Book Club + What Are You Reading? (Late October + November 2018)

[Deleted member 1067]

Hey everyone I'm making this thread quite a bit early this time around because I've decided to take an extended break from this site for a while and will be leaving thread making duties to someone else. Work and personal life have been a bit nuts lately, and frankly I've not liked the poster I've become over the past few months. Nor have I been the best of thread makers lately for that matter =\, so I figure taking a break from here for a while until work and home life level out a bit is probably for the best. As for who is going to take over, I leave that to you guys to sort out amongst yourselves. Y'all are a good bunch and I know at least a few of you who would be way better than me to make the threads :)

As for this month's books I've decided just to roll over Shogun and post Solaris as November's book. Read either if you like, they're both amazing :D!


November Book Club Title

Despite two films made with panache "Solaris" remains a book constantly rediscovered by new generations of readers. The moving story of contact with alien intelligence serves as a canvas for discussion of our mind's limitations and the nature of human cognition. A love story for some readers, a philosophical treatise for others; Lem's inspiring masterpiece defies unambiguous interpretations.

October Book Club Title

A bold English adventurer. An invincible Japanese warlord. A beautiful woman torn between two ways of life. All brought together in an extraordinary saga aflame with passion, conflict, ambition, and the struggle for power.

Here is the world-famous novel of Japan that is the earliest book in James Clavell's masterly Asian saga. Set in the year 1600, it tells the story of a bold English pilot whose ship was blown ashore in Japan, where he encountered two people who were to change his life: a warlord with his own quest for power, and a beautiful interpreter torn between two ways of life and two ways of love.

The principal figures are John Blackthorne, whose dream it is to be the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, to wrest control of the trade between Japan and China from Portuguese, and to return home a man of wealth and position; Toranaga, the most powerful feudal lord in Japan, who strives and schemes to seize ultimate power by becoming Shogun—the Supreme Military Dictator—and to unite the warring samurai fiefdoms under his own masterly and farsighted leadership; and the Lady Mariko, a Catholic convert whose conflicting loyalties to the Church and her country are compounded when she falls in love with Blackthorne, the barbarian intruder.

In dramatizing how a Westerner, the representative man of his time, comes to be altered by his exposure to an alien culture, Mr. Clavell provides a spellbinding depiction of a nation seething with violence and intrigue as it moves from the medieval world to the modern.

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Previous Book Club Threads:

• Putin Country by Anne Garrels and Enlightenment Now by Steve Pinker
  
• Bird Box by Josh Malerman
  
• Astrophysics for People in A Hurry; Guns, Germs, and Steel (April 2018)
• The Left Hand of Darkness (March 2018)
  
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Feb 2018)
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Jan 2018)
  
• Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (Dec 2017)
  
• We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Nov 2018)
• Blindness by Jose Saramago (Feb 2014)
• The Quiet American by Graham Greene (Jan 2014)
• If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino (Sept 2013)
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (July 2013)
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (Feb-Mar 2013)
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (September 2012)
• Catch-22, by Joseph Heller (January 2012)
• The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (December 2011)
• Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West, by Cormac McCarthy (Oct 2011)
• The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov (Sep 2011)
• The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (Aug 2011)
• Master and Commander, by Patrick O'Brian (July 2011)
• The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin (June 2011)
• A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan (May 2011)
• The Afghan Campaign, by Steven Pressfield (Apr 2011)
• Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein (Mar 2011)
• Flashman, by George MacDonald Fraser (Feb 2011)

-----

Support ERA authors:

• aidan (Hugo Award winner): http://aidanmoher.com/blog/ / Tide of Shadows and Other Stories
• AngmarsKing701: Ahvarra: The Heart of the World ; Knight Descendent: Knight's Journal 1; Author Page of Brian Lang
• cosmicblizzard: Freeze Kill
• Xagareth - Lamplight
  
• Elfforkusu: Wrath of Flight
• Fidelis Hodie: Derek Agons Slays a Dragon
• H.Protagonist: Dead Endings
• Hop: The Latte Segment
• Plasticine Live Undead
• UCBooties Trumpocalypse
• whatevermort: The Explorer; No Harm Can Come to a Good Man; Long Dark Dusk by James Smythe
• HK Lune - New Tales From Old Yarn: Fairy Tales and Myths, Rewritten and Re-imagined by Writers
• MasseyFect - Where Dragonwoofs Sleep and the Fading Creeps

Explore

• Reddit's Favorite Books Published in 2016
• Goodreads 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime
• The 40 Best Sci-Fi Books According to Reddit

 

[TheBeardedOne]

Thank you for everything you've done. I hope you enjoy the break and come back refreshed. You'll be missed, but I get why you'd decide to do this.

I'm still reading:

I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan and Closer Than You Know by Brad Parks

 

[Keywork]

Started "The Fall of Gondolin" last week and enjoying it so far. I have a ton of books I either have to start or finish up.

 

[Saphirax]

Finished:

When it comes to The Clockmaker's Daughter - something just resonated with me. Was a slow start, but I enjoyed how the author portrayed numerous characters dealing with loss and loneliness. If the book had been longer, I wouldn't have minded! In fact, I think I'd even prefer it.
We Ride the Storm was also great. I initially rolled my eyes at another female character being a whore (and an assassin), but all the three main characters grew on me. It's also a refreshing departure from the traditional medieval inspired fantasy.
Medusa Uploaded - I admit, the cover got me. At least initially. It does have an interesting premise, but the narrative also suffers in some places; mostly near the end. Eagerly awaiting the sequel though!
Was a little disappointed by They Mostly Come Out At Night and The Nightmare Room. Both novels are quick paced which makes for an easy read, but there's also something...missing? Especially in TMCOAN. The novel would have benefited from more world-building. Not sure when I'll get around to reading the sequels.

 

[Deleted member 15497]

Great series

 

[MilkBeard]

On the Angry Robot Books FB page, they had a promotion for a free book. It was called Silent Hall, by N. S. Dolkart.

I've read about 30 pages. It's pretty good so far. It's a fairly simple read, and they have provided some interesting characters in the short amount I have read.

 

[JeTmAn]

My first Murakami. It's a doozy.

 

[Forerunner]

I just finished it up. It's an insightful read into the mind of a true genius and I hate that we lost him. The amount of intelligence he possessed was staggering. I wish everyone would take the time to read this.

I want to quote the last paragraph because it truly moved me.

So remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up. Unleash your imagination. Shape the Future.

Click to shrink...

 

[scarlet]

Currently Mistborn The Final Empire. Gonna finish the trilogy, then read Stormlight Archive

 

[Tokio Blues]

So I finished "A song for Lya", a short Sci-Fi novel by George R. Martín. What can I way?. Just one of the best sci fi books I have ever read.

 

[FallenGrace]

Kings of the Wyld

People here had recommended it so giving it a go. About 60% of the way through. I like the idea and some lines have been genuinely funny. A few parts have dragged but overall I like it.

Also finished:

Sea of Rust

Yet another recommendation from here. Really liked this. The idea is great as is the writing, pacing and characters. Recommend this one if anyone wants a slightly different take on robot uprising.

 

[RepairmanJack]

I'm about three quarters through The Obelisk Gate.

Is this series kind of....

Spoiler

a reverse Star Wars? Vader is just the kid in this instance?

When it got to the parts where Shaffa was trying to manipulate Nassun I just couldn't help but think of Anakin and the Emperor in a weird way.

 

[Reven Wolf]

I just finished

This book basically sealed Brandon Sanderson as my new favorite author (something I haven't changed in close to a decade).

The entire Stormlight Archive series so far left me entranced, and I ended up finishing all three books faster than I have in years.

Now I'm starting

Click to shrink...

Not going to lie, this so far has been a bit of a harder read. Everything about it for the most part was feeling pretty average, and some of the characters were really pissing me off with their incompetence.

However I will say as to where I am now I'm starting to get much more into things, and I hope it continues to build up!

 

[Briareos]

Currently reading

Pretty sobering and often crushing portrait of Americans in combat. Chivers is probably my favorite war correspondent from reading him over the last ten years or so. Difficult but necessary work.

 

[Ary F.]

Its a doozy. I had no clue about the sexual assault allegations against him. Found out a couple of days ago. Just disappointed and abhorred at the author's behaviour, as this book had been helping me grieve the loss of my parents. They were as toxic, and broken, and volatile as Alexie describes his mother and I've been struggling trying to reconcile all the emotions that come with losing them even though they were dirt bags. Some day I will but for now I'll just read my books and keep moving forward.

 

[Feniks]

I'm reading 100 years of solitude, and I'm not super into it. Maybe it's because I'm a casual reader, this books seems to require lengthier sessions to avoid getting lost.

After reading and hating The great Gatsby and The Trial, I'm thinking classics just aren't for me (although I loved A brave new world and 1984). I need to find less obscure/metaphoric stuff.

 

[arturo2666]

I'm about three quarters through The Obelisk Gate.

Is this series kind of....

Spoiler

a reverse Star Wars? Vader is just the kid in this instance?

When it got to the parts where Shaffa was trying to manipulate Nassun I just couldn't help but think of Anakin and the Emperor in a weird way.

Click to shrink...

Hey me too! About half way in my case. Interested to get to what you're talking about.

Spoiler

I just got through the chapter with Alabaster telling Essun about his trip to the other side of the world. Not sure how I feel about the reveal with Father Earth and the Moon. Very interested to see where that goes.

 

[RepairmanJack]

Hey me too! About half way in my case. Interested to get to what you're talking about.

Spoiler

I just got through the chapter with Alabaster telling Essun about his trip to the other side of the world. Not sure how I feel about the reveal with Father Earth and the Moon. Very interested to see where that goes.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

I'm still kind of confused by it, so I'm kind of just letting that aspect hang for now as it doesn't necessarily seem like the immediate focus. It's like they had to address that because Allibaster and the Moon were brought up as a cliffhanger so of course you have to address it, but it seemed more like a small info dump to keep you satiated while we focus on the more immediately important 3 party war stuff and the Stone Eaters.

 

[Strat]

After getting through The Stand and then Under the Dome (ugh) by Stephen King in the last month, I decided to go sci-fi and started Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, which I'm nearly done with. It's ok.

I'm kind of lost in terms of what to read after I'm done with Leviathan Wakes, cause I don't think I'm ready for another book in that series yet. I've got a half finished The Outsider by King sitting there, the third book of the Southern Reach trilogy (the second book really dragged for me) and Peter Clines' The Fold, but I dunno. I've also got like three audible credits sitting in my account, I listen to books a lot at work, and just finished It and the Jim Ross book, so I'm looking for something else to get into.

I dunno. I was on a good roll and now I feel like I'm about to hit the breaks.

 

[BrokenFiction]

Just finished:

Grabbed it based on a recommendation from a reading list Anthony Bourdain had once put up. Interesting slice of life about eating and food in France post-WWI and just prior to WWII (although Liebling writes the book from memory in the 1950s). He is a true francophile and drank more than anyone I've ever read. Crazy amounts of wine.

Staying on theme for now, moving to:

FDR created the Federal Writers' Project under the New Deal as a make-work program for artists and authors. Writers were sent all across America to chronicle the eating habits and traditions of local people. The project, called "America Eats," was abandoned in the early 1940s because of WWII and never completed. This book unearths these stories and the author combines them with authentic recipes, anecdotes, photos, and analysis. All before fast food was really an idea.

I'm fascinated by how people used to eat before the interstate and fast food ruined us all.

 

[RepairmanJack]

For those interested, the Kindle edition of Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff is on sale from Amazon for $1.99.

Been on my to-read pile for a while and have heard good things so thought I'd mention it here.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Continuing the Accel World thing, finished Accel World v8

Volume 8 will stand as one of the best Accel World volumes. By turning the tables and focusing on Takumu/Cyan Pile's inner turmoil and using Haruyuki Arita to work his magic on a male member of Nega Nebulus, we received one of the most heartfelt and heart wrenching battles of the novel series. I was brought to tears and smiles watching them not only duke it out with their attacks, but to also pour out their feelings in such an emotional and intimate manner that I was unable to read the ensuing chapters for a while. It was just so touching and heartfelt with how they were post battle direct linked that I cried my heart out for these fictional teens.

Takumu speaking about all his struggles hidden behind a façade he worked to create yet found harder and harder to keep up due to the goodness of his friends around him was at times almost relatable. Simply seeing how someone we thought had it all could feel jealously and envy at Haru's tenacity and personality was intense. And couple that with some of the bullying Taku endured during his club days, and we get a very complex character who had very complex issues to work through.
Making this fight even more intense was that we saw Taku struggling to keep it together and still use his analytical skills in the process to dictate to Haru what he planned to do in his suicidal sacrifice to stop the ISS kits from spreading and meanwhile get to the bottom of the issue. I enjoyed how this played out as it was so different than how the Enchanted Armament, the Disaster, affects Haru.

The remainder of the volume was just as intriguing. Not only did we return to the major issue at hand, getting Silver Crow and Ardor Maiden out of the Castle, but we also got to see Haruyuki confront the Armor of Catastrophe, and this time without any of his friends near him. It was a chilling place to end the volume on and one that leaves you thinking. Will Haruyuki finally give in or will some miracle enable the Destiny to reawaken, or perhaps, Ash Roller will wake up and pull him out of it?
Overall this volume is easily the best since the Dusk Taker arc with the game elements on full display (escaping the dungeon, key powerful item lore, and an epic boss fight with Ardor Maiden delivering a hi ougi) and then the phenomenal incarnate system level two fueled battle against Suzaku which was larger than life and kind of unfair (Kawahara really adheres to the limits of the system he created here unlike SAO), to more personal drama.

Fantastic.

 

[Easystride]

For those interested, the Kindle edition of Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff is on sale from Amazon for $1.99.

Been on my to-read pile for a while and have heard good things so thought I'd mention it here.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the heads up, picked that up along with Leviathan Wakes. I should be set for a while!

 

[Shawn The Wonder]

Is there a Harry Potter thread on here? I really want to talk about some Harry Potter right now.

 

[Atraveller]

Started reading this:

I could hardly put it down.

 

[fakefaker]

Gave up on Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older and instead going next with Kill the Father by Sandrone Dazieri.

 

[gosublime]

Went to Seville and Cadiz over the weekend for a wedding and managed to read a couple of books on the flight.

My wife is supposed to buy one book per year through her school to try and influence/change her teaching and she picked this one. It's a pretty interesting read that basically boils down to the idea that if you work hard enough and in the correct way, you can become good at anything. I agree with a lot of it although I do think that natural physique (not ability) has a part to play in becoming a world champion (for example Michael Phelps) but to become good/great you do need to put in the hours.

Followed up by

Really good as well. It's an interesting choice in how to do a sequel - instead of a direct continuation it's written from the viewpoint of the person sent in to fix the mess of the Southern Reach and it really broadens out the whole universe, whilst staying with the same themes from the first book.

 

[Protome]

I'm still slowly getting through The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter. I'm really enjoying it, it's light and silly and it knows it.

 

[ara]

Having a hard time getting back into reading since nothing is really hooking me after The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and its huge pile of exhilarating mysteries, so I'm just going through the shorter books on my Goodreads to-read list. Currently reading:

Seems alright so far. And it's like 200 pages. Refreshingly short.

After this I'll probably read Blackwing (Raven's Mark #1). I've been reading Best Served Cold here and there and while I still love Abercrombie's writing, I'm mostly just finding myself missing all the characters of the original trilogy so I figured I'll try something else for my grimdark needs, and I've seen people praise Blackwing's originality. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Peru]

I'm reading 100 years of solitude, and I'm not super into it. Maybe it's because I'm a casual reader, this books seems to require lengthier sessions to avoid getting lost.

After reading and hating The great Gatsby and The Trial, I'm thinking classics just aren't for me (although I loved A brave new world and 1984). I need to find less obscure/metaphoric stuff.

Click to shrink...

There are think piece-like classic tomes, and then there are classics which are also cracking page turners. Like Jane Eyre.

 

[Egida]

It's the season

I've read a lot of King's but it's my first time reading Pet Sematary (always wondered why it's worded like that, not anymore lol). Enjoying it so far.

Other books I've read recently:

- The Outsider, by Stephen King too. I liked it a lot, even if the last third becomes a bit of a drag.
- Haunted by Darcy Coates. Fun short read. Four teens go to a massive forest looking for a lost friend, but they're not alone [cue ominous music]
- Behind Closed Doors: terrible, surrenders all its mysteries very soon. I liked the ending tho.
- Bad Man: Underwhelming, perhaps I was too fixated in getting that creepy vibes you get when reading Pen Pal.
- The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay: I loved A head full of Ghosts, so I had to get this. I delayed it because I hate the whole home invasion situation, it makes me more uncomfortable that most "horror" subgenres.
I don't really know what to make about it, I enjoyed it, but, well, if you've read it you know what I'm talking about.

 

[Piston]

Still reading Welcome to the Monkey House and The Three-Body Problem. I'm really enjoying the variety in Welcome to the Monkey House and I finally got to a spot in The Three-Body Problem where I'm finding it interesting... I had originally dropped it for quite a few months because I couldn't get through the initial chapter or two.

 

[Manalicream]

Anyone here interested in literature in translation? It's a passion of mine so it would be good to connect with people who share my interest in the it.

 

[BrokenFiction]

Gave up on Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older

Click to shrink...

I'm having trouble starting it. What was your reason for bailing?

 

[Dec]

Finished chamber of secrets. Harry Potter is real good.

I'd only ever watched the movies, and it's been a while so I actually didn't remember chamber of secrets. These books are legit though, deserving of their successes.

I'm going to give The Exorcist a try.

 

[Allforce]

Really good as well. It's an interesting choice in how to do a sequel - instead of a direct continuation it's written from the viewpoint of the person sent in to fix the mess of the Southern Reach and it really broadens out the whole universe, whilst staying with the same themes from the first book.

Click to shrink...

I've been reading this book for what seems like 6 months now after blowing through the first book (which I started right after the fantastic film released back in Feb.). I don't hate it but I can only get through like 2-3 pages a night and fall asleep. It's really bizarre.

Also I have the third part looming after I finish this and I don't know how I feel about that.

 

[BrokenFiction]

I've been reading this book for what seems like 6 months now after blowing through the first book (which I started right after the fantastic film released back in Feb.). I don't hate it but I can only get through like 2-3 pages a night and fall asleep. It's really bizarre.

Also I have the third part looming after I finish this and I don't know how I feel about that.

Click to shrink...

I don't have the love for the Southern Reach that a lot of people do, but the first book was the most interesting to me. The latter 2 weren't good. I say this as a big fan of Vandermeer's Ambergris works.

 

[Kill3r7]

Currently reading The Coldest Winter. Fascinating read as I know little about the Korean War. Also, the powerplay between Truman/State and MacArthur/Military is riveting and insightful. It is easy to see why the military has always been weary of State and vice versa.

 

[Ebullientprism]

Finished The White Tiger. Absolutely loved it. Its really short too so you can probably burn through it over the weekend. Its not as "Indian" as something like a Khushwant Singh book but its still very identifiable. Very highly recommended.

Currently reading -

It is heartbreaking and horrifying. The absolute callousness of Stalin towards his own people is infuriating. And having hundreds of thousands of people die because of dumb bureaucracy is something I just cant get over. One of the most haunting things I read was that parents had to chose between sending their kids (toddlers in some cases) off on trains alone without them or have them stay in a city about to come under a siege by Nazi's. How can you ever make a decision like that? And the gut wrenching part is now we know there was no right choice. Those who stayed, starved and died. And the trains of kids that left often got bombed by the German Luftwaffe and in some cases the Soviet bureaucracy often sent them to places that were already falling to the Nazi's.

Jesus fucking Christ.

 

[Dec]

The Exorcist seems kind of bad. Think I'll not bother.

 

[citrusred]

Anyone here interested in literature in translation? It's a passion of mine so it would be good to connect with people who share my interest in the it.

Click to shrink...

I've started reading Zola's rougon macqaurt books if that counts. I like reading modern translations of old books since a lot of the Victorian translations feels like your trying to parse through that as well.

 

[TheBeardedOne]

I'm still reading:

I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan

Click to shrink...

I just finished I Know You Know, and it's left me disappointed. That's not to say I expected a lot from it. The ending is just so disappointing.

Overall the book is nothing special, but it could've been better if it had a good, non-rushed ending.

It's the season

I've read a lot of King's but it's my first time reading Pet Sematary (always wondered why it's worded like that, not anymore lol). Enjoying it so far.

Other books I've read recently:

- The Outsider, by Stephen King too. I liked it a lot, even if the last third becomes a bit of a drag.
- Haunted by Darcy Coates. Fun short read. Four teens go to a massive forest looking for a lost friend, but they're not alone [cue ominous music]
- Behind Closed Doors: terrible, surrenders all its mysteries very soon. I liked the ending tho.
- Bad Man: Underwhelming, perhaps I was too fixated in getting that creepy vibes you get when reading Pen Pal.
- The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay: I loved A head full of Ghosts, so I had to get this. I delayed it because I hate the whole home invasion situation, it makes me more uncomfortable that most "horror" subgenres.
I don't really know what to make about it, I enjoyed it, but, well, if you've read it you know what I'm talking about.

Click to shrink...

I've also read Bad Man, The Outsider and The Cabin at the End of the World recently. Well, recently as in during the spring and summer.

I actually made a thread about Bad Man, but nobody responded. I was hoping that someone else on this forum would've been reading it then, so that we could discuss it, especially given how PenPal became kind of popular.

I read PenPal during the summer, then got Bad Man from the library as well. I almost bought it when I saw it at Chapters one day, because I'd been waiting for it and the library hadn't gotten it in yet, but I'm glad that I didn't. It really wasn't that good, and was kind of boring. I agree with you.

 

[Egida]

I just finished I Know You Know, and it's left me disappointed. That's not to say I expected a lot from it. The ending is just so disappointing.

Overall the book is nothing special, but it could've been better if it had a good, non-rushed ending.



I've also read Bad Man, The Outsider and The Cabin at the End of the World recently. Well, recently as in during the spring and summer.

I actually made a thread about Bad Man, but nobody responded. I was hoping that someone else on this forum would've been reading it then, so that we could discuss it, especially given how PenPal became kind of popular.

I read PenPal during the summer, then got Bad Man from the library as well. I almost bought it when I saw it at Chapters one day, because I'd been waiting for it and the library hadn't gotten it in yet, but I'm glad that I didn't. It really wasn't that good, and was kind of boring. I agree with you.

Click to shrink...

I read Pen Pal ages ago in its original No Sleep form, I wonder if the book it's worth it if I have already read the original.
Bad Man feels like you could remove half the pages without losing anything of value and I forgot about it the moment I finished it.

What did you make of the ending of The Cabin at the End of the World?

 

[Jag]

Started reading this:

I could hardly put it down.

Click to shrink...

Reading the first Culture book now. Not sure I will continue. It's ok, but nothing great.

 

[gosublime]

I've been reading this book for what seems like 6 months now after blowing through the first book (which I started right after the fantastic film released back in Feb.). I don't hate it but I can only get through like 2-3 pages a night and fall asleep. It's really bizarre.

Also I have the third part looming after I finish this and I don't know how I feel about that.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

Sure you've not been hypnotised?

 

[TheBeardedOne]

I read Pen Pal ages ago in its original No Sleep form, I wonder if the book it's worth it if I have already read the original.
Bad Man feels like you could remove half the pages without losing anything of value and I forgot about it the moment I finished it.

What did you make of the ending of The Cabin at the End of the World?

Click to shrink...

The Cabin at the End of the World was a weird book from start to finish. I was left unsure of what to think by the ending. It was weird.

 

[fakefaker]

I'm having trouble starting it. What was your reason for bailing?

Click to shrink...

I'd suggest you bail now as well if you're already having issues with it. I appreciated the world building and some of the ideas in the book, but I found it way too technobabble infodumpy, the characters were uninspiring and interchangeable, and third and the killer of the book, there was no hook for me to continue. Other than a plot reveal around page 55 concerning Liberty, I found the book dull. And as my back list to read is HUGE, I decided to wish the book and happy voyage and quit. Good luck with it if you decide to continue!

 

[BrokenFiction]

I'd suggest you bail now as well if you're already having issues with it. I appreciated the world building and some of the ideas in the book, but I found it way too technobabble infodumpy, the characters were uninspiring and interchangeable, and third and the killer of the book, there was no hook for me to continue. Other than a plot reveal around page 55 concerning Liberty, I found the book dull. And as my back list to read is HUGE, I decided to wish the book and happy voyage and quit. Good luck with it if you decide to continue!

Click to shrink...

Well, that's probably enough for me. Her Twitter feed is academic, so that might have something to do with it (not that academics can't write novels, but still)

 

[Atraveller]

Reading the first Culture book now. Not sure I will continue. It's ok, but nothing great.

Click to shrink...

The Culture novels are each different and standalone. Maybe others will fit your likings more.

 

[Orb]

Nearing the end of Fear by Bob Woodward.

In some ways its fascinating, but I'm kind of ready for it to be over. It's anecdote after anecdote about just how stubborn, obstinate, and moronic Trump is, and how everyone around him is scrambling trying to push their own agendas on him. That was interesting for the first few chapters, but it's literally that same thing over and over. If you ever had any question about Trump's attitude, this book answers them for you, but beyond that, I don't think it has much insightful to offer.

Not sure what to read next. I have about 30 books on my Kindle that I'm itching to get to. Might need something a bit lighthearted after this.