I Just Finished Reading and/or Am Reading Next!

[S H A R O N]

I know I am always searching for something to add to my "To Read" pile so I thought it could be fun to have a place to share the books we just read or what books are currently on the top of our "To Read" piles.

I just finished reading which is the second installment of N.K. Jemisin's "Inheritance Trilogy"...definitely an excellent Fantasy trilogy...can't wait to start reading the conclusion.

I also just finished reading which was surprisingly engaging. I have been reading a lot of YA stuff lately, but Kresley Cole's first foray into YA didn't seem very Young Adult oriented - the characters and story were pretty complex/mature. Definitely enjoyed it!

Speaking of YA - I am currently halfway through - the conclusion to the Divergent Trilogy.

I am also halfway through which is an interesting fantasy novel that, I believe, starts a series.

So...what have you read lately?

[Kivrin]

I'm currently reading which I find fascinating. I have completely stalled out on Elizabeth George's new book which makes me very sad as I usually love everything she writes. I may abandon it and try again when I'm in a better mood.

I'm most looking forward to Miles Cameron's next book, in The Traitor Son series.

[Kivrin]

Sharon wrote: "I know I am always searching for something to add to my "To Read" pile so I thought it could be fun to have a place to share the books we just read or what books are currently on the top of our "To..."

I really liked "The Warded Man" but I found the second book hard to finish. Never got around to the third.

[S H A R O N]

Kivrin wrote: "I really liked "The Warded Man" but I found the second book hard to finish."

Yeah...I really enjoyed , but the second installment is currently collecting dust on my bookshelf. Not that it's bad or anything...just haven't wanted to crack it open as of yet. One day...

[Nick]

I'm currently reading Eric Brown's "The Serene Invasion" and very much enjoying it. Has anyone else ever read any of Brown's books? I also own "Helix" but the reviews have me wary of picking it up.

[S H A R O N]

I have a confession...I've been in a bit of a reading slump as of yet. Oh, I've still been reading...just not in as large of a quantity as before. Here's a sampling of some of the ones I've finished lately:

-- I enjoyed this one...the whole trilogy is a pretty fluffy read.

-- binge read the first three volumes of this graphic novel. Excellent!!

-- the 2nd in the Agents of Hel series

-- I found this one to be pretty "meh"...but it gets points for the pretty cover.

-- another gorgeous cover...the story was pretty good too.

-- I do read some nonfiction...

-- see...nonfiction...

-- I read this one too...well, listened to it on audiobook since it's narrated by the author. Kind of weird since he intersperses a fiction story throughout his memoir...but still fun.

[Amberle]

Sharon, Saga, Volume 1has been on my to-read list for ages, it seems like! It's a series that comes highly recommended from all the sources I trust most. Can't wait to get around to it.
Lately, I've been slacking too.
Finished The Furies: A Thriller. It was okay, nothing I lost my head over.
And now I'm finally reading Stephen King's Joyland... too soon to make any predictions on it, yet.

[Jeffrey]

I strongly recommend Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. It's a complex historical novel about life on a 19th century Virginia plantation and the unusual relationships created by slavery.

[S H A R O N]

The Kitchen House sounds really interesting...I may need to give that a try!

I have a horrible tendency to start too many books at once...so here's what I am currently reading and/or am planning on reading next:

--> keepin' it classy
--> alien lizard love? why not...
--> 1250+ pages!
--> Sword & Laser pick for June
--> read this in high school and loved it...felt like it was time for a re-read.

So...obviously, I have started too many books at once.

Here's what I have finished reading:

--> pretty good...wanted to see what all the hype was about.
--> confusing, yet fun to read
--> despite all the abs...this was a horrible book. I wasn't really expecting all that much though, lol...
--> tried twice to get into this book and it fell flat twice...so no more gameboards for me, I guess
--> urban fantasy from an author I grew up with...a slightly different approach to the werewolf trope.

And now...guess I better get back to reading some of those books I listed above...

[Amberle]

Hello again, everyone!
I just finished reading The Negative's Tale, and have to say that it's some of the most original science fiction I've come across in a long time. Starts off rocky -- especially regarding spelling/grammar/structure -- but I thought the story itself was worth persevering for.
I'm glad I kept reading; this reminded me of how a good space-opera can bend the rules and make its own reality to exist in. Plus, it's a whodunit wrapped up inside a space-opera, so... bonus points. And it reminded me of one of the best things about space-operas: Everything is beautiful in space, even exploding heads.

[Laurelannb]

I just finished The Glassblower; snagged it from Kindle First. I liked it; I didn't love it, but I liked it. I read The Hangman's Daughter series not too long ago, and couldn't help but compare the settings--similar, although several hundred years apart.

The Glassblower tells the story of a renaissance of sorts; a set of sisters changing the concept of "We do it this way simply because this is how it has always been done."

I appreciated the fact that the story is set in the actual town that holds the claim to fame described in the book.

[S H A R O N]

Anybody read any good books lately? I've been on a bit of a reading slump, but here are a few that I've finished lately (and by lately, I mean over the last six months...):

--> great light science fiction that is a quick, fun read

--> a glimpse into colonial Kenya at the turn of the 20th Century. They promote it as "Downton Abbey"-ish. Not really...but still an interesting, if conflicting read.

--> a fun urban fantasy series...nothing too groundbreaking, just fun.

--> a "Stockholm Syndrome"-y good time

--> the only reason I read this was because I enjoyed the early Sookie Stackhouse...

--> this was a hot mess. I didn't like it...but I read it, so I thought I'd put it on the list.

Next up:

- reading a Sword and Laser bookclub book for the first time in a loooong time. Had it sitting on my Kindle, so why not?

-- HAVE to know what happens after that doozy of a cliff hanger on book one.

[Laurelannb]

I admit that I do read fewer books since the advent of hand-held web devices. I'm just as likely to hop on here, or FB, or other favorite fora, rather than read books.

I mean, I'm still reading, just not books, as much.

[Kivrin]

2015 has been a great year for books so far. My faves so far...

Golden Son Great second book in the series.

The Providence of Fire And ANOTHER great second book.

Instruments of Darkness Started this series and am looking forward to more.

Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival I had never heard of this attempt to settle/conquer the Pacific Coast. Found it fascinating reading.

Half a King Not as dark as some of Abercrombie's books--maybe because it's YA but still a good read.

Currently reading The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors

[Amberle]

I just finished reading Treasure, Darkly by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek. She sent me a review copy in preparation for the release of an anthology (Wildwood) including stories by both of us.

I was really pleasantly surprised! I typically don't have good luck with steampunk fiction, although I love the idea of it. I just seem to keep stumbling over really bad examples... But Treasure, Darkly was very readable; the overall feeling throughout the whole novel was "really, really well balanced". She handled the crossed genres effortlessly.

If light-sci-fi, western-romance, YA-if-not-for-that-one-scene type stuff is your thing, I would totally recommend it.

[Julie]

Just finished Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham. Very good. Just started on Patricia Cornwell's new one.