What Else Are You Reading - March 2018

[Stephen]

Listening to Six Wakes which is read by the author who does a great job. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) which is so far a blast.

[Iain]

Just finished reading my son Life, the Universe and Everything, its good to educate the young in the classics.

[Albert]

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.

Maybe it should be my next read too then. Expectations are high and I’m almost a bit anxious to start. I have a couple of Crowley’s on my shelf but so far I’ve only read The Deep which I rated a strong 3 stars (I’m quite conservative) and which felt as the start of something great.

[Rob, Roberator]

I finished King of Thorns. It was alright. -
★★★☆☆ - (My Review)

[Shad]

Finished Forsworn. Just started The Man in the High Castle.

[Allison]

Finished:

The Invisible Library and am really unhappy I did.
Children of Blood and Bone was also very disappointing, but at least the world was pretty.
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir was fun but also anxiety producing.
Dark Matter was quick, and light.

I had to give back 3 Body before I could read it, but have started Carnival and still really enjoying The Dispossessed.

[Erik]

Currently reading The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017

Finished:
Red Planet Solid YA read. I honestly started picturing the whole book as a MST3K episode at some point and found it very entertaining.
The Rum Diary This was pretty bad. Not judging HST on this because I know it's not critically acclaimed but this was such a pointless story. Had some good writing at times but that's about it.

[Joseph]

ATalkingDogMovie wrote: "Currently reading The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017

Finished:
Red Planet Solid YA read. I honestly started picturing the whole book as a MST3K episod..."

Red Planet was one of my first SF books (along with John Christopher's Tripods trilogy); I remember sitting on the front porch and reading that book cover-to-cover; I think it was the summer after second grade?

[Silvana]

Finished with Good Omens. Started out great, but fizzles into a jumbled story with weak ending.

Starting my 10th Sword novel this year, Tower of Thorns, second book of Blackthorn and Grim series by Juliet Marillier.

[Stephen]

Started The Lost Plot , the 4th book in the Invisible Library series and For We Are Many the second book in the We are Bob universe. Hoping for a Bob win.

[John (Taloni)]

Silvana wrote: "Finished with Good Omens. Started out great, but fizzles into a jumbled story with weak ending."

I am so glad to find out I'm not the only one who thinks that. Good Omens is hilarious, great read, but (view spoiler)[the protagonists just narrate and don't affect things. (hide spoiler)]

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

Lemmed Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente.

I tried hard to like but it is a muddled mess.

Good thing I got it for free from Tor ;-)

About to start Words of Radiance

[Dara]

Finished Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett. The Discworld books just aren't clicking for me. Review

Not sure what to read next. Feeling kinda burned and still missing Anathem.

[Joseph]

Dara wrote: "Finished Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett. The Discworld books just aren't clicking for me. Review

Not sure what to read next. Feeling kinda burned and still missing [book..."

FWIW, it did take Pratchett a few volumes to kind of find his footing -- for whatever reason, I think the Discworld books took a major step up in quality at around the same time he was working on Good Omens. If you want to skip ahead, I'm a big fan of [book:Lords and Ladies|34529] (another Granny Weatherwax book, but there's really not much to connect it to Equal Rites). Or Guards! Guards! (the first of the Sam Vimes/City Watch books) is another great starting point.

Or, if they're just not clicking for you and it's time for something else, well, there's certainly no shame in that.

[Trike]

Silvana wrote: "Finished with Good Omens. Started out great, but fizzles into a jumbled story with weak ending."

I felt the same way about that. Overall it was okay but it didn’t really stick the landing.

I’ve been reading From a Certain Point of View : 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of Star Wars, as best as I’m able with my eyes all jacked up, and some of the stories are pretty good, but honestly most of these don’t need to exist.

[Phil]

Silvana wrote: "Finished with Good Omens. Started out great, but fizzles into a jumbled story with weak ending.

It's funny, I know you're speaking of the ending in a bigger context but I've always considered the last page of Good Omens to be the best I've ever read. The allusions to the Bible, The Second Coming by Yeats, and, possibly, A Boy and His Dog by Ellison combine to really grab me.

[Joseph]

Finished A Conjuring of Light, which I quite enjoyed and, in keeping with my current theme of finally finishing series, I started Chains of the Heretic, the third & final in Jeff Salyards's Bloodsounder's Arc trilogy.

[Silvana]

@Phil: that part was okay, I guess, but the story climax with Adam was rather meh for me.

@Dara: I did not enjoy Pratchett witch stuff either (which explains my dislike of the Agnes Nutter related parts in Good Omens), and would just recommend the City Watch, Industrial Revolution, and Death books.

[Phil]

Finished The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers. This is a short book of 6 short stories, mostly involving ghosts or spirits, although I didn't know that going in. Overall it was O.K. but nothing too memorable.
Starting Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West.

[Dara]

@Joseph @Silvana - If I get back into Discworld, I'll jump ahead to Guards! Guards!.

[Silvana]

Woo-hoo! Say hi to Nobby for us :p

Alright. I just had another two-star book. Back to back. Tower of Thorns made me quit Marillier. Too many fillers. I would rather read her short stories.

Now hoping Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald can help lifting my mood. ASOIAF in the moon!

[Jessica]

After finishing AN UNKINDNESS OF GHOSTS for S&L and KAREN MEMORY for Vaginal Fantasy, I have started THE IMMORTALISTS by a Chloe Benjamin.

[Silvana]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Finished with Good Omens. Started out great, but fizzles into a jumbled story with weak ending."

I am so glad to find out I'm not the only one who thinks that. Good Omens is hilari..."

I missed this comment. You are so darn right, now that I think about it.

[Iain]

Just finished The Mime Order as an audio book from the local library. I am not going to finish the series (maybe glance at the last chapter) as this is turning into an interminable slog and the ending seems pretty obvious (view spoiler)[ our hero page has to boink Warden to save the Ether....Love conquers all bluurggh (hide spoiler)].

I am now reading Walkaway as my first Cory Doctorow book. I will also try another audio book, this time a bit more high brow with Oryx and Crake. Hope it is more engaging (it is certainly a lot shorter).

[Shad]

Finished The Man in the High Castle. Interesting ideas but I wonder if it suffers some from being a little dated.

Staring the tor.com free ebookclub book of the month, Too Like the Lightning.

[Troy]

Dara wrote: "@Joseph @Silvana - If I get back into Discworld, I'll jump ahead to Guards! Guards!."
Guards! Guards! Is a favorite of mine. I've listened to the Audible version a few times. I just finished The Way of Kings and Pratchett books are just the kind of thing I like after a big read:)

[Silvana]

Finished with Wolf Moon. Raw, volatile, sensual, vivid, exhilarating, poetic, I am running out of adjectives. I think Ian McDonald had lots of fun writing this epic moon colony story. I really have to move The Moon is a Harsh Mistress to the top of my TBR list now.

Starting a unique book (set in India) titled The Devourers by Indra Das. Looks fascinating.

[Ryne]

Finished River of Teeth it's a little more Magnificent 7/Hateful 8 than the premise suggests but I love the alternate history of Hippos in the USA and how that shifts the world just a bit.
Now I'm reading Lucky by R.H. Webster, that's a scifi/space opera adventure it has a more civilian Star Trek feel with a southwest twist. I'm still pretty early into it and I'm still getting introduced the the crew. I do really like the main character's personality, and some of the supporting characters are interesting.

[Misti]

I re-joined Audible this week. My first new download is We Are Legion (We Are Bob), since I've already read Soulless. It's been quite enjoyable so far. I can't wait until I have time to listen again.

[HeyT]

I finished The Dopplegänger Gambit which was fun but not omg amazing and have now moved on to Sorcerer's Son

[Ruth]

Iain wrote: "Just finished The Mime Order as an audio book from the local library. I am not going to finish the series (maybe glance at the last chapter) as this is turning into an interminable ..."

I enjoyed the first couple of books in this series but yeah, The Mime Order turned into a slog and I ended up not finishing it.

[Trike]

Read Children of Blood and Bone which was disappointing. It’s essentially a clunky YA version of the superior NK Jemisin book The Killing Moon.

Just started the nonfiction Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, which has one of the greatest pull quotes ever:

We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love and nurture it into being, and once it gains gross motor skills, it starts going exactly where we don't want it to go: it heads right for the goddamned electrical sockets.

[Rob, Roberator]

Emperor of Thorns - ★★★☆☆ - (My Review)

Broken Homes - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

Two Serpents Rise - ★★★☆☆ - (My Review)

[Trike]

Rob wrote: "Broken Homes - ★★★★☆☆ - (My Review)"

Is this a math thing?

[Erik]

Shad wrote: "Finished The Man in the High Castle. Interesting ideas but I wonder if it suffers some from being a little dated.

Staring the tor.com free ebookclub book of the month, Too Like..."

I felt the same way. It seemed like a book 1 and not a stand alone to me. Definitely wanted to see more in the world.

Unrelated after finishing AUOG I started
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

[Michael]

Finished The Core to wrap up the Demon Wars. Enjoyed it but the last book suffered a little from having too many story lines that did not really impact the overall plot.

Followed that up with Fuzzy Nation. I loved Piper's originals when I read them in the late 80's so this was a fun nostalgic read.

Strange Practice started a little slowly for me. The middle picked up pretty well, but the denouement to set up future stories was a little long. I would still consider checking out the next one though.

[Brendan]

Read: Herland, which was not a great story but was a good sociology essay. ★★★☆☆.

Roadside Picnic, terrific book, easy to see its influence on modern authors. ★★★★☆.

Currently reading The Mount by Carol Emshwiller, about an Earth where humans are enslaved by tiny aliens and used as transportation? Its weird.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished:

Nexus by Ramez Naam - 5 stars - highly recommended "post-cyberpunk" near future thriller about using nanotechnology to create superintelligent post-humans

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott - 3 stars - kind of like a geometry lesson mixed with Victorian-era social theory but there are some interesting ideas for a book written over 130 years ago

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - 3 stars - a "rural fantasy" set in the pre-Russian countryside based on peasant folklore of the time

[Sky]

I read Legend of Galactic Heroes #4 Stratagem and #5 銀河英雄伝説 5 風雲篇 Ginga eiyū densetsu 5 . Its a 10 volume classic Japanese space opera. The next book #6 comes out in English in early april. It was written in the early 80s I believe and generated a classic anime that is currently being rebooted.

I also read Jade City which I thought was absolutely fantastic.

Not sure what my next read will be. I wonder if there is a way in Good Reads to ask it to show you all books in a series that you started but did not finish

[Trike]

Sky wrote: "Not sure what my next read will be. I wonder if there is a way in Good Reads to ask it to show you all books in a series that you started but did not finish "

I have no idea, but you could join FictFact and have the feature going forward. Not exactly what you’re looking for but possibly useful.

Once you do all the data entry it notifies you when new additions to series are published.

[Iain]

Trike wrote: "Sky wrote: "Not sure what my next read will be. I wonder if there is a way in Good Reads to ask it to show you all books in a series that you started but did not finish "

I have no idea, but you c..."

I figure that if I cannot remember the series when it comes out then it probably isn't worth finishing.... (I check a book store about once a week :-)

[Silvana]

Taking a breather from novels and I'm currently reading Marvel 1602 and rereading an old childhood fave shoujo Yokohama Monogatari Vol. 7

Iain wrote: "Trike wrote: "Sky wrote: "Not sure what my next read will be. I wonder if there is a way in Good Reads to ask it to show you all books in a series that you started but did not finish "

I have no i..."

I use a manual tracking thread to keep track of series I started (and abandoned) and make a separate shelf for series I follow.

[Dara]

Borrowed We Are Legion (We Are Bob) from the Kindle Lending Library since it's a finalist (possible winner). It's okay so far. I'm only 13% in and it still feels like the tutorial of a video game. Waiting for the main plot to kick off.

[terpkristin]

I finished An Unkindness of Ghosts and have started reading a non-fiction book about the extreme lack of oversight by the FDA in the approval of implanted medical devices. As one with implanted devices (at least one named by name in the book, about which there was a class action lawsuit), it is bordering on being shelved (for me) as horror.

I’m also still listening to Oathbringer. Probably will listen to that more on the plane, as I’m not sure I can take much more of the medical devices book today.

[David H.]

terpkristin, I heard the author of that book on NPR's Fresh Air a couple months ago--pretty scary. :(

[Trike]

Is it a secret book?

[John (Taloni)]

^Dara, it does start kind of slow but definitely picks up. Well, from where I sit anyway. I'm curious how you will feel about halfway.

[Dara]

John (Taloni) wrote: "^Dara, it does start kind of slow but definitely picks up. Well, from where I sit anyway. I'm curious how you will feel about halfway."

I was expecting a more lighthearted romp but was hit with all this theocracy and... it threw me for a loop.

[John (Taloni)]

TBH I thought about dropping it right there. As I went on I realized the book is an extended set of geek references and I think that was a take on Heinlein's "Revolt in 2100." In any event the start of Book 1 is by far the least enjoyable part for me. But it got a whole lot better.

[Dara]

That's good to know cause I feel like I'm reading about another aspect of Gilead or something.