What Else Are You Reading? July 2013

[Dara]

Didn't see one for this month. I am reading Neuromancer.

[A.L.]

I am reading Blood, Sweat & Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulance and about to start The Dreamweaver's Journey

[Sky]

Just picked up Unfettered, looking forward to starting it.

[Stuart]

Not very sword or laser, but I am reading The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell

[terpkristin]

I really need to read the book I've been saying I'll read for more than a month, the one my friend wrote. So that's first up. I've also decided that since my goal was to read every S&L pick this year and because V&T made Redshirts an "official" alternate pick, I have to at least try to read it to stay with my stated/published goals. But I'm really not looking forward to it. With 2 books I'm not all that excited about "up next" in my queue, maybe I'll just play Animal Crossing instead of reading. ;)

[Scott]

My goal this month is to finally read The Lord of the Rings trilogy

[Ty]

In addition to diving into Ringworld, I'm finishing up Lash, Crescent Bound and Our List Of Solutions. Later today I hope to start Fadeout and The Black Company. I may also pick up Redshirts and join in on the alternate read.

[Ben]

I loved The City and the City and Un Lun Dun by Mieville so would heartily recommend them Elizabeth.

I read Ringworld 15 years ago so not sure whether or not to reread it. Currently reading a lot of short SF at the moment from various collections I have. I have set myself a target of reading 200 short stories over the next couple of months. Will break it up with Canada (not SF but Ford is one of my favourite writers), redshirts, Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet (again not sf) and some Jack Vance.

The short fiction binge is including some of starship sofa's ebook collection, The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction, Saliva Tree and Other Strange, Unfettered (perhaps will start a thread about this one once finished as a few S&L folks are reading it) and some old stuff from Lord Dunsany.

[Laura]

A friend wants me to read Otherland, so I'm skimming on River of Blue Flame. I just started Driving Mr. Albert A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain for some non-fiction.

[AndrewP]

This month is going to be taken up with Cryptonomicon as my serious read and Gust Front for my light read. 1,600 pages for the two so this is probably my one and only post in this thread :)

[Teena]

I'm picking up The Left Hand of Darkness before I start reading this month's S&L picks (it'll be another week or so until those titles are available at my library).

Also going to tackle this comic book pile that's been stacking up this past year, starting with Marvel's AvX :)

[James]

Sky wrote: "Just picked up Unfettered, looking forward to starting it."

Just picked up Unfettered as well. Good short stories so far, especially the Tad Williams one, who I usually find a little dry.

[Scott M]

Elizabeth wrote: "I'll be finishing off Embassytown before starting Ringworld and then Redshirts. Then I'll may go back to another China Miéville book as I've enjoyed Embassytown so much."

I LOVED Embassytown too. I've been meaning to gear up for another of his reads, I just can't figure out which one. I'd be interested in hearing which you do pick, if you do.

[Scott M]

I just finished Redshirts last week, serendipitously. While I'm waiting for Ringworld to arrive I'm going to try and get through much of Fearsome Journeys: The New Solaris Book of Fantasy .

I think a number of good anthologies have come out recently (or I've just had some good luck lately with them)...and this has Scott Lynch!

[Pickle]

currently re-reading Perdido Street Station and hope to finish it tomorrow. I plan to re-read The Space Merchants then get fired into my massive library books that have to be back by the 30th July: Declare and Pandora's Star

PS Un Lun Dun is great and im re-reading that next month.

[Nancy]

I'm about 250 pages into Passage by Connie Willis. It's a tad repetitive, but there's a lot of really interesting stuff too. This will be my fourth Connie Willis book. On audio, I'm almost at the end of Code Name Verity which is OMFG awesome! It's a beautifully written YA historical fiction book with lots of surprises. Highly recommended.

[Dharmakirti]

Elizabeth wrote: "I'll be finishing off Embassytown before starting Ringworld and then Redshirts. Then I'll may go back to another China Miéville book as I've enjoyed Embassytown so much."

I would recommend checking out his Bas-Lag novels starting with Perdido Street Station. The second Bas-Lag novel, The Scar, happens to be my favorite Miéville novel.

[Joseph]

Finished Phoenix Rising by Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris and, since it was basically a fun story, continued right into The Janus Affair.

[Pickle]

Dharmakirti wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "I'll be finishing off Embassytown before starting Ringworld and then Redshirts. Then I'll may go back to another China Miéville book as I've enjoyed Embassytown so much."

I would..."

iv just finished re-reading Perdido and i love it, magnificent descriptions of new crubuzon but i now do admit that The Scar is a better story.

I wish he would do another bas-lag story set in new Crubuzon either following the characters from perdido or a new story altogether.

[Dharmakirti]

Pickle wrote: "currently re-reading Perdido Street Station and hope to finish it tomorrow. I plan to re-read The Space Merchants then get fired into my massive library books that have to be back by the 30th July..."

I just finished with Delcare and I really liked it. I think it is one of the better spy novels that I've read and the fantasy elements were icing on the cake. I look forward to reading more by Tim Powers (this was the first of his works that I have read). I think Hide Me Among the Graves will be the next of his novels I read.

In regards to China Miéville, I would love another Bas-Lag novel. The world seems so interesting that I wouldn't mind him introducing some new locales or character/races. Maybe he should write a book that focuses on the Weavers and it can be written entirely in free verse.

[Sandi]

Dahrmakirti, Hide Me Among the Graves is the sequel to The Stress of Her Regard. You should read that first. My personal Tim Powers recommemdation would be On Stranger Tides.

[Pickle]

Sandi wrote: "Dahrmakirti, Hide Me Among the Graves is the sequel to The Stress of Her Regard. You should read that first. My personal Tim Powers recommemdation would be On Stranger Tides."

Declare will be my third Powers book after The Drawing of the Dark which i loved and The Anubis Gates which i enjoyed, so im looking forward to this.

[Dharmakirti]

Sandi wrote: "Dahrmakirti, Hide Me Among the Graves is the sequel to The Stress of Her Regard. You should read that first. My personal Tim Powers recommemdation would be On Stranger Tides."

Oh, I didn't realize that. Thanks for letting me know.

I've added On Stranger Tides to me To Read list.

[Ctgt]

Just starting The Ocean at the End of the Lane

[Eric]

I am re-reading Cryptonomicon and planning to pick up John Dies at the End next.

[Lit Bug (Foram)]

I loved The City and the City and now almost 40% through Embassytown - they are sooo different!!!

[Dara]

I cannot get into Neuromancer to save my life. I give up. I'll try some lighter material with Doctor Who: Touched By An Angel.

[Dharmakirti]

Lit Bug wrote: "I loved The City and the City and now almost 40% through Embassytown - they are sooo different!!!"

In regards to Embassytown, what do you think about main character, Avice Benner Cho, being made into a similie in the Ariekei's language? Does this idea fit into your research interests about language?

[Aaron]

Hoping to actually read the official picks this month for a change (1 down, 1 to go), but I also started The Technologists about 2 weeks ago and would like to finish it up this month. I saw the author speak last month, and its hard to resist a novel where your alma mater is practically a character (even if it was written by a Harvard man).

[Rob, Roberator]

Sandi wrote: "My personal Tim Powers recommendation would be On Stranger Tides."

I did the audiobook for that last year sometime. It was pretty good.

Apparently it was loosely used as the basis (and the name) for the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

[Lit Bug (Foram)]

Dharmakirti wrote: "Lit Bug wrote: "I loved The City and the City and now almost 40% through Embassytown - they are sooo different!!!"

In regards to Embassytown, what do you think about main character, Avice Benner C..."

I'm afraid not - language plays an important part in the novel, but not the way I'm researching it. My emphasis on how our subconscious use of language is a covert political act of subjugation of marginalized communitites - women, LGBTs, minorities, natives/tribals. It is on how language is used for subtle but powerful ideological domination.

Till now, there are no such concerns in the book - language is just a peculiarity of the Ariekei, not a covert political stance. Avice's sex has no bearings on her fate or her status within the language or the society itself.

Yes, there were two radical things in the work that I could possibly use - Avice's four marriages, with people of both sexes, as well as the parenting system coupled with the absence/very faint presence of nostalgia for the past. These two stances are radical in the sense that they overturn our most conservative leanings towards what we call family.

[bookthump]

I have two personal mini-book clubs going right now. A friend and I are reading The Wise Man's Fear together and my mom and I are reading The End of Your Life Book Club.

[Carolina]

Ctgt wrote: "Just starting The Ocean at the End of the Lane"

I've never read any Gaiman and was afraid to start with this one even though I've heard wonderful things about it.

So far, besides this month's books, I finished Engn (review will come soon) and D'autres vies que la mienne.

[Rob, Roberator]

Finished listening to Redshirts which I happened to be signed up to review for SFF Audio when it made the alternate pick for the month. Talk about perfect timing!

I enjoyed it (My Review).

Now back to my Dresden Audio re-read with White Night

[Ctgt]

Carolina wrote: "Ctgt wrote: "Just starting The Ocean at the End of the Lane"

I've never read any Gaiman and was afraid to start with this one even though I've heard wonderful things about it.

So far, besides thi..."

It was good and a pretty quick read. It's a bit of a fable/fantasy/horror tale(although not too graphic). I've heard it described as YA and I guess you could call it that, the narrator relates a story from a time when he was seven years old. I didn't love it but I found it entertaining.

[Brandon]

I just started The Inferno by Dante Alighieri

[Robyn]

Since I've read both picks already (Ringworld and Redshirts), this month I have extra time. So:
- Hellhole Awakening (finished - it is crap)
- The Martian Chronicles (re-read)
- Fahrenheit 451
- couple other books from my queue.

[Aildiin]

Just finished Abaddon's Gate and absolutely loved it.

[Lit Bug (Foram)]

Just done with Embassytown and am absolutely floored! So radical an unorthodox! Wrote a long-ish review and still so much remains to be said!

[[deleted user]]

Just finished Pump Six and Other Stories. A very nice collection of dystopian short stories, but depressing (the way 1984 is depressing).

[David(LA,CA)]

Finished Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files, and with it the Dresden Files (for now).

Already read Redshirts, and need to get started on Ringworld.

Also starting Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde

[Lamora]

Currently reading Cloud Atlas which is being a fantastic read so far (I also liked the film adaptation very much).

The Diamond Age and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress are next on the list!

[Art]

This month it's N0S4R2 by Joe Hill, Assassin's Quest and The Long Earth. It's shaping up to be a good month for reading

[Jessica]

working my way back through Sandman!

[David Sven]

Finished the Audible version of Ghost in the Wires My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker
My Review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Picked up the audio version of Redemption Ark on OverDrive

[Emily]

Finished Starship Troopers now on to A Dance with Dragons!

[David Sven]

Finished Alistair Reynolds' Chasm City
My review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Starting book 3 of The Liveship Traders Ship of Destiny

[Jenny]

I'm reading Red Seas Under Red Skies which I'm enjoying and am making my way through faster than I would have expected. I've also started Blameless (love me some Alexia) & am trying to finish up Dead Reckoning on audio.

[Rob, Roberator]

I just finished a reread of Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker, and wrote a more in-depth review

[terpkristin]

Still trying to read my friend's book. This does not bode well for my inputs to him. :\

While driving around for 4th of July celebrations, I was able to listen to a light mystery-type book, the 8th book in the Ceepak series, Free Fall. It was sunny and funderful. ;) I think I'm going to continue my break from the genre and listen to Red Sparrow.

Once I'm done with my friend's book, I guess I'll go onto Redshirts...bleh.