Random Musings.. Showing 451-500 of 1,161

[Scott]

that's awesome!

[Mark]

Very nice Kat.

[Kat]

Now I just need more books, hehe.

[Sky]

Nice pillow books :)

[Kat]

Thank you :)
They cost me an arm and a leg in shipping and customs from the US, but I felt I needed them for my reading sofas once the shelving was ordered.

[Peter]

Wow, those shelves are classy!

[Dara]

Wow those are awesome shelves. Now fill them up!

[Scott]

Didn't even notice the book pillows until someone mentioned them! Kick ass

[Kat]

Out of interest:

Has anyone read anything by Ian Irvine?

He's one of my favourite authors, and I want someone to get excited about his upcoming new book with me.

[Mark]

I have been thinking of giving him ago later this year. An author i seem to have missed over the years.

[Kat]

I think Rob read Geomancer but wasn't impressed much.

Most of his books are set in the same universe, but not at the same time, so there's a few hundred years between sets. But I like to read them in sequence, because some races are long-lived and people turn up again in books further down the storyline. And one supporting character is pretty much indesctructible and keeps coming back from the dead....

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Kat wrote: "I think Rob read Geomancer but wasn't impressed much."

That is correct. Pretty interesting premise, but did not enjoy the execution. I don't think I found a single character likable, which is typically a deal breaker for me. I have the next 3 books in that series on CD (got free review copies) and I had even ripped book 2, but I can't make myself want to continue.

The narrator was good, and helped me get through it, but it was a slog for me.

[Mark]

Kat wrote: "I think Rob read Geomancer but wasn't impressed much.

Most of his books are set in the same universe, but not at the same time, so there's a few hundred years between sets. But I lik..."

Kat which series should i start with?

[Kat]

The View from the Mirror quartet. The first one is called A Shadow on the Glass.

I think Geomancer (the first of the following The Well of Echoes quartet) is not a good starting point, because you're not being given enough background to care about people or the war.

By the time I got to Geomancer after the View from the Mirror, I was already emotionally invested in the world.

[Mark]

Kat wrote: "The View from the Mirror quartet. The first one is called A Shadow on the Glass.

I think Geomancer (the first of the following The Well of Echoes quartet) is not a good starting poi..."


Thank you.

[Scott]

Real life version of Patrick Rothfuss' game Tak has a Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

Looks pretty cool, think I'll be donating. Happy to support him

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I'm a big tabletop gamer, but I think Tak is only 2 players. I don't see myself ever being able to play it. Kind of cool, but I'll be passing on it.

[Scott]

I'm hoping it'll be something fun for my girlfriend and I to play together.

[Sky]

Rob wrote: "I'm a big tabletop gamer, but I think Tak is only 2 players. I don't see myself ever being able to play it. Kind of cool, but I'll be passing on it."

I have to opposite problem - I don't have any IRLF's that play tabletop games, so I am always looking for good 2 player games that I can play with my wife. Once my son is old enough we can upgrade to 3 player games. haha.

We are still waiting btw - today is the due date but looks like he'll be late.

On a positive note, my wife has been reading a lot more - she read the last 3 S&L picks and is reading Johnathon Strange & Mr. Norrell now. Now if I can just get her to join goodreads :D

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Well, game night is once a month and I'm lucky enough to have 6-8 most months. The downside is I never get to play games for 5 or less, which includes several of my favorites. I cant remember the last time I played a 2 player game though.

[Dara]

I'm also on the lookout for good 2 person tabletop games to play with my boyfriend. I borrowed Ascension from a friend of mine to try out.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I've never played it but at least as far as strategy games are concerned, Twilight Struggle is considered the best.

Some personal favorites of mine are more "classics", like Othello (reversi), Cribbage, and Gin Rummy.

[Scott]

There's always the classic chess. I need a new set, mine is missing pieces. I'm sure my cat is to blame

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I'm terrible at chess, but I'm pretty good at Othello and Cribbage.

Or at least, competitive with all the people I've ever played. I'm sure if I played on the internet or something I'd find out I'm not as good as I thought I was. :)

[Peter]

Rob wrote: "I'm sure if I played on the internet or something I'd find out I'm not as good as I thought I was. :)"

I've found this to be true for a lot of things unfortunately...

[Sky]

I'm trying to get my wife to play Go with me but she has no interest. I plan to get my son playing it pretty early on. Of course he'll love it...He'll share all my interests, right? :D

[Bill]

At least until he gets to be a teenager.

[Sky]

Bill wrote: "At least until he gets to be a teenager."

Score! that's 12 years of mold-ability!

[Kat]

I have just realised again how indiscriminately and almost blindly I read books in my youth. Basically, if it had words on a page, I'd read it. I never cared for recommendations or reviews, unless you count random birthday present books as 'recommendations'. I also had almost no access to rec's or reviews, as there was no bookclub or reading program for children/teens where I grew up, and I pretty much dug my way through the YA section of the school library on my own accord.

There was a children's radio programme that reviewed new releases, but it was on at some obscure time when I'd be outside playing, so I never listened to it. However, my Dad knew one of the producers, so they let me have monthly stacks of ARC's that didn't make it into the show. But again, that was the pile that didn't get reviewed before I got it, so I just read whatever was sent my way.

Why am I reminiscing about this?

Because Goodreads just enlightened me that one of my favourite childhood books - Die Kinder der Nachzeit ("Children of the After-Time") - which I must have read at least a dozen times in school, is not a standalone, but the SEQUEL to a book I have never heard of in my life. Granted, the book didn't read like there was something missing at the beginning of the story, but how the F can you love a sequel without reading the preceeding book? Apparently, I can.

Also, I now have to shop for a certain children's book to make sure I get the rest (or the start) of the story. I lived in a cave before Goodreads.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Kat wrote: "I lived in a cave before Goodreads"

lol

[Sky]

My son was born yesterday at 2:50pm. It was the most intense experience of my life. Start to finish from first contraction to him being born a shade under 11 hours. So proud of my wife - she did it with no pain meds, though that was never the plan. I think I'll probably doing a lot more audio books now, but my Oasis just shipped and arrives tomorrow - let's see if it helps my one-handed reading technique :)

[Lindsay]

Congratulations! Best wishes for the wife and little one.

[Kat]

Awesome news! Congratulations Sky and Mrs Sky!

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Congrats Sky. It was good knowing you. Hope to see you again in a few months :-D

[Scott]

Congratulations!

[Ctgt]

Congratulations!

[Dara]

Congrats!

[Bill]

Congratulations Sky!

[Peter]

Yayyyy!

[Sky]

Thanks everyone! :)

[Kat]

I just got a nice email from someone at a big German publisher's saying they liked my book blog and would I like to sign up on their discussion board in order to get ARCs?

I'm ridiculously pleased about this, because to be honest, I haven't posted many reviews on the German blog, and I don't think I have any sort of following on it whatsoever. I mainly just list books I have bought, books I plan on buying, books that come out soon that look interesting, and my biggest section is "books that people read on the train" where I just comment who/where/when.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Yay for free books!

I have mixed feelings about ARCs though.

On one hand, I'm impatient and want new books NOW.

On the other though, I enjoy reading/discussing with people which is hard to do if I'm the only one with a copy. It's why I've never bothered to look into Netgalley.

[Kat]

I know what you mean.

The discussing part is fairly new for me, though. I've been a solitary reader for 30 years. But the review part worries me. What if I didn't like it? Surely they're gunning for good reviews when they send them out?

Also, I'm not very good at writing reviews yet, they're short and I have a hard time writing about a book without just retelling the blurb from the back cover.

I read all of the reviews you peeps link in the "What is everyone reading" thread in order to learn a good structure, but I'm still having a hard time doing it. I marked the last 4 or 5 books I finished off with a star rating, but have put off the reviews.... and when I get around to them it's way late and I have to skim through the book to remind myself what I thought. Not very professional.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Yeah I do reviews for an audiobook site. SFFAudio. Or did. There haven't been as many books available to review lately.

The nice thing is the site doesn't care when I listen to the book, or if I even get them a review. So I don't feel forced to finish a book I don't like or write a positive review.

Although maybe their policies are partially why there seem to be fewer books available for review all of a sudden.

I've been writing book reviews casually for about 7 or 8 years, and more seriously for 3 or 4. Some of my reviews are far better than others. It really depends on how much I liked the book, and my state of mind when I write the review.

However, I still mostly write them for myself, even though I had a pretty set format now, so I don't worry too much about it.

I don't really consider an ARC a payment, so you shouldn't worry too much about being "professional". I think its more important to be honest/genuine in your reviews.

Find a format that works for you. Or don't. I like having a format. I don't think it's required though.

My best review (IMHO) completely breaks from my normal format. I was just really inspired one day, and I thought it came out really well. Others seem to as well as it was my most popular review until recently.

I try to balance between being too long and too short, favoring too short over too long. If a review is so long that I start skimming, it's not worth it to me personally.

I try to talk about the aspects of the book I liked/didn't without talking about plot. Characters, world building, magic typically. Sometimes (though rarely) the quality of the writing.

It all depends on what matter to you though. Talk about those things.

If the story is good, I tend to express that in one or two sentences. Many others summarize plot, and I don't care for those reviews either. If I want a summary I'll read the blurb or wikipedia.

Again though, these are just my own opinions on what makes a good review. Everyone is different. It'll likely take some trial and error to find what works for you.

[Kat]

I really like your reviews, specifically because you don't summarise the plot.

I shall try and post my missing reviews this weekend (here and on the blogs), before it's been so long I can't remember the points I wanted to make. I'm going to try and emulate the way you point out things you liked/disliked, because I think you pull that off very well.

I do have a bit of a problem with series, like Cornwell at the moment, because I tend to like or dislike the exact same things as in the previous book. "He did it again!" doesn't make a good review, though.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Thanks. Part of me wants to build up some big fan base for my reviews, but that's not realistic.

I'm not willing to do the stuff that has the best chance of making me popular. I don't friend everyone I meet, I don't use animated gifs. I'm not a young attractive female. OK that last one is out of my control, but I don't do any of the other things I see from the most popular reviewers.

Still I'm pretty happy with my nearly 300 followers at this point. Mostly I just hope my reviews are interesting/useful to someone when deciding on a book, or to spread my love of a book to someone else who may enjoy it.

[Kat]

When I look up books that are mentioned in groups, I DO click on them to see if you've reviewed them and if yes, what you had to say, because I found that after reading things you reviewed I tend to agree with your opinion most of the time. Apart from Tetrach, haha.

[Sky]

Rob wrote: "Thanks. Part of me wants to build up some big fan base for my reviews, but that's not realistic.

I'm not willing to do the stuff that has the best chance of making me popular. I don't friend every..."

I certainly enjoy your reviews Rob, and I've found more than a few great books I would have otherwise never heard of from them.

I've wanted to have some blog (or just keep private notes) that specifically summarizes more than reviews a book, especially if it is the first or second book in an on-going series. I can never find good book summaries online, even series that are pretty popular. Even books that have wikis don' t really do a good job. I need to either start doing this or stop reading unfinished series. I still dont remember half the things referenced in The Last Mortal Bond (which i am still slowly finishing :|)

[Suzanne]

I look for your reviews too Rob, if I think about reading something - in fact, you influenced me to buy The Forbidden Library :) I also like (agreeing with Kat) that you don't summarize the plot.

Kat, that is pretty neat news - and I think that it'll be good incentive to keep reviewing !

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Well thanks guys, it's always nice to know people find them useful/like them.

I've considered making a book blog for essentially backup purposes. In case goodreads goes away/becomes unusable.

I can't imagine trying to drive traffic to it though. It's really easy to click a book on goodreads and scroll down to see a friend's review, read it and click like.

It's a lot harder/more annoying to have to go to a separate site and look it up. I don't think my reviews are good enough to warrant the extra work on the reader's part.

Maybe it would allow me to expand my followers beyond goodreads, but I doubt it. I originally was promoting my reviews on twitter, but stopped since I have barely any followers there. Not to mention most (all?) of the ones who'd be interested in them are already on good reads anyways.

I do like your idea of book notes/summaries though Sky. I'd like to archive stuff from this group and the Malazan group for the backup purposes as well. However the amount of summary varies from book to book pretty dramatically and it would take a bit of work organizing things in a way that would be useful to other people.

Maybe one day I'll feel extra motivated..