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

[CRussel]

I've started reading The Vital Question, by Nick Lane. This book was reviewed on Bill Gates' blog, and I realized I really wanted to read it. A discussion of the role of energy and evolution in the origins of complex life.

[WT Sharpe]

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[Dngrsone]

Finished Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. I am uncertain as to whether there was such a woman, but I can wish that it were so.

All in all, a very interesting read.

Now reading Unintended Consequences by Marti Green.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Moving swiftly on: Asimov's SF, June 2016 edited by Sheila Williams

It's been a good month!

Then I read my very latest purchase: Thraxas and the Oracle by Martin Scott. The 10th in the series.

And an excellent continuation it was too. Most enjoyable.

Now reading: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May/June 2016.

[John F]

Finished Best Boy by Eli Gottlieb. A bummer of a read, but worthwhile. From Amazon:

For fans of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time comes this landmark novel about autism, memory, and, ultimately, redemption.

and a major spoiler, also from Amazon:

Spoiler:

Sent to a “therapeutic community” for autism at the age of eleven, Todd Aaron, now in his fifties, is the “Old Fox” of Payton LivingCenter. A joyous man who rereads the encyclopedia compulsively, he is unnerved by the sudden arrivals of a menacing new staffer and a disruptive, brain-injured roommate. His equilibrium is further worsened by Martine, a one-eyed new resident who has romantic intentions and convinces him to go off his meds to feel “normal” again. Undone by these pressures, Todd attempts an escape to return “home” to his younger brother and to a childhood that now inhabits only his dreams. Written astonishingly in the first-person voice of an autistic, adult man, Best Boy―with its unforgettable portraits of Todd’s beloved mother, whose sweet voice still sings from the grave, and a staffer named Raykene, who says that Todd “reflects the beauty of His creation”―is a piercing, achingly funny, finally shattering novel no reader can ever forget.

And working my way through the Hugo/Nebula/Arthur C. Clake award winners, I started The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein.

[Rumpelteazer]

I finished I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. It's one of those books that have been on my radar for a while but having read review on Goodreads I delayed reading it. It seems to be one of those books that you either love or hate. I fall in the first catagory.

The books starts out as any police procedural, but don't let that fool you; it isn't. The story is about a former spook on the hunt for both a murderer and a lone wolf terrorist. The story goes off in various directions to come together again at the end.

One of my two favourite reads of the years so far.

[Cinisajoy]

I just finished Listen to your laundry.
Non-fiction either self improvement or humor or both.

[Hampshire Nanny]

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

I'm currently in the middle of The Edge of Dreams by Rhys Bowen (book #14 in her Molly Murphy mysteries set in early 1900s NYC) and Brotherhood in Death by J. D. Robb. Yeah, it's book #42 in the Eve Dallas/In Death series.

Thanks to a 4-day road trip, I'm finally catching up a bit. Before we left home, I had finished reading both of those books as well as Death of a Prankster by M. C. Beaton (Hamish Macbeth mysteries #7) and Moving Target by J. A. Jance (Ali Reynolds mysteries *9). And, while we wended our way half-way across the USA, I read The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda Brunstetter, The Genius Asylum by Arlene F. Marks, and the Sasha Strange Chronicles: Planet of Dinosaurs, Sea of Serpents, and Valley of Dragons by K. H.Koehler.

Goodreads now tells me I'm only 1 book behind schedule as I read toward my goal of 168 for the year. And, if I'm honest, I wouldn't have published the books which make up the Sasha Strange Chronicles in 3 volumes. They comprise a single story. But, since they were offered as 3 books in the Kindle Unlimited program, that's the way I recorded them in my reading log.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Next is another self-published freebie, The Tube Riders: Underground (The Tube Riders Trilogy #1) by Chris Ward.

I stopped after Part One : London because of disinterest. The writing was decent and the story a typical YA London dystopian with a twist. Flawed characters with sad backgrounds. But it didn't excite me enough to read all 450 pages so stopped after the free 169 page sample. Rated C- [3 stars].

Next is The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis.

[Dngrsone]

Finished Unintended Consequences by Marti Green.

It was pretty good, actually. The suspense was different from most thriller-type books, but sustained throughout the novel and satisfying at the end.

I may follow up on this author, though my TBR is incredibly large right now...

I think I will start one of the freebies of the month, Enemy by K. Eason.

[drjd]

Finished Cut Thin to Win (1965) by Erle Stanley Gardner.
Next up (1966) - Widows Wear Weeds by the same author.

[MickeyC]

Just finished When Breath Becomes Air, an absolutely riviting non fiction by Paul Kalanithi. The first half is about him becoming a neurologist and the second half is about what happens when he is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

In fact, he died while writing the second half. His wife finished it for him. Fascinating what he sees life like treating patients and then being one himself.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Next Up: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann.

This was a very interesting story. And it wasn't about zombies so that is either good or bad depending on your viewpoint.

Next: Witches Abroad is still on hold, I thought it was available. Instead I will read The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry. This was the first book I saw when I logged in to my library this morning to get a new book so I am going to count it in the Something for Everyone Challenge as "the first book you see in the book store library."

[Sam2016]

I'm currently reading Lazarus Suspended the first book of the Good Death series by Doug McGovern off of kindle-unlimited.

Crazy new start up series that I was lucky to find from the guys Facebook profile. It's a compelling story that discusses the ethics of botched euthanasia, especially when others impose it upon the patient. Has elements of an old Gothic novel like Frankenstein but its more of a Medical Thriller as it has all those technical pieces in it. It reminds you of what would happen if the Silence of the Lambs merged with one of those hospital dramas like Grey's Anatomy. The cast is really interesting too. It has a Hitler-type female lead antagonist and a powerful female protagonist and a conflicted male anti-hero. Definitely worth a look-see.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Now reading: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May/June 2016.

And another good issue. I think I prefer their new editor's story choices.

Next up: A recent freebie by a known author: A Feral Darkness by Doranna Durgin

So far so good. Although more of a romance than I usually read, there's enough fantasy elements to keep me interested.