"What are you reading?" thread.

Dirona

Dirona

Dirona said:
Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
(incomplete review, as I'm on ~pg 350 of 800 or so, but I'm at a "part" boundary, so this seemed like a good time)

First off, a shout-out to @ThatNickGuy who picked this up (and the rest of the trilogy!) for Secret Santa for me this year.

I have really been enjoying this book. It's not a super swift read, but it's quicker than the Brandon Sanderson novel I've been working on for months.
The world-building is just wonderful, a joy to read, and really top-notch. It's full and rich without feeling over-drawn or ham-fisted. And there's no multi-page long descriptions of meals or locations! But there's still enough detail to get a vivid and living world across. I want to learn more about this world, how it works, and even (for probably the first time ever) the politics of it all. It's genuinely just really good and masterfully done.
The characters also feel surprisingly fully-fleshed. Even the ones I absolutely loathe and want to kick in the nuts. Their behaviours seem internally consistent and reasonable from their perspectives, even if they do tend to the over-the-top dramatics. Though I understand the need to the larger-than-life reactions and emotions - this is a book after all, and if everyone behaved well, there would be much less of a plot. And the characters are varied. I can tell them apart with relative ease. My only beef is that it took almost 100 pages to be introduced to the first woman! At this point, I think we've managed to cross the very low bar that is the Bechdel Test, but it's not by much.
Plot-wise, I'm interested to see where it all goes, I want to see these characters meet and interact, and I really want to see more of this world.

I'm getting The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Tamora Pierce's Alanna vibes, and this is so not a complaint! These were some of my absolute favourite books as a kid/tween, and this kind of feels like a grown-up version of those books, with it's own twist of course.

On the whole I can't believe I've only just started reading this series. This first book apparently came out in 1998!! How have I been sleeping on this?!

8.5 or 9/10
Outstanding. And thanks again Nick!
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I finished this first book just before New Years, but haven't had time to write up anything.

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
(complete review)

While I think the first half of the book is stronger than the back half, I think that is mainly due to the excellence in worldbuilding and there being less of a need for such in the later half. While in the first half we're introduced to the characters, the second half is where they (rather than the world) take center-stage.

Each of the characters remain distinct and interesting in their own right, and I still want to find out what happens to each of them (even the ones who I still want to kick). The situations that they find themselves in are interesting, varied, and feel at home in this world that Hobb has built.

Still a solid 8.5/10.
Fantastic, and would definitely recommend.

Thanks again to @ThatNickGuy for the Secret Santa present. I can't wait to start on the next in the series!
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Dirona said:
I finished this first book just before New Years, but haven't had time to write up anything.

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
(complete review)

While I think the first half of the book is stronger than the back half, I think that is mainly due to the excellence in worldbuilding and there being less of a need for such in the later half. While in the first half we're introduced to the characters, the second half is where they (rather than the world) take center-stage.

Each of the characters remain distinct and interesting in their own right, and I still want to find out what happens to each of them (even the ones who I still want to kick). The situations that they find themselves in are interesting, varied, and feel at home in this world that Hobb has built.

Still a solid 8.5/10.
Fantastic, and would definitely recommend.

Thanks again to @ThatNickGuy for the Secret Santa present. I can't wait to start on the next in the series!
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It's been years since I read it, but I find the later books are stronger than the first. I recall Mad Ship, Book Two, being a particular favorite. I can't recall why, just that I remember really digging it.

I'm so glad you're enjoying the series so far! :)
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
I’m trying to read “The 3 Body Problem”, I really am. But god DAMN is this a confusing and convoluted book. I’ve tried a few times and I’m farther along than I’ve ever been but it’s just so dull or confusing. I have no idea who most of these people are, I can’t understand some of their motivations, and I’m just exhausted trying to get through it.
 
Kovac

Kovac

Dave said:
I’m trying to read “The 3 Body Problem”, I really am. But god DAMN is this a confusing and convoluted book. I’ve tried a few times and I’m farther along than I’ve ever been but it’s just so dull or confusing. I have no idea who most of these people are, I can’t understand some of their motivations, and I’m just exhausted trying to get through it.
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I had the same problem with the first book.
By the end I was glad to have read it because the ideas and story are fascinating but I didn't find the characters to be all that easy to connect with.
I had an easier time with the following books.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Just dropping this here for @Dave since it might be right up his alley.

Comedy Book
How Comedy Conquered Culture–and the Magic That Makes It Work
In Comedy Book, Jesse David Fox—the country’s most definitive voice in comedy criticism and someone who, in his own words, enjoys comedy “maybe more than anyone on this planet”—tackles everything you need to know about comedy, an art form that has been under-considered throughout its history, even as it has ascended as a cultural force.
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A co-worker recommended it to me as an in-depth analysis of jokes/routines and Comedy in general, a complete and total breakdown and examination of Comedy as a legit art form.

--Patrick
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

I just finished the Three Body Problem audiobook. This is an award-winning, best-selling novel and adapted into TWO television series that came out a month apart. My thoughts on it are all over the place. It reminds me of the high-concept SF of Asimov from 70 years ago in a lot of ways. The characters are cardboard cutouts (except maybe one) that couldn't be rescued by the narrator (who did fine). The plot jumps around a bit to unfold the mystery and it feels a bit disconnected at times. Some of the concepts are interesting and some are pretty weird (but maybe also interesting?) So I am left appreciating it for the ambitious, high SF concepts but feeling like it was a bit of a slog to get through. Some of this is due to the translation, no doubt. But I think the author is also just more cerebral and less concerned with his individual characters and who they are. They serve the plot and little else. By the end, I had trouble imagining how some of it would be translated to the screen. It turns out, after 1.5 episodes, the high-concept SF stuff is being portrayed mostly in a faithful way and the characters are being given more life than the novel depicted.

;tldr If you liked some of the high-concept SF of the Asimov era, I recommend it. If you like a more character-focused story, this will not satisfy you at all.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Did you just read the first book or the trilogy?
I've been told your criticism is fairly common for the first book and these things gets better in the later books.

I have them on my TBR pile, but...
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

Bubble181 said:
Did you just read the first book or the trilogy?
I've been told your criticism is fairly common for the first book and these things gets better in the later books.

I have them on my TBR pile, but...
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Just the first one I don't think I want to try the remaining ones but maybe someday.
 
Vrii

Vrii

For what it's worth, the second book is the one that really stuck with me. Even then though, the takeaway was the ideas rather than the characters, who continue to exist to advance the plot and explore ideas rather than to act like believable people experiencing growth and change.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
I don't know how popular the romance genre is among Halforumites, but it's one week until Stuff Your Earbuds Day. May 10th and 11th a whole bunch of romance authors will be giving away free audiobooks. Lots of sub-genres will be represented, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy, mystery, etc. If it works like Stuff Your Kindle Day there will be categories for LGBTQIA+ authors, as well.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

figmentPez said:
I don't know how popular the romance genre is among Halforumites, but it's one week until Stuff Your Earbuds Day. May 10th and 11th a whole bunch of romance authors will be giving away free audiobooks. Lots of sub-genres will be represented, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy, mystery, etc. If it works like Stuff Your Kindle Day there will be categories for LGBTQIA+ authors, as well.
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Neat, I might take advantage of that. Although, my default app, Audible, is noticeably missing from their list of apps.
 
HotWheelz

HotWheelz

I'm attempting to read my favorite novel 1984 by George Orwell, but in Portuguese. I picked it up while visiting Brazil over the Christmas holidays. It's mostly gibberish to me as I can read and understand some of it, but not fluent enough for the book to make sense in another language.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
figmentPez said:
I don't know how popular the romance genre is among Halforumites, but it's one week until Stuff Your Earbuds Day. May 10th and 11th a whole bunch of romance authors will be giving away free audiobooks. Lots of sub-genres will be represented, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy, mystery, etc. If it works like Stuff Your Kindle Day there will be categories for LGBTQIA+ authors, as well.
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It's here! Stuff Your Earbuds

I'm gonna recommend “Demons & DNA” by Meghan Ciana Doidge, book 1 of the Amplifier series. I can’t vouch for the quality of the narration, but I absolutely devoured the entire series as ebooks. Emma is a fantastic protagonist, and I love Doidge’s Adept Universe (which I talked about here).
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

mikerc said:
Actually, I'd like to change my advice to @Bubble181 re Dresden Files. Listen to the first 5 as audiobooks. No, they're not quite as good as the later books but James Marsters awesome narration elevates them. Then read from book 6 onwards as I originally recommended. And once you've done that don't be afraid to go back and listen to the audiobook versions of the books you read.

Seriously, this is the only series where I wholeheartedly recommend both reading & listening to, because both the writing & narration are that damn good.
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I am finally getting around to this series. The genre is fun. I like the characters. Marsters does a nice job with the narration, but his sighs get a little tedious at times.
I am on book 3 and have it enjoyed it fine. So, if they get better then that's great to hear.
My biggest gripe is that these books would likely appeal more to younger hetero males. I think my wife would enjoy the books but would have huge eyerolls to all the drooling going on in the book.
 
Dei

Dei

Dresden Files has some amazing female cast, but you have to slog a little to get there. (Including with Murphy, who Butcher doesn't really find the voice for until book 4 or 5)
 
Celt Z

Celt Z

Do we have another book thread, or am I losing my mind? I swear I posted about some of the books I read a few months ago, and nothing comes up in the searches. Whatever, senility is setting in early, I guess.

So, okay, John Irving. 20+ years ago I picked up a copy of The World According to Garp at my ex's family beach house, and gave it a read because I had heard of it. Really enjoyed it, told myself I'm going to read more of his work. And then I forgot.

Fast forward to a few months ago, and while at the library, I'm like , "Irving! Yes! Okay, going to give that a shot again!" Picked out The Cider House Rules. Seemed appropriate considering Roe Vs. Wade lately. Honestly, I wish more people would read it. It's a very frank and practical look at abortion. I didn't have the highs and lows of Garp's plot, but it was more of a slow burn. I liked it, but not as much as Garp.

So recently I tried my next Irving-serving; I had heard a lot of people talk about A Prayer for Owen Meany. First, I just want to get this out of the way: there is a boy on my son's baseball team that fits Owen Meany's physical description to a T. (Except he doesn't have a horrendous voice.) I have never been able to look at this poor kid the same ever since I read this book. But back to the book. I enjoyed Owen Meany far less than Garp or Cider House. It felt like a tremendous amount of the book was just spinning it's wheels, and it's not a short book. It's more of a character study, and while I get that, it meanders off in ways that don't always pay off. I feel like it could have trimmed a few passages here and there. Mostly a lot of the modern-day descriptions of the narrator, who is sadly the least interesting character in the book. Then there's the ending... endings? that I have my biggest criticisms.
One, I know that the Irving novels I've read tend to have one fantastical moment in them. Owen seeing his future death; okay, within the confines of the book, I'll except that one. Owen possibly being a virgin birth was out-of-left-field. That plot point hadn't really earned any credibility. Even with the caveat that something is mentally wrong with his mom, it just didn't feel right in this context. It felt kind of tacked-on. Two, the reveal of John's father being the most obivous Chekov's gun I've read in years felt lazy and dumb. Irving made this whole to-do about Merrill and John's mother's relationship at the beginning of the book, and then we go through the whoooole damn book, with all it's speculation and plot-twists, and he's like, "Yeah, it's the guy from the beginning.". No shit it was him all along! Jeez.
 
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mikerc

mikerc

Celt Z said:
Do we have another book thread, or am I losing my mind? I swear I posted about some of the books I read a few months ago, and nothing comes up in the searches. Whatever, senility is setting in early, I guess.
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You know I always suspected those dastardly & tyrannical mods were messing with our posts for their own twisted amusement. Rise up my brothers & sisters! Seize the means of production! They cannot stand against

*User has been banned for this post*
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

Finally finished The Expanse. I read the first three and then switched to audiobooks and started the series over (which Jefferson Mays?) does an amazing job. All through my library so I was waiting a month or two between some of the books.

Really bummed it's over. Loved these books very much. It is for sure my favorite sci-fi series.

Eager for the duo's next book.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
drawn_inward said:
Finally finished The Expanse. I read the first three and then switched to audiobooks and started the series over (which Jefferson Mays?) does an amazing job. All through my library so I was waiting a month or two between some of the books.

Really bummed it's over. Loved these books very much. It is for sure my favorite sci-fi series.

Eager for the duo's next book.
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Book #1 is out and took a bit for me to get into but once I did I loved it. It's a MASSIVE departure from the Expanse.
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

Any suggestions for a big series? @Dirona @Dave ? I really loved those characters. I need Avasarala and Amos and Bobbie and Alex and Naomi and James fucking Holden level of characters.

I am going to get the latest Corey book next pay period.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
drawn_inward said:
Any suggestions for a big series? @Dirona @Dave ? I really loved those characters. I need Avasarala and Amos and Bobbie and Alex and Naomi and James fucking Holden level of characters.

I am going to get the latest Corey book next pay period.
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Have you read Old Man’s War by John Scalzi? It’s not a huge series as it’s a trilogy, but it’s very well done and fairly character driven.
 
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