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

[bizzybody]

The latest Dresden Files book, "Battle Ground". Started it last night after finishing the 4th in the "Breach of Faith" SciFi series by Daniel Gibbs and Gary T. Stephens.

I'm on Chapter 12, 28% through the book. I was going to go on to Gibbs other series in that universe, but... Dresden Files. I've always set aside continuing a series (never quit in the middle of a book) or starting on one when there was a new Dresden. Toooo long of a dry spell on the Files.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by bizzybody

The latest Dresden Files book, "Battle Ground". Started it last night...

I'm starting that one tomorrow, but on audiobook.

For ereading, I'm rereading Buchanan's Gamble by Jonas Ward - a western. It seems I missed several chapters, which is why I was confused. The text-to-speech on my Echo is awesome, but a bit clunky. So using the ereader on this.

My next couple of ebooks will be from the 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain. I only have 3 books left to finish series. (55 books). THEN, I have to find a few Halloween or ghost stories for end of month.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Last Emperox by John Scalzi. The last volume of his Collapsing Empire trilogy, which I recently got on special offer.

Which was very good, but I was just a tad disappointed with the ending. 4/5

Next up: A random pick, The Collected Stories by Arthur C Clarke. 1183 pages of short stories! I picked this up five years ago, so it's time I read it.

If I get tired, I might pick a quick novel to read as an intermission in this massive tome.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: A random pick, The Collected Stories by Arthur C Clarke. 1183 pages of short stories! I picked this up five years ago, so it's time I read it.

If I get tired, I might pick a quick novel to read as an intermission in this massive tome.

I'm reading a similarly sized collection atm, The Big Book of Female Detectives, also somewhere over 1100 pages. It's proving easier than I thought to read straight through, with its chronological arrangement and interesting notes on the authors and stories.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

I'm reading a similarly sized collection atm, The Big Book of Female Detectives, also somewhere over 1100 pages. It's proving easier than I thought to read straight through, with its chronological arrangement and interesting notes on the authors and stories.

That looks good, so I bought a copy. I'm familiar with Penzler, but I somehow missed that one.

Thanks!

[gmw]

The highlights since my last post include...

I re-read Small Gods and Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett. Wonderful stuff, as always.

Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund. I've mentioned this elsewhere, but it's worth mentioning here, too. An excellent non-fiction book that I thoroughly recommend. If ever you're feeling as if the world is in decline, get a reality check by picking up this book: so many things are not as bad as most people believe them to be. If you rather video and audio, the gapminder site carries a lot of the same information.

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. I was entertained. You can read more comments on the book club thread here.

A Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. This was disappointing. I know it's a kids' book, but most offer something for the adult too, but I found little here. 2/5.

Ransom by David Malouf. This, too, I found disappointing, despite having liked the previous works I've read from this author. This seemed like a short story stretched into a novella, and I got lost in the words - but not in a good way. 2/5.

Wake by Maia Sepp. This is the second End Times story (first was a novella, this is a shortish novel), it was published second but comes first chronologically, although reading order is entirely optional (it seems to me). Think of it as a cosy apocalypse: climate change is bringing the world we know to an end, while the population tries to ignore it. (Sound familiar?) This is an entertaining if light story with the slowly building end of the world as a backdrop. Sepp is an author whose voice I enjoy, it's a shame she has not published more. 4/5. (P.S. I got my copy from Kobo some time ago, but apparently it's gone exclusive to Amazon since then.)

[issybird]

Originally Posted by gmw

A Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. This was disappointing. I know it's a kids' book, but most offer something for the adult too, but I found little here. 2/5.

Ransom by David Malouf. This, too, I found disappointing, despite having liked the previous works I've read from this author. This seemed like a short story stretched into a novella, and I got lost in the words - but not in a good way. 2/5.

I liked both of these a lot. I think the whole Series of Unfortunate Events has much to offer the adult reader in terms of wordplay and situations that are above the head of the child reader, making it enjoyable for both.

As for Ransom, I think this is one of the most successful retellings of the Achilles myth and I’ve read or abandoned many, most recently the very cheesy and disappointing Song of Achilles.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by issybird

[...] As for Ransom, I think this is one of the most successful retellings of the Achilles myth and I’ve read or abandoned many, most recently the very cheesy and disappointing Song of Achilles.

With Ransom I'm willing to think it might have been a mood thing, and I might give it another try one day. Maybe.

[Dr. Drib]

Almost finished with SLOB, by Rex Miller. My god, this Slob character is a disgustingly fat killing machine who stinks to high heaven and covered in rolls of doughy belly fat! Uck! Quite enjoyable within an obscene context.

Almost finished, too, with a book of literary short stories by Sam Savage. The book is An Orphanage of Dreams.

(If you enjoy getting out of genre fiction, then I FULLY recommend reading this other Sam Savage book: Firman, a story about a lonely rat born and trapped in a bookstore and told from his point-of-view. Be warned, however, that - I repeat - this is a literary novel of the highest order and not genre fiction.)

[Uncle Robin]

Almost finished The Secret Adversary Christie's debut Tommy and Tuppence story. Not quite sure how I feel about a 300 page novel being built around the Ragnarok meets Armageddon nightmare scenario of a LABOUR GOVERNMENT coming to power, and the derring do of righthearted Englishfolk doing their darndest to avert the destruction of civilisation that unspeakable catastrophe would mean.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Almost finished The Secret Adversary Christie's debut Tommy and Tuppence story. Not quite sure how I feel about a 300 page novel being built around the Ragnarok meets Armageddon nightmare scenario of a LABOUR GOVERNMENT coming to power, and the derring do of righthearted Englishfolk doing their darndest to avert the destruction of civilisation that unspeakable catastrophe would mean.

Yup. It’s a POV that doesn’t wear well and you run into a lot in 1920s Britlit. I always think of Galsworthy’s Swan Song and its take on the General Strike. How dare those miners expect a living wage, safer working conditions and a reasonable workweek!

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by issybird

I liked both of these a lot. I think the whole Series of Unfortunate Events has much to offer the adult reader in terms of wordplay and situations that are above the head of the child reader, making it enjoyable for both.

As for Ransom, I think this is one of the most successful retellings of the Achilles myth and I’ve read or abandoned many, most recently the very cheesy and disappointing Song of Achilles.

I disagree with you about Lemony Snicket, but completely of one mind regarding the really terrible Song of Achilles. It's great that I read Circe at all, as I was toying with the decision to read Achilles first.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Luffy

It's great that I read Circe at all, as I was toying with the decision to read Achilles first.

Ditto. I liked Circe, but I’d not have bothered if I’d read (and abandoned) Achilles first.

[CRussel]

Currently reading Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon. This is the first of his long running (75 books, for goodness sakes!) Inspector Maigret series. I tried to read Maigret 30-40 years ago, but it didn't click for me. But I'm half way into Pietr, and I'm quite enjoying it.

[cc_in_oh]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Currently reading Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon. This is the first of his long running (75 books, for goodness sakes!) Inspector Maigret series. I tried to read Maigret 30-40 years ago, but it didn't click for me. But I'm half way into Pietr, and I'm quite enjoying it.

I'm reading Maigret now too. Unfortunately my libraries only have about half of the 75 in Kindle format; I've read about 18 so far. I can't really say what I like about it except that they're easy reads after Connelly, Rankin, Nesbo, Adler-Olsen etc.