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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading - August 2014
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My review
Starting a foray into the Warhammer Universe with Eisenhorn"
Do you play warhammer?
After reading a bunch of mediocre books and a slew of YA books I thought I'd continue my re-read of Memory, Sorrow & Thorn that I started last year so...I'm currently reading The Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams!
David Sven wrote: "Starting a foray into the Warhammer Universe with Eisenhorn"Abnett is a good place to start.
Continuing on my novella kick. Read The Concrete Jungle (Laundry Files 1.5), Forsworn andServant of the Crown (Powder Mage), The Churn: An Expanse Novella (Expanse). Next up are Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome (Lock In prequel), and The Butcher of Anderson Station and Gods of Risk (Expanse).
Rob wrote: "Do you play warhammer?"No. But I used to play the old space marines board game. And Space Hulk on PC.
So far, I've picked up Quintessence and Artemis Awakening from the library, and I have Cinder on hold to pick up tomorrow for my meatspace book club. Blue Remembered Earth has a waiting list, but I should get it soon. It's the only Alistair Reynolds book that has slipped past me somehow.
Giving Hounded a re-listen. Oddly the 1st time around I really didn't care for it but this time I'm actually enjoying it.
I just finished Words of Radiance. It's a really good book, duh. I had to write a totally unnecessary review so I could clear my head of some first impressions of it and in a little bit I think I'll follow one of the links up top to read what y'all were saying about in the other group.
I'm finally picking up the pace again. So far this month I finished The Martian and The High Druid's Blade. I'm currently 2/3 through Cibola Burn, and have Severed Souls that I need to finish and return to the library by the middle of next week.In audio I finished Blood Song by Anthony Ryan and am currently listening to Timebound which is a time travel YA book.
Just finished a lesser-known Frank Herbert novel/collection, The Godmakers (my review).Next up: The End is Nigh.
Richelle wrote: "So far, I've picked up Quintessence and Artemis Awakening from the library...."I normally love Lindskold (Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls is a favorite), but I was disappointed in Artemis Awakening. It felt padded and simplistic.
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I am trying Light by M.John Harrison. Has anyone read it?"I read it a few years back and while I thought it was good, parts of it were like pulling teeth and none of the characters are likeable at all. As Tamahome said, it's very literary.
I think it's telling that I've never been inclined to pick up the other two in the trilogy. That being said, the guys from the Coode Street Podcast absolutely rave about this series.
Prior to reading The Name of the Wind, I read:Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis: Picked it up after listening to an interview with the author on the Skiffy and Fanty show and it was excellent YA Fantasy. Every time the main character blinks his perspective switches to a girl in a secondary fantasy world.
Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories, edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios which I strongly recommend. There's some great authors (Jim C. Hines, Sofia Samatar, John Chu, Tansy Rayner Roberts and others) and the coverage in diversity is wide with race/disability/gender/sexuality/neurodiversity all covered in both the stories and the authors.
Bloodshifted by Cassie Alexander and Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews rounded it all out with some good urban fantasy.
Next up I'm going to read Authority by Jeff VanderMeer and The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley.
I read/listened to the first three Sandman Slim books, great but DARK - left me wanting to give my brain a shower and some candy.Ended up read/listening to Inamorata next, not a great book (it's more Vaginal Fantasy style), but entertaining and the narrator David DeVries was amazingly good. Will be searching out other books narrated by him.
Now I'm about 30% into Six Heirs and enjoying it, but not blown away. Will probably pick up the rest of the series at some point.
Those last two I read and listened to for free with the Kindle Unlimited thing so that worked out okay but not sure I'm going to keep it. Some of the books don't include the audio, I noticed also. We'll see how it develops, I guess.
Lindsay wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I am trying Light by M.John Harrison. Has anyone read it?"I read it a few years back and while I thought it was good, parts of it were like pulling teeth and none of the characters are likeable at all. As Tamahome said, it's very literary.
I think it's telling that I've never been inclined to pick up the other two in the trilogy. That being said, the guys from the Coode Street Podcast absolutely rave about this series. "
I went back a chapter or so to cover for what I read while sleeping and I'm finding myself going, wait, what? A lot. That's okay though. (So she's a cat? Or cat-like? Gets confusing.)
He's said on Coode St that he likes to surprise the reader.
Tamahome wrote: "He's said on Coode St that he likes to surprise the reader."I absolutely loved the story Cave & Julia so that moved him up in my reading list.
Fresh off my DarkFuse binge, and just finished:
Pretty awesome stuff. That's the first 5 stars I've given a fantasy since I read Robin Hobb a few weeks ago.
Here's my review
Onwards to:
Pretty awesome stuff. That's the first 5 stars I've given a fantasy since I read Robin Hobb a few weeks ago.
Here's my review
Onwards to:
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I am trying Light by M.John Harrison. Has anyone read it?"I read it a few years back and while I thought it was good, parts of it were like pulling te..."
It's been a while since I read Light, but Harrison does love to play games, both with plot and sentences.
If you haven't listened to the latest podcast yet next month's book is Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. It's an excellent collection of short stories.
Finished Assassin's Apprentice last night. It was just okay. It didn't hold my interest enough to continue the series.Now I'm jumping back into the Dresden Files with Grave Peril.
Finished The River of Time by David Brin. I enjoyed this collection of his short stories. Brin is a consistently good author.Next is The Once and Future King in my quest for S&L completeness.
Finished Leviathan Wakes and it's clear I'm going to be in the Expanse for a while. Next up it's prequel time with The Butcher of Anderson Station. Now this is podracing ...
Rob wrote: "Jack wrote: "I really want to read Fool's Assassin but never got around to reading the Tawny Man Trilogy. Any Hobb fans who think I'd be okay skipping it"Not a chance. You'll need to read Tawny M..."
Hm. I read the original Assassin trilogy a looong time ago. Found it okay, did not feel compelled to read more of it, though I did have The Liveship Traders recommended me at some point. Now after seing Robin Hobb at Loncon she's back on the radar, and I wonder; is it time to pick up where I left off?
I'm going a long ways out of my normal reading right now and going with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1, I'm not going to lie, the many reason I'm reading this is because of the video game Dynasty Warriors...
Roger wrote: "I'm going a long ways out of my normal reading right now and going with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1, I'm not going to lie, the many reason I'm reading this is because of the..."And the movie Red Cliff?
Fredrik wrote: "And the movie Red Cliff?"Amazing movie! I did make it through the book many years ago (the four-volume paperback Moss Roberts translation), but it was a struggle -- are there any translations that are better than others?
Roger wrote: "I'm going a long ways out of my normal reading right now and going with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1, I'm not going to lie, the many reason I'm reading this is because of the..."Heh...I have been meaning to read it for a long time because of the NES Koei Game RoT3K. And Journey to the West because of Dragon Ball.
Fredrik wrote: "Roger wrote: "I'm going a long ways out of my normal reading right now and going with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1, I'm not going to lie, the many reason I'm reading this is ..."Never heard of it, but now I'm going to have to check it out
Joseph wrote: Amazing movie! I did make it through the book many years ago (the four-volume paperback Moss Roberts translation), but it was a struggle -- are there any..."
I haven't read it, but I'm also interested in knowing if there are.
Just finished Ancillary Justice! Some cool concepts in a political intrigue tale, but overall? I'm distinctly underwhelmed.
Here's my review
I got an ARC of
, moving on to that next.
After the essential relegation of the old SWEU to little more than exploited fan fiction, I'm trying to keep an open mind with it. Hopefully with the decision to make a cohesive storyline for these books, as a whole I'll be happy about giving this a shot.
Long live Darth Caedus!
Here's my review
I got an ARC of
, moving on to that next. After the essential relegation of the old SWEU to little more than exploited fan fiction, I'm trying to keep an open mind with it. Hopefully with the decision to make a cohesive storyline for these books, as a whole I'll be happy about giving this a shot.
Long live Darth Caedus!
I just finished The Tumble Inn and loving The Name of the Wind so far, albeit I am only about 20% in
After picking up the first one as a Kindle deal, I've been reading through the League of Peoples series starting with Expendable by James Alan Gardner. It's kind of like the dark Federation, being enforced by even more powerful beings. I love the characters. Although you can totally skip Commitment Hour. It's preachy and not nearly as well done, nor as connected to, the others.
I'm still slogging through NOTW but I have finished Cliford D. Simak's Way Station and have started with The concluding part of Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy: Blackout. I enjoyed Simak. It was a nice enough classic with a good 'golden age' flavour to it, although it was written in '63. Some odd jarring bits (unexpected bends in the story or odd additions) but a nice nostalgic read. I'm 5 pages in Mira Grant's Blackout and I'm thoroughly hooked already. Isn't reading fun! :-)
John Scalzi’s new book- Lock-In is due out next Tuesday.That should keep me busy for a few day.
While traveling on a whirlwind trip to Germany, I finished reading The Blinding Knife. The next book in the series, The Broken Eye, will come out on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to jumping in.I also listened to more of Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation while on the trip. The narrator of the audiobook is annoying the crap out of me, but I have more time to listen than sit down and read these days. I also think that the book could have been better organized...it's not chronological, so it feels like it jumps around a lot. The other thing is that there are re-enactions of conversations and stuff so while the book becomes more readable, it becomes more fake-sounding. And the author definitely wants to tout how well Sega did while making Nintendo sound evil (oddly, a lot of the things they did in the 80's are things that Apple does now). So I'm about halfway through with the book but I admit that I haven't been reading it regularly.
I've picked up the next book for the club, the September pick. I'm not sure how I feel about it...it doesn't sound like my thing.
Finally, I've got 2 books to listen to for SFF Audio...maybe at least one will get knocked out this weekend, Troll Mountain: The Complete Novel and/or Clean Sweep...
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I finished Knife of Dreams, and it was a marked improvement over the last book. Now I've made it to the Sanderson novels which is a big reason why I was interested in reading the Wheel of Time series to begin with. But first, I'm jumping in to The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley.
I've read two more books this month. I'm totally on a roll! XDThe first one is Yarnvalanche! The 1st Worsted for Wear Collection by husband and wife duo Rachael A. Anderson and Josh Anderson. (My Review) It was a cute comic that I had a lot of fun reading all about a zany group of ladies and gentlemen and their love of knitting (or crochet). This was yet another web comic that got my attention through Kickstarter. I got a nifty softcover book out of it though. If anyone is interested in seeing the web comic, you can find it at worstedforwear.com.
The second book that I've finished reading was Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, which turned out to be an AMAZING novel! I was really impressed and topped this book as the best I have read so far this year! I've just been notified that there is a sequel to the series coming soon (in October I think) and I can't wait for it to come out! I will definitely read it when it hits the store shelves. My Review
Right now I'm almost done with Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews, the second book in the Kate Daniels series. I'm really enjoying this series so far and I'm really impressed by the story and humor. After that, I'm not sure what I'll be reading. I might continue on with the Kate Daniel series since I'm liking what I read so far.
Right now I'm reading ancillary justice, then its on to the mirror empire and locked in
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The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Fearsome Magics (other topics)Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (other topics)
Fearsome Magics (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (other topics)
Jagannath (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
K.J. Parker (other topics)Nicola Griffith (other topics)
Jeff VanderMeer (other topics)
Robert Jackson Bennett (other topics)
Ben Peek (other topics)
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I've read Dragon Spear by Jessica Day George, the third and last book in the Dragon Slippers series. I thought it was the weakest book in the series but I was glad I read it. My Review
I've also read Tuesdays at the Castle by that same author (Jessica Day George), the first book in the Castle Glower series, which was a book that I won from First Reads in a Goodreads Giveaway! It was a cute fast read and I'll most likely be continuing the series on my own. I have a weakness for strong-minded girls. My Review
The next book I tackled was Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews, the first book in the Kate Daniels series. I started reading not knowing anything about the series and was seriously impressed. It did have hints of it reminding me of the Dresden Files, but so far I've been more impressed with the first book of Kate Daniels than the first two books of Harry Dresden. Mind you, I haven't gotten past book two of the Dresden Files. ^_^; My Review
The next three books I read were graphic novels. I've read Namesake, Volume 1 (My Review) and Namesake, Volume 2 (My Review) written by Megan Lavey-Heaton and illustrated by Isabelle Melançon. Although the series is a web comic, I found out about it while browsing Kickstarter and managed to pledge for hardcovers of each volume. I can't imagine not having these books. They are really beautiful and even though I don't have to wait for the next book to see what happens next, I still can't wait to get the next hardcover book of this AMAZING series. For anyone that wants to check out the web comic, you can find it at namesakecomic.com.
The last book I've read was also a graphic novel, but of the autobiographical kind. Tiny Pink Robots: 365 Days in Print by Rori was probably the only autobiographical comic that I've read that hasn't left me felling sad or depressed. (My Review) Again, this was a web comic but I found this out through Kickstarter so I got a beautiful hardcover book to show for it. I really appreciated her nutty perspective and wacky sense of humor. For anyone that wants to check out the web comic, you can find it at tinypinkrobots.com.
And that's it for me so far. Whew. Right now I'm almost finished with Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie and after that I'll be reading Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews, the second book in the Kate Daniels series. ^_^