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

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

I finished "John Dies at the End!" So quotable and very Douglas Adams meets Stephen King. I think I need to re-read it a couple of times in actual text format to fully "get" it. (the audiobook was available from my library's Overdrive but not the text eBook, so I listened, actually, rather than read)

I finished Slade House by David Mitchell! It was such a good read. He is the wordsmithiest wordsmith who every wordsmithed. It is under 300 pages, too, so I finished it quickly (3 work days is quick for me) and it left me wanting more.

Back to my re-read of Hitchhiker's and I really need to read "Seven Killings." Got to decide whether to finish my HTTG re-read before or after I read "Seven Killings."

So...I didn't do either of these things! LOL! My re-read of HTTG and my read of "Seven Killings" are still waiting for me.

What got in the way? I forgot Book Club and had to read The Minaturist by Jessie Burton for that. It was definitely better than your usual historical fiction. It follows Nella (Petronella), a young bride in old Amsterdam who rather becomes the heroine of her own story. I was a bit disappointed with the ending and the mystery of the Minaturist but it was quite an entertaining, brisk read.

Then I had to read Nod by Adrian Barnes after seeing it recommended and the synopsis. I am a sucker for post-apop and dystopia and the premise of this one seemed fairly fresh. This was another quick read for me. I had a hard time putting it down. Warning: it is insanely creepy. Excellent read.

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I just finished reading Elizabeth Gaskill's Cranford. This was an Audible book, read by the inimitable Nadia May (Wanda McCaddon), but it's also available here in our own Patricia Clark Memorial Library.

The book starts out a bit slow, and I admit I might have abandoned it were it not that I enjoy Ms. McCaddon's narrations enough that I'll happily listen to almost anything she reads. And I'm glad I didn't abandon it, because the book grew on me. With each chapter, one gets more and more of the feel and character of the town and its inhabitants. And I grew to appreciate them and enjoy the telling of their story. Yes, the writing is very dated, and no, there aren't any car chases or explosions. But there is certainly drama, and heartache, and joy. I highly recommend this book, which is available for free here, and in Kindle Unlimited, including the WhisperSync Audible version.

(Note: There are many different versions of this book on Amazon KU that are WhisperSynced to Audible, including two by Ms. McCaddon - one under her real name, and one as Nadia May. I chose the Nadia May one and was very happy with it. Getting the correctly linked KU and Audible versions is easiest if you start from the Audible version you want. )

There is an excellent BBC dramatization of Cranford, although it does stray somewhat from the stories.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by bfisher

There is an excellent BBC dramatization of Cranford, although it does stray somewhat from the stories.

Yes, there is. Very enjoyable, and having seen it some years ago, I can now place the scenes in there with the stories of the book, though the series (starring Dame Judi Dench as Miss Mattie) covered the full suite of three books, not just the actual Cranford book.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I will probably read a few stories out of Rogues by George R.R. Martin that interest me. I want to read the Bast story by Patrick Rothfuss, The Lightning Tree, in particular but will read some of the others too.

Still waiting for Judas Unchained but I did enjoy the stories I wanted to read out of Rogues; I probably skipped some good ones too but they didn't interest me a lot. I probably won't start anything new till Tuesday so I still have hope that Judas Unchained will be available by then.

[Dngrsone]

Finished From the Cradle by Louise Voss & Mark Edwards. Not sure what I will read next. Probably going to finish Solder Smoke, then maybe move on to either another freebie of the month or perhaps start on the Serrano books by Elizabeth Moon.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Now: Earthblood and Other Stories by Keith Laumer et al.

Which was OK, but I think I had read it before. It obviously wasn't memorable enough for me to recognise it straight away. Average.

Then I read Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie. A Hercule Poirot mystery, which was pretty good.

Now I'm reading Analog SFF for January 2016.

[Hampshire Nanny]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I just finished reading Elizabeth Gaskill's Cranford. This was an Audible book, read by the inimitable Nadia May (Wanda McCaddon), but it's also available here in our own Patricia Clark Memorial Library.

And, there are two recordings available from Librivox. I'm fond of the one by Sibella Denton, because it just seems that the story of Cranford should be told in the voice of a woman. But the other recording by Noel Badrian is well done and includes the preface by Lady Anne Thackeray Ritchie.

[MickeyC]

Just finished The Promise by Robert Crais and it was typically good. In it, he combines the protagonists from Elvis Cole books with the K9 leads and did a good job although I think Michael Connolly did a better job in The Crossing. None the less, it was a good read with an excellent ending.

Now reading A Death in Sweden by Kevin Wignal. This was a freebie from Amazon Prime and, so far, a good read.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Now I'm reading Analog SFF for January 2016.

Which was a good double issue (Jan/Feb) with lots of stories that I enjoyed.

I'm now reading this month's freebie from Phoenix Pick, Red Tide by Larry Niven et al.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Still waiting for Judas Unchained

It feels like that quote will become permanent. But really, it should be available any day now. In the mean-time I have been padding my numbers for 2015. I had almost 9 hours in the car yesterday driving to and from a meeting (normally it would have taken about 6.5 but the traffic/weather wasn't cooperating) so I managed to listen to Legion by Brandon Sanderson and most of The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories by R.A. Salvatore.

I really enjoyed Legion and look forward to getting the next one.

I had read almost all of the Salvatore short stories years ago and enjoyed them again but the most interesting part was the narration: Sean Astin, Al Yankovic, Ice-T, David Duchovny, Wil Wheaton, Melissa Rauch, Dan Harmon, Felicia Day, Greg Grunberg, Tom Felton, Michael Chiklis, and Danny Pudi.

Next up in my wait for Judas Unchained is The Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler, the first published Dirk Pitt book. I hope I enjoy this more than I did the Golden Buddha which was written by "Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo", although I am pretty sure that is translated as "written by Craig Dirgo, reviewed by Clive Cussler and using his name on it to boost sales".

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'm now reading this month's freebie from Phoenix Pick, Red Tide by Larry Niven et al.

Which was interesting, but not brilliant. An expansion of Larry Niven's FlashCrowd, and three other stories in the transporter universe. But The expansion doesn't add much, and the three other stories didn't really grab me.

Next up: Out of the World by Lawrence Watt-Evans.

First of a trilogy. I love his Ethshar series, and this seems an interesting setting, although so far the characters aren't as engaging. Perhaps because there are a lot of them.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I finished reading The Girl on the Train and found it to be an excellent read! Next I'm going to be reading The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Anne Noble.

I enjoyed reading The Mermaid's Sister even though it was slower paced than I would have preferred.

Next, I've borrowed The Horrible Man (Ed Noon #18) by Michael Avallone as my December selection from the Amazon lending library.

[Pulpmeister]

Just finished Velikovsky's theological/occult work Worlds in Collision, which I first read about thirty years ago. Although V. was undoubtedly sincere, unlike many writers of pseudoscience, he failed to take into account that the countless thousands of items of folklore which he interpreted to support his thesis could just as readily be interpreted differently to support an entirely different thesis.

In the various second-hand bookshops I have patronised, Velikovsy usually appears in the religious/magic/occult sections, along with crystals, dowsing, astrology, Bermuda triangles and the like.

Still, worth the effort to re-read. And now to bin, as part of my ongoing p-book reduction program.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Out of the World by Lawrence Watt-Evans.

First of a trilogy. I love his Ethshar series, and this seems an interesting setting, although so far the characters aren't as engaging. Perhaps because there are a lot of them.

Minor spoiler:

Spoiler:

Perhaps the author deliberately didn't engage us too deeply with some of the
characters. This is a rather more gritty series than the Ethshar books.

Better than I'd anticipated, and I'm interested to see where the trilogy goes.

But first:

The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries: The Most Complete Collection of Yuletide Whodunits Ever Assembled edited by Otto Penzler.

(This month's book club selection.)

[KyBunnies]

Finished Bookmobile Cat Mysteries by Laurie Cass
This was a great series. I do not remember who recommended this to me but I enjoyed this reading.

Next up Maternal Instincts Mystery by Diana Orgain