• The literature thread
    62 replies, posted
Hello friends, I'm currently reading Gone Girl (for class) and it's pretty good thus far and quite addictive. I've also recently finished Dune and The Road. I highly recommend The Road to anyone who hasn't read it before, it's a fantastic read in my opinion. Also, I'd recommend watching the film adaption as well since it is both faithful to the source material and really well made. As well as reading novels I've also been reading some of Edgar Allen Poe's and HP Lovecraft's works. So far I have been enjoying Lovecraft more than Poe, but I'm a fan of both. Currently on my to read list is Slaughterhouse 5, Neuromancer and The Old Man and the Sea (plus some other books I have to read for classes).
[QUOTE=Antimuffin;50838610]Started reading Dark Tower long time ago and enjoyed the first three books although the first one was strange as fuck. Finished now the fourth book Wizard and glass. After 1 1/2 years. I think this says enough about the book.[/QUOTE] Yeah, Wizard and Glass was underwhelming. Didn't help that I had read The Gunslinger Borne comic years before, which told the same story with all the fat trimmed, if a bit light on language and violence. Speaking of which, I finished LA Confidential a few days ago, and started on White Jazz, the last book in the Quartet. Kind of a weird jump, since the last two books told multiple stories but this is just Dave Klein's story written in the first person with the same choppy style from LA Confidential. Just seemed strange to me and hard to focus on the writing. Still, it's another enjoyable book.
I'm wanting to start reading some Arthurian novels. What would you guys recommend? Can I just dive into Le Morte d'Arthur?
I just finished read The Maze Runner. What a good book, I recommend it to people.
[QUOTE=Xonax;50917693]I just finished read The Maze Runner. What a good book, I recommend it to people.[/QUOTE] Read it too. I can't say that I recommend it to other people though. It was an alright series, with a weak ending and it got progressively worse towards the end. It just doesn't reach a level above mediocrity.
Finished up White Jazz and the LA Quartet recently. Great series. I was gonna start End of Watch, but I haven't picked it up yet and I didn't want to wait for it in the mail, so I'm currently reading The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers in the interim. Also good, getting some serious All Quiet on the Western Front vibes.
[QUOTE=Antimuffin;50918518]Read it too. I can't say that I recommend it to other people though. It was an alright series, with a weak ending and it got progressively worse towards the end. It just doesn't reach a level above mediocrity.[/QUOTE] There is another book coming out next month, maybe it gets better.
[QUOTE=Antimuffin;50918518]Read it too. I can't say that I recommend it to other people though. It was an alright series, with a weak ending and it got progressively worse towards the end. It just doesn't reach a level above mediocrity.[/QUOTE] I remember reading those books as they came out. It really just feels like the author thought up of a really cool concept (getting stuck in deadly shifting maze) but had to shoehorn in a generic teen Hunger Game-esque backdrop later on to justify the maze. I thought the setting of the second book was kind of neat, but at that point the story just becomes your average video game plot.
The Expanse series. I'll try to keep this short. Last time I tried to write my thoughts on this it was a very long spoiler filled rant. The good across all the books: -Fantastic detail when it needs it. -Really well thought out and interesting setting. -There is a really good story...But... The Bad: -The most interesting aspect of the story is all but ignored and barely hinted at in the last two books. Till the very end of each books. -Very bad writing in regards to the characters at times. The villains all being irredeemable, unrealistic, unrelenting, unhinged pricks at all times and conveniently killed and written off by the end of the book. You'll especially notice this in Book 3 onwards. -It became predictable and I found myself skipping pages because I knew what was coming next and I wanted to just progress through the story. The first book Leviathan Wakes, is a masterpiece. It's insane how good it is. Book 2: Calibaan's War and Book 3: Abbadons Gate, were alright and it set the stage pretty great. And a seriously spooky revelation near the end of the 3rd book. It was GREAT. And then this was all but pissed away and barely focused on in Book 4: Cibola Burn. Till the very end. And then Book 5: Nemesis Games was a gigantic filler book and barely talked about the crazy shit going on at [sp]Gate Nexus[/sp]. Till the very end. [b]Again.[/b] But one major plot thing happened and they finally introduced a truly vile human excrement of a villain and not kill him off by the end of the book like the others. I guess my biggest problem is the real star and story of The Expanse has been on hold for two books and its really getting on my fuckin nerves because its so much more interesting than everything else.
[QUOTE=Takuat;50851774]I'm wanting to start reading some Arthurian novels. What would you guys recommend? Can I just dive into Le Morte d'Arthur?[/QUOTE] Honestly they're not really worth it. It's more interesting to read [I]about [/I]the books than it is to actually read them. The prose is dull, dialogue and character interactions are pretty lame, and the pacing is incredibly awkward. Any interesting stories in it are difficult to find because the book is just really badly written from a technical perspective. Granted I never read the whole thing so you can take my opinion with a grain of salt, but imo the book's fucking mindnumbing. The tales of chivalry and legend you can make up in your head are immediately more interesting than the original book.
I bought The Catcher in the Rye totally forgetting that we are supposed to be reading it later along in the year of my english class. I have no regrets, this is one of the first non sci-fi or fantasy books i've read outside of school in a long time. It's like after all these years of being forced to read something and have all the fun of reading it sucked out because I had to do some shitty assignment with it, something has been unlocked. I can actually read something [I]of my own accord[/I]. And that's just great.
Right now I'm reading Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Very interesting stuff about the way our thought process works and I would recommend it to everybody. Also if anyone is interested in psychology just google Persuasion Reading List put together by Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert). Don't think there is a better way to improve your life in about every aspect there is than that.
I've just finished reading Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig. It's like a self-help/memoir of the author's journey and experience through depression and anxiety. I [B]really[/B] recommend it if you suffer with depression/anxiety, or have done so in the past.
[QUOTE=n3twor;51379455]Right now I'm reading Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Very interesting stuff about the way our thought process works and I would recommend it to everybody. Also if anyone is interested in psychology just google Persuasion Reading List put together by Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert). Don't think there is a better way to improve your life in about every aspect there is than that.[/QUOTE] His own book, "God's Debris" is also on that list: I would not recommend it. Most of his (the "wise old man" persona) are based on half-ass/broken logic and fallacies. Was promised a thought experiment that "makes your brain spin around in your skull", got cringe-worthy pseudo-religious bullshit instead. Currently reading Pratchett's "Reaper Man": jolly good fun. I'm also reading "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, 2nd ed." by Philip C. Jackson Jr. Being a mid 80's book it doesn't expect you to be familiar with the entire field of statistics and a lot of mathematics, which is quite a boon to me. Is there a thread where people discuss technical books?
[QUOTE=Berman Slick;51384286]Aaack this kills me. It's too common, but eh, I guess it didn't kill the books eh? I recall it being one of those books my teachers told us to read in elementary school or highschool, I can't recall, [B]so it must be good if it's considered such a classic[/B]. I just never felt the drive to read them, maybe I will at some point when I run out of books :p Just so I can be on the same page and say I get it[/QUOTE] This is the one most destructive ideal anybody could have. Simply because you study something at school it doesn't mean it's good. There are quite a few english literature works I've studied that i think are absolute crap. It's like - sure, Floppy Disks were revolutionary for their time, but it's not like they're nearly that useful anymore. Some literary works age better than others, and some are considered classics just because they were the first of their kind or they did something new, despite the fact that they got outclassed by newer works. Or, another, rare thing that happens, is that the work is shit, was shit, and will forever be shit, but it was done by somebody important so it's remembered as a classic.
[QUOTE=Annoyed Grunt;51384808]This is the one most destructive ideal anybody could have. Simply because you study something at school it doesn't mean it's good. There are quite a few english literature works I've studied that i think are absolute crap.[/QUOTE] Ayn Rand. Thanks school
[QUOTE=coyote93;51379841]I finished the Ender's Game (series) a little while back, and before starting on it, I had pretty high hopes around it, as I've heard lots of good stuff about the series. After reading through all of em, I can't say I would recommend any of the books to anyone. The books protagonists are supposed to be super geniuses, some of the best minds of earth, that's made clear from the start, but the books doesn't [I]SHOW[/I] you that they are geniuses in any way. Every time they are doing something smart, the books kinda goes like "I'm super smart, so I knew how to do it and just did it". And then in the next moment the protag goes around and does something stupid, or forgets to think about something that should have been obvious. The only times in the books, where you actually get anything resembling to a buildup of thoughts in the protags, are when they are talking philosophically. And even then I don't really think the books portrays anything ingeniously about any of them. In every book except for the first one, the philosophical aspect kinda just takes over the whole book, and while they say and think a lot, [I]they don't really say a lot[/I]. If anyone is thinking about reading the Ender's saga, be aware that the books got very little that resembles sci fi action or mystery. The series is okay for what it is, I guess, but I don't get why it's often rated as one of the best sci fi series around.[/QUOTE] I read the Ender's series in sixth grade and I would think that's probably the best age period for someone to read them. It is complex enough for a young person but won't do much for you if you're older and into harder sci-fi.
[QUOTE=coyote93;51379841]I finished the Ender's Game (series) a little while back, and before starting on it, I had pretty high hopes around it, as I've heard lots of good stuff about the series. After reading through all of em, I can't say I would recommend any of the books to anyone. The books protagonists are supposed to be super geniuses, some of the best minds of earth, that's made clear from the start, but the books doesn't [I]SHOW[/I] you that they are geniuses in any way. Every time they are doing something smart, the books kinda goes like "I'm super smart, so I knew how to do it and just did it". And then in the next moment the protag goes around and does something stupid, or forgets to think about something that should have been obvious. The only times in the books, where you actually get anything resembling to a buildup of thoughts in the protags, are when they are talking philosophically. And even then I don't really think the books portrays anything ingeniously about any of them. In every book except for the first one, the philosophical aspect kinda just takes over the whole book, and while they say and think a lot, [I]they don't really say a lot[/I]. If anyone is thinking about reading the Ender's saga, be aware that the books got very little that resembles sci fi action or mystery. The series is okay for what it is, I guess, but I don't get why it's often rated as one of the best sci fi series around.[/QUOTE] Did you read the series in it's entirety? I've read all 16 novels and it's one of my favorite SF series. The Earth series, Unaware, Afire and Awaken were my favorites. They are quite philosophical as most hard SF is, but doesn't feel particularly different from a Niven or a Le Guin novel. The overall tone of the series is akin to the Hyperion Cantos series which If you haven't read, I would strongly recommend. What is your favorite SF series?
If you're new to Sci-fi books, Armor by John Steakley is a hell of a read. Has a really great ending, as well. It's guys in power armor engaged in a bug war, similar to Starship Troopers in that regard. It focus isn't so much on the political aspect of being in the army, moreso the actual combat and the toll it takes on the guys in the suits. Think of it almost like all of the actual warfighting Starship Troopers was missing. The action in it is incredibly well written imo, and really gives you a sense of how devastating the suits are. The only thing that comes close to visualizing it so well are a few of the Horus Heresy 40k books, I think. How the guy explains to you how the man in the suit thinks and goes through the war itself is pretty intelligent. It was written in the early 80s, but manages to feel like something you could pick up fresh off the press today.
[QUOTE=coyote93;51387904]I thought I had, until you said there were a total of 16. I have only read the seven first ones, and I honestly thought those were the entire series, so now I kinda feel like a fool. But as I don't really like going from something unfinished, I guess I'll have to find the rest of the books and read them as-well. To be honest, I'm pretty new to the whole Science fiction genre, as I never had any real interest in it before I watched the Stargate Tv series a year or two ago, so I've never heard of either Niven, nor Le Guin or the Hyberion Cantos series. But I'll put both authors and the series on my "read list" since you recommend them. It's not really easy to pick a favorite book or series, as I kinda just read whatever I happen to get my hands upon, but I really did enjoy the DUNE "classic" books, haven't gotten around to read the newer ones yet tho. Books from the Warhammer universe are entertaining, but I somehow never manage to get a real overview over anything there, with the insane amount of authors and novels that's all over the place. I'm almost ashamed to admit this, as I can't stand the movies, but I even find some of the novels from the Star Wars universe to be quite fun. When it comes to single novels, I really liked Starship Troopers and Sphere. So as you see, I'm kinda checking out some of the most known stuff at first. But feel free to recommend me anything, doesn't even have to be SF for that matter, as I'm open to most genres.[/QUOTE] Sphere was absolutely fantastic. If you liked sphere I bet you would love Rendezvous with Rama, and Eon by Greg Bear. I am an absolute sucker for the mysterious and ancient object being discovered and explored motif, I've enjoyed a dozen novels on that premise. That and colonization series like the Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars trilogy.
So I picked up another book, and its actually the sequel to Robopocalypse. I was hyped when I found [i]Robogenesis[/i] in the shelves and couldn't help myself but to buy it. [t]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/518n-7MZokL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg[/t] The story is literally moments away from the end of Robopocalypse, and its even more disturbing in some parts. I'm 46 pages in from a total of 365 and I can't stop reading. Also, its nice to see some activity in here again!
I picked up [I]Dune[/I] recently and I can't wait until I get time to read it, ha ha.
[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;51390336]I picked up [I]Dune[/I] recently and I can't wait until I get time to read it, ha ha.[/QUOTE] I got turned off by Dune when I first started, got bored and read something else. Came back a year later and slugged through the opening and fell in love. I love the series, but for some reason the beginning of the first book just didn't catch my interest immediately.
Recently read "Off to be the wizard" By Scott Meyer. A very fun little romp. It's about a programmer who stumbles over a file that when he edits it, he edits reality itself. Silly premise, but it's played off in a fun, entertaining way. The book doesn't take itself very seriously, and is genuinely funny more times than not. If it sounds like something for you I recommend you get the kindle version off amazon [URL="https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Kindle-Motion-Magic-Book-ebook/dp/B00EF8Z32I"](Only 2.50 dollars) [/URL]and read it on your phone or tablet, it has very nice animated illustrations by Liz Pulido
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