July 2014 reads

[Yersinia]

Well yes, you don't tend to fill books marketed as YA with sex and people saying fuck.

No, of course not. But I read Best Served Cold a few weeks ago, so the contrast was particularly striking for me.

And I vaguely remember him mentioning that it was only being marketed as YA in the UK.

[deleted01]

No, of course not. But I read Best Served Cold a few weeks ago, so the contrast was particularly striking for me.

And I vaguely remember him mentioning that it was only being marketed as YA in the UK.

Yeah, it was me that said a similar thing last week. I agree - I read Red Country a few weeks before, and the difference was very evident. But again, not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.

They did say "shit" at least once. And a lot of YA have sex that is at least alluded to, but there was none of that at all. I guess it says something about me that I was turning every page waiting for some swear words and sex :laugh:

Still pushing on with The Name of the Wind. I think I need to take a day - maybe tomorrow - and just read. I'm only managing to grab an hour or so before bed, and so it's taking a bloody long time to get anywhere.

[Spockydog]

41% of the way through Anthony Ryan's Tower Lord. So far, so meh... It's nothing like Blood Song, and, as a result, nowhere near as good. Still hopeful that things will pick up and I'll start caring about these characters. We'll see.

[Zorral]

If anyone of you know of any good mafia/high stakes crime books I'd glady take the recommendations. Books in the vein of movies like Departed, Donnie Brasco, The Godfather, Goodfellas etc.

Edit: i mean fiction books similar to those movies, since im well aware of the biographies and books those mpvies are based on.

The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob by T.J. Stiles. Non-fiction but excellent. This too: Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family by Nicholas Pileggi, from which the movie Good Fellas was made. There are quite a few good books of this nature, though most of them, if fiction are by Mario Puzo, or else are non-fiction. The long Esquire piece from which the movie, American Gangster, was made, is very good too.

[Darth Richard II]

No, of course not. But I read Best Served Cold a few weeks ago, so the contrast was particularly striking for me.

And I vaguely remember him mentioning that it was only being marketed as YA in the UK.

Hmm, is it? I thought it was the other way around. I guess I'll find out when it finally comes out here.

And yeah I can see how that would be weird if you read one of the earlier books right before.

And yeah YA can have sex...but not Abercrombie sex I don't think. That stuff gets nasty!

[Darth Richard II]

derp. double post

[Lyanna Stark]

Reading Jim Butcher's Cold Days which is actually really starting to annoy me.

I dunno if I've missed it before, or whether it just extra obvious in this one, but what's up with the gender essentialist ranting and the "I don't care what gay guys do in their bedroom but it's kinda sad" discussion. Why include it at all? I mean sure, it's UF and I am probably guilty of being an obnoxious old lady who should just go with the flow already and stop being nitpicky but while before it was kinda implied, now it's really in our face. And also the threesome organisation around Dresden's brother which is totally "huhuhu" material.

It feels like it's gone downhill at about the same rate as Kim Harrison's Hollows series which is also turning annoying but for totally different reasons.

Anyways, waiting for Skin game until it comes out in paperback cos no way am I paying more for it if it's the same quality as "Cold Days". <_< Disappoint.

[Ferrum Aeternum]

41% of the way through Anthony Ryan's Tower Lord. So far, so meh... It's nothing like Blood Song, and, as a result, nowhere near as good. Still hopeful that things will pick up and I'll start caring about these characters. We'll see.

This is what I'm reading as well (32% through). It's not as immediate and compelling as Blood Song, but at this point I feel like it has a lot of promise. I like the new characters, especially Reva.

[Starkess]

I finished Exodus by Paul Antony Jones (Extinction Point book 2). Was not expecting it to be horror/SF for the first half. I do not read horror, I am a pansy, so that was disturbing. And sadly it was the also the interesting part of the book. The second half dragged, and based on the first half I kept expecting bad things to happen but it was mostly meh. Still I am interested by the overall premise and curious to see how this is all going to work out in the next book.

[Derfel Cadarn]

Finished and enjoyed the Broken Empire trilogy, and Prince of Fools, and enjoyed them. Now continuing with The Name of the Wind

[williamjm]

Wheel of Time kind of semi-spoilers (book 4)

I swear, book 4 is pissing me off so much. I hate when writers do that thing where they have their characters misunderstand each other to create tension, when clearly like 2 sentences of communication would resolve all the problems. And by this, I mean the problems with Rand and Aviendha, and Egwene. Aviendha is having a go at Rand saying stuff like ''Why would you reject Elayne'', and he doesn't even fucking ask why she thinks that. And just now, Egwene came up and shouted something at Rand - ''whatever you're doing to upset her (Aviendha), stop it!'' and then walked off. Why wouldn't he go after her? Who fricking does that in the first place? Why does every sit around complaining about how they don't understand men/women and yet never actually fucking talk to them! Argh!

Oh, and not to mention how

Rand spends half his time giggling away as if everything is such a joke - fair enough, there is often a bitter irony or humour in what happens to him... but it's kind of foolish when you stop and think, ''Hey, it's pretty likely that I'm going to go mad at some point and potentially kill everyone near me, so how about I DON'T FUCKING ACT LIKE I'M GOING MAD AND NOT EXPLAIN MYSELF''

Mat is not innocent either >

Mat is all like ''Oh yeah, feeling pain is definitely better than being healed by an Aes Sedai.'' What? No. Not only was he healed by Aes Sedai who had every reason not to heal him, but not letting them heal him has no basis whatsoever! If they wanted to do shit to you, they could easily - so why bitch about this in particular? Which reminds of Egwene who thinks so highly of herself, always going ''You had no right, You have no right!'' blah blah blah, she hates the idea of anyone having power over her so much and yet she is so blind to the fact that this is essentially the role Aes Sedai have over pretty much everyone who cannot channel. Nynaeve is no better. Everyone pisses me off apart from Lan and Loial.

/rant

If you're having these problems with book 4, I'm not sure how you're going to cope with some of the later books in the series...

[FacelessManOf TheShire]

Finished and enjoyed the Broken Empire trilogy, and Prince of Fools, and enjoyed them. Now continuing with The Name of the Wind

I'm just over halfway through Name of the Wind. Have to say it's the best read I've had in a while.. I can't put it down.

Sure, the plot seems rather obvious at the moment, but it is an enjoyable plot and so far well put together. There has been critisism that Kvothe is clearly how Rothfuss would like to see himself, but I don't see that as a problem if true. Surely all writers have a main character they would like to be themselves. Besides, Kvothe is a dude.

I've got Dune lined up once I've finished. I'm determined to get into some Sci-Fi, and Dune seems a good start. I've tried Peter F Hamilton's Reality Disfunction 2 or 3 times, but I can't get past the first few chapters. I want to - the plot seems like it'll have the epic feel I love - but it's just too much.

[Lyanna Stark]

If you're having these problems with book 4, I'm not sure how you're going to cope with some of the later books in the series...

Was gonna say. That stuff does not get any better as you go. Think I withstood it to around book 6-7 and then I just couldn't bear it anymore.

[Biter]

After finishing The God of Small Things yesterday I'm not sure what to read next... I'll probably give Chandler's The Long Goodbye a try.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Finished The Oathbreaker's Shadow by Amy McCulloch. I found it to be a pretty entertaining YA novel with an unique world based on Mongolian, Beduin nomads and Indian (SW Asia) cultures. I plan to pick up the second book in the duology.

I started Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont by Joseph Boyden. I wanted to know more about these two individuals and the Riel Rebellion in general as I have family history that is directly involved in the Rebellion. It is pretty sad that we barely covered any of this in school.

[deleted01]

Finished The Name of the Wind this evening. A very fascinating, intricate book. I've put the sequel on my wishlist.

Not sure what's up next. I'm waiting for a couple of books I've been asked to review to come through the post, not sure when they're due though.

[HexMachina]

Well, my week abroad has been brilliant for reading. Completed my re-read of the Rain Wild Chronicles (I was about 80% through Dragon.Keeper when I went away) which leaves me ready to go with Fool's Assassin when its released in.August.

Read two novellas from.Dangerous Women (Brandon Sanderson's and one about Queen Constance) and I'm 21% through the First Law trilogy with a day to go. Enjoying First Law so far, more than I expexted to :)

[Starkess]

I started and finished Revelations, the third in the Extinction Point series. (Supposedly the last, but the author's note at the end mentions he just can't stop.) It was pretty meh, but it was such a fast read (<3 hrs) that I can't be too upset. Plus I got it on sale. And it wasn't all bad, and it was set in my neighborhood. Post-apocalyptic Point Loma. Now there's a weird thought.

And I'm back to not knowing what to read next.

[deleted01]

I picked up What Lies Within by Tom Vowler, the debut novel by a local author I met and interviewed last month (about his new novel, but this debut seemed way more interesting, so I bought it instead). I love the Dartmoor setting*, the suspense, and the changing narratives. I also love that, as I lay here reading it, I'm not 20 minutes away from where it's set. I'm already 160 pages in - I can't put it down, though I really should go to sleep :laugh:

*Lady Narcissa, I believe I'm right in thinking that you love Cornwall? This may be a book for you - it has some history on Dartmoor and Plymouth, and a little description of the moors and surrounding area. :)

[Starkess]

Goodreads recommended The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas. Sure. Why the fuck not, eh?