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

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I enjoyed the first few I read. But there is a bit of sameness to them all. OTOH, I haven't read any of her Witch World series - perhaps they are more varied?

I guess in fairness I'm not the market she was writing for. She was writing primarily for teenagers rather than adults. I would probably have enjoyed them more when I was 14, and reading books more for adventures than three-dimensional characters.

[issybird]

My current reads:

A Royal Experiment: The Private Life of King George III by Janice Hadlow; I believe the English title is The Strangest Family. It's a terrific account of the family life of George III, where the royal family serves as a microcosm for societal theories, conditions and changes against the backdrop of the American and Napoleonic Wars, as well as being nice and gossipy, too.

Hunter's Rage by Michael Arnold, the third in his Stryker series. Stryker is billed as the Sharpe of the [English] Civil War and I think the comparison is apt enough. Those who like Sharpe might give this series a try.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon's first novel and it's delightful. I love novels where summer is palpable and while I'm a little premature reading this, it'll set me up for more summer reads.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

My current reads:

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon's first novel and it's delightful. I love novels where summer is palpable and while I'm a little premature reading this, it'll set me up for more summer reads.

Sounds interesting. Might be a good nomination for the Free for All category next month, which falls at the right time for a good "summer read".

As for Stryker - I do enjoy Sharpe, but I'm not sure I can handle another Sharpe-like series. And there aren't any audio versions. OTOH, these are free for KU, so I might just give them a try.

I'm currently reading The Language of Power, the fourth book in the Steerswoman series from Rosemary Kirstein. This is a re-read, triggered by the Book Club selection this month which got me started re-reading the series.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

As for Stryker - I do enjoy Sharpe, but I'm not sure I can handle another Sharpe-like series. And there aren't any audio versions. OTOH, these are free for KU, so I might just give them a try.

I started the Stryker books when I was on a Civil War kick and I had to *travel* to buy them, as they weren't sold in the US at all. Now, even if you don't have KU, they're only $2.99 at Amazon or available for free as a monthly KOLL selection.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

but first, Skylock by Paul Kozerski. An old Baen purchase. Not too impressed so far...

And I've abandoned it. Too many impossible/implausible events, and I'm not interested in the characters. When I do a Sudoku on the train in preference to reading, the book has to be abandoned!

So instead I read A Girl Corrupted by the Internet is the Summoned Hero?! by Eliezer Yudkowsky. This is the author of the wonderful Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. And this is fun rational examination of a standard fantasy trope.

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

So instead I read A Girl Corrupted by the Internet is the Summoned Hero?! by Eliezer Yudkowsky. This is the author of the wonderful Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. And this is fun rational examination of a standard fantasy trope.

Just the title alone is piqueing my interest.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Next: Some non-fiction with Felicia Day's You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost).

She has certainly lead an interesting life and is able to tell her story in a fun way. I enjoyed this.

Next up: The Postman by David Brin; I need to check off "something written in your home state" from the Something for Everyone challenge and this has been on my to be read list for a long time. I know a little about the plot but have not seen the movie, so hopefully this will be good.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

So instead I read A Girl Corrupted by the Internet is the Summoned Hero?! by Eliezer Yudkowsky. This is the author of the wonderful Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. And this is fun rational examination of a standard fantasy trope.

I have been wanting to start Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality for a while but thought it was still in progress so never actually did. I am glad to see it is now completed (as of March 2015 actually) so it is moving up my TBR list. Thanks for mentioning it!

[Hampshire Nanny]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Next up: The Postman by David Brin; I need to check off "something written in your home state" from the Something for Everyone challenge and this has been on my to be read list for a long time. I know a little about the plot but have not seen the movie, so hopefully this will be good.

Excellent book. Highly recommended. Lesson learned: in addition to the towel, always keep your toothbrush handy.

Fair movie. As I watched it, I kept thinking "Hmmm. Dances with Wolves into the future."

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

Excellent book. Highly recommended. Lesson learned: in addition to the towel, always keep your toothbrush handy.

Fair movie. As I watched it, I kept thinking "Hmmm. Dances with Wolves into the future."

Today is towel day, so very appropriate! I did read his first (it sounds like there might be more?) comments on the toothbrush this morning. Ugh.

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

Excellent book. Highly recommended. Lesson learned: in addition to the towel, always keep your toothbrush handy.

Fair movie. As I watched it, I kept thinking "Hmmm. Dances with Wolves into the future."

Wait, I thought that was Avatar?

[Dngrsone]

I have finished One Girl, One Dream by Laura Dekker. As I said earlier, it is very inspirational.

I'm still working on The Linux Command Line by William E. Shotts Jr.

[Rev. Bob]

I finished Jasper Fforde's third "Kazam" novel this morning. Good overall, but there are a couple of headscratcher goofs:

- In the first book, the narrator began her six-year indenture at the age of twelve and has been driving since the age of thirteen. In the third book, both happen when she's fourteen; she drives herself to begin her four-year indenture.

- "Giga" is explained as meaning "million" in the same passage where four times twenty-six is calculated to be fifty-two. I guess this could be a matter of the speakers being terrible at math, but it's still weird.

- Are the Geneva Convention (book one) and the Genevieve Convention (book two) different agreements, or is one of those misnamed?

I'm thinking about tackling the four Independence Day books next - the three originals (collected in an omnibus), followed by the prequel to next month's new movie. I've had a peek at the prequel. It seems to start with the 1947 crash, stop off for a chapter or two during the first movie, and then settle into covering What Happened After. I could skip straight to that book, but I'm curious to see whether the prequel and sequel to the first movie are retained as canon.

Then again, I have some packing to do tonight and tomorrow before going out of town for the weekend. I may not have much time for reading, so I might just slack off with a couple of electronic graphic novels.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by cromag

...
Anyway, I decided to try a safer bet for my next read. I've started Baen's The Universe Twister, a collection of Keith Laumer's three Lafayette O'Leary novels. I read the first one, The Time Bender, many years ago and remember liking it.

And I enjoyed them. I vaguely remember reading the first one, The Time Bender, but it was probably back in the early 70s. They do show their age a bit, but they're very imaginative and Laumer, at his peak, could write a fast paced, convoluted storyline with the best of them.

Next, I'll probably start Mirabile, by Janet Kagan, a fairly recent purchase.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I guess in fairness I'm not the market she was writing for. She was writing primarily for teenagers rather than adults. I would probably have enjoyed them more when I was 14, and reading books more for adventures than three-dimensional characters.

I read my first Andre Norton book when I was 11, I think -- I believe it was Star Soldiers. After that I bought any paperback of hers that hit the racks -- Ace published most of her stuff as mass market paperbacks (and sometimes Ace Doubles) back then, and I sent them all of my spare change. Lately I've reread a few. They're definitely intended for a juvenile audience, and adhere very strongly to formulas, but nostalgia can be fun (in small doses).

[Hampshire Nanny]

I'm about 80% into Expendable, the first of James Alan Gardner's League of Peoples novels. Pretty good SF -- and strongly character-driven. Next up is The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters, #5 in her Amelia Peabody series. As far as I can tell, this volume has not been issued as an eBook -- at least in the USA. So, I have a hardcopy edition borrowed from the library.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

So instead I read A Girl Corrupted by the Internet is the Summoned Hero?! by Eliezer Yudkowsky. This is the author of the wonderful Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. And this is fun rational examination of a standard fantasy trope.

And now I'm reading The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer. One of her historical novels, it's set in the latter part of the Peninsular war, just a little later than where I've got to in the Sharpe novels!