What have you been reading this November?

[Andrea]

The days are getting shorter up in the north here, maybe more time for snuggling up with a warm blanket and a good book?

[NekroRider]

I am going into November still reading Pine by Francine Toon, which I started earlier in the week. Around 100 pages in and enjoying it a fair bit! It also starts off with trick or treating (or, rather, guising since it is in rural Scotland) and continues in early November. I like reading it on the same-ish days the events are taking place.

Last week I read The Empty House in The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood and then paused my reading of the collection there. As I started the second story, I thought it would be much more atmospheric to read on our November hiking trip since it is set in a cabin on an island either here in Ontario or Quebec based on the first page. I will have to pick it back up then.

[Audrey]

Still on Hemlock & Silver but I had to give it back to the library. I should get it back in a couple weeks ago.

Re-reading The Martian.

[Andrea]

NekroRider wrote: " As I started the second story, I thought it would be much more atmospheric to read on our November hiking trip since it is set in a cabin on an island either here in Ontario or Quebec based on the first page."

Is the story The Wendigo?

*edit*

Oh, I've actually read this collection :) So guess its not The Wendigo...hmm, do I remember A Haunted Island....you know, the Google AI is not bad at giving recaps of these stories (assuming its correct since nope, I still don't really remember, it was nearly 10 years ago after all)

[NekroRider]

Andrea wrote: "NekroRider wrote: " As I started the second story, I thought it would be much more atmospheric to read on our November hiking trip since it is set in a cabin on an island either here in Ontario or ..."

Yep its the story A Haunted Island. If you can't remember perhaps an excuse for a reread? 😁

[Mary]

Milk Run by Nathan Lowell

[Yrret]

I’ve just started reading Babel by RF Kuang. So far it’s off to a good start.

[NekroRider]

Finished Pine by Francine Toon and loved it. Great gothic slow burn and ghost story that I really enjoyed reading.

I read Black Colossus by Robert E. Howard earlier today, another great Conan story! I read Conan sporadically whenever the mood strikes for something quick and epic.

Ive now just started a reread of Wuthering Heights

[Michelle]

I always liked Wuthering Heights. They were such a dysfunctional pair.

[Robin]

Hello Goodreaders. Please can you help a jaded old geezer, who has no idea what he wants to read next? It needs to be a Kindle e-book priced at no more than £4.00 but having a bit of a wow factor, or at least being different. I know, not asking for much , eh?🤣

Things I'm NOT looking for:

Not book one of an umpty-billion book series (I no longer have the patience for anything bigger than a trilogy)

Things with endless political conniving and manoeuvreing, whispering in corners and coats turning so fast they make a draft.

Standard issue Tolkien mimics that sound like the set up for a joke. "An elf a dwarf a Wizard and a man walk into a goblin inn..."

Absolutely NO "Romantasy"

Standard issue Conan mimics... love Conan, I do but times have changed.

Ideally fantasy but Sci-Fi if it is something you really think is a bit special. My tired old brain doesn't much care for hard Sci-Fi these days, I have a preference for space opera but I am a bit bored with the standard issue stuff there too.

Any ideas for a picky old bloke on a budget?

[Robin]

Incidentally, I think I know what the gag is...

An elf, a dwarf a Wizard and a man walk into a goblin inn.

"Oi!" says the goblin, "We don't serve trolls here!"

"Good sir, we are an, elf, a dwarf, a man and I, a Wizard... there are no trolls here?" The Wizard says.

The goblin chuckles and says,

" How sweet, you all still think you are anonymous on the internet."

[Rachel]

Robin wrote: "Hello Goodreaders. Please can you help a jaded old geezer, who has no idea what he wants to read next? It needs to be a Kindle e-book priced at no more than £4.00 but having a bit of a wow factor, ..."
you could try Industrial Strength Magici really enjoyed it, it was unique and funny. has 4 books total and should be read in order but each book ends in a different sort of boss fight so no need to continue if the universe is not for you don't like it MC is a teen in a world with superheros and magic wielding alien refugees. his dad is a super villain and mom is magic wielding alien princess. kid wants to be a mage like mom but sucks at it so he has to be a tinker class super like dad. basically means he can build anything he wants out of duct tape and rubber bands and it works. eventually finds a way to make his tinker suits do magic for him. also mom and dad are arch nemesis and they are corny. its free with kindle. least fav of set was book 2 with d and d vibes and a weird romance b plot but this was still not major and book was still good book 3 had best villian a genius dragon that made magical contracts with demons. I was going to suggest something else cheap that i just put on my tbr this week due to author hype but i just looked and it does show a romantasy tag here so i wont.

[Tony]

Robin, have you considered the Mega-Packs that Amazon lists? They're collections of short stories and shorter novels that are now out of copyright so Amazon can bundle them up in a collections and sell them. They're usually $1.49 or $0.99 in AUD and I imagine they would be similar in GBP. There is a huge range of them on Amazon, and not just SFF. They are, by necessity, all going to have been written some time ago, but there are usually some good stories in each collection, especially if you find a Mega Pack of a favourite author. And there's always plenty of classics to be downloaded for free from Gutenberg.

[Tony]

I have finished Bunny and the Bear. It was very silly, but a fun read. And, in response to my comment in the October discussion about the lack of actual boinking in the first half of the novel - they certainly make up for that in the second half 😆

This completes my Bingo for this year and I'll have to think about what I want to read next.

[Robin]

Hi Rachel, thanks for the suggestion. It certainly seems different but checking out some of the reviews I don't think it's for me. Kind of you to reply though and thank you.

[Robin]

Hi Tony, I hadn't heard of the mega packs. How do you search them on Amazon? I will take a look and see if anything catches my eye. Ideally, I would prefer new stuff on the whole though. Thanks for the suggestion. 🙂

[Robin]

OK... Found them (after wading through 13 pages of the rather curious juxtaposition of erotica and children's mega packs) I will check these out. Thanks Tony.

[Rachel]

did not come to this looking for the magical library trope but it was well done short and has the promise of the core group of students traveling a lot in later books . all the students are basically bad mage's for unique reasons and end up with some cool powers that need one on one training. I would like to see how they work together in field exercises and a good chunk of the book they are actually in an extra deletional maze. characters are mostly likable though i would like to see one of them become less flat.

[Georgann]

Good joke, Robin!

I read Automatic Noodle and quite enjoyed it. Found family is one of my favorites. I love that the author is, in part at least, reflecting on the times in which we live.

[Robin]

Me again. Having poked around the Kindle special offers, three books sort of caught my eye but... I'm not really convinced by any of them. Does anybody know anything about these three books? Would you recommend any of them?

The Bone Ships by R J Barker

City of Stairs by R J Bennett

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H J Parry

( I am not looking for books by people who mostly have the first initials 'R J' honestly that's just a coincidence)

Can't seem to make my mind up about anything at the moment, so can you help me out here with some feedback? 🤔🙂

[Michelle]

Sorry, Robin- I haven't read any of those or I would help a fellow out :)

[Isabella]

Sorry, not a clue…

[Barbara]

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

Jules Larsen becomes an apartment sitter in the exclusive Bartholomew building in Manhattan, and discovers the place has a creepy past and secrets galore.

Good gothic horror novel. 3.5 stars

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

[Tony]

Robin wrote: "OK... Found them (after wading through 13 pages of the rather curious juxtaposition of erotica and children's mega packs) I will check these out. Thanks Tony."

Yeah, I should have been more specific - I think I had the same problem the when I searched for "mega pack". Now I narrow it down by searching for science fiction mega pack, or for a particular author like H Beam Piper or Frederic Brown. Once you have found a couple, Amazon's algorithm is pretty good at suggestions.

[Tony]

I have started reading Hot Moon. This is an alternate history in which the Apollo missions did not stop in 1972 and both the Americans and the Soviets have lunar bases by the late 1970s.

[Audrey]

I read a different book by R J Barker and was not impressed.
City of Stairs is on my TBR.

[NekroRider]

Robin wrote: "Me again. Having poked around the Kindle special offers, three books sort of caught my eye but... I'm not really convinced by any of them. Does anybody know anything about these three books? Would ..."

If it were me I'd read City of Stairs cause iirc its the same author wrote Tainted Cup ( which I shall continue to rave about lol)

[Audrey]

The Thief – mythological fantasy – KU The Thief

Insomnia – YA horror/UF – KU Insomnia by: J R Johansson

The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn – flintlock fantasy – $2.99 The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn

One Word Kill – time travel plus D&D – KU or $4.99 One Word Kill

[Robin]

Thanks for the input folks. I will continue to ponder and temporarily not read anything... a mini slump you could call it. Thing is, even if I remove my self imposed budget and look at slightly more expensive books, I'm not sure what I want to read just now. I know what I don't want but not what I do want.🙂.

Nekrorider I was drawn to City of Stairs because it was the Tainted Cup guy and I agree with you about the Tainted Cup, it should get an award or something. However, all the reviews, pro or anti, say that the City of Stairs is all world building, set up and atmospherics for the first half of the book, before it actually gets around to any storytelling. They only disagree on whether that approach works or not.😂

I don't know... It would help if I had a clear idea what I was looking for🤣

Perhaps I should just find a pin, close my eyes and take a stab...

No, no... that might damage my kindle.😁

[Jannelies (living between hope and fear)]

I finished The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr


Dystopian or Science Fiction? See for yourself: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Isabella]

Robin wrote: "Thanks for the input folks. I will continue to ponder and temporarily not read anything... a mini slump you could call it. Thing is, even if I remove my self imposed budget and look at slightly mor..."

I sympathise, Robin. Just at the moment, I keep not finishing books because they just don’t hit the spot. I can get away with it to an extent as I’ve got kindle unlimited so I just return them. It would be different if I bought them individually. Not sure if it’s me or the books…

[Dean]

Just finished two excellent books:

Skin in the Game by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) and The Consuming Flame by John Scalzi (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

[Robin]

Isabella, in your case, I am sure it must be the books that are at fault.🙂 In my case, I am pretty sure it's me.🤣

[Michelle]

Audrey wrote: "The Thief – mythological fantasy – KU The Thief..."

I loved that series! I've read it at least a dozen times.

[Michelle]

Robin wrote: "Isabella, in your case, I am sure it must be the books that are at fault.🙂 In my case, I am pretty sure it's me.🤣"

I've been like that for almost 2 years now. I used to read a book every 2-3 days, but that ship sailed 😂 I'm forcing myself to finish the book I've been reading the last couple of weeks because I'm certain it's me and not the book.

[Andrea]

Recently I've been reading a graphic novel every day but that of course cut into my novel time. I have a book on my currently reading shelf that I should have finished last weekend (200 page really YA novel, easy 100 pages a day) but I haven't even started yet.

The non-fiction BINGO book I'm reading is the slow going one. Its got small print and large pages, and its got 19th century stories/letters/documents/excerpts in it which, while they can be perfectly good, can take time to plow through. Its like a 20 page per hour kind of read - Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Documentary Journey into Vampire Country and the Dracula Phenomenon

I'm *finally* more than halfway, but while a break would be nice, I do have to return to the library next Saturday, so I'll keep slogging till I'm done!

And its not really a slog, its interesting, just...slow :)

[Barbara]

Veil by Jonathan Janz

In this science fiction/adventure novel, people are disappearing, and biology teacher John Calhoun is determined to get his loved ones back.

Good thriller. Lots of action. 3.5 stars

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

[Audrey]

A lot of books I looked up were $12-$18 on Kindle. That's insane!

Dr. Mütter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine

[Mary]

Mirror Mirror by Sarah Mlynowski

[Robin]

OK... after much deliberation and having read loads of 'Best Fantasy of X' type lists... I relaxed the upper price limit slightly and purchased 'A Darker Shade of Magic' by V E Schwab. And that will be my next read. The concept intrigued me at any rate, which is of course no guarantee that I will like it. 🙂

With that in mind, I also picked up 'The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door' by H G Parry as a back up in case I hate it (mainly because it was cheap🙂)

I much prefer it when books just talk to me, when they find me, instead of me having to go (somewhat desperately) searching for them.

Anyway, that's that, let's see what happens...🤔

[Michelle]

I liked A Darker Shade of Magic. You know, you might like T Kingfisher's work, now that I think about it. Her series is reasonably priced starting with Clockwork Boys, and she has a macabre morbid sense of humor.

[Robin]

Hi Michelle. Yes, that does look like my kind of thing and I already have a Kingfisher on my 'want to read' shelf (Hemlock and Silver). But... Clockwork Boys is currently £9.99 for the Kindle edition and Hemlock and Silver £11.99. Both of those strike me as overpriced for e-books. Stingy of me I know🙂. I will put it on my WTR shelf though in hopes of a special offer or deal at some point. Thanks for thinking of me.🙂

[Michelle]

Oh, darn it. the U.S. kindle version is only $3.99! Sorry about that, Robin.

[Barbara]

More heartwarming than sci-fi, but it is time travel. 😊


Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

In this 5th book in the 'Before The Coffee Gets Cold' series, 4 people time travel to ease a burden on their heart. One is a little boy who loves his parents. 3 stars

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

[Andrea]

Robin wrote: "Hi Michelle. Yes, that does look like my kind of thing and I already have a Kingfisher on my 'want to read' shelf (Hemlock and Silver). But... Clockwork Boys is currently £9.99 for the Kindle editi..."

I'm also stingy especially when it comes to eBooks. I mean paying say 10-15$ for a physical book you're paying for the paper, the ink, the storage, the transport, you know it feels worth it. But the same amount for an ebook, where electronic storage is pretty cheap, meh (and if it was the author that got the difference I'd consider it, but its probably the publisher...?) And of course your pounds are nearly double our dollar, so that £9.99 is probably closer to $20 for me, ouch!!!

I do get daily sales emails from Amazon and Kobo that announce deals, and they are great deals, but you can only pick what they offer so you have to get lucky. I'd probably grab some for later reading, but my eReader already has so much on it, felt didn't make sense to do that till I make a dent in what I've already got. I'm reading stuff sooooo slow on it. My current one I started in August and still have 200 pages to go, ack!

You can borrow ebooks from libraries if you want 'em for free, might want to check that.

[Bonnie]

I started reading "romantasy" by Sarah Maas for banned books week- and then continued the series. Currently reading Crown of Midnight The newer YA fantasy is a bit over my tolerance for graphic sex and torture/violence (which I skim) but I do like the storyline arc and worldbuilding- and some characters.

[Bonnie]

NekroRider wrote: "I am going into November still reading Pine by Francine Toon, which I started earlier in the week. Around 100 pages in and enjoying it a fair bit! It also starts off with trick or t..."

Added Pine to my tbr- probably for the next spooky season

[Bonnie]

Audrey wrote: "Still on Hemlock & Silver but I had to give it back to the library. I should get it back in a couple weeks ago.

Re-reading The Martian."

it might be longer to get back now, Audrey, as it's a Goodreads nominee now.

[Bonnie]

NekroRider wrote: "Finished Pine by Francine Toon and loved it. Great gothic slow burn and ghost story that I really enjoyed reading.

I read Black Colossus by Robert E. Howard earlier ..."

I love Wuthering Heights but in a far different way than I did when I was really young- saw it as a romance.

[Bonnie]

Robin wrote: "Hello Goodreaders. Please can you help a jaded old geezer, who has no idea what he wants to read next? It needs to be a Kindle e-book priced at no more than £4.00 but having a bit of a wow factor, ..."

I've actually started reading some of my old fantasy series again on kindle, but I mostly borrow them on something our libraries have called Libby. I know from participating in a personal bookclub with old friends in Wales and Canada, that prices here are not the same (way higher or lower) than for them. But- check out the favorite books topic on here for some ideas from me and others.