Monday, 19 October 2009

[JonPorobil]

About a month ago, I helped some friends move. They just held their (somewhat-belated) housewarming party on Saturday. I didn't find out until last night, because I was not invited. In response, I can only say:

Pfffffffbbbbbbbbbbtttttttttttt.

Bucking up, walking tall, and continuing this strange ride.

Question of the Day: I know there's a whole sub-forum for this, but tell us — have you read any good/interesting books lately?

I just got finished with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, an engaging mystery written in 2003, translated into English and released in the United States about a year ago. In addition to being a compelling mystery, it amazes me with its timeliness; the main character is a financial journalist who champions against the type of lazy and uninvestigative reporting that eventually led to the current international economic woes. It's the first in a trilogy, and I've already reserved the second installment from my library.

What about you?

[fluffy]

1. i am sick with probably salmonella or the flu, not sure which
2. this weekend was fun
3. so the melody is

[inevitableguy]

DRC: I need a vacation.

QotD: Not really. I just slogged my way through Quicksilver. I kept expecting it to get good, and after 900-some-odd pages, it didn't. And on top of that, the story didn't have any ending, just a lead-in to the second book in the series. F that. I don't care if something is part of a series, each book should have an actual ending.

On the other hand, I did put it down and step away a few times to read some graphic novels - the first four volumes of both Transmetropolitan and Y: The Last Man. Both are very compelling, and I'm looking forward to continuing to read both series.

[irwin]

Oof, slog is right.

I was late to the party, but I loved Cryptonomicon, so I went back and read Snow Crash and Diamond Age and liked both of those. So I was really excited waiting for Quicksilver to come out.

I got the hardcover soon after it came out, and I've started it I think three times now, and have yet to finish.

[Mike Lamb]

The Baroque Cycle is a hard read. I think I spent more time fact-checking the first book and wading through countless references than I spent actually reading it. It took me a few tries to get through Quicksilver, but once I did, I could not put the other two down.

I highly recommend his new book Anathem. It's not as difficult as any of the books in The Baroque Cycle, but some people may find it particularly vexing.

[HeuristicsInc]

Robert Charles Wilson's "Spin" is an excellent science fiction book. He starts with a premise and fills out all the ramifications, with interesting characters and good science. He also keeps you guessing as to what is actually happening for a long time. Great read!
-bill

PS I loved Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, Diamond Age... have not attempted the Cycle books.

[The Weakest Suit]

i tried quicksilver too and thought it was trying too hard to be something it wasn't.
i read "king solomon's mines" recently. it was incredible.
currently reading "the hidden hand", written in the 1800's
and the new wildcards book "busted flush" and thnking that nbc should have just done a wildcards series instead of the abortion that is "heroes".
i also got the two new jacqueline carrey books, but have only read "santa olivia" so far. it was a very fast read and pretty ok (not as intricate as the stories in her flagship series).

on an unrelated topic: did anyone see the mindfuck that was the season 4 opener of the Venture Brothers? i have watched it twice and still can't figure out exactly what happened when. i love it when a tv series doesn't dumb down everything and is cryptic and confusing.

[roymond]

I recently finished "Einstein: His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson which was very readable but could have been 20% shorter. Isaacson has a very entertaining style. I've read his Ben Franklin bio and another I can't think of right now.

Am in the middle of "The Discovery of Subatomic Particles" by Steven Weinberg. It's a little more dry than the Einstein book, but a good follow-up nonetheless.

I haven't read fiction in years. I miss that, but there's only so much time these days.

[fluffy]

Man this is more like WEEKLY ROLL CALL am i right

[j$]

Oh NO YOU DI'N'T!

[Bjam]

Last night I went to the ASCAP country awards and felt very fancy pants. Lots of good songwriters and publishers, and a few of the artists too. Totally walked right alongside Dierks Bently and Trace Adkins at one point. Ooh la la. But SF doesn't care about country, so neeeever mind. I also just went to a speech and debate tournament(I am a doooooooork) and won 3rd, 2nd, and 1st in my three rounds. Won the 1st in the round with the most entries 8) Lots trophies on my shelf. I also got all As and Bs on my midterm grade report; hurrah! I'm wondering where/when next year's SFL is going to be. Any rumblings?

QotD: I just finished Craig Ferguson's autobiography. Great great book. Lots about his drugs and drinking problem, but very funny. The last couple of pages are amazing regarding his thoughts about being from Scotland but living and working and raising a family in the US.

[AGray]

But SF doesn't care about country, so neeeever mind.

Well, I have close relatives who are country fans (though they are more likely to listen to Johnny-Cash era country, bluegrass or "Americana" than mainstream Trace Adkins type country), and I would say I'm puzzled by it rather than apathetic to it. It seems like, especially these days, a casual sampling of country songs seems to show a genre that's incredibly limited in terms of what kinds of songs are written. I can think of popular subgenres (gangsta rap, nu-metal, smooth jazz, etc.) that are as limited, but not whole genres. So I guess I would ask, what makes a good country song? And/or what would win in a Country Song Fight?

My day: typical, so a good first post in here. It's been a boring day of sitting in the home office (aka a corner of the bedroom), being ignored by people who owe me information and picking at the Internet and World of Warcraft. Right now I'm in a conference call. When I get off work, I'll do some housework, check on the chickens and collect eggs, spend some time with my son, then after he's in bed, I'll probably experience a failure of self-discipline and play WoW rather than guitar.

QotD: Right now I'm reading The Salmon of Doubt, a posthumous compilation of Douglas Adams's writing including an incomplete sixth H2G2 novel. Interesting stuff - the guy had boundless creative energy (and a serious focus problem, which I can relate to), and probably had decades of writing left in him at the time of his sudden death.

[fluffy]

One aspect of Salmon of Doubt (the pending novel, not the compilation) which makes it especially saddening to me that he didn't finish it is that there was some very characteristically New Mexico humor in it. Those "Gusty Winds may exist" signs are very real, and are everywhere along the I-25 corridor. (He had a vacation home in Santa Fe, which is on I-25.) The fact he was building an entire PLOT around them felt like a personal shout-out to where I grew up.

[jimtyrrell]

Now that I finally found a copy online, I'm reading Gadsby.

[Märk]

Now that I finally found a copy online, I'm reading Gadsby.

The only thing more insane than writing an entire book without using the letter 'e' is reading that book

[JonPorobil]

Now that I finally found a copy online, I'm reading Gadsby.

The only thing more insane than writing an entire book without using the letter 'e' is reading that book

The first chapter is quite cumbersome. I feel no need to continue with the rest. Have fun with that, Jim!

[HeuristicsInc]

yeah, i started on that online after reading about it in a book on cryptology, but wow, some of the phrasing is pretty awkward
i'm also listening to a librivox book-on-mp3 of "the count of monte cristo" which i have been enjoying a lot.
-billh

[Billy's Little Trip]

The only things I like to read are movies. And not those stupid foreign ones with subtitles that you have to read! Blah!