Current Events > Reading Thread

(+) Yeah! (+)

That's amazing, cuh

Didn't get any reading done today :(

Finished Mrs. Dalloway yesterday. Really great stuff. It's written in gorgeous prose and layers onto that shifts in perspective and character.

Finished the first three years of Popeye dailies. When he wasn't padding the midweeks out, Segar could hit really hard. Solid art and strip Popeye is even cooler than the more popular spinach chomper.

I'll probably read another strip next, maybe something shorter.

cuh posted...

Thanks for maintaining this topic

And thanks to you and all the regulars for keeping it up as well! :)

Sky Masters of the Space Force next, I think

I burned through like 600 pages of Invincible last night, it's very readable and flows great, I kinda got lost in it.

Started Sky Masters
The MC is literally named Sky Masters
Some great Kirby pencils and I dunno, Wally Wood might be setting the bar as his inker for me...
https://i.vgy.me/3Uo7sC.jpg

MabusIncarnate posted...

I burned through like 600 pages of Invincible last night, it's very readable and flows great, I kinda got lost in it.

I know right? I think I ripped through it over a long weekend (and a late night lol), Kirkman has a very digestible style.

https://i.vgy.me/BeHf3O.jpg

Didn't get any reading done today, maybe tomorrow!

Finished Sky Masters, interesting look at the public's perception on space during the start of the Space Age.
X-51 must have stuck with Kirby, he used the same handle for Machine Man 16 years later
https://i.vgy.me/tOlTbW.jpg

IMO Wood was his best inker, he really let the linework stand out. Shame they didn't work together more!

Maybe I'll read another strip, or maybe back to books, not sure what's next.

Has anybody read a Neal Stephenson book called Fall?

Is it any good? Avoiding spoilers, of course.

MrKapowski posted...

Has anybody read a Neal Stephenson book called Fall?

Is it any good? Avoiding spoilers, of course.

I haven't read any of his work but I always see Snow Crash recommended, might be worth checking Fall out.

DuranOfForcena posted...

i've been struggling to keep up with my reading lately. but i just marathoned through Amazon's adaptation of The Man in the High Castle, and i decided i wanted to read the book too. so i started in on that a few days ago, but i'm only two chapters in. i had been keeping up a really great daily reading habit for awhile there lol, but lately it just seems like it's so hard to get into reading something and stay with it. i always tune out as i'm reading and forget what i've read, and then just decide to give it up and do something that doesn't require as much mental focus. like shitposting on CE.

It happens! Some days you just need to chillax.

Read "Comic Relief," collection of strips done by a variety of artists in support of USA For Africa, in 1985. A pretty fair split between hideous and wholesome, boring and funny.
Marmaduke's was probably the best single panel
https://i.vgy.me/Q1dIK3.jpg
And Funky Flashman's take was unsurprisingly gauche.
https://i.vgy.me/u5oVEu.jpg

I'm unfamiliar but it looks interesting^^^

Started reading Heavy Metal, 2 issues in
Some stories better left unsaid, but I am enjoying Druillet's works
https://i.vgy.me/RcFUw9.jpg

And I could be wrong but I think Arzach might be the first Giraud I've read, it's awesome
https://i.vgy.me/S3fcy7.jpg

Added these to my collection today

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/2/1/AAakoXAAEtyZ.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/2/2/AAakoXAAEtya.jpg

MrKapowski posted...

Has anybody read a Neal Stephenson book called Fall?

Is it any good? Avoiding spoilers, of course.

Yes. I am a huge Neil Stephenson fan and have read basically everything of his.

The Baroque Cycle Is truly an epic trilogy.
Cryptonomicon is A+ reading

Others HIGHLY recommended are :

Anathem
Seveneves
Reamde
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.

Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell is really good but it is one of the hardest reads IMO. I had to take it really slow and concentrate in order to understand the concepts of the book. Took me awhile but it is well worth it.

Sandalorn posted...

Yes. I am a huge Neil Stephenson fan and have read basically everything of his.

The Baroque Cycle Is truly an epic trilogy.
Cryptonomicon is A+ reading

Others HIGHLY recommended are :

Anathem
Seveneves
Reamde
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.

Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell is really good but it is one of the hardest reads IMO. I had to take it really slow and concentrate in order to understand the concepts of the book. Took me awhile but it is well worth it.

Nice, thanks.

I'm finishing up Beneath a Pale Sky by Philip Fracassi and the penultimate story is such an uncomfortable doozy. It's basically about a guy slipping in and out of dreams as he's trapped under the rubble of a trapped building.

If you like horror, you NEED to try Fracassi.

MabusIncarnate posted... I've heard of Something is Killing the Children, lemme know if its worth checking out.

Vengeance was awesome in issue 3
https://i.vgy.me/Mbt73y.jpg
https://i.vgy.me/WTm4tw.jpg
https://i.vgy.me/tq9XrS.jpg
https://i.vgy.me/4z2oi8.jpg

Awesome cover on issue 5 by Bernie Wrightson
https://i.vgy.me/OVbLrF.jpg

Juhanor posted...

Awesome cover on issue 5 by Bernie Wrightson
https://i.vgy.me/OVbLrF.jpg

Thats awesome

Finished At Swim-Two-Birds, by Flann O'Brien. A really, deeply funny book.

cuh posted...

I feel like you would like this art book: https://www.taschen.com/en/books/art/40766/masterpieces-of-fantasy-art-40th-ed

Mind-link moment
Legit two days ago, looked at that volume on Amazon, lol
https://i.vgy.me/tj4bCI.png
I've had "The Heavy Metal Hero" by Matthews in my phone's favorite images folder for two years, never knew the name or artist until today either (just had it called "train.jpg" for quick lookup)
https://i.vgy.me/ejg1x6.jpg

MabusIncarnate posted...

Thats awesome

He's an interesting artist that I knew very little about before hand, seems like it'll be a good time getting into his works.

So old Mabus has a question that will probably be laughed at. What exactly is a Humble Bundle? I buy a lot of physical but I'm paying sometimes 15 bucks for something I read in 30 minutes. I heard someone mention humble bundle has some sales, is it a bunch of digital comics and graphic novels for a lower price? I suspect it has something to do with Steam, which I've never used in my life.

I read a lot of first few volumes of stuff I like, the digital and physical for the additional ones are close to full price on Amazon.

MabusIncarnate posted... Actually started using Steam late last year so I've got a fresh experience with Humble

Three main types of Bundles are games, software and books; you "pay what you want" for whatever selection, then get the contents up to what you paid. The money is then split into three, one part to charity, one part to the publisher/owner, one part to Humble. I'm not familiar with the software section, but games are usually delivered as product keys for Steam, books as DRM free e-books or attached to specific apps. Anecdotally, I did see a bundle recently that included a single physical copy at the highest price tier, with everything else being digital.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books?hmb_source=navbar

Right now there aren't any comics, but the selection does rotate fairly frequently so it might be worth bookmarking and checking back.

Awesome, thank you for that

Issue ten had "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" by Roger Zelazny, illustrated by Gray Morrow. What a beautiful short story, excellent artwork too.

MabusIncarnate posted...

Awesome, thank you for that

No problem :)

Read vol 1 of Something is Killing the Children, very much a Stranger Things tone, creature is appearing in towns and killing kids. Mysterious blonde girl with blades shows up, gives the impression that she goes town to town hunting them. Art is excellent, character writing pulled me in pretty quick, flows like Invincible did for me.

Also vol 1 of Kill or be Killed, Guy is down in life and his roommate is banging the girl he loves. Decides to kill himself by jumping off a 6 story building. Regrets it on the way down, hits some clothing lines and drops into snow, winds up surviving.

Demon shows up and tells him he cheated death, now that he wants to live, once a month he must take an evil life or else he dies. Concept reminds me a bit of Dexter.

Like both of them a lot so far, gonna continue with both.

Finished the first volume of Heavy Metal, very enjoyable. The letters pages were always a blast. Moebius, Druillet, Morrow, Pichard and Garcia were my favorite artists/had the best stories so far IMO. Kinda sick of Corben's Den, probably just gonna skip that one in future issues lol
https://i.vgy.me/yD8ST7.jpg

MabusIncarnate posted... They both sound pretty interesting, might have to check em out

Didn't get any reading done today, ruminating on continuing Heavy Metal or starting something else.

I'm going pretty deep into Something is Killing the Children, it's quickly becoming a favorite. Really just kind of is "Stranger Things" the alternate universe, with the exception that kids can see the monsters but adults cannot. The body count and impact doesn't compare though.

Read an issue of one called "We Only Find Them When They Are Dead" and it's about space miners that harvest tissue and organs from dead gods in space, the concept reminded me a bit of Knowhere in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Just finished The Way of Kings and started Words of Radiance

Author is Brandon Sanderson

Really dense books with lots of detail! Crazy that he wants to make this be at least a 10 book series, which wont conclude until Im well into my 50s at the rate hes writing them.

Haven't really decided on what to read next. Me and the gf are trying out a reading pad, and currently she's using it. But I'm thinking of maybe giving Dune a shot once it's my turn with the machine. Or I'll take the next Expanse book on audio.

scar_the_1 posted... Dune is pretty good, definitely worth a read. There's a quote comparing Dune and LotR as having similar influences on their genres, which probably isn't far from the truth.

scar_the_1 posted...

Haven't really decided on what to read next. Me and the gf are trying out a reading pad, and currently she's using it. But I'm thinking of maybe giving Dune a shot once it's my turn with the machine. Or I'll take the next Expanse book on audio.

Make sure you read the entire first trilogy :

Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune.

That's the first full arc. Then it gets crazy