delete this account pls Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I'm *still* trudging through The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. :bang: If I hadn't enjoyed Shadow of the Wind so much, I think I would have given up by now. I just can't get into it, though it's started to pick up a bit. Maybe I can finally finish it this weekend.ETA; Oh man, it's the 31st. I've been a day ahead of myself all week. This explains why I forgot about my brother's birthday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renasko Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Heh, Shadow of the Wind is my next one up, after I'm done with Neuropath which I'm reading currently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procrastimancer Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Nearing the end of The Gone-Away World. Should be finished tonight if I can get away from the computer, just got past what I would assume is the big plot twist (Me, prior to the twist: "I have a feeling that I am steadily descending into the mother of all mind fucks as I near the end.") that everyone passingly mentions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashiara Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I'm *still* trudging through The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. :bang: If I hadn't enjoyed Shadow of the Wind so much, I think I would have given up by now. I just can't get into it, though it's started to pick up a bit. Maybe I can finally finish it this weekend.Really? Everyone's who's read it so far has had really positive things to say about it. ETA; Oh man, it's the 31st. I've been a day ahead of myself all week. This explains why I forgot about my brother's birthday.We always knew you are from the future but it turns out you're way further ahead of us than we thought. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delete this account pls Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Really? Everyone's who's read it so far has had really positive things to say about it.Yeah, I'm not really sure why I'm not liking it either, except that it just hasn't grabbed me yet, and reading it feels like it's a bit of a chore. I'm not even a third of the way through though, so I probably haven't given it a fair chance. :dunno:ETA; BTW I ordered some Judith Herin Byzantium stuff from the Book Depository. Women in Purple, and the other is just called Byzantium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski the Swift Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I'm reading through Richard Morgan's The Steel Remains. It started out weakly but now that I'm halfway through things are really starting to pick up, a little bit full on in some 'sex' scenes. Probably picking up Marguerite Youcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashiara Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 ETA; BTW I ordered some Judith Herin Byzantium stuff from the Book Depository. Women in Purple, and the other is just called Byzantium.I hope you enjoy it. Did you see in the end of the July thread, where I posted I read Tom Holland's Rubicon book? FB tells me you've read it too and I think I remember you giving a favorable review as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delete this account pls Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 I hope you enjoy it. Did you see in the end of the July thread, where I posted I read Tom Holland's Rubicon book? FB tells me you've read it too and I think I remember you giving a favorable review as well.Cool, I like all of Tom Holland's history stuff. Greek Fire and Millenium are well worth checking out too - though your probably more than familiar with the subject matter of the former ;). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookWyrm Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Just finished the Art of Memory in Little, Big, and I plan on reading Fairies' Parliament this weekend, finishing my month-long rendezvous with this epic piece of literature.I have big plans for August before I start college. I want to read the Urth of the New Sun, Memorare, and maybe Latro in the Mist all by Gene Wolfe. I'm expecting Songs from the Dying Earth to arrive tomorrow, and I will certainly be picking it up here and there. On top of that I really want to give Jeff Vandermeer a go. I already have Veniss Underground, City of Saints & Madmen, and a limited edition, signed hardback of Shriek: An Afterword (which came with an audio version of the book as well). Last but not least I plan on attempting the acclaimed Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.I do not think I will get all, or likely even half of these read, I have a busy month ahead of me, but I sincerely hope that I can make a goal mark of three read by the time I move into my dorm. Wish me luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teng Ai Hui Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Just finished Storm Front (Dresden Files, Book 1).Next in queue are Inside Straight (Wild Cards, Book 18) and/or Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Unabashed c/p from the July threadI finished John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things last, and it was fantastic. It's about a 12 year old boy, David, who loses his mother to cancer (although as I type that I don't think it was ever explicitly stated as cancer :unsure:). The story begins during World War II and is set in London. David has a deep love of books instilled by his mother reading to him at a young age and then nourished by him reading to her when she became ill. Fairy tales are particular favorites of his, as life moves on his father impregnates and marries another woman. David takes this very hard, and books begin speaking their tales to him. During a bombing of the city David is transported to a fairy tale world that is much darker than most stories told to children, including a very twisted version of Little Red Riding Hood and a hilarious version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. David is put on a quest to locate the king, because it is told that he has a magical book, The Book of Lost Things, in his possession that may help him return home The story was wonderfully imaginative (and I typically hate when people from "our world" travel to secondary fantasy worlds) but this book was a treat. The prose is what really stands out in this book. It's simple yet elegant, and images rather than words seemed to fill the pages.9/10That's cool. I like straight up crime novels as well as urban fantasy. Have you read The Book of Lost Things? Would you say the style of prose is consistent between it and the Charlie Parker novels?Then I read Daniel Abraham's The Price of Spring. I've been waiting for this book for the past year, and unlike some other highly anticipated books that I read this year (The Judging Eye and Best Served Cold) this one did not disappoint in the slightest.I'm not going to talk about the plot at all because it will spoil the previous books in the series, so instead I'm just going to talk about why I love this series so much (most of which is shamelessly pilfered from one of my posts in another thread):It is epic in the fullest sense of the word.It's very low on technology (although we do get to see the technological level actually advance - which is pretty rare in fantasy), and the magic system is much more along the lines of nuclear weapons during the cold war. We know it's there and how devastating it can be, but we don't see it used a lot nor how powerful it can be.The story itself is told in multiple person 3rd person POV (but not more than four per book, and only two book four), and it spans over 50 years in the lives of three men as they completely change the world. When I say they change the world I am not being hyperbolic; it's narrow in the scope of how many characters it covers, but absolutely epic in how they achieve and fail in their actions.There's not a lot of battles or fights, but there's plenty of action in the wonderfully realized political intrigue and murder. This is one of the most well thought out and conceived fantasy series I have ever read, and I think it may have just pushed ahead of ASoIaF as my favorite series of all time.One of my favorite aspects of Abraham's writing is that he writes in such a way that I feel like I know exactly where the story is going, but then he twists ever so slightly from what I expected in such a way that several times I've just sat back and thought, "Holy fuck, that just happened."It's an absolutely brilliant series with an ending that is the perfect combination of bitter and sweet. In a genre that seems to get 'grittier' every year we just don't get very much sweet anymore. Although, I do think that this was dark enough to satisfy even Abercrombie's fans.10/10I've just started Christopher Priest's The Affirmation, and I hope to sink my teeth into it tomorrow (July 31st :P). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delete this account pls Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 I've just started Christopher Priest's The Affirmation, and I hope to sink my teeth into it tomorrow (July 31st :P).I'd warn you about The Incident that occurs at 1 p.m. EST ... but I've already said too much. And if I don't get back to work soon, the Mutant Cockroaches get angry and start with the beatings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I'd warn you about The Incident that occurs at 1 p.m. EST ... but I've already said too much. And if I don't get back to work soon, the Mutant Cockroaches get angry and start with the beatings.:lol:Meh, it's my day off tomorrow, and I plan to still be asleep at 1 p.m. EST, so if the world ends I'll likely miss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arbor Gold Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Really? Everyone's who's read it so far has had really positive things to say about it.I tried really hard to like The Angel's Game, but ultimately, I didn't. I'm the opposite of Brady though...I had a very easy time getting into it, but it lost me halfway through, and I hated the ending.Just finished The Likeness by Tana French. Was a fantastic murder mystery, and an excellent follow-up to French's first novel, the Edgar award-winning In the Woods. If you are in the mood for a well-written, intelligent, character-driven detective novel, I can't recommend these books enough. The Likeness follows the story of the female detective from In the Woods in an undercover murder investigation in Ireland. I initially had a had hard time buying the premise of the investigation, but I was ultimately sucked in by the quality of the storytelling. Very reminiscent of The Secret History by Donna Tartt*.Now I'm back to Bakker and The Warrior Prophet.ETA: *You should read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Really? Everyone's who's read it so far has had really positive things to say about it.It's not as easy to get into as SOTW is because the main mystery of the book doesn't really start until 200 pages into the book. Until then, it's all about the main character and what leads him to ultimately accepting the contract by the publisher.I will say, the ending is confusing and that might turn people off as well. However, I really enjoyed it and while there are questions I don't know the answer to, I kind of accepted them.As for me, I'm finished 4th book of Niccolo series by Dunnett (Scales of Gold) and have now moved on to the 5th (Unicorn Hunt). As usual, great books.After that, I'm going to reread Acacia by David Anthony Durham as I remember thoroughly enjoying it the first time and the 2nd book comes out in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebuchadnezzar Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 The Price of Spring by Abraham is my current weapon of choice. I'm actually slow cooking it with a bit of dread that very bad things are going to happen. Loved the first three books but I'm just having trouble getting going. Maybe reading it right after Best Served Cold wasn't the fairest thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvilKing Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Currently reading God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe and The Laurentine Spy by Emily Gee. The former has been pretty awesome so far, the latter pretty average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 2/3 into Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.Weird stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttering Bill Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I recently finished Stephenson's The Confusion, which was highly enjoyable. I'm taking a short break with Joel Shepherd's Crossover, before I start on System of the World.So far Crossover has been pretty good story-wise. But I find his writing to be a bit disorienting in the way he often leaves the subject (ie. noun or pronoun) out of a sentence, and it just feels a bit too rigid besides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaqen the FatManderly Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Almost finished with The Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Decent.I'll go on to the sequel, Paladin of Souls, and then probably need a change of pace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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