What Are You Reading V.3 At The Fourth Grade Level

[Vurtual]

I am a big fan of the guardian, both the English and Australian editions. 'I read it online too and follow them on Twitter which is the only social media i use as it is so good for news

I end up reading the guardian (online, with multiple adblockers) quite a bit, but it's rare that i won't go straight to the comments to find out what the article is lying about or missing out (lots as a rule (fake news eh?)) - i usually only bother to click an article if there's comments. Even the comments have gone to shit lately (i blame JTRIG). They've always been a 'liberal' paper rather than socialist (they supported the SDP in the 80s (toynbee was one of them)), but their recent sojourn into the american market seems to have turned them into full-on neoliberals (almost neocon at times) - their disingenuous position contributes to the blame for neoliberalism getting foisted onto the 'left'. Off-guardian is a good antidote in some respects.

Steve Bell, Stewart Lee, Frankie Boyle, Gary Younge and the occaisonal Omnibot article are among the few saving graces (this list only confirms my qualification for 'leftard' status i'm sure )

Speaking of comics: I recently got bought the collected Furry Freak Brothers (i'd read them all when i was about 9, which probably explains a few things)

 

[consumer]

I have all the original Furry Freak Brother issues. Took a while to get them all. Classic stuff.

 

[Shambles]

Recently read the first of Ken Macleod's latest trilogy the Corporation Wars: Dissidence

Pretty cool - ken macleod's favourite subjects: revolution and AI, and even AIs revolting. I've just noticed the second one is out so i'm sure it'll develop more too.

Speaking of sci-fi trilogies, have you read The Kefahuchi Tract Trilogy, Vurt Konnigut? One of the finest works of sci-fi I have ever read. One of the finest literary works I've ever read for that matter. If you've not read it already I think you'll really enjoy it

My most recent reading was The Tesseract. Alex Garland's follow-up to The Beach was a very fine book indeed. Fast-paced and structured in a uniquely original way that ensures it avoids the kinda cliches which one might expect when hearing that a novel is "fast-paced".

The plot spirals in and out from a single central event taking in the lives and histories of a disparate group of people whose lives and fates collide for a moment in time. The writing is sparse and succinct with a great deal said within the spaces left behind. Apologies for the wankiness of that comment but I couldn't think of any other way to describe it really. Worth a read though imo.

I am currently reading The Pistol Poets. Disappointingly bogstandard caper tale written by an English professor with delusions of grandeur.

 

[steewith2ees]

My most recent reading was The Tesseract.

I'll have to have a look for this. I loved both the book and the film of 'The Beach', both quite different from each other but really good in their own way non the less. I've continued to follow Garland's cinematic efforts, both with Boyle (28 Days Later, Sunshine) and on his own (Dredd 3D, Ex Machina) but have not read any of his books since 'The Beach'. When you say follow up do you mean it's a sequel of sorts, with the same characters and that?

 

[consumer]

I am starting the Harry Potter series tomorrow. Never seen the films or read the books. Interested to see what they are like.

 

[ordinary mind]

I am starting the Harry Potter series tomorrow. Never seen the films or read the books. Interested to see what they are like.

They're freaking amazing. Granted I would have been about 7 or 8 when I started reading the first one though, so I'm probably wearing some seriously debilitatingly thick rose tinted glasses.

 

[Don Luigi]

I am starting the Harry Potter series tomorrow. Never seen the films or read the books. Interested to see what they are like.

I read five of the books when I was younger and really enjoyed them. As for whether or not I would enjoy them now, I think I would.

 

[herbavore]

If you're ever in the UK, you're welcome in my home anytime Ms Herbavore. I'm in Wales. It's the home of Red Kites.

I consider that a formal invitation! Actually, I have always regretted that I had not interacted enough with you on here to have sought out your acquaintance back when I made my little BL tour of the UK. At least I got to meet your compatriot, Shambles and to mispronounce the name of his unbelievably charming town (and pretty much every other Welsh word I attempted). We had Indian food and though I had been warned that asking for a "doggy bag" for leftovers was a social no-no in the UK, I defied convention and sent him home with whatever delicious dish it was that I could not finish. As I remember, the waiter complemented me on the practice of not wasting food--and Shambles got an extra meal out of it. I would love to come back to Wales--it was my favorite part of the trip and I developed an addiction to Welsh cakes. Next time however, I also have to include Scotland.

 

[Vurtual]

Speaking of sci-fi trilogies, have you read The Kefahuchi Tract Trilogy, Vurt Konnigut? One of the finest works of sci-fi I have ever read. One of the finest literary works I've ever read for that matter. If you've not read it already I think you'll really enjoy it ...

Yeah, one of my many faves too (probably mentioned it upthread) - agreed about it being quality writing. Have you read any of his others? - none reach the level of light, but Anima is pretty reminiscient (made of two stories: Course of the Heart is best). Couldn't get into his Virconium stories (yet), but fantasy's not really my (main) bag.

Another of my favourite sf trilogies is Tony Ballantyne's AI trilogy (Recursion is the first) - not as 'literary' (i hate that word) as M John Harrison, but mindblowing ideas, interresting characters and readable. It's about von neuman machines/nanotech and AI. He also started a trilogy about robots (Penrose trilogy) that was really good, but he never released the third volume and left me hanging, which is really frustrating.

Btw - Vurt's not a reference to Vonnegut, it's Jeff Noon's first book about psychedelic feathers - worth a read for druggy scifi (his later books are ok but not as good)

 

[keeping]

Adam Marek - Instruction Manual for Swallowing
Christopher Isherwood - Mr Norris Changes Trains
Joris-Karl Huysmans - A'rebours

 

[PetalToTheMetal]

The Holotropic Mind by Stanislav Grof

 

[Shambles]

I'll have to have a look for this. I loved both the book and the film of 'The Beach', both quite different from each other but really good in their own way non the less. I've continued to follow Garland's cinematic efforts, both with Boyle (28 Days Later, Sunshine) and on his own (Dredd 3D, Ex Machina) but have not read any of his books since 'The Beach'. When you say follow up do you mean it's a sequel of sorts, with the same characters and that?

I've also enjoyed his films but this is the only book of his I've read other than The Beach. When I say "follow-up" I just mean that it was the book he wrote after the aforementioned - plot and characters are quite distinct and unconnected. As you may gather from the title, he had clearly been reading a lot of physics and cosmology and the influence and inspiration is clear in structure and themes of The Tesseract. It's very different to The Beach - and indeed his cinematic work - but I'd certainly recommend it.

Btw - Vurt's not a reference to Vonnegut, it's Jeff Noon's first book about psychedelic feathers - worth a read for druggy scifi (his later books are ok but not as good)

I think I recall you saying actually. I've not read that one but I did recently read Pollen which is if not a direct sequel thematically-linked with the psychedelic feathers thing. I found it very enjoyable - humour and sci-fi either go very well or very badly but I think he got the balance right in that one. Not read anything else by him but will be keeping my eye out.

 

[consumer]

Just starting The Electric Cool Aid Otter Test - Tom Woolfe.

I dont really know what to expect from this.

 

[Limpet_Chicken]

Currently reading some really rather potentially nifty stuff about a novel nanocatalyst basec on copper nanoparticle-nitrogen-doped graphene that is capable of when used as an electrode, to turn CO2 into C2H4OH. I.e ethanol.

Thats right. Carbon dioxide to alcohol!

By a simple plasma vapor deposition too. Precursors like CuSO4, ammonia and acetylene. I REALLY would love to try this some time. Such a catalyst would be one hell of a tool to have at home. Just imagine being able to make booze from sodium bicarbonate, or cylinders of CO2 from welding stores, some graphene, and an acetylene tank, or some calcium carbide to provide the acetylene. Once such a catalyst were prepared, then, with the nature of catalytic cycles, unless the stuff eventually loses efficiency, hell, even then with a yield of 63% at a mere 2-3 volts....talk about the ultimate sly, concealable 'UP YOURS YEH CUNTING CUNTOCKS' to the taxman booze-factory. Another use could be turning the CO2 byproducts of conventional yeast fermentation of sucrose to EtOH, into more alcohol.

And think of the possibilities for CO2 environmental remediation, turning greenhouse gas waste into viable fuel. And pissup fuel of course

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/slct.201601169/full

 

[Jackal]

Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume

I abandoned this a few chapters in last year and found it and read it this afternoon,

It's very well done. Devastating loneliness of a guy, who seems somewhere on the autistic scale, related through his relationship to a dog. Sounds a bit hackneyed, but well worth a read.

 

[Shambles]

Read quite a few recently but the one that really stands out was The Crow Road by Iain (M) Banks. The plot really doesn't sell it at all but the writing is just transcendant. I've only ever read his sci-fi before (and not even much of that) so knew he could write but wondered how he'd handle such seemingly mundane material. He handles it exceptionally well. Truly stunning piece of writing that frequently left me gobsmacked at his deftness of prose and outstanding knack for capturing complex emotion in featherlight verbiage.

 

[consumer]

Now reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...these books are way addictive. I am going to read them all then watch the films.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Read quite a few recently but the one that really stands out was The Crow Road by Iain (M) Banks. The plot really doesn't sell it at all but the writing is just transcendant. I've only ever read his sci-fi before (and not even much of that) so knew he could write but wondered how he'd handle such seemingly mundane material. He handles it exceptionally well. Truly stunning piece of writing that frequently left me gobsmacked at his deftness of prose and outstanding knack for capturing complex emotion in featherlight verbiage.

Iain Banks is one of my favourite authors (possibly even my most favourite) - especially his science fiction. I resent the cunt for dieing on us as we are all now deprived of the totally far out technology of 'The Culture'. I've read all of his Sci-fi and cannot recommend them highly enough - I urge you to seek them all out, you will be totally blown away, I guarantee it. As for non sci-fi, I recommend 'The Wasp Factory'

 

[StoneHappyMonday]

Today is World Book Day.

Read moar.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Today is World Book Day.

Read moar.

Quite. In the words of the current generation, 'Wot R bucks? Lol..'