What are you reading? What was the last book you enjoyed?

[jammer06]

Also I decided to read this since it's come up more than a few times in various forms over the years.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/074321630X/?tag=robitaille-20

Still have about 100 pages to go but man oh man does it describe a different time and place perfectly well. The funny thing is that many of the social issues Watson blurts out about in a typical uncouth manner are still there, now even scientists are getting better about the language they are using. Not for everyone but its a must read for anyone involved in sciences.

 

[Salty Dog]

I'm about 3/4 through and while it definitely isn't on the same level as Ready Player One, it is still enjoyable. Very cliched, more of a homage to cheesy 80s movie plots, and not a whole lot of character development.

 

[jammer06]

I'm about 3/4 through and while it definitely isn't on the same level as Ready Player One, it is still enjoyable. Very cliched, more of a homage to cheesy 80s movie plots, and not a whole lot of character development.

So if youre not expecting much other than a good time you'll be allright? I thought some people identified way too hard with ready player one.

 

[Salty Dog]

So if youre not expecting much other than a good time you'll be allright?

Exactly.

 

[ucsdguy1]

 

[adgy-san]

Star Wars: Smuggler's Run - Marvel/Disney introducing their new continuity, this book takes place after A New Hope and before Empire. Normally, I'm not all into the tie-ins, even for Star Wars, but when you sign up Greg Rucka, you got me. This was a short, fun read about Han and Chewie racing against the Empire to find and save a Rebel spy. It's got the requisite funny banter and the action is fun. I liked it a lot, there just isn't a whole lot to it. The one thing that stood out to me was the new character, Alicia Beck, who is the Empire commander chasing after the Rebel spy. She was cool. The back of the book promises hints/secrets about The Force Awakens, and I'm hoping that means Beck will show up again somewhere. So: good, quick fun.

Silver Screen Fiend - Patton Oswalt's latest, being an autobiography of a certain portion of his life where he became obsessed with movies. It was alright. It was an interesting look at the guy. His story about his first film work, as an extra on McHale's Navy was pretty great and there are a lot of anecdotes about his career that I really enjoyed reading. But, man, if you're the type of person that thinks Oswalt is a hipster douchebag this book is going to drive you ****in' crazy. He gets super flowery, english-lit with his sentences at times, enough to take me out of the reading. The guy fancies himself a writer! And that's fine, it just wasn't something I expected, I guess. Additionally, he freely admits to being a dick/hipster douchebag while he was in this period of his life. To his credit, he apologizes to a lot of people for the way he acted and seems genuinely sorry. So, uh, to sum up I would say that I liked it, but didn't love it and that it is not for everyone, including many of his fans.

The Raw Shark Texts - Now we're ****in' talking. I enjoyed the hell out of this books. It's got a very House Of Leaves vibe going on, but it's nowhere near as difficult (or rewarding, really) as that. A man wakes up one day with no recollection of who he is or where he is and he has to slowly begin to piece the mystery together with the help of his previous self, who sends him letters. It can be a little hard to follow at times (unless you're well versed in the ideas of conceptual fish), but it's intense and funny and, at times, completely ****ing heartbreaking. I read it on a plane last week and was nearly in tears at the end of it. But, like House Of Leaves it's very... uh... avante-garde? Experimental? It requires some work. Like I said, it isn't as good or as difficult as HoL, but I ****ing loved it.

 

[adgy-san]

A Brand New Sequel To Stieg Larsson’s Millennium, In Comic Books

While there is a new Millennium novel recently published, written by David Lagercrantz, these comic books will not adapt it, instead tell their own stories, into their own comic book continuity.

The new books will be by Sylvain Runberg, the Franco-Swedish writer who wrote the previous Millennium adaptations for Depuis, and newcomer artist Belen Ortega.

Anybody read that new novel yet?

 

[orpheus]

Hmmm, now I hafta check out The Raw Shark Texts!

New novel? I still haven't read any of the Millennium novels.

 

[adgy-san]

Hmmm, now I hafta check out The Raw Shark Texts!

New novel? I still haven't read any of the Millennium novels.

Well, if you're not going to buy a blu-ray player, the least you could do is read the Millenium novels. Sheesh.

And, yeah, check The Raw Shark Texts out. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

 

[Salty Dog]

Star Wars: Smuggler's Run - Marvel/Disney introducing their new continuity, this book takes place after A New Hope and before Empire. Normally, I'm not all into the tie-ins, even for Star Wars, but when you sign up Greg Rucka, you got me. This was a short, fun read about Han and Chewie racing against the Empire to find and save a Rebel spy. It's got the requisite funny banter and the action is fun. I liked it a lot, there just isn't a whole lot to it. The one thing that stood out to me was the new character, Alicia Beck, who is the Empire commander chasing after the Rebel spy. She was cool. The back of the book promises hints/secrets about The Force Awakens, and I'm hoping that means Beck will show up again somewhere. So: good, quick fun.

I got my kid all 3 of the new books for Xmas. Glad to hear they're good!

It's got a very House Of Leaves vibe going on, but it's nowhere near as difficult (or rewarding, really) as that.

I still haven't decided if I liked House of Leaves. It was a crazy book, and I love the idea/creativity/weirdness of it all but man it DRAGGED in parts. I guess if you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly, but I think a little more editing could've made that book a masterpiece.

 

[jerseydevil]

ON-SET SUPER TROOPERS 2 PHOTOS RELEASED; MEMOIR FROM DIRECTOR ANNOUNCED
http://nerdist.com/on-set-super-troopers-2-photos-released-memoir-from-director-announced/

Jayanth Jambulingam “Jay” Chandrasekhar (say that name ten times fast, or we’ll throw you in the back of the patrol car!), the director of both Super Trooper films, announced through an Entertainment Weekly exclusive that he is writing a memoir entitled Mustache Shenanigans. The book will cover everything from his childhood in the “lily-white suburbs of Chicago,” to the formation of Broken Lizard (the sketch comedy troupe composed of the principal Super Trooper actors) to seemingly everything else between the filmmaker’s birth and the filming of the much-anticipated sequel. And, along with the announcement of the memoir, Chandrasekhar has also released three on-set photos from Super Troopers 2, which give us a glimpse at the wonderful world of… low-budget filmmaking!

Haven't read yet, but I will as soon as it comes out...hurryhurrytakemymoney!

 

[jammer06]

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper
by John Allen Paulos

Another one of those books that takes math concepts along the course of things like statistics (but other math concepts as well, not only stats) and applies them to everyday life so when going through a reported article, chart, graph or other thing in everyday media you can quickly or more correctly identify the fluff in the article from the actual possible facts. The book is presented as basic articles you are likely to find in the newspapers per section (front page, sports page, lifestyle) so each little vignette can stand on its own but it reads well as a total book. I highly recommend it for anyone that feels critical of their news sources but isn't entirely sure how to express it in a fashion that doesn't make them seem like a crank.

 

[comprar]

The Chronicles of Narnia are children's books and no, they don't age. These complex fantasy novels, which have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide (and clearly influenced, among others, J.K. Rowling), have been praised and criticized for their Christian themes, but there's a lot more going on here than simple allegory. Read them again. Better yet, find a child to read them to. You'll be amazed by the richness of storytelling.

 

[jammer06]

Just read Moneyball and really enjoyed it. Will be interesting to see how Depodesta runs the Dodgers front office.

My wife just picked up Disney War for us to read.

Well it only took me about a decade more to get around to finally reading this one. It really is hard to remember what it was like before the widespread creation of fan stats and so forth. Now it's ubiquitous for metrics to be used in all forms of management but in conventional fandom. The book was definitely written to upset the establishment and it sure looks now like the establishment was wrong.

 

[jammer06]

A Short History of Myth
by Karen Armstrong

http://www.amazon.com/dp/184195800X/?tag=robitaille-20

Picked this up for $2 at the local Half priced bookstore and figured it would put me to sleep if I had trouble. The book is dry but the long prehistory before the common era is important to understand in her context of what comes later. The last chapter might have the most contentious material but it also has several good book recommendations within the text. She's not kidding about it being short, only 120 or so pages but there is a lot of information that viewed as an introduction could lead a person to find some more interesting things.

 

[comprar]

I'm finally back to reading regularly. In the past month, I read the distopian "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood and the incredible "In the Heart of the Sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick, about the shipwrecked whaleship Essex and its castaway crew.

I'm now reading "The Naked Olympics." It is a really enthralling read about the ancient Olympic games in Greece. Excellent.

Nex up on my booklist will be "Manhunt: The Hunt for Lincoln's Killer." Some good and well-written American history.

 

[Hipcheck]

Here is a cool link that posts the highest rated free books on Kindle. I have found some really good books I normally would not have read. Off the top of my head, Two Years Before the Mast, The Journals of Lewis & Clark, and another about Ernest Shackleton. Found some real gems and the price is right.

http://www.atozwire.com/

 

[FBJ]

I'm finally back to reading regularly. In the past month, I read the distopian "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood and the incredible "In the Heart of the Sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick, about the shipwrecked whaleship Essex and its castaway crew.

I'm now reading "The Naked Olympics." It is a really enthralling read about the ancient Olympic games in Greece. Excellent.

Nex up on my booklist will be "Manhunt: The Hunt for Lincoln's Killer." Some good and well-written American history.

The Handmaid's Tale was good. Read Ayn Rand's 1936 novel, We the Living if you enjoy dystopian fiction...it's superb. Or try her 1938 novella, Anthem, for a quicker read.

 

[adgy-san]

Deadman's Road - A really old Joe Lansdale story that he updated and some followups he's written since about a preacher who roams the old west and fights supernatural evil. It's very Hammer films-ish and a whole lot of fun.

A Single Shot - A down on his luck hunter makes a mistake and pays for it for an entire novel. I liked, but did not love, this book. Some of the suspense bits are really well done and the climax was great. Haven't seen the movie yet.

Savage Season - Re-read the first Hap & Leonard book in anticipation of the TV show starting in March. Nowhere near the best book of the series, but still a ****load of fun. One of my favorite book series of all time.


And some comics:

Hellblazer v12: How To Play With Fire - Finally, DC gets around to collecting the end of Paul Jenkins run on this book. I hadn't read it in ages and had forgotten what a huge ****ing downer it is. Thankfully, his run is followed up by Garth Ennis 5 or 6 issue story that's funny and ****ed up. In fact, if you've never read Hellblazer and were looking to start that Ennis story would be a good place to do so. It was released on it's own years ago: John Constantine, Hellblazer: Son of Man. Highly recommended.

Thanos: Cosmic Powers - Presumably because of the success of Guardians Of The Galaxy and maybe because of who/what might be showing up in the sequel, Marvel has been releasing collections of a ton of it's 90's era cosmic stuff. Great news for me because I was eating that **** up at the time and a lot of it, like this series, I haven't read in almost two decades. This particular book is fun, but without the nostalgia I get from it, I'm not sure it's enough fun to justify the $30 cover price ($24 on Amazon).

Infinity War Aftermath - See above. Just ****in' elated to have this collected.

 

[roenick]

In this now and very much enjoying it. Of course I am a big Bourdain fan so there is that ...

Also just finished this which is basically a zombie apocalypse novel. US Government has one-man unit military in bunkers for when the world goes bonkers. It happens and these one-man units are to rebuild society and US government. Interesting concept and one of many novels in the series. I bought first two as they were $1.99 each.