Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[benham]

Seven Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly

[caleb72]

Been a long time since I posted and many books have been picked up and completed in that time.

I just finished The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss which had been sitting on my shelves for an age while I worked up my courage to dive in. Not sure why I waited so long as it was a great book. I still think I liked the first one a bit better (one of my favourites of the last few years), but I had very little to complain about.

Before I started I'd been a bit concern about comments of an interminable period of the book spent describing sex with the fae. I was dreading that. But the section ended up being quite readable and with not nearly as much sex as the criticisms implied.

Anyway, I'm finally up-to-date with the trilogy and waiting for the eventual release of the final book.

[CRussel]

Currently re-reading Wen Spencer's Tinker, first read long before I had a Kindle or any other eReader and still a pleasure. Gotta love a hero who is a scientist, short, kicks butt, and runs a junkyard.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Blood Relations by A. L. Sirois. Bought from Fictionwise back in November 2003. If I read it then, I've forgotten.

I hadn't read it before. Some interesting ideas, but too much going on, and the resolution was poor. Some poor editing at the start, too. I'm taking his other book off my TBR.

Next up: The Eagle and the Nightingale by Mercedes Lackey. I've read the others in this series and enjoyed them, so I'm glad this one has finally made it from the backlist into ebook form.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Eagle and the Nightingale by Mercedes Lackey. I've read the others in this series and enjoyed them, so I'm glad this one has finally made it from the backlist into ebook form.

Yes, it's odd that it's taken so many years for #3 in a series of 4 to appear as an ebook, when all the others have been around for 10+ years. I note that the title page of the book says that it's #2, but that's wrong.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Yes, it's odd that it's taken so many years for #3 in a series of 4 to appear as an ebook, when all the others have been around for 10+ years. I note that the title page of the book says that it's #2, but that's wrong.

Agree, it's definitely #3. And I also don't understand the dynamics that kept it unavailable. Ah, well, something to look forward to. I have, of course, read all of the books in this series at one time or another it pBook form. and the first two in the series in eBook form when I first got my K2.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Currently re-reading Wen Spencer's Tinker, first read long before I had a Kindle or any other eReader and still a pleasure. Gotta love a hero who is a scientist, short, kicks butt, and runs a junkyard.

Finished. Not sure what I'll read next. Maybe #2 in the Tinker series? Or perhaps that The Eagle and the Nightingale? Or switch back to a different genre entirely and read Spenser #2? The problems of an overlarge TBR. But better than not having anything at all.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Finished. Not sure what I'll read next. Maybe #2 in the Tinker series? Or perhaps that The Eagle and the Nightingale? Or switch back to a different genre entirely and read Spenser #2? The problems of an overlarge TBR. But better than not having anything at all.

Why not read the one that's been in your TBR the longest? This year I'm trying to alternate between the newest and oldest on my TBR.

[CRussel]

The problem with that, Paul, is that I really don't know which has been there the longest. Of those I mentioned, probably the Spenser. But I read more based on what I'm currently enjoying/interested in. Items get in my TBR because I think they might be interesting, or I think I should read them. I have times when I read more serious stuff, other times when Tinker is just about as serious as I can handle. Right now, I am in the "keep it light and fluffy" part of the cycle.

[DrNefario]

Yeah, the reason those books have been on the TBR so long is because you didn't really want to read them that badly.

I have some old paper books that are essentially the equivalent of kindle freebies. I bought them cheap as emergency back up. I'm in no great rush to read them. I just gave away my copy of Don Quixote from 1994 unread because I figured I could now get an ebook version if I really wanted to read it, and I might as well have the shelf space back.

[CRussel]

In some cases, definitely. But even though I might not really want to read them, I definitely think I should read them. So they stay there. Others are ones that are re-reads that are waiting for a time when I want to start working my way through a particular author/series. Things like the early Spenser novels of Robert B. Parker, or the Inspector Morse novels of Colin Dexter. Read at the time of release, in the case of Spenser, and in the early 90's in the case of Morse. But worth another pass through when I get around to it. Or when I'm just not seeing anything much that's new that I want to read and that's at a price I'm willing to pay.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Since none of my holds are available at the library I checked out Side Jobs by Jim Butcher, a Dresdon Files anthology. I have only read the first two Dresden Files books, but figured that while this might have spoilers for other novels I don't really care. I tend to prefer the monster-of-the-week stories to the major story arcs for some reason, also true for the X-Files, Supernatural, etc., so hopefully this is a good fit, so far it has been.

That was really fun! Definitely a lot of spoilers in a some of the stories though, so if you care about spoilers and haven't read the books that he mentions in the blurb before each one, don't read them! At least he does indicate where in the timeline each story takes place, so it is easy to know if you can read it. Or just check out the Dresden thread here which has a reading list in it somewhere.

Still don't have my next library book available, so I am probably going to try Sandstorm by James Rollins, the first "Sigma Force" book. It was cheap today at Amazon ($2) and has been on my "want to try" list for a long time. My library only has an audio book for #1, but has ebooks for at least #2 and 3 in this series.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

...At least he does indicate where in the timeline each story takes place, so it is easy to know if you can read it. Or just check out the Dresden thread here which has a reading list in it somewhere...

That list would be posted here.

[LovesMacs]

I've been busy reading over the past few weeks. Here's what I've been up to:

The Miracle Detective by Randall Sullivan. Part travelogue, part discussion of how the Catholic Church evaluates potential miracles. Lots of discussion about the visions in Medjugorje. I found it a decent read but also found the history of the Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian conflict confusing.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I came to this in a roundabout way, via the musical. I thought this was compelling as a psychological thriller but found its romantic sections unconvincing.

The Associates: Four Capitalists Who Created California by Richard Rayner. This is partially about how the first transcontinental railroad across the United States was built, and even more about the financial tricks used by Stanford, Huntington, and others to build incredible fortunes. A very good read.

Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow by Dee Brown. Another book about the first transcontinental railroads. I'm not very interested in trains or railroads though I do know several big railfans, hence these recent reading choices. This book is a more general history about early railroading (not just its financial aspects) and I liked it more than the previous title.

The Beatles: Fifty Fabulous Years by Robert Rodriguez. I'm reading this now and it's nice to learn about how the Beatles first became famous. I've heard the story in bits and pieces before but not in chronological order as in this book. I'm reading the Kindle version which no longer seems to be available. A quick, entertaining read with many photos and album illustrations but the promised audio/video content seems to be missing.

Krushchev by Edward Krankshaw. I just started this because honestly I wanted to read something Russia-related with the approach of the Olympic Games in Sochi.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by alansplace

That list would be posted here.

Which I just updated to include Bombshells & Skin Game.