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

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I'm currently on the twentieth installment, and still avidly reading. The ebooks from Open Road publishers are very nicely edited & formatted - very few typos or badly formatted spots. But pricey - 9.99 a book.

They sounded quite interesting, until we got to the price. My average ebook price (for books read) this year is only $2.98. Back catalogue mysteries at $9.99 are very much over priced.

Hmm... I see the UK price is £4.49 (about $7.20). That's more reasonable, but not quite low enough to tempt me (even if I didn't have a massive TBR list).

[afa]

Done with Red Seas Under Red Skies, the second in Scott Lynch's The Gentleman Bastard Sequence.

A decent book, but not quite as enjoyable as the first. And that is not a good thing, considering I already thought the first was 'pretty good' but not great. Overall, the series is a decent read, but not one of the best out there. The main reason for my underwhelmance (that's right) is the fact that the novel feels a little too much like the first. Locke and Jean plan a heist, Locke and Jean get more than they bargain for, Locke and Jean experience trials, tribulations and personal loss, Locke and Jean come out fine in the end. All with a fair amount of witty repartee, of course. It's fine, as I said, but nothing that really strikes me as particularly exciting or engrossing. I can't find myself either identifying with, or strongly caring for, either character. And their bromance was getting tiresome by the end.

Still, I don't dislike the novel, or the series. I will probably still delve into the next installments, if only because I don't like giving up on a series midway (unless I truly hate it). Of course, Lynch seems to have been inspired by GRRM and Rothfuss when it comes to releasing sequels; his Republic of Thieves is now well over two years overdue.

For my next read, I haven't quite made up my mind, but I'm leaning towards Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. Or maybe The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I could, conceivably, also go ahead with The Passage by Justin Cronin...

Hmmm... Any suggestions?

[xg4bx]

Emerald Death by Bill Craig. its the 1st book of the Hardluck Hannigan pulp series about an adventurer/explorer thwarting the nazi's searches for arcane relics in the early years of ww2 ala indiana jones.

"For Mike Hannigan, fleeing New York City ahead of a bullet seemed like a good deal. But when he reached Africa, he finds a whole new world of adventure waiting. Shortly after he arrives his interest is piqued when he hears about a treasure hidden deep in a lost city within the jungles of The Congo. Allying himself with Gregor Shotsky, an old friend, and Bridget O' Malley, a beautiful missionary and bush pilot, Hannigan finds himself on a quest for The Emerald of Eternity. A legendary gemstone said to contain the secret of immortality itself! Racing against a Nazi military search party, Hannigan must find and recover the mysterious gemstone or let it fall into the hands of the deadliest scourge to walk the earth, Dr. Ragnarok, a minion of Adolph Hitler. And if Hitler were to hold the mystic gemstone, the fate of the world would hang in the balance between life and an Emerald Death!"

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by afa

For my next read, I haven't quite made up my mind, but I'm leaning towards Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. Or maybe The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I could, conceivably, also go ahead with The Passage by Justin Cronin...

Hmmm... Any suggestions?

I vote Prince of Thorns. But you probably can't go wrong The Passage either. They're both part of a continuing series, but both are also very self-contained stories. The same cannot be said for Name of the Wind—if that sort of thing plays into your decision-making process at all.

... of course, I loved the first two installments of Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series with Locke Lamora, so take my advice at your own risk.

Of course, Lynch seems to have been inspired by GRRM and Rothfuss when it comes to releasing sequels; his Republic of Thieves is now well over two years overdue.

To be fair... the reason for Lynch's delay is vastly different than Martin's or Rothfuss's. He's battling clinical depression brought on by the almost simultaneous double whammy of the death of a close family member and a failed marriage.

[afa]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I vote Prince of Thorns. But you probably can't go wrong The Passage either. They're both part of a continuing series, but both are also very self-contained stories. The same cannot be said for Name of the Wind—if that sort of thing plays into your decision-making process at all.

It sort of does and doesn't. At the moment that I finish a novel, knowing that there are still untold parts of the story that I'll have to wait for years to experience, it does irritate me. But I do tend to get over it pretty quick.

Rothfuss, unfortunately, writes at a pace that would truly test this... I don't know if I really want to wait 4 or 5 years for the damn thing. Then again, I already bought the book, so is it wise to sit on it for, say, 3 years before starting? Then it's a waste of money. I might as well have bought the book later and possibly saved some money...

... of course, I loved the first two installments of Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series with Locke Lamora, so take my advice at your own risk.

That goes without saying from someone who enjoys The Onion. But then, you also like Abercrombie, which puts me in two minds... I'm still not sure whether our tastes match up or not.

To be fair... the reason for Lynch's delay is vastly different than Martin's or Rothfuss's. He's battling clinical depression brought on by the almost simultaneous double whammy of the death of a close family member and a failed marriage.

Ah... See, I did not know that. That sucks.

I think I'll probably start with Prince of Thorns. Heard a lot of good things about it.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by afa

That goes without saying from someone who enjoys The Onion. But then, you also like Abercrombie, which puts me in two minds... I'm still not sure whether our tastes match up or not.

I'm guessing our tastes just happen to intersect occasionally.
Hope you enjoy Prince of Thorns, I know I did immensely.

[bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I've heard so much about 1Q84 that I'm tempted to buy it, but at a healthy 944 pages, I'm not sure I'm ready to commit. It's available now for pre-order at Amazon.

Really interesting interview with Murakami in the NY Times magazine section this past weekend. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/ma...urakami&st=cse

Made me just that much more interested in reading the book - but I think I'll wait until the price comes down a bit.

[Traye]

I started A Discovery Of Witches last night, it's okay so far. Not riveting.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by bevdeforges

Really interesting interview with Murakami in the NY Times magazine section this past weekend. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/ma...urakami&st=cse

Made me just that much more interested in reading the book - but I think I'll wait until the price comes down a bit.

and linked from that interview is the (short) short story that the novel is supposedly based on:

http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/murakami-perfect.html


I'm lovin' this guy, may have to pre-order the book...

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I've become addicted to Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver mysteries! The first one (Grey Mask) was a bit overdone & silly (trying to mix espionage, the supernatural, and a governess was a bit much), but once Wentworth settled into the cozy with a twist formula, the series takes off. Although the "discreet cough" can get a bit cloying. "Ahem!"

I'm currently on the twentieth installment, and still avidly reading. The ebooks from Open Road publishers are very nicely edited & formatted - very few typos or badly formatted spots. But pricey - 9.99 a book.

I have read most of these, in DT books, and really enjoyed them. But $9.99 for what are really quite small books is a bit much.

Currently reading: Azimov's Foundation. Hadn't read it since I was 15 years old. Enjoying it, but find one thing he really missed -- the demise of smoking in the real world.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by afa

I could, conceivably, also go ahead with The Passage by Justin Cronin...

Hmmm... Any suggestions?

I am currently listening to it as an audio book. Boy, is that a marathon at 37 hours of listening material...

It is a very ambitious work, spanning big swathes and gaps in time, and told from a number of differing viewpoints, and is well worth the effort. It will be a 5 star "read" for me, not least for its huge scale and excellent literary style.

[afa]

Thanks for that, orlok.

I will certainly get to it soon. It's gotten some pretty darn good reviews. And I like the cover, too.

[carld]

In between a thousand different DIY projects on the new (1930) house, I'm reading Child of Fire: A Twenty Palaces Novel. It's a really different spin on the urban fantasy hero story, but an enjoyable read so far.

[WT Sharpe]

Just finished the Kindle edition of the November 5, 2011 issue of ScienceNews. Highlights: Global Warming alters rain patterns and creates a tipping point between forest and savanna; more doubt cast on those "superluminal" neutrinos of Opera fame; lightning creates terrestrial cosmic ray flashes as well as antimatter (old news, but new to me); the widespread dangers to ecosystems of removing large predators; and more.

[melmac]

Originally Posted by orlok

I am currently listening to it as an audio book. Boy, is that a marathon at 37 hours of listening material...

It is a very ambitious work, spanning big swathes and gaps in time, and told from a number of differing viewpoints, and is well worth the effort. It will be a 5 star "read" for me, not least for its huge scale and excellent literary style.

It was the first ever audiobook I listened to, it was epic and I've been surprised how short other audiobooks are ever since

I can't wait for the sequel to come out next year(hopefully early in the year)