Struggling through The Blood Meridian. I can see why it's popular, action seems to never stop. Giant block of text paragraphs with only sentence ending punctuation is really off putting to me though. I'm a third of the way through it and plan to finish though the urge to switch to something else is strong. I find myself scanning / skipping some of the big paragraphs though where I feel like McCormack's only describing the characters' surrroundings.
just finished beasts... really enjoyed it! larson does a great job again of making it feel more like a novel rather than a history textbook. obviously theres tons of books on WW2/nazi germany/hitler etc...but still an interesting read. lots of stuff leading up to WW2 and warning signs yet the US waited so long to get involved. get a real look into the ridiculous things taking place before we ever got involved. next up: unbroken-laura hillenbrand
The Movie on Netflix was not bad and I had listened to the 1st book on CD So I kind of like the character and will see where Koontz goes with it. Rocket River
I thought the eventual ambassador appointment stuff was interesting. Overall it was just so hard for any follow-up book to compete with Devil in the White City.
i think a big part of that is probably because theres already so much out there concerning WW2/hitler/nazi's that there really was no "surprise" per say. like in the devil in the white city i had never heard of holmes before until that book, that made it more intriguing. a jack the ripper type character will certainly make any book more provocative with the ambassador stuff do you mean leading up to dodd getting the nod or after? it seemed like from the start no one in the roosevelts camp ever wanted/liked dodd. they went to like 5-6 different people who all declined to take the job and then roosevelt reluctantly took dodd. big reason why no one in the US was taking his letters/signs of trouble seriously. i can't remember who recommended those books too me, but much appreciated. both have been right up my alley in terms of tastes. really enjoyed them. thanks. EDIT: looked back a few pages...looks like it was 'davo' who recommended beasts which i then in turn also looked into devil in white city. much appreciated. i imagine unbroken will be great as well.
I am most of the way through Neutron Star by Larry Niven. Really liking the book, looking forward to reading more of his stuff in the Known Space Universe.
After all this time, I've decided to try and read Ender's Game. I know Deckard has vouched for it, and after finally going back and finishing Mass Effect 3, I was in the mood for some science fiction. So I thought I'd give it a shot.
Since there's some fellow science fiction fans here, I'll mention the first of a series by James S.A. Corey, Leviathan Wakes. Pretty sure I praised it in last year's book thread, or the year before, but it's worth bringing up again. This is some of the best science fiction I've read in years. The first of a series (I'm reading the 4th novel now), this is classic hard science fiction, filled with humor, imagination, and stuff that'll scare you. Give it a shot, folks. You won't regret it! edit: FB, you should check this out.
it is the only book i have read twice in my life. and i have read probably 400-500 books at least. i never did finish xenocide though. i read speaker of the dead which is great ( i think it also won the hugo and nebula award) and enders shadow which was ok.
I was on a pretty meh streak of books for a while. Part of that was due to the books, but I think a lot of it was due to being kind of glum while going through a divorce. But life is settling into normalcy, and I've got a cool new girlfriend and life seems a bit brighter. And the books a lot more entertaining. I recently read The Martian based on feedback in this thread and echo the love. That was a seriously fun read that I devoured in two sittings. I followed that up with The Golem and the Jinni, which was an interesting tale of a Golem living on her own in a Jewish neighborhood of New York in early 1800's and a Genie living in the Syrian quarter. It painted an interesting portrait of life in that era and had some interesting character development. The end maybe wound up a bit too neatly for my tastes, but still a very good read. Up next is Leviathan Wakes. I remembered Deckard talking about this book before, and his last post was the kick in the ass I need to read it. Three chapters in and I'm hoooked.
Good book. The authors are part of the NM group that includes GRRM. EDIT- thanks for the heads-up on book 4 being out, Deckard! I'm currently reading the Star Force series by B.V. Larson. It's man-smut as the hero does some pretty unbelievable things, but the pacing is good and the plot keeps moving forward. At book four it's not the best thing I've read but I'm not bored with it so far.
Same here...I'm listening to it and just kind of zone out after awhile because McCormack just goes on and on about surroundings and how "light glistens" off a hundred different things. Yeah it's cool how he describes somethings but too much of it is really overly descriptive. The violence is a bit over the top too. Too much cut off genitals in the mouth and descriptive infanticide for my taste...but I suppose a lot of folks like that stuff...to each his own...
Yes! Finally someone who's actually reads/listens to the star force series lol. Just finished the last book a week ago (book 10 I think)...I can't wait for the next one to come out. It does hit a lull once in awhile, but I agree with you...good pacing and it builds and surprises at moments. I find myself occasionally laughing out loud at times too. It's entertaining. :grin:
I just read a carlos castenada book for the first time in almost 20 years. Very interesting stuff going on in that guys head to make that all up and call it non-fiction.
Elmore Leonard's The Bounty Hunters. If you enjoy him like I always have (favorite author ever), his son is a decent replacement now that he's gone. I've read his first two and they were both very similar to his pop's work.
