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

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

And done with Redoubt, which stayed an enjoyable 3 star read, moving on to the final book in this story arc, Bastion.

Finished. Again, no more than a 3 star read, but enjoyable, if not memorable. Next up, To Glory We Steer, by Alexander Kent (Douglas Reeman). I think this is #7 in his Bolitho series. Read 40 years ago, and I'm finding I remember more than I would have expected. An enjoyable read, if not up to Aubrey/Maturin. But I'm having to take a break from it -- the new Ava Lee novel dropped yesterday, and I'm deep into it. The Goddess of Yantai, by Ian Hamilton. This is number 11 in the Ava Lee series and I'm already half way through it. Such fun.

[rainerm]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

It's in my TBR pile. Murakami is always an automatic buy for me. I know that this book is up for the bad sex award in the Guardian this year. But I am not sure if it is bad or just lost in translation.

Yeah. Many readers have found Murakami's depiction of sex laughable, if not silly. I did hear about the Guardian list, and I'm not surprised. At the risk of sounding like a staunch defender of Murakami, I just think his writing of sex aims to show how complicated, difficult, and ineffable physical love is.

Still enjoying The British in India - really surprising to learn just how few there ever WERE of "British in India". No wonder we Anglo-Indians have such nice tans

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by stuartjmz

Still enjoying The British in India - really surprising to learn just how few there ever WERE of "British in India". No wonder we Anglo-Indians have such nice tans

That's pretty cool, @stuartjmz I actually know of a Swiss person that wound up in India back in the day, a younger brother of a third great grandmother. I have no idea why, I'm assuming trade of some kind.

I am reading A Little Life. I'm a glutton for punishment but the writing is beautiful.

[haertig]

I just finished "Pulse" by Jeremy Robinson, from the "Chess Team" series (a.k.a."Jack Sigler" series). An OK read, not great. I will read the next one in the series and see how it goes before deciding if the series is worthwhile to pursue. I found that the characters all merged together ... King, Queen, Bishop, Rook, Knight ... Most of the time I could not tell you which character's exploits I was reading about, nor did I really care. They were all kind of one in the same.

My all time favorite author for this genre (I'd call is action/adventure/thriller) is James Rollins. Searching for similar authors to Rollins, I found Jeremy Robinson and Matthew Reilly. Neither is up to Rollins IMHO, but both are OK. My rankings thus far are Rollins, Reilly then Robinson. But keep in mind, I have read almost a dozen Rollins books, two Reilly books, and one Robinson book - so it's not a fair comparison just yet. I need to read more of the other authors before finalizing a ranking of who's best for my reading tastes. But so far, Rollins rules the roost by a significant margin.

PULSE:

HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD YOU KILL TO LIVE FOREVER?

Imagine a world where soldiers regenerate and continue fighting without pause, where suicide bombers live to strike again and again. This is the dream of Richard Ridley, founder of Manifold Genetics, and he has just discovered the key to eternal life: an ancient artifact buried beneath a Greek-inscribed stone in the Peruvian desert.

When Manifold steals the artifact and abducts archeologist Dr. George Pierce, United States Special Forces Delta operator Jack Sigler, callsign King, and his “Chess Team” give chase. Formed under special order from the president, they are the best of America’s Special Forces, tasked with antiterrorism missions against any threat—ancient, modern, and at times, inhuman. With cutting-edge weapons, tough-as-nails tactics, and keen intellects, they stand alone on the brink, facing the world’s most dangerous threats.

Ridley’s plan to create unstoppable soldiers has just made him threat number one. Tension soars along with the body count as the team faces high-tech security forces, hordes of “regens’, and a resurrected mythological predator complete with regenerative abilities, seven heads, and a savage appetite. The Chess Team races to save Pierce, and stop Manifold before they change the face of genetics—and human history—forever.

Heart-pounding action combines with adrenaline-charged suspense in the first of international bestselling author Jeremy Robinson’s smart, sharp series featuring the Chess Team.

I'm now starting "Silo" by Hugh Howey. I really liked the first book in this series ("Wool"). I really liked Wool, so I have high hopes for Shift.

SHIFT:

This is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling WOOL series. It combines the three Shift books (First Shift, Second Shift, and Third Shift) into a single e-book in order to save the reader a few bucks. The saga concludes with DUST, which will be available in late 2013.

Reading Order:
1. WOOL
2. SHIFT
3. DUST

In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate.

In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event.

At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened.

[MickeyC]

Just finished Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwall based on a reco from covingtoncat73 and really enjoyed it. It’s historical fiction supposedly written by Shakesphere’s brother, Richard and I found it very interesting.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

Just finished Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwall based on a reco from covingtoncat73 and really enjoyed it. It’s historical fiction and I found it very interesting.

I am glad you enjoyed it! I thoroughly enjoyed it. It would make a good movie.

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

I am glad you enjoyed it! I thoroughly enjoyed it. It would make a good movie.

Oh yes, or maybe a TV series.

[gmw]

Last night I finished Song of Time by Ian R. MacLeod.

I loved it. This gets a tentative 5/5 from me (true favourite status waits for confirmation of a second read). It's about a musician looking back over her life. For me the book felt like a symphony of words, with movements progressing forward to the conclusion, and her discovery of what she was, and what she wanted, before she moved on. What I consider to be the science-fiction part of the story came as no surprise, while the human part was both shocking and yet unsurprising - it made perfect sense (I really like that in a story).

Be warned: it's not something everyone is going to like. Amazon shows quite a high "1" rating, and someone on there called it "literary science fiction" - always a contentious sort of description but I can see why some might view it this way, as the style plays an important part in the story. My recommendation is that if you don't like it by the end of chapter 2 then give up (the end of chapter 2 is about where I decided this was something special to me).

The ebook edition I read from JABberwocky Literary Agency has a few proof-reading errors, which was a bit distracting, but I've seen worse.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Moving on to a freebie A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.

I quite liked that one. The second book even better. Sort of mixed feelings on the third, but it's an interesting Fantasy world.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

I am glad you enjoyed it! I thoroughly enjoyed it. It would make a good movie.

I thought the same thing! But I picture it with the same actor who played young Shakespear.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by ReadingManiac

I thought the same thing! But I picture it with the same actor who played young Shakespear.

Well, Joseph Fiennes as young Shakeaspeare played a very important part of my awakening as a young woman. LOL. That being said, he's probably a little old to play Richard Shakespeare, the little brother in the book. He could probably reprise Shakespre in an adaptation, though!

[covingtoncat73]

I am slogging through A Little Life. I wanted to mention a non-fiction on audiobook that I had been listening to, Who We Are and How We Got Here by David Reich. I like non-fiction on audio and I am a sucker for genetics and human history and pre-history. Very interesting and recommended. There are some finds that are pretty amazing. One thing that is sticking with me is that Y Pestis is endemic to the Steppes and the Steppes people 1000s of years ago probably had some immunity that people already living in Western Europe didn't, facilitating a whole lot of genetic replacement by the Steppes People back then, much as the "germs" portion of Guns, Germs, and Steel would enable the genocide of Native Americans 1000s of years later. 'Course, in the islands and mountains, you older groups and their DNA that hung in there.

[HLS]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

I finished reading The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. An actual book which for some reason I bought in the bookstore. LOL I enjoyed it though. It was a good psychological suspense novel. Next up is Death’s Mistress by Terry Goodkind on my Kobo.

I hated it. after a few chapters I walked away. all she did is talk about all the wine she drank morning noon and night. lol

[Dngrsone]

Finished listening to Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock and Roll by Ann and Nancy Wilson, narrated by same.

Meanwhile, I am 23% into Girl on the Moon by Jack McDonald Burnett.