January 2011 Reading Thread

[RobMRobM]

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.

Keep in mind that all Vorkosigan books (except for Memory) have been available free on line since Cryoburn came out. (Google vorkosigan baen free and then look for the links.) The books are very easy to get hooked on. Once you finish Vor Game, consider backtracking to the first two books (Shards of Honor and Barrayar) to understand more fully Miles' parents, Barrayar history, and the circle of friends and relatives that show up in all the books. In particular, you'll learn all sorts of things about Boetheri that help explain his key role in Warrior's Apprentice. Happy reading. FYI - my favorites are the Mountains of Mourning novella (the single best written piece in the entire series - properly won both Hugo and Nebula), Mirror Dance and Memory.

Rob

[RobMRobM]

I'm reading the second part of the new Connie Willis time travel books, All Clear. At the same time I am planning to read the Dan Simmons Illium/Olympus books and, out of genre, the new David Sedararis animal stories (Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk).

Haven't counted up books but I've read a lot this year - a side benefit of my train commute.

Rob

[Eponine]

I read about 35 books on the Kindle, and didn't keep track of how many others (probably <10). It was easy to count them up since I got the Kindle in February. The entire Kindle list is here: http://luthieneponine.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/reading-list-2010/

I just finished The Orange Eats Creeps, and I feel that I'd better go back and read the last few pages again, because I feel that I missed something or failed to understand something (if anyone has some insight into the last few events, please say something, spoilered). The narrator is unreliable, doesn't clearly separate dreams from real life, and is a tweaker, so it's hard to make sense out of what's real and what isn't, sometimes impossible. By the end I was reading very quickly and just letting everything pile on top of each other, which seemed like the right way to read, but I still think that I missed some stuff.

[Wras]

KINDLE!

Tackling The Road, I, Robot, Stardust, and Alice in Wonderland.

[Lord Toblerone]

I'm about halfway through I Shall Wear Midnight, and loving it.

[nickg]

I finally finished To Green Angel Tower part 2. Loved it. I am actually surprised ( pleasantly so ) by how much I enjoyed reading it. The series may have started slow, but i was sucked in pretty quickly by the world and the story. Great, great series.

Now to finish Blood Meridian.

[Mjolnir]

RobMRobM: Thanks. The free ebooks are indeed how I'm reading the Vorkosigan books, though given how much I'm enjoying them it feels almost like I'm cheating somebody. I got the entire series this way, save only Memory which so far as I can tell Bean does not give away. I read Shards of Honor before The Warrior's Apprentice, but I'm saving Barrayar for a rainy day, because I hear it's very good, I like that period of the chronology and Barrayar's the only book other than Shards that covers it, and because I like Cordelia.

A few chapters from the end of The Vor Game, and damn but there's just one twist after another. It's incredibly tense and fast-paced even though there aren't actually a lot of spaceships flying round shooting at each other [at least not yet.] Really enjoying. Will probably backtrack chronologically in the Vorkosigan series after this, to read the novella The Mountains of Morning.

Almost half-way through Valente's The Habitation of the Blessed and as I expected it continues excellent. I'm beginning to wonder quite when we're going to get to a detailed coverage of Prester John's first exposures to the people of his "kingdom", and there was just a summary of some of his early days there which while beautiful is hopefully not all we're going to get on that score. And the book's digression-heavy, but A: all the digressions expand on the culture, or the mindset, or the history, or the character [there's one narrator whose prone to self-reflection in particular], and B: they are all written in prose that shines like molten gold. So, while I kind of wish we got a tiny bit more "scene" in the traditional sense [and it's not as though there isn't a bunch already or anything], honestly I'm good.

Also almost exactly half through Towers of Midnight, and ... I dunno. The style's a little sketchy, I feel: Sanderson mentioned the other day on teh internetz that he's very aware of one stylistic difference between himself and Jordan, which is that he uses contractions while Jordan did not. Adopting Jordan's no contractions policy might have seemed too much like aping him, I realize, and cut too much into Sanderson's own style. But, well, I'm noticing. Not just that, all the little style wobbles. I'm noticing more than I did in The Gathering Storm, and I know it sounds petty but it does cramp my joy. Most of this, I think, is down to some writing that feels quite rushed. But then there are scenes that feel right on, [there was a Mat and Birgita scene recently that felt perfect.] And a couple really cool things have happened. Not huge things, but cool ones. Overall I'm really enjoying the book and appreciating its broader focus and a lot of its scenes [even if some are provoking a "really?" reaction]. I just think it's got a lot more cracks in it than The Gathering Storm, thus far.

[chollman]

I finished the first Dying Earth novel. I really enjoyed it, although the vocabulary is intense and pretty difficult at times. I am excited to read the next book.

I just started 'Long Walk to Freedom' the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. So far, I really like it. Well written and it is really interesting to read about such a different culture.

[Cuchulain]

Finished Trouble is My Business, a collection of four Raymond Chandler stories featuring the detective Marlowe. These tales aren't as polished as the author's full-length novels, but Marlowe himself is still as great as ever. Very enjoyable to read.

Up next is The Prestige by Christopher Priest.

[Bellis]

After having loved my Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance re-read at the end of last year, I decided to re-read the follow-up, Lila. I had remembered that book being all about questionable philosophy that seemed to justify the author's need to sleep with this trashy younger woman. I thought I was missing something, being young and unversed in the ways of contemporary philosophy. I think I appreciated it better this time along, but the philosophy is still pretty sketchy. Pirsig has most definitely jumped the proverbial shark. Mostly, he sounds like an old man ranting about his not-so-brilliant ideas on anthropology and society. Skip it.

I read ~130 books last year, give or take re-reads that LibraryThing doesn't track for me. I intend to read much fewer this year, and more non-fiction and even less genre fiction, maybe. But I will be starting The Half-Made World soon.

[Larry.]

Taking it easy while recovering from severe bronchitis. Only six books read to date:

Bradford Morrow, The Diviner's Tale - hope to review in the next couple of days, once I'm more fully over this infection and my medication doesn't make me stoned.

Giorgio Agamben, The Sacrament of Language: An Archaeology of the Oath (non-fiction). Already reviewed on my blog.

J.M. McDermott, Never Knew Another - his second book is very different in style and content from Last Dragon, but I found this trilogy opener to be very solid and promising. Will not write a formal review, due to past working relationship with the author, but I will write a mostly laudatory piece that will acknowledge prior connections in a week or so, as the book will be released later this month.

O.M. Gurney, The Hittites (non-fiction). Will discuss along with the other three volumes of the Folio Society's four-volume history set of ancient Near East empires.

Harold Bloom, Flight to Lucifer. Bloom's 1970s "gnostic fantasy." Don't know if I'll review it, but if you know something about gnosticism (as I do, in cursory fashion), then his use of the conflict of humans with the Demiurge might be intriguing. Out of print, however.

Alan Gardiner, The Egyptians (non-fiction). See note above.

Nearly 50% through J.M. Cook's The Persians, as well as the Easton Press leatherbound edition of John Keats' poetry. Will be starting Flaubert's Madame Bovary in French this weekend to challenge myself (if I get 75% comprehension without resorting to a dictionary or translation, I'll consider it a victory). Might also begin reading the first volume of Twain's autobiography that's been re-released in unexpurgated form for the first time.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I finished Nyphron Rising by Michael J. Sullivan which is an another entertaining installment of the Riyria Revelations series. The Emerald Storm is next.

[Peadar]

I've started Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings.

[Guest Raidne]

I had no idea people kept formal lists of what they've read. Idea just never occurred to me. I finished Under Heaven, and am just downloaded Ship Breaker and Warriors.

Datepalm, I thought the scenes with what's-her-face back at the palace with what's-her-face (apparently the character names were not memorable...) and the scenes with the anti-Kellhus were easy to follow, but the scenes with the nobility on the front lines were a little chaotic, yeah.

[Lord Toblerone]

Started The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

[Starkess]

Just finished Matterhorn. Fantastic book, need a little bit of a breather before I start Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay.

[Nearly Headless Ned]

I read about 35 books on the Kindle, and didn't keep track of how many others (probably <10). It was easy to count them up since I got the Kindle in February. The entire Kindle list is here: http://luthieneponine.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/reading-list-2010/

I just finished The Orange Eats Creeps, and I feel that I'd better go back and read the last few pages again, because I feel that I missed something or failed to understand something (if anyone has some insight into the last few events, please say something, spoilered). The narrator is unreliable, doesn't clearly separate dreams from real life, and is a tweaker, so it's hard to make sense out of what's real and what isn't, sometimes impossible. By the end I was reading very quickly and just letting everything pile on top of each other, which seemed like the right way to read, but I still think that I missed some stuff.

Right. The Orange Eats Creeps is up for me next after I finish Drood by Dan simmons. Sounds interesting.

[Mexal]

I recently finished Corvus (which I thoroughly enjoyed) and Feast of Souls by Ceila Friedman (which I also really liked).

I think next I'll read Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith or move on to Wings of Wrath (2nd book in Friedman's Magister trilogy). I haven't really decided yet.

[Astra]

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

Goodreads is my friend.

(have a look at the link in my signature)

Although, I still track read books in slightly and very old fashioned ways.

Slightly old fashioned is in Excel.

Very old fashioned....in a notebook. Its grand-grand-pa was started when I was 6.

I have rewritten it twice since then - immigrations :) Still keep it up-to-date.

I am 1/3 into the last book of His Dark Materials.

So far, the first book was OK but very childish. The second book was very good. I really liked it. The third book has started OK but gets a bit too convoluted/complicated. Maybe I have to slow down and read it page-by-page.

[RobMRobM]

I'm reading the second part of the new Connie Willis time travel books, All Clear. At the same time I am planning to read the Dan Simmons Illium/Olympus books and, out of genre, the new David Sedararis animal stories (Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk).

Haven't counted up books but I've read a lot this year - a side benefit of my train commute.

Rob

Loved Blackout/All Clear. Essentially an entertaining historical novel about England during the Blitz mixed with increasingly desperate time travelling historians who can't make it home. Ending was excellent and pulled disparate threads together very well. Some might complain there was too much detail into the daily lives and challenges of the historians but I enjoyed the incredible depth.

Started Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk which is silly and fun.

R