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General SF&F discussion > What are you reading in December 2011?

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message 1: by Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired) (new)

Stefan (sraets) | 1671 comments Mod
Let us know what you're reading this month!


message 3: by Helen (new)

Helen I've just started last months book (City), then Honor 4, Fortress 5. I'm completely behind the plan I set out! Oh, and Spin, Honor 5, if I like 4!


message 4: by Laurel (new)

Laurel Sigh... My favorite part of the month is making my to-read wish list!

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1) by Ilona Andrews . Most Urban Fantasy fans rave about this series.

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon 'Cause Mike raves about this one!

The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4) by Brandon Sanderson I'm a wee bit of a Sanderson fan!

The Cold Commands (A Land Fit for Heroes, #2) by Richard K. Morgan . I've been waiting for this one to come out!

The Iron Jackal (Tales of the Ketty Jay #3) by Chris Wooding . This one, too!!

Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, #1) by Kelley Armstrong I think this is the first in the series - people rave about this one.

The Magician King by Lev Grossman . Can't believe I haven't gotten around to this one as yet...


message 5: by Jim (new)

Jim Mcclanahan (clovis-man) | 485 comments Just finished Ringworld and am deep into Rome 1960.


message 6: by Candiss (last edited Dec 06, 2011 10:23AM) (new)

Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments I have no constant net access until Tuesday the 6th, so I'm writing this torturously via my Kindle on the mobile Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ site. I can not access the Add Book/Author feature but wanted to say Hi (and get my GR/BR fix...)
In Dec. I'll read: Spin, The Crying of Lot 49 (Pynchon,) The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland... (Valente,) Dawn (O. Butler,) Breakfast at Tiffany's (Capote,) Ice (Anna Kavan...under-loved SF,) The Murder of Roger Akroyd (A. Christie,) & Ethan Frome (Wharton.) Challenge books, group reads, all. [Thumbs dead...SO not a texter...]

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Edit:
Ok, I'm back on the grid. Let me clean this post up a bit. In December I'll be reading:
Spin (Spin, #1) by Robert Charles Wilson The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1) by Catherynne M. Valente Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1) by Octavia E. Butler Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote Ice by Anna Kavan The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton


message 7: by Maggie (new)

Maggie K | 298 comments I SO want to read Dawn Candiss, but I am beseiged by BotM's! I finished Of Blood and Honey and am halfway through Ringworld and my re-read of Toll the Hounds. I want to fit in A Canticle for Leibowitz, Stranger in a Strange Land and started Spin


message 8: by Shel, Moderator (new)

Shel (shel99) | 3044 comments Mod
Laurel, I really like that Kelley Armstrong series (and yes, Bitten is the first book). I haven't read them all yet but fully intend on continuing one of these days!

I'm still working on The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. It took me a while to get into it - Stephenson was clearly having a good time with his world-building, but I had to force myself to skim his lengthy descriptions of cool techologies until I got to the point in the story where something actually happened. I'm into it now though :)


message 9: by Jon (new)

Jon (jonmoss) Wow! It's 2012 already!?!? :P

I'm planning on reading Spin, which I've had on my shelf for years. Looking forward to it. I borrowed Ready Player One from the library today to read for another group. I'm almost half done with Dick Van Dyke's autobiography and have a history of Eisenhower's presidency in 1956 to read as well for my nonfiction efforts. Oh, and I also borrowed Scholar. I will read the next Honor Harrington as an ebook (probably the only one this month since I have nearly a half dozen library books to read and return).

I just hope I can reach my reading goal of seventy-five books. I did not get any reading done last week (too busy enjoying my kids during a visit to Texas).


message 10: by Kevin (new)

Kevin Xu (kxu65) | 372 comments Shel wrote: "Laurel, I really like that Kelley Armstrong series (and yes, Bitten is the first book). I haven't read them all yet but fully intend on continuing one of these days!

I'm still working on [book:Th..."


One thing I don't like in his books no matter what topic it is, is that he gets too technical with it.


message 11: by Paul (new)

Paul  Perry (pezski) | 228 comments Jon wrote: "Wow! It's 2012 already!?!? :P"

Time flies when you're having fun!

I've a fairly busy month of reading - after not reading that many bookclub reads, I'm going with quite a few this month. Handily, as suddenly I seem to have fallen behind my reading goal!

Still plugging through
Europe's Tragedy A New History of the Thirty Years War by Peter H. Wilson and Darwin's Dangerous Idea Evolution and the Meanings of Life by Daniel C. Dennett

and have just started
Byzantium The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire by Judith Herrin The Spirit Level Why Equality Is Better For Everyone by Richard G. Wilkinson and The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I'll also be reading (all with various groups)
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain The Ophiuchi Hotline (Sf Collector's) by John Varley Earth An Intimate History by Richard Fortey

and some Warren Ellis graphic novels a friend is lending me.


message 12: by Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover (new)

Kathi | 4226 comments Mod
Might do a Spin trilogy reread (well, a reread of the first 2, I hadn't read the 3rd before). Will continue the Honor series. I'm reading the Dalemark Quartet (on book 2).


message 13: by Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired) (new)

Stefan (sraets) | 1671 comments Mod
Jon wrote: "Wow! It's 2012 already!?!?"

Okay okay, settle down everyone :) I fixed it. (I often quickly try to set up all these beginning-of-the-month posts early in the morning, and I evidently should try to caffeinate more thoroughly before attempting this.)


message 14: by Viv (new)

Viv JM I'm reading Of Blood and Honey for this month's group read, plus carrying on Jim Butcher's Codex Alera with Captain's Fury. After that I have lined up Magic Bitesand The Curse of Chalion. Whether I'll get thru all these or not is another matter!


±áé±ôè²Ô±ð (hlneb) I'm intend to start on Spin after finishing with Lovers and Other Strangers (this one seems a great Lanyon - very "atmospheric") and The Mote in God's Eye. I might re-read The Curse of Chalion for the umpteenth time with another group, just for the joy of meeting Cazaril once more time. And continue the Honor series.


message 16: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jennyc89) | 127 comments I don't know what to pick up next. I've been in a slump lately with books. I've been starting and stopping a lot. Most of the books are ones I think I would enjoy but I just haven't gotten into. I think I'm in a very particular mood. I want to read Spin but I'm worried it will have the same fate...


message 17: by Nikita (new)

Nikita (nikita42) I'm currently reading Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson. I have a feeling the author read World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks and decided to write a book similar just with Robots instead.

I don't really plan out my month of reading. When I'm close to finishing a book, I look through my to-read list and pick something I'm in the mood for and pick that book up for my next read.


message 18: by Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover (new)

Kathi | 4226 comments Mod
Snoozerider wrote: "I'm reading Of Blood and Honey for this month's group read, plus carrying on Jim Butcher's Codex Alera with Captain's Fury. After that I have lined up [book:Magic Bit..."

How is the Codex Alera? I have the books but haven't read any of them yet.


message 19: by Chris (new)

Chris  Haught (haughtc) Jenny wrote: "I don't know what to pick up next. I've been in a slump lately with books. I've been starting and stopping a lot. Most of the books are ones I think I would enjoy but I just haven't gotten into. I ..."

I've been there. Just recently broke out of a slump like that. It'll come for you.

I'm thinking of reading Spin too, but I'm a little stuck in my current reads. Plus I want to jump into Ready Player One for another group.

I have 300 pages left in Ship of Magic and then I'll have to choose....hehe


message 20: by Viv (new)

Viv JM Kathi wrote: "Snoozerider wrote: "I'm reading Of Blood and Honey for this month's group read, plus carrying on Jim Butcher's Codex Alera with Captain's Fury. After that I have line..."

I am enjoying them - not terribly original but good adventures and characters, with some ace bad guys!


message 21: by Kevin (new)

Kevin Xu (kxu65) | 372 comments Continuing my read of Haruki Murakami with Kafka on the Shore.


message 22: by Bill (new)

Bill (kernos) | 334 comments I am currently reading The Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge a long awaited sequel.


message 23: by Pickle (new)

Pickle | 203 comments Currently reading Minority Report The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume 4 by Philip K. Dick with a view to read/re-read:

Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Peace & War (The Forever War Omnibus, #1-3) by Joe Haldeman
Heir to the Empire (Star Wars The Thrawn Trilogy, #1) by Timothy Zahn


message 24: by Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired) (new)

Stefan (sraets) | 1671 comments Mod
I started reading Theft of Swords, which collects the first 2 Riyria books by Michael J. Sullivan. Most of you probably have heard of him by now - he self-published his books, became a big indie hit and has now been picked up by Orbit, who are publishing his books in 3 omnibus editions of 2 books each. It's very light, not something I'd usually pick up, but I'm actually enjoying it a lot. Not a ton of depth, but never boring either. It kinda reminds me of when I first read The Belgariad, *mumble* years ago, that same sort of light, fun fantasy. Anyway, I'm only 200 pages in but having fun with it so far.


message 25: by Helen (new)

Helen I quite enjoyed his first book.


message 27: by Jon (new)

Jon (jonmoss) Stefan wrote: "I started reading Theft of Swords, which collects the first 2 Riyria books by Michael J. Sullivan. Most of you probably have heard of him by now - he self-publishe..."

I'm curious to read this edition. I plan to purchase the ebook later this month. Had you previous read The Crown Conspiracy and Avampartha? Can you tell a difference?


message 28: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1404 comments Stefan wrote: "I started reading Theft of Swords, which collects the first 2 Riyria books by Michael J. Sullivan. Most of you probably have heard of him by now - he self-publishe..."

Never heard of him. I would like to know if orbit edited the books as the do with books that are published through regular channels


message 29: by Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired) (new)

Stefan (sraets) | 1671 comments Mod
I hadn't read the books before. I can't say if they've been significantly edited or altered in any way (other than, you know, having been combined into omnibus editions of two novels each).


message 30: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1404 comments I was just wondering, a self published wunderkind. I publisher picks them up, I wonder if there any changes.

I have a thing with self published writers. I am of the mind that an editor is a good thing


message 31: by Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired) (new)

Stefan (sraets) | 1671 comments Mod
I agree, most people need editors. In this case, I just never saw the books the way they were published pre-Orbit, so I'm not sure what, if anything, was changed. I'm pretty sure that information won't be too hard to find though, if you're really interested.


message 32: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) I read most of them as ARC copies & they're good, light fantasy fare. They're also well edited. As I understand it, not much got changed except the packaging & covers when Orbit took them over. You can always ask Michael directly. He's around & there's a group for them here:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1...

The release date of the final book was pushed back a year, too. That's one of the major gripes I see with regular publishers now - the long wait times for book releases.


message 33: by Helen (last edited Dec 06, 2011 11:44AM) (new)

Helen I agree Crown Conspiracy was well edited and I certainly didn't notice any typos (unlike City of Bones).


message 34: by Christine (new)

Christine | 636 comments I finished Carte Blanche which is another fun James Bond read (but you always know that like Jack Bauer, no matter how dire the circumstances, Bond will come through). I've just started The Magician King; I went back to this group;s discussion of the first book and was surprised to discover how much most people disliked this book. I don't remember disliking the book at all...


message 35: by Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired) (new)

Stefan (sraets) | 1671 comments Mod
Helen wrote: "I agree Crown Conspiracy was well edited and I certainly didn't notice any typos (unlike City of Bones)."

Well, I did find this in the Orbit edition:

"I had originally planned for you to die accidently in an unfortunate accident [...]" (p.200 in Theft of Swords)

Even if you fix the misspelled adverb, it's still a horrible sentence. I'm not sure if the original edition had more of these and they were all weeded out by Orbit except for this one, or if this is just the one mistake and it slipped through in both editions. In either case, the Orbit edition isn't bad at all from my editor's point of view, aside from one or two dogs like this example. Fun book - I'm taking a break now because I need to work on my review of Unstuck, a brand new SFF magazine (first issue due out next week!), but once that's done I'll tackle book 2 in this omnibus.


message 36: by Paul (new)

Paul  Perry (pezski) | 228 comments Stefan wrote: "Even if you fix the misspelled adverb, it's still a horrible sentence."

Man, that is ugly. Self-published needn't mean un-edited (and shouldn't; everyone needs an editor, if only to pick up things like that), you can make you of friends or writing groups. Obviously a professional will usually be better, and more able to give objective advice, but the way some publishers are farming out editing (or, from the look of some books, dispensing with it all together) means the gap between pro and self published work seems to be narrowing from both directions.


message 37: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) Paul 'Pezter' wrote: "Man, that is ugly. Self-published needn't mean un-edited (and shouldn't; everyone needs an editor, if only to..."

That was a nasty one to get through. I've read ARC's for self-published people who have paid an editor & thought they would have been better off saving their money. That is one of the places where the big publishers used to shine, although there are some examples of very poor proofing from them, too. Anyone who ever read the Ace reprints of the early 90's probably knows what I mean. I have a copy of This Immortal that is absolutely butchered. Apparently they retyped it & never proofed at all.

Proofing is a tough job, though. It's amazing how easily our brains can 'fix' the things we see. I certainly wouldn't want to do it for a living. It's one of the things I hate about writing software code. A simple, stupid mistake can eat up far to long trying to figure out.


message 38: by Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover (last edited Dec 07, 2011 07:16AM) (new)

Kathi | 4226 comments Mod
I finished Drowned Ammet and will be continuing that series, the Dalemark Quartet. Planned to reread Spin and Axis and read Vortex for the first time, but I discovered I've lent the first 2 books to my dad (who lives 200 miles away) and I don't own the 3rd, so that will go on my list for a later time.

In addition to finishing the Dalemark books, I think I'll try City of Bones. I bought it after the group started it but I know I can look back at the discussion and add my comments.

And I'll be continuing the Honor series with this month's installment.


message 39: by Ken (new)

Ken (ogi8745) | 1404 comments Still working through The Company: A Novel of the CIA. Enjoying it.


message 40: by Shel, Moderator (new)

Shel (shel99) | 3044 comments Mod
I finished The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer last night - gave it four stars. I had a hard time getting into it at the beginning, and didn't love the ending, but was completely enthralled by all the bits in between. Great characters!

Next up is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Really looking forward to it!


message 41: by Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover (new)

Kathi | 4226 comments Mod
I finished Flag in Exile, so I'm ready for that discussion. Started the third book in the Dalemark Quartet, The Spellcoats.


message 42: by Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired) (new)

Stefan (sraets) | 1671 comments Mod
I just finished Empire State by Adam Christopher, a debut novel I had high expectations for but didn't really enjoy as much as I thought. The full review will be up on tor.com at some point this month.

Right now I have no assignments, so I'm reading something just for fun! What a novel concept. I picked up Avempartha by Michael J. Sullivan, the second book in his Riyria Revelations series. I read the first one a few weeks back and thought it was fun, light fantasy - just what I felt like.


message 43: by Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired) (new)

Stefan (sraets) | 1671 comments Mod
It's quiet here, everyone! What are you all reading so silently and attentively? Come on, spill the beans, inquiring moderators want to know.


message 44: by Candiss (new)

Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments I am currently reading both The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Next up are Dawn by Octavia E. Butler and Ice by Anna Kavan.

I am waiting in a queue at the library for next month's books. There are two people ahead of me for House of Suns, but six people precede me for The Magician King, so I may not get to it in time for the discussion. Feh.


message 45: by Christine (new)

Christine | 636 comments Still working my way through The Magician King; I want to finish it to see where the characters are going, but am not really enjoying it...Next up are World's End and The Summer Queen


message 46: by Janny (new)

Janny (jannywurts) | 1006 comments Just started Spin.


message 47: by Random (new)

Random (rand0m1s) | 1199 comments I'm still working my way though the Skolian Empire books. I initially read them as they came out, so I'm catching a lot that I missed the first time around.


message 48: by Sandra (new)

Sandra  (sleo) | 1141 comments I guess I haven't posted here yet. I've read Flag in Exile and Honor Among Enemies because I couldn't stop eating the popcorn! However, at that point, I'd had enough for a while. So I listened to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell which was good, but too long. Also read Ship of Magic and have started The Mad Ship, and listened to Rules of Prey. I'm now listening to State of Wonder which is quite interesting with an (only mildly) annoying heroine. Oh, also listened to Hogfather - typical Pratchett silliness and sardonic commentary on human foibles. Anyone know if he and Ann Pratchett are related?

Am working gradually on Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes to broaden my vision.


message 49: by Helen (new)

Helen It's quiet here, everyone! What are you all reading so silently and attentively? Come on, spill the beans, inquiring moderators want to know.
Yes sir! I'm reading Field of Dishonor which I like in parts and then in other parts wish it was finished. Not sure I'll continue with the series. Read Spin, enjoyed that, I liked the ending which I hadn't expected. Have the sample for Of Blood and Honey so should get to that soon, Ship of MAgic is next though.


message 50: by Kevin (new)

Kevin Xu (kxu65) | 372 comments I'm reading books that I got from the library, starting with Muarkami's Dance Dance Dance, then its the new Stephen King book, 11/23/63.


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