Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 2021

covingtoncat73 · 10-25-2021, 04:34 PM

So, I just finished Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. It was Earth-shatteringly good. Read it now.

I am now reading Boy, Snow Bird by Helen Oyeyemi, which is also quite good. I'm 60% in.

pdurrant · 10-27-2021, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now I'm starting on Andy Weir's latest, Project Hail Mary.

Which was great fun. Apart from the silly title.

And now The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith. The 16th in his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which is set in Botswana.

cc_in_oh · 10-28-2021, 05:49 PM

Baldacci is growing on me. His plots are predictable and have some annoying holes but he has a knack for coming up with lovable characters. I've finished the King and Maxwell series - would have liked to see another volume with their new genius partner - and the Amos Decker series. Now on Camel Club #2 which kind of reminds me of the enjoyable BBC New Tricks TV series - kind of a geriatric Scooby gang taking on super-villains to save the world against all odds.

astrangerhere · 10-29-2021, 02:07 PM

Just finished Kameron Hurley's The Light Brigade. I enjoyed the story, though the end felt very rushed. Amusing, since her acknowledgement section mentioned multiple missed deadlines.

pdurrant · 10-30-2021, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith. The 16th in his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which is set in Botswana.

It's been a while since I read the previous one, and it took a while for me to get back into the style of the book. But it was most enjoyable. A very solid 4/5.

Next I started on the third in the James Potter fan fic. And couldn't get into it. And remembered nothing of the second, which I read this January. So I've discarded that one and the other fourth one.

Next up by random selection: Mortal Causes by Ian Rankin. The sixth in his Inspector Rebus series.

ReadingManiac · 10-31-2021, 12:36 PM

Finally reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I think I'm the last one.

gmw · 10-31-2021, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReadingManiac

Finally reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I think I'm the last one.

I picked up a trilogy omnibus of these on special a couple of years ago but haven't gotten to it yet. Any good?

Fbone · 11-01-2021, 06:46 PM

Finally finished Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe.

While the overall story was creative the execution was terrible. Typos, word repetition, poorly constructed sentences, weak dialogue, vague or missing descriptions, condescending pandering and illogical stuff throughout. This needed major major editing- plot editing, line editing and proofreading. I knew this was written like a RPG but does that mean it has to be done poorly? Rated D- [one star].

Next, a breather, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. Picked up through Prime Reading.

astrangerhere · 11-02-2021, 08:34 AM

I've been running through novellas as we continue to set up the house. Last night I read Nghi Vo's excellent When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain and a little more than half of Lee Smith's Blue Marlin.

Vo's novella is the second in a set (which I hope she continues) and Blue Marlin is Smith's latest. I'm personally always excited when Smith publishes something new. We live in the same town and she can frequently be found in a local bookstore here holding court with Allan Gurganus on Friday nights.

DiapDealer · 11-03-2021, 07:00 AM

I had to abandon the audiobook version of Joe Abercombie's The Trouble with Peace (the second in his "Age of Madness" trilogy). I'm a fan, but the narrator made almost every character sound like some sort of cartoon dwarf. All the varied accents and affectations just came across as silly-sounding to me. Maybe I'll retry reading the ebook after the memory of the audiobook fades a bit.

Now starting Claire North's Notes from the Burning Age (ebook).

gmw · 11-03-2021, 09:34 AM

Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A sequel to Dogs of War - you really need to have read that first. The first two thirds of the book seemed to be mostly back story passed on in an awkward manner by multiple first person narrators. There was an interesting story buried in it, somewhat similar to aspects of the first book, but more direct. The last third finally started to move along and show some different ideas. It ended up a good enough yarn, it just seemed to take a long time to get there and failed to really convince me when it did. The first book was much better. 3/5.

rainerm · 11-04-2021, 04:14 AM

Currently reading Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild. Been wanting to read this for a long time now, but somehow kept putting it off. Watched the film a couple of weeks back, and my interest in the book was rekindled. Very interesting that the book balances methods generally regarded as antithetical: the journalistic, the biographical and autobiographical, and the speculative. Just where would one place this title in the book store? The fiction section? Non-fiction? Biography? Not complaining, just wondering.

rcentros · 11-05-2021, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmw

Life has led to disrupted reading time, but what I have read lately includes:

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden:

The Bear and the Nightingale : After start that felt a bit slow and awkward, I enjoyed this very much. A pleasing mythical tale set in medieval Russia, and since I knew nothing of Russian mythology it was all very new and intriguing. I liked the characters and it moved along at a good pace. I gave it 4/5. This first book can be read on its own without needing to go on if you don't want to ... but I wanted to.

The Girl in the Tower : Picks up straight from the first book and starts well, but then dragged for a while before ending really well. It lacked the novelty of the first book (for me), but was still an entertaining tale. I ended up giving this 4/5 as well.

The Winter of the Witch : It seemed to me that this book was not as smooth as the first two - but that may be due to events that really disrupted reading this book. It is certainly an interesting tale, and as explained by the author, a fantasy built with historically accurate events which added verisimilitude often lacking in such stores. I will refrain from scoring this until I read it again (I have liked the series enough that I expect to give it another read before too long).

I just discovered these in my library via Overdrive, more or less by accident. I'm glad I did. I like them basically for the same reasons as mentioned by gmw. I also thought the second book dragged a little. But I always like the first book of a trilogy more than the rest. You have all the fun of being introduced into a new world.

pdurrant · 11-05-2021, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's been a while since I read the previous one, and it took a while for me to get back into the style of the book. But it was most enjoyable. A very solid 4/5.

Next I started on the third in the James Potter fan fic. And couldn't get into it. And remembered nothing of the second, which I read this January. So I've discarded that one and the other fourth one.

Next up by random selection: Mortal Causes by Ian Rankin. The sixth in his Inspector Rebus series.

Which was good, although how he continues to get into romantic scrapes is beyond me.

And then I read Innate Magic by Shannon Fey which was a fun 'historical' fantasy set in a mid-1950s Britain.

And now I'm reading Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny.

Apache · 11-05-2021, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now I'm reading Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny.

I think that is my favorite Roger Zelazny book. I am going to have to reread it again. I have lost count of how many times I have read it.
Apache

11-03-2021, 07:00 AM	#30310
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,586 Karma: 204624552 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I had to abandon the audiobook version of Joe Abercombie's The Trouble with Peace (the second in his "Age of Madness" trilogy). I'm a fan, but the narrator made almost every character sound like some sort of cartoon dwarf. All the varied accents and affectations just came across as silly-sounding to me. Maybe I'll retry reading the ebook after the memory of the audiobook fades a bit. Now starting Claire North's Notes from the Burning Age (ebook). Last edited by DiapDealer; 11-03-2021 at 07:02 AM.

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10-25-2021, 04:34 PM	#30301
covingtoncat73 Wizard Posts: 2,745 Karma: 83407757 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Lenovo Duet Chromebook, Moto e	So, I just finished Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. It was Earth-shatteringly good. Read it now. I am now reading Boy, Snow Bird by Helen Oyeyemi, which is also quite good. I'm 60% in.

10-28-2021, 05:49 PM	#30303
cc_in_oh Bob's my uncle Posts: 984 Karma: 17073086 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: NE OH Device: Kindle	Baldacci is growing on me. His plots are predictable and have some annoying holes but he has a knack for coming up with lovable characters. I've finished the King and Maxwell series - would have liked to see another volume with their new genius partner - and the Amos Decker series. Now on Camel Club #2 which kind of reminds me of the enjoyable BBC New Tricks TV series - kind of a geriatric Scooby gang taking on super-villains to save the world against all odds.

10-29-2021, 02:07 PM	#30304
astrangerhere Professor of Law Posts: 3,754 Karma: 68428716 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Libra H20, Kobo Aura One, KoboMini	Just finished Kameron Hurley's *The Light Brigade*. I enjoyed the story, though the end felt very rushed. Amusing, since her acknowledgement section mentioned multiple missed deadlines.

10-31-2021, 12:36 PM	#30306
ReadingManiac Genre Jumper Posts: 1,070 Karma: 11070900 Join Date: Dec 2015 Device: Kindle paperwhite	Finally reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I think I'm the last one.

11-01-2021, 06:46 PM	#30308
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,296 Karma: 101697116 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	Finally finished Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe. While the overall story was creative the execution was terrible. Typos, word repetition, poorly constructed sentences, weak dialogue, vague or missing descriptions, condescending pandering and illogical stuff throughout. This needed major major editing- plot editing, line editing and proofreading. I knew this was written like a RPG but does that mean it has to be done poorly? Rated D- [one star]. Next, a breather, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. Picked up through Prime Reading.

11-02-2021, 08:34 AM	#30309
astrangerhere Professor of Law Posts: 3,754 Karma: 68428716 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Libra H20, Kobo Aura One, KoboMini	I've been running through novellas as we continue to set up the house. Last night I read Nghi Vo's excellent *When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain* and a little more than half of Lee Smith's Blue Marlin. Vo's novella is the second in a set (which I hope she continues) and Blue Marlin is Smith's latest. I'm personally always excited when Smith publishes something new. We live in the same town and she can frequently be found in a local bookstore here holding court with Allan Gurganus on Friday nights.

11-03-2021, 09:34 AM	#30311
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	*Bear Head* by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A sequel to Dogs of War - you really need to have read that first. The first two thirds of the book seemed to be mostly back story passed on in an awkward manner by multiple first person narrators. There was an interesting story buried in it, somewhat similar to aspects of the first book, but more direct. The last third finally started to move along and show some different ideas. It ended up a good enough yarn, it just seemed to take a long time to get there and failed to really convince me when it did. The first book was much better. 3/5.

11-04-2021, 04:14 AM	#30312
rainerm Addict Posts: 200 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Aug 2018 Device: none	Currently reading Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild. Been wanting to read this for a long time now, but somehow kept putting it off. Watched the film a couple of weeks back, and my interest in the book was rekindled. Very interesting that the book balances methods generally regarded as antithetical: the journalistic, the biographical and autobiographical, and the speculative. Just where would one place this title in the book store? The fiction section? Non-fiction? Biography? Not complaining, just wondering.