What Are You Reading?

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danie

I am whatever you say I am.
Feb 26, 2008
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Finished a pretty predictable crime novel called The One That Got Away.
Had rewatched the movie No Country for Old Men, and read the book this weekend. The book was kind of dry, like reading the movie script really... Here's one case where I liked the movie much better than the book.
Am now reading The Misremembered Man...the Irish dialogue and phrasing are great!
 

EMARX

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Feb 27, 2009
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Finished a pretty predictable crime novel called The One That Got Away.
Had rewatched the movie No Country for Old Men, and read the book this weekend. The book was kind of dry, like reading the movie script really... Here's one case where I liked the movie much better than the book.
Am now reading The Misremembered Man...the Irish dialogue and phrasing are great!
I've read both NCFOM and The Road, haven't seen the films. His books leave me wanting. I don't know if it's the style or the stories themselves.
 

danie

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Feb 26, 2008
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I've read both NCFOM and The Road, haven't seen the films. His books leave me wanting. I don't know if it's the style or the stories themselves.
That's an excellent way to put it. Parts of the books I find myself super-engrossed in, then I feel like skimming on the next parts!
I never did get used to no quotation marks or apostrophes in NCFOM; drove me crazy having to go back and see who was saying what. Seriously, it was just like reading lines from a script.
NCFOM is one of my favourite movies though. Javier Bardem's performance is unmatched and the feel of the movie is hard to describe, but I loved it.
 

danie

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Feb 26, 2008
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It may be as simple as me craving punctuation as well. :)
But it may be there was for me at least very little hope to be found...though I do think that The Road was essentially a love story.
Yes, his books are quite hopeless and violent. Sometimes I'm in the mood for that, and sometimes not. I agree about The Road. :)
 

carrie's younger brother

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Mar 8, 2012
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I've read both NCFOM and The Road, haven't seen the films. His books leave me wanting. I don't know if it's the style or the stories themselves.
I thought The Road was one of the most overly hyped books I have ever read. McCarthy's writing "style" is so Emperor's News Clothes: It's something for the
literati to "Ooooh" and "Aaaah" over when in actuality, it lacks any substance at all.
 

danie

I am whatever you say I am.
Feb 26, 2008
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I thought The Road was one of the most overly hyped books I have ever read. McCarthy's writing "style" is so Emperor's News Clothes: It's something for the
literati to "Ooooh" and "Aaaah" over when in actuality, it lacks any substance at all.
Yeah, like I said, the "style" is so minimalist that it hardly can be called a book.
I've heard All the Pretty Horses is good...have you guys read that? EMARX ?
 

EMARX

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Feb 27, 2009
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I have SO many books on my TBR pile, that I probably won't either.
Oh My. I don't have a physical TBR pile or even one that floats about my mind, and without consciously thinking about it even, there is a stack that is so high already that it has books that don't even have titles on the spines yet. But I wouldn't have it any other way. :)
 

danie

I am whatever you say I am.
Feb 26, 2008
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Oh My. I don't have a physical TBR pile or even one that floats about my mind, and without consciously thinking about it even, there is a stack that is so high already that it has books that don't even have titles on the spines yet. But I wouldn't have it any other way. :)
But don't you have books that you've bought but haven't read yet? I have 100s of real books and about 20 books I've downloaded that I haven't read yet!!!!
 

OldDarth

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Jul 10, 2006
730
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The Border by Robert McCammon

A SF romp that truly has echoes of McCammon's previous apocalyptic novel - Swan Song. This a straight forward action story with some mild ideological underpinnings. Two warring races - the Gorgons and the Cyphers - are in the process of destroying Earth which has the bad luck of being on the border of their respective races claimed territory - remain pretty alien. Which reduces their roles in the story to very traditional antagonists.

The real power of the story lies expectedly with the human survivors and their amazing ability to truck ahead under the most dire of circumstances. That, and a third alien party - who even though he is beyond human comprehension - reports to an even higher power, he in turn does not understand. Taking on the body of a young teenage boy near death - Ethan comes to learn and appreciate the worthiness of saving the human race.

So many terrible things happen to people and Earth that it becomes apparent early on that the story can only take one direction. And it does. Which both takes the tension down a notch but delivers the payoff a reader wants to see.

McCammon is always a fun writer to read. And I hear his next Matthew Corbett novel - FREEDOM OF THE MASK - clocks in at 180,000 words. Can't wait!
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
The Border by Robert McCammon

A SF romp that truly has echoes of McCammon's previous apocalyptic novel - Swan Song. This a straight forward action story with some mild ideological underpinnings. Two warring races - the Gorgons and the Cyphers - are in the process of destroying Earth which has the bad luck of being on the border of their respective races claimed territory - remain pretty alien. Which reduces their roles in the story to very traditional antagonists.

The real power of the story lies expectedly with the human survivors and their amazing ability to truck ahead under the most dire of circumstances. That, and a third alien party - who even though he is beyond human comprehension - reports to an even higher power, he in turn does not understand. Taking on the body of a young teenage boy near death - Ethan comes to learn and appreciate the worthiness of saving the human race.

So many terrible things happen to people and Earth that it becomes apparent early on that the story can only take one direction. And it does. Which both takes the tension down a notch but delivers the payoff a reader wants to see.

McCammon is always a fun writer to read. And I hear his next Matthew Corbett novel - FREEDOM OF THE MASK - clocks in at 180,000 words. Can't wait!
Well, didn't know what I was going to read after finishing Finders Keepers and The Border has been sitting in my TBR pile since it arrived from the publisher, so.........guess what I'mgoing to dive into tonight???
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
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USA
That's an excellent way to put it. Parts of the books I find myself super-engrossed in, then I feel like skimming on the next parts!
I never did get used to no quotation marks or apostrophes in NCFOM; drove me crazy having to go back and see who was saying what. Seriously, it was just like reading lines from a script.
NCFOM is one of my favourite movies though. Javier Bardem's performance is unmatched and the feel of the movie is hard to describe, but I loved it.
His choppy writing style in The Road drove me absolutely nuts. I liked the story (as much as you can like an absolutely bleak, hopeless story), but I don't think I'll read another of his books.
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
I thought The Road was one of the most overly hyped books I have ever read. McCarthy's writing "style" is so Emperor's News Clothes: It's something for the
literati to "Ooooh" and "Aaaah" over when in actuality, it lacks any substance at all.
Pretty much what I think about Bukowski and Palahniuk. I like McCarthy's stories better, but his style...not so much.
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
Finishing up Gaiman's Trigger Warning, then I'm at a loss. Maybe one of the McCammons I haven't hit yet? I started something on my kindle (I completely forget about it most of the time--lol) at the pool today, but... meh.

That reminds me: is there a way to remove books from a kindle?
 

danie

I am whatever you say I am.
Feb 26, 2008
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Kentucky
Finishing up Gaiman's Trigger Warning, then I'm at a loss. Maybe one of the McCammons I haven't hit yet? I started something on my kindle (I completely forget about it most of the time--lol) at the pool today, but... meh.

That reminds me: is there a way to remove books from a kindle?
On my Kindle, you can hold your finger on the book "cover" and a toolbar will come up with several options. Click "Remove", then "From device."
I have the Kindle Fire.
 
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