The Book Thread

[Dark Soldier]

I read Annihilation and it was pretty good. Real page turner.

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But the buildup/suspense was much better than the payoff. Very Lost. Apparently the sequels aren't up to much so not sure I'll bother.

Just started White Noise by Don Delillo and it seems terrible. Make myself 50/1 to make it to half way.

Underworld is his best work, the opening section at the baseball game is masterful.

Wasn't a huge fan of White Noise.

[Alex]

I read Annihilation and it was pretty good. Real page turner.

Toggle Spoiler

But the buildup/suspense was much better than the payoff. Very Lost. Apparently the sequels aren't up to much so not sure I'll bother.

Just started White Noise by Don Delillo and it seems terrible. Make myself 50/1 to make it to half way.

White Noise is OK, it's got a certain style and metre to it that I found difficult to get into a rhythm with though so I do know what you mean.

I would have periods of chipping away at it a few pages at a time and then suddenly hit a stride a knock of large section of it off in one sitting and think it was amazing. Definitely a mixed bag. It's worth finishing I would say, mainly just because I liked a lot of the themes he was writing about. He some oddly prophetic ideas in there.

I read another of his recently (Great Jones Street) and fucking hated it though.

[-james-]

I'll try and crack on with it. I've got 10 hours of travel and not much else to read so I haven't got much choice. My main issue is it keeps trying to be funny in a 1980s American I am so smart sort of way and it's not landing. I feel like I'm going to find the whole thing a bit played out.

[Dark Soldier]

Defo try Underworld if you do get the chance mate. Its the more 'serious' of his works and feels like when he hit his stride.

Iff you're in the UK (can't remember) happy to post it out.

[Shindig]

Someone wrote a 600 page book comparing Andy Warhol to Chris Chan. I know next to nothing about Warhol, but he cannot have been good.

I need to book a holiday so I can read it.

What's it called?

[Baz]

What's it called?

Warhol / Chris Chan: The Lifespan of American Pop Culture, or The Suppression of Reality

https://amzn.to/3Cs0RlK

[Shindig]

Okay, I'm interested but not £23 interested.

I also have to wonder what a book can say about Chris Chan that hasn't already been spilled over the internet.

[Alex]

In the spirit of the recent explosion of Dune fever I've returned to that series after a while away from it with Heretics of Dune, which I'm maybe just over half way through and mostly enjoying.

He definitely didn't plan to spin it out this long and and it becomes generally stranger the longer the series goes on (God Emperor of Dune in particular, as a concept and an actual book, is fucking insane, but still great) but he's so good at world building that it's still really readable and really good sci-fi.

[Boydy]

I'm on Dune fever at the minute too. Read the first book in time for Dune 2 coming out (hadn't seen the first one but managed to catch it in the cinema the day before Dune 2 came out). Currently on Messiah. Just got back from seeing Dune 2 for the second time tonight.

I read somewhere (I think it was on twitter) that towards the end of the Frank Herbert books they get a bit meh. Apparently the Brian Herbert (and that other guy) books are best avoided. Anyone read any of them?

[Alex]

Dune Messiah is class. I wouldn't say it's a better book than the first one but I do think it's possibly a better story. If that makes sense. I love where it takes it.

[Lofty]

I'm reading The Steel Bonnets by George Macdonald Fraser.