What Are You Reading?

[CMoon]

More of an update.

I've read the first couple chapters of Life Ascending and want to recommend it to any of you biology types. When I read a popular science book, it is more often than not to catch up with what's new since college (which is a long time ago now), and Life Ascending does a really good job at that. There's some research here on the geochemical origins of life that's really fascinating.

Not able to stop myself, I've started reading the second Hunger Games book (Catching Fire), and 6 chapters in it is very good. It remains encouraging that people are writing intelligent and exciting books for teens, especially given that they aren't likely to bust out 1984 for pleasure reading--and Catching Fire is definitely coping quite a feel from the classic.

[CMoon]

Finished the Hunger Games trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed it. I know the third book isn't well loved, but I didn't see the problem with it. One of my students said it 'wasn't the ending anyone wanted', but at the same time, the first two books paint the story into a corner where you know things can only get much, much worse. In fact, it becomes apparent that the author has sugar coated matters as long as she can through the first two books until the shit really has to hit the fan.

The one thing that's really striking is how this ends up catagorized as teen lit, but really short of obscenities and sex, it as adult (if not more adult) as anything else I've read. I see my middle school kids reading this and wonder if it isn't a bit much for them. On the other hand, I certainly wouldn't bar them from it. I was reading pretty horrific shit by the time I was their age.

[CptRansom]

Just finished Beyond Good and Evil and I'm looking forward to starting House of Leaves tomorrow. =D

[Arcatech]

Started reading "Firestorm" Dr. James Mcdonald's Fight for UFO Science.

Really good read so far. About a scientist in Arizona who become interested in the phenomena. Kept voluminous notes and the author, Ann Druffel, seems to have done a good job compiling the info. Check it out for the tinfoil hat crew

[RNGmaster]

looking forward to starting House of Leaves tomorrow. =D

do it

You won't regret it, trust me. It's not as gimmicky and pretentious as a first look might have you thinking it is. It's a very powerful, emotionally affecting book, and one of the few I've ever read that has caused flashbacks or nightmares. That's a good thing - if a book can't provoke some sort of intense emotion, I'd say it's failed its job, and House (should I be writing that in a different color?) does a pretty damn good job of making you feel.

[CMoon]

I've heard you guys talk about specific editions of House of Leaves. I know there is amazing type setting, but is this also in different colored fonts? What edition is recommended, or is there only one?

[CptRansom]

I got the full-color edition (paperback, which I'm already regretting, though I suppose it can be my "write in the margins" copy) for $20 at a Books-A-Million I stopped in.

I read the introduction yesterday and it was amazing. Hopefully I can get through a few chapters of The Navidson Record today (and somehow get RFJ practice in... I need about four more hours in my day, dammit).

[sjewkestheloon]

I don't think that House of Leaves got a full colour release in the UK, or at least it's rare as hen's teeth and I've never been lucky enough to find it. I actually want to read it again soon so maybe I'll try and hunt it down.

[xris]

^yeah, by full colour you mean the word house is in blue, and a couple other words are in a colour. Aren't there a handful of colour photos in back of it also?
@CMoon The Hunger Games was really well done for being a trilogy. I still liked the second the best, I was really surprised how the author was able to bring it all back to the games with the quarter quell. Such a great ideal, and I loved the arena in that. The third book was still pretty damn good, she had written her charas into a bit of a corner, but was still able to pull the ending off. Sure it's not as cut and paste as people would have liked, but I thought it was all right, kind of a compromise with the fans.
In all, I would say the best part of the whole thing is really the chara of Katniss, so very different from your standard main chara. Damn near unlikeable at times, and no where near what she seems like on the surface.
I really have to agree that The Hunger Games is not YA fiction. Even though the charas are teenage, their actions and additudes are very adult. It had to be Collins already established as a YA author. I guess they figure that enough adults will walk through the YA section looking for spill over fiction. I'm not sure where I would put this book, and I worked in a library for four years as a kid (best job ever).
Just read a few things myself; Jennifer Government by Max Barry, dystopian commercialism, I liked the world setting but the story was weak, book sucked. The Crysalids by John Wyndham, post apox inquisition against mutants, it was okay, good enough to keep me interested. Seemed like half of the story though, like there should have been a second half. Zero History by William Gibson, if you've read his last couple of books, then you know exactly what you are getting. He needs to learn how to end a story.. Otherwise, I really like his modern stuff. Most recently, Ubik by Philip K. Dick, I read this without knowing what it was about, and loved it. Such an unusual storyline, such a great way to present a mystery, as far as what is going on, to the reader. A little confusing at points, but so well written, I have to read more of his stuff soon.

[Drum]

The Bible. Book is hilarious. I am constantly amazed at the disconnect between what is actually in there and what people fancifully imagine to be in there, and how these interpretations/beliefs have rubbed off on me and coloured my ideas of what it is all about.

[CptRansom]

I'm halfway through chapter 4 and honestly? Holy. Shit. I feel like every paranoid feeling I've ever had has been blown up and shoved in my face.

I crave more.

I read some reviews today calling him out on his writing style, but so far I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Haters gonna hate.

[CptRansom]

On Chapter 7 and now I'm understanding some of the criticism... There are good-sized chunks of writing that just feel like I'm hearing someone yell, "Hey everyone! Come and see how smart and clever I am!" Truant annoys me with his high school freshman level HAHA I FOOLED YOU NOTHING I WROTE WAS TRUE bullshit while managing to casually use vocabulary on a level that makes me envious (and this guy is supposed to be an apprentice tattoo artist... wut). The long-winded technical passages (like the whole thing about echoes) are obnoxious.

What IS keeping me engaged is the way Danielewski highlights that paranoia of not quite being alone in the dark. One of Johnny's footnotes talked about focusing on the book and trying not to think about the pockets of silence or how whatever is in the dark silence is going to cut your throat... I went for a walk after reading that - at night - and wished I hadn't. I was looking over my shoulder every minute or so.

In a way, I suppose the tedium adds to the feelings of paranoia and dread when they do present themselves, but I can't help but feel a lot of it is still artsy masturbation.

I'm hoping it will improve, but I get the feeling I'm only facing more of the same. At least the house itself is awesome.

[CptRansom]

Finished it. Spoilers ahoy.

As a love story... great buildup, let down at the end.
As a scary story... great buildup, let down at the end.
As a different means of storytelling... it's very clever, but it's also pointing out how clever it is the whole time and that annoys me.

I got my money's worth. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to be afraid of the dark for a few days. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes art for art's sake (this book is most certainly that in most parts). Even if you don't like gimmicks (OH MY GOD HE'S RAMBLING ABOUT NOTHING AND LINES OF THOUGHT JUST DEAD-END IT'S LIKE I'M REALLY IN A MAZE or OH MY GOD HE'S RAMBLING ABOUT NOTHING SO YOU'LL LET YOUR GUARD DOWN SO THAT WHEN STUFF HAPPENS AGAIN IT'S MORE PROFOUND AND OR SHOCKING), I'd say get the book. The story of the house itself is pretty neat, albeit anticlimactic. I wanted to know more about it. I wanted to know some secrets. Instead he cops out of explaining anything. I get it, you want the reader to fill in the blanks, but damn does that get old.

I'm going for an explanation that the Labyrinth is a physical manifestation of Navidson's subconscious. Dark and unknown and always changing. The Minotaur is a collection of his fears and self-doubts and, to quote Dr. Henry Killinger, "stinkin'-thinkin'". His relationships with Karen and his children were failing, and the House was there to bring them back together (the original impetus behind their move to Virginia). He was successful, and the Labyrinth dissipated when its purpose was served (of course, after it OM NOM NOM'd the hell out of his brother).

Danielewski is brilliant as hell though. The book's ambitious and I'll give it due credit for that. When he is actually telling a story instead of showing off aimlessly (and he does this frequently), he's on fire. I'd love to read a "normal" book by this guy without all the clutter.

Overall, I'd say it's a 7 or 8 out of 10. Good, but not great. It fails spectacularly in some bits, and succeeds just as strongly in others. And much like our esteemed narrator, I'll leave you to decide what parts of this mini-review I meant and which parts are complete bullshit. Annoying, isn't it?

[CMoon]

Been slowly going through another teen book: Ear, Eye and Arm by Nancy Parker. I'm about half way through it and it just hasn't done much for me (unlike her other book House of Scorpion.) This may be the first in a long list of teen books I've read lately that I might not bother finishing. It certainly isn't bad (I've read a lot worse), but if the story isn't compelling, then what's the point? I really think it is my lack of attachment to any of the characters.

There are so many books I want to read right now, I'm probably going to just give this one a pass. Glad I started going to the public library lately. I almost bought this one solely on the strength of House of the Scorpion.

Really interested in re-exploring LEM after having watched Tarkovsky's Solaris. I've actually read Solaris before, but wasn't taken by it. I was speaking with a sci-fi buff friend of mine who said LEM was one of his favorite authors. I might give him another go.

[Acid King]

I recently finished And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks by Burroughs and Kerouac. It's an interesting read, basically a period piece of World War 2 era New York City and the lives of the people who became the Beats. It predates both author's notable works by years so the writing is primitive in comparison and is written more in the style of a mystery or a hardboiled novel. Best appreciated without the baggage that accompany the authors.

[CptRansom]

The only teen book I've read in recent memory was called Unwind and it was pretty decent. You might want to give it a look, CMoon. It's about harvesting body parts.

[Klatrymadon]

No Trubba. Really glad to see there's another Hoban fan here. I'm reading Riddley Walker again at the moment. Trufax.

Indeed, when Hoban's on, he's one of my favorite authors. Even Mouse and his Child is great, though it's his adult books--namely Ridley Walker, Pilgermann, followed closely by Fremder and Medusa Frequency that stand out for me.

sjewkestheloon> Thanks for taking the time, I will check out Bolano at some point.

I've never read Pilgermann, but I'll be coming around to it pretty shortly (I've started keeping lists of stuff I want to get through, mainly because my memory's zonked). I take it it's must-read stuff, then? I heard it deals in a few of the same themes as Riddley Walker, but I can't remember in what sense that was meant.

Apropos of nothing, you know the part where Goodparley is reading the legend of St. Eustace, and "terpiting" every word of it completely incorrectly? When I first read the novel a few years ago, that part made me laugh my tits off. When I read it the other week, I was on the verge of tears. I think it's a profoundly upsetting novel in many ways, and it just seems to get sadder with each revisiting.

[CMoon]

I'm re-reading Riddley Walker now. The whole culmination of Tarkovsky, Norstein and Rilke all seemed to come together pointing me toward a re-read of Riddley Walker. Yes, Pilgermann is essential. It might be better actually, certainly it is different, but similar themes are there. The whole 'improvisation from a theme' that is featured so well in Moby Dick seems to carry over in Pilgermann and it seems to be an influence. That said, some terrible disfiguring things happen to the main character early on and the whole business is religiously charged, so that is a turn off for a lot of people. That said, RW and Pilgermann are among two of the best, yet completely unknown books of the late 20th century.

[Klatrymadon]

Trufax. Will Self held an hour-long talk with Hoban down in That London in February, and by all accounts it was a fascinating conversation. I really hope somebody recorded the whole thing.

[CMoon]

I dunno. Has Hoban written anything good lately. I'm gonna stand by Fremder being his last good book; and even that isn't as good as RW/Pilgermann/Medusa Frequency (and let's toss on Mouse and His Child for good measure.) RW/Pilgermann are definitely the best though. Here he dumps all the cute/clever shit and goes for the jugular. I understand that isn't something that one can do with any regularity, but what I read after Pilgermann was consistently disappointing. I probably should read all his newer books at some point, but I'm not holding out for another classic.

For what it's worth, I found an e-book of Riddley Walker with much searching, but as you might expect, it's missing the three images. I'd be surprised to ever find an e-book of pilgermann. The idea of having some kind of digital copy of RW is an amazing concept in itself though. Glad to have snatched it.

[Klatrymadon]

Oh, the talk was all about RW, mate! I agree that his best days are probably behind him, although I'd probably add Kleinzeit to your list of good'uns.

[CMoon]

Any other sci fi authors you'd recommend Klatrymadon? Of course, Hoban isn't so much great because he is science fiction, or if he is, it might be because he is approaching it in another way. I stumbled across a massive hoard of sci fi e-books (was looking for Lem, but will use it to catch up on Delany as well.) I've always loved but felt like a bit of an outsider when it comes to sci fi. Never much cared for Asimov or even Heinlen. Would love to say 'more Valis, less I Robot', but honestly a good author makes all the difference, and so few sci fi authors are terribly good writers.

[Klatrymadon]

I can't really make a big post right now, so I'll have to come back with some more later, but check out The Stars My Destination (previously known as Tiger! Tiger!), mate. I'm a big fan of Alfred Bester, and this is easily his best work. It's about a dull-witted, artless mechanic who's left stranded on a busted-up spaceship, and who's snapped out of his mediocrity when a ship that could rescue him passes him by. He spends the entire novel gathering information on this ship and educating himself with murderous intent. Oh, and it's set in a world in which most people can teleport at will. It is a Ripping Yarn.

The writing style can be a bit pulpy at times, though, so YMMV.

Frank Herbert's Dune is as good as everybody says it is, too. It's a real psychological masterpiece, and it's full of great political and philosophical commentary. I particularly appreciate how there's no excess fat on its bones, no scene-setting exposition - everything you need to know about the world and its history is conveyed through context.

Ursula Le Guin's great if you're open to "soft" SF - her stuff's much more sociological and political than most. The Dispossessed is probably my fave of hers.

I'm reading Snow Crash at the moment, so I'll let you know how that goes.

[RNGmaster]

I'm reading Snow Crash at the moment, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Oh, I'm actually really interested in Snow Crash. I lost a school copy and can't find it anywhere, which is a shame since I was looking forward to reading it.

Also, if anyone here is interested in sci-fi or noir, check out George Alec Effinger. It's really really hard to track down his books, but totally worth it - I highly recommend "The Wolves of Memory". Very interesting use of flashbacks.

[junkeR]

I just finished reading "2001: A Space Odyssey". I may move onto 2010, though I'm not sure what my next move will be.

[CMoon]

I just finished reading "2001: A Space Odyssey". I may move onto 2010, though I'm not sure what my next move will be.

I'd read other Clarke before moving on to 2010, which I didn't actually find that good. Childhood's End and Rendezvous with Rama are standouts.

[Siren2011]

I walked into a Barnes and Noble the other day and picked up a Sci-Fi book (I don't recall the came) and couldn't enjoy it. I've noticed this about me and my reading habits. I'll find it incredibly difficult to imagine what the author is describing to me (characters, places, etc.). As a result, it takes me AGES to get through the first chapter of nearly any book. Reading used to come so naturally to me. I'd even imagine the characters to each have the voices of my friends. Reading these days isn't just a struggle for me, it takes a tremendous amount of effort to grasp what the hell people are talking about in each paragraph. Unless the book is about great comedy (In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks, By Adam Carrola; Sleepwalk With Me, By Mike Birbiglia), in which case it is very easy for me to follow.

Even most films fail to keep my attention these days. I basically have to force myself to stay in the T.V. room to finish even the best of anime (Outlaw Star, to give a recent example). But complex and difficult videogames are the only media that I can still take seriously.

[xris]

What I've read in the last week:
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, set tens of thousands of years after an apox, the remaining cities are now huge mobile platforms that drive around eating each other! Read it on a whim, great setting, neat story, still loving these YA apox stories! Would like to read the rest of this series. When I was reading this I was thinking how it would be very difficult to try and addapt into a movie, but would be a very good story for the screen. Did a google search on the book when finished, and ends up that this is the movie Peter Jackson is currently filming! Sweet, the man is ambitious.
Everything Is Going To Kill Everyone by Robert Brockway, non-fiction about all of the current possibilities that we are facing for total armageddon. I thought I was aware of most of them, being a fan of post-apox, not even close! This book was a little scary, but that author presents everything in foul mouthed humor, you can only laugh in the face of total annihilation. Some of the things that science is doing in the name of 'green energy' makes James Bond villainy look like a grade school science project. Canada, don't build that super tornado machine. And, who the fuck in Europe thinks that building a miniature sun that burns at 100 million degrees celsius, on Earth, is a good ideal?! You are fucking terrifying, please stop.
Packing For Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach. Non-fiction about the history of NASA's effort to keep astronauts alive in space. Very informative, with first hand accounts of the things that are glossed over to the public. Details allot of their testing, and mishaps. Great history lessons, and an honest look and the fool hardy bravery involved. Doesn't really have an ending though. It does cover some of the current training missions that are going on in prep for the trip to Mars.
edit: typo

[Nico87]

Finished With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa late last week. About 1/3 into A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo at the moment.

[burgerkingdiamond]

The God Delusion. Only about 60 pages in so far. I've probably heard most of what's in the book before since I've listened to so many of Dawkins' lectures, and other atheist lectures, but I never get tired of reading about how stupid religions are.

I'm looking forward to Dawkins tearing into Islam. I think all religions, especially the 3 main monotheistic ones are bad, but Islam is by far the scariest. Seriously those fuckers are crazy. I know this may offend some people, but it's true. However, just like many Christians are Christian only in name, or culturally, there are probably many muslims that don't really believe. So I can't say that I hate all Muslims or Christians, but the true believers that take that shit serious are fucked, and they want to send our Civilization back to the dark ages.

Ok, rant over. Went off on a tangent there, but if you are interested in this sort of thing check out The God Delusion or God is not Great (Christopher Hitchens).