Book thread

[clevername]

Just finished "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell and it is a stunning work. Mitchell is a bit of a conceptual showoff (the book is in the form of several seemingly unrelated stories that nest within one another, interrupting each other before they all tie-in together) but it's a really enjoyable and audacious read.

Makin a movie, yo.
http://www.hsx.com/security/view/CLATL

DESCRIPTION
Based on the David Mitchell novel, Cloud Atlas strings together six narratives that focus on suspense, history, science and love. The stories span several years. Tom Tykwer will adapt the Wachowskis produced film which hopes to cast Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, James McAvoy and Ian McKellan.

Wha? The book actually spans several hundred years, possibly a thousand. And a whopping total of 0 of the 6 narratives focus on "love." Will it be Matrixy? I see little chance of this being a good movie, but what the hell, I'll go see it. The book really is great.

I believe most of the actors are playing several different roles for each separate narrative.

[M1IRONMIKE]

I'm re-reading Ball Four. I highly recommend this book. I got arrested when I was 15 because of this damn book. One of the more influential books in my life.

i didn't realize it was the book that got you arrested. all these years i thought it was the bottle of schnapps you had and your parents thought it was me that got you thrown in the slammer...

[jim]

I'm re-reading Ball Four. I highly recommend this book. I got arrested when I was 15 because of this damn book. One of the more influential books in my life.

i didn't realize it was the book that got you arrested. all these years i thought it was the bottle of schnapps you had and your parents thought it was me that got you thrown in the slammer...

The book taught me to act like a ballplayer. Drinking is part of that.

[Maclowery]

I believe most of the actors are playing several different roles for each separate narrative.

Yep, Hugo Weaving has six separate characters, one for each thread.


I just finished R Scott Bakker's 5th book of his Prince of Nothing / Aspect Emporer trilogies. Weakest book of the 5, to me, but still epically brutal. Now that that's out of the way, it's time for a very slow for my standard re-re-times-6-or-so read of George RR Martin's first four books of his Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones that some of are watching on HBO is book one) again in anticipation of book 5 coming out July 12. Some of the major characters didn't do much in book 4 (7 years ago), it's been since book 3 (5 years before that) since we've seen Jon Snow, for example. Needless to say, I'm excited.

In non-nerdy fantasy, I just finished Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter. God, why is she famous? Why can't she just be my nutty, profane, gorgeous and crazy awesome girlfriend, instead?

In my bathroom right now is some light reading. Making the Alphabet Dance is a terrifically fun word-nerd book with chapters about palindromes, tautonyms, and word boxes like

Code: Select all

NECESSISM
EXISTENCE
CIRCUMFER
ESCARPING
STURNIDAE
SEMPITERN
INFEDILIC
SCENARIZE
MERGENCES

so yea, that's fun.

[sighyoung]

I'm re-reading Ball Four. I highly recommend this book. I got arrested when I was 15 because of this damn book. One of the more influential books in my life.

i didn't realize it was the book that got you arrested. all these years i thought it was the bottle of schnapps you had and your parents thought it was me that got you thrown in the slammer...

The book taught me to act like a ballplayer. Drinking is part of that.

Oh. I thought it was like one of those condom machines in a truck stop: "If she's a moaner, this'll make her scream; if she's a screamer, this'll get you arrested."

[slide_into_first]

I'd read this if I could find it:

[Freed Roger]

Unbroken. Biography of Louis Zamperini - an incredible bad ass. Been a long time since I've ripped through a book this quickly.

[Maclowery]

Dance With Dragons tomorrow!!!! Imma buy that sucker at 11am and tear through 1000 pages before I sleep. Been waitin 10 [expletive] years for some of my favorite characters. Mmm ya

[thrill]

I feel blessed to have only started the series in December rather than years ago. That's a long wait.


So we can expect Martin to finish the last two, um, never?

[Radbird]

I finished Harry Potter. Now I can watch the movies and scoff at what they left out or changed from the books. Next I read Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River/Shutter Island). Good, quick read (especially compared to the Potter saga).

Going to start The Passage by Justin Cronin tonight. I'm intrigued by one of the blurbs on the back cover: "Magnificently unnerving...The Stand meets The Road." I loved both of those books, so I'm thinking this is gonna be good.

Moonlight Mile was a Christmas gift from the kid. The Passage was for Fathers Day.