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:24 am

Just finished reading Snuff, the newest Discworld book, about goblins and the marginalization thereof, and Vimes' efforts to end it. Part of the awesomeness for me is that I can now point to a book and tell my gaming group "There, that is why I like goblins, because I sometimes feel the world looks at me exactly the same damned way."

On a side note, anyone know of a kind of discworld timeline or chronological order of the novels, rather than just the reading order?

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:28 pm

Prak_Anima wrote:Just finished reading Snuff, the newest Discworld book, about goblins and the marginalization thereof, and Vimes' efforts to end it. Part of the awesomeness for me is that I can now point to a book and tell my gaming group "There, that is why I like goblins, because I sometimes feel the world looks at me exactly the same damned way."

On a side note, anyone know of a kind of discworld timeline or chronological order of the novels, rather than just the reading order?

They're roughly written in chronological order. There's some argument for placing Pyramids and Small Gods before the rest, but generally books will make shouts to books written before it.

But Thief of Time brings it up that Discworld's chronology is sort of whacked. Even makes it a plot point. Death did seem pretty clear that it's been 100 years since Brutha did some bit of , and the...evolution...of the Omnian religion points it's been a few decades since his death, though.

And I believe I once worked out there's five years between Guards Guards and Night Watch. Which would make 11/12 years between Guards Guards and Snuff.

Also, loved Willikins in that book.

sabs · Post by **sabs** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:39 pm

reminds me of Brust.. where one of the Taltos books takes place, before, after, and between 3 different books.

Just because he wanted to screw with people who wanted to read them in chronological order.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 9:22 pm

Finished Lincoln, now starting on Mark Levin's Ameritopia.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:50 am

Willikins is pretty much always awesome. There's speculation on TVTropes that he's an assassin based on Snuff. It's possible, I suppose, but I prefer the idea that he isn't lying about his background, and he really is a gentlemen's gentleman, born and bred, who just happened to grow up on the streets around being trained in his family's trade. It's honestly more interesting.

I also like Vimes' accumulation of titles, and the fact that if you look dwarven philosophy, Blackboard Monitor could carry essentially the same meaning as "Executioner."

Blicero · Post by **Blicero** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:57 am

The Separation by Christopher Priest (the same guy who wrote The Prestige) is an absolutely brilliant novel. It honestly might be up there with Catch-22 and Gravity's Rainbow as one of my favorite "WWII novels that are really about WWII." (That's probably a bit of hyperbole, but it's nonetheless an excellent example of that style. It definitely does have a lot of sections that resonate strongly with Catch-22 and Gravity's Rainbow, though.)

It's an alternate history that goes beyond historical dickwaving, it's a postmodern novel that isn't intentionally incomprehensible, and it's just remarkably wellwritten and thoughtout in general. Apparently it got almost no press when it was released, which is really quite tragic.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 7:05 am

Prak_Anima wrote:Willikins is pretty much always awesome. There's speculation on TVTropes that he's an assassin based on Snuff. It's possible, I suppose, but I prefer the idea that he isn't lying about his background, and he really is a gentlemen's gentleman, born and bred, who just happened to grow up on the streets around being trained in his family's trade. It's honestly more interesting.

I also like Vimes' accumulation of titles, and the fact that if you look dwarven philosophy, Blackboard Monitor could carry essentially the same meaning as "Executioner."

Vimes grew up sort of near Willikins. He vaguely remembers Willikins from when they were kids. Also, in Night Watch, when Vimes is thrown thirty years back into the past--the first thing he does is head for his house and Pseudopolis Yard. He hasn't caught onto the date change, so he bursts into the house and tells the butler, "Willikins, get me some clothes, been in a fight." And the butler says, "Willikins? You mean the boy?"

Course, Vimes was...16-19 that time. He and Willikins are about the same age. So, yeah, Willikins has served the Ramkin family for thirty years and more.

Willikins is just a lifelong street-fighting Ankh-Morporker. And as Vimes told Lord Rust in Jingo, the people in the Shades don't get training in arms. That means wearing padding and blunted swords and you're all going around to the pub afterwards to laugh and show off your bruises. The people in the Shades come at you with a broken bottle in one hand and a length of two-by-four in the other because they want to kill you.
--------

And yeah. Being a Dwarf Blackboard Monitor is awesome on that count.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:42 pm

I started reading the Leviathan comics when a friend loaned them to me. They're all quite weird, but some are pretty good.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:45 pm

I was on a Norman Mailer kick recently. I went through "Castle in the Forest" and then "Executioner's song." "Castle" wasn't so great. It was a somewhat decent read. But "Executioner" was awesome. it was a documentary of Gary Gilmore's life after he was released from prison to his eventual execution. Unlike most Mailer books, this drew me in almost instantly. Otherwise it takes about a 100-150 pages for me to get into it. The book was done in a somewhat journalist style with each paragraph(s) dealing with the pov of various characters in the story. It really didn't matter if the character was one of the main ones or just a passing one-off. This book was awesome. I've read a few of his other books and this kinda ranks up there with "Harlot's ghost" and "The naked and the dead." Hell, I think this would probably be my favorite Mailer novel of mine probably or just tied with "Harlot's Ghost."

Post by **fbmf** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:12 pm

tzor wrote:Finished Lincoln, now starting on Mark Levin's Ameritopia.

I tried to read Liberty and Tyranny, but I couldn't get into it. It's still on my shelf, and maybe I'll get to it someday. Levin has got to be the most vitriolic of the major conservative commentators. He's like the Ari Gold of conservative commentators, although not nearly as funny.

As an aside, there are times I find Limbaugh downright entertaining because he's so full of himself that he's a caricature. I have heard that he does it on purpose to troll liberals. It's funny either way.

Game On,
fbmf

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 10:21 pm

The Witch Watch, by Shamus Young.

The main characters are Gilbert, a soldier who was accidentally reanimated in place of a necromancer, Alice, a spellcasting self-taught engineer who feels trousers are most definitely indecent wear for young ladies, and Simon, who was enslaved from birth by an evil necromancer.

It is quite good.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 10:31 pm

Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg, which the film Angel Heart was based on. Been meaning to read it for years, just now going through it.

PoliteNewb · Post by **PoliteNewb** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:39 am

1.) Recently read The Bourne Identity. Quite good...I'm going to need to give Ludlum a second look.

2.) Re-read the first 3 Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars novels. I can't help but enjoy them, despite the sexism, racism, deux ex machina, and over-the-top Marty Stuism.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:02 am

Read the first book of Storm Constantine's Wraethu series. Nicely written and it was refreshing at the interesting take on gender roles.

Over the last couple of days, I also finished "The Dead city Gambit" by K. It was definitely a great read. Fast paced action, good party interaction, and great side-plots.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:05 am

Been gorging myself on Discworld lately. Currently reading Unseen Academicals. I really like Pratchett's take on orcs.

Post by **fbmf** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:49 am

The Fourth Stall

Game On,
fbmf

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:48 am

Christopher Moore's new book, Sacre Bleu.

Random art jokes, and giving me the willies about the color blue.

Also contains my favorite threat I've seen in a while.

"I will set you on fire and put it out with a hammer."

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:55 am

"How to have an almost perfect marriage", by Edna Fry.

Yes, that Edna Fry.

Post by **fbmf** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:19 am

Hunger Games.

Game On,
fbmf

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:25 am

Just finished E. Hoffman Price's Book of the Dead, working my way through a stack of Robert E. Howard biographies, for my essay.

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:26 am

fbmf wrote:Hunger Games.

Game On,
fbmf

did you see the movie, then wonder what was left out, or reading the book before seeing the movie so you can bitch about the changes made to the story?