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What We've Been Reading
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What Have You been Reading this October?
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Andrea
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Oct 01, 2019 10:12AM
So whether you're looking for something creepy to go along with Halloween, or just something warm to snuggle up under a blanket with (even Southern Hemisphere folks probably still need a blanket to snuggle with even in spring), what are you reading this October?
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Though I still need tonight to finish my dead-tree book before switching to my Halloween themed reads, I did finish my ebook today. I wanted to start on Carmilla but the epub from Project Gutenberg is unreadable (it jumps 50 pages every time you swipe), so I switched to a different gothic vampire classic The Vampyre; A Tale by John William PolidoriBe a nice change after two years of reading Varney the Vampire; or, The Feast of Blood which was over 1000 pages long, makes a book in ASoIaF look short :)
Most of what I'm reading this month is at least horror influenced, if not outright horror. Re-reading The Shining so I can get to Doctor Sleep before the movie comes out next month. Also picked up Gideon the Ninth which I'm super excited to get to, The Luminous Dead and 'Salem's Lot. We'll see if I make it through all of them without needing something a bit lighter to balance out the dark.
So far I have 2 gothic's lined up once I finish my current read (City of Glass) Lady of Mallow & Chanters Chase: A novel. I'm still sorting through my October tbr. I do have a handful of review copies to get to as well.
Just started book 8 in the Wheel of Time series.
Andrea wrote: "So whether you're looking for something creepy to go along with Halloween, or just something warm to snuggle up under a blanket with (even Southern Hemisphere folks probably still need a blanket to..."Depends on where you are. Even in Sydney (which is far from the warmest part of Australia), the temperature is getting up to 30 Celsius (high 80s for those using Fahrenheit) at the moment.
Completed:
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Authors: Margaret Atwood, Moïra Fowley-Doyle, A.J. Hackwith, Lisa Jewell, Stephen King, William Kent Krueger, Jenn Lyons, Kassandra Montag, Tamsyn Muir, Catherine Steadman, Michael Swanwick
Tony wrote: "Andrea wrote: "So whether you're looking for something creepy to go along with Halloween, or just something warm to snuggle up under a blanket with (even Southern Hemisphere folks probably still ne..."Of if you're in Georgia...we've broken temp records for 7 straight days! 97 in October....feels like fall....NOT!
Finished Darkdawn, last book in the Nevernight series. If you love irreverent fantasy (with lots of creative cursing, sex, and gore), then you'll love this series! It was lots of fun!Currently reading Dark Forge, the next book in Miles Cameron's new series.
On the not SF front, I'm rereading The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic That Shaped Our History.
Tony wrote: "Depends on where you are."No kidding, just this week in Canada, out West they were digging themselves out of half a meter of snow, while Toronto was getting humid 30 degree celsius temperatures :)
Finished Unicorn War...not sure what I feel about this series, on the whole I enjoyed it but there are some big things that were not followed up as well as they could have been, tantalizing hints to a bigger worldbuilding and no learning more about the very unique enemy they had in the first three books. Frustrating as a reader but then the characters don't know more than what we got told so one couldn't just info dump it either. *shrugs*
But that said, time to start my October fun. Going to read NOS4A2 by Joe Hill just because they've made a TV show about it. It's a lot longer than I expected though...just found out he's the son of Stephen King so if he writes the same way it will be long winded...
I finished my first spooky October read yesterday The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and rated it 4/5 stars. Sometimes classics really don't hold up well over time, but I really enjoyed the writing style and the story itself. Quite pleased with my first one of the "Halloween season" I'm now 53 pages into The Winter People which I tried to read last year but was sadly thwarted. So far it's been creepy (by my standards anyway) right from the get-go. I expect this to be a "don't want to get out of bed at night" read 😄
Andrea wrote: "Though I still need tonight to finish my dead-tree book before switching to my Halloween themed reads, I did finish my ebook today. I wanted to start on Carmilla but the epub from Project Gutenberg..."
Carmilla's also on my reading list for this month but bought a copy (one of the cheap paperbacks) from the Indigo website. It'll probably be my next read.
Actually I'm reading a novel by Stephen King (IT). I felt it is a befitting book for this month.
Already finished Lord Ruthven, even with additional content about Lord Byron and the others that were on the lake with Polidori, his story is short.I didn't have a plan what to read next so grabbed the first Algernon Blackwood story that was in the list - The Wave: An Egyptian Aftermath
Just finished Station Eleven. Gave it two stars. Sadly it was the corniest post apocalyptic book I 've ever read.
Stratos wrote: "Just finished Station Eleven. Gave it two stars. Sadly it was the corniest post apocalyptic book I 've ever read."
I shelved it under "litcrap". :) We had a discussion of Station Eleven in which I outlined my many objections. It seems some people think it's the best thing Shakespeare, but as SciFi it's garbage. More like Scienceless Fiction. It was so unaware of reality I felt offended by the author. It's my "Niagara Falls;" I can't let any mention of it go by without screaming at it!
I shelved it under "litcrap". :) We had a discussion of Station Eleven in which I outlined my many objections. It seems some people think it's the best thing Shakespeare, but as SciFi it's garbage. More like Scienceless Fiction. It was so unaware of reality I felt offended by the author. It's my "Niagara Falls;" I can't let any mention of it go by without screaming at it!
I recently started Circe by Madeline Miller. I'm enjoying it but am not finding it as incredible as the buzz around it suggests.
I finish re-reading The Naiyro and the Beckoning Eroded Stone, the vibe that the story gives me every time I read it, reminded me a lot of how I used to feel after reading "The lord of the rings".The adventure, the sense of danger, the responsibility of the chosen one. The Thrill and the fear. All mixed together, in complete harmony.
I think I'm getting nostalgic, to a time, when a good book, makes you re-read it again, no matter how many times you turn the last page.
I hope you don't mind me, sharing my own opinion about this "ebook", I just wanted to mention, how it made me feel and I guess, I wanted to share theses thoughts, with the group.
Now? I'm thinking of reading "Rise Again Below Zero"
Will see, how the story goes.
Take care everyone.
Still slowing reading Oathbringer. I just finished a beta read for Age of Death; very enjoyable. And I finished re-reading the second Fablehaven. I’m also reading two YA urban fantasies (usually not my thing), Vision in Silver and First Kisses Suck: Minnie Kim: Vampire Girl.I liked Station Eleven all right, but I don’t consider it sci fi. The lack of music knowledge drove me crazy, though.
I finished two days ago Abaddon's Gate, and moved seamlessly to the next book in the series, Cibola Burn.
I am finishing up "throne of glass" series. by sarah maas
Finished The Winter People and rated 3/5 stars. Then moved on to Carmilla which I finished within a day and rated 3.75/5 stars. I'm now moving on to one of Katherine Arden's recent horror books for pre-teens, Small Spaces Really loved her writing in the Winternight Trilogy so thought I'd give this a go even though it's written for kids. Plus it's Halloween themed 😁
The Rage of Dragons is a YA revenge fantasy with some interesting worldbuilding but simple revenge-driven plot.
Finished NOS4A2, at first I got too creeped out by the pedophile aspect of it, but then realized it wasn't really that what was going on so I kept going and in the end I found I more or less "enjoyed" it (in quotes because one doesn't "enjoy" torture and murder and soul sucking as a rule...fortunately my imagination when I read is not very visual). As a villain Manx didn't impress me, but then again, maybe he was really a victim with the real villain was the Wraith and that was pretty cool. An evil soul sucking antique car :)Starting on Evelyn's Journal by M.J. Gardner to read about some actual vampires (neither Manx nor the car was a bloodsucker in NOS4A2).
I just finished Panacea by F. Paul Wilson. While it's the first of a trilogy, this book ended well. I'm not sure if I'll read the other books, so I'm looking for recommendations. Are the other books worth it or do they go downhill?Anyway, I gave this one a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Small Spaces some days ago and rated it 4/5. I definitely felt that Arden's vivid and atmospheric writing style in the Winternight trilogy carried over well despite that this book was written for kids. Overall a really heart-warming story.I've since moved on to some early gothic fiction since I find it suits October/fall weather for me. I'm almost 100 pages into The Mysteries of Udolpho and really enjoying the writing and atmosphere.
Seveneves
by Neal StephensonAfter the moon explodes, the Earth is doomed and a tiny percentage of humans have to escape to Earth orbit for 5,000 years....until people (and other life) can return.
Very well researched book but a bit overly technical.
Still, it's a good story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Natural History of Unicorns, if you've read Odell Shepard's Lore of the Unicorn, this one is an excellent followup, written some 70 years after the other with more recent findings and more knowledge of the animals of the world and their anatomy. A much lighter read as well. I do have one last lore book to read but I'll leave that till after October, it's not very Halloween themed after all.I also finished Evelyn's Journal, so picked up the third Midnight, Texas book - Night Shift by Charlaine Harris
I'm not abandoning unicorns completely this month though, since Zombies Vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black, is an anthology I'll be able to read a story here and there till the end of the month. I don't know yet if they are stories that contain both unicorns and zombies or if just has a mix of the two in separate stories. Guess I'll find out soon enough.
The Well
by Catherine ChanterA couple wanting to escape London buy a property called 'The Well.' During a subsequent water crisis, The Well is the only place that has water. This drives the plot.
Interesting premise but this dystopian novel doesn't quite hit the mark (for me). 2 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Year of the Flood a couple of hours ago. Not as strong as Oryx and Crake but still a very enjoyable read. Lacked some "juice" and the element of surprise was absent. Kinda cool ending. Definitely gonna finish the trilogy. 3 stars...
The Memory Police
by Yōko OgawaIn this dystopian novel, objects on an island are disappearing, one at a time.....and the population then forgets about them. The few people who remember are hunted down by the Memory Police.
Plenty to ponder about in this book. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Quantum
by Patricia CornwellThis is the start of a new series by Cornwell, who's well known for her long-running Kay Scarpetta (medical examiner) series.
This new series features Captain Calli Chase, a NASA employee and would-be astronaut. Shenanigans involving the deployment of a new device on the International Space Station lead to murder and more in this book.
Cornwell needs to work out the kinks, but it's an okay start to a new series. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Divergent
by Veronica RothIn this first book in the 'Divergent ' series, we learn about a dystopian society where the population is divided into five distinct groups, called factions.
3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Insurgent by Veronica RothIn this 2nd book in the 'Divergent' series the war between the factions is well under way, and people show more of their true colors.
3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Allegiant
by Veronica RothThis 3rd book in the 'Divergent' series completes the trilogy. It emphasizes the importance of love and family above all the other things that might divide people.
3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Night Shift, I really should have read it before watching the TV series, got a bit confused by what I thought I knew but wasn't supposed to know (especially since what I knew differed in the books from the series). I understand she only wrote the three but plenty of room to write more.Reading the sequel to Evelyn's Journal - Joe Vampire by M.J. Gardner
Finished Zombies vs Unicorns, not a surprise but I was on team unicorn. To be fair I'm not a fan of post-apocalyptic stories in general, and zombie romances are kind of icky (it's either necrophilia or the zombie isn't a real zombie if he's that lovable, I mean if the guy's lips falls off when you kiss them and he smells like rotting meat...yech), though there was one human/unicorn romance that was essentially bestiality...this is a YA book, heh.So started on a vampire anthology - The Vampire Stories of Nancy Kilpatrick by Nancy Kilpatrick
So, finally, after more than a month, I have finished The One Tree. Almost certainly the bleakest of the first two trilogies, and the one I found hardest to read - primarily due to my almost complete lack of caring about the primary character - Linden Avery turns out to be far more unlikable than Thomas Covenant. I have given a more detailed review on my wall.I will continue with my reading of all 10 Covenant books, but I feel it is time for some palate cleansing, and I will read something lighter for a while.
Yesterday I finished both Joe Vampire and The Vampire Stories of Nancy Kilpatrick.Starting on my last Halloween read. For the past few (many actually) years I've been reading a Vampire Chronicles book, and even when I thought I would run out I would find a graphic novel, or Rice would write a new one. But this year I officially ran out so will be reading Servant of the Bones by Anne Rice instead.
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