What are you reading in August 2010?

[Sandra]

No, haven't dug into Wheel of Time yet, and am wondering if I will as I hear the series declines, and of course is being finished by Sanderson. But maybe... after I read everything else on my never ending TBR pile!

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

The first three Wheel of Time books are good, after that it goes downhill a bit, and starting with book 7 it becomes a real slog. I finally gave up halfway through book 8 and haven't gone back to it since then.

Martin's books are much, much better, but my annoyance at the time it takes him to get the next book out gets worse and worse every time he releases another anthology or Wild Cards book. The man's perfectly allowed to take as long as he wants and focus on his TV series and his anthologies, but he's definitely lost me as a loyal reader of the series until the final book is on the shelves.

[Dawn]

I remember being bored with The Wheel of Time somewhere after the first five or six books, but I stuck with it. It's slow going in the later books, but it definitely picked up. Later on I reread the whole series all in a row, without breaks waiting for the books to come out, and it was much better that way. I don't think Martin's series is like that at all... Time may not pass very quickly in some of the books, but it held my attention all the way through and kept me interested despite that.

[Bookbrow]

Kathi wrote: "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."


Ditto for Jordan's wheel of time series...

[Jan]

Oh.
I don't really mind that the series isn't finished yet. I enjoy the books for what they are (the first 3 feel somewhat like a trilogy within the series anyway), and if there are some cliffhangers that leave ma hanging that is how it is.
It's perfectly possible that I feel like that now, because I'm in the first book phase now, when I've reached a Feast for Crows, I'll probably be frustrated again.

In other reading news, the library finally had the entire Earthsea cycle available, so I'm going to start with A Wizard of Earthsea. Unfortunately they didn't have it in English, so I'll see if I like the first one, and then buy myself some English copies if it is my thing.

[Shel, Moderator]

Mike, the Martin books are NOTHING like Wheel of Time except in their size. I too made it up to about book 7 in the Jordan series before giving up. Martin always has had the series planned as 7 books... he's just gotten bogged down in the writing of them.

Sandra, what Martin did in book 4 was focus on only half of the characters, while the ones he left out will be picked up in book 5.

[Sandra]

Shel wrote: "Mike, the Martin books are NOTHING like Wheel of Time except in their size. I too made it up to about book 7 in the Jordan series before giving up. Martin always has had the series planned as 7 b..."

Okay, well, whatever it is, I'm going to wait until more books are out -- did you say 7? -- before reading any more Fire and Ice.

So, one would assume that the dragons will fight with the weird ice people? Wild speculation there.

I did finish I Am Legend and found it awfully bleak. Started audio version of Death's Excellent Vacation and listened to the first story.

[Marty]

Sandra wrote:
So, one would assume that the dragons will fight with the weird ice people? Wild speculation there.

that's the kind of thing I started thinking too. It struck me as being too epic for my tastes. I like to have characters I really like and want to know about and Martin is so surprising in the deaths and what not. it's too much like real life for me, I read for fun.

[Christine]

I read seven or eight of the WoT series; the last one I had to read in front of my computer as I used a website to identify the characters. It was very difficult to keep the enormous cast straight and remember the story line with so much time between volumes. I've disappointed that Martin has left the final volume of that series for so long as it is beginning to fade (or maybe has already faded) from my memory. BTW, I see the sequel to Name of the Wind os out; is there anywhere to find a synopsis of the first book?

[Sandra]

Christine wrote: "I read seven or eight of the WoT series; the last one I had to read in front of my computer as I used a website to identify the characters. It was very difficult to keep the enormous cast straight..."

Where is Name of the Wind out? I understood it wasn't available here in the US until March.

[Joseph]

Kathi wrote: "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."

If it was something like Lord of the Rings, where the ending is really important, then I might agree. But Martin's SoIaF is more like a soap opera with dozens of main characters, most of whom he is comfortable killing off. His story lines could go on for years more.

I think his journey is more important than his destination. I enjoy re-reading the series just to spend time with his characters.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

There are those who look at the Wheel of Time that way...some. I'm not really into soap-opera however, enjoy.

[Jan]

I wouldn't call Ice and Fire soap opera, I'd call it Deadwood. Great storylines, but not all ends are tied together in the end.

I think the sequel to Name of The Wind is coming out in March indeed, but the first one is definitely worth your time. Somebody in this thread said it ended on a major cliffhanger, but to me it didn't feel like that.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Bookbrow wrote: "Ditto for Jordan's wheel of time series..."

Actually, it is exactly a ditto for Wheel of Time. I have all the books (except Sanderson's additions) and will read them when Sanderson finishes the conclusion.

[Joseph]

Jan wrote: "I think the sequel to Name of The Wind is coming out in March indeed, but the first one is definitely worth your time. Somebody in this thread said it ended on a major cliffhanger, but to me it didn't feel like that."

It doesn't end on a cliffhanger, but it doesn't have any sense of resolution because it's only part 1 of 3. It doesn't stand alone well.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I'm too old for this to go on much longer. I really think I may wait till series are finished now before I start any more. :)

[Jan]

Ahh Joseph, I thought it stood alone well enough. I think it was very much the Coming of Age part of the trilogy, and as such it felt like a well defined story. It will probably be better in a series, but I think it has merit on it's own too.

But I'm very much it's about the journey, not the destination person, so your mileage may vary.

[Joseph]

Jan wrote: "Ahh Joseph, I thought it stood alone well enough. I think it was very much the Coming of Age part of the trilogy, and as such it felt like a well defined story. It will probably be better in a seri..."

I agree about the value of the journey, I really loved the book. But I don't think the volume stands alone because it introduces so many issues that it does not resolve, primarily Kvothe's search for his family's killers.

[Christine]

I just picked up Mockingjay at the library today; I've just started The Windup Girl and have Pandora's Star on my shelf as well (library books)

[Ken]

I just finished Pandora's Star, after a slow start (I think it could have used some cuts) the book gets quite interesting.

[Ruby]

Went to the bookstore last week and bought only books I knew for sure I wanted - no new authors. But I read the beginning of Grand Central Arena and it sounded like a really fun sci fi read. I also picked up Acacia: The War with the Mein and gave it a look. Now I'm dying to go back and get both. I was also at the used store again today trading some novels I'll never read again for more Andre Norton that I will probably like better, and I saw they had the first two books in the The Darkangel Trilogy that I've meant to read since I was a kid and have never happened to see anywhere. Must go back and get them before they vanish. I was hoping the copy ofThe Haunting of Hill House I noticed last time and couldn't add to my total would still be there, but no luck. Someone else must have snapped it up!

[Jon]

Last week I finished The Shining Company (my review) and The Quiet Invasion (my review). This morning I picked up Song of the Beast and I'll continue my in-depth re-reading of The Curse of the Mistwraith.

Later this week, I'll post some of my August reads in my Bookmooch Inventory. I'll be clearing out some of that inventory to donate to my local library's fall book sale.

[Shel, Moderator]

Ken wrote: "I just finished Pandora's Star, after a slow start (I think it could have used some cuts) the book gets quite interesting."

Ken, did you read his Night's Dawn series? I really wanted to love it but something about his writing just irked me. I did finish the series but I didn't love it and promptly donated my copies of the books to the local thrift shop (which says a lot, because I am obsessively possessive about my books). Would you say that Pandora's Star is in a similar style? I'm trying to decide whether to give Hamilton another chance.

[Sandra]

I finished Defender last Sunday. Listened to two books -- I Am Legend and Beguilement (didn't much like either - IMO Bujold is better at science fiction) and read two -- Explorer and The Lions of al-Rassan. I just finished Lions last night and hardly know what to say about it. I'm emotionally wrung out!

I'm listening to Charlaine Harris' new anthology - Death's Excellent Vacation and so far am finding the stories a little lame. Did enjoy the one about Sookie and Pam, and am liking one I'm in the middle of -- will have to go back and relisten to the title and author.

Am not sure what to read next.

[Kerry]

Sandra - while I liked Bujold's Sharing Knife books, I didn't think they were as good as the others. However, I think the issue was with pushing the romance to the fore rather than SF vs fantasy, as I loved her Five Gods books.

I just read When You Reach Me which I thought was a lovely little book. It's technically a children's book, but still very enjoyable for an adult, especially if you have a childhood love of A Wrinkle in Time as I do. I ordered another copy yesterday to be a birthday present for a friend, who I think will enjoy it as I did.

I've now started The Owl Keeper. This is another one that is technically a children's book. I figured that while I was working my way through WoLaS, that was a good opportunity to take some on my "easier" books of the TBR. I'm not sure that I could handle two "heavy" books at the same time.

[Sandra]

Kerry - someone else told me her other fantasy series are better. Maybe I'll try one later.

Meanwhile I settled on something nice and normal. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - just a little murder and sexual sadism :D.

[Nick]

Just finished The Left Hand of Darkness for the third time -- it gets better with every reading, new nuances into the anthropological mindset -- and for the first time The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton, a strange read from 1908 -- is it fantasy or is it Keystone cops?

[Shel, Moderator]

I *love* The Left Hand of Darkness. It definitely is one of those books that gets better each time I read it.

My copy of The Ships of Merior just arrived, so I can't wait to dig in! :)

[Wealhtheow]

Sandra, I was very disappointed by the Sharing Knife books as well. They're so boring! Luckily, Bujold's other fantasy series (which I believe begins with the Curse of Chalion) is excellent.