Be Excellent To Each Other

The name of the wind? If so I thoroughly agree, brilliant book.

I can't remember where I put my Kindle...

Latest books i read:

"Big breasts and wide hips" by Mo Yan. - I already knew something about 20th century chinese history from reading "Wild Swans" but this was altogether a very different kind of book. Probably the second most violent one i've ever read, right after Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. It's raw, visceral and very very bleak. Quite deserving the nobel prize he received in 2012.

"Flow my tears the policeman said" by Phillip K. Dick - I love PKD books, and for me this is probably one of the most underrated ones. Even though it isn't quite as ambitious as ubik or The Three stigmata of palmer eldritch, it's one of my favourite ones. There are some tangents on it that almost reach Dostoyevski's levels of morality and the significance of the human condition. One of them was about the "meaning of grief" and there's a very interesting tale about the rabbit that wanted to be cat.

"I am Legend" by Robert Matheson - Kind of interesting to read one of the most influential books on the zombie apocalypse sub-genre. Kind of "seen it all before" nowadays, but it still is a good read.

As is typical, Iain M. Banks' death motivated me to get into his Culture books. I had no idea, and I'm on the penultimate one having read nothing but since I opened Consider Phlebas.

The Culture is the most compelling sci-fi situation I have ever read about. I want to live in it more than anywhere. Granted, it's an idealistic notion but it's so well drawn that it doesn't matter.

Gutted I'm nearly through them. Truly gutted. There was one book where when I finished it I wanted to write to Banks and tell him how much I liked it, but I got upset when I couldn't. Weapons, I think it was. Or maybe Windward. They're all amazing.

Just sent Consider Phlebas to my Kindle. Is there any particular order I should read the books in?

Probably best to read them in published order, although it's not strictly chronologically correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series

Ta

I'm struggling with The Jennifer Morgue, even though I really liked The Atrocity Archives and all the shorts. It seems overly-long and not that interesting.

I am reading this at the moment. It is really rather good.

Just because you mentioned Blood Meridian and it being very bleak, I'm getting this on your recommendation. I'm assuming that was a recommendation, right?

It gets better, I think. The last one was probably my favourite. Worth sticking with, I reckon.

The Jennifer Morgue... I enjoyed that one, it clicks once you realise what's going on.

I wouldn't start with Consider Phlebas. The Player of Games is the usual recommended starting point, you get much more of an idea of the Culture in that.

I dunno, all the books hark back to the situation in Phlebas at some point or another, and a straightforward detailed explanation of what the culture is and how it works as read in Player of Games is not necessarily the most fun. Phlebas might be something of a tease, but if you want to start at the outer layer of the onion without having to take too long to get to the centre, the written order is fine. Didn't do me any harm.

If you've got Phlebas, you'd be daft not to get on with it.

I started with CP. Many moons ago.

Yes it was! It's an huge book, so better leave it for when you have some spare time.

I actually started on Use of Weapons... but y'know.

Out on Thursday.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ex-Purgatory-Ex ... +purgatory

Pre-ordered, cheers.

I can't find a copy in town anywhere. I'll order it online I reckon.

I was checking the book's reviews on Amazon, and i came across this hilarious 1 star review:

Halfway through chapter 3 so far.

Just finished the second book, the wise man's fear, seriously if you like fantasy books at all, read these, they are excellent. Sadly the third is not out yet, but these are the best things I have read in years.

Without wishing to be rude to the dead, Brandon Sanderson's Wheel of Time books are so much better than the others.

Totally agree. I then went on to read all his other stuff, which is just as good.

Finally started reading Anathem. 100 odd pages in.

It is very good. I kept listening to comments that it was a hard read, so I'ld been putting it off, but it's very straightforward and readable actually.

Finished Doris Kearns Goodwin's' book on Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, and progressive journalism, 'the Bully Pulpit'. Not as good a study of the game of politics as her earlier 'Team of Rivals', but fascinating and highly readable nonetheless - Taft in particular comes out very well in it.

Wait, what. This was released? Where's the fan-fare?! I didn't see any fan-fare. I was expecting huge amounts of fan-fare, equivalent to the next GRRM book release. Also: Amazon didn't bother emailing me that some preordery thing on my wishlist is available, even though I'm clearly interesting in it. What kind of ruthless money making megacorp are they?

Just finished 'The Far Time Incident'.

Avoid.

I did it the other way round. Made sure I liked his stuff before committing myself back to the WoT. And it was well worth it. That last book was impressive.

I have just started reading the Malazan books, seem good so far, but only a little in to the first one. Hopefully they should keep me occupied for a while.

I love them. They're the most massive scale epic I've ever read, and really impressive work from the author. Hard work in places keeping track of all the massive character list.

Patrick Ness. Heh.

?

P Ness.

The less popular member of the Family Ness.

Heh, member.

Yeah, so..... yeah... ummm...

It wasn't bad as such, but it was easily the worst of the four so far.

I really liked it, have to say!

Me too, to be honest. I was just pleased that Legion wasn't the fucking baddy again.

Did anyone spot the "clues" he talked about in the Afterword?

Not even a little bit.

Oh Reacher. How do you keep getting yourself into these situations?

Also: Kvothe - how are we pronouncing his name?

"Fanshaw"

It tells you at some point, "Quothe".

"Raymond Luxury Yacht"

Pronounced like "quaff" as in "to drink"?

If you have a lisp, yes.

I dislike names like that, which seem to be hard to say for no real reason (although, of course, there could be a reason, what with the importance of names in that book). My brain stuttered over it every time I saw it, which dragged me out of the book a little.

I like simple names.

Like "Jack Reacher".

I would have thought more to rhyme with 'both'.