Book #33 of 2016: Wool, #34: Proper Gauge (Wool #2), 2016 abandoned book: Rain

[thistlechaser]

Wool by Hugh Howey
Rating: Okay (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)



I first read and loved Wool back in 2013 (my brief review of it), and I had wanted to read the other books in the series, but I just never got around to it. Finally I decided to do it, and since I had loved the first story so much, I wanted to start by rereading it.

Unfortunately the enjoyment of the story was all in the twists, in not knowing what was going to happen. It didn't at all stand up to a rereading. I mostly just read it to get through it, so I could move on to the next book.

--

Proper Gauge by Hugh Howey
Rating: Okay (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)



Unfortunately the second Wool book really didn't work for me. It almost felt like it was set in a whole different world. It was very very light on plot. It had no twists. I got through it, but I had no desire at all to read the remaining... four? books in the series.

Shortest book review ever? Probably. It just didn't drive me to read it, and thus it really doesn't drive me to write about it. It wasn't bad, it was just too slow and meandering for me. Still, I finished the whole thing.

--

Rain: Rise of the Living Dead by Shaun Harbinger
Rating: Disliked (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)



I grabbed a copy of this book when it was free, but otherwise never would have. I really don't like zombie stories. Other than following Walking Dead for a few seasons, I've always avoided books and movies about zombies. They bore me.

Rain started off interestingly. The main character was someone like me -- works a 9 to 5 job, then spends the weekends playing video games and eating bad food (okay, someone like me other than the bad food part anymore). I liked him.

Then the best friend and others were introduced. Sigh. It's like the author said "I want X to happen," so had the best friend do things to make X happen, nevermind that no reasonable person, let alone a best friend, would do those things to another person. None of the three other main characters were believable or reasonable humans, and too quickly the main character went in the other unreasonable direction: too good at stuff.

Plus, apparently the world can end in a couple hours. I mean like zero radio stations, zero Internet, all gone between breakfast and lunch. Because a zombie virus was spreading.

I gave up on the book 13% in, thus it doesn't count for the year.

Currently reading: Chronology, a collection of short stories about time, with a spiffy cover. Click for bigger:

Comments

[bacchuslives.livejournal.com]

Wool? Books that somehow involve knitting?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Haha nope! It's a scifi/end of the world kind of thing. Wool does come into play though!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Tim has tried to read 'Wool' twice and he never made it all the way through. One of the catalogers at work LOVED it. I just can't take anymore series LOL

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I reeealy loved the first book, but probably luckily, the rest of the series is a no-go. I don't need more series either, really!

[jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)]

Bummers. I don't care for zombie stories, either. You'd think I'd like werewolf stories but so far I've only read Steppenwolf- and that was a long time ago. Just recently I tried a few vampire stories and actually liked some, so maybe I just haven't found the right quality/type of the others...

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I like the idea of werewolves, I just find so few stories that handle them well. There's one werewolf book I liked, Blood and Chocolate, it's in my to read pile for a reread. Soon!

Vampire stories work even less often for me, and I try fewer of them since Twilight became such a popular thing. I like the idea of them, though not as much as I do werewolves.

[jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)]

The vampire ones I liked were Sunshine by Robin McKinley and Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed them. I've got a few more in my TBR pile now. Not at all interested in Twilight or anything akin to that!

[hamsterwoman]

With Wool, I really liked the first story (though, yeah, for the twist more than anything, so not sure it would hold up well on a reread for me either), was not very impressed with the second story at all. The ones after that actually did get a bit more interesting, though I think #1 was still my favorite.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I got a few pages into the third one, but the second one had soured me, so I gave up on it fast. Maybe one day I'll go back to it... but NOT reread the first two again before I do. :P

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

I am sad to hear that about Wool, I had read the graphic novel version (my brother gave it to me, and I didn't know there was a proper book version WHICH IS HILARIOUS GIVEN ORANGEFUL'S PEEVES RIGHT ABOVE THIS POST ON MY LIST). I had been thinking about reading the proper book, but I wonder if it would be ruined for me since I know the twists, or if there would be details I didn't get in the graphic version? I'll let you know if I give it a whirl.

UGH, with the zombie one. One of my pet peeves is "people don't act like this, but we really want X to happen, so they're going to do it." The way I hate it the most is "the two people don't talk to each other, even though IN ANY NORMAL AND REASONABLE SITUATION, THESE TWO PEOPLE WOULD TALK TO EACH OTHER."

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Huh, I had no idea there was a graphic novel version, though I'm not surprised. I suspect your case would be like mine, where it was spoiled too much, but hopefully that's wrong and you'll enjoy it if you do read it!

The 'people don't act this way' is SUCH a lazy author thing. Not even just book authors, but TV/movie writers, RPers, everyone. Ugh!

PS: I started my third Stardew farm this week. SEND HELP, CANNOT STOP PLAYING I was going to make this third one a "natural" farm, where you cut down no trees and just farm around nature, but that got boring fast. So instead I decided I'm going to make this a slime farm, where your whole goal is to breed slimes in all the subtle different shades. No/minimal crops, just set up your whole farm area with slime pens.

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

You make me SO HAPPY with your different farms. I love seeing what creative thing you decide to do next! I keep meaning to start another one, but I got sidetracked by a serious jones to play my favorite old eight bit game, Crystalis, and I've been working my way through that. CANNOT REMEMBER WHERE IS BOW OF SUN, MUST ASK INTERNETS.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Third farm plans keep getting thwarted. No farming = no money! No money = no... NOTHING! So I have a few crops, and I'm going to surround my farm with one line of kegs. I wish the slimes would be caught in these screenshots, but NOPE. You'll have to imagine them for now!

Linked for big image. (http://upload.farm/static/images/1BkG4U/1BkG4U-m.png)

Slimes hatch into that top pen, then from there I lead them into the right breeding pen below.

Tis a messy farm still, but it's new. Just the start of the first summer.