Return of the Book Thread

[Draegan]

Someone mentioned, I think Haem, a book on Stalin's early years.  Can someone give me a title and author?

Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Absolutely fantastic fucking book.

Purchased.  Thank you sir.

[Johny Cee]

Anyone who has ever written erotic horror should be strangled with a pair of black leather pants.  The single worst thing to happen to the American literary scene in decades. 

I don't mind the idea of erotic horror.  There's a reason why so many horror villains also tend to be pedophiles, rapists, and the like;  or why sex and violence are explicitly connected in most slasher movies.

The problem is that genre went quickly off the rails into author wish fullfillment romantic fantasies, combined with revenge fantasies where the monsters are generally only monsters to cardboard cutout archetypes.

For your reading pleasure:

Angry urban fantasy writer blog about it here.

[Ard]

For your reading pleasure:

Angry urban fantasy writer blog about it here.

(Yes, I know there are significant exceptions, like Jim Butcher, Simon Green, and Charles de Lint. We'll get to that.)

I really hate it when a writer says that, and then actually doesn't follow up on their exceptions, unless I missed something in that.  I have a man-crush on Jim Butcher for his Dresden books (his generic fantasy stuff, not nearly as good).  I really want to know what she was going to say about the exceptions, since this series pretty much invalidates almost all the points she brought up in regards to the other urban fantasy porn books, and especially since all her exceptions were written by men, in a female dominated field of literature.

[Johny Cee]

For your reading pleasure:

Angry urban fantasy writer blog about it here.

(Yes, I know there are significant exceptions, like Jim Butcher, Simon Green, and Charles de Lint. We'll get to that.)

I really hate it when a writer says that, and then actually doesn't follow up on their exceptions, unless I missed something in that.  I have a man-crush on Jim Butcher for his Dresden books (his generic fantasy stuff, not nearly as good).  I really want to know what she was going to say about the exceptions, since this series pretty much invalidates almost all the points she brought up in regards to the other urban fantasy porn books, and especially since all her exceptions were written by men, in a female dominated field of literature.

She has a followup blog on it.  Basically,  she redefines anyone that would prove her wrong as not writing in the Urban Fantasy genre.

I actually consider Charles de Lint and Emma Bull magical realists, not urban fantasists. (And China Mieville I consider steampunk fantasy, but that’s just me.) They also published a lot earlier than the current spike of titles I consider urban fantasy, and in any case I defined my terms pretty thoroughly–urban fantasy as the chicks-in-leather flood we’re having right now. There are exceptions like Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden (which to me seems more straight fantasy than urban fantasy, cityscape notwithstanding, for a variety of reasons).

[Rishathra]

which to me seems more straight fantasy than urban fantasy, cityscape notwithstanding

[NowhereMan]

I have decided that what she considers urban fantasy is really urban chi(ck)que fantasy (chick geddit? I slay me) which plays into many of the tired first wave feminist ideals of women competing with men in their arena by adopting male roles. True urban fantasy (such as Jim Butcher) while preceding much urban chique fantasy breaks down these tired gender roles rather than trapping a female protagonist in the hermaphroditic space between gender roles.

  I feel I have made as much of a contribution to the understanding of some books.

[Endie]

Someone mentioned, I think Haem, a book on Stalin's early years.  Can someone give me a title and author?

Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Absolutely fantastic fucking book.

After my outspoken opinion, I'm relieved you liked it.

[Ard]

She has a followup blog on it.  Basically,  she redefines anyone that would prove her wrong as not writing in the Urban Fantasy genre.

Had a feeling that's where she was going to go with that.  Yes, lets ignore our exceptions, who pretty definatively write modern urban fantasy, one of which is a bestseller, compared to most of the rest which never even get public recognition.  That's a great way to go proving your point.

/facepalm

[HaemishM]

Someone mentioned, I think Haem, a book on Stalin's early years.  Can someone give me a title and author?

Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Absolutely fantastic fucking book.

After my outspoken opinion, I'm relieved you liked it.

Oh, it was fantastic. It didn't so much change my view on Stalin as it did define it more explicitly. He was a redneck thug with delusions of grandeur, who was not as smart as he thought he was. He could write (the poetry was surprising) but he seemed less than intellectually curious, or maybe he was just dismissive of ideas that didn't jibe with his.

[Salamok]

Anyone have a Tesla biography they would like to recommend?

Wiki link to books related to Tesla

[NowhereMan]

Read Shantaram by Gregory Roberts David, supposedly (he says it is, I bracketed the question while reading it) a true story of the author after his escape from Australia for armed robbery to India and his experiences living there. I really enjoyed it and it made India actually seem like an interesting and appealing place to visit, which frankly I've never really felt before. It's a big book and while almost everyone I know who's read or is reading it really likes it there are a couple of exceptions. I also have a friend who grew up in Bombay and says she's seen the guy around there a few times so at the very least he has actually spent a lot of time in India.

I'd definitely recommend giving it a go and at 900 or so pages it's got some good mileage if you enjoy it even a bit.

[FatuousTwat]

Read Shantaram by Gregory Roberts David, supposedly (he says it is, I bracketed the question while reading it) a true story of the author after his escape from Australia for armed robbery to India and his experiences living there. I really enjoyed it and it made India actually seem like an interesting and appealing place to visit, which frankly I've never really felt before. It's a big book and while almost everyone I know who's read or is reading it really likes it there are a couple of exceptions. I also have a friend who grew up in Bombay and says she's seen the guy around there a few times so at the very least he has actually spent a lot of time in India.

I'd definitely recommend giving it a go and at 900 or so pages it's got some good mileage if you enjoy it even a bit.

India has always sounded like a cool place to me, but I'm a history buff.

Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_India it was on PBS late at night a few weeks ago and I managed to catch all of it.


Back on topic:

Finished ...and their memory was a bitter tree..., it was good, and there were drawings of boobs. Finished 25th annual The Year's Best Science Fiction, and The Best of the Best volume 1 and 2. I'm about 3/4ths done with The Stand, I haven't read it before, and I'm also reading Zima Blue, but have only finished 2 stories.

[NowhereMan]

India has always sounded like a cool place to me, but I'm a history buff.

Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_India it was on PBS late at night a few weeks ago and I managed to catch all of it.

Indian history is fascinating and I have enjoyed reading bits and pieces of it, I've also enjoyed plenty of novels set in India (usually involving the British Raj of some sort) but none of that has made me want to go and visit. History is awesome but in general I don't want to visit places where famous things happened because for the most part I'm going to come across some ruins or a field or a tacky tourist shop. Lumps of rock don't make history come alive for me (I guess that's why the closest I've come to enjoying archaeology are the Indie films). Shantaram was about the people and culture in modern India and that's not something I'd really been interested in before. I'd never understood the whole hippy/backpacker appeal of travelling there since it just sounded smelly, dirty and crowded.

[Paelos]

Has anyone mentioned "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett yet? I bought it recently based off good reviews from my friends, but I wanted to know if any of yall have read it and your impressions.

[Xuri]

I actually picked up that book (Pillars of the Earth) by random in a library once, years and years ago. I then read it. I remember extremely little, though (even reading the summary on Wikipedia only brings back small flashes of recognition). Additionally, I have no idea whether I liked it or not. I'm pretty sure I read the entire book, but I even do that with books I don't enjoy, so that doesn't really tell me (or you) much.

Having the memory of a goldfish doesn't help, either. Sorry.

[bhodi]

Quick update.

Mary Shelly - Frankenstein     Meh. I really just couldn't get into it. I really have a hard time getting through victorian era writing.
David Sedaris - When you are engulfed in flames   Loved it.
S.M. Sterling, David Drake - Generals 1-3 (hammer, forge, anvil)    It's a military pseudo-sci-fi based on a planet with 1800's tech. Pretty good, actually.
RA Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange land   I can see why this got so much acclaim. One of his best books, by far. I really enjoyed this one.
RA Heinlein - To sail beyond the sunset  Good
RA Heinlein - Orphans of the Sky   Okay, I didn't care for this one overmuch
RA Heinlein - Double Star   Good, enjoyable, not much to say. It's apparently a literary masterpiece for flagrantly disregarding a number of 'staple' rules about how to write and describe characters in stories. As I am not a writer, this is lost on me.
Asimov - The end of eternity    Not terrible, but not one of his better works. Any time women or relationships are involved it's just awkward with Asimov.
Harlan Ellison - Run for the stars   More of a short story, it was pretty good. A bit dated, now.
Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club    Amazingly almost identical to the movie that I can recall. Unfortunately knowing the twist takes a bit of fun out of it, but still a solid book/ short story
Weis/Hickman - Darksword Series (forging, doom, triumph, legacy of the darksword) Used to be a trilogy. I guess they added a 4th book. Not as good as I remembered as a kid but passable enough.
Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time (All 11 books, on audiobook)   This aged much better than I thought it would. The last few books started getting really good. It was great on audiobook where you can kind of tune out the boring parts and even the slow bits are easy to listen to.
Stephen King - The Shining    Had never read this, I'm glad I did. Very solid and enjoyable.
Dean Koontz - Odd Hours   He's going to milk this series for ever and ever. I still like the main character and this book is essentially a statement that there will be about 10 more.
Lewis Black - Me of Little Faith   Lewis Black is a lot more interesting than I thought he'd be. This is a lot better than his previous book, Nothing's Sacred. Which I also read.

There are probably a few more books in there that I missed. I was just going through the recent 'pile'. I haven't done an update in a long time.

[Murgos]

David Sedaris - When you are engulfed in flames   Loved it.

Did this as an audiobook for the ride to/from work.  Was pretty good.

Also, Freakanomics and the unabridged A Short History of Nearly Everything were also really good as audiobooks.

[Ironwood]

Read the first two Void books.  They were ok.

Some of the backstory was hard to follow, but it does all resolve itself.  I'm hesitating to call the end of the second book 'The Worst Fucking CopOut Ever, God it's Lame', merely because there's a 3rd book and I have hope.

At least the sex was interesting.

[Viin]

Read the first two Void books.  They were ok.

Who's the author?

I noticed Peter F Hamilton has a new book coming out for his Void series, was wondering if this was the same one ..

[Ironwood]

Um, yes, those would be the Void books in question.

[FatuousTwat]

Since I had time on my hands, I read more than I usually do...

First 4 Wheel of Time books, still can't stand the female characters, but all the foreshadowing is cool.

Zima Blue was pretty good, particularly the Merlin stuff, I enjoy Reynolds' short fiction.

Started A History of God and A History of Warfare up again, maybe I can actually finish them.

Not sure what next... I should finish Absolution Gap.

[squirrel]

Read Shantaram by Gregory Roberts David, supposedly (he says it is, I bracketed the question while reading it) a true story of the author after his escape from Australia for armed robbery to India and his experiences living there. I really enjoyed it and it made India actually seem like an interesting and appealing place to visit, which frankly I've never really felt before. It's a big book and while almost everyone I know who's read or is reading it really likes it there are a couple of exceptions. I also have a friend who grew up in Bombay and says she's seen the guy around there a few times so at the very least he has actually spent a lot of time in India.

I'd definitely recommend giving it a go and at 900 or so pages it's got some good mileage if you enjoy it even a bit.

I'll second this recommendation. Awesome beach book. There are moments of "Holy fuck, no way!" Really interesting background on Bombay as mentioned.

[Mosesandstick]

I finally finished Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. I think I took less time to finish all 6 of the original Dune books. The book is interesting... the literary style will divide readers. I can definitely say that the first book (Midnight's is split into three) is one of the most boring things I've read in my whole life.

[Sky]

Just a heads-up, B&N has one of their cheapo compilations for Lovecraft that's got some cool extras in it, fragments and early crap (that's kinda cute). It's cheap, tons of stories (TONS), cheap, and it's Lovecraft.

Been reading some of the more obscure stuff in that and also working through a Solomon Kane collection, though after a while the short stories run together.

[Fargull]

Had a strange spat of heavy reading last week.  Read in order.. The Road, Band of Brothers, and just finished No Country for Old Men last night.  Next book will probably be McCarthy's western Trillogy.

[Johny Cee]

Been a while since I posted here!


Finished Drood by Dan Simmons last week.  It was a pretty easy read,  despite being 700 pages.  Felt padded, a bit derivative.  The writing style of The Terror, combined with a very Song of Kali story, to the plot of Amadeus.  Didn't like it nearly as well as the first 75% of The Terror.

Went on a kick trying to find some decent Lovecraftian books: 

Read Charles Stross' Atrocity Archives and Jennifer Morgue.  One part spy novel, one part geek/cyberpunky, one part Lovecraft.  Fairly entertaining,  though I liked Atrocity more than Jennifer.  Looking for some books by Sarah Monette (The Bone Key), John Brunner (The Traveler in Black), and Zelazny's A Night in Lonesome October now.

Read the new Simon Green "Nightside" book, which was alright.  Really, this series should have been wrapped up with the conclusion of the first story arc.

Reading The Historian.  It's slow, but very readable.

Have The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan (the Takeshi Kovacs guy) to start. 

My local Borders finally got a couple copies of Graceling.  It's YA, so will probably be a bit of a slog, but the author is a friend from college.

[Quinton]

I loved The Postman.

Watching the Costner movie was like watching a favourite puppy getting skinned alive and then boiled.

Don't do it.

I've successfully avoided the movie, but after mention of the book here, located my copy and read it on a recent trip to Taiwan.  Great book.

[IainC]

Almost finished The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. Really good hard SF, not as readable as Iain M. Banks but it scratches my itch for that kind of thing.

[Ironwood]

Have The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan (the Takeshi Kovacs guy) to start. 

Oh God, don't do it.  Don't do it.  The Dribble of semen in the anus.  Don't.

On a related note, re-reading Market Forces and I still think it's one of his best.

[FatuousTwat]

Almost finished The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. Really good hard SF, not as readable as Iain M. Banks but it scratches my itch for that kind of thing.

How is Iain M. Banks? I've never read any of his stuff.

[IainC]

Almost finished The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. Really good hard SF, not as readable as Iain M. Banks but it scratches my itch for that kind of thing.

How is Iain M. Banks? I've never read any of his stuff.

He's possibly my favourite author at the moment. I'd recommend any of his Culture novels unreservedly. Excession is particularly awesome as is Player of Games, wickedly barbed and fun SF.

[Ironwood]

Almost finished The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. Really good hard SF, not as readable as Iain M. Banks but it scratches my itch for that kind of thing.

How is Iain M. Banks? I've never read any of his stuff.

I did my dissertation on Banks and still liked his stuff !

Yes, he's that good.

[Mosesandstick]

Is there any sort of order to the culture novels?

[IainC]

Consider Phlebas is the first chronologically, any of the rest can be read in any order, there's no overarching story or reused characters that I can think of off the top of my head. The events of Consider Phlebas (the Idiran War) are referenced regularly in some of the later books although you don't need to have read it to understand the context.

[Mosesandstick]

Sweet, thanks.