Topic: Books You're Currently Reading?

I just finished The Palace of the Peacock by Wilson Harris. Greatly enjoyed it, great metaphysical and metaphorical descriptions, truly "quantum writing" as the man himself would have put it.

I am currently (re)reading Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut because I think if you don't read at least a couple of his books every year, well. You just should, ok.

@Sorteddan I don't think I've read that one. I recently re-read Sirens of Titan and it's amazing how the book can be so absurd and surreal while simultaneously being so clever and insightful.

@Thrillho
Oh yeah, Sirens is KV doing his out there sci-fi craziness. Bluebeard is (overtly) much more mundane, made up memoirs of an aged WW2 veteran abstract expressionist painter. As ever with Vonnegut I think it's really more a satire about the things that people do and say and the way of the world.
To be honest I just pick one at random every few months though am thinking I haven't read timequake for too long - that is one I would recommend

Abarat by Clive Barker. An interesting book, but not for the impressionable

Another quiet Friday in the office and I have now once again 'completed' the Internet... carry on with bit of Consider Phlebas it is then.

@colonelkilgore What do you reckon of it so far? @Th3solution I've just started the first book in the Lotr trilogy, you mentioned being a fan? Also, I've read The Hobbit, just beginning the trilogy proper now - Have you read all the books?

@TheBrandedSwordsman it’s awesome dude, I’m like just over halfway through (obvs it depends on how slow things are with work as to when I get a chance to dip in) but I can already tell that I’d like to read the whole damn ‘Culture’ series.

Banks treads an unbelievably fine balance between massively intellectual understanding of tech, systems and philosophies but is able to get down and dirty (& ultimately very accessible to a wide audience) with his characters and narrative. It kinda feels a little like Firefly (the absolutely epic Whedon 🤫 sci-fi show from the early 2000’s) and the very best of Star-Trek had a baby... but the Federation (or the Culture in the case of Bank’s work) is the bad-guy.

If you like sci-fi I would thoroughly recommend.

@colonelkilgore Is that your first M. Banks book then?

I’ve read most of them by now and think they’re fantastic. The fact that they have almost zero relation to each other means that he can try different things with the books so some are a bit more obtuse sci-do books than others. Phlebas is still one of my favourites but I think Surface Detail has been my favourite.

@Thrillho yeah it is, I’ve started it a few times over the years and been really enjoying it each time but fell off for various reasons but I’m intent on seeing out Consider Phelbas this time. It really is brilliant.

As a series vet, do you think I am anywhere near the mark on my explanation of the Culture... or as a noob am I way off?

@colonelkilgore Ha, we’ll it’s cleverly done where your views on the Culture will vary on the book as different books focus on characters inside and outside of that society.

The ships and their AI almost always steal the show though, particularly with their ridiculous names (which have inspired the SpaceX landing pads etc).

@TheBrandedSwordsman I’m a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings books and also The Hobbit. It’s been a few years since I read them, but I feel they are absolute classics. Is this your first time to read them? How do you feel the books compare to the movies?

@Th3solution It's my first time reading them, I haven't seen the movies. The books are good, though.

@TheBrandedSwordsman What a treat! Yeah, I absolutely love the thematic and symbolic parts of the story, as well as the more superficial aspects of just plain fun of trying to stop a massive evil takeover. It works on many levels. But the books can drag at certain parts if you’re not feeling the whole impact and depth of Frodo’s journey. For me though, it was an extremely introspective activity from beginning to end!

The books are phenomenal but the movies are actually fantastic as well. Some of the best translations of book to film I’ve seen. Especially if you can watch the extended versions.
I speak of the LotR movies and not so much about The Hobbit movies. Although I liked them, they are a large deviation from the book.

@TheBrandedSwordsman I figured I’d respond over here where it might fit in better, but to answer your question, no I haven’t read Gramsci, I’ve just dabbled superficially in the sociology stuff and mostly American related social commentary. I’m not very academic with the interest.

As for what’s my favorite fantasy novels... after Tolkien’s LotR it’s ironically The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Rothfuss. I say ironically because the series isn’t even done and we’ve been waiting on book 3 in the trilogy for ages.

I also like the Farseer Trilogy by Hobb. Another favorite. And a third favorite would be the Mistborn series by Sanderson.

@Th3solution Kingkiller is just so good, despite it seemingly never finishing. It’s one of the few properties I hope never gets adapted, as it just would end up really cheesy when the books are grounded.

@nessisonett I agree. The story is so good but also part of the charm of the whole thing is Rothfuss’s writing style. He’s one of the writers that has a knack for just making words flow off the page and reading them feels effortless. Which, unexpectedly, he stated recently that Book 3 has been worked on but a lot of the content was written back as far as 1998 and he said he was such a poor writer back then that he just had to rewrite much of it, which in turn made it incongruent with the other sections that were written and it sounds like it just turned into a complete restart.

@Th3solution A series I've always meant to read but never got around to is the Dune series by Frank Herbert. Looks good, have you read those books? Maybe if I finish LotR I'll get around to it!

@TheBrandedSwordsman No, it’s a series I’ve always meant to read also. I heard great things about it, but when I watched the movie I thought it was pretty weird, so it decreased my interest in the books.

@Th3solution Have you read Malazan book of the fallen? Those are excellent books I'm currently finishing up Return of the Crimson Guard.

@TheBrandedSwordsman I've only read the first Dune book but I liked it enough to want to continue with the series, Just loads of other things to read first!