What are you reading Thread

The Gonne is here and Ankh Morpork has descended into chaos! Carrot has taken the lead in sorting this mess out.

JayMoyles wrote:

I must admit I had no idea about Lovecraft's racism, but after reading that (he would hate modern America's melting pot of cultures judging by his description of that pocket of New York) and having a cursory Google search about some of his other works, I'm disappointed to see how much of an out and out racist he was.

Perhaps you might enjoy The Ballad of Black Tom too then, Jay. Not that I've read it yet, so I can't say whether it's good or not, but it's meant to be both an homage to Lovecraft and a fierce rejection of his racism.

My next book club book, The Beach, arrived at the same time as TBoBT. Read it before, thought it alright, unsurprised it got made into a film. Re-reading imminent I suppose.

Balladeer wrote:

JayMoyles wrote:

I must admit I had no idea about Lovecraft's racism, but after reading that (he would hate modern America's melting pot of cultures judging by his description of that pocket of New York) and having a cursory Google search about some of his other works, I'm disappointed to see how much of an out and out racist he was.

Perhaps you might enjoy The Ballad of Black Tom too then, Jay.  Not that I've read it yet, so I can't say whether it's good or not, but it's meant to be both an homage to Lovecraft and a fierce rejection of his racism.

That sounds like just the ticket. As I said, Lovecraft does existential dread like no other author but it's going to be difficult to read his works in the future without noticing anything that could be a racist allegory. If there's writing out there with that same level of cosmic horror whilst rejecting the racist depiction of "the other" that Lovecraft utilises, then I'm all for it.

The Lovecraft issue is an interesting one. It is more apparent in some stories than others, and I can understand difficulty in separating art from artist. I think I'd feel differently if he were alive and writing today, and engaging in his content were funding his beliefs. As it is, he's long dead - in a pauper's grave, unappreciated in his own time - and the problematic elements of his work can be identified and isolated while other aspects can still be enjoyed. If anything, they add to the sensation that this is a seriously troubled, dark mind whose fears do offer some insight into why people are scared of the unknown even today.

I've never been that good at separating art from artist, but I think I could probably read more Lovecraft. As Drunka says, he's not going to make much more money out of it anyway. It's an interesting history piece.

It's been a busy few months with moving not only home but city, and my reading cycle was disrupted to the point I snailed my way through it, but at last I've finished Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy! Solid character driven stuff this was, and one heck of a journey.

Naturally I'd heard of Hobb before, you can't really read fantasy and not know of her, but I hadn't really sat down and given her stuff a solid shot before. That all changed with Ship of Magic, a story that follows a trader family and their failing fortunes and a pirate with goals of becoming a king.

The strength of the characters and their portrayal cannot be understated, likely some of the best I've seen. It takes serious skill to, in an introduction to a character, make them simultaneously a brat and have the reader sympathetic to their plight. That is exactly how Althea starts off. A selfish brat that needs a bit of a kick up the proverbial backside. It's immediately clear there's a strong person hidden within, but that strength has stagnated into selfish arrogance. And yet you cannot help but feel your heart break a little as the world gives her that kick up the bum, as she's stripped of her inheritance she'd been raised and groomed for for years to the piece of work that is Kyle (F*** KYLE HAVEN! Oh god do not get me started on how much I despise that man! It says a lot that I actually hate him more than a character in a different series that had children thrown off a bridge.) Althea's subsequent journey and development is as fascinating as it is rewarding to follow. As is the rest of the family.

And of course there's Kennit the pirate, one cannot mention the trilogy without mentioning that gem of a villain. It's always the mark of a good villain when you find yourself eager to see where their scheming and plotting will take them. His journey did not disappoint.

I feel like I say this about everything I read, but this trilogy goes in the "you really must give this a try" list for anyone looking for a good novel to dig into.

As one might expect my next book is the start of the Elderling Realms proper, Assassin's Apprentice.

It's almost halfway through 2019 from my book group's point of view (I've started May's book already, and we write something ourselves for June), so I thought I'd mention some things we've been reading recently. I've also changed the thread title from its reference to 2017: hope that's okay Athrun.

It seems to have been a lot of horror of late, which isn't great given that I'm a big wuss.  I part-read Pet Sematary for the first time, but it started off too slowly and I skipped ahead to the ending when it became clear that it wasn't my sort of jazz.  Then we read Horrostör, which is laid out like an Ikea catalogue.  The novel itself is naff, but the presentation is excellent, and I think they might be making it into a telly series or something?  And now I'm reading Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, which feels like Steven King but... better-written.  Or maybe more obnoxiously written, depending on your take. Words everywhee.

Speaking of obnoxious, my suggestion was Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs.  It's like reading a very clever person on strong drugs trying to write a clever book, because that's exactly what it is.  We weren't fans, but it's made for some good Quiplash questions.

Anyone read anything more entertaining recently? Books your fellow GNamerians are likely to have heard of get double points!

If you haven't heard of Robin Hobb and her main work that's less my reading habits being niche and just ignorance of the fantasy genre's biggest authors

And on that note I'm still trucking through Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series which contains four trilogies and a quadrilogy (been slowly making my way for eight months now), with three of the trilogies revolving around one character and the others being more standalone while also providing important worldbuilding that feeds back into the main trilogies.  

Second book of the Rainwild Chronicles (the aforementioned quadrilogy set between the third and fourth/final trilogy), Dragon Haven is what's on my plate right now.  I can see why this is considered the weakest part of the overall franchise.  The cast isn't nearly as endearing as the melodramatically tragic personality of Fitz or the strong Vestrit women, but nevertheless Hobb's remarkable ability of creating vividly real, relatable, and fascinating characters has pulled me in.

I've heard of her, but, well... I didn't even know it was a her. Says it all really! Weighty long fantasy just isn't my jam.

Might be a bit of a odd one, today in work me and a mate were talking Game of Thrones with the book's coming up.

Now I do have them along with another book in the universe, that I've not read and some other books.

I'm not much of a reader though I was thinking with the Digimon watch a long could a read a long/gnamer book club be a thing?

masofdas wrote:

I'm not much of a reader though I was thinking with the Digimon watch a long could a read a long/gnamer book club be a thing?

I'd be up for that, although I'd imagine it'd have to be a monthly thing as opposed to weekly like the watch-a-long.

Oh absolutely. Only problem is that I'm already a member of a monthly book club, so probably wouldn't be able to/have time to join in; but I think it's a great idea! I hope you can get enough people in on the action.

I was thinking monthly, just don't know what we would want to read.

I just finished Dragonflight, the first Dragonriders of Pern book. Athrun wasn't wrong about Mistborn, so I figured I'd trust him on this.

It was alright. It wasn't at all what I expected, and sure it was exposition-heavy in places and things generally went well for everyone involved so there wasn't much tension, but I liked the characters and the world-building. I definitely reckon I'll stick with the series.

All I know is there is a Dreamcast game

Glad you enjoyed your first taste of Pern!  

I'd probably rate Dragonriders of Pern lower nowadays than I did when I read them.  The earlier ones are definitely showing their datedness nowadays (the aforementioned overly-lengthy exposition for instance) and some of the later ones get really boring, but the early ones remain interesting snapshots into the past of the genre and have an almost fairy tale quality to them nowadays.  They're never going to be edge-of-your seat material though, just going to let you know now.  In hindsight I'd say the biggest appeal of the series was getting attached to the characters and watching the still-unique world develop over the in-world years, ending with All the Weyrs of Pern.  

If I were to sum up the Dragonriders of Pern as an experience it'd be sitting at home in the middle of winter during the evening, under a nice blanket in a recliner with a fireplace warming your feet.  After a nice piping warm bowl of your favourite homemade hot meal.  It was exactly what I needed back when I read a large chunk of the series.  

Maybe I'll give Dragonsong (official best Pern book because I say so!) a reread when I'm done with my current plate, I'm sure after finishing Realm of the Elderlings in a few months I'll need a wholesome-if-short yarn.  Because while I know nothing about what happens in Fitz's final trilogy the previous one made me cry at least twice and I very much doubt Hobb will pull her punches in the final one.

masofdas wrote:

All I know is there is a Dreamcast game

And that's about all you'll ever want to know in regards to that game too...

I'll keep going with Pern because it's one of Shen's favourite as well and I have them all through her kindle account but I'm reading other stuff too. I'm currently reading Wizard and Glass, the fourth in the dark Tower series, and I'm properly addicted.

After some talk about reading in bed as opposed to falling asleep to some shitey YouTube video, I've picked up a book for the first time in too long.

I went for The Eye of the World, the first book in The Wheel of Time series. So far, so good! There's clear Tolkien inspirations in its opening but the world that Robert Jordan has weaved is certainly a compelling one thus far. And apparently there are a fair few books in this series!

I think, and I might be wrong, that GRR Martin is a big Wheel of Time fan? It's on my radar, for sure, but it may be a while for me.

My parents recently visited and brought with them my big stack of Japanese history books, which I'm keen to re-read with a little more context. Hopefully much more will stick on a second read, and it will be doubly exciting when places are mentioned which I've actually visited.

JayMoyles wrote:

After some talk about reading in bed as opposed to falling asleep to some shitey YouTube video, I've picked up a book for the first time in too long.

I don't know the book you're talking about boss, but this is good to read! Hope you continue to get through some novelly stuff.

I've just finished a Brontë novel, Shirley. I tried to just enjoy the story, but one of the romances seemed really problematic to me, the woman going on about how she wanted a master who it would be her pleasure to submit to. This from a female author and all. There's still a long way for us all to go, but we've come a long way and thank goodness for that.

My other recent novel was about a bi-gender PI. It didn't have the same problems.

Drunkalilly wrote:

I think, and I might be wrong, that GRR Martin is a big Wheel of Time fan? It's on my radar, for sure, but it may be a while for me.

Quite possibly - I'd imagine that George R.R. Martin would follow the fantasy world closely, especially when he was writing A Game of Thrones and The Wheel of Time is one of the big fantasy series, so I'd imagine it'd have caught his eye at some stage.

I've still not read the book you guys suggest but I've started watching Witcher on Netflix.

It's rather good and I sort want to dive into the lore, so the books (also Witcher 3 on Xbox One might be played).

I believe there are Pratchett fans around here. If so I would recommend Jonathan L. Howard's Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, a very good read that I've just finished. It's not as perfect as Pratchett's mid-era works, but then few things are. It's very very good and has the same sense of macabre humour.

Currently taking it slow with the NBA Jam book, I only ever played this game on SNES/Mega drive so it's been cool reading about how that whole early 90's arcade scene exploded for Midway Games.

The Amazon Kindle version of Chris Scullion's NES Encyclopedia is 90% off, down to only £1.99:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NES-Encyclopedia-Released-Nintendo-Entertainment-ebook/dp/B07W7VJN51/ref=sr_1_1?crid=YPKXJDYNL5OA&keywords=nes+encyclopedia&qid=1585778584&sprefix=nes+ency%2Caps%2C276&sr=8-1

On topic...all I read is football or whisky books, you'd probably not be interested!