Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
I read over half of 1356 in a day. Having free time to read feels sooo goooood.
Really enjoying it. The good guys are super likable, the bad guys are satisfyingly douchey, the setting is delightfully bleak and dirty, and everything's moving along at a jolly old pace and bringing all the threads together and I am downright excited to see what happens.
The only problem is I bought this book to last me through my flight and overnight hostel stay on Saturday and at this rate I'm going to finish it tomorrow.
one Verge writer's foolhardy quest to spend their summer reading It
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
I listened to it while working in the garden center at Lowe's. It was 45 hours long, and is a hell of a thing to start your day off when you start work at 5 AM.
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Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
Finished my book. Didn't get a chance to visit another book shop. Got a flight and a hotel stay tomorrow. Gat dangit.
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
You got a phone that can download an ebook app? I can set you up with a temporary library card number if you like.
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Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
I do, and I could just download the kindle app and have access to all my books, but weirdly although I can internet all day long on my phone I really hate reading books on it.
If I can't get another book tomorrow I'll download the app. But I think there's a book store on the way to the airport.
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
Wrapped up Children of Earth and Sky. Guy Gavriel Kay remains one of my favorites. His brand of pseudohistorical fiction with a soupçon of the supernatural pushes all my buttons. And to me this is a part of the world that feels familiar while also being wholly exotic.
I really should read the previous Sarantium books.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
I don't know if this is the right place, but what are good "liberal" history books? I'm not sure if liberal is the right term, but I'm looking for things that don't have a ton of WASP fuck yeah America bias
I read and enjoyed James Loewen's Lies Across America and Lies My Teacher Told Me
1492 and 1493 were very good
Is Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States good? I know it is very divisive.
Howard Zinn is great in showing the shit that happened in the US from different perspectives. It's also quite depressing because it shows alot of historical people and things sucked for lots of people, which is true, but can be pretty depressing.
Started reading Kraken as my friend said she thought I'd like it more than The City and The City
certainly so far I seem to. Mieville's writing is very enjoyable and his style is not to explain more than naturally develops in the course of the unfolding narrative, which I enjoy
I started reading Flags in the Dust on my work commute. It's my first Faulkner and I'm enjoying it a lot. I've heard of this one being criticized for being all over the place (that's why it was edited down to the shorter 'Sartoris'), but that's probably my favorite aspect about it. Really precise prose too; full of feeling.
I just finished that book that Stephen King released in 1986 about a murderous clown.
This was such a complete bait-and-switch. The scary parts were effectively creepy (though not all Its appearances were), but what I really ended up loving about this book was how it's actually about childhood. About its secret pleasures and how those seem to fill up the entire world. And remembering that childhood as a grownup. Parts of this book made me really nostalgic. Remembering entire afternoons devoted to one single activity or project as if nothing else ever had or ever would exist in the world. The writing is best when it's just describing the kids living their normal lives before they're interrupted by monsters.
Its ending where
the members of the Losers Club start forgetting each other, having their last conversations knowing they'll probably never talk to each other again, really affected me.
The book is goofy in places, of course. The cosmic turtle, the final battle against the monster and its origins, the macroverse, none of that really worked for me. And good god what the fuck was up with how they make their way out of the tunnels as kids?!
I wouldn't call it a masterpiece but the parts that work really work.
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Shortytouching the meatIntergalactic Cool CourtRegistered Userregular
"the parts that work really work" is a good descriptor of most of King's work
So finally set up Libby on my devices and linked it with my wife's library card.
Why the hell didn't I do that sooner. Borrowing ebooks is great other than the slightly limited selection.
I read "The Martian" that way. That book is great just like the movie. I blazed through it.
Also read "All the Birds in the Sky" by Charlie Jane Anders. I really liked it for about 2/3 of the way through but felt like it didn't finish that strong. It did have a kind of a Lemony Snicket meets The Magicians vibe which was cool.
Currently reading "The Blade Itself" by Joe Abercrombie and really liking it. I'm most of the way through that first book and the other two in the series aren't in Libby so I guess I'll have to spring for the Kindle editions.
Incindium on
Nintendo ID: Incindium
PSN: IncindiumX
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
Don't forget that Libby can also do eAudio! I listen to as many books as I read these days, because I can just download them to my phone.
So, I think it's very possible that the voodoo is inaccurate and/or offensive; it was written by a white dude in the 80s, after all. Risk is high that stuff was bungled. It tracked with what I know (which is, admittedly, very very little - if it wasn't in Mumbo Jumbo, I don't know shit about it), but that isn't saying much.
That said, boy, I loved that book. Not only was it exciting and cool and absolutely crammed with rad characters, it had these cool meditations on how unknowable powers greater than us are. The inhumanly rich, or the mystically-advanced artificial intelligence, they might come to us in guises we recognizes, in systems we think we know, but that's just for our benefit. To let us think we have any control, any insight into them. To make us feel safe. But at the end of the day, they are bigger and more powerful than we can even comprehend. That's heavy, but a) extremely true and b) a very fascinating thematic spine for an action novel where a club owner named "Jammer" gets some fingers disintegrated by a laser gun.
Might have to chalk this one up as a "problematic fave," but dang, I dug it.
So, I think it's very possible that the voodoo is inaccurate and/or offensive; it was written by a white dude in the 80s, after all. Risk is high that stuff was bungled. It tracked with what I know (which is, admittedly, very very little - if it wasn't in Mumbo Jumbo, I don't know shit about it), but that isn't saying much.
That said, boy, I loved that book. Not only was it exciting and cool and absolutely crammed with rad characters, it had these cool meditations on how unknowable powers greater than us are. The inhumanly rich, or the mystically-advanced artificial intelligence, they might come to us in guises we recognizes, in systems we think we know, but that's just for our benefit. To let us think we have any control, any insight into them. To make us feel safe. But at the end of the day, they are bigger and more powerful than we can even comprehend. That's heavy, but a) extremely true and b) a very fascinating thematic spine for an action novel where a club owner named "Jammer" gets some fingers disintegrated by a laser gun.
Might have to chalk this one up as a "problematic fave," but dang, I dug it.
I need to read this again, I haven't read any of the Sprawl trilogy since I was about 13, and I think there's things I'd appreciate more now.
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
I finally got through the waiting list for the digital audiobook of Ghost Story, and it's the first book in the entire Dresden Files that isn't read by James Marsters. Everything is the worst.
I'm reading The Hound of the Baskervilles today, I've never read an actual Sherlock book before but am of course very familiar with the character through a million-plus adaptations
I'm glad to see his general assholery came straight from the source, I thought he might've been played straight originally and more modern views added in "this guy would actually be kinda insufferable"
I know I bitched about Sanderson's WoT and Mistborn, but his was the easy button on the Kindle bookstore, and I devoured the two Stormlight Archives novels. They're not without faults, but I'm eagerly awaiting the third's release in a few months.
In the meantime I think I'll get back to Abercrombie.
I'm reading The Hound of the Baskervilles today, I've never read an actual Sherlock book before but am of course very familiar with the character through a million-plus adaptations
I'm glad to see his general assholery came straight from the source, I thought he might've been played straight originally and more modern views added in "this guy would actually be kinda insufferable"
I'd have recommended that you start with some of the short stories before the novels, but that's just my preference, and you seem to be digging it so I'll just move along
So, I think it's very possible that the voodoo is inaccurate and/or offensive; it was written by a white dude in the 80s, after all. Risk is high that stuff was bungled. It tracked with what I know (which is, admittedly, very very little - if it wasn't in Mumbo Jumbo, I don't know shit about it), but that isn't saying much.
That said, boy, I loved that book. Not only was it exciting and cool and absolutely crammed with rad characters, it had these cool meditations on how unknowable powers greater than us are. The inhumanly rich, or the mystically-advanced artificial intelligence, they might come to us in guises we recognizes, in systems we think we know, but that's just for our benefit. To let us think we have any control, any insight into them. To make us feel safe. But at the end of the day, they are bigger and more powerful than we can even comprehend. That's heavy, but a) extremely true and b) a very fascinating thematic spine for an action novel where a club owner named "Jammer" gets some fingers disintegrated by a laser gun.
Might have to chalk this one up as a "problematic fave," but dang, I dug it.
I did a bunch of research on voodoo in college and at the very absolute least he used all the terminology correctly
obviously that doesn't mean it can't be offensive but as a non-Haitian that's not something I can judge
I once met a girl at a bar who spent a very long time staring at me and then claimed she was attempting to read my aura and figure out which voodoo god I was most attuned to
Just, you know, on the subject of people we're pretty sure don't know much about voodoo
I once met a girl at a bar who spent a very long time staring at me and then claimed she was attempting to read my aura and figure out which voodoo god I was most attuned to
Just, you know, on the subject of people we're pretty sure don't know much about voodoo
I once met a girl at a bar who spent a very long time staring at me and then claimed she was attempting to read my aura and figure out which voodoo god I was most attuned to
Just, you know, on the subject of people we're pretty sure don't know much about voodoo
So which god was it
I'm willing to bet the answer would be Samedi. Samedi is, like, the second thing anyone learns about voodoun right after zombies.
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Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
Everything I know about voodoo I learned from Monkey Island
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webguy20I spend too much time on the InternetRegistered Userregular
I'm rereading the aeronaut's windlass and it's just a fun book. I want more, but I also want more Dresden Files. Butcher needs to write faster.
Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
I finished Blood Meridian. That was... a good book that I am happily never going to read again. It was an interesting contrast to The Road, at least. As ugly as that book is beautiful.
Finished Joe Abercrombie's First Law series. It was excellent. I immediately started his Shattered Seas trilogy and am already on the second book. It is also very good. The whole Shattered Seas trilogy is available in Libby so its not going to cost you anything to give it a go.
I was real dumb for waiting this long to read the rest of The Sprawl trilogy! I think Count Zero was my favorite, but I still dug the hell out of MLO. Tied a lot of unexpected threads together, and had a final page that blew up the whole series while still reflecting its central themes, which was mind-blowingly impressive. THAT'S how you end a fuckin' trilogy.
I still don't think that ending totally gels but maybe I need to give it another read
Oh, I loved it. Throughout the whole run, "you will never understand powers bigger than you - all you can do is find a lane, try your best, and maybe get lucky" was a driving idea. The other big idea was, "there's always a something bigger than you. Perspective is inherently limited, and you may not realize there's something bigger than you, but there is."
And the first real AI, the pinnacle of human achievement and sum of all human knowledge, an antagonist for three books that seemed untouchable, had something bigger than it. Something it didn't understand. So it shattered, found lanes, stayed in them, got lucky.
So good.
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
edited September 2017
Have you read The Peripheral? He plays around with many of the same themes in a more grounded setting that I think you might dig. It felt like a return to form for people who were getting tired of the Blue Ant stuff.
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Really enjoying it. The good guys are super likable, the bad guys are satisfyingly douchey, the setting is delightfully bleak and dirty, and everything's moving along at a jolly old pace and bringing all the threads together and I am downright excited to see what happens.
The only problem is I bought this book to last me through my flight and overnight hostel stay on Saturday and at this rate I'm going to finish it tomorrow.
one Verge writer's foolhardy quest to spend their summer reading It
If I can't get another book tomorrow I'll download the app. But I think there's a book store on the way to the airport.
I really should read the previous Sarantium books.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Howard Zinn is great in showing the shit that happened in the US from different perspectives. It's also quite depressing because it shows alot of historical people and things sucked for lots of people, which is true, but can be pretty depressing.
certainly so far I seem to. Mieville's writing is very enjoyable and his style is not to explain more than naturally develops in the course of the unfolding narrative, which I enjoy
Definitely worth a buy
This was such a complete bait-and-switch. The scary parts were effectively creepy (though not all Its appearances were), but what I really ended up loving about this book was how it's actually about childhood. About its secret pleasures and how those seem to fill up the entire world. And remembering that childhood as a grownup. Parts of this book made me really nostalgic. Remembering entire afternoons devoted to one single activity or project as if nothing else ever had or ever would exist in the world. The writing is best when it's just describing the kids living their normal lives before they're interrupted by monsters.
Its ending where
The book is goofy in places, of course. The cosmic turtle, the final battle against the monster and its origins, the macroverse, none of that really worked for me. And good god what the fuck was up with how they make their way out of the tunnels as kids?!
I wouldn't call it a masterpiece but the parts that work really work.
Why the hell didn't I do that sooner. Borrowing ebooks is great other than the slightly limited selection.
I read "The Martian" that way. That book is great just like the movie. I blazed through it.
Also read "All the Birds in the Sky" by Charlie Jane Anders. I really liked it for about 2/3 of the way through but felt like it didn't finish that strong. It did have a kind of a Lemony Snicket meets The Magicians vibe which was cool.
Currently reading "The Blade Itself" by Joe Abercrombie and really liking it. I'm most of the way through that first book and the other two in the series aren't in Libby so I guess I'll have to spring for the Kindle editions.
Nintendo ID: Incindium
PSN: IncindiumX
So, I think it's very possible that the voodoo is inaccurate and/or offensive; it was written by a white dude in the 80s, after all. Risk is high that stuff was bungled. It tracked with what I know (which is, admittedly, very very little - if it wasn't in Mumbo Jumbo, I don't know shit about it), but that isn't saying much.
That said, boy, I loved that book. Not only was it exciting and cool and absolutely crammed with rad characters, it had these cool meditations on how unknowable powers greater than us are. The inhumanly rich, or the mystically-advanced artificial intelligence, they might come to us in guises we recognizes, in systems we think we know, but that's just for our benefit. To let us think we have any control, any insight into them. To make us feel safe. But at the end of the day, they are bigger and more powerful than we can even comprehend. That's heavy, but a) extremely true and b) a very fascinating thematic spine for an action novel where a club owner named "Jammer" gets some fingers disintegrated by a laser gun.
Might have to chalk this one up as a "problematic fave," but dang, I dug it.
I need to read this again, I haven't read any of the Sprawl trilogy since I was about 13, and I think there's things I'd appreciate more now.
Woa.
Still processing that but definitely something.
I'm glad to see his general assholery came straight from the source, I thought he might've been played straight originally and more modern views added in "this guy would actually be kinda insufferable"
In the meantime I think I'll get back to Abercrombie.
The show really dirtied up pretty much everyone. In the books most characters are a bit more idealistic at heart than the show has them.
I'd have recommended that you start with some of the short stories before the novels, but that's just my preference, and you seem to be digging it so I'll just move along
It was alright, but I just didn't find the central mystery that interesting and Sherlock disappears for like half the book
It's kinda crazy that the most famous Sherlock story barely includes him
also the book literally fell apart in my hands as I was finishing it and I think the last few pages had been torn out
I did a bunch of research on voodoo in college and at the very absolute least he used all the terminology correctly
obviously that doesn't mean it can't be offensive but as a non-Haitian that's not something I can judge
Just, you know, on the subject of people we're pretty sure don't know much about voodoo
So which god was it
I'm willing to bet the answer would be Samedi. Samedi is, like, the second thing anyone learns about voodoun right after zombies.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
Nintendo ID: Incindium
PSN: IncindiumX
Gosh that guy was just real good at putting words on a page, huh
Also I’m learning that 100-200 pages is like ideal book length for me, I love getting that shit done in a day
I was real dumb for waiting this long to read the rest of The Sprawl trilogy! I think Count Zero was my favorite, but I still dug the hell out of MLO. Tied a lot of unexpected threads together, and had a final page that blew up the whole series while still reflecting its central themes, which was mind-blowingly impressive. THAT'S how you end a fuckin' trilogy.
And the first real AI, the pinnacle of human achievement and sum of all human knowledge, an antagonist for three books that seemed untouchable, had something bigger than it. Something it didn't understand. So it shattered, found lanes, stayed in them, got lucky.
So good.