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

[drofgnal]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

I picked up Stephen King’s The Stand as an Amazon deal of the day. It’s the new version where he reinserted many of the 400 pages his publisher suggested he remove. In the preface he says he didn’t put it all back, but based on the page count he put quite a bit of it back.

I’ve never read any Stephen King so I thought I’d take the plunge. It’s not my favorite genre, sci-fi, but post apocalyptic stories I do enjoy. So I’ve got a 1200 pages in front of me.

I'm still at it as I've been pretty busy during December. But I see light at the end of the tunnel. I can see why in the first version his publisher had him remove 400 pages. It does go on and on. But I'm too invested with time now to stop. Maybe now with the holidays almost over I can push through quicker.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The Winter Ball by Anton Du Beke, which I expect to be light and enjoyable.

Which it was. With a veneer of wartime grit.

I followed that with Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones. The second (by internal chronology) in her Chrestomanci series.

Next was a new purchase: The Vacuum of Space by Juli Huni. Light fun murder mystery/romance in Space, first in her "Space Janitor" series, but self-contained.

Now starting: The Dust of Kaku. The second Space Janitor book.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

.

Next was a new purchase: The Vacuum of Space by Juli Huni. Light fun murder mystery/romance in Space, first in her "Space Janitor" series, but self-contained.

Which is still free.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...w_myk_ro_title

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Which is still free.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...w_myk_ro_title

Ahhhh, but now no longer - unfortunately.

Info for NEWER members: If one is a paid member of Kindle Unlimited, then one can borrow the book. But if a member ends his membership, then

"Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I think I'm-a gonna cry-y"

Well, we all know the song.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Now starting: The Dust of Kaku. The second Space Janitor book.

Which was also fun.

I followed that with Luminous by Silvia Park. I fell for the "great new SF novel" line from mainstream sources again. Poor.

As a fun end to the year's reading, I read the final three books in the Space Janitor series: Glitter in the Stars and Sweeping S'Ride continue the mian story.

The Trouble with Tinsel was just a fun Christmas themed adventure, and I suspect not really meant to be canon.

I started the new year with You Don't Have to Have a Dream by Tim Minchin, which was three speeches he gave when receiving honororary doctorates, along with a little commentary. Fun and interesting.

Then I got back to the Chrestomanci stories:

Charmed Life (the first written), Mixed Magics and The Magicians of Caprona

All fun multi-world magic user stories.

And now I'm continuing with Witch Week.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now I'm continuing with Witch Week.

A good story. Chrestomanci is really just a deus ex machina in this one.

Next up: The Pinhoe Egg. The last of the Chrestomanci books.

[Rumpelteazer]

I finished my first book of the year yesterday. House of Whispers by J.L. Bryan, the fifth book in the Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper series. A very enjoyable addition to the series. Bryan manages to keep it interesting. Not just the diversity of the cases but also the storylines that span multiple books. So far these books are quick and easy reads, good as a palate cleanser in between slower reads. The stories aren't too gory or scary (for someone who reads and watches a lot of horror), there's always an end battle with the big baddie of that book and there is only a little bit of romance.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Then I got back to the Chrestomanci stories:

Charmed Life (the first written), Mixed Magics and The Magicians of Caprona

All fun multi-world magic user stories.

And now I'm continuing with Witch Week.

I just started Charmed Life myself. I'm enjoying it so far. I doubt I will zip through them as fast as you have, though.

[Apache]

I am almost finished with my first book of the year. It is Legalist by L. E. Modesitt Jr. and is the fourth book n his Grand Illusion Series. So far, an excellent book for me. I also liked the first three.
Apache

[haertig]

Yesterday I just started into "Five Years After" by William R. Forstchen. It's the fourth book in his John Masterson series.

[astrangerhere]

Started the year off thusly:

• Audio - A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith (I was pestered into reading this by a buddy, but was unwilling to purchase it. Only listening to it now because my hold came in via the library).
  
• Up Next Audio - The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk
  
• DTB - The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1 by Chris Claremont
  
• Kobo - The Saint of Bright Doors by Varja Chandrasekera

[issybird]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Started the year off thusly:

• Up Next Audio - The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk

This has been sitting in my Kobo for some months, since I reread Magic Mountain last year. I'll be interested to know what you think of it; I'm always looking for reasons to bump a book up my list!

[Renate]

Originally Posted by issybird

This has been sitting in my Kobo for some months, since I reread Magic Mountain last year. I'll be interested to know what you think of it; I'm always looking for reasons to bump a book up my list!

I liked "Der Zauberberg", but it is long.
I've never managed to get through "Death in Venice".
I found it creepy shit.

I'm reading "The Maltese Falcon", which just hit PD.
The movie follows it very closely.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I just started Charmed Life myself. I'm enjoying it so far. I doubt I will zip through them as fast as you have, though.

I did whoosh through them. I've been waiting for them to go on offer for ages.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now I'm continuing with Witch Week.

Which was a good short story collection. And I followed it with The Pinhoe Egg which is a most enjoyable continuation of the story, rather than a prequel.

And that concludes my reading/re-reading of the Chrestomanci stories. Great fun.

Next up: No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes. I really like some of her classical works. We'll see if this is one of the ones I like.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I did whoosh through them. I've been waiting for them to go on offer for ages.

Well, it didn't actually take me long to get through Charmed Life, so maybe I could have zoomed through the whole lot, but I don't tend to read series like that. I'll have a bit of time off before the next one.

I'm attempting to start The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, but I had a bit of a day yesterday and was not in the mood at all. My mind kept drifting to the day's problems instead of focusing on the words on the page. It'll take me forever at this pace.