What are you reading in August 2021?

[Chris, Moderator]

Summertime! Or back to school? No matter what's in store for you in August, I hope it includes reading some good books. What are you reading in August? Post here -- any book, any genre welcome

[Mary]

The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean by David Abulafia

[Christine]

I finished Day Zero and am now starting on The Kingdoms

[MadProfessah]

Am about halfway through THE BURNING WHITE, Book 5 of THE LIGHTBRINGER series by Brent Weeks.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

MadProfessah wrote: "Am about halfway through THE BURNING WHITE, Book 5 of THE LIGHTBRINGER series by Brent Weeks."

I read this series earlier this summer for a different Goodreads group and I really enjoyed it. I had not read anything else by Brent Weeks, but I probably will in the future. I’ll be interested in what you think of this book, and the series.

[Random]

Finished Project Hail Mary I think it was last week and started Heaven's River

Been having fun with both of them. Have no idea what I may start looking at next.

[MadProfessah]

Wow I just recently finished HEAVENS RIVER and PROJECT HAIL MARY. They were both quite good. Is give the edge to the Weir. Currently reading THE LIGHTBRINGER series (Book 5). I’m not a huge fan of epic fantasy but Brent Weeks is great at it.

I’m looking forward to reading Tchaikovsky’s SHARDS OF EARTH and Staveley’s EMPIRE’S RUIN before school starts at the end of the month.

[Chris, Moderator]

I'm trying to get through the Hugo nominees, and I'm in the Lodestar Awards (young adult) category right now. Absolutely loved the clever A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking.

[Shel, Moderator]

I just finished The Raven Tower and absolutely loved it! I don't know why I didn't bother reading it with the group when we read it a few years ago but I'm glad I got to it now.

[Christine]

I've just finished The Kingdoms-very complex and engrossing. Now on to lighter fare with The President Is Missing

[Lindsey]

Trying to finish up Meditations and Alexander Hamilton before I move onto something a little faster paced (although Hamilton is excellent!). I'm also trying out a new-to-me author with the lightly sci-fi We Are Satellites and I'm sad to say it's not filling its potential.

[Ken]

Been away for a bit. Life gets in the way
I finished Stand on Zanzibar, it was good but the book just sort of stopped. Interesting ideas and the execution was well done

Next up a reread of The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
Read The Wounded Land
Very good, Much better than the original series

Almost finished a history of Byzantium
Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization
it is good. I have been listening to a Podcast called The History of Byzantium and they are just up to the First Crusade.
The book is good just an overview. It goes through a 1000 years of history in 300 pages

Next up
The One Tree

[Shel, Moderator]

I zipped through Brown Girl in the Ring in a day - really loved it! I'm having kind of crappy week right now though so I'm retreating into some old comfort reads. It's been a very long time since I've read an old favorite series, the Indigo books by Louise Cooper, so I started with Nemesis today. Each book is short and I should be able to read the series pretty quickly. I will probably take a break at one point to read Death's End and finish off the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, and I'm waiting for Project Hail Mary to come in at the library.

[MadProfessah]

I finally finished the LIGHTBRINGER series and I was a bit underwhelmed by the end. The series consists of five hefty tomes and the last one (THE BURNING WHITE) is nearly a Sandersonian 1000 pages long. What kept me engaged was the characters and their relationships to each other and that was somewhat rewarding. The reveal of whom the Lightbringer was surprising. I think the earlier books (especially books 2 and 3) in the series were better, filled with shocking plot twists and introduction of more nuances about already-introduced characters.

I think I would definitely recommend the series as a whole but it really just reminded me how epic fantasy is probably my fourth or fifth favorite genre (after space opera, other sci-fi, murder-mystery and crime thriller).

[Leserling]

Just finished The Women in the Castle, now starting The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

MadProfessah wrote: "I finally finished the LIGHTBRINGER series and I was a bit underwhelmed by the end."

Thanks for sharing your perspective. I enjoyed the series overall, but there were high points and less than satisfying aspects. One thing I appreciated is that Weeks made the effort to bring all the major and several secondary characters’ story arcs to a conclusion, rather than leaving some hanging as sometimes happens in epic fantasy.

[MadProfessah]

Agreed that Weeks made some interesting/unusual decisions. I thought it was interesting he had the last scene of the entire series feature a character that was only introduced in the second book. And he gives closure to a LOT of “minor” characters in the story by the end.

That being said I think Peter Brett did a 5-book epic fantasy much more effectively in The Demon Saga. Both LIGHTBRINGER and DEMON SAGA are impressive achievements. Both have interesting magic systems, diverse characters (with prominent female representation among the leads) and nuanced/uncertain resolutions at the end.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I went back and looked at my ratings for Brett’s Demon Cycle, and my ratings for Lightbringer were slightly higher overall, although similar. (I use a 10 point scale in my own list so there is a little more nuance.) I agree, interesting systems of magic, diverse characters with strong females, and characters who are 3 dimensional, not cardboard good/evil.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I finally finished Interference by Brad Parks, which turned out to be more of a mystery-thriller than a sci fi read, but still good.
Now into Age of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan, book 2 in his Legends of the First Empire series.

[Christine]

I finally finished The Electric Heir; I felt like I was plodding through it and finished because I had to know how it ended. This book was extremely irritating
I am now about to start Sea of Rust which I hope will be much more enjoyable (very low bar right now)

[Shel, Moderator]

I'm about 3/4 finished with Death's End and it's making my brain hurt (in a good way)! I just got Project Hail Mary from the library so that'll be next - I told my husband that he could read it first since I was occupied and he's been giggling like mad so that's a good sign :)