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

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Satisfying ending to the Leviathan trilogy. Not as much excitement as I would have liked but Westerfeld tells a nice story. This one had some pleasant wit that added to my enjoyment. Rated B [4 stars].

Next, by necessity, is a library book, The Sorcerer of the North by John Flanagan. I'm really having fun with this series.

This one was not one of his best. There were a few too many plot holes lazily explained away. Probably ok for very young adults but this oldie needs better. It ends abruptly requiring readers to get the next one to see how it all ends. I placed a library hold on it, of course. Rated C [3 stars].

Next is a freebie from HC, The Oldest Trick by Auston Habershaw. The first two parts in his Saga of the Redeemed series.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by CRussel

So, abandon it. You aren't compelled to finish books you aren't enjoying. I know, that is hard sometimes. But it's a lesson ebooks have taught me. Finally!

This is something I still have a hard time doing.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by CRussel

So, abandon it. You aren't compelled to finish books you aren't enjoying. I know, that is hard sometimes. But it's a lesson ebooks have taught me. Finally!

Sometimes I'll grit my teeth and finish a bad book because I've made the decision to review it - and I don't like to review unfinished books. I want to be able to say, "yes, I read every word, it didn't get any better, and here's what's wrong with it." Otherwise, it's too easy for people who see the review to dismiss it as a hater who's gonna hate rather than an informed opinion.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by CRussel

So, abandon it. You aren't compelled to finish books you aren't enjoying. I know, that is hard sometimes. But it's a lesson ebooks have taught me. Finally!

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

This is something I still have a hard time doing.

I'm currently reading one that I started in paper before I ever got my first ereader. I'm a quarter way through.

[Ravensknight]

The first spoonful of a plate of poo tastes just as bad as the last spoonful.

And on that cheery note, I just finished the Black Company series by Glen Cook. Now there is an excellent set of books that was NOT a plate of poo. Grade A Prime Steak in fact.

Soldiers Live

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

Somehow it feels appropriate to read The Apocalypse Triptych between now and January 20th. It's three anthologies - The End Is Nigh, The End Is Now, and The End Has Come - edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey, dealing with the end of the world: right before, during, and after.

Most (but not all) of the contributions are also triptychs, one part appearing in each volume. This leaves me with a minor quandary in how to read them. Should I read each book separately, maintaining the theme, or read them in parallel to follow each mini-saga? I'm leaning toward the latter option, which leaves me mildly irked that the authors are presented in differing sequence with each book.

As an update, I have indeed chosen the latter option. I whipped up a quick spreadsheet to keep track of which authors have stories where, and to highlight the ones that weren't in all three books. I then read the first story in Nigh, skipped to its sequel in Now, and skipped to the final part in Come - and after each of the latter two, I jumped to the corresponding story by the next author. Thus, all three volumes stay in synch - roughly - as I repeat the formula. I use strike-thru formatting in the spreadsheet to keep track of what I've read where, just to make sure I don't miss anything.

The highlighted stories are a minor complication. As I reach one in Nigh, I read it and then hop to another standalone story in each of the other volumes. That keeps things fairly even, but it's inexact; the first and third books have more stories than the middle one.

The big downside to reading like this is that progress seems to take forever; I'm only at 40% so far. (It's rather impossible to give percentages on the latter two, so I'm using Nigh as my progress key.) But then, I'll finish all three together, so it averages out.

The stories themselves are a good mix. The first arc is about a man who sets up a doomsday cult as a con, but by blind luck happens to get it right. One arc involves a rather more deadly version of the 1910 encounter with Halley's Comet, another uses a plague, there are a couple of asteroid strikes, and so forth. I find myself most unhappy with the few stories where The End is metaphorical, rather than a literal human-race-in-peril scenario; those feel like a cheat. I certainly don't regret the purchase, though.

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by CRussel

So, abandon it. You aren't compelled to finish books you aren't enjoying. I know, that is hard sometimes. But it's a lesson ebooks have taught me. Finally!

I've become better at abandoning books after a chapter or two, but I feel I must soldier on if I've reached 30 or 40%. I'm at 44% with Interview with the Vampire and reading has become a disturbing chore. If I abandon it now, I feel I've wasted a lot of time. Maybe the gambling adage applies here: don't throw good money after bad. I'm moving on.

[CRussel]

I dump it, Mark it abandoned in Calibre and take credit for it in my reading challenge. After all, I've almost always spent more time on it than a book I enjoyed.

I will give an underwhelming book until about 25%, but after that it needs to show significant signs of improvement or its gone. There are way too many good books to waste time reading dreck.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd

Next up, Shadow Tag by Raymond Khoury and Steve Berry.

Finished Shadow Tag and one more book Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich. Both were good to read, but not to be re-read.

Next I am taking up Pacific Vortex! by Clive Cussler.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I will give an underwhelming book until about 25%, but after that it needs to show significant signs of improvement or its gone.

I'm trying to do this more.

[Ravensknight]

Vet in a Spin by James Herriot. 3 Stars.

I'm not an animal person, at all, and even I'm liking these books. Enough that I'm still reading them. Vet in a spin was the 6th in the series.

[DrNefario]

Finished Medalon by Jennifer Fallon. A bit disappointing, but it was a freebie via Prime. Too much plot-induced stupidity.

Starting River of Gods by Ian McDonald, his near-future India novel. This one will probably take a while.

[covingtoncat73]

I'm reading Whispers Under Ground (PC Peter Grant Book 3) by Ben Aaronovitch. I try to read something else and I end up reading the next one in the series instead. What can I say? I love first person narration and sarcasm.

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

I'm reading Whispers Under Ground (PC Peter Grant Book 3) by Ben Aaronovitch. I try to read something else and I end up reading the next one in the series instead. What can I say? I love first person narration and sarcasm.

Yes, I'm about to read #1 again for the book club. Ordinarily, I wouldn't do that, but there are some lovely bits of sarcasm that make it worthwhile. I read #5 recently (Foxglove Summer), and thought it was at least as good as the initial books - not very common for many series.

[Ravensknight]

Eyeshield 21 #16
Riichiro Inagaki
4.5 Stars

Snuck in my manga for the week, just a few days late. Wicked good stuff.