Whatcha been reading lately?

[slgrieb]

Re: Goodkind. Perhaps it's a function of where I picked up on the series. I grabbed The Pillars of Creation and Naked Empire pretty much at random, and they were the dullest things I've tried to read in forever. Just because Goodkind espouses much of Ayn Rand's philosophy doesn't mean that his writing has to be as monotonous as much of her's is.

Other than being terminally cliched, Legend of the Seeker is kinda fun to watch, so perhaps the earlier books had a little more life. I remain dubious though. Anyway, there are too many good authors and too little time, so struggling through 2 Goodkinds is all of my time he gets.

Yep, all of Larson's novels were heavily edited for the screen plays, but I don't have much problem with the decisions made, especially in the case of The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo. I think much of Blomkvist's visit to the Vangers should have been cut from the novel.

With Hornet's Nest, I'm a little more ambivalent. The novel is frequently pedantic, but Larson has always seemed to realize that he was writing for an international audience, and he seemed to take lots of pains to explain Swedish Government and legal procedure. So, some of the legal maneuvering in the story makes more sense in the novel, but movies are a visual medium, and I think much of the exposition would have just gotten in the way. Biggest divergence is in the ending.

So, what have I been reading lately that I'd recommend? Well, that's difficult. He's been around a while now, but I'd still suggest a look at Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels. Number 13 in the series, Ghost Story, is due next month. Don't need to read them in order for them to be enjoyable, but it helps with understanding the relationships between characters, as well as some plot nuances that might be missed. For instance, if you start with Ghost Story, you might have a bit of trouble with the idea that the protagonist of the series is recently murdered. If you've never read Butcher and you're tempted to start with his Alera series, my advice is really, really don't.