Return of the Book Thread

[lamaros]

Finished the Brent Week series. Was diverting, nothing amazing though.

[Sky]

spoiler=my library

Time for another bookcase! :)

Most of my books are still packed. I'm a quality whore and also very tight with money (heh). I don't mind spending for decent stuff, but I have a hard time buying cheap bookcases, especially when they're expensive and will fall apart the first time the cat rubs up against them. I have some vague notion of nailing some boards together in a generally shelf-like configuration, but as with most things in my house, this leads me down the path of upgrades, because the best wall for books has a baseboard heater along it, so I need to upgrade that, and if I do that, I need to rewire, if I need to rewire I may as well pull out the panelling and put in drywall, if I'm doing the walls, I may as well do the ceiling, if I have the walls apart, I may as well finish off the gas line so we can install the fireplace, if I finish the gas line, we may as well get the fireplace and also go ahead and open up the kitchen wall to finish the gas line so I can buy a gas stove, if I'm opening the kitchen wall....

Anyway. I need bookcases!

[Endie]

Just finished Eco Barons by Edward Humes. Good stuff with lots of interesting environmental info.

I picked up Matter, the newest (?) Culture novel, from the library. I haven't read anything from this series yet. Do I need to start with Consider Phlebas? If so, I'll just return Matter and wait for Consider Phelbas to become available.

I think The Player of Games is the best first Culture novel to read.

Indeed: it's very accessible, and if you're an F13 poster you'll probably get an extra level of enjoyment out of the book (as suggested in the title).

Just don't forget the Ian Banks (M-free) books.  I'd recommend Complicity or The Business for starters, although I suppose his big "hits" are The Wasp Factory and The Crow Road.

Then, when you enjoy them, you've got Christopher Brookmyre who is consistently, downright witty.  Like the humour of early Acid House/Trainspotting Irvine Welsh crossed with (most of) the storytelling ability of Banks.  He'll get movies made of his books, eventually.

Just don't start with Fearsumm Endjinn.  Some people love it but there's a good chance it'll put you off for good.

[shiznitz]

I am burning through Dennis Lehane novels. I haven't read crime/thrillers in a long time and I am enjoying them. They take less than a week to read.  Shutter Island's twist completely surprised me.

I am skipping the ones that were movied: Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone.

[Ironwood]

 He'll get movies made of his books, eventually.

Already on TV.

[Endie]

 He'll get movies made of his books, eventually.

Already on TV.

Yeah, a lot of the interior shots for those were filmed one street away from where I lived until a few months ago.  And I love his books.  And yet I've never actually bothered to watch the TV adaptations.  Strange.

[RhyssaFireheart]

spoiler=my library

Time for another bookcase! :)

I'm trying to avoid that situation by constantly re-evaluating the books I do keep.  If I haven't reread it or can't see myself ever wanting to reread it at any time, then it gets donated.  Otherwise, I really don't want to get another bookcase.  Those were built by the husband to house my collection and they've held up fantastically considering he did nothing special when making them.  1x6 boards, 6' long.  Cut several in half, screw to full length boards in appropriate locations, a few coats of stain and varnish and voila!  I haz bookshelvez!  They have to be attached to the walls to keep them stable, but that's only common sense after all.

[Viin]

I hate getting rid of books. I really just need to buy a house that has a room dedicated for a library of wall to wall bookshelves.

But, alas, I am getting full too - I already have 3 large bookshelves already full and no room for more!

Do you donate your extra books to the library or ARC or what?

[Endie]

I hate getting rid of books. I really just need to buy a house that has a room dedicated for a library of wall to wall bookshelves.

But, alas, I am getting full too - I already have 3 large bookshelves already full and no room for more!

Do you donate your extra books to the library or ARC or what?

I'm extending the house I just bought, and what is currently the master bedroom is going to be the library.  I don't know how many metres of bookshelv I have, but I do know that, in the last house, we had eleven large, floor-to ceiling bookshelves filled, and I was always having to rake through the many boxes of books that weren't unpacked in order to get other books which I had suddenly decided that I needed.  I don't, as a rule, throw away books.  I tried using LibraryThing but only ever got through about 1/6 of my collection before deciding it was a scanner or nothing.

[tkinnun0]

I like that each Culture novel has its own theme, but it means that there's no steady stream of Culture novels. Which is a good thing and a bad thing.

Anyway, here's my one-sentence summaries of the themes in Iain M. Banks's Culture stories, as I understand them:

Consider Phlebas: A bit rough around the edges.
The Player of Games:
Use of Weapons:
The State of the Art:  and
Excession:
Matter:
I'll have to reread Inversions and Look to Windward to refresh my memories, but am I off-base with the others?

[Morat20]

Player of Games, Use of Weapons, and Look to Windward both showcase the Culture's dirty side. The shit they'll do "in the name of good", and their only redeeming grace is that they'll use their own people if necessary.

Inversions, Look to Windward, and Excession show the Culture from three perspectives -- low-tech culture being influenced by the Culture (Inversions), a close-enough-to-see-how-hard-they-got-screwed semi-equal perspective (Look to Windward), and a "We make you look like caveman" perspective (Excession).

Most of the Culture books revolve around the only real problems you can get in Utopia -- what to do with the ones that don't fit in, and what to do when people try to crash your party. (Either beceause they're envious that you get all the fun shit, or because they want in even though they won't fit).

[Murgos]

Most of the Culture books revolve around the only real problems you can get in Utopia -- what to do with the ones that don't fit in, and what to do when people try to crash your party. (Either beceause they're envious that you get all the fun shit, or because they want in even though they won't fit).

After having read the available books several times each I've come up with the idea that in a perfect utopia you even have to have a niche for those hyper-active aggressive people that populations spit out from time to time.  The ones that normally would go by names like, 'Revolutionary" and "Supreme Dictator" in their lifetimes.

I think it's part of the reason why the story always seems to fit with the protagonist facing off against someone who didn't have the Cultures buffers and went that route in their society.

So that 'Special Circumstances" may not refer so much to external as internal threats.

[FatuousTwat]

I guess I lied, I've read The Hallowed Hunt and the first Sharing Knife book.

[Quinton]

So that 'Special Circumstances" may not refer so much to external as internal threats.

One of SC's roles seems to be finding a purpose for those who might cause some internal damage to The Culture if they were not directed to deal with external threats, killing two birds with one stone.

[NowhereMan]

The great bit being it's not just the humans but also the less than well adjusted drones that it seems to be there to deal with. I really like that touch for some reason, probably find it reassuring that the machine intellects might be faster and more powerful but it doesn't make them better adjusted.

[Murgos]

The great bit being it's not just the humans but also the less than well adjusted drones that it seems to be there to deal with. I really like that touch for some reason, probably find it reassuring that the machine intellects might be faster and more powerful but it doesn't make them better adjusted.

Good, point but not just drones, Minds too, the more eccentric ones seem to be in SC.

[NowhereMan]

The great bit being it's not just the humans but also the less than well adjusted drones that it seems to be there to deal with. I really like that touch for some reason, probably find it reassuring that the machine intellects might be faster and more powerful but it doesn't make them better adjusted.

Good, point but not just drones, Minds too, the more eccentric ones seem to be in SC.

Yeah actually. Excession,

[FatuousTwat]

Well, I have like 10 books from the library, I forgot I had ordered a ton. WHERE DO I START?!

[Sky]

Just finished Hamilton's "trilogy", good stuff. When one of the antagonists in a sci-fi space epic is Al goddamned Capone and it doesn't bother me, it's got to be a decent book imo. The last novel really kept me going, he has good pacing and switches between narratives really well. Lots of nice little cliff-hangers and doesn't dwell too long on any one part of the story. Came together pretty good at the end, if a bit rushed (if that's possible for such a massive trilogy).

[Murgos]

I'm working on Night Watch currently.  I don't know that I see what the fuss is about other than, oh, look something from Russia!

[Viin]

I'm working on Night Watch currently.  I don't know that I see what the fuss is about other than, oh, look something from Russia!

Starts a little slow, but gets good. You'll see. The end is where the juice is, but you need the rest for the end to have it's impact.

[FatuousTwat]

Just finished Nuclear Jellyfish (the newest Tim Dorsey novel) and it felt a little rushed. There wasn't as much intertwining as I'm used to from him, and one of his minor recurring characters felt shoehorned in. Started Quite Ugly One Morning, but couldn't really get into it. I might skip it and start reading the rest of the Sharing Knife series, unless it gets really romancy.

[apocrypha]

If anyone liked Philip Pullman's Northern Lights series then you might also like Once Upon A Time In The North. It's another book set in the same universe, with Lee Scoresby and Iorek Burnison. It's very short - I finished it in one sitting - but it's nicely done and has lots of little details like notes and illustrations and even a little board game that make it feel very detailed. It's also, of course, got a strong political message, but then if you liked the other books you'll be expecting that.

There's another one, Lyra's Oxford, that I shall get soon too.

[Ironwood]

Almost finished the First Law books by Abercrombie.

Strangely compelling stuff.  The humour and characters puts it a little above most fantasy guff imo.

[Margalis]

Anyone else want to comment on Ellison? I think I'm going to give up, just doesn't appeal to me. He has the annoying habit of describing the same thing five different ways, as if paid by the word.

Before picking up a collection of his stories I made the mistake of watching part of a documentary on him. Now when I read his stuff I hear it in his voice and I see his (annoying) personality coming through. It comes off more as performance art than writing.

I tend to like both economic and baroque writing styles but I've never had a strong taste for adjective and simile laden stuff.

[FatuousTwat]

I've been thinking about something lately... What is going to happen to libraries once physical books become second to ebooks (I'm not saying it's happening tomorrow, but it is eventually)?

[Chenghiz]

I've been thinking about something lately... What is going to happen to libraries once physical books become second to ebooks (I'm not saying it's happening tomorrow, but it is eventually)?

I dunno, there are still going to be a lot of people who do not have ebook readers or whatever. I mean look at how many people don't have cell phones or broadband internet.

[IainC]

Currently reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It's actually better than I expected and not quite as gimmicky as you might expect.

Also reading a bunch of non-fiction too, mostly Michio Kaku stuff about physics.

[Ironwood]

Strangely, I'm reading that too, but the odd thing is that there's TOO MUCH Pride and Prejudice in it.  Seriously.  It still reads like Jane Ayre and it bugs me.

 

[Sky]

I've been thinking about something lately... What is going to happen to libraries once physical books become second to ebooks (I'm not saying it's happening tomorrow, but it is eventually)?

Heh, good one. Like "Why do you need a librarian now that you have Google?"

 

Ebooks are a nice gadget and will supplement books. Books will never go away. Maybe for gadget-lovers and modern consumer economy folks that don't care to actually own stuff. But the DRM, obsolescence, and the simple fact that it's just not viscerally pleasing to cozy up to a fire with a piece of gadgetry to a lot of people.

And how about large-format books? From DIY to art books, I use a lot of stuff to learn how to do stuff around the house and also source books for the design style. So should I have a second large-format 20" reader?

Even going with your scenario, do you really think people can afford to buy the hardware and every book they read? Hey, fuck the poor, they don't need books. I'm (technically) not poor and the VAST majority of stuff I read is through the library. Even if I was still renting my cheap ghetto pad and not making car payments, I would not be able to afford my level of reading. Libraries already loan out ebooks btw, massive flop at our library, we're stuck with an obsolete technology and a handful of books that are limited to those devices. Downloadable audiobooks are doing ok, though.

[FatuousTwat]

No need to get all offended, I support my library completely. It's just something I worry about.

[Sky]

Sorry, I hear that one all the time and went into defense mode.

Print is dead! 

[apocrypha]

Sorry, I hear that one all the time and went into defense mode.

Libraries are a publicly-funded resource that primarily serves the less well-off. Yeah, they're going to be under massive attack in the coming years and defending them is going to be really important. Don't apologise for it :)

[FatuousTwat]

I do want to get a discussion going on the topic, I probably should have responded as strongly as I did.

Do you think a large percentage of people are going to prefer paper books?

And how does your library loan e-books? Do they just not work after a certain amount of time, or something similar? At my library we can extend the time we have something checked out indefinitely, well at least until someone else puts the item on hold.

[Quinton]

I'm liking my kindle2 a lot, but I still enjoy the hell out of paper books and think it's going to be a while before electronic can really out-do them.

Downsides to electronic at the moment:
- no good model for lending books
- can't read while taxiing (stupid faa)
- OCR errors drive me nuts (a couple of the older titles I've bought from amazon have had some obnoxious OCR errors, often with ligatures being misidentified, etc)
- needs recharging periodically
- stupid drm / platform lockin (defeatable in the case of kindle, but stupid that I have to do this to ensure that I'll still be able to read books I buy if the platform goes away)
- more expensive if you accidentally drop it while reading in the bath