Ann’s Comments (group member since Dec 20, 2013)

Ann’s comments from the CPL's Book a Week Challenge group.

I tried to watch the first season of Game of Thrones, but 10 minutes into the first episode I realized that I am going to have to read the books first, to be able to keep track of who is who.

I have several mystery series that I love: Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series, Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope series, Donna Andrews' Meg Lanslow series (set in VA- somewhere near Yorktown).
There are several series on their list that I am interested in reading, but the only two that I've read are Janet Evanovich (and I ran out of steam about book 8) and Sylvia Day (love her Crossfire series- very well written).

I'm continuing my Anita Blake binge, and am now up to Hit List. I also read Saga vols 1-4 (in one day), but noticed that there doesn't seem to be a vol. 5, at least not yet. Do they not have a regular release date? They can't end it there.
Not sure what I'll read next. Probably one of the David Mitchell books I checked out.

I finished The Martian. It was awesome! I read it in one day (stayed up until 12:30 finishing it). Not sure what to read next.

I'll let you know what I think when I read the book. It might be a while, I want to read his books in order (yup, I'm OCD that way).

I didn't see this in the lists, so I posted in last week's. I finished Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and am now reading Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton. Next up is The Martian by Andy Weir, and then a couple of Netgalley books (that I hope to be able to load onto my Nook, so I don't have to read them on the laptop).
I was online last night and came across an interesting talk that Neil Gaiman and David Mitchell gave last month. It was fascinating listening to them both talk about story and writing and everything. Of course, now that means I have to read David Mitchell's books. :)

I finished reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and am now reading Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton. I had to turn The Heir in, so haven't read that, but I now have The Martian by Andy Weir out, so I'll probably read that next. After that I think I'll read Guarded by Mary Behre (the first book was really good and set in the Tidewater area, and I know the author). Not sure what I'll read after that.

It does lead to a case of what happened in which book, I'm almost tempted to keep a list and add which characters were added where.

I went on a bit of a book binge last week/this past weekend. I finished The Laughing Corpse and went on to read Circus of the Damned, The Lunatic Café, Bloody Bones, The Killing Dance, and am halfway through Burnt Offerings. I've got a couple of books checked out and I'll probably read those next: The Heir by Kiera Cass and Good Omens and Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman.

So far I have read Guilty Pleasures for the Summer Reading Challenge and am now reading The Laughing Corpse. Not sure what I'll read next.

Joanna wrote: "Cami wrote: "Mercedes Lackey has a whole series of twisted fairy tales."

I have always been curious about Mercedes Lackey. Have you read her books? Are they good? For her twisted fairy tales seri..."

I've read all of her Elemental Masters series (the latest- From a High Tower- is a take on Goldilocks), and enjoyed them. She also has a series called the Five Hundred Kingdoms, which also are retakes of fairy tales- the first is The Fairy Godmother. It's been a while since I read them, and I haven't read all of them, but I enjoy her writing and her storytelling.

I finished The Annotated Sandman, vol. 2, and must now wait because we do not have The Annotated Sandman, vol. 3 (and vol. 4 does not appear to be out yet). I have put in a request for it. I also requested we purchase the audio for Ready Player One, narrated by Will Wheaton).
I also finished From a High Tower, by Mercedes Lackey (and enjoyed it).
I checked out Rook by Shannon Cameron and will read that next. I have a couple of requests on NetGalley, but need to pull out the laptop to load Adobe onto my Nook, and keep getting sidetracked. After that, I'm not sure what to read next, maybe a nonfiction binge.

I finished Vol. 1 of the Annotated Sandman, which was awesome, and have started Vol. 2. As to the favorite author publishing new books- Mercedes Lackey has one just out, From a High Tower, a retelling of Goldilocks, and Laurell K. Hamilton has a new one out tomorrow, Dead Ice.

I read Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones, and then yesterday I read Murder on Amsterdam Avenue by Victoria Thompson. Both were great books, in really good series. Emma (now at IR) got me signed up on NetGalley, and I've got the new Mercedes Lackey to read there, and I was thinking of checking out Sandman by Neil Gaiman (he and Amanda Palmer were the guest editors for The New Statesman this month, which looks interesting).
As far as audio, I've still got Cocaine Blues to listen to, and then not sure what to get. Maybe see if Ann Perry's mysteries are on audio.

I thought it was good, very well written. I think I might have to reread it after a while; I'm sure there were things I missed the first time. I'm really enjoy his writing, even his essays and short stories.

I was on vacation last week, so I didn't do a lot of reading. I finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and read The Ocean at the End of the Lane also by him. I listened to The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King on my trip, and finished listening to it last night after I got home. I came in today and had 14th Deadly Sin waiting for me, so I'll read that next, and I have Cocaine Blues on audio checked out, so I can listen to that in the car and at home (since I am currently without cable for my tv).

That is really cool. I think I'm going to have to join Twitter (not for that, lots of my friends are on Twitter and I seem to be missing a lot of interesting conversations.
I'm still listening to Fragile Things, but I might have to go back and read it when I finish American Gods. I've been listening to it during my whirlwind move, and while his voice is very nice to listen to, I found myself missing sections of the stories, and not always knowing when one story ended and the next began. My favorite is the poem "When the Saucers Came".

Or reinvent illuminated manuscripts? Secret libraries?

I finished listening to The Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters. I finished Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman, and loved it. I'm currently reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and just checked out Fragile Things to listen to, also by Neil Gaiman (read by the author).

I would like to be able to say I would memorize The Lord of the Rings, but I'm not sure I could memorize it. But I could memorize one or two of Shakespeare's plays perhaps, or a book of poetry. In high school, I had to memorize the first 18 lines of the Prologue to Canterbury Tales (in Middle English), and in college I had to memorize 50 lines of Shakespeare (2 speeches and a sonnet).
I finished listening to Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and am now listening to The Harlequin by Laurel K. Hamilton (at home), and The Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (in the car). I'm currently between books, but am going to check out Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman and read that.