What Are We Currently Reading?

[Joe]

Look under his real name, Tom Holt. They might have been moved.

[ApathyMonger]

I read the first two books of The Fencer Trilogy, many years ago. I thought they were decent, but I never bothered tracking down the third one, when it came out. I seem to remember a couple of truly weird, grim twists in the second book that put me off.

 

Those books actually aren't easy to find, it seems. I've not noticed KJ Parker at any Waterstones I've been to in a long time.

 

I like Parker's stuff a lot, but his later stand-alone ones much moreso than the trilogies.

 

The novella Purple and Black is probably my favourite of his.

Edited May 11, 2015 by ApathyMonger

[AuntiePam]

Fell in love with the Hannibal TV series, so am re-reading Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.  It's been more than thirty years since I read it, so it's all new.  And it's fun, replacing the book character descriptions with the TV characters.  I'll probably re-read Silence of the Lambs too, but I'll skip Hannibal -- that one was just too silly. 

[OakGoblinFly]

On the recommendation of a co-worker I just picked up Prince of Fools ......haven't started it yet, but we'll see how it goes (she's not steered me wrong yet).

[raven]

 

I just finished Dead Wake by Erik Larson.  True story of the sinking of the Lustania, which happened 100 years ago this month.  He is a great writer and even though I didn't care for some of the deep detail on how a ship runs it was a very good book.

Just finished this also.  I thought it was his best since Devil in the White City, though I also liked Isaac's Storm very much.

 

Reading a short ghost story by Susan Hill called The Man in the Picture while I wait for The Ghost Fields by Ellie Griffiths to come in.

 

What do you all read when you're between novels?  I ususally default to one of the many short story collections I have - either weird fiction, ghost stories, Neil Gaiman, etc or fall back on something I've already read.  Always looking for new ideas, sometimes it takes a long while to find a new novel that will hold my interest.

Edited May 16, 2015 by raven

[Cobalt Stargazer]

What do you all read when you're between novels? 

 

I'm currently re-working my way through Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series, which you might enjoy. Its set in the eighties or so, so Kinsey doesn't have all the modern conveniences today's fictional detectives do, which is a bit jarring if you're not expecting it, but I think the books are really good reads.

[AuntiePam]

Between novels I go to non-fiction, where I don't have to worry about following a plot.

 

Also short story collections and anthologies.  One of the best values is Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine on the Kindle.  I think a year's subscription is $1.  There are always three or four good stories, and articles and reviews.

[Rick Kitchen]

I'm never between novels, because I've always got three or four going at any one time.

[Danny Franks]

Between novels I go to non-fiction, where I don't have to worry about following a plot.

 

That's what I do. I've got The Plantagenets by Dan Jones on the go at the moment. Easy to read a few chapters at a time, because you can cover the reign of one king, then put it down while you read something else. I'm getting to the end of King John's years at the moment.

 

I'm not a short story fan, really (despite having written a few). I find myself disappointed by the brevity of everything, and usually just feel like I'd have preferred to read a novel length story.

[AuntiePam]

Danny, the Plantagenets are my favorite royal family, or house, or whatever the term is.  Thomas Costain's novel, The Last of the Plantagenets, is pretty good.

 

Now I've dumped Red Dragon.  TV-Hannibal is too much in my head, and book-Hannibal doesn't compare.  He's contemplating sending Will Graham a colostomy bag, as a joke.  TV-Hannibal would never do something so crude.  Plus, the writing is clunky.

 

So I picked up another book I dumped years ago -- Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb.  It feels padded, which is probably why I dumped it.  I should probably just get the new Kate Atkinson novel.

[ApathyMonger]

The City of Silk And Steel by Mike Carey, Linda Carey, and Louise Carey: It's an odd coincidence that I read this just after I saw Fury Road, as it has a somewhat similar plot: it's an Arabian Nights-style story, where after the leader of a city is overthrown, his former harem flees across the desert looking for a place to call their own, before

eventually returning to take the city for themselves

.

 

I'm a fan of Mike Carey, but I'd never heard of it until seeing it on the bookshelf, and was surprised to find it was several years old. I really enjoyed it though; it's not perfect (some of the story-within-a-story stuff feels unfocused at points), but I found it very captivating.

 

I do wonder if the failure of the book, sales-wise, is what made Carey change his name for the publication of The Girl With All The Gifts. On Goodreads, that book has over 30,000 ratings, while The City of Silk And Steel is stuck on 334.

Edited May 17, 2015 by ApathyMonger

[Lovecat]

I love the Eve Plum books and her crazy family.  I do wish she'd pick one boyfriend and stick to him.

Ah-hahahahah, typo of the week!  Eve Plum played Jan Brady--Stephanie Plum is the lady bounty hunter with all of the man problems (Team Ranger!).

 

On topic, I just finished We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart, my book club's selection for May.  Meh.  I throw it in the pile of books about "rich people behaving badly" that seem to be popular lately.  Goodreads reviews are mixed--some people loved-loved-LOVED it, and others, like me, were somewhat indifferent.  I just couldn't summon up a connection with any of the characters, not even the narrator, not even after the Big Twist was revealed.  It will be interesting to see what my book club thought about it.  April's selection was Orphan Train, but Christina Baker Kline.  I really enjoyed that one; I've been fascinated with the "orphan trains" of the late 19th/early 20th centuries since I saw a teevee movie back in the '80's starring Melissa Michaelson and Jill Eikenberry :)  The author wove together the stories of a foster kid in 2011 and an orphan train rider from 1929, which was a little heavy-handed in the parallels, but overall it was a pretty good read. 

 

Currently I'm reading All Fall Down (in print) by Jennifer Weiner as my "between book club books" book.  I also have Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty cued up as an audiobook.  Still hoping to find something of hers that I like as well as What Alice Forgot! 

[raven]

 

One of the best values is Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine on the Kindle.

I have some similar compilations on my Kindle, sadly for me my Kindle doesn't charge anymore.  Thanks though, this is a good reminder to maybe do something about it, heh.

 

 

I'm currently re-working my way through Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series

 

Thanks, will check these out; I read something that she imagined ways to kill her ex-husband and put them in her novels, could make fun summer reading!

[HoodlumSheep]

Still reading "The Thornbirds." I don't think I like a single character in this book, but I refuse to quit. I've got a third of the book to go.

[MichelleAK]

I just finished reading several Pratchett books back-to-back, and am now “decompressing” by reading The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, by Tom Reiss.  It’s the biography of Count Alex Dumas, the father of novelist Alexandre Dumas, who rose from being the son of a slave (and a dissolute French aristo) to a General in the French Revolutionary Army.  I'm finding it interesting so far; along with the bio, it gives a good brief history of slavery in the French Caribbean islands, and in the laws regarding slavery in France at the time (mid- to late-1700s).

[AuntiePam]

I said earlier that Fool's Errand felt padded and it still does -- there's a lot of reptition -- but I'm okay with it this time. See -- that's what happens when there's nothing else to read -- we make allowances.

 

Finished Tim Pat Coogan's book on the Irish Famine.  Dismayed to realize that one of the actions taken in response to people's need is still happening, at least in the US.  Hungry Irish weren't given aid until they impoverished themselves.  It's somewhat similar to asset tests for aid today -- no assistance -- food, rent, nursing home care, etc. -- if you own anything of value.  I see the reasoning but I don't like it. 

[miles2go]

Currently reading Field of Prey by John Sandford, a mystery-suspense novel.  I quite like his style -- will probably seek out other books written by him.

[Haleth]

I'm currently re-working my way through Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series

 

These are fun and light.  Good summer reading.

 

I recently finished two very good novels.  Station 11 by Emily St John Mandel is about a dystopian future centered around a group of traveling performers who visit towns in the Great Lakes area, about 20 years after a flu has wiped out most of humanity.  (But no vampires or zombies!)  Resources are scarce so people are wisely leary of strangers.  The book also has many flashbacks to the time just after the flu started and to a period just before.  The main characters are all connected to an actor who has a heart attack and dies on stage on the eve of the apocalypse.  I didn't want the book to end and hope she writes a sequel.  It was really good.

 

The other one I liked a lot was The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.  It's about a sad sack of a woman (divorced but can't give up her ex, alcoholic, loses her job, etc) who rides the train every day and invents a story about a couple she sees en route.  One day she sees something disturbing (sort of like Rear Window) but can't get the police to believe she's a witness because of her own troubled past.  It's a fun thriller that will remind the reader it's sometimes best to stay out of other people's business.  LOL

[Danny Franks]

Just starting Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I've heard good things, but my initial assessment isn't great. I'm not a fan of present tense, first person narratives. They never flow well.

 

I said earlier that Fool's Errand felt padded and it still does -- there's a lot of reptition -- but I'm okay with it this time. See -- that's what happens when there's nothing else to read -- we make allowances.

 

I read the Farseer Trilogy when I was in my mid-teens, and never had a series of books that resonated so strongly with all that adolescent/cusp-of-adulthood confusion. And so I had a very strong attachment to the characters. This book completely broke my heart. Spoilers for the end of the book:

 

The last two pages of chapter 26 had me bawling. It was such a brutal bait-and-switch by Hobb, from the belief that Nighteyes is healing, and the wit and warmth of the interaction between him and Fitz. Then the absolutely beautiful description of the fresh morning... and then Fitz wakes up. Gah.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Danny Franks

[AuntiePam]

Danny, I would have loved to discover these books in my teens.  The friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, bravery shown by Hobb's characters is inspiring, and the relationships with the animals -- just amazing.

 

I won't read the spoiler -- not sure if it's for Farseer or Tawny Man, and the Fool books are Tawny Man (I think). 

 

Did you read Liveships as well? 

[Danny Franks]

Did you read Liveships as well? 

 

I did. I really enjoyed them as well. A completely different feel to Farseer, both in terms of POV and of the world it was set in (while still being in the same universe). The ideas in the novel were really interesting, and the protagonists were sympathetic. Well, Brashen, Althea and Wintrow were. Kennit was decidedly not, and is also the reason why I cannot stand Jack Sparrow. They're essentially the same character, but one was played for laughs and one serious.

 

That spoiler was for Fools Errand, by the way. As a whole, I did find that the weakest of the Tawny Man trilogy. The last two books cover a lot of ground, quite quickly.

 

I recommend the Farseer trilogy to any parent with kids approaching their teens, now. Forget your Harry Potter and Hunger Games stuff, these are the books that should be must-reads.

[OakGoblinFly]

I recommend the Farseer trilogy to any parent with kids approaching their teens, now. Forget your Harry Potter and Hunger Games stuff, these are the books that should be must-reads.

 

I really enjoyed the Farseer books; recommended them to a friend's pre-teen who in turned loved them.

 

Right now I'm reading The Hum and Shiver by Alex Bledsoe - I just started the novel and all I can say is that I really like the writing style; world building and plot movement are a bit on the slow side but I'll forgive it because I really enjoyed Bledsoe's Eddie LaCrosse novels.

[Sharpie66]

I've got a few things on my radar to read as soon as I get over to the library/get the call that the book is in. After listening to a podcast interview with David McCullough about his new book on the Wright Brothers, I put that book on hold at the library. However, I think I'm going to stop by there and see if they have a collection of Asimov short stories/novellas so I can re-read his classic story "Nightfall," which I was just thinking about recently. I haven't read it in a few decades, but it really made an impression on me and I'd like to revisit it.

[hendersonrocks]

I'm 2/3 of the way through A Fireproof Home for the Bride by Amy Scheibe, and it is GOOD. Really interesting fiction set in Fargo-Moorhead and rural Minn. in the late 50s, with all sorts of juicy (and disturbing) issues coming up and being handled--thus far--with grace and smarts. 

[Qoass]

Two YA novels:

 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Wow, I loved this book so much that I can't pick out one single thing to rave about.  I loved it all, every last comma.

 

Me & Earl & the Dying Girl

Wow, I hated this book so much that I can't pick out one single thing to rant about.  I hated it all, every last comma.

 

That's the advantage/problem of YA books:  they're done in two sittings for good or for ill.

 

 

[miles2go]

Currently juggling 3 books:  Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the Kings of Britain; Alexis Soyer's The Pantropheon, and a guide book to Tahiti.  That last one is for fueling my wishful thinking.

[GaT]

Just finishing off The Shadows by J.R. Ward. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series used to be my favorite, but now I feel like she's just dumping a lot of extra plots in each book to pad it out. I would be happier with a smaller book with a tighter story.

[cherrypj]

All The Light We Cannot See. It's wonderful. Maybe too soon after Life After Life, but still wonderful.

 

Station 11 is next. Or maybe that Elon Musk bio by Ashlee Vance.

[AltLivia]

Reading Kate Atkinson's One Good Turn. 67 pages in and I can see why reviewers claim the novel is insulated and kind of plodding. I don't hate narrator Martin, but I'm indifferent to the character. And I remember why it is that I find Julia obnoxious. At the end of Case Histories, I thought, "Really, Jackson Brodie?"

 

Also decided to tear into Dennis Lehane's Kenzie and Gennaro series from the start. Darkness, Take My Hand will disturb my sleep for a long while. Shudders. Presently reading the third installment, Sacred.

Edited May 30, 2015 by AltLivia

[Black Knight]

Reading Kate Atkinson's One Good Turn. 67 pages in and I can see why reviewers claim the novel is insulated and kind of plodding. I don't hate narrator Martin, but I'm indifferent to the character. And I remember why it is that I find Julia obnoxious. At the end of Case Histories, I thought, "Really, Jackson Brodie?"

 

One Good Turn is my least favorite of the Jackson Brodie novels to date. But the next one, When Will There Be Good News?, is my favorite. So hang in there...

[AuntiePam]

Two re-reads, Frontier Woman (non-fiction), a look at homesteading in South Dakota in the 1890's/early 1900's, and The Homesman by Glendon Swarthout.  It's been years since I read The Homesman and I was curious about the movie's faithfulness to the book.  It was almost all there, and the few changes didn't alter the characters too much.  A homesman is the person tasked with taking women who've been driven insane by frontier life back to their families in the East. 

 

I'm fascinated with the 19th century in general, and homesteading/pioneering in particular.  It's scary, all the things we've forgotten how to do, or would be unable to do because we're so out of shape. :-)

 

Finished Fool's Errand (tears) and will start the second of the trilogy tonight.

Edited May 31, 2015 by AuntiePam

[Danny Franks]

Finished Fool's Errand (tears) and will start the second of the trilogy tonight.

 

I knew there would be. I finished the last couple of chapters of that book in as much of a daze as Fitz. Golden Fool is really good, though.

 

Still persevering with Red Rising. Is this a YA book? The characters seem rather simply written, so far, and there to further the plot rather than to actually be people.

[Anela]

I've just started the third of the Wayward Pines trilogy.

[Haleth]

All The Light We Cannot See. It's wonderful. Maybe too soon after Life After Life, but still wonderful.

 

Station 11 is next. Or maybe that Elon Musk bio by Ashlee Vance.

Life After Life is a strange book.  Definitely unique.

[Bunty]

The Deryni books by Katherine Kurtz were a staple of my growing up years.  So I was happy to find that she has finally finished up the Childe Morgan trilogy with The King's Deryni .  Hard to believe she has been writing this series for 40+ years.

 

Also recently finished Julie Czerneda's A Play of Shadow book 2 in her Night's Edge series.  Czerneda has just recently turned her hand to fantasy after writing science fiction.  While I enjoyed the first in the series better (A Turn of Light) this one was an enjoyable way to spend a few days.

 

 

[Rick Kitchen]

The Deryni books by Katherine Kurtz were a staple of my growing up years.  So I was happy to find that she has finally finished up the Childe Morgan trilogy with The King's Deryni .  Hard to believe she has been writing this series for 40+ years.

 

Finally!

 

I'm re-re-re-reading SM Stirling's  Island in the Sea of Time.  It's probably my fourth read.  I love the series.

[Black Knight]

I finally finished Alex Marshall's A Crown for Cold Silver - it's not the length (although it is long) or the quality that made me take so long, I just haven't had much time to read this month. It's a fantasy novel that's the start of a new series, and I got it because Borderlands Books has been recommending it to GRRM fans. I see some similarities, but it's by no means a ripoff. One thing that's really interesting about this book is that the author decided to really embrace the fact that this isn't our world - and by that I mean, even though it's a "standard" medieval fantasy setting (there is magic, also), that doesn't meant that the mores have to be what they were in our world's medieval period. After all, there's already 80,000 medieval fantasies out there that do. Here men and women are equal; there are married same-sex couples; bisexuality is common; when characters insult each other they don't use insults based on gender (e.g. bitch slut whore) or sexuality. But it's all handled in a completely matter-of-fact way, no commentary about how of course women can do the same things as men or it's okay to be gay. It's simply how this world is, and none of the characters even think about it. The myriad conflicts are based on politics, religion, class, and culture clashes.

 

Then I read Kelly Link's new short story collection, Get in Trouble. The stories are generally fantastical or with a science fiction element, and there are several truly excellent ones here that will stick with me. But all of them had something interesting going on.

 

I was trying to decide today what to read next, and I think I'll go with serendipity - since Rick Kitchen mentioned Island in the Sea of Time, which has been sitting in my to-read bookcase for a while, I'll go with that. Has Stirling finished the series?

[miles2go]

I'm reading John Sandford's Rules of Prey, the first of his Lucas Davenport series, published in 1989.  Davenport isn't quite so pleasant a character in this one -- guess he's mellowed over the years. 

 

Also reading Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the Kings of Britain.  I've read portions of it back in my college days, mostly the Arthurian material, but not the early chapters.  So far, Brutus and his allies have immigrated to Albion, which would become Britain, while fighting and slaughtering anyone in their way.  I'm not finding it all that edifying.

[Rick Kitchen]

 

I was trying to decide today what to read next, and I think I'll go with serendipity - since Rick Kitchen mentioned Island in the Sea of Time, which has been sitting in my to-read bookcase for a while, I'll go with that. Has Stirling finished the series?

 

There are three ISOT books (though he did leave the third one open for more books) but then went on to Dies the Fire, also called the Emberverse series, and there are currently eleven books in the series.  A new short story collection written by other authors is coming out soon, and Stirling has a new Emberverse book coming out in the fall.

[33kaitykaity]

The Full Body Project, photography by Leonard Nimoy.  I'm so happy that he loved big, beautiful women.  Unlike people who complain that he photagraphed the same six women over and over again, I'm loving how he made them comfortable and then absolutely stunning.  

[OakGoblinFly]

I just finished The Perseid Collapse and thought it was "meh" - the concept was interesting and the writing is generally very good, I just found the plot rather plodding -

really how many paragraphs did I need to read to hear the Alex, Ed, and Charlie argue over the driving route or hear the characters discuss their weapons stash?

.

 

And based on the Jim Butcher seal-of-approval, next up is Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia - and it is currently a free download for Kindle.

[proserpina65]

After re-watching The Jewel in the Crown when the local PBS station recently re-ran it, I decided to try reading the books on which it was based: Paul Scott's The Raj Quartet.  I am currently on page 33 and am finding it a hard slog so far.  Hopefully it will get better soon.

[SmithW6079]

I wish there were more fantasy stories that stuck more to the idea of being alternate history stories, in relatively normal worlds.

Someone mentioned SM Stirling up thread -- he also wrote the Draka series, where defeated Tories migrated to South Africa after the American revolution, not Canada, and set up a crown colony. The series starts in the 20th century, where the Draka have become a world power and still practice slavery.

[Haleth]

I've been picking my books from the Amazon books of the month list.  Usually I can find 3 or 4 that sound interesting.  Right now I'm in the middle of seveneves by Neal Stephenson.  Holy moly, what an ambitious book!  The first half (well, 2/3) is present day with a small problem.  The moon has been blown up and the debris is going to turn Earth into a giant firepit within 2 years.  (This literally gave me nightmares a few nights ago.)  Most of the action takes place on the International Space Station as the world selects people, artifacts, and supplies to send up for the human race to survive.  It's thrilling and chilling. If that weren't ambitious enough the rest of the book takes place 5000 years later as the descendents of the survivors attempt to make Earth habitable again. (I've just started this section.)  There is a lot of physics and biology I don't understand, but I love it when a writer expects the reader to have a brain. 

[Rick Kitchen]

I picked up James Patterson's "Zoo" in anticipation of the upcoming mini-series, and it's bugging the hell out of me.

 

The back story is that all of the animals in the world are attacking humans, and the main character is a discredited zoologist who is reporting his findings, but nobody believes him.  What I seriously hate about the book is that the guy has a chimpanzee that he keeps in his apartment in New York (yeah, seriously), and he runs off to Africa to track down rumors of lion attacks.  So he leaves the chimpanzee home alone and asks his girlfriend to look in on him while he's gone.  When he knows that there are mysterious animal attacks happening, including pet dogs attacking their masters.  He absolutely makes no consideration that the chimp might be dangerous.  And of course, things don't go well while he's gone.  Moron.

[miles2go]

I've just started reading Jeff Guinn's biography of Charles Manson.  It's well-written and seems to be very well researched.  I've noticed that he's also written a book on the O.K. Corral, something that's always interested me, so that will be going on my "To Read" list.

[alias1]

I just started reading this forum and I must be the odd one.  I hated Woman with A Gun.  I thought The Girl On The Train was a waste of time.  Very thin, obvious plot. 

 

I liked All The Light We Cannot See.  I didn't love it.

 

I loved One Good Turn.  It was my favorite of the 4 Jackson Brodie books.  I also loved Life After Life.  I just obtained a copy of A God in Ruins (not started yet). 

 

I have Seveneves on waitlist at the library.

 

I'm currently reading Blood On Snow (Jo Nesbo) and Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death, the Grantchester Mysteries, Book One (James Runcie)

[alias1]

Oh, I forgot, i just read Emma by Alexander McCall Smith.  I love all his series books, especially 44 Scotland Street, but I'm not as fond of his standalone books, and Emma was no exception.  It's OK, but I'm not sure why he thought "a modern retelling" of Emma was necessary. 

[alias1]

As I understand it, Jo Nesbo has a series (Harry Hole?) that most people seem to adore and the reviews for Blood on Snow indicate that this book is different from his other books.  So I can't really speak to his style, except that Blood on Snow is very quirky.  It's a short book (around 200 pages) and there are surprises (I finished it) .  It surely has violence (and I'm extremely opposed to graphic stuff) but nothing was drawn out.  I'm not sure this book made me want to read his series, though. I need to read some reviews.

 

The Woman With A Gun was kind of forgettable to me so I don't remember much about it except that I found the writing amateurish.  Sorry, I don't mean to disparage anyone who likes it.  Just personal taste.  Probably the same reason I didn't really like The Girl On The Train.  Halfway through it was obvious to me what was going on.  I have to give kudos to the author, though, for turning that very thinly plotted, obvious book into such a best seller. 

[proserpina65]

I also just downloaded Bill Bryson Life In A Sunburned Country. Discussion about not liking Australia episodes that I brought up in the House Hunters thread lead to this recommendation. I may want to move there afterwards if the book hype is any indication.

 

I found In A Sunburned Country a bit condescending to be honest.  (Starting with the title, where he corrects the "Sunburnt" from an Australian folk poem because it's not the absolute correct spelling.)  There were parts that were funny, but overall, Mr. Bryson just seemed like he felt so superior to most of the Australians he met, especially when discussing racial and cultural problems, that it pissed me off.  My best friend, whose taste in books I respect, really enjoyed it though, so don't take my opinion as gospel.

Edited June 10, 2015 by proserpina65