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

[Quake1028]

Just delivered to my iPad and will be starting today - The Last Man by Vince Flynn.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Shadow of a Dark Queen by Raymond E. Feist.

It's quite fun, but there are plot holes you could drive an army through. E.g.

Spoiler:

If you are concerned about an invasion by a massive army from an island continent, it's unlikely that you would neglect to consider that the enemy will need some form of transport from said island continent to your home.

Although the first in a series arc, it does in some ways has a bit of a conclusion itself, so I'm not going to go straight onto the next.

Instead: Warrior Woman by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Bought back in December 2009, so I'm working through my TBR list!

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Reading Last Seen Wearing, by Colin Dexter. Enjoying it immensely. As marvelous as the TV series was, the book is at least as good. (Not available in eBook format in the US, but is available in the UK and Canada. )

Finished Last Seen Wearing, the second of the Inspector Morse books by Colin Dexter. Excellent. Well written, witty, and well worth reading. Even though I've seen the every episode in the TV series several times, including the episode based on this book, I still found new things in the book. Definitely recommended.

Next up, a quick run through several of the earlier books in the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I've bought them all in pBook at one point or another, but now have them all in eBook format and want to revisit them.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Instead: Warrior Woman by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

An interesting departure from her usual works, but although a good read, I felt the world-building was rather poor.

Next: Starburst by Frederik Pohl

[DrNefario]

I finished All Clear yesterday, the second half of Connie Willis's 2011 Hugo Winner. I found it slightly less good than Blackout - there was a really long section early in the second book that I knew could never amount to anything because it was early in the second book - but overall I really enjoyed it. Maybe it was about one-and-a-half books' worth of story, rather than two, but I'm not unhappy that it won the Hugo.

I'm not sure what's next. Probably A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh, in paperback.

[Apache]

I just started Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War by Jeff Shaara.
Apache

[sun surfer]

I finished Anna Karenina a week or two ago and then started on The Wise Man's Fear which I just finished.

At 1070 and 1096 pages respectively, those are not only the two longest books I've read this year but two of the longest books I've read in years. And I read them back to back, lol. It's my fault though, because they were both on my to-read list for the year, and I put them both off til the end of the year.

Anna Karenina was great.

The Wise Man's Fear was great too. Heh, could it be crammed any fuller? I didn't like it quite as much as The Name of the Wind, which just took me by storm. In this second book in the series, there were some very strong parts though that made up for the more uneven parts. I like the world; it's realistic (for a fantasy world), vivid and...gritty, and I love the character of Kvothe, a hero who loves learning, who is artistic, and who makes mistake after mistake unlike many heroes. The author has a knack for storytelling and I like and respect the overall dark and adult tone he's taken with what could've easily been a lighter, more kiddish type of tale, especially since the main character is still in his teens after two books. Can't wait to read the third book, though I'm not sure when I'll get to it...

Next up for me is Cloud Atlas, the general book club selection for November!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next: Starburst by Frederik Pohl

I find I have read this fairly recently - back in December 2011, and I still think it was better as the novella "The Gold at the Starbow's End".

I really should have taken it off my list! Whooops.

Next: The Weapon from Beyond by Edmund Hamilton

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Next up, a quick run through several of the earlier books in the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I've bought them all in pBook at one point or another, but now have them all in eBook format and want to revisit them.

Finished Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold. This is the original story of the Quaddies, and set well before any of the actual Vorkosigan stories. Much to my delight it has stood the test of time. Still an excellent story, and a fascinating concept of genetic manipulation to adapt to a specific environment, though the story and the characters are the basis which makes this stand up. Excellent, and it bodes well for my quick run through the Vorkosigan books.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Finished the Knife of Dreams and finished my 2012 page challenge in doing so. I only have the last two Wheel of Time books to read before the end of the year, so onto book 12 The Gathering Storm with Brandon Sanderson.

Finished The Gathering Storm this morning when my commute was extended by an hour due to a drunk driver playing "Dukes of Hazzard".

Started Jet by Russell Blake in the rest of the time. Not sure what to think of it yet. Although it is very fast paced I am having a hard time getting into the writing style.

[orange!]

Working my way (again) through the Raymond Chandler/Philip Marlowe canon. Almost done with The Lady in the Lake.

It all started (again) a few weeks ago after I saw The Big Sleep. The movie was good, but the book was better. As usual.

[Latinandgreek]

I've just downloaded Ovid's Fasti, which I will hopefully get to today as I am almost done with the Dragonbone Chair.

Originally Posted by issybird

Spoiler:

And in the well-worn thriller manner, the heroine in that story cheats death umpteen times, as well.

I'm done and I think Cloud Atlas is grossly overrated. A lot of cheap effects and lazy pastiche.

Yeah, I should have waited for the film to come out on DVD. I will be interested in the discussion though since part of my problem was that I just don't find Sci-Fi/Fantasy that appealing these days.

[WT Sharpe]

Like Jon, I'm finding myself wondering if Cloud Atlas was fitting for a sci-fi month. Sure, parts of it take place in the future and involve advanced technology, but that certainly isn't the main thrust of the story. But unlike Jon, I couldn't see it as fantasy, either. It seems to defy classification. There is an undercurrent involving Eastern religious elements.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

The Wise Man's Fear was great too. Heh, could it be crammed any fuller? I didn't like it quite as much as The Name of the Wind, which just took me by storm. In this second book in the series, there were some very strong parts though that made up for the more uneven parts. I like the world; it's realistic (for a fantasy world), vivid and...gritty, and I love the character of Kvothe, a hero who loves learning, who is artistic, and who makes mistake after mistake unlike many heroes. The author has a knack for storytelling and I like and respect the overall dark and adult tone he's taken with what could've easily been a lighter, more kiddish type of tale, especially since the main character is still in his teens after two books. Can't wait to read the third book, though I'm not sure when I'll get to it...

I had this on my list for this year as well, but unlike you I won't actually get to it.

I too loved the first one, but I have to admit that I've been put off reading the second one because it's so huge. I've really got to read at least one of my bigger books next year or otherwise they will just never be read.