I imagine those that rated We Are Not Ourselves low or more middling aren't into stories that don't have a strict plot. It's very much a book that meanders, a collection of moments in a lifetime. But it's excellent and very easy to read 100 pages at a time unless you're a reader who needs a strong driving narrative to keep you going.
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Helen Marshall - The Migration
She's a local girl (Sarnia, Ontario) and this is her first novel. I just read 100 pages in one sitting. Gaiman's endorsement is right on the cover.
I just finished A Game Of Thrones (I made it past my initial trouble with sheer character overload, and it paid off big-time). Wildly exciting, chaotic and unpredictable; even as large forces (alliances, grievances) shift and evolve, immediate events drive it all. There are so many "WTF" things:
Spoiler:
...you really never know when the wheels are going to come off next.
Martin does a great job creating interesting characters (Tyrion is fantastic, Arya rocks, Joffrey is a giant douchebag; I could go on and on) and memorable scenes; it's good to finally understand what all the fuss was about.
I will start A Clash Of Kings tonight and can't wait to jump in. Unfortunately, my reading of ASOIAF will have to pause for several months after that; I have 2 Arthur Machen volumes (from Centipede Press and Oxford University Press) to work on in October/early November, then mucho Christmas reading (A Christmas Carol, 2 volumes of other Dickens Christmas Stories, and The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern (which was the basis of It's A Wonderful Life)) from November through December.
And even then, since these (ASOIAF) are my daughter's books, I can't read A Storm Of Swords until she does - although she finished ACOK a few months ago, she still doesn't plan to get to ASOS by January - so, it could be almost a year before I get to that. Bah!
I know I should consider this wait a good thing, given that only 5 books are finished and I'll just end up having to wait for 6 & 7 with the rest of the world, but I want to race through them all right now.
It seems I'm miles above the surface of the Earth
I can see across the whole of London and beyond
...a bit more about A Game Of Thrones:
As basically everyone knows (and I suspected, before reading), AGOT is not "quest-y," like LOTR (destroy the ring before it destroys all of you!) or Harry Potter (destroy Voldemort before he destroys all of you!) or even The Kingkiller Chronicle (no clearly defined "quest" but feels as if it's working toward something having to do with the [REDACTED]); basically, the concerns here are much more pedestrian and human - although this is still fantasy by any definition, and as I said before, quite exciting.
It seems I'm miles above the surface of the Earth
I can see across the whole of London and beyond
I finished Nick Cutter's The Troop in one day. Guys, seriously, when Stephen King said it was "old-school horror at its best", he wasn't kidding. It was a damn good book that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a solid, well-written, scary story.
Currently reading: Will Save the Galaxy for Food by Yahtzee Croshaw
Did you read The Deep by Cutter?
Not yet. But after reading The Troop, I want to check out The Deep.Originally Posted by fernandito
Did you read The Deep?
Yes, it's creepy as shit. I know for sure you'll like it.
You had me at "creepy as shit".
I can't wait to read it. Not only for the scary factor, but I really really enjoyed Cutter's writing style with The Troop. It felt like I easily slipped into the story just like I do with King's books and that doesn't happen often for me.
You read the whole book in one day?!
A NEW GAME BEGINS
I did! Now, to be fair, I accomplished absolutely nothing else in that 24 hours other than lounge around, but still- I didn't want to to anything other than read the book. I'm telling you, Ricky. It was good!You read the whole book in one day?!
I've got The Troop on my couch right now.
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Just listened to Where the Crawdads Sing. I needed to see what all the fuss was about. I'll preface this by saying that this isn't my normal type of book to choose to read, but I didn't care for it at all. It was also giving me major Glass Castle vibes. And that's another book I hated, so maybe that's also why I didn't enjoy it.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
Nice!
Just started A Clash Of Kings, now about 70 pages in. Very exciting, in line with AGOT. Joffrey needs a beating more than ever before, and I'm sure it will only get worse.
It seems I'm miles above the surface of the Earth
I can see across the whole of London and beyond
Finished The Migration. Solid 4 out of 5. It loses a little momentum in the second third but that's just the quiet before the literal storm. Or extinction event rather. The spirit of the book is similar to Greg Bear's Blood Music and ACC's A Childhood's End but the author is coming at the story from a more human (vs. scientific) angle.
I'm going to tackle Tremblay's collection Growing Things but I can't say I'm excited about it. First two stories were of the "choose your own adventure" type with ambiguous endings, and you know, I used to be all about that but these days I don't have an endless amount of patience and time to parse the meaning out of some convoluted 10-page story.
I started A Confederacy of Dunces last night and I already want to wring Ignatius' neck with my bare hands. Holy hell, he is insufferable.
you're solid gold // i'll see you in hell
That's high praise if you read it that quickly!I did! Now, to be fair, I accomplished absolutely nothing else in that 24 hours other than lounge around, but still- I didn't want to to anything other than read the book. I'm telling you, Ricky. It was good!You read the whole book in one day?!
A NEW GAME BEGINS
Time to move on.
"One day you're going to figure out that everything they taught you was a lie."
That's high praise if you read it that quickly!I did! Now, to be fair, I accomplished absolutely nothing else in that 24 hours other than lounge around, but still- I didn't want to to anything other than read the book. I'm telling you, Ricky. It was good!You read the whole book in one day?!
So that means The Need is as good as The Troop
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Just finished Boy's Life. What a great book. I will fully admit that it took me a little bit to get into due to the lack of an overall plotline, but once I got passed that, I really began to enjoy it. The writing is wonderful, and it's really a book that I think I'll continue to reflect back on.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
I just downloaded The Troop based off your recommendation. Here we go!I did! Now, to be fair, I accomplished absolutely nothing else in that 24 hours other than lounge around, but still- I didn't want to to anything other than read the book. I'm telling you, Ricky. It was good!You read the whole book in one day?!
Oh man, I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it. I loved that story so much, so I always like hearing of other people's opinions on it. I really want to get around to rereading it one day.
Nice! Let me know how you end up liking it.I just downloaded The Troop based off your recommendation. Here we go!I did! Now, to be fair, I accomplished absolutely nothing else in that 24 hours other than lounge around, but still- I didn't want to to anything other than read the book. I'm telling you, Ricky. It was good!You read the whole book in one day?!
That's high praise if you read it that quickly!I did! Now, to be fair, I accomplished absolutely nothing else in that 24 hours other than lounge around, but still- I didn't want to to anything other than read the book. I'm telling you, Ricky. It was good!You read the whole book in one day?!
So that means The Need is as good as The TroopYes, Matt. The Need and The Troop were both excellent books.
Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Phenomenal stuff.
I'm actually rereading the first hundred or so pages, it's that good.
100 pages in. So far, so good!Nice! Let me know how you end up liking it.
I love Cutter's descriptive powers.
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