Flights of Fantasy discussion
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What are you reading in May 2014?
Yesterday I read Before I Fall. Teenage girl gets into a car accident and dies, then had to live out her last day seven times to get it "right". I liked the premise, but I hated this book. I picture the author watching Groundhog Day and Mean Girls back to back and coming up with this. Now I'm reading The Last Unicorn, one of my favorite books that I found while cleaning.
I enjoyed Mirk and Midnight Hour pretty well as long as you ignore the blurb. For me the way it was marketed didn't quite match the way it actually read.I'm reading The Vor Game (fourth Vorkosigan novel using internal Chron order) on audio and one of J.D. Robb's In Death books on the Kindle. Brain candy.
I can't quite decide which physical book to pick up next.
Emily wrote: "I enjoyed Mirk and Midnight Hour pretty well as long as you ignore the blurb. For me the way it was marketed didn't quite match the way it actually read.I'm reading The Vor Game (fourth Vorkosiga..."
I thought I knew the legend of Tam Lin, but I don't think I did... I did like the book, but some of the slavery aspects annoyed me. (view spoiler) Definitely not an easy time period to write (or read) about anyway.
I just abandoned 'Dark Lantern'. I think it's my first abandon of the year.As a side note, I want to be able to set the date I finished the book without having it count towards my read-count for the year. *whines*
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Now I'm onto some palette cleansers with a quick return to my Alice manga series I've become marginally obsessed with... Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Mad Hatter's Late Night Tea Party, Vol. 01
Laurel wrote: "Loved it!"Finished Crimson Campaign. Overall, I was quite happy with it. I'm curious to see how it will all end.
Yesterday I read one of my grandmother's favorite books, The Duke and I, a historical romance that is definitely not my usual thing, but I did enjoy it more than I thought I would. Sort of reminded me of Jane Austen - with sex. Now I'm reading The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, I've wanted to read this author for awhile now and when I saw this book cheap I grabbed it. Problem is it's the 3rd in a series, though it says they can be read in any order. Whatever. I'm sure there's insider stuff I'm not getting but I'm enjoying it. And I do plan on reading the other two.
I finished Mort finally.Then I started Skin Game.
Oh wow. Guess what happened? I've knocked out almost 30% already...reading slump begone!
Chris wrote: "I finished Mort finally.Then I started Skin Game.
Oh wow. Guess what happened? I've knocked out almost 30% already...reading slump begone!"
High-five!
Just went to Audible and got both the New Jim Butcher and the new Elizabeth Moon! Two books I've been waiting for on one day....SCORE!
Plan to start the new Dresden later today.
Awesome Mike!Read the first 3 Dresden books, still have to read the rest. I also hear they get way better as the series goes on.
Aaaannndd....
I've just discovered the Codex Alera series recently :)
Yes, I have been living under a rock.
THey do, Eon. I was surprised as well, because I enjoyed the first ones so much, but it's really true. They do get better and better. :DChris, I guess the buddy read is off then? You'll be done by the time I start. LOL
Oh well...you still have them all to look forward to.EVERYBODY here knows what I'm going to ask next, LOL. Have you found Elizabeth Moon's Paksenarrion books (Start with the trilogy, which usually gets called books 3-5 but the ones they call 1 and 2 are really prequels and not quite as good. They're background you and were written after the trilogy. You can always go back and read them if you want.) The trilogy is The Deed of Paksenarrion.
Ok, with such high recommendations I've got some Jim Butcher & Elizabeth Moon in my near future. Cant wait!
I started reading The Sekhmet Bed yesterday. I really like it so far. It's one of those asborbing, quick reads. I also started listening to Grave Peril this morning on my commute. All the talk of Butcher's new book made me want to give the series another try. I wasn't that enthralled with Fool Moon.
I think, honestly, that Fool Moon is the weakest of the series. Grave Peril was better, and then from there on, they just get better.
Becky, isn't that how Buddy Reads go in here? One reads and the others wait to see the results.
We can blame The Book for that.
c.o.lleen ± (... never stop fighting) ± wrote: "I just abandoned 'Dark Lantern'. I think it's my first abandon of the year.As a side note, I want to be able to set the date I finished the book without having it count towards my read-count for..."
I think if you create a DNF (or what ever you want to call it) shelf and make it exclusive, you can do that. Since it's an exclusive shelf if it's on that, it should not count as read. Any book would be Read OR Currently Reading OR DNF etc. I'm no expert, that's just my $0.02 based on my understanding of how the shelves work :)
Karen... in a logical, sane world, that would work. But this is Goodreads. :P If you set a date read, no matter WHAT shelf it's on, it will count it toward your reading challenge for that year. Their logic there is that they can't know whether your exclusive DNF shelf stands for "Delightful New Favorite" instead of "Did Not Finish". LOL
Of course, they could just let us specify not to include a book in the challenge... but that would make too much sense. :P
*snerks at "Delightful New Favorite"*Becky wrote: "Of course, they could just let us specify not to include a book in the challenge... but that would make too much sense. :P"
It would also require their developers to have half a clue, and I think we've all seen ample evidence that *that's* not the case...
Glad to hear you're getting out of your slump, Chris.***
"The Book" is very aptly named, don't you think? I mean, it's perfect for speaking of it as an invective.
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All this Pratchett talks reminds me I really need to get around to reading Raising Steam at some point this year.
(Speaking of reading this year, this whole keeping track of things has made me slightly insane. Or more insane than usual, anyway.
I'm already starting to feel pressured about the 40-some books I have left to read this year, even though I've alreayd read over 70 and it's not even quite June yet.)
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I started The Aviary this morning. I don't remember what it's about, as I've been trying to avoid rereading blurbs once I decide to read the book - but so far it's kind of interesting. Sort of gothic, for the MG set.
Rereading Dark River (Warriors: Power of Three, #2). I've got a real thing for MG and YA, it seems :)
Can you set the book as read without a date? Remove the book from your library, then mark it as read, it should leave the date off. Other than that, I don't know.
You can set the date to whatever and even set it blank. For a DEF maybe a special date of January 1 1900 or something so they are all piled at the bottom of the stats page?
The way I figure, you wasted time reading the book (DNF or not), you might as well let it count. If I quit a book only a few chapters in, I usually just remove it completely from my library, but if I finish at least 25% I mark it as a DNF, put my reasons for quitting, and how far I got, in the notes section, and don't give it any stars.
If I "dislike" a book enough to put it (or throw it) aside I generally give it 1 star and say why. I mean if it's bad enough (in my opinion) not to read then I say so.
Well Goodreads illogical behavior aside, I like the suggestion from HIMS and I think Mike's policy makes a whole lot of sense. I just may adopt that myselfOn a brighter note, I have been reading Lord of Light, which has been quite a trip. Almost done and thinking ahead as to how best to fill the remaining days of May
I read DNF reviews and find them as insightful as fully read reviews, sometimes they're even more helpful. I know they get a bad rap, but I don't see the problem.
I have DNF'd not one book today but two. I had to stop reading The Desert Spear, and even though I have The Daylight War on my nook I will not be reading it. I tried to forgive Brett for the whole (view spoiler)
Into the new Dresden with the new Elizabeth Moon on deck.
Michelle E. wrote: "Rereading Dark River Warriors Power of Three 2. I've got a real thing for MG and YA, it seems :)"I feel like I barely read adult books anymore, and I've even been leaning more towards the MG books - especially when I'm trying to avoid the insta-love and triangle plague.
c.o.lleen ± (... never stop fighting) ± wrote: "Michelle E. wrote: "Rereading Dark River Warriors Power of Three 2. I've got a real thing for MG and YA, it seems :)"I feel like I barely read adult books anymore, and I've even be..."
I feel guilty, I only want to read short books lately. If I see a book that's more than 400 pages I put it back. So I've been reading a lot of YA.
Why should that make you feel guilty? If that's what you're in the mood for, then that's what you should read.
I agree with Becky.But I also understand. I feel like I'm faulty, or something. I start wondering if I have this "short attention span" thing.
But I try to remember what hubby told me. I don't have a short attention span, I just have a low threshold for boredom. :D
Nienna, I find that's how I am as soon as the weather gets nice! And Agreed! Read what you are in the mood for!
Personally, I find if I read long books in summer I end up in a reading slump.
I've found that the greatest joy of being out of school is being able to read pretty much whatever I want. I occasionally push myself through something--particularly if I think I'd really get something out of it--but I am pretty happy to be able to choose my books.Speaking of that, I am finally reading The Ace Of Skulls! It has been on my bookshelf for about a year. It is quite fun so far!
I've read a lot of great books this month. Here are my fantasy & science fiction reads, which were most of them.The Martian: I LOVED this book. I'm usually not a fan of hard scifi, but the main character talked about the technological stuff in a way that was interesting, easy to understand, and hilarious. I would recommend this book to, well, pretty much anyone.
The Last Olympian: A great ending to the Percy Jackson series. I'm tempted to start the Heroes of Olympus series now. Has anyone here read them? What did you think?
Wonder Woman, Vol. 2: Guts: Wonder Woman is fast becoming my favorite hero. This story line is so goooood.
The Sandman, Vol. 4: Season of Mists: This may have been my favorite Sandman so far. The art is just incredible. I can't with this series.
I'm currently reading Dust and hope to finish it by the end of the month.
Jenny, I completely agree with you on The Martian! It's been a long time since I read a standalone book that I enjoyed as much.
Y'all keep saying how good The Martian is.....
I've put The Martian on hold, but probably won't get it for awhile. I will look forward to it!
Chris wrote: "Y'all keep saying how good The Martian is....."Because it is. For realsies. I loved it.
Even though I've read a lot of books so far this year, I'm in a major reading slump, and I've probably liked less than half of the books I have read. But I feel myself getting back into reading. I looked back on which books I've enjoyed versus the one I haven't and I'm surprised. I've always been a big fantasy reader, the bigger the better, dragons, elves, etc, I couldn't get enough. But lately I've been enjoying books that are more historical fantasy and fantasy realism. I might switch over to reading more urban fantasy too. Though, I'm not really interested in paranormal romance - I got burned out on those awhile ago. I really need to start branching out though.
Branching out is great!It's funny, I've always thought Fantasy was my favorite genre but this last year I've been all about the Sci Fi.
Ch-ch-chaaaaanges... (and now I have David Bowie in my head...)
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Flights of Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
The Way of Kings (other topics)The Dragonbone Chair (other topics)
Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick (other topics)
Saga, Volume 1 (other topics)
Hawkeye, Volume 1: My Life as a Weapon (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Tad Williams (other topics)Carlos Ruiz Zafón (other topics)
Kevin Hearne (other topics)
Jim Butcher (other topics)
Douglas Hulick (other topics)
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Sounds interesting. I'll add it to my list.
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Currently reading The Dark Lantern. I do not love the author's style...