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September Reads


mashiara

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Just about to start my first Neil Gaiman novel - Stardust. Picked up new for a quid in a cheap bookshop :D

Same, but I got American Gods instead. :lol: I found a bookstore that sells books in English, I'd never seen it and it's only ten blocks away from home...

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Finished The Instance of the Fingerpost. Loved it. REally really fabulous historical fiction. Thanks Peadar - I think you mentioned it in a previous iteration and I finally got around to picking it up.
I STILL need to read this. I bought a copy after tomfoster rec'd it to me years back, then Peadar jogged my memory a little while back. What I'll do right now is go and find my copy and leave it next to my bed... Nope. Can't find it! But I did find He Kills Coppers instead.

Not only am I finding reading a struggle this year but I'm finding it difficult to have much to say about a book before moving on to the next one. Since the last time I posted in this thread I've just about kept my head above water in attempting to stay on target for my goal.

Margo Lanagan - The Brides of Rollrock Island

Another reminder that reading book reviews on Goodreads is almost as educational as reading film reviews on imdb: there are so many people willing to fly the flag of their ignorance, to proudly wave it in your face. Some people claim that the various 'stories' in this book are unrelated to each other, or that you can skip the early ones as they make no sense and have nothing to do the later 'story'. Oh dear. Anyway, I devoured this novel. Loved everything about it, the plot, the prose, the characterisation, everything. The crushing sense of inevitability in places appeals to my love of realism. Just marvellous. Can't get enough of Lanagan and I think it's fantastic that there is no spoon feeding whatsoever, you just have figure out for yourself what the heck is going on.

The Tempest

So for the umpteenth time I picked up Marina Warner's Indigo but this time I thought, you know what, I should really read The Tempest first so as I can better appreciate the Shakespearean references. I don't really have anything to say about The Tempest, it's one of those plays where it's all so familiar that I didn't really gain anything from reading it as a complete work anyway.

Christopher Priest - The Inverted World

Ooh. First book I've read in ages where I was turning the pages as fast as I could because I desperately wanted to reach the reveal of the scifi device at the heart of the story. I freely confess that I didn't see that one coming in advance. Definitely enjoyed the journey though.

Jeph Loeb - Batman: Long Halloween

I'm not a huge reader of comics so I don't really have a frame of reference for comparison. This one was recommended to me because it informs the Nolan films. I enjoyed it...I don't know what else to say about it. Again, I zipped through it because it's a whodunnit and I wanted to reach the resolution.

Margo Lanagan - White Time

Another collection of shorts, as usual subject matter and setting is wildly varied. Some I liked better than others but I especially enjoyed the final story. I've just this minute ordered a copy of Yellowcake, yet another of her collections. A couple of you pointed out that this has been the year of Margo for me. It really has. She is a new favourite of mine. :)

John Niven - Straight White Male

A friend gave me this as a present and I devoured it within a few days. Fantastic! Niven is like a British Bret Easton Ellis, need I say more?

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Just finished Golden Girl, a decent follow in this historical urban fantasy series.

Welcome to the Board, Joel!

I just finished The Alienist by Caleb Carr. Sherlock Holmesy type of mystery but in the U.S. in the 1800's. I really liked it. Now, I started Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. This is the second book in the Grisha trilogy. I'm loving these books. YA awesomeness.

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Finished The White tiger by Aarvind Adiga. Amazing book.

Yeah this book is great.

Finished 1984, god damn what a bleak and depressing novel. It was great.

Next up I'm going to read The Grim Company by Luke Scull, the self-proclaimed "New Abercrombie". Whatever. Also going to start The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie, which is my first novel of his.

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the self-proclaimed "New Abercrombie".

Not sure I have ever seen the author refer to himself that way, only comparisons from fans.

After finishing my first read of Eye of the World, joining the legions of WoT fans,I grabbed a book off my shelf I forgot I had. The Crown of Blood by Gav Thorp, which looks interesting but not a single one of my Goodreads friends has marked as read. I am either in for a hidden gem or there is a reason no one has read it.

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I'm getting close to finishing up "The Tyrant's Law" book three of the Dagger and Coin series by Daniel Abraham. I'm trying to strrrrretch it out as long as possible, though. Hate to have to wait for the next one since I'm thoroughly invested in all the characters now.

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Book 2 in A Trial of Blood of Steel, Petrodor, was a meh book for me. I didn't care much about the politics or religious climate of Petrodor. The saving grace, was the last 100 pages with good action and plot twists. I'm glad it was a library book though.

I just started the next book in the series, Tracato.

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Stardust is.. okay. It's nice and full of beautiful imagery, but I don't quite think it's for me. I'm about halfway in though, so I'll finish it. My opinion may be because I keep reading it just before bed, and for the past few nights I've been shattered, so I might not be able to fully appreciate it.

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Just over half way through "The Game of Kings" by Dunnet. It's a reread and I still find the first third to be a slog - who is double crossing who, who is where, who is who! She certainly doesn't introduce you gently. I'm enjoying it much more now though.

"This Scepter'd Isle" by Gellis and Lackey is turning out to be rubbish. People making "unhorses" out of "unformed stuff". Damn it I wanted something like pretty white horses, not utter crap. The characters are incredibly flat.

"Captain's Fury" by Butcher is more like it. It's not aiming to be anything other than fun, and it's suceeding at that.

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Finally finished Dust by Hugh Howey. It was a good enough end to the series, but I was expecting more. I think mostly, my expectations were just too high. Oh well, still a fun read.

Now I am on Paladin of Souls by Louis McMaster Bujold. A few chapters in and I am not loving it, but it's okay. Really just wanted a change of pace, and it's certainly that. Next, I think I may finally read Red Country by Abercrombie. I've been putting it off since it's the last one of this series we'll see for quite a while.

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