Garett Hornwood Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 If July had 32 days in it I would have completed four books this month, but getting "just" three puts me at 24/35 for the year and four books ahead of the pace I need to accomplish my goal for this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 16. Arthur C. Clarke - Rendezvous With Rama - Fascinating early hard sci-fi -- it's a "what would happen if" book, and so it necessarily lives and does by its scientific rigor -- luckily Clarke is known for that -- and the intelligent, competent characters. Not that I would have any idea if the science were bad, I suppose. I really enjoyed this and I appreciated Clarke's attention to detail.Slowed down this month because Gilman's The Revolutions is over-long and starts to drag around the midway point.16/30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrum Aeternum Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I'm at 17/20 and blazing through Hyperion, so I'm soon to be at 90% of my original goal. Therefore I'm going to revise my goal for the year to 25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 26/40July was my worst month so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrathOfTinyKittens Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Looks like I forgot to update for June, so I'll do both. Read:Caliban's War by James SA Corey. Perhaps my favorite Expanse novel (although the last Miller chapter in LW is the best chapter so far), we get the best cast of non-Holden/Miller characters we've seen, a great storyline, and naturally great writing. 5/5Abaddon's Gate by James SA Corey. Not as good as the previous two, but an excellent book nonetheless. 4/5Cibola Burn by James SA Corey. A great addition with a fascinating take on space exploration. Kept me eager for the next installation. 4.5/5Dangerous Women, anthology. Honestly? Unimpressed. 2/5Tower Lord, by Anthony Ryan. Despite some minor issues, I found this to be just as good as the first, and I appreciated the new characters and wider perspective. 4/5The Thousand Names, by Django Wexler. Excellent flintlock fantasy, improved on the reread. 4/5I think that's it, although I have a feeling like I am forgetting something. Currently Reading:Nearly done with The Shadow Throne by Wexler and reading Rogues in spare moments. Next up is Half a King. June and July were behind pace, but I am at 31/52 with 5/32 by women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 July was a good month for me since I read 8 books and most of the books I really enjoyed. This puts me slightly ahead of schedule. 46/75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I've stalled out hard. I can't seem to finish Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe even though it's short. It's not that I think it's bad or stupid, there's just nothing at all that makes me wonder - what happens next, I want to turn the page and find out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Shift by Hugh Howey. I don't know how long it took me to finish Wool, but it wasn't very long. Where that book was compelling, this book is slow, overlong and worst of all, a prequel. I hate prequels. So it took me most of the month to get through this one. Not a bad book, but far inferior to the first, hopefully Dust is better. I don't necessarily mind prequels, but I agree Shift was nowhere near as good as Wool and I think it was a mistake to explain so much of the background since the mystery behind the Silo and its origins was one of the most interesting things about the first book. Dust was better, although still a step down from Wool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Well, I can't think of a single prequel that I found to be genuinely necessary. The first Shift part was ridiculously depressing, which isn't a great start to a long book. On the contrary that's the part of the book I enjoyed the most. Whilst Wool was a fascinating book and one I enjoyed, to me, it was more interesting to see how we got from present day ( or something similar) to the silos. I like when worlds meld like that, especially when it's done well. I'll agree with you about Solo though, some of his chapters felt a bit long but I didn't mind. He could have teased out the origins of the silos in the next couple of books, but exploring it in shift rather than giving us snippets worked for me. Honestly, anything that keeps me from reading about Luke is a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Honestly, anything that keeps me from reading about Luke is a good thing. I've noticed about Howey that a lot of people seem to have characters they can't stand even though it's pretty clear that he didn't intend for that character to be disliked. He's a good storyteller but seems a little tone-deaf about personalities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Er Rn Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 July was a much better month all around. 16/30Unclean Spirits by MLN HanoverDarker Angels by MLN HanoverGuests on Earth by Lee SmithA Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashiara Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 56/60. Not much reading done this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I've noticed about Howey that a lot of people seem to have characters they can't stand even though it's pretty clear that he didn't intend for that character to be disliked. The unfortunate aspect of his writing is that most his peripheral characters are fairly interchangeable and forgettable. He's not been writing for very long( I think) , so I suppose it's something that could change. But you're right about Luke, I'm certainly not the only one who couldn't stand him, the strange thing is I'm not entirely sure why either. He just seems like a nothing of a character, even though I'm quite obviously meant to root for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojzelote Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Ugh, I'm late. This July (and the first days of August, the truth be told) I have read: 20, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn - very enjoyable, exciting, disturbing and sometimes a little bit weird, although unfortunately I cannot say I fully bought the solution 21, King Rat by James Clavell - I had been afraid of this book, the plot of which takes place in the Changi POW camp, but how silly that had been of me! It turned out I loved loved loved it, although I'm usually put off by stories set in similar places since I'm somewhat faint of heart - not that the camp in this novel would be all sun and roses, mind you; far from it. 22, Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman - probably my favorite novel of the trilogy, and I already miss Penman's Henry II *sigh* 23, The Rendezvous and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier - overall very good, IMHO, albeit I feel that some stories needed more expanding upon (e.g., Panic, The Supreme Artist) and the point of some others can be seen a mile away (Split Second, Escort, Indiscretion) - but honestly, I'm not sure if the 'point' should have been surprising; the lack of a moment of surprise certainly didn't spoil my enjoyment of the stories. Anyway, my favorites were: No Motive, Split Second, Adieu Sagesse, The Rendezvous, and La Sainte-Vierge... that's a lot of favorites, thinking about it now. But the story which still haunts me (in a good? way) is The Closing Door, that one gave me truly unpleasant feelings. So far my score is 23 out of 30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizraban Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 16/36Read three more last month, so I still have five books on the debit side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Wolf Smith Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 36. The Big Switch, 37. Coup d'Etat both from The War That Came Early Harry Turtledove.37/60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maithanet Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 36. The Big Switch, 37. Coup d'Etat both from The War That Came Early Harry Turtledove. 37/60 How are you liking these? I am reading the latest (Last Orders) right now. Overall I feel like the historical realism is falling apart, because the Allies keep making stupid decisions to prolong the war. I think he intended to create an alternate history where WWII is a little "closer" and this is what he came up with, but it feels increasingly clumsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deleted01 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Just hit my target with The Exiled Queen - 60/60. Don't think I'll bother extending it again :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Just hit my target with The Exiled Queen - 60/60. Don't think I'll bother extending it again :) Nicely done :commie: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandred torgridson Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 12/20: The whale road (Robert Low) - good stuff, reminded me of "Vikings" TV show13/20: The light fantastic (Terry Pratchett) - not so good stuff, it seems Pratchett is not for me14/20: The path of Anger (Antoine Rouaud) - very good stuff, interesting story15/20: The Elfin ship (James Blaylock) - reread; I have read it 20 years ago and stumbled across it during some cleaning up Action - not too bad (somewhere between "The Hobbit" and Terry Pratchett but far less annoying than the latter) Started "The copper sign" by Katia Fox (halfway through already). Not bad but not great either. After that one I have finished all books I told myself I "have to read because I own them" and can continue with the ones I am really looking forward to reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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