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What Else Are You Reading? > What Else Are You Reading in 2020?

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message 1352: by Beth (last edited Jun 11, 2020 11:27AM) (new)

Beth (rosewoodpip) | 2007 comments Look out, I finished a book! That I started four and a half months ago...

Uprooted was a buddy read 'way back in February and was also a group pick in March 2016. It's both a love note to the Polish fairy tales Naomi Novik was told as a child, and an upturning of fairy tale tropes. If only the author's love for the subject matter carried through to my reading of it! But sadly that wasn't the case for a lot of it. The ending was incredible, though. (review)


message 1353: by Krystal (new)

Krystal (krystallee6363) Finally getting around to reading North Star Guide Me Home to finish up the trilogy. For some reason I've taken my time getting to every single book but as soon as I start reading them I get hooked straight away! I love the characters.


message 1354: by DivaDiane (new)

DivaDiane SM | 3688 comments I just finished a slim volume of Ursula k. Le Guin’s poetry. It was her first published collection from the 70’s. And there were a few poems I was blown away by, many I enjoyed quite a lot and several I was baffled by.

Here’s my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 1355: by Beth (new)

Beth (rosewoodpip) | 2007 comments Next up for me is God Stalk, the first book in the (as of now) 9-book series "Chronicles of the Kencyrath." I have some great memories of this one. As usual with books I read most recently more than two decades ago, there's a worry that the suck fairy will have come through and completely ruined it. One chapter in, so far, so good...


message 1356: by Soo (new)

Soo (silverlyn) | 1007 comments Ya know, I'm curious to see if the writing style/narrative changed within the series since there's are large gaps in time between some of the books. Curious to see how that turned out.


message 1357: by Beth (new)

Beth (rosewoodpip) | 2007 comments This first one feels a little stiff tbh, not too surprising since this was her first novel. It'll be interesting to see what even the second book is like in comparison.


message 1358: by Soo (new)

Soo (silverlyn) | 1007 comments Did you read the second book?


message 1359: by Beth (new)

Beth (rosewoodpip) | 2007 comments I did but don't remember much about it 'cause I only read it once a long time ago. It was a bit longer than the first and more "epic" in scale, is all that comes to mind.


message 1360: by Anna (new)

Anna (vegfic) | 10435 comments Beth, if you want to you can start a thread for it now, even though the BR won't start until later!


message 1361: by Beth (new)

Beth (rosewoodpip) | 2007 comments Naw, I'm done for now. :D


message 1362: by Anna (new)

Anna (vegfic) | 10435 comments Well if you change your mind, you know what to do! :D


message 1363: by Jacqueline (new)

Jacqueline | 2428 comments Finished The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence last night. Once again it gets all the stars. Don’t know how I’m going to be able to wait for the next one though.


message 1364: by Don (new)

Don Dunham Gail carriger


message 1365: by Allison, Fairy Mod-mother (new)

Allison Hurd | 14235 comments Mod
I AM SO MAD AT HOW THE PAPER GIRLS SERIES ENDED.


message 1366: by Anna (new)

Anna (vegfic) | 10435 comments I don't even remember anymore? Remind me? :D


message 1368: by Allison, Fairy Mod-mother (new)

Allison Hurd | 14235 comments Mod
Anna wrote: "I don't even remember anymore? Remind me? :D"

My anger is contained in spoiler tags in my review, I don't wanna accidentally ruin the series for folks here!


message 1369: by Anna (new)

Anna (vegfic) | 10435 comments I'll go read it :D


message 1370: by Don (new)

Don Dunham Am currently rereading "Team of Rivals" I thank God they are writing history books this good. I got a bit emotional when Willie died.


message 1371: by Karen (new)

Karen (librarykatz) | 262 comments While on a 2 day AZ-TN jaunt I listened to Limited Wish and Dispel Illusion both of which I really enjoyed. I don't think I had read anything by the author until I tried One Word Kill and then NEEDED to complete the series.

I also continued listening to Fall, Or Dodge in Hell and it is NOT what I was expecting so far. I'm 10 hours into a 29 hour book and it's a bit ponderous. I'm going to give it a little bit longer now that the main character has made an appearance and hope that his situation gives the book a much needed kick in the storyline. If not, I may have to DNF it because I don't much care.

Fluff read is Shelter in Place which is a well paced thriller lite.

And when I'm stuck without a physical book I'll open my kindle app and continue reading The Paper Magician. Great start to a series that I will eagerly continue with.


message 1372: by Esther (new)

Esther (eshchory) | 555 comments I have just started The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde The Constant Rabbit.
Only a few pages in but I can feel the FForde magic bringing a smile to my lips.


message 1373: by Ines, Resident Vampire (new)

Ines (imaginary_space) | 423 comments Mod
I'm about 30% into Gods of Jade and Shadow and enjoying it. The two main characters bounce off of each other quite well.


message 1374: by W. (new)

W. Hunt | 15 comments Rapping up the third book of the Queen of the Night Guild Audio Box set Queen of the Night Guild: A Grimdark Epic Fantasy Thief Adventure
and starting The Sand Sea from a new publishing house StoryGrid.


message 1375: by Travis (last edited Jun 17, 2020 12:35PM) (new)

Travis Foster (travismfoster) | 1154 comments I really enjoyed Peter A. Flannery's Battle Mage. Nothing flashy, just a fun standalone, epic fantasy with some great characters and world building.

Now I'm reading a mystery and some lit fic before diving into the Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora buddy read and Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City.


message 1376: by Phrynne (new)

Phrynne Esther wrote: "I have just started The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde The Constant Rabbit.
Only a few pages in but I can feel the FForde magic bringing a smile to my lips."


I am so looking forward to that one!


message 1377: by Jacqueline (new)

Jacqueline | 2428 comments Just read Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker I was scrolling trough Facebook this morning and Tor has a link to it. It’s one of their freebies. Really liked it. Might actually read Song for a New Day now.

After reading the first few chapters of around 5 books that I really wanted to read the other day trying to find my next read and nothing sticking I picked up Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo last night and it seems to be the one.


message 1378: by Jordan (new)

Jordan (justiceofkalr) | 403 comments Read Startide Rising, which was much better than the first book. I'm still a little frustrated with how Brin gives us glimpses of this really cool universe, but so far hasn't done much else.

Took a break from SFF to read Home Before Dark, a horror/mystery book I picked for Book of the Month club. Very much a love letter to haunted houses and the books about them.

Getting back to We Ride Upon Sticks, which somehow I just haven't had much audio listening time lately. Hoping to finish this one soon though!

Just starting Century Rain. I've had the song by Hats Off Gentlemen, It's Adequate stuck in my head, so I figured I should finally pick up the book. Reynolds is usually a favorite for me.


message 1379: by Esther (new)

Esther (eshchory) | 555 comments Phrynne wrote: "I am so looking forward to that one!."

I am 25% in and it is brilliant.


message 1380: by Jacqueline (new)

Jacqueline | 2428 comments I want to read The Constant Rabbit too. Supposed to be out the beginning of July isn't it?


message 1381: by Esther (new)

Esther (eshchory) | 555 comments Jacqueline wrote: "I want to read The Constant Rabbit too. Supposed to be out the beginning of July isn't it?"

Yes, I am reading a Net Galley review copy.


message 1382: by Jacqueline (new)

Jacqueline | 2428 comments I thought you might be.


message 1383: by Don (new)

Don Dunham Reading ""Team of Rivals", The March to the Sea has just completed.

Reading "Harmony Black" to lighten things up.

Reading "Ball Four" for further enlightenment.


message 1384: by MaximumCarnage (new)

MaximumCarnage Reading Old Man's War by John Scalzi and Stranger in a Strange Land by Bobby A. Heinlein.

Old Man's War is a lot of fun(26 pages left, but I wish it delved into what actually made people that have lived a full life better soldiers. I haven't seen John Perry using his life experiences. It mentions someone who has lived a full life appreciates what they are fighting for because they've lived, as opposed to a teenager out of high school, but I wish that aspect played a bigger role. very enjoyable though and I look forward to the rest of the series. Any thoughts on this?


message 1385: by Allison, Fairy Mod-mother (new)

Allison Hurd | 14235 comments Mod
MaximumCarnage, glad you enjoyed it! I might recommend posting over here so that we don't get spoilers in our general reading thread :)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


message 1386: by Eric (new)

Eric | 463 comments I finished Seveneves by Neal Stephenson Seveneves. Four stars if you are a tech geek. Three stars for readability. A bit of a marathon at over 800 pages. Next up Spellslinger (Spellslinger, #1) by Sebastien de Castell Spellslinger. De Castell's Greatcoats was fun. I'll find out about Spellslinger.


message 1387: by Don (new)

Don Dunham SpellSlinger, Reichis and squirrel-cats in general are good fun. I read a few of that series before deciding to see other books.


message 1388: by Gabi (new)

Gabi | 3441 comments @Eric: absolutely agree with the 3 stars for readability on "Seveneves". Without competition this was the most info avalanche I've read anywhere outside a science book. Made me give Neil Stephenson a wide berth whenever possible.


message 1389: by Eric (new)

Eric | 463 comments Gabi wrote: "@Eric: absolutely agree with the 3 stars for readability on "Seveneves". Without competition this was the most info avalanche I've read anywhere outside a science book. Made me give Neil Stephenson..."

"Info avalanche." Excellent choice of words, Gabi. I had earmarked a couple of other Stephenson's books to read. I now have second thoughts.


message 1390: by CBRetriever (new)

CBRetriever | 6153 comments Eric wrote: ""Info avalanche." Excellent choice of words, Gabi. I had earmarked a couple of other Stephenson's books to read. I now have second thoughts."

Some of his books are excellent though (I hated the Baroque Cycle books and couldn't make it through the first one). I enjoyed Snow Crash, Reamde, and Seveneves


message 1391: by Eric (new)

Eric | 463 comments @CB I'll mark Snow Crash & Reamde. Thanks.


message 1392: by Rob (new)

Rob (robzak) | 876 comments CBRetriever wrote: "I enjoyed Snow Crash, Reamde, and Seveneves"

These are my favorites of his as well


message 1393: by Soo (new)

Soo (silverlyn) | 1007 comments I need to read Snow Crash, Reamde, Cryptonomicon & Baroque Cycle.

My current fav for Stephenson is Anathem. Seveneves & Fall, or Dodge in Hell were good but lacked focus. The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. was hilarious and awkward. Zodiac was a nice intro to Stephenson's writing style. The Mongoliad is an interesting mix of geek/nerdery. Read about half of that and plan to read the rest. The whole thing is on KU as Read/Listen.


message 1394: by Kaa (new)

Kaa | 1548 comments I enjoyed both Snow Crash and The Diamond Age a lot, although it's been a long time since I read them. I loved the first half of Anathem, but honestly can't remember most of the second half. (Actually, the first part of 3 Body Problem reminds me of the first part of Anathem.)


message 1395: by Soo (new)

Soo (silverlyn) | 1007 comments Stephenson always has great core concepts, generally a strong start and then meanders into ?-ville. He isn't very good at ending a story. lol

I should add Diamond Age to the TBR. It's probably on there already. =D


message 1396: by David (new)

David Holmes | 481 comments The Diamond Age is probably my favorite Stephenson. I've also read Snow Crash, Seveneves and Cryptonomicon. I think The Diamond Age and Snow Crash are much more accessible (or at least less polarizing) than the other two.


message 1397: by Tamara (new)

Tamara | 271 comments Phrynne wrote: It is good. As usual he excels at his world building. He includes ..."

Thanks. I'm glad it's a good mix. I haven't been able to get it yet, because although it showed as on the shelf at the local library, so I reserved it, it wasn't there when they went to look. So I have to wait for it to come from another branch. But that seems to be the title of it here - it might be an Australian edition. I'll know when I actually get it!


message 1398: by Allison, Fairy Mod-mother (new)

Allison Hurd | 14235 comments Mod
I gave up on Rise and Fall of DODO. I think I'll try Diamond Age or Necronomicon, but I was really put off by Stephenson's concept of storytelling and the way he treated women characters, so not for awhile.

Also hoping to get to Starsight, too! Actually, a Sanderson break might be warranted now.

I'm just a few short stories and one graphic novel away from finishing all the novels, novellas, novelettes, short stories, comic books, long and short dramatic presentations for the Hugo nominees!

I'm REALLY not liking Wicked+Divine, so I might skip four volumes and just read 9 lol.

But I just finished Middlegame which was like the Wayward Children series on steroids--a bit more illicit, a lot more aggressive. It fit my mood delightfully right now.

Finally getting back to the Cherryh for the month and starting Good Omens, which I hope will be a pleasant diversion.


message 1399: by Beth (new)

Beth (rosewoodpip) | 2007 comments Moving on to the second book of Kate Elliott's "Court of Fives" fantasy YA series with Poisoned Blade. So far I've appreciated her books more than loved them, but she's growing on me and I'm looking forward to reading more.


message 1400: by Gabi (new)

Gabi | 3441 comments Allison wrote: "... Also hoping to get to Starsight, too! Actually, a Sanderson break might be warranted now ...."

Do it! It is cute and uplifting and heartwarming.


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