December's Delights in Reading

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AE35Unit said:
Oh if I'd got to page 200 and was still bored the book would be listed on bookmooch.com pretty sharpish. Life's too short for struggling with a book-reading should be fun,not a chore
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To an extent that's true but what about great literature that forces you to think and can become revelatory in people's lives which by implication requires some hard work on the part of the reader? I most enjoy books that stimulate both on an intellectual level and also for sheer entertainment or engaging storytelling, the great Gene Wolfe being a particular case in point.

Hmmm..I may have missed your point, are you talking more w.r.t a book that just bores one silly that has no intellectually stimulating or engaging facet to it?
 
I finished The Return of the King a couple days ago and am now going back to Tigana and trying to finish it. I was a little more than halfway through when I took a break from it and read LOTR. I don't know what it is, but I just haven't been able to get into this book yet.

My sister in law is bringing over the first book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, so I may start that one as well.
 
The Painted Man by Peter V Brett not particularly original but still an engaging story with the characters you root for. No cheesy writing, unlike Brent Weeks' Shadows trilogy that seems to get a lot of buzz recently.
 
I finished reading Last Argument of Kings (Joe Abercrombie). It finishes the trilogy very well and when I was done reading it, I put it down and thought "Wow! That was big!" and that wasn't referring to the physical size of the books, but to the story and the themes taken up. I think it says a lot about big issues, like being human, like power and strength (what they are), like whether we can meaningfully talk about good and evil. Showing that things aren't as simple as they're sometimes portrayed.

Maybe I read too much into what's just meant as a good fantasy trilogy (and also still is one), but that's what I get from it.

I still haven't decided which book to pick up next. It will be hard to pick up something to follow up something like this. I'll probably go with something completely different.
 
GOLLUM said:
To an extent that's true but what about great literature that forces you to think and can become revelatory in people's lives which by implication requires some hard work on the part of the reader? I most enjoy books that stimulate both on an intellectual level and also for sheer entertainment or engaging storytelling, the great Gene Wolfe being a particular case in point.

Hmmm..I may have missed your point, are you talking more w.r.t a book that just bores one silly that has no intellectually stimulating or engaging facet to it?
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I agree i used to be like that thinking a writer has to grap me from the start. Heck first time i read Vance i couldnt understand his wierd prose and his typical vocab.

Its a bonus if a writer gets you on the first page but not a must. I usually give any author 100 pages to show promise. The authors i havent been able to finish are the ones that didnt show promise in story or writing ability. I have forced my way through really tough books and got reward big time.
 
GOLLUM said:
To an extent that's true but what about great literature that forces you to think and can become revelatory in people's lives which by implication requires some hard work on the part of the reader? I most enjoy books that stimulate both on an intellectual level and also for sheer entertainment or engaging storytelling, the great Gene Wolfe being a particular case in point.

Hmmm..I may have missed your point, are you talking more w.r.t a book that just bores one silly that has no intellectually stimulating or engaging facet to it?
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Oh you mean like Moby Dick? Twice I've tried to read that book and failed. His writing just drove me insane the constant going on and on and the factual errors drove me nuts! And yet Oliver Twist which i think is slightly bigger,was a joy to read!(the only Dickens I've yet read) BTW what you mean by w r t?
 
AE35Unit said:
Oh you mean like Moby Dick? Twice I've tried to read that book and failed. His writing just drove me insane the constant going on and on and the factual errors drove me nuts! And yet Oliver Twist which i think is slightly bigger,was a joy to read!(the only Dickens I've yet read) BTW what you mean by w r t?
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I actually quite liked Moby Dick although it's certainly not everyone's cup of tea. W.r.t = with respect to, a commonly used abbreviation.

So now I'm still reading Mieville's The Scar and finding new insight upon the second reading. After that the sky is really the limit, depends a little on my mood I guess. I do know I'll be reading quite a bit more in the next few weeks than what I've read for the better part of this year.
 
GOLLUM said:
I actually quite liked Moby Dick although it's certainly not everyone's cup of tea. W.r.t = with respect to, a commonly used abbreviation.
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Oh right got you. In which case yes i do mean a book that after 100 pages bores one silly. Heck sometimes I don't get to 50 pages if its that bad(Dune was a good example there. Big Yawn)
 
Prefx said:
Wolfe is fantastic, but to really appreciate him you have to review what you read in hindsight, and probably reread the entire novel. He'll lull you into a chapter, drop you a major plot point, and then distract you with a different climax.
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I've noticed this - that and now I have to keep a dictionary handy. But to tell the truth I'm enjoying it so far. I was in the mood for a more challenging read and I think I've found it.
 
Brett Howell said:
I've noticed this - that and now I have to keep a dictionary handy. But to tell the truth I'm enjoying it so far. I was in the mood for a more challenging read and I think I've found it.
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I've basicaly got everything Wolfe has written (all novels and most story collections) including his essays on the Sun series and Lexicon Urthus which is an invaluable reference guide/dictoinary to the New Sun series. You realise there's several more books in his Sun sequence, so you are only touching the tip of the iceberg.

If you like this author's srtyle drop me a line and I can recommend what to try next or check out Wolfe's subforum in the authors section of this site.

I presume you have read Whyte's superlative Arthurian sequence the Camulod Chronicles? If not you may like to check it out.

Cheers....
 
I must dig out my copy of the Scar and re read it Gollum, I liked the Scar better than Perdo St station a little easier to get into i thought.

I'm saddened you didnt get into DUNE AE, its one of my pesonal favourtites, not sure why just love the set up and the politics.

I am reading a dreary Game spin off book Hellgate London Goettia, i'm going to finish it, I'm determined to finish as its rubbish but I cant not finish a book (unless its just too bad) I can feel my brain leaking through my ears.;)
 
Ice fyre said:
I'm determined to finish as its rubbish but I cant not finish a book (unless its just too bad) I can feel my brain leaking through my ears.;)
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Life's too short to finish bad books, Ice, that's why the charity shop was invented...:rolleyes::D
 
After being impressed with Jennifer Robson's Karavan books, I picked up her Tiger and Del series. I wasn't disappointed. I'm enjoying the 1st person POV, and the focus on the interactions of the main 2 characters, rather than a plot driven book.
 
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