No Vin and no politics so these two are big pluses. I enjoyed the action scenes much more since they weren't only based on magic. Personally I preferred it over the last 2 books of the trilogy.
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What are you reading? (June 2013)
- Thread starter Maklershed
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No Vin and no politics so these two are big pluses. I enjoyed the action scenes much more since they weren't only based on magic. Personally I preferred it over the last 2 books of the trilogy.
CreepingFear
Member
So far I've read 2/4. I think I'm going to go all the way and get the fifth one after I finish the rest.
The Yellow Birds just arrived today, so the other books I'm reading are on hold.
Is it ok if I add people on goodreads who've linked their profile? Here's mine
I keep it fairly updated.
Which is why i kinda enjoy it much more than the main trilogy (aside from the first book).
I just started an anthology of H.P. Lovecraft. Has every single one of this stories that he wrote as an adult, in order of creation. I've read some of his more famous stories and love them, but never dug into all of them like this. It's actually a fan made collection and is incredibly well done. No formatting errors or typos that I've seen thus far, is all in correct order with a nice table of contents. Can get it for free actually from http://cthulhuchick.com/ for Kindle or Nook. And it's got a sweet cover:
Added all three of you (Colin Fjordson on Goodreads). I made mine a few years ago, but stopped using it for a bit. Starting to again now that I'm reading a lot again. My profile right hurr.
Oh, and we're putting up Goodreads profiles? Here's mine. Very few of my friends read.
Added! I don't have many friends who read either, so linking my profile as well!
Regarding Gaiman, haven't read any of his YA/children stuff yet, but I feel his adult novels are just not as good as most of Sandman
Added all three of you (Colin Fjordson on Goodreads). I made mine a few years ago, but stopped using it for a bit. Starting to again now that I'm reading a lot again. My profile right hurr.
EverythingShiny
Member
Just finished. I really, really enjoyed this. I haven't read much epic fantasy and now I'm craving more. Should I read Sanderson's Mistborn series? I was a bit amazed by how much I ended up caring for the characters, especially Dalinar.
Also, I've been meaning to read some of Ursula K. Le Guin's books for years and have seen her mentioned several times in these threads. Is The Left Hand of Darkness a good place to start? Or should I start with her first novel?
TheKaeptain
Banned
A lot of you guys read Brandon Sanderson stuff. Is he good? I don't read much fantasy.
Left Hand of Darkness is a great place to start! Her science fiction novels don't tend to super connected although they do take place in the same universe. I think her first novel, Rocannon's World, is very obviously a first novel. Not bad, but no where near the level she later reaches.
Finished two books this month, "The Human Stain" by Philip Roth and "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Vonnegut
The Human Stain I didn't like that much, felt like you had to be an old, pretentious american to enjoy it and on that front I'm 0 for 3. The best parts by far were the ones that involved les, the nam vet with severe ptsd. The rest of the book...meh. My first and last Roth novel. Awesome title/cover though...had that going for it atleast.
I then started and finished slaughter-house five in two days, what a wonderful book. I had only read a few Vonnegut short stories before, and many years ago at that, and this book was just a great read that will lead me to reading some of his other stuff as well.
Next I'm not sure what I'll read next, maybe "Last Man in Tower"
I have a question for those who read nambo's harry hole books: do you need to start with the first? I bought the leopard at a book fair and have never read anything by him before, does it really matter if I start with this one?
The Human Stain I didn't like that much, felt like you had to be an old, pretentious american to enjoy it and on that front I'm 0 for 3. The best parts by far were the ones that involved les, the nam vet with severe ptsd. The rest of the book...meh. My first and last Roth novel. Awesome title/cover though...had that going for it atleast.
I then started and finished slaughter-house five in two days, what a wonderful book. I had only read a few Vonnegut short stories before, and many years ago at that, and this book was just a great read that will lead me to reading some of his other stuff as well.
Next I'm not sure what I'll read next, maybe "Last Man in Tower"
I have a question for those who read nambo's harry hole books: do you need to start with the first? I bought the leopard at a book fair and have never read anything by him before, does it really matter if I start with this one?
Anticitizen One
Banned
Currently blowing through:
I'm growing convinced it's my favorite book.
I want to get into this book but the first chapter is so damn long and then I get bored
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
The entire book is boring as shit. I don't get that author's popularity at all.
Lots of people love him it seems. I read the first Mistborn book (and half of the second) and was pretty bored so personally I'm not really a fan. At least not yet.
I plan on trying that Way of Kings book posted a few posts up since it's supposedly some decent epic fantasy. Hopefully it's better than Mistborn.
I read both of the Kingkiller Chronicle books by Patrick Rothfuss earlier this month and then, still craving more, just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.
The Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear were both great. I don't know exactly when it happened, but at some point during the first book it sucked me in and I could scarcely put them down before I was finished. Then, I got to experience the sting a lot of fans that are much more into this genre than I am must feel, I have to wait for the next one for God knows how long. I'm always late to the party, blasting through a decade's(or more in case of Ice and Fire) worth of work in one go. Anyway, they're both great, a sort of Harry Potter for grown ups type of thing, which I didn't see coming at all in the beginning. Well realized world, especially notable in comparison with The Lies of Locke Lamora. My only knock against it is that even though the second book weighs in at over 1000 pages, there's not a lot of progress to the main story line that was set up early. It feels like a long series, but it's suppose to be a trilogy. I would absolutely recommend it.
The Lies of Lock Lamora, while a fun read, was not on the same level. Why bother with magic and mention of some predecessor race at all when the organized crime and the Gentlemen Bastard's trade is so much more interesting? I don't know. Still very enjoyable, especially when the pace picks up about midway through. But I don't think I'll be going back for the next one, at least not right now.
The Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear were both great. I don't know exactly when it happened, but at some point during the first book it sucked me in and I could scarcely put them down before I was finished. Then, I got to experience the sting a lot of fans that are much more into this genre than I am must feel, I have to wait for the next one for God knows how long. I'm always late to the party, blasting through a decade's(or more in case of Ice and Fire) worth of work in one go. Anyway, they're both great, a sort of Harry Potter for grown ups type of thing, which I didn't see coming at all in the beginning. Well realized world, especially notable in comparison with The Lies of Locke Lamora. My only knock against it is that even though the second book weighs in at over 1000 pages, there's not a lot of progress to the main story line that was set up early. It feels like a long series, but it's suppose to be a trilogy. I would absolutely recommend it.
The Lies of Lock Lamora, while a fun read, was not on the same level. Why bother with magic and mention of some predecessor race at all when the organized crime and the Gentlemen Bastard's trade is so much more interesting? I don't know. Still very enjoyable, especially when the pace picks up about midway through. But I don't think I'll be going back for the next one, at least not right now.
Wow, I'm reading this too... Or was, I'm half worried I'll find it offensive.I'm going to start reading this now:
I couldn't get past LW myself. The writing was decent, but the world-building and characters felt contrived, like it was all put together from pastiches of familiar genre tropes. I'm a bit surprised at how popular these books have gotten, given how much superior space opera is being published these days, but maybe they scratch an itch which is a little less British and unsentimental and hard-sf. If you're in the mood for something light-hearted, I'd recommend The Tales of the Ketty Jay series instead -
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
Maybe I'll give this a try next month. Thanks!
I am totally judging my interest in it by the cover. Lol.
I've only read Mistborn so far and enjoyed it a lot. I think the magic system appeals to the gaming crowd which might be part of the reason why it's popular here.
I haven't decided if I should start Mistborn #2 or Way of Kings as his next book...
Maybe I'll give this a try next month. Thanks!
I am totally judging my interest in it by the cover. Lol.
It is a sweet cover!! Makes me wish I got the physical copy instead
I'm surprised no one has joined the Sword and Laser group on GR. Seems to be a lot of fantasy/sci-fi readers on gaf. Plus Veronica Belmont does the podcasts. http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4170-the-sword-and-laser
Might as well throw my profile up since I started asking http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7524597-allen
Still have to start reading but I like reading about fucked up people so this will be right for me
EverythingShiny
Member
Awesome, thank you! I was planning on heading to the bookstore today, so I'll pick that up.
For those of you on Goodreads, I also have a profile. It needs some serious updating, though.
I have no idea how that ended up saying it was you. It was 2 AM. That's my excuse. D:
But I didn't say anything about that!
Edit: Oh, you meant to quote EverythingShiny.
A sweet cover indeed, I think that series is going to get bumped up in my queue quickly and will make reading the first book a priority.
I'll join that group if for nothing else other than to have more groups, lol. I was going to ask about book podcasts as well, if there any recommendations. I guess I'm not keen on the idea of how a book podcast would work so much without getting into spoiler territory, but figure there's gotta be something interesting. EDIT: Just listened to an episode of the Sword and Laser podcast, that was good times.
Over the past year, I have become very interested in Buddhism (well ever since I took a World Religion class last year, and the only religion that beckoned to me was Buddhism). Since I completed school, I decided to start studying this philosophy. Plus the library has made it possible for me to experiment with books.
I am reading:
It's a really good beginner's look at Buddhism. The four noble truths, the eight-fold paths, and the hindrance. A very short read too. I am about 3/4th of the way through it. There's a good chance I may change my religious belief to Atheistic Buddhism.
I am reading:
It's a really good beginner's look at Buddhism. The four noble truths, the eight-fold paths, and the hindrance. A very short read too. I am about 3/4th of the way through it. There's a good chance I may change my religious belief to Atheistic Buddhism.
Plasticine
Member
I finished off all six volumes of Clive Barker's Books of Blood. It was really nice to find they managed to live up to my memory of them. Dread remains my favorite story, followed by In the Flesh.The one story that really grew in my estimation was The Inhuman Condition. I honestly don't remember caring for it too much, but it ended up being one of the better stories.
I think I went through and added everyone that posted their GoodReads profile. Here's mine, in case anyone wants to add me.
I think I went through and added everyone that posted their GoodReads profile. Here's mine, in case anyone wants to add me.
eattomorro
Neo Member
Finished off The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum yesterday and found it a really enjoyable read. It was cool to see the differences between it and the movie.
Now on to a nice, light, summer read with my 1945 Illustrated Modern Library edition of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Just wondering if anyone has read The Three Musketeers and please let me know which translation they like best?
Now on to a nice, light, summer read with my 1945 Illustrated Modern Library edition of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Just wondering if anyone has read The Three Musketeers and please let me know which translation they like best?
TetraxShards
Member
Book one of The Iron Druid Chronicles. It's relentlessly okay so far, yet so close to being great. The main character takes Crazy Prepared to a whole other level, he makes Batman look underprepared. I really like him as a narrator though. It's also cool to see a series using Irish myths (we have a really cool mythology IMO). I'm sticking with it in the hope it improves.
NekoFever
Member
I just started an anthology of H.P. Lovecraft. Has every single one of this stories that he wrote as an adult, in order of creation. I've read some of his more famous stories and love them, but never dug into all of them like this. It's actually a fan made collection and is incredibly well done. No formatting errors or typos that I've seen thus far, is all in correct order with a nice table of contents. Can get it for free actually from http://cthulhuchick.com/ for Kindle or Nook. And it's got a sweet cover:
I've got that on my Kindle. Been working my way through it for over a year, just reading 2-3 stories between other books as a bit of a palate cleanser.
Anyone here ever read Paul Theroux? I'm referring to his non-fiction travel novels here. I picked up The Great Railway Bazaar and The Happy Isles Of Oceania at the library where I work. Both seem interesting but I've never read him and fairly new to travel literature of this nature. I'll probably dive in over the weekend. At the very least, it seems like some fun escapist reading.
His trusty Irish Wolfhound is the best. Those lines he throws out are all classics.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
Penn Jillette is a funny dude. One of the most crass books I have ever read. Dude has absolutely no filter and is a self-proclaimed asshole, yet he always came off as a really cool and down-to-earth guy, and this book reinforces that.
I'll be diving into this on the weekend:
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch.rawr
da fuq. HOW?
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Repeating the "How?" question. E-ARC?I'll be diving into this on the weekend:
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch.rawr
Either way, lucky bugger. Hope it was worth the wait!
I'll be diving into this on the weekend:
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch.rawr
How!? So jealous.
I don't know about that, but I do know that you should go off and get a Pevear & Volokhonsky translation for Crime and Punishment!
Suuuuper jealous of you aidan. haha.
EverythingShiny
Member
Just picked up the following from the bookstore:
I have no idea which one to read first! This will be my first time reading Ursula K. Le Guin and Patrick Rothfuss. I've read several of Dave Eggers' books.
I have no idea which one to read first! This will be my first time reading Ursula K. Le Guin and Patrick Rothfuss. I've read several of Dave Eggers' books.
CaptainGyro
Banned
Re-reading Bonfire of the Vanities, which I originally read 20 years ago.
Also this past weekend I read and finished On Writing by Stephen King
Also this past weekend I read and finished On Writing by Stephen King
Just picked up the following from the bookstore:
I have no idea which one to read first! This will be my first time reading Ursula K. Le Guin and Patrick Rothfuss. I've read several of Dave Eggers' books.
haven't read the first two, but I thought Hologram for the King was underwhelming.
Beating a dead horse here but...what????I'll be diving into this on the weekend:
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch.rawr
eattomorro
Neo Member
I've heard good things about the P&V translation, but I'm going to reading the one I have first just for the beautiful illustrations. Heh I'm a hopeless romantic.
Monocle
Member
If it comes down to that, you should get the P&V version and page through the illustrations as you read it. Don't spoil your first impression of a great book for just a handful of pictures.
Just started A Song of Ice and Fire this month, its my first time reading these books. I finished A Game of Thrones in about a weeks time [audiobook], I tore through it and loved every second of it. I'm starting A Clash of Kings now, very excited. Gods be good.
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