MobileRead Book Challenges discussion
2011 Individual Challenges
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Caleb's Challenge
This seems to be indie author year for me.
I've picked up quite a few indie authors this year...haven't quite read them all.
Hmmm - the way I'm going I might make 70 books this year. Not exactly the 100 I set myself, but I never really thought I'd get there really.Still reading lots of cool books this year though.
70 is still a great number! I read an article that said most people barely read 1 book a year.
Oooh - not even on my worse year. Reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time at the moment.Really cool book.
Finished Flash Gold by Lindsay Buroker which was a steam punk novella. Cool stuff.Now I'm reading Hal Spacejock by Simon Hayes.
Definitely lagging behind on my challenge. Not depressed about the challenge, just disappointed that I'm not getting as much reading in as I'd like.By the way - Hal Spacejock is a hoot!
You're only a few behind me, and I'm not too worried. I was thinking I wouldn't make it, but as soon as I stopped thinking about it, I started reading more without even trying. I'm not even gonna re-assess until later in the year, which is why I haven't changed my goal back to 100 yet. I'm just happy I'm reading as much as I am!
You have some interesting-looking stuff on your list so far. Might have to check them out. :)
You have some interesting-looking stuff on your list so far. Might have to check them out. :)
Oooh there's great stuff on my list Christa. :)I just finished Hal Spacejock. Now I'm starting Flaming Dove by Daniel Arenson.
Caleb wrote: "Oooh there's great stuff on my list Christa. :)I just finished Hal Spacejock. Now I'm starting Flaming Dove by Daniel Arenson."
Please tell me how you like Flaming Dove. I picked up a copy of The Gods of Dream but I haven't read it yet.
The premise so far is pretty cool - but there seems to be some up-front reveals that might have been better for later in the book.That said - I've only just started it.
Thanks!
About 30% through Flaming Dove and I have some reservations about the writing.The story is great, but there's some language use that sometimes makes me wonder who the intended audience is for this book.
Why must a wolf 'run'? What's wrong with bounding, loping or any other verb more appropriate for a wolf.
And why would the queen of hell use the word 'dad' instead of 'father'?
And why would the king of hell refer to his minions as 'guys'?
I'm having a bit of a love/hate relationship with the writing at the moment. Consider the following:
"Volkfair (the wolf) ran up to her, and she placed her hand in his fur."
Now, the following:
"Down more tunnels she climbed, into the heat and blackness, the darkness a living thickness around her, caressing her skin."
I love the second sentence and there's plenty more like it in the book, but that first one is a dud. Sometimes sentences should be brief and that's not the issue; it's the wolf running and the hand being placed that disappoints.
I may be overreacting a bit - but this is what's on my mind at the moment.
Caleb wrote: "About 30% through Flaming Dove and I have some reservations about the writing.The story is great, but there's some language use that sometimes makes me wonder who the intended audience is for t..."
I understand what you mean! That seems to be a consistent issue with self-pubbed books. I'm reading a short story to review and the author has sentences like this:
He licked his lips, slow.
and
Fredrick was tired of stuck-up girls pretending to be women mistaking his sensitivities for
weaknesses and his good looks for confused sexuality.
If this wasn't required for a review - this would be a solid DNF.
As I move on (75%), the poor language has continued. This book is a great story that desperately needed a clever editor.I looked around at reviews and I did find one that complained about similar issues so at least I'm not the only pair of eyes that is picking these issues up.
How often should the king of hell use 'God' as an oath? Likewise would he use the word 'Hell' as an oath?
A few characters are really well painted, but some fall flat because of incongruous dialog.
As one reviewer pointed out, after Laila is almost destroyed by the queen of hell, should her first word be 'Owie'? Suddenly, I'm reading Armageddon, the sitcom.
I don't mind some sass from the main character, but it needs to be measured.
LOL Wouldn't that kind of be like me using "Nashville" as an oath? After your comments, I want to read this because it sounds unintentionally hilarious. :)
The problem is that this is a really serious book and the story has a definite appeal to me. So I can't find the writing unintentionally hilarious; I can only find it profoundly disappointing.I don't know if I'll give Daniel another chance with The Gods of Dream. I've read comparisons with Stardust which is my favourite Gaiman novel, but I had also seen an indie reviewer rank Flaming Dove best novel for 2010.
This makes me sad. I'm hoping that The Gods of Dream is good - but you are casting some doubts.
OK - now that's over.I still thought the story was very good and I've given it 3 stars on that basis alone, but I couldn't possibly give it more.
Now I'm reading Dust by Arthur Slade. He's a previously published author who has started re-releasing his books in electronic form.
In case anyone is interested, I have posted my review on GoodReads for Flaming Dove. Have a read and let me know if you think I should post it more widely.Do you think I'm too harsh? Too unreasonable? Not harsh enough?
Caleb wrote: "In case anyone is interested, I have posted my review on GoodReads for Flaming Dove."
It's a good review. I'd say it was just reasonable/harsh enough. You pointed out the issues that irked you, and you explained the reason for your rating. It serves as a forewarning about the issues for those who are looking to read the book without ruining it for them should they chose to do so, and it gives enough information so that those who are bugged by the same issues will know what to expect.
It's a good review. I'd say it was just reasonable/harsh enough. You pointed out the issues that irked you, and you explained the reason for your rating. It serves as a forewarning about the issues for those who are looking to read the book without ruining it for them should they chose to do so, and it gives enough information so that those who are bugged by the same issues will know what to expect.
I agree with Christa. The review is fair but honest.
I haven't got to the ending yet - but I'm quite enjoying the book. I'll definitely have it finished today.I'll be damned if the author isn't making a positive statement about people who read.
I am noticing in my copy what appears to be glitches in conversion of some kind. This one was purchased at Amazon so it's not a Smashwords Meatgrinder issue. I've highlighted them all so I can send them to the author when I've finished - maybe he can release an update.
Thanks for the feedback on the review. Particularly, with independent authors I feel some sense of responsibility as I write reviews as I know how much they rely on them.
OK - Dust to dust! :)Actually, this was quite a good book. I've given it 4 stars. The ending comes on quite quickly, but I enjoyed this.
YA lovers should give this one a go I think.
I've now started The Door to the Sky by David Michael. He's an indie author who really impressed me with his book The Summoning Fire - so much so that I've pretty much scooped up everything he's released since. I'm hoping this book is as good as I hope it will be.
Hope you like it. I haven't put together my review yet as I've already got stuck into another book. :)
Finished The Door to the Sky. Bloody marvellous.Now I'm starting - deep breath - 1984 by George Orwell. Wish me luck.
Caleb wrote: "Now I'm starting - deep breath - 1984 by George Orwell. Wish me luck."
Good luck! :) That one's been on my "I need to read this" list for ages, but I haven't. Perhaps it's time to do so.
Good luck! :) That one's been on my "I need to read this" list for ages, but I haven't. Perhaps it's time to do so.
Loosheesh wrote: "Can you believe we had a 4-day weekend and I have no completed books to show for it? It's a strange feeling :-) "
Wow! That's not like you at all. I would say "let me know when you start reading 1984" but you'd be done before I finished reading the message. :)
Wow! That's not like you at all. I would say "let me know when you start reading 1984" but you'd be done before I finished reading the message. :)
Loosheesh wrote: "I'd love to read it together with you; we can set a pace (like a certain # of chapters a week etc) so I won't gallop ahead. Let me know; I'm flexible with whenever you want to start :)"
Okay, I'll message you when I'm ready for it. :)
Okay, I'll message you when I'm ready for it. :)
I need to read 1984, too. I have no idea why I haven't read it yet... intentional avoidance? I should pick a copy of that up....
Good to see that I'm not the only one who has been naughty.I've also decided to throw in a print book to read at the same time just in case I'm finding 1984 a bit of a slog. Killing with the Edge of the Moon by A A Attanasio.
I'm an Attanasio fan. Wyvern is one of my favourite novels of all time. Last Christmas my partner bought every book Attanasio wrote as a present for me. I really should start reading those that I haven't already read and the book I've chosen is a small 150pp book that's described as a graphical novel - without pictures. So it should be a nice balancer with something as heavy as 1984.
The other thing to note is that this is the first papaerback I would have read since the start of the year. Ebooks are completely dominating my reading at the moment.
Caleb wrote: "Good to see that I'm not the only one who has been naughty.I've also decided to throw in a print book to read at the same time just in case I'm finding 1984 a bit of a slog. Killing with the Ed..."
Really? I've noticed that I have been reading a LOT of DTBs lately...I seem to juggle a couple of DTBs and ebooks at the same time.
I think that the mass influx of new DTBs have two major causes: Agency6 and Borders. There was a Borders down the street from my job...I think I dropped somewhere in the area of $150-$200 in there in the last few weeks of it being open. (I can't resist a good sale)
With Agency6 - well, I'm pissed about their pricing but as a genre reader they cover a TON of my authors. I've decided not to buy ebooks from them - only DTBs so I still have the right to loan and resale them. They want to charge me the same price for both...might as well make sure they get less profit from me. Plus I can force my husband to read them :-) or resale/gift them if they turn out not to be my cup of tea.
I actually suffered quite a block with DTBs. I suddenly resented holding them and looking at the pages. Kindle has done this to me.However, I'm trying to get the feeling back because I have a heap of paperbacks to get through as well as ebooks.
I had a bit of an influx myself of DTBs with the closure of many Angus & Robertson stores in my area.
Loosheesh wrote: I get seriously anxious when there's nothing (not even a cereal box!) around to read"And looking at your individual challenge thread I can imagine this.
I picture you blanching until you're as white as the pages you wished you were reading and shaking as if your body were a superstructure beset with the tremors of a proximate earthquake.
A friend of mine said that he caught himself pushing the corner of a DTB one day, expecting the page to flip. :-)
All this reading and connecting with authors makes me want to write. :)
Caleb wrote: "All this reading and connecting with authors makes me want to write. :)"Me, too :-)
I've got a couple of books still on bubbling on the back burner...or maybe short stories?
Finished Killing with the Edge of the Moon. Still reading 1984.Now starting The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.
MrsJoseph wrote: "A friend of mine said that he caught himself pushing the corner of a DTB one day, expecting the page to flip. :-)"I've done that before. Also I find myself sometimes reading a magazine or newspaper and find an unfamiliar word, looking for the cursor so I can look up the word.
Patricia wrote: I've done that before. Also I find myself sometimes reading a magazine or newspaper and find an unfamiliar word, looking for the cursor so I can look up the word."Oh Patricia. I've just picked up some paperbacks I've been meaning to read and this is driving me crazy.
In the past, I intuited the meaning of words from context and could quite possibly have had the exact meaning wrong for a number of years because of it.
One Kindle purchase and my reading habits have changed. I'm not satisfied to intuit meaning. I look up every word I'm not sure of.
Back to my paperbacks and I'm finding it very frustrating. Where's my dictionary? Grrrrr.
Contrary to the expectation thrust on me by others, I'm quite enjoying 1984. It's only as dark as The Handmaid's Tale and true - that's pretty dark. But from some of the comments I've seen I got the impression that it was going to be drudge to read.So far the only criticism I have is that George Orwell is about a subtle as a brick through a window when it comes to message. I found that like Animal Farm, this novel is saying something - but it certainly doesn't say it in whispers.
However, unlike Animal Farm there's a more interesting story that comes with the message.
Oh I hated the Handmaid's Tale - it was so sad. But I read it at a young age.
Finished The Graveyard Book. Lovely story - I've always been a big fan of Nail Gaiman.It wasn't until Gaiman said he was indebted to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book that I realised this novel was very much like Rudyard Kipling's novel. Even the title of Gaiman's book is somewhat of a tribute.
Anyway, I'm now reading The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie on my Kindle and The Conjure Book by A A Attanasio in paperback.
I have never finished The Blade Itself but my other group did it as a read. Everyone tells me they love it so I think you'll enjoy.
Yeah - it's not too bad at the moment. Sometimes I'm a bit funny about the language though. I was reading a chapter where I was enjoying the descriptions, thoughts of the character. Some of the language reminded me of my poetry. However, then I came across the line "it hurt like anything" and I was a bit put off.That line could be quite an interesting one if your idea was to play on what 'anything' might be, but in this case it was not so I was a bit disappointed.
Of course, I'm not condemning a book over a couple of words. It just stuck in my mind.
Caleb wrote: "Yeah - it's not too bad at the moment. Sometimes I'm a bit funny about the language though. I was reading a chapter where I was enjoying the descriptions, thoughts of the character. Some of the lan..."A few people have mentioned that to me - as well as the characters' use of curse words (or was that The Lies of Locke Lamora?).
There's lots of curse words - but I've never had a problem with that.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Stranger than Fiction (other topics)Living with the Truth (other topics)
Beasts and Super-Beasts (other topics)
The Little World of Don Camillo (other topics)
A Christmas Carol (other topics)
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