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

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Finished 1-11 and the Overture. Wonderful stuff.

Next up: A random pick, The Cosmic Perspective by Brian Stableford. A collection of his short fiction that I bought way back in May 2011!

Which was OK, but a weird mix of fantasy, SF and other stuff. 3/5.

Then I read One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire. The fifth October Daye novel. The series is really getting into its stride now, Great stuff. 5/5.

Next up: Undertow by Elizabeth Bear. I bought this way back in December 2008!

[mlewis78]

I've just started A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall.

[Uncle Robin]

Currently reading Where the Crawdads Sing for the 2024 Onboarding Challenge at The Storygraph and so far it ain't singin' to me.

[Uncle Robin]

Where the Crawdads Sing was a bust for me - blindingly obvious plot and the author clearly shares Peter Jackson's pathological aversion to the concept of editing. It really did not boil my crawfish, its 2.75 rating a bad start to my fiction reading for 2024. Book 9 for the year was indeed a NEIN.

[Tarana]

I recently finished Tower of Dawn by Sarah Maas. Fantasy genre, and very much enjoyed but a little too much unlikely romance put me off from getting more of the series.

Last book: Hail, Hail The Gang's All Here - Ed McBain. This is a reread. Love the 87th Precinct series. Police procedural.

First of the Year - Barbara Hambley's Bride of the Rat God. Hambley was one of my late sister's favorite authors so I picked up a few random titles to see if I agree. The title sounded great. Fantasy genre.

[Uncle Robin]

Returning to Germany A Nation it its Time by Helmut Walser Smith, the chapters on 1933-1945 were just astonishing. Details on the size, scale, speed and scope of the atrocities were hard to process, even though it's obviously familiar territory. Into the chapters on the 1950s now, a period about which I knew much less

[Quizlit]

Just finished Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali, which was excellent and My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, funny but not the greatest read.

[CWatkinsNash]

Finished A Deadly Education last night. I really enjoyed that! Going to wait a bit to check out the next book in the trilogy.

After I finished that, I started Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Talk about changing gears! Been trying to get around to it for decades and I'm finally reading it.

[Uncle Robin]

I finished Germany A Nation it its Time by Helmut Walser Smith and A History of Modern Lebanon by Fawwaz Traboulsi, books 7 & 8 for me of this year's "Reads the World" Challenge at the Storygraph. Now starting my final two picks, Poland A History by Adam Zamoysli and A Line in the River: Khartoum, City of Memory by Jamal Mahjoub

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I just finished my year with War and Peace. I'm a week ahead, but I wanted a break before tackling Richardson's Clarissa next year.

A little late but congrats on finishing it! I remember you said you'd read it before. I listened (and read) it for the first time this year and very much enjoyed it!

[BenBanned]

Another Man's Moccasins was enjoyable enough that I will at least start reading the Longmire series.
Wasn't blown away, but I think I'll enjoy them more once I have a better a handle on the cast of characters.

Next up, True Grit..

[CWatkinsNash]

I finished Heart of Darkness last night. I can't seem to get it out of my head. My review is here if anyone is interested in my bumbling thoughts on it. (I'm trying to write reviews for all of my reads this year. It's harder than I remember.)

Tonight, I'll be starting Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, a YA fantasy romance that I'm mostly reading to get the New Year Kindle Challenge achievement for reading a past or current Goodreads Choice winner. It was one of the few qualifying books that are in KU. Yes, I know, such things are optional, but I got 16/16 in the last Kindle Challenge and it felt nice.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Next, Imager by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

This was a slow one. The opposite of action-packed. I was warned, though, so it didn't come as a complete surprise. Still, the world and its characters were fun to read/learn. I liked the main character, Rhenn. The expected ending was satisfying, no cliffhanger. A good winter read for me but now on to something fast paced. Rated C+ [3 stars].

Next, from library, System Collapse by Martha Wells.

[Uncle Robin]

I have just finished the 2024 Reads The World Challenge at The Storygraph. Ten books from 10 different countries, this year's challenge saw me go darker than either of the previous two challenges. Out Of Sri Lanka easily the most brutal and difficult read, A Line in the River - Khartoum, City of Memory runner-up for that 'award'. The attached images show my reads for this year and the countries the challenge has taken me to since it started in 2021. Always a highlight of my reading year.

[SteveEisenberg]

Before taking a job in a spying organization, I recommend reading an entertaining 2003 novel I just finished, Loose Lips by journalist, historian, and former intelligence community member Claire Berlinski. She wasn't the first to novelize their intelligence experience as an end-run against non-disclosure restrictions, but this is one I expect to remember the longest.

I find her subtitle -- "a roman à Claire" -- brilliant.

If not obvious: The subtitle is a takeoff on the phrase "roman à clef," meaning a novel closely following real people and events.