What are you reading in June '15?

[Lára]

Heather wrote: "Lára wrote: "Reading/studying:
Stara indijska književnost by Radoslav Katičić

also reading, for exercise:
Лутка by болецлав Прус

Reading, for fun:
The Plague, Albert Camus"

Camus..."

Thank you. Really fascinated by it so far. ~
I´ve read some books by him and his The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is one of my four ultimate favourite books!

(other three:
Demian by Hermann Hesse,
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre, and
The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat )- all highly recommended! (only books I actually recommend to people) ^^

[Blake]

Just finished Steven Erikson's Memories of Ice, it was absolutely fantastic. Taking a break from Malazan before I start House of Chains.

Currently reading James S. A. Corey's 5th Expanse book Nemesis Games. It is science fiction as opposed to Fantasy but I really enjoy the series.

On Audiobook (I listen to and from work everyday) I've started Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Listening to the first one Storm Front right now.

Next up is Terry Pratchett's first two books which happen to be this month's book club choices.

After that back to Malazan!

[Amy]

Maarit wrote: "Amy: I've read almost all of Mieville's books and liked almost all of them and for me Looking for Jake and Other Stories has been the weakest of his works so far, but King Rat beats it for sure. Th..."

Ah, Embassytown has been my favourite so far. It's not a cheerful book, but then I'm not sure Mieville writes those! In fact, my partner also read it after me, and he's just sent our copy to one of his friends, so it's one I'd definitely recommend!

[David]

War of the Dwarves by Markus Heitz and finding it hard going at he moment

[Shadowdenizen]

David wrote: "War of the Dwarves by Markus Heitz and finding it hard going at he moment"

Stick with it!
I love that series!

[[deleted user]]

Shari Kay wrote: "I'm thinking old school, wanna read at least the Chronicles series "

Good idea those books are classics and I've re read them about 3 times.

[Tracey the Lizard Queen]

I finished The Skull Throne a few days ago, loved it, but it ended on a cliffhanger so I'm patiently waiting for book 5. After that I binged a little at the library and got 1Q84 and The Devil Delivered and Other Tales and Falling Kingdoms and Sharps and A Darker Shade of Magic so trying to cram as much reading in as possible.

[Joseph]

Finished The Birthgrave (flawed but still impressive, especially for a first novel) and started Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski, the most recent Witcher book to get an English-language release.

[Tnkw01]

Finished The Once and Future King back at the First of June and just realized I had not posted anything here. Here’s my review:

A wonderful story but was a little disappointed by a couple of things, the first being the "style" in which the story was written. It started off being a comedic romp through the years that Arthur, or “Wart” as he was affectionately called, was growing up. Then it changed to an almost tragic romance then it change to a philosophical rant about the purpose of man or something of that nature. Anyway, I gave it four stars because of the “Sword in the Stone. This leads to my second disappointment.

T.H. White had a tendency to ramble on and have the story way, way too wordy. The whole book was a great plot but at times I found my mind wondering because it went on and on with flowery “crap” that could have been left out of the story. The long lasting affair was just a tad unbelievable also.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to fantasy lovers.

[Tnkw01]

Finished a really good short story, Fable: Jack of Blades. For anyone that has played Fable or Fable: the lost chapters, this is a must read. It’s only a short story and it does not take long to read at all but the plot twist is really nicely executed (even though you kind of can see it coming). For those that have not played the game, it is still a really nice read for Fantasy readers.

[Mervi]

I finished Valente's book and reserved the next one from the library. It was great!
Currently I'm reading Elizabeth Bear's One-Eyed Jack and listening Griffth's Rift Walker in audio. I really liked the first Vampire Empire book.

[Maarit]

Joseph wrote: "Finished The Birthgrave (flawed but still impressive, especially for a first novel) and started Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski, the most recent Witcher book to get an English-language release. "

I also started to read Kohtalon miekka (Sword of Destiny) by Andrzej Sapkowski yesterday and already read almost 200 pages of it. I read the first one in English, liked it, but the translation felt a bit akward, so for this one I switched to Finnish (my native language) and the quality of the translation is excellent.

We own all the so far Finnish translated books of this series as the sixth book just came out. Also we have three different editions of "The Blood of Elves" (two in English and one in Finnish) and two different editions of "The Last Wish" (English and now also Finnish one). Yeah, the game influenced me to continue the series, I read The Last Wish last year already.

[Shadowdenizen]

What's the "Correct" reading order for the Witcher series?

I read "Blood of Elves" and the "Last Wish"; they got an english translation quite some time ago.

But there's been a plthora of new releases in short order whihc I can't keep track of...

[Joseph]

Shadowdenizen wrote: "What's the "Correct" reading order for the Witcher series?

I read "Blood of Elves" and the "Last Wish"; they got an english translation quite some time ago.

But there's been a plthora of new rele..."

1. Last Wish
2. Sword of Destiny
(These are both short-story collections)
3. Blood of Elves
4. Time of Contempt
5. Baptism of Fire
(All novels; this is the extent of the official English-language releases at this point)
6. The Swallow's Tower (due out in 2016)
7. The Lady of the Lake (due out in 2017)

My understanding is that the games take place after the end of the 7th book.

[Shadowdenizen]

Awesome!
This helps alot! :)

[Joseph]

Shadowdenizen wrote: "Awesome!
This helps alot! :)"

Great! Oh, one complication: The English Sword of Destiny has been released in eBook, but I don't think there'll be a physical version until maybe December? Me, I'm reading on my Kindle, so it's not a problem.

I do enjoy the books. The translation might be a bit imperfect sometimes, but I really like the Eastern European feel that comes through in the books.

Eventually, probably when the 7th book comes out, I need to sit down and reread the entire series straight through.

[Warren]

I've been reading a few novels.

I'm listening to Stephen King's 11/22/63 (I think that's the title). Excellent reader. The book is going long (WAY long), but the actor is so good at portraying everything that it doesn't feel long while listening.

Joe Abercombie's Half a King. This is my first foray into Joe's writing, and so far, it's been good. I don't feel it's any "darker" than other works, perhaps not high fantasy, but it's certainly not "dark". I choose it because it's only around 350 pages and I wanted something short and quick (for me who's chronically slow). I like his character(s) and the story has moved along briskly. I'm not sure I'll jump into another of Joe's books, at least not immediately, but I certainly wouldn't avoid him.

wf

[Shadowdenizen]

FINALLY finished Rising Son in my effort to (re)read the entire Star Trek: Deep Space Nine realunch.

THis book dragged, and really reminded me of why I hated Jake Sisko for 7 seasons and a handful of books.

But, the next books (The Left Hand of Destiny: Book One) is about Klingons, so things might be looking up!

[Tnkw01]

Finished Perdido Street Station here is my review. ** spoiler alert ** There was so many things to really like about this book. It is very original. It could fit into so many genres, like Science Fiction, Fantasy, Steampunk, Weird Fiction, Urban Fantasy and Horror.

There are things to not like about this book also. An example is the fascination with bad odors. The city has stench, is putrid, smells like rotting flesh, has vile odors.....ok, ok, I get the city stinks.

Another area I didn't like was the over the top description about scenes. An example is toward the end when the group only has 43 minutes to get things wired. It seemed to takes hours. Get on with it.

Finally I didn't like Grimnebulin's decision to turn his back on his friend Yagharek. Ok, so punishment was delivered. If flight is restored that does not mean punishment was not delivered. Just disagreed with it.

[Joseph]

I finished Sword of Destiny and started a very rare (for me, at least) nonfiction book: Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music by Rob Young, a history of British folk and folk rock music.

(Which I started reading because I heard it mentioned on a podcast about Elizabeth Hand's forthcoming Wylding Hall.)

[Lára]

I´m still at The Plague and I bought The Eden Prophecy today so I´m starting this one. It seems it´s a trilogy but I haven´t read the 1st two books so I´m intrigued :)

Our book of month, The Colour of Magic, is neither available in the library (out atm) nor I could find it in the bookstore (I don´t do internet purchase myself but my bookstore do it for me) so I have to wait to continue, since I´ve started it some time ago but placed it on hold and then had to return it :(

and really "dying" to read The Witch of Babylon but this one is out too, so have to wait again. I own the 2nd book, The Book of Stolen Tales and I liked this one very much!

The sad thing is that my favourite (local) bookstore is currently not ordering anything new and I was the one who was ordering new books from them every month. They´ve been ordering books for me for 10+ years and now they don´t do it because of finantional problems. I´m so sad because I don´t like ebooks and have never bought one (or the paper one) myself over the net :(

[Shadowdenizen]

That's an interesting topic...

Sorry to hear about your local bookstor ; it's sadly a sign of the times.

While I have several bookstores that I patronize fairly close by (one B+N and a couple of indy stores, as well as a gaming store), I've found myself moving more and more to digital books. (Primarly due to storage space being at a premium in my small apartment, but also due to price differences.)

For existing series I've started in physical form, I always try to get the whole series in print form. BUt for new series, unless it's someting I want to display on my shelves as a collector, I'm generally happy to have the digital/ebook version.

[Joseph]

I'm incredibly lucky -- I live within walking distance (well, a 40 minute walk, plus or minus) of Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore, which I've been patronizing for the past -- oh, good heavens, almost 25 years. These days I buy primarily eBooks, but I do try to get to Hugo's at least every month or two to purchase some physical books.

[Lára]

Shadowdenizen wrote: "That's an interesting topic...

Sorry to hear about your local bookstor ; it's sadly a sign of the times.

While I have several bookstores that I patronize fairly close by (one B+N and a couple of ..."

Yeah, sad it is. I can´t even describe how much I´m mourning it. I´m a collector myself. I have over thousand of books and the funny thing is that I enjoy having more than one editon of every book I´ve ever liked.

I also like to buy a complete set of the authors I once read and fancied, so I have complete Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Hesse (also N. Gaiman).

I have many editions of Dracula since you can find lots of mistakes in different editions and that´s a fun thing for me to discover, because I like to re/read this book.

As well like to order editions according to their colour since I place books in that order and really enjoy doing so.

Anyway, I enjoy holding a book in my hand and smelling the paper so much that I think I´ll be very depressed if my bookstore (the only international one we have) stop ordering new books. I´ve learned it two days ago when I asked about my orders (I ordered two books a month ago) and they said this is the last order. Such a dreadful words :(

[Shadowdenizen]

HP Lovecraft (and assciated Mythos authors) are generally the only titles I get with multiple covers/editions, for mostly the same reasons you described.

Good luck with your book dilemma, though; it may be time to visit some online retailers. I prefer brick and mortar stores whenever possibly for physical books, and, Yes, Amazon is a huge conglomerate, but they ARE relatively easy to deal with.

[Heather]

Lára wrote: "Heather wrote: "Lára wrote: "Reading/studying:
Stara indijska književnost by Radoslav Katičić

also reading, for exercise:
Лутка by болецлав Прус

Reading, for fun:
The Plague, Albe..."

My favorite Camus was Resistance, Rebellion and Death: Essays. It's a collection of essays.

[Lára]

Heather wrote: "My favorite Camus was Resistance, Rebellion and Death: Essays. It's a collection of essays. "

^^ going to my to read list.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

You could order from other companies if you'd rather avoid Amazon. I don't have an indy seller but I sometimes order heavier paperbacks from our chain, Waterstones. They do free postage and I don't have to carry it :). I generally read kindles but this year seem to have a lot of paperbacks, and no room to put them! Malazan 4 is my current, heavy, paperback read.

[Michele]

Heirs of Grace was a fun little urban fantasy about a young woman who inherits a house from a mysterious old man and learns about magic. Really interesting style for me - extremely contemporary and conversational all the way through. If you're a Kindle Unlimited customer, free to read and listen - the narrator was great.

Next I read The Umbrella Conspiracy, a Resident Evil tie-in novel (I didn't even realize these existed). Wow, was that a flashback to hours spend gripping a controller until my hands cramped. Fun and silly, definitely keeping these in mind for when I need something light.

I just finished Flex, which was good, not great. Really cool magic system, but a little too on-the-nose with it's social commentary. Overall though it was good.

Now I'm reading Reflections in the Nile a time-travel romance. I'm a sucker for ancient Egypt.

[Joseph]

Michele wrote: "Now I'm reading Reflections in the Nile a time-travel romance. I'm a sucker for ancient Egypt. ..."

If you do mysteries, you might check out the Lord Meren series by Lynda S. Robinson, beginning with Murder in the Place of Anubis.

[Alissa]

Just finished reading Daughter of the Empire and loved every second of it! Intrigue in a very layered society full of traditions and laws.
I've already started with Servant of the Empire and the stage is widening, totally eager to keep reading. Coming from Janny Wurts' solo works I can see her hand very well! I've never read Feist before, but I will read the Riftwar Saga, absolutely!
The main character, Mara, is very engaging, not a whimpering wallflower nor a violent chick in chainmail. So refreshing!

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I came the opposite route. Read Feist then loved these and thought I'd check out Janny. Wierdly, I never checked out the other partners in his later collaborations.

[Sumant]

Alissa wrote: "Just finished reading Daughter of the Empire and loved every second of it! Intrigue in a very layered society full of traditions and laws.
I've already started with [book:Servant of t..."

I have read all the three books, this series is really good.Also I am astonished that feist and wurts did not collaborate further for more projects.

[Alissa]

Helen wrote: "I came the opposite route. Read Feist then loved these and thought I'd check out Janny. Wierdly, I never checked out the other partners in his later collaborations."

What did you read first of Wurts after Empire? This collaboration reads so smoothly! I'm very very happy I've picked this one :)

[Governor]

Hi everyone.
I finished The Slow regard of silent things. You are welcome to read my extended review but in short: Book is very meh but has some interesting scenes/ aspects.
So now I am left with A Dance with dragons and the way of shadows. Both very gripping if you survive the first 300 pages.

But now to my problem with which I don't know where to go. I preordered mark Lawrences The Liar's Key. The limited and signed edition. I thought I could grant me a little something. So yesterday I got it in the mail and absolutely love it. BUT Mark wrote my name in the dedication wrong. On the package it says "Schläfli" but in the book he wrote Schäfli wich is kind of funny because it means sheep in swissgerman which also is on our family crest. Should I just don't say anything, or should I contact him (how)..
I am a huge fan and don't want to seem ungrateful or burden him with such minor problems...

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Alissa wrote: "Helen wrote: "I came the opposite route. Read Feist then loved these and thought I'd check out Janny. Wierdly, I never checked out the other partners in his later collaborations."

What did you rea..."

I think it was Sorcerer's Legacy but I read the lot.

[Alissa]

Helen wrote: "I think it was Sorcerer's Legacy but I read the lot."

Ehehe, me too, loved Sorcerer's Legacy, I can see why it was the book which started the collaboration between Wurts and Feist. There is a female protagonist and a Machiavellian turn of intrigue but the only similarity between Mara (Empire) and Elienne (S. Legacy) is that they are women, first, not men in skirts.

I would absolutely recommend it for a fast read. Particularly for readers who liked The Empire Trilogy,the standalones are a fine entry point to Wurts work. I've also liked The Master of White Storm (sword & sorcery with a psychological twist) and one of my favorites ever, To Ride Hell’s Chasm (mystery, two male leads, court intrigue swinging into intense action), which was my first Wurts book.

I've read all the officially-available English books by Andrzej Sapkowski, in the reading order Joseph suggested. Loved the Witcher Saga, very dark.

I'm really undecided about what to read after Empire. I've narrowed my list down to Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1), The Way Into Chaos (The Great Way #1), The Library at Mount Char and Uprooted, but not sure...different kind of books, any recommendation?

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Uprooted looks good. I liked the Penryn series, very quick reads, bit YA.

[Shadowdenizen]

All good choices!
It depends on what you're in the mood for, as each book is from a different subgenre.

Feeling for a fairy-tale-esque adventure? Try Uprooted. (Got rave reviews, but haven't really looked at it myself.)

THough I'm not a fan of military fantasy/sci-fi, I did quite like the Great Way series.

Angelfall was also quite a good example of the paranormal YA genre; it managed to transcned some of the barriers that normally curtail that genre.

[Alissa]

Uh well, I'm a huge fan of military fantasy but yes, I was thinking about reading something different, paranormal YA or a fairytale may be the thing, I'm having a very busy period and struggling to give Empire the attention and time it deserves, so for my upcoming reads I think books that can cope with an erratic reading schedule will work best...but at the same time I'm not not looking for totally fluffy stuff (I'm keeping the light reads for the beach umbrella, or the office if I'm forced to spend August here).

Uprooted and Angelfall then. Thank you for your help!

[Amy]

I've just finished Leviathan Wakes, which was fun but darker than I'd expected. The title also kinda threw me, because I didn't notice a single reference to a leviathan anywhere in the book! I'll probably pick up the next book, though, because I'm interested to know where the story goes next.

Now I'm moving on to The Ships of Merior. I don't usually read each volume of a long fantasy series in such quick succession, but I think I'll enjoy this one more if I can remember what happened in the last one!

[TS]

Listening to Prince of Fools now. Tim Gerard Reynolds narration of Prince Jalan is perfection and absolutely cracks me up. Really having a lot of fun with this one.. really liked this cowardly but lovable protagonist.

[Em Lost In Books]

Am reading Theft of Swords and River of Stars.

[Jasprit]

Ian wrote: "Just finished Blood song by Anthony Ryan. One word, WOW. Now I'm starting on Half a King by Abercrombie."

I'm re-reading Blood Song as well. It really is an amazing book. Gotta finish this and the Tower Lord before Queen of Fire that's coming out soon.

[Alissa]

TS wrote: "Listening to Prince of Fools now. Tim Gerard Reynolds narration of Prince Jalan is perfection and absolutely cracks me up. Really having a lot of fun with this one.. really liked t..."

It gets better and better ihmo!

[Alissa]

Amy wrote: "Now I'm moving on to The Ships of Merior. I don't usually read each volume of a long fantasy series in such quick succession, but I think I'll enjoy this one more if I can remember what happened in the last one!"

Great choice Amy! Letting too much time pass between installments at this earlier point spoils the effect of the 'layer of abstraction' that readers should hold to 'recall' the past events and get the unveilings. I'll never tire of marveling at the design of this series.
We could open a thread like last time, it was much fun and for me also a great excuse to go back to the book :D

I'm about to start Mistress of the Empire, this trilogy came as a great surprise indeed :D

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I read Wurts series back to back, then when I thought it was finished read it all back to back again. I'm waiting for the last few books before I do it again, don't like leaving it undone.

[Mili]

Just finished Before They Are Hanged, really loved it!

Reading something in between now, Written in Red. Don't expect anything deep with these kind of books, I do like the paranormal world. So hopefully it will bring some entertainment =) So far its good and reads smoothly~

[Margret]

I've been doing lots of audiobooks lately. Percy Jackson, Station Eleven, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, now listening to The Way of Shadows on Hoopla :)

[Joseph]

Finished Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music and am back to the genre with The Golden Age of Weird Fiction MEGAPACK TM, Vol. 4: Nictzin Dyalhis.