|
Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Oct 25, 2013 8:20:23 GMT -5
I'd think with programmers you'd at least get guys willing to chat about nerd stuff, which still misses wide swathes of quality literature/music/television/film but is better than nothing. Apparently mechanical engineers (at least in Iowa) are the dumb jocks of the technical world. I like sports, but I'm not willing to spend my time pretending to give a shit about UFC, dirt biking, or Tosh.0.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Dastardly on Oct 25, 2013 8:54:47 GMT -5
That's true, yeah. Conversations about GoT, Breaking Bad, Community...anime, if I was into that, which I'm not...there are some things they're into.
|
|
|
Post by K. Thrace on Oct 25, 2013 15:10:56 GMT -5
But, Poll: for people who want to do the next Book Club, vote on which book we'll do next (or suggest a better choice): You know you could create an actual poll, if you wanted. How do you do a poll?
|
|
|
Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Oct 25, 2013 16:50:47 GMT -5
First select create thread in the forum overview (upper right hand corner) and choose add poll afterward - option next to subject field. Another question for the FAQ clearly.
|
|
|
Post by Mrs David Tennant on Oct 29, 2013 11:52:52 GMT -5
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson currently. I'm finding it quite wonderful. I saw that - I like a lot of his stuff. I'll have to give it a shot.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2013 12:05:53 GMT -5
I started reading Erik Larson's "Devil in the White City" this week. So far, it is excellent. I'm not very far in, maybe fifty pages, but it is delivering equal parts intriguing history and foreboding evil.
|
|
|
Post by drunkneildiamond on Oct 29, 2013 12:50:44 GMT -5
I started reading Erik Larson's "Devil in the White City" this week. So far, it is excellent. I'm not very far in, maybe fifty pages, but it is delivering equal parts intriguing history and foreboding evil. I really enjoyed that book and it made me want to learn more about World Fairs. I've also been meaning to get around to Larson's In the Garden of Beasts, but I haven't yet gotten around to it.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Dastardly on Nov 13, 2013 8:47:00 GMT -5
Whatcha been reading? Been a while since we've done this.
Here's me:
Savage Detectives, Roberto Bolano - like On The Road, except, honestly, better. I know! No, I like On the Road too, but it's kindof a mess, you have to admit. And actually so is Savage Detectives, but it's a more mature mess. Bolano has a booming new voice and I'm psyched to read 2666 next month.
Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro - pushes its way right onto my short list of perfect novels. Brilliant use of the unreliable narrator; excellent weaving of small and large stories into the same topic; way less boring than the movie.
The Witches, Roald Dahl - man, Roald Dahl is awesome.
Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson - man, Shirley Jackson is awesome. I basically never had any idea what was going on in this book but I totally loved it anyway.
Stoner, John Williams - Periodically claimed as a lost classic, this 1965 novel contains one of the better death scenes I've read, but also an off-putting dislike of women that keeps it out of "lost classic" territory in my book.
Zealot: the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, Reza Aslan - Aslan is a historian, a scholar, and a religious person, and in trying not to offend any of those identities, he ties himself up into knots. For example: one gets into trouble when one discusses the historicity of Jesus's resurrection, since that obviously is not a thing that actually happened. So this book is fine, but a little confused, and likely not to make anyone completely happy.
Possession, AS Byatt - yo this book is ill, it's like Da Vinci Code for book geeks except it's not shitty.
Alcestis, Euripides - Great argument between Admetus and his dad, but deux ex Heracles doesn't really work.
And now I'm reading Right Ho, Jeeves, which is smashing.
|
|
|
Post by SensitiveSethPutnam on Nov 13, 2013 8:51:59 GMT -5
I wholly support this thread, but my two books haven't changed in months, so I'll be sitting this one out and lurking.
|
|
|
Post by The Larch on Nov 13, 2013 8:55:51 GMT -5
I have been reading 1Q84. I just finished the first book, and I'm enjoying it so far. I don't have much more to say at this point.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Rumak on Nov 13, 2013 9:00:22 GMT -5
As I don't have HBO, I decided to get the Game of Thrones book from our local library. But so far, I'm only like 30 pages into it. Spending too much time on shoutbox.
|
|
Dellarigg
AV Clubber
This is a public service announcement - with guitars
Posts: 7,495
|
Post by Dellarigg on Nov 13, 2013 9:01:34 GMT -5
Just finished Doctor Sleep, which had a really strong first half, but then seemed to get bogged down in plot mechanics and become a trudge. My expectations weren't skyscraping, though, so I wasn't too disappointed.
Just started Capital, by John Lanchester. This looks at a group of people who live and/or work in an affluent London street around the time of the financial crash. Less than 100 pages in, and I'm enjoying it so far. The characters are all types, in the Dickensian, state of the nation manner. One even seems to be based on Banksy, which should be amusing.
Also just started The Better Angels Of Our Nature, by Steven Pinker. This puts forth the proposition that we live in the best time humans have known, in terms of declining rates of violence, crime, cruelty, etc. Only started this yesterday, but it's engagingly, stylishly written, and I hope that continues over the course of its 800 pages.
|
|
|
Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Nov 13, 2013 9:28:05 GMT -5
Dies the Fire by SM Sterling and re-reading Un Lun Dun by China Mieville.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2013 9:30:33 GMT -5
I just finished the recent biography of Jim Henson. It was really good, and touched on a lot of obscure things he did in his early career, some of which I had seen via YouTube, some which I hadn't.
|
|
|
Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Nov 13, 2013 9:35:43 GMT -5
Still working my way through Tale of Two Cities on my Kindle. About halfway through now.
And since I apparently can't take any electronics in with me when I donate plasma, I decided to check out my first non-children's book from the library in ages. Instead of staring at the wall at my next appointment I'll be reading Thunderstruck by Erik Larsen.
|
|
|
Post by usernametoolong on Nov 13, 2013 10:04:00 GMT -5
Just started Fiasco by Imre Kertesz, too soon to say anything, but generally, if you haven't read anything by him, you should correct this.
I also wanted to read The Castle of Otranto for Halloween, but I'm really not into it, I'll still finish it as it's ridiculously short.
And finished Emmanuel Carrere's Limonov, which is the best thing I've read in a very long time, unfortunately not available in English for the moment as far as I know.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2013 10:11:11 GMT -5
The Wind Up Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi - This is the second time I have read this novel, the author's first and best work. I have seen him labeled as "biopunk", and I guess that's somewhat apt, as the novel is set in a post-apocalyptic world where global warming has drowned large swaths of the earth, and unscrupulous genetics firms have crafted plagues that destroy all crops so that the calorie companies can sell only their own, plague resistant seeds. There are also genetically engineered "cheshire" cats and "wind ups", humanoid creatures bred for war and slavery, as well as "megodonts", elephant-like genetic monstrosities who are used as beasts of burden to compress giant springs that release energy as they unspool. This is the primary source of energy in a future where fossil fuels are nearly non-existent. The action in the novel shifts between five different main characters, each with their own political, financial, or even just biological motives for survival. All are well-crafted, and Bacigalupi does an incredible job of creating this sweltering, hopeless, Blade Runner-esque future.
After this novel, Bacigalupi ventured into the world of YA lit with The Shipbreaker and The Drowned Cities, both set in the same or a very similar world as The Wind Up Girl, but slightly less graphic and centered more on youthful protagonists. They are not quite as good as The Wind Up Girl, but still interesting and worth reading. Recently, Bacigalupi published a new novel called Zombie Baseball Beatdown. I suppose the title should have given it away, but this novel is apparently aimed at the teen/pre-teen crowd. It's about a group of early teen kids who discover a zombie outbreak in their town, and it contains an extremely heavy-handed message against GMOs and corporate farming techniques. If you are older than the age of 14, I would recommend you skip this one. I did not realize that it was aimed at such a younger crowd until I had already purchased it on my Kindle. I hope that Bacigalupi returns to writing stories aimed at adults, but I completely understand his courting of the youth market, since that's where the money is these days. But please, no more Zombie Baseball Beatdowns.
Skippy Dies: A Novel, Paul Murray - Took me a while to get to this one, and it starts just a little slowly, but it ended up sucking me in pretty good about halfway through. This novel was sold to me as a dark comedy, but after I got through it, I would not classify it as such. I don't want to give away too much plot, but the novel deals with themes of depression, suicide, drugs, molestation, infidelity, etc. Pretty dark stuff. There are moments of great lightness, but overall it's a very dark and sad story. Still, the characters are well-drawn, and it's a good read. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good Irish novel.
The Forgotten Waltz, Anne Enright - Like I said, I'm a sucker for an Irish novel. I am about halfway through this one right now, which is told from the point of view of the female half of an unfaithful couple who have cheated on their spouses with each other. Not a lot to say about it yet, except that the writer's voice is very interesting and fresh. She uses some very odd turns of phrase that still come out of her protagonist's mouth with an ease that makes them seem effortless, yet also slightly off. I am enjoying it so far. I'll get back to you all on it when I am finished with it.
|
|
clytie
TI Forumite
Posts: 1,071
|
Post by clytie on Nov 13, 2013 10:18:59 GMT -5
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. I'm trying to read all the classic that I've never read. The only Wharton books I'd read previously are Ethan Frome and The Custom of the Country. I preferred this to both of them. Lily Bart is such a fascinating character!
|
|
eldan
TI Forumite
Posts: 800
|
Post by eldan on Nov 13, 2013 10:22:41 GMT -5
Finished up The Disaster Artist this week. It was a great companion to the movie, I wound up watching The Room in its entirety two or three times over the course of reading the book just to see the specific scenes and moments referred to in the book. Some of it felt a little uncomfortable to read, though, because Sestero sets Wiseau up as pretty insecure and easy to fall into depression right before he tells a ton of stories about how inept he was, or how weird he was, or whatever. In a way it just felt like listening to one friend talk shit about another friend, nobody ends up looking too good. But, Sestero doesn't seem to have much of an ego about himself or his own acting skills, so that tempers that a bit. I was also hoping the book would go into how the film became such a cult hit, but unfortunately it ends with the premiere. Either way, it was a good read, nothing terribly enlightening, but definitely fun.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Dastardly on Nov 13, 2013 10:39:20 GMT -5
Larch, I dug Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. That's the only of Murakami's I've read so far.
DellaRigg, Better Angels Of Our Nature sounds interesting. Huh. Although I can't help thinking of Pangloss from <i>Candide</i> a bit.
Usernametoolong, I read Castle of Otranto for Halloween! Yeah, it's really not that great, huh?
Raige, I'm looking forward to Skippy Dies. Glad you liked it; those themes are relevant to my interests.
Clytie, House of Mirth is great! Yeah, Lily Bart is awesome.
|
|
|
Post by Judkins Moaner on Nov 13, 2013 10:54:04 GMT -5
Zealot: the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, Reza Aslan - Aslan is a historian, a scholar, and a religious person, and in trying not to offend any of those identities, he ties himself up into knots. For example: one gets into trouble when one discusses the historicity of Jesus's resurrection, since that obviously is not a thing that actually happened. So this book is fine, but a little confused, and likely not to make anyone completely happy. This is definitely the word on my street; I was thinking about grabbing this at the bookstore, but I may wait until it shows up at the library. Good on you, Clytie, for The House of Mirth. I'll add that Terence Davies's film with Gillian Anderson (and good God, Laura Linney) is one of my favorite ever book-to-film "classic" literary adaptations. Right now I'm on Lawrence Powell's The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans. A native of Louisiana myself (though Baton Rouge, not NO), I've long looked for a good general middlebrow history of the early city, and Powell (who's written stuff on the Reconstruction-era city as well as other subjects) does a really good job of hitting that range between dry academia and popular mush. This is basically the first hundred years of New Orleans, mainly French and Spanish rule (I'm in the 1790s right now, with a fascinating, more-educational-than-I-thought discussion of the two-way creolization of Louisianian society), though I think he'll talk a little about the American takeover, too. Stresses, as the title suggests, the improvisational nature of New Orleans's existence. Not sure what'll be next. I've got Blood Meridian and Scott Lynch's Red Seas Under Red Skies staring me down, and I still have to write a book review of Cuisine and Empire for the local culinary history society.
|
|
|
Post by scrawler on Nov 13, 2013 11:02:27 GMT -5
Possession, AS Byatt - yo this book is ill, it's like Da Vinci Code for book geeks except it's not shitty. I loved that book so much when I read it about 10 years ago. I would like to revisit it sometime, but I but don't have my own copy and it never occurs to me when I'm at the library/bookstore.
|
|
|
Post by scrawler on Nov 13, 2013 11:03:34 GMT -5
Skippy Dies: A Novel, Paul Murray - Took me a while to get to this one, and it starts just a little slowly, but it ended up sucking me in pretty good about halfway through. This novel was sold to me as a dark comedy, but after I got through it, I would not classify it as such. I don't want to give away too much plot, but the novel deals with themes of depression, suicide, drugs, molestation, infidelity, etc. Pretty dark stuff. There are moments of great lightness, but overall it's a very dark and sad story. Still, the characters are well-drawn, and it's a good read. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good Irish novel. One of my favorite books of recent years. I think it's both deeply sad and yet also uplifting. It manages a juggling act where neither outweighs the other.
|
|
|
Post by scrawler on Nov 13, 2013 11:09:30 GMT -5
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt Just finished this over the weekend. Totally head-over-heels in love with it.
A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki A great, swirling, crazy, metaphysical story, couched in an epistolary novel. Read this right before Goldfinch.
Snowdrops, A.D. Miller Engaging post-Cold War literary thriller story about a British expat in Moscow. Started yesterday and am already halfway through. Really solid, melancholy writing, with witty observations about life in modern Russia to a foreigner's eyes.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Dastardly on Nov 13, 2013 12:12:28 GMT -5
Yo Scrawler, did you like Tartt's Secret History? 'Cause I didn't, but everyone seems like they really like Goldfinch so I'm sortof tempted to try it anyway. You see my dilemma.
I have pirated e-versions of Possession and Zealot, guys. If you want 'em I can find a way to get 'em to you.
|
|
|
Post by ComradeQuestions on Nov 13, 2013 12:15:03 GMT -5
In light of this season of Homeland apparently being an inferior version of John le Carre, I decided to read my first le Carre novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. It's very good, and makes me like Homeland even less, since it so blatantly ripped off the honeypot story of the book, and the book does it so much better.
|
|
|
Post by Cerusee on Nov 13, 2013 12:21:52 GMT -5
Still reading FAR FROM THE TREE (I am now on the chapter about children conceived in rape, and man, every chapter of this book is distressing a a new way), but I have also cracked open THE GRAPHIC CANON VOL 3 and a poetry anthology called CONVERSATION PIECES, which features poems talking to other poems (such as The Passionate Shepherd to His Mistress and the many poetic replies written by other poets over the centuries).
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2013 12:28:46 GMT -5
The Fucking Epic Twitter Quest of @mayoremanuel by Dan Sinker—I loved the twitter feed, and this book actually works because of the notes Sinker writes. And I love it because I tend to eat, sleep and breathe Chicago politics.
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand—It's for a class.
Humpty Dumpty by Eric Bogosian—Hey everyone, I read plays even though I don't actively work in theater any more.
|
|
|
Post by deliciousmalk on Nov 13, 2013 12:34:34 GMT -5
The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton Just finished this the other day, really great read. Excellent mystery that I think would make a good HBO series. Sorta like Deadwood. Just started: Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel Started this one, really liked Wolf Hall, so far I'm liking this one as well. Even though I keep thinking about The Tudors and Natalie Dormer.....sorry what were we talking about? To read next: The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt I liked Secret History but I didn't love it, this one sound interesting so I will give it a go. Plus scrawler loved it, so it must be good right?
|
|
|
Post by scrawler on Nov 13, 2013 12:41:54 GMT -5
The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton Just finished this the other day, really great read. Excellent mystery that I think would make a good HBO series. Sorta like Deadwood. Just started: Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel Started this one, really liked Wolf Hall, so far I'm liking this one as well. Even though I keep thinking about The Tudors and Natalie Dormer.....sorry what were we talking about? To read next: The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt I liked Secret History but I didn't love it, this one sound interesting so I will give it a go. Plus scrawler loved it, so it must be good right? Wow we are like mirror twins. Wolf Hall is my next book on the list and The Luminaries after that.
|
|