What Are You Reading? October 2014

Summer of Night by Dan Simmons.

Just finished all thirteen books in A Series of Unfortunate Events for the first time. I read up to the tenth book when I was in intermediate school, and then the beginning of the eleventh bored me so much that I just stopped. Still feels pretty great to finish the series after nearly ten years, though.

Annnnnd a new Lemony Snicket book came out last week, which I should really get my hands on. I am on a Daniel Handler roll over here. Can't stop now.

Good Omens. I really enjoy the work of both Pratchett and Gaiman and have been thoroughly entertained by Good Omens (I'm about 1/3 through). Don't know why it's taken me so long to get to it.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Started reading it because I heard it was an inspiration to the first Bioshock game, and I can see it. Regardless of political message, the story if fantastic! I'm two chapters into part 3 and after every chapter I've was itching to read the next one. There was a slight lul in the story for a couple chapters but other than that, it's just so gripping! Some people avoid the book because it's like a love letter to the wealthy, and yes Rand's viewpoint is very extreme, but the political side of it is easily apparent and does not hinder the story at all. It really fuels the story; whether you agree with the views or not, they just aid in understanding the characters.... and man.. I would just recommend everyone read it (again, not because of the political message, but really even just for the story!).

I'm reading the Naruto Shippuden Manga. It's about to be the end soon, shit got real. Only 5 more chapters left then it's the end. Whatever happens will lead up to this Movie.

A grown up Naruto...Its ''The Last''

I'm reading that Glenn Greenwald book and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy right now mostly.

I just finished Ghost Story by Peter Straub. Great story, although I'm not entirely happy with the way it ended. I'm also working on Clive Barker's Books of Blood. And now that I think of it, I should probably read Stephen King's Night Shift before the month is out. I picked it up over a year ago and haven't even started it. Tis the season.

Trying to read Fellowship after watching the film back when it came out was a big mistake on my part. The writing was just too slow and tedious for me, more like a Thomas Hardy novel than the mesmerizing pace of the film. Now that I'm a bit older I wanted to give it another go. I started listening to the Fellowship audiobook recently and I'm enjoying it more so far this time around and in this format.

Enjoying my read-through of Words of Radiance, and also dipping my toes into some Murakami material.

On the comic book / manga side of things, I've been reading some Monster.

Some stuff on the to-read list includes:

• Witcher
• Prince of Nothing
• World of Ice and Fire
• Slow Regard of Silent Things
• Game of Kings
• Pluto
• Vagabond

I just started reading Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes. One of the best openings to a Stephen King novel since The Dome (it's all downhill after the first chapter). It also seems to have taken a turn towards mystery instead of straight up horror.

Something about King novels, regardless of quality, that feels like the literary equivalent of comfort food.

The Narrow Road To The Deep North. It's going good, but it doesn't use quotation marks which has always annoyed me ever since I read Oh, Play That Thing, but I'm getting used to it.

I've been slowly working my way through Fables since finishing Wolf Among Us.

Also been reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books for the first time. I'm actually finding them difficult to read because they're too funny.

Sanctuary by William Faulkner. It's showing its age.

The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.

Been reading the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer. It's a really great mix of lovecraftian horror, mystery and sci-fi. Unfortunately I put it down halfway through the last book and didn't pick it up again. It lost something of it's really laser-like focus in the last book. Overall though I'd say it's really fucking good!

Finished The Cold Commands last night and jumped headlong into The Intern's Handbook. Holy hell, that's a funny, bleak little novel. Kind of feels a bit like a cross between Fight Club and John Dies at the End in terms of tone.

I have just started Follow the Money; A Month in the life of a ten Dollar bill by Steve Boggan. A non-fiction travel log where as the title says a BBC journalist follows a ten dollar bill around for 30 days and its all about the people he meets and where the money takes him

I'm listening to the audio-book now. I am finding is a slower burn than, The Steel Remains, the first book. I love Morgan's stuff because most of his protagonists are fallible, they making mistakes, but they make realistic mistakes and are circumspect about them. Out of the three sub stories the Archeth one with the 'Helmsmen' is capturing my interest the most because I like the question of what the hell is a Helmsmen?! - cybernetic? biological? or neither?

I agree @shinboy630. I also flew through The Martian in two days finishing last night. I loved every minute of it. I would say it is the best thing I have read so far this year. I finished Joe Hill's Horns before that. Currently trying to decide what to tackle next from my backlog of books that rivals my backlog of games.

Building Harlequin's Moon by Larry Niven & Brenda Cooper (sci-fi)
I also just finished the last of the Larry Niven/Edward Lerner "Fleet of Words" books that put an extended storyline around Niven's "Ringworld" series (my fav sci-fi). Highly recommended.

Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol 2 (comics)
Finally catching up on the early Cap Mar-Vell stuff and going to work my way through my Marvel Masterworks Warlock vol 1-2 and all the rest of that great 70's cosmic Marvel stuff and then up into the 90s Infinity Gauntlet era and on into the more modern Guardians of the Galaxy/Annihilation/Realm and War of Kings, etc. There are volumes and volumes and volumes of stuff on my bookshelf waiting to be devoured.

I am still reading Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon. Still my favorite book of all time--every time I go back to it I pick up on something I missed the last time around. It's massive and sprawling and so distinctly Pynchon in a way that his more recent work just isn't--although I love both Inherent Vice and Bleeding Edge, I feel like Against the Day rises above both and feels more like Gravity's Rainbow than anything else he's written (except for perhaps V.).

Given last night's episode of Letterman, it might be time to read Idoru again soon.

Picking away at Stephen Kings Misery when I get a chance and re-reading the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga.

I've mostly been rereading lately, I like doing that over meals. Recently I reread the novelization of the first Resident Evil and I'm rereading Roc and Hard Place, one of my favorite Xanth novels.

Also I reread the novelization of Porky's II: The Next Day......... I'm a bad person.

Currently reading "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison and "Inherent Vice" by Thomas Pynchon.

@harlechquinn: Inherent Vice is a fucking delight. I am looking forward to the film this Christmas.

I'm about halfway through James Clavell's Shogun.

One of my favorite King novels and the movie is incredible. Like up there with other great King movies like Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, and Stand By Me. Kathy Bates just nails it as Annie Wilkes, I think she rightly so won an Oscar for that performance.

Still reading Mr. Mercedes and I am really enjoying it. I prefer King's less supernatural novels. I always find shit that can really happen way more terrifying than any monster or ghost.

I have 150 pages left in the last Game of Thrones book just sitting around.

I read the other 4 throughout the summer and yet these final pages are just perplexing me and I can't bring myself to finishing them. I'll have to just put a Sunday aside, sit down, and finish it off before I completely let it go.

I'm reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence (aka "Lawrence of Arabia"). I haven't read very far yet but it's been fascinating so far. I'm also quite surprised just how well Lawrence writes prose and that his style still reads so well today given how long ago the book was written. I bought it for Kindle and so it cost me next to nothing, too.

I have the audiobook, and after finishing it I bought the hardcover.

Also I'm reading Gentlemen Bastard's book 3: Republic of Thieves. Pretty fun series set in one of those, advanced civillization collapsed 1000 years ago so we get a Renaissance era setting with crazy alien buildings strewn around. End of the month though, NEW PATRICK ROTHFUSS NOVELLA! The Slow Regard of Silent Things. Dropping everything the day that comes out. May even request it off work.....When King Killer Chronicles Day 3 comes out I am taking heavy vacation time.

Yeah dudes. The Martian. Read it.

Don't look up anything about it. Just get it and read it.

I got the massive collection of every Calvin and Hobbes comic recently. I've been reading that.

A thrilling text called "The Essence of Databases" for university and for personal reading I just finished Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley (creator of Scott Pilgrim).

The Society Of The Spectacle by Guy DEBORD

amazing! :)

I just finished The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, a very good novel centered around one of the last surviving priests in Mexico (known to the community as the "whisky priest") on the run from the government during their purging of the Catholic Church in the early 20th century. He has a lot of time for introspection and as he interacts with people of the community - who mostly want nothing to do with him - he tries to figure out if he will be seen as a martyr or as a complete failure of a priest and human being.

Greene also spends a few pages at different points in the story looking from the perspective of some other people he meets as well as developing the fascinating lieutenant character (I wish there was more written about him) who has spent a number of years ridding the country of the Church that he sees as a disease and how his final target is affecting him. This all ties up pretty well from beginning to end, though things are a bit foggy in the beginning meaning the book has a bit of a slow start. But it is just superbly written in general, with some conversations and memorably tense scenes that stand out.

It's a really good book, I'd recommend it to anyone if they can find a copy.

Now I'm starting on The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.

Ever read Blood Meridian? Even after finishing it a few months back I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about that one. It's one of the least recommendable books in the world though, that I am sure about. I mean people think videogames are violent, I never played a game that even approached the content in Blood Meridian.

As for The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I'm sure you know what you're getting into with Murakami but get ready for a somewhat indulgent, wonderfully surrealist modern Tour-De-force.

I just bought Inherent Vice on Amazon so hopefully I'll be reading it by Monday. I heard it was funny and for a long time Pynchon fan that's enough for me to give it a shot.

The last book I finished reading about a month ago was Air Force Gator. And let me say, @danryckert wrote a modern masterpiece. Bravo sir.

A few days ago I saw the tested guys had a spoilercast for a book called The Martian, so I looked up synopsis for it. It has a super interesting premise and will probably be the next thing I spend the bulk of my reading time on.

I'm slowly working my way through The Silmarillion. I'm also planning on picking up Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson sometime during the weekend. Anomander Rake is such a cool name!

It's October so it's all 2spooky. Started The Cipher today. Probably going to blast through Swansong and Hell House at some point the eventually read Piercing even though I really don't want to read Piercing because what the actual fuck, Japan.

Got through Ancillary Sword the other day, the sequel to Ancillary Justice. Not the best sequel; definitely seems like the middle part of a trilogy, or a placeholder for more books down the line. Still an interesting series, though.

Blowing through Andy Remic's Cloneworld because apparently I hate myself.