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Post by johndramey on Mar 15, 2017 21:57:33 GMT -5
I'm going to bring this thread back to life to talk about a book I just finished reading. Before I do that, I should leave a bit of a disclaimer; I've never been a literary dude. By that I mean, I read for pleasure and have never really enjoyed thinking about my books too much. As such, Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, and I love pulpy sci-fi. That being said, I recently read Peter Bien's translation of Zorba the Greek and... it was amazing. I got it as a bit of a challenge, my wife's boss recommended it to her as a book in which we can learn about life, and my wife initially turned it down cause she doesn't really read. I told her that, if she would read it, I'd read it along with her. Fast forward to her reading about 14 chapters of it while I'm reading a different book (Peter Straub's Floating Dragon, a so/so horror novel). She got upset at me cause I was kind of welshing on my bet, so I powered through Floating Dragon and started Zorba on March 7th. By March 15th, my wife was still on chapter 14 and I had devoured the whole book. I can sum up the main plot quite nicely for you folks, our narrator (who never is named) is getting ready to move to Crete to reopen a coal (lignite, to be exact) mine. While sitting in a cafe, an old guy (Zorba) walks up to him and offers to come along. Initially, our narrator refuses, but when Zorba tells him that he makes a mean soup and is a hard worker, the narrator agrees to hire him on as a mine foreman. The two move to Crete, open the mine, and sit around and drink and talk about life. That's the whole book. It. Was. Amazing. Such a good book. Seriously. Think about picking it up. Here is a link to the Kindle edition |
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Post by Zer0Winds on Mar 15, 2017 22:28:34 GMT -5
You still failed that bet, for the most part.
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Post by amongstshadows on Mar 16, 2017 23:59:20 GMT -5
The Inverted City - Karan Anand Shandilya
May not be for everyone. If you are imaginative and enjoy getting lost in the multiverse, or are insane like I am you will love this book. Author is a genious, his craziness makes me kind of jealous lol.
I haven't finished, but what I have read so far is awesome. Reminds me of deep lucid dreaming.
I got it off of amazon. It was under $10 I believe.
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Post by johndramey on Mar 20, 2017 0:04:25 GMT -5
I'm currently reading The Dispossessed, a book about Shevek, a researcher from Urras. Sometime in the future, people have colonized Anterras and Urras, which are a planet/moon pair in Tau Ceti. Anterras can basically be summed up as a totally capitalist planet, while Urras is a total anarchist planet. Shevek is a theoretical physicist from Urras who got invited to Anterras to be a professor, and the book follows him.
Chapter 1 starts with Shevek arriving on Anterras and Chapter 2 starts with Shevek's childhood on Urras. Each even chapter thereafter builds on the Anterras story, while each odd chapter builds on Shevek's childhood up to him arriving on Anterras.
The book is really interesting in how we see two totally antagonistic societies that pretty much treat each other as enemies melding through Shevek. For instance, the Urras colonists do not use the possessive form at all (e.g. my watch) and instead use collective language (e.g. the watch that I am using). I'm only about half-way through it, but so far each planet is portrayed as having ups and downs. In fact, I'd go so far as to say Anterras (capitalism) is kind of portrayed as a system where the outliers (extremely smart, extremely lucky, etc.) of society thrive and the rest tend to either tread water or drown, and Urras (anarchy) is shown as an overly idealistic society where the majority rule but nothing can ever really get done.
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Post by resistor on Nov 7, 2017 23:12:40 GMT -5
Finished reading Star Wars: Thrawn (by Timothy Zahn) earlier today. Some parts in the beginning feel a little slow, but overall it was very good.
Timothy Zahn is, in my opinion, the best Star Wars author.
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Post by sparda4 on Nov 8, 2017 8:55:05 GMT -5
Read Dante's Inferno. Wanting to finish
Purgatory and Paradise but can't get around to it.
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Post by drdave on Nov 8, 2017 9:20:54 GMT -5
Only recently started reading Iain M Banks' Culture series, odd that I never got round to reading them before now as I've read most of his non-SF work. Just finished the second one (Player of Games), bit of a slow burner at times, but a good tale.
just moved on to something completely different, "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles, my wife suggested it after she read it. Not like anything I would normally read by I'm really enjoying it.
Apart from that recent reads include a couple of Jasper FForde novels (the most recent Thursday Next and Last Dragonslayer books - both series are worth a read, especially the Thursday Next series) and I'm working my way through Chris Brookmyre's output, I've got a couple left to read. It's strange reading them, he grew up in the town where I work and I keep recognising minor characters!
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Post by slayernz on Nov 8, 2017 15:53:05 GMT -5
I need to read more - heck I need to play more TB games (or just "play TB games"). I'm about a 5th of the way through Stephen King's It, and it's as good as the last time I read it. I love reading the Wheel of Time series and have done so about 4 times now - that'll be on my to-do list when I next have a month of free time  ... no, I have the audio books, so can listen to the story as I drive to and from work. It's a shame STF doesn't come in Audio book form - or voice controlled so I can do all my actions while driving (feature enhancement request) |
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Post by hissrad on Nov 14, 2017 4:49:10 GMT -5
You guys read Warhammer 40k stuff? I just finished the book Scars. It follows my favorite Primarch and his Legion as they find their way through the early days of the Horus Heresy. I loved it, finally have a way to explain why I'm a fan of The Khan and his White Scars.  |
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Post by Zer0Winds on Nov 15, 2017 3:23:53 GMT -5
I've been looking into actually getting a Warhammer book.
Problem is finding one.
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Post by hissrad on Nov 15, 2017 4:46:32 GMT -5
I've been looking into actually getting a Warhammer book. Problem is finding one. Right? Got mine second hand from a friends dad. If your getting into it I'd recommend Horus Rising as your first book. There's a bunch of audio short stories on YouTube. Its a good way to get a feel for the setting imo |
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Post by amongstshadows on Nov 16, 2017 1:11:14 GMT -5
The Circle series: Black, Red, White, Green
Very interesting series about a character that keeps waking up in an alternate reality. As the series goes on, you will notice heavy Christian theology themes.
The Last Policman series: The Last Policeman, Countdown City, World of Trouble
Amazing series about a man who becomes a detective during a pre-apocalypse. A meteor is headed to destroy Earth, but the protagonist continues helping people, rather than give up like many others.
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Post by Tomas of Moklumnue on Nov 19, 2017 18:20:37 GMT -5
Just finished, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.
The story of a sadistic supercomputer that keeps the last survivors of Humanity in an underground complex and tortures them.
No thoughs other than really wishing it were an anime, because AM is the closest to a waifu i will ever have.
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Post by tenbsmith on Jan 25, 2018 12:41:43 GMT -5
The Last Policman sounds good.
I'm reading Words of Radiannce, the second book of the Stormlight Archive. This series is known for its incredible world building. The charaters and plot are solid too--a good read that can be enjoyed by older fantasy fans.
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Post by Zer0Winds on Jan 25, 2018 16:17:57 GMT -5
I recently got the Hitchiker's Trilogy, after waiting for what feels like forever for it to actually come in (or be in stock for me to order it). It's so damn good so far.
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... no, I have the audio books, so can listen to the story as I drive to and from work. It's a shame STF doesn't come in Audio book form - or voice controlled so I can do all my actions while driving (feature enhancement request) 
