SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
What Else Are You Reading?
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What I'm Also Reading in July
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That's a really ambitious list. I don't plan my reading that far ahead. Right now, I'm almost done with "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson. I've read it before. I've told my son that there's no way I'm going to finish reading "Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians" by Brandon Sanderson to him. It's really, really, really terrible. I started reading "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar to him instead. I think he's going to finish that on his own and then I'll read it.
My next books will be "The Stars my Destination" by Alfred Bester and "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss that are next in line for another group.
I should be able to finish "The Lies of Locke Lamora" and "Altered Carbon" this month too. Maybe. My daughter's getting married on the 12th, so I'll probably be missing out on some prime reading time.
I'm on vacation this week, so I hope to finish the first Mistborn novel by Brandon Sanderson. Then I might start the Sceptered Isle series by Lackey. I also have another book that I think I've read before, but I'm not entirely sure, so I'm going to possibly re-read Daughter of the Forest. After that, it just depends on what shows up from all the holds I've placed at the library and a couple of Interlibrary Loans I've requested.
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Jon
Great list Cicero!I'm just finishing up http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15...
I'm in a dilemma - what to read next? Start the Cherryh Foreigner series? Salmon Rushdie's new book? Or fail in willpower and not save the final book of Katharine Kerr's wonderful series for my AUgust island vacation? Decisions decisions.
It's time for Emile Zola again, a little break from fantasy, I just finished The Belly of Paris, it's time for Pot Luck. Then is Jim Butcher time again^^
I'm currently reading Gardening When It Counts by Steve Solomon and re-reading A Clash of Kings after last month's selection of AGOT. I'd like to read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but really I don't know what I'll get read. The next week and a half will be crazy, between moving into a new place and getting married, so I doubt I'll get much reading done at all, but when that's all done, I'll probably reward myself with reading time.
I just finished Cloud Atlas today. Anyone read it here? Wow, it was incredible. Highly recommended. At some point soon, I'll be reading more David Mitchell. However, next up is Little Brother. It is awaiting me at the library now. It comes highly recommended by Sandi so I'm sure it will be great.After that, I will probably read Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro since I'll be picking it up today, too. After that, I'm not sure yet.
This is what I hope to read: Coraline
The Red Leather Diary
Undead and Unappreciated
Four to Score
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?
I'll spare you the "heavy" (i.e., nonfiction) stuff :-) but fictionwise, I'm hoping to read:In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, S.M. Stirling
Spin, Robert Wilson
Tales of Pain & Wonder, Caitlin Kiernan
Un Lun Dun, China Mieville
Terence, be sure to write a review of Un Lun Dun. I like Mieville's work for adults, I'm wondering how he does writing to a younger age group.
Lori, Were you referring to the Shadow Isle by Katherine Kerr? If you are, I think I'll give you fair warning that it is not the last book. It is pretty good, but there will be at least one more book.
The next fantasy book on my list will most likely be 'Kushiel's Dart', which was what I'd planned to read before the club selected AGOT. As for non-fiction, as soon as I finish Tim Weiner's excellent book 'A Legacy Of Ashes-The History of the CIA, I'll be diving headfirst into Jeremy Skahill's book 'Blackwater'.
Branka, I was just thinking of reading The Belly of Paris, but I'm wary. I would be more inclined if an SF fan recommended it.I'm hoping to find time to read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I just finished Dunnett's Disorderly Knight's, and I'm currently working on a couple of nonfiction books: Malouf's Crusades Through Arab Eyes and Rubenstein's Aristotle's Children. I try to alternate between fiction and nonfiction, but I got bogged down in the Rubenstein. The twelfth century was just not a good century for European philosophy.
Julianna, the thing with E. Zola is, that you love him or hate him. There is no middle road. I love his way of describing things, but a lot of people hate it, they think it's long-winded and boring. But I must admit, he is very depressed, he confirms that life is a strugle, that society is sick with money, power and social status. But I love his stories, they are real and genuine, a very good contrast to fantasy or even a contradiction to it. Everything is based on human emotions and their behaviour. For me Zola is painting with words, where almost everything is black and grey, but now and then you can find a rainbow hidden in the corner.
Branka, thanks for the interesting description of Zola. Sounds perfect for me right now. After years of being obsessed with concise prose and aphorisms, I have come to appreciate a more leisurely and meandering approach to writing. I'll definitely give The Belly of Paris a go. Probably after I finish Androids.
After finishing "Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?" I've decided to read another Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle collaboration (finished Lucifer's Hammer a few weeks ago) and since I'm a sucker for a good alien invasion and end of the world story I picked up FootFall.
I just finished Lucifer's Hammer a few weeks ago and have the audio book of Footfall on the iPod. It'll probably be a few weeks before I get around to starting it though. I see you have Mote in God's Eye on your to-read shelf. I'd really recommend that one over any other. One of my favorites.
Ben, I'd heard "Mote in God's Eye" was really good and having you recommend it out of the blue has solidified it as the next book I'll read (unless something else manages to peak my interest before :)
I finished DADOES, and The Color of Magic, so now I’m reading “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon”, by Stephen King, “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, by Bill Bryson, “How the Irish Saved Civilization”, by Thomas Cahill, and book, about Stephen Hawking. I can’t remember the author of that one. Most of them are being neglected at the moment for “The Girl…”, They’re all pretty interesting, although the Bryson book is hard to get in to.
I found the Bryson book to be great! And very comprehensible. Altho I admit I haven't finished it yet - and it's been a few years, but I intend to. But I want to wait til I can concentrate again, if that time ever comes, jeez. Maybe when my kid grows up! My reading is purely fiction these days.
Woops, Steven I just saw your post! Yeah, I'm bummed The Shadow Isle wasn't the grand finale, but I'm also thrilled. one last book! Of course I know what will happen with Rory, at least I think I know, but that doesn't change the fact that I want to read it all.
I'm reading three books at once right now. EEK!!!I'm almost done with "Altered Carbon" by Richard K. Morgan.
I've started "Forced Mate" by our own Rowenna Cherry. (It's a bit risque, so I'm sneak-reading it.)
And, I'm through the first section of "The Physics of Superheroes" by I-Can't-Remember-Who.
They're all very different from each other.
I just finished with six book from Jim Butcher Dresden Files - Blood Rites, still in love with him... Now I started with The Privilege of the Sword - Ellen Kushner, through the middle is becoming more and more one of the girliest things I've read. It's skillfully written, but still, to much corny romances, gowns, a lot of crying, corny chivalry...but at the and, It's such a easy summer read.
Kushner is behind me. It was a fluid read, but to much cheesiness for my taste. Next bite is Brandon Sanderson - The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, Book 2), I loved first book, the begining of the second volume looks the same.
#9 (Ben): Cloud Atlas is one of my favourite books! I also enjoyed David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green and Number9Dream, though they are not quite on the same level (in my opinion).I am currently reading David Brin’s Uplift Saga. I’m on book 2: Startide Rising. I am a bit disappointed that none of the characters from the first book (Sundiver) seem to be in it, but it is still a good and interesting read.
I just read Black Swan Green and liked it even more than Cloud Atlas. I'll defiantly be reading the rest of Mitchell's stuff soon. I highly recommend both of these books to everyone.I also just read Sundiver, too, and started on Startide Rising but got distracted with other books. I'll be going back to it soon, though.
Ben,I'm trying to read Sundiver right now. I say trying because I can't seem to get more than 15 minutes at a time to read so my experience of the first 2 chapters is very choppy.
It's an interesting concept, but I'm not sure I'm enjoying it that much and I can't decide if it's the writing or just the way I'm reading it right now.
Just started on the Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction (ed. Mike Ashley).Of the first three stories i really liked Anomalies - (Gregory Benford) and ...And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon (Paul Di Filippo) but was let down by the obvious ending in Crucifixion Variations (Lawrence Person). Person started out with a good idea and very good writing style but let it fizzle into mediocrity.
Eoghann, I had some trouble with Sundiver, too. I knew going in that it was supposed to be the weakest of the first three books, but I felt compelled to read it first even though they can supposedly be read in any order. I ended up liking it for the most part, though I never really got into it. I am glad I read it first though since I think the background will be useful for the rest of the books.
I tried reading Sundiver as well, couldn't get into it either so I tossed it away. Let me know if the rest of the saga is worth it.I've been glued to the Night Watch series. I'm almost at the end of the 2nd book, Day Watch, and I'm absolutely frantic because all the copies of the 3rd, Twilight Watch, are out from the library. I ordered a copy from half.com the other day, but alas it won't arrive til next week, so I'm in desparation!
I do have Cloud Atlas from the library, maybe I'll start that...
It funny, I had trouble with Sundiver as well! One reason was that the publisher had reprinted the edition I was reading by xeroxing the original edition - the letters were randomly squished or thick and dark. My eyes were straining just to see the words. I think that I ended up enjoying it so much because of how similar it was to the robot novels by Asimov (detective novels), I don't want to spoil it for you but the aliens aren't all looking out for earth's best interests. The ending was action packed and really just a lot of fun with several plot twists - I ended up rereading parts of it. I enjoyed the next two just as much, but found that Brin's novels are hard for me to get into but worth the effort.-Ethan.
Oh. I see this post is supposed to be about what else we are reading in July. I just read Darwinia, which had a galactic and steam punk feel to it, a very interesting concept. I am now reading all of H. P. Lovecraft's material.
Ethan, I agree – I too was reminded of Asimov, which is never a bad thing!
The Name of the Wind by Patrick RothfussI haven't hit the 100 page mark yet, just halfway there, so I still haven't made up my mind whether I'll finish it. So far he's just run me around in circles!
Currently reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and the biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Next up is probably Blindsight by Peter Watts and Number9dream by David Mitchell.
I'm about to start "To kill a mockingbird". I've heard so many great things about it, I fear I might be disappointed, but hopefully it really is great.I'm bringing the book on my short summer holyday, which will partly be spent on Oslo Science Fiction Festival, where I hope to get some more reading tips. One of the two guests of honour is Iain M. Banks (I, myself, is also a guest, but of the less honorary kind …).
Ethan;if you like HPLovecraft you should check out some Brian Lumley. He writes in The Mythos and does an excellent job. His Titus Crow series comes to mind.
I've just finished with Gary A Braunbecks The Indifference of Heaven and I'm finishing up the Conrad Williams collection with Rain, Nearly People, The Scalding Rooms & Use Once Then Destroy.
I'm finally reading again now that things have settled into a semblance of normalcy after the wedding / move / dog surgery. I re-read portions of Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series in preparation for reading the newest volume, Jhegaala, which just arrived today. I'm also reading Treason by Orson Scott Card because I needed something to read yesterday, before what I *really* wanted to read arrived from Amazon.
In the same shipment to read soon are A Mind of Its Own by Cordelia Fine, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and King's Shield by Sherwood Smith. That last, I may hold off on until the fourth (and final) volume of the series is finished, so I can go back and re-read the first two and then read the two new ones.
I really enjoyed the Shadow of the Wind! I thought it was written very well... I think it was originally published in Spanish.
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Privilege of the Sword (other topics)Snow Crash (other topics)
“The Name of the Rose” – Umberto Eco
I am curently reading this book which I am about half way through. Slightly dissappointed but if I had picked it up without knowing any of the hype and acclaim that suurounds it I would have been blown away.
“The Book of Imaginary Beings” – Jorge Luis Borges
Borges' "Ficciones" is without doubt the most rewarding book I have read this year and this fictional bestiary looks good fun from the few entries I have read randomly.
"Coming Up for Air" - George Orwell
After reading the obligatory "Animal Farm" and "1984" I wanted to explore more of his work and so picked it up when I saw it in the library. No nothing about it.
“Royal Flash” – George MacDonald Fraser
A bit of good old fun lined up in the form of Harry Flashman; should be a great romp through Victorian England.
“American Gods” – Neil Gaiman
I have read "Anasi Boys" and was not that impressed but that was because I had hyped Gaiman in my mind to an unattainable level so I am now coming into this book with more realistic expectations.
“A Hundred Years of Solitude” – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"Autumn of the Patriarch" - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"Strange Pilgrims" - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"Love in the Time of Chlorea" is easily the best novel I have read this year so I am looking really forward to these.
“Life of Pi” – Yann Martel
It seems I am the only one of my friends who has not read this book. Therefore I feel a little bit forced into reading this but I hope this does not affect my experience of this book which seems set to become a contemporary classic.
"Inside Straight" - edited by George R.R. Martin
I read excerpts from the Wild Card series in a collection of GRRM's work and was drawn in. I decided to start with this book which is a revival of the series because tracking down the old books could be hard as they are out of print.
“Titus Groan” – Mervyn Peake
I got about half way into this book and was completely hooked (everything about it enthralled me the prose, characters, setting etc) but then lost it on a bus. I made the descion to wait before reading it as I wanted to ripen my anticipation for the book.
“The Bonehunters” – Steven Erikson
My first epic fantasy of the summer and a series that I can never decide where I stand with it. Erikson can write well but at time he becomes bloated and pretentious (I know you don't like capatilism so you don't have to beat me over the head with it)and the characters however well written they are, they never leave any impression in me. But on the other hand this series is "epic," you cannot help but stand back in awe at times and forgive Erikson all his sins.
“The Three Musketeers” – Alexandre Dumas
Last year the "Count of Monte Cristo" was one of the best books I read so I am looking really forward to this one as well.
“The Charnel Prince” – Greg Keyes
Keyes surprised me earlier on this year with a very good opening book "The Briar King." Could be good as Keyes successfully avoided the pitfalls of traditional fantasies and wrote a very good tale as well.
“Neuropath” – R. Scott Bakker
Bakker, I believe, is the most ridicuosly under read author in fantasy and this pscyho thriller has brilliant and disturbing written all over it from the early reviews. I cannot wait.
"Dubliners" - James Joyce
I am not brave enough to try "Ulysses" but I thought I might my give this slimmer book a try.
“Fool’s Fate” – Robin Hobb
Last year before my exams results came out I was a wreck and "Fools Errand" comforted me through the two nights (my results were realeased on two diiferent days due to different exam boards) and I read it to about 3 a.m. in the morning to stop me agonising. Therefore I am not giving this book a precise place in this list becasue I plan to read it on the night before my exam results. Ohh, Hobb is awesome and Fitz is the best written charcter in fantasy.
It is a long list but I will be able to read it easily in the time as I read upto 200 pages a day. Also I have read most of these authors before and really enjoyed their books so the quality looks good.