Angel Dust on 7/1/2013 at 23:44
Personally, I found all the typography and layout shenanigans to be rather silly. Fun but it was all so obvious, goofy and superficial that I found it detracted from the fantastic 'spatially fucked up house' story. The footnotes and various unreliable narrators were more interesting but I grew to hate the increasingly tedious and lengthy, sub-Palahniuk ramblings of Johnny Truant. There's a great horror novel in House Of Leaves but it's drowning in a bit too much pomo bullshit.*
Volitions Advocate: I reckon Arnaldur Indriðason's stuff might be what you're looking for. Jar City was the one I started with.
* Says the guy who adores David Foster Wallace. Currently reading Everything And More, his book on the history of infinity.
Yakoob on 8/1/2013 at 00:59
Just wrapped up Flowers for Algernon. Good, but not as great as everyone made it sound. Also followed a bit of a predictable arch (tho, it's not like there's much else that could have happened tbh).
Continuing halfway through The Hobbit and gonna start on Tom Robbins' Jitterburg Perfume my sister gave me for xmas!
Neb on 24/4/2013 at 18:25
Bought Nostromo for £1.99. Thought I'd give it a try since the Alien films reference it.
First few pages: OMFG, the prose. I limped through the introduction, and now that it's picking up I'm hooked. I don't really read fiction, but since I'm in the middle of a Dishonored binge I feel in the mood for some political fiction.
Yakoob on 24/4/2013 at 23:26
Just wrapped Blood, Bones & Butter by Hamilton which was decent, and started on my second Pratchett book, Going Postal. So far so good, reminds me quite a bit of Guards Guards in overall setup and structure (i.e. some institution in AnkMorph with a cast of wacky characters whom I'm guessing will transform it from the mess it is back to its proper glory).
Pyrian on 25/4/2013 at 01:12
Pratchett has many fine qualities, inventive plot structures is not one of them.
demagogue on 25/4/2013 at 01:30
I'm reading more non-fiction than fiction these days, history & CogSci books being my two regulars.
Specter on 25/4/2013 at 02:40
Im about half way through History of Rome by Mommsen. Do I win for most boring sounding book?
Yamatotakeru on 25/4/2013 at 13:18
Finished A Wise Man's Fear by Pat Rothfuss, and it's gotta be the worst novel I've ever read... Which doesn't really make it extremely bad. Reading it was kind of entertaining, but the first book, The Name of the Wind, was much, much better. This one was at times boring to death, hilariously juvenile, and the writing was on the level of some pretty bad fan-fiction. There were some great chapters that kept me going, and there was some interesting stuff hidden in-between the lines here and there, but the overall experience ultimately felt like a waste of time. I'm not sure, if I'm gonna buy the next book when it comes out...
Also just started For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. Depressing as all hell.
Volitions Advocate on 25/4/2013 at 17:19
After Hannibal and Dragon Tattoo I decided to move onto Wheel of Time, probably due to an on/off love affair with Skyrim.
I'm quite impressed so far. I was expecting some awful high fantasy Tolkien knockoff that I'd get bored with and put down half way through the first book. (I've tried so many fanatasy novels and been bored as hell. I have fond memories of the Dragonlance stories, but a recent re-read shows how campy they really are and I put that down too)
Turns out,, its not all about elves and dwarves and fantasy stereotypes. It is a very good read. So much so that I'm already 10 chapters into the 7th book. (8th technically since I read the prequel book first) And these things aren't small books. If anybody was debating whether or not to read them, I think I'll give my recommendation. After this one I'll be half way through and will probably take a break to read Casual Vacancy.
Yamatotakeru on 25/4/2013 at 19:49
Thanks for the recommendation! Always wanted to check The Wheel of Time, but man, are those books difficult to collect. Now this time if I find one of them somewhere, I won't hesitate to buy :thumb: .
It's also really cool that it was Brandon Sanderson who finished the cycle after Jordan's death. I've heard a lot of good things about that guy. Oh, and the PC game was really cool too.
BTW For Whom the Bell Tolls' protagonist is coincidentally named Robert Jordan. I can't stop being reminded that I should finally try out The Wheel of Time it seems :cheeky: .