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I'm about half finished with The Martian Chronicles and not really enjoying it. In fact, I'm taking a break today to start Bright of the Sky, which I've been wanting to read for a couple of months. I'm also listening to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets while driving around in my car.

As for the rest of August, it's pretty busy: http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/4...

Just finished McCarthy's The Road. Will start Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (Millennium, #3) today or tomorrow. Might take a while to finish if it doesn't grip me right away but here's to hopin'.

Finished Neverwhere yesterday. I liked it. I would say 7 our of 10.
Some people compared Neverwhere to The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia and I was worrying about it because I really disliked the latter. However, Neverwhere has a clearly defined storyline, beginning, well written ending, while The Secret History of Moscow was just a delirious essay. I am glad I read Neverwhere :) Weird stuff but original.

I think I am going to start The Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb today.

I started Foreigner, because I wanted a change from fantasy. The beginning was a bit hard to follow, but now I'm in the story.
Maybe I'll try The Martian Chronicles, but I'm not sure I'm gonna like it.
After that, I have a lot to choose from, it will depend on the spur of the moment.

Jon wrote: "I'm about half finished with The Martian Chronicles and not really enjoying it. In fact, I'm taking a break today to start Bright of the Sky, which I've been wanting to..."
Kay Kenyon's books have been edging closer and closer to the top of my to-read pile as well. I'm looking forward to your thoughts.

I'm still working my way through Last Argument of Kings, with my eye on Best Served Cold next, though I might take a breather from Abercrombie to read The Martian Chronicles first.

Greyweather wrote: "I'm looking forward to your thoughts."

I finished it this morning. My review is here - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Definitely not what I was expecting.

I'm continuing with Bright of the Sky which is different and intriguing.

I'm currently reading Equal Rites, World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Bleak House. I might pick up The Martian Chronicles; I haven't read it in probably about 10 years.

I'm reading The Martian Chronicles, of course, and I'll start The Hero of Ages today.

Next on my list is The Grapes of Wrath and then if I have time I'll try the Riddle-Master series.

I am reading American Gods. I have put it aside for a little while and I am going to start The Girl Who Played with Fire

Finished with Last Argument of Kings, The Martian Chronicles, and Daryl Gregory's Pandemonium.

My library is closed today so I have to wait until tomorrow to get my hands on The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford. In the meantime I'm reading some short stories out of The Best of Gene Wolfe.

I just finished "The Amadeus Net" by Mark A. Rayner. It begins with Mozart walking into a sex-change clinic to become a woman to hide in the post-apocalyptic world in 2028. It's VERY interesting and I suggested it to anyone who likes post-apocalyptic or utopian novels.

Here goes Arto Paasilinna's Year Of The Hare.

oops--
I think I posted on the wrong thread--here's my list.
I'm currently reading:
Joust and I'll probably continue with the series.

Dreamfever is coming out next week so I will get the second as soon as I can (#3 was a cliffhanger and I suspect this one will be too--dang--will I have to wait a year for the final volume!?)

I have a ton of indie authors on my list and I think I will start with
Waiting For Spring
then maybe Elfhunter A Tale Of Alterra, The World That Is and if I like it I'll finish the series

I keep hearing this will be on Kindle soon so I will read it the minute it comes out--I am loving this series. Offspring

I just got a note that Karen Miller's new book is out soon too but it is a cliffhanger so maybe I will wait till I can read them together.

I am plugging through A Game of Thrones for a discussion group. It's better than most epic fantasy, but it bogged down a bit in the middle as Martin had to set up things for the final third.

Things have picked up now...thankfully.

I had read "Ysabel" by Guy Gavriel Kay about a year ago... then recently came across a blurb about him online and how he had worked with Christopher Tolkien in editing The Silmarillion (I think I saw that on Infloox or Wikipedia). Anyway, that totally piqued my interest again, so I'm revisiting some of GGK's work. Anyone else a fan?

oh, he used to be one of my very favorites! I haven't read anything of his recently but maybe I will see if he has anything new or revisit an old favorite!

Reading The Anubis Gates, and I'm a bit disappointed. Touted as 'fast paced' it took about 100 pages to even start to get interesting. Well, I hope the rest of it makes up for it.

Lostinfiction wrote: "I had read "Ysabel" by Guy Gavriel Kay about a year ago... then recently came across a blurb about him online and how he had worked with Christopher Tolkien in editing The Silmarillion (I think I s..."

Definitely. I've read them all. Great author.

Jackie wrote: "Reading The Anubis Gates, and I'm a bit disappointed. Touted as 'fast paced' it took about 100 pages to even start to get interesting. Well, I hope the rest of it makes up for it."

Tim Powers' work is so very odd and original, sometimes it's hard to get a handle on where he's going, but one tends not to forget his stories when finished. This is not a cookie cutter writer.

I've read very good reviews on this book, so I'm sticking with it because I believe there will be a good payoff. I generally don't care when reviewers don't like a book, but when so many people say a book is fantastic, I can't ignore that.
The only problem I have with slow moving beginnings is that I'm not motivated to get back to it real quick. Once I've started a book, though, I will always finish it.
Last night it started to get very interesting, with learning about Jacky and some other things, but it was so late, I couldn't stay up for more than 20 more pages. But I'm anxious to get outside and spend some quality time with this book.

Yeah, I can see how that one starts off difficult - it's hard to get a handle on the characters and what is going on. But it picks up and becomes a much easier read. Tim Powers is among my very favorites.

Lostinfiction wrote: "so I'm revisiting some of GGK's work. Anyone else a fan?"

I really liked The Lions of al-Rassan and Tigana, but I was honestly disappointed with Ysabel.

Greyweather wrote:

I really liked The Lions of al-Rassan and Tigana, but I was honestly disappointed with Ysabel."

Understandable because it's so different from his earlier works, but what did you dislike about it? To me it kinda read like fiction geared towards teens instead of his regular audience. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but if I hadn't known better, I would have pegged it as a book by a completely different author!

Lostinfiction wrote: "Understandable because it's so different from his earlier works, but what did you dislike about it?"

For me the main issue was that the narrator/protagonist was a totally unconvincing portrayal of a teen-age boy. That, and the first half of the book was just plain dull.

The second half went a long way to salvaging the novel and in the end I'd say it was better than average fantasy. I know from experience however that GGK is capable of so much more than "better than average" hence my disappointment.

Ysabel was meant to be his first foray into adolescent fiction.

Laurel wrote: "Ysabel was meant to be his first foray into adolescent fiction. "

I found Alvar from The Lions of al-Rassan to be a much more authentic adolescent character than the protagonist of Ysabel. In this way, amongst others, I consider Ysabel a step backward in the quality of Kay's work.

Concerning Kay he has just posted a very interesting synopsis of his next novel "Under Heaven."

" In the novel, Shen Tai is the son of a general who led the forces of imperial Kitai in the empire’s last great war against its western enemies, twenty years before. Forty thousand men, on both sides, were slain by a remote mountain lake. General Shen Gao himself has died recently, having spoken to his son in later years about his sadness in the matter of this terrible battle.

To honour his father’s memory, Tai spends two years in official mourning alone at the battle site by the blue waters of Kuala Nor. Each day he digs graves in hard ground to bury the bones of the dead. At night he can hear the ghosts moan and stir, terrifying voices of anger and lament. Sometimes he realizes that a given voice has ceased its crying, and he knows that is one he has laid to rest.

The dead by the lake are equally Kitan and their Taguran foes; there is no way to tell the bones apart, and he buries them all with honour.

It is during a routine supply visit led by a Taguran officer who has reluctantly come to befriend him that Tai learns that others, much more powerful, have taken note of his vigil. The White Jade Princess Cheng-wan, 17th daughter of the Emperor of Kitai, presents him with two hundred and fifty Sardian horses. They are being given in royal recognition of his courage and piety, and the honour he has done the dead.

You gave a man one of the famed Sardian horses to reward him greatly. You gave him four or five to exalt him above his fellows, propel him towards rank, and earn him jealousy, possibly mortal jealousy. Two hundred and fifty is an unthinkable gift, a gift to overwhelm an emperor.

Tai is in deep waters. He needs to get himself back to court and his own emperor, alive. Riding the first of the Sardian horses, and bringing news of the rest, he starts east towards the glittering, dangerous capital of Kitai, and the Ta-Ming Palace � and gathers his wits for a return from solitude by a mountain lake to his own forever-altered life."

Sounds good to me.

As soon as I finish The Martian Chronicles for the discussion group, I'll be reading Mort, by Terry Pratchett. Not sure after that. I might venture into a non-fiction book afterwards. Or jump into Blood of the Fold, to continue the Sword of Truth series.

Laurel wrote: "Ysabel was meant to be his first foray into adolescent fiction. "

That's how the whole publishing world and most of his readership sees it, but funnily enough, I've heard/read him say several times that he does *not* consider it adolescent fiction and he sounded quite miffed at the idea of it too. I don't really understand why he'd react that way though, because it's not a bad thing per se. My first thought upon completing the first chapter was "wow, I would've loved to read this when I was ten years younger too!"

The Anubis Gates still isn't doing much for me. It's slightly interesting, but I think my biggest problem is I don't connect with any of the characters. I don't really care what happens. I'm more than halfway through and I thought I'd be sailing through it by now. It's going on the back burner because I'm starting The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger right now. I ordered it from the library over a month ago and wanted to read it before the film came out. I'm hoping to be finished rather quickly so I can go to the theater. If not, there's always DVD rental 3 or 4 months from now, LOL
Then I'll go back to The Anubis Gates.

What I'm reading in August?

The Mayo Clinic's Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. :)

I'm assuming congratulations are in order, Lara?

Yep, I'm due in February.

Congratulations! Is this your first? It's so exciting, the birth of a child. Happy healthy life to you and your baby, and other family members too.

Working me way through Curse of the Mistwraith.

Finished Bright of the Sky last night - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/....

Started Young Miles before I went to bed.

Congrats and best wishes for a healthy, happy pregnancy and baby, Lara!

As for me, I'm having big stress, but the good kind. I just got back from the library and Dreamfever, the new 39 Clues book The Black Circle, Terry Goodkind's new book The Law of Nines and the long awaited Pride and Prejudice and Zombies all arrived at once! What to do, what to do?

So far, I have reread The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K Le Guin, and read Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, as part of my intention to catch up on the books already read by this group. As well, I have read The Lost City of Faar, by D J MacHale. I am around 200 pages away from finishing Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes. I plan to read Middlemarch, by George Eliot and, if I can squeeze it in, Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.

Jackie wrote: "The Anubis Gates still isn't doing much for me. ..."

I am with you.There were so many positive reviews, but boy! was I disappointed.

Anyway, August readings:
Finished Fool's Errand and Golden Fool.

A few months ago I re-read The Farseer and The Liveship Traders trilogies. Loved them as much or even more than when I read them first time 7 years ago. However, The Tawny Man trilogy is a major disappointment so far.
1. The major storyline/plot is very "local", no grand scale plot as it was in the first two trilogies.
2. So many boring descriptions, unbelievable.
3. Hobb's obsession with describing all sorts of gowns, clothes is driving me nuts.
4. Unwarranted number of repeating of what happened in the first two trilogies. Even repeatings within the book itself of what happened a few chapters before!
5. If I didn't know Robin Hobb, I would give up on Fool's Errand after the first 50-100 pages, because I would believe I picked up chick lit by mistake instead of fantasy.

Golden Fool was slightly better than Fool's Errand but still pales in comparison.
A word of warning. Anyone who says that one can read The Tawny Man right after The Farseer, thus bypassing The Liveship Traders is giving a very bad advice because if a person decides they would like to read The Liveship Traders after The Farseer & The Tawny Man, will be disappointed because there are way too many spoilers in The Tawny Man about The Liveship Traders.

I just finished reading a book called Fawcetta by Dalian Artanian.Fawcetta Voices and Echoes of the Coliseum Volume I

Finished Young Miles last night.

I'll be starting Left Behind today at lunch and will try to finish Consider Phlebas sometime this week.

Jon--

If you like Phlebas, I recommend Use of Weapons as well.

I will be interested to hear your reaction to Left Behind.

Michael wrote: "Jon--

If you like Phlebas, I recommend Use of Weapons as well.

I will be interested to hear your reaction to Left Behind.

"

I'm losing my motivation to read Phlebas and I don't know why. When I do read it, I devour it. But I get distracted from it.

Left Behind I hope to finish quickly and mark it off my "to read" list and move on. I don't have high hopes for it. :)

Just read FlashForward. Pretty good.

Going for "pop corn" now, a Star Wars novel.

I finished off The Shadow Year and Best Served Cold.

I need a break from new fantasy, so what better than some old sci-fi? In this case, Creatures of Light and Darkness by Roger Zelazny.

I'm making my way through the Kage Baker books about The Company because they had such stunning reviews. The first one, In The Garden of Iden I would give about a B-, but the second one seems slightly better. The CENTRAL IDEA is good but I'm not convinced of the execution.

My book club is reading Middlesex so I will probably start that soon.

Mad wrote: "I'm making my way through the Kage Baker books about The Company because they had such stunning reviews. The first one, In The Garden of Iden I would give about a B-, but the second one seems sligh..."

It starts getting better with Mendoza in Hollywood and it really takes off with The Graveyard Game. I actually read the 6th and 7th books right after the first one, so I can tell you the series gets really good by then.