The Sword and Laser discussion
What Else Are You Reading?
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What else are you reading? March 2010
I'm not reading The Windup Girl. I have started reading Occult America, which is OK, but feels like work to read. I'm about a quarter through it, and I'll admit that I'm looking forward to being done with it.I'm toying with the idea of reading Infinite Jest this spring, sort of like the Infinite Summer from last year but Infinite Spring. If I do, I'll start on March 20th. Hopefully I'll be done with my other books by then.
Oooh terpkristin - I have that sitting on my to-read shelf but haven't even cracked the cover. I loved the other stuff by him that I've read though (but can't eat lobster anymore).
Jenny wrote: "Oooh terpkristin - I have that sitting on my to-read shelf but haven't even cracked the cover. I loved the other stuff by him that I've read though (but can't eat lobster anymore)."Hahahahah. :) IJ is tough, I got about 1/3 way through last year, but was completley derailed by my Wheel of Time re-read. If I remember right, to do it in "a season," it comes out to about 10 pages per day. It was either 70 or 75 per week...
Yeah, if I finish Occult America and Beyond the Shadows (Night Angel trilogy book 3) before 3/20, I think I'll start IJ then.
I am reading 'Poison Study' at the moment. It's taken quite a while to ready it since I have had to read it on my iPhone through the kindle software but I have just had a kindle delivered today so hopefully I will be reading it alot more :)
I am taking another stab at A Game of Thrones. I don't know what it is about this book that seems to put me off just a little. I like the story and the characters, but there is something that keeps me from falling into it all the way. Next up for me is Royal Assasin, book 2 of Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy.
I just finished something very different than Sword and Laser, but in a weird way, there is a common thread. It is called "After the Ice", a story of prehistoric man after the last ice age, up to the introduction of agriculture. It is non-fiction, but the author uses a unique narrative style for much of it, as if a protagonist was actually traveling through the various landscapes and observing the cultures.
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http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
Primarily:
Dead as a Doornail
The Language of Bees
The Windup Girl
Veronica, how do you read 7 books at once?! I get confused after 3, and all 3 must be different genres (like one fantasy, one nonfiction and one mystery, for example)!!!
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Well, I'm only really reading 3 actively. The others are sitting around waiting to be finished. I'm listening to Bees during my commute, so that helps.
Veronica wrote: I'm listening to Bees during my commute, so that helps. "I love doing that!!! I listen(read) so many books during my commute. Have 1 hr each way to work so I can get 2-3 books a month done(if im all caught up on my B.O.L and TWiT that is). I read mostly non-fiction that way. How about you?
I almost wish I had a longer commute, because I love audiobooks. I work 5 miles as the car drives from my house, so I get most of my audiobook time in at the gym or when traveling. That said, 1 of my no more than 3 books is always audio. ;)
I started with audiobooks back in the late 80's, when they were on cassette! I listened to a few dozen books a year that way for the last 20 years, but recently, I have almost given all my listening time to podcasts.
I'm working on The Spirit Lens: A Novel of the Collegia Magica by Carol Berg (love her!), and a book in Japanese, both of which I'm nearing the end on and will probably done with tomorrow, possibly tonight. After that will be This Alien Shore by CS Friedman for another book club.
Vance wrote: "I just finished something very different than Sword and Laser, but in a weird way, there is a common thread. It is called "After the Ice", a story of prehistoric man after the last ice age, up to ..."Who is the author? It sounds interesting, like something I might want to pick up.
terpkristin wrote: "I almost wish I had a longer commute, because I love audiobooks. I work 5 miles as the car drives from my house, so I get most of my audiobook time in at the gym or when traveling. That said, 1 of..."I've gotten in the habit of listening to audiobooks instead of watching TV in the evening. If you can put aside two or three hours a day, it's amazing how many books you can read each month.
Sean wrote: If you can put aside two or three hours a day, it's amazing how many books you can read each month. "Isn't it. I find that i have a hard time actually "reading" the audio book if I am doing anything else than driving though. I start concentrating on something else and find that I usually miss 10-15 minutes of the book.
Rick wrote: "Vance wrote: "I just finished something very different than Sword and Laser, but in a weird way, there is a common thread. It is called "After the Ice", a story of prehistoric man after the last i..."The author is Stephen Mithen. Here is the goodreads page for it:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26...
It is very detailed and, for someone who has an interest in the area, it really brings the various cultures to life.
Thanks to the incompetence of Amazon's warehouse staff, I just received a copy of A. Lee Martinez's new book, Divine Misfortune, two weeks early.Teri and Phil had never needed their own personal god. But when Phil is passed up for a promotion - again-it's time to take matters into their own hands. And look online.
Choosing a god isn't as simple as you would think. There are too many choices; and they often have very hefty prices for their eternal devotion: blood, money, sacrifices, and vows of chastity. But then they found Luka, raccoon god of prosperity. All he wants is a small cut of their good fortune.
Oh -- and can he crash on their couch for a few days?
Sean wrote: I've gotten in the habit of listening to audiobooks instead of watching TV in the evening. If you can put aside two or three hours a day, it's amazing how many books you can read each month.Actually, I already put a couple hours aside most nights to read, instead of watching TV. But I read print books during this time, with audio I get too distracted.
Of course, now that Final Fantasy XIII is out, my reading time will be shrinking, I think.... ;)
I actually have a few books on the read right now, but only a few are sci-fi/ fantasy; Lucifer's Hammer, A Game of Thrones, Hound of the Baskervilles, Earth Abides, and 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists
Andrew, I read Earth Abides when I was a teenager and it blew my mind. It's certainly of its time (gender roles, etc.) but definitely one of the best post-apocalypse tales. Right now I'm reading some old classics I missed: the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser books and Jack Vance's Demon Princes series. I just picked up The Windup Girl from the library, but I haven't started it yet.
I know what you mean about audio books. I can't listen to them while doing anything but driving either.
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After the Whedon run, I plan to return to Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series, and maybe dive into the Sookie Stackhouse books.
Just finishing up the Dark Tower series. I have about 50 pages to go of book 7, then I will really start reading The Windup Girl.
I'm listening to Windup Girl in the car or while I do housecleaning, so that frees me up to read other stuff during "book time." I just finished pre-reading The Mysterious Benedict Society before reading it with my nephew. I've decided he won't be ready for it for a year or so :) Tonight I bought The Knight by Gene Wolfe, and will begin reading it as soon as I finish this comment and get a cup of tea!
I traded in a bunch of books at a local book exchange on Saturday and now have a whole heap of new titles to keep me amused:The Last Symbol
Dark Wraith of Shannara
Revelation Space
Jurassic Park
Summer Knight
The Locus Awards: Thirty Years of the Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Left Hand of Darkness
Weapons of Choice
Shaman's Crossing
The Earthsea Quartet
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
The Amber Legacy
From that list I've only read Jurassic Park and Wizard of Earthsea before so this should be awesomeness for a few months. Before I start though, I'm currently reading The Man in the High Castle for the first time. Tom keeps mentioning that it's one of his faves so I figured I'd give it a shot.
I just read Jeffrey Overstreet's "Raven's Ladder." Don't try to pick this up mid-series, as I did. I have to go back, now, and read book one and two of "Auralia's Thread."
I'm attempting The Years of Rice and Salt for the third time. Everything about this book says I *ought* to love it, but somehow I always wind up getting distracted about 50 pages in and reading something else instead. This time I'm determined to get through the whole thing.
Sean wrote: "A friend came over and dropped all four Joe Abercrombie books in my lap and said, "Read these." I got him into reading George R.R. Martin (which I at times regret, since he keeps asking me when th..."Sean, I just checked out Abercrombie and ordered The Blade Itself, thanks! I would like to find more like this. Stuff that is straightforward, fast-moving, a bit dark, not "high fantasy" (although I am listening to the Silmarillion again, so go figure . . .) or door-stopper epics.
This was some cyberpunk/noir fun:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42...
John Shirley - Black Glass: The Lost Cyberpunk Novel
I just finished The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. I'm about halfway through listening to the audiobook of Makers by Cory Doctorow and I just started reading Spellwright by Blake Charlton.Blake Charlton
I just finished Freedom, and now I'm reading Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom and Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms. One day, I hope to keep up the pace with a Sword and Laser pick, but I haven't managed to yet. I will probably read The Sparrow or The Unincorporated Man next.
Jess wrote: "I'm attempting The Years of Rice and Salt for the third time. Everything about this book says I *ought* to love it, but somehow I always wind up getting distracted about 50 pages in an..."It was well worth the read for me, as without revealing too much, the whole of the novel is greater than the sum of its parts. So persevere!
Just started "To Kill a Mockingbird" on audio. Its great so far. I'm finding that I really like all of these classic books that i was forced to read in school but hated back then. Now that Im older I have a better appreciation for good literature I guess.
I'm reading this :This Crooked Way
And it's a very different sort of book, where each chapter is told from a different character's perspective. It's a quick moving page turner for the most part.
Next on deck is some old school Conan action.
This past summer I finished the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. Some of the best fantasy books I have read in awhile! This author shows a lot of promise (in my opinion)
Jeff wrote: "This past summer I finished the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. Some of the best fantasy books I have read in awhile! This author shows a lot of promise (in my opinion)"I listened to them on Audible. They were good. I recommend you try the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson.
Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set
Chris wrote: "Jeff wrote: "This past summer I finished the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. Some of the best fantasy books I have read in awhile! This author shows a lot of promise (in my opinion)"I liste..."
Thanks for the info. I will put the trilogy on my list of books to read.
I just finished reading the book: The Way of the Wolf by E.E. Knight. Good beginning to what I hope will be a great sci-fi/fantasy series. Post apocalyptic earth, aliens, vampires, and a fight for the future of mankind would sum up the book.
A couple of months ago I created a shelf called current-month to help me keep track of my book club reads and borrowed book reading (things that imply a deadline). That coupled with the recent "upcoming bookclub reads" column on the "my groups" page helps me get through my never-ending stack of next reads and on track to read 100 books for 2010. It helps to have goals when you're approaching middle age. :)
Weird, goodreads isn't giving me all the updates from this. Oh well. I finished off Beyond the Shadows (final book in the Night Angel Trilogy) and am now about 60% through Occult America.I didn't enjoy the ending to Beyond the Shadows, I felt like he spent too much time talking about the battle and not enough resolving the story in a satifsying manner...it was like it all ended too cleanly.
Occult America is a drag. The topic is interesting, but the writing isn't engaging. I feel like I'm reading someone's thesis.
In the meantime, I've moved on to listening to a light mystery called Dead Ex. My plan, provided I finish Occult America by Friday night, is to start reading Infinite Jest on Saturday, and finish it by the end of spring.
Just picked up something called The Dream of Perpetual Motion. Don't know what it's about, except there's a guy imprisoned on a zeppelin that floats over a city from old German expressionist films like Metropolis.
I just finished reading the second book of the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. I know a few others have mentioned it on the boards recently. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the last book. Currently I'm reading the Furies of Calderon the first book in Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series. So far I really like it.
Just finished reading Shadowmarch by Tad Williams. I thought it was a good beginning to what I hope will be a great trilogy. I haven't been let down by Tad so far, and I don't expect I will be with this new trilogy. Before I get into book 2 I am going to start reading the Windup Girl.
Carrie wrote: "I just finished reading the second book of the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. I know a few others have mentioned it on the boards recently. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the l..."I am glad that you are enjoying the Night Angel Trilogy so far! I haven't read Jim's Furies of Calderon yet, but I can say without a doubt that his Dresden books are great reads. They keep getting better and better.
So I am behind in the wind up girl but I am also rereading Boneshaker(well listening to the audiobook actually). I have a non fiction book a friend gave me a while back I take swipes at called Blink. And of course I read the new D&D books as they come out and new comics cause I am a geek.
Over the past week, I finished the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks (liked the series as a whole but liked the first book better than the 2nd and 3rd...and I wasn't crazy about the ending, but you can see my review for the 3rd book for that). I also finished Occult America.On the audiobook front, I've moved to Dead Ex (a light mystery/thriller). In print, with today being the start of spring, today I'm starting my quest to finish the book Infinite Jest before spring ends (i.e. on or before June 19th). It's kind of like http://www.infinitesummer.org from last year, but I'm calling it "Infinite Spring." ;)
Since IJ is going to be a challenging read, I'm keeping my audiobooks light. I've got a few more light mysteries in my queue, and will probably continue with that theme for a bit.
Jeremiah wrote: "So I am behind in the wind up girl but I am also rereading Boneshaker(well listening to the audiobook actually). I have a non fiction book a friend gave me a while back I take swipes at called Blin..."Boneshaker is that good? I gave up after 100 pages, but the action didn't start yet.
Very early this morning, in my aunt's basement, where I sought shelter from a snow storm, I finished The Red Wolf Conspiracy (my review). I was torn between two other library books for my next reading adventure: Eifelheim or The Warded Man. Both of these are upcoming book club reads. I opted for Eifelheim because it's shorter than The Warded Man and I may be able to complete it before the end of the weekend, what with the snow and all.
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
The Years of Rice and Salt (other topics)Jurassic Park (other topics)
A Clash of Kings (other topics)
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (other topics)
A Game of Thrones (other topics)
More...
I'm currently still slogging through 2666 by Robert Bolano, just finished the first volume in the beautifully bound paperback 3-volume set (some people buy it all as one book). I really am enjoying it.
I just started Flowers for Algernon because I've never read it, and the third book of the Fourth Realm trilogy by John Twelve Hawks, The Golden City. The Fourth Realm are quick dystopian action reads. :)