The Latest Reading Thread

[Blarghagh]

Yeah I doubt there really is a True Neutral.

 

 

I am a figment of your imagination.

 

I'm reading Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. Informative and interesting, not as wishy washy as books on writing generally are. Certainly a step up from Stephen King's "On Writing" where his advice boils down to "a good story will come to you while you write, also don't use adverbs".

[Sarex]

Remembered the Raven's Shadow series, lo and behold the third book came out (seems it's the last one). To be honest I had to look up the summaries to remember what the books were about, but I still have trouble remembering most of the stuff. Either way I can't be arsed to reread it (even though they are good books) so I'm just going to dive in to the last one and hope stuff comes back to me.

[Lexx]

 

The Man in the High Castle was too much for me, I find PKDs style pretty inpenetrable.

 

After reading the Valis trilogy I realized you have to read him as if reality as we know it, is just something we happened to agree on and therefore should we agree on something different, everything is up for graps. He's like the zanier Star Trek episodes - on drugs.

 

The Man in the High Castle is awesome, but I didn't liked the ending. Interestingly, I usually don't like the ending of any PKD book.

[Barothmuk]

Carolyn Hammond's translation of Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War. It's pretty dry but its been on my list of things.

 

Anyway, Shadowrun has rekindled my love for the cyberpunk genre so I was wondering if anyone knew of any half decent cyberpunk lit? (preferably from the last 20 years)

[Hurlshort]

There is a fair amount of trashy cyberpunk novels, but decent might be a stretch.  Ready Player One is the only one off the top of my head that I really loved.

[Rosbjerg]

Neuromancer kickstarted the cyberpunk genre, but obviously this also means you'll be seeing the plot twists a mile away.. Still a recommendable read.

[Leferd]

Going to hold off on PKD and Gibbon for right now.

 

Instead, I'm beginning a re-read of Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise in anticipation of the upcoming NBA season and the 2016 Election. Figured that I'd need to brush up on his concepts so I'm ready for my smart $$$ bets for extra spending cash.

 

With that, I got my bookmarks set on FiveThirtyEight, Grantland, Cook Political, Sportsbook, the Greek, Bovada, and Paddy Power. 

[ManifestedISO]

Needed a bedtime story for BB-8, so I got a nice history book. 

 

[Guard Dog]

I love how that new star wars movie completely invalidated over a million words of bad writing and bad story telling in the "extended universe" books. At least so I heard. The only star wars book I ever read was just about Han Solo and I was in 7th grade.

[Orogun01]

Carolyn Hammond's translation of Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War. It's pretty dry but its been on my list of things.

 

Anyway, Shadowrun has rekindled my love for the cyberpunk genre so I was wondering if anyone knew of any half decent cyberpunk lit? (preferably from the last 20 years)

Not really Cyberpunk but BlindSight by Peter Watts was a good read. It got me into reading about neurology, it's good to read Sci Fi done by scientists (even if they are marine biologists)

[Oerwinde]

I love how that new star wars movie completely invalidated over a million words of bad writing and bad story telling in the "extended universe" books. At least so I heard. The only star wars book I ever read was just about Han Solo and I was in 7th grade.

I only read the Darth Bane trilogy. I enjoyed it. Most expanded universe I read was the Dark Horse comics, which were great.

[Raithe]

The Books We Call Baen
 
 

Based on "The Hero of Canton," words and music by Ben Edlund
lyrics

Baen ... the books we call Baen


Chorus
We've got Weber, Drake, and Ringo, and Correia and Bujold
Some of the finest stories that you've ever been told
Lackey, Flint and Kratman, Spencer and Van Name -- look for the
Dragon and the rocket ship, on the books we call Baen


Jim Baen felt the readers' hearts breaking, he heard the readers' lament
He saw other publishers taking readers' money and making no sense
So he said, "How can we satisfy their hunger, our authors can only write so fast"
Then came e-books and Baen's Bar, webscriptions and e-ARCs
A publishing house running at full blast

Chorus

Our authors compete for highest body count
And how many ways they can make Joe Buckley die
Mil-SF and fantasy, space opera, alternate history, but never enough to satisfy the 'flies
The Barflies are always armed and ready
And pretty quick to raise a hue and cry
But they keep reading all the while, and Jim looks down and smiles
From that great SF convention in the sky

Chorus


Extended Chorus
We've got Gannon, Freer, Mad Mike, Chadwick, Bova, Hoyt and Spoor
Daniel, Lee, Miller, Nye, Coe, White, Torgersen, Asaro, Zahn, and more
Taylor, Moon, Buettner, Resnick, Stone, Stirling, Lambshead, Johnson
McCaffrey, Pournelle, Norton, Niven, Turtledove and Heinlein
Our love for them now, ain't hard to explain -- look for the
Dragon and the rocket ship, on the books we call Baen
The books we call Baen

Edited September 7, 2015 by Raithe

[Hurlshort]

I love how that new star wars movie completely invalidated over a million words of bad writing and bad story telling in the "extended universe" books. At least so I heard. The only star wars book I ever read was just about Han Solo and I was in 7th grade.

 

I once read a Star Wars novel set after the original trilogy.  They killed Chewbacca, and I threw it in the trash after that.

[Raithe]

 

I love how that new star wars movie completely invalidated over a million words of bad writing and bad story telling in the "extended universe" books. At least so I heard. The only star wars book I ever read was just about Han Solo and I was in 7th grade.

 

I once read a Star Wars novel set after the original trilogy.  They killed Chewbacca, and I threw it in the trash after that.

 

 

Yes, the whole.. New Order setting and the Yuuzhan Vong was very.. offputting. They had some interesting ideas, but as a whole that part of the EU got very warped and messy.

 

Frankly, the Thrawn Trilogy, some of the Jedi Academy related series, and a few others were pretty damn good. Just there were a lot more flawed than polished gems that did turn up.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Raithe

[Amentep]

I never read one of the books with them, but when I read about them in some of the RPG materials the Yuuzhan Vong seemed to me like "we've ran out of ideas" villains.  Like, unable to create a credible bad-guy for our heroic force users to face, the writers just said - "Ooo, yeah lets make a race that isn't completely affected by the force".

 

That said, the only book I ever read was SPINTER IN THE MIND'S EYE, so my knowledge of the quality of the books themselves is pretty thin.

[Guard Dog]

Han Solo at Stars End. That was the one I read back in grade school. I had to look that one up. I don't remember much about it but as a fan of the original SW I imagine I liked it. I read the novelization of SW and Empire too in High School and that is when I realized that movies made from books seldom live up to the book and vice versa.

[Malcador]

 

I love how that new star wars movie completely invalidated over a million words of bad writing and bad story telling in the "extended universe" books. At least so I heard. The only star wars book I ever read was just about Han Solo and I was in 7th grade.

 

I once read a Star Wars novel set after the original trilogy.  They killed Chewbacca, and I threw it in the trash after that.

 

They should kill off major characters though, gets boring when they are in peril and you know they'll survive somehow.

[Hurlshort]

 

 

I love how that new star wars movie completely invalidated over a million words of bad writing and bad story telling in the "extended universe" books. At least so I heard. The only star wars book I ever read was just about Han Solo and I was in 7th grade.

 

I once read a Star Wars novel set after the original trilogy.  They killed Chewbacca, and I threw it in the trash after that.

 

They should kill off major characters though, gets boring when they are in peril and you know they'll survive somehow.

 

 

I have no problem with book characters getting offed in books, but taking a huge character from the movies and offing him in a pretty average book seems pretty weak.  

[Malcador]

Well, he's the most minor of the major ones I think, so probably why they killed him off. Hm, hope they kill off some in the new movies, that'd be fun.

[Raithe]

They did do it by dropping  a moon on him. So it was spectacularly silly.

[Raithe]

For the general interest....

 

Author Earnings - 2015 Author Earnings Report

 

 

 

AAP Reports Own Shrinking Market Share, Media Mistakes It for Flat US Ebook Market

 

 

In the 18 months between February 2014 and September 2015, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), whose 1200 members include the “Big Five”: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette — have seen their collective share of the US ebook market collapse:

• from 45% of all Kindle books sold down to 32%
• from 64% of Kindle publisher gross $ revenue down to 50%
• from 48% of all Kindle author net $ earnings down to 32%

The AAP releases monthly StatShot reports on the total dollar sales of their 1200 participating publishers, of which the “Big Five” collectively account for roughly 80%.

 

So far in 2015, the AAP’s reports have charted a progressive decline in both ebook sales and overall revenue for the AAP’s member publishers.

 

During that same period in 2015, Amazon’s overall ebook sales have continued to grow in both unit and dollar terms, fueled by a strong shift in consumer ebook purchasing behavior away from traditionally-published ebooks and toward indie-published- and Amazon-imprint-published ebooks. 

 

These “non-traditionally-published” books now make up nearly 60% of all Kindle ebooks purchased in the US, and take in 40% of all consumer dollars spent on those ebooks.

 

The AAP is still reporting on May 2015 right now; they haven’t seen the latest 5% drop in their collective market share, measured by Author Earnings in early September 2015 (after Penguin Random House’s return to agency pricing).

 

Is the broader US ebook market shrinking or growing? Let’s find out.

 

For details, charts, and data, dive in to…

 

 

 

If you want the serious breakdowns and all the pretty charts and data, follow the link.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Raithe

[Raithe]

A little bit of the Kipling..

 

 

DEDICATION TO BARRACK ROOM BALLADS (Epitaph for Wolcott Balestier)

By Rudyard Kipling

 

 

Beyond the path of the outmost sun through utter darkness hurled --...

Further than ever comet flared or vagrant star-dust swirled --

Live such as fought and sailed and ruled and loved and made our world.

 

They are purged of pride because they died, they know the worth of their bays,

They sit at wine with the Maidens Nine and the Gods of the Elder Days,

It is their will to serve or be still as fitteth our Father's praise.

 

'Tis theirs to sweep through the ringing deep where Azrael's outposts are,

Or buffet a path through the Pit's red wrath when God goes out to war,

Or hang with the reckless Seraphim on the rein of a red-maned star.

 

They take their mirth in the joy of the Earth --

they dare not grieve for her pain --

They know of toil and the end of toil, they know God's law is plain,

So they whistle the Devil to make them sport who know that Sin is vain.

 

And ofttimes cometh our wise Lord God, master of every trade,

And tells them tales of His daily toil, of Edens newly made;

And they rise to their feet as He passes by, gentlemen unafraid.

 

To these who are cleansed of base Desire, Sorrow and Lust and Shame --

Gods for they knew the hearts of men, men for they stooped to Fame,

Borne on the breath that men call Death, my brother's spirit came.

 

He scarce had need to doff his pride or slough the dross of Earth --

E'en as he trod that day to God so walked he from his birth,

In simpleness and gentleness and honour and clean mirth.

 

So cup to lip in fellowship they gave him welcome high

And made him place at the banquet board -- the Strong Men ranged thereby,

Who had done his work and held his peace and had no fear to die.

 

Beyond the loom of the last lone star, through open darkness hurled,

Further than rebel comet dared or hiving star-swarm swirled,

Sits he with those that praise our God for that they served His world.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Raithe

[Oerwinde]

For the general interest....

 

Author Earnings - 2015 Author Earnings Report

 

 

 

 

AAP Reports Own Shrinking Market Share, Media Mistakes It for Flat US Ebook Market

 

 

In the 18 months between February 2014 and September 2015, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), whose 1200 members include the “Big Five”: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette — have seen their collective share of the US ebook market collapse:

• from 45% of all Kindle books sold down to 32%
• from 64% of Kindle publisher gross $ revenue down to 50%
• from 48% of all Kindle author net $ earnings down to 32%

The AAP releases monthly StatShot reports on the total dollar sales of their 1200 participating publishers, of which the “Big Five” collectively account for roughly 80%.

 

So far in 2015, the AAP’s reports have charted a progressive decline in both ebook sales and overall revenue for the AAP’s member publishers.

 

During that same period in 2015, Amazon’s overall ebook sales have continued to grow in both unit and dollar terms, fueled by a strong shift in consumer ebook purchasing behavior away from traditionally-published ebooks and toward indie-published- and Amazon-imprint-published ebooks.

 

These “non-traditionally-published” books now make up nearly 60% of all Kindle ebooks purchased in the US, and take in 40% of all consumer dollars spent on those ebooks.

 

The AAP is still reporting on May 2015 right now; they haven’t seen the latest 5% drop in their collective market share, measured by Author Earnings in early September 2015 (after Penguin Random House’s return to agency pricing).

 

Is the broader US ebook market shrinking or growing? Let’s find out.

 

For details, charts, and data, dive in to…

 

If you want the serious breakdowns and all the pretty charts and data, follow the link.

Well when you can get an ebook from the big publishers for 12 dollars or one from indie publishers for 3, sometimes thats an easy decision. I got my kindle before publishers told amazon they got to set the price or amazon couldn't sell the books, at that point the average price for ebooks was $4-6. After publishers started setting the prices they went up to 12-15, generally significantly more than a print book. I stopped buying ebooks after that.

[Guard Dog]

Re reading ASoIaF. Skimming it really but I'm finding I've forgotten quite a bit and had the TV show confuse other parts.

[ShadySands]

Remembered the Raven's Shadow series, lo and behold the third book came out (seems it's the last one). To be honest I had to look up the summaries to remember what the books were about, but I still have trouble remembering most of the stuff. Either way I can't be arsed to reread it (even though they are good books) so I'm just going to dive in to the last one and hope stuff comes back to me.

 

I just finished it a week or two ago and have really mixed feelings about it