The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

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FredLeDeux said:
But I suspect there are only two of us :D
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I feel the same. Midnight's Children was convoluted but had some moments of brilliance. I'm glad I read it but would not recommend.
 

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Been in a slump trying to get through Awaken the Giant Within - Tony Robbins. Enjoy the positivity can only read about 10 pages per session. Going to start Slaughterhouse 5 (never usually read more than one book at a time).
 
Ocha905 said:
Been in a slump trying to get through Awaken the Giant Within - Tony Robbins. Enjoy the positivity can only read about 10 pages per session. Going to start Slaughterhouse 5 (never usually read more than one book at a time).
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Actually, grumpy old Kurt would have done a ripping job with Midnight's Children, if he could have resisted recruiting any Tralfamadorians to the Conference.
 
At the Mountains of Madness - H.P. Lovecraft

Great story and really starting to get a feel for the extended universe of his writings. Being over 100 years old it doesn't always flow as well as it once might have but I've read a lot newer stories that have dated a lot worse. In style it's also pretty much the opposite of what I usually prefer, I'd rather read dialogue than pages and pages of description which (like most Lovecraft I've read so far) is pretty much what At the Mountains of Madness is but you just can't fault Lovecraft's imagery and world building.

There are still at least a few of his stories I want to read, The Shadow Out of Time, The Dunwich Horror maybe Herbert West - Reanimator but definitely in the mood for something different up next.
 
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The pandemic has given me cause to read a lot of stuff, mostly sci-fi (and to actually write a book, also sci-fi). Among the more entertaining reads in recent weeks...

Qualify (The Atlantis Grail P1). Think The Hunger Games but bigger in scope and danger.

Kor'Thank: Barbarian Valley Girl - I dare say this is the strangest, most eclectic, off-the-wall adventure I've ever read.

The Battle of Hollow Jimmy - the sequel to another book (Shoot the Humans First) which followed on nicely and was thoroughly entertaining.
 
About a third of the way through The Crippled God Book 10 of Malazan Book of the Fallen

Started this series back in April during the first lock down and I've been reading the Novels of Malazan intertwined with this where they fit in so this is including a book of short stories the 14th in this World I've read this year
 
Just finished House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. It was excellent, I have been searching for an author who can fill the void left by Ian M Banks and Reynolds looks the goods.

Since I last posted I have also gotten through the Mistborn Trilogy, up to book 4 of The Stormlight Archive and The Night Angel Trilogy - really enjoyed all of them. Especially Stormlight. Read the first 3 books of the Expanse series by Corey but pulled the pin after Abaddon's Gate.
 
Cari Mora by Thomas Harris.

Holy ******* s**t that was bad. How could anyone think that was fit to publish?

It had all the hallmarks of churning out something to satisfy a contract paid in advance.

I can just imagine the editor being delighted to see the first new Thomas Harris in 14 years delivered to them only to start reading and realise in horror what an offensive smelly pile of s**t they are holding.

Boring characters, blandly written, short with large spacing, with a story most have read before and done many times better.

They've made films out of all the other Harris novels, it'd be a mini miracle making something decent out of this. Not even fit to be a failed TV pilot.



* you Stephen King you goddamn sell out!
 
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Went op shopping recently and picked up Awaken The Giant Within by Anthony Robbins, Superfreakonomics by Dubner and Levitt and Chasing the Scream by Hari. Been reading both ATGW and Superfreakonomics and enjoying them a lot.

Best way to buy books on the cheap, and you always get a couple of surprises with books/authors you’ve heard of but haven’t really investigated.

I bought The Corrections by Franzen for $2 at the start of the year, and it turned out to be one of the best books I’ve ever read.
 

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Gralin said:
About a third of the way through The Crippled God Book 10 of Malazan Book of the Fallen

Started this series back in April during the first lock down and I've been reading the Novels of Malazan intertwined with this where they fit in so this is including a book of short stories the 14th in this World I've read this year
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I tried it off a recommendation somewhere. He writes really well, though I haven‘t usually read this type of stuff.

A bit too much padding, which gets in the way of the genuinely interesting characters, and there are plenty of those (special mention Tehol Beddict), but if you're trying to create that sort of world I guess you need to make it as BIG as possible.

But I shouldn’t quibble. A staggering achievement really.
 
mcnulty said:
I tried it off a recommendation somewhere. He writes really well, though I haven‘t usually read this type of stuff.

A bit too much padding, which gets in the way of the genuinely interesting characters, and there are plenty of those (special mention Tehol Beddict), but if you're trying to create that sort of world I guess you need to make it as BIG as possible.

But I shouldn’t quibble. A staggering achievement really.
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Yeah Tehol and Bugg were great. Reckon there was a limit to how much Tehol you could have though. I think he got it about right.
 
gaskin said:
Kruppe on the other hand, I could read a full Malazan length series from Kruppe's POV.
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His point of view is rather flowery. The sections written from his point of view are good but I don't know if I'd want a full book from it.
It's kind of more fun when it's mixed in with others views of his actions
 
Gave Great Expectations a crack recently, surprised at just how enjoyable it was; very funny in parts, and some really memorable characters - probably one too many plot twists at the back end of the book, but I can forgive them given just how damn good the rest of it was ...
 
SM said:
Anyone read Dune? I'm making my way through it in anticipation of the movie coming out. It's.. interesting. Very different from a lot of things I've read. It has enough momentum that I'm not bored with it, but the pacing is just very.. odd.
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Read it years ago as a kid, listening to the audiobook at the moment and not really enjoying it I must admit - almost feel like skipping straight to God Emperor, which I recall being highly philosophical ..
 
Gralin said:
Oh man Dune. It's on the list of books I have to read again to see what it's like for me now
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Lots of good ideas, I just find Herbert's style a bit laboured; every plot point is telegraphed .. to be fair that may be because I do vaguely remember roughly where things are leading, but there are moments where he doesn't give enough credit to the reader's capacity to work through things ..
 
Roobs321 said:
Just finished a reread of Suttree, which when I last read it in 2010 entered consideration as my favourite novel.

I was shocked by how much I had completely forgotten. In the ensuing years, I seem to have imagined that Gene Harrogate died at the end, and also could've sworn there was a vignette of Suttree being bashed by cops during one of his across-country trips. There are similar incidents in the book (and I read all of McCarthy in a 3 year span so some things may have blurred together), but these two things never happened.

Additionally, I was 21 back then, and reading this at 30 is different in many respects. You feel more lived-in, your compassion is more clear-eyed, you read more closely. You don't really think of Suttree's crowd in any demeaning way, they are just folks you know and recognise without judgment. Maybe I'm growing into Suttree? Some of his depiction of (young) women and the queer generally leaves a bad taste in my mouth, not as authentically drawn as the other folk we see, even if many of them are members of his milieu. Suttree is a fairly reasonable and fair figure, but the second half of the novel includes two fairly dream-like sexual relationships which effectively destroy both women, and only really worked for me as literary allusions, male fantasy and an ongoing wrestling sense of Suttree's damnation. Coinciding with Gene's absence for much of the second half (as well as Suttree drifting away from his barmates), it isn't quite as strong as the opening half, which mainly takes place on the river and the workhouse flashback, with dips into Suttree's family and heritage.

Gene Harrogate remains one of my favourite characters in literature. That section when he is trying to navigate under the city manages to mystically conjure a hell on earth which I found utterly beautiful, the peak of McCarthy's writing. And generally he is hilarious and utterly endearing in his various misadventures.

The dialogue throughout is fantastic, perceptibly full of life. Some of the flightier sections of prose stick out a little awkwardly, typically moments of Suttree getting a little ill in isolation or afflicted by some witchery, but the world-building language is all fantastic. There are only as much as a few pages where we aren't following either Suttree or Harrogate (the drunk junkyard man Harvey and Ab's final jailing from memory), although they directly follow on from encounters with these characters.

Absalom, Absalom! stood up much more impressively in whole to me on second reading, so I definitely regard that as my favourite novel now. This was my first McCarthy reread, so I'd be intrigued to see how well the others stand up.
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Wondering if you subsequently read any more McCarthy?
Agree on your thoughts regarding Gene Harrogate, what a great, hilarious character - McCarthy sketches a similar (yet more tragic) character in young Blevins ('All The Pretty Horses')
 
Cursed Cat said:
Wondering if you subsequently read any more McCarthy?
Agree on your thoughts regarding Gene Harrogate, what a great, hilarious character - McCarthy sketches a similar (yet more tragic) character in young Blevins ('All The Pretty Horses')
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Here you go (from the following page 106), not as in-depth but I did immediately revisit Blood Meridian, which didn't stand up quite as strongly overall.
Roobs321 said:
I subsequently reread Blood Meridian last month (was 19, now 30), and honestly I don't really rate it all that highly anymore. The start and end sections are gorgeous, but the whole Glanton section becomes rather tedious.
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