Books Read 2011

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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Pyperkub »

Pyperkub wrote:Finished:

Against All Things Ending (Book 3 of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) - Stephen R. Donaldson

This is the best of this Chronicle so far. But, I was extremely disappointed to discover that it wasn't the final book in the Chronicle - I just figured this was a trilogy too.

Donaldson really tackles Despair in this book (and does it well, while maintaining a good fantasy storyline), and maybe that touched me somewhat as last year was a tough one. From the Amazon reviews, a lot of the readers disliked this aspect of the novel, but I found it good. It's also refreshing to read a book again where the author has a better vocabulary than me.

Little Fuzzy - H. Beam Piper

An old classic, looking at the question of how to define sapience in an alien race. Grabbed for free off of manybooks.net. It's just too bad they don't have the sequel(s?) that I remember reading when I was younger.

Deadly Sanctuary - Sylvia Nobel

This was a freebie for the Kindle, and was fun for the price. It was fun to have a protagonist who didn't carry a gun in a Mystery series, set in Arizona and who was a woman. However, the love triangle was drawn out a little too long, and the ending didn't work right for me. Not a bad read for something light.

Updated for the latter two books. Looking for something to hold me over until the next WoT book by Sanderson comes to Kindle at the end of the month.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

I can lend you Warbreaker by Sanderson if you're interested. It's a stand alone novel and will give you an idea if you like his stuff that's not Jordan-related.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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Isgrimnur wrote:I can lend you Warbreaker by Sanderson if you're interested. It's a stand alone novel and will give you an idea if you like his stuff that's not Jordan-related.
Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm going to stay away from Fantasy until then. Plus, I don't know if I can do ~1300 pages by Sanderson back to back like I used to with the Jordan books. I may take you up on it in awhile tho.

I might go with King's new novella collection, though the last one (the 'sunset' one) was a little underwhelming.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jeff V »

Attila - The Gathering of the Storm by William Napier :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Book Two of Napier's novelization of the life of Attila the Hun. The first book covered his upbringing as a hostage held by the Romans, as well as his escape and journey back to Hun territory. That book ended with young Attila being banished from his homeland by his uncle, whom he had suspected of killing his father to usurp the throne.

Fast-forward 30 years. Attila has grown up as a nomad on the steppes, although Napier elects not to detail much of this period. He returns to his tribe, taking charge as the rightful king. He then embarks on a trip to unite the three largest factions of Huns, which in turn attract many of the smaller groups resulting in a vast horde that will presume to attack the Roman Empire in the west, before swinging back to tackle their ancient enemy in the east, China. The Roman Empire is split between the scholarly Theodosius II in the east and the weak, decadent Valentinian in the west, In response to the threat posed by the Hunnish hordes, Attila's old childhood friend, Aetius, is recalled from exile among Theodoric and the Visigoths.

The story is written from the point of view of a historian/scribe in the Byzantine court. Aside from not being an eye witness to the accounts described, the prose often seems a little awkward and inconsistent. Napier also diverts several times to flesh out the background of minor characters that don't really have an impact on the story. It's not that their stories are always uninteresting, just unnecessary.

Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet :binky: :binky: :binky:

The premise of the book -- that which got me interested in the first place -- is that Enrico Fermi, Robert Oppenheimer, and Leo Szilard had their post-test Manhattan Project selves suddenly reincarnated in the early 21st century. Millet seems to parlay the theme as a vehicle to spout her own views on what really happened at the end of WW2 (and the theory is certainly plausible) as well as a desire to curb current and future nuclear proliferation. A noble concept to be sure, but the execution wasn't all that compelling.

In a bizarre turn of events, the three scientists become godheads for a hippy-like cult of...right wing nutjobs! Millet never seems to know what to do once she establishes this sudden time shift bringing long-dead scientists into the hear and now. The government sort of would like to have them back, but they have issues with acknowledging them. The nutjobs embrace them, but the lunatic fringe is never a vehicle for change. Millet doesn't seem to know how to end this mess she created...so she brings in the Whooping Cranes. Okay...

If you like flowery prose and are interested in some facts regarding our atomic history, you might find enough here to keep you interested. To me, the story was aimless, the climax absurd, and the story-telling on the droll side.
Last edited by Jeff V on Sun Jul 17, 2011 10:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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The Cost of Betrayal (The Half-Orcs Book 2)

A continuation of the story, with the brothers going their own ways and following different paths, both tied to a woman. The first part kind of drug a bit, but the second rapidly became action oriented.

These books are brutal. The author pulls no punches and no one is off limits. And I mean no one. I would hesitate to recommend this book to any parent of a small child.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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ChaoZ wrote: It's the number of characters which gets me sometimes. Too many political figures on both sides, and too many agendas in play. Some of those paragraphs are hard to slog through. On the fourth book now, and it looks like the whole thing is a political play.
In a way, yes, it is all political. Basically, Honor Harrington is portrayed as one who will NOT play political games, and through sheer ability, and recognition by people in place of power who knows the Manticoran Star Empire needs officers like her, manages to survive and succeed crisis after crisis, both personal and professional in nature.

The political play are basically by people who are either pissed off by Honor (you may have read about an incident back in the academy regarding Pavel Young), people who think she's a threat to their political power, or people who think by hurting her they can hurt her "sponsors".

Later, when the world broadened (the books you are getting into now, involving Grayson, Haven, and more), Honor's "role" has broadened so she's viewed as a threat by even MORE people.

So yes, in a way, it is all political. :)
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Kasey Chang »

Finished "Ghost War" by Alex Berenson

CIA Agent John Wells is back... back on US soil, but restless. When news of Taliban fighters getting mercenary trainers reached the CIA, John Well is going back to Afghanistan... and what he finds there is shocking... Iran about to go nuclear, a mission rescuing a defector going horribly wrong, a mole in the CIA about to destroy spy ops in China, and a general in China making a power play for world dominance...

This book is very reminiscent of Tom Clancy, albeit less techno-wiz, and bit more about the nitty-gritty world of human spies. It's a bit more reminiscent of Larry Bond's books, though not quite as globe-spanning. It's a good yarn. I wouldn't quite compare him to some of the existing masters, but he's pretty good.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Baroquen »

I've been on a book kick of late. After slogging through "American Lion" by Jon Meacham, I've been speeding through some easier novels. (It wasn't that the Andrew Jackson story was bad, just not that engaging.)

Anyway, since the start of 2011, I've read James Patterson's first two Alex Cross books ("Along Came a Spider" & "Kiss the Girls"). Fine, easy reads but nothing special. Will eventually get back to the series. Currently re-reading "Ender's Game". I don't usually re-read books, though my wife does it all the time. (I don't really get that, but hey.. whatever entertains.) But I haven't read this since I was a kid. I remembered I enjoyed the original books, and I want to try some of the parallel books this time around. Half-way through, and enjoying it. Will probably bounce to some non-fiction after this though.

Oh - I also read "Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World". It's a thin little book, that I saw recommended somewhere, and I usually like behind-the-scenes looks at Disney projects, as they usually tell an interesting story. That said, this book was dry, and not really that interesting. But at least it didn't take long to get through.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jeff V »

Baroquen wrote:I've been on a book kick of late. After slogging through "American Lion" by Jon Meacham, I've been speeding through some easier novels. (It wasn't that the Andrew Jackson story was bad, just not that engaging.)
Unfortunately, that book focused on his unremarkable presidency and his political entourage. His military history is a fair amount more interesting.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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The Black Company: The Fourth Omnibus by Glen Cook

This contains Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live.


It was nice to have the original annalist back telling the story, and whether that was the reason or maybe it was because the story actually went somewhere but these were the best books in the series since the first 3. This is the end of the story and it is probably about time.

I really loved the first three books of this 9 part series. I would recommend those to anyone anytime. But the series drags after that and while it has it's moments I would have to say that most readers would be better off stopping after those first three books, which are sold as the First Omnibus.

Cook has an interesting style and his way of telling this story, through the annalists, is very unique, but I think it hurts the stories continuity and it takes away the best character in the series for several books.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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Finished Hellfire by Ed Macy

http://www.amazon.com/Hellfire/dp/00072 ... ap_title_0" target="_blank

Hellfire is an autobiographical novel about a guy in the British Army Air Corp (i.e. attack helicopters) who basically got invalidated out of the Paras (paratroopers, British version of our "Rangers") and went to helicopter training instead. He eventually transitioned to Apaches (the British version has a 30% stronger engine and thus flies a lot better) and went on variety of missions in Afghanistan where the Apache had proven invaluable against Taliban forces both as top-escort and "intimate support" roles. He described in detail some of the missions, including chasing down a sniper team and engaged an anti-aircraft gun that came close to hitting him, among others.

Half of the book is about his journey up to that point, including being among the first in British Army to qualify in Apaches, and therefore literally "wrote the book" on operational doctrines, procedures, and whatnot. The other half is his experience in Afghanistan.

If you read Andy McNab or some of the other Brits you should like the style. There are no punches pulled. Politicians are treated with disdain. Some even told them they are NOT there to shoot any body, and ROE basically had one hand tied behind their back as they are only allowed to shoot when they can clearly identify the shooter or shooting location.

If you like this sort of autobiographical book by warriors it is definitely worth a read.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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I just finished "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (aka the Blade Runner book). Really, really good - one of the best books I've read in awhile.

Now I'm going through my most recent issue of The Atlantic, before I turn to some Lovecraft short stories.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jeff V »

Wikinomics - How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Wikinomics is all about taking the business model of Wikipedia and expanding it to marketable products, service lines, and companies. Published in 2008, it's surprising how dated some of the examples seem today (My Space? Friendster? Delicious?) It does go to show how fickle the public can be, today's billion dollar baby is the butt of tomorrow's joke. Examples aside, Wikinomics - How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything is all about the benefits of open source; putting ideas into the public domain; and receiving highly qualified input from contributors throughout the world. Tapscott lauds corporations that embrace this new paradigm; and vilifies those who cling too tightly to the seemingly out-dated concepts of intellectual property. A few mega-corps are targets of his scorn: Apple and Sony among them. And a few are heralded as leaders in this new world, among them IBM.

The book is rife with examples on how some existing companies or product lines leverage the phenomenon of community development. For business folk looking a new, possibly profitable, direct, it can provide food for thought. However, it can just as easily spell doom for currently lucrative industries should their cash cow be served at the soup kitchen. Tapscott does not balance his book by suggesting this approach could spell doom for particular industries or product lines.

Tapscott also revisits the same examples over and over. This rather undermines the "all the cool kids are doing it" vibe he's trying to convey n the book. I think I would have enjoyed a shorter, tighter book that visits these corporate examples but once. After the second or third time, these examples feel recycled and whatever point Tapscott is trying to make is lost. Still, while I was already familiar with open-source software development (Linux was his model) and, of course, Wikipedia; it was kind of neat seeing how something not in the tech/IP realm: a gold mining company, leverages this model to find new veins to exploit.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

The Death of Promises (The Half-Orcs, Book 3) by David Dalglish

Book three continues the ramp up of blood, epic fights, and death. We get to track a couple of paladins for one of the three major deities and get to see a fourth enter the scene. I can tell you this would never be my first recommendation for someone looking for a series to read, but
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jag »

but what??

For Sanderson, would you recommend starting with Mistborn or Warbreaker?
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

Copy/paste error: "...it's certainly keeping my interest enough."

I'd start with Warbreaker. It's a one-shot that will introduce you to Sanderson's odd take on world building and methods of magic. If you like the out-of-the-box methods of Warbreaker, then definitely move on to Mistborn.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jeff V »

ReWork by Jason Fried :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

The authors of ReWork run a small, software development company based in Chicago. Their meager staff of 16 is global, however. The book is about focusing on core competency and focusing on what you do best. They believe in targeted products with limited functionality -- the kitchen sink approach leads to escalating costs with little pay-off. This philosophy is applied to all other aspects of business too -- from hiring people of certain skill sets and ability, to marketing and PR functions.

The authors also caution against over-expansion, particularly in the manner of increasing capacity to serve a single customer. Loss of that customer could result in rapid downsizing, and an anything that jeopardizing serving other existing customers attracted by your product and service could prove disastrous. Knowing when to let a customer go, in their opinion, is as important as attracting a new customer.

ReWork contains sound advice for small companies that can succeed with a tight focus. Avoiding the growth of a corporate bureaucracy can help keep small (and perhaps mid-sized) companies more nimble and adaptable. By design, it prevents growth into large companies, however. It is sound advice for the many businesses that will never rise above small business, however. This is not an MBA-level business analysis, it's short and easily comprehended by those who might desire some business advice but lack a formal business background (but have salable business ideas or skills).

Distance Cycling by John Hughes and Dan Kehlenbach :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Distance Cycling is a beginner's guide for cyclists who want to move beyond neighborhood rides to the realm of centuries, doubles, tours and brevets. With complete training outlines for each type of endurance goal, the authors do a complete, if sometimes repetitive, job. Anecdotal sidebars from from accomplished mix things up a bit and help keep the book interesting.

Distance Cycling is more of a reference book to have on the shelf than a cover-to-cover read. I think it might have worked a little better with some reorganization. Beginning with the goal of a century ride (as the book does) probably will captivate and satisfy the majority of readers. While it's nice to know a little about the longer rides, beginning distance cyclists (the target of this book) likely won't look so far so soon. Important information on equipment and injury prevention is relegated to the last few chapters, when a rider struggling to ramp up his workout pace has already looked glassy-eyed at the chapters on double-centuries, tours and brevets.

As far as the advice goes, it's solid enough. I remember when I took up distance cycling; I had to work out much of nutrition, hydration, clothing, and training on my own. Eventually, I more or less fell in line with the authors' advice in this book. But then, after doing it for years, it now seems rather unnecessary. I can (and have) ramped up to a century with just a few weeks of training. I don't even recall the last time I thought about nutrition -- maybe because my body already stores more than an ample supply of calories (oops!) I've never had the opportunity to go beyond a 200k distance event...I've always wanted to try touring, and it seems to me that, just like in those early days of training for my first century, it would be successful if I paid attention to detail. Like the details found in this book.
Last edited by Jeff V on Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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Pyperkub wrote:Finished:

Against All Things Ending (Book 3 of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) - Stephen R. Donaldson

This is the best of this Chronicle so far. But, I was extremely disappointed to discover that it wasn't the final book in the Chronicle - I just figured this was a trilogy too.

Donaldson really tackles Despair in this book (and does it well, while maintaining a good fantasy storyline), and maybe that touched me somewhat as last year was a tough one. From the Amazon reviews, a lot of the readers disliked this aspect of the novel, but I found it good. It's also refreshing to read a book again where the author has a better vocabulary than me.

Little Fuzzy - H. Beam Piper

An old classic, looking at the question of how to define sapience in an alien race. Grabbed for free off of manybooks.net. It's just too bad they don't have the sequel(s?) that I remember reading when I was younger.

Deadly Sanctuary - Sylvia Nobel

This was a freebie for the Kindle, and was fun for the price. It was fun to have a protagonist who didn't carry a gun in a Mystery series, set in Arizona and who was a woman. However, the love triangle was drawn out a little too long, and the ending didn't work right for me. Not a bad read for something light.

Earth - David Brin

This is an old favorite. In the late 80's, Brin decided to do a near future novel along the lines of Orwell's 1984 (which was just 1948, the year he wrote it, transposed) and go about 50 years into the future. Brin is a Hard SF writer who extrapolated a number of trends and technologies from the 80's (and invented a few new ones) to look at what life might be like on Earth in 2038. This book has the Epic scope of Dune, but with the real world grounding, and it holds up, even 20 years later. I highly recommend it to any and all SF readers - it is well written with some solid science and some interesting ideas which resonate even now.

Added Earth. This is a must read for SF fans, IMHO.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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I am currently reading Sandersons The Way of Kings. Its the first book by Sanderson Ive read and Im enjoying it quite a bit. Its starts out with a number of threads and a lot going on but now that Im nearing the end of the novel things are beginning to draw together and coalesce. Not sure when the next book is due but Im looking forward to the continuation of his Stormbringer series.

I checked out Brandon Sanderson's web site and found out you can get a free pdf copy of all of the various drafts of Warbringer, from the first, right up to the draft sent to the publisher.
Well do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?
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Re: Books Read 2011

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rshetts2 wrote:I am currently reading Sandersons The Way of Kings. Its the first book by Sanderson Ive read and Im enjoying it quite a bit. Its starts out with a number of threads and a lot going on but now that Im nearing the end of the novel things are beginning to draw together and coalesce. Not sure when the next book is due but Im looking forward to the continuation of his Stormbringer series.

I checked out Brandon Sanderson's web site and found out you can get a free pdf copy of all of the various drafts of Warbringer, from the first, right up to the draft sent to the publisher.
I read Way of Kings and the first Mistborn book by Sanderson. I like the where Way of Kings is headed but decided to forego the other Mistborn for the time being. He released a huge cache of books over the past couple years but has commented on his bog that he just happened to have had a lot of writing in the queue at the same time. He will get the Wheel of Time books done by due dates I think, but do not hold your breath for the Stormlight series to be released on a yearly basis.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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I really like the Stieg Larsson books (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) but they're hard reads. I read that the Swedish title translates to ""Men Who Hate Women" and that is definitely the central theme of the series. After these books, I need something light. I turned to Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler but although I enjoy the Bryant and May mysteries, they aren't light enough to counterbalance the darkness of Larsson's books.

So, I picked up Spencer Quinn's Thereby Hangs a Tail, the second in the Chet and Bernie mysteries. It's a very short series so far, I think the third book came out in 2010. Bernie Little is a P.I. in Southern California and Chet is his dog and partner. Mystery fans will find the mystery in Thereby Hangs a Tail predictable and hackneyed, but the charm of the Chet and Bernie books is Chet. The stories are narrated by Chet, a dog who just missed becoming a police dog - Chet doesn't really tell us exactly how he flunked the final exam but apparently it had something to do with a cat. In fact, there are a lot of things Chet doesn't quite tell us, past cases he seems to only vaguely remember, various incidents he alludes to, but he always tells us about the case.
In Thereby Hangs a Tail, Chet and Bernie are hired to bodyguard a show dog and her owner. They're fired almost immediately but when the show dog and her owner are kidnapped, the PIs return to the case. As in "Dog On It" (the first Chet and Bernie book), Chet gets separated from Bernie and has to solve parts of the mystery on his own. He rescues the little show dog, Princess, gets sold to some bad guy who wants to ship him to Alaska, and somehow reunites with his trusty partner Bernie Little in time to solve the case and catch the bad guys. The police, of course, were not very helpful throughout.
As I said, hackneyed. But Chet's narrative style is full of doggy insights, short attention span, fuzzy memories and confusion about idioms. The result is a light and entertaining read. A good follow for the far more original but oh,so dark Stieg Larsson book.
Last edited by Bad Demographic on Sun Feb 13, 2011 1:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jeff V »

Bad Demographic wrote:I really like the Stieg Larsson books
A friend has been on me to read these books, and offered to lend them to me. This is the same friend who got me a here-to-fore useless Kindle for Xmas. Trendy books like this would seem to be ideal for this, but she wants to lend me her copies of the physical books. That will make it more difficult to find a spot in my queue.

Would I regret not ever having read these books?b
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Bad Demographic »

Jeff V wrote:
Bad Demographic wrote:I really like the Stieg Larsson books
A friend has been on me to read these books, and offered to lend them to me. This is the same friend who got me a here-to-fore useless Kindle for Xmas. Trendy books like this would seem to be ideal for this, but she wants to lend me her copies of the physical books. That will make it more difficult to find a spot in my queue.

Would I regret not ever having read these books?b
I bought the first book ("the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo") for Bob for Christmas a couple years ago and he found it hard to get into. Not a fast enough start for him. After reading some of the comments here, I gave it a try. I felt it started kind of slow, but once it picked up, it really grabbed me. The second book seemed to pick up faster, although that could have been because I was familiar with the characters and their relationships from the first book.
You could try getting Dragon Tattoo from the library and see what you think. By now the reservation line might not be so long. Or just borrow it from your friend, bump it up in the queue. If you don't like it, you'll know you're not missing anything by not reading the rest of the books.
(btw, now that we've seen the movie versions of the first two books, Bob is giving it a try again).
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by rshetts2 »

Just finished The Way of Kings. Fantastic read! The final 3rd of the book really pays off well as things tie together and in some ways get turned on its head. After reading this, I am going to have to get back into The Wheel of Time series because I have complete faith that Sanderson will be able to finish the series of in style.
As far as The Way of Kings and the Stormlight series in general, I sure hope I dont have a GRRM style wait for the next book to come out. I figure with his obligation to the Wheel of Time it may be a few years but I am very much looking forward to the next book in this series.


The Way of Kings :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:
Brandon Sanderson
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

rshetts2 wrote: As far as The Way of Kings and the Stormlight series in general, I sure hope I dont have a GRRM style wait for the next book to come out. I figure with his obligation to the Wheel of Time it may be a few years but I am very much looking forward to the next book in this series.
You don't understand. All the man does is write and teach. He's said before that even if he wasn't a published writer, he'd still be writing books. He is currently re-reading WoT to prepare for writing the finale, which should be out in one year's time. While he initially committed to one a year to finish WoT, he's revised the final date to expect March of next year. Here's his blog post about that and sundry other details.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Pyperkub »

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Towers of Midnight, and he has definitely improved since The Gathering Storm. The characters are starting to feel like themselves again - particularly Mat. Sanderson didn't really write him well in the last book (nor did Jordan in his last one), and he finally feels like the rogue he is again.
Spoiler:
Even though he's married.
As the last battle approaches, maybe it's just that the characters are in motion again, after what seems like a few thousand pages of them hemming/hawing and really not doing anything.
Black Lives definitely Matter Lorini!

Also: There are three ways to not tell the truth: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
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Skinypupy
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Skinypupy »

The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - The last time I read an initial book in a fantasy series which I enjoyed this much, the name on the cover was George R.R. Martin. The Blade Itself is an absolutely fantastic story with wonderful characters set in a rich, amazing world. It also has some of the best - if not the best - combat scenes I've ever read. Abercrombie really knows how to describe a fight. I can't recommend this one highly enough, and I cannot wait to get started on the next book.

:binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: (8 of 8 tentacles)
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by rshetts2 »

Isgrimnur wrote:
rshetts2 wrote: As far as The Way of Kings and the Stormlight series in general, I sure hope I dont have a GRRM style wait for the next book to come out. I figure with his obligation to the Wheel of Time it may be a few years but I am very much looking forward to the next book in this series.
You don't understand. All the man does is write and teach. He's said before that even if he wasn't a published writer, he'd still be writing books. He is currently re-reading WoT to prepare for writing the finale, which should be out in one year's time. While he initially committed to one a year to finish WoT, he's revised the final date to expect March of next year. Here's his blog post about that and sundry other details.
Thanks for the link. It looks like his schedule puts the next Stormlight novel around fall 2012. Hes a busy and prolific writer indeed.
Well do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?
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Scuzz
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Scuzz »

Skinypupy wrote:The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - The last time I read an initial book in a fantasy series which I enjoyed this much, the name on the cover was George R.R. Martin. The Blade Itself is an absolutely fantastic story with wonderful characters set in a rich, amazing world. It also has some of the best - if not the best - combat scenes I've ever read. Abercrombie really knows how to describe a fight. I can't recommend this one highly enough, and I cannot wait to get started on the next book.

:binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: (8 of 8 tentacles)

I believe this will be my next book store purchase..........
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A nonny mouse
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by A nonny mouse »

Say it ain't so!

the new Pactick Rothfuss book, The Wise Man's Fear, is due out on March 1st.
If Amazon can be believed, that is.

I thought "The Name of the Wind" was great, and hope this is as good.

I have to get updating my 2011 list. I've read a shit-ton of things, maybe some of you would like them.
I find television very educational. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book. - Groucho Marx
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Jaymann
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jaymann »

Skinypupy wrote:The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - The last time I read an initial book in a fantasy series which I enjoyed this much, the name on the cover was George R.R. Martin. The Blade Itself is an absolutely fantastic story with wonderful characters set in a rich, amazing world. It also has some of the best - if not the best - combat scenes I've ever read. Abercrombie really knows how to describe a fight. I can't recommend this one highly enough, and I cannot wait to get started on the next book.

:binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: (8 of 8 tentacles)
Just finished this as well. Thumbs way up!
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naednek
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by naednek »

2011 Books read

Finished my first book of the year today.

Decision Points by George W Bush 2-09-11
Have to say I enjoyed it. It gave me a bigger insight and understanding on the challenges he faced as President. I recommend giving this a read, no matter what side of the aisle you are on, you might walk away understanding why he made certain decisions. Some decisions, he made were against his ideology, but did it for the betterment of the country and the world. And as he said, time will tell whether or not they were right or wrong decisions.

Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith Parts 1-5 by John Jackson Miller 02-10-11
These are a collection of short stories that continue off each other that I found for free off of amazon's kindle website.

Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz 04-12-11
Once again Koontz is too wordy just to fill in space. He's becoming more and more like Stephen King.

The Rumblin by Jeff Bennington 04-13-11
Short story - pretty meaningless and devoid of character

A Song of Ice and Fire: The Game of Thrones 8-21-11
Really enjoyed the first book and looking forward to finish the series.

A Song of Ice and FIre: A Clash of Kings 12-16-11
Last edited by naednek on Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:33 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Scuzz
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Scuzz »

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan


This is a good book explaining the human disaster that was the Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Egan follows the lives of several real people in showing how people dealt with the worst ecological disaster in American history.

The book is not exactly a page turner but it does grab your attention and you will learn something.

3.5 of 5
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by lildrgn »

Just finished Let The Right One In by John Avjide Lindquist. Dug it. Read it!
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Pyperkub
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Pyperkub »

Pyperkub wrote:I'm about 2/3 of the way through Towers of Midnight, and he has definitely improved since The Gathering Storm. The characters are starting to feel like themselves again - particularly Mat. Sanderson didn't really write him well in the last book (nor did Jordan in his last one), and he finally feels like the rogue he is again.
Spoiler:
Even though he's married.
As the last battle approaches, maybe it's just that the characters are in motion again, after what seems like a few thousand pages of them hemming/hawing and really not doing anything.
Finished it. Good read, the ending was a bit 'lacking' I guess. I expected a little more I suppose. It is available for Kindle Loan, so I'll put it in my group for the thread.
Black Lives definitely Matter Lorini!

Also: There are three ways to not tell the truth: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Kasey Chang »

Just finished Stephen Coont's "The Assassin" which is continues the story of Tommy Carmellini and Abu Qasim... And Jake Grafton.

I have to say, Stephen Coonts turned out to be a much better writer than I originally gave him credit for. I always thought he's a bit of one-off deal with "Flight of the Intruder", which is like a combination war-fantasy (actually drop some bombs on Hanoi) and semi-autobiographical story. However, later books turned Jake Grafton into a genuine spy who may be one of the best covert operators who doesn't get his own hands dirty at all, but is a master handler and troubleshooter around.

This book continues the plot of the master terrorist Abu Qasim, who was narrowly thwarted from bombing the G8 summit in Paris. The book is a mix of both first-person (told through Tommy Carmellini's POV) and third-person (generic omniscient POV). The idea is simple... A billionaire's son in the army, trying to rescue someone, was killed by IED. The billionaire along with a few others decided to band together, let the right people into their database, finance some operators, and go after terrorist leaders. And Jake Grafton, retired Admiral, was the person leading the actual efforts. When a few hits resulted in casualties on both sides, Abu Qasim knew he's targeted, so he hired one of the best killers known, and started hitting back... And it's possible he had a bigger target in mind...

The problem with Coont's writing is he's not that good in the technical combat stuff. The bad guys are almost too good, and the good guys seem to survive more on luck than actual skill. Also, for a thriller, this reads more like a detective novel, as the layers are peeled back one at a time, and you eventually realize you were given the various clues long before, but you only put them together at the very end.

Still, a good read, nonetheless.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

Welsh Fairy Tales by William Elliot Griffis (1921)

Currently free on Kindle. The collection shows a bit of the author's footprint regarding a bit of editorializing. The stories are short, sweet, and to the point. You'll see several appearances of King Puck and Queen Mab, as well as a few mentions of Arthur. None of these will give you any sort of deep treatment on the subject, but it's interesting to see what has survived into our culture today from different areas.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Bad Demographic »

Just finished The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. I really enjoyed it and felt it had good closure for the series. I read somewhere that the author had planned a 10 book series. ( I'm not sure where he would go after this one. "The further misadventures of Lisbet Salander and Kalle Blömkvist"?.) One reviewer on Amazon felt the book dragged in some parts and thought it was probably because the author died before he could tighten it up. I agree with the dragging in some parts. And I think somebody here liked the second and third books were better than the first, and I did, too. I felt this book's pace picked up much faster than the first two, but this could be because I was familiar with the characters and the back story. I won't say anything about the plot in case anybody here is planning to start the series (but hasn't yet).
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Jaymann
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jaymann »

I saw the move of the first one. Should I go right to the second book?
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Bad Demographic
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Bad Demographic »

Jaymann wrote:I saw the move of the first one. Should I go right to the second book?
There are minor differences between the movie and the book. And, of course, there are details they left out of the movie. I don't think the differences are so big that you'll be lost in the second book. I think you'll have a better sense of the characters if you read the first book, but that's really just my thought - it may not strike anybody else as an issue.
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