"What are you reading?"

The books I decided on were:

Anansi Boys (after hearing good things in this very thread)
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (been meaning to read for years now)
A Short History Of Nearly Everything

I also found a copy of Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe. I'll probably read it first, haven't read a Bryson book before, but I've come across excerpts in English past papers at school and things, and I quite like his style.

We have to read a book called Madame Bovary for English over the summer too, so I'll probably take that with me as well.

Got about 50 pages of the Count of Monto Cristo left. Bit dissapointed by the end really, its all building up nicely with the l33t count pwning n00bs all over the place and then just kind of wusses out a bit. Ghey.

The Selfish Gene and An Eternal Golden Braid are up next.

Edited by Whitey McCool at 17:37:43 28-06-2006

I completely missed that Vernor Vinge's new book, Rainbows End is out, so I have just ordered that. Will report back ASAP.

The Fifth Elephant.

Again.

Pike wrote:
I just finished Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster. It was ok. It felt a lot more lightweight than his other books and it felt a bit loose around the edges. But it was still a pleasant and entertaining read. It was a pretty good book to read while sunbathing on a french beach with a cold beer beside you. Not to taxing and not to insipid.

I used to be an Auster fan, but recently he's gone massively downhill in my view, although I did enjoy The Book Of Illusions.

You could do worse than read What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt, who is Paul Auster's wife (although that Amazon link seems to have loads of bad reviews). I thought it was much better than Auster, at any rate.

I tried reading The Golden Compass (Northen Lights?) for the past week. So horrible I had to stop.

So far the main character doesn't do much for herself, everything is handed to her. Overhearing conversations from a closet, overhearing conversations at a party, being rescued by people who fill in the blanks for her, etc.

Cheap characterisation, the plot seems to be forced along, and nothing really seems left to the reader.

I fail to understand the praise it got on the "His Dark Materials" thread, unless it gets way better. Otherwise, it seems like The Da Vinci Code for young adults; the controversy takes centre stage.



Anyway, so I've moved on to The Greatest Man in Cedar Hole, which is simply charming. Love small towns \o/

I'm about to start reading a collection of short stories from H.P.Lovecraft or the first in the world war trilogy from Harry Turtledove.

Re-reading the Wind On Fire trilogy by William Nicholson. Even those that have problems with either Harry Potter or the His Dark Materials trilogy will like this. I promise, very much a little discovered gem.

Currently re-reading Complexity by M Mitchell Waldrop. Really interesting read about the founding of the Sante Fey Institute and the science of complexity. Cant recommend it enough.

Synopsis
In a rented convent in Santa Fe, a revolution has been brewing. The activists are not anarchists, but rather Nobel Laureates in physics and economics such as Murray Gell-Mann and Kenneth Arrow, and pony-tailed graduates, mathematicians and computer scientists from Los Alamos. They share a deep impatience with the kind of linear, reductionist thinking that has dominated science since the time of Newton. Instead they are gathering novel ideas about interconnectedness, co-evolution, chaos, structure and order - and forging them into an entirely new, unified way of thinking about nature, human social behaviour, life, and the universe itself. Their iconoclastic think tank, the Santa Fe Institute, is creating a new science called "complexity". They want to know how a primordial soup of simple molecules managed to turn itself into the first living cell, and what the origin of life some four billion years ago can tell us about the process of technological innovation today. They want to know why ancient ecosystems often remained stable for millions of years, only to vanish in a geological instant, and what these might have to do with the sudden collapse of Soviet communism. Above all, they want to know how the universe manages to produce complex structures like galaxies, stars, planets, bacteria, plants, animals and brains. There are common threads in all these queries, and the Santa Fe scientists seek to understand them.

Edited by TwistidChimp at 22:58:43 30-06-2006

Forcing myself not to read my new books otherwise I'll have them all read before I go on holiday. I got "Heavier Than Heaven: the Biography of Kurt Cobain" by Charles R. Cross for Xmas, thinking of reading it in the meantime.

[maven] wrote:
I completely missed that Vernor Vinge's new book, Rainbows End is out, so I have just ordered that. Will report back ASAP.

WHAAAAT?! *splurge*

So he's finally come out of his (apparent) writer's block? Best news I've heard all week. Be sure to report back once you've read it (though I'll be getting it either way ;)

vermin wrote:
reading this at the moment. best game novel I've ever read! awesome!

jese i loved that game man - where did you get the novel?

Wow, if the cover is that cool, the book must be AWESOME! Looks just like the game too :)

ElectricDemon wrote:
Forcing myself not to read my new books otherwise I'll have them all read before I go on holiday. I got "Heavier Than Heaven: the Biography of Kurt Cobain" by Charles R. Cross for Xmas, thinking of reading it in the meantime.

A great book about a genius of a man. The final chapters are word perfect.

Messiac wrote:

ElectricDemon wrote:
Forcing myself not to read my new books otherwise I'll have them all read before I go on holiday. I got "Heavier Than Heaven: the Biography of Kurt Cobain" by Charles R. Cross for Xmas, thinking of reading it in the meantime.

A great book about a genius of a man. The final chapters are word perfect.

Excellent, good to have another opinion. There's a tonne of praise for it on the cover, but sometimes the quotes are taken out of context, so it's good to know somebody enjoyed it!

Roarer wrote:

[maven] wrote:
I completely missed that Vernor Vinge's new book, Rainbows End is out, so I have just ordered that. Will report back ASAP.

WHAAAAT?! *splurge*

So he's finally come out of his (apparent) writer's block? Best news I've heard all week. Be sure to report back once you've read it (though I'll be getting it either way ;)

After having read a third of the book yesterday (it's rather short, in particular for a Vernor Vinge "novel" at approximately 350 pages) here are some early impressions:
The time it is set in feels very similar to Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash", so it's definitely near future extrapolation and often arrives at the same conclusion (or states) that Stephenson does. It does not involve as much action, though. :)
So far, I'm not sure who the good or the bad guys are; there don't seem to be any genuinely likeable characters, although all of them are intriguing and you can see why they are acting the way the do.
I have no idea where it's going, but the premise and the way it is told is immediately engaging.
Some very real problems (just look at the chapter titles) are being examined in passing, but usually without passing judgement - that is very much left to the reader.
The novel does use some sort of annoying semi-XML convention for displayed silent messages between characters, which makes those a tad hard to parse.
The title has a funny twist... ;)

Just finsished Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt. It was a good read. Fun and informative.

Finished Vernor Vinge's "Rainbows End" this morning. So here's the mini-review quoted from my blog:
As you may have noticed, I really enjoy Vinge's books. As an aside, I noticed his books via a mention of one of them by John Carmack during an interview...

Anyway, on to the book itself. It's rather short, in particular for a Vernor Vinge "novel" at approximately 370 pages, which translates into about three enjoyable evenings. Considering only the hardcover version is currently out, this may be a bit steep for some.

The time it is set in feels very similar to Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash", so it's definitely near future extrapolation and often arrives at the same conclusions (or solutions to current problems) that Stephenson does. It does not involve as much action, though, although things speed up towards the end of the book.

As is common with Vinge, the distinction between who is good and who is bad is not clear cut. Nevertheless, there is (at least) one near enough villain (if only due to the measures he is willing to take to achieve his ultimate goal). At first, there don't seem to be any genuinely likeable characters, although all of them are intriguing and you can see why they act the way the do.

The novel does use some sort of annoying semi-XML convention for showing silent messages between characters, which makes those a tad hard to parse, but in some ways can also be seen as elaborate set-up for jokes on cryptography conventions. Actually, the whole novel is full of humour (and cynicism) and some very nice word-play. It is intelligent, but neither forcedly so nor does it hit in the face with an attitude of "I'm proper literature". Even the title has a funny twist...

Thankfully, the book is not all fun and some very real problems (just scan chapter titles for some obvious examples) are being looked at. Some in detail, some in passing, but usually without passing judgement - that is very much left to the reader, which IMO is a good thing. It is also fairly suspenseful, although not with as much of an overall feeling of dread as "A Deepness in the Sky" or "A Fire upon the Deep".

It has a good beginning, it has a good middle part, and - most important of all - it has a good ending. Very recommended.

Reading Wittgenstein's Poker at the moment.

It's the analysis of a disputed story of a 10 minute argument between two philosphers... but is actually immensley enjoyable as it gives the academic and social backgrounds of the protaganists (both Austrian Jews living in Austria during the rise of Nazism).

Makes me feel all intellectual.

Pike wrote:
Just finsished Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt. It was a good read. Fun and informative.

I'm just finishing that book as well but I really didn't enjoy it, it's sloppy with the facts and the writing style is atrocious. I particularly disliked the preface to each chapter which basically redeclares his genius in very vague terms.
It's a pity because the premise is interesting and he's obviously not shy about tackling controversial subjects.

Having a real bookworm week...

Finished off "A short history of Tractors in the Ukraine" - Which was pretty poor. No story as such, just a bunch of hastily slapped together and poorly narrated observations...

"Luna Park" by Bret Easton Ellis. Possibly the worst book I've read this year. Self indulgent crap with absolutely bugger all to recommend it. The guy's lost it big time.

"Counter Clock World" by Philip K. Dick. Fantastic novel, a bit wandering in places (he does love going on and on about stupid pseudo-religious twaddle) but a cracking book nonetheless.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde (for a bit of research) - As good now as when I first read it as a kid.

To top it all, I've got Jasper Fforde's "The Fourth Bear" on the way which should be top notch.

Avoid Luna Park like the plague - seriously. Not even worth wiping your arse on.

Peej

pjmaybe wrote:
"Counter Clock World" by Philip K. Dick. Fantastic novel, a bit wandering in places (he does love going on and on about stupid pseudo-religious twaddle) but a cracking book nonetheless.

Peej

Ooh - I'm looking for another Dick novel to read... Would "Counter Clock World" be a good one to go for after "Do Androids Dream..." and "A Scanner Darkly", or is there another one that comes more highly recommended?

Flow my tears, fall from your springs
Exiled forever let me mourn
Where nights black bird her sad infamy sings
There let me live forlorn.

See, thats what reading PKD can do to you!
Make you learn gorgeous 17th century poetry.
"Flow my tears, the policeman said" is my favourite PKD novel.


As for what i'm reading? I'm about to start Harry Potter Half-blood Prince.

Edited by jellyhead at 16:53:52 10-07-2006

JPod - Douglas Coupland

Finished over 2 days and worth it if you like Microserfs. I like Coupland's take on the world and a lot of what is written is a little too familiar.

jellyhead wrote:
See, thats what reading PKD can do to you!
Make you learn gorgeous 17th century poetry.
"Flow my tears, the policeman said" is my favourite PKD novel.

Just ordered this from Amazon - the synopsis sounds pretty interesting...

I just love the book, read it when i was in my teens and it's one of those books that has just stuck with me. I don't think it's particularly regarded but i like it. Same way i'm the only person that seems to read James P Blaylock.

Well it better be good, y'hear?

/shakes fist

well to go along with forumlogic.
In my opinion it's great and opinion being fact means that it is indeed great. :)

Just finished Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman. Not a patch on American Heroes but still a decent enough book and well written. Bit more childish than his other adult stuff, but more adult than his childen's stuff...

Now reading Man in the High Castle - Philip K Dick. Excellent so far.