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Sweeney Todd AKA The String of Pearls
The original penny dreadful serial edited into book form. I've already read it once and found it boring. But I'm thinking it was because I'm used to older styles of storytelling. I'm giving it another whirl, and I'm going slow... like a serial. :p
Finally started reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I bought a copy a few years ago that I forgot about, and found that I had apparently lent it to a friend. A few months ago I picked up another copy, and it's been gathering dust on my bookshelf.
It's... interesting, to say the least. I am picking up little flecks of foretelling (like a character named "Low Key" that I can't not translate into my head as "Loki"). I've just read past, uh, a sex scene that I was not anticipating, and it made me a little shaken that lovely innocent Neil Gaiman, author of literary wonderment and imaginative children's book, could write such a thing. :stare:
So far, the beginning reminds me a little of Poppy Z. Brite's Liquor/Prime books, which I didn't totally love, but I am trying to separate the authors' works so as to enjoy this one. American Gods has been highly recommended to me by a few people, and I have high hopes for it.
Right, so between the last time I posted in this thread I started/finished The Shining, and now I'm reading Doctor Sleep (the new sequel to The Shining)
I am reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. My boyfriend is currently reading my favorite book with me (The Giver) so now I am reading one of his favorite books :jess:
Currently reading two books. Aftershocks, by Harry Turtledove, because I love stupid pulpy alien invasion sci-fi, and City at the End of Time by Greg Bear, which is pretty wild so far and only growing moreso.
I'm interested in hearing what you think about Doctor Sleep. I'm not really a Stephen King fan, but I do like some of his books. As a sequel to one of his most popular, I'm curious as to whether it's any good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tasura
I started and finished Appointment in Samarra over the course of two days, which was excellent, and am now on track to finish Darkness at Noon in even less time. It's rare that I have a book suck me in so forcefully, let alone two in a row.
Finished all of the stories I was reading. the end of The Giver ohmigosh ;_____________________;
About to start The Road Leads Up by our very own Mister Adequate :jess:
Finished it this morning, and it was quite good, a fair bit different than The Shining, but still a great book.Quote:
Originally Posted by Electroshock TherapyI'm interested in hearing what you think about Doctor Sleep. I'm not really a Stephen King fan, but I do like some of his books. As a sequel to one of his most popular, I'm curious as to whether it's any good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tasura
I'll probabaly be putting The Long War on hold, because despite how good the first book was, this was is not. So I'll move onto Pratchett's Bromeliad trilogy, starting with Truckers.
David Sedaris - When You Are Engulfed in Flames - 10/10
I've never really been interested in biographies, autobiographies, non-fiction and the like. I just can't get into them. Why would I want to read an account of someone's life? I can do that on Wikipedia. Give me fantasy, damnit!
This book has changed my mind. I have never read any of David Sedaris' works before picking this one up. Reading some reviews that called this particular book "lukewarm at best" and "not funny in comparison to his other works" was a bit off-putting, but I decided to take a gamble and put my nose in it anyway.
If When You Are Engulfed In Flames is lukewarm and not considered funny in contrast to his previous books, I will be racing to the shelves to hoard them all from now on. I have been howling with laughter throughout this entire book, sometimes to the point of tears. I posted this on facebook already, but he makes his creepy obsession of catching flies and feeding them to the spiders inhabiting his windowpanes the most hilarious thing ever. It boggles my mind that someone can take such a weird, droll, mundane act and turn it into a hysterical essay that makes me laugh out loud. I cannot get enough of this man and I truly cannot wait to move onto the rest of his collection.
Quote:
Our father worried that our grandmother was setting a bad example, but, actually, it worked the other way. None of us would ever think of throwing something out a car window, unless, of course, it was a cigarette butt, which is not just trash, but red-tipped, flaming trash. “Shame about that forest fire,” we’d say. “You really have to wonder about people who do things like that. It’s a sickness of the mind.”
Not anything right now, but I was just reading Y Last Man book 3. The series is extremely good I recommend it. I'll definitely get books 4 and 5 when I have the money.
Started watching Brandon Sanderson's writing sci fi/fantasy lectures so Now I'm reading his novels - on book one of Mistborn.
^I just finished reading a Brandon Sanderson book myself, Words of Radiance, it's the second book of his Stormlight Archive series and is absolutely brilliant. Well developed law and excellent action, high-fantasy at it's best.
Currently reading Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris. It started out slow and a bit disappointing - I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue reading. 30% in, though, had me laughing out loud. Good read so far.
The Wolf of Wall Street. I think I like it better than the movie so far.
I'm currently re-reading my namesake (The Kalevala), and reading Proper Gauge (the second in Hugh Howey's Wool series) and The King in Yellow (pre-Lovecraft Lovecraftian collection of short stories referenced in True Detective). I've also been making my way through The Walking Dead. I just finished volume six.
I really like Proper Gauge and The King in Yellow. I actually prefer the writing on The Walking Dead's tv adaptation to the comics. Kirkman writes like a 15-year old. That being said, there are some great moments.
Are you watching True Detective right now? It's what made me google The King in Yellow and now I'm kinda entranced by those weird ass stories.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalevala
I'm reading French Kids Eat Everything and just the other day finished reading the sequel to Angelfall by Susan Ee, World After. I think I'll try Warmth of Other Suns next, or maybe a classic.
Yeah, I started following the series around episode four or five. I, like you, googled it after hearing it mentioned in the show.
I'm a big fan of Lovecraft and weird fiction, so I was pleasantly surprised. It also adds to the creepy atmosphere of the show quite a bit.
Can I bring this back? I'm bringing it back.
Just read Chuck Palahniuk's short story Guts. I took nothing from it. Absolutely nothing. Nothing more than a waste of time shock-factor story. Guts is an excerpt from Haunted, which I've been meaning to read for a while. Now I don't think I want to.
Becoming increasingly more disappointed and disillusioned with him. He has a bunch of great work under his belt and every artist should be afforded their casualties, but after being unable to get very far into Lullaby, my disappointment with Rant, and now this I just... don't love how his work seems to be progressing.
0/10 for Guts.
I read guts. It was bleh. I've also lost my luster for him as well.
I'm currently working on another paranormal one. I like that genre okay...
http://bewitchedbookworms.com/wp-con...2/12/FGotR.png
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
I'm very amused. It's funny. It's about a grim reaper helping solve murders of the dead people she sees.
Right? No literary value whatsoever.
I think what I liked about Palahniuk before was that he was "edgy". But I've only got that a few times that I enjoyed it. It's hit or miss. He either hits it or really misses it.
He edges all over the place. I appreciate edgy when it has a place in a story. His edginess is either hit or miss when it comes to relevancy, yeah.
del murder, Aldous Huxley is one of my favorites. are you going to read brave new world revisited?
just got Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes for my birthday from my wife and son. maybe 1/3 of the way through it. it reads almost like a detective novel, but by Stephen king. it's pretty good so far! if you've read it, please NO SPOILERS. I'm a "constant reader" of mr. kings.
to the people talking about the guy who wrote fight club, I don't really care much for his later stuff either. only read maybe two things by him though, so I don't want to be to quick to judge or anything.
I've still been plugging away slowly at Death By Black Hole while on breaks at work. When at home I've been reading The Alchemist.
I am now reading A Clash of Kings. I don't know what took me so long to pick these books up.
Currently reading American Psycho. I'm strapped in for a crazy ride!
Currently reading The Predator Paradox: Ending the War with Wolves, Bears, Cougars, and Coyotes by John Shivik. It's research for a film I'm working on.
Also going to start reading Psycho by Robert Bloch. :monster:
Still Mort! It's a really short book but I haven't been reading it
Reading 'Slight Edge' only a few pages in and it's a self-help book...
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West... I started by reading the sequel Son of a Witch, which I couldn't really finish, so I finished it by listening to it as a book on CD. I also originally listened to Wicked as an audio CD, but couldn't follow it. So I had to pick up the book. lol
Ender's Shadow
This is the parallel story to Ender's Game starring Ender's little friend Bean. I really enjoyed the psychological morality themes as are inherent in all of the Ender books. This one really expands Bean's character and although I enjoyed that, I did feel like it was retconning it at times, especially during the interactions of Bean and Ender that are also chronicled in Ender's Game. The parts of the novel dealing with Bean's backstory or exploits at Battle School not involving Ender were really good, but any time he was with Ender there was too much trying to fit it into the more complex character that Card created for Bean. Stuff like 'Ender didn't realize Bean was being sarcastic...' or 'Bean played along because that was what they expected him to do...'. It's clear that the original Bean character was meant to be a younger, smaller version of Ender whose purpose was to show Ender what it was like to be the one teaching a gifted student rather than being teached. Only in this novel Bean turns out to be much more than that, and the opposite of Ender in many ways. Overall I thought this concept was pretty cool and fortunately those types of interactions were not the majority of the story. The stuff involving Bean and Achilles in particular were pretty great.
Finishing Son, the fourth (last) book of The Giver quartet. Loved the simplicity of the books so far.
On the opposite end of the simplicity spectrum, I'm on the last book of the Earth's Children saga (first book is Clan of the Cave Bear, was made into a movie in the 80's I believe) by Jean M. Auel. They are long ponderous books, very slow at times, interesting at times, at times enlightening, and generally entertaining. There are great characters (including Whinny and Wolf) and plotting, but I could do without the never-ending lists of fauna and flora--it feels sometimes like the book's trying to be a pharmacopoeia, and it does get a little, I dunno, preachy at times. The first two books were the best, and by book five I'm ready for it to be over, I think. I'm hoping it ends well. I hope book 6 actually concludes the saga. I don't typically go for abridged versions of books, but I will say that this is a series that might need it. The exact same thing could be said in about 100-150 less pages. And I mean that literally. Auel is the most repetitious author I've ever read.
Reading Valley of the Dolls. One of my favorite books of all time. So trashy, so depressing! I first read it during my senior year of high school when I was dealing with a lot of stuff, and I really connected with the bleak and pointless tone of the book. Ever since then, it's held a special place in my heart and I reread it every year or two.
The Fried Twinkie Manifesto by Ryan Moehring. Did not love the first chapter, not at all. But I figure I'll ride it out until it becomes unbearable. From what I've read, he's supposed to be a funny dude, so I'll see how the rest goes. Just not a great first impression.
Also reading Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg. It's entertaining and is okay, but I feel like he's written the book as if he's written a screenplay. I can perfectly visualize what he's communicating, but the way he's communicating it does not strike me as good writing, it strikes me as what would be entertaining visually. There are also these incredibly distracting chapters between his memoirs of him writing a silly comic story about him being an equivocally nerd batman with an incompetent robot butler and I'm not loving those. I know they're supposed to whimsical and charming, but I'm here for your life story, man, knock it off.
I'm on an intense self-deprecating humorist essay kick.
I just started All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy and that'll probably mark the end of my ASoIaF break and I'll read A Dance With Dragons. McCarthy will be a good foil for Martin - firstly as McCarthy's veiled dialogue, limited person and random, beautiful, stream of consciousness descriptions are the opposite of Martin's fastidious, meticulously detailed style. Secondly - McCarthy is just better.
I finally read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and was left disturbed, bemused and angry at the lack of justice. I recommend everyone read it once and then never again.
Gone Girl is excellent. I want to read it again, but...I just don't think it will have the same impact it did the first time.
Currently reading Push, A Novel by Sapphire. I'm about 40 pages in and I hate it. Probably a top contender for Worst Book of 2014 (that I've read, that is), but we'll see what I think when I finish it today. And Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood made me want to claw my brain from my head, so who knows? This book is very much doing the same thing to me, though.
My sister recommended Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs to me. I've been avoiding him because I read his memoir Running With Scissors and I didn't love it. But in reaching the 29th page of Possible Side Effects, I've just had to wipe my eyes from silently crylaughing so hard at work. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find someone to live up to David Sedaris, but Augusten is doing a wonderful job.
I quit The Fried Twinkie Manifesto. Blech. An entire chapter devoted to attempting to humorously shame his religious family, to explain how he is superior for being an atheist, and to profess explanations for why he is an atheist. 1) Slamming on religion is old. It is literally everywhere. It's all over social media, it's in the regular media, it's in daily conversation. There is nothing new that anyone could ever say to me about religion that would make me laugh, because it's old, and it's a cheap trick. It's an easy subject to get a lot of nods of approval from a specific niche of people, and that's boring. And 2) People who write explanations for the way they feel about things leave me with one conclusion: That they are attempting to convince themselves more than they are attempting to convince their readers. Don't write me a chapter explaining why you're an atheist, please, because I could not care less about reasons why you are an atheist when I am reading this book of yours detailing out what are supposed to be the humorous antics of your life journey.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. This is my second outing with Dostoyevsky. My first involved getting a couple hundred pages into The Brothers Karamazov before becoming distracted by work and other books. I'm playing through Silent Hill 2 and am told the two are (strangely) quite compatible, so I figured I'd give it a go. Two chapters in and I am digging it so far. Very engaging read.
Also recently started Brave New World. I don't know how I've managed to go more than two decades and through 17 years of school without having read it. I'm about 50 pages in and pretty satisfied. Loved the section where Huxley keeps snapping back and forth between five or six different scenes taking place throughout the hatchery. The last time I remember a scene of that nature being so effective was in Johnny Got His Gun, another favourite. This is a good sign.
tl;dr classics
I'm a big Dostoyevsky fan. The only problem with Crime and Punishment is that it inspired so many other works, which makes C&P (after you've read the others inspired by it) come across as contrived or derivative. But it's not, just the reverse. In any case, it's a great read. Fascinating and a little frightening.
Finished with Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs and have moved onto Dry by Augusten Burroughs. I am having a love affair with him and I hope David Sedaris does not find out.
I loved Sellevision. I found it on a shelf while meandering the Barnes and Noble years ago as I used to do when there was one within a ten or fifteen minute drive of my house or office. The coverwork sold me, and I found his writing very much like Chuck Palahniuk's, so I adored it. Then I promptly fell out of love with his work when I picked up Running With Scissors and haven't touched anything of his again until my sister insisted I read Possible Side Effects a couple of weeks ago. It was a work of art. I've been instructed to read Dry and Magical Thinking, and probably avoid A Wolf at the Table because it is apparently very depressing and very different from his regular style. I've been instructed to finish with This Is How, because I will have sufficiently taken my Burroughs journey and ended with the book he says he was born to write.
I'm super excited about this journey. I didn't think I could be more infatuated with a memoirist more than I was with David Sedaris, but Augusten has been a pleasant surprise.
Currently reading Long Lost Dog Of It by Michael Kazepis. I'm only about 85 pages in, but I guess it's only about 240 anyway. I'm enjoying how it blends things like politics, protests, punk music, relationships and... a serial killer. It seems like its going to be a pretty special debut novel when all is said and done.