What Else Are You Reading - December 2019

[Rob, Roberator]

Here we are in December already. What books will you be trying to squeeze in before the end?

[Rick]

Lies! It's not December, it can't beee.... OMG it's December.

Going to read through Richard Kadrey's The Grand Dark and The Overstory by Richard Powers. Plus this month's book.

[Julie]

My library holds for Ninth House and Gideon the Ninth came in, so it looks like the theme of these three books is death.

[Colin]

Just trying to finish a few things already in progress before the year end. My reading productivity has taken a massive dive in the last few months.

I seem to have been reading The Secret Commonwealth forever. Also part way through the audiobook for Children of Ruin. It's good but I just can't find the time to finish it!

[John (Taloni)]

Finished up Hogfather. Fan freaking tastic. It's like revisiting an old friend.

Next will be some Indie books I've picked up. Memory's Children by Sam Peralta. He's best known as Editor / Publisher of the Future Chronicles series. This is a collection of his short stories.

After that Places Beyond the Wild. It's set in the Z-Day zombie universe series created by Daniel Humphreys, and includes short stories by several Indie authors I follow.

[Keith]

I'm in with Indiana Jones, fighting druids and spiders in Scotland, via Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants. If you ever wanted to read 100 pages dedicated to Indy's teaching career, boy have I got the book for you!

[Silvana]

Finished with Exhalation: Stories - a solid anthology with far more hits than misses.

Starting one of the most awaited books this year Blood of Empire.

[Jonathan]

Currently listening to The Dragon Reborn. Made some progress over Thanksgiving Break on Ruin.

[Joseph]

Finished Upon the Flight of the Queen and went straight into Hogfather.

[Brad]

I just finished listening to Tiamat’s Wrath by James SA Corey and it was incredible, the best of the series yet. Next I’m on to Auberon by James SA Corey and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin. A Darker Shade of Magic is continuing to be really good, I think I’ll continue with that series.

[Stephen]

A re-read of The Shadow of What Was Lost then on to the Book of the Month Hogfather, then An Echo of Things to Come, then on to the last book in the trilogy The Light of All That Falls. Then finish the year with Children of Time hopefully. And one Sunday of doing nothing but reading Short Stories, that should cover all my challenges.

[John (Taloni)]

Finished up Memory's Children. It's a short collection of, well, shorts, and went quickly.

Peralta starts out with some truly stunning stories. Time travel with a mathematical twist. Victims of a fire, eerily similar. Infection from the POV of a pathogen.

He then drifts off into some stories that aren't SF but are perhaps SFF adjacent. A take on an object triggering memories so vivid as to be like time travel, similar to a Bradbury story where a kid convinces his friends that an old person is like a time machine due to his detailed memory (I can't recall the title right now and Google isn't helping.) Autobiographical story where he was stuck alone in a library, but not at all lonely. A riff on archaeology and dinosaurs. A horrific take on the Nietzchean line that if you stare at the darkness it stares back.

There's several poems. I was tempted to skip them as poetry isn't my thing, but they were rather good. Peralta was a poet before moving on to stories, and it shows in his sparse, evocative writing.

Then back to SFF for some vivid stories about future war, faith in the face of the Singularity, and robotics. They're fairly violent; Peralta doesn't flinch from the ugly side of humanity. The early story RUR is referenced several times. Peralta knows his SF and it comes through in his writing. All in all an excellent book.

[Kenley]

Just finished The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull. A solid debut taking place in the Virgin Islands. A story about everyday life for a community living with aliens. The Aliens appear docile but when threatened they turn violent. The characters are well developed and you feel alongside their experiences.

[Ruth]

I’m reading This Is How You Lose the Time War which is a fun epistolary novella. With time travel.

[Tamahome]

Ruth wrote: "I’m reading This Is How You Lose the Time War which is a fun epistolary novella. With time travel."

The Incomparable podcast liked it. https://www.theincomparable.com/thein...

Btw I finished Peter Hamilton's second Salvation book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And Doctor Sleep (The Shining #2): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Priscilla]

I’m reading Sharon Lynn Fisher’s The Absinthe Earl which has to do with fairy mythology in Ireland and it’s GREEAATTR so far!!

[TRP]

Just finished Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch 2nd part of the Rivers Of London sequence of books.
definitely going to continue with this series

[Iain]

Had a break from SF&F and am now diving back in with Without Warning in audio....

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I tried Gideon the Ninth earlier this year and it wasn't right but I picked it back up again and really enjoyed it. I dont' usually read books about necromancy so I felt a little uninformed but if you like pithy dialogue, kick-ass heroines, and locked-room mysteries with dancing skeletons and people who have never had a bath before.... it's a really fun read. Not at all my thing. But entirely a pleasure.

[Mark]

Just finished Orphan Black: The Next Chapter and got a kick out of it. If you're a fan of the tv show, have a listen.

[Trike]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I tried Gideon the Ninth earlier this year and it wasn't right but I picked it back up again and really enjoyed it. I dont' usually read books about necromancy so I felt a little un..."

I liked the beginning and the end (did not see that coming) but that sure was a soggy middle for me. If this were a novella I’d be raving about it. As it stands I could only give it two stars. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Seth]

TRP wrote: "Just finished Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch 2nd part of the Rivers Of London sequence of books.
definitely going to continue with this series."

I just finished book 5, Foxglove Summer and think the series remains great - I think this was my favorite yet. Just started Ninth House and really enjoying it about 25% of the way in.

[Mark]

Just finished Ahsoka. Now it's time to to get caught up with her adventures in Star Wars Rebels.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished:


Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer

[John (Taloni)]

Read Echopraxia which is just as strange and insightful as Blindsight. It read like the second book of a trilogy, though, but I see no third one in sight.

(view spoiler)[I was already used to the idea of the scientifically explained vampires so that didn't throw me. Nor the idea of humans changing their brain structure in order to obtain fresh insights. That stage was largely set by Blindsight.

There's lots of action, but not much plot. It's almost all setting up of chess pieces until the very end. It kind-of comes together then but still leaves major story points unaddressed.

Where Blindsight delved into the reason behind consciousness or lack thereof, Echopraxia addressed perception: Why we experience events as we do, and whether or not our perceptions are real. Interesting take, well researched.

I had a hard time getting around the lack of formal plot so the book wasn't quite a five star read for me. Still very good. Too bad there won't be a third, I'd gladly read it. (hide spoiler)]

[Jonathan]

Started listening to Ghostwater.

[Sheila Jean]

Finished Witchmark by C.L. Polk while on vacation. It's relatively short and I did enjoy it. My only real complaint is the ending felt a bit abrupt to me.

I have about an hour left of the audio version of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which I'm also enjoying despite the numerous narrators. Wasn't sure what I'd think of it, but I'm liking the insights into each of the characters. The actual plot is a bit unbelievable, but I'm OK with that because of the characters.

I've also started reading my shiny new hardcover copy of A Very Scalzi Christmas. I'm about halfway through and have been thoroughly enjoying it.

edit:Re-reading this, it appears I need to expand my vocabulary to something other than "enjoy"....

[Mark]

Sheila Jean wrote: "edit:Re-reading this, it appears I need to expand my vocabulary to something other than "enjoy".... "

https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/ano...

[Robert]

Over the weekend I finished Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, the memoir of J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5. It’s a tough book to read but completely worthwhile. He endured poverty and abuse growing up. He found his way out through comics and SF&F literature. He’s been a journalist, a TV writer & producer, a comic writer, & a novelist. In the end it’s an inspiring story.

[TRP]

Prior to seeing the stage adaptation of it at London's National Theatre tonight, I've just read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

It's clearly a very personal story and excellently told

[Jonathan]

Finished Ghostwater! It was another excellent addition to the Cradle series by Will Wight. Started listening to The Light of All That Falls.

[Brad]

I finished listening to A Darker Shade of Magic and really liked it. Excited to read more. I also had to quit listening to The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. I was so bored with the book and I have so many other books I can listen to. After listening to The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate and this I think I just have to accept that N.K. Jemisin just isn’t for me.

I’ve also been reading The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman and I’m really enjoying it. This is my second reading of it and I don’t remember much at all so it’s like reading a new book. I suppose that’s what happens when you come back to a book 20 years later. Feeling old now.

[Rob, Roberator]

Jonathan wrote: "Finished Ghostwater! It was another excellent addition to the Cradle series by Will Wight. Started listening to The Light of All That Falls."

Underlord is even better..

[Misti]

Re-reading Hogfather along with the group. It’s been a few years since I last read it. Planning to re-watch the miniseries as well. I’m also about two hours into listening to The Last Wish on Audible. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long. I’m really liking it so far.

[Silvana]

Starting Babel-17

[Trike]

Started reading the nonfiction AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, which is astonishingly fascinating. The deep dive into China’s copycat and cutthroat culture is eye-popping. This is why Chinese AI is going to rule the world soon.

[Brad]

I started listening to A Gathering Of Shadows by VE Schwab and I had forgotten just how much I can’t stand Michael Kramer’s narration. He makes almost every sentence sound like a question. It drives me nuts.

[Seth]

Finished Ninth House a really engaging urban fantasy thriller. Now that I'm done, I can pick out some things I didn't like, but while I was reading it really pulled me along. Now I'm on to The Light Brigade.

[Keith]

Delving into some midwinter reading with Elizabeth Hand's Waking the Moon and Winter Ghosts: Classic Ghost Stories for Christmas. No matter how many times I read "The Phantom Carriage," it never gets less creepy.

[AndrewP]

Having finished The Wheel of Time I'm closing out the year with the prequel New Spring.

[Stephen]

I am also reading Heroes Wanted: A Fantasy Anthology which is a free Anthology. I am half way through and it is very good. So far I have not come across a tale that did not leave me wanting more. https://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Wanted-...

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm reading The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus. It is catnip for anyone who imagined themselves inside the books they read as a kid, because one of the layers is about that. But it's also lush in description and language, more like earlier Valente if you read any of her work prior to the Fairyland books. I read fast, but it's taking me forever to read, but I'm still enjoying it. Might be a good winter holiday read.

[Eva]

Have you tried the audiobook, Jenny? The sample sounds sooo lovely, like the taste of chocolate would sound if your ears could eat... you know what, I'll leave the similes to Morgenstern. :-D She does it so much better!

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Eva wrote: "Have you tried the audiobook, Jenny? The sample sounds sooo lovely, like the taste of chocolate would sound if your ears could eat... you know what, I'll leave the similes to Morgenstern. :-D She d..."

No but I remember rereading The Night Circus in audio because Jim Dale. There are two male characters in The Starless Sea that I was struggling to keep separate so maybe a full cast audio scenario would help.

[Maclurker]

I finished Hogfather pretty quickly and moved onto Nights of Villjamur. I'm 50% in and not much has happened. It's moving very slowly, and while the world building is intriguing & well-done, I have a feeling this whole book is just setting the stage for the sequel. Which would be very annoying.

[Erik]

Started High School. Tegan and Sara have always been a band that I've liked on the periphery but never deep dived into. They recently had an event at a local bookstore where two of my friends (who grew up loving their music in high school) worked it and said that they are truly great in person too. The book is great so far. The writing itself is solid but the stories are very honest, vulnerable and readable. Been in a bit of a reading slump and am kind of gaining momentum back reading more and more of this each night.

[Gary]

I finished reading The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi, Artificial Condition by Martha Wells and Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells. I am reading The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan. I plan to read Exit Strategy by Martha Wells next.

[Silvana]

Currently reading a nonfic Joanna Russ and will continue with probably my last SFF book this year Star Wars: The Rise of the Empire.

[Jen]

Hello ! So I know Brandon Sanderson is a popular SFF author but I have yet to read any of his books. It looks like he has multiple series that may or may not be related to each other? Not sure. Which one would you guys recommend I start with?

[Rob, Roberator]

Jen wrote: "Hello ! So I know Brandon Sanderson is a popular SFF author but I have yet to read any of his books. It looks like he has multiple series that may or may not be related to each other? Not sure. Whi..."

I usually recommend people start with The Final Empire, although it's the first of a trilogy. If you want something more stand alone you can do the novella The Emperor's Soul

Many of his books are part of a larger cosmere universe, some tie to each other more than others. Both I recommended are cosmere books, and both are decent entry points in my opinion.