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

[Rumpelteazer]

Last night I finished Andy Weir's The Martian, better late than never. It was my 100th book of the year, it also was the best book I've read so far this year.

I've resisted reading the book for a long time, because sci-fi really isn't my thing. But I finally gave in and I'm glad I did.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Last night I finished Andy Weir's The Martian, better late than never. It was my 100th book of the year, it also was the best book I've read so far this year.

I've resisted reading the book for a long time, because sci-fi really isn't my thing. But I finally gave in and I'm glad I did.

It was a good book. I did actually think, though, that it was one of the few occasions where the movie/tv adaptation was at least as good as the book.

[CRussel]

While I enjoyed The Martian (and haven't seen the movie), I thought it kind of one-dimensional. Something I would give a 3.5-4 star, but not anything that gets 5 stars from me. Not something I'm sorry I read, but not something I can imagine ever re-reading.

[covingtoncat73]

I finished "John Dies at the End!" So quotable and very Douglas Adams meets Stephen King. I think I need to re-read it a couple of times in actual text format to fully "get" it. (the audiobook was available from my library's Overdrive but not the text eBook, so I listened, actually, rather than read)

I finished Slade House by David Mitchell! It was such a good read. He is the wordsmithiest wordsmith who every wordsmithed. It is under 300 pages, too, so I finished it quickly (3 work days is quick for me) and it left me wanting more.

Back to my re-read of Hitchhiker's and I really need to read "Seven Killings." Got to decide whether to finish my HTTG re-read before or after I read "Seven Killings."

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Meanwhile, nearly finished with Frank Chadwick's Come the Revolution.This is the second in the Sasha Naradny series, and I'm enjoying it as much as the first, which is a really good sign. Recommended.

Finished, and I wasn't disappointed.

Now reading Deborah Crombie's The Sound of Broken Glass. This is number 15 in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series of English police detective stories. As always, I'm enjoying the back story at least as much as the actual detective story.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next: another Brother Cadfael: The Pilgrim of Hate

Which was a fun mystery, although it does include a genuine physical miracle (which doesn't bear on the plot, and raises far too many questions for a cozy mystery series, so I expect it'll be mostly ignored in future).

[poohbear_nc]

Just finished reading one of my favorite books of all time, written just for those of us blessed to be sharing our lives and homes with cats
I Could Pee on This -- a compendium of poetry written (by cats) to explain cat behavior.

http://www.amazon.com/Could-Pee-This...=UTF8&qid=&sr=.

And it's on sale at Amazon for $1.99!

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Just finished reading one of my favorite books of all time, written just for those of us blessed to be sharing our lives and homes with cats
I Could Pee on This -- a compendium of poetry written (by cats) to explain cat behavior.

http://www.amazon.com/Could-Pee-This...=UTF8&qid=&sr=.

And it's on sale at Amazon for $1.99!

Hard to resist at that price!

I just finished reading the audio version of David Weber's Hell's Foundations Quiver. Typical Weber, too long by 1/2, but somehow I keep reading them. This latest in the Safehold series is about on par, and ends with an abruptness that I'm really getting annoyed with. None the less, I suspect I'll buy the next one when it comes out.

Next up, I'm going to try a new (to me) series. Theft of Swords is an omnibus of the first two books in the Riyria Revelations series from Michael J. Sullivan. I'm not at all sure why I decided to read this series, but something about it caught my eye. We'll see...

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Next is a book I bought during the last Kopocalypse in April, The Constantine Affliction by T. Aaron Payton.

This was really very silly but fun. The usual steampunk cast was present; the flawed amateur detective, his helpful best friend, the adventurous strong-willed female, mad scientist, monsters, automatons. Even the queen made an appearance. Writing skill was adequate. The climax was weak. This was definitely worth the 40 cents I paid. Rated C- [3 stars].

I decided to remain in the 19th century and read The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green. An early detective novel written in 1878.

[chanfm]

Have justed started reading Clariel by Garth Nix. Seems ok so far.

[WT Sharpe]

I'm currently reading The Historical Jesus in Context edited by Amy-Jill Levine, Dale C. Allison Jr., and John Dominic Crossan, and I can't believe all the typos I'm encountering. To be sure, it's pretty obvious that they all originated as scanning errors but you'd think a book published in 2009 by Princeton University Press and that includes such luminaries within its covers as Amy-Jill Levine, John Dominic Crossan, Ben Witherington III, and 27 other academics would be more carefully examined for common mistakes prior to release. There are scan errors on practically every page. What's up with that? After paying all those professors for their contributions, didn't Princeton have any money left to hire a proofreader? Fortunately, I only paid $15.37 (it's currently selling for $25.49). I guess I could have avoided all the scan errors by buying the print edition, but that's $43.95 for the paperback and over $80.00 for the hardcover.

My opinion so far? The scholarship is excellent and this is a great book to add to your collection if you're interested in knowing more about early Christianity and the world in which it developed, but be prepared to scratch your head at more than a few scan errors in the text.

[timebug]

Currently reading a pile of early George Gently
novels by Alan Hunter. Will report back when I
have finished them!
For a short break,I read 'Jeeves and the Wedding
Bells' by Sebastian Faulks. I had read his 'Devil May
Care' which was his James Bond novel,and was not
particularly taken with it.
This one is an affectionate nod to PG Wodehouse
and the inimatable Jeeves and Wooster series. Not
badly done, an engaging enough read,BUT...certainly
lacking 'whatever it was' that made the original books
special.If,like me,you loved the Wodehouse books,then
by all means give this one a go.Not great,whilst being
not actually bad either.A sort of taster for the real thing,
as he puts it in his introduction to the story.

[HarryT]

Two books recently completed:

"Dancers in Mourning", by Margery Allingham. The 9th book in the Campion series, and enjoyable as always. Campion is called in by a friend whose book has been produced as a stage play, when the star of the show starts experiencing a campaign of petty but annoying, attacks. The inevitable murder soon occurs, though, and Campion has to solve it. Very enjoyable.

"Howard Carter and the Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun", by H.V.F. Winstone. An excellent biography of Howard Carter by a historian renowned for his biographies of archaeologists. Very readable and highly recommended if anyone has an interest in the subject matter. This was a paper book.

I'm now reading "For King and Country" by Robert Asprin and Linda Evans, which is annoying me in its use of American spellings for British things, such as "Ministry of Defense" (sic). No, sorry, it's "Ministry of Defence", no matter what the nationality of the author. This is just so irritating . Why can't authors take more care?

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

...I'm now reading "For King and Country" by Robert Asprin and Linda Evans, which is annoying me in its use of American spellings for British things, such as "Ministry of Defense" (sic). No, sorry, it's "Ministry of Defence", no matter what the nationality of the author. This is just so irritating . Why can't authors take more care?

Are you sure it isn't the fault of the publisher or proofreader?

[Apache]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm now reading "For King and Country" by Robert Asprin and Linda Evans, which is annoying me in its use of American spellings for British things, such as "Ministry of Defense" (sic). No, sorry, it's "Ministry of Defence", no matter what the nationality of the author. This is just so irritating . Why can't authors take more care?

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Are you sure it isn't the fault of the publisher or proofreader?

Or even an American based spell checker.
I have read the book years ago and being an American I did not pick up on the misspelling. I must admit that I do prefer that books set in the United Kingdom use the British form of English. I think I can figure out the meaning and definition and if not there is always a dictionary or Google.
Apache