I finished A Darker Shade of Magic, it was pretty good. The rest of the book isn't as good as the first section is and the ending's kind of a cheat but still, pretty good. I'll read the next one for sure.
New Kindle! It has a bonkers price tag compared to the others, like dang.
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StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
I finished Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell last night
Real good book, there
My family spent a long while in Hawai'i, and I thought I knew plenty from that, but there is a lot of Hawai'ian history, especially as it relates to their relationship with America, that kind of gets swept under the rug there
I recently finished The Star Fraction by Ken McCleod based on a recommendation by Austin Walker. It was really good. Very cyberpunk without seeming derivative. I never thought I'd find myself researching British Communist movements and things like the 4th international and Hanoverians. A very interesting setting of a balkanized UK.
Now to find the rest of the series which I think is called The Fall Revolution
I finished Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell last night
Real good book, there
My family spent a long while in Hawai'i, and I thought I knew plenty from that, but there is a lot of Hawai'ian history, especially as it relates to their relationship with America, that kind of gets swept under the rug there
"Swept under the rug" is basically SOP for America and its history with its indigenous peoples
knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
I read The Water Knife in one sitting last night.
Something I found cosmically ironic, when they finally reveal what the MacGuffin actually is
. It's like, ok now you guys want to honor an Indian treaty, when it can't possibly benefit the people it was written for and you can exploit it for your own gain.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
@Lost Salient I finished up The Shining Girls. My final opinions are mixed, but I did enjoy it overall. Deeper thoughts below.
What I liked: all of the tertiary characters were great, and Harper continued to be one of the most interesting, hatable villains I've seen. Having a bad guy who's basically The Patriarchy with a knife was pretty damn effective. And I appreciated that she doesn't beat you over the head with that allusion, either. Like if you notice that all of the titular women are women out of step with "traditional" women's roles, whether for their sexuality or ambition or politics or what have you, it's a nice added layer to the text. If you don't draw those lines, it's still a compelling serial killer story. Very well done.
What I didn't like: Kirby's story. I like the idea of it, the message that there's only so much you can do when an act of violence is perpetrated against you, and that it almost doesn't matter how much effort you put forth because it's so far out of your hands. That's a rough message, but one with a lot of emotional truth. But the problem is, her story is still told like a detective story, even though it's all wheel-spinning up until Harper comes at her again and she reacts to that. If her chunks had focused more on how it feels to be helpless, tilting at windmills, being constantly denied justice, it might've worked. But it kept being delivered like she was gathering clues, building up towards something, and she never was. It was frustrating in a manner I don't think the author intended.
I never came around on the banter between her and Dan, and it never felt natural or earned. And if anything, her portrayals of non-white characters got worse as the book went on - the scene in the jail was particularly excruciating.
In the end, I think the good outweighed the bad, but it was definitely a mixed bag.
Poorochondriac on
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SheriResident FlufferMy Living RoomRegistered Userregular
Made my way through Umberto Eco's Baudolino. Somewhere between elaborate joke on the reader and a meditation of the nature of truth as expressed through monstrous lies. It's nice to be led around these illusory landscapes by as charming and blatant a liar as Eco/Baudolino. I'm gonna have to re-read this some day in the future. Physical copy next time, though.
Right now I'm reading Guns, Germs and Steel, because something. It's okay.
So I finished Terry Pratchett's final book, The Shepherd's Crown.
I saw Granny's death coming, so it didn't hit me that hard. I really wanted to love this book but I couldn't quite, I felt a bit like something was missing, which is understandable considering how close to the end of his life it was written. I still enjoyed it, but I suppose I was expecting some kind of gut punch like I felt with Nation. Still enjoyed it though!
His obituary and Paul Kidby's beautiful drawing of him on the last pages was pretty brutal though. Still miss that guy.
From what I know of his writing process, it felt very much like an unfinished early draft. Apparently his first pass would usually be the broadest strokes of the story, and then he'd go back through and sprinkle all the jokes and clever twists around, and heighten the tension in the dramatic bits. The bits directly surrounding Granny's death and other people's reaction to it felt the most real out of all of it, and it's reasonable to assume he'd been thinking about that particular story for quite a while. But Tiffany's arc really feels like it was a long way from fully developed.
I'm glad it wasn't just me who picked up on that! That makes sense now you've mentioned it, it needed some polish which it was lacking.
Pratchett's last books:
Raising Steam had some of this quality to me as well though less so. In both cases they contained that Pratchett spark but didn't feel up to his normal level of polish. Though both served as sorts of farewell tours for their respective casts. Both of them felt very bittersweet.
I actually still haven't finished Raising Steam--it just can't hold my focus. And I feel terrible about that because I know why that is and it's not really his fault. Snuff was a bit tough in places too, honestly.
Even seeing it coming, and rereading the bit.. The death in Shepherds Crown still tears me up and I didnt think much of the rest of the book, but we all knew who really was saying goodbye to who.
Guy Gavriel Kay is in some ways my favorite author of speculative fiction; I don't know if I have ever enjoyed a single volume of fantasy more than Tigana, and Under Heaven and River of Stars were both spectacular
I dunno about Ysabel, though. I dunno about how the story played, about Melanie's roll in it, about how it handled sex and gender, about the dialog. Didn't feel right in places. Trying to capture the dialog of a modern family felt really off in this context, and I think a big part of that was down to the role gender played in this book—but that's not all of it.
It was a good book, worth a read, but I think it's probably the worst of Kay's that I've read (and I didn't love The Fionavar Tapestry nearly as much as some). It's kind of surprising that this is the one that won him the World Fantasy Award, though in another way I can see why: people love that European stuff, especially if it's really in Europe.
I have an advance reader's copy of Childen of Earth and Sky on my desk. I hope it's a bit better.
Having been dead broke and without a job and everything the last couple of months the only books i have read where the books i had left in my bookcase.
Having finished these im looking for some recent fantasy/sci fi/ fiction books. Something from the last couple of months. Any ideas?
i want to go buy books
which is stupid because I still have books at home I haven't read
but it feels like a good day to buy books! I'm conflicted.
Having books you haven't read in no way disqualifies you from buying more books. To the contrary, it is prudent and sensible to maintain a decent buffer of unread books.
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Lost Salientblink twiceif you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered Userregular
i want to go buy books
which is stupid because I still have books at home I haven't read
but it feels like a good day to buy books! I'm conflicted.
Having books you haven't read in no way disqualifies you from buying more books. To the contrary, it is prudent and sensible to maintain a decent buffer of unread books.
Are there audio books that are bit more like a podcast/movie commentary? Have two or three people taking turns at reading sections with occasional reactions and speculation. It'd need to get the right balance but with the right people it wouldn't even matter if the book got a bit smothered by the discussion.
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StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
It's not really what you asked for
But have you checked out Sophomore Lit, by Dan McCoy's brother John?
Posts
Real good book, there
My family spent a long while in Hawai'i, and I thought I knew plenty from that, but there is a lot of Hawai'ian history, especially as it relates to their relationship with America, that kind of gets swept under the rug there
Now to find the rest of the series which I think is called The Fall Revolution
"Swept under the rug" is basically SOP for America and its history with its indigenous peoples
YES the hardcover
Something I found cosmically ironic, when they finally reveal what the MacGuffin actually is
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
I'm enjoying it thus far and need to see about getting a Jules Verne collection in the near future.
It's too good to not to buy the hardcover of it.
What I didn't like: Kirby's story. I like the idea of it, the message that there's only so much you can do when an act of violence is perpetrated against you, and that it almost doesn't matter how much effort you put forth because it's so far out of your hands. That's a rough message, but one with a lot of emotional truth. But the problem is, her story is still told like a detective story, even though it's all wheel-spinning up until Harper comes at her again and she reacts to that. If her chunks had focused more on how it feels to be helpless, tilting at windmills, being constantly denied justice, it might've worked. But it kept being delivered like she was gathering clues, building up towards something, and she never was. It was frustrating in a manner I don't think the author intended.
I never came around on the banter between her and Dan, and it never felt natural or earned. And if anything, her portrayals of non-white characters got worse as the book went on - the scene in the jail was particularly excruciating.
In the end, I think the good outweighed the bad, but it was definitely a mixed bag.
Wtf did you people get me into
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A good book, apparently
Right now I'm reading Guns, Germs and Steel, because something. It's okay.
it was nice to read some sci-fi that is not totally down on humanity's future
Even seeing it coming, and rereading the bit.. The death in Shepherds Crown still tears me up and I didnt think much of the rest of the book, but we all knew who really was saying goodbye to who.
Guy Gavriel Kay is in some ways my favorite author of speculative fiction; I don't know if I have ever enjoyed a single volume of fantasy more than Tigana, and Under Heaven and River of Stars were both spectacular
I dunno about Ysabel, though. I dunno about how the story played, about Melanie's roll in it, about how it handled sex and gender, about the dialog. Didn't feel right in places. Trying to capture the dialog of a modern family felt really off in this context, and I think a big part of that was down to the role gender played in this book—but that's not all of it.
It was a good book, worth a read, but I think it's probably the worst of Kay's that I've read (and I didn't love The Fionavar Tapestry nearly as much as some). It's kind of surprising that this is the one that won him the World Fantasy Award, though in another way I can see why: people love that European stuff, especially if it's really in Europe.
I have an advance reader's copy of Childen of Earth and Sky on my desk. I hope it's a bit better.
Only a few pages in, but there's already a story within a story within a story, so I'm allllllll the way on board.
And good lord does Atwood write some beautifully melancholy prose.
Having finished these im looking for some recent fantasy/sci fi/ fiction books. Something from the last couple of months. Any ideas?
Idea #2: A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab.
Well i started working in a book store so that might be even better
Also put A Darker Shade of Magic on my list!
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
which is stupid because I still have books at home I haven't read
but it feels like a good day to buy books! I'm conflicted.
Having books you haven't read in no way disqualifies you from buying more books. To the contrary, it is prudent and sensible to maintain a decent buffer of unread books.
Ahem
Umberto Eco's Antilibrary: Why Unread Books Are More Valuable to Our Lives Than Read Ones
Go forth and buy.
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
also a massive pile of books I have yet to read
I should shorten that list
the former, I mean
the latter will get longer I guess
Steam - Talon Valdez :Blizz - Talonious#1860 : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk @TaloniousMonk Hail Satan
But have you checked out Sophomore Lit, by Dan McCoy's brother John?
And sometimes I look at my amazon homepage and I'm just like
Woman
We both read romance novels (in ebook form - hides the evidence) but what even are these
So far no Space Raptors, though, for which I can't decide if I'm grateful or oddly disappointed
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
She a big Chuck Tingle fan or what