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General SF&F discussion > What are you reading in August?

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message 1: by Pickle (last edited Jul 31, 2013 11:35PM) (new)

Pickle | 203 comments im looking forward to re-reading Un Lun Dun then Leviathan Wakes this month, probably in that order then i might try to read The Affirmation if i have time, which i think i should.

what's everyone else reading?


message 3: by Kelly (new)

Kelly (sisimka) I have had Leviathan Wakes on my Kindle forever. Definitely plan to read that for this month. Right now I'm reading To Ride Hell’s Chasm. I had put it aside a couple years ago (I have to be in the right mood for fantasy), and picked it back up yesterday. After having read a series of zombie apocalypse novels for review, I'm really enjoying immersing myself in a different type of book.

Also up this month:
The Returned
The Exodus Towers
and Neptune's Brood


message 4: by Random (new)

Random (rand0m1s) | 1247 comments Still working my way through To Ride Hell’s Chasm. My schedule over the last week hasn't given me much in the way of reading time.

Audio has been easier for me. Two hours commute a day gives me lots of time for listening. Started The Ocean at the End of the Lane yesterday. I've been making myself sit on this one until we got closer to September. Next up in audio will be Redshirts.


message 5: by Tyler (new)

Tyler | 45 comments Currently reading Vortex by S.J. Kincaid. A few chapters in and I'm really enjoying it.

Some other books I plan on reading this month:
Leviathan Wakes
Starglass
In War Times

Also I just finished The Family Trade by Charles Stross and I thought that it was really good. Looking forward to finishing the series.


message 6: by Random (last edited Aug 02, 2013 07:36PM) (new)

Random (rand0m1s) | 1247 comments I finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane last night and started Redshirts this morning.

I'm not very far in yet but OMG this is so funny.

Also, I'm seriously becoming a big fan of Wil Wheaton's work at narrating. And to be honest, its a little ironic to have him as narrator. :)


message 7: by Lindsey (new)

Lindsey | 415 comments Just finished A Wizard of Earthsea for the first time last night. Next up is Golden Fool and afterwards Cold Steel, Fool's Fate, and Lies of Locke Lamora in some order.

Or maybe I can drag myself through that Star Wars book I should never have started.


message 8: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1430 comments Finished up Set in Darkness.
Excellent Rebus book.

Reading some baseball now
2011 St Louis Cardinals trip to the World Series
One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season

On deck I think some SF
Diplomatic Immunity


message 9: by Sandra (new)

Sandra  (sleo) | 1141 comments I hope the people reading To Ride Hell’s Chasm enjoy it. It's a real page turner. Very exciting when it gets going.


message 10: by Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover (new)

Kathi | 4330 comments Mod
Working my way through the books that make up The View from the Mirror quartet. I also have the latest Dan Btown novel on my August shelf, and a book called I Am of Irelaunde: A Novel of Patrick and Osian. After that, we'll see.


message 11: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jennyc89) | 127 comments I'm currently reading The Golem and the Jinni (awesome!) and I'm listening to Deadlocked. I hope to read lots of books this month since I'm starting up school & an internship at the end of August. Books that I hope to definitely read are: The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Redshirts, & The Ripple Effect. After that we'll see!


message 13: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1430 comments Under Heaven was good.
Actually everything Kay writes is good


message 14: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jennyc89) | 127 comments I picked Redshirts for my Kindle read & I'm so glad I did!


message 15: by Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired) (new)

Stefan (sraets) | 1671 comments Mod
I just finished Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. Thought it was good, but not great. I know many people didn't like the book's content. I didn't have a problem with that so much (even though I can see why some readers felt that way), but found that the story just didn't come together. It very much felt like a debut - some great ideas, but the execution wasn't always up to par. So I'm giving it 3.5/5 stars, and I'll probably still read the next volume.


message 16: by Helen (new)

Helen Stefan, I'm starting that tonight, interested to see what it's like now.


message 17: by Helen (new)

Helen Magician's End is currently 99p in Amazon UK, must be a mistake!


message 18: by Chris (last edited Aug 05, 2013 04:42AM) (new)

Chris Dietzel (chrisdietzel) Random wrote: "I finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane last night and started Redshirts this morning.
"


How did The Ocean at the End of the Lane compare to Gaiman's other novels?


message 19: by Random (new)

Random (rand0m1s) | 1247 comments Chris wrote: "Random wrote: "I finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane last night and started Redshirts this morning.
"

How did The Ocean at the End of the Lane compare to Gaiman's other novels?"


I thought it had a similar tone as Coraline, though it is a much different story. Its not straight forward.

I'll hold off on saying much until we discuss it next month.


message 20: by Helen (new)

Helen I enjoyed Coraline, watched the film at the weekend too.


message 21: by Kevin (new)

Kevin Xu (kxu65) | 372 comments Finally enjoying The Jackal of Nar by John Marco after a year of trying to enjoy the book.


message 22: by Shel, Moderator (new)

Shel (shel99) | 3140 comments Mod
Just got home from a 2-week trip to visit family, where I had more time to read than I usually do so I got through a lot! (Love my Kindle for traveling...I took 70 books with me! :))

Here's what I read:
Redshirts (in one day on the two legs of our flight out to Colorado - so funny!)
Fire by Kristen Cashore (sequel to Graceling - I liked Graceling better but this was still good and I do plan on reading the third book when I can get it from the library!)
Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places, part memoir, part nature book
These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer, which I didn't like nearly as much as the only other of hers I've read, The Grand Sophy
Oddly Normal: One Family's Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality, really great memoir
Embers by Laura Bickle, an urban fantasy that was enjoyable but didn't leave me needing to continue the series
Seriously...I'm Kidding because I love Ellen DeGeneres :)
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, very good ya fiction dealing with eating disorders

and now I'm reading On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family by Lisa See. I've really enjoyed her fiction, and so far am really enjoying her family history.


message 23: by Pickle (new)

Pickle | 203 comments Deedee wrote: "urrently reading:
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin"


ive never read anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, his books look a bit daunting. What would be the best book for me to start with?


message 24: by Shel, Moderator (new)

Shel (shel99) | 3140 comments Mod
Kay is probably my FAVORITE author! :) I'd start with one of his stand-alones, to see if you like his style... either A Song for Arbonne, The Lions of al-Rassan, or Tigana.


message 25: by Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover (new)

Kathi | 4330 comments Mod
Pickle wrote: "ive never read anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, his books look a bit daunting. What would b..."

One of my favorite authors as well. Shel's recommendations are spot-on!


message 26: by Helen (new)

Helen Those are the two Kay books I've read, excellent. Just finished the Broken Kingdom trilogy( Prince of Thorns), really enjoyed it and the main character.


message 27: by Esther (new)

Esther (nyctale) I just started King of Thorns. let's see it I am going to like it as much as the 1st one.


message 28: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1430 comments Pickle wrote: "Deedee wrote: "urrently reading:
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin"

ive never read anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, his books look a bit daunting. What would b..."


IMHO Kay can do no wrong. I will have to add in
The Last Light of the Sun
Ysabel
Under Heaven
Those are the stand alone
He also has a couple of series


message 29: by Shel, Moderator (new)

Shel (shel99) | 3140 comments Mod
I didn't like The Last Light of the Sun as much as his other books, I don't know why. I should re-read it and give it another chance. And though Ysabel does stand alone, it has ties to his first trilogy The Fionavar Tapestry that I think would be better appreciated if you've read those first.

Under Heaven, on the other hand, is BRILLIANT. I've just picked up his newest, River of Stars, and I think it's going to be my next read when I finish my current book :)


message 30: by Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover (new)

Kathi | 4330 comments Mod
Shel wrote: "I didn't like The Last Light of the Sun as much as his other books, I don't know why. I should re-read it and give it another chance."

The Last Light of the Sun didn't make much of an impression on me, which is unusual for Kay book. I had to look to see if I'd even read it. I have Ysabel unread on my shelf, and haven't bought the newest one yet.


message 31: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1430 comments Finished up with One More Strike. It was good. The second half was the better part of the book.

Started
Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas


message 32: by Helen (new)

Helen Room, not fantasy but very good. Now reading City of Dragons.


message 33: by Shel, Moderator (new)

Shel (shel99) | 3140 comments Mod
I just finished River of Stars, which I didn't like quite as much as Under Heaven but, well, it's still Kay :)

Needed something completely different afterwards, so I'm reading Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce. Her The Song of the Lioness Quartet were the books that made me a fantasy reader waaaaaaay back when I was a preteen (and I still re-read them on occasion), so it's kind of ridiculous that it's taken me this long to read the sequel series!


message 34: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1430 comments Finished Redshirts
Very enjoyable, funny smart and well written

Going to dive back into
Deadhouse Gates

I am on vacation this week so I plan to spend some time on the balcony reading. In between of two retirement parties and a good cleaning of the apartment.
Some days I cant believe I actually live this life LOL!!!


message 35: by Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover (new)

Kathi | 4330 comments Mod
OK, I read Dan Brown's Inferno, I Am of Irelaunde: A Novel of Patrick and Osian, finished Ian Irvine's The View From the Mirror quartet (last book was The Way Between the Worlds), and Forsake the Sky.

I'm now starting Peter Hamilton's Mindstar Rising, book 1 of the Mandel trilogy. I plan to read all 3 books in that trilogy, interspersing some stand-alones by other authors in-between.


message 36: by Esther (new)

Esther (nyctale) I am rereading 1984 and listening to The Golem and the Jinni


message 37: by Shel, Moderator (new)

Shel (shel99) | 3140 comments Mod
I finished and enjoyed both Wild Magic and Wolf-Speaker (I'd have been GAGA over them as a preteen, as an adult I could appreciate them but wasn't blown away), now I'm catching up on some Mercedes Lackey's Collegium Chronicles (finished Intrigues today, and about to start Changes). Good fluff for when I just need to rest my brain - first week of school! I've also got her version of the King Arthur legend, Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit, lined up if I'm still in a Lackey mood afterwards.


message 38: by Chris (new)

Chris Dietzel (chrisdietzel) I'm almost finished The Door Into Summer. It could easily be renamed: "How many inventions could Heinlein think of before they were actually created?" Really neat to see how close he came to predicting current technological comforts.


message 39: by Lindsey (new)

Lindsey | 415 comments Finished Golden Fool and that blasted Star Wars book this week. Any follow up to Robin Hobb is bound to be a bit of a let down (except more Hobb, of course!) but wow, I sometimes doubt my own taste.

I'm moving on to The Mists of Avalon next or maybe Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, plus finishing the Montessori book I'm currently absorbing.


message 40: by Tim (last edited Aug 30, 2013 07:23AM) (new)

Tim | 19 comments Just finished The Shining earlier this week. I liked it but I think I'm ready for a change of pace, most of what I've read recently has been horror.

I went on Amazon and did a search for best of 2013 and ran across this book called The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. It reads like a fairytale set in the beginning of the 1900's. The description labeled it as historical fiction. It seems interesting.


message 42: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1430 comments Tim wrote: "I went on Amazon and did a search for best of 2013 and ran across this book called The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. It reads like a fairytale set in the beginning of the 1900's. The description labeled it as historical fiction. It seems interesting. "

Tim, if you look up Esther is presently reading that very book. Maybe she will post a review

Esther wrote: "I am rereading 1984 and listening to The Golem and the Jinni"


message 43: by Esther (new)

Esther (nyctale) Ken wrote: "Tim wrote: "I went on Amazon and did a search for best of 2013 and ran across this book called The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. It reads like a fairytale set in the beginning of the 1900's..."

I am done with it açtually. I have not made my mind quite yet. On the plus side, it is refreshing and original. A big cast of caracters, all peculiar. But, It took forever for the 2 main characters to meet and it felt more like and endless introduction going here and there than 2 storylines converging. Long story short, I found it lacking a bit, just enough to miss the great book mark for me. So I guess i will go for a cute read, original, but not one I will go out of my way to recommend.


message 44: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1430 comments I finally finished Deadhouse Gates

Very good book, the battle scenes were utterly horrific. I liked this book much better than the first book in the series.

Started Babayaga


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