What Are You Reading?

[mesh control]

Ok, I've been reading more and sleeping less. Life is finally at an surreal equilibrium.

Finished Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries this week. Excellent introduction to astrophysics with the right amount of wit to keep you entertained through out the book. Keeping in mind that this is actually a collection of essays, several concepts will be reiterated. I did not realize this until I was half way through the book.

Also finished Wait Until Spring Bandini by John Fante after starting it 2 fucking years ago. I'm not sure why I stopped reading, but goddamn, this novel packs a punch. I haven't been addicted to a book like this since I was in 5th grade reading Harry Potter at a urinal. I love the emotions of hatred and love Arturo carries for his parents, and his distaste for his school and brothers. It's not as misanthropic as it may seem, but I found the feelings i felt at one point in life.

I'm compelled to start Ask the Dust, but I'm going to save it for a rainy day.

Next up:

goooodddbye sleep.

[xbl0x180]

The best calculus book is by Howard Anton. The solutions manual is also fairly useful, as it breaks down the solutions and tells you how to arrive at the answer

[null1024]

Probably doesn't count, but I read all of Cannon God Exaxxion.
Damn satisfying manga. The hero isn't a total bitch, the robot he pilots is cool as hell [also, kills people on accident because it is so big], and the ending didn't suck [which is a first for me, I usually hate most manga endings because they leave so damn much hanging].
also he fucks his girlfriend


Haven't been doing much proper reading because everything I have in my bookshelf has been read till the pages are ragged, except for a very small collection of historical books printed by the company my dad used to work for. I read when I eat, and I don't want to get food on them, so I almost never get a chance to read them otherwise.

[CMoon]

I need to get back to reading Chandler.

Mesh> Good luck with that pile! Maybe all that coffee will help

[Acid King]

Killed off the New Jim Crow and Everything I Want to do is Illegal. New Jim Crow was good, but the author never discusses drug use outright and fails to connect the alleged ill effects of drug use with the racist caricatures used to peddle harsh penalties for drugs. Everything... started to drag a bit as it got away from food issues by discussions about zoning and labor, but ended strong. The libertarian political tangents were distracting but not too troublesome.

I also finished a collection of William S. Burroughs interviews called The Job. Really reveals what a lunatic Burroughs was, with some crackpot theories about women (who would have thought?) and L. Ron Hubbard's "discoveries". Regardless, it has some interesting pieces of writing from him and provides a lot of background information regarding his books, particularly his use of cut ups and information regarding the premises of the cut up trilogy, that made reading it worthwhile.

I don't know what I'll move on to next, though I've started reading a textbook on race and crime in America I have to find osmething not as heavy to balance it out with. Perhaps either go back to my Dashiell Hammet collection (reading his novels in sequence, I'm up to the Maltese Falcon) or pick up a copy of Perdido St. Station, which I spotted on a friends Goodreads account and sounds pretty awesome.

[sjewkestheloon]

We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, the last book in the series of collected stories of PK Dick. Good fun and more well rounded than his final splurge of novels dealing with 2/3/74, and strangely complementary at the same time.

Also picked up a copy of Peake's Gormenghast trilogy.

[antron]

Catch-22

[Ed Oscuro]

Next up:

goooodddbye sleep.

I ought to pick up Brief History of Time again. Warning though, apparently some of the things in that book are either not quite right or actually incomprehensible - so I've heard.

I've wanted to pick up Chandler and some others from the hardboiled genre, but especially the Nero Wolfe stories. I did find some episodes of the A&E television version, but I'm not sure it really works, yet.

Ugh, I don't really want to admit it, but I have blown through the first three stories in the Anita Blake series (which is fucking huge) in record time. Almost done with the third. Hopefully I can put that to rest. I have to admit, it's a weird series, but surprisingly has a lot to recommend it. Unfortunately, the actual writing is not great. If you have a copy of Strunk & White's handbook, in a recent (ish) edition, the example of the obnoxiously boisterous writer is a lot closer to the style of writing. Still, I'm not annoyed by the constant tics because they give the story character. You're reading a 40-year old woman writing as if she was a badass 24-year-old zombie animator and monster exterminator who gets to humiliate annoying tough guy stereotypes and said monsters. I would say it's a guilty pleasure but I don't feel too guilty about it. Only a little. Also, the author is definitely gun-right friendly. There are lots of strange holes in it; it basically takes the modern day but adds backstory of the history of human / monster interactions going back throughout time, and the two don't really fit well. Saying the world would be essentially the same with monsters doesn't really make sense to me. It was carried off pretty well in the first story with some references to specialized legislation (the US is apparently the only state that recognizes vampires as having at least some rights of persons) but now it's starting to juxtapose against what we would have expected to happen, and the modifications to a description of the real world just make that stand out the more.

Also been trying to get through a few more serious books, including Warmth Disperses and Time Passes, a nice history of thermodynamics. It annoys me that I am able to question the characterization of the history of science up to and including Galileo, enough that I wonder about the book in general. That was just in passing, though; otherwise it seems extremely well researched and accurate.

[CMoon]

I've wanted to pick up Chandler and some others from the hardboiled genre, but especially the Nero Wolfe stories. I did find some episodes of the A&E television version, but I'm not sure it really works, yet.

Well the beauty of Chandler is that he is probably the most capable writer in the genre. Every page exudes style and wittiness while his stories capture a certain romanticized time in Los Angeles. Definitely a high water mark for american crime pulp.

[drauch]

Been reading lots of Clark Ashton Smith of late. I love weird fiction from the early 1900s so much.

[CMoon]

Been reading lots of Clark Ashton Smith of late. I love weird fiction from the early 1900s so much.

Oh wow. Yeah, I read a few of his stories. Definitely not 'lots'. Always thought Lovecraft was king of that shit. Ever read Lord Dunsany?

[drauch]

I kind of worship Robert E. Howard. I feel like a criminal I haven't read all of his work, but everytime I do I get so giddy and inspired. I still haven't, actually! I've had one of his collections in my Amazon wishlist for too long now. I need to get on that. There is way too much stuff like that I still need to read.

[CMoon]

I still haven't finished the first volume of Conan stories. I don't know why I can't plow through his works, but I actually find him really inconsistent as an author. The best thing about him is his incredibly dark view on society--and when this comes through in his stories it can be a magnificent thing. At other times his stories just feel like he's pumping out fantasy junk (which he probably was.)

Actually its funny, I noticed I'm virtually done with volume 1. I should finish reading that thing and move on to volume 2. Do you enjoy all of Howard's other creations or do you have specific characters/volumes you enjoy? I'm specifically thinking of Kull and Solomon Kane, but I understand there are others too, and there is even a volume of horror stories.

[drauch]

It's okay, different strokes and all that. I'm a fan of pretty much everything, although I haven't read his boxing stuff--which is supposed to be pretty bland. I absolutely adore all things Conan, Solomon Kane, Kull, horror, etc. I've got Bran Mak Morn but I've been meaning to start that of late. Worms of the Earth is a Mak Morn story with horror elements that is supposed to be pretty damned spooky.

[Moniker]

Melville's White Jacket. Amazing how engrossing a novel without a plot can be.

Also still hooked on Larry Niven. Finished the Ringworld books (excellent series, btw). Just started Lucifer's Hammer. End of the world book. Looks promising.

[CMoon]

It's okay, different strokes and all that.

I don't know if its that different. I like Howard and all, I'm just not utterly in love with him. Just read The Pool of the Black One. Great Conan adventure, but in of itself isn't a fantastic story. Maybe its why I just end up reading a story here and there instead of plowing through them.

[CptRansom]

On the 6th book of the Dark Tower series (King) and about to just walk away from this whole mess. The first book was slow and clunky and terrible, but all my friends who have read it said it's worth it to keep going, so I did. The second and third books were pretty cool. The fourth book was boring. And the fifth book was fucking terrible. From what I understand, it just gets worse in books six and seven. These are the first King books I've read, and I'm really disappointed (though I suppose I shouldn't be) that he's as popular as he is if his other books are like this. He does a great job of building characters up... and that's about it. I hate quitting when I'm almost done with the series, but I almost threw up a little when he inserted himself (literally) as a character in the story. What kind of teenage fanfic bullshit is that?!

[CMoon]

Quit while you're ahead. There's a whole world of great fiction out there. I stopped reading King in High School because that's about the maturity he writes at. Guilty of not reading the one thing by him I probably should have read (The Stand) but slugged my way through half a dozen other books by him (including the massively inflated 'It'.) Funny thing is I like the idea of trashy horror, but King is a stepping stone only. You should graduate from him as quickly as possible.

Speaking of which, the only horror I ever really considered any good was Lovecraft. Other than the pulps, are there any horror authors that are genuinely, seriously recommended or is it all fodder?

[xbl0x180]

Quit while you're ahead. There's a whole world of great fiction out there. I stopped reading King in High School because that's about the maturity he writes at. Guilty of not reading the one thing by him I probably should have read (The Stand) but slugged my way through half a dozen other books by him (including the massively inflated 'It'.) Funny thing is I like the idea of trashy horror, but King is a stepping stone only. You should graduate from him as quickly as possible.

Speaking of which, the only horror I ever really considered any good was Lovecraft. Other than the pulps, are there any horror authors that are genuinely, seriously recommended or is it all fodder?

That's almost like asking for good Horror films. One could recommend a good story with a Horror backdrop, but nothing "scary" Horror, you know? I liked those classic Horror stories ranging from OG Brothers Grimm, to Bram Stoker, Edgar Alan Poe, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, and across the globe to ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn (Japanese ghost stories). They're classics.

If you're looking for more lurid/pulp material, then, to me, these are more a matter of subject - stories about serial killers, crimes of passion, obsession, etc.

Disturbing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Alice

[CMoon]

That's almost like asking for good Horror films.

Yes, exactly!

[CptRansom]

Quit while you're ahead.

I did. Just started Les Miserables. Figured I'd quit being a bad teacher and start reading some classics without being forced to do so.

[Moniker]

Quit while you're ahead. There's a whole world of great fiction out there. I stopped reading King in High School because that's about the maturity he writes at. Guilty of not reading the one thing by him I probably should have read (The Stand) but slugged my way through half a dozen other books by him (including the massively inflated 'It'.) Funny thing is I like the idea of trashy horror, but King is a stepping stone only. You should graduate from him as quickly as possible.

Speaking of which, the only horror I ever really considered any good was Lovecraft. Other than the pulps, are there any horror authors that are genuinely, seriously recommended or is it all fodder?

That's almost like asking for good Horror films. One could recommend a good story with a Horror backdrop, but nothing "scary" Horror, you know? I liked those classic Horror stories ranging from OG Brothers Grimm, to Bram Stoker, Edgar Alan Poe, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, and across the globe to ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn (Japanese ghost stories). They're classics.

Yeah, there's a lot of good 19th & early 20th century gothic stuff and ghost stories. Poe and Lovecraft are the only ones that have actually scared me/creeped me out. Henry James's Turn of the Screw is worth looking into, and I've quite liked ghost stories by Kipling and Christina Rossetti, among others.

For a quick classic, check out Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper." That one actually creeped me out too. You can find the full text online.

[Drum]

Quit while you're ahead. There's a whole world of great fiction out there. I stopped reading King in High School because that's about the maturity he writes at. Guilty of not reading the one thing by him I probably should have read (The Stand) but slugged my way through half a dozen other books by him (including the massively inflated 'It'.) Funny thing is I like the idea of trashy horror, but King is a stepping stone only. You should graduate from him as quickly as possible.

Speaking of which, the only horror I ever really considered any good was Lovecraft. Other than the pulps, are there any horror authors that are genuinely, seriously recommended or is it all fodder?

Junji Ito, if comics count. I read a few Lovecraft stories recently and ... many of them were pretty awful. The twists are telegraphed so far ahead and are revealed as if they are meant to be so shocking that the effect is just comical a lot of the time. He did some good stuff, though. I think Poe was a better horror writer, as was Dunsany when he dipped into the genre

[CMoon]

I read a few Lovecraft stories recently and ... many of them were pretty awful.

Not to say Lovecraft can easily be broken into his periods, but early on there are some pretty terrible stories, however by the early 30's (if not late 20's) I think he's not just at the top of his game, he's actually at the top of the horror/sci-fi game in general and I find his writing very solid here. Unfortunately it is one of his longest works, but I'd suggest At The Mountains of Madness to anyone capable of reading English, knowing this is the wellspring that films like Alien and The Thing are coming from.

As far as seeming unoriginal or telegraphed, I can only suggest that Lovecraft is one of the most widely influential and imitated authors of horror and that it is probably hard to come to him without having experienced him first through another writer.

Regarding Poe vs Dunsany vs Lovecraft; ultimately I'll take Lovecraft as the better story-crafter (this is in part personal taste) and Poe as the better wordsmith, and you're the only other person I've spoken with who's actually read Dunsany. Wow.

[Drum]

I really like what I read of Dunsany. He's awesome.

[drauch]

Just curious, but what did you read of Lovecraft that you didn't like?

[mesh control]

Just finished Bluebeard.
Not a fan of the time warp writing, but I enjoyed the book overall. Thinking about women now. Hmmm
I'd elaborate more, but it's 5:30 in the goddamn morning and I've been up for 2 hours.

[Randorama]

...and you're the only other person I've spoken with who's actually read Dunsany. Wow.

Aside Rando, of course.

[Drum]

Just curious, but what did you read of Lovecraft that you didn't like?

That one about the dude who discovers his ancestor is some white ape. That one about the family curse that turns out to be some guy living under the castle for generations picking off his ancestors. The Street, obviously.
A lot of the more flowery Dunsany knockoffs are pretty weak. I looked back at the collection and refreshed my memory and there were more I liked but had forgotten, so I may have been a bit unfair. Those duds really soured me I guess.

[xbl0x180]

I just dig weird and possibly forgotten classics. They may have a horror setting or be a bit of a mystery. There's Robert Louis Stevenson's The Body Snatcher, which should be a breeze to read and not try anyone's patience. I also have a book by Polidori that runs along the same themes.

Amazon sells the single short story, but I'm sure it could be downloaded onto a Kindle for free:



I have this exact book on the shelf