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[Starver]

I fucking loved it. I loved the main characters, I loved the yetis, I loved how gripping the struggles of the people were even before the bigfoots entered the picture. The whole thing was a suspenseful thrill ride.

I'm torn. The plural of "bigfoot" should clearly be either "bigfeet" or "bigsfoot".

Sorry, this isn't a very useful book-related comment, as I haven't read this one myself. Not yeti!

[delphonso]

As a sasquatch, I prefer bigfooti

[Yoink]

Sorry, this isn't a very useful book-related comment, as I haven't read this one myself. Not yeti!

You should be ashamed. That was just abominable.   

[gamerboy3456]

So today I came across a problem. The problem is, we don't appear to have a Reading thread! I decided to remedy this problem! As a result here is a thread to talk about what you're reading, what you have just read and what you think of books in general.

Personally, I'm reading Knife of Dreams the 11th book in the Wheel of Time series, I took a break from this series for a while and in this break I read the 1st Book in the Malazan Books of the Fallen series. For my next book I'm torn between Deadhouse Gates and The gathering Storm. What do you guys think I should read.

Im reading "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", the new Hunger Games book.

The story centers on an 18-year-old Snow, who has been chosen to mentor one of District 12's Tributes in the 10th Hunger Games.


So far I really like the book.

[NRDL]

Finished the first of Robin Hobb's sagas ( the Farseer Trilogy ) and boy did I love that ending.

And not just because of the

Spoiler: Assassin's Quest SUPER spoilers (click to show/hide)

dragons and shit. I'm also really happy Nighteyes didn't die.

I laughed for a solid minute when Burrich got together with Molly, and Fitz' body got used to sleep with Ketrickken. All throughout Assassin's Quest I kept thinking to myself "Fitz is gonna get cucked by his adoptive father, and Fitz is gonna cuck his uncle" and they both kiiiiinda happen?

Also, at least Fitz got together with Starling, sorta. And I guess the Fool? Fitz is just an absolute player in this one.

Every single time one of Galen's Coterie died, I cheered.

I was completely off the mark with Kettle's origin, but I really loved her as a character. And boy, Verity's final moments as a man really got me.

Can't wait to start the next trilogy

[ChairmanPoo]

Finished the first of Robin Hobb's sagas ( the Farseer Trilogy ) and boy did I love that ending.

And not just because of the

Spoiler: Assassin's Quest SUPER spoilers (click to show/hide)

dragons and shit. I'm also really happy Nighteyes didn't die.

I laughed for a solid minute when Burrich got together with Molly, and Fitz' body got used to sleep with Ketrickken. All throughout Assassin's Quest I kept thinking to myself "Fitz is gonna get cucked by his adoptive father, and Fitz is gonna cuck his uncle" and they both kiiiiinda happen?

Also, at least Fitz got together with Starling, sorta. And I guess the Fool? Fitz is just an absolute player in this one.

Every single time one of Galen's Coterie died, I cheered.

I was completely off the mark with Kettle's origin, but I really loved her as a character. And boy, Verity's final moments as a man really got me.

Can't wait to start the next trilogy

The second trilogy kind of sucks just so that you know

My advice is that you do like Paul Muad'Dib suggests and apply the attitude of the knife

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife - chopping off what's incomplete and saying: ' Now, it's complete because it's ended here

[Eschar]

So, YAGNI but with sandworms?

[NRDL]

The second trilogy kind of sucks just so that you know

My advice is that you do like Paul Muad'Dib suggests and apply the attitude of the knife

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife - chopping off what's incomplete and saying: ' Now, it's complete because it's ended here

Do you mean the Liveship Traders trilogy or the Tawny Man?

[Yoink]

I finished reading A Fraction of the Whole, by Steve Toltz. It was... interesting.   
At first I found it really, really good, but I don't know if the later parts dragged a bit or what but by the end it seemed to me that there was quite a bit of, I don't know, filler? I think with some of the philosophical musings (or practical musings on philosophical characters) they started to repeat themselves and overlap as the book went on.   
By the seventh time you see the phrase "a philosopher who'd thought himself into a corner" or however it went, it kinda starts to grate a bit.   


Anyway, that's over and done with, on the whole I liked it. Now I am bouncing around between books like a pinball in the bumper zone.   
I seem to have finally settled on Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. It's technically a book for kids, but it's interesting just to see Hiaasen clean up his usual themes a bit in order to write it, while still retaining some good storytelling. I don't know, aren't his books really books for big kids at the best of times? In my experience they're generally pretty fun once you wipe off the violence, drugs, sex and violent drug-crazed sex offenders.   
Hoot keeps his common environmentalist themes, too, which I think is pretty cool for a kids' book. Not sure how realistic the dialogue that takes place between the younger characters is, but I've forgotten what normal kids talked like and I've never been to school in Florida, for that matter, so I can suspend my disbelief easily enough.   

[ChairmanPoo]

The second trilogy kind of sucks just so that you know

My advice is that you do like Paul Muad'Dib suggests and apply the attitude of the knife

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife - chopping off what's incomplete and saying: ' Now, it's complete because it's ended here

Do you mean the Liveship Traders trilogy or the Tawny Man?

Tawny Man, and Fitz and the Fool trilogies. Never read the liveships.

[Yoink]

A little over half-way through Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.   
This book is pretty much friggin' fantastic, so far. Reminds me a little of Irvine Welsh (in a very different setting) with its conversational narration, observational comedy and the slow, seemingly inevitable trainwreck of tragedy, horror, the worst/pettiest aspects of human nature, lowbrow existentialism, hard-earned wisdom, almost Kafkaesque elements and, of course, a wee bit of creative self-medication.   
Hell, that description sounded almost clever. Maybe I shoulda saved that for Goodreads. Dang.   

Bought this ages ago for next to nothing from an op shop, just one of a whole bag of secondhand books. Had no idea what to expect from it but it looked at least somewhat interesting, or maybe just really weird, so in it went - and I sure am glad it did.   

[Rolan7]

Found Terry Pratchett's Making Money while helping my brother move. Read it on breaks, almost finished it now during a power outtage. It's really something, particularly rereading it so much later.

Aside from the Pratchett humor which makes it easy reading, I always loved it as an explanation of fiat currency. The main plot is about a reformed con man bringing The City out of the gold standard, doing his best to convince to the masses that the gold never mattered. Which he happens to believe, though he uses his old tricks to convince them.

But the golem plot is very important too. It potentially subverts the fiat argument, but it... well:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A force of golems is found by benevolent actors. These golems, unlike others in the setting, cannot be granted autonomy. They are the legacy of an ancient post-scarcity civilization which fell to climate change.

The benevolent actors choose not to use them to conquer neighboring states, which is nice.  Empire has turned out poorly for the City, but a good line is basically "In the worst case, we succeed."

But they also avoid using this labor for general work. Only a few telecomm roles. The explanation is brief: it would put thousands out of work. Most of the golem are reburied, to serve as... state treasury.

That seems really tragic to me. Maybe a necessary return to the squalid status-quo of the City. I'm not quite to the end, so I hope there's more analysis of that decision. AFAIR the ancient civilization was FALGSC and pacifist, and only fell due to a surprise flood.

I know the conclusion is busy enough without transforming Ankh-Morpork to a post-scarcity economy. It just seems sad and I hope it's called out in these last pages.

Also I enjoyed World War Z very much, will remember to check out Max Brook's Devolution. The movie was mediocre and almost unrelated to the source material, not even exaggerating.

[NRDL]

I feel like Devolution will be easier to adapt while remaining relatively faithful. It's a lot more contained to one area, and focuses really on one group of people more than anything. I doubt they'll keep the Max Brooks found footage framing device,  but whatever.

[Nordlicht]

Finished Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane. There is something about his books and mixing reality and fantasy, that's far more believable than what other Authors pull off.

[delphonso]

I could really use some dark Russian philosophical novels. I've been looking at How the Steel Was Tempered, but I also have only read a little of Dostoevsky. Any suggestions? Really looking for the slow build.