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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading - December 2017
Travis wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Would you recommend listening to it on Audible? I've been listening to books a lot more than I've been reading them so maybe I should go that route when I eventually do start the seri..."Thanks for the input Travis & Allison!
Storyteller: Writing Lessons & More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers' Workshop by Kate Wilhelm. This is a semi-memoir of Wilhelm (a co-founder of Clarion Workshop), mixed with a lot of writing lessons. I found it pretty interesting as a fan and I'm sure it'll be useful for anyone interesting in writing short stories. The book is set up such that the last two "chapters" take all the actual writing lessons & exercises from the first 85% of the book for quicker reference.
Jenny wrote: "I am seriously impressed with everyone who's already finished Oathbringer. I haven't even read The Way of Kings, but I have it on my Kindle from a free download. Woul..."Per the most recent Writing Excuses podcast, Sanderson’s books each have two audio versions, one being a full cast production. Might be worth looking into.
Dara wrote: "...Started reading Jade City by Fonda Lee instead."I loved Jade City! I really hope she continues the series.
For now I am finishing up Who Fears Death which is great, then I'll move on to Persepolis Rising. Expanse novels are becoming a winter tradition.
Scott wrote: "Expanse novels are becoming a winter tradition."I remember when they were a summer tradition.
I finished Artemis last week. Then I found that Before the Awakening was available to read for free to Amazon Prime Readers so I jumped into it. It was a pretty quick read.Now I'm vowing to finish Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (which I've been reading here and there since March) by the end of the year.
I enjoyed Side Jobs a lot. Overall it's more lighthearted than the Dresden books. I had a few laugh out loud moments.....as for finishing up, why, there's a whole 18 days left in the year! A weekend day or two plus a large cup of coffee should see you through. But if you must, skip New Year's Eve parties and read read read! :)
John (Taloni) wrote: "I enjoyed Side Jobs a lot. Overall it's more lighthearted than the Dresden books. I had a few laugh out loud moments.....as for finishing up, why, there's a whole 18 days left in the year! A week..."
Yeah, finding time to read can be a challenge this time of the year. But there are bowl games coming up and I like to read when watching football (I can knock out a page, sometimes two between plays, several pages during commercials). Shoot, I'll probably be able to knock these two out by Monday. ;)
Just finished Disappearance at Devil's Rock which was an excellent piece of modern horror. You can read my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Now starting The Wrath and the Dawn.
My aim is to make it through my kindle TBR shelf by the end of the year. 6 more to go...
Iain wrote: "Silvana wrote: "re: Persepolis Rising I am at Chapter 31 and ready to discuss whenever this month. Probably going to be my last SF this year too."
Hoping it takes a couple of weeks to come into the library"
Typically, I get notification that Persepolis Rising arrived in the library this week along with The Burning Page.. no sleep for the rest of the month.
Louie wrote: "Scott wrote: "Expanse novels are becoming a winter tradition."I remember when they were a summer tradition."
Get off my space lawn you dang space kids!
Just lemmed Red Queen. The plot was both random (with weird coincidences happening all over the place) and totally predictable (with the exact same stuff happening as in every other YA fantasy book).Enjoying The Wrath and the Dawn, a much better YA fantasy inspired by The Arabian Nights.
Now starting Warbreaker.
I've just begun reading City of Blades. And am instantly reminded of how good City of Stairs was
Finished up Off Armageddon Reef. Thought it was good by not great. I may or may not read more of Safehold.Since my copy of Oathbringer is a brick of a hardcover that I don't feel like lugging around with me, I started Standard eBooks' collection of Phillip K. Dick's Short Fiction for when Oathbringer is not convenient.
Finished with Persepolis Rising. Boy, that was GOOD. Now back to my non-fic group read that I abandoned earlier, and also starting my holiday read of the gorgeous Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Illustrated Edition.
Half-way through an enjoyable read of Artemis. It’s fast moving and very hard to put down.
Mod
The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)
Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric. This book is sharp in all of the ways. I cannot believe how much it does in such a slim number of pages.Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer. This series. This amazing glorious series! It's a good thing we have a couple of years before the next one comes out. I need the time to catch my breath.
Greg Van Eekhout, California Bones. Fun magic system and setting. Brought back fond memories of visiting the La Brea Tar Pits as a kid.
Rivers Solomon, An Unkindness of Ghosts. This book is the first time I felt like a science fiction novel captured slavery in a way that felt true to the world described in antebellum slave narratives. An inexact description: but imagine Harriet Jacobs writing a science fiction novel about plantation slavery without any need to cloak in euphemism that world's many varieties of violence and degradation.
Karl Ove Knausgård, Autumn. I've had a hard time with his loooooong autobiographical fiction, but the short essays here are so keen and insightful. I just loved reading them. There are also letters to his unborn daughter that brought me a few happy tears. The writer has some unexamined phobias of his own femininity, which at times came through. Reading these moments felt a bit uncomfortable (should I turn away?) but also fascinating.
Finished Skavenslayer and now it's time to get caught up with the Expanse, so I just started Babylon's Ashes. Which, in light of the events at the end of the previous book, I expect to be ... cheery.
Joseph wrote: "...now it's time to get caught up with the E xpanse, so I just started Babylon's Ashes. Which, in light of the events at the end of the previous book, I expect to be ... cheery.""Cheery" is not exactly the word I would use. Hopeful, maybe.
Meanwhile I have finished Artemis. Fast and fun, although I did get bogged down a bit in all the tech.
Moving on to The January Dancer, which has been on my "to-read" list forever.
Audible UK sent me a Christmas present in the form of some ghostly tales read by Simon Callow. Very spine-chilling, highly recommended. What is it about Christmas and ghost stories that works so well together? Spooky stories also seem to work extra well in audio format, I must seek more out.Confession: I have never read any of The Expanse books, (or seen the TV show) thinking I need to remedy that! I think Leviathan Wakes is the first one...?
Would y'all recommend the audiobook? (read by Jefferson Mays)
Mod
Would y'all recommend the audiobook? (read by Jefferson Mays)."
Yes, Leviathan Wakes is the first.
I've done all the Expanse books in audio. I think Jefferson Mays is fine, but not exceptional. I think the books work well in audio, but aren't a "must listen" like some other books/series with great audio books.
Jefferson Mays is brilliant. If he is chosen to take over the Song of Ice & Fire I will be super happy. I can listen to Jefferson for hours no problem.
Rob wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Confession: I have never read any of The Expanse books, (or seen the TV show) thinking I need to remedy that! I think Leviathan Wakes is the first one...?Would y'all recommend the audiobook? (read by Jefferson Mays) ..."
Yes, Leviathan Wakes is the first.
I've done all the Expanse books in audio. I think Jefferson Mays is fine, but not exceptional. I think the books work well in audio, but aren't a "must listen" like some other books/series with great audio books.
Stephen wrote:
Jefferson Mays is brilliant. If he is chosen to take over the Song of Ice & Fire I will be super happy. I can listen to Jefferson for hours no problem.
Cool, thanks guys! I think I'll try the audiobook of Leviathan Wakes once I've finished my currently q'ed listen (Provenance)
I'm hoping that I am able to clear the spread I have soon and end the year on a high note. American Gods was fine. I tend not to resonate with Gaiman. This one was closer to my speed but we still didn't mesh. I always felt the real story was elsewhere.
Who Fears Death I should have listened. This book was too many things I can't deal with. I didn't listen, though. I can see why it's so well received. Unfortunately those reasons are essentially the same as the reasons I didn't like it.
Re-read of Alanna: The First Adventure! Just about as charming as I remember it. A few concepts that didn't age quite as well, but not enough (for me) to make me like it less.
Finishing Red Sister soon! It has a lot I like in it, and some that doesn't quite work for me. I find myself chuckling, grimacing and hiding behind my hands alternately.
Also going to finish The Raven Boys soon. The first 20% was pure YA romance and I was worried. It's gotten somewhat more interesting, but either the first 20% was a ruse or it's gonna rear its ugly head again and then I'm going to liquefy into a puddle of endless ennui.
Still hoping to finish Trust in Axion (short story!) and War for the Oaks before the New Year.
I picked up Kine from the library yesterday and have been blitzing through it. It's seriously brilliant, written from the perspective of a weasel you follow Kine as he defends his territory from minks. Has what is honestly one of the best romances I have ever read which is quite strange since it is about weasels however I think it's because of that it is so good. It's seems highly realistic for two weasels and it results in (view spoiler) Combine that with a prose that more reads like poetry and the descriptions of the countryside the book seems to come alive. While the bad guys are not very developed they don't really have to be. They are minks, they are a serious threat, they must be gotten rid of. While I'm only a bit over halfway through the book they make really fantastic villains because of this. The closest thing I can compare this to is Watership Down and I actually prefer Kine in a lot of ways. While Watership Down can be read by a kid I wouldn't recommend it Kine to most until they are at least teens. It's a savage book in a lot of ways and this is combined perfectly with the almost poetic prose.
Seriously have to recommend it and at the very least what I've read up to so far gets five stars.
Finished Oathbringer, disappointed that the series did not conclude (who needs 5k pages to tell a story, grumble) ★★★★☆. Finishing the year with The Lost Plot and Persepolis Rising and should make my 60 book target.
Mod
Uh, I've got bad news for you then. He's planning it to be a 10 book series.
Wow, Iain, I'm sorry you thought it was supposed to be a trilogy! Like Rob said, it's supposed to be a 10-book series, but he's planning on it being made up of two 5-book arcs.Slightly amusing sidestory--my wife walked out of the first Hobbit movie confused that they didn't make it to Smaug's mountain yet. Apparently I had never mentioned it was going to be a trilogy to her... Whoops!
Rob wrote: "Iain wrote: "Finished Oathbringer, disappointed that the series did not conclude (who needs 5k pages to tell a story, grumble) ★★★★☆. ..."Uh, I've got bad news for you then. He's ..."
Crap, I struggled to remember what had happened and these are too long to reread... This is Wheel of Time bad...
Note to self: Do not start series unless some hope of the writer finishing them in the foreseeable future (I will probably have Dementia by the time this finishes)
To be fair, the Hobbit should have been only one film.
John (Nevets) wrote: "To be fair, the Hobbit should have been only one film."If even that.
Had a lovely holiday visit up at my parents' place, during which I finished Babylon's Ashes, read Strange Dogs and then tore through Persepolis Rising in pretty much a single day, and have now started Dorothy Dunnett's King Hereafter, a historical novel based on Macbeth.
John (Nevets) wrote: "To be fair, the Hobbit should have been only one film."Yes. I could see it being two movies since the book is a
'there and back' story. Splitting the story around the Battle of Five Armies or a bit before could make sense and taking, say, 3 hours to tell the story in two 90 minute films wouldn't be terrible. Three movies, though and adding things not in the book was where I called it. Too obviously a cash grab and to this day, I've not seen any of the Hobbit movies.
I've read Edgedancer, Oathbringer, and The Blade Itself so far this month. I see some people sad that Oathbringer is not the end, but Sanderson has been fairly punctual with releases so far and hopefully continues at that pace.
Read a couple of real turkeys recently.First up, the one most people will recognize: Artemis. It's Weir's second book, but is in no way a followup to The Martian. The book is a heist caper on the Moon. That's implausible enough, but then the MC is a blatant Mary Sue who is better and smarter and whateverer than everyone else around her. Then the PC checklist starts from there. The ridiculous plot is intended to showcase life on the Moon, but the science is so shallow that it's like Weir spent an hour on the phone with a JPL scientist and then ran with it from there. The conclusion is ridiculously silly. I wondered why this book came down the library Hold list so quickly and now I know. It's only 300 pages and doesn't reward deep reading. I finished it and sent it back. May someone else enjoy it more than me.
Next up: Spin the Sky. This one came from a LA Public Library suggestion list and I grabbed it. The book seems to be about living in orbital habitats, which it at least nominally is. The first third is about a nomadic trading ship and its dogooder captain with a Mysterious Past (tm). They traipse among a post-war series of habitats in Earth orbit, making money and helping out.
Then it turns into a drifter come home story with an orbital ranch. Worse, it's a romance. So I'm pitched an SF action story but it's actually a thinly disguised Western romance. Er, no thanks. Worse, the handwavium of the beginning, at least plausibly allowing suspension of disbelief, turns into atrociously bad science. A herd of cows significantly slows the rotation of a space habitat? Er, no. They wouldn't be able to impart near enough energy to do that.
It gets worse, with the romance laid on thick, stock characters acting in stock fashion. Travel time to the Moon is treated as trivial, notwithstanding that most of the habitats are only a few hundred miles up so at a minimum they'd have to break out of Earth's gravity well. There's a modestly decent moment when the MC's friends come out to help him at the end, but that has the puzzling effect of leaving him out of the action's conclusion.
I might have been able to deal with the bad science, but for the bait and switch on the story type and the poor conclusion, gotta call this one a stinker.
And lastly Peter Hamilton's Misspent Youth. It's nominally a Commonwealth book as it introduces rejuvenation and the creation of the datasphere. But that's about it. This unlikeable tale mostly chronicles the horny adventures of the world's first rejuvenated human. A major plotline is whether or not the man will try to steal his son's 17 year old girlfriend. It's unlikeable people doing unlikeable things. Gag.
John, I feel your pain! Raven Boys was indeed a YA romance with no climaxes of any sort for any characters. I was hoping there'd be a plot arc, but I guess those are optional. Learn something new everyday.At least War for the Oaks was pretty great. Also a little romance-y, but mostly just cool. For anyone who likes both music and urban fantasy, this should be on the list!
Just started Touch and enjoying it. It wasn't at all what I anticipated. I'm not sure what is different than my expectation, but it surprised me.
Finished Zoo City. I’m at sixes-and-sevens about it. However, it completes my Alphabet Challenge for the first time ever, so there’s that. Fitting that I finished with a Z title.
Mod
It is as good as everyone told me it would be.
This would make a good S&L pick. I might nominate it for March Madness :-)
Just finished The Lost Plot which was fun. The strictures of the plot structure are starting to bend and Irene is not undergoing the growth I would of expected by now. This is a series that is beginning to run out of steam and needs to get on with the storyline. Now to finish the year with Persepolis Rising.
Mod
It is as good as everyone told me it would be.
This would make a good S&L pick. I might nominate it for March Madness :-)"
It would. The audio is pretty good too.
Iain wrote: Tassie Dave wrote: "I'm reading We Are Legion (We Are Bob).It is as good as everyone told me it would be.
This would make a good S&L pick. I might nominate it for March Madness :-)"
"It would. The audio is pretty good too."
I agree. The audio narration on the Bob books is pretty fun.
People wrote: "Some stuff about We Are Legion (We Are Bob) and the narration thereof."I just started listening to it over the holiday and can't agree more, the narration is fantastic.
Finished Station Eleven not too many minutes ago. I’m nonplussed by its magnificence. The best book of the year for me, coming in right at the end of December.
Currently deciding which one to read to bookend the year:Lost Stars since I am still feeling starwarsy or The Cuckoo's Calling since I have the physical copy since long and it basically screams at me to read it everytime I look at my shelf. Suggestion? :D
Tassie Dave wrote: "I'm reading We Are Legion (We Are Bob).
It is as good as everyone told me it would be.
This would make a good S&L pick. I might nominate it for March Madness :-)"
Please do, I have both ebook and audible versions of it.
Silvana wrote: "Currently deciding which one to read to bookend the year:Lost Stars since I am still feeling starwarsy or The Cuckoo's Calling since I have the physical copy since ..."
Lost Stars hits a lot of the key moments of the original trilogy through a different perspective. It would be a good feeling starwarsy book to read.
I couldn’t decide what to read while flying today so I downloaded a sample of Ninefox Gambit. On page two he references “Hill 117.” 117 is a number that has followed me around my entire life, so decision made. 😝
I finished a reread of Hogfather because tis the season. I started Oathbringer, which had been wrapped up under the tree.
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Eh, no regrets. I also looked up who the murderer was and my assumption was correct.