Recreational Literary Endeavors

grant

Well-Known Member
On a whim, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I'm not going to lie, I really don't get all the glowing talk about it.
About 300-some pages into this book and so far all that's happened is that in one plot a guy's still going around an old village talking to people and in the other plot a young woman's been sexually assaulted.
For the characters, the Mikhael's an obvious author avatar who investigates dark doings and sleep with women and the Lisbeth... up until her rape I'd have said that maybe she should consider that a lot of the problems she faces from the state might stem from her own behavior. Not, I repeat, not her rape.

Now I am going to say that I do think it's good. That might sound weird considering my criticism of what's happened so far and the characters, but I think that so far the writing itself manages to still be good in spite of that. I just also think that this deserves to be called a good novel, not an incredible one.
 

AJ_Katon

Well-Known Member
Readin the Index novels. Good reads but Kazuma has a penchant for repeating certain things a bit too many times.
 
Has anyone read Jim Butcher's new Aeronaut's Windlass thing? Or perhaps the latest work of Brandon Sanderson? I'm debating reading both and I have yet to make a decision.
 

Watashiwa

Administrator
Staff member
Got both. Wasn't a fan of Windlass, needed more skypirating and way less cat politics. Hold off for a discount, or the sequel.

Shadows of Self has a bad case of middle book syndrome in that it's clearly building up to book 3 and the start of this miniseries's actual plot. However, it makes Alloy of Law even better retroactively so I liked it anyway.
 

seitora

Well-Known Member
I read Ghost Stories now.

It was weird. Also, it just never seemed to really build up to a climax like a lot of earlier books did.
 

AJ_Katon

Well-Known Member
Finished White Night. Was expecting visit of the Winter Folk.

And not doing the due once more saves lives.

Also finished Devil is a Part-timer Vol 2. Aside from 3 filler eps, the anime followed the novel well.
 

seitora

Well-Known Member
It boggles my mind how they only do a single season 13-episode run of quality stuff like DiaPT and yet they can bloat stuff like Naruto and One Piece with garbage filler. Heck, they even managed to end the Bleach anime series since they probably ran the property into the ground so hard with filler.

(actually, Prince of Tennis does good filler, but it's been like a decade since I watched it)
 

AJ_Katon

Well-Known Member
seitora said:
It boggles my mind how they only do a single season 13-episode run of quality stuff like DiaPT and yet they can bloat stuff like Naruto and One Piece with garbage filler. Heck, they even managed to end the Bleach anime series since they probably ran the property into the ground so hard with filler.

(actually, Prince of Tennis does good filler, but it's been like a decade since I watched it)
That's because two books of Devil Part-time landed them a full season and has a moderate or so fanbase. Naruto and OP are too popular to just stop at 150 eps and thats when they're taking it slow. And those fillers coulda been a good induction into canon if there was some more involvement from kishi.

And you know what's hilarious. THose three filer: that was the fan service ep/the last ep/ and the school haunting.
 

grant

Well-Known Member
John Dies At The End. It's a weird, Gaiman-type story. So far I kinda like it.
 

AJ_Katon

Well-Known Member
grant said:
John Dies At The End. It's a weird, Gaiman-type story. So far I kinda like it.
I've been meaning to watch the movie. Now that there's a book Imma get it.
 

seitora

Well-Known Member
The book came first.
 

Watashiwa

Administrator
Staff member
grant said:
John Dies At The End. It's a weird, Gaiman-type story. So far I kinda like it.
I really liked John Dies At the End. Ironically, I almost downloaded the web version it the week it was going to come down as part of the publishing deal, but forgot to. Picked it up years later full price as penance. Good book, didn't like the sequel as much.
 

seitora

Well-Known Member
And finally Cold Days.

DAAAAAAAAMN. Looks like the whole series is finally coming out into the open with its overarching plot thread. All those imprisoned monsters under Demonsreach, Harry's gonna have to work his ass off getting stronger because he just knows he's gonna be screwed over by them all being released someday in the not so distant future. Also racking up the kills.

At least this time there was a little bit of a balance. Both the Winter and Summer Ladies died.

I was kind of expecting Harry to have temporarily died in Ghost Stories, which would have nullified his taking the Winter mantle, but that didn't really occur at all.

One final book that's actually out. Jim Butcher needs to stop writing so many other books and get back to Dresden Files because now I'm all caught up. At last his last name's not Martin, I guess.
 

AJ_Katon

Well-Known Member
FInished Accel world vol 1. The anime was a pretty great adaptation and faithful.

Going to read Sword Art Online to compare alongside Haruhi vol 2.
 

seitora

Well-Known Member
I'm disappointed my local library system barely seems to care about light novels.
 

AJ_Katon

Well-Known Member
seitora said:
I'm disappointed my local library system barely seems to care about light novels.
My new one just got Sword Art Online...I'm not sure what to say to that.
 

AJ_Katon

Well-Known Member
Small Favor:
Noooooo! Michael! And dang Harry. Did not see the Luccio thing coming.

Turn Coat:
F*K THE BLACK COUNCIL!! Thomas. Billy. Georgia. Luccio. Heck even Morgan. Harry its time to step up.
 

grant

Well-Known Member
seitora said:
I'm disappointed my local library system barely seems to care about light novels.
Libraries stock what circulates, especially in the YA section. They're often early to get budget cuts and they have to purchase books for a very wide array of people. Mine is a fairly large one and it only carries comic books, graphic novels and manga because they circulate more than the average YA novel (and that's because we got a new librarian in who's fairly young herself and serious about getting the section modernized).
 

da_fox2279

California Crackpot
grant said:
seitora said:
I'm disappointed my local library system barely seems to care about light novels.
Libraries stock what circulates, especially in the YA section. They're often early to get budget cuts and they have to purchase books for a very wide array of people. Mine is a fairly large one and it only carries comic books, graphic novels and manga because they circulate more than the average YA novel (and that's because we got a new librarian in who's fairly young herself and serious about getting the section modernized).
Mine also carries manga and comics, but the comic trades tend to be scattered over several sections. transmetropolitan was put among the adult authors, like King and Meyer, while Marvel's all-age comic trades tend to be put in the Kids section. And as a fat white guy, who tends to shave every other month, that is one place I do not want to go. Not in this day and age.

They do tend to keep most manga and comic trades in one spot, thankfully, and there's always the option of visiting the library website and putting a book on hold. So there's that.
 

grant

Well-Known Member
da_fox2279 said:
grant said:
seitora said:
I'm disappointed my local library system barely seems to care about light novels.
Libraries stock what circulates, especially in the YA section. They're often early to get budget cuts and they have to purchase books for a very wide array of people. Mine is a fairly large one and it only carries comic books, graphic novels and manga because they circulate more than the average YA novel (and that's because we got a new librarian in who's fairly young herself and serious about getting the section modernized).
Mine also carries manga and comics, but the comic trades tend to be scattered over several sections. transmetropolitan was put among the adult authors, like King and Meyer, while Marvel's all-age comic trades tend to be put in the Kids section. And as a fat white guy, who tends to shave every other month, that is one place I do not want to go. Not in this day and age.

They do tend to keep most manga and comic trades in one spot, thankfully, and there's always the option of visiting the library website and putting a book on hold. So there's that.
Depends on content and how much they know about the content. For a while Sandman was in the YA section in mine, even though YA technically also means for people as young as eleven to twelve, despite some of the language and content being stuff that I'm pretty sure most parents would not want kids that young reading.
Also most libraries sort by which librarian ordered the work. If it's one who handles fiction or science fiction, even if it's a bit younger it goes there. If it's the YA librarian, into YA it goes. It's led to things like half of the MCU being in YA and the other half in general DVDs, or Cowboy Bebop left in the general DVDs almost completely untouched when it'd probably see much better circulation in YA.
 

da_fox2279

California Crackpot
Read A Feast of Flesh by Aaron Polson and The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

Feast is a (short) collection of stories centered around zombies and ghouls, with some other horrors thrown in. Reminds me of some of Stephen King's early work, honestly; well-paced, well-written, and really brings you in. Some stories are better than others, but they're all pretty good.

The Strain is a modern vampire story (for those who haven't heard of it/read it/watched the tv adaptation). Very well written, with a neat twist on the vampire genre. Definitely going to pick up the other parts of the trilogy when I get the chance.
 

AJ_Katon

Well-Known Member
Changes:
Wow Harry. Who did you annoy to make three days go so horribly crappy. See ya in Ghost days.
 

seitora

Well-Known Member
So a few months later, I got around to reading Skin Game, the last currently released Dresden File novel. Doesn't sound like Butcher's really active right now in releasing them, either, so I suspect it'll be a while.

Man, the Denarians aren't quite hooped, but they certainly suffered a serious setback here. Not only did they lose one of their three oldest members, but they might just have permanently lost two of the Coins (Ursiel and Lasciel) since they were left behind in the Underworld.
 
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