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I just had Land of the Burning Sands by Rachel Neumeier arrive in the mail from The Book Depository.

This is actually the second in the series (the first is Lord of the Changing Winds) but when I ordered the first, it was such a good deal on pre-ordering the second that I decided to take the risk. I haven't had a chance to read either yet, but I figured that for 4 pounds, it isn't going to hurt my budget too much if I decide not to read it. I LOVE free international shipping. Often, the postage tends to cost more than the book, which puts me off buying at all.

Thanks Ken - I feel like I found a nerdy holy grail! I can't wait to read it :)

Laurel wrote: "I'm trying to get caught up on Janny Wurts series, but a friend gave me his advanced copy of The Way of Kings. I have to read it!!!"

Jealous! I just pre-ordered my copy from Sam Weller's Bookstore this morning.

I've had this one on the shelf for a weeks too. It's actually annoying me, because I'm very eager to get to it, but I have so many ARCs to read for review that I have to schedule them in order of release date so I can write the review by that date, and that one is still about a month away...

Must be expected to be really good, huh?

Yep, it's definitely being hyped as much as anything I've seen in a while. I'm not wild about Sanderson's books in general (still think his first book Elantris was his best), but he does know how to tell an entertaining story.

I just received my copy of next month's fantasy book of the month, The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee. So, for once, I'll actually be able to participate in the discussion :)

Stefan wrote: "Yep, it's definitely being hyped as much as anything I've seen in a while. I'm not wild about Sanderson's books in general (still think his first book Elantris was his best), but he does know how ..."

Oh, Gaslight Dogs is really good. I'll be interested to see your review.

I am looking forward to discussion of The Gaslight Dogs - quite an unusual book, with depth and hard edges - not what the cover led me to expect.

Lowachee's books have always pushed the envelope.

A sweep through my favourite used bookstores resulted in some finds:


-The cassini division by Ken Macleod( which i discovered that I already had bought this one)
-Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock
-Lady of Mazes by Karl Schroeder
-Ventus by Karl Schroeder
-Thunderer by Felix Gilman
-The ginger star by Leigh Brackett
-Remnant population by Elizabeth Moon
-Evolution by Stephen Baxter
-Accross the sea of suns by Gregory Benford
-Escapement by Jay Lake

Not a bad haul...

My mother-in-law bought me some books, which is a rare thing - usually people are afraid to buy books for me because I'm picky and have read a lot, so I usually get gift certificates! Anyway, she inadvertently made some good choices (not being familiar with SFF at all):

Territory by Emma Bull
Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod

Emma Bull is one solid writer. You'll likely enjoy that one. I've not tried Ken MacLeod.

I haven't read anything by Emma Bull (aside from some Cats Laughing song lyrics) but I now have two books by her on the shelf, so it's likely to happen soon. I've read two books by Ken MacLeod, the first two in his "Fall Revolution" series, and wasn't wild about them, but this one I just got looks more promising.

I just received The Questing Road by Lyn McConchie for review. I'm trying to remember what made me pick out that book, because it doesn't look like anything I'd usually read. Should be interesting.

Stefan wrote: "I haven't read anything by Emma Bull (aside from some Cats Laughing song lyrics) but I now have two books by her on the shelf, so it's likely to happen soon. I've read two books by Ken MacLeod, th..."

What's it about? There's no description on the book page.

Recently won The Astronomer: A Novel of Suspense by Lawrence Goldstone in First Reads and it arrived yesterday. Probably won't get to it for a bit but it looks interesting.

Sandra AKA Sleo wrote: "Stefan wrote: "I haven't read anything by Emma Bull (aside from some Cats Laughing song lyrics) but I now have two books by her on the shelf, so it's likely to happen soon. I've read two books by ..."

Emma Bull writes solidly thoughtful books with great ideas and great characters. The more she does, the wilder the ideas - you may want to start with her (very popular) title, War for the Oaks, which was written long and long before urban fantasy and faerie became a genre thing. The whole story is beautifully crafted.

The other one I have by her, aside from Territory, is "Bone Dance: A Fantasy for Technophiles". It looks good, and one of these years, I'll actually get around to reading it! :)

Kathi wrote: "Recently won The Astronomer: A Novel of Suspense by Lawrence Goldstone in First Reads and it arrived yesterday. Probably won't get to it for a bit but it looks inter..."
Wow it does look quite interesting

Picked up a couple of books
The Catcher in the Rye

and I was at TOR.COM and was raving about this. A book written in poem form.
The Golden Gate

I've just ordered Stormlord Rising in paperback since I can't find anywhere that will sell me the ebook. I'm a bit annoyed as I didn't really want to find shelf space for it. I would have been far happier with an ebook, but I want to know what happens next, so I'll read it however I can get it.

Found a second-hand copy of Parke Godwin's "Sherwood" and am looking forward to it.

The Adventure of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle has finally arrived!!! I'm stupidly excited to read it!

Territory by Emma Bull was one of my favorite books last year. Something about the way she handled the dialogue really clicked for me.
This is from Amazon:World Fantasy–finalist Bull (War for the Oaks) takes huge chances and achieves something distinctively wonderful with this subtle reworking of a western legend. The taming of Tombstone, Ariz., by Wyatt Earp, his brothers and their pal Doc Holliday is a cherished American myth of stoic heroism. Bull approaches the story from a different angle, considering matters that may or may not have escaped Wyatt's chilly attention. When tough-minded widow Mildred Benjamin and drifter Jesse Fox realize that dark magic is manipulating people for a sorcerer's selfish ends, they must decide what they can and should do about it, in the process discovering who they truly are. Mixing fantasy with Old West lore is risky, but Bull takes time to make the place and the people real before undeniably supernatural forces appear. The magic is less flashy than in many fantasy novels, but it's vivid and deeply felt. Readers will think about the story long after it ends, savoring the writing and imagining what the characters might do next. (July)

Ron wrote: "Found a second-hand copy of Parke Godwin's "Sherwood" and am looking forward to it."

Ooh, I liked that book--just Parke Godwin's books a lot.

Picked up a couple of books today

Unseen Academicals
Kraken

and for my niece
The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet

Ooh, I'm dying to read Kraken. Waiting for the paperback though...

I just bought The Gaslight Dogs. I probably won't be able to get to it in time for the discussion this month but am looking forward to reading it from some of the comments I've seen here so far.

Yay, my copy of The Ships of Merior arrived today. Perfect timing.

I haven't bought any new ones recently as I have eleven million already that I have yet to read! Still plugging away on 2nd go round of Peril's Gate and seeing so much stuff I'd forgotten. I did buy two new ebooks for my Nook the other day - The Cold Dish - a Walt Longmire mystery. I listened to one last week and enjoyed it so much I got another. And I got The Chronoliths.

PS Publishing has a summer novella sale, and as I'm crazy about novellas, I ordered a couple! It helped that I ran my parents' campground for them a few days and had some extra cash...

Blue Canoe
Cast a Cold Eye
Starfall
Reunion
The Language of Dying

Picked up a couple of books

I am a big Moon Landing fan so whenever I see an interesting book I buy
Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon

Also picked up a Lustrum: A Novel
I really enjoy Robert Harris

I picked up book#7 in L.E. Modestt,jr's Recluse series a couple of weeks agoThe Chaos Balance

Some girls buy shoes - I buy far too many books...

The Lifecycle of Software Objects
The Windup Girl

If I had 6 months with nothing to do but read, I still couldn't get through my too read pile. Does that stop me - NO! :)

Laurel wrote: "Some girls buy shoes - I buy far too many books...

The Lifecycle of Software Objects
The Windup Girl

If I had 6 months with nothing to do but read, I still couldn't ..."

I've forbidden myself to buy any more books until I read the ones I've got. My First Reads copy of
The Way of Kings arrived today but I'm finishing Explorer. It's very exciting. Can hardly put it down.

Laurel wrote: "Some girls buy shoes - I buy far too many books...

The Lifecycle of Software Objects
The Windup Girl

If I had 6 months with nothing to do but read, I still couldn't ..."

I hear you...you warned me about Weber's Honorverse series I didn't listen...

I'm sorry I'm not clear here...you used a phrase that makes no sense.... What was that? "Too Many Books". That of course is a self-contradictory statement. You can't possibly have "Too Many Books". What a silly concept, I must have totally misunderstood. Right?

Mike wrote: "I'm sorry I'm not clear here...you used a phrase that makes no sense.... What was that? "Too Many Books". That of course is a self-contradictory statement. You can't possibly have "Too Many Books"...."

Mike, I am certainly doing my best to test the accuracy of the above statement as I am now closing in on 4000 books (about 3200 of which are "TBR"). I apparantly have a problem. The good news is, if I stop buying new books, I should be able to get through my TBR list in about 12 years at my current reading pace. Unfortunately, authors continue to publish more new books all the time which I think is incredibly insensitive of them, not to mention people like you who constantly recommend books that I then have to go out and buy. The nerve!!!

I know... people here have an annoying habit of recommending or positively reviewing books that then have to be, tracked down, obtained (either through borrowing from a library, purchasing from a used book store, buying new, or finding unattended on a friends book shelf [errr, ignore that last one:]) and then put in the queue, and then, read. Very inconsiderate.

I don't have as many books as you...I don't really know haw many books I have, north of a thousand. When I moved to this much smaller place I (grimaces, chokes, struggles with the concept), had to let some of the ones I wasn't going to reread or that were duplicates go (wipes away a tear). I've said before I hope God allows me to live long enough to read the books on my shelves but then, that may not be fair as I keep adding to them. Of course by the same token I pray He doesn't stop me from adding to them... wow scary concept.

Mike and Stephen, you are men after my own heart!! I have more unread than read books on my shelves--I've read about 750 of 2500 or so. I keep buying more (the Miles series and the Wars of Light and Shadow, for example), both used and new. I keep reading, too, but not nearly as fast as I need to if I hope to ever read them all. Fortunately, some of them are my husband's books and not as much to my taste, but we like a lot of the same things, so that really doesn't help as much as it otherwise might.

I recently bought the following:
The Steerswoman's Road (The Steerswoman Series, # 1 & 2) - I'm reading and enjoying this.
The Lost Steersman
His Majesty's Dragon - Amazon recommended this and it sounds intriguing.
Watchtower - A friend and I were talking about Elizabeth A. Lynn and I saw this was a 3-in-1.
Reaper's Gale
Toll the Hounds
Dust of Dreams
I'm now caught up on the Malazan books... at least as far as my book shelf is concerned. I still have to read Midnight Tides as I skipped over it to read The Bonehunters. I should get myself in gear and read these as I see The Crippled God is scheduled for early next year.

Jeff - I have The Steerswoman and The Outskirter's Secret in separate volumes. They are waiting patiently on the TBR shelf for me to find time to read them. (I also have book 4 but haven't been able to easily find a copy of book 3 here in NZ.)

I went on a little ebook shopping spree last night and bought more books than I intended.

I went online to preorder Ann Aguirre's new Sirantha Jax book, Killbox along with the anthology Inked. Then I found they now have Georgette Heyer and Dorothy Dunnett available as ebooks and temptation started kicking in.

I decided I could get one of each and chose The Grand Sophy for my Heyer as it is a favourite of several friends and one I haven't read.

It got harder when I got to Dunnett. Did I choose Scales of Gold, which is where I was up to in the Niccolo series before I got overwhelmed and stopped reading? Or did I choose The Game of Kings because I love Lymond and want to have his books in both formats?

I did what any good book lover would do - I bought both!

I also bought Sabriel by Garth Nix as several blogs I trust have recommended it recently.

So it was a bigger shopping trip than I had planned - and when I will possibly have a chance to read something like a Dorothy Dunnett when I'm trying to read Wars of Light and Shadow, I have no idea. Who cares? Lots of lovely new books at my house, and I love them just as much as bytes as I do my paper ones.

OMG, Scales of Gold is amazing. I usually have to space out my Dunnett books because they're not easy reads, but the ending of that one totally blew my mind and I had to move on to The Unicorn Hunt right away ;)

Wow, Kerry! Is Dunnett available in ebook format in NZ? Where do you buy them? I'd love to have them that way.

I have no idea how many books I have. I know most of them are in storage in my daughter's attic! I've had to downsize several times and it is always a wrenching thing. I recently thought I really need to cull my books on the bookcase and put more in storage to make room for all the new ones I've bought. I don't see the eformat and book format as being in conflict, as if it's a really really really good book, I want both! Eformat for ease of reading, regular books so I can easily leaf through and smell the pages.

Sandra - I bought them from because I had some PayPal money to spend, but they are also available from .

I agree about liking to have both paper and e format for Keeper books. It means I can read a favourite books in whatever way best suits me at the time. I've read books switching between the two depending on the time of day - mostly reading the ebook in bed as it is lighter and easier to hold my iPhone lying down, and switching to the paper book in the daytime, especially if I want to read outside on a nice sunny day. (Not that we have a lot of those right now being in the middle of winter.)

Kerry wrote: "Sandra - I bought them from Books on Board because I had some PayPal money to spend, but they are also available from Whitcoulls.

I agree about liking to have both paper and e format for Keeper ..."

Thanks! I found them at Waterstones.com. I also bought the WLOS books there in eformat from Fugitive Prince on to Stormed Fortress. But I'll have to look at those other places, too!

Thanks! I found them at Waterstones.com. I also bought the WLOS books there in eformat from Fugitive Prince on to Stormed Fortress. But I'll have to look at those other places, too!

I'm still deciding if I'm going to go eformat, paper or both, once I get to Fugutive Prince. It may well depend on finances. :)

Bookbrow, I have to read the newest Honorverse! And the rest of the Janny Wurts series, and about 20 others... I remember once when I couldn't find a book to read. Thank goodness for all of your positive influences!

Laurel wrote: "Bookbrow, I have to read the newest Honorverse! And the rest of the Janny Wurts series, and about 20 others... I remember once when I couldn't find a book to read. Thank goodness for all of your..."

When I was in grade 6 many many years ago I started to read Andrea Norton books, etc. For some reason, through school or college I got away from sci-fi/fantasy. I drifted back about 10 years ago, I remember at that time going into the main branch of our Library and looking at all the sci-fi books and not knowing any of the authors aside from Bradbury, Asimov and Herbert. Sure some of the names were sort of familiar but I decided to re-read some classics and follow my nose. At that time I started collecting and much like the discussion above I now have so many books to read (a good thing) but not quite as much time to do so.

Ghee, lots of praise for Janny Wurts books I'll have to give them a try.

Bookbrow wrote: "When I was in grade 6 many many years ago I started to read Andrea Norton books..."
Norton was one of my early reads, too, and inspired a lifelong love of SF/F.

I just received my copy of Stormlord Rising by Glenda Larke, which will be the next thing I read after I'm done with Peril's Gate.

Bookbrow wrote: "Laurel wrote: "Bookbrow, I have to read the newest Honorverse! And the rest of the Janny Wurts series, and about 20 others... I remember once when I couldn't find a book to read. Thank goodness ..."

Well, Janny's books are high epic fantasy -- a far cry from Honorverse! I love them, but, just sayin'....