Tabonga | 2,312 Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 I love this book series - I just got this in: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Count | 526 Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 I've been meaning to read Jim Bouton's Ball Four for years and I finally finished it the other day. I enjoyed it, but it would have been much more impactful had I read it when it came out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,690 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 (edited) I just finished up Project Hail Mary and I was underwhelmed, to say the least. I wouldn't consider myself a book snob, but I'm really surprised at the near universal acclaim the book has received. A few things that really dragged the book down (SPOILERS): Spoiler Extremely one-dimensional main character. He is completely defined by his professions (school teacher, rebel scientist) and MacGyver abilities, with some unoriginal humor thrown in for entertainment sake. He's probably one of the least interesting protagonists I've ever read. I saw one review that said his dialogue could have been spit out by an algorithm and I couldn't agree more. The plot is a grab bag of ideas stolen from much better sources. The book reads like one giant cliché. You've got Earth in peril, the sole survivor/savior, amnesia/flashbacks, first contact, alien communication, etc. The list goes on and on. The amnesia plot paired with the flashback writing style is just painful, both slowing down the book and artificially building tension. It only took me about ten minutes of reading to see that this was headed towards a "twist" in the flashback timeline which would be revealed at some pivotal moment towards the end of the book. Well, I was right and the twist sucks and doesn't change anything. In fact, the main character barely even reacts to this life-changing moment due to his complete lack of personality. Weird mix of hard science and absolute gibberish. Weir goes to great length to make some aspects seem plausible (even harping on complicated things like time dilation and mass/energy relationships), but then hand waves to cover up giant plot holes. It's a weird dissonance and I don't know if it's intended to trick the audience or simply provide balance to the more technical aspects. The worst of it is the bad biologic science which makes the entire plot nonsensical. No matter how much I suspend disbelief, I can't get over the fact that the protagonist translates an entire alien language in a few days and becomes fluent in weeks. It made me want to rewatch The Arrival which elegantly deals with that same concept. The ending. Ugh. Probably one of the absolute worst in any book I've ever read. So cheesy and schlocky and just absolutely painful. If you like your Hollywood endings, this is the book for you. Anyways, it's not terrible, but it's certainly not good. If you spend any time analyzing the characters and plot, you'll realize this is nothing more than throwaway, mass market fiction. I understand different people like different things and I guarantee that someone out there considers this their favorite book of all time. I'm just surprised at how many people like it. Has anyone else read this book? If you enjoyed it, what were your favorite aspects? Edited September 7, 2021 by DoctorEncore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,802 Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 It's been years since I read La Divina Comedia, and this looks magnificent! Very very expensive though... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,493 Editorials Team · Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 Read Hyperion for the book club. Love it, especially the scholar and priest's tales And I just finished Malazan 2. Also loved it. Loved Coltaine's march. Love Fiddler and Kalam. Excited to jump right into part 3. September was a very good reading month for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,802 Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 14 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said: Read Hyperion for the book club. Love it, especially the scholar and priest's tales And I just finished Malazan 2. Also loved it. Loved Coltaine's march. Love Fiddler and Kalam. Excited to jump right into part 3. September was a very good reading month for me. Hyperion was fabulous. Fall of Hyperion was okay. Not nearly as wonderful as the first book. Still, you'll want to read it to find out what happens to the characters. Honestly, predictable and dry compared to the first book, but that is how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,493 Editorials Team · Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 I could see that. I generally love intro installments that set a journey into motion and hint at big later payoffs, building it up in your imagination. Probably why I love Fellowship of the Ring the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,802 Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 53 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said: I could see that. I generally love intro installments that set a journey into motion and hint at big later payoffs, building it up in your imagination. Probably why I love Fellowship of the Ring the most. Perhaps the finest fantasy series I read was Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, the first book being Shadow of the Torturer. The series is technically 4 books, but book five is a direct sequel, and there is even a six book which acts as a codex. I thought the first Hyperion was on the same level as Book of the New Sun, but the second fizzled out while Wolfe's books were constantly just fabulous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,493 Editorials Team · Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 I have all of those. Actually just found a 1st Print HC for one of the books last week at the thrift store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aguy | 771 Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 I just finished Red Rising, which turned out to be more of a Hunger Games Ripoff than I expected but still enjoyable. Next up is Silence of the Lambs for VGS Book Club, then Fall of Hyperion on deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doner24 | 1,195 Moderator · Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Next up for me is Dune, I’ve read so many books, especially Fantasy and SciFi and have never read Dune! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickman | 3,973 Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 1 hour ago, doner24 said: Next up for me is Dune, I’ve read so many books, especially Fantasy and SciFi and have never read Dune! I was the same. I’m currently half way through and it’s amazing so far. I wish I had read it earlier. Hope you enjoy it as much as I am. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaMan52 | 2,439 Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Since it's October, I decided to read some Disney Halloween books that I've had since childhood: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 5,778 Events Team · Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 (edited) Just wrapped up Ready Player Two. Kinda takes a weird dark turn but I enjoyed almost as much as the first. Edited November 15, 2021 by JamesRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody98 | 1,535 Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 I generally read a lot of non-fiction, but just in case anyone needs a kids book recommendation, https://www.amazon.com/s?k=kittens+first+full+moon&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 This has been my 7 year old's favorite book since he was 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-type | 2,472 Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 On 11/14/2021 at 8:32 PM, JamesRobot said: Just wrapped up Ready Player Two. Kinda takes a weird dark turn but I enjoyed almost as much as the first. Didn't really care for it. The pacing was off... certain sections stretched on for too long (Prince, John Hughes), while potentially interesting subplots were omitted entirely (low five quest). It brought all of his weaknesses as a writer (that were present in the first book) into stark focus, without the novelty or compelling world building to compensate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 5,778 Events Team · Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 28 minutes ago, G-type said: Didn't really care for it. The pacing was off... certain sections stretched on for too long (Prince, John Hughes), while potentially interesting subplots were omitted entirely (low five quest). It brought all of his weaknesses as a writer (that were present in the first book) into stark focus, without the novelty or compelling world building to compensate. No, def not a great writer but I expected that going in. For what it is, I think he did a decent job building the side worlds. I'm half expecting a Lo Five spinoff. That and the book is in Parzival's voice so I can see why it may have been omitted. But yeah, definitely a missed opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,493 Editorials Team · Posted November 25, 2021 Author Share Posted November 25, 2021 Decent. There's barely a story here, and the entire thing could have been done as a novella in one of his collections, but I still enjoyed it for what it was. Again, decent. And much better than The Colorado Kid. But the fact that this is more of a coming-of-age story and less a hard boiled crime story makes it seem like a bit of false advertising. Either way, I've now read like 6-7 lesser King novels this year, so I kind of feel like I have to target some of his celebrated works next. The few that I haven't already read at least. Read it for the book club. Great, but the movie follows the book so closely that it didn't leave any surprises for me. Also read this for the book club. One great story, a few decent ones, and some rather weak ones. Clearly Harlan did a lot of drugs, because this reminded me of William Burroughs in some ways. Gaiman short stories. This time a couple great stories, a couple good ones, a lot of meh ones, and some poems that did absolutely nothing for me. Worth it just for the highs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,802 Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 On 11/25/2021 at 1:37 AM, Reed Rothchild said: Also read this for the book club. One great story, a few decent ones, and some rather weak ones. Clearly Harlan did a lot of drugs, because this reminded me of William Burroughs in some ways. NOPE - Harlan Ellison was a very outspoken critic of drugs to the point where he refrained from not only alcohol, but even caffeine! I thought Ellison was a super talented and cool individual, but I never really enjoyed his stories, they just didn't vibe with me, and I did read quite a lot of his stories including "I Have No Mouth". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doner24 | 1,195 Moderator · Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 I’m slowly trudging through Dune for the first time. Just not grabbing me as I expected it would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabonga | 2,312 Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 I just got the third book of the Nora Kelly series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - six chapters in so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,493 Editorials Team · Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 Not enough time in my life. So I'm on the library audiobook train! I'll knock books out on the morning drive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabonga | 2,312 Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 I am halfway through a trilogy about linked serial killings by Terry A. Del Bene and Stoney Livingston. Somewhat gruesome but an interesting read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,802 Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Been meaning to read this for a long time, and finally a beautiful illustrated edition came out - YUP, I'm the type of guy that wants pictures in my books https://shop.suntup.press/products/johnny-got-his-gun-by-dalton-trumbo-artist-edition To bad certain low-level dictators in the former Soviet Union never read this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabonga | 2,312 Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 23 minutes ago, avatar! said: Been meaning to read this for a long time, and finally a beautiful illustrated edition came out - YUP, I'm the type of guy that wants pictures in my books https://shop.suntup.press/products/johnny-got-his-gun-by-dalton-trumbo-artist-edition To bad certain low-level dictators in the former Soviet Union never read this... That book has an interesting history. It was first published in serial form in the Daily Worker (organ of the Communist Party USA) as part of an effort to keep the US neutral in WWII when Germany and the USSR were allied. As soon as that ended the paper quit printing it since it was now ok for the US to intervene in Europe. Go figure. The movie is worth tracking down if you haven't seen it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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