What Are You Reading, Part 2

[Orlion Blight he/him]

@Dunkum @Left The thing about Catcher in the Rye is that,  well,  it is not a YA book. It gets pushed as such,  which is a shame. It's a bigger shame that it also is pushed as absolutely life changing. The simple fact of the matter is that without further life experience to give it reference,  the underlying trauma Holden is suffering will go unnoticed. You see an a angsty teenager rather than a lost kid that does not know how to but must deal with the death of his brother. 

And that's a major problem with having a literary canon or "must - read" list. Many are compelled to read what they are not ready for and,  as a result,  what they can not appreciate or enjoy. 

Another major problem is the deification of books or authors.  The Catcher in the Rye is not the authoritative literary representation of adolescent trauma, even if it is a masterful one.  Shakespeare is not the pinnacle of accomplishment with English compositions. There will always be other masterful works. 

[Briar King]

Finished Gardens just now. Going right into bk2 Deadhouse Gates. This bk was highly emotional the 1st time I read it. I can't wait to see what it's like this time around and how much I pick up on! Malazan FTW!!

[Orlion Blight he/him]

16 minutes ago, Briar King said:

Finished Gardens just now. Going right into bk2 Deadhouse Gates. This bk was highly emotional the 1st time I read it. I can't wait to see what it's like this time around and how much I pick up on! Malazan FTW!!

 I'm in the "Memories of Ice is the best" camp 

But I always tell people getting into Malazan: People generally do not know if they will like the series until Deadhouse Gates or Memories of Ice,  so you might as well read the first three...

And House of Chains introduces Karsa, so you might as well read that one. 

And you can't not read Midnight Tides, that's where Tehol and Bugg are introduced! 

And so on and so forth. 

 

[Briar King]

6 minutes ago, Orlion On a Cob said:

 I'm in the "Memories of Ice is the best" camp 

But I always tell people getting into Malazan: People generally do not know if they will like the series until Deadhouse Gates or Memories of Ice,  so you might as well read the first three...

And House of Chains introduces Karsa, so you might as well read that one. 

And you can't not read Midnight Tides, that's where Tehol and Bugg are introduced! 

And so on and so forth. 

 

Yeah. Bk 8 was my least favorite so I look forward to seeing if my opinion changes, bk 3 is probably the best. Technically Karsa is in bk 2 but you won't know that till you get farther into series. Malazan is deep...

hoping @maxal will try it again soon.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Briar King

[Dunkum he/him]

Deadhouse Gates has the Chain of Dogs, which may be the best part of the whole series.  I sort of soured on the series around book 7 or 8, I think.  I still like it, especially the first few, but the last few books werent exactly satisfying to me, though they did still have their moments.

 

1 hour ago, Orlion On a Cob said:

Another major problem is the deification of books or authors.  The Catcher in the Rye is not the authoritative literary representation of adolescent trauma, even if it is a masterful one.  Shakespeare is not the pinnacle of accomplishment with English compositions. There will always be other masterful works.

I'm somewhat inclined to agree.  I have gone through and read/reread a lot of the sort of standard high school english books that they make you read.  I liked a lot of them, but certainly not all (Great Gatsby is another that I think doesn't hold up to they hype, for instance).  It really is somewhat of a shame too.  the way our english classes are taught, they are not exactly designed to instill any kind of appreciation for literature into the students.  I like To Kill a Mockingbird in spite of having read it in high school, and probably the only reason I enjoyed The Grapes of Wrath or The Jungle is because I did not read them for class; and i was someone who already liked reading, I imagine for students who weren't as fond of it, the experience could turn you off to it altogether.

[StormyQueen she/her]

Assassin's Fate has just arrived on my kindle... I'm not sure I even want to start it, because that'll make the book over faster... I am not prepared for this.

[Briar King]

2 hours ago, StormyQueen said:

Assassin's Fate has just arrived on my kindle... I'm not sure I even want to start it, because that'll make the book over faster... I am not prepared for this.

I'm waiting for all 3 to be paperback then I ll have a big read spree. I love Fitz books.

[Ammanas]

@Briar King@StormyQueen I read the first Fitz book a few years ago and thought it was ok, but didn't feel inspired to continue. I was wondering if the first one is a good representation of the entire series or if it gets a lot better? I am wondering if I missed out...

[Briar King]

I thought it got better. Bk 2 was my favorite of the 6 I read. I ll warn that bk 3 really sucked for the 1st half or more but it came together. The 2nd 3 where good as well. Where these books really shine is the character progression and that shines bright if you are binge reading them. There are many "get the feels" moments. 

There are better stories out there for sure but I'd definitely recommend reading bk1 again and then going right to bk2. If your not feeling the atmosphere that great bk then jump off. If it interests you continue but bare what I said in mind about 1st half of 3.

[AngelEy3 he/him]

On 5/2/2017 at 7:39 PM, Briar King said:

Finished Gardens just now. Going right into bk2 Deadhouse Gates. This bk was highly emotional the 1st time I read it. I can't wait to see what it's like this time around and how much I pick up on! Malazan FTW!!

Right behind you, Briar King. I'm gonna cruise through Red Country by Abercrombie, (cause I feel like I owe it to him and don't like to leave things unfinished) and then I'll be starting Gardens of the Moon. First time read for me and I'm excited for the challenge!

Edit: Meh... Read about 10 pages and decided I need a break from Abercrombie. Starting Gardens of the Moon now. 

Edited May 4, 2017 by AngelEy3

[Who Sharded?]

12 hours ago, Ammanas said:

@Briar King@StormyQueen I read the first Fitz book a few years ago and thought it was ok, but didn't feel inspired to continue. I was wondering if the first one is a good representation of the entire series or if it gets a lot better? I am wondering if I missed out...

I read the first 2 books and felt the same way.  Good books but I didn't love them.  I see people on the internet raving about the Fitz books, so it makes me feel like I'm missing something.  But I don't hear good things about book 3 so it makes it hard to want to continue.

[Ammanas]

@AngelEy3 The tor reread has been very valuable for me in understanding the series. Just stay away from the comment section if you don't want to be spoiled (although there are some helpful posts in there); the rest of it is safe.

http://www.tor.com/series/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen/

[Left he/him]

2 hours ago, Who Sharded? said:

I read the first 2 books and felt the same way.  Good books but I didn't love them.  I see people on the internet raving about the Fitz books, so it makes me feel like I'm missing something.  But I don't hear good things about book 3 so it makes it hard to want to continue.

I read the first book, and I really enjoyed it. It was interesting, had a neat magic system, solid conflict, and I was fine with the characters. 
Book two....I hate it. I forced myself to read the whole thing, but it was such a hard read that I've never been able to get myself to read book 3. I am very much in the minority here. Most people love book 2. I don't understand how or why they do, but I'm fine that they like it. I found it horribly slow, kind of like WoT 8-10 except without multiple PoV. I also started to really dislike several characters. Basically, I did read it, but I would describe book two as unreadable. 

That being said, I don't know of anyone who agrees with me that it's a bad book. 

[Orlion Blight he/him]

@Left When I first read it, I enjoyed Deadhouse Gates, but I was not madly in love with it. 

Memories of Ice continues the story started in Gardens of the Moon and introduces the framework that you will use to understand the series as a whole. 

Really,  you can not say Malazan is not for you until you have read it

[Left he/him]

55 minutes ago, Orlion On a Cob said:

@Left When I first read it, I enjoyed Deadhouse Gates, but I was not madly in love with it. 

Memories of Ice continues the story started in Gardens of the Moon and introduces the framework that you will use to understand the series as a whole. 

Really,  you can not say Malazan is not for you until you have read it

I was actually talking about the Fitz books by Robin Hobb

For Malaazan....I got through Gardens of the Moon. By the time I finished it I did in fact like the book, although I still didn't understand a lot of it. It got to a point in Deadhouse Gates however, where I decided to just stop reading because of the violence. I think it was about three fourths through, around the point where some characters were escaping slavery in a mining island. There was a battle or a riot in a city, don't remember exactly, and it got waaay more graphic than I could take at the time. I haven't completely ruled out returning to the series, but at present I'm really not looking for that much violence in my entertainment. 

 

[Orlion Blight he/him]

@Left Ooooh.... Yeah,  in that case if you don't like Royal Assassin, there's no point continuing. 

[Briar King]

18 hours ago, AngelEy3 said:

Right behind you, Briar King. I'm gonna cruise through Red Country by Abercrombie, (cause I feel like I owe it to him and don't like to leave things unfinished) and then I'll be starting Gardens of the Moon. First time read for me and I'm excited for the challenge!

Edit: Meh... Read about 10 pages and decided I need a break from Abercrombie. Starting Gardens of the Moon now. 

But you were on the last book! Red Country is great!

hope you like Gardens. There will be almost no hand holding as you go. It's glorious. The power ups people go through is so fun to experience and the lore you will find overtime is mind boggling.

have fun

[Left he/him]

So I just finished Hunters of Dune. 
Wow....Brian...Kevin....mates, ya'll didn't even try to write like Papa Herbert at all did you? That was the most functional writing I have ever read. I don't mean that as a compliment. Basically....It reads like they found the outlines for Dune 7 and filled it in with enough dialogue and exposition to publish. One of the joys of Dune, perhaps the main joy, is how beautiful the writing is. The amazing philosophical, religious, and political thoughts, the both human and godlike heroes are the other joys. Hunters of Dune....Is a very light sci fi adventure. It just doesn't work.  

It hurt to read it, because nothing with Dune in the title should be like that, but I was at least able to get through it fairly quickly. 

So....Sandworms of Dune is next, and then I'm finally done. I know I'm going to be heartbreakingly disappointed, but I really can't help myself. I want my ending. I really am going to have hunt down Frank Herbert after I die and just sit down on a cloud and listen to him tell me the story of how it's supposed to end, but until then I'll finish reading the published series. 

On the bright side, I definitely know that I don't want to read the Butlerian, Houses, or Organizations books. There's No way I could take more of Brian and Kevin's writing. 

[Briar King]

I would love to see what is in the "notes" they "found" but I doubt we will.

[AngelEy3 he/him]

5 hours ago, Briar King said:

But you were on the last book! Red Country is great!

hope you like Gardens. There will be almost no hand holding as you go. It's glorious. The power ups people go through is so fun to experience and the lore you will find overtime is mind boggling.

have fun

 I think I'll have time to squeeze it in while I'm waiting for my other copy of Deadhouse Gates. 

By "other copy" I mean the one I ordered to replace the one I returned due to it not being what was advertised. Purchased what was described and labeled as a paperback, but what I received was actually a mass market copy.

I avoid those like the plague cause my eyes can't handle the 4-6 hour reading sessions coupled with that fine of print. 

Edit: About 1/3 through Gardens. Very confusing. Very engaging. I generally enjoy trying to figure out what the chull is going on, and that's all that's been going on, lol. 

Edited May 5, 2017 by AngelEy3

[Briar King]

10 hours ago, AngelEy3 said:

 I think I'll have time to squeeze it in while I'm waiting for my other copy of Deadhouse Gates. 

By "other copy" I mean the one I ordered to replace the one I returned due to it not being what was advertised. Purchased what was described and labeled as a paperback, but what I received was actually a mass market copy.

I avoid those like the plague cause my eyes can't handle the 4-6 hour reading sessions coupled with that fine of print. 

Edit: About 1/3 through Gardens. Very confusing. Very engaging. I generally enjoy trying to figure out what the chull is going on, and that's all that's been going on, lol. 

Can you feel the power levels some people have?

[AngelEy3 he/him]

43 minutes ago, Briar King said:

Can you feel the power levels some people have?

I think I know what you mean? Lol, it's hard to say at this point with the power levels but I'm starting to get the very early hang of warrens I think. I'm closer to 2/3rds of the way done now and the last thing that happened was

Spoiler

Rake came down with his bad chull soulchain sword and killed that demon. And the Tattersail soleshifted secret Kruppe god dream baby is apparently doing fine. Quick Ben pulled a quick one on Shadowthrone. But somebody is about to get or be Sorry pretty darn quick here. Bird-that-steals...loved it! 

Last thing that happened was the end of part 4 I think. 

I'm definitely into it. If I don't finish it tonight it'll be Saturday for sure. 

[Briar King]

Just wait. Your going to be happy I think once you get some of the books under your belt.

[StormingTexan he/him]

Just finished Sins of Empire Brian McClellan's first book in his second series set in the Powder Mage world. Really good. Had a couple great twist. I think this series may end up being better than his first.

[Guest]

On 5/2/2017 at 9:08 PM, Briar King said:

hoping @maxal will try it again soon.

Maybe some day, but not in the near future. Right now, I am somehow slowly moving through Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne's third book. I like the story, I love the Kettral action (why so little chapters???), but I am discouraged at the number of viewpoints Kaden has. I get it, he is doing something important, but I feel this character has plot immunity. He never asks himself the right questions, he takes decisions for the wrong reasons, but he somehow always ends up being right. I find it unnerving and it is tampering my enjoyment. Luckily, there is Gwenna, I absolutely love her  Now, that's a good character.

My next read will be Brent Weeks. I have been delaying it for so long.

1 hour ago, StormingTexan said:

Just finished Sins of Empire Brian McClellan's first book in his second series set in the Powder Mage world. Really good. Had a couple great twist. I think this series may end up being better than his first.

Can I ask which characters it is about? I loved the first trilogy, but I really don't fancy reading more Kae-Poel, I truly disliked her character. I loved the other ones though.

Edited May 5, 2017 by maxal