Don't think so, but its been a while. I did however see the movie, but that doesn't say much.Quote:
Originally Posted by littlelolligagged
Printable View
Don't think so, but its been a while. I did however see the movie, but that doesn't say much.Quote:
Originally Posted by littlelolligagged
I read dead air by him a while back - is this better?Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
Iain Banks writes two types of books; contemporary fiction and science fiction.
His fiction books are under the name Iain Banks, and his science fiction books under the name Iain M. Banks.
His science fiction books are then further sub-divided into two further types; first type is the Culture type, which are all set in the same galaxy and concerning the same civilization (known as the Culture ...); the second type are just general one-off science ficiton novels.
I have read most of his contemporary fiction novels (but not Dead Air), and all of his sci-fi books (multiple times :))
He is my favourite sci-fi author.
~
Not sure if you are a sci-fi fan flix, but if you are and you fancy giving Banks a try, I'd recommend; Excession, The Player of Games, Use of Weapons, and Look to Windward; all of which are Culture novels.
The above book, Surface Detail, is released on 7th Oct, so will be pre-ordering.
http://photoload.ru/data/f5/a9/c7/f5...cc09943482.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...toWindward.jpg
Is my favouritist Culture novel. I love the interaction of the Minds and I have a soft spot for theQuote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
Proud Warrior Race GuysAffront.
I'm not that fond of his non-Culture books, they just don't grip me the same way.
Since it's the banned books week (plus pay-day!), I got some new booksies.
Juhani Suomi - Kin to the Salmon: Urho Kekkonen (title translation by yours truly). Some 5500 pages of academic text condensed into a single volume (and ~750 pages :(), chronicling the politically active years of Urho Kekkonen, the first and last dictator of Finland, who reigned for almost 30 years. (Suomi is Finnish for Finland, by the by)
A Finnish translation of The Aquariums of Pyongyang
Jukka Rislakki - The atomic bomb, Cold War and Finland (title translation by me, again), a book about the Cold War in Finland.
Was he really a dictator or just a political opportunist who was able to play the Soviet card very effectively and occasionally strayed over the line?
He was the president of Finland :) During his time the government's power was very president-leaning, as opposed to today when the ministers hold most power. He didn't so much play the Soviet card as he kept Finland as independent and free as possible with the Bear next door.
(the dictator thing is a joke)
My point was that he was elected and reelected several times in free and fair elections (with a free media to boot). He seems to have engaged in a lot of scare-mongering, but that's not exactly unknown for democratic politicians.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nessus
Yep. And his personal power generated a lot of resentment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loki
Just started Russia Against Napoleon, by Dominic Lieven, a professor of Russian History from Loki's alma mata LSE. Next on the list after that is a very dry book I'm not sure I'll be able to get through, on the political economies of the Union and Confederacy in the US Civil War, and how they effected US economic development through WWI-II. Yankee Leviathan. Its thesis that the growth of the national government was driven by post-war seperatist tendencies in the South, and it arrested the development of social welfare policies through the industrialzing period is just a fascinating position.
I stopped at two. Simmons seems better than he really is. His writing is intelligent, his ideas are excellent, and as a collection of novelettes or novellas Hyperion is great. But as a whole novel it never quite satisfies. I came away from it with a little bit of resentment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nessus
Have you come away from anything without some resentment
I just read a classic English one "The picture of Dorian Grey" by Oscar Wilde. Quite enjoyed most of it, just some parts are a bit too long. Anyway I am now back to Swiss literature for once "Grieche sucht Griechin" (Greek man searches Greek women) by Dürrenmatt, so for it seems to be very Kafkaesque but not as depressing as Kafka.
Well, we don't know because it's not out till next week.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flixy
However, since Dead Air was pants, and a major career low point*, I'd be chagrined if it wasn't. His other non-genre fiction tends to range from 'pretty decent' to 'outstanding'. Generally, earlier work is better, though the recent novels have shown improvement from the pants period, which seems to have been centered around personal life issues, or possibly just what you get from trying to write a book every year. The real classics are The Wasp Factory, Complicity, Espedair Street, The Bridget and, arguably, Walking on Glass for non-genre. From the sci-fi side Use of Weapons and Player of Games are the only two which are majorly good novels of the same class as the above, though all the others are solid sci-fi and well worth reading - except maybe Feersum Endjinn which was basically unreadable because a third of the novel is, for some reason, written phonetically.
It'll be interesting to see how Surface Detail turns out. More recent novels have been rather heavy on a bunch of stuff which happens because Iain wanted it to happen and rather thin on actual plot especially when compared to the cleverly planned and written early stuff. Dead Air is just about the worst example of this, featuring almost no actual story at all and certainly not one that you actually give a crap about. Matter was an slight reversal of this trend, and I hope Surface Detail does too.
* competing with Canal Dreams for crappiest Bank's novel.
The Drowned and the Saved. One of the books Nessus brought up recently. Only at Chapter 2 so far, but its a short book, just shy of 200 pages. Already presenting a different scenario from how I remember the events being taught in high school. Not sure I'm totally behind how he blames anyone and everyone for not putting a stop to what happened.
Just finished Dracula. A tad corny and predictable, but it's fun to imagine how crazy it would have been to read at the time it was written.
It's romantic, NGS.
I think it appeals more to teenage girls than teenage boys, though. I remember how disappointed I was when the Gary Oldman film came out. I think I'll have to reread it now.
Surface Detail is awesomez, the best thing I've read from him in years.Quote:
Matter was an slight reversal of this trend, and I hope Surface Detail does too.
Finished the Gulag Archipelago...Finally.
Too depressing to read for long lengths of time.
Just finished Evolutionary Void after a weekend binge. On to Surface Detail.
Much the same queue as me; am about 1/3 of the way through Evolutionary void and bought Surface Detail in Glasgow airport this weekend on a buy one book get 2nd half price deal.
Without giving anything away, how was the third void once you'd finished the last page? Anti-climactic? Totally-absorbing till the last? A bit meh?
Will read the other book I bought in between the two though, just so I can break up the very different writing styles of Hamiliton and Banks:
http://image.dealoz.co.uk/image/uk/410/3410.jpg
He's funny as hell on the box, will see if his written word hits the mark too ...
You read the Pandora's Star books, right? About the same as that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
If it helps any further, I'd only gotten to about page 50 by this last Friday, and you know how long the book is.
Yep read Pandora's Star & Judas Unchained.
Ok - sounds pretty good then. :)
I finally got started on Milton's Paradise Lost (what else are holidays for?), and...It's not nearly as daunting as I had feared. Fun stuff :up:
I just finished "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" last night. Fantastic.
Feynman's "What do you care what other people think"
I read Heart of Darkness by Conrad. That book is extremely convoluted and murky, much like its topic. I've read it three time, (we've had a snowday) and i found that each time Iread it, the more layers i found.
Rereading the old battle tech books on the kindle app. Good stuff BUT why are there randomly hyphenated words that make no sense and ridiculous spelling errors?? So irritating.
Cuz a republican wrote it. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by Lewkowski
No need to drag politics into a peaceful books thread. :o
Nessus, is there anything along these longs you would suggest for continued reading? Hopefully around the same length?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
This book has been rolling around in my head ever since I returned it, a lot of the what and how this account covers isn't what I remember from my history classes.
Well, the most classic Holocaust remembrance are Levi's "Is This a Man" and Tadeudz Borowkski's "This Way For the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen". These chronicle Lager-tales as by Lager-people. They're the same length, and have that same gallows-humour along with the description of what cannot be described. If you ever get a scholarly interest, I suggest Friedlander, but he's low on analysis or interpretation and seems to thrive in the trivial minutia his German masters once asked of him.
Awww common. In my defense, he was asking for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreadnaught
Reading Jane fucking Eyre. Feminism is the dumbest movement ever. Women are now equal to men, at least in most first world cuntrees. Women try so hard to write fictional novels about self-empowered and other nonsense. Read Catherine the Great's bibliography. She was a BAMF or Queen Isabella. Hell, Lady Macbeth or Ayn Rand.
Ding ding dingQuote:
Originally Posted by Omega
On the plus side, half the forum now loves you
Care to elaborate? I don't know enough about the ethno-politico demographics of this forum to even attempt to make a marginally well-reasoned hypothesis.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nessus
That shows
Perhaps you should stick to sharing what you are reading for fun, and not your assigned reading.
I kind of want to do well in AP Lit. I have to read a book from our country's cannon. I can't fight the system. and pshhh, why not?Quote:
Originally Posted by littlelolligagged
This is the man that is going to operate on your colon, people
Vote against Obamacare