What are you reading right now?

Paedantic Basterd · 12-28-2011, 11:39 PM

I started reading this in 12th grade, but for some reason never finished it. I only got through three or four of the short stories. Giving it another go, finally.

GravitySlips · 12-29-2011, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

So far the only book I've read by Bukowski. I really enjoyed it, especially by the end where he just turns into the epitome of the word misanthrope. I really need to read more of his stuff, have you heard any other good ones by him?

Ham on Rye, Women and Factotum are all excellent too. If you dig Post Office, then I'd check out Factotum - that was his second novel after Post Office.

Ham on Rye is probably my favourite, overall. You can't go wrong, though.

~~Sansa Stark~~ · 12-29-2011, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

I started reading this in 12th grade, but for some reason never finished it. I only got through three or four of the short stories. Giving it another go, finally.

That's a good one, I'll have to reread it, but I think I may have given it to someone else :/

Above · 12-29-2011, 12:06 PM

I just got done reading The Hobbit. I enjoyed it, although J.R.R. Tolkien wrote this in a way that gave you a brief overview of what happened, rather than getting down into the nitty, gritty details. It seemed to follow a very clear pattern of problem-solution 'til the end of the book, which got on my nerves. Nevertheless, it still managed to hold my interest, so I'd recommend it. One thing that interested me though is that there are no female characters whatsoever.

I'm going to start Neuromancer by William Gibson later.

GravitySlips · 12-29-2011, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Above

I'm going to start Neuromancer by William Gibson later.

I didn't particularly enjoy that the first time I read it, but I gave it another go some months ago and it really clicked. Gibson's now becoming a favourite writer of mine, as is Bruce Sterling (another 'cyberpunk' author).

I'm currently reading We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I'm half-way through, and it's very compelling so far - and very clearly was an influence on Orwell's 1984. And it's pretty short, thus I reckon I'll have it finished by tomorrow.

Howard the Duck · 12-29-2011, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Above

I'm going to start Neuromancer by William Gibson later.

he is one of my favourite authors, and i have all his works, bar his latest Zero History

Neuromancer is still a pretty good read, although it is rather simplistic compared to his later works

LoathsomePete · 12-30-2011, 09:38 AM

On The Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women

It's about a serial killer who preyed on drug-addicted prostitutes in the downtown east side of Vancouver in the mid '90's to the early '00's. He actually almost got convicted for attempted murder on a victim in '97, but when the prostitute failed to appear in court for fear of meeting Willie again, the case was dropped and he walked. Despite all the evidence that had accumulated over the years, it took a long time for the VPD and RCMP to finally search his pig farm and start looking for the bodies of about 40 prostitutes.

Reading this book is kind of like watching an episode of The Wire because of the internal politics of a dysfunctional institution, in fact there are a lot of parallels between the show and the real life events. The begrudging start of the investigation into the missing women by the VPD and the quickly assembled detail of people who didn't care to work the case. It strongly resembled the way season 1 started.

Anyways it's a great book if you're into true crime.

Paedantic Basterd · 12-30-2011, 09:43 AM

Allegations have been surfacing lately that the task force for the case didn't prioritize it or take it very seriously; coming from one of the female officers on it.

LoathsomePete · 12-30-2011, 09:52 AM

Nobody really took it seriously except for Kim Rossmo, one of his superior officers and a constable who is regarded as a legend in the downtown east side. Kim Rossmo earned a doctorate while working as a constable (basic uniformed police) and jumped the rank all the way up to Detective-Inspector (somewhere around a sergeant) with his creation of a new profiling system called geographical profiling. His jump in rank and "crazy new theories" didn't make him a popular person among the VPD's brass known as "The Old Boy's Club" and thus his unit was never properly staffed or funded. It didn't help that the number of disappearances slowly started to decrease after '97, which made the idiot bosses think the worst was over.

But despite all that, there was a lot of animosity in the case because of who the victims were. Prostitutes (many of them Native) are an easy target and most of society doesn't care about them so nobody gets in an uproar about them being missing, well except for their family and friends. Even the mayor of Vancouver at the time, Philip Owen, thought that if everyone just ignored the evidence that a serial killer was in their midst, he would just go away.

It's pretty disgraceful.

Paedantic Basterd · 12-30-2011, 10:01 AM

I think I might look into reading this book as well.

12-29-2011, 12:06 PM	#3844 (permalink)
Above Oh my golly! Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: England Posts: 339	I just got done reading The Hobbit. I enjoyed it, although J.R.R. Tolkien wrote this in a way that gave you a brief overview of what happened, rather than getting down into the nitty, gritty details. It seemed to follow a very clear pattern of problem-solution 'til the end of the book, which got on my nerves. Nevertheless, it still managed to hold my interest, so I'd recommend it. One thing that interested me though is that there are no female characters whatsoever. I'm going to start Neuromancer by William Gibson later. __________________ Be pure, Be vigilant, Behave

12-30-2011, 09:38 AM	#3847 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	On The Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women It's about a serial killer who preyed on drug-addicted prostitutes in the downtown east side of Vancouver in the mid '90's to the early '00's. He actually almost got convicted for attempted murder on a victim in '97, but when the prostitute failed to appear in court for fear of meeting Willie again, the case was dropped and he walked. Despite all the evidence that had accumulated over the years, it took a long time for the VPD and RCMP to finally search his pig farm and start looking for the bodies of about 40 prostitutes. Reading this book is kind of like watching an episode of The Wire because of the internal politics of a dysfunctional institution, in fact there are a lot of parallels between the show and the real life events. The begrudging start of the investigation into the missing women by the VPD and the quickly assembled detail of people who didn't care to work the case. It strongly resembled the way season 1 started. Anyways it's a great book if you're into true crime. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

12-30-2011, 09:52 AM	#3849 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	Nobody really took it seriously except for Kim Rossmo, one of his superior officers and a constable who is regarded as a legend in the downtown east side. Kim Rossmo earned a doctorate while working as a constable (basic uniformed police) and jumped the rank all the way up to Detective-Inspector (somewhere around a sergeant) with his creation of a new profiling system called geographical profiling. His jump in rank and "crazy new theories" didn't make him a popular person among the VPD's brass known as "The Old Boy's Club" and thus his unit was never properly staffed or funded. It didn't help that the number of disappearances slowly started to decrease after '97, which made the idiot bosses think the worst was over. But despite all that, there was a lot of animosity in the case because of who the victims were. Prostitutes (many of them Native) are an easy target and most of society doesn't care about them so nobody gets in an uproar about them being missing, well except for their family and friends. Even the mayor of Vancouver at the time, Philip Owen, thought that if everyone just ignored the evidence that a serial killer was in their midst, he would just go away. It's pretty disgraceful. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

12-28-2011, 11:39 PM	#3841 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	I started reading this in 12th grade, but for some reason never finished it. I only got through three or four of the short stories. Giving it another go, finally.

12-30-2011, 09:43 AM	#3848 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	Allegations have been surfacing lately that the task force for the case didn't prioritize it or take it very seriously; coming from one of the female officers on it.

12-30-2011, 10:01 AM	#3850 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	I think I might look into reading this book as well.