Read It and Steep!
Hello everyone! I haven’t started a discussion on here yet and I figured i’d go ahead and jump on in.
I started this thread to figure out the literary tastes of those here on Steepster! Undoubtedly, a discussion along these lines has been created already, considering reading is a pretty popular hobby.
Let us know what you’re reading, a little bit about it, and whether or not you are digging it!
I am currently reading Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card. I read a number of books at a time, but i’m trying to get through this one first. Basically, its about a forest boy named Rigg who doesn’t know much about his past but knows he can see colored lines of the paths people before him traveled. After tragedy befalls him, he travels to the capital of the world he lives in at his father’s behest. On the way there, he meets people who allow him to uncover more about his power and his past. There’s also some weird parallel story going on in a spaceship that I haven’t 100% figured out quite yet.
I am currently reading Grapes of Math: How Life Reflects Numbers by Alex Bellos. It is intense and beautiful, even to someone who is ‘mathematically challenged’ like me. I have found myself having to sit and absorb the content after reading a section, my usual speed reading technique has not been working with this book :P
I remember reading about this book somewhere. I can’t remember where it was but it seemed like it was really interesting. I am also mathematically challenged.
I highly recommend it, each chapter starts out very conversationally explaining the concept and then it grows in complexity. I really love how it explains things in terms of story and history, since it is using application and not just tossing mathematical theory at you I have found it so much easier to understand.
I think after I finish this one I am going to get his other book Here’s Looking At Euclid which has been described as another math book for people who don’t like math :P
I bought this today based on this post haha, the math geek in me is extremely excited to read it, and the cover blurb also got my attention. Excited to start it!
“Grapes of Math” sounds like a title I would go for. In my collection, I have a well-worn and coffee stained copy of “Mathematics from the Birth of Numbers” by Jan Gullberg. Then there are books that I literally grieve when I finish them. Example of these would be “The Orphan Master’s Son” by Adam Johnson, and “1Q84” by Haruki Murakami. I grieve these books because after reading them I know for a fact that it will be one or two years before I will read another book that good. I just finished Simon Schama’s “The Story of the Jews to 1492,” which I found academically rigorous in historical methodology, but also personal and entertaining at times.
I tried reading 1Q84 when it came out but I got uncomfortable when they started talking about sex. I was such a little loser.
hahaha, “I was such a little loser”. I feel that way when I think about some of the crap I used to do.
I predominately read Young Adult novels, even though I’m technically no long their target audience. I especially love dystopians, and supernatural books. I just finished the Hex Hall trilogy about a teenage witch who gets sent to Hecate Hall, a reformative school for Witches, Shifters, and Fairies who’ve done supernatural things in front of humans, and thus risked discovery. It was a cute read.
I’ve read a lot of YA. I struggle with them a bit now that i’m older. I just finished The Maze Runner, which was absolutely nuts from page 1. I’ve heard a lot about Hex Hall, I might check it out eventually. I’m a big fan of paranormal as well, I just wish they would break out of the stereotypical nonsense that is most of the paranormal literature these days.
Another fan for YA books! I’ll list the recent ones that I’ve enjoyed as well as over all down below.
Teater I agree, when I was ~16 I would devour all of it, teen angst and insta love and all. Now, I have less patience. If it seems to angst or insta love that’s too shallow/boring I’ll quit the book which I never used to do. Are you saying you didn’t like Maze Runner? I read the first book when it first came out when I was 15 and I loved it, though I forgot most of it by now.
A few of my all time favorites are:
The Mortal Instruments-Cassandra Clare
The Infernal Devices-Cassandra Clare
The Lunar Chronicles-Marissa Meyer
Harry Potter (of course)
The Hunger Games (of course)
Unwind- Neal Shusterman
Graceling- Kristen Cashore
The Giver- Lois Lowry
No I loved Maze Runner. It was just crazy how fast it moved. I read it in a day. I just finished The Mortal Instruments series and i’ve read Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and the first book of Graceling. I’ve also read the first book of Clare’s Infernal Devices series and didn’t like it as much.
I’m pretty sure I didn’t end up finishing the first ID book. I remember I borrowed it from the library and it ended up taking me longer than a week to finish (most took me 1-2 days at that point in my life) and I think I ended up returning it unfinished. I don’t know if the 2nd was actually better or what, but I ended up reading the rest of the books and actually enjoying it.
I really should reread the Maze Runner and then read the rest of the series, especially with the new movie coming out. Speaking of books to movies, you should definitely read the Giver. It was a required reading for my 8th grade class wayyy back when, and it’s what actually got me into reading again. Unwind is another really good one you should check out. It’s about a society where you can’t have abortions, but you can basically have your kid “unwound” once they hit 13, which means they’re basically harvested for parts. And since all the organs are being used by others, it’s technically not ending their life. Really fascinating concept, an interesting story line.
An then the Lunar Cronicles are basically cyborgs meet fairytale retellings. I love a good fairytale with a twist story, and this series is addicting.
@Mandy, I love the Mortal Instruments, I haven’t finished them though, I got to the third or fourth and haven’t bought the new ones yet. Graceling was also quite good, although a bit strange at times in my opinion, but definitely a worthwhile read!
These days I’m into birding and Tolkien. Besides reading books on how to go birding, I’m reading literary nonfiction about birds (or just nature in general): Marie Winn’s “Central Park and Night”, “Red-tails in Love”, Roger Tory Peterson’s “Wild America”, and a recent publication called “The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar.” I’ve been on my Tolkien kick for a year and a half. I just finished re-reading parts of the “Unfinished Tales” and am about to take part in the Silmarillion Read-a-long on Tumblr.
I was so tempted to hop into the Silmarillion Read-a-long. I tried the Lord of the Rings one, but it was too slow and I read too fast :P
I really need to read the Unfinished Tales and Histories of Middle Earth, but I have been on a Nonfiction kick lately.
Out of curiosity have you read the Atlas of Middle Earth? It is a fantastic read with such pretty maps.
Amanda Reading the Unfinished Tales is interesting for background about LoTR, and I’m fascinated with the chapters that take place in the 1st and 2nd ages. I’ll get to HoME someday (lots of volumes…). I have yet to read the Atlas. I might read that before HoME.
Lariel I’ve been re-reading that on and off, mostly because of the movies.
I’ve read the LOTR trilogy, but I haven’t read any others. I tried to read The Hobbit in time for the movies but then I realized they were kind of shuffling that up a bit. I’ve heard the Silmarillion reads a lot like a textbook, so I haven’t picked it up yet. LOTR is in my top three favorites for sure though.
The Silmarillion is my favorite Tolkien work. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes Tolkien. It’s not really like a textbook (textbooks have really dry language whereas the Silmarillion reads more like a tale with, at times, very beautiful writing), though there are lists of names in some places (mostly in the beginning); and the chapter about Beleriand only describes geography…yeah. Reading the Silm for the first time was so daunting to me that I gave up after a few chapters. But after a year I picked it up again and it was much much easier understand. I love the first chapters about the Valar and early elves.
I like The Hobbit for it’s writing style – it’s a children’s novel, after all :] I finished LOTR a couple months ago. ENTIRELY different experience from the movies. I still can’t decide which book is my favorite.
I love the Silmarillion because it reminds me of the mythology books I used to gobble up as a kid, it was the first work of Tolkien’s that I read back when I was like 9 I think because someone in the library I went to stuffed it with the mythology books. Years later that still gives me a good giggle…not sure if it was a bit of nerd trolling or a hilarious accident.
So any of you Tolkien lovers planning on reading or has read his translation of Beowulf? It is on my (really too long) list to read.
Try reading ‘Children of Hurin’ before the Silmarillion. The former reads more like a novel.
Beowulf has been on my reading list for years, better make it Tolkien’s translation then!
Lariel Sweet mama that book is baaaaad time. I knew everything coming because I had read the Turin chapter in the Silm and the draft in Unfinished Tales, so going through CoH was so hard D: I am STILL not over Beleg T^T
I just finished a calorie-free binge on some serial killer fiction. I tend to plow through those like popcorn when I don’t feel like thinking. :)
I also just finished “Ocean at the End of the Lane” by Gaiman and loved every minute of it, though admittedly I am a massive Gaiman fan. I wish it had been longer!
Right now I am about 3/4 through “Pest Control” by Bill Fitzhugh. Kind of a cute little quick read about an exterminator who ends up being mistaken for an assassin. Not sure what I’ll move on to next.
Waiting for me to be in the mood for non-fiction are “Stiff” & “Packing for Mars” by Mary Roach and “Guns of August” by Barbara Tuchman but I’m not sure I’m in that frame of mind yet. Maybe I’ll finish up the YA “Tunnels” series. :)
It’s about a kid who digs tunnels with his dad. One day his dad vanishes and he starts seeing oddly dressed strangers following him. So he goes into the tunnels to look for his dad and finds a hidden city, essentially. There are 6 books and I’m halfway through. Pretty dark in many ways for YA but filled but geology geek stuff, too. :)
Ocean at the End of the Lane is incredible. I’m astounded by how Gaiman manages to strongly evoke so many emotions and the sensation/memory of childhood in such a short novel. Every word of every sentence is so meaningful. And that’s just me admiring the book from a technical standpoint. There are no words to describe how much I enjoyed it on a personal level.
I’ve been meaning to get into Gaiman for a while. I’ve heard a lot about both American Gods and Ocean at the End of the Lane. I believe I read something where American Gods is getting a silver screen makeover? Tunnels sounds incredibly interesting as well. I love epic mysteries.
Mary Roach! I just read Gulp, and have read the others in the past. Bonk remains my favourite, but Gulp was really good as well. She is one of my favourite non-fiction authors!
There’s always rumors of American Gods being made into a movie. I’m not sure what I think about it. Movies of books I really like rarely turn out well. :)
“Anansi Boys” is one of my favorites from Gaiman. I believe he is the best writer of myth that there is today. As Ag noted, his writing skills are superb. Marry those with a phenomenal gift for storytelling and it’s always a joy to read. :)
Ocean at the end of the lane was BEAUTY in book form. American Gods and Anansi boys were both awesome too. I’m such a fan of Gaiman.
I <3 Gaiman!!! One of my favorite books EVER is one he wrote with Terry Pratchett called “Good Omens.” I re-read it every couple of years and it stil makes me literally LOL.
I hardly read fiction. Right now I’m reading 2 books, Whole & Game Theory Introduction. Whole is book on the proposed optimal diet. It is very science oriented which is a bit dry and does not have a conversational tone but it is very interesting. I’m about half way through that. I just started an intro textbook on Game Theory since I have been feeling like I’m losing a lot of info from my master’s degree and want to keep fresh. This book said it was an intro but was a graduate level but it will definitely take some time for me to get into because it is all long equations and pretty advanced. Still, looks super interesting.
I spent 2 weeks on game theory in my microeconomics course, it is definitely an interesting analysis into decision making. If I understand the “Whole” book you are reading, i’m reading a similar one now called “It Starts With Food”, which is the companion and reasoning behind the Whole30 diet, which takes the science and delivers it in a conversational tone. It’s a great read for those who enjoy learning about the effects of food and food chemicals on the body.
I spent a little bit of time on game theory in my advanced operations management class and business statistics class and thought it was super interesting, so I’m hoping this book will keep my interest.
Whole is different from Whole30. It’s from the doctor who did the China Study and has over 50 years of nutrition research. It’s a pretty severe diet. Basically, no animal products of any kind (dairy, meat, eggs, etc), no salt, no sugar, no oil, and low fat. Eliminating sugar was the best thing I’ve ever done for my health. I haven’t been sick or even had a cold since I’ve done it and can even cheat maybe a few times a month. I’ve also eliminated all animal products as well and eliminating dairy has been really awesome for me. I’m just not sure about the low fat, no oil, no salt part. That would be super difficult for me.
Yeah, i’ve heard about a lot of the benefits and studies of people who totally dropped sugar from their diets. I live in the US and it’s incredible to me the things the FDA has allowed.
I usually read at least two books at a time, one at bedtime and the other on my commute. I also have subscriptions to the New Yorker and Smithsonian that I (more of less) keep up with. Suffice to say I never go anywhere without reading material. Here are a few recent selections.
City of Thieves by David Benioff. A quasi-fictional narrative of the author’s grandfather’s adventures trying to procure a dozen eggs during the siege of Leningrad during WWII. Very engaging and well written.
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. This collection of short stories is so cleanly written that every image and sentence shines. The characters are fully wrought but not overblown. I can’t wait to read her novels, The Namesake and The Lowland.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Never seen the movie, the book is a delightful portrait of two people maturing apart and together.
Walter Mosley. I started with Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned and liked it so much that I’ll get to the rest of the series over time. It’s sort of hard-boiled detective fiction in Watts, but focuses more on the human side than the action-adventure.
How to Build an Android by David Duffy. A fascinating and very readable account of AI and robotics engineers/artists who created a remarkably lifelike android of the great SF author and iconoclast Philip K. Dick. It also goes into the mystery of what happened to the android’s head, which disappeared en route to a demonstration at Google. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ930zzYxl8.
Ibid: A life: A novel in footnotes by Mark Dunn. Just picked this up, mostly because it’s by the same author as Ella Minnow Pea, which if you have not read, you should.
I could go on and on with books, but that’s a start.
I read The Remains of the Day last year! I loved the writing style and how the big truths were revealed via unreliable narrator.
I have never heard of Kazuo Ishiguro, but since you’ve mentioned his book I think I will look into him. I’m purchasing Never Let Me Go now, actually.
I read all kinds of things, i really like reading fantasy.
I just started reading “If I Pay Thee Not In Gold” by Piers Anthony and Mercedes Lackey.
Its full of magic and seems to be about a world where Women rule over men, I’m not really sure haven’t read much yet so far so good tho.
I didn’t want spoilers but I found a very short summary online it states-
“SUMMARY:
In a female-dominated world where men are unfairly repressed by the magical powers of women, Xylina is ordered by the Queen to publicly conquer an attractive Mazonian male or suffer execution.”
Sounds Good to me :)
I read a lot of fantasy as well. Probably my favorite genre when done well. I just read The Lies of Locke Lamora and i’ve been told to read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. I throw this around a lot. Like Charles Dickens and Harry Potter, and maybe some Jane Austen.
I cannot for the life of me remember if I’ve read Jonathon Strange & Mr. Norrell. I know I have it but the description doesn’t sound familiar to me.
Oh I love Dragons, I actually haven’t read anything else from Mercedes Lackey before, I reading this one because Piers Anthony, I surely be checking her out now.
I’ve been a Mercedes Lackey for most of my (reading) life, yet the majority of collaborations she has done, I havn’t cared for. Pretty much the ones with Larry Dixon and Rosemary Edgehill are the only ones I liked. Not for lack of trying!
mj, if you don’t mind YA fiction try the Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris d’Lacey. I’ve read the 1st 3 so far.
Fun fact of the day: Amazon is beta testing a subscription based service where you have access to their entire Kindle library for $10/mo. For those of you like me, who spend ungodly amounts of money a month on books, this may be something worth checking out when it’s released! It’s reportedly called “Kindle Unlimited”. You can read about it at the link below!:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/16/amazon-tests-kindle-unlimited-a-netflix-for-ebooks-and-audiobooks/
O.M.G. That would be so awesome!
I am using Oyster now, and the public library has some online books available, but Amazon… that would be amazing. Thanks for sharing!
I just downloaded a couple of books on pu’erh. Not to hijack your thread, but if anyone sees this and has any other pu’erh book suggestions, please LMK. Here are the two I got:
Puer Tea- Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic
Pu-erh Tea – Appreciating Chinese Tea Series
Plus, I am always reading at least 1 or 2 “cozy mysteries” which I enjoy because they are light. There’s a wonderful tea shop mystery series that I am currently reading. :)
Hi-jack away! Books on Pu-er are still books. I’ve got a list of tea books on my desk as we speak!
Oh really? Which ones? I just read The Tea Drinker’s Handbook, and I thought it was great! I got, but haven’t read, Tea Sommelier. I started: History, Terroirs, Varieties, and like it so far.
I would LOVE to read a book on Pu Erh, I know I have a couple on my tea book wishlist. I need to get Tea Sommelier too, it is a beautiful book that I tend to drool over at bookstores.
The two pu’erh books above are ebooks from Amazon, so I couldn’t resist. It seems hard to find books on pu’erh in English.
Sarsonator, you have inspired me to go to the local library tomorrow and see what they have as far as tea books! :D
I saw some books by Chan Kam Pong, but they were a little pricey. If they’re worth it, I’ll add them to my wishlist. Thanks! :)
Cam: let me know if you find anything good!!!!
I thought they were great. They wouldn’t be for advanced puerh drinkers but perfect for beginner and intermediate.
@Sars – are you reading those Laura Childs tea shop mysteries? I like cozy mysteries as well, but I keep wishing the Laura Childs books were better-written. I’ve only read a couple, but I keep feeling like she got an idea (tea shop), did some “skim the surface” research and plugged it all into a formula. Maybe the writing gets better in the later books?
I am, HoneyBelle, and I know what you mean. It was probably a little overboard to call them wonderful. I enjoy the series… I think I’m on 5 or 6 now.. But it’s not amazing or groundbreaking material by any means.
And you’re right about the formula!!! I find nearly all the cozy series to follow the same formula: Divorced/widowed/single woman starts a business and then everyone just starts dropping dead in her town and she has to figure out whodunnit and hey, look, a handsome detective/lawyer/shop owner is also single! Grab him! LOL
I thought the denouement of the first one was abrupt and it seems like she went “oh look! I have exactly enough pages now, time to wrap this sucker up.” I’m on the second one now (I found 4 of them at the thrift store for 50 cents) and am going to hope they get better – but I wasn’t encouraged when I saw she had a Scrapbooking series and a breakfast cafe (??) series. We’ll see. They pass the time in the middle of the night :)
What are you drinking this morning? I just finished some Snaily. LTF is drinking Lychees
I like ‘em because I don’t have to think too hard. I have other books for intellectual development. :p
Alia! Yummmmmm!!!!
Have you ever read any of the Elizabeth Peters mysteries? The Amelia Peabody ones? I LOVE those.
Dude – they’re so good. The protagonist is a Victorian-era woman who inherits money when her father dies and heads off to Egypt and ends up meeting an archeologist named Emerson and they are full of real historical people and factually accurate – but the most important bit is they are funny and highly entertaining. Although there are way too many of them. I LOVE them.
Let me know what you think of her. I think she gets better and better up through the middle of the series (but there are a LOT of them) and then I kind of lose interest. But the first, oh 10 or so, I love. Elizabeth Peters was a really good writer. She died recently. I also LOVE her Vicky Bliss mysteries.
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