Author Topic: What books are you reading? (Read 682352 times)

rjbull · « **Reply #175 on:** December 19, 2010, 01:22 PM »

I'm reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson. Good stuff if you're a fantasy reader like me. Really deep, take-no-prisoners type of style
-skwire (December 18, 2010, 09:12 PM)

He absolutely does not hold your hand. You have to work everything out.

More stuff at the Malazan Empire fan site.

rjbull · « **Reply #176 on:** December 19, 2010, 01:48 PM »

When it comes to fantasy, there aren't too many series that I don't enjoy.
-skwire (December 19, 2010, 10:42 AM)

Then, if you haven't already, you might try Mike Scott Rohan's Winter of the World trilogy - don't bother with the sequels after Castle of the Winds - Sarah Ash's Tears of Artamon series, China Miéville's new weird New Crobuzon series that starts with Perdido Street Station, P.C. Hodgell's Kencyrath series, Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars seven-book sequence, and... is that enough to be going on with?

skwire · « **Reply #177 on:** December 19, 2010, 02:34 PM »

I've added them all to my list. Thanks. =]

zridling · « **Reply #178 on:** December 19, 2010, 09:44 PM »

Inflated: How Money and Debt Built the American Dream

When it comes to matters of money, most Americans tend to view themselves as reasonably prudent people, reflecting the puritan roots of their European ancestors. Yet, at the same time, Americans also seem to feel entitled to a lifestyle, individually and nationally, that is well above the rest of the world's, and well beyond our current means. Inflated: How Money and Debt Built the American Dream explores more than two hundred years of American politics and monetary policy to examine this conflict. In doing so, it asks whether the current understanding of the American Dream, one of entitlement, is so ingrained that to expect Americans willingly to live in a "deflated" world is unrealistic. This book simply and directly tells the story of inflation and public debt as enduring, and perhaps even endearing, features of American life.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #179 on:** December 22, 2010, 07:51 AM »

Good info. Thanks. Sparks a memory. I'll try to look into it and post.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #180 on:** December 22, 2010, 07:54 AM »

kyrathaba (and any other Martin fans), did you know that HBO are making a series based on the Song of Ice and Fire books called Game of Thrones? It looks completely badass.

Yep, I've watched some trailers on YouTube. There's also a roleplaying game based upon it.

mouser · « **Reply #181 on:** January 01, 2011, 10:46 PM »

Just finished "Dynamic Coordination in the Brain" by Malsburg, Phillips, and Singer:

Screenshot - 1_1_2011 , 10_40_57 PM_thumb.png

Big disappointment -- expected much better. Looks like it was one of those workshop meetings that got turned into a book and no one tried very hard on their chapters. I happen to think understanding the role of time and dynamics is the big missing piece in understanding computational underpinnings of the brain, and I was hoping this book would be a meaningful contribution to the field. Wasn't.

I'd recommend Scott Kelso's older "Dynamic Patterns:The Self-Organization of Brain and Behavior" book way over this one.

Next up is Edmund Rolls' massive "Memory, Attention, and Decision-Making: A unifying computational neuroscience approach".

Crush · « **Reply #182 on:** January 02, 2011, 06:01 AM »

I started reading Perry Rhodan. All of the inventors are dead now but they personally signed this special exemplar. It´s so huge I think I´ll only read a few of them or at least the first big book.
It´s the biggest and oldest SF-Story of the world - written a very long time before Star Wars or Star Trek came up with thousands of releases. It´s more technical than all others showing up with 3D-pictures on the silver books, detailed UFO-construction paintings and deep descriptions of top notch high physics phenomena. This is written technology - others are only story. Very few of them have been translated to english.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #183 on:** January 02, 2011, 09:47 AM »

About to finish "By the Light of the Moon", which will be my 19th Dean Koontz novel. After that, I switch from paperback to my Kindle, where I was able to obtain a $4.99 eCopy of O'Reilly's "C# 3.0 Design Patterns", by Judith Bishop.

rjbull · « **Reply #184 on:** January 02, 2011, 10:24 AM »

Current book in progress: The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson, 2nd of the Millenium trilogy. He sure keeps you turning pages...
Just finished: The Assassin's Edge by Juliet E. McKenna, the fifth and last of her entertaining Tales of Einarinn fantasy series.
Just finished: The Leaping Hare by George Ewart Evans, his compilation of folklore concerning the hare, a creature associated with luck (mostly ill-luck), the White Goddess, witches, and the moon. This is the book mentioned by Sir Terry Pratchett in I Shall Wear Midnight, the latest Tiffany Aching story.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #185 on:** January 03, 2011, 06:01 PM »

Just downloaded "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" to my Kindle! OooOooOoohh, excited.

Darwin · « **Reply #186 on:** January 03, 2011, 10:42 PM »

Just downloaded "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" to my Kindle! OooOooOoohh, excited.
-kyrathaba (January 03, 2011, 06:01 PM)

You won't be sorry - all three books left me wanting more (and hoping that Steig Larsson's estate gets sorted out soon so that whatever nuggets that remain unpublished WILL be published (from what I understand, there is one more book, about 80% finished, along with outlines for 6 more)!

wilsonch · « **Reply #187 on:** January 04, 2011, 08:43 AM »

Just finished Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World's Undeciphered Scripts by Andrew Robinson. Hardcopy.

rjbull · « **Reply #188 on:** January 04, 2011, 01:58 PM »

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson, 2nd of the Millenium trilogy. He sure keeps you turning pages...
-rjbull (January 02, 2011, 10:24 AM)

And I had to keep turning them until I'd finished. You can guess why I didn't log on yesterday!

Met someone who stayed up until 5:00 am just to finish it!

skwire · « **Reply #189 on:** January 04, 2011, 09:15 PM »

Before I started the Malazan series, the last series I finished was Brent Weeks' Night Angel Trilogy. Well written and engaging.

http://en.wikipedia..../Night_Angel_Trilogy

erikts · « **Reply #190 on:** January 05, 2011, 12:19 AM »

Working With You is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself from Emotional Traps at Work
Katherine Crowley and Katherine Crowley Page
[ review ]

kyrathaba · « **Reply #191 on:** January 07, 2011, 09:15 AM »

I've finished the first two chapters of Daniel Schuller's "C# Game Programming for Serious Game Creation". Quite technical, so far, but I suppose it has to be, given the difficult subject matter.

tomos · « **Reply #192 on:** January 07, 2011, 10:57 AM »

Just downloaded "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" to my Kindle! OooOooOoohh, excited.
-kyrathaba (January 03, 2011, 06:01 PM)

You won't be sorry - all three books left me wanting more (and hoping that Steig Larsson's estate gets sorted out soon so that whatever nuggets that remain unpublished WILL be published (from what I understand, there is one more book, about 80% finished, along with outlines for 6 more)!
-Darwin (January 03, 2011, 10:42 PM)

EDIT/ I didnt mean to post this to knock his books - it was the psychological stuff I found interesting.

A review in the New Yorker
Man of Mystery
Why do people love Stieg Larsson’s novels?
by Joan Acocella January 10, 2011

Very critical initially* (or should I say superficially? - critical of the writing & translation) but also a very interesting indepth analysis

*EDIT/ if you're a fan you could always skip to (roughly) the second half for the psychological analysis....
EDIT/ I didnt mean to post this to knock his books - it was the psychological stuff I found interesting.

superboyac · « **Reply #193 on:** January 07, 2011, 02:30 PM »

Story, by Robert McKee. The same one that is prominently featured in the film "Adaptation".

Great way to understand what makes stories good or bad.

40hz · « **Reply #194 on:** January 07, 2011, 03:44 PM »

Re: Story by Robert McKee

Great recommendation SB.

What a book! One of those deep reads. High information density too. McKee packs a huge amount of thought into a small number of pages. Best sampled in chunks with adequate time to really think about what's being said and to fully grok all the nuances.

Story is also one of those rare books that grows with you. I first read it about 5 years ago. I still come back to reread sections (or the whole thing) from time to time and discover things I either missed or didn't fully appreciate on previos reads.

If you're really serious about becoming a writer (especially a movie scriptwriter) give this book a go!

superboyac · « **Reply #195 on:** January 07, 2011, 03:50 PM »

Ha! I just KNEW you had read that book. Seriously, I was like 99.5% sure.

rjbull · « **Reply #196 on:** January 07, 2011, 05:37 PM »

A review in the New Yorker
Man of Mystery
Why do people love Stieg Larsson’s novels?
by Joan Acocella January 10, 2011

Very critical initially* (or should I say superficially? - critical of the writing & translation) but also a very interesting indepth analysis
-tomos (January 07, 2011, 10:57 AM)

Hmmm... I'm glad I'm just a reader, not a critic!

For another up-to-the-minute, computers and Internet included (if not to Salander's level) gripping and frequently violent series, try Michael Marshall's trilogy The Straw Men, The Lonley Dead (UK title) / The Upright Man (US title), and Blood of Angels.

Current book in progress: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.

tomos · « **Reply #197 on:** January 08, 2011, 03:30 AM »

A review in the New Yorker
Man of Mystery
Why do people love Stieg Larsson’s novels?
by Joan Acocella January 10, 2011

Very critical initially* (or should I say superficially? - critical of the writing & translation) but also a very interesting indepth analysis
-tomos (January 07, 2011, 10:57 AM)

Hmmm... I'm glad I'm just a reader, not a critic!
-rjbull (January 07, 2011, 05:37 PM)

Yeah, I didnt mean to post it to knock his books - it was the psychological stuff I found interesting.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #198 on:** January 08, 2011, 08:35 AM »

I'm 70% of the way through the first of his books. Pretty good reading, I must say.

rjbull · « **Reply #199 on:** January 09, 2011, 09:57 AM »

Hmmm... I'm glad I'm just a reader, not a critic!
-rjbull (January 07, 2011, 05:37 PM)

Yeah, I didnt mean to post it to knock his books - it was the psychological stuff I found interesting.
-tomos (January 08, 2011, 03:30 AM)

I didn't think you did

The critic seems to get paid to pull things apart and put people down. One of the first things she said was that Larsson was left-wing. I wonder if that coloured her American view too strongly and she went into knee-jerk attack mode. Rather the same as the uneasiness the establishment had at publishing Michael de Larrabeiti's Borribles trilolgy with its viciously anti-establishment message, see e.g. his obituary in The Independent. Wikipedia page here.

Having said that, I wondered about various aspects of Larsson's books (the first two, haven't read the third yet). I can't quite work out just why they're so compulsively readable, but they certainly are.