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

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

Yes, yes I did ....

It's somewhat hypocritical advice coming from me because I've read them both, but haven't read the entirety of either series by a long shot. They haven't spoiled my enjoyment of either series, but could for some folks I suppose.

[ATDrake]

So I have a stack of books to return to the library, and thus I went and finished the collected comic book adaptation of Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World: The Graphic Novel: Volume One, scripted by Chuck Dixon with art by Chase Conley.

I've never read any of the Wheel of Time saga before, and have no intention of doing so, since it's apparently the Unfinished Series That Even Author Existence Failure Will Not Stop (not that it's alone in that distinction, but at least most of the other ones finished a bunch of reasonably standalone stories before that point).

Anyway, it seemed a decent enough if somewhat generic and over-florid "farmboy with secret special heritage is prodded into becoming a hero by tragic events in his home village which set him off on the grand quest full of interesting travel companions to eventually defeat the ultimate evil" kind of thing. The art was also of the same okay but kind of generic type, with some lulzy facial expressions and perspective foreshortening at points.

I'll read any other volumes of the GN which come into the library, but the story and setting overall weren't compelling enough to make me go seek out the originals (even before considering the fact that it's the Series Which Will Never End). This collection does have a really nice sketchbook section of concept art in the back, though, and probably well worth picking up if you're a fan of the series.

Also started in on Gemma Halliday's Spying in High Heels, a former freebie which I finally decided to try because the "High Heels Mysteries" 5-book bundle is the current Kindle Deal of the Day for a mere $1.99.

About 20% in, I've decided to splurge. While it's not deathless prose, it seems so far to be a funny enough chick-lit amateur sleuth series; lightweight comedic fluff which I myself normally wouldn't get at the regular $9.99 asking price because I'm not really the target audience, but I'm certainly willing to pick it up at the promo.

Also, it helps support an author who got screwed through that Dorchester Publishing royalty non-payment issue last year and has since taken her backlist to Smashwords and occasionally offers freebies, so I don't regret spending the $2 since it works out to less than 50 cents per volume.

[coderserdar]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Those two I've read. Thanks for the list. And I seem to recall reading Three Blind Mice.

a good book too
except the three blind mice, there are stories of tommy and tuppence beresfords

[coderserdar]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Agreed. Indeed, any Agatha Christie except "The Big Four".

i like the big four too
achille poirot

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by coderserdar

i like the big four too
achille poirot

It takes all sorts, I suppose. I found it just too silly and out of character to be likeable.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Personally, I'm reading them in publication order.

Spoiler:

01 The Mysterious Affair at Styles
02 The Secret Adversary
03 The Murder on the Links
04 The Man in the Brown Suit
05 Poirot Investigates
06 The Secret of Chimneys
07 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
08 The Big Four
09 The Mystery of the Blue Train
10 The Seven Dials Mystery
11 Partners in Crime
12 The Murder at the Vicarage
13 The Mysterious Mr. Quin
14 The Sittaford Mystery
15 Peril at End House
16 The Thirteen Problems
17 The Hound of Death
18 Lord Edgware Dies
19 Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
20 Murder on the Orient Express
21 Parker Pyne Investigates
22 The Listerdale Mystery
23 Three Act Tragedy
24 Death in the Clouds
25 The ABC Murders
26 Murder in Mesopotamia
27 Cards on the Table
28 Dumb Witness
29 Death on the Nile
30 Murder in the Mews
31 Appointment with Death
32 Hercule Poirot's Christmas
33 Murder is Easy
34 And Then There Were None
35 Sad Cypress
36 One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
37 Evil under the Sun
38 N or M?
39 The Body in the Library
40 The Moving Finger
41 Five Little Pigs
42 Towards Zero
43 Death Comes as the End
44 Sparkling Cyanide
45 The Hollow
46 The Labours of Hercules
47 Taken at the Flood
48 Crooked House
49 A Murder is Announced
50 They Came To Baghdad
51 Mrs McGinty's Dead
52 They Do It With Mirrors
53 A Pocket Full of Rye
54 After the Funeral
55 Destination Unknown
56 Hickory Dickory Dock
57 Dead Man's Folly
58 4.50 From Paddington
59 Ordeal by Innocence
60 Cat among the Pigeons
61 The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
62 The Pale Horse
63 The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side
64 The Clocks
65 A Caribbean Mystery
66 At Bertram's Hotel
67 Third Girl
68 Endless Night
69 By the Pricking of My Thumbs
70 Hallowe'en Party
71 Passenger to Frankfurt
72 Nemesis
73 Elephants Can Remember
74 Postern of Fate
75 Poirot's Early Cases
76 Curtain
77 Sleeping Murder
78 Miss Marple's Final Cases
79 Problem at Pollensa Bay
80 While the Light Lasts
81 Black Coffee
82 Spider's Web
83 The Unexpected Guest

I forgot to mention that the list is of the current ebook titles (some have appeared with various titles). I think it's the same in the UK and the US now, although the publication histories are a little different, especially for the short stories.

I think all the short stories are included in one book or another, except for "The Mousetrap", which has been published in the US, but can't be published in the UK until the first run of the play based on the story finishes. The first run has been going for over 59 years now....

Oh — a warning: Don't read the wikipedia article on "The Mousetrap", as they give away the ending. The arrogant idiots.

[coderserdar]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It takes all sorts, I suppose. I found it just too silly and out of character to be likeable.

it looks like clive cussler or jack higgins' books but we saw the humanity of poirot
like the feelings about the Vera Rossakoff
besides it looks like mysterious adventure novels

[Nyssa]

Warning received, PD. I usually only look up authors on Wiki, so that I can see their Bibliography, or I will look up a series so that I can see the publication or read order. Rarely, if ever, do I look up individual books, for that very reason you stated. Looking up the series info, can be risky as well, so I make sure to scroll down to the list if available, or I just ignore the individual synopsis, if a list is not there.

[Traye]

I picked up Ready Player One again and am glad I did as I'm really enjoying it.

[tecweston]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Oh — a warning: Don't read the wikipedia article on "The Mousetrap", as they give away the ending. The arrogant idiots.

They do this on Sherlock Holmes stories too, alongside the publication date and other info is the "villain" of the story. The first Sherlock Holmes story I read was "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and had it ruined for me because I looked it up on Wikipedia before finishing the story.

[ATDrake]

Wikipedia used to use spoiler alerts that you'd have to unfold, and then some idiots went and argued for removing all the spoiler warnings on some idiotic grounds*.

I never look at the summaries any more unless I really do want to know and don't intend to actually read/watch the work in question.

* "It's pop culture, so it's common knowledge, you wouldn't look it up in an encyclopedia unless you wanted to know, it's your fault for even looking, plot-ruining information wants to be freeeeeeeeeeee!" is how I think I recall it going.

[pilotbob]

Will, I finished _The Inverted Cavern_ on my cruise. I really like these books of the Time Cavern series... but you can tell the are made for younger readers. However, still fun and good stories. You can read the quickly and the prices are right.

I started _And Another Thing_ and I found it quite rambling. I think the Guide notes are a bit too frequent and interrupt the story too much. I don't recall HHG doing it quite that much. Or perhaps they were more entertaining that I didn't notice.

So, I started _Mindscan_ by Sawyer... so far so good. Although, he makes it clear how he feels about Copyright expiring. Apparently he thinks it never should.

BOb

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

So, I started _Mindscan_ by Sawyer... so far so good. Although, he makes it clear how he feels about Copyright expiring. Apparently he thinks it never should.

Actually, it's a little more ambiguous than that, if you get to the end. He does try to have his characters argue both sides (albeit one* a little more than the other).

* RJS does have this eternal hope of human virtual immortality being achieved in his lifetime, though, so that probably flavours things.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by coderserdar

a good book too
except the three blind mice, there are stories of tommy and tuppence beresfords

I must confess I never quite had quite the same warm feelings for Tommy and Tuppence as I have to Poirot & Jane Marple. I don't know why that is.

One of Christie's lesser known characters that I aways enjoy reading about is the mysterious Mr Quin.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Starburst by Frederik Pohl. The fifth from the bundle I bought in April.

It was OK. It was expanded from the Novella "The Gold at the Starbow's End", but the novella was better.

Next: Considering the time of year and the December book club choice, I think it must be: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.