What are you currently reading?

[North Star]

Thought I would post this here:

My wife and I were just reflecting yesterday on how we would always head to a favorite independently owned book shop here in Colorado during this time of year and spend hours perusing new (and old) titles for gifts for friends and family.  One can still do this, but the hustle and bustle throughout the shop is now down to traffic that need not merge.  Really miss this experience and maybe those that are old enough to remember this, you might concur.

One would have to be very young to not be able to remember the times when bookstores drew more people, especially during Christmas sales and such.

[Bogey]

One would have to be very young to not be able to remember the times when bookstores drew more people, especially during Christmas sales and such.

Indeed.  But time passes quickly.  Our daughter turns 13 tomorrow.  She never experienced it like we did.  My son, 17, barely recollects it. 

[Pretorious]

Thought I would post this here:



My wife and I were just reflecting yesterday on how we would always head to a favorite independently owned book shop here in Colorado during this time of year and spend hours perusing new (and old) titles for gifts for friends and family.  One can still do this, but the hustle and bustle throughout the shop is now down to traffic that need not merge.  Really miss this experience and maybe those that are old enough to remember this, you might concur.

I remember spending what seemed like hours in book stores as a child. I still do so, and for many of the same reasons. I love perusing the different titles, finding ones I like or think I'll like; the look and feel; the smell of the store; the thought of sitting and reading with a cup of tea; of gleaning some knowledge each and every time; it's all so intoxicating. But it was, ultimately, the stories that kept me returning for more. The wonderful stories of humanity, science and love. Of passions and thought and ideas. I suppose that's what made me want to become a writer in my own life, though many things affected that.

I lamented when the local Border's finally closed down. Unfortunately, the main bookstores still in business just don't feel the same, not to mention that prices are outrageous, which naturally have pushed me to Amazon, as well. Conversely, there's a used store nearby that opened in the last few years and that has now become one of my favorite establishments. I love the feeling of being able to walk out with a stack of books for cheap that will keep me occupied, and that will add to my library at home.

It is a shame that this experience isn't more pervasive now.

[Henk]

Nice book store here in Groninger. Prices the same as online.

Made a visit this morning and I always feel the experience you describe. Searching and picking the right books. Often also books I didn't saw on internet book stores already (of course online stores have them as well, but retail stores present them differently).

[Florestan]

I remember spending what seemed like hours in book stores as a child. I still do so, and for many of the same reasons. I love perusing the different titles, finding ones I like or think I'll like; the look and feel; the smell of the store; the thought of sitting and reading with a cup of tea; of gleaning some knowledge each and every time; it's all so intoxicating. But it was, ultimately, the stories that kept me returning for more. The wonderful stories of humanity, science and love. Of passions and thought and ideas. I suppose that's what made me want to become a writer in my own life, though many things affected that.

My thoughts / feelings / sentiments exactly.

Fortunately, there are a few brick-and-mortar bookstores in Bucharest where I can still have that thrilling experience, one of them being located quite close to my home (in a mall no less ).

It is a shame that this experience isn't more pervasive now.

Yes but it didn´t just happen. There a lot of factors and influences behind this sad state of affairs.

[Todd]

Breakfast with the Borgias.  DBC Pierre's short-story foray into 'horror' is neither scary or suspenseful, but it does boast much of Pierre's crackling prose, sharp critiques of modern life (an over-dependence on technology, in particular), and crazy similes, some of which work fantastically well and some that fall flat.  Not up to the quality of his novels, but it'll have to tide me over until he writes a new one.

[Henk]

Yes but it didn´t just happen. There a lot of factors and influences behind this sad state of affairs.

Yes, there are retail stores with their own online shop. I try to buy my books from this local company as much as possible. Why support the internet giants if there are other ways? Books aren't priced higher as well.

[ibanezmonster]

Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria (The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria)



http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Utsuro+no+Hako+to+Zero+no+Maria

Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria, tells the sinister story of Kazuki Hoshino, who is almost madly attached to his everyday life, and his antagonist Aya Otonashi, who suddenly transfers into his class—for the 13,118th time. She majestically announces to "break" him, without paying heed to anyone else around them.

This is but the start of a dark roller coaster ride that turns the two against themselves, the people around them and the one who may be god. Read on as their relationship slowly changes and they go against their most basic values in their struggle against the world itself.

This is a series of 7 light novels that I discovered on MyAnimeList. The average rating was 9.2 (rank #2), with 60% of those who have read it giving it a 10.
And on goodreads, the last two novels in the series have a 4.47 and 4.48 rating, which is incredibly high for that site.

Considering I love stories with repeating timelines, I'm just going to have to read this. 47 pages in and I can tell this is going to be really, really good stuff. Of course, at 1800 or 1900 pages, it's quite a monster and will take a really long time to finish.

[Henk]

Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria (The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria)



http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Utsuro+no+Hako+to+Zero+no+Maria

This is a series of 7 light novels that I discovered on MyAnimeList. The average rating was 9.2 (rank #2), with 60% of those who have read it giving it a 10.
And on goodreads, the last two novels in the series have a 4.47 and 4.48 rating, which is incredibly high for that site.

Considering I love stories with repeating timelines, I'm just going to have to read this. 47 pages in and I can tell this is going to be really, really good stuff. Of course, at 1800 or 1900 pages, it's quite a monster and will take a really long time to finish.

Better than watching screens all the time.. Hope you enjoy the novels. You have to use your imagination in contrary to films and gaming. It will give you opportunities to relate to your own life more, making your life probably more interesting, even if it is boring. Your experience of everyday life will get richer. Embrace it. This may sound like the most stupid advice to you, but the more you flow and fuse with virtual worlds on screens and identify with avatars, the more deattached to and so the more boring your life gets.

Just some thoughts for thinking. I'm reading the book Mind Change now, really good stuff. It's all about this. Not boring at all to be confronted with how we live nowadays. Especially for people, like you and me, who interact a lot with screens. She gives a lot thoughts for reflection. Still reading, the most interesting chapters are ahead of me still. It's not just negative, it's also about how we can use the digital technologies for the better.


http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Change-Digital-Technologies-Leaving/dp/0812993829/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

[nickcar]

fan fiction!!!!!!!!!!!

[The new erato]

A very good read, prompted by my 3 week long summer vacation in Austria/Hungary/Slovakia/the Czech Republic this summer.

Now I want to go back!

[SimonNZ]

Keep coming across references to this book in other things I've been reading - so clearly high time I took a look at it.

[Artem]

That is a great book. I love Sebald. I discovered him a few years ago and quickly read almost everything that was published by him.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

[ibanezmonster]

Better than watching screens all the time.. Hope you enjoy the novels. You have to use your imagination in contrary to films and gaming. It will give you opportunities to relate to your own life more, making your life probably more interesting, even if it is boring. Your experience of everyday life will get richer. Embrace it. This may sound like the most stupid advice to you, but the more you flow and fuse with virtual worlds on screens and identify with avatars, the more deattached to and so the more boring your life gets.

I'm reading this on my computer screen, too, btw, because there is no published English version. It's just a fan translation.

I finished volume 1. "Hakomari" is the nickname of the series.

Anyone who enjoys a good psychological thriller will enjoy this. Very reminiscent of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, my all-time favorite anime which involves trying to escape from an endless time loop that often ends in violent murders and insanity, all while trying to understand the workings of what is actually going on.

I think HakoMari can be classified as "Chaos Theory". It's completely erratic, yet very systematic. It's completely irrational, yet makes absolutely perfect sense. It's abstract, yet completely logical. It messes with your head like nothing else from essentially the first sentence of the first volume and it never ever stops, but neither does it stop fascinating you with what it's capable of. The plot twists are so incredibly difficult to predict, but they always make you feel like the answer was so obvious all along once the truth is revealed. It's just that well-written, and as a result it never fails to make you smile and impress you.

"Do you have a wish?"

I don't think myself able to write an objective critic to HakoMari, not while the last volume is still so vivid in my mind. As such, this is not a review, but a love letter to this wonderful novel.

HakoMari is, in a nutshell, a wild ride. A crazy, reckless and downright cruel wild ride.

Next up: the only volume that isn't regarded so highly. But I will continue on, because it supposedly only gets better after volume 1, and that was some pretty amazing stuff already.

[Henk]

Started reading this book thursday.



He has an interesting face, so I hope it means it's a good book. First pages are nice.

"Over the past two centuries or so, capitalism has undergone profound changes--economic cycles that veer from boom to bust--from which it has always emerged transformed and strengthened. Surveying this turbulent history, Paul Mason's Postcapitalism argues that we are on the brink of a change so big and so profound that this time capitalism itself, the immensely complex system within which entire societies function, will mutate into something wholly new.

At the heart of this change is information technology, a revolution that is driven by capitalism but, with its tendency to push the value of much of what we make toward zero, has the potential to destroy an economy based on markets, wages, and private ownership. Almost unnoticed, in the niches and hollows of the market system, swaths of economic life are beginning to move to a different rhythm. Vast numbers of people are changing how they behave and live, in ways contrary to the current system of state-backed corporate capitalism. And as the terrain changes, new paths open.

In this bold and prophetic book, Mason shows how, from the ashes of the crisis, we have the chance to create a more socially just and sustainable economy. Although the dangers ahead are profound, he argues that there is cause for hope. This is the first time in human history in which, equipped with an understanding of what is happening around us, we can predict and shape the future."


Trying to spend at least some hours in a productive way today.

[Karl Henning]

The results explain why it's so rare for "a good guy with a gun" to stop active shooters. According to the FBI's report on active shooter events between 2000 and 2013, only about 3 percent were stopped by a civilian with a gun. Unarmed civilians actually stopped more incidents — about 13 percent.

[kishnevi]

http://www.eoneill.com/texts/blemie/contents.htm

The Last Will and Testament of Silverdene Emblem O'Neill.

[SimonNZ]

"Fallen Glory: The Lives and Deaths of Twenty Lost Buildings from the Tower of Babel to the Twin Towers" - James Crawford

[Artem]

Experimental novel, a story within a story, similar to some of Italo Calvino writing. An elderly writer is writing his final script, while a talented young female composer decides to become a writer under the influence of hypnosis.



I never paid attention to the Booker prize, but I decided to give a try to their finalists this year. Obioma is a young writer, not yet 30 years old, and The Fishermen is his debut. It is an impressive novel with very good story. It starts almost like a classic Achebe novel, folk like, but get more disturbing and grim by the end.



Anne Tyler was another finalist of Booker prize this year. I never heard of her before but that is her 20th or 30th or something book, which was rather enjoyable. It is a story of a family, nothing extraordinary, but her clear writing style makes it an enjoyable read.