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Post by Avelyn on Jun 4, 2014 12:46:16 GMT -5
Went back to Night of the Hunter again. See if I can make any progress this time.
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Post by Sargai on Jun 4, 2014 13:28:35 GMT -5
That I haven't been tempted to read Truth and Fear at all in the past couple days might mean something. I have a feeling it will be dumped in a ditch on the side of the road as I move on to other things. Granted, nothing in my library is tempting me at the moment. I'm just sort of waiting until the middle of the month when James S.A. Corey's Cibola Burn comes out.
In the mean time, I have been reading a little bit of Creepypasta, which is quite enjoyable. Strangely, the stories I enjoy the most tend to be those that don't try too hard at producing great writing. The informal stories that sound like some person on a forum or blog sharing a weird experience are so much more pleasing than the earnest attempts at short fiction. Those stories are good, of course, but I prefer to pretend that the Creepypasta that I'm reading is real and that effect is often diminished when the author suddenly switches POV, wraps things up in a neat ending, or attempts decent prose.
The problem that I've been having with Creepypasta is site design. These sites insist on using white font on black background, which might fit the genre aesthetic but produces an awful reading experience.
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Post by mattymoron on Jun 5, 2014 15:26:31 GMT -5
I finished Candide several days ago. It was very funny, in a morbid way, but it didn't quite click with me in a profound way. The very, very end, though, was absolutely marvelous.
Since the last time I posted, I've also read This Is It and Other Essays by Alan Watts (six essays, all together, including the eponymous one). I had borrowed it from a professor of mine. Absolutely wonderful. Over the past year or so, I've become much more active in considering and developing the spiritual part of myself. The six essays in the book are all about Zen, in one way or another, and it's the first exposure I've had to Zen in any meaningful sense. It seems much in line with the kinds of things that have been affirmative for me already, including the work of Joseph Campbell. Watts is an incredibly congenial writer, as well.
I'm most of the way through a collection of poetry now, Debacle Debacle by Matt Hart. He's phenomenal, and I was fortunate enough to have a chance to talk with him and get this book signed when he came to read at my school. Seeing him read was an amazing experience. He's incredible, it really blew my hair back and made understand how powerful poetry can be. I'll rustle up a YouTube link at some point and post it in the links of interest thread, if anyone's interested (though, rest assured, the video can't even begin to do the in-person experience justice).
I'm getting ready to start The Picture of Dorian Gray. I've never read any of Wilde's work, but I'm sure it's a classic for a reason.
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Post by Avelyn on Jun 5, 2014 16:42:30 GMT -5
Yeah, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a good one. Haven't read it in years, but I do recall enjoying it quite a bit.
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Post by dragonreader on Jun 7, 2014 20:07:21 GMT -5
Finished Please Pass the Guilt a Nero Wolfe mystery by Rex Stout. Started slow, but ended well.
Now reading The Sentinel by Troy Denning.
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Post by Sargai on Jun 13, 2014 20:55:16 GMT -5
After a while of floating about without a read, I've settled into This Book is Full of Spiders by David Wong. Loved John Dies at the End and have had this for a while, just haven't been in the mood.
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Post by Avelyn on Jun 13, 2014 21:27:13 GMT -5
Still reading Night of the Hunter, although I only have about 90 pages or so left. Enjoying it quite a bit, once I finally got into it.
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Post by Avelyn on Jun 17, 2014 16:19:08 GMT -5
Finally finished up Night of the Hunter. Good book and it will definitely be interesting to see where things go from here.
Now I'm going to start on Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz.
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Post by Sargai on Jun 18, 2014 0:16:43 GMT -5
Now I'm going to start on Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz. Have you seen the movie? It pops up a lot on Netflix, but I haven't heard a peep about it and have wondered if its worth watching.
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Post by dragonreader on Jun 18, 2014 8:21:56 GMT -5
Finished The Sentinel by Troy Denning. The ending was a bit predictable but overall I enjoyed the book. It was a quick, fun read.
Not sure what I'll read next.
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Post by Avelyn on Jun 18, 2014 13:43:01 GMT -5
Now I'm going to start on Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz. Have you seen the movie? It pops up a lot on Netflix, but I haven't heard a peep about it and have wondered if its worth watching. No, I haven't. I might check it out once I finish the novel, though.
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Post by dragonreader on Jun 18, 2014 20:40:43 GMT -5
Decided to read Might As Well Be Dead, a Nero Wolfe mystery by Rex Stout
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Post by dragonreader on Jun 23, 2014 12:09:27 GMT -5
Finished Might As Well Be Dead, a Nero Wolfe mystery by Rex Stout. Great book!
Now reading Queen of the Dark Things by C. Robert Cargill
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Post by Sargai on Jun 24, 2014 17:49:37 GMT -5
I decided to stick with This Book Is Full of Spiders by David Wong instead of immediately switching over to James S.A. Corey's Cibola Burn, one of my most anticipated books of this year. Figured I ought to finish something for once.
This book isn't nearly as insane or puerile as John Dies at the End, but at this point in the book all hell is breaking loose and Wong is doing an admirable job of tying a bunch of disparate elements and plots together. I tend not to expect much from comedic novels, but the tight plotting and character development alone places this one ahead of a number of books I have read or attempted to read these last couple of years.
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Post by Avelyn on Jun 27, 2014 18:03:52 GMT -5
Finished with Odd Thomas and now I'm going to start on Property of a Lady Faire, by Simon R. Green.
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