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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading - March 2015
Finished Goblin Emperor, Leviathan Wakes is up next. Plus a bunch of comics trades from the library. Can't beat the price point.
gah...March!I just finished Gardens of the Moon. I haven't read a fictional work this closely or critically since English II in college, and that was never this much fun. Look forward to starting Deadhouse Gates in a week.
I am about halfway through the audio of The Goblin Emperor, which I am also enjoying, though it is scratching an entirely different itch.
Starting on the print edition of The Grace of Kings now.
Finished Theft of Swords earlier this afternoon (my review). I'm continuing with The Grace of Kings, I'm about halfway through. I can't wait to dig in more tonight!Audiobook-wise, I'm getting ready to start Mountain of Black Glass. I really enjoyed the first two books in the Otherland series when I listened to their new-to-audio versions late last year. I'm super-stoked to have the final two books also in audio, with book 3 queued and ready to go. :)
I just started Annihilation today (I know). I plan on marathoning the whole trilogy to start off the month.
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Finished The Deaths of Tao...loved it.. thought it was even better than the first one. Reading Ruin and Rising now-I'm just loving this series. Tried Goblin Emperor... I'll be in the minority this month I think. I just could not get into it, so I sent it back to the library. Going to try and revist some series I have started I think... really want to get a hold of Half the World or Best Served Cold. Another thread reminded me I've been wanting to continue the Paradox series withHonor's Knight and I promised myself to get some more Dresden done soon. Oh! And don't forget The Skull Throne at the end of the month! Probably be my first April book :P
Rob wrote: "Are books 3&4 of Otherland out now? I got 1&2 but I was waiting for the last two to be out before starting."Book 3 will be released on Audible on 17 March (this year). I have a hunch that book 4 will follow, my guess is a month later at most. I asked Williams over Twitter about books 3 & 4 when I finished the 2nd book (River of Blue Fire), he said they'd be out this year.
I am currently reading Magic Slays (checked out digitally from the library). I didn't realize how long it has been since I'd ready this series and I thought it was time to get back to it.
I just finished The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and I really liked it. Check it out, it is really well done and engaging.I am a little bit into Best Served Cold. I reentered the First Law world after a couple of years. This is a nice little revenge story.
Lastly I am knee deep in The Autumn Republic and the characters felt familiar right away.
It will be a good couple of weeks of reading. I am reading the Goblin Emperor of course but I will probably not start that for a week or so.
Just started Wandering Ghosts and find it eerie. It creates a mood of impending doom quite well. If it holds up, I'll have to check out some other works by F Marion Crawford.
Just finished Lore of the Witch World. This is something I first read about 50 years ago. Unlike most things I read back then, this held up well. I'll have to read or reread more Andre Norton.
Just finished Lore of the Witch World. This is something I first read about 50 years ago. Unlike most things I read back then, this held up well. I'll have to read or reread more Andre Norton.
I'm currently reading Timeless by Gail Carriger. Hoping to read Fool's Errand and Fortune's Pawn this month.
terpkristin wrote: "Rob wrote: "Are books 3&4 of Otherland out now? I got 1&2 but I was waiting for the last two to be out before starting."Book 3 will be released on Audible on 17 March (this year). I have a hunch ..."
I have read all 4 but I'm seriously tempted to revisit the series on audio once they are all available:)
Suitably creepy book about schizophrenia and real monsters. Reading it makes me worry about the voices in my head.
I just started An Assembly Such as This, the first book of a trilogy retelling Pride & Prejudice from Mr Darcy's perspective.
Starting March with Range of Ghosts, after reading more in the Parasol Protectorate series. I love it so far - the writing is beautiful, I enjoy the alt-history vibe, and the world's details are endlessly fascinating to me.
I am a third of the way through The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, I agree it is awesome so far! Very different take on the time travel narrative. A similar gimmick to Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, but with enough details changed to be a different take. Recommend!
I'm currently listening to Life of Pi and will probably follow that with Q & A (Slum dog Millionaire) and The Night Circus. I finished a bunch of shorter audio books last month, and am kinda liking the pace of the sub-15 hour books at the moment.As for print, I finally made it to To Green Angel Tower, Part 1 in the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy+. While I've been enjoying the story, I haven't felt a need to pick this series up and finish it as fast as I can, so it's been dragging. (Probably why I want to get through all the audio books during my commute time!)
I just finished The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. I liked the story about a young woman ascending to the throne and trying to undo damage that was done by her predecessor. I gave it three stars. I didn't get a higher rating because the execution left something to be desired. Underdeveloped characters, lackluster prose and lack of complexity were my main complaints. Despite the problems with the book, I still enjoyed reading it and will check out the sequel when it comes out.
Dharmakirti wrote: "I just finished The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. I lked the story about a young woman ascending to the throne and trying to undo damage that was done by her predecssor...."I bought this when it was on sale a while ago and I've been planning to get around to it (Eventually. There are so many books)
terpkristin wrote: "Finished Theft of Swords earlier this afternoon (my review)."I keep looking sidelong at that volume in my to-read tower because the first few pages are just so well done that I really want to get into it. But then I get distracted by other things and group reads.
I'm currently reading Recovery Man Book 6 of the Retrieval Artist Series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. I'm 2/3 finished and enjoying it. This series is so much fun to read.Marion
I am just about to finish Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson. Which is the third in a trilogy. It's moving along better than the second one I think, but at time sit can be a bit dry. But one aspect I like the most about the trilogy is that even though the planet is experiencing severe climate change. Instead of being a disaster book, the people in the book, scientists and members of the National Science Foundation actually do something about it. I don't know how plausible some of the solutions are in Robinson's book but they are seem plausible.
Finished Timeless by Gail Carriger. It was alright but it doesn't feel like a last book in a series. My review. Now I'm reading Fortune's Pawn for Vaginal Fantasy. Pretty good so far. Light SF.
Trike wrote: "terpkristin wrote: "Finished Theft of Swords earlier this afternoon (my review)."I keep looking sidelong at that volume in my to-read tower because the first few pages are just so..."
Same here :) After reading Terp's review I think I'm going to move it up higher on my priority list.
AndrewP wrote: "Trike wrote: "terpkristin wrote: "Finished Theft of Swords earlier this afternoon (my review)."I keep looking sidelong at that volume in my to-read tower because the first few pag..."
They only get better as the books go on...Theft of Swords was the weakest of the 3 (6) books IMO...And that is saying something :)
For the first time I am getting around to reading the Hitchhikers Guide. Such a brilliant book!
Finished The Goblin Emperor -- wow, that was really, really, really good -- and decided to revisit another classic: She by H. Rider Haggard. (I've been very slowly working my way through all of Haggard's novels in publication order, more-or-less; at the rate I'm going, I should be finished somewhere around 2035 or so.)
I finished Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried which was a fantastic read. Now I just picked up Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. I began reading this last year but for some reason I put it down. I'm really digging into it now.
Finished Fortune's Pawn. I didn't like it. It was bland and had no substance. My review. Perhaps anything I read so soon after Ship of Destiny was going to suck though... anyway, onward to Fool's Errand.
Just started Ready Player One that came in LootCrate last month. I have to say, I'm impressed so far. As others noted, it's a little lacking in depth, because he focuses SO much on video game and nerd culture. But I'm a nerd that's into video games, so it works for me!
I finished The Goblin Emperor. I thought it was cute. A little bit of a palette cleanser between grimdark novels. Who knew a book that consisted of a bunch of meetings could be entertaining? It did drag on quite a bit in the middle though.I also finished How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading. Need to figure out which non-fiction to do next.
I was supposed to start The Grace of Kings but I didn't get to it this week, and we start Deadhouse Gates in another group in two days. Since I am doing both in print, I'll put GoK on hold until after.
I am starting Nexus in audio on my commute home tonight.
Comic-wise, I am still working my way through Saga, Volume 1 and The Walking Dead, Compendium 1. I snagged and read the first issue of Princess Leia.
Finished She and decided to give myself genre whiplash by jumping ahead 125 years to The Martian by Andy Weir.
Just finished The Goblin Emperor. What a joy to read after the last several club picks. Finally a book that doesn't make me want to commit suicide. It had straightforward, linear storytelling in the third person, only one POV character, a likable protagonist, and a non-depressing ending. I was beginning to worry people couldn't write like this anymore. I did find the details about Maia's jewelry and clothing a little obsessive but I could live with it.Starting The Shining Ones by David Eddings. It's been many years since I've read the book in the trilogy before this so hopefully there's a good recap.
I finished The Goblin Emperor pretty quickly. Now back to some things a little more serious. I usually have a fiction and a non-fiction going all the time. Fiction right now is Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage which is quite frankly amazing. If you like Murakami you are going to love this. Non-fiction is the definitive biography of one of the most critical figures of our recent history Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China .
Joseph wrote: "Finished She and decided to give myself genre whiplash by jumping ahead 125 years to The Martian by Andy Weir."I had so much fun reading the Martian, great book!
Tara wrote: "I had so much fun reading the Martian, great book!"About half way through and I'm enjoying the heck out of it.
Reading The Difference Engine. Time to jump on the steampunk bandwagon 10 years too late. Though actually, despite being the original steampunk book this isn't steampunk at all. Its Victorian cyberpunk, which is much better than steampunk.
I have started the The Three-Body Problem. Trying to get to all the Nebula nominees so I can express my outrage no matter who wins.
I finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. An excellent read and I'm glad to hear that tor has picked it up for a publisher release. Reminds me of several other books. In terms of warmth, I get a The Goblin Emperor vibe off it. It also reminded me of C.J. Cherryh's The Chanur Saga, with a well-constructed galactic civilization with interesting and believable aliens.I also read Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear for Rob's group. I like Bear's stuff normally and this one was ok, but it didn't grab me as much as the last couple of epic fantasy books I've read lately (and it's not a sub-genre I normally like much anyway).
I'm about a third of the way through The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente. My face hurts from grinning. This series gets better with each book.
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Range of Ghosts (My Review)
The Martian Chronicles (My Review)
The Goblin Emperor (My Review)
I've recently finished:The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - review - I seemed to like it less than most
Getting Off by Lawrence Block - review - Not up to the standard of his other Hard Case Crime novels
Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson - review - It was great. Can't wait to start Memories of Ice
But first a palate cleanser of Different Seasons by Stephen King, which is a collection of four novellas.
I just finished Control Point. I liked it but it definitely suffers from "first novel syndrome," which was especially noticeable since I read Gemini Celllast month. But, I'm definitely moving on to Fortress Frontier next.
Geoff wrote: "I've recently finished:The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - review - I seemed to like it less than most
Getting Off by Lawrence Block - review - Not up to th..."
I'm with you on The Goblin Emperor Geoff.
Coincidentally I just picked up Getting Off a few weeks ago. Not looking forward to reading it as much after reading your review :(
Scott wrote: "I just finished Control Point. I liked it but it definitely suffers from "first novel syndrome," which was especially noticeable since I read Gemini Celllast month. ..."So when Myke Cole was on S&L he recommended new readers start with Gemini Cell since it was a prequel (and probably he knew the writing was better :P), but usually I like to read in publication order. Did you like reading Gemini Cell first or would you rather have started with Control Point?
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The Sword and Laser
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I have just finished up the following:
Finally got my hands on Saga, Volume 4 (My Review)
I also finally got my hands on the audio version of The Providence of Fire. Probably better than the first one, but I was a still a bit disappointed because I had higher exceptions for it than The Emperor's Blades. (My Review)