What are you reading?

[Ellie]

There is no amount of plumbing, ductwork, window materials, fuel mixes, network interfacing, fire protection, etc. that doesn't get at least 2 pages of description, often in the middle of some attempt to build tension.

[Ellie]

But good to know about Rosario Dawson. I was similarly hesitant when I started the Dresden Files series read by James Marsters, and he ended up being AMAZING, to the point where I'd far rather listen to a Dresden Files book at this point than read the text version myself.

There are some fucking terrible audiobook narrators out there, too. Always good to find a talented, or at least decent, one.

[JD]

I've been reading CS Lewis's Perelandra. Despite not calling myself a Christian, I've always really liked Lewis's explicitly Christian stuff because he was such a good storyteller and because he had such insight into human nature.

[Eric the .5b]

But good to know about Rosario Dawson. I was similarly hesitant when I started the Dresden Files series read by James Marsters, and he ended up being AMAZING, to the point where I'd far rather listen to a Dresden Files book at this point than read the text version myself.

There are some fucking terrible audiobook narrators out there, too. Always good to find a talented, or at least decent, one.

Apparently Bronson Pinchot is a really good audiobook reader, too.

I've never actually done an audiobook, but there's a Rivers of London story that's audio-only (and supposedly well-read).

[Andrew]

I finished the Prince of Nothing trilogy by R. Scott Bakker. Overall conclusion: meh. I don't know if I'll read the follow-up tetralogy. His goals are apparently to be like Tolkien and Herbert, but his world doesn't feel old and lived-in like Middle Earth, it feels artificial and overstuffed. And the politics are needlessly complicated instead of subtle and complex like Herbert's. Having one of the characters (not necessarily the main character or protagonist) be a Nietzschean ubermensch is also annoying. Reading about him outsmarting, outfighting, and outmaneuvering every other person gets old quickly. Oh, and the battle scenes are numerous and interminable. I think the 3 books total have about 5x as many detailed battle scenes as LOTR.

[Solitudinarian]

Foucault’s Pendulum for the umpteenth time. I use it as a lifeline when I find myself drowning in conspiracy theories again.

[JasonL]

Foucault’s Pendulum for the umpteenth time. I use it as a lifeline when I find myself drowning in conspiracy theories again.

I think FP is a perfect one time read. The turn doesn’t work on follow up I don’t think.

[Tuco]

Foucault's Pendulum never quite got there for me, though it's been long enough ago that I might need to revisit it. Not long after reading it, I found the book Flicker by Theodore Roszak, and it was what I wanted Foucault's Pendulum to be.

[Warren]

There is no amount of plumbing, ductwork, window materials, fuel mixes, network interfacing, fire protection, etc. that doesn't get at least 2 pages of description, often in the middle of some attempt to build tension.

Because now he's not writing a book for reading so much as a movie and you absolutely have to spell all that shit out because otherwise Hollywood turns it all into unobtainium, transparent aluminum, and quantum flux drives.

[dhex]

Or it's bad writing?

[Hugh Akston]

Re: audiobooks I’ve been listening to Robert Heinlein’s collected short fiction as read by Bronson Pinchot, who is generally very good except for womens voices. There were a couple of occasions where RAH described someone’s reaction as ‘balky’.

[Solitudinarian]

Foucault's Pendulum never quite got there for me, though it's been long enough ago that I might need to revisit it. Not long after reading it, I found the book Flicker by Theodore Roszak, and it was what I wanted Foucault's Pendulum to be.

Hmm, I’ll have to check that out.