What are you reading in Feb 2011

[[deleted user]]

Beniowa79 wrote: "Yeah, I know. I hated the US title and cover which is why I bought the British version. "

I don't know why they changed the title/cover for us here. It doesn't even really make sense.

But hey, free book for me, so I can't complain too much :P

[Lara Amber]

Because we're Americans, we can't withstand exposure to new things or understand other societies' cultural references. See: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

[Rusty]

Truly enjoyed The Shape-Changer's Wife by Sharon Shinn. It was the first book I had read by this author and I understand why it won the Locus award. Next up is Maori by Alan Dean Foster.

[Jea0126]

Machavelli wrote: "I'm currently reading Beyond the Shadows after that i'll read The Darkness That Comes Before If i like it i will continue the series, and finally [book:Fool's Errand|68..."

Fool's Errand is the first book to a great trilogy!

[Jea0126]

I finished The Palace of Impossible Dreams by Jennifer Fallon and now can't wait til the last book comes out in the US this summer. I'm currently reading The Riddle of Stars by Patricia McKilip and trying to figure out just what's going on in the story.

[Benjamin]

Ala wrote: "I don't know why they changed the title/cover for us here. It doesn't even really make sense.

But hey, free book for me, so I can't complain too much :P"

Free certainly works! :)

[Tayla36]

Well I finally made it through The Final Encyclopedia.

I started Rally Cry but it hasn't grabbed me so far.

I think I'll re-read some of Alan Dean Foster's Flinx and Pip books to refresh my memory before I get into the ones I haven't read yet.

[Marc]

Jea0126 wrote: "I finished The Palace of Impossible Dreams by Jennifer Fallon and now can't wait til the last book comes out in the US this summer. I'm currently reading The Riddle of Stars by Patricia McKilip an..."

The RiddleMaster of Hed series is one of my personal favorites.
I expect I'll be reading Origins soon. It just got released, a few days early.

[Marcin]

Today i've finished Dune and started Bill, the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Tasteless Pleasure. I also want to read Hyperion and Vertical

[Rusty]

Read The RiddleMaster of Hed. I, too, liked it and meant to read more of that series but have not yet done so. I would like to hear comments about the the rest of the series.

[Phoenixfalls]

Rusty wrote: "Read The RiddleMaster of Hed. I, too, liked it and meant to read more of that series but have not yet done so. I would like to hear comments about the the rest of the series."

I thought the first two books of the trilogy were only okay. . . good enough to keep reading, especially since I had all three in an omnibus, but not stellar; but the ending of the third one (and therefore the climax of the trilogy as a whole) blew me away.

Nothing like (or very little like) the rest of McKillip's work though; even though it's practically her most famous, it's not what comes to mind when I think of reading (or rereading) a McKillip novel. . .

[Julia]

So far this month I've read Rampant and Ascendant and liked them very much. Now reading Unquiet Dreams and not loving it like I did #1 in the series.
I got these from the library:
The Violin of Auschwitz: A Novel, Tender Morsels and Living Dead Girl.

[Leigh]

I'm reading Clockwork Angel. Love it!

[Aloha]

Started during the swim meet. I am enjoying the vivid disgusting descriptions. It should be a quick read because I'm getting into all its squeamish glory. The guy started his job as a meat grinder. His mother is sickeningly oppressive. Meat grinder, mother, meat grinder, mother...hmmmm

About 50 pages left in . All the individual stories are interesting, but I wonder how Simmons is going to weave them all together to a satisfying conclusion with only 50 pages left.

[stormhawk]

Finally started Hyperion.

[Rusty]

Read Hyperion several years ago. Really enjoyed the book. It was one of the most creative tales that I read at that time. I still remember many details from that read.

[Aloha]

Finished . I'm disappointed that the ending is forcing me to have to read the second book to get satisfaction. Although the story was entertaining throughout, the ending wasn't climactic for me. I'll probably be comparing to forever until I find a SciFi I like more, but I felt Dune was a very satisfactory book from beginning to end without having to go to the next book in the series. I'd rather a book, whether in a series or not, give me the wow factor by itself.

Later, I'll hop into the discussions about Hyperion for more insight.

Continuing to read , which is still disgusting but terrifically written. I'm picking up again. My mental state is now more focused, so I'm not impatient with books that take a while to build.

[Chris]

That's what I keep hearing about Hyperion, that you need the second one to get decent closure. I'm sure that's why I've procrastinated starting it. I have a copy, but I don't have the second one.

[Aloha]

I have the second book, but I want a little breather before I start on that one.

[Aloha]

I just read a post from a member of Horror Aficionados who said that Hyperion I and II is actually one book that the publisher split into two. In fairness to the concept of the book, I'm going to start on next.

[Bill]

Have just finished Nature's End and enjoyed tremendously. About to start The Night of the Generals, by Hans Hellmut Kirst. Also an excellent movie with Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif

[[deleted user]]

Just finished The Heroes.

Good stuff, fits in well with the other books in the First Law universe.

Undecided what I'll read next, though I have a list sitting here staring me in the face... daring me to choose...

But meh. I'm not sure I'm in the mood.

[Avrelia]

Well, I finally finished Ekaterina Sedia's Alchemy of Stone, and started Cold Magic, which I hope to finish this month, too. Beside that I picked up Changeless by Gail Carriger. I was underwhelmed by Soulless last year, yet entertained enough to get the second one from the library.

[Maggie]

I've been re-reading Gardens of the Moon for the readhere and in another forum, and trying to finish up Perdido Street Station (Bas-Lag). Just finished off Daughter of the Forest

[Benjamin]

Finally finished up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. The book was extremely well researched and the prose was excellent. That being said, the plot lacked both a little direction as well as some "oomph".

Next up is House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds.

[[deleted user]]

Beniowa79 wrote: "Finally finished up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. The book was extremely well researched and the prose was excellent. That being said, the..."

Totally agree re: Kavalier and Clay - I love Michael Chabon and really enjoyed the book but it does meander a bit. If you liked K&C I can thoroughly recommend The Yiddish Policeman's Union.

Just finished M D Lachlan's Wolfsangel and can't wait for the follow-up Fenrir due later this year - highly recommended for anyone who likes dark & disturbing Norse myth.
Also read Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett - found it dull and slow.
Re-reading Rosemary Sutcliff's The Shining Company - having a big fad on re-reading her books at the moment after picking up an armful at the wonderful
Barter Books in Alnwick last year. I'm a bit dubious about the film version of Eagle of the Ninth, though.
Got stuck on Matt Ruff's Sewer, Gas and Electric in January - will probably pick it up again soon unless I get side-tracked by the Cat Valente on my To-Be-Read pile.

[Dan]

I'm reading Fall of Hyperion at the moment. After that, it'll probably be a quick and easy crime book followed by The Old Gods Waken

[Arthur]

I have been absent for a while here.
Nonetheless, I read books :)

I have finished His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass was very good. A couple of heart wrenching moments, such as when they have to separate with ....and go to the Underworld and a few others. I am not sure whether kids or even teenagers who have never experienced true love, can fully understand the depth of some of the feelings. I have a suspicion that although Pullman uses teenagers as protagonists, he is speaking to a wider audience, mainly adult.
There are two epigraphs of the last chapters that I have added to my favourite quotes. I love them, although one of them is one of the sweetest things in the world and another is so bitter...and they usually follow each other just like that chapters in the book.

All in all, a very good trilogy.

Then I started to read The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
I have finished the first two books and liked them quite a lot. Sometimes I have this deja-vu feeling because of certain ideas and atmosphere similar to We and 1984.
I like Catnip. She is not perfect. Her friends can be smarter and kinder than she is. Then again, she is a true survivalist. She would not be one, if she were as humane as her friends. It is the reality we face every day. As somebody said: Well behaved women rarely make history. I could only add that it applies to all human beings.

At the moment I am 1/3 into .

[Aloha]

Mainly reading . I'm also reading the gross and disturbing but well-written . It's a quick read and easy to get into. Each chapter is only a few pages, so it's a good palate cleanser to The Fall of Hyperion. Another palate cleanser I'm reading for when I want fun romance is .

[Richard]

Beniowa79 wrote: "Finally finished up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. The book was extremely well researched and the prose was excellent. That being said, the plot lacked both a little direction as well as some "oomph."

That book didn't grab me in the first 50 pages so I put it aside.

[Amanda]

Finished:


Choker - Elizabeth Woods

The Demon Trapper's Daughter - Jana Oliver

Retro Demonology - Jana Oliver (ebook)

The Education of Hailey Kendrick - Eileen Cook

Raising the Dead - Mara Purnhagen

The Magic of Recluce - L.E. Modesitt

The Fledgling Handbook - P. C. Cast

I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore (pseudonym)

Currently reading:


Both Sides of Time - Caroline Cooney

The Yearling - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Safe from the Past - Patricia Miller Mauro

Magyk - Angie Sage (ebook)

Wow, I need to catch on my sci-fi/fantasy, the only one this month was Magic Of Recluce. Oh, and this seems like a crazy amount of books, but I was already almost finished with some entering the month of February, and 3 of them are short, in-between novella sort of things. :)

[Kevin]

Reading Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon, a book that I random picked up from my shelf today, better than what I thought it was going to be.

[Benjamin]

Sc wrote: "Totally agree re: Kavalier and Clay - I love Michael Chabon and really enjoyed the book but it does meander a bit. If you liked K&C I can thoroughly recommend The Yiddish Policeman's Union

Thanks. I did like it so I'll probably try Yiddish at some point.

Gotta agree with you on Wolfsangel. Very good book.

[Peggy]

If you liked Kavalier and Clay, I can heartily recommend Summerland. It's the oddest little book. I remember wanting the story to go on forever.

[Julia]

That's funny, Peggy. I love Chabon, but I felt like Summerland did go on forever.
(For Summerland it may help if you love baseball, which I do not as it's an important part of the fellowship's quest...)

I prefer Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure and The Final Solution: A Story of Detection.

[Peggy]

I'll look into the titles you mention - as I was writing the earlier post, I wondered why I hadn't read more Chabon, because I've liked everything I picked up. And he seems to have a lot of range - it wasn't like reading the same book over and over.

[Aloha]

I just got with my Audible credits Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos, which I also have as an eBook, and A Carnivore's Inquiry, an audio book about my life.

[Phoenixfalls]

So The Fox Woman wrecked me emotionally, sparking an unplanned Georgette Heyer binge. In a few days I read Sprig Muslin, The Convenient Marriage, The Corinthian, Black Sheep, These Old Shades, and Devil's Cub. They were varyingly lovely and problematic; Black Sheep was nearly perfect, while I was tempted to throw Devil's Cub across the room.

Then I got back on track and finished Remains about a week ago, and which I finally reviewed over on my brand-new book review blog. In short, it was a damn good, refreshingly adult SF mystery.

I also finished Odalisque, but the less said about that one the better. Blech.

Finally, on to The Last Unicorn!

[Aloha]

Wow! You read quickly.

[Phoenixfalls]

Thanks!

(It's the only perk to being unemployed. . .)

[[deleted user]]

Finished The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms today. Good stuff, enjoyed it a lot. Starting in on The Broken Kingdoms. Then, maybe, I'll get into The Fall of Hyperion.

[Aloha]

Yes, Ala, do get into The Fall of Hyperion. It revealed tons of stuff! I'm almost done with it.

[[deleted user]]

I truly, truly hope you get paid for every mention you make of Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion.

That way, you can buy us all dinner.

Or just me a kindle.

Either/or.

[Aloha]

I'm keeping the money all to myself!

[[deleted user]]

Well, in that case, I'm thinking bad thoughts in your general direction.

Good Day, Madam.

[Aloha]

Well, I hope you have to read paper for the rest of your life! I have tons and tons of fantasy eBooks...tons of eBooks period.

[[deleted user]]

I said GOOD DAY.

[Aloha]

*Thpffffffffff*

[Benjamin]

Uh, well, ahem. I finished House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. His characterization is still a little weak, but the world building is pretty cool.

Next up is Harbinger of the Storm: Obsidian & Blood, Book 2 by Aliette de Bodard.

Phoenixfalls wrote: "Finally, on to The Last Unicorn!"

A great book! I loved it.

[Aloha]

Finished The Fall of Hyperion. Terrific read which is basically the 2nd half of Hyperion. The 2nd book gives loads of information that completes the events of the first book. I was told that I need to read the whole series to really complete it, but I need to take a break. I am definitely a Dan Simmons fan now. I will be reading his other books, in particular Carrion Comfort.

Starting Stingers, a whimsical thriller about a pre-teen girl who turned her father's failed experiment into a Sound Shooter, a sound device that enables her to subliminally manipulate people.