What Else Are You Reading - March 2018

[Dara]

I loved Seveneves so we'll have to agree to disagree there, Iain. But we're getting far off topic here and the Roberator is gonna shut us down, haha.

[Brendan]

Loved Snow Crash, Anathem, and Diamond Age most of all. Seveneves was dull and insanely too long.

[Jessica]

I finished The Way of Shadows, which was meh. I am now on to this month's S&L pick, An Unkindness of Ghosts, and although I'm only 4 chapters in, so far I love it right in the face (to borrow phrasing from our Supreme Laser's review of another book)

As a side note, Seveneves is the only work of Stephenson's that I've read, but I really enjoyed it - definitely long, but it was great stuff

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

Started reading The Way of Kings

I've had it a while and I thought I might get an early start, just in case it wins the March Madness polls.

It is such a big read, I'm guessing the eBook adds several grams/ounces to my iPad ;-)

[Joseph]

Tassie Dave wrote: "It is such a big read, I'm guessing the eBook adds several grams/ounces to my iPad ;-)"

Those electrons do start to add up.

[Iain]

Joseph wrote: "Tassie Dave wrote: "It is such a big read, I'm guessing the eBook adds several grams/ounces to my iPad ;-)"

Those electrons do start to add up."

Careful, my iPad's screen cracked whilst I had the Way of Kings on it.... Tor gave out a free copy a while back (giving crack to babies)

[John (Taloni)]

Someone did a study a while back and concluded that all of the electrons making up all the data in the Internet weighed about as much as a strawberry.

...so I'm not surprised that Way of Kings weighs even more.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

Iain wrote: "Careful, my iPad's screen cracked whilst I had the Way of Kings on it.... Tor gave out a free copy a while back (giving crack to babies) "

I got my copy in that Tor give away.
The size of it was what originally had me not buy it.

But free is too good to not at least give it a go.

I'm worried I'm signing up for the full 10 book, 10+ year epic journey.

[Trike]

Just finished When the English Fall, which is about the apocalypse told from the POV of an Amish farmer. Promising premise but it doesn’t follow through. 2 stars.

[Troy]

Tassie Dave wrote: "Started reading The Way of Kings

I've had it a while and I thought I might get an early start, just in case it wins the March Madness polls.

It is such a big read, I'm guessing the..."

Out of curiosity I looked at Audible to see how long their version is (45 hours +) and discovered that it has been in my library since 2012. Maybe it's time to start it.
There is an accompanying reference guide! I guess that's a good thing.

[Silvana]

Finishing A Betrayal in Winter today (great sequel!) and starting...Altered Carbon.

[Iain]

Just finished the The Goblin Emperor which was a lot of fun. A refreshingly different Fantasy book with no swords or barbarians at the gate ★★★★☆.

Now onto the Atrocity Archives.

[Rick]

For some bizarre reason I've had The Wee Free Men on my iPad for years and not read it. Doing that now.

[Travis]

Iain wrote: "Just finished the The Goblin Emperor which was a lot of fun. A refreshingly different Fantasy book with no swords or barbarians at the gate ★★★★☆.
"

I just started that this evening. Just a chapter in, but already excited to continue...

[Joseph]

Finished Lady of the Lake (the final Witcher novel) and started A Conversation in Blood, the third of Paul S. Kemp's Egil & Nix books.

[Meaghan]

Jenny wrote: "I'm reading Children of Time which is quite unlike anything I've read before. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.


I liked this book more than I expected to - I think I picked it up as a Kindle First book or something similar, as I don't even recall how it landed in my purchased Kindle books pile. I wonder, though, about the David Brin reference - I've only read a few of those and got suddenly worried that this was going the same place those went.

Currently reading: Punishment and All Our Wrong Todays

[Colin]

Well, I'm finished with Unkindness of Ghosts, so I needed another audio book. Regardless of the March Madness result, I'm going to make a start on Consider Phlebas. I think it's time for me to re-visit the Culture series. My paperback copy of this one dates from c. 1993 and I can remember literally nothing about plots or characters.

[Jenny]

Jessica wrote: "I've finally started The Way of Shadows - my husband has been wanting me to read the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks for a while now, I just always have such an overwhelming TBR l..."

Hi Jessica, I read The Night Angel Trilogy years ago and absolutely loved it. I really enjoyed all the twists & turns and became quite invested in the characters.

[Adelaide]

I just finished Dragon Coast, the third book in the Daniel Blackland series. (We read the first book California Bones as part of the group.) I really enjoyed the series right up to the end, where the author had Cassandra doing something with tamales in the oven with a spatula. Uh. Tamales are steamed and spatulas are pretty useless. (Tongs are handy.) Other than that, this was a fun read.

[TRP]

Reading How to Stop Time by Matt Haig. I can't remember why I got this on Audible or why it's on my reading list (known as the Symmetrical Book Stack) but a few hours in, I am glad it was.

[John (Taloni)]

^ Haaah, the unexpected, forgotten book. A while back someone recommended "Saturn Run" and I looked at it puzzled on my library wish list. Read it and it was great! Too bad the author only did one SF book.

[Misti]

I'm about halfway through Heir to the Jedi. It's a quick read so it shouldn't take much longer to read. I think I'll jump to another Kevin Hearne book Staked next.

[Robert]

I just finished the steampunk novel Unseemly Science, the second book in the "Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire" series. I quite enjoyed it. I discovered the series when I was looking through the book lists of people I follow on Goodreads, trying to find books I hadn't heard of. It was on Felicia Day's list and she liked the series quite a bit. I read the first book in the series last fall and enjoyed it. I'm hoping to read the third book down the road. In the meantime, though, I'll get back to the books I bought over the holidays.

[Rick]

Finished The Wee Free Men which was predictably delightful. On to either The Warrior Within (discovered via a Charlie Stross retweet of a Kameron Hurley rec) or Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr

[Joseph]

Rick wrote: "Finished The Wee Free Men which was predictably delightful. On to either The Warrior Within (discovered via a Charlie Stross retweet of a Kameron Hurley rec) or [book:K..."

That (Wee Free Men) is a series that I'd say only gets better as it goes on.

[Rick]

I still haven't read most Pratchett. This is only the 3rd (Small Gods and Wyrd Sisters being the other 2). I need to read more.

[John (Taloni)]

Oh, Rick, you are in for a treat.

After reading a handful I went back and read in publication order. Yeah, the first two are kinda lame. The rest of the series has high points, but only in that all the books are great, and some even greater than others.

[Alan]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Oh, Rick, you are in for a treat.

After reading a handful I went back and read in publication order. Yeah, the first two are kinda lame. The rest of the series has high points, but only in that al..."
I agree . . . but look at the situation. Sir Terry himself would have acknowledged that while writing the first two (Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic) he was still learning his craft. Later, instead of the story serving the jokes he develops into the jokes serving the story - and gets significantly better! And it continued to get better and better virtually without a glitch until the embuggerance (his term for Alzheimers) started to bite. Personally I would place that at Unseen Academicals, though others like that and place the start of the decay at Snuff or Raising Steam.
One thing not to be missed . . . Strata precedes and is not part of the Discworld cannon - but it has things in common, and it is interesting to watch the development ideas from a literary genius.

[Iain]

Alan wrote: "John (Taloni) wrote: "Oh, Rick, you are in for a treat.

After reading a handful I went back and read in publication order. Yeah, the first two are kinda lame. The rest of the series has high point..."


I am still partial to Small Gods the best book on religion ever (written by an atheist).

[Alan]

Iain wrote: "I am still partial to Small Gods the best book on religion ever (written by an atheist). ..."
Agreed! Oh, yes, agreed!

[Sheila Jean]

So I finished up All These Worlds by Dennis E. Taylor (The 3rd Bobiverse book) on my way back from a ski trip this past weekend. I enjoyed the audio book as a way to pass the time, but I think the first book was the best and most interesting of the three for me, and I'd have been happy to have only read book one: We Are Legion (We Are Bob).

Changing up my audio with some Lady Sherlock, A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas. Might do the rest of the Demon Cycle once I'm finished, but I'm enjoying these lighter stories for now.

On the text front, I'm reading Gnomon by Nick Harkaway, Got this one in a PageHabit. I wouldn't have picked it up on my own, but I'm about 35% through and am enjoying it so far.

[Silvana]

Rick wrote: "or Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr "

I really, really want to read this.

[Rick]

Silvana wrote: "Rick wrote: "or Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr "

I really, really want to read this."

I've read the first couple of chapters and the writing is lovely. It feels more... mythological if that makes sense. When I was kid the small school library we had didn't have fantasy books (this was in the 60s, so, you know just after the ice age... *cough*) but we had a complete set of all the Greek myths so that's what I read. This feels a little like that not in tone or writing style, but in the kind of story it is.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Oh, Rick, you are in for a treat..."

I've kind of saved these - they're easy to read and I can't imagine that I won't like them but with his passing I'm aware that there won't be any more so I'm treating them as special.

[Gary]

I finished reading Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive 2.5) and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne. I am reading Babylon's Ashes (The Expanse Book #6) by James S.A. Corey. I plan to read The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker next.

[Iain]

Had a blast reading The Atrocity Archives ★★★★☆. Who can resist supernatural science fiction with an added soupçon of alternative reality NAZI's..

This book flew by. I picked it up as a deliberate sword choice but any one who can add computational Hilbert space with demon summoning deserves the SF label :-). Definitely going to pick up the rest. The second book I have read this year that masquerades in another genre (Wrinkle)

[Dara]

Finished Curtsies & Conspiracies. My
review. Not sure what to read next. Part of me wants another Stephenson but I'm not sure.

[John (Taloni)]

So....assuming you complete the Finishing School books (2 more in the series) Gail Carriger has some novellas, one of which follows up on one the Finishing School peeps (Preshea) plus "Romancing the Werewolf" has some interesting cameos.

[Dara]

I have Waistcoats & Weaponry and I have the first book in the Custard series, Prudence. I'll likely read them all. I love her style.

[Joseph]

Finished A Conversation in Blood and decided to continue getting caught up on series, so next up is A Conjuring of Light, third in V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic series.

[Devin]

At the moment I'm reading Black Moon and the Southern Reach trilogy.

[Devin]

I'm finding Authority (the second book of the Southern Reach trilogy) difficult to get through and I really don't know why. I keep coming back to it and when I'm done reading/listening it seems like I have barely made any progress!

I'm having trouble engaging with the story, however Annihilation (the first book) really captured my interest and I was consumed by it!

has anyone else experienced this or something similar?

[Silvana]

Finished with Altered Carbon and Tom & Veronica were right when they said I should read it, because I LOVED it.

Now starting a lighter read, Good Omens. Back to back I am reading books with TV adaptations.

Rick wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Rick wrote: "or Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr "

I really, really want to read this."

I've read the first couple of chapters and the writing is lovely. It feels more... mytholo..."

Thanks. I am super intrigued with this book after listening to the author's interviews. Never read his other books before, so this would be my first Crowley.

[Iain]

Devin_e wrote: "I'm finding Authority (the second book of the Southern Reach trilogy) difficult to get through and I really don't know why. I keep coming back to it and when I'm done reading/listening it seems lik..."

It is much slower than the first and last book. Also, the protagonist appears to be rather dim. Think of it as a slow middle min a larger book, kind of like going through the marshes in Lord of the Rings :-)

[Joseph]

Also read recently: So remember when Time and Again by Jack Finney was a monthly pick? Well I recently acquired a set of Weird Worlds magazines (a Scholastic magazine that ran for 8 issues in 1979/1980; kind of an SFF/horror-themed companion to Dynamite) and in the very first issue there was a reprint of a Jack Finney story from 1950 called The Third Level in which the narrator discovers a nonexistent third level to Grand Central Station that somehow connects to the 1880s. So apparently he was always a fan of that era.

[Phil]

Just finished Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language by Ruth Wajnryb. This is about swearing from a lexicographer's perspective. It looks into the history of "foul" language and how it has changed with time and how it is different in other cultures and how it works within language itself. I found it interesting but a little dry in spots. Overall, not too fucking bad.
Starting The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers.

[Jessica]

Devin_e wrote: "I'm finding Authority (the second book of the Southern Reach trilogy) difficult to get through and I really don't know why. I keep coming back to it and when I'm done reading/listening it seems lik..."

So much YES. The second book was a real slog for me, but book 3 feels much more similar to the first one. I do recommend forging ahead!

[Iain]

Apparently Tom was an Underlord in an alternative version of London (The Mime Order). What hidden skills does he have.

[Julie]

I’m reading The Bear and the Nightingale and listening to The Golem and the Jinni.

[Brendan]

Finished Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber. Very tight short stories that emphasize what's best about this series: ridiculous action scenes and cheeky humour. ★★★☆☆.

Currently reading: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

[Devin]

JESSICA:

I'm happy to hear that others babe felt the same way. Also it's really encouraging to hear what you said about the third book