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I am about 60 percent of the way through the ESPN book Those Guy's Have All The Fun. It is pretty slow, but there are a lot of interesting bits. I don't know how much of the rest I will finish because ESPN has sucked for about five years now and been really shitty for the past two or three.

Originally Posted by nasum still plowing through the Gears of War books

on the word choice.

(Homoerotic lit)

I am currently reading Mistborn book 1 of the trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. The next book is The Well of Ascention the third book is Hero of ages.
I've read them before but they are so cool im reading them again I really wish they would make movies out of these epic fantasy books.

Originally Posted by CaseyRyback I am about 60 percent of the way through the ESPN book Those Guy's Have All The Fun. It is pretty slow, but there are a lot of interesting bits. I don't know how much of the rest I will finish because ESPN has sucked for about five years now and been really shitty for the past two or three.

I was very disappointed with the book. The reviews made it sound like a bunch of crazy shit went down. Not really.

Originally Posted by epobirs Last good book: All The Devils Are Here by Joe Nocera and Bethany McLean A very detailed history of the recent financial crash.

If you read Michael Lewis' "The Big Short," how would you compare the two?

Originally Posted by RockinTheRedDog FINALLY...I have finished A Feast of Crows by Martin. This is by far my LEAST favorite of the books.

Ack! I'm right around halfway through Storm of Swords after starting the series at the start of the year, and I'm already feeling exhausted through some of the tedium. I can understand why HBO stuck w/ a 10-hour season instead of 12: while it seems like condensing an 1100+ page book into 10 episodes is a fool's errand, fully 300 pages consists of (a) crossing rivers, (b) family lineages going back 17 generations, (c) descriptions of food.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still wayyy digging the series. But I'm a bit worn out on it right now, the same way I can't go and play Fallout: New Vegas (though I'd like to), because I spent the last month playing Skyrim. I need some variety. Yet I also want to finish the 5 books before I incidentally come across spoilers online.

*sigh* first world problems for sure.

Originally Posted by mykevermin If you read Michael Lewis' "The Big Short," how would you compare the two? Ack! I'm right around halfway through Storm of Swords after starting the series at the start of the year, and I'm already feeling exhausted through some of the tedium. I can understand why HBO stuck w/ a 10-hour season instead of 12: while it seems like condensing an 1100+ page book into 10 episodes is a fool's errand, fully 300 pages consists of (a) crossing rivers, (b) family lineages going back 17 generations, (c) descriptions of food. Don't get me wrong, I'm still wayyy digging the series. But I'm a bit worn out on it right now, the same way I can't go and play Fallout: New Vegas (though I'd like to), because I spent the last month playing Skyrim. I need some variety. Yet I also want to finish the 5 books before I incidentally come across spoilers online. *sigh* first world problems for sure.

Feast for Crows and Dance of Dragons are a drag.

Well, that stinks. A friend told me that there's a scene in Storm of Swords where everything kinda goes to shit afterward. I'm pretty sure I just read that chapter.

What I mean is that they are still very well written and enjoyable. But you don't get the sense that the plot is moving forward like you do in the first three books. I have a feeling that Martin is losing control of the narrative.

Yeah, the main plot stalls in books 4 and 5 as a lot of it (especially book 4) is focused on new characters and secondary characters.

They're both still very good reads, just not as exciting as the first 3 books.

[QUOTE=mykevermin;9405580]If you read Michael Lewis' "The Big Short," how would you compare the two?


They're very different books. The Big Short is concerned with a smaller subset of the events and people leading up to the Crash. Actually, it is referenced in 'All The Devils Are Here' as the authors believe Lewis was mislead on a certain issue.

All The Devils Are Here is a more comprehensive examination of the myriad contributing factors but less of a personality profile. There are trade-offs in what you can do at different scales.

Originally Posted by munch What I mean is that they are still very well written and enjoyable. But you don't get the sense that the plot is moving forward like you do in the first three books. I have a feeling that Martin is losing control of the narrative.

The plot's moving forward, just on parallel tracks from the "main" plot that occured in the previous 3 books.

Thanks for the info, epobirs. I'll have to check that book out once I cease my brief dalliance into fiction.

Originally Posted by dmaul1114 Yeah, the main plot stalls in books 4 and 5 as a lot of it (especially book 4) is focused on new characters and secondary characters. They're both still very good reads, just not as exciting as the first 3 books.

In hindsight, one of the best books in the Dark Tower series was #4, Wizard and Glass. And the bulk of that book, if memory serves, was spent discussing Roland's character development from well before the start of the events in book 1. It was thin on overall plot development, and thick on character development.

I may be okay with that, then. We'll see.

I'm still struggling to figure out why I enjoy this series (Song of Ice and Fire) so much.

I just read the chapter where Robb at Catelyn Stark are betrayed by Walder Frey. As a chapter, it exhibits some of the frustration of the series - that is, not a single ing positive thing has happened to the Starks at all in the books. It's been 2500 pages (thus far) of nothing but suffering and death, with not the slightest bit of retaliation.

Don't get me wrong, I'm trying to avoid whinging as if to say "the good guys aren't winning!" - I know better than that. But I'm trying to discover why I enjoy this series when the narrative thus far provides no hope whatsoever. There should be some modicum of back-and-forth between the Starks and Lannisters - but it seems to consistently be the Starks on the losing end, having no success at all.

The only rationale I can think of is that the damned TV show misleadingly framed the series in a way to suggest Starks = protagonists, Lannisters = antagonists. When in reality (this is a hunch I've had for a while), the series doesn't have "main characters" the way traditional novels do. No clear "good guys" or "bad guys" - the main character in this book is Westeros, and therefore any assumption that this family or that family are the ones who we should cheer for is imposed on the books by the readers.

But seriously, the book is a perpetual series of disappointments. Nearly every character I like has died, and nearly every character I dislike has not - the closest is Jamie Lannister's maiming in book 3.

Originally Posted by mykevermin Thanks for the info, epobirs. I'll have to check that book out once I cease my brief dalliance into fiction. In hindsight, one of the best books in the Dark Tower series was #4, Wizard and Glass. And the bulk of that book, if memory serves, was spent discussing Roland's character development from well before the start of the events in book 1. It was thin on overall plot development, and thick on character development. I may be okay with that, then. We'll see. I'm still struggling to figure out why I enjoy this series (Song of Ice and Fire) so much. I just read the chapter where Robb at Catelyn Stark are betrayed by Walder Frey. As a chapter, it exhibits some of the frustration of the series - that is, not a single ing positive thing has happened to the Starks at all in the books. It's been 2500 pages (thus far) of nothing but suffering and death, with not the slightest bit of retaliation. Don't get me wrong, I'm trying to avoid whinging as if to say "the good guys aren't winning!" - I know better than that. But I'm trying to discover why I enjoy this series when the narrative thus far provides no hope whatsoever. There should be some modicum of back-and-forth between the Starks and Lannisters - but it seems to consistently be the Starks on the losing end, having no success at all. The only rationale I can think of is that the damned TV show misleadingly framed the series in a way to suggest Starks = protagonists, Lannisters = antagonists. When in reality (this is a hunch I've had for a while), the series doesn't have "main characters" the way traditional novels do. No clear "good guys" or "bad guys" - the main character in this book is Westeros, and therefore any assumption that this family or that family are the ones who we should cheer for is imposed on the books by the readers. But seriously, the book is a perpetual series of disappointments. Nearly every character I like has died, and nearly every character I dislike has not - the closest is Jamie Lannister's maiming in book 3.

I think you're right about who the main character is. The blurring of the lines between who is 'good and who is 'bad' is what I find attractive about the series. I think the overall point is that all that is constant is the Iron Throne. Some times honorable people get it; some times they don't.

Then there are the people like Tyrion that you can't help but like. And his best friend is Jaime.

On character development: That would be great if he did that in books 4 & 5. I actually prefer the fourth of the 5th because I like the Iron Islands stuff. You can easily see how they can take both of those books and make it into one season of the show.

That brings up another point: I think the show might end up being better than the book because the fat is cut off. That might not happen until they get to seasons 4 & 5, though I think there is still some fat amongst all the crazy shit that happens in the second and third books.

Just finished The Hunger Games. I really enjoyed this book but found the ending to be very unfulfilling. I was expecting more I guess.

Now i'm torn...should I continue with this trilogy or go back to The Song of Ice & Fire series and read Dance of Dragons? Thoughts?

Tune In Tokyo - Tim Anderson

Saw that it was free on the kindle and gave it a chance. Great book about a Gay man from North Carolina that moves to Tokyo for a year.
Perfect read for me since I plan on going back there by the end of the year.

Originally Posted by RockinTheRedDog Just finished The Hunger Games. I really enjoyed this book but found the ending to be very unfulfilling. I was expecting more I guess. Now i'm torn...should I continue with this trilogy or go back to The Song of Ice & Fire series and read Dance of Dragons? Thoughts?

Definitely read through the rest of the Hunger Games trilogy. Especially because the second book was my favorite!

Originally Posted by munch I was very disappointed with the book. The reviews made it sound like a bunch of crazy shit went down. Not really.

Yeah I thought they did a significant disservice with the way they sold the book. It was an interesting tale of the rise of a company, but they sold it on the seedy details and conflict and it really didn't have much of that. It also spent too much time on the building of the company rather than the on air talent.

It certainly doesn't help that the company itself does not come out looking well in the book. Dick Ebersol is right when he talks about their production values. David Hill is right when he talks about how they rape the cable customers and impose ridiculous carry charges. And the talent that shit on the culture they promoted so heavily as being great were right.


I started listening to Destiny of the Republic. It covers the assassination of President Garfield. So far it has been completely engaging. You never really hear much about him because of how short his presidency was, but he truly was an amazing man.

Finished It and started up The Purple Cloud


The Purple Cloud by Matthew Phipps Shiel

I'm reading 'Swamplandia!' now, which sort of feels like a Wes Anderson movie in novel form. It is quirky as shit, just for the hell of it. Pretty entertaining but there is also a lot of extra stuff not necessary to the story that pads it out a lot.

Finished this in about 3 days.

Nothing special, and the ending doesn't make much sense. Not a bad mystery though and having the setting be michigan was a nice touch.

Read about 50 pages of this on break yesterday:


Not inclined to read further. Pretty dull and generic so far. Which is odd, becasue other things I've read from Diane Duane (well, Star Trek novels.) were pretty good.