Joined: Jun 02, 2015 Posts: 25
Identity: Male
Preferred Pronoun Set: Fal
I'm reading Tokyo Ghoul! Well more like I'm reading it as it comes. That is :RE atleast. Dunno if I'm too late to say this. Seein how peeps are talkin about suggestin's. So comin in the middle of it to say what I'm readin, and how people feel about it so far! :]
Joined: Sep 23, 2013 Posts: 6317 Location: New York
I'm reading American Gods and a novel by my friend called The Dreamer still. I'm also reading Save the Cat, and as a result rereading older novels of mine. So.
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"In all fairness that probably is a sight that would make you stop and reevaluate your life choices." ~ Garren_Windspear
Currently reading Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence by Bryan Burrough. So far it's very interesting,I've manged to learn a number of new things about the early times of movements like the SDS, Black Panthers and the Weathermen so far.
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"angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night," -GINSBERG
Jagged Alliance 2 by Darius Kazemi. It basically details the design and development history of my favourite video game of all time. It's amazing, especially considering that there is not much new content for me to read on nowadays.
On a related note, it's published by Boss Fight Books, who also published books on Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, and so on. Metal Gear Solid and Baldur's Gate will probably be purchases for me once they are released.
Joined: Jan 08, 2014 Posts: 4662 Location: Depends on the Day
Picked up The Eternity Artifact by L.E. Modesitt Jr because it was the only thing in the airport that wasn't book three in a series or Game of Thrones. Pretty good overall if you ignore the last quarter of the book where he undoes one of his better characters and gives a big "reveal" that didn't have much to do with the underlying theological/philosophical questions the book was exploring and doesn't advance the "new" theme enough to make it worth it. (The theme only being new because it was a theme the reader had to extract from their own analysis of the events in the book since it was never directly highlighted as a theme.)
Almost finishing In the Woods by Tana French. It is an interesting book, but as most books written by women (I am not trying to be sexist), it seems more directed to women. The main protagonist acts more like a woman than a man.
Almost finishing In the Woods by Tana French. It is an interesting book, but as most books written by women (I am not trying to be sexist), it seems more directed to women. The main protagonist acts more like a woman than a man.
I've found this to actually be an interesting study. A lot of books written by women, especially the good ones, you couldn't tell one way or the other from the writing style. JK Rowling's Harry Potter, basically anything by KA Applegate, to a lesser extend Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms series... But other times you get the likes of Sara Douglass' Wayfarer Redemption (A book I did not finish since the writing style seemed geared to have women -- specifically and exclusively -- empathize with the characters and thus be sucked into the story) where if you don't share a gender with the author, maybe this work isn't for you.
However, I think you CAN have the same effect with male authors when gender enters the picture. Sometimes you'll have Glen Cook, George RR Martin, or Vernor Vinge, where you couldn't really guess from the prose what gender of author wrote this. But sometimes you get Heinlein or, well, just about anything that holds to the "damsel in distress or femme fatale are the only female archetypes" paradigm. The only issue is that due to the history of modern lit, we tend to accept masculine-skewed portrayals and focus to the point where even some female authors will do it. So it's more jarring when you see the other end of the spectrum.
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"Enjoy your screams, Sarpadia - they will soon be muffled beneath snow and ice."
I'm a (self) published author now! You can find my books on Amazon in Paperback or ebook! The Accursed, a standalone young adult fantasy adventure. Witch Hunters, book one of a young adult Scifi-fantasy trilogy.
Last edited by Tevish Szat on Sun Jun 21, 2015 12:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
I was fairly sure the opposite was true, although I reached that conclusion myself (but not a hard one to make), never read anything about it. I just noticed that there are many more books from women that I stop reading than men, most of times because it seems like a story specially geared to women. But I did finish some of them until the very end trying to understand the women mind (still a failure though in this regard).
Finished A Forest of Stars. From Hidden Empire, it's about what I'd expect. Kinda weird to see a four classical elements motif in scifi. Cesca Peroni has got to be cursed or something; two books, two vaporized fiancees. Jess had better watch out, unless it's an inexplicable cosmic force frying anything that keeps them apart, in which case the Wentals had better watch out.
It's not much that hasn't been seen before, but still, it delivered to competence and fed my hunger for a big, broad space opera. And you know, I kinda enjoy some of the characters. I like King Peter. I like basically all the Roamers. I was kinda sad to see Adar Kori'nh and Robb Brindle go, though I think the latter will probably be back. It's not a great book, but it kept me entertained and I'll likely be seeing the series through.
Next up: Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed
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"Enjoy your screams, Sarpadia - they will soon be muffled beneath snow and ice."
I'm a (self) published author now! You can find my books on Amazon in Paperback or ebook! The Accursed, a standalone young adult fantasy adventure. Witch Hunters, book one of a young adult Scifi-fantasy trilogy.
Finished In the Woods by Tana French. The end is better than I was expecting, even so I don't think I will continue this series. Very good writing, but not exactly my taste.
Starting Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb. Second book of the Farseer Series and another authoress.
Joined: Sep 22, 2013 Posts: 5699 Location: Inside my own head
Identity: Human
Via a series of small decisions, some more sound than others, I have started reading The Light Fantastic, which is the second of the Rincewind/wizards line of Discworld novels.
GAH! I can't even hang out here without being reminded how behind I am? I'm just now getting around to Mistakes of the Past, and that's due to a lack of direction and a fondness for both the characters and the writers.
Next up is All the Windwracked Stars, by Elizabeth Bear.
WOW this was a weird one. It was good, but it kind of defies description. Norse Mythology Urban Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic Cyberpunk Sci-Fi Fantasy Drama? If that sounds like a mad libs to you, it kinda is. The setting is totally coherent and well put together, but it's like no one other thing. It takes all these disparate elements and weaves them together. This is a book that can pull off mentioning Einherjar, Valkyrie (styled Waelcyrge), shoggoths, orbital microwave projectors and "combat sorcerers and laser-guided death curses" on the same page and still have everything make sense. Like I said, though, it was good
Spoiler
Also amazing is pulling off a satisfying read after so much pain, suffering, guilt, and betrayal. I'm one of those people who hates supposed "Feel Good" stuff like It's a Wonderful Life because the redemption simply doesn't make up for the unpleasantness that we had to suffer alongside the main character(s). Sure, when the happy turnabout comes around it's decent, and there are times (A Christmas Carol for one) when it's done well enough that I don't feel miserable and hollow despite the attempt to bring on the celebration, but by in large it's a pattern I dislike seeing, that I never WANT to see. And the pain that's threaded through All the Windwracked Stars is, when I think about it now, quite a lot. And after all of it? It doesn't really end -- the ending is bittersweet. What you get though, is a lack of abject "oh poor pitiful this that and the other thing" Characters can be miserable, characters can mourn, worlds can suffer and die -- But most of the characters most of the time grit their teeth, accept their burdens, struggle, and fight. There's the barest candle-flicker of hope, and the air is filled not with wailing and protestation but rather with grim determination, which I find infinitely more tolerable. And sometimes, there are little victories along the way that buoy up what death and destruction try to batter down. Like any story in an apocalyptic setting it's got this aspect of relentless, inevitable loss, but like so many good ones it has the decency to be tragic, perhaps, or mournful, but not to stoop to "pitiful". The story is engaging, the characters are as likable and charismatic as they are flawed and tortured, and the world is something else entirely. All in all, it's good.
Next up: Either Throne of the Crescent Moon or A Forest of Stars, as I go through the books on my wishlist that can be got used for a penny plus shipping.
That sounded just a little familiar. Turns out that I read the sequel to that without even knowing it was part of a series. By The Mountain Bound tones the sci-fi way down (say it 5 times fast) but is still fairly weird. Not a bad book.
*"To YMTC it up" means to design cards that have value mostly from a design perspective. i.e. you would put them in a case under glass in your living room and visitors could remark upon the wonderful design principles, with nobody ever worring if the cards are annoying/pointless/confusing in actual play
My friend gave me Max Gladstone's first book as an audiobook, but I don't think I like audiobooks. I tried to find the book at the store on my way home but they didn't have anything by him. Apparently his work is basically about magical capitalism.
Joined: Sep 25, 2013 Posts: 5149 Location: Toronto, Ontario
Identity: Spider-Man
Preferred Pronoun Set: Wtf is a "Jabber address"?
Lately I've been alternating between Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and The Bible. Specially, a version called The Good News Bible, which includes some extra books that aren't in any versions of The Bible that I have ever perused before, so I was curious what that was all about.
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