MakemineVanilla Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 (edited) 14 minutes ago, villaglint said: I always used to have a must finish policy but now I'm split because on the one hand life is too short to spend time on reading something you hate. Especially if it means nursing it along for weeks/months when you could be enjoying something else. On the other hand I've forced myself to continue with books in the past and ended up really enjoying it. For me these days it's a judgement call sometimes I'll get lucky, sometimes I get burnt but sometimes I put it down and don't beat myself up over it. I think I have given up on very few books but that is not to say I haven't regretted it. Edited April 7, 2017 by MakemineVanilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Quite enjoyed Daniel Suarez' Daemon and Freedom(tm) about a computer virus aiming to change society. Decent concept and an easy read (even with a load of computer jargon!) now reading his third book, kill decision about drone aircraft equipped to make the decision to fire via artificial intelligence and not human control. Good so far too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted April 7, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted April 7, 2017 (edited) 29 minutes ago, villaglint said: I always used to have a must finish policy but now I'm split because on the one hand life is too short to spend time on reading something you hate. Especially if it means nursing it along for weeks/months when you could be enjoying something else. On the other hand I've forced myself to continue with books in the past and ended up really enjoying it. For me these days it's a judgement call sometimes I'll get lucky, sometimes I get burnt but sometimes I put it down and don't beat myself up over it. That dilemma gets even more acute when you get to my age. Even if I have another 25 years, it ain't gonna be enough to get through my 'to read' list (not taking into account the fact that I keep adding to it). Edited April 7, 2017 by mjmooney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 When I first read Stephenson's Cryptonomicon I really struggled with it and thought about sodding it off. It turned into one of the best, most **** up and beautiful books I've ever read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakemineVanilla Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 26 minutes ago, AVFC_Hitz said: When I first read Stephenson's Cryptonomicon I really struggled with it and thought about sodding it off. It turned into one of the best, most **** up and beautiful books I've ever read. I quickly got hooked and although I thought the modern narrative tended to sag, the WW2 narrative kept me going. I wish I could remember how he used the model of a bicycle to explain how the Enigma machine worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted April 7, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted April 7, 2017 47 minutes ago, AVFC_Hitz said: When I first read Stephenson's Cryptonomicon I really struggled with it and thought about sodding it off. It turned into one of the best, most **** up and beautiful books I've ever read. Have you read The Baroque Cycle? It's very loosely a prequel to Cryptonomicon. Stephenson's masterpiece, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villan_of_oz Posted April 14, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted April 14, 2017 Has anyone else read/is reading Nelson Mandela's 'Long walk to freedom'? I've read 50 pages so far and I'm finding it very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 100 or so pages roughly is my cut off point. If it hasn't got me interested in more by then, I'm out. Did it with A Hundred Years of Solitude. Unrelentingly boring bollocks. There are too many books and worlds to escape into just to appease some box checking exercise of certain so called classic books. I don't care for Dickens, Hardy etc, and that's absolutely fine by me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakemineVanilla Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 19 minutes ago, Rodders said: 100 or so pages roughly is my cut off point. If it hasn't got me interested in more by then, I'm out. Did it with A Hundred Years of Solitude. Unrelentingly boring bollocks. There are too many books and worlds to escape into just to appease some box checking exercise of certain so called classic books. I don't care for Dickens, Hardy etc, and that's absolutely fine by me. Everyone to their own, to be sure, but if you're reading Joyce's Ulysses you miss all that dirty talk by Molly Bloom, if you give up too soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 tbf I do like Joyce so I'm more predisposed to patience, and I am saving Ulysses for when I have the time to properly enjoy it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Catch 22 and Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy are the only two books I've had to give up on, I just found them both impenetrable. I'm currently getting my Bernie Gunther fix with his latest and just read A Decent Ride by Irvine Welsh which was quite charming in his usual vulgar way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted April 14, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted April 14, 2017 2 hours ago, Rodders said: 100 or so pages roughly is my cut off point. If it hasn't got me interested in more by then, I'm out. Did it with A Hundred Years of Solitude. Unrelentingly boring bollocks. There are too many books and worlds to escape into just to appease some box checking exercise of certain so called classic books. I don't care for Dickens, Hardy etc, and that's absolutely fine by me. My antipathy to Dickens has been well documented here. But Hardy is ten times the better writer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakemineVanilla Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 On the subject of reading the big hitters of the literary canon, is it still fashionable amongst the young? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Don't know how fashionable, but I always feel a tendency to balance going back to an old big hitter and then reading something contemporary. Then trying to squeeze in the non fiction, desperately trying to fit in a bit of everything Currently reading Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman. It is absolutely barmy. Surreal, very funny and also baffling. Watching the Cosmos series an episode on Hooke, Haley and Newton has also promoted The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes back up the list, though that deals more with the 18th century figures, Banks, Herschel and Davy. If there's a book on that "first" scientific revolution, that is worth getting I'd love to try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted May 1, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted May 1, 2017 54 minutes ago, Rodders said: Don't know how fashionable, but I always feel a tendency to balance going back to an old big hitter and then reading something contemporary. Then trying to squeeze in the non fiction, desperately trying to fit in a bit of everything Currently reading Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman. It is absolutely barmy. Surreal, very funny and also baffling. Watching the Cosmos series an episode on Hooke, Haley and Newton has also promoted The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes back up the list, though that deals more with the 18th century figures, Banks, Herschel and Davy. If there's a book on that "first" scientific revolution, that is worth getting I'd love to try that. I've raved about Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle on here before - it's fiction (of a slightly 'alternative' bent), but is set in that late 17th C milieu. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 On 4/14/2017 at 07:35, Rodders said: Hundred Years of Solitude. I dropped it after 35 pages. Then picked it up a few years later and started over. Loved it. Epic fantasy tale, essentially. But probably better off read either in your late teens or at the end of your life.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 I've been spending far too much time online and not reading lately. I need some inspiration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 1 hour ago, mjmooney said: I've raved about Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle on here before - it's fiction (of a slightly 'alternative' bent), but is set in that late 17th C milieu. Cheers, that looks a world I'd very much enjoy. Onto the list it goes! * *addition to list is no guarantee of being read within next 3 years 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted May 1, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted May 1, 2017 48 minutes ago, Rodders said: *addition to list is no guarantee of being read within next 3 years Tell me about it. That Umberto Eco book I'm about to finish, mentioned upthread, I bought on publication in 2004, only just got around to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 3 hours ago, mjmooney said: Tell me about it. That Umberto Eco book I'm about to finish, mentioned upthread, I bought on publication in 2004, only just got around to it. I tried to read an Eco novel, it was waaaay too wordy for my liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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