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

[HarryT]

I'm currently reading "Soldiers" by John Dalmas, which I bought from Baen in May 2001. Baen description:

After centuries of horrible high-tech wars, galactic humanity had at last emerged from The Time of Troubles, firm in the belief that nothing was preferable to war, convinced indeed that to believe otherwise was psychotic. But soon the Commonwealth of Worlds is going to need every "psychotic" it can get its hands on—because trouble is heading straight at them in the form of more than 14,000 warships from somewhere.

Every inhabited planet that armada encounters is wiped clean of human life to make room for alien colonists. Either humans will again learn how to be soldiers, and quickly, or humanity will join the dinosaurs as an interesting extinct species.

This is the best military SF I've read in a very long time. I'm about a quarter of the way through the book so far, and enjoying it very much indeed.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Is that Skyping... or Swyping? I get them cornfused.

Should be "Swyping". That's probable my bad. I've been doing a lot of both lately, and on the same devices. The Skyping is mainly to keep in touch with Norton, though I have no idea how much he gets out of it. I'm not even sure he realizes it's me on the screen.

[AstoundingBruce]

Sleepless by Michael Omer
Sleepless is the story of fourteen-year-old Amy in her new home in Narrowdale. Narrowdale is not like L.A. It's small and suburban. And strange.

The brand-new air conditioner that doesn't work and the creepy neighbor and his dog are bad enough. Amy also has to cope with being the new kid at school and all the difficulties that entails. Worse still are the nightmares....

I enjoyed this book. It is a tale of suburban life with just a touch of the supernatural. And there are just enough unanswered questions to make the promised sequel equally satisfying. But I did have a problem with the strong language. Yes, the story centers around high school students, and yes, I talked that way in high school. But I wondered if the book might have a broader appeal without it. It did not add anything to the story and, in fact, I usually found myself questioning the authenticity of the characters when I read a swear word.

I am not sure why the book includes links to Amy's blog. The one blog post that would have been fun to see would have been the video Amy and her friends made, but this simply doesn't exist. As it was, the links added nothing to the text, and the whole thing seemed to say "gimmick." I can only hope this feature will be utilized more effectively in the rest of the series.

Still, it was a fun read.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Should be "Swyping". That's probable my bad. I've been doing a lot of both lately, and on the same devices. The Skyping is mainly to keep in touch with Norton, though I have no idea how much he gets out of it. I'm not even sure he realizes it's me on the screen.

Attachment 135812

Methinks Norton is a very lucky pup.

[KyBunnies]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Should be "Swyping". That's probable my bad. I've been doing a lot of both lately, and on the same devices. The Skyping is mainly to keep in touch with Norton, though I have no idea how much he gets out of it. I'm not even sure he realizes it's me on the screen.

Attachment 135812

He is so cute.

I am currently reading No Safeword: Matte - the honeymoon by Candace Blevins on Kindle. Listening to Voyager by Diana Gabaldon. And in print I am reading Wicked Stitch by Amanda Lee.

Hoping to finish all the of book in Outlander series before the new season starts April 4th.

Have a wonderful day

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

What a wonderful book. I really, really enjoyed this re-read of West with the Night, by Beryl Markham. A great book, wonderfully descriptive and compelling, about East Africa in the time from WWI to WWII. And about flying in the days when a compass was nearly your only instrument. Markham has a great talent for going off on a tangent without losing track of where the story is going and without letting you mind, or even really notice. If you've never had a chance to read this book, I highly recommend it.

Next up, the 5th book in the Palladin series from Elizabeth Moon, Crown of Renewal. This is a joint audio and ebook read, so I'll likely add in another ebook to go with it.

Wow, what a complete disappointment to go from a beautifully written book, West with the Night, to this latest (and one suspects last) in the Paks world. I usually like Ms. Moon's writing, but this felt flat and stale. Like the author really didn't want to write the book, but needed to close off the story lines. Hopefully her next will be back to her usual standard.

Next up? Not sure yet.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Wow, what a complete disappointment to go from a beautifully written book, West with the Night, to this latest (and one suspects last) in the Paks world. I usually like Ms. Moon's writing, but this felt flat and stale. Like the author really didn't want to write the book, but needed to close off the story lines. Hopefully her next will be back to her usual standard.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

A good conclusion. Lots gets resolved. And although, if she wanted to do more, there's more that could be done, it's probably best to leave things here, IMO.

Hmm... I didn't notice that myself - it felt much like the other later books to me. But I do agree that enough's enough.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Hmm... I didn't notice that myself - it felt much like the other later books to me. But I do agree that enough's enough.

I suspect at least part of my disappointment with Crown of Renewal was reading it immediately after West with the Night. But only part of it. And I tend to agree that the last several in the series have been on a downward trend. I just thought this one had gone rather further down that slide.

IAC, now trying to decide what to read next. I think I'm going to try something not SF/F. Maybe another Heyer? That's always a safe bet. Or possibly another Alexander Kent. Been a while since I read one of them. Or wait -- maybe a Campion? Ah, well, it's not like I don't have plenty in my TBR!

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Next up is Timeline by Michael Crichton which was nominated for the March Book Club (this is the last day to vote...) and arrived at my library much faster than I was expecting. Might as well give it a whirl.

I enjoyed this a lot. I also like that it is a stand-alone book instead of a series, I have enough of them going right now including my next book.

Next up is The Innocent by David Baldacci (Will Robie series #1). I have been waiting a while for this and it just came in from the library. I was really wanting some political thrillers a couple months ago so reserved a bunch of first books. After this I will decide which, if any, to continue.

I am also going to try to get West with the Night for the book club, either through a KU trial or in paper form from my library if available.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction for March/April 2015.

A mixed bag (for me). Some I really liked, some I didn't like at all. And we have a new editor - Charles Coleman Finlay, who takes over with this issue.

Next up: Umm.... The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox. From the recent Humble Bundle.

[AstoundingBruce]

I just finished "How to Learn Any Language" by Nate Nicholson. The full title of this book is "How to Learn Any Language in a Few Months While Enjoying Yourself." While I have not had the months necessary to test the veracity of that statement (the book claims five to six months are needed to become fluent), I did begin employing some of the methods in the book before I even finished reading it.

Nicholson advises against using traditional methods of learning a second language (such as taking a class) and instead suggests several methods for immersing oneself in the chosen tongue. The result is learning a language naturally, much in the same way a child does. Again, I have not tried these methods, but Nicholson makes a convincing case that they work.

The suggestions do seem fun as well, and, in fact, many are just a twist on things you are probably already doing. They are also affordable, making it possible to learn a new tongue for little to no money. If you are looking to learn another language, and you want to do so quickly, inexpensively and have fun while learning, I highly recommend this book.

[Moe The Cat]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Umm.... The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox. From the recent Humble Bundle.

I think that's a three-book omnibus, isn't it?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Moe The Cat

I think that's a three-book omnibus, isn't it?

It's quite long, yes. I've been wanting to get it and read it for some time - it's the main reason I got the Humble Bundle.

[Luffy]

Next up is The Innocent by David Baldacci (Will Robie series #1).

Don't be disappointed by The Hit (#2), proceed to The Target(#3).

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I suspect at least part of my disappointment with Crown of Renewal was reading it immediately after West with the Night. But only part of it. And I tend to agree that the last several in the series have been on a downward trend. I just thought this one had gone rather further down that slide.

IAC, now trying to decide what to read next. I think I'm going to try something not SF/F. Maybe another Heyer? That's always a safe bet. Or possibly another Alexander Kent. Been a while since I read one of them. Or wait -- maybe a Campion? Ah, well, it's not like I don't have plenty in my TBR!

Opted finally for a Heyer -- Pistols for Two. I bought this a couple of years ago during one of the Heyer sale periods, and I originally read it back in the 70's, I think, but haven't read it since. I expect to enjoy the witty language and descriptions, the characters, and the sheer fun of a Georgette Heyer Regency Romance.