Author Topic: What book(s) are you reading?  (Read 661853 times)

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Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3420 on: June 30, 2021, 03:26:52 AM »
So Quentin Tarantino released his first novel yesterday. And it's a sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and starts at the movie's ending and keeps going with the characters in a new tale.

Since about 50% of Tarantino's style is his dialogue, which could translate pretty well to a book, gonna give it a read. Pretty random though!

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3421 on: June 30, 2021, 04:11:13 AM »
Finally finished The Unspoken Name. What an absolute slog to get through. Whoever the author's editor was, they didn't do their job very well. Could have been half the length and would have lost nothing.

Anyway, I started Autonomous by Annalee Newitz. Seems good so far.

Quote
When anything can be owned, how can we be free

Earth, 2144. Jack is an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, traversing the world in a submarine as a pharmaceutical Robin Hood, fabricating cheap scrips for poor people who can’t otherwise afford them. But her latest drug hack has left a trail of lethal overdoses as people become addicted to their work, doing repetitive tasks until they become unsafe or insane.

Hot on her trail, an unlikely pair: Eliasz, a brooding military agent, and his robotic partner, Paladin. As they race to stop information about the sinister origins of Jack’s drug from getting out, they begin to form an uncommonly close bond that neither of them fully understand.

And underlying it all is one fundamental question: Is freedom possible in a culture where everything, even people, can be owned?
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Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3422 on: July 01, 2021, 07:31:36 AM »
So, while this book has been ok so far, this sex scene just came up out of the blue and it's gotta be one of the most cringeworthy things I've ever read.

Quote
“I am flirting with you,” she clarified.

“Oh, good— that’s what I thought.” He laughed. “One can never be sure, though.” She liked the way he never made assumptions, even about basic things like fucking.

When they kissed, she could taste the political analysis he’d described during the Freeculture meeting. His flavor, a mixture of smoke and fennel, was redolent of the Good Science she’d dreamed about doing when she was an undergraduate: the science that helped people, and gave them a chance to lead lives they could be proud of. Nothing made her want to strip a man naked more than knowing he had good ideas … and so she did. She could taste a nuanced ethical understanding of the patent system all over his body.

I like a lot of the stuff being published by Tor Books. There's some really groundbreaking sci-fi and fantasy coming out of them that is pushing boundaries. But sometimes their authors are just too woke for their own good
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benjipwns

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3423 on: July 04, 2021, 12:07:37 AM »
Recent:


Now:


Next:


Upcoming:

team filler

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3424 on: July 04, 2021, 12:17:18 AM »
tao by lin yutang
also started his book From Christian to Pagan. from the little I've read on the toilet, it's interesting. Don't see myself becoming a christian, but this guy can write.
*****

tiesto

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3425 on: July 04, 2021, 01:02:15 PM »
^_^

Madrun Badrun

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3426 on: July 04, 2021, 07:53:59 PM »
OK I read all 9 Cradle books in one week.  It is very addicting. 

Crash Dummy

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3427 on: July 07, 2021, 04:39:18 AM »
Upcoming:
(Image removed from quote.)
i read this not long after reading chaos monkeys and bad blood hoping it would be as good but ultimately it just wasn't as interesting overall especially if you read a few articles on wework already


Tasty

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3429 on: August 24, 2021, 10:36:26 PM »
Now:





Soon:





Sus title but it's highly rated so...

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3430 on: September 02, 2021, 04:40:17 AM »
Finished that Dangerous Women novella anthology ending with GRRMs The Princess and the Queen telling the Ice & Fire dragon civil war of the dance of dragons that HBO is turning into a show next year.

Was pretty good. I don't see how they can adapt this though. It's nothing but battles and dragons and would need a crazy budget. Though I guess they'll stretch it out over seasons for that reason.

I guess I should pick up Fire & Blood and read the rest of the history Novellas.

The other novellas in Dangerous Women were all over the place. Huge book. There was a fun zombies and superpowers and violence one by Warren Spector's wife, a prequel to the Outlander series, a thing from Dresden Files, like three historical fiction novellas, a couple post-apocalypse scavenging and a western by the First Law guy. Took me like four months to get through this tome, so I'm not reading any more big anthologies for a while. But may check out some of the authors other works.

benjipwns

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3431 on: September 18, 2021, 08:31:18 PM »
Recent and current, thematic:


i read this not long after reading chaos monkeys and bad blood hoping it would be as good but ultimately it just wasn't as interesting overall especially if you read a few articles on wework already
I had not read too carefully into WeWork's history, only stories as it was collapsing, but I agree. It really wasn't very interesting and mostly about the main guy's weirdness. I wanted more about the whole fraudulent business plan. It seemed to not want to cover that so much because many of the sources for the book were people who also helped perpetuate everything.

Tasty

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3432 on: September 18, 2021, 08:39:03 PM »
A company I worked at gets a shoutout in Chaos Monkeys. 👀

Crash Dummy

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3433 on: September 19, 2021, 03:29:11 AM »
A company I worked at gets a shoutout in Chaos Monkeys. 👀
are you murthy  :o

Svejk

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3434 on: September 20, 2021, 02:48:31 PM »
Just finished the second book of the Mistborn trilogy; Well of Ascension.  Been enjoying this series so far.  :)   Not sure it would be a match for being made into a movie/tv series, but man... this would make an excellent video game. :lawd

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3435 on: September 20, 2021, 04:25:55 PM »
Just finished the second book of the Mistborn trilogy; Well of Ascension.  Been enjoying this series so far.  :)   Not sure it would be a match for being made into a movie/tv series, but man... this would make an excellent video game. :lawd

Have you played Dishonored?

I feel like Dishonored is the unofficial Mistborn videogame series. Kinda similar powers and victorian fantasy aesthetic. When I played Dishonored 1 I just pretended I was playing as Kelsier.

Tasty

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3436 on: September 20, 2021, 04:26:23 PM »
A company I worked at gets a shoutout in Chaos Monkeys. 👀
are you murthy  :o

What does this mean? :thinking

Svejk

  • Senior Member
Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3437 on: September 20, 2021, 04:51:26 PM »
Just finished the second book of the Mistborn trilogy; Well of Ascension.  Been enjoying this series so far.  :)   Not sure it would be a match for being made into a movie/tv series, but man... this would make an excellent video game. :lawd

Have you played Dishonored?

I feel like Dishonored is the unofficial Mistborn videogame series. Kinda similar powers and victorian fantasy aesthetic. When I played Dishonored 1 I just pretended I was playing as Kelsier.
Damn... never realized or thought about that.  I never got around to playing Dishonored for silly reasons like not caring for the, at the time to me, odd setting and art style, but I really ought to reconsider.

Madrun Badrun

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3438 on: September 28, 2021, 11:33:49 PM »
Finally finished The Decent after reading it for 2 months while walking to work.  Good book.  It's a horror creature-feature with sci-fi and Christian fantasy elements.  Really cool premise, that isn't fully realized but pretty close to.  Didn't read it for the longest time because I thought the movie was based on it.  They are very different despite the same name and premise. 

Madrun Badrun

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3439 on: October 05, 2021, 09:11:36 AM »

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3440 on: October 05, 2021, 04:35:08 PM »
https://www.tor.com/2021/10/05/download-a-free-ebook-of-gideon-the-ninth-this-bonestober-before-october-8th/

 Gideon the Ninth is free. Hear it's really good.

Yeah, I've heard good things so I downloaded it.

I hope it's actually a good read and not just another Tor published book that gets hyped because the main character is trans or lesbian or whatever.

Tor is probably my most read publisher, but fuck me if some of the shit they put out isn't just virtue signalling trash.
« Last Edit: October 05, 2021, 10:51:19 PM by Potato »
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HardcoreRetro

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3441 on: October 06, 2021, 04:36:48 AM »
Look at the blurb on the cover.

"Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!"

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3442 on: October 06, 2021, 07:08:17 AM »
Oh well, I will try not to judge the book by its cover blurb.
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Madrun Badrun

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3443 on: October 06, 2021, 10:45:24 PM »
The Rats, 60% through and it's pretty good.  Not a great representation of women though. 

chronovore

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3444 on: October 07, 2021, 04:29:46 AM »
All Systems Red from The Murderbot Diaries.  I was lamenting to friends that I've lost the energy and focus to read prose, and they suggested I start with YA stuff, as it's easier. This series has won several awards, and it's off to a rollicking start.

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3445 on: October 07, 2021, 04:50:47 AM »
Murderbot is awesome
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Madrun Badrun

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3446 on: October 20, 2021, 09:56:39 AM »
Cradle 1-6 are free right now on amazon.



I read Ring Shout which was awesome for a novella.  Basically felt like Supernatural or Buffy except its three black women taking on KKK monsters.

Started reading Universal Harvester.  Well written so far with a great atmosphere. 

Risible

  • Junior Member
Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3447 on: October 23, 2021, 12:55:48 PM »
So, while this book has been ok so far, this sex scene just came up out of the blue and it's gotta be one of the most cringeworthy things I've ever read.

Quote
“I am flirting with you,” she clarified.

“Oh, good— that’s what I thought.” He laughed. “One can never be sure, though.” She liked the way he never made assumptions, even about basic things like fucking.

When they kissed, she could taste the political analysis he’d described during the Freeculture meeting. His flavor, a mixture of smoke and fennel, was redolent of the Good Science she’d dreamed about doing when she was an undergraduate: the science that helped people, and gave them a chance to lead lives they could be proud of. Nothing made her want to strip a man naked more than knowing he had good ideas … and so she did. She could taste a nuanced ethical understanding of the patent system all over his body.

I like a lot of the stuff being published by Tor Books. There's some really groundbreaking sci-fi and fantasy coming out of them that is pushing boundaries. But sometimes their authors are just too woke for their own good

I just fucking cringed myself to death reading that.  I hate you for exposing me to it.  Just knowing that writing like this exists out there makes me want to never read again in case something I chose to read contains this passage or it's equivalence.  Fuck that author and fuck you for posting it.

Bebpo

  • Senior Member
Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3448 on: October 23, 2021, 03:31:31 PM »
Oh hey, books!



So I haven't read a Star Wars book since I was like 12 years old reading that Kevin J. Anderson sequel trilogy with Admiral Thrawn and all that. My gf was like there's this zombies star wars book that's decent, you should read it out of curiosity.

It was ok. It's only 300 pages and it took me like 4-5 weeks to get through because each chapter is like 2-3 pages long and it doesn't read that well. I liked the brutal horror aspect of it and zombie plague in the star wars universe is kind of fun. I felt like because it's a short book everything just sorta slams together really fast in the end without much development or time to breathe and wasn't all that satisfying, but it was decent.

I looked up to see if there was a sequel and saw there was a prequel called Red Harvest which is apparently known in Star Wars circles as the worst Extended Universe novel there is. Read up the synopsis and its too bad it sucks because the premise for that one is Jedi w/force powers vs Zombies which could be fun but apparently it's not. Oh well.



Then I started Brandon Sanderson's YA Sci-Fi series he's currently writing in between mainline Cosmere books, Skyward.

I've never read a YA novel before. I mean I'm sure I've read plenty, but when I was a kid that genre didn't exist so they didn't call them that. Wasn't sure if I'd like it going in or if it'd be too kiddy.

Honestly, was fine and YA here just felt like watching an anime series. Aliens, group of teen pilots in training have to bond and fight them off while dying and figuring out what's really going on. I mean this is Eva, Rahxephon, Fafner, Bokurano, a million other mecha anime plots!

But I like mecha anime and sci-fi and kids dying and all that jazz and Sanderson is a great writer that moves things quickly with likeable characters, mysteries, good action, some good jokes.

This was 500 pages and I blew through it in a week. It's a solid good B+ book and my only complaint is the ending is a bit lackluster and more a setup for book #2 in this 4 books + novellas series. Book #3 is out next month and Book #4 is 2023.

I still think this is weaker than even the weakest mainline Cosmere Sanderson book, for whatever reason being YA Sanderson toned his wit down. His novels all have a lot of biting edge smart & witty humor which is my favorite part of his writing and the humor in this feels dumbed down. But I liked it and I'm definitely pretty interested in book #2 and beyond.

Gives me something good Sanderson to read in this 2 year gap between Stormlight #4 last fall and Wax & Wayne #4 next fall. Will take my time getting to the other two books though since I'll probably blow through them in a week like this one.

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3449 on: October 23, 2021, 03:36:22 PM »
So, while this book has been ok so far, this sex scene just came up out of the blue and it's gotta be one of the most cringeworthy things I've ever read.

Quote
“I am flirting with you,” she clarified.

“Oh, good— that’s what I thought.” He laughed. “One can never be sure, though.” She liked the way he never made assumptions, even about basic things like fucking.

When they kissed, she could taste the political analysis he’d described during the Freeculture meeting. His flavor, a mixture of smoke and fennel, was redolent of the Good Science she’d dreamed about doing when she was an undergraduate: the science that helped people, and gave them a chance to lead lives they could be proud of. Nothing made her want to strip a man naked more than knowing he had good ideas … and so she did. She could taste a nuanced ethical understanding of the patent system all over his body.

I like a lot of the stuff being published by Tor Books. There's some really groundbreaking sci-fi and fantasy coming out of them that is pushing boundaries. But sometimes their authors are just too woke for their own good

I just fucking cringed myself to death reading that.  I hate you for exposing me to it.  Just knowing that writing like this exists out there makes me want to never read again in case something I chose to read contains this passage or it's equivalence.  Fuck that author and fuck you for posting it.
Love you too, sweet cheeks. Maybe if you gave better political analysis, I'd be throwing myself at you right now.
Spud

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3450 on: October 23, 2021, 03:38:36 PM »
Also I'm starting to feel like I need a new multi-book (hopefully finished) series that I can read in this next year until Wax & Wayne #4 (fall 2022) and Stormlight #5 are out (fall 2023).

I picked up Malazan, Belgariad, First Law, Inkheart, Arc of a Scythe

Just not sure which one to start with. I like stuff with witty humor and likeable characters and mysteries though I also enjoy politics and backstabbings.

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3451 on: October 23, 2021, 03:40:09 PM »
Slogging my way through The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

While I'm 100% on board with his message, damn if he doesn't write like a self-important twat. You can see why he infuriates the god-bothering lunatics.
Spud

Risible

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3452 on: October 23, 2021, 10:55:11 PM »
So, while this book has been ok so far, this sex scene just came up out of the blue and it's gotta be one of the most cringeworthy things I've ever read.

Quote
“I am flirting with you,” she clarified.

“Oh, good— that’s what I thought.” He laughed. “One can never be sure, though.” She liked the way he never made assumptions, even about basic things like fucking.

When they kissed, she could taste the political analysis he’d described during the Freeculture meeting. His flavor, a mixture of smoke and fennel, was redolent of the Good Science she’d dreamed about doing when she was an undergraduate: the science that helped people, and gave them a chance to lead lives they could be proud of. Nothing made her want to strip a man naked more than knowing he had good ideas … and so she did. She could taste a nuanced ethical understanding of the patent system all over his body.

I like a lot of the stuff being published by Tor Books. There's some really groundbreaking sci-fi and fantasy coming out of them that is pushing boundaries. But sometimes their authors are just too woke for their own good

I just fucking cringed myself to death reading that.  I hate you for exposing me to it.  Just knowing that writing like this exists out there makes me want to never read again in case something I chose to read contains this passage or it's equivalence.  Fuck that author and fuck you for posting it.
Love you too, sweet cheeks. Maybe if you gave better political analysis, I'd be throwing myself at you right now.

Just to clarify, I AM flirting with you.  When I kiss you, I can taste every Bire post you've ever made.  I love how you never assume anything about fucking.

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3453 on: October 24, 2021, 05:27:53 AM »
So, while this book has been ok so far, this sex scene just came up out of the blue and it's gotta be one of the most cringeworthy things I've ever read.

Quote
“I am flirting with you,” she clarified.

“Oh, good— that’s what I thought.” He laughed. “One can never be sure, though.” She liked the way he never made assumptions, even about basic things like fucking.

When they kissed, she could taste the political analysis he’d described during the Freeculture meeting. His flavor, a mixture of smoke and fennel, was redolent of the Good Science she’d dreamed about doing when she was an undergraduate: the science that helped people, and gave them a chance to lead lives they could be proud of. Nothing made her want to strip a man naked more than knowing he had good ideas … and so she did. She could taste a nuanced ethical understanding of the patent system all over his body.

I like a lot of the stuff being published by Tor Books. There's some really groundbreaking sci-fi and fantasy coming out of them that is pushing boundaries. But sometimes their authors are just too woke for their own good

I just fucking cringed myself to death reading that.  I hate you for exposing me to it.  Just knowing that writing like this exists out there makes me want to never read again in case something I chose to read contains this passage or it's equivalence.  Fuck that author and fuck you for posting it.
Love you too, sweet cheeks. Maybe if you gave better political analysis, I'd be throwing myself at you right now.

Just to clarify, I AM flirting with you.  When I kiss you, I can taste every Bire post you've ever made.  I love how you never assume anything about fucking.
Your flavour, a mixture of shitposts and pisstakes, is redolent of the trolling i'd dreamed about doing when i was a junior borean.
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benjipwns

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3454 on: October 25, 2021, 08:52:11 AM »
Just finished, quite good, interesting stuff:


Onward to:

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3455 on: November 01, 2021, 12:38:32 AM »


For Halloween, I read this lovecraft-esque novella that had been brought up a few times over the last decade of best lovecraftian tales. The Sea of Ash by Scott Thomas.

Was pretty good. There are spoiler-ish reasons that I liked it a lot by the end though they are very spoiler-ish. Would recommend the novella. Can read it in one night at ~90 pages.

spoiler (click to show/hide)
So I feel like every lovecraft-esque story I've ever read or seen made into a movie or a game or something always ends with 2 things: 1) BAD END for the main characters involved and 2) A whole lot underexplained because that's the whole mysteries lovecraft/eldritch thing.

So I was surprised and also greatly enjoyed that this book actually has a happy ending and explains what is going on in the end which actually feels like a subversion of the genre. Was more satisfying in the end than a lot of these types of tales.
[close]

Madrun Badrun

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3456 on: November 02, 2021, 06:26:47 PM »
Universal Harvester wasn't what I was expecting at all and I really liked it.  Thought it was a horror.  It has a very unsettling atmosphere and the tease of a horrific mystery.  It's much more a literary fiction book.  Think it's best to not know anything going in and have low expectations. 

spoiler (click to show/hide)
It's kind of about the rippling effects of a mother abandoning her young daughter to join a cult and the inability to resolve the mystery of what happened to her mother.
[close]

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3457 on: November 03, 2021, 01:09:18 PM »


Finished reading Tarantino's first novel Once Upon a Time in Hollywood last night.

First of all, the Era thread lied to me. Said this was a novelization of the movie and the movie's ending takes place 1/3rd through the book and it keeps going as a sequel. This is straight up false.

The book just randomly describes the ending of the movie 1/3rd through. Like in a paragraph, "blah blah blah, and a few months later X/Y/Z happens", but then immediately jumps back and continues the movie's timeline and never goes anywhere beyond it. In fact, it kind of ends a bit before the movie does.

As a novel standalone story, this book does not really work. Tarantino's isn't a novelist, at least in plotting. Most of the characters and sub-plots go nowhere and just end midway in the book. The dialogue reads really well because Tarantino writes great dialogue. This is also a medium where Tarantino gets to gush about his film nerd knowledge for pages on end.

I saw a goodreads review that described this novel as more akin to a collection of deleted scenes to go along with the movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I think this is the best description. You get some backstory chapters on some characters (mainly Brad Pitt's Cliff) and a much more detailed insight into the show that Dalton is working on with the little girl actress.

Also being inside the characters heads and reading their thoughts does help some scenes or make them more interesting. The Bruce Lee fight is the same, but it's handled better in the novel when you see the thought processes behind what's going on.

One thing though, the book really character assassinates Cliff. I've seen a lot of reviews mention that and it's pretty spot on. In the movie Pitt's Cliff is not a "good guy" but he's like a Tarantino character you can root for despite not being a great person. In the book he's a lot darker and more a psychopath and if this was the movie version of the character he'd be more likely to end up the antagonist. Probably not a great direction to have gone with the character unless his goal was to make everyone who rooted for him in the movie feel uncomfortable.

DiCaprio's Dalton though, I thought the book helped flesh him out more and his insecurities. I liked his character more in the novel and the novel focuses more on his actual acting career. The story of the show he's on and the girl he works with is pretty good and the most satisfying part of the book.

The other characters like Manson and Tate and Polanski have like two scenes that go nowhere besides telling that scene. Kinda pointless.

Also I feel like there's a lot of pages about dirty underage hippies fucking.

Overall, it wasn't particularly good, and wouldn't really recommend, but if you want to treat it as deleted scenes from the movie and get some more scenes with these characters (even if it will character assassinate Brad Pitt's character), then it reads fairly easily outside the pages upon pages of slobering over film knowledge.

benjipwns

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3458 on: November 07, 2021, 09:34:01 PM »
Reaganland was pretty good, though the title is a bit misleading, the cover picture is not. Half of it is about Jimmy Carter.

Now:


Next:

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3459 on: November 10, 2021, 04:35:51 PM »
Just started Babylon's Ashes in The Expanse series.
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Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3460 on: November 18, 2021, 11:04:20 PM »
This just arrived in the mail.

Gonna move on to it once I'm done with Babylon's Ashes.



Greek black metal scene is amazing. So keen to read more about it's formation.
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Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3461 on: November 19, 2021, 04:35:54 PM »
Been listening to Neil Gaiman read his book The Graveyard Book. About midway and this is incredibly, incredibly delightful. I’m new to audiobooks but Gaiman does such a great job with all the voices and accents.

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3462 on: November 19, 2021, 05:23:28 PM »
Gaiman is one is those guys who you feel like you should hate because he is so insanely talented and creative but you can't help but like because he seems like an awesome guy.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2021, 09:13:43 PM by Potato »
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Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3463 on: November 19, 2021, 06:02:40 PM »
Yeah, he's awesome. It's a shame (like a lot of other authors) when his stuff doesn't get adapted well like the fuck up of American Gods TV. Apparently this book The Graveyard Book was supposed to have been adapted by the Coraline team pretty soon after release and then it fell apart. Then went to Ron Howard but didn't happen and has been in limbo since.

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3464 on: November 19, 2021, 11:41:59 PM »
Got through some more stuff on my vacation this week. Was nice to get away from electronics and work and just read during downtime.



Will Save the Galaxy for Food by Zero Punctuation's Yahtzee. I liked his first book Mogworld which I guess is like that new Free Guy movie except in an MMO and the NPC who becomes self-aware is an undead wizard. I disliked his second book Jam which is like The Blob except a jam takes over England eating up everything and everyone. So I was pretty so-so going into his third book with this. It started a bit slow and I put it on the back-burner as I read other stuff.

Well, once it gets going this is actually a pretty good satire spaceship sci-fi novel. The characters are enjoyable, the plot & pacing is fun and the humor is generally solid. It's not A-tier and it's been so long since I read Mogworld I can't recall if any of his books have been amazing, but it's a fun B-tier book.

Apparently he did a sequel to this one called Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash which I'll give a read after a few more books/series when I'm in the mood. Thumbs up. Though probably would recommend Mogworld over this unless you prefer space sci-fi satire to discworld/warcraft/mmo fantasy satire.



Now on my 12 hours of driving yesterday and my first foray into audiobooks. Before I started Gaiman's The Graveyard Book I listened to this 3.5 hour Brandon Sanderson novella from a year or two ago that only exists in audiobook form at this point. Called The Original. He co-wrote it, so it's not entirely his and I haven't read anything of the other author.

It's essentially like that new Gemini Man movie which I didn't see where a clone wakes up and the government gives her a mission to kill her original within 4 days or she dies for reasons.

It was a decent thriller. The plot was fine with some mysteries and twists. I thought the world-building was good which I attribute to Sanderson and the twists were good which I also attribute to him, but it was pretty heavy on action (which is also a lot of his books) which just came across as boring in audio form. There's like one good enjoyable side character and ehhhh that's about it.

Really felt like this was just a screenplay adaptation for a sci-fi thriller film. Feels like it. Was entertaining enough on a drive, but wasn't great on its own as a piece of fiction. Very average C-tier.

remy

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3465 on: November 20, 2021, 07:55:56 AM »
Universal Harvester wasn't what I was expecting at all and I really liked it.  Thought it was a horror.  It has a very unsettling atmosphere and the tease of a horrific mystery.  It's much more a literary fiction book.  Think it's best to not know anything going in and have low expectations. 

spoiler (click to show/hide)
It's kind of about the rippling effects of a mother abandoning her young daughter to join a cult and the inability to resolve the mystery of what happened to her mother.
[close]

Need to finish this. got about half way and got massively sidetracked by life. was a big fan of Darnielle's music and previous novel wolf in white van blew my mind

benjipwns

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3466 on: November 28, 2021, 11:43:21 PM »
I liked the Tall Men book about the 1969 Finals better than the Jordan book. Sorta felt like I already knew most everything in the Jordan book from all kinds of media over the 30 some years.

Now reading this from the guys who did the oral history of Star Trek (The Fifty-Year Mission) books:


It's been quite critical of George Lucas so far.

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3467 on: December 05, 2021, 08:25:15 PM »
Reading Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself -First Law book #1-

At first I couldn't see how this could be a trilogy and initially it just seemed like a Blade of the Immortal/Wolverine/Ninja Scroll action book written by a weeb.

But after the first 100 pages or so the politics are kicking in and the story is getting more complex with more characters and it's pretty good! Enjoying it. Reads pretty well.

chronovore

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3468 on: December 05, 2021, 09:04:48 PM »
How is Abercrombie a weeb?

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3469 on: December 05, 2021, 09:53:47 PM »

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3470 on: December 05, 2021, 11:37:49 PM »
To expand, I don't consider weeb to be a derogatory term in 2021, just means someone grew up watching anime/manga and is influenced by it in their work.

I'd consider Brandon Sanderson a k-weeb, because he was a missionary living in South Korea when he was young and his books definitely have manga/anime influence to them.

I consider myself and weeb and if I ever produced any piece of entertainment work it'd be influenced by the anime/manga I grew up on.

Now the opening of The Blade Itself reads like a novelization of Ninja Scroll and the front cover is a total Japanese samurai sword looking dude straight out of Blade of the Immortal with the sword slash logo. Now it's definitely possible that Abercrombie has never read manga or watched anime and is just a big Kurosawa fan, but going by his photo on the book cover he's a pretty young guy and I just assume everyone young grew up on manga/anime influence so my guess is weeb.

chronovore

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3471 on: December 06, 2021, 02:04:53 AM »
I didn’t take it to mean an insult inherently, I was just legitimately baffled. For what it’s worth, authors have virtually no say over the cover art work of their book, and frequently not even the title. At this point, Jo probably has some say over the title, and maybe even the artwork, but it’s by far not a given.

HardcoreRetro

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3472 on: December 06, 2021, 05:10:42 AM »


This is the original artwork. I have no clue how this new artist came up with samurai. He must've just looked at the title and went like: "Hmmm, who cares about blades? Ah, the japanese."

It's a high fantasy/dark fantasy series.

The title of the first book is taken from a quote by Homer in The Odyssey: "The blade itself incites to deeds of violence."


https://joeabercrombie.com/influences-ideas-and-a-game-of-thrones/

Some reading on where he actually got influenced.

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3473 on: December 06, 2021, 05:59:26 AM »
Abercrombie just didn't click with me. I prefer my Grimdark fantasy of the Glen Cook Black Company variety.
Spud

chronovore

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3474 on: December 06, 2021, 09:03:37 AM »
Abercrombie just didn't click with me. I prefer my Grimdark fantasy of the Glen Cook Black Company variety.

Those are good, too.

Bebpo

  • Senior Member
Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3475 on: December 07, 2021, 10:55:02 PM »
200 pages in and I still am feeling like The Blade Itself feels like a halfway between GRRM and Ninja Scroll. It's like long in-depth character viewpoint chapters and gritty, but then it's like very anime GIANTS, Sorceresses, TATTOED MEN, etc...it just feels so far kind of videogame/anime-ish even if written with a good writing style to it.

It's pretty entertaining but the worldview just isn't something I'm super into so far, feels very popcorn entertainment.

Potato

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3476 on: December 07, 2021, 11:31:52 PM »
200 pages in and I still am feeling like The Blade Itself feels like a halfway between GRRM and Ninja Scroll. It's like long in-depth character viewpoint chapters and gritty, but then it's like very anime GIANTS, Sorceresses, TATTOED MEN, etc...it just feels so far kind of videogame/anime-ish even if written with a good writing style to it.

It's pretty entertaining but the worldview just isn't something I'm super into so far, feels very popcorn entertainment.
:respect
Spud

BrokenVerses

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3477 on: December 08, 2021, 02:11:01 PM »
I finished reading the sci-fi Revelation Space trilogy by Alastair Reynolds.

It's very obvious that the makers of Mass Effect had read Revelation Space, although the books have a much different approach to the universe, space travel, and the mystery around the villains, more leaning towards hard sci-fi and less hodgepodge of pop culture thankfully. Coincidentally Revelation Space also goes somewhat off the rails in the third entry too lol.

Bebpo

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Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3478 on: December 26, 2021, 07:16:10 PM »
Read like 5 hours of The Blade Itself last night when it picked up in the last 150-175 pages. Passed out with like 40 pages left so gonna get a bite and then sit down and finish it up.

It reminds me a lot of Sanderson books where it gets really hard to put down in the last couple hundred pages. This book has been weird in that I've had no idea where it was going the entire time. Was just a bunch of quirky characters doing things. But then it's starting to come together. Even with 40 pages left it feels like there's nothing to conclude? I guess it's going to be more of a world lore establishing, character introducing setup book and the plot will start in the next book.

My guess, which I'll see if I'm right in a few hours is that book #1 of this First Law Trilogy is basically just

spoiler (click to show/hide)
Assembling the team of violent fucked up antiheroes (Bayaz, Glokta, Logen, Ferro, maybe Jezal though I feel like they're writing him to be killed off since he's kind of a joke with no redeeming values) to be the fantasy LoTR party to go on their adventure in Book #2 & conclude the adventure in Book #3 to stop the evil Magi from destroying the world and all that.

Also the overall structure of this definitely feels pretty tropey. The characters are interesting and the writing/prose is very good and entertaining but like the overall structure is giving very Game of Thrones vibes with the Shanka/Flatheads being the looming larger threat coming from the great north/beyond (i.e. White Walkers) while there's a political faction war going on internally.
[close]

I have a feeling I'll probably feel compelled to jump into book #2 pretty quickly rather than read a few other series and come back later like I usually do to spread things out.

Bebpo

  • Senior Member
Re: What book(s) are you reading?
« Reply #3479 on: December 26, 2021, 10:35:04 PM »
Ok, finished it. That was weird. Even when reading multi-book series, usually the books have had self-contained arcs each book. This book has no story arc. It just moves things along then ends at a point. Basically makes it hard to judge on its own and you pretty much need to read the next book.

Not sure how I feel about it. It was entertaining, but it was a pretty big long book and not a whole lot happened. Given that these are long books, maybe I'll read something short (aka not Wheel of Time #1) before book#2.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2021, 10:44:59 PM by Bebpo »