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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.
 
I finally finished this:



I'm glad I finished it because I can say it was one of the worst books I've ever read. I honestly think that the author sent it in to see if his editor was paying attention, and the editor couldn't get past the first chapter and just printed the damn thing as is.

It would explain some of the more tortured grammatical abortions, the confounding parade of impenetrable geopolitics, and the totally unsatisfying "resolution". There's a climactic battleground, where the big bad villain (who seems to be playing both sides) is defeated, nobody knows what he was trying to accomplish, and the only explanation is that what appeared to be a vast conspiracy was probably just incompetence.

Yeah, you heard that right. The bad guy was just dumb. Of course! That's why nothing he did made sense in the end! Why didn't I see that?

There's so much else that's wrong. The main character has some truly awful aspects that are glossed over. Another point-of-view character disappears for large segments of the book and I have no idea what the point of any of his chapters was. Worst of all, there are no female characters of any depth, and only a couple that get more than a few paragraphs. Even then, it's not much. It's the most retrograde sausage fest I've ever seen in fantasy.

You who are complaining about A Feast for Crows? YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
 
Finished Xenocide and on to the 4th, and final book in the main Ender Saga.

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[quote name='dmaul1114']Finished Xenocide and on to the 4th, and final book in the main Ender Saga.

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[/QUOTE]

I loved the first two books in the main Ender saga, but had real trouble getting through the third one. Then again, I was in high school at the time. I hope I have more focus now to finish these books. :)

I did read the first book in the Bean spin-off series, which was pretty fun and a bit of a retread of Ender's Game.
 
After being stoked by the trailer for the upcoming massive James Bond Blu-Ray box set, I've been reading The James Bond Bedside Companion by Raymond Benson. It reviews all the books then compares them to the movies, although it only goes up to The Living Daylights (the first Timothy Dalton movie) as the author ended up writing official licensed James Bond novels and felt it would be a conflict of interest to review current books/films in the series. It's a lot better written than a lot of these "let's look at a whole movie franchise" books tend to be.
 
I really shouldn't watch this Prophets of Science Fiction show on Science. Every time I do I end up buying a bunch of books and inflating my already ridiculous backlog.
 
Here are things I read while reading The Tyranny of the Night. (In addition to being one of the worst books I've read, it is also tops the list at number of times it was put down to read something else)


This was, like Tyranny of the Night, was in the recommended section at the library. I was hoping for something lightweight and amusing. Well, it's lightweight. It's also shallow, predictable, and suffers from the "the main character is an idiot and doesn't notice all the really obvious stuff" cliche. Seriously lacking in fun and smarts of any kind, and takes forever to get going. I am going to be more choosy about things that appear in the library's recommended section.


A comic-book take on the media, this is a good read. The only problem is that it attempts to be genuinely fair and balanced and honest and ends up being unsatisfying. The gist is that the media reflects us and always has, but in the end there's nowhere constructive to go with this. This would be great for grade/high school students to get them to think about the media. But I was hoping for something more.


I find Grant Morrison frustrating. There are flashes of brilliance here, and it's surrounded by garbage. So much of this is infantile, dressed up in sexuality and meta to make it seem adult. At it's core is a bunch of underdeveloped and disconnected ideas, some of which are great and some of which are utterly vapid. I think this is Emperor's New Clothes territory -- because it's Morrison, people will go out of their way to impart depth and intelligence, even when it's not there or in serious need of revision or editing. I feel sorry for teenagers who get a hold of this, not because it will shock them but because it bore and confuse them.


I'll admit that I don't really care for the art, which I found distracting at times. But this is a very realistic, depressing story that is all too believable. Even when the characters make poor decisions, you can see how they slid into them all too easily. Highly recommended.


I started reading Bloom County before I was old enough to really understand the politics. This is the first in collecting the strips before the series ever began, punctuated by brief notes from Breathed about introductions of characters, explanations of political figures who have long since faded, or amusing notes. It's great to watch the strip come into being.

Also devoured The Hunger Games, and placed the next on on hold at the library.
 
[quote name='Uncle Milkshake']I loved the first two books in the main Ender saga, but had real trouble getting through the third one. Then again, I was in high school at the time. I hope I have more focus now to finish these books. :)

I did read the first book in the Bean spin-off series, which was pretty fun and a bit of a retread of Ender's Game.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, the rest of the series is a much harder read than Ender's Game, but still interesting. I think I liked the third one better than the second, the moral issues were more interesting.

I doubt I'll bother with the spinoffs.
 
Finished book 2 of The Hunger Games and started the 3rd on the train ride to work. Kinda sad cause after this, I'm reading Dance of Dragons which I've heard mixed reviews on but I need to get caught up with that storyline!
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Yeah, the rest of the series is a much harder read than Ender's Game, but still interesting. I think I liked the third one better than the second, the moral issues were more interesting.

I doubt I'll bother with the spinoffs.[/QUOTE]

I don't mean this as a troll comment, it's just a bit of book chat: the love for Ender is completely lost on me. I just feel so much of the setting is dated by the socio-political references (why didn't he just invent a similar political climate with fictional countries?) and so much of the conceit is straightforward. I felt that way in junior high, and after reading the first again a few years ago, I felt the same.

OSC makes all kinds of comments on his blog and in interviews to the effect that he's some kind of innovator in the genre, and while I understand the success of Ender and the influence it has on other works, I just don't see it as somehow changing scifi from its publication forward. OSC definitely thinks otherwise. He's a real piece of work.
 
Oh, I definitely don't think it's anything great. After the first book, they're pretty much mediocre. And even the first I think is highly overrated by many. I'm just a stickler for finishing a series when I start it!

But I definitely don think it's any great literature or anything. I can't comment much on how good it is for SciFi as I seldom read this genre.

Setting being dated doesn't bother me as I like reading history and historical fiction. Need to read more of the latter genre.
 
I didn't get that impression from your comments, dmaul. I'm just wondering, how did the regard for Ender build? How did it get to this point, where it's frequently on people's top 10 scifi books of all-time?

It worries me a little, especially for readers like you, who don't necessarily seek out scifi. Those kind of readers probably read through Ender, have a reaction similar to yours, see the popular regard for Ender, and think "Well if that's the best the genre has to offer, guess I'm done with scifi..."
 
Well the characters are pretty interesting. I think that's where a lot of of the regard for the series probably comes from. Some of the moral an theological discussions in the books are interesting, though not particularly novel or anything. That's why I've kept reading.

I certainly wouldn't judge Scifi by this series or anything. I'm just not hugely interested in it and prefer fantasy settings in general to futuristic settings. I've just never been that interested in the hard sciences, technology, space exploration etc. in and of itself.

I can enjoy a great story in such settings, as story is king, but I'm more intrigued by medieval type settings, magic rather than technology etc. so I seek out more of that type of stuff for light, leisure reads than I do Scifi.
 
[quote name='dothog'] I'm just wondering, how did the regard for Ender build? How did it get to this point, where it's frequently on people's top 10 scifi books of all-time?

It worries me a little, especially for readers like you, who don't necessarily seek out scifi. Those kind of readers probably read through Ender, have a reaction similar to yours, see the popular regard for Ender, and think "Well if that's the best the genre has to offer, guess I'm done with scifi..."[/QUOTE]

There are many good sci-fi books but you would be hard pressed to name a lot of great ones. Ender's Game is better than most of the "good" sci-fi books out there but it's not a great piece of literary work. As an exercise, try naming your top 10 sci-fi books and do the same for fantasy. You might be surprised how similar your list will be to the majority of folks out there.
 
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[quote name='kill3r7']There are many good sci-fi books but you would be hard pressed to name a lot of great ones. Ender's Game is better than most of the "good" sci-fi books out there but it's not a great piece of literary work. As an exercise, try naming your top 10 sci-fi books and do the same for fantasy. You might be surprised how similar your list will be to the majority of folks out there.[/QUOTE]

Hmm. I'm doing that internally and Ender's Game isn't anywhere in my top 10 scifi/fantasy.

I understand that for young scfi readers, there's a vicarious enjoyment of a precocious military genius and the payoff of guilt-free genocide. But past that, I don't see how it's more compelling of a story than is presented in countless other titles, and many of those titles feature characters that are far more plausible and three-dimensional.

I just hadn't thought about it in a while, and since I was posting on it, I went back and read the wikipedia summary of the book. It's a strange one. The only thing more strange than the book itself is the following it gets. Again, this isn't to criticize those who enjoy the book, it's just kind of an observation on how Ender's Game is taken for granted in "best of" lists.
 
[quote name='dothog']Hmm. I'm doing that internally and Ender's Game isn't anywhere in my top 10 scifi/fantasy.

I understand that for young scfi readers, there's a vicarious enjoyment of a precocious military genius and the payoff of guilt-free genocide. But past that, I don't see how it's more compelling of a story than is presented in countless other titles, and many of those titles feature characters that are far more plausible and three-dimensional.

I just hadn't thought about it in a while, and since I was posting on it, I went back and read the wikipedia summary of the book. It's a strange one. The only thing more strange than the book itself is the following it gets. Again, this isn't to criticize those who enjoy the book, it's just kind of an observation on how Ender's Game is taken for granted in "best of" lists.[/QUOTE]

I understand where you are coming from but to be fair Ender's Game was well received since its publication. The book was liked by critics and fans alike. It won both the Nebula and Hugo awards. I agree it's not a great piece of literature but it's better than most science fiction out there. At the end of the day tastes differ so you are entitled to your opinion. I have a friend who loves sci-fi but hates Dune and anything by Heinlein.




I've been busy the last few weeks but was able to read All The King's Men and Alloy of Law. Both were very good books. Especially, All the King's Men...
 
[quote name='Maklershed']The kindle version of Kitchen Confidential is .25 cents on Amazon right now.[/QUOTE]

God I remember when that first came out ages ago and was all the buzz. Who knew he'd wind up to be that food asshole that rags on the other food assholes?
 
[quote name='RockinTheRedDog']I LOVE his books. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on that one.[/QUOTE]

Almost two weeks in and I still haven't finished it. That's a long time to be one one book for me. The book is pretty slow paced actually. Out of 700 pages it's not until the last 200 where all the pieces of the plot start fitting together. And I can see where they're all going, so I just wish they'd finish up and get it over with.

Not sure if I'm that interested in reading the other 3 or 4 books in this series.
I know i started his Otherland series too but can never remember if I finished the 4th book or not. That's how little of an impact the books had on me.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']
I know i started his Otherland series too but can never remember if I finished the 4th book or not. That's how little of an impact the books had on me.[/QUOTE]

They had a big impact on me. Much of the imagery stays with me, and I think it is the definitive work on VR, thinking carefully through the issues, implications, and ramifications instead of just being flashy or using it as a plot device. The cast of characters was good as well. I can still name them all, which says something.

Unfortunately, I can also probably tell you why you can't remember the 4th book. The other three, and even the majority of the fourth, take f.o.r.e.v.e.r to get where they are going. Many segments drag on interminably, long overstaying their welcome. It's then over in a blink of an eye. While it's really all about the journey, that particular journey could have been edited down substantially and ended up being more compelling and exciting.

I think he has great ideas and I loved many things about Otherland, but I wouldn't read anything else by him. Unless it's abridged.
 
[quote name='dothog']I don't mean this as a troll comment, it's just a bit of book chat: the love for Ender is completely lost on me. I just feel so much of the setting is dated by the socio-political references (why didn't he just invent a similar political climate with fictional countries?) and so much of the conceit is straightforward. I felt that way in junior high, and after reading the first again a few years ago, I felt the same.

OSC makes all kinds of comments on his blog and in interviews to the effect that he's some kind of innovator in the genre, and while I understand the success of Ender and the influence it has on other works, I just don't see it as somehow changing scifi from its publication forward. OSC definitely thinks otherwise. He's a real piece of work.[/QUOTE]


Way back when, there was a bit of a controversy. The original was a pretty good novella and was nominated for a Hugo but didn't win. Orson was mainly a short story guy back then and it was very hard to make a living that way. So he took Ender's and stretched it out into a novel. I, like a lot of other people, felt the additions didn't make it much better and were there mainly to set up the back story for sequels.

The novel got nominated for a Hugo and won, even though there was argument over whether a rehash of an existing work should be allowed to be nominated again. And the other problem was that this was essentially a shaggy dog story. Kids thinks he's playing a computer game but is controlling real events. A version of this was appearing on a monthly basis almost from the moment Space Invader became a hit. Card's version was just better written and thoroughly thought out than most of these throwaway stories.

Ender's Game resonated really well with teenagers and became a staple item for the demographic. It is one of those 'Golden Age of Science Fiction' books. It works best if you're the right age.

The funny thing is, I like Orson as a person but I don't care much for his fiction. Most of his short story work in Asimov's in the 70s didn't do much for me. One of the things he was big on was having a musician character who was really, really good but being told this got tedious very quickly. It's a story and we'll just have to take your word for it, so get on with it already. (One of these stories was lifted pretty directly by an episode of Highlander using the premise that immortality is bad for creativity.)
 
[quote name='epobirs']Way back when, there was a bit of a controversy. The original was a pretty good novella and was nominated for a Hugo but didn't win. Orson was mainly a short story guy back then and it was very hard to make a living that way. So he took Ender's and stretched it out into a novel. I, like a lot of other people, felt the additions didn't make it much better and were there mainly to set up the back story for sequels.

The novel got nominated for a Hugo and won, even though there was argument over whether a rehash of an existing work should be allowed to be nominated again. And the other problem was that this was essentially a shaggy dog story. Kids thinks he's playing a computer game but is controlling real events. A version of this was appearing on a monthly basis almost from the moment Space Invader became a hit. Card's version was just better written and thoroughly thought out than most of these throwaway stories.

Ender's Game resonated really well with teenagers and became a staple item for the demographic. It is one of those 'Golden Age of Science Fiction' books. It works best if you're the right age.

The funny thing is, I like Orson as a person but I don't care much for his fiction. Most of his short story work in Asimov's in the 70s didn't do much for me. One of the things he was big on was having a musician character who was really, really good but being told this got tedious very quickly. It's a story and we'll just have to take your word for it, so get on with it already. (One of these stories was lifted pretty directly by an episode of Highlander using the premise that immortality is bad for creativity.)[/QUOTE]

Maybe spoiler tag that? I don't think everyone knows what happens in Ender's Game.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']Maybe spoiler tag that? I don't think everyone knows what happens in Ender's Game.[/QUOTE]

It's been 35 years. There is a statute of limitations for spoilers.

Rosebud is his childhood sled.

Darth Vader is Luke's father.

Leia is his sister.

The hairdresser girlfriend of the dead British soldier is really a dude.

Kristin shot J.R. (I was working at a custom car show the night that was broadcast and they announced it on the PA.)

The planet ruled by apes is actually a far future Earth.


My rule is, if it's old enough that people who were born in its first year after release now have children old enough to understand the material, the statute of limitations applies.
 
Ha I just read that part this morning. He was thinking of inventing something better than a robot and came up with an idea for an automated drafting system.
 
Finished Children of the Mind, so finally done with the Ender Saga. Overall it was just ok. 1st book was very good, next three were a mixed bag.

Up next:

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I'm reading You're the Director, Figure it Out, a biography of film director Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon, Ladyhawke, Goonies, Superman, etc.) by James Christie. Pretty interesting so far (Bill Murray was an asshole on the set of SCROOGED), but there are weird formatting issues on the Kindle version. Lots of grammar mistakes and the text that starts a new chapter ends up looking gigantic.

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Finally finished reading A Canticle For Leibowitz. Decided to continue on with book three of the Elric Saga, The Weird Of The White Wolf, before getting involved in any big book.
 
[quote name='SneakyPenguin']Finally finished reading A Canticle For Leibowitz. Decided to continue on with book three of the Elric Saga, The Weird Of The White Wolf, before getting involved in any big book.[/QUOTE]

What did you think of Canticle? I heard such good things in this thread about it so I picked it up. I liked it and was an interesting take on the post-apocalypse genre, but I thought it was forgettable.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']What did you think of Canticle? I heard such good things in this thread about it so I picked it up. I liked it and was an interesting take on the post-apocalypse genre, but I thought it was forgettable.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much the same. Plus I disliked the last story, mostly because the Abbot was a tool. Fiat Lux was the best part of the book, the other two parts were just OK.
 
Just started this:


Would be happy to read just a cyberpunk book about South Africans running 419 scams. But there's all this etra spirit animal and 'techno-magic' weirdness bullshit thrown in.
 
Finally finished Anna (boring) Karenina. Wonderfully written, but half the book could've easily been left out.

Starting Snow Crash since that is the only book I have at the moment that I haven't read. Anybody read it before?
 
[quote name='GhostShark']Finally finished Anna (boring) Karenina. Wonderfully written, but half the book could've easily been left out.

Starting Snow Crash since that is the only book I have at the moment that I haven't read. Anybody read it before?[/QUOTE]

A big favorite of mine twenty years ago but I'm not sure how well it reads today. There is s a weird mix of things that are now real and others that remain on the horizon of lab demos. Which can make for some anachronisms. Such is the difficulty of writing SF.

It could be worse. His most recent book REAMDE is going to seem very dated in just a few years. A reader twenty years from now could find it baffling if they don't have a good knowledge of tech history.
 
Just finished The Hunger Games Trilogy. The last book was a bit jarring. Thoughts kept jumping around but overall I liked it.

Now...do I go back to start A Dance with Dragons?
 
Since a lot of you have Kindle's I figure I'll ask here:

I can get a used Kindle Keyboard tomorrow for $42. I'm not sure if it's 3G or just Wi-fi and if it's special offers or not. Seemed to work fine and I'd have a return period available to me. Is there anything I should be wary about buying one used? Or is that a good enough price to say fuck it?
 
[quote name='SneakyPenguin']Since a lot of you have Kindle's I figure I'll ask here:

I can get a used Kindle Keyboard tomorrow for $42. I'm not sure if it's 3G or just Wi-fi and if it's special offers or not. Seemed to work fine and I'd have a return period available to me. Is there anything I should be wary about buying one used? Or is that a good enough price to say fuck it?[/QUOTE]

If it appears fully functional and it has a warranty period that is a very good price. I'd go for it.

Try to come up with some tests like different images to reveal any stuck cells in the screen. Make sure it's good sooner than later.

I don't have 3G on either my Kindle or Nook. (I need both for testing because I do e-book conversions as a side job.) It hasn't ever been a problem, largely because I'm very unlikely to buy a book on short notice away from home.

Is this a refurb or a private party?
 
[quote name='epobirs']If it appears fully functional and it has a warranty period that is a very good price. I'd go for it.

Try to come up with some tests like different images to reveal any stuck cells in the screen. Make sure it's good sooner than later.

I don't have 3G on either my Kindle or Nook. (I need both for testing because I do e-book conversions as a side job.) It hasn't ever been a problem, largely because I'm very unlikely to buy a book on short notice away from home.

Is this a refurb or a private party?[/QUOTE]

Half Price Books. Only warranty I'd have is 30-day return policy. I'm more than likely going to grab it tonight regardless since I can easily return it this week for cash if anything goes wrong (or for credit after this week).
 
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