Stuck in a Rut!

[Nyssa]

Help! RL has interrupted my concentration, and I'm not sure what I want to read. I do know, however, that I will have uninterrupted reading time on Friday! There will be electricians working at the house (so no electricity for most of the day), and the children will be at school.

I'm placing my options in a multiple choice poll.

1. Persuasion by Jane Austen. ~January's Book Club selection. I started this but petered out.

2. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass ~ Started but didn't get far.

3. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute ~ February's Book Club selection.

4. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa ~ Selection for a GoodReads Book Club

5. Blood Song by Cat Adams ~ Selection for a GoodReads Book Club

6. The Vampire's Assistant and Other Tales from the Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan

7. The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny

8. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

9. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz ~ A Christmas Gift

10. Survival by Julie E. Czerneda

Please & Thank You!

[Apache]

I picked Roger Zelazny's Amber Omnibus. If I could pick another of his instead I would have chosen Lord of Light.
Apache

[jgaiser]

I also picked the Amber Omnibus. A great combination of fantasy, aliens, ferocious war and magic.

I've actually only read through the Corwin Cycle (Nine Princes of Avalon, Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, The Courts of Chaos).

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Apache

I picked Roger Zelazny's Amber Omnibus. If I could pick another of his instead I would have chosen Lord of Light.
Apache

I learned of this series through reading Among Others by Jo Walton. I think Mori (the main character, and hardcore Science Fiction fan) mentioned Lord of Light, as well.

I'll take a look at it. Thanks.

[alansplace]

to Zelazny and 1258 pages should take a while!

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by alansplace

to Zelazny and 1258 pages should take a while!

True! Thats not bad for 10 books though!

[caleb72]

Lots of interesting looking books there, but I'm not sure what the "stuck in a rut" means. Does it mean you're struggling to maintain interest in a book at the moment?

If so, as long as you don't mind those YA type stories, I'd recommend one of them: Cirque du Freak or Iron King. With uninterrupted reading time, you'll probably devour one of them quite quickly and it might give you great momentum for your next read. But I may be interpreting your issue incorrectly.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by caleb72

Lots of interesting looking books there, but I'm not sure what the "stuck in a rut" means. Does it mean you're struggling to maintain interest in a book at the moment?

If so, as long as you don't mind those YA type stories, I'd recommend one of them: Cirque du Freak or Iron King. With uninterrupted reading time, you'll probably devour one of them quite quickly and it might give you great momentum for your next read. But I may be interpreting your issue incorrectly.

Thats exactly what I mean! I found both Persuasion & Shadow Blade interesting but still could not stay "focused" on either.

[caleb72]

In that case, I've cast my vote for the two YA selections you had listed.

Whichever you end up reading, I hope it's a great experience.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by caleb72

In that case, I've cast my vote for the two YA selections you had listed.

Whichever you end up reading, I hope it's a great experience.

Thank you so much, Caleb!

[Billi]

Very general, I would firstly make a decision between the first and the last five books. Do you plan to read the first books at all? They sound a little bit like a duty and if you want to read them, then do it immediately. Otherwise they will always stay in your backhead and "torture" you.

From them I would propose "I town like Alice". I personally like "Persuasion" more but not only the discussion in the book club showed that some people are struggling through it, especially through the first half.

If you decide against them all then delete them from any list that they don't clutter your brain anymore and follow the good advice of the other posters here.

[dreams]

Roger Zelazny's Amber Omnibus is my choice too.

I read them years ago, a book at a time, as I borrowed them from a friend. i wasn't really interested in reading them, but he kept telling me I would love them. I did.

I was so into the story a few times that I couldn't put the book down and go to sleep. I kept turning the light on again to just read a few more pages.

Then I bought the paperback omnibus a few years later and read it all again. I plan on rereading the omnibus again, but may have to get the digital version, as the paperback omnibus is so big and heavy.

[danskmacabre]

I voted Amber, surprisingly I haven't read it , but it's on MY list now!

[JSWolf]

As for Persuasion, if you didn't like it the first read, you'll not like it now. Besides, lfe it too short to spend reading something that's that boring.

[orlok]

I've not read any of them, so can't recommend any of them. However, I voted for The Secret Lives of Bees as I heard it is good and would be interested in your opinion if you did read it.