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

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: not sure. I'll pick something this evening.

I picked another recent purchase: Kindred by Octavia Butler.

[AndrewMowere]

Just finished "The Gunslinger". For most of the book, I was worried it would be a bland 5/5, full of solid telling and great techniques but lacking that grip on the heart that makes you wish 6 stars were possible.

Yeah, it has that too. That line about tasting blood made no sense, but it sure was powerful. I'm rather set on reading indie, but I'm glad to have made that exception.

[AndrewMowere]

Next up: a free copy of "Shield of Drani" by Melonie Purcell. I'm going in completely blind, didn't even read the description. All I know was that she wrote a great comment on a thread somewhere and I had to read a book by her.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I picked another recent purchase: Kindred by Octavia Butler.

It was OK-ish. The depiction of slavery was very well done, but the characters and plot were poor.

Next up: Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer

[Ravensknight]

Mission to Moulokin
by Alan Dean Foster
4 Stars

[din155]

Just finished Broken Homes, 4th book of Rivers of London series by Ben Aronovitch. It was the least favourite book for me in the series. First half felt more disconnected and slow but the second half saved the book. The twist at the end was really something I didn't see coming. Don't feel like reading the next book right away, so I will take a break from the series. Thinking what to read next

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd

Next up, The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths, a crime fiction novel.

Which was good. Now I am picking up 03:02 by Mainak Dhar, a science fiction novel.

[Ravensknight]

Weekly Don Quixote Update

Up through Chapter 23. Really enjoying the way I'm reading this. Very slow, taking notes, making comments as I feel like, instead of just gulping it down and moving on to the next book.

[Dngrsone]

Finished Destroyer by C. J. Cherryh. Now reading Brute Force by K. B. Spengler

[Ravensknight]

Eyeshield 21 #13
Manga Monday
4.5 Stars

Wicked short review as this was a tough day...

[Cinisajoy]

Well I finished the Stephanie Plum series from 1 to 21.

[Ravensknight]

The Servants of the Storm
Jack Campbell
3.5 Stars

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Finished up Valor's Choice , and now have a collection of short stories by Laurie King, and the next in the Confederation series from Tanya Huff. Oh, and still slogging through Weber and Safehold.

Finished #3 in the Confederation series from Tanya Huff, Heart of Valor. This series is going well, and I'm quite enjoying it. Mostly I'm reading them, but switching off to audio when I am where I can't read. (I really like WhisperSync!)

On the audio book front, I finally finished At the Sign of Triumph, by David Weber. Like almost all of his books, a bit longer than absolutely necessary, but a good one and it tied up most of the loose ends.

After trying to read The Handmaiden's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, I finally abandoned it. It's a good book, but I really, really don't need to be reading that sort of distopia right now -- there's enough of it in real life.


Now reading The Phoenix Unchained which I am now sure I must have read at some point in the distant past. But at least it has no relationship to reality, which is what I want right now.

On the audio book front, reading #4 in the Phryne Fisher series, Death at Victoria Dock. I quite enjoy this series, and this is a re-read, but as an Audible book, superbly read by Stephanie Daniel.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd

Which was good. Now I am picking up 03:02 by Mainak Dhar, a science fiction novel.

Just finished 03:02 by Mainak Dhar.

At 03:02AM on a Sunday morning, the world came to an end. Mumbai suddenly went black — no electricity, no phones, no internet and no working cars. It was as if someone had turned off the master switch of civilization, turning people back hundreds of years overnight. They learned that it was not just Mumbai, but much of the world that had been impacted. They also learned that it was no accident. A deadly enemy was behind it. An enemy that was now in their midst, seeking to conquer them and destroy their way of life. This is how the war for freedom began. A war that was to be waged not on the borders or by the Army, but in the homes and streets, with common people as the soldiers. A gripping tale narreted impressively, highly recommended.

Next I am not sure as to what I'll take in the busy festive schedule, but I will finish at least one more book before the year ends.

[orlok]

Recently finished The Feather Men by Ranulph Fiennes (the explorer), which has been made into the film Killer Elite. I found this book a slog to get through, and kept checking the percentage progress in the hopes of seeing it leap forward. This was partly due to the writing style which I found flat and often uninteresting, and partly due to the fact that it didn't seem to know if it was a thriller or a non-fiction retelling of actual events. I only persevered because it was part of a reading challenge so was determined to see it through.

It was written like a non-fiction work (every acronym or slightly unusual word was then explained in brackets, frequently quite unnecessarily), and the "exciting" scenes were told in a completely matter-of-fact way, losing any sense of tension. The time-line also jumped all over the place, and between sets of characters, without warning and sometimes almost in the middle of a paragraph, so it took time to realise that the scene had changed.

All that aside, it was well researched, and the background information was interesting at times. If the story is a true one, and clearly elements of it are based on fact, then it should have been told that way. I know I would have enjoyed it far more had I not been second-guessing all the way through whether it was supposed to be a thriller or a documentary.