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

[samhy]

Originally Posted by orlok

Now you're making me think I might try my first J.K. Rowling, something I thought I'd never do...

Originally Posted by BelleZora

You'll probably enjoy it. Mystery is my favorite genre and I've read a lot. I was impressed with Rowling's mastery of the genre and the quality of the writing. I had thought of her as a children's writer. Now her books, as long as they are mysteries, will be auto-buys for me.

I agree with BelleZora regarding the mastery of the genre and quality of the writing.
In my opinion, this book was more along the (very broad) lines of a Hercule Poirot than anything from Mary Higgins Clarke. I bet you can see that I don't read that much mysteries.

The more I read the book, the more each and every one of the characters was becoming a plausible suspect. Also, what's really important for me, in the end I had to say "everything was just in front of me, so I could have guessed the outcome".
The main characters are likable and I'm looking forward to seeing them interact in the next books. Also, the character of Cormoran Strike is deeper than I thought at first.

[HarryT]

Just finished "The Last Argument of Kings" - the final book in Joe Abercrombie's "First Law" trilogy. Dark and grim fantasy, but enormously satisfying. You won't find many "happy endings" here. A must read for all fantasy fans.

The title of the book refers to the phrase "Ultima Ratio Regum" which the French king Louis XIV had inscribed on his cannons.

[orangedotgreen]

Last week I read Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl. I liked it very much and I'm very sorry that I didn't visit the museum when I was in Oslo 4 years ago - I spent half an hour in that area after visiting the Fram museum, but I didn't know what Kon Tiki was so I didn't go in.

Now I'm reading Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

An aside: Have you read Sketches and eccentricities of Col. David Crockett, of West Tennessee? It looks like it may be interesting, assuming it's the same Davy Crockett who was frontiersman and politician.

I haven't. It does sound interesting - perhaps some of the reality behind the myths.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next: Asimov's SF, July 2014.

A good issue, as usual.

Now for a recent Baen publication, bought from Kobo using a 75% off coupon: The Sea of Time by P C Hodgell. The continuing adventures of Jame in a fantasy universe.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Just finished "The Last Argument of Kings" - the final book in Joe Abercrombie's "First Law" trilogy. Dark and grim fantasy, but enormously satisfying. You won't find many "happy endings" here. A must read for all fantasy fans.

I shall add the series to my wish list, if you think it's that good.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I shall add the series to my wish list, if you think it's that good.

I do. It's extremely dark and violent, but very, very good.

[CRussel]

I started reading it, and ultimately decided it might well be that good, but it was too violent and I was going to pass. There are enough good books that I haven't yet read that I can pass on this one.

Note that I don't avoid violence completely - I'm on #3 in the Belisarius series, which is hardly a cozy. But when the violence and torture are lovingly described, I can pass. The same way I feel about long, detailed rape scenes. It's quite possible to write really good books without either, in the same genres and over the same periods.

In addition to the Belisarius book, I'm also reading Deployment Fundamentals, Vol4 (not exactly a genre thriller ), & Mash, by Richard Hooker. The book on which the TV series was originally based. All three books are quite good, although very different obviously.

[pilotbob]

I'm reading The Alloy of Law.

Am I the only one amused that the main characters' names are Wax and Wane. I keep expecting Moon jokes, but none have been forthcoming.

[becsta]

I am currently reading Firefly summer by Maeve Binchey.

[ccowie]

Just finished Hyperion, which I've wanted to read for a long time. I loved it! I'm looking forward to the next one, but it'll have to wait while I catch up on a few others on my TBR list.

So, will I be disappointed with The Fall of Hyperion?

[covingtoncat73]

I'm on a roll! That Paperwhite I got has really inspired me. I read The Wild Trees for book club. It was a non-fiction and I finished it, though I enjoyed the sections about the trees more than the sections about the people searching for and studying the world's tallest trees. It did make me want to go live in a tree.

I finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I really enjoyed it. It is YA, not that that has ever stopped me, but I believe it is a book adults can enjoy as well. I loved the Welsh island setting.

I thought about jumping into the sequel to Miss Peregrine, but decided to read Geek Love instead. Yeah, not a book for the faint of heart. It is horrifying yet enthralling. Like a train wreck or, I suppose, a freak show.

[HarryT]

Just finished "Sparkling Cyanide" by Agatha Christie. This was her 44th book, and was originally published in 1945.

A woman dies from cyanide poisoning at a fashionable restaurant, and her death is ruled to be suicide. Her husband, however, has his doubts and decides to investigate, with tragic results...

This novel is the last appearance in Christie's work of Colonel Race, the former secret service agent who appeared in several of Christie's earlier books. The novel is a rewrite of Christie's early short story, "Yellow Iris", the short story version of which features Hercule Poirot, although the story is changed considerably from the short story version.

I really enjoyed this book. Excellent.

[xg4bx]

I'm bouncing between the Wheel of Time books and the Dune prequel/sequel series'.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Next up is probably NOS4A2 by Joe Hill or Snuff by Terry Pratchett. I will see how I am feeling when the time comes. Mostly waiting on my library holds right now.

I ended up with Snuff which was another great Sam Vimes novel in the Discworld series.

Next is a re-read of The Martian by Andy Weir. I read the original last year and want to compare the "professional" version to the indie version I had already read. In a very cursory look I don't see much if anything that has changed, so I am guessing very little.

[samhy]

Originally Posted by samhy

Now to leave thrillers and mysteries behind for a while, I've started Pivot Point by Kasie West. This is a YA book that seems to promise heaps of cuteness.

I didn't expect to like this book that much. So much so, actually, that I've started the second installment right away. So I'm reading Split Second by Kasie West.