read any good books lately...

The only thing that bothered me about the end was the last line of the book.

I haven't read any of them. Usually jointly written fiction books tend to not be my thing so I've avoided them.

The Bioshock: Rapture novel.  It's a prequel to Bioshock and Bioshock 2 and it helps to explain a little bit about the origins or Rapture and how things started to go downhill before the first game.

Last night I finished Neal Stephenson's Anathem - I really enjoyed it, although it was a challenging read up front due to the amount of made up words in it. Definitely fascinating and left me with a lot of questions. I will have to revisit it sometime.

The Truth wrote: Has anybody read The Recognitions by William Gaddis? If so, how was it?

I'm about 400 pages in at the moment. Engrossing, though slightly long winded in places (this factor is not a detract for me). Overall it offers an interesting cultural critic on the art scene (and much more) of that period which differs from much of the literature I've from that era i.e. it doesn't hold it up on a pedestal. Wont say too much until I've finished. 

Finished a couple days ago:

Yummy stuff.

The sequels are much better in my opinion. I think every book gets better. Her limitations as a writer are apparent throughout the series - that doesn't improve. The stories become more compelling when they move outside the simple interactions of the arena. The subsequent novels deal more with grey moral issues in the context of war and desperate situations. There's a strong anti-government vibe after the first novel. It's hard for me to say much without spoiling anything. 

Are they good artistic statements while maintaining a good story line or does her work suffer from her limitations too much?

The Truth wrote: Are they good artistic statements while maintaining a good story line or does her work suffer from her limitations too much?

It's a good story while presenting these issues. You can see though they're made to be presented to young adults just coming to the point of beginning to examine and think about these issues themselves. They're never talked about or debated by characters. They're just there. Any limitations she would have in dealing with them do not manifest as a result. Reading it makes a good story. It's nothing that will have you lying in bed thinking about while you read. It's a novel you zip through in a few hours.

It's probably great for kids. For adults I think it's fun and worth the few hours it takes to read the whole series.