What are you reading now?

[postjack]

 

Squee!

 

Jack, have you read The Magicians by Lev Grossman? If not, it should restore your faith in the fantasy genre. It's basically a mashup of/homage to JK Rowling and CS Lewis, but way cooler and with drugs and sex. Book three of the series comes out this summer.

 

Haven't even heard of it, thanks for the recommendation. added to amazon wishlist.

[blessingx]

As I know we have a few fans here...
‘Calvin and Hobbes’ creator Bill Watterson returns to the comics page — to offer a few ‘Pearls’ gems
http://feedly.com/k/1ox4avK

[acidbasement]

Just finished Parasite by Mira Grant.

 

Now counting down the days till the next book in the series is released.

 

Not till November.  Bollix.

Edited June 20, 2014 by acidbasement

[blessingx]

After reading http://www.publicbooks.org/artmedia/love-factionally I just started...

[Dusty Chalk]

This choice was inspired by the brony movie?

[acidbasement]

Benedict Cumberbatch and John/Hank Green fan fiction written by Maureen Johnson.  It's maybe a 10-15 minute read, and bloody hilarious.

[Dusty Chalk]

Just finished a Mira Grant mininovella -- The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell.  Brutal as some of her worst.

[acidbasement]

I need to catch up on Seanan-Mira McGuire-Grant.  I swear she writes faster than I can read.

[Dusty Chalk]

I wish.  I actually scolded her for taking time out to look at kitty pictures on Facebook.  ( @ self )  I think I read somewhere that she has the next 3 books of October Daye done in her head, she just needs to get them down.

[grawk]

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html

[grawk]

http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/05/unlocked-an-oral-history-of-hadens-syndrome-john-scalzi

 

Holy crap John Scalzi has come up with an interesting idea.  I just binge read the novella because I want to start listening to the audio book of the novel on my way into work.  

[en480c4]

Finished The Beautiful Dead (which was wonderful, for those who don't follow me on Facebook.

I read this over the weekend... I had seen this post a ways back and had the book on my Kindle and finally got around to it. What a great read. Fast paced, great world building and surprisingly poignant climax (that was admittedly admittedly a little telegraphed, but shockingly well done and powerful). If a post-apocalyptic Trenton occupied by the undead intrigues you, check it out. Thanks for mentioning it, Peter.

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah.  On everything.  EDIT:  except I think you need to add one more qualifier to the second-to-last sentence, because if you read just that, it might seem like Jeff's thing, but I don't think it's Jeff's thing.  I just don't know how to qualify it.  Something about "feels", perhaps?  There ...

there is killing, but there are also long stretches of not killing, probably at least one too many for Jeff's taste.

 

Me (probably old news, as I'm a bit of a slow reader):  Parasite by Mira Grant in non-virtual reading; The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman on Kindle/phone-blet (I am definitely the target audience to both these).

[grawk]

http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/05/unlocked-an-oral-history-of-hadens-syndrome-john-scalzi

Holy crap John Scalzi has come up with an interesting idea. I just binge read the novella because I want to start listening to the audio book of the novel on my way into work.

the book was good, but not great. acceptable cop drama based on fun ideas. the virus from the novella is brilliant tho.

[acidbasement]

 

The Magician's Land came out recently and I just read it.  This series is absolutely highly recommended for fantasy fans.

[TMoney]

Just finished Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss.

 

 

Scary as hell. The best food book I've ever read while also being one of the best business books I've read. I've loved Mr. Moss' writing over at the NYT and that lead me to picking this up.

 

Man, the food industry is a scary place. Like the tobacco companies, the food industry operates in a very morally grey area where they sell products designed to be used in moderation that they know people are hopelessly addicted to. This book probes the science, business tactics and history of the processed food business. Chapters on sugary cereals, lunchables and capri-sun drinks struck especially close to home as I had plenty of each of them growing up.

 

Number one takeaway from the book? READ THE NUTRITION LABELS!!!

Edited September 3, 2014 by TMoney

[blessingx]

An A. O. Scott NYTs piece titled

The Death of Adulthood in American Culture

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/magazine/the-death-of-adulthood-in-american-culture.html?referrer=&_r=1

So good.

"What happens to the boy rebels when the dream of perpetual childhood fades and the traditional prerogatives of manhood are unavailable? There are two options: They become irrelevant or they turn into Louis C. K."

"The dominant voices in pop music now, with the possible exception of rock, which is dad music anyway, belong to women."

[blessingx]

A fun Atwood short Stone Mattress.

[postjack]

Just finished Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss.

 

 

Scary as hell. The best food book I've ever read while also being one of the best business books I've read. I've loved Mr. Moss' writing over at the NYT and that lead me to picking this up.

 

Man, the food industry is a scary place. Like the tobacco companies, the food industry operates in a very morally grey area where they sell products designed to be used in moderation that they know people are hopelessly addicted to. This book probes the science, business tactics and history of the processed food business. Chapters on sugary cereals, lunchables and capri-sun drinks struck especially close to home as I had plenty of each of them growing up.

 

Number one takeaway from the book? READ THE NUTRITION LABELS!!!

 

Kind of interesting how there is no daily recommended allowance % for sugar on nutrional labels right?

 

I haven't read that book but just watched the "Fed Up" documentary Katie Couric did. Focuses mostly on sugar, "big food", and childhood obesity. Some really crazy stuff. Very similar to big tobacco in the 80s, as you said.

 

I believe that sugar is insanely addictive.

[TMoney]

Postjack, if you have any further interest in the subject I can't recommend the book enough. It is flat out excellent.

 

 

 

In other news, I saw that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet claimed this book to be their favorite business book of all time so I started it. Not bad so far.

 

[postjack]

Felt the urge for a detective book, reading Kate Atkinson's "Case Histories".

 

I've never read her before, over halfway through and am quite smitten. Great writing, really fleshed out characters, and I still have no idea where it is heading, other than all these different strands she is weaving will come together in the end.

[blessingx]

Gatsby. One of the many books I've snuck past so far in life.
 

[Dusty Chalk]

Me (probably old news, as I'm a bit of a slow reader):  Parasite by Mira Grant in non-virtual reading; The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman on Kindle/phone-blet (I am definitely the target audience to both these).

Needed something lighter to read while eating, so started The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire:

Look at this, she already knows what the titles of the next books are and when they will be coming (and purportedly, what they are about):

A Red-Rose Chain (September 2015, DAW). Details to come.

Once Broken Faith (September 2016, DAW). Details to come.

The Brightest Fell (September 2017, DAW). Details to come.

Night and Silence (September 2018, DAW). Details to come.

When Sorrows Come (September 2016, DAW). Details to come.

[aardvark baguette]

First few dozen pages of Under the Dome...

.... people on tv should not be alive...

Edited September 29, 2014 by aardvark baguette

[en480c4]

I enjoyed the first few episodes, but once they abandoned the idea of a limited run our mini series of the actual book and decided to just start making shit up as they went to keep it going, I lost interest really fast. The book was great. The series? A world of no.