What book(s) are you currently reading? 15 September
What book(s) are you currently reading? 15 September
Finished Summer Knight by Jim Butcher. Fourth book of The Dresden Files. Things keep getting worse, stakes keep getting higher, Harry keep going through hell. Same old, same old.
Currently Reading Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King. It was recommended on reddit for books similar to the comic Y: The Last Man. I didn't used to like Stephen King much before, but I can understand why. Book is 700 pages long, and first 100 or so pages were pretty much just a set up. I didn't use to have patience for such slow books in my youth, though I am enjoying it now.
What about you guys? What have you been reading?
In audio form I’m reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Consider Phlebas, by Iain M Banks. It’s kind of a wild ride, but at the same time, kind of contemplative. Pain’s writing is both action packed yet somehow slow and descriptive at the same time.
In dead tree form I’m reading The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson a sort of portal fantasy that’s a melancholy and also contemplative read.
How are you liking Consider Phlebas? I had heard a lot about Culture series, but couldn't get into the book, though that was a long time ago, maybe I should give it another try.
The Space Between Worlds sounds interesting, how are you liking it?
Honestly, I’m having kind of a hard time with Consider Phlebas. It has elements I really enjoy, but these elements keep getting bogged down in (imo) clumsy writing and kind of awful dialog.
There have been really stellar scenes. Like the opening scene that introduces Horza, and a later scene with Horza on an island. But largely I’m just finding it okay.
I’m powering through because I’ve heard really good things about the Culture series, and I hope the subsequent books get better for me, but it may just be that Iain M. Banks is not for me.
As for The Space Between Worlds, I’m really enjoying it. It’s a portal fantasy, which I generally enjoy anyway, but this one has a sense of melancholy desperation that is working really well for me. It’s also dystopian, which is pretty topical considering, y’know, everything.
The premise is also pretty cool, in that you can’t travel to another dimension/earth where your alternate self is still alive, and you can’t travel to dimensions/earths that are too divergent from the “prime” earth that the story takes place in.
I need to revisit King. Like many, I gobbled up his books when I was younger and then moved on, but it’s been a long time since I’ve read anything by him and I’ve been hearing good things about his more recent books
Well, I don't know about his other work, but I am liking Sleeping Beauties. I don't know how I will feel the book when I finish it, but right now I am thinking about getting a couple more of his books.
Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman) - started reading but i don't know if it's for me.
Chasing the Dime (Michael Connelly)
I just read Thursday Murder Club a week or two back. I really liked the book. I don't usually read crime novels, mainly focusing on fantasy and sci-fi, so can't say if it's a good book in it's genre or not, but it was a fun read, I enjoyed it.
How are you liking Chasing the Dime? I haven't read anything by Michael Connelly. Recently got "The Black Echo", but haven't read it yet.
I got into Connelly books because of his Lincoln Lawyer books I like courtroom drama. I've read all of them and decided to read the rest of his books in order because i like his writing style.
Most of them are about Harry Bosch, a detective. Some of them, including Chasing The Dime have a different protagonist. I am only now getting into it, but it's not as good as the Bosch series. It's rather OK.
Usually if you start reading a Connelly book you know pretty early if you'll like it or not. He doesn't beat around the bush and you have a murder victim right away in the first chapter.
Just finished the first book in Dresden Files. Now I'm back into Robin Hobbs assassin's apprentice book two. I forgot the name of it because this series is nothing but a slog so far.
I remember liking the Farseer trilogy, but they aren't cheery books. Which is probably why I still haven't started the next trilogy after so many years.
How did you like Storm Front? Going to continue with Dresden Files?
It's not so much the tone of Hobb books thst gets to me, it's just the arduous pacing. I don't think I've ever encountered anything that goes this slow before.
Yeah, I quite enjoyed Stormfront. It feels weird with the absolute need to write about the breasts and looks of every woman in the book, and it makes it feel fairly shallow. But there's something that feels like it will become a really good series in there too, so I'm inclined to try a few more.
Pynchon's Against the Day. It becomes brilliant once you endure the first N pages.
In fact, Pynchon is now one of my favourite authors.
Nice. If someone doesn't know anything about Pynchon, what would you suggest as the first book?
I don't know - I was unfamiliar with Pynchon before starting Against the Day. I had a list of his books to look into: the choice of my first one was random.
It's going unexpectedly well for me so far - but such things depend on the reader as much as on the book.
I've seen other people recommend The Crying a Lot 49 for that purpose though, probably because it's much shorter.