What are you reading right now?

PopTart wrote:The latest Brandon Sanderson book, Rythm of war. I know Sanderson again, but truth is, I haven't read fiction in well over a year. I've read alot of factual or informative books but not had time, or made time for any fiction.

And boy did I need this. I've been feeling dissatisfied with tv/movies and gaming hasn't scratched that solo entertainment itch for a while.

After finishing the first chapter, I felt this pressure lifting as I remembered how great it feels to be excited to read the next chapter, to lay on my bed and think... just another half hour, while furtively glancing at the clock, knowing that I have work in the morning.

I'm reading Sanderson's The Way of Kings on the recommendation of my therapist. It's pleasing enough, but I still think Sanderson an ant compared to Tolkien.

McTaggartfan wrote:

PopTart wrote:The latest Brandon Sanderson book, Rythm of war. I know Sanderson again, but truth is, I haven't read fiction in well over a year. I've read alot of factual or informative books but not had time, or made time for any fiction.

And boy did I need this. I've been feeling dissatisfied with tv/movies and gaming hasn't scratched that solo entertainment itch for a while.

After finishing the first chapter, I felt this pressure lifting as I remembered how great it feels to be excited to read the next chapter, to lay on my bed and think... just another half hour, while furtively glancing at the clock, knowing that I have work in the morning.

I'm reading Sanderson's The Way of Kings on the recommendation of my therapist. It's pleasing enough, but I still think Sanderson an ant compared to Tolkien.

That's fair enough. I find Tolkien to be abit... wooden, stiff. He is very poetic, lyrical and has wonderful world building but it's all so dry.

I find Sanderson, while not being as technically sophisticated, has a lot more creative flare, his characters have more dimensions and seem like genuine, conflicted people with shifting motivations and goals, failings and shortcomings.

It's his focus on characters that change that I find most compelling. The flashy magic stuff is fun too ofcourse. But while Tolkiens characters can have depth, they represent ideals and concepts rather than actual people most of the time. It's less engaging to me for that reason.

Brenden wrote:I just finished reading Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us by Will Storr.

The most interesting parts of the book were the tidbits about Ayn Rand and her little cult of personality. Apparently when her lover and her had a quarrel, the group debated whether it would be ethical to assassinate him — and they came to the conclusion it would.

Doesn't surprise me one bit. Rand was a raging, cold-blooded bitch (and not even in the hotter femme fatale sort of way).

PopTart wrote:

McTaggartfan wrote:

PopTart wrote:The latest Brandon Sanderson book, Rythm of war. I know Sanderson again, but truth is, I haven't read fiction in well over a year. I've read alot of factual or informative books but not had time, or made time for any fiction.

And boy did I need this. I've been feeling dissatisfied with tv/movies and gaming hasn't scratched that solo entertainment itch for a while.

After finishing the first chapter, I felt this pressure lifting as I remembered how great it feels to be excited to read the next chapter, to lay on my bed and think... just another half hour, while furtively glancing at the clock, knowing that I have work in the morning.

I'm reading Sanderson's The Way of Kings on the recommendation of my therapist. It's pleasing enough, but I still think Sanderson an ant compared to Tolkien.

That's fair enough. I find Tolkien to be abit... wooden, stiff. He is very poetic, lyrical and has wonderful world building but it's all so dry.

I find Sanderson, while not being as technically sophisticated, has a lot more creative flare, his characters have more dimensions and seem like genuine, conflicted people with shifting motivations and goals, failings and shortcomings.

It's his focus on characters that change that I find most compelling. The flashy magic stuff is fun too ofcourse. But while Tolkiens characters can have depth, they represent ideals and concepts rather than actual people most of the time. It's less engaging to me for that reason.

Well considering that his project, which was one of the creation of myth, was different from that of Sanderson, I'd almost say there's not much point in comparing the two. But yes, I can see why you call Tolkien "stiff" and "dry," as do many others. At least you can recognize how poetic he was.

Just started Chapterhouse: Dune, the last book in the Dune series written by Frank Herbert himself.

Last night I started reading Joseph Brent's Charles Sanders Peirce: A Life; I'm halfway through and I'll finish it later, but overall I'd say it's a pretty interesting and well-written presentation of the facts and documents of Peirce's life.

René wrote:Just started Chapterhouse: Dune, the last book in the Dune series written by Frank Herbert himself.

How is it? I've been meaning to read the Dune series for ages, but I hear it declines quite rapidly once Herbert, for obvious reasons, stopped writing them. I might just read up to Chapterhouse. I enjoyed the first book a lot.

OT: I'm reading A People's History of Scotland. Good so far, I much prefer the social history approach over the "this king, then this king" approach. Similar in focus to The Making of the English Working Class. Interesting chapter on Scotland's feudal system and the often forgotten violent transition to a capitalist economy. Thumbs up.

Magic J wrote:

René wrote:Just started Chapterhouse: Dune, the last book in the Dune series written by Frank Herbert himself.

How is it? I've been meaning to read the Dune series for ages, but I hear it declines quite rapidly once Herbert, for obvious reasons, stopped writing them. I might just read up to Chapterhouse. I enjoyed the first book a lot.

It's too soon to say for this book. Based on the preceding books, I will say I enjoyed the first book by far the most, the second a bit less, and I think it was downhill from there. Still enjoyable to read, but nothing can compare to the magnificence of the first book.