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Post by elkawho on Mar 26, 2022 21:11:10 GMT
Well, if we count listening to audiobooks as reading....
I just finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and loved every single second of it. I'm glad I listened to it rather than actually reading it because the actor who read it, Roy Porter, was terrific. I never read The Martian, but it has been on my list of books to read for a long time. I think it's jumping up the order.
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Post by shallacatop on Mar 26, 2022 23:12:40 GMT
I have decided I am finally going to read the 007 books. Just Ian Fleming's books and short stories though, not the licensed ones from after his death. Blew through Casino Royale yesterday (it's short) and really, really enjoyed it. The 2006 film did a fabulous job of taking various elements of the book and modernizing them, but I'm a fan of Cold War stuff in general so it was really enjoyable to me to re-experience the story in a totally different context. Bond on the page is a really fascinating character...not the suave charming globetrotter of the films, more cold and isolated--often not even particularly likeable, but still a fascinating character to read. I feel like how they've written Craig's Bond, at least in the Casino Royale movie, is strikingly close to the original text in a way that just wasn't the case with most of the previous Bond actor eras. Have moved on to Live and Let Die now and holy crap. I thought the movie version of this was racist af, but it's got nothing on how racist the book is. I understand intellectually / in the abstract how the 1950s (when the book was published) are absolutely not the world that we live in today, but it's still pretty jarring to turn the page and see that the title of the next chapter along is '[N-word] Paradise,' and then to read entire pages of dialogue of a white Englishman writing what he imagines Black Americans to sound like (think of the most offensively stereotypical version of 'jive' you can think of). That said, I'm still enjoying how much more in tune the books are with the Cold War, as opposed to the films that often go off into flights of fancy. It's far clearer here how Mr Big is a Soviet agent, how the Brits and Americans both want him because he's the channel through which Soviet intelligence is financing much of their spy network in North America, the breakdown of American/British jurisdictions, etc. That is entirely my jam, and I'm enjoying it. Great post. I read them all for the first time in the first lockdown and loved the experience. Based on your comments on the first two, I’m looking forward to reading what you think of Moonraker. It’s my favourite of his, along with Casino Royale & On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. |
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shutupbanks
Chancellery Guard
There's a horror movie named Alien? That's really offensive. No wonder everybody keeps invading you
Likes: 4,901 
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Post by shutupbanks on Mar 27, 2022 3:26:12 GMT
I have decided I am finally going to read the 007 books. Just Ian Fleming's books and short stories though, not the licensed ones from after his death. Blew through Casino Royale yesterday (it's short) and really, really enjoyed it. The 2006 film did a fabulous job of taking various elements of the book and modernizing them, but I'm a fan of Cold War stuff in general so it was really enjoyable to me to re-experience the story in a totally different context. Bond on the page is a really fascinating character...not the suave charming globetrotter of the films, more cold and isolated--often not even particularly likeable, but still a fascinating character to read. I feel like how they've written Craig's Bond, at least in the Casino Royale movie, is strikingly close to the original text in a way that just wasn't the case with most of the previous Bond actor eras. Have moved on to Live and Let Die now and holy crap. I thought the movie version of this was racist af, but it's got nothing on how racist the book is. I understand intellectually / in the abstract how the 1950s (when the book was published) are absolutely not the world that we live in today, but it's still pretty jarring to turn the page and see that the title of the next chapter along is '[N-word] Paradise,' and then to read entire pages of dialogue of a white Englishman writing what he imagines Black Americans to sound like (think of the most offensively stereotypical version of 'jive' you can think of). That said, I'm still enjoying how much more in tune the books are with the Cold War, as opposed to the films that often go off into flights of fancy. It's far clearer here how Mr Big is a Soviet agent, how the Brits and Americans both want him because he's the channel through which Soviet intelligence is financing much of their spy network in North America, the breakdown of American/British jurisdictions, etc. That is entirely my jam, and I'm enjoying it. Yeah, it’s cringey and terrible, but he makes an effort to understand the places and people he’s portraying. It seems awful to us but Fleming was quite PC for his day, despite his very obvious colonialism: there’s a wonderful scene in The Man With The Golden Gun where Bond is sitting chatting to the receptionist at a brothel and taking in what she says and treating her opinions seriously which is quite refreshing compared to a lot of comparable literature. And treating Mr Big as a legitimate threat and a genuine criminal mastermind does come across as quite interesting (In the later books, there’s a lot of yank-bashing to the extent that he portrays US gangsters as little more than thugs, while European gangsters are highly sophisticated and urbane, despite being even worse than their American counterparts). For all its faults, though, I love Bond’s walk underwater to Mr Big’s hideout: it’s one of the best descriptions of he ocean floor I’ve ever read. Sorry, I know they have ideological faults but I’m a huge apologist for Fleming: when he’s on point (and he usually is in the Bond books), he’s a wonderful writer. |
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Post by Digi on Mar 27, 2022 3:44:00 GMT
I have decided I am finally going to read the 007 books. Just Ian Fleming's books and short stories though, not the licensed ones from after his death. Blew through Casino Royale yesterday (it's short) and really, really enjoyed it. The 2006 film did a fabulous job of taking various elements of the book and modernizing them, but I'm a fan of Cold War stuff in general so it was really enjoyable to me to re-experience the story in a totally different context. Bond on the page is a really fascinating character...not the suave charming globetrotter of the films, more cold and isolated--often not even particularly likeable, but still a fascinating character to read. I feel like how they've written Craig's Bond, at least in the Casino Royale movie, is strikingly close to the original text in a way that just wasn't the case with most of the previous Bond actor eras. Have moved on to Live and Let Die now and holy crap. I thought the movie version of this was racist af, but it's got nothing on how racist the book is. I understand intellectually / in the abstract how the 1950s (when the book was published) are absolutely not the world that we live in today, but it's still pretty jarring to turn the page and see that the title of the next chapter along is '[N-word] Paradise,' and then to read entire pages of dialogue of a white Englishman writing what he imagines Black Americans to sound like (think of the most offensively stereotypical version of 'jive' you can think of). That said, I'm still enjoying how much more in tune the books are with the Cold War, as opposed to the films that often go off into flights of fancy. It's far clearer here how Mr Big is a Soviet agent, how the Brits and Americans both want him because he's the channel through which Soviet intelligence is financing much of their spy network in North America, the breakdown of American/British jurisdictions, etc. That is entirely my jam, and I'm enjoying it. Great post. I read them all for the first time in the first lockdown and loved the experience. Based on your comments on the first two, I’m looking forward to reading what you think of Moonraker. It’s my favourite of his, along with Casino Royale & On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Well I think it's a great sign that I went from CR directly into the next book. As a rule I try not to do that with series, but I wanted more immediately  |
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Post by Digi on Mar 27, 2022 4:00:21 GMT
I have decided I am finally going to read the 007 books. Just Ian Fleming's books and short stories though, not the licensed ones from after his death. Blew through Casino Royale yesterday (it's short) and really, really enjoyed it. The 2006 film did a fabulous job of taking various elements of the book and modernizing them, but I'm a fan of Cold War stuff in general so it was really enjoyable to me to re-experience the story in a totally different context. Bond on the page is a really fascinating character...not the suave charming globetrotter of the films, more cold and isolated--often not even particularly likeable, but still a fascinating character to read. I feel like how they've written Craig's Bond, at least in the Casino Royale movie, is strikingly close to the original text in a way that just wasn't the case with most of the previous Bond actor eras. Have moved on to Live and Let Die now and holy crap. I thought the movie version of this was racist af, but it's got nothing on how racist the book is. I understand intellectually / in the abstract how the 1950s (when the book was published) are absolutely not the world that we live in today, but it's still pretty jarring to turn the page and see that the title of the next chapter along is '[N-word] Paradise,' and then to read entire pages of dialogue of a white Englishman writing what he imagines Black Americans to sound like (think of the most offensively stereotypical version of 'jive' you can think of). That said, I'm still enjoying how much more in tune the books are with the Cold War, as opposed to the films that often go off into flights of fancy. It's far clearer here how Mr Big is a Soviet agent, how the Brits and Americans both want him because he's the channel through which Soviet intelligence is financing much of their spy network in North America, the breakdown of American/British jurisdictions, etc. That is entirely my jam, and I'm enjoying it. Yeah, it’s cringey and terrible, but he makes an effort to understand the places and people he’s portraying. It seems awful to us but Fleming was quite PC for his day, despite his very obvious colonialism: there’s a wonderful scene in The Man With The Golden Gun where Bond is sitting chatting to the receptionist at a brothel and taking in what she says and treating her opinions seriously which is quite refreshing compared to a lot of comparable literature. And treating Mr Big as a legitimate threat and a genuine criminal mastermind does come across as quite interesting (In the later books, there’s a lot of yank-bashing to the extent that he portrays US gangsters as little more than thugs, while European gangsters are highly sophisticated and urbane, despite being even worse than their American counterparts). For all its faults, though, I love Bond’s walk underwater to Mr Big’s hideout: it’s one of the best descriptions of he ocean floor I’ve ever read. Sorry, I know they have ideological faults but I’m a huge apologist for Fleming: when he’s on point (and he usually is in the Bond books), he’s a wonderful writer. Oh absolutely still enjoying myself. Still think there's room to have a laugh and a gape at things that didn't age well, but definitely having a grand old time. Didn't mean to suggest otherwise  |
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shutupbanks
Chancellery Guard
There's a horror movie named Alien? That's really offensive. No wonder everybody keeps invading you
Likes: 4,901
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Post by shutupbanks on Mar 27, 2022 14:24:53 GMT
Yeah, it’s cringey and terrible, but he makes an effort to understand the places and people he’s portraying. It seems awful to us but Fleming was quite PC for his day, despite his very obvious colonialism: there’s a wonderful scene in The Man With The Golden Gun where Bond is sitting chatting to the receptionist at a brothel and taking in what she says and treating her opinions seriously which is quite refreshing compared to a lot of comparable literature. And treating Mr Big as a legitimate threat and a genuine criminal mastermind does come across as quite interesting (In the later books, there’s a lot of yank-bashing to the extent that he portrays US gangsters as little more than thugs, while European gangsters are highly sophisticated and urbane, despite being even worse than their American counterparts). For all its faults, though, I love Bond’s walk underwater to Mr Big’s hideout: it’s one of the best descriptions of he ocean floor I’ve ever read. Sorry, I know they have ideological faults but I’m a huge apologist for Fleming: when he’s on point (and he usually is in the Bond books), he’s a wonderful writer. Oh absolutely still enjoying myself. Still think there's room to have a laugh and a gape at things that didn't age well, but definitely having a grand old time. Didn't mean to suggest otherwise Apologies for coming over a little strong, then. I get defensive of older books that get derided because their authors were basically ok but lived in a time that didn’t value all the same values as we do. |
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Post by Digi on Mar 28, 2022 16:46:27 GMT
Finished Live and Let Die this morning. Surprised to find elements of the films Licence to Kill and Dr No were in this book. Pleasantly surprised, they fit what was going on here like a glove. Overall I don't think I enjoyed this one quite as much as I did Casino Royale, I found it kind of lost the plot on a couple of different fronts...the Soviet connection pretty much vanished, the villain vanished from the story for basically the entire second half of the book until the end, the Voodoo stuff that was emphasized in the briefings early in the book ended up having no meaning or consequence to the story. And then it seemed to come to its climax at breakneck speed and without satisfying conclusion. Overall though, I still enjoyed it. Looking forward to seeing how different prose Moonraker is from film Moonraker.
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shutupbanks
Chancellery Guard
There's a horror movie named Alien? That's really offensive. No wonder everybody keeps invading you
Likes: 4,901
|
Post by shutupbanks on Apr 14, 2022 0:08:30 GMT
Discovered that I have a new favourite author this week. The downside? He died in 1978.
Thomas Burnett Swann wrote a heap of novels from around the mid-60s right up u til his death. Most of them, I think, were based on Classical mythology. I’ve read two of them in the past month - Day Of The Minotaur and The Weirwoods- and they’re both superb. I’m going to be looking out for the rest of them but none of them are in print and few are available on Kindle so it looks like I have a quest.
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Post by tuigirl on Apr 24, 2022 11:50:24 GMT
The latest Peter Grant novel, Amongst our Weapons. I love this series. I like the quirky characters, the mythology, the magic and the whole setting. I also enjoyed this book. It is great to be back at the Folly, to go home with Peter and experience the weird insanity at his home: his river goddess wife being pregnant, while at the same time studying for her final exams, all the while there are talking foxes taking over the house and preparations for the birth celebrations are made. Plus there is a new magical case to be solved, involving a religious cult and an avenging Angel of Death. This was fun, entertaining and pleasantly bonkers. However, there are some of the plot which are a re-hash of previous ideas. Plus, there were so many pop culture references! This was basically an Easter egg hunt for every Whovian (which I did not mind one bit). And, of course nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition...  If you like Peter Grant and this series, you will get more of what you know and love. There are a few interesting developments, however, nothing in this story is radically new or revolutionary. |
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Post by shallacatop on May 31, 2022 7:49:23 GMT
With a Mind to Kill - The last of Anthony Horowitz’s Bond trilogy. I loved it. It’s a proper sequel to The Man With the Golden Gun whilst driving Bond and the plot forward but bringing in those unresolved elements. The chapter with the Magic Room is suitably grim, on par with the torture Bond endured in Forever and a Day, and offers us insights into the lead up to TMWTGG. If I had any criticism, I think the last part is a bit fleeting and I missed some of the Fleming-esque descriptions and Bond’s tics, although I think the nature of the story addresses the latter two. A part of me hopes he gets to play in the sandbox some more, and perhaps carry on where WAMTK left off, but this a worthy addition to the canon and all three of his instalments are better than some of Fleming’s own.
As an aside the Acknowledgements section is really interesting to see the sheer depth of research for the book and to understand just how much of it is real life.
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Post by elkawho on Jun 3, 2022 15:41:19 GMT
So I'm reading a book from the 80's called Geek Love. It's somewhat an enigma. It's well written and fascinating, the imagination of the author is amazing. But the characters are, well, can we say, difficult to like. The whole concept and execution of this story is like watching a terrible car accident, awful and disgusting but something pulls you in. Although that pull is getting less and less for me. I'm not sure if I'll be finishing this one or not.
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Post by tuigirl on Jun 15, 2022 15:26:17 GMT
Re- reading one of my absolute favorite books ever.
Rumo and his miraculous adventures by the German author Walter Moers.
Some people call Moers the German version of Terry Pratchett, which makes them right in some sense ( creation of a weird fantasy world full of social commentary) and also totally wrong (he is also a totally politically incorrect cartoonist who is on the death list of neo- Nazis for some of his caricatures). He has humor, yes, but it is very dark, very weird and very unlike Pratchett.
His fantasy world is even more absurd, strange and inventive than the discworld, and it is also a lot darker.
His books can be described as „children‘s books for adults“. They might look cute with all the fantastic drawings by the author, but- the plot is extremely brutal and explicit.
There is a lot of gory violence, there is cold blooded torture and there is psychological horror.
It looks cute, but it does get dark. Very dark. Very quick. And there is buckets of gore.
Not for children. I would not even recommend Rumo to any 12 year olds, especially not those with good imagination. Adults could get nightmares.
Why do I like this even if it also makes my skin crawl and makes we feel uncomfortable?
It is extremely inventive. It is absolutely crazy. It does not pull any punches. It does it‘s own thing, not doing as anyone expects or following narrative standards. The drawings by the author are outstanding. And creepy. And extremely weird.
This is one of the rare books where you can say it is truly like no other.
It captivates you. It makes you care about the characters. It makes you even feel for the villains who commit unspeakable and graphic torture to the heroes. It makes you laugh and cry while you read it, it makes you a part of the story, and it will rip your heart out and when it is over, you will cry because sadly, the sweet ordeal is over.
This is one of the rare books that are an experience.
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Post by tuigirl on Jun 26, 2022 13:44:07 GMT
Started on the "Thursday Next" series.
I got this a couple of years ago because somebody told me "this is very much like Doctor Who".
Well, it IS very much like Doctor Who.
Even a bit weirder.
It is very weird, full of time travel shenanigans, alternative universes, quirky characters and a whole multiverse of madness.
So yes, this is right up my alley.
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