What are you reading now?

[Doctor Phibes]

@George-K said in What are you reading now?:

“The Glitter Band.”

Is tha that an Alastair Reynolds reference?

I'm thinking he was having a laugh with that particular invention - he's just the right age to remember the horrors of British glam-rock

[George K]

Started this yesterday, because I'm still in a Bosch-ey mood.

Finished this afternoon.

Typical Bosch - but fun.

[George K]

That last Bosch book was made into one of the episodes of the Amazon series - the one where the cesium is stolen from a hospital.

Nice, short, book. Easy mystery, with a believable twist at the end. The Amazon telling dragged it out a bit, and the read was a lot "tighter."

Fun.

On to the next. Nine Dragons.

[Copper]

Retired people need lots of hobbies.

This might be some fun.

[taiwan_girl]

I have been reading (actually listening to) the books about Jack Reacher. I think @jolly mentioned the TV show, but these are the books I am talking about.

I think they are turning into my "guilty pleasure". 5555

I am really enjoying them.

[George K]

@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:

I have been reading (actually listening to) the books about Jack Reacher. I think @jolly mentioned the TV show, but these are the books I am talking about.

I think they are turning into my "guilty pleasure". 5555

I am really enjoying them.

Yeah guilty pleasures are fun. That’s why they’re called guilty pleasures, LOL.

I found the Amazon version of the story so-so. Are the books better? Because Bosch.

[taiwan_girl]

@George-K said in What are you reading now?:

@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:

I have been reading (actually listening to) the books about Jack Reacher. I think @jolly mentioned the TV show, but these are the books I am talking about.

I think they are turning into my "guilty pleasure". 5555

I am really enjoying them.

Yeah guilty pleasures are fun. That’s why they’re called guilty pleasures, LOL.

I found the Amazon version of the story so-so. Are the books better? Because Bosch.

What is Bosch? I know you have mentioned that name, but I dont know anything about it. Is it the character or the author?

[brenda]

@brenda said in What are you reading now?:

Listening to this while working in the yard. It's quite enjoyable to listen to this version, if you like detail. I'm almost half done with it, and there's much left to do in the yard.

Highly recommend. I enjoyed it immensely, and for so many aspects of the life he led. I try to use his perspective techniques from painting in my rug hooking when appropriate, and this was a good review, but there's something for everyone in this bio.
Politics? Lots.
Art guilds? Good explanations of how they were run.
Other greats of the time, and his relationships with them? Oh, yes, indeed, and with some spicy details.
Coverage of his scientific studies? Much and detailed.

Again, I listened to this while doing some landscaping, and it was very easy to keep up with it at 1.2 speed. I find most recorded books go too slow, so I speed it up a bit.

Not too technical, IMO, just enough to help explain and compare. Not dumbed down either.

Enjoy!

[George K]

@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:

What is Bosch?

Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is a fictional detective. He is the chararacter that was the protagonist of a series on Amazon Prime. Brilliant detective show staring Titus Welliver.

The TV series was based on the books written by Michael Connelly. There are now 25 books in the series. Connelly was the in the production crew of the TV series, so the shows are pretty faithful to the books, though the books have different characters, sometimes.

If you like detective shows, check out Bosch. If you like mysteries, the books are tons of fun.

Connelly is also the author of "The Lincoln Lawyer" series of books. He really cranks 'em out.

[George K]

Just finished another Bosch book this afternoon ("Nine Dragons"). Good tale, and typical Bosch. It's interesting to see how characters in the TV series are different from the ones portrayed in the books.

***NSFW content***

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Honey, "Money," Chandler, the ambulance-chasing lawyer is Harry's new employer in the "Bosch Legacy" series on IMDB. Connelly kills her off in the 3rd book.

***NSFW content***

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Irving Irwin, the to-be chief of LAPD is not the straight arrow in the TV series. He is corrupt, with huge political ambitions (though Lance Reddick's character has those as well). He is dismissed (perhaps) halfway through the series.

***NSFW content***

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Harry's ex-wife, Eleanor Wish is killed off in the series by a drive-by assassination in Los Angeles. In the books, she's the victim of being in the path of a stray bullet in Hong Kong.

***NSFW content***

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Jim Edgar, his partner, is not nearly as prominent in the books. Halfway through the series, he's replaced by another, female partner, and later, by yet another.

[George K]

@George-K said in What are you reading now?:

Just finished another Bosch book this afternoon ("Nine Dragons").

Oh, guess who says "Hello!"

“He called the number now and this time got an immediate answer.
“Mickey Haller.”
“It’s Bosch.”
“Harry? I didn’t think I’d—”
“I think I need a lawyer.”
There was a pause.
“Okay, when?”
“Right now.”

Yeah. Mickey Haller - The Lincoln Lawyer.

[Doctor Phibes]

I believe I've read this before, but I have no memory of it. It's not the easiest of reads by any means, but it's such a massively influential book. I really respect William Gibson's writing, but I find it hard work to get through.

[Aqua Letifer]

@Doctor-Phibes said in What are you reading now?:

I believe I've read this before, but I have no memory of it. It's not the easiest of reads by any means, but it's such a massively influential book. I really respect William Gibson's writing, but I find it hard work to get through.

Yeah, it's fun. The whole Sprawl trilogy is great.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Aqua-Letifer said in What are you reading now?:

Yeah, it's fun. The whole Sprawl trilogy is great.

The weird thing is that this was the first book I read when I bought a Kindle, and yet I literally have no memory of it. I'm actually wondering whether I read a different book by accident.

Or I could have been having my Scotch phase, which was a thing.

[George K]

Everyone says that "Neuromancer" is the seminal work of cyberpunk sci-fi. I tried to do it as an audiobook about 8 years ago and gave up.

Perhaps I should try again, but MOAR Bosch is so tempting, because popcorn is satisfying.

[Doctor Phibes]

@George-K said in What are you reading now?:

Everyone says that "Neuromancer" is the seminal work of cyberpunk sci-fi. I tried to do it as an audiobook about 8 years ago and gave up.

Perhaps I should try again, but MOAR Bosch is so tempting, because popcorn is satisfying.

It's a great book. I find I have to read most of Gibson's stuff twice to figure out what the hell is going on. I did the same thing with Ep. 1 of The Expanse.

I'm a big fan of cyberpunk. Taking sci-fi in a different direction from Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke was a great thing to do.

[George K]

@Doctor-Phibes said in What are you reading now?:

It's a great book.

Where to start? "Neuromancer?"

[Doctor Phibes]

@George-K said in What are you reading now?:

@Doctor-Phibes said in What are you reading now?:

It's a great book.

Where to start? "Neuromancer?"

That's the first one in the trilogy.

For cyberpunk, I've actually found Neal Stephenson's books easier - Snowcrash is a great book.

I also enjoyed The Windup Girl, and The Waterknife, by Paolo Bacigalupi.

Obviously, Aqua's almost certainly read a lot more of this stuff than me, so he might have some suggestions...

[George K]

@Doctor-Phibes said in What are you reading now?:

@George-K said in What are you reading now?:

@Doctor-Phibes said in What are you reading now?:

It's a great book.

Where to start? "Neuromancer?"

That's the first one in the trilogy.

I'll give it another shot.

For cyberpunk, I've actually found Neal Stephenson's books easier - Snowcrash is a great book.

Vampires? Really? I tried.

I LOVED Seveneves, however. It didn't strike me as "punk," however.

I also enjoyed The Windup Girl, and The Waterknife, by Paolo Bacigalupi.

Yes. Windup Girl was fun (?) and it's on my "need to read again" list.

Obviously, Aqua's almost certainly read a lot more of this stuff than me, so he might have some suggestions...

Yeah, but he's more geeky than you and I put together.

[Aqua Letifer]

@George-K said in What are you reading now?:

Obviously, Aqua's almost certainly read a lot more of this stuff than me, so he might have some suggestions...

Philip K. Dick is like the O.G. of Cyberpunk. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" is of course the most well-known. Also a quick read.

Hardwired was good. Fun, Cyberpunk, 80s.

Infomocracy is kinda Gibsonesque, and fun to read for the ideas, but might be a little bland if you're looking for popcorn.

Altered Carbon's probably the most successful modern series in the genre, but Morgan's got another series that's pretty fun, too. Different premise, still cyberpunk. It starts with Thirteen. ("Black Man" in the U.K.)

Cyberpunk's also a big genre for graphic novels. Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis, and the original Ghost in the Shell and Akira series are really great fun.

For movies, A Scanner Darkly is great if you don't mind rotoscoping. Gattaca is as good as people say it is. If you like 12 Monkeys, you might also like Zero Theorem, also a Gilliam movie. Dark City's pretty good but it kinda didn't age well.

Yeah, but he's more geeky than you and I put together.

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