Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 811

caleb72 · 01-26-2012, 12:43 AM

I've recently finished A Gathering of Gargoyles by Meredith Ann Pierce, second in The Darkangel trilogy. Really liked this YA fantasy book.

Also, recently I read Night Camp and reviewed it on my site in honour of the independent author L.C. Evans who passed away earlier this month. This was a middle grade children's horror and was lots of fun to read.

Now I'm reading Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It had a great start but I have no idea as yet where the story is going. I don't think I've even read the blurb so I'm intrigued to see where it ends up.

missimpossible · 01-26-2012, 04:46 AM

Took me a while but I finally finished Gardens of the Moon. I was totally pleasantly surprised. I was prepared to enjoy it, but had been warned by some that because Erikson doesn't spoon feed you, it becomes a little convoluted and difficult to follow. I didn't find this at ALL. I mean, I had to pay attention, but as long as I kept my eyes open, as it were, I pretty much got what was going on. And I LOVED it. It does read very much like the author's first book, as there are some clumsy sentences, some clumsy dialogue, and, er, a bone phone, but it was thoroughly enjoyable and I'm looking forward to starting Deadhouse Gates.

Also finished Wonder Boys. I had already seen the film a couple of times, so I was pretty well aware of what was going to happen. The book added so much to my perception of the film and was in general a really good read. Although it's very over-the-top, it never feels unrealistic; the study of academia is pretty spot-on as far as I can tell.

Read The Fault in our Stars yesterday. I was prepared to be underwhelmed. I really like John Green's writing but in Looking for Alaska I found his character's totally fell flat - I'm pretty fed up with the MPDG idea in general. However, this was totally different. Pretty much all I want to say about it is it's about cancer, and the writing is gorgeous. It still lacks something in that some characterisation inconsistencies mean that the book isn't totally immersive, but it's still leaps and bounds on from LFA. I don't think I'll read anything else by him - from what I've heard, his other works pound the MPDG thing equally to LFA.

Started The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Everyone is mad.

maianhvk · 01-26-2012, 08:12 AM

I'm still reading Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, together with 3 Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.

SeaBookGuy · 01-26-2012, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maianhvk

I'm still reading Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, together with 3 Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.

Did that one feature a monkey? If so, I recall it shown on television here in the States (with English subtitles) years ago.

If you liked Three Men in a Boat, I highly recommend Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith.

jgaiser · 01-26-2012, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

After reading a number of pretty good reviews, I'm trying to work through John Love's debut novel Faith. I have to say I'm not as impressed as some of the reviewers. I'm at about 40% through the novel and it feels like Mr. Love had a word count requirement to meet. Sections are very drawn out with little results for all the words. As we've finally met the alien spacecraft, I'll stick with it a while longer, but I'm beginning to feel that the comparison to Moby Dick may be correct. Long and tiresome.

Ok... I give up. It isn't often that I completely give up on a book, especially one that I've put in the effort to get half way through it, but.. I can't take it anymore. Just noticed that there are three reviews on Baen. One bad, one "meh!" and one good. 1 1/2 stars for me.

tecweston · 01-26-2012, 04:58 PM

Currently reading:

- 11/22/63 by Stephen King (65%)

- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (62%)

- A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin (31%) [on hold]

- A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin (20%) [on hold]

Solicitous · 01-26-2012, 08:28 PM

Currently half way through One Day On Mars by Travis S Taylor. To be honest I am struggling with it. The story is ok, lot of potential, but I really feel he lacks the ability to switch between scenes with ease, easy to get one confused.

Probably the biggest turn-off is the swearing in the story. I'm not against profanity, and use of it from a charactor engaged in dialogue is fine, but he uses profanity when describing a scene or throwing in a paragraph describing a historical event to enlighten the reader, you know from a narrative point of view. Tell me what happened and I will decide whether I as a reader should like a particular charactor or not. Feels he is trying to dictate to the reader what they should feel and think while reading.

Might try and push my way through it.

alansplace · 01-26-2012, 09:32 PM

It has often irritated me that J.K. Rowling's US publisher changed the word Philosopher to Sorcerer in the initial Potter book. So the other day I was looking around on Amazon with my browser and located a Marketplace vendor who was selling new copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in hardback (published by Bloomsbury). I ordered it. It came today. It has a kinda' blah cover (see below) and was slightly smaller than a library/book club edition. I'd hoped that it would come with the cover art depicting Harry and the Hogwarts Express - see below). Its arrival made me decide to re-read it and I'll probably get to the midpoint by bedtime and finish it tomorrow.

The Terminator · 01-26-2012, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solicitous

you know from a narrative point of view. Tell me what happened and I will decide whether I as a reader should like a particular charactor or not. Feels he is trying to dictate to the reader what they should feel and think while reading.

Might try and push my way through it.

I've never read a book that has swearing in the narrative, that sounds really weird.

maianhvk · 01-26-2012, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

Did that one feature a monkey? If so, I recall it shown on television here in the States (with English subtitles) years ago.

If you liked Three Men in a Boat, I highly recommend Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith.

Yep, that's it.

3 men in a boat... Many times I feel like I'm supposed to be laughing, but I'm not. Perhaps the jokes are too old.

xg4bx · 01-27-2012, 03:09 AM

finished The Name of the Wind. great book but damn, i hate foreshadowing. it pains me that an author of such skill resorted to such a cheap storytelling device.

the next book i read that has "little did i know that X was about to happen" at the end of a chapter gets thrown across the room. its lazy and it kills all suspense. let your story flow instead of distracting me with a big red "uh oh, crazy stuff about to happen" warning flag.i want to be surprised.

currently reading Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks.

HarryT · 01-27-2012, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alansplace

It has often irritated me that J.K. Rowling's US publisher changed the word Philosopher to Sorcerer in the initial Potter book. So the other day I was looking around on Amazon with my browser and located a Marketplace vendor who was selling new copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in hardback (published by Bloomsbury). I ordered it. It came today. It has a kinda' blah cover (see below) and was slightly smaller than a library/book club edition. I'd hoped that it would come with the cover art depicting Harry and the Hogwarts Express - see below). Its arrival made me decide to re-read it and I'll probably get to the midpoint by bedtime and finish it tomorrow.

The one that you've got is the "Adult" version. The UK publisher issues all the books in both "Adult" and "Children's" editions. The only difference is the cover.

alansplace · 01-27-2012, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

The one that you've got is the "Adult" version. The UK publisher issues all the books in both "Adult" and "Children's" editions. The only difference is the cover.

Interesting, and good to know. Is that also why there are no chapter graphics or are Mary Grandpré's illustrations only included in the US published books?

pilotbob · 01-27-2012, 12:16 PM

Ran out of podcasts for the car so I started listening to _Just After Sunset_ a collection of short stories by Steven King. The first one, Willa is very good so far.

BOb

Traye · 01-27-2012, 02:46 PM

I'm about to start The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw.

01-26-2012, 04:46 AM	#12152
missimpossible Groupie Posts: 165 Karma: 491236 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Glasgow Device: Libra 2, Clara 2e, Oasis 3	Took me a while but I finally finished Gardens of the Moon. I was totally pleasantly surprised. I was prepared to enjoy it, but had been warned by some that because Erikson doesn't spoon feed you, it becomes a little convoluted and difficult to follow. I didn't find this at ALL. I mean, I had to pay attention, but as long as I kept my eyes open, as it were, I pretty much got what was going on. And I LOVED it. It does read very much like the author's first book, as there are some clumsy sentences, some clumsy dialogue, and, er, a bone phone, but it was thoroughly enjoyable and I'm looking forward to starting Deadhouse Gates. Also finished Wonder Boys. I had already seen the film a couple of times, so I was pretty well aware of what was going to happen. The book added so much to my perception of the film and was in general a really good read. Although it's very over-the-top, it never feels unrealistic; the study of academia is pretty spot-on as far as I can tell. Read The Fault in our Stars yesterday. I was prepared to be underwhelmed. I really like John Green's writing but in Looking for Alaska I found his character's totally fell flat - I'm pretty fed up with the MPDG idea in general. However, this was totally different. Pretty much all I want to say about it is it's about cancer, and the writing is gorgeous. It still lacks something in that some characterisation inconsistencies mean that the book isn't totally immersive, but it's still leaps and bounds on from LFA. I don't think I'll read anything else by him - from what I've heard, his other works pound the MPDG thing equally to LFA. Started The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Everyone is mad. Last edited by missimpossible; 01-26-2012 at 04:48 AM. Reason: formatting mix up

01-26-2012, 09:32 PM	#12158
alansplace Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,895 Karma: 464403178 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: 33.9388° N, 117.2716° W Device: Kindles K-2, K-KB, PW 1 & 2, Voyage, Fire 2, 5 & HD 8, Surface 3, iPad	Harry Potter It has often irritated me that J.K. Rowling's US publisher changed the word Philosopher to Sorcerer in the initial Potter book. So the other day I was looking around on Amazon with my browser and located a Marketplace vendor who was selling new copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in hardback (published by Bloomsbury). I ordered it. It came today. It has a kinda' blah cover (see below) and was slightly smaller than a library/book club edition. I'd hoped that it would come with the cover art depicting Harry and the Hogwarts Express - see below). Its arrival made me decide to re-read it and I'll probably get to the midpoint by bedtime and finish it tomorrow. Attached Thumbnails

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01-26-2012, 12:43 AM	#12151
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	I've recently finished A Gathering of Gargoyles by Meredith Ann Pierce, second in The Darkangel trilogy. Really liked this YA fantasy book. Also, recently I read Night Camp and reviewed it on my site in honour of the independent author L.C. Evans who passed away earlier this month. This was a middle grade children's horror and was lots of fun to read. Now I'm reading Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It had a great start but I have no idea as yet where the story is going. I don't think I've even read the blurb so I'm intrigued to see where it ends up.

01-26-2012, 08:12 AM	#12153
maianhvk whimsical Posts: 2,779 Karma: 88193939 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: in darkness Device: current: PPW 4. brick: K3 & Voyage.	I'm still reading Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, together with 3 Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.

01-26-2012, 04:58 PM	#12156
tecweston Comic book artist Posts: 553 Karma: 1760679 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Detroit Device: Nook Glowlight, iPad, iPhone	Currently reading: - 11/22/63 by Stephen King (65%) - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (62%) - A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin (31%) [on hold] - A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin (20%) [on hold]

01-26-2012, 08:28 PM	#12157
Solicitous Wizard Posts: 1,434 Karma: 1525776 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: TAS, Australia Device: Astak Pocket Pro (Black), 2 x Kindle WiFi (Graphite), iPod Touch 4G	Currently half way through One Day On Mars by Travis S Taylor. To be honest I am struggling with it. The story is ok, lot of potential, but I really feel he lacks the ability to switch between scenes with ease, easy to get one confused. Probably the biggest turn-off is the swearing in the story. I'm not against profanity, and use of it from a charactor engaged in dialogue is fine, but he uses profanity when describing a scene or throwing in a paragraph describing a historical event to enlighten the reader, you know from a narrative point of view. Tell me what happened and I will decide whether I as a reader should like a particular charactor or not. Feels he is trying to dictate to the reader what they should feel and think while reading. Might try and push my way through it.

01-27-2012, 03:09 AM	#12161
xg4bx Are you gonna eat that? Posts: 1,633 Karma: 23215128 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Phillipsburg, NJ Device: Kindle 3, Nook STG	finished The Name of the Wind. great book but damn, i hate foreshadowing. it pains me that an author of such skill resorted to such a cheap storytelling device. the next book i read that has "little did i know that X was about to happen" at the end of a chapter gets thrown across the room. its lazy and it kills all suspense. let your story flow instead of distracting me with a big red "uh oh, crazy stuff about to happen" warning flag.i want to be surprised. currently reading Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks.

01-27-2012, 12:16 PM	#12164
pilotbob Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,832 Karma: 11844413 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Touch	Ran out of podcasts for the car so I started listening to _Just After Sunset_ a collection of short stories by Steven King. The first one, Willa is very good so far. BOb

01-27-2012, 02:46 PM	#12165
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	I'm about to start The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw.