January 2011 Reading Thread

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I finished The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan. I really enjoyed it. Even though it is under 300 pages, it has alot of action with good characterization and some witty dialogue. Highly recommended. Already started the next book in the series, Avempartha.

[mashiara]

I read 146 books last year. Fewer than in 2009 but I've been distracted by other things.

My first book for this year was Arabella by Georgette Heyer. It was my first Heyer ever book and I really loved the setting and the people and their mannerisms. It was such a delight to read and it brought such a smile to my face, I'm looking forward to reading a lot more of them. I can see how they'll be perfect comfort reading.

My last book for the previous year was Kill your Friends by John Niven. It was really entertaining to read. I see how other people would find it offensive but I liked its dark humor and I enjoyed the writing. While not familiar with every British slang word used I couldn't help but chuckle at memories of the 90's. The Spice Girls! Countless crushes on boy-bands... Take That! Oh, those were the days...

I'm going to read The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester next.

[Starkess]

I didn't count how many books I read last year, but I'm enjoying my vacation time to get some 2011 reading done! I started Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes based solely on hearing the fawning in the "Best Books of 2010" thread. I honestly had no idea what it was about (I bought it on Amazon for my Kindle, so I didn't even read a back flap), which was probably a good thing. I don't think I would have picked it up knowing it was a Vietnam war story, but I am really enjoying it so far. About 25% in so far.

I also got Under Heaven and the Long Price Quartet to work on next.

[Mjolnir]

Finished Lois McMaster Bujold's The Warrior's Apprentice. Fun. Plot goes off in a rather sudden new direction towards the end, but the foreshadowing's there. Good space-going fun with occasional unexpected depths.

Started LMB's The Vor Game; I think I'm addicted. I'm not quite as attached to the new secondary characters in this one yet, but I think in terms of prose and pace it's on the whole a better book. Only a little ways in, though.

A hundred pages into my slow savouring of Catherynne Valente's The Habitation of the Blessed, and it's glorious of course. Even the digressions -- of which there are several, it has to be said, particularly in one character's sections -- are beautiful and add to my understanding of the characters and their world and generally make the reading experience more shiny.

[palimpsest.]

Finished Horns. It was OK, but I expected something more, especially after the first part.

[Amun]

I started reading Shadow & Claw, the first two books of Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun. I finished The Shadow of the Torturer a couple days ago and am about 30 pages into The Claw of the Conciliator. I have to say I wish the publishers had just printed one large omnibus edition for all four of the original books, because I know I'm going to have to pick up the second half as soon as I'm finished.

I love the first-person POV and how a large portion of the world-building is so far somewhat on the periphery. I'll be reading through at a decent clip and have to stop for a moment because I'll see a description or some remark by one of the characters and it just reminds me of how strange Wolfe's Urth is.

[Myiagros]

I got 17 books for Christmas then bought myself another 4 for my birthday(tomorrow), 3 of those were replacements for my nearly 20 year old copies of Sword, Elfstones and Wishsong of Shannara. Most of the books are pretty easy reading, nothing too fancy.

Terry Brooks - Bearers of the Black Staff

RA Salvatore - The Cleric Quintet, Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Transitions(Orc, Pirate, Ghost King), Gauntlgrym

Jim Butcher - Codex Alera book 1-5 - Furies of Calderon, Academ's Fury, Cursor's Fury, Captain's Fury, Princep's Fury

Currently reading Bearers which is a good continuation from the previous trilogy.

[Guest Raidne]

I just finished Half-Made World and am just starting Under Heaven.

I have no idea how many books I read last year. A lot. How on earth do you guys keep track?

I am really looking forward to all the stuff that's supposed to come out this year. Abercrombie's The Heroes and Lynch's Republic of Thieves both come out in February. Yay!

[murphy]

I just finished Half-Made World and am just starting Under Heaven.

I have no idea how many books I read last year. A lot. How on earth do you guys keep track?

I am really looking forward to all the stuff that's supposed to come out this year. Abercrombie's The Heroes and Lynch's Republic of Thieves both come out in February. Yay!

I never could keep track until I joined Shelfari. I list every book I read and also mark when I finish. Just started keeping track last June just for the hell of it.

[RedEyedGhost]

I read 41 books last year... but I acquired 78 :( Hopefully those numbers will be closer to each other this year.

I finished December with Graham Joyce's The Silent Land, and unfortunately I didn't like it as much as Werthead. It was very well written, but there wasn't any real surprise as to where it ended up and it's a story that has been done before many times in many different types of media.

After that I read John Banville's The Book of Evidence for the book club. I really wasn't a fan of this one; the stream of conscious narration is what bothers me; I'll routinely get to the end of the page and not be able to recall anything that happened - my brain just shuts off and goes through the motions of reading. The narrator's depravities really don't interest me which makes me not want to pick it up and read. Banville also seems to lack any sense of subtlety, my head still hurts from being repeatedly beat over it. And the last few lines... we get it John, our narrator is unreliable, you didn't need to douche it up with those last few lines.

Then I started The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, which I thought would be a quick read, but life got in the way so I should get it wrapped up Wednesday at the latest. It is just as good as I remember it being from the last time I read it more than two decades ago.

Up next will finally be Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding.

I never could keep track until I joined Shelfari. I list every book I read and also mark when I finish. Just started keeping track last June just for the hell of it.

This. Except LibraryThing for me.

[siemprepe]

Over the holidays I finished:

- The scarab path by Tchaikovsky. Not really what I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

- Corvus by Kearney. Just like the Ten thousand I really liked this one. Can't wait for kings of morning.

- The philosopher's stone and chamber of secrets (HP). I felt like reading all the HP books just for fun. The first 2 books are a good start. Fast and enjoyable reading. I think I will continue the series.

Now I am reading the first omnibus edition of the long price quartet.

[Biter]

Many of you seem to be real book junkies, as I would find it hard to read more than 100 books in a year. I'm not really sure how many I read last year, but probably no more than 30...

After finishing P.D. James The Children of Men, I'm getting started on Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road.

[Rooster]

I read Cryoburn (Bujold), Norstrilia (Smith), Sirius (Stapledon) and King Hereafter (Dunnett) recently. I liked them all with some reservations. For example, I don't think it's wise to have multiple non-Miles POVs in a Miles book. There were a bit too many observations on Miles's character that felt like Bujold nudging the reader with her elbow. Still, despite it not being top Miles I liked the story, and the ending was powerful.

King Hereafter was surprisingly difficult to read even though I blazed through her other series. Thorfinn is no exception to her other protagonists in that he's a genius and doesn't show his true colours to others, but I couldn't really get a handle on him until a few hundred pages went by. Difficult, but solid novel.

[hadaad]

Yesterday I finished Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, and started The Halfmade World by Felix Gilman.

[beniowa]

I just managed to read 100 books last year, a milestone I'm pretty happy to reach. Hoping to match it again this year.

Earlier this afternoon I finished The Habitation of the Blessed by Catherynne Valente. The first book in the Dirge of Prester John has much of Valente's trademark ability to to create fantastical tales. That part was pretty enjoyable. The main downside is that the character of Prester John is something of a sanctimonious jerk and the second half of the book has a tone that feels somewhat anti-Christian. I'm not very religious, but it was annoying. I'm not really sure where Valente is really going with the trilogy.

Next up is KJ Parker's The Hammer and I'm looking forward to it.

I have no idea how many books I read last year. A lot. How on earth do you guys keep track?

Like REG, I use LibraryThing, but I also keep a list in a Word file.

Up next will finally be Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding.

About time! :)

[The Evil Hat]

I have no idea how many books I read last year. A lot. How on earth do you guys keep track?

I use the extremely sophisticated method of writing all the titles and authors in a word document.

In the past few days I've been reading a lot of short fiction, primarily from magazines which I just realized I've never read for reasons I'm not sure of. I read an issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction which I enjoyed immensely and also the two released issues of Shock Totem, which were also quite good. I think I'll subscribe to F&SF soon, though I'm also looking at Shimmer and a few others.

[Cuchulain]

I have just read Frank Herbert's Dune for the first time. The novel takes a while to get going, but once it does it becomes a really immersive read. The worldbuilding is very impressive and I enjoyed the story, although I didn't like how the plot sometimes got bogged down in those protracted drug-induced consciousness expansion scenes. I had my doubts at first, but in the end I'm glad I decided to read Dune and I can certainly see why it is so often considered a classic. Now I'm only left wondering whether the sequels are worth reading.

[mashiara]

I have no idea how many books I read last year. A lot. How on earth do you guys keep track?

I use the even more extremely sophisticated method of writing down every book I read. Pen and paper are my friends when I'm making lists, I have yet to graduate to Word files.

Earlier this afternoon I finished The Habitation of the Blessed by Catherynne Valente. The first book in the Dirge of Prester John has much of Valente's trademark ability to to create fantastical tales. That part was pretty enjoyable. The main downside is that the character of Prester John is something of a sanctimonious jerk and the second half of the book has a tone that feels somewhat anti-Christian. I'm not very religious, but it was annoying. I'm not really sure where Valente is really going with the trilogy.

Hmm. Interesting. I think my Christian sensibilities can survive that, it wouldn't be the first book like that I've read. I still think I'll give this one a go at some point, I loved Valente's work in the past.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I keep an excel spreadsheet to track my reads as well as noting novels I would like to read.

I'll be finished Avempartha today by Michael J. Sullivan. These are really entertaining reads. There is nothing new in terms of originality in the fantasy world, but it is well written with engaging characters and interesting plotlines.

The next book in the series is up next, Nyphron Rising.

[Nearly Headless Ned]

Finished Towers of Midnight by RJ. First 3/4 was rather poor. The simpistic, almost sketchy style really grated. However towards the end it began to come alive,The tower of Ghenji and especially the Aiel visions in Rhuidean were a particular highlight. Quite chilling. All in all a very flawed book with a few excellent moments.