What are you reading in November?

[Eponine]

Now I am reading 'The Scroll of Years' by Chris Willrich. Heard good things about this one, Mieville comparisons even. Hope they are right.

Please let me know how that turns out!

[Zupoleon]

Finished 'Red Seas Under Red Skies'. Not quite as good for me as Lynch's first effort, but enjoyable all the same. Now on to 'Ancillary Justice'. I've been looking forward to this one for some time, considering all the praise it has received.

[Chun-Li]

I'm reading the third book in the Foundation series, after that maybe The White-Luck Warrior.

[Teng Ai Hui]

In recent months, I've put a lot of books in the Failed to Launch pile -- Already Dead by Charlie Huston, Hunt for Red October, Snow Crash, Fort Freak, and a few others. Instead, I have had better luck with comic books. Right now, I'm reading Stillness and Speed (a biography about Dennis Bergkamp) and the Game of Thrones comics.

[Knight of Ashes]

'Alphabet of Thorn' finally broke my November streak of mediocre books, it was very good. And very short. Fantasy needs more short standalones like it.

t.

That reminds me, I haven't red anything by Mckillip in quite a while.

[lojzelote]

A quick update on my previous post:

...

On Friday I finally (!!!) began reading A Dance with Dragons. To be honest it's been 2+ years since I finished both ASOS and AFFC so I'm taking my time get back with these characters. Right now I'm just shy of 200 pages in, so it might take me a fortnight to finish however I don't mind.

You've been waiting for the paperback all this time? I can't imagine. :blink:

I finished Hocus Pocus by Vonnegut. "I had to laught like hell." No kidding. I've got to say that I tried to calculate the number of people the protagonist killed/women he had sex with and the first time around ... I got into decimal numbers. First I'd thought it had been a joke by the author, but when I tried it once more I've got a believable result. I guess that means I'm even dumber than an average Tartington student Professor Hartke had the misfortune to teach, lol. :bang:

It was my first Vonnegut novel, and barring an unforeseeable accident, it won't be the last one!

Then I decided I could read some classics for a change. I chose The Emperor's Tomb by Joseph Roth. It's a loose sequel of sorts to Radetzky March, which I read much earlier and couldn't help but love. The Emperor's Tomb was good. It was hard to get through the first quarter or so, and then I read read read read - and then it was over, just like that. I enjoyed it, but I expected something more to happen; the protagonist may have gone through WWI and a Russian labour camp on Siberia, but it's completely glazed over because it's not the reason of his spleen. (Tbh his experience from the war and the subsequent captivity resembled more than anything else a spoilt vacation.) OTOH, his relationship with his wife was interesting. Especially considering the novel had been published in 1938.

Currently I'm reading Ascanio by Dumas. I'm still at the beginning, but it looks it's going to be fun.

[MisterOJ]

I finished Caliban's War over the weekend and had a couple of books already on my Nook that I wanted to read next.

But, as tends to be the case with just about anything Abraham writes, I couldn't stop reading and went ahead and immediately bought and downloaded Abaddon's Gate, so I am reading that right now. It's really great too, but I'll be sad when it's over because that will mean that I have finished every book that Abraham has currently finished.

As an aside, I am still amazed by the way technology has changed the way I read. I'm in bed late Sunday night and finish Caliban's War and in literally just a few seconds, I have bought Abaddon's Gate and am reading it. I know a lot of people like their traditional books, but I just don't know how anyone could not just love the convenience and immediacy of ereaders.

[Whitestripe]

I just read The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell and I wanted so much to much to like it, but I did not.

[WarGalley]

Just finished Woken Furies and I liked it much better than Broken Angels. It was a good ending to the Kovacs storyline and I really liked the look at his character, his past and how he has changed his decisions in life. The ending seemed almost anti-climactic until the Epilogue which seemed to wrap things up with a bow in a way that almost felt warm, in a farewell to everyone kind of way.

The only thing I have to nitpick about Richard Morgan's writing is that during these stories, Kovacs would often get into a philosophical argument with a female protagonist that comes off like a hormone-fueled argument among teenagers. And the female protagonist always reminds me of Ripley arguing with the Marine team in Aliens. Something about it always takes me out of the books -- like these characters are setup to be these military professionals or really smart scientists, cool under pressure and experts in their field but start talking about modern day politics and everyone unravels into children.

Regardless, Morgan has effectively done for sci-fi what GRRM did for fantasy to me. The first time I picked up Altered Carbon I had a hard time reading it with the prose, setting, plot and the technicality of it all. Now it's the only kind of science fiction that I want to read and I can't seem to get into anything else that might be 'simple'.

[Bolivar]

As an aside, I am still amazed by the way technology has changed the way I read. I'm in bed late Sunday night and finish Caliban's War and in literally just a few seconds, I have bought Abaddon's Gate and am reading it. I know a lot of people like their traditional books, but I just don't know how anyone could not just love the convenience and immediacy of ereaders.

I once realized I had nothing to get me through a train ride and at last minute downloaded the long halloween. I also probably over-appreciate the immediacy of the dictionary, especially helpful when reading just about anything.

I finished the Time of Contempt and the short part in the middle with the banquet and the endless line of ridiculously named sorcerers was absolutely painful for me to read. But everything else was pretty damn great and I really like where Sapkowski is taking the series. I don't know about the translations getting better or worse bit this time I was more aware of a few things that just didn't make it through that well.

[deleted01]

Just finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and despite how bloody annoying Harry was at times, I thoroughly enjoyed this book as a whole, and even had a little cry towards the end (you know which bit I'm talking about :crying: )

I have noticed some differences to the films, particularly regarding the aftermath of Harry and Voldemort coming face-to-face at the Ministry of Magic. I'm not sure which version I prefer, but there are certain things that were definitely done better in the films, imho.

(And I don't care what certain muggles say - I love Alan Rickman's Snape :P )

I may go straight on to the Half-Blood Prince, as I've never read it before and I really love the film.

[Blisscraft]

Just finished Queen Anne by Anne Somerset. Well written and truly fascinating. If you enjoy historical biographies, please give it a look.

Dracarya - Half Blood Prince is wonderful!

[Bolivar]

Really enjoying The Strangled Queen, hope it doesn't take as long to re-release the next one.

[Whitestripe]

I'm reading http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/books/review/code-name-verity-by-elizabeth-wein.html?_r=0'> Code Name Verity and oh my goodness is it both thrilling and heartbreaking at the same time. I've got it from the library but it might be a keeper. It's listed as YA, but it's not!

[fuem]

day of the triffids and the kracken and trying to get through the LOTR books my god the LOTR books are sooo dull =\

[Frank Fitzpatrick]

Back on the Dresden Files now. Summer Knight has started well. Looking forward to reading them again. Really enjoyed the first three.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Finished The Usurper by Rowena Cory Daniells. Now started the final book in the Kin Rolen's Kin series, King Breaker. It has been a pretty good series, nothing too original, but quite readable.

[Aerys Blackfyre]

The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever

[Snowborn]

This turned out to be a very Malazan month. :lol:

After Night of Knives, I read Memories of Ice and House of Chains, and I've just started with Midnight Tides. I think I'll finish it next week. I might read one of the Vonnegut novels I haven't read yet as well.

I had also started Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings (it's on sale on Amazon, by the way), but I'm too focused in the Malazan world to switch to another one right now, so that will have to wait.

[deleted01]

Just finished the Half-Blood Prince. Flew through it - Harry Potter has a way of sucking you in and not letting go sometimes. I feel like I've been totally absorbed in this book for the last few days, and so I had a good cry at the end.

I'll go straight on to the Deathly Hallows, with both excitement and sadness, as it's the last one, and it's my first time reading it. I feel like I've prolonged my childhood by putting it off, but I think this is something I'll never get too old for.