Re: Current Reads

QueenSix Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:15 pm

I read Divergent. It's okay. It's a quick enough read. I didn't think there was anything remarkable about it but I do want to read the other books in the trilogy, if they ever get checked back into the library, but only because I want to see what leads up to the ending which caused such a furore. (I do enjoy a good internet book furore every so often).

stargirl Fri Mar 07, 2014 1:12 am

I actually enjoyed the first two Divergent books. Some parts of the books were a bit draggy/cliched, but even so I thought the two main characters had really good chemistry (which was the strongest point of the book, at least for me). However, I disliked the third so much that it really ruined the trilogy for me. I think I'll skip the movie.
I recently read the first book in a new YA dystopian trilogy, called The Testing, by Joelle Charbonneau. Total rip-off from The Hunger Games, of course, but still I thought it was a decent enough read.

MaddyCat Sun Mar 09, 2014 3:20 am

I'm reading BJ Novak's (from The Office) story collection One More Thing, and, honestly, I want to like it more than I actually do. Some of it's clever and funny but some of it's trying too hard to be clever and funny and it makes me roll my eyes. I'm getting quite impatient with it, actually, which makes me think I'm just not in the right head space for it. Everyone else I know talks about how they double over laughing and all that. I'm...not. Oh well, it's a fast enough read, I guess.

Crowbridge Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:04 pm

I just finished About a Boy by Nick Hornby, and now I've moved onto High Fidelity. I've become a big NH fan after reading Juliet, Naked last year. Not a whole lot happens in his books, but you can't seem to put them down.

Algae Mon Mar 10, 2014 9:24 am

I'm reading I am Malala. I especially like how she refers to things that happened "when I was a child". She sounds so much older than her years.

Unlucky Bear Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:36 pm

Guys, I want to read the Hannibal Lecter books, so I have Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon coming to me from Amazon. Do I read SotL first, or should I start with Red Dragon (that's the one with Will Graham, right?)

Raksha Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:57 pm

Today I finished The Wild Ways by Tanya Huff, which is the sequel to The Enchanted Emporium. I liked the first book a lot, this one...eh. It was alright. It really wandered for the first half. The pace didn't pick up until the latter half of the book. In fact, the plot elements didn't really get introduced much at all for the first third of the book. The story revolves around one member of a large, magical family and maybe I wasn't in the right mood for it, but the family elements were super annoying this time around. I just kept thinking how I would probably have killed myself to have grown up in such an invasive, manipulative, controlling family. Bleh. But hey, there were selkies in this book and it actually made the rising of an Elder God from the bottom of the sea into a throw away joke tied up in the space of half a page (and actually made that amusing).

I also read the first collected trade of Saga by Brian K. Vaughan with art by Fiona Staples. Two soldiers from opposite sides of a galactic war fall in love and have a baby, making them targets for both sides. I'd heard a lot about this book, and it is pretty interesting. I don't know if I'm losing my mind over it like a lot of people seem to be, but I'm interested to see more. I really like how very alien a lot of the alien elements and character designs are. The all-white lady with the armless human torso and a spider's body with legs that end in human hands and feet will HAUNT my nightmares for quite some time, I'm sure. I'm definitely interested to see what happens next. It's a good, solid start and I wouldn't be surprised if I do end up losing my mind over this series further down the line.

Tabby Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:17 am

Unlucky Bear, read Red Dragon first. The Silence of the Lambs contains references that will spoil the ending of RD.

whatthedeuce Tue Mar 11, 2014 10:01 am

80 pages into Luminaries, and my interest has been piqued! The mysteries are now officially afoot, and I'm enjoying meeting all the characters.

Gallifrey Girl Tue Mar 11, 2014 12:04 pm

Whatthedeuce, that one got mentioned at my book club last week as a potential read for May. Let us know what you think when you're done it.

Kookla Tue Mar 11, 2014 12:36 pm

Oooh, yay someone else reading The Luminaries. I read it in January and will be very curious to know what you think (and to toss around some theories). I sped through it I think a little more quickly than I was supposed to for full comprehension, but still enjoyed it a lot.

naughty zoot Tue Mar 11, 2014 1:14 pm

Guys, I want to read the Hannibal Lecter books,

Just be sure to skip Hannibal the third book. I've read a lot of true crime and crime fiction and this book was the most revolting thing I've ever read in my life. I truly believe that he wrote it as a big FU to fans of the earlier books' films, in general, and fans of movie Clarice, in particular.

Crackie Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:02 pm

naughty zoot wrote:
Guys, I want to read the Hannibal Lecter books,
Just be sure to skip Hannibal the third book. I've read a lot of true crime and crime fiction and this book was the most revolting thing I've ever read in my life. I truly believe that he wrote it as a big FU to fans of the earlier books' films, in general, and fans of movie Clarice, in particular.

Seconded. One of the cases where the movie (especially the ending) ending was far superior to the book.

particle_person Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:49 pm

Raksha wrote:
particle_person wrote:
mialoubug wrote:The first story was possibly one of the most disgusting things I have ever read. It was predictable but just about as awful as they come. I was not impress with him at all.
Will one of you tell me (under spoiler tags) what was so darn gross? I don't want to read it now, but I must know!

Summary of that story:

No. This whole thing is gross and dumb. Fuck off. (The story, not you. You know what I mean.)

Thanks, I forgot I asked and am only seeing your reply now. The description is more than enough to make me avoid that!

VodouDoll Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:55 pm

I read The Luminaries a few months ago and liked it a lot. Would love to discuss it here!

Unlucky Bear Wed Mar 12, 2014 1:25 am

Ha, I actually read Hannibal when it first came out years ago. My dad saw it in a store and thought I would like it, because we had just watched Silence of the Lambs together. But luckily, I've forgotten most of it by now. Thanks for the information!

Coneycat Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:21 am

Unlucky Bear wrote:Guys, I want to read the Hannibal Lecter books, so I have Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon coming to me from Amazon. Do I read SotL first, or should I start with Red Dragon (that's the one with Will Graham, right?)

Definitely read Red Dragon first--just make sure you're in a well-lit safe place with someone you trust nearby. I am so not even kidding about this. Hannibal Lecter bores the living daylights out of me, but there's a character in Red Dragon who is so sad and scary and utterly convincing that he scares the sweet living crap out of me even to think about. I tried to reread the book in a time I was living on my own and I had to go to the laundromat on a sunny Sunday to do it. And even at that there were chapters I skipped.

Silence of the Lambs is also really good--far superior to the (very good) movie, and book-Clarice is a terrific character. Still--I saw that movie when I was living alone, and went home to a dark house without a qualm. I can reread the book without problems. Red Dragon, I saw the first movie adaptation on TV and thought it was good, but I never went near the second adaptation, not because I thought it would be bad, but because Ralph Fiennes was playing the terrifying/sympathetic character and I knew I would never sleep again.

I got halfway through the third one and realized I was finding it dull, gross, and stupid, so I quit on it. Apparently I can only tolerate Lecter as a garnish, and even at that I leave most of him on the side of my plate. (Yes, that was deliberate.) But Harris created some fascinating non-Lecter characters and plots that feel just real enough to crawl around in my mind, and it occurs to me that I should look and see if he's written anything without Lecter in it, to see what I think.

Ahem. Have fun, but keep the lights on!

katesti Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:09 am

Crowbridge wrote:I just finished About a Boy by Nick Hornby, and now I've moved onto High Fidelity. I've become a big NH fan after reading Juliet, Naked last year. Not a whole lot happens in his books, but you can't seem to put them down.

This is kind of hilarious, because I mostly love Nick Hornby, but boy did I HATE Juliet, Naked. I don't remember why, precisely, but I felt very strongly about it at the time.

mokey75 Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:10 am

katesti wrote:
Crowbridge wrote:I just finished About a Boy by Nick Hornby, and now I've moved onto High Fidelity. I've become a big NH fan after reading Juliet, Naked last year. Not a whole lot happens in his books, but you can't seem to put them down.

This is kind of hilarious, because I mostly love Nick Hornby, but boy did I HATE Juliet, Naked. I don't remember why, precisely, but I felt very strongly about it at the time.

I thought Juliet, Naked was infinitely better than A Long Way Down, which I guess isn't saying anything because I really, really hated ALWD. But About A Boy is my favorite of his.

Kookla Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:23 pm

I read The Luminaries a few months ago and liked it a lot. Would love to discuss it here!

Vodoudoll, what did you make of the ending? Was it ever

Spoiler:

Otherwise I felt like everything came together nicely. I especially liked how towards the end the "in this chapter" bits became really long plot summaries, and the chapters themselves were like super short snapshots of emotion.

I just finished reading Special Topics in Calamity Fiction, after reading Pessl's Night Film. Didn't like Special Topics as much; in fact, it didn't even seem like it was by the same author. I liked parts of it, and when it picked up steam at the halfway point I read solidly through. But it was so.wordy, and not in a way I found particularly interesting. Also there were too many loose ends. One thing I did like was

Spoiler:

I am also reading Quiet by Susan Cain, which is a slower read (non-fiction tends to be for me) but I find it really fascinating. It's particularly interesting to be able to identify myself so completely from the descriptions and the research she reports on (it's about introverts for those who don't know).

Instant Monkeys Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:22 pm

Kookla wrote:I am also reading Quiet by Susan Cain, which is a slower read (non-fiction tends to be for me) but I find it really fascinating. It's particularly interesting to be able to identify myself so completely from the descriptions and the research she reports on (it's about introverts for those who don't know).

I'm reading Quiet too. It certainly describes me to a T. Nothing is super surprising to me, particularly since I've heard so much about the book since it came out, but it's definitely a fascinating/illuminating read.

Raksha Sun Mar 16, 2014 10:51 pm

I read Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe. Wow, what a ride! I am amazed this company still exists. From its beginnings with incredibly haphazard (and occasionally nonexistent) editorial structure, to takeovers by larger companies run by people seething with contempt for the entire art form. The fact that they still exist is a miracle. Those hardships are easier to read about, though, knowing that they are doing pretty well right now, putting out really good comics and billion dollar movies.

MaddyCat Sun Mar 16, 2014 11:13 pm

Instant Monkeys wrote:
Kookla wrote:I am also reading Quiet by Susan Cain, which is a slower read (non-fiction tends to be for me) but I find it really fascinating. It's particularly interesting to be able to identify myself so completely from the descriptions and the research she reports on (it's about introverts for those who don't know).
I'm reading Quiet too. It certainly describes me to a T. Nothing is super surprising to me, particularly since I've heard so much about the book since it came out, but it's definitely a fascinating/illuminating read.

I thought Quiet was a great read. It articulated a lot of things I knew but couldn't put into words. It explained my tendencies to me, and I would often read it in bed and force my partner to listen to entire passages and then say , "See? SEE? It's okay for me to be like this!" Good times.

Right now I've just started Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux. It's really intriguing thus far. It's about a dead guy who walks into his friend's store a few years after his supposed death. So, yeah. I'm liking it.

Algae Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:51 am

I read Code Name Verity this weekend. That was a heart-wrenching book. I had to keep starting and stopping since it would get to be too much for me.

Tabby Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:08 am

I thought Quiet was a great read. It articulated a lot of things I knew but couldn't put into words. It explained my tendencies to me, and I would often read it in bed and force my partner to listen to entire passages and then say , "See? SEE? It's okay for me to be like this!"

I read it while ago, and spent the entire book wishing it had been available when I was a teenager, because I would have immediately handed it to my (extroverted) parents.

"Heart-wrenching" is the word for Code Name Verity, all right.

Sponsored content