Bibliophile Thread

Postby **eddy** » Tue Jun 06, 2017 10:09 am

Source of the post V. Schwab's next book "Our Dark Duet" comes out next week. I am so excited. "This Savage Song" (the first book in the duology) was one of the best books I have read in the past year. I swear, anything she or Neil Gaiman write, I just lap it up.

I was torn on this one, there were some big parts that I felt like the writing was pretty poor, but the story was interesting enough to keep me hanging on. I look forward to hearing your reaction on the next one.

Postby **obhave** » Tue Jun 06, 2017 10:11 am

Source of the post V. Schwab's next book "Our Dark Duet" comes out next week. I am so excited. "This Savage Song" (the first book in the duology) was one of the best books I have read in the past year. I swear, anything she or Neil Gaiman write, I just lap it up.
I was torn on this one, there were some big parts that I felt like the writing was pretty poor, but the story was interesting enough to keep me hanging on. I look forward to hearing your reaction on the next one.

I think the concept alone makes me love the book, the writing is definitely not as strong as in ADSOM. Did you finish "A Conjuring of Light"?

Postby **eddy** » Tue Jun 06, 2017 10:15 am

Source of the post V. Schwab's next book "Our Dark Duet" comes out next week. I am so excited. "This Savage Song" (the first book in the duology) was one of the best books I have read in the past year. I swear, anything she or Neil Gaiman write, I just lap it up.
I was torn on this one, there were some big parts that I felt like the writing was pretty poor, but the story was interesting enough to keep me hanging on. I look forward to hearing your reaction on the next one.
I think the concept alone makes me love the book, the writing is definitely not as strong as in ADSOM. Did you finish "A Conjuring of Light"?

not yet, it's about 3 back in the queue.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Sun Jun 11, 2017 8:04 pm

Any of you guys Michael Chabon fans? Thinking about getting into his stuff, his first novel was The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, which he started while an undergrad at Pitt.

Postby **Gaucho** » Sun Jun 11, 2017 8:19 pm

I've read and liked most of Chabon's work. This one I didn't read, but I loved The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Telegraph Avenue, and Moonglow.

Postby **obhave** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 6:21 am

Any of you guys Michael Chabon fans? Thinking about getting into his stuff, his first novel was The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, which he started while an undergrad at Pitt.

I liked Mysteries of Pittsburgh, but it definitely felt like a first novel where he was trying very hard to be good "literature".

Postby **MrKennethTKangaroo** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:54 am

Mysteries was ok. This gentleman tried to read adventures of kavalier and Klay but honestly the language was a bit too over the top and unnecessarily hard to read. Then again, maybe this gentleman is just a Luddite

Postby **Troy Loney** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 9:14 am

I read Mysteries my senior year at Pitt. Perfect time for that book to be read.

Postby **Kraftster** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:24 am

Almost done with Dan Harris 10% Happier. Pretty great read, and I'm now highly interested in incorporating some meditation into my stoic life.

Harris spends a good bit of time talking about some of the New Age stuff out there in the early 10s. I'm shocked how much of it amounts to little more than a repackaging of stoic principles into a more condescending fancy language/new age mumbo jumbo verbiage, especially Eckhart Tolle and Chopra.

Postby **Kraftster** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:26 am

Almost done with Dan Harris 10% Happier. Pretty great read, and I'm now highly interested in incorporating some meditation into my stoic life.

Harris spends a good bit of time talking about some of the New Age stuff out there in the early 10s. I'm shocked how much of it amounts to little more than a repackaging of stoic principles into a more condescending fancy language/new age mumbo jumbo verbiage, especially Eckhart Tolle and Chopra.

Postby **dodint** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:26 pm

Got an urge to reread The Time Machine, one of my favorite books growing up. Even when I read it the first time in third grade or so I was always captivated by the chapter where he flees into the very distant future to witness the world die. The copy I had on my Kindle did not have the omitted passage in Chapter 11 that was eventually published as a short story (The Grey Man) but it was available on Wikimedia. TTM is exceptional but it's a novella at most and does leave you wanting more. So now I'm going down a rabbit hole seeking out quality 'dying earth' literature.

Starting with The House on the Borderland and The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson. Found them both in a collection on Amazon for $1.99 so I'll probably just take in all of that work. Not sure where I'll go after that. I'm excluding stories with fantastic elements like dwarves fighting goblins or whatever, or stories about other dying planets. Not sure how big the sub-genre really is when the scope is that tight, but we'll see.

Postby **eddy** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:43 pm

Source of the post So now I'm going down a rabbit hole seeking out quality 'dying earth' literature.

I just finished this up and thought it was great

Borne

The Book of Strange New Things has the dying earth aspect to it, but you are reading about it from a different planet through husband and wife while the husband teaches earth religion to an alien race. It's really good.

Postby **eddy** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:45 pm

Source of the post I'm excluding stories with fantastic elements like dwarves fighting goblins or whatever

oh nevermind on borne, that has a 60ft tall mutant bear that can fly that is destroying the city. Book of strange new things is pretty grounded in reality and I think will fit more of what you seek..

Postby **eddy** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:51 pm

While it's not dying earth, judging from those other books, it sounds like you may enjoy Lovecrafts At the Mountains of Madness if you have not read that yet

Postby **dodint** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:53 pm

I should've specified that I'm looking for natural earth death material, not apocalyptic death of civilization.

Basically Carl Sagan's 'Last Great Day' scenario. Which, given how narrow the scope is and the limitations I've put on it, I assume will be a tiny collection of work that will pretty much mirror each other.

Postby **eddy** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:58 pm

I should've specified that I'm looking for natural earth death material, not apocalyptic death of civilization.

Basically Carl Sagan's 'Last Great Day' scenario. Which, given how narrow the scope is and the limitations I've put on it, I assume will be a tiny collection of work that will pretty much mirror each other.

I look forward to seeing what you come across. I added the ones you mentioned above to the list. Book of Strange things would be natural earth deatah material, but again it's all happening in the background.

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:07 pm

I am midway through book 10 of 12 from the Destroyermen series. Good stuff.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 6:26 pm

I am midway through book 10 of 12 from the Destroyermen series. Good stuff.

Nice! I stalled on Book 2, but I was enjoying it. I really need to get back into it. Is it consistently good through the series?

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:17 pm

I am midway through book 10 of 12 from the Destroyermen series. Good stuff.
Nice! I stalled on Book 2, but I was enjoying it. I really need to get back into it. Is it consistently good through the series?

Yeah, I think it is. I've read them back to back - binge reading lol - it does drag in some places, but the world he's created is fascinating.

Postby **obhave** » Fri Jun 23, 2017 11:52 am

This year has been wonderful for the publication of series concluding books. I have been so satisfied with the endings of some of my favorite series. I finished up two more:

Assassin's Fate (Fitz and the Fool Triology/17th book of the over arching world), Robin Hobb. - Absolutely incredible. The ending was exactly what it needed to be. I have never encountered a writer who can write human emotion so well. Hobb's character development is unparalleled. Although I am so satisified with the ending, I am sad to see the end of this world.

Our Dark Duet (Monster's of Verity duology), Victoria Schwab - this book tore my heart out at certain points, kept me engaged though-out, with an incredible, heart pounding second half of the book with a perfect ending. @eddysnake - I know you were not sure if you should read this, but I say give it a shot. I think it is much better (read less predictable) than the first one.

Postby **dodint** » Fri Jun 23, 2017 12:02 pm

I look forward to seeing what you come across.

I was going to wait till I was done, but The House on the Borderland absolutely delivered. The applicable excerpt is basically very similar to the Time Machine travel sequences but it goes so much deeper. It really hit the spot. Outside of that the story itself is also very compelling. Looking forward to reading the rest of the stories in the collection I bought.

Postby **Algernon** » Mon Jun 26, 2017 1:35 am

Postby **Gaucho** » Mon Jun 26, 2017 8:12 pm

Hemingway, the Sensualist

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/ ... al_twitter

Postby **Robot B9** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:04 pm

Halfway through The Fix by David Baldacci. Good stuff.

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:31 am

@shafnutz05

Stayed up till almost 1:00am last night finishing the first volume of "The Passage". Such an amazing book. Wish I'd planned ahead and ordered the second book and had it ready to start today.
I decided to look into this as well. Finished the first book Saturday, the second is at the library waiting for me.

Definitely not my genre, but written well enough for me to continue.

@shafnutz05 finished the second book which I thought was a little less enticing than the first. However, I'm about 1/3 through the 3rd book and I'm really liking the change of scenery. A very good sign that Cronin can write. I feel like I'm reading a completely different story in a different genre. I can see how this will tie together to the first two books, but I almost wish the Fanning prequel would continue as it's own story.