Return of the Book Thread

[Johny Cee]

By the way, The Wise Man's Fear is being released tomorrow.  It's the sequel to The Name of the Wind, which was the most hyped fantasy debut of the last few years.

[FatuousTwat]

Thanks, I had forgotten about that.

AND hes going to be at powells on the 2nd? Hmmm.

[ghost]

discovering older authors like Ursula K. LeGuin (currently reading The Lathe of Heaven)

The Left Hand of Darkness is very, very good. 

[Morat20]

discovering older authors like Ursula K. LeGuin (currently reading The Lathe of Heaven)

The Left Hand of Darkness is very, very good. 

I took a rather good class on Science Fiction in college (required upper-level English credit) that had both Lathe of Heaven and The Left Hand of Darkness on the list.

The others I can recall were: Frankenstein, War of the Worlds, Neuromancer, Childhood's End...

Was a great class, though. Three sets of three books (early sci-fi, hence Frankenstein and wells), 50's sci-fi (Golden Age) and then modern -- neuromancer for the beginnings of cyberpunk.

[bhodi]

I've tried several times to read the left hand of darkness and have never gotten more than 20 pages in. I think it's her writing style, because I didn't care for wizard of earthsea either.

I recently read the lost fleet series, which is "OK" space opera. Now doing a real oldie, the sector general series.

[murdoc]

The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss's follow up to "The Name of the Wind" is out.

I'm currently churning through the Malazan books again -  currently on 'Reaper's Gale" and enjoying it a lot more this time around.

[Rasix]

The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss's follow up to "The Name of the Wind" is out.

Yes, we saw that at the top of the page.

[Johny Cee]

The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss's follow up to "The Name of the Wind" is out.

Yes, we saw that at the top of the page.

 

I sometimes wonder if there is a secret ignore function.


Erikson's The Crippled God, book ten and final Malazan book, is out now too.  There are a pile of releases in March/April I have on my radar, after a the winter release drought.

It's getting as bad as video games....

[murdoc]

The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss's follow up to "The Name of the Wind" is out.

Yes, we saw that at the top of the page.

Did you guys know that The Crippled God is out now too!
 




Sorry, Johny - I usually read at least the last page of a thread I post to... usually.

[Ironwood]

I think it's next to Black Company on the shelves.

[Sky]

I was hoping to have caught up with Erikson by the release of The Crippled God. I started reading Gardens of the Moon last April, iirc.

I just began Toll the Hounds  

I read slow, try to savor it and really get a good mental picture built up. I also like to hear the voices, sometimes I read it out loud. Bugg is John Cleese, btw. Although sometimes that switches to Tehol being Cleese and Bugg is Eric Idle, depending on the silliness of the passage.

[WayAbvPar]

His style is tough to breeze through- I am a pretty fast reader, but Erikson's books take me forever to finish. Kindle is helping- somehow makes it easier to concentrate.

[RhyssaFireheart]

Yeah, but the Malazan books have enough in them that breezing through them means missing something.  That's why rereads are almost required for this series, not that it's a huge hardship.

Dilemma time -

1 : do I tough it out and wait for The Crippled God to come out in paperback before reading
2 : buy the hardback version (note, I really don't care for hardbacks much at all)
3 : see if the library has the hardback available in the system, read it now and then buy the paperback when that finally comes out?

I'm leaning heavily towards option 3, obviously.  But if the book was just released, no idea when the hardback is going to be available in the library system.

[JWIV]

Yeah, but the Malazan books have enough in them that breezing through them means missing something.  That's why rereads are almost required for this series, not that it's a huge hardship.

Dilemma time -

1 : do I tough it out and wait for The Crippled God to come out in paperback before reading
2 : buy the hardback version (note, I really don't care for hardbacks much at all)
3 : see if the library has the hardback available in the system, read it now and then buy the paperback when that finally comes out?

I'm leaning heavily towards option 3, obviously.  But if the book was just released, no idea when the hardback is going to be available in the library system.

Depends on the system and book I've found.  I've had really good luck on occasion with the book being available shortly after release, and in other times, there's been a pretty significant delay.  Doesn't cost anything to go check though.

[Sky]

Don't get me started on the buying pipeline. I call it the 'God Delusion issue'. Took three months to get the book ordered and processed and by then most of the discussion had died away. We're STILL trying to fix those pipelines, it's so goddamned frustrating. Especially when you have patrons asking for new books, it's no wonder they're going to bookstores (if they're lucky enough to have, you know, money).

I've been deal hunting for the hardcover version for months now, I got a good deal on Dust of Dreams but haven't turned up anything for the new one, yet.

[Chimpy]

Don't buy the hardcover unless you are making a set, Rhyssa. Erickson's publisher is the assholes at "our paperbacks are more resiliant than our hardcovers" TOR.

[murdoc]

I love my Kindle. New released of The Crippled God delivered in seconds for $10.

[RhyssaFireheart]

Don't buy the hardcover unless you are making a set, Rhyssa. Erickson's publisher is the assholes at "our paperbacks are more resiliant than our hardcovers" TOR.

Oh, I don't buy hardcovers unless I'm absolutely desperate to read the continuing story of some series.  I do have a mix of mass market paperbacks and some trade paperback sized books though, but that doesn't bother me.

I currently have a hardback from the library (House Name by Michelle West) and while I'm loving that I can read the lastest book, it's physically painful to hold that thing for any length of time while I'm reading.  I have to use both hands, generally prop the book on a blanket folded up on my lap and my hands still ache after a reading session.  Granted, I can read for hours at a time without moving more than it takes to turn a page, but I don't have those problems with paperbacks. :(

ETA - BLARGH on your ereaders.    I like having the physical book in my hands.  But I guess I'll have to give in some day. :(

[Johny Cee]

Don't buy the hardcover unless you are making a set, Rhyssa. Erickson's publisher is the assholes at "our paperbacks are more resiliant than our hardcovers" TOR.

Oh, I don't buy hardcovers unless I'm absolutely desperate to read the continuing story of some series.  I do have a mix of mass market paperbacks and some trade paperback sized books though, but that doesn't bother me.

I currently have a hardback from the library (House Name by Michelle West) and while I'm loving that I can read the lastest book, it's physically painful to hold that thing for any length of time while I'm reading.  I have to use both hands, generally prop the book on a blanket folded up on my lap and my hands still ache after a reading session.  Granted, I can read for hours at a time without moving more than it takes to turn a page, but I don't have those problems with paperbacks. :(

ETA - BLARGH on your ereaders.    I like having the physical book in my hands.  But I guess I'll have to give in some day. :(

The Crippled God is out in Hardcover and Tradepaperback simultaneously.


The Tor bindings for the last couple books I've bought in hardcover (Cook and Gene Wolfe's latest)  have been fine, though.  I know what you guys mean about some Tor bindings...

[Ingmar]

ETA - BLARGH on your ereaders.    I like having the physical book in my hands.  But I guess I'll have to give in some day. :(

Have you tried an ereader? I felt exactly the same, until I tried one. Also, imagine not having to carry 10 pounds of books with you for a cross-country flight...

[Arrrgh]

ETA - BLARGH on your ereaders.    I like having the physical book in my hands.  But I guess I'll have to give in some day. :(

Have you tried an ereader? I felt exactly the same, until I tried one. Also, imagine not having to carry 10 pounds of books with you for a cross-country flight...

Now I'm wondering how many eReder fans are in the group that complains hard backs are too heavy to comfortably hold up while reading.

[Sky]

I've got all but the newest Malazan Book of the Fallen in hardcover, just under half are book club versions. I'd consider giving those up for the e-book version. Not a fan of paperbacks and the book club versions lack the good fonts and paper of full hardcovers. Right now I'm squeezing in a read of The Dark Brotherhood (Lovecraft and Divers Hands; Arkham House 1966) and the quality of old books makes me cry. We've sacrificed so much at the altar of cheap goods and high profit margins.

[Salamok]

I yearn for the day when someone offers a trade in program to convert your real books to ebooks, should be able to take them to a recycling center pay a small fixed fee (like $1) and whallah you get the ebook.

[RhyssaFireheart]

I yearn for the day when someone offers a trade in program to convert your real books to ebooks, should be able to take them to a recycling center pay a small fixed fee (like $1) and whallah you get the ebook.

   voilà 

Also, see Sky's post for quality of older books.  Some people just like books is all.  I was reluctant to give up my Analog's and Asimov's periodicals and those are newsprint paper magazines, and you want me to just recycle all my paperbacks?  HEATHEN!

Didn't know the trade paperback of The Crippled God had come out at the same time.  Most publishers whore out the hardback for a year before they let any paperbacks come out, so hearing there is a trade out makes me happy.  Now to convince the husband I really need this book, considering I just bought 6 books off Amazon and have a library book I'm reading. 

[Sky]

I didn't want to invoke Trippy's wrath with that one 

[WayAbvPar]

I love books, but goddamn is my Kindle nice to haul around with me. No dog-ears, no stained/ripped pages, no cramps from holding the book with on hand, can lay it flat and read...it is wonderful.

[Rasix]

Pussies.

[Morat20]

ETA - BLARGH on your ereaders.    I like having the physical book in my hands.  But I guess I'll have to give in some day. :(

That's exactly what I thought. Until my wife got one. I broke my Kindle (stepped on it, basically) and sat around and bitched for the 48 hours it took a new one to arrive, because I had gotten so used to it.

Of course, most of what forced us to switch was "too many damn books", "too many damn books we wanted to read at the same time" and "Having to have a seperate suitcase for books to take on a long trip".

[FatuousTwat]

I've never had a problem with cramps/fatigue, my main reason for wanting* an ereader is space. I've got piles of books everywhere, and no bookcase space.




*Seriously, wtf is it taking so long to restock prs-650s everywhere?

[naum]

Dance With Dragons Publication Date Revealed
http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/03/03/dance-with-dragons-date/

A Dance With Dragons will be published on July 12. The manuscript is huge — the publisher estimates the hardcover edition will run more than 900 pages, putting it about the same length as the longest book in the series, A Storm of Swords. Schedule your summer vacation accordingly.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What took so long?

GEORGE R. R. MARTIN: I’m not sure I have a good answer. If I did, I would have taken less time. It’s enormous. It’s as long as A Storm of Swords. It’s very complicated. I have a lot of characters and points of view. And I’ve been doing a ton of rewriting, trying to get it where I wanted it to be. Some of these chapters I’ve rewritten more times than I can count before I’m satisfied with them.

Can you tease something from the book?

I don’t want to spoil any surprises. I can say all the characters people have been waiting for are there: Daenerys, Jon Snow, and Tyrion. There’s also new characters, and viewpoints from characters who did not have viewpoints before.

[murdoc]

I love books, but goddamn is my Kindle nice to haul around with me. No dog-ears, no stained/ripped pages, no cramps from holding the book with on hand, can lay it flat and read...it is wonderful.

When the twins arrived, the Kindle was a perfect. Very easy to set up beside me and read while I fed one or both of the boys. I carry three things with me where ever I go. My iPod, my Kindle and my Blackberry.

The biggest issue I have is that I lend a LOT of books out and I can't anymore.

[ghost]

quotage

I'm sure he'll tie up a lot of loose ends.  Think we'll figure out who the "others" are supposed to be in this one?

[Chimpy]

Dance With Dragons Publication Date Revealed

Are we sure today is not April 1st?

[naum]

Dance With Dragons Publication Date Revealed

Are we sure today is not April 1st?

http://grrm.livejournal.com/198122.html

Yes, I know. You've all seen publication dates before: dates in 2007, 2008, 2009. None of those were ever hard dates, however. Most of them... well, call it wishful thinking, boundless optimism, cockeyed dreams, honest mistakes, whatever you like.

This date is different. This date is real.

Barring tsunamis, general strikes, world wars, or asteroid strikes, you will have the novel in your hands on July 12. I hope you like it.

[Salamok]

Between this and The Wise Man's Fear, 2011 is going down as a pretty awesome year for fantasy fans.