This should save all of the What's your favorite book? or What books did you hate? threads,

As for me, I just finished Conn Iggulden's Emperor: Death of Kings--the second in the series. I'd give it a rating of Good. Though I liked Genghis: Birth of an Empire much better (and would give that a Recommend), you have to take into account that his Julius Caesar books (The four Emperor books), were his first ever.

I just cracked open Bernard Cornwell's Azincourt (which will be Agincourt when it's released in the US), and am already comfortably satisfied. The First sentence (as I mentioned in another thread) is a hook: On a winter's day in 1413,just before Christmas, Nicholas Hook decided to commit murder.
 

It's Superman by Tom De Haven - Recommended..
Really interesting view of Clark Kent in the time period he was originally written.

House of Leaves - Recommended
I read this a while ago, but any time I talk about great books I bring this up. It was bizarre, horrifying, and I had nightmares every night that I read it - no exaggeration.

 

Recently read ILL WIND by Rachel Caine. Interesting magic look at current natural disasters.

Also recently read THE ALCHEMIST by Paul Coelho (in English). Any chance anyone knows how I could get a copy of an original Portuguese edition? Does Amazon have a Brazilian website like the UK one, or might there be somewhere in the US (say, in the Ironbound section of Newark, NJ) where I could locate a Portuguese bookstore that could sell me a copy?
 

Are you recommending the others?
 

Haven't finished WRAPPED IN RAIN, but I'm liking it.

The other two I would recommend, yes. (I probably won't post anything here that I wouldn' recommend, though.)
 

quote:

---

(I probably won't post anything here that I wouldn't recommend, though.)

---

So...you want us to waste our money/time when we don't have to? (Just illustrating a point.) Though not everyone is going to agree, we should learn who has tastes similar to ours, and that could help in recommendations and warnings.
 

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Meh. It might be worth reading as a look into what's popular. Make sure you have a high tolerance for entering the mind of a hormonal teenage girl obsessed with a guy.

Son of a Witch by Gregory MacGuire. Meh. Read Wicked or Mirror Mirror first. This one feels self-indulgent.

Recently completed:
Fatherland by Robert Harris. Good.Chilling, well written mystery, if a bit cliched. It's a good subtle alternative future, however. Recommended for mystery lovers. I enjoyed his other book, Imperium much more, and recommend that without reservation.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. In my opinion, she's written the definitive love story. Highly recommended.

[This message has been edited by annepin (edited October 07, 2008).]

[This message has been edited by annepin (edited October 07, 2008).]
 

Book 3 of Robin Hobb's Tawny man trilogy. It takes her characters from her assassin trilogy which you should read first to fully enjoy the Tawny man trilogy. I'm enjoying it alot. I would recommend it.

I almost finished Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars series. I got to book 6 and finally gave up. I enjoyed the first two books but from there it went down hill for me. The plot began to inch along and I stopped caring about most of the characters. I tried to finish it in the hopes that it would get better but I quit. I do like the world she built, but if the series is going to be longer than 7 books I need something more than that to sustain me. I give it an allright with a shrug.
 

I found it when I was looking for another book by Joan Aiken, because I thought her book Jane Fairfax was at least very good. It's the story of Emma written from Jane's PoV. Perhaps there is some obscure law that your last name must start with A if you are going to write Jane Austen fan-fic?

Anne, you and I must have been reading Northanger Abbey at the same time. I just finished it, and loved it, as always.

[This message has been edited by Unwritten (edited October 08, 2008).]
 

quote:

---

I just cracked open Bernard Cornwell's Azincourt

---

Jealous! I'm hoping to get my hands on a copy this weekend. Cannot wait!

Annepin and Unwritten - I've been considering reading Northanger Abbey, think I will after such words of praise...

Currently:

Ashling - Isobelle Carmody, book 3 of the Obernewtyn Chronicles. I adored these books when I was about 14/15, but it's been ages since I read them. This particular one isn't a favourite of mine, but overall I would still recommend the series, especially to anyone intrigued by a post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy. The books are notoriously difficult to get hold of outside the author's native Australia, though.

The Other Queen - Philippa Gregory. I will withhold my judgement on this one as I've barely started it, but the opening hasn't impressed me. I think she's a decent writer of historical fiction, but out of the books of hers I've read only The Other Boleyn Girl really sparkles (though sadly the recent film was awful). I kinda know what happens to Mary Queen of Scots already, which might be the problem!

[This message has been edited by marchpane (edited October 08, 2008).]
 

But I was much taken by one book, The Ruin of the Roman Empire: A New History by James J. O'Donnell...it made a fascinating case that the so-called "barbarians" were trying to preserve the Roman Empire while the Emperors and others were essentially the ones who wrecked it.

It fit in with thoughts I've had about that particular era...I think my thinking was influenced strongly by L. Sprague de Camp's legendary alternate history novel Lest Darkness Fall, which in part promulgated this same theory...O'Donnell does it better and in much greater depth...
 

I guess "terrible writing" was overkill, but I think he needs a better editor.
 

C. S. Forester's Lieutenant Hornblower is next.
 

Dune: The Machine Crusade by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Jury's still out - the first couple of chapters have felt like a big info dump. Hopeful - it's prequel got better later in the novel.

The Science of Science-Fiction Writing (NF) by James Gunn. Good - interesting mainly for historical insights into SF writing, including biographical info on Wells, Heinlein, Asimov, and the Kuttner/Moore team. Noncomprehensive - nothing on OSC or even Arthur C. Clarke.

Recently completed:

Dune: The Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Good + - The beginning starts kind of slow. I had just finished reading the first four books of the original Dune series and it was difficult for me to adjust to the new style. I felt like they had used a thesaurus to find adjectives, hoping that would make it sound like Frank Herbert. I felt like it tried to juggle too many stories. All that said, I felt that there were some stand-out characters. Two of the most interesting were robots. It got better about half-way through, but it left some of the story lines hanging.

[This message has been edited by philocinemas (edited October 16, 2008).]
 

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - Fantasy (or YA Fantasy)
Rating: Recommend
The book is more comedic, less romantic, yet as delightful as the Miyazaki movie.

Kitty and The Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn - Fantasy
I've read this novel before, and I Recommend it to those who don't mind vampires and werewolves as characters. The story contains an interesting mix of female empowerment, canine psychology, and theoretical sociology.

Of Two Minds by Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman - Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: Good

Just Finished

Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones - Fantasy (or YA Fantasy)
Rating: Good
A quick and charming book that kept me guessing, like Moving Castle. Unfortunately, I did not relate to Abdullah as much as I did Sophie in Moving Castle.

----------

Reading Now

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman - Fantasy

How to Write Like an Expert About Anything by Hank Nuwer - Non-fiction
I'm forcing myself to read this book, because I've already checked it out from the library. I don't feel like I'm learning anything new that I can apply to my writing.

Pen on Fire by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett - Non-fiction
I think I would enjoy this book more if I were in a local writer's group.

Reagan's Game by R. Safley - Horror

[This message has been edited by aspirit (edited October 21, 2008).]
 

[This message has been edited by MrsBrown (edited October 23, 2008).]
 

One thing about this book, though, sticks out like a sore thumb. I read the first three books of the Ender series before giving it up. It was just too deep for my tastes, but the main premise of the first book, Ender's Game, was the closeness of Ender and his sister. It also brought out that he wasn't very close to his parents. After all, they bustled him off the Battle School when he was(I think) about six years old or so. It's been quite awhile since I've read it. My point is that in Treasure Box the MC also has a very close relationship with his sister who dies at the beginning of the book. His father unplugged her life support because she's brain dead and in a coma, and the MC accuses his father of murdering his sister. He hated both his parents for this.

So, Mr. Card has used this sort of plot foundation for two different books. Both work quite well and are not even remotely related to each other. BUT because Mr. Card has used this more than once makes me wonder if it has something to do with something that happen in his own life... some tragedy he might have had that's cropped up in what he writes. It does make me wonder.
 

On to Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. It's very odd switching from Forester's quick-paced 3PL to O'Brian's very detailed Full Omniscient. It's taking some acclimatizing--but there is a quality of knowledge to the prose that makes it feel period-accurate.
 

Also halfway through "Les Miserable" but finding it to be slow going. I enjoy the story but the book is too thick to carry around in my purse so I don't get to read it unless I'm doing laundry or something.

I'm starting on Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King next - bought it on the recommendation of someone on this board (don't remember who at the moment).
 

The verdict is still out on this one.
 

*****

Since enough time has passed, I'll post another book I'm reading.

In between other books, I've been reading and rereading Chaplin: A Life, by Stephen Weissman, M. D....not so much a conventional biography as a psycho-biography, dealing with how Charlie Chaplin's early years shaped his life and his work. Makes for fascinating reading.

Along the way, I dug out an older Chaplin bio, as well as the movie "Chaplin" (which I bought a couple of months ago on DVD but hadn't watched before now---I'd seen it before, on laserdisc (remember them?) years ago.) Then I dug out some old tapes of the real Chaplin ("The Gold Rush" and a few shorts). (I've got nothing on DVD of his.)
 

I'm now reading ELDEST by Christopher Paolini. It's an interesting story, but I'm still seeing basic paralels to STAR WARS. In many ways, the story is uniquely its own, but the basic formats between the two are still there. My cousin pressured this book on me and loaned it to me. If anything, it makes good research.
 

quote:

---

Picked up a bit of mind candy at the library. DATING DEAD MEN. It's well-written and funny. A thriller in genre. Not sf of fantasy. Sigh.

---

Sci-Fi and Fantasy are not prerequisites. Good or bad, speculative genre or not, this thread's about what you are reading, and if you'd recommend it.

Crystal Stevens:

quote:

---

I'm now reading ELDEST by Christopher Paolini. It's an interesting story...

---

Early on I saw a redeeming possibility (in the Roran, townsfolk, history theme) but, he totally ignored the opportunity--and made Roran and Eragon blend in to whining, crying (literally snot-snosed crying) licking their n*ts duplicates--there soon was no longer a distinction.
 

Enjoyably arty, I'd recommend it if you'd like another angle on Bradbury's style. (As an aside, I was mortified when the bookshop attendant saw the book and said, "Ray Bradbury, is he new?")

Currently 60% through reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

I know I'm jumping the gun, but I'd already say I'd not recommend this edition (author's preferred - read, extended - text) as it tends to meander a little too much at times, and sentences that extend for 10 to 12 lines cause my eyes to bleed. I suspect the original edition might be a little more to the point. Yet to decide if I'd recommend the book as a whole.

I'm still finishing my SF NaNoWriMo project so have been avoiding the same genre this month :)
 

I've been on a mid-grade fiction kick lately. My Nano project was mid-grade (that 8-12 yr old range, MC was 11. I did it on purpose after many long conversations with my kids' school librarian who laments the lack of good new fiction in that category, and virtually no genre fiction.)

So I just finished
The Mysterious Benedict Society - Recommend
Story about a group of gifted kids and how they are recruited (by the good guys) to help foil a plot to take over the world by controlling people's minds.

I'm reading
Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon - Recommend
I haven't read any Elizabeth Moon before, but this is a great story.

Something I've learned from both stories is about pacing and about what scenes to dramatize. In both cases I've found myself wondering "why did the author bother to detail out that bit?" and then later realized that either the bit that seemed inconsequential turns out to have a role later in the story, or that bit helped you get some aspect of the MC's character or some piece of the setting in mind so that later when it comes up again you have a good visual to go back to.

My son and I are also reading City of Ember but we're not far enough along to recommend it yet.

I've got to keep a better personal reading log because I know I've read another 6-8 books in recent weeks but I can't for the life of me remember what they are!
 

ie, since my last post (and I'm not even a remotely voracious reader),
Finished: American Gods, by Neil Gaiman (Author's Preferred Text edition). I enjoyed it, but not as much as I'd hoped. While some of the more tangential scenes did have some relation to the plot I found them to be inconsequential and laborious. I also didn't quite feel fulfilled with the ending. I'd not recommend this to newcomers to Gaiman, but others may disagree. The standard text may be somewhat abridged and an easier read, however that's not the one I had. Not Impressed.

Finished: Ender's Game (Novel), by Orson Scott Card. I originally read this a long time ago, but I'm not 100% which version I read - it may have been the novelette version then, as I remember no reference to Speaker for the Dead or Valentine & Peter's story. I bought my own copy in November as it's something I'd like on my own bookshelf. I got far more out of it this time, I'm sure. I found the characters well developed, believable (on their own terms) and the technology sufficiently well presented (and ambiguous where necessary) to not appear dated. The YA-ish writing style makes for a quick and enjoyable read. Recommend.

Finished: Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card. I bought this with Ender's Game, having not read it before. I will try to be vague here to avoid spoilers: In general I found the book very enjoyable, however I had guessed the biology 'secret' by about the third chapter and so found it frustrating when most of the characters still didn't get it; I found the speaking of one character's life/death felt a little short and underdeveloped, while the promised speaking of others life/death was absent entirely, leaving me scratching my head wondering if I missed it. In general however, I found the book as a whole refreshing and enjoyable, its alien biology and societies interesting and well developed. Good.

Currently Reading: The Forgotten Children, by David Hill. The story of children enticed to immigrate from the UK to Australia in the early/mid 20th century under the Fairbridge Farms programme. Contrasts the difficulties and abuse that faced these children against the hollow promises and lack of acknowledgement of their situation by the authorities in both countries. The jury is still out on this one.

[This message has been edited by BenM (edited December 10, 2008).]
 

Recommended.

I picked it up and didn't set it down until I'd finished. It's a YA fantasy (despite somewhat gruesome deaths more suited to adults), so it isn't long. It's the first in an unwritten trilogy (blast you Suzanne Collins), and it's about a futuristic Earth, and a set of games where the contestants fight until only one is left alive. It'll suck you in. A few things, like the characters name (Katniss...eugh) and the ever-convenient silver parachutes handily providing answers, might put a few people off, but not enough to not enjoy the book.
 

[This message has been edited by Crystal Stevens (edited December 14, 2008).]
 

I also recently read Deerskin by Robin McKinley, based on a recommendation of a friend who liked the other Robin McKinley books (Hero and the Crown/Blue Sword - two of my all-time favorites) I had recommended to her. Well, Deerskin was good, but it was a hard read. First, without going into spoilery details but because I wished I had known as it may have affected my willingness to read this book, or at least read it late at night, you need to know that it's a survivor story (sexual.) It's done well, in fact I think Robin McKinley has done the best job of painting the dissociative state I hear can happen after such an event that I've ever seen. Then again I tend to avoid this concept in my reading so...maybe I haven't seen much. But I felt the ending was a little rushed, and that there were a lot of cases of telling/explaining in the story. Not in a bad way, but in a way that is different than how books are written today (this one was published in 1993.) It was an interesting story and worth the read, but just a little farther out there than the other two books of Robin McKinley's that I've read. I do certainly like that she portrays strong female leads in a positive way. And there's much about Deerskin that I'm still thinking about here several days after I finished reading it. That's a sign of a good book to me.

I'm now reading In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker. Just started. Really weird concept, we'll see where it goes.
 

I'm now reading MEMORIES OF EARTH by Orson Scott Card. I'm just starting it, but so far it hasn't thrilled me. BUT TREASURE BOX was like that, too, and then it just took off and flew! We'll see how this one goes.
 

One possible reason is I'm not a big first-person fan and it's a first-person story (except for a weird interlude in third person near the end of the story, which bugged me because it seemed like the author couldn't figure out a way around a point-of-view conflict, so she just jumped into third person limited for a section and then jumped back to the first-person narrator.)

I just picked up Pattern Recognition by William Gibson (Neuromancer was checked out from the library and the librarian recommended this instead.) It is taking me a while to get into - the storytelling style is a little different, the content is dense, it's taking me a while to sink into his world. Enjoyable concept, though (a woman is a marketing psychic, basically - can sense what will be trendy/successful, without knowing why.) Tentative Good, maybe even Recommend.

[This message has been edited by Yufae (edited December 29, 2008).]
 

In At The Dying by Harry Turtledove strongly recommended

Last book of a long series about a future where Robert E Lee's battle plans aren't found by the federals before the battle of Antietam. The last book is the eventual defeat of a Confederacy led by a Hitler like character. Mr Turtledove really knows his history and writes such rich characters. Every book of his is a pleasure to read.

1901 by Robert Conroy Not Recommended

The idea is really cool based on old battle plans found in Germany. The Germans invaded Long Island and take New York in 1901. They intend to force the Americans to relequinish recently conquer Spanish Territory.
However, the strategic aspects are seriously flawed and the love story is just plain silly.
In Mr. Conroy's defense a friend of mine loved it.
 

The book is also the first post-9/11 aware book I've read, and that was fascinating. It wasn't an immensely big part of the book, but there were a few themes and concepts touched on at times during the story that again felt really authentic and accurate to me.

One point of note - there's no real speculative element to the story. Nothing that happened in the story is outside the boundaries of things that could happen today, IMHO. Didn't detract from my enjoyment, and it's notable that it took me a good 100+ pages to figure that out.

I'm onto Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi. I really enjoy his writing style, thought Old Man's War was excellent, so I'm already really enjoying this. And it's a much quicker read, LOL.
 

Now to find something else in my 'to read' pile that might do the same job.
 

Also currently reading Tad Williams "The Dragonbone Chair."
I'm not finished with it yet, but so far it's been straddling the line between Okay and Unimpressive. On the good side, the transmuted-Christianity is handled well; on the bad side, the teenage boy protagonist is boring and sulky.

Just finished: Twilight. NOT RECOMMENDED.
...I don't want to talk about it.
 

I'm reading Sharpe's Rifles by Bernard Cornwell now, since I put "The End" on my own historical of a similar era and can enjoy reading someone else's toil. I really haven't read a Cornwell book I wouldn't recommend (although they're not always fast moving).
 

Haven't done that in a long time, and I think I'm getting too old for it, but it's a very creative and interesting trilogy with a magic system that is quite clever and innovative.

I recommend it, especially to those who liked his ELANTRIS.
 

Oliver Twist...Good. Not my favorite Dickens novel, but it was pretty good.
 

I started doing it then because I'd been encouraging my daughters to read during the summer and keep track of what they'd read, and I decided to practice what I preached. It became so useful that I just kept it up.

I started putting the books in Goodreads this past year, and one of my goals is to get them all in this year.

I think Goodreads is a great way to share books with friends, and I would be happy to add friends that way if anyone is interested. (Email me your email address and I'll send you an invitation.)

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited January 12, 2009).]
 

I also finished Star Soldiers by Andre Norton - which was a collection of two novels in one book, as far as I could tell. Star Guard and Star Rangers, I think. They feature similar characters/environment but one takes place much later than the other (thousands of years.) They're both interesting. I'm glad I read them. I think that if you haven't read Andre Norton and are a fan of Golden Age Sci-Fi, you should read them. If you're not a fan of Golden Age or not that into Sci-Fi, I don't think I would recommend these as they are rather dense, lots of made-up names for characters and their ethnicities, place names, etc. I think that would get in the way of enjoyment for people not already fans of the genre.

I've just picked up Zoe's Tale by Scalzi, which is a parallel story to the Last Colony but told from the teenage daughter's perspective. I am sure I'll like it, she's got spunk.

I picked up Elantris (Brandon Sanderson) and Nightfall (Asimov) at the library and have another Elizabeth Moon book on the bookshelf. At this point my issue is not enough reading time. Good problem to have. What's everyone else reading?
 

Because my babysitter loaned it to me and I was starting to feel guilty about it sitting on my shelf all this time, I started Twilight today. So far so good, I'm sure I'll enjoy it as it seems everyone I know has read it and enjoyed it (exceptions here noted, and expected as people here are much more opinionated about speculative fiction which is one of many reasons I come here - for balance) It's a quick read. I'm noticing many useful things about how the author characterizes details. I'm also noticing many things about authorial asides and buried exposition that is a little obvious to me, but it's all useful in learning how good (where good = highly marketable/salable) stories are constructed. I'm only 40 pages or so in, but I predict it'll be a quick read.

I'm taking that as a lesson to focus 95% of my effort on story and storytelling skills - pacing, foreshadowing, inner dialogue, plot structure/arc. I or my early readers will help me with that 5% of work on exact wording choices, but most of the effort should be on story. I expect, sometimes at least, that effort is in choosing the right words to convey a certain mood or deliver a certain plot point - but not in combing through each sentence painstakingly ensuring that every single word is just *perfect*.

At any rate, it's an excellent read, and a quick one. I do recommend it.
 

I'll recommend:

A. Lincoln: A Biography, Ronald C. White, Jr.
The Last Lincolns: The Rise & Fall of a Great Family, Charles Lachman
The Great Comback: How Abraham Lincoln Beat the Odds to Win the 1860 Republican Nomination, Gary Ecelbarger
Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth Presiden, Brian Lamb and Susan Swain, editors
Vindicating Lincoln: Defending the Politics of Our Greatest President, Thomas L. Krannawitter
The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage, Daniel Mark Epstein
Lincoln, President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861, Harold Holzer
Lincoln at Peoria: The Turning Point, Lewis E. Lehrman
"They Have Killed Papa Dead!" The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance, Anthony S. Pitch
Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief, James M. McPherson

Some are biographies, some are histories, some focus on one specific area of Lincoln's life...there are others, but these are the titles I could lay my hands on. (Of course there were a couple I didn't much like.)

[edited to correct a typo, which surpisingly didn't involve all the italicism]

[This message has been edited by Robert Nowall (edited January 20, 2009).]
 

On to Bernard Cornwell's The Pale Horseman. (I'm seldom disappointed in Cornwell.)
 

It's incredible. It's one of those books that makes me want to lock everyone I know in a room and not let them leave until they're through with it. I am uncertain why I like it so much... it's un-put-down-able.
 

In the interim, I read Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. Highly Recommend. This came highly recommended by others, it's on many people's "must read" fantasy lists. It was quite long (took me 8 days to read, which is somewhat unheard of for me these days) and dense at places. A lot of made-up place and people and thing names (including stuff like terms for religion.) That usually is a turn-off for me but the author switches between 3 main points of view for the majority of the novel and that helps.

The pace is slowish through most of the book, but the last 100 pages are packed with action (so do yourself a favor and don't do what I did and start the last 100 pages at 11:45 PM...because it's really hard to put down once you get into that section. LOL)

I'll probably polish off the next two twilight books and then read another Elizabeth Moon. Oh, and I have Asimov's Nightfall checked out from the library...
 

Just finished
Mark Twain - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - I hadn't read this before. I find the language in classic fiction takes a little getting used to whenever I start reading one of these. Enjoyed it though, both for a look at the representation of a particular point in American history, but also for the language and structure of writing of the day. Recommended.

Jeff Abbott - Fear - I hadn't read this author's work before. I enjoyed this book and the switch back into modern writing made for a very fast read. Recommended.

Kenneth Grahame - The Wind in the Willows - Switching back to an older writing style again; I found the most difficult thing about this book was visualising the scale of the animals. Once I'd beaten that part of my brain to a pulp it was very enjoyable and I could get into the characters a little more. Recommended.

Now on to Michael Crichton's State of Fear. I actually want to read Michael Crichton's Sphere, but someone misheard me before Christmas, tried to find Michael Crichton's 'Fear', couldn't find it and so got me this and the Jeff Abbott book. I guess I shouldn't complain about a 2 for 1 deal...

[This message has been edited by BenM (edited February 05, 2009).]
 

On the non-fiction side I read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Science Fiction by Cory Doctorow and Karl Schroeder. Lots of excellent information in that book but it's hard to find at a decent price for whatever reason.

The concept is excellent (a world that has 6 suns in constant presence in the sky in different formations suddenly undergoes a traumatic eclipse when only one sun is visible, causing total darkness, which leads to insanity among the populace.) The story is dragging at this point - I'm well into the "daybreak" section and I think I have 100 pages left and am debating skimming. Maybe because in the Daybreak section they're dealing with the aftermath of the insanity and things are pretty dark (mood-wise, the suns have returned to their normal functionings post-eclipse.) So, I give it a so-so. I know Nightfall is highly regarded in sci-fi circles, but I wonder if the shorter form might be better than this novel. I'm going to have to dig around for it to compare.

The next two Twilight books are waiting on my nightstand. My girlfriends can't believe I'm able to just leave them sitting there (I'm dogged about finishing one book before moving on to the next, it's my own darn fault.)
 

I'm about half through The Elements of Style. It's not fiction, but I find it very helpful. Thank you Hatrackers.
 

gotta love Alexandre Dumas.
 

I'm reading Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo now...I'm nearly done.
 

I just started John Scalzi's Agent to the Stars
 

The Rolling Stones, Robert A. Heinlein. This is an old book that has just been reprinted...it's different in tone than his other so-called "juveniles," but is still interesting.

Escape from Hell, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. This is a sequel to a book from the 1970s, Inferno...if you've read that (and it's been reprinted, too), you'll know the basic story. That was a lot of fun and I look forward to plowing through it.

RX for Chaos, Christopher Anvil. This is a collection of old short stories, some of which I'm sure I've read before, a lot of which I haven't. Anvil rarely lets me down.

and also...

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford. I'm intrigued by what looks like a new angle on an old subject, and, besides, Jamie Ford is one of our own and we all should look at this.
 

quote:

---

I just finished "The Picture of Dorian Gray".
'Twas awesomeness.

---

I quite enjoyed it also, but found it hard to get started on; the dialogue tends to digress a bit particularly in the beginning.

Recently finished:
State of Fear, Michael Crichton. Disappointed; in my opinion he has in some ways sacrificed the integrity of the story to state a personal point of view regarding global warming etc. Decidedly "Meh". Not Impressed.

Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson. Blown away. I'd never read this before and really enjoyed it. For a book published in 1883 I found the language very accessible to a modern reader. If you've never read this before, Highly Recommended.

I also attempted Brother Fish by Bryce Courtenay. I cannot imagine a better cure for insomnia; I found the narrator's constant digressions into telling us this or that story to so stall my interest in the book that I eventually had to put it down. Not my cup of tea, but someone may really like it, even if it's just his publicist. Not Impressed

Currently reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and quite enjoying it. A nice antidote to the last book.

I'm also working my way through Drood. I've been a little low on Simmons lately, but, so far, I'm liking Drood.
 

Starting Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay. Not going so well yet, but fantasy is always like this for me the first 20 pages or so - I fell asleep reading it last night (which is rare, but hard to get oriented to the world and rules and people and place names...) I'm toughing it out because it's really highly recommended by many people whose opinions I respect, and because I need to read some fantasy here and there. After this I'm going back to my Elizabeth Moon Vatta's War series...and probably will pick up another one of her series. Love those strong female protags and space war themes. And love my library! I would be broke if it weren't for my library.
 

I enjoyed Gaiman's THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, especially after I heard it was "inspired by" Kipling's Mowgli stories. Fun to look back on the book and think about the characters lined up to correspond to Kipling's characters.

Just finished Jamie Ford's HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET and can't think of enough nice things to say about it. It doesn't read like a first novel, it's powerful, it's beautiful, it's well-written, it has strong and believable characters, the structure (back and forth in time) works, it's great. Wow! Please don't be a "one-book wonder," Jamie.
 

Friggen brilliant! I loved all three so much. Highly recommend for anybody.

My favorite Pratchett ever, and that is saying something. Oh I wish I could write the way he does.
~Sheena

 

my english teacher makes me read emo books...

just edited to add that Im reading The Once and Future King on my own. great read.

[This message has been edited by Andromoidus (edited March 12, 2009).]
 

Currently reading Anathem by Neal Stephenson. Not too sure about this one...
 

Also, I read back on this thread. I should have known I'd find people who have read The Dresden Files. They are so full of cliched writing in some places! But you know, detectives are so much more fun when they are wizards.

[This message has been edited by AmieeRock (edited March 20, 2009).]
 

I've met her, and she's an amazing lady who has paid for her past and moved on very well.
 

I think sometimes, knowing where an author has come from makes their work effect you in different, sometimes deeper, ways.
 

Started Command Decision by Elizabeth Moon, another in the Vatta's War series. I'll read the last of that series next. Then...maybe some David Weber. Need something good for on vacation...maybe I'll grab some of the second hand paperbacks I have at home (lighter to carry, I usually prefer reading hardbacks) but haven't gotten around to reading yet...
 

barely got my hands on a copy last week, during spring break, and just HAD to read it before the due date.

THE EPILOGUE SUCKED!!!!!
 

Started L.E. Modesitt's THE MAGIC OF RECLUCE a few days ago. It's all right. I like the main character well enough, but I find his writing style rather unclear. Of course, it's a 1st-person POV, and the narrator doesn't understand what's going on either. I appreciate the risk Modesitt took in writing the book this way . . . but I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to hang on. It better pick up quickly.

* * * * *

Other books I've read recently:

Ru Emerson's AGAINST THE GIANTS. (Bad)

Brandon Sanderson's MISTBORN 1: THE FINAL EMPIRE (highly recommended)

Keith Strohm's THE TOMB OF HORRORS (good)

Graham Greene's OUR MAN IN HAVANA (good)

Janet Evanovich's ELEVEN ON TOP (not impressed)

[This message has been edited by Jeff Baerveldt (edited March 23, 2009).]
 

I have packed for vacation Do Androids Dream by Scalzi, On Basilisk Station by Weber, and Ender in Exile which I found on a cart at the library today and grabbed up.

Meanwhile, the kids and I have been listening to Harry Potter books on CD (love Jim Dale's reading of them. and love that someone else can read to my kids for a while - for whatever reason, I find reading aloud to be somewhat exhausting.) We're midway through book 3, and borrowed book 4 from the library today. We'll see if we have much time/interest in playing them on vacation. I hope so, I really enjoy the stories, both as a reader and a writer - seeing how the details make the story come alive, how the plot elements are laid in book 3 for items that come up in books 4 and 5, etc. It's really quite a feat.

Book 2 (which I'm still reading) seems like the author has come into his own. It's an incredibly beautifully sad and poetic book. I would highly recommend these books, volume 2 being one of my favorite books in recent years. (besides OSC of course)

The books are also a great writing example of the simplicity and depth of a story. How the smaller hidden tragedies can be much more devastating then the obvious.

READ THESE BOOKS

Steve

 

Robin Hobb: The Farseer trilogy (the assassin books) and the Tawny Man trilogy (the fool books). I recommend these, although most here have probably read them. Hobb does a good job with creating interesting characters, and although it bogged down at the tail end, the story stayed interesting for a long time.

Nicholas Sparks: A Walk to Remember. Recommend, a nice story and enjoyable voice.

Nicholas Sparks: The Notebook. Good, better as a movie, I didn't care for the way the plot moved although it was fundamentally a great story.

Ah, Fitz.

Okay, so, I'm reading the new trilogy by Gail Z. Martain, Chronicles of the Necromancer. I'm still on book one, The Summoner, but I'm really enjoying it. Interesting magic, and good solid characters.

I just finished Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn. I hadn't read any of her books yet and I'm definitely going to be reading more.

Before that one I read Juliet Marillier's new Sevenwaters Book, Heir to Sevenwaters. A one night read. Short and wonderful. All the Sevenwater books are amazing, though. As well as her Wolfskin and Foxmask. An amazing writer (wasn't as big a fan of the Bridei books, though).
 

My only major beef is that it's been seven or eight years, and Volume Two is still nowhere in sight. Giddins hinted at a number of fascinating stories that would be told in Volume Two, but the cutoff date was (more or less) 1940. I was looking forward to it but it still hasn't appeared.

This is a problem with serious biography. It's not the only one I'm waiting for. Two volumes of a life of Orson Welles only take things up to the end of the 1940s. And Robert Caro has promised the next volume of his biography of Lyndon Johnson "sometime in this century."

Meanwhile, I occasionally look online for some further info...and I nearly always check the biography sections of bookstores in case I've missed word of it.

(I'm still waiting for a serious biography of Heinlein.)
 

Yes, that was an impressive set of stories. I thought the relationships between Fitz and Nighteyes and Fitz and the Fool were remarkably well done. Really, the relationships he had with all the primary characters were extremely well done.

Okay, I just finished Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. I would call it a "literary mystery". In some ways I thought it was extremely well done, but overall can't give it higher than "good". My only complaint is that I felt a little manipulated in the way the numerous flashback scenes were woven into the plot. Another reader might think that the backstory was presented "just in time".
 

[This message has been edited by dee_boncci (edited April 17, 2009).]
 

But meanwhile, I read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (in anticipation of the movie coming out.) it's a compelling read, fast-paced, but honestly I don't know if it's just me, the genre of mystery/thriller, or what, but I found the way the MC kept eeking out of disaster or just-in-the-nick-of-timing things (though not everything, which got annoying sometimes) or remembering something just at the right moment or what have you to be grating. I'm actually going to pull examples from it for my in-person writer's group for our next discussion. I still liked the book and would recommend it, but with a caveat to other writers that you may find the plotting annoying. I did find the intricate plot engaging, but it was the way the MC got through each of the traps the author laid that annoyed.

I'm looking forward to the movie, though. Huge Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor fan.

Haven't decided what to read next. Maybe Tales of Beetle the Bard...
 

And (2), thanks to the magic of internet searching, I've managed to scrape up a little information about why Volume Two is missing in action. Seems the writer and the publisher wound up in a dispute about royalties---the writer claiming he never got a dime from it. I don't know if that's true---I'm still sorting out some of the details---but it's certainly a cautionary tale for us would-be writers.
 

I felt very ambivalent about this book. The characters seemed wooden and difficult to connect to, though I'm not sure I can put my finger on why. Perhaps it was bizarre contradictions in morality that the main characters were prepared to accept but I wasn't. Whatever caused it, my resulting disbelief of the characters spoiled what could have been an otherwise interesting world and story. Despite being a reasonable first novel, I was sadly Not Impressed.
 

The Poe Shadow, by Matthew Pearl. His first book, The Dante Club (see my post about it above), was a really fun read. This one is OK, but not as interesting as the first one. It moves a lot more slowly and the characters just aren't as interesting. It's not bad, really, but it's not all that great, either.
 

I didn't love Good Omens on the first reading, but when I read it the second time I found it a lot funnier. Expectations I think.

I could kind of tell where Gaiman began and Prachett left off, and that distracted me from the story the first time through.

~Sheena
 

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (as most of you already know) was good. I loved his magic concept, and the rules so far.
 

Also onto the last couple of pages of OSC's Character's & Viewpoint so will rate that now rather than double post. Have quite enjoyed it, probably rating it a Good, based on our criteria in this thread.
 

I've selected some quotes and posted them in the quote topic--mainly because I think they have application to writing.

[This message has been edited by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (edited May 04, 2009).]
 

But it does blow away a lot of the myths and legends that surround the incident. I'll touch on one, that was widely talked about at the time but that I suspected might not be true...that the shooters were not, in fact, "victims of bullies" but were bullies themselves.
 

Did you ever think you'd be traveling so much for your first book?

I'm excited about how well it's doing, and I'm looking forward to the one you're working on now.
 

I haven't finished Sam Barone's Dawn of Empire, it has just been phased off to the side. I've noticed a quite a few redundancies in that story, and they slow down the events and squash the tension. I'll give it a final vote later (keeping in mind it's a first novel), but as of now it's mired--and that's not good.

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited May 09, 2009).]
 

I've also started Natsume Soseki's I Am a Cat, which I'd recommend to anyone, especially if they enjoy humorous and/or satirical stories.

I'm also getting ready to read Salman Rushdie's latest novel, The Enchantress of Florence. The opening was good enough to deserve smile, so I'm guessing the rest will be good as well.
 

I decided to try MOON CALLED by Patricia Briggs and I'm quite liking it. I think the characters are more interesting than those in some of the other "werewolf pack" series that are out there. I especially like the point of view character better, but I have a thing for coyotes.
 

Started The Whale Road by Robert Low. It has a great hook: Runes are cut in ribbons, like the World Serpent eating its own tale. All sagas are snake-knots, for the story of a life does not always start with a birth and end with death. My own truly begins with my return from the dead.

Can you tell it's about vikings.
 

I'm also in the midst of Harry Potter 7 with the kids, on audio CD. They have gobbled up the audios, and my 7 year old is even keeping pace with us by reading the book as well as listening to the CDs (asynchronously - he'll get ahead in the book, then put it down and we'll catch up with the CDs, then we'll get ahead of where he is in the book and the next time he reads he'll catch up, etc.)

My son (7) broke his arm this past weekend so I'm planning to do a lot of summer reading with him in the mid-grade genre. Lightening Thief is first on our list, along with the Wright Three, books 3 and 4 of City of Ember series, Magic Thief...and probably Artemis Fowl.

I just finished Stripping Gypsy: The Life of Gypsy Rose Lee. An interesting read...blows away some of the myths that one might take from seeing the musical / movie "Gypsy," which makes it well worth the time...but it's not without its flaws. For example, you would think there would be precise dates for the final illness and eventual death of Mama Rose...
 

It might be a little old for your son, KayTi, but who knows? Some of the stuff on your list would bore my 6 year old silly.
(We were listening to Harry Potter in the car last summer. One day in the fall when the BBC news came on the radio, she heard the British reporter, clapped her hands over her ears and started screaming "NOT HARRY POTTER!"
Melanie

[This message has been edited by Unwritten (edited June 08, 2009).]
 

It does have wonderful details for daily life in that historical period, and an engaging story. I could do without the rape scenes.

IB, I am eager for those two villains to get their just reward! William never lets up.

Downgrading it to Good.

[This message has been edited by MrsBrown (edited June 12, 2009).]
 

Before that I read HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON and THRONE OF JADE by Naomi Novik. I'd rate the first as GOOD. I really enjoyed it and was only slightly put off by a style that seemed to try a little too hard to emulate C. S. Forester.

But I have to say NOT IMPRESSED to the second. I just never could get into it, even though I already liked the characters. And reading the blurbs for the next three books, it's obvious that she's taking the story in a direction that doesn't appeal to me.

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited June 12, 2009).]
 

Also read Red Seas under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. Another GOOD. I haven't read the first book of that series yet.
 

I was reading Robin Hobb's Shaman's Crossing, well I'm still trying to read it, but I'm 202 pages into it and I find myself still waiting for it to start. There so much telling and summarizing that she's losing me. I think I'll try and finish it, if I'm bored. She confuses me as an author. I loved her farseer trilogy and the Tawny Man one also. The liveship trader trilogy though didn't hook me and I gave up after the second book. I wonder why her books are so hit and miss with me. I've never found that with any other author. Usually I love (or at the least like) all the books if I love one. Right now I'd have to rate it as Bad since I can't hardly finish it, but I'm hopeful that if I finish it I'll like.
 

[This message has been edited by MAP (edited July 05, 2009).]
 

Edited: SPOILER ALERT: Just finished it, and now I can't tell if it will have a sequel; it can stand alone. I didn't expect him to have time to tie up all the threads. Oh, but there's room for so much more. This book has many surprises.

[This message has been edited by MrsBrown (edited July 07, 2009).]
 

I have read:

PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS series (starting with the Lightning Thief) by Rick Riordan. highly recommend not just for kids. It's a great series (5 books, complete) quick pace, lots of humor, neat contemporary fantasy concept (greek gods are alive and living among us, having children with mortals, and those children go to a half-blood aka demigod camp for the summer on Long Island.) My 7 year old gobbled them up, but I read them first and kept reading long into the night. They are quick to read (2-3 days each for me) and just a lot of fun.

THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY AND THE PERILOUS JOURNEY by Trenton Lee Stewart. Meh. I read the first book (MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY) last year and really enjoyed it, but this book I noticed (we did it on audio, didn't care for the voice talent which was definitely part of the problem) a lot of telling and retelling, as if the kids who would be reading the story wouldn't get the point the first time. There was a lot of "then somebody figured out this thing" kind of plot turns, where someone would remember something right at the right moment but you wouldn't necessarily know *what* was remembered until a debrief later. It's a midgrade fiction book and I think there are some aspects about it that are fun and interesting, and I think kids who enjoyed the first book would enjoy this one, but I found it a bit irritating. Be warned - both books feature some dark themes, bad guys who are really bad.

THE WRIGHT THREE - by Blue Baillet. Meh. Similar problem with above - felt like the writer was telling the story in a slower than normal pace, dragging out dramatic tension by telling and retelling what was going on, or by switching POV to then have us be worried with another character while wondering if the first got out of the scrape, etc. This is the author who wrote CHASING VERMEER, which I liked a little better. I do think it's an element of certain author's styles when writing for this mid-grade audience, but I'm finding I prefer authors who don't talk down in this way (or make me feel as though they are talking down. Others may not notice this at all.)

THE UGLIES - by Westerfeld. I just finished PRETTIES, and am starting on SPECIALS right now. This is a YA sci-fi near(ish) future story. I had previously skipped these books on the shelf because I didn't think they were sci-fi, I thought they were Gossip-Girls, Clique-ish girly books. I was very wrong and I hope that others won't make the mistake. I Highly Recommend this series. Fascinating view of the future, awesome ideas about how things might work, good plotting, believable characters, just really good stories. Premise is that in this future world, long after a decline of civilization, on your 16th bday you get to undergo surgery and become "pretty." Perfect skin, teeth, big doe eyes, etc. etc. People tend to look similar, because a Pretty Committee determines standards of beauty. Problem is, being pretty comes with risks/limitations, which the Uglies are only just starting to figure out. Very cool sci-fi YA story with female protags.

(and IB: Four of those five books were published posthumously and finished by Eric Van Lustbader, while the Matarese Circle was an earlier book and an example of Ludlum in his prime. It's possible The Prometheus Deception, the last book published while he was alive, may have simply suffered from poor editing, but redundancies like "Every morning, at exactly seven o'clock in the morning...", or a situation where the characters had "only seconds" to evacuate before the military stormed in, then spent two pages discussing the deception at length and reaffirming their relationship, and only then ran, got more than a few groans from this reader)
 

Anyway, the reason he is a "guilty pleasure", is because he was a largely flawed writer who spun a great yarn. I remember how ticked off I got with the redundancy of "rapidly" in all of the Bourne books, but, overlooking that, the stories were great, and the plotting was convoluted.
 

I give it an asterisk b/c the first few chapters weren't that exciting, but the rest of the book ranks it among my all time favorites. The pace does pick up..

Patrick Rothfuss's THE NAME OF THE WIND - Recommended

- currently, The Name of the Wind is my favorite book.

Both of these are fantastic examples of first-person POV done well.
 

Just finished The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. A great yarn, an interesting example of first person, and a fun - if skewed - look at the subcontinent. Recommended.
 

I'm reading a WOTF anthology, mostly to see what kind of stories win the contest. I don't remember which anthology it is, but it includes stories by Ken Scholes and Cat Sparks (neither of whom won their quarters, BTW). As with any collection of stories, some are great, some not so much.

[This message has been edited by JenniferHicks (edited July 24, 2009).]
 

I'm really enjoying this story. One caveat, like a lot of fantasy these days, it doesn't end at the end of the first book. So I'll be starting Deepwood later today.

The story has several interwoven story lines, so it takes a little while at the beginning to sort out who the main characters are, but some really interesting concepts. At least to me.
 

I'm getting frustrated at the library on the "New" shelf for Fantasy and SF all I seem to be able to find are books in a series - book 2 of this series, book 4 of that one. Almost all are fantasy. Disappointing. One of many reasons I read down in the YA/Juvy section more. Even when there are series (see my previous posts about Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, for example) the books read so quickly that you don't feel like you're making a 3 month long commitment by picking up the first book in a series. Or, that is, if you're compulsive like me and must read a series through to the end/whatever the last completed book is once you start it.

I'm currently reading the Prophet of Yonwood which is the third book in the City of Ember book series. I'm not loving the book, it's just okay. I'm finding a similar problem with this book as I have with a few other recent mid-grade fiction books (grades 5-8 is the general age range for these - they're the ones just under the YA classification in the library, the first few Harry Potter books generally fall into this classification) I feel like the author is intentionally withholding some major twist or piece of information. To be fair, the characters don't know the info either, but it feels like once the info is known, the whole plot will be laid bare and be obvious/understandable. I'm not sure these books will stand up to second and third and subsequent readings, which is frustrating, as the books I like I *really* like and typically re-read at least once every few years, if not more often.

The kids and I recently re-read via audio book my two favorite fantasy books by Robin McKinley, speaking of re-reading, The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword If I haven't before, I HIGHLY recommend both, and I recommend you read them in that order (although if I recall correctly, they were written in the reverse order, but the Hero and the Crown features the stuff that is legend in The Blue Sword, and I always found it more satisfying to read them Hero first, Blue Sword second.

I also don't remember posting about this, but I read Inkdeath recently, by Cornelia Funke. The book is the third (and last) in the Inkheart series. I have a love/hate relationship with this series. The books are interesting, compelling, fascinating concept (a man can read characters out of a story into present-day, and vice-versa.)

But the author is a sadist, she creates some of the worst bad guys, and many of them. At one point in reading I realized that she had just introduced the fifth really bad horrible bad guy antagonist. Fifth! The main character had enough going wrong in her life, five bad guys? A bit much. This is another mid-grade fiction book, written for that 5th-8th grade range and I found it really too dark. Might just be me.

(edited to fix tags)

[This message has been edited by KayTi (edited July 27, 2009).]
 

Not the only example, I'm afraid...and with the new policy of ommiting movies and dumping them into his so-called "Classic" guide, his volume grows less useful to me as a reference work with each passing year.
 

I'm currently on a thrillers bender of sorts*, and I find that thrillers I've read recently are leaving me feeling a little unfulfilled. I'm wondering if it's me (does it reflect a less transient personality trait) or if it's simply the result of rapidly shifting between genres (Dosteovsky->Ludlum, then The Shack->Panic).

Since the next 4 books in my to-be-read sttack are thrillers, hopefully I'll be able to answer that question soon

* to get a better grasp on pacing etc for my own WIP...
 

Also Dale Brown's Act of War - I found the mid-scene head-hopping distracting, as was what may be a less than subtle commentary on the concept of a War on Terror. I'd still rate this Good, but it's no Silver Tower or Flight of the Old Dog.
 

quote:

---

Just finished Michael Crichton's Sphere - I generally enjoyed this. I was interested in getting the video out from the library to compare (having heard that it did poorly) but none of the local video libraries carry it. Recommended.

---

Skip the video. They completely messed up the ending in such a way as to take all of the meaning out of the story.
 

Edited to add that it's very well written, and I recommend it.

[This message has been edited by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (edited August 19, 2009).]
 

I also just finished THE HOST, by Stephenie Meyer, her non-YA sci-fi book. Good book, interesting stuff, but I was glad when I was finished. Fodder for it's own entire topic, but I was finding by the end that I don't care for (or, to be more precise - I can't keep up for too long reading about) the way the author portrays female protagonists. They appear strong, seem decisive, but in reality a lot just *happens* to them and they react to the action. There's more than just that, but don't let my comments dissuade you - it's a good book and worth the read.
 

Very funny book---I recommend it to anybody who can find a copy---but I was most bemused to find, in a book first published in 1954 / 1955, the phrase "weapons of mass destruction." (Online, I could trace it to a paper first published in 1947.)
 

Meanwhile, after that book, which was dense and thick and took me a while to read, I needed a little bit lighter/shorter fare, so I've read THE GIVER, by Lois Lowry, which I recommend - I found myself a little disappointed in the end/resolution, but it was a good book and a very quick read. It's more-or-less a future utopia/wait it's actually a dystopia story, but written long enough ago that some of the future ideas are neat that the author predicted well enough.

I am currently reading BEAUTY by Robin McKinley, which is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I do like the way she writes fantasy. It's also a YA novel, probably only 50k words, so it's going quickly. So far so good, but I have a feeling the real challenge for the protag lays just around the next corner.
 

The Dark Tower Volume III: The Waste Lands - Stephen King
The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan (Book Two in the Wheel of Time)
Foundation - Isaac Asimov
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling

In the middle of, but don't know if I will finish...

Under Enemy Colours - Sean Thomas Russell
Against a Dark Background - Ian M. Banks
 

quote:

---

I am reading Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.

---

I just finished that book on Audible and liked it a lot. The ending was bittersweet, but good! This months downloads include:

2666 (Robert Bolano)
Dance Dance Dance (Haruki Murakami)

In print, I'm mostly reading back issues of F&SF magazine while trying to work myself into a short fiction frenzy.

Currently reading...
The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan (Book Two in the Wheel of Time)
Foundation - Isaac Asimov
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling
Chaos - James Gleick (Nonfiction)
 

[This message has been edited by MrsBrown (edited September 18, 2009).]
 

quote:

---

One point of this exercise is to screen books for each other so we don't waste time reading trash.

---

Forgive me, MrsBrown. I clearly missed that.

• Chasing Down the Dawn - Jewel:
  This book is a mix of journal, stream of consciousness, memoir, and a little bit of poetry.
  I found it short, but moving. Her story is unique and inspirational, and her mastery of language is impressive. The same care you find in her song-writing occurs here. Not only are the words conveying meaning, but the sounds, coming together to convey emotions beautifully while still retaining a meaning.
  Very enjoyable, this one.
• The Dark Tower Volume III: The Waste Lands - Stephen King:
  This series deviates from canonical King in many stylistic and story ways, but it has enough of his prosaic and narrative talent to keep me, and his characters are alive inside my mind. This particular volume of the series is the best yet.
• The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allen Poe (Short Story):
  I think that review of this is probably unnecessary. So I will just say that, while I read this many years ago, I still left this story wondering exactly what happened, and why events transpired as they did. Though I'm inclined to blame this on my iPhone e-reading experience. It hasn't hindered other free titles (1984, Little Brother, The Art of War, and In the Mountains of Madness), but I still blame myself and my reading method more than I do the actual writing.
  

I shall comment on the others when they pass to completion.
 

(I just read Cold Fire to my nine-year-old daughter at bedtime, for the last couple of weeks. Of course, I sensored a couple of parts. We're reading John Saul's Cry For the Strangers now.)

jezzahardin, have you read Robert R. McCammon's Usher's Passing, based on the Poe's story?

Wow. I just noticed I haven't updated. I'm reading Brandon Sanderson's The Well of Ascension. There's enough people here who have read it that I'd be preaching to the choir to recommend it.

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited September 19, 2009).]
 

I also just finished reading BRAIN WAVE by Poul Anderson. I haven't read any of his work before but I'm a big Golden Age sci-fi fan. I do Recommend this one, particularly for anyone who is a golden age fan like me. It's a book from the 50s, so there are some rather amusing anachronisms. I was describing the book to one of my middle school writer's workshop students and told her how the MC's wife was just a wife. She didn't work now that she was married - she ends up being a somewhat major character over time. We got a good laugh about that. "Really? She's just a wife? No kids?" - it was actually an interesting view into 60 years ago, though, because that element wasn't in any way a big part of the story, but it stood out so starkly for me (a working mom, with all the baggage therein.)

But honestly, excellent book. Primary idea: the earth has, for millions of years, been in some kind of "dampening field" that has limited our intelligence. All the sudden we move free of the field. And then what happens when IQs of 300-500 become the norm? It was not a very long book, I would have liked the author to have done more, explored more, gone deeper on some things, but overall it was just a great thought experiment. What would life be like? Would the change be positive?

I just started THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD, the last book in the City of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau. I'm reading it because I want to know more of the backstory that she laid out in the first book (4 book series,) but I do find the storytelling to be a bit frustrating. The author alludes to intentionally withheld information at the beginning, then frustrates you and the main characters by having us not have access to this information for most of the book. But the ideas are pretty interesting. It's a mid-grade book, so it'll probably only take a day or two to read it (40-50k words.)

 

Back in the Golden Age---which, as I recall, was just a little before "Brain Wave" was published---and up maybe through the sixties, SF books were fifty thousand to seventy thousand words long, with few exceptions. (The bodybuilder books, too heavy to lift without a forklift, much less read, didn't start coming in until "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Dune.")
 

The writing is okay and the story-telling is interesting, but I have one major problem with the books. The story is told from more than one first-person point of view, and every single first person sounds exactly like every other first person.

If the author didn't have the name of the person whose point of view she was using at the beginning of each section, I would not be able to tell (except a bit from context) who was speaking.

It is driving me a little crazy.
 

Edited because I can't get the UBB code to work.

[This message has been edited by ScardeyDog (edited September 24, 2009).]
 

I was working on a near future mars colonization short story and realized that its probably been tackled already by a better author than me - I was right, found this book. Now I'm trying to think of a different angle to take, put my story on hold until I'm done with this...

Anybody else read it? how would you rate it? It won the nebula award in 93, so should be good.
 

Not that I didn't appreciate my mother buying it for me - it's the thought that counts.

what follows is the kind of withholding that had me crying a little inside (names changed so it's not in any way a spoiler, but otherwise a quote):

quote:

---

..."I need to ask you a favor, Jim... as a friend"
"Of course. Anything."
Barry made his request... firmly.
Jim nodded, knowing he was right. "I will."

---

Why do authors do this?

A corollary I found in Angels and Demons, an earlier Dan Brown novel, was when the MC would conveniently remember some trick or skill (specifically something about holding breath/how to play possum when someone is trying to drown you) at a key point that would help him get out of the scrape he was in. Seemed kind of like a cheat to me. (FWIW, I still think Dan Brown books are fun reads, I'm next in line for Lost Symbol in my house, but I read them with a much more critical eye now.)
 

I haven't read any James Bond novels, so I don't know if this is something done only in the movies, or if they got the idea from the books. (I know they do this in the Modesty Blaise books, though.)

What makes the presentation of "cool gadgets" or "secret information" work, for me, at least, is that the presentation is interesting (and character developing) all by itself, but also, when the hero uses the gadget or information, he or she does it in an unexpected and clever way.

If he or she just used it in the way it was intended, that would be boring, right? (Not to mention predictable.)

 

Even Sherlock Holmes doesn't do that. If he figures something out in the middle of the story, he lets Watson (or Lestrade) or someone know that he's made a connection, and he waits to see if they've seen it, too, and then he shrugs it off when they don't and goes on with solving things.

That kind of approach seems much more believable and natural than the one KayTi has just described. Why do authors do it the irritating way? Laziness? They think it hooks the reader? They don't realize how contrived and "playing games with the reader" it appears to be.
 

As with his other stuff, I really like it, and I love the characters. He moves from one character or group of characters to another as his chapters proceed, but he doesn't drive me crazy by ending chapters in cliff hangers--he doesn't need to--and he makes all of the characters interesting enough that I am willing to leave one character or group and read about the next one in the next chapter.

My one struggle as I'm reading this, however, is that it "bodes" some pretty intense stuff, so while I am happy to get back to it, I also find myself having to put it down after a certain amount of reading. It's not a book I can just sit down and read all the way through at once (even if I had the time).

Some of OSC's books have been that way for me as well, by the way.
 

Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson, (RECOMMEND) as good as the first two in series, but the end felt a little too trite

Persona non Grata by Ruth Downie (RECOMMEND) a fabulous continuation of her period fiction mystery series, check out MEDICUS and TERRA INCOGNITA as well

Revamped by Jeremy F Lewis (RECOMMEND) a good followup to his first book Staked, definately appeals to the True Blood crowd

House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds (RECOMMEND) I have loved everything he has written, though some of his work, this one included, can start a little slow, it's worth digging in

Cemetary Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs (RECOMMEND) another Pendergast mystery, I love these guys and reading there books is always a hoot, though I would not describe them as deep, they are great popcorn books, tasty and filling but not really that much substance

[This message has been edited by HuntGod (edited October 05, 2009).]
 

I recommend the book Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid. Not speculative, not what I would usually read either, it was recommended by a friend. Describes living in modern day Pakistan and details the downward spiral of the main character. Warning: a little dark, details drug use.

But what stood out to me was the novel use of POV. Most chapters are told in first person by MC. Some chapters told POV by other characters, giving a different perspective on events, talking directly to the reader. Then, a few chapters use this second person device, telling YOU what you are seeing and hearing, the characters are speaking directly to you. By the end of the novel YOU are asked to make a decision about the MC.
First time I have ever encountered this type of reader engagement and it really worked for me!
 

Fairest - influenced by snow white
Ella Enchanted - some cinderella bits, but mostly its own story
Ever - a really unique setting, great world-building in a girl/boy love story with a twist (as all of her books are) - girl is a merchant's daughter in one mid-east type setting land, boy is a god from another land, also mid-east but more mountainous. I thought it was a really good example of how a mainstream author could introduce her readers to a location that is unfamiliar.
And a series of short-stories that are bound in a volume called Fairy something or another - each about 10k-20k words, each interesting and fully fleshed out, and giving great backstory to Ella Enchanted and Fairest.

All are really enjoyable, though now that a number of 16-20 year old women have found their hearts' desires, I think I'm ready to move on to something else.

I also recently read (at IB's strong suggestion) Michelle Paver's Wolf Brother. It was excellent. Wonderful world-building, and great mixture of mundane details of survival in the wild with an overarching magical/mystical good/evil type theme/battle, as well as a coming-of-age plot.

I do wish more YA/mid-grade writers would write sci-fi. I'm reading as heavily in the genre as I can because this is what I like to write (and I really enjoy being able to read a book in 2-3 days! I prefer the shorter lengths.) But I just don't see much space stuff in this age range and it depresses me (encourages me to write it, but still it's depressing.)

I most recently completed THE CURSE OF CHALION by Lois McMaster Bujold. I recommend that. It ws a very good read. A very interesting MC, at least for me.

It wasn't until after I finished it that I discovered that it is actually the first in a series, too. However, you really can't tell. The book stands entirely on its own.
 

...so then read Galahad at Blandings by P.G. Wodehouse. Good fun, some laugh out loud moments, but I didn't find it quite as twisted as Code of the Woosters.

(I didn't see any reason to double post)

[This message has been edited by BenM (edited October 21, 2009).]
 

Myself, I am currently reading:

HERITAGE OF SHANNARA - RECOMMEND

Just finished:

SPEAKER OF THE DEAD - RECOMMEND
THE SURROGATES (Graphic Novel) - RECOMMEND

and have Isaac Asimov's SCIENCE FICTION TREASURY waiting in the wings

[This message has been edited by Dark Warrior (edited October 26, 2009).]

[This message has been edited by Dark Warrior (edited October 26, 2009).]
 

There are so many parallels (Reminding myself never to write about a magical ring used to destroy an omnipotent type protagonist) and disregarding the fact that he makes me go to the dictionary 5 times per page...the milieu and characters are so amazing it overrides the rest.

[This message has been edited by Dark Warrior (edited October 27, 2009).]
 

Giants/Ents
One Ring/White Gold Ring
Sauron/Lord Foul
Rangers/Bloodguard
Helms Deep/Revelstone
Ravers/Ringwraiths

Well we could probably fill an entire thread with the parallels, but wow...I never would have guessed he wasnt influenced by LOTR. Still one of my favs though...loved the depth of character in Thomas Covenant the anti-hero.
 

As a random aside - my and my wife's wedding rings are white gold, chosen with a conscious nod to the Donaldson story.

[This message has been edited by BenM (edited October 27, 2009).]
 

A great read, RECOMMENDED for anyone interested in mars colonization stories - this is the absolute best novel I have read about it. He really knows his science, and seems to cover all kinds of possibilities that I had never even thought of. Pretty technical hard sci-fi but definitely worth it, I'll be picking up the sequels, Green Mars and Blue Mars next chance I get...
 

If you want a recommend on one of the homages to Tolkien, I like Niel Hancock's Circle of Light tetralogy. It was an early effort, both on his part (with later work he got better as a writer) and in the scheme of things Tolkienish (it came out in 1976 or 1977, as I recall)...and he probably owes a great deal to Kenneth Grahame as well as Tolkien...and I've read better-written things...but it comes around to this: I like it better than most of those other things.
 

As for the ring, Tolkien and Wagner (The Ring Cycle opera) both got magic rings from Norse folklore, and there's no reason Donaldson could not have done the same.

My favorite is the Friendly member of an ancient long-lifed race that towers over man, spends hours telling stories or just saying hello, and the race is dwindling in number because they dont have children and they have lost track of the rest of their race in some far away land....

Treebeard or Saltheart Foamfollower?
 

<shrug>

I'm only passing on what Donaldson said. He claims to not have read LOTR before he wrote the Covenant series. Argue with him.
 

(This started a couple weeks ago when had a dream complete with plot, which would have been perfect to write up---if I hadn't immediately recognized that it came from Chandler's Rendezvous on a Lost World. The only difference between his plot and mine were several characters---in my dream, they were various sitcom stars from the 1960s.)

*****

I've also been rereading Bob Spitz's The Beatles...it's a thorough account of their lives and histories, up to the breakup...though it does put most of its weight on "before they were famous" times and glosses over the glory years. I do pick up on this error or that here and there---I'm pretty savvy about what happened in the lives of the Beatles and when it happened---and wonder about the accuracy of what I find here for the first time.

*****

Am I reading anything brand-new? Well, the latest volume of The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon is out...Volume Twelve, titled Slow Sculpture. The stories might not be new, but the collection is...and most of Sturgeon is well worth another pass through. I've read the back-of-the-book notes and a couple of stories. (The original series editor, Paul Williams, has departed due to illness, and the notes are weaker for it.)
 

Also, I eternally read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing and Publishing Science Fiction by Cory Doctorow. I read it in between books because it has a lot of good information in it. It's right next to OSC's how-to books. They have, more than anything, given me helpful information and inspiration to write.

http://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/EpicFantasy.pdf

 

also beginning the matthew pearl books, first is the Dante Club.

wanting to reread: A Star Called Henry by doyle
Tropic of Cancer by miller

i have read Escape from Evil by Becker and want to buy Denial of Death.

i finished City of Thieves and loved it.
 

But the first sentence in the first paragraph read something like "After Bush II's presidency, the Clinton years are starting to look like a model of sanity."

That was it. I would read no more, and the book nearly wound up in my garbage can---a rare thing even for a book I don't like. And I didn't like that.

I guess there is something to the theory of the first lines being important, after all. If I had read that in the store, I wouldn't have bought the book.
 

The flavor maker ("flavorists") one was especially great. Here's the link to the abstract: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/23/091123fa_fact_khatchadourian.

From the article (and I think it's still on sale on newstands):

"There is no molecular distinction between synthesized vanillin or vanillin extracted from vanilla beans, but the way the molecule is made determines whether it will be advertised as 'natural' or 'artificial'. Flavor chemicals often make up less than one per cent of the ingredients in processed foods, and many flavorists regard the terms 'natural' and 'artificial' as largely meaningless--an indulgence for consumers who happen to believe that one is more likely to be toxic than another, even if the perception is not necessarily true. (After all, snake venom is natural.)"

Good and intersting stuff.

[This message has been edited by rich (edited November 22, 2009).]
 

I think I can comment about Sara Palin's Going Rogue, which I finished over the holidays, without going into the politics of it. I found it an enjoyable lightweight read, no deep thoughts...and I found the saga of Palin's experience as governor of Alaska of considerable more interest than her account of the presidential campaign. (Maybe because the former didn't play out in the media as it happened but the latter did.) No great insights, one way or another, but a fair amount of fun.
 

It is a really fascinating take on the journal format of literature. A bit of a parody too


 

I loved it. It made me laugh outloud several times. It's written for children though and I wonder how many of the jokes they would get. There are so many jokes about writing and books. He purposely puts cliffhangers at the end of chapters and says he does it because all authors are really sadists who love to torture their readers. Anyways lots of great parts, the story was good too. Some funny books often lose story because the witty dialog is more important than the plot but this novel manages to pull off both. This book reminds me of The Princess Bride and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl - Good

I didn't love it, but I liked it. It was fun, not too engaging; I found it easy to put down. I wanted to be more immersed into the characters and the author was too present, but it was a cute story and a fun twist on Leprechauns and other fairy folk.

Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown - Good

Another nice story that I liked, but didn't love. I never felt like I knew the characters well and there was too much that seemed to just happen without explanation. I did enjoy reading it though.
 

I'm sorry you didn't love Hero and the Crown, though. It's one of my all-time favorites. The Blue Sword, which follows that book chronologically (it takes place much later when people know of the legends of Aerin and Tor) but I believe was written earlier, is my favorite of McKinley's book, and higher in my list of all-time favorites than Hero and the Crown. There are some bits that just aren't explained or just sort of happen, but the book does such a good job of taking me elsewhere, I really love it for that.

Meanwhile, I've read recently the books in the series 39 Clues, which is a children's series. They are quick and sharp and a good lesson for how to write a plot-driven story, and how to be economical while still making things happen. None of the books are earth-shattering, and they feel a little repetitive when you read them all in a row like I did, but they are nice, tight stories and I think there's a lot to like about them.

My kids have been reading a series of books from the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, by Patricia Wrede. The first is called Dealing with Dragons. Highly recommend! The princess learns things like fencing from the fencing master and how to make cherries jubilee from the chef until her father finds out and shoos her back to her deportment lessons, or what have you. When her parents try to marry her off, she runs away and ends up becoming a dragon's princess. The prince she was supposed to marry as well as other knights come to try to rescue her and she gets annoyed, busy helping the dragon. She meets the other dragon's princesses and helps solve their problems, as well as the overall problems the dragons are facing. She's plucky and funny and has great voice. There are four books in the series and the kids have really enjoyed all of them, which each take a different spin/direction. There's a lot of funny stuff with existing fairy tales, and a strong presence of cats. All makes for fun fiction.

The other book we're really excited about is The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. We're listening to it on audio book and I can't recommend it highly enough. The author does such an excellent job of using description to give us important details of plot, things that move the story forward, help reveal character, etc. But the descriptions are all so rich, you can't help but feel like you're there experiencing things. The book is long, divided into three parts, and I believe is playing off a fable (which i was unfamiliar with.) We're not finished with it yet but we keep finding ways to make time in our day to listen to more (it's what we do while I make dinner and when driving.) The audio is performed by Full Cast Audio, so it's read by a cast, which makes it wonderful. And it's a cast of audio talent, so they know how to act for audio. We listened to the audio recording of the first of the dragons books I mention in the previous paragraph, and it's performed by a group of stage actors. I didn't care for the way they played to the back row, it felt a bit much for audio. But Goose Girl's audio cast is excellent, and it's a really enjoyable read.
 

I am a huge Mistborn fan myself.
 

I don't think I mentioned that I read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Highly recommended.

I recently reread City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. They are YA urban fantasy and I think Jace is currently my favorite hero. I recommend the books, although there are things about them that bother me. Jace makes up for it.

Next on my pile is The House of Many Ways--the sequel to Howl's Moving Castle!!!! by Dianna Wynne Jones. I'm so excited!
 

I was shocked at the ending. It is just about the same ending for the antagonist as I wrote for the novel draft I wrote in the summer. What do I do? Luckily, the antagonist is a different kind of devil, so perhaps it will stick.

Also finished Breathless by Dean Koontz. Koontz could probably make Federal emmissions regs an enjoyable read, but I literally can't believe where he took this story. I'll give it a BLORF, a word I've just made up which means, "Keep it in the bathroom and read bits at a time. You won't miss a thing, and you'll finish eventually."

Put paid to Mercury Falls by Robert Kroese, a surprisingly good freebie for the Kindle. If you enjoyed Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens, this is a passable surrogate. Worth a GOOD.

Gnawing on Hidden Empire by OSC, loved Empire, high hopes.

Altar of Eden by James Rollins is nipping at Mr. Cards' heels, so he dare not lose a step.

Dave Bowen

Edited a typo- somebody stop me, I've been on here for days....

[This message has been edited by DaveBowen (edited December 31, 2009).]
 

This one is a study of how intellectuals shape society---and what goes wrong when they do. As the old saying goes, more or less, "Dumb people make mistakes; smart people can royally [time-tried word beginning with "F"] things up."
 

It was a fun book. I'm not widely read in the realm of pirate stories, so can't say what it compares to. I don't know if it was what he intended to publish next before he passed, or something he had done earlier and set aside. But it was interesting in how it differed from what I expected based on the other 3-4 of his novels I've read. But not a "must read" in my opinion.
 

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited January 06, 2010).]
 

I'm also reading "Ender's Shadow," which I actually like better in some ways than "Ender's Game."
 

A. Chekhov - Ward No. 6 and Other Stories (awesome-dark, ongoing reading)

H. Melville - Omoo (Melville probably would not be able to publish these days... to many hard words for lazy readers. Something I am seeing a lot in crits, [hangs head in sorrow])

Tolkien - Roverandom (very good stuff)
 

How does beating two unarmed bar partons's brains out (literally) and smearing them all over Cooper's Tavern's walls have anything to do with snipers?
 

Currently reading
Novel Ideas, edited by Brain M Thomsen. A collection of short stories that went on to become notable novels, series and/or franchises, I'm just about finished this and I have to say it's been brilliant. It's been very interesting to read the originals by Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffery, Greag Bear, David Brin and others and consider how they compare with the novelisations (or in some cases, make me want to go out and read the novels). Recommended.
 

While reading I got reminded of George R.R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn), and Pat Rothfuss.

Was he imitating them? Not even closely.

The atmosphere is so heavy and grim but his portrayal of suffering is so strong that it makes me care for the characters in the first few pages. I expect much from this novel.

The descriptions are wonderful and paint a very vivid picture without going into excessive detail. It's the things he chooses to describe that create the image.

And the character portrayal is fantastic too.

I'm about four hours in to a twenty-five hour book and I have high hopes that it maintains this level of interest for me until the end.
 

Takes a long time to get going, but now that it has it's a rollercoaster thriller. Quite enjoyable.
 

quote:

---

I'm reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I got it as an audiobook so I could cover some of the big classics on my commute. I am thoroughly enjoying it.
The descriptions are wonderful and paint a very vivid picture without going into excessive detail. It's the things he chooses to describe that create the image.

And the character portrayal is fantastic too.

I'm about four hours in to a twenty-five hour book and I have high hopes that it maintains this level of interest for me until the end.

---

I loved Crime and Punishment. It is in my list of the best ten books of all time, amazing characters.

I just finished Catching Fire which is the sequel to Hunger Games. I really enjoyed it.

I am fascinated with Collin's writing style. I think she does a lot of telling with flashes of intense, emotional showing. I really like the effect; it fits the story.

In the end, it all made sense and I can sit back and say, Huh, yeah, that was really something. But due to the difficulty getting to that point I'd have to - for me - say this sits somewhere between Recommended and Not Impressed.
 

I'd be very interested in knowing how the author put the whole thing together because it certainly seems to have needed to have an outline.
 

I'm now reading THE DRAGON BOOK, an anthology of short stories about dragons. As with any anthology, some stories are better than others. So far, I think I like Naomi Novik's new take on Julius Ceasar, Marc Antony, and a dragon named "Vici" best. Although Kage Baker's story about the rewards and perils of exterminating "wyrmin" is a close second.
 

Once Upon a Time in the North
The Golden Compass/Northern Lights
The Subtle Knife
The Amber Spyglass
Lyra's Oxford

I am still digesting, but I'm landing somewhere between Recommend and Good. Obviously there are certain themes and views that may bother some people. I also watched the film, The Golden Compass after reading the books, but somethings were different, and that was disappointing. I do wish they were making the other films so long as they could stay a little closer to the text.

[This message has been edited by danlee (edited February 11, 2010).]
 

[This message has been edited by Smaug (edited February 15, 2010).]

[This message has been edited by Smaug (edited February 15, 2010).]

[This message has been edited by Smaug (edited February 16, 2010).]
 

quote:

---

I believe anyone can look at reviews of books on goodreads.com, simply by looking up the book itself and scrolling down through the various reviews that have been posted.

---

That is true. Just type the name of the book in the search box there and hit enter and you will get a list of books that match that title. If you click on the individual title you can see all the ratings and reviews of any particular book.
 

So I'm reading Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda, and there's an anecdote of the CIA bugging a Soviet diplomat's residence while he was out of town. Guys working on the inside to install the microphones, and guys on the outside digging up the flowerbed for the wires (this was 1963). All work had to be done at night.

So the guys digging up the flowerbeds had to use bayonets to dig a trench for the wires, and then carefully and meticulously recover all the loose soil so it would appear that nothing untoward was going on in the garden.

During the day, the CIA was watching the diplomat's house to ensure he didn't come back early, but...they noticed the gardener would spend a lot of time looking at the flowerbed. This went on for a couple of days, and the CIA guys were getting nervous. Was the gardener hip to what was going on? Yeah, the CIA covered their tracks and everything looked good to them, but here was a professional gardener who noticed something was amiss. The gardener would spend more and more time looking at the garden where the CIA techs were doing the clandestine work, and shaking his head about something. Maybe the gardener was waiting for the diplomat to come back to town before he spilled the beans?

The CIA finally decided they couldn't take much more of the gardener scrutinizing their work. Panic set in. So they approached him, and he agreed to enter into a covert relationship with the CIA. Much to the gardener's own relief: "'Every morning for the last week,' he said, 'I come to work and the red flower would be where the yellow one used to be, the blue one was over here.'"

The CIA techs couldn't see the colors of the flowers because of the darkness. And here was this gardener who thought he was losing his mind.
 

Later, I reread it, and it was better...still much later, I re-reread it, in a new edition that restored what Heinlein had edited out just to shorten it for publication, and that edition was way better and the book was much more interesting than before. (That, or I had grown enough to appreciate it.)

If you're devoted to Heinlein, you've already read it...but if you haven't got the expanded edition, get that.

(Addendum: I wouldn't want people thinking I read the book once, then once again, than once yet again...in my early days I'd be reading them every few weeks, later every few months or years, and occasionally right to this day. True of practically all Heinlein---come to think of it, I'm rereading one right now.)
 

I recommend this book to everyone. It is absolutely brilliant and extremely satisfying. If you get the audiobook, get the one narrated by George Guidall - he is fantastic and the character voices are quite clear.
 

The cultural A.D.D. shift that brought us rapid fire video hits like MTV and 24 has reached the book world. This is my first time reading a Dan Brown novel and I must admit that I like the continuous timeline plot style and short chapters. The rapid POV switches are needed with this style but they do not detract from the story in any way. His fiction wrapped around truth plotting is intriguing and several times during the book I found myself running to Google or Wiki when I was shocked to learn about American art or history that I did not even know existed (see George Washington Zeus).

Though I would be interested to see if (Robert Langdon) really could connect points on the streets of downtown Detroit to make a pentagram. I am about halfway through but the book--which I started to read to guage his voice and writing style--has not disappointed. I hope the ending is as good as the beginning....and I hear that his first two were written even better.
 

I've been reading the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson, another good example of pacing. It's a YA/mid-grade fiction series, protag is 14 yrs old. I'm on the fifth book (the last, though I wouldn't be surprised to find there is another in development.) It's a great set of books - near-term earth-set sci-fi where scientists have grafted avian dna onto human embryos and created "bird-kids." The first book, first few chapters, are an excellent read in particular because it shows you how to put a character in the middle of the action, then, as the action unfolds or with a small amount of flashback, the other characters and details of setting, situation, are played out. Very neat stuff, I have a lot to learn from it. Recommend.

The best and the worst of King; a great plot with believable characters fleeing from zombies created by cell phones gone bad. An intriguing page turner that fails because (as usually happens in King novels) he either runs out of gas or becomes distracted and begins to ramble. At first I began skipping sentences, then paragraphs then entire pages.
Finally I reached a conclusion with a few decent tidbits along the way...but then it ended with a thud.
NOT RECOMMENDED

 

New Books:

Yalta: The Price of Peace, S. M. Plokhy. Gives a thorough account and a detailed examination of the events of the "Big Three" conference at Yalta---Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin---what led up to it, what happened at it, and what happened afterwards. Maybe too "academic" in tone, but hardly a downcheck for someone interested in the period.

Also: He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back, Mark Bechtel. Covers the tumultuous year of 1979 in NASCAR history, where they first got gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Daytona 500, and attracted a lot of attention by putting on what's often considered the best NASCAR race ever. You may have gathered I'm a NASCAR fan...not as extreme as some in my family but more than the Average Joe.

An Older Book:

The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour, Andrei Cherney. I dug this one out because I read another book on the subject, which has a different spin on the matter (and a few additional facts)---but this books focuses on the story of Hal Halvorsen, who flew the Airlift and decided to do something that just may have changed the course of history. The story packs an emotional impact.

Am I Reading Any Science Fiction?

Yeah, I picked up a reprint, a combo edition of two Robert A. Heinlein collections: The Green Hills of Earth and The Menace From Earth. It may have been (re)printed in 2009 but I just picked it up last week. It's like greeting old friends...I still remember trying to trace out on a road map the route the main characters of "The Year of the Jackpot" took out of Los Angeles.

Not all was perfect, as I remember it. I realize, now, that Bob Wilson, the lead character of "By His Bootstraps" is, really, pretty unlikeable. (Also Heinlein would do this time-travel-paradox story much better in "All You Zombies," not present in these collections.) I got to thinking...in a lot of his first bunch of stories (the ones that made such a strong impression on the SF readers when they were published in Astounding in the late thirties and early forties), the characters aren't particularly likeable. Some grow and change (Bob Wilson goes through quite a number of extremely interesting experiences), but others remain the way they were. Heinlein seems to have solved this problem by the late forties and further work.

Also there's an interesting introduction (giving details of Heinlein's writing life that are new to me) and afterword (speaking of how Heinlein put his stories together that might have been a good guide for writers if it hadn't been written in such a smarmy style).

Heinlein hasn't gotten the "corrected text" academic treatment---yet. There were some volumes of Robert E. Howard "Conan" stories a few years back that managed to be condescending about their origins and publishing history---Heinlein's work hasn't reached that state of publication yet, but, I would like to see some improved texts. (The famous "Heinlein Timeline" has typos in it---I'd like to see a reprint of the original version (if extant) and any alterations.)

Meanwhile, the afterword makes mention of a prediction Heinlein made that I am just not going to rest easy until I track it down...
 

This is the first I have read of his work. I picked up a crate of his novels at a yard sale to add to my 1400+ bookshelves. Have you read any of his other novels besides this series and the Thomas Covenant series?
 

On the reading front, just read Ursula Le Guins' The Tombs of Atuan, which I enjoyed much more than A Wizard of Earthsea for some reason. Perhaps because it set up a couple of (to me) very interesting mysteries early and played them out well. I'm aware it didn't work as well for some other readers I asked. Good

Also just re-read Terry Pratchett's Small Gods, a satire on (among others) the subjects of blind dogma and philosophy; I found this much more profound the first time around, this time it was good, but not quite as amusing. And maybe a little darker than I remember. Good
 

I'm not sure what I'll be reading next. I have two non-fiction lined up but one has a very flat narrator and I don't know if I'm going to be able to get through it on audio.
 

I would say Good, but I wouldn't Reccomend because the read is such a specific cup of tea. You'll either dig it or you'll hate it ---- I actually think there's a chance some will quit the book in midread, while others won't be able to put it down.
 

Good, gossipy stuff. Highly recommended if you like those chaps, and want some inside dirt.
 

It's not that I thought the book and movie didn't match up. In fact, having watched the film had no bearing on the way I felt about the book. I just didn't enjoy the writing style. I'm not a fan of third person omniscient, and I didn't appreciate the "abridgment notes" or the style. Goldman used run on sentences as a tool to create mood and pacing and I thought he went a little over-the-top. Sometimes he'd flip back and forth between two different people's thoughts in a single sentence. (I didn't like it when Virginia Woolf did it, either, so it isn't a prejudice against Mr. Goldman.)

I'm not saying don't read it. (I'm probably the only person who didn't enjoy it.) But I don't recommend it.

Next up, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (or possibly Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane). I want to read the books before seeing the movies. (I guess this is book-turned-movie month.)

Updated: Just got Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore and that has been bumped to the top of the "READ NOW" list.

[This message has been edited by TrishaH24 (edited March 14, 2010).]
 

I have veered away from reading books I enjoy towards books that pertain to the novel I am working on (though I am enjoying some of those too).

My MC works with and eventually becomes an Intel Officer (in space) so I have been reading Intelligence Community based books or books of similiar milieu to my space station.

Update: I previously mentioned I was reading The Lost Symbol and I hoped the ending was as good as the beginning. Well i did, in fact, like the ending but without spoiling anything, part of the climax in the mansion really went over the top and caused me to 'suspend belief' so the book wouldnt be one of my all time favorites but I would still Recommend

[This message has been edited by Dark Warrior (edited March 14, 2010).]
 

The Hard SF element was very creative and I enjoyed the story alot although it was a little bit mainstream in its design. I give it a solid 4 out of five.
 

I read alot of shorts this week. I got all three of the new issues in the mail and I read all of them in a few days...well I skipped over a few in F&SF because they were a little dull. I also read "Absolution Gap" Alastair Reynolds... Great stuff Quite the wordsmith and amazing milieu building. He is definately on to stock on your shelves. I consider him one of the modern greats.

I read "Monkey Sonatas" OSC the day before yesterday. Good, but not my favorite by far. It did help me see the range Card has though. I also picked up a few things in regard to effective prose that seemed to come through in a Card style I don't often read, so that was refreshing.

I also read a "Star Wars" book this week. "Dark Apprentice" I love them all. Anderson and Wolverton are both great technical writers, but Michael Stackpole is my Favorite. His voice always comes through in the prose even in the vast Star Wars Universe which is rare.
 

Middle-grade contemporary fantasy. Premise - boy falls into an "un-London" where statues are real, and either spits (human-like and good/kind to him) or taints (monster-like and out to get him.) The writer has an incredible talent at description, at putting two ideas together that don't seem to go together at first but, in retrospect, give you a new appreciation for each idea. Fascinating turn of phrases he uses, and just a beautiful language use. Highly recommend. and not just for those of us who read children's literature.

The book has Disney as part of it's publisher mark, so I anticipate big things for this book, suspect we'll see a movie before long and all that jazz. But the characterization is on, the pacing good, lots of peril, interesting situations, a really unique magic/fantasy system, etc. And the language...it's not just that he's English, there's really something to how the author puts words together. Very rich and enjoyable experience.
 

Also finished Dwight Swain's Techniques of the Selling Writer. I found it slow going, as I had to stop and think about it a lot (sort of like reading a textbook). I felt it interesting to see how many approaches presented therein reflect 60's fiction, though I can see how a lot remains relevant also. Most appreciated was the final sections dealing with attitude and approach, which I also had my wife read so she can give a little supporting nudge in the right direction once in a while.
 

I've started a book, Tommy Gun: How General Thompson's Submachine Gun Wrote History, Bill Yenne. I like it, and, so far, it tells me a lot of stuff I didn't know and revisits a lot of stuff I did know. But, on "writing history"...there are a lot of books out there, interesting though they are, that make me think I could write one of my own better...and the style of this makes me think so.

Better, and better written, is another book I've been rereading: Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America, Craig Shirley. This covers the 1980 presidential campaign. I lived through it, and remembered a lot of what happened...this fills in details I didn't know, puts events and people in context, and, despite my knowing the outcome, keeps the suspense going.

I tried to read another book, The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9 / 11, John Farmer. Frederik Pohl recommended it on his website...I had a copy but hadn't gotten around to reading it before. Right from the introduction I realized the writer has an axe to grind---a political axe, at that. I poked around a little here and there in the rest of the book after that...I don't know if I'll finish it.

(Also I spent a lot of time reading Robert Service's biography of Josef Stalin...it's very dense, and I only made it three fourths through---but I skipped ahead to the end and read that.)

Science fiction? Well, most of what I read was Heinlein. As I mentioned a prediction Heinlein supposedly made, that I learned about from the afterword of a collection I read last month. I acquired brand new copies of all but one of the books his early stuff was reprinted in from Amazon-dot-com---one is currently out of print and unavailable---but I still haven't tracked the prediction down. (Okay...according to that afterword, in 1939 Heinlein predicted an attack on New York City in 2001 from the Third World with two airplanes...found something close to it in For Us, the Living but not quite that exactly.)

Also I thumbed through the Barnes & Noble public-domain volume of H. P. Lovecraft. And, since I went searching through Niven and Pournelle's Inferno due to a discussion elsewhere, I also read some of that.
 

I just started SOULLESS, by Gail Carriger. Too soon to tell, but it feels like it's going to be pretty good. That's in spite of the fact that the author made a couple of unsignaled POV jumps in the first chapter that left me longing for a seatbelt.
 

It has to do with the concentration camp internment of American citizens of Japanese heritage during 1942 and the ripple effect it had on friends, neighbors and loved ones.

For older readers who remember playmates that mysteriously disappeared overnight it’s – aha, so that’s what happened.

For younger readers it answers the question – how could you let that happen?

Here's an extract:

In Greco-Roman mythology there are the gods who personify the forces of the natural world, but also the heroes and antiheroes, heroines and antiheroines, who personify the best or worst of human nature and human ability.

So it is when we touch the Thompson submachine gun.

To hold it and to shoot it is to be one with Al Capone, but also to be one with Audie Murphy. They are two sides of a coin, an antihero and a hero. Both are men from the mythology of the twentieth century who were once real, but who have long since become allegorical. To stand in their shoes, and to wrap your finger around the trigger of their gun, is to feel, for a moment, the extremes of human nature that they represent.
 

I really have to figure out what it is about her books that just draws me in. I want to sit and read the whole thing in one sitting, which is very unusual for me. Her prose doesn't get in my way, but neither does it sing. Then again, that might get in the way of the story. Every once in a while she does one of those things I'm trying to teach myself not to do--said bookisms, averbs in the dialog tags, etc.

She's very good at banged up protagonists. All of the main characters in the stories I've read so far have been pretty well beaten up by life before the story ever starts in one way or another. The back story comes out gradually and where it's needed, or just before. And then she beats them up some more before letting them come through at the end.

There's always a strong element of romance.

Before that was SOULLESS by Gail Carriger. GOOD, mostly for the interaction of three very eccentric characters.
 

I've heard that SOULLESS #2 has a cliff-hanger and that #3 won't be out till September, so I think I'll wait on them.
 

I liked it, liked it a lot...but there's one thing I didn't like, and I see it in a lot of alternate-history books. The writers take events from the future, or the people who will participate in them---events that in the present-of-the-narrative, have not, will not, and will never happen---just to say either "See how smart I am!" or "This'll get a rise out of the reader!" Characters who we know did things are killed off or injured...at one point towards the end of 1901, characters give a name to their future that has a sinister connotation in our past...all just to provoke a "Hmm!" moment. Cheeses me off.

I concede that the younger selves of the people of real-history would be present in the alternate-history as presented---but I don't see why a mention has to be what essentially amounts to a joke on the reader. Wouldn't it be better just to create some fictional characters and then kill them off?

(Also, I concede a lot of references I get might go over the heads of some, maybe most, readers. I may be cursed by knowing too much...)
 

I am now reading, "Wild Seed" by Octavia E. Butler. It's fantastic and has me really intrigued to find out what's going to happen.
 

I've also been reading Stephen King's The Stand: Uncut, and can definitely see why it was cut. The more I read it, the more I find I'm wading through thick prose for little bits of payoff. I'm not very impressed.

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited April 29, 2010).]
 

Anyway...yes, there WAS a reason why The Stand was cut as extensively as it was. I'm with you, IB.
 

[This message has been edited by TrishaH24 (edited April 29, 2010).]
 

Since last updating here I've read James Patterson's Along Came a Spider, and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

Patterson's book was pretty good; while it didn't truly blow me away it certainly had more depth than I expected. Shortly after I finished it I watched the film, to find I was really disappointed: What a horrible film adaptation!! Good

I loved the first book of Pullman's trilogy (Northern Lights / The Golden Compass depending on edition). The worldbuilding was enjoyable, the world's problems thought provoking, and the characters fun. I'd happily label it Recommended.

Only then I got to books two and three, and felt I'd had the old bait-and-switch pulled on me. First the world I'd come to love in the first book was taken away to become essentially irrelevant. Then the characters decide to deal with the story problem (The Magesterium is corrupt and evil!) in a way that seemed completely illogical (Let's kill the guys they work for!). While there was still a lot of imagination in the second two books (The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) they just seemed a platform for authorial dogma rather than subtle rhetoric, and as a result - for me at least - a very tedious read. So while I loved the first book I sadly found these, well, Bad.

Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood With Britain In Its Darkest, Finest Hour, Lynne Olsen. The first chapter made me think it was going to be another dry history...but it soon picked up and I went through it in a couple of sittings.

The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution, 1980-1989, Steven F. Hayward. I found this interesting---lately, I've found a lot of works about the period interesting, in a "fill in the blanks" sense that I knew some of what was going on, but not everything. I'd recommend this to everybody, irregardless of political orientation...but, I've got to say, it doesn't cover "everything" that went on in the Reagan presidency, either...the Challenger disaster, for instance, doesn't get a mention, near as I can tell. (Word of warning: there's at least one other "The Age of Reagan" book out there, maybe more...check the writer's name beforehand.)

I just started reading The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America, by David Hajdu. It turned up in my pile when I was looking for another book. Two chapters in, and I'm impressed by the number of names I'm familiar with from other things---any well-versed SF reader would know a lot of these guys, and comics fans should know nearly all of 'em.

SF? Well, the aforementioned 1901, by Robert Conroy...some more Heinlein...anything new? Nothing struck my fancy this month...

Anyway, I'll be going away in a week, and I do a bunch of reading while I'm gone. There's another account of Custer's Last Stand coming out Tuesday, and there are always goodies around, old and new...
 

I thought it was a very interesting book, so I'll have to find the one about Genghis Khan.
 

RECOMMEND, definitely.

Great characters and a really good story. She writes protagonists who are damaged at the beginning of the story (and then get beat up some more) really well.

One of the things that strikes me most about this series is the world-building. Let's face it: an awful lot of fantasy is set in something approximating the middle ages, at least in technology. Even Bujold's CHALION books, which have a thoroughly imagined and distinct world, still exist in a very medieval feudal system.

THE SHARING KNIFE exists in a world recognizably based on the pioneer Midwest at about the time farmers were first breaking ground along the Mississippi, Misouri, and Ohio rivers. There's a lot about this world that is her own, of course. But the similarity is unmistakable. One side character is even based on Davey Crockett, according to the author's notes. Very interesting.

I hope, like her Miles Vorkosigan series, that she decides to revisit these characters some time.

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited May 28, 2010).]
 

I've been riding the motorcycle the last couple of days so the audio books are on hold. Not sure what I'll read next.
 

The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order 1964 - 1980, Steven F. Hayward. This is Volume One of the Volume Two I listed above...something I didn't know until I read that one. (Also I bought it and took it with me...I had started it but was only a couple chapters in when I set out.)

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, Daniel Okrent. A much-neglected period of American history, at least as far as the politics of it goes. This answered a lot of questions.

The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Nathaniel Philbrick. Mentioned above, too. This tells me only a little I didn't know...but it's another perspective on things, and, besides, Philbrick has written several other compelling histories. Worth the effort. (Another one bought before I left.)

With the Old Breed, E. B. Sledge. This was probably the most compelling of the books I read...I picked it up on reading of it in another book by Victor Davis Hanson (who writes an introduction in this paperback edition). It's a first-hand account of one soldier's experience in the fighting on Peleliu and Okinawa (if any of you are Americans and don't know what they are, go right now and look them up). And if you have any illusions about how easy soldiering and fighting is, this will blow them away.
 

Before that read the Koontz Frankenstein Series and Quanta, a book on Quantum Theory.

Waiting in the wings Blasphemy and The Pacific.
 

Edited to fix the title

[This message has been edited by satate (edited June 06, 2010).]
 

Grrr!
 

Yech. I'm still not sure if I can finish it. The idea of werewolves as a biker gang is kind of interesting, but there area so many things that bother me.

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited May 23, 2010).]
 

I haven't read any Sherrilyn Kenyon stuff, so I don't know how they compare, but I was able to finish the first Mercy Thompson book and I'm very interested in reading more.
 

quote:

---

Meredith, give Patricia Briggs' stuff a try. Her Mercy Thompson series is about a were-coyote who is involved with a werewolf pack, and there are separate books about one of the werewolves as well.

---

Thanks. I'll give that a try.

I hate to say it, but my impression of this book is just sloppy. Maybe that's the genre. I think this is classed as paranormal romance and I haven't read a lot in that genre. She obviously has other books in the series and a lot of world building, but she didn't have to throw it all against the wall in the first 50 pages. There's stuff I just don't care about yet and some stuff I'm not sure will ever matter in this book. Not to mention misused words, using the wrong name for a (major) character in one scene, info dumps about the backgrounds of minor characters. Oh, and confusion about the rules of her own world. (At first it's well, if we mix species (werewolves and werebears) there won't be any kids. Then it's we can't dilute the bloodlines. Pick one, but they can't both be true.)

She actually has interesting characters and has put them in a somewhat interesting situation. The rest is just driving me nuts and I think I'm about to quit and find something else.

I'll look for Patricia Briggs next time I'm out.

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited May 28, 2010).]
 

I'm also a big fan of Bujold's writing. Bujold draws me in with her writing more then her story lines or plot.

Currenlty I've got 3 books I'm trying to get into.

1. The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
2. Hunting Grounds by Patricia Briggs
3. False Memory by Dean Koontz

I keep revisiting the first chapter of these books..it's weird
 

quote:

---

I really have to figure out what it is about her books that just draws me in. I want to sit and read the whole thing in one sitting, which is very unusual for me. Her prose doesn't get in my way, but neither does it sing. Then again, that might get in the way of the story. Every once in a while she does one of those things I'm trying to teach myself not to do--said bookisms, averbs in the dialog tags, etc.

---

I agree 100%

I can't put my finger on why I like it but I know I do.

Bio Of A Space Tyrant: Refugee by Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob

The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton...I tried this once and wasnt interested. I heard someone here raving about PFH and decided to give this another shot. Not reading yet but it has moved from my Sci-Fi shelf to my nightstand.
 

I continue to be amazed at how little editing seems to be done in some cases.
 

_At Swim Two Birds_, hilarious, but doesn't fit the format of a novel, doesn't have a satisfying ending. Reputed to be the first post-modernist novel, not sure what that means, but worth a read if you like language and absurdity better than a story.

_The Poor Mouth_, English translation, a send-up of the early twentieth century 'folk' stories written in Irish by authors like Peig Sayers, Tomás Ó Criomhthain,
Muiris Ó Súilleabháin, etc. Hilarious if you've read the originals, may not be if you haven't, but the translator captures the rich absurdity of the original Irish text.

_The Third Policeman_, the best of the three in terms of story, rich language, absurd ideas, it could be science fiction if it weren't literary fiction, not a really satisfying ending, but of the three the most like a conventional novel.

[This message has been edited by posulliv (edited May 25, 2010).]
 

The opening line of Neuromancer is one of my all time favorites. "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." Very evocative to me.
 

quote:

---

Meredith, give Patricia Briggs' stuff a try. Her Mercy Thompson series is about a were-coyote who is involved with a werewolf pack, and there are separate books about one of the werewolves as well.

---

Thanks for the recommendation. Two chapters in and I can already tell it's a winner.
 

American Gods by Neil Gaiman was intriguing, but very slow and boring at times. He should stick to comic books (oops, sorry - GRAPHIC NOVELS). Gaiman's writing is dull, which hampers his overzealous plot. I would not recommend this book, unless it is the only book you have with you on a desert island.

And of course, OSC's Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide are must reads. Children of the Mind; I could go either way. I would not read it again. Ender's Shadow and the Bean series is pretty good, but too much military tactics drag them down from being overly compelling reads. My thumbs are sideways, pointing at one another.

 

Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, Ben Macintyre. Picked up and read while on vacation, but somehow I forgot to mention it last time around. A very interesting story---some of you may have seen a movie, "The Man Who Never Was," from the 1950s, covering this story...it's a true story, and this book fills in lots of details of that story, and also corrects some deliberate misstatements made for security reasons at the time. Besides that, it's a terrific read.

Three Chords for Beauty's Sake: The Life of Artie Shaw, Tom Nolan. Picked up after vacation. An interesting biography of a "freethinking iconoclast" (how Shaw is described on the jacket flap at one point). Well worth the time (and money). If you don't know who Artie Shaw was, look him up---especially his music.

In the Land of Invented Languages: Adventures in Linguistic Creativity, Madness, and Genius, Arika Okrent. Picked up on vacation, reading now (three-quarters finished). Mentioned by me elsewhere in Grist for the Mill. For anyone who sets out to invent a language for a story, or just for the hell of it...

Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West, Stephen Fried. Bought before vacation, started now (one quarter finished.) An interesting history (not biography) of America's first restaurant chain, with lots of stops for interesting detail about life in these United States along the way.

Any SF read this month? Well, last month I reread a book by Robert Conroy...while on vacation I picked up two more and read them when I got back. Alternate Histories, both: 1945 (the Japanese renege on their surrender after VJ Day), and also Red Inferno: 1945 (the Russians attack the Americans as both sides enter defeated Germany). I gotta say I'm not overly fond of Alternate History---if the other choice was so damned compelling, surely they would have made that choice, and not the one they did---but these have as many interesting tidbits as a normal history book.
 

Runes of Earth by Stephen R. Donaldson
The Memory of Earth by OSC
Bio of a Space Tyrant: Refugee by Piers Anthony
The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton

Uggh

Maybe I will try Nerilka's Story by Anne McCaffrey
 

I also read Animal Farm by George Orwell. Somehow I missed it while I was in school. I know what he was doing and the political statements he was making, but it irritated me. I really wanted for them to be frying up some bacon for a Sunday celebration. This book actually put me in a bad mood for the evening.

I also read the short story A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman. It was free on audible.com. Another good story from him. An interesting take on Baker Street detectives.
 

Finishing DEAD AND GONE by Charlaine Harris. I will never be a Sookie Stackhouse fan.

It's interesting that both books had many of the same elements. Both are mysteries, of a sort. Both have vampires, werewolves, and even Fae. In Patricia Briggs world, they all seemed to fit. In Charlaine Harris' world, I believed the vampires and the werewolves, but the Fae felt sort of tacked on. I had other issues with her world building, too. Things just didn't always seem to fit.

I think my main problem with Harris' book, though, is that it just feels like it wanders around aimlessly without much direction. And, looking at it, I think it's at least partly because she didn't deliver the story she promised.

She started out with the weres "coming out". Okay, I can see that causing some conflict and driving a story. Next, one character's mother gets shot because she reveals to her husband that she's a were. Looks like that's the story we're going to get. Then another character, who happens to be a werepanther, gets killed rather gruesomely. Alright, I'm sold. That's what this story is about. Then we take a hard left turn into a war between the Fae which for some reason seems to revolve around Sookie. Why is never adequately explained. Not a very satisfying story and I won't be reading any more of hers.

Next up, something without either vampires or werewolves for a change.
 

I'm now reading DUST by Elizabeth Bear, and it's great. Recommend! It's a sci-fi story about a generation ship that's gone haywire. The first few chapters you think you're reading a fantasy book, with some odd drop-ins about nanotech and things. Before long you realize it's a set of scenes/environments all on one enormous ship that has evolved beyond its original intentions. Very very interesting.
 

'The Sword of Truth' series - Terry Goodkind
- Recommended; very good story line, a bit long winded at times but worth it

'Fablehaven' series - Brandon Mull
- Good YA story

 

[This message has been edited by CraigMc (edited June 17, 2010).]
 

I think Elisabeth Vonarburg is my new hero. Well, not exactly new; I realised that I had read the English translation of her novel Silent City when I was 11 or 12 (way too young for the content. I'm actually not sure how I got my hands on it) and loved it.

Now that I've rediscovered her I'm requesting everything my local library has of hers (in English). Too bad I can't read French!
 

On paper I'm reading Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton. I've read the rest of the Anita Blake series, through its ups and downs; the good first bits and then through the tough ones that had little story to speak of; and then later when we started to get the story back.

This is a shorter book, maybe even a novella. So far, it's not that good. It's not horrible but I find it to be very poorly edited. The language is weak and clumsy. There is one line of dialogue that, after reading it a dozen times, I have no clue what it means. The words just don't make sense together.

I know she has this and the Faerie series (which I can't read at all - it has all of the slowest bits that bogged down the Vampire Hunter series for awhile) and all sorts of other stuff going on, but come on. Is it just a money maker now and she doesn't care about quality? And where is the editor? A lot of the problems are line edits that should have been easily caught.

This might be the last book I pick up from her. There's been too much to slog through in the hopes of getting back to what I liked about the series in the first place and I don't think its ever going to happen.
 

Read the 7th 39 Clues book (series for middle-grade readers written by different middle-grade authors.) Good, but nothing amazing. Liked this author's style. Find it interesting how each book is a little different based on authorial style, even though clearly they are following some "rules" (e.g., 3rd limited but roving POV, feels omni sometimes, certain plot details are known/clearly supposed to be revealed in particular titles, etc.)

Read THE MAGIC THIEF: FOUND - can't recommend this book highly enough. It's the third in a series, the author's name is Sarah Prineas. I just plain love Magic Thief, so much so that we are re-reading the original book on audio. These are middle-grade books about a boy and a different kind of magic system. The boy is plucky and determined, has a great voice. I love the way the author uses language to communicate what kind of person the mc is. Great book.

Currently reading THE RED PYRAMID by Rick Riordan, which is basically an offshoot of his Percy Jackson novels but featuring Egyptian gods/mythology. Interesting, but I do find the breakneck pace of this kind of book a little tiring after a while (very similar in pace to the 39 Clues books, so I'm feeling a little pacing burnout.)

I finished "The Time Traveler's Wife", and was pleasantly surprised. Of course it is not hard core Sci-Fi, more of a light fantasy, but it kept me engaged. GOOD.

Also finished "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo". This was one that had a quite good story line, but a combination of the translation and tendency to lean towards the tell-side of the show-vs-tell scale really sort of made the story feel flat much of the time. BETTER-THAN-AVERAGE

I got talked into readin the first of the Twilight Series, and despite my general disinterest in the romantic machinations of teenage girls, there was a lot to be said for Meyer's work. Deaspite a penchant for a bit of melodrama and occasionally explaining too much, the character of Bella is actually rather engaging. Quite well done for a first novel. GOOD.

To counteract Twilight I read Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in parallel with it. Similar to "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" there was a lot of narrative distance between the reader and the story (the story is presented as a series of journal entries). So I never felt immersed in the action. But, since it is the original vampire classic, RECOMMEND to anyone who hasn't read it yet and only knows vampires through literature of the last 20 years.
 

The First War of Physics: The Secret History of the Atom Bomb 1939 - 1949, Jim Babbott. At first I thought I wouldn't like it, but by the second chapter it had sucked me in and held me. It tells the story of the making of the atomic bomb---not just the oft-told tale of the so-called "Manhattan Project," but what went on in Germany and Russia, too. Readable even if you're not up on the technical stuff.

7 Events That Made America America (And Proved That the Founding Fathers Were Right All Along), Larry Schweikart. Essentially a collection of seven historical essays. Whatever your political viewpoint, I think you'll find some impressive stuff here, particularly the chapter "A Steel Guitar Rocks the Iron Curtain," making the case that rock-and-roll brought down the Soviet Union.

10 Books Every Conservative Must Read (Plus Four Not to Miss and One Impostor. Benjamin Wiker, Ph. D. This is hit-or-miss, depending (again) on your politics---but I bring it up here because of its sections on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged (the "imposter") and Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," particularly the latter---for one thing, it clarifies for me something I had thought about, that the movies truly botched the character of Aragorn.

You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakus, Peter Doggett. Oh, no, not another book about the Beatles...but this one concentrates on the contracts and the lawsuits and tax dodges and the legalese...and not on their music or their colorful personal lives. (Some of that is here in this book, too.) I, a Beatles freak, learned a lot reading it---the Beatles, after all, broke up on what another writer called "the time-honored field of contract dispute"---and there were some facts that were wholly new to me, as well as some where the truth had not been told. (As a matter of fact, all four Beatles swore things under oath that are demonstrably not true...)
 

Then, since my current WIP is a YA fantasy, I read THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley. Took a little getting into. I don't really like her use of flashbacks. But the story was good, once I got into it, although I felt she summarized the end a little too much.

Now I'm reading SPINDLE'S END, also by Robin McKinley. Once again, it took some getting into. Past the 100 page-mark and I just now feel like the story is getting started. Everything else was set up.

What is interesting between the two is that each has a completely different voice, especially in the beginning. (Or maybe I just don't notice it as much once I get used to it.) You wouldn't think they were by the same author.
 

As usual, my reading is split across genres - 5 SF, 3 non.

[This message has been edited by BenM (edited July 22, 2010).]
 

Loved the first two when I was younger---I read them out of order, but that's the way I found them---but would I love them today, when alternate history is all over the place and I know so much of real history that it's hard to relate to something that didn't happen...
 

Her use of flash back in this one is really annoying--and unnecessary. In THE BLUE SWORD, it was mostly part of the set-up for the premise and once the story got started, it stopped. Not in this one. It's all the way through and at some of the most inopportune times. Especially since she's flashing back to things that happened within the timeline of the story. She could just as easily have told it in the right order--and she should have.

Just the fact that I can put it down in the middle of the overly-long "climax"/showdown with the antagonist probably tells you everything you need to know.
 

Recommended, High Fantasy.

[This message has been edited by MikeL (edited July 22, 2010).]
 

Don't buy it 'cause I don't want you giving the man any money. Just rent it from the library.
 

ELANTRIS actually was a good story, but some of the way he went about telling it frustrated the @&$% out of me.
 

quote:

---

The what out of you???

---

You can substitute almost any appropriate inappropriate word you like.
 

RECOMMENDED! It was funny, a little confusing, refreshing and had an unexpected ending.
 

Two I finished:

Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century, Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. The Liz-and-Dick saga was the stuff of tabloid headlines in my younger days...this books gives a good feel of what it was like to have been on the inside of the saga. Reading it was like visiting with old friends.

Helluva Town: The Story of New York City During World War II, Richard Goldstein. This is an episodic account of...well, you can get just what from the title. I enjoyed it...and found, on one page, something that gave me a revelation about something utterly different in the memoirs of Isaac Asimov. (Asimov is not mentioned in the text.)

And the one I didn't:

Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954 - 1965, Mark Moyar. This is a very dense and very important book---it is not for the casual reading I excel in. I still hope to finish it someday---and I recommend it to everyone. Essentially, much of what you know about the Vietnam War is wrong. (A "Volume 2" is promised---this book is several years old.)

Science fiction? Well, I bought some "collected works" books by Lester Del Rey and by Fritz Leiber..."visiting old friends," though some of the stories are brand new to me.

And, sometime in the next month, I fervently hope to pick up Volume One of a biography of Robert A. Heinlein.

[Somewhere a word dropped out, so I'm putting it in again now.]

[This message has been edited by Robert Nowall (edited August 03, 2010).]
 

"The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch": RECOMMEND. The single most bizarre "I don't know what the heck is going on right now but my head is spinning and I love it" book I've ever read.

"Counter-Clock World": RECOMMEND. Took a concept that's been done a few times before (people age backwards, start old and get younger), and made it something completely new.

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep": RECOMMEND. Just when you thought this was just another "evil androids among us disguised as humans" story, BAM! We're going freaking metaphysical on you.

Anyway, he's carved out a pretty solid spot in my list of very favorite authors ever (which is nice, because he wrote a crapton on books). You want something crazy and bizarre that you won't experience anywhere else, pick up a Philip K. Dick novel.
 

We've read the third, fourth, and are now listening to the fifth book from the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander. They are excellent books. While it's also due to an excellent voice talent, the character voice of each character is so unique, I know how hard this is to do, so I stand in awe. Highly recommend.

We also listened to Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones. It, too, was excellent. Very interesting very weird story - lots of fun. Not your standard fantasy, though it feels a little "normalish" at the beginning, it goes in many different directions.

I tried to read And Another Thing, which is Eoin Colfer's extension of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe series. It's been ages since I've read Hitchhiker's Guide, but I remember at least a little forward plot momentum. This story is so bogged down in non-sequitors and tangents that I literally can't do it anymore. I'm moving on.

So as to demonstrate it's not personal to the author, I'm reading Artemis Fowl, which is Colfer's YA contemporary fantasy series. It's cute and it actually is moving, so so far so good.

They tend to be slow with the lesser new releases. Tomorrow I'm popping down to the local Barnes & Noble, which is better about that sort of thing...and if they don't have it, when I get home, I'll order a copy from Amazon-dot-com...
 

[This message has been edited by Osiris (edited August 17, 2010).]
 

I'm happy to find out what events in his life shaped the man who, as it happened, did so much through his literature to shape my life.
 

I liked it...it's a lot to digest, but I liked it.

One odd revelation. Early on, it mentions Heinlein making a visit to see the Liberty Bell as a child, when it was on tour and visiting Kansas City.

I would've thought that odd, maybe even wrong---I hadn't thought the Liberty Bell had left Philadelphia since Revolutionary days. But, even more oddly, I learned of these Liberty Bell travels for the first time not two hours before---by reading the jacket flap of a book about the Liberty Bell in Barnes & Noble, just after I picked up the copy of the Heinlein biography, but before I checked out. Odd coincidence...
 

Highly, highly recommended. Just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Harry Niles (a protag that bears more than a passing resemblance to Greene's Harry Lime) tries to stay one step ahead of EVERYONE so he can get out of Tokyo before war actually starts.

I knew nothing about Tokyo except what I read in Wolverine comic books (which is really nothing), and Smith does an excellent job of detailing the mores and customs of pre-war Japan. A valuable read if you're interested in world-building. Plus it's just damn good.
 

I enjoyed MISTBORN, but this one strikes me as several characters in search of a plot. There's not one driving conflict moving the story forward, just a bunch of little conflicts annoying the characters who are actually probably more than capable of dealing with them.

Maybe it's just the curse of the second book in a series. Very few of them live up to the first and many of them are just plain bad.

Looking forward to finishing and hoping HERO OF AGES is better. If I don't find a plot in that one pretty quickly, I'll probably just quit.
 

On to Alan Campbell's Scar Night, the first in his Deepgate Codex series. It's good, so far. Flows from omniscient to 3PL, but does so smoothly. It is reminiscent of Gaiman's work, with its dark atmosphere and antiheroes. Now, if I could find some time to read it.

 

I'm one of those annoying people that actually sneaks a peak at the ending. I know where this is going and I know what the conflict should be to support that ending for this book. It's not the seige.

No, in fact the seige of the three armies doesn't feel like a driving conflict. It feels pretty much like. . . well, like a seige. Long and drawn out with brief moments of excitement.

I don't dispute that this book may be necessary for the trilogy. But, like a couple of other middle books I can think of (the third in Lois McMaster Bujold's SHARING KNIFE series comes to mind), I'm reading more because I've come to care about the characters than because the story is pulling me forward.
 

Here's five other books I also read this month:

Selected Stories, Fritz Leiber. edited by Jonathan Strahan and Charles N. Brown. I mentioned it last month. Reading and rereading these stories was an enlightening experience, and a useful recommend to anyone who wants to know how it's done. I particularly recommend "A Pail of Air" and "The Girl With the Hungry Eyes." But read them all if you can get a copy---or if you have other Leiber books. (Charles N. Brown, longtime power behind Locus, died before the volume could come out.)

Colossus: Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century, Michael Hiltzik. Delves more into the politics of Hoover Dam than any other volume I've seen---but doesn't neglect the details of construction, either.

The Fog of Gettysburg: The Myths and Mysteries of the Battle, Ken Allers, Jr. Of course there's a lot written about the Battle of Gettysburg---but a lot of "facts," stated as such, repeated from volume to volume, are utter nonsense. This volume disspells a lot of them.

The Flight of the Century: Charles Lindbergh and the Rise of American Aviation, Thomas Kessner. This account of the flight of the Spirit of St. Louis is maybe less compelling than some (say, for example, Lindbergh's own, or the account in A. Scott Berg's biography of Lindbergh a decade ago), but it's a good introduction, and adds detail to the events not present elsewhere.

Athwart History: Half a Century of Polemics, Animadversions, and Illuminations: A William F. Buckley Jr. Omnibus. A collection of Buckley's writings, mostly from his newspaper columns, and a large number not dealing with the politics of the period(s) in question. (Buckley died early in 2008, essentially at the beginning of the current period, depending on how you slice things.) Buckley was difficult to argue with, as his arguments nearly always rested on solid ground. I've found his essay on the Beatles and religion (included here) strongly influencing my own position on their activities and spirituality.
 

PB
 

There's a scene involving how to maneuver in a spacesuit and jet. I don't know how it matches up against the real thing, more than sixty years later, but rereading it made me realize why some scenes in the Pixar movie Cars seemed so familiar to me---the "turn right to go left" scenes, if you know the movie. Offhand, it seemed kind of the same physics...
 

Well, in rereading Heinlein's Space Cadet, a book first published in 1948, I ran across the phrase "mass-destruction weapons." Go figure.
 

It's oftentimes clunky, but that may be because of the translation. However, as a story it's great. Again, not the most awe-inspiring of prose, and this'll never be confused with "literature", but if you're looking for a good mystery...

Which again reminds me that you don't have to be the best writer in the world to tell your story. Just tell your story, and if it's a good story, people will read it.

[This message has been edited by rich (edited September 15, 2010).]
 

The writing's a little stronger in this sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it's still clunky. There's also a spot where the main character literally disappears from the story for 200 pages (it's over 700 pages total), but...though the main character isn't on the screen (so to speak) everyone talks about her and we find out more about her background.

I don't know that I'd try that stunt at home, but it works for this book. Also, I was surprised at my own reaction while reading it...turning pages because I had to find out what was happening. Credit to Stieg Larsson for tightening the screws and building the anticipation.

Story, story, story, story, and a solid, interesting main character, and you've got yourself a bestseller.
 

I'm really disappointed that Sanderson couldn't be content with a strong female character, too. No. Not good enough that Vin could do things no other mistborn could. Or that Elend was emotionally stronger AND emperor. No. Have to make Elend a stronger allomancer, too. Pfft.

And I'm tired of reading what should be Vin's story either filtered through Elend's POV or through Vin thinking about Elend when she should be trying to figure out what she needs to do as the Hero of the Ages.

I realized this afternoon that I only really care about two characters any more--Spook and TenSoon. That's not enough to keep me reading.

On to something lighter for a while.

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited September 19, 2010).]
 

I had to remember to bring one book into the computer room--I needed the book to spell the title correctly.

So "Necropath" by Eric Brown.

I bought it because it sounded intriguing but about 80 percent through and it's not my favorite book. First it had a slow start, second it had a lot of info that the reader needed before it got to the main story.

Anyone want to guess what the title means? It took Brown at least half way through the book to explain.

Another reason I'm not crazy about it is because it's another one that deals with the dark side of humanity. I mean everyone is the story is poor-one character was a teen who was a street urchin and lived with a bunch of others. Another one is a hooker who worked out of a cheap bar. The main character seems more of a anti-hero who is very cynical and hides his past.

Next book is "In The Stormy Sky" By David Drake.

Part of the RCN or Lt. Leery series. Interesting universe Drake came up with, it's based on Roman society, I believe. Many of the plots are based, sometimes very loosely, I think, on real happenings in world history.

He is an excellent writer and engages me even when I'm not too sure about this society. I read these books too quickly and yet I'm not totally sure if I like one of the two main characters. Partly from her upbringing she is a bit fast on taking offense from someone below her ranking. The high ranking of her family that is, even though all of them but her are dead. And it gets a little tedious when she is always thinking about not minding if she died. She doesn't try to get killed but at the same she has to much emotional baggage to care that much either.

I need to finish "At All Costs" by David Weber. I think I know the logical ending and who may end up getting killed but I still need to find out.

Can't wait 'till I get to "An Artificial Night" by Seanan McGuire. Kinda dark UF series but still very good.

Dittos for "Face Off " by Mark Del Franco . Second one in a series and I was wondering if he was going to do the next one. He's got a different and a little strange web site and it's hard to tell when his next book is coming out.

And I got a long wait for "Changes" by Jim Butcher. Paperback version. But That is one I'm going to be reading way too quickly.

For a non fiction I'm reading "Liberty and Tyranny" By Mark Levin. Short and easy to read.

Love his style of writing. The imagery and emotion he is able to get across with his short, sharp sentences is amazing. So simple, so effective.

UGLIES by Scott Westerfield Not Impressed

Interesting concept behind it but boring. The actual story seemed to lack substance - won't be continuing with the rest of the series.

MAXIMUM RIDE: THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT by James Patterson Not Impressed

Again, interesting concept but the actual story didn't grab me - probably won't continue with the rest of the series.

[This message has been edited by Delli (edited September 24, 2010).]
 

quote:

---

Okay, I can finally list what I'm reading right now.

---

Forgot one.

"A Flash Of Hex" by Jes Battis

Second in a series that sounded interesting. Fey CSI.

Actually, I'm not sure if reading it is the right word though. As far as I can recall it's the first book I've put down because I didn't like the Main Character.

The dark universe Jes invented sounds very much like the one in Seanan McGuire's books. It's like they used the same model. But the MCs are completely different as are the plots.

I may finish it some day because the plot has me intrigued.

Of course with the way some writers use pen names these two could be the same person.
 

Actually, it seemed like I didn't read much last month. Some rereading...just one book caught my interest, and my reaction to that one is, well, kind of odd.

Our Times: The Age of Elizabeth II, A. N. Wilson. This purports to be, essentially, a history of post-war Britain, roughly from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II down to 2008. (I gather it was published in Britain first and has only now made it to America.) I'm interested...I've picked up bits of the history here and there and have always wanted to learn more. It proved an interesting read and held my interest to the end.

But here's the thing. Every time I ran across the writer's commentary on something I knew about---or thought I knew about---he's wrong. For instance, at the beginning of Chapter One there's a commentary on Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings, stating essentially, that the work was about "a world wrecked, gone forever, destroyed." That's not the message I took away from The Lord of the Rings, and I doubt very much that was its appeal to the millions who bought and read it.

It's hardly the only example. A discussion of the Beatles misses the point---and adds that the Rolling Stones were the Voice of Britain---without naming a single song as an example. A discussion of Germaine Greer and feminism states there are "forty-eight chromosomes"---the correct number is forty-six. The point of the space race and the American space program is grossly misstated.

Yet some of the other parts of the work are still interesting---but can I trust them?

This work is said to be the third of three volumes...I think, if I ever run across them, I'll give the others a pass.
 

Still, SOULLES, CHANGELESS, and BLAMELESS are all very fun reads when you want something not too serious.

Just imagine a character who would fit tolerably well in a Jane Austen story married to an oversexed werewolf.
 

Just started this one. I have already read more than I wanted to.

If you like good writing check out "An Artificial Night" by Seanan McGuire. Its her third October Daye novel. And I need to double chec her web site but I think its her third book period.

It's a darker Urban Fantasy series about a female PI who is half fey. She sees both sides of the Fey world -there doesn't seem much of an in-between-which is why its dark. And the Fey world is completely hidden to humans. Most humans that is, every so often a fey will go after a human for love, lust-which is why there are so many half feys- or murder.

Night's Dawn by Peter F Hamilton (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God).
These books are huge (1,200+ pages each of fairly dense text) and the first of Hamilton's work I've read. I picked them up because the first book's title caught my imagination, and got thoroughly sucked in by the huge scope, multiple plotlines, generally great characterisation and rather well developed future in this space opera. Nevertheless it's not without its issues, including some occasionally bizarre editing errors (though I'd not fancy line & grammar editing 3,600 pages of story either), some odd characterisation issues, a couple of silly plot holes and an ending which seemed overly simplistic and/or rushed (Ohnoes how am I going to end this thing? Zap! Done!). But (and this probably fits in well with Brendan's recent post about front-loading) I didn't really care - the journey was so much of a hoot that I couldn't stop reading it. Highly Recommended.
 

Duke Ellington's America, Harvey G. Cohen. Seems less a life of Ellington than an account of his business and music---interesting stuff, but, maybe, less than the biography it could have been.

In biographical contrast to that, there's---

Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney, Howard Sounes. This is a warts-and-all (and more warts) biography, covering personal affairs and pecadillos, and some business arrangements tossed in. It took me a while to get used to the 10-point Grotesque typeface this book was set in---wasn't a more readable type available that day?---and the subject matter is, you'd know if you've read my earlier posts, of great interest to me. I stuck with it.

Probably a more interesting biography than either of these is---

Al Jaffee's Mad Life: A Biography, Mary-Lou Weisman---illustrated by Al Jaffee himself. The bulk of the book deals with Jaffee's life before becoming a famous Mad Magazine cartoonist---bouncing around between the USA and Eastern Europe and the often-quite-crazy people Jaffee would interact with. Extremely, surprisingly, interesting.

Another bio, kind of, is---

Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not a Butcher: The Military Genius of the Man Who Won the Civil War, Edward H. Bonekemper III. An older book, not seen before now in this tradepaper reprint. Not a thorough biography but a thorough analysis of Grant's Civil War campaigns and his ultimate victory over the Confederacy. Grant wasn't the butcher of popular Civil War mythology. (Also, I'd like to see a reconsideration of Grant's presidency, which, I've begun to think, wasn't the disaster historians portray it as.)

And one work of non-fiction that's not a biography---

Twilight at the World of Tomorrow: Genius, Madness, Murder, and the 1939 World's Fair on the Brink of War, James Mauro. The central story in this covers a side of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair I had never heard of before, despite reading several other accounts---a bomb planted at one pavilion, which had tragic consequences. Even the other stuff had information wholly new to me. I'd recommend this over any other account.

Anything else? Well, I read a pile of stuff besides, but these seemed the most important. Any fiction? I looked for a couple of titles (without finding them---I don't think they're out yet), and I reread some old Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey books (and watched DVD dramatizations of several more), but...no, not really.

(edited to correct italicism---always a problem with these super-long posts)

[This message has been edited by Robert Nowall (edited November 02, 2010).]
 

I just finished a new book, The Magnificent 12: The Call. it's by Michael Grant, the writer of the YA series that starts with GONE. It's really really good, for a middle-grade book (grades 3-8, in general.) It reads a little younger, main character is 12, would definitely appeal to boys, has a lot of humor, plenty of action. The scary stuff is played in such a way that it's not too scary. My 9 year old son read it in maybe 2 days and loved it. I was surprised at how good the humor was (reminded me of ARTEMIS FOWL, but funnier and way better.) Good stuff.

Also recently read THE WARRIOR HEIR - which was good. I found it a little obvious, and there were cases of author withholding that bugged me (the main character spends much of the story clueless about things that are happening to and around him, that sort of thing annoys me.) It wasn't my favorite YA book ever, but the pace was good and the author has dreamed up a decent magic system. Little scattered storytelling, though - there are some points of view the story is told from that are earlier in time and it was hard to see how they connected, IMHO. Mag 12 was way better, but mid-grade versus YA. Both should have strong appeal to boys, though.

We're also reading THE ALCHEMIST on audiobook, which is thus far very good, but another case where there's all kinds of things happening to and around the main characters and they are clueless. Come to think of it, this is a somewhat standard thing in YA and mid-grade, but it bugs me a bit. Interesting magic system, and so far so good on the story.

Yes, it was pretty disturbing; I have to admit I tend to skim over things that annoy me in books and then forget about them. I stopped reading the book briefly and found (somewhere) a review that explained how he later tied this issue into his theme, which made it a little more academically interesting. But it was possibly done a little clumsily - a lot of reviews on goodreads rated The Reality Dysfunction quite poorly.
 

By the way, I bought this at our airport's used bookstore. I think every airport should have a used bookstore. Unfortunately, the prices are evidenced by the fact that it's located in an airport. The paperbacks are all $4.50(!) no matter what the original cover price was.

[This message has been edited by rich (edited November 06, 2010).]
 

I said the same universe but each series has different characters in different cities. But I'm not sure if its the same time period. Would be close.

This series is kinda weird but not in the usual way. The MC is a woman with two, some times more, identities. It gets a little confusing even though its First person, to see who the real one is. Actually she has the same problem at times. Maybe neither is the real her. One uses her real name but the other one seems to be the real her. She is an Intelligence Officer for an outfit that seems to be something that is both CIA and FBI, but she is also a PR-adviser for a very important person. Sometimes she almost hints that she is really working for someone else. Herself maybe. I don't know if that is done on purpose by the writer or something I see that isn't meant to be there.

The writer keeps everything straight, he is good at writing, the adventure is interesting and I find the book hard to put down at times.

Oh, I sometimes suspect that she is a certain character in the other series. Names are different, and the action takes place in another city but there are similarities.
 

Before that I read SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater (YA).

I'm also reading THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE by Lois McMaster Bujold (First of the "Miles" stories in the Vorkosigan saga).
 

quote:

---

Meredith - did you like Shiver? It was recommended to me, but when I picked it up at the kids' school book fair this week (they run it through an indy book store in the area) and it seemed pretty heavy on the romance. Any thoughts on that?

---

I would call it YA paranormal romance. Probably three quarters of the book is about Grace and Sam and their relationship. It's a cute love story, but definitely a love story. Then again, a lot of YA has a healthy dose of romance.

It's still pretty good. An interesting take on werewolves. Well-drawn, believable characters. I like that Sam constantly writes poetry/lyrics in his head and Grace doesn't get poetry at all.

I think I may get the sequel from the library, though, when I'm ready for it. I'm not sure it's permanent shelf material.

Oh, and whoever decided to print the blasted thing in navy blue ink should be shot. Personal opinion.
 

I'm now reading Anthony Bourdain's, Medium Raw, and his chapter on hamburger is MUST reading. I mean, if you like hamburgers.
 

This is a very satisfying book. I can see why it won awards. It shows a true mastery of plot.

There are a few places where it gets particularly dark and harsh, but it was well within the needs of the story. I highly recommend it as long as you're not squeamish.
 

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson. While I liked some of the SF elements in this book, and I can perhaps see why it won a Hugo award, I wholeheartedly disliked it due to its oppressive air of negativity. The main character is gripped by ennui, and tells us the story in first person (so it infects the whole narrative), the events of the present are hidden from us by a book load of back story for what felt like a cheap reveal at the end, and the overarching SFnal element seems to be the "lesson" that mankind is too inept to solve its problems so must have them solved by someone else. I could be a whole lot more scathing but instead will just say I wanted to like it much more than I did. Not Impressed

Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones. Light, enjoyable middle grade fare. I don't read a lot of YA & middle grade, but I really enjoyed this for what it is. Similar enough to the movie that I'd visualise the scenes along those lines, but different enough that I wasn't wholly sure where it was going. Recommended
 

quote:

---

Meredith - did you like Shiver? It was recommended to me, but when I picked it up at the kids' school book fair this week (they run it through an indy book store in the area) and it seemed pretty heavy on the romance. Any thoughts on that?

---

Just wanted to add: I took a look at the sequel, LINGER, in Borders today. It's printed in Green! No way. I value my eyesight more than that. What are they going to use for the third book? Red? Purple? Yech.
 

quote:

---

Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones. Light, enjoyable middle grade fare. I don't read a lot of YA & middle grade, but I really enjoyed this for what it is. Similar enough to the movie that I'd visualise the scenes along those lines, but different enough that I wasn't wholly sure where it was going. Recommended

---

We just finished THE ALCHEMYST - by I think Michael Scott, YA due to age of characters (15) but concepts and level of content were very appropriate for my crew (7&9 and very advanced readers.) We did the audiobook, which is read by a voice talent who is very good with different accents, impressive, actually. The story was interesting, concept of Nicholas Flammel (ala Harry Potter world) but set in present day with its own magic system, history, and lore. Recommend.

I also finished reading THE LOST HERO, another mid-grade by Rick Riordan, set in same world as Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It was excellent. Better, in my opinion, than RED PYRAMID, which was narrated by two siblings, alternating first person POV that weren't very well differentiated. In LOST HERO, he switches between three POVs, usually 2 chapters each. The pace is fast, the action high, the characters believable. Each ends up with talents you didn't anticipate, things that they previously had considered a liability turning out to be an asset, that sort of thing. The characters were very well differentiated, and he played with both Greek and Roman mythology, introducing some new bad guys like the wind gods and King Midas. Really good, highly recommend for any fans of the Percy Jackson series. I think it would be completely readable even if you hadn't read that other series, though, so I recommend for anyone because it's paced well, good amount of humor, etc. (One of the things that bugged me most about the Lightning Thief movie was the fact that they seemed to have scripted out a lot of the humor, it was a huge bummer to me.)

I gave up on WILD SEED. I just couldn't really muster a lot of interest in either character.

Started the first RUNELORDS book, instead.
 

I know everyone's different, but this book really grabbed me - changed the way I looked at my own writing. I hope you'll give it another chance because I truly believe there is something worthwhile there.

Oh, and Warrior's Apprentice is great! So is Vor Game. But I have a feeling that whole series is going to get a thumbs up from me.

I've started Stephen King's, Gunslinger, based on some HAtrack recommendations. It the first King I've read. I can't say that I find it terribly gripping. I do audio books and if there's even a little traffic, the narrative, which has so much description, gets stifled. Mind you, I read Crime and Punishment and Wind-Up Girl this way, both heavy books, as well as a score of others, and not had this issue. But it's only another six hours. I can wait to see if it picks up.

quote:

---

Meredith, you didn't like Wild Seed? I read it about six months ago and loved it. Maybe consider giving it a little more time. I can see how it might seem difficult to get into the characters, they come off a little stark at the beginning. Also, since much of it is told from Doro's pov and he's not terribly likable, it's tough. But it's the uniqueness of the way they are both drawn to and repelled by each other that makes for a very interesting dynamic. I think by the end you'll care about them.

---

The premise kept me going for the first 100 pages. After that, I found I just really wasn't that interested in what happened to these characters. The conflict wasn't big enough to keep me turning the pages.

I think reading so much YA recently, since it seems that may be what I write, has had a deleterious effect on my patience with slow starts. Said patience was nearly non-existent anyway.

Maybe I'll try it again, later.

quote:

---

Oh, and Warrior's Apprentice is great! So is Vor Game. But I have a feeling that whole series is going to get a thumbs up from me.

---

Yeah, THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE has me laughing half the time as poor Miles just keeps dancing faster trying to keep all the balls in the air and the balls just keep multiplying. I have the omnibus edition, YOUNG MILES, so it goes on to "Mountains of Mourning" and then THE VOR GAME.

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited November 23, 2010).]
 

quote:

---

Yeah, THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE has me laughing half the time as poor Miles just keeps dancing faster trying to keep all the balls in the air and the balls just keep multiplying. I have the omnibus edition, YOUNG MILES, so it goes on to "Mountains of Mourning" and then THE VOR GAME.

---

I read two of the Miles books years ago so noticed "The Warrior's Apprentice" even though I wad surprised by that title. Maybe I will keep it in mind for the future.
 

quote:

---

I read two of the Miles books years ago so noticed "The Warrior's Apprentice" even though I wad surprised by that title. Maybe I will keep it in mind for the future.

---

According to the author's chronology of the stories, THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE is the first of the Miles books, coming after the two books about Miles' parents: SHARDS OF HONOR and BARRAYAR.

THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE is Miles at 17. Along with his father and the Council of Counts, I shudder to think what Miles will be capable of when he's a little older. Guess I'll find out in THE VOR GAME.

quote:

---

According to the author's chronology of the stories, THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE is the first of the Miles books, coming after the two books about Miles' parents: SHARDS OF HONOR and BARRAYAR.

---

Could be I'm confusing him with someone else who has been around for years. He's been a diplomate and a James Bond type of spy. The books are written in a humorous manner. I thought the "Warrior's Apprentice" was about his start, his first adventure.

Kinda, sort of reminds of the Stainless Steel Rat. Loved those books, well the last couple got into some off beat adventures with slimy aliens but the whole idea was still great. I thought about trying my hand at a similar character.

 

Anyway, I would have to place that book on my list though. I already have eight-ten books to read. Nine and Ten are two Flinx books I need to read some day, including the last one in the series. I hope Flinx doesn't become some cosmic power cloud or some such.

Two are calling me so I may read them out of order. One is the latest Glen Cook Garrett series. A combo fantasy and Gumshoe series. I must say though that the artist blew it badly on the cover of first book. The Dwarves were packing machine guns. Thur ain't any in the book--too far back in tech.

And the second book is the last in a trilogy, I love the first two but I'm afraid something is going to happen to the hero in this last one. He's fighting his self from another dimension.

Oh, speaking of Alan Dean Foster and the Flinx books. In the last one he-Foster not Flinx- does something writers are not suppose to do. The bad guys have some very hight tech they got from somewhere, not really explained. Flinx's ship was specially made for him, by a group of aliens no one but him knows can do things like build space ships. It has security and abilities above that of the average space ship but these guys found it and boarded it easily. All they said was they had higher tech, no devices were shown, no other explanation given. I must say that I felt a little cheated.
 

quote:

---

Could be I'm confusing him with someone else who has been around for years. He's been a diplomate and a James Bond type of spy. The books are written in a humorous manner. I thought the "Warrior's Apprentice" was about his start, his first adventure.

---

I think you've got the right series. At 17, Miles hasn't quite worked up to diplomacy, yet. Just his own, very illegal, mercenary fleet. (Under an assumed name.)
 

Moving on to R Ludlum~ 'The Bourne Supremacy' (re-read after 20 years),

Gave up halfway through K Follett~ 'The Man From St. Petersburg' (not impressed)

Recently finished J Butcher's 'Dresden Files ~ Changes' (read the whole series... highly recommend this to everyone.)

Has anyone read any Octavia Bulter beyond 'Wild Seed'? I enjoyed that one, but I can relate to Meredith's comments about the 1st hundred pages.

Thinking about re-reading some of my old and recently unboxed RA Salvatore books such as 'Demon Wars' through 'Mortalis'.

[This message has been edited by DRaney (edited November 29, 2010).]
 

But two books do stand out:

Frank: The Voice, James Kaplan. This is a biography of Frank Sinatra, the first really serious one, maybe. (A lot of what went before were tell-alls, reminiscensces by friends and family, or things that dealt with one aspect or another of the Sinatra life and mythology.)

Though I have a couple of beefs, like that it's the first of a two-volume set (and I know of lots of sets where the second volume never surfaced)...and also that there's a good deal of "should have been," or "must have" in the comments (if something is supported by evidence, it wouldn't be referred to in that way---and if it isn't, it shouldn't be there)...I'll still recommend it to all.

Sinatra is not one of my favorite celebrities---he struck me, when I was a kid, as an arrogant jackass---but he was an artist of great talent and he led an interesting life. This book lays it out---or, at least, it lays out part of it.

Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and The International Hunt for His Assassin, Hampton Sides. This one turned up while cleaning---I'd had it awhile and read it just before Thanksgiving---and was sorry I hadn't read it sooner.

This tells an extremely interesting story---some of which I'd heard before, others of which were new to me---and tells it in an interesting way. It does have the rather odd habit of referring to the assassin by the name he happened to be using at any particular time along the way---but his identity, or guilt, is not in doubt here.

I'll recommend this as a good model for a non-fiction book.

*****

Another thing that I didn't read, but watched, was the 1927 movie Metropolis---I'll bring it up here because it's of some importance to the history of movie making, as well as having a profound influence on science fiction writing as well as science fiction film-making.

This version is a recently-restored print---some long-missing footage turned up in Buenos Aires recently, though, maddeningly, some scenes are still missing. There's a new score, adapted from the original score at the 1927 premiere. If you've only seen earlier versions (say, the "disco" version put out by Giorgio Moroder in the 1980s), you really haven't seen it---it's beautifully photographed, all the more so in this version (though some restored scenes are heavily scratched-up) and makes more sense plotwise than the truncated versions.

The movie was the pioneer of SF filmmaking---the futuristic citiscapes, the mad scientists, the robots, the underclass-and-overclass struggle---and a lot of it also spilled out into the written form of SF (a lot of big-time stories use almost the same plot and a lot of the themes).

I taped it (actually, DVD-R'd it) off Turner Classic Movies when they premiered it for broadcast in America...I've been looking for the DVD or Blu-Ray of it, which ought to be even better...probably if I don't find it locally, I'll buy it somewhere offline.

In any case, look for this version---accept no substitutes.
 

I think I mentioned it before. It's the third and last book in this series- I haven't seen much less read a trilogy in years-and I was and still am afraid of what is going to happen to the MC when he has to fight his evil "twin". It is the last book after all.

His "twin" has him in his power now. Of course the" twin" doesn't know what the original Gerard has learned but he also has some people he can hold hostage. Oops, didn't think of that in the beginning.

And I think Metropolis is on DVD. I saw in listed in my paper last week. And a month or three ago I heard about those scenes being found. I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing, even what they had and I've thought about watching it.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited December 05, 2010).]
 

quote:

---

And I think Metropolis is on DVD.

---

I saw a new DVD listed today for "Dark Metropolis". I have no idea if it is related, something new or another oldie
 

For a book I'm not sure I want to read I'm going through "Wizard Squared" way too fast.

The problem is the writing. Mills is too good. I think it's her first three books but I need to double check about that...need to check out her web site but if it is wow. She might be one of the better writers I've read in the last six months, maybe 12.
 

Even if it is the movie in question, again, there are competing versions. There's the short version that's circulated in English for years (something of a botch cut-up---one character's name is misspelled in the titles). There are variants of that one all over the place. Then there's the 1980-something Giorgio Moroder "disco" version. There's the 2000 or so restored version, where missing scenes (some present in the 2010 restoration) are indicated with titles and blank spaces.

But I know this one is, or is about to be, out on DVD---in the commentary around this new restored version, they said it was. If I don't find it locally before then, I'll probably wait till the holidays die down to send for it.
 

I'm also reading Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lyn Truss
Who thought a book on punctuation could be so entertaining?
 

The first 200 pages felt slow to me, because I'm one of those people that doesn't care what color people's hair is, and Cronin does a lot of characterization by description. However, it isn't a bad thing. He tells a lot about the characters' backgrounds, so you get to know them very well, albeit through their stories rather than their actions. It isn't my preference, but it still works. After about 200 pages, however, the pace picks up more. I can't wait to keep reading!
 

I have the word short in quotations because his interpretation of the word short is not always the same as what most people think of short. He stated that his wife and someone else had a chuckle over it.

Anyway, his first story actually is short. It reminds me of older stories written probably before he wrote his first real story-novel. But I also thinks it breaks some of what is today considered rules of writing. I kinda winced at some of what he wrote. Not that that made it bad just not how stories are generally written today.

The second story in the anthology is long. I love Weber's writing. Not only is it good but you cam learn stuff. Like did you know there were "timberclads" during the civil war? Now I will have to look it up because I'm not sure if that term references the normal ships or as it sounds they were a special design.

I think I am done with YA fiction for a while and on the look out for something else to read.
 

quote:

---

So, um. I guess that means you didn't like MATCHED?

---

Reading my comment again I realize it comes across rather peevish. That was not my intention. While I didn't particularly like MATCHED, the book itself did not turn me off of YA. MATCHED simply comes at the end of a mini-YA marathon for me: THE CHRONICLES OF PRYDAIN (all 5 books), THE GOOSE GIRL, GRACELING, ALANNA (The First Adventure),and THE BLUE SWORD.

Of all those, McKinley's THE BLUE SWORD was my favorite. Lloyd's books came in a close second - I found Taran to be a wonderful character and enjoyed watching him grow throughout the series. I had read Pierce's ALANNA years ago when I was in middle school and decided to re-read it as an adult. I still enjoyed it after all those years. I personally found GRACELING and MATCHED somewhat slow moving and didn't find the protagonists particularly interesting. I did enjoy Shannon Hale's THE GOOSE GIRL, it was a well-written and charming fairytale retelling.

So, that is why I think I am done with MG/YA - 10 books in a row with protagonists under 18 was quite the banquet.

 

I almost exclusively read YA/MG, but I do go on benders on certain authors sometimes, and then find I need a break.

Right now my kids and I are busy trying to read/listen to everything Diana Wynn Jones has ever written, it's taking a while! But it's an enjoyable ride (I'm on book four in Chrestomanci Chronicles, EXCELLENT. The Lives of Christopher Chant is this one. We are listening to the follow-up to Howl's Moving Castle, called The House of Many Ways, also excellent. The voice talent is superb.)

I mentioned that I was reading "Worlds Of Weber", and that I was learning something.

One story might have been more historical fiction than SF except for the fact that in it Captain John Paul Jones fought for the English against America. I should have suspected something when he was introduced as Captain Sir John Paul Jones. But in the story he picks up some Intelligence data by accident which allows him to attack a French fleet sent to help America. During that battle he tells the French Commander "I have not yet begun to fight".

2.Finished Cloud Atlas and have to say I found it painful.

The writer can turn a pretty phrase, absolutely. But the book is hard to read, harder to stay connected to. It stops abruptly after each character, jolting into six different characters. Each one is harder to get into than the last, climaxing with one that is so long and so in its own thick, dialect that it is almost unendurable. The story/book then returns to each character in reverse order, jolting the reader back to finish their tales. However it fails to answer many questions and again goes into dull detailed accounts that hover. Each, as well as the whole of the character arcs together, offers no resolution that ties up these stories satisfactorily.

This book was recommended by several intellectual writers, but I found it depressing in message, nihilistic, preachily postmodern, and existentialist.

For all the praises it seems to have garnished, its message is that there is no point, no lasting joy: a very defeatalist work.

I personally prefer to be inspired, which is one of the things I love the most about great sci fi and fiction.

I set this book in the recycling bin gently, wondering at such a skilled writer with such a case of depression, not wanting to kick him. (He has a right, of course and I would not deny him that, to write what and as he wishes.) But also, not wanting to be infected by his malaise.

[This message has been edited by lostdog (edited December 20, 2010).]
 

Just finished reading CORONETS AND STEEL by Sherwood Smith, author of INDA (which OSC has praised, and which I haven't read, yet, but intend to). CORONETS AND STEEL is a modern version of a "Ruritanian Romance" and it's quite fun. Very light touch of fantasy--so light, it almost doesn't qualify as fantasy--and plenty of excitement, adventure, intrigue, and so on.
 

LOVED. BOTH.

Stardust starts out with a lot of telling, to be specific fairytale story telling. But it works beautifully, I think, to set up the enchanting tale that follows. I loved it. I am curious what others, who have read this book, thought, especially about the opening telling.
Although it is rather old world, I grew up loving the voice of a fairytale narrator, and still do.

Ender's Game goes to a war-setting that I am usually not big on, but the main character is so compelling and the writing so polished, I was in. The author had me at hello, as they say. And I was completely satisfied with this read.

[This message has been edited by lostdog (edited December 29, 2010).]
 

Just about to finish Lois McMaster Bujold's CETAGANDA. More great fun with Miles Vorkosigan getting himself into and then out of situations that require his particular blend of genius and improvisation.

Starting Robin McKinley's PEGASUS. Too soon to tell.
 

It starts off promising enough. I've yet to hit the violent parts.

It reminds me of BATTLE ROYALE by Koshun Takami. I am rather excited to see how they compare and what Collins is going to do differently (since some things are fairly similar).

[This message has been edited by Foste (edited December 29, 2010).]
 

Right now I'm reading two books. I started the second because I was reading the first one too fast.

Glen Cook's "Gilded Latten Bones" the latest in his Garrett series.

Two things about it. One is that its starts with very short chapters, one to two pages long. I don't recall him doing that with the previous Garrett books. In this case it made it a little hard to get into it with all the breaks. But after awhile the chapters got a few pages longer and it appeared to be the same old writing that drew me to his Garrett books.

I said appeared because of the second thing. With those short chapters it didn't feel like Cook's writing. That could be because of the short chapters or because it isn't his writing. This is just a suspicion but a few months ago a long time pro writer who has ghost written a number of novels, said he had just finished a fantasy for a pro writer. No names and no hints besides that it was fantasy. And I think this pro has used short chapters before. He is suppose to be very good at sounding or writing like other writers.

Shoulder shrug, I will more than likely never know but I will keep reading it and will enjoy it. Even if I was to ask the pro he wouldn't tell me that I guessed right and probably would refuse to even say I was wrong if I am.

Second book. Is "Brooklyn Knight" by C.J. Henderson. Besides the fact the there's another C.J. out there this guy-gal seems to be new. Mike Resnick likes him as does William Shatner. But I'm not too sure. The writing feels more like its for YA or even younger. He seems to break some writing rules that makes me wonder how he got published. Of course part of that might be that he has disproved one of the writing rules I always say. Start with short sentences. This guys' first sentence is four lines long. Of course that is a sort of pre prologue but the main books starts with a rather long one too. Its part dialoque though. And the writer takes a while to get into the story, there's a lot of socializing and a tour of New York city first. Of course long time pros have done openings like that too, so that might be okay. I will finish it because its not that bad. If I'm right about the bad writing, the mistakes aren't that glaring. I may not have noticed if I hadn't been working on some of the same type of things.

One note: I'm starting to grow amazed at how much information I've absorbed, and how much I read in a book is already known to me. Does it add to the depth of a work? Yes, conditionally, but it's getting harder to find surprise in non-fiction...

Dupes: How American's Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century, Paul Kegnor. Actually, there's little that's new to me here---mostly a matter of fine details and cited sources---but it's nice to have it all laid out in order.

Efrem Zimbalist: A Life, Roy Malan. No, not the guy from 77 Sunset Strip, that was his son---this one was a famous violinist (and the father of that one). It's a couple of years old but I spotted a copy the other week. In this case (unlike the above), I'm a little surprised by what I actually knew about the classical music world, and what was familiar to me---but also surpised at how little I knew about Zimbalist himself, particularly how long he lived and when he died. (This volume was written by an adoring student, though, and a more thorough bio may come someday. I'll make do with this.)

The Invisible Harry Gold: The Man Who Gave the Soviets the Atom Bomb. The spy business is equal parts danger and dullness---real-life spies, like Harry Gold, are seldom as interesting as the likes of James Bond. This tells the story of a man who, well, like the subtitle says, gave the Soviets the A-Bomb (or at least the info needed to build one). Interesting account---evidently, when Gold decided to come clean, he told everything---but Gold's motivation still puzzles me. (Also, what I know already comes into play, not just about the A-Bomb or the Manhattan Project, or leftist spying---but a man mentioned on one page plays a prominent role in several chapters of Asimov's autobiography.)

The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy, Bill Carter. Some of you may remember a book (and cable movie) called The Late Shift, by this same writer. This is the inevitable sequel, the (largely) inside story of what happened and where it all went horribly wrong. One of those sequels that's even better than the first one. (It'd be hard not to know some of this stuff---it played out in headlines while it was going on.)

*****

I spent some time watching the movie Despicable Me. It's no Pixar product, and I can poke holes in the plot and continuity easy enough---but I like the characters and the situation, and that's more than enough for me. (For some reason, probably encroaching middle age, the idea of a single parent adopting kids resonates with me---so much I've tried shoving some similar things into my recent writing.) Besides, there's a lot of well-drawn background stuff and in jokes that delights me when I catch a glimpse of them. I've watched it through several times already.

*****

You may recall I was looking for a Blu-Ray edition of the latest edition of Metropolis. You may be happy to know I found one, and watched that through several times as well. Like I said, take a look---so much visual SF derives from the images therein.

*****

I say "you may be happy to know." Or I may be boring you. How would I know?
 

I think some would find this book boring, but there's enough suspense to keep me interested. Good descriptions and Jack has made up a rather full history which I find interesting.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited January 14, 2011).]
 

I'm also reading Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson. The second in a series (The Malazon Book of the Fallen Series). Very complicated. In fact, I'd say that if you can't devote at least a half an hour a day to reading, you should probably avoid this book. The reason being because there are so many subplots to follow that if you aren't reading it a lot, you'll probably get lost, like I have. Still, that's the way this guy writes, and he's great at creating worlds and mood, IMHO. And many of the reviews say that once you get to the last third of the book, you can't put it down, even if you wanted to.
 

Just read two Iain M Banks novels, both of which came highly recommended:
Look to Windward and
Use of Weapons.

I have quite liked Banks' novels in the past as being a little different than more standard SF fare, however I wasn't sufficiently impressed by these to go recommending them wildly to others. Look to Windward is a little too reflective for my current tastes - I think I've had enough of reading about ennui for a while. Use of Weapons is an example of experimental structure risking reader confusion - the plot diverges in forward and reverse time from the start of the novel, alternating with each subsequent chapter. If at first you don't realise this, it becomes so confusing that the entire book could easily be preemptively shelved. It's a cool idea which could have yielded a stronger payoff in the end than it did.

Both are early novels of Banks, so possibly precursors to when he really hit his stride. Either way I'd put them somewhere between Good and Not Impressed.
 

I must say that "Rob" has a very nice looking hair-do with long red hair.

But the book has a twist ending I wonder if the MC is more than she claims to be. First Person and she keeps giving out slight hints that she is something more than human. Is there a Trickster in the Hawaiian Pantheon? And she has been a sort of neighbor to someone who looks like an American Indian and whose father eats venison even though she is probably form Hawaii. Of course she could have moved to the states where she meant her friend. But I shall see.

The series is called Trickster and the MC's name is Trixi Short for Trickster maybe?

Not sure about some of the theology in the book but that seems to go with the territory these days.

Not a bad story so far- a bit over one third- and not bad writing.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited January 21, 2011).]
 

Pathfinder is an intense book about a kid who finds out he can go back in time with the help of his friend. The best thing about this book is it completely ignores all the common rules about time travel paradox and causality.

The Lost Gate is about a kid born into a family of mages in the 1990's/2000's, he was believed to be a powerful mage based on his parentage but until he was 13 he didn't show any sign of magic. Then he finds out he's a gatemage which is forbidden for any of the magic families to have. He has to run away from his family or be killed, and the book follows him on his various adventures trying to live on his own and learn how to become a gatemage, without breaking too many laws along the way. This book is possibly my favorite one by OSC, it's funny and moving, and action filled. I love his fantasy's and I'll be fiending for the next one in the series for 2 years or so.
 

The ones I've recently read include all of the books in the Chrestomanci series, plus a short story collection featuring the same characters, and The Pinhoe Egg, which is set in the same universe and features the main character Eric Chant from the first Chrestomanci book (the characters overlap some throughout all four or five of those books.)
We also did the audio book of The House of Many Ways, very enjoyable voice talent, and audio of Enchanted Glass. My primary caution with her books, particularly evident in audio, is that they tend to be slow burns. They're not going to grab you by the throat, but they're lovely stories told in interesting ways with interesting magic and compelling characters.

I also read I am Number Four, which is coming out in a movie soonish. It's an interesting sci-fi. There's some online discussion/controversy about the book as it's written by someone then marketed through what some are calling a "scheme" - another author selling rights and supposedly paying the original author pennies. I have no idea, but it's a YA sci-fi and there's precious little of that so I read it. Nice story. Enough tension and interesting features, not too crazy on the action end. Reminded me of The Warrior Heir, but I liked the writing a little better in this book.

I read Life As We Knew It, which is a future dystopia about the moon being hit by an asteroid and coming closer in orbit to the earth, and the massive catastrophes that result. Very interesting story, told 100% first person journal-entry style. I loved the style, and enjoyed the story. It was a much smaller story than I figured, I kept expecting some big grand event to take place, but really it's also a small, close story about a teen and her family and how they survive in crazy circumstances. It's also YA Sci-fi. I recommend this one, but warning that the story is a bit of a downer, I found it tiring to read after a bit and am glad to have moved on, mostly just because it seemed so *real.* I suppose that's a sign of the writer's skill, eh? There are other books out in the series but I'll take a break before (if) reading them.

I also just finished The Comet's Curse by Dom Tesla, a radio personality in Colorado. It's a YA sci-fi, set on an "escape ship" leaving earth after a catastrophe (by this point I'm starting to wonder if there are ANY YA sci-fi books that aren't categorized as post-apocalyptic or disaster or dystopias. Sigh) has caused everyone on earth to be afflicted by a horrible disease that will kill them after age 18. So a crew of 251 15 and 16 year olds are sent into space to escape the disease and recolonize another planet. This is the first in a series. I didn't love the storytelling style (interleaved narrative with present-day and flashbacks, quite a lot of "telling" to the audience. It felt like it was written in a style appropriate for a younger reader, telling us things that we could intuit from the text just fine. I think it's just the writer's style, though, as the choice of 15 and 16 year old protagonists puts it smack in the center of the YA genre.) Story was just so-so. I don't recommend it, but I'm glad I read it because I am certain my stories are at least as good as this one.

I'm now just starting to read Shipbreaker, which is up for some awards this year. It's another future dystopia (le sigh) set in coastal Florida where the mc is a boy who helps break down huge old rusty oil tankers to get their parts. The storytelling is EXCELLENT and is a fantastic study in how to communicate a lot about an unusual environment/different world via basic dialogue and narration, without resorting to blocks of exposition. He also uses a lot of slang and unusual terms, which makes it challenging to read but also interesting to see how the terms are introduced and how you can figure out what is meant by them. So far I'm really impressed, but not far enough to say more than that. I think the writing is fantastic, though, so I'm glad even though it's another intense dark seemingly depressing future story.

Now I am reading WOTF vol 26 (ok, I'm a little late). Just finished Skadder's excellent story and will read Brad T's tonight.
 

Hmm, sounds like even OSC is getting into Urban Fantasy. I'm going to have to look for the "The Lost Gate", may have to order that one too. Even though come to think of it I may have seen it somewhere.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited January 23, 2011).]
 

Highly highly recommend.

I'm not sure about a couple of points in Garrett's private life though. He's having problems with the love of his life and she is in a state that a lot of guys probably suspect of their loves but it's true in this case. It's taken a turn I don't remember being mentioned before. Everyone seems to think another woman would be better for him.
 

Also started "Pathfinder" by OSC; having a hard time getting into it which is unusual for me when reading his work.

Lis
 

This is the first in a series, and promises a lot more interesting stuff in subsequent books. But it doesn't leave me hanging--there's enough resolution to satisfy. I really hate cliff-hanger books.

[This message has been edited by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (edited January 31, 2011).]
 

Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon. I liked this for more than just the space opera elements; it's got the sort of blend of SF that I dig: a bit of military, a bit of business, a bit of spacecraft. While I read the next book my wife read this one (in one night) and has gone and bought the rest of the series. Recommended

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. An oddball book (some of the character names are a laugh in themselves) which nonetheless has a great play with time travel, verisimilitude, narrator pov, the reality of fictional characters, and a bit of literary and poetic silliness besides. Having read Jane Eyre previously is not required but will only add to the fun. A couple of possible editing errors or minor plot holes are present but easily overlooked. Recommended
 

Actually, it's only two books, autobiographies, both.

(1) The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1, Samuel L. Clemens. This was a bestseller, and very hard to find---I finally had to order it off Amazon-dot-com to get a copy. All the more surprising, what with the writer being, well, dead for over a century.

This is the first time the autobiography has been assembled in anything resembling the way Clemens wrote it---or even how he intended it to go. (He also wanted them to wait a century to publish, but they didn't pay attention to that, either.) Clemens wrote / dictated it stream-of-consciousness-style, apparently. It's chock-filled with vignettes about this and that, ranging over the whole of his life---and often the stories are very funny.

Clemens is a lot easier to take if you don't have to read him for school. And, given the nature of his, er, commentary, you probably won't find this on the school reading list anytime soon...

The other book is:

Life, Keith Richards. You wouldn't think he'd even remember much of what he went through---but he confronts that issue boldly on the dust jacket flap, and we're go from there. You know how these "celebrity" memoirs are often just something dashed off or dictated to a ghostwriter...but, here, the book is fairly substantial and the "voice" is constant throughout. Richards (and his collaborator) may not tell all, but they tell enough. And I wish somebody had explained open chord tuning to me like Richards does.
 

Keep forgetting to post this so even though I'm half way through the book I finally get to it.

Mike Shepherd's "Redoubtable". Its the eighth in a series about one Kris Longknife. She keeps getting into trouble even though she tries not to...she cares too much and ends up beating up the bad guys or stopping a murder spree, pirates etc. Sometimes it's not her fault, like her first assignment and when she just happens to be in the right spot to stop an assassin.

Not a bad space opera series even though the writer did something in, I think fourth book, that writers aren't suppose to do. I mean in the storytelling area not in the writing area.

And I am slowly reading Card's Character and viewpoint book. I should pick it up more often but at least I'm doing some reading in it.
 

quote:

---

Not a bad space opera series even though the writer did something in, I think fourth book, that writers aren't suppose to do. I mean in the storytelling area not in the writing area.

---

Could you elaborate? I'd like to know if I'm likely to do whatever this is too.

quote:

---

Could you elaborate? I'd like to know if I'm likely to do whatever this is too.

---

At first I wasn't sure because it's a major spoiler but I could e-mail it to you. If you don't mind the spoiler.

I should add though that not everyone may agree with me on this subject. Other writers have done it and I have been involved with message board conversations about those writers. Most of those who commented didn't appreciate it.

If I send the E-mail, you may understand better.
 

I just finished reading my first book in a year, first other than my own during editing and such. I used to read books upon books. But since kids, and learning to write, I havent been able to finish book. I either get drawn off, then havent felt the need to go back and revisit the book. So many books with bookmarks in them. And a ton of books I have started I just quit, not interested, or found myself editing them as I went along. I was reading this book and a line come up, "Then God have mercy on you, and May God have mercy on us all." I closed the book, and refused to read further. But the funny thing is, the book I finished, had nearly the same line, but I read on. I guess the difference, in the first, it felt like B-rated movie, the 2nd the one I finished, I felt it.

So,the book I finished and left me wanting to read more: Enders Game.

Yeah, I know, should have read it before, but hadnt. Made it through the entire book, never felt the need to edit. And only 1 chapter glassed me over a little, the political stuff(The brother and sister chapter).

Good stuff.

[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited February 13, 2011).]

[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited February 13, 2011).]
 

quote:

---

Wait a minute...you haven't read any books, other than your own, in an entire year?

---

Pretty much. I havent made it through any, completely, not that I recall, some books on writing being the exception. Well, I have finished several books by skipping large sections at a time, sometimes chapters. There might be some I missing in the year, but I guess, my true point was, that Ender's Game, was first book in a long time, I didnt want to stop reading.

[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited February 13, 2011).]

[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited February 13, 2011).]

[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited February 13, 2011).]
 

I don't read nearly as much as I used to but I do usually finish those I start. I have set aside a certain time to read each day and that's it no matter how good the book is or how much I want to do something else like write. Well, I have gone over a quite a few minutes since the book was good and my wife was on the computer with her craftings anyway, but it's still within that time frame.

Of course maybe it's the books you have been choosing not all writers, and/ or plots, are good.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited February 13, 2011).]
 

quote:

---

Actually I think Tiergan didn't say he didn't read any books but that he hadn't finished any. Except for that one. But I can see how people can change and their tastes change also. Or in Tiergan's case he may have found something that interests him more...Tiergan you can agree or disagree of course since I'm sort of speaking for you

---

That pretty much sums it up. I try to read all the time, but prefer to write and only a few books seem to draw me in to finish them, and it seems very few in deed have got me to want to read each word and not a put it down.

I use to devour books, epic fantasies. Buying a series or trilogy at a time and reading them in a weekend. Then kids came, and work rose up, I couldnt devote 4 hrs a sitting. And I found myself not caring if I ever got back to those characters in those stories. Throw in the learning the rules of writing, and my self editor kicks in. So with limited time, I have a rule, if I find myself editing in my head more than reading, not the book to waste my time with. And so forth. It is more to do with me then books out there I am sure.

But it was nice to read a book again that had me sneaking a peak during work(I am my own boss, so not all bad) and also left me with that feeling I got years ago, when reading.

[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited February 13, 2011).]
 

I have found that the best thing I can say about a book lately is that I look forward to getting back to it, because I haven't found a book I couldn't put down in a long time.

In fact, for most of the books I finish, all I can say is that I am willing to come back to them.

I recently finished PATHFINDER by OSC, and was pleased to find that not only did I look forward to getting back to it after I had put it down, but that I was willing to keep reading it instead of putting it down. (Not "couldn't put it down," but "willing to keep reading"--at least half of the books I finish I have to put down every so often.)

I hope that makes sense. It's a little frustrating to not be able to really dig into a book any more and come up hours later surprised at how much time has passed without you even noticing.
 

quote:

---

I'm with Tiergan--the more you know about writing and editing, the harder it is to be willing to invest time in a book, and the harder it is to find books worth investing that kind of time in.

---

Then I must be getting better at those things. I'm having a terrible time getting through Robin McKinley's PEGASUS. Often because I find myself stopping and wondering why she did that.
 

The reasons:

• Starts with a long info dump (two whole chapters)
• Excessive and unnecessary flashbacks. We're not talking about stuff that happened before the story started. But a flashback in say chapter fifteen about something that should have happened (and been shown) in chapter 13.
• Very unsatisfying ending. Apparently, there's a book two--next year. This one literally feels like someone said, "Well, that's about 400 pages. We'll stop there."
  

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited February 18, 2011).]
 

That one be "Ghost Of A Chance". The first in a new series by Simon R. Green. Like his other three, its rather macabre even though not as many of those types of scenes as usual. I think there was only one, actually.

This one is about a team of Ghost hunters in England. Their HQ is in the Palace, the Prime Minister may or may not know about them depending.

Good writing-which is one reason I read it so fast- but in this case I'm not totally sold on the storytelling. I hope that makes sense. I will probably read the second one whenever it comes out but it's not one I will be eagerly waiting for.

I said this is his fourth series but these are his newer ones, I think he has two older ones. "Deathstalker" and "Fisher and Hawk". Never read "Deathstalker" but loved Fisher and Hawk or is it Hawk and Fisher? Anyway, he did only a small handful of those novels. I thought he had one out I haven't read but I saw it once and can't find it again.

Second book is "Blood Memories" It's one of the few vampire series I decided to read. It's by Barb Hendee--half of a married couple who write another series I do read. Speaking of that I thought I bought one in that series but can't find the book now.
So I am taking my time in reading Blood. I bought it months ago--the second one is out already--but decided I didn't feel like reading it then. But it's the next on my list so I decided I better start it at least. Not sure if I recommend it or not. If you like Vamps and the MC is one... you will probably like this one even though it changes the Vampire legend, which is not unusual these days.

I've noticed a wide variety of reading material here. No one seems to read the same books as I do. Which isn't bad or good but still I go hmmm. Some of the nonfiction listed I wouldn't mind reading, but for the time it would take away from my writing.

No one that is except two people. One is reading Butcher and another person stated on my blog that there were reading one book I listed.

Oh yes still reading Card's Viewpoint book.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited February 18, 2011).]

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited February 18, 2011).]
 

The Book is titled "Masques" . I would recommend it if you like fantasy. No elves and such but there is magic and a mystery and intrigue.

And even though I probably won't read it for a while. I bought "Way of The Wizard" an anthology edited by John Joseph Adams. I sent in at least six stories when he was open for submissions. No surprise he didn't want any. But its the reason I can't send those stories to Fantasy Magazine.

What's interesting is that I'm also reading, Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass and Abercrombie does just about everything mentioned in that book. If the universe is trying to tell me something, I'll say 'point taken'.
 

I was an avid Simon R. Greene fan as a kid, Loved Deathstalker, REALLY loved Blue Moon Rising. I thought his books were the clever, exciting, and absolutely fun.

I tried rereading them as an adult, and thought they were just kind of stupid, to be honest. It's been a few years since I read them, so I don't remember what I specifically disliked, just that I thought, "Whoa, this guy can't write." I wonder what it is that changed so much about me that my reaction to the books changed so completely.

P.S. I'm not trying to imply anything insulting about you or your reading tastes. Just my personal reaction to him as a writer.
 

Lis
 

Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall---from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness, Frank Brady. Fischer wasn't by any means the only chess champion to go off the deep end---but it makes for an interesting read. (A knowledge of chess would be helpful, too.)

The Horses of St. Mark: A Story of Triumph in Byzantium, Paris, and Venice, Charles Freeman. This tells the story of the four hourses that once stood upon St. Mark's in Venice---and many other places here and there---and of the people and empires and countries that rose and fell around them. Excellent exploration of oft-forgotten history.

Known and Unknown: A Memoir, Donald Rumsfeld. I've tried reading some recent memoirs by political figures, but have had little luck with them. (I wasn't motivated to go beyond a couple chapters in ones by Karl Rove and Tony Blair and President Bush.) But this one covers more territory---Rumsfeld was active in government from the late 1950s on---and reads more like a history than a memoir. (I'm a couple chapters from the end, but I decided to include it in this month's stuff anyway.)

...and one oddity: Widgey Q. Butterfluff, Steph Cherrywell. I picked up this 'cause I've followed an online comic by the same artist...and it was worth it. Ostensibly a parody of those super-sweet Saturday cartoons, it's loaded with references and injokes that are likely to go over less sophisticated heads (really, it's intended for adults, I'd say). Funny book.

*****

Honorable mention: Ellery Queen. This is a vintage TV murder mystery show, 1975-1976, kind of the ancestor of Murder, She Wrote. I liked this when it was on then, liked it when I taped it off A & E in the early 1990s, and liked it when I turned up this DVD set a couple of weeks ago. Literate mysteries, vintage setting (1947 mostly New York), several continuing characters that play well off each other (the relationship between Ellery and his father the police inspector is particularly touching). To this day, I regret that there wasn't more to the series than what's on the DVD here. And knowing "whodunit" hasn't affected my pleasure at watching one bit.

"Ellery Queen," is, of course, the pen name used on a series of mysteries published from the late 1920s to the 1970s. I dug out several favorites (they've all been out of print since the 1990s), but haven't reread them yet.
 

Just now finished Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. Maz was the guy who may be most famous for his Daredevil and Batman runs with Frank Miller. But don't let the association with Miller fool you. This was the best book I've read in quite some time. HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It's perfect, from beginning to end. I haven't had a book hit me this hard in awhile.
 

What I've read/listened to so far:

Audio books:
BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS by Shannon Hale (YA Fantasy) - I did not finish listening to it. I simply felt no connection to the main character but I can see its appeal to a younger audience.

IF TOMORROW COMES by Sidney Sheldon - This was a nostalgia choice I remember being riveted to the TV set when the miniseries aired in the 80s.

E-books:
PRINCESS ACADEMY by Shannon Hale (YA Fantasy) - I enjoyed it more than 'Thousand Days' but I still feel her GOOSE GIRL was far superior.

BLACK UNICORN by Tanith Lee (YA Fantasy)- I got about 2/3 of the way through and just lost interest. I felt like the MC's storyline was taking a bit too long to develop, but I did enjoy the vivid prose.

VICTORIA AND THE ROGUE by Meg Cabot (YA Historical Fiction) - This book felt more like a guide of how not to write Regency/Historical Fiction. I know it is aimed at a teen audience, but I felt the author had no grasp of British Regency culture.

I think I need to start queuing some SciFi...

Now I'm going to disappear into WISE MAN'S FEAR.

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited March 09, 2011).]
 

So here we go.

Ender's Shadow-Orson Scott Card I wish I had waited a little longer, maybe a couple weeks after reading Ender's Game. It felt a little too much like Bean felt to similar Ender in the beginning, I think it was because the age and size issue. By 1/4 of the way through, the difference really showed for me. It is strange, the first chapter or scene is told through another pov, that we never see from again. I remember somewhere in this forum he talked about this scene in particular and tried from several pov's before finally choosing this one.

Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan - I read the first 2 books in the series, The Lightning Thief and the The Sea of Monsters, . Easy reads, but as my latest project is middle grade slanted towards upper middle grade, I wanted to see what was out there. I would recommend them if you like ya or middle grade reading, light and fun. It is very clear to see why they have become such a hit. Interesting characters, slight twist on the Greek Gods, and action.

The Graveyard Book - by Neil Gaimen - Dark, a triple homicide in a book that registers from adult to middle age. It was a little harder to read, and I felt some scenes weren't needed, but then by the end those scenes were needed. Again, I would recommend it.

Rangers Apprentice - John Flanagan - I read the first in the series so far, The Ruins of Gorlan. Again, middle grade here, but a series that has done very well. I would call it adventure fantasy and very easy read, smooth. I did find myself editing a little bit, some head hopping but still wanted to read more. Again, easy to see why it has become popular, undersized, runt of the litter, kid, takes steps to become hero.

laura anne gilman's "Pack Of Lies" Second in her PUPI series. PUPIs use "Magic" to investigate crimes committed by Talent or those who can use her form of magic-which isn't magic. Hmm, she's the second writer to say that. Wonder if there's a reason?

Anyway, first off the name of the book makes me wonder. "Pack Of Lies", the MC has started calling the group she works with her pack. When that finally connected, I thought "Oh oh". To top it off she has had a precog feeling of danger with them. And again to top it off from the first series we know that something bad is about to happen, without going into too much spoilers, there are minor Talents who have been brainwashed. Neither her nor her group are minor but in the first series there was a red hair girl that was caught and brainwashed, later she was released. As far as I noticed she never showed up a third time. And the MC of this book had red hair. As I mentioned before Bonnie the MC in this series was a minor character in the other series even though so far she hasn't met Wren the MC from the other series which is surprising. And when gillman mentioned the redhair girl I mentioned I wondered than if she was Bonnie. But, as I recall anyway, both disappeared from the story later.

Changing the subject somewhat Gilman seems to have contradicted herself. In the first series she gave the impression if not out and out side the New York police didn't except the reality of mythical animals that hang around NY but in this one they do.

Finally, she confused me. Not that isn't hard at times but the case the PUPIs are working on involves attempted rape. But up intill a certain point everyone was acting like the girl had been actually raped. Including a detail that has to do with magic and virgins. Again I won't explain more just in case someone wants to read it. You learn the case in the first page or two.

I think that's all.

I am also reading Simon Green's "The Good, The Bad, And The Uncanny". A Nightside novel. Not as macabre as some in that series...so far. But it also contents Green's sense of humor. A damaged Android wearing a Monk's robe, singing Gregorian Chants intermixed with hot Gospel songs. Just the way Green says it has me smiling.
The Nightside itself doesn't seem to be as mean in this one...again so far. Not that it's nice. Green also has contradicted himself a couple of times but only in very minor areas.

Jim Butcher has a blurb on the front cover but Green was around and a pro quite a while before Butcher I would think Green should be on Butcher's cover. Not that it's a big deal.

I thought up and partially written out a story that could take place in the Nightside even though I have my own world for it.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited March 12, 2011).]
 

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Recommend. The characters and setting are 3D, like you can reach out and touch them. The setting, 12 century England, is good research for my own book. I hadn't read any Follett and after reading lots a reviews thought this was a good place to start. The mini-series is good, pretty close to the book with casting right on. If you like that sort of thing, I did.

I love middle grade and YA so find it lots of fun to revisit classics or actually read them the first time.

Maniac Magee. Jerry Spinelli. Recommend. Fast and fun, read this aloud to my kids after I read it myself. I couldn't put it down and for someone not that into baseball and boys' antics, I was rivited.

A Long Way From Chicago. Richard Peck. Recommend highly. I laughed, I cried and I read this to my kids aloud. We have a baseline of characters to draw on when we read books like these. Grandma Dowdel, God how it seems we all knew someone like this and wish the world had more of her.

[This message has been edited by Grayhog (edited March 14, 2011).]
 

I loved THE NAME OF THE WIND.
 

"Dopplegangsters" by Laura Resnick

It's a humorous UF. dealing with a New York Actress-dancer who has gotten involved with a 300 plus year old wizard. I say dancer but she isn't the erotic kind even if the play calls for skimpy outfits.

Kinda busy opening but at the same time easy to understand. One thing though as far as I can tell this is the first one in the series but there was a previous adventure. Maybe it was a short story or for some reason they aren't listing that book.
Even though it's taking a little to get into the adventure we--that is the readers--are learning about the MC, her problems..her forgetfulness and her hopefully boy friend.

Oh, yes the title is accurate. If you like light dark UF stories I think you will like this one. Not as dark as some but still on the dark side. But I recommend it!

I may keep reading it only at these unforeseen circumstances which are not longer unforeseen.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited March 20, 2011).]
 

quote:

---

Meredith, I finished The Wise Man's fear and felt that it was delightful. If you are tired of the University part just be a bit patient. Little Kvothe will soon go out and explore the world.

---

Good! Because, truth to tell, I was a little tired of Kvothe the University Years even at the end of THE NAME OF THE WIND. Maybe that's why I'm having trouble with the beginning of WISE MAN'S FEAR.
 

Didn't really like the cover but with Charlaine Harris and Jim Butcher and one or two other writers, I thought it could be good. Not so sure now.

I've read over half the book and not sure if I can recommend it. The writings not bad but the Bear story wasn't humorous at all-yech in fact, and a couple others were borderline likable. I thought a story titled "Night With Al Gore" could be a humorous horror story. But while not bad, not good either.

Some readers may like the humor of those borderline stories more than I did.

And Jim Butcher's Dresden tale is still to come.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited March 27, 2011).]
 

I'm a little PO'd right now, as a matter of fact.

*Spoiler Alert*

We get so much of the University stuff in loving detail. It's being told as a memoir for heaven's sake and still we get told exactly what Kvothe had for lunch. I mean, I know he's supposed to have an excellent memory, but really?! But when he's brought up on trial for consorting with demons--that's just glossed over. When he finally gets out of that #$%* University, we're told that he's shipwrecked and robbed, etc., but none of that is shown. By the way, despite everything, he ends up practically naked, but he still has his lute. Of course, we're not shown how he accomplished that feat. After slogging through so much of what feels like unnecessary detail for the first 350 pages, to have the book skip over these real events is just annoying.

I'm really starting to hate that @#$* University.
 

So I started reading his first, STORM FRONT. I really wasnt going to read much, as I have a lot of writing to do, but its a pretty easy read, and better yet, its in first person which is something I am attempting with my latest piece. The idea of trying it is: its supposed to be easier getting into the characters heads, and thoughts. This is something I feel is missing from my writing.

As far as the writing of the book, I dont know how I feel. He likes character description, in info dump form. Had I put it up in the forum here, I would have been crucified. And he is doing the biggest cardinal no-no. He is withholding what happened in his past. He talks about, hints about and moves on under the guise of not wanting to think about it.

I am not bringing those points up to cause an argument. The info dumps on character description do turn my stomach a little. I have long decided its easier to do, and am willing to except some. The truth is very few authors if any dont break this rule, its just rules sometimes can be so damn aggravating. If you spend a full page trying to show that your MC is tall and strong with dark hair, and blue eyes, it better have more purpose than just trying to get the physical description of him/her in. Might be better to slip just the line in.

The with-holding. I dont know-I feel cheated. Maybe its because a lot of my characters have checkered pasts, lost lifetimes and everyone says, if he knows it, then the reader needs to know it. Its easy to create suspense by withholding. As a reader I dont mind, even enjoy it. As a writer, well, thats a different story.

quote:

---

As far as the writing of the book, I dont know how I feel. He likes character description, in info dump form. Had I put it up in the forum here, I would have been crucified. And he is doing the biggest cardinal no-no. He is withholding what happened in his past. He talks about, hints about and moves on under the guise of not wanting to think about it.

I am not bringing those points up to cause an argument. The info dumps on character description do turn my stomach a little. I have long decided its easier to do, and am willing to except some. The truth is very few authors if any dont break this rule, its just rules sometimes can be so damn aggravating. If you spend a full page trying to show that your MC is tall and strong with dark hair, and blue eyes, it better have more purpose than just trying to get the physical description of him/her in. Might be better to slip just the line in.

The with-holding. I dont know-I feel cheated. Maybe its because a lot of my characters have checkered pasts, lost lifetimes and everyone says, if he knows it, then the reader needs to know it. Its easy to create suspense by withholding. As a reader I dont mind, even enjoy it. As a writer, well, thats a different story.

---

Not sure if this will help how you feel about the writing but he's not the first pro writer to get away with breaking rules we can't. It depends on how well you do it. Dean Wesley Smith and I believe a couple of other long time pros have stated that you can break the rules once you know them. And even that you should break them when you reach that point. It helps to stretch us as writers. When you reach that point no one not even you can know. Only by what sells. I know one writer who sold his second story after he decided to break the not waking up in the opening rule. He did it on purpose, to stretch himself, and it worked for him. But a lot of us get yelled at when we try it.

As to Butcher's writing I didn't really notice the info dumbs that much. Either he does a good job at them or I was too much into the story to see them. I do that at times.

I have seen a few writers do The Withholding Thing. I think it depends on what is with held and how it is. I think it would bog down Butcher's story too much to go into great details at the beginning. We do know he had a troubled past and why the one guy with the sword hates him even if not every detail is given. For me it was enough. I was curious and hoped that it would be revealed in time...which it does... but it wasn't enough for me to loss interest in the story.

And like most writers Butcher improves with each book. So does Dresden. I think he's a bit whiny in the first book, almost like he's not used to pushing himself beyond what he thinks are his limits but he soon learns. I would think that by that time he would be somewhat used to doing that but not so much. You also get to see more of his kinder nature in later books.
 

quote:

---

And like most writers Butcher improves with each book. So does Dresden. I think he's a bit whiny in the first book, almost like he's not used to pushing himself beyond what he thinks are his limits but he soon learns.

---

Yeah, he is whiny, isnt he.

I just finished the book. It was a good book over all. And I will read more of his. While I didnt truly fall for the character, probably because he was whiny, even whimpy at times, I did like the world he created and the story flowed. And in the end he showed his strength.

As far as the writing: I finished the book which is more than I can say for most I have started. Some character description dumps, and some less then active sentences, and my hic-cup on withholding something under the guise of He didnt want to think of it. BUT, not enough for me to stop reading. Very few authors dont break the rules, and truth is I dont have a problem with it as long as the whole out performs the piece.

So what do I take away from the book, something I have been thinking of a lot lately. A perfect sentence doesnt make a good book, nor a perfect paragrpah, but a good story or good character does. And that is the most important part, the part I want to focus on more in my writing. Create the character, the world and let him go. I want to become less rule bound, and find my voice again.

[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited March 27, 2011).]
 

quote:

---

So what do I take away from the book, something I have been thinking of a lot lately. A perfect sentence doesnt make a good book, nor a perfect paragrpah, but a good story or good character does. And that is the most important part, the part I want to focus on more in my writing. Create the character, the world and let him go. I want to become less rule bound, and find my voice again.

---

Very wise, Grasshopper.

or Wise you are Skywalker.

Or I have heard pros say almost exactly the same thing. Don't try for the prefect sentence. It's almost impossible to write and if you do, more than likely you will lose the story. It has happened. Beautifully written prose has been rejected because the story is almost nonexistent. Of course I think there is a place for beautiful prose but not with the stuff we write. Which doesn't mean we write lousy sentences either.

Jim Butcher for me is like Dean Koontz -- the kind of author I pick up when I want a story that I know will entertain me through and will allow me to read when my mind is distracted.

The books are definitely improving as I am making my way through the series (kind of how I felt about Harry Potter). Perhaps that is typical of new authors embarking on a series.
 

I think the same is true for Seanan McGuire and her "October Daye" series. I haven't rad it yet but her latest haas been reported-by more than one person- to be her best yet...not only with the writing but the story also.

BTW, I love her name I wish I could use it in a story.

an addition here.

On the first page of this thread, the second post, you will see someone who doesn't like Butcher's writing at all.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited March 28, 2011).]
 

My info may be dated (I don't know how old the podcast is). I hadn't realized there were published dresden short stories.
 

They already have even though I haven't heard of that one,

But there's one on his main web site. I'll get the link tomorrow, its late right now.

And there are now maybe five anthologies with his shorts stories. Most are edited by P.N. Elrod with various titles. Like "A Dark Stormy Knight", "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding"

I almost said the books have his shorts but...
 

I'm half way through three and will probably make my way through them slower than he can write them.
 

I call this one the official site JB it has all types of interesting information. Inluding a forum with a writing section but last two times I tried I couldn't get on it. Wish I could play that role playing game they have. Wish he would be open to inviting other writers to write in his universe, of course that doesn't mean he would invite me.

But there is also this site. Its the one I first found a few years ago and the one I used to send Jim a few E-mails. He answered some of them. Evidently his sister runs it.

http://www.wizardsharry.com/dresden.html

Hmm, an addition here but Low and behold there's "Side Jobs" on the front page of his web site. So I had seen it there but not in person. Now I recall I thought it was his next one but that is "Ghost Stories".

But I wanted to say that I just finished a short story by him. A humorous tale about Dresden wanting a Day Off . It must have been written before "Turn Coat".

Anyway, it has one of the longest sentences I have seen a very long time. I wish I could post the thing here, it just goes on and on. I could see how someone could use it as an example of Butcher's awful writing but since its a humorous story I think he did it on purpose.

BTW Butcher has a Spiderman novel out.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited April 01, 2011).]
 

You might recall last month I mentioned watching the old TV series "Ellery Queen." Well, in the course of the watching, I dug out some old books by Ellery Queen and reread them. My copies are brown with age, mostly from sitting in a box in my roasting-hot garage for over twenty years. (I didn't find all of them...nor could I obtain brand-new copies, these books all being out of print since the mid-1990s.)

"Ellery Queen" was the pseudonym of Fred Dannay and Manfred Lee, with the conceit that their pseudonym was also the lead character in their third-person mysteries. For a time, they were the most popular mysteries in America. (The character in the books doesn't have much in common with the character on the TV series, though.)

One of the books I read was The Adventures of Ellery Queen. This was a collection of Queen short works. I enjoyed them, like a visit with old friends, and in all but one I'd forgotten "whodunit," but two things struck me in particular. (1) One of them had a character named Harry Potter, of all things. And (2), you might have seen me complain about the current status of "the 'N' word," as it's called...it doesn't come up here, but a number of other, er, "racial descriptions" do...and, despite my attitude, I found these descriptions disconcerting in the extreme.

The other Ellery Queen book I wanted to bring up was The Player on the Other Side. This is something of a mystery (more than that within the story), because I'm informed it wasn't written by the team of Dannay and Lee, but ghostwritten by well-known science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon---which gives it an unusual, Sturgeon-y flavor. (Why Sturgeon was ghostwriting an Ellery Queen book is something I've never figured out...others in that immediate era (the 1960s) were also ghostwritten by at least one other SF writer (and I've gotten two different names at two different times.))

Either way, it's well worth reading, as are many other Ellery Queen books...just take some of the older stuff as period pieces and you should be all right. Sometimes the mysteries and lapses can be kind of, well, odd (one had a plot turn on Ellery Queen not realizing the difference between raw newsreel footage and the edited final product), but, with a keen mind and a sharp eye for detail, you've got a good chance of fingering "whodunit" before the end.
 

Three that aren't listed, written by Jack Vance:

The Four Johns (1964), as "Ellery Queen" (also titled Four Men Called John, UK 1976)
A Room to Die In (1965), as "Ellery Queen"
The Madman Theory (1966), as "Ellery Queen"

I've been told there's a 4th written by Jack Vance but don't know what it might be offhand.
 

Barb has out a book by herself that I am also still reading.

This is the start of a second series by the two writers. I said a new series but it's like a part two of The Noble Dead series. I still think its the wrong name both because the series are about fighting the Noble Dead when they show up, and because they aren't Noble. But in this case Noble is an elitist or snobbish term.

In this one like the first series there seems to be a character who is helping but is actually a bad guy. In this one he shows up immediately while in the first series he shows up later.

If you like dark worlds you will like both series. I think the writing is better in this book but its not bad in the first few.

This is more a fantasy than UF even though there are vampires and such. Even though there are made up cities, I think the tech level is about 1700s maybe 1800s. They have wagons, carriages, crossbows, streetlamps, nice restaurants.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited April 07, 2011).]
 

I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Whenever I am at a used book sale, it never fails that there is someone grabbing every Cussler novel they can find.

Anyway, can someone please tell me that they get better than this novel? It was pretty bad. I felt like I was watching an episode of Scooby Doo with a big reveal of information that there is no way Dirk Pitt would have known it.

Also, I like a macho character in a novel -- you know, a man's man -- but in this novel it was ridiculous. Pitt meets a strange woman on a beach (she thought he was dead, but he was really just sleeping). He finds out she is a widow and when she starts to cry, he slaps her in the face. Then she sleeps with him on the beach.

Please tell me they get better. And no, the above are not spoilers. Something has to be pallatable to be spoilable.
 

quote:

---

Anyway, can someone please tell me that they get better than this novel? It was pretty bad. I felt like I was watching an episode of Scooby Doo with a big reveal of information that there is no way Dirk Pitt would have known it.

---

You have heard of ROFL, Rolling on Floor Laughing, yeah, I am.

Well first off, I am a big fan of the Dirk Pitt novels. Yes they get better, for a few, then worse.

I would say this, Clive Cussler can tell an entertaining story but, since joining this site, I have yet to finish one of his books, I am constantly finding myself editing it, or skipping large sections.

So, I dont really know what to say. Well, I like Scooby Doo.
 

I just started Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.

I want to get WWW: Wake by Robert J Sawyer. Anyone ever read this?
 

One thing occured to me. I remember from his website that Rothfuss teaches at a college or university. I wonder if that's why he's so fond of s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g out the sections where Kvothe is in that $(#)@ University and then cramming all the interesting stuff (when he's not at the University) together.

Needed something light after slogging through almost a thousand pages, so I started LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfield. Only two chapters in but I think I'm really going to enjoy this one.
 

quote:

---

I want to get WWW: Wake by Robert J Sawyer. Anyone ever read this?

---

Right now it works out good for me, as I am writing Upper MG so is always good to see what the market has.

[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited April 25, 2011).]
 

"The Ranger's Apprentice" sounds interesting I need to keep my eye out for it.

But right now I'm reading two books

The first one is "The Secret Miracle" edited by Daniel Alarcon. It the Novelist's Handbook. Kind alike a panel discussion on writing novels. There's about 15 to 20 different novelists in this discussion though. The two most famous are Stephen King and Amy Tan but there are a couple other well known writers. Some of the others have done only one novel. Basically it is just question like you would get at a panel discussion and a bunch of the writers answer each question. I say a bunch because not every writer answers every question. So far, about half way through, Amy Tan only responses to a few. King does a bit better.

It isn't what I thought it might be but I will read on. Another question was what they expected from the first chapter. I didn't read every response but it sounded like they basically said the same thing for that one. It has to hook the reader. One writer said it has to punch the reader in the stomach and have him on the floor howling in pain but when he gets up he asks for it again.

I will comment on the second book later.
 

I also got a copy of BLOOD OF THE ELVES which is on my "to be read" pile.
 

I played the PC game too. What's interesting though is that over here, after the fourth or fifth printing of the book they started putting "The book which inspired the famous video game" on the cover. I got it back in 2008 or so and they are still selling like hotcakes at my local bookstore.

Also recently finished THE BOY AT THE END OF THE WORLD, by Greg Van Eekhout. I was able to read an Advanced Reader Copy (felt very special about that, too!) It's a MG science fiction. There is almost nothing in that space, so I was excited to read the book. Very interesting story. Book opens with the boy being woken from some kind of stasis. The place he is, an Ark, is under attack and he and the robot who woke him quickly escape. Before long they meet up with a small woolly mammoth (who he calls Protein, which is ironic on many fronts.) The book follows the boy, Fisher, on his journey to try to find other humans in a very strange post-apocalypse US setting. Very very nifty, and the author does a great job in bringing together some details that middle grader readers (boys in particular) would find appealing about how the MC has to find his own food, learn what he's good at (he's a Fisher - he's good at fishing...he was awoken with all kinds of detailed memories about his specialty even while he can't puzzle out what has happened to his race.) It comes out in May and I also highly recommend. Style has quite a lot of education bent to it, this would be a great book for use in a classroom because of that.
 

Margaret Ronald's "Soul Hunt". One great example of storytelling. One day soon I may start a post on the writing section about the difference between writing and storytelling but she is good at both.

Just finished a scene where the MC has to swim in a reservoir to find a memory town. You have to read it to see what I mean, even though that's my term so as not to give away too much.

Its her third book in a dark, darker than some, Urban Fantasy world. The MC is a Hound, she can smell out anything or anyone. There's a reason for that even if she doesn't know it at first. Magic smells like gunpowder.

Anyway, I recommend the series. There's more about her on the Great Authors thread.

I forgot KayTi, I have seen "Clockwork Angel" and looked it over. And seems like I have seen the other title somewhere recently,

But it reminds me of that cult short film that was popular quite a few years ago. Something about a boy and his dog. Or come to think of it another book. Rats, can't think of the title now.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited April 29, 2011).]
 

Worth reading but I preferred the Farseer Trilogy and the Liveship Traders.

Next up Fevre Dream by George RR Martin.
 

quote:

---

So just finished The Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm. It's strange this one;

---

I've looked the book over but I don't recall why I decided not to read it, maybe it was too strange even though I am a fan of UF.
 

"Painless Grammar' By Rebecca Elliot, Ph.D

She wrote it for younger students. and that is evident how she speaks and the examples she uses, but she also explains certain things better than even the "Idiot's Guide To Grammar". And she points out that even though certain sentences are technically Okay, there might be better way to say it. I think that is helpful for a writer.

So if you are having problems with grammar try it. I don't know if it will do me very much good, nothing seems to, even though I have read the comma section twice and the "Wacky Words We Love To Misuse" section once. I will be reading both a lot of times as well as other sections.

It's a character study of an autistic individual told from a first person PoV. I found it to be very slow paced and rather dull at times, but that could be that the subject matter simply didn't fully draw me in. I also found the science-fiction aspects of it barely there - it was treated in a very cursory manner, as if an afterthought.

I suppose it was an okay read.
 

I'm currently reading Scalzi's sequel The Last Colony. Pretty good, but not quite as interesting as the first novel, at least not yet. I'm only 70 pages in, but Old Man's War had me hooked much sooner. Time will tell, I suppose.

Not sure what I'll get into after that. I just picked up an anthology of scifi short stories, so I'll probably give that a read first.
 

I think I have read other books by him or at least looked them over. I can't recall why I decided not to buy it though.
 

The Ghost Brigades is actually Old Man's War's sequel, so if you're not too into The Lost Colony, could be that you are missing a bit of the connection to the previous story and might like it better after reading Ghost. Zoe's Tale (or whatever the title actually is) is The Lost Colony told from the teenage daughter's POV, which was a good read (better than lost Colony for me, at least, because I write YA sci fi.)

I'm currently reading The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, a recommendation from someone here. Also reading a new short story by Sarah Prineas that she self-published (proceeds benefit a reading/literacy charity.) She's one of my favorite writers, was excited that she released a short ebook! I tell you, short stories are the way to keep readers hooked in between your big releases...
 

No one else has mentioned trying for it.

I thought it would have some good stories and a good chance to see what JJA likes. The first two stories are not the usual wizardry fare. Well, they are and they aren't. The basic plots are very well established but there are "ingredients" that gives them something of a twist. The second one has a very interesting tree. When it's writer mentioned a treehouse, in his remarks, I thought of Kathleen and here. A very interesting treehouse. Sorry I don't have the book handy so I can't give his name but he's not as well known as many in the book. He has gotten quite a few stories published even one in Lifepod or was it Castle pod. Another one that succeeds with all of the ones I fail at. But he is good.

And I had to come back to add something I forgot...From the second story we know about Meredith's little secret.

And JJA seems to like darker tales with dark endings...so far anyway.

I will add though that a couple stories I sent had that bit of a twist I mentioned but that probably was all I could say about them.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited May 18, 2011).]
 

I will be going to the library next week to peruse the 2 weeks fiction books and see what has come in (or returned) recently.
 

It's sort of like THE SIXTH SENSE (movie) in that now I know What's Really Going On, I have to go back and see if the author did it right.

And the writing is good enough that I'm willing to reread it almost immediately after I read it the first time (something I have NEVER done before).
 

It's the latest in his Remy Chandler series. Remy is an angel who has battle fatigue. After helping to put down the Rebellion of The Morningstar he decided he had had enough of war and came to earth to live as a human. Thousands of years later he is a PI who helps with strange happenings. It's rather dark and sometimes bloody but good writing and basically good stories.

Theology gets dumped on its ear at times as Sniegoski uses Biblical characters even though so far Sniegoski has kept away from Jesus and any of the Jewish pillars of faith.
 

Was disappointed to find out it wasnt really a stand alone novel. I knew there were other in the series, but didnt like where it was ended. I felt the need to buy the 2nd book immediately to keep the story going on. I still havent bought it yet though, and started another book I already had, so will have to see if I make it back there.

Am reading now Garth Nix, "Mister Monday"
 

Talk about breaking conventions. It's like looking at a huge medieval tapestry that spreads the length of an old castle hall, eyes jumping from one depiction and set of figures to another. The story just keeps going even when the book ends, multiple threads of the story left open, and some supposed major threads twisitng unexpectedly and cut short. A history, and equallly amoral and unpredictable.

I just finished the second book, A CLASH OF KINGS, this evening at over 720 pages. Still no resolution. Just history marching on; and per the introduction to A STORM OF SWORDS, history will back-track in its opening chapters. This book is over 900 pages long!

I'll read the next two on Kindle if I can stay with it.
(And this is making havoc with my own writing time--but it is joy to read something so well-written and surprisingly different for being superficially so commonplace: knights, knaves, kings and courtly intrigues).

I also read his three novellas in the same universe but which take place 100 years earlier. The first, THE HEDGE KNIGHT, I found to be a masterpiece.

As for Jim Butcher and his THE DRESDEN FILES, I read the first seven but got bogged down on number eight. Admittedly, I found my own novel THE KABBALIST greatly influenced by the concept of urban magician that I did not read any of his books after the first, STORM FRONT, until I'd finished writing the novel. I found them great fun, but the magic system unclear.

Respectfully,
Dr. Bob

[This message has been edited by History (edited June 22, 2011).]
 

Hmm, Dr. Bob, I hadn't really thought about Butcher's magic system being unclear but I think you have a point. It seems like he lets it out in piecemeal, there's no one place that really explains it all. There are some partial explanations in the first couple of books if I recall correctly. But at one point Harry gathers magic energy while riding on a motorcycle... I forget what number book that is in. And in another he "gathers" kinetic energy from a busy highway a few blocks away. I think that was Harry anyway, it could have been the MC in another writer's world. But as he did that I remember thinking good it looks like he may have taken a step upward to another level of magic use because he figured out something new. But no mention of any advancement. Or even if he can.

I've said this before but I still want to use that name as a character.

Anyway, I started reading this more because of circumstances but I kept reading it because it's hard to put down. I finally finish the last book I was reading, The Remy Chandler book... it wasn't bad at all except for two things I really wish the writer hadn't put in. One was back store but the other was put of the ending.

But back to "Late Eclipses" . Good story, GOOD Story. Funny thing was that after the first two or so chapters I ended up thinking "the writing isn't the best, but the storytelling is" Whoa, where did that come from? I can't point to why I think the writing isn't great. It's not bad, but it may have something to do with the opening. The MC is in a grocery store shopping. She just got paid big time and is looow on food so she, her room mate and a friend, are shopping. Not sure why the friend is there. He just shows up now and then. The room mate is... well you have to read the last book in the series and maybe the one before it. She is very unusual.

But I'm probably wrong about the writing, Seanan won the John W. Campbell award for best new writer.

I said the writing might not be the best but this series is my top number three or number four of all the UF books I read. The writer better not decide to halt the series like two or three others have done. One of those was my number two top UF series.

One last thing for those who have read any of my Bright Lights novel, this is the inspiration for it. I changed a bunch: Daye has been a PI and a Knight for years, she was married once and has a grown daughter who so far isn't doing much in the stories.. .to my disappointment..., Daye has a very powerful Fey Queen who doesn't like her much at all, she grew up with her mother who is now crazy... I'm still not sure what happened to her father but he isn't around at all. There are other differences. There is an Author in here but you might not recognize him especially since there seems to be a romance growing between these two. Plus she tends to be short on money.

The cover is great except I'm not sure about the expression on her face. But the artist knew what was in the book. And I just saw something in the background that makes it even better.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited June 26, 2011).]
 

quote:

---

But at one point Harry gathers magic energy while riding on a motorcycle... I forget what number book that is in. And in another he "gathers" kinetic energy from a busy highway a few blocks away. I think that was Harry anyway, it could have been the MC in another writer's world. But as he did that I remember thinking good it looks like he may have taken a step upward to another level of magic use because he figured out something new. But no mention of any advancement. Or even if he can.

---

Although I haven't read all of the Dresden short stories, I think you're mixing up Harry with a character in another series. Harry does use kinetic energy, but I remember it coming from his own motions rather than those of distant objects--with the exception of...let's call it ambient energy. Like all witches and wizards, he can give his power a boost by pulling from the energy around him, if he can focus on that energy well enough. That's the big trick for him, even as he develops his magical skills--he can't do much at all unless he can concentrate enough to exert his will.

To me, one of the most interesting aspects of The Dresden Files is that there isn't one magical system--there appears to be several that interact with each other. This might contain spoilers, so be warned...
Harry learns about different types as magic as he learns about the relationships between humans, the fae, and the various gods (plus some unnerving god-like beings that the no one wants to admit are real). In his universe, there appears to be soul magic (which may or may not be manipulated by gods and might include "faith magic"), wizarding magic (which might have descended from soul magic)) and fae magic (which might be dependent on the existence of souls in our world). Due to the limitations of first-person POV, however, we as readers aren't able to experience much more than Harry does--and he seems at least as confused as other witches and wizards do in regards to the nature of their powers.

Each witch and wizard in the Dresden universe uses magic without understanding exactly why or how it works, forcing each to develop a personal philosophy around its use.

This works for me. Can anyone here describe gravity without contradicting some physicist's belief of why and how it exists? What exactly allows one person to compose a complete symphony in his head while most of us struggle to accurately remember the chords to our favorite songs? Can you explain the physical differences between that musical genius and the average person? I don't think so; we all contemplate only as much as we feel we need to, and I wouldn't expect a decades-old human in an urban fantasy to possess a complete, scientific understanding of how the organic systems of magic functions. He should figure out what he needs to know to move on with his life.

This is partly why I'm hooked on The Dresden Files. The settings are as messy as real life, and the plot depends on characters learning about themselves and life in general as they struggle through each stage. Harry isn't the most reliable narrator, but why should he be? In the eyes of his people, he's a child for the first half of the series and dangerously idealist for much of the second half. This is true for many protagonists throughout the history of fiction.
 

Right now, I'm reading Asimov's I, Robot, a collection of short stories connected by a narrated interview. I'm appreciating the way the stories' writing style seems more modern than what he used in Foundation.
 

As to how magic works. Dresden does know how some of it works... he has explained it every now and then. Sympathetic magic - that scale model of the city he had, plus finding things. is just one. He has a charm on his bracelet that gathers his kinetic energy. I want to steal that idea. I know who could make good use of it.

But your right he uses more than one type and his buddies-enemies use a couple of those you mentioned.
 

Started another book...

This one is on my Color Nook.

"Spell Games" by T. A. Pratt.

It's the fourth (I think) in a UF series about Marla Mason. Marla is the head sorcerer of a Felport. In other words she is the secret dictator of the city. She can be a real B... but only when attacked. She usually leaves her people alone and mostly minds her own business- she takes a small cut from most disputable businesses-unless she has to defend the city. She doesn't mind using dirty tricks or sneaking around if that is what it takes to win. Her passion is learning.

Not my favorite and may not even be in my second level but still a good read and and an intriguing world.
 

"Dead Waters" by Anton Strout

Fourth in a UF series. (Seems to be a pattern forming here)

But it might be more paranormal since they deal with ghosts, vampires, zombies and such.

In either case it's the lighthearted story of Simon Canerous. SFRevu says its "detectives working the night shift in the Twilight Zone". Yeah, they work for the city even though in their own department not connected to the police.

Can't find the word but Simon knows the history of something by touching it. His partner can tell if a ghost is around. And there's a romance going on between Simon and an ex-bad gal with all of its ups and downs.
 

I won't say much else except that those chapters are kinda short. It's been over a year since I last read a Dresden novel but they seem shorter than usual.

If they really are and it's not a trick of my memory, it lights a fire under a part of my brain. A certain ghost writer I know seems to like short chapters.

And Bob??? Almost forgot to miss him. Has he been in the last two books? Seems like it's been quite a while since he was used.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited July 01, 2011).]
 

Funny how that is.

And yeah, Uglies, etc. is so compelling you can't stop reading the other books. I have read a few others of his, too - So Yesterday (loved it), then I forget the titles but two in the vampires in NYC series (not Midnighters, I don't think...it's the other series... Oh, I remember - the first is called Peeps. I don't recall the name of the second but it has one of the best openings ever involving a stratocaster being flung out a window.) He's such a phenomenal writer. Leviathan is great, too, but totally different angle - steampunk, very interesting. Have Behemouth out from the library but haven't read it (Leviathan's sequel.)

I'm currently reading ADVENTURER'S WANTED: SLATHBOG'S GOLD by ML Forman and in total unadulturated love with the book. I'm about 75% through and I find I'm reading it SLOOOOOOWWWWLY because I don't want it to end. I'm rationing myself. It's a great YA/middle-grade fantasy story about a boy who wanders into a shop and replies to an "Adventurer's Wanted" ad in the window, and all sorts of great adventures ensue. The thing I like the best is the upbeat tempo. So many YA/MG books these days are downers, this book is not even though the MC has to handle tricky situations and all. Can't recommend it highly enough, I just hope this ML Forman is still out there writing somewhere, because I could only find one other title by him (her?) -- same series, next book but published one or two or three years ago. Eek.
 

I think I've seen that book with the rather long title that you are reading. And I understand why you are reading it sooo sloooow. I do the same thing at times even though half the time it doesn't work out quite the way I want it to.
 

I believe there is at least one more novel in the series, and this one may have been more set-up in the "what is going on here" sense (hence the not much plot). Anyway, I'm looking forward to spending more time with Captain Perry.
 

Reading the fourth book in the Parasol Protectorate right now called "Heartless". As always it is a fun mixture of steam punk, Jane Austen, and the supernatural. I would not recommend this one to teens however, she can get a little explicit in parts.
 

A closer look showed that it was some kind of "reimagining" of H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy. I was horrified. I know Piper's work has largely fallen into the public domain, but, really, did it deserve this? "Reimagining" a classic? All the pokes at Internet Fan Fiction, and here's something just like it but published by professionals?

I intend to avoid this book like the plague.
 

Right now I am trying to decide where to go for the next read, THE YOUNG SAMARAI, by Chris Bradford. Or maybe its time to give in and read,HUNGER GAMES. But then, that darn Harry Dresdin is summoning me again, so maybe I will go that route.

[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited July 07, 2011).]
 

As to Dresden Files... Is that "Changes" or "Ghost Story"?

I am in the middle of "Changes" since I wait for the paperback version and I had some books in front of it so it had to wait it's turn even though it was calling me and may have bumped up a couple of books. And even though my wife has never touched the previous Dresden books she started reading this one... Anyway, Talk about changes, egads and since I had to look up the title of "Ghost Story" I know how "Changes" end.

Hmmm, that's the second hero who has been placed in the same predicament that Butcher places Dresden in. Simon Green has done it recently also. Wonder if they belong to the same Pros club and if there will be any other heros done the same way.

That is not the first time I had that thought about writers getting together. John Levitt used a certain creature-one I don't recall hearing about before-- in one of his books, about the same time C. E. Murphy used the same creature. They did different things with the creature. Both books were probably written very close to each other. So did one inspire the other or was there some Newsletter that both writers read? I mentioned that to Levitt but his response either meant he didn't know or he wasn't saying.
 

quote:

---

As to Dresden Files... Is that "Changes" or "Ghost Story"?

---

Neither, I am way back there, still old schooling it. GRAVE PERIL, I think its the 3rd. I am so far back, I get to read them in order, space them out, take my time, enjoy them, and yeah, I can say that. I was a little worried about the first, as I said before, the author hides stuff about Harry's past, and when introducing a character does a mini-info dump on them, but he spins a good tale, and that will keep me coming back for more.

There are spoilers in here but I think most are revealed in the first two or three books and any others are not that big.
>
>
>
>
>

But I didn't notice that he hides things about Dresden's past. He may not explain everything in the first couple of books but as far as I can recall we know pretty quickly about how his first mentor tried to kill him and how his first girl friend went along with it. And that certain members of the White Council are out for his blood because of he his mentor was and how Dresden ended up killing the guy. And I believe we know who Dresden's father was and that he raised him for a while. Of course there's something about his mother we don't find out for quite a while but she didn't raise him.

A second of course... there is something else about his first case and how he met Murphy but that is revealed in a short story on http://www.jim-butcher.com Or it used to be, I haven't checked to see if it is still up.
 

I'm no prude about this---several of my Internet Fan Fiction pieces amount to rewriting the events of episodes of the Original Series---but I think Piper got it just right the first time and there's no need for change-for-change's-sake, however old and creaking the original story might be.
 

His hiding things started in the first book, he would bring up his girlfriend dying, then say he didn't want to go there and move on, so we never found out how in the first book. He tends to bring up the past, hint at it, then move on, and release a little over the series. It keeps the reader going, and I have come to expect it and accept it. At first I felt it was a very bad breech of the rules. But, since I have relaxed on the rules during reading and enjoying the story, it has made me find the fun in reading again, something I had lost with my internal editor getting in the way.

I'm just guessing there. Or maybe if it turned out Piper was forced by an agent or editor to make some major changes and this is closer to what he wanted. But somehow I think not.

But If I can remember to take the time maybe I will try to find any blogs and/or forums discussing it.

And I yeah Butcher didn't reveal everything about Dresden's past but I think we get the basics. But as to it breaking a rule... I didn't know there was one that said you had to reveal everything or most things in the first book. If so than Butcher isn't the only one to break that rule. I think half of the UF novels I read and one or two others do that.

It could be one of those rules that you can break once you learn how.

But I also understand about your inner critic even though mine isn't as bad, it still flares up at times. I almost put down a book I thought opened with way too much Tell.
 

My 9 year old, who has read many of the books you've read recently, LOVED the Young Samurai. I haven't read it yet. I read Hunger Games and really enjoyed the series, but warning - they're kind of a downer as you get into books 2 and 3. I waited til the series was complete and read all at once and I was a bit of a crankpot til I finished, lol. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who reflects the emotions of the books I'm reading! I am always a cranky complaining mess while reading Harry Potter 5, lol.)

I'm considering the Bartimaes (don't think I spelled that right...) books next.

Also enjoying the Michael Scott Alchemyst series (Nicholas Flammel's stories set in modern-day.) We're listening to book 2 and it's very good (this one is called The Magician.) I think there are four out. Highly recommend.
 

I'll finish it, because I have to for a reading group, but I'm not enjoying myself.

One thing you can say about The Twilight Saga is that it is NOT about a dystopia. Yay for Stephenie Meyers!
 

BTW, KDW, I haven't read UGLIES, but Scott Westerfeld's steampunk series (LEVIATHAN, BEHEMOTH, and coming out this fall, GOLIATH) is a lot of fun--and not dystopian at all. Well, other than the fact that it takes place at the beginning of WWI.
 

I am just getting very tired of all the YA dystopian novels out there. Bleh!
 

quote:

---

I'm reading UGLIES and I am getting very depressed. I guess I just don't like dystopias all that much. And this one, so far, doesn't really make sense. How can this society power itself?

---

I still cant stop laughing, and I read this yesterday. While I did fall hard for the series or at least Tally Youngblood, and had to read them all very quickly, I did find parts depressing and some downright creepy.

I would have to agree, strange society, and when I tried to explain to my friends they all thought I lost my mind.
 

I am liking Tally more as I read, and her dilemma is becoming interesting, but the whole dystopia craze in YA fiction is beginning to get to me. I can't begin to name all of them, and they just seem to keep coming. and

Give me sparkly vampires if that's the only other choice!
 

(ducks and sneaks out the door headed for the special door to elsewhere)
 

I've read up to page 205 and I am bored out of my mind. I don't think I will be able to finish this book. I've picked it up a few times only to put it back down. I find the writing is rather stilted. I was really hoping to read a good book about witches and vampires and this novel received rather good reviews but it seems that it's just not a book for me.
 

quote:

---

Just finished John Scalzi's OLD MAN'S WAR and quite enjoyed it.

---

As did I. There are actually three more books in this series: THE GHOST BRIGADE, THE LAST COLONY and ZOE'S TALE. Like many series, I enjoyed the first book the most.

Currently reading Iain Bank's AGAINST A DARK BACKGROUND, so far I'm only mildly interested in it. I've been having a hard time getting into any science fiction reading lately, and maybe I need to branch back into some fantasy or other speculative sub-genre.

I'm also reading THE SCIENCE OF ALIENS by Clifford Pickover as research for my novel.

LDWriter2, a lot of people have referred to Stephenie Meyer's "sparkly vampires." That's the reason she came up with for why they can't go out in the sunlight.
 

Kudos to Scott Westerfield. That cliff-hanger set-up is one I may even recommend to writers in the future. Very impressive. There is a right way (for this reader anyway) to do a cliff-hanger ending after all? Whoda thunk it?
 

I'm totally with you on the YA dystopias, though, which is why I'm consciously trying to avoid that with my MG/YA writing - I'm writing space-opera/family-drama, basically, with some humor and lightness to keep the pace moving and the happy endings coming. I'm really enjoying writing these kinds of books, and it's in part because this is the stuff I wish there were more of out there to read! Austin Kleon, the author of the awesome Steal Like an Artist blog post/speech and soon to be book says "write the book you want to read" (his #3 way to steal like an artist.) I've taken it to heart my whole writing career.

I just finished THE HOUND OF ROWAN (a Tapestry Book) which has a slow start but a neat magical system and school ala Harry Potter/Wizard of Earthsea/Percy Jackson kinds of things that I personally enjoy and find compelling.

I also enjoyed the second book of ADVENTURER'S WANTED, even though the author broke most of the rules around things like adverbs, summarizing instead of showing, etc. I think I might not like the writing style if I were to read a lot of this author's work in a row, but I enjoyed how the stories were complete without the main character having to literally be dragged through the coals each time (another of my YA beefs. Life in reality isn't really that depressing, why is so much YA fiction portraying it as such?)

Not sure about the yoga but I have read about wine drinking vamps. Some books have a few very classy vampires. In story a few vamps were even environmentalists concerned with global warming -- in that story there were werewolves with the same concerns.

These days you can find most any type of vamps. surprised I haven't rad any like a I saw in Mad magazine a huge amount of years ago. Vamp bit into hippie and went on a trip. Always thought that would make an interesting story line.
 

If you change the old legends about vamps I guess you would have to change why they flame also even though not every one changes that.
 

kls
 

I can buy the geekiness, but all the description in first person point of view PLUS the introspection just didn't work for me as coming from any eleven-year-old, male or female.

The description, especially, would have worked much better told in third person. As it was, I just couldn't believe in the character (and I think I have a fairly strong willing suspension of disbelief).
 

Now I'm back into the RANGER'S APPRENTICE series.
 

The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War, Andrew Roberts. World War II has been written about a lot, but also a good deal of time has passed to give perspective, nearly all of what was once classified information is now open to historians...and a lot of the older histories in English gave little weight to events on the Eastern Front. A very good book. (Less weight is given here to the war with Japan, though.)

The Kennedy Detail, Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin. This is, again, another "book on..." something, in this case the Kennedy assassination...but a lot of utter nonsense has been written about this subject, and this deals with the facts, as well as with people who were actually involved in the situation. Well worth a look.

Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970, David Browne. In some ways a rather odd book---seems to me a number of important musical stories of the year are left out or mentioned in passing (Motown and Eric Clapton come to mind)---but a lot of the info, even about the Beatles, was wholly new to me. (A brief gratuitous swipe at today's politics towards the end lowered my opinion of the book, though.)
 

Boy Robert you have a varied educational type reading. Not that that is bad. Sometimes I wish I had the time to read more of that type of stuff but I barely have time to read what I do now. Someone even gave me a biographical book too.

But I'm way late with what I am reading... I finished it tonight. I kept forgetting the title when I came to this thread. And it's a very simple one too.

"Spirit Dances" by C. E. Murphy. I mentioned on another thread that she is a wonderful storyteller and I would like to be considered like her, since I've been told by Dean that I am a natural born storyteller. At least for me she weaves a story so well it's hard to explain. I finished the book quicker than I wanted to.

And the ending for this one... egads... The very last sentence is a shock I groaned twice after reading it... and, hmmm, well I just thought of this, I guess I'm in shock and awe over it.

Oh, I should say this is the sixth book in the Murphy's Walker series. She has out five series now, I think. I don't know if she still has a day job but she does more than one book a year.

And she's one that can break rules. One of the Walker books has Walker waking up in the opening. Oh speaking of that-- yes these two are related-- there is one criticism I have of Murphy. Walker has a big emotional scar form something that she did, and what resulted from that act, since high school. It's mentioned in every book but one day it's gone. As far as I can recall with no explanation. well, there might be one but it's not stated as such. So personally I wish Murphy hadn't totally changed it but the way it seemed to be just forgotten made it worse... to my POV.

I'm interested in lots of things, and the odd corners and bits and pieces therein. A general history or specific biography might mention some person or event or something (for example, a biography of Bing Crosby mentions an amateur golfer called "the Mysterious Montague)...then if I see a book involving that subject, I'll pick up a copy (six or seven years after reading that Crosby biography, a book about the Mysterious Montague turned up in stores.)

Incidentally, it's expensive. My reading habit costs several hundred dollars a months---but I'm prosperous and can sustain it, at least at the moment. If I fell on hard times, I'd be forced to reduce it---and, perhaps, catch up on the books I've bought and haven't read.
 

I have some issues with the writing style, but the story is compelling: a penniless teenage German exchange student comes to the United States, and spends the next thirty years conning people into thinking he's a rich aristocrat.

There is something at once epic and petty about this man's life story. Despite the writing flaws, I highly recommend this book, to authors of urban fantasy especially.
 

- Containment, Christian Cantrell
-- SF, very good! (heavily recommended if computers/coding is near your heart)

- Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
-- Okay, didn't like as much as Outliers, but there are interesting bits here. Recommended if you like .. Gladwell

- Zero Sight, Justin Shier
-- Another surprise; Good, modern day fantasy

- Siege of Titan, Michael G. Thomas
-- SF, too clichéd to my taste

- Lamentation, Ken Scholes
-- Fantasy, okay++, feels mostly original, I might read the sequels too

- The 97th step, Steve Perry
-- SF, begins with the traditional "boy in distress", ends a bit more satisfactorily. Okay+. I read The Man Who Never Missed after this, and I liked it a bit better.

- No Cure for Cancer, Denis Leary
-- Stand-up routine, dark humor, couple of pearls but mostly I didn't laugh. Not for sensitive people.

- Sandman Slim: A Novel, Richard Kadrey
-- Modern-day fantasy, revenge/hero-stuff, I liked

Sakari
 

But I am reading "Con & Conjure" by Lisa Shearin, Fifth in the Raine Benares series. Raine is a cool lady. Seeker from a notorious pirate family even though she might be the only Benares to have an honest job. Well, non-pirate job, she has stolen things back for people. She has a skill for finding Trouble.

The series is fantasy, obviously, set in a world with maybe 17 century tech. Somewhere around 16 to 18 anyway. I relate it to a sort of Garrett, by Glen Cook, type of fantasy.

Shearin is a very good writer and the world is well thought out. However I must say that even though I have been eagerly waiting to read the book... it's been sitting in a stack for two months calling out to me to read it... it doesn't quite capture me like C.E. Murphy's stuff does and one or two others. I recommend it, I'm reading it too quickly... very good but as I said the storytelling isn't quite as good as Murphy. Which might not be saying much.

Check out Shearin's store. Some great stuff from the books there even though not so much for guys. http://www.lisashearin.com

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited August 10, 2011).]
 

One of my favorite all-time writers is Jack Vance.
Few, if any, have as great a mastery of world-building and vocabulary (both invented and real) and evocation of mood.

His THE DYING EARTH tales are some of my favorites, and this large volume of master fantasy writers delving into his infamous world of rare and delectable delights as the sun fails are a treat.

Respectfully,
Dr. Bob
 

THE DYING EARTH sounds like two or four different books I've read, so I'm not sure if I've read that one even though I think so.

Hmmm, Since they go back a ways in time, they might be cheap on the e-books side of Barnes and Noble.
 

Zendegi is about the moral and social implications of A/I and V/R. Before you dismiss it with 'not that old horse, again,' I beg you to pick it up. The second to the last chapter made me weep. Can't remember when I last read a novel with such realism when it comes to characters. That one of the story lines is about the development of artificial intelligence while the author is himself developing artificial people (the characters) so brilliantly gives me a sense of vertigo. I heard a rumor that he'll give us a sequel. In the mean time I'm focusing on getting my hands on everything this man has ever written. And imvho, so should you.

Egan's character's are so strongly moral, you have to love them. I felt a real sense of loss when I finished these books.
 

quote:

---

Currently reading Kiersten White's PARANORMALCY. Fun story so far.

---

The title sounds intriguing. Is it another YA book?

And I am also reading.
Simon Green's "From Hell With Love" part of his Secret Histories series. I think the series title is a bit flamboyant for this series but it mostly fits.

Nice read if you like different; kinda dark and Macabre but fun.
 

I hope that's a girl.

And it sort of sounds like a new TV show. "Alphas" Which sounds like a story I read in the first Jim Baen universe anthology. I'm pretty sure there's a second but probably not a third.

I'll look it over if I see it.
 

For some reason, although MG is more open, almost all YA is writeen (or at least published) for girls. Boys seem to graduate straight to the adult shelves.
 

So this series I've heard about that takes place after everything falls apart Dangerous Games or what the actual title is, is part of it I think. Anyway all that was written for girls?

Or since it teen girls or tweens is it writeen for girls ?

Sorry, I had to say something about that spelling.
 

Well, the protagonist is a girl. Beyond that, I really can't say. Not that into dystopian.

ETA: Oh, and first person present tense makes me a little nuts, too.

[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited August 27, 2011).]
 

Yeah, that's it.

Oh and dystopian is a new word for me. I'm sure I've heard it before but not as a major genera.

Almost want to write a story or novel in a world that would fit.
 

Dystopia is a major trend in YA and children's publishing right now. There have always been dystopian stories (utopias gone wrong, very often) but there is a lot more than usual right now.

I've recently finished book one and two of THE ACADEMY series by YS Lee. FANTASTIC. These are YA stories set in Victorian England about a girl who joins an all-female spy ring. These are mysteries and I think have a classic mystery structure (I don't generally read mysteries though so I'm not sure) but the attention to detail the author gives, and the way she conveys the realities of the era through little details is really interesting. She also is not so enamoured of her research that she over-shares, the details come out in plot-important ways, which I really respected as a writer who tries to do the same.

Very good books. I highly recommend both. The second one is called The Academy: The Body at the Tower. I've blanked on the name of the first.

But I like those type of spy mysteries, so if I can find the books I will take a closer look.

I would like to write an academy story of some type. Probably fantasy--right probably urban fantasy. Maybe a YA UF but not YS's.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited August 30, 2011).]
 

I found out from a correspondent awhile back that this outfit called Adventure House has been reprinting some of the old SF pulp magazines. (Apparently the copyrights have lapsed.) Eventually I broke down and ordered five "back issues," more-or-less at random. Three issues of Planet Stories from 1940-1941, a Startling Stories from 1940, and something called Out of This World Fantasy Magazine (I'd seen a picture of the cover in one of the SF picture books and it intrigued me).

I've been reading 'em on and off. I'm impressed by odd things---for instance, the ads tell a story themselves, of a culture long-vanished---and some of the letters-to-the-editor, particularly one by Isaac Asimov that he even mentioned in his memoirs.

But the stories---well, except for being jaw-droppingly astonished by one by Ray Cummings that seemed so badly-written I couldn't believe it was accepted, they're pretty good.

Sometimes it's a good idea to reconnect with your past---our past---the shared past of the SF world. And this is a good way to do it. (Beware, they're a good deal more expensive than the fifteen or twenty cents printed on the reproduced covers. But they're still a good buy.)
 

I finished the two books I was reading and I have continued to read CONVERGENCE, a nice little YA book by someone we know and love.

I stated it that way because I read the first couple of chapters when I got the book and now I'm reading on.

Not badly done, definite YA but I wonder why Captain Kirk would come back in time to teach an orientation. I also wonder if something is happening behind the scenes, with the occupations some of the citizens have and how everyone stares at the MC when she does something with the computer. That includes other computer geeks. Are they just being impolite or do they suspect she might discover something? We shall see.

I still want to give a copy as a gift, if I can find anyone who reads e-books. That isn't as easy as expected.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited September 04, 2011).]
 

I found some E-books on Barnes and Noble made up of short story sets written way back when, I've thought seriously about buying. Fifty stories for two or three dollars, all written by the original Masters. E.E. Doc Smith, Wells, Burroughs etc.. One of these days I will get around to it.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited September 04, 2011).]
 

I will problably do others, maybe with better luck. The e-reader doesn't really replace the book-as-artifact in my reading habits, but it sure does have its uses.
 

I like the idea because I don't recall hearing that most of those old Masters did any short stories so reading them would be cool.

Along with the previous book I mentioned, Convergence, I started "Phoenix Rising" A ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel. A streampunk story that takes place in the later years of the 1800s. I'm not sure which year exactly, in a couple of places there a lot of dates flying around.

And that first sentence is something else. I've warned people away from first sentences like that. But it is a different book.

Still over all it is enjoyable. Kinda a Urban Fantasy- paranormal meets James Bond or the Avengers. For those old enough to have watched either of the two Avengers series. The female MC is kinda of a contradiction though. When handling the bad guys she is brave, resourceful, thinks quickly, out of the box, etc. but when it comes to her boss and new emotional situations-not just affairs of the heart- she is shy and unsure.

If you like something quirky or just something different... pick it up.

Here is a trailer for the book. They did a great job except for perhaps her outfit. You have to read the book to understand that,

http://tinyurl.com/3byv7hd

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited September 05, 2011).]
 

Well, now I can say that I'm reading Wotf 27. Since I had to order it anyway I decided to download it to my Nook. Cheaper that way too. Started the first story not bad at all even though melancholy so far. And the illustration that goes with it shows melancholy also.

But the opening line of the first story blows my usual comment for Firsts out of the water. The thing is long and a bit on the complicated side. I need to see how the others begin but usually short stories open with short and to the point sentences. And that was a long author's blurb.

The descriptions of the stories make some of them sound very interesting. I think I will enjoy most of them.
 

Pretty good. Fascinating premise, but the characterization could have been a bit stronger.
 

Other books I have recently read and would also Recommend:

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME by Mark Haddon. Told from the perspective of an autistic teenager. Pretty well done.

ROOM by Emma Donoghue. Told from the perspective of a five year old. Very well done - you definitely hear it in the voice of a child - even though he doesn't understand some of the stuff he sees, the reader does.

WOTF XXVI - Amazing short stories. Am definitely in awe of those who can think up awesome original ideas and write as well as this.

THAT LEVIATHAN, WHOM THOU HAST MADE by Eric James Stone. Great little novella. Original and compelling.

ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell. Pretty cool little novel from the perspective of farm animals - leaves me not liking pigs very much Very well written - as expected.

LIFE EXPECTANCY by Dean Koontz. I would class this as Good. Quite a light read - easy to breeze through. Not super thought provoking but a nice read nonetheless.

Oh man, I've read more books than I thought I had in the last while.

BATTLEFIELD EARTH: A SAGA OF THE YEAR 3000 by L. Ron Hubbard Not Recommended. I've put not recommended over not impressed for the reason that I wouldn't recommend this to anyone based purely on the length. I have only made it half way through before giving up I'm sorry to say. That is not to say I didn't enjoy the first half - it just got too long and I got a bit bored with it and wanted to move on to something else.

NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro. I'm wavering between Good andNot Impressed on this one. Nice idea but the story just seemed to drag a bit.

CONTAINMENT by Chris Cantrell. Good. A light read. Nothing really thought provoking but it was ok. However, computer programming and code is not really my thing.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen Recommend

THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak and LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel Highly Recommended. Loved both of these stories.

DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip K Dick Highly Recommended Loved it.

STORM FRONT by Jim Butcher, BLUE by Lou Aronica and SWITCHED by Amanda Hocking Good

PATHFINDER by Orson Scott Card Recommended

WISE MANS FEAR by Patrick Rothfuss Highly Recommended

Edited to add:

I suspect Orwell didn't like pigs either.

[This message has been edited by Corky (edited September 07, 2011).]
 

Boy, a long list and with variety there. Neither of which is bad.

But you have older political novels there, again which isn't bad.

Battlefield though I liked. One reason was the length. I was going through books much faster back when I read it and I was happy it would last a while. The story wasn't bad either even though it seemed to be almost two or three stories in one. Like it should have been a trilogy.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS I've seen all over the place. What is it about?

And with STORM FRONT. All I will say is that you are in for a wild ride with that series. Good tales and the writing isn't bad --- it's gets even better. I'm frustrated that the next paperback Dresden book won't be out 'til Dec. That publisher doesn't realize he's suppose to cut the time between hardback and paperback not make it longer.
 

Water for Elephants is a historical novel, a love story (but not a romance) from the POV of a man who runs away to join the circus. Quite well done, I thought. Interestingly, Sara Gruen wrote it during NaNoWriMo - however, I believe she had done years of research before doing so.

I haven't actually started on the next Dredsen book but when I get time I will! Am focussing on Sci Fi classics at the moment. All books I should have read but haven't!

All these books I have read since getting my Kindle - it has been so awesome! So convenient. Imagine going back in time and telling people that you could wish for a book and it would appear instantly in your hands. They would think it was magic
 

quote:

---

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME by Mark Haddon. Told from the perspective of an autistic teenager. Pretty well done.

---

I came back here to comment on this because today I recalled a book I read years ago that was from the POV of an autistic adult. Not the same book however. The one I read took place in the future when things fall apart. No real government and new societies and groups had formed.
 

Not sure how I feel about it. It was sharp and concise. I guess its the 3 paragraph approach that has me concerned. Even more than that but the 3 sentences only for the plot paragraph. Also mentioned comparing your book to another published book or film.

Any thoughts?
 

But depending how long they are I would think three paragraphs would be a page, which is how long a query should be.

A three sentence synopses seems a bit short but in a query you wouldn't be able- see above sentence on length- do much more than that anyway.

Does he say you absolutely have to do it that way or is that more of a model?

 

quote:

---

Does he say you absolutely have to do it that way or is that more of a model?

---

I got the impression he felt that you had to. Of course there are exceptions but this was the first book I read where it seemed so concrete. Its a different approach then what I have been trying so I think I will give it a try. The entire query letter will come out to about 1/2 a page which is what he feels is ideal.

Three sentences just won't work for speculative fiction where you have at least some world building to explain as well as the plot.

IMO, no prescriptive approach is going to work for every story. You have to pick up a few hints here and a few there and fit together what works for you.
 

So, that approach may work for mainstream novel queries, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it for science fiction and fantasy novel queries.

It may also work for movie pitches, by the way. As I understand it, "high concept" means saying your movie script is "THIS GREAT MOVIE plus THAT GREAT MOVIE" and derivative is not so bad.

As Meredith says, some things work for some genres, and some don't work as well.
 

*****

Something in passing---way back in 2008 on the first page of this, snapper gives a "Not Recommended" to Robert Conroy's 1901---which I really liked. Not to go into too much detail, but I gather the story is based on actual battle plans made by Imperial Germany.

I've enjoyed Conroy's other alternate history books, and, curiously, so did my father, who saw them lying around my house one day and took 'em home to read.
 

Matched opens with the main character getting ready for her Match banquet, where she'll learn who her Match will be with all the other 17 year olds from her borough. Unlike the other kids, though, her match is someone she already knows, a boy she grew up with who is already dear to her. Later she looks at her microcard with her match's info, which she doesn't need since she already knows him, and for a brief moment a different boy's face pops up as her match. Problem is, she ALSO knows him.

So the main conflict begins with Cassia's curiosity about the other boy, Ky, growing, all while she's starting to notice the oppressive aspects of her Society, such as the three pills they're all required to carry at all times (red "for emergencies", blue that can provide nutrition for three days, and green to calm down) or the fact that at 80, you die. Everyone does.

The pace is quick and I found myself enjoying the way the author unveiled the story so much that I slowed down in reading it, which is something I do sometimes when I want a book to last. I felt the characters were very believable, and even though it's a love story, really it's a rebellion story, and that made it very very interesting.
 

Reading now: THE MAGICIANS by Lev Grossman, who recently won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. The ideas aren't new, but I very much like his writing style. I've found myself reading whole passages aloud to my husband because I liked the imagery.
 

Actually I kind forgotten her since I haven't seen her stuff for a while. But the hunting one is one I've seen.
 

On the other hand, my all-time favorite Star Trek novel, which I've read and re-read, is her Ishmael...
 

But if you read Star Trek what do you think of the Strange New Worlds anthologies?
 

A couple years back, I did pick up a book that was a "guide" to the books...it was pleasing enough.

As for Hambly and Star Trek...I believe she wrote at least three others that I read...I didn't like one Original Series novel and one Next Generation novel, but I did like one other Original Series novel whose name escapes me.
 

Now I'm reading THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST by Stieg Larsson.
 

Oh, I saw a book listed in my local paper. I think it's by a local writing but I'm not sure about that. Anyway the title is "The Dragon With A Girl Tattoo".

But I 'm reading "Uncertain Allies" by Mark del Franco. Fifth in a UF series with a bit of a twist. About a hundred years ago most everyone in Fairye was transported to earth. They have no idea how or why and they couldn't get back. So now all Fey are part of human culture even though they have their own laws and lands etc.. And of course there are rich snobs, poor crooks etc just like in human culture. Some are addicted to drugs and such. There is one main skid row for the low life fey. That is where our hero works.

Mark has another series set in the same universe but with different characters and in a different city. I haven't been able to figure out if it's the same time frame or not. So far there's been no references about what happened in the other city even though some events would have made the News.

I'm in the middle of a new biography of John Lennon---it claims to be "definitive," but I don't think so. Some of the statements about music (Lennon's, the Beatles's, and others) are questionable. But there are a number of points where the writer takes what someone said about something and puts it next to what someone else said about the same thing, trying to iron out the contradictions.
 

[This message has been edited by JenniferHicks (edited October 01, 2011).]
 

You probably haven't gotten that far but it's something I'm curious about but not enough to read the whole thing to find out.

Oh and have you seen any of the movies?
 

(Haven't read them; heard nothing but good about the series.)
 

Evidently the movies are talked about in France--I think-- with the graphic scenes especially one certain scene.
 

They get ensnared in a plot to prevent the Soviets from testing a nuclear bomb (sort of, it's more involved than that.) It's written with a quick pace, nice story, fun and interesting. I think it'll be a hit with kids in the 9-14 yr old range, but is plenty interesting to history buffs who are interested in that post-WWII era.

The book is out sometime this month. (I'm friends with the school librarian and we do a big book fair each fall, so particularly in the fall, but all year long she gets ARCs from the major indie bookstore nearby and I get to read some some of the time, yay me!) It carries many illustrations and the page treatments are interesting, which adds to the appeal for that age range.
 

The illustrations would be interesting too, depending on how they were done.

I wouldn't mind an app that would add illustrations. I say that because there is one that gives details about the book's history and if it is historical some info that goes along with real history at that time. So I thought why not drawings? Of course there could be copyrights to deal with and they would have to choose which books to do. But some classics originally had illustrations.

Anyway, back to reading. If I see that book I may even read it now. I have read some YA and younger books as an adult.
 

So anyway, the book is called simply APOTHECARY. It is a nice book, enjoy!
 

Have also read recently MATCHED by Ally Condie. It was ok - great ideas but kinda left me hanging a bit too much at the end. I don't mind there being loose ends to tie up in further books but it felt as if this book didn't have much of an ending at all. I'd still rate it Good though.

Also BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by S J Watson. Not a super read I think I'm going to go with Not Impressed. A darker version of the movie 50 FIRST DATES. You can get to end alright though and it's not bad as such. Just kinda one of those books you read when you have nothing else to read. It was so forgettable that I saw the title on my Kindle and had no recollection of reading the book - it was only when I went into the file and started reading the first chapters that I clicked.

THE FOREVER WAR by Joe Haldeman. Highly recommended. Classic Sci Fi and very interesting.
 

Charlaine Harris says reading Strout's stuff is like being caught in a wild pinball game.

This series started as a light hearted story that was a bit satire-ish but it's kinda left most of that behind. Not totally just mostly.
 

This book is phenomenal. I predict great things for it. It's the side-by-side story of Day and June, two teens in a future bleak dystopian police state around LA. It's a solid YA read, but kids who were comfortable reading Hunger Games (at least book 1) would be fine with this book (in my opinion that's 7th-8th grade and up, but I know many 5th graders who have read Hunger Games.) There is quite a lot of brutality/violence, but it's done without glorification, without a lot of gore. It's still an intense read, like HG, the future society seems really unbalanced, really unfair for one of the protags. It's interesting to watch the perspective of the other shift as she learns more about the dark side of the ruling class.

It's a page-turner, lots of action and excitement and tension as the characters meet under false pretenses and begin to trust each other.

Very very good read, highly recommend.
 

When that book comes out remind us.
 

But there was one gem among them all, one that stood out from all the others. Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis. This covers the attempts to climb Mount Everest in the early 1920s---but it's much more than that. We get good biographies of a bunch of interesting people, courses on mountaineering and the difficulty of operating where the air gets thing, the political and cultural history of Tibet and India, experiences in World War I---even down to where and when and why George Mallory delivered his famous line, "Because it's there." It's meticulously researched, all the way.

The ending is unhappy, in a way...but the journey is worthwhile, interesting and, at times, moving. I can't recall what else I've recommended this year---my computer is acting up and it's difficult to navigate around the web, so I can't check easy---but I think I'll put this above any other book I've read this year.
 

It's a space opera series dealing with a race that seems to control all of space. They like up lift different races but only to a certain point. Humans have reached that point so even though they haven't uplifted humans they want mankind to stay where they are technology. If humans won't submit they will be wiped out which is where we are in the series.

I think Ian is having fun coming up with different types of aliens. None are human like and are as different from humans as they can be. But mankind is still trying to communicate with them for various reasons.

And humans have developed a society and almost world government that is what I think Ian thinks will develop from what we have now. Of course from his point of view it could be more a "what if" scenario than his personal belief.

Oh yes if you like space opera with a lot of personal angst, unique aliens and battles I recommend this series.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited October 23, 2011).]