what are you reading?

SimonB · Post by **SimonB** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:45 pm 0

Now: Nick Cohn - Awopbopaloobop, alopbamboom

Previous: Jeff Noon - Automated Alice

limb_clock · Post by **limb_clock** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:47 pm 0

Noah Viley: Dharma Punx.

PVB · Post by **PVB** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:01 pm 0

A barrel of laughs from cover to cover.

grue · Post by **grue** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:42 pm 0

Singularity Sky - Charles Stross

I'm on the 4th chapter but it looks like Stross is a serious match to Iain Banks. Majestic space travel with deep plot and various civilisations. Beautiful stuff.

sty · Post by **sty** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:33 pm 0

piku wrote:
benedictw wrote:
Firefox wrote:
piku wrote:Gibson, W (2004) Pattern Recognition. London, Penguin Books Ltd.
Does that hot up later on?
Yeah. Pretty unputdownable towards the end.
It didn't grab me or turn much of my imagination on. Not enough science in his science fiction. I also couldn't quite grasp the point of the story.

I read Patter Recognition when it came out and I found it a pleasant read. Funny thing was that I read it not long after YakYak got really going, so the whole point that there was something happening globally and being talked about on something that seemed incredibly like our forum added to the fun for me.

Recently I finished JPod - Douglas Coupland

Really didn't live up to the promise for me

I think I've come to the conclusion that Microserfs was the only really good book he did, and I suspect that was only good for me due to timing of when I read it.

I'm currently reading a work book - The Inmates Are Running The Asylum - Alan Cooper

An interesting read with an interesting proposition, something I've been trying to instill in people for ages as well, although I think it should be subtitles "How to alienate and patronise programmers"

Mat · Post by **Mat** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:20 pm 0

Currently reading Stephen Donaldson's "The Runes of the Earth", first book of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

Seems a bit "Meh" so far, but his Gap books were always going to be hard to follow, and to be honest, I thought he should have left Thomas Covenant alone after the first trilogy.

Granted, nobody in Sci-fi / Fantasy does disturbingly nasty, depressing anti-heroes quite as well as Donaldson, but having had a break from his writing for a few years, I find myself reading his stuff now and thinking "For FUCK'S SAKE, cheer up man!".

Course, I have just spent the last few months reading a shedload of Pratchett and Gaiman, so anything that takes itself seriously isn't going to sit well given what I've been reading.

Oh, and Pattern Recognition was okay, but the Sci-Fi aspect of it was almost non-extistant. It was the closest thing of Gibson's I've read to being contemporary.
But he does paint wonderful urban landscapes, I'll give him that.

Think I might go back and try and read "Falling out of Cars" by Jeff Noon again after the Donaldson. I had a hard time with that book the first time through and I think it needs another go. It was very much like it's subject matter; forgettable. And yet, some of the core concepts have stuck with me.
It wouldn't surprise me if that's the way Noon had meant for it to read.

Which reminds me, I need to buy another copy of "Needle in the Groove" at some point. I leant it to a guy at an old workplace and never saw it again

limb_clock · Post by **limb_clock** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:06 am 0

iWoz by Steve Wozniak. The most exciting book i've read thing year

lazerwalker · Post by **lazerwalker** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:50 am 0

The Children of Men, P. D. James. Rather good, but very different from the film, which is also well worth watching.

Anders · Post by **Anders** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:52 am 0

WiredWorm · Post by **WiredWorm** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:00 am 0

I'm reading the first 'non tech-related' book i've read since I was about 12 years old.

For some reason i've spent the past 20 years reading nothing but computer manuals and reference books - so it's really good to be reading something a little different. I'd been meaning to pick up the book in question (Lucky Man - Michael J Fox's Memoire) for years but the girlfriend kindly picked it up for me at christmas.

It's a really good read - could be tempted to get back into this reading lark!!

benedictw · Post by **benedictw** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:17 am 0

I'm reading this right now:

Think Victorian England morals and views etc but with added monsters.

RageMatrix · Post by **RageMatrix** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:21 am 0

benedictw wrote:I'm reading this right now:

Think Victorian England morals and views etc but with added monsters.

Oooh, I'll be 'aving a copy of that, thankyouverymuch.

gravy · Post by **gravy** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:30 am 0

Just finished these two:

Hannibal's pretty good, a very quick read though unsurprisingly a tad grim. I hope the film this year is as good as the book. The Prestige is fantastic and surprisingly pretty far removed enough from the also excellent film for consumption of
either not to spoil the other.

Just started on these two.

And I do mean just started so too early to call really

craigt · Post by **craigt** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:30 am 0

After being encouraged by my girlfriend to read a few classics, i've just finished Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy. Once I had got my head around the old (and to me, odd) language used in conversations, it turned out to be pretty good.

Now i'm getting back into Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, with Wolves of the Calla before I pick up another classic.