You don't own any books you haven't read?

Well yes, I have many. But.. I don't feel like reading any of them right now!

Oh! Well that's different. I thought one of those mythical people who have read all the books they own might actually exist. Silly me!

Yes. There are books waiting on me to crack them open. But each book requires a certain mood to read, you know? And I'm just .. not feeling any of them right now.
There are a couple books on my wishlist that I'd like to go and buy, but... well, funds.

Oh, of course, I understand. Maybe look into some free ebooks?

Right now, I'm halfway through "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson, and it's wonderful!

Stephenson is such a talented speculative fiction author. He's the one who wrote "Snow Crash." You could probably call his work science fiction, since technology is such a huge part of it, but he goes way beyond that - Anathem is mostly a mix of religion, anthropology, sociology and coming of age.

Has anyone here read it before?

So I downloaded Cranford onto my nook. Getting through it slowly. It really kind of reads like the diary of a woman from that time period. It's not very linear at all as far as chronology; the author jumps back and forth in time, and the book is more organized according to subject matter.

Originally Posted by Knerd

Right now, I'm halfway through "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson, and it's wonderful!

Stephenson is such a talented speculative fiction author. He's the one who wrote "Snow Crash." You could probably call his work science fiction, since technology is such a huge part of it, but he goes way beyond that - Anathem is mostly a mix of religion, anthropology, sociology and coming of age.

Has anyone here read it before?

I read Anathem and I loved it. The pacing, the world, the characters, I loved all of it. Now that you mention it, I'd like to read it again, but I seem to have lost my copy. Guess I'll have to go get a new one.

Knerd:: I haven't read it, but I'm going to check it out now. Thanks!

That sounds neat!

I've started on Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. I'm a little disappointed by its crime-genre tone, but I don't know why that's surprising me. It's actually physically impossible to write a book about solving murders without every character sounding like the exact same tired white guy who's just had enough of this and is tired and wants to go home to his cardboard cut-out wife (who might sound weirdly like him too). I mean, he literally named his cannibal Hannibal, so maybe I was off the mark to expect literary genius. But at least the prose isn't purple like it is in most crime genre novels, and the protag doesn't do too much angsting, so I'll give him that.

I have Anathem on Kindle with the idea that I won't be so scared by the length of it in a virtual format. I wish I could remember more of the Neal Stephenson talk I went to.

Cherry:: I tried to read Red Dragon last spring, and I was so bored....I mean to try to read it again sometime soon. I am in a different mindset now than I was in spring, so maybe I'll be able to get more into it...

American Gods is part of the latest Humble Books Bundle. Some of which isn't available to me because I live in the UK.

Romance.

<.<

>.>

<.<

Lots of .......


very.


Steamy.

romance.

<.<

>.>

Connielass, I have been right there with you. I took a summer break to read some YA books, but I'm going back to the romances soon.

Soon.

Originally Posted by KatMagenta

American Gods is part of the latest Humble Books Bundle. Some of which isn't available to me because I live in the UK.

I feel like I've heard about Humble Books Bumble before, but I never quite understood how the site works.

Is it updated/changed often?

Humble Bundles started out as a way to promote and sell indie games, but they've expanded out to ebooks, music, comics, and suchlike. Basically, each Bundle lasts for a set amount of time (usually a few weeks) and you can pay however much you want to get it. These days, the more you pay, the more stuff you get. So for example, in the current book bundle, the basic set is 5 books; if you pay more than the average, you get an additional 5 books; if you pay $10 or more, you get a further additional 2 books.

Chexala has explained it. I get the newsletter notifications or I'd never remember to check the site.

Right now I'm reading Sex, Time and Power: How women's sexuality shaped human evolution by Leonard Schlain

Originally Posted by KatMagenta

I have Anathem on Kindle with the idea that I won't be so scared by the length of it in a virtual format. I wish I could remember more of the Neal Stephenson talk I went to.

I finished reading it a little while ago and I have to say - I read it on Kindle too and kind of wish that I had a physical copy of the book instead.

The thing is, each chapter of the book starts off with a dictionary definition of a word that's important to the storyline. All these words are also included in a glossary at the end of the book, but it would have been really nice to flip back and forth to double-check meanings and references. You can't really do that easily on a Kindle without losing your place. And since there were so many theoretical discussions, sometimes I wanted to go back to review a previous conversation in order to refresh my memory. But on a Kindle, if you don't know exactly what chapter the writing was in, it's tough to flip through and find it again.

I might have to actually buy this one from the local book store. The next time I read it (which I'll definitely have to do in another year or so), I want to be able to mark up the text and be a little more engaged in the book.

Finally got my hands on a copy of American Gods! HAAOO!
*spartan kick*

Almost done with Sex, Time & Power. In the meantime, picked up a new series, "The Remaining" by D. J. Molles.

Garth Nix just released another book in his Abhorsen series!



I lived for these books as a teenager. It's going to be amazing to dive back into that world and see how much he's expanding it.

The only problem is that my rinky-dink local bookstore hasn't gotten any copies in stock yet. I, ahem, may have downloaded a pirated copy just so that I could start reading it today. That's okay as long as I buy a real one as soon as it's available, right?

Whaaaat, new Abhorsen novel! Want want want! I'mma have to go order that from my bookstore.

It's really interesting so far - The story takes place about 600 years before Sabriel, so the entire Old Kingdom is flourishing and still standing. The main problem (that I've read about in the first few chapters) is how Charter Magic has "fallen our of style" and is being treated like a low-class activity that only servants and the poor participate in. Anyone who actually has a standing in the city is encouraged not to take part in any magic since it goes against decorum.

Nix still has a talent for worldbuilding - The setting here is so different from Sabriel and Lireal, yet you're still getting a full picture of what their daily life is like.