What are you reading in January 2011?

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

Please let us know what you're reading this month!

[Sandi]

I'm currently reading How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu. It's pretty dense and I can only read a few pages at a time. In audio, I'm almost done listening to Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. I'm not liking it very much though, so I doubt I'll go on with the series.

[Chris]

I have two carry-over collections from 2010 that I'm not quite finished with:

Warriors (anthology edited by GRRM & Gardner Dozois) & Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman.

I've also started a re-read of Wizard and Glass by Stephen King, this time on audio.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

Sandi - that Charles Yu book is pretty high on my list of books I'll read if I ever get through my TBR stack!

Chris - I've heard good things about that anthology. I have a copy on the stack but haven't been able to get to it yet.

As for me, I'm reading Pirate Freedom by Gene Wolfe (good so far, but not his best) and Brave New Worlds: Dystopian Stories, an anthology of dystopian SF edited by John Joseph Adams.

[Chris]

I've had it on my shelf since it came out, Stefan. Just recently able to get to it.

Overall, I'm liking it quite a bit. Some stories are better than others, of course. But the good ones are really good.

[Candiss]

I'm finishing up a Firstreads win - Separate Kingdoms: Stories by Valerie Laken - so I can get it reviewed. I'll most likely be done with it later today. Then I'm re-starting Air: Or, Have Not Have. (I've stopped/started it a couple of times due to getting distracted by other things, and it deserves my full attention.)

The rest of the month's reading, in no particular order:


(I want to re-start the Valente, too, as I've been away from it for over a week, and it's dense. I'm reading it as a selection for another group's challenge, and I also need to be fair and start the book after Jan. 1, so back to page 1 I go.)

Sandi - I have a copy of that Charles Yu book on the way, too. I've been keen to read it.

Stefan - I'm interested in what you think about Brave New Worlds: Dystopian Stories when you finish it. I've been eying that one lately.

And Chris - Wizard and Glass! Oh, please don't get my twitch up to re-read the Dark Tower series. I loved it so much, but it's a huge time investment. Ack! Must resist... Wait - audio, did you say? Oooo...

[Chris]

Yes, audio. I was pleased to see that my local library had the books in cd available. It's great because I can listen during times that I can't pick up a book and read but that my brain is on coast mode because I'm doing mundane tasks. I love that, as I can knock out a big book without cutting into my relaxing "normal" read schedule.

[[deleted user]]

Will be reading Not Less Than Gods, which I won from a GR giveaway, along with several group reads.

And maybe, just maybe, taking a chunk out of my TBR list.

[Hélène]

Hello, I'm new to Beyond reality and reading Killswitch, A Cassandra Kresnov novel. The series grows on me.

[Sarah]

Starting off this year with a 7-book Harry Potter re-read. Getting on quite fast so far, only 5 more books to wrap it up.

[Shel, Moderator]

I'm still working on Gemini by Dorothy Dunnett - just over halfway through. I'm hoping to be able to finish it this weekend, though we'll see how much time I have to read.

Next on my list when I finish that is The Curse of Chalion by Bujold.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Yes, I'm still reading (or rather, not taking time to to read) The Ships of Merior.

In truth, I'm reading National Geographics from a few month's back because I can read a little here and there. I hope to get the periodicals pile back down to a manageable size with relatively current issues in it before I head back to The Ships of Merior.

Next I plan to read The Mote in God's Eye. I know I'm far behind on the discussions, but since they stay open, I can still read and comment when I finish the books. After The Mote in God's Eye I'll head back to Janny's series with Warhost of Vastmark.

[Christine]

I think I am going to have Cherie Priest month after I finishing reading the non-sf/fantasy I'm on now. I was given the Eden More novels as a Christmas present.

[Laurel]

Chris, good call! If you can fins it at your local library, her Subterranean Press novella Those Who Went Remain There Still Is a personal fave. I also enjoyed her novella Dreadful Skin.

If you get a chance, let me know what you think of her Eden Moore novels? They're the only ones I have yet to read.

[Random]

I'm determined I'm finally going to finish CryoBurn by the end of this weekend. I first started the book back in mid October and I'm starting to feel embarrassed about how long its taking.

Then I guess I'm on to Night Watch for the group discussion (been looking forward to it), then Daemon because my husband bought it for me and it looks rather fascinating.

I started trying to read Avempartha back in November, but I'm having serious issues trying to keep my attention focused on it, so it may fall off the list for a little while.

Oh, and somewhere in there I plan on getting caught up with the short story discussions.

[Sandra]

Shel wrote: "I'm still working on Gemini by Dorothy Dunnett - just over halfway through. I'm hoping to be able to finish it this weekend, though we'll see how much time I have to read.

Next on..."

How are you liking Gemini? Some in the Yahoo group seem to have some problems with it. I still haven't started Niccolo Rising.

I just finished a reread of Stormed Fortress, and was once again wowed - it's the best book in the series so far. Am reading A Dog's Purpose, for some light relief and have so far used lots of kleenex weeping. Also listening to Georgette Heyer's The Unfinished Clue, a lot like the Game of Clue and she has a bitingly sarcastic view of British upper class. Haven't decided what to read next, but this is my current month reading list.

[Marty]

I'm reading Churchill's Secret Agent: A Novel Based on a True Storywhich I got as a goodreads giveaway and College and Career Ready for work and Why We Make Mistakes. just Soul Identity in science fiction fantasy right now and I am debating what to read next in genre fiction....

[Kara]

I'm halfway through , and finishing up .

Then, I want to finish reading the Glass trilogy with
, and move on to
. Not sure after that... I may start if I'm not sick of Snyder. I would also like to pick up from the library.

Am wondering what to listen to next though... is either Tigana or Stormwarden. Any opinions? OH! Or something by Neil Gaiman... I hear his audio is very good.

[Shel, Moderator]

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "How are you liking Gemini? Some in the Yahoo group seem to have some problems with it. I still haven't started Niccolo Rising."

It hasn't been my favorite of the series (that honor belongs to Scales of Gold) but I'm still definitely loving it. Maybe I'll be able to tell you more when I finish it :) I've got about a third of the book left.

Kara - I don't know anything about Stormwarden, but Tigana is one of my MOST FAVORITEST BOOKS IN THE WORLD :)

[Sandra]

Kara wrote: "I'm halfway through , and finishing up .

Then, I want to finish reading the Glass trilogy with
[bookcover:Spy Glass|..."

Stormwarden is an early Janny Wurts and I loved it! Tigana was also good, but I would advise reading it vs. listening. I listened to it, but think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it.

[Dawn]

I have four planned reads this month...

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
The Shining by Stephen King
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

All four are group reads. Maybe I'll squeeze some personal reads in there at some point too.. Someday... Someday.

[Chris]

Ahhh. Dawn.

The First Rule of Fight Club.....

[Dawn]

Damn it. Do I have to fight myself now or something? That movie was a long time ago.

[Chris]

The first rule of Fight Club...is that we don't talk about Fight Club.

[Dawn]

Pssst... Chris... You're talking about Fight Club... ;)

[Kara]

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Tigana was also good, but I would advise reading it vs. listening."
and @ Shel...

Good to know! Had it from the library last month, but then got wrapped up in Snyder's Glass series... was traveling anyways and didn't want to lug around the hardcover edition.

I try to keep one lighthearted more-YA fantasy on my currently-reading alongside one more involved epic-type fantasy. I'll guess I'll pick up Tigana after I finish with Mistborn.

[Phoenixfalls]

This month I'm planning to read:

[Shel, Moderator]

Ooh I love Fall of Hyperion. Be warned that it's actually very different from Hyperion, but it completes the story. Sort of. Some of the mysteries don't get solved until the Endymion books (which I adore, but they have a completely different tone from the first two).

[Arthur]

I am 2/3 into The Subtle Knife
It is better than its predecessor Northern Lights
Don't know why, but I like it more :)

[Ken]

Finished up Towers of Midnight. Not bad, some more threads have been tied up. One thing I noticed, Jordan's voice has pretty much disappeared, that is to be expected, after all he passed away. This one was all Sanderson. Interesting to see how this all wraps up. Hopefully this 20 year journey will finally be over

Started in on Gibson's Zero History

[Christine]

Laurel wrote: "Chris, good call! If you can fins it at your local library, her Subterranean Press novella Those Who Went Remain There Still Is a personal fave. I also enjoyed her novella Dr..."</i>

I got a Kindle for Christmas, and the two Priest books I didn't have [book:Those Who Went Remain There Still and Clementine I got via Kindle (they were cheaper). Dreadful Skin was the second book of her that I read. I enjoyed it. I was lucky enough to win an ARC of Bloodshot her new one that comes out this month. It is really good.

[Julie]

I don't know what January will actually bring for me, but I am planning on:

Finishing 2001: A Space Odyssey. I'm a youngun, so this is my first time reading it- it's really good so far.

Re-read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire so I can read Mockingjay with a clear head

Re-start A Tale of Two Cities. I had only read one chapter before I put it down after being distracted by other books. It's been so long that I might as well begin back at the start.

I'll read other stuff this month, but I like to leave some wiggle room so I can add in the random books that I get from the library.

[Laurel]

Oh - I'm so jealous, Chris! I can't wait to read Bloodshot!

[Staci]

I'm still working on some books from December. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr and The Mote in God's Eye which seems to be taking awhile for me to finish. I'll probably start on Night Watch and then I'm not sure what else I'll be working on this month.

[Stuart]

I am reading Eric Morecambe: Life's Not Hollywood, It's Cricklewood byGary Morecambe

[Jon]

I'm currently reading Grand Conspiracy (my status updates). I need to start The Lions of al-Rassan soon, but hesitate to start a Kay novel while absorbing a Wurts novel. :) I need to focus when I read either and I won't divide and concur if I proceed concurrently.

I have Ship of Magic on loan from the Library, but not sure I'll get to it. The discussion time has 'passed' and unless I'm given a very compelling reason to attempt it, I may just return the book to the library unread.

The rest of my reads for January can be found on my current-month shelf. January 2011 will proceed at a more leisurely pace than December 2010.

Happy New Year!

[Hélène]

Ouch ! Jon, I agree with you : Wurts and Kay might be like a Christmas meal - just a bit too much...

[Christine]

Laurel wrote: "Oh - I'm so jealous, Chris! I can't wait to read Bloodshot!"

Finished Four and Twenty Blackbirds. I enjoyed it. I think Dreadful Skin is a little bit better, but if the rest of the Eden Moore novels are like it, it should be a good series.

[Laurel]

Jon,

I literally finished the Liveship Trilogy moments ago, and while I know that you need to read the Wurts and Kay novels, (both are phenomenal writers), come back to this series if you can. It is every bit as good as the Assassin's Apprentice Trilogy and the Tawny Man Trilogy.

[Jon]

Laurel wrote: "Jon,

I literally finished the Liveship Trilogy moments ago, and while I know that you need to read the Wurts and Kay novels, (both are phenomenal writers), come back to this series if you can. I..."

Okay, Laurel. I'll see how many times the library will let me renew the book. :) My current record was close to six months.

[Laurel]

Jon,

First, that's a record to be proud of!

Second, if you can't get to it now, give bit a shot in the future. I will say this, it's not as good as a single book. I read them back to back for a reason.

Third, Happy New Year to you!

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

I finished Pirate Freedom by Gene Wolfe last night - good book, but nowhere near his best.

This afternoon I started The Hammer by K.J. Parker. It started out great and has me eager to read more.

[Arthur]

I finished The Subtle Knife yesterday.
I actually liked it a lot. A big improvement over the Northern Lights

On to the last book in His Dark Material,

[Stuart]

Arthur wrote: "I finished The Subtle Knife yesterday.
I actually liked it a lot. A big improvement over the Northern Lights

On to the last book in His Dark Material, [bookcover:The Ambe..."

I would be interested in your overall impression.

[Kerry]

I finished The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (amazing book!) yesterday and started Dust by Elizabeth Bear today. Both are for 2011 reading challenges.

After that I hope to go back to Grand Conspiracy and finish that up. As much as I'm loving the WoLaS books, I was feeling totally overwhelmed by them and decided I needed a break to recharge. I'm hoping I won't fall too far behind the group discussion.

[Sandi]

I finished listening Magic Bites and was not very impressed. I definitely won't be going on with that series. My current audio book is Poison Study and I just can't stop listening. I will definitely be finishing this trilogy.

I did finish reading How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and still don't really know what I think about it. I definitely don't think it's science fiction, but I had a hard time reading it with literary fiction brain instead of my genre brain. You can see my review for more details.

I've been reading a really good mystery/thriller on my Nook, Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger. It's one of those books that's hard to put down. In print, I'm reading The Devil's Alphabet by Daryl Gregory. I loved Pandemonium, and this one is just as good, if not better. It's really hard when you've got two really good books going at once.

[Sandi]

>>In print, I'm reading The Devil's Alphabet by Daryl Gregory. I loved Pandemonium, and this one is just as good, if not better. It's really hard when you've got two really good books going at once.<<

Wow, Pandemonium has a great cover. Will have to check it out. I listened to Beautiful Lies a few years ago and enjoyed it.

My most recent read was Air: Or, Have Not Have which was very good. I am now reading Life by Keith Richards and listening to The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hummm, hi Sandi, I've had Magic Bites on my shelf for some time.... I can only hope I disagree with you (LOL). Don't you hate buying a book and then seeing a bad review from someone you've agreed with in the past Oh well.

[Sandi]

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "Hummm, hi Sandi, I've had Magic Bites on my shelf for some time.... I can only hope I disagree with you (LOL). Don't you hate buying a book and then seeing a bad review from someone yo..."

It could be that my problem was just with the audio version. I found it really confusing. I couldn't keep the characters straight and couldn't figure out how it got from one point to the next.

I just finished listening to Poison Study and really enjoyed it. It's kind of fluffy, but it seemed fresher than it should have considering the material. I'm now listening to The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. The only other Heinlein I've read is Stranger in a Strange Land, which I hated. I decided to listen to The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress because I heard in another group that the audio book is good; others have told me that this is a better example of Heinlein's work; and it was on sale at Audible for $4.95 at the time I downloaded it. It's starting off pretty good, but so did Stranger in a Strange Land.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Stranger in a Strange Land is probably Heinlein's best "known" work, but I don't like it either. I have The Puppet Masters(which I've read multiple times in the past) on "Playaway" audio from our public library now, just because I enjoyed it. I enjoy audios, a good audio is great, though you're right, a poor one (poor reader etc.) can ruin a good book. I usually have an audio going at the same time I'm reading a print book for times when "reading" isn't practical.

I liked Poison Study, but haven't followed it up yet, next book on my shelves waiting, along with hundreds of others.