Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 1566

HarryT · 02-12-2016, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Amarna Sunset is $9.99 and the Davis bio is $7.99 for Kindle. The latter is pennies plus postage for a used hardback, but I'm trying hard not to buy any more paper books.

Thanks. Yes, I have "Amarna Sunset" as an ebook but, as I say, the Davis bio isn't available as an ebook in this neck of the woods. At least I saved money by buying it as a hardback!

ReneAZ · 02-12-2016, 11:28 AM

Just finished "Voices" (Inspector Erlendur series) by Arnaldur Indridason. This is the fifth one I've read in this series and am enjoying the series very much. It's set in Iceland; the stories are interesting, albeit a little dark (but then, aren't most murder mysteries?) Every time I finish one, I look for something else to read but can't seem to find anything that interests me, so I go back to another Inspector Erlendur...lol.

I still have a couple in that series to read, but finally found another writer that got my interest -- Thomas Cook. I've been meaning to read a couple of his books, and finally started "Places in the Dark". I must have read a sample a while back because it sounded familiar, but I kept with it and now am really enjoying the mystery. I may read "Sandrine's Case" (another TC) after this and then go back to finish the Erlendur series.

Dazrin · 02-12-2016, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeyC

Don't forget your towel!

I always keep one in my backpack, just in case.

Really.

MickeyC · 02-12-2016, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I always keep one in my backpack, just in case.

Really.

Also, don't forget 42

eschwartz · 02-12-2016, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The books are

1. Wizard’s Bane
2. The Wizardry Compiled
Collected in an Omnibus, The Wiz Biz
3. The Wizardry Cursed
4. The Wizardry Consulted
Collected in an Omnibus, Wiz Combo II: Cursed and Consulted
5. The Wizardry Quested

I'm not sure if 3 & 4 are currently available as ebooks. The omnibus doesn't seem to still be for sale.

I see them all available, except for the standalone editions of 3 & 4.
http://www.baen.com/categories/books...rick-cook.html

Although reviews seem to indicate that the Wiz Biz Omnibus (1 & 2) has issues not present in the original editions -- but it wasn't clear to me if that was referring to the paper omnibus or the ebook omnibus or both.

I read the first few in paper, and I'd like to purchase the whole set in ebook form -- but before I do I need to know if I should buy the omnibus or the separate copies ($5 difference)...

CRussel · 02-12-2016, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I see them all available, except for the standalone editions of 3 & 4.
http://www.baen.com/categories/books...rick-cook.html

Books 3 & 4, as well as the omnibus combining them, are unavailable from Baen right now. You can add them to your wish list, but not actually buy them. Hopefully, if the new omnibus of #1&2 does well, we'll get the omnibus of #3&4 soon.

cromag · 02-12-2016, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cromag

Dead Angler was a good mystery -- well written, good characters, unusual setting. I enjoyed it enough to buy the next two books in the series, Dead Creek and Dead Water.

I've already started reading Dead Creek, and it's starting out okay.

They were good. Dead Creek relied on some medical science that I think was exaggerated, but it was based in fact and well handled. Dead Water was a good story that also added some depth to the local characters.

I'll be getting more in this series soon -- sooner if Kobo has another contest and I get some decent coupon codes. My local library only has the most recent titles in the series.

Just starting City of Dreams, by Anton Gill.

Dngrsone · 02-12-2016, 09:02 PM

Finished The Paladin Caper by Patricia Weekes, starting another non-fic with an annoyingly long-winded title: Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex Illustrated: Narrative of the most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex that Inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick by Owen Chase.

CRussel · 02-12-2016, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cromag

They were good. Dead Creek relied on some medical science that I think was exaggerated, but it was based in fact and well handled. Dead Water was a good story that also added some depth to the local characters.

I'll be getting more in this series soon -- sooner if Kobo has another contest and I get some decent coupon codes. My local library only has the most recent titles in the series.

Just starting City of Dreams, by Anton Gill.

Thanks for the recommendation. The first, at least, is on KU, so I'll grab that and give it a try.

Rev. Bob · 02-13-2016, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

Thanks. Cursed and Consulted isn't available for purchase at the moment. Hopefully they'll add it to a future bundle.

From looking at recent/future bundles, I'm guessing Baen recently reacquired the rights and is doing a gradual reissue rather than a sudden dump. If that's the case, I'd expect C&C to see print again before, oh, end of the year.

Personally, I'm more pleased that Quested finally got an e-release; it was the exception for long enough that I'd grudgingly put it on my dead-tree wish list. The new e-release solves that problem; I can complete* the series as ebooks at last.

* As has been speculated about, a sixth book was planned and started, but never finished. The notes for it are even findable online. Something happened before it was finished that, as the author explains it, left him unable to do creative work. He didn't die, and to my knowledge there were no ugly contract disputes - he just couldn't finish writing the story. Yeah, that sucks for the readers, but what can you do? Maybe he could take on a co-author to finish it, but that's about it.

HarryT · 02-13-2016, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

Personally, I'm more pleased that Quested finally got an e-release; it was the exception for long enough that I'd grudgingly put it on my dead-tree wish list. The new e-release solves that problem; I can complete* the series as ebooks at last.

You must have missed it when it was available from Baen previously. It's definitely been released as an ebook before. I bought it sometime around 2000 or so.

Rev. Bob · 02-13-2016, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

You must have missed it when it was available from Baen previously. It's definitely been released as an ebook before. I bought it sometime around 2000 or so.

I wasn't doing ebooks back then, and I don't recall seeing it in their catalog (even as unavailable) when I picked up the C&C omnibus. Oddly, my ebook set is Book 1, Book 2, and Omnibus 2, but I don't recall exactly how that combination came to pass.

Important thing is, I can complete the set now.

Current read: Michael Bailey's Action Figures - Issue Four: Cruel Summer. The series is rather excellent "realistic teen supers" fiction, and the most recent plot point (concerning the death of a family member) was written well enough that it hit me unexpectedly hard. I was the same age as the affected character when I lost the same family member, and the rest of my family situation was close enough to theirs that the chapter resonates particularly closely. (I'm being vague to avoid spoilers.) Even the "you need to be the strong one" part and the cause of death were disturbingly similar...

WT Sharpe · 02-13-2016, 04:41 PM

Just finished Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr by Michael Seth Starr.

There was so much more to Raymond Burr than I ever imagined. What a bundle of contradictions. Here was a man who at once was generous, greedy, conniving, loyal, gregarious, tyrannical, brave, and a consummate liar. I found myself sometimes loving and sometimes hating him, occasionally both on the same page. He was a widower twice to women who never existed, and tragically lost a non-existent son to leukemia. (By a strange coincidence, Red Skelton lost a real-life son to the same disease.) He did marry one real-life flesh and blood woman, however. On January 10, 1948 he married Isabella Ward. The marriage lasted less than a year, and neither at the time would speak of what led to the divorce. His valiant record of service in the armed forces was a pure fiction, as he was never in the military, but he did not hesitate to put himself in harm's way to entertain the troops in Vietnam.

And on a personal note, I can't help but wonder what my mother would have thought had she lived long enough to learn that one of her macho heroes was gay and involved in a long-term relationship with another man?

Excellent bio; one I highly recommend.

fantasyfan · 02-13-2016, 06:30 PM

Charles Williams: The Third Inkling by Grevel Lindop

Finally we have a very fine biography of the “Third Inkling” Charles Williams. Grevel Lindop enables us to experience the mercurial intellectual brilliance and charismatic personality of this genius. It must be stated, though, that Williams is a genius nearly forgotten. In his preface Lindop gives the reasons why this happened and outlines his objectives in the biography. Essentially he hopes that it will result in a reassessment of Williams as a literary figure--particularly as a major poet. Additionally, we learn a considerable amount about the impact Williams had as a critic, dramatist, lecturer, novelist, Rosicrucian adept, theologian, and spiritual Guru who founded a mystical order of companions for lay people.

Lindop emphasises that the biography “ . . . is by no means an unmixed advocacy. “ He attempts {completely successfully in my opinion} to create a unified portrait so that “. . . a figure formerly regarded as somewhat mystifying becomes comprehensible, and much more interesting.” This process allows us to see a man whose fierce creative charisma seemed to necessitate certain disturbing sadomasochistic aspects. But a person who embodied a blazing sanctity and holiness also emerges. Younger women in particular found him hypnotically attractive and usually fell in love. At the same time he had problems with his marriage and his wife who clearly loved him had serious doubts about his ability to be a spiritual mentor and described the Rosicrucians with whom he associated during one phase of his life as "phonies". Grevel Lindop gives us a balanced narrative which reveals both the brilliance and darkness--the Yin and Yang--of this enigmatic friend of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

One thing is certain--he was a visionary who seemed to unite opposites and lived life with an incredible spiritual and creative intensity. He died at the height of his powers but left behind a legacy that deserves to be remembered. It is to be hoped that this very fine biography will initiate a reassessment of “The Third Inkling”.

fantasyfan · 02-14-2016, 07:19 AM

I have finished reading An Account of Egypt by Herodotus. Reading this book gives you a chance to visit Egypt in the Fifth Century B.C. You can learn something of the Egyptian culture including their embalming techniques which varied according to the price paid. Herodotus describes the pyramids as they appeared in their original glory and shares something of the Egyptian view of their history while warning the reader that there is much he doesn't trust to be accurate.

He has been called "the father of history" and he well deserves the accolade.

02-13-2016, 04:41 PM	#23488
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	Just finished Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr by Michael Seth Starr. There was so much more to Raymond Burr than I ever imagined. What a bundle of contradictions. Here was a man who at once was generous, greedy, conniving, loyal, gregarious, tyrannical, brave, and a consummate liar. I found myself sometimes loving and sometimes hating him, occasionally both on the same page. He was a widower twice to women who never existed, and tragically lost a non-existent son to leukemia. (By a strange coincidence, Red Skelton lost a real-life son to the same disease.) He did marry one real-life flesh and blood woman, however. On January 10, 1948 he married Isabella Ward. The marriage lasted less than a year, and neither at the time would speak of what led to the divorce. His valiant record of service in the armed forces was a pure fiction, as he was never in the military, but he did not hesitate to put himself in harm's way to entertain the troops in Vietnam. And on a personal note, I can't help but wonder what my mother would have thought had she lived long enough to learn that one of her macho heroes was gay and involved in a long-term relationship with another man? Excellent bio; one I highly recommend. Last edited by WT Sharpe; 02-14-2016 at 01:59 PM.

02-13-2016, 06:30 PM	#23489
fantasyfan Wizard Posts: 1,376 Karma: 28116892 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle Oasis 3, iPad 9th gen. IPhone 11	Charles Williams: The Third Inkling by Grevel Lindop Finally we have a very fine biography of the “Third Inkling” Charles Williams. Grevel Lindop enables us to experience the mercurial intellectual brilliance and charismatic personality of this genius. It must be stated, though, that Williams is a genius nearly forgotten. In his preface Lindop gives the reasons why this happened and outlines his objectives in the biography. Essentially he hopes that it will result in a reassessment of Williams as a literary figure--particularly as a major poet. Additionally, we learn a considerable amount about the impact Williams had as a critic, dramatist, lecturer, novelist, Rosicrucian adept, theologian, and spiritual Guru who founded a mystical order of companions for lay people. Lindop emphasises that the biography “ . . . is by no means an unmixed advocacy. “ He attempts {completely successfully in my opinion} to create a unified portrait so that “. . . a figure formerly regarded as somewhat mystifying becomes comprehensible, and much more interesting.” This process allows us to see a man whose fierce creative charisma seemed to necessitate certain disturbing sadomasochistic aspects. But a person who embodied a blazing sanctity and holiness also emerges. Younger women in particular found him hypnotically attractive and usually fell in love. At the same time he had problems with his marriage and his wife who clearly loved him had serious doubts about his ability to be a spiritual mentor and described the Rosicrucians with whom he associated during one phase of his life as "phonies". Grevel Lindop gives us a balanced narrative which reveals both the brilliance and darkness--the Yin and Yang--of this enigmatic friend of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. One thing is certain--he was a visionary who seemed to unite opposites and lived life with an incredible spiritual and creative intensity. He died at the height of his powers but left behind a legacy that deserves to be remembered. It is to be hoped that this very fine biography will initiate a reassessment of “The Third Inkling”. Last edited by fantasyfan; 02-13-2016 at 06:35 PM.

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02-12-2016, 11:28 AM	#23477
ReneAZ eBookaholic Posts: 79 Karma: 1071702 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Phoenix AZ USA Device: iPad Mini, Kindle Fire	Just finished "Voices" (Inspector Erlendur series) by Arnaldur Indridason. This is the fifth one I've read in this series and am enjoying the series very much. It's set in Iceland; the stories are interesting, albeit a little dark (but then, aren't most murder mysteries?) Every time I finish one, I look for something else to read but can't seem to find anything that interests me, so I go back to another Inspector Erlendur...lol. I still have a couple in that series to read, but finally found another writer that got my interest -- Thomas Cook. I've been meaning to read a couple of his books, and finally started "Places in the Dark". I must have read a sample a while back because it sounded familiar, but I kept with it and now am really enjoying the mystery. I may read "Sandrine's Case" (another TC) after this and then go back to finish the Erlendur series.

02-12-2016, 09:02 PM	#23483
Dngrsone Almost legible Posts: 1,457 Karma: 4611110 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: In a high desert, CA Device: Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab A (2017), Likebook P78	Finished The Paladin Caper by Patricia Weekes, starting another non-fic with an annoyingly long-winded title: Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex Illustrated: Narrative of the most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex that Inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick by Owen Chase.

02-14-2016, 07:19 AM	#23490
fantasyfan Wizard Posts: 1,376 Karma: 28116892 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle Oasis 3, iPad 9th gen. IPhone 11	I have finished reading An Account of Egypt by Herodotus. Reading this book gives you a chance to visit Egypt in the Fifth Century B.C. You can learn something of the Egyptian culture including their embalming techniques which varied according to the price paid. Herodotus describes the pyramids as they appeared in their original glory and shares something of the Egyptian view of their history while warning the reader that there is much he doesn't trust to be accurate. He has been called "the father of history" and he well deserves the accolade.