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Post by bloodystereos on May 31, 2010 17:26:39 GMT -5
This might be better for the comics thread, but what should I look at of Gaiman's? I read about halfway through Sandman, and I really liked the short, 1-2 issue stories (too many of the longer ones were 'bad stuff happens until Dream arrives and instantly solves the problem') and I saw Coraline which was OK but a little formulaic. I know he's pretty prolific, can you name a couple titles (novels, comics, whatever) I should check out? Good Omens was a fun read. However , being from the states there was alot of stuff I didn't "get". Plus there is tons of footnotes.. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (1990) is a World Fantasy Award nominated[1] novel written in collaboration between the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The book is a comedy and a quasi-parody of the 1976 film The Omen (as well as other books and films of the genre), concerning the birth of the son of Satan, the coming of the End Times and the attempts of the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley to avert them, having become accustomed to their comfortable situations in the human world. A subplot features the gathering of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse — War, Famine, Pollution (Pestilence having retired in 1936 following the discovery of penicillin), and Death — the last of whom is characterised in a manner reminiscent of the personification of Death in Pratchett's Discworld novels and calls himself Azrael before his final exit. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2010 18:14:27 GMT -5
Good Omens is awesome! i read it growing up and loved it.... Neil wrote it with Terry Pratchett, who's utterly hilarious. read any of his Discworld stuff
Neil's first book was a biography of Douglas Adams, who got me through my teenage years
i honestly don't like much of Neil's prose.... read through Sandman. it's worth it. Books of Magic is another short comic
i like his prose short story collections, and American Gods has some okay ideas i guess... i didn't like Sandman and Neverwhere
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five
Clever Kid
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Post by five on May 31, 2010 18:49:24 GMT -5
I could see a collaboration with Pratchett being pretty good, yeah. Years back I read thirteen or so of the Discworld books pretty much consecutively  I'm sure I'll get to Sandman again at some point, I just have to get to the point where I want to tackle it more than re-read Morisson's run of Doom patrol. I wish Sam Keith had stayed on as artist for Sandman, he can do no wrong. |
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Post by brooklynbaker on Jun 1, 2010 0:46:58 GMT -5
I'm rereading "Love is a Mixtape" right now. Beyond all the music talk, the book is really beautiful and honest. Every time I see Rob Sheffield commenting on some VH1 show I get incredibly sad, entirely due to this book. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2010 22:28:16 GMT -5
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Camie
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Post by Camie on Jun 2, 2010 12:42:44 GMT -5
I loved Good Omens.
(Just bought the new Sookie book) - prepare for me to say MEH in about 1.5 days
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meoskop
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Post by meoskop on Jun 3, 2010 0:07:31 GMT -5
I just finished it - it's as cracktastically awful as the others. There's a small resolution, and a major plot recycling set up for the next book, but overall it's one of the better of the series.
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Post by theblondette on Jun 3, 2010 17:54:13 GMT -5
I read the first three True Blood books but the TERRIBLE TERRIBLE writing really got to me. I mean, I enjoy trashy reads, but Harris CANNOT write at all.
I think the best book I've read this year is Nick Harkaway's The Gone-Away World, bought on a whim. Genre-bending, laugh-out-loud, heartwrenching stuff.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2010 18:25:10 GMT -5
my 'sexy vampire' reading was always Anne Rice
still haven't watched True Blood... will eventually, i guess
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Camie
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Post by Camie on Jun 3, 2010 20:48:49 GMT -5
Watching True Blood the show is 10x better than reading the Southern Vampire Series books... by far.
Case in point.. I get to look at Stephen Moyer.
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Post by theblondette on Jun 4, 2010 13:44:19 GMT -5
Agreed with Camie 1000%!! One of the rare cases when a show or film is better than the book.
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meoskop
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Post by meoskop on Jun 4, 2010 14:21:48 GMT -5
The books are terribly written but appeal to me in the same way a B movie does - so bad they're awesome. The show I just don't care for. I'm not a fan of the sexy show. If I want to see skin, I'd rather ask someone to undress. Been that way since I was - well - always.
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Camie
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Post by Camie on Jun 5, 2010 2:02:15 GMT -5
Agreed with Camie 1000%!! One of the rare cases when a show or film is better than the book. The show is so much better than the books... SO MUCH BETTER! 1. Stephen Moyer (drool) 2. Anna Paquin plays Sookie smarter than the books make her out to be.... which I like.... The book Sookie seems dumbed down to me. 3. JESSICA - love that added character SO MUCH! 4. Lafayette is still alive - great character as well. meoskop - I don't actually watch the show for the sex.... I get turned on by Stephen Moyer just looking at him.... (Drool Drool Drool Drool) (finished the book.. worse then MEH) Now I have Hunger Games waiting for me! |
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Post by theblondette on Jun 5, 2010 7:36:13 GMT -5
The characters on the show all seem much better rounded out than in the books. Particularly the minor characters. I also get a bit squicked by the gender and race stuff in the books... Hm.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2010 22:10:23 GMT -5
i was talking to a friend about this show... i was like 'yes, i know it's sexy and hot, but does it have world-building? and scary bits?'
will probably check it out
in conclusion, i'm nerd
i'm reading Brian Aldiss' first novel now
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Post by bloodystereos on Jun 7, 2010 10:23:33 GMT -5
Just ordered a couple new books yesterday , now to be patient and wait for them to arrive. Not familiar with the authors , my girlfriend found them and thought I would be interested. It is apparently a kind of new-ish genre in the lit world. They are calling it Bizarro and say it is like David Lynch sort of movies , but in book form. I ordered one book called Bizarro, A Starter Kit which is shorts by various authors , and another collection of shorts all by the same author which is called Angel Dust Armageddon.
Anyone familiar with these ?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2010 18:14:14 GMT -5
yeah, they're calling it Bizzaro or New Weird or Slipstream... i think that's what you're talking about
Jeff Van Der Meer (Ambergris) and China Mieville (Perdido Street Station) are good starting points if you're talking about the weird Borges meets horror meets fantasy thing i think you are
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meoskop
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Post by meoskop on Jun 9, 2010 0:01:52 GMT -5
Finally staggered through the end of Walter Kirn's Lost In The Meritocracy. Proof that college scholarships are frequently wasted. He succeeds in life, it's a bummer.
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Post by theblondette on Jun 9, 2010 9:08:17 GMT -5
i was talking to a friend about this show... i was like 'yes, i know it's sexy and hot, but does it have world-building? and scary bits?' will probably check it out in conclusion, i'm nerd i'm reading Brian Aldiss' first novel now There's some good world building for sure! I've only seen season 1 so I'm quite behind  Ooh, Brian Aldiss. I love the Helliconia books. Well, the first 2. The 3rd one is a bit Gaia-sex-machines-pudenda-with-legs for my liking, but that's often how SF of that time ends up... |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2010 18:28:19 GMT -5
happy Bloomsday
love Ulysses
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Post by theblondette on Jun 16, 2010 11:39:07 GMT -5
I'm re-reading Abarat by Clive Barker. Phenomenal worldbuilding, and definitely not just for kids. Christopher Carrion is definitely one of my favourite ever villains.
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Camie
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Post by Camie on Jun 19, 2010 2:51:18 GMT -5
I am now obsessed with The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins... I want it to be August 24th...
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Post by ekennedy on Jun 20, 2010 8:56:06 GMT -5
I just finished Infinite Possiblities: The Art of Living Your Dreams by Mike Dooley. A very interesting look at perspective and reality and the power of thinking. Loved it.
Currently reading No One Belongs Here More Than You,a collection of short stories by Miranda July. Emotive, humane, raw....so delicious, i love her voice.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2010 18:53:47 GMT -5
started Salem's Lot
very warm and homesick-making
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bigrob
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i guess i knew it was coming
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Post by bigrob on Jun 20, 2010 19:47:09 GMT -5
I haven't picked up a book in over a month, and this saddens me greatly. What to read next? This thread is full of wonderful ideas.
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