What Else Are You Reading - February 2011 Edition

[Veronica, Supreme Sword]

Let us know in the comments! For me, it's still Good Omens, Quicksilver and Wintersmith (Tiffany Aching, #3).

[Brandon]

I just started Farlander.

[Nukethewhalesagain]

Just started reading Lev Grossman's The Magicians.

[Paul]

just started The Fall of Hyperion on audio and The City & The City in hardcopy, plus a friend has leant me Mall of Cthulhu

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I finished The Stand two days ago and am still dreaming in it every night, eek. (You can read my rambles on post apocalyptic fiction in general in my reading blog).

I have The Third Bear by Jeff Vandermeer on my iPad, and I just got Sleepless by Charlie Huston and Brave New Worlds: Dystopian Stories from Amazon. So it looks like I'll continue on the vein of dark! depressing! dystopia! ... but I love it.

[Tamahome]

Jenny wrote: "I finished The Stand two days ago and am still dreaming in it every night, eek. (You can read my rambles on post apocalyptic fiction in general in my reading blog).

I have The..."</i>

Maybe you should try [book:Under the Dome. I think it's an even longer Stephen King apocalyptic book. :)

[Mlybrand]

Arrrrghhhh. Just got Scalzi's The Ghost Brigades from the library and it is fighting with Game of Thrones (kindle) for my attention. Two great books! Focusing on Ghost Brigades, so I can give Game my undivided.

[toria (vikz writes)]

My report card to self; "Vikz is still reading, and coughing, her way through Little Dorrit and must do better;)". My excuse, other books such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Blameless keep on shouting for my attention. In addition, I seem to have this silly need to sleep. :)

[toria (vikz writes)]

Paul wrote: "just started The Fall of Hyperion on audio and The City & The City in hardcopy, plus a friend has leant me Mall of Cthulhu"

I read theThe City & The Citylast year. I really loved it. Hope that you will too.

[Paul]

thanks Vikz, I am doing so far!

[Rovelt]

On audible listening to The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyand plan to follow up with The Dreaming Void. Still trying to work up the motivation to read through the print version of Anathem.

[Sean]

Just starting Messiah: Apotheosis Book Three. Let's see if S. Andrew Swann can top the destruction of the Vatican in the last book.

[Tamahome]

Sean wrote: "Just starting Messiah: Apotheosis Book Three. Let's see if S. Andrew Swann can top the destruction of the Vatican in the last book."

It's out??

[Sean]

Released today, which was lucky as my Audible account renews on the 1st of the month. Unfortunately, it looks like they screwed it up as the file is only half the length of the previous two books. Hopefully they'll fix it before I get to that point.

[Tamahome]

As long as the Tiger-man 'gets his share', I'll be happy. :)

[Jlawrence, S&L Moderator]

The Name of the Wind (I'm really starting to get sucked into it) and Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas.

[Michael]

Trying to find a 2nd-hand copy of Last Argument of Kings while reading the copy I found at the library. I have started Good Omens in digital format but the only viable reader I have is my phone and the screen is just too small (Kindle for birthday is in order methinks). Last weekend I purchased a copy of The Reality Dysfunction in a 2nd-hand store and started reading it on the way home so now that's a thing. Finally, I sorted through my Star Wars book collection on the weekend (68 books used to be most of the Extended Universe books but now it's less than half) and started reading Vector Prime as a part of a planned New Jedi Order re-read/completion.

[Chris]

I'm about a third of the way through Before They Are Hanged. Hopefully I'll have a chance to finish the trilogy this month.

[terpkristin]

Still working on reading Into Thick Air: Biking to the Bellybutton of Six Continents. I'm enjoying it but don't have a lot of time to read print books right now (and when I have time, I'm usually fairly medicated--I'm recovering from back surgery), but I'm about halfway through and hope to finish by the end of the weekend.

I started listening to Dead or Alive the other day. I haven't gotten too far into it, only about 90 minutes, so I'm not sure what's going to go on in it. But it's "candy" reading for me, so it should go quickly, especially with a lot of time spent at physical therapy.

I'm hoping to finish Into Thick Air: Biking to the Bellybutton of Six Continents before the next S&L book is selected. Of course, I kind of hope that the next S&L book is picked before 2/8/11, I have another Audible credit to use. :)

[Don]

Still very slowly working on Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. Just can't seem to get into it though it sounded interesting when I purchased it.

Finally signed up for Audible and started Good Omens over the weekend. This is my first audio book, so we'll see how it goes.

Started reading The Blade Itself since Veronica continues to gush about Joe Abercrombie and I hadn't found Sword and Laser when it was the book choice.

[Peter]

I just finished Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride. It is a quick supernatural story with some funny wit that keeps to the old ideas for supernatural characters (no twinkling vampires). The story grabbed me in the first 30 pages and I kept looking forward to when I could read next to find out more.

[Larry]

Still finishing up The Blade Itself.

[Amy]

Right now I have Among Others on the go, plus Changeless in audiobook form for the walk home form work. I'm also working on The Unwritten, Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity graphic novels, fitting an issue in here and there.

After Among Others, I'm planning to finally get to An Echo in the Bone, which has been sitting on my Kindle for forever. It may get pushed back by whatever The Incomparable Podcast's next book choice is, but I'm reading it this month, no matter what.

After that, it's all up in the air. Thankfully, there isn't much new this month that I want, so I can work on the backlog a bit.

[Space Preacher]

Got Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes shipped halfway across the world to me, because it has a better cover and I wanna read it NOWWWWWW.

[Jerry]

For me:
Non-Sci-Fi/Fantasy
JA Konrath's: The List
Heat Wave (ABC's Castle Novel)....sad really but I like the show
Beyond Band of Brothers by Richard Winters

Sci-Fi/Fantasy
John Carter of Mars Series: Book 5 by ER Burroughs
(I rip through these so I consider them one novel)

[Bert]

After many recommendations I started with The Eye of the World again. I started it years ago, but abandoned it, as it didn't seem to be very original.

I'm thinking of going through the Song of Ice and Fire series again, but will the new book be out already when I finish them...? ;)

[Alotor]

I've started 1984 I'm ashamed of not having read it before.

[Gordon]

I am pushing to the finish of Bad Science by Ben Goldacre and working more casually on The Great Book of Amber, The Living Dead, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Elements of Internet Style and Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo.

On top of those, Tom and Veronica finally got me to try out audiobooks, so I'm currently going through A Hymn Before Battle and loving it.

[Brian]

Moving on to A Signal Shattered this month. After that I'm not sure. Maybe Room?

[Boots]

I just finished Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden and I picked up the second book in the series The Dead Of Night from the library today.

I think I may just finish reading Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance over the next couple of days.

[Jay]

Just finished Jonathan Stroud's The Ring of Solomon (a bit of a slog) and going on to Room by Emma Donoghue, then Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld. Once I've got those library books out of the way it is back to Anathem which I was quite enjoying until all my library requests came in at the same time!

[Boots]

Jay wrote: "Just finished Jonathan Stroud's The Ring of Solomon (a bit of a slog) "

I didn't know they added another book to that series, it was supposed to be just a trilogy.

[Jay]

Yeah, this one is a prequel that takes place in Jerusalem and the surrounding area in 950 B.C.

[Kate]

I finished Lord of the White Hell - Book One last night and immediately downloaded Lord of the White Hell - Book Two and started on that. It's a fairly by the numbers fantasy with an all boys academy, sword fights, magical racism, ancient evil, crazy religion, young love, and a bit of gear punk thrown in for good measure but it's all written so well that I can't help but adore it.

When I'm done with it I think I'll probably give The Name of the Windanother try.

[Joe]

Everyone seems to speak so highly of Old Man's War by John Scalzi so I am starting on that audio book.

[Tom, Supreme Laser]

I'm still on The Dark Tower trek, book IV Wizard and Glass but I'm told before going to book V I should veer off and read The Stand and a few other side-universe books.

[Tamahome]

Tom wrote: "I'm still on The Dark Tower trek, book IV Wizard and Glass but I'm told before going to book V I should veer off and read The Stand and a few other side-universe books."

Sounds like one of those Marvel Comics crossovers like Civil War, where you have to buy every comic to follow the story.

[Gordon]

Tom wrote: "I'm still on The Dark Tower trek, book IV Wizard and Glass but I'm told before going to book V I should veer off and read The Stand and a few other side-universe books."

Is it good enough to justify all that? I was thinking of getting into that universe but The Dark Tower felt like a huge investment just on its own, let alone a zillion other side pieces.

[Tom, Supreme Laser]

Up to book IV, I'd say yes. I'll answer for sure when I'm done. Whenever that is!

[Tamahome]

Plus, Stephen King just added another 300 pages to The Stand!

[Sean]

Tom wrote: "I'm still on The Dark Tower trek, book IV Wizard and Glass but I'm told before going to book V I should veer off and read The Stand and a few other side-universe books."

Yeah, there are parts of the last book that won't make any sense if you haven't read Insomnia and Hearts in Atlantis, and there's a fairly major character from Salem's Lot who shows up. And that's not even touching on the dozens of minor connections that you can only appreciate if you've read every single book and story King has ever written.

I'm glad I started King in middle school so I was able to keep up as he was writing instead of having four hundred books to read.

[terpkristin]

Israel wrote: "I've been reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and definitely recommend it..."

Cripes. Thanks to this group, my "to read" list just grows and grows.

Side note, there are a lot of series/triologies called "The Inheritance Series" or "The Inheritance Trilogy."

[Gordon]

Tom wrote: "Up to book IV, I'd say yes. I'll answer for sure when I'm done. Whenever that is!"

Maybe what I should do then is test the Kingly waters with one of the side trips before getting myself fully invested in the big series.

[Tim]

I just started reading Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch on last Wednesday. I haven't given much time to it, but I've been grinning ear-to-ear like a maniac when I have read it. It's just plain crazy fun. If you're looking for some laser that is completely tongue in cheek while obeying RomCom formula and not taking itself too seriously, it's awesome (and trust me, works, I know that could sound just horrible...)

[Tim]

Bert wrote: "After many recommendations I started with The Eye of the World again. I started it years ago, but abandoned it, as it didn't seem to be very original.

I'm thinking of going through t..."

Don't hold your breath! There are no beginnings or endings on the Wheel of Time, only sequels.

[Linda]

Just finished Song of Scarabaeus. It was listed as Sci-Fi, but it was also a romance with adventure. I really liked it, and can't wait for the sequel, out next month. I would recommend it, but it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. I don't mind, but I know some reviewers on Amazon seemd to be a bit ticked off about that.

[Linda]

Vikz wrote: "My report card to self; "Vikz is still reading, and coughing, her way through Little Dorrit and must do better;)". My excuse, other books such as [book:The Girl with the Dragon Tatt..."

Saw the Masterpiece Classic version, and I've been dying to read the book.

Have you seen the series, and if so, how does it compare to the book?

[Linda]

Veronica wrote: "Let us know in the comments! For me, it's still Good Omens, Quicksilver and Wintersmith (Tiffany Aching, #3)."

Had to give up on Good Omens, just wasn't keeping my attention, but I started the Tiffany Aching series, and I'm enjoying that.

[John (john)]

Jerry wrote: "Beyond Band of Brothers by Richard Winters"

R.I.P. Dick Winters!

I'm churning through The Name of the Wind and Daemon; not tremendously enjoying either of them yet though.

[Joe]

Tom wrote: "I'm still on The Dark Tower trek, book IV Wizard and Glass but I'm told before going to book V I should veer off and read The Stand and a few other side-universe books."

I am a huge Dark Tower and Stephen King fan. I've read all his books and my favorites, including the Dark Tower series, several times.

After listening to you on Frame Rate discuss reading the Dark Tower, your co-host recommended you read The Stand, Insomnia, Black House and Hearts in Atlantis (specifically the novella Low Men in Yellow Coats) before you read the final 3 Dark Tower books.

There are several issues with doing this. First, reading 3 full novels (The Stand is around 1500 pages) and a novella will delay your finishing the Dark Tower by a while, and that just sucks. The novella Low Men is a quick read and not a big deal but Black House (big crossover stuff) is a sequel to The Talisman (which has no Dark Tower Ties) adding another book to the list. Insomnia can be read at another time. Nothing crucial there. Salem's Lot also should be read at some point to get the whole experience.

Anyway, enjoy the books. Good luck and good work on the podcasts.