Reading thread

[Portland Dry Goods]

Starting Invitation to a Beheading by Nabokov today... read Pale Fire and The Defense some time ago and enjoyed them - his writing style is really lovely to read.

 

[rjbman]

Anyone else looking forward to the Ender's Game movie? Harrison Ford as Graff.

 

[Kajak]



Anyone else looking forward to the Ender's Game movie? Harrison Ford as Graff.

I'm keeping my expectations low, hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

 

[ManofKent]

Just finished John Hart's Iron House on a recommendation - better than I feared but not really my cup of tea.

Currently reading Saturn's Children - Charles Stross again. Much more confident than his earlier stuff - fun and thought provoking

 

[MarkI]

Can we please talk about Raymond Carver?

 

[ManofKent]



Can we please talk about Raymond Carver?

I've read a couple of his short stories. Too minimalist for me, but I can see the appeal.

 

[rjbman]

Read a collection that was pretty much the best of his short stories; come to think of it I think that's the first post of the thread. I really enjoyed it. Don't usually read literary fiction, usually stick to scifi/fantasy, but I found it excellent. Some of the stories I could recognize some important themes but I believe it'll take a coupe rereads to fully grasp some of the stuff.

TL;DR He's ******* sweet.

 

[noob in 89]

If you liked Carver, you might hunt down some Gordon Lish, whose ideas (and editing -- and sometimes, very heavy editing) had a big hand in both his style and success. You'd probably also love Sam Lipsyte (also edited by Lish), modern, leaner, and meaner.

 

[dotcomzzz]



I've read a couple of his short stories. Too minimalist for me, but I can see the appeal.

Minimalist. Terse. No extra lines anywhere. Completely tight. I always wondered how much of his stuff got left on the editing floor.

 

[wogbog]

Carolyn Abbate and Roger Parker's A History of Opera. I'm really liking it because they write really well (funny, passionate) and I want to learn more about opera. Also trudging through Nabokov's Ada, or Ardor. It makes me smile consistently but 600 pages of incest, multilingual puns, and characters I don't really care about is a little much.

I've bee meaning to read more Raymond Carver. I tend to like wordy authors but from the 2-3 stories I've read, I love how much he does with so little.

 

[rjbman]

Just finished Neuromancer. Really solid book. I had forgotten how much I loved cyberpunk.

Also finished the Philip K. Dick short stories, they got really dark as he got older. Was a great read though, and I can see just why he's so highly regarded with respects to scifi.

With summer here I'm aiming to read like wildfire; already have Blood Meridian and House of Leaves lined up next. Anyone got other reccomendations?

 

[GraphicNovelty]

Just finished Revenge: 10 Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa. It was pretty cool if you're into the weird japanese horror storry thing.

Then I hopped on the Leviathan Wakes train. Loving it so far

You guys should read the Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I don't like books like that but it had me bawling on the subway

 

[wogbog]

My coworker was talking about Fault in Our Stars for a couple days non-stop.

I'm reading The Illiad. I started the habit of reading a page out loud whenever I start reading, but I've started getting disappointed when that page ends so I've extended it to two pages, and I might extend it again to "whenever my throat starts to hurt."

 

[LonerMatt]

This is what I've read so far this year (stand-outs bolded):

1. The Undivided pt 1
2. The Undivided pt 2
3. No Country for Old Men
4. The Difference Engine
5. Wake in Fright
6. The River of Doubt
7. The Pearl
8. Crytonomicon
9. Shot in the Dark
10. Malcolm X - Biography
11. Final Empire
12. The Quiet American.
13. Habibi
14. The Invisible Man
15. Tender is the Night
16. Guardians of the West
17. King of the Murgos
18. Demon lord of Khandar
19. Sorcress of Darshiva
20. Seeress of Kell
21. Once We Were Warriors
22. Winter of our Discontent
23. Othello
24. A Scanner Darkly
25. The Well of Ascension
26. Hero of Ages
27. Alloy of Law
28. Marrow
29. The Prince
30. Leviathan Wakes
31. The Meaning of Sarkozy
32. The Death of Ivan Illych
33. The Devil

Currently reading Lucifer's Hammer. It's ok - quite interesting in parts.

 

[ManofKent]

Stonemouth - Iain Banks - small town life in Scotland with gangsters... Thoroughly enjoyed it

Happy Days - Graham Hurley - the last in a crime series set in Portsmouth. Superb series, but start at the beginning with Turnstone

Pandora's Star / Judas Unchained - Peter F Hamilton - a pair of brick sized books - recommended for those who like space opera with a bit of depth and scope.