Books!

[Fred the Barber]

Trying to hold myself to my recent claim that I prefer reading top-notch genre fiction over weeby stuff, I read Brandon Sanderson's novella Snapshot yesterday. It's a fun, short mystery + soft sci-fi read, and, as always with Sanderson, it's predicated on a very interesting "but what if the world worked this way?" premise.

Since I had a bunch of time to kill waiting at the airport and then flying, and Snapshot was pretty short, when I finished it I picked back up the last volume of Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy, Last Argument of Kings, which I stalled out of months back. I'm about halfway through that final book of the trilogy, and Abercrombie started seriously cleaning house. Lots of loose ends getting tied up. That actually succeeded at seriously sucking me into the story, even though it's been so long, and I'm going to try to finish it this weekend.

 

[Corrupt]

 I'm enjoying A Song Of Ice and Fire, currently on book 3. And a few weeks I got around to reading the LOTR and enjoyed every minute of it.

Harry Potter was good as well.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Corrupt

[Darklord Rooke]

On 3/19/2017 at 3:43 AM, Fred the Barber said:

when I finished it I picked back up the last volume of Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy, Last Argument of Kings, which I stalled out of months back. \

Out of curiosity how did you find the trilogy? I've often been tempted to read Abercrombie but he's always seemed a bit too dark for my taste. Is his work real good?

[Jun Inoue]

On ‎18‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 5:43 PM, Fred the Barber said:

Trying to hold myself to my recent claim that I prefer reading top-notch genre fiction over weeby stuff, I read Brandon Sanderson's novella Snapshot yesterday. It's a fun, short mystery + soft sci-fi read, and, as always with Sanderson, it's predicated on a very interesting "but what if the world worked this way?" premise.

Since I had a bunch of time to kill waiting at the airport and then flying, and Snapshot was pretty short, when I finished it I picked back up the last volume of Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy, Last Argument of Kings, which I stalled out of months back. I'm about halfway through that final book of the trilogy, and Abercrombie started seriously cleaning house. Lots of loose ends getting tied up. That actually succeeded at seriously sucking me into the story, even though it's been so long, and I'm going to try to finish it this weekend.

 

Did you end up finishing it? I'm still waiting to see how you like the ending of the third book

2 hours ago, Darklord Rooke said:

Out of curiosity how did you find the trilogy? I've often been tempted to read Abercrombie but he's always seemed a bit too dark for my taste. Is his work real good?

If you compare it to more "standard" fantasy, like classic good vs evil works, then Abercrombie is definitely quite darker. He goes for that "war is not a fucking joke" vibe.

[Fred the Barber]

@Darklord Rooke @Jun Inoue I finished it that same weekend, just never came to report in. I rather liked it, and would recommend it for anyone who likes reading epic fantasy. There are people I'd rather read in that genre (Scott Lynch and Brent Weeks are at the top of that list right now), but I'm very much glad I read The First Law: my mental world was a less interesting place without Logen and Glokta. Not everything in the story went the way I would've liked (in contrast to, say, a Brent Weeks series, which never goes the way you expect, but when it's over you wouldn't have it any other way), but you have to be realistic about these things.

[akaritan]

On 3/17/2017 at 9:07 AM, Funyarinpa said:

After trying to balance At The Mountains of Madness (by Lovecraft) and The New York Trilogy (by Paul Auster), I ended up having to stall both of them since I have to turn in an overdue term project by Sunday, which is concerned with Thomas More's Utopia. Reading it currently and it's a stunningly boring read.

Lovecraft is absolutely delightful, I hope you like it! It's been a while since I've read Mountains of Madness, but I do fondly remember the experience.

[Funyarinpa]

Currently reading 1Q84 and it's really good. 

[Zenophilious]

Started reading It, which is something I've been planning to read for a while now.  Haven't gotten very far yet, but the beginning section with the paper boat was haunting, and set the tone pretty damn well.  Think I'm gonna like this one   

[Fred the Barber]

Just finished up Guy Gavriel Kay's Sailing to Sarantium, the first book in a duology called "The Sarantine Mosaic." It was really good! And at $4 for a long, high-quality fantasy novel on the Kindle, it's a steal. It's got a lot going for it:

• I think I must like historical fantasy. This is only the second historical fantasy series I've read (the other being Elizabeth Bear's "Eternal Sky" trilogy), but they both really spoke to me. There's something fascinating about the overlay of a familiar world and familiar cultures (in Bear's case, Mongolia, when men and mares conquered half the span of the world; in Kay's, Byzantium at its decadent height, on the eve of collapse) with fantasy elements (gods; spirits; magic) which apparently really pulls me in.
• It's a decently long book, and the writer is definitely not shy to go to the wall on writing elaborate descriptive prose, but even so, the book never once dragged. There was always something interesting happening, someone I wanted to see doing something I wanted to read about.
• It didn't fall victim to the typical long fantasy novel problem of having a giant, easily forgettable cast: I never once had a "wait, who are you, again?" moment with a character, and in fact, almost all the characters were pretty dear to me.
• In spite of it being a pretty misogynistic historical setting, the main female characters play big roles, and they earn those parts. There are some interesting male characters around, including the main character, but the women are the reason it's fun to read.
• Can I say "characters" a few more times? There are a lot of them, from many walks of life: slaves and emperors, chariot racers and mosaicists. And they're all worth reading about.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it; highly recommend it, especially if the idea of historical fantasy seems interesting to you.

[Funyarinpa]

I'd bought S. (by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst) from Amazon, it apparently arrived yesterday. Due to some stuff though I'm only heading home now and I'm excited to crack it open. 

I was reading Crime and Punishment before. Really liked some bits, wasn't as hooked by others. Doesn't drag, somehow (I normally can't get into classical literature due to their settings). Reading the (apparently wonderful) Oliver Ready translation from Penguin. 

[Roulette]

Currently reading The War in the West by James Holland. Since I'm having trouble with how to describe this book, I'm just going to paste the description from amazon.

In Germany Ascendant, the first part of this ground-breaking new history, James Holland introduces the war, beginning with the lead-up to its outbreak in 1939 and taking us up to mid-1941 as the Nazis prepared to unleash Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia. To tell the real story, he weaves together the experiences of dozens of individuals, from civilians and soldiers, to sailors, pilots, leading military strategists, industrialists and heads of state, and uncovers the strategy, tactics and events that informed not only the military aspects of the war but also the economic, political, and social aspects too.

Those last bits of the line was what really piqued my interest on the book. A chance to deepen my understanding on the geopolitical and economical situation of Europe at that particular time frame was something I possibly couldn't pass upon and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in WWII outside of what hollywood and documentaries teaches us.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Roulette

[Fred the Barber]

Finished reading the latest Stormlight Archive book, Oathbringer. Brandon Sanderson once again proved he deserves his place atop my (figurative, not literal) list of favorite authors, side by side with Brent Weeks and Scott Lynch. Here's to hoping he actually lives to write the whole series he has planned, and that I actually live to read it all. At the rate he's going, I think it'll be another 20 years before it's done, but hey, journey before destination, right?

[Jun Inoue]

6 hours ago, Fred the Barber said:

Finished reading the latest Stormlight Archive book, Oathbringer. Brandon Sanderson once again proved he deserves his place atop my (figurative, not literal) list of favorite authors, side by side with Brent Weeks and Scott Lynch. Here's to hoping he actually lives to write the whole series he has planned, and that I actually live to read it all. At the rate he's going, I think it'll be another 20 years before it's done, but hey, journey before destination, right?

Already finished it? Dang, boi. Amazon were super late with my copy, so I've just barely started... Good to know that Sanderson keeps up with his consistent quality, although I did expect as much from him!

[Funyarinpa]

Reading The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar. It's supposedly about the troubled and tumultous period of adopting modernity Turkey/Ottoman Empire went through in the early 20th century, but there's just so much weird shit and archaic vocabulary (I'm reading in Turkish though I got an English copy from the school library since the English translation is much more modern, so I consult it sometimes) that I don't understand half of what I read and besides some interesting descriptions and philosophical statements, it's really quite banal. Considering dropping it and getting started on Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life or finally read a book on my Kobo after a long while and knock out Gaiman's Anansi Boys.

[Fred the Barber]

3 hours ago, Jun Inoue said:

Already finished it? Dang, boi. Amazon were super late with my copy, so I've just barely started... Good to know that Sanderson keeps up with his consistent quality, although I did expect as much from him!

Hahah. If you think that's impressive, consider that, after I got it, I re-read books 1 and 2, and read 2.5 for the first time (because I didn't know Edgedancer existed until the prologue to Oathbringer told me to go read it), before starting book 3. Reading 2.5 first was a very good decision: I love Lift.

[Jun Inoue]

17 minutes ago, Fred the Barber said:

Hahah. If you think that's impressive, consider that, after I got it, I re-read books 1 and 2, and read 2.5 for the first time (because I didn't know Edgedancer existed until the prologue to Oathbringer told me to go read it), before starting book 3. Reading 2.5 first was a very good decision: I love Lift.

I did re-read 1 while waiting for the delayed shipping. Mostly cuz the whole transition of Kaladin is just so cathartic.

I actually thought that Edgedancer was the 3rd book at first, which I bought months ago (fyi, still hasn't arrived...). So I'll prolly finish Oathbringer first, then read Edgedancer.

[Fred the Barber]

9 hours ago, Jun Inoue said:

I did re-read 1 while waiting for the delayed shipping. Mostly cuz the whole transition of Kaladin is just so cathartic.

I actually thought that Edgedancer was the 3rd book at first, which I bought months ago (fyi, still hasn't arrived...). So I'll prolly finish Oathbringer first, then read Edgedancer.

Oops. Well, suffice to say, you're going to be confused by Nin if you don't read Edgedancer first.

[Jun Inoue]

19 hours ago, Fred the Barber said:

Oops. Well, suffice to say, you're going to be confused by Nin if you don't read Edgedancer first.

Well, dammit. How long is it? Cuz I might just wait for it to get here, then.

[Fred the Barber]

1 minute ago, Jun Inoue said:

Well, dammit. How long is it? Cuz I might just wait for it to get here, then.

More than 100, less than 200 pages, IIRC. The first 1/5 of it is just Lift's chapter from Words of Radiance, too.

[Jun Inoue]

1 minute ago, Fred the Barber said:

More than 100, less than 200 pages, IIRC. The first 1/5 of it is just Lift's chapter from Words of Radiance, too.

Ah, sounds like a 1/2 days read. Unluckily, I just double checked, and Amazon doesn't even have an ETA on the book... so no idea whatsoever when I'll get Edgedancer.

[Fred the Barber]

6 hours ago, Jun Inoue said:

Ah, sounds like a 1/2 days read. Unluckily, I just double checked, and Amazon doesn't even have an ETA on the book... so no idea whatsoever when I'll get Edgedancer.

I feel like we've had this conversation before, but if you read it on Kindle, you can have it right nao.

[Jun Inoue]

8 hours ago, Fred the Barber said:

I feel like we've had this conversation before, but if you read it on Kindle, you can have it right nao.

That we did. I cried that it would be cheaper and more comfortable, but that I really like paper books. Without them, I wouldn't have Sanderson's signature on the 1st book!

[eris]

Picked up Ubik the other day. Really excited to start reading contemporary lit again after a very full schedule of British Victorian women last term -- less dry than I expected but none of it existential sci-fi.

I started the Stormlight Archive around the time the second book came out before realizing there are going to be a fuckton of books to wait for. I'm already upset that Rothfuss hasn't put out a new Kingkiller book yet after missing the deadline by like a year, I hate waiting just a little bit more than I like epic fantasy.

[Fred the Barber]

25 minutes ago, eris said:

Picked up Ubik the other day. Really excited to start reading contemporary lit again after a very full schedule of British Victorian women last term -- less dry than I expected but none of it existential sci-fi.

I started the Stormlight Archive around the time the second book came out before realizing there are going to be a fuckton of books to wait for. I'm already upset that Rothfuss hasn't put out a new Kingkiller book yet after missing the deadline by like a year, I hate waiting just a little bit more than I like epic fantasy.

Rothfuss put a deadline on the new Kingkiller book and then missed it? I expect literally nothing from that man at this point, and yet he still somehow finds a way to disappoint. Impressive.

[eris]

1 minute ago, Fred the Barber said:

Rothfuss put a deadline on the new Kingkiller book and then missed it? I expect literally nothing from that man at this point, and yet he still somehow finds a way to disappoint. Impressive.

I doubt the deadline was his decision. I'm sure it came from the publisher, since in every interview that he's asked about a release date he's said there isn't one. Still tho, give us the goods!! I want more lute rock and Shakespearean sex fairies.