What are you currently reading?

[FiveDisgruntledMonkeysWit]

I had to return a textbook, so instead of using the money to buy $50 worth of Ramen (like I probably should have), I decided to pick up a copy of The Watchmen, which my comic-book nerd friends have been raving about for as long as I've known them. It was a hell of a ride, a hell of a read... but I was really, really disappointed by the ending. It just didn't have the impact some of the other scenes had. I couldn't feel contented or interested with any of the conclusions it reached.


(WARNING: Here be spoilers)


-An ending involving psionic aliens just seemed too off-the-wall for such a gritty, realistic story
-Maybe it's because I didn't grow up in a world of Cold War paranoia, but it didn't seem worth it. I wished the other characters would've reacted with more anger.
-Rather than get a warm, fuzzy feeling from the final scene with the "Hollis" family, I just sort of thought; "those contented bastards"
-And the final, final panel, which seemed to offer some hope for readers like me who just weren't convinced... well, it wasn't enough to go on.
Hmm, yeah. I didn't like its conclusion, at all. Didn't feel successful to me. Otherwise a very good read.

[FantasyWriter]

Brisingr (Paolini) - I read Eldest the day after it came out, so I have been waiting on this one for a looooong time.  Unfortunatly I am not feeling to well, so i am going to bed early tonight and will not be able to finish it. 

Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

[Vessol]

Just finished Brave New World and reading Children of Dune next.

Tell me how Brisingr is FantasyWriter! I read the first 2 books and considering grabbing the 3rd.

[staggerlee]

I had to return a textbook, so instead of using the money to buy $50 worth of Ramen (like I probably should have), I decided to pick up a copy of The Watchmen, which my comic-book nerd friends have been raving about for as long as I've known them. It was a hell of a ride, a hell of a read... but I was really, really disappointed by the ending. It just didn't have the impact some of the other scenes had. I couldn't feel contented or interested with any of the conclusions it reached.


(WARNING: Here be spoilers)


1) An ending involving psionic aliens just seemed too off-the-wall for such a gritty, realistic story
2) Maybe it's because I didn't grow up in a world of Cold War paranoia, but it didn't seem worth it. I wished the other characters would've reacted with more anger.
3) Rather than get a warm, fuzzy feeling from the final scene with the "Hollis" family, I just sort of thought; "those contented bastards"
4) And the final, final panel, which seemed to offer some hope for readers like me who just weren't convinced... well, it wasn't enough to go on.
Hmm, yeah. I didn't like its conclusion, at all. Didn't feel successful to me. Otherwise a very good read.

1) It was man made, supposedly intended to unify mankind through an outside threat.  -  Here I think comparing the teleported organic/psychic creature and the  destruction of the city to a nuclear attack could pay off, consider the Cold War.    It's very specifically a (possibly misguided) attempt to unify mankind by creating/imagining an enemy.
2) Hard to comment on.
3) I don't think you're supposed to feel warm and fuzzy, the establishment isn't painted in a much more pleasant light than Rorschach or anyone else.  I think it's very intentionally sending conflicting messages about the motivations and values of the characters.
4) I don't remember the final panel. I think that where we read the book differently though is that you're taking it as having a real axe to grind or message, where as I took it as themed commentary on humanity and politics, that expressed a certain disdain for ego driven 'saviors' as much as for those deficient in more every day ways.   I found it to be incredibly cynical and not providing any answers at all, just questions.

Also consider that the whole thing is commentary on comic books and superheroes as much as anything, he was trying to scratch away some of the gloss generally given to them and show them in a darker light.

All in all I liked it. I wouldn't call it a work of genius... but I liked it.  It's interesting that we had such different reactions to the end though.  The movie is going to be an abomination though, no matter how you cut it.

[Barzalene]

A lesson before dying.

[brytta.leofa]

After reading quite a bit of this, I felt better about myself: http://swankivy.com/writing/essays/info/inheritance/eldest.html  (Spoilers for the Eragon series, I guess.)

[FiveDisgruntledMonkeysWit]

1) It was man made, supposedly intended to unify mankind through an outside threat.  -  Here I think comparing the teleported organic/psychic creature and the  destruction of the city to a nuclear attack could pay off, consider the Cold War.    It's very specifically a (possibly misguided) attempt to unify mankind by creating/imagining an enemy.

No, I fully got that. I just think it's an utterly ludicrous plot device, even if it is 'man-made.'
Good points otherwise, though.

[FantasyWriter]

i just finished The Verdent Passage and ordered the rest of the series.  If you've never read Dark Sun, it is a great place to start.

[Vessol]

Still reading Children of Dune, taking my time.

How was Brisingr FantasyWriter?

[FantasyWriter]

Still reading Children of Dune, taking my time.

How was Brisingr FantasyWriter?

pseudo-spoilers alert
It was very enjoyable.  You get to find out how Galbatorix amassed so much power (an awesome twist by the way),
Also how Murtagh and Thorn had gotten so powerful so fast before the end of Eldest.

Roran and Kartina alot more 'screen time' that I really enjoyed.

The reason for the title will really throw you for a loop when you read. (one of the best scenes in the book)

The worst part from me was finding out that the story was going to continue into a fourth book.  I didn't find this out until I was half way though the book, I was slightly pissed.

I would defiantly recommend it.

-FW


Spoilers that Paolini release before the book was released:
Eragon meets a god.
Someone gets pregnant.
There may not be so few dragons as you were led to believe.

[Gunnerblaster]

Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by Eric Nylund

Setting aside the Halo game franchise, Ghosts of Onyx is a continuation/wrap-up of 'elsewhere' in the Halo universe. Like the rest of the book series, it brings life to the Master Chief character and shows that he wasn't the only elite Spartan soldier, etc.

Ghosts of Onyx follows the tales of one Spartan who was in an elaborately set up death scam to separate him from his normal tight-knit unit of Spartans in order to secretly train the next generation of Spartans, but in a different cause. The next generation spartans to be trained would be 'behind-the-scenes' soldiers, literally taking on the most suicidal missions to help turn the tide of war against their enemies.

A good book for the "Unsung Warrior" type.

Next Book I'm starting:
Forgotten Realms - The Thousand Orcs: The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Book one by R.A. Salvatore.

[Kronibas]

One Hundred Years of Solitude.

...it has gypsies!

[amish overlord]

I just finished The Man with the Iron Heart by Harry Turtledove. Its alternative history where we win WWII but Reinhard Heydrich survives assassination by Czech resistance and sets up a nazi resistance movement in germany while it is occupied.

Amish Overlord 

[jmordetsky]

Blood. Meridian.

[FuSoYa]

This week I read...

Chuck Palahniuk - 'Fight Club' and 'Lullaby'

• Finally got around to reading him this year and that's the last of his books I need to read besides his brand new one (not paying for it in hardcover) and his non-fiction
• He's got pretty fun stuff and it's easy reading!

John Irving - The World According to Garp 

Wow!  Quickly becoming one of the better authors I've ever read.

Brandon

[Elieson]

Finished: Runaway Jury (Grisham)

Started:  Landscape Turned Red (Sears)

Next:  I think I'm going to re-read Henry V.  I remember loving it and it's been awhile, either that or Much Ado about Nothing.

[Shiroi Tsuki]

Just finished reading 'The Stand' by Stephen King for something like the hundredth time. 

And promptly fell sick with a nasty runny-noise coughing fever cold.  No swollen glands though, so I think I'm Captain Trips free.

Currently reading 'A Suitable Boy' by Vikram Seth.  It's a sort of a love story, set in the early 1950s in India, about a mother trying to find a suitable boy to arrange a marriage with for her daughter.  However, what really fascinates me is all of the cultural references and major cultural differences between my place and time and that one.  My mom recommended it, and so far it's been good, though the writing style doesn't exactly do it for me.

[Rindan]

Just finished reading 'The Stand' by Stephen King for something like the hundredth time. 

And promptly fell sick with a nasty runny-noise coughing fever cold.  No swollen glands though, so I think I'm Captain Trips free.

I read The Stand when I was about 12 or so.  Right as the plague started in the book, I got the flu.  Not just a cold, but a full on flu complete with swollen glands, a high fever, and the like.  Sufficient to say, it freaked my shit out.  I mean, I knew I wasn't going to die or anything... but I kept checking the news to make sure that the world wasn't ending.  That said, reading The Stand gave me something to do as I missed school, and as freaked as I was, I was a little thrilled by it.  Mmm... good times.

[Elieson]

Just finished reading 'The Stand' by Stephen King for something like the hundredth time. 

Do you have the full "unedited" version?  I got mine purely by chance years ago, and it's, yes, longer, but I'd read the thing so many times that the additional information and character development was nice.

And the thing must weigh ten pounds.

[Barzalene]

Blood. Meridian.

Just finished Child Of God.
Love McCarthy.
Before that I read a Lesson Before Dying. I can't seem to get out of the south.
Actually, I guess I can. I'm reading Mysteries of Pittsburgh.

[Barzalene]

Currently reading 'A Suitable Boy' by Vikram Seth.  It's a sort of a love story, set in the early 1950s in India, about a mother trying to find a suitable boy to arrange a marriage with for her daughter.  However, what really fascinates me is all of the cultural references and major cultural differences between my place and time and that one.  My mom recommended it, and so far it's been good, though the writing style doesn't exactly do it for me.

Oh how I resented Vikram Seth. It was too big to carry and too good to put down. So, I ended up staying up too late reading.

[Synthesis]

Just finished:  Women in Pain:  Gender and Morbidity in Mexico, by Kaja Finkler
Starting:  Justice as Fairness:  A Restatement, by John Rawls

My god, Rawls is such a bore, though.

[FantasyWriter]

Also... I love everything I have ever read by Troy Denning, but The Verdant Passage had more spelling/typo/wrong word errors than I had EVER seen in a book.  Should I expect this in future Wizards of the Coast books?

[Grey Area]

Tartan Noir!

Christopher Brookmyre - A Snowball in Hell

[Shiroi Tsuki]

Just finished reading 'The Stand' by Stephen King for something like the hundredth time. 

Do you have the full "unedited" version?

Sure do    It was actually the first version I read, and so I sort of resent the 'original' version for not being nearly as awesome.