Thought we could continue this thread in a new 2010 edition. I went through a pretty brutal stretch of books (either bad, or I had way too high of expectations for what turned out to be mediocre). I kind of retreated into safe, schlock fiction. I've been reading the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. It's complete and total pulp fiction, but the first four have been good, light-hearted fun. The fourth kind of bogged down in political machinations, and didn't flow as well as the first three. Still I'm enjoying it and looking forward to the rest of the series. However, I'm putting that down to read "The Gargoyle" by Andrew Davidson. I got it for Christmas, and a friend has been bugging me to read it.
Just finished Open (Agassi autobiography). I don't usually read non-fiction, but this was just a phenominal book and look into his life and into the WTA About to start a new Irvine Welsh novel
Currently reading Middlesex. I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it. Just before that I read The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Took me a few pages to get into it but it was a good, fun read. Chabon is one hell of a writer. I'm planning to read The Road next. It appears I've inadvertently gotten myself on a run of Pulitzer winners.
I got Middlesex for Christmas as well. I might have to read that next. I enjoyed Kavalier and Clay. I've got The Yiddish Policeman’s Union as well as The Wonder Boys by Chabon on my buy list. I'm still torn if I should read The Wonder Boys. That movie one of my favorites, and it's one of the rare cases where I don't want a book to screw up my enjoyment of a film.
love that book. i guess i didn't give it long enough. i tried reading it a few years ago and couldn't get into it. i'm currently reading juliet, naked by nick hornby. great, per usual, so far.
i read the yiddish policeman's union. took me a while to get into that one as well, but i thoroughly enjoyed it. wonder boys is a criminally underrated movie.
I'm unoriginal. I'm reading through "The Lost Symbol" from Dan Brown right now, and have "Under the Dome" by Stephen King waiting in the wings. I only read before I go to sleep, so that's months of book right there (500+ and 1100+ pages respectively).
Halting State by Charles Stross. Cyber-punk. A very plausible near-future world. A great combination of mystery, thriller, and plenty of real-world references for IT/gamer geeks. Right up there w/ Neal Stephenson and William Gibson IMHO.
I just finished The Black Company. I enjoyed the book; it kept me up until around 4am, because ‘I have to finish this.’ The book reminded me of a video game. Which, truthfully, I’m not sure is a positive or negative trait. One boss down, time for the next. (repeat) The book was somewhat simplistic, but still somehow managed to have a decent level of depth/fleshed out characters. When characters are named after specific features, it helps fill holes without using too much descriptive prose: Whisper, Goblin, The Limper, Soulcatcher, One-Eye, etc. I’ll be looking for the rest of the series on sale. Oh, I couldn’t stand the book for the first 20 to 50 pages. I’m not sure if I adjust to the style, or if the writing tightened up, but all of a sudden I realized I was fully into the adventure, while intially I was regretting spending 2 bucks at ½ Price Books. Currently reading The Black Magician Trilogy, I’m on book 2. I’m not sure what this author does that engrosses me. She seems to blatantly steal ideas/concepts from other authors. Does a terrible job reintroducing older concept from her books, has a passive main character, and yet I can’t put the books down. I’ll quote my wife, “I can’t stand some of this writing, but this is good. Really good.”
off the recommendations of this board, I finished up the four-book collection called "Tales of the Otori" by Lian Hearn. First book is "Across the Nightingale floor". Thanks for whoever made that recommendation - awesome series about a clan of ninja assassins in Japan.
Definitely let me know what you think when you finish this series. I've had this on my Maybe Buy List for a while. Aren't there 4 books in that series?
Just inhaled The Gathering Storm; got it for xmas. Awesomely done - Sanderson has picked up nicely where Jordan left off. I'm about 3/4 of the way through Simon Schama's Citizens and I just started The Lost City of Z last night. After that? Dunno. I have a huge list.
I'm dying to read the Sanderson conclusion to The Wheel of Time, but I'm not starting until the whole thing is complete. I'm afraid I'd jinx it, and something might happen to Sanderson. You should check out Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. That's what attracted the Jordans' interest in him, and it's a pretty good trilogy with quite a bit of weighty material. The magic system in that series is so freaking cool. After reading that series, I have no doubt that Sanderson can wrap up all the loose ends in the Wheel of Time and end that meandering series the fitting conclusion it was meant to have.
The last book I read was The Lovely Bones. Really well done. Unusual narrative structure well executed. Highly reccomend.
Gotta disagree with you. The first 85% of that book fit right in with your description, but then there was the ending, which blew massive chunks. We're not talking about jelly bean size chunks, but grapefruit to bowling ball size chunks. There are few books that make me want to light them on fire and throw them out the window, but this book was one of them.
I did the same. I just devoured that book and loved every minute of it. Currently reading the entire Riftwar series for the first time. I'm chapters into "The King's Buccaneer".
Just finished two excellent books I received for Christmas. If you are a dog lover, Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog is a wonderful book. Funny, well written, and instructive (particularly the evolution of dogs from wolves and the dynamics of the human dog relationship), it will challenge the ways you think about your four footed friends. Bring a hankie. If you are a runner, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen is the unbelieveable story of the Tarahumara Indians who live in Mexico's Copper Canyon, their incredible way of life, and an improbable (to say the least) race against the world's greatest ultramarathoners. Like Merle's Door, it will challenge what you thought were established truths and it's a hard to put down darn good read.
