What are you reading?

[araiso]

As for fiction, last year i read Sapkowski’s new book, "The Crossroads of Ravens", from The Witcher series about young Geralt. I’d also like to read Sapkowski’s Hussite Trilogy soon. Right now, i’m reading Gogol’s Dead Souls.

As for non-fiction, i’ve read "Learning Web Design" by Jennifer Niederst Robbins and "Designing with Web Standards" by Jeffrey Zeldman. What a bizarre world it was before web standards. Next up is "CSS: The Definitive Guide" by Eric Meyer & Estelle Weyl and some books on computer networks.

 

[Walter]

I've been re-re-reading Book of the Long Sun (not New Sun—which came before it; and not Short Sun—which comes after it), probably my least favorite series by Gene Wolfe, who I otherwise love. Essentially, my problem is that Wolfe by this point in his career shifted to writing scenes with long dialogues, instead of the descriptive prose he was previously known for. Things are revealed through conversation far more often than observation. There's a big reveal I encountered last night where the clue was that a character began talking differently when someone else came in the room. And you're expected to extrapolate backwards from that change in tone. I personally just find that inscrutable and boring compared to how he revealed things in New Sun. Sorry Gene...

Yesterday I got a pretty momentous update: Susanna Clarke who wrote Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell way back in 2004 (something I wrote about on page 2 of this ancient thread) is finally writing a novella set in that world again, to be published next month. It's... only 96 pages, but you know what? I'll take what I can get after waiting more than 2 decades for more.

 

[ROB BOB]

I’ve read a lot recently (and haven’t been on here much at all), but I finally caught up with the Stormlight Archive series from Brandon Sanderson.

Definitely the longest series I’ve read, I think the average of the 5 books is like 400,000 words per book. I’m enjoying the world building and lore and the character development for some characters. It’s not perfect but I’m glad I got into it off of a friend’s recommendation.

But also glad to be caught up and get to read other stuff for a while cause it’s a lot of the same author/series. I’m now reading Unfinished Tales from Tolkien, which is the first new Tolkien stuff I’ve read since The Silmarillion like 10 years ago.

 

[MagnumPistolWhip]

Recently finished "Sword of the Lictor" and started "The Citadel of the Autarch" from the Book of the New Sun series.
SotL has definitely been my favourite book of the series so far despite being the most tragic. I even felt sorry for Severian in some places.
While I pieced together what happened at the end of the first book, Shadow of the Torturer, I am still confused on what exactly transpired at the end of The Claw of the Conciliator...

 

[Walter]

Excited that more people are finding this series!

While I pieced together what happened at the end of the first book, Shadow of the Torturer,

You did?! I mean... maybe you did? I don't think I've ever read a convincing explanation of it. We only know a portion of what happened there, afterall. Hethor arrived, so we can probably assume he unleashed one of his weird minions, which explains the ruckus that ends the first book. But it's really not clear, because we still dont know how it was resolved. Interested in what you think though.

Personally, on re-reading it, I think how the inside of the "city gate" is described is more informative than trying to figure out the cryptic action that ends the book.

I am still confused on what exactly transpired at the end of The Claw of the Conciliator...

It's really hard for me to divorce what I know now to what I knew when I first read it, but between what Hildegrin says about what they're about to do, and what Severian sees (or thinks he sees) there, you should have a good idea of the goal and who it is, even if the how doesn't make sense. Anyway, that scene is very directly explained in Urth of the New Sun. But after you finish the series, it's absolutely worth revisiting, because it'll have more meaning.

I'll also volunteer: It's perfectly normal to coast through these scenes on a first reading and not know exactly what's happening, or more importantly, why they matter. These stories are maze-like, but you're being led somewhere intentionally. You'll learn things later that will reflect back on what happened earlier. Or you'll catch them on a second reading, which is usually when things really click into place for Wolfe. I think by my third time reading New Sun, I finally felt like I understood it all pretty well. That might sound like a slog, but I enjoyed every page.

 

[MagnumPistolWhip]

You did?! I mean... maybe you did? I don't think I've ever read a convincing explanation of it. We only know a portion of what happened there, afterall. Hethor arrived, so we can probably assume he unleashed one of his weird minions, which explains the ruckus that ends the first book. But it's really not clear, because we still dont know how it was resolved. Interested in what you think though.

Just before Severian's exile from the Guild, I recall Master Palaemon warning Severian that travel along the roads are forbidden and that the Uhlans are under orders to kill those who transverse them. From that I assumed the Uhlans were attacking people at the gate as it is illegal to travel on the commonwealth's roads. Severian and the group become separated as a result of the conflict. That's what I believe happened, though I fail to understand why Severian failed to fully tell something significant like that.

I'll also volunteer: It's perfectly normal to coast through these scenes on a first reading and not know exactly what's happening, or more importantly, why they matter. These stories are maze-like, but you're being led somewhere intentionally. You'll learn things later that will reflect back on what happened earlier. Or you'll catch them on a second reading, which is usually when things really click into place for Wolfe. I think by my third time reading New Sun, I finally felt like I understood it all pretty well. That might sound like a slog, but I enjoyed every page.

I did find the series confusing and hard to get into initially. I think once I had a foothold in the world Wolfe had created I found it much easier to enjoy it. Often I find myself flicking back through the book to reread scenes that make alot more sense at a later point in the series. One that comes to mind is why the Caco-... I mean Ossipago, Famulimus, and Barbatus did not kill Baldanders during the play at the House Absolute.