What Are You Reading Now.

Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by Writing Forums Staff, Feb 22, 2008.

  1. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,136
    Likes Received:
    19,759
    Location:
    Rhode Island
    Exactly. One of the reasons why Dune holds up better is that it doesn't make a direct connection to "contemporary" Earth. The rest of them with their flying cars, cities on the moon, robots... I don't know. I don't dislike it, but it feels kind of lame now.
     
  2. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,557
    Location:
    California, US
    Good argument for not using specific dates. If it’s some vague future point in time and there are cities on the moon, fine. If it’s 2010 and there are cities on the moon, er….
     
    Oscar Leigh and Krispee like this.
  3. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,136
    Likes Received:
    19,759
    Location:
    Rhode Island
    2001: A Toyota Corolla Odyssey.
     
  4. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2015
    Messages:
    18,851
    Likes Received:
    35,471
    Location:
    Face down in the dirt
    Currently Reading::
    Telemachus Sneezed
    I knew a guy who got the vanity plate SPACE and was planning to buy a 2001 Honda Odyssey when they came out. Lost touch with him before that year rolled around so I don't know what became of the plan.
     
    Oscar Leigh and Krispee like this.
  5. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Messages:
    1,430
    Likes Received:
    1,145
    Location:
    UK
    True, keeping your technology separate from any connection to this time works so much better in that regard. I guess you could stray into a kind of fantasy science fiction, if there is such a genre.
    Another reason fantasy stands the test of time much better than science fiction.
     
  6. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2016
    Messages:
    8,496
    Likes Received:
    5,120
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Book recommendations! Books I read recently I would recommend:

    Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro. Very intriguing period fantasy in the 19th century. Very gothic and spiritual. Not a predictable plotline, if you dislike obviousness.

    She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. Historic epic set in historical China, based on real events. At once tragic, uplifting, dark and funny. Bonus for LGBT themes.

    The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant. A stylish alternative history in early 19th century France (think Le Mis). Slightly YA-ish but good, still mature themes. The world-building and writing style are the best parts.

    The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I recommend Night Circus before which I love, love, loved. This one is about as good. Very unique modern fantasy. Think Night Circus without the period element and three times weirder. That persistent feeling of subtle mystery about Night Circus is here too and almost stronger.

    Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May. This one wins the prise for most unique alternative history concept I've seen in a while. 1920's but with a magic Prohibition instead of alcohol. Very women-centric. Emotionally intense. Bonus points for LGBT themes.
     
  7. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Messages:
    1,430
    Likes Received:
    1,145
    Location:
    UK
    I've also read the Night Circus and loved it, well written, original story. Haven't got around to The Starless Sea yet.
     
    AntPoems and Oscar Leigh like this.
  8. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2016
    Messages:
    8,496
    Likes Received:
    5,120
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    It's weird! And good! I would consider it something of an ode to storytelling itself, and to the idea of a story.
     
    AntPoems and Krispee like this.
  9. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Messages:
    1,430
    Likes Received:
    1,145
    Location:
    UK
    Sounds intriguing, I do like me a little bit of weird now and again.
     
  10. Not the Territory

    Not the Territory Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2019
    Messages:
    1,240
    Likes Received:
    1,674
    The White Rose was actually fantastic. Satisfying ending. I had forgotten how dedicated Cook was to undermining fantasy tropes.

    I'm 30% through the third Wheel of Time book. Calling them books is starting to feel like calling a wedding cake just 'a cake.' I can't tell if I'm fatigued or Jordan is fatigued at this point (he's deceased right now, but you know what I mean), but the prose is particularly getting on my nerves in this book. One bit that stands out as illustrative is a character "opened his mouth angrily." It just seems low effort, and I really thought the first book did a better job on that. Maybe the editor gave that one more love, I don't know. I'll stick with it though. The story is still engaging and I do want to see it through.
     
    Dogberry's Watch and Bone2pick like this.
  11. Bone2pick

    Bone2pick Conspicuously Conventional Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2018
    Messages:
    1,718
    Likes Received:
    1,929
    @Not the Territory Have you read Peter McLean’s War for the Rose Throne series? You might enjoy it — I’ve really liked what I’ve read. It has a grim fantasy soldier premise and feel similar to Cook’s Black Company books.
     
    Not the Territory likes this.
  12. Not the Territory

    Not the Territory Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2019
    Messages:
    1,240
    Likes Received:
    1,674
    No, but I checked out the first few pages on Amazon and it seems pretty good. It's going on the big to-read list.
     
    Bone2pick likes this.
  13. Bone2pick

    Bone2pick Conspicuously Conventional Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2018
    Messages:
    1,718
    Likes Received:
    1,929
    Finished three more books, none of which were particularly long.

    (1) The Time of Contempt, Andrzej Sapkowski. The more I read of Ciri, the less I want to read. At this point I simply don’t care for her as a protagonist. And the main characters I actually like — Geralt, Yennefer, and Dandelion — didn’t receive the level of development I expected from this book. This is the first Witcher installment I’ve judged as not worth reading. Rating: 2.5 stars.

    (2) The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov. Just good enough characters. Just good enough prose. And just good enough worldbuilding, plot and themes. Rating: 3 stars.

    (3) The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway. My wife recently picked this book up at a garage sale. I wasn’t required to read it while in school, so I decided to squeeze it into my TBR list. And I’m glad I did. I’ve always admired Hemingway’s prose, and the themes and characters in this story are timeless. Rating: 4 stars.

    Currently reading: Dead Man’s Walk, Larry McMurtry.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2022
    Not the Territory likes this.
  14. Rad Scribbler

    Rad Scribbler Faber est suae quisque fortunae Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2020
    Messages:
    1,198
    Likes Received:
    674
    Location:
    Midlands UK
    Just finished reading - Ask No Questions - by Lisa Hartley.

    An excellent read.
     
  15. Adenosine Triphosphate

    Adenosine Triphosphate Member Contributor

    Joined:
    May 24, 2014
    Messages:
    1,251
    Likes Received:
    732
    Location:
    USA
    The 50th Law by Robert Greene and 50 Cent

    The Black Hand: The Story of Rene "Boxer" Enriquez and His Life in the Mexican Mafia by Chris Blatchford
     
    Seven Crowns likes this.
  16. Rad Scribbler

    Rad Scribbler Faber est suae quisque fortunae Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2020
    Messages:
    1,198
    Likes Received:
    674
    Location:
    Midlands UK
    Just finished reading - The Third Juror - by James Patterson.

    Another excellent read.
     
  17. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2019
    Messages:
    12,454
    Likes Received:
    13,500
    Location:
    Way, way out there
    The Power of Point of View by Alicia Rasley. Best POV book I've found by a long shot, and I've read (/am reading) several others. I highly recommend this to anybody wanting to really develop their understanding on the subject.
     
  18. Rad Scribbler

    Rad Scribbler Faber est suae quisque fortunae Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2020
    Messages:
    1,198
    Likes Received:
    674
    Location:
    Midlands UK
    Just started to read another John Grisham novel - The Litigators.
     
  19. J.T. Woody

    J.T. Woody Book Witch Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2018
    Messages:
    4,129
    Likes Received:
    8,662
    Just read an old article in the Journal of Library Administration & Management about Ernest Shackleton.

    I knew the guy existed and i knew he was famous for getting stranded in Antarctica (literally all knew about him mostly from handling books here), but this article went into detail about who he was before, during, and after the Endurance went down and how he managed his crew threw it all.

    How did i not learn about this dude in school???
     
  20. Robert Musil

    Robert Musil Comparativist Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2015
    Messages:
    1,219
    Likes Received:
    1,387
    Location:
    USA
    I remember reading about Shackleton for the first time in some National Geographic type magazine as a kid. So many crazy things about the Endurance story, but the thing that sticks with me is how part of their plan was literally to just get stuck in the ice and let it drift them a ways. Like "Yep, we've got our specially designed boat, we're just gonna relax here for two years in the freezing darkness, what else would we do?"

    Oh, and then at the end when he makes it back to South Georgia and he asks somebody, basically, "So, how'd World War I turn out?" and the guy is like "Uhh...it's still going...millions of people have died..." Oof.

    Anyway I'm reading Ken Liu, The Grace of Kings. It's quite good in many ways. It's definitely very gripping and doesn't slack, and he does a good job of giving characters complex motivations, and also giving each "side" (the story is some people are rebelling against a big empire) complex characters. As in, some rebels just want to loot stuff, some rebels are principled and want to make life better for the common people, some rebels are displaced nobles from the old system who want their privileges back--and they all have to coexist on the same "side". Same with the empire, some are cruel bastards who are just as likely to undercut their own side, some are true patriots, some are boring but competent administrators just getting a paycheck.

    If anything, though, I think it suffers from being a bit overwritten. Maybe he didn't need to show us quite this much complexity, because I think his prose suffers a bit for it. He tends to over-explain everything, and often times it's really just clunky.
     
  21. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2019
    Messages:
    12,454
    Likes Received:
    13,500
    Location:
    Way, way out there
    The Body. It's the novela (-ette?) by Stephen King on which the movie Stand By Me was based. I also bought the movie on Amazon Prime earlier and watched it. Can't believe I had never seen it before. What an amazing cast! I'm only a little way into the story, but there's more of a foreboding element of death suffusing everything. It was there in the movie but very subtly. In the book it's more foregrounded and ominous. But then, it's Stephen King, what would you expect? It's an object lesson in first-person autobiography-style storytelling.
     
  22. Catriona Grace

    Catriona Grace Mind the thorns Contributor Contest Winner 2022

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2021
    Messages:
    6,260
    Likes Received:
    5,506
    House of Trelawny by Hannah Rothschild. So far, pretty decent.
     
  23. Earp

    Earp Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2016
    Messages:
    4,507
    Likes Received:
    8,247
    Location:
    Just right of center.
    Dean Koontz' A Big Dark Sky. Good if you like his work. Complicated plot, great villain.
     
    Seven Crowns likes this.
  24. Earp

    Earp Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2016
    Messages:
    4,507
    Likes Received:
    8,247
    Location:
    Just right of center.
    American History for Home Schools, 1607 to 1885, with a Focus on Our Civil War (Nine authors listed) Available on Kindle Unlimited.

    It's a history textbook intended for homeschooled kids that briefly covers the years in question from the point of view of the Southern States and eventually of the Confederacy. Slaves are referred to throughout as 'African American bonded people'.

    A fascinating example of historical facts (so far as I could tell) spun to advance a narrative.


     
    Iain Aschendale likes this.
  25. ShannonH

    ShannonH Senior Member Contest Winner 2023

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2015
    Messages:
    471
    Likes Received:
    529
    Location:
    Northern Ireland
    Heat 2

    *Chef's Kiss*
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice