What are you reading RIGHT NOW? (Apart from this post)

[Leeward]

"It's about some... "thing". I honestly have no idea what "it" is, but it has the ability to assume the form of anything it has come into contact with. It comes down to earth and starts its existence as a rock, and then grows from there as it comes into contact with various other things. The story centres around this "thing" as it journeys through life.

So, a copycat shapeshifter?

[Sev]

Also known as...

THE THING



This franchise freaked me out as a kid.

[Contrast]

So, a copycat shapeshifter?

I think there's more to it than that. Shapeshifting is just something it does. There are so many questions right off the bat with this manga. Why does it exist? Why does it behave the way it does? Where did it come from? Why is it here? Who is the narrator?

Even through there are only two chapters so far, I get the feeling that this story could quite easily go all the way to the end without ever revealing what this "thing" actually is.

[Cape_F0X]

I started reading Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett.

[Rakuen Growlithe]

Red Devil by Kyell Gold

[Rakuen Growlithe]

I've also now got Legend to read. Not sure if on the weekend or maybe on the plane...

[Contrast]

I recently finished reading Silver Spoon, by Arakama Hiromu, the same person who did Fullmetal Alchemist. It's a slice-of-life comedy about the students of an agricultural school, and it is absolutely hilarious!

http://kissmanga.com/Manga/Silver-Spoon/1?id=63111

[Contrast]

"Totsukuni no Shoujo" by Nagabe.

http://kissmanga.com/Manga/Totsukuni-no ... ?id=271595

"It is a story full of sadness. From now let us recite a slow and beautiful story from long ago."

Shiva, a young girl who loves to stroll about in the countryside, lives in a vacant village with her guardian, a wendigo-like gentleman. He forbids her from going outside, so she won't be cursed, but Shiva's curiosity makes her yearn for the outside world. What is this curse about?

This is a strange story with a lot of mystery right off the bat. It centres around two characters who live alone in a tiny, rundown little house in the woods; a small girl named Shiva and her guardian, a black, devil-like creature with horns and a skeletal face who she lovingly calls "Teacher". He tries to keep her safe and happy, but the world they live in is a very dangerous place, infected by a terrible curse that can be spread by something as simple as a single touch.

[Trace]

I am currently rereading A Series of Unfortunate Events.

For any unfamiliar with the series, it recounts the lives of Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire as they do their best to survive their journey through tragedy and various woes, a word which here means "a long string of troubling and terrible circumstances".
Though it is usually presented as a children's book series, there is a lot to like. The witty wordplay and deliciously dark humor are more than enough to keep an adult audience engaged, let alone the storytelling itself. The author and narrator, Lemony Snicket, is as much a character as anyone else, and presents a world with its own rules and secrets. The series has a bit of a slow start, as the early books follow a somewhat similar plotline, but from what I remember it ramps up quite a bit in the later books. At the very least, in reading through the books you are likely to learn a variety of interesting and occasionally obtuse words.
I am rereading the books for several reasons: I currently have access to my collection of them at my parents; and I have read all the books in the past, but not all in order, and certainly not all at once. Also I am hoping to finish rereading the books before then new Netflix adaptation of the series (or Series, as it were) comes out soon. Having enjoyed the movie despite its shortcomings, I am cautiously optimistic for the show. I am hoping it will fit the bill, a phrase which here means "be capable of living up to the wonderful source material."

[Contrast]

Arslan Senki, by Tanaka Yoshinki and Arakawa Hiromu (the same mangaka who did Fullmetal Alchemist). This is a historical fantasy story based on middle-eastern culture and has a strong focus on military warfare and the varied cast of characters thrown together because of the conflict. It has tons of action, violence, political machinations and a surprising amount of humour as well. If you liked Fullmetal Alchemist, you'll like this.

Just a heads up. If you're a big fan of horses, you might not want to read this. They, um... let's just say that this story takes a very realistic approach to what tends to happen to animals of war on the battlefield. It's not pretty.

http://kissmanga.com/Manga/Arslan-Senki ... ?id=173930

[Splicer-Fox]

The Glass Flower - By George R. R. Martin.
All his sci-fi novellas is so much better than that song of ice and fire (AKA Game of Thrones)

Imagine a body-snatching/swapping machine turned into a game.
Humans and Aliens compete to extend their lives with younger stronger hosts.
Until an ancient robot with a strange agenda and shady past joins in the game.

[Leeward]

That sounds really cool. I should get back into reading.

[Splicer-Fox]

Sandkings - By George R. R. Martin.
Another Sci-Fi.
The TV show outer-limits made an episode of it that poorly ripped off only the plot meguffin.

The book follows a real evil sadist around in 1st person so you know what that ass-hole is thinking.
He is a rich aristocrat that lives on a trading hub world in the far future.
He and his friends enjoys buying alien creatures to fight each other, or just abuse them.
Eventually he buys an alien ant-farm from some alien shop.
These ants are very special of course.
Relationship between him and the alien ant colony becomes more complex.
His sociopathic behaviour is what drives the plot to its climax.

This is seen as George’s best work by some and I agree.

[jacojerb]

Sounds very interesting

I'm currently reading The Great Hunt, by Robert Jorden. It's the second book of the Wheel of Time series, which is regarded as one of the best fantasy series's there is

I love the story. I love the characters... The writing itself, however...

I just don't like the pace at times. Sometimes it just moves slowly, and then suddenly out of nowhere big action sequence. Which is kinda cool, like they're just talking politics and suddenly monsters invade. But A lot of the time they talk politics and monsters don't invade... Or it writes from the perspective of someone who has seemingly no relevance to the plot, who is literally countries away from the plot. Like... I just don't care about this person right now...

Sometimes I just can't put it down, and then it gets to a bit which takes me days to push past

[Contrast]

Newman, by Josh Ulrich. http://kissmanga.com/Manga/Newman/-Seas ... ?id=345308

Newman and Gwen are professional monster hunters who work for the Creature Removal Department, but for these two, killing monsters is the easy part, it's navigating their relationship that gets complicated. Set in a modern fantasy world, Newman is a mix of comedy, action, romance, and a little bit of horror.

[Asbjorn-phoenix]

Various white papers on content and digital marketing and various guides on coding in HTML, CCS, and JAVA.

[Splicer-Fox]

So these past few weeks I read Meathouse Man and The Second Kind of Loneliness: By George R. R. Martin
I did not really like these.

Meathouse Man sounds like a horror.
But its not. It’s a Drama.
Takes place in George’s sci-fi galaxy.
The sci-fi focus is on these recycled human corpses that are stuffed with electronics and brought back as mindless drones order to work mines.
The Protagonist is an operator that uses some sort of tech-telepathy to control them.
But the whole thing is about the protagonist escaping his shitty life using normal means.

The Second Kind of Loneliness is a droning sad drama.
Same sci-fi galaxy.
It’s basically a space Warp Gate operator complaining about being alone and miserable the whole time.

In both these stories the sci-fi is used like furniture to make the setting more… Interesting?
I understand old George was experiencing problems when he wrote these.
So these are more like his diary at the time?
I don’t recommend these except Meathouse Man on a particular mood.

[Splicer-Fox]

Currently reading Nightflyers again.
George’s sci-fi galaxy once more.
And apparently they made a movie out of it that was so terrible that George refuses to acknowledge it exists.
Sci-fi plot devices and meguffins work so damn well in this story.
I would describe it as a ghost ship novel but with some cool twists going on.
I hope they make a second attempt at a movie one day.
Really good.

The terrible movie:

[Nasheera]

Flicking through The Little Prince ^^

[Leeward]

^ One of my all-time favourites. It reads differently every time I revisit it, and always adds something of value.

[Rakuen Growlithe]

Now in the third part of Murky Number Seven. It's one of the Fallout Equestria stories and a great one. If you ever feel your post-apocalyptic adventures need more colourful ponies, then look it up.

[Contrast]

"Wombs" by Shirai Yumiko. http://kissmanga.com/Manga/Wombs/Vol-00 ... ?id=296770

It's about wombs! And aliens! And aliens in wombs! And cool sci-fi stuff like big pregnant teleporting soldier ladies!

On the planet of Hekiou, there is a continuing war between the first wave of immigrants and the second. An important section of the military uses a native creature, the Niebass, to give its soldiers translocation abilities. These soldiers are all women, with the alien creature transplanted into their wombs. Some people see this practice as a violation of human women by aliens, and Mana Oga's boyfriend has a similar perspective on the matter. Mana Oga is a new soldier in this section, and the story follows her and the other women in her group who accept the alien creatures into their wombs in order to defend their homes.

[Splicer-Fox]

I heard of the “Little Prince” movie.
I decided to find a text copy of it though and then struggle to find the drawings referred to in it. =_=
It’s good and interesting. (A letter form the author too himself)

[Leeward]

"Wombs" by Shirai Yumiko.

Wait but... if the aliens are some kind of symbiote or parasite that allows teleportation of the host, why does it have to be in the womb specifically? They probably didn't design that mechanism around other species reproducing this way, so what if they wanted to cooperate with a species that reproduces by external fertilisation like most fish do?

[Contrast]

"Wombs" by Shirai Yumiko.

Wait but... if the aliens are some kind of symbiote or parasite that allows teleportation of the host, why does it have to be in the womb specifically? They probably didn't design that mechanism around other species reproducing this way, so what if they wanted to cooperate with a species that reproduces by external fertilisation like most fish do?

The manga is still ongoing, so most of the information surrounding the "transfer organ" (as the military calls it) is still shrouded in mystery. According to the official info, these organs aren't really fetuses at all, just clumps of Niebass cells that grow like tumours, but this all feels very shady to me.

Here are some of my thoughts and theories. (Spoiler Warning).

Spoiler

The soldiers themselves aren't allowed to see the organ as they're being implanted (this has to be done surgically). There are many plastic models around the base used to educate the soldiers (they look like big meaty balls with veins), but no actual pictures of the organism exist anywhere. This is sketchy af, and leads me to believe that there's something else going on.

I don't believe the Niebass is parasitic in nature. I think they have a reproductive system similar to humans', and that the government, after witnessing the abilities of pregnant Niebass females, appropriated their fetuses and weaponized them. That's just a theory, though.

[Raven Song]

homework... I'm reading my homework... because I need to know everything there is to know about bedding and feed for horses...

I haven't read in like... five years...

my eyes hurt.

[Erdwolf_TVL]

Just finished reading the sport-themed furry anthology called "Claw the Way to Victory"

You can read my review here...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/286 ... to-victory

It is very good.

[Contrast]

Helck, by Nanao Nanaki.

It's set in a fantasy world where humans and demons are at war. The humans are kicking ass, and managed to kill one of the four demon kings. To find a replacement, the demons decide to hold a tournament of skill. But suddenly a human hero shows up, saying he wants to take part in the tournament!

"But dude, you're a human, wtf?" the demons say. "Shouldn't you be with the other humans?"
To which the hero replies: "Yeah, but humans are assholes. Can I hang out with you guys instead?"
"Erm... sure?" (Because the demons in this world are totally chill and actually super nice.)

Vamirio, one of the remaining Heavenly Kings, thinks something fishy is going on, so she decides to keep a close eye on this human hero and put a stop to whatever vile scheme he might be hatching.

That's pretty much the opening in a nutshell.

I love this manga because it really messes with your expectations. You go into it thinking that this is just another silly comedy manga that pokes fun at all the classic stereotypes (the stoic hero, the tsundere,) but as the plot develops (yes, there really is an actual plot, and it gets pretty intense) you start to realise that this isn't a lighthearted comedy at all, but a serious fantasy epic. I highly recommend it.

http://kissmanga.com/Manga/Helck/Ch-001 ... ?id=258699

[Rakuen Growlithe]

I started reading On Liberty by John Stuart Mill. Definitely recommend it.

[Stretch]

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, by Hirohiko Araki

It tells the story about several generations of the Joestar family and their battles with supernatural forces.
Right now I am still busy reading the first arc and so far it's pretty good.I have read that it gets much better and Crazier from the second arc.
I didn't think that was even possible since the villain in the current arc is already off the charts crazy and sadistic.

I'm surprised I didn't know about this before playing the arcade game as it appears to be quite popular.