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What are you reading these days?
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
Well, I've made it to the 1/3 mark in Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon. This is quite the long book, but I'm either laughing or pondering by the end of each page, so I'm not tired yet, 450 pages in.
The book is, essentially, a discussion of the failures of the global anarchist movement circa 1900, in novel form. Or, rather, in the form of a dozen novels mixed together. On any given page, the author is moving into or out of the mode of a particular pulp genre, from Jules Verne-style adventure/sci-fi, to western trails, to detective noir, and more. He's done this sort of thing before, but never so starkly. A major theme thus far has been doubling, whether doppelgangers or hidden worlds, and that ties well into the very tangible sense of separation between the normal people, like union organizers and everyday PIs, and the more grandiose characters, troupes of teenaged aeronauts or a comically racist version of soon-to-be-Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
It's certainly messier than Pynchon's other big novels, but it's just as prosaically beautiful, politically insightful, and creative as Gravity's Rainbow and Mason & Dixon. It feels quite a bit like it sounds on paper: a midpoint in timeline and style between those two novels. Where M&D is ridiculously archaic and GR is intensely postmodern, AtD is earnestly fun and grim in equal measures. You see the return of talking dogs and fortunetelling, and you get the goofy 2-dimensional comic book characters, but Pynchon actually writes real people to contrast and ground them.
It's a long way to go before the end of this epic, and it's definitely got the thematic payload and depth of story to fuel another ~800 pages, but it still wouldn't be surprising if the common review's take of "it just doesn't come together" were true. That'd be disappointing, but fitting.
I'm about to get the new Brandon Sanderson book, The Lost Metal, for my birthday - so now sounds like a good time to reread the previous 3 books =)
Vorkosigan Saga. For some reason I thought the series was going to be hard scifi, but it's not; It's a space opera, somewhat akin to Star Wars. And like SW it also has great/memorable characters, interesting lore, and stories full of adventure, political machinations, spies, mercenaries, daring rescues, and space battles. I just started reading Brothers in Arms (book 8), but all of them have been great so far, even the short stories set between the novels.
So thanks again for recommending the series, @stu2b50 and @Thales. I have been thoroughly enjoying it. :)
Always a pleasure to recommend Bujold :) Her characters really are so much fun to spend time with. I honestly miss them now that I’ve been done with the series for a few months.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the series as much as the first few books! You’re coming up on what I’d consider some of the best books in the saga
Yeah, her characters are definitely what has made it so enjoyable to read so far. Miles is a really great character. He's a tad OP, but meh. Bujold still does a good job of building up tension even when I know he is very very unlikely to die under any circumstances, largely because those around him (who are also great characters) aren't always as lucky as him. But TBH, my favorite book so far has actually been the second one I read, Shards of Honour... because Cordelia is such a total goddamn badass! I wish there had been a few more books focused on her and Aral before moving on to Miles.
Looks like a long series. In what order would you recommend reading them?
I have been reading them in internal chronological order, which is what Bujold herself recommends:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/98254-vorkosigan-internal-chronology
However, I skipped Dreamweaver's Dilemma, since it takes place wayyyyy before the rest of the series, and so doesn't involve any of the same characters. And even though I did read Falling Free, you could safely skip it as well, for similar reasons.
So unless you're a completionist, I would actually recommend starting with the 2nd book, Shards of Honour, which is when the main storyline actually kicks off, with all the other books afterwards being directly connected to its events and main characters. And it also happens to be my personal favorite of all the ones I have read so far too, with the next book, Barrayar, being my second favorite.
And as for all the short stories, they have all been enjoyable so far too, but whether you read them or not is totally up to you since they're not super important to the overall main story. Same goes with Ethan of Athos, the 7th book, which was also enjoyable but is basically a standalone novel only tangentially connected to the main story, and focuses on one of the main story's side characters (Elli Quinn).
Cordelia and Aral might be my dream "book parents", hahaha.
Cordelia makes every scene she's in more fun. I did miss her POV after Shards of Honour/Barrayar, but even as a side character she is such a dynamic presence. The stability and gravitas Aral brings to his scenes provide a wonderful contrast to her. They are both so wise in their own ways--I always think of Miles as being very lucky to have two parents who are so thoughtful and emotionally mature.
Something else that really impresses me about Bujold's characters is how she allows them to take on lives of their own, subverting expectations and genre conventions:
Major Spoilers for The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga#4)
I was genuinely shocked when Sergeant Bothari was killed in book 4. I'd been expecting Bujold to pursue some kind of redemption arc there, bringing together the Sergeant, Elena Viscontii, and Elena Bothari. Instead, the sergeant's story is suddenly over. (Whether or not he was redeemable, however, is another question).
I was equally surprised to see Elena Bothari marry Baz Jesek at the end of The Warrior's Apprentice. Typically you see the hero "get the girl" at the end of a young author's sci-fi novel, but here "the girl" runs off with someone else. That Miles facilitates the marriage (despite loving Elena himself) lends a bit of noble tragedy to his character, and shows that (although he's young and hotheaded) he may have picked up a bit of his parents' emotional maturity after all.
Spoiler discussion regarding Bothari
Sgt Bothari wasn't in his right mind when he did all those horrible things, so I personally think he already redeemed himself by saving Cordelia, Miles several times afterwards, and also by him having raised Elena as well as he did. But at the same time, I totally understand why Elena's mother did what she did though. And her actions could even be considered as justice being served... which is what makes the whole situation so tragic, and heartbreaking. :(
Cloud Cuckoo Land. Excellent. A book about books. Also Upgrade. I can't say I thought that one was as good as Crouch's others.
Started reading Gardens of the Moon since it was being recommended by a lot of places when listing fantasy series. The writing gives the impression of there being a living breathing world without going too much into lore dumps. Instead it is revealed a little bit at a time. For instance the magic system is not really explained (so far) beyond there being "warrens", but it feels that there's a lot of depth there.
The thing I don't like so far is that it feels like it is jumping around a bit much between characters.
Started a book about anarchism but I can't find it. I am also reading a book about autonomous media (pirate radio and such).