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>> | No. 5456
5456
This was really good. |
>> | No. 5457
5457
>>5456 |
>> | No. 5458
5458
>>5457 |
>> | No. 5459
5459
image.jpg This was weird and genius in a number of ways. About fifty pages too long. Should be required reading for conspiracy theorists, it might shut them up occasionally. |
>> | No. 5461
5461
>>5459 |
>> | No. 5462
5462
9780374230890.jpg This was an easy enough read but a bit pointless. Just well-meaning pop-psych/pop-evo-psych. The whole thing can be summed up in a paragraph. |
>> | No. 5463
5463
neuromancer_cover.jpg This was entertaining but very silly. Strong YA fiction. The way cyberspace (or levels-of-reality) was handled doesn't compare to the artfulness of Vurt, however. |
>> | No. 5464
5464
_9781906477288__54735.jpg This is astonishingly well written for a seventeen year old. Reminiscent of Moorcock in terms of themes but the prose is much clearer and entertaining. Sadly the plot is a little bit aimless but it's less than 200 pages so you won't feel like you've wasted much time on it. The what look to be wood-cut illustrations are charming. |
>> | No. 5465
5465
>>5462 |
>> | No. 5466
5466
>>5456 |
>> | No. 5467
5467
>>5459 |
>> | No. 5468
5468
>>5467 |
>> | No. 5469
5469
>>5468 |
>> | No. 5470
5470
genuinely brilliant, words fucking on a page, not quite so much as nymphomation but still lyrical. |
>> | No. 5471
5471
Only finished the preface and introduction to PR and I already feel like I should probably rewatch the lectures on the 8-circuit mind then read the Dhammapada and Intro to General Semantics before I carry on with the rest of the book. Never mind, time for that later. |
>> | No. 5472
5472
Cryptonomicon(1stEd).jpg This one. Quite good, I'd say. |
>> | No. 5473
5473
>>5472 |
>> | No. 5474
5474
>>5473 |
>> | No. 5475
5475
511dJv3pAIL.jpg This took a lot longer to finish than I expected as life got in the way. I started off making notes on each chapter as I went along but they weren't anything of any interest to anyone else and were making me pick holes in the writing rather than appreciating it for itself so I stopped after a couple of chapters. |
>> | No. 5476
5476
>>5475 |
>> | No. 5477
5477
69_Things_to_Do_with_a_Dead_Princess.jpg >>5476 |
>> | No. 5478
5478
>>5476 |
>> | No. 5479
5479
>>5478 |
>> | No. 5480
5480
>>5475 |
>> | No. 5481
5481
>>5479 |
>> | No. 5482
5482
>>5481 |
>> | No. 5483
5483
>>5482 |
>> | No. 5484
5484
>>5483 |
>> | No. 5485
5485
>>5484 |
>> | No. 5486
5486
PerdidoStreetStation(1stEd).jpg Just finished this. Seems like a strong early novel but the use of alliteration and pointlessly obscure vocabulary crowbarred in detracts from the immersion somewhat. It felt like a serious version of Pratchett's, which is no bad thing. Not much connection felt to the characters plus the creature design was a bit weak. Points for effort in not using the same old fantasy world though. The world itself was intriguing and the plot enthralling enough. Very hard to shake the impression it wasn't just set in a weird London but that's ok. It's about on par with the city and the city, the best of his books in my humble opinion. |
>> | No. 5487
5487
maddaddam1.jpg This was an interesting contrast to Perdido Street Station. There are a lot of things to take issue with such as the oddly simplistic way her world functions, the obvious satires, the retro-active attempts to crowbar cultural references into the third novel and most particularly the infantile understanding of computers. A lot of it was just silly and it's unclear how intentional that is. In terms of the setting it's a lot weaker than The Handmaiden's Tale if only because that book didn't try to explain their reality in much detail so there's less to fall apart. But I'm being massively over-critical, because none of that stuff is particularly important. The storytelling and the dialogue is wonderful, the female characters seem very real and human, they're beautifully portrayed. Particularly the format she uses in the final of the trilogy, it was an engaging read. |
>> | No. 5488
5488
A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking by G.R. Haskins. |
>> | No. 5489
5489
mieville.jpg >>5486 |
>> | No. 5490
5490
For some reason HR Giger dying inspired me to finally get around to reading Dune, he was meant to work on the film that never happened. |
>> | No. 5491
5491
>>5489 |
>> | No. 5492
5492
>>5490 |
>> | No. 5493
5493
>>5492 |
>> | No. 5494
5494
>>5463>>5473 |
>> | No. 5495
5495
>>5494 |
>> | No. 5496
5496
>>5495 |
>> | No. 5497
5497
if-on-a-winters-night-a-traveller.jpg Just finished re-reading this. Not much to say except it was definitely better the second time around. There's an awful lot I missed out on originally but it was much easier to understand the second time. The prose (even translated) is fluid and beautiful, the ideas complex and fascinating. It's a little like reading a kaleidoscope. Very difficult to explain to anyone what it's about. |
>> | No. 5513
5513
Orwell's "Politics and the English language". I tend to think that it can be applied to some other things as well, not only to the language. |
>> | No. 5518
5518
>>5494 |
>> | No. 5520
5520
>>5518 |
>> | No. 5521
5521
>>5520 |
>> | No. 5548
5548
>>5518 |
>> | No. 5578
5578
>>5548 |
>> | No. 5579
5579
>>5578 |
>> | No. 5580
5580
>>5579 |
>> | No. 5581
5581
>>5580 |
>> | No. 5582
5582
>>5513 |
>> | No. 5583
5583
>>5581 |
>> | No. 5584
5584
>>5583 |
>> | No. 5598
5598
jamesk_1269480744203_35506.jpg http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/writing/online-writer-in-residence/blog/558/ |
>> | No. 5599
5599
>>5598 |
>> | No. 5650
5650
wallpaper-2942626.jpg >>5584 |
>> | No. 5651
5651
>>5650 |
>> | No. 5652
5652
>>5650 |
>> | No. 5653
5653
cover.jpg Funniest book i've read. |
>> | No. 5654
5654
>>5653 |
>> | No. 5655
5655
>>5651 |
>> | No. 5656
5656
>>5655 |
>> | No. 5657
5657
space.jpg This was really quite interesting. I read it as a child and somehow only picked up on one of the plots which stuck with me for years, but it was well worth re-reading. |
>> | No. 5658
5658
time.jpg This was ... weak. The plot is under developed and while striving to cover a great deal, feels short. It's also weirdly self-consciously sexist; the protagonists wife being a generally useless proto-MacGuffin who is aware of her own status as something to simply run around after the protagonist. |
>> | No. 5659
5659
origin.jpg I haven't yet finished reading this but it is much better than Time. Sadly, a lot of what's interesting about it wouldn't make sense without having read Time. I don't know how sensible any of the authors ideas are, really, the stories being not very hard science, but reading this has thrown a lot of light on what Baxter and Pratchett are trying to achieve with the Long series. |
>> | No. 5686
5686
Royal_Society_20040420.jpg >>5650 |
>> | No. 5687
5687
At Swim-Two-Birds- image 3.jpg Some fantastic and witty meta-fiction writing here, aside from the occasional segment composed of Epic Irish poetry, which tends to drag. At just over 200 pages this is a great light read. |
>> | No. 5688
5688
pale-fire-627x1024.jpg This is just absolute excellence in writing. The sort of book you can read and re-read and keep finding new stuff in. I've no idea where the treasure is hidden yet. There's not even any noncing, other than a strong pederast subtext, the most graphic of which is a sentence which refers to "plucking ripe figs and peaches" (paraphrased). It's worth reading for the poem alone, never mind the commentary. Best to not get a copy that says the author's name in a large font anywhere if there's any chance anyone will see it, else you will get some funny looks. |
>> | No. 5689
5689
>>5688 |
>> | No. 5690
5690
4cfafd4775f293ebe207e0ad7d3af5e2.jpg This book is hilariously ineptly written. The author doesn't seem to know anything about teenagers or drugs. |
>> | No. 5691
5691
>>5690 |
>> | No. 5692
5692
>>5691 |
>> | No. 5693
5693
>>5692 |
>> | No. 5694
5694
>>5693 |
>> | No. 5695
5695
SatanPresidingAtTheInfernalCouncil.jpg >>5692 |
>> | No. 5696
5696
Manwhowasthursday.jpg The Man Who Was Thursday. I stumbled upon it whilst playing Deus Ex. Cannot say anything as I've just started reading it. The excerpts from the game were quite intriguing though. |
>> | No. 5697
5697
>>5695 |
>> | No. 5698
5698
>>5697 |
>> | No. 5699
5699
>>5697 |
>> | No. 5700
5700
>>5697 |
>> | No. 6016
6016
Finished Aldington's Death of a Hero. |
>> | No. 6017
6017
c4979c39bf28af254f6bb630b2a8a92a.jpg >>5697 |
>> | No. 6018
6018
>>6017 |
>> | No. 6162
6162
9780316098106_custom-56dc2b3a24885a81b82813c096980.jpg Just finished this over my morning coffee. Definitely lives up to the reviews, and just as stylish as his Mars trilogy. I've always maintained that good SF is a study of human nature, and this really excels at blending the technological aspects with the human story without falling into the trap of just becoming a dumpload of dry technical data. Very enjoyable book. |
>> | No. 6178
6178
Dead_or_Alive_big.jpg Geoff Thompson's Dead or Alive. I don't even remember where I got this one. |
>> | No. 6222
6222
>>6016 |
>> | No. 6243
6243
FrederickForsyth_TheDayOfTheJackal.jpg 'They can't shoot straight.' |
>> | No. 6244
6244
Seveneves_Book_Cover.jpg Picked this up on the recommendation of a friend, enjoyed it quite a lot. |
>> | No. 6245
6245
>>6244 |
>> | No. 6280
6280
>>6245 |
>> | No. 6292
6292
God, I found Snowcrash unbearable. It literally gave me a headache at parts. |
>> | No. 6293
6293
>>6292 |
>> | No. 6295
6295
>>6293 |
>> | No. 6296
6296
>>6295 |
>> | No. 6297
6297
Kelly Victor.jpg Some time last year I thought I'd have a go at reading some modern Welsh literature, see what the taff answer to Trainspotting is, that sort of thing. So I got this on recommendation. |
>> | No. 6298
6298
Cynan.png >>6297 |
>> | No. 6299
6299
>>6293 |
>> | No. 6300
6300
>>6299 |
>> | No. 6302
6302
>>6300 |
>> | No. 6303
6303
>>6302 |
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