Ben Saufley - Reading

Books I've Rated 4 / 5

Ratings Breakdown

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

147

3.5

4

207

4.5

5

The Wise Man's Fear

by Patrick Rothfuss

Finished 2012-10-18

Enjoyed the hell out of this one, like the last. Ate it right up. That said, a few concerns:

• First, if one more person’s mouth makes a line (grim or otherwise) I’m going to lose it.

• Second, Kvothe is what, 17 now? Maybe 18? By the end of the book? Two books in and like two years have passed? It’s a trilogy. I’m enjoying this long adventure but I’m wondering what’s going to happen to get everything into the third book. It sounds like, maybe, there will be another trilogy after this, that’s … maybe AFTER the story is told? I’m alright with that. But I’m still kind of wondering how we get there.

• And yeah, I’m still a little let down by the fact that neither book has had an arc, really. It’s all leading to something, hopefully in book three (book six?), which is cool, but I’d like a sub-arc. Something to tie the book together, while the overarching narrative continues on its long, long way.

• There isn’t even a release date for book 3 yet? When you’ve got a story like this that is really one big book in three parts, not three books, you’ve got to get it out there!
The Machine Stops

by E.M. Forster

Finished 2012-10-03

Surprisingly futuristic for something written in 1909. Its themes have been heard before, time and time again - humankind versus a machine of their own creation, I guess - but 100+ years later the details remain fascinating. I also love the constant talk of “ideas” without any real ideas in sight. “Oh stop this talk, it gives me no ideas.”
The Name of the Wind

by Patrick Rothfuss

Finished 2012-09-06

Doesn’t feel like a full book – feels like the first book of a book. Not so much of a climax, denouement in this one. Just setting the groundwork for future books. Lots of questions that were set up, I hoped, to be answered, are still unanswered. I think of multi-book plots as still having individual subplots in each book, which this one didn’t really. It was just Day One of the story, as I suppose was promised. Which has me a little annoyed and impatient. That said, I enjoyed it cover-to-cover, and I’ve started the second (which is even longer, at 1000 pages) already. I think, though, if he doesn’t give me something to hold onto in this one, I’m not going to get the third (when it comes out? is it out?).
Bone, Vol. 8: Treasure Hunters

by Jeff Smith

Finished 2011-12-28
Bone, Vol. 4: The Dragonslayer

by Jeff Smith

Finished 2011-08-29
The Last Council

by Kazu Kibuishi

Finished 2011-08-27
A Study in Scarlet

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Finished 2011-01-01
The Cloud Searchers

by Kazu Kibuishi

Finished 2011-01-01
Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins

Finished 2010-09-16
The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Finished 2010-09-08

Even books I’m enjoying don’t often pull me in as much as I’d like these days - I find myself setting them down and not picking them up for weeks, even. But I found this in paperback recently and remembered being curious about it when I saw it in hardcover so I bought it. There are so many ways this book could have failed, building on the clichés it uses, but it didn’t. I found myself engaged constantly, wondering what happened next, worrying about characters, and desperately needing to pick the book up again when I’d put it down.

I don’t know. I don’t really feel like analyzing it much beyond that, but I really enjoyed it. I’m going to find the second book as soon as I possibly can. And the third just came out! The final book! That’s exciting
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

by Michael Chabon

Finished 2010-08-29
The Time Machine

by H. G. Wells

Finished 2010-06-07

Despite its age, the adventure it presented and the concepts within felt neither dated, nor clichéd, nor unoriginal. There’s an atmosphere in the stark style of writing that lends itself to the waning days of life on planet Earth. Very quick but fascinating.
The Hound of the Baskervilles

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Finished 2010-06-03

Quite an adventure. A pretty quick read, but its age and style present some interesting words and phrases that are less-familiar in modern English.
Making Comics Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

by Scott McCloud

Finished 2010-06-01
Understanding Comics The Invisible Art

by Scott McCloud

Finished 2010-03-16

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Books I've Rated 4 / 5

Ratings Breakdown

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Wise Man's Fear

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Machine Stops

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Name of the Wind

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Bone, Vol. 8: Treasure Hunters

Bone, Vol. 4: The Dragonslayer

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Last Council

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } A Study in Scarlet

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Cloud Searchers

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Catching Fire

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Hunger Games

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Time Machine

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Hound of the Baskervilles

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Making Comics Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Understanding Comics The Invisible Art

The Wise Man's Fear

The Machine Stops

The Name of the Wind

Bone, Vol. 8: Treasure Hunters

The Last Council

A Study in Scarlet

The Cloud Searchers

Catching Fire

The Hunger Games

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

The Time Machine

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Making Comics Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

Understanding Comics The Invisible Art