Books

[DjinnAndTonic]

Finished Colour of Magic, Light Fantastic, Sourcery, and Eric. (I think this is the entire Rincewind series from Discworld?)

Overall enjoyable, though VERY unfocused and unpolished. It's clear that it's some of Pratchett's earliest work. Not that low-level Pratchett is -bad-, it certainly tends to be better than a lot of fantasy fluff, but it's clearly inferior to his later books. I appreciated seeing how a lot of Discworld staples got started, and it was nice reading a Discworld that was more Fantasy than Social Commentary. But notably the Social Commentary tends to make his works a lot more cohesive, so I'm glad he eventually found his niche with the series.

[Cmdr_King]

There's later Rincewind books.  Interesting Times, the Lost Continent, and I think a couple others are largely about him.  After that, there's books that are less Rincewind specifically and more the Wizards in general.

[Sierra]

Interesting Times is pretty easily the best of the Rincewind books, I thought. And yeah, totally accurate assessment of early Pratchett.

[Grefter]

You will note that it is about the time where he gets a better handle on things (Eric/post Eric) that the series other recurring characters come into play.  Vimes/Vetinari, the Witches (other than Granny Weatherwax who is massively changed from her appearance in Equal Rites) and most relevant to the discussion, Mustrum Ridcully.  The dynamic of the books changes dramatically when we have a more stable base to work with other than Rincewind, Twoflower, Cohen and Death.

[DjinnAndTonic]

Well, I will note that Sourcery was a pretty good story and did a lot to solidify his views on how Magic should work, I think. It's just that Eric as a follow up is pretty much complete, unfocused fluff. Also, I'm not sure how Cohen qualifies as a major character outside of Light Fantastic.

[Grefter]

He has his own book.

[Lady Door]

Pushed Sherlock Holmes to the side for the time being, since Song of Ice and Fire came in the mail and I'm needing to finish the series re-read up before I visit with my mother at the end of August. She'll want to talk about it, and I'm only too happy to oblige.

Sherlock Holmes has been great fun, though. I first read it in the third grade, and studied some of the mysteries. I had no appreciation whatsoever for it. Now, with House taking it on, and the BBC pulling a modern television adaptation, and Hollywood putting out Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law as a sort of explosive crime fighting duo, I've seen many facets of the 20th/21st century re-imaginings. I see what producers have adapted, and I see what was originally written, and I marvel.

I am utterly shocked that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has kept my attention so thoroughly. Normally, I despise Victorian-era literature as overwrought, sentimental pieces of shit. I really, really hate early novels. Maybe I need only pay attention to sensational serials, at least if Sherlock Holmes is indicative of the quality.

Sherlock Holmes is a fabulous bastard, and Dr. Watson is such an appreciative audience. And what a fabulous way to explore the unreliable narrator! I look forward to returning to this read.

--

So I'm 90% of the way through Game of Thrones, and I remember why I've bothered to keep up with this series. There are elements of every epic fantasy series ever penned here, and there are very strong influences from Wheel of Time (which must be why the jacket includes a blurb of praise from Robert Jordan, hah), but it's its own story of political intrigues. The stuff of kings and kingdoms, it is, and oh by the way there's probably something not quite normal about some of these people and environments.

From what I recall, the series really picks up around book 3, but the lead-in is a necessary dive into the politics and history of the Seven Kingdoms. I don't begrudge the world-building because the characters through which these actions occur are just so damn worth experiencing.

I haven't read a drop of SoIF since A Feast for Crows first came out -- hence the re-read -- so I pretty much get to enjoy the series from book 1 all the way through book 5. We'll see how it holds up without years of speculation and whinging to space them apart and fill in the holes.

[Hunter Sopko]

Woo geekery.

[NotMiki]

Sam Adams Winter Lager is Coming.

[Hunter Sopko]

Sadly they were out of Stark mugs. All they had left was one Lannister and some Targaryen and Baratheon mugs.

[Veryslightlymad]

At the con, Ashley recommended that I read a book called The Windup Girl, and having nothing else to read on the plane trip home, I bought it.

Then I fell asleep on the plane and didn't really start reading it until a day or so later.

I'm kind of weird with books. It can take me anywhere from four hours to four months to finish one up. It all depends on how long it takes me to reach the book's climax, or if we're going to sexualize books, I suppose it'd be more accurate to call it the "Plateau" phase. Basically, with books, I read them idly until I accidentally stumble on the point of no return, and then no power on earth can stop me from finishing my book. At about 6 AM this happened with The Windup Girl, and I finished reading a few minutes ago.

First off, holy hell, this book is dark. Really dark. Like, if a novel represents an author's worldview in some way or another, I'm not sure I'd get along with the guy. It's so matter of fact about the absolute worst stuff imaginable. Regardless, it's exceptionally well-crafted, and, oddly, third person present tense, which comes off as really novel. Definitely fits in with the Buddhist themes of the book. For what amounts to someone's first full-sized novel, this is absolutely amazing. I really hope this Bacigalupi fellow continues writing for a few decades, because this seems like exactly the sort of fresh face Science Fiction needs.


Next up: FLUFF
Between the next Haruhi and next Dark Elf book, I'm sure I'll get enough pulp to keep me satisfied before I tear my guts out with another book like this. It's good to read again, but lord knows the next time I'll actually do it.

[Lady Door]

See if you can catch one of his short stories. They're also quite dark, but hauntingly beautiful. The Fluted Girl -- http://windupstories.com/pumpsix/the-fluted-girl/ -- was the first one I read.

--

Re-read of Song of Ice and Fire continues. I am about 50% of the way through Storm of Swords, and I was right, the story picks up speed here. Considering how many of the chapters overlap in time, that's downright bizarre. 

My favorites (me and every other reader out there, hah) are Arya, Jon, Tyrion, and Bran after he joins with the crannogmen. I enjoy Daenerys's POV chapters about half the time. I dread reading Davos's, though I enjoy his character well enough. I just feel like he's the eyes in the throne room, forced where he needs to be.

Getting a little fatigued slogging through these. That's a side-effect of the immense amounts of back story, battle description and other various info dumps that happen. Not sure if I can finish the series before Tuesday. Seems unlikely. Ah well.

If I decide to take a break from it, I'll be reading Ghost Story (Dresden Files). Changes left off on an ENORMOUS cliff-hanger and I've been dying to know what happened after that. Jim Butcher may be a hack writer, but he still hits all the right notes to keep my interest.

[Shale]

Ghost Story: It's a new Dresden book. Fun pulp fantasy, and it and Changes have really moved the overall story along. Looking forward to seeing what Butcher does with this, assuming he plans to keep up the pace.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Been reading the Dexter novels. Some of the changes in the series I'm glad were made, some I miss, and some (like Brian killing LaGuerta) I really really wish had stayed in.

I think the biggest change overall is the loss of Michael C. Hall. Without his charisma, we just have Dexter's narration, and it makes two pretty noteworthy changes in tone. First, Dexter is much, much more unsettling, and second, his affection for Rita is far more hollow. I realized after a while that the affection he has for her reminds me of how I feel about my furniture. I like that it's there because I picked it out and it goes with the rest of my stuff.

Also holy shit, are they ever more graphic.

[Fenrir]

I haven't read anything but French polars and Bret Easton Ellis novels in the past 5 years, but recently I tried some good old fantasy books.
Specifically, Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy.
I do not know how to talk about books. It's pretty neat! I like how there's not much magic or classic fantasy races.

[superaielman]

Farseer is neat because (In spite of?) Fitz literally having the worst decision making skills of all time.  Just a very cool world and it's got a strong cast.

[Lady Door]

Finished Song of Ice and Fire.

So... yeah. I feel like George R. R. Martin needs a firmer editor. Dance with Dragons read a lot like a book by a famous, best-selling author -- by which I mean that because he's writing a series people are guaranteed to buy, he gets a LOT more leeway with extraneous exposition than anyone else. That, and it's a sweeping fantasy with ridiculous layers of foreshadowing and outlining. Some of it is likely necessary in the scheme of things. Right now, however, there were long stretches of text that made my brain shut down for their ponderousness.

I'd rank this one #2 on my list. That's largely because it introduced a second side to the troubles of Westeros (holy carp, Batman, MORE STORY) and I like this one better. Cersei and the Iron Throne have been getting a little (haha) melodramatic, too soap opera for my tastes. I like this new angle, even if my semi-spoilery thought throughout this one was, "Does ANYONE in this world actually STAY dead?"

1. Storm of Swords (#3)
2. Dance with Dragons (#5)
3. Clash of Kings (#2)
4. Game of Thrones (#1)
5. Feast for Crows (#4)

Favorite characters have stayed stable. That said: WTF, Martin. I HATE YOU SO MUCH FOR ENDING THIS BOOK THAT WAY. Argh.

--

Read Ghost Story on Saturday. As implied, it was a pretty easy read by which I mean that Butcher continues to write a straight-forward pulp detective series with fantasy elements. I loved this book, probably because it spent a curiously bulky portion of the text expounding on psychological stuff. Major ret-con whoa, but plausible enough. I too am looking forward to seeing how Butcher brings this in the next book.

Major bonus: Butcher seems to be getting the hang of it now! Only 13 books in. At least he's planning to write for another 20 or so, based on interviews. Cold Days sounds like a much less clever title than any of the rest, but I'll take it. Whenever it comes out.

--

I'm out of hotly anticipated reads until Alloy of Law comes out in November, so... back to reading the rest! I've got Sherlock Holmes on the shelf, but I need something a little less intensive for a short while. Catching up on some SF&F short stories for now.

[Shale]

Reading about Butcher's plans for The Dresden Files is like when anybody interviews Brian Clevinger about his plans for Atomic Robo (which is currently in its sixth miniseries) and he casually mentions that he has plot sketches and titles for the franchise up to volume fourteen.

Incidentally, read Atomic Robo.

[Dhyerwolf]

That said: WTF, Martin. I HATE YOU SO MUCH FOR ENDING THIS BOOK THAT WAY. Argh.

I'm hoping this means something happens at the end! I have 150 pages left and I honestly surprised that this book was 5 years (or whatever) in the making. I think the overall feeling of futility is making this one the clear worst to me so far.

[Idun]

This is a pretty tacky thing to do, but I am reading my last edition of Juxtapoz, since my subscription ends. It's a magazine, and I've been examining several magazines I hope I can follow for some time. This is not one I would follow though. I'm definitely excited about switching over to Artforum's hardcopy editions this year.

In order to stay slightly on topic, I read a ruined Berenstein Bears book I found while cleaning out a 10-decade cluttered garage. I also read a Barbie book - the one that makes noises appropriate to the pictures for an all-out experience. Total nostalgia.

I'm still on Les Mis, but I believe I'm on page 622. I don't feel like checking. I'm not reading it tonight. I'm reading Juxtapoz.


(Edit* "10-decade." Lol. Whatevs!)

[Grefter]

Incorruptible - This is a comic.  It is pretty fun.  It is the villain counterpart to Irredeemable.  They are both written by Mark Waid.  They are essentially the setting where ersatz Superman went batshit insane and just started roasting people with his heat vision.  That is what Irredeemable is about.  Incorruptible is where his archrival saw it all go down and decides that he needs to become a Super Hero to stop him.  He isn't super good at it, but it is pretty fun.  Also his name is Max Damage.  This is rad.  He has a pretty fun super power as well.  He wakes up normal, the longer he stays awake the stronger and more nigh invulnerable he becomes.  All of this at the cost of his sense of touch.  It is pretty neat, he only has an hour in the morning to wake up, eat and shave etc before he loses all sense of touch.  That is pretty much why he was a Super Villain, because he could, he could get away with it and why the fuck not?  May as well enjoy what he can.  Downside to his power is that while he physically doesn't need to sleep, he still suffers from sleep deprevation.  So he stays up for three days to fight the Plutonian (Superman) and he isn't exactly thinking particularly well.

So as far as he goes as a Super Hero... well he isn't quite the Punisher, but he isn't super great at it.  That is fine.

Oh and he rocks a leather jacket, jeans and a pair of Fingerless gloves with metal plates along the top knuckle with the letters M.D. on them which is also rad.

As far as the story itself goes?  It is pretty great.  Well thought out and internally consistent while best of all feeling like there is a weight of history there without getting bogged down in it.  It is just smart well written story telling.  That is pretty much what I would have expected from Mark Waid given his writing history.

Sadly I think this means I am going to have to shell out and get Irredeemable as well.  I was honestly mostly just interested in the concept of Incorruptible to see how well it works.  Turns out it does it really well.

Edit - Okay so straight up David Tennant with a mohawk dude was great.

I love that the book pretty much straight up said that the only character in the setting who can expect good to be completely uncompromising and always successful is the sociopath former villain who's only concept of being a Super Hero is to do the opposite of what he used to do.  Which of course mirrors perfectly with what makes Irredeemable a thing.

[NotMiki]

I've read a chunk of Irredeemable, and it's damn good.  Mark Waid knows his business.

[NotMiki]

been reading through Susan Sontag - On Photography, which is a collection of essays.  Figure I'll post about 'em now because the semester's starting and I don't know when I'll finish 'em.

Sontag is an incredible writer, both in terms of substance and style, and her essays are a kaleidescope of ways to conceive of the act of photography in modern society.  It's illuminating to compare what Sontag said about the photograph and its role in society in the '70s to what we use the internet for today.  Sontag said photographs were the inspiration for people wanting to know everything - that people would voraciously consume photos of far off monuments to know what they look like, for example.  We use the internet so we don't have to know everything - Wikipedia is an external memory device that relieves us of the burden of having to hold things in our head.  Sontag says the camera changes the meaning of vacations, so that memorializing a trip in film become the primary purpose of the trip.  The internet is augmenting this function, it seems, with Twitter, and a variety of GPS-bsaed apps that tell fgolks where you are and what you're doing.  The extreme (and inordinate in my opinion) attention paid to "social media" in the past couple years seems to be supplanting the meaning of events - people eat at new restaurants so they can post their reviews, etc.  Funny stuff.

[AndrewRogue]

Changes: Finally got around to this. Pretty much every single event that occurs in this book is a spoiler.

Everything.

[Shale]

Harry....well.

Uh, Co...no...

THOMAS...wait, that was in the next book.

Harry does magic. There. That's your plot point.