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

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Murder and mayhem are fine in books, but environmental irresponsibility is seriously upsetting.

Well, they say familiarity does breed contempt. And while most of us (hopefully!) are very unlikely to encounter murder and mayhem up close and personal in real life, we've all seen those people stub out their cigarettes right onto the street for the pigeons to eat, so it's like it matters more because we can visualize it happening in our vicinity so easily.

Admittedly, downtown Vancouver is supposed to be getting slightly better in that respect, with little recyling bins just for cigarettes prominently placed on many streets, which apparently, people actually use from time to time, even if it means the pigeons have to find a more varied diet now.

Finished my first read of the year, and the first thing read on my new-ish hand-me-down BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, which was kind of a holiday gift, although the holiday in question was more around Thanksgiving (version Canadienne) and it wasn't intentionally a gift since I was going to pay my dad for it but he said he'd gotten it pretty cheap from his tai chi buddy who hadn't used it in ages. So I ended up sideloading an old converted version of the Kindle for Android app, which, as it turns out is the last one which can actually sign in and retrieve books and not crash upon opening and doesn't support the newer formats, so no freebie Kindle comics-reading for me, alas, but otherwise it mostly seemed to work okay.

Anyway, in lieu of my usual festive winter re-read of Terry Pratchett's The Hogfather, which I didn't have the time or inclination to dig the French translation I've been meaning to try out of the box where I'm pretty sure I put its paperback, Overtime by Charles Stross, the Xmas office party novella in his The Laundry Files series of Lovecraftian bureaucracy urban fantasy spy thrillers, got to be my primary seasonal holiday re-read*.

This was the one which got me hooked on the series when it showed up in the Hugo Voter Packet (and can still be read online for free over @ Tor.com, as well as having been given away as a standalone e-book freebie several years ago and also collected in one of those Best of Tor.com freebie anthologies), because I happen to own a plush Santa Cthulhu which I'm very fond of (or maybe my soul's just telling me that because it's gibbering in fear of being devoured by tentacles) which came with a tag that said "bringing you Xmas despair!", and this story was the perfect fit for that mix of horror made humorous.

Once again, it was a highly enjoyable adventure which showcases the practical side of "those who fight monsters" in the comfortably numbing bureaucracy of the civil service, with a bit of "when you gaze into the abyss" leading up to projected future events in the series novels proper When The Stars Are Right.

Highly recommended as a nifty read which neatly encapsulates the goals and feel of the Laundry series, while also being enjoyable standalone in its own right.

* This actually happened a little by default, because I only had time to load up a few titles before heading for my bus, and the K4A(B) app had a nasty tendency to interpret my finger swipes attempting to navigate the archive as "yes, download and open this random freebie and reposition the archive list back at the alphabetical top when you try to cancel and navigate back to pick again", and it was the most likeable of the dozen titles I actually did get loaded up before spending the next few hours on public transit.

But I did get started in on a good chunk of Canadian mystery writer Peter Robinson's Aftermath, somewhere in his UK-set Inspector Banks series, which was a freebie a couple of years ago. Not sure if I'll keep on with it at the moment, as it is rather psycho-sexual serial-killer gory in the plotline and I don't think I'm in the mood for that, but it's interesting enough so far that I'll likely finish it sometime later.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now for something completely different: The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith. Bought just three days ago!

And a disappointing read as my first finished book of 2015. I found the book rather dull and irritating. Not to my taste at all. I shall keep to his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series in the future.

Next up: Mitosis by Brandon Sanderson. Bought yesterday with a coupon from Sainsbury's ebooks, so it's a freebie. Short sequel to Steelheart. Looking good so far.

[Adrian_I]

Non - fiction, but entertaining, if you enjoy science related reading. The author shows how someone with average memory skills may become an US Memory Championships winner.

[Mivo]

Just finished the sixth book ("Victorious") of Jack Campbell's "The Lost Fleet" series. Portions of this magnificent space opera dragged a bit, but overall this was a fantastic read. I just picked up the four books of the "Beyond the Frontier" follow-up series, so I will probably dive into those next. (I also discovered that there is a parallel series called "The Lost Stars", which I'll also have to check out at some point. Probably after a break, though, since I like variety.)

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by Adrian_I

Non - fiction, but entertaining, if you enjoy science related reading. The author shows how someone with average memory skills may become an US Memory Championships winner.

Read Moonwalking with Einstein some time ago. Can't remember when (tee hee) but found it very interesting.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Mivo

Just finished the sixth book ("Victorious") of Jack Campbell's "The Lost Fleet" series. Portions of this magnificent space opera dragged a bit, but overall this was a fantastic read. I just picked up the four books of the "Beyond the Frontier" follow-up series, so I will probably dive into those next. (I also discovered that there is a parallel series called "The Lost Stars", which I'll also have to check out at some point. Probably after a break, though, since I like variety.)

The Lost Stars is good reading, at least for the first three books published in the series.
Apache

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Mitosis by Brandon Sanderson. Bought yesterday with a coupon from Sainsbury's ebooks, so it's a freebie. Short sequel to Steelheart. Looking good so far.

And very good it was. An enjoyable short before the release of the next full novel set in the Steelheart universe.

Next: The Second Trip by Robert Silverberg. I bought this back in March 2005, and since I want to read through my 54 unread bought ebooks from 2005 and 2006 by the end of 2015, I'd better make a start!

[ReneAZ]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The book I am currently reading is What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman.

Hi,

I read this a few years ago and remember that I really liked it. I've read just about all of her books, but didn't like her last one: Girl in the Green Raincoat.

Just checked Stop You're Killing Me and see she has a new one coming out next month (Hush Hush) - think I'll give that one a go.

(Although I don't post often, I love reading these posts to jog my memory or give find new authors. Thanks!)

Oh, BTW - currently reading Harlan Coben's latest: Missing You. Good story, though not "unputdownable" :-)
EDIT: I finished this book, and give it a 3 (out of 5). Not up to his previous books IMO. I found it kind of Coben Light. Not enough there to really grab me. Story boring at times (until the end of course).

Rene

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And a disappointing read as my first finished book of 2015. I found the book rather dull and irritating. Not to my taste at all. I shall keep to his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series in the future.

I found that the only two of his series I really liked were #1 Ladies and the Isabel Dalhousie ones. The others were, as you say, "dull and irritating". But I do enjoy the Dalhousie ones in addition to the Botswana series.

Currently re-reading #4 in the Rivers of London/Peter Grant series, Broken Homes. I'm mostly listening to this as an Audible book, getting ready to read #5 in the series which should be available in North America at the beginning of next week.

[treadlightly]

One of my reading challenge items for this year is to post what I'm reading in this thread. I'd like to try to say more about a book than "good" or "meh". We'll see how it goes!

I finished reading the sixth and last instalment of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, City of Heavenly Fire. I don't typically like YA, but this author writes it well. There will be a(nother) spinoff series to this one so I'll be putting in on my TBR list.

Next up is Black Coffee, #7 in Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series. Apparently this was written first as a play and then adapted to a novel. It doesn't quite have the same feel as other Christie novels.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

One of my reading challenge items for this year is to post what I'm reading in this thread. I'd like to try to say more about a book than "good" or "meh". We'll see how it goes!

I find it very easy to write lots about bad books, but hard to say more than 'excellent' about books I really like. It's odd, but I think it's why critics like writing bad reviews (or so I've been told).

[missimpossible]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

One of my reading challenge items for this year is to post what I'm reading in this thread. I'd like to try to say more about a book than "good" or "meh". We'll see how it goes!

I finished reading the sixth and last instalment of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, City of Heavenly Fire. I don't typically like YA, but this author writes it well. There will be a(nother) spinoff series to this one so I'll be putting in on my TBR list.

Next up is Black Coffee, #7 in Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series. Apparently this was written first as a play and then adapted to a novel. It doesn't quite have the same feel as other Christie novels.

I liked the Cassandra Clare books too, which was a surprise to me given her internet notoriety. Haven't read that one yet, though - may have to pick it up in the future.

I'm currently struggling with Unseen Academicals. I'm not hating it or anything but when I put it down I have very little urge to come back to it. I know many consider that Pratchett's works from around this one onwards (give or take a few) have declined somewhat in quality but I don't know if I can bear to give up reading them. Oh, the difficulties...

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

Next up is Black Coffee, #7 in Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series. Apparently this was written first as a play and then adapted to a novel. It doesn't quite have the same feel as other Christie novels.

That's because Christie didn't write it (the novel, I mean). It was novelised from Christie's play by her biographer, Charles Osbourne. I quite enjoyed it, but you're absolutely right in saying that it doesn't "feel" like Christie's writing.

[HarryT]

Just finished "When the Lion Feeds", the first book in Wilbur Smith's "Courtney" series.

WHEN THE LIONS FEEDS is the story of South Africa at the burgeoning time of the gold rush in the 1890s. Sean Courtney was raised in cattle country, accidently maimed his twin brother Garry as a boy. In inflicting weakness, Sean came to despise weakness in all. This, plus his own strength, was to dictate Sean's iron resolve to win, no matter how much the gamble cost.

After a stint fighting the Zulu tribes, Sean trys his luck in the gold fields. Venturing an impossible claim which miraculously proves out, Sean gains wealth beyond counting and power. Power that was unmanageable without cunning. But cunning was an art he was to learn the hard way.

An extremely enjoyable adventure story. Highly recommended.

[Luffy]

A Question of Honor (Bess Crawford #5)
by Charles Todd - 1/5

At one stage reading the book, it was threatening to be one of the worst ones I've come across. It was veering between one and two stars. I said to myself, give me a reason and I'll do it. Well, I did rate it 1 star, and as a result, I'm swearing off books by Charles Todd.

The warning signs were there when at every step of the inquiry conducted by the heroine, Bess Crawford, there was a plethora of deaths set in the past. Now, untimely deaths that haunt the present from their grave is a device that the authors have used to good effect in previous books. But here it was literally overkill. I couldn't shake off the reaction how maudlin and manipulative the entire business was. Matters weren't helped when the voices narrating the details of the deaths weren't individualistic and sharply personal and intimately unique. These witnesses had no voice of their own.

Then there's the betrayed promise of the plot itself. To resume,

Spoiler:

an army officer is accused of two series of murders. One set, three people in England, then, having sailed to India, there was the murder case of the officer's own parents. The latter tragedy occurred just after the said officer had alighted in India. Long story short, the two sets of murders were unrelated, and the second double murders had nothing to do with the other, was perpetuated for obscure reasons, WAS a coincidence of unbelievable proportions, and was solved within the confines of a postscript tagged on at the end of the book.

It is dangerous to think too much of what to read and what not to. Poorly rated books can be a success with any reader. But then you think of authors who have written poor books and have disappointed you twice or thrice. While I won't automatically go for every flavor of the month, I have reached the stage where I can accept that my past go to authors cannot guarantee a good read. That renders a sizable chunk of my books redundant. But this selection problem is a pleasant headache. And I'm going to keep trying to use my judgment and experience to find the next gem. Hopefully sooner.