What are we reading? (2017)

[Shlomo]

All I can say is that I enjoyed Snow Crush much more than Neuromancer

[Efrat]

You had me convinced... finished We Are Legion (We Are Bob), a fun, interesting sf. I'll now start snow crash!

[Esther]

I finished the Buddy read On Basilisk Station which tottered between 2 and then 4 stars and finally got 3.5.

I also finished the first book of the graphic novel The Complete Maus which is neither fantasy or fiction. It was also not very compelling which was a disappointment.

I have now started 1984 a dystopian fantasy which is now riding a wave of renewed popularity. I last read it when I was 12, before 1984 was in our past.
Despite the depressing content the prose is so clear and well constructed I am enjoying it.

[Esther]

I have just started Lock In. Only a few pages in but already enjoying myself.

[Nimrod]

I'm reading now The Way of Shadows. It's quite good.

[Vadim]

Finished reading Gardens of the Moon, first Malazan Empire book. In first half of the book it's very hard to understand what is going on, why the main characters are doing whatever they are doing and what is everyone's agenda. Which is frustrating for me.
Most of it is made clear in second half and most plotlines are resolved in one way or another. The book is engaging and Steven Erikson has very reach language, but sudden intoduction of new concepts which were not discussed before is troublesome. So I am not sure I will continue reading the series.

[Esther]

I have just finished 1984 which has become extremely popular at the moment.
It is difficult to classify it as fantasy but it is a classic of the dystopian genre.
I first read it in 1981 when it chillingly represented an extreme evolution of the some of the regimes then in existence: the USSR was still alive and well, China was closed and Cambodia was just starting to recover from the horrors of Pol pot.
Now the world regimes are a little different but his ideas abut newspeak and doublethink are still frighteningly plausible.

[Esther]

Now I have started Lock In which is a little lighter but also quite thought provoking.

[Nir]

Efrat wrote: "You had me convinced... finished We Are Legion (We Are Bob), a fun, interesting sf. I'll now start snow crash!"

I loved We Are Legion (We Are Bob), it's very original and a great exploration of the topic.

I just finished reading The Lies of Locke Lamora and was pleasantly surprised, it was pretty good.

Currently reading Ancillary Justice, pretty hard to get into so far...

[Vadim]

Finished reading The Hanging Tree, it was very good. Better than previous book in the Rivers of Londonseries.
Now reading Bernard Cornwell, not sci-fi.

[Vadim]

Nir wrote:
Currently reading Ancillary Justice, pretty hard to get into so far...

I liked it, very original main protagonist.

[Nir]

Vadim wrote: "Nir wrote:
Currently reading Ancillary Justice, pretty hard to get into so far...

I liked it, very original main protagonist."

I've heard good things about it, and the idea of the character (as much of as I've learned so far) seem interesting but I'm listening to the audio book version and I rarely able to differentiate when the character says something versus when it thinks it, or when/where the current part is taking place - the time jumps are difficult in this audio book.

[Esther]

I finished Lock In which was great, even though I managed to reader some spoilers when I was half-way through.

I am supposed to be starting The Big Eye but am busy in London on a work trip.

[Nimrod]

The Way of Shadows was a good book. Now I'm listening to Daemon, and I'll probably read another book. It might be A Darker Shade of Magic, but I also consider The Black Company or The King Beyond the Gate

[Genia]

The Black Company is a bit odd, it feels very eighties, now, in terms of writing style, but I would recommend it nonetheless.

[Nimrod]

Genia wrote: "The Black Company is a bit odd, it feels very eighties, now, in terms of writing style, but I would recommend it nonetheless."

Yeah, I know it might feel somewhat eighties, I have no problem with that.

[Vladimir]

Black Company is awesome, the storytelling is minimalistic, and the perspective of "Are we the bad guys? Well, who cares..." is rather unique.
I really enjoyed the first 6 books. After that it gets... weird.

I pretty much gave up on Ancillary Mercy, and am now reading The Three-Body Problem, and Imaginary Cities.

[Nimrod]

Ann Lackie's series has never striked me as a series I may enjoy. It's likely I'd DNF this book if I start reading it.

I'm currently listening to Norse Mythology. The writing and the narration by Gaiman are really great, but the tales are just ok, they're not too interesting. I think it's a hyped book just because Gaiman wrote it.

[Vladimir]

Nimrod wrote: "Ann Lackie's series never strike me as a series I may enjoy. It's likely I'd DNF this book if I start reading it.

Ancillary Justice is a pleasant stand-alone book. Its tone is bitter-sweet nostalgic, and there are hints of a fascinating wider world.
The rest of the series, though, does next to nothing to expand on the wider world, doesn't have the charm of the first one, and quickly devolves into "And then this happened...".

[Esther]

I have just finished The Big Eye. It is a semi-classic scifi, written in 1949 strongly affected by WWII and predicting an almost apocalyptic 1960.
The historical reference were interesting but it was a thrilling read. There were just too many detailed descriptions of the telescope and the emotions felt over-wrought and melodramtic. Also I had more or less guessed the plot twist at the beginning.

Now for another bookclub I am rereading The Eyre Affair. It is fantastic as usual. This is one of my favourite books and it never lets me down.

[Nimrod]

What are you planning on reading soon ?

I'll go first. After Norse Mythology I plan on reading The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer. It sounds like a fun adventure book that I may enjoy. Courtney is great, I asked her to join a Q&A session for a buddy read and she agreed instantly :)

I've been wanting to read The Name of the Wind for years, but haven't done so by now because I wanted the trilogy to be completed, or at least be close to completion. It doesn't look like Pat is about to release book 3 in the foreseeable future, so I give up on waiting. I might start reading it after Whitefire Crossing.

[Shomeret]

I am currently reading The Power by Naomi Alderman because it's the BOM in another group. I was initially reluctant to read it, but it's turning out to be very interesting.

[Vadim]

I have read two books from Sharpe series
Next I am planning to read The Yiddish Policemen's Union.

[Esther]

Nimrod wrote: 've been wanting to read The Name of the Wind for years, ..."
I have The Name of The Wind on my 'to read in 2017' list so I may join you.

[Nimrod]

Esther wrote: "Nimrod wrote: 've been wanting to read The Name of the Wind for years, ..."
I have The Name of The Wind on my 'to read in 2017' list so I may join you."

Great :)

[Angel]

The Thread from Victoria Hislop. Interesting from the historic perspective about Thessaloniki in the last century.

[Esther]

Shomeret wrote: "I am currently reading The Power by Naomi Alderman because it's the BOM in another group. I was initially reluctant to read it, but it's turning out to be very interesting."

Why were you reluctant and what changed your mind?

[Esther]

I have finally taken Simcha's advice (it only took me about 5 years!!) and signed up for Net Galley.
I now have The Mechanical Bird: A Tale of Two Ladies
Rotherweird
and
The Collapsing Empire
on my virtual shelf.

[Shomeret]

Esther wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "I am currently reading The Power by Naomi Alderman because it's the BOM in another group. I was initially reluctant to read it, but it's turning out to be very inte..."

I was reluctant because it looked like a matriarchal dystopia. I have never liked one of those. The reason why it was selected by the other group as a BOM was because it made the Bailey Prize shortlist. So I thought this book might be very different and changed my mind. It is very different.

[Esther]

Shomeret wrote: "Esther wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "I am currently reading The Power by Naomi Alderman because it's the BOM in another group. I was initially reluctant to read it, but it's turning out ..."

Interesting. I will put it on my TBR list.

[Esther]

I have just finished The Eyre Affair for the umpteenth time and is was a delight as always.

[Nimrod]

I'm 61% through The Whitefire Crossing , and so far it's a quite good book. It's a really nice Sword&Sorcery\Epic fantasy.

[Esther]

I have been reading a non-genre book Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China which is heavy both physically and mentally.
So I have taken a light break with Rotherweird. It is one of the e-books I received from Net Galley.
So far it is very good, mixing a small amount of alternate 'Elizabethan' history with the narrative taking place in modern day Rotherweird, a vaguely steempunk town with medieval architecture but lots of modern touches.
I love the world building. There is also a central mystery so I will be interested to see how that pans out.

[Genia]

Wild Swans is really, really good. Difficult to read because holy crap, Maoist China, but really good.

I'm rereading American Gods in preparation for the TV series, and it's as good as I remember it. I'm also starting on Blood of Elves. I liked the previous short stories okay, but I wasn't as impressed as people led me to believe I would be. I hope the actual novel will correct that.

[Nimrod]

Genia wrote: "I'm rereading American Gods in preparation for the TV series, and it's as good as I remember ..."

I saw the trailer and it was very clear to me that I'm not going to watch the series.

Genia wrote: "I'm also starting on Blood of Elves"
I heard a lot of good things about The Witcher series lately.

[Genia]

Why not? What upset you about the trailer?

[Nimrod]

It just didn't seem appealing to me.

[Vadim]

I read American Gods a while ago, didn't like it. Don't remember why, maybe I should reread it.

Regarding the Witcher, the short stories were hilarious, the continuation not so much.

[Nir]

Vadim wrote: "I read American Gods a while ago, didn't like it. Don't remember why, maybe I should reread it.."

Wouldn't recommend it. I read it recently and although it's nice, it's nothing special and in my opinion there's absolutely no reason to read it again.


Anyway, for some personal reading updates, I've finished Ancillary Justice and you were right Vadim, it gets good, I really liked it in the end.
Also read the second book of the Bobiverse (For We Are Many) which was great, recommended if you've liked the first one.

Currently reading Ancillary Sword and The Lions of Al-Rassan. I really liked Tigana and the premise of The Lions of Al-Rassan sounded very interesting to me so I just moved it to the top of my reading queue. So far I'm loving it, granted the beginning had a little more urine flasks mentions than I've expected it, or any book, to have, but luckily I've passed through it and the story really pulled me in (and it's been like 100 pages since the last urine flasks mention).

[Vadim]

I will add We Are Legion (We Are Bob) to my to read list Nir, sounds like a nice premise.

[Vadim]

Finished reading "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" , It was rather good. The author imagined the world in which the Yiddish speaking world wasn't destroyed in world war 2, but was transferred to small islands in southern Alaska. It's essentially a detective story, but the plot itself, in my opinion, is secondary and the main stage is given to world itself and characters which inhabit it.

[Shomeret]

Vadim wrote: "Finished reading "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" , It was rather good. The author imagined the world in which the Yiddish speaking world wasn't destroyed in world war 2, but was transferred to smal..."

I liked it, but Alaska seemed too arbitrary to me. I couldn't take it seriously. Have you read The Ambassador by Yehuda Avner? This is also an alternate universe. It involves a diplomatic effort to avoid the Holocaust.

[Esther]

Shomeret wrote: "I liked it, but Alaska seemed too arbitrary to me.."

Except that Alaska was proposed as an alternative 'Jewish Homeland'
The Frozen Chosen

[Esther]

I have just finished Doomsday Book which was just disappointing. I explained why at length in my review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I don't think I will be reading any more Connie Willis

Now I have returned to Rotherweird which is still brilliant.

[Shomeret]

Esther wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "I liked it, but Alaska seemed too arbitrary to me.."

Except that Alaska was proposed as an alternative 'Jewish Homeland'
The Frozen Chosen"

Yes, I read the book, Esther. I didn't see any logic in the choice of Alaska, and I didn't think it was likely.

[Nimrod]

Currently listening to The Crimson Queen by Alec Hutson. It's a really a good take on classic epic fantasy.

Reading Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of
Antagonists. I've read a few really good short stories so far. Best stories were by Marc Turner, Jeff Salyards and Shawn Speakman. It's not out yet, though. It's a great opportunity for me to check out a lot of authors I have on my tbr.

[Genia]

I just finished the prequels of the Riyria Chronicles. it was.... okay? I am not a fan of Opposites Attract dynamics, personally. I find them to be... sort of sensationalist, and they seldom actually do anything interesting beyond "man I'm Lawful Good" "And I'm Chaotic Evil!" but the books weren't bad. I'm going to read the actual Riyria Revelations and see what it's like.

[Vadim]

Shomeret wrote: "Have you read The Ambassador by Yehuda Avner? This is also an alternate universe. It involves a diplomatic effort to avoid the Holocaust. "
Haven't read it, was it any good?

[Vadim]

Esther wrote: "I have just finished Doomsday Book which was just disappointing. I explained why at length in my review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"
Didn't like it either. My wife continued to read other books in the series though.

[Vadim]

Finished reading Storm Front it was a nice detective story. Will continue to next book in a series.