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That sounds pretty cool double, never heard of that guy.

Recently finished Egan's The Clockwork Rocket, pretty cool but I'll be reading Incandescence, and probably Zendegi, before I read the rest of the Orthogonal trilogy. Incandescence is great so far, Panspermia seems to be a big theme. It's got the disembodied scapedwellers from Diaspora, but also some super cool aliens in the vein of Orthogonal.

On a side note, finished Ubik this morning, it was great.

On yet another note, anyone here read Asimov´s Foundation series in its entirety? Almost through the first book but not really feeling it.

  On 7/17/2015 at 11:32 AM, th555 said:

On yet another note, anyone here read Asimov´s Foundation series in its entirety? Almost through the first book but not really feeling it.

I read all 7 books when I was 14 or so and I remember loving them, although I also remember them having a slow start. I also remember the 2 prequels being pretty shitty Indiana Jones-esque adventure books, but I might be wrong

Recently finished Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney. It started off really strong. The main character (nameless, 2nd person 'You') resonated with me, which is obviously the idea. There isn't much in the way of plot. A depressive dude has a lot of shitty stuff happen to him, he deals it with cocaine and a bit of partying which in turn makes him feel worse, the classic cycle. Basically it should have been more fleshed out and would have done well as a longer book imo. Still enjoyed it and it was the first time I've read a book in the 2nd person. P interesting.

Ooooh nvm 2nd person not 3rd. Cool.

  On 7/17/2015 at 11:32 AM, th555 said:

On yet another note, anyone here read Asimov´s Foundation series in its entirety? Almost through the first book but not really feeling it.

I read them all, along with all the Robot books, when I started 2ndary school. Can't remember a huge amount, but think they got better as they went. I loved them at the time, but not sure if they'd age well. Recently re-read some old Brian Aldis books and they came across a bit quaint at times.

  On 7/17/2015 at 5:33 AM, doublename said:

Just started the first Southern Reach book. Reminds me a bit of The Crystal World by JG Ballard and/or At The Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft. Very pleased so far.

im on the 2nd. it gets report-ish, and i like it so far :)

read the long walk. great book

Started reading The Martian by Andy Weir, I'm not too far into it at all but it's pretty damn interesting so far. Hard Sci-Fi with some hints of black humor.

From what I've read so far the upcoming film adaptation could be quite good if they stay true to to the book.

Is there any book about underpasses, commutes and concrete buildings? One that isn't too ballardian.

Authority (second book of The Southern Reach Trilogy) by Jeff Vandermeer

Runaway Horses by Yukio Mishima

In The Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Mathiessen

Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China by Evan Osnos

  On 7/17/2015 at 10:15 PM, lala said:

 

  On 7/17/2015 at 5:33 AM, doublename said:

Just started the first Southern Reach book. Reminds me a bit of The Crystal World by JG Ballard and/or At The Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft. Very pleased so far.

 

im on the 2nd. it gets report-ish, and i like it so far :)

 

read the long walk. great book

 

I'll definitely give The Long Walk a read. America Library Association has it on their list of 100 best novels for teen readers. Wonder if I can get away with teaching it?

I would have loved it if i read it at 10+.. but i was a bit like that.

It really shows how to craft a good story out of a simple idea..? and also the fact that king never knows his endings is quite poignant.

its well brutal though!

The Old Man and the Sea is such a beautiful story, I read it in one sitting today.

Novellas are great. I'm reading A Clockwork Orange next, then a reread of The Slow Regard of Silent Things. Then probably Of Mice and Men. My bookshelf is full of unread novellas.

Read The Passage based off of someone's suggestion here a few pages back. It was okay, but I felt cheated: the first 'part' of the book is great, moving, interesting, weird, and sets up what you think will be a payoff...the rest of the book, really, the bulk of it, is essentially a trumped-up YA romp of coming-of-age/post-apocalyptic boredom. Ultimately a 'meh' for me, seriously doubt I'll read the rest of the series.

Just started House of Leaves after it's been gathering dust on a bookshelf for 2 years. Just about on the third chapter of The Navidson Record and it's interesting, and I know it's just going to get more-so. This is my first trek into Danielewski-land, so I'm not 100% sure what to expect.

  On 7/23/2015 at 3:01 AM, auxien said:

Just started House of Leaves after it's been gathering dust on a bookshelf for 2 years. Just about on the third chapter of The Navidson Record and it's interesting, and I know it's just going to get more-so. This is my first trek into Danielewski-land, so I'm not 100% sure what to expect.

One of my favourite books ever written. reminds me i need 'pass go, do not read synopsis or reviews' with his other book(s) and just buy them.

Funny enough it was probably me that recommended the passage.. i enjoyed it. the only bit that i didnt enjoy was the

After i finished the second part of the southern reach trilogy ive got either murakami (never read - wind up bird chronicles first?) or Bukowski (post office?) recommended to me.

Making a concerted effort to finish The Difference Engine, took a really long break after picking it up in March.

Also have been borrowing The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs from a coworker from an embarrassingly long time, really need to plow through that after I finish this and give the poor guy his book back.

  On 7/17/2015 at 11:40 AM, ThatSpanishGuy said:

 

  On 7/17/2015 at 11:32 AM, th555 said:

On yet another note, anyone here read Asimov´s Foundation series in its entirety? Almost through the first book but not really feeling it.

 

I read all 7 books when I was 14 or so and I remember loving them, although I also remember them having a slow start. I also remember the 2 prequels being pretty shitty Indiana Jones-esque adventure books, but I might be wrong

I read the first and was moderately intrigued, started the 2nd a few years ago in the middle of moving house and I lost it in the process. I think I found it again a while back but I don't remember where I was in the book.

  On 7/17/2015 at 10:15 PM, lala said:

 

  On 7/17/2015 at 5:33 AM, doublename said:

Just started the first Southern Reach book. Reminds me a bit of The Crystal World by JG Ballard and/or At The Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft. Very pleased so far.

 

im on the 2nd. it gets report-ish, and i like it so far :)

 

read the long walk. great book

 

Glad you liked it, finally finished the Bachman books a few days ago and they were all fantastic. Road Work made me really sad, particularly the part where he was shouting at the hitchhiker chick about how pointless it all is, King was definitely in a dark place then. I had to clear my head with something fun after so read Sexcastle, it's as ridiculous as the title.

nice. could do with some light relief

  On 7/23/2015 at 5:50 AM, lala said:

 

  On 7/23/2015 at 3:01 AM, auxien said:

Just started House of Leaves after it's been gathering dust on a bookshelf for 2 years. Just about on the third chapter of The Navidson Record and it's interesting, and I know it's just going to get more-so. This is my first trek into Danielewski-land, so I'm not 100% sure what to expect.

 

One of my favourite books ever written. reminds me i need 'pass go, do not read synopsis or reviews' with his other book(s) and just buy them.

 

Funny enough it was probably me that recommended the passage.. i enjoyed it. the only bit that i didnt enjoy was the

  Reveal hidden contents

train part.

 

 

After i finished the second part of the southern reach trilogy ive got either murakami (never read - wind up bird chronicles first?) or Bukowski (post office?) recommended to me.

 

Enjoying Danielewski so far, but I know the shit hasn't entirely hit the fan yet. Only a couple dozen pages into The Navidson Record thus far...

The Passage just started out so good, I was mostly taken aback at the abrupt change. It felt a bit of a cheat to me, just the difference in time, tone, everything. It wasn't bad enough for me to put down, but I just think what Cronin is going for just isn't up my alley. The train part was a bit cheap, but I would suggest a few other parts were just as bad...but I'm not going to nitpick. Overall not a bad book, just not for me.

The end of Authority made me want to read Acceptance immediately! Not sure I could willingly move on to something else; really, much of the end of Authority was simply lead up to Acceptance, at least in my recollection.

still reading authority... got stuck in it a bit, had to read the long walk, and now im back on it but not in much of a reading mood. i go through phases of heavy reading then not much

Finished Mason & Dixon. Such a sad ending, but good book overall. Glad to be finished though, finally! Think I've read enough Pynchon for one year.

Now to start on Umbrella by Will Self. That's easy, light reading, right?

  On 7/23/2015 at 3:01 AM, auxien said:

 

Just started House of Leaves after it's been gathering dust on a bookshelf for 2 years. Just about on the third chapter of The Navidson Record and it's interesting, and I know it's just going to get more-so. This is my first trek into Danielewski-land, so I'm not 100% sure what to expect.

House of Leaves is an amazing book, one of my favs. Not an easy read by any means, but quite worth it. Just take your time with it, the length and challenge of it's structure pays off.

I've been meaning to give Only Revolutions, a read for quite some time. His short story The Fifty Year Sword is pretty well done, the artwork incorporated into the book is pretty fantastic.

  On 7/26/2015 at 5:58 AM, ghOsty said:

 

  On 7/23/2015 at 3:01 AM, auxien said:

 

Just started House of Leaves after it's been gathering dust on a bookshelf for 2 years. Just about on the third chapter of The Navidson Record and it's interesting, and I know it's just going to get more-so. This is my first trek into Danielewski-land, so I'm not 100% sure what to expect.

 

House of Leaves is an amazing book, one of my favs. Not an easy read by any means, but quite worth it. Just take your time with it, the length and challenge of it's structure pays off.

 

I've been meaning to give Only Revolutions, a read for quite some time. His short story The Fifty Year Sword is pretty well done, the artwork incorporated into the book is pretty fantastic.

 

I really tried with Only Revolutions but I am definitely too dumb for it, shame as I loved House of Leaves but hopefully I'll have more luck with The Fifty Year Sword. Annoyingly my bedroom is just a mass of books and I can't find it.

Just finished pt 2 of the southern reach trilogy and glad to say i enjoyed it. Hoping that the 3rd part keeps with it

I went to an antiquariat in Heidelberg yesterday and purchased an old book about Buddhist art in China. The only problem is that my German is pretty awful so I can barely make any sense out of it.

Columbine by David Cullen

A really rigorous look at the shooting, the piss poor media coverage of it and the lasting impact of both on the community. Quality stuff.