mjmooney Posted November 7, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted November 7, 2011 Monte Cristo update: I persevered and survived the very, very dull middle third of the book, and it's now gathering pace again. Love the bit where he says: "One..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Wrote it before he died in 47 yet took until 2009 until there was a translation it seems! So far, so pacy and gripping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Read Wind Up Bird Chronicle (Murakami), it's brilliant, nothing to add to what has already been said in this thread. Read 'The Quantum Universe: Everything That Can Happen Does Happen' (Brian Cox&Jeff Forshaw), very good, mind **** a great deal of the time, and the 'theory of clocks' just did me in, and the less said about my understanding of the 'death of stars' epilogue the better. It's easy enough to follow for those who don't study Physics to a high degree. Well, relatively (wahey) easy compared to some of the other books out there. Definately worth picking up though. Read 'Glamorama' (Bret Easton Ellis). It was alright, pretty **** mental though, and it really, really is hard to 'get a feel' for the main character because he's such a vacuous clearing in the woods. I get that it's the whole point of the 90s culture was pretty vacuous etc, but in the words of the narrator, 'spare me'. Read 'Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises' (Hemingway). Excellent, as expected. Just ignore the casual racism that is commonplace in novels from that period. Now, I've got 'Child of God' (McCarthy) and 'Gravitys Rainbow' (Pynchon) to get on with, plus a **** load of poetry books. It's fun being unemployed and otherwise useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregavfc Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I go through phases where I'll read. The most riveting book I've ever read was Angels and Demons. Read it in about 3 days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 anyone read snow drops? heard them talk about it on the review show and it sounded good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted November 8, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted November 8, 2011 Read Wind Up Bird Chronicle (Murakami), it's brilliant, nothing to add to what has already been said in this thread. Read 'The Quantum Universe: Everything That Can Happen Does Happen' (Brian Cox&Jeff Forshaw), very good, mind **** a great deal of the time, and the 'theory of clocks' just did me in, and the less said about my understanding of the 'death of stars' epilogue the better. It's easy enough to follow for those who don't study Physics to a high degree. Well, relatively (wahey) easy compared to some of the other books out there. Definately worth picking up though. Read 'Glamorama' (Bret Easton Ellis). It was alright, pretty **** mental though, and it really, really is hard to 'get a feel' for the main character because he's such a vacuous clearing in the woods. I get that it's the whole point of the 90s culture was pretty vacuous etc, but in the words of the narrator, 'spare me'. Read 'Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises' (Hemingway). Excellent, as expected. Just ignore the casual racism that is commonplace in novels from that period. Now, I've got 'Child of God' (McCarthy) and 'Gravitys Rainbow' (Pynchon) to get on with, plus a **** load of poetry books. It's fun being unemployed and otherwise useless.You definitely have VERY similar reading tastes to me, CED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 8, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted November 8, 2011 Monte Cristo update: I persevered and survived the very, very dull middle third of the book, and it's now gathering pace again. Love the bit where he says: "One..." Exactly the same here Mike. Was waning half way through, especially looking at the mammoth amount of reading to go, but am now on the home straight. Now I know why they released the abridged version! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Monte Cristo update: I persevered and survived the very, very dull middle third of the book, and it's now gathering pace again. Love the bit where he says: "One..." Exactly the same here Mike. Was waning half way through, especially looking at the mammoth amount of reading to go, but am now on the home straight. Now I know why they released the abridged version! Really? I was utterly hooked from start to finish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted November 8, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted November 8, 2011 Wind-up Bird Chronicle was the one I had my eye on, given comments here (cheers gents) I think I'll add it to the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted November 8, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted November 8, 2011 Monte Cristo update: I persevered and survived the very, very dull middle third of the book, and it's now gathering pace again. Love the bit where he says: "One..." Exactly the same here Mike. Was waning half way through, especially looking at the mammoth amount of reading to go, but am now on the home straight. Now I know why they released the abridged version! Really? I was utterly hooked from start to finish!No, all that stuff with the offspring of the bad guys, and their love affairs/engagements gets tedious, IMO. Once the revenge project kicks in properly it gets back on track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Anybody read the new Murakami yet? I saw the Culture Show segment on it (which was actually more like a rebuttal to people saying 'Cor, Britain 2011 is just like 1984!', to be honest) and found myself slightly interested to see what someone can do in the modern day to the 1984 template and plot. I've read 130 pages and it's developing nicely. The chapters are split between the two protagonists. What is annoying is they haven't released the trilogy in one volume "in order to reflect the experience of 1Q84's first readers". Pure greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 That's what stopped me from buying it. Buying two brand new hardbacks isn't cheap. I'll wait until it's in one volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I was going to wait for the paperback but Amazon tempted me selling it at £9 from RRP £20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Monte Cristo update: I persevered and survived the very, very dull middle third of the book, and it's now gathering pace again. Love the bit where he says: "One..." Exactly the same here Mike. Was waning half way through, especially looking at the mammoth amount of reading to go, but am now on the home straight. Now I know why they released the abridged version! Really? I was utterly hooked from start to finish!No, all that stuff with the offspring of the bad guys, and their love affairs/engagements gets tedious, IMO. Once the revenge project kicks in properly it gets back on track. Well certainly the revenge is the best bit. And what a revenge it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Currently half way through this and it's awesome!!! Anyone into retro gaming/sci-fi/fantasy and virtual reality living should grab a copy! Synopsis: At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed. It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle. Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape. A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 9, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted November 9, 2011 Currently half way through this and it's awesome!!! Anyone into retro gaming/sci-fi/fantasy and virtual reality living should grab a copy! Synopsis: At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed. It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle. Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape. A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready? Sounds very Rob Grant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted November 9, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted November 9, 2011 I was about to say it sounds a lot like "Better Than Life" Sounds good though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 I recommended that a while back, it's grand if you are big into nostalgia, but really all it did was remind me how good Monty Python were and I already knew that. It's incredibly self-indulgent. Plenty of people really like it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 On Tuesday I started re-reading zombie apocalypse again just got about 50 pages to go and then that's finished again then I'm going to start on a horror called the ritual...think it's by Adam Neville but I'm jot one hundred % sure if he is the author at the moment. There is another horror out called something like White devil by Justin Evans but waterfronts ain't stocking it at the moment, his first book "a good and happy child" was brilliant so I'm looking forward to getting this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 Reading Deightons Spy Sinker as my normal book. Reading AK47 as my poo book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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