September 2009 Reads, Potential Reads, and Abandoned Reads

[Larry.]

The title pretty much says it all. What are you planning on reading this month, in the process of reading, and what did you abandon and why?

For myself, I just started Dave Eggers' just-released book, Zeitoun, a true-life account of a Syrian-American in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I'm about 60 pages in and this story is about as good as Eggers' What is the What.

[Snikt5]

I'm reading Enemy of God - Bernard Cornwell - Can't stress enough how fantastic this series is.

After that I will read book 6 of the Dark Tower series and dare I say it Dan Brown's new book.

[Papirolle]

I'm reading Robert McCammon's Boy's Life right now. About two thirds in and so far it's pretty good. A bit slow for my taste, but never boring.

Is he copying Stephen King book for book? :)

I've read two of his books now; Swan Song (which was great) was very similar to The Stand but more evil. And now Boy's Life, which reminds me of IT, in how he brings a small town to life (seen through the eyes of kids) and taking place in the sixties.

[WhiteHaven]

Okay guys I need your help.

I finished the Assasins Trilogy by Robin Hobb. But now I don't know what to read. I mean I could start the Liveship Traders Trilogy or I could start reading Dreamsongs. I can't decide it for myself. For three days I didn't read anything. So, what would you suggest?

[Ski the Swift]

Finally amazon pull through and send me my copy of Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company. Read the first chapter and it's fairly fast paced so far, so things looking good.

[Isis]

Books abandoned in the past few days:

Was - Geoff Ryman

The Bridge - Iain Banks

Thunderer - Felix Gilman

I just want something easy to read (but not mindless) and absorbing right now. Might have to reread something - gah!

[Curethan]

Dune Messiah. FHerbert

The Painted Man. PVBrett

The Boys Vol2. G Ennis

Revolutionary Road. RYates

[Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas]

I finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood yesterday. Atwood can really write well, but the world-building didn't really convince me and the main character didn't grab me as much as I'd wished. So, not a mindblowing experience, but the book is well worth a read.

Okay guys I need your help.

I finished the Assasins Trilogy by Robin Hobb. But now I don't know what to read. I mean I could start the Liveship Traders Trilogy or I could start reading Dreamsongs. I can't decide it for myself. For three days I didn't read anything. So, what would you suggest?

Start with Dreamsongs. Since it's a short story collection you can always take a break between stories and read something else if you feel like it.

Speaking of that, I think I shall actually take a go at Dreamsongs again now . I put it down halfway a couple of years ago and I think it's time to finish it. :)

[MinDonner]

Is he copying Stephen King book for book? :)

Yes. :P Also look out for the, um, homages to Pet Sematary and Apt Pupil. I mean, I love RRMcC, but far too much of his early stuff is Stephen-King-Moves-To-Alabama.

Halfway through Dust of Dreams, had a short break for the latest Brookmyre which, while generally full of good stuff, also had a really disappointing and bizarre WTF?? twist to it which sorta ruined the book.

SPOILER: in case anyone cares

Honestly, I prefer my quasi-political blackly-comic Glaswegian crime thrillers to stay the fuck away from parallel universes and dimensional portals. Seriously, dude, what were you thinking???

[ambyr]

Working my way through Jo Walton's Half a Crown. Not really sure why, since I know enough about the ending to know it's going to make me throw the book across the room, but I read the first two so I feel like I have to trudge the rest of the way to the finish line.

After that, my to-read pile has Graham's Hand of Isis, Valente's In the Night Garden, and Monette's Corambis. And I'm still slowly trudging through Robins's Maledicte (which has aspects that I love and aspects that make me groan) in the background.

On the commuting read-aloud front, we've finally finished West's The Broken Crown and moved straight on to The Uncrowned King. I am (slightly) regretting I didn't refresh my memory about the page count before I suggested reading them. Man, are they slow going. And with the cast of hundreds, giving everyone their own "voice" is a lot of work. But the prose is a lot of fun to read.

[The Pita]

Re-reading Maus now. Enjoying it a lot more on the re-read. Probably because I was exhausted and dehydrated on the first read.

[TheEvilKing]

Read Empire in Black & Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Very cool idea, decent enough execution. Can't wait to see more of the different kindens in following books.

I'm also near the end of both The Gunslinger by Steven King and Escape From Hell! by Hal Duncan, both of which are badass, both of which I'm totally enjoying. Not sure whether to read the next Dark Tower book right after or crank Altered Carbon out inbetween.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I'm just about finished The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. Some parts are absolutely fantastic and have me laughing out loud, and other situations just seem over the top and too bizarre for me, and I hate it. A very bipolar novel for me on a chapter to chapter basis. I am curious how this is going to finish as anything could go here.

Since I'm leaving for Japan tomorrow for a 2 week trip, I'll be taking a hefty tome named Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman to tide me through.

[seastarr]

I am on to the second half of Book of the New Sun. Very dense reading, but I am enjoying it, largely because certain phrases just jump of the page and occupy my head for hours. I am just starting to get glimmerings of the big picture (at least I fancy I am).

I also checked out Yukio Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. It is acclaimed as "a masterpiece of taut violence" on the back cover.

[mashiara]

I finished The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks. I was gradually disliking it more and more as I kept going. The characters bothered me a lot, none of them seemed fleshed-out and real to me. Some of the dialogue was laughable and certain plot twists/revelations were a bad surprise, because they weren't set up properly. We own the other two books of the series so I'll read them soon and I hope things improve a bit.

I think I'm going to read Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut next.

[WhiteHaven]

I finished The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks. I was gradually disliking it more and more as I kept going. The characters bothered me a lot, none of them seemed fleshed-out and real to me. Some of the dialogue was laughable and certain plot twists/revelations were a bad surprise, because they weren't set up properly. We own the other two books of the series so I'll read them soon and I hope things improve a bit.

Don't bother. The first book was the best in the entire series. The last book ist just plain...crap

[kcf]

I've read and enjoyed Darkest Hour by Mark Chadbourn, The Last Hot Time by John M. Ford, and No Dominion by Charlie Huston, but I still need to write-up reviews for each.

Now I'm reading Dust of Dreams by Erikson - about a third of the way in and I'm enjoying it.

[mashiara]

Don't bother. The first book was the best in the entire series. The last book ist just plain...crap

Well, we do have the books already and I'd like to see for myself where the series is headed. I'm a pretty fast reader, it's not as if it's going to take forever to read them.

[WhiteHaven]

Well, we do have the books already and I'd like to see for myself where the series is headed. I'm a pretty fast reader, it's not as if it's going to take forever to read them.

Yeah, yeah alright. Calm down.

[kcf]

got my review of The Last Hot Time by John M. Ford written.

Now, back to Dust of Dreams