Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

As you curl up with an egg nog in front of the TV playing your favorite fireplace video, what are you reading?

Got all 10 books planned.

Nightwise, Life Force, Shards of Honour, Koban, A Dance of Cloaks, Certain Dark Things, A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Veil, Summer Knight, Central Station

Just started The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs

Got big plans for this month.

This is the the month where I've decided that I'll read at least 10 books a month, 7 which are part of a series, 3 that are either one shots, or with only one book out so far. I'll also try to read 20 days a month, with a main goal of reading an average of 150 pages a day, and bonus goal of an average of 300 pages a day.

Good luck with your reading plans!

Finished: Gardens of the Moon, which sort of felt like i was being told about somebody's over-leveled D&D campaign. And then Elric showed up.

Infomocracy was delightfully and unapologetically nerdy. Nice to see an SF book where idealistic, dedicated people try to do their jobs well. Although maybe it's really fantasy, because it isn't on this world that people care about having correct information.

The Rook was, I'm sorry to say, quite bad. The couple of funny moments were drowned in far too much irrelevant background information, and the author ignores his own narrative device half-way through the book. Not a good sign when I stop reading to look up if this is an author's first book (It was).

Currently reading: The Weaver by Emmi Itäranta, which is wonderful so far.

Brendan wrote: "Infomocracy was delightfully and unapologetically nerdy...."

I'll have to move Infomocracy up on my to-read.

Sorry you didn't like The Rook, we had it as a group discussion topic last year, and I think most of us rather liked it, mostly for the unusual narrative form and the resulting mystery. Sadly, the sequel, Stiletto, didn't have that narrative trick to fall back on, and was a rather ordinary UF.

The narrative trick that the author decides to forget about around chapter 36? If the gimmick is that we're reading along with the letters as she is, then I strongly suspect there isn't enough time or light to read by when the heroine is encased in a gelatinous cube. 90% of those letters were red herrings that ended up having no impact on the main plot, and I felt like the author was wasting my time by having me read his homework.

I'm about 20% into . It's slow going due to Roert Jordan's tendency toward doorstoppers.

Brendan wrote: "Finished: Gardens of the Moon, which sort of felt like i was being told about somebody's over-leveled D&D campaign. And then Elric showed up."

LOL - what a great description! You had me at "Elric." Now I'm gonna have to move this one up in the TBR pile.

Ha, it wasn't particularly meant as a recommendation but if that sounds like your kind of thing then go for it.

I'm reading The Black Prism by Brent Weeks right now. I plan to read Blood Song by Anthony Ryan before the end of the month.

I pulled this out last year and planned to re-read it. Got distracted by all kinds of other books, including joining this group, so has taken me a while to get around to it. But seems like a good one to read during the ramp up to Christmas.

Will definitely re-watch the movie as well. Sometimes I'm impressed that my parents let me watch that movie as a kid, sure it's animated but wow...lots of blood and gore and bunnies ripping each other apart!

Richard Adams

Michael wrote: "Good luck with your reading plans!"

Thanks. Shouldn't be that hard, just gotta stick with it.

I lemmed the second Dirk Gently book and still trying to finish the Ted Chiang book. Some stories are downright incomprehensible.

Already started Red Mars by KSR. A long book so I need to take my time.

I am reading the Snow Like Ashes Trilogy by Sara Raasch

Im about 3/4 through the second book, Ice Like Fire. I hear it's has Second Book Syndrome; can see why, but I'm enjoying the series, so far, regardless.

Still working on Heir of Novron, which is a long read when you're at work so much of the time, lol.

Also, re-reading Faerie Wars. I never finished the series as a teenager and my library has them all on Kindle so I thought, why not. Might also make another run at the Inheritance Cycle sometime, since I only got as far as Brisingr.

Gary wrote: "I'm reading The Black Prism by Brent Weeks right now. I plan to read Blood Song by Anthony Ryan before the end of the month."

I really enjoyed this book. The magic system was fascinating.

I had started reading Software by Rudy Rucker, but I just couldn't get into it. So I've started reading The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. My first foray into his Discworld books.

I really enjoyed Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" series; well, at least until the last ones, a story for another time. But I think I'll try out his "Aeronaut's Windlass".

Finished Tigana, so now the taste of bad books I'd previously read has been washed away (thank you, Mr Kay!) I'm going to tuck into one of the indie books I picked up at Fantasycon in September - The Summer Goddess.

Finished Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

Lee has been writing short stories for some time, and this is his first full-fledged novel. It's a notably different approach to military sci-fi, and it focuses much more on the people & society than military tactics and hardware.

When a distant colony revolts, an innovative captain, Cheris, is chosen to receive the mind of an old, "insane", heretical General Jedao, the two personalities sharing the same body for the duration of the military campaign. Jedao was a brilliant tactician but considered so dangerous, yet useful, that his mind was imprisoned, occasionally to be decanted into another body (with the subordinates given strict orders to kill him if he showed any signs of heresy.)

Usually the loose approach to the military technologies used would drive me crazy (and it did for the first couple of chapters). I still don't understand the so-called "exotic" weaponry, which seems to border on magic, but the interplay of straightforward Cheris & incredibly subtle Jedao as they share a body to confront a rebellion, was engrossing.

Darn, it's just the first book of the trilogy.

I'm currently reading Team-Ups and Crossovers by Marion G. Harmon, a collection of related short stories set (mostly) in the author's "Wearing the Cape" superhero universe. It's an excuse to borrow a few characters from other superhero series authors (novels, not comics)for quick team-ups, often by the simple expedient of traveling to parallel worlds. It's been a little bland so far, the "series of short stories" approach keeping it from developing any serious momentum, but I might find a few other superhero series/authors to read from it.

But mostly, it's an anthology, so I can instantly put it down tomorrow when James SA Corey's Babylon's Ashes, latest Expanse novel, comes out. :)

I'm reading Joe Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy: The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings. I just finished the second book yesterday & plan to start the third soon. Really good. Pretty typical in some respects, but the characters & politics are fantastic.

I feel like I'm the only person who didn't care for the Expanse.

Finished reading The Weaver. Loved the atmosphere and writing style. Felt like a darker Earthsea, which really hits my fantasy sweet spot.

Ordered murdered-tree versions of Her Smoke Rose Up Forever and The New Weird since they are unforgivably not ebooks. Still waiting for them to arrive.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I'm reading The Stars My Destination in the meantime.

Currently rereading Jim Butcher's Codex Alera books. Currently in the middle of book two Academ's Fury. Also reading a biography of Neil Armstrong.

Mike wrote: "I'm about 20% into . It's slow going due to Roert Jordan's tendency toward doorstoppers."

You are ahead of me on this one as I set it aside temporarily to finish challenges in other groups. I'm also 15% of the way into Magician's Gambit by David Eddings

Amused this morning to read one of the Martian spaceships in Babylon's Ashes is named the Mark Watney :)

I am reading a book, titled, . It was free for Kindle a while back and I thought I would try it. I am pleasantly surprised and glad I found it. The plot reminds me of Margaret Atwood's except with magic elements woven in. Right now, I am on page 149 and am about to continue reading after catching up on GR's. Let me know if you have read it and what you thought of it.

Just finished Watership Down. I'd read the book before but had forgotten all the characters (and there's a lot) that weren't in the movie. Not always a bad thing not remembering everything, feels like you're reading it for the first time and can still be surprised.

Switched to Meditations on Middle Earth: New Writing on the Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien edited by Karen Haber. I'd bought this ages ago when I found it in the sales section of the bookstore, not really knowing what it was. As I've been reading just about anything Tolkien related the past couple years thought now would be a good time to read this one too.

I finished Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy today. Wow! All 3 books were 4 star reads. So many of the best characters I've read in a fantasy in years! Here are my 3 reviews of them.

Book 1: The Blade Itself
Review: /review/show...

Before They Are Hanged
Review: /review/show...

Last Argument of Kings
Review: /review/show...

Finished The Summer Goddess, a solid 2.5 stars read.

A total change of pace now with The Paradise Snare, the first of the Han Solo trilogy prior to seeing the new film at the weekend!

Just finished the second book in The Dark Tower series...the Drawing of the Three. Soooo good!!! I never imagined myself liking Stephen King. I suppose later volumes will get long winded (I thought the Stand would never end) but book 2 had a good steady clip and lots of surprises.

I'm reading Keith Roberts' Pavane, a dazzling masterpiece from the sixties.

I'm reading Lovecraft's The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, in preparation for reading Kij Johnson's quasi-sequel The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe.

Ivy wrote: "Just finished the second book in The Dark Tower series...the Drawing of the Three. Soooo good!!! I never imagined myself liking Stephen King. I suppose later volumes will get long winded (I thought..."

I like getting the full effect of related books so having read the first Dark Tower book due to this club, I went looking for The Stand that is supposed to tie in to it, before reading the rest of the series...and wow, that book is HUGE. Decided I was definitely not that interested in it. But then I found the original version in a used bookstore and that's much more manageable. Haven't gotten around to reading it yet though. I'm already booked up for December (plus don't want to read horror for Christmas!)

Today I finished a book that's pretty damn good, , and sadly dropped a book in my favorite series(that I'm currently reading.) . Unfortunately the writer decided to be experimental with Zyra and turn a dark space opera blast into erotic fantasy....and it's freaking horrible. thanksfully I checked and found out that the rest of the series isn't like this. Whew!

17% in Babylon's Ashes. I just don't want this book to end.

Right now I am reading Helliconia Spring by Brian W. Aldiss. It was a little slow to start, but I'm about 20% in and enjoying it.

But Helliconia is still going a bit slow for me, because I'm also re-reading Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun for the third time! This book is frustrating as helk, but I enjoy it more and more each time.

Charles wrote: "I'm reading Keith Roberts' Pavane, a dazzling masterpiece from the sixties."

I concur! This book is haunting, and I don't think it shows its age.

I'd recommend the Stand once the holidays are done and the January doldrums hit. I read the extended version and it was too long, but it starts and ends with a bang. I'm glad I trudged through the middle because I by the end I couldn't put it down. Plus it takes place all over the US, and I had fun imagining all the havoc in places I've visited. I would have preferred the original, shorter version, but I was stuck with the format available at the library.

Andrea wrote: "Ivy wrote: "Just finished the second book in The Dark Tower series...the Drawing of the Three. Soooo good!!! I never imagined myself liking Stephen King. I suppose later volumes will get long winde..."

Andrea wrote: "Ivy wrote: "Just finished the second book in The Dark Tower series...the Drawing of the Three. Soooo good!!! I never imagined myself liking Stephen King. I suppose later volumes will get long winde..."

Brendan wrote: "I'm reading The Stars My Destination"

That's one of my all-time favorites Brendan, hope you enjoy it!

I just started reading A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card, part of my effort to read the entire Ender's Game series. This one is a novella set in the same timeframe as the original Ender's Game book, as well as Ender's Shadow of course.

I'm also reading Catalyst - A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno and re-reading The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. Still plugging along on The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2015 Edition in the middle of a Cory Doctorow story. Also working on Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Reading some non-SF/F stuff too:
- The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
- Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Andrea wrote: "I pulled this out last year and planned to re-read it. Got distracted by all kinds of other books, including joining this group, so has taken me a while to get around to it. But seems like a good o..."

I tried really, really hard to read this with another GR group earlier this year. I eventually gave up. I just couldn't get into it.

Recently finished:
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Currently reading:
The Divine Comedy (finally got to Paradiso yesterday, yay)

The Martian by Andy Weir

Also in the plan for this month:
Split Second by David Baldacci

Randy wrote: "That's one of my all-time favorites Brendan, hope you enjoy it!"

I did enjoy it. Bester packs several book's worth of SF ideas into a short book, and the writing is pretty sophisticated. It's easy to see the roots of new wave sf and cyberpunk in here. Very brutal/cynical worldview on display here though. Such a contrast to Childhood's End, which was written around the same time.

Just finished pretty happy that I read a whole book for the first time in 80 minutes(236 pages, but still!), but I won't be continuing it as nothing stood out to me.

I'm about to move onto

Finished Magician's Gambit by David Eddings earlier today. Avoid the US ebook version...dreadfully converted with no apparent editing.

Randy wrote: "I'm also reading Catalyst - A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno "

Do you enjoy Catalyst?

Finished reading Meditations on Middle Earth: New Writing on the Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien. It was actually more interesting than I thought it would be, just reading about various famous author's initial reactions to be exposed to Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit.

I like how Michael Swanwick hit chord with me about how, when he reread it as an adult, it was no longer just a grand adventure, it was a tale about loss. I guess after experiencing my great-uncle's alzheimers I have a new appreciation for things that fade away (elves, magic, ents, etc), and the inability to ever go back to way things were (Frodo). Even if you win you still lose.

On the other hand Ursula Le Guin's analysis of the rhythm in Tolkien's prose nearly put me to sleep. I honestly didn't care to take apart a bunch of sentences bit by bit and analyze each one. I don't know if Tolkien would have approved anyway, seeing he didn't write the book to be analyzed (whether linguistically nor thematically), it was just meant to be a good story that people can enjoy...and one author wrote his essay about that aspect. That critics think LotR is not literature because it doesn't represent anything other than what it actually is. It's not an allegory, nor a metaphor, it's just a tale of a world that never was, but we all wish could be. Escapism at it's best.

Now switched to the other group read this month,

Now reading Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings