What are you reading in August 2010?

[Ron]

I just read Tony Ballantyne's novel "Twisted Metal" and I have to say I'm not much impressed by it. First of all, the thing offers no clue that it is the first in a series (next: "Blood and Iron") and I HATE coming to the end of a book only to be told, "Now this is where it really starts...". Ballantyne's robots may be interesting studies in material philosophy, but they don't really make much sense as robots. They are if anything a sad shadow of the robots in "The Cyberiad" or "Mortal Engines" by Lem.

[Max]

Currently reading A Scanner Darkly with Ship of Fools up next, by the time I'm finished those VALIS will have arrived in the mail

[Jim]

Jim wrote: "I just read Timothy Zahn'sOdd Girl Outand now I'm into the first 30 pages of L.E Modesitt,Jr'sThe Eternity Artifactand this should take me into the first few weeks of September

[Dawn]

I just finished Warhost of Vastmark. My intention was to take a break from the series after this one, read something lighter to break things up.. But I don't know if I can! I started reading Kushiel's Dart last night, but found myself missing Wurts. I might just have to try to read two books at once, so I can move on to Fugitive Prince, but also have Kushiel's Dart to fall back on when I need a break.

[Jon]

I started The Shining Company yesterday after finishing Same Kind of Different As Me (my review). Once my daughter returns to Texas, I'll continue my in-depth re-reading of The Curse of the Mistwraith.

Other books I finished this week included The Emerald storm (my review) and Power Surge (my review).

I'm waiting for my signed copy of The Way of Kings to arrive; so in the meantime I'm reading through my borrowed shelf to return books to friends who loaned them to me months ago.

[Sandra]

Dawn wrote: "I just finished Warhost of Vastmark. My intention was to take a break from the series after this one, read something lighter to break things up.. But I don't know if I can! I started ..." -- Grin! I know what you mean. I couldn't stop until I finished the series so far.

Finished reread of Peril's Gate- my review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/104... Wish I could figure out how to do that tricky thing Jon does with links :). Am almost done listening to Kings of the Earth, a totally delightful and heart warming book; and am p. 281 of Precursor. I'm thoroughly enjoying this series.

My to read list gets longer and longer. Am startingThe Name of the Wind next, probably today. Am still waiting for my first read copy of The Way of Kings. And really really really want to read Carol Berg's Transformation and Kay's The Lions of al-Rassan

[Jon]

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Wish I could figure out how to do that tricky thing Jon does with links :)"

I used a FireFox plugin/addon called BBCodeXtra so it's just a right click away.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "And really really really want to read Carol Berg's Transformation and Kay's The Lions of al-Rassan ."

That book of Kay's is absolutely one of my favorites.

I have some Carol Berg on my shelf now, too, after reading all the good comments here. Won't get to her soon, though... still plugging away at Janny's Curse. I just haven't had the chance to sit and read for more than 10 minutes at a time, and I spend most of that rereading to remember what's happening in the story.

[Dawn]

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Dawn wrote: "I just finished Warhost of Vastmark. My intention was to take a break from the series after this one, read something lighter to break things up.. But I don't know if I ca..."

The link tricky thing is done with html formatting. Let's see if I can explain... An example...

<_a href="www.goodreads.com">Good Reads Website

So first of all, you'd have to remove the underscore after the first "<" to make it work, I just put it there so it showed what I wrote and not a link. Just replace www.goodreads.com with whatever the desitination you want your link to be, and then where it says "Good Reads Website" in the middle, that's where you would put the text you want the link to say.

So for your review... First with the underscore so you can see what I wrote:

<_a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... Review Here

And now without so you can see the result:

My Review Here

Hope that makes sense!

[Sandra]

Dawn wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Dawn wrote: "I just finished Warhost of Vastmark. My intention was to take a break from the series after this one, read something lighter to break things up.. ..." Thanks, Dawn, but I decided on Jon's solution as I use Firefox. Sounds much simpler. But I'm saving your instructions, just in case!

Kathi wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "And really really really want to read Carol Berg's Transformation and Kay's The Lions of al-Rassan ."

That book of Kay's is absolutely one of my favorites.

I have some Car..." LOL, well you have to sit down and read Curse or it just won't come together for you.

Jon wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Wish I could figure out how to do that tricky thing Jon does with links :)"

I used a FireFox plugin/addon called BBCodeXtra so it's just a right click away." - AH! Just downloaded it.

[Sandi]

I finished listening to Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay recently and was underwhelmed. I'm almost done listening to Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt and I am really enjoying it. It reminds me of why I love time travel stories to begin with.

A couple of weeks ago, Barnes & Noble offered a free e-book of Darkfever, the first of a series by Karen Marie Moning. I'd recently finished the books available to date in the Kitty Norville series and The Dresden Files. I didn't really want to get caught up in another urban fantasy series, but this one sucked me in. I've read the first 3 books in the series in 6 days. The 4th book is $9.99 and the last one isn't out yet. So, I think I'm going to stop here for now.

I still need to finish The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers. I downloaded an ebook of it from an independent books store and the production quality just sucks. I suspect that may be why it wasn't available from B&N. It's taking me a long time to read it. It's a great story, but dense and physically difficult to read.

I'm also trying to finish Un Lun Dun by China Miéville. I may not make it through. It reminds me a lot of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I didn't read either of those books until recently and I just didn't like them. I just don't know if I'm going to be able to take 400+ pages of it.

[Ken]

Tim Powers does that, his books are dense but fullfilling

As for Kay, I think you have to actually READ Kay, His writing is, as the kids say, Da Bomb.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "LOL, well you have to sit down and read Curse or it just won't come together for you."

Don't I know it!! I just haven't had uninterrupted time...

[Sandi]

I finally finished The Stress of Her Regard. It may be the second best Tim Powers book I've read. (Declare is by far the best.) It reminded me of The Anubis Gates, but was a lot better.

I think my next book is going to be Bitter Seeds. I have it in hardback and I need to get through my dead tree books. I still haven't decided if I'm going to finish Un Lun Dun. I've been on page 66 for almost a week and I'm not really interested enough to get back to it.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

I'm almost done with The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I'm enjoying it so far - probably the best thing he's written, actually.

After this I'm hoping to find a gap in my review schedule so I can finally get to Peril's Gate!

[Sandra]

Stefan wrote: "I'm almost done with The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I'm enjoying it so far - probably the best thing he's written, actually.

After this I'm hoping to find ..."

Yay! It's such a big one and sooo much happens! I still don't have my copy of The Way of Kings.

[Ken]

I dont think I can schedule books like that. I am fickle, I make plans but by the time I finish the book I am reading I usually end of changing my mind.
Like now for instance, I planned on Mistwraith but for some reason by the time I finished the book I was reading I picked up The City & the City. I have a stack of Immediate TBR books in the living room I planned to read this summer, I don't think I read any of them yet. Always something else
I have been dying to read Under Heaven by Kay and when I finish it it will be a long wait till the next book by Kay, so I hold on to it for while

[Sandra]

I know what you mean, Ken. I finished Precursor, and Cherryh is so addictive, I want to move immediately on to Defender, but am restraining myself to read The Name of the Wind. I also finished the audio of Kings of the Earth and am starting the audio of I Am Legend.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Same here, I'll usually finish a part of a series and "really like it" and set out to read "the next", or even "the rest of the series" but don't have the next book on hand or can't get it right away. So, "as I'm waiting" I'll start something else... I have parts of several series books laid about the living room, plus others coming from the library (those of course always get bumped to the front of the line). Oh well, if it's a problem, it's a good problem. :)

[Sandra]

Actually, I reverted to my original desire and put Name of the Wind aside to read Defender as I hear the Rothfuss has a cliffhanger and the next book is out in March, so I will wait 'til then. So I'm happily ensconced back in atevi land with Bren Cameron and feeling very comfortable there, along with delighted and intrigued.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I'm waiting for the next Modesitt in the Imager series to arrive...love that series, got the second in the Dhampir series on the self actually listed as currently reading, but got into Those Who Walk in Darkness...and am dying to start Vorpal Blade as I like the book before it by Ringo. Need I go on?


I have no will power. ;)

[Bookbrow]

I have just finished The Death of Grass by John Christopher, which is an older english sci-fi story well written and slightly edgy in its doomesday subject matter. I am now reading Coyote Frontier by Allen Steele a continuation of his new world story. Good stuff.

[Bookbrow]

Mike wrote: "Same here, I'll usually finish a part of a series and "really like it" and set out to read "the next", or even "the rest of the series" but don't have the next book on hand or can't get it right aw..."

I try to acquire all the books in a series so I don't fall into such predicaments, that said I do need to cut this short to find the next "Honor" story by David Weber.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I've been burned that way. It's a problem... buy a series and find you really don't like it enough to read the entire series or buy one and take the chance of having trouble finding the rest when you want them.

[Bookbrow]

Mike wrote: "I've been burned that way. It's a problem... buy a series and find you really don't like it enough to read the entire series or buy one and take the chance of having trouble finding the rest when y..."

Yeah, good point! With those 10 book series you need to be sure.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

Ken wrote: "I dont think I can schedule books like that. I am fickle, I make plans but by the time I finish the book I am reading I usually end of changing my mind."

I have to schedule the books I read mainly because 99% of what I read is for reviews on the Fantasy Literature website, and the goal is to have the reviews appear on or right before the publication date of the book. And, since I tend to bite off more than I can chew, I always have 5-6 books that are "urgent", meaning I should read them in the next few weeks. I actually made a "to-be-reviewed" shelf here on GoodReads, with the books listed in order of publication date, so I always know the next handful of books I'm going to read. (And that also explains why I rarely get to read our Books of the Month here anymore...)

[Sandra]

Stefan wrote: "Ken wrote: "I dont think I can schedule books like that. I am fickle, I make plans but by the time I finish the book I am reading I usually end of changing my mind."

I have to schedule the books I..."

You should read Peril's Gate and put your review on that site. It's the only book in the series without a review!

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

Yep, that's the plan! I've been reading and reviewing the books in order, whenever I had a gap in my schedule. I may actually get to it this week...

[Sandra]

Stefan wrote: "Yep, that's the plan! I've been reading and reviewing the books in order, whenever I had a gap in my schedule. I may actually get to it this week..."

Oh good! You'll love it.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I finally had time to sit down and read 5 chapters of The Curse of the Mistwraith. :-)

[Ken]

Finished The City & the City
Liked it a lot.

Going to dive back into Elric: The Stealer of Souls

Started reading it last April was just not that into it.

[Sandra]

Kathi wrote: "I finally had time to sit down and read 5 chapters of The Curse of the Mistwraith. :-)"

Yay! Keep going.

I'm finishing Explorer, an incredibly exciting third in the 2nd Foreigner trilogy by C.J.Cherryh. Got my first reads copy of The Way of Kings and it's HUGE. Am going to read The Lions of al-Rassan next!

[Shel, Moderator]

Hi everyone, I'm home from my trip, had an amazing time :) I got through two of the three books I brought along: The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise: A Novel, which was a FirstReads win and I *loved* it (especially appropriate for the trip, since it takes place in the Tower of London, which I visited while we were there), and Caprice and Rondo, book 7 of Dorothy Dunnett's Niccolo series, which may be my favorite book of the series so far (even though every single one of them has gotten 5 stars from me)! It was just that good :)

I'm getting settled back in at home, and school starts up again next week, so my reading time is going to be curtailed again... not sure what to pick up next but I'd better make the most of the rest of my summer :)

Good to be back! Off to skim the discussions I've been missing...

[Sandra]

Welcome back! The Ships of Merior discussion starts Sept. !. I've still got a couple of Dunnett books waiting for me.

[Shel, Moderator]

I still need to get my hands on a copy of The Ships of Merior! I didn't order it before I left on the off chance that I'd win the giveaway ;)

I'll definitely be placing an order today or tomorrow, got a few other things I need to buy as well!

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I also need a copy of The Ships of Merior; an excuse to go to Half Price Books or spend some of my Amazon.com giftcard account, I think.

Of course, I'm only on Chapter X in The Curse of the Mistwraith, so I'm not in imminent need.

[Kerry]

I heard about The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise on a Podcast and thought it sounded great. My current plan is to buy it for my mother for Christmas (I think she'll really like it) and then borrow it off her.

I have The Ships of Merior but haven't got far into it. I hope to catch up soon.

[Kerry]

P.S. For anyone in the UK sphere of the publishing work (including AUS and NZ), The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise is published as Balthazar Jones and the Tower of London Zoo in our part of the world. It can be confusing if you're looking for it and wonder why you can't find it.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I just got my copy of TSoM...but I'm not sure I'll start it right away... lots of books waiting.

[Jan]

I'm kinda busy, so I'm rereading massively at the moment, because those are books I can put away when I'm supposed to be sleeping or working.

Currently that's A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. I plan on rereading the entire series before the HBO series comes out. (SQUEE)

Also Kinderen van Moeder Aarde by Thea Beckman, which is an awesome 80's Dutch Sci-fi novel (for teenagers), about the world after WWIII and the environmental disaster caused by it.
I'm obviously reading it for sentimental value :)

And once a day I read a chapter of Arkady & Kain by MCM, the story of Arkady, a young and fashionable assasin/terrorist and her serious counterspy Kain. It's a quite light and funny read, but I find the idea of counterspies (which isn't the same as counterspionage) very intriguing.

[Candiss]

I just finished Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente and loved it. Now I'm (finally) starting on Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm..."finally", as in "I really, really should have read this years ago, and I darned well know it." So...I'm correcting a long-standing oversight. So far, I'm enjoying the book thoroughly.

[Ken]

Jan wrote: "Currently that's A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. I plan on rereading the entire series before the HBO series comes out. (SQUEE)"

I quit till he actually publishes the next book.
Apparently he has wrote himself into a corner and has been spending the last 2 years trying to get himself out. I loved the first 3 books, bought the 4th but have not read it.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

I am quitting the series until he's published all of them. I'm just tired of waiting - it's starting to get a bit ridiculous.

[Shel, Moderator]

Stefan wrote: "I am quitting the series until he's published all of them. I'm just tired of waiting - it's starting to get a bit ridiculous."

Me too. It's so long between books that I forget what's happened before - and it's at the point where it's way too much to re-read until I'm going to be able to FINISH them all right after.

On topic, I'm about to start Stories, edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Serrantonio, which I won in a giveaway from another website. Short stories are about all I can handle right now as I'm gearing up to start teaching again next week, and I'm also taking an online graduate course in Meteorology to get some of the credits I still need to re-certify. Going to be a busy fall!

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I, too, am a collector of the Martin series (Song of Ice and Fire). However, I made the decision early on to NOT read any of them till the series was completed... IF it ever is.

[Sandra]

I've stopped after reading the second book and getting about ten minutes further along in the story. I loved the first, got a little bored with the second, and am not sure I care what happens to these people any more.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Sandra aka Sleo, you scare me... I have the first 3 and was getting ready to start them. This does not sound promising, I went through the "excessive" disappointment with The Wheel of Time series, I hope this doesn't turn out to be another one of those.

[Dawn]

Don't be scared off! It's not for everyone of course.. I plowed through all four (in my own defense, at the time I thought it was a four book series, I had no idea there were still unreleased books) and absolutely loved them all. I made my boyfriend (at the time) read them, he didn't like them at all. We both went on to read Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon, he loved it and I hated it. But really, I think he just had bad taste, lol :). Seriously though.. They are definitely worth a shot.

[Sandra]

Oh, don't be scared, Mike. It's mostly because I don't want to read any more until I know the series is finished. But a friend warned that #4 is really only half a book, so....

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Did you read The Wheel of Time? First 6 books I would call master pieces. I would go so far as to say that if Mr. Jordan had finished the series in the 7 volumes he originally planned or even the 10 he later announced the series would be one of the great fantasy epics of all times... now, not so much. One book of 800 pages covers as I recall about 3 days, he goes back in one book to an earlier volume. I reallllly don't want to go through that again.