Marcus' Alphabetical Adventure (low octane by title)

[Ava Catherine]

On J and K already! You are reading like the devil is at your back! haha! Congratulations on completing so many books on your list. ; )

[Marcus]

Connie wrote: "On J and K already! You are reading like the devil is at your back! haha! Congratulations on completing so many books on your list. ; )"

Ha yeah it has been a whirlwind so far...I also noticed that I have a growing stack of TBR books on my literal shelf at home that have been neglected as they don't fit into my alphabet plans. So, I might be taking a break from the alphabet since I'm a little ahead to clear off my home shelf a bit.

[Marcus]

Finished: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Interesting read but not exactly my cup of tea so to speak. But that's the beauty of the challenges...I generally pick things that wouldn't necessarily be at the top of my personal list and then experience new and different stuff.

Continuing with: Knife of Dreams which so far seems to be typical Robert Jordan fare

Starting: Last Argument of Kings to finish this trilogy that handily has been in alphabetical order :)

[jaxnsmom]

Marcus wrote: "Starting: Last Argument of Kings to finish this trilogy that handily has been in alphabetical order :)"

It's as though the author knew about the alphabet challenge :)

[Marcus]

Finished: Knife of Dreams and I'm excited to be finally approaching Tar'mon Gai'don after countless thousands of pages thus far in the Wheel of Time series.

Looking forward to what Brandon Sanderson can do with it.

Currently reading: Last Argument of Kings for the alphabet challenge and about to start Hammer of the Gods for the April challenge

[Ava Catherine]

Marcus, sounds like you are really in the swing of things. (with the Hammer of the Gods and all! lol)

Sorry, couldn't help myself!

Great work!

[Janice, Moderator]

He's really pounding them out, isn't he? Hehehehe!

[Esther]

Marcus wrote: "Finished: Knife of Dreams and I'm excited to be finally approaching Tar'mon Gai'don after countless thousands of pages thus far in the Wheel of Time series.

Looking forward to what Brandon Sanders..."

I read them all the series but the last one (waiting for the paperback). I really liked Sanderson's WOT books. He did a great job adapting his style to the story. You are in for a treat.

[Marcus]

Thanks for the encouragement and the hammer puns ;)

Esther, thanks for making me excited for the rest of WoT. It has been a long haul but I can see the end looming.

[Marcus]

Done with: Last Argument of Kings

That was a pretty fun trilogy so I'm sorry to see it come to an end. Now to decide what to read for "M". I have a stack of books that have accumulated this year on my shelf however, so I might need to take a break from the alphabet for a while and knock some of those off.

[Janice, Moderator]

I've never read any of Joe Abercrombie and was looking at The First Law series earlier this week trying to decide if I should indulge.

[Marcus]

Janice wrote: "I've never read any of Joe Abercrombie and was looking at The First Law series earlier this week trying to decide if I should indulge."

I would recommend it if you tend to enjoy the more gritty fantasy series such as "A Song of Ice and Fire" and "The Malazan Book of the Fallen". And if you have not read either of those series, I def recommend them.

Marcus

[Esther]

Marcus wrote: "Janice wrote: "I've never read any of Joe Abercrombie and was looking at The First Law series earlier this week trying to decide if I should indulge."

I would recommend it if you tend to enjoy the..."

Abercrombie is in my to try list, the 1st Malazan is my E author in my alphabet challenge. I really look forward to these. I am kind of stuck in the 4th "Song of Ice and Fire" book. It is easy to put down and I rarely pick it up.

[Janice, Moderator]

I will definitely give it a try then. :)

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I watched an interview with him as well on The Sword and Laser and he went on my list. Glad you liked him Marcus.

And as Lexx's favourite fantasy series are ASoIaF and Malazan, I may have to source them for him. Although in a few months, he's a bit daunted by all the books I got him for his birthday at the moment. Actually speaking of which, one of those was The Forge of Darkness which looks like Erikson's new series in case you haven't heard of it.

[AmyK]

I had a hard time with the 4th song of Ice and Fire book too Esther..I have the 5th coming up as my M book in my alphabet. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is on my to-read list as well....just can never find the time to start them. Guess Ill have to put them a bit higher on my reading list now..

[Marcus]

Yeah I have purchased The Forge of Darkness and will probably take a break from the alphabet for a while to get that and a few other books on my shelf at home taken care of :)

[Janice, Moderator]

Ooooh, another intriguing fantasy! I've added it to my wishlist.

[Marcus]

After a brief hiatus from the alphabet challenge to read other things, I'm back at it and have finished The Mauritius Command which was great and am now starting:

N- Neverwinter

and

O- The Order of Deacons

[Sarah]

I've just added The First Law and Malazan series to my TBR - you all made them sound great.

[Marcus]

Finsihed: Neverwinter which was ok compared to other books in that series

Working on: The Order of Deacons which is a really interesting 3 in 1 omnibus set in a world that is a blend of classic and urban fantasy

Soon to start: Pandora's Star for a little change of pace with some scifi

[Marcus]

Finished: The Order of Deacons and Pandora's Star :)

On to my Q book:

Quicker Than the Eye

[Marcus]

Well, I've been traveling around a lot and have been doing some casual summer reading to chip away at my TBR list. Only now have I returned to the alphabet challenge and am reading a duo of scifi books that I am really enjoying:

Quicker Than the Eye and Rendezvous with Rama

should finish soon and then it's on to something with an S

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Glad you're enjoying Rendezvous with Rama, Marcus. I've had that recommended to me a few times this month.

[Marcus]

Rusalka wrote: "Glad you're enjoying Rendezvous with Rama, Marcus. I've had that recommended to me a few times this month."

Yeah I knew it was a bit of classic scifi and wasn't entirely sure what to expect. It is an awe filled easy reading story that isn't too long. I really like it so far and will def plan to read more by the author.

[Marcus]

Finished Q+R: Quicker Than the Eye and Rendezvous with Rama

On to S and sticking with scifi for now:

Sisterhood of Dune

[Cherie]

Marcus wrote: "Finished Q+R: Quicker Than the Eye and Rendezvous with Rama

On to S and sticking with scifi for now:

Sisterhood of Dune"

Is Brian Herbert Frank's son? Can't wait to see what you say about this new book. Will you read the next?

[Marcus]

Is Brian Herbert Frank's son?

Yeah Brian is his son...He has written several other installments in the Dune world including a trilogy about the Butlerian Jihad and a trilogy immediately preceding the original story. I really liked the Butlerian trilogy and Sisterhood takes place about 80 years after that. I'm about 30% through the story so far and I really like it so yeah I'll probably read the next one. I am a big Dune nerd though so you have to take that into account :-)

[Cherie]

We all have our nerdy nitches. I read all of the early Dune books, but never kept track of any later story lines. It is hard to keep up with everything and there are always so many great new reads being thrown out to us. I might give the new ones a try.

[Marcus]

Finished: Sisterhood of Dune which was pretty entertaining.

Starting: Towers of Midnight to get myself one step closer to the end of The Wheel of Time. I have A Memory of Light waiting on the shelf which may take me away from the alphabet for a minute and then I'll have to finally settle on a U book.

Any suggestions?

[Marcus]

Finished: Towers of Midnight

Still undecided about a U book so I'm taking an alphabet break for a bit...

[Janice, Moderator]

You are really making headway, Mark. A little break won't hurt.

[Cherie]

Darn GR! I have some titles for you, Marcus, but I think GR is having a problem. Probably too many people on line. I cannot update my status and it will not let me add book/author. Will try again tomorrow, if this post goes. Been a long day at work anyway.

[Travis]

yeah U is a bitch

[Marcus]

Cherie wrote: "Darn GR! I have some titles for you, Marcus, but I think GR is having a problem. Probably too many people on line. I cannot update my status and it will not let me add book/author. Will try aga..."

Great! Can't wait to see what you have to recommend. Thanks

[Cherie]

Marcus - I still am having trouble, but I can at least write the titles.

These are from my TBR list:
Under the Never Sky by Rossi, Veronica (this is my U read and I cannot wait to get to it, but it may be too "chick lit" for you.)
Ulysses by Joyce, James (ugh - might be my last choice if I had anything else - don't tell Janice I said that.)
Unaccustomed Earth by Lahiri, Jhumpa (might be more your style).
Uncommon Criminals by Carter, Ally
Under A Wild Sky: John James and... by Souder, William
Under the Dome King, Stephen (are you a King fan?)
Unforgotten Coat by Boyce, Frank Coti
The Unlikley Pin by Joyed, Rachael
Up the Line by Silverberg, Robert (I think this is sci-fi)
From my Read list:
Uhura's Song by Kagan, Janet (this is one of the early Star Trek books. I loved it so much I wore it out reading it and it fell appart.)
Un Lun Dun by Mieville, China (interesting story - my introduction to Steampunk. Quick read)
Uncle Tom's Cabin classic :o)
Up in a Heaval (Xanth #26) by Anthony, Piers
Up the Down Staircase by Kaufman, Bel (funny, great read!)

[Marcus]

Thanks for the great suggestions....I have read Ulysses years ago and that was not a lot of fun I must say. Under the Dome I have read and I loved...I have read pretty much everything by King at this point (including Joyland which is great). I'm sure that there are many great stories there that I will have to check out but I think my official U book will be:

Uhura's Song

given your strong recommendation :)

[Cherie]

Marcus wrote: "Thanks for the great suggestions....I have read Ulysses years ago and that was not a lot of fun I must say. Under the Dome I have read and I loved...I have read pretty much everything by King at t..."

I hope you like it!

[Janice, Moderator]

Cherie wrote: "Ulysses by Joyce, James (ugh - might be my last choice if I had anything else - don't tell Janice I said that.)..."

LOL! It was A Song for Arbonne that I loved. I've never read Ulysses. I'm not sure I would ever attempt it.

[Marcus]

LOL! It was A Song for Arbonne that I loved. I've never read Ul..."

Wonderful book....everything that I've read by Guy Gavriel Kay is great. It's like a combination of fantasy and poetry...kinda like what Bradbury does to scifi but more involved

[Cherie]

Marcus wrote: "LOL! It was A Song for Arbonne that I loved. I've never read Ul..."

Wonderful book....everything that I've read by Guy Gavriel Kay is great. It's like a combination of fantasy and poetry...kind..."

I do not know what rock I have been under, but I have never heard of this book nor read anything by Mr. Kay, I just checked. The book is NOW on my list and if I decide to read "by the alphabet" agin, this will be my 1st choice for A. Thanks Janice and Marcus!

[Janice, Moderator]

Ooops! Okay, this is embarrassing! I meant to say that it was The Song of Achilles, not A Song for Arbonne. However.... I read Arbonne years ago and remember really enjoying it.

See, when Cherie said "Ulysses by Joyce, James (ugh - might be my last choice if I had anything else - don't tell Janice I said that.)...", I was thinking The Iliad because I can't read. Obviously!

Okay. Stop laughing. And pass the wine.

[Sarah]

Lol Janice! The Song of Achilles has been on my TBR for ages. I really must get round to reading it.

[Janice, Moderator]

When you do read it Sarah, there is a discussion thread somewhere in the Group Reads. We read it as a group a few months back and had a very lively discussion.

[Sarah]

Janice wrote: "When you do read it Sarah, there is a discussion thread somewhere in the Group Reads. We read it as a group a few months back and had a very lively discussion."

Thanks Janice. I'll keep that in mind.

[Marcus]

Please do check out Kay...he is a great writer. I recommend:
Tigana and The Lions of al-Rassan in particular

[Marcus]

Just finished my U book: Uhura's Song

About to start: Valentine's Rising which is the fourth book in the Vampire Earth series, a post-apocalyptic series that I discovered and fell in love with this Summer.

[Marcus]

Finished: Valentine's Rising

Starting: Warbreaker by one of my favorite fantasy authors: Brandon Sanderson

[jaxnsmom]

Wow, you are so close to finishing, that's great!

[Marcus]

jaxnsmom wrote: "Wow, you are so close to finishing, that's great!"

Thanks! It seemed like an almost impossible goal this year with all of the other books I've read in between my alphabet books but it looks like I'll finish the challenge after all :)