The Reader’s Nook - The N&G Book Thread

Has anyone read The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey? I had a friend recommend it to me yesterday and was looking for some further feedback.

Thank you, friends!
 
panino said:
has anyone braved the recently released autobiography of Mark Lanegan- Sing backward and weep?

god, it's a dark dark dark book.
I'm not sure honestly how I feel about it.
while I was looking for truths and a view of the Seattle scene from the inside....
I feel that I ended up looking at Mark's disintegrating life and total nihilism, with only modest access to his musical mind and his musical history.
Heroin stories make for 80% of this book....

I guess that, since this book finishes with the disbanding of the Screening Trees and his own descent to hell, I am hoping for some sort of redemption story for the next chapter, when he'll finally start becoming a more accomplished musician and songwriter and release his solo projects.
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I got my copy yesterday and read nearly half of it. I really like it so far. Yes, it's dark and filled with more drugs stories than one probably wants to read, but that's what his life consisted of for a long time. I think he even explicitly said that while working on his second solo album. He cared more about where he'd get his next high. Hoping to finish it today or tomorrow.

Also, after reading Anthony Kiedis' autobiography I was not surprised reading Mark's story about Anthony's dad. Wild.
 
Tyr said:
Has anyone read The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey? I had a friend recommend it to me yesterday and was looking for some further feedback.

Thank you, friends!
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I've read the first 3. High art they are not, but pretty fun pulp.
 
Thackeraye said:
Our Band Could Be Your Life is very high on my to read list...
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It's such a good book and I'm not even a huge fan of any of the bands he writes about. It's so full of good stories and characters to root for.

I am interested in that Mark Lanegan book as well. Especially after his beef with Liam Gallagher.

I'm glad we are talking about rock memoirs because I came in here to rave about Grant & I: Inside and Outside the Go-Between by Robert Forster. It is really one of the best rock memoirs I've ever read. As a writer he is up there with Patti Smith and Morrissey and the story of he and the other co-founder of The Go-Betweens Grant McLennan is so touching, sad, beautiful and full of joy. Just like their music. I'd really recommend it if you have any interest at all.
 
Tyr said:
Has anyone read The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey? I had a friend recommend it to me yesterday and was looking for some further feedback.

Thank you, friends!
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I thought it was great page-turny sci-fi pulp. I read up to whatever one jumps forward to them being old. Seemed weird so I never bought it.
 
Tyr said:
Has anyone read The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey? I had a friend recommend it to me yesterday and was looking for some further feedback.

Thank you, friends!
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I read about 3/4 of the first one, maybe even more. It starts off pretty promising, hums along at a decent pace, but as I neared the end, I didn't see the point and just dropped off. As others said, it's a bit generic, but still pulpy. I've heard people say they get better, or at least it seems like a situation where if you like the first one you'll be all-in on the others.

dhodo said:
I thought it was great page-turny sci-fi pulp. I read up to whatever one jumps forward to them being old. Seemed weird so I never bought it.
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Wait. That sounds pretty cool.
 
Bull Shannon said:
I read about 3/4 of the first one, maybe even more. It starts off pretty promising, hums along at a decent pace, but as I neared the end, I didn't see the point and just dropped off. As others said, it's a bit generic, but still pulpy. I've heard people say they get better, or at least it seems like a situation where if you like the first one you'll be all-in on the others.


Wait. That sounds pretty cool.
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I think I was a little burnt out on them and the beginning sample I read don't totally grab me so I just stopped and haven't gone back. It might be great! Not sure.

Looked it up and I think that means I read six of them.
 
Recently completed:

Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest by Hanif Abdurraqib - This was absolutely fantastic. Can't recommend enough to hip hop fans.

Actual Air by David Berman - Very beautiful.

Currently reading:

The End of Policing by Alex Vitale (spoiler alert - ACAB)
 
I don't know if you're a fan of her (you should), and at this point of life I don't know I this is true because this has been postponed for seven years already, but this time it seems like it's really happening:

www.simonandschuster.com

Solutions and Other Problems

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Allie Brosh—beloved author and artist of the extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller Hyperbole and a Half—r...
www.simonandschuster.com www.simonandschuster.com
 
Waitressboy said:
I don't know if you're a fan of her (you should), and at this point of life I don't know I this is true because this has been postponed for seven years already, but this time it seems like it's really happening:

www.simonandschuster.com

Solutions and Other Problems

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Allie Brosh—beloved author and artist of the extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller Hyperbole and a Half—r...
www.simonandschuster.com www.simonandschuster.com
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Hyperbole and a Half is such a great book. I hope she is doing well. I stopped keeping up with her after she disappeared for a it.
 
Teeeee said:
Hyperbole and a Half is such a great book. I hope she is doing well. I stopped keeping up with her after she disappeared for a it.
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The story about her depression deserves a Nobel Prize. It's so funny and so sad and so real, all the same time.
I knew this book was supposed to be out on 2016. On 2014 she said she's started writing it, but I guess that after her sister's death she must have gone through some rough times. I hope she's ok now, and if this release date is real, maybe she's better.
 
Just finished A Man by Keiichiro Hirano. A thoroughly enjoyable modern mystery about identity in a culture I knew almost nothing about. It was a freebie as part of Amazon’s First Reads program but I would have happily paid full price for it. Apparently this writer has won shedloads of awards but this is his first novel translated into English.

I’m tossing up whether to go with The Memory Police or Vernon God Little next.
 
Mr Moore said:
Just finished A Man by Keiichiro Hirano. A thoroughly enjoyable modern mystery about identity in a culture I knew almost nothing about. It was a freebie as part of Amazon’s First Reads program but I would have happily paid full price for it. Apparently this writer has won shedloads of awards but this is his first novel translated into English.

I’m tossing up whether to go with The Memory Police or Vernon God Little next.
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I just finished “a man” tonight as well. I enjoyed it. It hit me emotionally at first but as the story drifted from Rie to Kido, it became more about the search
 
FYI, the Folio Society is having their annual half-price summer sale on certain titles. A couple of gems in there if you are so inclined.

www.foliosociety.com

Sale

www.foliosociety.com www.foliosociety.com
 
Indymisanthrope said:
If products aren't specifically listed as 'limited,' do they get restocked on a regular basis? I'd love a nice copy of Three Men in a Boat.

I think I'm about to sucker myself into buying a bunch of Thomas Hardy at 50% off.
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Historically, no, Folio Society will limit their presses on most of their catalog. So even if it isn't listed as limited, they will not be available on the main site once they have sold out. However, there are some exceptions with their more popular offerings, mostly Dickens and Bronte though. Another caveat, is that oftentimes years will go by before they decide to press a new edition of a title they have previously released. I collect a lot of FS editions by Dostoyevsky and they have done multiple editions separated out by 7-10yrs. The editions will generally contain different types of art inserts by a different artist and sometimes a different forward section.

ayayrawn said:
If I was loaded, I'd buy most of these.
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Oh man, SAME! I collect a decent amount of Folio Society editions but they have such a storied history and so many great titles they've done over the years.
 
Taschen had a 3 for 2 sale this weekend on their more affordable Bibliotheca Universalis photo book series and I thought I'd purchased something but I never got a confirmation e-mail and it looks like I was never charged, but Deep Discount also carries a lot of those books.

Here's one of the books I was planning to buy "Alex Steinweiss: Inventor of the Modern Album Cover" - they have it for only $5: https://www.deepdiscount.com/alex-steinweiss-the-inventor-of-the-modern-album-cover/9783836557764

Seems like a good deal for 552 pages haha.

Here's a link to the page on the Taschen site with a peek inside the book: https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/ca...ss_the_inventor_of_the_modern_album_cover.htm.

They have a some other books in the series that are focused on album covers, too: Jazz Covers, 1000 Record Covers, Funk and Soul Covers.
 
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