2012-04 - Alternate History - What will you read in April?

[Slayermel]

Oh my I can't believe we are already picking books for April. This months shelf to pick from is Alternate History.

Can't wait to see what you pick :0)

[Vi]

There a quite a number of books I'd like to read. Shortlist (in the order of my preference):

His Majesty's Dragon
Watchmen
The Thief
Lost in a Good Book
V for Vendetta
To Say Nothing of the Dog
Kushiel's Mercy
Boneshaker
Soulless
Airborn

I'm hoping to get to at least 3-5 of these books.

[Candiss]

As usual, I'm working through a multi-month challenge in a themed group, so my picks have to fit challenge tasks. That said, I have a place in my task set for these and will make sure I get at least one of them read:

The Mirage: A Novel - Matt Ruff
Bitter Seeds - Ian Tregellis
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smith


Also of great interest to me:


Yellow Blue Tibia - Adam Roberts
The Years of Rice and Salt - Kim Stanley Robinson
Pavane - Keith Roberts


...and many more, of course.

[Scott]

I'll be reading Empire State

[Scott]

@Vi, If you get to Watchmen, I hope you love it as much as I do. That being said I hope you can get through it faster than I did. Its so dense, I'm guessing it took me at least two months to finish it up.

@Candiss, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is pretty fun and a pretty quick read. No spoilers, but if you read it skip the last chapter.

[Tara]

I have been wanting to read Heartless so I hope to get to that one for sure.
I am hoping to finish World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by April, but if I am not finished then I will add this one as well.
I also have

Bitter Seeds
The City and the City
1Q84
The Cabinet of Wonders
I, Coriander


on my to-read list, so who knows maybe I will get more than one book read.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I, too, have so many to choose from. I have the whole Temeraire Series, so I might start with

His Majesty's Dragon

But I also have:

The Well of Lost Plots
1945
Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th
11/22/63
The Golden Compass

I'm sure if I get to at least one of these I will be doing great.

[Bea]

I will probably start with Red Prophet and On the Beach.

But others that interest me are:
The Eyre Affair
Guns of the South
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
His Majesty's Dragon
11/22/63
Goliath - to finish the series
The Technologists
Thirteenth Child
Farthing
Ha'penny

[Coralie]

I am looking at
The Peshawar Lancers (from my LOST challenge)
The Native Star
Doomsday Book
Kraken
Something Rotten

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

Bea wrote: "I will probably start with Red Prophet and On the Beach.

But others that interest me are:
The Eyre Affair
Guns of the South
[book:The Yiddish Po..."

I loved The Eyre Affair and highly recommend it.

[Vi]

@Bea: What Lyn said.

@Scott: Wow, 2 months! Now I'm definitely reading it. Time to hit the library!

[LynnB]

I'm going to read Something Rotten. I do like Fforde's books.

If I find time for more I might see about 11/22/63 or Blackout.

[D.G.]

Here are the ones I'm considering.

The Eyre Affair
The Thief
Kushiel's Dart
The Handmaid's Tale
White Cat

[Susan]

Scott wrote: "I'll be reading Empire State"

I figured for sure the Philip K. Dick one on your TBR would be here, too.

[Susan]

D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: "Here are the ones I'm considering.

The Eyre Affair
The Thief
Kushiel's Dart
The Handmaid's Tale
White Cat"

DG, I thought the Handmaid's Tale was one of the best ever. I think you'd like it. That said, The Eyre Affair is good, too (as several people have said). I'm thinking of putting the 2nd book in that series on my list for the month.

[D.G.]

Susan! Don't torture me! I want to read them all as it is so I'm having troubles shortening the list!

I know I'll definitely The Thief (Vi and I will read it together) but I'm yet to decide on a second choice. Sigh...let's see if I can fit them all next month!

[Susan]

D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: "Susan! Don't torture me! I want to read them all as it is so I'm having troubles shortening the list!

I know I'll definitely The Thief (Vi and I will read it together) but I'm yet to..."

Ah, but it's such sublime torture! :)

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: "Here are the ones I'm considering.

The Eyre Affair
The Thief
Kushiel's Dart
The Handmaid's Tale
White Cat"

Oh man, The Handmaid's Tale. That is another one that I have that I have been wanting to read. What to do, what to do. There are just not enough hours in the day!

[Scott]

Susan wrote: "Scott wrote: "I'll be reading Empire State"

I figured for sure the Philip K. Dick one on your TBR would be here, too."

would love to squeeze one of PKD's books in if i can finish up Monster Island (for snakes and ladders) sooner rather than later.

[Krait]

Voyage by Stephen Baxter
The moon is a harsh mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

[Vi]

Oh boy, The Handmaid's Tale is in the list? Darn, adding it to my shortlist. If only I could read them all..

[Bea]

Vi, I had no idea that I would be interested in so many book on this shelf. What fun it is to be exposed to new shelves!

[Vi]

I know, right? I could live in that shelf for the next month. I completely agree with you, Bea.

[D.G.]

Vi wrote: "Oh boy, The Handmaid's Tale is in the list? Darn, adding it to my shortlist. If only I could read them all.."

Yup, in page 4. :)

[Tina]

Hmmm, a pretty new genre for me--thanks Scott! I'm considering these to try:
His Majesty's Dragon
Cold Magic
Boneshaker
11/22/63

[KarenF]

Ooh, I second (or third?) the recommendations for both The Handmaid's Tale and The Eyre Affair. Both are wonderful books. But The Handmaid's Tale gave me nightmares and The Eyre Affair made me giggle. I loved them both but very different emotional experiences.

Anyway, I'm also having a hard time narrowing down this shelf. All this talk of The Eyre Affair reminded me that I never did read the second one so I'll try Lost in a Good Book.

I've also been meaning to read His Majesty's Dragon. And if I don't get to Timeless in March I'll be reading that (but I'm sad to see the end of the Parasol Protectorate).

Others on Mt. TBR:

Kushiel's Dart
The Lions of Al-Rassan
The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack
Phoenix Rising
Empire State
In the Garden of Iden
The Anubis Gates
Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot

We'll see if I get to more of them. When it comes to books I want to read (to quote someone here on Goodreads) my eyes are always bigger than my, um, eyes.

[Vi]

I've got to second Kushiel's Dart. It's fantastic. A bit slow in the beginning but it gets so much better.

[Hayley]

This group is going to be good for me :). I hadn't heard of The Eyre Affair before but it looks really good so i'll see if i can track down a copy of it. I'll also try to get through Shades of Grey, which conveniently i only just recently added to my to-read list.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

So many good books, so little time!

[D.G.]

Vi wrote: "I've got to second Kushiel's Dart. It's fantastic. A bit slow in the beginning but it gets so much better."

Oh man! You guys are killing me! I'm supposed to be narrowing the choices down!!!

[Vivian]

So many books, so little time. Will have to see what I'm in the mood for next month, but the following three have been on my radar for awhile:
Kushiel's Dart
Handmaid's Tale
Watchmen

[Vi]

Ah, I didn't make it past page 3.

D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: Yup, in page 4. :)"

:D Just helping you out. But I do wish I had more time to read!!

D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: "Oh man! You guys are killing me! I'm supposed to be narrowing the choices down!!! "

[Susan]

I'm having the same problem a lot of people are -- there are way too many books on this shelf that I'd like to read.

My most recent Chain Gang pick, Savvy is on the shelf, so I'll start there.

And I'm going to request these from the library and just see where I end up going next:

Cryptonomicon
Clockwork Angel
The Man in the High Castle
Lost in a Good Book
Red Prophet
Empire

Quite a variety!

[Giulia]

Since there are so many books I'm interested in on this shelf, but I'm supposed to make a choice, I'll try to stick to what I already have at home.. So:
1. The Hunger Games
2. Soulless

[Parsa]

wow.. this is going to be interesting

[Bea]

I am ready! Just got back from the library with Goliath!

And I have On the Beach from the library already on my shelf (which means I will need to read it first as it will be due soon) and Red Prophet (which I own) standing by also.

[Parsa]

So I am planning to read Fatherland, The Eyre Affair and The Years of Rice and Salt

[Mindy]

I am looking at reading His Majesty's Dragon and Point of Honour. By the way, The Lions of Al-Rassan is one of my favorite books ever and I really love everything by that author. I will be looking forward to the reviews of everyone who chose it!

[Sarah]

I have a few from this shelf on my to-read list but I'm so far behind in my reading I'm not sure what I can get to. Love to try for some of these though
His Majesty's Dragon
Leviathan
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

And I can't recommend the Thursday Next books highly enough for those who are attempting them this month :)

[Parsa]

Sarah wrote: "And I can't recommend the Thursday Next books highly enough for those who are attempting them this month :) "

I really hope I can enjoy them :)

[Luann]

Not sure how many of these I'll get to, but these are all possibilities:

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

[Amy]

If the library cooperates, I'm hoping to read:

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
11/22/63

I have both on hold, but they may not show up in time for me to finish them this month.

[Scott]

Susan wrote: "Scott wrote: "I'll be reading Empire State"

I figured for sure the Philip K. Dick one on your TBR would be here, too."

Started The Man in the High Castle today :)

[Susan]

Scott wrote: "Susan wrote: "Scott wrote: "I'll be reading Empire State"

I figured for sure the Philip K. Dick one on your TBR would be here, too."

Started The Man in the High Castle today :)"

I have it checked out of the library, but I started Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon first, and it's LONG, so it may be a while till I get to the PKD.

[Scott]

Didn't think I'd make it to a third books so fast so I'll be starting Shades of Grey tonight.

[Bea]

Finished Red Prophet. Starting On the Beach.

[[deleted user]]

I'm a bit late posting this but for April I read The Golden Compass.