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

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Next up: Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton. Ms. Hamilton is the chef/owner of the NYC restaurant Prune.

While I'm reading Blood, Bones and Butter, I decided to also start Matriarch, book #4 in the Wess'Har Wars series by Karen Traviss. The first three have been interesting and enjoyable reads and I'm eager to follow the story, so I'll mix Matriarch in with Blood, Bones and Butter. Very different appeal.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next: Sentry Peak by Harry Turtledove. My oldest unread purchase, from September 2002. The first in his "War between the Provinces" series. I have all three books, but I never got around to reading them (if they are a too obviously transposed US civil war story, I might skip them.)

If I recall correctly, I gave up during the 2nd book in the series, when it suddenly occurred to me (yes, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree ) that this was just a thinly disguised version of the American Civil War.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next: Sentry Peak by Harry Turtledove. My oldest unread purchase, from September 2002. The first in his "War between the Provinces" series. I have all three books, but I never got around to reading them (if they are a too obviously transposed US civil war story, I might skip them.)

My fears were entirely justified. It's the US civil war very, very thinly disguised as a fantasy story. I just can't be bothered. (It's not just based on the US civil war, all the main characters are based on the US civil war characters, and I suspect the battles described are based closely on US civil war battles. Ugh.)

Next up: Asimov's SF, August 2013. Just delivered from my subscription at Amazon.

[NickyWithNook]

Based on people here talking about Pride and Prejudice all the time, I finally read it. And it was really good!

I want to read A Thousand Splendid Suns, when I can find the time.

[Stitchawl]

I've just begun "Agent of Change" by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, and I'm hooked! Solidly hooked by the first few chapters! It's the first of the Liaden Universe series I've read, and I already want to read the rest.


Stitchawl

[WT Sharpe]

I was reading William Ellery Leonard's 1916 translation of Lucretius' Of the Nature of Things but had to give it up 2/5 of the way through because I found the prose of that translation personally difficult and uninspiring. Just bought Frank O. Copley's 1977 translation and am finding it to be much smoother sailing. The footnotes are a big plus. I started Copley's translation in Book III, which is where I left off reading in the Leonard, but when I finish, I'll go back and read Books I and II again in the Copley, because I really was not getting much out of the Leonard translation.

[xg4bx]

Currently reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I'm not very far into it but already it's amazing how much of the tone Apocalypse Now got right.

[poohbear_nc]

I've been doing a lot of reading/re-reading of Henry James lately -- and decided that this weekend I needed a "fun" break -- which usually has me looking for a 'thriller' type of read.

So, I started reading Under the Dome, but the characters were so repugnant, I was actually cheering for the dome and hoping they all ate each other before being rescued. I stopped after reading approximately 1/4 of the book.

Then I made a marvelous discovery! Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz! I treasure books that contain a truly unique concept or character - finding both in one book was like hitting the jackpot. If you haven't discovered this series, it can be encapsulated in one quote: “I see dead people. But, then by God, I do something about it!” Koontz creates a clairvoyant (sort of) short order cook that is visited by the recently and not-so-recently dead (Elvis tags along quite a lot) who need help to "let go" and leave the earth. The writing is breezy - but with a brain. The plausibly improbable plot contains exploding Holsteins, 58-year-old cats, chaste romance, evil spirits, Granny Sugars, ..... and a really nasty mass murderer. Few writers can combine humor with really horrific violence and mayhem - and create an oddball narrator that can engage your interest & sympathy even as he utters such unforgettable bon mots as: “From time to time, I do consider that I might be mad. Like any self-respecting lunatic, however, I am always quick to dismiss any doubts about my sanity.”

I'm looking forward to reading more in this series, and fervently hope that the quality of humor and humanity is maintained.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I've just begun "Agent of Change" by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, and I'm hooked! Solidly hooked by the first few chapters! It's the first of the Liaden Universe series I've read, and I already want to read the rest.


Stitchawl

Oh you have such a treat ahead of you! Enjoy!

[LovesMacs]

Originally Posted by NickyWithNook

Based on people here talking about Pride and Prejudice all the time, I finally read it. And it was really good!

I want to read A Thousand Splendid Suns, when I can find the time.

You might consider reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies next. Perhaps a library copy. I thought this particular example of genre mash-ups was rather forced. Some people do like the book.

[Apache]

I just started reading Eagle by Jack Hight. So far it is a very good read. I picked it up at Amazon UK since there isn't an eBook available in the US.
Apache

Salah ad-Din, or Saladin as he is known to the Franks, was a Kurd, the son of despised people, and yet he became Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He united the peoples of Allah, recaptured Jerusalem, and drove the Crusaders to the very edge of the sea. He battled, and in the end tamed King Richard the Lionheart, who well deserved his savage name. He was a great man, the greatest man that I ever knew, but when I first met him, he was only a skinny child . . . The Chronicle of Yahya al-Dimashq
But alongside the legend of Saladin there is another story. When the Crusader army is routed beneath the walls of Damascus in 1148, a young Saxon named John is captured and enslaved. He is bought by Yusuf, a slight, bookish boy, for the price of a pair of sandals. And so begins the story of two enemies brought together by fate and of a friendship that will change the face of the Holy Land. Timid Yusuf will grow up to become the warrior Saladin, nicknamed 'the Eagle'; John will first teach his young master the art of war, before returning west to serve first the King of Jerusalem and then King Richard himself.
From spectacular set-piece battles to the political manoeuvrings of the corrupt Crusader court, from the brutality of single combat to the sophistication of Islamic life, this is the first in a remarkable trilogy that will chart the story of the greatest leader the Middle East has ever known.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Asimov's SF, August 2013. Just delivered from my subscription at Amazon.

That was fun, especially the story about "The Fleet".

Next up: Analog SFF, September 2013

[travger]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I've just begun "Agent of Change" by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, and I'm hooked! Solidly hooked by the first few chapters! It's the first of the Liaden Universe series I've read, and I already want to read the rest.
Stitchawl

Nice for you. Though for me the length and convulsions of some sentences were a bit trying; I can't remember another case where I had constantly to reread some paraghaph/sentence to make sense of it (and several times per chapter!!). As a comparison, through Honor Harrington I just breezed.
Still, it's very interesting Universe and I'm thrilled to know what comes next.

(I prefer inner chronology, so started with Local Custom and afterwards pinched short stories between the books)

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

Currently reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I'm not very far into it but already it's amazing how much of the tone Apocalypse Now got right.

That book was a surprise to me. I didn't think it was going to be good, but I really enjoyed it.

I read it in ignorance of its influence on Apocalypse Now but had no problem seeing it. I wasn't a massive fan of Apocalypse Now and have only seen it once, but even with the limited exposure it was impossible not to make the connection while reading Conrad's novel.

[5thWiggle]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

So, I started reading Under the Dome, but the characters were so repugnant, I was actually cheering for the dome and hoping they all ate each other before being rescued. I stopped after reading approximately 1/4 of the book.

Then I made a marvelous discovery! Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz! I treasure books that contain a truly unique concept or character - finding both in one book was like hitting the jackpot. If you haven't discovered this series, it can be encapsulated in one quote: “I see dead people. But, then by God, I do something about it!” Koontz creates a clairvoyant (sort of) short order cook that is visited by the recently and not-so-recently dead (Elvis tags along quite a lot) who need help to "let go" and leave the earth. The writing is breezy - but with a brain. The plausibly improbable plot contains exploding Holsteins, 58-year-old cats, chaste romance, evil spirits, Granny Sugars, ..... and a really nasty mass murderer. Few writers can combine humor with really horrific violence and mayhem - and create an oddball narrator that can engage your interest & sympathy even as he utters such unforgettable bon mots as: “From time to time, I do consider that I might be mad. Like any self-respecting lunatic, however, I am always quick to dismiss any doubts about my sanity.”

I'm looking forward to reading more in this series, and fervently hope that the quality of humor and humanity is maintained.

I felt the same way about Under the Dome. When I cared more about the giant spider thing in It than I did for anyone in Under the Dome, I knew it was time to put down the book before I tossed it in the fire.

I'll have to look up Odd Thomas. Sounds good.