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

[tecweston]

Just Finished:

- A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin - Well I'm all caught up now on the Song of Ice and Fire series. I've been reading the series since July of last year so I feel a big direwolf-shaped hole in my reading life now. Can't wait for the next one.

Currently Reading:

- The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Titanic Tragedy by William Seil (61%)

- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (56%)

- Skeleton Crew by Stephen King (28%)

- Moby-Dick, or The Whale by Herman Melville (7%)

[yoho]

i am reading A Song of Ice and Fire . maybe we are getting tired of Harry series, but this book, this bundles of book is leading us to a completely new magic world. come on! let's enjoy this great book

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Well I just finshed A Letter from Mary (book 3 of the Mary Russell series) and began reading The Moor (book 4). IMHO, A Letter from Mary was 1/2 notch lower on the rating scale than the Novella and the previous 2 books. But I still really enjoyed it. Onward!

I just finished reading The Moor and found it a very enjoyable revisit to Baskerville Hall and Dartmore! What fun this series is! Anyway I'm continuing on with Book 5, O Jerusalem. I'll bet this it the one that Charlie warned me about. We'll see.

[Latinandgreek]

I'm reading "Cutting for Stone", and so far it is a great read. I was up very late last night reading it, I couldn't put it down.

[CRussel]

Just finished the Audible version of The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Jessica Almasy. This is an early work by LMB, and probably fits in the YA mold more than her later works. I enjoyed the read, but wouldn't give it a 5 out of 5. And the reader is no better than acceptable. She doesn't subtract from the work, but doesn't really add anything to the picture either.

Next up on the Audible list is going to be 1632, I think. Meanwhile, on my Kindle, I'm reading The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. This turns out to be a re-read, since I apparently read it in paperback when it released and had forgotten about it. Can't imagine why, I'm enjoying it immensely. The premise is an innkeeper who is more, telling his story to a chronicler. This is a first novel from Mr. Rothfuss, but remarkably well-written and crafted. Recommended. The second book in the trilogy is out, but you'll have to wait for the third one.

[Crusader]

I'm still wading through the Wheel of Time series. Just finished book 6: Lord of Chaos. I think I've had that patch in the series where nothing much happens for the next couple of books.

[tecweston]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I'm reading The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. This turns out to be a re-read, since I apparently read it in paperback when it released and had forgotten about it. Can't imagine why, I'm enjoying it immensely. The premise is an innkeeper who is more, telling his story to a chronicler. This is a first novel from Mr. Rothfuss, but remarkably well-written and crafted. Recommended. The second book in the trilogy is out, but you'll have to wait for the third one.

I think I might read that one. I have the sample on my Nook but I haven't read it yet. Now that I've finished the Song of Ice and Fire series (so far), I need more epic fantasy. I was thinking also about re-reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy before the Hobbit movie comes out.

[Straycat1945]

I see that Fantasy and Sci Fi are the big draws in this thread. I went through that phase about 40 years ago. I lean towards a good entertaining Mystery, Suspense, Thriller lately, and True Crime grabs me every once in awhile. I read most of my favourite books years ago; Wilbur Smith, James Michener, Jan DeHartog; I was/am a big fan of a good western, especially some of Cormac McCarthy's books. Sometimes we seem to funnel in on the bestsellers, and miss out on some of the overlooked gems. When I find an author that I like, I want to research all of their work, and that's usually where I find the most enjoyable reads. Reviews are great, and they help a lot, but we all have our own tastes.

If you like a good rousing adventure/thriller, there's not much better than Wilbur Smith's books. They're huge epics that go on and on, but they're filled with action and lots of historic and nature info. Someone in this thread mentioned Egyptology; go no further than Wilbur Smith. If I were to recommend a book to start off with, it would be his first one; When the Lion Feeds. The first few pages are probably the best of any book I've ever read, impossible to resist. Give it a shot, I envy you if you haven't read any of his books yet, they're full of class.

[Tascosa]

BIG NOSE SERRANO (pulp gangster stories). LINCOLN'S CAVALRY. No time hardly for DYNAMICS OF AN ASTEROID, an oldie by James Moriarty, a 19th century professor. ;-(

[tecweston]

Just Finished:

- The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Titanic Tragedy by William Seil - not bad. Holmes and Watson find themselves on the Titanic protecting some secret government plans being taken to America. These plans get stolen, of course. Then...

Spoiler:

the ship hits an iceberg!

Currently Reading:

- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (62%)

- Skeleton Crew by Stephen King (28%)

- Moby-Dick, or The Whale by Herman Melville (7%)

[PepSnick]

I'm working on the Black Dagger Brotherhood series right now (J.R. Ward), and I'm on number 6: Lover Enshrined.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by tecweston

Just Finished:

- The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Titanic Tragedy by William Seil - not bad. Holmes and Watson find themselves on the Titanic protecting some secret government plans being taken to America. These plans get stolen, of course. Then...

Somehow, I just can't think of any reason at all I would want to read this. It's one thing to do a take on Sherlock -- lots of people have, though the only one I actually enjoy is Laurie King's Mary Russell series. But the Titanic too? And they survive? No, I think I'll pass.

[CRussel]

@HarryT: So, I see you're proofing John Carter of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I'm curious how you're finding it? It's been so many years since I read any of Burroughs stuff, I'm curious if it has held up at all.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by CRussel

@HarryT: So, I see you're proofing John Carter of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I'm curious how you're finding it? It's been so many years since I read any of Burroughs stuff, I'm curious if it has held up at all.

@HarryT:

I'm interested in this since the really nice job you did on Holms was much appreciated as I read it from beginning to end. I've not yet read John Carter (not counting what I've read in the past, piecemeal) but thought that the Amazon $.99 volume called The Adventures of John Carter on Mars - the Original Series looked pretty passable. Are you doing the 5 novels in a volume as well?

[tecweston]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Somehow, I just can't think of any reason at all I would want to read this. It's one thing to do a take on Sherlock -- lots of people have, though the only one I actually enjoy is Laurie King's Mary Russell series. But the Titanic too? And they survive? No, I think I'll pass.

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series is a bunch of non-canonical novels, some of them are old novels that are being republished and some are brand new, but almost all of them are crossovers with real people/events of the time period, or other late 19th-century or early 20th-century literary characters. For instance, Holmes is inserted into Phantom of the Opera, The War of the Worlds, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Tarzan, and Dracula. The two I've read so far are fairly entertaining, enough that I want to keep reading the series.

When I'm reading the Mary Russell series, it feels like an extension to the canon. But the Further Adventures series shouldn't really be taken that way, they're more of a "what if" series. What if Holmes was on the Titanic? What if Holmes met the Phantom of the Opera, etc. Taken that way they are lots of fun. I've never seen the Titanic movie so for me this book was an interesting way to find out about the historical event while also enjoying a Holmes mystery.